Cheerful Ghost: An Awesome Community For Gamers

Re-Logic Shares Terraria: Otherworld Woes and Plans for the Future

As many surmised and/or feared, it looks like the silence on updates *was* a result of issues with development. Re-Logic has announced today that they were unhappy with the development from Engine Software, and are bringing in Pipeworks Studios to continue development.

"Our team had a clear vision for this game – one that we shared with all of you with much shared excitement – and, as much as we hate to say it (and in spite of all of the reforms we tried last year) - the current state of the game is still equal parts far from that vision and well behind schedule.

As a result, we have made the decision to move on from having Engine Software continue development of... Read All

Azurephile Super Member wrote on 04/05/2017 at 05:26am

I'm glad the silence has been temporarily broken after so long. Initially I feel optimistic about it and can wait for a really good game, at least that's my hope of the product. I look forward to seeing more news ahead. Thanks for sharing!

Azurephile Super Member wrote on 04/06/2017 at 02:14am

Reading more into the replies on that post is interesting. The developer perspective is obviously real and most often invisible to gamers. In recent years, since playing Terraria and Ark, I've been paying more attention to game development news, particularly with these two games ("Terraria" includes Otherworld). It's fascinating what I've learned and experienced over the years and yet I obviously can only see a small fraction of what's going on.

We mentioned before that we're not too impatient for Otherworld, although we eagerly eat up anything Terraria. It was exciting to first find out about it and have that hope of seeing it "soon" two years ago.

I'm glad when developers fill us in on what's going on "behind the scenes." I was disappointed for the "radio silence," but I didn't get frustrated. Although we now don't have a timetable for the game's release, we at least know that Re-logic is working hard to make sure this game meets what seems to be extremely high standards, which should produce a very good game. So, I'm hopeful and optimistic, maybe even more so now that I know what's been going on and it's not a dead project.

I haven't really played many tower defense games. I remember that quest at Fort Condor (I think that's it's name) in Final Fantasy VII. I wasn't too fond of it. Later, I found a Final Fantasy game on the Wii that was a tower defense game (I don't recall it's name). It was free or a demo, but I didn't spend much time with it nor did I find it too interesting.

So, I'm a bit reluctant regarding the tower defense aspect of Otherworld, however, I think Re-logic could perhaps do something amazing with it. That kind of mechanic does seem to fit well into Terraria as you're trying to protect your NPCs from the Blood Moon and such. In Terraria, we build arenas for this, so the tower defense aspect is already there.

Hopefully we'll see more development news in the next few months, though it doesn't look like we'll see the game this year (and I'm ok with that).

Azurephile Super Member wrote on 04/07/2017 at 01:47am

TOW's budget is apparently over $4 million. Check out ChippyGaming's new video: https://youtu.be/8MupkdeRlK0

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

Sign Up / Log In

From Dragon Age Origins to Dragon Age 2

I had a bit of a slow start with Dragon Age Origins on the PS3 and Steam, but I finally completed it. At first, the combat system was a bit different than I was used to, so it took some time for me to feel comfortable with it. I even turned down the difficulty even though there were still some incredibly difficult battles, especially within DLC.

One of the features I enjoyed about the DLC was being able to import characters from another saved game. I didn’t necessarily do everything in a specific or correct order and sometimes that lead to some issues. One issue was resolved with a mod. I also ended up with things I didn’t need later. Had I known more about what I was... Read All I had a bit of a slow start with Dragon Age Origins on the PS3 and Steam, but I finally completed it. At first, the combat system was a bit different than I was used to, so it took some time for me to feel comfortable with it. I even turned down the difficulty even though there were still some incredibly difficult battles, especially within DLC.

One of the features I enjoyed about the DLC was being able to import characters from another saved game. I didn’t necessarily do everything in a specific or correct order and sometimes that lead to some issues. One issue was resolved with a mod. I also ended up with things I didn’t need later. Had I known more about what I was doing, I would probably have done some things differently. So, I do find some replay value in it.

I’ve moved on to DA2 and was able to import my DAO data, which apparently changes some things based on decisions I made. I have a feeling that the decisions I make in the game actually carry some weight. That definitely makes things more interesting and replayable.

So far this game looks and feels much better. I decided to lower the difficulty at a certain point. I also downloaded free DLC, including a high definition texture pack. I read that some of the DLC should be accessed later in the game, but you can still visit the Black Emporium for some good equipment. I also learned that companions come with their own armor and can’t use what you find, it’s locked to the main character. This is different, but not completely unwelcome. Companions can still equip weapons and accessories you find.

