Video Games: "Completeness" becomes important somehow

[The Anti-Targ]

So Neverwinter is coming to PS4 finally, which means I may finally get to play it. I never managed to get it to run on my PC. Any opinions on it here?

[Lyanna Stark]

10 hours ago, RumHam said:

Mcree's doesn't bother me as much as that black hole thing that sucks you in. Every time it happens I feel like my controller is broken. It's probably the only thing in the game that frustrates me. 

Do you come up against a lot of Zaryas tho? I think I've seen her maybe a handful of times, at the most. She's as rare, or rarer, than Zenayatta and Mei.

I know there's a lot of Mei hate, but I dunno. She's really a one trick pony and the range of that ice blaster really sucks. Sure, if you happen to run around a corner and get caught with your pants down in her ice blast, then it's bye bye, but otherwise she is more of a slight annoyance than outright dangerous.

[KiDisaster]

I play Zarya quite a bit. She's amazing once you figure her out. Her ult is strong but it's easy to play around. Stay spread out so she can't hit the whole team with it and pick characters with movement abilities. Reinhardt, Tracer, Winston, Mercy, Pharrah, Genji and more can all get out of it easily since it doesn't stop you from shooting or using abilities.

17 hours ago, Shryke said:

I actually really liked Mercy. I don't mind playing support and Mercy (unlike say Zenyatta) is a position where my bad aim doesn't hurt anyone.

It's like playing Morales from HOTS (who I also love) but now with awesome zip-around-the-room flying too!

I agree, Mercy is awesome. I knew from before I even played the game that she'd be a favorite of mine seeing as I played so much Medic back in TF2. It just gets a bit stale after a while when I've played her three or four games in a row and I really want to try something else but no one else on the team will play support. I'll play Lucio sometimes to switch things up (and he's my first pick on the king of the hill maps because right clicking people off cliffs is the best thing ever) but I'm terrible at Zenyatta and Symmetra feels really underwhelming to me. Her teleporter is so goddamn useful but everything else about her kit just feels weak to me. 

[Proudfeet]

I just had my first session where I was stuck tanking/support.  I don't mind doing these, but it kind of sucks that I had to switch even after I had chosen, and in one case, midway through the round our only support decided he didn't want to do it anymore. I do have a group of friends I can play with so I don't get this problem, but they are all much better than me and I'll only be dragging them down. 

Any tips on playing Zarya and Winston? I don't quite get how their barriers work. It gets boring playing Reinhardt all the time and D.Va and Roadhog feel more like high hp assaults to me.

 

[KiDisaster]

Zarya's barriers are all about timing. They have 200 HP and block all incoming instances of damage while they're still up, but they only last about two seconds so you have to use them right when you or your ally are about to get hit. Preferably with some big ability. 200HP might not sound like a lot, but it can actually block way more than that. For example a Tracer ultimate does 400 (I think) damage as a single instance, so Zarya's shield will block all 400 damage even though it only has 200HP. Even if her shield only has 1HP left, it will still block the full 400 damage before popping. This makes it really good against big explosions or any other weapon/ability that does high damage as a single instance.

Her shields also increase the damage she deals with her weapon. For each point of damage her shields take (up to 200), she gets 0.25% increased weapon damage. For a maximum of 50% increased damage from each shield. If you time both shields well enough to absorb the max amount of damage on each, you'll be doing double your base damage for a while. You can see how much extra damage you currently have right underneath your aiming reticle. There's a number there that starts at 0 and raises to 100 as you block damage with her shields. That's the percentage of increased damage you've got. The circle around her cross hair also gets wider as you get more damage. The number will start to decrease fairly rapidly after a few seconds and you've gotta charge it up again with more shields. 

Remember the first half of her health meter is shields, which means that half of her health will regen on its own after you go a few seconds without taking damage. So don't be afraid to go in without your shield up and let the enemy start attacking you before you pop your shield. You can bait them into charging your damage up that way. The long cool down on her shields makes it very punishing if you use one and it doesn't absorb any damage so you really have to practice the timing. She's got one of the higher skill floors of all the heroes in the game IMO. 

[RumHam]

12 hours ago, Lyanna Stark said:

Do you come up against a lot of Zaryas tho? I think I've seen her maybe a handful of times, at the most. She's as rare, or rarer, than Zenayatta and Mei.

I know there's a lot of Mei hate, but I dunno. She's really a one trick pony and the range of that ice blaster really sucks. Sure, if you happen to run around a corner and get caught with your pants down in her ice blast, then it's bye bye, but otherwise she is more of a slight annoyance than outright dangerous.

