What video game are you playing?

[Emily Lake]

There's a thread similar to this in a different venue, wherein I frequently find interesting games to add to my own collection.

At present, I'm playing through the Dishonored set. I finished up Dishonored, The Knife of Dunwall, and The Brigmore Witches this weekend, and started Dishonored 2. I've managed shadow in all of them, but for the life of me I can't make it through Dishonored at Ghost. Someone somewhere always accidentally dies somehow. After I finish up Dishonored 2, I'll aim for super-stealthy no-kill in Death of the Outsider. Sometime next year I'll probably replay them all with lots of blood and mayhem. Apparently there's a special trophy for killing people in very creative ways... including causing 5 unintentional suicides!

Next up in my list is either going to be Prey or Far Cry 5. Haven't decided which. I'm kinda cheap though, so probably Prey, rather than spending full fare on Far Cry 5.

 

[Tom Sawyer]

I've been playing Injustice 2, which is basically Mortal Kombat with superheroes, so you get to play as Superman and Batman and stuff. It's a lot of fun and a very well designed fighting game.

 

[rousseau]

Really weird one but I can't remember it's name. Players are in this unfathomably large universe whose origin no one knows, and my character has to wake up every day and sit at a computer so he doesn't die.

Sometimes my character drinks beer to pass the time.

 

[bigfield]

Really weird one but I can't remember it's name. Players are in this unfathomably large universe whose origin no one knows, and my character has to wake up every day and sit at a computer so he doesn't die.

Sometimes my character drinks beer to pass the time.

https://www.reddit.com/r/outside

 

[Terrell]

Elder Scrolls V Skyrim with a shitload of mods.

Some DLC size like Qaxe Questorium, Summerset Isles, Phenderix Magic World, New Lands & Quest normal edition. Haven't done Falskaar, Beyond Skyrim Bruma, Moonpath to Elsweyr yet, and I have never been able to find Wyrmstooth, though I've heard about it. Others add additional content like various spell packages Better Magic, Advanced Destruction, Lost Grimoire, Forgotten Magic Redone, Useful Alteration, Magical Utilities, Apocalypse, More Apocalypse & Spell Research.

Survival mods like Frostfall (Hypothermia), iNeed Food Water & Sleep, and Repel Rain. Crafting mods like Complete Alchemy & Cooking Overhaul, Staff Enchanting Overhaul (staves are still of little use on a high level character), Complete Crafting Overhaul Redone. ASIS so that all NPCs, including enemies, have every perk they're eligible for. High Level enemies, tougher variants of all enemies, most enemies level with player to L60, others level with player forever. Darker Dungeons.

Hearthfire stewards; more eligible NPCs to run Lakeview Manor, Windstad Manor, and Heljarchen Hall. Dunmer Female character Storm Mage. Mods for looks like Ethereal Elven Project, BodySlide, Cuter Brelyna, all Female Housecarls, and skimpy armor mods. Lydia Replacer UUNP.

Can't wait for TES 6, also those 2 games BGS says will come before it.

Fallout 4.

 

[Emily Lake]

Elder Scrolls V Skyrim with a shitload of mods.

Some DLC size like Qaxe Questorium, Summerset Isles, Phenderix Magic World, New Lands & Quest normal edition. Haven't done Falskaar, Beyond Skyrim Bruma, Moonpath to Elsweyr yet, and I have never been able to find Wyrmstooth, though I've heard about it. Others add additional content like various spell packages Better Magic, Advanced Destruction, Lost Grimoire, Forgotten Magic Redone, Useful Alteration, Magical Utilities, Apocalypse, More Apocalypse & Spell Research.

Survival mods like Frostfall (Hypothermia), iNeed Food Water & Sleep, and Repel Rain. Crafting mods like Complete Alchemy & Cooking Overhaul, Staff Enchanting Overhaul (staves are still of little use on a high level character), Complete Crafting Overhaul Redone. ASIS so that all NPCs, including enemies, have every perk they're eligible for. High Level enemies, tougher variants of all enemies, most enemies level with player to L60, others level with player forever. Darker Dungeons.

Hearthfire stewards; more eligible NPCs to run Lakeview Manor, Windstad Manor, and Heljarchen Hall. Dunmer Female character Storm Mage. Mods for looks like Ethereal Elven Project, BodySlide, Cuter Brelyna, all Female Housecarls, and skimpy armor mods. Lydia Replacer UUNP.

