Videogames: The Sequeling

[Rhom]

Couldn’t get through… now it’s saying estimated availability Q2 2022

ETA:  Finally did get through.  Think its still in that Q2 window.  So for the cost of 1/3 of a lunch at QDoba; I've got a reservation and will also have plenty of time to see what the initial reviews are.   

[l2 0 5 5]

13 hours ago, The Anti-Targ said:

The actor who voices Tommy in The Last of Us has been cast in the show as a not-Tommy character. Also Bill and his friend / probable lover Frank have both been cast, so I guess we'll see a bit of their story, which is good.

I wonder if they will get Nolan North to reprise his role? Since he looks a bit friendlier than his character in the game it makes it even creepier IMO.

Was disappointed that W Earl Brown wasn't cast as Bill.  I wasn't counting on a lot of voice actors to play themselves in the show (though they did with Marlene), but Bill/Earl Brown seemed like a slam dunk considering his HBO ties.  I have faith nonetheless. 

Based on the description of Pierce playing a rebel in a quarantine zone, would venture to say he is playing some form of Robert. 

[RumHam]

1 hour ago, Rhom said:

Couldn’t get through… now it’s saying estimated availability Q2 2022

ETA:  Finally did get through.  Think its still in that Q2 window.  So for the cost of 1/3 of a lunch at QDoba; I've got a reservation and will also have plenty of time to see what the initial reviews are.   

Just put mine through after seeing your edit. No idea what window I got but whatever It's still presumably the only way I'm ever gonna get my hands on one. 

[Rhom]

2 minutes ago, RumHam said:

Just put mine through after seeing your edit. No idea what window I got but whatever It's still presumably the only way I'm ever gonna get my hands on one. 

Yeah, I'm interested enough that I can tie up $5 for a few months if need be.   

I go back and forth between the office and home with a lot of my games and this would just make one more easy way of playing it other than my laptop which is definitely not a gaming device.  I like my Switch, but the game catalogue is a bit limited for what I generally play.

[Werthead]

16 hours ago, Proudfeet said:

Not impressed. 

I primarily play games that are better with keyboard + mouse, so it doesn't do anything for me. And if I want to play games with a controller, why would I play them on one where I have to take a chance on porting? 

Its supposedly running on SteamOS which might not be compatible with many games unless you boot Windows on it which could be a hassle in itself, both loading Windows in and using Windows with a controller. 

Its okay specs wise I suppose. Its better than the Switch and worse than the latest Xbox and PS but that shouldn't be an issue with turn based games or platformers. Might be an issue with fighting or action games but it has the Switch beat and has portability that the Xbox and PS can't offer. 

As far as I can tell, the dock is just a USB hub, so we are supposed to provide our peripherals. Its just a low-end PC when docked.

It has standard Bluetooth connectivity, so absolutely any Bluetooth mouse and keyboard will work fine with it.

SteamOS is compatible with plenty of games and Proton works extremely well on many games. The ones that Proton really struggles with are games with anti-cheating software for multiplayer; Fortnite is a major example and Tim Sweeney has already said that Epic are happy to work with Valve to overcome that problem.

This seems to be generating way more excitement than the Steam Machines. They were a nice idea but fell apart because they couldn't keep the cost down and because the different models from different manufacturers immediately confused people. This is a much more straightforward proposition.

[RumHam]

8 minutes ago, Rhom said:

Yeah, I'm interested enough that I can tie up $5 for a few months if need be.   

I go back and forth between the office and home with a lot of my games and this would just make one more easy way of playing it other than my laptop which is definitely not a gaming device.  I like my Switch, but the game catalogue is a bit limited for what I generally play.

Yeah I'm on a laptop as well. I was considering building a gaming PC but since you can't get the video cards I decided to wait. This seems like a great alternative to that for me. I don't really need anything top of the line, and the portability is a huge plus. 

I had a very positive experience streaming Cyberpunk on GeForce now. If that runs on the steamdeck then it might not even matter that the hardware is not optimal. 

Even if it doesn't though to have something switch-like that I can play Rimworld or Stellaris on or emulate anything probably up to the PS2 level at least is very appealing to me. 

Edit: It's funny I've re-bought sooo many of my steam games on the Switch just to have them portable. Oops. 

[Proudfeet]

5 hours ago, Werthead said:

It has standard Bluetooth connectivity, so absolutely any Bluetooth mouse and keyboard will work fine with it.

