What game are you wasting time on?

[Raghar]

After I tried to play chess again and became undefeated master against Stockfish, I spend too much time by playing bad against bots on purpose and trying still win.

It's bit more funny enjoyable play that doing nonrandom opening and get some win against normal opponent. As boby fisher said current chess degraded into memorization of opening and playing from that, and where is fun in that?

 

[Cael]

Magic allergy sounds fun for a techno character.
Reject magic, embrace the certainty of steel.

I was tempted to go for that on my first run but I wanted to see what magical items were like. It was ok I guess, but I think I would have had more fun with tech overall. It seems that with magic you really have to invest in WP so you can start getting higher level spells, because that's the only way to increase MA and that's where most of the build variety in a magic build comes from. With TA you have both skills and disciplines to play with, but magic only gets spells. Which is a pity, because being able to make magical equipment and scrolls would have been fun.

Tech has more permanent +stat boosts in the game, IIRC. And there are a few spells that works independently of the magic rating (like the sustains), so you can always have a couple of those floating around.

However, if you are going for a talking Charisma/Beauty run, magic has boosts for those via items that tech doesn't, and the boosts are pretty substantial.

Therapeutics has some really good pharmaceuticals which you can make and give you sizeable bonuses to all attributes.

Permanent or temporary?

Temporary (only two or three ingame hours, I think).
However, there's the Muscle Maker (permanent +1 to all physical stats, permanent -1 to mental stats) and the Brain Builder (the inverse of Muscle Maker).

I believe tech has the charged rings, which gives +2 Dex each at their max tech aptitude. It also has that Vendigroth elixir thing that gives +to all stats. That is about it, I think. The powered armour doesn't give a bonus to Strength, sadly.

Magic gets the Beauty and Charisma items, plus 5 different sustains that allow you to mix and match what you want (most characters get 2 sustains straight off the bat that you should utilise). What it also gets is the war boots of speed and the dagger of speed. Those two are broken as hell in the right build.

I used to think tech was easy mode because of the rings and the balanced sword. Then I discovered those two speed items and now, I tend to wander around dressed in the smoking jacket and just murder everything before they can even move. My little army doesn't usually get a shot in and are nothing but pack mules and quest givers.

 

[NecroLord]

Magic allergy sounds fun for a techno character.
Reject magic, embrace the certainty of steel.

I was tempted to go for that on my first run but I wanted to see what magical items were like. It was ok I guess, but I think I would have had more fun with tech overall. It seems that with magic you really have to invest in WP so you can start getting higher level spells, because that's the only way to increase MA and that's where most of the build variety in a magic build comes from. With TA you have both skills and disciplines to play with, but magic only gets spells. Which is a pity, because being able to make magical equipment and scrolls would have been fun.

Tech has more permanent +stat boosts in the game, IIRC. And there are a few spells that works independently of the magic rating (like the sustains), so you can always have a couple of those floating around.

However, if you are going for a talking Charisma/Beauty run, magic has boosts for those via items that tech doesn't, and the boosts are pretty substantial.

Therapeutics has some really good pharmaceuticals which you can make and give you sizeable bonuses to all attributes.

Permanent or temporary?

Temporary (only two or three ingame hours, I think).
However, there's the Muscle Maker (permanent +1 to all physical stats, permanent -1 to mental stats) and the Brain Builder (the inverse of Muscle Maker).

I believe tech has the charged rings, which gives +2 Dex each at their max tech aptitude. It also has that Vendigroth elixir thing that gives +to all stats. That is about it, I think. The powered armour doesn't give a bonus to Strength, sadly.

Magic gets the Beauty and Charisma items, plus 5 different sustains that allow you to mix and match what you want (most characters get 2 sustains straight off the bat that you should utilise). What it also gets is the war boots of speed and the dagger of speed. Those two are broken as hell in the right build.

I used to think tech was easy mode because of the rings and the balanced sword. Then I discovered those two speed items and now, I tend to wander around dressed in the smoking jacket and just murder everything before they can even move. My little army doesn't usually get a shot in and are nothing but pack mules and quest givers.

Yeah, every Tech character should get Charged rings.

 

[HansDampf]

After I tried to play chess again and became undefeated master against Stockfish, I spend too much time by playing bad against bots on purpose and trying still win.

It's bit more funny enjoyable play that doing nonrandom opening and get some win against normal opponent. As boby fisher said current chess degraded into memorization of opening and playing from that, and where is fun in that?

What's your elo?

 

[mediocrepoet]

I've mostly been playing Star Wars Outlaws when I have time to really get into something, but I've been playing around with a few other things as time goes on.

Star Wars Outlaws is still awesome and exactly what I wanted from it, 45 hours in and not being anywhere near the end of it. Blow me.

