What game are you wasting time on?

[exe]

Fallen Haven from like 1987
I remember as a kid, when my PC broke, I would use the old one to play Fallen Heaven on it, since that was all it could do. Nostalgia holds up, it's still fun. It's like a lite X-com, you have your strategic turn and your tactical combat. You build a base in every province you conquer, which produces research/money/units. Combat happens when you or the enemy attack with dropships and you fight on the map with the actual built base and whatever units where stationed there. Last mission is a total ballache tho.

 

[Abu Antar]

I've been playing Romancing SaGa 3 and Shadow Tactics. I feel like I'm having a time of incline with both games.

 

[Catacombs]

Shadow Tactics

Really great spiritual successor to Commandos (RIP).

 

[Strange Fellow]

Finished Star Wars Jedi Knight: Dark Forces II.

Spoiler

- The most fun I've had with a single player FPS since I was a kid. That's not that big an endorsement since shooters haven't been my genre, but this is the only game I've played this decade that makes me want to change that. Had a great time from beginning to end.

- It's probably the best of the Jedi Knight games (that is, of the games with "Jedi Knight" in the name), although it's been ages since I played Outcast. I'll replay it soon and see.

- I got the silly dark side ending. It was silly and stupid and went completely against Katarn's character, but I guess I only have myself to blame, as I didn't realise that mowing down civilians would have consequences until it was too late (I assume that's what caused it). Either way, I'm not sure including a dark path was a good idea. I'll try to get the good ending the next time around.

- The FMV cutscenes are hilarious. Still a better story than the new movies.

- The duels sucked. Some sucked more than others, but they all sucked.

- Finding an ingeniously hidden secret area was like injecting crack into my eyeball. What shooter has the best secret areas? I need more of this.

- The consensus seems to be that the expansion is inferior but still worth playing. I suppose that's next in line.

- "Set blasters on full." "Blast him!"

Also finished Severance: Blade of Darkness.

Spoiler

- Good game as well, but not one for the annals. There are some highlights but it never managed to be more than the sum of its parts for me, and its parts are a series of disconnected levels you go through in a mostly linear fashion, which are all decently designed but also kind of samey. Almost all are labyrinthine castle/cave combos populated by 95% sword-swinging or bow-wielding orcs and skellingtons and maybe an oversized brute or two + an incredibly easy boss at the end. They're strung together by a barebones, utterly forgettable story. Most of the time you're going through levels just to go through them. I rushed the last few because I just wanted to be done with the game.

- I played as the amazon and had a good time, but accusations of amazon = easy mode seem justified. I tested the others after finishing and it felt like controlling boulders in comparison.

- The combat system is a lot of fun, in large part due to the gore and dismemberment. I've mentioned before that I couldn't get the weapon combos to work, with only one or two exceptions which carried me through the game. They're obscenely powerful. It got a bit dull angling for an opportunity to do the same attack all game long, but it's far and away the best option in terms of dealing damage.

- The lighting is magnificent. Despite all the drab gray castle and cave walls, the game has some absolutely stunning visual highlights.

- The final (non-optional) level was a real bitch. I had much more trouble with it than all the other levels put together. Fuck you, Dal Gurak.

- I didn't find all the runes and thus didn't get the supah secret troo ending™. I didn't know about it until it was too late, and I couldn't be arsed to go back to levels I'd already cleared. Maybe on a replay. I do think such things are very cool, so it gets a plus in the margin there.

 

[Average Manatee]

- I got the silly dark side ending. It was silly and stupid and went completely against Katarn's character, but I guess I only have myself to blame, as I didn't realise that mowing down civilians would have consequences until it was too late (I assume that's what caused it). Either way, I'm not sure including a dark path was a good idea. I'll try to get the good ending the next time around.

It also depends on how many force powers you select on each side. Funny enough this means that each light power you pick is effectively a license to kill a few civilians and still be the good guy.

Spoiler

You get a special 5th light/dark force power if you remain fully true to the light or dark side.

What shooter has the best secret areas? I need more of this.

You played it. I don't think any other game does as well. JK secrets:

- Are well hidden in well designed levels.
- Don't feel like they are repeating the same gimmick
- Give genuinely useful resources since the game is fairly well balanced.
- Dangles the alluring prospect of a permanent force power increase if you do well.

I can't think of another game that checked all these boxes. In particular LucasArts was ahead of their time on the 4th point, which is now replicated with every FPS under the sun having dozens of side-missions to do obnoxious bullshit to unlock extra feats and perks. Of course modern games then almost always go on to fail on points 1-3.

 

[Kabas]

HoMM2 - I wanted to try this one for a long time.
Not much to say really, it's a beautiful game. I am yet to spot any one way portals straight to my starting position, which can only be a plus in my book.
Sacred gold
Vampiress is fun so far. In order to get an access to half of her abilities you need to transform which will also slightly alter some of her other abilities. There is a lifesteal, summoning bats who can knockback/confuse, hypnotising enemy to stay in place(not super useful considering the usual amount of enemies though) and animate dead with which you can overwhelm everything until your transformation runs out.
I usually get bored eventually when playing diablo-clones and the like but i am yet to reach this point here.

