What are you playing? Options

[mirocu]

Minecraft does sound fun, Decrepit. Can I get it on disc in single player offline mode?

[Decrepit]

Minecraft does sound fun, Decrepit. Can I get it on disc in single player offline mode?

Alas. Unless something has changed recently Minecraft betrays its indie origins by being available as a download only, with no equivalent disc release. While it has a very strong single-player component the game defaults logging on to the authentication server. This can be bypassed, and single-player mode itself does not actually require online access to play, but there is no simple means to disable online within the game itself. (It does so automatically when servers are down.) It can be done, but in my opinion isn't worth the hassle.

I'm normally one who shuns games that do not provide an easily accessible online disable toggle. With PC Minecraft I find I don't mind. It tends to get online right, with no attempt at funny business, and a lot of benefits such as still-free updates and being able to DL older versions of the game, going all the way back to pre-alpha. (You might want to do so either for nostalgia or to try a mod that requires a specific older version.)

Console Minecraft was at one time and still might be sold on disc. It's still a good game, but it's quite the equal of PC Minecraft. Console versions tend to by several updates behind PC Minecraft, and the playing world is far far smaller. (A generated PC Minecraft world has a surface larger than our earth.) So far as I recall, console MC also connects online, bu I don't know particulars having never played it.

As to being fun, it certainly is or can be. Very relaxing too, or challenging or a mixture of both depending on your play style. For me, few things are more relaxing than branch mining in Minecraft. Then you dig into a vast underground cavern system and the mood changes completely, should you choose to explore it.

This post has been edited by Decrepit: Apr 8 2016, 01:19 PM

[PhonAntiPhon]

Currently Bioshock on the PC, Asdivine Hearts and Sorcery! 2 on the Tablet.
I'm also making a game in RPGMaker VXA and CURRENTLY

Right at this minute I'm re-re-re-re-re-RE-installing Oblivion...
...Again.

[mirocu]

Currently Bioshock on the PC

Right at this minute I'm re-re-re-re-re-RE-installing Oblivion...
...Again.

Awesome!

[PhonAntiPhon]

Currently Bioshock on the PC

Right at this minute I'm re-re-re-re-re-RE-installing Oblivion...
...Again.

Awesome!

Heh, we'll see - I have the prospect of wading through all the usual suspects mod-wise yet...!

[hazmick]

I'm currently away from home and, as a result, my Xbox. Fortunately I have my Nintendo 3DS with me, so I've been playing Harvest Moon 3D: A New Beginning.

Having been a fan of the Harvest Moon games for years, I'm pleased that this one feels both comfortably familiar and refreshingly new. There's still the farming and friendship aspects of older games, but it adds new characters and mechanics that really improve it.

The main aim of this particular entry into the franchise is to build your very own town. Starting in a small village, with only 3 other residents, you can build houses and attract new people to the area. There's a huge array of crafting blueprints that allow you to build and edit to your hearts content.

New animals such as the Llama and the Yak join old favourites like Sheep and Cows to give a pretty big variation to your farm.

The game is a little slow to start, since you need to craft and unlock things in order to advance, but it's super fun and I can see myself pouring lots of time into this one.

Of course nothing will beat the PS2 version of Harvest Moon: A Wonderful Life, but this one's not too far off.

[Callidus Thorn]

Bit of a mixed bag today: A little Rainbow 6 Vegas, some Red Dead Redemption, and a pinch of Oblivion thrown in for good measure

[SubRosa]

Thanks to my recent Sharpe's Rifles and Horatio Hornblower watching, today I bought John Tiller's Battleground Napoleonic Wars. I played a little bit of Battleground Waterloo, then dove into Age of Sail, which came bundled with Napoleon in Russia and Prelude to Waterloo. I am proud to say I captained the USS Andrew Doria to victory of the HMS Racehorse. And now I just found it has a fictional battle between Horatio Hornblower's Lydia vs. the Natividad!

This post has been edited by SubRosa: Apr 22 2016, 02:27 AM

[SubRosa]

I have been thinking about buying Shogun 2 Total War, but I see it requires Steam. So now I am thinking against it. I also saw that Rome 2 TW has a Daughters of Mars dlc that adds some female units. About damn time. That tempts me to try it as well. But again, Steam..

