What video games have you been playing? ΚΔ (24)? More like ΚΔ,Ζ,ΤΞΕ!

[Birdjaguar]

I think I may go back to letting the kids help in the medical tents. If my settlement is going to die anyway at least I can do it with a clear conscience

Yes, pixels have feelings too....

 

[Voidwalkin]

If any Warband enjoyers have yet to try Bannerlord, I recommend giving it a go. TW didn't live up to some of their hype, but its battle system is, IMO, deeper. You can do more with formations in the field, sieges are improved upon, and the character skill tree allows for more role play IMO.

I like the skill tree, clan and army system much better. It rewards development. My previous character hand developed his family into extremely capable party leaders I kept in my army permanently, each with impactful medical and logistical capabilities on the strategic level. My companions, and my character, had savage personal fighting prowess, and nicely in Bannerlord, this gives stat boosts to troop formations you create and assign them to captaincy of on the tactical battlefield. Your training is consequently more impactful than simply leveling trainer, quickly going top tier and calling it a day, like Warband. A force with capable captains with well planned bonuses can potentially overcome more vaunted units. Jeremus, I love ya, but you're not the new meta.

Cultures are interesting, too. I usually stick with Vlandia, inspired by the Normans of Sicily, but they're all well-thought IMO. Somehow, even the clearly ERE inspired, distinctly weighty pre-Manzikert Rhomaioi Imperials are earning a tinge of regret as I destroy their empire, despite my harsh anti-Roman bias. I have never supported any of them in 15+ campaigns, but I'm tempted to, and in my own RP, the first thing my current character has done after being elected Khuzait Khan(you can now become ruler, potentially, of an existing kingdom, btw) was to consciously assimilate into Imperial culture in attempt to draw legitimacy for planned conquest of said Empire, even changing his own name, Hellenizing it, for the effort.

 

[Smellincoffee]

Halfway through Fall in Fields of Mistria. Unlocked the second mines quest. Not sure of all the needed artifiacts, but I'm positive about sapphire and I've saved instances of every item I've found in those caves so I should be able to wipe it out early.




Someone needs to introduce this kid to Civilization 6.

 

[Sommerswerd]

Yes, pixels have feelings too....

Have you seen Free Guy yet? Ruins the ability to enjoy video games... reminds me of "Photons, be Free" in Star Trek VOY.

 

[Arakhor]

I don't play GTA or the like, but then I don't tend to be evil in games anyway.

(Other than Star Wars or Mass Effect, but that's part of the fun.)

 

[bene_legionary]

I’ve been trying to get Freespace 2 working on my Mac. The remastered graphics by the community are awesome, but I might struggle to enjoy it if I can’t get my Logitech joystick to connect

 

[Snowygerry]

I don't play GTA or the like, but then I don't tend to be evil in games anyway.

(Other than Star Wars or Mass Effect, but that's part of the fun.)

I like to play a peaceful GTA game now and again, take a taxi ride and see if I make it to my destination, or steal a a sports plane and try to make a perfect landing on the horse race track, invite people to a friendly game of golf,

but usually you get shot anyway

 

[Clubber Lang]

 

[Smellincoffee]

I like to play a peaceful GTA game now and again, take a taxi ride and see if I make it to my destination, or steal a a sports plane and try to make a perfect landing on the horse race track, invite people to a friendly game of golf,

but usually you get shot anyway

For years my favorite way to listen to podcasts was to get them set up in winamp, then launch GTA Vice City and listen while playing taxi.

 

[Strong Reaction]

If any Warband enjoyers have yet to try Bannerlord, I recommend giving it a go. TW didn't live up to some of their hype, but its battle system is, IMO, deeper. You can do more with formations in the field, sieges are improved upon, and the character skill tree allows for more role play IMO.

I like the skill tree, clan and army system much better. It rewards development. My previous character hand developed his family into extremely capable party leaders I kept in my army permanently, each with impactful medical and logistical capabilities on the strategic level. My companions, and my character, had savage personal fighting prowess, and nicely in Bannerlord, this gives stat boosts to troop formations you create and assign them to captaincy of on the tactical battlefield. Your training is consequently more impactful than simply leveling trainer, quickly going top tier and calling it a day, like Warband. A force with capable captains with well planned bonuses can potentially overcome more vaunted units. Jeremus, I love ya, but you're not the new meta.

Cultures are interesting, too. I usually stick with Vlandia, inspired by the Normans of Sicily, but they're all well-thought IMO. Somehow, even the clearly ERE inspired, distinctly weighty pre-Manzikert Rhomaioi Imperials are earning a tinge of regret as I destroy their empire, despite my harsh anti-Roman bias. I have never supported any of them in 15+ campaigns, but I'm tempted to, and in my own RP, the first thing my current character has done after being elected Khuzait Khan(you can now become ruler, potentially, of an existing kingdom, btw) was to consciously assimilate into Imperial culture in attempt to draw legitimacy for planned conquest of said Empire, even changing his own name, Hellenizing it, for the effort.

