Video Games - Sequels of Dread and Anticipation

[IlyaP]

So, if you make it to the Azura Coast and meet up with the Dissident Priests - and then try to go home by boat via their local...boat...person - don't expect it to work.

Excuse me now while I shlep my bum across the damn water-ways back to Wolverine Hall for a trip home because of a 20 year old bug.

*grumbles*

[Clueless Northman]

Mark and recall spells are really useful in Morrowind. And doing the quests about the propylon indexes can also help, specially in places with basically no fast transport available - there's probably some ancient fortress with a propylon room somwhere around. Though that becomes really useful in the late game, mostly.

[The Anti-Targ]

12 hours ago, Karlbear said:

I will say that the new consoles run old stuff so much better. Like you're absolutely right that there's nothing that you need a new console to play right now, but if you play your console a lot doing it on a new console - even the lower budget series S - is absolutely remarkably better. The SSD makes such a crazy difference. 

In that way the new consoles are far more like PC upgrades than they are new gens of console upgrades. And that is both bad (no killer game yet to require an upgrade) and really awesome (everything you like to do is just way better, and you can do all the old stuff just like you could the new). 

Damned lucky for Sony they went with standard hardware for PS4 and kept the same general set up for PS5 so that PS5 could be backwards compatible with PS4.

Also I don't know who mentioned Demon's Souls not being on PC but being interested in giving it a try, or that it might be coming to PC. But I spotted mention somewhere of a PS3 emulator RPCS3 which seemed to say that was a very good emulator. I imagine most fairly modern PCs should be able to run it. So if people want to play TLOU, Demon's Souls, Uncharted etc I suppose if you can get your hands on the discs it should be doable. I won't be trying it out because I pretty much played most of the PS3 games I want to play. But I'd be interested in hearing about other people's experiences with it.

[Werthead]

8 hours ago, IlyaP said:

Weird. I'm using the Steam version and have absolutely no problems whatsoever. 

To be fair, I've also installed usermade fan-patches. The only real issue I have is that occasionally my left monitor will be darkened after quitting the game, requiring me to close the game via Task Manager. Aside from that though....

The main problems with the Steam version are the LAA (Large Address Aware) issue that all pre-Skyrim Bethesda games have, which locks them to using 2 GB of memory no matter how much memory your system has and various compatibility problems with Windows 10, as well as the "having tons of save games slows the game down," although fortunately this is a negligible issues on PC versus console.

Most fan patches fix those problems pretty handily, and Morrowind's generally more primitive graphics and less detail means those issues don't stack up like they do on Oblivion-Fallout 3-Fallout New Vegas (i.e. 2GB is enough to run Morrowind at maximum detail level without any issue, whilst the others can start chugging a bit).

[Gorn]

2 hours ago, Clueless Northman said:

Mark and recall spells are really useful in Morrowind. And doing the quests about the propylon indexes can also help, specially in places with basically no fast transport available - there's probably some ancient fortress with a propylon room somwhere around. Though that becomes really useful in the late game, mostly.

I mostly used boats and silt striders, which also helped with the immersion. There was a time when I knew the transport connections on Vvardenfell better than the public transport lines in my own city.

[Poobah]

In addition to Mark and Recall there's also Divine and Almsivi Interventions which will teleport you to the nearest Imperial Cult or Tribunal Temple which are super helpful.

[IlyaP]

1 hour ago, Werthead said:

The main problems with the Steam version are the LAA (Large Address Aware) issue that all pre-Skyrim Bethesda games have, which locks them to using 2 GB of memory no matter how much memory your system has and various compatibility problems with Windows 10, as well as the "having tons of save games slows the game down," although fortunately this is a negligible issues on PC versus console.

Sort of like Dragon Age: Origins. 

I've been using OpenMW, which makes it significantly prettier. Haven't experienced any memory issues around LAA, but I also installed fan patches pretty much right away after installing the game.

 

[IlyaP]

3 hours ago, Clueless Northman said:

And doing the quests about the propylon indexes can also help, specially in places with basically no fast transport available - there's probably some ancient fortress with a propylon room somwhere around.

I found some of those near Seyda Nid, and wondered what the hell they were about. And why random npcs in the same complex wanted to decorate my skull with their axes.

[Poobah]

26 minutes ago, IlyaP said:

I found some of those near Seyda Nid, and wondered what the hell they were about. And why random npcs in the same complex wanted to decorate my skull with their axes.

That's a lot of random npcs in a lot of interesting places! Always fun to find a random Daedric cult or group of slavers or bandits or vampires or who knows what. It's one thing I really appreciate about Morrowind over, say, Skyrim, that almost all the enemies are hand-placed and aren't scaled or anything so these locations and adventures are all there waiting to be discovered and maybe you're out of your depth but they're there in the world. Makes it feel much more alive and like an existing setting and less gamey.

[RumHam]

Oooh Legend of Mana is being ported to Switch in June. This Final Fantasy Tactics type game looks good too:

Plus they announced Splatoon 3, a Switch port of the Wii U second Wii Zelda game and bunch of other things. 

