Playing other games

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Mightysword
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Re: Playing other games

Post by Mightysword » Tue, 19. Jan 21, 00:51

mr.WHO wrote:
Mon, 18. Jan 21, 22:36
Ever since I discovered Egosoft games, I can't go back to Freelancer style games - they are totally boring an identical. You're locked within small class of ships, usually cannot own big things like station and capships and you're locked in average plot + generic missions (that usually are no better than X-series generic missions).

I think the only exception to above fromula is Starpoint Gemini Warlords, but somehow I couldn't got past the grind and got bored after several hours.
It's more like the genre suffer from an obsession with "open world". Freelancer (and Independent War 2) were good because they were first and unique, but a space game with limited fly model with an open world often time just feel a game with a bunch of random encounters. I wish there are more games that go back to the mission base like Freespace 2 or Tachyon: The Fringe. The X series has always been more of a empire building or space tycoon for me, I rarely play it for the combat. I wouldn't be surprised if statistically less than 25% of my playing time is in active combat across all X games.

It's kinda depressing that Freespace 2 was released over 2 decades ago, and I can't still recall I ever fought a space battle that are more epic than some of the missions in Freepsace 2 (or even in some of its total conversion mods), and I played pretty much all of the space games in between then and now. :shock:
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Re: Playing other games

Post by Gavrushka » Tue, 19. Jan 21, 07:59

I must admit, a huge grin manifest when I started watching the Everspace 2 video. It grew a little strained halfway through, and then disappeared entirely by the end of the second video. It sure looks pretty and vibrant, but utterly lacking in gaming diversity. - My space game fix has been courtesy of the X games and Sword of the Stars for the last two decades, even a few happy hours spent in SE V and less happy times in Galactic Civ II. Sins of a Solar Empire, I just couldn't get away with.

But Everspace 2 isn't a 4X is it? It's an arcade game with roleplaying elements, yes? It's power ups, ship upgrades and ever greater explosions?

1st person combat feels like a pleasant distraction in X4, but I see it as a fluffy option rather than anything central. - I could imagine playing Everspace 2 for an hour or two on occasion, but no more. - It reminds me of the old 3d wire games I use to play at the arcades back in the 80s, but I never pined when the last of my ten pence pieces were gobbled up.
“Man, my poor head is battered,” Ed said.

“That explains its unusual shape,” Styanar said, grinning openly now. “Although it does little to illuminate just why your jowls are so flaccid or why you have quite so many chins.”

“I…” Had she just called him fat? “I am just a different species, that’s all.”

“Well nature sure does have a sense of humour then,” Styanar said. “Shall we go inside? It’d not be a good idea for me to be spotted by others.”

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Re: Playing other games

Post by Vertigo 7 » Tue, 19. Jan 21, 11:05

It's a shame that Interplay died an unceremonious death so many years ago. Freespace and Freespace 2 were fan freaking tastic, along with Descent (which is where I got my handle from =p), and I haven't really seen any space combat games like them since. Along those lines, LucasArts release of the X-Wing and TIE Fighter series of games were awesome as well. I know there's mods that exist for all of those to "modernize" them, and they're amazing mods, don't get me wrong. What I'm saying is, there just hasn't been anything in the space combat genre that quite measures up to the skirmish type of games that those were in a long time, at least that I'm aware of. X, Elite Dangerous, and others, I enjoy them, but there's times I just wanna pew pew and there's a bit much going on with those games to really sit down and enjoy the action.
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Re: Playing other games

Post by BrasatoAlBarolo » Tue, 19. Jan 21, 11:59

In the last days I did some hour-long races at Assetto Corsa Competizione. I have to say they've been even harder than expected, keeping the concentration for that long has been trying, especially in a very technical track like Laguna Seca (I needed a shower after the race...). The other races have been in Monza and Spa, tracks I know a lot better then the american one, so they went better from the sweating point of view...
Despite my mediocrity and my really hard times with consistency, I had a blast.

@Vertigo: my brother is playing Squadrons and it looks very good from the skirmish point of view you're talking about.

