28.02.17

Today I spent a tad more time than I care to admit on Dominus. It's a... slow-time strategy game, if you'll excuse my terminology, and it's actually quite fun.

It's a medieval-themed game where you mainly just build armies and send them to battle with other armies and take the castles of other players. If you take their castle, they become your vassal. Vassals stack like a tree, and any vassals under a player transfer with them. You can also rebel against your lords and make them your vassals if you win. So, eventually, everyone will be in a single vassal-lord tree, and then it becomes a game of who can stay at the root node of that tree (the lord of all) for two days. If you manage that, you win the game.

There's more depth to it than that, but it's still quite slow-paced, so by no means will you always have something to do. I wonder how much dedication it actually requires, as well as how bad things will get once you haven't tended to your lands over the night. I don't really have hope I'll play it for a longer while due to having to routinely attend to it, but it sure is fun for now. Stock market jokes are quite something right now.

27.02.17

Nothing much to report today.

But any day with nothing to report makes me reflect on why that was, and where I went wrong that that day was so uninteresting. So there's room for improvement.

26.02.17

I tried out Heavy Metal Machines with my friends today, and as a team of 3, we had a 90% win rate, with most games going 3-0 in our favor. Well, aside from it being too easy, it was a rather fun experience. The game didn't seem to have a lot of depth to it, so I would've probably gotten bored regardless of the high win rate, but dodging enemies, ramming opponents, trying to shoot them down or knock them into lava while trying to keep fire off your carry and them at full health... It's fun, really.

Basically you first rush to get the bomb from the middle, then try to carry it down the windy track to your opponent's finish line, or kill their carry and grab the bomb to push it backwards on your track. It's like a constant tug-of-war. There's a few different cars with the main types being healer, damage dealer, and bomb carry.

The entire game has a population of about 50-200 players, depending on the time of day, and connection issues are actually rather commonplace, even if it's not the players' fault, so you'll be dealing with at least one AFK in most games. So, due to the low depth, low player count, and high amount of connection problems, I don't think I'll be returning to it. But I did have fun.

25.02.17

The Mooseman looks like a fairly short adventure game that's perhaps again a bit more focused on how it looks and feels, rather than how it plays. But as usual, it seems worth trying, as there's not much time to be lost in any case.

Now, I also suddenly got access to the pre-alpha testing of Crowfall. It's apparently been two years since I backed this project on Kickstarter. It's also the first and so far only project I've backed so early. That is partially due to me having faith in them accomplishing what they said they would, and partially because I've been starved for a proper Sandbox MMO for far too long.
I wasn't actually expecting to get in yet, as the game is a long ways from being finished. A lot of the systems still need work and there's plenty of band-aids in place to even have this playable. I tried it for a few hours, and there's not much to really do yet. Couple that with the fact that mostly everything is going to change before launch and that there will be resets, and I'm not really inclined to spend all that much time in it beyond learning what can be done at present.
Currently there's combat and crafting. The former needs work from a client-server interaction standpoint at the very least, and the latter is just a game of crafting potions, which are a quick fix that give massive boosts to everything so we wouldn't be stuck in the low-level stuff. Much to test, not much to play.

24.02.17

Well, two games down, after a long period of relative inactivity.

I finally gave Shadow Tactics a try, and it went about as well as I predicted. It definitely looks like a good game, but the combination of genres simply doesn't appeal to me, so I gave up fairly quickly as it wasn't enjoyable. I guess my understanding of it all is a bit limited given my short playtime, but...

The stealth portion looks fairly standard and solidly executed. Lots of cover, cones of sight, noise circles, stealth kills, hiding the bodies, creating distractions, traps, etc... Getting seen is not instantly the end of everything, but it is a difficult situation to come out of, and by no means can you just switch to rushing the enemy.

And for the RTS side, well... It's just real-time at all times and features multiple characters whom you can control at once. And this is actually the bigger part of what I don't like. The game often requires or at least benefits from being able to simultaneously control two or more characters, but I don't feel like the strategic/tactical side mixes well with having to rapidly queue actions, which can fail if you're not fast enough or make a mistake due to rushing. The characters feel great if you can actually give any one of them your full attention, but since you often can't, they don't. It's not satisfying to see a mistimed action, and then scrambling to get your characters out, but instead someone sheepishly stands there or has been left in crouch mode and is slowly sneaking away while being shot at.

