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Yeah, while it's fairly obvious from the logs who it is (Abe Ghiran), and even what's inside it (one of the logs on the Reactor level mentioned it), it can be slightly trickier to remember where exactly that head is when you need it. The logs right by his body make it clear who he is and he kind of sticks out as a character, since he was probably the most resourceful guy on the station and actually had a plan to get to Shodan, but couldn't find a route to the bridge. The problem is that once you pick up the logs you lose any indication of where they came from unless you drop a map marker. Speaking of which, Rojo, you should show off the map marking system if possible. Viewing all ammo is possible by using both MFDs, you need to have any weapon on one side and the item info tab on the other side. I'm pretty sure it will show all the ammo you have, not just for that weapon. And if anyone hasn't noticed it, when the weapon is on the MFD (such as when reloading) there's a vague ammo available indicator by the pips in the corner; if it's green and full you have a lot of that type, and it gets red when you're on the last magazine. Kangra fucked around with this message at 03:00 on Nov 27, 2022 |
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Nov 27, 2022 02:58
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| # ? Apr 26, 2024 18:47 |
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 Episode 23 - Stay Awhile and Die
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Dec 3, 2022 01:15
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Kangra posted:Yeah, while it's fairly obvious from the logs who it is (Abe Ghiran), and even what's inside it (one of the logs on the Reactor level mentioned it), it can be slightly trickier to remember where exactly that head is when you need it. The logs right by his body make it clear who he is and he kind of sticks out as a character, since he was probably the most resourceful guy on the station and actually had a plan to get to Shodan, but couldn't find a route to the bridge. The problem is that once you pick up the logs you lose any indication of where they came from unless you drop a map marker. Speaking of which, Rojo, you should show off the map marking system if possible. I imagine it's a lot easier to remember who people are and where you found things if you're playing through the game over the course of a week instead of a couple months. I can't entirely blame the timeline, though....I'd forget stuff and get lost either way. Regarding the map, I forgot to do it this time, but I'll try to get it in for the next one. It's just inconvenient for recording since if my capture card doesn't handle the resolution switch well it could lead to a scrapped video, but it's certainly something we can show.
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Dec 3, 2022 01:19
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Tiggum posted:That's not exactly true. Solid objects (ie. those that block each other) can't occupy the same horizontal coordinates (so a cacodemon floating up in the sky will prevent you from walking underneath it), but intangible objects (such as projectiles and items) can. Missiles can even pass under or over other objects that they would normally hit (eg. monsters). It's not a matter of the game not being 3D, but certain limitations added intentionally for various reasons. This video explains in more detail. I guess it says something about the trickery / wizardry that they had to employ in these early games that I'm always finding out new bits of info which turn what I thought I knew on my head! I hacked about with making a few Doom levels and mods back in the day and from what I remember I was 100% sure that hit detection for both hitscan and projectile weapons was compressed to a 2d plane, but the fact that projectiles like rockets use a 3d vector and avoid the infinitely tall monsters is new to me! Thank you for linking that video, it actually overlaps with a video I saw when I was checking some info for my earlier word dump - about halfway down this page, which I shamelessly took bits from before without attribution - https://www.filfre.net/2019/01/life-off-the-grid-part-1-making-ultima-underworld/ They couldn't figure out a quick way to map textures to look realistic when looking up and down - so just chose to allow textures to be distorted vertically, but restrict the viewing angle so that you'd have to be very up close to a wall and looking extremely up or down before it distorted too much. It did the job at the time!
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Dec 3, 2022 02:44
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rojovision posted:
(apologies this reply is rather late, didn't get back around to checking on this thread for a bit!) I have to admit I was a bit on the drunk side when I got around to writing that post so it may have rambled on too long or got some stuff entirely wrong! But the reason I wrote it is because I have a huge soft spot for these games, they were some of the most influential games I played back in my formative years and they've always been at the back of my mind when playing newer games. I've tried to revisit them on occasion but never quite been able to get into them because of how old school the controls are - which is why I love that you pick these games to LP and commit to learning their idiosyncrasies. I hope you keep going if you're not getting burnt out on them yet! Fingers crossed for Underworld 2 or System Shock 2.... maybe there's an opportunity for a multiplayer LP of SS2 somehow? As for later games, Arx Fatalis came close but I ended up getting stuck in an area with what seemed to be unkillable enemies and gave up on it. I'm a big fan of the Dishonoured series which are kind of an evolution of Thief, some of the level design in those games is astounding but the actual combat lets it down unfortunately. 2017 Prey was pretty much the exact game I had been waiting for after so many years, the blend of exploration, story, combat, freedom of movement and light RPG elements hit exactly the perfect spot for me. The Mooncrash DLC is pretty good as well if you've not played that, it takes away some of the story elements and strips it down to a more basic gameplay loop, but it's still very satisfying. After Dishonoured, Prey and Mooncrash I was expecting big things from Arkane's next game Deathloop which I was hoping was going to be similar to Prey and Mooncrash - but ended up being a stripped down version. I assume there isn't going to be a Prey 2, but hopefully there's still a market for another big budget immersive sim!
