What other games are we all playing?

[Juniper]

Had another go at Planet Zoo last night, since they released the big patch yesterday. I was finding the game speed made it literally unplayable, and they've added a slider for animal ageing at least.

It's better no doubt, but I'd still prefer a slower overall time setting. Why a chill-out park management game has to be played at breakneck speed or in pause mode I have no idea.

Also, and this is funny, I finally tried RDR2 Online. It's funny, because if you've followed my posts at all, you'll know my opinion of online games. It's actually OK so far... completed the intro, and I'm now left to figure out what I want to be in this incredible virtual world R* have built. Plus, I can actually play as Juniper - a woman!

Beyond that, still stuck on FM 2020. The mighty Heart of Midlothian FC have just won their third successive league title, and the Champions League as well.

 

[Chris Simon]

Nyet!

I wonder if Frontier is planning on emulating Wargaming....

I don't see any evidence of that. Do you?

 

[clivewil]

I'm trying to get into Witcher 3 again (gave up ~15 hours in last time).

I love the books, I'm excited about the Netflix series starting on Friday, but the games just don't seem to click with me for some reason...

i can relate, i played a few hours of it but never got back to it again - i always meant to, and i feel real guilty for ignoring what many claim is a real gem of a game... soon, i promise!

 

[Stigbob]

Pixel dungeon, since I'm on my holls with a naff laptop and may have burned out on ufo enemy unknown finally after three decades.

 

[jasonbarron]

I have so many game's languishing in my library that I almost feel guilty. I keep saying that I'm going to dive back into HOI IV but getting distracted before I get around to it.

 

[rootsrat]

Star Citizen
RDR2
Phoenix Point (what a game!)
The Outer Worlds

Can't remember last time I've logged in to Elite to play it properly. It's either doing stuff for my video tutorial series or squadron management.

 

[jasonbarron]

Star Citizen
RDR2
Phoenix Point (what a game!)
The Outer Worlds

Can't remember last time I've logged in to Elite to play it properly. It's either doing stuff for my video tutorial series or squadron management.

RDR2 is an amazing open world adventure game. I'm in love with that one for sure.

 

[rootsrat]

RDR2 is an amazing open world adventure game. I'm in love with that one for sure.

It didn't really awe me to be honest. It's too much of a Witcher/Skyrim rip off

Frankly I don't understand the hype. It's a really good game but for me personally nowhere near the hype it created. I enjoy playing it and I am hoping for a good storytelling (it's Rockstar after all), but I honestly don't see why people claim for it to be so innovative and amazing. Just another open world game with good bits inspired by other similar games.

 

[jasonbarron]

It didn't really awe me to be honest. It's too much of a Witcher/Skyrim rip off

Frankly I don't understand the hype. It's a really good game but for me personally nowhere near the hype it created. I enjoy playing it and I am hoping for a good storytelling (it's Rockstar after all), but I honestly don't see why people claim for it to be so innovative and amazing. Just another open world game with good bits inspired by other similar games.

Comparing it to Skyrim? Ouch.
I've played pretty much every open world game out there including huge amounts of time with the Witcher and Skyrim and I think RDR2 has surpassed them by almost every possible measure. Just the western theme alone makes it stand tall in a see of high fantasy knock-offs. The sheer amount of detail in RDR2's world is almost mind boggling, the writing is the best I've seen, the inclusion of lifestyle elements sells the environment in a way no other open world game even attempts except for Kingdom Come (another candidate for best in show imo) and the visuals are unparalleled. Plus, given the almost unique western theme, I'll take the gameplay mechanics provided any day of the week over the same tired high fantasy tropes we see everywhere else. How's that for hype?

 

[rootsrat]

Comparing it to Skyrim? Ouch.
I've played pretty much every open world game out there including huge amounts of time with the Witcher and Skyrim and I think RDR2 has surpassed them by almost every possible measure. Just the western theme alone makes it stand tall in a see of high fantasy knock-offs. The sheer amount of detail in RDR2's world is almost mind boggling, the writing is the best I've seen, the inclusion of lifestyle elements sells the environment in a way no other open world game even attempts except for Kingdom Come (another candidate for best in show imo) and the visuals are unparalleled. Plus, given the almost unique western theme, I'll take the gameplay mechanics provided any day of the week over the same tired high fantasy tropes we see everywhere else. How's that for hype?

Well, the setting is a niche for video gaming, yes. It's a nice break from fantasy stuff (although Witcher is nowhere near high fantasy, quite the opposite with it's lack of clear division of good and evil, dual morality of characters etc.). The camping system in RDR2 is more or less the same as Camping mod for Skyrim, Fallout or any other game of that type.

More sophisticated missions were done in the Witcher before, as opposed to "kill the bandits in this camp", "collect 10 flowers" or "get rid of rats in the cellar".

"inclusion of lifestyle elements sells the environment in a way no other open world game even attempts" - yes, that's a stand out definitely.

