Cheerful Ghost: An Awesome Community For Gamers

Half-Life 2 Linux Beta

After I started Steam on Linux I noticed Half-Life 2 just entered beta, so naturally I downloaded it. It worked like a charm and the shot I took above was the start of the game. GO VALVE GO, PORT EVERYTHING!

I have beta install options for Half-Life 2, HL2 Deatmatch & The Lost Coast. I bought the episodes in the Orange Box but that was a PS3 purchase. I still have yet to get them on my Steam account.

The last time I played Half-Life 2 on Linux it was YEARS ago and I used wine. The experience now is much, much better.

I have 101 Steam games, 39 now playable on Linux and the number keeps going up.

Travis Admin wrote on 05/11/2013 at 03:30am

I think all of Valve's games will end up there this year. Maybe not the first Left 4 Dead since those campaigns are available in 2, albeit changed a bit to include the additions in 2.

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 05/11/2013 at 03:54am

I think you might be right save DoTA 2 as that isn't even on Mac yet. That said, they might bring it to Linux first, that would be kind of neat.

beansmyname Supporter wrote on 05/11/2013 at 05:11am

Hmmm....Contemplating grabbing the Orange Box just to have the option, if that's what it takes. Ever since I saw Team Fortress 2, I've been waiting for the Orange Box. Already have Portal and TF2. Would be nice to round out the set and even if it's not on sale, it still seems worth the purchase cost.

Anyone know if purchasing the Windows version is sufficient for access to the beta?

beansmyname Supporter wrote on 05/11/2013 at 06:09am

@beansmyname If you purchase The Orange Box, the betas for Linux will be available to you.

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 05/11/2013 at 04:56pm

Yeah, I think bean is right :D Because the box copy in a store on PC gets you Steam Keys which translate everywhere.

PS where do you buy the Orange Box on PC, the store? Does Steam sell it as a bundle any more?

Travis Admin wrote on 05/11/2013 at 05:19pm

Yes: http://store.steampowered.com/sub/469/

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 05/11/2013 at 05:22pm

Well shit. Ok, apparently I Google no so good in my....

Ok. Thanks Travis :D

/shamed

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Ray's The Dead: Build Your Zombie Army!

Back this on Kickstarter!

"Ray’s the Dead is a game where YOU are the leader of the zombie army. It’s story driven gameplay will challenge you with a satisfying blend of action, tactics, puzzle, stealth, and adventure, all rolled into one fresh gaming experience. Sneak, smash, laugh, and moan your way through the last hurrah of the 1980’s as you take on the role of Ray, the newly risen zombie."

I like the idea of controlling a Zombie army and using it strategically to overcome challenges. Kind of cringed when I saw a Zombie bite a guys face but then again.... it was stylized cuteness :D

Top 25 Sports Games (Ranked by ESPN)

http://25.media.tumblr.com/ea9d308426d373c715f2a2138212aab0/tumblr_mhrm3qq8n91qa8sljo1_r2_500.jpg

http://espn.go.com/espn/playbook/story/_/id/9236225/jon-robinson-ranks-best-sports-video-games-all

There are some great games on this list!

I'm a little disappointed Bill Lambeer's Combat Basketball was left off the list though lol.

How much fun is too much?

I never played the first Saints Row, because I heard it was a mediocre GTA clone. The second one, though, got some good press and people claimed it was the spiritual successor to the PS2-era GTA games. Even though I thought GTA4 was the best in the series, many thought it put too much focus on the serious storyline and took away from the zany antics of its predecessors. So, anyway, I picked it up and it was a lot of fun.

The third game didn't hold a ton of appeal for me. I have it, I got it as part of one of the Humble Bundles at one point, but I have yet to play it. The zany antics took a front seat. You even have a melee weapon shaped like a giant dildo. The dick and... Read All

scrypt Supporter wrote on 05/10/2013 at 09:07am

I think the big thing with the Saint's Row games has been a progressively more outrageous attitude of "Why? Because you can!" It's a fantasy version of GTA, which I've always appreciated, even though I've never played more than a few hours of any Saint's game. This 4th iteration is a little more appealing to me, mostly because of the super powers. Well...and the dubstep gun. That's just genius.

