What Have You Been Playing... IN JUNE 2023?
Another month, another list. I didn't spend as much time in front of
the monitor as I should have; too much time spent outdoors doing
'exercise' and 'enjoying the good weather' and 'spending quality time
with friends and family'. I didn't spend thousands on a new PC to
waste time on nonsense like that! I should be gaming 24/7! But alas,
no, the lure of warm sunlight and tasty food keep pulling me away.
I'll try harder next month.
Game Summaries Where I Respect Your Time ---------------------------------------
* Cyberpunk 2077 (continued)
* Ghost Tokyo (new)
Game Summaries Where I Take Up All Your Time ---------------------------------------
* Cyberpunk 2077 (continued from last month)
What Have You Been Playing... IN JUNE 2023?
Another month, another list. I didn't spend as much time in front of...
the monitor as I should have; too much time spent outdoors doing
'exercise' and 'enjoying the good weather' and 'spending quality time
with friends and family'. I didn't spend thousands on a new PC to
waste time on nonsense like that! I should be gaming 24/7! But alas,
no, the lure of warm sunlight and tasty food keep pulling me away.
I'll try harder next month.
What Have You Been Playing... IN JUNE 2023?--
What Have You Been Playing... IN JUNE 2023?
Nothing! Bathroom renovation, more reading, and outside activities are
my excuse.
On Sat, 1 Jul 2023 10:55:58 -0600, "rms" <rsquiresMOO@MOOflashMOO.net>
wrote:
What Have You Been Playing... IN JUNE 2023?
Nothing! Bathroom renovation, more reading, and outside activities are >> my excuse.
Another victim of Summer. When will the madness end? How can we sleep
at night knowing so many games are going unplayed? It's
heart-breaking.
;-)
Game Summaries Where I Respect Your Time ---------------------------------------
* Cyberpunk 2077 (continued)
* Ghost Tokyo (new)
On 7/1/2023 9:29 AM, Spalls Hurgenson wrote:
* Ghost Tokyo (new)
This is surprising coming from you, didn't think you'd be interested in
this type of game. And AFAIK the price hasn't been anywhere near your
limit (which is similar to mine) unless it came in a bundle or something :)
I have been on an Ubisoft binge myself, played AC Origins last month and
was amazed by how incredible it looked (artistically speaking) and how
smooth its gameplay was for an Ubi title. But it didn't feel like a AC
game at all, it was a bit like The Witcher 3 in the desert - not that
there's anything wrong with that. It is by far my favorite one from the
so called "Antiquity Pack" which also includes Odyssey (horrible level >gating) and Valhalla (boring, boated and endless).
I'm now playing Watch Dogs Legion, another Ubi open world that has
received lukewarm reviews for the most part but has been surprisingly
fun so far - I just couldn't resist the US$8.00 price tag. But it's far
too early for me to have an opinion about it since I'm only about 5
hours in.
Diablo 4 and Conan Exiles, but not much time these days. D4, I already >talkeds about in my earlier thread. Conan Exiles was interesting, but
too grindy for me. I just wanted to fight!
Spalls Hurgenson <spallshurgenson@gmail.com> wrote:
Another month, another list. I didn't spend as much time in front of...
the monitor as I should have; too much time spent outdoors doing
'exercise' and 'enjoying the good weather' and 'spending quality time
with friends and family'. I didn't spend thousands on a new PC to
waste time on nonsense like that! I should be gaming 24/7! But alas,
no, the lure of warm sunlight and tasty food keep pulling me away.
I'll try harder next month.
What Have You Been Playing... IN JUNE 2023?
On Sun, 02 Jul 2023 07:41:18 +0000, ant@zimage.comANT (Ant) wrote:
Diablo 4 and Conan Exiles, but not much time these days. D4, I already >>talkeds about in my earlier thread. Conan Exiles was interesting, but
too grindy for me. I just wanted to fight!
*--
I am about ready to quit D4. I had no idea that other players can
join my"single player" game. I saw that for the first time the other
night. I have unchecked all those boxes but doesn't seem to help.
I watched some people play WoW classic 'hardcore mode' which enticed me to perhaps check out WoW classic again (I had leveled a character back in '05-'06, tanked 40 man raids, the whole deal- and then again maybe 6 years ago in a private vanilla server)
Hardcore is an interesting community addon project where if you ever died in the game you have to remake a new character.two zones to do it. Questing and dungeon crawling is just in your face easy. There is no more grind here, at least from a casual standpoint. It still provides a little bit of that action RPG fun. Outside of the dungeons or raids there's very little 'MMO'
What instead happened is I decided to give the live retail WoW a swirl and got kind of caught up in it, despite it being almost an unrecognizable game to what it was originally.
