Joseph_Joestar wrote on 2022-11-23, 15:49:

If you have a reasonably fast CPU (around 1 GHz or more), you can use the S-YXG70 softsynth. But on slower machines, it's too laggy at the top settings.

I know. On the P166 MMX I first played it on, the XG wasn't a realistic option. The XGlite wasn't too bad with that old sound card ( I don't remember what it was, some SB Pro clone I think ). On the PIII 450 I have now, the XG70 is no porblem.

Joseph_Joestar wrote on 2022-11-23, 15:49:

On the other hand, I think the SBLive should be able to utilize the game's custom soundfont for the music, which provides the proper vocals in Sephiroth's theme.

This is why I said I never fully understood it before. I know the soundfont files are on the installation disc, and I know how to load them with AudioHQ. But I don't remember which bank is best to load them in, or if any other the other Creative supplied soundfonts are better. And I don't remember which driver to use in FF7 config, Creative software synth, SBLive Synth A, or synth B, or which MIDI data utilizes the fonts, GM, the AWE fonts, or XG MIDI. And now, for some reason, every time I reboot the computer, the soundfont data is reset to the default 4MB font and the memory allocation is reset to 12MB. Not sure why that's happening.

Hence in the FF7 config, I usually just select the Yamaha softsynth as the device and XG for the data since I know that works well.

Jaron wrote on 2022-11-23, 17:01:

The XGlite wasn't too bad with that old sound card ( I don't remember what it was, some SB Pro clone I think ).

If it was an ISA card, possibly a Yamaha YMF719 or something similar? Those did have XG Lite, which sounded pretty decent, but not quite as good as the S-YXG70 softsynth. On the other hand, the later PCI Yamaha sound cards (like my YMF744) do have full XG support, which sounds the same as the softsynth, just without the steep CPU overhead. But yeah, if you have a fast CPU, the S-YXG70 is definitively the easiest to set up.

This is why I said I never fully understood it before. I know the soundfont files are on the installation disc, and I know how to load them with AudioHQ. But I don't remember which bank is best to load them in, or if any other the other Creative supplied soundfonts are better. And I don't remember which driver to use in FF7 config, Creative software synth, SBLive Synth A, or synth B, or which MIDI data utilizes the fonts, GM, the AWE fonts, or XG MIDI.

On an AWE64 Gold which I used in the past, it was pretty simple. I had it set up like this and it would automatically load the game's custom soundfont and use it:

On a SBLive, I think similar settings might work as well, but it's been a while since I tried that.

Joseph_Joestar wrote on 2022-11-23, 17:15:

If it was an ISA card, possibly a Yamaha YMF719 or something similar? Those did have XG Lite, which sounded pretty decent, but not quite as good as the S-YXG70 softsynth.

Oh, heavens no. I never had anything that nice. It was a generic brand Sound Blaster compatible ISA card with AdLib synth. I think I upgraded it to a generic Ensoniq card around 1999. The only Yamaha computer stuff I had were YST-M10 speakers, which I thought were quite nice for the size. If you open the XG70 control panel, you can select between full Soft XG and XGlite modes. The XGlite lowers samplerate to 22k, limits polyphony to 32, and disables chorus and variation effects.

Joseph_Joestar wrote on 2022-11-23, 17:15:

On an AWE64 Gold which I used in the past, it was pretty simple. I had it set up like this and it would automatically load the game's custom soundfont and use it.

I know. And I've monitored it in AudioHQ as I run the tests. Sure enough, it loads a soundfont in Bank 001 when it does it, but frankly it sounds pretty bad compared to other configurations. But this is starting to derail the thread topic. I'll see if I can find a guide or tutorial on how best to configure Live soundfonts.

Well, after bouncing between I don't even know how many games over the last few months, I finally settled into Quake II: The Reckoning and finished it today.

