What Video Games Have You Been Playing XVII: REMAIN INDOORS!! :D

[yung.carl.jung]

that's a beautiful write-up!

 

[Synobun]

Terraria is updating, again. Tomorrow, their final update will release.

(Although, they've had their "final" update a couple times now.)

Their change log is something to behold: https://forums.terraria.org/index.php?threads/there-back-again-a-summary-of-journeys-end.87997/

 

[EgonSpengler]

The Long Dark. New survival game, on Stalker, random map start. Started somewhere on Timberwolf Mountain, a map I'm not very familiar with. I started heading downslope, but a wolf made me turn around, so I decided to head for the summit, with no idea how far it was. It took me 3 days to get to the top, barely alive, and with no food. I figured that was as good a place to die as any. But after 10 days on the mountain, I'm finally down at Crystal Lake. I saw signs of a moose around. I'll probably spend a couple of weeks in the cabin before I move on to Unpleasant Valley.

Timberwolf Mountain Summit spoilers:

Spoiler :

• I found a hatchet on my way up the mountain, but I forgot that you need a hacksaw to open the plane's metal cargo containers. I was sure I was going to starve to death, probably sitting right next to a pile of food. I decided to break down the wooden crates for firewood anyway, and found a hacksaw inside one of them.
  
• That plane is an embarrassment of riches. Food, clothing, tools, the whole kit. There was even a rifle with 20 rounds. I ate MREs and read a sewing book until I got the "well fed" carry weight bonus so I could carry more stuff down with me.
• I almost missed that the cargo containers each have two compartments.
• Unfortunately there's no way to drain the fuel from a lantern. I found 6 of them in one of the cargo containers, all full of fuel. Even if you break one down, you just get a piece of scrap metal and the fuel's wasted.
• In many places, it's possible to get down a mountainside without using the climbing ropes. When you're climbing a rope, the weight limit is a hard cap; excess weight doesn't just slow you down and tire you out more on a rope, it just won't let you do it. But you can sometimes zig-zag your way down the cliff, even with 100 lbs of gear. You might sprain something, but that doesn't stop you, either, it just slows you down.

 

[Timsup2nothin]

For the moment I am going to be frequently updating my No Man's Sky journal. New projects always generate juice. I don't plan to post here every time I update it, but when I inevitably take a long break I will post here when I take it back up.

 

[AdamCrock]

I feel like I need to play something new and at the same time I feel like "meh....don't wanna play right now ...." this has never happened to me before .... o.O Please help I need a legendary quality title to play.... quick ! xD Medic ! Medic !!!

 

[EgonSpengler]

I feel like I need to play something new and at the same time I feel like "meh....don't wanna play right now ...." this has never happened to me before .... o.O Please help I need a legendary quality title to play.... quick ! xD Medic ! Medic !!!

Subnautica

 

[Takhisis]

my name was never in reference to the basketball player, tho I have heard his name. Idgaf about organized sports, it's dumb.

*Liverpool boot room intensifies*

 

[EgonSpengler]

The Long Dark. New survival game, on Stalker, random map start. Started somewhere on Timberwolf Mountain, a map I'm not very familiar with. I started heading downslope, but a wolf made me turn around, so I decided to head for the summit, with no idea how far it was. It took me 3 days to get to the top, barely alive, and with no food. I figured that was as good a place to die as any. But after 10 days on the mountain, I'm finally down at Crystal Lake. I saw signs of a moose around. I'll probably spend a couple of weeks in the cabin before I move on to Unpleasant Valley.

Timberwolf Mountain Summit spoilers:

Spoiler :

• I found a hatchet on my way up the mountain, but I forgot that you need a hacksaw to open the plane's metal cargo containers. I was sure I was going to starve to death, probably sitting right next to a pile of food. I decided to break down the wooden crates for firewood anyway, and found a hacksaw inside one of them.
  
