Videogames 2023 pt. II: Can We patreon This Man an Alienware Already?

[Arakasi]

Going to play some Long War 1 in between playthroughs of WotR. Was able to figure out how to install it on my steam deck as well as get table top mods on WotR. Need to figure out how to use the respec mod since I want to change some of these undead characters into useful classes. I’m going for a caster party built around lich leader. Want a Kineticist and winter witch in there backed up by a court poet Skald.

Edited May 15, 2023 by Arakasi

[briantw]

So far the toughest enemy in Tears of the Kingdom is the controller.  Whoever decided to reverse the A & B buttons can fuck right off.  I've died at least three times because the buttons are so ass backwards. 

[RumHam]

1 hour ago, briantw said:

So far the toughest enemy in Tears of the Kingdom is the controller.  Whoever decided to reverse the A & B buttons can fuck right off.  I've died at least three times because the buttons are so ass backwards. 

...so Sony? Microsoft? I mean nintendo was first right? Someone else changed it. 

The best thing about the steam deck is that you can customize the controls for games that otherwise will not allow it. If I remember right Microsoft has something similar for accessibility on the Xbox. All companies should do that. 

[briantw]

9 hours ago, RumHam said:

...so Sony? Microsoft? I mean nintendo was first right? Someone else changed it. 

The best thing about the steam deck is that you can customize the controls for games that otherwise will not allow it. If I remember right Microsoft has something similar for accessibility on the Xbox. All companies should do that. 

What’s even more inexplicable is that they let you swap two of the buttons, but it’s not two that make the scheme make much more sense.  

[Rhom]

Decided to try to finish out Baldurs Gate.  Got to the top of Iron Throne HQ and Cynthandria handed me my ass a couple times.  (Didn’t know to keep my priest out of view!  Those fireballs are vicious!)

So anyways, I accepted her surrender but someone died so I reloaded.

This time I didn’t accept the surrender.   Minsc got turned to stone, but everyone else survived.  So after finishing her off, I used a scroll to free him of the stone.  And as soon as I did, he got all uppity and he and Dynaheir left.

Was that because I decided to kill the evil Wizard?

[RumHam]

I read in the patch notes that the Stellaris devs tried to cut down on the number of notifications with this update. I've never been so inundated with them. I got into a war with a civilization of raiders, and they keep abducting people from one of my recently conqured planets. 

It's so annoying to have a constant stream of "one of your pops has been abducted!" notifications. I don't even care about this planet, I'm busy neutron sweeping on the other side of the galaxy. It's super hard to keep track of everything else with this constant stream of icons and dings. Why doesn't this game have more UI options... If I could just tell it to stop the game would be playable again. But I think I'm done with this run, for a very stupid reason. 

[Heartofice]

Tours and Tournaments DLC for Crusader Kings 3 is a lot of fun, it really adds to the sense of character and event. I think there was something kind of missing previously in that the game felt like it was just twiddling it's thumbs in between wars and that actually it's warfare that you should be concentrating on. But now they are slowly building the game into more of a storytelling tool, and allowing you to play the game in the way in which I think the devs intended.

My current run through was as Robert Curthouse of Normandy, Son and Heir of William the Conquerer. In this game he's a pretty crappy character: Lazy and Zealous. So I played him that way. While Daddy was away taking over England I played at hunting and just having fun, letting others do the work for me and generally cheating my way through life. Things like expanded Hunts really help tell that story. Then when William died in his 40s I took over the throne and maintained my lifestyle of not really caring too much about the kingdom but instead focussing on doing as little as possible and having fun.

I know some people like to min/max this game but that is a terrible way to play it IMO. It's far more fun to have a character who is actually pretty shitty and makes poor life choices and see how it plays out.

[Darryk]

18 hours ago, Rhom said:

Decided to try to finish out Baldurs Gate.  Got to the top of Iron Throne HQ and Cynthandria handed me my ass a couple times.  (Didn’t know to keep my priest out of view!  Those fireballs are vicious!)

