OT: Video Game Computers/Gadgets/Gizmos Thread

[ReasonablySober]

Remnant is one of my favorite games of the year so far and I hadn't ever heard of it before release. It is a blast to play solo or co-op.

Just starting it. Chose the up close and personal class, even though I typically gravitate towards long range combat. This seems like a game where you wanna do a lot of damage up close.

I feel like you've flip-flopped on your plans pre-BL3 about a half dozen times in the past 2 days

Sounds like me; I only kid.

Oh, I completely have. I got to about 94% in Ritual of the Night and decided I didn't need to finish it just yet. Found out Gears isn't out for another week. I'm enjoying Remnant but it reminds me a lot of State of Decay. A very unpolished shell of what could be an incredible game. It's hard, but I'm also playing like an idiot, enjoying a couple drinks, and listening to old Mitch Hedburg.

[Ayt]

Just starting it. Chose the up close and personal class, even though I typically gravitate towards long range combat. This seems like a game where you wanna do a lot of damage up close.

I feel like you've flip-flopped on your plans pre-BL3 about a half dozen times in the past 2 days

Sounds like me; I only kid.

Oh, I completely have. I got to about 94% in Ritual of the Night and decided I didn't need to finish it just yet. Found out Gears isn't out for another week. I'm enjoying Remnant but it reminds me a lot of State of Decay. A very unpolished shell of what could be an incredible game. It's hard, but I'm also playing like an idiot, enjoying a couple drinks, and listening to old Mitch Hedburg.

That's too bad. I probably should have strongly recommended to not play the scrapper because that's what I've been telling everyone.

I wouldn't call it an up close game at all. You picked what I consider the worst starting class by far which also doesn't match your preferred play style. The hammer weapon is slow and often misses the 3rd swing, the armor is heavy so you are fat rolling, and the shotty has very low range. Since you are often facing multiple enemies, distance is needed to keep yourself out of danger.

If you aren't too far into the game, I'd start over and play the hunter or cultist. The hunter starts with the two best weapons, the hunting rifle and the sword, while the cultist starts with the best trait that fills up your powers much more quickly. Ideally, you'd start with cultist and then just buy the rifle and sword.

Even if you stick with the character, I'd buy the rifle asap and check out the sword if the hammer is too clunky feeling.

[ReasonablySober]

I feel like you've flip-flopped on your plans pre-BL3 about a half dozen times in the past 2 days

Sounds like me; I only kid.

Oh, I completely have. I got to about 94% in Ritual of the Night and decided I didn't need to finish it just yet. Found out Gears isn't out for another week. I'm enjoying Remnant but it reminds me a lot of State of Decay. A very unpolished shell of what could be an incredible game. It's hard, but I'm also playing like an idiot, enjoying a couple drinks, and listening to old Mitch Hedburg.

That's too bad. I probably should have strongly recommended to not play the scrapper because that's what I've been telling everyone.

I wouldn't call it an up close game at all. You picked what I consider the worst starting class by far which also doesn't match your preferred play style. The hammer weapon is slow and often misses the 3rd swing, the armor is heavy so you are fat rolling, and the shotty has very low range. Since you are often facing multiple enemies, distance is needed to keep yourself out of danger.

If you aren't too far into the game, I'd start over and play the hunter or cultist. The hunter starts with the two best weapons, the hunting rifle and the sword, while the cultist starts with the best trait that fills up your powers much more quickly. Ideally, you'd start with cultist and then just buy the rifle and sword.

Even if you stick with the character, I'd buy the rifle asap and check out the sword if the hammer is too clunky feeling.

Thanks for the tips. I'm definitely gonna start over then.

[tydett]

The game is also really not designed well for single player - some bosses are pretty great, but others devolve into "let's spawn adds ad nauseum (ba dum tsh)" which really pressures a single player. I don't know if it would be possible to do a certain boss on Rhom solo without putting in a lot of hours of practice.

Also, like Ayt said, definitely not a melee game. The melee weapons are almost all actively bad, and they clip through enemies a lot due to shoddy frames (which, incidentally, also makes i-frames much more difficult to anticipate than in any Souls game). Additionally, if you're playing on a PS4 Pro, there are certain areas where the frame rate goes to **** (the swamp zone) that is really not optimized well.