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Re: Playing other games

Post by pjknibbs » Tue, 19. Jan 21, 12:38

Vertigo 7 wrote:
Tue, 19. Jan 21, 11:05
Freespace and Freespace 2 were fan freaking tastic
DIVE DIVE DIVE! Hit your burners, pilot! :D

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Re: Playing other games

Post by Vertigo 7 » Tue, 19. Jan 21, 13:20

BrasatoAlBarolo wrote:
Tue, 19. Jan 21, 11:59
@Vertigo: my brother is playing Squadrons and it looks very good from the skirmish point of view you're talking about.
Eh, that's not quite what I want. The single player campaign is too short and most of the focus is on multiplayer and "surprise mechanics". Typical EA crap fest. Anything Star Wars related with EA's logo on it is pure cash grab, which is why I was happy to hear Ubisoft is working on a new Star Wars open world game coming in a couple of years. Maybe we'll get something worthy of the IP after a long hiatus. It's pretty well been downhill since SWTOR went free to play, with few exceptions.

What I'm looking for is compelling story, clear mission objectives - even if it's something simple like "scan cargo for contraband", suspense, action, some true "oh shit" moments. For example:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-1VjaPfQgOA
pjknibbs wrote:
Tue, 19. Jan 21, 12:38
Vertigo 7 wrote:
Tue, 19. Jan 21, 11:05
Freespace and Freespace 2 were fan freaking tastic
DIVE DIVE DIVE! Hit your burners, pilot! :D
Avoid the beams and you won't get hit, pilot! lol
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Re: Playing other games

Post by mr.WHO » Tue, 19. Jan 21, 16:59

Vertigo 7 wrote:
Tue, 19. Jan 21, 13:20
What I'm looking for is compelling story, clear mission objectives - even if it's something simple like "scan cargo for contraband", suspense, action, some true "oh shit" moments. For example:
I had my hopes for this on Rebel Galaxy Outlaw, but it end up being just weaker clone of Freelancer.

I wish for some kind of story driven Space Sim with bunch of mercenaries/bounty Hunters like from Firefly or Cowboy Bebop.


As for something worthy of a sucessor of Freespace 2, I see currently only two options:
- Star Citizen single player module (I don't high hopes for it)
- suprise, suprise - very late version of X4 or X3:AP analog for X4.


Yes, this might be a bit suprising, but even now X4 drift towards Freespace 2:
- we have wide range of ships from mere fighters to big capships
- we have destroyable surface elements, you can even destroy big weapons of destroyers (albeit you cannot target them)
- you can shoot down torpedos (albeit you cannot target them)
- you have beams (however they are not so epic as FS, but there is a room for improvment)
- we have flaks
- You can operate combined Carrier group, similar to how FreeSpace oparated their
- Argons are preatty much ripoff FS2 GTA (or possibly GTA is a ripoff, as X-BTF was possibly before FS2).
- X4 v4.0 will add fog/nebulas
- To some extend, Xenon gives off Shivan vibes

The only thing missing is proper epic and detailed campaign, but this will probably never be a thing, in favor of open world sandbox.

I'd kill for Freespace Total Conversion mod for X4.

P.S Shout out to Tie Fighter, I-war 2 and Starlancer. Only 3 other games that were close in quality to Freespace 2.

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Re: Playing other games

Post by Mightysword » Wed, 20. Jan 21, 02:26

@mr.Who: surprisingly most of the stuffs you list is not what made FS2 ... FS2 to me. Those features have also more or less presented in other games as well, both old a new. What FS2 stand out is the atmosphere it creates.

Most noticeable is the optic on the models. Capital ship in FS2 feels like proper behemoths, when 2 or more of them locked into battle with each others, it feels like you're watching cinematic starwar. The visual and sound effect are also the best of the gerne, it makes me feel small and insignificance in my fighter. In most other games, I can watch half a dozen "capital ships" fighting each others, and still doesn't capture half of the epicness. I don't think it can be single down to one or two features, but as a whole I think FS2 capture the essence of space combat sim the same way Homeworld 2 captured space real time strategy, and no other game ever came close. Here hoping Homeworld 3 will not disappoint and sully the name. :)

In other news, Warband 3: Bannerlord had come a long way since released. No, it's not really finished yet, still a lot of broken/unfinished/unbalanced stuffs, but the game are much better now both in width and depth. Don't pop your champagne yet, but there is reason for hope if you are a fan and were disappointed with the original launch.
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mr.WHO
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Re: Playing other games

Post by mr.WHO » Wed, 20. Jan 21, 17:00

Check what I found on YT.