SteamOS is compatible with plenty of games and Proton works extremely well on many games. The ones that Proton really struggles with are games with anti-cheating software for multiplayer; Fortnite is a major example and Tim Sweeney has already said that Epic are happy to work with Valve to overcome that problem.

This seems to be generating way more excitement than the Steam Machines. They were a nice idea but fell apart because they couldn't keep the cost down and because the different models from different manufacturers immediately confused people. This is a much more straightforward proposition.

I think you misunderstand me. I think that its selling point is its portability like the Switch. What's the point if I have to lug along a keyboard and mouse and put it on a desk? Its the same issue whether its docked or on Bluetooth, except that when its docked, you're probably expected to provide your own controller on a handheld?

Can't say I'm familiar with the technical aspects of SteamOS and its compatibility. It was just a red flag I picked up while comparing the specifications. I did check out the link provided above on the list of games Proton is compatible with, and it seems to also require a manual effort to iron out issues. Great for popular games but not so much for more niche or obscure games. Regardless, I'm not overly concerned about that. It just doesn't have its own space in my personal venn diagram of how I want to play games.

[kungtotte]

9 hours ago, Proudfeet said:

I think you misunderstand me. I think that its selling point is its portability like the Switch. What's the point if I have to lug along a keyboard and mouse and put it on a desk? Its the same issue whether its docked or on Bluetooth, except that when its docked, you're probably expected to provide your own controller on a handheld?

Can't say I'm familiar with the technical aspects of SteamOS and its compatibility. It was just a red flag I picked up while comparing the specifications. I did check out the link provided above on the list of games Proton is compatible with, and it seems to also require a manual effort to iron out issues. Great for popular games but not so much for more niche or obscure games. Regardless, I'm not overly concerned about that. It just doesn't have its own space in my personal venn diagram of how I want to play games.

For some games it's absolutely plug and play. There's a list of officially supported title that obviously work, but there's quite a few others that aren't officially supported but still work just as well. Platinum rating on protondb means it runs out of the box, gold means it runs with minor tweaks.

Niche and obscure games are indeed hit or miss.

[Werthead]

10 hours ago, Proudfeet said:

I think you misunderstand me. I think that its selling point is its portability like the Switch. What's the point if I have to lug along a keyboard and mouse and put it on a desk? Its the same issue whether its docked or on Bluetooth, except that when its docked, you're probably expected to provide your own controller on a handheld?

If you're in a hotel, it's probably not a problem, but if you want to use it on a plane or on the train, probably less useful. But then it sounds like you wouldn't be interested in any mobile device.

Most PC games these days are optimised for controller as well as keyboard and mouse, and like the Steam Controller this uses trackpads to allow for precision, mouse-like control, but some games that would really benefit from that (like strategy games) might struggle with the small screen size, unless the UI is very scalable.

[Proudfeet]

13 minutes ago, Werthead said:

If you're in a hotel, it's probably not a problem, but if you want to use it on a plane or on the train, probably less useful. But then it sounds like you wouldn't be interested in any mobile device.

Most PC games these days are optimised for controller as well as keyboard and mouse, and like the Steam Controller this uses trackpads to allow for precision, mouse-like control, but some games that would really benefit from that (like strategy games) might struggle with the small screen size, unless the UI is very scalable.

I'm not playing an FPS or RTS with a controller. Its certainly possible, as FPS games are regularly released on the PS and Xbox, but it isn't the greatest experience. 

Portability is a secondary factor to being controller friendly. I just don't think that games that require keyboard + mouse are portable and controller friendly games are also often available with the Switch, which also offers a library of games not available on the PC. 

The Deck does look good as a controller. It has an actual Dpad and a right analog stick unlike the Steam Controller which replaced them with large obnoxious track pads that aren't particularly useful. Oh, it is also USB chargeable so you don't have to constantly charge/change batteries which often get stuck. Did I mention that its not usable outside of Steam? I do own a Steam Controller. Its a purchase I regret.

[RumHam]

4 hours ago, Proudfeet said:

I'm not playing an FPS or RTS with a controller. Its certainly possible, as FPS games are regularly released on the PS and Xbox, but it isn't the greatest experience. 

