Videogames Latest: Starfields of Glory

[Werthead]

I ordered the new PC. May God have mercy on my bank account.

Unfortunately I couldn't stretch to a corresponding monitor for another month or so, so my new 4090-powered system will be powering games at 1080p for another month or two until I can sort that out.

I think this will be the last time I can stretch to getting an all-in-one system like this, in the future it might have to be more modular upgrades (unless the 60xx series cards are so huge they will no longer fit inside the case, which is a distinct possibility).

[Werthead]

Very entertaining. These guys took classic 2004 RTS Dawn of War and turned it into a turn-based boardgame (rather easily done given the sheer number of 40K models and scenery available). This is exactly what the Company of Heroes board game does (possibly even better than this).

Clever idea to custom build the structures and facilities from the video game as in-game models.

 

[Werthead]

Baldur's Gate 3 has put way more thought into its romance options than you'd ever think.

 

[Fez]

6 minutes ago, Werthead said:

Baldur's Gate 3 has put way more thought into its romance options than you'd ever think.

 

What a time to be alive!

 

I just wish BG3 had a fully voiced protagonist (at least for the new 'Dark Urge' background, which is a defined, non-blank slate choice). Then it would be just about the perfect video game for me; assuming the bugs aren't too bad.

[Ser Not Appearing]

Romancing in video games is one of the weirdest things that exists.

[dog-days]

10 hours ago, Fez said:

What a time to be alive!

 

I just wish BG3 had a fully voiced protagonist (at least for the new 'Dark Urge' background, which is a defined, non-blank slate choice). Then it would be just about the perfect video game for me; assuming the bugs aren't too bad.

Haven't played BG3 yet, but I normally prefer games without a voiced protagonist. It leaves more space for me to imagine what they could be like. I guess once it could also have created more room to add extra dialogue options without the budget considerations of the extra voice acting limiting everything to paladin/cold pragmatist/joker, though I'm not sure how much that would hold true with the AAA games of today. 

In other news, I'm still playing The Witcher 3. It's been...three months?...since I started. Level 34. I  haven't even touched the expansion packs. Still not in love with the writing, but enjoy the exploring and monster killing enough to keep going. 

Edited July 9, 2023 by dog-days

[Fez]

11 hours ago, dog-days said:

Haven't played BG3 yet, but I normally prefer games without a voiced protagonist. It leaves more space for me to imagine what they could be like. I guess once it could also have created more room to add extra dialogue options without the budget considerations of the extra voice acting limiting everything to paladin/cold pragmatist/joker, though I'm not sure how much that would hold true with the AAA games of today. 

I get that view. I disagree, but I get it. The thing is though, BG3 has three types of protagonist you can play, and I think that view only holds true for one of them. But all three types are voiceless:

1. A truly custom character that can be any race/class/background.

2. A specific custom character. You can be any race or class, but you have a set, defined backstory. BG1 and BG2 spoilers

Spoiler

It's not confirmed, but you are probably a Bhaalspawn. And not just any Bhaalspawn, but one consumed by murderous urges

3. One of the other characters that would be a party member if you don't play as them. You have a set race, class, and backstory. And just like they did in D:OS2, even though these characters are voiced if they are companions they become silent if you pick one to be your main character. This is the one that annoys me the most.

[Werthead]

Castle Skingrad glow-up for Skyblivion.

 

 

[IFR]

I played The Life and Suffering of Sir Brante. Excellent game. If more games were like this and Disco Elysium and Pentiment, I would probably find games to be a very addictive hobby.

[briantw]

23 hours ago, Ser Not Appearing said:

Romancing in video games is one of the weirdest things that exists.

Have you met the internet?  If you make a character that's even remotely attractive, nerds are gonna want to fuck it.  Hell, even Garrus in Mass Effect had an entire army of simps and, to quote Shepard, "Shit, Garrus, you've always been ugly."

Edited July 9, 2023 by briantw

[Argonath Diver]

Honestly, with as many millions of nerds who are horny for video game and anime characters, I'm baffled why the Leisure Suit Larry series from my childhood isn't a colossal ongoing thing. 

