What video games have you been playing? ΚΔ (24)? More like ΚΔ,Ζ,ΤΞΕ!
- Thread starter Kyriakos
- Start date
Voidwalkin
Emperor
- Joined
- Jun 12, 2024
- Messages
- 1,184
Fortify restoration glitch+gloves of the pugilist from the Riften sewers.
IIRC you can get respectable unarmed dmg without fortify restoration, just with max skill enchanting and alchemy on normal rings, gloves and necklaces.
IIRC you can get respectable unarmed dmg without fortify restoration, just with max skill enchanting and alchemy on normal rings, gloves and necklaces.
^Which platform did you play The Last of Us on? And if it was on PC, with a controller or keyboard + mouse?
I've not played it on any platform yet, largely because for so long it was PS3/PS4 exclusive. Liked the TV series though, and considered picking up the PC version, which I see has good recent reviews after more modest initial reviews. But the "controller recommended" aspect has given me pause. I could play it with my Steam Controller, but rarely find controllers to be preferable either from a control or ergonomic standpoint.
-------
I've been re-playing Suzerain, the original campaign as Sordland. It's my favorite political game, where you play as the new president of an illiberal democracy experiencing a recession, whose founding father still looms large over the public consciousness, though he has largely retired. My first play-through went horribly, I tried to solve all the problems and go very middle-of-the-road, and the result was that I solved very few problems and very few people liked me.
This time, I had three goals. One, improve the economy via capitalist means (the first time, the economy eventually sort-of improved, but only along with a major debt crisis). Two, pass some constitutional reforms to make the democracy less illiberal (the first time, my reforms failed by one vote). Three, avoid losing any potential external wars, either by avoiding them through diplomacy or deterrence, or having a strong enough military structure and/or alliances to not lose.
It's been going much better with that narrower focus. It didn't happen instantly, but the recession is over, and there's only a minor budget deficit. Constitutional reforms passed by overwhelming majorities, and while they were less sweeping than what I'd aimed for the first time around, some progress is better than none. Whether I can make it to the end of the term without any external conflicts is still in question, but my military is considerably stronger than last time, and I made two alliances this time, versus zero last time.
Not that it's a utopian landscape. Healthcare services are not as good as they had been, educational reforms have been largely unsuccessful, and my family life has suffered. Potentially destabilizing relations with ethnic and religious minorities (think Kurds in Turkey) are for the time being stable, but that doesn't mean they will stay that way. Conservatives agreed to the proposed constitutional changes, but it may well not be as easy to pass the next set of proposed reforms, which would codify many more women's rights.
And there are a few other items at play that I can't mention due to them being spoilers. It's not all policy either, there are a lot of interpersonal relationships and dialog, and that's what makes it really stand out from a spreadsheets-and-numbers game.
I still have a while to go in the campaign, though I'm in the latter parts, and will likely play it again in 2026. So far I've played it more or less as I would in reality both times, albeit less ambitious the second go-round. But should I play it again, I will likely role-play another ideological perspective to see how that goes. Maybe I'll go the Communist route, or maybe I'll walk back from my predecessor's private-market reforms, while not going Communist, but following in the footsteps of the Republic's founder. So far I've largely avoided the more nationalist policies - think the National Front in Le Pen in France - but that's a route that could be leaned into as well.
I've not played it on any platform yet, largely because for so long it was PS3/PS4 exclusive. Liked the TV series though, and considered picking up the PC version, which I see has good recent reviews after more modest initial reviews. But the "controller recommended" aspect has given me pause. I could play it with my Steam Controller, but rarely find controllers to be preferable either from a control or ergonomic standpoint.
-------
I've been re-playing Suzerain, the original campaign as Sordland. It's my favorite political game, where you play as the new president of an illiberal democracy experiencing a recession, whose founding father still looms large over the public consciousness, though he has largely retired. My first play-through went horribly, I tried to solve all the problems and go very middle-of-the-road, and the result was that I solved very few problems and very few people liked me.
This time, I had three goals. One, improve the economy via capitalist means (the first time, the economy eventually sort-of improved, but only along with a major debt crisis). Two, pass some constitutional reforms to make the democracy less illiberal (the first time, my reforms failed by one vote). Three, avoid losing any potential external wars, either by avoiding them through diplomacy or deterrence, or having a strong enough military structure and/or alliances to not lose.
It's been going much better with that narrower focus. It didn't happen instantly, but the recession is over, and there's only a minor budget deficit. Constitutional reforms passed by overwhelming majorities, and while they were less sweeping than what I'd aimed for the first time around, some progress is better than none. Whether I can make it to the end of the term without any external conflicts is still in question, but my military is considerably stronger than last time, and I made two alliances this time, versus zero last time.