Upcoming RTS that gives you some The Expanse vibes - Star System combat with emphasis on logistic (fuel, ammo and food) and intel (sensor range, active/passive sensor, planets/asteroids blocking line of sight).

The only flaw I see is that there is an FTL and ships seems to follow "sea ships in space" logic rather than The Expanse.

Feature short:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kAQs4A71F0g

Combat and line of sight:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ho6G82bnRm8

Mode degailed description of features:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NBOreVx6Z1M

The game seems to be advance in development with Early access coming in June 2021.

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Re: Playing other games

Post by felter » Sun, 28. Feb 21, 01:11

I don't know if anyone noticed this or if anyone even actually cares, but last Wednesday Bioware made a not so good announcement on their update on Anthem. Basically they gave everyone the middle finger. So much for it's a game as a service, with regular updates for years to come, but what do you expect it is EA behind it after all.
Anthem Update
by Author - Christian Dailey - Posted on February 24, 2021

Friends,

In the spirit of transparency and closure we wanted to share that we’ve made the difficult decision to stop our new development work on Anthem (aka Anthem NEXT). We will, however, continue to keep the Anthem live service running as it exists today.

Since Anthem’s launch, the team has been working hard to continually improve the game, releasing multiple updates that brought with them a variety of improvements and introduced new content to play. Towards the end of 2019 we expanded on that effort and started working on a more fundamental restructure of the game.

During the development we’ve provided updates revealing some of the team’s work through blog posts and conversations with you on social media and it’s been inspiring for us to see the positive reactions and feedback. I’ve been incredibly proud of the work the team has been doing, and excited to see and play each new build of the experience.

2020 was a year unlike any other however and while we continue to make progress against all our game projects at BioWare, working from home during the pandemic has had an impact on our productivity and not everything we had planned as a studio before COVID-19 can be accomplished without putting undue stress on our teams.

I know this will be disappointing to the community of Anthem players who have been excited to see the improvements we’ve been working on. It’s also disappointing for the team who were doing brilliant work. And for me personally, Anthem is what brought me to BioWare, and the last two years have been some of the most challenging and rewarding experiences of my career.

Game development is hard. Decisions like these are not easy. Moving forward, we need to laser focus our efforts as a studio and strengthen the next Dragon Age, and Mass Effect titles while continuing to provide quality updates to Star Wars: The Old Republic.

To the Anthem community, thank you for your passion and creativity. Your feedback and suggestions most certainly help shape the team’s direction, and on a personal note, your kindness and encouragement were much needed last year.

Please stay safe and be kind to each other. Strong alone, stronger together.

Christian
The thing that gets me, is that they are still asking the full price for the game on the EA Anthem website. It also goes to show you really cannot trust either EA or Bioware the game was supposed to be a Game As A Service, you can't just go (looks like you can) screw it lets just end this as it's not going our way any more, they made the bed and the mess so they should endure and carry on if you ask me. Fortunately it doesn't effect me as I never bought into the mess in the first place.
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X2-Illuminatus
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Re: Playing other games

Post by X2-Illuminatus » Sun, 28. Feb 21, 14:36

The positive effect of this is that they may scrap the whole "games as a service" concept and go back to developing proper, storydriven singleplayer games, something they were once extremely good in. The next Dragon Age is said to be a pure singleplayer game again. (Although there's no official confirmation, and the cited sources are rather weak.)
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Re: Playing other games

Post by Mightysword » Sun, 28. Feb 21, 19:58

X2-Illuminatus wrote:
Sun, 28. Feb 21, 14:36
something they were once extremely good in
hard to say, over the years they have bleed away most of their core-staff. The reason ME:A and Anthem turned out the way they were because they lost Casey Hudson (which descirbed as the Piscard of those ships), although they got him back trying to revive Anthem, but lost him again last year so this Anthem annoucement shouldn't be a suprise. David Gaider and Mike Laidlaw, the 2 main principal writers behind BG and DA left a while ago. Jame Ohlen and Mark Darrah (people in charged of the tech and production side) also had left. It's safe to say whatever the plan they have for the future, the soul of the old Bioware is no longer there, (frankly except the 2 Watamaluk I don't recognize any other names in their current staffs, also wonder if James Henley is still there).
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Re: Playing other games