But I suppose that's more my general issue with RTS games. The stealth portion is decent, and I can't particularly say that the RTS side is poorly executed. So if you like both genres, you might enjoy it. I just don't think they mix well like this.

Another game I tried today was Valley. I apparently got about halfway through the thing, as it's only a few hours long, but as far as I heard, the last half is just more of the same. As you can guess, since I stopped halfway, I didn't like the game.
As I started, it appeared to be another one of those all graphics, no gameplay exploration games. The controls also felt a bit heavy or sluggish, and remained so throughout the game. I honestly had some hope as I was running at high speeds through the first map in the newly acquired suit, making long leaps, but that was about the highlight of the game for me, and it wasn't anything particularly good, just... passable. The rest was just "go there, do that, meet some invisible walls and how-am-I-supposed-to-get-over-this terrain along the way".
The life giving and taking mechanic of your suit is a pointless addition to the game, which only serves as an alternative to flipping switches, restricting mobility, penalizing deaths, and other game mechanics that they wanted to limit. There's more than enough energy everywhere and shooting stuff to revitalize it was just a chore. Not that the so-called exploration was any better.
So, yeah, that hope I got dwindled away real quick and it really was another one of those all graphics, no gameplay exploration games. The graphics are good though, I got to give them that, if only perhaps a little too shiny and blinding.

23.02.17

Found a little game by the name of Soul Searching. It probably has more depth in meaning than gameplay, as the latter doesn't look particularly good, yet it's noticeably well received so far. Onto the list it goes, for whenever I get around to it.

22.02.17

Oh hey, Fairy Fencer F: Advent Dark Force released on Steam. It's kind of from the Neptunia series, just skinned differently and has a more serious tune to it, which is all good in my eyes. I played through the original one and kind of liked it despite how glaringly bad the actual gameplay was, which I think I briefly mentioned when writing about Tales of Zestiria. So, Advent Dark Force is apparently just like the regular Fairy Fencer F, except with little improvements all across the board. New difficulty levels supposedly make the game not laughably easy, but don't turn the combat any less uninteresting. So I'd suggest this over the original if you want to play it and haven't yet, but I won't be going through it again.

21.02.17

Day 2 of not making progress toward my set goal.

I must be really bad at this. I was actually a bit busy with stuff that needed doing instead of wasting my time today though. Soon. Soon...

20.02.17

Day 1 of not making progress towards my set goal.

19.02.17

The day goes fast when spent on Factorio with friends.

I actually also played some Burnout Paradise. Not because it was on my list or anything, no. I've already played it a fair bit a few years back, but decided to spend a couple more hours on it for some odd reason. It has that good moment-to-moment action, but not much in terms of enjoyment after being done with it for the day. And I already have plenty of other games for the former.

I still have 111 games on my backlog as of right now. I want to get it down to <100 by two weeks' time. I need some arbitrary goals to motivate me, at the very least.

18.02.17

It's finally done. I wasn't sure this day would come. I finally finished that VN. And this is precisely the reason I'm reluctant to read them. They take an eternity to complete. I'll stick by my decision of not describing them for long, but it suits this one especially well. Any actual details would spoil it.

The House in Fata Morgana was a darn delightful read, and is now one of my favorites. It's highly different from all other VNs I know, not being anime-themed, among other things. It's a series of intricately woven tragedies, but that's as much as I'm allowed to say. Oh, also, the music is really good and a very important part in the overall feeling of the story.

Hey, perhaps I can finally play some other games now. Wouldn't that be a joy?

17.02.17

And hey, here's some rogue-like action game that I probably won't like, since I keep adding such mediocre stuff to my list as of late. Brut@l would be that game.

But hey, if the games really are bad, it won't take all too long to realize that when trying them. On a good day, I can go through 4-6 bad games. In contrast, my average over the last month must be more like 0.04 games/day. I'll try to fix that, I swear.

16.02.17

Okay, so, I'm both clearly biased towards anime, as well as selecting games below my average quality threshold at the moment. That said, the two following games still don't look all that bad.

