Sombrero wrote on 2024-01-28, 19:41:

Ensign Nemo wrote on 2024-01-28, 18:14:

I actually started playing Skyrim a couple of months ago and have stuck with it this time. Rather than focus on the story, I have focused on exploring and enjoying the scenery (I limit fast travel), so that might be I've been able to stick with it this time.

I think when I completed the base game the first and likely the only time it was the combination of wanting to explore and to get the best possible gear through smithing and enhancing that drove me forward. Petered out just about immediately once I got the gear and went to finish the main quest. I did try to start the first DLC but I was all out of fuel at that point, apparently still am.

Well, at least that saves me 10€ or so. I played the original Skyrim and have been tempted to get the Special Edition couple times from a GOG sale ever since it was released there.

At some point Special Edition was given for free to those who owned the original. At least on Steam.

My experiences... I beat the game twice with all DLCs and then some with a third character, unlocking all achievements on both versions in around a total of 350 hours. I found it to be addictive, but mediocre. A net downgrade over Oblivion and while more polished than Morrowind, from the story and role playing perspective, a downgrade even to that.

Sombrero wrote on 2024-01-29, 04:49:

I've never actually played the Gothic games, a long time ago I tried the first or second one but even back then found the controls way too clunky for me. Haven't given them a second chance because I don't think anything has changed in that regard. Too bad really, otherwise they seem like something I would like.

I suggest you give Risen a try then. It's pretty much Gothic 2 with better graphics and a modernized control scheme (WASD + mouse). Same developer as the Gothic series, and GOG frequently has it on sale for under 5 EUR.

If you end up liking Risen, you can go back to the Gothic games. The clunky control scheme of the first Gothic takes maybe 15 minutes to get used to, and feels very natural afterwards. Personally, I like the Risen/Gothic games much more than anything Bethesda has ever produced.

Joseph_Joestar wrote on 2024-01-29, 07:03:

I suggest you give Risen a try then. It's pretty much Gothic 2 with better graphics and a modernized control scheme (WASD + mouse). Same developer as the Gothic series, and GOG frequently has it on sale for under 5 EUR.

If you end up liking Risen, you can go back to the Gothic games. The clunky control scheme of Gothic 1 takes maybe 15 minutes to get used to, and feels very natural afterwards. Personally, I like the Risen/Gothic games much more than anything Bethesda has ever produced.

Risen is already on my watchlist based on your earlier recommendation, just haven't seen it pop up on my local classifieds yet. I prefer to get my games as original retail releases, I get digital releases only when there is no retail release or it has a intrusive DRM or something.

I'm not sure I would get used to Gothics controls that easily unfortunately, in fact I'm pretty sure they would never stop bothering me. I'm just not comfortable with that kind of keyboard centric control scheme.

Sombrero wrote on 2024-01-29, 07:44:

Risen is already on my watchlist based on your earlier recommendation, just haven't seen it pop up on my local classifieds yet. I prefer to get my games as original retail releases, I get digital releases only when there is no retail release or it has an intrusive DRM or something.

Risen was recently re-released on the PlayStation 4 and other consoles of that generation. I think a physical copy of that version might be a bit easier to find than the PC version, due to its age.

Disclaimer: I haven't played the console version of Risen, so I can't say much about it. But it was originally released on the Xbox 360, so I'm guessing the controls are decent enough.

Sombrero wrote on 2024-01-29, 07:44:

I'm not sure I would get used to Gothics controls that easily unfortunately, in fact I'm pretty sure they would never stop bothering me. I'm just not comfortable with that kind of keyboard centric control scheme.

Have you ever considered mapping the keyboard controls to a controller? It actually maps pretty decently to a controller, and I wouldn't be surprised if the controls were actually designed with console controllers in mind but then converted to keyboard at the last moment. It might be worth a shot and make the game more playable for you.

This reddit post has a recommended remapping scheme:
https://www.reddit.com/r/worldofgothic/commen … 1_with_xbox360/

(If you hate controllers, disregard 😀 )

newtmonkey wrote on 2024-01-29, 07:57:

(If you hate controllers, disregard 😀 )

I hate controllers. There are very few types of games for which analog controllers offer any meaningful advantage. And there are no games where digital controllers give any advantage over a keyboard / keyboard+mouse combo. 😀

dr_st wrote on 2024-01-29, 09:52:

I hate controllers. There are very few types of games for which analog controllers offer any meaningful advantage. And there are no games where digital controllers give any advantage over a keyboard / keyboard+mouse combo. 😀

I agree about the unparalleled precision of keyboard + mouse, but at the same time, I feel like controllers do have their place as well.

