What are you currently playing?

[Kwak]

Snowrunner mostly, with sporadic dips into the Saints Row 3 remake and AC Unity, have given Days Gone a break for now.
Just got the Crew 2, finding it pretty confusing but potentially fun once I understand what's going on.
I did find out due to not being able to win a single race in it that my r2 trigger wasn't depressing 100 percent, so I opened it up and stuck a small bit of material in it to put more pressure on the sensor, works fine now.

 

[Phoenixmgs]

Currently working on Sen's Fortress; I've reached the fog gate to the boss but haven't attempted it yet. I know the nearby summon is meant to be pretty badass, but I'm going to attempt it on my own first. I also tried fighting (and gave up on) Sif. I couldn't even break through 20% of his HP before dying. The fight's not even gimmicky, it's just really hard to avoid that sword and every hit deals huge damage. (This is not a request for help; please do not give me tips on that boss or the one in the Fortress.)

IIRC, the Sen's Fortress boss is pretty easy. Also, I think Sif is supposed to be fought at a higher level because I recall that fight being tough because I just didn't have the stats to be able to do decent damage outside of a singular spell that had a really long animation.

Bulletstorm... Better to Duke Nukem game than Duke nukem forever.

Haha, I was literally going to say BulletStorm is like a good modern Duke Nukem game. It was a ton of fun.

 

[Drathnoxis]

I've just started Heavy Rain. This game has one of the worst movement controls I've ever seen. Hold down a button to walk and then use the analog stick to influence the direction?! I say influence because the direction the character moves seems to depend on the way the character is facing (which is changing constantly if you are turning), the direction the camera is facing (which constantly changes as you walk around), and the alignment of the constellations. My character is constantly veering off as if he's drunk, which is especially noticeable if I'm trying to follow somebody. Why would they ever have put something like this in the final game?

 

[BrawlMan]

I've just started Heavy Rain. This game has one of the worst movement controls I've ever seen. Hold down a button to walk and then use the analog stick to influence the direction?! I say influence because the direction the character moves seems to depend on the way the character is facing (which is changing constantly if you are turning), the direction the camera is facing (which constantly changes as you walk around), and the alignment of the constellations. My character is constantly veering off as if he's drunk, which is especially noticeable if I'm trying to follow somebody. Why would they ever have put something like this in the final game?

Cuz it's cinematic and full of emotions!

 

[NerfedFalcon]

Understandable if you’re planning on a one-and-done type of run here, but you might be surprised at how much better a different weapon could be down the road. The items I alluded to also have multiple instances where they could be helpful too, even if you never return to the swamps.

Out of curiosity what did you pick for a starting gift, and have you been using any rings?

I took the Pendant because I'm a conspiracy theorist. Not that gifts matter significantly, except for Black Firebombs if you want the Asylum Demon's club, and the Master Key if you want to sequence break, which isn't recommended on a first playthrough.

Blue Tearstone Ring saved my ass against a miniboss in the Undead Parish, but I've since swapped it out for the Ring of Steel Protection, since that's basically the same thing but active all the time. I also haven't taken off Havel's Ring since I got it.

 

[hanselthecaretaker]

I took the Pendant because I'm a conspiracy theorist. Not that gifts matter significantly, except for Black Firebombs if you want the Asylum Demon's club, and the Master Key if you want to sequence break, which isn't recommended on a first playthrough.

Blue Tearstone Ring saved my ass against a miniboss in the Undead Parish, but I've since swapped it out for the Ring of Steel Protection, since that's basically the same thing but active all the time. I also haven't taken off Havel's Ring since I got it.

Yeah Steel Protection is good, and I also like anything that boosts health and stamina a bit, like the Ring of Favor and Cloranthy Ring. The first game and Demon Souls should be retrofitted for four ring slots as it allows a good variety of mainstays plus one to swap out for situational stuff.

 

[Dalisclock]

So after finishing Ace Combat 7 I decided to play something shorter and a little calmer so I booted up RIME, a little Indie game I picked up a while ago that feels like a cross between Myst and Journey, with some obviously influence from games like ICO. It looks pretty, there's a number of puzzles that are decent enough(they require some brainpower but a game like INSIDE required more thinking) and it generally flows nicely.

