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Essence_of_Meh

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Don’t Think, Just Jam

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What is your favorite Assassin's Creed game?

Hi guys, I have the hunger for more history games. I have to say that usually I’m not a huge AC fan, but last summer I played Odyssey and I’m a huge ancient history nerd and I think that the game and the period were represented very well. (The Story was kinda meh, but serviceable). What other AC game would you recommend for...

Essence_of_Meh ,

I only properly played 1, 2 and a bit of Black Flag but based on that and what I’ve seen from all the other games I’m gonna stick with the first one.

Investigations were… well actual investigation, gameplay mechanics while simple and satisfying weren’t overly automated and the game wasn’t burdened with all the bloat that came afterwards. Simplified movement system from later games, one that’s fighting you whenever you try to do something even a little out of game’s comfort zone, is probably my major sticking point with the series.

That said, I’m not sure if that would be the best choice for you. If you want to try the classic approach I’d suggest going with the Ezio trilogy (II, Brotherhood, Revelations) as these games are more polished, if a little bloated, compared to the first game. They should still hold up well enough to have fun.

Essence_of_Meh ,

Ubisoft also announced both The Crew 2 and The Crew Motorfest will have an offline mode (twitter post, screenshot). Looks like the Stop Killing Games campaign is working.

Speaking of, if you’re in EU make sure to sign the The European Citizens’ Initiative petition - we’re already over 30% required signatures!

Essence_of_Meh OP ,

I think an important step would be to not be afraid of creating characters with actual… well, character. It was somewhat mentioned in the video but it seems like devs are unwilling to make NPCs with their own likes and dislikes, ones that might disagree with players instead of being all over them no matter what. This might be a slight exaggeration but boy do I wish we had more “real” feeling NPCs in games. I’m sure I’m not the only one who couldn’t care less about being the most important being in the universe and would rather be treated as an equal part of the world.

From a mechanical standpoint, relationship system in Scarlet Hollow feels like a good step into making interactions more natural (here is a detailed look by one of the devs) but I realize it’s a lot of work for something a good chunk of players won’t care about. I understand why this isn’t something many (especially bigger) devs would be interested in using but it’s still a disappointment.

Maybe AI will be able to help somewhat with this problem in the future but I’m not going to hold my breath on that.

Essence_of_Meh ,

Katawa Shoujo is great!

I played it years ago and decided to replay it again a few months back. My initial playthrough was limited to Hanako’s route (got a bad ending which I’m kind of baffled by after the replay) so this time I wanted to try out the other ones as well. Rin’s story ended up being a surprise highlight of the whole process in a way I wasn’t really prepared for (had some very familiar thoughts showing up there). Her whole story just clicked with me and wouldn’t let go until some time after finishing it.

All the other routes were great as well (haven’t touched Shizune/Misha one) and I’m glad I decided to give it another shot for an expanded experience. It was worth it and made me wish for more games with disabled protagonist/characters (without using it as their main characteristic obviously).

Essence_of_Meh ,

A lot of comments I’ve seen about Shizune’s route suggested it probably wouldn’t be something I’ll enjoy, that’s why I decided to skip it for now. I might give it a shot some day but for now I’m just happy with all the other great stuff in the VN.

Essence_of_Meh ,

Oh, I didn’t try to imply you did. It’s just I’ve seen a lot of talk about this route being more… rough (on a story rather than quality level), so to speak? If that’s the case I’m just not in a headspace for something like that and would rather play it when I’m in a position to better appreciate what’s there. Maybe I just misunderstood people’s thoughts about it, that’s also a possibility.

Either way I do want to go back to it eventually, if only to spend some more time with both characters (I do find them fun whenever they show up in other routes).

Essence_of_Meh ,

I’m sticking to slowly clearing my backlog for now but thanks for the recommendation! So much to play, so little time…

Essence_of_Meh , (edited )

I tried playing Bahamut Lagoon, a Japan only SNES TRPG, but had to stop due to some technical issues with the unofficial translation. The little bit I did manage to play (prologue and the first scene after that) was interesting enough so I’ll definitely try again, I just need to get back to my PC so I can research what’s wrong with it.

