other-games

[heady dirge]

Windows < Wine

[peak marsh]

Two of the biggest problems is games like CoD, Fortnite, or anything with an anti cheat won't run natively on Linux

And other applications outside of gaming tend to be iffy/fiddly on Linux

[peak marsh]

Tell that to the obscene number of people who regularly play Fornite and/or CoD

[heady dirge]

Having a dual boot would be reasonable though, the more people that use steam's OS the better :^)

[peak marsh]

Yeah but how many average users are going to take the time to A) learn to set that up, and B) swap OS every time they want to play their game

That's the issue. People want one setup that just runs everything, and right now that's exclusively Windows

[vague galleon]

not me

[heady dirge]

I don't feel like that's too hard lol, put windows on a bootable flash drive for my excel usage, and have anything server based run on linux or my pi.

[peak marsh]

Then you're not the average user. The average user doesn't know what dual boot is for the most part, and the ones who do can't be bothered

They want to power on and play

But also rather than putting the weight exclusively on the end user, what it takes is devs coming up with solutions that will run on either so users have a more practical choice

Linux just doesn't get supported and its usually users/fans who are coming up with the workarounds

That's why even to this day running Linux means you need to have some kind of Windows emulator

I mean the numbers speak for themselves, a whopping 96%-ish of Steam users run a Windows environment, and if you're going to convince them to switch, having roadblocks to the experience like having to set up a dual boot or learn to use an emulator ain't the move

[heady dirge]

I mean any average user can utilize google and find a solution, that's how I got from being an average user to being able to code and create projects. Necessity is the mother of invention, and those truly inconvenienced will find a way to make it work

[peak marsh]

I mean again, why would they even do that when the Windows they already have installed just works?

No google, no workarounds, no solutions. Power up, play game

The power of convenience really can't be underestimated or overstated

[heady dirge]

I feel like if a user doesn't want to do that they could default to a console then

It would satisfy the simple turn on and play

[peak marsh]

I mean, that's effectively what we're talking about, and also why consoles still sell so well when PCs have been outclassing them for decades

But getting console users on to PC has been the battle for years, and in particular we're talking things like PC handhelds/Steam deck, at least in that video

And I mean, I'm all for Steam OS, I think it'd be great to have some competition for Windows, but Windows at the moment wins hands down because it just works

[heady dirge]

It makes sense, I hear what you're saying too, it would be nice if it was as easy as a click

[peak marsh]

Yeah, and that's where I'm saying it's going to take devs for major titles to take down some of those roadblocks, especially finding alternatives for things like kernel level anti-cheat, which just doesn't work on Linux but is used by some of the biggest player-base having games

[heady dirge]

I didn't know anti cheat had such an issue with Linux though

I always game on Windows ☠️

[peak marsh]

It's part of Linux's security, it doesn't allow programs to have kernel level access. Which is great for defending against viruses etc but also isn't compatable with some of the biggest anti-cheat programs on the market

Which means no Fortnite, no CoD, etc

Those are the two biggest examples but tons of massive competitive games use some form of anti-cheat

Which is all the more frustrating because it's not even the games themselves that have the issue, it's the anti-cheat software

[heady dirge]

A shame, but I'll cross my fingers and hope. I don't know enough about Linux and anti cheat to have an opinion

[peak marsh]

Yeah same. It sucks because outside of that Linux really is a better alternative for a lot of reasons, but Windows has shown that people want A) simple convenience, and B) for games to just work

Linux has always traditionally been more of a tinkerer's OS. Not that it's super complex at it's basic levels but you need to do a certain degree of learning and setup to use it, and it's something they haven't completely addressed in some 20 years

[heady dirge]

My gateway Linux distro was Ubuntu

[peak marsh]

Meanwhile Windows is the one everyone is familiar with, everyone grew up with, and everything supports

[heady dirge]

I couldn't afford a windows key when I was 12 and installed ubuntu instead

[peak marsh]

I tinkered with Ubuntu back in the day xD

[heady dirge]

I feel like Linux has been making a solid place, if there was enough interest I'm sure developers would invest into it

It's like at my company I work with, our users are less than 2% mac, so we don't really push updates for mac often for that software

[peak marsh]

Yeah, it's one of those chicken and egg problems: People won't adpot Linux unless more companies actively support it, but companies won't actively support it without people adopting it

[heady dirge]

Time to get a bunch of old laptops and install steam OS I guess, if we all have at least 10 machines they can't ignore it right? /sar

[peak marsh]

Steam OS really is the best shot they've got, but the anti cheat issue is going to be a sticking point. Like it'll still be the best option for PC handhelds but as far as mass adoption, it needs to be able to play the biggest games on the market

I don't know enough about anti cheat software to specifically say there's a better option, but if there isn't there's no incentive for companies to find one, because you're talking about currently 6% of the market share so if you're a big company, who cares?

[heady dirge]

Yeah, it surprises me they haven't found any solution tbh, I know there's some unique ways to cheat though, like using a second computer to intercept data and change it before it gets sent out.

[peak marsh]

I mean that's part of the issue too, it's not like kernel level anti cheat is even foolproof in the first place

But it's the best they're willing to come up with for the time being

[tepid wadi]

I mean, the only real way to have ultimate anticheat is to run every single action through the server instead of having things calculated clientside and we just don't have the capacity for that and also decent latency right now.

[peak marsh]

Yeah, the ongoing cat and mouse situation (not to keep using animal similes xD)

And that's more or less what I mean: if the most effective method you can realistically come up with only inconveniences 5-6% of the active market, on paper that's a net win, even if by proxy it means you're effectively handcuffing the market to a single OS option

So there's just no reason or incentive for them to go back to the drawing board

[heady dirge]

I think locking people into an OS is a mutually parasitic business decision, not having a choice makes it so the leader doesn't have to create or innovate

[peak marsh]

I mean, on the anti-cheat maker's end it's a non issue, they just want the business, and the business is where the market is. They aren't concerned with collateral outcomes

If that means the majority of the market is handcuffed to one OS, well that's the only OS they need to focus on then

[heady dirge]

When will the update come to TempleOS though 😔

[peak marsh]

When God wills it? 🤷‍♂️

[heady dirge]

So true lol

[frank sonnet]

https://tenor.com/view/sad-troll-face-depressed-trollface-gif-25126675

[peak marsh]

https://store.steampowered.com/app/3374700/Moldbreaker_Rise_of_the_Loaf/ - Oh hey, they made a game about @finite saffron 's origin story

Steam

Moldbreaker: Rise of the Loaf

The Bread Kingdom is crumbling! A sinister Mold is spreading, threatening to consume every loaf and crumb. Step into the crust of Bradley, a brave breadapus, as he rises to save his world. Explore vibrant breadscapes and venture deep into the luscious bread forests, the rumored source of the moldy infestation.

Join Bradley, a brave bread he…

▶ Play video

[stable laurel]

Yo everyone me and my friend lf a cool co-op game thats free where into dungeon mmo typa games we like good combat not taping on a button we look mainly for open world and good combat anyone got a idea?

[tepid wadi]

Darktide and Vermintide are great co-op mission games

[peak marsh]

Is Vermintide free?

[tepid wadi]

Oh I missed the "free". That's a much tougher ask

[peak marsh]

I mean, it's almost free on sale, I think I got it for like $5 xD

[tepid wadi]

yeah

[peak marsh]

Continuing what I was saying in #the-tavern , try Path of Exile

It's top down but it's got that MMO dungeon crawling feel to it and it's completely free

[heady dirge]

PoE( or 2 ) is a really fun one, idk if PoE2 is free yet, it cost $30 EA when I got it IIRC

[peak marsh]

Nah, I think PoE 2 is still paid EA until fall-ish

Q3 or Q4 IIRC

[heady dirge]

Got it, still a good one to wishlist

[peak marsh]

It's on mine xD

[stable laurel]

Warhammer vermintides2?

Yall mean

[peak marsh]

That's what Zerax was saying but he didn't see the "free" part. I'm saying try the game Path of Exile

[stable laurel]

Not my game

I likr actual souls like combat

Im a sucker for souls like combat

With attacking parrying and multiple classes

[peak marsh]

Ah. In that case you're asking a lot. Maybe Bless Unleashed until Chrono Odyssey comes out

[stable laurel]

A game about pirates is free and coming out looks cool

Nothing there

[peak marsh]

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1254120/Bless_Unleashed/ - Free to play with action combat. It gets pretty pay 2 win but if you're playing with a friend you can get some fun and hours out of it

Steam

Bless Unleashed

Explore the massive and lively world with your allies and friends. Or embark on an epic adventure alone and push your limits. From the weapons you wield to the skills you unlock, you have full control of your character's development and actions. Every choice you make in the world of Bless will shape your story. So forge your destiny and make y…

Recommendations

209

▶ Play video

[stable laurel]

Not availble in my region

[peak marsh]

RIP. That's making a difficult ask even harder then

[stable laurel]

When is chrono oddesy coming out

[peak marsh]

Fall of this year

[peak marsh]

https://store.steampowered.com/genre/Free to Play/?tab=4 -Best I can suggest then is maybe pull this up and browse through, maybe ask for recommendations if one looks interesting

[stable laurel]

And if i said max 5 bucks?

@peak marsh

Fellowship looking good exited about that

I mean crosswind

Nvm

[peak marsh]

Then I'd say go with what Zerax mentioned and wishlist Vermintide, it goes on sale for about that. Even at that your options are going to be pretty restricted, the better/newer games usually start on sale around $15

[tepid wadi]

Yeah, Vermintide is VERY good

[peak marsh]

https://store.steampowered.com/tags/en/Souls-like/ -Maybe have a dig through this

Vermintide is a great co-op experience

[stable laurel]

Can ya send vemintide link

[peak marsh]

https://store.steampowered.com/app/552500/Warhammer_Vermintide_2/ -it's normally 29.99 but it regularly goes on sale for around $5

Steam

Warhammer: Vermintide 2

Warhammer: Vermintide 2 is a 4-player co-op action game set in the Warhammer Fantasy Battles world. Sequel to the critically acclaimed Vermintide, Vermintide 2 is the latest installment in a franchise best known for its intense and bloody first-person melee combat.