So anyways, I accepted her surrender but someone died so I reloaded.

This time I didn’t accept the surrender.   Minsc got turned to stone, but everyone else survived.  So after finishing her off, I used a scroll to free him of the stone.  And as soon as I did, he got all uppity and he and Dynaheir left.

Was that because I decided to kill the evil Wizard?

Sounds like a bug.

[Corvinus85]

4 hours ago, Heartofice said:

Tours and Tournaments DLC for Crusader Kings 3 is a lot of fun, it really adds to the sense of character and event. I think there was something kind of missing previously in that the game felt like it was just twiddling it's thumbs in between wars and that actually it's warfare that you should be concentrating on. But now they are slowly building the game into more of a storytelling tool, and allowing you to play the game in the way in which I think the devs intended.

My current run through was as Robert Curthouse of Normandy, Son and Heir of William the Conquerer. In this game he's a pretty crappy character: Lazy and Zealous. So I played him that way. While Daddy was away taking over England I played at hunting and just having fun, letting others do the work for me and generally cheating my way through life. Things like expanded Hunts really help tell that story. Then when William died in his 40s I took over the throne and maintained my lifestyle of not really caring too much about the kingdom but instead focussing on doing as little as possible and having fun.

I know some people like to min/max this game but that is a terrible way to play it IMO. It's far more fun to have a character who is actually pretty shitty and makes poor life choices and see how it plays out.

I am still trying to learn the base game, but I don't know if this game is really my cup of tea, for all that I love both strategy games and medieval settings. Warfare is kinda ridiculous in this game and the economy is weak. Besides the steep learning curve, I'm not sure the game satisfies the presentation of achievements in relation to the work you put in (I don't know if I have the right words for it). For example in Total War, you fight a battle with armies of hundreds and thousands and you get to crush your enemy, see them driven before you etc. In this game, you read about it in a box. And even when it comes to the game's strengths, the characters and making various decisions, I find it very confusing. I feel like I need a separate spreadsheet with my own custom map to know who is who, what they can do, where all the titles are at for which I have claims and so on. ugh 

The new DLC does make the game more appealing, but not sure how much. I watched some videos, and again I find the presentation lacking. They couldn't afford some graphics of knights actually smashing each other in the lists? I really want to like this game because of stories like the above, but I don't know. 

[Heartofice]

12 minutes ago, Corvinus85 said:

I am still trying to learn the base game, but I don't know if this game is really my cup of tea, for all that I love both strategy games and medieval settings. Warfare is kinda ridiculous in this game and the economy is weak. Besides the steep learning curve, I'm not sure the game satisfies the presentation of achievements in relation to the work you put in (I don't know if I have the right words for it). For example in Total War, you fight a battle with armies of hundreds and thousands and you get to crush your enemy, see them driven before you etc. In this game, you read about it in a box. And even when it comes to the game's strengths, the characters and making various decisions, I find it very confusing. I feel like I need a separate spreadsheet with my own custom map to know who is who, what they can do, where all the titles are at for which I have claims and so on. ugh 

The new DLC does make the game more appealing, but not sure how much. I watched some videos, and again I find the presentation lacking. They couldn't afford some graphics of knights actually smashing each other in the lists? I really want to like this game because of stories like the above, but I don't know. 

I think the difficulty with this game is that it is presented like a sort of standard 4X style strategy game, when in reality it is closer to something like The Sims or an RPG. Definitely the game could use a more graphic interface, and while its certainly more user friendly than a lot of Paradox games its still weighed down by the way they make their games.

The easiest way to think about this game is that it's a story creation engine. It's not a strategy game. If you try and play it as a strategy game and 'beat it', you will be bored in hours. The whole point is to live alongside your character, you get to know them, you know the people they interact with, and you basically watch their lives unfold and then their children's and their children.

I still have Total War if I want to scratch my warfare itch, but this game is really not about war or strategy, even if it looks like it should be.