To keep with the theme I started Jeanne d’Arc, the PSP TRPG, instead. I like the art style, animated cutscenes and gameplay. Not a huge fan of the fantastical elements but they’re not a dealbreaker either. I’m not sure what to think about the story just yet - I like it for the most part but there are some things that make me a bit wary since they might potentially turn into tropes I’m not going to be happy with. It’s a “wait and see” for now since I’m still pretty early on. It’s good so far.

Essence_of_Meh OP ,

I’ve seen a lot of comments about the controls and I don’t really get it. I’ve played through both games about two years ago, I think, and didn’t have any problems with either of them. Maybe I’m just used to the jank due to playing a lot of older games but I remember both titles playing fine.

I’m curious how they’ll modernize the controls. The little gameplay present in this teaser looks pretty close to the original and I don’t think they talked about this in detail. Whatever they’ll do I just hope it’ll allow people to play and enjoy this little gem. It deserves it.

Essence_of_Meh OP ,

As much as I like this idea I don’t think many publishers would look at it and said anything other than “yeah, not worth the money”. We probably have a higher chance for the classic versions landing on GoG than being added as a freebie to a remake - they want you to play the new shiny thing, not the old one after all (that and no need to provide support to the old version).

Essence_of_Meh OP ,

I totally agree. I just don’t have much expectations towards big publishers anymore, I guess. Not many approach the topic of remakes/remasters from the point of view of celebrating their history unfortunately. Heck, we had multiple instances of publishers removing the old versions from sale just to push people to the new one.

Low effort or not, companies (and many players to be honest) rarely care about their legacy.

Essence_of_Meh OP , (edited )

Ah, I thought people had some specific issues besides the game having tank controls. Fair enough.

I’m not going to begrudge someone for not liking a control scheme (unless their only reason is not wanting to learn how to play differently) but I do think some people dislike it without even giving it a fair shake. The thing is, these games were designed with this control scheme in mind and switching to a modern one can be detrimental to the experience (compare playing REmake with and without tank controls, the latter makes navigation and avoiding enemies much easier).

Oh well, everyone has their own dislikes.

Edit: I read a bit more and apparently the game always had an option to play with some kind of “modern” controls when using a controller with sticks? I’m guessing they’ll probably polish those.

Essence_of_Meh OP ,

Can’t say I share your experience with either game but I can understand it doesn’t work for everyone. Personally, I can’t really imaging playing this, Kao the Kangaroo or old Tomb Raider titles without tank controls for example.

To be clear, your comment is exactly what I meant - you tried and don’t like it, that’s absolutely fine. There’s plenty of games I couldn’t get into due to controls or mechanics so I feel you. On the other hand, I met people who refuse to even try to engage with certain mechanics and that’s what I’m not a fan of. I’m all for remakes/remasters/rereleases updating things to let more people enjoy the old thing and hope this will be the case with Croc. And hey, even if they change something in a way I don’t like, there’s always* the classic version.

  • Though not always an official way to get it.
Essence_of_Meh OP ,

I feel like that should be the default stance. One thing that gives me hope is the early access release - there’s a chance they’re approaching the game seriously and will use it to make something great.

Essence_of_Meh OP ,

Same here. While I’m very critical of Microsoft and tend to avoid a lot of things they’re involved in their continuous work on improving accessibility is one thing I’ve been really impressed with. I hope this approach will become more and more prevalent in both the gaming industry and in general as well.

Essence_of_Meh OP ,

I haven’t used Windows in a while now so feel free to correct me if I’m wrong but it always felt like PCs were a bit of an afterthought for Microsoft. I know it changed somehow but have no idea how much so my random guess would be: it’s simply be a case of “lets market these with our main gaming product: consoles”.

Essence_of_Meh OP ,

They could also not do anything at all and leave those players on their own. Sure, it would be great if all of those options were available from the start but most of MS’s work on accessibility wasn’t developed back then. At least they can be used with PCs and should be compatible with their future consoles.

Essence_of_Meh OP ,

Maybe so. Also, I reread the article and there are more mentions of PC than I initially thought. I just kind of glanced over them between all the talk about Xbox, a term that’s also used in regards to Windows gaming (something I forgot when I posted this).

