General gaming discussion

SomeSayKos

one armed dwarf wrote: »

I'm overdue a BloodBorne replay

Me too. I tried to play through it recently but I got really stuck on Rom which was annoying as I beat it easily on my first couple of playthroughs

pixelburp

one armed dwarf wrote: »

Breath of the Wild is the curve that everything else is behind

You're not wrong: in fact, playing it broken Skyrim for me. Like, I'm not sure I could return the Elder Scrolls anytime soon - and certainly not if future games still use that GameBryo engine.

I decided that all this time I had been playing Open World games with a kind of Stockholm Syndrome; I just presumed that jankiness & bugs was the price you paid for massive, sprawling worlds you can fully explore & interact with. Yet along came Nintendo to show how its done.

Robert ninja

Evade wrote: »

The Japanese term is derived from the novel Lolita.

Correct.

one armed dwarf wrote: »

BloodBorne replay

I read this quick as BloodRayne. I actually need to re-install and finish that.

pixelburp wrote: »

Does being 2 years behind the curve count? Cos I'm only just playing Breath of the Wild now

I stopped caring about the age of games years ago. I buy/play anything from DOS games to the latest blockbusters and everything in between, in absolutely no order; just what my brain seems to want to focus on at any given time.

That said I know some people who stay a few years behind everything on purpose just to make the hobby dirt cheap. It works as long as you don't pay attention to modern releases. Everything still feels new but just priced like bargain bin trash.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wiMyCzezfTg

I recently installed a weird P&C game. It has verydifferent art but it seems interesting enough.

Retr0gamer

GhostofKNugget wrote: »

Started trying to play the Wolfenstein in single player mode and it is absolute scutter.

New Order? Actually really enjoyed it. It's a no nonsense blast that actually has a pretty compelling narrative and excellently written dialogue. The opening stage is a bit weak but it gets so much better.

Enjoyed New Colossus as well even if it's not as good as the first game. I think a lot of people that don't like it don't realise you are meant to play it more as a stealth game as you are very weak in combat.

pixelburp wrote: »

You're not wrong: in fact, playing it broken Skyrim for me. Like, I'm not sure I could return the Elder Scrolls anytime soon - and certainly not if future games still use that GameBryo engine.

I decided that all this time I had been playing Open World games with a kind of Stockholm Syndrome; I just presumed that jankiness & bugs was the price you paid for massive, sprawling worlds you can fully explore & interact with. Yet along came Nintendo to show how its done.

Really hoping that other developers follow on from Breath of the Wild. It's just so much better than any other open world game and really puts them to shame. However Breath of the Wild isn't perfect either and would love to see other devs have a go at differentiating their games from it and fixing its issues.

Retr0gamer

Robert ninja wrote: »

I read this quick as BloodRayne. I actually need to re-install and finish that.

Nobody needs to play that game.

Robert ninja

one armed dwarf

There's aspects of BOTW in Death Stranding I think, though that's a much more linear style game as open world goes. Both games make moving around feel meaningful cause there's some environmental 'friction' going on. BOTW with its weather and degradation and DS with degradation and balance/momentum.

The thing from BOTW which needs to be taken forward is the idea of exploration being intrinsically motivating and not requiring these repetitive carrot-on-a-stick thing that games like Skyrim appear to rely on. It was very easy to build up a momentum with BOTW where you just wanted to see new things, not just get the next shiny. I think also this is a reason why it failed to land with some people because we've gotten very used to this sort of MMO-lite style of design. Having burnt out on that a long while ago it's nice to have a game turn walking, climbing and just seeing new stuff into its primary means of engagement, rather than a tedious means to an end.

We had a bit more of that in Outer Wilds this year.

GhostofKNugget

Retr0gamer wrote: »

New Order? Actually really enjoyed it. It's a no nonsense blast that actually has a pretty compelling narrative and excellently written dialogue. The opening stage is a bit weak but it gets so much better.

Enjoyed New Colossus as well even if it's not as good as the first game. I think a lot of people that don't like it don't realise you are meant to play it more as a stealth game as you are very weak in combat.

I enjoyed both of those even if New Colossus isn't a good as New Order. I'm talking about Youngblood. Maybe it's infinitely better as the co-op game it's meant to be but as a single player experience it's anti-fun. The characters are very annoying in it.

pixelburp

Retr0gamer wrote: »

Really hoping that other developers follow on from Breath of the Wild. It's just so much better than any other open world game and really puts them to shame. However Breath of the Wild isn't perfect either and would love to see other devs have a go at differentiating their games from it and fixing its issues.

It ain't perfect at all but in terms of where the genre sits, it has blown Bethesda completely out of the water regarding the point an Open World game should start from - mechanically that is. It's funny that post BotW, Bethesda's stock and goodwill seems to be in near terminal decline (at least, with certain properties). StarField and/or Elder Scrolls VI is going to have a huge PR job on their hands when they're properly revealed.

quokula

pixelburp wrote: »

It ain't perfect at all but in terms of where the genre sits, it has blown Bethesda completely out of the water regarding the point an Open World game should start from - mechanically that is. It's funny that post BotW, Bethesda's stock and goodwill seems to be in near terminal decline (at least, with certain properties). StarField and/or Elder Scrolls VI is going to have a huge PR job on their hands when they're properly revealed.