Our five heroes have returned to take on an even greater threat than before…

Price

$29.99

Recommendations

85636

Metacritic

82

▶ Play video

[tepid wadi]

Darktide doesn't go on sale as low, but is also very good (I prefer it because 40k > fantasy for me)

[peak marsh]

https://steamdb.info/app/552500/ -if you look at the chart below all those dips are when it was $5.99

It sometimes goes on sale multiple times in the same month

[stable laurel]

Whats it about

[peak marsh]

Picking a class and killing hordes of stuff

It's first person but it has really good melee combat

[frank sonnet]

i second that

probably one of the best balance of range and melee weapons

[peak marsh]

Literally. Everything feels just as visceral and satisfying as everything else xD

[frank sonnet]

Darktide also has the same good balance as well

[frank sonnet]

What class do you main?

[tepid wadi]

Psyker and Zealot, mostly

[peak marsh]

Zealot is the way

[frank sonnet]

Heads for people tainted grail is on GOG aka Good old games

[vague galleon]

i tried the vermintide games but i really couldnt get into them.

[tranquil cove]

anyone heard of Peak?

been playing that seems like a fun little game

https://store.steampowered.com/app/3527290/PEAK/

Steam

PEAK

PEAK is a co-op climbing game where the slightest mistake can spell your doom. Either solo or as a group of lost nature scouts, your only hope of rescue from a mysterious island is to scale the mountain at its center. Do you have what it takes to reach the PEAK?

WORK TOGETHER…

Price

$4.95

Recommendations

9748

▶ Play video

literally the only game i bought in like 8 months or something

lol

[timber prism]

yeah, i have been playing it with friends

its alright

i think it would be more fun if it wasn't the same biomes

having it mix up the terrain per run would be cool

[timber prism]

Fantastic game.. even though i like 40k more in terms of lore... Vermintide 2 is a much better game than Darktide

I should probably give Darktide a shot now that it has been out for a while but the launch of Darktide wasn't great for me

Vermintide loop of finding all the grimoires etc was a lot more fun for the group i played with and the harder diffs felt better balanced

[frank sonnet]

So many crashes

[vague galleon]

PEAK looks like it would be fun if I had any friends.

[peak marsh]

It's fim solo too xD

[vague galleon]

nah

[timber prism]

still?

My main gripe was that Vermintide had so many good features to and modes.. and Darktide launched with none of it

[tepid wadi]

Darktide has gotten a lot better since launch

[timber prism]

Random scrips and grims at launch was awful

did they ever change that?

[tepid wadi]

I think they're still random, but people have pretty much figured out their possible spawn locations I think

[timber prism]

or the fact when you found one.. they were glitched sometimes XD

gotcha

[frank sonnet]

nah when it first launched

[tepid wadi]

Yeah, there were many more problems when it launched, but they've fixed a lot of it

[frank sonnet]

i was part of the early access players

[tranquil cove]

it mixed the terrain per a day or something

[frank sonnet]

well add that to the list of things gog does better than steam. gog profile backrounds don't get blocked by the profile ui

[timber prism]

oh! thats pretty cool then!

[tranquil cove]

yah it regens new one daily, pretty cool

it also seems like they might have a shop in the future at the airport

[peak marsh]

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/ivwdF6prFI8

[timber prism]

https://opencritic.com/game/18226/death-stranding-2-on-the-beach

Sorry Kojima. Even though you changed the game bc people loved it... its still scoring high Xd

[peak marsh]

https://kotaku.com/nintendo-switch-2-pre-owned-online-error-walmart-1851784892 -color me not shocked people are selling their bricked Switch 2s

Actually even worse, they're returning them xD

I mean, in that case it was fine because they were just able to take it back, but if that was like eBay etc it'd be one person's word against another's

[tepid wadi]

https://gamerant.com/dune-awakening-nobody-roleplaying-canon-freedom/

Since we keep talking about not being the chosen one being important to MMOs

[peak marsh]

Hopefully it starts a trend

[tepid wadi]

Fingers crossed, but I doubt it

We don't know their sales numbers yet, which is the real determiner of trend setting 😝

[frank sonnet]

Trends tend to lead poor imitations more often than not

[peak marsh]

Sometimes. But also, right now we're stuck in a 20 year chain of people following the whole "chosen one" trend, so I'm all for a new one taking it's place for a while

Right now basically every MMO has you start as the chosen child of desiny out to save the realm

[tepid wadi]

The thing that drives me nuts is the "hero shooter" trend. No I don't want to play a character from this list of character. I want to make my own character that I play.

[peak marsh]

That's why I get annoyed with gender locked classes

Like, I don't mind playing either a male or a female character but I want to pick which one I'm going to play

Unless it's something like an ARPG where I'm playing an actual character, but with those games I'm not necessarily getting personally immersed, I'm trying to stock pile shiny things and make skills go brrr. With MMOs it just takes me right out of it.

[tepid wadi]

Yeah for sure.

[timber prism]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mu3DVPr-lAM

[peak marsh]

"Dave the worm" xD

He makes an excellent point. As is, as envisioned, your reward for playing and enjoying 40 - 60 hours of PvE is "alright, here's an extraction shooter now"

[tepid wadi]

Yeah, I love the game, but that's a great point

I love the blending of survival game an extraction shooter personally, but I definitely can see how people wouldn't like it

Funny story though, their dev blog today basically said they're doing what he suggested

[peak marsh]

I mean, it's based on Dune so I'm not saying it should be cozy and cuddly, but there should be a branch of endgame for people who either don't want to engage with PVP or just aren't into the combat mechanics for a PVP mode. Like maybe the jank is fine for them for PVE but frustrating in PVP

[timber prism]

Im very curious how it all works out in the end... is the new PVE content going to be in the DD or outside or contained in a new pve zone?

[peak marsh]

Underground 16 player worm raids xD

[timber prism]

Ooo that's neat

[peak marsh]

I'm just making stuff up but I mean, it's not a bad thought xD

[timber prism]

20 man raiding sounds very nostalgic

[peak marsh]

Some kind of endgame large scale raid for people to PVE through

[timber prism]

But old me probably would never do it because I dont have time lmao

[peak marsh]

Yeah, raiding is a lot harder when you're an adult

[timber prism]

The older I get the less I want to binge / no life any game

[peak marsh]

I have a coworker who is in a FFXIV raid guild and she refers to it as her voluenteer part-time job xD

[timber prism]

Yeah. I used to lead guilds and no life server first raids

I can't do that anymore XD

It really is a second job especially if you want to be #1

Pvp politics is crazy... even just being a recruitment officer for a competitive guild is a lot of work

Background checking.. dealing with spies etc.

[tepid wadi]

The pvp in dune has been a lot of fun for people who enjoy it. I spent like 4 hours defending a capture point with some people a few days ago. If they can keep improving stuff, it will be able to become something real special.

There were like 20+ of our team and even more of the other team

[sweet patrol]

I really want to get into Dune. But the PvP really does worry me I dont have the reflexes to keep up with the average player. I get that I could forgo the endgame but that would kinda suck.

[peak marsh]

That's basically the issue CoHH brings up in the video above. After you get done having fun with the PVE content, as is there's basically nothing left for you to do outside of PVP

[sweet patrol]

I used to love PvP I was a downright menace with connan exiles. Loved messing with the big guilds. So I have nothing against PvP. Just cant keep up anymore

[tepid wadi]

Even if you dont love pvp theres a good 60+ hours of solid pve combat. And I wouldnt call the pvp "twitchy". Since players are usually shielded, the melee pvp combat is surprisingly engaging.

[peak marsh]

Yeah he does make that point too, you can get 60, 80, even 100 hours out of the pre-PVP content

And from what Zerax mentioned it sounds like they're addressing the post game

[tepid wadi]

Yeah its been out for like 2 weeks. It'll take them time to get things to an ideal state, but for a fresh start? Its pretty damn good.

[peak marsh]

Meh. Parodically I check in on Nightingale hoping they've gotten it "there" and while it seems like they're getting closer (recent reviews are actually very positive), it's still not living up to the promise in a lot of recent opinions over a year later

[tepid wadi]

Most games dont get there unfortunately. I have hope for Dune because its one of my favorite IPs and it really nails some aspects of it.

Nightingale made some baffling missteps with their design.

[peak marsh]

Yeah, one person in a steam review used the word "directionless" and it really seems to fit

[tepid wadi]

It feels like 3/4 of the way through development, they decided to lean into the story stuff instead of focusing on the survival aspects.

Like the whole interesting part of the premise was the survival stuff. Getting rid of that in favor of a directed storyline? What?

[peak marsh]

I guess recently they had a dev blog/stream/fireside/some such and one of the lead devs said they felt "hurt" by the negative reviews and mixed ratings but like, how can you blame people when everything you released is nothing you said it would be pre-launch?

They're also going hard into handcrafted worlds apparently, which is entirely counter to the premise of the realm cards and being able to RNG elements of each world

[tepid wadi]

The realm cards were the main interesting part of the game!

[frank sonnet]

thats not a good sign

[tepid wadi]

I could rant for hours about how they could have leaned into "lore instead of story" to drive players deeper into the mist of their world and made it a really compelling proc gen experience.

Just thinking about it makes me grumpy all over again 😝

[peak marsh]

I mean, why not just have a home "overworld" where all the lore/handcrafting/etc happens, then keep the whole generating worlds with realm cards aspect but instead of having it as simplistic as is currently is, have multiple variables and let players go nuts

Make broken worlds, make worlds that are extremely bad situations or way above their level, worlds where enemy levels are all over the place

[tepid wadi]

And make it so that its tiered, with higher tiers being harder and more broken, but give better resources. And have the worlds that you use the realm cards for only last a certain amount of time before they are lost to the mists

I feel like thats what their original promise was.

[peak marsh]

The entire hook was the whole experimentation aspect and instead of leaning into it, they've bafflingly leaned away from it

[heady dirge]

Good thing I bailed when I did, after having to rebuilt a second house after their swamp bug deleted mine, stopped playing in april last year

[peak marsh]

Like as I remember it the whole thing was going to be like a steampunk/victorian No Man's Sky with hundreds if not thousands of possible realm combination so it was entirely unlikely to generate the same realm twice

[tepid wadi]

Yeah, that's what I remember too. Instead we got 3 different biomes with like... 4 different variations each?

