Videogames - Meanwhile in Poland.

[Luzifer's right hand]

43 minutes ago, HoodedCrow said:

Just a quick shout out to Eve, as my spouse loves this game, which is like WOW in space.  ( the graphics are beautiful) One of the fellows who died in Benghazi “ heard gunshots” while playing:(. It’s multinational. It’s also too complicated for the likes of me.

I suspect that I would love it and I stay away because of that.

[HoodedCrow]

Eve has a steep learning curve, but I can compare it to Civ or WOW. Your computer has to be up to the graphics and the multiplayer on line component. It’s a game where you can play solo or join a “guild” or corporation. There are intense or more relaxed roles. There is no limit to play time, so schedule breaks. Ha! Me, I miss WOW. Wish there were all voice commands:) It’ll happen some day!

Till then, Wheel of Fortune is a good mobile game for the doctors office, and so is Duolingo with the sound off. Both can be played free.

[Heartofice]

7 hours ago, Toth said:

Yeah, I noticed that, too. There isn't much variety in my roster, which in turn forces me to focus on my strengths and get the job done with whatever I have. Of course this means large monsters are severe trouble since my heroes are as far as I can tell the only ones who can take them.

I think one or two of your cav options are anti-large so best tactic is to tie monsters down with some infantry, massed ranks of peasant bows at them and then cycle charge them with cav. Good idea to just get them out of the way as quick as possible.

[Toth]

6 minutes ago, Heartofice said:

I think one or two of your cav options are anti-large so best tactic is to tie monsters down with some infantry, massed ranks of peasant bows at them and then cycle charge them with cav. Good idea to just get them out of the way as quick as possible.

Yeah, Grail Knights and only Grail Knights. Whom I don't have because I found it more important to get 10.000 gold per turn than build stables. I have been playing this entire campaign just with basic men-at-arms, basic peasant archers, basic trebuchets and knights errants.

[Ramsay B.]

On 11/14/2020 at 9:45 AM, Slurktan said:

I'm not a fan of the UI at this point. I was a big fan of the simplicity of the ps4 and this one they mucked up with more stuff. If I was interested in some of the stuff I might like it more but like I have no need to have video walkthroughs of levels I'm on show up. Probably a way to turn it off but I haven't really looked into it. There was a really annoying feature where computer voice read out whatever I was hovering over ad nauseum. Figured how to shut that off though.

Load times are glorious though. Its almost like playing a cartridge system like snes or n64.

Absolutely agree. The interface is definitely a step down. There’s just too much shit going on. I’m sure we’ll get used to it but I really miss the PS4 setup at this point. That and the fact that it’s too tall to stand up in my tv stand are my only complaints, and those are relatively small ones.

Other than that it’s lived up to they hype. AC: Valhalla looks great. I see it’s getting the usual hate, but I loved Origins and Odyssey so I’m enjoying this one so far. I will say that the combat and some of the controls feel clunky though. Not exactly smooth like the previous two. I read that the combat clunkiness is by design because vikings are brutal but that just seems plain silly. Anyways, I’m hoping this will keep me busy until Cyberpunk. 

[The Winged Shadow]

11 hours ago, Toth said:

Yeah, I noticed that, too. There isn't much variety in my roster, which in turn forces me to focus on my strengths and get the job done with whatever I have. Of course this means large monsters are severe trouble since my heroes are as far as I can tell the only ones who can take them.

4 hours ago, Toth said:

Yeah, Grail Knights and only Grail Knights. Whom I don't have because I found it more important to get 10.000 gold per turn than build stables. I have been playing this entire campaign just with basic men-at-arms, basic peasant archers, basic trebuchets and knights errants.

Pretty sure knights of the realm are anti-large and would do well against them (unless it's going against the TK anti-large monsters). Best is actually to focus fire with archers since those large monsters are such a big target.

What are you doing with all the gold though if not to get better armies haha.

Hope you've been doing the Vows on your lords so you can reduce upkeep on the knight units. 

12 hours ago, Heartofice said:

The Repanse campaign is actually quite fun, I do really enjoy the Bretonnians even if their roster is pretty limited and underwhelming. Their gameplay is the same too.. just wedge up the middle with chaf and then run round the sides with your cav. Rinse and repeat. 

I typically don't even bother with chaff. Just run an all cav army. The mobility advantage is HUGE. Allows you to divide and conquer. Lot more micro though, but so damn satisfying to take on 2 armies and come out with minimal casualty.

Alternatively, just send heroes and lords ahead and bombard them with your trebuchets, since the enemy nicely surrounds them, making a perfect spot for artillery fire.