• That plane is an embarrassment of riches. Food, clothing, tools, the whole kit. There was even a rifle with 20 rounds. I ate MREs and read a sewing book until I got the "well fed" carry weight bonus so I could carry more stuff down with me.
• I almost missed that the cargo containers each have two compartments.
• Unfortunately there's no way to drain the fuel from a lantern. I found 6 of them in one of the cargo containers, all full of fuel. Even if you break one down, you just get a piece of scrap metal and the fuel's wasted.
• In many places, it's possible to get down a mountainside without using the climbing ropes. When you're climbing a rope, the weight limit is a hard cap; excess weight doesn't just slow you down and tire you out more on a rope, it just won't let you do it. But you can sometimes zig-zag your way down the cliff, even with 100 lbs of gear. You might sprain something, but that doesn't stop you, either, it just slows you down.

Day 16. Timberwolf Mountain. Crystal Lake, around midnight on a clear night, from the door of the cabin. (No spoilers, just a large image.) The little shack out on the ice is an ice-fishing hut.

Spoiler :

The whole area is lousy with wolves, I think 2 of them are visible here, making it difficult to go out for exploratory hikes. Just prior to this shot, I thought I'd found a route that was free of wolves, but then I got caught in a blizzard and sprained an ankle, so I had to turn back.

 

[hobbsyoyo]

Pokemon Go can be really frustrating.

The other day I attacked a Gym (a place where people stick their Pokemon to battle) and every time I beat the opposing team, their HP would automagically reset. I beat them 5 or 6 times and their HP never dropped when a typical match will see the defending team cleared out of the gym after only 3 matches. I have no idea why this happens but it's not the first time.

Also, there is a power up item (Shinnoh Stone) that you need to evolve something like 16 Pokemon. Well, this flipping stone is borderline impossible to get. You have a <10% chance of getting one every 7 days if you do a special task every single day in that period. You also have a <5% chance of getting one a day for doing a virtual training session. Worse, the game doesn't actually tell you this is how you can the stone, I played for years not knowing until I finally looked it up on the internet.

Also @Synsensa logged back in to send me a gift a while ago because I bugged him to, then I missed it for a few days and the moment passed. I'm also frustrated that the game does not have a remote trade function at all, you have to be in physical proximity with a friend to trade which is dumb because a) pandemic, b) not everyone plays with friends in person, and c) advancement in quest lines depend on doing trades.

They have been adding lots of Pokestops and Gyms though so that's cool.

 

[Takhisis]

Does Pokémon Go allow you to capture Missingnos?

 

[hobbsyoyo]

You know I have not seen one of those.

 

[Takhisis]

Dangit it's like a few weeks ago when Valve stopped us taking gold from denied creeps in DotA2. Utter betrayal.

 

[aimeeandbeatles]

I recently found a series of videos where a guy runs around the Pokemon games without getting his first Pokemon. It resulted in some really weird stuff including Missingno appearing in the Pokedex.

 

[Sommerswerd]

Day 16. Timberwolf Mountain. Crystal Lake, around midnight on a clear night, from the door of the cabin. (No spoilers, just a large image.) The little shack out on the ice is an ice-fishing hut.

Spoiler :

The whole area is lousy with wolves, I think 2 of them are visible here, making it difficult to go out for exploratory hikes. Just prior to this shot, I thought I'd found a route that was free of wolves, but then I got caught in a blizzard and sprained an ankle, so I had to turn back.

Thanks for the spoilers. I haven't set foot on Timberwolf Mountain yet and I want to see it for the first time with my own eyes as I've read that its quite spectacular.

I'm impressed that you've made it so long on Stalker on such a reportedly tough map. What the heck have you been eating for 2 weeks ? Why did you go back up to Stalker anyway? Did you get bored with Voyager that quick?

I'm currently in day 6 or so in a new Stalker game in Milton. I tried several games starting in Hushed River Valley but I always die after a couple days to either bears or wolves. The map is just too harsh of a start for me. Pleasant Valley would be agreat place to start if it wasn't for the dogsqueeze weather... and timberwolf packs... and hugeness of the map overall... and... OK I guess Pleasant Valley sucks as a starting location

 

[thecrazyscot]

Continuing my Huge Island Plates march to a domination victory as Harald:

A lone oil field in the province of Georgia is fueling a few Artillery armies, but there is a severe lack of fuel to upgrade to more modern equipment across the board.

