They'd probably have to be some kind of "cheats" and ignore atmosphere, gravity and all that. Assuming modding will even be a thing.
What game are we all playing instead of E:D?
- Thread starter Schindler
- Start date
Was inspired by a recent episode of Errant Signal, and now I am replaying the original Marathon. Still fiddling with settings to get it running the way I like (the default mouse acceleration is just awful) Currently simultaneously playing through the starter levels on different difficulty modes to try and decide which difficulty I want to play on. Like with its spiritual successor, Halo; it is widely claimed that the highest difficulty setting is the definitive experience. However the opening level is just egregiously annoying on highest difficulty (so many enemies pin you down in crowded hallways and there isn't much ammo or weaponry available yet), so I'm trying to struggle through it and see if the game opens up later before I give up and revert to the 2nd-highest difficulty, which so far has felt pretty "right."
When I was a kid I was mesmerized by the Marathon story but it's all hazy now, and I don't think I ever followed it that well because many key concepts probably went over my head, so I'm excited to re-experience all of that, especially without having to wait years between games. So far I'm digging it.
Current plan is to play through Marathon 1 and then go straight to Marathon Infinity, because Infinity retcons Marathon 2 out of the storyline and picks up right at the end of Marathon 1.
Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_3ZCuXJ7-8s
When I was a kid I was mesmerized by the Marathon story but it's all hazy now, and I don't think I ever followed it that well because many key concepts probably went over my head, so I'm excited to re-experience all of that, especially without having to wait years between games. So far I'm digging it.
Current plan is to play through Marathon 1 and then go straight to Marathon Infinity, because Infinity retcons Marathon 2 out of the storyline and picks up right at the end of Marathon 1.
![[VR] optimal_909](https://d2aefvhu2f0gi9.cloudfront.net/data/avatars/m/109/109067.jpg?1553781733){kind=avatar}
I was always attracted to flight, but until now all they had was intimidating difficulty without the sensation of actually travelling the world - this changed right at the moment I saw the first trailer, I have now no doubt about my motivation to take in the full depth (at least the default planes, will not go for the extremely complex 3rd party ones) and roleplay the heck out of it, and invested already according to it.
I will visit all the airports and locations I travelled to and all those I wanted but never got to it. The Earth at this level of detail is de facto a galaxy, so I don't fear I will run out of destinations.
It will be without a doubt my go-to game for the foreseeable future and beyond, I am also excited for SW Squadrons too for a different pace, and will probably continue to play Warships, albeit a lot less than now.
As for other games... I have a few single player campaigns I won't finish be next Tuesday, so my backlog will grow a bit.
Welp...finished Horizon Zero Dawn and absolutely loved all of it from start to finish. I did it initially on story mode...since that's my preference in general. I decided to go through it again on hard difficulty since I found the story mode a bit too easy for the majority of the combat...consequently, I'm now being well slapped by the infernal robotic chickens and have taken to hiding in the shortest of grass hoping they don't see me at all.
It's turned from being a gung-ho 'beat robots to scrap' game into 'I'll just hide here to avoid being breakfast' horror story. Surprising how the higher difficulty levels make it play more like Alien:Isolation than Assassin's Creed
The Ai robots go from being slightly suspicious then back to whatever they were doing to attacking every rock, plant and anything that looks like it's moving or was moving when they hear you or see you...even to attacking other robots, since I saw some fighting amongst different types now and then. It's really like playing a totally different game. Shooting at them even at a distance just guarantees that you've got some hurt coming your way...if you survive it.
It's turned from being a gung-ho 'beat robots to scrap' game into 'I'll just hide here to avoid being breakfast' horror story. Surprising how the higher difficulty levels make it play more like Alien:Isolation than Assassin's Creed
The Ai robots go from being slightly suspicious then back to whatever they were doing to attacking every rock, plant and anything that looks like it's moving or was moving when they hear you or see you...even to attacking other robots, since I saw some fighting amongst different types now and then. It's really like playing a totally different game. Shooting at them even at a distance just guarantees that you've got some hurt coming your way...if you survive it.
Last edited:
The second playthrough of the story is almost as good as the first in different ways. After knowing what you know when you finish Rdr2 story the second time you catch all these little things you had no context for the first time and it opens the story up much more. I highly recommened a second run.
Also been playing some oldies. Darkest Dungeon and Civilization 4 - Colonization with the We the People mod. The mod has come a long way and really turns it into the true Colonization sequel I wanted. 10/10 for the mod, they've been working on it for years and its still going.
I've been playing Colonization for thirty years and the Civ 4 version fell flat and I wasnt a big fan. We the People mod (Formerly Religion and Revolution mod) changes all that.