I get that thousands of possibilities is hard, but don't promise that stuff unless you plan to make it, heh

[frank sonnet]

Damn this looks like the kind of game i would have gotten into

[tepid wadi]

If it was what they promised it was going to be, we all would've gotten into it, heh

[peak marsh]

Yeah, the premise/promise of it was really interesting, and it's coming from former Bioware devs iirc

[tepid wadi]

Another one of those games with amazing potential that just didn't get there.

[peak marsh]

Which makes it all the more baffling because these aren't wet behind the ears college graduates

Like, they should understand the process and the importance of clear direction

[tepid wadi]

It's tough to know what happens to internal dev teams. I can attest that there's a lot of weird politics and decisions that happen.

[frank sonnet]

anything that does Victorian or steampunk immediately gets my attention because we don't see that a lot in gaming

[tepid wadi]

Yeah, I was hella excited for it

Like, NMS meets Bioshock is a super strong premise

[peak marsh]

For sure, and it was a refreshing departure as a setting for a survival game. Not the usual fantasy setting or isolated island etc

[tepid wadi]

Yeah, it's somewhere in a cool niche between standard fantasy and sci-fi

The Arcanum Steampunk setting is like... one of my favorites

[frank sonnet]

tbh i wonder why more devs don't do steampunk for games

[heady dirge]

Some people must've gotten a patent or some other hold on it perhaps, like that one company who had\ a patent for minigames in the loading screen

[tepid wadi]

Because they're hard, mostly. The Dishonored games are really good steampunk

[frank sonnet]

whats hard about it?

[tepid wadi]

The vibe is a lot harder to hit than standard fantasy or sci-fi. Making a good steampunk world requires balancing technology, magic, and muscle in a way that other games don't need to blend themes. When done right, it is a really amazing setting, but if you miss the mark it's super bland and boring.

If you play Nightingale actually, you'll probably see what I mean. See how "steampunk" it actually feels to play.

You have to integrate the 'fantastic technology' aspect of steampunk into the gameplay as well as the visuals, or it feels like standard gameplay with extra steps and it really lets down the theme. Much like steampunk cosplay, the gears need to be more than an aesthetic.

One of the downfalls of nigthingale is that your base and crafting has little to no actual steampunkiness to it.
-Your crafting stations are just dead lifeless things that barely even animate. It should be like, you have to run a boiler to heat water and create steam that runs your processing stations and they make all these little gizmos activate to make them refine your resources.
-Your building structures, while beautiful in a lot of ways, don't incorporate any activity into their function, no doors that open with gears, no windows with automatic blinds that fold up at night time, etc etc.
-Your gathering just feels like standard gathering. Where are the steam-powered picks and hammers? Where is the steampowered armor that has a big claw that grabs trees while you cut them down? Where are the hydraulic weapons?
-There's magic in the game, sort of, but it feels kind of like it's own system? I don't really remember it that well but wasn't super impressed.

[peak marsh]

Yeah, otherwise you just end up with a standard game with a lot of brass around, actually capturing it effectively is challenging

[tepid wadi]

Same thing with the world itself. Much of the world feels like pretty standard exploration with a steampunk skin on it. You don't DO anything that feels steampunky, like setting up steampowered gathering stations, or dealing with steampunk traps, etc etc

Some of their visuals are GREAT, but they don't do a good job incorporating the setting into the gameplay.

[peak marsh]

Yeah, and on that first point the stations should have a lot of moving gears, levers, turning belts, the whistle of the steam pumping, etc

Meters with moving needles

[tepid wadi]

Exactly. But the loom looks like a frigging generic Unreal store loom

The forge just has a crackling fire in it, etc

[peak marsh]

Like half the point of steampunk is in the name. A lot of contraptions that use steam to drive highly mechanical devices

In wildly imaginative ways

[tepid wadi]

That's I think why nightingale was so disappointing. Because Steampunk has a lot of imaginitive uniqueness to it, but it ended up being bland bland bland

[frank sonnet]

The problem is that most people don't understand the era that steampunk is based on nor the contemporary sci fi of the period that inspired the genre ie H'G wells and jules Verne same goes for the subculture

[peak marsh]

Yeah, a lot of things that call themselves steampunk, Nightingale included, just use some of the trappings without understanding the setting or the aesthetic. It's as steampunk as a tshirt from amazon with a bunch of gears on it

Like especially and in particular the complex fantastical contraptions

[tepid wadi]

Yeah

[peak marsh]

I think Zerax mentioned already but Bioshock does a really good job of it

It's one of the things I really loved about Guns of Icarus Online too, like the team based airship combat was fun, but the wild steampunk airships really sold it for me

[tepid wadi]

Yeah, airships are legit.

[peak marsh]

Like the designs were really cool but then, you could see the gears turning as you rotated the guns, the steering controls were levers and wheels like old sailing ships, they really nailed it from an art direction standpoint

[tepid wadi]

Yeah, those little details make a game shine. Thats why steampunk CAN be so good.

Have we had a good steampunk MMO?

[frank sonnet]

i know a thing or two about airships

[tepid wadi]

Lol yeah I bet you're part of the target market for steampunk

[heady dirge]

A sponsor even

[tepid wadi]

I think Vulcanoids is also a pretty good steampunk game?

[frank sonnet]

Definitely

[peak marsh]

I'm not sure we've had a steampunk mmo period, good or otherwise

[frank sonnet]

it is they have a discord server i'm on

[tepid wadi]

HmmmmmMmMMmmmm....

[vague galleon]

i think i bought that one?

[peak marsh]

The closest I can think of is maybe Anarchy Online? But that's more post-apocalypse/cyberpunk

Yeah, I honestly can't even think of a steampunk MMO and google returns nothing

[timber prism]

I can't remember any steam punk mmo

[frank sonnet]

the same problems we mentioned before are twice as big for a steampunk mmo

[tepid wadi]

oh yeah, the balancing of that would be a total nightmare. MMOs are complex enough with all the systems they have to intertwine

But also, seems like the sort of problem that is also really exciting to solve.

[peak marsh]

Plus with a steampunk setting you could do some really creative things with classes

Maybe your melee DPS has a big mechanical artificial arm and in order to swing harder it shoots steam jets from the elbow joint, etc

[tepid wadi]

Yeah, you could do a lot of super creative stuff with it

Your "monk" class being mechanical powerfists would be totally rad

Alternatively, you could go for an "alignment" system, where you could lean into tech stuff or magic stuff, or stay somewhere in between, with various benefits and penalties. So you could have a "tech" monk class, or a "magic" monk class that fill the same role, but have different benefits.

Or you could be a "martial" monk that makes some use of both aspects

[peak marsh]

Could even have them be rival factions, like maybe the "magic" faction are also human purists and quasi zealots who see the tech faction as immoral for modifying their bodies while the tech faction see the purists as backwards thinking isolationists who curb freedom of choice

[frank sonnet]

class ideas that come to my mind are Trooper, gunslinger, bruiser, alchemist, thief

[timber prism]

@peak marsh death stranding 2

[peak marsh]

Ahhhh

I was like "Demon Souls 2? Can't be Dark Souls 2 that's already a thing... 🤔 "

[tepid wadi]

I'd probably make it not hard factions, but have things like kingdoms where there's different views and such. Like most kingdoms will allow at least low level tech/magic, but maybe one of the high tiers of it is outlawed because high magic interferes with advanced tech or vice versa or whatever.

Like I remember in Arcanum, if you were a super magic user, they just wouldn't let you on the train because it would break. That has always stuck with me

[peak marsh]

https://www.thegamer.com/chrono-odyssey-beta-players-are-accusing-devs-of-copied-content-new-world/ -welp that didn't take long

Idk, I've looked at the screenshots and some things are somewhat similar, but it's definitely not on the level of wholesale lifting content

I mean yeah, overall the game did feel like New World from Temu, but its hard to say copied outright

The big "smoking gun" is this fort someone found in an out of bounds area, but I mean they just look like forts? Like they're similar but I don't look at them and immediately go "yep, stolen from New World"

[tepid wadi]

Lol

[tepid wadi]

Idk players are pretty perceptive when it comes to spotting similarities. Especially with MMOs, if you've spent 300 hours in a town and someone copies it, you're gonna notice.

The main complaint I've seen is that the feel is very New World from Temu, which is fair.

[vague galleon]

wtf is new world.

also rip secret world.

also rip Defiance.

i need to find that amd watch it one day

[peak marsh]

Action MMO produced by Amazon Studios. Famously troubled at launch and is still struggling to maintain a player base

Actually with Amazon launching that LotR MMO later this year or next it might be a good thing Chrono Odyssey is copying New World. It'll give the player base somewhere to go when Amazon shuts it down xD

Like maybe we shouldn't be too harsh this time xD

[peak marsh]

They relaunched Defiance

I haven't been hearing much about it but it's out now

If you mean Defiance the MMO

[timber prism]

Secret World had some really fun stuff in it

I was a big fan of having special rewards for people who didn't change builds during raids

but the pvp was laughably unbalanced bad

my friend and I concocted so many builds that were just broken and made us invincible

I was really hoping it would be successful bc I loved the pve and the world building.

the puzzles were lots of fun and even the ARG they made with bunch of websites was extremely fun

I won their contest and was picked for one of the pioneer guilds for them which gave me a lifetime sub

[vague galleon]

wait for real? when?

[vague galleon]

i quit playing it when i swung an empty hand around with my sword still sheathed.

[royal acorn]

This petition for "Stop killing videogames" is worth signing for any gamer:
https://eci.ec.europa.eu/045/public/#/screen/home

[peak marsh]

Like maybe a month ago? For whatever reason it's not on Steam though

[vague galleon]

dang

i wonder why its back.

[peak marsh]

https://fawkesgames.com/defiance/

That's the main reason I haven't kept on with it, I have zero interest in having a proprietary launcher for a game, its not 2012 any more

When it gets on Steam we can talk xD

[vague galleon]

totally

[peak marsh]

I mean on one hand I suppose I get it, MMOs are expensive and they probably don't want to pay the 30% this early on

[vague galleon]

totally

[peak marsh]

But also I haven't heard enough about it to make me want to buy it

[vague galleon]

i briefly played it. seemed okay.

[peak marsh]

The earlier version of Defiance was a blast, I got a lot of hours out of it

The gunplay and vehicles were surprisingly snappy and well done

[vague galleon]

ya. rare to find an mmo with good combat.

[tepid wadi]

Its interesting to me that when MMOs die, theres almost always a large enough group of dedicated players to keep it going.

