jdodson | Cheerful Ghost

Give Hell A Try - The Doom Demo Has Been Extended

During E3 iD released a demo for the new Doom game that was only supposed to run for a limited time. Sometime afterward iD and Bethesda decided to extend it so if you haven't tried out the new Doom game, now is a good time. There isn't a firm demo end date and I hope they just leave it up indefinitely. A limited time demo is a far cry from Doom's Shareware roots but then again, we ain't dialing up to BBS's anymore. Which honestly is fairly sad as I always loved BBS's myself.

#missyoulord #goodbyetradewars

http://store.steampowered.com/app/379720/

Celebrate Ubisoft's 30th Anniversary With 7 Free Games

http://cdn.akamai.steamstatic.com/steam/apps/13600/header.jpg?t=1447351278

"To celebrate Ubisoft's 30th anniversary, The Ubisoft Club is offering you seven digital PC games. Every month a new game will be revealed and free to download. Then its yours to keep!"

Ubisoft is handing out one free game a month for the next 7 months to celebrate it's 30th anniversary by heading over to their website and signing up. During the first month they are giving away Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time and while it's not entirely clear what other games they will hand out in the upcoming months you need to head over and pick this one up!

https://30years.ubi.com/en-US/operation-index

scrypt Supporter wrote on 06/21/2016 at 03:37pm

Love me some Sands of Time! My guess is that we'll see a Rayman, Splinter Cell, Beyond Good and Evil, Assassin's Creed (probably the first one), you know, some of those classic franchises. Free games are always good!

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 06/21/2016 at 04:24pm

Yep, those sound like what I was thinking too!

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 06/21/2016 at 04:25pm

Far Cry may make an appearance.

Travis Admin wrote on 06/21/2016 at 05:57pm

The title says 6, but the quoted blurb says 7.

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 06/21/2016 at 08:09pm

Updated. Thanks Travis. I've been tired lately

Travis Admin wrote on 06/21/2016 at 08:38pm

I wonder why! :D

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 06/21/2016 at 08:40pm

STAYING UP LATE FOR A ZACK EFFRON MOVIE MARATHON OBVIOUSLY!

Travis Admin wrote on 06/21/2016 at 08:48pm

Yeah, I like where your priorities are!

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System Shock 2 Is Free On GOG Right Now

If you head over to GOG and download GOG Galaxy, the new GOG Desktop client they will give you a free copy of the PC classic System Shock 2. If you are interested you will want to check this out now as it won't last for much longer.

GOG is also running their yearly Summer Sale and have some fun quests you can complete to earn free games such as Splunky, Gabriel Knight and Dreamfall Chapters.

So much free and so little time...

https://www.gog.com/galaxy
https://www.gog.com/summer_xp

Reflecting On One Year of Hearthstone

A little more than a year ago Blizzard released Hearthstone on smartphones and that hooked me. Up till that point Hearthstone didn't really interest me but something about playing it on my phone made the experience magical. Naxxramas, Blackrock Mountain and Goblins VS Gnomes were the only released adventures and expansions then and I spent most of my time collecting gold and learning how to play. I had no idea what to do with the gold I had but I figured i'd save it until I knew what best to spend it on. I didn't even create any decks when I started because I had no idea what was good. So I just played causal matches with no deck and I lost a lot. During that time I simply realized what was good and what wasn't by trying things and losing a lot of matches.

At that time I only knew a couple people that played and JaBo being one let me know you could unlock Adventure wings with gold. After that I decided that my first steps were to unlock all the adventures cards and then focus on opening packs(something I recommend people do to start). Naxxramas was the first Adventure I unlocked and over time I was able to unlock the rest and open a ton of packs along the way.

It really doesn't seem like i've been playing Hearthstone nearly each day for a year. Since matches only last only a handful of minutes on average(some take much longer) it doesn't ever feel like I am spending much time playing it. For me it's one of those perfect games you can play a few minutes here and there and if you need to concede a match because something comes up it's not a big deal. In a world of very shallow and short lived mobile games Hearthstone is fairly deep and extremely repayable.

