Video Games: A (Sonic 3D) Blast From The Past

[Slurktan]

31 minutes ago, The Drunkard said:

Total War people talking about their upcoming releases.

The guy working on the next historical tentpole mentions they've been researching and implementing historical city layouts, so hopefully the shitty Warhammer sieges are gone, and he brings up the comment about never doing a 'third' game in a certain era to say that it isn't necessarily true anymore, so I'm tentatively hyped for Med 3 (one day).

I'm more interested in that they are releasing a campaign expansion for an older game.  Which one?  I hope not Rome 2 as that's already got big ones same with Shogun 2.  So I'd guess Empire.... maybe some WW1?  It would never happen but I'd love a med 2 expansion though.  Why?  Because modders can do things in that game that they can't with anything after.  Some of the mods for that game are just better than anything CA has put out.

Gah probably just an Alexander expansion for Rome 2

Also any potential Med 3 would be 3 games down the line so what... 2021 at earliest?

[The Drunkard]

8 minutes ago, Slurktan said:

I'm more interested in that they are releasing a campaign expansion for an older game.  Which one?  I hope not Rome 2 as that's already got big ones same with Shogun 2.  So I'd guess Empire.... maybe some WW1?  It would never happen but I'd love a med 2 expansion though.  Why?  Because modders can do things in that game that they can't with anything after.  Some of the mods for that game are just better than anything CA has put out.

Gah probably just an Alexander expansion for Rome 2

Also any potential Med 3 would be 3 games down the line so what... 2021 at earliest?

I'm hoping the expansion is for Attila (since it's the only one I own aside from Med 2) but I think it's Rome 2. They released a piece of artwork for it a while ago and it was a Germanic-looking guy. And the Saga title looks like Ireland. 

[Corvinus85]

I don't expect to see any spin off or expansion of a game previous to Rome 2. The saga one could be set in early medieval times, but they'll probably use the Attila/Rome 2 game features.

The city layout comment is intriguing. It could mean they want to develop urban warfare more, and thus, it might mean the new historical era game could be set in more modern times. Or it could just mean that they found an era with plenty of good historical records (and archaeological discoveries)

[Werthead]

CA have gotten pretty big. They now have 4 teams at work on Total War and a fifth team working on other projects (like Alien: Isolation).

It looks like their roster at the moment is:

2018: Expansion for previous game. This might be something for Rome II or Empire, although at this point I'd be expecting a full revamp or outright sequel to Empire rather than anything just using the original game graphics (they use the same engine, still). Still, they say it's for the "biggest game CA has ever done" which, in terms of scope, is inarguably Empire.

2019: Warhammer III, likely to come out 18 months after Warhammer II.

2019 or 2020: Total War Saga, likely a Viking-themed game revolving around Ireland. They've admitted it is Ireland and the screenshot hints they've released suggest this is what they're going with. This is a stand-alone but smaller-scaled game, like Fall of the Samurai or Attila.

2020 or 2021: New historical game. This won't be Medieval III but it will be a "whole new era". CA have been looking at "relatively obscure" eras but it's unclear if they mean this would be an obscure era or one that's obscure to certain people (a Warring States or Three Kingdoms game wouldn't be obscure at all to a lot of people, but might be to people with zero interest in Chinese history).

[Jace, Extat]

13 hours ago, The Drunkard said:

I'm hoping the expansion is for Attila (since it's the only one I own aside from Med 2) but I think it's Rome 2. They released a piece of artwork for it a while ago and it was a Germanic-looking guy. And the Saga title looks like Ireland. 

 

7 hours ago, Corvinus said:

I don't expect to see any spin off or expansion of a game previous to Rome 2. The saga one could be set in early medieval times, but they'll probably use the Attila/Rome 2 game features.

The city layout comment is intriguing. It could mean they want to develop urban warfare more, and thus, it might mean the new historical era game could be set in more modern times. Or it could just mean that they found an era with plenty of good historical records (and archaeological discoveries)

 

6 hours ago, Werthead said:

CA have gotten pretty big. They now have 4 teams at work on Total War and a fifth team working on other projects (like Alien: Isolation).