[dog-days]

On 7/9/2023 at 6:06 PM, Fez said:

I get that view. I disagree, but I get it. The thing is though, BG3 has three types of protagonist you can play, and I think that view only holds true for one of them. But all three types are voiceless:

1. A truly custom character that can be any race/class/background.

2. A specific custom character. You can be any race or class, but you have a set, defined backstory. BG1 and BG2 spoilers

  Reveal hidden contents

It's not confirmed, but you are probably a Bhaalspawn. And not just any Bhaalspawn, but one consumed by murderous urges

3. One of the other characters that would be a party member if you don't play as them. You have a set race, class, and backstory. And just like they did in D:OS2, even though these characters are voiced if they are companions they become silent if you pick one to be your main character. This is the one that annoys me the most.

Didn't know Larian had gone for so many different approaches. It sounds to me as if they're spreading themselves too thin and will end up compromising the experience of all three main routes, but the BG3 sample is already hugely popular, so guess I'll wait and see. 

Option three sounds completely uninteresting to me, but at least it's not compulsory. Option one sounds very Icewind Dale (a bit of a bore). Option two is typical of my favourite games; tends to keep a better balance between freedom and narrative interest. 

[Argonath Diver]

I finally did it! After years of watching graphics card prices finally come to back to earth, I ordered the exact card I wanted for my system - a Radeon 6800xt for $480 from Amazon. Considered splurging for a 6950, but they're power hungry and I don't want to upgrade my PSU, and the 7xxx series are still beyond my budget.

As of today, AMD purchases will send a code for Starfield, which I likely would have bought anyway. Really excited to build a new system this week. Well, specifically, move my current mobo and Ryzen and what not over to a tidy new Lian Li case I ordered, finally ditch internal hard disks, and have one speedy machine.

[Martell Spy]

Microsoft can close its Activision merger, federal judge rules

https://www.cnn.com/2023/07/11/tech/microsoft-activision-merger-judge/index.html

Quote

 

Tuesday’s ruling, however, gave Microsoft the benefit of the doubt because the FTC failed to prove the combined company would have the incentive to keep “Call of Duty” exclusive to Microsoft-owned platforms such as Xbox. Corley outlined eight factors that bolstered Microsoft’s defense, including that Microsoft stands to make more money by making “Call of Duty” available on as many platforms as possible.

“The FTC has not identified a single document which contradicts Microsoft’s publicly-stated commitment to make Call of Duty available on PlayStation (and Nintendo Switch),” the opinion said, despite agency lawyers’ access to nearly one million company documents and 30 depositions.

Corley added that the licensing agreements Microsoft has signed showed that public scrutiny of the deal “has paid off,” further reducing the need for court interventio

 

 

[Darryk]

UK is still the major obstacle but at least they seem open to negotiation now.

[Kalbear]

9 minutes ago, Darryk said:

UK is still the major obstacle but at least they seem open to negotiation now.

I think it's amusing that Microsoft actually is just considering not selling Xbox in the UK over this. That seems drastic, but also another victory for Brexit!

[Werthead]

I'm not sure that's a viable strategy, the Xbox X/S just passed 2 million units sold in the UK and it's been one of the better-performing territories for the console (like for like sales in the same period puts the Xbox X/S ahead of Switch, but behind PS5).

More likely, I think, is the UK government backing down after some nominal new assurances from Microsoft.

Meanwhile, I'm taking advantage of Prime Day to try to acquire the requisite 4K monitor for the new system. The ASUS TUF VG28UQL1A is emerging as a strong candidate (28", IPS, 144hz, 1ms, G-Sync, HDR not too shitty for the size) for £600.

[Ser Not Appearing]

Sounds like they're just going to divest cloud gaming in the UK. Not sure how that helps consumers there but I bet VPNs rise in popularity.

[Werthead]

Nice fan edit. I did wonder why we hadn't had a moody song trailer.

 

[Fez]

On 7/11/2023 at 1:49 AM, dog-days said:

Didn't know Larian had gone for so many different approaches. It sounds to me as if they're spreading themselves too thin and will end up compromising the experience of all three main routes, but the BG3 sample is already hugely popular, so guess I'll wait and see. 

Option three sounds completely uninteresting to me, but at least it's not compulsory. Option one sounds very Icewind Dale (a bit of a bore). Option two is typical of my favourite games; tends to keep a better balance between freedom and narrative interest. 

Maybe! There's a new (long) interview with the lead writer of the game (some light Act I spoilers for people who haven't played the early access) https://gamerant.com/baldurs-gate-3-interview/ and the scope of the writing sounds absolutely bonkers even if there was only 1 type of character you could play.

If they pull it off though, this might be the most impressive RPG game ever.