Video Games - Storage Space Blues

[Proudfeet]

On 5/21/2022 at 1:39 AM, Ran said:

It runs quite well from videos I've seen (there' some Youtube videos suggesting dumping the default settings and tweaking them). 30 FPS easy, and I've seen people hitting 50+FPS while driving around in Night City.

Can't imagine 30 FPS is acceptable now. Age of Empires had a bug a couple of months back that capped the FPS to "60". Felt like a slideshow and was incredibly frustrating. 30 frames on a first person shooter sounds like a disaster. 

[Ran]

11 minutes ago, Proudfeet said:

Can't imagine 30 FPS is acceptable now.

Lots of people have played it at 30 FPS on consoles like the Xbox S without any issue. Stability matters more than framerate. Rock-solid 30 FPS is better than janky 60 FPS IMO.

 

[Proudfeet]

4 minutes ago, Ran said:

Lots of people have played it at 30 FPS on consoles like the Xbox S without any issue. Stability matters more than framerate. Rock-solid 30 FPS is better than janky 60 FPS IMO.

 

It was rock solid 60 FPS for me. I never go below 100 FPS, so that certainly wasn't the issue.

[Ran]

3 hours ago, Proudfeet said:

It was rock solid 60 FPS for me. I never go below 100 FPS, so that certainly wasn't the issue.

Yes, but rock solid 60FPS is asking a lot from the Steam Deck, which is what we're talking about, when it comes to CP2077. 

It's not a fast paced competitive FPS like Quake Arena or Apex Legends. 30 FPS is very playable, which is impressive when you consider the form factor. And again, people who did some tweaks were able to push it higher if they wanted.

[IlyaP]

1 hour ago, Ran said:

Yes, but rock solid 60FPS is asking a lot form the Steam Deck, which is what we're talking about, when it comes to CP2077. 

*ears perk up*

Did somebody mention Cyberpunk 2077?

[Caligula_K3]

On 5/16/2022 at 10:09 PM, IlyaP said:

Friends have told me that DS3 really requires players to be patient, as boss fights can be murder and if one is prone to impatience, then it's a recipe for disaster and frustration/irritation. That sound about right to you?

That does sound about right. I've found patience is my key to victory in all Dark Souls games, especially because I nearly always play a sword and shield character. Block some attacks, counterattack. Draw the enemies out one by one. For bigger enemies, dodge and then attack.

The thing about DS3 that makes it my favourite Dark Souls game, though, is that there are far more bonfires. Usually there are bonfires very close to boss fights. So while it can still be irritating to die to a boss for the fifteenth time, you can jump right back into the fight and try again. In Dark Souls 1, bonfires are really rare and are often 3-4 minutes away from the boss fight. That's when it gets really frustrating for me.

Case in point - I'm re-playing Dark Souls 1 and thinking of giving up. I'm playing through Sen's Fortress; I keep getting to the very top, close to where the next bonfire is, and dying to a swinging pendulum whose depth I have a lot of trouble seeing. I wouldn't mind this kind of challenge, except it takes me about 8-10 minutes to get back up there, and if I'm not careful and try to rush it, I'll die to some enemy on the way up. I've beaten Dark Souls 1 twice before, so I know I can get through this. But I don't know if I have the patience anymore. It kind of sucks when you have twenty-thirty minutes to play video games each day and you feel like you're making no progress.

[RumHam]

7 hours ago, Caligula_K3 said:

Case in point - I'm re-playing Dark Souls 1 and thinking of giving up. I'm playing through Sen's Fortress; I keep getting to the very top, close to where the next bonfire is, and dying to a swinging pendulum whose depth I have a lot of trouble seeing. I wouldn't mind this kind of challenge, except it takes me about 8-10 minutes to get back up there, and if I'm not careful and try to rush it, I'll die to some enemy on the way up. I've beaten Dark Souls 1 twice before, so I know I can get through this. But I don't know if I have the patience anymore. It kind of sucks when you have twenty-thirty minutes to play video games each day and you feel like you're making no progress.

This section drove me to finally buy new joycons that didn't drift. What a pain.

[IlyaP]

On 5/22/2022 at 11:44 PM, Caligula_K3 said:

That does sound about right. I've found patience is my key to victory in all Dark Souls games, especially because I nearly always play a sword and shield character. Block some attacks, counterattack. Draw the enemies out one by one. For bigger enemies, dodge and then attack.