Post by felter » Mon, 1. Mar 21, 17:22

Here's something I never noticed. EA, you know that company that is renowned for the buying of other game makers and using those companies to continue to make great games, like they had always did. Expanding on their ideas and valuing the knowledge and expertise of the staff to continue to make great, brilliant, exciting games for years into the future. You know that EA the great company everyone loves and trusts. Well they have finalised their acquisition of Codemasters, meaning that EA are now the company behind the production of titles such as F1, Dirt and Grid among other racing titles.

I can see it now, the roulette wheels will look just like wheels. It wont be card packs it will be car packs. The loot boxes will look like tool chests. And if you want a car capable of winning a race it will cost you thousands of pounds or dollars, as you continually have to buy those car packs. You want Lewis Hamilton as you driver, well keep buying those car packs as you will only have a 0.0001% of successfully getting him. Yep the future is bright for those car racing sim game fans, with all those great new ideas they have to look forward too.
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Re: Playing other games

Post by RegisterMe » Fri, 5. Mar 21, 00:29

Loop Hero. Not sure if it's better than DSP or not, but it's definitely up there. If you can get over the retro graphics there's a lot of sophistication, good design and player agency in there. It's really very, very good.
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Re: Playing other games

Post by BrasatoAlBarolo » Fri, 5. Mar 21, 10:15

I've been looking for quite some time at Airport CEO: did you play it? Do you suggest it?

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Re: Playing other games

Post by felter » Wed, 31. Mar 21, 16:05

So has anyone tried out the new DLC for Elite Dangerous. Elite Dangerous: Odyssey. It is just the alpha release, not the final version, so there is not much in the way of reviews on it yet.

I have it but haven't installed it yet, as I haven't played the game in a while so I was just wondering what's it like.
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Re: Playing other games

Post by Ketraar » Wed, 31. Mar 21, 19:08

Lost interest in ED after flying half way to Sagitarius and Back, to then buing and fully kitting an Anaconda.

Since the focus of this expansion is adding more shooting, now in FP, its not likely my interest will rise at all.

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Re: Playing other games

Post by BrasatoAlBarolo » Thu, 1. Apr 21, 08:46

Too grindy for me. I loved it, the faction management (planning expansions and so on) was intriguing, but at some point it became too much work for a game.

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Re: Playing other games

Post by Praefectus classis » Thu, 1. Apr 21, 11:29

I haven't bothered getting the DLC as yet because I'm not a fan of the FPS aspect of it. I will wait to see how it improves the graphics of planets, etc before making a decision but I don't think I will bother. I Like I've said in a previous thread, I think they are trying to woo a younger audience into the game.
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Re: Playing other games

Post by Gavrushka » Sat, 5. Jun 21, 14:07

Been at a bit of loss since shelving X4 after around 1,000 hours of enjoyment. - Haven't really managed to get into Farnham's Legacy, so I bought Solasta, Crown of the Magister on release day.

Solasta uses the latest D&D rules with turn based combat, and it's damned hard in 'authentic mode' although there are two harder settings too. - It's rough in places, and the camera can be awkward at times, but the gameplay is deeply immersive. - If a character dies in a battle and you don't revive them in time, it's game over (back to the last save.) - This sense of finality makes you think hard about each battle, and the worst enemy can be bad dice rolls.

I'm around 25 hours in, and not far into the main plot. - The bonus is there's a dungeon designer (in beta) including, which means there's gonna be a lot of community content in due course. - It scores 91% on Steam (recent reviews 87%) and I can recommend it to anyone who likes deep roleplaying with a strong plot and challenging gameplay.
“Man, my poor head is battered,” Ed said.

“That explains its unusual shape,” Styanar said, grinning openly now. “Although it does little to illuminate just why your jowls are so flaccid or why you have quite so many chins.”

“I…” Had she just called him fat? “I am just a different species, that’s all.”

“Well nature sure does have a sense of humour then,” Styanar said. “Shall we go inside? It’d not be a good idea for me to be spotted by others.”

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