What Are you Playing Now & General Game Discussions

[Stewy]

(09-21-2023, 04:33 PM)XenoMorph Wrote: I would just recommend For any Large open world game that allows you to save freely.   To save Often and in rotating slots   So you never have to back track tooo far if something like this happens..

I tend to make a save before/after each mission and before potential quest dialog.

I had a similar issue in AC Valhalla and lost about 5-6 hours  (1-2 trying to force it to work) and the 3-4 finding a save before i broke it and catching back up.

**Funny enough i picked up this habit cause of Morrowind lol

You don't have to tell me.  I currently have 20 saves.  Just started rotating them.  I have 4000+ hours in FO4.  Im no fool.  haha

[XenoMorph]

CyberPunk 2.0 Free Update is out now.... The Phantom Liberty DLC i believe hits on the 26th.
Sonic Frontiers Next Free Update (i believe its free at least) hits on the 28th.


**

UK CMA has provisionary passed the ABK MS deal. (ubisoft will hold the cloud rights to ABK games for 15 years)

This long saga likely coming to a close next month

[*Synric*]

(09-21-2023, 04:24 PM)basballguy Wrote: That mantis stuff is a life saver....I accidentally did that quest at like level 5 or 6 and the impact it has on CO2 and carry weight relieved a huge burden for me because I like to pickup every damn thing I can to sell it.  I'm sometimes rocking a larger mass than what the ship cargo can hold.  

However, I pivoted back to BG3 to finish Act 3 while the NVDA performance issues continue to get ironed out.  

When I went to do the Mantis my first run through at an early level I seen a level 30 guy at the entrance and left. I hadn't realized at that point the enemy levels don't mean anything. I started over a few days ago and did it at level 10. I'm level 17 right now with 4 solid producing outposts and I just used my first skill point in weapons lol. 

(09-22-2023, 10:10 AM)XenoMorph Wrote: CyberPunk 2.0 Free Update is out now....  The Phantom Liberty DLC i believe hits on the 26th.
Sonic Frontiers Next Free Update (i believe its free at least) hits on the 28th.


**

UK CMA has provisionary passed the ABK MS deal.     (ubisoft will hold the cloud rights to ABK games for 15 years)

This long saga likely coming to a close next month

I was a cyberpunk 2077 fan right out of the gate. It's a really solid rpg/fps cross. 

[XenoMorph]

(09-23-2023, 10:54 AM)Synric Wrote: When I went to do the Mantis my first run through at an early level I seen a level 30 guy at the entrance and left. I hadn't realized at that point the enemy levels don't mean anything. I started over a few days ago and did it at level 10. I'm level 17 right now with 4 solid producing outposts and I just used my first skill point in weapons lol. 


I was a cyberpunk 2077 fan right out of the gate. It's a really solid rpg/fps cross. 

Cyber punk is definitely in my Pile of "To Play" games lol

[Millhouse]

I played through Starfield and have mixed feelings. Just in case not everyone has finished I won't go into any details that can contain spoilers to stories.

Please keep in mind I am a Bethesda fan having played Morrowind, Fallout 3, Oblivion, Fallout NVegas, Skyrim, Fallout 4, and Fallout 76 (which I still play).

I'll just say for my first run through which was launch vanilla, I give my overall playthrough a 6/10.

So why the 6/10 for one the most hyped up games from a gaming company I've been loyal to for 20 years now?
- I didn't care for the main storyline at all, I won't say why exactly due to spoilers.
- One of the major faction quests (the Freestar one) got bugged and I didn't properly save before that and the quest got stuck on a character stuck in a loop. So never did finish it because I wasn't going to go back and play 3 hours worth before that where my last good save was.
- Another major faction questline was one of the most boring ones I have ever played in any game. Fly to this place, talk two lines, fly all the way back, rinse repeat. Then the final parts of it relied on being stealthy which was a broken mess. This quest was a 2/10 for me, never will do it again.
- The ship vendor at the main port in New Atlantis disappeared about halfway thru the playthrough. Just gone, vanished, never saw him again.
- I never once used the weapon/armor modding mechanics. I thought this part of the game from Bethesda was very poorly implemented overall considering how big it was in previous games.
- Outposts, never used. Maybe they are needed for XP exploits or for playing the game on very hard or something, but overall pointless for my first playthrough.
- The AI is still classic Bethesda AI. It was great 15 years ago but got could use a complete 2.0 overhaul for their next game.