[peak marsh]

https://www.gematsu.com/2025/06/painkiller-launches-october-9 - @vague galleon there you go, finally an FPS that isn't a rogue

[stray coral]

Just look at how long Ultima Online has made it!

[vague galleon]

hmm

i couldnt get into the original.
not into arena shooters.
the aesthetic was top tier though.

Quake is more my jam.

[peak marsh]

The OG Painkiller was a great time

[vague galleon]

it was alright.

6/10

[peak marsh]

Yeah, UO sticking around officially this long is nothing short of outstanding, pretty sure they're about to celebrate 30 years. Then again it probably helps that they can run it on a hamster wheel

Like, I can't imagine it costs EA enough to even notice it

[peak marsh]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rQkRoTe1F_I

The pop-in and light strobing in particular I noticed immensely

But I also agree with his take that overall the game didn't feel terrible, it just feels like it needs a lot of work

One thing he menions that I find interesting is "the game feels dated, but in a nostalgic way" and I wonder if that's why I'm not off-put by the whole thing. It really does feel like it has a very "classic MMO" level of jank and also certain things like fields of mobs just kind of inorganically hanging around waiting to be farmed

Like that certain lack of polish that I'd compare to a crappy, greasy fast food sandwich you love because you had it as a kid. You know it's not great and there are better options, even for the same price, but it's that certain flavor that you find comfortable and satisfying even though it's objectively not the best

I mean for certain things. Stuff like the lighting, pop-in, performance etc really need addressed before launch

[timber prism]

Was this the Trion mmo? I wasnt a fun but it was launch time and it didn't grab me

I was a big fan of Rift mmo from Trion. I was gifted an employee account and I would hold giveaways bc Trion gave me gems to spend every month and I would just give to the community in forms of items of their choice etc

Super fun raids and enjoyed the pvp a lot

[peak marsh]

Rift did a really good job with their voice acting and story too as I recall

[tepid wadi]

Rift's class system was awesome, and I really loved the elemental incursion event concept

[vague galleon]

i wish i had friends to play tl2 with. i love that game. but i am a little burnt out on it.

[tepid wadi]

Torchlight 2?

[peak marsh]

I'll throw it on the wishlist and maybe grab it when it's $4, heard good things but never actually played it

[tepid wadi]

Definitely one of the best early ARPGs

[peak marsh]

Yeah Torchlight is one of those series I mostly missed out on

I played a bit of Infinite but as I hear it that's really a poor substitute for the real experience

[tepid wadi]

I never played infinite so IDK for sure, but I didn't hear great things

[tepid wadi]

Wow he is harsh

[peak marsh]

I feel like not unfairly though. I mean, they're really not doing anything innovative (again "we have New World at home"), they released something that feels extremely janky, it's likely going to have the standard Korean MMO levels of P2W, and it's one of the like 5 MMOs we even have to look forward to right now. Even for as low as MMO gamer standards are these days it doesn't really feel like a 2025 release as is

Plus they misrepresented the level of the visuals in the trailers which, sure, we're used to most games doing that but they did it on a really, REALLY broad scale. Like if most "standard games" have graphics that are 25% - 40% worse than the trailer, here we're talking like 60% - 75% worse

Plus it has jank, plus it has really bad pop-in and lighting issues, plus it feels derivitive, plus the anticipated P2W, etc etc

But also positives, like combat does feel a little more snappy and responsive than NW does, the world feels neat, the trials are cool and varied, and the bosses are pretty cool fights from what we got to see over the weekend. Like it really does have some promise but they have some glaring issues to handle

For example, every weapon has a dodge counter, meaning if you dodge and immediately use an attack, your character will seamlessly attack from the end of the dodge animation. NW lacks that and even though it's a small change it's a pretty significant one in terms of feel

Like I mentioned it here but at the end of the weekend beta for Chrono I literally reinstalled NW and played it for a few hours, and it really did feel just a big more sluggish and "paced" in terms of the combat

[frank sonnet]

god why are devs so allergic to doing stylised graphics

[peak marsh]

I don't get it either. Fidelity only looks good for a point in time but well done stylization stands the test of time

I mean WoW is old enough to buy liquor in the US and it's art style still looks good

There are exceptions, like BDO still looks good some 10 years later but also it took 5 years before most PCs were able to appreciate it because nobody could run it above medium settings xD

[short sail]

https://tenor.com/view/drunks-funny-falling-down-walking-drunk-gif-16445153

WoW meanwhile

[peak marsh]

That's WoW every other update xD

Then they sober up, release WoW classic and a solid current update and they're back on top of the standings xD

WoW kind of has a weird Final Fantasy track record. WIth FF, the odd numbered ones tend to be good and the even numbered ones tend to be meh (with special exception given to FF6, which incidentally was FF3 globally 🤔 - also not including MMOs). WoW is kind of the same way, every other major update seems to screw things up while the others tend to be loved

[short sail]

except for BFA and Shadowlands
Those were back to back hated

Though it also depends on who you ask, some people disliked the "Marvel"-approach of us finally fighting the bigger evil together. 🤷🏻‍♂️

[timber prism]

6,8,10,16 are all good games ....

Some even put 10 as their favorite one

And 8

Xd

3,5,13,15 were my least favorite

15 being the worst of the worst

[tepid wadi]

12 was... weird

[peak marsh]

I mean not saying they're bad, but compared to 5, 7, 9, and 13? (again excluding 6 and the MMOs)

Like 1 was leagues better than 2, and for as much flak as the job system in 3 gets I'd still put it above 2's ambiguous "use it and get better at it forehead" system

Meanwhile 4 was just a hot mess

And I mean, barring the test of time 15 is working out to be a far better experience than 16s angry and dour "everyone hates you" experience

Which again isn't to say 16 is bad, but just ranking the games against each other

[obtuse scroll]

He was fair. I played this weekend too and it just wasn't there. This year for release is too early with all they need to fix and redo to make it a really good game.

[peak marsh]

Same and I get the same sense. Like, maybe the one they have in the oven is leaps and bounds better but also, it better be if they plan to launch by fall

[obtuse scroll]

LOL but totally everyone loved Shadowlands O.O (said no one ever)

[obtuse scroll]

It would have to be even better than leaps and bounds, because fall is not that far away.

[short sail]

Why you do this, this expansion is already about death and you kill it again

[obtuse scroll]

They should have killed it before they released it :p

[short sail]

I agree, but honestly...
Something they needed to release

Blizz just doesn't learn about their flaws, namely putting arbitrary systems in place to grind your life out for

[obtuse scroll]

We know they can do story....but they seemed to have forgotten that for that expac....

[short sail]

honestly

[peak marsh]

Or Bobby didn't want to pay for it because he was trying to put down the last payment on his 3rd yacht xD

[obtuse scroll]

Is he only on his 3rd?

[peak marsh]

I mean, 3rd in his current stable. You have to update after all

[obtuse scroll]

Ahhh, true

[short sail]

modern storywriting seems like a draining thing. Creativity seems to bleed out - I mean, looking at Nintendo here, I doubt they'll ever make the mile and put story into any of their games with a canon.
Avoiding a story altogether forever seems at some point just lazy.
I miss the good old days when they did not try to rehash the same story for every game and it's successor

[peak marsh]

Can't be showing up to the yacht club on a 2014 yacht xD

[obtuse scroll]

I haven't really liked anything past 10. (14 is MMO and you already said the MMOs were out of this ranking)

[peak marsh]

I mean, tbf any Nintendo cannon has always been fan created. Nintendo games exist in their own separate universes

[peak marsh]

Yeah, 14 and 11 don't count

[short sail]

Honestly, the Mario & Luigi series had a canon

and it was good until Alpha Dream went bankrupt

Same goes for Paper Mario, but this series died back in Sticker Star

[peak marsh]

Which makes the rankings even because that's one odd and one even that are both excluded. Meanwhile 6 is a wildcard because while it's technically 6, it's 3 everywhere that isn't Japan, so it's kind of both an odd and an even

[obtuse scroll]

I will agree there were more good odd games than even, but 6 and 10 were good too. 6 is now 6 everywhere though, thanks to pixel remaster. I will also put out this, I didn't really like 7 as much as people seem to call it one of the best games...

[peak marsh]

I mean, most to all of them (depending on where you're at) were good, or at least all of them were entirely competent. But if we're ranking game vs game within the series itself, the odds are head and shoulders above xD

[obtuse scroll]

I rank 6 way above all of the rest LOL Enough to even out who is winning :p

And 10

[peak marsh]

2 was rough, 4 was bad, 8 lost the plot somewhere around disc 3 when we went to space, 9 absolutely decimates 10, 13 does the same to 12

[obtuse scroll]

9 was less than 10 for me, sorry, but then again I also liked X-2 :p

[peak marsh]

I mean I said they were all more or less good but like, 4 was a mess of systems xD

[obtuse scroll]

And like I said, anything past 10 was not my thing

[peak marsh]

No argument on 6, but like I say that one is a wildcard xD It can be both 3 and 6 depending on how you want to skew it. If we're going strictly by "pure" series numbering, then sure it's an exception to the rule but the exceptions prove the rule xD

I mean, X/X-2 were fun games and good experiences, but would I rank them over 9 or even 7?

[obtuse scroll]

I put 7 and 9 below on my list, but you're right that 8 and 4 were a mess. They lost their way on 8 for sure. 2-5 hit about same rank for me. I liked 1, it was a good introduction to the series.

I would definitely rank them above 7 and 9

[peak marsh]

1 is just a great pick up and play RPG. Like you don't need to be too invested and the mechanics are varied enough for multiple playthroughs (Do I go Monk or Red Mage? I wonder if I can beat it with 4 Fighters?)

[obtuse scroll]

Yeah, they did really well with 1 (obviously or the series wouldn't have kept going).

[timber prism]

I will have to disagree with boy band ff being better than 16 in any way XD

[peak marsh]

xD That and Chrono Trigger are two of the retro RPGs I play at least once every couple years because of how replayable they are

[obtuse scroll]

LOL boy band FF.....not wrong

[timber prism]

The only thing negative i can say about 16 was the lack of party but the combat was very entertaining as well as the story. I also like DMC so there is that

[obtuse scroll]

Both 6 and CT are in my steam library and I've played them both recently.