Trophy shot

Whew boy did it start out rough for me. I had to beat the first unit 3 times. The first time I beat it, I then went and installed Quake II: Ground Zero, and it somehow invalidated my save. Kept saying it was for a different version of the game. Ok, fine, I repatch the game to 3.20, and n0 dice. So I start it again, and get hit with some well known level loading bug trying to exit to the second unit. A fan patch exists, but, guess what, it invalidates my save again. At least on my third time through, I knew it like the back of my hand and wiped it off my plate in about 15 to 20 minutes, were I to guess.

After that it was relatively smooth sailing. The level design was uninspired, but never so odious it discouraged me from continuing. The beefed up grunts made for more interesting fodder. A lot of the other beefed up enemies I barely noticed. I think the only new unit that felt downright unfair, or at least unfun, was the shielded, particle cannon wielding Gladiator. Those mother fuckers could one shot you, assuming you don't dodge their projectiles, and soaked damage to a preposterous degree. If you could bait them into their melee attack they weren't hard, but they were often placed out of range, or with enough other enemies around them, to make that unfeasible. Which at least pushed me to the default behavior of taking potshots at them and then dodging around corners. Which took for fucking ever given the 1,700 health the wiki says they have. Sounds about right. It doesn't help that these assholes were around every corner in the last few levels.

Ammo and health felt far more stingy too, but I appreciated the challenge of that at least. All in all a solid enough outing. At least as good as some of the extra episodes of Doom or Heretic. Although nothing ever reached the highs of an honest to god Romero level. Alas, by this point those days are long since passed.

Namrok wrote on 2022-11-24, 04:39:

Although nothing ever reached the highs of an honest to god Romero level. Alas, by this point those days are long since passed.

I found his "Sigil" episode for the original Doom fairly enjoyable. And that was released in 2019 IIRC.

From what I hear, he may be working on a similar bonus episode for Doom 2.

Just finished the new Monkey Island: Return to Monkey Island. Best modern game I have played. So well crafted and balanced. Great story, gameplay and sound. 10 out of 10

Finished GDI campaign of C&C: Tiberian Sun.

I previously had trouble enjoying the Allied campaign of Red Alert because I felt it was too fast paced and messy. I wonder did Westwood feel the same or was it just a design decision but damn did they do a hard 180 with Tiberian Sun, if Red Alert sometimes felt to me like IHaveADHDAndIJustDrankAGallonOfCoffeeAndEverythingIsHappeningAllAtOnce then Tiberian Sun was like s-l-o-t-h s-l-o-w-l-y- m-a-k-i-n-g i-t-s w-a-y a-l-o-n-g t-h-e t-r-e-e b-r-a-n-c-h.

And I loved it! Gone was the feeling of racing against the clock in every mission, Tiberian Sun is so slow paced that even the very few missions that do have time limit give ample time to the player, you never are in a big hurry and it just lets you enjoy the game. The difference between the two felt really jarring at first coming from RA, it felt like an eternity just to get a tiberium refinery built at first, everything happens so much slower here. A bit too slow in fact, even for me, but I rarely had a problem with that. But the folk who play RTS games for fast paced micromanagy clickiness will find only excruciating drying paint levels of boredom here I bet.

I really like the setting, apocalyptic dying world where every mission happens during the night (or sunlight is blocked by something, it seemed to get brighter and darker occasionally). I remembered liking the atmosphere and it still holds up. I also liked the nods to the original C&C, you can find ruined structures from the first game on some maps and on the last mission you can even get 3 original mammoth tanks, I love it when games do stuff like this.

But I do have three issues with the game:

1. It's way too easy. I played on normal difficulty as I always do and the second to last mission was the first one that felt like it offered at least some challenge. Then the very last mission was again a walk in the park. I think the AI is really handicapped and either isn't allowed to use all the tools it has or simply is incapable of using them. The meek attacks it does are hardly a challenge. Add in the very slow pace and being able to sit still and do nothing should be listed as an requirement in the box. Thankfully I am one of those rarities who does possess that talent.

2. It's too long. I think I skipped one mission and mission 18 was my last so I think there are 19 missions total in GDI campaign if you do them all which is not required. I started to feel like I had my fill around mission 14 but it just kept going.

