appiah4 wrote on 2022-11-28, 12:45:

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..

I've posted my comments in this thread, but in summary:
I sunk 87 hours into Avernum: Escape from the Pit. It was entertaining enough to sink that many hours into, but at some point the quest tree became way too convoluted for me. There was no end in sight for the game and I kept wandering around solving quest after quest wondering if I was even near the end of the game. I eventually DNF the game at 87 hours. I got frustrated because I could not tell if I was making progress toward the end game.

clueless1 wrote on 2022-11-29, 11:07:

I got frustrated because I could not tell if I was making progress toward the end game.

That's when an open world game becomes an open abyss. 🤣

When I got my first ipad, I played Avernum and enjoyed it. There aren't many traditional CRPGs available for mobile devices. I also picked up the 2nd and 3rd. I enjoyed the sequels less, as I didn't notice much difference between them and the first game. I haven't played any other Spiderweb games, so I wouldn't know how the ios Avernum games compare to the originals.

newtmonkey wrote on 2022-11-28, 22:17:

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!

Wizardry-style first-person combat seems to be more abstract, if not more cerebral, while Goldbox's and Fallout's combat are more visceral. I actually enjoyed Dragon Wars with its first-person combat, but that was when I still got the time to dedicate myself to deep, statistics-heavy RPGs.

In any case, what games I just played?

Lasing an enemy APC.

BLAM! There he went.

Soviet forces kept advancing, so I sent AH-64 and A-10 to help my tanks stemming the tides.

A view from tank commander position.

Lasing the next target.

BLAM! The HEAT munition worked beautifully, a SABOT round would be overkill for this target.

TC unbuttoned.

Soviet forces suffered heavy losses, they still had a pair of SA-13s threatening our A-10.

Advancing the tanks to mop up the remaining Soviet forces.

The A-10 was shot down! I could see the smoke trails from the gunner position.

Advising the AH-64 to retreat and hide until the tanks reached the SA-13s.

Nope, it wasn't the SA-13 but the smoking remain of a Boyevaya Mashina Pyekhoty.

Finally, the SA-13s were taken out.

Debriefing.

Man, how I miss the Cold War.

Currently playing Colonization, with a bit of Kotor on another system

Been messing around tonight with the ray tracing mods for Quake 1. Really does look great. Considering I never finished the first Quake, I think it's time.

https://github.com/sultim-t/vkquake-rt/releas … /1.20.2-rt1.0.1

https://github.com/sultim-t/vkquake-rt/releas … /1.20.2-rt1.0.2

Kreshna Aryaguna Nurzaman wrote on 2022-11-30, 04:53:

In any case, what games I just played?

Is that "Spearhead"? I've only played the demo of it on a PC Gamer magazine cover disc.

liqmat wrote on 2022-12-02, 00:02:

Been messing around tonight with the ray tracing mods for Quake 1. Really does look great. Considering I never finished the first Quake, I think it's time.

https://github.com/sultim-t/vkquake-rt/releas … /1.20.2-rt1.0.1

https://github.com/sultim-t/vkquake-rt/releas … /1.20.2-rt1.0.2

Is this an unofficial fork of vkquake or something in vkquake's dev pipeline?

liqmat wrote on 2022-12-02, 00:02:

Been messing around tonight with the ray tracing mods for Quake 1. Really does look great. Considering I never finished the first Quake, I think it's time.

https://github.com/sultim-t/vkquake-rt/releas … /1.20.2-rt1.0.1

https://github.com/sultim-t/vkquake-rt/releas … /1.20.2-rt1.0.2

I saw that on Digital Foundry. Looks really cool, just haven't had time to mess with it yet. Keep us posted.

Here's the Digital Foundry link for anyone who's interested:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IhhLcZQ2zD0

I'd never read anything on digital foundry if you paid me to do it. They are literally on nVidia payroll. When they cover a RT technology, you can bet your ass nVidia money exchanged hands for them to do it.

I started Half Life 2 a couple of days ago, having never played it before (nor the original). It's been both fun and frustrating, and the temptation to resort to internet guides when I get stuck is ever present, but I'm getting better at figuring out the game's logic. I'm playing it set to normal difficulty rather than easy, so I'm dying quite often.

clueless1 wrote on 2022-12-02, 11:20:

I saw that on Digital Foundry. Looks really cool, just haven't had time to mess with it yet. Keep us posted. […]
Show full quote

liqmat wrote on 2022-12-02, 00:02:

Been messing around tonight with the ray tracing mods for Quake 1. Really does look great. Considering I never finished the first Quake, I think it's time.

https://github.com/sultim-t/vkquake-rt/releas … /1.20.2-rt1.0.1

https://github.com/sultim-t/vkquake-rt/releas … /1.20.2-rt1.0.2

I saw that on Digital Foundry. Looks really cool, just haven't had time to mess with it yet. Keep us posted.