The downside is that, despite trying very, very hard to be making something in the vein of Journey or ICO or Myst, it doesn't really work. You're a small boy wearing, I wanna say classical Grecian clothes, who washes up on an island full of ruins and a massive tower off in the distance and it's hinted you need to get there, kinda like how Journey subtly points the camera at the mountain and you figure that's where you need to go. Like other other games, there's no dialogue, just body language and some paintings/murals along the way to hint at the story of this island.

The big issue seems to be that you reach the tower within an hour of starting and after that you're not really told what you're supposed to be doing or where you're going. Instead you're just looking for a path forward and following it, and since the game funnels you, that's not hard. Journey, ICO or even The Last Guardian kinda keep that goal in mind the whole time, whereas I honestly have no fucking clue what I'm supposed to be doing anymore in this game and there's no real plot or anything to keep my interest. I see the puzzles, I see how the puzzles allow me to move to the next room and I can solve them with a little bit of thinking but that's it. Maybe it's supposed to mean something but god knows I can't tell what it is. I keep thinking the game is close to ending but then it doesn't and checking the internet I realized I'm maybe around the halfway point. For a short game it feels far longer then it should.

So some of you who have listened to me ramble a bit probably know I'm fond of Indie games and have a soft spot for Artsy-Fartsy Indies like Journey or Abzu or INSIDE or GRIS, etc, etc. So Rime should be a game I can really appreciate for the chill little indie of going on a long journey through fantastic environments.....and yet it's not. I don't really see where this is going and I don't really care anymore.

I think I'll go back and pick up where I left off in The Saboteur. Blowing up some Nazis sounds good right now.

 

[Dalisclock]

Cuz it's cinematic and full of emotions!

What if Emotions were Peoples?

 

[Hawki]

Apparently like half the shit that happened in the AC series is somehow tied to the meteor in some way.

Ulysses 1994XF04

Ulysses 1994XF04,[a] commonly referred to as Ulysses, was a Strangereal asteroid approximately 1.6 km (1 mi) in diameter. It was the catalyst of the Ulysses Impact Event[b] in 1999. Professor Jonathan Payek[4] first discovered Ulysses in October 1994 while working at Seals Bridge University...

acecombat.fandom.com

 

[NerfedFalcon]

"I can't take this..."

These snipers in Anor Londo are the absolute worst. They can hit you from long before you can see them, the ballista bolts they fire from their longbows have just enough homing to hit you when you least expect it, they don't care how much poise you have and will knock you off the inch-wide ledge anyway, and you can't even knock them off with a kick or a powerful hit because their poise is hacked to unbelievable levels. And they respawn even if you manage to kill one before the other inevitably gets you, because they have a clear view of each other from far enough apart that you can't take them both at once.

If any of you guys have any way to handle the snipers reliably, please tell me, because the only other option I can think of is giving up. Going Hollow sounds better than dying to the same thing yet again, whether it's in the parapet with the two gargoyles or the ledge where they hang out and laugh at me.

(I'm playing PTDE not Remastered, so I can't rely on one of you guys laying a summon sign or anything like that.)

 

[NerfedFalcon]

The snipers still suck, but I managed to get past them, and I found a bonfire past them so I don't even have to redo the fight right away. Don't need to give up after all.

Praise the Sun. \o/

 

[Drathnoxis]

The snipers still suck, but I managed to get past them, and I found a bonfire past them so I don't even have to redo the fight right away. Don't need to give up after all.

Praise the Sun. \o/

I think shooting at them with poison arrows from outside their range is the main way to cheese them. I feel like I've seen another but I can't remember it right now.

 

[NerfedFalcon]

I think shooting at them with poison arrows from outside their range is the main way to cheese them. I feel like I've seen another but I can't remember it right now.

I ended up doing it by equipping the heaviest armor and shield I could and damage tanking my way through them. One time I noticed the guy on the left falling off to chase after me, so I did that to him first, then just won a high-Poise brawl with the other one.

Now I just have to do the other battle against two guys in Anor Londo.