3. The FMV's... they aren't great. They got Michael Biehn (Aliens, Terminator) and James Earl Jones (voice of Darth Vader) which seemed pretty ambitious and ballsy thing to do because the further I got in the campaign the more it started to look like nobody else in the production had any idea what they were doing. The story, if you can even call it that, jumps around in ways that felt a bit jarring at best and so hilariously nonsensical at worst that it made me wonder did they run out of money really early and intended to film a lot more footage that never got in the game or was the screenplay really just that bad. At least they must have realised things could have gone a bit better since Red Alert 2 has awesome FMV's.

Overall I like the game a lot, excellent game for gloomy november nights. Next in line is the Firestorm expansion unless I decide to take a break with something else first.

Exile: Escape from the Pit
I was able to put a few more hours into this over the weekend, but made a ton of progress in those few hours. Many RPGs are like this, in that starting out is slow but things start to pick up a few hours in... but this game is pretty extreme. I feel like I must have spent the first 15 hours of this game slowly exploring what is basically less than 25% of the world, but this weekend in only three hours probably doubled the amount of land I've explored so far. I'm not complaining, it's just surprising how quick exploration becomes once you get a bit established.

I typically have to take extensive notes for a game like this (overhead tile-based RPGs like Ultima I-V, Lurking, Nox Archaist), but have just been noting stuff to check out later. The game helpfully lets you save any conversation to an external text file, and I've been using that as my quest log. I just delete any conversations related to quests I've been able to solve.

Gold is still a constant "issue" 20 hours in. You never have enough for everything you want, because everything costs money... training, equipment, spells, alchemy recipes. Plus, you always have some minor recurring costs (food and arrows mostly) to keep in mind. It's a nice change of pace; in most RPGs, you quickly earn more gold than you could ever spend just a few hours in.

I am glad that the game has an automap. Due to the unique nature of the world (it's basically a giant underground cave), there are several areas full of twisty passages; it would have been very annoying to have to navigate these without any in-game map.

Overall, great game so far! I am aiming for this to be my last game completed in 2022.

newtmonkey wrote on 2022-11-27, 11:53:

Exile: Escape from the Pit I was able to put a few more hours into this over the weekend, but made a ton of progress in those fe […]
Show full quote

Exile: Escape from the Pit
I was able to put a few more hours into this over the weekend, but made a ton of progress in those few hours. Many RPGs are like this, in that starting out is slow but things start to pick up a few hours in... but this game is pretty extreme. I feel like I must have spent the first 15 hours of this game slowly exploring what is basically less than 25% of the world, but this weekend in only three hours probably doubled the amount of land I've explored so far. I'm not complaining, it's just surprising how quick exploration becomes once you get a bit established.

I typically have to take extensive notes for a game like this (overhead tile-based RPGs like Ultima I-V, Lurking, Nox Archaist), but have just been noting stuff to check out later. The game helpfully lets you save any conversation to an external text file, and I've been using that as my quest log. I just delete any conversations related to quests I've been able to solve.

Gold is still a constant "issue" 20 hours in. You never have enough for everything you want, because everything costs money... training, equipment, spells, alchemy recipes. Plus, you always have some minor recurring costs (food and arrows mostly) to keep in mind. It's a nice change of pace; in most RPGs, you quickly earn more gold than you could ever spend just a few hours in.

I am glad that the game has an automap. Due to the unique nature of the world (it's basically a giant underground cave), there are several areas full of twisty passages; it would have been very annoying to have to navigate these without any in-game map.

Overall, great game so far! I am aiming for this to be my last game completed in 2022.

Do you keep track of your games played, hours, etc? Just curious, as I do this with a spreadsheet. I "clock in" when starting a game, then clock out when done with my session and have the formulas keep track of time played. I started doing this because many older games don't have this option and modern games usually don't do it right (counting paused or minimized time).

clueless1 wrote on 2022-11-27, 14:38:

newtmonkey wrote on 2022-11-27, 11:53:

Exile: Escape from the Pit I was able to put a few more hours into this over the weekend, but made a ton of progress in those fe […]
Show full quote

Exile: Escape from the Pit
I was able to put a few more hours into this over the weekend, but made a ton of progress in those few hours. Many RPGs are like this, in that starting out is slow but things start to pick up a few hours in... but this game is pretty extreme. I feel like I must have spent the first 15 hours of this game slowly exploring what is basically less than 25% of the world, but this weekend in only three hours probably doubled the amount of land I've explored so far. I'm not complaining, it's just surprising how quick exploration becomes once you get a bit established.