Here's the Digital Foundry link for anyone who's interested:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IhhLcZQ2zD0

There's a good tip in the DF video about downgrading DLSS to 2.2.6 that works for lots of games that have been updated or released with DLSS 2.4.

Still on Final Fantasy 7. Just finished up Junon and took the ferry to the other continent. Even with Yamaha XG music Rufus' welcome theme remains extremely annoying. Hearing that song on repeat while being forced to perform the stupid marching mini game is the worst. That one, the Golden Saucer theme and one of the Chocobo racing tunes are probably the only tracks in the game that I actively dislike. Most other songs are really good and quite memorable.

Anyhow, combat and the story still hold up very well, at least for my tastes. Managed to get my favorite chars (Cloud, Tifa and Yuffie) to around level 25, which is probably a bit overpowered for this stage of the game. Didn't actually mean to level that much, but it kinda happened while I was unlocking their innate limit breaks, excluding the final one.

Lastly, I noticed that walking around somehow feels less precise in the PC version compared to the original PlayStation release. It's like there are fewer angles that Cloud can face or something. Not a big deal, but it does make navigating some of the cramped areas slightly more difficult.

liqmat wrote on 2022-12-02, 00:02:

Been messing around tonight with the ray tracing mods for Quake 1. Really does look great. Considering I never finished the first Quake, I think it's time.

https://github.com/sultim-t/vkquake-rt/releas … /1.20.2-rt1.0.1

https://github.com/sultim-t/vkquake-rt/releas … /1.20.2-rt1.0.2

Wonder if they've be willing to do the add-ons as well. They did Quake 2 also but don't think the other episodes were included.

Slowly progressing through Gateway to the Savage Frontier. I was a little intimidated to pick up another Gold Box game, but I don't know why I was. It starts off super easy. New characters begin with 3000 XP, putting them at least at level 2. All the early encounters are a piece of cake if you just know the interface and have played an RPG before. I'm actually finding myself in a pickle because all my characters are ready to level up already, but I haven't found enough treasure to pay for their training! But overall, it's an extremely pleasurable, straight forward RPG. The Gold Box combat engine is a pleasure, as always.

I got curious and went through some old reviews or comments for the game in CGW. It was generally regarded as a competent, if unspectacular also-ran. Which is hard to argue with. But given the "Gold Box" style RPG more or less went extinct after the period where SSI was making them, it makes this also-ran all the more precious as time marches on.

Which is actually how I find myself feeling about a lot of middling, 2.5/5 star games or expansions from the 90's. After I beat Quake 2: The Reckoning, I read the contemporary reviews and they were mostly, "It's more Quake 2 if you want that I guess...". 6 months after Quake 2, around the release of Unreal, anticipating the release of Half-Life, that's an understandable reaction. 25 years after the release of Quake 2, where the Quake 2 style of boomer shooter more or less vanished, it's a precious gem.

Oh, I know there is a whole genre of new boomer shooters. I haven't delved them all. But even there, Quake 2 seems largely overlooked as an inspiration. Doom, Duke3d and Quake 1 dominate the gameplay vocabulary.

Thinking about banning (not really....mabye) if I see that that name used here, it's ridiculous and inacurate.
What's next millennial shooter? It's all BS to cause people to rage, click and like. Just say no.

appiah4 wrote on 2022-12-02, 07:57:

Is this an unofficial fork of vkquake or something in vkquake's dev pipeline?

clueless1 wrote on 2022-12-02, 11:20:

I saw that on Digital Foundry. Looks really cool, just haven't had time to mess with it yet. Keep us posted.

wiibur wrote on 2022-12-02, 12:46:

There's a good tip in the DF video about downgrading DLSS to 2.2.6 that works for lots of games that have been updated or released with DLSS 2.4.

buckeye wrote on 2022-12-02, 13:56:

Wonder if they've be willing to do the add-ons as well. They did Quake 2 also but don't think the other episodes were included.

Hey folks,

Been playing it for a bit and I have to say, for the most part, it makes Quake a much better experience overall. I do have a few gripes, but I am sure newer iterations will allow for more options. Like some reviewers have already said, I am not so sure about the toxic liquid color. Right now it's a pale light blue/aqua color. Green maybe? Would be nice if you could adjust this to personal taste.

Liquids look fantastic at some angles and just bleh at other angles depending where the light sources are. That toxic pool pic above doesn't look that impressive from a top-down perspective, but get into the pool with a light source reflecting on it and you really see the difference. It obviously looks much better in motion.