One of these days I'm going to have to just bite the bullet and play Skyrim on PC instead of console. At least Sony now allows at least some mods, even if a lot of the really cool stuff can't happen. I still end up going back and playing more Skyrim about once a year or so. Although I did break the gameplay when Sony first started allowing mods... one of them levels up way too quick and some of the cheats really overdo it.

Can't wait for TES 6, also those 2 games BGS says will come before it.

I just want a date for TES6, so I know how long I'm gonna be waiting. I tried TES Online... and that was seriously disappointing. I really dislike having all those random people running around in my way, it destroys the immersion. Plus I got really pissed off when I spent hours grinding so I could finally get a house, and I spent more time grinding so I could buy some furniture... only to find out that the chests and dressers that I bought don't hold stuff and are only decorative. Seriously, WTF Bethesda! The environment is nice, it's a huge world... why the hell did you go break it? Seems like it should take less processing power on their servers to simply NOT render other players unless you've paired up with them. There's a reason I never got into WoW. Don't break one of my favorite games by trying to force me into one of my least favorite formats. Sheesh.

Fallout 4.

Well of course. The "Simple Green" Mods make a huge difference for me - I loved the game, but it was soooooo depressing. I get that it's post-apocalyptic and all... but the designers clearly haven't been paying attention to the areas around Chernobyl. Plants are pretty resilient and there's no need for the entire world to be shades of brown. Having more trees and some green grass makes it way more palatable and enjoyable to me.

 

[Terrell]

There are more mods for Skyrim Legendary Edition than for Skyrim Special Edition available on Nexus. When it comes to both Elder Scrolls & Fallout games don't bother with consoles. Get the PC version & a free Nexus account. You're going to have access to more & better modding for said games that way. Keep an eye for when it goes on sale if it's not already cheap.

You can also find plenty of mods there for Fallout 4, Fallout 3, Fallout New Vegas, and TES 4 Oblivion. Many, if not most mods, will require you to have Skyrim Script Extender, all DLCs and the Unofficial Skyrim Legendary Edition Patch. Some mods require other mods to work as well. Mod Organizer is the best mod manager program, in my opinion for TES 4, TES 5, Fallout 3, & Fallout New Vegas. Fallout 4 you'll need Mod Organizer 2, I hear it also works for Skyrim SE, but requires some "massaging" for SSE.

Assuming Todd Howard & Pete Hines are telling the truth to us about 2 major games before TES 6 I wouldn't expect TES 6 before 2024 give or take. Now if they're B.S.ing us to keep expectations low, good luck with that, then don't be surprised if it's released before then. I don't mind there being 2 games before TES 6 if they're good games and are of a similar nature to Fallout & Elder Scrolls including mods. I never bothered with TES Online. I'm not really interested in MMOs I did like Earth & Beyond when it existed but it could have been way better. I'm looking at you EA. I also tried Vendetta, didn't like it at all, it's a PITA when you're just trying to do trade runs in a pretty poorly equipped ship to be attacked by other players waiting in ambush. #SavePlayer1.

If one of them is the rumored Starfield game that might be interesting depending on how it's done. If it's a cross between Wing Commander, but with ships you have to acquire or build systems & weapons for & Fallout 4 for your character when not in space that might be very interesting. I'm not sure whether or not to believe that TES 6 isn't sooner than that and they're trying to lower expectations on when the game will come. They did deny they were working on Fallout 4 until the last minute.

 

[Underseer]

Honestly, I'm not as into video games as I used to be. I still play way too much Civilization (the expansion is pretty cool), but more and more I'm having trouble staying interested in any other game.

 

[Patooka]

This seems to be the thread to ask: does anyone else suffer from absurdly long load times in Fallout 4? Any time I load a game and it is outside in Boston, I can literally leave the room and make myself a cup of coffee whilst waiting. One of the reasons I still prefer New Vegas.

 

[Malintent]

7 Days to Die is the best zombie apocalypse procedurally generated open-world survival game available today. I've played the crap out of it.. solo and with friends on LAN and remotely. Tons of continued playability, and replayability with extensive game and world generation options. Deep crafting and building systems. Zombies have distinct behaviors and animations that are very clever (for example, all the zombies have their own peculiar gate - way they walk.. which cleverly makes headshots challenging). PvP supported as well... compete for resources or cooperate for resources to survive, a la walking dead.

