General Discussion [ Page 81 ]

Take This Project

http://static.tumblr.com/fg31ubd/vqzmd3a6h/rgb-colorlogo-horiz.png

I just wanted to take a minute to promote the Take This Project (www.takethisproject.tumblr.com) which is an organization of writers, programmers, and gamers in the gaming industry who are suffering from depression or other mental illnesses to raise awareness. Having dealt with anxiety and depression myself (heck, I based my blog on it), I recommend anyone who is interested to check out the material for the website and follow the group on Facebook and Twitter (@takethisproject). I am very supportive of people who provide an understanding and encouraging community to show those who may not be afraid to seek help that they are not alone. I try not to bore others or bring... Read All

Hurray?!?

Hi CG members,

Finally today Steam support just replied to my email regarding the Scammed Revoked Torchlight 2..
n they decided to return it to me =) Unbelieveable.. I thought of it as pretty much gone!

So yeah, my entry here is cancelled.. Thanks for the Fantaboulous opportunity though..
Another great giveaway that I will miss =( Last time was Borderlands 2 n now this..

So yeah, have a great day everyone.. I'm looking forward for another awesome giveaway =P

Travis Admin wrote on 12/13/2012 at 04:37am

Dude! That's awesome. The Steam crew are pretty good to their users. It makes me happy to hear good customer service stories like this.

jdodson Admin wrote on 12/13/2012 at 06:49am

Another great Steam deed! I want to take a moment of silence to thank Gaben.......

TonyJapMayo Post Author wrote on 12/13/2012 at 05:00pm

I've heard of that name.. Forgot when or where.. Steam Admin guy? anyway, Thanks Gaben =P

Travis Admin wrote on 12/13/2012 at 07:09pm

Yep, Gabe Newell is the head of Valve. Gabe Newell, shortened to Gabe N., then further shortened by 4chan to Gaben.

jdodson Admin wrote on 12/13/2012 at 07:55pm

I think they picked that because its his email at Valve and its totally awesome to pass that around? :D

TonyJapMayo Post Author wrote on 12/14/2012 at 02:27am

Ah, ic.. Thats awesome.. Head of Valve must have lots of games, best job ever =P

jdodson Admin wrote on 12/14/2012 at 03:59am

New life goal: If I meet Gaben find out how many games he owns.

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Game Shop: Minecraft Mayhem

In this episode of that wacky Game Shop, the gang play a game very similar to Minecraft together. It uses a pretty cool four player split-screen that works really well for the episode.

Dat Firehose: Diablo 3, Scaling League of Legends

Looks like Blizzard is experimenting with Diablo 3 on consoles. No official plans yet they are getting it working.

http://www.polygon.com/2012/12/10/3752536/diablo-3-running-on-consoles-still-not-an-official-blizzard-project

Riot Games, the makers of League of Legends is now dealing with "big data" and how to scale that to millions of users. As a programmer I find this sort of thing interesting.

http://games.slashdot.org/story/12/12/08/207248/for-league-of-legends-creator-riot-games-big-data-is-serious-business

Valve wants to get DoTA 2 running on tablets but it looks like the current offerings are not hefty enough to power DoTA 2.

... Read All

Will_Owens wrote on 12/12/2012 at 03:31am

I'm really considering getting Eador. I loved playing HoMM (15 years ago? Jeez) and love games that have opaque systems I have to dig in to learn making this look outstanding. The graphics also look pretty cool in that Age of Wonders watercolor painted kind of way. If anyone has any experience playing it I would love to hear more about it. Also, if it has multiplayer capability, we could get a game night going.

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 12/12/2012 at 03:41am

Ill append the post but have you played... let me get the link...

Battle for Wesnoth? Its an Open Source game that is very mature and runs on all the relevant platforms, I even think it has an iOS and Android port:

http://www.wesnoth.org/

Its free too :D

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 12/12/2012 at 05:42pm

Reason I bring it up, is because if we want to have a game night with a turn based strategy game that might work as its free for anyone to download and runs on all platforms.

Will_Owens wrote on 12/13/2012 at 12:59am

Very true, although, in my case it would be a game morning. I'd be up for that if we can organize something, but turn based strategy isn't the most popular genre anymore...

