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Started by Agramon, June 21, 2013, 02:55:17 AM

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the_antithesis

So I go up to the point where the chippy is taken away and I have to get through an asylum to rescue her and I am never going to. The place is full of my least favorite thing in video games: bullet sponges. Fuck that noise. Fuck this game. All done.

Hydra009

#3916
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gzF7aHxk4Y4

Long video, but the part that interests me (and maybe you) is that what factions you align yourself with in Fallout New Vegas tells me a lot about your real-world politics.

I always go NCR and I'm always mildly annoyed when people choose House or Independent and I couldn't quite put my finger on why.  A lot of that can be chalked up to how cartoonishly evil Caesar's Legion is and how every Ranger from Goodsprings to 188 Trading Post gripes about NCR, so naturally, the player infers that both sides are bad and opts instead not to vote side with either one.  Well, now the wasteland is either chaotically lawless or despotic.  Nice job breaking it, hero.  Oh well, we'll try it again next election cycle.

But part of it could be that this game reveals a growing sense of dissatisfaction with democratic governments and their corruption, inability to effect positive change, and paradoxically, a perceived overbearing nature.  Hey, if I want to collect mininukes and full-auto mininuke launchers, that's my god-given right as an American and if you don't like it, the next mushroom cloud might be you!  (That sort of talk is definitely a sign that someone is completely sane and socially well-adjusted)

And yes, in addition to the NCR, I also side with Boomers and Brotherhood.  True, they're xenophobic (being surrounded by raiders will do that to you) but they have the know-how to get some major league stuff done *smash cut to Liberty Prime's epic rampage* and by uniting them with civilization through the NCR, you can possibly diminish their insular/xenophobic tendencies over time.

Can you blame a guy for wanting a return of civilization, democracy, technology, and a balanced approach to both freedom and public safety?

Alternatively, I might be perceived as uniting warmongers with caches of extremely potent war materiel while doing nothing to curb the expansionist ideologies that led to nuclear war in the first place.  In short, I'm leading us straight into another nuclear war, thereby proving that I learned nothing from the first nuclear war.  Good end?

Mike Cl

I almost always go for Independent.  Why?  because I feel in control of the situation then, and I know how I would proceed after the game ends--I would insist the govt be as democratic as possible.  I also side with the Kings, Boomers, and Brotherhood.  Veronica is my fav human companion (Eddy is my constant companion) and she is a major in with the Brotherhood, which I hope to bring on board in my future govt.  NCR is my next used faction.  As for house, I use him as far as I can, then kill him for his snow globes!
Is God willing to prevent evil, but not able?<br />Then he is not omnipotent,<br />Is he able but not willing?<br />Then whence cometh evil?<br />Is he neither able or willing?<br />Then why call him god?

Hydra009

Speaking of consolidation of power, Microsoft buys EA/Activision

Honestly, I don't know if this is a good thing or bad thing.

Activision is famous for extreme mediocrity, surviving mainly off Call of Duty.  I mean, check out their notable games list, there's a noticeable decline.   Sure, they made Quake and Heavy Gear and the Tony Hawk games and Total War and Doom 3.  But you know what they haven't made?  Anything good since 2015.

Blizzard is famous for pleasing gamers around the world in the 90s with 3 new and innovative games (Warcraft, Starcraft, Diablo) and then milking them dry and then finally murdering any goodwill anyone may have had for them.  They've had more scandals than Congress and they've been compared unfavorably to Bill Cosby.  'Nuff said.

If the Gods are good, Microsoft is simply buying them out to shutter them.  But I doubt it.  Microsoft says that it is expanding into mobile games (about 10 years too late) and this acquisition will certainly allow them to make inroads.  They're also coming dangerously close to gaining a stranglehold on the gaming market.  And while I do relish the idea of one villain toppling another, I don't relish the thought of the surviving villain going Highlander on the games industry.  What will become of the still-beloved franchises under microsoft dominion?

the_antithesis


the_antithesis

Quote from: Hydra009 on January 18, 2022, 11:40:26 PM
Speaking of consolidation of power, Microsoft buys EA/ActivisionActivision is famous for extreme mediocrity, surviving mainly off Call of Duty.  I mean, check out their notable games list, there's a noticeable decline.   Sure, they made Quake and Heavy Gear and the Tony Hawk games and Total War and Doom 3.  But you know what they haven't made?  Anything good since 2015.

Time to go back to their roots.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2SWzv9Ses2U

First place I ever heard of ActiVision

Hydra009

#3921
While I'm covering Industry news (the part of gaming that people really care about), some of the devs from Firaxis (Civilization, rebooted XCOM) are forming a new studio called Bit Reactor, which will focus on turn-based tactics with a strong story.  Maybe I'm reading too much into this, but it seems like an XCOM-like game is in the pipeline and there's a 66% chance that I'm excited right now.

