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It’s Talk Amongst Yourselves: the friendliest gaming community on the web. Find a new clan, organise a dinner or date, find a fix for Windows, review a retro game: whatever your flavour, you’ll find some kind, like-minded folk in TAY!
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Hey TAYbies. Any Victorians get washed away yesterday? 🙂
I have a week off next week and I’m making a concerted effort to tackle my pile of shame and smash through the main story on a few games.
So I finally started AC: Unity. Thoughts so far: it’s still glitchy. Paris is pretty impressively rendered in AC style. I’m 7 or 8 main story missions in, and the story’s not bad. I can see where a lot of the online/blue crate controversy would have been annoying at launch, and it’s interesting to see the experiments that Ubisoft basically just abandoned when they released AC: Syndicate.
I’m trying really hard to not get distracted by collecting, I want to play the main story and supporting side-quests, and move on… 🙂
I got some really nice sideways rain.
And the typical 10minute cyclone then 2 hours of bright sunny day, then repeat…. all day.
Hey Trike!
Only just starting to rain here on the West Coast. Freezing cold though :\
Hope you enjoy your week off!
So I started to play a new game on the weekend; Inquisitor Matyr, it’s still a bit of a bug fest, some of it is just sloppy, heck there’s not really even and end game as such.
It got me thinking though, about where the industry has gone, briefly though. I could go on for a while.
Gone are the days of playing a complete finished product, tested and well thought out and knowing what it wants to be. Half completed games even from the major publishers are a common place these days with you the customer being the beta testers. I have read cries from people “oh but it’s only new they will fix it, consider it an investment” No. Early access was an investment, full release is a finished product and it should be treated as such. So many games are coming out with early access or public beta’s and they advertise them as being help test the product so we can make fixes before release, when in reality it seems a shrewd marketing ploy to stir public discussion and therefore free advertisement and also to gauge what part of the game is popular and what isn’t so they can tweak it to the market appeal rather than fix inherent issues.
Time and time again, you see games being patched with “content updates”, if you’re still adding content why was the game released? Or the DLC announced before a game has been released, that just screams blatant cash grab. Why make DLC before the game is out? Why not make it part of the game, oh that’s right, easy money.
Some slack can be given, especially in open world games where it is impossible to test every single scenario and as games get more complex and are played on such a variety of systems you can’t catch everything, but when there are major issues such as ones I have seen where it is anyone with a 10series nVidia has that bug, or balancing and gameplay issues, it just seems lazy.
The internet is partly to blame, the ability to patch games at any times means publishers don’t have to wait for a finished product that is properly tested and ready to go, they can just fix it on the fly, nothing beats having to download gig’s of patches on release day for a game you bought on a disc.
The industry is heading in a certain direction and it’s not for the benefit of the consumer.
Had to say goodbye to my cat today – 17 years old with failing health – he was a big cat of over 7kg in his prime, down to 2.6kg today and hardly able to walk he’s so frail. So made the hard call and had him put down before he really suffers.
Thanks mate. Yes, we made the right call. Gonna miss him during Le Tour, he liked watching cycling. Would sit on the coffee table for ages watching. I’m not sure he had a firm grasp on team tactics, but he seemed to enjoy it.
Few games I want to talk about. First one is Everspace. I remember the announcement a few years ago but I thought it would be too big for anything other than PC. Earlier this year I heard about the streamers they paid thousands of bucks to play it, who ended up making it look bad. Looking into it I discover it’s coming to PS4 and that the game was high flying space action. I’ve been reeeaally looking for a space arcade game to scratch an itch that wasn’t a flight sim. I got super excited for the game and even pre-ordered it on PS4. Something I’ve never done before. So come midnight I watch the last few seconds count down to play. It’s been a long time since I’ve been excited for a game like this.
Everspace can be described as FTL, but rather than managing a crew you’re instead flying around as the ship. It has the same rogue elements and even branching paths that FTL has. You can come across easy or difficult challenges, find randomised crates that either have a lame or amazing weapon or upgrade, or find good shops when you need them or find good resources. The goal (at first) is to reach the start of sector 7, but the odds of making that on your first run is pretty low. I first only did it on my 20th run.
What makes the rogue elements different from FTL is that each failed run is still progression. Every credit you earned can be spent on either upgrading your ships or upgrading your pilot. On top of that you can find ancient structures that can earn you a special perk. With like, 20 to collect and the ability to equip 3 perks you can really create strong fighters right out of the hanger.
So while you start the game in a Scooty-Puff Junior, eventually you start your runs with a Scooty-Puff Senior. This really alleviates the negative parts of rogue games. Even a bad run (my worst was 2:30 minutes long) will still allow you to make some progression to winning the game.
