Finished "OFF" today. It's huh..a 4 hour long RPG (?)
I didn't quite get the story, since it's all too abstract. I ended up with more theories than actual facts. Overall an interesting experience

I just wish the puzzles weren't that absurdly hard. Had to google the solution to at least 4 of them

Written by [user id=142921] on 17.10.2016 at 13:36


I just started this game today too. It's been sitting in my library for ages. I'm about 20 minutes in..still speaking to all the vets but what has immediately increased my desire to continue is the mind reading ability. It's really been my priority ever since it was granted to me. I love how you can uncover the bs the merchant spills about his low, competitive prices with the ability. While I question if sacrificing xp is the right way to do things, it's definitely a nifty gameplay feature that's peaked my interest. I do like the dialogue so far too. Reminds me a bit of Vampire: TM-B. Also Tiresias has an awesome voice actor.

I found fairly earlyish into the game that you amount of xp you gain greatly outweighs how much you'll spend on mind reading. Obviously it's probably not worth reading the minds of people that require the bare minimum as it'll just be flavour text but otherwise I just read everyone's mind over the minimum. It's usually worth it.

I seem to have moved on to Guild Wars 2 at the moment (practically identical ganmeplay anyway) as it's free, but I'm sure I'll be back to Divinity II at some point.

No one else collecting Plunder Skulls on ESO?

I finally finished New Vegas. I took at least two long breaks from it, I think I started a year ago or something. It took a while to get going but once it did (once I got to the Strip, really), I was hooked. The gameplay is pretty lame (and your power ramps up really fast, combat going from frustratingly hard to trivial) but the story and faction dynamics are really good and most things you do feel meaningful somehow. A considerable difference from the whatever sidequests of TES games. (But then, I am also experienced enough with these kind of games by now not to accept the most boring errands.)

I have Underrail, Gothic, Withcer 2, Assassin's Creed 2 and Company of Heroes to finish but I'm not really feeling any of them. Meh, I rushed through the expansions and last mission of the main quest in two weeks to get to a new game but now I have nothing to play!

With any luck Obsidian will get dibs on the next Fallout game. It'll probably be horrendously buggy but should hopefully have the pretty good gameplay of Fallout 4 with an interesting world / story and meaningful quests along with it.

Written by [user id=4365] on 06.11.2016 at 21:22

With any luck Obsidian will get dibs on the next Fallout game. It'll probably be horrendously buggy but should hopefully have the pretty good gameplay of Fallout 4 with an interesting world / story and meaningful quests along with it.

About Bethesda vs Obsidian:

You should love the absolute fuck out of this video:

Written by Metren on 07.11.2016 at 00:56


About Bethesda vs Obsidian:

You should love the absolute fuck out of this video:

Will check that out in a bit, looks interesting!

Written by Metren on 07.11.2016 at 00:56

About Bethesda vs Obsidian:

You should love the absolute fuck out of this video:

That was an interesting video. It's something I definitely notice in a lot of RPGs. The world just isn't as immersive as I want it to be, but now I know why. It's because I don't know what they eat.

Too bad I never got far into New Vegas because of the buggyness, but I will definitely retry it at some point.

Only played the prologue of Fallout 3 and kinda liked it. But I'm not an RPG expert to identify the flaws of Fallout already as I like quite what I saw off it. So Bethesda or Obsidian, new Fallout is always good. Buggyness puts me off a game the most though.

Played a few hours of Tyranny now. Haven't had much time in the combat yet but the premise is far more interesting than Pillars of Eternity (i.e. playing the "bad" guys), and seems to be a bit easier to get into lore wise so far. Supposedly it's only around 25 hours per playthrough but with a few very distinct ways of playing it so has genuine replayability. I think that's probably a good thing as PoE just went on and on and I could never be bothered to finish it after the 80 hour or so mark when my party had all maxed out their levels.

Written by [user id=4365] on 11.11.2016 at 16:04

Supposedly it's only around 25 hours per playthrough but with a few very distinct ways of playing it so has genuine replayability. I think that's probably a good thing as PoE just went on and on and I could never be bothered to finish it after the 80 hour or so mark when my party had all maxed out their levels.

This may be the biggest selling point for me. I just do not have time to slog through all the 100-hour RPGs I kinda want to play.

I finally picked up Witcher 2 myself. I started it twice but didn't get past the prologue. I feel a little more interested now. The first game was alright, and what I like about both is the witchering: the notion that you need to find the right ingredients and make the right preparations to hunt down monsters. Information about them comes from books you actually want to read. I think the execution waters down the idea with too much AAA handholding, but at least it's something.

But my god, these stupid cutscenes around every corner.

Written by IronAngel on 11.11.2016 at 18:40

This may be the biggest selling point for me. I just do not have time to slog through all the 100-hour RPGs I kinda want to play.

It's still very text heavy though. One average gaming session could conceivably be just talking to a small handful of characters.