Travis Admin Post Author wrote on 05/10/2013 at 03:14pm

I did play an hour or so of SR3 after posting this, and I have to admit it's quite a blast so far. I mean I had a gunfight while in freefall. When does that happen?

beansmyname Supporter wrote on 05/11/2013 at 06:15am

"On the one hand, this seems like a game trying to be too much, throwing in so many different mechanics that it becomes a muddled mess."

That's pretty close to what I said about SR3 before it came out. I anticipated that there would just be too many elements thrown together haphazardly. Instead, I discovered the game had too many elements very carefully thrown together. SR3 is over-the-top without going too far into the realm of absurdity to make it a caricature of its own cleverness.

Still, not as much fun after the missions are complete as SR2. SR2 remains playable LONG after the story missions are done.

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The First 5 Minutes of Star Wars in Minecraft

Minecraft fans are notorious for making crazy things in game and this recent fan project is no exception. You need to watch the first 5 minutes of Star Wars rendered in Minecraft.

Awesome.

Recent Stardew Valley Twitch Stream

Tiy, the lead developer of Starbound recently streamed two hours of Stardew Valley on Twitch.tv. If you are interested in checking out how the game looks at this point in developement, head over and check it out.

The game looks great and based on this video looks very close to a release. More on that when it develops.

http://www.twitch.tv/tiyuri/b/399848607

The Forest - Did You Hear That?

I just saw this pre-alpha trailer for The Forest on Kill Screen. Looks like it's up on Steam Greenlight. Survival horror, with a bit of craftiness. Doing a quick Google search brings up a Slender clone called Forest, which I believe is an entirely different game, though they look similar, I guess (you're in a forest, and you're supposed to be scared). This game doesn't appear to be a Slender clone. If anything, it looks like a photorealistic Minecraft experience.

http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=143803558

Back to Diablo III, at least briefly

http://www.diablo3builds.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/Diablo-3-Inferno-Farming.jpg

Diablo III recently released version 1.8, so I thought I'd pop in and see what's up.

The auction houses are offline. Apparently yesterday there was a major gold duping glitch that people think will essentially ruin the economy, so that's awesome. This didn't bother me tonight, because it's been so long since I really played the game that I honestly have no clue what good gear is anymore, so I certainly wasn't about to buy any.

This patch smoothed out a lot of the problems a lot of people have with the game. I played through the last couple of quests of act 1 Inferno, which is so far as far as I've gotten. I can certainly see the progress. The trash mobs feel a lot... Read All Diablo III recently released version 1.8, so I thought I'd pop in and see what's up.

The auction houses are offline. Apparently yesterday there was a major gold duping glitch that people think will essentially ruin the economy, so that's awesome. This didn't bother me tonight, because it's been so long since I really played the game that I honestly have no clue what good gear is anymore, so I certainly wasn't about to buy any.

This patch smoothed out a lot of the problems a lot of people have with the game. I played through the last couple of quests of act 1 Inferno, which is so far as far as I've gotten. I can certainly see the progress. The trash mobs feel a lot stronger, and the elite packs have been toned down a bit. You now always have to be on guard to a point, but don't freak right the hell out when you see blue or yellow on the screen.

One of my big pet peeves, identifying rare items one by one by one by one by one has been taken care of. You can now visit Deckard Cain (or a book near where he would be) to identify all your items at once. In other streamlining fixes, you can now queue up things to craft so that you don't have to sit there clicking once every few seconds until you're satisfied with what you've done, and you can pull crafting materials from your stash so you don't have to carry those with you to the artisans.

I was amazed at how easily I fell back into the game, having gone many months without really playing it, and it still holds the same appeal. I went on into act 2 after slamming the butcher, and I was able to get through the stupid bee things much more easily than before. The difficulty curve between acts seems to have smoothed out a bit. I then got to an elite pack of vortex desecrator bee things and got handily demolished, and decided that was a good place to call it quits for the night.

Still, progress has definitely been made, and I think I'll look at revamping my gear and getting on to act 2 soon. For anyone who quit the game because of whatever gripes you may have had, it's definitely worth another look.

