Please help an old and starving gamer

Drathnoxis

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1L19 said:
Drathnoxis said:
So what is your alt.org username? With all those hours, I'm kind of curious to see your stats.
This was my main for a long time before I got banned on IRC and made a new character:

https://alt.org/nethack/player-stats.php?player=D34dlyD34dly

On that character have at least 2 ascensions on every class (36 total) but it took me like 548 games to get there.

This is my most recent character:

https://alt.org/nethack/player-stats.php?player=HouseMusic

On HouseMusic I had a great ascension rate (24/55 43%) and had no quits or escapes but when the new version was released (they still run 3.4.3 as well) and stopped announcing the stats in IRC I started scumming to get good starting gear. I haven't played on there since the fall or whatever as I set up Ubuntu on an old laptop and was able to (after like a month!) get the version (with mods) they are running on NAO to run on my box.

Can you tell I favor playing a Wizard? :)

As a side note for any current or potential Nethack players. My v3.4.3 config file is the bomb. I stole most of the sections from the very top players in the game and it will really add to your experience. You can find it here:

https://alt.org/nethack/userdata/H/HouseMusic/HouseMusic.nh343rc

Peace kid and thank for asking. It let me vomit more Nethack stuff all over this thread. :)
Wizard is the best class, def! Can't beat that chance for great starting gear! I'm kind of surprised you haven't gone for any conduct runs, actually.

I've never really done much to my config file other than change autopickup types and set the default pet name.

Ever play any of the varients much? I played SLASH'EM a little, but not enough to get an ascension.
 

1L19

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Wizard is the best class, def! Can't beat that chance for great starting gear! I'm kind of surprised you haven't gone for any conduct runs, actually.

I've never really done much to my config file other than change autopickup types and set the default pet name.

Ever play any of the varients much? I played SLASH'EM a little, but not enough to get an ascension.
Really? There is a lot of customization you can do like coloring things in your inventory or causing a break when something bad happens. You can color your hp and mana so you'll see maybe green when full, yellow when low and red when out... for example. You can set specific autopickup rules like AUTOPICKUP_EXCEPTION="* flint stone*" to ignore it. I like to set colors for BUC so a Red cursed really sticks out. An example of a text stop would be MSGTYPE=stop "It constricts your throat!". You can also hide messages like MSGTYPE=hide "You hear a slow drip." You can also change monster colors and symbols but I don't mess with that.

Here's two pictures. First one is boring but you can see my mana is blue because it's full. Second one is my inventory and you can see a lot more of what you can do.


 

munx13

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Seeing how you like Half-Life series you might want to check out Black Mesa: Source.
 

1L19

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Ok so the honor of my first purchase goes to DrunkGilgamesh. The interface is a bit screwy but I've downloaded Fable and am enjoying myself so far. Something just happened in the game, though, that made me actually laugh out loud so now I'm an even bigger fan.

This kid is comatose from eating some "strange mushrooms" he found while picnicking. You have to go talk to a witch to get the remedy. This witch tells me to take my time because the kid wouldn't die. In fact, she said, he's probably having the time of his life!

Gotta love it when something like that makes it into a video game. Thanks again DrunkGilgamesh!
 

Drathnoxis

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1L19 said:
Really? There is a lot of customization you can do like coloring things in your inventory or causing a break when something bad happens. You can color your hp and mana so you'll see maybe green when full, yellow when low and red when out... for example. You can set specific autopickup rules like AUTOPICKUP_EXCEPTION="* flint stone*" to ignore it. I like to set colors for BUC so a Red cursed really sticks out. An example of a text stop would be MSGTYPE=stop "It constricts your throat!". You can also hide messages like MSGTYPE=hide "You hear a slow drip." You can also change monster colors and symbols but I don't mess with that.

Here's two pictures. First one is boring but you can see my mana is blue because it's full. Second one is my inventory and you can see a lot more of what you can do.
Hmm, that sounds really useful. I'm gonna have to use some of that next time I play! I've definitely died enough times from missing something important!

Looking at the records on alt.org, nobody has ever done a 12 conduct run. They either do illiterate or pacifist. Do you think it's possible to have a perfectly behaved run?

I'm surprise you picked to play Fable, with the bad reputation it has. I really like it though, and think it's very underrated.
 

1L19

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Hmm, that sounds really useful. I'm gonna have to use some of that next time I play! I've definitely died enough times from missing something important!

Looking at the records on alt.org, nobody has ever done a 12 conduct run. They either do illiterate or pacifist. Do you think it's possible to have a perfectly behaved run?

