Video Games: Devils Die Twice

[The Anti-Targ]

Uncharted movie release date has been announced as 18 December 2020. This project went really quite for probably over a year, and now there's a release date confirmed for 18 month's time? I guess they will start filming as soon as Tom Holland had finished the Spider Man press junket. No  cast yet aside from Holland confirmed, and Bryan Cranston rumoured.

[Inigima]

Stadia will -- does -- have latency problems, and subscription cost plus game cost for stuff you won't own is a big nope. Dead on arrival.

[TrueMetis]

I'd put it as DOA simply due to the fact that, at least in my experience, game players are annoyed enough with always online requirement as is. To have to put up with that and also not actually own the fucking game? Piss off.

[The Anti-Targ]

I dunno. Gamers hate the idea of always online for games they actually own. If the pricing is right I think people will be fine with always online for being able to play games on a rental basis that they don't need to download or install, and the cost to play is substantially lower than buying. But gamers like owning games, so will they choose to just stream their favourite games, or just stream to browse games they only have a passing interest in to see what they're like? And if the browse approach is what most people would use it for, is that worth the money?

[Centrist Simon Steele]

On 6/3/2019 at 6:22 AM, Werthead said:

I don't think Neverwinter Nights 2 itself is rated highly for its storytelling (although it is better than the first game), but the two expansions are very highly regarded. Mask of the Betrayer is often mentioned in the same breath as Planescape: Torment as being one of the best RPGs of all time.

Pathfinder: Kingmaker has a build your own city (and indeed your own kingdom) mechanic, but the game was janky as hell on release. Apparently it's a lot better now, but it's still quite unbalanced compared to other games.

So I've been playing Pathfinder the last few days, and I really like it. The big issue is that you're right--it is unbalanced. I've had to play with the difficulty settings quite a bit, and the camping system was confusing as hell. But for the most part I love it, and I love the characters. It's like a step up from Pillars of Eternity--which this game takes a lot from. 

Some clunkiness in storytelling. I found a black character who joined my group and in the first two minutes of him joining, the exposition and the character referenced his skin color. 

Thanks for the rec! I am enjoying it.

[Kalbear]

Gamers will hate always online until they get to play crazy amounts of games for 10 bucks a month and can do whatever they want when they want to where they want to. 

There will be some who want it old school, just like there are some who buy the DVD. But the rest? Aren't that invested. 

[briantw]

11 hours ago, Kalbear said:

Gamers will hate always online until they get to play crazy amounts of games for 10 bucks a month and can do whatever they want when they want to where they want to. 

There will be some who want it old school, just like there are some who buy the DVD. But the rest? Aren't that invested. 

If Steam had a subscription where you paid ten bucks a month and could play any game you wanted, I'd sign the fuck up for that in a heartbeat.  

[Mexal]

Cyberpunk 2077 has a date and a special appearance... holy fuck.

 

[Jace, Extat]

8 minutes ago, Mexal said:

Cyberpunk 2077 has a date and a special appearance... holy fuck.

 

Just saw that myself. 

[azor_ahaiii]

YESSSS

 

 

[The Anti-Targ]

20 hours ago, Kalbear said:

Gamers will hate always online until they get to play crazy amounts of games for 10 bucks a month and can do whatever they want when they want to where they want to. 

There will be some who want it old school, just like there are some who buy the DVD. But the rest? Aren't that invested. 

Unfortunately it seems like Google has been unsuccessful in swinging that pricing structure, as it seems they plan to charge full price for most new release games, so the $10/Mo price is for the benefit of being able to stream the game from the cloud rather than having to both download the game, and having a PC or console capable of running the game. To be sure, if you can play a graphically demanding game in 4K on a basic PC (or cheap arse laptop) with a modest CPU and no GPU, then the price difference between buying a gaming PC up front vs paying $10/mo ongoing is pretty attractive. Even if your only platform is your PC and you have to pay full price at release for a game, it could be worth it for a lot of people. That definitely opens up a market of people who want to game but are shut out because of the cost of hardware, so they are currently stuck with browser and Facebook games.

That's potentially as much of a disruption as anything. No one would need to buy a gaming PC anymore because you can play any game on the highest setting so long as you have fast enough internet. What's that going to do to the high end GPU and CPU market?

[Fez]

I am so goddamn ready for Cyberpunk 2077.

I was watching the live stream of the Microsoft press conference, and its not just that trailer. Keanu showed up at the presentation to the usually boring talking points thing, but because it was him there was a really fun energy to it all.

[azor_ahaiii]

Wilkinson: Regarding the collaboration with George R. R. Martin, can you further explain how this collaboration came about and in what role it has served throughout the project?

Miyazaki: I suppose the start of this collaboration came from the fact that I myself am I huge fan of Mr. Martin’s work.

I loved “A Song of Ice and Fire” as well as the “Tuf Voyaging” series, however if I had to pick a favorite I would probably say “Fevre Dream.”

I personally see “Fevre Dream” as a masterpiece among vampire fantasy and had even previously recommended it to all new employees.

Me being such a known fan of Mr. Martin caused our executive business director Eiichi Nakajima to reach out to him with the expectation that we would get turned down.

However, we were then given the rare opportunity to talk one-on-one with Mr. Martin which was an incredibly fun and stimulating experience. It was then that I strongly felt that I wanted to work with Mr. Martin.

I am still unable to put into words how grateful I am to Mr. Martin for agreeing to our offer.

The actual collaboration itself begun with Mr. Martin ever so politely confirming what sorts of themes, ideas as well as many game-related aspects I had envisioned for the game.

This allowed us to have many free and creative conversations regarding the game, in which Mr. Martin later used as a base to write the overarching mythos for the game world itself.

This mythos proved to be full of interesting characters and drama along with a plethora of mystical and mysterious elements as well. It was a wonderful source of stimulus for me and the development staff.