 

[hanselthecaretaker]

So after finishing Ace Combat 7 I decided to play something shorter and a little calmer so I booted up RIME, a little Indie game I picked up a while ago that feels like a cross between Myst and Journey, with some obviously influence from games like ICO. It looks pretty, there's a number of puzzles that are decent enough(they require some brainpower but a game like INSIDE required more thinking) and it generally flows nicely.

The downside is that, despite trying very, very hard to be making something in the vein of Journey or ICO or Myst, it doesn't really work. You're a small boy wearing, I wanna say classical Grecian clothes, who washes up on an island full of ruins and a massive tower off in the distance and it's hinted you need to get there, kinda like how Journey subtly points the camera at the mountain and you figure that's where you need to go. Like other other games, there's no dialogue, just body language and some paintings/murals along the way to hint at the story of this island.

The big issue seems to be that you reach the tower within an hour of starting and after that you're not really told what you're supposed to be doing or where you're going. Instead you're just looking for a path forward and following it, and since the game funnels you, that's not hard. Journey, ICO or even The Last Guardian kinda keep that goal in mind the whole time, whereas I honestly have no fucking clue what I'm supposed to be doing anymore in this game and there's no real plot or anything to keep my interest. I see the puzzles, I see how the puzzles allow me to move to the next room and I can solve them with a little bit of thinking but that's it. Maybe it's supposed to mean something but god knows I can't tell what it is. I keep thinking the game is close to ending but then it doesn't and checking the internet I realized I'm maybe around the halfway point. For a short game it feels far longer then it should.

So some of you who have listened to me ramble a bit probably know I'm fond of Indie games and have a soft spot for Artsy-Fartsy Indies like Journey or Abzu or INSIDE or GRIS, etc, etc. So Rime should be a game I can really appreciate for the chill little indie of going on a long journey through fantastic environments.....and yet it's not. I don't really see where this is going and I don't really care anymore.

I think I'll go back and pick up where I left off in The Saboteur. Blowing up some Nazis sounds good right now.

...So you’re saying there’s really no Rime or reason to what you’re doing in it?






Gaaaahh!! I had to because I’m a simple nerd.

 

[Dalisclock]

...So you’re saying there’s really no Rime or reason to what you’re doing in it?

Gaaaahh!! I had to because I’m a simple nerd.

You know what....why not.

Yeah, it's a bit of a waste of potential. Normally, hearing "It's like Journey" is enough to get me to plop down some cash. In this case, yeah, it wasn't enough to save it.

I think shooting at them with poison arrows from outside their range is the main way to cheese them. I feel like I've seen another but I can't remember it right now.

Poison Arrows can be awesome in this game. It also works against the big bomb throwing giant on Sens Fortress, because he doesn't respawn.

 

[XsjadoBlayde]

So after finishing Ace Combat 7 I decided to play something shorter and a little calmer so I booted up RIME, a little Indie game I picked up a while ago that feels like a cross between Myst and Journey, with some obviously influence from games like ICO. It looks pretty, there's a number of puzzles that are decent enough(they require some brainpower but a game like INSIDE required more thinking) and it generally flows nicely.

The downside is that, despite trying very, very hard to be making something in the vein of Journey or ICO or Myst, it doesn't really work. You're a small boy wearing, I wanna say classical Grecian clothes, who washes up on an island full of ruins and a massive tower off in the distance and it's hinted you need to get there, kinda like how Journey subtly points the camera at the mountain and you figure that's where you need to go. Like other other games, there's no dialogue, just body language and some paintings/murals along the way to hint at the story of this island.

The big issue seems to be that you reach the tower within an hour of starting and after that you're not really told what you're supposed to be doing or where you're going. Instead you're just looking for a path forward and following it, and since the game funnels you, that's not hard. Journey, ICO or even The Last Guardian kinda keep that goal in mind the whole time, whereas I honestly have no fucking clue what I'm supposed to be doing anymore in this game and there's no real plot or anything to keep my interest. I see the puzzles, I see how the puzzles allow me to move to the next room and I can solve them with a little bit of thinking but that's it. Maybe it's supposed to mean something but god knows I can't tell what it is. I keep thinking the game is close to ending but then it doesn't and checking the internet I realized I'm maybe around the halfway point. For a short game it feels far longer then it should.