I sound like a huge critic of the game, even though I finished it and enjoyed it, but it wasn't without struggle.

[Ron Swanson]

Speaking of State of Decay, is State of Decay 2 any good? I saw it was on sale in the marketplace but I haven't heard anything enough about it, positive or negative, to deem whether it's worth a purchase. I played the free beta for the first one and got bored about 2 hours into it. I'm assuming they made a more refined game with the sequel though.

[Ayt]

The game is also really not designed well for single player - some bosses are pretty great, but others devolve into "let's spawn adds ad nauseum (ba dum tsh)" which really pressures a single player. I don't know if it would be possible to do a certain boss on Rhom solo without putting in a lot of hours of practice.

Also, like Ayt said, definitely not a melee game. The melee weapons are almost all actively bad, and they clip through enemies a lot due to shoddy frames (which, incidentally, also makes i-frames much more difficult to anticipate than in any Souls game). Additionally, if you're playing on a PS4 Pro, there are certain areas where the frame rate goes to **** (the swamp zone) that is really not optimized well.

I sound like a huge critic of the game, even though I finished it and enjoyed it, but it wasn't without struggle.

They balanced the game around single player first then co-op. From what I've seen co-op can be just as crazy because they double the adds and the enemies have a lot more HP. With good strategy, it should be easier in co-op, but that isn't guaranteed.

I've had a ton of fun in single player on hard. The bosses are no joke, but they are manageable once you get the mechanics down. On several of them, I died only once before taking them down the second time. Of course, some of the harder bosses seem like a nightmare until you figure out the best way to deal with everything, but it still doesn't feel all that much different than learning boss moves in Souls games.

[ReasonablySober]

The game is also really not designed well for single player - some bosses are pretty great, but others devolve into "let's spawn adds ad nauseum (ba dum tsh)" which really pressures a single player. I don't know if it would be possible to do a certain boss on Rhom solo without putting in a lot of hours of practice.

Also, like Ayt said, definitely not a melee game. The melee weapons are almost all actively bad, and they clip through enemies a lot due to shoddy frames (which, incidentally, also makes i-frames much more difficult to anticipate than in any Souls game). Additionally, if you're playing on a PS4 Pro, there are certain areas where the frame rate goes to **** (the swamp zone) that is really not optimized well.

I sound like a huge critic of the game, even though I finished it and enjoyed it, but it wasn't without struggle.

They balanced the game around single player first then co-op. From what I've seen co-op can be just as crazy because they double the adds and the enemies have a lot more HP. With good strategy, it should be easier in co-op, but that isn't guaranteed.

I've had a ton of fun in single player on hard. The bosses are no joke, but they are manageable once you get the mechanics down. On several of them, I died only once before taking them down the second time. Of course, some of the harder bosses seem like a nightmare until you figure out the best way to deal with everything, but it still doesn't feel all that much different than learning boss moves in Souls games.

So when I started over (did the ex-cultist, made enough money to get the rifle and sword fairly quickly) I got an opening world with a rest point that seems to be incredibly difficult to get to. Is there any reason not to re-roll the world? It actually seems like a really good idea early on to grind for materials and cash if all the drops refresh.

[machu46]

Anybody try the 2K demo yet?

I don't know if you've played it by now but was catching up on the thread and saw your post. I've been spending any gaming time I have on the demo. There's a pretty fair amount of changes controls-wise and the new ball-handling system in particular is very different from 2K19. I can't go back to 19 now; the demo for 20 is unfortunately super easy but I'd rather work on mastering the new ball-handling than going back to 19 and re-learning bad habits.

[jmuelly]

Anybody try the 2K demo yet?

I don't know if you've played it by now but was catching up on the thread and saw your post. I've been spending any gaming time I have on the demo. There's a pretty fair amount of changes controls-wise and the new ball-handling system in particular is very different from 2K19. I can't go back to 19 now; the demo for 20 is unfortunately super easy but I'd rather work on mastering the new ball-handling than going back to 19 and re-learning bad habits.

So 20 appears to be a good improvement based on the demo?

[machu46]

Anybody try the 2K demo yet?

I don't know if you've played it by now but was catching up on the thread and saw your post. I've been spending any gaming time I have on the demo. There's a pretty fair amount of changes controls-wise and the new ball-handling system in particular is very different from 2K19. I can't go back to 19 now; the demo for 20 is unfortunately super easy but I'd rather work on mastering the new ball-handling than going back to 19 and re-learning bad habits.

