clueless1 wrote on 2023-01-10, 12:30:

I know this is not technically gaming, but I've gotten on a gpu tuning kick. I happen to be using Tomb Raider (2013) as part of my test suite. 😀

So far I've gotten my RTX 2060 KO to run at 1905Mhz stable with only 0.85v. This basically turns the card from a 160W TDP to a 110W TDP without losing any performance. Card runs cooler, quieter and puts less stress on the PSU. Zero performance loss. I'll take that please!

Very nice! Those are some impressive results.

chrismeyer6 wrote on 2023-01-10, 17:51:

clueless1 wrote on 2023-01-10, 12:30:

I know this is not technically gaming, but I've gotten on a gpu tuning kick. I happen to be using Tomb Raider (2013) as part of my test suite. 😀

So far I've gotten my RTX 2060 KO to run at 1905Mhz stable with only 0.85v. This basically turns the card from a 160W TDP to a 110W TDP without losing any performance. Card runs cooler, quieter and puts less stress on the PSU. Zero performance loss. I'll take that please!

Very nice! Those are some impressive results.

Turned out too good to be true. When I tried loading my most gpu-intensive game (Kingdom Come Deliverance) things became a bit less stable. I finally settled on 1860Mhz at 0.9V. Just slightly less performance (but still enough to maintain 60fps in KCD on Very High Detail), and about the same power consumption. During gaming, GPU is using <100W typically, though I did see a brief max of 117W.

That's still not a bad result after additional tuning.

I just started to play SSI gold box starting with Dragonlance - Champions of Krynn, oh my i'm still at character creation after few hours.

amontre wrote on 2023-01-11, 03:15:

I just started to play SSI gold box starting with Dragonlance - Champions of Krynn, oh my i'm still at character creation after few hours.

The way it's supposed to be. Don't forget your graph paper.

amontre wrote on 2023-01-11, 03:15:

I just started to play SSI gold box starting with Dragonlance - Champions of Krynn, oh my i'm still at character creation after few hours.

Nice! Enjoy 😀
I haven't played any of the Dragonlance games in the series (though the trilogy is one of the few physical boxed games I own). I have been slowly working through the series over the past few years, and had a blast completing Pool of Radiance and Curse of the Azure Bonds, and am deep into Secret of the Silver Blades currently.

If you end liking this series, I definitely recommend Pool of Radiance. It's in my top 3 RPGs of all time, and sometimes I'd even place it at #1. It just does everything right.

newtmonkey wrote on 2023-01-11, 03:58:

If you end liking this series, I definitely recommend Pool of Radiance. It's in my top 3 RPGs of all time, and sometimes I'd even place it at #1. It just does everything right.

I just got the Forgotten Realms based Golden Box games from GOG, as well as the Eye of the Beholder trilogy.

Is it normal that Pool of Radiance doesn't have any sound effects or music? I know the Golden Box games are fairly old but I was expecting... something in terms of sound. The Eye of the Beholder games have Adlib sound effects and music as far as I can tell, other than the third one which does have some digitized sounds as well.

Joseph_Joestar wrote on 2023-01-11, 07:47:

newtmonkey wrote on 2023-01-11, 03:58:

If you end liking this series, I definitely recommend Pool of Radiance. It's in my top 3 RPGs of all time, and sometimes I'd even place it at #1. It just does everything right.

I just got the Forgotten Realms based Golden Box games from GOG, as well as the Eye of the Beholder trilogy.

Is it normal that Pool of Radiance doesn't have any sound effects or music? I know the Golden Box games are fairly old but I was expecting... something in terms of sound. The Eye of the Beholder games have Adlib sound effects and music as far as I can tell, other than the third one which does have some digitized sounds as well.

For the earlier Gold Box SSI games play the Amiga versions for superior sound/music and graphics.

I just finished the level Exodus from Halo: Reach on Legendary difficulty. As much as I am in love with the game, this is probably the first Halo game where I feel the Legendary difficulty is basically frustratingly unfair rather than rewardingly difficult. I didn't even mind getting one shotted by Jackals in Halo 2 this much. The last extended arena fight of this level gives you no checkpints after the enemy reinforcements arrive from the carriers, and they are a very tough bunch.. Not to mention that you need to then proceed getting into a tiny room guarded by an armored Brute with a shield upgrade weilding a Fuel Rod Cannon in order to press the button.

Granted, it would probably have been so much easier if I did not switch my jumppack with a camo shield earlier in the level (this could allow me to fly into the room from the window, press the button and run away..) but if this is what they were counting on, then it's bad level design. Instead I got stuck in a big ass fight with a sub-optimal loadout and had to try it for about 20 times over two nights before I could succeed.

Anyway.. Only three levels to go. Looking forward to it 😀 (Even though I hear Pillar of Autumn, the most infuriating level of the game, awaits..)

Joseph_Joestar wrote on 2023-01-11, 07:47:

Is it normal that Pool of Radiance doesn't have any sound effects or music? I know the Golden Box games are fairly old but I was expecting... something in terms of sound. The Eye of the Beholder games have Adlib sound effects and music as far as I can tell, other than the third one which does have some digitized sounds as well.