Some of the things Blizzard has done to keep the people from leaving are interesting and very anti-what made WoW addictive by nature so long ago. Leveling a character from 60 to 70 takes a matter of a few days and you don't need to traverse more than
I don't see myself sticking around long term but it was a nice change of pace of my usual fare of CSGO and PUBG.
What Have You Been Playing... IN JUNE 2023?
Spalls Hurgenson <spallsh...@gmail.com> writes:
What Have You Been Playing... IN JUNE 2023?I continued my adventures in GTA: San Andreas. In fact, got a little
bored with it since it's a long game and gets a little tedious toward
the end. Drive here, drive there, feels like filler.
On Friday, July 7, 2023 at 12:29:57 AM UTC-7, Anssi Saari wrote:
Spalls Hurgenson <spallsh...@gmail.com> writes:
What Have You Been Playing... IN JUNE 2023?I continued my adventures in GTA: San Andreas. In fact, got a little
bored with it since it's a long game and gets a little tedious toward
the end. Drive here, drive there, feels like filler.
Agree with that. I loved the gang war, but after that it was Meh at best.
On Friday, July 7, 2023 at 12:29:57?AM UTC-7, Anssi Saari wrote:
Spalls Hurgenson <spallsh...@gmail.com> writes:
What Have You Been Playing... IN JUNE 2023?I continued my adventures in GTA: San Andreas. In fact, got a little
bored with it since it's a long game and gets a little tedious toward
the end. Drive here, drive there, feels like filler.
Agree with that. I loved the gang war, but after that it was Meh at best.
Like rms absolutely nothing so I'll have to talk about TT RPG's instead.
I can run with just two players and we all had a lot of fun.
I am about ready to quit D4. I had no idea that other players can
join my"single player" game. I saw that for the first time the other >>night. I have unchecked all those boxes but doesn't seem to help.
Argh. I hate games that do that. Most at least allow you to exclude
visitors, which seems sane given how many creeps and trolls exist on
the usenet (c.f. "The Greater Internet Fuckwad Theory"). Assuming it
is true, that "Diablo 4" /doesn't/ permit this is inexcusable, but -
given its published by Activision-Blizzard - perhaps not that
surprising.
Like rms absolutely nothing so I'll have to talk about TT RPG's instead.
<min-rant started>
We finally managed to start our new game of Call of Cthulhu, with me as
GM, and boy are some players difficult with their ability to actually
turn up. So the first session two no shows (one hadn't even made a
character) and not a word out of either of them or even an apology
afterwards for not attending. So on to next week and I scheduled the
game. The player who didn't even make a character throws their toys out
of the pram as that not the day they want to play. I did kindly explain
they didn't even turn up last time - the result the left in a huff,
which is probably a good thing. The other player who didn't turn up said
they might attend and I did point out they need to say either way, so I
ended up cancelling the session.
Then the story goes on, arrange another session and the player who
didn't turn up says nothing until a roll call on the day we are due to
play, now they say the can't make it as they have something planned for
the weekend. Thinking being nice doesn't work I go with the more blunt >approach of pointing out their record is didn't turn-up, wouldn't commit
to turning up and then didn't say anything until the last moment even
though they knew in advance they weren't going to be available. I was
almost at the stage of saying bugger it but instead decided to go with I
can run with just two players and we all had a lot of fun.
I really don't understand this new breed of online RPGers who seem to
treat it like a single player game and everyone else is there for their >convince.
On Sun, 9 Jul 2023 11:11:31 +0100, JAB <noway@nochance.com> wrote:
Like rms absolutely nothing so I'll have to talk about TT RPG's instead.
<min-rant started>
We finally managed to start our new game of Call of Cthulhu, with me as
GM, and boy are some players difficult with their ability to actually
turn up. So the first session two no shows (one hadn't even made a
character) and not a word out of either of them or even an apology
afterwards for not attending. So on to next week and I scheduled the
game. The player who didn't even make a character throws their toys out
of the pram as that not the day they want to play. I did kindly explain
they didn't even turn up last time - the result the left in a huff,
which is probably a good thing. The other player who didn't turn up said
they might attend and I did point out they need to say either way, so I
ended up cancelling the session.