It looks like their roster at the moment is:

2018: Expansion for previous game. This might be something for Rome II or Empire, although at this point I'd be expecting a full revamp or outright sequel to Empire rather than anything just using the original game graphics (they use the same engine, still). Still, they say it's for the "biggest game CA has ever done" which, in terms of scope, is inarguably Empire.

2019: Warhammer III, likely to come out 18 months after Warhammer II.

2019 or 2020: Total War Saga, likely a Viking-themed game revolving around Ireland. They've admitted it is Ireland and the screenshot hints they've released suggest this is what they're going with. This is a stand-alone but smaller-scaled game, like Fall of the Samurai or Attila.

2020 or 2021: New historical game. This won't be Medieval III but it will be a "whole new era". CA have been looking at "relatively obscure" eras but it's unclear if they mean this would be an obscure era or one that's obscure to certain people (a Warring States or Three Kingdoms game wouldn't be obscure at all to a lot of people, but might be to people with zero interest in Chinese history).

Will return later with more in-depth discussion points, but might the 30 years' war be in play?

You wanna talk Total War? You got the 3rd Punic, Caesar in Gaul, the Mongols, the 30 years', WWI and WWII to work with.

They've literally done Punic wars and Caesar in Gaul 2 games ago, and WWI and WWII are anything but obscure. Mongols is basically Attila just... with more Chinese and Steppe peoples so and eastward expansion of the existing map basically (I'd play the shit out of that game and resurrect my Romans' fate. I'd have to hope they set the start date early enough that I can fight off the western animals that seek to sack my precious bastion of Christendom!).

So I could totally see them doing that, 'cause it'd be really fucking easy and we've already seen them working on the idea of combining maps retroactively. I wouldn't be surprised at all if they ended up beginning a pattern of fracturing their Historical titles over 3 or 4 year release windows.

Meanwhile, the 30 years' war! I don't think many Americans are familiar with the period and while it's not really a new 'era' who gives a shit? They'll say it's a new era of religious tension in europe or some shit. Then you get all of the fun of having Gats and the age of sail and exploration and shit, there's just a lot going on at the time. They could kick it off in like 1600 and wrap that shit up with Napoleon. There's all kinds or wild stuff going down in the world right there. The first game would focus on Europe and North America, the second and third would start exploring either Asia or the Americas. (I always love saying 'The Americas' ever since I saw Black Sails I can't help but give it an inflection like I'm a pirate) And with each release, they just connect the maps like a puzzle piece. So you can't take a Pirate Republic into Italy unless you've already bought the first game.
 

Etc... For other examples of 'Total War', I think those just fall under the umbrella of human tragedies and holocausts' which... probably not a good mass market experience to sell to people.

Even Hearts of Iron 4 keeps the Nazi stuff to a vague reference to Lebenstraum once in the tech tree.

[Werthead]

14 minutes ago, Pony Queen Jace said:

Will return later with more in-depth discussion points, but might the 30 years' war be in play?

You wanna talk Total War? You got the 3rd Punic, Caesar in Gaul, the Mongols, the 30 years', WWI and WWII to work with.

They've literally done Punic wars and Caesar in Gaul 2 games ago, and WWI and WWII are anything but obscure. Mongols is basically Attila just... with more Chinese and Steppe peoples so and eastward expansion of the existing map basically (I'd play the shit out of that game and resurrect my Romans' fate. I'd have to hope they set the start date early enough that I can fight off the western animals that seek to sack my precious bastion of Christendom!).

So I could totally see them doing that, 'cause it'd be really fucking easy and we've already seen them working on the idea of combining maps retroactively. I wouldn't be surprised at all if they ended up beginning a pattern of fracturing their Historical titles over 3 or 4 year release windows.

Meanwhile, the 30 years' war! I don't think many Americans are familiar with the period and while it's not really a new 'era' who gives a shit? They'll say it's a new era of religious tension in europe or some shit. Then you get all of the fun of having Gats and the age of sail and exploration and shit, there's just a lot going on at the time. They could kick it off in like 1600 and wrap that shit up with Napoleon. There's all kinds or wild stuff going down in the world right there. The first game would focus on Europe and North America, the second and third would start exploring either Asia or the Americas. (I always love saying 'The Americas' ever since I saw Black Sails I can't help but give it an inflection like I'm a pirate) And with each release, they just connect the maps like a puzzle piece. So you can't take a Pirate Republic into Italy unless you've already bought the first game.
 

