The Video Game Thread: What are you Playing?

[Endless Flight]

Happy birthday. Also. Jealous. (it isn't even the cost, I still haven't been able to FIND a PS5.)

Thank you. She told me to find one on eBay and stop ducking around. I used the make an offer feature and wheeled and dealed with someone for a decent price and free shipping.

 

[opaopajr]

I'm exploring old DOS games of my yesteryear! I missed out on so many text-based adventures!

 

[3rik]

I'm exploring old DOS games of my yesteryear! I missed out on so many text-based adventures!

I have very fond memories of The Mask of the Sun and Transylvania.

 

[zanshin]

Currently playing Solasta Crown of the Magister after it went on offer on steam


A nice 5e update of the classic top down view approach. Uses 3 dimensions for cover and movement in a way I haven't seen implemented before.
Very nice GUI. Relatively limited material for it at the moment , but they are working on a dungeon editor, so if that takes off I can see shedloads of material being available from modders.

Recommended if you enjoy 5e D&D and XCOm style tactical turn based play.

 

[CRKrueger]

Currently playing Solasta Crown of the Magister after it went on offer on steam


A nice 5e update of the classic top down view approach. Uses 3 dimensions for cover and movement in a way I haven't seen implemented before.
Very nice GUI. Relatively limited material for it at the moment , but they are working on a dungeon editor, so if that takes off I can see shedloads of material being available from modders.

Recommended if you enjoy 5e D&D and XCOm style tactical turn based play.

Interesting, thanks.

 

[CRKrueger]

Right now I've been doing the Halo Master Chief Collection. I finished Halo: Reach and am working on Halo: Combat Evolved, the only one I've previously played.

 

[zanshin]

Further to my post about Solasta, the editor is now fully functional so there is a fair amount of mod scenario content for it.

They do not have a full 5e licence so the archetypes for character creation are modified versions of the 5e ones - but seem balanced and cool.

 

[Isator Levi]

Aw jeez, they're releasing Xenoblade 3 two months earlier than they initially said. That's only going and tightening the window for me to finish off the original game (already pushed behind Elden Ring).

And it looks siiiiiiick.

 

[Nobby-W]

Thinking of getting Hyperbolica but I get terrible motion sickness from first person games. I even had to stop playing The Stanley Parable after about 10 minutes because of it.

 

[Voros]

Thinking of getting Hyperbolica but I get terrible motion sickness from first person games. I even had to stop playing The Stanley Parable after about 10 minutes because of it.

Too bad, I absolutely love The Stanley Parable.

 

[Dammit Victor]

As always: Jupiter Hell. I unlocked the secret Inferno! difficulty level and have been toying around with Endless Inferno. I almost made it to the fourth floor earlier today.

Been poking around at Phantasy Star Online: Blue Burst (private servers) and Phantasy Star Online 2: New Genesis, and I just downloaded Idola Phantasy Star Saga on my phone. There are also some scratch-built fangames that I want to have a look at... after I've played through Phantasy Star IV. Have to say, now I've found fan translations of the JP-only titles... this deep dive might sustain me for quite awhile. Which is good, because the search for tabletop fangames hasn't been treating me very well.

 

[Brock Savage]

Playing Phoenix Point. It's like XCOM but better. It's 50% right now and comes with a lot of DLC. Unlike Solasta which gets a "meh" rating I wholeheartedly recommend this one. It's pretty tough so I keep it on during work and play it like a chess game.

 

[3rik]

My wife is taking a break from Elden Ring and playing Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin.

 

[AsenRG]

This week, I scored 100/100 submissions with a single character in MMA Rivals (the game only allows you 100 battles with a single character, then his career ends and you go to the next one). Just wanted to announce it!
I'm now working on my 100/100 KO run...
BTW, the real challenge* in both is to avoid TKOing the opponent before you achieve the submission/KO. There are opponents that I'd feed healing potions to, if it was an option!

*I recently played online with the author of the game and won, which is the closest I've come to "beating Gygax at D&D"!

 

[Nobby-W]

Got the spaceship off in 1246.

