Video Games: Dawn of Waaaaagh!

[Rhom]

Did we always know the NES Classic was just going to be a limited run thing?!!?

I would have tried to actually get one had I known...

[Fez]

16 minutes ago, Rhom said:

Did we always know the NES Classic was just going to be a limited run thing?!!?

I would have tried to actually get one had I known...

We didn't. Once again Nintendo doesn't know how to maintain supply chains or market their hardware products.

[Rhom]

45 minutes ago, Fez said:

We didn't. Once again Nintendo doesn't know how to maintain supply chains or market their hardware products.

Considering how popular they were with my demographic (30's - 40's middle class) it practically seems like they were printing money with those things.  Seems awfully short sighted to kill it now.   

[Ferrum Aeternum]

31 minutes ago, Rhom said:

Considering how popular they were with my demographic (30's - 40's middle class) it practically seems like they were printing money with those things.  Seems awfully short sighted to kill it now.   

Yep, all it's going to do is create a blistering secondary market where lots of Persons not named Nintendo are going to rake in cash off the things. That company's logic makes no sense whatsoever. 

[briantw]

If Nintendo were smart they'd start releasing ports of their classic games on the PC, either via Steam or their own proprietary service.  People pirate ROMs of their classics all the time to play on the PC.  Why not make some money off of it? 

I feel the same way about Square being picky about where they release some of their classics.  There's literally no good reason that there isn't a Chrono Trigger port on Steam, for example.  It's just free money.

[RumHam]

I have an old broken NES and I keep meaning to order a raspberry pi and make my own non-mini version. Only problem is I have no idea how to cut the plastic in way that wouldn't look really ugly. Unless I found a USB to NES controller adapter and just used real NES controllers with it. 

[briantw]

2 minutes ago, RumHam said:

I have an old broken NES and I keep meaning to order a raspberry pi and make my own non-mini version. Only problem is I have no idea how to cut the plastic in way that wouldn't look really ugly. Unless I found a USB to NES controller adapter and just used real NES controllers with it. 

A simpler way might be to just get a Steam Link and google how to play classic games on it.  Not only can you play all your classic Nintendo (or Sega, or whatever else) games, but you can play all your Steam games as well.

[RumHam]

Hm I'd never heard of that. Thanks for the recommendation I'll look into it. I do have a lot of Steam games and while something that looks like an NES would be neat to have, I probably wouldn't actually play with it for very long. 

[briantw]

Just now, RumHam said:

Hm I'd never heard of that. Thanks for the recommendation I'll look into it. I do have a lot of Steam games and while something that looks like an NES would be neat to have, I probably wouldn't actually play with it for very long. 

Just note that you pretty much need a wired connection to the Steam Link for it to function properly, and obviously you need a PC capable of playing the games you want to stream.

[drawkcabi]

Holy moly!

I just bought mine a week ago today!  Now they're selling on Amazon for over $300.00

On Ebay Buy it nows over $450.00 and no auctions currently under $200.00.

So is this gonna be remembered with Virtual Boy and backing out of a partnership with Sony as some of Nintendo's dumbest decisions?

[briantw]

I'm not sure I've ever seen a company as averse to making money as Nintendo.  They have a backlog of absolute classic games but just have seemingly no interest in selling them to us.

[Inigima]

Beat Hollow Knight this morning. Probably not gonna bother returning for the good ending, fights are awfully hard for it. Might come back if they're really releasing a new playable character.

Onward to Yooka-Laylee. So far it is the most Banjo-Kazooie game possible that doesn't have Banjo-Kazooie in its name.

[Caligula_K3]

On 4/14/2017 at 0:07 AM, Simon Steele said:

I'll be honest--this game is friggin' obtuse. I can't figure how to upgrade the Nomad. Or how to earn certain points like Milky Way points over Heleus points, or how to get more of certain crafting materials more than +30 at a time. 

Definitely a lot of obtuse systems in this game. To upgrade the Nomad, just check random shops under the vehicle heading. As soon as you buy an upgrade it's applied to the Nomad. Some of them are pretty great: increased speed in 6 wheel drive mode, longer boost, having the Nomad set up a shield system when you get out of it so you can survive longer in bad habitats, etc...

Crafting is also way too complicated, but the nice thing is it's not necessary. I've found some really awesome weapons (Krogan Hammer!!!) out in loot containers- the Andromeda Perk that points out hidden caches is particularly useful for that. If you do get into the crafting, I find it's best to just buy lots of minerals I need from stores, though some planets will give you tons of particular minerals as you're out exploring. You can make some pretty bonkers weapons if you want (I like my laser pistol that ricochets off walls, along with my grenade launching sniper rifle).

It's such an inconsistent game all around, but I'm having a lot of fun with it. Some companions are just flat out bad (Cora, I think, beats out Kaiden and Jacob for worst Mass Effect companion of all time), the main plot and a lot of the writing is very sloppy, and some planets are just boring to explore, with lots of annoying fetch quests and irritating sudoku puzzles (Voeld comes to mind). But then some of the companions are really enjoyable (Drack, Vetra, Jaal come to mind, and I do love the pilot, Kallo), some of the writing and worldbuilding is very well done, and some of the worlds are more dynamic and have lots of interesting quests (Kadara, Havarl, and Elaaden so far for me). I'm even starting to enjoy my version of Ryder, who I'm playing as a cocky in-over-her-head selfish leader. It's too bad, because there really is a great game somewhere in here, but there's just too much, with too little quality control and overall coherence.