I typically have to take extensive notes for a game like this (overhead tile-based RPGs like Ultima I-V, Lurking, Nox Archaist), but have just been noting stuff to check out later. The game helpfully lets you save any conversation to an external text file, and I've been using that as my quest log. I just delete any conversations related to quests I've been able to solve.

Gold is still a constant "issue" 20 hours in. You never have enough for everything you want, because everything costs money... training, equipment, spells, alchemy recipes. Plus, you always have some minor recurring costs (food and arrows mostly) to keep in mind. It's a nice change of pace; in most RPGs, you quickly earn more gold than you could ever spend just a few hours in.

I am glad that the game has an automap. Due to the unique nature of the world (it's basically a giant underground cave), there are several areas full of twisty passages; it would have been very annoying to have to navigate these without any in-game map.

Overall, great game so far! I am aiming for this to be my last game completed in 2022.

Do you keep track of your games played, hours, etc? Just curious, as I do this with a spreadsheet. I "clock in" when starting a game, then clock out when done with my session and have the formulas keep track of time played. I started doing this because many older games don't have this option and modern games usually don't do it right (counting paused or minimized time).

Also, do they play like SSI Goldbox? Found a screenshot, and it reminds me so much of Goldbox games combat.

clueless1 wrote on 2022-11-27, 14:38:

Do you keep track of your games played, hours, etc? Just curious, as I do this with a spreadsheet. I "clock in" when starting a game, then clock out when done with my session and have the formulas keep track of time played. I started doing this because many older games don't have this option and modern games usually don't do it right (counting paused or minimized time).

I do keep track of the games I've completed each year, but not how many hours they take (I do include some basic information such as part composition, difficulty, etc., in case I ever want to replay a game under different conditions).

Kreshna Aryaguna Nurzaman wrote on 2022-11-27, 15:25:

Also, do they play like SSI Goldbox? Found a screenshot, and it reminds me so much of Goldbox games combat.

They do play a bit like the Goldbox games, just with Ultima-style exploration (top-down instead of first-person). Combat is very similar to Goldbox though, especially the spells (Haste, Bless, Fireball are all in here).

Dragon Age: Origins

I tried this game a year ago and failed miserably. Back then I played the Steam version of it, which doesn't have any controller support. I also chose the human noble/warrior path which resulted in tedious hack and slash and numerous deaths. It was terrible and I hated the game for it.

Now that a lot of friends have pressured me to try again, I did so - on the Xbox 360. I chose the elven mage path and the game is just so much better. Combat is actually fun and the start of the game is much more interesting in my opinion. Maybe Bioware didn't really care for the human warrior people - it's a fantasy game about magic and dragons, after all.

I don't really like having to read through so many codex entries (the in-built document library, so to speak) to grasp all details of the story. It can be very tedious sometimes, although it's well written. And there are a lot of fetch quests that are basically just text messages. The main story is very interesting and the side missions of my companions are also well done, though. So I'll keep playing this time! And I'll probably also get to the other titles.

schmatzler wrote on 2022-11-28, 03:33:

Dragon Age: Origins […]
Show full quote

Dragon Age: Origins

I tried this game a year ago and failed miserably. Back then I played the Steam version of it, which doesn't have any controller support. I also chose the human noble/warrior path which resulted in tedious hack and slash and numerous deaths. It was terrible and I hated the game for it.

Now that a lot of friends have pressured me to try again, I did so - on the Xbox 360. I chose the elven mage path and the game is just so much better. Combat is actually fun and the start of the game is much more interesting in my opinion. Maybe Bioware didn't really care for the human warrior people - it's a fantasy game about magic and dragons, after all.