Personally I'd put Bethesda in a completely different genre as an RPG. I don't think I've really got on with any of Bethesda's games, they're always so clunky.

BOTW is closer to the likes of Assassin's Creed for me. And I might be in the minority, but I preferred pretty much every single AC game to BOTW. They have better characters and stories, their worlds have more interesting things to see, and their traversal is less monotonous. The amount of time I spent hanging onto the side of a mountain waiting for it to stop raining in BOTW. It did have some interesting enemy AI and emergent behaviours, but so does AC when you get creative playing stealthily, and you don't have to worry about annoying crap like weapons breaking.

The one thing I liked most about BOTW was the little self contained puzzle chambers, some of those were really fun combining different abilities to solve problems. Didn't really get the rest of the hype around the game - maybe because I didn't grow up with Zelda so it didn't have nostalgia going for it.

gimli2112

SomeSayKos wrote: »

Me too. I tried to play through it recently but I got really stuck on Rom which was annoying as I beat it easily on my first couple of playthroughs

I played through it several times and regularly got held up unexpectedly. Rom is one had me thinking how the hell did I beat this thing originally but a lot of bosses can be like that Amygdala/Micolash/Rom in particular seem to be utter assholes when they want to be. Martyr Logarius too now I think of it but he's always a pain.

Shiminay

Deleted User wrote: »

LOL General Gaming Discussion + Buckfast

Hey man, I won't have the good name of Buckfast sullied by association with these questionable niche tastes :P

CastorTroy

The Nal wrote: »

Really enjoying it. Early in the game but kinda stopped playing when theres a lot of horseback action involved. After Red Dead 2 its a little too much. Will get back into it over the weekend.

I rarely used the horse because it was an inconvenience.

gimli2112

https://www.ccn.com/ps4-exclusive-horizon-zero-dawn-is-coming-to-pc-and-it-wont-be-the-only-one/

I'm not a fan of exclusives so I'd see this as a good thing

actually now I think of it I'd probably buy a PC to play Bloodborne if that ever was on the table

Thargor

CastorTroy wrote: »

I rarely used the horse because it was an inconvenience.

Yeah you dont need a horse at all, you cant ride for 10 seconds in any direction before you see something that needs to be climbed or explored on foot.

awec

I must be one of the few who got bored in Breath of the Wild. Did the first monster machine thingy and sort of stopped at that point.

J. Marston

The internet wants me to feel horrible for Cyberpunk staff doing "crunch" but I don't care, to be honest. I genuinely doubt it's Chinese sweatshop levels in there.

Just gimme the game.

iLikeWaffles

J. Marston wrote: »

The internet wants me to feel horrible for Cyberpunk staff doing "crunch" but I don't care, to be honest. I genuinely doubt it's Chinese sweatshop levels in there.

Just gimme the game.

Its a game I can't wait for, but would rather have to wait for it.

johnny_ultimate

J. Marston wrote: »

The internet wants me to feel horrible for Cyberpunk staff doing "crunch" but I don't care, to be honest. I genuinely doubt it's Chinese sweatshop levels in there.

Just gimme the game.

Nope, sorry, crunch can go to hell. I don't care how long you have to wait for whatever video game - making people work overtime for months on end is an awful practice, and should always be called out as such. These aren't people working on some personal passion project - they're working for a company, and while I'm sure they're proud of their work there's never any excuse for companies to exploit their workers (most of whom are at mid or low level positions) in this way. If they need more people to get the job done, get more people to get the job done - would be delighted to see a company have slightly less impressive profits if it means they don't force their staff to work evenings and weekends for the guts of a year. And no, people having it worse elsewhere doesn't make crunch any less ****ty of a practice.

CD Projekt Red may make great games and have plenty of other good policies, but their public tolerance of crunch is ****ty and should rightly cast a shadow over their reputation.

J. Marston

johnny_ultimate wrote: »

Nope, sorry, crunch can go to hell. I don't care how long you have to wait for whatever video game - making people work overtime for months on end is an awful practice, and should always be called out as such. These aren't people working on some personal passion project - they're working for a company, and while I'm sure they're proud of their work there's never any excuse for companies to exploit their workers (most of whom are at mid or low level positions) in this way. If they need more people to get the job done, get more people to get the job done - would be delighted to see a company have slightly less impressive profits if it means they don't force their staff to work evenings and weekends for the guts of a year. And no, people having it worse elsewhere doesn't make crunch any less ****ty of a practice.

CD Projekt Red may make great games and have plenty of other good policies, but their public tolerance of crunch is ****ty and should rightly cast a shadow over their reputation.

Does it though? When 0.01% of customers know about and care about crunch, how big is that shadow?

And 95% of that 0.01% are still gonna buy the game after their internet chest-thumping.

johnny_ultimate

J. Marston wrote: »

Does it though? When 0.01% of customers know about and care about crunch, how big is that shadow?