[Darryk]

1 hour ago, Corvinus85 said:

I am still trying to learn the base game, but I don't know if this game is really my cup of tea, for all that I love both strategy games and medieval settings. Warfare is kinda ridiculous in this game and the economy is weak. Besides the steep learning curve, I'm not sure the game satisfies the presentation of achievements in relation to the work you put in (I don't know if I have the right words for it). For example in Total War, you fight a battle with armies of hundreds and thousands and you get to crush your enemy, see them driven before you etc. In this game, you read about it in a box. And even when it comes to the game's strengths, the characters and making various decisions, I find it very confusing. I feel like I need a separate spreadsheet with my own custom map to know who is who, what they can do, where all the titles are at for which I have claims and so on. ugh 

The new DLC does make the game more appealing, but not sure how much. I watched some videos, and again I find the presentation lacking. They couldn't afford some graphics of knights actually smashing each other in the lists? I really want to like this game because of stories like the above, but I don't know. 

Yeah I'm also struggling to get into it, as much as I crave a medieval strategy game.

I wish there was a Medieval Total War 3

 

[polishgenius]

It's not gonna scratch that Total War itch but I wanna give this a try at some stage. 

 

 

I haven't played CK, but I've got both Stellaris and Europa Universalis IV and I find the entry point for being good enough to actually play it to be very high. Especially EU. Gonna really have to sit down and spend like a whole weekend attacking it, one day. The idea really appeals, there's just so much going on.

[Heartofice]

30 minutes ago, Darryk said:

Yeah I'm also struggling to get into it, as much as I crave a medieval strategy game.

I wish there was a Medieval Total War 3

 

I'm happy playing total war but I really struggle to consider it a strategy game either. The battles essentially operate as RTS, more like playing command and conquer. 

[Darryk]

6 minutes ago, Heartofice said:

I'm happy playing total war but I really struggle to consider it a strategy game either. The battles essentially operate as RTS, more like playing command and conquer. 

I guess we're still crying out for a medieval strategy game that combines the battles of Total War with more advanced economy, diplomacy and intrigue.

[Heartofice]

1 minute ago, Darryk said:

I guess we're still crying out for a medieval strategy game that combines the battles of Total War with more advanced economy, diplomacy and intrigue.

I think this what always bothered me playing something like EU4 or even Civ games, I just want to jump into those battles and fight them. Watching it play out in those games is pretty unsatisfying. That's kind of why I suggest with CK3 to not even worry about the warfare bit, it's almost irrelevant to the game.

The economy and diplomacy in TW games is really pretty weak. Warhammer 3 adds all these mechanics but essentially its all in service to getting into a battle. There is no real empire management in any of it, and maybe there never will be.

[Corvinus85]

30 minutes ago, polishgenius said:

It's not gonna scratch that Total War itch but I wanna give this a try at some stage. 

 

 

I haven't played CK, but I've got both Stellaris and Europa Universalis IV and I find the entry point for being good enough to actually play it to be very high. Especially EU. Gonna really have to sit down and spend like a whole weekend attacking it, one day. The idea really appeals, there's just so much going on.

Heh, I suppose the principles are the same, but umm, yeah it won't scratch that itch for sure.

Stellaris is the only Paradox grand strategy game where I had some success. It is definitely easier to get into, and I enjoy the exploration and colonization mechanics, and the fact that you can build and customize your ships and see them fight. But once your empire grows and you start making contact with more and more civilizations, it becomes overwhelming. I usually quit sometime in the mid-late game.

8 minutes ago, Heartofice said:

I'm happy playing total war but I really struggle to consider it a strategy game either. The battles essentially operate as RTS, more like playing command and conquer. 

Well, RTS is still strategy. In the end, all strategy games are numbers games. It's about what sort of immersion you get. Total War does become annoying when you have to win by fast clicking instead of coming up with a good tactical plan.

