Screenshot thread

[Sunri]

This was a rather anticlimactic conversation

 

[Alienman]

View attachment 41106

What the hell is that?

 

[Fedora Master]

View attachment 41106

What the hell is that?

 

[JarlFrank]

You forgot to tag me.

(what gaem?)

 

[Darth Roxor]

oh no, the carnival game puzzles

Spoiler

I thought you died in that plane crash 135 years ago!

I always liked all those terminals in Doom 3 with their random data and clickables.

The various machinery all around is pretty ace as well, the Mars facility really feels alive and imposing.

Also, Doom 3 is definitely not a game for people with arachnophobia.

be on the lookout for commies

your face, your ass

what's the difference?

*glare*

When in doubt, keep applying hand grenades until the telekinetic dryder demon evaporates

I honestly never understood how people can hate this game.

 

[schru]

I honestly never understood how people can hate this game.

Kind of like with that game with the letters H and L and number 2 in the title. Perhaps it should be next on your list, or the full series?

 

[Darth Roxor]

Kind of like with that game with the letters H and L and number 2 in the title. Perhaps it should be next on your list, or the full series?

If you're referring to my posts about HL2 in that other thread, what upsets me the most about that game is how overrated it is. It was straight 10/10s everywhere at release and somehow it spawned a massive following while being barely competent gameplay-wise. Meanwhile I remember the response to Doom 3 was universally lukewarm to negative, and while I can understand why people would be disappointed/upset that it has just about nothing in common with Doom 1 and 2, it's still a pretty cool game in its own regard.

 

[schru]

Kind of like with that game with the letters H and L and number 2 in the title. Perhaps it should be next on your list, or the full series?

If you're referring to my posts about HL2 in that other thread, what upsets me the most about that game is how overrated it is. It was straight 10/10s everywhere at release and somehow it spawned a massive following while being barely competent gameplay-wise. Meanwhile I remember the response to Doom 3 was universally lukewarm to negative, and while I can understand why people would be disappointed/upset that it has just about nothing in common with Doom 1 and 2, it's still a pretty cool game in its own regard.

Yes. It is true that it was very overrated, but that seems to nullify any merits it might have as far as the Codex is concerned. Its replayability is pretty limited, but I think the over-all flow and impression of the game, especially on the first play, is very gripping and something far above mediocrity. It's certainly not like the original and the old trailers also seemed to promise a different kind of game, while the Episodes polished and narrowed down a kind of subset of HL2, but in their case I'm not surprised that they had a much more limited appeal.

That being said, as fond as I am of the game, I can't really replay parts of it without feeling sick. It's amusing that the Codex tends to cite Ravenholm as one of the best segments, as I think it's the one which becomes the most dull after one gets familiar with it.

So maybe a replay after all? Now that it no longer gets all the praise all the time, it could be enjoyed for what it is, perhaps? (It's also possible to play the version prior to the engine change by using one of the Source SDK Bases. The current official version might need a strictly bug-fixing patch. Recently I noticed a problem with the train in the first combat level too, so maybe Valve broke something again ...)

 

[NecroLord]

Recently I noticed a problem with the train in the first combat level too, so maybe Valve broke something again ...)

What sort of problem?

 

[Darth Roxor]

I think the over-all flow and impression of the game, especially on the first play, is very gripping and something far above mediocrity

I thought it was boring already on first play when it came out and then the omnipresent 10/10s only left me confused

So maybe a replay after all? Now that it no longer gets all the praise all the time, it could be enjoyed for what it is, perhaps?

Nah, I really can't be bothered. There's not a single thing about HL2 of which I'd have a very positive memory of, and it's particularly the basic shooting gameplay (the guns, the enemies) that felt aggressively bland to me. I just can't muster any willingness to replay it.

 

[schru]

Recently I noticed a problem with the train in the first combat level too, so maybe Valve broke something again ...)

What sort of problem?

When I played the first level of ‘Route Kanal’ recently, the second Combine train (i.e., the third train counting the one which stops earlier for you to use it to jump across the tracks) didn't appear at all after I jumped down into the canal below or onto the platform with the closed door suspended over the canal. The train should appear then, running over the two Civil Protection squads closing in on the player along the tracks.

 

[NecroLord]

Recently I noticed a problem with the train in the first combat level too, so maybe Valve broke something again ...)

What sort of problem?