In the last couple months I went to my first local bracketed ladder tournament and had a reasonable showing for my first attempt. I am very happy with how well i've done considering I am free to play. I'm not sure one needs to spend a ton of money in Hearthstone to be good or even be competitive but if you spend a lot of money in the game and have all the cards you do have an advantage. Having everything doesn't make someone great but it helps. Over time I imagine i'll unlock most everything that will keep me competitive and the game will still be fun and still not spend any money. With that, if you don't mind spending a few bucks here and there it can really help you to spend it on unlocking the adventures. The adventures are fun and if you complete them you unlock some really incredible cards that will help you do well.

http://cheerfulghost.com/jdodson/posts/2926/spent-sunday-praising-yogg-at-the-taco-house-my-first-local-hearthstone-tournament

The New Player Experience Is Much Better Now

One of my friends is starting Hearthstone for the first time and so far he really enjoys it. It's cool to help him make his way through the game as a new player and so far he is doing well. I think the new player experience is better than it's been for quite some time. Right now all players new or old get C'Thun and two Beckoner of Evils for free plus if you complete the quests you can get 13 or so free Whispers of the Old Gods packs. This is also on top of the other free classic packs they give you to start the game. It's nice Blizzard gave everyone C'Thun because it's a solid card and comes with an accessible strategy to win the game which is to out well stat'ed minions that buff C'Thun and when he finally comes out on turn 10, you win. It maybe doesn't always work like that but it can and it's something that makes the new player experience much better. Blizzard also has a new deck builder tool to help new players build decks that are pretty good if they have the cards and help them chose replacements if they don't. I've been playing with these Blizzard approved decks and many are quite good so I recommend new players build around them to start learning how things work.

Watching Great Players Can Make You Better

One thing I did to improve at Hearthstone was to spend some time watching other fantastic players play and then I copy their decks and learn from them. I know everyone wants to be an incredibly original deck builder as well as an amazing player but when you start out you really should stand on the shoulders of giants. One streamer I recommend you watch is Kripparian. Kripparian is not only a fantastic player he is also a fun guy to watch and explains his strategy well enough to understand it.

https://www.youtube.com/user/Kripparrian

Kripp posts two videos each day that are clips shows from his daily streams. They involve some sort of theme and he starts out by talking about some timely topic and then shows you relevant matches he's played. Kripp's show is one of my most anticipated shows I watch right now. Most of the decks he showcases I create, play with and modify and i've learned some awesome game tricks by watching him play.

Well That's All Great, But What Happens Now?

I like Hearthstone because it's fun and if it ever felt like it was becoming a chore or a stupid grind i'd stop playing. To date it's been a fun ride and i've hit some really great momentum lately. Not sure if i'll be playing Hearthstone each day for another year but if this last one is an indicator, I should be.

Azurephile Super Member wrote on 06/08/2016 at 06:19am

That's awesome! So, I told you that you can unlock Adventures with in-game gold? I don't really remember that.

Anyway, I appreciate your perspective on the game. It seems you did something rightly smart. I am really glad that you shared one of the tools you've found to be very helpful, the YouTuber. I may have to check that out. Watching YouTube on my TV at night is part of my nightly routine. :)

I've used the deck builder tool to help suggest cards I should put in my deck. I'm not opposed to finding a good recipe (as they have now) and copying it. It would be a cool way to learn how to play more effectively and even with different strategies.

I like the freebies they recently gave us, well they're free if you complete those challenges, which I managed to do some how. I've seen C'Thun used in matches I've played, but I don't think I've ever used it myself.

Back to Adventure Mode, that is what I liked most about the game. I wish this part of the game was so much bigger and wasn't so expensive. I've unlocked some with in-game gold, but I think it'd probably take me a week to get enough to unlock another.

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 06/08/2016 at 11:06pm

> That's awesome! So, I told you that you can unlock Adventures with in-game gold? I don't really remember that.