I don't mind text heavy, as long as it moves something along.

Alongside W2, I am playing the Skyrim mod Enderal with my wife. It's a total conversion with its custom setting and rules (manual levelling with different skills and perks, although the basic system and combat is close to vanilla) and a promised 20-100 hours of gameplay.

Judging by the first few hours, it is better than Skyrim in all the ways that bugged my about Skyrim. The world so far feels handcrafted with love and attention, not as large but with plenty of nooks and crannies to explore. Rather than the vast emptiness of Skyrim, it reminds me more of Gothic. (You mentioned you couldn't get into it, Joe; here's your chance for a similar experience!) Investigating a ruined tower or shipwreck actually feels worthwhile and the encounters are different, placed by hand. I don't know if exploration loses some of its charm later, when you already have good loot and have seen the enemies, but there are 100 collectible magical symbols hidden around the island if that sort of thing motivates you. And it's gorgeous: much more colourful and exotic than endless taiga.

The story begins with a very eerie note of mystery and psychological horror, it's fully voice-acted (pretty professionally). I can't say where it goes from here, but the writing seems really effective at introducing you to a new world without too much exposition.

All in all, it feels like a triple-A game in its own right, not a free mod by amateurs. I highly, highly recommend it.

http://sureai.net/games/enderal/?lang=en

Written by IronAngel on 14.11.2016 at 00:37


Judging by the first few hours, it is better than Skyrim in all the ways that bugged my about Skyrim. The world so far feels handcrafted with love and attention, not as large but with plenty of nooks and crannies to explore. Rather than the vast emptiness of Skyrim, it reminds me more of Gothic. (You mentioned you couldn't get into it, Joe; here's your chance for a similar experience!) Investigating a ruined tower or shipwreck actually feels worthwhile and the encounters are different, placed by hand. I don't know if exploration loses some of its charm later, when you already have good loot and have seen the enemies, but there are 100 collectible magical symbols hidden around the island if that sort of thing motivates you. And it's gorgeous: much more colourful and exotic than endless taiga.

The story begins with a very eerie note of mystery and psychological horror, it's fully voice-acted (pretty professionally). I can't say where it goes from here, but the writing seems really effective at introducing you to a new world without too much exposition.

All in all, it feels like a triple-A game in its own right, not a free mod by amateurs. I highly, highly recommend it.

http://sureai.net/games/enderal/?lang=en

Smaller world with a more handcrafted feel is pretty much where I think open world games need to be so might look into that. I did try Falskaar once but it all seemed very vanilla and dull so didn't get far into it. Enderal definitely looks a bit more distinct. Seems it doesn't have level scaling as well which is a big plus for me.

Written by [user id=142921] on 14.11.2016 at 11:20

Morrowind. So damn good. On the Mt Rushmore of old PC games along with Deus Ex, Thief and Vampire: TM-B.

Actually me too - in addition to Witcher 2 and Enderal referenced above, and an unfinished playthrough of Underrail (which I put on hold to finish New Vegas).

I posted here some years ago, I think, about starting a playthrough with a proper Nerevarine-themed character, dark elf with magic and spear and medium armor, nationalistic child of emigrant parents returning to Vvardenfell to unite his people and bridge the gulf between Ashlanders and the Great Houses. Since then I've gone through two clean installations (new PC and then upgrade to Win 10) but finally I took the time to dick around with the backups and get it working again. What a relief. I just became boss of Telvanni, gonna go get myself declared Nerevarine next. I've already spent 84 hours on my Steam version (i.e. this playthrough), and I wager my pre-Steam hours would total close to a thousand, but I have never finished the main quest. That's my goal this time around (and then maybe do the classic mod that continues the storyline after that, with the Blades).

And if you still didn't get Enderal, here's the trailer and a review (minor spoilers in the trailer, actually, not so in the review):

Written by [user id=4365] on 14.11.2016 at 13:16

Smaller world with a more handcrafted feel is pretty much where I think open world games need to be so might look into that. I did try Falskaar once but it all seemed very vanilla and dull so didn't get far into it. Enderal definitely looks a bit more distinct. Seems it doesn't have level scaling as well which is a big plus for me.

I don't think it does, no. I am not sure how "open world" the experience will be in the end: I tried walking in a different direction and sure enough, saw a keep in the distance and I think I could have gone through a valley to some other area. But there was a monster in the way that I could not beat at my level without expending pretty much all my stuff, and no doubt more ahead. So there is a clear direction for you to go, although there's stuff to explore on the way and the theoretical possibility to go somewhere else entirely.

Written by IronAngel on 14.11.2016 at 13:22

I don't think it does, no. I am not sure how "open world" the experience will be in the end: I tried walking in a different direction and sure enough, saw a keep in the distance and I think I could have gone through a valley to some other area. But there was a monster in the way that I could not beat at my level without expending pretty much all my stuff, and no doubt more ahead. So there is a clear direction for you to go, although there's stuff to explore on the way and the theoretical possibility to go somewhere else entirely.

