Author Topic: Games You're Playing Right Now Thread VI - Even in this thread, F O E  (Read 282479 times)

Ionasal kkll Solciel

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Re: Games You're Playing Right Now Thread VI - Even in this thread, F O E
« Reply #810 on: January 06, 2018, 08:34:40 AM »
Bon Appetit! is a game that revels in its absurdity. Luckily, things get back to more grimdark (though not nearly as much as Shinovi Versus' Hebijo storyline) in Estival Versus.

Also I still can't beat Daidouji because fuck that beatmap and its impossible third segment.
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Pywackett-Barchetta

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Re: Games You're Playing Right Now Thread VI - Even in this thread, F O E
« Reply #811 on: January 08, 2018, 04:50:08 AM »
Also I still can't beat Daidouji because fuck that beatmap and its impossible third segment.

I am greatly relieved to read this because it instantly informs me you absolutely played it and I can trust you on Estival Versus re-railing. I will freely admit that I've only finished Asuka's story so far and passed Daidouji's song on about the fourth or fifth try, purely by helpless button mashing and Overdrive Star Power Secret Ninja Art usage (which isn't a gameplay mechanic they even explained that I saw) for the last bit. Despite playing on Normal. Where every previous chart was mind-numbingly, almost insultingly easy.

Guess I'll be snagging Estival Versus on the next sale, then. The massive library of DLC still worries me, but at least the crossover characters are finally available in all versions and regions.

Ionasal kkll Solciel

  • Girl from beyond the 7th Dimension
Re: Games You're Playing Right Now Thread VI - Even in this thread, F O E
« Reply #812 on: January 08, 2018, 06:37:24 AM »
The Playstation entries seem to be on a kick of flipping from light to dark every game. While all of them save for Bon Appetit do get pretty dark at times, BA and Peach Beach Splash are mostly light-hearted romps. If the epilogue of PBS is any indication, 7 will be real dark.

It's kind of too bad it's stalled on the 3DS, since they wanted those entries in particular to be the real heavy installments.

I will note that it won't seem a lot like Estival Versus has rerailed for a while, since the game starts as a relatively light-hearted contest between the four groups.

...I think I should start playing BA again, try for the Platinum.... Hm.

Anyway, I picked up Rogue Galaxy. I've never played the full game, but back when it was first released I got two copies of the demo because I was evidently way too active on the official Playstation boards.
« Last Edit: January 08, 2018, 06:44:54 AM by Ionasal kkll Solciel »
Let's Play: BIT.TRIP FLUX | Let's Play: Malicious | Skyward Sword: Shieldless Final Boss | Skyward Sword: Boss Rush! | Ace Combat Infinity: Campaign in the X-02 Wyvern


Move eternally forward,
So that we may always be at your side.

Pywackett-Barchetta

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Re: Games You're Playing Right Now Thread VI - Even in this thread, F O E
« Reply #813 on: January 12, 2018, 06:50:18 PM »
Been playing DiRT 4 in place of Rally for a bit. Gotta say, I'm still conflicted on it. The team management elements are very strong, and the rally stages are definitely a major bit of progress (they're ALL different courses; no career mode rally event repeats a track, and all non-career rally events are on randomly generated courses). The music, however, is really drilling through my head; despite a massive, vast soundtrack, they only use TWO songs for the constantly visited, unnecessarily complex main menus. One of them is okay techno and the other is a slow, meandering vocal track with an ear-splitting jazz solo that utterly murders the flow of the game for me, especially when it overrides all other music the second you visit a menu. This is a problem no previous DiRT or GRID game shares, in my book.

While it takes some suspension of disbelief and reconfiguring of expectations - this isn't DiRT 2 or 3 or Rally and isn't trying to replace them, those games and their hand-crafted stages are still stellar - the randomly generated stages really give the game something to lean on, and something to look forward to on every play. You DON'T have the circuit memorized. That's not a question. It IS new. However, the randomization is made pretty obvious, through blander, PS1-style vague scenery and occasionally some pretty galling repetition ("left 5, right 5, into- left 5, right 5, into- left 5, right 5", my co-driver says, as I pass the exact same wall three times). If you're the type to still boot up classic Colin McRae Rally 2.0, this shouldn't dissuade you too much, but it doesn't have DiRT's usual wow-factor or over-the-top silliness.

