April has been an odd month for me, in that it seemed both to just zip
by, and also take forever to reach its end. I blame this on my not
playing enough computer games, or at least not playing them regularly
enough. But then, that's my go-to excuse when anything that goes
off-kilter; there's nothing wrong that can't be fixed by more video
games...

And speaking of video games, here is what I played:


This Is Me Keeping It Short
------------------------------
* Witcher 3 (finished!)
* Beyond Two Souls (new)
* Civilization IV (replay)

This Is Me Not Keeping It Short
---------------------------------------

* Witcher 3
Oh Gog, I'm finished at last. It's taken almost three months, but I
completed this beast of a game.

I've little else to say about it, though, that I haven't said in
previous months. "Witcher 3" is a great game, and deserving of all its
praise, but boy-oh-boy, is it a long game too. This is partly my
fault, of course; I went out of my way to play every sub-quest and mini-adventure I came across, and by game's end, all the hotspots on
the map had been explored and my quest-log was empty. Had I not been
so thorough, I probably could have finished the game in half the time.

That I was so intent on scouring the game for every opportunity to
discover something new says something about how compelling I found the experience. I probably could have saved a good number of hours, too,
if I didn't avoid using the fast travel as much as I could. There were
times I teleported across the map using that feature but more often
than not I preferred walking - not running - across heath and dale.
It's just /that beautiful/ a world.

The final act was a bit disappointing, though. The core of the game is
the search for Ciri, the eponymous Witcher's adopted daughter, and
when you finally discover her - chased by all sorts of ne'er-do-wells
- you'd think you've at last come to the game's climax. And, in a
sense, you have, but its an especially languorous climax; there's
about 20% of the game still to go after that point. This slow pace
sadly robs the final battle of a lot of its impact; it's hard to
accept the world-threatening baddie when he so graciously allows you
as much time as you need to prepare (or scamper off to finish
non-critical side-quests). Nor do the cut-scene heavy battles - many
of which rob the player of direct agency - help the matter. And it was
really hard for me to accept the Big Bad as a fearsome foe when my
character - so absurdly leveled up by all that questing - was tearing
through his minions (and the Big Bad himself) with absolutely no
effort.

So I concluded the game with a mixture of triumph and sadness: happy I
was done, dissatisfied with the end, disappointed by the lack of
post-end-game content (you can keep playing after you 'win', but there
are no new quests, just any unfinished missions you may have missed),
but generally content with the quality of the game. "The Witcher 3" is
not a perfect game but it's as close-as any game has reached in years
- and one I'm glad I've played, and played again. But as much as I
loved it, I can't see myself returning to its world anytime soon; I
think I need a few years to recover before I even think about
attempting this marathon a third time.


* Beyond Two Souls (new)
Going into it, I knew what to expect from this game, and it wasn't
going to be good. Quantic Dream - and David Cage - titles are a unique
sort, renowned for their reliance on quick-time events, idiosyncratic
controls, awful writing and worse characters. But they are also known
for their impressive visuals and a branching storyline technology that
would take into account your actions and failures. Previous Quantic
games even let you continue if the main character died, so I was
interested to see how that would work in this title. Still, I wasn't
expecting much; in fact, I fully expected to quit the game long before
I got very far. I just wanted to see what "Beyond" had to offer.

My initial reaction wasn't very positive. From the start its interface
was unconventional; I still don't really understand how - or even if -
I control the chapter select menu. Many of the in-game prompts were
more obvious (press the "x" button when it says "x", I get it!) but
others were vaguer than necessary, and there was always a degree of
guesswork about whether I was supposed to move the joystick up or down
or left or what. Similarly, it seemed the game purposefully used
non-standard controls (move with the right-stick, look with the left?
How avant-garde!) simply for the sake of being different. It didn't
make the game any more difficult (or intuitive), nor did this unusual
control scheme add anything to the gameplay that couldn't have been
done with more conventional controls. It was '"Push F to pay
respects", except we're too ARTISTIC to use the F-key, so press the
Scroll-lock key instead.' It was being different simply for the sake
of being different.

My second (and third, and fourth) impressions weren't anymore
favorable. The visuals were notably dated. This is, of course, to be
expected -- the game is 9 years old and I hardly expected it challenge
Unreal 5-era games with its graphics. Nor was the game an eyesore; it
was mostly a matter of flat lighting and a lack of subsurface
scattering in the skin textures, I think. Games that attempt
'realistic' visuals always age poorly anyway. But when one of the most marketable features of your product is its image quality, its
inevitable aging has far more effect than titles that use their
stylistic visuals to enhance their story and gameplay. So I don't
hold the inevitable loss of fidelity against the game, but neither
could I help but be somewhat disappointed.

Still, I wasn't giving up on the game. The initial levels were
intriguing; an anachronistic tale of a lost waif saddled with
supernatural powers had potential; I was willing to play along. But
the more I played, the more problematic the game became.

The worst is the complete lack of agency the player has. There is
really nothing the player can do to affect the general direction of
the story. Oh sure, I can twiddle a few knobs here and scare (or
kill!) some random person, but the plot relentlessly railroads you in
a single direction. Even when you try to fail, the game won't allow
you that option. An example: early in the game, you're chased by a
couple cops in a train. Button prompts push you to wake up and escape,
or shove the cops away, or duck around some obstruction. You can
literally ignore them all and the game will move forward regardless.
Oh, I'm sure there's some branching - perhaps had I been quicker at
one QTE, I might have gotten off the train without being arrested, but
in the end I was still going to end up in the same place. Not only
does this diminish any hope of enjoyable gameplay, it completely
disrupts any hope of immersion or connection with the characters, who
move robot-like down their pre-programmed path regardless if their
smaller interactions are successful or not.

The absolutely terrible writing doesn't help, of course. David Cage
has all the subtly of a ten-ton anvil and all the understanding of how
real people talk and act of a brain-dead yak. Characters are rarely
better than broad stereotypes and fluctuate wildly in their behavior.
Plot twists are telegraphed far ahead of time, the pacing is terrible,
and the whole set-up to the story is almost farcically nonsensical. It
doesn't help that the writing takes absolutely no notice of the
player's performance; fail to perform a task and you'll still finish a
scene being told, "Great job!"; escape without using your powers and
they'll still comment on the weird going-ons. The wooden voice-acting
doesn't improve matters; it's completely unconvincing and lacks any
emotional impact.

Its rare for me to be so blunt, but let me be clear: I detest this
game. "Beyond: Two Souls" is a game that actively despises its
players; it doesn't give a damn about your choices, your skill, or
your time. Yes, there are branching choices and different endings, but
you're only allowed to move along its rigidly laid out path. All video
games are an illusion of choice; a fantastic world where it only
appears you have free will but channel you down a pre-selected handful
of options, but "Beyond: Two Souls" dispenses with that illusion. "Do
this action, or stop playing" is half of its gameplay, with the other
half being "Do this action, or don't; the story is moving forward
regardless."

It's hard to invest yourself in a game when it so obviously doesn't
give a damn about you. Even though I knew this wasn't a game I was
going to enjoy, I was surprised at how much I hated playing it. I can
usually find a few good things to say about a game, but not here.
It's a badly-written, badly-directed wanna-be supernatural thriller
that outright lies about how much agency you have, created by a
wannabe-auteur hack developer. This isn't a game worth buying. This
isn't a game worth pirating. It isn't a game worth playing. Avoid it,
and do something - anything! - else with your time.



* Civilization IV (replay)
Whew! That was a close one. I finished a campaign of "Civilization IV"
without losing more than a single night's worth of sleep. I think that
has to be a world-wide record.

I didn't expect to play "Civ 4". As a general rule, I avoid the series
these days because I do find them so terribly addictive (imagine that:
a franchise /too good/ to play!). But I was having some repairs done
on the room where my main computer sits, so I had to retreat to other
chambers with one of the laptops... and that laptop just happened to
have "Civilization IV" on it. I mean, what was I to do? No human could
resist that sort of temptation!