Just don't expect to get any good gear on the auction house for less than a few billion gold for a few weeks.

hardeyez wrote on 05/09/2013 at 07:22am

I have to agree with this.

Over the weekend I decided to give D3 a spin again after having been away (since around 1.3 or 1.4, can't remember which). And, I was having the same frustrations -- tons of lag deaths, lots of dying before I even saw the champion pack monsters, etc. So I was annoyed all over, and put it away for the next several revisions.

Today, I tried 1.8 because of this post. And, WOW, what a difference. The game feels *so* much better. I died a couple times against the champion packs, but it was from fighting (and packs that have bind and pull buffs -- I'm a ranged DH and hate getting close). It was fun again. I might actually pick it back up and finally hit level 60... Yeah, I have a fairly low tolerance for annoying gameplay so I never maxed out as I was stuck in act 1 of hell mode. I didn't want to grind for gold to buy AH items (or pay cash). I just want to play, have fun, get loot I want to use (instead of sell). So I really hate the AH and don't use it... which feels like a major disadvantage. But, if I can play again, make progress (reasonably quickly -- no grinding for hours with nothing to show for it and losing gold due to repair costs), and have fun, then that is awesome. In fact, I got about 25% of a level in a quick half to quarter hour of play which is much better than I'm used to (I'm level 53, almost 54).

So, yeah, I'd second the thought that you should try it again after this patch.

jdodson Admin wrote on 05/13/2013 at 04:32am

I played this a bit tonight. Very fun as you said Travis but WOW the lag was incredible.

Travis Admin Post Author wrote on 05/13/2013 at 04:55pm

Interesting, I haven't had any lag problems in the past few days playing it. Luck of the draw I guess.

I just love the new monster density. Last night in Act 2 inferno at monster power 1 I had to walk through three screens to pick up the loot that I had left behind.

jdodson Admin wrote on 05/13/2013 at 04:58pm

Yeah the loot drops do seem better. I mean most of it is trash compared to what I have. In fact most of it is. I get tons of loot, but none of it is better than the stuff I've had for a few levels now.

Travis Admin Post Author wrote on 05/13/2013 at 05:12pm

That gets better once you hit level 60, but it is a little annoying when you're leveling a character yeah.

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Interview with Mo About A.N.N.E. a 2D Pixel Feast!

A.N.N.E. is a gorgeous upcoming 2D pixel side-scroller that mashes up elements of Contra, Castlevania and Blaster Master. It recently caught my attention from its Kickstarter campaign and after I watched the video I was hooked on its interesting gameplay and lush visuals. Currently A.N.N.E. is 7k shy of its backing goals and has 13 days left to achieve it. If this game strikes your fancy and you have a few bucks between stuck in your couch cushions I seriously recommend you consider backing this project.

I want to thank Travis and WhiteboySlim for tossing questions into the hat for this one.

jdodson: From the initial concept to now about how long have you been working... Read All

What if Elizabeth reacted to how you play?

This is one of my favorite fan dubs ever. How Elizabeth would react to you being a moron in Bioshock Infinite. No real spoilers in this, so feel free to watch while preserving your ignorance!

jdodson Admin wrote on 05/09/2013 at 12:17am

Thats really funny. Booker plays how I do at times. Sometimes you just wanna run and gun, you know? :D

jdodson Admin wrote on 01/01/2014 at 09:46pm

Watched this after having beat the game. This is really funny. It's a good thing she didn't actually treat me like this when I walked off. I also spent a TON of time rummaging through the trash and yeah, it's kind of gross.

One thing I did think about as I was playing the game though was "why do people throw so much money away?"

Travis Admin Post Author wrote on 01/02/2014 at 02:50am

Way to necro Jon.

But yeah, this is very poignant after having played the game. You spend a lot of time in the trash, eh?

Travis Admin Post Author wrote on 01/02/2014 at 02:56am

Oh, I just saw there was a part 2. Way better than the first.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M_PRofjuXbU

jdodson Admin wrote on 01/02/2014 at 05:16am

That's great too, thanks for sharing. I wonder what other games they clipped the guys voice from.

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