What are you playing at the moment?

[neema_t]

I was playing Black Mesa last night as well, I downloaded it on Desura. Not sure if that's why the loading screens take about 30 seconds each but it's a bit jarring. Really, really good quality though, I'm astounded that a mod can be that good. Also tried To The Moon last night but had to stop because it was making me sad.

All this talk of Cazadores is making me want to go back to New Vegas. In both of my full playthroughs of it I think I kind of ruined the game for myself by focusing on sniping, I never really got up close with a Cazador. Actually no, I tell a lie, when I was exploring early on in a playthrough I encountered one and never wanted to encounter one again, so I guess that's why I wanted to snipe everything instead. I think I started a melee/pistols only playthrough before I stopped again last time so I might start over with the same focus.

[Lambchops]

It's good but as a lengthy rouguelike I think it'll suffer the same fate as Dredmor did and be abandoned after a few shots. While the gradual unlocking of new starting characters to see their different challenges is a hook to start playing again, given the length of playtime that's required even to make a tiny bit of progress and the fact that I'll find the initial stages I've already got the idea of rather tedious, I doubt I'll be playing it again.

Turns out I wasn't entirely right about this. The different classes actually play in a varied enough style that I'm now onto my third go. My first character (a bulwark, classic shield based warrior type) so the wrong end of a mages lightning bolt (ranged attacks were his weakness and I got a bit cocky after some success against higher level characters I was more suited to fighting and came a cropper when I met one I was weak against).

My second character, an archer, was having an easier time of it, but alas died at a slightly lower level, due to an unfortunate incident of being hit by a spell that stops healing for several turns just before I was about to heal, resulting in the loss of a fairly easy battle (though, to be fair, I'd had a lucky escape a bit earlier against the odds so it was just karma).

Now playing as an archmage and again, playing as a magic user has mixed it up enough to keep me on my toes during the early dungeon (also helps that that they have a pre start quest which bumps you up about 4 levels or so as the final boss of it is an XP bonanza). Think this genuinely will be my last run (at least for a while) as I wont be able to stomach the sight of the early levels for a while yet, but it's definitely a game I'll keep installed and go back to for another attempt in between playing other stuff.

[Berzee]

I'm playing Baldur's Gate for the first time (starting with 1, upgraded to the BG2 engine using this easy EasyTutu tut). It's fun! I just "accidentally" got into a tough fight and let my random evil starting companions get whacked, and disbanded their corpses before heading on to the inn. It was probably unrelated to their complaining about me not exploring the world in the direction that *they* wanted.

It's interesting how accustomed I've gotten to the companion-centric approach to long RPGs. In BG1 (playing without any of the NPC mods), the party members are largely disposable (conversation-wise) but the random commoners you meet in towns are numerous and interesting enough to talk to, sometimes having unique dialogue even when they don't have a unique name.

[ZamFear]

My current mission is to find a hat I like.

This was my choice for much of the game. A shame there's no monocle to go with it.

[sonson]

More criticism for New Vegas. I hate to bring up Quintin Smith's controversial Wot I Think, but when it comes to the vast empty spaces he was dead on the money. I image the streets of Freeside as an overcrowded slum, but there's 3 people spread out over an eight minute walk. It's really noticeable (this was something that was unforgivable in Dragon Age 2, and the few people that were around stood in the same place for ten years). In Skyrim the town areas seem smaller but it has the effect of cramming people together to simulate the hustle and bustle.

My current mission is to find a hat I like.

Mods. I haven't even played it through without mods, and I wouldn't bother. Mods lift it from a clearly stripped for Console RPG delivery system into a populated, bustling lived in world.

Random Encounters and World of Pain go a good way to adding more population, but there's tons of other flavours. Freeside Open and The Strip Uncut are essential I'd say to make Vegas worth visiting and fighting over. Rough estimation I probably have about 600 extra NPC's in my world than the stock version. Sounds a lot but over the expanse of the area it's really just enough to make the area feel lived in.