Love it! I'm not even a fan of the genre, but that particular game is just fantastic IMO. And you can use your Tobii eye control for flashlight, item selection etc.I'm downloading Dying Light from Steam since it was on sale for a tenner...looks pretty good for a zombie game...anything that'll last me till Tuesday
Great atmosphere, and it's the only game so far that actually gave me real world vertigo. I look forward to DL 2 which should release sometime next year.
Nice to know...I noticed it had overwhelmingly positive reviews on Steam...not that I pay too much attention to them...but the enhanced version for a tenner looked a good buy.
^^
This pretty much. RDR1 was so well written and executed that it's become a timeless classic (the way San Andreas is).
BTW: I never fully understood John's encounters with The Strange Man when I played the original. It wasn't until Arthur encountered that creepy, unfinished painting while revisiting the old gang hideout at Shady Belle. The way the painting changed depending on when Arthur looked at it. The fact that Arthur was diagnosed with TB shortly afterwards. And then everything clicked with John's encounters in RDR1.
The unfinished subject in the picture was one of the creepiest foreshadowing in any game I've played to date. Because The Strange Man literally hunted down Every. Single. One. Of the Hunters aka what I like to call the violent members who were the killers/enforcers in Dutch's gang by the end of the prequel in RDR1. And sadly, his sh*te list also included Abigail (because her hands were bloody in committing at least one murder we know of in RDR2).
The only gang members who escaped The Strange Man unscathed were the Gatherers i.e. the likes of non enforcers like
little Jack (for being too young and innocent),
Pearson (more sneaky than a murderer),
Charles (more noble than vicious killer),
Sadie (because she was all about the revenge game),
Rev Swanson (for finding redemption),
Mary Beth (sharp intelligence under that quiet demeanor despite being one of the gang's prostitutes. But definitely not a killer),
Trelawny (the most likely gang member who found a way to con The Strange Man and convince him to quit stalking him), and
meek little Tilly---with her humble but noble 1 bat wing contribution to the camp chest
The only loose end that seemed to escape the Strange Man was Karen. Does anyone know what became of her fate? I believe she was last rumored to be hanging out in that rundown hovel village. The one between the Bayou Nwa and St. Dennis.
I haven't found Karen yet in the epilogue...found most of the others. I didn't know about the picture at Shady Belle until you mentioned it...I'll go back and have a look now^^
This pretty much. RDR1 was so well written and executed that it's become a timeless classic (the way San Andreas is).
BTW: I never fully understood John's encounters with The Strange Man when I played the original. It wasn't until Arthur encountered that creepy, unfinished painting while revisiting the old gang hideout at Shady Belle. The way the painting changed depending on when Arthur looked at it. The fact that Arthur was diagnosed with TB shortly afterwards. And then everything clicked with John's encounters in RDR1.
The unfinished subject in the picture was one of the creepiest foreshadowing in any game I've played to date. Because The Strange Man literally hunted down Every. Single. One. Of the Hunters aka what I like to call the violent members who were the killers/enforcers in Dutch's gang by the end of the prequel in RDR1. And sadly, his sh*te list also included Abigail (because her hands were bloody in committing at least one murder we know of in RDR2).
The only gang members who escaped The Strange Man unscathed were the Gatherers i.e. the likes of non enforcers like
little Jack (for being too young and innocent),
Pearson (more sneaky than a murderer),
Charles (more noble than vicious killer),
Sadie (because she was all about the revenge game),
Rev Swanson (for finding redemption),
Mary Beth (sharp intelligence under that quiet demeanor despite being one of the gang's prostitutes. But definitely not a killer),
Trelawny (the most likely gang member who found a way to con The Strange Man and convince him to quit stalking him), and
meek little Tilly---with her humble but noble 1 bat wing contribution to the camp chest
The only loose end that seemed to escape the Strange Man was Karen. Does anyone know what became of her fate? I believe she was last rumored to be hanging out in that rundown hovel village. The one between the Bayou Nwa and St. Dennis.
Just in case anyone is still plugging away in RDR2 and interested in finding those bits of trivia that have evaded you... this handy interactive map is very good. Beware of spoilers those who don't wish to see them
Last edited:
I didn't encounter any of this. Interested.^^
This pretty much. RDR1 was so well written and executed that it's become a timeless classic (the way San Andreas is).
BTW: I never fully understood John's encounters with The Strange Man when I played the original. It wasn't until Arthur encountered that creepy, unfinished painting while revisiting the old gang hideout at Shady Belle. The way the painting changed depending on when Arthur looked at it. The fact that Arthur was diagnosed with TB shortly afterwards. And then everything clicked with John's encounters in RDR1.