Historians will point to the conquest of China as the textbook example of a blitzkrieg. Viking forces kicked off their invasion at Changsha in the southwest and rolled up the rest of the empire in a matter of weeks. Their last bastion, Chengdu, fell with barely a whimper. It has become known as the Short Victorious War. Qin Shi Huang was sent on a perpetual tour of the Viking cultural achievements so he could learn what real culture looked like.

Spoiler The Short Victorious War :

A battlegroup was sent to deal with the Canadian problem, with denunciation in hand before formally declaring a Colonial War. The total lack of a Canadian forces made it a simple affair, and the farms outside of Ottowa were immediately dug up and the new oil fields exploited to fuel the Viking juggernaut.

Wilfred enrolled at the University of Nidaros to study diplomacy so he could understand how the warlike Vikings had more diplomatic influence than the peaceful Canadians. To his disappointment, his thesis on the superiority of Soft Power was roundly derided, and often read at comedy venues throughout the empire.

Spoiler Ottowa, moments before annexation :

Oddly, after the capture of their capital, the Canadians fixated on our broken promise to move the troops from their border and not the actual conquest of their nation:

Spoiler Priorities :

With shipments of oil steaming north to the awaiting armies on the Scottish border, the time had come to annex the irascible highlanders. The primary offensive came through the northern highlands, descending from the pacified Chinese cities. The ceremonial siege tower led the way, with Gorgo firmly perched on the top to receive an education on how real warriors fight. Dundee fell first, with fanatical Scottish warrior priests throwing themselves to the slaughter in a desperate - but futile - attempt to beat bullets with bodies.

Spoiler Watch and learn, Gorgo :

Additional expeditionary forces assaulted the Scottish peninsula from the east and south, with the southern cities proving difficult and requiring extensive bombardment. Finally, Robert the Bruce bent the knee.

Robert was appointed coach of a rugby team in a newly-constructed stadium in the province of Brazil. The heat has made him grumpier than ever, but his team the Highland Hillbillies has quickly risen in the rankings and is currently undefeated.

While the Scottish were fighting valiantly, a small fleet was sent to capture the Maori archipelago on a mission described as "the best R&R ever". Nobody knew what to do with Kupe since he was completely harmless, so eventually he was just let go to do whatever he wanted. After a few months government agents assigned to keep tabs on him were reassigned as it became clear that there would never, ever, be any danger to the empire from him. The last reports had him sailing around the globe getting soused at every port he came across.

Spoiler Seriously, Kupe? :

Immediately upon consolidating the Canadian, Scottish, and Maori gains, Alexander had the sheer gall to throw insults my way. Fear not, Alex, I have something special for you.

Spoiler Get bent, Alex :

The Ever-Victorious Army was divided into 2 battlegroups: the western one had a small land force supported by a powerful navy, and the eastern one had the bulk of the land forces supported by the remainder of the navy.

The Macedonian colonies in America fell quickly, and the Viking forces rolled up the Macedonian empire in short order, stopping short of Pella in order to give everyone time to get a front seat.
Pella fell absurdly quickly once the noose was tightened.

Spoiler Welcome to the #1 Empire :

Remember when I said I had something special for you Alexander? Have fun on your reservation. Whenever my battleships need some target practice I'll send them your way for some live-fire drills.

Spoiler The Alexandretta Reservation :

And with that, let us harald in a new world order - the glorious Age of the Viking!

Spoiler The Thunderbolt of the North South East West :

 

[EgonSpengler]

Thanks for the spoilers. I haven't set foot on Timberwolf Mountain yet and I want to see it for the first time with my own eyes as I've read that its quite spectacular.

I'm impressed that you've made it so long on Stalker on such a reportedly tough map. What the heck have you been eating for 2 weeks ? Why did you go back up to Stalker anyway? Did you get bored with Voyager that quick?