Atelier Sophie and Nights of Azure are both seemingly similar JRPGs, although the former is noticeably more popular and better rated. I can't really see anything special about either at first glance, but I might enjoy them.

15.02.17

Wednesdays are days of lectures, classes, and art. So in terms of the writings here, nothing ever happens on a Wednesday.

14.02.17

I tend to forget what I do once a few days have passed. And with some days being consistently more busy, it's no wonder I don't have time on those days.

I think I mostly only got a little bit of Factorio done. I'm playing a scenario where each player is on some different part of the map and on a different faction so they don't share technologies nor do they see each other. With the resources not being terribly abundant and aliens being everywhere, this should hopefully eventually create some scenarios for trading, which would be fun.

13.02.17

Not much done today, but I do wish to draw your attention to this: https://www.humblebundle.com/freedom. It's a little odd for a Humble Bundle, being 30$ minimum, but the value on the entire pack is really darn good. Sadly(?) I already have most of the games I'd want from that bundle, but I think it has a lot of good games. It also has some books, which I know nothing about.

Here's some of the ones I've liked: The Stanley Parable, Mini Metro, Invisible Inc., 2064: Read Only Memories, Super Meat Boy, The Witness, Nuclear Throne, VVVVVV, World of Goo, Superbrothers: Sword & Sworcery EP.

12.02.17

Truth be told, I haven't been checking Steam's store for the past 9 days. But I took the couple of hours needed to finish the entire automatic checking thing, so that scenario shouldn't happen again. But couple that with not having much variety in the games I've been playing for, gosh, perhaps a month now, and you get the same effect as going to a store on an empty stomach. So I ended up picking 6 games from the store that I'll try.

Starting off with Warcube. It's apparently some super early version, but the graphics and gameplay look simply lovely. Hard to say if it's going to play good, but it certainly looks good both in motion and while still.

Next up, Linelight. I don't normally try these minimalistic puzzle games (also because there's oddly many of them) that Steam's userbase has branded as casual, but this one looks a bit more polished and I've heard about it from other places too.

Now, one simply because it's free, Heavy Metal Machines. Some odd 4v4 combat racing game, but I don't think I'll stick with it for longer than perhaps a couple of hours.

This one I haven't the slightest how to pronounce, but... Rosenkreuzstilette. It, uh, reminds me of Megaman, as much as I've played the latter. Judging from the graphics, I would guess it's >10 years old, but nope, completely fresh.

And continuing in the same vein, because I do like these kinds of games a tad more than most, Alwa's Awakening. I suspect this, as well as the previous one, aren't all too long. At least I hope they aren't. They don't look like they could sustain over a dozen hours of play, and even half of that length would seem to be too much.

And finally a choice-based story-focused game. A House of Many Doors looks like a type of game I haven't played in a while. Not that I'd have a particular liking for choice-based games, but I don't think it's a bad genre either. Mainly hoping to remind myself how those kinds of games play.

11.02.17

Like, really too much HotS, what am I even doing with my free time, I have things that need do be done. I've been hanging in Diamond 4 for a while now, as opposed to going between 5 and 4, so it's some improvement, I suppose.

I also played something by the name of Ultimate Chicken Horse at a... uh... place. It's a fun party game, sure, but not really my style, and I wouldn't play it if I got to pick the game, so I don't really have much I'd want to say about it.

10.02.17

More HotS. I also almost finished Fata Morgana, for real this time. I'll write a few lines about it when I do. Mostly just too much HotS though.

09.02.17

How the days fly. I suppose it's a welcome change, but I do slightly miss the free time.

I tried the For Honor beta, and honestly the server issues with the entire thing were just abhorrent. It appears to have plenty of depth, but I couldn't really get a good feel of the combat due to the combination of it being on the complicated side as well as not having the willpower to trudge through the constant disconnects and long load and matchmaking times.

Might see how it does at launch, but I'm still more waiting for Absolver, since Blade Symphony doesn't appear to be livening up ever again.