I don't mind a more guided experience, especially when it has a decent story to follow (which Enderal apparently has). I've pretty much never been engaged in an Elder Scrolls story so the change would be welcome.

Written by IronAngel on 14.11.2016 at 00:37



All in all, it feels like a triple-A game in its own right, not a free mod by amateurs. I highly, highly recommend it.

http://sureai.net/games/enderal/?lang=en

Yeah I've put a few hours into it and really impressed. I've spent a lot of time exploring a relatively small area which is something I would never do in Skyrim because I know it would be empty, whereas in Enderal you can find chests and whatnot almost anywhere. The design feels totally different really and seems really dense and intentionally designed with lots of interesting areas. Only found a few dungeons but again the design is leaps and bounds ahead of Skyrim which still feels like they were made by algorithms. Hoping it all holds up and I don't start to see similarity creep in.

The enemy AI seems a bit better too. Still not perfect but in Skyrim I could cheese the game so easily with a bow, but in Enderal enemies react differently. Melee fighters rush to hide behind something and often remain there until I move position to find them. Wolves seem to sprint off when using a bow too, often right off where I can't find them. Spiders seem to relentlessly pursue me which can be difficult as I'm finding the combat much more challenging, especially with regards to healing. Also nice little touches like how bandits won't necessarily attack you unless you get too near them etc.

One of my worries going in was that I wouldn't be able to able to escape the Skyrim-y feel of it, but despite the UI and some obviously similar assets it feels quite different, I'm sure in large part to the visual style and music, but the writing seems less generic too. Haven't experienced much of the story but it's definitely more engaging so far.

Somewhat slightly concerned about the leveling though with regard to the basic stat points you can invest in. It's all done through finding the right books but so far I haven't found any that relate to the character I want to make and they seem few and far between. Hoping they become more abundant when I reach some big cities or whatnot. Performance is odd too: it goes from a smooth 60fps to huge drops if I look in certain directions at various points. Nothing gamebreaking though.

Was playing this indie rpg game named Creepy Castle, which apparently is a bit like Cave Story gameplay-wise, since it's a 2d platform game, except that you have ot fight the enemies in a turn battle system and get to level up and that stuff.
one thing: The ost is awesome. What's with all those awesome osts on indie games lately? Not realy ocmplaining though, keep them coming.
other thing: This battle system oughta be the best turn based battlesystem ever, omg those minigames are so fun. I haven't had that fun in minigames since Undertale, but I think this style is even better because it requires an even broader set of skills.

Back to FO4 now that PS4 gets mods. just for a while. then back to Witcher III.

at least can skip FFXV based upon Fat & Sassy's comments.

Important and great news: Neverwinter Nights: Diamond Edition is currently free on GOG.

Written by Metren on 03.12.2016 at 11:43

Important and great news: Neverwinter Nights: Diamond Edition is currently free on GOG.

Thanks! I have the Gold Edition lying around here somewhere, but since it's free I might as well upgrade ^^

So yeah, I just bought a PS4 and Bloodborne GOTY and holy shit: THIS GAME IS DIFFICULT! I selected the weakest class and can't even beat the first boss My weapon scaling dropped immediately and I don't know why. Seriously, what the heck?! Dark Souls is an easy ride in comparision... But I won't give up

Written by Paz on 12.12.2016 at 21:20

So yeah, I just bought a PS4 and Bloodborne GOTY and holy shit: THIS GAME IS DIFFICULT! I selected the weakest class and can't even beat the first boss My weapon scaling dropped immediately and I don't know why. Seriously, what the heck?! Dark Souls is an easy ride in comparision... But I won't give up

Dunno if you know, or want to know, but once you fight the first boss you can level up, even if you die fighting him. I managed to beat the first two before dying, but I didn't choose the Waste of Skin class like I'm assuming you did =P

Can't explain the weapon scaling dropping though...

Haha, yeah, Waste Of Skin + Saw Cleaver is not a good combo

I started again as a Military Veteran with Hunter Axe... The first boss wasn't a big problem this time. Gr8 game!

Written by [user id=4365] on 13.12.2016 at 00:38

I managed to beat the first two before dying

Did you kill the first wolf with your bare hands?! Whoa...

Written by Paz on 13.12.2016 at 14:50

Did you kill the first wolf with your bare hands?! Whoa...

Oh that one, no I died on that but I don't count it =P

Written by [user id=4365] on 13.12.2016 at 15:03

Oh that one, no I died on that but I don't count it =P

Lol, I'm disappointed

Written by Paz on 13.12.2016 at 16:35

Lol, I'm disappointed

Come to think of it I think I did die on the way up to the boss at some point, so not so great after all.

Written by [user id=4365] on 13.12.2016 at 16:42

Come to think of it I think I did die on the way up to the boss at some point, so not so great after all.

You're still way better than me