I've been playing through Mass Effect Andromeda following me completing the original trilogy with the Legendary Edition. It's still not great, but it's at least better than I remember it being before I gave up a few years back.

liqmat wrote on 2021-05-30, 16:16:

Speaking of Fallout

https://www.nexusmods.com/newvegas/mods/72044

I went to the link but it says the Mod is currently hidden.

chrismeyer6 wrote on 2021-05-30, 19:59:

liqmat wrote on 2021-05-30, 16:16:

Speaking of Fallout

https://www.nexusmods.com/newvegas/mods/72044

I went to the link but it says the Mod is currently hidden.

It was up this morning for download. Early bird gets the worm I guess.

Yeah it's weird. They don't really give a reason as to why it's hidden

chrismeyer6 wrote on 2021-05-30, 22:08:

Yeah it's weird. They don't really give a reason as to why it's hidden

I would have thrown it your way, but I didn't have any interest in it so I didn't download unfortunately.

All good my friend I don't even own new Vegas

Dark Souls: Remastered

Finished! This is my third time through Dark Souls (first two times were on PS3), but first time through the remastered version. In a fit of nostalgia I played through as a Pyromancer, as this was the class I used when I first beat the game on PS3. This time I decided to make the ultimate Pyro and it was a lot of fun really exploring this class—for example, this time I around I gained an appreciation for how powerful the short-range combustion spells are.

What more can be said about this amazing game? Excellent all around. You'd think it wouldn't be good for replays due to being somewhat linear and long, but playing as a different class can really change how the game plays—and plus, there are so many secrets all over the place you almost always end up finding something new on a replay.

It's not perfect of course. The final 15% of the game pales in comparison to the first 85% with some seemingly half-finished locations (the run from Crystal Caves to Demon Ruins and Lost Izalith is a real drag) and by far the worst boss in the game, the Bed of Chaos, which relies heavily on luck even when you know exactly how to defeat it.

On the other hand, the DLC areas and bosses are all excellent so if you save those for last the game ends on a high note.

clueless1 wrote on 2021-05-29, 13:46:

Jackhead wrote on 2021-05-26, 16:19:

Wizardry 6 on MS-DOS 6.22 (k6 3+ @500 with setmul@ min)

I recommend a sound card with a PC Speaker header for a better aural experience. It's a long game (took me 111 hours when I beat it in 2019) but very addictive and satisfying. I did transfer my party over to 7 and then 8 and it was an epic adventure. It took almost exactly one year to complete the trilogy and 6 was the shortest of the three. 😀

Is this a game that uses PC Speaker even thought it supports Adlib/Soundblaster? A la Ultima 6?

infiniteclouds wrote on 2021-05-31, 08:10:

clueless1 wrote on 2021-05-29, 13:46:

Jackhead wrote on 2021-05-26, 16:19:

Wizardry 6 on MS-DOS 6.22 (k6 3+ @500 with setmul@ min)

I recommend a sound card with a PC Speaker header for a better aural experience. It's a long game (took me 111 hours when I beat it in 2019) but very addictive and satisfying. I did transfer my party over to 7 and then 8 and it was an epic adventure. It took almost exactly one year to complete the trilogy and 6 was the shortest of the three. 😀

Is this a game that uses PC Speaker even thought it supports Adlib/Soundblaster? A la Ultima 6?

I think you're right. Here's a link to HunterZ's explanation. Basically, native PC Speaker piped through the sound card sounds better than their SB implementation:
Re: Wizardry 6 - Bane of the Cosmic Forge

Post Mortem. Some games age like fine wine, but this one aged like milk.

Into cheese ?

BeastOfSoda wrote on 2021-06-01, 00:42:

Post Mortem. Some games age like fine wine, but this one aged like milk.

i always think that means the game was a bit off to begin with

a game like Doom has aged very badly in some ways - you cant even jump for a start! anyway, despite it's apparent flaws and lack of features it somehow still plays well now

sure a modern game does more, i wont pretend that Doom held up well in that way, but its still enjoyable to play which is what counts

games that aged very poorly and are not much fun to play are ones where they were not so great at the time but perhaps more acceptable given the alternatives, imo anyway

Mass Destruction

gerry wrote on 2021-06-01, 10:16:

i always think that means the game was a bit off to begin with […]
Show full quote

BeastOfSoda wrote on 2021-06-01, 00:42:

Post Mortem. Some games age like fine wine, but this one aged like milk.

i always think that means the game was a bit off to begin with

a game like Doom has aged very badly in some ways - you cant even jump for a start! anyway, despite it's apparent flaws and lack of features it somehow still plays well now

sure a modern game does more, i wont pretend that Doom held up well in that way, but its still enjoyable to play which is what counts

games that aged very poorly and are not much fun to play are ones where they were not so great at the time but perhaps more acceptable given the alternatives, imo anyway

Quite right. In this case, there are many flaws that prevent it from being a great game, mainly due to the confusing, unskippable dialogues and obtuse puzzle design. The clunky interface doesn't help either, and it all feels way unpolished. At least sound design and atmosphere are both decent, but I can't wait to be done with it.