[peak marsh]

I mean not wrong, but also I'm not into the whole "dark and brooding" FF experience. Like, the 2000s were almost 20 years ago xD

[timber prism]

FFT is my fav story and its also dark so I guess its just personal taste xd

[peak marsh]

FF1, FF6, CT, Dragon Quest 1, Breath of Fire, and Mario RPG are my rotation of retro RPGs I play once every couple/few years

[peak marsh]

I mean, it was dark but it wasn't dour and brooding about it. The same could be said for FF7

IDK, 16 just felt like a weird, abrupt tonal shift both in terms of narrative and gameplay

Which again isn't to say it was bad, it just felt like a less fun departure

At least in my opinion xD

[timber prism]

I agree it was very different than most of the series in terms of tone. I will disagree with you saying its not similar to FF7 when we have Cloud as a a main character

He was so edgy and then depressing it hurt

Which is fine but you can't say he wasnt brooding XD

[peak marsh]

I mean, Cloud was a total edgelord, true, but we also had this dude to balance that out:

[timber prism]

And good boy Torgal for 16

But Cloud especially in like Advent Children and the remake was brooding as hell XD

[peak marsh]

I mean, I'm not counting those. Advent Children was edgelord food and the remake went in unexpected directions in general (The Bald Bar xD)

[vague galleon]

chrono trigger is a little over rated.

[peak marsh]

[timber prism]

I think its perfectly rated as one of the greats of Squaresoft

[vague galleon]

oh dont get me wrong, I love it too.

but i mean, is it really like, THAT amazing?

[timber prism]

Yes

It is

[peak marsh]

Square and Enix, before they were Squenix. It was a literal dream team of JRPG designers

[vague galleon]

eh. the elemental powers ruined part of what was cool about it.

[timber prism]

Is it perfect? No.

[vague galleon]

and the characters dont have THAT much personality.

sick designs, unique powers? yes.

[timber prism]

I loved Magus and Glenn

[peak marsh]

I mean if you remove Chrono, who is supposed to be the player surrogate, you have Marle, a princess raised as a bird in a cage who wants to express her individuality and make her own path in the world, Lucca, who dove into science and engineering in order to compensate for a past loss, Frog, a knight who was cowardly when it mattered most and lost his mentor and then vowed to improve himself and his resolve, Robo, a robot who was cast out by his comrades and struggles to find his place in the world, and Magus, a tragic character who lost everything and became a villain in order to stop an even bigger villain

There, that describes every main character without saying anything about how they look or what their job is. Good characterization 101

[timber prism]

Frog has a naaaaaame

😭

[obtuse scroll]

No, definitely Frog

[timber prism]

😭

[peak marsh]

Yes he is Glenn, but for the majority of how we come to know him, he is Frog xD

Also his theme is one of my favorite pieces of chiptune music xD

[timber prism]

🐸 👑 🧎

[vague galleon]

good unique characters sure.

but like, how well do we really get to know them, how does the events of the stories effect them?

it was amazing for it's time, but I think as far as good stories go....

modern games go deeper.

[peak marsh]

I mean, we literally play through them xD

[obtuse scroll]

There were lots of little things that were fun too. If you give the jerky to that woman for free, her descendant provides something for you later for free and his kids all love him. If you don't, the kids hate their dad and he's a greedy jerk. They did lots of fun little things in that game that were part of a good story

[peak marsh]

Oh oops I forgot Ayla, who frankly is the weakest in terms of characterization. She wants to save her tribe I guess... Her story really doesn't go too deep, she's mostly there to shoehorn in the prehistoric era xD

[vague galleon]

wait, what jerky?

Ayala is there because muscle mommy.

[peak marsh]

Or the trial, where your actions at the very beginning of the game are used to determine if you're innocent or guilty. That was mind blowing at the time

[vague galleon]

but i mean, is the game really a 10/10, more like a 9/10 if you ask me!

BRO THE RESULT IS THE SAME I DID EVERYTHING RIGHT AND THEY STILL SENTENCED ME TO DEATH

[peak marsh]

I mean, but the votes change xD

It's not much now but that was flooring at the time xD

[timber prism]

I think if we have this debate of of nitpicking an opinion of a game that came out twenty years ago being a 9 or a 10.. then yeah. It is really perfectly rated as being a great game. XD

[obtuse scroll]

Did you not do that quest or were you being sarcastic?

[peak marsh]

Music is a 10. Combat is a 10. Character design is a 10 (RIP Toriyama). Plot is a 10. Replayability is a 10

[vague galleon]

God like, I know what dad character you're talking about but i have no memory of giving some lady jerky.

i almost never listen to the music in games. XD

[timber prism]

....

Nooooooo

[peak marsh]

You give her jerky to feed her hungry family, and decades later they help you out

[vague galleon]

combat is like a 9/10 at first and then drops to like a 7/10 later.

[timber prism]

Music makes games so much better

[obtuse scroll]

You had to go in 1000 ad and buy the jerky for 1k, then go back to 600 and give the jerky to the lady in the bottom village for free, then back to 1000 ad and he's the mayor and he's generous with loving kids.

[peak marsh]

CT is one of the few soundtracks I actually listen to outside of the game

[timber prism]

I literally cry from music ahahah

[vague galleon]

ya but like, either im trying not to annoy other people with my gameboy or im blasting techno while I game or something. or chatting with a friend. XD

[timber prism]

I remember getting the Japanese OST on CD from my anime/comic book store i worked at in the 90s

[peak marsh]

The one that sounds like a music box from that game gets me misty eyed xD

I think it's Marle's theme

[timber prism]

FF in general has pretty great music

CT was one of Squares most memorable that is outside of FF

[obtuse scroll]

LOL Chocobo theme!! Bouncing my head just thinking about it

[timber prism]

Exp 33 music is good too!

[vague galleon]

the only good FF is that SNES one.

[peak marsh]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rkX6y0zNC_U

[obtuse scroll]

6! my favorite

[vague galleon]

no. Mystic Quest!

[obtuse scroll]

No, this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3GAq5v0JdAg&list=RD3GAq5v0JdAg&start_radio=1

[obtuse scroll]

That was okay....but no, 6

[vague galleon]

(5 and 6 are kind of my favorite, 9 and 10 are okay too)

[vague galleon]

Mystic Quest is the BEST FF! 😮

actually it's a funny story behind mystic quest.

[timber prism]

https://youtu.be/xretuG05rug?si=T1aYkqMbl_CBAVw2

[peak marsh]

Taken for what it is Mystic Quest is actually pretty fun

[obtuse scroll]

It was good, but FF6 has always beat out every other game for me.

[vague galleon]

Mystic Quest only exists because the japanese figured us americans suck at gaming.

it's kind of one of the worst ones.

[obtuse scroll]

It wasn't that bad. I owned it on SNES....never bought it on any of the other consoles though

[vague galleon]

but as much as I love FF6, it doest have my favorite FF character.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nteDlhRBP8Q

[peak marsh]

It was less that, more that RPGs were huge in Japan but in Europe and the US they haden't caught on, so they were trying to figure out how to get foreign markets introduced. It's a common trope to say it was "DUMB RPG FOR DUMB AMERIKANS" but that's only a small part of the story

[obtuse scroll]

It was good for what it was but I don't really count it in the final fantasy world. It was a good feel to it for a basic RPG

[vague galleon]

i wish crystal chronicles had been a little bit better.

i loved the aesthetic even if the moogles were awful

[obtuse scroll]

My favorite character is Terra from 6

[vague galleon]

Terra had no personality.

Locke was cool though.

[timber prism]

This one was nostalgically amazing. https://youtu.be/mYdf0yqK_Fc?si=tdvbRGIDY0MYL_X-

[vague galleon]

BISHIE WRATH

[obtuse scroll]

She was learning her personality. The point was she wore a slave crown and was a pawn most her life. Locke was good, so was Celes.

[vague galleon]

I liked the brothers. they were cool too.

[peak marsh]

It made for a great player surrogate, because as you learned about the world she was in Terra was learning about herself

[obtuse scroll]

The brothers were fun, they were a good balance and they kicked butt. They were always in my main party

[vague galleon]

https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/425681602975236097/1056754349239439411/KUD5jBwxUtzeqRpZkEuHs0KM2XTheG9ARnMw6G6Ozn4.png?ex=685c01ee&is=685ab06e&hm=dd6b23e5704b4c3b79189d2cd52ddaadc9d9ccc2bb000451d930189a10b9daa6&

3 of my favorite characters here.

Shadow was the coolest. and I liked the sword guy.

[obtuse scroll]

LOL the train?

[vague galleon]

FF6 had the BEST villians.

[peak marsh]

So with Terra's story you learned about the world together as she eventually figured out who she was. It was a great bit of characterization

[obtuse scroll]

Shadow had a name

[vague galleon]

Ghost Train, a singing octopus, and a FREAKING CLOWN

ya, his name was Shadow. (I never beat the game.)

[obtuse scroll]

Jester!

[obtuse scroll]

Clyde, just so you know. He's the ||father to portrait girl (Relm)||

[vague galleon]

coolest FF character right here.

[timber prism]

I am a big fan of Kefka

[peak marsh]

Nah brah:

[vague galleon]

sepiroth is a crigney edgelord who failed comared to kefka.

[peak marsh]

All hail the glory of Cid

[timber prism]

Sephiroth had the best music tho

By a longshot

[vague galleon]

Cid is, okay. shame he's from FF7

[peak marsh]

Cid is in every FF xD

[obtuse scroll]

Cid is from almost every FF

[timber prism]

Yeah

[vague galleon]

i knooooooooooooooow

i meant THAT cid.

[timber prism]

I did really enjoy FF7 Cid

My fav Cid

Also Cid from 16 was good

[vague galleon]

my favorite JRPG, not that i've played many, is Tales of Symphonia, although the cliche evil angel thing is dumb, i can look past that. the cast is amazing. mostly.

[peak marsh]

I mean, you kind of can't go wrong with Cid xD

Pick a game, Cid is kind of awesome xD

[frank sonnet]

always weird when fantasy worlds have steam punky elements like trains and steam engines , automatas but the rest of the world is standard euro medieval fantasy

[vague galleon]

who the HECK is this?!