This is also one of the only games that, even after hundreds of hours of playtime, I still get a bump scare from that unexpected zombie right behind me as I turn around... or that bit of trepidation as I pop open the hatch from my underground base, hoping the coast is clear.

 

[Malintent]

Anyone playing any VR games? People are talking about Fallout 4 here... there is a VR version of Fallout 4... anyone with any experience want to talk about it?

For VR, I have been coding my own games / experiences using Unreal Engine. Easier than it sounds if you have programming experience.

Arizona Sunshine may be my favorite commercial VR game right now.

One of "The Lab" mini games is very cool and my go-to for introducing people to VR. Think Asteroids, in 3D, where the controller in your hand is the ship, and the play area is the space all around you.

 

[Emily Lake]

Assuming Todd Howard & Pete Hines are telling the truth to us about 2 major games before TES 6 I wouldn't expect TES 6 before 2024 give or take.

Hmm. When was the "2 games first" bit from? My very cursory search seems to put that around March or so of 2017 (Link, but probably not the only reference). Since then they've already released Prey, although I don't know if that's one of the "big releases" they were talking about. They also released a couple of others since then, but I don't really know if Evil Within and Wolfenstein are particularly big endeavors for them. I suspect the newest Dishonored release is really more akin to a DLC, even though it was sold as a completely separate game - it's similar in size to Knife of Dunwall or Witches of Brigmore.

I'd be really happy if they come out with another open-world RPG-style game like Fallout or Elder Scrolls. The outer space market is pretty wide open for that, given Mass Effect: Andromeda's spectacular failure-to-deliver and No Man's Sky's slow, plodding, story-less nature. I could totally get behind an "aliens and spaceships" version of Elder Scrolls. Oooh - Westworld would be a fantastic basis for a game - westerns with good guys and bad guys and robots! Red Dead Redemption sounded like it would hit the same sweet spot as TES/FO, but it missed the mark. Mostly just a really fidgety engine and severely slow story.

I've been a fan of Bioware for a while - Dragon Age and Mass Effect were both fantastic stories with engaging characters... but they shit the bed so bad with Andromeda that I wouldn't be surprised if Bethesda made a plan to usurp the Mass Effect fan-base.

But this is all speculation, so I guess I'll just have to wait and see!

 

[Emily Lake]

This seems to be the thread to ask: does anyone else suffer from absurdly long load times in Fallout 4? Any time I load a game and it is outside in Boston, I can literally leave the room and make myself a cup of coffee whilst waiting. One of the reasons I still prefer New Vegas.

Yes.

Same was true for Skyrim though, as well. There's amod for Fallout called "Insignificant Object Remover" that seems to help - it gets rid of a lot of the clutter that takes rendering time, but doesn't really contribute much. This is way outside of my sphere of knowledge, but I *think* it does something like making the clutter (gravel, grass, broken stuff, etc.) hollow or something so it takes less "space" in processing. But even with that... loads are still slow. I almost never fast-travel for that reason.

I thin it has something to do with the game engine itself, because FO NV and Oblivion both had significantly faster load times and fast travel times. I swear, sometimes it seems like it's faster to walk while overburdened than to fast travel in Skyrim.

 

[Tom Sawyer]

I've been a fan of Bioware for a while - Dragon Age and Mass Effect were both fantastic stories with engaging characters... but they shit the bed so bad with Andromeda that I wouldn't be surprised if Bethesda made a plan to usurp the Mass Effect fan-base.

Oh ya, Andromeda was horrid. I tried SO hard to like it and to get into it, but I just couldn't make myself do it. Poorly designed in pretty much every aspect of gameplay.

 

[Emily Lake]

I've been a fan of Bioware for a while - Dragon Age and Mass Effect were both fantastic stories with engaging characters... but they shit the bed so bad with Andromeda that I wouldn't be surprised if Bethesda made a plan to usurp the Mass Effect fan-base.

Oh ya, Andromeda was horrid. I tried SO hard to like it and to get into it, but I just couldn't make myself do it. Poorly designed in pretty much every aspect of gameplay.

It was pretty. That was about it.

It was a real let down, especially because the story was so... blah. The botox faces I could get around... it was the fact that it had no heart. All the other ME games had such a strong and compelling story to them that all the rest didn't matter. Driving around on really boring planets trying to find artifacts, "mining" planets for ore... that was dull... but the story was just so incredibly good and the characters so well acted, and there was such fantastic character growth and depth that the rest didn't matter.