Another positive aspect to this rogue game is that each run is way longer than average rogue games. Usually each run in a rogue game last a few minutes to half an hour, but in Everspace each run lasts well over an hour. In fact, there’s an achievement for finishing a run in under an hour. It sounds like it makes the game worse but this actually made me more cautious. When you’ve been flying for an hour you start to carefully pay attention to the map and the enemies. Determining which fights are worth taking and which ones you need to avoid. Sometimes I spent resources just to fly away so that I could maybe find better loot.
Looking back at something like Rogue Legacy, each death was really just a shrug. Like, how could I have avoided that randomly placed spike pit? In Everspace, I feel each death because I knew how I could have avoided it and that I need to play better. A lot of fights are mainly determined by how you fly and which targets to focus on, not because you got a bad weapon roll.
Speaking of weapons, there’s a lot of them. You have basic machine guns and missiles. But also a variety of weapons like focused lasers, a shotgun, a sniper laser, a barrage of missile lasers, corrosive missiles that ignore shields, etc. You can also find equipment like drone control, drone instant destroyer, slow-mo, double damage, fast travel, extra energy, etc. All of them are useful and the only reason why I would switch out from one is mainly because of preference to another.
It’s also has a neat balanced mechanic. Strong items and weapons take up more energy, less energy means you can’t fire as long or fly as long and need to recharge. One smart thing they did is that recharging increases by 4x if you just stand still. Not that useful in combat (unless you can tank it) so you still need manage your energy output and when out of combat it quickly fills up so you don’t have to wait to fly somewhere fast.
The game also have 4 ships, all fly differently and once you beat the game it opens up a second questline for you to keep playing. Yeah, the lore and story acknowledges the repeated runs you do, explains why you have to do them and even sometimes comments on previous runs. It all strangely works.
The controls are great, there’s also several different layouts and options to try, I recommend experimenting a bit. I went with a non-static non-inverted cursor, with L2 and L1 controlling height. The only negative points about the controls is that you have to hold down L3 to boost. Making this a toggle would have been so much better. Also (depending on which options you choose) rolling left and right is done by holding in R3 and moving the thumbstick either left or right. Oddly enough I got used to this, but mainly because rolling isn’t that important. You can spend the whole game upside and it doesn’t change anything, plus there’s an auto-correct option if you would like.
Seriously check out Everspace if there’s a flying game itch you have that hasn’t been scratched in a while, also check it out if you like rogue games.
So MW5 got delayed til next year, super sad. Was looking forward to a singleplayer MW title this year. Oh well.
Even if PGI is trash, where am I gonna get that MW fix from? MWO is ok, but I just wanna fuck around without the massive grind for cbills over my head when I wanna test new builds.
Yeah, but I was disappointed with just how little game there was after the campaign.
Well it’s been a tough week, but it’s FRIDAY.
It’s my last day at my current role, contract with a law firm, but on 2 July I start a full-time permie role which I’m really excited about! It’s a bit of a change in career path.
The US supreme court just let through a bill that will allow states to collect sales tax for online purchases.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/06/21/us/politics/supreme-court-sales-taxes-internet-merchants.html
So Banner saga 1 and 2 just hit switch. Feels a bit steep at $30 each but never played before so maybe totally worth it. What are people’s thoughts? Go for it? Wait for a sale? Or steer clear (game sucks)?
Haven’t seen it mentioned on Kotaku but a trans developer suicided yesterday. Chloe Sagal had some mental issues, but when someone like Randi Harper, who is meant to be fighting against online abuse, tells her to ‘literally go set yourself on fire’ (link: https://twitter.com/randileeharper/status/552342307455115265 ) it makes me really sad… because that’s what Chloe ended up doing ( https://www.oregonlive.com/portland/index.ssf/2018/06/woman_who_set_self_on_fire_in.html )
Man I thought i’d jump into TAY because it’s been years and thought i’d say how everyone is… I was not expecting this but how sad. Horrible to hear about this but thanks for sharing. You feel so helpless just reading it.
I didn’t know about this; thanks for bringing it up. I’ll ask if any of my colleagues have seen it yet.
That report is harrowing, too. Just heartbreaking.
Please be mindful when/if this is reported that the KotakAU community does not have a good history of reacting to LGBT issues.
Lol, that’s a cheap jab if I’ve ever seen one.
That’s because the LGBT articles are generally trash. Poorly thought out with cherry-picked talking points used to dishonestly position an argument by willfully ignoring points that directly poke holes through the article’s core argument – Heather’s recent articles come to mind.
Don’t conflate our non-tolerance of shitty writing that simply pushes gender politics with indifference to a tragic loss off life.
Either you’ve noticed the obvious trend of responses to LGBT issues over the past few years by the KotakAU community, or you haven’t. Couching a defence to my criticism in the language of quality is a cop out easily undone by the observation that poor articles not featuring LGBT issues don’t attract anywhere near the same level of response or ire.
You’re probably right that I shouldn’t conflate naive prejudice with the capacity to empathise over a loss of life. And yet, although no precedent for this circumstance comes readily to mind, the community’s rapacious need to shit at LGBT articles, and their unwillingness to engage with language other than antagonism, makes me doubt their ability to respond responsibly. So I’ll ask kindly that any reportage is both considered and wary of the kinds of discussion it could see.