Oh you might be right, it was JaBo. But you said something right afterward and I always attributed it to you in my mind. I'll update my post to reflect this, thanks Greg!

http://cheerfulghost.com/jdodson/posts/2495/dropping-cards-battling-heroes-my-recent-game-addiction#comment11290

> Anyway, I appreciate your perspective on the game. It seems you did something rightly smart. I am really glad that you shared one of the tools you've found to be very helpful, the YouTuber. I may have to check that out. Watching YouTube on my TV at night is part of my nightly routine. :)

Watching the Kripp show on TV at night is awesome, it's one of my new favorite times of the day. Besides lunch.

> I've used the deck builder tool to help suggest cards I should put in my deck. I'm not opposed to finding a good recipe (as they have now) and copying it. It would be a cool way to learn how to play more effectively and even with different strategies.

Yeah, the Blizz decks are pretty fun too. I've been impressed with how well they actually do.

> Back to Adventure Mode, that is what I liked most about the game. I wish this part of the game was so much bigger and wasn't so expensive. I've unlocked some with in-game gold, but I think it'd probably take me a week to get enough to unlock another.

There is another one coming out next according to the path Blizzard has layed out. It will, most likely, be another $20 so to date they've released 3 adventures with this other one on the way. And I wish they'd do more per year too but right now, that seems unlikely.

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Get Nox Free on EA Origin

"An excellent action/RPG hybrid with very unique gameplay. Your name is Jack Mower, a 20th century dude who just happened to be sucked into the world of Nox via his TV set. The world is in danger and you have to save it! But before you embark on your epic journey you must choose your path: warrior, wizard, or conjurer.

Choose the path of a warrior, and you will be able to equip and use all manner of swords, battle-axes, war hammers, and chakrams - though you’ll leave the magical mumbo-jumbo up to the Conjurer and Wizard classes. An enchanted weapon is the closest a Warrior gets to magic but that’s OK, because magic is for sissies."

Origin has given away some really great classic titles and continues that tradition with Nox, a Westwood developed RPG. When I think Westwood I think Command & Conquer and the Dune games. That said, Westwood did develop many different kinds of games and Nox was one of it's later releases.

https://www.origin.com/en-us/store/free-games/on-the-house

What Are You Playing - Summer Edition

As Summer is now in full swing I am wondering what everyone is playing right now?

I play Hearthstone daily and am currently saving gold for the next 4 wings of the upcoming adventure. I'm also playing FTL, the new Doom and a iOS game called Gem Hunters.

Let me know in the comments what you are playing as well and if it's worth looking into!

Azurephile Super Member wrote on 06/06/2016 at 05:46am

I finished FFX (HD Remaster) and Doom. Now I'm playing Fallout 4, because of the Far Harbor DLC. However, I haven't started it yet, instead I'm going around collecting a bunch of stuff like the bobbleheads and magazines I've missed. I'm going to go after some of those great weapons and stuff, too. I'm not sure whether or not I'm going to attempt to complete all the misc. quests.

Once I finish w/ Fallout 4 I'm moving on to The Witcher 3 again because it just had a DLC released as well. Maybe after that I'll play FFX-2 (HD Remaster).

I'm still playing a bit of Ark, but not much. I got on the server a while ago and helped with some things. I also started a new single player game on The Center map, which is now an official mod. I'm interested in other mods, so I may start another new game with those (particularly Annunaki Genesis).

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 06/06/2016 at 06:29am

> Once I finish w/ Fallout 4 I'm moving on to The Witcher 3 again because it just had a DLC released as well.

Some day I plan on picking up Witcher 3 and all of it's DLC. I can wait though as I have many other games right now and I imagine at some point the whole package will be available in one bundle. Heard really great things about it. Have you completed Witcher 3 Greg?

Azurephile Super Member wrote on 06/06/2016 at 07:17am

Yes, I finished The Witcher 3 and I absolutely love it! The story was quite epic, I cared a lot about the main characters. There are a lot of quests, so there's plenty to do. I do strongly recommend it.

Travis Admin wrote on 06/06/2016 at 11:32am

I tried (unsuccessfully) to play the first Witcher. It was just super clunky and not very fun. But I hear it's worth getting through, and that Witcher 2 fixes all those issues.