I'm surprise you picked to play Fable, with the bad reputation it has. I really like it though, and think it's very underrated.
Well there are only 9 official conducts tracked by the game:

You have gone without food.
You have been an atheist.
You have never hit with a wielded weapon.
You have been a pacifist.
You have been illiterate.
You have never genocided any monsters.
You have never polymorphed an object.
You have never changed form.
You have used no wishes.

There are a lot of unofficial conducts so I'm not sure which three would compliment the above 9. Here are some notable ascensions from the wiki:

https://nethackwiki.com/wiki/Notable_ascensions

Personally for me the game is still hard enough that I don't even think about doing anything other than no genocide, never change form or wishless.
 

Drathnoxis

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1L19 said:
Hmm, that sounds really useful. I'm gonna have to use some of that next time I play! I've definitely died enough times from missing something important!

Looking at the records on alt.org, nobody has ever done a 12 conduct run. They either do illiterate or pacifist. Do you think it's possible to have a perfectly behaved run?

I'm surprise you picked to play Fable, with the bad reputation it has. I really like it though, and think it's very underrated.
Well there are only 9 official conducts tracked by the game:

You have gone without food.
You have been an atheist.
You have never hit with a wielded weapon.
You have been a pacifist.
You have been illiterate.
You have never genocided any monsters.
You have never polymorphed an object.
You have never changed form.
You have used no wishes.

There are a lot of unofficial conducts so I'm not sure which three would compliment the above 9. Here are some notable ascensions from the wiki:

https://nethackwiki.com/wiki/Notable_ascensions

Personally for me the game is still hard enough that I don't even think about doing anything other than no genocide, never change form or wishless.
Oh right, I forgot that alt.org broke it down kind of in a redundant way. The ones it tracks are:

Foodless
Vegan
Vegetarian
Atheist
Weaponless
Pacifist
Illiterate
No polypiles
No polyself
Wishless
No artifact wishes
Genocideless

Looking at the notable ascensions it doesn't look like anybody has ever gotten all 9 in one run. That would be something!
I did a vegan, vegetarian, weaponless, polypileless, wishless, artiwishless, genocideless ascension as a monk once. It's the only ascension I did on alt.org. Dang, looking now, if I didn't step on that polytrap I would have gotten on the best behaved list!
 

1L19

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Yep you are right I forgot that vegan and vegetarian are part of foodless but it will only show the strictest. Meaning if you do vegan you won't see the vegetarian or foodless conduct at the end. Same thing for wishing and artifact wishing so you won't see artifact wishing if you don't wish at all.

That's a pretty nice ascension you've got that. I've not come close to anything like that. I was more into polishing my ascensions and I've gotten pretty good at it playing a wizard. This is one of my best moments getting through 8 Archons on the Plane of Fire:

https://www.reddit.com/r/nethack/comments/3srfm7/cutting_through_an_eight_archon_posse_on_the/

The unofficial conduct that I think impresses me the most is the Zen conduct. In 3.6 you can set yourself as blind but in 3.4.3 you had to scum for a blindfold and wear it for the entire game:

https://nethackwiki.com/wiki/Zen

I don't think I could manage having to move that slowly as normally I play really fast.
 

Silk_Sk

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Subnautica just came out of Early Access today. You should definitely check it out.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rz2SNm8VguE

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BtP8r8nRfko
 

1L19

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munx13 said:
Seeing how you like Half-Life series you might want to check out Black Mesa: Source.
Thank you munx13 for the suggestion. I'll go check it out right now.
 

1L19

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Silk_Sk said:
Subnautica just came out of Early Access today. You should definitely check it out.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rz2SNm8VguE

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BtP8r8nRfko
I had added that to my wishlist based on a suggestion in this thread and just got a Steam email at 7:03 PM PST saying it's live. I will definitely be picking it up. Thank you for the suggestion Silk_Sk.
 
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1L19 said:
Grouchy Imp said:
Given that your most played game by far is Nethack I would heartily recommend Steam (but if you want my advice download the original ASCII version from the first link).
Grouchy Imp you've got my curiosity peaked with that ADOM suggestion. I took a look and wish listed it as can probably get it for 10 bucks. Even if I can't I'll buy it anyway. Looks like a game I will really like and it seems to be well received by current players. I have no problem at all going with the ASCII version as I never ever played Nethack with tiles or the like. Thank you very much sir!
Not a problem! Feel free to PM me with any queries you may have as a player just starting out - I don't profess to be an expert at the game but I know the odd tip or two.
 

Random Gamer

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Nethack... reminds me it's been ages since I've played Moria and Angmar. Good times.