I can't really offer any exciting recount of my campaign; it was
almost identical to every other game of Civilization that I play. Pick
the Romans, build up a continent-straddling empire, don't open the
borders to anyone, do my best not to piss off the neighbors, and work
towards a space victory. What can I say, I'm not all that imaginative
when it comes to my strategy. But by the end my empire was a
ridiculously rich realm of well-developed cities and I was well on my
way to Alpha Centauri before the others had even launched their first
thruster module. Don't mess with what works, I say.

"Civilization IV" remains one of the finer examples of the franchise,
with satisfying visuals and a truly stunning soundtrack (how can you
beat the combination of Christopher Tin's "Babu Yetu" and Leonard
Nimoy narrating? You can't!). The game is an excellently balanced
evolution of the original concept created by Meier back in '91. The
only improvements I could have asked for were the city-states
(introduced in Civ 5), and a slightly improved interface (like being
able to figure out which of my many cities has the necessary
requirements to build a spy unit without having to open each one up
manually, grrr!). But otherwise, a nearly perfect game.

Too perfect. The one-more-turn syndrome did suck away nearly a whole
day and a night (playing on a laptop isn't helpful; I can drag the
whole machine to bed with me!). I got away lucky. Fortunately the
repairs are done and I'm back on the main computer, safe from
"Civilization IV's" siren call.

At least for now...



------------------------------


Well, that's me for April. A good month, if a slightly too long (or
too short?) one. What about you?

What Have You Been Playing... IN APRIL 2022?

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
* Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)

On 5/1/2022 10:30 AM, Spalls Hurgenson wrote:
<space saving snippage>

Well, that's me for April. A good month, if a slightly too long (or
too short?) one. What about you?

What Have You Been Playing... IN APRIL 2022?

Most of my free time has been taken up by other projects and all I've
played is 'Factory Town' and not much of that. I think I mentioned and described it in the March edition of WHYBP? so I'll spare everyone the
repeat.

--
I've done good in this world. Now I'm tired and just want to be a cranky
dirty old man.

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
* Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)

Briefly New World's free weekend, LOTRO, & D&DO,


Spalls Hurgenson <spallshurgenson@gmail.com> wrote:

April has been an odd month for me, in that it seemed both to just zip
by, and also take forever to reach its end. I blame this on my not
playing enough computer games, or at least not playing them regularly
enough. But then, that's my go-to excuse when anything that goes
off-kilter; there's nothing wrong that can't be fixed by more video
games...

And speaking of video games, here is what I played:

...

Well, that's me for April. A good month, if a slightly too long (or
too short?) one. What about you?

What Have You Been Playing... IN APRIL 2022?

--
It's May Day already & again! Will the new month be busier? L.A.'s riot was 30 yrs. ago? :O Another death from cancer, but he's with God now.
Note: A fixed width font (Courier, Monospace, etc.) is required to see this signature correctly.
/\___/\ Ant(Dude) @ http://aqfl.net & http://antfarm.home.dhs.org.
/ /\ /\ \ Please nuke ANT if replying by e-mail.
| |o o| |
\ _ /
( )

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
* Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)

On 01/05/2022 18:30, Spalls Hurgenson wrote:

* Civilization IV (replay)
Whew! That was a close one. I finished a campaign of "Civilization IV" without losing more than a single night's worth of sleep. I think that
has to be a world-wide record.

I didn't expect to play "Civ 4". As a general rule, I avoid the series
these days because I do find them so terribly addictive (imagine that:
a franchise /too good/ to play!). But I was having some repairs done
on the room where my main computer sits, so I had to retreat to other chambers with one of the laptops... and that laptop just happened to
have "Civilization IV" on it. I mean, what was I to do? No human could
resist that sort of temptation!

I can't really offer any exciting recount of my campaign; it was
almost identical to every other game of Civilization that I play. Pick
the Romans, build up a continent-straddling empire, don't open the
borders to anyone, do my best not to piss off the neighbors, and work
towards a space victory. What can I say, I'm not all that imaginative
when it comes to my strategy. But by the end my empire was a
ridiculously rich realm of well-developed cities and I was well on my
way to Alpha Centauri before the others had even launched their first thruster module. Don't mess with what works, I say.

"Civilization IV" remains one of the finer examples of the franchise,
with satisfying visuals and a truly stunning soundtrack (how can you
beat the combination of Christopher Tin's "Babu Yetu" and Leonard
Nimoy narrating? You can't!). The game is an excellently balanced
evolution of the original concept created by Meier back in '91. The
only improvements I could have asked for were the city-states
(introduced in Civ 5), and a slightly improved interface (like being
able to figure out which of my many cities has the necessary
requirements to build a spy unit without having to open each one up
manually, grrr!). But otherwise, a nearly perfect game.

Too perfect. The one-more-turn syndrome did suck away nearly a whole
day and a night (playing on a laptop isn't helpful; I can drag the
whole machine to bed with me!). I got away lucky. Fortunately the
repairs are done and I'm back on the main computer, safe from
"Civilization IV's" siren call.

My interest in Civ peaked with Civ III and although I have played Civ IV
it was no where near as much. By the time it got to Civ V I think I only managed to play two campaigns and Civ VI I don't have.

It's not that I think they aren't good games but instead a combination
of changing gaming habits (like you I'm no longer that interested in
time sinks) and that although the game has seem improvements (no more
stacks of doom and less micromanagement unless you wanted it) at its
heart it still feels like I playing the same game.

It's possibly why I'm somewhat jaded with gaming as a whole, trying to
find games that are trying something different is hard!

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
* Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)

Partisans 1941
--------------

I got this one in a sale as it's been on my wish list for sometime and
so thought why not. My understanding is that although it's a stealth
game it's more in the mould of Commandos (which I haven't played) than something like Desperados III (which I have). In reality this translates
to whereas Desperados III is purely about stealth where you pick apart
the enemy one-by-one this is more stealth is used to get into a position
where you can ambush several enemies at once. So think getting into to
good positions and then all hell breaks loose.

It also has more depth (not sure yet whether that's a good thing) in
that you have a basecamp that can be improved and between main missions
there are side missions/tasks which you don't playout but you can get
exp. for. That brings me to my last one, it has a skill tree so you can
develop your character, well at much as a character is developed just
because they are better as something.

So the game itself, somewhat of a mixed bag I'm afraid to say at least
at this point. I like the overall concept but it just feels a bit clunky
and also it doesn't seem that good at explaining what's going on. I will
carry on playing though and it's possibly that one of my problems is I'm
trying to play it too much like Desperados III when that's not the way
to approach it. I also think I probably need to hunt down a basic guide
from somewhere just to understand a bit more.

As that's the extent of my gaming I'll move on to something else that is
gaming just not on a PC. It still sorta counts doesn't it?

Numenera (RPG)
--------------

Unfortunately the last couple of months of our Call of Cthulhu game went
really down hill for me and it's seems as though that's mostly due to
our GM now going through the motions as they think they should finish
the campaign instead of just saying their heart is no longer in it and
calling it a day. I won't go into the details but myself and another
player, we both have similar ideas of what we like in RPG's, set-up
another campaign with a couple of players they know. So on to Numenera
which is an interesting setting of is it magic or is it technology. I'm enjoying it so far but I'm also still trying to get my head around some
of the mechanics as they are different to your average RPG. The big
difference is that your stats, all three of them, are also used like a
resource you can expend.

So I'm looking forward to where the campaign is going especially as the
GM only has a brief high level outline of what it is going to be meaning
the overall direction will come from how we interact with the story.


Oh a books, they're games are they?

Small Gods (Book)
-----------------

So another one finished this month and it's one of the better Pratchett
novels as it really plays to his ability for satire of the modern world.
The premise, well there are thousands of gods that exist but the actual
power of a god is defined by how many people believe in it.

Next up started reading the first part of the Hitchhiker's Guide to the
Galaxy and then I going to go for Troy by Stephen Fry (don't worry if
you haven't heard of him but he's considered a national treasure here in
the UK). HGTG I have watched the TV series several times, I've never
listened to the radio play and I honestly can't remember if I've read
any of the books. Regardless I'm enjoying it so far and I still think
Douglas Adams had an excellent sense of humour which he translates well
into book form.

