Video Game News and Miscellany

figmentPez · Dec 9, 2019

TL; DW The reception of Half-Life: Alyx came as a complete surprise to Valve. They weren't planning on releasing a trailer, and were not expecting a surge in sales of Index hardware. They're now scrambling to decide what new VR stuff to work on next, and may start talking about the stalled projects of HL3, L4D3, and more. They've also got someone hired to do PR, for the first time in the history of the company. (Hopefully she can find some time to address why the Steam Controller was discontinued with no notice, and the liquidation sale debacle.)

AshburnerX · Dec 9, 2019

figmentPez said:
TL; DW The reception of Half-Life: Alyx came as a complete surprise to Valve. They weren't planning on releasing a trailer, and were not expecting a surge in sales of Index hardware. They're now scrambling to decide what new VR stuff to work on next, and may start talking about the stalled projects of HL3, L4D3, and more. They've also got someone hired to do PR, for the first time in the history of the company. (Hopefully she can find some time to address why the Steam Controller was discontinued with no notice, and the liquidation sale debacle.)

It's almost like Valve's corporate structure, without a clear sense of who to look towards for leadership beyond Gabe Newell, leaves the company direction-less and without motivation beyond staying in business. If they had some actual leadership in the company and more people willing to take risks, it's clear that Valve would still be a major player for reasons beyond "they own Steam".

ThatNickGuy · Dec 10, 2019

figmentPez said:
TL; DW The reception of Half-Life: Alyx came as a complete surprise to Valve. They weren't planning on releasing a trailer, and were not expecting a surge in sales of Index hardware. They're now scrambling to decide what new VR stuff to work on next, and may start talking about the stalled projects of HL3, L4D3, and more. They've also got someone hired to do PR, for the first time in the history of the company. (Hopefully she can find some time to address why the Steam Controller was discontinued with no notice, and the liquidation sale debacle.)

I sure as hell hope, in the event they DO work on Half-Life 3, it doesn't come out as a fucking VR game.

PatrThom · Dec 11, 2019

Rescued from the latest forum hiccup:

@Li3n said:
September 28 - Racoon City:

Frank said:
NO TUBE TOP OR MINISKIRT?

NO.

FUCKING.

BUY.

NO PREORDERS NEEEEETHER.

AshburnerX said:
I actually prefer the new outfit? I mean... in the original, she's wearing THE WORST POSSIBLE THING for a Zombie Outbreak and I refuse to believe she couldn't have broken into a store to get some jeans and a jacket to protect her arms and legs.

Fucking Aya Brea wore a more functional outfit in Parasite Eve.

Frank said:
It 100% looks better. I was just making fun of the internet.

Tress said:
Oh god... because of what you said I went poking around the internet to see reactions about Jill’s new look. I know it’s just a handful of dickheads, but WOW some of that is full blown misogyny. It basically boils down to “Women are meant to look pretty! They are all sluts and should dress like it!”

Ick.

figmentPez · Dec 11, 2019

The latest version of AMD's graphics drivers has introduced a completely redesigned interface, and the ability to stream games to their mobile app. It's almost hidden, and they don't do a very good job of differentiating between broadcast style streaming (i.e. Twitch) and remote gaming streaming. To save anyone the trouble of hunting the necessary setting down, it's not under Streaming. It's under Settings (the gear icon) -> General -> Game Streaming (on the right hand column, above VR Streaming, below the Performance settings.)

In my testing it has not been perfect, but it gives a lot more control over settings than Steam does, and actually allowed me to play on my phone with only a few minor hiccups, whereas Steam would freeze hard for several seconds every minute or so. Valve could certainly learn something from what AMD is doing. It's kinda fiddly with how it launches games, had some problems with controls getting stuck sending a constant signal, crashed a couple of times (I blame my cheap phone), but generally shows some promise. If it works this well on my crappy phone, I imagine the future of remote gaming is going to be pretty fun.

PatrThom · Dec 11, 2019

They've had the ability to use your mobile as a secondary display for gauges (fps, temps, fan speeds, etc) for a while now, this feels like a natural next step.

--Patrick

Frank · Dec 12, 2019

Hello, I am in charge of D&D game marketing, my last job was making this old ass trailer for Dragon Age Origins.

figmentPez · Dec 12, 2019

Xbox series X..... Yeah, that name's not going to cause any confusion, or be difficult to search for.

Also, if they haven't finally added a gyro sensor to that controller, I'm going to be pissed. It needs grip buttons, too.

chris · Dec 12, 2019

Looks like a container for cigarette buds in smoking areas.

Dei · Dec 12, 2019

The best part of The Game Awards.

Dei · Dec 12, 2019

Here's a clip that might not last.

figmentPez · Dec 12, 2019

Oh, wow. The zombified corpse of Telltale is making new video games. That's not scary...

Frank · Dec 13, 2019

Frank said:
I WONDER WHICH GAME WILL WIN? CERTAINLY NOT THE ONE MADE BY HIS FRIEND THAT HE IS IN.

CERTAINLY NOT.

AshburnerX · Dec 13, 2019

figmentPez said:
Oh, wow. The zombified corpse of Telltale is making new video games. That's not scary...

They've got new owners who are apparently treating the people they bothered to rehire better than the last set. I'm willing to give them a chance.

