What Video Games Have You Been Playing, Part 10: Or; A Shameful Display!

[Lexicus]

Anyway, I settled on some settings for the game that I think make world-conquest as the Chinese Communists a bit more plausible and fun. First I set the Germans to Kaiserreich, which makes the German AI revolt against Hitler, installing military rule before bringing back the Kaiser. I set the Japanese to Neutral, which makes them strike at the Soviet Union rather than invading China. And just for giggles I set Australia and South Africa to go Communist. I'm thinking they will eventually make helpful allies/puppets.

So. Gotta make some changes. The USSR just got crushed by a Japanese invasion of Siberia combined with a Polish and Lithuanian (part of a larger central European alliance dominated by Kaiser Wilhelm II's Germany) invasion of European Russia that captured Moscow and Stalingrad before I quit the game. Good news is that I was gradually beating down Republican China having declared a shooting war on them after infiltration and the associated mechanics proved to be a bit of a bust. I was able to match their force along the whole border but concentrated an extra army west of Beijing and used that to flank them and slowly work my way down the coast.

Anyway I changed the Germans to be fascist (ie, normal) again, and changed Poland to go Communist (which means it allies with the USSR). I also boosted the USSR AI's strength by 25%. I changed Canada to Fascist behavior meaning it will ally with Germany. Haven't actually gotten a chance to play with these settings yet but I think they will lead to a better outcome. I want Canada to be Fascist to hopefully draw the US in a bit earlier (it was 1943 when I stopped playing the last game and the US hadn't done anything at all - Germany and Japan were basically on their way to world domination with nothing I could see to stop them), and the USSR needs the extra 25% strength to actually put up a fight against Japan and Germany. This time I intend to focus a lot more intently on conquering all of China as soon as I can. Last game I wasted a lot of time from not knowing exactly what to do after conquering the minor states surrounding my own starting territory. If I can conquer China in its entirety by, say, 1940-41 I can probably start throwing in my oar to help the USSR against its invaders soon enough to matter.

 

[AdamCrock]

Yeah, in the first game they were terrorists. There's also a small sidequest that confirms they were behind the thresher maw attacks on Akuze, which really struck home as a Sole Survivor. They killed Admiral Kahoku too.

Exactly ! Be on Your guard !

 

[Commodore]

In RPGs, I've before tried to roleplay characters that are separate from me. Even though I knew they were just code and pixels, though, I had a hard time being dicks to NPCs.

I know how you feel. I did a playthrough of the Mass Effect trilogy where every decision I made was made using a random number generator. That made me do some things I really didn't want to do, especially when I knew a certain decision would result in the death of a character I really, really liked.

 

[hobbsyoyo]

I downloaded the Pokemon Trading Card Game Online and it nearly gave me a seizure (how ironic). The game has extreme flickering and frame tearing at highest resolution so I had to turn it down to make the game playable. It makes no sense to me because it's a flipping card game, not Crysis 2.

Also I keep getting my ass handed to me by the AI even in easy matches. There is a pre-built deck I am trying to use to get a bonus (you have to win a match with a water type Pokemon in your deck) and it is just an absolutely horrible deck. It is filled with Magicarps (but no Gyarados!) and Goldeens and other crap Pokemon with 10-20 damage attacks and low HP. The only good Pokemon in the deck is a Vaporeon which you have to stack with 3 energies before you can use it and of course you have to draw Evee and evolve it first. It also only has 90 HP which means by the time I play it, I get one- or two-hit KO'd by my opponent's evolved Pokemon.

Like I get that I'm not good at this game yet but this pre-built deck absolutely sucks and my own decks don't have any water Pokemon.

 

[aimeeandbeatles]

I know how you feel. I did a playthrough of the Mass Effect trilogy where every decision I made was made using a random number generator. That made me do some things I really didn't want to do, especially when I knew a certain decision would result in the death of a character I really, really liked.

It doesn't help that the dialogue wheel a lot of times doesn't match up what's actually said. And in ME1, all three dialogue wheel choices sometimes said the same thing!

Anyways...In ME2, I just got past Horizon. Ouch.

Spoiler :

I don't understand though, you see the Virmire survivor get frozen by the collector bugs...and then they just run up to you afterwards? Even though everyone else was frozen in place? Maybe driving away the collector ship caused the bugs to stop working. I don't know.