So this was my vanilla launch experience, and I won't be playing it again anytime soon. For me to go back it will need some patches for sure, but also a lot of mods from the modding community like mods for the star map. Even then I don't know how much re-playability it will get like the other games did. I just couldn't get immersed into the "world" is what it comes down to. Maybe it's just too big for it's own good for me.

[XenoMorph]

October is another Big Line up of Games... Are you grabbing any?

With september on its last legs lets look at octobers big titles.
AC Mirage. 10-4
NHL24 10-6
Forza Motorsport 10-10
Roblox for Playstation 10-10
Lords of the FAllen 10-13
Sonic Superstars 10-17
Spider man 2 10-20
Super Mario Bros wonder 10-20
Metal Gear Solid Collection V1. 10-24
Alan Wake 2 10-27
Resident evil village on iOS?? 10/30


there are more but these are likely the big titles for most. i dont think ill be grabbing anything this month itself unless BG3 drops on xbox or i get more Birthday money than expected lol.. But of these titles.. Sonic superstars/ Alan wake/ Lords of the fallen im interested in.. AC Mirage ill wait for a big discount Forza i might check out on gamepass But perfer the Horizon series myself

[basballguy]

(09-27-2023, 11:31 AM)XenoMorph Wrote: October is another Big Line up of Games...   Are you grabbing any?

With september on its last legs lets look at octobers big titles.
AC Mirage.   10-4
NHL24   10-6
Forza Motorsport 10-10
Roblox for Playstation 10-10
Lords of the FAllen 10-13
Sonic Superstars 10-17
Spider man 2 10-20
Super Mario Bros wonder 10-20
Metal Gear Solid Collection V1. 10-24
Alan Wake 2 10-27
Resident evil village on iOS?? 10/30


there are more but these are likely the big titles for most.    i dont think ill be grabbing anything this month itself unless BG3 drops on xbox or i get more Birthday money than expected lol..  But of these titles.. Sonic superstars/ Alan wake/ Lords of the fallen  im interested in..  AC Mirage ill wait for a big discount Forza i might check out on gamepass But perfer the Horizon series myself

Always a fan of Forza games so I'll probably pick that up.  Can't see me playing anything beyond BG3 and Starfield for the rest of the year though. 

As for BG3, I'm getting burned out on the video game romancing being shoved in my face.  I've literally stopped communicating with my companions because all they want to do is bang me.  Game must've been written by some horny ass devs

[XenoMorph]

(09-27-2023, 02:11 PM)basballguy Wrote: Always a fan of Forza games so I'll probably pick that up.  Can't see me playing anything beyond BG3 and Starfield for the rest of the year though. 

As for BG3, I'm getting burned out on the video game romancing being shoved in my face.  I've literally stopped communicating with my companions because all they want to do is bang me.  Game must've been written by some horny ass devs

I always worry about games that Market sex/romancing as a main part of the game.     I get a lot of people love it (or are extremely thirsty)  *i tend to instantly think the game must be lacking somewhere if this is what they are advertising

Its just not something i care about in games. its much better in real life lol.    I know my In-game charisma isnt high enough for all the attention i get in any of these types of games lol.    Plus sleeping with companions can make the journey forward awkward for everyone lol.

[XenoMorph]

So Some industry news. (Mostly Bad it seems.)

Right now Embracer is laying off devs and looking to sell off some of its assets.

Some of Sony's exclusive titles that had in the works have been cancelled those studios (3rd party i believe) are laying off devs.

Epic Games is laying off 900ish Devs selling and divesting a few things.. (fall guys team was 100% layed off)

Jim Ryan has announced he's retiring from Sony as of March 31st 2024

Sega is Restructuring its UK assets and as a results Layoffs are occuring @ Creative Assembly. and their looter shooter game was cancelled.