A very cool feature is the 'F' key, which allows you to instantly flip between classic and full ray trace modes. The classic mode still has ray tracing, but very minimal and closer to the original look of the game. It's neat to travel through the levels and flip back and forth to see the massive difference.

One last thing. I don't favor AMD or NVidia over another as they come pretty dang close in quality, but I find 'AMD FSR 2.0' in 'Quality' mode looks a bit better than 'NVidia DLSS' in 'Quality' mode with this particular game. It's subjective, but I find DLSS (even 2.2.6) a tiny bit muddier than FSR 2.0.

One last note, I had to install this through the manual method (not difficult) as I'm using the GOG version of Quake. Either way, I'm having a blast and it looks amazing. Don't forget... hit that 'F' key a lot so you can go "oooooh... purty!"

Namrok wrote on 2022-12-02, 16:13:

But even there, Quake 2 seems largely overlooked as an inspiration. Doom, Duke3d and Quake 1 dominate the gameplay vocabulary.

Quake 2 is a pretty mediocre shooter. Sure it was all nice and shiny with 3D colored lighting when it came out, but in terms of gameplay, it's worse than Doom, Duke3D and Quake 1. It's just too boring and repetitive. So what you are seeing is understandable.

dr_st wrote on 2022-12-02, 17:37:

Namrok wrote on 2022-12-02, 16:13:

But even there, Quake 2 seems largely overlooked as an inspiration. Doom, Duke3d and Quake 1 dominate the gameplay vocabulary.

Quake 2 is a pretty mediocre shooter. Sure it was all nice and shiny with 3D colored lighting when it came out, but in terms of gameplay, it's worse than Doom, Duke3D and Quake 1. It's just too boring and repetitive. So what you are seeing is understandable.

You know, I felt that way too once upon a time. But replaying it recently changed my perspective. I found the enemy attack patterns engaging, the level design had a great flow to it, and it broadly had fun environmental story telling. I think the Strogg Palace may be one of the best end levels of an FPS I've ever played. I'd even put it at the apex of that style of run and gun shooter alongside Doom and Quake. Way more consistent level design than Quake, as well as fewer obnoxious enemies like the spawn. I think on net it had a better single player campaign than Doom, even if Episode 1 of Doom might be the best 9 levels in an FPS of all time.

So why did I feel like Quake 2 was so mediocre for so long? The fucking Warehouse unit. It's the second unit you get to, and it's by far the blandest, most repetitive, and most boring. I've started Quake 2 again so many times over the years, loved the shit out of the first unit, gotten 1/3 of the way through the Warehouse and quit in boredom. When I pushed past it this last time through, the game I saw completely wiped away years of The Warehouse being the last and lasting impression I was left with of Quake 2.

Repo Man11 wrote on 2022-12-02, 12:02:

I started Half Life 2 a couple of days ago, having never played it before (nor the original). It's been both fun and frustrating, and the temptation to resort to internet guides when I get stuck is ever present, but I'm getting better at figuring out the game's logic. I'm playing it set to normal difficulty rather than easy, so I'm dying quite often.

You getting your feet wet with FPS games remind me of the time I got into RPG's the first time, a friend of mine was raving about Fallout 2 and I, never having played any RPGs, understood nothing about it. Didn't get the game at all, seemed stupid to me. Later once I had played simpler RPG's to soften the landing I got back to Fallout 2 and it became my all time favorite game.

C&C: Tiberian Sun - Firestorm expansion done as GDI.

Hadn't played the expansion before and was a bit worried about two things about it, one less severe and one bigger one. The smaller one was that it's one of those expansions the interns in the back room cobble up fast and cheap while the A-team work on the next actual game. Well this most definitely was the case. It wasn't bad per se, just very unremarkable. At least they tried to do something different with the missions but with limited tools they usually just made things a bit stupid. On one mission you are putting down a riot and use only non-lethal weapons, which is a good idea, but it wasn't very fun trying to disable enemy vehicles that are zooming around with 3 EMP tanks that can only fire once before having to recharge that takes AGES and the EMP only affects the area around the tank itself.

The bigger fear I had was it's going to do the expansion special and crank the difficulty to 11. The main game was too easy so I wouldn't minded if the expansion was a bit more challenging, but I was worried it would overcorrect and turn into nightmarish trial and error hell. Had no need to worry about that, maybe it was just a little more difficult than the base game but still very easy. Only the last mission was more in line with what I'd call normal difficulty.

Overall it was okay, but very forgettable and I wouldn't necessarily recommend it for those who have played Tiberian Sun but skipped this one, you didn't miss much. I'll play the NOD campaing since I'm a C&C nut but not yet, I need to take a break from RTS games.

Maybe C&C: Renegade next 🤣