Etc... For other examples of 'Total War', I think those just fall under the umbrella of human tragedies and holocausts' which... probably not a good mass market experience to sell to people.

Even Hearts of Iron 4 keeps the Nazi stuff to a vague reference to Lebenstraum once in the tech tree.

The "obscure" line was a reference to the fact that CA said they'd been looking at multiple periods "some of them really obscure". The new game might be one of these obscure periods but it might be something better-known. Your metric on what qualifies as "obscure" will of course vary.

More exciting is the idea that Medieval III is back on the cards (I can't see them doing a Rome III or a Shogun III until after a Medieval III). A follow-up to Medieval II is long overdue.

 

 

[Jace, Extat]

6 minutes ago, Werthead said:

The "obscure" line was a reference to the fact that CA said they'd been looking at multiple periods "some of them really obscure". The new game might be one of these obscure periods but it might be something better-known. Your metric on what qualifies as "obscure" will of course vary.

More exciting is the idea that Medieval III is back on the cards (I can't see them doing a Rome III or a Shogun III until after a Medieval III). A follow-up to Medieval II is long overdue.

 

 

Oh, 200 per cent agree! I'd love it. I really can't play Med 2, as there's not enough to do. I'd be all-in on a revisit.

[l2 0 5 5]

20 hours ago, Pony Queen Jace said:

Well, Ross. We have a checkered pass, you and I, but having not looked into this matter any further than your perspective here(and almost certainly never will unless it's big enough to be on Deadspin) I agree wholeheartedly. Although I kind of hope that you're overreacting to the level of outrage, because I'm imagining like fifteen D- level youtubers made tweets about the issue.

But yeah, I agree anyone who is offended is an idiot. It's a violent fucking game, people get viol fucked up in LoU. I smashed like a hundred women over the head with bricks in the last one, didn't interrupt my experience at all.

Oh, definitely more than d- level youtubers... bleeding hearts:

http://www.ign.com/articles/2017/11/02/opinion-the-last-of-us-part-2s-trailer-misses-the-point

https://www.polygon.com/2017/10/30/16571230/last-of-us-part-2-trailer-violence-women

Our checkered past is of board lore. But that is of the past.... 

20 hours ago, The Anti-Targ said:

Are spoilers required for trailer commentary now?

I wasn't aware of any internet outrage. Very strange considering it's LOU. What do people expect? Did they play the first game? I was probably half way through TLOU when I decided it was people Joel and Ellie needed to be afraid of. The infected are much easier to deal with. Ultimately, the depths to which humanity can sink is the real horror in this kind of story.

Personally, I don't think so, but some peeps are sensitive to that stuff. Maybe I've grown soft. Check out the articles I posted. I was blown away by the level of viral tears and sniffling I was reading. 

[Jace, Extat]

4 minutes ago, l2 0 5 5 said:

Oh, definitely more than d- level youtubers... bleeding hearts:

http://www.ign.com/articles/2017/11/02/opinion-the-last-of-us-part-2s-trailer-misses-the-point

https://www.polygon.com/2017/10/30/16571230/last-of-us-part-2-trailer-violence-women

Our checkered past is of board lore. But that is of the past.... 

Personally, I don't think so, but some peeps are sensitive to that stuff. Maybe I've grown soft. Check out the articles I posted. I was blown away by the level of viral tears and sniffling I was reading. 

Fuck.

Well, is the trailer good? Is it worth muting the news and reaching over to my speaker to turn it up?

[Mr. Chatywin et al.]

OK loaded question, which console system is the best for a causal gamer? I have to ask because I haven't owned one in years, but I want to get back into gaming. To give you an idea of what I like, my three favorite games are Madden, Diablo 2 and Counter-Strike. 