08.02.17

I have nothing on-topic to share, so here's something that's not. I took a digital painting course. And it makes me feel like I'm complete shit. If that ever happens to you with anything you do, remember that someone, somewhere, is worse. Doesn't excuse you from being a complete shit though. ;_;

07.02.17

I'll just mention that the For Honor Open Beta will be beginning on the 9th, so I'll definitely play a lot of that over the weekend. It's a good chance to try the game for a few days without having to buy it. Personally, I think it looks pretty good, reminding me of Blade Symphony quite a lot. (I really liked Blade Symphony, but there's nobody there anymore.) It's of course a lot less fancy, but hopefully the balance is decent, and it most definitely has plenty of players for now. I can only hope it stays that way.

06.02.17

And then a new semester, the first week of which is always a little hectic. I actually took a (small) class relating to game development. It's about program design patterns, but especially from a game developer's stand point. So, uh, slowly working in various ways towards becoming a game developer some day. Now if only I spent some of my free time on that instead of playing games, I might get there faster.

05.02.17

But on others, I was playing Factorio with my friends again. Shocking they've time for games so often in the past ~month. Have I mentioned how much I like Factorio? With just a tiny bit of hyperbole, it's the best thing ever. Seriously.

04.02.17

I honestly forget what kept me so occupied some of these days.

(But here, have a few paragraphs I wrote, but never published. They relate to the post two days ago, but were written a good 1-2 weeks before that.)

I've already slightly ranted about this, and it might just be my current state of feeling tired, but there are way too many games being released on Steam.

Looking up some of the statistics, apparently over a third of all the games currently on Steam were added there this year. And the percentage of rubbish continues to increase. Day after day, the vast majority of games I sift through have, by my estimates, been made in under 100 hours solo, or under 200 combined hours as a group. In other words, probably not more than a week or two's worth of work. It's sickening, and there is literally even a company that brags about how they release a game every single day.

Shifting through ~200 games every week only to find 2 at best... it's demoralizing. I just don't feel like it's a good use of my time to thoroughly consider each of these games, so I already preemptively judge them based on the amount of reviews, the positivity of them, as well as what the game looks like in the first few seconds.

03.02.17

The Steam store feels like it hasn't felt for perhaps about even a year now. It's a lot more pleasant to look through games if they actually seem interesting, although I'm as picky as ever. Perhaps that has to do with my slow progress of clearing my backlog as of late. In any case...

I wasn't expecting to like it, but it was free, and I felt like trying it. Guild Quest, that is. Well, it's an idle game, not even a clicker, and it's not a good idle game either. So, I didn't like it, but 30 minutes isn't much lost.

Then there's Tales of Berseria, which seems to be one of the more popular releases as of late. Seems the release went rather well, and people are saying that the bad combat and equipment system from Tales of Zestiria have been "fixed". With how long and grindy these are (or seem to be, I haven't really played all that much to accurately know), I don't think I'd have the patience to finish both at this point. So I'm ditching Zestiria, and will at some point play this instead. If it turns out to be much to my liking, I might go back to play the previous one too.

And finally, Avorion, which I don't really know much about. It seems to be some kind of Space Sandbox, but I can't quite grasp the main "point" of it from just briefly looking at it. Regardless, it seems plenty popular and liked, so I guess I'll try it.

02.02.17

If this continues, I might just switch to a lower-frequency update schedule. Maybe thrice a week or something like that. Although there's no guarantee that I wouldn't miss those updates then as well. I hope this is just a phase of relative inactivity.

I actually spent the majority of today working on that program that would browse Steam's new releases for me. I'm not particularly experienced with making stuff that communicates with other stuff, so it took rather long. Not to mention I had to figure out how to automatically bypass age and mature content restrictions, as well as deal with a bunch of exception cases. In the end, I got it working (for the time being at least), and all that's left is to automatically mark certain games as "Not Interested".

It's not too aggressive with the filtering, only weeding out about 60% of the games. I manually looked over the batch of ~200 games it decided were not worthy of my attention, and not a single one of those was something I, myself, would have considered either, so I think it's doing a good job. And the rest that it did choose for me to look over were of much better quality. Having not gone over the new releases for about a week now, I should have some new games listed in the next post.

It also does some very minor logging on the amount of games released as well as the average score my program gives to the games on that day. It's more for the sake of fun than anything else though.

01.02.17

It's been another two days, hasn't it?