Looking at some screens of this and I love that they used construction signs as a boundary for the play space. Very real Montreal vibes.
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Started playing Sekiro yesterday. Itās my first real attempt at playing a soulslike, and Iām finding it way more accessible than DS1, partially because thereās no stamina meter and also because the stealth and movement mechanics make the world feel way more dynamic and interesting because you have a new way to engage with it. The combat feels good, especially when you break posture and land a deathblow, and the fact that thereās a proper training NPC is a godsend.
Iām finding the death mechanics to be very counter intuitive though, and I donāt really understand why that system is there. It feels strange that youād decide to explicitly punish the player for dying in a type of game that kind of requires it, and I donāt know what the post-resurrection run back to an idol to heal is supposed to add to the gameplay loop. Also I know Iām never going to use any quick items except for the gourd and the pellets, my ADHD brain is not capable of remembering I have three other items in it when I also have the prosthetic tools which have a more visible combat use.
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Playing Monster Hunter: World with my friend group. Had an epic fight with the Rathalos last night, featuring a three way fight between the dragon, an Anjanath and then Tobi Kadachi (which makes me laugh when saying since it sounds like a regular human name). The fight ended at the top of the ancient forest in itās nest, at which point a landslide occurred sweeping the creature off itās feet and down the slope falling down to the very bottom of the map. I didnāt know the game had natural hazards like that. Probably the most epic encounter Iāve yet had in this game.
Also played the demo for Loop Hero - which I really liked. Itās sort of like Dungeon Keeper meets a tower defense game and one of those awful mobile games in which you build bases and tap on them every once in a while.You basically build the loop or world around your hero, in such a way as to maximise resources they obtain as they walk around whilst not overwhelming the hero with too many dangers. Itās really cool. It sucked me in for at least two hours.
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So Iāve been playing the Hitman games Hitsmas style with my friends, weāve been using the tool on itch I mentioned in an earlier reply, but weāve since been interested in starting the Hitman III levels, so I wrote a quick script to do so:
Itās really dang basic though, and one thing I realized is that my friends and I are generally pretty good at navigating the old maps and could want some additional challenge in the future, and also that some maps like Berlin donāt really mesh with the traditional Hitsmas rules.
So Iām now writing my script to allow an additional argument for how many wildcards you can be assigned. That way we can modify the difficulty of missions and for maps like Berlin or Colorado, instead of assigning target specific tasks it can just be ācomplete the mission while following 5+ wildcardsā
So far I have the following mission modifiers that are generic for any map:
Hide 5 bodies in one room.
Cannot use silenced weapons.
Complete the mission without using or carrying a briefcase (except taking an agency pickup out of a breifcase).
Poison 3 objects.
Choose starting location.
Throwables: Only lethal ones are allowed (no coins, bricks etc.).
Set off an explosion in a public area.
Do not turn off/disable any security cameras.
Kill a non-target in front of a target.
Exit the mission in your starting suit.
Cause an environmental accident (in addition to any target requirements).
One Save Scum.
Cause at least two explosions.
Turn on a radio.
So I figured Iād ask: Do yāall have any additional modifier ideas? Ideally they wouldnāt derail the mission too much, and some could be positive even.
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Iām not sure if you have seen this or not https://www.hitmaps.com/
Iāve been using it to figure out where certain items are for challenges, might be good reference material to determine what all is in a map so you can add them as parameters.
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I have used this from time to time! But mostly stick to the wiki as itās thorough enough and hitmaps can be a bit slow at times.
Since we are talking about Hitman, Iām playing Hitman 2 right now (because it was cheaper!) and itās my first time with one of the new games. Iām enjoying it quite a bit, trying to play on Normal difficulty (the middle one).
Iām curious what people think of the āmission storiesā? I like finding them, but I have mixed feelings about then being directly told where to go to execute that story. Do most people play with that on? (Can you even turn it off?)
My only randomizer recommendation as a noob is kill somebody with a funny item (fish, banana). I have no idea if that is always possible.