I'll nominate:
- Planescape Torment if you're into RPG
- Max Payne 1/2 if you're into shooters that are a bit more than mere shooters (ok, a lot more)
- To the Moon since it's very short and great story
- Crusader Kings 2 - depending on how badly you dislike strategy games, but it's definitely less strategy-oriented than Europa Universalis and you can RP your guys like there's no tomorrow
 

Squilookle

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I'm just going to assume someone's already covered this base but if not:

[p]Star Control 2.[/p]



It's basically a 2D Mass Effect with more interesting characters and waaaay better writing. I tried it for the first time about 2 years ago after hearing some old gamers describe it as one of the greatest PC games of all time and... you know what? They're not wrong. Can be played for free, too.

 

Belaam

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1L19 said:
Following that is a list of games I also own or know I don't want to play. I would welcome and appreciate any and all suggestions for something I could check out. Thank you!
MMOs?

Guild Wars 2 doesn't have a monthly charge and is pretty fun. Huge amounts of it are soloable and the whole mechanics of "anyone who does damage get an individual loot when it's dead" means you can take down the occasional champion by just walking up when others are fighting it and not worry about looking for a group. It's a good six years old, so pretty much any rig can run it, but their living world means some zones change and there's always something new going on (you may want to purchase expansions for some stuff, but the core game will give you hours of stuff to do.

If fantasy isn't your thing, try The Secret World. If you're into Lovecraft, conspiracy theories, or some amazing quests (when I find myself downloading morse code translators for my phone so I can figure out a clue to a quest, I'm hooked).

Otherwise, I'd second the calls for Rimworld.

The XCOM games are fantastic.

You also don't mention any of the Civilization games. Should definitely check those out.
 

1L19

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Random Gamer said:
Nethack... reminds me it's been ages since I've played Moria and Angmar. Good times.

I'll nominate:
- Planescape Torment if you're into RPG
- Max Payne 1/2 if you're into shooters that are a bit more than mere shooters (ok, a lot more)
- To the Moon since it's very short and great story
- Crusader Kings 2 - depending on how badly you dislike strategy games, but it's definitely less strategy-oriented than Europa Universalis and you can RP your guys like there's no tomorrow
Thank you Random Gamer for your suggestions. I've tried to start Planescape a few times but I just can't get into it. So much reading. I've played both Max Payne 1 and 2 and really enjoyed them. I have 3 but I really hated it which is funny because someone on this thread said 3 was one of their favorite games. I'll check out To The Moon and Crusader Kings 2 as well but I make no promises on the strategy game. :) Thank you again sir.
 

1L19

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Squilookle said:
I'm just going to assume someone's already covered this base but if not:

[p]Star Control 2.[/p]



It's basically a 2D Mass Effect with more interesting characters and waaaay better writing. I tried it for the first time about 2 years ago after hearing some old gamers describe it as one of the greatest PC games of all time and... you know what? They're not wrong. Can be played for free, too.

Well I love Mass Effect so I'm all over this one. Thank you very much Squilookle for your suggestion. Sounds like a good one!
 

1L19

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Belaam said:
1L19 said:
Following that is a list of games I also own or know I don't want to play. I would welcome and appreciate any and all suggestions for something I could check out. Thank you!
MMOs?

Guild Wars 2 doesn't have a monthly charge and is pretty fun. Huge amounts of it are soloable and the whole mechanics of "anyone who does damage get an individual loot when it's dead" means you can take down the occasional champion by just walking up when others are fighting it and not worry about looking for a group. It's a good six years old, so pretty much any rig can run it, but their living world means some zones change and there's always something new going on (you may want to purchase expansions for some stuff, but the core game will give you hours of stuff to do.

If fantasy isn't your thing, try The Secret World. If you're into Lovecraft, conspiracy theories, or some amazing quests (when I find myself downloading morse code translators for my phone so I can figure out a clue to a quest, I'm hooked).

Otherwise, I'd second the calls for Rimworld.

The XCOM games are fantastic.

You also don't mention any of the Civilization games. Should definitely check those out.
I've got a level 60 Thief on Guild Wars 2 but now I just log in to do some jumping puzzles but at once time I was heavy on the RvR. The Secret World sounds interesting so I'll be checking that out for sure. I put Rimworld on my list and I even broke down and put an XCOM game on my wishlist. Civ however... not this kid. I don't like micromanagement or maintenance. Give me a shotgun and point me in the right direction. :) Thank you very much for your suggestions Belaam they are most appreciated.
 

