The "What should I know before I play this game for the first time?" Q&A!

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Hwurmp: May 20, 2005

But if I want to be a better person, and you are what you eat, then...

# ? Nov 23, 2019 14:36

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# ? Apr 28, 2024 12:26

Barudak: May 7, 2007

Bard's Tale IV: Directors Cut

I strongly recommend you consider playing literally any other game in this genre first instead. If youre playing the pre-directors cut version somehow please consider getting help
You'll probably want to pick bard as your starting character as its the last of the four classes you get one of through the story mode
There will be a story moment where you must chose a character, Dagliesh or the Green Lady, to send on a quest. The only thing this choice influences is who you give up permanently and since you get another caster for free immediately following this quest and Dagliesh is the best fighter in the game theres no reason to not just send the green lady
The "talk to the board" only progresses by beating the game. Whatever youve accomplished in game except that has no bearing on it and the board will always approve characters advancing to the next tier as long as you've spent the minimum points to do so
Once a character has had their progression unlocked by the board you can reset their skills as many times as you want without needing to talk to the board again to unlock their skill progression
Early on aim for the skills that give you more opportunities
The optional dungeon haernhold has an altar at the start will give you mercenary tokens for 1000 gold so dont really sweat those
When the game gives you the point of no return notice it is not messing around. Make sure youve beaten haernhold before that point.
Stunlock due to the bards forced dancing skill doesnt count as a status effect. Abuse this to beat the haernhold.
The last set of new vendrs in the game is about half-way in at the frozen island. No I dont know why. What is important is the bard in the bar sells two items which make dealing damage not interrupt forced dancing. Buy both of these or you will never ever beat haernhold
There is an optional quest to "find klara". Its not actually optional nor can you find her, it progresses by doing the main story
Really, I mean it, dont play this game

Barudak fucked around with this message at 15:03 on Nov 23, 2019

# ? Nov 23, 2019 15:00

Lunchmeat Larry: Nov 3, 2012

Cardiovorax posted:

Honestly, this kind of thing is why morality systems in games are bullshit. Either have eating people be bad or don't, but don't include assholes just so people won't have to feel too bad about being murderous undead cannibals.

with a couple of exceptions, I think it actually works quite well in Vampyr - there are decidedly evil people who maintain stability etc and whose deaths have unintended and undesirable story/quest consequences (which you may or may not care about)

# ? Nov 23, 2019 15:38

juliuspringle: Jul 7, 2007

Without Story Spoilers, Far Cry 5 is basically just if you've played Far Cry before it's more of that?

# ? Nov 23, 2019 16:24

Sandwich Anarchist: Sep 12, 2008

Lunchmeat Larry posted:

with a couple of exceptions, I think it actually works quite well in Vampyr - there are decidedly evil people who maintain stability etc and whose deaths have unintended and undesirable story/quest consequences (which you may or may not care about)

Yeah, the fact that killing the bad people still causes the world to get worse is a interesting counter balance to the system.

# ? Nov 23, 2019 16:55

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

juliuspringle posted:

Without Story Spoilers, Far Cry 5 is basically just if you've played Far Cry before it's more of that?

Like every Far Cry game starting with 2, but much worse.

# ? Nov 23, 2019 17:03

Lucas Archer: Dec 1, 2007; Falling...

juliuspringle posted:

Without Story Spoilers, Far Cry 5 is basically just if you've played Far Cry before it's more of that?

With the added benefit of getting pulled into bullshit cutscenes periodically. If you haven�t bought it yet, I would recommend New Dawn instead.

# ? Nov 23, 2019 17:11

limp_cheese: Sep 10, 2007; Nothing to see here. Move along.

Lucas Archer posted:

With the added benefit of getting pulled into bullshit cutscenes periodically. If you haven’t bought it yet, I would recommend New Dawn instead.

To explain this a bit more there will be times when you'll suddenly be swarmed by guys with tranq guns out of nowhere. You are meant to lose those fights so don't bother fighting back. This happens a few times.

# ? Nov 23, 2019 19:01

exquisite tea: Apr 21, 2007; Carly shook her glass, willing the ice to melt. "You still haven't told me what the mission is."

She leaned forward. "We are going to assassinate the bad men of Hollywood."