DAO wasn’t always stable and DA2 suffers at times, too. The game sometimes crashes and the Origin overlay doesn’t seem to work. I remedied that by letting Steam open the game, but now that overlay isn’t working either. I most cases, I don’t need the overlay, but in these games it’s sometimes helpful to have that feature.

After some time, I enjoyed the DAO story along with DLC. I’ve enjoyed the story thus far in DA2. It’s quite dramatic, but interesting. At times it reminds me of The Witcher 3, especially tavern music. It’s nice to see pieces of DAO within DA2, such as characters that have returned. I’m really enjoying this game and I seem to recall that Dragon Age: Inquisition is quite popular. Now that I’m close to the end of DA2, I have more eager eyes looking at DAI.

jdodson Admin wrote on 04/04/2017 at 03:12pm

DAO 2 didn't seem to review as well as the first one so I didn't pick it up. But Inquisition got crazy reviews and does look really good. Bout how far are you into DAO 2 now?

Travis Admin wrote on 04/04/2017 at 04:07pm

It's interesting that the critics went in that direction. Everyone I've spoken to who has played the games say the second is the best and Inquisition is just incredibly disappointing.

scrypt Supporter wrote on 04/04/2017 at 06:59pm

They are all different games with very different play mechanics, which is weird and I think where they lost people. The action of DA2 feels nothing like the more strategic, methodical pace of DAO, and Inquisition is a kind of mix of the two. They're all very fun, but going from one to the other can feel disruptive.

Greg, are you playing DA2 with keyboard and mouse? I played it originally on the XBox 360 (I believe it was designed more for console play), and when I tried it on Origin I just couldn't get the hang of the keyboard/mouse setup.

Azurephile Super Member Post Author wrote on 04/04/2017 at 07:17pm

Jon, I'm in the 3rd Act it seems.

Yes, scrypt, I am playing with the keyboard and mouse. I like it. I pretty much agree with you about the action of DA2. It doesn't feel as though combat strategy is as important as it was in DAO. It is still helpful and necessary at times though and I think that's why DA2 feels a bit easier to play.

Azurephile Super Member Post Author wrote on 04/04/2017 at 09:50pm

I finished it, but I don't have any of the paid DLC. I thought it was pretty cool and I'll be moving on to DA:I.

jdodson Admin wrote on 04/05/2017 at 03:03pm

Be interested in your ranking of the games when your done with Inquisition.

Azurephile Super Member Post Author wrote on 04/08/2017 at 08:29pm

DAI is awesome. I see what scrypt was saying about combat. It's different, a mix of the first two games. It's an open world game and reminds me a lot of Oblivion and Witcher 3. Hopefully soon I'll get started on my initial "review" so I can get a post here. I really like it.

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

Sign Up / Log In

I Finally Completed Ocarina of Time 3D - Bucketlist Game Complete!

jdodson gives this an astounding "Must Play" on the Ghost Scale

This achieves something special, and it would be a shame to miss it.

jdodson gives this a "Must Play" on the Ghost Scale

This achieves something special, and it would be a shame to miss it.

Last Christmas I was gifted a Nintendo 3DS and the main game I wanted to play on it was Ocarina of Time 3D. I've written a couple posts on on how that's gone and if you want a bit more context, i've linked them below. Needless to say, Ocarina of Time 3D is one of the best remakes i've ever played and the game shines on the 3DS. I think Nintendo games are best played on a handheld system and Ocarina of Time shows that even if it wasn't originally intended for a mobile system it totally works on it.

After my last post I completed the Spirit Temple which, since I always bailed out at the Gerudo Fortress when I played the game before, was the first time I ever played it.... Read All Last Christmas I was gifted a Nintendo 3DS and the main game I wanted to play on it was Ocarina of Time 3D. I've written a couple posts on on how that's gone and if you want a bit more context, i've linked them below. Needless to say, Ocarina of Time 3D is one of the best remakes i've ever played and the game shines on the 3DS. I think Nintendo games are best played on a handheld system and Ocarina of Time shows that even if it wasn't originally intended for a mobile system it totally works on it.

After my last post I completed the Spirit Temple which, since I always bailed out at the Gerudo Fortress when I played the game before, was the first time I ever played it. The Spirit Temple is a really unique dungeon in that you need to do a part of it as child Link and then complete the rest as adult Link. The Witches boss fight wasn't too hard but the Witches themselves were pretty funny characters that spotlight just how good Nintendo is at creating memorable characters. After I completed the Spirit Temple I had Ganon's Tower left to complete but before that I decided to take a break from the game because I just didn't want to do yet another Zelda dungeon. I picked up the game tonight and come to find out, Ganon's Tower isn't too long and features 6 bite sized puzzle rooms to unlock the final area. That said, the final boss fight might well be the longest boss fight i've ever seen in a game. Ganon has two forms and between fighting them you need to escape a crumbling tower which is fun the first time but gets old if you die to Ganon as many times as I did. In the end I found a good pattern to take down Ganon's final form and was able to finally tick off one item on my "games to complete before I die" bucketlist.