I'm currently in day 6 or so in a new Stalker game in Milton. I tried several games starting in Hushed River Valley but I always die after a couple days to either bears or wolves. The map is just too harsh of a start for me. Pleasant Valley would be agreat place to start if it wasn't for the dogsqueeze weather... and timberwolf packs... and hugeness of the map overall... and... OK I guess Pleasant Valley sucks as a starting location

Yeah, Timberwolf Mountain and Hushed River Valley are tough starts. I nearly died of hunger on the mountain, which I think has never happened in all of my Survival Mode games. I'm on Day 21 now, living comfortably in the cabin. I was thinking I'd hang around long enough to map all of the key locations, for the "Faithful Cartographer" achievement, but I'm low on fishhooks, arrowheads, and bullets. I'll see how it goes.

Two general tips for the early days of a new survival game on one of the wilderness maps. Not spoilers, but maybe a little bit spoiler-ish if you like to work things out for yourself:

Spoiler :

Cattail stalks are among the best calorie-per-kg foods in the game.

You can harvest meat by hand, provided it's less than 50% frozen, so all you really need to get a rabbit is a stone and some aim.

 

[Socrates99]

Continuing my Huge Island Plates march to a domination victory as Harald:

A lone oil field in the province of Georgia is fueling a few Artillery armies, but there is a severe lack of fuel to upgrade to more modern equipment across the board.

Historians will point to the conquest of China as the textbook example of a blitzkrieg. Viking forces kicked off their invasion at Changsha in the southwest and rolled up the rest of the empire in a matter of weeks. Their last bastion, Chengdu, fell with barely a whimper. It has become known as the Short Victorious War. Qin Shi Huang was sent on a perpetual tour of the Viking cultural achievements so he could learn what real culture looked like.

Spoiler The Short Victorious War :

View attachment 556162

A battlegroup was sent to deal with the Canadian problem, with denunciation in hand before formally declaring a Colonial War. The total lack of a Canadian forces made it a simple affair, and the farms outside of Ottowa were immediately dug up and the new oil fields exploited to fuel the Viking juggernaut.

Wilfred enrolled at the University of Nidaros to study diplomacy so he could understand how the warlike Vikings had more diplomatic influence than the peaceful Canadians. To his disappointment, his thesis on the superiority of Soft Power was roundly derided, and often read at comedy venues throughout the empire.

Spoiler Ottowa, moments before annexation :

View attachment 556163

Oddly, after the capture of their capital, the Canadians fixated on our broken promise to move the troops from their border and not the actual conquest of their nation:

Spoiler Priorities :

View attachment 556165

With shipments of oil steaming north to the awaiting armies on the Scottish border, the time had come to annex the irascible highlanders. The primary offensive came through the northern highlands, descending from the pacified Chinese cities. The ceremonial siege tower led the way, with Gorgo firmly perched on the top to receive an education on how real warriors fight. Dundee fell first, with fanatical Scottish warrior priests throwing themselves to the slaughter in a desperate - but futile - attempt to beat bullets with bodies.

Spoiler Watch and learn, Gorgo :

View attachment 556164

Additional expeditionary forces assaulted the Scottish peninsula from the east and south, with the southern cities proving difficult and requiring extensive bombardment. Finally, Robert the Bruce bent the knee.

Robert was appointed coach of a rugby team in a newly-constructed stadium in the province of Brazil. The heat has made him grumpier than ever, but his team the Highland Hillbillies has quickly risen in the rankings and is currently undefeated.

While the Scottish were fighting valiantly, a small fleet was sent to capture the Maori archipelago on a mission described as "the best R&R ever". Nobody knew what to do with Kupe since he was completely harmless, so eventually he was just let go to do whatever he wanted. After a few months government agents assigned to keep tabs on him were reassigned as it became clear that there would never, ever, be any danger to the empire from him. The last reports had him sailing around the globe getting soused at every port he came across.

Spoiler Seriously, Kupe? :

View attachment 556166

Immediately upon consolidating the Canadian, Scottish, and Maori gains, Alexander had the sheer gall to throw insults my way. Fear not, Alex, I have something special for you.

Spoiler Get bent, Alex :

View attachment 556167

The Ever-Victorious Army was divided into 2 battlegroups: the western one had a small land force supported by a powerful navy, and the eastern one had the bulk of the land forces supported by the remainder of the navy.