When I played the first level of ‘Route Kanal’ recently, the second Combine train (i.e., the third train counting the one which stops earlier for you to use it to jump across the tracks) didn't appear at all after I jumped down into the canal below or onto the platform with the closed door suspended over the canal. The train should appear then, running over the two Civil Protection squads closing in on the player along the tracks.

What version are you playing?
Never encountered that problem.

 

[schru]

Recently I noticed a problem with the train in the first combat level too, so maybe Valve broke something again ...)

What sort of problem?

When I played the first level of ‘Route Kanal’ recently, the second Combine train (i.e., the third train counting the one which stops earlier for you to use it to jump across the tracks) didn't appear at all after I jumped down into the canal below or onto the platform with the closed door suspended over the canal. The train should appear then, running over the two Civil Protection squads closing in on the player along the tracks.

What version are you playing?
Never encountered that problem.

The standard Steam version. I don't think I have the bug-fixing patch-mod installed, but I'll make sure later. The only possibly abnormal thing is that I don't have a graphics card and I had to use a launch command to force a higher version of Direct3D.

It's also the first time I encountered it and I was quite taken aback.

 

[ds]

This was probably broken with the 2013 update, at least I remember running into the stuck train then. Was supposed to be fixed in 2014 but I guess not fully.

 

[NecroLord]

Recently I noticed a problem with the train in the first combat level too, so maybe Valve broke something again ...)

What sort of problem?

When I played the first level of ‘Route Kanal’ recently, the second Combine train (i.e., the third train counting the one which stops earlier for you to use it to jump across the tracks) didn't appear at all after I jumped down into the canal below or onto the platform with the closed door suspended over the canal. The train should appear then, running over the two Civil Protection squads closing in on the player along the tracks.

What version are you playing?
Never encountered that problem.

The standard Steam version. I don't think I have the bug-fixing patch-mod installed, but I'll make sure later. The only possibly abnormal thing is that I don't have a graphics card and I had to use a launch command to force a higher version of Direct3D.

It's also the first time I encountered it and I was quite taken aback.

How do you compare it to the first Half-Life?
While I like HL2, Half-Life 1 will always remain one of my favorite games.
Game is quite underwhelming in some instances, that fight with the Combine and placing turrets in Nova Prospekt is really frustrating.

 

[NecroLord]

Darth Roxor
Now you got me in a Doom 3 mood!
I will start a Doom 3 run.
Original, not the crummy BFG Edition.

 

[schru]

This was probably broken with the 2013 update, at least I remember running into the stuck train then. Was supposed to be fixed in 2014 but I guess not fully.

I see, so it was getting stuck there too. I was aware of the bug that was causing the earlier one to stop, just before the stairs down which the flaming barrel is dropped.

I couldn't replicate the bug now and I no longer have the autosave from the instance when it happened, where it was replicable.

Recently I noticed a problem with the train in the first combat level too, so maybe Valve broke something again ...)

What sort of problem?

When I played the first level of ‘Route Kanal’ recently, the second Combine train (i.e., the third train counting the one which stops earlier for you to use it to jump across the tracks) didn't appear at all after I jumped down into the canal below or onto the platform with the closed door suspended over the canal. The train should appear then, running over the two Civil Protection squads closing in on the player along the tracks.

What version are you playing?
Never encountered that problem.

The standard Steam version. I don't think I have the bug-fixing patch-mod installed, but I'll make sure later. The only possibly abnormal thing is that I don't have a graphics card and I had to use a launch command to force a higher version of Direct3D.

It's also the first time I encountered it and I was quite taken aback.

How do you compare it to the first Half-Life?
While I like HL2, Half-Life 1 will always remain one of my favorite games.
Game is quite underwhelming in some instances, that fight with the Combine and placing turreta in Nova Prospekt is really frustrating.

I approached playing the series in the ‘correct’ way, so that while HL2 which attracted my attention, I played HL1 and its expansion packs first. Initially I wasn't entirely interested or maybe habituated to playing games like that, so I found the gameplay kind of dull and probably didn't go with the flow of the set pieces. The cartoonish grotesque, huge research facility with hazards to explore, and the government cover-up theme appealed to me a lot, however, and I loved the ending.