Ocarina of Time unlocks Master Quest mode after you beat it for the first time which provides a much harder version of the game and rearranged dungeons if you want a new challenge. At the end of the game my play through clocked in at about 27 hours so if you factor in another version of the game, Ocarina of Time 3D really packs in the value.

Ocarina of Time is considered by many to be one the best games of all time. I'm not sure how that sits now with Breath of the Wild sucking up all the air in gaming right now. Ocarina of a Time is a really great game and the 3D remaster elevates it considerably. I hope that Nintendo ports this version to the Switch because it would look even better on a high resolution screen. But until then the 3DS version is superb and I plan on coming back to it.

http://cheerfulghost.com/jdodson/posts/3227/the-legend-of-zelda-ocarina-of-time-3d-is-how-hd-remakes-should-be-done
http://cheerfulghost.com/jdodson/posts/3287/the-water-temple-is-still-a-problem-the-continuing-adventures-of-my-ocarina-of-time-3d-playthough

Hearthstone's Upcoming Expansion Journey To Un'Goro Is a Dinosaur Party Coming April 6th!

The Journey To Un'Gogo is the upcoming Hearthstone expansion that set to launch on April 6th. Featuring Elementals, Dinosaurs, class quests and some other fun new cards Un'Goro looks to be a solid expansion. Make sure to log in for daily rewards every day until the launch of the game to get packs, gold and a special golden Volcanosaur(oooh!).

As with every Hearthstone expansion i'll be recording my pack opening and dropping it on YouTube so stay tuned and let me know if you are planning to jump back in to check out Un'Goro! I've been saving up in game gold and i'll have enough to open around 75 packs, woooooooo!

Check out all the new Un'Goro cards below:

... Read All

Grab 5 More Golden Keys in Borderlands 2!

Gearbox is still handing out golden keys from Borderlands 2 and if you are currently on your way to taking down Handsome Jack or plan on coming back to it at some point these keys will put you well on your way. These shift codes as for PC/Mac/Linux, 360, XBone, PS3, PS4 & the Vita and expire on 4/18 so get em now!

PC / Mac: 5BW3J-C565J-F63FK-T3JBT-CJ9B3
XB360 / XBOne: 5JKJB-6HS3K-HHFRZ-KXT3B-HT6K5
PS3 / PS4 / PS Vita: CBWT3-BBRKS-93CHK-SBWT3-K9CW5

https://twitter.com/Borderlands/status/847904997539012613

Destiny 2 Is Coming September 8th And The Announcement Trailer Isn't Very Good

Destiny 2 will come out this September 8th on PC, PS4 and XBox One and besides the new launch trailer being pretty bad I am pretty excited about the game. There hasn't been much in the way of gameplay, features or anything like that talked about but you know... it should be good right? I went to the Destiny website to get more information on Destiny 2 and clicked the "more information" button. I got some information about the early beta you get by pre-ordering and then more information about pre-ordering. Beyond some information about the 3 playable classes in the game and some story backdrop details on Destiny 2 are a bit sparse but you CAN pre-order the game so I... Read All

Will_Ball Game Mod Super Member wrote on 03/31/2017 at 09:47am

I kind of liked the trailer.

Travis Admin wrote on 03/31/2017 at 01:22pm

>"it should be good right?"

I think that's how a lot of people felt before the first Destiny came out. Seems like there was a ton of disappointment over the first game.

But also even in that disappointment there was appreciation for what was there. Hopefully they've learned enough about what fans disliked and can get those complaints sorted out.

And PC! Finally!

AdamPFarnsworth wrote on 03/31/2017 at 08:14pm

I liked the trailer as well, Will :)

Travis Admin wrote on 03/31/2017 at 09:00pm

Honestly the trailer was cheesy but fun cheesy. It's very uninformative but that's ok for a first trailer.

scrypt Supporter wrote on 03/31/2017 at 10:12pm

It was a good cinematic, but it did little to reveal anything about Destiny 2. The exception being the convenient contrivance that the Cabal destroyed all the vaults, which explains why none of the loot transfers over from the first game. Cayde 6 (Nathan Fillion) is funny, but without him it was a pretty empty reveal. Bungie had already announced months ago that the game was coming out this year. The date was assumed, but now I guess it's solid. If you're slighted enough, the trailer could have seemed condescending: What's really happening is largely irrelevant, because you'll be getting a lot more loot (easily amused crowd goes wild).

