Video Games: No Man's Pie

[Jace, Extat]

12 minutes ago, Vriskasro8otarm said:

Most DLC's are extra songs and "skins" they sell as tips for their artists. The skins mostly make your regional/ethnical people look a lot more distinct.

The main DLC's are: 

Sword of Islam - makes Muslim faction and mechanics available. Worth it if you see yourself wanting to try them out.

Legacy of Rome - a must buy if only so you can have retinues, aka CK2 version of standing army precursors. IIRC you love Byzantium so you'll love to hear Byzantium gets a lot of flavour events, as well as the possibility to Mend the Schism(basically conquer and convert key provinces/holy sites to Orthodoxy(dunno if they added other religions as available too, so long as you're Byz) AND to Restore the Roman Empire(you have to conquer a lot more stuff for this one though).

Sunset Invasion - so, around 1230-1270 in standard game you get the Mongol Invasion. This is a DLC that adds a fantasy invasion in a "what if Vikings did establish permanent colonies and assimilated into Native Americans/Mesoamericans" then proceeded to try and conquer "the Old World". It's also an extra end-game challenge so it's up to you if you want it.

The Old Gods - moves the start date back to 867, unlocks options to play as Pagan of various kinds(to which they added later, either as patch or inserted as part of other DLC's, a lot more features, with Norse being the best one to play still) and Zoroastrian, the adventurer mechanic(basically a random person gets an army and tries to conquer a region), and improved rebellions and rebellion factions. This is also a must one DLC to get.

Sons of Abraham - allows you to play as a Jew and improves upon all three main Abrahamic religion mechanics, like adding Muslim factions schools and a College of Cardinals and interactions for Catholicism. Up to you to get it if you want to.

Rajas of India - adds India to map, 3 more religions(Buddhism, Hinduism and Jainism which are fairly unique). It also makes the game run slower cause it adds a lot of provinces and tags etc. so again up to you to get them.

Charlemagne - adds 769 start date, the option to play as Zunists, and is a must buy if you want to create custom empires/kingdoms/duchies/counties(and appoint Viceroys)

The Way of Life - I think it's a must buy because it adds a ton of events, diplomatic interactions, flavour stuff and general depth to the game.

The Horse Lords - adds Nomadic factions as playable, nomadic mechanics, forts and Silk Road events/mechanics. Up to you if you want it.

Conclave - an expansion similar to The Way of Life, adding a lot of depth/mechanics to the game, like conclaves, the Favour system(if you help out people they help out you), revised education etc. I think it's def a good expansion to get, also the next one too.

The Reapers Due - the last main DLC, another focused on adding more depth to the game, with a lot of narrative events, reworked illness system(adding hospitals/doctors etc.), new prisoner interactions, etc.

I mean if I were you I'd get all the main DLC's on sale and only on super sale the extra artist DLC's.

Main exp for EU4:

Conquest of Paradise - There are 3 main features - playing as Native Americans in a much better way than before(not Mesoamericans, yet), a Random New World Generator(not worth it unless you get expansions which made it better) and possibility to play as Colonial Nations. Get if you want to play as Native Americans and better colonisation stuff.(and Random New World too if you really want to get all main expansions cause I don't remember which ones really improved it, sorry)

Wealth of Nations - adds a decent amount of diplomatic options, Trade Capital designation, Trade Companies and extra Hindu stuff. Good DLC to get.

Res Publica - smaller DLC focused mostly on Merchant Republics, adding a lot of stuff for them(and Dutch Republic), and gives new idea groups. You should get it just for the functionality and idea groups alone, and it's less expensive than the rest of them.

Art of War - this is THE DLC to get. It adds a fuckton of provinces and nations across the globe, 30 Years War mechanics and events(so the religious Wars can start across Europe), a lot of QoL mechanics like army/navy templates(basically if you want to make a 50k men army, you can just make a template of 30k infrantry, 8k cavalry and 12k artillery and the game will build each regiment in the 50 nearest provinces and rally them to the one you started it in), extra diplomacy options, more vassal interaction and options to create client states(like Napoleon did).