Freeside is bustling, The Strip is a hive of activity. Every time I enter an area where factions jutt up against each other there's fire fights and skirmishes. Caravans are traversing every road I come across, and usually getting shot up by raiders, travelling anywhere requires focus and commitment, there's no easy shortcuts, Night is pitch black so travelling in it other than by road is guranteed to end badly. NCR and Legion are skirmishing every time I go up near Searchlight and around Nelson. Vegas can be seen for miles at Night, and there are firefights going on between fiends, random mercs and NCR around the outskirts constantly. Areas like Novac and Goodsprings have a few mercenaries and Bounty Hunters hanging around who will always help to drive of hostile factions and monsters, so there is safety as well as just NPC conversation around the various settlements.
In short the Mojave in my game evokes this real tension between the violence and danger of the Wasteland and the comparative civility and safety of New Vegas and larger populations , which was clearly the intention. I think the Vanilla game, due to it's console status, lacked the sheer amount of content and resources to evoke that. But it can be done easily with Mods, and it is a glorious experience.

It's also amazing what adding the ENB shaders can do to the tone of the game. This is what my modded New Vegas looks like, compare it with the shots in Quentin's phoned in car crash:

[Voon]

More criticism for New Vegas. I hate to bring up Quintin Smith's controversial Wot I Think, but when it comes to the vast empty spaces he was dead on the money. I image the streets of Freeside as an overcrowded slum, but there's 3 people spread out over an eight minute walk. It's really noticeable (this was something that was unforgivable in Dragon Age 2, and the few people that were around stood in the same place for ten years). In Skyrim the town areas seem smaller but it has the effect of cramming people together to simulate the hustle and bustle.

My current mission is to find a hat I like.

I think NV would be much more immersive if it had more people. My brother fooled around with the GECK once and tried to add them in. Turns out it slows down the game significantly, so I think that's why Obsidian didn't spend much time on that. Shame, though. It wouldn't have happened if the engine's optimised for that.

Oh, about the hat, Mortimer's got that snazzy Tuxedo Hat. I got it after the White Gloves killed him outright for his Cannibalism.

Why stop there? Use a Fat Man.

I wonder if there's a way to get the MIRV Fat Man in NV. That'll be fantastic!

[Drake Sigar]

This was my choice for much of the game.

And if I don't want to be Daniel Day-Lewis from Gangs of New York?

You're right, that scenario would never come up.

Mods. I haven't even played it through without mods, and I wouldn't bother. Mods lift it from a clearly stripped for Console RPG delivery system into a populated, bustling lived in world.

Thanks, I might try that. Though I do get annoyed when random people on the street stop what they're doing to say hello to me. And in the game. Does that problem crop up more?

[sonson]

And if I don't want to be Daniel Day-Lewis from Gangs of New York?

You're right, that scenario would never come up.

Thanks, I might try that. Though I do get annoyed when random people on the street stop what they're doing to say hello to me. And in the game. Does that problem crop up more?

A few people pass comment, might say something about one of your companions or something, but it doesn't stop the game or interfere at all. You can talk to the new NPC's, but with a few scripted exceptions they usually say "What do you need?" and the only response you can give is "I need to get going". They're for ambience and verisimilitude, and they fit that purpose well in my opinion. You'll need to play through the 4GB exe though as obviously it adds a lot more for the game to compute. But I'd say it's worth it, turns the game into a modern PC RPG epic for all senses rather than just the writing and lore.

[Tikey]

Giant Fucking Ants *shudders*

Did someone say giant ants?

[ZamFear]

And if I don't want to be Daniel Day-Lewis from Gangs of New York?

You're right, that scenario would never come up.

There's also this lovely number, if you'd rather look like a classy lady.

[sonson]

Getting an annoying issue whereby I'm lagging as the game progresses irrespective of what's happening. I can load an earlier save on the Strip and be running at 45 FPS easy, and my current save, in the exact same location, is down to 17.5 FPS, absolutely no difference in any settings what so ever. Ditto for other locations, earlier saves all at a steady 40+, current one pretty much 15-17 at most. Pip Boy is also laggy as are menus all of a sudden. I've turned the shaders on and off and it's making a diffence of a few frames per second at most, so it's not graphics related.

It almost feels like the game is remembering and storing everything I do so that as I progress there's more for it to carry or something. Could be a memory leak but that wouldn't explain my reloading it and it being exactly the same probelm seconds into a new play through Its playable enough at the current rate but I have no idea whether it's going to keep dropping as I play. Anyone else ever get this?

Edit: FPS now gone to 8 on exactly the same save as before, other saves easily at 40+, loading up the same area and it's the same. Tried running other games to make sure it's not hardware and the Witcher 2 is running about 45 no bother.