 

[Nobby-W]

Got the spaceship off in 1206. In practice, that's about 8 turns earlier than the previous record, as turns are ticking over by 5 year chunks until you build the first component of the spaceship, at which point they start going by 1 year increments. Beating 1000AD would mean pulling another 20 turns or so out.

 

[Giganotosaurus]

Got the spaceship off in 1206. In practice, that's about 8 turns earlier than the previous record, as turns are ticking over by 5 year chunks until you build the first component of the spaceship, at which point they start going by 1 year increments. Beating 1000AD would mean pulling another 20 turns or so out.

Which civ are you playing?

 

[Nobby-W]

Which civ are you playing?

Freeciv 2.6 - Classic rules, hard difficulty, 8 players (me + 7 AI), wrap N-S & E-W, non-isometric tiles, poles separate continents.

 

[RangerRupert]

I'm exploring old DOS games of my yesteryear! I missed out on so many text-based adventures!

If you figure out how to beat Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, let me know ...

 

[Nobby-W]

 

[Necrozius]

I started playing Metroid Dread. Got it for my son for his birthday.

I was an avid player of Super Metroid as a kid, and wasn’t really impressed with the look of Dread in the initial teasers.

Playing the game, I’m very impressed. The washed out dark areas are in specific zones: the game is colorful otherwise. It is very challenging but not any more than previous games in the franchise (to me, anyway). I’m amused that some popular game bloggers were complaining about the difficulty when my 10-year old and his peers are able to overcome the challenges.

I’m liking it a lot so far!

 

[Brock Savage]

Phoenix Point is really good, a solid 'A' in the F-S scale. It's an unforgiving strategy game with turn-based combat where you command the last Delta Green cell (with the serial numbers filed off) in 2047 during humanity's extinction event at the hand of cosmic horrors. If this sounds up your alley, I recommend buying the game even at full price (something I rarely do).

I am playing on Veteran (normal) difficulty and it's challenging. If you're doing a blind playthrough (and you really should for maximum enjoyment) you can expect a lot of "ooh, I wish I knew that when I started" moments. I've restarted three times so far with no regrets.

I get strong Eldritch Horror vibes from the gameplay loop. You have to aggressively stay on top of constant crises while exploring, trading, researching, building, and growing your squads. The time pressure is constant and the "doom counter" is the human population which decreases continuously. The moment you think you have it handled the game throws more complications at you. I love it!

I won't give any spoilers but if you are playing blind I recommend turning off DLC for your first playthrough.

 

[thebigh]

Phoenix Point is really good, a solid 'A' in the F-S scale. It's an unforgiving strategy game with turn-based combat where you command the last Delta Green cell (with the serial numbers filed off) in 2047 during humanity's extinction event at the hand of cosmic horrors.

What turned me off X-COM, aside from the frequent bugs and unskippable animations, was that it was so easy to get into an unwinnable state through no fault of your own right at the beginning, and without any real way of knowing it.

Your base has too few steam vents, or they're placed too awkwardly to get any useful adjacency bonuses? Permafucked.

You prioritise correctly but RNG bullshit ensures you still don't get enough scientists to keep up technologically? Permafucked.

Multiple frisbees emerge from a landed UFO three months into the campaign and splat your whole squad? Well, you get the idea.

I've been looking for a turn-based squad game like X-COM but without the incessant bullshit for a while now. Does Phoenix Point at least play fair?

 

[Lundgren]

What turned me off X-COM, aside from the frequent bugs and unskippable animations, was that it was so easy to get into an unwinnable state through no fault of your own right at the beginning, and without any real way of knowing it.

Your base has too few steam vents, or they're placed too awkwardly to get any useful adjacency bonuses? Permafucked.

You prioritise correctly but RNG bullshit ensures you still don't get enough scientists to keep up technologically? Permafucked.

Multiple frisbees emerge from a landed UFO three months into the campaign and splat your whole squad? Well, you get the idea.

I've been looking for a turn-based squad game like X-COM but without the incessant bullshit for a while now. Does Phoenix Point at least play fair?

That's why I still play the version from -94. Fix so I can assign equipment so I don't have to change it for each mission, give me to option to assign who's going through which gate when storming a base, and they wouldn't even have to upgrade the graphics for me to buy it at full price.