I'm certainly not as an avid reader of novels as I used to be but one
thing I have noticed is that actually reading from a physical hardback
seems to add to the overall enjoyment. It's not that I don't think the
Kindle is bad (indeed I think it's a greatidea) but there's just
something nice about holding a book and turning the pages.

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
* Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)

On Mon, 2 May 2022 10:02:00 +0100, JAB <noway@nochance.com> wrote:

My interest in Civ peaked with Civ III and although I have played Civ IV
it was no where near as much. By the time it got to Civ V I think I only >managed to play two campaigns and Civ VI I don't have.

My interest also peaked with Civ III. I only dabbled very briefly with
Civ IV as of now. But from what I read online, I got the impression
most people preferred IV and V over III. So I will get to IV again
eventually.

I don't mind games being time sinks. To me, it just means I am
enjoying the game if it takes a lot my time. Gaming, in general, is a
time sink.

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
* Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)

On Mon, 02 May 2022 01:28:18 -0500, ant@zimage.comANT (Ant) wrote:

Briefly New World's free weekend, LOTRO, & D&DO,

LOTRO is a game I want to get back into. They just made a very large
portion of the game free to play. And things that used to cost extra
now comes standard with free to play as well.

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
* Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)

Spalls Hurgenson <spallshurgenson@gmail.com> writes:

What Have You Been Playing... IN APRIL 2022?

Well, really just a little Sky Force Reloaded. Against my expectation I
managed to unlock the last bonus level and finished it and done. There
are nightmare diffculty versions for about half the levels that I
haven't managed but it seems my inner completionist took a vacation so I
gave up on it. Don't really want to grind the same levels a few
gazillion times to pass.

Also, Cyberpunk 2077. I think I've plodded through most of the main
plot so that's good.

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
* Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)

On Mon, 02 May 2022 08:35:04 -0400, Mike S. <Mike_S@nowhere.com>
wrote:

On Mon, 02 May 2022 01:28:18 -0500, ant@zimage.comANT (Ant) wrote:

Briefly New World's free weekend, LOTRO, & D&DO,

LOTRO is a game I want to get back into. They just made a very large
portion of the game free to play. And things that used to cost extra
now comes standard with free to play as well.

LOTRO is a game I wish I enjoyed more. I tried it several years back
(whoa, it was in 2010? Where has the time gone?!?) and never got out
of the Shire. Its gameplay seems so staidly typical of every other MMO
that I lost interest in it pretty quickly; despite its famously
detailed license, it seemed characterless and bland. It was a game
about min-maxing your character and collecting XP ten rabbit-pelts at
a time; hardly the epic questing I expected from such a storied
franchise.

It didn't help that - even when it was new - its visuals were below
the curve, especially when compared to the splendor offered by
single-player games. It wasn't a world that made me want to climb the
next hill just to see what's beyond; it was dull and paint-by-numbers.

I really wish I'd enjoyed my time with the game more, because I'd love
a proper LoTR RPG. Unfortunately, LOTRO felt like a poor-man's copy of
WoW with Tolkien's characters pasted haphazardly into the world.

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
* Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)

On Monday, May 2, 2022 at 2:02:02 AM UTC-7, JAB wrote:

On 01/05/2022 18:30, Spalls Hurgenson wrote:

* Civilization IV (replay)
Whew! That was a close one. I finished a campaign of "Civilization IV" without losing more than a single night's worth of sleep. I think that
has to be a world-wide record.

I didn't expect to play "Civ 4". As a general rule, I avoid the series these days because I do find them so terribly addictive (imagine that:
a franchise /too good/ to play!). But I was having some repairs done
on the room where my main computer sits, so I had to retreat to other chambers with one of the laptops... and that laptop just happened to
have "Civilization IV" on it. I mean, what was I to do? No human could resist that sort of temptation!

I can't really offer any exciting recount of my campaign; it was
almost identical to every other game of Civilization that I play. Pick
the Romans, build up a continent-straddling empire, don't open the
borders to anyone, do my best not to piss off the neighbors, and work towards a space victory. What can I say, I'm not all that imaginative
when it comes to my strategy. But by the end my empire was a
ridiculously rich realm of well-developed cities and I was well on my
way to Alpha Centauri before the others had even launched their first thruster module. Don't mess with what works, I say.

"Civilization IV" remains one of the finer examples of the franchise,
with satisfying visuals and a truly stunning soundtrack (how can you
beat the combination of Christopher Tin's "Babu Yetu" and Leonard
Nimoy narrating? You can't!). The game is an excellently balanced
evolution of the original concept created by Meier back in '91. The
only improvements I could have asked for were the city-states
(introduced in Civ 5), and a slightly improved interface (like being
able to figure out which of my many cities has the necessary
requirements to build a spy unit without having to open each one up manually, grrr!). But otherwise, a nearly perfect game.

Too perfect. The one-more-turn syndrome did suck away nearly a whole
day and a night (playing on a laptop isn't helpful; I can drag the
whole machine to bed with me!). I got away lucky. Fortunately the
repairs are done and I'm back on the main computer, safe from
"Civilization IV's" siren call.

My interest in Civ peaked with Civ III and although I have played Civ IV
it was no where near as much. By the time it got to Civ V I think I only managed to play two campaigns and Civ VI I don't have.

It's not that I think they aren't good games but instead a combination
of changing gaming habits (like you I'm no longer that interested in
time sinks) and that although the game has seem improvements (no more
stacks of doom and less micromanagement unless you wanted it) at its
heart it still feels like I playing the same game.

It's possibly why I'm somewhat jaded with gaming as a whole, trying to
find games that are trying something different is hard!

I never got into the Civ games, I had one of them I don't remember which
and played a few games, but it seemed rather lacking compared to
games that were at least marginally similar like Master of Magic,
Warlords, and you could maybe lump Populus and Fantasy General in
there. The difference probably being god magic/magic/fantasy.

I did get in to Alpha Centauri, though once I completed one game
that was it. That too had the sci-fi angle instead of just bland history.
I understand they're making a sequel, or maybe already did.

- Justisaur

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
* Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)

On Monday, May 2, 2022 at 8:27:50 AM UTC-7, Spalls Hurgenson wrote:

On Mon, 2 May 2022 10:24:18 +0100, JAB <no...@nochance.com> wrote:

Oh a books, they're games are they?

An extremely rail-roaded game, but sure, why not? ;-)

You could always play a Fighting Fantasy or Lone Wolf Book. I really
enjoyed the old Fighting Fantasy ones like Dungeon of Doom and
Warlock of Firetop Mountain. I couldn't get into the Lone Wolf Books,
but they have the advantage of many being free at Project Aon: https://www.projectaon.org/en/Main/Home

If that's too much dice and stats, there's always Choose Your Own
Adventure. I did like those when I was younger, but they're a bit too
juvenile for my taste once I was fully grown.

Next up started reading the first part of the Hitchhiker's Guide to the >Galaxy and then I going to go for Troy by Stephen Fry (don't worry if
you haven't heard of him but he's considered a national treasure here in >the UK). HGTG I have watched the TV series several times, I've never >listened to the radio play and I honestly can't remember if I've read
any of the books. Regardless I'm enjoying it so far and I still think >Douglas Adams had an excellent sense of humour which he translates well >into book form.

I didn't even know Stephen Fry wrote books (although I shouldn't be surprised). I'm familar with him (and agree with the National Treasure designation); I love his erudite manner and typically-British dry wit.
I'm not sure "Troy" would appeal to me though, unless it were
particularly tongue-in-cheek, and reviews seem to indicate it is a
more serious retelling of the ancient epic than I'd prefer (centuries
ago I struggled through the original, and that satisfied all my needs
to hear about that story forever ;-)

I'm certainly not as an avid reader of novels as I used to be but one
thing I have noticed is that actually reading from a physical hardback >seems to add to the overall enjoyment. It's not that I don't think the >Kindle is bad (indeed I think it's a greatidea) but there's just
something nice about holding a book and turning the pages.

I'm all e-book these days, but I've had decades to transition to the
format (<hipster> "Like, I was reading e-books before it was cool,
man!" </hipster>). These days I find holding an actual dead-tree tome
such an uncomfortable experience compared to the featherweight
lightness of a kindle that I wondered how I ever managed in the olden
days.