I hope they can show something more interesting soon.

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 03/31/2017 at 11:16pm

Thanks scrypt.

I think I might be alone in that this trailer didn't' sit well with me. The first time watching it the juxtaposition was so jilted and awkward between the two people it just seemed so ... bland.

That said, I standby that this game or the thought of it seems exciting. Feels like a sort of a more BorderlandsY Destiny, which doesn't seem like a bad thing but we shall see what the more final game looks like.

scrypt Supporter wrote on 04/01/2017 at 01:25am

Do you mean that the humor of the trailer makes you excited that the game will be like that, in a similar way that Borderlands has that tongue-in-cheek kind of humor? If that's the case, I think you'll be disappointed. The clash of personalities in this trailer is evident already in the first game. These characters are essentially ambassadors/mentors of each class. Humor comes into play from time to time, especially from Cayde, but nothing near Borderlands level. Another reason why I think the trailer is weak: it seems to only be speaking to existing Destiny players. Maybe that's intentional, but it seems shortsighted. To be honest, though, I thought I had an idea of what they would try to accomplish with Destiny 2, but now I have no clue what they are aiming at. At the moment, I'm not interested in picking it up, but that might change after the game comes out (not before).

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 04/01/2017 at 02:51am

> Do you mean that the humor of the trailer makes you excited that the game will be like that, in a similar way that Borderlands has that tongue-in-cheek kind of humor? If that's the case, I think you'll be disappointed.

No. I thought the personality clash in the trailer was really grating and I was hoping it was just marketing and not in the actual game because it's basically one trope to another and I didn't find either to be particularly interesting at all.

Then they said LOOT FOR EVERYONE and I thought and then the look just reminded me of Borderlands. Which didn't actually excite me at all because I have Borderlands.

What excited me was actually nothing in the trailer or in the text or anything. I think it's well maybe interesting is a better used word to see how they address peoples concerns with the first Destiny. I think that's interesting and i'm excited to learn more about the game.

Travis Admin wrote on 04/01/2017 at 04:53am

> I think it's well maybe interesting is a better used word to see how they address peoples concerns with the first Destiny. I think that's interesting and i'm excited to learn more about the game.

This is exactly where I am too. And I'm always happy when big console-only franchises come to PC just because :D

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

Sign Up / Log In

Heroes of the Storm Gets A Massive 2.0 Update For Azeroth.. And Sanctuary... And Auir... And Overwatch!

Blizzard is continuing to add heroes, maps and features to Heroes of the Storm and they are going even further in the upcoming 2.0 update. Firstly they are changing the way hero leveling works by removing the cap entirely and changing the absolutely crazy grind to reach higher levels. Another change is the addition of loot chests that are awarded when your Heroes level that award nearly any item in the game including voice packs, skins, banners and portraits! Blizzard is also changing up the way you can outright buy things in game with the new in game currency, gems. Gems can be purchased with real money and Blizzard will give you some at level 5 for free to "get you... Read All

Fallout Shelter Arrives on Steam

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

Fallout Shelter just arrived on Steam! This summer I tried the PC version of the game that you can get with the Bethesda launcher. I had forgotten about it, but one of my friends was playing it on his smartphone and I thought I'd try it on that platform, too. After a little bit of playing the mobile version, I prefer the PC version, because the text on the screen is too small. I figured I'd check in on the vault I created this summer. I thought about adding it to my Steam library (as a non-Steam game), but it looks like it just arrived on Steam.

I haven't spent much time with it, but it does seem fun and it's free, which is a combination that can hardly be ignored.

... Read All

jdodson Admin wrote on 03/30/2017 at 04:04am

If I play it on PC I'll install it on Steam for sure. With that, I think that Fallout Shelter is really best served on a mobile device. The gameplay is suited to not having it running all the time because you have to wait often BUT the new updates make this less of an issue because of the Quest system. With that, I think brining this to Steam will open it up to a ton more users and it's interesting that Bethesda starts a game on the Bethesda client and then now puts it on Steam. I wonder if Elder Scrolls Legends will eventually come to Steam too?

Azurephile Super Member Post Author wrote on 03/30/2017 at 05:27am

Yeah, I think agree with you regarding mobile gameplay. I only took issue with it because my (Android) screen is so small. It'd be great if you could increase the font size of the game's text. I'd like to see a Kindle Fire version of this, I think it would make a great game for a tablet (bigger screen, bigger text).