[TrueMetis]

So I got Yooka-Laylee and find myself disappointed. It's not a platformer for the modern age, it adds nothing substantial while doing several things worse than the original. About the only thing that's an improvement over the Banjo Series is that you don't have to recollect quills when you return to the level. While other things, like the ability to fly from wherever you want, make much of the platforming aspect pointless. The worlds don't feel as fleshed out, they don't feel as large as Tooie (though I'm pretty sure that once extended they are larger), and the puzzles aren't nearly as unique. The enemies are weak, the boss battles are basic, and the characters pretty bland overall. I'm sure a main cause of this is lack of time and funding, but it doesn't feel like a successor, it feels like a rip off.

Still enjoy it, but I've firmly placed it away from Banjo Kazooie to do so.

[Corvinus85]

On 4/13/2017 at 11:07 PM, Simon Steele said:

I'll be honest--this game is friggin' obtuse. I can't figure how to upgrade the Nomad. Or how to earn certain points like Milky Way points over Heleus points, or how to get more of certain crafting materials more than +30 at a time. 

It took me quite some time to figure out how to do a bunch of stuff. For example I learned how to use consumables just by I accidentally hitting the Tab button when I wasn't even in combat. I'm still not sure how to use augmentations. I researched a few, but then when I try to develop a new piece of armor they're not there to augment the armor. I know that you have to read carefully, that some are only for guns, and so on, but there are those that seem to be for all gear, but still don't see them. 

You earn Milky Way points by scanning Milky Way tech, which implicitly makes it the hardest to get, because you mostly encounter Andromeda tech. But scanning various stuff on the Nexus, or where the exiles are will get you points.

8 hours ago, Caligula_K3 said:

It's such an inconsistent game all around, but I'm having a lot of fun with it. Some companions are just flat out bad (Cora, I think, beats out Kaiden and Jacob for worst Mass Effect companion of all time), the main plot and a lot of the writing is very sloppy, and some planets are just boring to explore, with lots of annoying fetch quests and irritating sudoku puzzles (Voeld comes to mind). But then some of the companions are really enjoyable (Drack, Vetra, Jaal come to mind, and I do love the pilot, Kallo), some of the writing and worldbuilding is very well done, and some of the worlds are more dynamic and have lots of interesting quests (Kadara, Havarl, and Elaaden so far for me). I'm even starting to enjoy my version of Ryder, who I'm playing as a cocky in-over-her-head selfish leader. It's too bad, because there really is a great game somewhere in here, but there's just too much, with too little quality control and overall coherence.

I'm actually going for romancing Cora. I don't mind her. It's Liam that kinda gets on my nerves.

Also, I prefer Voeld over Havarl, on account of getting to use the Nomad so much, and Havarl there just too many creatures you have to fight. And all that jumping around. But I do like that each world is different enough to keep things interesting. I don't even find the activation of vaults that repetitive. There are a few things different to each one.

[DunderMifflin]

AVP pods will give u research points if you open a science one.
Also sending strike teams gives you some. You can recruit new strike teams as you get points so you can send more than one at a time.

Agree Liam is kinda boring as a character but he's one of the better ones to have in battle. Those grenades come in handy. I think only Drack is more useful in battle than Liam.
 

[Centrist Simon Steele]

On 4/13/2017 at 10:28 PM, Pony Queen Jace said:

Simon, I feel you. I think the game is legit awful and only the blinders of Fandom has allowed it to achieve even mediocre status in the eyes of the video game cognicenti.

 

I think there are a lot of us--but a lot of apologists too. I read an article the other day where the interviewer was telling one of the Bioware guys that basically "complainers" were ruining the game due to "some bad animations." The game has so many more problems than its animations. And, oh, by the way, those animations are pretty awful. I don't see Bioware turning it around (this is unfortunate--I want them to turn it around, I loved Mass Effect 1 and 2 and some of 3). They seem like they outright refuse to hear criticism. 

[Fez]

5 hours ago, Simon Steele said:

I think there are a lot of us--but a lot of apologists too. I read an article the other day where the interviewer was telling one of the Bioware guys that basically "complainers" were ruining the game due to "some bad animations." The game has so many more problems than its animations. And, oh, by the way, those animations are pretty awful. I don't see Bioware turning it around (this is unfortunate--I want them to turn it around, I loved Mass Effect 1 and 2 and some of 3). They seem like they outright refuse to hear criticism. 

So after 80 hours (some of which was MP), I'm feeling pretty burned out on ME:A myself. There's good stuff in there, but its spread too thin. And there's definitely some not good stuff; I finally got to Liam's loyalty mission and the writing was just awful. Also, I don't know if it was the new patch or bad luck, but I've had the game freeze several times on me recently. I'm going to take a break and try to get back to it later.

I'm not ready to say all of Bioware is having problems though. From what I've heard, SW:TOR still has top-notch writing and storylines; you just have to be in the mood for an MMO.

[Inigima]

I thought this was known, but ME:A was not developed by the team that made the first three ME games. BioWare Montreal hasn't made much that's entirely their own; their previous contribution to the ME series was basically the ME3 multiplayer. This game was never going to live up to the rest of the series.

[Fez]

Supposedly Bioware Edmonton was brought in over the last year to help out. But it's unclear what exactly that entailed or to what extent they were involved. So that may or may not say anything about them as well.

SWTOR is Bioware Austin, and that's all they do, but several of Bioware's best writers stilp with the company have been transferred there over thr years.