What game are you wasting time on?

[Grunker]

Currently playing the original Dark Forces. Age has not been kind to it. Playing right after playing the original DooM and Duke Nukem 3D, it is clear that those two are superior games. It's alright, but I honestly can't wait till I'm done and get to Jedi Knight.

 

[Grunker]

Playing DarkXL version of Star Wars: Dark Forces.
First three levels on Hard made me go .
Then turrets appeared.
I like this game so far, and it may quite possibly become one of my favourite FPSes of the Doom to Quake era. Not quite as good as Doom and Duke Nukem 3D, but better than Strife, Shadow Warriors and even Quake, IMO.
It really captures that Star Wars feeling too.
Only drawback with the DarkXL).

Damn, I didn't notice this mod at all. Seems like it is not at all finished though? The mechanics of Dark Forces certainly outshine the aesthetics. Where DooM and Duke aged well in that department, Dark Forces IMO did not, and on top of that my DosBoX is having some issues with the coloration. So a mod like this would become my playthrough. Doesn't sound too good with the missing features though.

 

[Ovplain]

Finally started Divinity: Original Sin. Only 7 hours into it, but I'm already pretty sure I'm going to have a lot of fun with this thing.<3

 

[octavius]

Playing DarkXL version of Star Wars: Dark Forces.
First three levels on Hard made me go .
Then turrets appeared.
I like this game so far, and it may quite possibly become one of my favourite FPSes of the Doom to Quake era. Not quite as good as Doom and Duke Nukem 3D, but better than Strife, Shadow Warriors and even Quake, IMO.
It really captures that Star Wars feeling too.
Only drawback with the DarkXL).

Damn, I didn't notice this mod at all. Seems like it is not at all finished though? The mechanics of Dark Forces certainly outshine the aesthetics. Where DooM and Duke aged well in that department, Dark Forces IMO did not, and on top of that my DosBoX is having some issues with the coloration. So a mod like this would become my playthrough. Doesn't sound too good with the missing features though.

It's just in Alpha stage, but doesn't look and feel like it, since it fully playable and can be completed.
The only real issue I have with it is that secondary fire is not implemented, thus making the game less tactical.
I lost all my save games thanks to being an idiot and getting a full HD, so I have put the game on hold until Lucius hopefully returns to provide an updated version.

 

[Darth Roxor]

Currently playing the original Dark Forces. Age has not been kind to it.

Bullshit

 

[Grunker]

octavius: I think I might try it. What version are you using?

Darth Roxor: fanboy detected. I love, for example, MM6-8, but I think the world graphics have aged worse than, say, Xeen's, because they opted for a realistic aesthetic with poor 3D modeling. Dark Forces is the prime example of something like that. Playing through a lot of old shooters currently it's easily the most blurry of the bunch, and the color scheme is not very nice. The game plays pretty well, but IMO is not as good as DooM or Duke. Its story-parts are obviously way cooler though.

EDIT: also, what the fuck is up with level design of all these old shooters being so stellar? Shooter level design might actually be a spot where gaming has regressed even further than RPGs. It's bizarre how with a few exceptions DooM, Duke, and Dark Forces have really interesting and cool level design, while most modern shooters - even the ones I like - are so generic and boring in that department.

 

[octavius]

octavius: I think I might try it. What version are you using?

XL Engine Release R2

EDIT: also, what the fuck is up with level design of all these old shooters being so stellar? Shooter level design might actually be a spot where gaming has regressed even further than RPGs. It's bizarre how with a few exceptions DooM, Duke, and Dark Forces have really interesting and cool level design, while most modern shooters - even the ones I like - are so generic and boring in that department.

Can't let anything interfere with the story, you know. Can't have the player having choices about where to go; just think how many more scripted cutscenes would have to be made then.

 

[Grunker]

Personally I think it's because designing levels as this means a certain loss of pacing-control for the developer, yeah. "What if the player gets stuck?" There are clearly some pacing issues if, like me, you're dumb enough/have a shit sense of direction to get a bit lost sometimes. But I mean there's maps and these levels aren't that large. I have by and far the worst sense of direction of anyone I know, and that just means these levels take like 10-15 minutes longer for me to complete. It ain't that bad.

Fuck, for my sake they could implement a shootery quest compass that I could toggle off, to satisfy the patience-less youngsters, just as long as I got back interesting levels.

 

[Ulminati]

Just finished the Pearl of the Orient campaign in Wargame: Red Dragon. It was 'k, but I honestly liked the Wargame ALB campaigns better. Not just because the ALB campaign is set in Scandinavia, but also because it allows you to play it with or against a bro. Red dragon also has too many regiments with too few units in each. Especially reassigning all your aircrafts to combat theatres every turn can get more than a little tedious. Also, while Pearl of the Orient wasn't nerly as bad in this aspect as The Busan Pocket was, you do end up fighting the same battle, against the same units, on the same map quite a lot. ALB usually had the combat shift to a new sector after 1-2 engagements.