Essence_of_Meh , (edited )

This looks really cool. I hope they can pull this off since I’m really itching to play a sims-like again. It’ll probably fry my PC but it’s a risk I’m willing to take.

Edit: There’s a free character studio available on Steam to play around with.

Essence_of_Meh ,

Sometimes I forget how unprofessional the game industry still is or how little respect people have for well being of others. I’d like to say I’m surprised but that would require having some expectations towards those companies.

I hope more VAs speak up about stuff like this so we can have some real changes.

Essence_of_Meh ,

I focused on game companies since that’s what’s this article is about but yeah, that’s true.

Essence_of_Meh ,

It’s a retribution by the mob because of what he did in the first game. I’ll put it in spoilers just in case:

Mafia 1 spoilersThe whole premise of the first game is that Tommy talks to the police to get out of crime life. He ends up testifying against the Salieri family, receives lower sentence and enters witness protection program with his family.

Essence_of_Meh ,

Are you looking specifically for a community for communities? If not there’s also Lemmy Explorer.

Essence_of_Meh ,

Yeah, it can take a while before new communities show up. Not much can be done about it I’m afraid.

Essence_of_Meh ,

Nice, didn’t know about this one.

Essence_of_Meh ,

I realize that but even those daily updates don’t seem to catch everything. When I tried to bring some life to a community I was interested in it took a few weeks of activity before it showed up on the list. It’s a great tool but it’s not perfect.

Essence_of_Meh ,

That depends. If an MMO is well written (as FFXIV and ESO are for many) then it doesn’t make much of a difference. Additionally, all to other people running around make the world feel a bit more alive compared to scripted NPCs, even if one doesn’t participate in the actual group content.

Essence_of_Meh ,

So are a lot of single-player games. Players running around in the background just add some semblance of “dynamic life” to the world. There’s also the possibility of “well, I’m not playing with people right now but I could if I really wanted to”.

I’m not saying that your perspective is wrong on that (I tend to bounce between the two views for example) but for some people just being in the same world as other players provides enough dynamism to make it feel more interesting than playing completely on your own.

Essence_of_Meh ,

I’m not saying whether it is or isn’t well written, I haven’t played enough to have an informed opinion on the game. All I’m saying is, some people like it well enough they have no problem treating it as a fun single-player experience with real people running in the background.

Essence_of_Meh ,

Hell yeah, Starbound!

I tend to go back to one of the beta versions from time to time so it’s interesting to see the final one - it’s both extremely familiar and pretty different at the same time. It might not be as good of a product as Terraria but I always had a soft spot for this game.

I doubt I can provide any tips for this version but I hope you have fun with it.

Essence_of_Meh ,

I can’t say much about the final version since I didn’t play much of it yet but I do remember some fun ideas being lost during the development. I also remember not vibing much with the new lore & introduction but that could possibly change whenever I take some time to finally experience the game.

I guess I could ask since you’ve mentioned Frackin’ Universe. I’ve seen some mods trying to bring various parts of the old features back, do you know if any of them managed a decent mix of old and new vision of the project?

Essence_of_Meh OP , (edited )

Short version: it’s a campaign to force publishers to provide some way to play online only games after they decide to shut down the servers. That or letting us know, by law, that games can be killed without repercussion. It’s not about forcing publishers to keep the servers alive forever if that’s what you’re wondering.

Long version: check out the official website for the Stop Killing Games campaign. It has FAQ with all the important info.

Essence_of_Meh OP ,

Unfortunately not, initiatives can only be signed by EU citizens. For this specific campaign you can help by spreading the word, besides that you can also check the “Take Action” tab on the site I linked previously - there are multiple campaigns started in various countries so you might be able to help with one of those.

Essence_of_Meh OP ,

Please do! We need as many eyes on this as possible.

Essence_of_Meh OP ,

There are some technical issues with the whole portal, can’t open any other initiatives either.

Essence_of_Meh OP ,

Not really. This isn’t about completely preventing publishers from adding account systems etc. (even if that would be ideal), it’s about publishers removing your ability to play games after they the shut down the servers. The former would hopefully be a side effect of a potential law change/ruling but the main point is keeping games playable after the official support ends.

In your example it could be removal of the sign in requirement once the account system is down but not necessarily preventing them from existing in the first place.