They get a fresh round of negative coverage every time they say something dumb about crunch. If only a small percentage read that coverage, it's still important.

And 95% of that 0.01% are still gonna buy the game after their internet chest-thumping.

Ah, this old 'gotcha!' chestnut. This web comic succinctly captures the potential limits of such a line of argument.

That someone decides to play a game that went through a period of crunch does not negate their ability to call out crappy practices, celebrate positive practices, encourage the likes of unionisation, and support legislative changes at home and elsewhere that make the lives of working people a little bit easier. If they choose to support only developers that don’t crunch, cool - but small individual moral stances don’t make a dent in systemic problems.

Potential-Monke

Untitled Goose Game...

Maybe someone can tell me why everyone is talking about this? I get that you're a goose, and it's fun to honk and steal stuff. But I've done the first mission, actually can't even remember if I finished it, but it was so meh I haven't gone back to it. Does it get better? Or is it another one of those 'experience' games where you have to understand some stupid hidden meaning to all of this, or is it just you being a dick goose ad nauseum?

johnny_ultimate

Potential-Monke wrote: »

Or is it another one of those 'experience' games where you have to understand some stupid hidden meaning to all of this, or is it just you being a dick goose ad nauseum?

The meaning, hidden or otherwise, is: you are a goose, who is an asshole. You will either attune to its comedy style and lite-stealth/puzzle gameplay, or you will not.

Potential-Monke

I guess, for now, I will not! But it was purchased while on sale, so I might give it another go someday.

Think I need to stop listening to recommendations on here...

pixelburp

johnny_ultimate wrote: »

They get a fresh round of negative coverage every time they say something dumb about crunch. If only a small percentage read that coverage, it's still important.

Ah, this old 'gotcha!' chestnut. This web comic succinctly captures the potential limits of such a line of argument.

That someone decides to play a game that went through a period of crunch does not negate their ability to call out crappy practices, celebrate positive practices, encourage the likes of unionisation, and support legislative changes at home and elsewhere that make the lives of working people a little bit easier. If they choose to support only developers that don’t crunch, cool - but small individual moral stances don’t make a dent in systemic problems.

Ultimately, crunch to me is a failure of management (or management culture) and it'll stop the moment companies punish that tier of their company for failing to properly structure the scope of a product. I know that many non gaming companies will hold it as a black mark if you're project incurs overworking. It clearly demonstrates you can't actually manage.

Games are not sending folks to the moon, they're toys. Complex toys but still ephemeral, superficial entertainment and shouldn't require 90+ hour working weeks, and destroy the health and well being of people to fashion.

I don't work in management so can't say how or where you change things, but having had a job (blessedly for only a few months) where I had crunch hours as default, the fault was always the inability of the account managers to scale or scope the work. The deadline was tomorrow morning and if you had to sleep under your desk, so be it. I had never been more ill, depressed and just utterly shïtty on a daily basis. It was horrible.

The one chink of light for the CDP employees is that because they're in the EU / Poland, they're entitled to overtime pay. Whether they get it or not is another matter.

Canis Lupus

Potential-Monke wrote: »

I guess, for now, I will not! But it was purchased while on sale, so I might give it another go someday.

Think I need to stop listening to recommendations on here...

That's the spirit! To be fair you should watch some youtube gameplay videos at the very least before parting with money and there's always the inlet of buccaneers nudge nudge wink wink.

Penn

Potential-Monke wrote: »

I guess, for now, I will not! But it was purchased while on sale, so I might give it another go someday.

Think I need to stop listening to recommendations on here...

I was the same. Played a bit of it (got to the third area with people's back gardens). It's okay, it's a bit of fun. Don't think it was the be all and end all or worth as much hype as people gave it though. Will get back to it eventually but not in any rush.

K.O.Kiki

Canis Lupus wrote: »

That's the spirit! To be fair you should watch some youtube gameplay videos at the very least before parting with money and there's always the inlet of buccaneers nudge nudge wink wink.

Both Epic Store & Steam allow any game to be refunded, no questions asked, as long as the purchase is under 14 days old & less than 2 hours played.

It's basically a demo at this stage, so piracy should no longer be viewed as an option.

Potential-Monke

K.O.Kiki wrote: »

It's basically a demo at this stage, so piracy should no longer be viewed as an option.

Yeah, but then you have games like Death Stranding where the first 2 hours are cutscenes and some gameplay, not enough time to realise it's boring (that happens at the 4 hour mark).

I don't pirate games anymore. To be honest, I think I've only every pirated 5 games in my life, and ended up buying 3 of them. Last time I checked, game security was getting too good and the usual heads no longer had cracked versions out. Don't know if it's still the same.

Stone Deaf 4evr

Penn wrote: »

I was the same. Played a bit of it (got to the third area with people's back gardens). It's okay, it's a bit of fun. Don't think it was the be all and end all or worth as much hype as people gave it though. Will get back to it eventually but not in any rush.

I played with two young kids watching, and the laughter from the two of them as we stole a young kids glasses or stole a bra from a washing line, or any other combination of mischief was unlike anything I've ever seen them interact with before. Its good wholesome fun that doesn't outstay its welcome.