I'm not sure ships, infantry command units, ECM for aircraft and scandinavians getting post-1970 equipment is worth the price of admission. I may end up reinstalling WG: ALB the next time I crave a campaign.

I'm also looking at some user modules for SR: Dragonfall (RIP Stuffies the cat shaman). The writing is hilariously bad in most of the top rated modules.

 

[Sceptic]

Darth Roxor: fanboy detected. I love, for example, MM6-8, but I think the world graphics have aged worse than, say, Xeen's, because they opted for a realistic aesthetic with poor 3D modeling. Dark Forces is the prime example something like that. Playing through a lot of old shooters currently it's easily the most blurry of the bunch, and the color scheme is not very nice. The game plays pretty well, but IMO is not as good as DooM or Duke. Its story-parts are obviously way cooler though.

Graphic whore

Besides, you said it yourself in the same post

EDIT: also, what the fuck is up with level design of all these old shooters being so stellar? Shooter level design might actually be a spot where gaming has regressed even further than RPGs. It's bizarre how with a few exceptions DooM, Duke, and Dark Forces have really interesting and cool level design, while most modern shooters - even the ones I like - are so generic and boring in that department.

This is why I don't consider DF inferior to the others. Its level design is stellar, in some ways better than Doom's, specifically in terms of creating a very consistent atmosphere in each level. Some of the maps ooze old trilogy atmosphere, and I overal find the whole game has a deep New Hope vibe, especially M4 and M6 (JK is ESB and MotS is RotJ). I still vidily remember the first time I got jumped by the exoskeleton in E5; very few games can create this sort of tension.

Graphic wise I don't actually remember if it looks worse than Doom now. Looking at mobygames screenshots I think Doom looks even worse, but then I usually use ZDoom now anyway (without any of the texture packs though). Did you maybe feel this way because you've played Doom in high res recently, and are comparing that to DF?

Regarding your WOX/MM6 comparison, there's no doubt low-resolution 3D aged much worse than pixels, but that's a different topic I think.

 

[Unkillable Cat]

FINALLY I'm playing Beyond Good & Evil, even though I've owned the game for about a decade.

My impressions after a couple hours of playing:

# The controls! ARGH! I feel like I'm back in Earthworm Jim 3D.

# I find it very strange how the game just drops you into this world of humans, aliens and furrie convention rejects and expects no one to stop and ask "What the hell is going on here?" The manual contributed a whole paragraph on setting and plot, it makes me feel I'm being fast-tracked and railroaded through the story - and yet, cutscenes CANNOT be skipped. Urgh.

# It took me about 2 minutes to realize that I've played this game before, except it was made by Ion Storm, had choppier 3D models and called itself Anachronox. The two games are so similar, I'm gonna go as far as to say that BG&E is an Anachronox rip-off.

Main protagonist has a green theme going on? Check.
Secondary character is short, chatty and likes to beat on things with a blunt instrument? Check.
Protagonist is accompanied by an AI that uses a holographic projection? Check.
Alien planet that's inhabited by humans and others "just because" serves as the background for the game? Check.
Hidden collectibles? Check.
Having to take photos of animals with the camera? Check.

There are further comparisons, but you get the idea. At least BG&E has a more entertaining combat system, and since I loved playing Anachronox I'll stick to this one for a while.

# Reggae rhinos, chav sharks and Asian walruses. Compared to them, the bovine bartender with the sunglasses seems outright normal.

# They put effort into the music, the best example being the "propaganda" tune in the bar.

# My gameplay session ended when I tried to take a photo of a white rat, only for Jade to fall through the floor and out of the map! *golfclap to UbiSoft*

 

[Inquisition]

Finally started Divinity: Original Sin. Only 7 hours into it, but I'm already pretty sure I'm going to have a lot of fun with this thing.<3

It gets a bit tiresome towards the end, but overall it is a great game.

 

[J_C]

Just finished Dungeon Keeper 2. Finished it from start to finish for the first time and as I suspected, it is a great game. It was not too difficult, but the gameplay was fun and humorous.

 

[TheHeroOfTime]

Not my favourite in the series (I really like RE 4 and 5, though I haven't played 0, 2, 3 or Code Veronica)

I'm a PC gamer.

No, you're not. If you were you would have installed a couple of emulators on your PC

 

[Manjuice Nutella]

Second attempt at trying to finish Dark Souls, first attempt kind of died after I got the lordvessel because, hell if I know why. It kind of did. Also HDD format happened.

