Joseph_Joestar wrote on 2023-12-05, 19:34:

The recent talk of Deus Ex made me want to revisit that universe. I replayed the original game a few years ago, so I decided to […]
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The recent talk of Deus Ex made me want to revisit that universe. I replayed the original game a few years ago, so I decided to install its infamous sequel Deus Ex 2: Invisible War. I don't think I've touched that game since it came out, and it's certainly not among my favorites, but I decided to go through it one more time for completeness sake.

First, I'd like to bring up some positives about this game, the few that I could find. For starters, the voice acting is better than in the original, even for the less prominent NPCs. The music is pretty decent as well, though maybe not quite as memorable as it was in the first game. The shooting mechanics are also greatly improved, and the protagonist can now actually hit the broadside of a barn without needing to stand completely still for 10 seconds. The graphics are much better as well, but the character models are not as detailed as in some other games which also use Unreal Engine 2.

Now for the negatives. For me, the most egregious one is universal ammo. By what logic do a pistol and a flamethrower use the same ammo type is beyond my understanding, but the developers somehow thought it was a good idea. Then there's the complete removal of skills, so you're only left with biomods to "level up" your character. And finally, we have the incredibly small size of the areas, which feature a loading screen every 50 meters or so. From what I gather, this was done to fit the maps into the limited memory of the original Xbox, and the devs did nothing to improve that on the PC.

The story is ok, though not quite as strong as in the original. It takes place 20 years after the first game, and you play as a new character. What baffles me is that, canonically, all three possible endings from the original Deus Ex somehow happened. Without spoiling anything, that simply makes no sense, and anyone who has played the original game knows why. I do like the setting though, and seeing how the world changed after so much time has passed was interesting.

Anyway, I just started my playthrough and I'm glad that the game runs smoothly at 1600x1200 while fully maxed out. There are no stutters or slowdowns, and the loading times are pretty fast as well. From what I remember, Deus Ex 2 ran very poorly on contemporary PCs. Replaying it on my overpowered WinXP rig is certainly a much better experience.

i too made a retro xp machine, eh deus ex 2 suffered from console rot, because in its attempt to be ported to pc they had to mimic the clearing of memory by having the game ctd before loading up the next level, thats why the game goes to desktop upon each level load. efficent way at clearing memory due to leak/bug from xbox port. that and how do you code in 3 different endings in xbox vs pc

dr_st wrote on 2023-12-05, 17:22:

Law212 wrote on 2023-12-05, 14:25:

I remember when I first say the trailer on TV for GTA 3 I was blown away and I thought, theres no way this is actual gameplay

Yes, lots of people had a similar reaction. People who played some GTA1 and GTA2 were amazed that a 3D world of comparable size could exist in a video game. The trilogy (3,VC,SA) still holds a special place in my heart.

i watched the gta 3 trailer and loved the music that i got the game with my ps2 for xmas set it up in my bedroom.

Just finished the Arcology level in Deus Ex 2: Invisible War. Despite consisting of a bunch of tiny chunks separated by loading screens, this area actually felt quite large. There was a lot to do, many NPCs to interact with, and quite a few choices to make. It was very reminiscent of the original Deus Ex.

I also liked how the protagonist kept running into his classmates from the academy. It felt nice to catch up with these guys and see how the various factions that they joined are treating them. Some of your choices can actually influence their fate, which is pretty cool.

A couple of the the mini quests given by non-faction affiliated NPCs were kinda neat as well. It felt nice to get that girl accepted into the academy (which effectively saves her from illness) and to find that guy's daughter and tell him she's ok. The coffee shop war gave me a chuckle as well. And pretty much any interaction between the protagonist and NG Resonance was funny in some way.

All in all, Deus Ex 2 hasn't been too bad so far. I think it helps that I'm playing it on a very overpowered system where traveling between different areas only takes a few seconds. I have vague memories of the loading times being much worse back in the day. That said, I did encounter a couple of crashes, but thankfully, none of them hindered my progress too much. Off to the Germany mission now, where I'm looking forward to seeing a familiar face from the first game.