As for what I'm playing, Doom and Fallout 4. I decided to do both kinda alternately but I got the Far Harbor fever and haven't gone back to Doom. It's really, really good.

scrypt Supporter wrote on 06/06/2016 at 05:15pm

I just finished Dishonored (finally), and found it to be quite good. Now I've moved onto Deus Ex: Human Revolution, which I've had to start over because I can't remember what was going on when I left off. Also picked up Oxenfree on the PS4, which I can't tell yet if I like. Rocket League is ever-present. I really want to get on that Doom train, but it will have to wait.

Because of recently binging and catching up on Game of Thrones, I've also been visiting Skyrim, not so much to play through it, but simply to be in that environment. It feels like an extension of that Song of Ice and Fire universe, in a way.

Travis Admin wrote on 06/06/2016 at 05:55pm

Deus Ex Human Revolution is one of my faves. The director's cut which includes some cut content and offers a few more choices in how to handle things is apparently the way to go but I haven't played that version.

AdamPFarnsworth wrote on 06/06/2016 at 06:37pm

Last weekend I found myself binging again on Game Dev Tycoon. Finally created my first 10/10 game lol.
Other than that I've been playing Bejeweled Stars for a few mins here and there.

scrypt Supporter wrote on 06/06/2016 at 06:41pm

The Director's Cut is what I'm playing, and a secondary reason for starting over. I think it was a free upgrade through Steam a while back. It's hard going from Dishonored, with such smooth movement mechanics, to DE:HR, especially since both are heavy-leaning stealth-optional. DE:HR is a bit more cumbersome, but good on gadgets!

Is anyone playing, or considering getting into Overwatch? I know a few of us played the beta. I never took advantage of the PS4 beta, but with the $20 price difference on PC, I think I'd rather that route, if I took the step. I definitely enjoyed the beta, but it seems like everyone playing is completely smitten with it.

Azurephile Super Member wrote on 06/06/2016 at 07:45pm

I didn't really enjoy the first Witcher game. The second was better, but the third was absolutely wonderful.

Travis Admin wrote on 06/06/2016 at 08:23pm

Greg has been playing a lot of EVGA Precision X 16. 221 hours on record! :D

Seriously though since you installed that from Steam it's showing that you're constantly playing it. And what the hell, it has achievements?

I installed that straight from their site. Seems weird to have it tied to Steam.

Azurephile Super Member wrote on 06/07/2016 at 12:27am

Interesting. Yeah, I installed it via Steam before I got my new GPU. I have it run at startup. Windows says it's running, but I don't see it unless I load it myself.

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 06/07/2016 at 01:23am

> I tried (unsuccessfully) to play the first Witcher. It was just super clunky and not very fun. But I hear it's worth getting through, and that Witcher 2 fixes all those issues.

The first Witcher is rough but I may have liked it more when it first launched? It doesn't hold up as well I think if you haven't played it before. W2 is better but for whatever reason, I didn't continue on with it.

> Because of recently binging and catching up on Game of Thrones, I've also been visiting Skyrim, not so much to play through it, but simply to be in that environment. It feels like an extension of that Song of Ice and Fire universe, in a way.

I really like the Skyrim atmosphere and music. In a way, more than Fallout 4 but I like the F4 story and gameplay more. If that makes sense.

> Is anyone playing, or considering getting into Overwatch? I know a few of us played the beta. I never took advantage of the PS4 beta, but with the $20 price difference on PC, I think I'd rather that route, if I took the step. I definitely enjoyed the beta, but it seems like everyone playing is completely smitten with it.

It's the huge game of the moment and I enjoyed what i've played so far but I didn't like it enough to pick it up. It's a good game but nothing I need to play.

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 06/07/2016 at 01:24am

And yeah, Travis is right Steam says you are playing that all day. I wonder if they hacked the app to crowd out other games because I know you play other games and I don't see you playing those.

Travis Admin wrote on 06/07/2016 at 02:30am

I read up on it. If you install it via Steam and then you have it auto-start, it's naturally running in Steam all the time. The only way NOT to get it to do that is to not have it auto-launch, and to launch it AFTER the games you run.