Not that it's a utopian landscape. Healthcare services are not as good as they had been, educational reforms have been largely unsuccessful, and my family life has suffered. Potentially destabilizing relations with ethnic and religious minorities (think Kurds in Turkey) are for the time being stable, but that doesn't mean they will stay that way. Conservatives agreed to the proposed constitutional changes, but it may well not be as easy to pass the next set of proposed reforms, which would codify many more women's rights.
And there are a few other items at play that I can't mention due to them being spoilers. It's not all policy either, there are a lot of interpersonal relationships and dialog, and that's what makes it really stand out from a spreadsheets-and-numbers game.
I still have a while to go in the campaign, though I'm in the latter parts, and will likely play it again in 2026. So far I've played it more or less as I would in reality both times, albeit less ambitious the second go-round. But should I play it again, I will likely role-play another ideological perspective to see how that goes. Maybe I'll go the Communist route, or maybe I'll walk back from my predecessor's private-market reforms, while not going Communist, but following in the footsteps of the Republic's founder. So far I've largely avoided the more nationalist policies - think the National Front in Le Pen in France - but that's a route that could be leaned into as well.
Voidwalkin
Emperor
- Joined
- Jun 12, 2024
- Messages
- 1,184
Console. You can probably see some of what I'm talking about via a gameplay video. Look how slowly Joel runs around, the actual in game distance traveled. He's really, really slow.
I get that that's probably a gameplay mechanic, trying to steer players towards a more stealthy approach, it just didn't sit well with me. Others might enjoy it, but realistically, it's hard to imagine a man whose life is in real danger just sorta leisurely plodding about. I had numerous moments where I was left thinking "jeeeeesus, this guy can't outrun these fungal infected shivering freaks? Their step mechanically is 50% wasted motion!"
I think it was probably a huge hit because of the story. Gameplay, pretty eh. If you enjoyed the show you may still really like it(though it wouldn't be totally novel), neither story nor gameplay were good fits for me. YMMV.
Hmmm... I'm afraid I don't have enough recent FPS experience to know whether that would appeal to me or not. I'm not really a fan of "twitchy" FPS games like Unreal 2004, but at the same point, I was turning the sensitivity up in Halo 2 when I played it regularly (and also using the Green Thumb control scheme). I suppose what I've historically found realistic in FPS games over the years is that you're either running, or not. In real life, there's a stamina factor at play. If you're being chased by an angry goose, you can sprint pretty darn quickly - for a short time. Or you can run at a more moderate pace for a longer time. It wouldn't be realistic to not have any sense of urgency when that angry goose (or zombie) is chasing you, but neither would unlimited fast running.
I liked the show more than most shows, but neither was it my favorite show ever. So... I may just have to take a chance on it, or not, the next time it has a good sale.
I hear there's one called Civilization VII coming out in about a month.
I don't particularly follow latest releases beyond that, but if you need something in the interim, Ozymandias and Old World are a couple from recent years that are worth a try. According to CivFanatics, “Every civ-fan should have [Ozymandias] on their wishlist!” (and I had nothing to do with that attribution), whereas Old World is a great strategy game by Soren Johnson (of Civ III and Civ IV design heritage) where you can play as, among other nations, Greece.
Voidwalkin
Emperor
- Joined
- Jun 12, 2024
- Messages
- 1,184
Unrelated to TLOU specifically, but I feel like one of the undeveloped aspects of shooter games is the lack of boxer-style lateral movement. Should really be there in zombie games, where you're occasionally moving laterally in a manner actually really comparable for really comparable reasons: quick step is a very useful skill when under melee attack.
I'm convinced that there should be a sidestep by quick double taps, similar to Soul Calibre or other fighting games. That quick sidestep makes incoming, head-on charges very unlikely to land, because the aggressor is moving too fast to decelerate quickly enough to respond to the since rapidly changed position of the target.
If you can't keep them at reach with jabs and straights, you gotta be an evasive infighter, but that's pretty much impossible without the key, the single quick and wide lateral hopstep. Pretty classic and effective evasive technique, subtle but really effective, and almost totally unrepresented in gaming.
Edit: especially because the only consistently available maneuver is moving backwards. This covers very little ground, and if an individual were actually chased by a zombie from the front, they probably wouldn't even be able to try running backwards. Try running backwards at pace IRL. It feels totally unnatural, dangerous, even. Your body knows the sidestep is the more effective way to cover ground in minimal time, even if your conscious mind doesn't. Try running backwards if ya don't believe it: you'll immediately know, "horsehockey idea".
I'm convinced that there should be a sidestep by quick double taps, similar to Soul Calibre or other fighting games. That quick sidestep makes incoming, head-on charges very unlikely to land, because the aggressor is moving too fast to decelerate quickly enough to respond to the since rapidly changed position of the target.
If you can't keep them at reach with jabs and straights, you gotta be an evasive infighter, but that's pretty much impossible without the key, the single quick and wide lateral hopstep. Pretty classic and effective evasive technique, subtle but really effective, and almost totally unrepresented in gaming.