So some of you who have listened to me ramble a bit probably know I'm fond of Indie games and have a soft spot for Artsy-Fartsy Indies like Journey or Abzu or INSIDE or GRIS, etc, etc. So Rime should be a game I can really appreciate for the chill little indie of going on a long journey through fantastic environments.....and yet it's not. I don't really see where this is going and I don't really care anymore.

I think I'll go back and pick up where I left off in The Saboteur. Blowing up some Nazis sounds good right now.

Yeah, felt the same with Rime. I think a particular moment where it became obvious it was falling short of Journey and the like, is after I I'd spent so long lost in one area trying to find the way to progress that the magical soundtrack hit its quite obvious end, then began its next loop rather jarringly, something the other games managed to avoid completely, effectively pulling out from the experience to notice the cracks and duct tape the others hid so well.

 

[hanselthecaretaker]

I ended up doing it by equipping the heaviest armor and shield I could and damage tanking my way through them. One time I noticed the guy on the left falling off to chase after me, so I did that to him first, then just won a high-Poise brawl with the other one.

Now I just have to do the other battle against two guys in Anor Londo.

It took several tries but I recall knocking the left guy off first to give me room to approach the right guy safely, hugging the wall and waiting for him to fire an arrow then sprint up and hack him down. The timing of avoiding the arrows is tricky on the way up, but there’s at least safe zones halfway. Then it’s just finding that window to go after the first one half blindly. I ultimately stuck with my normal gear since trying heavy still gave me problems since the arrows where enough to hinder my momentum and stability, aside from speed loss.

The good thing is that section only needs to be done once per game cycle.

 

[Dalisclock]

Yeah, felt the same with Rime. I think a particular moment where it became obvious it was falling short of Journey and the like, is after I I'd spent so long lost in one area trying to find the way to progress that the magical soundtrack hit its quite obvious end, then began its next loop rather jarringly, something the other games managed to avoid completely, effectively pulling out from the experience to notice the cracks and duct tape the others hid so well.

Yeah, I have a similar feeling about Toren. It's a cool concept and It kinda works but the overall execution is just kinda....meh.

Looking at TVTropes and youtubing the ending, I guess apparently Rime is about the stages of Grief and...sure, why not? The funny thing is that GRIS is arguably about the same thing and GRIS pulled it off better, IMHO. I think it's because the abstraction and slowly adding color to the world which also introduces new gameplay mechanics made GRIS feel like more of a complete experience. Rime....it's just the whole island full of ruins doesn't feel like it really has much to do with the real point of the story like at all.

I have expectations for my abstract Arsty-Fartsy games, damnit, despite my lack of a liberal arts or even an art degree!

 

[hanselthecaretaker]

You know what....why not.

Yeah, it's a bit of a waste of potential. Normally, hearing "It's like Journey" is enough to get me to plop down some cash. In this case, yeah, it wasn't enough to save it.



Poison Arrows can be awesome in this game. It also works against the big bomb throwing giant on Sens Fortress, because he doesn't respawn.

That was one of my most prominent memories of the original. I had been whittling him down with poison arrows from outside his range, and eventually got him down to maybe 10% health or less, but after exhausting all of my projectile related arsenal I was forced to approach to finish the job. Well aware I’d be starting out at the bottom of the fortress again with the slightest misstep or wrong timing (wasn’t yet aware of the hidden bonfire right before all this), I made a point of memorizing his bomb pattern and eventually went for the kill. Barely got away with it too, because I also wasn’t aware of those sneaky bastards hiding in the doorway behind him. Nearly got knocked off the ledge.

I think after this tense night was the point where I took a good long break from the game perched up in the far tower. Kinda like how I did with Demons Souls after running the Lord’s Path gauntlet right before the Tower Knight. The intimidation factor was significant.

 

[Phoenixmgs]

Rime....

Yeah, I felt the same about Rime. I felt the same but even worse with regards to Hob, I at least finished Rime, I doubt I even finished half of Hob.