It's not so much that it's hacking the app, it's just that it's software being run through Steam and it runs constantly, so it effectively does crowd out all the other games. It's acting the same as it would if you set a game to auto-start.

But then the in-game stuff doesn't work for it.

So yeah, it's a terrible thing to even install via Steam. Uninstall that shiz and get it from their website :D

Azurephile Super Member wrote on 06/07/2016 at 02:49am

Ah, I see. Will do, thanks for letting me know.

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 06/07/2016 at 03:14am

After a couple days it might rank higher in your most played games list than Terraria. That alone means it should be killed.

Travis Admin wrote on 06/07/2016 at 03:40am

WRT Overwatch: No interest, as I already see people complaining about others "not understanding the meta" and "having to carry" people who suck. And comparing this and that to LoL and this and that to DotA. Nope, pass.

This is definitely not the game for me. Just give me an arena shooter already. I was hoping for one with Doom but that was a major waste of multiplayer.

scrypt Supporter wrote on 06/07/2016 at 03:59am

What's wrong with the multiplayer in Doom?

scrypt Supporter wrote on 06/07/2016 at 04:01am

Also, I was understanding that Overwatch was basically Team Fortress 3, not MOBA-esque, so curious about the comparisons to League and DoTA :(.

Azurephile Super Member wrote on 06/07/2016 at 04:45am

Shoot, Ark is my most played game at 1074 hours. But, I uninstalled that app and reinstalled the one directly downloaded from EVGA's mirror link.

Travis Admin wrote on 06/07/2016 at 11:54am

If Overwatch is TF3, then I'm wrong and it may be way more fun, just going by what I've heard.

Doom multiplayer (based on what I played in the beta and the one or two matches I played on the final release) is an attempt to meld the old arena shooter ways with CoD and the like. It feels like it's trying for arena shooter but never landing because of the changes made to make it more like modern shooters. Weapon loadouts have no place in an arena shooter, for instance. It't not that it isn't good, it's that it isn't great. There's fun to be had, but it's definitely not what I was hoping for.

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 06/08/2016 at 03:21am

Overwatch is like Team Fortress 2. I played during Beta and sucked up a storm and no one said anything to me about it. There are matches people play against bots and against other humans. Bots are fun because our team won. Against humans we died each time, I just wasn't helping.

From my limited experience Overwatch doesn't have as a bad community, but even that all said, i'll wait till I pick it up. It's a fun shooter no question, it's just not what I am looking to get into right now.

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 06/08/2016 at 03:22am

As to Doom multiplayer, I have yet to try it. I'll maybe do that tonight if I remember to.

Azurephile Super Member wrote on 06/08/2016 at 04:27am

I overlooked Overwatch. Some of my Ark friends played it, so I asked them about it and got my understanding of it from them. It looks a bit like Splatoon in the way that you have to wait online for other players to play w/ and against. I haven't played it either, I just know from watching Vinny play it. I liked shooters back in the old Doom and Quake days, but I haven't really been into them as much. Although I'm into Fallout, it kind of counts as being in that category, but I think it's so much more than that. Right now i don't have any interest in Overwatch, maybe that would change if I looked into it and watched a video of someone playing it (which is how my interest in the new Doom was born).

I haven't tried multiplayer in the new Doom yet, either. I think it'd be fun to play a co-op match against demons, but I generally don't like PVP kinds of games. If anyone plays Doom multiplayer, let me know how ti goes and whether or not there's a co-op option. If so, I wouldn't mind playing with someone, I love Doom!

As for TF2, that's what Vinny's been playing lately. I got an invite from a friend to play it over a year ago (maybe more) and I haven't tried it yet. Yet another game I have no current interest in, which could possibly changed by watching a YouTube video about it.

Travis Admin wrote on 06/08/2016 at 04:03pm

It looks a bit like Splatoon in the way that you have to wait online for other players to play w/ and against

This is basically how most multiplayer works. :D

At least the default matchmaking thing. I assume there are ways to play Overwatch with friends.