Most notably on a Game Pass trial, I played a bit of PowerWash Simulator to try and see what the hype had been about. I don't get it. It gives me the same feeling as washing my car at a wand wash, i.e. it's satisfying in a way, but without the actual satisfaction and benefit of having accomplished something productive. It's also a feeling and experience easily attained in real life. Suffice it to say, I don't get it. Maybe if you don't have a car to get dirty and wash or something.

I also played Lamplighter's League a bit. I think this game had a lot of promise and always had since the initial teasers went live. It's a shame it didn't do better since I thought it was fun. That being said, I can't believe you can't move your team simultaneously during the real time segments. As soon as you swap members, the guy you were controlling just stops dead in his tracks. It's insane. I don't know how you fuck up something that basic.

 

[Hag]

Finished Paradise Killer.

It was good. It was very good. And for the explorefag I am it was total orgasm, with its large island full of huge landmarks, buildings, hills and everything.
The game has no real weakness if you can stomach the huge number of areas to comb. The story is quite clever in the way it is told and how coherent it makes this whole alien mess. I'm not big on synthwave esthetics but it was very well done, from the beautiful sights full of colors and details to the UI that has a real memorable bang. But really everything is memorable about this game.
A great sleuth experience that I enjoyed greatly.

 

[Abu Antar]

Still chugging along with HoMM3 and its expansions. I thought that I would be done by now, but that would only have been possible if I play one game at a time, and I do not roll like that. Currently playing as Sir Christian, on the Here Be Pirates mission. Things are going smoothly.

I am also playing Like A Dragon: Infinite Wealth. While I like the game, I might actually like Yakuza: Like A Dragon more. A lot of side quests aren't doing it for me, and I prefer Japan over Hawaii, even if it's a decent location to explore. They have made some nice additions to combat, like allowing you to move your character during your turn, but on the other hand, the game is fairly easy. I have two party wipes, but that was only because I challenged some optional, very strong foes that I knew would probably stomp all over me. I don't mind them reusing assets, but when it comes to the soundtrack, I want more new tunes.

I have The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild in my rotation, as well, but I haven't played for a week. Will get back to it once I have beaten Armageddon's Blade expansion in HoMM3.

 

[NecroLord]

I'm playing Doom: Plutonia.
After that I'll do some slaughter maps, maybe, as I've been itching for some brutal and bloody battles.
Micro Slaughter Community Project is on the list.
Also Flotsam.

 

[Kabas]

Finished Severed Steel, a pretty cool slow-mo shooter. Didn't like some of a later levels but the overall game is awesome.
I especially like the fact that levels are fully destructible. Blasting a hole in the wall was often the best way to reach your objectives or to get a drop on your enemies.

Due to some nostalgia i also started playing The Sims 2 again. It's been a literal decade since i last played it, forgot a lot of stuff.
It still holds great even against something like Sims 3 with it's open world and bigger amount of features.
Also downloaded some mods to make sure everything runs smoothly. Graphics Rule Maker to drastically improve performance, CAS widescreen and shadow fix - not sure if i need something else.

 

[Fargus]

Due to some nostalgia i also started playing The Sims 2 again.

Such classic game indeed. I still have my hillbilly mutant rapists vs drug dealing nigger gang neighbourhood saved somewhere.

 

[Fargus]

I myself just tested Jedi Academy PCVR mod and so far it's awesome. Much easier to decapitate enemies when you can aim your strikes in first person. Saber throwing is a bit wonky though.

 

[Gostak]

Due to seeing a Steam user say that dxvk (now?) allows for the planning phase in Rainbow Six 3: Raven Shield to work (before I only managed that for me with a software-vulkan-emulating-renderer which was too slow for the action parts) and remembering that I quite enjoyed what I played of that before I tried it again and yup now I can also plan without having to switch renderers when it comes to the action part.

Good game! Pretty intense. While the bots are not as cool as in Swat 3, Rainbow Six feels more simulated and real and also looks it. With HRTF and EAX it's an audible pleasure as well.
Also restarting this new campaign on Veteran (instead of the masochistic Elite), it's still masochistic/hard enough at that if you want to avoid dead/incaps.

Going with heartbeat sensor and flashbangs and/or smoke grenades is working good but the tangos still can creep up on you if not careful and some have inhuman reflexes and accuracy still.
No saving during the mission. Good old hard games.

So much content with expansions and fan missions. Someone chronicled his experience here e.g.:
https://www.gamegrin.com/articles/rainbow-six-3-raven-shield-diaries-part-one/

Heh, also the amount of weapons available even before any mods is staggering here. Of course some are much more viable than the rest of the bunch but they all can get the job done.

Also, someone modded the ragdoll karma settings allegedly according to scientific data from NASA.
When I used that I saw a body of a man tumble down a wide staircase the most realistic way non-prerendered in a video game ever!

Here have someone's smooth run on the first mission (14 years old this video, no less! I wonder if it is on Veteran, I have my doubts), still cool, though.

 

[NecroLord]

I myself just tested Jedi Academy PCVR mod and so far it's awesome. Much easier to decapitate enemies when you can aim your strikes in first person. Saber throwing is a bit wonky though.