Essence_of_Meh , (edited )

Did you know Need For Speed: World is alive and kicking? Not officially, obviously, but through the power of fan servers and the wonderful project that is Soapbox Race World. It’s not the best NFS in the series and can be pretty tough if you play it without power ups but it’s fun.

For those who never heard of NFS:W - it’s a live service, online only entry in the series. It consists of maps from Most Wanted and Carbon combined into one and brings some additional gameplay changes specific for the live service model (power ups, performance parts with incremental stats upgrades etc). It also has a pretty good visual editor - can be a bit cumbersome at times but you can do some great stuff with it.

Fan servers are surprisingly active and provide A LOT of new cars, parts etc do play with. They also have different rules so if you want a place where getting everything you want is easy, you can do that as well.

My second game is Wagahime or Waga Himegimi ni Eikan o, a comedy visual novel by Minato Soft. Unlike their other work (that I read anyway) it’s set in a medieval fantasy world with magic, beast races and all the usual stuff. It has three main routes, each expanding the world and providing details for the other ones, and each filled with fun characters and events.

I won’t be spending much time on it since all that’s left is finishing the final route but it’s a great read and I really wanted to mention it. Minato Soft seriously reignited my love for VNs lately.

Last but not least, Reverse Collapse: Code Name Bakery - a sci-fi strategy RPG. It came out this year so I’m not going to go too much into it but it’s a great and at times challenging title. Worth looking into if you’re interested in this genre.

Essence_of_Meh ,

Most people aren’t taught how to deal with criticism and see it as a personal attack, an attempt to discredit them. This leads a culture where people are afraid/unwilling to admit they were wrong (it’s a sign of weakness after all, “I can’t be weak”) and would rather dig themselves towards more and more absurd explanations and deflections on how they are the correct ones.

The more popular this stance becomes (compare how stars or politicians, the ones setting an example, act now and how they were few decades ago) the more it spreads, powering the cycle of pride and unwillingness to say “I was wrong”.

That’s how I see it at least. It’s not exactly a professional or scientific look at the issue so there might be better explanations out there.

Essence_of_Meh ,

Some people definitely use it as such and I do think it became more and more common as the previously mentioned habit of treating accepting criticism as a weakness started being normalized. It’s something worth keeping in mind but preferably within reason. It’s also worth remembering that besides the usual jerks there are people who mean well but are complete trash when it comes to communicating - this is another issue with the lack of proper teaching about how to approach criticism in my opinion.

That said, just because someone tries to belittle you for your mistake or can’t provide proper feedback doesn’t mean the actual criticism is wrong. Sure, you shouldn’t take everything people say as complete truth but rather use it for introspection instead. They might have a point, even if they try to use it against you.

I don’t disagree with your point, humans aren’t always a nice and friendly bunch. I do think however that some people use this kind of thinking to shield themselves from accepting their own shortcomings. I used to be terrified of people criticizing my work/knowledge/actions and would react with anger (in my head and towards myself) for letting myself get to this position. It’s something that can be really hard to overcome.

Again, I don’t want to present my way of thinking as the one true way. I was lucky enough I didn’t have to deal with people trying to put me down for their own benefit (or fun) so my mindset is a bit more… idealistic (?) than if I were bullied as a kid or trampled as a coworker. There is no perfect answer and the best I can do is to try doing what I preach.

I’m also interested in how other people approach this question so I’ll be coming back to reading through this thread when I have some time.

Essence_of_Meh ,

Of course, building trust is definitely an important part though even that can be misinterpreted as trying to be tricky. But yeah, I agree.

As I said before, I have a bit of an idealistic view on things and try to approach everyone at face value even if their criticism or question might seem antagonistic or a bait. As long as they aren’t obviously trying to start shit I’m willing to start by giving people a naive benefit of a doubt - one that’s very easily lost if things go south but still. That’s just me trying to find a right way to do things for myself though.

I absolutely wouldn’t want to convince people to change their approach to my liking. Everyone has their own threshold of bullshit they’re willing to put up with.

Essence_of_Meh ,

Much obliged for that! I often think about writing on what I’m playing but end up forgetting due to time constraints - threads like this one definitely help with that.

Essence_of_Meh ,

That’s good to know, thanks!

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