Just now, Darryk said:

I guess we're still crying out for a medieval strategy game that combines the battles of Total War with more advanced economy, diplomacy and intrigue.

Knights of Honor 2 should have been that game. Sadly they made few efforts in improving gameplay over its predecessor, especially the battles which are just terrible. It is good at the kingdom management and economic aspects, but its diplomacy is a bit wonky and the intrigue stuff is ok. I didn't play that much to learn that aspect.

[Heartofice]

5 minutes ago, Corvinus85 said:

Well, RTS is still strategy. In the end, all strategy games are numbers games. It's about what sort of immersion you get. Total War does become annoying when you have to win by fast clicking instead of coming up with a good tactical plan.

True, but as you say they tend to lean more into being fast clicking action games than thoughtful grand strategies that tax your brain and reward smart thinking. 

[Corvinus85]

12 minutes ago, Heartofice said:

The economy and diplomacy in TW games is really pretty weak. Warhammer 3 adds all these mechanics but essentially its all in service to getting into a battle. There is no real empire management in any of it, and maybe there never will be.

I would never expect Warhammer Fantasy to delve too much with the economy, and they did make some strides with diplomacy. That being said, the recently added Chaos Dwarfs really do feel like they have an economy because of all the added resources.

But on the more "historical" side, both Three Kingdoms and Troy improved on previous games. 3K has the most complex diplomatic system of any TW game, as well some good kingdom management mechanics. And thanks to having to deal with five different resources, Troy has a more complex economic system.

Now if CA could be bothered to make a game that brings all the positive features of all their previous games in one, it would be great. Bring back naval battles, too.

[Heartofice]

1 minute ago, Corvinus85 said:

I would never expect Warhammer Fantasy to delve too much with the economy, and they did make some strides with diplomacy. That being said, the recently added Chaos Dwarfs really do feel like they have an economy because of all the added resources.

But on the more "historical" side, both Three Kingdoms and Troy improved on previous games. 3K has the most complex diplomatic system of any TW game, as well some good kingdom management mechanics. And thanks to having to deal with five different resources, Troy has a more complex economic system.

Now if CA could be bothered to make a game that brings all the positive features of all their previous games in one, it would be great. Bring back naval battles, too.

TBF I've never played Troy or 3K but from what I've seen what CA mainly doing with Warhammer is to just steal mechanics from both of those games and adapt them. But what might seem like some sort of intricate system is really pretty empty and flat and doesn't massively change how you play the game. Even the new Chaos Dwarf DLC that I just bought has what should be the most advanced economy stuff in W3... but really its all just a combination of other mechanics thrown together and it doesn't affect gameplay hugely.

I would like a real mix of CK3, EU4 and Total War, that would be amazing. And yes, Naval Battles, good ones. 

[horangi]

35 minutes ago, Corvinus85 said:

Stellaris is the only Paradox grand strategy game where I had some success. It is definitely easier to get into, and I enjoy the exploration and colonization mechanics, and the fact that you can build and customize your ships and see them fight. But once your empire grows and you start making contact with more and more civilizations, it becomes overwhelming. I usually quit sometime in the mid-late game.

 

While Stellaris is in my top five all time favorite games, I do wish the battles had a bit more options (granted fleet stances and such do add more than other Paradox games).  It would be nice to be able to override the battle AI and individually target enemy ships.  Or turn a warship totally passive so that brand new event warship I just received can sneak past space amoebas while resisting the urge to fire torpedoes at them from across the screen!

For the overwhelming part, I've long since turned down the habitable planets to the lowest setting and turned off the guaranteed ones.  It helps make the game more manageable later on.  You might want to ratchet up the difficulty settings since the AI cant plan for expansion as well.  I will say though, after a year or so break, the AI does seem to be doing a better job at boxing me in.  I've had to restart a few games this last week when I realized I had been cornered in like a 15 system region of the galaxy with only my homeworld hoping the Rubricator event would trigger or something to provide any hope for expansion. 

Edited May 16, 2023 by horangi