Joseph_Joestar wrote on 2023-12-07, 22:22:

Just finished the Arcology level in Deus Ex 2: Invisible War. Despite consisting of a bunch of tiny chunks separated by loading […]
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Just finished the Arcology level in Deus Ex 2: Invisible War. Despite consisting of a bunch of tiny chunks separated by loading screens, this area actually felt quite large. There was a lot to do, many NPCs to interact with, and quite a few choices to make. It was very reminiscent of the original Deus Ex.

I also liked how the protagonist kept running into his classmates from the academy. It felt nice to catch up with these guys and see how the various factions that they joined are treating them. Some of your choices can actually influence their fate, which is pretty cool.

A couple of the the mini quests given by non-faction affiliated NPCs were kinda neat as well. It felt nice to get that girl accepted into the academy (which effectively saves her from illness) and to find that guy's daughter and tell him she's ok. The coffee shop war gave me a chuckle as well. And pretty much any interaction between the protagonist and NG Resonance was funny in some way.

All in all, Deus Ex 2 hasn't been too bad so far. I think it helps that I'm playing it on a very overpowered system where traveling between different areas only takes a few seconds. I have vague memories of the loading times being much worse back in the day. That said, I did encounter a couple of crashes, but thankfully, none of them hindered my progress too much. Off to the Germany mission now, where I'm looking forward to seeing a familiar face from the first game.

the really cool thing about deus ex is it played like a book, or read like a book i mean an interactive audiobook game.

A couple of days ago I started playing Need for Speed Underground 2.
I definitely have to re-learn the hitboxes. I chose the Corolla as my starter car. I remember late-game that being one of the best control car without sacrificing top speed and after some upgrades it definitely lives up to my memories. For now I have that and a stock Escalade. When I unlock my third garage slot, I think I'll get a rice mule. If I'd follow my heart, I'd use the Escalade for that, I have no respect for that car class and don't mind making them ugly(er), but I'm they drive like a brick and rather use them as little as possible.

RandomStranger wrote on 2023-12-08, 20:57:

A couple of days ago I started playing Need for Speed Underground 2. I definitely have to re-learn the hitboxes. I chose the Cor […]
Show full quote

A couple of days ago I started playing Need for Speed Underground 2.
I definitely have to re-learn the hitboxes. I chose the Corolla as my starter car. I remember late-game that being one of the best control car without sacrificing top speed and after some upgrades it definitely lives up to my memories. For now I have that and a stock Escalade. When I unlock my third garage slot, I think I'll get a rice mule. If I'd follow my heart, I'd use the Escalade for that, I have no respect for that car class and don't mind making them ugly(er), but I'm they drive like a brick and rather use them as little as possible.

how did you get nfs u2 working again, that game has been borked for years

twiz11 wrote on 2023-12-08, 22:48:

RandomStranger wrote on 2023-12-08, 20:57:

A couple of days ago I started playing Need for Speed Underground 2. I definitely have to re-learn the hitboxes. I chose the Cor […]
Show full quote

A couple of days ago I started playing Need for Speed Underground 2.
I definitely have to re-learn the hitboxes. I chose the Corolla as my starter car. I remember late-game that being one of the best control car without sacrificing top speed and after some upgrades it definitely lives up to my memories. For now I have that and a stock Escalade. When I unlock my third garage slot, I think I'll get a rice mule. If I'd follow my heart, I'd use the Escalade for that, I have no respect for that car class and don't mind making them ugly(er), but I'm they drive like a brick and rather use them as little as possible.

how did you get nfs u2 working again, that game has been borked for years

Works fine on XP. Crashes on quad core, but setting the CPU affinity fixes it.

Finished Deus Ex 2: Invisible War. The Germany and Antarctica missions weren't as good as the Arcology one. Having the final level take place on Liberty Island (which was the first level of the original Deus Ex) was a nice touch though. I felt like all the endings were pretty bad in their own way, so I sided with the Illuminati on a whim. After all, their leader is called Chad, and he scored the hottest babe in the game, so he has to know what he's doing. 😁

It was kinda nice that two of the protagonist's classmates survived due to the choices that I had made throughout the game. Not sure if I could have saved the third one as well... maybe if I had taken a different path. Also, while revisiting the Arcology for the second time, it was good to see some of the characters that I had helped previously, and have them offer some helpful hints as thanks.