[Jace, Extat]

Just now, Tywin et al. said:

OK loaded question, which console system is the best for a causal gamer? I have to ask because I haven't owned one in years, but I want to get back into gaming. To give you an idea of what I like, my three favorite games are Madden, Diablo 2 and Counter-Strike. 

PS4, probably. Pretty cheap, lots of games available like that. You're not going to be playing Counter-Strike on it, but you said casual.

Obviously Madden is available. Diablo 3 is on PS4 I think, and you have shooters even if you need a controller.

If you wanted to consider joining the PC Master Race, there are actually some pretty nice upcoming options you could look into for making a surprisingly cheap top of the line machine. Fuck, there's an 80 percent chance that you could get a rig that'll run literally any game you might play casually within an hour of reading this post for less than 2 grand.

But yeah, if you're not looking for that I suggest the play station. Just a better console with better exclusives.

[l2 0 5 5]

10 minutes ago, Pony Queen Jace said:

Fuck.

Well, is the trailer good? Is it worth muting the news and reaching over to my speaker to turn it up?

It provides 5 solid minutes that are undoubtedly more entertaining than the news. The graphics are a huge upgrade (Duh?).

[Jace, Extat]

Just now, l2 0 5 5 said:

It provides 5 solid minutes that are undoubtedly more entertaining than the news. The graphics are a huge upgrade (Duh?).

Ok, but I'm gonna get some carryout first.

[Jace, Extat]

I don't think that was a very good trailer.

[Werthead]

Started playing Wolfenstein: The New Order (the sequel will have to wait until it's on sale). Surprisingly impressed so far. It's definitely more at the Half-Life/BioShock/Metro end of smart shooters going for more interactivity, puzzles and characters rather than just insane amounts of shooting, although it's got that as well. I've been pleasantly surprised by the quality of the stealth, which is very robust for what is primarily an action game. I also give a shit about the characters, which I was not expecting, and the game has a truly preposterous variation on how to kill Nazis.

It's also decent in length. Almost 6 hours in, when most modern FPS have long since concluded their stories, and this feels like it's barely getting started.

[Rhom]

1 hour ago, Pony Queen Jace said:

I don't think that was a very good trailer.

Didn’t do anything for me.

 

[l2 0 5 5]

Yeah it by no means provided any insight to what's going on in the next installment. Borderline more entertaining than the news?

[briantw]

38 minutes ago, Werthead said:

Started playing Wolfenstein: The New Order (the sequel will have to wait until it's on sale). Surprisingly impressed so far. It's definitely more at the Half-Life/BioShock/Metro end of smart shooters going for more interactivity, puzzles and characters rather than just insane amounts of shooting, although it's got that as well. I've been pleasantly surprised by the quality of the stealth, which is very robust for what is primarily an action game. I also give a shit about the characters, which I was not expecting, and the game has a truly preposterous variation on how to kill Nazis.

It's also decent in length. Almost 6 hours in, when most modern FPS have long since concluded their stories, and this feels like it's barely getting started.

Both The New Order and The Old Blood took me about ten hours (each, not total) to complete.  They are definitely a step up from some of the more recent Call of Duty games that took four to five hours to finish.  Granted, no multiplayer, but I don't care about that anyway since I just play Team Fortress 2 when I want a MP shooter.

[Jace, Extat]

56 minutes ago, Rhom said:

Didn’t do anything for me.

 

 

29 minutes ago, l2 0 5 5 said:

Yeah it by no means provided any insight to what's going on in the next installment. Borderline more entertaining than the news?

Yeah, it was pretty random to me. I didn't know who or what anyone was doing or why. Like, did they just always wanna make a video of a chick getting her 'wing' broked and another chick getting strangled? Put it in the game if you want, where there's some context, what I watched earlier was just an odd display of violence.

[The Anti-Targ]

The LOU2 trailer could have been a trailer for any dystopian horror game at all. The only think that made it a LOU2 trailer was the title at the end. Even the infected in the final second were a blur. In that context it was not a good trailer because it does very little to generate enthusiasm or interest. As a trailer for a dystopian horror game it's intriguing, as a LOU trailer it's decidedly meh.