The only downside is - as usual - the sheer number of volumes I have available at my fingertips paralyzes me with the burden of choice. How
can I decide what to read next? And do I keep at a book that doesn't instantly 'grab' me when I have hundreds of others just waiting to be
read? It's all too stressful; maybe I'll play a video game instead....

I don't mind reading from a kindle, my wife gave me hers, I keep eyeing
getting an epaper reader as that seems more like a real book and is
supposedly easier on the eyes. But there's so many other things to do
a glut of free games, a ton of streaming TV services, and I always keep thinking of trying to get back into running a tabletop RPG.

- Justisaur

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
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On Mon, 2 May 2022 10:24:18 +0100, JAB <noway@nochance.com> wrote:

Partisans 1941
So the game itself, somewhat of a mixed bag I'm afraid to say at least
at this point. I like the overall concept but it just feels a bit clunky
and also it doesn't seem that good at explaining what's going on. I will >carry on playing though and it's possibly that one of my problems is I'm >trying to play it too much like Desperados III when that's not the way
to approach it. I also think I probably need to hunt down a basic guide
from somewhere just to understand a bit more.

Despite the flaws you mentioned, "Partisans 1941" sounds intriguing
and I headed over to Steam to see how much it cost, only to realize I
already own it (because of course I do). I generally prefer the WW2
setting more than Westerns (a genre that has never really excited me)
so "Partisans" might suit me better.

Having said that, its debatable how much I'd enjoy the game. I love
the core conceit of this sort of game but I always find their actual implementation much too fiddly. I think in part it's because I'm no
longer interested in wrangling a whole party of heroes, micromanaging
their every move with the preciseness these 'puzzle-shooters' often
require.

Tie that into the lack of polish this game offers - as evidenced not
only by your comments but simply by watching the game's trailer - and
it becomes ever less likely this is a game I'll play... but it's the
sort of game I wish I could enjoy more.

As that's the extent of my gaming I'll move on to something else that is >gaming just not on a PC. It still sorta counts doesn't it?

Sure it does!

Numenera (RPG)
--------------
So I'm looking forward to where the campaign is going especially as the
GM only has a brief high level outline of what it is going to be meaning
the overall direction will come from how we interact with the story.

I couldn't get into Numenera, largely because of its
slightly-too-alien sci-fantasy setting. That, and I have little
interest in learning new game-systems, especially since I regard the
actual game implementation a necessary evil rather than an interesting
part of the experience itself. All systems are flawed (albeit in
different ways), so I just stick with the ones I'm familiar with and
focus on the bits I like most; world-creation, character interactions,
and messin' with the players ;-)

(although sometimes it seems I'm the one getting messed with. No,
don't go that way; all the clues obviously point you north! Wait, why
are you doing THAT? No, don't kill him, he's the GOOD guy! ARGH!!!!!)

Oh a books, they're games are they?

An extremely rail-roaded game, but sure, why not? ;-)

Next up started reading the first part of the Hitchhiker's Guide to the >Galaxy and then I going to go for Troy by Stephen Fry (don't worry if
you haven't heard of him but he's considered a national treasure here in
the UK). HGTG I have watched the TV series several times, I've never
listened to the radio play and I honestly can't remember if I've read
any of the books. Regardless I'm enjoying it so far and I still think
Douglas Adams had an excellent sense of humour which he translates well
into book form.

I didn't even know Stephen Fry wrote books (although I shouldn't be
surprised). I'm familar with him (and agree with the National Treasure designation); I love his erudite manner and typically-British dry wit.
I'm not sure "Troy" would appeal to me though, unless it were
particularly tongue-in-cheek, and reviews seem to indicate it is a
more serious retelling of the ancient epic than I'd prefer (centuries
ago I struggled through the original, and that satisfied all my needs
to hear about that story forever ;-)

I'm certainly not as an avid reader of novels as I used to be but one
thing I have noticed is that actually reading from a physical hardback
seems to add to the overall enjoyment. It's not that I don't think the
Kindle is bad (indeed I think it's a greatidea) but there's just
something nice about holding a book and turning the pages.

I'm all e-book these days, but I've had decades to transition to the
format (<hipster> "Like, I was reading e-books before it was cool,
man!" </hipster>). These days I find holding an actual dead-tree tome
such an uncomfortable experience compared to the featherweight
lightness of a kindle that I wondered how I ever managed in the olden
days.

The only downside is - as usual - the sheer number of volumes I have
available at my fingertips paralyzes me with the burden of choice. How
can I decide what to read next? And do I keep at a book that doesn't
instantly 'grab' me when I have hundreds of others just waiting to be
read? It's all too stressful; maybe I'll play a video game instead....




.... wait, now I have to decide which video game to play? Argh!

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On Sunday, May 1, 2022 at 10:30:55 AM UTC-7, Spalls Hurgenson wrote:

* Witcher 3

I own it, bought it on a deep sale on GoG, I keep meaning to get to it, but other things that sound more enticing to me, and going to another
"open world game" right now does not in the least sound appealing.

I went out of my way to play every sub-quest and
mini-adventure I came across, and by game's end, all the hotspots on
the map had been explored and my quest-log was empty. Had I not been
so thorough, I probably could have finished the game in half the time.

Yeah, that's a good deal of what's been taking me so long with Elden Ring.
That and alternating between at least 3 characters.

Well, that's me for April. A good month, if a slightly too long (or
too short?) one. What about you?

What Have You Been Playing... IN APRIL 2022?

Elden Ring. I've talked to much about it in that insanely long thread, but just for those of you who don't read it.

I'm over 300 hours, though probably around 100 on 3 different characters.
It is beautiful, and it feels huge. I love the short dungeons sections best, the overland and overly complicated large castle/city areas I find annoying
the jumping puzzles I hate, but both of those things existed in previous
games. I hate the crafting, which is part of why I'm preferring spellcasters as they don't need it as much and I've been mostly able to ignore it on my
Int spellcaster with the exception of poison curing items.

I had actually quit for a few days but came back. I still managed to avoid
it all during the weekdays last week, instead running some solo D&D
for myself. Tangent - AD&D 1e gets too complicated to run at least
solo around 1e, and I start to find it a slog. I had run some last year
again for myself but got tired of it, and quit, I came back and ran
some 3rd string characters - bandits but got tired of that too. So I started Basic B/X (Moldvey 1981 version) D&D instead, I haven't got to 7th level
yet (let alone 2nd) as leveling seems really slow, and it's also crazy deadly I've lost more characters so far than in entire AD&D campaigns. Yes
I could make house rules to try to fix that, and maybe I will, but it seems like cheating when playing solo (though I did that with AD&D too.)

Anyway back to Elden Ring. I decided yesterday I'm abandoning my other characters for now and just focusing on my Astrologer (int) as it seems
so much easier than the other two. I really like the faith/arc dragon magic character, there's a lot more ways to approach everything, but unfortunately the best stuff he has - rot and bleed runs up against immunity too often,
and the spells are mostly too slow which gets him killed, and bleed is only with melee which is too close range for a bit more fragile character.

Co-op networking is still a disaster, frequent disconnects and issues connecting, and an apparent great imbalance between the number of
people available to be summoned and the number of people wanting to
summon which makes it difficult to get help. There was some of this
in previous games, but it's at least 10x worse right now. The game
is just far too big, the summon pools too resisted to area, and the
summoning ranges too tight (level and weapon upgrades have to match
within about 10% to summon/be summoned) With all that said I could
definitely see myself focusing on a helper character to be summoned
and help others as I did with DS3 once I've completed the game.

- Justisaur

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On 02/05/2022 16:36, Justisaur wrote:

I did get in to Alpha Centauri, though once I completed one game
that was it. That too had the sci-fi angle instead of just bland history.
I understand they're making a sequel, or maybe already did.

I really liked Alpha Centauri not just because it was a different
setting but also it it seemed to play out a different way to Civ itself.
Now don't ask me how it played out differently as that's a long time ago.

For the sequel, the nearest you'll get is Civilisation: Beyond Earth. I
rather enjoyed it and it looks as though you can get it dirt cheap as a
CD key.