Has anyone ever played either? Angry Joe's review on Rome 2 really turned me off of trying it. But I think he based a lot of his frustration on the multiplayer being broken, which I don't really care about since I am never going to use multiplayer. Then again, I recall him also saying the game tended to be a repetition of siege after siege. I also see a lot of people saying that it is full of bugs, traits and special abilities don't work, and so forth.

Maybe I will knuckle under and try Shogun 2. I just love this review:

In one turn I...
-murdered 10,000 christians
-married my only daughter to my 43 year old general, hoping it would keep his loyalty (it didn't)
-assassinated two priests whose only crime was trespassing
-let dozens of my own men starve in the snow, on purpose, so I could capture Honma Island a turn early
-made that same general commit suicide, for honor or something
-burned Kyoto to the ground just to show everyone how much I truly care about my 'Shogun' status
-spent all my money on a gold mine, instead of food
-put down a rebellion that was my own fault for not providing enough food
-totally f-ing fell in love with this game

...

P.S. she was 14 D:

This post has been edited by SubRosa: Jun 20 2016, 02:05 AM

[hazmick]

I played, and enjoyed, the 1st Shogun game back in the day. I have fond memories of training as many Geishas as possible and assassinating my way to victory.

I might check out the 2nd game and see if my laptop can handle it. Doubtful, but worth a try.

[SubRosa]

I have Shogun 1 thanks to a total war games bundle I bought a long time ago with the original RTW, MTW, and STW. I never got much into Shogun 1 though. In fact, Shogun 1 was the very first Total War game I ever tried playing. When it first came out the demo for it was on my monthly PC Gamer disc (I used to have a subscription, back when people still made magazines). I tried it and was utterly crushed, even though I did all the stuff you are 'supposed' to, like use spearmen against cavalry, etc... I just could not get used to the real time nature of the game.

Fast forward a few years, and I did better with Rome Total War 1. I got the hang of pausing all the time to look at what was happening and give orders. Essentially making it a turn-based game. I got really good at that.

So late last night I knuckled under and bought Shogun 2, in spite of Steam. So far I am loving it, although I have only done the first three land combat tutorials. I still have the campaign map and sea battle tutorial. But I think I might jump right in and start a campaign first. My experience with RTW and MTW2 helps a lot, as it still plays essentially the same, with just a few new wrinkles.

The sieges are still confusing me a little. I had some European cannon in the last land battle tutorial I did, but couldn't seem to do anything with them. In the previous games we had artillery like onagers that we could use to smash open gates or knock down walls. But the game wouldn't let me do either with the cannon.

Taking the gateways was strange too, as it seems you just walk an infantry unit up to them and wait a while, and eventually it falls to your side and you can walk through it. But there is also a weird little box symbol your mouse turns into when you move over the gateway. I am not sure exactly what that does. I think it means move into the gateway? It also looks like any infantry unit can automatically scale walls without having to lay siege and build ladders, like you did in the previous games.

And it actually has female units! It is about time these games recognized the reality of female warriors in the ancient world like these naginata-wielding women

This post has been edited by SubRosa: Apr 24 2016, 04:48 PM

[SubRosa]

I have been playing the daylights out of Shogun 2. I started a Shimazu campaign, but aborted it after a day. I made the mistake of deviating from my normal Total War game strategy of building up economy first, and then my military second. I wound up hip deep in a losing war, with no way to afford the troops I had, let alone the extra troops I needed to win.

So I started over today following my normal tried-and-true method of concentrating on building farms, roads, and ports. I was still able to overpower my nearest neighbors and take half of Kyushu (the island I started on). I even had help from the Otomo clan clan when I destroyed the Sagara clan. I laid siege to the last Sagara castle, and an Otomo army that was nearby came in to help in the battle. That was neat.

A few turns later and naturally I was at war with the Otomo. We have both destroyed all the other clans on Kyushu. So this war decides who rules the island. It is even harder than before, because they are Christian, which means I have to deal with religious unrest on top of all the regular unrest whenever I take one of their cities. But at least when I left off playing tonight my ninja was able to assassinate one of their priests, who was trying to foment a rebellion in my most recently conquered province.

It looks like the Otomi took a lot of losses fighting the Sagara and other clans on the island. I am hoping I can finish them off with a quick knockout blow. Then I can work on wiping out Christians and restoring order, and building my economy back up.