There's the sliding scale of sim and arcade, of course, but I find it's a sliding scale of serious to silly I struggle with most. DiRT 4 takes itself seriously, with subdued, subtle menus and no real visual style besides "orange". I enjoyed Rally's subdued, smooth looks and focus on just getting you to the gameplay, too, but I do want style. I was one of the few who was overjoyed by Showdown's existence; I'll admit, it was the one I played first! (Aside from CMR2.0, that is.) 4 is a lot more relaxed to the point of seeming downright vegetative compared to 2's excess and 3/Rally's smooth refinement. It's still a happy game, though, and I respect that. It's entirely a matter of personal preference, but I find the use of real rallycross circuits, a training ground using the real DirtFish Performance Driving School, and realistic pre-made circuits for Landrush a step down from the absurdity of launching rallycross cars over the streets of Tokyo, turning Battersea Power Station into a stunt track, and... well, I never really liked LandRush all too much but it was cool to go wheel-to-wheel in Malaysian jungles. Still, Montalegre's ridiculously scenic both in reality and in the game, and the rally stages look very nice. It took me too long to realize that the Joyride mode uses a different DirtFish map than the tutorial; it's not just the little fenced-in area, it's a bunch of ludicrous ramp combos and shipping container tunnels like Battersea and Yokohama.

The Joyride events are kept to their own little corner of the game... and your progress in it does absolutely nothing to affect your main career progress, nor does it unlock anything. That kinda sucks because this is the most fun I've had in the game. I get why they did it - hardcore rally fans were furious that DiRT 3 required them to do stunt missions and gymkhana to unlock everything - but it seems a waste to lock the actual thrill-rides away in their own little corner.

As ever, in my endless quest to recapture the joy I had playing with Hot Wheels as a kid, DiRT 4 provides yet another different piece of that, this time the bit where you take them out into the yard or the beach or what have you and drive them along the hills and dunes of miniscule size. It's gonna take a lot of tweaking to get it just where I want it, but I am invested in how things turn out for my team of 1/64 Motorsport.

commandercool

  • alter cool
Re: Games You're Playing Right Now Thread VI - Even in this thread, F O E
« Reply #814 on: January 18, 2018, 05:21:58 AM »
I've been playing Enter The Gungeon on Switch lately. Roguelikes aren't my genre necessarily and I feel like I lose runs due to completely uncontrollable RNG waaaay too often, especially playing as the Pilot since his weapon is hot garbage so he NEEDS a good, versatile early gun with a decent capacity. Played some co-op too which is pretty fun, although there are never enough guns to go around and it honestly ends up being harder than single player a vast majority of the time.

After seeing it on basically everyone's game-of-the-year list I picked up Nier Automata Monday and I've been playing that. It's... okay so far, but there's a lot of stuff I don't like about it. I'm certainly engaged enough to keep playing, I like most of the core mechanics a lot, but I wish it was less empty, had less vapid sidequests, and had less backtracking between the great setpieces.
I made a PADHerder. It's probably out of date though.

Reddyne

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Re: Games You're Playing Right Now Thread VI - Even in this thread, F O E
« Reply #815 on: January 29, 2018, 02:05:55 PM »
Going through a handful of things but the newest/most involving is Etrian Odyssey Untold 2. I HAVE to play these games my way so I HAD to screw around with stuff and wound up changing Bertrand the protector into a highlander and Flavio the survivalist into a gunner. Just made it past the first stratum without much difficulty. I have a gmail draft covered in notes and a potential build path for each character. It'll probably take a bit more for the characters to really grow on me but I'm liking the improvements over the first so far.

TA-DAAAAAAA! 61 blood donations and counting! 
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Silent Harmony

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Re: Games You're Playing Right Now Thread VI - Even in this thread, F O E
« Reply #816 on: February 10, 2018, 12:16:55 AM »
For some reason I've been enjoying Skullgirls recently, despite my history of sucking at (and having no patience for) fighting games.

I mean sure I'm only 10 hours in, still struggle to chain together anything more than a 3-5 hit combo, and haven't touched anything above Easy bots and the tutorial/training room, but damn just the fact that I'm having fun in a fighting game is amazing.

1CC List (all shmups)
League of Legends / Battle.net: Harmony11(#1694)

Pywackett-Barchetta

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Re: Games You're Playing Right Now Thread VI - Even in this thread, F O E
« Reply #817 on: February 11, 2018, 10:48:26 PM »
NASCAR Heat 2 got a 2018 expansion! It adds one new course, the Charlotte Motor Speedway Roval (road course / oval combo), and a new updated Cup Series roster.

It also forces you to start a separate save file for it, none of the content can be used online, the Roval layout is wrong (not really the dev's fault, it was changed last-minute, but it really doesn't help), the AI doesn't know how to navigate it, I got 105% perfect time score on my very first run on it, and the trophy is from the entire wrong event. So... that's $10 that I just shredded. I'm really wondering why I bother with these titles; the biggest plus isn't so much the roster or having the actual tracks nowadays (which they do), but the oval racing AI being accurate and competitive where most mainstream racing games that include ovals aren't made with an understanding of what makes it difficult and interesting, and usually only have a really paltry selection of samey ovals (Indianapolis Motor Speedway is terrible for stock cars, but tends to be one of three oval courses, so you really only get two worth using).

