Gamers!

[Deesse23]

Legendary.

[Dānu]

Trying to make it past the second battle in Fell Seal: Arbiters Mark. Sure you have the numerical advantage 6 to 5, but two of your party are wizards/healers.

[KevinM1]

Yeah, ME1 is clunky by today's standards, even with the improvements made in the Legendary Edition.  I still love it, despite that, although I'm pretty sure my memories of playing the original version on the Xbox 360 when it first came out are affecting my judgement.

I also don't think people who were on the outside of the trilogy when it first came out appreciate just how big a deal it was at the time.  ME1 was the same kind of leap for action RPGs as FF7 was for traditional RPGs, or Doom was to FPS games.  

The original trilogy also became something of a pop culture phenomenon.  It featured a fair amount of celebrity voice talent:

Keith David
Seth Green
Tricia Helfer
Martin Sheen
Yvonne Strahovsky
Michael Hogan
Lance Henriksen
Armin Shimerman
Carrie-Ann Moss
Freddie Prinze Jr.

Shit, even Jessica Chobot of early 2010's online video game journalism fame (back when things like G4 were a big deal) was a character in ME3.

The original Mass Effect trilogy was a legitimate big deal in gaming.  It did a lot to shape what we expect/demand in AAA action RPGs, even today.  Absolutely worth a look if you're interested in seeing the connecting threads from them to now.

[KevinM1]

I'm actually looking forward to two non-violent indie games: Sable and Lake

Sable is an exploration game that has an aesthetic I 100% dig: https://store.steampowered.com/app/757310/Sable/

Lake is a game set in the 1980s, and you deliver mail: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1118240/Lake/

I'm at the point in my gaming existence (been playing since I was about 2 years old when my grandmother bought the family a Commodore VIC-20) where I'm kinda bored/tired of video game violence. I need a palette cleanser.

[Phaedrus]

It's my first time playing ME1, and right from the beginning there are two aspects I don't like.

1. When I aim, the camera off kilters me far away from the target I was just staring at. By the time I slowly move the camera toward the target, it has moved or is virtually upon me.

2. There is no proper quest guidance. Like where am I supposed to find this particular person to continue the quest line?

[Cavebear]

Hope you have a wonderful game.  But speaking of names, I've been "Cavebear" since the early 90s.  

I've been abaris since my pen and paper days in the mid 80ies.

Took mine from The Clan Of The Cave Bear (COTCB) books by Jean Auel in the 80s. When I got internet service (in the office) the first 2 things I searched were "COTCB Jean Auel" and "atheist".

What does "abaris" mean to you?

[abaris]

Took mine from The Clan Of The Cave Bear (COTCB) books by Jean Auel in the 80s.  When I got internet service (in the office) the first 2 things I searched were "COTCB Jean Auel" and "atheist".  

What does "abaris" mean to you?

It's been the name of my D&D cleric. The name came from Celtic mythology, but I don't remember what it stood for.

[Cavebear]

Took mine from The Clan Of The Cave Bear (COTCB) books by Jean Auel in the 80s.  When I got internet service (in the office) the first 2 things I searched were "COTCB Jean Auel" and "atheist".  

What does "abaris" mean to you?

It's been the name of my D&D cleric. The name came from Celtic mythology, but I don't remember what it stood for.

Found something about the name, but the site won't let me copy anything (must be an image). Something about Celtic and "jovial and love to talk. Love children and pets".

Hey, all names we take come from somewhere.

[Dom]

It's my first time playing ME1, and right from the beginning there are two aspects I don't like.

1. When I aim, the camera off kilters me far away from the target I was just staring at. By the time I slowly move the camera toward the target, it has moved or is virtually upon me.

2. There is no proper quest guidance. Like where am I supposed to find this particular person to continue the quest line?

I like when there is no quest guidance. Exploration....

[abaris]

2. There is no proper quest guidance. Like where am I supposed to find this particular person to continue the quest line?

Just wait for ME2. There's all the quest guidance you like and probably more than you like.

[KevinM1]

It's my first time playing ME1, and right from the beginning there are two aspects I don't like.

1. When I aim, the camera off kilters me far away from the target I was just staring at. By the time I slowly move the camera toward the target, it has moved or is virtually upon me.

2. There is no proper quest guidance. Like where am I supposed to find this particular person to continue the quest line?

No real advice for #1, but for #2 you have a journal in the pause menu that (mostly) tells you what you're supposed to do.

But, yes, this is a relatively old school RPG. You're supposed to be exploring.

[KevinM1]

I just learned that one of the bosses of the old Aurum Vale dungeon in FF14 was nerfed, which makes me sad.