The Battle engine is still awesome, which is the heart of the game, but I cant say the sum of all the parts is awesome. I think Taleworlds was wildly over ambitious which gives us too many new features that aren't fully fleshed out, think jack of all trades master of none. I think they have a manpower issue, as in not enough game designers/ personnel to complete the vision of the game they have. That being said I have sunk a lot of hours into that game and I am in the process of downloading the current patch and will start a new game soon. In the end I'll always support innovative Indie designers over their triple a counterparts.

 

[Kyriakos]

The world in 1871:

It's just after the Franco-Prussian war, but France already had been reduced to nothing due to supporting Savoy in trying to get Sardinia back. That war (on one side France and Savoy, on the other myself, Spain and my italian sphere, which is Papal States and Tuscany and Sardinia) started literally days after I had declared against the OE so as to fulfill the Megale Idea and annex western Anatolia. So it was quite frustrating. But in the end it didn't matter because my navy defeated France (no surprise there, I have modern ships) and although ultimately France overrun northern Italy (this cost us Modena being released at Tuscany's expence- it had annexed it in a previous war against Savoy) and then Spain being overrun (this ended with white peace), I allied Austria-Hungary, they entered the war and obliterated everything (partly because France sent its armies in Algeria and then couldn't move them back due to the blockade).

I am currently 4 in the major power list. Curiously CSA not only survived but now became the 8th great power (this possibly won't last, but who knows) while US is 5. I did open diplomatic relations with the CSA, since I don't want the US to become out of control (though Britain and Germany already are, and Russia can be).

 

[Synobun]

The world in 1871:

View attachment 700032

It's just after the Franco-Prussian war, but France already had been reduced to nothing due to supporting Savoy in trying to get Sardinia back. That war (on one side France and Savoy, on the other myself, Spain and my italian sphere, which is Papal States and Tuscany and Sardinia) started literally days after I had declared against the OE so as to fulfill the Megale Idea and annex western Anatolia. So it was quite frustrating. But in the end it didn't matter because my navy defeated France (no surprise there, I have modern ships) and although ultimately France overrun northern Italy (this cost us Modena being released at Tuscany's expence- it had annexed it in a previous war against Savoy) and then Spain being overrun (this ended with white peace), I allied Austria-Hungary, they entered the war and obliterated everything (partly because France sent its armies in Algeria and then couldn't move them back due to the blockade).

I am currently 4 in the major power list. Curiously CSA not only survived but now became the 8th great power (this possibly won't last, but who knows) while US is 5. I did open diplomatic relations with the CSA, since I don't want the US to become out of control (though Britain and Germany already are, and Russia can be).

I really appreciate that you post every week that you'll never play this game again because you'd rather do literally anything else, and then you post a new screenshot days later.

 

[Kyriakos]

I really appreciate that you post every week that you'll never play this game again because you'd rather do literally anything else, and then you post a new screenshot days later.

Yes. It is pretty awful.
Then again I hadn't played this stupid game for some time, before the current binge.

 

[Voidwalkin]

My current Bannerlord run has been fun. Fun internal RP.

My character is of multicultural origins, from a city at a cultural borderland of four nations, and a proto-capitalist, who still understands the links between political, economic and military power in his medieval world. He is foremost master of the social dynamics of medieval economies. Though not Khuzait, he rose through their ranks, accepted, as he's a successful nomadic pastoralist, by the loosely affiliated steppe tribes altogether less concerned with identity than sedentary peoples(as was usually true, historically)

I'm currently locked in a war with the Imperials after unexpectedly becoming Khan and having the world unite against me.... for no obvious reason. I'm barely resisting writing an even longer AAR, because I'm a total nerd, but I'm effectively becoming Roman Emperor, albeit only possible due to late Roman decadence. My character is fully utilizing his knowledge of their weaknesses, gained from his very international life and upbringing. Particularly, his knowledge of just how shockingly transactional the typical late-Roman magnates relationship to power is. They'll happily backstab one another in the Imperial palace, rather than unite, even as a more sophisticated, politically agile and far more economically powerful version of Attila the Hun* lays siege outside the walls, demanding Honoria and the throne.

Their defeats are decisive simply because I get opportunities to speak to the defeated magnates, buying their loyalty and fiefdoms wholesale, quite easily, despite averaging a million denars per clan. My economic position is overwhelmingly powerful, with 40k income per diem from Aserai fiefs alone, and has been for years. Battle loot on top and trade skill of 312, even without smithing(house rule), I can afford to change the strategic picture.