Game pass arrives on Meta 3 devices in December (not sure on others which if not on 2 ill be a little upset lol)

There is likely more im missing.

[Stewy]

(09-27-2023, 02:53 PM)XenoMorph Wrote: Its just not something i care about in games. its much better in real life lol.    I know my In-game charisma isnt high enough for all the attention i get in any of these types of games lol.    Plus sleeping with companions can make the journey forward awkward for everyone lol.

I really think Bioware handles it exceptionally well.  There are people who treat ME like a dating sim (or so it seems) and of course others who don't care, but it isn't lost on the crew that there are shenanigans a foot, and Bioware handles it by throwing in comedy mostly in the form on unsolicited advice from other companions.  I mostly just romance someone for the heck of it, but I can take it or leave it.  But then again the dating isn't the focus of the game for 95%+ of the fans.  haha

[Stewy]

(09-28-2023, 03:47 PM)XenoMorph Wrote: So Some industry news. (Mostly Bad it seems.)

Right now Embracer is laying off devs and looking to sell off some of its assets.

Some of Sony's exclusive titles that had in the works have been cancelled those studios (3rd party i believe)  are laying off devs.

Epic Games is laying off 900ish Devs selling and divesting a few things.. (fall guys team was 100% layed off)

Jim Ryan has announced he's retiring from Sony as of March 31st 2024

Sega is Restructuring its UK assets and as a results Layoffs are occuring @ Creative Assembly. and their looter shooter game was cancelled.

Game pass arrives on Meta 3 devices in December (not sure on others which if not on 2 ill be a little upset lol)

There is likely more im missing.

What the hell is happening in the industry!?!?  Gaming is as much or more popular that it has ever been and yet layoffs are coming left and right.  What kind of AI generated crap are they going to try and sell us in the future!?!?!

[XenoMorph]

(09-28-2023, 04:52 PM)Stewy Wrote: What the hell is happening in the industry!?!?  Gaming is as much or more popular that it has ever been and yet layoffs are coming left and right.  What kind of AI generated crap are they going to try and sell us in the future!?!?!

Nvidia just got raided by authorities as well...


I think some of this is do to the artificial inflation a lot of these companys got during the covid lockdowns.     Digital media took a huge upswing for a few years and is leveling out.

Some of this is Epics bad investments (i guess fortnite is starting to decline but with so many using the EU engines for games they got money coming in)

No idea whats going on with Sega

im less excited about the AI movement than i was for NFTs lol

[XenoMorph]

More layoffs abound

EA Cut some of DA Dreadwolf team i heard probly QA
Naughty Dog dropped 25 QA testers TLOU Factions MP indefinitely delayed
TellTales laying a large number of devs off
Kotor Remake likely cancelled or at least indefinitely delayed
Team 17 had layoffs
Volition closed it doors *this is older news*


****
CDPR is working on a live action Cyberpunk Show or something.
PS+ is adding a movie service ~150 movies with your sub.

Reports are saying MS is set to finally close the ABK Deal next Friday. Friday the 13th...

****

Update

Redfall just released a patch to give a 60fps option if thats something you were waiting on.

PS Naughty Dog has announced its next game is....... The last of us 2 remastered..

[Stewy]

(09-26-2023, 10:34 AM)Millhouse Wrote: I played through Starfield and have mixed feelings. Just in case not everyone has finished I won't go into any details that can contain spoilers to stories.

Please keep in mind I am a Bethesda fan having played Morrowind, Fallout 3, Oblivion, Fallout NVegas, Skyrim, Fallout 4, and Fallout 76 (which I still play).

I'll just say for my first run through which was launch vanilla, I give my overall playthrough a 6/10.

