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J_C

J_C

One Bit Studio
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Project: Eternity Wasteland 2 Shadorwun: Hong Kong Divinity: Original Sin 2 Steve gets a Kidney but I don't even get a tag. Pathfinder: Wrath
Dux said:
750+ games amounting to almost 500 GB in total have now been uploaded safely to a cloud. It took time, effort and much of my remaining sanity but it's finally done. GOG Galaxy is now but a memory and I'm glad to see the back of it, to be honest. Old games in the cloud and new games from Steam - that's the way forward. Steam is at least good for keeping games updated and the workshop is a neat bonus, I guess.

Going forward I'll also use Launchbox as a hub for my games and it's looking pretty good so far, especially with the Big Box mode that comes with Premium.

This is what Big Box looks like by the way, although it can change appearance pretty jarringly depending on what theme you're using:
4WbUgc6.png
Click to expand...
What cloud service are you using for that 500 GB?

And I know I could Google it, but could you give a TLDR version of what LaunchBox and Big Box is?
 
Dux

Dux

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Google One. It's about 10 € a month for 2 TB. Even though it's Google it works the way it should and is stable. My choice was based mainly on long-term stability to keep my games safe.

LaunchBox is a game database and launcher made by some guy. It allows you to create your own game libraries from scratch, allowing in-depth options for games that you add. You can also use LaunchBox's integration mechanic to import libraries from Steam, GOG etc. The big difference between LaunchBox and something like GOG Galaxy is that you are responsible for where you store your own games. You can't automatically download games on the fly from some server, unless the integration mechanic handles that too. I don't use integrations so I can't say. For example, if I want to play some old game I have to download it myself from my private cloud, then install it before finally linking the installation to the game entry within LaunchBox. It can be a bit awkward at times but I don't mind.

Big Box is the fullscreen feature that comes with the Premium version of LaunchBox - which you'll have to pay for. There's a renewable license option and there's the one-time payment for full access until the end of time - supposedly. I chose the latter one. The prices are pretty reasonable, I think. Big Box is quite similar to Big Picture Mode in Steam, I believe, but with far more customisation available. I think the main point behind it was to offer enthusiast/autistic gamers a chance to build their own custom arcade machines. There's a multitude of themes to download to change the way Big Box looks, depending on what you're after. I went for a fairly standard and unobtrusive theme while others might go for something more extreme and immersive - complete with video clips and music.

The reason I like LaunchBox is because it allows me freedom to tinker and customise my game collections to achieve the look that I want.
 
racofer

racofer

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J_C said:
What cloud service are you using for that 500 GB?

And I know I could Google it, but could you give a TLDR version of what LaunchBox and Big Box is?
Click to expand...

Dux said:
Google One. It's about 10 € a month for 2 TB. Even though it's Google it works the way it should and is stable. My choice was based mainly on long-term stability to keep my games safe.

LaunchBox is a game database and launcher made by some guy. It allows you to create your own game libraries from scratch, allowing in-depth options for games that you add. You can also use LaunchBox's integration mechanic to import libraries from Steam, GOG etc. The big difference between LaunchBox and something like GOG Galaxy is that you are responsible for where you store your own games. You can't automatically download games on the fly from some server, unless the integration mechanic handles that too. I don't use integrations so I can't say. For example, if I want to play some old game I have to download it myself from my private cloud, then install it before finally linking the installation to the game entry within LaunchBox. It can be a bit awkward at times but I don't mind.

Big Box is the fullscreen feature that comes with the Premium version of LaunchBox - which you'll have to pay for. There's a renewable license option and there's the one-time payment for full access until the end of time - supposedly. I chose the latter one. The prices are pretty reasonable, I think. Big Box is quite similar to Big Picture Mode in Steam, I believe, but with far more customisation available. I think the main point behind it was to offer enthusiast/autistic gamers a chance to build their own custom arcade machines. There's a multitude of themes to download to change the way Big Box looks, depending on what you're after. I went for a fairly standard and unobtrusive theme while others might go for something more extreme and immersive - complete with video clips and music.

The reason I like LaunchBox is because it allows me freedom to tinker and customise my game collections to achieve the look that I want.
Click to expand...