 

[Inkdaub]

I am never going to find a XBox SX or a PS5 at a store.  Best Buy is rumored to restock the week of Thanksgiving.  So the bots can buy them in .04 seconds.  Sales should be capped at two and the item should be reserved in your cart for one hour or some such customer friendly nonsense like that.  They will still sell out it just might take a day or two instead of an eyeblink.  

Good news is I still have WoW to play as I try to unlock Mechagnomes before Shadowlands.  It's unlikely I will make it but we'll see. 

 

 

[Fez]

I'm about 18 hours into AC: Valhalla now. The game feels massive. I saw people saying it was supposed to be smaller than Odyssey, and I'm not sure that's true. I've only done 1 of the 2 Norway regions and 2 of the 16 England regions in my time so far. Also,

Spoiler

I was not expecting Asgard to be an entire extra region with its own map. I'd heard we'd go there, but I thought it would just be a quick dream sequence. Not an entire separate saga (as the game calls its chapters)! 

It's been fun so far though. Not a masterpiece, but the game is yet another step closer to the series becoming a proper RPG. It even has a pretty good minigame, Orlog; though it's not as addicting as Gwent. I wish they'd expanded the other non-combat gameplay further too. Flyting is fun, I want more chances to do it.

I really like what they did with sidequests though. They are almost completely removed from the game. Instead, there are "mysteries" which are very short (almost always just a couple minutes long) vignettes that you encounter throughout the world that give you XP when they complete. The writing in them in usually pretty good, and sometimes surprisingly funny. There are a small handful of traditional side quests. But gone are the days of losing track of all the different quest objectives and why you have them.

[Corvinus85]

22 hours ago, Toth said:

Yeah, Grail Knights and only Grail Knights. Whom I don't have because I found it more important to get 10.000 gold per turn than build stables. I have been playing this entire campaign just with basic men-at-arms, basic peasant archers, basic trebuchets and knights errants.

I take it you're playing the Vortex Campaign? Repanse is the only Bretonnian character for that campaign. I would not focus a WH campaign of becoming filthy rich without having a strong military, when the main two economic income sources are mainly 2 building types + trade. This is not what WH is for. Looting, raiding, and sacking towns are good income boosts. Of course, this is a bit more challenging with Bretonnia because of their chivalry mechanic. Go after those magical islands in the ocean some times where you fight vampire pirates for big loot. 

[Derfel Cadarn]

Finally back in Elite Dangerous (PS4) after almost three years. I’d previously taken my Asp Explorer to Colonia, a colonised system far from the bubble (civilisation) and made over 30mill selling my exploration data. I’d stopped playing 38 jumps into a trip from Colonia to the galaxy’s centre early 2018.

So, had to get used to the new exploration  mechanics. I returned to Colonia, made almost 10mill selling more exploration data, and decided to head to thr centre after all (343 jumps from Colonia). Played again today and am now 199 jumps from the centre

There’s a station or outpost in an adjacent t system to Sag-A (the centre) so when I get there, I’ll make any needed repairs, restock my heat sinks, and head back to Earth (approx 700 jumps).

My plan then is to refit my Asp as a multi-purpose ship, buy an Imperial Courier and fit it as a fighter, and improve my Imperial rank sufficiently to be allowed to buy an Imperial Clipper.

At the moment I’ve enough Imperial rank for the courier, and obviously enough Federation rank for my Sol permit. Given both states are at best rivals,  not sure why the game lets you simultaneously be a Federation Admiral and an Imperial King.

The next expansion comes out early next year which lets you leave your ship. You can walk about stations and do missions on planets.

[Toth]

20 hours ago, The Winged Shadow said:

Pretty sure knights of the realm are anti-large and would do well against them (unless it's going against the TK anti-large monsters). Best is actually to focus fire with archers since those large monsters are such a big target.

Oh, right, they do. I only have one of those hanging around though...

20 hours ago, The Winged Shadow said:

What are you doing with all the gold though if not to get better armies haha.

Paying for even more money-making buildings! XD City upgrades are expensive!

20 hours ago, The Winged Shadow said:

Hope you've been doing the Vows on your lords so you can reduce upkeep on the knight units. 

Well, I noticed that part of the game a few turns in, but so far everyone has his first vow, they just don't see enough combat to get the next ones. Like I said, I was letting Repanse handle all the questing so far.

4 hours ago, Corvinus85 said:

I take it you're playing the Vortex Campaign? Repanse is the only Bretonnian character for that campaign. I would not focus a WH campaign of becoming filthy rich without having a strong military, when the main two economic income sources are mainly 2 building types + trade. This is not what WH is for. Looting, raiding, and sacking towns are good income boosts. Of course, this is a bit more challenging with Bretonnia because of their chivalry mechanic. Go after those magical islands in the ocean some times where you fight vampire pirates for big loot. 