So 20 appears to be a good improvement based on the demo?

I personally think the ball-handling and the new MyPlayer Builder for the MyCareer/Pro-Am modes alone will be worth the price of admission for me, but I play 2K literally year-round, so it doesn't take much for me.

[Ayt]

The game is also really not designed well for single player - some bosses are pretty great, but others devolve into "let's spawn adds ad nauseum (ba dum tsh)" which really pressures a single player. I don't know if it would be possible to do a certain boss on Rhom solo without putting in a lot of hours of practice.

Also, like Ayt said, definitely not a melee game. The melee weapons are almost all actively bad, and they clip through enemies a lot due to shoddy frames (which, incidentally, also makes i-frames much more difficult to anticipate than in any Souls game). Additionally, if you're playing on a PS4 Pro, there are certain areas where the frame rate goes to **** (the swamp zone) that is really not optimized well.

I sound like a huge critic of the game, even though I finished it and enjoyed it, but it wasn't without struggle.

They balanced the game around single player first then co-op. From what I've seen co-op can be just as crazy because they double the adds and the enemies have a lot more HP. With good strategy, it should be easier in co-op, but that isn't guaranteed.

I've had a ton of fun in single player on hard. The bosses are no joke, but they are manageable once you get the mechanics down. On several of them, I died only once before taking them down the second time. Of course, some of the harder bosses seem like a nightmare until you figure out the best way to deal with everything, but it still doesn't feel all that much different than learning boss moves in Souls games.

So when I started over (did the ex-cultist, made enough money to get the rifle and sword fairly quickly) I got an opening world with a rest point that seems to be incredibly difficult to get to. Is there any reason not to re-roll the world? It actually seems like a really good idea early on to grind for materials and cash if all the drops refresh.

When you enter a map, it will scale based on the average level of your gear. If you've upgraded your gear a few times and reroll, that starting map will scale up. The scaling doesn't factor your traits, what gear you are using, or your weapon mods.

That being said, there is nothing wrong with rerolling and grinding some scrap, iron, and traits. You can also get a unique item drop in the first map. I found my first ring in that area. You could just hold off upgrading your gear until you feel like you need to.

I'm generally not a fan of level scaling, but in this game it seemed fine. I had to level up regularly to stay on par with the minimum levels of the new areas. You can see your gear level in relation to the area you are in on the advanced stats tab in the inventory screen.

Also, you picked up a key card for Ward 13. If you haven't already, you can go back to the hub and go down the stairs off the side room with the two merchants. The key will unlock an area that will give you a new trait that awards bonus XP, a trait point, and a bunch of computers with lore if you care to read up on it.

[ReasonablySober]

They balanced the game around single player first then co-op. From what I've seen co-op can be just as crazy because they double the adds and the enemies have a lot more HP. With good strategy, it should be easier in co-op, but that isn't guaranteed.

I've had a ton of fun in single player on hard. The bosses are no joke, but they are manageable once you get the mechanics down. On several of them, I died only once before taking them down the second time. Of course, some of the harder bosses seem like a nightmare until you figure out the best way to deal with everything, but it still doesn't feel all that much different than learning boss moves in Souls games.

So when I started over (did the ex-cultist, made enough money to get the rifle and sword fairly quickly) I got an opening world with a rest point that seems to be incredibly difficult to get to. Is there any reason not to re-roll the world? It actually seems like a really good idea early on to grind for materials and cash if all the drops refresh.

When you enter a map, it will scale based on the average level of your gear. If you've upgraded your gear a few times and reroll, that starting map will scale up. The scaling doesn't factor your traits, what gear you are using, or your weapon mods.

That being said, there is nothing wrong with rerolling and grinding some scrap, iron, and traits. You can also get a unique item drop in the first map. I found my first ring in that area. You could just hold off upgrading your gear until you feel like you need to.

I'm generally not a fan of level scaling, but in this game it seemed fine. I had to level up regularly to stay on par with the minimum levels of the new areas. You can see your gear level in relation to the area you are in on the advanced stats tab in the inventory screen.