My nomadic army is very underwhelming, though. Vaunted nomads are overrated. Can't stack as many bonuses on the control skill tree. Far less powerful, particularly in sieges, and even in the field, than my various Western armies, especially the ones led by wild, sadistic characters. I've had to have my Emperor found LEGIO XI ORTYSIUM, consistenting mostly of real legion men recruited after their defeat, and attrition in sieges is still very high, and outright failure to capture a breach common.

*i actually favor the thinking that ERE ruler Marcian order Atttila's death, and they weren't entirely selfish. Marcian is a good example of an able leader who got sick and dropped dead unceremoniously that wouldve otherwise been far more historically impactful.

 

[EgonSpengler]

Civ VI, The Long Dark, They Are Billions, Portal 2, Path of Exile, and Wolfenstein: The New Order can all $@#% my &%#@.

In other news, Civilization VII looks promising.

 

[Sommerswerd]

Civ VI, The Long Dark, They Are Billions, Portal 2, Path of Exile, and Wolfenstein: The New Order can all $@#% my &%#@.

WTH? What happened?

 

[EgonSpengler]

WTH? What happened?

Nuthin'. I'm just sick of 'em.

 

[Smellincoffee]

In Fields of Mistria, I managed to get to level 40 of the mines and got a new fetch-quest. I have two items already, so I'm hunting for a rare fish and a rarer weed. In Stardew Valley, I got the Full House achievement after Penny wanted another baby, and I finally took first place at the Grange contest. I was trying to do it without consulting the wiki. The iridum peach and iridium wine definitely helped, I'm sure. I'd been saving gold-level produce all year (had a mix of spring, summer, and fall crops) in hopes of taking first from Pierre for once.

 

[Quintillus]

Sid Meier's Civilization VI, playing as Victoria of England in the Age of Steam (1802), on a Huge map with 16 civilizations, just like on huge maps in Civ III back in the day. Only 12 civs by default on huge Civ VI maps? Balderdash!

I decided from the outset to pursue a cultural victory, but with 15 competitors, there is lots of competition. Well, 14 competitors - most lands were claimed quickly, leading to more warlike decisions by an AIs that found little good land left for settling in earlier eras than normal. This lead to the Maori conquering Hungary before I'd even discovered their continent; I only know who they conquered from the city names.

I played peacefully for many eras, and claimed much land via my CxxxxxC city spacing. This didn't lead to immediate domination; the Maya were stronger on my continent, and the Maori and Vietnam were equals on the other continent, and in some ways such as science superior. But as it's now mid-late game those cities with lots of room to grow are world-class.

The best of all is Manchester, the beating heart of the Industrial Revolution, with a whopping 171 production per turn. The Manchester theater district is also world-class, and part of a cluster of four theater and three entertainment districts; its base cultural production is 24 culture per turn, and Manchester by itself out-cultures Russia, Japan, and Indonesia. It's the largest city in the world, at size 21, and has fertile farmland that can support an even larger population. The Taj Mahal and the Ruhr Valley are its wonders.

Leeds is the financial capital, providing 111 gold per turn to the Treasury, thanks to a great commercial-shipping centre, anchored by the Great Lighthouse and two nearby Royal Navy dockyards. London leads our realm in the sciences, is home to one of our two global corporations, Sid's Choice Turtles Unlimited, and is working on building the West End. Newcastle has managed to surpass even Manchester in cultural production and has the largest arena in the Premier League in the Colosseum. Sheffield is the newest of the top five cities but second only to Manchester in production, and calls itself the Holy Grail city, an accurate moniker ever since the deal of the century, when Vietnam traded us the Holy Grail itself, which is now housed at Sheffield's local wonder, Mont St. Michel.

At a macro level, we're godless atheists. This wasn't so much intentional as a side effect of our priorities; I never built a Holy Site district, so my original cities have never generated any faith. Our rivals invest in the afterlife; we invest in this life. But lately, we finally have generated some faith in new lands, as we've conquered most of the Gallic Empire. This started as intending to conquer one city, but when the Gauls failed to defeat any of our units, we figured why not try for another, and the cycle has repeated itself. It's just as well for us though, as those new lands are where we have our only sources of coal and niter.

At this point we're the crowd favorite for winning a cultural victory, but it isn't in the books. Rome has decent tourism as well, and Vietnam is our top cultural rival. Meanwhile, the Maori have already racked up 12 diplomatic victory points, and though we've opened new universities and are now producing as much science as anyone, the Maya are still ahead of us scientifically, with Vietnam tied.

The Industrial Age has been our Heroic Age, and it has lived up to that. Everything has been running in top gear, often literally as industrialization progresses. We need 162 era score to avoid a dark age and 176 to progress to a golden age, and already have 234, with approximately 14 turns to go. Even our neighbors love us - Bordeaux recently joined us, Lyon will soon, and some even dream of converting Paris to our cause someday.

 

[Kyriakos]

Nuthin'. I'm just sick of 'em.

Welcome to the club
I saw a trailer and some let's plays of CivVII. If the computer can run it, I might try it.