Video Game Chat Thread - Pre-Alpha Experimental Version

[Swine Schwein]

Arkham Knight, whatever issues you may have with it

My issue is that it's got too much stuff in it. Not the worst issue to have, admittedly. And while I really don't like shooting drones with the batmobile, which is some of the worst content in all these games, the batmobile itself is really damn cool.

Technically the game is very solid and the art direction is great. It's easier to appreciate now than a decade ago. It's ambitious and it nails the core fantasy of the game. Rare for an AAA production nowadays.

Alien Isolation is one of those games too. Really just top notch in that certain way that's becoming rare. And I thought it was just okay back then. I was spoiled.

 

[EmpGulcasa]

Arkham Knight, whatever issues you may have with it, is honestly one of the most advanced games of the PS4. It looks incredible, the animations are seamless, the ragdolls are pretty awesome, and the destruction physics are surprisingly abundant for a PS4 game. In my opinion, I think it has the best gameplay loop of the franchise

I'm with you here. I can understand some of the complaints about the overuse of the tankmobile, but I actually liked those sections and everything else in that game was a treat. Was the only Arkham game I ended up 100%ing.

Unrelated, but I'm a few hours into Crimson Desert and out of what most people would consider the tutorial and I'm enjoying it quite a bit. Not sure why it's getting as much hate on KF as I've seen.

 

[Pierre D'Olnique]

Bought Halls of Torment recently. It's a perfect blend of Diablo I visuals/audio and Vampire Survivors mechanics, genuinely one of the best games I've ever played, surpassing even the original VS. On sale for $5 for 30 more hours. Unlike most VS clones it's also properly optimized, my PC is dead silent while the game is running and it never dips below 144 FPS.

 

[Bonedome]

Unrelated, but I'm a few hours into Crimson Desert and out of what most people would consider the tutorial and I'm enjoying it quite a bit. Not sure why it's getting as much hate on KF as I've seen.

I'm in chapter 3 and the stuff I've been seeing finally turned the switch from "not sure what's going on" to "this is awesome."

I'm happy to see you tried it.

 

[Sneaky lurker]

How do I make caravans come more often in dwarf fortress? The first one came but I didn't trade anything because I had nothing of value, now my fortress is stagnating because we don't have an anvil

 

[CIS White Droid]

How do I make caravans come more often in dwarf fortress? The first one came but I didn't trade anything because I had nothing of value, now my fortress is stagnating because we don't have an anvil

Caravans from your home civilization will come every autumn. Unless you have other nearby civilizations you'll have to wait until the next fall.

 

[EmpGulcasa]

I'm in chapter 3 and the stuff I've been seeing finally turned the switch from "not sure what's going on" to "this is awesome."

I'm happy to see you tried it.

I'm quite liking it but am playing exceedingly slowly as I explore every inch of the world. Will probably take me months to beat at this rate.

 

[The Last Stand]

Mouse: P.I. for Hire has an hefty release update on their website. Looks like there will be a physical version released on July 2026, with the initial digital release still slated for April 16, 2026 for $30. I see there's a story expansion planned as well.

$30 is the sweet spot, but a physical release would be nice for the collection.

 

[marvlouslie]

I was recently reminded at how absolutely fucking GODLIKE the Eternal Champions soundtrack was. To this day, I'm still legitimately surprised it's remained as obscure as it has to have not gotten a Killer Instinct style reboot.

 

[HTTP Error 404]

https://www.ign.com/articles/everquest-legends-boasts-all-the-magic-and-nostalgia-of-classic-everquest-with-a-modern-twist

https://www.gamesradar.com/games/mmo/everquest-is-the-next-legacy-mmo-to-get-the-classic-treatment-after-wow-classic-and-old-school-runescape-but-with-a-genius-twist-it-knows-all-of-us-olds-dont-have-time-for-mmos-anymore/

Everquest is getting the Legends treatment, but they're doing it their own way -- they're retooling the game to be completely soloable. You can still join parties and guilds and raids, or you can power yourself up to able to do all content by yourself. Amongst other things, you'll be able to pick two subclasses, FF14 style, and you can refine gear Ragnarök Online style to make it stronger. So the gameplay loop will change to you doing the hardest content you can do to get gear, then doing whatever gameplay loop is required to power it up (probably getting multiple drops + crafting, if I had to guess) so you can power your way through the next tier of content.

Apparently the goal is to have the entire game, from the original launch to the latest expansions, experienceable by solo players. Because it's meant to be EQ "for people who don't have time to play EverQuest."

https://www.everquestlegends.com/home

Closed beta starting soon/now, with a planned July release.