As for JC Denton, without spoiling anything, I will say that the version of him that we see in Deus Ex 2 was too different from how I played him in the original game. I wish the devs had done something similar to how Star Wars: KOTOR 2 handled Revan. That means leaving it up to the player to say what his fate was in the previous game through early dialogue with other characters, and then have that choice be acknowledged as fact later on. But alas, the developers had their own take on JC, which I wasn't a fan of.

Final thoughts, I think Deus Ex 2 isn't that bad when viewed on its own. But if you compare it to the masterpiece that was the first game, I can't shake the feeling that it could have been so much more.

twiz11 wrote on 2023-12-08, 22:48:

RandomStranger wrote on 2023-12-08, 20:57:

A couple of days ago I started playing Need for Speed Underground 2. I definitely have to re-learn the hitboxes. I chose the Cor […]
Show full quote

A couple of days ago I started playing Need for Speed Underground 2.
I definitely have to re-learn the hitboxes. I chose the Corolla as my starter car. I remember late-game that being one of the best control car without sacrificing top speed and after some upgrades it definitely lives up to my memories. For now I have that and a stock Escalade. When I unlock my third garage slot, I think I'll get a rice mule. If I'd follow my heart, I'd use the Escalade for that, I have no respect for that car class and don't mind making them ugly(er), but I'm they drive like a brick and rather use them as little as possible.

how did you get nfs u2 working again, that game has been borked for years

I don't know what curse did you put on my game, but today it refuses to launch 🙁

Joseph_Joestar wrote on 2023-12-09, 17:44:

Finished Deus Ex 2: Invisible War. The Germany and Antarctica missions weren't as good as the Arcology one. Having the final lev […]
Show full quote

Finished Deus Ex 2: Invisible War. The Germany and Antarctica missions weren't as good as the Arcology one. Having the final level take place on Liberty Island (which was the first level of the original Deus Ex) was a nice touch though. I felt like all the endings were pretty bad in their own way, so I sided with the Illuminati on a whim. After all, their leader is called Chad, and he scored the hottest babe in the game, so he has to know what he's doing. 😁

It was kinda nice that two of the protagonist's classmates survived due to the choices that I had made throughout the game. Not sure if I could have saved the third one as well... maybe if I had taken a different path. Also, while revisiting the Arcology for the second time, it was good to see some of the characters that I had helped previously, and have them offer some helpful hints as thanks.

As for JC Denton, without spoiling anything, I will say that the version of him that we see in Deus Ex 2 was too different from how I played him in the original game. I wish the devs had done something similar to how Star Wars: KOTOR 2 handled Revan. That means leaving it up to the player to say what his fate was in the previous game through early dialogue with other characters, and then have that choice be acknowledged as fact later on. But alas, the developers had their own take on JC, which I wasn't a fan of.

Final thoughts, I think Deus Ex 2 isn't that bad when viewed on its own. But if you compare it to the masterpiece that was the first game, I can't shake the feeling that it could have been so much more.

it tied too much into the current war on terror at the time after 9.11.2001 which it kind of foresaw in 2000

RandomStranger wrote on 2023-12-09, 18:49:

twiz11 wrote on 2023-12-08, 22:48:

RandomStranger wrote on 2023-12-08, 20:57:

A couple of days ago I started playing Need for Speed Underground 2. I definitely have to re-learn the hitboxes. I chose the Cor […]
Show full quote

A couple of days ago I started playing Need for Speed Underground 2.
I definitely have to re-learn the hitboxes. I chose the Corolla as my starter car. I remember late-game that being one of the best control car without sacrificing top speed and after some upgrades it definitely lives up to my memories. For now I have that and a stock Escalade. When I unlock my third garage slot, I think I'll get a rice mule. If I'd follow my heart, I'd use the Escalade for that, I have no respect for that car class and don't mind making them ugly(er), but I'm they drive like a brick and rather use them as little as possible.

how did you get nfs u2 working again, that game has been borked for years

I don't know what curse did you put on my game, but today it refuses to launch 🙁

i have that effect

Decided to revisit C&C 2: Tiberian Sun. It's probably been 20+ years since I last played this. Back then, I loved the first C&C and Red Alert, and was super hyped for Tiberian Sun. But when the game finally shipped, it felt kinda... meh. Having just experienced StarCraft a year earlier, I guess I was expecting too much from a C&C sequel.