[Caligula_K3]

15 hours ago, RumHam said:

Oooh Legend of Mana is being ported to Switch in June. This Final Fantasy Tactics type game looks good too:

Plus they announced Splatoon 3, a Switch port of the Wii U second Wii Zelda game and bunch of other things. 

I never played Legend of Mana, so I'm pretty excited for that. Would also be willing to try this Triangle Game if it gets good reviews. Mario Golf kind of looks fun but I don't think I'd buy it.

60 bucks is going to be a lot to ask for a remaster of Skyward Sword. I know they've redone some of the controls, but the motion controls never bothered me. The insane amounts of handholding (Fi... Oh how I hate you, Fi) and backtracking filler were the game's main problems. If they fix some of that, it could be a great game and worth buying again. If not, then I can't reccomend getting it for that price.

Would also be nice if Nintendo would just give us a Zelda collection. It's so strange I could buy Ocarina of Time on my Wii at launch 15ish years ago but can't play it now.

[RumHam]

6 minutes ago, Caligula_K3 said:

I never played Legend of Mana, so I'm pretty excited for that. Would also be willing to try this Triangle Game if it gets good reviews. Mario Golf kind of looks fun but I don't think I'd buy it.

60 bucks is going to be a lot to ask for a remaster of Skyward Sword. I know they've redone some of the controls, but the motion controls never bothered me. The insane amounts of handholding (Fi... Oh how I hate you, Fi) and backtracking filler were the game's main problems. If they fix some of that, it could be a great game and worth buying again. If not, then I can't reccomend getting it for that price.

Would also be nice if Nintendo would just give us a Zelda collection. It's so strange I could buy Ocarina of Time on my Wii at launch 15ish years ago but can't play it now.

There's a demo of the triangle game. I haven't tried it yet.

Legend of Mana is very different from Secret of Mana and Trials of Mana. It's sorta episodic as you create the world as you go. It seems at first like there's no main plot but some of the side stories coalesce into one by the end. There's also farming and raising monsters to battle with you. The co-op was a lot of fun but I'm not expecting them to add online mode. 

[Fez]

17 hours ago, RumHam said:

Oooh Legend of Mana is being ported to Switch in June. This Final Fantasy Tactics type game looks good too:

I'm a sucker for Tactics-style games, so I'll probably get this. I was deeply disappointed by Octopath Traveler, but it did look pretty; so if art style is the only connection it could still be okay.

Though I have found that very few Tactics games live up to their promise, and FFT remains the pinnacle of the genre (other than something like XCOM, which is doing something a bit different).

[RumHam]

5 minutes ago, Fez said:

I'm a sucker for Tactics-style games, so I'll probably get this. I was deeply disappointed by Octopath Traveler, but it did look pretty; so if art style is the only connection it could still be okay.

Though I have found that very few Tactics games live up to their promise, and FFT remains the pinnacle of the genre (other than something like XCOM, which is doing something a bit different).

I think Tactics Ogre is a bit better but it's close for sure. 

[briantw]

I've been playing a ton of Valheim the past week.  If you're unfamiliar, it's the latest Steam craze and, I think, well warrants the praise.  It's basically Don't Starve but in 3D and with a Viking makeover.  You play as a Viking warrior who died in battle and find yourself in Valheim, a sort of Norse purgatory where you are tasked (by a raven that functions as your tutorial guide) with exploring the world and eventually summoning and defeating five creatures to prove yourself to Odin and enter Valhalla.  

The game is early access and there are plans to add new biomes and, presumably, bosses in the future.  As of now, there are five populated biomes to go along with each boss and there's also the ocean, which apparently will be expanded later but does host at least a couple of legitimate threats already.

My group got ourselves a private server and have managed to defeat three of the game's five bosses.  We've also expanded into the game's final two biomes, although one of them is a bit too daunting at our current armor and weapon levels to properly explore yet.  

What I really enjoy about this game is the progression system.  You literally cannot progress in this game without defeating bosses, as each boss gives you an item that is essential to progression into the next biome.  The first boss drops a giant antler that is used to create a pickaxe capable of breaking down tin and copper deposits, which you can then use to forge bronze, for example, while the second gives you a key to open crypts in the next biome that contain iron ore deposits.  It's a smart system that encourages constant forward momentum, because the only way to get the best gear is to level yourself up and take down the next boss.  

The game can also be terrifying.  The first time we stumbled across a massive ogre with a tree trunk club, which was just minutes into our first time playing the game, was absolute chaos and panic, as we were in no way prepared to take it down.  Now, ogres are more of an annoyance than anything, and the thing that truly scares me are the aptly named Deathsquitos of the plains biome.  

There are RPG elements at play here too.  You gain levels like in Elder Scrolls games by doing things.  Running will increase your run stat.  Chopping trees will increase that stat.  Fighting enemies with a sword will increase swordfighting.  You get the idea.  Dying loses you ten percent of your total skill points, although you do gain a buff after death that prevents you from losing skill points again for your next death, which means you don't have to fear running back to find your corpse and retrieve your items.  I've only died two or three times so far, but I've also played fairly conservatively, sticking to groups and only exploring safer areas alone, and spending a ton of time building things.