Ironically, torching every single city you come across gives you the most chivalry, makes you wonder what exactly Bretonnians consider honorable... In any case, I have been crippling myself by conquering them instead because I felt rebuilding every city I come across from the ground up is a hassle.

Oh, the ocean with the full stack pirate armies sailing around looked a bit too threatening for me at first. I will see to it once I survive my current continent.

 

[RumHam]

Bethesda games will likely be “first or better” (not “only”) on Xbox

Quote

Microsoft Xbox CFO Tim Stuart has given the clearest indication yet that future Bethesda Softworks games likely won't be exclusive to Microsoft platforms. Instead, Stuart says he suspects Microsoft will shift to "a first or better or best approach on our platforms" for these kinds of games.

Speaking at the Jeffries Interactive Entertainment Virtual Conference last Friday (as transcribed by Seeking Alpha), Stuart said directly that "in the long run... we don't have intentions of just pulling all of Bethesda content out of Sony or Nintendo or otherwise. But what we want is we want that content, in the long run, to be either first or better or best or pick your differentiated experience, on our platforms."

 

[Kalbear]

Here's my bet. And yes, I work at Xbox, but I don't know anything more than anyone else about any plans. 

Based on previous strategy ideas, MS will encourage Bethesda to take it to MORE platforms, not fewer. There will be exclusive awesome things on Xbox, I'm sure - and PC as well, I bet. But Microsoft's goal is to reach gamers everywhere they're playing, however they want to play. XCloud is a big part of that, as is gamepass, as is backwards compat for all xbox titles, as is a big committment to playing on PC - but look what MS has done with Minecraft - they've not made things more exclusive, they've made it more inclusive. 

Again, no inside knowledge, just an idea of the vision statements vs. the end result. 

[Derfel Cadarn]

Reached Sagittarius-A, the centre of thr Milky Way in Elite Dangerous!

Got a chill on leaving hyperspace and staring at the black hole at the centre of the galaxy.  I’m currently docked in a station in a system a few light years away, the furthest station from Sol. Made 20mill credits selling all my exploration data. Most of it was just pinging systems as I went through, but one I thoroughly scanned netted me over 1 mill alone.

Next step is to return to Earth.

 

[Rhom]

Did someone say Elite is free on Epic Games this week?

Ive been curious about it for a while.

[Derfel Cadarn]

1 minute ago, Rhom said:

Did someone say Elite is free on Epic Games this week?

Ive been curious about it for a while.

Apparently so. It has a steep learning curve - don’t expect to dive in guns blazing. Good time to build up cash and faction ratings before the expansion

[Rhom]

1 hour ago, Derfel Cadarn said:

Apparently so. It has a steep learning curve - don’t expect to dive in guns blazing. Good time to build up cash and faction ratings before the expansion

Just checked.  Its the 19th through the 26th that it is free.

[Toth]

Okay, I am obviously too dumb for Warhammer Total War. I lost and don't even know what happened.

So I continued my campaign, somewhat savescumming. I managed to muster a fresh full army supplemented with Grail Knights and Questing Knights to support Repanse, but Settra got even more reinforcements and attacked before it arrived. I managed to kill half his army, but failed to destroy any of his goddamn constructs, so I went back and repeated my sortie from before to at least kill the sphinx. This one actually worked even better: I managed to destroy all of Settra's constructs and badly battered him himself. Unfortunately Repanse herself was killed in a duel with Settra this time.

In any case, as expected, the next turn Settra took back Khemri. I made him bleed quite a bit once again, but essentially bit into my keyboard when my army routed while my commander was just about to kill the already badly injured Settra in single combat. Also my archers were actually doing a really good job thinning out his forces, so... why did I loose all of a sudden?!?

In any case, it was that turn my full army led by a level 4 rando arrived. Settra got those reinforcements from before and met me in the field with only a very slight numeric advantage against my fresh army, something I really didn't expect to screw me over so much.

And then I was hammered. I killed every single enemy except Settra, but Settra routed my entire army anyway. What the fuck?!? What... what was this?!?

I guess I really underestimated just how shit Britonnian infantry is or messed up micromanaging my knights. I don't know. I only know that Settra was all of a sudden absolutely unfazed by them and effortlessly murdered even my most elite units while his reinforcements kept coming and I had extreme difficulties keeping my line together as they kept getting routed by the Tomb Kings' fear aura. Or is this some mechanic about unleveled commanders being utterly useless that I missed?

But I seem to suck in general. I focused entirely on economy and yet when I looked up some guides they said I should have already 20.000 gold per turn and conquered the entire continent by turn 50, which is where I am right now. Gah...