Finally no piece of shit games for window live

Either way went with a bandit again, only took the master key when starting this time. Holy shit, it is a lot less hard after all the dying on my first attempt. Probably because I knew now that pumping stamina early to be able to block more damage with the shield is a very good idea. Also just shows that this game is more about knowing how to fight than just stats and gear, though both help.

I raped the gargoyles on my first attempt, no phantom. Capra Demon was piss easy after I dodged and killed his hounds. Didn't get cursed by the damn basilisks even once. Hollow thieves are as fucking annoying as I remembered. Blighttown was as annoying as usual. Killed spidertits with the help of a phantom.

Progressing a lot faster than on my first playthrough, that's for sure.

The funniest thing about Dark Souls is that the game is like, 10-hours long, but your first playthrough is more like 50-hours because of all that newfag dying

 

[Baron Dupek]

Finished Scourge of Armagon for Quake. Damn, it's better than original, especially in term of levels. Two new weapons are enough (gatling lazer!).
Now I loaded old save from Dissolution of Ethernity, played for few hourse and something tickled me. Went to quake wikia and found that I dodged Episode1 gate and jumped to another. Why.
Oh, and my first impression is better now, I was just fed off with Quake and this addon is actually cool.

For some reason addons still play music from basic game. Not that I complain cause music from addons sucks (I checked and dropped it).

 

[spekkio]

Finished Jagged Alliance - Deadly Games

The good:

- Great gameplay. It's bizarre that so few games tried to recreate such proven formula. And mostly failed.
- Missions are varied: kill everyone, defend building, survive n turns, etc. Very neat.
- You can get more equipment than in vanilla due to the merchant.

The bad:

- Turn limit is often infuriating and makes missions unnecessary difficult. I was able to circumvent it using memory editor, so I didn't have to resort to save scumming.
- Some missions are clearly broken. For example both available FAQs claim that #13 is almost impossible to complete due to strict turn limit and weird AI behavior.
- Some missions' objectives are very hard to figure out:
a) "give an object to some fag somewhere on the map" -> save scumming galore,
b) "ambush fags while they cross the bridge" - too bad they won't move until they spot you - save scumming galore,
c) "destroy 4 coils" too bad you don't know what these are (the spring-like thingies, not the computer-like thingies) - enjoy wasting turns, grenades / explosives.
- AI is cheap cheating fuck:
a) enemies can snipe you from the other half of the map, scoring 1-2 hits per 3 shots, even if you're hidden & crouched,
b) even when using best fags (MRK >90) you will miss 1-2 times per 3 shots even when enemy is quite close and perfectly visible,
c) enemies always know if they are in proper place to shoot, while your fags will often complain that they "can't see the dude" (which wastes AP) - reload galore,
d) some enemies are retardingly tough (>20 hits to kill, even when using modified M16),
e) even when using best defensive equipment (treated spectra + treated kevlar helmet) enemy will often inflict massive damage (>20) only to drop 9mm ammo after getting killed - good luck trying to do the same with 9mm weapons (1-3 points of damage).
- Merchant is irritating (selling stuff in packets, sometimes stuff is broken).
- 75% of mercenaries are basically useless (all stats inferior).

The ugly:

- Wounds heal much faster than in vanilla.
- In 75% of missions enemies are perfectly hidden / in defensive positions, waiting for you to attack them and get owned.
- Unit placement is automatic, you can't deploy your units.

tl;dr



They don't make them like this any more.

 

[Unkillable Cat]

Yeah, I recall Deadly Games being extra hard when I played it back in the day. Never seen a reason to revisit it since.

 

[Manjuice Nutella]

So I bought myself some weed yesterday and, for a match made in heaven, installed Deadly Premonition.

It's a Twin Peaks meets Silent Hill, meets that Nocturne Blair Witch game, with a dash of Escape from Population Earth.

This game is at the same time fascinating and ridiculous, so brilliant and so crappy you just scratch your head. But the most glaring issue is that what would make a great TV show; translates into a bizarre and absurd experience because of the ineptitude of the video game medium.

 

[Modron]

Shame the port was so crappy, Deadly Premonition seems to roll a dice when deciding how it will perform on various past recommend spec PCs; I suppose that is better than GTA4 but that's not saying much.

 

[Baron Dupek]

Are the fix from Durante for Deadly Premotion sufficient?

 

[Modron]

Not really, you have to waltz around a lot of bugs they never bothered to patch in order to complete it.
See a) http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=340325539
and b) http://pcgamingwiki.com/wiki/Deadly_Premonition:_The_Director's_Cut

and you're still not guaranteed to run into issues, the game needs a Wesp.