Now, don't get me wrong, Aurum Vale is a pretty crappy dungeon. It's one of the A Realm Reborn (ARR) dungeons, back when the devs were trying to figure out exactly what the game flow should be. It's a long, clunky experience, one that is unfortunately necessary for story progression.

The boss in question is an Ogre type. Minotaurs and Cyclopses are part of the same family. What makes them unique is that they all have a 360 degree spin attack with a large range that has no on-field indicator. You need to be watching the enemy cast bar in order to avoid it. And given its range, it can be difficult to avoid when you're within melee range, even if you're paying attention.

People have been complaining about Aurum Vale for years, and apparently the devs had enough and added on-field indicators for that Ogre boss' attacks. Which is... dumb. That boss isn't the problem with that dungeon. Its length, and the layout of some of the rooms, are much larger contributors to why people hate it than those attacks.

[Dom]

I'm actually looking forward to two non-violent indie games: Sable and Lake

Sable is an exploration game that has an aesthetic I 100% dig: https://store.steampowered.com/app/757310/Sable/

Lake is a game set in the 1980s, and you deliver mail: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1118240/Lake/

I'm at the point in my gaming existence (been playing since I was about 2 years old when my grandmother bought the family a Commodore VIC-20) where I'm kinda bored/tired of video game violence.  I need a palette cleanser.

Try Animallica in peaceful mode. It's gorgeous and engaging. Also, My Island is very promising, but I would wait for the next update. 

I tried Lake and keep crashing the car.   Never got far in it, but I was bored by it.

[abaris]

But, yes, this is a relatively old school RPG.  You're supposed to be exploring.

Both DA:O and ME1 came out at a time before Bioware was EAified.

[Dānu]

Played some Warhammer II. I'm still in the tutorial. For some reason the camera controls weren't working which made play difficult.

[isbelldl]

I just learned that one of the bosses of the old Aurum Vale dungeon in FF14 was nerfed, which makes me sad.

Now, don't get me wrong, Aurum Vale is a pretty crappy dungeon. It's one of the A Realm Reborn (ARR) dungeons, back when the devs were trying to figure out exactly what the game flow should be. It's a long, clunky experience, one that is unfortunately necessary for story progression.

The boss in question is an Ogre type. Minotaurs and Cyclopses are part of the same family. What makes them unique is that they all have a 360 degree spin attack with a large range that has no on-field indicator. You need to be watching the enemy cast bar in order to avoid it. And given its range, it can be difficult to avoid when you're within melee range, even if you're paying attention.

People have been complaining about Aurum Vale for years, and apparently the devs had enough and added on-field indicators for that Ogre boss' attacks. Which is... dumb. That boss isn't the problem with that dungeon. Its length, and the layout of some of the rooms, are much larger contributors to why people hate it than those attacks.

I was also sad that they added ground aoe telegraphs for Coincounter. Watching sprouts go flying was often the highlight of the dungeon. I guess it makes sense to make it more obvious here to train for later encounters. The real difficulty from Aurum Vale is players not understanding the fruit mechanics in the other bosses or from accidental pulls in the first trash room.

[GenesisNemesis]

Looking forward to Deathloop, Gamedec and Aragami 2 coming out this week.

[Mediocharist]

Took some time out of farming the Moonlight Butterflies for a Blue Titanite Slab to learn Gimp just to make a meme about my suffering.

Butterflies. Pls. The Slab. This can all end if you just give it to me. End both our torments. Pls.

[OakTree500]

Picked up "Zelda : Skyward Sword" for my birthday, and have been playing it solid since then.

I'm a huge Zelda fan but never got the chance to play this one as it came out on the wii, which I never had. This relrelease is in HD as well, so its been a great experience so far. I will say the controls can be a little clunky as it was manily built around the motion controls for the wii, so using a hand controller can be a bit difficult at times, but otherwise it's a solid game that I've enjoyed a lot so far.

[Dānu]

I spent some time playing Goat Simulator last night. Still trying to figure out what I'm supposed to be doing, but I'm racking up a lot of points.

I fear that upon quitting the game I may have lost all my progress up to that point, if 'progress' is even the right word for it. Though having spent 15 minutes trying to get out of a swimming pool by jumping on one of the conveniently located trampolines, I'm a bit nonplussed that there doesn't seem to be any save system.

[isbelldl]

I spent some time playing Goat Simulator last night.  Still trying to figure out what I'm supposed to be doing, but I'm racking up a lot of points.