The unfinished subject in the picture was one of the creepiest foreshadowing in any game I've played to date. Because The Strange Man literally hunted down Every. Single. One. Of the Hunters aka what I like to call the violent members who were the killers/enforcers in Dutch's gang by the end of the prequel in RDR1. And sadly, his sh*te list also included Abigail (because her hands were bloody in committing at least one murder we know of in RDR2).
The only gang members who escaped The Strange Man unscathed were the Gatherers i.e. the likes of non enforcers like
little Jack (for being too young and innocent),
Pearson (more sneaky than a murderer),
Charles (more noble than vicious killer),
Sadie (because she was all about the revenge game),
Rev Swanson (for finding redemption),
Mary Beth (sharp intelligence under that quiet demeanor despite being one of the gang's prostitutes. But definitely not a killer),
Trelawny (the most likely gang member who found a way to con The Strange Man and convince him to quit stalking him), and
meek little Tilly---with her humble but noble 1 bat wing contribution to the camp chest
The only loose end that seemed to escape the Strange Man was Karen. Does anyone know what became of her fate? I believe she was last rumored to be hanging out in that rundown hovel village. The one between the Bayou Nwa and St. Dennis.
Edit: My apologies Mole. Gave you some gross misinformation. I mixed up the Shady Bell campsite with a shack called Bayal Edge. Stumbled across this during one of Arthur's trips through Bayou Nwa late in the game. The hut is NW of Caliga Hall. Everything about the identity of the Strange Man will become clear once you enter. The newspaper clippings is a creepy sideshow of all your player choices playing as Arthur. Fates of NPCs he opted to save or not (like Jimmy Brooks). The mysterious painting is in the center of the shack and is initially unfinished. But will progressively change and complete itself each time you visit. When I visited the shack with Arthur for shortly before he died, the painting was almost complete. It was complete when visiting it as John for a final time. That's when I finally realized who the subject was. And that's when I got the shock of my life. Made the mistake of glancing at the mirror beside the painting. Doing that caused the Strange Man to briefly appear BEHIND JohnI haven't found Karen yet in the epilogue...found most of the others. I didn't know about the picture at Shady Belle until you mentioned it...I'll go back and have a look now
Just in case anyone is still plugging away in RDR2 and interested in finding those bits of trivia that have evaded you... this handy interactive map is very good. Beware of spoilers those who don't wish to see them
John and I both bolted out of there at warp speed. And neither of us has bothered to return there since........Besides that, there was a whole bunch of wacky, creepy, and just plain insane content which you would likely never encounter if you're not the explorer type. Like
- that crazy hermit who lives in the tree north of Annesburg at the very top of the map
- The Braithwaite's secret
- the Gray's secret
- the Swamp people. Nuff said.
- the Witch's Cauldron shack north of E. Grizzlies. Which contains some great loot and that unique, strange potion within that Arthur can drink at his own risk......
- Running into that disturbing KKK night time ceremony which--depending on how charitable & social Arthur/John were feeling at the event--leads to an unmarked, sandbox side quest. Unless you either speak with the KKK Grand Dragon (NPC dressed in black) or end up looting his corpse, you'll NEVER unlock this hidden side quest. This NPC is easy to miss because of his black robes in the dark.
- that Hobbit like shack which lies below to the south of the mountain near Arthur's grave (if he dies with high honor). The roof has the Chelonian's secret symbol on it. You meet some of this cult's members in a side quest. There is also a unique tree in close proximity to the shack with writing on its trunk. This appears to be in reference to this cult. Similar to the mysterious unfinished painting at Beyal Edge, the words on the tree have a paranormal effect. They will disappear/appear depending on whether you approach/leave the tree . I never figured out the mystery behind this encounter, let alone ever gained access to the interior of that Hobbit House.....
- that COLOSSUS, CRAZY FRANKENSTEIN ROBOT THAT NUTTY INVENTOR RELEASED ON THE WORLD WHILE PLAYING AS ARTHUR. If you follow its tracks up to the very top of the highest mountain outside Colter, you'll find the creature listlessly sitting there in the deep snow. And all it keeps sadly repeating is "Papa". And literally sounds like it's cyring. That ranks up there in the top 10 creepiest experiences in the game next to the swamp people,
- that entire family in the woods which was killed by a silent, deadly gas leak inside their cabin. The scene with their still fresh bodies was quite disturbing. You would miss this scene completely if you're not into being nosy and poking around inside of NPC homes.