I don't really like having to read through so many codex entries (the in-built document library, so to speak) to grasp all details of the story. It can be very tedious sometimes, although it's well written. And there are a lot of fetch quests that are basically just text messages. The main story is very interesting and the side missions of my companions are also well done, though. So I'll keep playing this time! And I'll probably also get to the other titles.

I like DAO, played it when it came out and a couple more times after that. I also found the mage origin the most interesting one to play, later on there's a cool specialization which allows you to wear heavy armor and become sort of a spellblade knight by using the magic stat to replace the strength requirement of armor and weapons.

The story is classic Bioware "you're the chosen one who has to save the world" stuff, but the lore and worldbuilding are nice and there are enough twists and turns in the story to keep you interested until the end. The combat is so-so, I think the PC version is harder but allows for more strategizing in battles, while console is more approachable.

Regarding the sequels, DA2 was possibly one of the biggest disappointments I've ever experienced in gaming, I hate it with a passion. If you hated the first game for becoming a crappy hack and slash under certain circumstances, then you may have a similar experience to mine. But it's worth a try if you like the first one enough.

I didn't even play Inquisition. All it took was the bitter taste from DA2 + a trailer/video that came out around launch with the party discussing what I would call "modern social issues". Maybe that clip didn't even made it to the final game, but nope. Don't want that stuff in fantasy. Also, they really uglified all female characters, a rather common trend in modern Bioware.

OK so to all the people who are playing or played Escape from the Pit at some point: Is Avernum worth picking up as a modern version of this game? It's dirt cheap on Steam as I type this..

Serious Sam HD: The First Encounter

Enjoying it so far.
A frenetic, difficult but really fun old-style shooter, which differs from the others for the large scale battles on big open areas.
I also like the variety of the weapons and the enemies (except the Kamikazes 🙁).

I'm playing the HD version through Steam.

newtmonkey wrote on 2022-11-28, 02:38:

Kreshna Aryaguna Nurzaman wrote on 2022-11-27, 15:25:

Also, do they play like SSI Goldbox? Found a screenshot, and it reminds me so much of Goldbox games combat.

They do play a bit like the Goldbox games, just with Ultima-style exploration (top-down instead of first-person). Combat is very similar to Goldbox though, especially the spells (Haste, Bless, Fireball are all in here).

Ah, my kind of RPG, then. I don't know why but somehow I'm never quite fond of Wizardry-style first-person combat. Goldbox and Fallout (1, 2, and tactics) still have the best combat IMO.

So I'd been looking for a good game to play on my NuXT. I tried Populous, and it was quite playable. But I just wasn't feeling it. I'm in the mood for an RPG, and I think I settled on Gateway to the Savage Frontier. Rolled a pretty good party with a Paladin, Ranger, Fighter, Thief, Cleric and Magic User and finished exploring the starting town. I got a quest to go up north and dispatch some evil, but the moment I left town a bunch of hill giants stomped me pretty hard. So, maybe I take a boat? Or figure out which gate has a nice safe road? Gonna be a little trial and error getting going I guess, which isn't atypical. We'll see how well I stick with this game. Had a terrible time lately actually focusing on and finishing much of anything besides mindless FPS.

Total annihilation for me. Still have my original copy from the later 90s. Plus the sound track is amazing !

Kreshna Aryaguna Nurzaman wrote on 2022-11-28, 17:49:

Ah, my kind of RPG, then. I don't know why but somehow I'm never quite fond of Wizardry-style first-person combat. Goldbox and Fallout (1, 2, and tactics) still have the best combat IMO.

I do like the Wizardry-style first-person combat, but I am really enjoying Exile! Still not as good as the best of the Gold Box games (best combat in an RPG imo), but not bad. I really liked Fallout 1, but never spent much time with Fallout 2... maybe next year!

Halo: Master Chief Collection was discounted on Steam to the equivalent of 3 bucks in local currency so I bought it. I have been playing Halo: Reach on Legendary for two days now and wow.. I didn't know I missed playing a good Halo game so much. Halo was GOOD when it was good. SO good.