Any gamers around here?

[Hijiri Byakuren]

I finally finished a game of Civ V. First time I've played Civ to the finish since Civ III.

I always got bored because I'd try to play it like a simulator. This time I found myself pining for the old days of Advance Wars and decided to play Civ like a proper TBS game. Glorious Mother Russia carried the day with a diplomatic victory (after all dissenters were un-personed).

[Mr. Pibb]

The games I play right now are War Thunder, Total War Rome II, Civ Beyond Earth, and the Game of Thrones mod for Crusader Kings II (best game ever!).  I still play some Battlefield 4 but that is only to keep my chops up for the release of Battlefield 1.  Eagerly awaiting Civ 6 in October. Oh and Divinity: Original Sin 2 in December.

[Hijiri Byakuren]

I encountered an epic glitch while playing today.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x4nY82JvNoo

[Hydra009]

I've been pleasantly surprised to learn that Endless Legend is coming out with a new expansion.  It adds a sea race, opens up sea combat and sea buildings, weather effects, new quests, etc.

[spoiler]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i_N6uPx3Fxw[/spoiler]

This new faction looks bloated and misshapen, monstrous but just anthropomorphic enough to be disturbing (the hero has eyes where there shouldn't be eyes).  There's definitely a lovecraftian vibe here.

I'm preordering for the first time in...actually, for the first time ever, may Total Biscuit forgive me.  Preorders have a reduced price and I'm going to be buying it anyway, so I might as well get it on day 1 for less.  I've liked the other expansions enough that I think I'm in good hands here.  It helped to see some gameplay footage - to have some idea how the new faction and its naval combat works before committing.  I'm taking a risk here, but it's a calculated risk.

[Shiranu]

I really need to play more Endless Legend, but everytime I am about to... I start up Civ 5 or Sunless Sea instead :(. Perhaps a Lovecraftian race will get me to stick with it more, because I really love it.


On that note, Mafia 3 is absolutely amazing immersion and story wise, which is all I wanted from it. It is unapologetically racist, violent and just satisfying when you slit the throat of a Dixie Mafia heroin pusher who is kidnapping black girls to drug up and put into prostitution. 10/10, would go on a redneck killing rampage again.

[Hydra009]

Civ VI is coming out later this month and Endless Space 2 is already out.  This year is shaping up to be a good year for 4x.

[Shiranu]

Civ 6 looks meh imo. Hate the art direction and cartoon feel.

[Shiranu]

Endless space 2 early access... Shit, it's addictive.

[Mike Cl]

Look forward to Civ 6--but confused by the way they went with the graphics.  Looks like 1986 instead of 2016.  Civ 5 gets play from me every year.  But I'm still smitten by the FO4 bug--and closing in on 1800 hrs of play and shooting for a 150 level character.

[Hydra009]

Look forward to Civ 6--but confused by the way they went with the graphics.  Looks like 1986 instead of 2016.  Civ 5 gets play from me every year.  But I'm still smitten by the FO4 bug--and closing in on 1800 hrs of play and shooting for a 150 level character.

I could barely play it on my current setup.  When I upgrade, that's the first game I'm going to put on the new harddrive.  I still don't know how I feel about that game.  There's a lot that I liked and disliked about that game*.  I miss the skill system.  I enjoy and/or am frustrated by the settlement system and crafting.  The world is enormous and the combat is way better, but the story doesn't seem to have quite that same narrative punch.  My choices - when I get them - don't seem to make much of an impact.  It feels more like Fallout 3 (which I liked) than Fallout New Vegas (which I adore).  With mods, I feel like I can almost close the gap, though.

* author note - I only played the base game and completed the main story.

[Mike Cl]

Much to my surprise, I find I like FO 4 better now that Nuka Park add-on is now part of the game.  It is simply huggggeeeee. And the radiant quests from just about everywhere make it seem like it could literally go on forever.  I find that I get my settlements up to the 8 level so that I can go to the castle and get that part going.  I play for the Minuteman ending, which means all but the Institute survive.  Once I blow up my son, I just try to keep the most possible free.  I don't do much crafting (just for weapons and armor) and build up the settlements just enough so they can survive.  I max out my fav companions and then just become the loner--dog and I just roam and do what we want! :))  In that respect it does remind me quite a bit of FO 3.  But not so much of NV--which I loved as well. 

[Hijiri Byakuren]

Just bought Touhou: Genso Rondo and Touhou: Scarlet Curiosity for the PS4. @Hakurei Reimu take note.

Genso Rondo is a hybrid between a fighting game and a bullet hell. Two characters dance around each other firing danmaku bullets interspersed with short bouts of melee combat. Each player gets three bombs. During the battle, bombs can be combined with an energy bar to initiate a spell, which brings you to a segment reminiscent of the PC Touhou games. The one initiating the spell can move slowly, turn, and fire three varieties of bullet curtains to attempt to deal damage. The other player must either destroy the spell or out-last the timer, and can use their own bombs to protect themselves from the spell during this segment. Once the spell is over, you're kicked back into the regular fighting arena right where you left off. This game is easy to pick up, but difficult to master.

Scarlet Curiosity is sort of a Zelda-style RPG where you play as Remilia Scarlet. She has a standard melee combo, a floaty jump you can somewhat control with her wings by holding down the button, and three skill slots. Regular skills cost energy, and resemble scaled-down versions of her spells from the PC games. Spells are nearly identical to their PC counterparts, and are typically used as a screen-clear; though a few of them are also quite effective against bosses. Your stats can be increased by leveling up (i.e. murdering everything) and equipping items that you pick up. You have one slot each for weapons, armor, and accessories, and the game conveniently tells you which stats will be raised or lowered before you swap items. Items don't show up on Remilia's in-game model, sadly, but given that she looks 12 (despite really being 500; it's a vampire thing, don't analyze it too deeply) it's probably for the best that you can't play dress-up with her. You can pause at any time to swap out items and skills as necessary, so you don't have to commit to a particular character-build as you would in other RPGs. Boss battles are fought in little arenas, and each boss requires different tactics to defeat. For example, I found Luna Child and Star Sapphire easy to handle with melee spam, but Mokou required me to keep my distance to avoid her own devastating melee strikes. Overall, I found it to be a very engrossing game, and according to some reviews even non-fans of Touhou found it to be quite fun.

[drunkenshoe]

I don't know if anyone posted about it before, but has anyone of you guys tried the multiplayer mods in Skyrim V? How is it?

[PopeyesPappy]

Cribbage anyone?

[Mike Cl]

Cribbage anyone?

15-2; 15-4; and a run for 7.  Not a bad crib.