Hey [%target] Whatcha Playin'?

[Thad]

It goes on sale pretty frequently on GOG, if you don't want to fuck around with installing from media and then patching, but I can understand not wanting to pay for it twice. And you'd still have to add all the mods yourself.

[Büge]

I'm just wondering if I still have my old character files...

[beatbandito]

I came so close to getting Dragon Age Inquisition at full price.

But then I found The Keep and now I will spend a full year crafting the perfect universe for my first playthrough.

[beatbandito]

hahahaha oh man that post anyway DA: Inquisition is great.

I've got probably about 30 hours of legitimate playtime into it right now and it really is very, and consistently, fun. My only real complaint is the difficulty... curve I guess? It's kind of weird.

Combat is split between two modes: a classic Origins style of overhead view and real time combat with lots of pausing to strategize all party members, and third-person action that plays more like Mass Effect 3 than either Dragon Age. And while you can switch between characters, you're always only playing one, and the computers will have to do most of their thinking through tactics, which are pathetically limited.

Either controls fine independently and I've had fun with both, but the intended idea of switching between the two during combat is weak at best (before even delving into that action is terrible with keyboard/mouse and overhead is clearly the PC intended version and almost equally horrible with a gamepad. Which basically means you either play strategically, and all but the most hardcore of optional bosses are a joke, or go for action, abandoning your party to die brutally to the first, clearly-telegraphed AoE of the fight.

[beatbandito]

I'm playing Wizard 101.

What is wrong with me?

[Mongrel]

I'm playing Wizard 101.

What is wrong with me?

Same thing that's wrong with my wife. :whoops:

If you want a hand, let me know what your ID is. Starr has tons of resources and is pretty happy to help non-retarded (and even some totally retarded) players.

[beatbandito]

My account name is beatbandito. I can't really talk down about this stuff, I used to always have an active account in one or two games like this. For fuck's sake I played Toon Town Online when I was in highschool.

Really there's something relaxing about raw MMO mechanics in an environment that supports public interaction and co-operation while downplaying (or outright eliminating) communication. I feel like at some point the game will demand I spend some amount of money to keep enjoying though, has Starr run into any of that yet?

[Mongrel]

My account name is beatbandito. I can't really talk down about this stuff, I used to always have an active account in one or two games like this. For fuck's sake I played Toon Town Online when I was in highschool.

Really there's something relaxing about raw MMO mechanics in an environment that supports public interaction and co-operation while downplaying (or outright eliminating) communication. I feel like at some point the game will demand I spend some amount of money to keep enjoying though, has Starr run into any of that yet?

You can do a lot without spending money (though some of the workarounds requires a fair bit of grinding). The main hard roadblock is area unlocks. She estimates she's spent about $60/year, but that's on 1.5 accounts. She could try hitting you up on Steam chat to set up a meeting (because Wizard 101 is dumb and you can't add friends by username alone) later tonight if you want?

[beatbandito]

Eh, I don't know if I'll mess around with it enough to get real use out of whatever she could help me with, though I do appreciate the offer. I'll probably put more time into it so she can still feel free to hit me up on Steam (I think I've friended her? Definitely you. But after hearing there is some level of monetary investment I'll end up spending the rest of tonight messing around with a fan revival of Toon Town, which is basically identical without any freemium stuff.

[nosimpleway]

Dust: An Elysian Tail is okay I guess but it's pretty much "Generic Anime Story: Now With Furries".

So I moved on to, uh, Treasure Planet.

[nosimpleway]

Not Treasure Planet. Freedom Planet. What the hell.

[Classic]

Not Treasure Planet. Freedom Planet. What the orange.

I was hoping that a Disney movie tie-in game was good again.

[nosimpleway]

Nah I think I just got confused on my furry media.

[Brantly B.]

Fur. Fur never changes.

[beatbandito]

I was really hoping it was a reference to Treasure Planet being the story all anime is based on.

[Classic]

I don't think that joke works because it's untrue enough to be unable to sustain truthiness for the period it takes to laugh at the joke...

Maybe if you narrow it down to just "shonen anime"?

Ah balls. I am up way past my bedtime trying to make a dumb joke about pop culture products.

[Thad]

Portal 2. My brother just built a computer and wants to do some online multiplayer, but we haven't managed to make our schedules connect yet (3-hour timezone difference). Also I think I've got an old Bluetooth earpiece around here somewhere but that's about all I've got in the way of equipment for voice chat. (I don't think my computer even has Bluetooth, but I could always buy a cheap USB dongle.)

I've owned Portal 1 for years; I tried to play it first but the Linux version crashes my system and I haven't tried the Windows version yet. 2 does a perfectly decent job of standing on its own, but I can't help feeling like I'm missing a lot. I was on the Internet in 2007, so I know enough to recognize that when GLaDOS starts blithely destroying cubes with hearts on their sides that's a pretty fucked-up thing to do, but I'm sure there are a lot of other details that are sailing right over my head.

It's a hell of a game nonetheless, though. Nails the atmosphere, pulls off some mind-bending puzzles, and it's laugh-out-loud funny on top of it. (What if HAL was just really sarcastic and passive-aggressive?)

[Friday]

Portal 2 definitely suffers from "Chrono Cross" syndrome, in that it's unfairly compared to its predecessor. (Though it's different in that Por2 is a vastly worthier sequel than CC was)

In any case, keep an eye out for Magus, this time pretending to be a turret bot named "Ryu."

[Brantly B.]

I usually have an eye for how accessible sequels are to people who haven't experienced the predecessors, but I didn't do that with Portal 2 because at the time the idea of a person who plays video games and hadn't played Portal seemed like some sort of mythical creature.

Besides what you've already keened in on (Companion Cube is the only true friend you have ever had and will ever have) and what's kind of obvious after a while (GLaDOS only knowing two nonsensical insults is a running gag) I think the only thing that isn't immediately obvious is the context of GLaDOS's repeated accusations that you murdered her (she started it.)

[nosimpleway]

I was on the Internet in 2007, so I know enough to recognize that when GLaDOS starts blithely destroying cubes with hearts on their sides that's a pretty fucked-up thing to do, but I'm sure there are a lot of other details that are sailing right over my head.

Not... really...? Portal was basically a tech demo, whereas Portal 2 is a full-fledged game. Portal only had the two characters, and one of them's a silent protagonist. I think everything you need to gather about GlaDOS is readily apparent in the sequel.

And hell, Portal 2 is the game where GlaDOS spoilers the spoiler and spoiler spoiler spoiler.

(I just did Portal 2 myself, as part of my catch-up-on-all-the-games-I-missed-because-I-couldn't-play-them-on-my-old-PC initiative.)

Edit: Or what Brent said.