 

[The Convenient Skill]

The original X-COM is a thing of beauty, when gameplay was more important than graphics.

My brothers and myself spent days playing that game, multiple times.

I should look out for it, but at the same time I know I don't have the time for it. I'd be better off adapting it to miniatures play.

 

[Brock Savage]

What turned me off X-COM, aside from the frequent bugs and unskippable animations, was that it was so easy to get into an unwinnable state through no fault of your own right at the beginning, and without any real way of knowing it.

I've been looking for a turn-based squad game like X-COM but without the incessant bullshit for a while now. Does Phoenix Point at least play fair?

At no point in my 90 hours of playing Phoenix Point have I felt unfairly screwed by RNG. Every time I have failed has been due to my own poor decisions.

That said, I hesitate to say that Phoenix Point is fair. The path to victory can be frustratingly opaque. You will have to make a lot of mistakes before figuring out the best course of action. I cannot overstate this enough.

• You are frequently called upon to make important time-critical decisions without knowing all the facts. Often the only way you figure out the best decision in a certain situation is after making the wrong decision, if that makes sense.
  • For example, it can be difficult to discern whether research projects are a waste of time or lead to game-winning tech. There are some good early-game weapons that are unlocked with research that seems completely unrelated Arthron Autopsy (shotgun) Mindfragger Autopsy (grenade launcher)
• The Doom Clock is constantly ticking, enemies frequently upgrade, and crises arrive on the regular. A few bad critical decisions in the early game will initiate a slow, relentless death spiral.
• Things often don't work they way you might expect based on experience from similar games.
• The strategy layer of the game takes hands-on experience to figure out because there's a lot to unpack with very little direction given. There are multiple paths to victory but they require a solid understanding of all the mechanics first.

 

[The Mad Hatter]

I wish, I had played the original X-COM games when they came out. Sadly didn't have a computer in 94. I tried them out, after playing X-COM Enemy Unknown. Just couldn't get into them.
I have the same issue with some of the early crpgs. Stuff like Bard's Tale and some of the early SSI Gold Box games (The Krynn ones).

About Phoenix Point. I played it about six months after it came out. There was a lot to like, such as the action economy for example. But it just didn't really grab me. It felt overall a bit bland to me. Maybe I should grab some of the dlcs and try it again.
But I'm currently spending all my gaming time on Elden Ring, so it will have to wait.

 

[Voros]

Phoenix Point looks right up my alley, I got addicted to X-COM Enemy Unknown, etc. I have the original game on Gog but haven't played it yet. I find older video games either has great, minimalist design that stands the test of time or superclunky UI that makes them really hard to play for modernday.

There is a 'deluxe' Stanley Parable with new content! Will play this right away once I complete or take a break from Elden Ring.

 

[thebigh]

That said, I hesitate to say that Phoenix Point is fair. The path to victory can be frustratingly opaque. You will have to make a lot of mistakes before figuring out the best course of action. I cannot overstate this enough.

If I lose because of making a bad decision that's fine. What's not fine is finding out on turn 200 that my game is unwinnable because I didn't prioritise the correct obscure combination of research projects on turn 15. Any game that pulls these cheap stunts isn't one I want to play.

 

[Brock Savage]

If I lose because of making a bad decision that's fine. What's not fine is finding out on turn 200 that my game is unwinnable because I didn't prioritise the correct obscure combination of research projects on turn 15. Any game that pulls these cheap stunts isn't one I want to play.

Thankfully, I can't think of any modern games that waste player time like that.

 

[EmperorNorton]

Got in on the Overwatch 2 beta. The changes to the game are honestly really awesome. Unfortunately, I still run into the same problem as I've always had with the game: Literally no one at my skill level has any concept of how to play the damned game. I get that I'm older and my reflexes are shot. But how hard is it to group up and use high ground and learn where to defend points and how to attack as a team.

 

[Brock Savage]

Hey guys, how many saves do you maintain when you are playing a difficult strategy game? I am absolutely astonished people will rawdog a difficult strategy game with a single save and maybe a quicksave. I do 3 saves for big decision points and quicksave like a motherfucker. Bunny does 6 (!). If the learning curve is steep I plan on restarting at least once after I get the hang of things.