About the Game
EQL has been designed from the ground up to appeal to players who enjoy playing their games solo and/or casually. While groups (up to 4 players) and raids (up to 8 players) are available, the entire game can be played, enjoyed, and experienced solo if that’s your playstyle.

In keeping with this approach to the game, EQL provides players with the ability to create immensely powerful characters by, among other things, selecting up to three active different classes per character (for example, you can make a rogue/paladin/wizard) and utilizing new ways to upgrade weapons and armor. As you level up and improve your gear in EQL, you will eventually gain the ability to take on the most difficult game content, whether alone or with a small group of friends.

Whether you’re an existing EverQuest player, a former player, or a new player that has never experienced the world of Norrath, EverQuest Legends offers the opportunity to enjoy everything classic EverQuest has to offer, plus a lot more! At launch, EQL will feature the continent of Antonica (pre-Kunark), and all of the EverQuest playable races (including Iksar, Frogloks, and Kerran), all featured in the original EverQuest art style, including the classic graphics, zones, spell effects, loot, and music … plus more than a few new surprises!

Key Features
Experience Classic EverQuest – EverQuest Legends features all of the magic and nostalgia of classic EverQuest, including the original art style, graphics, zones, spell effects, loot, and music. Enjoy the game as it hasn’t been seen, heard, or experienced in over 20 years.

Modern Game Features – EQL features tons of modern game features, including a streamlined user interface, upgraded spell and ability management, and countless other quality of life enhancements.

Forge Your Legend – EQL allows players to create unique characters by selecting up to three classes at a time, with all of the benefits, stats, spells, and abilities that come with each class. You can also upgrade your gear (up to +10) and swap and combine different focus, click, and proc effects on your gear. With 15 available races and 560 possible class combinations, the possibilities for forging the ultimate character are virtually endless.

Adventure… Your Way – With the additional power provided to player characters and the many benefits of a modernized gaming experience, EQL makes it possible for players to progress through the game at their own pace and to forge their own adventures, whether alone or with others. While small groups (up to 4 players) and raids (up to 8 players) are possible, even a solo player can build a character strong enough to take on the toughest challenges and acquire the most epic gear in the game.

So it sounds like you'll start off at launch EQ (with post-launch content but not all of it) and they'll live services it out from there. Smart. Some people on the Twitter thread are accusing them of having just sued the shit out of a 3rd party emulator server that was doing this exact thing. There's one race missing (some stupid dragon-infused humans that was added as a newbie friendly cheater race IIRC) but other than that, they apparently even re-did the Frog PC race in the original launch art style, as they were added a few expansions in after an art up date.

https://www.rpgsite.net/interview/19942-everquest-legends-interview-development-team-discuss-conception-vision-adjustments-made-for-nostalgic-but-casual-experience

Apparently you can swap the classes, FF11 / FF14 style too. And they all level up independently after level 10, and it sounds like they stop being race locked at some point in progression. Some discussion about how they had to go back to old backups of the game's source and engine and data to basically reverse engineer revamped zones so they could reuse classic zones and music and encounters that have been missing for 20+ years.

 

[Scarthew]

Everquest

 

[Sneaky lurker]

Dwarf fortress. Which one of these symbols is the price of the item?

Do you need to bury dwarfs in classiv version? I don't seem to have a burial zone option

 

[HTTP Error 404]

Dwarf fortress. Which one of these symbols is the price of the item?

It's been a long while but I think those all cost 522 and weigh 78?

 

[The Ugly One]

I just finished Warhammer 40k: Battlesector's main campaign.

This seems like a rather good translation of the tabletop game into a TBS game without slavishly adhering to P&P mechanics. I never played the tabletop game, but give the the rules a glance, and it's definitely different, but keeps the basic concepts intact (e.g. Sisters of Battle are squishier than Psycho Warriors, I mean Space Marines).

Overall, mission design is good. They don't overdo the unit count, which is the bane of TBS (Panzer Corps 2 suffers from this severely), none of the missions break the rules. Another thing I liked is that units don't level up, so sacrificing a couple isn't a campaign-ender. You can always buy as many of the low-tier units as you need, and typically 3-4 upper tier units.

I don't give a shit about Warhammer lore at all, or its ponderous, operatic presentation. I don't care about Sanguinius, the Tyranid origins, or where Space King went. So that part was completely unappealing to me, but it seems like it would appeal to 40k fans. Graphically, they nailed the look of painted miniatures with the models, although there is one animation that is completely fucked up.

Overall, good game for TBS fans in general or 40k fans in particular.