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Dec 3, 2022 03:12
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 Episode 24 - Number Hunter
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Dec 9, 2022 23:39
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I checked out a bit of that article. Looks like a good read - I'll have to come back to it later. As for future playthroughs, UU2 and SS2 are definitely on the list of games I'd like to do, as are many others, though probably no multiplayer anything. I've actually already done playthroughs for Prey 2017, Mooncrash, and the main game of Dishonored. There should be playlists for those on the channel.
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Dec 9, 2022 23:45
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Thanks for showing off the map markers. It's kind of a weird element, and not really all that useful. But it is a reminder that everything we are seeing is actually AR - the HUD is a permanent part of the Hacker's perspective of the world now, so the marker beacon is a construct of the computer in their head. (I guess that's another way of saying "my vision is augmented"). Speaking of which, have you played the Deus Ex games? That seems kind of the pinnacle of first-person action RPGs, but it hasn't really been brought up in the discussion yet. It'd also be great to see a SS2 run, since it does a good job referencing this game while also expanding the gameplay in excellent ways.
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Dec 15, 2022 21:40
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 Episode 25 - Code Complete
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Dec 21, 2022 03:44
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Kangra posted:Thanks for showing off the map markers. It's kind of a weird element, and not really all that useful. But it is a reminder that everything we are seeing is actually AR - the HUD is a permanent part of the Hacker's perspective of the world now, so the marker beacon is a construct of the computer in their head. (I guess that's another way of saying "my vision is augmented"). I've played all the main Deus Ex games except Mankind Divided. The original is on the list of games I'd like to do in the future, as is SS2 which I may have already mentioned.
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Dec 21, 2022 03:48
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 Episode 26 - Shaking Things Up
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Dec 31, 2022 00:39
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Hoo boy, this is where my paranoia gets stirred up. No on-screen timer? In a game from this age, I figure it's about 50/50 as to whether there's one in the background that screws you over if you didn't keep enough backup saves.
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Jan 2, 2023 11:02
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 Episode 27 - Fortress
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Jan 6, 2023 21:10
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Crazy Achmed posted:Hoo boy, this is where my paranoia gets stirred up. No on-screen timer? In a game from this age, I figure it's about 50/50 as to whether there's one in the background that screws you over if you didn't keep enough backup saves. Yeah it makes things pretty tense. Thankfully the game does give you plenty of save slots. I imagine trying to do a playthrough blind with just a single save slot would have players sweating bullets at this point in the game. If we'd picked the higher difficulty with the timer, I wonder if it would have gone from, say, 2 hours to like 30 minutes after flipping the switch in the reactor - ignoring the fact that we'd probably already have run out the clock a few episodes ago, of course.
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Jan 6, 2023 21:24
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 Episode 28 - The Dangers of Cyberspace
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Jan 12, 2023 17:52
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I don't think you need the demodulator or the plastique, I don't think you can even use them on anything anymore.
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Jan 12, 2023 23:58
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I kind of wonder, looking at this level now, if Shodan wasn't responsible for reconfiguring the station, or at least the bridge level. Of course, a lot of the station has a skewed layout that doesn't quite make sense, but the impossibly high walls and the large amounts of empty space make it almost seem like Shodan's digital fortress has been rebuilt. I feel like SS2 is slightly more sensible in that regard, so it's not just a Tri-op thing. The rail gun's high fire rate and explosive ammo make it a pretty good crowd control weapon, but it is more of a mid-tier option, and not a great one given the relatively low ammo capacity and rarity of situations where it is useful (lots of enemies that are far enough away that splash damage won't hit you).
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Jan 17, 2023 22:23
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 Extra 1 - Difficulty Settings Comparison
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Jan 18, 2023 05:48
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Full disclosure, I've completed the game at this point. There will be one more episode after 29 on Friday, which I will probably release either Sunday or Monday.SugarAddict posted:I don't think you need the demodulator or the plastique, I don't think you can even use them on anything anymore. Probably not, though it doesn't seem like resources are super scarce at this point anyway. Kangra posted:I kind of wonder, looking at this level now, if Shodan wasn't responsible for reconfiguring the station, or at least the bridge level. Of course, a lot of the station has a skewed layout that doesn't quite make sense, but the impossibly high walls and the large amounts of empty space make it almost seem like Shodan's digital fortress has been rebuilt. I feel like SS2 is slightly more sensible in that regard, so it's not just a Tri-op thing. Entirely possible, though I think a lot of it is still just 90's level design. Without spoiling anything, we'll see some interesting stuff on Friday. The railgun is definitely a bit underwhelming in SS.