Personally, I always felt more comfortable navigating the command menus of earlier Final Fantasy games (7, 8, 9) using a controller instead of a keyboard. I also like using controllers with analog sticks for arcade racing games. And third person stealth games like Splinter Cell always felt more intuitive on a controller, though the reduced aiming precision kinda offsets that. Lastly, platformers like Super Mario Bros. and Sonic feel a lot better to me when using a controller.

Joseph_Joestar wrote on 2024-01-29, 07:57:

Risen was recently re-released on the PlayStation 4 and other consoles of that generation. I think a physical copy of that version might be a bit easier to find than the PC version, due to its age.

Only consoles I have are PSOne and Sega Mega Drive 😀

Plenty of older games popping up for sale around here, especially seeing old DOS classics do wonders to train my willpower to not buy everything. But for some reason I rarely see Gothic games and I the only Risen I remember seeing was the second or the third in the trilogy. No matter, I'm patient and I'm not in a hurry. Also I'm sure there's plenty on eBay but I try not to buy anything from there unless I have to.

newtmonkey wrote on 2024-01-29, 07:57:

(If you hate controllers, disregard 😀 )

I'm fine with controllers (except analog controls, those played a large part of me turning into a PC gamer), but I don't really like to play PC games with a controller, feels wrong somehow. Playing a console game with keyboard and/or mouse also feels just as wrong to me.

So a fine suggestion, but I'm difficult when it comes to controls it seems 😆

Sombrero wrote on 2024-01-29, 04:49:

A Gothic II mod?

Yes it's technically a mod, but actually it's a complete game using the Gothic II engine. I like the setting, the story, the characters, the combat, and the exploration. Here's my post about it from a while back: Re: What game are you playing now?

The controls in this are the same as Gothic II, and there's only Polish voice acting, so that will turn a lot of people off. But there's a reason the Gothic games are cult classics, and this mod up there with the best of the original games.

I use GD3D11, and I use JoyToKey to add controller support - using a controller is great with the Gothics because combat is slow and you 'lock on' to enemies, so there's no awkward thrashing about. Just lock on and time your hits.

I really enjoy the combat in the Gothic/Risen games. Like @badmojo said, it's based on timing. If you're fighting against a human(oid) opponent, you need to carefully block or dodge the enemy's attacks and counter when you see an opening. It's super fun, especially when you're facing off against Skeleton Warriors or Orc Elites, who are very competent sword fighters.

That said, combat does require a degree of player skill, in addition to getting the benefits of the character's stats. It's not exactly Dark Souls level of difficulty, but it can be pretty challenging until you get the gist of it. Of course, this mostly applies to melee combat. If you're playing a ranged character or a mage, things get a lot easier, but then you need to deal with mana and ammo management.

Sombrero wrote on 2024-01-29, 11:01:

So a fine suggestion, but I'm difficult when it comes to controls it seems 😆

It's fine, I'm the same way actually. 😀

System Shock (Enhanced Version)
This is the original DOS Enhanced version released on CD in 1994, and not the Enhanced Edition from 2015 (which I guess is a source port of the Mac release, but ported to the KEX engine??). Anyway, I had this game back in the day and got somewhat far into it, but never completed it. I've revisited it now and then over the years, but decided this is the year I'm gonna finally finish this one, and also that it's gonna be the original version of the game on my actual DOS machine.

It's been fun revisiting it so far. It runs a bit slow on my P133 in "high res" so I'm just running it at 320x200 in full-screen mode, and it honestly looks just fine imo. I guess it's the magic of low res gaming on a CRT. I've read some recent reviews criticizing its "gaudy" or "ugly" graphics, but it looks great to me... really atmospheric and even impressive at times.

People today seem to hate the controls in this game, but I really like learning and getting used to them. Having played it before back in the 90s, it didn't take long to get back up to speed, and you really feel a sense of achievement from mastering the complicated controls. I could see how the controls could get annoying in a game more focused on combat with a faster pace, but I think they work just fine for this one.