El Dorado - almost a must have DLC - you get Mesoamerican religions, events and mechanics, exploration mechanics to explore the World, Circumnavigate it, The Tready of Tordesillas event so you protect your colonial rights, the narrative event "The Seven Cities of Gold" where you can get a lot of cool bonuses if you take it as a colonizer nation, and a custom nation creator

Common Sense - must have DLC(as the name implies) - adds Parliaments, province development, new mechanics for Buddhism and Protestant religions, extra subject interactions, government ranks(this is seriously good though) and mechanics for Theocracies and Free Cities(like Hanza cities).

The Cossacks - also must have - adds Estates which are basically factions but with extra province interactions, the ability to set your own atitude towards AI nations, mechanics for Horde/Nomad nations and their religion, and some other cool stuff.

Mare Nostrum - a decent although not essential focused on extra depth for the game, like adding some espionage actions/stuff, the ability to hire out your army as condottieri so you can help nations in their wars vs people you hate more than them, etc.

(I don't remember but either The Cossacks or Mare Nostrum added a lot more Central-South African provinces and nations so you also have them to play as, as well as their Fetishist Religion(not like sexual fetishists but sth like totemist but different), AND the option for at least Catholics and Orthodox if not others to restore the Roman Empire)

Rights of Man - it'll be a new DLC and from everything I read about it, it sounds as must have, with a lot more QoL mechanics, personality traits for Monarchs, new interactions between nations etc.

Also, Purple Phoenix and Star and Crescent are two small DLC's focused on Byzantium and Ottomans that are good to get for extra flavour and events for those two nations. American Dream is the same for the US although a lot more buggy, and there's a free DLC Women in History which is pretty cool and is free so...

I hope this helps!

Much gratitude, young man! I already got the Charly and Old Gods DLC today and bungled a Prussian campaign, so I think imma stick with those for the moment as I'm still learning the game, but I will use this post as a reference point henceforth. And you're right on the Byzantium point (one of my good friends and I have a running bit/dispute in which I continually refer to them as the 'True Holy Roman Empire'), I had my eye on that DLC but I'm not nearly good enough at the game to try and hold Asia Minor at this point.

Do you know of any good youtubes tutorials for either game? I like to watch them at work.

[Mme Erzulie]

That Star Citizen game looks incredible. Need to get rich so I can get a powerhouse gaming pc (I assume this is a pc only game?) for when it comes out. I guess there's always the chance that it won't deliver on its promise, but that video did what it was supposed to.

I just got an Xbox One S, and holy shit, Microsoft are bad at UI. It's somehow both uglier and less intuitive than the 360, and from what I've understood so far, the only way of getting a background picture is via a USB stick? What the actual fuck? How about let me just download an image through the Holy E browser or whatever it's called and just use that? It has also been "background updating" for hours now, which means that I can't turn the machine on or off, it just sits there and blinks its little Xbox light at me. Not massively impressed so far.

But included in the bundle was FIFA 17 (and a month of EA Access, so I can play the game for 10 hours before it's officially released), and playing a couple of games and just starting a manager career (the only thing I do on FIFA apart from playing with friends), and I'm very impressed so far. This feels like a major overhaul as opposed to the incremental changes and polishing we've got over the past few iterations. I know it doesn't make sense to reinvent the whole game every year, but the changes I've seen so far have all been tangible upgrades, and in areas where they were sorely needed. New graphics engine (Frostbite), which looks good. It usually takes me a little while to get used to how players move and ball gravity plays out, but first impressions are very good. Ball has a nice "weight" to it, and players' speed makes a bigger difference than in '16 - if a speedster gets past you, he's gone. And the goals I've conceded and scored so far have all felt appropriately realistic, whether it's a scrappy rebound after a chaotic corner or an unstoppable bullet from the edge of the box.

The AI also seems much better (too soon to fully call it, I know). Teams don't seem to suddenly turn into Barcelona the last 5-10 minutes of a match, individual players do not turn into human tornadoes if you charge them and their decision making, actions and reactions seem much more natural and realistic than '16. 

The changes in career mode are also instantly apparent. I've started out with League 2 minnows Newport, and they don't give a hoot about sporting achievements, they just want me to save them money, fill the stadium and develop young players. It instantly changes the way I approach the job and adds variety. There's also a manager popularity metric, which, if implemented properly, could be a lot of fun. Really excited to get stuck in once the game is out properly.

[The Anti-Targ]

On 24/09/2016 at 3:08 PM, Maelys I Blackfyre said:

Sometimes I feel like the only person in the world who really likes the new Battlefront. I don't understand the hate. It's a great, fun shooting game. Maybe because it isn't competitive in nature, that's where some of the criticism comes from? I don't know, I just have a lot of fun playing it.