Adding to my "why do I bother with these more obscure games nobody plays" concerns; I finally buckled and bought Forza Horizon 3 and it's absolutely amazing. The PC version is impressively well optimized, and doesn't require an Xbox Live Gold subscription for online features, so after loving FM4 and Horizon 1, I finally can actually download paint schemes. This does not sound that important, but it is.



Excuse me, sir, but you appear to be going 30MPH in a 200MPH zone, I'm gonna have to ask you to pick it up a bit.

I also absolutely love the paper-thin but well-thought-out excuse plots of the Horizon games. It's the exact sort of beautiful daydreams my old Hot Wheels city in the attic as a kid used to fulfill (no, I don't have the Hot Wheels expansion for FH3 yet but it absolutely got me to buy it); FH1 had you attending a car festival in Colorado and slowly impressing the other attendees as you steady win and pull off stunts and draw attention. You have (in-universe) celebrities to duel and, unofficially and not at all sanctioned by the festival, street races you can enter (a fine way to convince the automakers that the game doesn't encourage street racing... while also letting you street race their cars. Cake had, and eaten). FH2 did the same but you were famous now. FH2 Presents the Fast and the Furious had you get called by Tej from those films; the crew wants some of their old cars they've lost back, and as this massive car festival has everyone bringing their rides and you're known to street race, and you're right there, you're asked to find them and win them in pink slip races, a fine excuse to show off Nice and let you drive iconic cars from all the films up to 6. FH3 ups the ante a bit more and gives you more leeway to have crazy antics excused by making you the boss of the festival in Australia. In all cases, there's no police chases or doomsday scenarios or any real threat; just cars, roads, and fun times. It's refreshingly sweet.

All it's missing for flashback value is getting to kick traffic around, but the very fine vistas from the in-car view make up for that just fine.

Kaisou

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Re: Games You're Playing Right Now Thread VI - Even in this thread, F O E
« Reply #818 on: February 17, 2018, 08:19:06 AM »
I ended up getting Ikaruga on my laptop because why not and I just found out I have an incredibly bad problem of ramming headfirst into enemy ships. I dunno what is with me running into everything that I shouldn't run into, and I mean that in every game's sense; from Smash Bros to Mario platform games to Tekken to even Dynasty Warriors 8, as far as I could remember I would always run headfirst into danger subconsciously.
Hi. Might put something new here but idk.

Ionasal kkll Solciel

  • Girl from beyond the 7th Dimension
Re: Games You're Playing Right Now Thread VI - Even in this thread, F O E
« Reply #819 on: February 20, 2018, 06:27:59 AM »
why. why. why.

So do you guys remember the Mace in Ico? The challenge you have to do?

The ball got stuck on the lip of the cup.

*various expletives*

EDIT: wat. You can climb the cup. Okay, that reduces the rage factor. ...the Trophy didn't pop. That increases it greatly.

EDIT2: WHY DOES IT ONLY POP AFTER YOU CLOSE THE WATERFALL?!?!?!
« Last Edit: February 20, 2018, 08:12:41 PM by Ionasal kkll Solciel »
Let's Play: BIT.TRIP FLUX | Let's Play: Malicious | Skyward Sword: Shieldless Final Boss | Skyward Sword: Boss Rush! | Ace Combat Infinity: Campaign in the X-02 Wyvern


Move eternally forward,
So that we may always be at your side.

Reddyne

  • Give me love and money. I have the rest already.
  • *
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Re: Games You're Playing Right Now Thread VI - Even in this thread, F O E
« Reply #820 on: February 21, 2018, 03:51:13 PM »
Trying to get into PUBG a little bit, or maybe just experimenting. I certainly get the hype but I dunno. The average game I play goes like this: Land in an area away from everyone else, collect some goodies, find out I'm literally a kilometer from the safe zone, sprint forever (and never find a vehicle when I want to) without any other players in sight until I hit a building just in the safe zone, repeat the previous two steps twice, then get sniped by MLG_Pro_Streamer who set up his sniper nest with better weapons and infinite ammo before I landed, finish in the top 20 every time.