And that brings me to my favorite aspect of Valheim.  Despite the simplistic building system, you can make some truly impressive things.  Our group's first base, while fairly large in size and well defended, looked like shit.  All blocky and purely functional.  Our second major settlement, though, looks entirely different, with buildings that actually look realistic and cool.  Further, I absolutely love the smoke system in the game.  If you build a fire indoors, you need to build a chimney or the room will eventually fill with smoke and start to hurt you.

This is the long hall I was able to construct:

https://i.ibb.co/ctVKrjB/valheim.jpg

Really had a good time putting that one together.

[Rhom]

2 hours ago, briantw said:

There are RPG elements at play here too.  You gain levels like in Elder Scrolls games by doing things.  Running will increase your run stat.  Chopping trees will increase that stat.  Fighting enemies with a sword will increase swordfighting.  You get the idea.  Dying loses you ten percent of your total skill points, although you do gain a buff after death that prevents you from losing skill points again for your next death, which means you don't have to fear running back to find your corpse and retrieve your items.  I've only died two or three times so far, but I've also played fairly conservatively, sticking to groups and only exploring safer areas alone, and spending a ton of time building things.

Elder Scrolls.... pfffft... thats Final Fantasy 2's leveling system.

[briantw]

18 minutes ago, Rhom said:

Elder Scrolls.... pfffft... thats Final Fantasy 2's leveling system.

It's the leveling system from lots of games, but Elder Scrolls is probably the most recognizable.

[Werthead]

 

Diablo 2: Resurrected is a thing happening later this year.

Blizzard's argument seems to be, "Look, we totally fucked up WarCraft III remastered, but trust us, this won't be as screwed, probably." Fortunately it is a different team.

[IlyaP]

11 minutes ago, Werthead said:

Blizzard's argument seems to be, "Look, we totally fucked up WarCraft III remastered, but trust us, this won't be as screwed, probably." Fortunately it is a different team.

Looks nice. Might actually try it. It looks like it's a bit more diverse in its levels and designs than the repetitive designs of Diablo 1. 

[Mexal]

6 hours ago, briantw said:

I've been playing a ton of Valheim the past week.  If you're unfamiliar, it's the latest Steam craze and, I think, well warrants the praise.  It's basically Don't Starve but in 3D and with a Viking makeover.  You play as a Viking warrior who died in battle and find yourself in Valheim, a sort of Norse purgatory where you are tasked (by a raven that functions as your tutorial guide) with exploring the world and eventually summoning and defeating five creatures to prove yourself to Odin and enter Valhalla.  

The game is early access and there are plans to add new biomes and, presumably, bosses in the future.  As of now, there are five populated biomes to go along with each boss and there's also the ocean, which apparently will be expanded later but does host at least a couple of legitimate threats already.

My group got ourselves a private server and have managed to defeat three of the game's five bosses.  We've also expanded into the game's final two biomes, although one of them is a bit too daunting at our current armor and weapon levels to properly explore yet.  

What I really enjoy about this game is the progression system.  You literally cannot progress in this game without defeating bosses, as each boss gives you an item that is essential to progression into the next biome.  The first boss drops a giant antler that is used to create a pickaxe capable of breaking down tin and copper deposits, which you can then use to forge bronze, for example, while the second gives you a key to open crypts in the next biome that contain iron ore deposits.  It's a smart system that encourages constant forward momentum, because the only way to get the best gear is to level yourself up and take down the next boss.  

The game can also be terrifying.  The first time we stumbled across a massive ogre with a tree trunk club, which was just minutes into our first time playing the game, was absolute chaos and panic, as we were in no way prepared to take it down.  Now, ogres are more of an annoyance than anything, and the thing that truly scares me are the aptly named Deathsquitos of the plains biome.  

There are RPG elements at play here too.  You gain levels like in Elder Scrolls games by doing things.  Running will increase your run stat.  Chopping trees will increase that stat.  Fighting enemies with a sword will increase swordfighting.  You get the idea.  Dying loses you ten percent of your total skill points, although you do gain a buff after death that prevents you from losing skill points again for your next death, which means you don't have to fear running back to find your corpse and retrieve your items.  I've only died two or three times so far, but I've also played fairly conservatively, sticking to groups and only exploring safer areas alone, and spending a ton of time building things.

And that brings me to my favorite aspect of Valheim.  Despite the simplistic building system, you can make some truly impressive things.  Our group's first base, while fairly large in size and well defended, looked like shit.  All blocky and purely functional.  Our second major settlement, though, looks entirely different, with buildings that actually look realistic and cool.  Further, I absolutely love the smoke system in the game.  If you build a fire indoors, you need to build a chimney or the room will eventually fill with smoke and start to hurt you.

This is the long hall I was able to construct:

https://i.ibb.co/ctVKrjB/valheim.jpg

Really had a good time putting that one together.

I started playing last night with a few friends and am enjoying it. We're still early days but so far so good. Unfortunately, there are bugs, given the Early Access and earlier this afternoon, I died in a Troll Cave, fell through the world, got my body then fell through the world again and respawned in the basement of a burial thing with a ton of skeletons and now I'm unable to get my body which has all my shit on it. I'm pretty annoyed. So, besides that, fun game...