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The mission stories are a net positive in my opinion! I think they teach the player how to think about the spaces and how to identify opportunities and exploit them. I think theyāre pretty essential for IO as theyāre working in a AAA space and targeting a AAA audience. Most big games donāt expect anywhere near as much from the player as Hitman does.
That being said, you can turn them off! You probably should if youāre having mixed feelings about them. All of them are signposted really well even without the UI and narration prompts! You can start from looking over the Assassination Challenges to point you in the right direction. Youāll find everything else you need from notes or dialogue between NPCs.
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Every time I read āViktor Novikovā, I have a brief moment where I wonder what everyone has against the guy from Yuri!!! on Ice before it clicks.
Continuing my free trial with Game Pass experience, I decided to play Hellblade: Senuaās Sacrifice. Iād watched an LP before, so I knew the story, but both enjoyed and despised the gameplay in different parts. I found the environmental puzzles simple, but fun. Aligning loose beams of wood to make a little į is great. But the combatā¦ itās functional, but some of the extremely long, repetitive sequences in dark, small arenas were frustrating as hell - especially in the last third of the game. One of the few times, in my life, Iāve ever started cussing at a video game.
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Iām up to the third boss in Sekiro and now that Iāve got a better handle on the combat Iām starting to find my groove a little bit better. Iām still finding the death mechanics to be frustrating but Iāve got the rhythm there down, and Iāve just been grinding until I have enough money or exp to level/buy items and then spending it right before a boss so I can just go in and use my resurrections to keep learning them better.
I also found the transition between the outside of the castle with the rooftop combat and the nightjars a really funny contrast once you go inside and start having to deal with the really buttoned-up samurai dudes in way tighter quarters. It was such a shift in the way you have to think about combat, and then thereās that room that puts the nightjars and their flippy bullshit in a tight space instead of on an open roof just to fuck with you again.
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Iāve been playing Hitman 2, as noted up thread, and I did indeed figure out how to make the mission stories hold my hand a bit less. When it works, that feels really magical. The game is shockingly good at guiding you through without explicit waypoints. But finding how to initiate them can still be a bit frustrating. Often Iām pretty frustrated my first time through a level, and I imagine if I only played each level once through I would be quite disappointed by the experience.
But of course thatās not what you do! I donāt usually play through games twice, but I feel like Iām getting a micro second or third playthrough going back into each level. Hits some of the same brain tingles I imagine speed running would, as well. Itās very sick to plan a perfect route in and out, although I do feel the Escalations are more fun than story missions because the target isnāt so heavily guarded and can more easily be experimented with.
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Youāll definitely find the story mission targets can be isolated in several different ways as you become familiar with the maps and the target routes. I find the scouting and discovery aspects of the game to be very satisfying though so your mileage may vary. One pretty consistent way is to follow a target and find if they ever drink or eat something on their route that you could poison. Most maps have rat poison around in kitchen/staff areas, and many maps even have lethal poison somewhere. Or you could always bring some if youāve unlocked it in mastery.
Another is finding accidents you can trigger. Most targets usually have one or two spots where they idle that have some sort of potential accident you can cause like a chandelier or an exploding propane tank.
A lot of this is of course tied to how much youāre interested in doing the scouting though, definitely not for everyone, but I think the game is sort of like beautiful clockwork and I just like watching how the machine works so to speak.
Though if youāre feeling a bit more gutsy, I have found that the lethal poison syringe is really good for kills in slightly crowded spaces. The action is really short so there is a very small window for others to notice it, and because itās poison, it does not count against silent assassin if others see the target die. Iāve only recently started using it as I try to find more sketchy windows where I can kill a target, but itās been over preforming!
Anyways Iām glad youāre enjoying it and Iām always happy to answer any questions, though Iām not expert myself!