I dunno I like the concept and I like how tense thing get but 15-20 minutes with no contact just to die almost instantly to someone I had no hope of spotting hasn't been fun. It might be my rookie strategems but I dunno how long I want to keep this up. I'm pretty good at hide and seek but bad at tag, too. My kill/death ratio in nearly every other similar game always hovered slightly over 1:1 and here it's probably permanently in the dumpster unless something happens. I figure running with a team might be more fun, but my old online game group has fallen apart and hopping on with a bunch of strangers isn't my style.

TA-DAAAAAAA! 61 blood donations and counting! 
Best Mile: 5:30
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Best Marathon: 3:23:16

Kilgamayan

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Re: Games You're Playing Right Now Thread VI - Even in this thread, F O E
« Reply #821 on: February 24, 2018, 01:36:11 PM »
I've been kicking around with Ever Oasis for the past couple of months, and it's been really cute and a lot of fun, if not the most challenging or least frustrating thing in the world. It's sort of a bizarre, tree-hugging hippie weeb combination of Recettear, The Sims, and a 3D Zelda. If you have a 3DS and no immmediate plans for it, you could do a lot worse than this game. (Also Esna is best girl.)
[22:40:12] <Drake> "guys i donwloaded esod but its not workan"
[22:40:21] <Drake> REPORTED
[22:40:25] <NaturallyOccurringChoja> PROBATED
[22:40:30] <Drake> ORGASM
[22:40:32] <NaturallyOccurringChoja> FUCK YEAH

[22:28:39] <Edible> Mafia would be a much easier game if we were playing "spot the asshole"

Sapz

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Re: Games You're Playing Right Now Thread VI - Even in this thread, F O E
« Reply #822 on: March 05, 2018, 01:13:44 AM »
Shadow of the Colossus remake. Three playthroughs
Spoiler:
and all the new secret collectibles
in, and I don't feel done yet. This has remained one of my favourite games since I played it on the PS2 12 years or so ago, and the remake does it beautiful, beautiful justice. If I had to pick one game to recommend unconditionally to absolutely anyone, it would have to be this. Godlike in pretty much every aspect.

I also spent a probably unhealthy amount of time taking screenshots. :V

Let's fight.

CF7

  • Can you feel the LOVE tonight?
Re: Games You're Playing Right Now Thread VI - Even in this thread, F O E
« Reply #823 on: March 12, 2018, 08:44:40 AM »
Even in this thread, F.O.E., by which i mean i am playing Etrian Odyssey V. I've been EO fan for quite some time, and V is hella fun. So far made it to 3rd stratum. I am running Blade Master Masurao, Barrage Brawler Pugilist, Omnimancer Warlock, Hunting Hound Rover and Divine Herald Shaman. At times i am kinda regretting, that i don't have a pure tank i.e. dragoon, but with amounts of passive healing i have, i am mostly fine most of the time.
Also i decided to try to beat a Shiny!FOE i encountered. Well... My pugilist is now 4 levels higher than the rest of my team.
Sometimes rumors are just... rumors

Ionasal kkll Solciel

  • Girl from beyond the 7th Dimension
Re: Games You're Playing Right Now Thread VI - Even in this thread, F O E
« Reply #824 on: March 12, 2018, 08:51:04 AM »
Be proud you survived to kill it, at least. Take the small victories as they come.

On my end, I'm strawberry hunting on this mountain. The B Hearts are kind of out of my league right now, at least until I can stop bloody hitting the wrong buttons when maneuvering.

Also playing Into the Breach, and failing miserably at using any team other than the default. You'd think at least the team that can kick up damaging smokescreens can give me some success, but none as of yet.
Let's Play: BIT.TRIP FLUX | Let's Play: Malicious | Skyward Sword: Shieldless Final Boss | Skyward Sword: Boss Rush! | Ace Combat Infinity: Campaign in the X-02 Wyvern


Move eternally forward,
So that we may always be at your side.

Reddyne

  • Give me love and money. I have the rest already.
  • *
  • Love and money coming from you is what I need.
Re: Games You're Playing Right Now Thread VI - Even in this thread, F O E
« Reply #825 on: March 14, 2018, 01:45:10 PM »
Even in this thread, F.O.E., by which i mean i am playing Etrian Odyssey V. I've been EO fan for quite some time, and V is hella fun. So far made it to 3rd stratum. I am running Blade Master Masurao, Barrage Brawler Pugilist, Omnimancer Warlock, Hunting Hound Rover and Divine Herald Shaman. At times i am kinda regretting, that i don't have a pure tank i.e. dragoon, but with amounts of passive healing i have, i am mostly fine most of the time.
Also i decided to try to beat a Shiny!FOE i encountered. Well... My pugilist is now 4 levels higher than the rest of my team.
The only thing holding me back from playing this is finishing EOU2. :V

Sounds like a fun bunch! The game has a lot of interesting classes. I've already done my homework looking at what's available. Having uh... 3 sources of passive healing (Animal Therapy, Appease Spirits, and hound-based auto heals?) is probably a bit crazy but if it's stupid and it works, it's not stupid. I think I'll need a designated healer for my bunch but I wonder what s/he'll do outside of that.