One time they got me while I was flying in a Cessna. Captured right out of the air mid-mission to listen to some boring villain monologuing.

The soundtrack is great though.

# ? Nov 23, 2019 19:34

Ainsley McTree: Feb 19, 2004

It's weird game. the story and characters aren't good, and the aforementioned kidnap sections are dumb. But outside of those major flaws, the game is actually very fun to play, I thought. The shooting is silky smooth, they got away from typical tedious ubisoft crafting for the most part, the world is gorgeous; if you like the farcry series generally, I still think it's worth playing, because it is, without a doubt, a farcry game. It just has some issues.

# ? Nov 23, 2019 20:25

Gynovore: Jun 17, 2009; Forget your RoboCoX or your StickyCoX or your EvilCoX, MY CoX has Blinking Bewbs!

WHY IS THIS GAME DEAD?!

juliuspringle posted:

Without Story Spoilers, Far Cry 5 is basically just if you've played Far Cry before it's more of that?

Gameplay is good, writing is terrible. The wiki pretty much tells you all you need to know.

(get Hurk)

# ? Nov 23, 2019 20:35

Cardiovorax: Jun 5, 2011; I mean, if you're a successful actress and you go out of the house in a skirt and without underwear, knowing that paparazzi are just waiting for opportunities like this and that it has happened many times before, then there's really nobody you can blame for it but yourself.

I'd personally call it the worst Far Cry since Far Cry 2.

# ? Nov 23, 2019 20:48

juliuspringle: Jul 7, 2007

Lucas Archer posted:

With the added benefit of getting pulled into bullshit cutscenes periodically. If you haven�t bought it yet, I would recommend New Dawn instead.

I grabbed Far Cry New Dawn Ultimate Edition (normally $130) for $38 from the PSN Black Friday sale because its all of Far Cry 5 AND all of New Dawn plus Far Cry 3.

# ? Nov 24, 2019 14:57

happyhippy: Feb 21, 2005; Playing games, watching movies, owning goons. 'sup; Pillbug

juliuspringle posted:

Without Story Spoilers, Far Cry 5 is basically just if you've played Far Cry before it's more of that?

Yeah. What I found good about 5 was the small details.
You would find a store, ransacked, and you could tell what happened with the blood splatters and such.
They went into a lot of thinking about the environments.

One nitpick of FC5, is that EVERYWHERE is populated.
You could take a heli, fly to one of the forest covered mountains that has no trails on it for miles, land on it, and within a minute you will see a person walk by.

# ? Nov 24, 2019 15:10

Wrex Ruckus: Aug 24, 2015

Anything for Final Fantasy Adventure? The Mana Collection version if it matters.

# ? Nov 24, 2019 22:27

Mierenneuker: Apr 28, 2010; We're all going to experience changes in our life but only the best of us will qualify for front row seats.

Wrex Ruckus posted:

Anything for Final Fantasy Adventure? The Mana Collection version if it matters.

- Always bring a steady supply of keys and mattocks when you go into a dungeon.
- Ran out of them and now stuck in a dungeon? Skeletons and slimes with a face can potentially drop keys and mattocks respectively. Look for a room where those spawn and be sure to kill them last (so a chest won't drop for a different creature).
- The Morning Star weapon can also destroy walls, so you no longer need mattocks at that point. You'll get it in the dungeon that keeps looping if you take the wrong door. You can instantly fight the boss in that dungeon, but you'll need to find the Morning Star to actually defeat him.
- To find the entrance to Medusa Cave in the desert you need to walk a figure 8 around two palm trees. Infinity symbol. Two connected circles. The palm trees you need are in a screen with a pond of water and no enemies.
- The boss at Dime Tower is the point of no return. Have at least 5 sets of keys on you before you start that fight.

Mierenneuker fucked around with this message at 23:32 on Nov 24, 2019

# ? Nov 24, 2019 23:07

Wrex Ruckus: Aug 24, 2015

Mierenneuker posted:

- Always bring a steady supply of keys and mattocks when you go into a dungeon.
- Ran out of them and now stuck in a dungeon? Skeletons and slimes with a face can potentially drop keys and mattocks respectively. Look for a room where those spawn and be sure to kill them last (so a chest won't drop for a different creature).
- The Morning Star weapon can also destroy walls, so you no longer need mattocks at that point. You'll get it in the dungeon that keeps looping if you take the wrong door. You can instantly fight the boss in that dungeon, but you'll need to find the Morning Star to actually defeat him.
- To find the entrance to Medusa Cave in the desert you need to walk a figure 8 around two palm trees. Infinity symbol. Two connected circles. The palm trees you need are in a screen with a pond of water and no enemies.
- The boss at Dime Tower is the point of no return. Have at least 5 sets of keys on you before you start that fight.