The thing about DS3 that makes it my favourite Dark Souls game, though, is that there are far more bonfires. Usually there are bonfires very close to boss fights. So while it can still be irritating to die to a boss for the fifteenth time, you can jump right back into the fight and try again. In Dark Souls 1, bonfires are really rare and are often 3-4 minutes away from the boss fight. That's when it gets really frustrating for me.

Case in point - I'm re-playing Dark Souls 1 and thinking of giving up. I'm playing through Sen's Fortress; I keep getting to the very top, close to where the next bonfire is, and dying to a swinging pendulum whose depth I have a lot of trouble seeing. I wouldn't mind this kind of challenge, except it takes me about 8-10 minutes to get back up there, and if I'm not careful and try to rush it, I'll die to some enemy on the way up. I've beaten Dark Souls 1 twice before, so I know I can get through this. But I don't know if I have the patience anymore. It kind of sucks when you have twenty-thirty minutes to play video games each day and you feel like you're making no progress.

This bit here, Cal, is exactly how I feel about SO many games these days. I'm an especially time-poor netizen with a demanding job and a finite amount of energy and an ever-expanding library (I swear to Jad, it just spawns new books like the flippin' Athenaeum in Nevernight!), so playing a game that doesn't let me feel a sense of progress is - can be - infuriating. Especially - lookin' at you here, Blizzard games! - when it requires a net connection! Does Blizzard not understand how fantastically awful the internet is in Australia? Just let us play the damn games offline already!

[Werthead]

Hardspace: Shipbreaker out today and it becomes a very rare Day 1 purchase from me (albeit after two years in Early Access).

Reviews across the board have been outstanding. The soundtrack, the unusual gameplay loops and the physics have all been highly praised, as has the dystopian storyline that pushes you right into the grunt end of things rather than being some kind of death-dealing hero.

Not bad for a game concept created in 10 minutes during an internal gamejam and the need to use a title they'd already paid to trademark but then hadn't used (the title was originally going to be used for Homeworld: Deserts of Kharak).

 

[Fez]

Owlcat Games, makers of Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous my 2021 GOTY, have announced via an obvious, albeit untitled, splash page (https://whatisnext.owlcat.games/) that their next game is going to be a Starfinder CRPG. Starfinder is a slightly modified Pathfinder ruleset that is set many thousands of years after the Pathfinder setting. It's sci-fi fantasy instead of medieval fantasy, and mostly spaceport- and starship-based rather than planet-based (and Golarion itself has disappeared; it's the big background mystery of the setting, like the death of Aroden is for Pathfinder).

I've never played Starfinder, but I'm very excited for another game from this team and I do like the idea of non-traditional setting for a CRPG. There aren't enough of those. And I'm glad Owlcat is still functioning at all. As of the start of the year they were based half in Cyprus and half in Russia, and after Russia invaded Ukraine and the sanctions kicked in I wondered what would happen to them. From what I've gathered though, they are headquartered in Cyprus and over the first month or so of the invasion most of their Moscow employees relocated to Cyprus or a new office in Armenia. I'd imagine any who remained in Moscow are no longer employees simply due to sanctions, but that I don't know for certain.

[IlyaP]

3 hours ago, Fez said:

From what I've gathered though, they are headquartered in Cyprus and over the first month or so of the invasion most of their Moscow employees relocated to Cyprus or a new office in Armenia. I'd imagine any who remained in Moscow are no longer employees simply due to sanctions, but that I don't know for certain.

Well, I can tell you this: the quality of the coffee available to them in increased almost immediately by relocating to Cyprus .

(I cry every time I go back to Moscow and try to get a standard cappuccino. It makes the Ilya a sadpanda.png.)

[IlyaP]

https://www.videogameschronicle.com/news/dialogue-from-cyberpunks-first-expansion-appears-to-have-leaked-outlining-the-main-quest/

Found out about this courtesy of Eurogamer this morning. Though it's not technically correct when EG says players can't access the sports arena - it *can* be done. But there's really not much to see. And the area behind the stadium is mostly unused/unfinished/abandoned assets, including a pile of tires that are on fire and transparent buildings.