 

[octavius]

Finished Jagged Alliance - Deadly Games

The good:

- Great gameplay. It's bizarre that so few games tried to recreate such proven formula. And mostly failed.
- Missions are varied: kill everyone, defend building, survive n turns, etc. Very neat.
- You can get more equipment than in vanilla due to the merchant.

The bad:

- Turn limit is often infuriating and makes missions unnecessary difficult. I was able to circumvent it using memory editor, so I didn't have to resort to save scumming.
- Some missions are clearly broken. For example both available FAQs claim that #13 is almost impossible to complete due to strict turn limit and weird AI behavior.
- Some missions' objectives are very hard to figure out:
a) "give an object to some fag somewhere on the map" -> save scumming galore,
b) "ambush fags while they cross the bridge" - too bad they won't move until they spot you - save scumming galore,
c) "destroy 4 coils" too bad you don't know what these are (the spring-like thingies, not the computer-like thingies) - enjoy wasting turns, grenades / explosives.
- AI is cheap cheating fuck:
a) enemies can snipe you from the other half of the map, scoring 1-2 hits per 3 shots, even if you're hidden & crouched,
b) even when using best fags (MRK >90) you will miss 1-2 times per 3 shots even when enemy is quite close and perfectly visible,
c) enemies always know if they are in proper place to shoot, while your fags will often complain that they "can't see the dude" (which wastes AP) - reload galore,
d) some enemies are retardingly tough (>20 hits to kill, even when using modified M16),
e) even when using best defensive equipment (treated spectra + treated kevlar helmet) enemy will often inflict massive damage (>20) only to drop 9mm ammo after getting killed - good luck trying to do the same with 9mm weapons (1-3 points of damage).
- Merchant is irritating (selling stuff in packets, sometimes stuff is broken).
- 75% of mercenaries are basically useless (all stats inferior).

The ugly:

- Wounds heal much faster than in vanilla.
- In 75% of missions enemies are perfectly hidden / in defensive positions, waiting for you to attack them and get owned.
- Unit placement is automatic, you can't deploy your units.

tl;dr



They don't make them like this any more.

Yeah, the AI stuff is mostly fair critique, but I don't recall having to save scum that much.
But I got a bit tired of the game in the end, and I didn't finish the last level. Got tired of enemies lying in ambush inside a buidling, and my guys being hit by grenades from enemies they couldn't even see.
I think for me the most frustarting thing was not being able to toss grenades into doorways or windows to flush out enemies.
The mechanics are a bit flawed, but as long as it's not ultra difficult you can live with it, but when things do get very difficult it's frustrating when things that should work don't.

 

[SumDrunkGuy]

Been playing a lot of White Night over the weekend (that new game nobody has ever heard of). It's a mash-up of Alfred Hitchcock, 40s/50s style film noir, and old school 90s survival horror ala Alone in the Dark and Clock Tower (minus the point 'n click). I've also been getting some Silent Hill 2 vibes. Some gameplay I recorded (nothin too spoilery):



It's been pretty solid thus far.

 

[laclongquan]

Just finish Baldur's Gate Reloaded, a total conversion mod allow playing BG1 in NWN2 engine.

Pro:
- Quality graphic compared to old game. Great voices, because it uses existing assets.
- Hardest difficulty drive a spike up your ass in early level. Especially level 1 and 2. The quirk of NWN2 engine with BG content is such that you can stay at low level a bit longer than you expect. Also, limit level with max lvl10 with grinding. Grinding is hard because enemies are not XP farms like old game.
- A much newer look at BG1. Forget most of what you remember about BG1. Example: Viconia is horribly dangerous to use in this game due to ECL2. Generally casters can not afford ECL at all. And probably Imoen stayed Rogue is better than multi into Wiz.
- Due to incorporated Kaedrin pack and some minor tweaking, the game is different enough from NWN2 gameplay feature that worth exploring different builds.
- Pretty good economy balancing. End game I got 100k spare cash instead of the usual BG1's 300k, or NWN2's million.
- Pretty good level balancing. Level 10 is a good cap, since the last fight is hard at hardest difficulty, but I suspect would be cakewalk at level 11.

Con:
- You remember vanilla 1.0 BG1? Yeah, about the same level of bug. Recommend to playing at v1.31.
- The small amateur team meaning they can not do the workload of old BG1 team. They cut off quite a bit of quests, about 20% I think. Therefore less QuestXP. It's prolly better to get as much killXP as possible before getting questXP because it stay constant. Provided that you can, of course, what with dangerous critters wandering about.
- NO potion of thievery mastery meaning you have to have a pure Rogue for disable trap duty. The few potion of heroisms and a liberal amount of Cat's Grace got used in TOSC Durlag Tower, otherwise it will rape you brutally. Ducal hall even got highest level locked chest, bu they can be open with Knock.

Are now trying the Pool of Radiance Remastered mod.