Andromeda was just... I don't know what happened there. Bioware just kinda shit the bed. Did Bioware not know what their secret sauce was? Were they unaware of why ME was so popular and had such a strong fan base? I still don't know how they could have got it so wrong. Because yeah, like you I really, really tried to like it. I played it through once... and I haven't gone back. And since they've announced that they are not going to release any DLCs for it... I don't know if I ever will.

 

[Patooka]

This seems to be the thread to ask: does anyone else suffer from absurdly long load times in Fallout 4? Any time I load a game and it is outside in Boston, I can literally leave the room and make myself a cup of coffee whilst waiting. One of the reasons I still prefer New Vegas.

Yes.

Same was true for Skyrim though, as well. There's amod for Fallout called "Insignificant Object Remover" that seems to help - it gets rid of a lot of the clutter that takes rendering time, but doesn't really contribute much. This is way outside of my sphere of knowledge, but I *think* it does something like making the clutter (gravel, grass, broken stuff, etc.) hollow or something so it takes less "space" in processing. But even with that... loads are still slow. I almost never fast-travel for that reason.

I thin it has something to do with the game engine itself, because FO NV and Oblivion both had significantly faster load times and fast travel times. I swear, sometimes it seems like it's faster to walk while overburdened than to fast travel in Skyrim.

Didn't have that much of an issue with Skryim. With fallout 4, I turned off vsync, dialed down LOD, settings down to minimum and it was still painful. The only other piece of advice I received was buy a SSD, which coupled with the games' lack of 4:3 monitor support are two big marks against what was laughingly promoted as a finished product. I will look up that mod, though, thanks

 

[Emily Lake]

This seems to be the thread to ask: does anyone else suffer from absurdly long load times in Fallout 4? Any time I load a game and it is outside in Boston, I can literally leave the room and make myself a cup of coffee whilst waiting. One of the reasons I still prefer New Vegas.

Yes.

Same was true for Skyrim though, as well. There's amod for Fallout called "Insignificant Object Remover" that seems to help - it gets rid of a lot of the clutter that takes rendering time, but doesn't really contribute much. This is way outside of my sphere of knowledge, but I *think* it does something like making the clutter (gravel, grass, broken stuff, etc.) hollow or something so it takes less "space" in processing. But even with that... loads are still slow. I almost never fast-travel for that reason.

I thin it has something to do with the game engine itself, because FO NV and Oblivion both had significantly faster load times and fast travel times. I swear, sometimes it seems like it's faster to walk while overburdened than to fast travel in Skyrim.

Didn't have that much of an issue with Skryim. With fallout 4, I turned off vsync, dialed down LOD, settings down to minimum and it was still painful. The only other piece of advice I received was buy a SSD, which coupled with the games' lack of 4:3 monitor support are two big marks against what was laughingly promoted as a finished product. I will look up that mod, though, thanks

May not make a difference most of your post was far more technical than I can hack! I don't even know what most of those things are. I understood 4:3... and that was about it!

 

[Patooka]

SSD solid state drive
vsync vertical sync. I don't know the technical details, but turning it off improves performance at a cost of presentation. I remember playing an atari 2600 as a kid, so graphics for me are not the be all and end all of a game
LOD the distance in the game when items "pop up" as you get near them.

There was a similar thread a while back. And my answer is the same X-Piratez. The guy who designed the mod updated it in December and I'm loving it. The original X-com/Ufo Enemy Unkown is abandonware so the game is essentially free. Here is an RPS article reviewing it:
https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2016/03/30/x-piratez-xcom-mod/
and it has become a lot more detailed since.

The two other games I'm playing are Metro 2033 and Dying Light. Metro is a good game, well designed and great story, but if you have played any of the S.T.A.L.K.E.R games, don't bother. You will resent the linear storyline of the game, reduced choice in customization and lack of open-ness. I like Dying Light. It's another zombie survival game, but with two big differences; the parkour element is done pretty will and the day/night cycle really matters. Very enjoyable.

 

[J842P]

For loading times, the single most effective hardware change I've found is to switch to SSDs.

 

[braces_for_impact]

CIvilization 6, Homeworld Remastered collection (God I love this game), I just snagged Baldur's Gate Remastered edition, Endless Space 2, and I just got Stellaris although I haven't played it yet, since it's on sale at Steam.