 

[Ran]

Epic Games has unveiled the BioShock Collection (containing the remastered BioShock 1 & 2, BioShock Infinite, and their DLCs) as the free game of the week. I've actually never played the series.

[IlyaP]

5 minutes ago, Ran said:

Epic Games has unveiled the BioShock Collection (containing the remastered BioShock 1 & 2, BioShock Infinite, and their DLCs) as the free game of the week. I've actually never played the series.

I've tried it and...I... @Ran, I know they're acclaimed and stuff, but...I just...don't get it. Every single one has...bored me so much. I feel like a naughty boy for even saying such things, like saying "I tHiNk SyStEm ShOcK wAs BoRiNg!" or something!

[Toth]

35 minutes ago, IlyaP said:

I've tried it and...I... @Ran, I know they're acclaimed and stuff, but...I just...don't get it. Every single one has...bored me so much. I feel like a naughty boy for even saying such things, like saying "I tHiNk SyStEm ShOcK wAs BoRiNg!" or something!

Note that at the time it came out, Bioshock was especially lauded for its graphics, especially when it comes to water effects and textures with depth tricks. So the fun in Bioshock stems mostly from looking at things and taking in the atmosphere. The gunplay and gimmicky environmental combat is fine, but nothing groundbreaking, but the main plot is pretty bland. Admittedly, I never really got far into Bioshock 2 after that, it seemed to me mostly just a rehash of the same game, but with a Big Daddy protagonist.

Bioshock Infinite similarly has the beauty and violence of Columbia as a focus, but also has going for it the vicious criticism of American exceptionalism and evangelical hypocrisy, which is here even more central than the mockery of objectivism that was Rapture. I'd also say that it did some interesting things with its time paradox plot and Elizabeth was adorable. Though I must say, I never played the DLCs and am thankful for now being able to try them out at some point. I know their basic plot though and am not quite sure I'm happy with what they did to Elizabeth.^^

So all in all: These games are all about the atmosphere and environment and are pretty competent at that. But don't expect any groundbreaking gameplay. Case in point, the following music video caused me to buy it back in the day:

 

[Heartofice]

5 hours ago, IlyaP said:

I've tried it and...I... @Ran, I know they're acclaimed and stuff, but...I just...don't get it. Every single one has...bored me so much. I feel like a naughty boy for even saying such things, like saying "I tHiNk SyStEm ShOcK wAs BoRiNg!" or something!

Have to agree. I never loved the games. I played Bioshock one and forced myself to get through it because so many people lauded its story. Sure, it's setting and story are interesting, but the gameplay itself wasn't great. I just didn't enjoy the combat system, I felt moving around was kind of sluggish and the setting was just dark and make me feel unpleasant.

I also got Infinite and enjoyed it a little bit more, but it was far from a great game for me, mainly for the same reasons; nice setting and graphics, liked the story, but the gameplay wasn't all that fun. 

[briantw]

2 hours ago, Heartofice said:

Have to agree. I never loved the games. I played Bioshock one and forced myself to get through it because so many people lauded its story. Sure, it's setting and story are interesting, but the gameplay itself wasn't great. I just didn't enjoy the combat system, I felt moving around was kind of sluggish and the setting was just dark and make me feel unpleasant.

I also got Infinite and enjoyed it a little bit more, but it was far from a great game for me, mainly for the same reasons; nice setting and graphics, liked the story, but the gameplay wasn't all that fun. 

I really loved BioShock right up until the twist that happens prior to the last act.  The twist itself was awesome, but the narrative kind of goes to shit after the death of a certain character.  The endings themselves are abrupt and very unsatisfying.

I also think the gameplay was fine when the game came out, but probably doesn’t seem like anything special two decades later. 

[RumHam]

I'm pretty sure Bioshock is the game I bounced off of because you couldn't aim down the sights? I should probably try it again but coming off whatever Battlefield game I was playing that annoyed the hell out of me.

[Ran]

42 minutes ago, RumHam said:

I'm pretty sure Bioshock is the game I bounced off of because you couldn't aim down the sights?

You can, with the Z key (or have to rebind your controller to use it), but a quick Google shows a lot of people did not realize that.

[Fez]

I'm so bad with horror in games that Bioshock was too much for me; didn't like the splicers jumping out of the darkness at all. Bioshock Infinite on the other hand I really liked a lot; even though ultimately I don't think the story did enough with the initial premise.