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I have been slowly chipping away at Hitman 3, and Iām having a blast. I play these games in a weird, methodical way where I play through each level once when I first get the game, then I play each level until I max out mastery in order. I like to plan out my challenges so that my last run in a given level is āSilent Assassin, Suit Only.ā Last night I did my last run for Dartmoor, which was an incredible experience. My plan was to start in the backyard, scale the manor, steal the intel, and then crush my target with the chandelier in her office. For the most part it went off without a hitch, which felt great! I really felt like I had mastered the level, and could anticipate basically every obstacle. The one thing I did overlook (I didnāt have anything to subdue or distract the guard in the office!) was resolved through that same mastery. These games can feel slow and frustrating at times, but when everything clicks theyāre unlike any experience Iāve had playing games!
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I am hoping to play through the game similarly. But I only have 1 - 2 playthroughs of the Hitman 3 maps, as Iāve decided before I can really dig into those I need to do the same for the Hitman 2016 maps (which Iāve played a lot of but didnāt have SASO or full mastery on most of them until now), and Iāve now hit a bottle neck as I decide whether to dive into Htiman 3 or wait for access to the Hitman 2 maps on PC (which Iāve underplayed). Iām still waiting, but Iām really excited to dive into the 3 maps (especially SASO runs)
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Warframe made a Valentineās Day event about donating to a bail fund operated by a drag queen who had her literal body literally stolen by literal capitalism.
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Lots of Hunt: Showdown, Learning a lot of Escape From Tarkov, and unfortunately I cannot shake League of Legends due to social ties.
Iām still playing XCOM 2 and Iām a decent bit into the new campaign Iām running and I was just thinking to myself āGee this sure isnāt as challenging as I wanted it, maybe instead of using the slightly increase pod size I should just use the one that instead doubles pod sizeā and what do you know I get a mission that was supposed to be a milk run that went wrong.
Guerrilla tactics come up and my two choices are either prevent a dark event that makes all overwatch shots miss advent units until it expires OR The Chosen each get their weaknesses removed. Not being able to use overwatch is a pain but The Chosen losing all weaknesses is potentially game ruining.
I deck out my 5 troops in some great unique armor that you canāt rebuild to my knowledge and give them some kitted weapons including a unique rifle. Leading them was one of my top soldiers, Lt. Tipah āBullet Saintā Mantara a self proclaimed āBulletmeisterā who had the ability to take various elemental shots with her gun.
The mission was to hack a terminal and wipe out the enemy, easy enough done that a million times. Things started out well we were across the street from the target and everyone was in pretty good positions and only a single enemy mech was visible. Mantara opens with an electrically charged shot taking the mech out in one hit I have about 4 turns left so I move the others in closer since no other enemies had come onto the screen. It was at this moment that things started to go bad. From around the corner stumbles the rest of the dead mech patrol consisting of a trooper and a stun lancer. Then to the north in walks another mech, a purifier, and a flame viper. From behind a priest, another mech and what I will call a psychic advent sniper with a jetpack pop. Things go from bad to worse when the next turn I gamble on a 57% to disorient all enemies on a hack and instead end up summing another squad of enemies. The psychic sniper jumps to a roof and uses their demoltion ability to completely expose one of my soldiers who is then immediately gunned down. The flame viper grabs my pistol wielding officer I was trying to level and is not only binding her but catching her on fire. At this point Iām trying to have Mantara take out as many as we can while I push the terminal with a very fresh ranger and have a sadly very disappointing anarchist who I didnāt realize only did 2 damage per grenade backing me up.
The ranger gets in close enough to pull a shot off on the flame viper freeing the officer who is then immediately set further on fire by the purifier and enters bleedout. The anarchist luckily also has a drone that takes care of the mechs but the priest and the psychic sniper are proving to be a real problem because not only do they have sustaining spheres when you drop them below 1 health but they also can put your soldiers in sustain. The ranger ducks into the building and does the hack on the last possible turn accomplishing the main mission goal but is taken out by the psychic jetpack sniper because it turns out the āimproved AIā mod really does work in making them play smarter and they flew them to a spot that gave them an advantage shot. Mantara gets stuck in a sustain and the anarchist gets wiped out for standing next to a car that the newly spawned in reinforcement wave shot. During all this a final pod has wandered in which had a muton in it who promptly shot at Mantara before she got sustained destroying all of her primary cover. So Mantara of course comes out of sustain on their turn before I can call an evac in and gets wiped out by everyone taking pot shots.