I recommend to encrypt your games when uploading to Google Drive. Google is known to hash-scan uploaded files looking for pirated content, which applies to GOG game installers since they are widely distributed in piracy circles, i.e., if the oficial Witcher 3 installers from GOG are flagged for some user sharing the installers, then Google flags all copies of that content everywhere. This might become a problem for you in the future, with the risk of account cancelation due to violating Google's terms of service.

I recommend https://rclone.org/ since it interfaces with a lot of cloud services (including Google), and you can setup the encrypted storage of your files transparently. What this means is that files in your computer/storage remain unencrypted, but rclone encrypts your stuff when you upload, so that it rests at the remote storage in an encrypted form.

This is what my GOG installers look like in Google Drive (a garbled mess):
k739cpnwp7q.png


And this is what rclone shows when I access Google Drive:
w7w6cem5nye.png


If you want to go full autistic, though, check my post earlier in this thread: https://rpgcodex.net/forums/threads/gog-com.69065/page-462#post-7052838
 
Dux

Dux

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racofer said:
I recommend to encrypt your games when uploading to Google Drive. Google is known to hash-scan uploaded files looking for pirated content, which applies to GOG game installers since they are widely distributed in piracy circles, i.e., if the oficial Witcher 3 installers from GOG are flagged for some user sharing the installers, then Google flags all copies of that content everywhere. This might become a problem for you in the future, with the risk of account cancelation due to violating Google's terms of service.
Click to expand...

I can't do much about the 500 GB of GOG installers I've already uploaded. Whatever happens, happens. I figure as long as I don't share them (which I never intended to do anyway) I might be okay. Who knows? I have a few other games, though, that might not be strictly legal. They are old games which have been replaced by remasters and are no longer available for digital purchase. I doubt Google gives a shit about such things but you know never know, so I repackaged them in 7-Zip with a password. That'll have to do.
 
Semiurge

Semiurge

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racofer said:
I recommend to encrypt your games when uploading to Google Drive. Google is known to hash-scan uploaded files looking for pirated content, which applies to GOG game installers since they are widely distributed in piracy circles, i.e., if the oficial Witcher 3 installers from GOG are flagged for some user sharing the installers, then Google flags all copies of that content everywhere. This might become a problem for you in the future, with the risk of account cancelation due to violating Google's terms of service.

I recommend https://rclone.org/ since it interfaces with a lot of cloud services (including Google), and you can setup the encrypted storage of your files transparently. What this means is that files in your computer/storage remain unencrypted, but rclone encrypts your stuff when you upload, so that it rests at the remote storage in an encrypted form.

This is what my GOG installers look like in Google Drive (a garbled mess):
k739cpnwp7q.png


And this is what rclone shows when I access Google Drive:
w7w6cem5nye.png


If you want to go full autistic, though, check my post earlier in this thread: https://rpgcodex.net/forums/threads/gog-com.69065/page-462#post-7052838
Click to expand...

Fuck them, fuck them in the ass for scanning people's uploads. Besides, a lot of GOG games incorporate cracked executables that originated from crack circles.
 
ADL

ADL

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Waiting for reviews on this but it definitely looks cool. Renders the real world and the "otherworld" simultaneously so you can switch between them.
 
Narushima

Narushima

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Dux said:
You can't automatically download games on the fly from some server
Click to expand...
EXoDOS lets you do just that. It gives you a custom installer for Launchbox that populates it with metadata from a few thousand DOS games, and you can download them automatically from within Launchbox from a torrent. It's all automated and works really well.
 
Bad Sector

Bad Sector

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Insert Title Here RPG Wokedex Codex Year of the Donut Codex+ Now Streaming! Steve gets a Kidney but I don't even get a tag.
ERYFKRAD said:
mck said:
DalekFlay said:
Do not buy Soldier of Fortune 3 on sale.
Do not buy Soldier of Fortune 3 on sale.
Do not buy Soldier of Fortune 3 on sale.
Click to expand...

I agree. Everyone should pay full price to support the devs
Click to expand...
What am I missing, is it bad or good?
Click to expand...

Years ago i wrote a review for a paper magazine about the game. The magazine had a (sort of gimmick) box near the score with images of games that the game you were reviewing was better and worse (ie. the reviewed game is better than XYZ and worse than ABC). When i reviewed Soldier of Fortune Payback i added a photo of moldy beans for the "is better than" image.

The editor changed that to Daikatana, with which i completely disagreed but only noticed after i received the printed magazine so it was kinda late :-P.
 