Edit: especially because the only consistently available maneuver is moving backwards. This covers very little ground, and if an individual were actually chased by a zombie from the front, they probably wouldn't even be able to try running backwards. Try running backwards at pace IRL. It feels totally unnatural, dangerous, even. Your body knows the sidestep is the more effective way to cover ground in minimal time, even if your conscious mind doesn't. Try running backwards if ya don't believe it: you'll immediately know, "horsehockey idea".
Last edited:
I wouldn't risk trying Civ7 so early. Let's first see if the expansions are well-received.
Btw, does this also have 1UPT?
Has anyone played Manor Lords? I have been watching some YouTube videos on the game and it looks interesting... kind of like a cross between FrostPunk and a Total War game.
Senethro
Overlord
Its good but its much more early access than it looks. Its a one guy project so you might as well forget about it for another year.
Ish? A general can move a number of units across a single tile at once, but then they fan out again to fight, is my current understanding (having been mainly focused on the I-VI areas the past V months). So less so than V and VI, but more so than I through IV.
It's one of the reasons I'm a bit skeptical, but I'm less skeptical than I was for VI (I don't remember what my thoughts were ahead of release for V, beyond that I was still playing a lot of III back then).
Clubber Lang
King
- Joined
- Oct 20, 2016
- Messages
- 665
Released 4th February, get medieval -
[/URL]
Last edited:
Which ones are Toranaga's?Today's conundrum.
Spoiler :
Voidwalkin
Emperor
- Joined
- Jun 12, 2024
- Messages
- 1,184
Barely played SW2 but it appears to be a blockade?
Kinda a good problem if you're not monopolizing trade. If you're at the stage in which massive coalitions are going against you, I'd leave them. It costs them more to maintain a blockade of that size compared to your loss of revenue..
Let em spend their budget inefficiently. One less full stack to deal with somewhere.
Kinda a good problem if you're not monopolizing trade. If you're at the stage in which massive coalitions are going against you, I'd leave them. It costs them more to maintain a blockade of that size compared to your loss of revenue..
Let em spend their budget inefficiently. One less full stack to deal with somewhere.
Voidwalkin
Emperor
- Joined
- Jun 12, 2024
- Messages
- 1,184
Played more Bannerlord. Fought a good battle.
An army of 8 veteran Emirs was attacking my Welsh-Norse character(who became a Roman/Byzantine Senator, a sorta Varangian). Their 800, very high quality army took two fortresses from us.
I picked a village as favorable to us as good terrain, allowing battle. I used a long street ascending a steep hill as a chokepoint. Infantry in front, archers behind, expecting to endure their charge while showering them with arrows. As expected, all their 200 elite Faris were cut down with few losses. The mass of their infantry ground us down, with attrition uncertain.
I personally entered the fray with what little cavalry I had, buying our archers just enough time to turn their stalling advance into a rout. Disastrously, my character's sister in law was killed in this Caesarian charge. My character was close enough to hear her scream - not hard, it's the only female voice. She was his closest friend(I decided he's gay, because I didn't wanna bother finding a good wife). He executed all the Emirs in revenge, escalating what had been bitter warring into an apocalyptic blood feud.
We would eventually complete the conquest, with little to no support, perpetually outnumbered. Dunno what to do now. I think the unsophisticated Northerner is a bit upset and disgruntled with the intrigue and culture of urbane Byzantine aristocrats. He is a war hero, influential. I think he may use that influence to go Gracchus, expelling the other senatorial families from the Empire(taking the fiefs for himself) before leaving the kingdom for a different Imperial pretender, where usurpation may again occur.
An army of 8 veteran Emirs was attacking my Welsh-Norse character(who became a Roman/Byzantine Senator, a sorta Varangian). Their 800, very high quality army took two fortresses from us.
I picked a village as favorable to us as good terrain, allowing battle. I used a long street ascending a steep hill as a chokepoint. Infantry in front, archers behind, expecting to endure their charge while showering them with arrows. As expected, all their 200 elite Faris were cut down with few losses. The mass of their infantry ground us down, with attrition uncertain.
I personally entered the fray with what little cavalry I had, buying our archers just enough time to turn their stalling advance into a rout. Disastrously, my character's sister in law was killed in this Caesarian charge. My character was close enough to hear her scream - not hard, it's the only female voice. She was his closest friend(I decided he's gay, because I didn't wanna bother finding a good wife). He executed all the Emirs in revenge, escalating what had been bitter warring into an apocalyptic blood feud.
We would eventually complete the conquest, with little to no support, perpetually outnumbered. Dunno what to do now. I think the unsophisticated Northerner is a bit upset and disgruntled with the intrigue and culture of urbane Byzantine aristocrats. He is a war hero, influential. I think he may use that influence to go Gracchus, expelling the other senatorial families from the Empire(taking the fiefs for himself) before leaving the kingdom for a different Imperial pretender, where usurpation may again occur.
perfect. Died to a white mob.Similar threads
- Locked
- Locked