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 12/13/2012 at 06:52am

Yeah it really isn't. Maybe we can plan something closer to the holidays, ill have some time off to make scheduling anything much simpler :D

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More Time with the Wii U

This weekend I made my way to the Mall for a bit of Holiday gift retrieval. As I made my way through the morass of Holiday Shopping Victims I noticed a Wii U Kiosk. I navigated my way through the Horde and spent some time watching kids play and asked the attendants some questions about some of the games.

One thing I took away from checking out the Wii U is that the games are very pretty. The New Super Mario Brothers Wii U & Scribblenauts HD look stunning.

One game stood out to me as a pretty fun example of the new Wii U tablet style controller was Nintendo Land. Nintendo Land is essentially a set of Wii style party games similar in tone to Wii Play & Wii Sports.... Read All

Travis Admin wrote on 12/11/2012 at 02:01pm

It really does look unique, interesting, and fun. But so did the Wii, and with the exception of first-party titles, I barely ever touched it. There were a few good ones, like MadWorld and No More Heroes, but it's been collecting dust since Super Mario Galaxy 2. Nintendo made something amazing, but the lagging graphics and tons of shovelware kinda pushed out third-party developers.

Hopefully the Wii U is different, but I worry that once the new round of consoles that MS and Sony release will push it to the same spot as the Wii.

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 12/11/2012 at 05:20pm

The last game I played seriously on the Wii was Super Mario Galaxy. My wife and I still pull out the Wii for the Just Dance games at parties. We just picked up Just Dance 4. I have a soft spot for the Wii, but like you it mostly goes unplayed. In the end, my Playstation 3 did more so hopefully the Wii U can fill that void.

I am wondering what Microsoft and Sony are doing next, so far I have no idea what that is but I will hold off until I know more for sure.

Timogorgon Member wrote on 12/11/2012 at 06:22pm

I'll admit that up until a couple weeks ago, everything I heard about the Wii U had been kind of underwhelming. But now that the system is out and people are getting some hands on experience with it, I'm seeing a lot of really positive reviews. Hopefully this enthusiasm will stick better with the Wii U than it did with the Wii.

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 12/11/2012 at 09:37pm

I think the Wii U made some choices to give it lets over the next generation better than the Wii. A few reasons:

The Wii U is compatible with all your old Wii Stuff.

The Wii U is essentially a PS3 or XBox 360 horsepower wise. I believe this is important because the PS3 and XBox 360 will be supported well into the next generation. Whereas the PS4 and XBox 720 might look better, I believe publishers will still make PS3 and 360 ports well into the next generation.

Its $300. This is a good price to start at as it starts reasonably and will drop over time.

That said, for me the most exciting platforms are the PC, Steam in your Living Room and Apple TV with apps.

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Mew-Genics Title Music

Just adding another post to the continuing trail of cat parts littering the road to the launch of Mew-Genics.

"So we really splurged with the soundtrack for Mew-genics, the game will feature a full album of over 20 studio recorded songs, with more than half of them with lyrics! we really wanted to make the games music feature extended themes of the game or small stories within each song, kind of how Katamari did it in a way, except all our songs are about cats!"

I really dig the title track and am really looking forward for this release.

http://supermeatboy.com/129/Mew_Genics_Teaser_week_7/#b

gogonlinux: Games from GOG in Linux made easier

A community of GOG fans has released the first beta of gogonlinux, a tool to make playing your GOG games easier in Linux.

http://www.gogonlinux.com/about/

Installing it requires a few steps (you can read up on them on the "Getting Started" page) but using the software seems straight-forward. Just log into your GOG account, and it handles downloading and installing the games for you.

There are currently only a few games present. It isn't currently using Linux ports, but things like Wine, Dosbox, and Scummvm to run games with the most compatible configuration.

Hopefully with Steam's Linux client looking toward release, and Desura's presence for some time now, GOG will do... Read All

Valve does have plans for a SteamBox! ...Kinda.

Gabe Newell gave an interview with Kotaku last night where he discussed the possibilities available for PCs in the living room. In summary, Gabe says that Valve's current goal is to make PCs better for the living room. The next steps for them are to get Steam out of beta on the Linux platform, and get Big Picture Mode working well for Linux, which will give them more flexibility for their own hardware.

He doesn't think Valve will be the only players in the game though. Newell expects other hardware providers to join in as well, selling PC's that connect to your TV and play Steam games right out of the box, and these PCs will be competing directly with consoles.