You're right. I don't think Zarya needs a nerf or anything, and McCree totally does. Just for whatever reason being flash-banged doesn't annoy me nearly as much as when I'm trying to run one direction and moving in another because of the black hole thing. It's her ultimate ability though, so it's way more balanced than the flashbangs. 

[Manhole Eunuchsbane]

16 hours ago, The Anti-Targ said:

So Neverwinter is coming to PS4 finally, which means I may finally get to play it. I never managed to get it to run on my PC. Any opinions on it here?

I enjoyed it for a good 18 months or so. The story is super-linear and a bit boring. Once you're leveled it becomes a bit of a grind to get geared. The economy was probably the most enjoyable aspect of the game to me, as there is an auction house that you can game to some extent. They were really good about constant additions in terms of adding new zones every 3-4 months or so, and there was always some kind of special event going on that you could grind for gear that was only available for a limited time. PVP was pretty fun as well. There was your standard 5v5 plus two different larger scale PvP zones (like 30v30). Try and get into a competitive PvP clan, as these events were tied to zones that could grant you specific gear and such. 

TL/DR version, it is quite fun for a time, but eventually gets really grindy. Pretty much like any other MMO in that respect, I suppose.    

[Jace, Extat]

Alright, you damn nerds. Is this Total Warcraft game worth my precious time and monies? I'm about to do some youtubing and interneting, but your opinions are for some reason important to me.

So, how about it?

[Rhom]

I have found it!  A company that has both the TMNT and the X-Men arcade cabinets from the early 90's!!!!!

I'm more than a little surprised at how hard it has been to find.  I search here and there over the years, but not with any regularity.  This company just recently started popping up in my Facebook feed, but all the ads were for Pinball machines (go figure with a name like "The Pinball Company") and those fake arcade boxes that have like 100 games in them, so I never bothered clicking on the link until today.

Shipping cost is a nightmare on top of a couple grand for the unit itself, but my basement really does need these things!  SF2: CE is also tempting, but I'd be more interested if it were the Super SF2. 

This won't be a tomorrow purchase, but perhaps I can convince the wife that I should treat myself for Christmas...

 

[Manhole Eunuchsbane]

2 minutes ago, Rhom said:

I have found it!  A company that has both the TMNT and the X-Men arcade cabinets from the early 90's!!!!!

I'm more than a little surprised at how hard it has been to find.  I search here and there over the years, but not with any regularity.  This company just recently started popping up in my Facebook feed, but all the ads were for Pinball machines (go figure with a name like "The Pinball Company") and those fake arcade boxes that have like 100 games in them, so I never bothered clicking on the link until today.

Shipping cost is a nightmare on top of a couple grand for the unit itself, but my basement really does need these things!  SF2: CE is also tempting, but I'd be more interested if it were the Super SF2. 

This won't be a tomorrow purchase, but perhaps I can convince the wife that I should treat myself for Christmas...

 

Damn. I'd love to have a full sized arcade game, but my wife would probably shoot me.

[Ramsay B.]

MK2 and NBA Jam look real enticing.

[Rhom]

Just now, Ramsay Blow said:

MK2 and NBA Jam look real enticing.

NBA Jam would hold more sway with me if they'd had Shaq.

[Jasta11]

36 minutes ago, Pony Queen Jace said:

Alright, you damn nerds. Is this Total Warcraft game worth my precious time and monies? I'm about to do some youtubing and interneting, but your opinions are for some reason important to me.

So, how about it?

Err, do you mean Total War: Warhammer? I don't know of any Total Warcraft game. Albeit if someone could mod Warcraft into TW:WH, I,d be all over it. Probably won't happen, sadly, since the mod tools are somwhat restrictive.

[Jace, Extat]

Just now, Jasta11 said:

Err, do you mean Total War: Warhammer? I don't know of any Total Warcraft game. Albeit if someone could mod Warcraft into TW:WH, I,d be all over it. Probably won't happen, sadly, since the mod tools are somwhat restrictive.

I mean the stupid fantasy new Total War, so whatever the title is then the answer is yes. I've seen a number of stories about it that mostly sound like gibberish, but the general tone seemed positive.

So, a rephrasing:

Is it still a Total War game, and would a Total War fan like it based on the mechanics and gameplay?