All I know is that if we get a combined arms scifi tactics game with hacking/commandeering set on a global map with basebuilding, my cry of delight will register as a psychic shockwave on the world map and trigger a thrilling evac mission irl.

Hydra009

#3922
Since I'm now addicted to industry news:



Larger, more readable version here:  [spoiler][/spoiler]

A non-exhaustive diagram of major developers and their holding companies.  Not too dissimmilar from the famous chart of major food brands

I thought it'd be fun to check out which holding company has the biggest stranglehold on my wallet.  I will only list still-active developers here for obvious reasons.

Amplitude Studios (Endless Space, Endless Legend), acquired by Sega
Creative Assembly (Total War games), acquired by Sega
Relic (Dawn of War), acquired by Sega [I'm sensing a pattern!]
Ensemble Studios (Age of Empires), acquired by Microsoft
Literally any Mechwarrior/Mechcommander game, Microsoft
Bethesda (Elder Scrolls, Fallout), acquired by Microsoft
Obsidian (best Fallout), acquired by Microsoft
Gearbox (Borderlands), Embracer Group
Bioware (too many to list), EA
Firaxis Games (Civilization, XCOM reboot) Take-Two Interactive
NCSoft (Tabula Rasa, Guild Wars, City of Heroes), owned by....NCSoft, oddly enough

So basically, just two companies (Sega and Microsoft) own more than half of my faves.  Now you try it!

Hydra009

Resuming my never-ending quest to 100% Endless Legend.

Next up, probably the most graphically unpleasant faction to ever exist in a civ-like game, the Mykara.



They're a faction composed entirely of monstrous fungus-golems that infest the world.  Like H.R. Giger took up botany.  Sounds cool right?  WRONG!  They can spend food to overgrow various tiles on the worldmap, except that means that almost every tile on the map - which has a ton of icons already - is crammed to bursting with even more icons!

POV, you're playing as Mykara:



Me looking in the mirror while playing as Mykara:


drunkenshoe

'Monstrous fungus-golems' sounds nice and they look good too. I don't know anything about the game, but at least they are organic. :p
"science is not about building a body of known 'facts'. ıt is a method for asking awkward questions and subjecting them to a reality-check, thus avoiding the human tendency to believe whatever makes us feel good." - tp

Hydra009

#3925
Here's the user interface for the Mykara (it's 80% less cluttered for other factions).  It's like this for the entire map, literally hundreds of icons.  Difficult to filter what you need to pay attention to from what you don't.





Busier than a Manhattan intersection.  Ironic, since its sister game of Endless Space 2 has one of the cleanest, most aesthetically-pleasing interfaces I've ever seen:



Same devs did both lol.

drunkenshoe

"science is not about building a body of known 'facts'. ıt is a method for asking awkward questions and subjecting them to a reality-check, thus avoiding the human tendency to believe whatever makes us feel good." - tp

Hydra009

Done with the Mykara.  Got a shiny new achievement that only .1% of players have.  So I'm officially a one-in-a-thousand player.  :)

Hydra009

#3928
Decided to play some more RTS with my twin and it's striking how different our tactics are.

He uses guerilla warfare, laying brutal ambushes, using hit-and-run tactics, etc.  Really cunning, devious stuff.

You know what I do?  I roll straight up to the front lines with very tanky units (preferably self-healing, I call it the hydra maneuver), tie up as many enemy forces as possible, and then crash into the distracted enemy with highly mobile shock troops to disrupt and ultimately defeat the entire enemy force with minimal/no friendly losses.  Your basic flanking maneuver.

It barely even matters how brave and fearsome the enemy is or whatever tactical genius they possess, they get tied up and defeated.  If they stand and fight, they get worn down and defeated by my more resilient troops.  If they retreat, they get chased and defeated by my lightning fast troops.  It's a lose-lose situation.

And it's so satisfying to watch a rock golem wrestle a squad of riflemen for a few rounds while my mortar team gets into position and then just makes it rain.  The rock golem weathers those volleys like a champ while the enemy loses any hope of victory.  They waste so much effort and manpower attacking the schmuck bait fruitlessssly while my other forces simultaneously inflict much heavier casualties on them.  Even if I lose the occasional battle, their losses pile up quicker, so the war only has one possible outcome.

Shiranu

Haven't played Warhammer in a hot minute, but reinstalled and started my first Lizardman campaign and damn I forgot how fun this game actually can be.

Giant lizards with halberds, little lizards who throw poison slings, a giant dinosaur who shoots a giant crystal lazer beam, reptiles riding velociraptors into battle... against Vikings and even rumors of some "rat-men" who came up from underground, though that sounds preposterous.

In terms of fantasy worlds I never want to find myself in, Warhammer both sits near the top of the list in how horrible it would but also how crazy it is.
"A little science distances you from God, but a lot of science brings you nearer to Him." - Louis Pasteur