TA-DAAAAAAA! 61 blood donations and counting! 
Best Mile: 5:30
Best 5k: 18:07
Best Marathon: 3:23:16

nav'

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Re: Games You're Playing Right Now Thread VI - Even in this thread, F O E
« Reply #826 on: March 14, 2018, 06:24:33 PM »
Since there's a couple Etrian Odyssey fans in the thread, I'll take the opportunity to ask a question. So far I have only played the first game in the series. It was very enjoyable through and through, except I greatly disliked the post-game stratum (in terms of atmosphere it was fine, but horrible layout and gameplay). Based on this, what should be my next step in the series? Do I just go with Heroes of Lagaard and onwards? Do any later games include anything as hateful as EO1's post-game stratum?

* * *

As for something actually on topic, I'm currently playing two timeless classics:

In Championship Manager 01/02, I've spent several seasons trying to bring an unremarkable South Korean team to domestic glory, as part of a certain challenge. Having achieved that, I moved to Rosenborg who for some reason have fired their previous manager, despite finishing 2nd in the league. The Norwegian league is rather weak, so an easy title should be within grasp.

In Fallout 2, my latest creation is a character with Jinxed trait and Throwing as his primary combat skill. Also only 2 Charisma, since I figured NPCs would just get underfoot all the time, though I might recruit a meat shield like Goris later on. It's still very early on, so critical failures don't hurt much and the most significant combat threats (large mole rats in Klamath) are easily dispatched via spear to the face. There will be a massive boost in overall hilarity as enemies with firearms start showing up and I get my hands on grenades and an adequate supply of Flares. Heh, heh.
Рабинович глядит на плакат ?Ленин умер, но дело его живет!?
? уж лучше бы о он жил!

CF7

  • Can you feel the LOVE tonight?
Re: Games You're Playing Right Now Thread VI - Even in this thread, F O E
« Reply #827 on: March 15, 2018, 09:05:26 AM »
Sounds like a fun bunch! The game has a lot of interesting classes. I've already done my homework looking at what's available. Having uh... 3 sources of passive healing (Animal Therapy, Appease Spirits, and hound-based auto heals?) is probably a bit crazy but if it's stupid and it works, it's not stupid. I think I'll need a designated healer for my bunch but I wonder what s/he'll do outside of that.
Pugilist was more or less an auto-pick. Playing EO without binds, where at later stratums normal enemies tend to be "bind or die" is not my idea of fun.
That's already a thing as early as stratum 2 with moles. And then in 3rd stratum it's pretty much "bind legs or you're in for a world of hurt". When you think about it, 3rd stratum is hard in general. I find 4th to be easier actually so far.
Masurao does decent physical damage + she has some utility with def down and sleep skills.
Warlock is more or less a standard mage, Still good at what she does.
Rover is basically an extra member you can't quite control + passive healing + some other things. Jack of all trades more or less.
Shaman just plain sucks early game, but around level 30'ish becomes super good. Heals, buffs and all that.

@ nav' i would go with EOU2. Postgame stratums tend to suck in any EO game, tho.
P.S. Don't pet the squirrels. =)
Sometimes rumors are just... rumors

Re: Games You're Playing Right Now Thread VI - Even in this thread, F O E
« Reply #828 on: March 16, 2018, 07:15:10 PM »
Since there's a couple Etrian Odyssey fans in the thread, I'll take the opportunity to ask a question. So far I have only played the first game in the series. It was very enjoyable through and through, except I greatly disliked the post-game stratum (in terms of atmosphere it was fine, but horrible layout and gameplay). Based on this, what should be my next step in the series? Do I just go with Heroes of Lagaard and onwards? Do any later games include anything as hateful as EO1's post-game stratum?

Etrian Odyssey 2: Heroes of Lagaard (the original) is my personal favorite because it was my introduction and I've replayed it so many times.  The EO series just tends to get better with each game and I think the improvement from EO1->EO2 is one of the bigger ones.  Use a skill guide to make sure you aren't being lied to about the skills, but I wouldn't think you have anything to worry about and I encourage you to continue!  You could also jump to EOU2 if that's more your jam.