[Jasta11]

3 minutes ago, Pony Queen Jace said:

I mean the stupid fantasy new Total War, so whatever the title is then the answer is yes. I've seen a number of stories about it that mostly sound like gibberish, but the general tone seemed positive.

So, a rephrasing:

Is it still a Total War game, and would a Total War fan like it based on the mechanics and gameplay?

Well, if you find fantasy stupid you probably aren't going to like it .

It's a different sort of Total War. More focused on individual characters and battles than province management, albeit they also have made all the races play very differently so it kinda alleviate the drop in depth from Attila. For instance, the Vampire Counts can instantly raise the dead from a battle site to obtain troops on the fly and spread corruption to make enemy troops take attrition in their territory, while the Orcs need to battle continuously or infighting will cause attrition in their armies; however, if they fight enough, they spawn a free, AI controlled army. But some stuff such as family trees, sanitation and food management is gone. I don't mind because, IMO, most of those mechanics got in the way of why I play Total War: the battles.

Combat is very fun IMO. It's not just dudes with spears using hammer and anvil tactics for the 1000th time, the battlefield is diverse and you need to have the enemy's army composition in mind. Flying units are countered by ranged units backed with spears. Heroes are best countered by magic, or 1v1ing them with a better hero. Some unit types have no equivalent in traditional Total War, such as the Steam Tank.Tactics change by faction too; Empire relies on good old fashioned combined arms with powerful ranged units, while Vampires have no ranged units but all their troops cause fear, so their aim is often to make the enemy rout rather than inflict a lot of casualties while their expendable zombies die in droves but can be raised again after the battle anyway.

If the fantasy elements puts you off, you probably won't like it. It doesn't even try to be anywhere near a realistic historical simulation. It's a bit more Warhammer than Total War, so to say. But if you want a Total War spinoff that focuses on doing something different (at last), then you could give it a spin. Steam has a refund policy, so you could try it for an hour and see where it goes.

[Slick Mongoose]

I like it. It's recognisably a total war game, with similar mechanics and tactics to usual. They've simplified the campaign map, which I think is a good thing, and the focus is on the battles, There are a couple of annoying features like AI agent spam, but those can be fixed with mods.

Main difference for me is the focus on lords, yeah. But I like that sort of RPG mechanic. And the playstyles of the factions are way more diverse than any previous total war, which again is a good thing. I don't think they've done a good job of balance, but that doesn't matter too much in single player.

But then, i've wanted this game for about 20 years so i'm pretty biased.

[Corvinus85]

8 minutes ago, Pony Queen Jace said:

I mean the stupid fantasy new Total War, so whatever the title is then the answer is yes. I've seen a number of stories about it that mostly sound like gibberish, but the general tone seemed positive.

So, a rephrasing:

Is it still a Total War game, and would a Total War fan like it based on the mechanics and gameplay?

Yes, it's still a Total War game. In fact, I consider it Attila with magic.

There are a few things that I don't like about it, mainly the sieges, and that unit formations have been simplified too much (no more shield walls, or wedge formations for cavalry). Though the strong cavalry units don't really need specialized formations, because their charge abilities are insane. (and that's a positive)

Diplomacy works similar to Rome II and Attila, but with some added narrative effects. There are also quest battles, but I'm not sure what their purpose is really, other than obtaining some cool weapons/armor for your characters.

The magic and flying units certainly add a new dynamic, and it can take getting used to that. Don't expect most flying units to be the kind you see in movies, (like LOTR) where they just sweep down, smash through a bunch of guys, and then they're back up in the air. They imposed a limitation on that.

I found the game very challenging on hard setting, and one other complaint I have is that I don't find the economy well rounded, except maybe for the Dwarf faction. But I started a campaign on "normal" and was able to handle the exorbitant costs of strong units much better.

The map, I'm pretty sure is smaller than Rome II or Attila. There are no naval battles (yet - this is the first game in a planned trilogy), and actually very little sea travel. One thing that annoyed me at first was that I couldn't tell which towns had walls just by looking at them, though I quickly figured out how to have that knowledge.

One major positive is the characters. It definitely has more RPG imbued in the characters. Your generals, particularly the legendary ones, are veritable badasses on the field, and you can include the once-called agents, now-called heroes, in battles. And they can also be badasses. I'm not sure why, maybe to be in spirit with the tabletop game, but those legendary characters I mentioned don't die, they just get wounded and then are out of commission for a few turns - which can hurt you, especially on the battlefield. 