[Decrepit]

I continue to get in a decent number of sometimes lengthy Minecraft sessions in my putz-around world. Just recently that avatar, while branch mining, dug into his first huge abandoned mineshaft complex. Within it he battled his first cave spider spawner (and survived), discovered his first conventional mob spawn (regular spiders), found saddles, horse armor, melon seeds, and a record (LP) in chests, and finally got a carrot off a zombie. He also explored several underground caverns and ravines, added a bunch of storage chests to his underground base, and continued to amass resources of various sorts.

I occasionally launch my primary Minecraft world, but do little of consequence there.

[hazmick]

I've been playing Sunset Overdrive.

Very enjoyable. It's just fun, funny, and a little wacky but never feels like it's trying too hard. Lots of references and poking fun at other games, with the occasional 4th wall break.

Gameplay wise it's really good - a fun open-world shooter with lots of verticality and mobility.

Character customization is pretty good. Basic with regards to facial features, but a wide range of things like hair, makeup and outfits. I love the aesthetic of the characters.

Fantastic soundtrack too.

This post has been edited by hazmick: May 10 2016, 09:44 PM

[Lopov]

After years of playing only Beth games I feel like I need some change so today I'm starting with GTA V. I've played all GTAs until now, except those that weren't made for PCs, and though I was never in love with them as I'm with Beth games, I enjoyed them greatly. Although GTA V isn't new at all, I virtually know nothing about it except that there are three protagonists so I think / hope it should be fun.

[mirocu]

And I´m back to Chip´s Challenge and the usual array of demo versions of Wolf3D, Critical Mass, WinBrick etc

This post has been edited by mirocu: May 12 2016, 11:04 AM

[mALX]

And I´m back to Chip´s Challenge and the usual array of demo versions of Wolf3D, Critical Mass, WinBrick etc

GAAAAAAH!!!!! I LOVE Chip´s Challenge !!!!!!!!!!!!!

[mirocu]

And I´m back to Chip´s Challenge and the usual array of demo versions of Wolf3D, Critical Mass, WinBrick etc

GAAAAAAH!!!!! I LOVE Chip´s Challenge !!!!!!!!!!!!!

I know, you say that every time I mention the game

[Decrepit]

I continue to visit Minecraftia, recently spending a decent amount of time in my primary world, the Autocracy, as opposed to my putz-around world. Our most elaborate 'adventure' during this period is yet another failed attempt by the Autarch to procure donkeys in the wild. He traveled many Minecraftian days from the home, discovering previously unexplored lands. Horse herds were spotted, but no donkeys. We finally broke off the hunt, not because the Autarch admitted defeat, but rather because I realized that we should NOT journey too far from known territory until I make the jump to MC1.9x. (I hold off primarilly because I'm too lazy to create a new hi-res texture override pack.)

At the Hill Fort, the Autarch made a number of fairly insignificant 'improvements'. The first of these is the addition of six more chests to the underground wool storage facility, a project that took surprising long. Here's the Facility as it looks now:



All colors now have their own individual chest. There's now one chest devoted exclusively to carpets (of all colors). These additions theoretically allow the Autarch years of gathering wool before running out of storage space.

The Enchant room saw its bookshelves reduced from the once required (for full-strength enchantments) 30 to the now standard 15. Leaving it at 30 did no harm, except that it made it a bit more cumbersome to 'torch' excess shelves on those rare occasions when lesser enchants were desired:

Out of frame at screen bottom, a work table has been embedded in the floor just in front of the enchanting table.

A wheat field has been established on the Lower Terrace between the Acacia Tree Farm and the Horse Stables. If official exists to supply feed for our horses (and hopefully donkeys/mules at some point.) In reality in is almost wholly cosmetic, though it can and will be harvested at need:


Lastly, the West Gate has been tidied up:

Nothing fancy here, but I think it looks a bit better than before. The terrace between ground level and Upper Plateau is unutilized. That's not likely to change any time soon, though I have at least added ladders so that it can be reached without resorting to 'pillaring'.

Sorry for the embedding, which I know some don't like. But I can't seem to link imgur images anymore with including surrounding clutter I do not want. If anyone knows a fix for this I will happily return to links.

[mirocu]

@Decrepit - I always click on the image I want, then right-click on the image and copy the URL. Or I think you can choose Direct Link in the menu to the right of the image.


Really nice pixies, though