Then the story goes on, arrange another session and the player who
didn't turn up says nothing until a roll call on the day we are due to
play, now they say the can't make it as they have something planned for
the weekend. Thinking being nice doesn't work I go with the more blunt
approach of pointing out their record is didn't turn-up, wouldn't commit
to turning up and then didn't say anything until the last moment even
though they knew in advance they weren't going to be available. I was
almost at the stage of saying bugger it but instead decided to go with I
can run with just two players and we all had a lot of fun.
I really don't understand this new breed of online RPGers who seem to
treat it like a single player game and everyone else is there for their
convince.
Another reason for me to prefer in-person tabletop gaming. While
getting people together is more difficult, it's also harder for people
to no-show if they a) know you as a 'real person' and not just some face/voice on a screen, and b) recognize that others have made the
effort to appear. After all, if it's all online and you don't show up,
it's not like the others are that inconvenienced, right? They're still
at home and can do something else. But if everyone has to travel to a
common location, that's their time and money you're wasting...
Which isn't to say that in-person games are immune to the problem;
there's always 'that one person' who shows up so late you're never
sure they are coming at all.
<shrug> I just start the game without them. And your PC isn't put in a magical time-out in these cases either. They're MY PC until you show
up. I won't be reckless with them (and I'll try to be in character
when I have them do stuff), but they get to 'enjoy the fun' with the
rest of the party... with all the consequences that entails. And while
I'll do my best to spare the CHARACTER, all those saved potions and
magic items? Well, let's just say I'm less conservative with those
than the player might be. ;-)
Most players learn after two or three such 'lessons'. Those that don't usually aren't worth keeping around.
Of course, once the player drops out... the character is mine again.
And once THAT happens, the kid gloves are off. Abandoned characters
don't last long in our campaigns. ;-)
On Sun, 9 Jul 2023 11:11:31 +0100, JAB <noway@nochance.com> wrote:
Like rms absolutely nothing so I'll have to talk about TT RPG's instead.
<min-rant started>
We finally managed to start our new game of Call of Cthulhu, with me as
GM, and boy are some players difficult with their ability to actually
turn up. So the first session two no shows (one hadn't even made a
character) and not a word out of either of them or even an apology
afterwards for not attending. So on to next week and I scheduled the
game. The player who didn't even make a character throws their toys out
of the pram as that not the day they want to play. I did kindly explain
they didn't even turn up last time - the result the left in a huff,
which is probably a good thing. The other player who didn't turn up said
they might attend and I did point out they need to say either way, so I
ended up cancelling the session.
Then the story goes on, arrange another session and the player who
didn't turn up says nothing until a roll call on the day we are due to
play, now they say the can't make it as they have something planned for
the weekend. Thinking being nice doesn't work I go with the more blunt
approach of pointing out their record is didn't turn-up, wouldn't commit
to turning up and then didn't say anything until the last moment even
though they knew in advance they weren't going to be available. I was
almost at the stage of saying bugger it but instead decided to go with I
can run with just two players and we all had a lot of fun.
I really don't understand this new breed of online RPGers who seem to
treat it like a single player game and everyone else is there for their
convince.
Another reason for me to prefer in-person tabletop gaming. While
getting people together is more difficult, it's also harder for people
to no-show if they a) know you as a 'real person' and not just some face/voice on a screen, and b) recognize that others have made the
effort to appear. After all, if it's all online and you don't show up,
it's not like the others are that inconvenienced, right? They're still
at home and can do something else. But if everyone has to travel to a
common location, that's their time and money you're wasting...
Which isn't to say that in-person games are immune to the problem;
there's always 'that one person' who shows up so late you're never
sure they are coming at all.
<shrug> I just start the game without them. And your PC isn't put in a magical time-out in these cases either. They're MY PC until you show
up. I won't be reckless with them (and I'll try to be in character
when I have them do stuff), but they get to 'enjoy the fun' with the
rest of the party... with all the consequences that entails. And while
I'll do my best to spare the CHARACTER, all those saved potions and
magic items? Well, let's just say I'm less conservative with those
than the player might be. ;-)
Most players learn after two or three such 'lessons'. Those that don't usually aren't worth keeping around.
Of course, once the player drops out... the character is mine again.