🤣

[obtuse scroll]

CID in FF6

[vague galleon]

noooooooooooo

[peak marsh]

I mean Cid is probably the only character who can rock that and still give you an airship xD

[obtuse scroll]

In ff6 he wasn't the ship guy....he was a scientist in the magitek facility

[peak marsh]

But if I'm going to be specific, my favorite FF characters are probably Cecil from FFV and Celes from FF6

[peak marsh]

Yeah true. But also a fabulous dresser

[obtuse scroll]

His clothes were something.

[vague galleon]

cecil from IV or V?

[peak marsh]

Sorry IV. Final Fantasy chronology always confuses me xD

[vague galleon]

ya

[peak marsh]

I actually had to check myself there to make sure I was remembering wrong xD

[vague galleon]

i rather like FFV

[peak marsh]

Like story, design and gameplay Cecil was awesome xD

[vague galleon]

but man, i have never finished a single FF game

[peak marsh]

Its worth the time to do

[obtuse scroll]

Where did you end in FF6?

[vague galleon]

uuuuuuuuhhhhhhhhhhh

[obtuse scroll]

You love Celes and she becomes the main character for a while

Or wait, that was Rhoisaad

[peak marsh]

Most get really grindy and frustrating near the end but the feeling of accomplishment plus the story you get (from the good ones) more than makes it worthwile

[obtuse scroll]

LOL so much conversation going on

[peak marsh]

Celes is an aweosme character xD

[vague galleon]

i think the last time I played FFVI was the PS1 version? wait no the SNES version.

i have both. 😊

[obtuse scroll]

LOL but that doesn't tell us where you left off

[vague galleon]

ya i have no idea, sometime after the train? I remember getting the wild boi.

it's been so bloody long.

[peak marsh]

The train is early days

[obtuse scroll]

You weren't even half way through O.O There's literally a whole world you missed

[vague galleon]

ya

[peak marsh]

The train is like, maybe 1/3 of the game

[vague galleon]

God. I need to freaking finish and MML2 and Okami...............

[peak marsh]

You basically played the intro

[vague galleon]

I also need to finish chrono trigger and golden sun lost age

[obtuse scroll]

At least you won't run out of stuff to play lol

[peak marsh]

True story, and I mean on some level I'm jealous. I'd love to experience finishing CT or FF6 again for the first time

[vague galleon]

hey

actually

since I have you weebs here

I could use some CT advice.

[peak marsh]

I had an uncle who one told me "finishing a good book is like losing a close friend" and those games definitely feel that way. Not just in the sad way but in the sense of appreciating the experience you had and feeling like you've grown in some way for having it

[vague galleon]

so last I played I got the furtherest I ever got, and did the boss battle in the magic city.

i dont know what to do next

i know there's multiple ways to fight lavos

and Yanko Chrono dies at some point?

[obtuse scroll]

After that it's slightly open world

[vague galleon]

but I dont know what path to take.

i dont plan on doing multiple playthroughs.

[obtuse scroll]

Then you need to work through the stories of all the time lines. There are things to do in every time

They are puzzles that come together by doing stuff in other times.

[peak marsh]

It's so good for multiple playthroughs though. Just going through with different party members, not even trying for the multiple endings really changes a lot about the experience

[vague galleon]

I DONT HAVE THE ATTENTION SPAN FOR IT

like i havent played it in years

[obtuse scroll]

Have you done the fair game where you do mimicking and kick the coin things?

[vague galleon]

huh

[peak marsh]

Nobody is saying you have to do them all next week. Like I said at the beginning, its one of those games I pick up once every couple/few years and play again

And it's absolutely amazing for that. I'll be bored without any current games or games I'm looking forward to, and be like "alright let's play CT again, but this time I'll use Robo and Ayla"

[vague galleon]

i rarely watch/play anything more than once.

too much to consume.

frigging youtube

[obtuse scroll]

I did all the story in one go. I have favorite characters and just use them

[vague galleon]

all the story? arent there multiple endings?

[peak marsh]

I did that the first few times, but over time I've done every combination with every ending and I still go back to it xD

Then you factor in New Game+ and

[vague galleon]

does NG+ let you carry stuff over?

[peak marsh]

Everything

Levels, gear, all of it

[vague galleon]

hmm

[peak marsh]

CT basically invented NG+

[obtuse scroll]

The complete ending can be done in one go, the rest of the ending are like consolation endings because you didn't do everything

[vague galleon]

hmmm

[peak marsh]

^NG+ is why the multiple endings are so achievable

After the first run you can go through and basically nuke everything

Every turn: "Luminare" xD

[vague galleon]

Yanko is level 34 and everyone else is 32.

im on, To Break the Seal

[obtuse scroll]

I thought you said Chrono was dead...

[vague galleon]

no

i said i know that happens

i never got that far.

[obtuse scroll]

Flash bangs were unnecessary 😜

[vague galleon]

can i still give that lady some jerky? >_>

[peak marsh]

When you're on NG+ it's not a flash bang, it's "nuke everything" xD

[obtuse scroll]

Ahhh.... Well, it's time to get the cool thing. Make your way to the end of time

[vague galleon]

also i love that Chrono and Glenn are left handed. totally based.

[obtuse scroll]

Yep, it's part of the next series of events

[vague galleon]

it's not at the beginning of the game?

[obtuse scroll]

You can pretty much do it up to the point you lock yourself in to defeating the final boss

[vague galleon]

my current party is MC, Frog, and Muscle Mommy, but im not sure what the best team is, too many awesome choices.

where is this lady then?

[obtuse scroll]

So there are two villages on the main island, one is your home town, the other is to the south. First buy the jerky in 1000ad from the tavern guy in the southern town, then go to the southern town in 600ad where the governor's house is and there will be a lady making dinner. Give her the jerky for free. Go back to 1000ad and see what happens to what used to be a jerky governor. This will be handy for later in the game after you do the thing that goes next

[peak marsh]

Ultimately, there is no "best team", the game is balanced in such a way that you can play with who you like and still be completely viable

[obtuse scroll]

People play with their favorites. After the Chrono event, I play with Marle, Robo, and whomever is needed for the current quest.

[peak marsh]

Yep. Pick who you want, there are no bad choices xD

Ayla is a pretty good choice because she does pretty devistating physical damage and a lot of the game is vulnerable to psyical

Plus she has skills that do damage+heal

[vague galleon]

no love for Lucca? XD

[peak marsh]

Lucca is aweome when paired with Chrono, they have some of the best double team attacks

[vague galleon]

im kind of torn between MC, Robot, Frog, and Muscle Mommy.

does Lucca and Robot pair well?

[peak marsh]

I mean again, you really can't go wrong xD

[vague galleon]

I figured Glenn and Chrono would be awesome

[peak marsh]

Lucca and Robo pair great together

Yeah Frog and Chrono are great too. X Strike is a great attack through the end of the game

[vague galleon]

i wish it was 4 characters.... or 5.....

[peak marsh]

xD thats where multiple playthroughs with NG+ come in xD

[obtuse scroll]

You're not gonna have Chrono for a little while....

[vague galleon]

yup havent given it to her yet. >_>

[obtuse scroll]

Remember, from this point forward, you are doing things that will affect the rest of the times and some you only get one chance at, so play wisely

[vague galleon]

great, so i need a walkthrough.

and yes, I have the DS version. the best version.

[obtuse scroll]

A walkthrough may be good if you want an all in one game with no replays

[vague galleon]

i feel like I should have the zoomy thing by now

[peak marsh]

Don't at all. NG+. You can literally do it all over again but faster xD

If the first playthrough takes 30 hours you can do one on NG+ in like 10

[vague galleon]

hmmm

[obtuse scroll]

They already said they don't do ng+, so a walkthrough seems the best choice

[vague galleon]

my way is blocked. what the heck

when do i get the space ship

[obtuse scroll]

I gave you the next step in your quest...

[vague galleon]

well im trying to go get the jerky.

but i go back through the portal and theyres a barricade

[obtuse scroll]

Do the jerky later, do the next step to make your life easier

[vague galleon]

what's the next step? >_>

[obtuse scroll]

Return to the end of time

Your way is blocked on that portal but prehistoric time has another portal

[vague galleon]

and i assume just going to the day of lavos is a bad idea?

[obtuse scroll]

Well, that's one way to end the game if you're in a rush.... Won't be the good ending though

[vague galleon]

lol no

[peak marsh]

I mean, assuming you can actually beat it xD

The bad ending in that case would be "you died, the world died, the end"

[vague galleon]

found the Epoch

9.9k sheesh

did this entire village get wiped out over 400 years?! it's gone!

[obtuse scroll]

Yeah, they don't explain why there are only two villages in 1000 when there were three in 600

[vague galleon]

T-T

i went into the desert pit

got my butt kicked

[short sail]

I feel like 1:30 ago someone said coin.

[peak marsh]

They kinda do, there was a war going on

One of them didn't make it

[vague galleon]

🗞️

[vague galleon]

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1645820/SurrounDead/

Steam

SurrounDead

5 years have passed since civilization fought against the virus, but nothing has changed. The world lays in pieces, with no one to lead us to a brighter future fighting back against the zombies, people have fallen back to a dark life style.…

Price

$11.99

Recommendations

7321

▶ Play video

this looked neat until I saw it was single player.

single player survival games just feel like a waste of time to me. (even if spend most of my time playing solo I still want the option to play with others)

[tepid wadi]

Yeah, I feel that.

[tepid wadi]

Okay, I just finished the Force video, he shows the comparison for the PvP forts and it looks pretty similar

[peak marsh]

Similar yes, but like, really hard to say smoking gun. I mean when you're saying "This game is copying" I feel like it needs to be very, very very much more than "they're pretty close"

And I mean, not saying they didn't but giving benefit of the doubt, could two dev teams come on extremely similar designs in such a way? Even if it's a stretch, sure. You need to be a lot closer to start crying "they stole their homework" IMO

[tepid wadi]

I think it's less crying and more that things seem enough similar that most people are noticing it. The thing that sticks out to me is actually the UI. All of the interact prompts and stuff look like they're ripped right from New World

But god, watching people gather for like 30 seconds of doing nothing drives me crazy

I feel like Force brought up a lot more pressing concerns than those similarities

[reef bobcat]

Playing Clair E33 on a new 1700€ PC really did worth it.
Most beautiful game I have ever played in my life.
Best story telling too.

• Harsh choices are what reality is.