The latest version of PoR does not have any music (an earlier version had a tune that played on the title screen, but this was removed for some reason). There should be PC speaker sound effects, though there aren't many. Just footsteps sounds when walking, and some battle SFX. You can enable Tandy mode to improve them somewhat, but the difference is not huge.

Wasteland 2
I decided to take a day off yesterday, and ended up playing this for several hours. Even though there isn't a ton of variety in the scenarios so far, I am really enjoying this. Each member of the party is growing more and more specialized as they level up, and all together they're beginning to really feel like a crack team. I'll often send my sniper out alone to engage enemies, drawing them back to where the rest of the team is waiting. The battle system has most of the standard "tactical combat" options you'd expect (crouching, taking cover, head shots, ambush shots), so there's a lot you can do to eek out an advantage during battles.

It can get a bit repetitive, though. I've started running into some new enemies, but it's still typically just a couple of enemy types on each map. Having said that, each type of enemy is actually quite unique, so you have to change your tactics a bit from area to area.

Tomb Raider (2013)
Slowly working my way through Shanty Town now. This is a huge section with tons to explore with only a few combat sections. These are my favorite parts of this game. And oh, it looks so good especially for a 2013 game.

Playing through Timeshift.

I played Portal yesterday for the first time.

My own self fulfilment of that classic xkcd comic, except that we can change it's "Early 2013" to "Early 2023". Thus, I am a decade later, than a meme about lateness. Yay for that.

Anyway, it's obviously slightly redundant at this stage to say 'good game'. I have the sequel lined up to play soon, and, knowing it's reputation, I'm sure it will be a very good time.

appiah4 wrote on 2023-01-11, 08:55:

Joseph_Joestar wrote on 2023-01-11, 07:47:

newtmonkey wrote on 2023-01-11, 03:58:

If you end liking this series, I definitely recommend Pool of Radiance. It's in my top 3 RPGs of all time, and sometimes I'd even place it at #1. It just does everything right.

I just got the Forgotten Realms based Golden Box games from GOG, as well as the Eye of the Beholder trilogy.

Is it normal that Pool of Radiance doesn't have any sound effects or music? I know the Golden Box games are fairly old but I was expecting... something in terms of sound. The Eye of the Beholder games have Adlib sound effects and music as far as I can tell, other than the third one which does have some digitized sounds as well.

For the earlier Gold Box SSI games play the Amiga versions for superior sound/music and graphics.

That's a damn good idea. Noted.

Shreddoc wrote on 2023-01-15, 01:19:

I played Portal yesterday for the first time.

My own self fulfilment of that classic xkcd comic, except that we can change it's "Early 2013" to "Early 2023". Thus, I am a decade later, than a meme about lateness. Yay for that.

I haven't even played Portal yet. But I played Beyond Good & Evil (from 2003) for the first (and only so far) time in 2021.

I played Portal around 2013 🤣. I still haven't played the sequel.

ion fury... meh (p'bayed)
knights of honor 2.. ok

Wasteland 2
Still plugging away at this, now around 15 hours in or so according to Steam. I took a peek at the "howlongtobeat" page for this game, and it seems like it's a 30-40 hour game, which puts me around halfway through.

I'm still enjoying this, but I am starting to notice its flaws. The biggest one so far is that you really just do the same thing throughout the entire game (so far). Slowly run around maps, use the one skill you are supposed to use against every challenge (unlock, disarm, etc.), get into a couple of fights with the same couple of enemies on each map. Of course, the same could be said about any RPG (or game) really, but I think the issue with this game is that I feel like I should be nearing the end, but apparently still have another 15-25 hours to go.

Having said all that, it's a solid game. I complained about using the same skills against the same challenges each time, but most modern RPGs don't even let you do that. I also complained about the combat, but it's actual a very solid system, and it gets extra points for being both turn-based and tactical (if a bit easy so far).

There are some points in the game's favor. The situations you get into are actually pretty interesting, even if the writing is generally poor. It's also cool that the game is actually quite non-linear and open with no level-scaling. You have access to much of the world right from the start, and there are definitely some areas you won't be powerful enough to clear until many hours later. One of the most satisfying things about playing an RPG imo, and many modern games lose sight of this.

Anyway, rather than force myself to keep playing (and risk disliking the game), I might put it aside for now and play something else for a bit. I'd like to finish my playthroughs of Exile: EftP and Might & Magic II, so I might choose one of those.

newtmonkey wrote on 2023-01-18, 17:56:

Wasteland 2
Still plugging away at this, now around 15 hours in or so according to Steam. I took a peak at the "howlongtobeat" page for this game, and it seems like it's a 30-40 hour game, which puts me around halfway through.

For me the playthrought of the Director's Cut was close to 90 hours, so that ~40hrs is probably just the main quest line.

newtmonkey wrote on 2023-01-18, 17:56:

I think the issue with this game is that I feel like I should be nearing the end, but apparently still have another 15-25 hours to go.

I assume you are still in Arizona. It does feel like nearing the end around the end of that part.

clueless1 wrote on 2023-01-14, 12:40:

Tomb Raider (2013)
Slowly working my way through Shanty Town now. This is a huge section with tons to explore with only a few combat sections. These are my favorite parts of this game. And oh, it looks so good especially for a 2013 game.
Shanty Town 1.jpg

Uh... I hate that game with passion.

Now playing Duke Nukem 3D on a gamepad with all 6 buttons!!