Cool, thanks!

# ? Nov 24, 2019 23:47

The Lone Badger: Sep 24, 2007

Sandwich Anarchist posted:

Oh also, there a couple of times where you need to expend XP for the best option in a conversation or choice, and the game doesn't warn you ahead of time. Those situations will just drive you into negative XP, so don't stress it if you don't have any saved up.

Note: may not actually be best choice

# ? Nov 25, 2019 01:04

Zushio: May 8, 2008

Far Cry 2 is the best Far Cry other than the totally unrelated original. It's crazy how different it is than both the original and 3. Apparently 6 is back in the same director's hands so I actually have really high hopes.

Sure 2 was a brutal slog, it once you figured out the tricks (holy poo poo just take the river everywhere you can, the single most important Far Cry 2 tip) and how everything was working it is a total blast to play. No other Far Cry to date has had fire that looked or worked as well as 2. It was amazing, one bad move and you would have the entire grassland for a quite a long distance a raging inferno.

Far Cry 5 is fine, the gunplay feels excellent and actually has some decent writing nestled in there. Weirdly, I feel the game is actually better if you do know the spoiler ahead of time. Some schools of thought believe that you will have a greater enjoyment of media if you are informed beforehand, even in the case of something you are experiencing first hand for the first time. I subscribe to this on rare occasions, but Far Cry 5 feels like a firm case to me. Ubisoft needs to lay off the "You get drugged and have a crazy psychedelic adventure" quests though. They were cool the first time. It's now worse than the dreaded Ubisoft Towers.

Edit: All video game characters should speak at the same rate as The Jackal from Far Cry 2. I get you have some pretentious story to tell and jack off some voice actor. People don't take that long to talk IRL. Unless you speak at least as fast as The Jackal I am reaching for the skip dialogue button. Yes I am play Death Stranding, why do you ask?

https://youtu.be/cCJBOZC7XdQ

Zushio fucked around with this message at 03:02 on Nov 25, 2019

# ? Nov 25, 2019 02:50

Zaodai: May 23, 2009; Death before dishonor?
Your terms are accepted.

The best Far Cry is obviously Blood Dragon. :colbert:

# ? Nov 25, 2019 03:36

Good Soldier Svejk: Jul 5, 2010

anilEhilated posted:

Anything more for Vampyr? The wiki has a good assortment of gameplay tips but I'm mostly interested in whether there are any outstanding or trap skills.

unless you're really into the challenge (or they balanced it since I've last played) do not be afraid to switch to easy.

# ? Nov 25, 2019 03:44

drkeiscool: Aug 1, 2014; Soiled Meat

If you could fast travel between safe houses in far cry 2, I would have enjoyed it much more.

# ? Nov 25, 2019 04:27

Sleekly: Aug 21, 2008

Zushio posted:

Far Cry 2 is the best Far Cry other than the totally unrelated original. It's crazy how different it is than both the original and 3. Apparently 6 is back in the same director's hands so I actually have really high hopes.

Sure 2 was a brutal slog, it once you figured out the tricks (holy poo poo just take the river everywhere you can, the single most important Far Cry 2 tip) and how everything was working it is a total blast to play. No other Far Cry to date has had fire that looked or worked as well as 2. It was amazing, one bad move and you would have the entire grassland for a quite a long distance a raging inferno.

Far Cry 5 is fine, the gunplay feels excellent and actually has some decent writing nestled in there. Weirdly, I feel the game is actually better if you do know the spoiler ahead of time. Some schools of thought believe that you will have a greater enjoyment of media if you are informed beforehand, even in the case of something you are experiencing first hand for the first time. I subscribe to this on rare occasions, but Far Cry 5 feels like a firm case to me. Ubisoft needs to lay off the "You get drugged and have a crazy psychedelic adventure" quests though. They were cool the first time. It's now worse than the dreaded Ubisoft Towers.