I hate Cigar Dude, though. He lured the collectors there.

 

[hobbsyoyo]

I'm still learning the ropes of Pokemon Trading Card Game Online but I'm definitely better at it. I was able to win with that water deck finally. After playing a few more games I now feel comfortable in saying that the water deck actually does suck, it wasn't just me playing bad. I can't figure out how to play against the AI with decks that I build myself which is frustrating.

Does anyone know if there is a reason to have 20 or more Pokemon in your deck? I just don't see the use of more than 10 or 15 tops.

 

[abradley]

Open MW on my Linux Mint. Having to play Pure Morrowind Game of the year, no mods. Interesting change must be prepared for the first Dark Brotherhood attack with my first sleep.

Also trying out a 'No Iron' game, my weapons and armor must be 'Non Metallic", Chitin and Bonemeld, plus Enchanted items.

 

[cardgame]

I've been getting back into Pavlov and Eleven Table Tennis. Top tier games honestly.

 

[Lexicus]

I'm still learning the ropes of Pokemon Trading Card Game Online but I'm definitely better at it. I was able to win with that water deck finally. After playing a few more games I now feel comfortable in saying that the water deck actually does suck, it wasn't just me playing bad. I can't figure out how to play against the AI with decks that I build myself which is frustrating.

Does anyone know if there is a reason to have 20 or more Pokemon in your deck? I just don't see the use of more than 10 or 15 tops.

I dunno man I never played the Pokemon trading card game, just collected them because they looked cool

I'm pretty sure it's normal to have more energy cards than pokemon cards though

 

[hobbsyoyo]

I dunno man I never played the Pokemon trading card game, just collected them because they looked cool

I'm pretty sure it's normal to have more energy cards than pokemon cards though

I mean that's what I thought but these pre-built decks have more Pokemon than energy which makes no sense to me because I usually wind up with a bench that can't make any moves.

 

[Lexicus]

If you have questions about the Yugioh metagame circa 2005 I can type paragraphs

I mean that's what I thought but these pre-built decks have more Pokemon than energy which makes no sense to me because I usually wind up with a bench that can't make any moves.

I did a bit of reading just now and apparently the pokemon:energy ratio should vary depending on how much energy your pokemon need for attacking...and obviously you want all your pokemon using one type of energy, though it seems that's already the case.

 

[hobbsyoyo]

Lmao nah

Thanks though

 

[Senethro]

Sekiro is good (great even) but its feeling even harder than Dark Souls. It is not possible to take a patient "shield'n'poke" style of play and make it work. If you give enemies and especially bosses room to breathe then they start pulling out their biggest attacks. Paradoxically the most defensive style of play is brutal onslaught to keep them on the back foot.

 

[Manfred Belheim]

Hot take: vanilla Oblivion and Skyrim are both fine.

 

[hobbsyoyo]

I did a bit of reading just now and apparently the pokemon:energy ratio should vary depending on how much energy your pokemon need for attacking...and obviously you want all your pokemon using one type of energy, though it seems that's already the case.

I guess that makes sense but all of the low-energy attacks in that deck are awful - they either do ten damage or do ten damage to both the attacker and defender. Like I don't need flipping 4 Magicarps in a deck without Gyarados.

 

[aimeeandbeatles]

Hot take: vanilla Oblivion and Skyrim are both fine.

No, get at least the unofficial patches. There's a ton of bugs, including ones that break the main plot.

 

[Manfred Belheim]

No, get at least the unofficial patches. There's a ton of bugs, including ones that break the main plot.

I did say "fine", not "perfect".

Console player anyway, no no patches.

 

[Synobun]

I play the vanilla version of Bethesda games first. Never really encountered game-breaking bugs.

In future playthroughs I just install mods that make my life a little easier, like zeroing the weight of potions and ores.

 

[aimeeandbeatles]

In Mass Effect 2, I ran into Conrad Verner, And he says I pointed a gun at him. But I didn't do that. I told him to go home to his wife. I'm confused.

 

[GoodSarmatian]

In Mass Effect 2, I ran into Conrad Verner, And he says I pointed a gun at him. But I didn't do that. I told him to go home to his wife. I'm confused.

That's a well known bug with imported save games. Other events are flagged correctly, but Verner in 2 thinks you chose the renegade opion in ME 1.
I'm a bit disappointed they didn't fix it after all those years.