Personally I disagree about playing  FPSes with a controller. I acknowledge mouse and keyboard makes it easier to aim precisely, but even when playing on PC I much prefer leaning back with a controller to hunched over a keyboard and mouse. 

Using the left switch joy-con to walk and reload and whatnot and mouse to aim is a lot better than using WASD in my opinion. Or in something like splatoon 2 the motion controls allow mouse-like quick aiming. That game was great. 

[RumHam]

heh, what the fuck:

eBay Is Already Filled With Steam Deck Scalpers Asking For Way Too Much Money

How do you sell something you don't have, and don't actually know when you're going to get it? 

[Proudfeet]

2 minutes ago, RumHam said:

Personally I disagree about playing  FPSes with a controller. I acknowledge mouse and keyboard makes it easier to aim precisely, but even when playing on PC I much prefer leaning back with a controller to hunched over a keyboard and mouse. 

Using the left switch joy-con to walk and reload and whatnot and mouse to aim is a lot better than using WASD in my opinion. Or in something like splatoon 2 the motion controls allow mouse-like quick aiming. That game was great. 

Its not just about aiming precisely. Its also about the number of keys available, although I suppose that depends on the game in question.

2 minutes ago, RumHam said:

heh, what the fuck:

eBay Is Already Filled With Steam Deck Scalpers Asking For Way Too Much Money

How do you sell something you don't have, and don't actually know when you're going to get it? 

Hope they get burned.

[Fez]

Played a lot more ME: Andromeda, and I'm pretty sure I'll see it through to the end this time (although  I am going on vacation starting this Wednesday, and even with great games I can have trouble getting back into them if I don't play them for a while). I am having fun, although large sections of the game have become a podcast game; which just feels wrong. But roaming around the planets is straight up boring on it own; and that's even with me skipping a huge number of the side quests.

There is some good fun to be had in the game though. Since the combat itself is fun I'm enjoying the bigger combat sections. And I'm glad I gave the squad and ship crew a second chance, since I think some of them are actually pretty good characters. Vetra in particular is right up there with the writing quality of someone from Shepard's crew. The only ones that are actually bad are Cora and Gil. Liam's a whiny asshole, but I think it's on purpose since everyone calls him out on it regularly. Which is an interesting choice for a party member. Makes it hard to care about him, but it is interesting to see what fuckup he'll do next.

I think Ryder herself is a good character, who is on a believable arc from an in-over-her-head rookie to a confident leader. And I do keep finding cool lore, some of which is also well written.  I think the Ryder Family Secrets quest would hold up with anything from the original trilogy. Not the open world aspect of triggering each section of it, but the sections themselves back at the Nexus. And I suspect some of this stuff will in fact tie in to the next Mass Effect game, assuming it isn't all answered in ME:A itself (and my understanding is that it's not). Stuff like:

Spoiler

 

• Someone warned the Andromeda Initiative's founder back in 2179 that "something big is coming to the Milky Way", that's 4 years before Shepard found the beacon on Eden Prime.
• Someone, possibly this same person, called only the "Mysterious Benefactor" secretly contributed a huge amount of funding to complete the Initiative when the founder ran out of money. And they kept the imminent Reaper invasion a secret; when the Initiative ships leave in 2184/85, prior to the start of the invasion, they all thought this was just a science/exploration/colonization effort. Not a survival effort.
• The Benefactor also had an interest in AI research, and connected Alec Ryder (main character's father) to the Initiative to help him complete his research.
• There's hints the Benefactor has connections to the Andromeda galaxy. Though whether they had them back in the 22nd century or if they secretly came with the Initiative and established them in 29th century is unknown.
• Regardless though, someone murdered the Initiative's founder when the ships arrived in Andromeda and made it look like an accident.
• Possibly related or possibly coincidence/callback, there's several ex-Cerberus folks in Andromeda.
• However, the Benefactor is not the Illusive Man, because she's a woman. I've seen speculation online that the Benefactor is actually Liara, because Liara was in communication with Alec Ryder and she did end up becoming the Shadow Broker. However, Liara had no resources back in 2179 and ordering the founder murdered doesn't seem her style.
• None of the QEC devices to talk with the Milky Way galaxy are working. And the Milky Way did not send any communications to the Initiative ships while they were in transit. I'm sure this originally was a decision made to not talk about the ME3 ending. But it could also be an important plot hook now that Bioware is making a Milky Way-based game again.
• There is at least one exception to the above bullet point, Liara sent more messages to Alec Ryder in 2186 during the Normandy's flight to the final battle in the Sol System (also Alec Ryder has a recording of Admiral Hackett's order to disperse after the initial Reaper strike on Earth). The messages we hear in-game are all relatively generic. But there's no guarantee that's all that she said (e.g., earlier in the game you find Liara messages from 2181, which are clearly just fragments of what she told Alec Ryder).
• Lastly, Alec Ryder knew Garrus' dad, and he also warned Ryder the Reapers were coming. It's unknown if they made any plans together though or if that's just a little tie-in story beat.