And once THAT happens, the kid gloves are off. Abandoned characters
don't last long in our campaigns. ;-)
Well it sort of worked out! Did you ever play the CofC pc game? I haven't played a TT game, but I had the impression it tried to carry the flavor of TT. Here's my review from back then:
On Tue, 4 Jul 2023 Metal Guru wrote:
On 7/1/2023 Spalls Hurgenson wrote:
* Ghost Tokyo (new)
This is surprising coming from you, didn't think you'd be interested in
this type of game. And AFAIK the price hasn't been anywhere near your
limit (which is similar to mine) unless it came in a bundle or something :)
It was included in HumbleChoice a month or three back. It's definitely
not the sort of game I'd rush out to buy... not because it's not a
game I would enjoy, but because I'm just so tired of overly-large
open-world games.
"Ghost Tokyo" is a weird mixture of gametypes. It's like a cross
between "Alan Wake", "Yakuza", "Cyberpunk 2077", and "Shenmue".
gameplay is equally mixed. The combat is passable; there's enough
variety in enemies to keep thing interesting, but the powers are all
too similar. Some of the missions are really clever - there's a
mid-game mission where the entire level re-arranges itself around you (similar to what Remedy did in "Control"), and another in a school
that was genuinely creepy. But too much of the gameplay is scrounging
for lost souls and pointless side-quests. In short amounts, its fun
but extended over thirty of forty hours? It's just too much.
But I love the weird Japanese monstrosities and the characters are
fun, if a bit broad and cartoonish. The world is beautifully detailed
too; its technology may lag a bit behind "Cyberpunk's", but there's a
lot more variety and work put into the individual neighborhoods in
"Ghost Tokyo's" city. It has a lot more character than "Cyberpunk's"
Night City.
I tried "Origins" but didn't get too far; having enemies that were all
but invulnerable to my attacks simply because I wasn't high-enough
level absolutely destroyed the immersiveness of the game.
Still, I really do mean to give the game another try, because I don't
think I gave it entirely a fair shake the first time I played - and
abandoned - it. At the very least, I want to try the "Discovery Tour"
mode which allows me to visit all the interesting historical sites in
the game, without bothering with the less engaging gameplay.
I'm now playing Watch Dogs Legion, another Ubi open world
"Watchdogs" - like too many Ubisoft games - are pabulum that you play
to kill time. They're tasy but unfilling treats that help you occupy
your time between better games.
Another month, another list. I didn't spend as much time in front of
the monitor as I should have; too much time spent outdoors doing
'exercise' and 'enjoying the good weather' and 'spending quality time
with friends and family'. I didn't spend thousands on a new PC to
waste time on nonsense like that! I should be gaming 24/7! But alas,
no, the lure of warm sunlight and tasty food keep pulling me away.
I'll try harder next month.
Game Summaries Where I Respect Your Time ---------------------------------------
* Cyberpunk 2077 (continued)
* Ghost Tokyo (new)
Game Summaries Where I Take Up All Your Time ---------------------------------------
* Cyberpunk 2077 (continued from last month)
I largely stand by my initial impressions from last month's round-up.
The creation of Cyberpunk 2077's world took an impressive amount of
effort, and yet I'm sadly left wanting. The story was engaging, and so
were the characters; there was a lot of polish and content, and the
gameplay - while not groundbreaking - was largely satisfying. I could
have done without the bugs - which got increasingly worse as I neared
the finale - and the climatic mission was a bit of a let down, but
overall, a good game.
But still, I'm disappointed. And I struggle to express why I think the
game didn't live up to its potential.
I've already made a few guesses as to the cause of my unhappiness in
other posts: the mazelike design of the city, some odd decisions in
the gameplay design, the grindy crafting mechanic. But I think the
biggest fault is Night City itself. For all its beauty and for all its detail, Night City lacks life and character. It doesn't feel like a
place; it feels like a generic sci-fi metropolis. It might as well
have been San Andreas from GTA5 for all the city itself played a role
in the actual game. And I think part of the failure in its design is
how static the city feels. Nothing changes in the city from start to
finish; even if, narratively, I defeat a major power in the city's
politics, you wouldn't be able to tell from how anything in the city
looks or acts.
I suppose, from the perspective of the setting, this is accurate - one
of the themes of the game is how powerless individuals are to effect
any real change - but from a story and gameplay perspective? It's
awful. Nobody - not the gangbangers, not the cops, not the corporates
- reacts differently to the protagonist regardless if you're a level 1 nobody or a level 50 legend. Despite wiping the map clean of every
mission icon, there's not one change to how the map looks; no
destroyed buildings or revitalized neighborhoods in my wake.
This stasis absolutely ruins the appeal of progressing through the
game; why keep chugging along if nothing changes? Even when there
should be changes - like when I helped a politico realize he was
secretly being manipulated by unknown hackers - the plot-lines get
dropped before anything ever resolves.