The Macedonian colonies in America fell quickly, and the Viking forces rolled up the Macedonian empire in short order, stopping short of Pella in order to give everyone time to get a front seat.
Pella fell absurdly quickly once the noose was tightened.

Spoiler Welcome to the #1 Empire :

View attachment 556170

Remember when I said I had something special for you Alexander? Have fun on your reservation. Whenever my battleships need some target practice I'll send them your way for some live-fire drills.

Spoiler The Alexandretta Reservation :

View attachment 556171

And with that, let us harald in a new world order - the glorious Age of the Viking!

View attachment 556172

Spoiler The Thunderbolt of the North South East West :

View attachment 556173

I'm playing the same type of game Harald for the island hopping achievement. News of the New content drew me back. Harald is actually pretty fun for this type of game. Norway's gotten quite a few little buffs since release, they're pretty decent on the right map.

 

[Sommerswerd]

Yeah, Timberwolf Mountain and Hushed River Valley are tough starts. I nearly died of hunger on the mountain, which I think has never happened in all of my Survival Mode games. I'm on Day 21 now, living comfortably in the cabin. I was thinking I'd hang around long enough to map all of the key locations, for the "Faithful Cartographer" achievement, but I'm low on fishhooks, arrowheads, and bullets. I'll see how it goes.

Two general tips for the early days of a new survival game on one of the wilderness maps. Not spoilers, but maybe a little bit spoiler-ish if you like to work things out for yourself:

Spoiler :

Cattail stalks are among the best calorie-per-kg foods in the game.

You can harvest meat by hand, provided it's less than 50% frozen, so all you really need to get a rabbit is a stone and some aim.

Yeah cattail stalks are awesome because they're light, give off no odor and they never expire. The only think about them that is annoying is that since they give such low calories each you have to click spam through a bunch of them to build any hunger bar up. I wish there was a way to elect to eat several at a time.

Once I am in a comfortable spot I usually harvest rabbits by hand to save my knife condition, but I suck at targeting the rocks so my goal with rabbits is usually to switch to snares as quickly as possible. I have the rabbit badge, so its particularly advantageous to me to start trapping as soon as possible. Trapping isn't a great option in Milton though, sadly, because of all the blasted wolves.

Have you crafted any bullets yet? The process seems to be a huge pain in the ass... as it should be, so I haven't gotten around to it yet. As I mentioned earlier, the last time I tried I ended up freezing to death on the way to the cannery... which I now realize, that even if I'd remembered to bring scrap lead... which I'd forgotten to take on the trip ... I wouldn't have been able to get into the milling room anyway, because:

Spoiler in case you want to figure it out yourself :

you have to get the code first, which is located on another section of the map that is totally inaccessible from the section where the cannery is. You actually have to enter the section with the code from a totally different map, then leave the map back the way you came, and travel to a different map and go all the way around to a totally different entrance to access the section where the cannery is located

 

[tjs282]

Dammit @EgonSpengler + @Sommerswerd , every time I read your posts about TLD, I'm further tempted to play it myself. I'm pretty close to critical mass already, and now I've seen SubNautica, I'll probably have to get that too.

Gee, thanks for (further) endangering my marriage, guys...

 

[Sommerswerd]

Well to help you further along, whenever my wife sees me playing TLD, she comments about how beautiful the landscape views are. In the immediately prior version, before the last update which added Episode 3, the menu screen would default to a particularly serene view of the Trapper's Cabin, which would automatically cycle from night to day and randomly change weather. The view was striking and my wife would always comment about how pretty it looked when I left the menu screen on unattended.

The menu now shows town centre with Community House, which isn't quite as pretty, but its still pretty nice and does the same weather changes and day-night cycling.

As an aside... I really miss the original menu-theme music with the lonely piano tune. That music was epic. The current Episode 3 music with the sad violin has grown on me, but sometimes I wish there was a way to set the opening menu back to the original theme. It really used to get me pumped for the endless/hopeless loneliness of the game. The music of this game is another fantastic feature.