Doomed people leaving voice messages about every single thing they do has become somewhat of a source of ridicule in these kinds of games (and rightfully so... it was absolutely ridiculous in Bioshock), but it works great here. Many of the documents you pick up are actually emails and data logs, which makes much more sense. It really gives the game a creeping horror feel, as you slip into safe areas to read emails and logs, while listening to enemies making bizarre noises nearby.

I only played for an hour or so, but made some good progress and had a blast. I was also happy to see that my DOS PC is still working mostly fine, since I haven't really used it in months. Unfortunately, the CD-ROM drive appears to have died, so I had to install the game in DOSBOX on my main PC, and then copy the installation and CD data files to the CompactFlash card I use on my DOS PC. Gonna have to get a new CD-ROM drive I guess...

newtmonkey wrote on 2024-01-29, 14:06:

System Shock (Enhanced Version) This is the original DOS Enhanced version released on CD in 1994, and not the Enhanced Edition […]
Show full quote

System Shock (Enhanced Version)
This is the original DOS Enhanced version released on CD in 1994, and not the Enhanced Edition from 2015 (which I guess is a source port of the Mac release, but ported to the KEX engine??). Anyway, I had this game back in the day and got somewhat far into it, but never completed it. I've revisited it now and then over the years, but decided this is the year I'm gonna finally finish this one, and also that it's gonna be the original version of the game on my actual DOS machine.

It's been fun revisiting it so far. It runs a bit slow on my P133 in "high res" so I'm just running it at 320x200 in full-screen mode, and it honestly looks just fine imo. I guess it's the magic of low res gaming on a CRT. I've read some recent reviews criticizing its "gaudy" or "ugly" graphics, but it looks great to me... really atmospheric and even impressive at times.

People today seem to hate the controls in this game, but I really like learning and getting used to them. Having played it before back in the 90s, it didn't take long to get back up to speed, and you really feel a sense of achievement from mastering the complicated controls. I could see how the controls could get annoying in a game more focused on combat with a faster pace, but I think they work just fine for this one.

Doomed people leaving voice messages about every single thing they do has become somewhat of a source of ridicule in these kinds of games (and rightfully so... it was absolutely ridiculous in Bioshock), but it works great here. Many of the documents you pick up are actually emails and data logs, which makes much more sense. It really gives the game a creeping horror feel, as you slip into safe areas to read emails and logs, while listening to enemies making bizarre noises nearby.

I only played for an hour or so, but made some good progress and had a blast. I was also happy to see that my DOS PC is still working mostly fine, since I haven't really used it in months. Unfortunately, the CD-ROM drive appears to have died, so I had to install the game in DOSBOX on my main PC, and then copy the installation and CD data files to the CompactFlash card I use on my DOS PC. Gonna have to get a new CD-ROM drive I guess...

Nice choice. I've completed the DOS version twice, and the modern remake once (so far). The modern remake is quite amazing IMO. I am definitely playing it again when the next update is released. For me, it was *exactly* how I imagined a modern remake would play out. Same ambiance, feel, etc, but with modern graphics, sounds and controls. At first I was put off by the differences in the music, but the new soundtrack grew on me.

Might & Magic III:

I'm 21 hours in and having a blast. I'm amazed at the graphics and gameplay for a 1991 game. It satisfies my OCD for character development and exploration. I find the random attributes assigned to items a bit hilarious at times. Things like "leather swords" are possible. 🤣. I love all the UI touches. The gargoyle on the right that waves his hand when one of your characters detects a secret door that can be bashed down; the gargoyle on the left that flaps his wings when a "levitate" spell is active (meaning you can walk over pits); the face at the top whose mouth opens and closes when monsters are nearby; character portrait faces changing to frowns or closed eyes when they are poisoned or unconscious. They seemed to have thought of everything possible to enhance the gaming experience given 1991 technology limitations. Even the FM music is top notch. The game is speed-sensitive, but nothing game-breaking on my 486/66. I can disable caches and the animations slow down to sane levels, but then things like loading and saving games, or entering towns slow down, so I leave it running at full speed. It's simply a joy to play. About the only complaint I have is a single save slot. But even that can be circumvented a bit by copying the save game to a different filename to keep a trail of past saves. The keyboard shortcuts make the game entirely playable by keyboard, or you can use the mouse or some combination of both. I play with my left hand on the arrow keys and right hand on the mouse. The keyboard is mostly off to my left. Lots of play options are available depending on your style. Brilliant game.