I decided to play the game at 640x480 because units look too tiny otherwise. The graphics of Tiberian Sun aren't very detailed anyway, and I feel like the sprites from the previous game had more character, despite using an even lower resolution. Also, the music is not as catchy as it was in the original, at least during the GDI campaign.

I do like the cinematics though, and seeing General Darth Vader and Commander Kyle Reese still makes me chuckle. 😁 Naturally, Kane is the real star of the show, and his scenes are always fun to watch. The production values on these FMVs are definitively higher than in the original, and it's clear the devs had a bigger budget.

At the moment, I'm slowly making my way through the GDI campaign. The plan is to finish that, followed by the NOD one, and then finally tackle Firestorm. I honestly don't remember if I ever played through the expansion back in the day, but I certainly intend to do it now.

Joseph_Joestar wrote on 2023-12-11, 10:51:

Decided to revisit C&C 2: Tiberian Sun.

I do like the cinematics though, and seeing General Darth Vader and Commander Kyle Reese still makes me chuckle. 😁 Naturally, Kane is the real star of the show, and his scenes are always fun to watch. The production values on these FMVs are definitively higher than in the original, and it's clear the devs had a bigger budget.

Yeah.. about that. The budget must have been a bit bigger, but I don't think it was worth it in the end. The FMVs are good in the beginning, the intro cinematics for both sides are great, but as the game progressess they seemed to get worse and worse. By the end I had started to facepalm out of embarrassment, not so great acting and hilarious props straight from the toy store. They also sometimes jump in a very jarring way into some new situation that has nothing to do with the mission you just finished and you have no idea what's going on. It's like watching a movie that sometimes suddenly jumps ahead 15min without warning. So you might want to brace yourself 😁

I too thought the game was fairly lame back then, I wanted my tanks and the units in TS didn't really do it for me. I still don't like NODs Tick Tanks that much. But the game later grew on me big time, I enjoyed it immensely when I played it an year ago. I personally like the soundtrack, I thought it suits the dystopic future mood well especially since the game is pretty slow paced. If I recall correctly there's two exlusive tracks for both sides.

Sombrero wrote on 2023-12-11, 12:40:

Yeah.. about that. The budget must have been a bit bigger, but I don't think it was worth it in the end. The FMVs are good in the beginning, the intro cinematics for both sides are great, but as the game progressess they seemed to get worse and worse.

So far, the FMVs have been decent, but I'm only on mission 4 or 5. Hard to keep track because there are so many optional ones. I guess I'll manage my expectations with regards to the later parts.

I personally like the soundtrack, I thought it suits the dystopic future mood well especially since the game is pretty slow paced. If I recall correctly there's two exlusive tracks for both sides.

Yeah, most of the GDI music consists of slow, ambiental tracks. Granted, the original C&C also featured a few of those, but it also had upbeat stuff like Act on Instinct and Mechanical Man. Not to mention Hell March from Red Alert. Those tracks always got me fired up for some action. In contrast, the TS music kinda puts me to sleep. 😜

Joseph_Joestar wrote on 2023-12-11, 15:50:

Most of the GDI music consists of slow, ambiental tracks. Granted, the original C&C also featured a few of those, but it also had upbeat stuff like Act on Instinct and Mechanical Man. Not to mention Hell March from Red Alert. Those tracks always got me fired up for some action. In contrast, the TS music kinda puts me to sleep. 😜

Yeah, even though I'm a fan myself it's clear the soundtrack and the wibe of the game is polarising. I find it atmospheric and relaxing. Though I am the guy who gets anxious while playing RA1 so take that as you will 😀

For the record Red Alert 2 is much faster paced and its soundtrack is much closer to original C&C and RA, not as iconic but definitely a banger, in case the slower ambient lulls you off the game.

I am active in several games, but many have already been mentioned. I don't see anyone talking about League of Legends, although most have heard of it and maybe even played it.