Edit: All video game characters should speak at the same rate as The Jackal from Far Cry 2. I get you have some pretentious story to tell and jack off some voice actor. People don't take that long to talk IRL. Unless you speak at least as fast as The Jackal I am reaching for the skip dialogue button. Yes I am play Death Stranding, why do you ask?

https://youtu.be/cCJBOZC7XdQ

I agree with this. Also the fact there was no map on the HUD and you had to stop shooting in order to check the map was a small but really immersive thing. The enemies changing reactions to you as you become more and more effective was awesome too.

Far Cry 2 felt dangeous, both in terms of what could happen to me and what I could do to them. Putting your buddies out of their misery felt pretty awful too, but got me fighting harder for them.

# ? Nov 25, 2019 04:35

Cardiovorax: Jun 5, 2011; I mean, if you're a successful actress and you go out of the house in a skirt and without underwear, knowing that paparazzi are just waiting for opportunities like this and that it has happened many times before, then there's really nobody you can blame for it but yourself.

Far Cry 5 is notable as a game that is so batshit that the story director went crazy, started believing in his own cult and bought an SUV. Make of that what you will. I think there's a good game behind it, but it isn't worth all the hoops it makes you jump through.

# ? Nov 25, 2019 06:29

girl dick energy: Sep 30, 2009; You think you have the wherewithal to figure out my puzzle vagina?

Cardiovorax posted:

the story director went crazy, started believing in his own cult and bought an SUV.

That is not how I expected that sentence to end.

girl dick energy fucked around with this message at 06:49 on Nov 25, 2019

# ? Nov 25, 2019 06:39

Cardiovorax: Jun 5, 2011; I mean, if you're a successful actress and you go out of the house in a skirt and without underwear, knowing that paparazzi are just waiting for opportunities like this and that it has happened many times before, then there's really nobody you can blame for it but yourself.

Me neither, that whole interview is a rollercoaster of craziness.

# ? Nov 25, 2019 06:45

girl dick energy: Sep 30, 2009; You think you have the wherewithal to figure out my puzzle vagina?

You hear "Far Cry director went crazy, and started believing his own cult" and see an article about it, you think less "bought a new car" and more "had murdersex in it"

# ? Nov 25, 2019 06:50

Cardiovorax: Jun 5, 2011; I mean, if you're a successful actress and you go out of the house in a skirt and without underwear, knowing that paparazzi are just waiting for opportunities like this and that it has happened many times before, then there's really nobody you can blame for it but yourself.

He'd probably be too busy being in prison to give interviews about his game, then. In context, it really explains a lot about how the plot of that game became such a completely earnest and self-indulgent mess that ends with you chained to the crazy cult leader's bed, though.

VVV At least in Far Cry 3, it was the bad ending.

Cardiovorax fucked around with this message at 08:08 on Nov 25, 2019

# ? Nov 25, 2019 06:54

girl dick energy: Sep 30, 2009; You think you have the wherewithal to figure out my puzzle vagina?

Cardiovorax posted:

He'd probably be too busy being in prison to give interviews about his game, then. In context, it really explains a lot about how the plot of that game became such a completely earnest and self-indulgent mess that ends with you chained to the crazy cult leader's bed, though.

How soon we forget Far Cry 3's bad end.

# ? Nov 25, 2019 07:03

Lucas Archer: Dec 1, 2007; Falling...

All of FC3�s story is bad. I�ve played the game start to finish at least three times, and it wasn�t for the stupid, racist plot. Jason is quite possibly one of the most unlikable characters ever to be a protagonist. Vaas was the only bright spot in the game and I sometimes think about how it Jason was killed halfway through and you played Vaas through the second half, taking down the white shitheads criminal empire from within.

# ? Nov 25, 2019 16:51

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

Zushio posted:

Edit: All video game characters should speak at the same rate as The Jackal from Far Cry 2.

Every single rear end in a top hat in that game talked at full cokehead speed. It's like the actors wanted the bullshit plot to be over with almost as much as I did.

# ? Nov 25, 2019 17:18

owl_pellet: Nov 20, 2005; show your enemy
what you look like

Anything for Forza Horizon 4 or Metro Exodus?