Think this play through is dead.

[squareking]

Gnomoria! Despite my massive backlog and notably my Dark Souls playthrough, I can't tear myself away from Gnomoria.

[thegooseking]

I finally started playing King Arthur: The Role-Playing Wargame, which I won in Steam's Winter Sale back in 2011. I put it off for a long time because I didn't like Medieval 2: Total War, but King Arthur, apart from erring more on the fantasy side of the legend than the historical side, has characters it's a lot easier to care about, helping engagement with what's going on no end.

However, I read an interview with Fred Wester where he accused gamers of confusing accessibility with "dumbing down", and I was quietly agreeing with him... until I played King Arthur. He said King Arthur should have been more accessible, but it's plenty accessible. I do so hate the phrase "dumbed down", but it's hard to see how King Arthur could be any more accessible without being dumbed down. I mean, ok, the interface could be improved, but that's mainly about making things easier to read than anything else, and surely no-one's going to cry "dumbing down!" over text being more distinguished from the background.

...Right?

[Anthile]

Batman: Aggregatibacter Actinomycetemcomitans (am I doing this right?)

*

King Arthur: The Role-Playing Wargame

Without having read said interview, I would think that he meant just how easy it was to maneuver yourself into a situation where the game becomes unwinnable and you can't do much but start over. The invisible triggers and blatantly cheating enemies didn't help with that.


*not actual ingame footage

[Heliocentric]

Batman: Aggregatibacter Actinomycetemcomitans (am I doing this right?)

Yes, now write a paragraph from the "back of the box", the new Arkham developers or rocksteady might be listening .

[TechnoJellyfish]

Finished Syberia. Urgh.

Okay, I really liked what the writing team did in terms of setting, theme and story. It's not that I found it all that engaging, but it is really different to what you usually find in games and I have to give them credit for that.

Mechanically, it is absolutely horrible, though. It's everything I ever loathed about adventure games and adds so much more. In retrospect, I think this game is about traversing screens. And a lot of backtracking. It absolutely doesn't help that the main character moves in this very slow, deliberate fashion. In fact, most screens take you five to ten seconds to get across and you're often required to travel through half a dozen of them to get where you want to. And it's about as exciting as watching as still frame with your main character performing the same ten frames of blocky animation over and over. It almost feels like a never-ending loading screen except that your required to click once every ten seconds. And that's only one of its issues. Just ... urgh.

Not going to pick up the sequel.

[Drake Sigar]

Finished Syberia. Urgh.

I picked up the box Syberia Collection for £10 on Amazon and played it for about three hours before giving up. The main character moves as if she were an old school Resident Evil character (like a tank), and while interesting, the world is filled with puzzles you often have no idea how to approach. There's no frame of reference. It's like I'm a caveman stumbling upon a toaster trying to figure out what it does, how to use it, and what to use it with.

[TomxJ]

Finished Syberia. Urgh.

Not going to pick up the sequel.

The sequel doesn't add anything new until right at the end, so don't bother if you had trouble with the first.
In Syberias defence - I hated the first hour or so, because Kate walker was a dick. But that progressed and i learned to love the game becasue it had a proper character arc.

In my opinion Syberia is not about "Traversing screens" (You can double click to run, and the painted background DESERVE to be stared at for hours!), but rather about Kate Walker learning not how not to be a dick. With Mammoths.

[TechnoJellyfish]

You can double click to run

Whaaaaaat ... Oo

OK, now I feel properly stupid for not even trying that. That's what you get for not reading the manual.

and the painted background DESERVE to be stared at for hours!

Granted, some of the designs are quite amazing.

In my opinion Syberia is not about "Traversing screens" [...], but rather about Kate Walker learning not how not to be a dick. With Mammoths.

What I wanted to say is ... every bit of gameplay gets somehow in the way of getting some enjoyment out of the admittedly unique setting and competent storytelling. I'm not easily annoyed by game mechanics and I am willing to bear a lot of design flaws if I'm getting rewarded with a captivating story. But there's something about Syberia that made me want to punch holes in my screen repeatedly.

[TomxJ]

But there's something about Syberia that made me want to punch holes in my screen repeatedly.

Like not making entrances/exits to CRUCIAL areas obvious?