While there is agent spam, I found it less annoying than in Rome II or Attila. I have yet to have one of my armies blocked at a crossing because of an agent. The AI can be annoying with the armies always marching the extra mile, and having to chase after them. Luckily, just like in Attila, allies do help you from time to time.

Now since you let the first week since launch pass, you would not get the Chaos faction for free, which means that if you bought the game now, you would have only 4 playable factions. Now, as Jasta mentioned, there are some clear differences in both campaign mechanics, and battle mechanics for these factions, so there is replay-ability value. But if you end up hating all 4 factions, then you're shit out of luck.

If you get the game, I would recommend trying it out on an easier setting since you're unfamiliar with this fantasy setting. Like Jasta said, the differences in units makes it harder to just do the old rock-paper-scissors thing. Things can become frustrating quite quickly when you don't know how to counter an enemy's forces.

Also, I for one would not be able to gauge the quality of this game after only only a couple of hours of play. I like it, but after 20+ hours of game time, I'm still not sure just how much I like it.

[Jace, Extat]

Ok, some researching combined with your stories has lead me to think this could maybe be dope. It's standard looking fantasyness to me, but Total War is the only franchise I know of that can transfer those awesome trailer charges into actual gameplay.

So, a few questions if you guys could indulge me to get to Gamestop (closes like 3 hours or so after this post I think) in time to buy.

1) Is Chaos that big a deal to play as?

2) Do Vampires (they seem the coolest) get dragons?

3) What other races can I expect in DLC? Five seems pretty limited.

[Corvinus85]

1 hour ago, Pony Queen Jace said:

Ok, some researching combined with your stories has lead me to think this could maybe be dope. It's standard looking fantasyness to me, but Total War is the only franchise I know of that can transfer those awesome trailer charges into actual gameplay.

So, a few questions if you guys could indulge me to get to Gamestop (closes like 3 hours or so after this post I think) in time to buy.

1) Is Chaos that big a deal to play as?

2) Do Vampires (they seem the coolest) get dragons?

3) What other races can I expect in DLC? Five seems pretty limited.

I am about as unfamiliar as you with this world. I haven't tried Chaos or the Vampires yet. Chaos are the Huns of this game. Migratory, destroy everything in their path, and you can't even make peace with them. They're the literal game of thrones players of this game.

The Vampire armies suffer from attrition in territories where their corruption hasn't spread enough. But at the same time, armies of the living suffer from attrition in Vampire regions. I don't know if they get dragons as a unit, but I think one of the leaders can get a dragon as a mount.

The only group of factions that will probably be added in a future DLC, and are different from the ones playable are the Bretonnian Kingdoms, which are directly inspired by 13-14th century France and England. Sort of an Arthurian romantic look to them. Whereas the Empire is like 15th century Holy Roman Empire but with crazy artillery and magic.

There other races in this universe, but unless the map also get expanded, I doubt we will see them, at least until the sequel.

Edit: I should mention that the one thing that annoys the most about this game, and I do not understand the logic behind it, is battles for non-walled towns - they're not in the town, just on a random open field. Which means that your puny garrison will most likely get crushed by the attacker, and if that attacker happened to be Chaos, your town gets razed instantly. I can almost hear the game telling me "Have a nice day!" in a friendly female voice when that happens.

[MerenthaClone]

1)  Chaos is...interesting to play as.  I need to reevaluate my opening strategy with them, but they're wholly a horde army and never settle down at all.  I'm going to need more time to figure out how to play them.  

2)  They get a zombie dragon which is pretty cool, plus some sweet vampiric batbeast things.  

3) We're probably getting a fleshed out Brettonia as a free DLC semi-soon.  Statements they've made about races with army books in recent edition means (I think, I've not played tabletop though I enjoy reading shit about WH) that we're eventually getting (in order of importance to me) Skaven, Wood Elves, Lizardmen, Tomb Kings, Ogres, Daemons, High Elves, Dark Elves and maybe Beastmen?  .  They're supposedly releasing them in expansion-pack deals, so it makes sense to me that High Elves, Dark Elves, and Lizardmen will all be released in the expac that builds on naval battles, for instance.  Skaven maybe also fit in that one, I'm not sure.  But regardless, they've made it seem like this game is going to have a long, long tail.

And I really like it.  Very recognizeably Total War with some quirks that I mostly like.  Its got a few issues, but nothing insurmountable.  Agent spam and difficulty in catching fleeing armies are really it.  Maybe garrisons not providing a zone-of-control block.