Parsimonious cook

Parsimonious cook

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Strap Yourselves In Codex Year of the Donut Codex+ Now Streaming!
ERYFKRAD said:
mck said:
DalekFlay said:
Do not buy Soldier of Fortune 3 on sale.
Do not buy Soldier of Fortune 3 on sale.
Do not buy Soldier of Fortune 3 on sale.
Click to expand...

I agree. Everyone should pay full price to support the devs
Click to expand...
What am I missing, is it bad or good?
Click to expand...

Well, SoF 3 was made by a small-time studio based in Slovakia that made a cult classic TBS Spellcross, a meh FPS Chaser, an OK TBS Battle Isle 4: The Andosia War and few low profile titles that no one ever heard of (later they became part of Bohemia Interactive, the makers of Flashpoint/ARMA). I have no clue how they managed to end up with such a big name franchise given their track record up to that point, but there had to be some kind of drama regarding the IP rights or something like that. Predictably the game itself reflects the competence of the devs - its not a catastrophe, but they should have stuck to making TBS games instead.

Its more like SoF II than SoF I in that it has you fight mostly "realistic enemies" (like various rag heads driving in technicals etc) instead of the more cartoon villain types in the first game. If you want to play an FPS with over the top violence, you will be better off with SoF I or II in any case.
 
Bad Sector

Bad Sector

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Insert Title Here RPG Wokedex Codex Year of the Donut Codex+ Now Streaming! Steve gets a Kidney but I don't even get a tag.
Ok, perhaps i should try the game at some point again. I've certainly mellowed out towards games over the years and at the time i was a bit too harsh (i also didn't like Far Cry 2 much but nowadays i just... well, neat fire mechanics aside, i just find it boring). Since i was buying the games i was reviewing i still have the original disk, so i might try it on my old PC (that should be around recommended system specs).

EDIT: so, i installed it on the old PC and played the first level. Let's see... regenerating health with no health indicator aside of the screen becoming increasingly red, middle east setting (first level) with enemies screaming at you, sprinting doesn't allow turning and has the stamina of an asthmatic 80 year old, four weapon limit, a bunch of optional turrets scattered, said turrets being worthless because you are exposed and get a ton of damage so it is better to just use your weapons anyway, completely linear level design with absolutely no reason (nor space really) to find side stuff, a marker visible at the middle of the screen telling you where to go, enemies spawning behind you, a bulletspongy "boss fight" (kinda) ... it is certainly a low budget version of every midlate-2000s FPS cliche :-P.

It reminds me more of something i'd see in GamersGate alongside City Interactive's titles than a Soldier of Fortune title. Then again even City Interactive's titles aren't that linear (and they tend to have more humorous writing, even if not necessarily always intentional).

On a positive note, the disk doesn't seem to have DRM so i can probably just zip the files in there :-P
 
Last edited:
ADL

ADL

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Lagi

Lagi

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Soldier of Fortune 1 is a godlike game that I complete without crosshair.
SoF 2 is a garbage, marginally better than Blood2.
 
ferratilis

ferratilis

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Are PC ports of Way of the Samurai 3 and 4 worth playing? Or would it be better to play PS3 version through emulator? Sorry if it's off-topic, just wanted to know since I read they have some issues.
 
ERYFKRAD

ERYFKRAD

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Strap Yourselves In Serpent in the Staglands Shadorwun: Hong Kong Pillars of Eternity 2: Deadfire Steve gets a Kidney but I don't even get a tag. Pathfinder: Wrath I'm very into cock and ball torture I helped put crap in Monomyth
ferratilis said:
Are PC ports of Way of the Samurai 3 and 4 worth playing? Or would it be better to play PS3 version through emulator? Sorry if it's off-topic, just wanted to know since I read they have some issues.
Click to expand...
I've had not any real issues with either.
 
ferratilis

ferratilis

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So I started playing WotS 3 and immediately noticed one problem: the exploration background music should be looping, but it is not. The track ends and then there is just silence. It's a shame, because this game has an amazing soundtrack. Apparently, it's a common problem with the PC version. But luckily, some guy has recently made a fix by extending every track to around one hour. You probably won't be spending more than an hour in any map, so it should be enough. Here's a link to the guide for anyone interested (download link is in the guide):
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2346197690

Tried it myself, the music is looping correctly now. It's interesting that this fix was released recently, and another guy is also upscaling the textures. It's nice that there is still interest in this game.
 
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