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Jan 18, 2023 05:57
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 Episode 29 - The Bridge
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Jan 20, 2023 23:50
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Wow those bomb cart guys respawned aggressively. Though it did look like they stopped actually going after you while you were at the area with the puzzle, as long as they hadn't seen you yet. It's also crazy how passable the music is in these later areas, while the start of the game had some real terrible stuff. I think the map now also highlights danger floors, I don't remember it doing that for radiation/poison zones before.
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Jan 21, 2023 17:35
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I love how that location makes the player think "oh, it's autobombs, annoying but not too harmful" and then it turns into a nightmare. The whole Level 8 + Bridge does a decent job feeling tough but fairly sprinkled with health and places to rest before advancing. You chose exactly the right way to fight Diego; his laser rapier is one of his strongest weapons but you can fight back just as hard.
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Jan 22, 2023 07:49
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 Episode 30 - Shodown
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Jan 24, 2023 00:25
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Geemer posted:Wow those bomb cart guys respawned aggressively. Though it did look like they stopped actually going after you while you were at the area with the puzzle, as long as they hadn't seen you yet. That makes sense as far as the map. Kind of late and not really that useful, unfortunately, though maybe we could have found the upgrade earlier. Kangra posted:I love how that location makes the player think "oh, it's autobombs, annoying but not too harmful" and then it turns into a nightmare. The whole Level 8 + Bridge does a decent job feeling tough but fairly sprinkled with health and places to rest before advancing. Yeah it worked out pretty well, though I guess I should have expected Shodan's surprise middle finger of extra enemies after he died.
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Jan 24, 2023 00:29
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Episode 30 is the final one of the series. Just wanted to say thanks to everyone who checked out the thread. It was a fun game, and I'm glad I finally got around to playing it...hopefully the remake actually comes out someday and doesn't suck.
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Jan 24, 2023 00:31
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Kangra posted:I kind of wonder, looking at this level now, if Shodan wasn't responsible for reconfiguring the station, or at least the bridge level. Of course, a lot of the station has a skewed layout that doesn't quite make sense, but the impossibly high walls and the large amounts of empty space make it almost seem like Shodan's digital fortress has been rebuilt. I feel like SS2 is slightly more sensible in that regard, so it's not just a Tri-op thing. I could have sworn there's a note or log implying this very thing. She had the bridge modified to increase security. Thanks for the LP, rojovision. It's been a fun trip down memory lane.
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Jan 24, 2023 00:48
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Congrats on finishing the game! Good LP. I think a lot of people ended up really disliking cyberspace in this game, and I think it mostly comes down to the final fight. You can get by decently well for the rest of the game (as you did) and it's not really that demanding. Cyberspace often is (and typically feels) optional. Then suddenly there's an expectation that you have to be able to take down Shodan in this one and only way, and it's confusing as to what you might even have to do to boot. While I really like the cyberspace sequences, I can understand why it became notoriously disliked. The remake is apparently redoing cyberspace as a sort of 6DOF Descent-lite from what I can tell. There is also one thing that finally went right for you that was mildly amusing. You used Detox before using the Medpatch! (Probably you had done that before at other times, but I noticed it there). The thing about Detox is that it immediately cancels every effect on you, positive or negative. Several times you used a Medpatch and then immediately took a Detox (it happened at the very end of Episode 29), which canceled the healing.That is why you were thinking there may have been a 'glitch' in the effectiveness of Medpatches. It also cancels side effects like from Berserk and Reflex as well. Also on weapons, regarding the riot gun: It has dubious usefulness in one particular case. It can push mines out of the way, since it won't cause them to go off. About the only time that's relevant might be the energy-mine trap on Level 2. One other thing about the station layout: Where's the Residential Level? It gets mentioned that riots were breaking out there, but you never see it, and it's not clear where it would even be. Level 6 is about all there is, but clearly seems to be only for the higher-ups.
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Jan 24, 2023 19:10
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Thanks for showing off the game! I think it had some very interesting ideas, especially for the time. But the execution is very rough. I'm honestly surprised with how many first aid kits they had scattered about the bridge, both before and after the separation. Especially considering the game got really stingy with healing opportunities around the middle. I wonder if they intended for the radiation in the room around the cyberjack to keep hurting you as you were dealing with cyberspace, but just couldn't get it to work/keep it from killing you too fast to be able to get around in there. Because otherwise, it seems like a bit of a weird inclusion. They give you a level 3 suit on the bridge level and and energy recharge so it's not like you could feasibly be caught without. Speaking of cyberspace, the cyber cortex reavers seem to be less of a problem than the normal cyberspace enemies, what with being enormous targets that you only vaguely have to point towards and their apparent lack of ability to see you until you've already taken a ton of shots at them.
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Jan 24, 2023 21:10
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Kangra posted:I think a lot of people ended up really disliking cyberspace in this game
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Jan 25, 2023 04:01
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| # ? Apr 26, 2024 18:47 |
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qGYB9OnqYiY
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Feb 14, 2023 17:25
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