Isaac Heathwood

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Alright.....

I used to have an account on here in like 2010 and just made this one as I was here to see what Yahtzee thought about DUSK. More on that later.

I've had a good look through this thread and a got an idea of what you like in your games: engaging reward feedback loops and immediacy.

Hence I have the following to recommend/

Cave Story (AKA Dokatsu Montongari)

Published in 2004, this one game kickstarted the indie dev movement by being made by one dude by himself over three years. A richly detailed 2D Metroidvania, this game has amazing level design, engrossing combat, beautiful music, and a surprisingly deep story with multiple endings. You can find it out there for free or pay on steam for a version with updated graphics and multiple player characters (though IMO the original art style looks best). Anyone who wants to make games should play this game as an example of the length and attention to detail required.

Doom 2016.

BEST. GAME. OF. 2016.

The only comments I have here are some hardcore AFPS players found the game's habit of locking you in arenas confining but even those people are a minority even in their own communities of people still playing Quakeworld and CPMA (Quake 3 pro mod). That should tell you how fucking good this game is.

Bunker Punks.

Endlessly replayable, this AFPS-Rougelike hybrid is one of only two of such a genre that get it right. Levels are RNG, abilities are upgraded via your home base, movement is fast, and all items and enermies are sprites, making the game feel like a really complex Doom 2 mod. You do have a 2 weapon limit but the game just chucks weapons at you so much that it's not a problem.

Ziggurat.

The other of the two to get it right (STRAFE does not count, let us not go there). Ziggurat has a fantasy theme and is entirely projectile based. Combat feels like a fully-3D Heretic or Hexen sometimes though being a rougelike the levels are not the same. I will ad a caveat that this game is much more heavy on the RNG elements then BP above and often feels like complete bullshit when you endlessly die in the opening couple of levels. Still, press on and (mostly by unlocking better characters to run with) the game opens up enormously.

DUSK.

The sleeper release of of 2017. You like Quake? You wanna play Quake but set in a town controlled by cultists? Yeah, you'll like this one. It was even made to look like it was from 1996 and has a fake DOS intro and things like downscaling and pixelisation options. FPS of 2017 AND 2018 due to the staggered release. 33 well-designed levels plus multiplayer.

QUICK PLUG FOR MY CHANNEL https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WFWTe_x9Gko&

Rainbow Six: Siege

People are recommending this for a reason, it's probably the most absorbing and tactically minded shooter on the market, barring simulations like ARMA III or Insurgency, Red Orchestra, or Day Of Infamy. Or Rising Storm.

Ok so it's not THE most tactical but unlike those games it's also not insanely hardcore to the point of masochism and nihilistic thoughts as you die for the 12th time in a row without firing a single shot back....

AHEM. Siege is slow, tense, methodical, everything that most modern military shooters aren't.

Overwatch.

It's TF2 with 25 different fuckin characters. It and it's clones like Paladins are straight up MOBA FPSs. Give them ago if that sounds appealing. The gameplay is quite solid and the meta changes a lot.

Dirty Bomb.

I sunk almost 200 hours into this 100% free game before my CSGO addiction got it's teeth into me. Did you ever play RCTW? Or Wolfeinstien: Enemy Territory? Same dev team. Fast, fluid, objective-based combat with walljumping, bhopping, and all those skill-based good things. 100% free, no pay to win bullshit like in many other games in the free FPS space.


Finally I'll end by saying something about Prey.

Prey is...well it tries to be System Shock 2. And it's stunning to look at with a very unique 'art-deco-meets east asian' style in it's environments. However, the difficulty plateaus mid-game and never really recovers.

Prey is haunting, beautiful, and as tense and exciting as a knife to your balls in a haphazard sexual encounter. However, this tension dissipates when you get used to the enemies and are well stocked up. So long as you recycle everything you'll be fine for supplies. Play it on nightmare difficulty (hardest) or not at all IMO.
 

Squilookle

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1L19 said:
Squilookle said:
I'm just going to assume someone's already covered this base but if not:

[p]Star Control 2.[/p]



It's basically a 2D Mass Effect with more interesting characters and waaaay better writing. I tried it for the first time about 2 years ago after hearing some old gamers describe it as one of the greatest PC games of all time and... you know what? They're not wrong. Can be played for free, too.

Well I love Mass Effect so I'm all over this one. Thank you very much Squilookle for your suggestion. Sounds like a good one!
You're welcome. You can find it for free to download and optimised for modern PCs (under the name Ur Quan Masters, as rights could not be gained for the original game name) from here: http://sc2.sourceforge.net/downloads.php