No SP campaign = no buy from me as I have no interest in MP. So the game is dead to me.

[Magnar of Skagos]

48 minutes ago, The Anti-Targ said:

No SP campaign = no buy from me as I have no interest in MP. So the game is dead to me.

That's fair enough. Personally, I never really played the campaign in Battlefront 2. I spent all my time in the bot matches haha.

[Jace, Extat]

4 minutes ago, Maelys I Blackfyre said:

That's fair enough. Personally, I never really played the campaign in Battlefront 2. I spent all my time in the bot matches haha.

In. Galactic. Conquest...

[Magnar of Skagos]

1 minute ago, Pony Queen Jace said:

In. Galactic. Conquest...

Is that what the mode is called? I've not played it since like 2006.

[Gorn]

11 hours ago, Pony Queen Jace said:

Much gratitude, young man! I already got the Charly and Old Gods DLC today and bungled a Prussian campaign, so I think imma stick with those for the moment as I'm still learning the game, but I will use this post as a reference point henceforth. And you're right on the Byzantium point (one of my good friends and I have a running bit/dispute in which I continually refer to them as the 'True Holy Roman Empire'), I had my eye on that DLC but I'm not nearly good enough at the game to try and hold Asia Minor at this point.

Do you know of any good youtubes tutorials for either game? I like to watch them at work.

My recommendation - start as one of the dukes in Ireland, in the 1066 start. This is how I learned to play CK2. There's a reason why Ireland is called "noob isle" in the CK2 fan community - there are few external threats, few provinces and relatively few other nobles to deal with. If you manage to become king of Ireland within 3-4 generations, you are ready try playing as one of the bigger kingdoms/empires (Catholic ones at least).

[Stannis Eats No Peaches]

On 24/09/2016 at 5:08 AM, Maelys I Blackfyre said:

Sometimes I feel like the only person in the world who really likes the new Battlefront. I don't understand the hate. It's a great, fun shooting game. Maybe because it isn't competitive in nature, that's where some of the criticism comes from? I don't know, I just have a lot of fun playing it.

It's mostly because most of  features people were expecting, i.e. Galactic Conquest, single player campaign, local offline multiplayer (though this may have been patched in IDK), space battles etc were all stripped out and replaced with... absolutely nothing. I played the beta and didn't find it that fun, so I didn't bother with the full game. I enjoy Battlefield and I buy it in spite of it being published by EA and its lack of offline gameplay because it's competitive and very immersive (for me at least), but I didn't get that feeling at all from Battlefront.

[Channel4s-JonSnow]

14 hours ago, Pony Queen Jace said:

 

Do you know of any good youtubes tutorials for either game? I like to watch them at work.

HAha, I do the exact same thing. 

My favourite so far has been this series:
 

He just seems to explain the core concepts in a much more detailed, but easy to comprehend way, where many people tend to skim over things till later, which I find quite tiresome because these videos go on for days.

[Melphis Amekia]

14 hours ago, Pony Queen Jace said:

Much gratitude, young man! I already got the Charly and Old Gods DLC today and bungled a Prussian campaign, so I think imma stick with those for the moment as I'm still learning the game, but I will use this post as a reference point henceforth. And you're right on the Byzantium point (one of my good friends and I have a running bit/dispute in which I continually refer to them as the 'True Holy Roman Empire'), I had my eye on that DLC but I'm not nearly good enough at the game to try and hold Asia Minor at this point.

Do you know of any good youtubes tutorials for either game? I like to watch them at work.

Sorry, but no, unfortunately. I learnt to play CK2 mostly on my own and some from a let's play, and EU4 all on my own. I know arumba and quill18 at least have good EU4 tutorials, but I don't know who else could help you much.

IMO watching let's plays in general can show you a lot, but it's different if you have to parse it out instead of someone explaining what is right or wrong so shrug.

[Werthead]

18 hours ago, Mmerek Hamšzulíe said:

That Star Citizen game looks incredible. Need to get rich so I can get a powerhouse gaming pc (I assume this is a pc only game?) for when it comes out. I guess there's always the chance that it won't deliver on its promise, but that video did what it was supposed to.