HL2 wasn't exactly what I was expecting it to be—more streamlined, not very challenging, and with character drama constituting much of the plot, but I enjoyed most of it exceedingly for the continuous thrill of the easy-flowing action, set pieces, and various interesting details; I found the setting to be intriguing and unique too. The way Valve does, or used to do, things has so much style and flavour—the Combine radio chatter, the atmosphere of the Central or Eastern European city gradually being consumed by the alien machine, what I think is the intentional vagueness of the story with regards to the role of the player or the real nature of the enemy, the alarmed and sad feeling one gets from seeing the headcrab zombies with the bloodied hosts muttering and shambling around, and screaming if set on fire ...

But on a more concrete gameplay side, I do agree in principle that the game is too easy and constrained by scripting, especially early on. Where I differ from the Codex consensus is that the vehicles and vehicle sections are among the best in games, because apart from more open-ended games, vehicles in action games need levels tailored to them. The gravity gun is good and functional, but of course one loses interest in playing with physics in games past a certain point. The antlion bugbait is the real gimmick of the game—the spectacle is nice to look at, but there isn't much gameplay to it at all.

The later prison levels are among the most boring in the game, together with that canals section at the end of ‘Anticitizen One’. The squad mechanic is very poorly implemented and the rebels basically work only as a background when they don't get in the way. Generally, having the unique NPCs accompany the player in combat sections brings nothing of worth to the game either, it's just too basic and bland.

The actual shooter part of the game becomes good only in the street war, where the followers don't get in the way. There are more soldiers to fight, the level design at times facilitates interesting situations where they can be dangerous, and the grenades can even kill you and it's fun to throw them back. The striders are very cool and the sections where they can blow up parts of buildings are very exciting, especially the last street battle which can feel genuinely hectic; however, concluding those sections with crates of endless rockets is a big let-down. The final chapters are fun at first, but the last battle should have been something more unique and elaborate.

I learned to appreciate the first Half-Life more later, as I kept replaying it. It takes some prior knowledge, or just a play-style, to get into the midst of the set pieces without playing too carefully. Playing it on hard also made it feel more interesting compared to the difference a difficulty increase makes in most games of this type. I got into the Build games, Doom, and Quake only afterwards and I was quite astounded by how consistently excellent their gameplay was, since I used to assume that they were just too simplistic and repetitive. It wasn't until then that I understood what was good about pure shooters and why they didn't need to be ‘diversified’ with various additions and showiness to be highly fun. Ironically, despite my fondness for the HL series as a whole, it doesn't seem like I'll ever experience the first game in this way, as a sort of revelation. I rather cherish it for the whole set of things that make it feel the way it does.

 

[NecroLord]

Where I differ from the Codex consensus is that the vehicles and vehicle sections are among the best in games, because apart from more open-ended games, vehicles in action games need levels tailored to them.

I liked those as well.
If only because you are on your own and not saddled with Alyx or any Resistance members being useless.
Just like the first game.
Running, gunning.

 

[schru]

Where I differ from the Codex consensus is that the vehicles and vehicle sections are among the best in games, because apart from more open-ended games, vehicles in action games need levels tailored to them.

I liked those as well.
If only because you are on your own and not saddled with Alyx or any Resistance members being useless.
Just like the first game.
Running, gunning.

Yes, they retain something more of the character of the original, just in a different type of situations.

I forgot to add that I did enjoy the turret sections in the prison. They were perhaps the only really meritorious bits in terms of well thought out gameplay. It's easy to spoil them for yourself if you set the turrets up in very inadequate places, but when put in a more strategic way which requires you to keep watch over them as the soldiers advance from different sides, those parts become quite fun.

As for follower NPCs, the Episodes fixed this in a way because Alyx in Episode One is very enjoyable to have around as a character, but the problem is that it feels like a different style of game, a sort of casual romp against the background of a setting that was much more sombre and serious in HL2. The NPCs in the Episodes are generally unobtrusive, they have better animations and nice special moves, but those games are very easy going, designed for the player to glide through them. The writing and ‘scene direction’ for Alyx in particular were also greatly improved there, but it's quite understandable that those things are far removed from gameplay proper.

 

[Hag]

See that mountain ? You can't go there.

 

[Ivan]

JarlFrank Lost Judgment (specifically Kaito Files DLC)

 

[Jaesun]

I'm finally getting to this game... I'm a tad behind on games...

 

[Dr1f7]

JarlFrank Lost Judgment (specifically Kaito Files DLC)

japanese "humor", everybody

 

[Catacombs]

Quite the hill to die on.

 

[Fedora Master]

japanese "humor", everybody

Oversexed and underfucked