Set g_saberrealisticcombat 1?

 

[Fargus]

I myself just tested Jedi Academy PCVR mod and so far it's awesome. Much easier to decapitate enemies when you can aim your strikes in first person. Saber throwing is a bit wonky though.

Set g_saberrealisticcombat 1?

I googled and it's just command for gore or something. Like i said gore seems pretty good already in VR when you can target bodyparts more easily

 

[Sigourn]

Finished Metroid II (Game Boy) and Super Metroid (SNES).

I can't recommend anyone to play Metroid II. The only thing you should know about the game is already show in Super Metroid. I can't think of any positives to the game either, it's just a long list of negatives.
Thankfully, Super Metroid addressed nearly all of them.

• There's less huge open rooms.
• Rooms are much more distinct, and areas all look different from each other.
• You get a proper map.
• There's a significant sense of progress in acquiring skills and unlocking new areas.

There are some considerable negatives though:

• Controls are a bit finicky. It never feels as sleek as the Castlevania titles.
• The map is primitive, so it doesn't show doors or whether you've picked items up. It doesn't let you see all areas at once either.
• There's a major emphasis on "bombing" walls that (thankfully) didn't make it to future Metroidvanias. Whereas most games nowadays hide secrets behind secret walls, Super Metroid hides virtually everything behind secret walls. Because of this, very few times I felt like I was genuinely discovering something. When everything is a secret, nothing really is. You run around bombing and shooting to your heart's content hoping (needing) to find something.

Overall it was enjoyable and I didn't wear me out like Symphony of the Night's inverted castle did. I don't think I'll replay this one like I did with the GBA Castlevania games.

 

[JC'sBarber]

Witchfire. As a gaymer who hasn't played any UE5 games, this one leaves a strong impression with it's visuals. The gameplay can be adequately described as a mix between Destiny and Hunt: Showdown, and although that may sound vomit-inducing it works quite well in this title. So long as you haven't played either game enough to be sick of the genre, which I haven't. On it's own it's a decent extraction shooter, with incredible visuals that are perfect for the Halloween season.

 

[NecroLord]

I myself just tested Jedi Academy PCVR mod and so far it's awesome. Much easier to decapitate enemies when you can aim your strikes in first person. Saber throwing is a bit wonky though.

Set g_saberrealisticcombat 1?

I googled and it's just command for gore or something. Like i said gore seems pretty good already in VR when you can target bodyparts more easily

Console command for dismemberment.
Also the lightsaber combat is more realistic, one or two slashes from a lightsaber and you are dead.

 

[Beggar]

Resident Evil 4 remake traumatized me so much, I haven't launched my PS4 in months. One of those games when people say they like it, I just consider them to be retarded. If someone said this was made by AI, I'd believe them.

 

[cioran]

Resident Evil 4 remake traumatized me so much, I haven't launched my PS4 in months. One of those games when people say they like it, I just consider them to be retarded. If someone would said this was made by AI, I'd believe them.

Clean your house!

Jordan Bernt Peterson™

 

[Hag]

Maybe in anticipation of the next release coming next month, I tried my hand at Flight Simulator 2020. Coming from DCS it's a culture shock : UI is a disaster, slow, painful, the keymapper sucks and it shows very hard that the game has been designed for keyboards as the only way to get precise input on throttle is through tapping. There is an uncanny lag on some inputs, rudder seems bugged, plane selection is very unexciting. Flight model is ok. Camera control sucks and makes everything harder than it should be.

The MVP are the graphics, through the satellite images streamed and modified to create nice looking maps with realistic tone although the awful clouds and over-contrasted colors (a cheap way to create "realism") sometimes detract from the decent atmosphere. The AI generated buildings are what you can expect from an AI work : good looking from afar and terrible, unnatural from close-by, and giving somehow sterile results (plus the occasional idiocy such as watery cliff or bent bridge).

Still it's fun to fly around and recognize places you've been, mountains you've climbed, roads you've driven. With a more streamlined UI and a decent input management it could have been much, much, much better.

 

[Raghar]

Yea, that kinda happened.

I played white.

 

[Cael]

Yea, that kinda happened.

I played white.

Who did you play against? A 3 year old?

 

[Caim]

Yea, that kinda happened.

I played white.

Trying to reverse engineer this one. Knight C7, king F7, pawn E6, king G6, queen moves to threaten G6, king H5, queen F5, king H4, rook C4, checkmate.

 

[Cael]

Yea, that kinda happened.

I played white.

Trying to reverse engineer this one. Knight C7, king F7, pawn E6, king G6, queen moves to threaten G6, king H5, queen F5, king H4, rook C4, checkmate.

The fact the entire one side is decimated with the other side unmoved seems pretty rookie to me...

 

[Average Manatee]

The fact the entire one side is decimated with the other side unmoved seems pretty rookie to me...

Yeah, really weird/dumb play on both players part by not developing half their pieces.