 

[Strange Fellow]

It also depends on how many force powers you select on each side. Funny enough this means that each light power you pick is effectively a license to kill a few civilians and still be the good guy.

Makes sense. I didn't pick any light or dark powers at all, had more fun playing as Han Solo than as a jedi.

 

[Dayyālu]

Last mission is a total ballache tho.

Build a Gunship strike force. Hit the enemy Missile Defense System. Kill everything you can (particularly artillery units). Retreat.

Nuke the Capital from the two neighbouring provinces, focusing on the enemy Command (that also attacks every turn, funny thing that one). Clean up.

Don't play Fallen Haven 2, it's kinda bad.

Sacred gold
Vampiress is fun so far. In order to get an access to half of her abilities you need to transform which will also slightly alter some of her other abilities. There is a lifesteal, summoning bats who can knockback/confuse, hypnotising enemy to stay in place(not super useful considering the usual amount of enemies though) and animate dead with which you can overwhelm everything until your transformation runs out.
I usually get bored eventually when playing diablo-clones and the like but i am yet to reach this point here.

Ohh, I installed Sacred too. Got bit by a Diablo-like bug. Vampiress is good as a beginner character, I presume? Don't want to sperg on builds or the like.

 

[Valky]

I put Grimoire on hiatus to return to La Mulana and I just reached Palenque.

 

[Grauken]

I'm playing through Phantasy Star. While dungeons are super-simple (the wall graphics look pretty impressive for an 8-bit game), the game is moderately fun due to its enemy design, that's a bit of a deviation from the usual fantasy stuff (although not too much). Setting is sorta scifi-ish, but with lots of fantasy elements.

 

[octavius]

I'm playing through Phantasy Star. While dungeons are super-simple (the wall graphics look pretty impressive for an 8-bit game), the game is moderately fun due to its enemy design, that's a bit of a deviation from the usual fantasy stuff (although not too much). Setting is sorta scifi-ish, but with lots of fantasy elements.

The Japanese love their slime.

 

[Grauken]

I'm playing through Phantasy Star. While dungeons are super-simple (the wall graphics look pretty impressive for an 8-bit game), the game is moderately fun due to its enemy design, that's a bit of a deviation from the usual fantasy stuff (although not too much). Setting is sorta scifi-ish, but with lots of fantasy elements.

The Japanese love their slime.

It's the Jap-equivalent to rats

 

[Kabas]

Vampiress is good as a beginner character, I presume? Don't want to sperg on builds or the like.

From what i understand you will be fine as any character as long as you keep the cooldown low on your most important combat arts, aka do not invest too much runes into them or don't upgrade them at all.

 

[Deflowerer]

Ace Combat shit

Have you played previous Ace Combat games?

 

[Deflowerer]

Have you played previous Ace Combat games?

Apart from an unfinished playthrough of Elecrosphere, Assault Horizon was my deflowering.

Then I recommend both Ace Combat 2 and Ace Combat 3 (Japanese version fan-translated ofc). Ace Combat 2 imo nails that cheesy 80s Top Gun the most in terms of aesthetics, and 3 at least in its original form ventures into pretty late 90s animu darkness territory that is quite nifty.

 

[Strange Fellow]

Mysteries of the Sith, featuring such mysteries as: why do the stormtroopers sound like such wimps all of a sudden? It's sucking all the pleasure out of killing them.

 

[Darth Roxor]

Mysteries of the Sith, featuring such mysteries as: why do the stormtroopers sound like such wimps all of a sudden? It's sucking all the pleasure out of killing them.

This mystery has already been solved!

https://rpgcodex.net/forums/index.p...u-wasting-time-on.50372/page-524#post-6137082

I like how you also use the word "wimps" to refer to them

 

[Prime Junta]

I'm still working out my grief as an ex-Obsidian fanboy by firing up FNV. Motherfucker but is it a terrific game. Janky, yes, with some highly irritating QoL issues, yes, but the world feels alive, like it really doesn't give a fuck that you're there. People talk and behave like people, not quest dispensers or lore-o-mats. And if the story takes a dark turn the game isn't afraid to follow. Also, skills and stats that matter, a thoroughly well thought-out and supremely d weapons system, survival mechanics that add a nice little bit of spice without becoming a real PITA, locations that feel like hand-crafted places rather than copy-pasted generic tunnels... and it feels huge.

I had almost forgotten that open-world games can be like this.

 

[Average Manatee]

Mysteries of the Sith, featuring such mysteries as: why do the stormtroopers sound like such wimps all of a sudden? It's sucking all the pleasure out of killing them.