This is... Read All

jdodson Admin wrote on 12/09/2012 at 05:36am

I really hope this pans out to be awesome. I saw how this would work with Portal 2 on PS3. Buy one game, play everywhere you can. I got a PS3 game and a copy for Steam on PC. I played the single player on my console, then when they released the map editor I made those on PC. It was magical and I want more of that. Steam console should allow this.

Plus Steam is way more awesome that the current console generations. Even the next gen won't be as awesome as a Steam summer sale. I see the NextBox and PS4 doing more with digital but with the same prices and same kinds of DRM we have now.

Travis Admin Post Author wrote on 12/09/2012 at 06:07am

I tend to agree with you there. Signing into Steam when launching Portal 2 on PS3 was a moment of clarity for me. It was a realization of what *could* be. I'm not sure this will work to make that more common, but if this new hardware is treated like a console by those selling it and buying it, the effect will be similar.

And yeah, there will be a bigger focus on digital distribution next gen, but I can't imagine the big console providers going for the massive sales like Steam.

jdodson Admin wrote on 12/10/2012 at 06:42am

I don't either, they can do sales now to compete but they don't. Its as if consoles are immune to market forces. Well, they are because you can buy a game second hand and it can be marked down after launch. That said, the digital component doesn't seem to slide much. I remember when they had a sale on the Pixel Junk games and you could get em' all for cheap. I was going to spring for them all but was stopped by how hard it was to give my PS3 money to buy it. Seriously, after 35 minutes of trying I stopped.

Much simpler to pay Steam.

jdodson Admin wrote on 12/10/2012 at 07:03am

This has been making the rounds today: http://games.slashdot.org/story/12/12/07/182217/valve-begins-listing-linux-requirements-for-certain-games-on-steam

Travis Admin Post Author wrote on 12/10/2012 at 02:32pm

That's odd, I've never had trouble with purchases on the PS3. Do you remember what the problem you were having was?

jdodson Admin wrote on 12/10/2012 at 02:57pm

Not knowing how to give them my money in the checkout process.

Travis Admin Post Author wrote on 12/10/2012 at 03:48pm

Hmm, I've always hit "add funds" or whatever it's called, popped in my cc info, and told it how much to add. I've actually always been impressed with that process. But without seeing what you saw, who knows what the problem could have been...

jdodson Admin wrote on 12/10/2012 at 04:31pm

I don't think you can do that during the checkout process. Which later I realized you need to add funds before you checkout, or at least appeared to be the case.

Oh well, I saved a few bucks anyway.

Travis Admin Post Author wrote on 12/10/2012 at 04:49pm

Nope, that's where I always add mine. Go to check out, it tells you that you don't have enough funds, so you hit add funds and it takes care of it for you.

Travis Admin Post Author wrote on 12/10/2012 at 05:25pm

You may need to add a credit card to your account first, though. I'm not 100% sure.

jdodson Admin wrote on 12/10/2012 at 09:56pm

Yeah, it was something... Next time I might just buy a PS3 card at the store and redeem that. After the breach I am not really in love with giving them my CC info.

Travis Admin Post Author wrote on 12/10/2012 at 10:16pm

That's a very good point. It can happen to anyone though, MS, Steam, Amazon...

In Sony's case, it seems there was some significant fault to place on them for having less than stellar security, but I think after that they straightened up. At least I hope they would. They should be having yearly (if not more often) internal and external penetration tests and audits to make sure that kind of info can't get out again.

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Dat Firehose: Elder Scrolls Online & Portal on TI

Bethesda's Elder Scrolls Online Team recently released a story from the ESO Universe. This one focuses on Jorunn the Skald-King:

http://elderscrollsonline.com/en/misc/leader-profile/ebonheart

Some awesome people released Portal for the TI Calculator. Video linked above. Nab the code for your TI:

http://www.omnimaga.org/index.php?action=downloads;sa=view;down=841

THQ stock jumped 40% after its latest Humble Bundle went live:

http://m.pcgamer.com/2012/12/03/thqs-stock-rises-nearly-40-thanks-to-humble-bundle

Some have noted the Wii U is better for Indie Games. Great even:

http://games.slashdot.org/story/12/12/03/1549213/cheap-indie-games-make-wii-u-a-better-value

Crysis 3 specs... Read All

Travis Admin wrote on 12/08/2012 at 04:06am

Hey, I think I might be able to pull off Crysis 3 at almost recommended!

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 12/08/2012 at 06:18am

Awesome! You must have some awesome hardware!