Too many of the missions themselves are pointless busywork too. Oh,
the main quest and companion side-quests are all well worth it; if
anyone rings you up in the game and asks you to assist in a mission, I strongly recommend you say yes because that's where all the variety
is. But the various assault hotspots and mercenary gigs you do for the fixers? You can skip those because they don't do anything except give
you piddling amounts of XP and gold. And that's half the game right
there. Similarly, you can ignore buying all the cars and apartments
because the former all drive the same, and the latter offer you no
benefit. The gear is repetitive and hardly worth chasing after, and
the uninspired AI makes every combat feel very much the same.
I hate bringing up all these faults because the game IS NOT bad. It
kept me occupied for over 100 hours, after all. I've nothing to do
after concluding the main quest because I've done every possible side-mission. And I quite enjoyed the story (even if it was sometimes
a bit overwrought and ended on something of a let down). But
"Cyberpunk 2077" could have been - it SHOULD have been - one of those classics we talk about for decades. It's overflowing with talent and
hard work and great ideas. You can see it in every scene, in every
model; there was so much love put into its design. Yet it just doesn't
come close to achieving its potential, and it's heartbreaking.
* Ghostwire: Tokyo (new)
I'm still in the early stages of this one, so I haven't come to a real conclusion about this game yet. But I'm fairly certain it was a
mistake to play it right after "Cyberpunk 2077"; even though in terms
of gameplay and theme the two games are quite different, the fact that
they both are single-player games that take place in a near-future open-world means that I was tired of "Ghostwire: Tokyo" even before I started it.
Which is unfortunate, because "Ghost Tokyo" has some obvious
strengths. It's visuals are quite nice, to start with. It's not quite
as detailed as "Cyberpunk 2077" and the special effects and lighting
aren't nearly as sophisticated... but it's pretty close and the game
is very pretty. But - like "Cyberpunk", its world suffers from a lack
of real interactivity and - thanks to the eponymous ghosts - there's
no wandering AI to add the necessary verisimilitude. There's no real
reason - at least not so far - to hang around in one neighborhood,
other than to maybe scrounge for hidden goodies and supplies. For all
its size, the city serves little purpose beyond being a static
backdrop.
But the game's conceit is interesting; after an apocalyptic
supernatural event, the protagonist survives - thanks to a lucky
possession by a friendly ghost - as the only one left to fight off the bad-guys. Combat is a mix of spell-slinging, unconvincing melee and at
least one ranged weapon. The monsters are suitably creepy - as only
Japanese monsters can be - although there doesn't seem to be much
variety. But then again, I haven't gotten too far into the game. The voice-acting is well done too.
But the sheer scale of the world is daunting; not so much because it's incredibly large (it's not), but because there just doesn't seem all
that much of interest to do. Sure, I can peek into the alleys to find
hidden coins and lost souls to rescue; there's Torri Gates to cleanse
and various side-quests to fulfill. But none of the activities are
very fulfilling and it all seems like so much busy-work. Despite my
usual desire to scour the map of every adventure I'm increasingly
tempted to just speed-run the main quest so I can say I've finished
the game.
I resist, so far, telling myself not to give up on the game just yet,
and to fight the ennui caused by 100+ hours of playing "Cyberpunk
2077". I'm not sure it's a winnable battle, though. "Ghostwire: Tokyo"
may be a great game, but at the moment I think I'm just too burned out
by open-world adventuring to find out for myself.
---------------------------------------
So that's it for me. And how about you? Were you wisely ensconced in
front of your computer playing video games, or did summer cruelly draw
you away from what was important? Tell us...
What Have You Been Playing... IN JUNE 2023?
Spalls, you are still here... after many decades.
On Mon, 14 Aug 2023 04:46:37 -0700 (PDT), Antonio Huerta
<ahuerta@inbox.com> wrote:
Spalls, you are still here... after many decades.
Of course I'm here. Why wouldn't I be here? I'm always here.
Wait... is this how you're letting me go? Is this a sort of, "You're
still here? I thought we dismissed you last month?" thing? I mean,
sure you moved me down to the sub-basement level and made me pay for
my access, but I thought that was all due to Usenet struggling
financially. Was it all just a ploy to get me to leave? Surely at
minimum I get some sort of pension? Severance? A small muffin with a
candle on it? All those years of service, you'd think I'd get
something.
Can I at least keep the little red stapler?
<mutter mutter burn the whole place down mutter mutter>
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