They did say they wanted to release it on PS4 and XB1, but the console specs came out way lower than what they were expecting (or anyone was) so I don't think it's physically possible for the consoles to handle it. Not even close.

However, I think they had some ideas about how Squadron 42 - which won't have the persistent universe elements and probably less emphasis on getting out of your ship and shooting things in FPS mode -  could be made to work with the limited console architecture, so some kind of release for that is possible.

[KiDisaster]

Still trekking through the Wastelands, having just made peace between a fanatical bunch of Christian extremists and a town based around gambling and prostitution. The game has a ton of content. It doesn't seem to track time played but I'd have to guess I'm past the 50 hour mark at this point and still have a bunch of things to do. 

I think I'm going to restart Pillars of Eternity after this for more CRPG goodness. I never got very far in it for some reason. 

[Werthead]

34 minutes ago, KiDisaster said:

Still trekking through the Wastelands, having just made peace between a fanatical bunch of Christian extremists and a town based around gambling and prostitution. The game has a ton of content. It doesn't seem to track time played but I'd have to guess I'm past the 50 hour mark at this point and still have a bunch of things to do. 

I think I'm going to restart Pillars of Eternity after this for more CRPG goodness. I never got very far in it for some reason. 

I completed Wasteland 2 in 54 hours, according to Steam, but I did seriously rush the last few sections of the game. I was so tired of scrounging for ammo that when I had a clear run to the end of the game I took it. I've seen some people get 70+ hours out of the game overall.

[The Anti-Targ]

Philly 76ers acquires esports franchises Dignitas and Apex, giving them teams in CS:GO, League of Legends, Overwatch, Heroes of the Storm and Smite.

http://www.espn.com/esports/story/_/id/17637299/76ers-acquire-esports-teams-dignitas-apex

First North American pro sports organisation to get into esports. But not the first North American sports stars to get into eSports ownership "Former NBA player Rick Fox owns Echo Fox teams. Sacramento Kings minority partners Andy Miller, Mark Mastrov and Shaquille O'Neal, along with Alex Rodriguez and Jimmy Rollins, are partners in NRG, which competes in more than five disciplines."

76ers join Man U and FC Shalke (Germany) as sports clubs that have acquired esports teams. Manchester City, West Ham and Bundesliga team Wolfsburg have signed esports stars.

[KiDisaster]

8 hours ago, Werthead said:

I completed Wasteland 2 in 54 hours, according to Steam, but I did seriously rush the last few sections of the game. I was so tired of scrounging for ammo that when I had a clear run to the end of the game I took it. I've seen some people get 70+ hours out of the game overall.

Just finished it, seems I had less left to do than I thought

I got the GOG version so no Steam time-tracker available, not that Steams Time Played is every really accurate for me. I spend too much time alt-tabbed doing other things. 

The ending seemed quite...sudden? I didn't even realize I was going into the very last series of missions until I was already past the point of no return. Really enjoyed it overall though. 

[Ruhail]

Whom, would you say are more lazy:

1) Bungie

2) Bethesda

3) Rockstar

[Stannis Eats No Peaches]

Bethesda, for using the same engine for the past 10 years? Maybe I'm missing something, but I wouldn't pick any of those three if I had to choose the laziest game developer.

[Channel4s-JonSnow]

1 hour ago, Ruhail said:

Whom, would you say are more lazy:

1) Bungie

2) Bethesda

3) Rockstar

I think most developer companies are lazy in some ways.. or at least attempting to be cost efficient. 

All the Total War games I've bought over the past 5-6 years have been essentially the same, with minor changes and graphical tweaks. Even Warhammer which I like is really more of a reskin than anything else. 

I buy Football Manager games quite often but I'm struggling to see a point in the last 5 years where they have made any serious changes to the game apart from tweaks. (They've actually not announced any new features for the new game, more than likely because they are crap)

 

[Sullen]

Started a game of CK2 as Lombardy in the Charlie start, and I have to say, it's the first time I managed to use Conclave to its maximum efficiency. Doing away with most of your vassals and only keeping 3 or 4 really powerful ones makes the game a cakewalk.

[Theda Baratheon]

Been playing so much Oblivion again lately. I was almost going towards saying I preferred Skyrim over Oblivion because the last few years i'd played tons of the former and none of the latter but Oblivion really is so much fun, has so many brilliant side characters and quests.