So why the 6/10 for one the most hyped up games from a gaming company I've been loyal to for 20 years now?
- I didn't care for the main storyline at all, I won't say why exactly due to spoilers.
- One of the major faction quests (the Freestar one) got bugged and I didn't properly save before that and the quest got stuck on a character stuck in a loop. So never did finish it because I wasn't going to go back and play 3 hours worth before that where my last good save was.
- Another major faction questline was one of the most boring ones I have ever played in any game. Fly to this place, talk two lines, fly all the way back, rinse repeat. Then the final parts of it relied on being stealthy which was a broken mess. This quest was a 2/10 for me, never will do it again.
- The ship vendor at the main port in New Atlantis disappeared about halfway thru the playthrough. Just gone, vanished, never saw him again.
- I never once used the weapon/armor modding mechanics. I thought this part of the game from Bethesda was very poorly implemented overall considering how big it was in previous games.
- Outposts, never used. Maybe they are needed for XP exploits or for playing the game on very hard or something, but overall pointless for my first playthrough.
- The AI is still classic Bethesda AI. It was great 15 years ago but got could use a complete 2.0 overhaul for their next game.

So this was my vanilla launch experience, and I won't be playing it again anytime soon. For me to go back it will need some patches for sure, but also a lot of mods from the modding community like mods for the star map. Even then I don't know how much re-playability it will get like the other games did. I just couldn't get immersed into the "world" is what it comes down to. Maybe it's just too big for it's own good for me.

SPOILERS!!!!!
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---I'm at the end of my first PT.  Level 52, and still have one of the main factions to complete, which I am doing now.  I'm guessing based upon your description that it is the one you hated, but as I am a stealth build, I haven't had any issues.
---Main Story - I agree.  Bethesda's stories are never good, and usually just passable, but they completely punted on the main story by tying it into the NG+.  I get it.  They were trying to up the replay value, BUT they completely over looked that normal Beth games don't need FORCED replay value.  Instead of being intrigued to continue, it ruined the game for me.  I never expected to love the Beth story, but essentially there is no story IMO.
---Personally I couldn't help but use the weapon/armor mod mechanic.  As a stealth build I needed a rifle that was just right and I had to hold on to whatever Chameleon armor I could get and improve it.  Maybe wasn't really necessary as the Stealth mechanic is nerfed to hell compared to FO4, so my build was not entirely satisfying.
---Outposts - agreed - useless.  They had a near perfect  Settlement scheme in FO4 and ruined it.  Not only are OP unnecessary for literally any reason, they are not fun and they are not connected to share resources.  Not sharing RSS from outpost to outpost is a killer for me and a no go on using the mechanic.  Saw online people with the same opinions and others saying, they're great for cash.  CASH!!?!?  (see below)
---Who has a cash problem!?!?!?  I have a maxed out modified Class C starship that money can buy at Piloting 4 and Ship Design 2, and 1.1 million credits sitting around collecting dust.  Money has no purpose but to buy RSS to research and build upgrades and to build a ship.  Note I modified my ship at least 5 times, and each very expensive.  I did enjoy mod'ing my ship once I discovered how things fit together.

Beth won't be getting a solid investment from me.  I'll stick with gamepass, and won't be paying full price.  I doubt I will play NG+.  What's the point really?

[Stewy]

(10-06-2023, 09:27 AM)XenoMorph Wrote: More layoffs abound

EA Cut some of DA Dreadwolf team i heard probly QA
Naughty Dog dropped 25 QA testers   TLOU Factions MP indefinitely delayed
TellTales laying a large number of devs off
Kotor Remake likely cancelled or at least indefinitely delayed
Team 17 had layoffs
Volition closed it doors *this is older news*


****
CDPR is working on a live action Cyberpunk  Show or something.
PS+ is adding a movie service  ~150 movies with your sub.

Reports are saying MS is set to finally close the ABK Deal next Friday.    Friday the 13th...

****

Update

Redfall just released a patch to give a 60fps option if thats something you were waiting on.

PS Naughty Dog has announced its next game is.......  The last of us 2 remastered..

In regard to EA/Bioware QA folks.  This wasn't new.  It was announced with the other layoffs that the QA staff had unionized and were negotiating with Bioware on a new contract.  With the layoffs of long time staff Bioware announced at the time that they would not be renewing the QA staffs contract.  The recent update was essentially associated with the unionized QA staffs original contract running out.  So while the long time employees were laid off immediately the QA staff worked till the end of the previously negotiated contract which was up at the end of September and which is what all of the recent news (and misinformation about "new" layoffs) was about.