Mate. Is your purpose to report that a game developer died by suicide – and by using a term that, while dictionary-correct, is a bit shit – or to throw shade at someone who has nothing to do with the initial reportage?
Give it a bloody break and get some tact.
Both. I’ll call out online bullying anytime. Not sure what ‘term’ you are referring to though. I’ll happily be corrected if I’ve inadvertently used an outdated term.
Well, if you are saying that my facts are wrong, let me know how. Otherwise, you seem to be saying that certain people have a licence to bully others online, or that such things should not be spoken of. I’m quite OK with people being called out for their behaviour, but ad hominem attacks, not so much. I don’t care who it is.
Your initial post is an almost identical replica of the message being sent out by the group cited in Oregon Live’s reportage as having made sport out of the systematic destruction of Chloe Sagal’s mental health and well-being. Your claim of being against all bullying looks like a load of horseshit when your messaging aligns with such a group and you glaringly omit their role in the event.
It’s obvious that you grabbed your story from elsewhere and regurgitated it here with either no thought to what you would accomplish or with the intent to push a particular message. Neither reflects well on you, and nor do your limp imputations.
If you’re cool with people being called out for their behaviour, then this post will come as no surprise. Because we’re not talking about a dry measure of whether X exists, we’re talking about what you do with X. What you’ve done is shit.
Suicided is an outdated term; referring to someone’s mental health as their mental issues is just plain poor form.
Suicided is an outdated term; referring to someone’s mental health as their mental issues is just plain poor form.
Thanks for the insight. I wasn’t aware of this.
As for the rest of your comment, I don’t see it the same way you do, but I understand what you are saying. Thanks.
Anyone interested in Phoenix Point?
I just watched a gameplay video from a couple months back. Looks extremely similar to Xcom 2 (because it’s made by the same guy, I think), which is a good thing. The wikipedia page says it’s coming out on PC and Xbone but no mention of PS4, unfortunately.
How did Xcom 2 run on PS4? Anyone know?
Ok. I love my Switch but South Park: Fractured but Whole and Bayonetta were not designed to be played on busy public transport when you have a little old gran sitting next to you looking over your shoulder.
Why is no one talking about how Prey Mooncrash is one of the best and most inventive things I’ve ever played?
It’s so good.
I’ve been tempted to try it. I heard it’s procedurally generated. So I’m assuming it’s a no story blast through quickly kinda thing.
Hi steam fronds.
Just a quick request that if you have salien dress ups from that steam sale game thingy that you don’t want I would be happy to take them.
Tiglet has really been enjoying dressing up her alien so more options for her would be good to have
In “News I expect to see on Kotaku soon but with a hot take that’ll generate tons of comments” two Guild Wars 2 developers were fired today after “not respectfully engaging with the community” by means of poor twitter etiquette or something.
Where’s the hot take?
One of the devs was a woman. Still is a woman, I guess, but not a dev. She claimed someone was “mansplaining” her, and the other dev came to her defense. The initial replies didn’t seem like “mansplaining” at all but I guess YMMV.
Anyway, the ultimate conclusion is that twitter remains a festering pile of shit that should be removed from the internet forever. And, maybe developers shouldn’t use twitter or social media. When has it ever ended well?
Well that’s just an unpleasant turn of of events.
I’m confused though, are you saying you expect Kotaku will characterise it as mansplaining, the now-fired writer characterised it as mansplaining, or that’s your interpretation of the events? ‘Cause the middle option doesn’t appear to have happened.
Either way, ArenaNet responded with a glass jaw to one of their writers obliquely telling someone not to be an arrogant nutsack. Not really a victory here for anyone.
Upon closer inspection, you are entirely correct. Unless it was in a deleted tweet (seems unlikely, given all the others are still up) she didn’t use that word at all. I must have combined “explain” used negatively and “manfeels” which she used in the same area of tweets.
But, while I wouldn’t totally expect the first option, I absolutely wouldn’t be surprised if it turned up.
I reckon it would be a fair call if they did go with it (personal preference), but it would be overlooking the more important issue: two writers were pre-emptively fired to avoid backlash from a community to whom they were not beholden.
That’s some awful territory to be exploring. We don’t even need to look at the details of the event to recognise the developer’s actions are unctuous.
@m2d2
Hey there, do you have an actual problem with what’s being said or is this just your usual habit of downvoting?
Both.
You were incredibly wrong about the LGBT discussions that have gone in in previous discussions because of who you are.
You blamed the fan for the way SHE handled his polite criticism and her unprofessional behavior because of who you are.
Cheers for the response. I’m aware we have an ideological difference of opinion and that you have an unrelenting habit of downvoting people, rather than messages. It’s nice to see it stated outright.
No Problem.
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