[peak marsh]

Yeah, nothing like loading up a game on a new PC and seeing the difference

[timber prism]

Fantastic game. I am between this and Death Stranding 2 for my GOTY so far

[frank sonnet]

My pc is crying just looking at that

[tepid wadi]

CE33 is definitely GOTY material

[vague galleon]

i had that moment with BL2 back in the day.

[tranquil cove]

imo it counts as a exploit/glitch speed run

https://youtu.be/W_gvLhiyQHw?t=148

normal speedrun would involve you engaging in game mechanics, not just essentially "teleporting" or flying to each checkpoint. the game mechanic of peak is climbing not flying/launching.

[tepid wadi]

Yeah, that's why it's an any% run

any% usually entails getting to the end as fast as possible, skipping as much as possible

[vague galleon]

i dont really care for exploit speedruns.

although exploit might be a loose word.

[tranquil cove]

i dont think it should be valid

if the devs code this out of the game, it means these guys have the record forever? shouldn't speed runs remain accessible to all people as possible to do?

also if it was not intended by the devs, isn't that the very definition of exploit? or glitch? why are we calling this any% run instead of what it is? an exploit speed run.

[tepid wadi]

That's why it's a different category than full runs

Because a lot of people don't consider it valid

It's separated from full speedruns specifically for that reason 😝

[tranquil cove]

i think actually its less problematic if the devs dont code it out of the game

but if the devs coded this out, i would go so far to say that even as an any% run it's no longer valid.

maybe it's just valid for that version of the game or something

[frank sonnet]

i guess you could say this run is "peak"

[tranquil cove]

i beat peak last night while my 2 friends died

[tepid wadi]

Some speedruns also mention the version if the glitches/exploits used to make it happen get patched out.

[tranquil cove]

and they get a cool clothing item

it was so clutch how i won

i had like 20% stamina bar

i even fell 50 meters and somehow grabbed the wall and found some footing

between two rocks, not even an actual foothold

[timber prism]

Yes. 100% I hope they win a lot of rewards in various categories. Same for DS2. Both are leagues above other games I have played in years. Immersion is real. Top tier art!

[frank sonnet]

i had a idea for a game. the basic premise is your physical body is rapidly deteriorating and you have to travel to different elemental realms to slowly build a new one

[timber prism]

@tepid wadi @peak marsh

Lmao

[tepid wadi]

IDK how they couldn't have seen that coming

they probably should have leaned into the memes

[timber prism]

Ikr

[finite saffron]

Weird to see devs finding that to be "heartbreaking", usually whenever players break things with character creators all the devs I know love to see that kinda stuff lol, we think it's hilarious

[tepid wadi]

Also, it's one of the few amusing things that came from the beta weekend. Everything else I've heard has been neutral or negative. Gotta lean into those positive messages when you can.

Do something like "While we know people love to make these meme characters, and we love to give them the freedom, there will also be a way in game to change your appearance for a small gold fee"

[vague galleon]

what game?

[tepid wadi]

Chrono Odyssey

[vague galleon]

ah of course

[frank sonnet]

laughs in ark

[tepid wadi]

Yeah, it's like Ark or Dark Souls

One of my favorites:

[vague galleon]

dont forget oblivion and SF6.

[frank sonnet]

imagine getting this butthurt over your players making janky characters

[peak marsh]

🤣 Short version: "For the love of everything holy what is wrong with you people"

Oblivion was great for cursed characters

[timber prism]

One of my favs i found

[frank sonnet]

by the looks of it chrono odyssey looks like it has one of the more better character creators

[peak marsh]

It was pretty robust. Who knows now, we might just have character locked classes now because we collectively scarred the developers xD

[timber prism]

"HOW ARE WE GONNA SELL SEXY COSMETICS?!"

[heady dirge]

We can't take the easy way out, so we took the easy way out. Unless CBT stands for what I think it does

They were waiting for the most unhinged before pulling the plug so they had proof

[frank sonnet]

imho most game character creators are pretty terrible most of them feel lacking of options and variety

[tepid wadi]

Honestly, make a slideshow of the "best" ones you found, let people have fun

[tepid wadi]

CBT is the most overloaded acronym out there 😝

[heady dirge]

Fun in gaming? Should be bannable

I thought we were all growing as a group when cyberpunk let us express freely

[tepid wadi]

"cyberpunk" and "freedom" don't really mix 😝

[peak marsh]

Yeah really the devs should have leaned into it and been part of the joke. You don't win any prizes by being a stick in the mud

[heady dirge]

There was one slider in particular I'm referencing
( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

[tepid wadi]

indeed

[peak marsh]

More to the point from the way the early reviews are coming back they could use some extra community good will

[tepid wadi]

That's what I mean, take any good things you can get, laugh at yourself even if you plan to fix it down the line

I honestly wish more dev studios did "development bloopers" where they show silly bugs and things

It would do a lot to humanize them and reveal some of the shenanigans of game dev

[heady dirge]

If they did care, they'd ask the community how to make it better, and ship some of those changes with theirs. No one hates a good compromise

[tepid wadi]

Listen to your player base? pffft

[heady dirge]

Keen games has been spoiling me I guess 🤷‍♂️

[tepid wadi]

Yeah, they're a bit of an outlier. The amount of content and QOL they've added since the start of early access is frankly astounding.

And the amount that's been community requested? Awesome

[heady dirge]

I mean, the fact it's not unity/unreal

[tepid wadi]

You don't build an engine for your game if you don't care, heh

I kind of hope that when they approach mod tools, that they make the engine basically available. I bet people would do some crazy stuff with it

[heady dirge]

It would be fun to see people with high end PC testing the limits

[tepid wadi]

Some of the builds they do already seem to test some limits, heh

[peak marsh]

As long as they don't pull a Chrono Odyssey and remove the mod tools because people made questionable/cursed mods xD

[tepid wadi]

I think that'll really depend on how they do mods, tbh. I can see wanting some control over "acceptable" mods to prevent certain things.

[reef bobcat]

I have not tried that game yet, is it a turn based game as well ?

[timber prism]

No. Action game by the Hideo Kojima. Its a PS5 exclusive atm. Came out this week b

[reef bobcat]

Oh, maybe that's why I haven't heard of it, as I don't own a PS5 🙂

[timber prism]

It'll eventually come out to PC like the first one

[ashen notch]

Norman Reedus still carrying whole truckloads through barren landscapes.🤔

[reef bobcat]

sounds like it worth a try, I will try it when it is released for PC (:

[timber prism]

Me last night

[reef bobcat]

😁

damn his back must hurt so badly lol 😄

[ashen notch]

He gained weight?😮

[reef bobcat]

🙈

[timber prism]

Yes. You can really tell in the animation that is it heavy lmao

You gotta balance too so it makes carrying stuff incredibly interesting around the terrain XD

[reef bobcat]

its extra fluff for the winter time

[ashen notch]

Is he also still donating excrements for special grenades?

[timber prism]

Crystals from using the bathroom!

[ashen notch]

Shitting diamonds. Cool.💎

[timber prism]

It seems Kojima really listened to criticisms bc this one is basically all the good stuff from the first and fixed my personal criticisms of the first game

[ashen notch]

First one was already very impressive. 👍

[tepid wadi]

Amazon Delivery Hiking Simulator 2

[timber prism]

Yeah! I was a fan of the first one and would rate it a 7.5-8/10. Only 7 hours in so far for the sequel and atm its about a 9 for me.

[frank sonnet]

he should deliver pizza's

[tranquil cove]

i dont get the context

what was their character model and what did players do

pictures?

[timber prism]

Scroll

[tranquil cove]

oh pictures are down

[timber prism]

....

[tranquil cove]

i mean... heartbroken?

how is that heartbreaking

it's funny, silly still

tbh it looks better than this character model

this guy looks ridiculous

https://tenor.com/view/the-walking-dead-twd-daryl-dixon-daryl-the-walking-dead-daryl-twd-gif-14225135790734404495

[timber prism]

Quite the opinion

[tranquil cove]

if i cant play as a big ear troll then i think i would refund the game

that looks like a goku DBZ character, whats wrong with that?

[frank sonnet]

just your run of the mill over sensitive game devs

[tranquil cove]

it's a weird reaction, to what i assume a few players are doing

like it cant be 100% of players

or could have ended up being some funny thing, where everyone has 1 account with a weird character, and 1 with a more proportional looking character. thats what character slots are for.

[frank sonnet]

if anything these goofy ass abominations speak volumes to how good the character creator is

[tranquil cove]

i wonder if it will get backlash when they change it

they would be altering peoples characters

[peak marsh]

Not really. It was a weekend-long closed test where there was no expectation of anything being saved

So ultimately they would just be launching in the 4th quarter with a different character creator

[frank sonnet]

My prediction of Chrono Odyssey becoming another went wrong story seams to becoming more true as the months go by

[peak marsh]

I mean yeah, they already weren't standing on very firm ground to begin with

[heady dirge]

Literally could be modelled after an anime character, and I bet they'd call it a gross display of the human form kek

[peak marsh]

Their only real hope for long term survival IMO is if Amazon ends support for New World after their LotR MMO launches and that player base goes to Chrono Odyssey

But also we have no idea what the monetization is going to be so that's going to be a pretty huge deciding factor also

[tepid wadi]

Yeah I mean Force put it well. No P2W from the company that always has tons of P2W and the game already seems to have all of that type of system set up to support potential P2W? I'll believe it when I see it.

[peak marsh]

Apparently the new public test for Dune changes the desert from like 90% pvp/10 pve to something more like 50/50

[timber prism]

booooooo

make a new zone that offers pve

essentially it has become 95% pve / 5% pvp if thats the number change

[peak marsh]

Yeah, I mean it's nice they're listening to feedback (and granted is only the test realm, not release) but that seems like a pretty huge overcorrection

[tepid wadi]

I feel like it's a stopgap, they need to keep PvE players happy for a while until they can actually add more content. PvPers are still going to PvP with what they have.

Like, the game is a really good framework, but content is pretty thin right now once you get to the deep desert. PvE players are much more likely to move on to another game, so they need to extend the game's lifetime for a little longer for them until they can get some new, better contentout.

Vs PvP players don't really have a better survival game to go to, so they'll stick around and do what they can for a while longer

[tranquil cove]

https://www.polygon.com/news/608528/star-wars-battlefront-2-trend-peak-players-steam?utm_source=firefox-newtab-en-us

its on sale too

[tepid wadi]

It's because of the sense of pride and accomplishment

[jagged tree]

They should be looking at how to stop all the hackers ,its really bad on some servers

[tepid wadi]

I'm sure they've got at least some people working on that.