# ? Nov 25, 2019 17:36

Feels Villeneuve: Oct 7, 2007; Setter is Better.

Metro Exodus is boring until you actually get into the open world. It's good as hell after that, so just stick with it for the first two hours or so.

# ? Nov 25, 2019 20:42

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

Just Cause 4? I mean, anything different from the previous ones?

e: Oh, yeah, and since I actually finished Vampyr I would like to clear up some stuff:

- Killing the priest present in one of the boss fights actually does lock you out of the best ending now. It counts as a murder/embrace - Jonathan's eye color changes and you will no longer receive the reward for having killed no citizens you'd get in Chapter 5. Not sure if this locks you out of the Not Even Once cheevo or not, but I suspect it does.

- Endings: You get the best ending when you do not embrace or murder anyone. You can get the good ending when you embrace/murder four or less people (and the abovementioned priest counts). After that it's bad.

- Always carry a shotgun, in your second weapon set if needed. During upgrading, you will have the option to modify it to do fire or acid damage - go fire as soon as you get the upgrade materials. The best shotgun in the game can be found in Chapter four, which is quite late in the game but the upgrade materials are plentiful enough for this not to be an issue.

- Stun is nice and all but not all enemies can be stunned; make sure to switch weapons to fit the situation. A weapon that can draw blood complements a stunning weapon very nicely.

- Skills: Abyss is hands-down the best skill in the game and the only reliable source of shadow damage at your disposal - Shadow Mist is hard to hit with and Spring's damage is minimal even if you spec the skill for it. Claws can be potentially powerful if leveled with the stun effect but there is no point in leveling them since they do Melee damage just like your weapons. Blood Spear is your only consistent source of blood damage.

- When you first enter a new district, make sure to go around its borders and unlock as many gates to other districts as you can. The reason for this is that doors are usually barred from one side and every single one has to be unlocked manually. Opening up direct paths between districts you already visited will save you a lot of time in the long run.

- Visiting the exclamation marks on the map is worth it even if they are out of the way. Specifically, these conversations are required to obtain hints on a character that gives you a truly massive amount of XP when embraced with all hints known.

anilEhilated fucked around with this message at 10:58 on Nov 28, 2019

# ? Nov 25, 2019 22:40

Zanzibar Ham: Mar 17, 2009; You giving me the cold shoulder? How cruel.; Grimey Drawer

Question about Transformers Devastation -

I noticed in the UI under my credits count there's a counter for some kind of blue box. Right now I have it at 1, and no clue what it is. Anyone know?

Also something that might be worth putting on the site -

- Besides the glowing yellow circles, you should look out for any circular patterns and vehicle slam down on those too, sometimes they'll also hide goodies. Same for suspiciously cordoned off empty sections (like traffic cones placed around nothing)

e: looking at my inventory, I'm guessing it's the number of auto-repairs (ie "extra lives") I have, but if I'm mistaken I'd love to get a correction

Zanzibar Ham fucked around with this message at 19:53 on Nov 27, 2019

# ? Nov 27, 2019 02:25

Omi no Kami: Feb 19, 2014

Anything for The Longest Dark? I've bounced off it a few times, but I wanna give it another shot since I keep hearing great things.

# ? Nov 28, 2019 09:39

Brother Tadger: Feb 15, 2012; I'm accidentally a suicide bomber!

Just got Ace Combat 7. Never played any AC games before. All tips appreciated

# ? Nov 29, 2019 17:43

Arcturas: Mar 30, 2011

Any advice for Railway Empire? I haven't played a train game in decades.

# ? Nov 29, 2019 20:57

baram.: Oct 23, 2007; smooth.

anyone have tips for lunar silver star story & eternal blue?

# ? Nov 30, 2019 03:48

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# ? Apr 28, 2024 12:26

DreadCthulhu: Sep 17, 2008; What the fuck is up, Denny's?!

How does System Shock 2 hold up in 2019? Is it still the life-changing transformational experience that people raved about in 1999, or has it been surpassed by more modern titles, in terms of game mechanics, story, UX etc? It's super discounted on GOG now, but for me it's more of a matter of prioritizing what I sink my time into, than saving a few bucks.

# ? Nov 30, 2019 05:23

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