Steam Thread 2019: hey, Half-Life 3 is here *monkey's paw curls* as a VR exclusive

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Video Games > Steam Thread 2019: hey, Half-Life 3 is here *monkey's paw curls* as a VR exclusive

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John Murdoch: May 19, 2009; I can tune a fish.

Captain Foo posted:

yeah that's one of the huge flaws of BL1 I have to admit, is the weapon XP system that really, really wants you to pick a weapon type. Good news, though, that means you're never competing for weapon drops.

Shock weapons are worthless except at one specific point in the game, explosive weapons are basically always worthless. Raw Damage is best, followed by fire and then chem, unless you're in one specific area and then you definitely need chem unless you've got a super-powered damage gun and even then you probably want chem.

The problem is that divvying up loot by weapon type is a terrible way to do it because the game has a bad tendency to go streaky with chests. I distinctly recall entire sessions where every chest was sniper rifles and shotguns, leaving my character in the dust. It also restricts your ammo pool.

Shock and explosive weapons are perfectly fine and have their place, it's just that due to questionable design fire and corrosive are never not useful. Due to luck of the drop, my best guns for a good chunk of the early game were a lightning SMG and a x4 explosive revolver. More to the point, figuring out the best gun for raw damage is difficult if you don't understand how elemental procs work. Though currently I'm at the point where I've overtaken the leveling curve so I can usually just Rambo everything with a good plain SMG (and the game hasn't started dropping the really game-breakingly good fire and acid stuff yet).

# ? Aug 15, 2017 03:16

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# ? Apr 27, 2024 15:30

mcbexx: Jul 4, 2004; British dentistry is
not on trial here!

drat, the Gamesplanet summer sale has some nice flash sales. Almost feels like Steam in the good ole days.

Wolfenstein TN and OB for 4.44� (GBP 3.75) each, same for Mad Max (is it worth it? Heard it gets grindy, but it should have fun for under 5 bucks in it, right?), DooM 11.99� (GBP 8.99) ...

mcbexx fucked around with this message at 03:28 on Aug 15, 2017

# ? Aug 15, 2017 03:25

Captain Foo: May 11, 2004; we vibin'
we slidin'
we breathin'
we dyin'

John Murdoch posted:

The problem is that divvying up loot by weapon type is a terrible way to do it because the game has a bad tendency to go streaky with chests. I distinctly recall entire sessions where every chest was sniper rifles and shotguns, leaving my character in the dust. It also restricts your ammo pool.

Shock and explosive weapons are perfectly fine and have their place, it's just that due to questionable design fire and corrosive are never not useful. Due to luck of the drop, my best guns for a good chunk of the early game were a lightning SMG and a x4 explosive revolver. More to the point, figuring out the best gun for raw damage is difficult if you don't understand how elemental procs work. Though currently I'm at the point where I've overtaken the leveling curve so I can usually just Rambo everything with a good plain SMG (and the game hasn't started dropping the really game-breakingly good fire and acid stuff yet).

I did forget how insane the proc system is

# ? Aug 15, 2017 03:27

Det_no: Oct 24, 2003

Wasn't Escape From Tarkov the game that made players buy founder packs for a chance to win alpha/beta access?

# ? Aug 15, 2017 03:30

Orv: May 4, 2011

Det_no posted:

Wasn't Escape From Tarkov the game that made players buy founder packs for a chance to win alpha/beta access?

The highest package was guaranteed if you wanted alpha access, but now any package gets you into closed beta. Which is really still just alpha. Like I said, no bueno.

# ? Aug 15, 2017 04:07

Ikari Worrier: Jul 23, 2004; Dinosaur Gum

Dr. Angela Ziegler posted:

so if you're not up for a side of nigh-masturbatory navel-gazing with your walking, just try and ignore that part.

But you recommended Dear Esther with no problem???

# ? Aug 15, 2017 04:11

StrixNebulosa: Feb 14, 2012; You cheated not only the game, but yourself.
But most of all, you cheated BABA

Dias posted:

Fair enough. For real though I have a lizard brain that needs measurable progress to keep doing things, I bounce super hard off sandboxy, "creative" games because of that. On the other hand I spent a stupid amount of time this weekend leveling a new PoE character. ARPGs gently caress me up super bad.