PatrThom · Dec 13, 2019

chris said:
Looks like a container for cigarette buds in smoking areas.

To me it looks like someone repainted an Airport Extreme to black.

--Patrick

Far · Dec 13, 2019

Dei · Dec 13, 2019

Frank said:
CERTAINLY NOT.

Game of the Year went to Sekiro, Death Stranding got Best Direction.

AshburnerX · Dec 13, 2019

Dei said:
Game of the Year went to Sekiro, Death Stranding got Best Direction.

Death Stranding also got best Soundtrack, which is a fucking travesty because FF14 wasn't even nominated and had a stronger soundtrack than any of the nominees. FF14 also got robbed for Best On-Going Game Support to... Fortnite.

Dei · Dec 13, 2019

I'm just glad Fire Emblem got two awards because it means my favorite game series is *probably* out of the woods for being discontinued now.

Ravenpoe · Dec 14, 2019

AshburnerX said:
Death Stranding also got best Soundtrack, which is a fucking travesty because FF14 wasn't even nominated and had a stronger soundtrack than any of the nominees. FF14 also got robbed for Best On-Going Game Support to... Fortnite.

I'm not mad at DS getting the win, but FF14 not being nominated is some shit. Also, for best 'ongoing game' half the nominees didn't even fit the category. The only two persistent world games were FF14 and Destiny 2, the rest were just multiplayer shooters.

figmentPez · Dec 16, 2019

figmentPez said:
Black Mesa (the Half-Life 1 remake) released the Xen Complete Beta. It's been a long time coming, but it's finally possible to play the full story of Half-Life with much better graphics.

Guys, Xen is damn good. I'm not that far in (I re-played the entire game to see the new lighting), but it's really beautiful, and the levels are well crafted. This feels like what Xen should have been. It's laid out and plays like Half-Life. Explore, puzzle, combat, repeat in different patterns. The environment are absolutely gorgeous (though a little bit demanding. I'm only getting 30 - 40 FPS in Xen, when I was getting mostly 60 FPS for the rest of the game. I'm not even running most effects at max settings, though my system specs are nothing to crow about.

I definitely recommend playing this game, and if the rest of Xen continues to be this good, I'll probably consider it a must-play. It would be nice to somehow get the real Half-Life soundtrack for this game, and a console release.

Dei · Dec 16, 2019

Yay! Since all of my Stardew Valley gameplay tends to be on the Switch, I am happy now.

bhamv3 · Dec 16, 2019

Dei said:
Yay! Since all of my Stardew Valley gameplay tends to be on the Switch, I am happy now.

I'm a big fan of the new Four Corners farm map.

Dei · Dec 16, 2019

bhamv3 said:
I'm a big fan of the new Four Corners farm map.

We started a family map there on PC, but we only really got through 2 weeks of it before we went back to playing on the Switch because it was more convenient.

bhamv3 · Dec 16, 2019

Dei said:
We started a family map there on PC, but we only really got through 2 weeks of it before we went back to playing on the Switch because it was more convenient.

I'm playing solo, but I really like how the map easily helps me get organized. Top two quadrants are for crops, bottom left for animals, bottom right for trees, bee hives, and fish ponds. Having a steady trickle of resources just from my farm is nice too, like hardwood and ores. And I think the map just looks nice, you know?

Dei · Dec 16, 2019

bhamv3 said:
I'm playing solo, but I really like how the map easily helps me get organized. Top two quadrants are for crops, bottom left for animals, bottom right for trees, bee hives, and fish ponds. Having a steady trickle of resources just from my farm is nice too, like hardwood and ores. And I think the map just looks nice, you know?

All farms just devolve into wine empires anyways.

figmentPez · Dec 17, 2019

I hope this means that the PS5 controller with have grip buttons standard:

ThatNickGuy · Dec 23, 2019

For those that were waiting for Black Mesa to finally finish the Xen chapter? The wait is over. It's out. Officially, that is. Not just beta.

Mind you, the game as a whole is still in Early Access, as they're now working to tweak and put the final touches on everything.

bhamv3 · Dec 23, 2019

ThatNickGuy said:
For those that were waiting for Black Mesa to finally finish the Xen chapter? The wait is over. It's out. Officially, that is. Not just beta.

Mind you, the game as a whole is still in Early Access, as they're now working to tweak and put the final touches on everything.

Hmm, might just grab it this Christmas sale.

figmentPez · Dec 27, 2019

TLDW Valve has worked hard to make Half-Life: Alyx work on a variety of VR headsets and controllers. Some work better than others, but most give at least a decent experience.

There's very litte info about HL:A in the video. Mostly the same clips of shooting headcrab zombies and exploding barancles with barrels.

figmentPez · Jan 9, 2020

Steam is changing the way it handles game soundtracks.

Soundtracks will no longer be DLC so:
- Sold and downloaded separately from games.
- Downloaded to a location of your choosing, not necessarily in the game install directory

Existing soundtracks will have to be converted to the new system, but Valve has tools available to automate the process.

filmfanatic · Jan 16, 2020

Dave · Jan 16, 2020

Well this sucks but frankly I'm happy. Much rather have them do this then release an unfinished pile of dog shit.

Frank · Jan 16, 2020

I guess I will be going outside this summer.

MindDetective · Jan 16, 2020

Better than an unreasonable crunch for the dev and testing team (hopefully)