There's a mutliplayer mode I can't be bothered to try but is probably fun with friends if you don't want to spent ten grand on miniatures, and various bonus modes I didn't bother with as well.

Steam: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1295500/Warhammer_40000_Battlesector/

 

[Toxic BRAAAAP Mask]

Hope anyone who enjoyed indie horror game Faith is girding their loins.

Aussie e-thot, streamer, serial liar/plagiarist, and 'writer' Alanah Pearce is starting a movie production company and she's got her claws in it. I dropped the article here.

God help anyone who enjoyed horror indie games, because this grifter is writing the scripts.

 

[Maniacal Foreigner]

Hope anyone who enjoyed indie horror game Faith is girding their loins.

Aussie e-thot, streamer, serial liar/plagiarist, and 'writer' Alanah Pearce is starting a movie production company and she's got her claws in it. I dropped the article here.

God help anyone who enjoyed horror indie games, because this grifter is writing the scripts.

Airdorf should write and direct a low-budget short film adaptation or something himself, he's clearly got the chops for it.

 

[Lurkerish Kandor]

I just went googling Raptor: Call of the Shadows box art for the epic box art thread, and discovered this:

A kickstarter to re-remake the game, ostensibly from the original developer. I'd be really fucking keen on this, because the only other attention Raptor has had was a "2010 Edition" that bricked mouse controls in exchange for widescreen.

Raptor was by no means the best scrolling shooter ever, but it was still pretty fucking good, had a very unique vibe and aesthetic, and it's another western scrolling shooter which means it's not a cringe chinky bullet-hell that can only be survived due to a player hitbox 2 pixels wide

 

[Maniacal Foreigner]

I just went googling Raptor: Call of the Shadows box art for the epic box art thread, and discovered this:
View attachment 8766521
A kickstarter to re-remake the game, ostensibly from the original developer. I'd be really fucking keen on this, because the only other attention Raptor has had was a "2010 Edition" that bricked mouse controls in exchange for widescreen.

Raptor was by no means the best scrolling shooter ever, but it was still pretty fucking good, had a very unique vibe and aesthetic, and it's another western scrolling shooter which means it's not a cringe chinky bullet-hell that can only be survived due to a player hitbox 2 pixels wide

Yeah, it's the original dev. He's got updated versions of Raptor and DemonStar up on Steam, too:
https://store.steampowered.com/app/336060/Raptor_Call_of_The_Shadows__2015_Edition/
https://store.steampowered.com/app/2577180/DemonStar/
But like you say, the Raptor port seems kinda ass, judging by the reviews. It's just the 2010 Edition with Steam achievements.

 

[Lurkerish Kandor]

But like you say, the Raptor port seems kinda ass, judging by the reviews. It's just the 2010 Edition with Steam achievements.

I actually didn't know about the 2015 re-release until the middle of writing up this post and a similar one I did in the Epic Box Art thread.
That's really fucking disappointing if 2015 is literally just the same broken 2010 release but with cheevos.

And yes, from experience, even just that one issue in 2010 with the borked mouse control is enough to make that version not worth touching: genuinely fucks up core gameplay. Get the DOS version and DBGL or some shit, that version is still fine.

 

[EmpGulcasa]

Everquest is getting the Legends treatment, but they're doing it their own way -- they're retooling the game to be completely soloable. You can still join parties and guilds and raids, or you can power yourself up to able to do all content by yourself. Amongst other things, you'll be able to pick two subclasses, FF14 style, and you can refine gear Ragnarök Online style to make it stronger. So the gameplay loop will change to you doing the hardest content you can do to get gear, then doing whatever gameplay loop is required to power it up (probably getting multiple drops + crafting, if I had to guess) so you can power your way through the next tier of content.

Apparently the goal is to have the entire game, from the original launch to the latest expansions, experienceable by solo players. Because it's meant to be EQ "for people who don't have time to play EverQuest."

I'm very interested in this. Curious how they'll handle everything being soloable.. will it scale so you still have to put in a bit of effort, or will they just overtune players to the point of 1 shotting everything?

Unrelated to that, I forced my way through Torchlight 3 and finished it today and hoo boy. What a stinker. I understand it was originally a live service ghoulishly wearing the Torchlight IP like a skin until everyone quit and they turned it into a botch job of a single player game. It's been ages since I played Torchlight 2 but I remember it being a solid if unremarkable game and this didn't get anywhere close to that level.

I'm playing Crimson Desert and WoW right now but with Torchlight done I'm also gonna add Dragonkin: The Banished to the rotation to see if I can't cleanse my palette with a good ARPG.