Dark Souls II: Scholar of the First Sin (PC)
The Dark Souls addiction is real. After completing the first Dark Souls for the third time, I decided to resume a game in progress in DS2... and now I've spent 15 hours this week on this damned game 🤣. I've finished this once before (on PS3), though it was the original release and not the upgraded/updated Scholar of the First Sin version. I then replayed it (base version again) using a different build but got to the end and just lost interest in finishing it again.

So this is my first time playing the upgraded version (and on PC) and I'm impressed. Much better lighting and textures than the original version, and a solid frame rate certainly helps. My build this time around was to start as a cleric and then slowly develop my character into a pyromancer. Pyromancy isn't as fun here as in DS1 (first, there's no way to start as a pyromancer and it takes some time to even get access to pyromancy spells; second, casting pyromancies uses up stamina so melee-ranged spells are not as overpowered), but it's still rewarding.

I remember being really annoyed with DS2 on the PS3, but am really enjoying it this time around. I've read that the game was rebalanced since its first release, and I'd say it was a definite improvement. I like how the world is structured here—you explore outward from a hub area and often have 2-3 areas to explore at any time, along with several smaller optional areas. It gives some leeway to do other stuff if you hit an area that's too difficult or annoying for your current character.

Half-Life : Opposing Force

A few days ago I finished installing the 3 Half-Life games including Blue Shift.
I started with Opposing Force for a change. It really has been over two decades since the last time I took a serious effort to finish these games.
I am surprised how well my SLI setup is performing in these games. Due to the processor I didn't expect it to be bad, but never would have imagined the voodoo 2 cards would run the game at over 100fps on average.
It is really enjoyable.

As a long time fan of role playing games who's only dabbled with (and not really understood) isometric turn based games, I suspect I'm missing out on some great experiences. I need something modern to get me going so I'm trying my hand at Pillars of Eternity II (PoE 1 sounded great too but I liked the look of PoE2's setting better) (also 1 isn't turn based).

I tried to watch a couple of YouTube clips that explain the combat for me - I'm using the turn based option - but hot damn they were boring, so I just fired up the game and started playing instead. The interface is great and the tutorial is pretty nice so I'm getting there I think - I've just thrown away my original save and started again now that I vaguely know what I'm doing.

Most of the mechanics are familiar but I have no idea about what makes a good party and what turn based battle tactics look like, but I'm playing on an easy difficulty so I'll work it out. Or it'll bore me to tears and I'll give up. Time will tell.

badmojo wrote on 2021-06-05, 06:27:

As a long time fan of role playing games who's only dabbled with (and not really understood) isometric turn based games, I suspe […]
Show full quote

As a long time fan of role playing games who's only dabbled with (and not really understood) isometric turn based games, I suspect I'm missing out on some great experiences. I need something modern to get me going so I'm trying my hand at Pillars of Eternity II (PoE 1 sounded great too but I liked the look of PoE2's setting better) (also 1 isn't turn based).

I tried to watch a couple of YouTube clips that explain the combat for me - I'm using the turn based option - but hot damn they were boring, so I just fired up the game and started playing instead. The interface is great and the tutorial is pretty nice so I'm getting there I think - I've just thrown away my original save and started again now that I vaguely know what I'm doing.

Most of the mechanics are familiar but I have no idea about what makes a good party and what turn based battle tactics look like, but I'm playing on an easy difficulty so I'll work it out. Or it'll bore me to tears and I'll give up. Time will tell.

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I recognize the need to reroll... Usually when I play RPGs I get into s reroll loop and restart the game 10 times. Fear of missing out maybe? 😀

Been playing the remastered version of C&C lately. Looks great while preserving the original gameplay, so I'm enjoying it!

Joakim wrote on 2021-06-05, 07:28:

I recognize the need to reroll... Usually when I play RPGs I get into s reroll loop and restart the game 10 times. Fear of missing out maybe? 😀

God I hate that and this is why I think RPGs should give you the option to respec mid-game, since you don't always know what an effective build will be before you play for a bit and being forced to start over because you made bad permanent choices is never fun.
That said, I've seen worse. Class of Heroes 2 gives you a few extra stat points to allocate after picking your race and class, but the amount it gives you is random and can be anywhere from 2 or 3 points to as high as 25. The manual even recommends backing out of the menu and selecting your race/class again until you get a decent number. I look at this and I just think, why would you design the game this way? Why would you deliberately be this hostile to the player and so disrespectful of their time? Just give me the same 20 or so points every time so I don't spend two hours stuck on this screen building my party and getting an awful first impression of your game.