 

If you don't like the ME:A gameplay or hate all the writing, I don't think it's at all worth playing through the game to learn that stuff first hand (though those handful moments that direct reference the original games did give me chills). But they are some pretty cool hooks for the next game I think, even if it's a direct sequel to the OT and set entirely in the Milky Way. And since I am overall enjoying the game, I'm glad I learned that all first-hand (I didn't play long back in 2017 to reach any of that).

[Werthead]

Getting through the Mankind Divided DLC, which I didn't play through during my original playthrough.

Desperate Measures was the Day One DLC for the game, which for some reason I didn't play on release. I think I was waiting for all of it to come out. It's fine, but mega short (you can do it in an hour, easily) and should have been incorporated in the main game.

System Rift is pretty good, reuniting Jensen with Frank Pritchard from the first game and introducing a solid new character, ShadowChild, who was a reasonably fun addition to the Deus Ex mythos. The actual mission is pretty epic, the second Palisade Bank is far more impressive than the one in the original game and there's some knotty mission infiltration stuff going on there. It takes a reasonable amount of time as well.

Both DLC do suffer, as Missing Link did in the original game, from not interfacing with the main game. The DLC doesn't "talk" to the main game so you have to rest all your inventory and augments from scratch again, which is a total pain especially because if you're a completionist you should have at lest twice as many Praxis points as the DLC assume you have. Still, it makes the DLC somewhat more challenging.

Onto A Criminal Past next.

[IlyaP]

55 minutes ago, Werthead said:

Getting through the Mankind Divided DLC, which I didn't play through during my original playthrough.

Have installed Mankind Divided based on the above writing. Will finally explore that game once I've finished Cyberpunk 2077, which I just installed and am adoring. (I'm a sucker for any game that lets me casually walk around a detailed world in a first-person perspective.)

[The Anti-Targ]

About the only reason I have a Windows OS is for the gaemz. I am not an early access adopter so I guess it might be a while before I shift and use Proton but I will be keeping an eye out for when I can make the switch. Fortunately my brother is a Linux whizz, so he'll be my tech support. It will have to be able to play Total War and Baldur's Gate 3 reliably before I will move.

[kungtotte]

4 hours ago, The Anti-Targ said:

About the only reason I have a Windows OS is for the gaemz. I am not an early access adopter so I guess it might be a while before I shift and use Proton but I will be keeping an eye out for when I can make the switch. Fortunately my brother is a Linux whizz, so he'll be my tech support. It will have to be able to play Total War and Baldur's Gate 3 reliably before I will move.

All of the Total War titles are either native or rated as platinum (i.e. runs like they were native). Some mods might be tricky to install for older titles like Medieval 2 though.

BG3 is rated gold, which means it runs but with some tweaks required. The latest report says it just runs out of the box, so it might be getting upgraded to platinum after a few reports.

If you're happy with Windows, don't bother switching though.

[Werthead]

Warhammer II works fine on Proton, Rome II has a ton of minor issues with various workarounds, the rest seem to fall somewhere inbetween.

The main issue with all the Total War games is multiplayer: playing another Proton player is fine, playing someone on Windows when you are using Proton can cause headaches.

[kungtotte]

4 minutes ago, Werthead said:

Warhammer II works fine on Proton, Rome II has a ton of minor issues with various workarounds, the rest seem to fall somewhere inbetween.

The main issue with all the Total War games is multiplayer: playing another Proton player is fine, playing someone on Windows when you are using Proton can cause headaches.

Warhammer 2 is not running via Proton unless you specifically tell Steam to use the Proton compatibility layer for it, since it's available natively on Linux.

Reports on protondb says that the Proton version runs better than the native port however, so that might be something you want to do anyway.