Writing - I need to play more to make an opinion of that, but knowing previous R* games I'm sure it's going to have a great story, characters and everything else needed for great narrative.

Visuals... I don't know man. Everyone is hyping this, but I don't see it. It's a nice looking game, but nothing really outstanding IMO.

I do enjoy and appreciate the realistic and immersive approach, I love that in games. But it's nothing new either, I've see all of this before. Card games, domino, need to sleep, eat and drink, camping, taking care of your mount etc. There is nothing innovating in this game, that other games didn't do before, either via standard gameplay or modding.

So no, still no hype for me

 

[jasonbarron]

Well, the setting is a niche for video gaming, yes. It's a nice break from fantasy stuff (although Witcher is nowhere near high fantasy, quite the opposite with it's lack of clear division of good and evil, dual morality of characters etc.). The camping system in RDR2 is more or less the same as Camping mod for Skyrim, Fallout or any other game of that type.

More sophisticated missions were done in the Witcher before, as opposed to "kill the bandits in this camp", "collect 10 flowers" or "get rid of rats in the cellar".

"inclusion of lifestyle elements sells the environment in a way no other open world game even attempts" - yes, that's a stand out definitely.

Writing - I need to play more to make an opinion of that, but knowing previous R* games I'm sure it's going to have a great story, characters and everything else needed for great narrative.

Visuals... I don't know man. Everyone is hyping this, but I don't see it. It's a nice looking game, but nothing really outstanding IMO.

I do enjoy and appreciate the realistic and immersive approach, I love that in games. But it's nothing new either, I've see all of this before. Card games, domino, need to sleep, eat and drink, camping, taking care of your mount etc. There is nothing innovating in this game, that other games didn't do before, either via standard gameplay or modding.

So no, still no hype for me

Fair enough. I would opine, though, that TW games are as high fantasy as it gets; elves and dwarves & assorted fairies everywhere you look. I do like it, don't get me wrong, but it's cliched at this point. I bet the series is going to be trash (Henry Cavil as Geralt? I think I'm going to be ill...).

 

[Agony_Aunt]

Star Citizen

Duuuuude....... oh no.

How much are you in for commando?

 

[askavir]

Comparing it to Skyrim? Ouch.
I've played pretty much every open world game out there including huge amounts of time with the Witcher and Skyrim and I think RDR2 has surpassed them by almost every possible measure. Just the western theme alone makes it stand tall in a see of high fantasy knock-offs. The sheer amount of detail in RDR2's world is almost mind boggling, the writing is the best I've seen, the inclusion of lifestyle elements sells the environment in a way no other open world game even attempts except for Kingdom Come (another candidate for best in show imo) and the visuals are unparalleled. Plus, given the almost unique western theme, I'll take the gameplay mechanics provided any day of the week over the same tired high fantasy tropes we see everywhere else. How's that for hype?

I still haven't played RDR2, mostly because the PC port seems a bit dodgy and I'm waiting for a few patches to try it. I do believe it to be an exceptional game which I am very eager to play, RPGs being my favorite genre.

Regarding Skyrim, Witcher, Kingdom Come Deliverance and I'll add the first Dragon Age to this list, they are all games I absolutely loved to bits, and all for very different reasons. I agree they all (except KCD) fall into the usual tropes of the high fantasy (witcher perhaps a bit more low fantasy - at least compared to skyrim and dragon age), but still they are absolutely fantastic games.
I can't even compare them with one another, as Skyrim for instance has ultimate immersion, a beautiful and huge setting, near infinite replayability with a loose go on your own adventure style, but has very poor stories, characters and writing in general.
Witcher on the other hand has quite meh gameplay, but absolutely fantastic stories and characters, and an intricate living world. Dragon Age has excellent writing, even if a bit cliche, great characters, the gameplay is ok but not great, the lore is fantastic, and overall a very engaging adventure.
KCD is the most original, I loved playing the role of a simple pawn (at least for the most part), the detailing of the world and how everything you do, have and wear matters, the story even if a bit slow paced was fantastic and so believable, felt like playing an epic movie, not just a videogame.

I loved each of these games mostly for extremely different reasons.

What I meant to say is that all these games have different flaws yet they are all fantastic, I am unable to enter any phallus measuring contest between any of them, I hold them all dear in my vault of fond memories, as they all provided me with thousands of hours of joy. While I do believe RDR2 will enter this very select list, I believe it will not demerit the others, even if it is an absolute masterpiece.

 

[Ralph Vargr]

I don't see any evidence of that. Do you?

ARX.

 

[Juniper]

I still haven't played RDR2, mostly becuase the PC port seems a bit dodgy and I'm waiting for a few patches to try it. I do believe it to be an exceptional game which I am very eager to play, RPGs being my favorite genre.

Just an FYI, and notwithstanding the rest of your excellent post, there have now been a few patches. You should try it. It's pretty rock solid[*] for almost everyone now... and I've had no issues since day one.