I just finished the 3 last levels of Half-Life...25 years after almost competing the game, with my own game saves I kept all that time! At the time I lost interest when levels started to be in the parallel dimension, and I confirm that I still found these levels uninteresting and unnecessarily hard. But at leat I completed the game on my K6-3 with my voodoo 3 3500 😀

I've decided to play through the Descent series, each game on a different period-correct(ish) computer. For Descent 1, I'm using my pizzabox P90 build, GUS for sound, and my trusty Sidewinder 3D pro. (Back in the day, I used a Gravis Analog Pro for the first game, but nah)

I'm playing on the third difficulty level (Hotshot), and I'm realizing that I don't think I ever played it on this difficulty. Some games increase difficulty by just making the enemies take more damage. Descent also speeds up their movement, speeds up how fast their shots travel, increases the damage they do, makes your shots use more energy, and makes power-ups more scarce. I remember those charge up stations like in my pic used to just be fun little bonus things, now I need to know where one is in a level, because otherwise I'll run out of energy! And this is only level 4. 😅

I started playing in whatever little spare time I had last night Dark reign, a game I remembered for its incredible difficulty. The game installs just fine on my 98 machine but for whatever reason it refuses to install on XP. The game is just as I remember: beautiful and unforgivable! The computer beat the **** out of me in 15 minutes on regular difficulty!

nd22 wrote on 2024-02-02, 10:17:

I started playing in whatever little spare time I had last night Dark reign, a game I remembered for its incredible difficulty.

Dark Reign is a very underrated game. I played it a lot back in the day, and it was quite difficult indeed.

What I mostly remember about it is the wealth of tactical options on offer. You could send your units on patrols using waypoints, fine tune their aggression levels and much more. It was incredibly customizable.

ubiq wrote on 2024-02-01, 22:54:

I've decided to play through the Descent series, each game on a different period-correct(ish) computer. For Descent 1, I'm using my pizzabox P90 build, GUS for sound, and my trusty Sidewinder 3D pro. (Back in the day, I used a Gravis Analog Pro for the first game, but nah)

Nice! A Steelseries mousepad, a MX518 and a G502 Hero, is it? I have one of each of these myself. 😜

ubiq wrote on 2024-02-01, 22:54:

I'm playing on the third difficulty level (Hotshot), and I'm realizing that I don't think I ever played it on this difficulty. Some games increase difficulty by just making the enemies take more damage. Descent also speeds up their movement, speeds up how fast their shots travel, increases the damage they do, makes your shots use more energy, and makes power-ups more scarce. I remember those charge up stations like in my pic used to just be fun little bonus things, now I need to know where one is in a level, because otherwise I'll run out of energy! And this is only level 4. 😅

I would think most FPS games simply increase difficulty by putting more, or tougher monsters. But yeah, Descent is known to be VERY tough on higher difficulties, because as you said - it hits you in several aspects simultaneously. Years ago I tried to start a D1 campaign in DXX-Rebirth, just for the fun of it. Don't remember if I played on rookie or hotshot, but I don't think I even got to the mini-boss before I got fed up with the grind... Maybe I'll try again one day.

ubiq wrote on 2024-02-01, 22:54:

I've decided to play through the Descent series, each game on a different period-correct(ish) computer. For Descent 1, I'm using my pizzabox P90 build, GUS for sound, and my trusty Sidewinder 3D pro. (Back in the day, I used a Gravis Analog Pro for the first game, but nah)

IMG_0554.jpeg

I'm playing on the third difficulty level (Hotshot), and I'm realizing that I don't think I ever played it on this difficulty. Some games increase difficulty by just making the enemies take more damage. Descent also speeds up their movement, speeds up how fast their shots travel, increases the damage they do, makes your shots use more energy, and makes power-ups more scarce. I remember those charge up stations like in my pic used to just be fun little bonus things, now I need to know where one is in a level, because otherwise I'll run out of energy! And this is only level 4. 😅

i used to be apart of descent rangers but i left after the closure of descent ladder and a fellow member passing away

nd22 wrote on 2024-02-02, 10:17:

I started playing in whatever little spare time I had last night Dark reign, a game I remembered for its incredible difficulty. The game installs just fine on my 98 machine but for whatever reason it refuses to install on XP. The game is just as I remember: beautiful and unforgivable! The computer beat the **** out of me in 15 minutes on regular difficulty!

i wish for a game like god hand for the ps2 where it was adaptive difficulty meaning you got good, it got harder