Travis Admin wrote on 12/08/2012 at 12:35pm

Not really. I think it's mostly that I got a video card recently. It wasn't even the best or anything, just a $125 NVIDIA that was significantly better than the ATI I was running.

Travis Admin wrote on 12/08/2012 at 04:20pm

Also, Portal on the TI looks surprisingly functional.

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 12/08/2012 at 04:50pm

Yeah, it really does. That TI font... Reminds me of college.

BR Supporter wrote on 12/08/2012 at 06:16pm

Well...I know what I will be spending my math class doing now.

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Great Moments in World Building Vol. 1: Dishonored

http://www.gamefreaks.co.nz/wp-content/gallery/dishonored-screenshots-april-27/dishonored-06.jpg

The Link's Awakening discussion made me think of this. World building is one of my all time favorite parts of video games and I wanted to start a series/discussion about concrete, specific moments that contribute to it. It's easy to say, "Oh, I was just totally lost in the world of Ico, it's so ethereal and wonderful!" It's much harder to point to specific moments and assets.

So I want to talk about my 3rd or 4th favorite game of the year, Dishonored. Dishonored creates an incredible world, a "whale punk" setting that I've never seen before. But I want to mention, specifically, food in dishonored. Just like in Bioshock, you can constantly chomp on bits of food to regain... Read All

jdodson Admin wrote on 12/08/2012 at 01:16am

Those are some really great design choices for the game. I was thinking about world building today actually as I was watching a YouTube video showcasing how to play Dwarf Fortress. It was interesting because part of Dwarf Fortress is starting the game and watching time pass quickly. At some point you stop the world flying by and say "I want to start my game at this point in the worlds history." Trees grow and fall as do mountains and entire cultures. Its a really interesting process.

Its interesting because lately I have been playing Minecraft that has these elements too. Its a world and the story is how the world evolves and how you interact with it. From what I gather Dwarf Fortress logs the history of your world in terms of who is born and what happens to them. Its an interesting concept for a full procedural world.

Lately I have been playing a bit of Lord of the Rings Online. Its a free to play MMO and its pretty well done. Recently I went into the Barrow Downs and had a quest where I had to talk to Tom Bombadil. It was interesting because when I entered his house he was dancing around the room. Dancing isn't too popular unless its a Just Dance game, but from what I remember of the Hobbit books he was a dancin' guy. I went on a quest at his bequest and after killin a bunch of stuff, I came up to a Boss fight I couldn't win. He came in a zapped it and the quest ended by him telling me to avoid the dark corners of the earth and stay in the light.

Thing is I don't disagree with him, but I wonder how interesting Lord of the Rings Online would be if I avoiding fighting, a major staple of questing.

Will_Owens wrote on 12/09/2012 at 03:15am

I enjoy world building a lot, but it seems like there are two ways to do it. One is to present a back story about the environment and what makes it up. This is often too overwrought and makes the whole mythology unbelievable. Games like Dragon Age pour it on very thick through codexes and, even though it helps to flesh out the world, it doesn't seem organic. Then I think of games like Fallout or STALKER where the environment is only presented but I am forced to fill in the gaps. Hints and small stories can be dropped to make it more realistic, but my own imagination often fills in blanks much more interestingly than writing could. I guess I just like being left out of the loop a little bit because I don't know what's going on in THIS world that much either. If I know all the information, it just doesn't seem right.

jdodson Admin wrote on 12/10/2012 at 06:39am

I think that's a good point Will. I am currently playing Skyrim a bit at at time. They have tons of books all over the game you can read. I think that is pretty cool for some, but I don't really attach to it.

Gary_Butterfield Post Author wrote on 12/10/2012 at 05:05pm

My favorite games end up doing both. They're both optional and likely to be missed by a lot of players but you can choose your poison. The 3d Fallout games are great at this and an entry is forth coming.

jdodson Admin wrote on 12/10/2012 at 09:57pm

Look forward to reading it.

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General Discussion

Take This Project

Hurray?!?

Game Shop: Minecraft Mayhem

Dat Firehose: Diablo 3, Scaling League of Legends

More Time with the Wii U

Mew-Genics Title Music

gogonlinux: Games from GOG in Linux made easier

Valve *does* have plans for a SteamBox! ...Kinda.

Dat Firehose: Elder Scrolls Online & Portal on TI

Great Moments in World Building Vol. 1: Dishonored

Valve does have plans for a SteamBox! ...Kinda.