To address specifically bonus stratrums: The bonus stratum of EO2 is hard as well, but I don't think it suffers from the same problem as EO1.  EO1 throws Iron Crabs at you from floor 1 which are way "out of level" for that floor and basically exist to make you use Thor or flee (both boring options).  The second floor of EO1's bonus stratum (the pitfall maze) is an interesting gimmick but it becomes almost immediately tedious to map and to fight those meatshield FOEs standing in your way. 

EO2's bonus stratum does include floors/challenges that go "above and beyond" the main game, but they didn't irritate me like EO1.  There are some tanky normal encounters (mainly on the first floor, but not nearly to the same degree as Iron Crabs --- you can manage them with any team).  There is a big show piece teleporter maze (which I liked!  YMMV!).  There's a long winding floor about mapping one-way passages with dangerous FOEs and encounters lurking about, and yeah it'll take multiple trips to get through.  These challenges all take time and persistence and the random encounters are usually not easy steamroll, so in a general sense the post game for EO2 may not be for you even though I'm arguing it isn't flawed, just extra hard.  But the main game is great!   (and again, a vast improvement over EO1)

Really when I look back at my memories of my EO2 playthroughs, the main thing I dislike about EO2's post game is that you have to shuffle back and forth between the start of the stratum and some "story game" quest location earlier in the dungeon in the before they let you explore it.  Not a big deal but it does slow down your momentum.

There's also a small "puzzle" or "mechanic" that isn't obvious at first for the first floor of the bonus stratum of EO2 that trips a lot of people up.  Before the player figures it out, they'll only be exploring about half of the floor before eventually wondering what they are missing.  I won't spoil the puzzle, but just keep it in the back of your mind in case you get stuck there and want to look it up.
« Last Edit: March 16, 2018, 07:23:19 PM by dosboot »

nav'

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Re: Games You're Playing Right Now Thread VI - Even in this thread, F O E
« Reply #829 on: March 16, 2018, 09:46:25 PM »
All right, thanks for your answers. @dosboot EO2 sounds like a good choice, but what do you mean about a skill guide? Does the game itself include false information about its own mechanics?
Рабинович глядит на плакат ?Ленин умер, но дело его живет!?
? уж лучше бы о он жил!

The Greatest Dog

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Re: Games You're Playing Right Now Thread VI - Even in this thread, F O E
« Reply #830 on: March 16, 2018, 09:58:20 PM »
Iirc, there are ambiguous things like skills only improving every odd level (1, 3, 5, 7, 9) but you're still allowed to put a tenth point into it despite not having any benefit to it.

Another example are the elemental walls in EO1, where level 5 would negate an elemental attack completely but 6+ would let you drain damage. However, only Level 5 would prevent the negative side effects of the attack, which could spell disaster against some bosses that use like, AoE ice attacks that also inflict sleep.

Third Eye Lem

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  • Castle Bal
Re: Games You're Playing Right Now Thread VI - Even in this thread, F O E
« Reply #831 on: March 17, 2018, 05:43:31 PM »
Been trying to find legendary Rank 39 weapons in Disgaea 1, but so far I seem to have come across everything except the item(s) I want. Perhaps i should jump into those legendary items to increase my chances?

EDIT: Whoops, tag snafu

Re: Games You're Playing Right Now Thread VI - Even in this thread, F O E
« Reply #832 on: March 18, 2018, 01:05:56 AM »
All right, thanks for your answers. @dosboot EO2 sounds like a good choice, but what do you mean about a skill guide? Does the game itself include false information about its own mechanics?

The game itself just doesn't include enough information to completely understand all the skills, what they do, and when they start or stop becoming a useful investment.   I'm not saying you have to use a guide, because it's the same state of affairs that EO1 was in and maybe you went fine without a skill explainer!  The game does in fact do a fine job of describing the broad strokes of each skill description, and it does give you some idea of what each level up will do (but perhaps less detailed than you may like).  The information is also correct almost of the time, but not all of the time.  I just generally like to encourage people to think that using a skill guide will enhance their experience, rather than spoil it.

If you were to use a skill guide, you would know exactly how some of the unusual skills work and how much of a damage boost every additional skill point will do.  Thus you get to see where the weird soft caps or massive level gains are and plan around them.  You would also learn doing this research that there a few bugged skills and a few skills only worth investing in to satisfy perquisites and no more.
« Last Edit: March 18, 2018, 01:18:25 AM by dosboot »