Elden Ring’s world was constructed using this mythos and stimulus as a base. Even I myself find it hard to contain my excitement from time to time. We hope that everyone else is looking forward to the world we have created.

Wilkinson: What are some differences when compared to your previous titles (especially Dark Souls)?

Miyazaki: If I were to put aside the world full of fresh stimulus thanks to our collaboration with Mr. Martin, I would have to say the biggest difference is it being open world.

Due to this, the scale of the world and its narrative, as well as the depth and freedom of exploration have increased dramatically. It is without a doubt our biggest title yet in terms of sheer volume.

There are many definitions to the term “open world,” and I might not be phrasing it correctly, but we have simply tried our own approach to a game with a large, open field to play in.

It is a world full of danger and threats, as well as many areas ripe for exploration.

Among those areas, you will also find intricately designed, multi-layered castles and such.

[Gorn]

17 hours ago, briantw said:

If Steam had a subscription where you paid ten bucks a month and could play any game you wanted, I'd sign the fuck up for that in a heartbeat.  

Likewise. For now, I will sit back and wait to see which games Stadia will include in its Pro subscription. So far, it's just Destiny 2, which doesn't appeal to me.

[Inigima]

As a consumer, I like cheap games, but an all you can eat pricing model is unsustainable for developers. If you want games as you know them to continue to exist, it can't happen. AAA games are huge, expensive undertakings, and game prices haven't risen in a long time and probably need to. Game buyers are also notoriously inelastic on pricing, and won't pay more for games that cost more to produce. 

 

We've seen small scale stuff with games that aren't brand new, like Humble Bundle and XBL Game Pass, but a true all you can eat model would destroy the industry. 

[TrueMetis]

26 minutes ago, Inigima said:

As a consumer, I like cheap games, but an all you can eat pricing model is unsustainable for developers. If you want games as you know them to continue to exist, it can't happen. AAA games are huge, expensive undertakings, and game prices haven't risen in a long time and probably need to. Game buyers are also notoriously inelastic on pricing, and won't pay more for games that cost more to produce.

If it means smashing the "AAA" guys, suddenly I'm all for it.

As for "game prices haven't in a long time" Aside from the fact that that's true only in the US, if you believe companies that's what all the fucking micro transactions are for. Jim fucking Sterling son sums it up pretty well.

ETA: Let's be real, between games like SW Battlefront 2, Fallout 76, Anthem, etc. the idea these games are worth $60 USD is a joke. I don't care how much it cost to make, this shit isn't worth $60, let alone whatever the actual price ends up being. A Hat in Time blows these games out of the water, it sells for $30.

[Heartofice]

I would have no problem with a lot of the AAA games disappearing. You get the sense these days a lot of them have lost their minds and sense of focus. I’d rather have a game that was fun to play and was interested in whether I was having fun, than one more game more interested in amazing cut scenes and actors and huge maps that I will never get to explore.

[Jon AS]

Did a mission in the new Attack/Defend mode in Battletech today. It was brutal. Two bases on opposite ends of an urban map, one for me to defend, the other to destroy. The mission kicked off with two enemy lances on the field (both mixed heavy/assault; it was fairly late in the campaign), one as base defense, the other poised to attack my base. And in round two an assault lance hostile to both sides gets dropped in the middle, with the idea being that I let them fight the opfor and pick up the pieces. But of course there's also a bit of a time factor involved, as there are three more waves of enemy reinforcements incoming later in the mission. Ultimately I ended up sending two 'mechs around the map to take out the enemy base with the other two defending mine. I managed to extract with a single Awesome after I'd ejected the rest of the lance.

Good fun and probably the longest mission of Battletech I've played so far, definitely the most challenging. Might have been a bit easier if the third party lance hadn't contained two Cyclops 10-Qs, something with a bit more punch would have taken out more of the opfor (in particular the base defenders were practically unscathed).

[Proudfeet]

51 minutes ago, TrueMetis said:

ETA: Let's be real, between games like SW Battlefront 2, Fallout 76, Anthem, etc. the idea these games are worth $60 USD is a joke. I don't care how much it cost to make, this shit isn't worth $60, let alone whatever the actual price ends up being. A Hat in Time blows these games out of the water, it sells for $30.

Yeah. These games usually have "season passes" or "expansion packs" that cost almost the same as an entire game and are pretty essential.

Or games that are essentially mods and reskins of another game. It still takes work but they are adept at recycling their previous work to ease the burden. See: exhibit EA and exhibit Koei. 

Also, I don't typically play AAA games but they feel like smartphones to me. Better resolution and higher specs each upgrade. Which is nice to have (higher specs for games aside) but its the same old shit otherwise. They might just as well remaster their old games.

[Gorn]

1 hour ago, Inigima said:

As a consumer, I like cheap games, but an all you can eat pricing model is unsustainable for developers. If you want games as you know them to continue to exist, it can't happen. AAA games are huge, expensive undertakings, and game prices haven't risen in a long time and probably need to. Game buyers are also notoriously inelastic on pricing, and won't pay more for games that cost more to produce. 

 

We've seen small scale stuff with games that aren't brand new, like Humble Bundle and XBL Game Pass, but a true all you can eat model would destroy the industry. 

And yet publishers don't seem to think so, otherwise programs like EA/Origin Access wouldn't exist. Steady, relatively dependable stream of income is a very attractive proposition. Division of income to studios and other publishers can always be arranged behind the scenes according to measured gametime and other relevant parameters.

I'd be fine with a certain delay before new games enter the subscription service, comparable to the delay before new movies are available on Netflix. I just hope that a major player like Google can push most developers into a single service, because if you are paying $5/month to Microsoft, $5/month to EA, $5/month to Sony... it adds up.