I, too, wonder if ESL will come to Steam as well. I'd say now that that's certainly a possibility. However, from what I've seen, it seems that this game is very popular. It's not just on Android or PC, but it's also on IOS and Xbox. I think that not only increases its popularity through wide platform availability, but also if it wasn't popular, it wouldn't be out on so many platforms. That said, I'm not sure if ESL is as popular or will be and that may determine if it comes to other platforms. That's just my thought on it.

Travis Admin wrote on 03/30/2017 at 04:50pm

> It's not just on Android or PC, but it's also on IOS and Xbox.

It looks like ESL is on its way to more platforms as well.

Azurephile Super Member Post Author wrote on 04/18/2017 at 01:09am

I've been spending more time playing this on my phone and on Steam. I still prefer the PC version, because it's bigger and I can use my mouse. The touch controls don't always work so well, sometimes I touch a button and it thinks I'm touching something else. Sometimes I'm trying to scroll around and I accidentally pick up my dwellers (mobile version). I've restarted my vault a few times and I finally have a good thing going with good progress. I'm liking it. It does make me wish my phone had a much bigger screen. One of my daily objectives is to find the Mysterious Stranger 6 times. He's showed up, but the screen is so small I haven't been able to locate him, not even once.

jdodson Admin wrote on 04/18/2017 at 02:31pm

Locating the Mysterious Stranger can be hard for sure but I have an iPhone 6S plus which has a big screen.

I hope Fallout Shelter comes to Mac on Steam!

Azurephile Super Member Post Author wrote on 05/01/2017 at 04:17am

I've been focusing more on Fallout Shelter on Steam, since I finished (and loved) Dragon Age: Inquisition. Really, I should probably do a proper review of it. I've been enjoying it, but I've only clocked 33 hours on Steam. I currently have about 170 dwellers, 200 is the max. I have a bunch of dwellers just walking around, because everyone one of my rooms is full. Since I have unlocked all the rooms, I am using the ones that give more resources. I have two Nuclear Reactors, three Gardens, and at least two Water Purification rooms. I also have the bottling room, which gives food and drink resources.

I think it is a fun game and it doesn't take too much time to progress. Some things take time and you can step away from the game for a while until things are ready. It's not something you have to give full attention, it's something you can pick up and play for a few minutes, set it down, and pick it back up hours later.

It's kind of a surprise that this is a free game, granted you can spend money on in-game stuff. I really like it more than I expected to. I love the references to Fallout games, including music. It makes me want to play more Fallout.

jdodson Admin wrote on 05/01/2017 at 02:53pm

I think you should write more about your vault and take a screenshot or a few to show it off. While on vacation recently out of the country I loaded up Fallout Shelter on my phone and started a new vault and I'm further than I've gone before. The addition of quests really changes things up for the better and I currently have 36 dwellers in my vault.

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

Sign Up / Log In

Jack And Rich Review Zelda Breath of The Wild On Previously Recorded

Jack and Rich review Nintendo's latest Zelda game and they love it. Clocking in at an hour it's one of their longer reviews and as such a pretty deep dive in Zelda's gameplay.

AdamPFarnsworth wrote on 03/29/2017 at 09:10pm

Everything they say is 100% correct :)

AdamPFarnsworth wrote on 03/29/2017 at 11:34pm

Except for the dungeon bosses. Maybe I hit the water boss earlier than I was supposed to, but that dude kicked my butt repeatedly and caused multiple rage quits lol

Azurephile Super Member wrote on 03/30/2017 at 05:35am

Good video, the first of Previously Recorded that I've watched. I subscribed, so I'll look at more of their videos. I still haven't played BotW. I figured I'd give my son time to play it. I still really want to play it. Vinny hasn't been playing it much lately, he has a few other games he's been playing. It is hard to not play something you really want to play, but I've decided to wait a little while. I'm eagerly looking forward to it as pretty much everything I've seen, heard, or read about has been very positive. I'll get to it eventually, but I'm thinking of playing Twilight Princess HD a bit before so that I can use the Wolf Link amiibo in BotW.

Hearing that the Switch version suffers from hardware issues has really surprised me. I assumed that it would be the Wii U version that suffered, but that doesn't seem to be the case.

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

Sign Up / Log In

Celebrate The Year Of The Mammoth Tomorrow With Free Hearthstone Daily Rewards!

Hearthstone will be running special rewards for simply logging in March 29th through April 5th. This is a pretty special thing in Hearthstone as most CCGs have gold rewards for coming back every day and to date Hearthstone has been one of the biggest hold outs. That said for the next 8 days that changes so you should log in each day to get the 4 packs, 100 gold, 100 dust and a special Golden Volcanosaur card from the upcoming Ungoro expansion.

http://us.battle.net/hearthstone/en/blog/20567513/