[honest valley]

this doesnt look like star wars battle front 2 (2005).......

[echo relic]

Agreed, i still have all 4 cd's for that game.

[peak marsh]

https://store.steampowered.com/app/866570/System_Shock_2_25th_Anniversary_Remaster/ -dunno how this flew under my radar

Steam

System Shock 2: 25th Anniversary Remaster

System Shock® 2: 25th Anniversary Remaster by Nightdive Studios brings to you the modernized remaster of the FPS/RPG classic, featuring Cross-Play Co-Op multiplayer, Mod Support and more.…

Price

$29.99

▶ Play video

Just released today

https://taskandpurpose.com/news/war-thunder-marine-harrier/ -Meanwhile, people are still posting classified documents to win arguments on the War Thunder forum 🤣

[finite saffron]

At this point I feel like military people are leaking documents for the meme lol

[tranquil cove]

Battlefront 2 is a 90 gig game

pretty big for 2005?

maybe it had overhauls?

Also starwars graphics tend to be cleaner somehow, sharp angles and it might look comparable to today graphics a bit?

I checked out a gameplay video online and it looks pretty good graphically.

[honest valley]

swbf2 (2005) is only 10GB

[tranquil cove]

the one im downloading now is 90 gigs

[tranquil cove]

i mean it's called classic

the one you got

so there is an overhauled edition

[honest valley]

classic is the good one

you are buying the EA version

[tranquil cove]

the article was about the EA version, and it was $5 so i don't care if it's bad, it cant be $5 bad and i wasted $5

but yeah i will probably agree the classic better

[finite saffron]

There are two completely different games named Star Wars: Battlefront 2, and I think EA has released multiple versions of each, so yeah it's very confusing lol

[tranquil cove]

also it can't be that that bad if 30k people are playing it

it's probably okay, while the classic is still better

[honest valley]

the EA account and origin is why ive never tryed the newer ones

[tranquil cove]

the classic has no trademark, it's been delegated a cheap knockoff version.

no trade mark on the star wars

lol

[tranquil cove]

thanks for pointing this out, i will try the classic version too

[peak marsh]

The new one is famously plagued with high priced mtx to unlock characters, or extremely oppressive grind. Literal pay 2 win

[round beacon]

because thats so suprising as a EA Game :3

[tranquil cove]

that never works on me, concerned more about the gameplay

like i'm not going to be, i need to win spends $1000

its more like, was losing fun? is the gameplay engaging

i can be a top player in 5 years don't need 5 days

[peak marsh]

I just can't get behind paying money for a game when the mtx are so up-front and gameplay chamging

Then someone did the math and figured out you'd have to grind for like 4 years doing full time job hours just to unlock one character without swiping, and EA responded by saying the players would "appreciate the sense of pride and accomplishment" from doing such a long grind

[timber prism]

A portion of players are playing the modded private server atm

Is why it has such a high player count atm

Def worth $5

[tranquil cove]

so how would i join that one

i need to join a discord or something?

[timber prism]

Yea

[peak marsh]

Makes me happy that a private modded server option exists for that game. Both for the players who spent the money and the devs who probably didn't want the aggressive mtx overshadowing their work

Because as I understand it a pretty good game does exist under all the EA garbage

[tranquil cove]

I don't see any MTX

in fact haven't seen a single buy thing anywhere

I don't even see a store option

Seems like you just play and level your character, and already level 4, in 30 minutes of play = not that grindy tbh.

[peak marsh]

https://www.extremetech.com/gaming/266264-ea-admits-defeat-unlocks-battlefront-2-heroes-removes-pay-win-mechanics

Yeah, looks like they quietly revamped it a couple months ago

Prior to what looks like late March, it had literally one of the worst systems on the market. Kind of surprised they haven't been more vocal about the changes, I didn't realize they changed it

While Battlefront 2 is far from the first game to include microtransactions, the original BF2 progression system was designed to effectively force players to spend money on loot crates. When players discovered it would take up to 40 hours to unlock a single hero, EA breezily responded that this requirement would "provide players with a sense of pride and accomplishment for unlocking different heroes."

On a related note, EA now holds the record for the most downvoted comment in Reddit history.

[tranquil cove]

yeah i mean me neither, looks like they changed it, and it used to suck badly

i like the way it is now obviously, definitely worth the 5 dollars

i just played it, and it was fun

[peak marsh]

From the sounds of things Disney forced the change, which I'm sure they didn't want to be associated with that degree of predatory monetization

[tranquil cove]

and with the population in the game booming

it sort of vindicates disney forcing the change, and EA realizing there is a more nuanced way to make money

[peak marsh]

Yeah, if they actually walked it back and just made the mtx cosmetic it would completely change what the game is in a good way

Also it proves EA can release a good, fun, quality game without literally being Emperor Palpatine

[vague galleon]

i had NO IDEA how much Bomb Rush ripped off JSRF, holy cow.

[tepid wadi]

Sometimes you just gotta quietly take the L and hope nobody notices.

[peak marsh]

I mean, it was kind of the idea. Sega seem entirely uninterested in making a sequel, so someone else did

[vague galleon]

ya but from the shots im seeing the home base is exactly the same

and i wonder. like the bus terminal level from the first game.
is that just based on a real location or straight ripped off.

[peak marsh]

lol gross

[tepid wadi]

hahahahahaha

My dude, you're 7 years too late to the "live service battle royale" market

[timber prism]

I mean until Sega releases JSR

[peak marsh]

I mean that's the issue, they probably won't. The music licenses are too messy for a remake/remaster, and the series itself is probably too niche to take a chance on a new entry

I'd love to be wrong but I'm pretty sure Bomb Rush Cyberfunk is as close as we're getting

[vague galleon]

EEEWWWWWWWWWWWW WTF WTF WTF WTF WTF NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

JSR is so trash on steam.

also the targeting for jumping off a grind rail was annoying at times.

like ya okay I suck but, it could be better, but ya, true, it old.

but man, what killed my moment was the poison jam battle. I KNOW i was close enough to spray them but it didnt work

then the game stopped loading saves.

[peak marsh]

Honestly it's probably better on Dreamcast however you're able to play that version

[vague galleon]

i think i have a controller and a copy of the game but no console. XD

im still pissed about the GC version of SA1and2

[peak marsh]

Especially in the early-mid 2000s Sega PC ports were notoriously bad

[peak marsh]

Owning a legit copy of the game is exactly what emulation is for xD

Assuming you have a CD Rom drive

[vague galleon]

im too lazy to set up stuff like that. XD

steam has absolutely spoiled me as well.

[peak marsh]

TBF I think that's the majority of us. Steam really makes gaming extremely easy compared to what it was like pre-Steam

[vague galleon]

i bet lol

[peak marsh]

Like, you don't need to configure anything, installs and patches are automatic, and you don't have to dig through sub-directories to find the executable

Click play and go

[vague galleon]

just bought a ton of games off my wishlist for the heck of it, stupid me lol

[peak marsh]

Yeah, any more I only buy one game at a time so I can focus. Otherwise it gets like emulator directories, if you have 600 games to choose from you're unlikely to ever finish one

[vague galleon]

;;;;;>_>

whaaat, noooo

ya, think I spent like 60 bucks on a ton of games. XD installed like maybe 3/12

[stable laurel]

Rematch looks fun

[peak marsh]

Im not big into (international) football but the developer is one of my favorites (Slo-Clap). Absolver was a great and interesting game and Sifu was a really fun time

Absolver really didn't get enough love. An action/martial arts focused MMO

But even despite not being widely successful they still have servers up

One of the reasons I love them as a studio. Keeping Absolver running can't in any imagination be profitable but it's still there and you can still play

Speaking of, @timber prism as a fighting game fan you should really check out Absolver if you don't know about it already

Like, it won't change your life or how you see the world but it's a really great experience xD

It's treated as a fighting game, so PVP is fully open at all times but players are usually almost ceremonial about it, and with a pretty limited population fights with other players are significant and meaningful

And honestly not as rare as you'd think, like they are somewhat at times but a lot of times you'll run into new players or someone grinding up their 5th alt and you can get into some good matches, the way it's structured the population almost perfectly matches the leveling experience to break it up kind of like when you get invaded in a Souls game

A smaller population almost suits it more because you're never feeling like fights are too frequent to the point you can't level, or so infrequent that it's boring

[tepid wadi]

Absolver was super neat

[frank sonnet]

any upcoming games yall are looking forward too?

[vague galleon]

elder scrolls 6

[peak marsh]

I'm interested to see how Chrono Odyssey and Blue Protocol wind up, but like that's more morbid curiousity xD

I definitely want to check out the System Shock 2 25th anniversary remaster that launched today

Farever looks really interesting, that's upcoming from the devs of Wartales and Northgard

https://store.steampowered.com/app/3672400/Farever/

Steam

Farever

You’re no foretold hero, just one among many! Explore a vast open world of vibrant landscapes, alone or with allies, where dungeons, enemy camps, and curiosities lie scattered across the realm. From forgotten temples to underwater caves, Siagarta is full of wonders waiting to be discovered. Look closely, and you’ll find treasures and equip…

Release Date

Coming soon

▶ Play video

As far as games I'm hyped for, Outward 2 but that's next year

[vague galleon]

I need someone to co-op outward 1 with me.

[peak marsh]

Also Stormforge and Jump Ship

[timber prism]

Choice paralysis XD

[vague galleon]

i love games that do these kind of stylized graphics.

[timber prism]

I was a Day 1 CBT Absolver fan

Its also why I love Sifu so much

[peak marsh]

Sifu was pretty great xD

[timber prism]

I haven't had a chance to play Sifu Soccer yet

Aka Rematch

I heard its fun but also clunky

[peak marsh]

I was kinda bummed out when I found out their new game was a soccer game, but I can't blame them for wanting to branch out, hopefully it's a hit so we get Absolver 2 xD

[timber prism]

The pvp in Absolver was a lot of fun

[peak marsh]

I mean, the big selling point is it's a competetive game that's certified for Steam Deck, so they get a built in audience

(Rematch)

[vague galleon]

Special Forces Team X and Ace of Spades were a ton of fun but died off too fast.

[timber prism]

Its essential Rocket League but people