 

[Giganotosaurus]

Hey guys, how many saves do you maintain when you are playing a difficult strategy game? I am absolutely astonished people will rawdog a difficult strategy game with a single save and maybe a quicksave. I do 3 saves for big decision points and quicksave like a motherfucker. Bunny does 6 (!). If the learning curve is steep I plan on restarting at least once after I get the hang of things.

I usually do 1 main save, a quick save and use autosaves if I need to go back a bit. My quick saves are usually before I declare war on someone whose strength I'm fuzzy on. Lately I've been playing CK2 and I'll save when I have an old dynasty member with a lot of fabricated CB's. If they die I reload and start the war to claim them. Otherwise I just keep trying to fabricate more.

 

[chuckdee]

I do three- usually two save slots and an autosave.

 

[Brock Savage]

Phoenix Point early game tips for anyone having a hard time getting started in Veteran difficulty. There are no spoilers or game-breaking strategies, just fundamentals for the early game. There is still plenty to figure out on your own.

Spoiler: Phoenix Point early game basics

• Combat
  • Breaking LoS > cover
  • Speed is king
  • ALWAYS free aim
  • 90% of combat is good positioning
  • Your dudes can't move thru each other!
• Snipers are your early game carry but assault are the backbone of a squad
• Invest most of your points in SPEED and WILL, quick aim for snipers and dash for assault
• Resist the urge to dual class until level 6 or 7 and invest those points in speed and will.
• Assault + dash + shotguns
• Put a sniper helmet and assault legs on your heavy then give them a grenade launcher
• Grenades are good for stripping armor from enemies
• Research haven recruitment protocols ASAP
• Start working on a 2nd squad and airplane ASAP
• Trade with other havens to keep your resources flowing
• Haven defense and destroying Pandoran lairs will increase resources & faction rep
• When you restore Phoenix bases do just enough that you can access the entire globe. Try to prioritize bases with research & fabrication
• Try to have fabrication and research x4 by day 22 or so

 

[Voros]

Phoenix Point early game tips for anyone having a hard time getting started in Veteran difficulty. There are no spoilers or game-breaking strategies, just fundamentals for the early game. There is still plenty to figure out on your own.

Spoiler: Phoenix Point early game basics

• Combat
  • Breaking LoS > cover
  • Speed is king
  • ALWAYS free aim
  • 90% of combat is good positioning
  • Your dudes can't move thru each other!
• Snipers are your early game carry but assault are the backbone of a squad
• Invest most of your points in SPEED and WILL, quick aim for snipers and dash for assault
• Resist the urge to dual class until level 6 or 7 and invest those points in speed and will.
• Assault + dash + shotguns
• Put a sniper helmet and assault legs on your heavy then give them a grenade launcher
• Grenades are good for stripping armor from enemies
• Research haven recruitment protocols ASAP
• Start working on a 2nd squad and airplane ASAP
• Trade with other havens to keep your resources flowing
• Haven defense and destroying Pandoran lairs will increase resources & faction rep
• When you restore Phoenix bases do just enough that you can access the entire globe. Try to prioritize bases with research & fabrication
• Try to have fabrication and research x4 by day 22 or so

Sounds similar to XCOM in many respects.

 

[zanshin]

Hey guys, how many saves do you maintain when you are playing a difficult strategy game? I am absolutely astonished people will rawdog a difficult strategy game with a single save and maybe a quicksave. I do 3 saves for big decision points and quicksave like a motherfucker. Bunny does 6 (!). If the learning curve is steep I plan on restarting at least once after I get the hang of things.

Generally 1 as I finish playing, plus autosaves. I occasionaly save before a big battle in the Total War games.

If I find out I made an early bad decision I will usually just restart the campaign to try to apply whatever I learned.

The Groundhog day approach.

 

[Giganotosaurus]

Happy 20th Anniversary Morrowind!

 

[Voros]

 

[Isator Levi]

Think I messed something up in Elden Ring. Bit demoralizing.

Wouldn't be so bad if going straight into New Game +, but I have other things to focus on.