I feel ya. There is progress in No Man's Sky - getting more inventory slots, better equipment, new ships - but it's more secondary to the core of the game, which is wandering around on these weird planets and taking in the scenery. Like, don't get me wrong, there's stuff to do and it's fun, but if you want to build a base / kill things / dogfight pirates / what have you, there are way better games for that. (The trouble is finding a game that does all of those things at once really well, and welp! No Man's Sky was not the holy grail but it is competent at them.)

As for PoE I find my attention wanders as I play.

I dig it, I enjoy it, but it doesn't grab my lizard brain quite as hard and I drift away and... I'm never going to get past Act 2 in that game am I, I just know I'll create a new character when I get back in and burn out and I really want to see more of the plot.... :negative:

Too Shy Guy posted:

I don't wanna put Strix on the spot but she posted a pretty cool story about her NMS exploits today on Twitter that got me interested in giving it a try. I mean, I've always been interested in NMS because I love wandering aimlessly in games but I think that pushed me fully into Get It Eventually mode.

Hey, thanks! I'll retell the story here, for anyone who's interested!

My No Man's Sky story: I landed on a planet covered with giant mushrooms, landed my ship on one, and immediately found out that getting out of my ship would have me plummeting down like 20ft and taking damage. I'd have to use my jetpack to fly back up and get in, and getting out, well, I love that the shield regenerates for free.

Now, I had a tip that there was a crashed starship nearby, so I hiked over there and immediately discovered that it was cooler than my old ship, even if I had to fix it first. So I did - but I was missing a crucial element to make the thing fly. Said element was on the planet, but nowhere nearby, so I basically went on a hiking trip - took shelter in caves from the rain, scanning a whole lot of plants, taking a lot of screenshots.

I visited a bunch of waypoints and found a crashed freighter(!) that was apparently brought down by the local Sentinel forces. After reading its log I went and stood on top of it, which was how I spotted a big, big blue structure in the distance - a giant deposit of the element I needed! I immediately trekked over, mined it, hiked back, and fixed my ship.

I then took off and warped to another system to find a new planet so I could scan some cute flowers for an alien. They wanted to give a gift of a 3D hologram of these flowers to their beau, and well, I'll do that for free! (And take the payment happily too. :v:

)

In conclusion I have ten hours of playtime in No Man's Sky and I really love it a lot! It encourages whimsical adventures with gorgeous visuals, and I'm very likely going to lose more happy hours to it.

# ? Aug 15, 2017 04:16

Shrecknet: Jan 2, 2005

Ikari Worrier posted:

But you recommended Dear Esther with no problem???

Dear Esther never makes any commentary about the metanarrative of you, the player, controlling the character the way Lageskov and Stanley Parable do. It's just a masterclass in level design, tone and voice acting.

# ? Aug 15, 2017 04:57

SelenicMartian: Sep 14, 2013; Sometimes it's not the bomb that's retarded.

Crabtree posted:

WHY DIDN'T ANYONE TELL ME THERE WAS A NEW TALE OF WUXIA GAME COMING OUT SOON?!

Sold!

# ? Aug 15, 2017 05:11

Awesome!: Oct 17, 2008; Ready for adventure!

StrixNebulosa posted:

As for PoE I find my attention wanders as I play. I dig it, I enjoy it, but it doesn't grab my lizard brain quite as hard and I drift away and... I'm never going to get past Act 2 in that game am I, I just know I'll create a new character when I get back in and burn out and I really want to see more of the plot....

if it makes you feel any better the plot is pretty dumb. it is an arpg after all and the devs expect people to click through as fast as possible after the first run

# ? Aug 15, 2017 05:16

corn in the bible: Jun 5, 2004; Oh no oh god it's all true!

# ? Aug 15, 2017 05:19

corn in the bible: Jun 5, 2004; Oh no oh god it's all true!

Sonic Mania is hella good yall

# ? Aug 15, 2017 05:29

Awesome!: Oct 17, 2008; Ready for adventure!

im not sure i can believe that

# ? Aug 15, 2017 05:30

SelenicMartian: Sep 14, 2013; Sometimes it's not the bomb that's retarded.

corn in the bible posted:

Sonic Mania is hella good yall

"Sonic Mania is an all-new adventure with Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles full of unique bosses, rolling 2D landscapes, and fun classic gameplay."
So, classic gameplay,, or hella good?

Also, why is Knuckles full of unique bosses?