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On 02/05/2022 17:16, Justisaur wrote:

On Sunday, May 1, 2022 at 10:30:55 AM UTC-7, Spalls Hurgenson wrote:

* Witcher 3

I own it, bought it on a deep sale on GoG, I keep meaning to get to it, but other things that sound more enticing to me, and going to another
"open world game" right now does not in the least sound appealing.

I went out of my way to play every sub-quest and
mini-adventure I came across, and by game's end, all the hotspots on
the map had been explored and my quest-log was empty. Had I not been
so thorough, I probably could have finished the game in half the time.

Yeah, that's a good deal of what's been taking me so long with Elden Ring. That and alternating between at least 3 characters.

Well, that's me for April. A good month, if a slightly too long (or
too short?) one. What about you?

What Have You Been Playing... IN APRIL 2022?

Elden Ring. I've talked to much about it in that insanely long thread, but just for those of you who don't read it.

I'm over 300 hours, though probably around 100 on 3 different characters.
It is beautiful, and it feels huge. I love the short dungeons sections best, the overland and overly complicated large castle/city areas I find annoying the jumping puzzles I hate, but both of those things existed in previous games. I hate the crafting, which is part of why I'm preferring spellcasters as they don't need it as much and I've been mostly able to ignore it on my Int spellcaster with the exception of poison curing items.

I had actually quit for a few days but came back. I still managed to avoid it all during the weekdays last week, instead running some solo D&D
for myself. Tangent - AD&D 1e gets too complicated to run at least
solo around 1e, and I start to find it a slog. I had run some last year
again for myself but got tired of it, and quit, I came back and ran
some 3rd string characters - bandits but got tired of that too. So I started Basic B/X (Moldvey 1981 version) D&D instead, I haven't got to 7th level
yet (let alone 2nd) as leveling seems really slow, and it's also crazy deadly I've lost more characters so far than in entire AD&D campaigns. Yes
I could make house rules to try to fix that, and maybe I will, but it seems like cheating when playing solo (though I did that with AD&D too.)

Anyway back to Elden Ring. I decided yesterday I'm abandoning my other characters for now and just focusing on my Astrologer (int) as it seems
so much easier than the other two. I really like the faith/arc dragon magic character, there's a lot more ways to approach everything, but unfortunately the best stuff he has - rot and bleed runs up against immunity too often,
and the spells are mostly too slow which gets him killed, and bleed is only with melee which is too close range for a bit more fragile character.

Co-op networking is still a disaster, frequent disconnects and issues connecting, and an apparent great imbalance between the number of
people available to be summoned and the number of people wanting to
summon which makes it difficult to get help. There was some of this
in previous games, but it's at least 10x worse right now. The game
is just far too big, the summon pools too resisted to area, and the
summoning ranges too tight (level and weapon upgrades have to match
within about 10% to summon/be summoned) With all that said I could definitely see myself focusing on a helper character to be summoned
and help others as I did with DS3 once I've completed the game.

You've been playing Elden Ring, I can't say I've noticed ;-)

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
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On Mon, 02 May 2022 10:57:53 -0400, Spalls Hurgenson <spallshurgenson@gmail.com> wrote:

I really wish I'd enjoyed my time with the game more, because I'd love
a proper LoTR RPG. Unfortunately, LOTRO felt like a poor-man's copy of
WoW with Tolkien's characters pasted haphazardly into the world.

LOTRO is definitely a WOW clone but I always thought it was a good
clone, not a bad one. One of the best actually of that style of game.
I don't agree at all that is a poor copy.

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
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On 5/2/2022 8:36 AM, Justisaur wrote:

On Monday, May 2, 2022 at 2:02:02 AM UTC-7, JAB wrote:

On 01/05/2022 18:30, Spalls Hurgenson wrote:

* Civilization IV (replay)
Whew! That was a close one. I finished a campaign of "Civilization IV"
without losing more than a single night's worth of sleep. I think that
has to be a world-wide record.

I didn't expect to play "Civ 4". As a general rule, I avoid the series
these days because I do find them so terribly addictive (imagine that:
a franchise /too good/ to play!). But I was having some repairs done
on the room where my main computer sits, so I had to retreat to other
chambers with one of the laptops... and that laptop just happened to
have "Civilization IV" on it. I mean, what was I to do? No human could
resist that sort of temptation!

I can't really offer any exciting recount of my campaign; it was
almost identical to every other game of Civilization that I play. Pick
the Romans, build up a continent-straddling empire, don't open the
borders to anyone, do my best not to piss off the neighbors, and work
towards a space victory. What can I say, I'm not all that imaginative
when it comes to my strategy. But by the end my empire was a
ridiculously rich realm of well-developed cities and I was well on my
way to Alpha Centauri before the others had even launched their first
thruster module. Don't mess with what works, I say.

"Civilization IV" remains one of the finer examples of the franchise,
with satisfying visuals and a truly stunning soundtrack (how can you
beat the combination of Christopher Tin's "Babu Yetu" and Leonard
Nimoy narrating? You can't!). The game is an excellently balanced
evolution of the original concept created by Meier back in '91. The
only improvements I could have asked for were the city-states
(introduced in Civ 5), and a slightly improved interface (like being
able to figure out which of my many cities has the necessary
requirements to build a spy unit without having to open each one up
manually, grrr!). But otherwise, a nearly perfect game.

Too perfect. The one-more-turn syndrome did suck away nearly a whole
day and a night (playing on a laptop isn't helpful; I can drag the
whole machine to bed with me!). I got away lucky. Fortunately the
repairs are done and I'm back on the main computer, safe from
"Civilization IV's" siren call.

My interest in Civ peaked with Civ III and although I have played Civ IV
it was no where near as much. By the time it got to Civ V I think I only
managed to play two campaigns and Civ VI I don't have.

It's not that I think they aren't good games but instead a combination
of changing gaming habits (like you I'm no longer that interested in
time sinks) and that although the game has seem improvements (no more
stacks of doom and less micromanagement unless you wanted it) at its
heart it still feels like I playing the same game.

It's possibly why I'm somewhat jaded with gaming as a whole, trying to
find games that are trying something different is hard!

I never got into the Civ games, I had one of them I don't remember which
and played a few games, but it seemed rather lacking compared to
games that were at least marginally similar like Master of Magic,
Warlords, and you could maybe lump Populus and Fantasy General in
there. The difference probably being god magic/magic/fantasy.

I did get in to Alpha Centauri, though once I completed one game
that was it. That too had the sci-fi angle instead of just bland history.
I understand they're making a sequel, or maybe already did.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sid_Meier%27s_Alpha_Centauri

There have been no direct sequels beyond Alien Crossfire, something that
writer Greg Tito attributed to Reynolds leaving Firaxis in 2000 to form
Big Huge Games.[17] Alien Crossfire producer and lead designer Timothy
Train also left Firaxis with Reynolds.[104] However, a spiritual sequel, Civilization: Beyond Earth, was announced by Firaxis in April 2014 and
released on October 24, 2014; several of those that worked on Alpha
Centauri helped to develop the new title.[105] A review in Polygon noted however that while the new game has better graphics, its story fails to
rival the original, a sentiment echoed by another review in the PC Gamer.[106][107] Another in Endgadget noted "as a spiritual successor to
Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri, however, it's a cut-rate disappointment".[108]

And this article from only a year ago: https://www.pcgamer.com/come-on-firaxis-where-the-hell-is-alpha-centauri-2/


--
I've done good in this world. Now I'm tired and just want to be a cranky
dirty old man.

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What Have You Been Playing... IN APRIL 2022?

Just Elden Ring, and yes it has pretty much consumed my life. I'm
probably mid-game, but intend on continuing exploring and finding every nook and cranny I can; it will likely take another month :)

rms

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On Mon, 02 May 2022 08:40:00 -0400, Mike S. <Mike_S@nowhere.com>
wrote:

On Mon, 2 May 2022 10:02:00 +0100, JAB <noway@nochance.com> wrote:

My interest in Civ peaked with Civ III and although I have played Civ IV
it was no where near as much. By the time it got to Civ V I think I only >>managed to play two campaigns and Civ VI I don't have.