Also, you picked up a key card for Ward 13. If you haven't already, you can go back to the hub and go down the stairs off the side room with the two merchants. The key will unlock an area that will give you a new trait that awards bonus XP, a trait point, and a bunch of computers with lore if you care to read up on it.

Ahh thanks. All good info to know.

[tydett]

So when I started over (did the ex-cultist, made enough money to get the rifle and sword fairly quickly) I got an opening world with a rest point that seems to be incredibly difficult to get to. Is there any reason not to re-roll the world? It actually seems like a really good idea early on to grind for materials and cash if all the drops refresh.

When you enter a map, it will scale based on the average level of your gear. If you've upgraded your gear a few times and reroll, that starting map will scale up. The scaling doesn't factor your traits, what gear you are using, or your weapon mods.

That being said, there is nothing wrong with rerolling and grinding some scrap, iron, and traits. You can also get a unique item drop in the first map. I found my first ring in that area. You could just hold off upgrading your gear until you feel like you need to.

I'm generally not a fan of level scaling, but in this game it seemed fine. I had to level up regularly to stay on par with the minimum levels of the new areas. You can see your gear level in relation to the area you are in on the advanced stats tab in the inventory screen.

Also, you picked up a key card for Ward 13. If you haven't already, you can go back to the hub and go down the stairs off the side room with the two merchants. The key will unlock an area that will give you a new trait that awards bonus XP, a trait point, and a bunch of computers with lore if you care to read up on it.

Ahh thanks. All good info to know.

In addition, there's a fuse in that room. You can go downstairs, use the fuse on the power box, turn it on and insert the same key card to access the floor, then turn the power off and go behind the fan. You'll get to a room with another key that opens a locked door on the previous floor. In that room is a SMG, which I was a bigger fan of than the pistol.

[bcks fan]

Speaking of State of Decay, is State of Decay 2 any good? I saw it was on sale in the marketplace but I haven't heard anything enough about it, positive or negative, to deem whether it's worth a purchase. I played the free beta for the first one and got bored about 2 hours into it. I'm assuming they made a more refined game with the sequel though.

I put about 15-20 hours into SOD2 last summer and had a good time building up my base, going on supply runs, etc. I didn't play the original, so can't comment on the overall progression in polish or added features.

It got a little too repetitive for me and I lost interest. There's definitely a good framework for a more polished game, especially in regard to multiplayer.

[ReasonablySober]

Watch on YouTube

Holy ****.

[jschligs]

**** YES! I am incredibly hyped for this game! I don't think I've been this excited for anything in a long, long time.

This is what developers should be working on, not the 15th CoD or whatever.

[Superfito]

I'm only a few hours into Control, but it's off to quite a start. I would recommend it for anyone that enjoys single player experiences. Unfortunately it's an Epic store exclusive on PC... however with ray tracing...wow.

The Twin Peaks / Max Payne vibe is really a pleasant surprise.

[ReasonablySober]

Remnant might just be too difficult for me. Can't get past the 2nd area in the sewers. The dickheads with the swords show up and wreck me. I can get one if he's alone, but then he shows up with a bunch of little bastards and I'm dead in seconds.

[ReasonablySober]

Remnant might just be too difficult for me. Can't get past the 2nd area in the sewers. The dickheads with the swords show up and wreck me. I can get one if he's alone, but then he shows up with a bunch of little bastards and I'm dead in seconds.

Pretty easily got past the sewers once I went slow as hell. Except then I had Gorefist waiting for me and after about 20 attempts I put the game away, maybe forever. The mobs that show up are ridiculous. I wouldn't have a huge problem with it if the controls and animation were precise, ala Soulsborne or Nioh. But it's here that the $40 digital only shows its age.

Anyway, returned to Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night, and I'm in full-on collect mode. Playtime sits around 40 hours, but I've got only 55% of the items, 43% quests, 4% of the techniques (?!), and almost universally below 50% of the gear. I'm laying waste, though. The final two bosses were pushovers. Gonna collect all the shards, kill the secret optional bosses, then start a NG+ or do some boss rush.

GOTY.

[Ron Swanson]

Finally finished my playthrough of Far Cry 5 (I always wanna do all the side quests and collectibles before completing the story missions). Incredible looking game, same fun gameplay with plenty of stuff to do, and one of the worst stories in a AAA title ever. Seriously, if I could have just played the entire game without doing a single story mission, I would.