# ? Aug 15, 2017 05:32

StrixNebulosa: Feb 14, 2012; You cheated not only the game, but yourself.
But most of all, you cheated BABA

Awesome! posted:

if it makes you feel any better the plot is pretty dumb. it is an arpg after all and the devs expect people to click through as fast as possible after the first run

Eh, I wouldn't call it too dumb. It's full of the "this did something horrible, kill it for us" stuff out of the genre, but the setting is fun and the people are fun to listen to. I mean, the devs actually did a great job with it and the various lore things you can find around when most of the players will never pay attention to it, and I appreciate that!

# ? Aug 15, 2017 05:34

psychoJ: Feb 24, 2011; Smart and cool, handsome, wealthy and so sexy

Awesome! posted:

im not sure i can believe that

i can, since the main sonic devs have almost nothing to do with it

# ? Aug 15, 2017 05:35

SirSamVimes: Jul 21, 2008; ~* Challenge *~

corn in the bible posted:

# ? Aug 15, 2017 05:40

Ghostlight: Sep 25, 2009; maybe for one second you can pause; try to step into another person's perspective, and understand that a watermelon is cursing me

Awesome! posted:

if it makes you feel any better the plot is pretty dumb. it is an arpg after all and the devs expect people to click through as fast as possible after the first run

You couldn't even follow the plot if you wanted to because all of it takes place inside small windows of slowly scrolling text. By the fourth minute of running through a single character's dialogue options in the first town your brain is going to shut down regardless.

# ? Aug 15, 2017 05:41

StrixNebulosa: Feb 14, 2012; You cheated not only the game, but yourself.
But most of all, you cheated BABA

Ghostlight posted:

You couldn't even follow the plot if you wanted to because all of it takes place inside small windows of slowly scrolling text. By the fourth minute of running through a single character's dialogue options in the first town your brain is going to shut down regardless.

You can make the text scroll with the mouse wheel!

# ? Aug 15, 2017 05:45

Synthbuttrange: May 6, 2007

are you talking about pillars or path or portal of evil

# ? Aug 15, 2017 05:47

StrixNebulosa: Feb 14, 2012; You cheated not only the game, but yourself.
But most of all, you cheated BABA

Synthbuttrange posted:

are you talking about pillars or path or portal of evil

Pillars of Exile :v:

... okay okay

Path of Exile is the ARPG with the good if minimal story that I want to see more of despite not loving the gameplay 100%.

Pillars of Eternity is the RPG with the really generic writing that I'm not sure I want to read more of despite there being a ton of it.

# ? Aug 15, 2017 05:50

Olive!: Mar 16, 2015; It's not a ghost, but probably a 'living corpse'. The 'living dead' with a hell of a lot of bloodlust...

Good Sonics: All Stars Racing Transformed, Mean Bean Machine, Chao gardens
Bad: rest of 'em

# ? Aug 15, 2017 05:54

Ghostlight: Sep 25, 2009; maybe for one second you can pause; try to step into another person's perspective, and understand that a watermelon is cursing me

StrixNebulosa posted:

You can make the text scroll with the mouse wheel!

I wish I'd known this seven acts ago.

# ? Aug 15, 2017 05:57

Synthbuttrange: May 6, 2007

StrixNebulosa posted:

Pillars of Exile

... okay okay

Path of Exile is the ARPG with the good if minimal story that I want to see more of despite not loving the gameplay 100%.

Pillars of Eternity is the RPG with the really generic writing that I'm not sure I want to read more of despite there being a ton of it.

yeah that's not an answer. :|

If you're playing Pillars, just turn the difficulty down. There's not much really enjoyable about the combat. The writing varies depending on who's being written. Some are great, others are forgettable to bad.

Synthbuttrange fucked around with this message at 06:01 on Aug 15, 2017

# ? Aug 15, 2017 05:58

StrixNebulosa: Feb 14, 2012; You cheated not only the game, but yourself.
But most of all, you cheated BABA

Synthbuttrange posted:

yeah that's not an answer. :|

If you're playing Pillars, just turn the difficulty down. There's not much really enjoyable about the combat. The writing varies depending on who's being written. Some are great, others are forgettable to bad.

Oh, sorry! We're talking about Path of Exile.

# ? Aug 15, 2017 06:07

Jamfrost: Jul 20, 2013; I'm too busy thinkin' about my baby. Oh I ain't got time for nothin' else.; Slime TrainerS

Maybe spell out the E portion. PoExile.