My interest also peaked with Civ III. I only dabbled very briefly with
Civ IV as of now. But from what I read online, I got the impression
most people preferred IV and V over III. So I will get to IV again >eventually.

I don't mind games being time sinks. To me, it just means I am
enjoying the game if it takes a lot my time. Gaming, in general, is a
time sink.

*--

Then I hope Mike that I don't hear you give Justisaur, rms, and myself
a hard time about getting hooked on Elden Ring like DT has been
doing!! LOL!!

:-)

-pw

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
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On 5/3/2022 8:41 PM, PW wrote:

On Mon, 02 May 2022 08:40:00 -0400, Mike S. <Mike_S@nowhere.com>
wrote:

On Mon, 2 May 2022 10:02:00 +0100, JAB <noway@nochance.com> wrote:

My interest in Civ peaked with Civ III and although I have played Civ IV >>> it was no where near as much. By the time it got to Civ V I think I only >>> managed to play two campaigns and Civ VI I don't have.

My interest also peaked with Civ III. I only dabbled very briefly with
Civ IV as of now. But from what I read online, I got the impression
most people preferred IV and V over III. So I will get to IV again
eventually.

I don't mind games being time sinks. To me, it just means I am
enjoying the game if it takes a lot my time. Gaming, in general, is a
time sink.

*--

Then I hope Mike that I don't hear you give Justisaur, rms, and myself
a hard time about getting hooked on Elden Ring like DT has been
doing!! LOL!!

:-)

Why would _I_ need to give you a hard time about Elden Ring?! From what
you're reporting the game is doing that quite well all on its own!

:P


--
I've done good in this world. Now I'm tired and just want to be a cranky
dirty old man.

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
* Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)

On Tue, 3 May 2022 21:24:34 -0700, Dimensional Traveler
<dtravel@sonic.net> wrote:

On 5/3/2022 8:41 PM, PW wrote:

On Mon, 02 May 2022 08:40:00 -0400, Mike S. <Mike_S@nowhere.com>
wrote:

On Mon, 2 May 2022 10:02:00 +0100, JAB <noway@nochance.com> wrote:

My interest in Civ peaked with Civ III and although I have played Civ IV >>>> it was no where near as much. By the time it got to Civ V I think I only >>>> managed to play two campaigns and Civ VI I don't have.

My interest also peaked with Civ III. I only dabbled very briefly with
Civ IV as of now. But from what I read online, I got the impression
most people preferred IV and V over III. So I will get to IV again
eventually.

I don't mind games being time sinks. To me, it just means I am
enjoying the game if it takes a lot my time. Gaming, in general, is a
time sink.

*--

Then I hope Mike that I don't hear you give Justisaur, rms, and myself
a hard time about getting hooked on Elden Ring like DT has been
doing!! LOL!!

:-)

Why would _I_ need to give you a hard time about Elden Ring?! From what >you're reporting the game is doing that quite well all on its own!

:P

* --

No, no. Nothing but pleasure!

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
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On 5/4/2022 10:38 AM, PW wrote:

On Tue, 3 May 2022 21:24:34 -0700, Dimensional Traveler
<dtravel@sonic.net> wrote:

On 5/3/2022 8:41 PM, PW wrote:

On Mon, 02 May 2022 08:40:00 -0400, Mike S. <Mike_S@nowhere.com>
wrote:

On Mon, 2 May 2022 10:02:00 +0100, JAB <noway@nochance.com> wrote:

My interest in Civ peaked with Civ III and although I have played Civ IV >>>>> it was no where near as much. By the time it got to Civ V I think I only >>>>> managed to play two campaigns and Civ VI I don't have.

My interest also peaked with Civ III. I only dabbled very briefly with >>>> Civ IV as of now. But from what I read online, I got the impression
most people preferred IV and V over III. So I will get to IV again
eventually.

I don't mind games being time sinks. To me, it just means I am
enjoying the game if it takes a lot my time. Gaming, in general, is a
time sink.

*--

Then I hope Mike that I don't hear you give Justisaur, rms, and myself
a hard time about getting hooked on Elden Ring like DT has been
doing!! LOL!!

:-)

Why would _I_ need to give you a hard time about Elden Ring?! From what
you're reporting the game is doing that quite well all on its own!

:P

* --

No, no. Nothing but pleasure!

Ah, you're a masochist. Sorry, didn't know. :D

--
I've done good in this world. Now I'm tired and just want to be a cranky
dirty old man.

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
* Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)

Mike S. <Mike_S@nowhere.com> wrote:

On Mon, 02 May 2022 01:28:18 -0500, ant@zimage.comANT (Ant) wrote:

Briefly New World's free weekend, LOTRO, & D&DO,

LOTRO is a game I want to get back into. They just made a very large
portion of the game free to play. And things that used to cost extra
now comes standard with free to play as well.

Well, I got sick of this game so I uninstalled it last night. Too much grindings and got old. I might do the same for D&DO later on. Real life
is already grinding enough.

--
May da 4th be with U! And then, Cinco de Mayo da (5&6)th be with U!
Note: A fixed width font (Courier, Monospace, etc.) is required to see this signature correctly.
/\___/\ Ant(Dude) @ http://aqfl.net & http://antfarm.home.dhs.org.
/ /\ /\ \ Please nuke ANT if replying by e-mail.
| |o o| |
\ _ /
( )

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
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* Witcher 3 (finished!)

You don't mention the DLC, did you play that as well?

rms

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
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On 02/05/2022 16:27, Spalls Hurgenson wrote:

On Mon, 2 May 2022 10:24:18 +0100, JAB <noway@nochance.com> wrote:

Partisans 1941
So the game itself, somewhat of a mixed bag I'm afraid to say at least
at this point. I like the overall concept but it just feels a bit clunky
and also it doesn't seem that good at explaining what's going on. I will
carry on playing though and it's possibly that one of my problems is I'm
trying to play it too much like Desperados III when that's not the way
to approach it. I also think I probably need to hunt down a basic guide >>from somewhere just to understand a bit more.

Despite the flaws you mentioned, "Partisans 1941" sounds intriguing
and I headed over to Steam to see how much it cost, only to realize I
already own it (because of course I do). I generally prefer the WW2
setting more than Westerns (a genre that has never really excited me)
so "Partisans" might suit me better.

Having said that, its debatable how much I'd enjoy the game. I love
the core conceit of this sort of game but I always find their actual implementation much too fiddly. I think in part it's because I'm no
longer interested in wrangling a whole party of heroes, micromanaging
their every move with the preciseness these 'puzzle-shooters' often
require.

Tie that into the lack of polish this game offers - as evidenced not
only by your comments but simply by watching the game's trailer - and
it becomes ever less likely this is a game I'll play... but it's the
sort of game I wish I could enjoy more.

It may be slightly unfair to compare it to the likes of D:III as that
really did nail the implementation of explaining the game mechanics
through play and having a intuitive control system. Partisans I'm just
not getting that. So a couple of examples, click on a enemy to see their
view cone and I end up moving my character. Then I have an injured
character but I've no idea how I'm supposed to remove that injury or
indeed how I got it.

As that's the extent of my gaming I'll move on to something else that is
gaming just not on a PC. It still sorta counts doesn't it?

Sure it does!

Numenera (RPG)
--------------
So I'm looking forward to where the campaign is going especially as the
GM only has a brief high level outline of what it is going to be meaning
the overall direction will come from how we interact with the story.

I couldn't get into Numenera, largely because of its
slightly-too-alien sci-fantasy setting. That, and I have little
interest in learning new game-systems, especially since I regard the
actual game implementation a necessary evil rather than an interesting
part of the experience itself. All systems are flawed (albeit in
different ways), so I just stick with the ones I'm familiar with and
focus on the bits I like most; world-creation, character interactions,
and messin' with the players ;-)

(although sometimes it seems I'm the one getting messed with. No,
don't go that way; all the clues obviously point you north! Wait, why
are you doing THAT? No, don't kill him, he's the GOOD guy! ARGH!!!!!)

The setting I was a bit concerned about as I don't like high fantasy in
general but you can approach it as this isn't magic but instead
technology and everything has a natural explanation.