Maybe I was just experiencing assholes talking about Overwatch. One thing I loved about TF2 when I played it was the community. It's a very tactical game and a bad player can really break your team but the community was always fun. I don't know if that's changed since it went F2P.

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FTL Is Still Amazing - Today I Unlocked The Stealth Cruiser

https://i.ytimg.com/vi/fWzKoRwYNjM/maxresdefault.jpg

FTL is one of those special Indie games I might play off and on for the rest of my life. It's rogue-like space fairing gameplay is so unique and fresh every time I come back I am hooked by it. Recently i've been playing a couple games and slowly building back my ability with it. Like any skilled game that you step away from, i've had to remember a few things forgotten over time. During my last play session I made it to the Federation Starship boss to beat it once and then lost the second time. I forget how punishing that battle can be and how nimble and at times lucky you need to be to complete it.

During these last few games i've played as the Federation Cruiser, a ship I usually don't play. I've found the Kestrel to be a great ship and to date, haven't had the desire to try anything else. The Federation Cruiser is a good ship and it's special Artillery Beam weapon is surprisingly good. I upgraded it a few times but plan on upgrading it fully when I play with it again.

I have finally unlocked the Stealth Cruiser which I am going to try in my next game. If anyone has any tips for using it let me know. It seems smaller than most ships but it starts with a cloaking device, which I try and get during each of game I play. One downside is it has no shields, which I am not sure how that will work out so any advice here would be appreciated.

Shovel Knight By The Numbers

If you missed Shovel Knight now might be a good time to realize this Capcom-era retro love letter to platformers. One way to do that is by reading out this Yacht Club Games infographic highlighting how well Shovel Knight has been received. One part I find interesting is the number of people that have played the extra content has been fairly low. The reason the content is being made is because they sailed so far over their Kickstarter goals meeting their stretch goals. The 3DS & Wii U sales numbers were also much higher than I would have initially guessed but it makes sense considering this game is for Nintendo fans and begs to be played on those systems.

Shovel Knight will keep digging through it's upcoming free content in two new upcoming campaigns and game modes. So much value in so few pixels!

If you are looking for a more in depth analysis of the numbers above, head over to Yacht Club's blog and read up. It's a fascinating look at one of the more successful Indie studios financials for their first game.

http://yachtclubgames.com/2016/04/feat-unlocked-one-million-copies-of-shovel-knight-sold/

Explore An Ancient & Magical World in Guardians of the Rose

Back this on Kickstarter!

Guardians of the Rose is a game that interests me from a couple angles. Featuring an incredible pixel art style and premise, Guardians of the Rose could be an fun intersection of Zelda, Elder Scrolls and Gauntlet.

"The world is laid out specifically so that you can choose to explore in any direction you want. You can choose to progress the storyline at your own pace while immersing yourself inside the lore and sidequests of the kingdom. These sidequests are not your typical "find my chicken" type quests but instead are designed to make the player feel like he is making a significant difference in the lands around him.

Depending on how you play the game, which path you take in your exploration of the lands, and who you decide to party with, the game's story and ending can change fairly drastically."

If this game looks like something you want to see released head over to Kickstarter and check it out. Guardians of the Rose will launch on PC, Mac and Linux and if they push over the 80k stretch goal they will also release it on Wii U, 3DS, & OUYA.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/broc/guardians-of-the-rose-story-driven-2d-action-rpg

**EDIT**

If you want to see this on Steam Greenlight you can also give it an upvote below!

http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=691099409

Nintendo Support

Posting to the forums because this is incredibly memey yet funny. Or not, but that's fine because it's posted to the forums.

http://i.imgur.com/TQybJVh.jpg

jdodson1

2759 Posts

Give Hell A Try - The Doom Demo Has Been Extended

Celebrate Ubisoft's 30th Anniversary With 7 Free Games

System Shock 2 Is Free On GOG Right Now

Reflecting On One Year of Hearthstone

Get Nox Free on EA Origin

What Are You Playing - Summer Edition

FTL Is Still Amazing - Today I Unlocked The Stealth Cruiser

Shovel Knight By The Numbers

Explore An Ancient & Magical World in Guardians of the Rose

Nintendo Support