[XenoMorph]

(10-10-2023, 09:53 AM)Stewy Wrote: In regard to EA/Bioware QA folks.  This wasn't new.  It was announced with the other layoffs that the QA staff had unionized and were negotiating with Bioware on a new contract.  With the layoffs of long time staff Bioware announced at the time that they would not be renewing the QA staffs contract.  The recent update was essentially associated with the unionized QA staffs original contract running out.  So while the long time employees were laid off immediately the QA staff worked till the end of the previously negotiated contract which was up at the end of September and which is what all of the recent news (and misinformation about "new" layoffs) was about.

that makes sense...   

It was probably just getting reposted with all the other things happening so it caught my eye again.
***
Ubisoft has now indefinitely delayed X-Defiant    (failed certification earlier in the year)
Unity CEO is out after that pricing thing they just had


***

I havent had much time for gaming lately... Just played a little remnant 2, Starfield, And downloaded Gotham knights to check out

[Stewy]

(10-10-2023, 10:34 AM)XenoMorph Wrote: that makes sense...   

It was probably just getting reposted with all the other things happening so it caught my eye again.
***
Ubisoft has now indefinitely delayed X-Defiant    (failed certification earlier in the year)
Unity CEO is out after that pricing thing they just had


***

I havent had much time for gaming lately...  Just played a little remnant 2, Starfield,    And downloaded Gotham knights to check out

One site posted an article about the contract ending and it being associated with the Bioware layoffs.  Then the known click bait sites   (Screenrant/Gamerant/etc.) ran with it quoting the original nothing article and when I drilled down into it, I discovered it was just associated with the old "union contract negotiations failed" announcement that came out around the same "layoffs" announcement, and unsurprisingly none of the sites did their due diligence and it became "NEW" and DA fans panicked all over again because of a nothing burger.  It's why I hate sites like Gamerant and refuse to click on them....ever.

[XenoMorph]

Sony announced the new PS5 Slim model... This is the new overall model that is replacing the current ps5 digital/disc skews...

This new model has a detachable disc drive... (so if can buy digital then get a drive later if you choose)

https://blog.playstation.com/2023/10/10/new-look-for-ps5-console-this-holiday-season/

Price seems a little high for a slim model 3 years in but i think the digital version got a little extra SSD space
and the Vertical stand is sold separately.. ($30)


Out this Holiday.

overall i think its a smart design to have a detachable (Easily replaceable) disc drive. Not sure there is any new value if you already own a Ps5 though

Guessing it will need different Faceplates.


***

Halo Season 5 hits 10/17 Season 5 adds a new Mode Extraction (halo 4 mode) and will add Firefight before the seasons end. Also Flood cosmetics - hopfully that means a return of the flood soon.

Diablo 4 Season 2 also hits 10/17 They are basically reworking the game from the ground up to balance and correct things. fixing the foundation so they can build off of it going forward.

[CKwi88]

Finished all 3 routes of AC 6. Great game. Classic FromSoft "high learning curve, high skill ceiling" sort of game. "S" Ranking all missions is probably more of a chore than I care to do, but might do it anyway.

My wife got herself a Facebook Meta Oculus Quest 3 VR headset thingamajig. She seems to like it. Just played the Fruit Ninja game. Thing seems cool. I've always though VR was kind of gimmicky a la Wii motion controls, but we'll see.

[basballguy]

(10-11-2023, 01:35 PM)CKwi88 Wrote: My wife got herself a Facebook Meta Oculus Quest 3 VR headset thingamajig. She seems to like it. Just played the Fruit Ninja game. Thing seems cool. I've always thought VR was kind of gimmicky a la Wii motion controls, but we'll see.

I think it’s great if you have the space for it. I haven’t used mine in a couple months but i sank probably 50 hours into a roguelike called In Death: Unchained

Some of the boxing sims are fun too.