- Revisiting Shady Belle as John has its perks and nostalgic rewards
- the Meteor house and meteor shower (around 2am in that open field beside the house)
- the Strange Statues puzzle quest and the Whiskey tree
- the alchemist house (which will explode as you approach it). It's the only location where you acquire the explosive slug pamphlet in the game
- that shipwreck in Clemens Point, Lemonye where you get a collector bottle of Aged Pirate rum
- a dozen or so extremely unique, and customized weapons you can collect throughout the game. Some of which need to be collected at certain times of the game.
- The gunslinger's card challenge side quest (which nets you several unique weapons that count towards the custom gun collection). You'd miss triggering this side quest if you fail to speak with the NPC at that 2nd saloon in Valentine.
- an unintentional glitch (which R* may have patched by now) which allowed you to acquire a 2nd copy of Mica's unique pistol. This is one of the weapons for the custom collection guns in the game). I got my 1st copy during that firefight at the camp of that Irish O'Driscoll mobster Dutch was feuding with. Arthur ran out of ammo and rushed one of the O'Driscoll NPCs. He accidentally disarmed him with a sucker punch, then fired a wild shot (which missed killing anything in the vicinity) Then he turned tail and ran for his life towards the gang side past Mica. The pursuing NPC switched to attacking Micah and surprised him with a melee attack.Micah dropped his revolver in the kerfluffle which Arthur immediately picked up. So I ended up getting TWO custom revolvers to dual wield from Micah by the end of that final boss fight at Mt Hagen with John.
- Tracking/hunting/skinning special exotic jungle animals like Parrots etc. Which can only be accomplished while in the Chapter where Arthur and the gang are on Guarma. You'll never get the chance to complete the game's animal Compendium if you don't accomplish that during that part of Arthur's life.
- the UFO sighting around 2 am hovering above that creepy cultist shack at Hani's Bethel. Where the mass murder-suicides occurred several decades before. This is even creepier because it was based on a real life event where over two dozen people in the cult of Heaven's Gate and their founder Marshall Applewhite (Google this satanic lunatic nut job on Wiki) committed mass murder-suicide in California. It was inspired by the close passage of Hailey's Comet in 1997, which captivated the imaginations of the public worldwide. The cult believed they would be able to join a spaceship in Halley's comet and be swept away to paradise. The aftermath of this horror show sucked the oxygen out of the news cycle for nearly a month all over the nation. R* captured the essence of the aftermath horror in the game. And you'd miss this if you didn't follow up on the rumor and gossip you encounter from NPCs in the area
- the dinosaur bones collection hunt for that female archaeologist. I hadn't realist how intensive this collection expedition would end up being. It literally took the entire game. You literally have to wait before you start to play as John before you can finish collecting all of them for a unique weapon. This is on of the dozen or so special, custom weapons you can collect as Arthur/John throughout the game
- that man-bear-pig-trophy-specimen-thing inside that upstairs Dr. Moreau lab in that abandoned house outside Lemonye
- that shipwrecked sailor you stumble across on the beach outside the gang's camp near Flatneck station. He appears to be the long lost suitor of Bonnie MacFarlane who John extensively interacts with in RDR1. R* screwed up the timing of the events in this side quest backstory. The MacFarlane ranch in RDR2 shouldn't have been shuttered up like it was due to the timeline of events in RDR1.
- That Ragarok type Nordic burrow where you find the only Nordic armor and weapon in the game (another special custom weapon)
- Bizarre crop circle outside Annesburg where another special weapon can be found
- Helping that poor widow located way up on the NE part of the map. If you forget to return to her cabin to help her in a 3rd follow up encounter (where Arthur teaches her how to shoot and survive), then she'll be dead the next time you encounter her playing as John. But will be alive if you miss encountering her as Arthur and meet her as John. There's also a sandbox quest you can follow up on after speaking with her. Where you can seek out that male NPC stalker (who's got dark intentions for this widow) who's located outside Emerald Ranch in the Heartlands
- the sculptor who committed suicide by hanging himself off the scaffold at that infamous face sculpture in the mountain cliff side. You'd miss insight into the backstory if you fail to loot his corpse before it fall. Seems his sweetheart ended up dumping him for that french Charlatan you helped escape St. Dennis
- special scenes which have stages that progress throughout the game as you advance each chapter of Arthur's life e.g. the Union railroad camp and Appleseed Timber lumberyard sandbox side quests. The Appleseed event is linked to another progressive event. The father at Castor's Ridge who is building a home with his 2 sons outside Valentine. Arthur can act as broker between the timber company and these NPCs. And make decent gold on the side providing the timber foreman with food supplies from town.