[Corvinus85]

37 minutes ago, Toth said:

Okay, I am obviously too dumb for Warhammer Total War. I lost and don't even know what happened.

So I continued my campaign, somewhat savescumming. I managed to muster a fresh full army supplemented with Grail Knights and Questing Knights to support Repanse, but Settra got even more reinforcements and attacked before it arrived. I managed to kill half his army, but failed to destroy any of his goddamn constructs, so I went back and repeated my sortie from before to at least kill the sphinx. This one actually worked even better: I managed to destroy all of Settra's constructs and badly battered him himself. Unfortunately Repanse herself was killed in a duel with Settra this time.

In any case, as expected, the next turn Settra took back Khemri. I made him bleed quite a bit once again, but essentially bit into my keyboard when my army routed while my commander was just about to kill the already badly injured Settra in single combat. Also my archers were actually doing a really good job thinning out his forces, so... why did I loose all of a sudden?!?

In any case, it was that turn my full army led by a level 4 rando arrived. Settra got those reinforcements from before and met me in the field with only a very slight numeric advantage against my fresh army, something I really didn't expect to screw me over so much.

And then I was hammered. I killed every single enemy except Settra, but Settra routed my entire army anyway. What the fuck?!? What... what was this?!?

I guess I really underestimated just how shit Britonnian infantry is or messed up micromanaging my knights. I don't know. I only know that Settra was all of a sudden absolutely unfazed by them and effortlessly murdered even my most elite units while his reinforcements kept coming and I had extreme difficulties keeping my line together as they kept getting routed by the Tomb Kings' fear aura. Or is this some mechanic about unleveled commanders being utterly useless that I missed?

But I seem to suck in general. I focused entirely on economy and yet when I looked up some guides they said I should have already 20.000 gold per turn and conquered the entire continent by turn 50, which is where I am right now. Gah...

I think you noticed by now that the undead don't rout, they just sort of fall apart when they get battered enough. But that means that they keep fighting until they shatter, which I believe is not the same as a unit that's on the point of being routed. I don't remember all that Setra has, but he is damn powerful, especially once he gets the Sphinx.

Do you know how the Tomb Kings campaign mechanics work? I'm pretty sure they apply for AI, too. TKs don't require money to recruit and maintain their units. The units at higher level than skeletons are capped by how many buildings there are throughout their cities that can recruit those units. The skeletons can be churned out constantly without pause. So trying to defeat the TKs mainly in open battle is pointless if you don't limit their territory. 

I've seldom gotten to 20k income; only when I have a giant empire, and just enough armies to eliminate any threat from one or two directions, and rely on allies to defend my borders. I've no idea how people do it, and still have sufficient armies. It seems mathematically impossible to me.

[Toth]

22 minutes ago, Corvinus85 said:

I think you noticed by now that the undead don't rout, they just sort of fall apart when they get battered enough. But that means that they keep fighting until they shatter, which I believe is not the same as a unit that's on the point of being routed.

Yes, I noticed and this is why I made it a habit to go straight for the undead generals because I noticed their armies after their death just disappeared. Too bad Settra is too tough a bastard to take on without Repanse, the generic generals suck.

22 minutes ago, Corvinus85 said:

I don't remember all that Setra has, but he is damn powerful, especially once he gets the Sphinx.

I actually managed to kill his sphinx during my sortie! I also noticed he has the ability to mark one unit with a purple icon which turns them to max experience. He also has a vast array of spells to support his army or strike fear into my troops, but am not quite sure what either of it does specifically.

25 minutes ago, Corvinus85 said:

Do you know how the Tomb Kings campaign mechanics work? I'm pretty sure they apply for AI, too. TKs don't require money to recruit and maintain their units. The units at higher level than skeletons are capped by how many buildings there are throughout their cities that can recruit those units. The skeletons can be churned out constantly without pause. So trying to defeat the TKs mainly in open battle is pointless if you don't limit their territory. 

Ah. Okay, no, I didn't know that. Settra got a pretty impressive empire since he gobbled up quite a few of his neighbors, so. I wondered whether it would be a viable tactic to avoid Khemri and attack his other cities before returning and... I think that's what I will do now.

27 minutes ago, Corvinus85 said:

I've seldom gotten to 20k income; only when I have a giant empire, and just enough armies to eliminate any threat from one or two directions, and rely on allies to defend my borders. I've no idea how people do it, and still have sufficient armies. It seems mathematically impossible to me.

I just watched a Let's Play of some guy on Youtube and at the turn where I am he already got more than 50k income for some reason. I'm just... baffled. Though it seems he has allies to trade with that or not constantly nearing extinction.