All told the loses were: 5 soldiers including one of my highest ranked, a unique gun, 2 superior hair triggers, superior laser sight, advanced scope, 3 unique armor sets, 2 modded armor sets, red screen rounds, and a vest.
Buy hey The Chosen didnāt lose all their weaknesses.
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So, after moaning a little about Polybius compared to Moose Life, Iāve actually ended up playing the former almost exclusively over the past week.
[This also led to my going down the rabbit-hole of opengl and vulkan injectors in linux: both Moose Life and Polybius donāt seem to run with frame-rate limiting in Proton (and apparently some people on Windows native also have this problem), so you need to apply some external program to hijack the OpenGL<->Polybius comms and lie to Polybius about when it can actually render a frame, artificially keeping it at 60fps (or whatever your actual refresh rate is).
If you donāt, the game runs happily at the maximum frames your GPU can render - which is about 400FPS on my system - and at a similar ratio of gameplay speed [so, about 400/60 = about 7x normal speed for me].
It turns out that this exposes issues in the newest Steam for Linux builds [and their associated Proton builds], as they try to provide extra security by running games in their own self-contained environment, so they canāt see the rest of your computerās filesystem. Of course, the software you need to use to lie to Polybius about framerate is also outside of this bubble, and therefore doesnāt work any more. (Thereās some active development from the Valve and Proton end on fixing this, but itās still not fixed for 32bit OpenGL applications, like Polybius.) ]
Gameplaywise, Polybius is quite interesting in that itās much harder to play in 2d [as I am, because I donāt have the money to buy VR stuff] than 3d/VR - thereās a lot of depth-perception cues that the design expects you to get from VR that you simply donāt have in normal 2d gameplay on a monitor. (Thereās an interesting video where Jeff Minter himself plays through the first 7 levels and comments on how itās supposed to be an easy game, blithely skirting around the fact that heās built it entirely for VR.)
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I am currently playing pokemon x game because In my time, I have played multiple Pokemon games and this one is easily number one. I know Iām a little late but for the people who still have a 3DS this is a must buy.
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After thinking about it for several years, considering it for several months and deciding to go for it in a matter of a few hours; I finally convinced myself to get an arcade stick!
I ended up getting a Mayflash F101, mostly because it was cheap (got it for less than $50!) but also because it seems to be highly a moddable stick. I havenāt truly put it to the test since I just got it earlier today but my initial impressions on using it is that I like how compact and hefty it is but the lever and buttons have a looseness to them that I was not expecting. If it continues to feel off after I start really playing games on it then I could look into swapping out some of the parts. Maybe then Iāll even see about some other aesthetic changes I can make to it too!
As far as what I want to play on it, I definitely want to give some fighting games a shot to see how different the play experience is on a stick vs the controllers Iāve used for years. Iām not currently playing anything right now but I might dip back into Street Fighter V, a game Iām actually decent at with a controller, to see how that goes. Iāve also been curious if playing on a stick would be more conducive to playing versus, anime or other sorts of combo heavy fighting games since I always felt that when I played those sorts of games with a controller I found myself fumbling with inputs and whatnot. So maybe Iāll finally get the latest version of UNDER NIGHT IN-BIRTH or try to get into Killer Instinct (2013) again.
Iāve also constantly told myself that I would refrain from becoming even more of an arcade / bullet hell / danmaku shooter kinda person until I got a stick, so I guess Iām gonna do that now too! I own a few on Steam that Iāve been meaning to actually play and thereās a solid list of other shooters that have caught my eye over the past few years that Iāve been dying to try too!
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