This mystery has already been solved!

https://rpgcodex.net/forums/index.p...u-wasting-time-on.50372/page-524#post-6137082

I like how you also use the word "wimps" to refer to them

Still doesn't make sense though. It was made by the same studio, which should have had the same standards of quality even if they couldn't get the exact same voice actor. If it was just a different voice actor who sounded slightly worse it'd be forgivable, but they went from A+ grade stormtroopers that sound as good as the real movies to muffled, barely-audible voices that give the impression of low quality mod where the modder asked a few friends to do all the voice lines and recorded them on his $15 headset.

 

[octavius]

Completed Act 1 on Hell with all my seven Diablo 2 characters.
Keeping the mercs alive when facing bosses is getting very hard, and I have completely underestimated the proliferation of bosses with the Stoneskin&Physical Immunity combo. So my Bowazon and Assassin (no traps) are struggling.

And finally got a fairly decent 2H sword for my Barbarian.

Spoiler

 

[J_C]

Finished Clive Barker's Undying. What a great horror game this is. Although it is a bit one sided, because the real horror is mostly in the first part of the game, when you are weaker and don't have many weapons and spells. The second part becomes a bit easier, but the atmosphere holds up all the way. There was one terriblly shitty level at the end, when you are taken to that Eternal Autumn place, which is crawling with Neanderthals. I just went forward in a tube, killing Neanderthals with my scythe, being invincble using the shield. And it was so long, a real slog. But in the end, the game was enjoyable and I'm glad that I finally got to play it.

Installed Tex Murphy: Tesla Effect and started the first level. I dunno how I feel about this yet, but I will keep playing for now.

 

[ebPD8PePfC]

Kids - an extremely polished interactive animation which lasts around 20 minutes. It's good, but whether it's worth 2$ is up to you.

Played some games from the 7DLR 2019 challenge (make a roguelike in seven days):

Inner Life - You enter into monsters, which have a dungeons in them with more monsters. Monsters can do the same to you. You do this by simply walking into them. You do the same to food to pick it up. The goal is to keep going into monsters marked in yellow until you get to the end. You lose if you have no food inside you when your hunger meter runs.
It's a really creative idea for a roguelike, but it's not that interesting as a game. Your main verb, Enter into monsters, doesn't really interact with anything else. You can't do much to prevent monsters from going inside you. You can't do anything to them once they're inside. Them being inside you has no impact on you (something like having a rabbit inside you makes you fast, etc'). You can't impact the spaces you enter in any meaningful way, or do anything of meaning inside them. The game is a race to the bottom, where you have to walk on food in the last turn before the hunger meter runs out. You don't have much else to do.
Still, it's a really original concept, and it's really impressive for a game made in seven days.

ExpelledRL - A roguelike version of Messiah. You are a ghost who has to travel to level 8 and get the amulet of Yendor. You are weak, but you can cast a possession spell on monsters to travel in their bodies, while using their abilities to assist in your descent. The possession spell is limited by a cool down, and you also have to be alone with the monster to use it. This leads to many interesting moments where you have to manipulate the system to possess a stronger monster, hurt your own before you possess, find a safe place to rest, and find creative uses for the abilities of the monsters you possess.
The only thing bugging me about the game is that after possessing another monster, the monster you leave will sometimes turn against you or assist you, seemingly at random. Maybe there's some guiding principal here, but I can't see it.
You should try it, it's a fun game.

Pinball Dungeon - it's a roguelike where you and the enemies are all balls, bouncing around on the walls and the other monsters. You control your character like a Billiard game. I did end up killing the Pinball Wizard and finishing the game, but it's not very good, mostly because you can't see anything due to the zoomed in camera and the fog of war. You keep attacking and getting attacked by monsters you can't see.

 

[Psquit]

Resident Evil 2 Remake and monster hunter world, having a shitload of fun.

 

[Sceptic]

Still doesn't make sense though. It was made by the same studio, which should have had the same standards of quality even if they couldn't get the exact same voice actor. If it was just a different voice actor who sounded slightly worse it'd be forgivable, but they went from A+ grade stormtroopers that sound as good as the real movies to muffled, barely-audible voices that give the impression of low quality mod where the modder asked a few friends to do all the voice lines and recorded them on his $15 headset.

Pretty sure we had this conversation like last week.

Those muffled sounds are already there in JK by the way if you play that with 8-bit sound.

I think they had to keep to 8-bit only in MotS because of space limitations and having to fit the whole game (plus the Redbook audio soundtrack) on a single CD. I'm pretty sure they could've come up with a more elegant solution, but for some reason they didn't.

 

[Jack Of Owls]

Finally getting around to Dying Light after having it sit on my ssd since it first came out practically. Wow, this game is giving me major motion sickness, and I've played tons of FPS over the years with nary an issue. Must be all the mantling and parkouring, yet I have no problem with the Thief classics. I must be getting old. The nausea becomes so acute I've temporarily stopped playing and ordered some ginger chews (ginger root soft candy) to see if that remedies the problem. Really want to play this. Any other tips for fighting motion sickness in first person shooters in case the ginger chews don't work?