Being one of the most popular games for esports championships makes it difficult for standard players like me to play. Sometimes, you have to fight significantly better players, making it a perfect game for those who get bored quickly.
So, in Lol, you can only get bored of losing. Still, even then, you can use various Lol scripts, which make your champion much more competitive, even if you don't have master skills. The script does a fantastic job of assisting me in better understanding different aspects of gameplay and refining my skills. It might seem unconventional to some, but it's useful for a casual player struggling to keep up with the steep learning curve.

I am almost finishing the Quarter Mile expansion of Car Mechanic Simulator 2014; I was quite dissapointed in this expansion compared to the base game and the 4x4 expansion: The game has no controller support so your throttle control of W/Arrow-Up can be quite thickle before you get a perfect launch of the car in order to make the required time to return the car; this started to give me a very tight budget as I couldn't make it work out without blowing the budget. Luckily the requirement is just to get the car to get under xx.xx seconds on a quarter mile - you don't actually have to deliver the parts to the clients, so I saw myself more as a consultant; made the chip tuning, installed the parts, made the time, removed the parts back to my own stock, rebuild to stock (except of annoying and cheap parts like clutch and air filter), and returned the car. "This car can do xx.xx if you change the following parts".
Often it is needed to get a pair of drag slicks - at 5,000 a piece, if you only add one the car tend to drive more to one side.

I think I have two - maybe three tasks left, got a hefty profit so I am back at delivering tuned up cars.

Sombrero wrote on 2023-12-11, 16:31:

Yeah, even though I'm a fan myself it's clear the soundtrack and the wibe of the game is polarising. I find it atmospheric and relaxing. Though I am the guy who gets anxious while playing RA1 so take that as you will 😀

From what I've seen so far, TS does appear to be easier than the past C&C games. But the good old strategy from the previous entries still works fine. Build around two dozen tanks Titans, then casually stroll into the enemy base and reduce it to ashes. 😀 There were a few moments when the CPU got to use a new trick, but it usually ended up being just a minor nuisance.

For example, I just finished the mission where you first encounter those NOD subterranean APCs. I vaguely remembered them being bothersome, so I preemptively walled off my base and constructed pavement everywhere. Annoyingly, a small location near the road couldn't be paved over. However, this actually worked to my advantage, as the computer would always send its APCs to that same unpaved spot. After seeing this, I built six Vulcan Cannons nearby, and the enemy engineers never stood a chance.

With that level done, I think I'm about half way through the GDI campaign. Thanks to their superior firepower, it's pretty easy to dominate the map as soon as you gather enough units, so I'm just blazing through the levels. Except for those where you can't build anything and have a set amount of units, with some reinforcements. Those maps tend to drag on.

Joseph_Joestar wrote on 2023-12-12, 14:44:

From what I've seen so far, TS does appear to be easier than the past C&C games. But the good old strategy from the previous entries still works fine. Build around two dozen tanks Titans, then casually stroll into the enemy base and reduce it to ashes. 😀 There were a few moments when the CPU got to use a new trick, but it usually ended up being just a minor nuisance.

Yep, I'd say the normal difficulty is actually easy diffulty in reality. Too easy in fact, the enemy attacks are just pitiful and that's my biggest gripe with the game. The expansion is a tad harder, more in line with what I would call normal difficulty. Too bad it isn't otherwise as good as the base game.

Joseph_Joestar wrote on 2023-12-12, 14:44:

For example, I just finished the mission where you first encounter those NOD subterranean APCs. I vaguely remembered them being bothersome, so I preemptively walled off my base and constructed pavement everywhere. Annoyingly, a small location near the road couldn't be paved over. However, this actually worked to my advantage, as the computer would always send its APCs to that same unpaved spot. After seeing this, I built six Vulcan Cannons nearby, and the enemy engineers never stood a chance.

Those roads are annoying and they tend to be right in the middle of the intended area for your base rather often, makes perfect sense to be able to pour concrete over land but not on roads, no that's not okay. Oh well. You're right about the subterranean APCs, you are going to notice that if you manage to pave over enough land around where the APC is scripted to go they are going to bug out, you are going to find obvious strike teams just hanging around in their base with their APCs unable to figure out where to go 😁

I would also recommend always walling off your construction yard, I did get a couple "oops" moments before I started doing that myself.

I started a playthrough of Doom for the 30th anniversary. I intend to play through Ultimate Doom, then Sigil and Sigil 2 on my pentium 233.