Edit: Oh hey, I have Dear Esther: Landmark Edition for freesies. Guess I'll go try that out later. Pretty sure my top dawgs that I've played myself are The Beginner's Guide and Stanley Parable. Oh hey, Jazzpunk evolved into the Director's Cut version. I'll reinstall that one too.

Gosh darn games and their updates. :v:

Jamfrost fucked around with this message at 07:37 on Aug 15, 2017

# ? Aug 15, 2017 07:26

Justin_Brett: Oct 23, 2012; GAMERDOME put down LOSER

Could just call it Exile, are there even any other notable games with that in the title on Steam?

# ? Aug 15, 2017 07:36

Jamfrost: Jul 20, 2013; I'm too busy thinkin' about my baby. Oh I ain't got time for nothin' else.; Slime TrainerS

Justin_Brett posted:

Could just call it Exile, are there even any other notable games with that in the title on Steam?

Conan Exiles. Somewhat close.

# ? Aug 15, 2017 07:38

Xander77: Apr 6, 2009; Fuck it then. For another pit sandwich and some 'tater salad, I'll post a few more.

Synthbuttrange posted:

If you're playing Pillars, just turn the difficulty down. There's not much really enjoyable about the combat. The writing varies depending on who's being written. Some are great, others are forgettable to bad.

Someday (when I actually get a character / companion min-maxing guide, instead of a bunch of howler monkeys shrieking "just play whatever, she'll be right"), I'm going to go back to Pillars and at least make it into the first town.

# ? Aug 15, 2017 07:41

anilEhilated: Feb 17, 2014; But I say fuck the rain.; Grimey Drawer

Have you considered the possibility of the howler monkeys being... right?

# ? Aug 15, 2017 07:57

il_cornuto: Oct 10, 2004

Olive Garden tonight! posted:

Good Sonics: All Stars Racing Transformed, Mean Bean Machine, Chao gardens
Bad: rest of 'em

Sonic Generations is actually good too

# ? Aug 15, 2017 08:38

Shima Honnou: Dec 1, 2010; The Once And Future King Of Dicetroit; College Slice

Det_no posted:

Wasn't Escape From Tarkov the game that made players buy founder packs for a chance to win alpha/beta access?

There's nothing about Tarkov that doesn't scream to me that it'll end up like Survarium so it's squarely in the "Maybe if they ever actually finish it" column for me.

# ? Aug 15, 2017 08:39

Xander77: Apr 6, 2009; Fuck it then. For another pit sandwich and some 'tater salad, I'll post a few more.

anilEhilated posted:

Have you considered the possibility of the howler monkeys being... right?

Given that it took me like a minute to kill each wood beetle, no.

...

It's been a month, and WinGameStore actually processed my purchase. The key was apparently to send them an email with a profane rant about how poo poo they are.

Xander77 fucked around with this message at 09:15 on Aug 15, 2017

# ? Aug 15, 2017 09:11

claw game handjob: Mar 27, 2007; pinch pinch scrape pinch
ow ow fuck it's caught
i'm bleeding
JESUS TURN IT OFF
WHY ARE YOU STILL SMILING

Olive Garden tonight! posted:

Good Sonics: All Stars Racing Transformed, Mean Bean Machine, Chao gardens
Bad: rest of 'em

Good news!

You should really get Sonic Mania.

# ? Aug 15, 2017 09:41

Blattdorf: Aug 10, 2012; "This will be the best for both of us, Bradley."
"Meow."

Cosmic Express is busting my balls. The game might seem simple and innocent at first blush, but the puzzles are devious as all hell the further you go in. The difficulty curve is gentler than Stephen's Sausage Roll, so it's a bit easier to get into at least.

# ? Aug 15, 2017 10:07

Ghostlight: Sep 25, 2009; maybe for one second you can pause; try to step into another person's perspective, and understand that a watermelon is cursing me

Jamfrost posted:

Maybe spell out the E portion. PoExile.

Maybe you should just use PoEternity? :colbert:

# ? Aug 15, 2017 10:09

Phlegmish: Jul 2, 2011

Xander77 posted:

Someday (when I actually get a character / companion min-maxing guide, instead of a bunch of howler monkeys shrieking "just play whatever, she'll be right"), I'm going to go back to Pillars and at least make it into the first town.

Just pick a class that sounds fun and ask for the best way to min-max that particular class.

They told me Cypher was cool and it was, I played as a naked guy with a crossbow for most of the game.

# ? Aug 15, 2017 10:41