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Re: Games You're Playing Right Now Thread VI - Even in this thread, F O E
« Reply #833 on: March 20, 2018, 02:01:06 PM »
Trying to get into PUBG a little bit, or maybe just experimenting. I certainly get the hype but I dunno.
Yeah how'd that work out for you, champ?
Pugilist was more or less an auto-pick. Playing EO without binds, where at later stratums normal enemies tend to be "bind or die" is not my idea of fun.
That's already a thing as early as stratum 2 with moles. And then in 3rd stratum it's pretty much "bind legs or you're in for a world of hurt". When you think about it, 3rd stratum is hard in general. I find 4th to be easier actually so far.
Masurao does decent physical damage + she has some utility with def down and sleep skills.
Warlock is more or less a standard mage, Still good at what she does.
Rover is basically an extra member you can't quite control + passive healing + some other things. Jack of all trades more or less.
Shaman just plain sucks early game, but around level 30'ish becomes super good. Heals, buffs and all that.
I think may actually plagiarize the crap out of that rover/shaman passive heal duo for when I start the game. With a chain fencer, deathbringer harbinger, hound rover, omni warlock, and herald shaman, I think the only major thing that I'd really miss is a revive spell.

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Re: Games You're Playing Right Now Thread VI - Even in this thread, F O E
« Reply #834 on: March 22, 2018, 03:18:52 PM »
So it turns out you can only get up to 18/20 of the Barn Find cars in Forza Horizon 3 because two of them were only available for a real-life week each. 100% career completion is not possible if you did not play then. Argh. This is what I loathe about the modern online-gaming world; I hate event-specific lost-forever type situations. #Forzathon, an in-game event that cycles every week and gives you themed challenges and a rare car (unpurchasable from the in-game marketplace), quickly went from "cool! Variety!" to dread and good ol'-fashioned FOMO, getting me fatigued on a fantastic game because I felt like I compulsively have to keep logging in. (At least you can still buy those rare cars off of other players for a massive markup, usually.)

All in all, though, Horizon Australia is still a ludicrously gorgeous and, more importantly, fun place to be. Surfer's Paradise, Byron Bay, the Outback, and the Yarra Valley (all, of course, far closer to each other than in reality, creating a bizarre but awesome diorama-style effect; you know how you can see Hyrule Castle from anywhere? That, but with gleaming skyscrapers, floating balloons, mountain ranges, and coastline) are fantastically varied and offer genuinely different driving experiences. Surfer's Paradise has city streets, Byron Bay is a good mix of tarmac and sand, the rainforest is... well, rainforest, and the Outback is as you'd expect (with the plus of long highways and airfield runways making great drag strips). The additional locales don't just tack on new places; they actually offer truly new experiences. Blizzard Mountain lives up to its name (and, actually, despite being an expansion, it ALSO is visible far, far in the distance in the main map if you know where to look, and was visible before it was announced). Hot Wheels is 100% what you'd expect.

Like with the main game's very calculated, awe-striking first impression, Blizzard Mountain and Hot Wheels both go hard from the get-go; the former has you in a rallycross car (Ken Block's Focus because of course) being towed through the sky by a helicopter as soaring, beautiful music plays while the snow-blasted land comes into view, and Hot Wheels... well. Let's just say the Stunt Track Driver fan in me actively shrieked with joy at the sight of it. And by that, I mean all of me. I stood up at my computer and just stared. I will admit they both kinda plateaued a while after there, but it was well worth the price of admission. Blizzard Mountain scratched the extreme rally itch, while Hot Wheels was just the exact dumb, gleeful, over-the-top nonsense I always aim for. It's just... happy. I like that. (It's also mind-bending to have to try to keep actual realistic physics in mind while driving on giant plastic loops and jumps.)

I dunno how to put it, but the best part of the HW expansion for me was that it was very modern. Current cars, current music, but still the same glee and silliness I loved in the late 90's. There was a feeling of "oh. Huh. It isn't gone, it isn't a relic of that era". That was nice.

I'm left wondering if I want to bother with Forza Motorsport 7. I'm very tempted. I quite like being able to choose driver outfits - this DOES matter to me, quite greatly - and I like the inclusion of the NASCAR content, old-school F1, Formula E, and the Ice Charger from Fate of the Furious (I don't know why, but I absolutely adore that car; the bulletproof riveted windows and EMP in the back probably help). But compound the issues of Horizon 3's online stuff with yet another game and keeping it all on asphalt tracks instead of allowing for total silliness and it's a bit less appealing. I grabbed FM6: Apex (it's free, and I quite highly recommend it), a slice of FM6's content for PC, and I really do like it. Was blown away by how a simple change like puddles can radically alter racing lines and strategy. But I've still not played every variant of only six tracks, so shelling out the cash for 32 seems a bit... needless.