New systems, I'd rather stick with ones I know but for me an important
part is does it support the type of game you want to play and also does
it have a low crunch factor. It's was one of the big problems I had with
the original version of Paranoia. A setting that played up to the humour
side but used a relatively heavyweight rules system.

The other reason we going for the system, the GM has built up a small collection of books for it over the years and, well just wants to play it.

Oh a books, they're games are they?

An extremely rail-roaded game, but sure, why not? ;-)

Next up started reading the first part of the Hitchhiker's Guide to the
Galaxy and then I going to go for Troy by Stephen Fry (don't worry if
you haven't heard of him but he's considered a national treasure here in
the UK). HGTG I have watched the TV series several times, I've never
listened to the radio play and I honestly can't remember if I've read
any of the books. Regardless I'm enjoying it so far and I still think
Douglas Adams had an excellent sense of humour which he translates well
into book form.

I didn't even know Stephen Fry wrote books (although I shouldn't be surprised). I'm familar with him (and agree with the National Treasure designation); I love his erudite manner and typically-British dry wit.
I'm not sure "Troy" would appeal to me though, unless it were
particularly tongue-in-cheek, and reviews seem to indicate it is a
more serious retelling of the ancient epic than I'd prefer (centuries
ago I struggled through the original, and that satisfied all my needs
to hear about that story forever ;-)

I wasn't sure how many people would have heard of him as although he's
very well know in the UK I don't believe he's ever made that step to
more global fame. His books, he's written quite a few over the years and
I think it's worth checking them out if I've found them a good read.

I'm certainly not as an avid reader of novels as I used to be but one
thing I have noticed is that actually reading from a physical hardback
seems to add to the overall enjoyment. It's not that I don't think the
Kindle is bad (indeed I think it's a greatidea) but there's just
something nice about holding a book and turning the pages.

I'm all e-book these days, but I've had decades to transition to the
format (<hipster> "Like, I was reading e-books before it was cool,
man!" </hipster>). These days I find holding an actual dead-tree tome
such an uncomfortable experience compared to the featherweight
lightness of a kindle that I wondered how I ever managed in the olden
days.

The only downside is - as usual - the sheer number of volumes I have available at my fingertips paralyzes me with the burden of choice. How
can I decide what to read next? And do I keep at a book that doesn't instantly 'grab' me when I have hundreds of others just waiting to be
read? It's all too stressful; maybe I'll play a video game instead....

I can't quite remember when I got my first Kindle but it was the one
with the keyboard. We've been through a couple more since then but I
tend to use the app on the iPad now as it means I only have to take a
single device with me.

The downside I agree with and possibly one of the advantages of getting
a physical copy is it will hopefully stop me doing what I used to do
with games. See something that I fancied and was cheap so I'd buy it but
never get around to reading it.

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
* Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)

On Wed, 04 May 2022 18:23:48 -0500, ant@zimage.comANT (Ant) wrote:

Well, I got sick of this game so I uninstalled it last night. Too much >grindings and got old. I might do the same for D&DO later on. Real life
is already grinding enough.

The problem with that word is that it means different things to
different people. The last time I grinded in an MMO was in the first
Everquest where I literally just killed the same mobs over and over
again in the same place for several hours on end. The only time you
should be doing that in LOTRO is if you want to go after the slayer
deeds.

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
* Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)

On Thursday, May 5, 2022 at 1:20:35 AM UTC-7, JAB wrote:

New systems, I'd rather stick with ones I know but for me an important
part is does it support the type of game you want to play and also does
it have a low crunch factor. It's was one of the big problems I had with
the original version of Paranoia. A setting that played up to the humour
side but used a relatively heavyweight rules system.

Ah Paranoia. I own it, I've never played it though. I really wanted to, but never found a group willing. I read a PbP which didn't seem the least bit
fun or funny unfortunately* so I gave up on even wanting to.

* It could just be my tastes in comedy, I've started watching a number
of comedy specials on Netflix the last year or so and didn't find anything funny in the first 10 minutes at least and turned them off. I got through
a couple where I laughed at the trailer, but then those were the only funny things to me in the whole set.

- Justisaur

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
* Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)

On Wed, 4 May 2022 19:39:08 -0600, "rms" <rsquiresMOO@MOOflashMOO.net>
wrote:

* Witcher 3 (finished!)

You don't mention the DLC, did you play that as well?

Every single bit of it. A witcher leaves no quest untouched, after
all.

"Heart of Stone" was, in terms of story and gameplay, the one I
probably enjoyed more. Geralt gets himself ensnared in the
machinations of the local devil and has to wiggle his way out of that
unwisely made deal. The quests are enjoyable and varied (I
particularly liked guiding the curmudgeonly witcher through the
difficulties of enjoying himself at a wedding festival) and the
characters were more interesting. It doesn't really add anything to
the base game - maybe a few new caves and monsters - but given how
solid the rest of it is, that's not really a complaint. It just gave
me reason to keep wandering through Redania some more.

"Blood and Wine" is almost the opposite. It adds a huge amount of
content to the new game - maybe an extra third? - including a
beautiful new map. The land of Toussaint is absolutely gorgeous; a
lush, flower-filled realm that looks like something out of a fable. It
appears especially beautiful after weeks of wandering through the
muddy, corpse-strewn realms of the north. It is almost a night and day difference.

Unfortunately, I didn't find its characters, story or quests
particularly engaging. And unless you are familiar with the original
novels, the reveal of a certain character - an old traveling companion
of Geralt's whose involvement is the heart of the story - falls flat;
lacking that connection, he's just another quest-giver. The climax -
when the big-bad unleashes his hordes, and the final battle against
him - is, admittedly, rather spectacular but otherwise the adventures
in Toussaint feel rather humdrum.

(Plus, if you do all the quests, by the end you'll be wielding an
infinity+1 sword that kills monsters so easily that it takes all the
challenge from the rest of the game.)

Still, I enjoyed both DLC packages (and all the smaller ones too,
although I'd be hard pressed to figure out what was DLC and was core
game in that regard), if for different reasons. They added some great
variety and were solidly made. My only real complaint is that they
overloaded an already long game with even more excellent content, but
I guess that's really not something I should be bitching about. ;-)

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
* Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)

On Thu, 5 May 2022 07:37:52 -0700 (PDT), Justisaur
<justisaur@gmail.com> wrote:

On Thursday, May 5, 2022 at 1:20:35 AM UTC-7, JAB wrote:

New systems, I'd rather stick with ones I know but for me an important
part is does it support the type of game you want to play and also does
it have a low crunch factor. It's was one of the big problems I had with
the original version of Paranoia. A setting that played up to the humour
side but used a relatively heavyweight rules system.

Ah Paranoia. I own it, I've never played it though. I really wanted to, but >never found a group willing. I read a PbP which didn't seem the least bit >fun or funny unfortunately* so I gave up on even wanting to.

Paranoia, done right, is an absolute blast. Unfortunately, it's also
really hard to do 'right'. I've played Paranoia several times, and -
while I never really disliked the experience - there was only once
that it really all gelled together and lived up to its promise. You
not only need a good GM, you need players who are into the whole
thing.

By nature, the adventures tend to be fairly linear and scripted, and
deviating too far off the path often ruins the pacing... and pacing is everything in comedy. The rulebooks present an idealized version of
how the game plays, but (at least in my experience) it rarely works
out like that, and - while the adventure may be enjoyable - it lacks
that spark that makes the game memorable. Instead, it becomes a rather
humdrum adventure in a lackluster setting.

Most games are a lot more forgiving about the foibles of their
players, but Paranois doesn't seem to be one of them. If you can't
capture the mood and style, it's dull and top-heavy game. But if you
can... then its magic.

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
* Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)

On Thu, 5 May 2022 09:20:30 +0100, JAB <noway@nochance.com> wrote:

On 02/05/2022 16:27, Spalls Hurgenson wrote:

On Mon, 2 May 2022 10:24:18 +0100, JAB <noway@nochance.com> wrote:

I'm certainly not as an avid reader of novels as I used to be but one
thing I have noticed is that actually reading from a physical hardback
seems to add to the overall enjoyment. It's not that I don't think the
Kindle is bad (indeed I think it's a greatidea) but there's just
something nice about holding a book and turning the pages.