I fear that upon quitting the game I may have lost all my progress up to that point, if 'progress' is even the right word for it.  Though having spent 15 minutes trying to get out of a swimming pool by jumping on one of the conveniently located trampolines, I'm a bit nonplussed that there doesn't seem to be any save system.

It's been a while since I played, so I'm going off hazy memory. For any incomplete challenges, if you quit you probably lose your progress. Any complete challenges will be saved as completed. Of course, they levels also reset every time you start them. The base game is a parody of the old extreme sports games. Like those, the mail goals are to complete challenges, rack up points, & find collectables. Other than that, you're just supposed to goof off, have fun, & take in the spectacle of it.

[GenesisNemesis]

I'm enjoying Deathloop. If you've played Dishonored it's kind of familiar already though. But I don't have much of a problem with that. Also, Eastward is good too though I've only played an hour of that.

[KevinM1]

Yeah, I really wanted to like Skyward Sword HD, but I found the controls inaccessible, which is incredibly frustrating.  Having the camera tied to holding down L1, especially, was frustrating, as was the inability to invert Y when flying the loftwing.  My messed up hands just couldn't do what the game wanted me to do.  $60 down the drain (I bought it digitally, so no refunds).

I pivoted to Lake, an indie game about being a temp mail carrier in a quaint Oregon town in 1986.  I was hoping it would be something similar to the Life is Strange games, just without special powers.  It wasn't that at all.  Felt like a proof-of-concept.  Half-baked.  A full run takes about 6 hours to go through.  While there's some replay value in the branching dialogue/choices you can make, there's not enough game there to make me want to trudge through another 6 hours of it to tweak a choice here or there.  Definitely not worth it at its $20 price point.  

Because of these two failures, my stream schedule got all messed up.  I was counting on Zelda lasting me into October.  I'm going to buy the indie game Sable when it comes out next week.  I really love the aesthetic... reminds me of old school French comics.  But, I decided to get a few things to both cover the gap between now and then, as well as provide 'cover' in case that game is also bad and/or short:

Baba is You
Katana Zero
Battle Chasers
Ori and the Blind Forest

I figure that those plus Sable will last me until FFXIV Endwalker comes out in late November.

[OakTree500]

I spent some time playing Goat Simulator last night.  Still trying to figure out what I'm supposed to be doing, but I'm racking up a lot of points.

I fear that upon quitting the game I may have lost all my progress up to that point, if 'progress' is even the right word for it.  Though having spent 15 minutes trying to get out of a swimming pool by jumping on one of the conveniently located trampolines, I'm a bit nonplussed that there doesn't seem to be any save system.

There isn't really a "point" to Goat simulator, but there are a ton of hidden things knocking around. tons of trophies and different goat skins you can unlock. There is a way to go into space as well

[Dom]

Yeah, I really wanted to like Skyward Sword HD, but I found the controls inaccessible, which is incredibly frustrating.  Having the camera tied to holding down L1, especially, was frustrating, as was the inability to invert Y when flying the loftwing.  My messed up hands just couldn't do what the game wanted me to do.  $60 down the drain (I bought it digitally, so no refunds).

I pivoted to Lake, an indie game about being a temp mail carrier in a quaint Oregon town in 1986.  I was hoping it would be something similar to the Life is Strange games, just without special powers.  It wasn't that at all.  Felt like a proof-of-concept.  Half-baked.  A full run takes about 6 hours to go through.  While there's some replay value in the branching dialogue/choices you can make, there's not enough game there to make me want to trudge through another 6 hours of it to tweak a choice here or there.  Definitely not worth it at its $20 price point.  

Because of these two failures, my stream schedule got all messed up.  I was counting on Zelda lasting me into October.  I'm going to buy the indie game Sable when it comes out next week.  I really love the aesthetic... reminds me of old school French comics.  But, I decided to get a few things to both cover the gap between now and then, as well as provide 'cover' in case that game is also bad and/or short:

Baba is You
Katana Zero
Battle Chasers
Ori and the Blind Forest

I figure that those plus Sable will last me until FFXIV Endwalker comes out in late November.

Stream Animallica. It's a survival game, but you can use a peaceful mode if you want and have no combat. It has gorgeous graphics, and lots of exploration in many different biomes. The world is infected and you are to tranquilize and cure all the animals. It is immersive no matter how you play it, lots of loot, simple to do building and incredible landscaping if you are into that. While there are goals, it can be played any way you like and there is lots and lots to explore, I have a ton of hours in it now. Always discover something new. Very active discord. Responsive devs. It's in Beta and there is more to come - but you can't tell, it seems finished and polished. If you choose to play it, you can PM me with any questions about it.

Lake bored me to death and that truck sucks.