Plus, I've been sinking far more time into Forza Motorsport 4. This is regarded as the fan favorite, and it's not hard to see why; a lot of stuff here hasn't been done as well before or since. Working your way from city cars to full-on Le Mans prototypes, with a vast repertoire of courses and cars catering to each. It's a game where you can be going bumper-to-bumper in priceless supercars one minute and be hooning a supertuned Nissan Leaf through the Alps the next. There's a whole lot of fictional tracks compared to the more grounded and (mostly) real-world roster of later titles in the series; I'm okay with not having Daytona (a 2.5 mile tri-oval in Florida) if I have Sunset Peninsula Raceway (a 2.5 mile tri-oval in Florida). I don't mind losing Watkins Glen if I get Fujimi Kaido (think Initial D and then stop thinking). It lets you take your journey as seriously or as stupidly as you like, allowing brilliant fine-tuning and teenager-doing-donuts-in-the-parking-lot horrors alike. Only thing it's really missing is oval racing AI that actually presents a challenge.

And this. It doesn't have this.



So, beyond that, mostly just some Lego Dimensions. Finally got Finn. I talk about dumb fun; little beats the joy of recreating that iconic scene in Mission Impossible where Ethan Hunt sneaks into an embassy with his crack team of experts, including a bass-playing vampire, a very fast hedgehog, a Powerpuff Girl, and some kid with a sword. As a game, it may not be polished, but it absolutely completely pulls off what it advertises, letting you kinda mash the whole toybox together in absurd fashion. And, honestly, I find the time/dimensional travel stuff fun to overthink, for a game not concerned with lore or continuity. (It actually makes the 2016 Ghostbusters story work brilliantly, seeing as how that series technically does revolve around battling beings trying to open rifts between dimensions to begin with.) And I will say, as I thought it was a next-gen exclusive thing, I was quite joyous when I found that on the Xbox 360 version, you still can use Finn to unlock a certain other character. Anyhoo. I think that about covers it since last time. Wall-of-text y'all again soon enough.

Re: Games You're Playing Right Now Thread VI - Even in this thread, F O E
« Reply #835 on: March 22, 2018, 03:56:12 PM »
Decided to start knocking out some of the random games I had on my "must play" shelf after beating Xenoblade 2. First game on the docket is Tales of Zestiria, known for being considered as kind of disappointing, and being in the same setting as the more favorably regarded Tales of Berseria. My current verdict is that the criticism is not wrong: there's things that I like about the game, and I don't regret currently throwing down 30+ hours on the game, but it definitely doesn't hold my attention like Symphonia, Abyss and Xillia did. It feels like a game that could have worked with more polish and development, but as of now is a very average game. Also, Edna is a best.

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Re: Games You're Playing Right Now Thread VI - Even in this thread, F O E
« Reply #836 on: March 23, 2018, 02:20:52 AM »
ugh, 1175 deaths to get the Summit B Side. Screw cloud physics, seriously.
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Re: Games You're Playing Right Now Thread VI - Even in this thread, F O E
« Reply #837 on: March 23, 2018, 02:58:43 PM »
Well, EO V main game cleared. Floor 25 is the best map. It has such a troll map design. It's awesome and i love it.
I respecced my Rover from dog to bird. And when i was on 24F i had a brilliant idea to see if i can take on Primordiphant at level 61. While it was a bit slow grind, i actually managed to defeat it. And then i kinda sorta did it again to get his drop one more time. Now i have best Pugilist fist, best Rover armor and best Masurao armor. I had best Warlock armor for a while. Also i burned one Formaldehyde to get best Shaman armor too. Now i just need to farm all the money to buy all this somehow and then i am sooooo ready for the postgame. Let's see if 6th Stratum is super annoying like usual.
Fun fact. Target Arrow and Armor Pierce do stack.

Edit: My first trip into 6th stratum went as follows: here i am minding my own business, exploring new floor. A wild Shiny!Dreamray appears! Shiny!Dreamray used Glacial Tail. It was super effective! I.e. my whole team is near dead and asleep. Next turn it used Glacial Tail again. Welcome to Game Over screen. "We all... fall down... together..." indeed.
« Last Edit: March 24, 2018, 06:45:05 AM by CF7 »
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Re: Games You're Playing Right Now Thread VI - Even in this thread, F O E
« Reply #838 on: March 23, 2018, 04:50:21 PM »
Floor 25 is the best map. It has such a troll map design. It's awesome and i love it.

i am sooooo ready for the postgame. Let's see if 6th Stratum is super annoying like usual.

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Re: Games You're Playing Right Now Thread VI - Even in this thread, F O E
« Reply #839 on: March 23, 2018, 07:32:31 PM »
Ah, I remember. I trained an extra Warlock just high enough to max out Invisibility or whatever it was, because trying to map that place out with random encounters is a LOT different than just navigating through it with random encounters.