[*] Disclaimer: I accept no responsibility for anything you might encounter should you decide to pull the trigger (pun intended), given the near infinite variety of hardware combinations that it is expected to run on.

 

[Chris Simon]

ARX.

ARX in Elite and Dubloons in WoWs are incomparable, though.
Dubloons are P2W mechanic at its worst. You get lootboxes, ships, signals, camos,... You literally can pay your way through the game and paying for the game ACTUALLY makes it better. And everything is incredibly expensive (Even before the PR fiasco). It's not as bad as WoT but only just.

ARX are inconsequential in comparison, they are cosmetic and if anything, they made the cosmetics cheaper and accessible to broader audience. They are a convenience upgrade over the previous cosmetics store.

And most importantly, while WG are getting demonstrably worse at monetizing the games and aren't even trying to hide it, FDev are very clear about everything and there is no indication that it might change.

 

[rootsrat]

Fair enough. I would opine, though, that TW games are as high fantasy as it gets; elves and dwarves & assorted fairies everywhere you look. I do like it, don't get me wrong, but it's cliched at this point. I bet the series is going to be trash (Henry Cavil as Geralt? I think I'm going to be ill...).

I think the series will be good, considering they are based on the books, rather than the games, the fact that both Tomek Bagiński (Platige Image) and Andrzej Sapkowski (the author of the books) were working on the series and that Cavil is apparently a massive Witcher fan - again the books, not the games

We'll see.

Also, Witcher series is far from being cliche. Read the book if you get a chance.

How much are you in for commando?

If you're asking how much I've spent on it, it's around 15 GBP There used to be SC+SQ42 key attached to some video cards in Poland a few years back. People were selling the codes on Polish ebay for peanuts.

SC is not actually that bad - at least it's much better than it used to be. It's playable. Most of the gameplay is still on foot, space flight is boring as hell (it's basically auto pilot), there is still only 1 system in the game... but somehow I keep coming back to it more than Elite these days. Pretty sure it will end as soon as I get bored with the current content, which there ain't much of tbh.

Elite... I think I'm totally burnt out at this point. Lack of any substantial content for veteran players, uncertainty as to what the "new era" is supposed to be, constant delays of stuff that interests me, the bugs, forgotten/uderdeveloped features... I think I've had enough - for a while at least.

 

[EUS]

I think the series will be good, considering they are based on the books, rather than the games, the fact that both Tomek Bagiński (Platige Image) and Andrzej Sapkowski (the author of the books) were working on the series and that Cavil is apparently a massive Witcher fan - again the books, not the games

We'll see.

Also, Witcher series is far from being cliche. Read the book if you get a chance.



If you're asking how much I've spent on it, it's around 15 GBP There used to be SC+SQ42 key attached to some video cards in Poland a few years back. People were selling the codes on Polish ebay for peanuts.

SC is not actually that bad - at least it's much better than it used to be. It's playable. Most of the gameplay is still on foot, space flight is boring as hell (it's basically auto pilot), there is still only 1 system in the game... but somehow I keep coming back to it more than Elite these days. Pretty sure it will end as soon as I get bored with the current content, which there ain't much of tbh.

Elite... I think I'm totally burnt out at this point. Lack of any substantial content for veteran players, uncertainty as to what the "new era" is supposed to be, constant delays of stuff that interests me, the bugs, forgotten/uderdeveloped features... I think I've had enough - for a while at least.

Should've found someone that looks like the videogame Roland, not freakin' cleft-chin superman. Don't get me wrong, i like cavil as SM.
Wouldn't even need to be an actor, because c'mon, it's a witcher series.

 

[jasonbarron]

Should've found someone that looks like the videogame Roland, not freakin' cleft-chin superman. Don't get me wrong, i like cavil as SM.
Wouldn't even need to be an actor, because c'mon, it's a witcher series.

Mads was the obvious choice.

 

[Agony_Aunt]

If you're asking how much I've spent on it, it's around 15 GBP There used to be SC+SQ42 key attached to some video cards in Poland a few years back. People were selling the codes on Polish ebay for peanuts.

SC is not actually that bad - at least it's much better than it used to be. It's playable. Most of the gameplay is still on foot, space flight is boring as hell (it's basically auto pilot), there is still only 1 system in the game... but somehow I keep coming back to it more than Elite these days. Pretty sure it will end as soon as I get bored with the current content, which there ain't much of tbh.

Elite... I think I'm totally burnt out at this point. Lack of any substantial content for veteran players, uncertainty as to what the "new era" is supposed to be, constant delays of stuff that interests me, the bugs, forgotten/uderdeveloped features... I think I've had enough - for a while at least.

Ah, so you're just flying around in a starter ship then...

As for ED, i got a bit bored, so went back to my roots and headed off into the black again. Its tiding me over until perhaps FCs and other things that are apparently coming.