- the serial murder mystery and side quest outside Valentine
- that giant skeleton high up in the mountains at Big Valley. Which you would miss depending on what direction you're walking/riding along that narrow trail
- too much stuff to mention here. If I hadn't bought the game guide with the Ultimate edition, I would've likely missed out on some 70% of hidden and subtle content (treasure maps, world encounters, unmarked side quests based on time of day, puzzles, collectibles, hunting mini game legendary animals etc etc). And that's coming from a dedicated PvE gamer who believes gaming immersion is a journey not a destination.
Last edited:
Here's a great video of the interior of the Bayal Edge Shack. Painting is unfinished when visited as Arthur (foreshadows his death). Painting however, appears to be complete in the Epilogue when visited as John (more foreshadowing of John's impending death and indicative of the Reaper's final design for the gang members becoming clear). Notice the mirror to the immediate left at 7:14. Looking into this once the painting is complete will cause the Strange Man to appear behind John. He permanently disappears if John looks back over his shoulder. And the creepiest is how he continues to stalk John in his misdeeds like at 12:24
Source: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dGs_7pOa5eY
And here's the disturbing compilation of John's encounters with The Strange Man in the sequel RDR1. It's chilling how in the final encounter, John is literally and figuratively standing on the very spot where he (and Abigail's) graves will be. The Strange Man makes a point of commenting on this by saying "this is a fine spot. See you around cowboy"
Source: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oNg7VPR5uF4
And here's the disturbing compilation of John's encounters with The Strange Man in the sequel RDR1. It's chilling how in the final encounter, John is literally and figuratively standing on the very spot where he (and Abigail's) graves will be. The Strange Man makes a point of commenting on this by saying "this is a fine spot. See you around cowboy"
I just downloaded Endless Space 2 (huge Steam sale). I might give it a go tomorrow while downloading MSFS 2020.
As for ED, I haven't played "traditional" ED since getting my carrier. I left the Bubble to become a Rock Hermit, occasionally logging in for an hour or so every other week to explore a few systems in my new neighborhood.
As for ED, I haven't played "traditional" ED since getting my carrier. I left the Bubble to become a Rock Hermit, occasionally logging in for an hour or so every other week to explore a few systems in my new neighborhood.
Just pledged to Dual Universe, gotta wait until Aug 27 for the beta release to pledgers.
One of the things I loved about RDR2 was Arthur's journal...it's well worth a read through
Dying Light is Awesome, my fave tactic was jumping on a transit van and sing the the "blankety blank" theme tune but singing "choppety chop" instead!!I'm downloading Dying Light from Steam since it was on sale for a tenner...looks pretty good for a zombie game...anything that'll last me till Tuesday
Night time is HELLA scary though!!Rally Cross in PC2 is excellent!Moved on to Rallycross in PC2, and I found my spirit-team.
Well I've got well and truly stuck into Prey '17 and I didn't realise at first how much of a system shock homage it would be!!!! Smegging excellent game!! So much to explore and find, I like the way you can think outside the box to solve a puzzle and get some "treats".
This dev announcement has inspired emotions
Second to orgasm
THANK YOU FDev for adding much needed realism and immersion to the game. The degree of emergent gameplay that will evolve from this new survival element feature alone will be invaluable to exisiting game mechanics i.e. likes of SAR, FR, player agency in mining/trading/exploration/combat tactics, PvE and PvP on foot/in SRV planetary exploration, CGs and 'Goid stalking Xenophiles & Xenophobes alike.
Heck, even the PvP ganker/griefer faction will be worshiping FDev after this update next year
#MindBlown
edit:
UPGRADED PLANETS SOME OF WHICH MAY HAVE RNG VEGETATION
NMS MANUAL HELD SAMPLER & ANALYSIS TOOL
REVAMP OF EXPLORATION CAREER TO PERMIT SALE OF ALIEN DATA BY SAMPLER TOOL TO STAR & PLANETARY PORTS
ICE WORLDS
ICE WORLDS WITH CRYOVOLCANISM
UPGRADED ROCKY PLANETS WITH ACTIVE VOLCANIC SEAS
Imagine being an explorer in the black for the last 30 real life calendar days. Your Asp X is bloated with 1st time discovery finds of alien plant life. Made your last scan before heading back to the nearest 100ly+ starport. You're heading back to your ship when you get jumped by some really ed off 'Goid. Who didn't care for the fact you were trespassing near one off their shipwreck artifacts. You engage them on foot, with no back up support for hundreds of light years. Will you survive this deadly encounter and become a reknown explorer? Or will you be making the walk of shame to visit the dreaded rebuy screen?
Last edited: