Timogorgon's game events | Cheerful Ghost

Games Club: Half-Life 2

This event is over

Start: Wed - April 1, 2015

End: Thu - April 30, 2015

happening all day

7 spots left

Come play through Half-Life 2 with the Cheerful Ghost community! Whether this is your first time playing the game (like me!) or if you're an experienced veteran, come join the discussion!

This event includes Half-Life 2 Episodes 1 and 2.

You will need to sign in to join this event.

Users signed up:

Travis Admin wrote on 03/29/2015 at 10:08pm

It's still weird to me that people haven't played this game! :) Glad you're going to finally experience it. The plot between the first and second is definitely related. There's some larger mysterious plot going on that we have bits and pieces of. But overall you don't need to have played the first game to follow this one. If you want to catch up on plot, here's a link. It was kinda light on plot (Half-Life 2 has way more plot) so I'm surprised there's this much: http://half-life.wikia.com/wiki/Half-Life_storyline

Follow-up: Does this event cover episodes 1 and 2 as well? They're much shorter and can be completed in a few hours.

Azurephile Super Member wrote on 03/30/2015 at 12:23am

I haven't ever played any Half-Life game, that is until I started the demo recently. I decided to join the event, even if I only play the demo. I might be tempted to get the game (and all related content). I'm not sure yet, I'll have to play the demo more as I only spent a little bit of time with it so far.

Timogorgon Member Post Author wrote on 03/31/2015 at 06:13am

Thanks for the link! I haven't played the first one, so I'll have to read through that to get caught up. I don't know what episode 1 and 2 are about, but I'm open to including them.

rettisawesome wrote on 04/01/2015 at 04:01pm

Those are just sequels to hl2. And are absolutely amazing.

Timogorgon Member Post Author wrote on 04/01/2015 at 06:21pm

Cool, I'm good adding them then. I'll update the description.

Travis Admin wrote on 04/01/2015 at 08:02pm

Think of them like standalone DLC. There were supposed to be three of them, but ... well, Valve can't seem to count to three.

jdodson Admin wrote on 04/01/2015 at 09:58pm

Greg if you decide you want to play the full game let me know, i've got an extra copy of The Orange Box I got as a trade for a Steam Holiday Card.

My first question is how are people going to play the game this time? I have the Orange Box on PS3 and Half-life 2 on PC. I thought the PS3 version was quite good but will more than likely hit the PC this time.

scrypt Supporter wrote on 04/01/2015 at 11:19pm

I'll be playing it on PC, as soon as I get the mod downloaded. I'd like to experience the updated textures and whatnot :).

Azurephile Super Member wrote on 04/02/2015 at 12:31am

Thanks, Jon, you're awesome! I can't decide whether to accept or decline, yet I kind of feel like I shouldn't pass it up. =) I still haven't played the demo for a while. I got side tracked by the Diablo III: Reaper of Souls event. Now that it's over, I'm disappointed because it's over, but still playing it. I got my Monk up to level 86 and beat the game (and Ros) on Torment II. I did die once by Malthael. I just created a new character, a Witch Doctor. Anyway, I figured I'd start playing the HL2 demo again once this event got under way.

jdodson Admin wrote on 04/02/2015 at 01:24am

Well, if you do let me know.

I am playing it on PC too. They have a controller setting as well as the standard keyboard and mouse. Originally I played the Orange Box on PS3 but prefer the keyboard and mouse this time around. That said, I was streaming it to my TV earlier to play on the couch and it was a fine controller experience, I am more effective with key/mouse though

jdodson Admin wrote on 04/02/2015 at 01:41am

Ah and if anyone didn't know, you need to start your game in the Half-life update mod you can't pick it up after you have a save in the regular game. I started in the regular game as the mod was downloading and unless I move the save(which I won't do because I am lazy and the game still looks incredible).

That said, the game looks incredible and is buttery smooth and 60fps maxed out on my monitor. Older tech games still look and play well and come with the bonus of great frame rates

Azurephile Super Member wrote on 04/02/2015 at 02:21am

I'm thinking I should take you up on the offer. I might as well not pass up a free game, especially one that's as popular as Half-Life 2. I had friends that were playing it during its release, but my PC at the time didn't meet some of the system requirements. I think that would be a cool idea because I can then fully participate in this event. =)

Travis Admin wrote on 04/02/2015 at 03:01am

The PS3 Orange Box wasn't great. The 360 version was way better. Once you get to the final areas it starts dragging in a major way on PS3. The problems were more apparent in TF2 and Portal, but Half-Life 2 suffered as well. This was back when Valve said the PS3 was essentially worthless, and farmed out the development of the Orange Box on PS3 to a third-party, before eventually integrating Steam into the PS3 version of Portal 2. :)

jdodson Admin wrote on 04/02/2015 at 03:24am

I played The orange Bix all the all the way through on PS3 and beyond some audio crackling thought it was fine. Portal, in my experience ran the best out of the lot. I went to try TF2 the other day and the servers weren't up, which isn't surprising.

EA published Half-life 2 and I think they ported it.

jdodson Admin wrote on 04/02/2015 at 05:13am

Looks like Valve and Sierra published the game and EA distributed versions of it.

With that if you have the PC copy play that, it's far superior.

Travis Admin wrote on 04/02/2015 at 12:42pm

Yeah they did the port job on it. TF2 had the launch content and nothing else. The 360 version kept growing with the 360 version for a while, but the PS3 version never got any of that new content.

When I got to the area moving into the final boss fight in HL2, where it's really hazy/smoky, my framerate dropped to like 2fps, and it wasn't much better during the actual boss fight. There were pretty bad framerate issues throughout the game, but nothing gamebreaking until you try to fight the boss with really bad stuttering.

jdodson Admin wrote on 04/03/2015 at 02:15am

Greg, I sent over the game on Steam.

So I just got to Black Mesa East after the chopper fight and I figured that is a pretty good place to rest for a bit.

I forgot how great Half-life 2 is at establishing the dystopian future tone. It's like a totally depressing future but one that's so compelling I wouldn't mind going to. That said, the Combine REALLY like burning people alive. As I continue on with the game there are torched corpses scattered here and there

scrypt Supporter wrote on 04/03/2015 at 02:36am

A few hours in, just entered Ravenholm. The first time I played through the HL2 games was on XBox 360, and, though playing on the PC now, I'm sticking with the 360 controller. The smoother, sweeping motion of the controller, I think, allows for a more cinematic experience. Definitely not optimized for a controller, and the default configuration is frustrating at times (how do you equip a grenade?).

I forgot how much of a maze this game is to run through. Level design is stellar, but it's a pretty simple formula: run through extensively long corridors, shoot some stuff, (load screen), solve a puzzle, maybe swim a little, (load screen), awkwardly drive a hover-boat through extensively long hover-boat-sized corridors, (load screen)... Then I remember that this game is over 10 years old(!), and it still looks amazing, the writing is solid, voice acting is spot on. It's that attention to detail that elevates Half-Life 2 to the classic that it is.

I want to talk some about the actual story, but I'll wait until I know more people have started and at least gotten to Ravenholm.

Zach_Foster wrote on 04/03/2015 at 02:38am

As if i needed an excuse to play this game again! I've been a huge fan of the franchise since the very beginning. I still have all the original discs for Half-Life, Opposing Force, and Blue Shift from my old Windows '98 computer.

Zach_Foster wrote on 04/03/2015 at 02:43am

The first time i played these games was on PC, several years ago. I played Half-Life 2 shortly after Episode 1 came out, so i played the two back to back and i remember how frustrated I was waiting for Episode 2... Now I will actually be playing through on Orange Box for 360 for the first time. I'll be deciding whether I like playing with keyboard or controller better.

jdodson Admin wrote on 04/03/2015 at 02:55am

@scrypt: I think waiting until people are starting up Ravenholm is a good time to talk story. I haven't started that yet, I don't really want to go there any more...

I think this is an easter egg to the then unreleased Portal game. I could be reaching I suppose smile

http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=418540770

jdodson Admin wrote on 04/03/2015 at 02:56am

Oh and as an aside, the Linux port of Half-life 2 is superb. I'd say it's on par with or better than the Windows one. Valve did a great job, I might continue playing the game on Linux to the end.

Azurephile Super Member wrote on 04/03/2015 at 07:11am

I am now downloading the game thanks to Jon. I played the demo a bit more recently. I got to an interrogation room where a couple of friendlies helped me get out the back door. I climbed over some stuff and went to the plaza. From there, I wasn't sure what to do, but many paths were blocked. I think I ended up going into a bathroom and the demo seemed to point me to another part of the game. This time, I had weapons and there were a few creepy looking monsters to kill. I exploded some fuel tanks (or something) and didn't know where to go from there.

After I get the bundle installed, I'll check out the mod Travis shared and get that installed, too. Then I'll jump in.

scrypt Supporter wrote on 04/03/2015 at 03:33pm

That's funny, @jdodson. I took that same screenshot of the "Portal Wars," and wondered the same thing.

I'm kind of in the same boat with Ravenholm. It's not a happy place. In fact, all this talk of portals has me longing to hear GlaDOS coyly belittle me while I put her in her place...with science.

Timogorgon Member Post Author wrote on 04/03/2015 at 08:15pm

I'm a little over an hour in so far. I decided not to install the graphics update to get the total "2004" experience. I gotta say though once I turned all the graphics settings up everything looks pretty darn good. And of course since I'm running a fairly modern PC I get a perfectly smooth frame rate. Awwwww yeah.

Other than reading up about the storyline in Half-Life 1 I went into this knowing pretty much nothing about the game, so I was kind of surprised to run into some physics based puzzle elements. :) I was expecting a straight forward FPS experience.

Oh, and those barnacle things are really creepy and gross. I felt pretty clever when I decided to try rolling an explosive barrel into a group of them and, not only did my plan work, but I earned an achievement for it as well. Score!

I'm still very early in the game but so far I'm liking it a lot!

rettisawesome wrote on 04/03/2015 at 09:22pm

This game really does hold up. I think a lot of modern gaming has a lot to owe to hl2. And if you guys ever want one of the hardest gaming experiences of your life try hl1 . haha . but hl2 is so great and short enough to enthrall. Mp is great too. A lot of the mp mods are great. Install man classics where I come from.

Azurephile Super Member wrote on 04/03/2015 at 10:52pm

I've made it out of the mine, which is passed Ravenholm, it seems. It's cool that you kind of have to figure out where to go and how to get there with a few snags along the way. Some how, it seems, most of this is a bit intuitive. By the way, Ravenholm was the second part of the demo. Anyway, I seem to love the crowbar, I tend to use it a lot. I'm kind of stuck where I am now as there are snipers above me. I found out how to take out one of them, but the next is where I'm at. I'm sure I'll figure something out.

Travis Admin wrote on 04/04/2015 at 05:14am

To answer your questions about "Portal wars," the game released in 2004. The game that inspired Valve to make Portal, Narbacular Drop, didn't release until 2005. In fact, they hired the developers of Narbacular Drop to make Portal!

So it's a nice coincidence but not an intentional easter egg.

Travis Admin wrote on 04/04/2015 at 05:37am

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Narbacular_Drop

More info. It's actually a pretty good game for what it is. Not much there, but you can see the Portal concepts.

scrypt Supporter wrote on 04/04/2015 at 05:47am

That's where they got the idea for the actual portal mechanic, but I thought Valve had been working on the story of the game prior to approaching the NB team?

Travis Admin wrote on 04/05/2015 at 05:14am

It looks like the story came after after the Narbacular Drop team joined up, and the tie-in to HL2 was chosen since they could save money by reusing assets.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portal_(video_game)#Concept
http://www.gameinformer.com/b/features/archive/2010/03/10/opening-the-portal-exploring-portal-s-creation-and-its-ties-to-half-life-2.aspx

scrypt Supporter wrote on 04/05/2015 at 05:25pm

Right on. Thanks for the clarification! :)

Travis Admin wrote on 04/05/2015 at 05:52pm

Wow, think about how different the game could have been if it had more money. I'm really glad they had the restrictions on them, because the final was a masterpiece for what it was, and it led into Portal 2, which I wouldn't want to be any different.

jdodson Admin wrote on 04/05/2015 at 06:29pm

Often, restrictions and adversity can make the end result pretty special. OBLIGATORY Star Wars comparison.

Travis Admin wrote on 04/05/2015 at 09:05pm

Absolutely. The things Lucas managed to pull off on ping pong tables is amazing. The things he pulled off with green screen and millions of dollars are not as compelling.

Azurephile Super Member wrote on 04/06/2015 at 12:02am

All I can think now is, "I thought I'd never..." Such as, I thought I'd never get passed those snipers. I thought I'd never take out that first gunship (aim red cursor at it to guide rocket). I thought I'd never get my buggy flipped right-side up (use "special g weapon"). Some times I thought I was stuck, but managed to figure out how to progress. Like I said before, the game seems a bit intuitive. At one point, I wasn't sure how to get passed a barrier, but used the "special g weapon" to push a heavy transport to break the power line. At another barrier, I found out that I could get under the bridge and make my way to the other side, pull a plug with the "special g weapon," and then head back to get my buggy through. Also, I thought I'd never find that third car battery to get that one gate open. Anyway, I'm done with the buggy, I made it to my destination and now have to go on foot.

I like that the game auto saves. There are really only a couple of "issues," which are hardly issues, that I've found. When the terrain, or whatever, is shaking, the graphics get kind of odd looking, it's not smooth. I noticed this at the beginning on the train and while crossing under the bridge (previously mentioned). Loading between areas takes a few seconds or so. I am playing the "update" mod.

Travis Admin wrote on 04/06/2015 at 12:39am

You keep saying "special g weapon." Did they call it that at any point? I always just thought it was the gravity gun.

Azurephile Super Member wrote on 04/06/2015 at 04:40am

No, I just called it that hoping to avoid spoiling the game for anyone, although I may have with my last comment. I'm in City 17 now.

Azurephile Super Member wrote on 04/06/2015 at 06:47am

Well, I'm done, at least with Half-Life 2 Update. Next is Episode 1, 2, and Lost Coast. I thought that was Michelle Forbes as Dr. Judith Mossman. I think I first saw her in Star Trek: The Next Generation. I saw her again in Battlestar Galactica.

jdodson Admin wrote on 04/06/2015 at 03:45pm

Mossman REALLY sounds like Michelle Forbes and... yep according to the ol' Internet she did play her.

http://half-life.wikia.com/wiki/Michelle_Forbes

She has a really unique voice.

scrypt Supporter wrote on 04/06/2015 at 09:33pm

Ravenholm is spooky! Glad that's over with. A few questions about that reverend: What is he living off of? Raven meat? Head crabs? I suppose he could take trips out to the city at some point for a Combine burger, but if that's the case, why continue to go back to Ravenholm? Not that I don't appreciate his help and weaponry. Maybe he's the last survivor of what went down there, or he feels responsible in some way? Also, he seems to be the only person in the game who doesn't know who Gordon Freeman is!

I've switched over to the keyboard/mouse configuration. Much easier to play that way. I'm surprised they didn't to a proper implementing of the Xbox 360 controller, especially after releasing the Orange Box on that console.

Travis Admin wrote on 04/06/2015 at 09:55pm

Michelle Forbes is sci-fi royalty. Next Gen, Battlestar, Orphan Black. She was incredible in The Killing, but that's not sci-fi.

The 360 controller works ok for most things, but it certainly does NOT work well with driving controls.

Azurephile Super Member wrote on 04/07/2015 at 12:00am

I liked the guy in Ravenholm, he had a cool name, hehehe. I thought I'd never make it out of the Sand Traps, either. I have had to consult a walkthrough a few times. Anyway, Episode One complete.

Zach_Foster wrote on 04/07/2015 at 02:11am

Well i'm sad to say that i'll be out of the running until i can find a new copy of Orange Box, or get the game running on my laptop. For those of you who follow me on twitter, (Jon), you can see the issues i'm facing with what I call "HL2: Disco Edition". There is an error on the disc and my 360 will not process the active graphics, which makes the game nearly unplayable.

rettisawesome wrote on 04/07/2015 at 02:45am

Well guys. Am I first across the finish line? Also about narbacular drop a cool story. Those guys were presenting their game at an event for their school. And the dudes from valve literally walked up, and pulled the plug on all their stuff so no one else could see and offered them all jobs on the spot.

I don't know how true that is. But I heard it in an interview with them.

Azurephile Super Member wrote on 04/07/2015 at 05:04am

I just finished Episode Two. Did you finish the game and the extra stuff, rettisawesome?

Timogorgon Member Post Author wrote on 04/07/2015 at 06:23pm

Dang, I'm lagging way behind everyone, lol. I'm still on the run from the Combine trying to get to... uh... well actually I don't really remember. I just know I'm suppose to be heading somewhere and I'm being chased, heh. I just recently got a hold of an airboat type vehicle and been driving that around for awhile. Part of the reason I'm not very far is I've been doing a lot of exploring around and kind of taking my time with it.

rettisawesome wrote on 04/07/2015 at 09:50pm

Nah. Just hl2. Been farting around on Gary's mod now. Remembered how great all that stuff is.

Azurephile Super Member wrote on 04/08/2015 at 12:20am

It's funny that you mention Gary's Mod because while I was playing HL2, my son kept saying that it's like Gary's Mod. He ended up watching me play at times and even offering some help.

Lost Coast was very brief. In fact, it is essentially a tech demo. I did run the video stress test and it said my frame rate was about 291 fps. Info Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Half-Life_2:_Lost_Coast

rettisawesome wrote on 04/08/2015 at 01:56am

Yeah it's a demo for bloom lighting I think.

Azurephile Super Member wrote on 04/08/2015 at 02:10am

From wikipedia: "Lost Coast serves as a technology demonstration, specifically showcasing the high-dynamic-range rendering implemented in the Source engine. The level was designed with a variety of appropriate environments to emphasize these effects."

rettisawesome wrote on 04/09/2015 at 10:38pm

Ah hdr

Travis Admin wrote on 04/15/2015 at 10:05pm

Relevant: today's Zero Punctuation is a review of Half Life 2: Update.

http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/10098-Half-Life-2-Update-Retro-Review?utm_source=feedly&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=videos

dannytron wrote on 04/16/2015 at 02:44am

I'm kind of late to party but I'll try and catch up. I'm halfway through Ravenholm. I forgot what a masterclass in level design it is. I love how the game just drops you straight into a horror film. It almost feels like a seperate game. I wish more horror games could achieve what this one level does.

It's been a while since I last played Half-Life 2 and I'm having a blast.

Azurephile Super Member wrote on 04/16/2015 at 02:58am

Welcome to the club, dannytron! You nailed it with what you said about level design, which I think is one of the greatest aspects of the game. I mentioned, twice, that the game seems pretty intuitive and that certainly points at level design. I think it was definitely designed well in a way that getting through it was some what obvious. I did get stuck a few times and referred to a guide, but otherwise I found the game mostly easy to traverse. It wasn't always extremely obvious what to do or how to progress, but in many cases it certainly makes the player think a bit. So, I think aspect of it was certainly done well.

scrypt Supporter wrote on 04/16/2015 at 03:35am

I love how the game just drops you straight into a horror film. It almost feels like a seperate game.

So true. There is very little in the way of cheap shocks in this level. It's more a deeper feeling of lonlely terror, that maybe your character could be trapped here, joining the soulless masses, if he doesn't follow the voice of a slightly crazed preacher. In fact, just by putting a preacher in that role adds a gravity of the supernatural to the whole situation that might not otherwise be felt. Brilliant!

dannytron wrote on 04/16/2015 at 03:45pm

Yeah the horror doesn't feel cheap at all. It has an almost serene and tranquil quality about it as if your fate is inevitable. Then the pastor shows up. And to keep running with the religious metaphor I really like how the ground around you is on fire and you literally have to ascend from the flames toward the pastor and salvation. It may not have been intentional but it certainly feels that way.

jdodson Admin wrote on 04/19/2015 at 01:27pm

Saw this recently on Reddit. Gordon Freeman playing w a headcrab.

https://i.imgur.com/J0BmL1R.gif

scrypt Supporter wrote on 04/19/2015 at 03:26pm

Horrifying, and yet adorable!

Timogorgon Member Post Author wrote on 05/02/2015 at 09:52pm

Hello fellow Cheeful Ghosters! Thanks for another great games club! Our HL2 event is over but our Guild Wars 2 is still on going. I've heard some rumors floating around that Terraria 1.3 is planned for a June release, so I'm going to hold off on announcing our next games club until later this May. If Terraria comes out I know we'll be setting up a server and we'll all be busy with that. If no official release date is announced then we'll fire up Last of Us for June. :D

Thanks again everyone!

Travis Admin wrote on 05/02/2015 at 09:57pm

WBS TALK TO US ABOUT SHIELD.

Also yeah, it was nice seeing other people's reactions to this classic. :)

Azurephile Super Member wrote on 05/03/2015 at 05:05am

I was glad to join and glad to play a seemingly classic and obviously very popular game.

Terraria 1.3 is expected in June, although officially I only saw that a June release was their goal. Hopefully soon they'll give us a release date or just release it. I found out about it in late November and have been eagerly awaiting its arrival ever since (like a kid waiting for Christmas again). I'm still playing Diablo 3: Reaper of Souls and the way I'm playing might hold me until then. If not, Terraria 1.3 will get my immediate and primary focus. =)

Since it's already May and Terraria 1.3 is expected in June, I think it's safe to go ahead and start another Games Club month, but that's just my opinion. I don't know anything about Last of Us, except I only recognize the title.

Timogorgon Member Post Author wrote on 05/03/2015 at 05:22pm

Travis: GOSH I ALREADY DID COMMENT ON AGENTS OF SHIELD! YOU'RE NOT THE BOSS OF ME!

Greg: The Guild Wars 2 games club is still ongoing through May, so I figured the next Games club would start in June. Depending on what news we get from the Terraria camp will determine if we start Last of Us in June or if we start up our next Terraria server. :) In either case, we'll get to both Terraria 1.3 and Last of Us eventually.

If you want to join this conversation you need to sign in.

Celebrate the Birthday of Reaper of Souls

This event is over

Start: Mon - March 23, 2015 @ 8:45pm PDT

End: Mon - March 30, 2015 @ 8:45pm PDT

anyone can join

Diablo III: Reaper of Souls on Battlenet

It's the birthday of Reaper of Souls and Blizzard is celebrating with an in-game event! For this week, players are granted a +100% bonus for gold and EXP. Feel free to join me (GregoPeck#1971)! I've created a new character, a Demon Hunter, for this event.

*Note: Please note that... Read All

You will need to sign in to join this event.

Users signed up:

Azurephile

jdodson

Timogorgon

Azurephile Super Member Post Author wrote on 03/24/2015 at 02:06am

Thanks for joining my first event, Jon! It made me feel so good to create it! =)

That said, I just found out about some scheduled maintenance. The news from Blizzard is as follows:

"We will be performing maintenance beginning on Tuesday, March 24, at 3:00 AM PDT and we expect it to be complete at approximately 11:00 AM PDT. During this time the game and many web services will be unavailable. Thank you for your patience."

http://us.battle.net/d3/en/forum/topic/16716772081

Travis Admin wrote on 03/24/2015 at 12:52pm

Diablo III goes into maintenance mode every Tuesday morning. It's their weekly downtime. It's annoying but necessary, I suppose!

Azurephile Super Member Post Author wrote on 03/25/2015 at 04:03am

I'm so glad Blizzard created the in-game birthday event for Reaper of Souls, it gave me a reason to play the game again. I was waiting for the new patch to be released, but I decided not to sit out until then. I'm glad for that because I had gotten in to a phase I hated where I didn't know what I wanted to play. I did briefly play Terraria on the PS3 with my son since I bought it so that he and his friend could play together. I also played a bit more of the mobile version on my Kindle Fire.

I'm not sure when the patch will be released. I'm also not sure how far I'll get with this week's in-game birthday event. I think my Demon Hunter is now about level 40 and I'm still in Act II. It is my guess that I will finish the game before the in-game event is over and will, therefore, create another new character and play through it again. My only problem is that I don't know what to name the other characters I know I'm going to create, although I have some ideas.

One thing I'd like us to do here is discuss the game (I guess that's a given). I thought about some things I'm interested in knowing about how you play the game. Do you have a favorite class? Also, if you have a Demon Hunter, do you dual-wield bows? I haven't played all the classes yet, so I think it's too early for me to pick a favorite. I did spend a lot of time with my Barbarian, so that's probably my favorite so far, however I think they're all pretty good. I am not dual-wielding with my Demon Hunter. I have a really awesome bow (or crossbow) equipped with a good quiver.

Another thing I'm interested in knowing is how you decide which skills to equip. While I am leveling, I tend to switch to whatever is new. So, if I unlock a new rune for one skill, that's what I switch to. It gives me some variety and helps me learn and experience all of them. At first, with my Barbarian, I did not use any of the special skills (that are set 1-4). I did, finally, start using them and found them to be helpful. However, as I'm playing with my Demon Hunter I've gone back to not using them. Although I mentioned that I switch to new skills (or runes) unlocked by leveling, I have decided to keep the Companion skill with my Demon Hunter. I like it because it's more like a passive skill that I don't have to activate.

Also, I've noticed that from time to time, I like to increase the difficulty level. I always start out on "Normal," but after a while of not really taking any damage, I decide to increase it. This is good because that helps me get more gold and EXP. Do you do the same or stick with a level?

Anyway, feel free to fill me in on your thoughts and game play. Do you play similarly or differently?

jdodson Admin wrote on 03/26/2015 at 02:41am

So it's hard to say what my favorite class is because I typically play a class until I burn out on it. It's not a good strategy and I might consider stopping before I get sick on it. But if I had to say, to date, my favorite class is the Crusader. I also quite enjoy the Barbarian but haven't made it too far with one.

I equip skills based on what I want to accomplish and for my Crusader it's dealing damage. Some people have some really unique builds and I consider mine pretty average. I don't have much epic gear and don't hit very hard so I tend to pick stills which help me take things down. After that I pick skills that can get me out of a tough spot or run away, like steed charge.

I usually play at Torment 1. It's pretty hard but the loot is good and it's not boringly easy.

Azurephile Super Member Post Author wrote on 03/26/2015 at 03:17am

Thanks for the input, Jon! So, you purposefully choose certain skills instead of randomly choosing what you just got by leveling up as I seem to do? Or do you try to learn the skills, play with them all for a bit and then choose? Also, do you use your 1-4 skills often? I still haven't used those skills with my Demon Hunter yet and I'm still choosing whatever is new when I level up. Recently, I selected one of those secondary skills (right-click) I got from leveling up and noticed how great it was at clearing out groups of enemies. I don't know what the name of it is though. I think how I've been playing (when it comes to new characters) is just me learning, even if I don't experiment with everything at first.

Also, I wonder how you and others manage gems. I tend to pretty much stick a really good ruby wherever I can, which almost always increases my strength. I'm also curious as to what followers you and others choose. I pretty much tend to stick with the Templar, although during a time of running through the game with my Barbarian, I decided to switch followers to add a little "spice" to the game.

I was also thinking of seeing the differences between character genders. I think that might be an interesting part of the game to explore. As of now, I've been choosing male characters, but I think it might be interesting to try some females.

Do you start a character on Torment 1 or do you gradually increase the difficulty and get there? I do the gradual increase because, I agree with you, it can get boringly easy and the loot (along with gold and EXP) is good.

Travis Admin wrote on 03/27/2015 at 03:56am

Strength is only really relevant on Strength-based characters. With Monks and Demon Hunters for example, dexterity increases your damage, not strength. So it all depends on what character you're playing.

With difficulty level, once you hit level 80 Torment 1 is pretty taxing. I play on the one below that, I can't remember which. But on the grind to 80 I frequently switch between that and Torment 1.

Azurephile Super Member Post Author wrote on 03/27/2015 at 04:14am

Thanks for the tip, Travis. I haven't been paying attention to my Demon Hunter's dexterity and I now see that I should have. I have been applying Marquise Rubies to whatever items have gem slots. Most often this gives me +62 strength since that applies when put on something other than a helm or weapon. So, I'll have to get back in the game with my Demon Hunter and change those out to emeralds, which give + dexterity when applied to something other than a helm or weapon.

Master is the level below Torment 1, which is what I'm currently playing on. My Demon Hunter is now above level 60 and I just beat Diablo. During that battle, I finally tried out my 1-4 skills. Although I don't recall what the first two do, the latter two seemed pretty helpful. One of the latter two seems to freeze enemies, while the other of the latter two did some kind of attack, which was awesome.

Travis Admin wrote on 03/27/2015 at 10:09pm

"During that battle, I finally tried out my 1-4 skills."

I'm not entirely sure what this means. You were only using autoattack on your way up to level 60? If so, WOW. I didn't know you could get that far only using the basic attack.

Azurephile Super Member Post Author wrote on 03/27/2015 at 11:04pm

Yeah, I only used my primary and secondary attacks until then. I started out on Normal difficulty and gradually increased it to Master, where it is now. I still use those two skills mostly, but when I fight the harder monsters (blue, yellows, and bosses), I use my other (3 and 4) skills. 1 makes me invisible or something and I never use it. 2 is my companion, which is passive and automatic, so it doesn't need to be activated.

I am getting poor again. I had over 11 million gold, but I finally decided to upgrade my emeralds and rubies. I put the highest emerald in a slot on something for my Demon Hunter. Oh and my DH is now level 70 and my Paragon level is almost to 70 as well. It was only maybe 63 before.

Travis Admin wrote on 03/28/2015 at 02:47am

Damn, that's impressive with only using a very small subset of skills.

Azurephile Super Member Post Author wrote on 03/28/2015 at 04:21am

Thanks! I finished RoS. My Demon Hunter was level 70, Paragon level 71. I some how managed not to get killed by Malthael. I didn't increase the difficulty above Master because I knew he'd be difficult. So, I created a new character, a Monk, and I named him "Adama." =) My Monk is so awesome he found a Black Mushroom in the Cathedral. When I tried to get that item months ago, it took a few attempts at the Cathedral to find it. Oh and I changed the difficulty to Hard sooner than usual. Normal difficulty should really be called Easy and Hard should be called Normal. Haha.

Azurephile Super Member Post Author wrote on 03/28/2015 at 07:24pm

Travis, you once told me about your favorite class. I think you mentioned the Monk or Wizard, am I correct?

The Monk is pretty cool, I was sure I wouldn't be disappointed. Some of his skills are really good like the one where he heals himself and allies. I also like the "bell" one, it seems pretty powerful.

One of the things I didn't like about my play through with the Demon Hunter was that a few Treasure Goblins got away. I really enjoyed his Companion skill. I also equipped two rings, which were pieces of a green set. Since I had two of the set, a skeleton archer summoned when I attacked. That and my Companion skill were very helpful as they created extra allies for me, which would often become enemy targets, saving me from taking damage. I enjoyed that freezing skill of his, as I also enjoy the Monk's skill that freezes enemies when he attacks. I also enjoyed the Demon Hunter's Vengeance skill.

I am now playing my Monk a bit differently than when I had started other new characters. While I am still selecting new skills as they unlock by leveling, I'm using my 1-4 skills more often, which is quite helpful. His 1 skill is a healing one, so I've been keeping that one.

Travis Admin wrote on 03/28/2015 at 08:56pm

It's probably Monk, yeah. I like all the classes though, they're all really well done.

Azurephile Super Member Post Author wrote on 03/29/2015 at 12:10am

I like that the Monk also has a "companion" skill. It's a spirit, but it's pretty much the same thing.

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Games Club: Guild Wars 2

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Start: Sun - March 8, 2015

End: Tue - June 30, 2015

happening all day

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Guild Wars 2 on Steam

Since it looks like many of us have taken advantage of the awesome Guild Wars 2 sale this weekend, let's play together!

If you're new to the game, create your character on the Anvil Rock server if you'd like to join us in WvW (if we ever get into that). For general gameplay it... Read All

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caffo

Travis Admin Post Author wrote on 03/09/2015 at 02:43am

I'm Namwen.9075!

Travis Admin Post Author wrote on 03/09/2015 at 07:24pm

OK all, I've raised enough money to create the guild. It's called Cheerful Ghost and the tag is [CG].

Just as a reminder, if you bought the collectors edition, you get some items that let you increase guild influence. You certainly don't *have* to spend those on the Cheerful Ghost guild, but it will help us create the guild stash and treasure halls, and all the other awesome stuff we can build to give us more storage, magic find, luck, combat skill increases, etc.

The guild stuff seems pretty deep. Go figure, it's in the title, right? But this seems much more useful than guilds in other games.

jdodson Admin wrote on 03/09/2015 at 07:34pm

Joined the Guild, thanks Travis. I'll apply my Guild exp boosts to it.

If anyone wants to add me my account is "jdodson.5831"

Timogorgon Member wrote on 03/09/2015 at 08:51pm

Looks like I'm Taion.4056. If there's any way to send me an invite to the guild feel free to do so. I will probably be on later tonight around 8 or 9 pm PDT.

Travis Admin Post Author wrote on 03/10/2015 at 01:18am

Yep, I already invited you before even updating the post. Assuming you didn't change your name since last year.

Timogorgon Member wrote on 03/10/2015 at 05:08pm

Logged in for a little while last night. I'm now a level 7 warrior, woo! I gotta say that starting armor I got as part of the digital version looks pretty damn awesome. I'm going to be very sad when I eventually have to retire it. It looks like there's a way to change the appearance of your gear but it costs some kind of special currency.

I forgot about the random real world events that happen. Those are a lot more fun to use for leveling up than the usual fetch quests. :)

Something cool I noticed is that my level scaled to whatever area I was in. After hitting level 7 I back tracked to the farm area outside the town to make sure I didn't miss any quests, and my level was automatically adjusted to a lower level. That's awesome! Too many MMO's make it a pain in the ass to try and play with friends if you're different levels. This game seems like they have that figured out.

Travis Admin Post Author wrote on 03/10/2015 at 09:24pm

That's one of my favorite things. Even in Final Fantasy XI, where you had level sync, it was a pain to use it because you wouldn't skill up properly. In GW2 it's easy peasy to knock your level down and play with whomever you want.

Timogorgon Member wrote on 03/10/2015 at 11:22pm

I remember when Level sync came out and it was awesome for any jobs that had already hit the cap of 75 (if that dates when I quit the game, heh heh) and didn't need to skill up anything. You could earn merit points while helping new players and friends level their jobs! But it definitely was not great. Not only would you not skill up your weapons but if your equipped gear didn't match your capped level it got nerfed BAD. Still, at least FFXI tried. :)

Anyone think they'll be on GW2 tonight? I'd love to meet up with some other peeps.

Oh and I used my guild influence boost thingy for our guild. So, you know, YOU'RE WELCOME. Gimmie a guild vault now. :P

jdodson Admin wrote on 03/11/2015 at 01:49am

I'll be on tonight. Like 9pm or will you be on earlier?

Travis Admin Post Author wrote on 03/11/2015 at 03:24am

The problem is the three hour difference here. You guys sign on right as I'm leaving. We always have weekends!

Travis Admin Post Author wrote on 03/11/2015 at 03:36am

Just to add-- I love that this game rewards exploration. I find myself just wandering around cities to see everything and complete the map.

Timogorgon Member wrote on 03/11/2015 at 04:03am

Yeah, this time difference thing just isn't working out. We're really gonna need you to move to move to the west coast. That'd be great...

http://memecrunch.com/meme/2U9U5/that-d-be-great/image.jpg?w=526&c=1

jdodson Admin wrote on 03/14/2015 at 02:23am

The only other MMO i've ever played I can really compare this to is Lord of the Rings Online and the very small bit of WoW i've played. I finally made it to a bigger town and learned two professions Tailoring and Cooking. Not really sure what cooking gives you but I have started collecting some supplies to craft a nice pair of shoes.

Travis Admin Post Author wrote on 03/14/2015 at 05:55am

I don't see the comparison to WoW. I was bored with WoW after a couple of hours, but this has had me hooked from the beginning. I was somewhat impressed with LotR Online but never enough to stick with it.

I love the impromptu parties. Earlier today I ran through a few areas with a group of two other people and myself, and there was no official party ever formed, we just happened to be running the same stuff. It's incredibly verstatile.

jdodson Admin wrote on 03/14/2015 at 03:15pm

I was just mentioning the only other MMOs I've played. I never really went deep with WOW starter either.

I've only teamed up with people during random encounters. A few times people's buffed me, but due to the extra stuff I got when Instarted I've been OP since the start.

jdodson Admin wrote on 03/20/2015 at 05:30am

Played a bit more tonight and I am now a level 14 Necromancer and I just sunk a few skill points into pets. So far the game blends a nice balance of not too hard yet challenging enough. With that, there are(at this point) a ton of things to do. Unlock skill points, discover Vistas, explore areas, unlock new waypoints and complete the story line.

The Storyline took me to this huge hub town inside a Cube I don't quite remember the name of. I can gate there easily enough and to other areas. I imagine you all can too and we might be able to group up that way? I am in Metrica Providence because that's where my race is out of. Where are you all from?

Travis Admin Post Author wrote on 03/20/2015 at 09:38pm

That cube town is Rata Sum, the home city for the Asura. That's where your "home" instance is that you can tinker with. Metrica Province is the starter area for the Asura, you'll barely go there after a bit. My main character is an Asura Elementalist, I've got him up to level 53.

I also have a Human Ranger, that's the one I'm playing with Katie. We're level 27 I think.

Here's the thing. There's a Trading Post in the game where you can buy and sell stuff with other players. I haven't had the need to do that except once when I accidentally salvaged my main kickass weapon. For a free-to-play game, the incentive to purchase items is pretty low.

The content is staggering. I love that you get experience for every little thing you do in this game. It encourages you to play how you want to play. I haven't even touched crafting, for example, but that's a good way to churn through a few levels.

Travis Admin Post Author wrote on 03/21/2015 at 12:28am

Oh BTW, the guild bank is up. The patch a few days ago screwed up a ton of stuff, including build progress, so it stalled for a few days. 50 slots of sharable space so far. It will take quite some time to build up enough rep to upgrade it.

jdodson Admin wrote on 03/21/2015 at 02:17am

Nice. If you want to ditch any Chef materials feel free. I am building up stock so I can max level. I am going to make so many balls of dough.

jdodson Admin wrote on 03/21/2015 at 02:22am

The game seems to be very Trading Company focused. At least if you want to craft you do. I am rising in the ranks of Tailoring and I needed to buy a ton of the gear to level up for it. It's not so bad as you can buy items through the trading company but if you wanted to farm mats its way more difficult than in other MMOs. At least certain mats for Tailor like the base mats you need to build everything with. For instance I tried to farm Jute Scraps from areas where the Wiki said you could farm them and I found 2 in a few hours. You need 126 to level up Novice Tailoring. You can buy them through the Trading Company but right now they are a silver and a few copper!

Travis Admin Post Author wrote on 03/21/2015 at 02:32am

Yeah I've sold a lot of jute scraps :)

Travis Admin Post Author wrote on 03/21/2015 at 03:38am

I don't know how neither Jon nor I had mentioned the amazing score yet. Jeremy Soule is one of the best game composers practicing right now.

Timogorgon Member wrote on 03/21/2015 at 04:59am

I deposited some cooking supplies for you. :D

jdodson Admin wrote on 03/22/2015 at 05:58pm

Thanks, that helps. The hardest thing I am trying to find is peppercorn, that stuff sells for 5 silver a piece!

Anyways, I just unlocked everything in Metrica Providence and I am on my way to the next area Brisbane Wildlands. You can go east to the Caledon Forest but it's the same level as Metrica and I am a higher level than that. Unless there is some compelling reason why I should go there beyond just unlocking everything, which is pretty darn fun.

I am now a level 20 Necromancer and the game is getting pretty enjoyable. Curious what levels y'all are, what areas and what you are focusing on?

Travis Admin Post Author wrote on 03/22/2015 at 06:07pm

I'm 58 or 59 on my Elementalist, and you can't really focus on one area at that point because you don't level with the content the way you do in earlier areas, so I'm jumping around a few of the 50's areas.

And yeah, Caledon Forest is the starter area outside the Sylvari's home city. Caledon and Metrica both spill into Brisbane for level 15 or 20. Maybe 15-25?

Dungeons unlock at level 30 I think, but so far I haven't touched them. I did start crafting a bit though. Do you get anything useful doing novice cooking? As a jeweler and artificer you don't get anything useful at all until later on. I'll probably do cooking on my ranger, it seems like it would fit.

jdodson Admin wrote on 03/22/2015 at 06:10pm

I haven't started the grind process for cooking yet because I don't have all the supplies to max level it yet. I know that's odd but then i'd have to figure out what I unlocked and keep track and that seems like a waste.

Tailoring doesn't seem as useful as it seemed BUT I did get a few upgrades from it. I imagine at the absolute max level you can get some cool stuff from it but so far, not much more than you can find by fighting stuff.

Azurephile Super Member wrote on 03/25/2015 at 03:47am

I have a question for you! In Guild Wars 2, are you battling against other guilds? Is that optional? I remember when I played Ragnorak Online with local friends, we had our own guild and we did fight other guilds at times. I think that was at least once a week.

Travis Admin Post Author wrote on 03/25/2015 at 06:19pm

I'm not even sure you *can* battle other guilds. I mean I guess you could get a PvP group together within your guild, but I haven't come across it.

jdodson Admin wrote on 03/26/2015 at 02:37am

I haven't seen anything about that yet. If it's possible we'd have to be a higher guild level.

Azurephile Super Member wrote on 03/26/2015 at 02:39am

That's cool. The name of the game seems to make my question irrelevant, but I thought I'd still ask. This also leads me to what I'm seriously considering posting in the forums. =)

Travis Admin Post Author wrote on 03/31/2015 at 03:09pm

Is anyone else who's playing this at or near level 40, about to start their chosen order's questline, and chose the Vigil?

Katie and I did this together, I chose the Vigil, and she chose the Priory. I did the start of her order's questline with her and it has bugged mine out so that now I'm stuck with the Priory. I already did the Priory on my other character and would prefer not to do it again!

From what I've read, if I join someone who's in the Vigil for their first couple of quests it will get mine back on track.

Timogorgon Member wrote on 03/31/2015 at 05:20pm

I'm nowhere near that level, I'm still romping around at level 14. :P

I played for a bit last night, but I spent most of that time tweaking the controls. I'm not sure why, but the controls for this game bug me. They're standard MMO controls, but this game feels like it wants to be played more like an Action RPG than a standard MMO, and the default controls are terrible for that. Still, this is just a minor complaint and I am still really enjoying the game.

Speaking of which, anyone think they'll be on tonight? I would love to hop and and play with some peeps.

Travis Admin Post Author wrote on 03/31/2015 at 10:09pm

Depends on what you mean by "tonight." My tonight and you west coasters' nights seem to be very different :)

Timogorgon Member wrote on 03/31/2015 at 10:23pm

Fair enough. :P

It'll be after 8pm PDT. Probably closer to 8:30 or 9.

jdodson Admin wrote on 04/01/2015 at 02:03am

I'd love to join you all but I am very sick.

Hopefully catch you all again sometime. :sleep:

Travis Admin Post Author wrote on 04/01/2015 at 02:35am

Feel better Jon!

jdodson Admin wrote on 04/01/2015 at 03:03am

Drugs help.

scrypt Supporter wrote on 04/10/2015 at 04:36pm

AreaNet name: Scrypt.5270

Let's get it ooon....~

scrypt Supporter wrote on 04/10/2015 at 04:41pm

How large is the download? I'll make sure to friend everyone as soon as it's installed.

Travis Admin Post Author wrote on 04/10/2015 at 05:52pm

It's pretty big. 30ish gigs? I can't remember exactly. It's no GTA V but it's big.

Azurephile Super Member wrote on 04/10/2015 at 06:21pm

75% off! $15 for the Collector's Edition! Whoa!!! Anyway, I'm GregoPeck.6304 and I'm downloading now.

Timogorgon Member wrote on 04/10/2015 at 07:38pm

Nice! I'm Taion.4056 on there. I'll try and log on later tonight and see if you guys are on. :D

Azurephile Super Member wrote on 04/10/2015 at 09:07pm

I agree with Jon, Travis, we need to move to the West Coast, we don't belong here. Jake's already trying to get me to move to California. So, Jon, find us some housing! Hahaha.

That's cool Tim, it's going to take some time to download, so it might be a day or two until I'm there. I'm hoping it will be easy to find you and the others and join the guild. I'm sure at least one of you can add us easily and make that process easier for us. I'm looking forward to playing because of how many of us are going to be there (even if we're not all there at the same time).

Travis Admin Post Author wrote on 04/10/2015 at 10:01pm

I added you both. It'll show up as me "following" you until you also add me. See you inside!

Azurephile Super Member wrote on 04/11/2015 at 05:17am

Added all of you except for Tim, it said you didn't exist.

scrypt Supporter wrote on 04/11/2015 at 08:19am

"...it said you didn't exist."

Well, I didn't see that one coming. To be honest, though, "Tim" always seemed a little too good to be true.

scrypt Supporter wrote on 04/11/2015 at 06:14pm

Are you guys running GW2 through the Steam interface? If not, are you using something else for in-game chat, or just sticking with text chat?

Azurephile Super Member wrote on 04/11/2015 at 06:38pm

I didn't even think about it on Steam. I just went from the website and got it from there, so it has it's own client. I only used chat once to say "welcome" to someone, so I guess it was just text chat.

scrypt Supporter wrote on 04/11/2015 at 06:48pm

Guild Wars 2 isn't available through Steam, but you can add it to your Steam library as a non-Steam game, and utilize the Steam overly while you're playing. I do this with all of my games, mostly just to keep them organized in one place.

jdodson Admin wrote on 04/11/2015 at 08:33pm

When I play GW2 I try and run it through Steam for the overlay.

Azurephile Super Member wrote on 04/11/2015 at 08:49pm

Cool, I knew you could add non-Steam games to it, so I added GW2. =)

Travis Admin Post Author wrote on 04/11/2015 at 10:24pm

I hadn't bothered, just use the in-game /whisper

Travis Admin Post Author wrote on 04/12/2015 at 03:53am

WBS, you said hello and then immediately signed off apparently. lol

Anyway, hi!

Timogorgon Member wrote on 04/12/2015 at 06:39am

It was not immediately. I waited an appropriately long time before going and watching Daredevil instead, lol.

scrypt Supporter wrote on 04/13/2015 at 07:54am

Daredevil is so GOOD! I'm really hoping for an Age of Ultron cameo of some sort, even if it's just a mention from one of the Avengers about "that lawyer in Hell's Kitchen."

I have three characters up to level 10 - Guardian, Ranger, and Thief - and I can't decide which one to continue leveling as a primary. Is there a class in particular that would better benefit our group? I would be glad to start another class if we are already full up on the three I've mentioned.

Azurephile Super Member wrote on 04/13/2015 at 10:10am

That's awesome, scrypt! I'm juggling games at the moment. I'm trying to finish Diablo III: Reaper of Souls Campaign Mode with my Wizard (currently in Act V). GTAV (I pre-ordered) is going to be available tonight at 7PM (EST). Anyway, back to GW2, I created a Guardian, I think I'm just under or around level 10 and I'm currently at a story point. I have to deliver medical supplies to the bar tender. I'm still wondering when and how to join the guild.

Travis Admin Post Author wrote on 04/13/2015 at 09:19pm

Scrypt, why not all three? :)

I don't think you really need to balance a party the way you do in some games, so really it's just whatever you like.

I'm not sure what level you first unlock the guild stuff, but I've sent you both an invite. You can chat to anyone online with /guild

Timogorgon Member wrote on 04/13/2015 at 11:05pm

I'm still very much a n00b in this game, but so far there does not seem to be a usual tank/healer/DPS party dynamic in GW2. So I think you should be able to pick any class you want and be fine. :)

Azurephile Super Member wrote on 04/14/2015 at 12:05am

I'm level 12. I'm also noting that for the very first time (that I've noticed), this game puts my PC to work. When I play, I notice that the internal fans are running much more than usual, it's usually quite quiet. I played this morning and noticed it, so I checked my Alienware Thermal Controller and the fans were indeed running faster than usual, although not at full strength. My internal PC temp was 37 degrees Celsius, which is about 98 degrees Fahrenheit. Still, that seems much cooler than my old PC use to run. Right now (after playing Diablo 3) the temperature is 33 degress Celcius my fans are running minimally, the hard drive is the fastest one running and that's only at 33%. Where as in GW2, my hard drive fan was running just above 50%. My PCI fan is at 18% now, this morning with GW2, it was closer to 50%.

As for the guild, I assumed that once you got passed a certain point in your character's story, the game would tell you about guilds. I wish I had more inventory space as I'm often filling it up. I seem to have equipped all the bags it will let me. I've sold some things on the market, but need to go collect the coins from that. Also, with the "junk" stuff, I see that collecting pieces works towards an achievement, but do we need to keep them in order to complete that? I'm also wondering if I should destroy some of the items I got that I can't use on my character like Primeval armor.

Travis Admin Post Author wrote on 04/14/2015 at 01:55am

You'll get bigger bags later. Don't forget that you have a bank you can store stuff in.

You don't need to keep the junk for the achievement, just sell them to a vendor.

Azurephile Super Member wrote on 04/14/2015 at 11:18am

Thanks for the invite, Travis. I used the guild influence item I had from buying the collector's edition. I also got another similar item (for a smaller amount of influence) that I also used. So, I believe I added 4,300 to our guild influence. I also used my bank for storage, thanks for the tip.

Jon, I sent you some food crafting materials, berries and butter, I believe. I would have had more for you, but I ended up selling them previously since I ran out of inventory space and didn't realize I could use my bank to store items.

scrypt Supporter wrote on 04/14/2015 at 01:41pm

Hmmm... That kind of sucks that there isn't an emphasis on class dynamics. I enjoy playing support/healer or DPS roles. I'm sure it all works out. I just notice that combat in certain situations, even early on, can be spontaneously overwhelming and chaotic, and as a result, I've died more than I expected. Playing more and becoming familiar with the rhythm of things will help to fix that, I hope.

Azurephile Super Member wrote on 04/14/2015 at 02:43pm

I died a few times as well. There was an area I was supposed to go to and I thought it was through a bandit lair and they ended up killing me a few times. I finally looked at the map and realized I could go around it and up a hill. I have a healing ability now that I can use. I also once mistakenly took on a larger boar. I usually choose warrior classes and I almost did for this character, but a guardian looked similar and there were a couple of reasons why I went with it instead. My name, "Gregory," supposedly means "guardian" and also, the description mentioned a "fierce loyalty to allies," so I thought it fit.

jdodson Admin wrote on 04/14/2015 at 03:45pm

Thanks Greg, that will help quite a bit!

Travis Admin Post Author wrote on 04/14/2015 at 07:17pm

I think there are some intentionally overwhelming areas to start with, to get you into the swing of things. Even when you're leveled higher than the enemies, they can sometimes swarm you. Bandit hideouts are notorious for this!

jdodson Admin wrote on 04/15/2015 at 03:46am

As a Necromancer I don't get swarmed much as I focus on pets and can summon 4 right now. If enemies get close I always back off and have my minions take them on as I pick them off from the edges. It's a fun class but doesn't do much damage with attacks.

Azurephile Super Member wrote on 04/15/2015 at 03:55am

That sounds like my Witch Doctor on Diablo 3, Jon. I have 3 or 4 Zombie Dogs and a Gargantuan Zombie. I got so used to having them that I felt kind of lonely without them when I played next as a Wizard.

Anyway, if you're still working on Cooking, then I'll be glad to send you any related materials I find. I'm not sure about crafting yet nor what I may end up getting into. I've already mined some ore because I found some picks and an ore deposit. I can also harvest things, I think. I have a few tools, actually.

Travis Admin Post Author wrote on 04/15/2015 at 09:43pm

Crafting, if you follow a guide, is pretty easy and cheap to level up so you can start actually making money with it. Apparently the only one you can really make money from is cooking, so good choice on that Jon!

jdodson Admin wrote on 04/15/2015 at 11:39pm

Yeah, it looks like cooking is one of the more interesting because food gives you status effects that last for a time. Seems pretty useful to cook up some stuff for your team that could really help you out.

I am also a Tailor and that's pretty good too BUT not quite as useful as cooking as the gear you find replaces what you make pretty quickly.

Azurephile Super Member wrote on 04/16/2015 at 12:39am

I've been playing more in the mornings before my son goes to school. Right now I'm in Divinity's Reach and exploring the city since my marker keeps changing to either an unexplored vista or some other local place. That's also a good way to get some EXP.

scrypt Supporter wrote on 04/19/2015 at 05:50pm

One thing I'm not liking, is the platforming. Seriously, it sucks. I like exploring in massive worlds just as much as the next wood-elf-plant-creature thief, but if you're going to put platforming in the game, especially as a means of completing certain tasks, then, by all means, polish it up a bit. It's a minor complaint, since it hasn't really happened too often, yet.

It's a nice big beautiful world, though, and for the cost of entry, it's a satisfying experience. However, it does make me want to go back to WoW. I won't do that (although, if I could afford it, I might), but it makes me want to.

jdodson Admin wrote on 04/19/2015 at 07:23pm

WoW is the best MMO of all time right(Everquest)? At least it's the reigning champ so yeah, makes sense it's might be better for that. I like the classes and abilities better in WoW. Plus I have more attachment to Warcraft than the stuff in GW2.

scrypt Supporter wrote on 04/19/2015 at 09:12pm

What I played of Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn was really impressive, and might be a contender for my time, but again with the subscription... The fact that I paid $15 for an MMO of this caliber, and am not required to pay anything else, is pretty damn cool.

Azurephile Super Member wrote on 04/20/2015 at 01:18am

Scrypt, you mean having to jump from one place or platform to another? I ran into that in Divinity's Reach trying to reach some vistas. There were a couple or a few of them that I didn't figure out on my own and instead referred to a YouTube video.

I've never played WoW, but I know I could play for free up to level 20. I've played FFXI, but not XIV: A Real Reborn. I wish FFXI would go Free To Play so I can actually use the expansions I have (I won Wings of the Goddess from the wiki). I was tempted to play XIV: ARR, one of my friends plays it, but I haven't yet. I can afford to pay the subscription, but I knew that there would be a month or two I was sure I wasn't going to be playing it. That is June and maybe July as Terraria is expected to be updated to 1.3 in June.

I haven't played GW2 very much. It's ok, but definitely a steal at $15 for the Collector's Edition (the sale we participated in). One thing I wish for in the game is being able to automatically target an enemy. Sometimes I seem to have trouble selecting one to perform an attack on it. That may be an aspect of the game I don't know about and my targeting skills (IRL, "In Real Life") may get better with a bit more practice.

In contrast to FFXI, I like the easier co-op play, how every fight or battle can be joined by other players who also can get EXP and loot. That is, without having to form a party and also without others stealing your loot, the latter an issue I had with Ragnarok Online.

Timogorgon Member wrote on 04/20/2015 at 01:58am

I agree the platforming is a little sub-par. The controls in general I feel could use some tweaking.

I love that anyone can participate in events on the fly. It makes it a lot more fun than repeating "Kill 10 rats" style quests over and over again, even if the basic mechanics are the same. :)

scrypt Supporter wrote on 04/20/2015 at 03:06am

You definitely get a lot more experience from doing the events, which, as you say, Tim, is a refreshing change from the norm. At some points, though, I've noticed that it just leads to waypoint spamming. By that, I mean, someone from the chat will call out an event near a waypoint, everyone teleports to that waypoint, rushes the event, then waits for the next event call-out in the chat. Rinse, repeat. It got to the point that I was bouncing all over the map in a matter of minutes, chasing down events. Even though it costs 8 copper, or whatever the fee is for teleporting, that's not significant when it comes to amassing experience. However, it felt like I was cheating the game somehow. You would think they would have implemented some sort of "teleport sickness" to prevent frequent map hopping.

@GregoPeck, you can target the closest enemy by hitting the Tab key. This is how I usually initiate a fight. I thought I remember seeing something in the settings menu that allowed for automatic target on attack, or something to that effect. I'll have to check it out when I'm back online.

Travis Admin Post Author wrote on 04/20/2015 at 03:35am

I can't imagine ever preferring WoW to anything, but it's obviously popular for a reason. Every now and then I'll play a few hours of WoW to see what all the fuss is about and never care anything about my character or the gameplay. It just feels like a major chore, and having played a ton of Final Fantasy XI, if I think something feels like more of a chore than that game, I must *really* mean it, lol

As for the platforming, holding in right-click allows you to free-look, then it just controls like a third person shooter. It only took about the amount of time that it takes to finish up the vistas in the home area (Divinity's Reach, The Grove, Rata Sum, etc) and the level 1-15 zone to really get the hang of it. I still get frustrated with the more advanced jumping puzzles but they're meant to be tricky.

As for waypoint spamming (you probably saw me doing some of that earlier in Caledon) you only ever really see that happening when that area's events are one of the daily achievements. "Caledon Forest Event Completer" was one of today's, so you saw a ton, but if you went to Queensdale you would have barely seen any of it unless one of the world bosses was about to spawn. Since everyone is trying to get those events for the daily it can be tricky to get to any before they're already over, so waypoint spamming in the chat is a helpful way for everyone to get a chance at the events.

Autotargeting: I just hit 1, and it targets the closest enemy. I must have that setting ticked. You can then tab through them or just double click them to switch.

Azurephile Super Member wrote on 04/20/2015 at 04:03am

Thanks for the tips, Travis, and Scrypt. I haven't looked at the control configuration and I don't recall the game telling me about Tab. I'll give those things a try. I know 1 is the first skill/ability, which is my primary attack. I just got used to clicking or holding down the left mouse to attack an enemy.

I noticed the daily achievements listed, but I haven't tried to accomplish them. I've been in Queensdale this whole time pretty much and what you said, Travis, makes sense because I don't think I've seen any teleport spamming. I also don't pay much attention to the chat.

scrypt Supporter wrote on 04/20/2015 at 05:00am

WoW was my first MMO experience, so it holds a special place for me. It might not be the be-all, end-all of that genre, but it does a much better job of engaging the player than GW2, and I find it more aesthetically pleasing. The environments in GW2 have a tendency to look chaotic and the levels poorly designed, whereas WoW is almost meticulous in both regards. Lore is a big part of it, too. Blizzard has a ton of it with Warcraft. Guild Wars will get there, I'm sure.

And the platforming: it's not that I can't or don't know how to do it (I've completely cleared the Caledon Forest), I just feel like the mechanics make it so the platforming seems tacked on and unpolished. The difficulty of the platform puzzle isn't because it's "tricky" per se, rather because the mechanics are not designed for it. Playing tennis with fish instead of rackets might also be tricky, but it's probably not as fun. Not without some form of drug, at least ;).

Travis Admin Post Author wrote on 04/20/2015 at 02:30pm

Ah yeah, I see what you mean about the platforming mechanics, but I feel like I might be the only person who doesn't have any issues with them or the controls in general. It seems like it should be a mess but it just kinda makes sense to me, somehow. Lol.

Travis Admin Post Author wrote on 04/20/2015 at 02:31pm

Oh and the reason I mentioned holding in right click as you are platforming is that I didn't realize that for a long time. After starting to hold in right click the platforming mechanics just feel like a basic platformer to me.

scrypt Supporter wrote on 04/20/2015 at 06:12pm

Like I said, it's a minor complaint. Thankfully (for me), the platforming stuff isn't a big part of the game.

I've been critiquing the negatives, so I'll mention some of the things I love about this game. The event system is really good. I'm not aware of too many other games that do this, with the exception of Destiny, and I'm now feeling that Bungie totally got the idea from Guild Wars 2, which would make me even more sad about Destiny. Seeing everyone come in on an event and act as an instant PUG (pick up group), allowing you develop a strategy based on the moment, adding buffs to your allies, using crowd control effects... it's a lot of fun!

I'm loving the Thief class, especially with weapon swapping from sword and dagger to bow and arrow. There are still some things that the game should be explaining better (Traits, for one, and when they become relevant, before purchasing more than a handful from your trainer...), but overall I feel it working out for me. Allowing color customization of armor is really awesome, something that I wish were available in every game that uses armor.

The fact that there are no mounts in this game kinda bummed me out at first, but I've grown used to the teleport system. Having both wouldn't make sense. I'm hoping there are better ways of acquiring pets/toys? besides paying cash money for them. One of the things I loved about WoW was the luck of farming for a pet. I love random epic drops!

Travis Admin Post Author wrote on 04/20/2015 at 08:28pm

Oh don't purchase traits from the trainer until late game. You can find them in the world by completing certain events or visiting certain places, so you'll be wasting skill points buying traits early on.

And (I think) most mini's can be found in black lion chests if nowhere else. I know I've gotten a few at random, not sure where.

scrypt Supporter wrote on 04/20/2015 at 10:49pm

Speaking of Black Lion Chests, where does one find keys to open? I looked on the black market, or whatever, and couldn't find any there.

Travis Admin Post Author wrote on 04/21/2015 at 12:14am

You get keys as rewards for various things, story quests (which start at level 10 I think), map completion, etc.

You can also buy them on the gem store but screw that.

scrypt Supporter wrote on 04/21/2015 at 01:41am

Ahh. I've been ignoring my story quest. Should probably get on that!

Travis Admin Post Author wrote on 04/21/2015 at 03:56am

The story quest is one of my favorite parts of the game actually. The first 30 levels are race specific, and the questions you answer during character creation shape the story. Then you pick your order, and 40 and 50 are about your order and which lesser race you choose to help. Then level 60 shit goes down and you start working toward the culmination of things that I won't mention in case of spoilers, but it's pretty awesome. The level 80 story quests are my favorite, culminating in a dungeon.

Speaking of Black Lion chest keys -- Some people have perfected the quickest way to level 10 so they can do the story quest and get black lion chest keys. New character -> race to level 10 -> quickest path through level 10 story quests -> black lion chest key GET -> delete character -> repeat.

Azurephile Super Member wrote on 05/12/2015 at 10:04pm

There were a few things I learned in my game play this morning that I thought I'd share. I found out that the Golem Banker is only available for two weeks of game play and afterwards is safe to destroy. That helped me save some inventory space. I also found out that you can click on options in the inventory screen and use "compact" to move everything together starting from the top. This helped me empty one of my leather bags. I was then able to drag a larger leather bag to one of the tabs on the left of a leather bag that I emptied. This helped increase my inventory space a bit.

I made it to a new area in the game, after Queensdale. I may be getting used to the controls. My problem has been that I often click on enemies to fight them, which isn't always effective when other players are fighting those enemies, too. Today I tried simply pressing the 1 key instead of clicking when other characters were near. I think I've tried the Tab key, but haven't really spent much time playing with that.

One of the reasons why I'm glad I reached a new area was because Trading Post merchants and other merchants were nearby. This made it easy for me to collect the money I received from all of the stuff I've sold so far. It also helped me sell my junk items.

I've been giving Jon my cooking materials since he said he's working on that type of crafting. I haven't started crafting yet and I'm thinking of selling the crafting materials I've been obtaining. If any of you want some crafting materials let me know what kind you want and I will gladly send them to you.

jdodson Admin wrote on 05/14/2015 at 01:18am

"I've been giving Jon my cooking materials since he said he's working on that type of crafting."

Thanks for that Greg. I haven't been playing much of GW2 lately due to being busy so I mostly have time for Hearthstone.

Travis Admin Post Author wrote on 05/31/2015 at 09:47pm

This officially ended today, but I just expanded it for a couple of days for closing comments about the game.

As I'm sure you can tell, I love this game :)

Currently I have a level 80 elementalist and ranger, a level 33 guardian, a level 29 mesmer, and a level 11 engineer. When I decided to start crafting everything I made more characters (that I will definitely play, they aren't just crafting alts) so I could get all the professions. I've gotten all 8 crafting professions to master (level 400), and two to 500. Six of them can go to 500, all but jeweler and chef-- basically the ones you can make ascended gear with. Most of the experience on my mesmer and engineer come from crafting-- on a fresh character, mastering two crafts gets you 25 levels of experience. The trip from 400-500 gets you another three.

Lately I've really enjoyed the world boss train. Every few minutes a new major boss event spawns in the world, and you get killer loot and experience if you need that. Tequatl the Sunless is the best. It actually requires strategy and isn't just cheaply hard.

So yeah, I love this game. I definitely got my $15 worth. What do you all think?

Azurephile Super Member wrote on 06/01/2015 at 01:22am

I haven't played as much as you have. I can't remember, at the moment, what level my character is. I was playing in the mornings before Vinny went to school, but I think it's been a while since I last played. I think I like it. It's an ok game. There are things about it I like and many things that I haven't explored yet, like crafting. I think I'd play it more, but I've been doing some serious Diablo III gaming lately. That will end soon though, at least by time Terraria updates!

I'm thinking we can continue to comment on this event even after it's "over." I'd certainly like to continue talking about it as I play more. So, I definitely want and need a place for that.

Azurephile Super Member wrote on 06/05/2015 at 08:56pm

Comment #92 Wow! Anyway, I just thought I'd suggest extending this event until the end of the month. I've finished my Diablo goal, which was to get through campaign mode with each class and each gender. So, I need something to fill in the time until Terraria 1.3. So, I might start playing GW2 more soon.

scrypt Supporter wrote on 06/06/2015 at 02:12am

I haven't been able to play for the past month or so, but what I did play, I really enjoyed. The last thing I was doing before I stopped was trying to just explore everywhere, unlocking as many teleport points as possible. The environments are beautiful! My favorite thing about Guild Wars 2, so far, has to be the public event system (they do it so much better than Destiny), and the fact that you can play without a subscription. I've gotten well over $15 worth of fun out of this game, and I'm looking forward to playing more, whenever I get to see my computer again :).

Travis Admin Post Author wrote on 06/06/2015 at 05:17am

Yeah sure, I'll extend it if people are interested :)

Scrypt, when do you get back to your PC again anyway?

scrypt Supporter wrote on 06/06/2015 at 03:20pm

I should be back "home" by July 16th. I'm trying to plan a little trip into New York before I leave, but I don't know if that will happen. I guess I'm prolonging my exodus in hopes that it will ;).

Azurephile Super Member wrote on 06/07/2015 at 08:47pm

Sorry, Jon, but you've got plenty of in-game mail from me. The good news is that I've begun to sell a bunch of my stuff, like crafting materials I can't use. So, hopefully I can manage my inventory better. I don't know anything about crafting, but I still gather ingredients. I may have to figure that out. I'm constantly seeing things in the world to harvest like plants, trees, or rocks to mine.

A few notes: I found out how to repair gear. Those merchants are kind of hard to find sometimes. I don't often use waypoints, I tend to travel on foot mostly. I usually use them when I die and need to revive some where. Some times the game is really calm and peaceful. I like that other players can join together and battle enemies, helping each other, without having to form a party.

Sometimes this game reminds me of Oblivion, Final Fantasy X, and FFXIII. One voice actor sounds like the guy who played Ject in FFX, but I don't see his name in the GW2 credits. A female centaur also sounded like a female in Oblivion.

Travis Admin Post Author wrote on 06/08/2015 at 02:59am

You can stash crafting ingredients in your material storage, you don't have to keep them in your bank. Just click the gear at the top of your inventory and click "deposit materials."

Travis Admin Post Author wrote on 06/08/2015 at 03:01am

You can't do that from your bank though, you have to have the materials in your main inventory.

Travis Admin Post Author wrote on 06/08/2015 at 03:04am

To FURTHER clarify, you can right click any material, wherever you have it, and choose to deposit that particular material. In order to deposit all that you have, you have to have them in your inventory.

Azurephile Super Member wrote on 06/08/2015 at 03:21am

Ah yeah, I keep forgetting about that bank. I'm not sure how to access it either.

Azurephile Super Member wrote on 06/08/2015 at 03:29am

I found out how to access it: https://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Account_vault

Travis Admin Post Author wrote on 06/08/2015 at 05:04pm

How did you get to level 20 with the basic bags you get and without using your bank or material storage? Your inventory must be a mess! lol

jdodson Admin wrote on 06/09/2015 at 02:36am

"Sorry, Jon, but you've got plenty of in-game mail from me."

Thanks, just picked it up today!

Azurephile Super Member wrote on 06/09/2015 at 04:48am

It was a mess, but I've sold, salvaged, and sent Jon things.

Travis Admin Post Author wrote on 06/09/2015 at 12:13pm

Yeah depositing those materials will help :)

Azurephile Super Member wrote on 06/09/2015 at 06:59pm

You're welcome, Jon. Now that I have my inventory management under control for the moment, I'll probably send you less frequent messages. I'll save what I find and hold on to it for a time so that I don't send you as many messages. So they might come in less frequency, but might contain more. =) The game said you hadn't been on in a few weeks, so I thought I'd send you that previous warning.

I'm still getting used to combat and using my skills.

jdodson Admin wrote on 06/10/2015 at 02:41am

WHATEVER YOU DO GREG DON'T STOP SENDING ME FREE SHIT!

Travis Admin Post Author wrote on 06/10/2015 at 02:54am

Once you get to level 30 or 40 and can handle more world bosses than the few you can get in the starter areas you can start churning gold fast. It gets even better when you're getting level 80 gear from them. Katie and I got about 5 gold each for maybe 45 minutes of playing tonight. At that point, you can buy all the materials you want!

So you could get all the money you need to level up Tailoring, for instance, in about 4 days. If you want to go this route. It's the cheapest way to level it but doesn't give much return.

http://gw2crafts.net/tailor.html

Azurephile Super Member wrote on 06/10/2015 at 02:57am

I sent you some more! Haha One of the things seems to be special, it's a dye.

I found a banker, as I journey on foot between my current quest places. I used the skins I had stored and stored more of the original equipment that I can't seem to salvage (yet?) or sell. There are a couple of other random boosts and things in there now.

I like that you can quickly and easily sell items using the Trading Post. Sure, you have to find a Black Lion Trading Post merchant to collect your earnings, but I still often sell items quickly using the TP. I haven't bought any items from them, though. I have bought some harvesting materials and need to buy more. That's one way I keep coming up with good to send to Jon.

Azurephile Super Member wrote on 06/10/2015 at 02:59am

I figured that other guild member was Katie! Anyway, I haven't been paying attention to currency. I haven't really used it very much yet and I'm still earning by selling with the TP. I am level 30 now, I'm currently working on a character story quest.

Travis Admin Post Author wrote on 06/10/2015 at 03:54am

Finding a TP or bank is easy. Each are available by fast-traveling back to the closest city, and the teleport costs are negligible. There's a waypoint to teleport to close to the bank/TP in every city, and Lion's Arch has quite a few waypoints next to the various banks/TPs spread about the city.

Alternatively, even if you aren't interested in PvP, if you click the PvP icon in the top left row of icons (it's the one with two swords I think) and go to the PvP lobby, after a brief training intro (on your first time only, of course) you are put into the lobby. There's a merchant, Trading Post, and bank very close to where you enter.

You can then exit the PvP lobby and get back to right where you were in normal mode. That's better than just using waypoints in many ways since it puts you back *exactly* where you were.

There's also a handy gate to Lion's Arch straight from the PvP lobby, so that's a free teleport to Lion's Arch basically, with one more loading screen.

And if you're worried that people can fight you in the lobby-- they can't. You have to go through other menus or other locations for actual combat.

Off the topic of currency and trading for a sec-- not sure how much everyone keeps up with news on GW2 but in the next content update (soon) Lion's Arch is getting rebuilt! You may have noticed that it's kinda destroyed. The first season of the living story (before our time in the game) destroyed the city, leaving it in rubble in many places. You may have *also* noticed that with a patch about three weeks ago, there's a lot of new construction going on. They're finally fixing it! In the next content patch everything will be fixed, and many areas will be significantly changed and some are being added.

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Games Club: Knights of the Old Republic

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Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic on Steam

Come play through Kotor with the CG community! Feel free to post your thoughts about the game, your character builds, team composition, any mods you used, and anything else you want to talk about! Given how old this game is I'm not really concerned about spoilers, but keep in... Read All

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Timogorgon Member Post Author wrote on 02/09/2015 at 06:51pm

Alright, I'll get this discussion started. I've played through the game probably 4 or 5 times before, but it's been awhile. I decided to start over after I realized I picked a couple feats on my character I didn't want because I had forgotten what everything was, lol. Now on my second character, I just wrapped up everything on Taris and landed on Dantooine.

I've decided to go as a Scout and I'm focusing on dual wielding melee (later I'll use a double-bladed light saber) weapons. As far as skills go, I'm just trying to keep Persuasion and Awareness maxed, and putting any extra points into Computer or Demolition. One thing I like about the Scout class is you get the Implant feats for free, and I find the implants are pretty useful. :)

I'm not sure what characters I'm going to use in my part. I usually use Bastilla and either Carth or HK-47 because he's hilarious. I want to use different characters this time around though. Any recommendations from anyone?

On a side note, this is my first time playing this on PC as I own it on Xbox also. I was surprised that this game doesn't have any kind of controller support what-so-ever. The keyboard/mouse controls are fine, but I really was hoping to use my Xbox 360 controller. I was also annoyed to find there was a pretty bad bug in the game that made the main character immobile, which required me to switch to my second character in order to move around. This one I Googled and it looks like it is a problem with one of the graphics settings. Once I turned ON v-sync the issue seems to have gone away.

Timogorgon Member Post Author wrote on 02/09/2015 at 06:56pm

Oh, and I also had forgotten how whiney Carth is in the beggining of the game. Seriously dude, I get it, you have trust issues, but please shut up about them. :P

Travis Admin wrote on 02/09/2015 at 10:12pm

If anyone has trouble getting this older game going on newer hardware:

http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=362478411

jdodson Admin wrote on 02/10/2015 at 01:47am

OK so I installed this and started playing it. A few thoughts.

The UI doesn't really hold up well and seems a bit clunky. I don't think this is simply because it's an older game, I think the PC menus are designed poorly. Does it look or operate better on XBox?

I am playing it on my Mac and it's a bit laggy. It's not terrible, but i'd expect a pretty butter smooth experience from such an old game on really new hardware.

That said, I have enjoyed the game so far and understand why people herald it as the best Star Wars game. It seems like BioWare were real fans of the series and did what they could to make it authentic. One thing that I noticed was that in the game there are "Sith Troopers" and "Sith Warriors." This makes sense and if EP IV-VI is your guide that would be how i'd have done it.

Oh and WBS i'd go a bit easy on Carth, his planet was firebombed into submission by the Sith and takes some personal responsibility for it. All in all, his regret seems understandable.

jdodson Admin wrote on 02/10/2015 at 01:48am

That said, I do have some questions and am not sure how to proceed because I am not sure what kind of RPG this is.

Should I be buying armor and weapon upgrades or stick to what drops?

jdodson Admin wrote on 02/10/2015 at 02:12am

OK so I just installed the PC version and transferred over my Mac save. Apparently I can't run everything on the highest setting on a high resolution on the Mac, the game suffers. Still strange for such an old game.

jdodson Admin wrote on 02/10/2015 at 02:27am

A few other things I've noted in this game.

Only Jedi use Lightsabers but everyone and everyone uses swords. Find this amusing.

Timogorgon Member Post Author wrote on 02/10/2015 at 04:30am

Yeah I noticed it's not quite "butter smooth" on my modern PC also. The UI is a bit clunky, and it's almost the exact same menu as the Xbox version. Actually I think I had an easier time playing on Xbox, which is another reason I wish there was controller support. Still, it's a very minor difference and it wasn't hard to transition to keyboard and mouse.

jdodson Admin wrote on 02/10/2015 at 04:34am

After playing on the PC I've noticed things are much better.

Travis Admin wrote on 02/10/2015 at 04:51am

The controls don't feel right at all with a keyboard and mouse. It's disconcerting. I've never played a game that controls like it, and I can't seem to get my muscle memory to adapt.

jdodson Admin wrote on 02/10/2015 at 05:23am

I use WASD to move around and click on things to make it work. It's kind of like Neverwinter Nights and I don't mind it but you can't jump or anything, which is strange.

Games from this era of BioWare were all turn based RPGs. It looks like NWN, Jade Empire and KOTOR play similarly to this.

jdodson Admin wrote on 02/10/2015 at 05:24am

Oh and if you are wondering why the score is so great, it's because it was written by Jeremy Soule.

Timogorgon Member Post Author wrote on 02/10/2015 at 05:41pm

Jon: Sorry I didn't see your question about armor/weapons. Ummm, money is kinda hard to come by in this game, and if you explore around on Taris you'll probably find plenty of armor and weapons to get you by for now. Eventually you'll want to buy better gear for your team though. Also keep an eye out for gear that can be upgraded.

rettisawesome wrote on 02/10/2015 at 07:48pm

Honestly. I've played this game through more than 20 times. And i cant remember buying anything. sometimes id buy stimpacks. or other consumables. i think there are a few good items you can buy. but they will be quickly replaced with other stuff you find.

also i flipped this game on my xbox just to remember. and crap. still great. UI is fine on xbox. only played on pc once but dont remember an issue. also yes this game is basically a starwars version of Dungeons and Dragons. It directly ports the famous D20 system. even right down to the attributes and feats system.

still a great game. still a 10/10.

also epic stroyline. nothing has made me feel more BA than this ending.
I'll post more as a i get more into it.

rettisawesome wrote on 02/10/2015 at 07:53pm

Oh WBS- i've always gotten a few chuckles playing with t3-m4 and it kind of makes me feel like luke skywalker at times, bickering with artoo. canderous was always my favorite though i think. hearing his stories about the mandolorian war is so awesome (plus he becomes mandalore which is BA). i also like jolee as he is the quigon jinn of this game.

jdodson Admin wrote on 02/10/2015 at 08:15pm

The game tone is really becoming something I enjoy. So far the story has been good and the play control I really don't mind. I still think the menus are a bit strange, but nothing to complain about.

I am exploring around Undercity and it's been quite a bit of fun. I haven't purchased any items and you do seem to get enough stuff from drops and such, that said, I don't have a full set of armor yet.

Timogorgon Member Post Author wrote on 02/10/2015 at 08:32pm

Canderous is cool as a character, but I don't think I've used him in any of my times through the game. Maybe I'll include him this time! Currently I'm heavily leaning towards Juhani and maybe T3 or Mission. Jolee is awesome too, but I've used him before. :D

Timogorgon Member Post Author wrote on 02/10/2015 at 09:08pm

I don't remember where all the best gear comes from, but I do remember there are some shops on Dantooine with some nice stuff, but I think it is really expensive for you when you first get there, lol. Still, if you only use gear you find you should be pretty well equipped.

vdogmr25 wrote on 02/10/2015 at 11:53pm

Tax return came through earlier than expected. Installing now. It's been a while since I've played so I'm gonna have trouble distinguishing between this and Kotor 2 until I get it installed and started.

I'm currently planning on Going scout for dual wield so I can use two sabers. I prefer 2 over the double blade as I can add different effects to each. HK-47 and Jolee were my go to party members. That may change this time, and I'm trying to approach this play through like I did the first time I played. Very little planned, adapt as I go. Next play through will be more about stat management and planning.

jdodson Admin wrote on 02/11/2015 at 01:20am

I haven't allocated any stats yet. At what level do you start doing that?

vdogmr25 wrote on 02/11/2015 at 02:02am

I misspoke. I meant feat allocation, and that is done differently by class. Stats auto upgrade with your class level. This might help: http://strategywiki.org/wiki/Star_Wars:_Knights_of_the_Old_Republic/Classes

Timogorgon Member Post Author wrote on 02/11/2015 at 03:42am

Not to be confused with Attributes, like STR or DEX, which you do pick when you first make your character. You also gain one attribute point to distribute every few levels. :)

vdogmr25 wrote on 02/11/2015 at 09:48pm

So I just remembered one of my favorite parts of this game. Near the beginning, there's a quest to get to the lower city of the first planet by either getting a sith armor set or by getting authorization papers. I just walked up to the guard, put my disguise on in front of him, and headed down. Not the brightest crayon, are you sith guard?

Timogorgon Member Post Author wrote on 02/12/2015 at 12:43am

Look man, that Sith Trooper has a very simple job description: If they have the uniform or the proper papers, let 'em through. The Sith are not an organization known for treating their employees very well. He probably doesn't get paid enough to care. You got the uniform? Yeah, sure, go on through.

vdogmr25 wrote on 02/12/2015 at 05:49am

Fair enough.

Timogorgon Member Post Author wrote on 02/12/2015 at 05:56pm

So I wrapped up the Dantooine quest line last night and I'm able to travel to different planets now. First thing I noticed was a new space station orbiting Yavin that was not in my Xbox version! Looks like it's just a shop to sell high end equipment, which is cool. I looked the station up on-line and apparently you can get it for the Xbox version if you have an Xbox live account, which I never did. :P

Also, speaking of this new shop with all this expensive gear... I forgot how poor you are in this game if you want to go light side. Seriously, every light side option is like "no no, I don't need a reward!" or "Here poor person, take this money... plus an extra 200!" My Jedi is turning out more morally gray than I planned just because I want some damn money once in awhile.

Timogorgon Member Post Author wrote on 02/19/2015 at 07:28pm

I didn't get to play much over the weekend, but I did jump on for a little bit last night and wrapped up Tattooine. I'm definitely becoming a more morally gray Jedi as I go. I still save hostages and (usually) pick the nice dialogue options, but there have been several times I've had the option of negotiating my way out of a fight, and decided it was a lot easier and more fun to just stab them in the face. Surprisingly this doesn't always earn me dark side points. :P

I'm curious how everyone else is progressing. Are you going light or dark? Do you have a preference on which order to do the planets?

vdogmr25 wrote on 02/19/2015 at 10:42pm

I'm doing quests on Dantooine at the moment. Butbag McButts (yes that is my character name) has gone from a scout to a guardian. I'm going light side as usual, mostly because the light side powers get so cheap. Force heal for days!

Timogorgon Member Post Author wrote on 02/20/2015 at 12:11am

Hey weird names fit the Star Wars universe. I mean there's a guy named Elan Sleazebaggano in the freakin' canon.

I know your team is probably limited at the moment since you're still on Dantooine, but who are you using for your other two characters? I've decided to keep Juhani, but I've rotated out the third member a couple times now.

vdogmr25 wrote on 02/20/2015 at 05:30am

Juhani hasn't joined my party yet. On Dantooine, I've had Canderous and Bastila, but I'm going to put Mission in soon for her security abilities in the ruin. I think there's stuff there that security will help.

jdodson Admin wrote on 02/20/2015 at 04:18pm

I just got the Wookee and Blue woman person and just got past the Rancor. So far I dig the game but it's hard balancing working on the site and publishing Rubicon and playing the game. I've really enjoyed the game so far, the turn based mechanics are fun and I don't find it as hard as I thought it would be.

That said, my Starcraft 2: Heart of the Swarm game I started before I began KoTOR is calling me back and that's a ton of fun.

Timogorgon Member Post Author wrote on 02/22/2015 at 07:26pm

One thing that's nice about Kotor is you can save anywhere (assuming you remember to save often, lol). So it's actually pretty easy to pick up and play in short intervals. The quest journal isn't the best, but it's usually enough to jog your memory on what you were doing.

As far as my own progress goes, after Tatooine I decided to head to Kashyyyk. I wrapped up Kashyyyk pretty quick, but I think I that's partly because I accidentally skipped a few side quests in the process. Oops.

Jon: It's funny you mentioned Star Craft 2. I just ordered a pair of copies for me and the wife. :)

jdodson Admin wrote on 02/22/2015 at 09:40pm

Wings of Liberty is pretty darn cool. The single player is well done and the multiplayer is great too. Did you just get Wings or Heart of the Swarm?

Timogorgon Member Post Author wrote on 02/23/2015 at 06:23pm

We just got the base game (wings).

dannytron wrote on 02/23/2015 at 11:08pm

I just entered the Sand People Enclave. 15 hours in. Still trying to decide where to head to next once I'm done with Tatooine.

A couple of thoughts on the different versions of this game. I bought the iPad version for kicks when it was on sale a while back. I'm sure it's no surprise that the controls are wonky and uncomfortable. Only played a couple of hours before I switched to the Xbox version. Xbox has always been my preferred version due to the use of a gamepad and being able to chill on the couch. But since I don't have an original Xbox anymore I had to play on 360 and the emulation is pretty buggy. Major frame rate issues especially during battles. After about 6 hours I had to call it quits and go with PC. I noticed some lag on PC but after turning the grass off in the graphics settings the frame rate is smooth.

Timogorgon Member Post Author wrote on 02/24/2015 at 07:16pm

First off, welcome to the discussion Dannytron! Thanks for the input on the different versions, you win the "I tried 'em all" award for this game club session.
Right now I'm torn between which version I like better: Xbox or PC. If the PC version had native controller support it'd be a no brainer. Also I haven't experimented with Mods for the PC version so that could be a tipping point as well.
I picked Kashyyyk as my next planet because I knew there was a recruitable character there, so I picked it for purely practical reasons.

On a side note, the month is about to wrap up but it looks like a lot of people (myself included) still have a ways to go to finish up the game. I'm thinking I'm going to extend the event out another couple of weeks so everyone has more time to play through and discuss the game. Does that sound good to everyone?

jdodson Admin wrote on 02/24/2015 at 10:09pm

I think extending the event is a good way to do. I am going to head back after I finish up Heart of the Swarm and would like to continue talking about it.

Travis Admin wrote on 02/24/2015 at 10:31pm

I'm not playing it, but I have played it about halfway through and am enjoying hearing your experiences so yes, please extend the event for my entertainment. You are my dancing monkeys.

Timogorgon Member Post Author wrote on 02/28/2015 at 08:46pm

Things have been busy at Castle Slim lately, so I haven't gotten to play much lately. I pretty much just landed on Manaan and started the questline to get into the sith camp. How's everyone else progressing?

scrypt Supporter wrote on 03/02/2015 at 06:35pm

After finally getting the game working on my system, I put in a solid 5 hours without leaving Taris. But then I died during the invasion of the Black Vulkar base. It was the last fight, I think, in the garage, for the swoop bike flux-capacitor-thingy. I was momentarily depressed, because I forgot where my last save would take me (I think it was back in the sewers somewhere). So thankful for autosaves these days!

One thing that I really appreciate with this game, is the overall linearity of the quest directives. Contrasting that, I've been playing through Dragon Age Inquisition, off and on since January, and the story/stories there are so dense and plentiful, that it's difficult at times to keep it all together. It's one of the reasons I love the Dragon Age series, but KotOR lets you play within those story elements one chunk at a time. You can chose what planet you want to go to, but once you're there, your focus is specific to that area, which can be refreshing. I don't know if that makes sense. I guess, I (and I'm sure others are like this) get overwhelmed, sometimes, at the openness of some games. Where there is so much in the game that could be done, I'll spend hours with friends in GTA 4, trying to launch a car into space by means of a glitched piece of playground equipment.

I am impressed with how the gameplay and story have held up over time. It helps to imagine the graphics are on par with the Clone War animated series. Playing with keyboard and mouse is weird, but felt more and more natural after a few hours. My character is female, as they tend to be. Meryl Silverburgh, because it's the first name that came to mind. I am trying to play stealthily, though, so that gravity isn't entirely lost :).

Timogorgon Member Post Author wrote on 03/02/2015 at 07:08pm

I know "linear" is kind of a bad word in gaming, but it's not always a bad thing. I agree with you that it's nice to have each planet kind of have it's own quest line with a beginning and an end. That was one thing that was kind of hard for me when playing something like Oblivion. I kept getting so side tracked running side quests that I never really advanced the main story, lol.

You said you're playing a stealth character, does that mean you went Scoundrel? I remember from a previous play through that later on your Sneak attack skill can help you lay down some huge damage numbers once you learn some force abilities that let you stun enemies, but that making it through Taris was pretty tough. How has your play-through been so far?

scrypt Supporter wrote on 03/02/2015 at 08:35pm

I picked the Scout class, but have been building toward a more stealthier character. I haven't been very subtle in my movements, yet. Mostly run in hacking and slashing (preferring blades over blasters), with the occasional grenade (sooo stealthy!). I'm also trying to build my Persuade skill. I seem to remember that helping a lot when I first played the game.

What does everyone think of the camera controls, being locked to horizontal pan only? Do you find it beneficial at all to the combat, or general gameplay, sequences?

Timogorgon Member Post Author wrote on 03/03/2015 at 09:59pm

Scout is what I picked too. I love the free implant feats you pick up, as some of the implants you get later in the game are really good. The camera controls are weird, but I've never felt like it hindered me in any way.

There's not a lot of reasons to use stealth on Taris unless you feel like avoiding combat, but that means you'll be missing out on a lot of XP. Persuade opens up a lot of dialogue options though, so the earlier you build that up the better.

rettisawesome wrote on 03/05/2015 at 06:53pm

Awh man. I forgot how much I love the ending. Some of the mist epic dialogue of all time between you and malek. Still gives me that tingle. Haha It reminded me that this game is what made me love writing stories and putting story and character first in my game preferences.

dannytron wrote on 03/06/2015 at 03:03am

I know what you mean, Rettisawesome. I just finished it a couple of days ago. The ending gets me every time I play this game. Did you go light or dark?

rettisawesome wrote on 03/06/2015 at 03:58pm

haha. this time i just went straight light side. i've played through so many times that i flipped a coin... i even did a female so i could romance carth. thinking about blasting through kotor 2 now. despite how many times i've plyed that one. there are still a few different bits that i've missed.

also. this has reminded me how bummed i am that they scrapped kotor 3 to devote resources to the old republic.... and the storylines that they were hinting at were awesome! they get back to the story of the main character in kotor1 (kotor2 focuses on a different character the Jedi Exile) and i think was supposed to feature more of the other characters coming back. carth. canderous as mandalore. man. I was excited. probably one of the only games i would purchase on release day. i dont think there are any other games that mean more to me in terms of my development as a gamer and nerd. i always loved star wars. but this was my first taste of the EU. although i suppose i plaid outcast and jedi academy before this.but still.

rettisawesome wrote on 03/06/2015 at 03:59pm

lol "plaid" obviously meant played.

Timogorgon Member Post Author wrote on 03/08/2015 at 06:31pm

Dang, I'm lagging behind everyone now! I wrapped up Manaan so I only have Korriban left as far as the main planets go. I hate Manaan, so I kinda took a little time off before tackling it. Now that it's out of the way I am looking forward to wrapping up the game. :D I think I've settled on the team of Jolee and Juhani. I usually don't pick three Jedi characters, but we're kicking so much butt right now. :P Jolee loads up our team with buffs and Juhani and I just slaughter everything with Master Force Speed and Flurry.

We're a bit lacking in skills though. My character (I went scout > jedi sentinel) is the only one who is specializing in anything really. I took a modest bonus to Int, so I get 3 skill points each level up. I originally was leveling Awareness, Persuasion and Computer skill, but I ended up switching Computer Skill for Demolition so I could recover mines when I turn around and sell.

Timogorgon Member Post Author wrote on 03/11/2015 at 07:02pm

I'm currently half way through the Leviathan, so, you know, I'm about to get the MIND BLOWING PLOT TWIST.

I didn't make much progress in the game last night. I mostly fiddled with this program I downloaded (Xpadder) to map keyboard and mouse input to a controller. It actually worked really well! I still need to tweak the settings to get everything working.

Travis Admin wrote on 03/11/2015 at 07:13pm

Xpadder is great for games where it works. Oblivion was released for Xbox 360 and PS3, yet the PC version has no gamepad support, and Xpadder doesn't work well at all for it. It's maddening. I mean yes, I prefer the keyboard and mouse, but sometimes you just want to lean back and play.

Timogorgon Member Post Author wrote on 03/12/2015 at 05:34pm

Well our first official games club is about to wrap up. While I'm not sure I'll finish the game by the 14th, it seems like everyone else is probably done with the game so I'm going to let the event officially conclude, unless there are any objections. :)

What did everyone think of the Games Club? Is this something you'd like to see more of?

rettisawesome wrote on 03/12/2015 at 10:58pm

I liked it. Although I didn't participate much. Gave me a reason to play a great game again. And talk about it.

What game were you thinking of next if you do again?

Timogorgon Member Post Author wrote on 03/12/2015 at 11:21pm

I'm not sure. Any suggestions?

I plan on playing through Kotor 2 on my own after I finish up this one, but I don't know if I want to make the next Game Club game another RPG. One game I was considering was The Last of Of Us. I kind of want something that's multi-platform and has been out for awhile so that as many people as possible can play along.

rettisawesome wrote on 03/12/2015 at 11:39pm

Last of us is good. I just finished that one a few weeks ago for the first time. Was pretty bummed at first about the linear storyline. But I realized I finished the whole game before I thought about it once. So kind of a moot point.

I'd have to think of some non RPG ideas.

Travis Admin wrote on 03/13/2015 at 03:10am

I could definitely do Last Of Us. I started it but only got a short way through it before getting distracted by something else.

jdodson Admin wrote on 03/13/2015 at 04:17am

Not sure what i'd recommend for a next game. I have been pretty busy working on the site and as such haven't had a ton of time for any serious gaming beyond a handful of Issac.

That said, reading and taking part in this game club has been fun. I'll lurk for the next one, whichever you do.

KoTOR is a really great game, I can see why it's on so many peoples best of lists.

scrypt Supporter wrote on 03/14/2015 at 05:34pm

I'm in the same boat as @rettisawesome. I love this idea, even though I didn't participate much.

Last of Us would be cool. Never finished that one, either. Other games I'd vote for:

Dishonored
Legend of Grimmrock
Warhammer 40K: Space Marine
Myst
Beyond Good & Evil
Mirror's Edge
Papers, Please
Remember Me
Ico

Or something along those lines ;)

scrypt Supporter wrote on 03/14/2015 at 06:43pm

It would be cool if we could play something that's new to everyone. Maybe come up with a short list to last us a few months/cycles? Can we do a poll on the site?

rettisawesome wrote on 03/14/2015 at 06:48pm

I thought of beyond good and evil as well. Such a great game.
Here's some I've thought of.

Shadow of the colossus
Freelancer
Gothic
Half life 2
Hitman blood money
Mark of the ninja
Mass effect
Mount and blade warband
Nexus the Jupiter incidebt
Morrowind (probably my first pick. But trying not to be lame)
The wolf among us
Company of heroes
Warhammer 40k dawn of war
Any metal gear solid

A huge unhelpful list. But all games are great. And a joy to play when you have others to talk about it with. Also a variety of genre.

I can answer any questions about any of them if someone needs.

rettisawesome wrote on 03/14/2015 at 06:49pm

Dawn of war 2 is what I meant.

Timogorgon Member Post Author wrote on 03/14/2015 at 07:03pm

Sounds like Last of Us would be a good pick, based on everyone's comments. I also like the idea of Half-life 2, since that's one I own but haven't played yet. :P

Papers, Please could be a great conversation piece.

I think I know why Morrowind is your first pick, Rett. :P That would be pretty convienent for you, I don't blame you for recommending that, lol. P.S. Did you want to post about your play-through on CG? I bet the community would find that interesting too. Morrowind might be a little too big for something like this. I briefly considered Skyrim. It's not a requirement that everyone (or even anyone) complete the game we're playing for the games club, but it would be nice if it's at lest possible to finish in a month or two, lol.

I've heard a lot of great things about Beyond Good and Evil, I'd be open to that. It's on GOG.com for $10, so that's not bad. I'd be open to that.

I know Jon has posted polls on here before. I'll ask him about setting up something. In the mean time keep posting suggestions!

rettisawesome wrote on 03/14/2015 at 11:58pm

lol yeah tim. well this whole thing i got in the works with morrowind has just really rekindled my passion for that game. and i've been playing it a ton recently to get into the right headspace. it really is the best in the elder scrolls series. and i love talking to people who are just sort of tapping into its wealth of gameplay for the first time. or at least coming to understand its depth for the first time. i love skyrim. and have logged more hours in oblivion than any other game. but morrowind.... man! so great. and wiith the trove of mods out for it now. the gameplay never ends.

and yeah i think i will probably make some posts here about our play throughs and all that stuff when the time comes. things are still coming downt he pipes. im trying to convice my buddy lee to make an account over here too. but he doesnt even have a facebook. so its like herding cats.

i think hl2 would be a great choice. there is a reason that it is one of the best games from the previous decade. and does not take long to complete.

but idk.

jdodson Admin wrote on 03/15/2015 at 02:02am

Half-life 2? Speaking if games I totally want to replay. I had a friend that went through it recently and he said it was just as strong now as it was.

Travis Admin wrote on 03/15/2015 at 04:11am

I"m casting my vote for HL2. It isn't new to me, not by a long shot. I've probably played it 5 times, most recently last year, maybe? But I'd love to replay it.

scrypt Supporter wrote on 03/15/2015 at 05:15am

So far the rising titles seem to be:

Last of Us
Half-Life 2
Beyond Good & Evil

I'd love to go back and play Mass Effect again. Such a great game. Shadow of the Colossus is one of those that I never finished, but desperately need to.

Any of these work for me. What if we narrow the list to 3-5 games, poll it, and see who comes out victorious?

Travis Admin wrote on 03/15/2015 at 05:29am

Or if we're all in agreement on those three, just draw lots for which goes first and we have the year planned out! :)

Travis Admin wrote on 03/15/2015 at 05:30am

Five. Those five.

Timogorgon Member Post Author wrote on 03/15/2015 at 05:45pm

I started Mass Effect but didn't get very far. That might be a good pick later on down the line, for this next game I'm leaning towards not picking another RPG just to add some variety. If the games club becomes a regular thing, there will be plenty of RPG's we'll go through just because, as a genre, I feel like RPG's are kind of perfect for an event like this.

I've been wanting to play Shadow of the Colossus for awhile now. I'd be ok putting that on the poll.

rettisawesome wrote on 03/15/2015 at 07:30pm

Sotc would be my vote first then. Got the ps3 redux so sweet. Probably in my top 5. So perfect. Beaten it no joke 20 times. Cuz I heard about this secret garden that you need to beat and repeat several times to get your grip meter big enough to climb there.... Still haven't .

But I would love to see the little things people discover. Maybe compare time trials stuff etc. Would be fun

scrypt Supporter wrote on 03/15/2015 at 10:32pm

Sweet. So, let's go with these four:

Last of Us
Shadow of the Colossus
Half-Life 2
Beyond Good & Evil

If we want to only pick the next game, head to this link and vote! http://goo.gl/qO87UO

If we want to rank these and set the next 4 games for the year, I'll volunteer to sort. Private message me here on the site with your list ranking the above games from 1-4, 1 being your first pick, etc. I can tally and sort, and post results below.

scrypt Supporter wrote on 03/15/2015 at 10:40pm

Or, I suppose you could just post your picks in order here in the comments, if we want to be all open about it ;)

jdodson Admin wrote on 03/15/2015 at 10:54pm

Voted

scrypt Supporter wrote on 03/16/2015 at 04:09pm

Last of Us and Half-Life 2 are neck and neck. Are @vdogmr25 and @dannytron still with us?

Timogorgon Member Post Author wrote on 03/17/2015 at 03:42am

Dannytron is around here somewhere. I'll text him and tell him to come vote.

I'm thinking we should also make a post on the main page and see if anyone else wants to vote for the next game too.

dannytron wrote on 03/17/2015 at 10:05pm

I vote for Half-LIfe 2. It's been a while since I last played.

scrypt Supporter wrote on 03/18/2015 at 03:09am

Give me a second, I'll post on the main page.

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Steam Halloween Sale

This event is over

Start: Thu - October 30, 2014 @ 10:00am PDT

End: Mon - November 3, 2014 @ 11:00pm PST

anyone can join

General Discussion on Steam

Details of the upcoming Steam Halloween Sale have leaked and they seem credible. Putting the event on all our collective calendars with the question: "is there any Halloween themed game you'd like to get?"

https://i.imgur.com/SZjCzcb.png

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Cheerful Ghost Terraria Extravaganza 4!

This event is over

Start: Thu - August 14, 2014

End: Wed - October 15, 2014

happening all day

one spot left, get it soon!

Terraria on Steam

You know what to do folks. In the first few days things may be a little shaky while things get ironed out. I'm trying TShock, so I'll be learning what we can do in the first few days. Come join the fun!

A few rules:

1. Be excellent to each other. Don't mess with people's stuff or... Read All

You will need to sign in to join this event.

Users signed up:

Travis Admin Post Author wrote on 08/15/2014 at 03:06am

BTW, I totally claimed the area under the lake :)

Timogorgon Member wrote on 08/15/2014 at 10:54pm

Since you're going under the lake, I guess I'll go next to it. :)

I built my base a little wider than I usually do, so to kind of off set that I built it a little further away from the starting area than usual as well. Should be plenty of room for everyone else.

Two quick suggestions though: Can we get a piggy bank in the starting house? I tried to place one earlier, but it disappeared and told me the region is locked. >.> Second, when we start building NPC housing, let's built up this time. On our last server once we turned on hard mode wraiths and similar mobs kept killing off NPC's by passing through the ground.

jdodson Admin wrote on 08/15/2014 at 11:28pm

Hey guys just wanted you to know, I might not have a ton of time to play this. I wish I did, but I don't think I do.

Second. Mind if I share this with some local game groups to see if others are interested in joining in?

Travis Admin Post Author wrote on 08/16/2014 at 12:14am

I've approved everyone. See you in game!

And WBS, I was thinking the same, like next to the starter hut or something.

Travis Admin Post Author wrote on 08/16/2014 at 02:49am

As requested, piggy bank and safe added to the starter hut.

Also, I've added everyone who's started so far as users. When you sign in, go into chat and type /login terraria2014

Yes, everyone's password is terraria2014. You can change that when you sign in with /password

If you see that you can't do some things that you would like to do, let me know.

Travis Admin Post Author wrote on 08/16/2014 at 03:18am

I should also add, it's not only allowed, but suggested, that you have another world to pillage while playing on the server. There's no way we're all going to be able to find a red balloon in the floating islands, for example.

Azurephile Super Member wrote on 08/16/2014 at 08:53pm

Hopefully, I'll join soon. I'm sorry I haven't started yet. I've been playing Red Alert 3 and am trying to finish up the Empire's missions. I think there are a few missions left, I might be done with the game soon, although these missions don't seem to be getting any easier.

What kind of pillaging do you refer to, Travis? Chests and pots? I remember the other CG worlds had unbroken pots by the time I downloaded them, do you guys leave pots unbroken?

Timogorgon Member wrote on 08/16/2014 at 11:16pm

Pots regenerate randomly, so pots aren't the problem. The problem is with the really rare loot, like floating island items. I've also found looting our old CG server worlds is a pretty easy way to get some stuff. :)

I started a rough outline of the new NPC housing, but would love to hear everyone's thoughts/input before going forward. here's what i have so far: http://imgur.com/QgIhIh5.
Currently, the stairs are set up so as not to interfere while running in either direction. I may have to take out the bottom set of stairs though to keep mobs out. Zombies were jumping up to the top level while I was working on it. :\
I didn't count how wide the structure is but it is an even number so dividing up the living areas should be easy.

Azurephile Super Member wrote on 08/17/2014 at 12:12am

Ok, I got in, but briefly. It said something about the area being locked and I'd have to login to make changes. It also said to type /help for a list of commands, but I was able to do that once, but not sure how. Sorry, I'm new to Terraria multiplayer, I don't know how to chat or use commands, I'm trying to look up that info. I've created a character called "CG GregoPeck."

Travis Admin Post Author wrote on 08/17/2014 at 02:31am

Read my comment earlier about logging in. You shouldn't be restricted from anything but modifying the starter hut. I did that just so that exploding things couldn't take it out. But logging in gets you a few cool things that the TShock mod adds, like teleporting, sending fireworks to people, and other fun/useful things.

Travis Admin Post Author wrote on 08/17/2014 at 02:42am

Also, WBS, I think the zombies will stay out in general. One other thing that may help, zombies don't use ropes. If it becomes a problem we can use those.

I like what you've started, I'll help build it in that direction as well. Full disclosure, I'll probably grab a ton of stuff from other worlds/characters to build the NPC housing, but nothing non-aesthetic that would give us any edge over where we currently are.

Azurephile Super Member wrote on 08/17/2014 at 02:53am

Travis, I'm sorry that I forgot about that comment you wrote with the necessary information. Thanks for reminding me.

Travis Admin Post Author wrote on 08/17/2014 at 02:46pm

No sweat :)

Travis Admin Post Author wrote on 08/17/2014 at 09:32pm

Hey, just so you all know, earlier I found two goblin tinkerers tied up. They both showed up at home. I rebooted the server, and then there were three in town. I killed off two of them by spawning zombies on them, but you may find more of them and they may duplicate themselves.

Azurephile Super Member wrote on 08/20/2014 at 02:57am

http://cloud-4.steampowered.com/ugc/572275839879185027/D010E696968DCF43B6B669AA3DFED1D5445003EF/
Take a look of my screenshot I took tonight as Travis was riding a big bunny!

Timogorgon Member wrote on 08/20/2014 at 05:25pm

That's quite the fish costume he has also. The balloon he's holding is a nice touch too.

AdamPFarnsworth wrote on 08/20/2014 at 05:34pm

http://art.penny-arcade.com/photos/i-VjNBJwp/0/1050x10000/i-VjNBJwp-1050x10000.jpg

It's Minecraft, but I figured y'all would get a kick out of it :)

Travis Admin Post Author wrote on 08/20/2014 at 06:53pm

The balloon is the cloud in a balloon. Accessories are now visible, if you want them to be. But yeah, a sad looking fish holding a balloon is pretty amusinc.

Travis Admin Post Author wrote on 08/24/2014 at 10:32pm

When do you guys want to pop open hardmode?

Azurephile Super Member wrote on 08/24/2014 at 11:44pm

Well, I'm ready! I've been feeling like there's not much for me to do other than the fishing quests. Aside from that, I made a long path along the lava at the bottom to the left. Characters can get all the way to the left side without falling into lava, until the very edge where a pool is open. I did something like this in my own world the first time I played the game, except that I had both sides covered, with a minor exception at the ends to drop in a Voodoo Doll. This way, you have plenty of room to fight the Wall without falling into lava. I'd like to complete my work on the right side, but I've run out of materials, so I'll have to get more dirt, stone, mud, ash, etc. to continue.

I did go to my own world to grab a Murasama (for Night's Edge) and an Enchanted Boomerang (for Flamarang). One or two of us could take out the Wall. There are plenty of Voodoo Doll's in Tim's Hell house.

Travis Admin Post Author wrote on 08/25/2014 at 01:47am

Uhm... Tim and I did the path to the right for fighting the wall. We didn't see a path either way so we did that. You can run the whole way with no worry about jumping so you don't get stuck. I know that's killed me a few times.

Azurephile Super Member wrote on 08/25/2014 at 02:05am

Cool, I noticed the beginnings of a path to the right when I created the one to the left. I worked on it and then noticed that someone else did, too.

Travis Admin Post Author wrote on 08/25/2014 at 02:58am

I finally started playing with mine carts. I don't know why it took me this long, they're super fun. We now have a quick way back to the sacrificial altar after fighting the wall of flesh. :)

Timogorgon Member wrote on 08/25/2014 at 04:49pm

I'm good for hardmode. Do you guys think you'll be on tonight?

Azurephile Super Member wrote on 08/25/2014 at 08:14pm

What time do you think you'll be on?

Travis Admin Post Author wrote on 08/25/2014 at 09:16pm

Yeah if we get started by 10 Eastern/ 7 Central I'm game. Made us a bunch of potions! We'll be well-buffed. I was out sick today so I've been fishing lava for the fish needed for inferno potions. Didn't quite get three full stacks. I also made ironskin, regeneration, and bowl of soup. They're all in the chest in the hell house.

Travis Admin Post Author wrote on 08/25/2014 at 09:20pm

Oh also, Greg, I found a Muramasa in the dungeon. There were still quite a few locked chests in there.

Azurephile Super Member wrote on 08/25/2014 at 09:55pm

Cool, perhaps Jon can use that one.

Timogorgon Member wrote on 08/25/2014 at 10:14pm

There were more locked chests? Man, that was a really rich dungeon this time around. I probably unlocked a good dozen or more chests when I explored it (I left a lot of the chests un-looted, because I either didn't need or already had the item) and there were a lot of chests already opened by the time I got there.

As far as tonight goes, I probably won't be able to get on before 8pm pacific, and even then I might be a little late depending on how quickly I get some errands done earlier today. So if you want to do the WoF tonight you can start without me I'm if you need to. I'm OK with that. :)

Azurephile Super Member wrote on 08/26/2014 at 03:16am

We defeated the WoF quite a few times together. We stored some loot in a new box at "home." I'll probably play more, just going to look up stuff to get and make. I'll keep an eye open for you and, if you want, we can go up against the WoF.

Travis Admin Post Author wrote on 08/26/2014 at 03:23am

I came here to saw what Greg said. If you need a pwnhammer we got you covered. Take 10!

Azurephile Super Member wrote on 08/26/2014 at 04:03am

Oh and I believe Travis only destroyed one demon altar. So, that would mean we can/should destroy two more if I am correct.

Travis Admin Post Author wrote on 08/26/2014 at 01:01pm

No, we should destroy many more. There are three tiers of hardmode ore that altars/hearts will seed the world with, so if you destroy three you get some of all three, BUT the more we destroy the more there will be to mine.

Timogorgon Member wrote on 08/26/2014 at 04:17pm

I destroyed five last night, so including the one you destroyed that should be six total so far. It shouldn't be hard to find more though.

Travis Admin Post Author wrote on 08/26/2014 at 08:44pm

I've destroyed probably 8 or 9 today. The more the merrier!

Travis Admin Post Author wrote on 08/26/2014 at 08:45pm

Also, after going around looking for altars, I mined up enough for what I need and built a mechanical boss arena to the right of town. /warp arena

Tested it out, it works well. I confess to stealing heart/star statues from our previous world.

Timogorgon Member wrote on 08/26/2014 at 10:07pm

HOW DARE YOU BRING ITEMS FROM PREVIOUS WORLDS no actually I think we all have brought some stuff over. I brought over a few ease-of-use things and some appropriate leveled gear. I am also going to warn you that I plan to bring over my ankh shield now that we're in hardmode, 'cause I have no interest in harvesting all those items again, lol.

Travis Admin Post Author wrote on 08/26/2014 at 10:25pm

Yes, I'll agree with that. That thing is a pain to put together.

Azurephile Super Member wrote on 08/27/2014 at 12:06am

Ha, I've been storing items for that shield. Oh, I haz Rainbow Brick, so I'm expanding my home by adding an additional floor. I have found some Chlorophyte, but I need some Hallowed Bars for a Drax. I'm not sure I'm ready to fight the new bosses alone, presently. I do have the new pink armor set and am looking for Titanium. I'm also look for Life Fruit, and am thinking of collecting those in my own world. I'm not sure if they respawn. The only things I really got from that one and brought to this one were the Murasama and Enchanted Boomerang. I have stored some sets or pieces crafted with most of the new ore, so feel free to pick some of those up if you want them.

Travis Admin Post Author wrote on 08/27/2014 at 01:49am

They do respawn. Plus, I found enough to fill me up to 500 in a pretty small range. There are plenty of them.

Travis Admin Post Author wrote on 08/28/2014 at 09:21pm

When I'm on lately, Greg and I are the only ones around so I'm not sure what all you guys have seen. I have popped open the Lihzhard Temple and cleaned out all the traps. There's a chest next to the Golem altar thingie with power cells to summon him. I'm planning on making an arena for him as well, but nothing so cheap as the last one (where basically you just watch him die). Then I might also make an arena for moon events with traps and such. I still haven't seen the end of the frost moon. You can set holidays with Tshock, so I can force it to be halloween or Christmas when we're ready to start farming up stuff for the moon events.

Azurephile Super Member wrote on 08/28/2014 at 11:36pm

I have my Turtle Armor and with it I defeated Plantera and the Temple boss. I have also crafted a Golden Shower. =) I pretty much finished my additional floor with rainbow brick and block. I got some more, so I may expand later. I need to go to the Dungeon and fight the Paladin so I can get his shield. I'm also farming Ankh Shield materials.

I liked the arena you guys set up on one of the old CG worlds for the Frost and Pumpkin moon events. I thought it was helpful, even though I didn't manage to complete it. I'm sure with two or three of us, it'll be sweet.

Timogorgon Member wrote on 08/29/2014 at 02:37am

I haven't been getting on until late because apparently my 1 year old hates sleep lately. I actually haven't done too much since we popped hardmode. I've upgraded to the middle tier hardmode armor (the pink ore, I forget what it's called) and that's about it. I started to dig out a tunnel to the temple, only to realize you had set a warp point there (DOH). I explored the temple for awhile and managed to get two power cells as drops, but I'm not really equipped for fighting in there yet, and died right as I reached the golem room.

I'm very much looking forward to trying out the frost/pumpkin moon events with you guys, but i definitely need to improve my gear before I'll be ready for that.

Azurephile Super Member wrote on 08/29/2014 at 03:13am

There's a new "home" chest that has some of the latest gear and ore that I've stored. Help yourself to what you find there. I noticed that someone dug a tunnel to the temple. I've found all the Chlorophyte I need for now and the jungle is huge, so it shouldn't be too hard to get more. I've also stored some Ectoplasm, which I haven't used yet. Again, help yourself. There are also random things I've stored in chests in the jungle, so feel free to check those if you need some Life Fruit.

Travis Admin Post Author wrote on 08/29/2014 at 03:30am

I think we could clean those chests out a bit. Nobody will ever need a shackle. And if you do need one, just play at night for five minutes :)

Azurephile Super Member wrote on 08/29/2014 at 06:04am

Yeah, I've done some cleaning, maybe not much.

Timogorgon Member wrote on 08/29/2014 at 04:51pm

I raided the chests last night, so thanks for leaving me nice gear upgrades. :P
Paired with a particularly bountiful Solar Eclipse I now have a Terra blade and possibly arthritis in my right index finger (so... much... clicking...)
I still gotta craft up some better accessories and I'd like to upgrade my armor another tier or two before doing any kind of special moon events, but now that it's the weekend I should be able to play some more and should get caught up pretty quick. :)

Azurephile Super Member wrote on 08/29/2014 at 07:08pm

You're very welcome. I'm always glad when someone can use something I've stored in those chests. I think I forgot about the Terra Blade, so thanks for reminding me. I'm using a Godly Possessed Hatchet now. I still have my True Night's Edge. I've picked up a couple of other weapons and spells I've held on to.

Travis Admin Post Author wrote on 08/30/2014 at 02:12pm

Kudos to whomever wired up my teleporter to the goldfish, king, piranha, and bird statues. I was so confused as to why a random NPC was showing up whenever I teleported in.

Azurephile Super Member wrote on 08/30/2014 at 06:45pm

It wasn't me.

Timogorgon Member wrote on 08/30/2014 at 07:30pm

Travis Admin Post Author wrote on 08/31/2014 at 02:07am

What did we wire up in Jon's house last time? I can't remember.

Timogorgon Member wrote on 08/31/2014 at 03:29am

It was his bunny statue. During a blood moon I flooded his house with corrupted bunnies, but he never came up to the surface to see it. :P

jdodson Admin wrote on 08/31/2014 at 06:17pm

Azurephile Super Member wrote on 09/04/2014 at 01:15am

Hey Travis, I wanted to let you know that I believe I accidentally got a lever from your home. WBS & I were fighting The Destroyer. We didn't see the souls drop and thought it was underground, beneath the arena, and therefore in or around your manor. As I went down to investigate, I noticed you put up a lever on one of your bottom doors to the right. I activated it, but it seems it got in my inventory. So, I have stored it in a chest for you. Warp to the arena. It's in the first chest to the left.

I haven't done much on our server lately. I'm at a point to where I'm not sure what to do other than reforging my accessories and fishing. I decided to create yet another new world and another new character. I think your manor inspired me a bit to work on something similar on my own. I've already built a large shelter for me and NPCs. I've also created a trophy room to store my trophies, banners, armors, etc. I found out how you created the CG4 letters and number. I had never crafted the thing that lets you make them before. Now I'm thinking of moving it away from my main crafting area so I don't have to scroll through a bunch of letters and numbers.

Anyway, I just wanted to let you know about the lever.

Travis Admin Post Author wrote on 09/05/2014 at 01:07am

HOW DARE YOU STEAL MY LEVER nah that's ok. Thanks for storing it.

Travis Admin Post Author wrote on 09/05/2014 at 01:11am

Also, if you did get it from my house, I can't find where it came from. So no harm done! :)

Azurephile Super Member wrote on 09/05/2014 at 01:57am

You're welcome. I believe it was attached to a door on the bottom right side of your manor. If you go above ground, above your house, go to the right, and then follow the mine cart rail down and to the left, you'll come across a door that has a lever on the inside, but not the outside. The one I found was on the outside. I don't even know how to use levers or wiring, but it's something I might so experiment with in my own new world since my huge building is sitting between two pools of water. I intend to make a bridge so that most enemies can't get near my building. I had placed the outside doors on the second level of my building, but had to add platforms so that I could jump up there and get it. Unfortunately, zombies were able to do the same, so I removed them. Luckily, I have a grappling hook now, so I can get up there and they can't get it.

Travis Admin Post Author wrote on 09/07/2014 at 08:10pm

Greg and Tim, if you could pop in to the server at some point and do one of the various things that froze you for no apparent reason, I might finally be able to get to the bottom of it. I talked to the clanforge support team, awesome support by the way, and had then add the freezecheck plugin to their tshock arsenal. It should now tell you why you're getting frozen and that might help to figure out exactly what was going on. Greg, I don't think you've had this issue for a while, but Tim you mentioned it was happening last night so there's obviously something still going on.

Timogorgon Member wrote on 09/14/2014 at 01:31am

I played for awhile today and froze once while fighting duke fishron (and a TERRIBLE time I might add). Not sure why. I was using a Flairon and it happened when I tried to switch to my Golden Shower to debuff him again. Otherwise I can't seem to trigger a freeze effect reliably.

I did get frozen several times later while doing a Frost Moon event, but uhhh... there's a good chance that was happening because of the ice queen. :P

Travis Admin Post Author wrote on 10/17/2014 at 07:31pm

Hey folks, I've saved the world file from the server and I'm now sharing it with you so you can play it whenever you want, and loot the everyone else's stuff. :)

https://mega.co.nz/#!vRoTwLKB!AGNT60Kr0JUoDbTUsUWy0OZdRXUpE5MbhUN-Dhhm_Dg

Azurephile Super Member wrote on 10/17/2014 at 08:36pm

Awesome! Thanks, Travis! I miss gaming with you guys!

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Steam Summer Sale

This event is over

Start: Thu - June 19, 2014 @ 12:00pm PDT

End: Mon - June 30, 2014 @ 1:00pm PDT

anyone can join

General Discussion on Steam

This the rumored time for the Steam Summer sale, so I figured i'd create an event so we can talk about it and what games we get. Plus, you an all add it to your calendars so you can prepare you credit cards.

... Read All

You will need to sign in to join this event.

Users signed up:

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 06/12/2014 at 05:57pm

The games I am planning to get during this Steam sale are.

Magicite, Broforce(still early access, but maybe it's ok), Dishonored(+ all DLC) & Farcry 3(+all DLC).

:godmode:

AdamPFarnsworth wrote on 06/13/2014 at 12:34am

Dishonored is interesting. I was interested in that game but had forgotten about it.

Depending on if Watch Dogs goes on sale, I really want to get that game, but I don't want to spend much.

And I am waiting for Transistor to go on sale to pick up as well.

scrypt Supporter wrote on 06/18/2014 at 02:07pm

I really enjoyed what I played of Dishonored on console. Picked it up on Steam a while ago and feels just as good, if not better. You'll probably be reminded a bit of Bioshock while playing, with more stealth options. Beautiful game, too.

There are a few games in the $10-$15 range that I'm hoping drop to the basement, like Secrets of Raetikon, Ikaruga, Syder Arcade, Final Fantasy III. Beyond that, maybe Might & Magic X - Legacy, Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance and/or Dark Souls II, if the prices are right. That could change entirely, depending on what enticing thing the Steam Sale presents.

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 06/18/2014 at 09:46pm

Awesome video about the sale circulating around the internet.

http://m.youtube.com/watch?feature=youtu.be&v=yr2GdRBDOmU

AdamPFarnsworth wrote on 06/18/2014 at 10:16pm

DON'T GO BELOW 60%!

AdamPFarnsworth wrote on 06/18/2014 at 10:39pm

Maybe Spintires, Civilization 5, Goat Simulator, Borderlands and Borderlands 2, Kerbal Space Program, South Park: The Stick of Truth, MAGIX Music Maker 2014 Premium, Assassin's Creed IV... all posibilities

Travis Admin wrote on 06/19/2014 at 03:03am

Adym-- You gotta get Borderlands if you haven't played them. They're both fantastic. There's a certain charm the first has that I don't get in the second, but the game mechanics and pacing are improved in the second one.

AC4 is one of the best in the series. Tons of fun.

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 06/19/2014 at 04:51am

Yeah, I can't put my thumb on it with BL2 either. It's fine, but much less interesting even though it's seemingly improved in nearly every respect.

scrypt Supporter wrote on 06/19/2014 at 07:05am

I'm falling further and further behind with the AC series as they crank out games like wild, ninja rabbits. Revelations is my hang-up. I suppose I could rush through it, but I like finding all the secrets. The idea of spending 60+ hours in this game gives me a headache. Maybe it's Ezio. I think I'm done with him, as a character. He just doesn't interest me anymore. But I have to push through, because I really want to get to AC3, and 4, and Unity, and fuck-all (I suppose that includes Liberation). If they end up tying the Watch Dogs and AC universes to some substantial end, and keep continuing each individual series, I'll hate Ubisoft forever.

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 06/19/2014 at 02:35pm

Black Flag looks kind of interesting.

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 06/19/2014 at 05:20pm

AND it's started and Steam is down... :godmode:

AdamPFarnsworth wrote on 06/19/2014 at 05:25pm

"Remember, it's an adventure, but it's not your adventure. It's your money's adventure. It will bravely travel in small amounts through the vastness of the internet, and, while you'll never see it again, you will receive a game to forever remind you of its journey."

AdamPFarnsworth wrote on 06/19/2014 at 05:26pm

There wasn't anything I wanted for sale when I checked at about 10:02 lol.

AdamPFarnsworth wrote on 06/19/2014 at 05:28pm

Go Team Blue! I hope a bunch of other people craft their badges, because I probably won't lol

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 06/19/2014 at 05:32pm

I might pickup the Far Cry franchise pack. It's $15 for all the games.

http://store.steampowered.com/sub/46028/

Not sure it could get much better than that.

Timogorgon Member wrote on 06/19/2014 at 06:12pm

It begins.

Divinity: Original Sin looks like a fun Co-op RPG. If I can find that on a steep discount I'd like to pick that up for me and the wifey. :)

Borderlands is awesome! I think I may be in the minority here when I say I actually do like the second game better than the first in nearly every way. The ONLY thing I didn't like in the second game is that not all characters have their own method of ammo regen. In the first game everyone could either find an infinite ammo gun or get a class mod that allowed ammo regen for at least one gun type. In BL2 only the Gunzerker can do that. But really it's a pretty minor thing and every other aspect of the game is improved over the first.

AdamPFarnsworth wrote on 06/19/2014 at 06:49pm

I can be difficult to see all the games on sale, but if you go here http://steamdb.info/sales/ it lists them all. You can fliter to Games/DLC/Guides/etc Only, and sort by Discount percent, Price and Savings. Super handy.

AdamPFarnsworth wrote on 06/19/2014 at 06:49pm

4965 items on sale right now lol

scrypt Supporter wrote on 06/19/2014 at 07:04pm

Should we keep track of our loot here? So far I've picked up:

They Breathe
Syder Arcade

Really, I just like making lists, so we don't have to do this!

Travis Admin wrote on 06/19/2014 at 07:11pm

I'm on team pink. I feel like Steve Buscemi in Reservoir Dogs now.

scrypt Supporter wrote on 06/19/2014 at 07:11pm

Jon, our Team Purple isn't doing so hot...

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 06/19/2014 at 07:13pm

TEAM PURPLE!

Nabbed the Far Cry Franchise collection for $15. So much game...

scrypt Supporter wrote on 06/19/2014 at 07:13pm

That's a nice take!

scrypt Supporter wrote on 06/19/2014 at 07:15pm

Suck it Team Pink! Jon, your Franchise purchase just put us in second place!

scrypt Supporter wrote on 06/19/2014 at 07:16pm

I don't think we'll catch Adym and Team Blue. Can they finish, though??

scrypt Supporter wrote on 06/19/2014 at 07:19pm

This is the Steam Olympics!! http://youtu.be/jp77WTBLYCA

AdamPFarnsworth wrote on 06/19/2014 at 07:26pm

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 06/19/2014 at 08:53pm

Not sure how many more games I plan to buy. I just got 4 games and am pretty happy with the Witcher 2(the intro was pretty fun as is the normal game so far. Witcher 2 is very Game of Thrones like).

That said, I might not be able to hold out on getting Broforce.

AdamPFarnsworth wrote on 06/19/2014 at 10:38pm

Just picked up an interesting game called They Breath for $0.61. So far I'm holding onto my money.

Travis Admin wrote on 06/19/2014 at 11:24pm

Whoa, whoa.

$0.61? Damn. Big spender.

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 06/20/2014 at 12:18am

FIRST WORLD ADyM

AdamPFarnsworth wrote on 06/20/2014 at 05:01pm

I don't know anything about web domains/internet traffic, but sometimes I can get onto store.steampowered.com at work, and sometimes it's blocked (https://bpb.opendns.com/a/store.steampowered.com/), because my company blocks all opendns websites. I've noticed that the site is blocked when I would imagine it's busier (like right now with new sale items). Is there some sort of switch Steam makes depending on internet traffic to the site?

AdamPFarnsworth wrote on 06/20/2014 at 10:05pm

With so much focus on badges, card price demand seems to have gone up. I looked through most of the cards I'd need to complete sets of games I've played, and the cheapest card I could find was .09, but most were at least .10. That doesn't sound like much but at lot of you guys have plenty of cards that you could put in the marketplace and make around .08 each (again, not much, but when you sell a bunch of cards, it adds up)

Just thought I'd put that out there for anyone who cares :)

scrypt Supporter wrote on 06/20/2014 at 11:48pm

For whatever reason, I feel compelled to hang on to my cards. What I should do is list my remaining Summer Sale cards, which have been averaging $.50 each, and those are going like hotcakes. It's interesting, too, that Valve has implemented a new interface, just for these cards. Before, you had to constantly refresh the page to try to find a decent price, and grab before someone else could. Now, you simply place an order at the desired price, and when one becomes available, it gets sent to you. Pretty crazy!

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 06/21/2014 at 12:58am

I have all my cards from the 2013 sale, curious what those are going for.

scrypt Supporter wrote on 06/21/2014 at 01:18am

Looks like those are around 8 and 9 cents. I'd be interested to know if those actually worked toward badges anymore.

AdamPFarnsworth wrote on 06/21/2014 at 01:24am

I'm a little bit confused on which badges people are going for too. Is it just badges from this summer's sale's cards, or any badge from any game's cards?

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 06/21/2014 at 01:31am

I just traded a 2014 sale card with Tungsten for The Orange Box.

10/10 would trade again.

scrypt Supporter wrote on 06/21/2014 at 03:01am

For the contest of teams, Summer Sale badges earn 10 points, while other game badges earn 1 point. Foil badges are 10x the point value in each catagory. I'm not seeing to much of an increase in regular card prices, maybe a few cents here and there, but the Summer 2014 cards are quite high, though not as high as they were yesterday.

@jdodson, that's quite a trade!

Travis Admin wrote on 06/21/2014 at 05:22am

Wait, Jon, you didn't already have the Orange Box?

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 06/21/2014 at 05:34am

I have Half-Life 2 & Portal on Steam. I never owned the rest on Steam BUT I have The Orange Box on PS3(where I originally played all the games the first time).

That said, I think i'll hold on to it to give to someone. The only things I need are the Ep1 and Ep2 to round out my Steam collection for HL2.

Travis Admin wrote on 06/21/2014 at 06:00am

You guys lucked out with team purple. The team switcher items for purple are going for like $35

scrypt Supporter wrote on 06/21/2014 at 11:44am

You can do that?! I'll switch teams for $35. Holy knight!

scrypt Supporter wrote on 06/21/2014 at 12:05pm

Ahh, you have to still have your token intact to sell it. Booo!

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 06/21/2014 at 03:07pm

Token?

scrypt Supporter wrote on 06/21/2014 at 03:49pm

I thought it was a token, but I guess they automatically assign you to a team when you craft a Summer badge, so I don't know how people are acquiring tokens to sell.

Travis Admin wrote on 06/21/2014 at 04:27pm

You can get them at random from crafting badges.

AdamPFarnsworth wrote on 06/21/2014 at 10:03pm

A couple more games. I've bought Ducktales and ORION: Dino Horde

scrypt Supporter wrote on 06/21/2014 at 10:55pm

I'll have to download ORION again, give it another try. I was severely disappointed in the initial release, deleted it, and forgot about it, but it looks like they've change some things. Looks like they may have gravitated more toward their original ideas.

Travis Admin wrote on 06/22/2014 at 05:37am

Adym, Duck Tales is short but it feels just like the NES version. Tons of fun.

AdamPFarnsworth wrote on 06/22/2014 at 06:27am

I've only played a few mins of it, and totally love it all over again!

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 06/22/2014 at 02:41pm

It also seems like a proper episode of the Cartoon, which is great.

Gavinanimator wrote on 06/22/2014 at 03:10pm

I've Never Heard Of That Game

Gavinanimator wrote on 06/22/2014 at 03:11pm

... Well If It's A Game

Gavinanimator wrote on 06/22/2014 at 03:23pm

Amnesia - A Machine For Pigs Is On My Whish List, It's An Indie Horror Game Made By The Creators Of Amnesia - The Dark Descent, It Focuses On One Of The Best Horror Stories Ever Written, And It Takes Place 60 Years Into The Future

jaelte wrote on 06/23/2014 at 06:25am

I've bought The Walking Dead: Season 2, The Wolf Among Us, and Jazzpunk so far. I *may* just have a thing for adventure games. :)

That said, I haven't started playing any of those yet as all my recent video game play time has gone into Wildstar (which, by the way, is not on the site's game list). That's not a Steam game, though, so I'll discontinue this off-topic chatter.

scrypt Supporter wrote on 06/23/2014 at 11:48am

Jazzpunk looks really interesting. You'll have to let us know how it plays, when you get around to it.

Just added Wildstar to the game list, by the way (which also looks amazing. Is it the WoW killer everyone thought it would be?)

AdamPFarnsworth wrote on 06/23/2014 at 04:42pm

Wow, I hadn't heard of Wildstar, but that looks amazing!

AdamPFarnsworth wrote on 06/23/2014 at 11:59pm

Just picked up an interesting looking game called The Political Machine 2012. It'll be a bit dated, but I love political simulations. You play as a presidential candidate trying to win enough electoral votes to win the presidency. Either an actual candidate, or your own creation. Can't wait to dive into this one and geek out on politics!

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 06/24/2014 at 12:04am

That's a great game idea, hope it is fun!

jaelte wrote on 06/24/2014 at 06:02am

Jazzpunk was on my wishlist for awhile, so I'm glad I could finally get it cheap. I may end up playing that one before the other two I bought because the others still have unreleased episodes. We'll see.

Wildstar is incredible. I don't really know if I can type to its WoW-killerliness, but I do know that I'm having a blast so far. The main thing that keeps me interested in MMORPGs is being able to play with my friends, so I imagine I'll continue to play it as long as a good portion of my friends are playing. This, of course, does not preclude me playing other games.

In other news, it looks like the my team (Blue) is winning today. I don't know how it all works, but the system looks rigged to me -- each day one color end up way ahead of all the others. It's probably explained on the site somewhere, but I guess I'm not too worried about it.

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 06/25/2014 at 04:53am

http://www.dorkly.com/post/64641/the-true-purpose-of-steam-sales

AdamPFarnsworth wrote on 06/25/2014 at 04:51pm

As it's just about 10, and the new day is about to start, it's somewhat amusing to watch the team points at the beginning of the day. It's like watching a horse race lol. I accidentally stumbled upon it yesterday and thought I'd pass along the amusement to y'all :)

scrypt Supporter wrote on 06/25/2014 at 05:14pm

It is interesting to watch, and I've wondered the same thing, jaelte. I wonder if it has anything to do with time zones. Maybe while the other teams are sleeping, the waking team has the initial advantage?

AdamPFarnsworth wrote on 06/25/2014 at 05:44pm

Here's a really interesting article about Team White and Valve's efforts to disrupt them

http://www.pcgamer.com/2014/06/24/how-the-internet-tried-to-rig-the-steam-summer-sale-and-how-valve-is-trying-to-stop-them/

AdamPFarnsworth wrote on 06/25/2014 at 07:18pm

So today I decided to try and play the Team Token Market today like a stock day trader. I bought a Green Team Token for $1.50 and now am attempting to sell it for $2.00 (meaning I'll actually get $1.75). Right now it is hovering in the around $1.80. I might be stuck with a useless token at the end of the sale, or make an easy $0.50 lol.

AdamPFarnsworth wrote on 06/25/2014 at 11:33pm

Boom! Just sold it for $2! Easy money man lol (I meant make an easy $0.25 in my last comment)

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 06/26/2014 at 12:01am

If you could do that a few hundred times in a day you could quit your job.

jaelte wrote on 06/29/2014 at 08:30am

Thanks for posting that article, Adym. I thought something fishy was going on.

scrypt Supporter wrote on 06/30/2014 at 01:33am

If any of you are looking for a last minute, cheap game to pick up, I highly, highly recommend The Fall. A cool blend of something like Limbo and The Swapper, with a top-tier Sci-fi story, fully voice acted. Almost a crime to get it for the sale price.

Travis Admin wrote on 06/30/2014 at 02:11am

You talked me into it.

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 06/30/2014 at 02:19am

Yeah, I think i'm gonna pass. My list of amazing games is already stacked pretty high right now.

That said, maybe at some point!

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 06/30/2014 at 03:54am

Oh and it looks like we have 13 hours left of the sale and they are bringing back some of the really great deals. Terraria for $1.99? Crazy great deal.

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Terraria 1.2.2 Holiday Server

This event is over

Start: Fri - December 20, 2013 @ 12:00am PST

End: Sat - December 21, 2013 @ 2:00pm PST

4 spots left

Terraria on Steam

Now that the new Terraria holiday update is upon us, I want to run a repeat of our 1.2 server so we can check out the new updates.

http://www.terrariaonline.com/threads/1-2-2-is-now-live-and-50-off-on-steam.125734/#post-2570396

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jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 12/20/2013 at 06:00am

Dig the new 1.2.2 stuff but it seems to be a new Pumpkin Moon event and presents instead of candy bags. Not that I mind, I think it is really neat.

That said the fight is really awesome and I got quite a few presents including a Christmas Tree sword. Let me know what you guys have done and find.

Timogorgon Member wrote on 12/20/2013 at 05:31pm

Mrs. Claus costume. Oooooooh yeah.

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 12/20/2013 at 05:33pm

I do like dressing up as women.

Travis Admin wrote on 12/20/2013 at 08:56pm

Everyone, never let Jon forget that he said "I do like dressing up as women."

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 12/21/2013 at 12:27am

😀

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 12/21/2013 at 01:28am

Hey Yall,

Just wanted to let you know i'll be shutting down the server in the next day or so. If you want to know why you can message me privately.

So get in your server time WHILE YOU CAN :D

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 12/21/2013 at 08:18pm

So WBS and I just took one two of the new holiday spawn events. I got another Razorpine and gave it to WBS and we both used them in the battle. Holy cow, the Razorpine with the Spectre Armor is awesome. So much health comes back to you in a fight.

Curious though, is there a hotkey for drinking a mana pot?

A definite must get for sure.

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 12/21/2013 at 08:18pm

Yep, quick mana drink is "J" that will help out during the fight a ton.

http://terraria.gamepedia.com/Game_controls

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 12/21/2013 at 08:42pm

Oh and I will be taking the server down in the next couple hours, if you have anything on it you need grab it before it goes. I'll bring it back for a few full uninterrupted days in the new year though.

Travis Admin wrote on 12/21/2013 at 09:25pm

I never knew about J, I just have mana pots in 0, and switch to that whenever I need one. That's definitely good to know.

Timogorgon Member wrote on 12/23/2013 at 06:41pm

It's probably worth mentioning, but i used zero mana potions during our frost moon runs. I just used Magic cuffs and when my mana was getting low I let a mob hit me. http://terraria.gamepedia.com/Magic_Cuffs

Usually I prefer melee type characters, and I absolutely LOVE my paladins hammer + cursed hatchet combo, but spectre armor + magic cuffs is where it's at for these special moon events.

Travis Admin wrote on 12/24/2013 at 12:00am

Whoa, an actual use for the shackle!

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 12/24/2013 at 12:47am

I know. I think I have a few in a chest somewhere if you.. need a shackle :D

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Steam Holiday Sale

This event is over

Start: Thu - December 19, 2013

End: Thu - January 2, 2014

happening all day

anyone can join

General Discussion on Steam

Steam's Holiday Sale is the biggest of the year so add this event to your calendar and lets talk about what you are going to get.

Skyrim? Terraria? Left 4 Dead 2?

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Travis Admin wrote on 12/18/2013 at 05:54pm

I think I'm going to finally pick up the AVGN game. I've been eyeing it for a while, so assuming it goes on sale I'll nab it.

Travis Admin wrote on 12/18/2013 at 05:55pm

I'll also probably pick up another extra copy of Terraria. I gave my spare to my friend Greg (as some of you can tell from the Facebook discussion) so I need to get another to keep around for situations like that.

Timogorgon Member wrote on 12/18/2013 at 06:20pm

It's become something of a Tradition with me and my friend Jason (@JaBo) that we buy each others Christmas gifts during the steam sales. So I'll be picking up whatever I can off his wishlist as they get discounted. :P

As for what I'm hopping to get for myself, there's several games I'm going to keep an eye out for. Papers, Please looks really interesting, and Organ Trail looks like a lot of fun.

vdogmr25 wrote on 12/18/2013 at 07:25pm

Cities in Motion 2 DLC, maybe. Looking at Bioshock Infinite and Assassin's Creed 3 and 4 too.

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 12/19/2013 at 12:21am

Papers, Please and Organ Trail are both worth getting but the game I bought recently I have been enjoying the heck out of is Pixel Junk Monsters. Plugged in two controllers and a friend and I played it two player, so much fun. Fun single and two player both actually.

Going to pickup Pixel Junk shooter for sure.

jaelte wrote on 12/19/2013 at 07:50am

We'll see what goes on sale. Most the games on my wishlist are new-ish, so I'm not sure if any of them will be discounted enough to entice me. I still own a metric crapton of games I've never played.

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 12/19/2013 at 06:59pm

I have lot's of games I haven't played too, mostly from bundles. That said, I have noticed from what games I do purchase I play.

I don't buy because it's a good deal anymore, I might even hold off and buy it later just to ensure i'll actually play it. Might pay a few bucks more, but I am trying to avoid the 4,000 games unplayed story :D

I don't count bundles as much BUT I am not buying bundles if they don't contain at least one game I want to play immediately. Which means the last few bundles I have skipped entirely.

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 12/21/2013 at 02:21am

Wow, BioShock Infinite is amazing. Seriously, for $9.99 you need to pick it up. Been playing it on my Mac and it is superb. So beautiful and an awesome story. So far only a little bit in and I love it.

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 12/23/2013 at 07:16pm

Borderlands 2 GOTY is only $15? Whoa.

http://store.steampowered.com/sub/32848/

Timogorgon Member wrote on 12/23/2013 at 07:33pm

That's tempting, but I bought Borderland 2 on PS3 so I could play co-op with my wife and I generally have a rule about not buying the same game twice. :\ I would love to play with all you fine peeps who have it on PC though.

Timogorgon Member wrote on 12/23/2013 at 07:38pm

Over at Amazon they're offering Bioshock 1, Bioshock 2, and Bioshock Infinite as a bundle for 15 bucks. I'm considering that one. http://goo.gl/64gAVl

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 12/23/2013 at 07:40pm

It's $20 on Steam now http://store.steampowered.com/sub/36223/

The amazon purchase might be for steam keys though :D

Timogorgon Member wrote on 12/23/2013 at 07:43pm

The amazon deal is for Steam keys, yes.

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 12/23/2013 at 08:42pm

Do it. Infinite is worth the price of admission alone.

Travis Admin wrote on 12/24/2013 at 12:01am

Yes, that's two of the best games of the decade and one that's pretty OK as well.

AdamPFarnsworth wrote on 12/26/2013 at 11:20pm

So far, I've bought Gone Home (which looks really interesting, but I know nothing about), Left 4 Dead 2 (for free!), NBA 2K14, Papers Please, and Tower Wars.

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 12/27/2013 at 12:47am

Installing Tower Wars now.

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Short-term Starbound server!

This event is over

Start: Mon - December 9, 2013

End: Thu - December 12, 2013

happening all day

4 spots left

Starbound on Steam

Come play the beta with us. The only rules are to not be a dick and steal things, destroy other people's things, etc.

Be sure you don't put anything in the "account" field when you join.

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jdodson Admin wrote on 12/11/2013 at 02:45am

This is just to test out Starbound multi-player. Travis's connection is a bit slower. When we run the official server I might host it as I have a lot more up than him.

Thanks for doing this Travis, how hard was setting it up?

Travis Admin Post Author wrote on 12/11/2013 at 02:58am

Very easy. Just forward a port and start it up. The password is just a matter of changing the config file.

And Blue_Element reports no lag, so maybe it's you! :)

jdodson Admin wrote on 12/11/2013 at 03:18am

Maybe it is!

Travis Admin Post Author wrote on 12/12/2013 at 03:04am

Just FYI, there are currently some version issues. The game updated but it doesn't appear the server executable updated to the new version. I'm trying to figure that out.

Travis Admin Post Author wrote on 12/12/2013 at 03:06am

OK apparently it updated while the server was running and just didn't bother to tell me about that.

Timogorgon Member wrote on 12/12/2013 at 07:30pm

Hopped on the server last night although, sadly, I was alone. ; ;

I'm guessing we all spawn on different worlds? Because the one I started on seemed like it was completely untouched, including a chest that was fairly close to the spawn point and still had loot in it. It also had a really cool underground base that I had fun looting and killing all the inhabitants of. I didn't get to fully explore it because my inventory filled up and I had decided to leave and come back later. Lots of awesome decorative items in there! When the game gets closer to release I really look forward to building some more permanent structures.

The last balancing patch seems to have worked pretty well. The amount of damage I was dealing (and taking) felt fair and reasonable. The amounts of Ore I was finding seemed good too with the exception of coal. It's not that I didn't find any coal at all, I just didn't get to fill up my fuel very much at all after I was done crafting torches and whatnot. Seeing as i can't use wood for fuel anymore that is kind of a drag.

Over all I'm very impressed with the game and especially with Chucklefish for making so many improvements on the game so rapidly. It still has a long ways to go but so far I'm very pleased.

Random observation: Last night I encountered a bird type monster whose attack consisted of vomiting blood on me... >.<

jdodson Admin wrote on 12/12/2013 at 07:34pm

No wood for fuel anymore? I guess you can make coal now but its 10 => 1 which is really silly expensive.

Travis Admin Post Author wrote on 12/14/2013 at 02:35am

Hey sorry, this has been down for a while. Not sure how long or why. I'll keep it up a little while longer.

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Timogorgon3

Timogorgon has been a part of 10 events

Games Club: Half-Life 2

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