I'm all e-book these days, but I've had decades to transition to the
format (<hipster> "Like, I was reading e-books before it was cool,
man!" </hipster>). These days I find holding an actual dead-tree tome
such an uncomfortable experience compared to the featherweight
lightness of a kindle that I wondered how I ever managed in the olden
days.

The only downside is - as usual - the sheer number of volumes I have
available at my fingertips paralyzes me with the burden of choice. How
can I decide what to read next? And do I keep at a book that doesn't
instantly 'grab' me when I have hundreds of others just waiting to be
read? It's all too stressful; maybe I'll play a video game instead....

I can't quite remember when I got my first Kindle but it was the one
with the keyboard. We've been through a couple more since then but I
tend to use the app on the iPad now as it means I only have to take a
single device with me.

The downside I agree with and possibly one of the advantages of getting
a physical copy is it will hopefully stop me doing what I used to do
with games. See something that I fancied and was cheap so I'd buy it but >never get around to reading it.

This may surprise you (but probably won't) but I had the same habits
regarding hard-copy books that I do with video games, which is to say,
if it looked even moderately interesting, I added it to the library.
Okay, it wasn't quite so extreme, but that's more to do with the fact
that there were definite limits to how many books I could own due to
physical limitations, and because few publishers were giving away
their wares for free. But I had - and read - a lot of books.

Which is why I so readily switched to digital format. I read fast, and
often could get through a book a day. Going to work, I'd often load up
my satchel* with two or three novels, just to ensure I'd have enough
reading material at hand. Jumping from that weighty load to a
light-weight portable device was transformative. Originally, I started
with a Palm Pilot PDA; it was only years later - as my eyes started to deteriorate - that I moved on to the larger tablet). That it also
allowed me to carry my entire library (and not just two or three
books) was a bonus.

Really, the only dead-tree books I still use are when I'm playing
tabletop RPGs. I have most of the rulebooks in PDFs, and in fact
reference the digital versions when WRITING the adventures... but
while playing, I prefer the tactile pleasure of thumbing through the
pages authoritively (touch-screens being what they are, it's also
usually faster too; linear reading is great, but searching on a tablet
remains a chore)**.

The usual acronymic disclaimers apply.






----------------------
* it's a satchel, I tell you! NOT a man-purse! It's from Europe!

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
* Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)

On 05/05/2022 15:37, Justisaur wrote:

On Thursday, May 5, 2022 at 1:20:35 AM UTC-7, JAB wrote:

New systems, I'd rather stick with ones I know but for me an important
part is does it support the type of game you want to play and also does
it have a low crunch factor. It's was one of the big problems I had with
the original version of Paranoia. A setting that played up to the humour
side but used a relatively heavyweight rules system.

Ah Paranoia. I own it, I've never played it though. I really wanted to, but never found a group willing. I read a PbP which didn't seem the least bit fun or funny unfortunately* so I gave up on even wanting to.

* It could just be my tastes in comedy, I've started watching a number
of comedy specials on Netflix the last year or so and didn't find anything funny in the first 10 minutes at least and turned them off. I got through
a couple where I laughed at the trailer, but then those were the only funny things to me in the whole set.

I'm not really sure that it's the type of system that's suitable for PnP.

So covering some of the ground that Spalls already has, I very much
enjoyed playing it many years ago but I think a weakness it has is that
unlike your average RPG is not very accommodating of a spectrum of what
people want out of a game. I GM'ed it for a couple of groups when I was
younger and with one it went well and the other a complete disaster.

The main difference, the group who enjoyed it were far more in to the
whole idea of roleplaying with a capital R and the ones who didn't where
mostly power gamers.

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
* Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)

On 5/5/2022 8:50 AM, Spalls Hurgenson wrote:

On Thu, 5 May 2022 09:20:30 +0100, JAB <noway@nochance.com> wrote:

On 02/05/2022 16:27, Spalls Hurgenson wrote:

On Mon, 2 May 2022 10:24:18 +0100, JAB <noway@nochance.com> wrote:

I'm certainly not as an avid reader of novels as I used to be but one
thing I have noticed is that actually reading from a physical hardback >>>> seems to add to the overall enjoyment. It's not that I don't think the >>>> Kindle is bad (indeed I think it's a greatidea) but there's just
something nice about holding a book and turning the pages.

I'm all e-book these days, but I've had decades to transition to the
format (<hipster> "Like, I was reading e-books before it was cool,
man!" </hipster>). These days I find holding an actual dead-tree tome
such an uncomfortable experience compared to the featherweight
lightness of a kindle that I wondered how I ever managed in the olden
days.

The only downside is - as usual - the sheer number of volumes I have
available at my fingertips paralyzes me with the burden of choice. How
can I decide what to read next? And do I keep at a book that doesn't
instantly 'grab' me when I have hundreds of others just waiting to be
read? It's all too stressful; maybe I'll play a video game instead....

I can't quite remember when I got my first Kindle but it was the one
with the keyboard. We've been through a couple more since then but I
tend to use the app on the iPad now as it means I only have to take a
single device with me.

The downside I agree with and possibly one of the advantages of getting
a physical copy is it will hopefully stop me doing what I used to do
with games. See something that I fancied and was cheap so I'd buy it but
never get around to reading it.

This may surprise you (but probably won't) but I had the same habits regarding hard-copy books that I do with video games, which is to say,
if it looked even moderately interesting, I added it to the library.
Okay, it wasn't quite so extreme, but that's more to do with the fact
that there were definite limits to how many books I could own due to
physical limitations, and because few publishers were giving away
their wares for free. But I had - and read - a lot of books.

Which is why I so readily switched to digital format. I read fast, and
often could get through a book a day. Going to work, I'd often load up
my satchel* with two or three novels, just to ensure I'd have enough
reading material at hand. Jumping from that weighty load to a
light-weight portable device was transformative. Originally, I started
with a Palm Pilot PDA; it was only years later - as my eyes started to deteriorate - that I moved on to the larger tablet). That it also
allowed me to carry my entire library (and not just two or three
books) was a bonus.

Really, the only dead-tree books I still use are when I'm playing
tabletop RPGs. I have most of the rulebooks in PDFs, and in fact
reference the digital versions when WRITING the adventures... but
while playing, I prefer the tactile pleasure of thumbing through the
pages authoritively (touch-screens being what they are, it's also
usually faster too; linear reading is great, but searching on a tablet remains a chore)**.

The usual acronymic disclaimers apply.

----------------------
* it's a satchel, I tell you! NOT a man-purse! It's from Europe!

I have a messenger bag. :P

--
I've done good in this world. Now I'm tired and just want to be a cranky
dirty old man.

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
* Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)

On 05/05/2022 16:50, Spalls Hurgenson wrote:

Really, the only dead-tree books I still use are when I'm playing
tabletop RPGs. I have most of the rulebooks in PDFs, and in fact
reference the digital versions when WRITING the adventures... but
while playing, I prefer the tactile pleasure of thumbing through the
pages authoritively (touch-screens being what they are, it's also
usually faster too; linear reading is great, but searching on a tablet remains a chore)**.

The usual acronymic disclaimers apply.

I also find for reference type material a physical copy is easier to use
as there tends to be a lot of flipping back and forth and searching for something you just want to quickly look-up. You can do that on a
e-Reader but it seems horribly inefficient unless you know exactly what
you're looking for.

----------------------
* it's a satchel, I tell you! NOT a man-purse! It's from Europe!

Us Europeans and our strange ways. Saying that my bag of choice is a
small rucksack as I just find that more comfortable to carry around.

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
* Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)

On Friday, May 6, 2022 at 1:09:44 AM UTC-7, JAB wrote:

On 05/05/2022 16:50, Spalls Hurgenson wrote:

* it's a satchel, I tell you! NOT a man-purse! It's from Europe!

Us Europeans and our strange ways. Saying that my bag of choice is a
small rucksack as I just find that more comfortable to carry around.

I had a duffel bag. Books weighed too much and eventually ripped a hole
in it though after years of use, and I wasn't DMing with a large collection
of books on me much after that.

- Justisaur

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
* Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)