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Post by smilesja on Dec 30, 2023 0:58:22 GMT
I have heard a lot of harshly mixed reviews and even some downright negative reviews about STARFIELD. When I watch the trailer...I get SERIOUS Mass Effect vibes. ALso, maybe some HALO. But it looks mostly like a very modern MASS EFFECT. But most everything I have read or watched is quite negative. What's it like....really? If you love Bethesda games, then Starfield is for you. It's a chill game that allows you to play at your leisure. There's something for everyone if you wanna be a Smuggler, you can be a Smuggler, if you wanna be a NASA explorer there's quests for you there. It's a massive game that can be addicting and relaxing.
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Post by smilesja on Dec 28, 2023 6:43:24 GMT
I'm just stumbling around wondering if I'm doing something correctly, spoke to some Druids who are hellbent in driving out the Teiflings from the Grove. So I've been just running around just missing a quest where I had to talk to the mother after saving the daughter from being bitten by a snake summoned by a mad Elf. I also accidentally travelled to my camp but at least I got some time to talk to Shadowheart and get to know her better. One thing I'll say about the camp, I love the feeling of togetherness it brings even though I only have two companions so far. XD But it does reward you for scavenging for food by having you eat them in order to get a good rest. I wandered towards the Goblin village in search for the master Druid who could quell the Elf's rage against pretty much anyone who's not aligned with nature. After multiple failed dice rolls (where I had advantage no less), I convinced the Goblin to stand down and I was able to walk through the village without being attacked. That being said, I DID encounter a Bugbear and a Giant..... ugh I really don't want to describe it.  All I'm going to say is that I killed them both in a fun battle lol. But yeah I'm finally level 3 and I finally unlocked the way of the open hand monk. I used my stunning flurry of punches to keep the giant at bay while Wyll and Shadowheart whittle them down with spells and attacks. Still don't know what build I'm going for Wyll but Shadowheart, I'm committed to her being a support/healer. I saved an underdark Gnome from being harassed by Goblins using that special ability and at the same time encountered my first bug for a Shadowheart moment. After doing some brief research, I found that I had to quicksave first and then retrying. I finished off my session trying to save some Grand Duke who is in a burning castle. I just wonder if I will ever find that Master Druid though. XD |
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Post by smilesja on Dec 28, 2023 0:51:31 GMT
 Despite the negative Steam reviews, Starfield is still one of the top Steam games in terms of gross revenue. Not bad for a single player game with no microtransactions. |
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Post by smilesja on Dec 27, 2023 7:50:46 GMT
Just saved some folks from a Goblin attack though one poor soul died before I could save him. I'm starting to get the hang of the combat, I must say that BG3 has done an excellent job adapting the game to console, It's getting to the point where I can make my moves with confidence. I am save scrumming like crazy though for the dice rolls. I'm not doing too bad but one can never be overcautious lol. Got Wyll on my team, he feels redundant given that I'm a Monk who deals crazy damage and Shadowheart is my defacto magic user. Any tips for Wyll guys?
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Post by smilesja on Dec 27, 2023 7:47:57 GMT
Any tips for bare handed Monk? Want to do the way of the open hand subclass? Also how can you respec your companions? I'm quickly finding out that Shadowheart is a jack of all trades master of none and want to respec her into a healer.
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Post by smilesja on Dec 27, 2023 7:45:49 GMT
Starfield: Best sci fi game I've played since the Mass Effect series another game that comes close is Hi Fi Rush: What an imaginative and unique game that was and of course, how could I forget Hogwarts' Legacy?
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Post by smilesja on Dec 27, 2023 6:26:08 GMT
Finally got around to post patch epilogue BG3… how the fuck is this acceptable? Everything is as non-commital as you can get and very few stories have a real resolution. Why so many still forgive such shit storytelling like they have have for Soulsborne, The Witcher, , and Last of Us? If Dragon Age takes after this, then I hope it dies forever and I’ll get only recognise up to Inquisition. BG3 was a fucking disaster. I got the game for Christmas and I'm currently playing and enjoying it. All I'm going to say is that gamers always have double standards especially when it comes to games that are beloved. Is that thought that helped me whenever people accuse me of being a "paid shill" for Bethesda whenever talking about Starfield.
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Post by smilesja on Dec 26, 2023 8:40:20 GMT
GOT BG3 FOR CHRISTMAS! Chose to become a Monk and I have to say I’m not a fan of the CC. It’s somewhat shallow lacking in good options for hair for black people. What I like about BG3 so far though is that it does a much better job adapting for consoles than say, Pillars of Eternity. I was able to get used to the combat, that being said I spent an hour running around the ship trying to free Shadowheart lol. However, I wasn’t able to kill the commander though and that ID I rescued died during that fight. The Monk is fun, wish I wasn’t limited by the ki points, but I have no doubt I’ll be able to get more though.
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Post by smilesja on Dec 25, 2023 5:28:38 GMT
I've got 235 hours logged in Starfield and still haven't beaten the game  I was getting burnout so haven't touched it in months. Might have another go next year sometime once some more patches and the DLC have dropped. Looking forward to the creation kit, modding for this game is going to be nuts!
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Post by smilesja on Dec 25, 2023 2:41:40 GMT
Ahhh Knight Enchanter, the sequel to the most broken class in all of Dragon Age: The Arcane Warrior. I remember I had to stop Vivienne from using that ability because I didn't equip her with the proper armor to use the class properly lol.
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Post by smilesja on Dec 25, 2023 1:59:54 GMT
I am still convinced that Bioware cut the healing spells and went with barriers instead because of the Multiplayer. I can't speak to any other games directly but I can give a bit of historic context for DAI. The game was initially a more dungeon/linear delving - see how far you can get - experience and there was no barrier of any kind. As a side note: healing has always been a hot topic in design because as soon as you include it there are many other conceits you now need take into consideration for the gameplay - one of which I will call 'the Anders problem'. Anyway, as DAI got the date moved and shifted more into the pseudo-openworld the concept of attrition (see how far you can get before having to return to camp) became less relevant and we needed to help the Players have more moment-to-moment agency around their survival. Unfortunately for various reasons (one of which is the sad reality of designing a game with a shifting timeline) the healing couldn't be re-added so we ended up with more of a mitigation strategy in the barrier system. It went through a lot of iterations but eventually landed on what it shipped with which I would call... acceptable (but just barely). Now, I will concede that a part of the reason it didn't return after that shift was an aversion to holy trinity gameplay specifically for MP but it wasn't the core reason. As a side story, trying to balance the game (as that was my job on DAI - and yes, it could be much better haha) we had to all but force Players to take barrier. It is intentionally the first skill in the first tree for the Mage and all the autolevel (I also handled that) is designed to get it right away. Feel free to ask other DAI questions, I'm happy to answer about things I was directly involved in 😁. Anything DA:D related you'll have to wait for at least a few months after launch to grill me...though I'm hoping they let me stream at launch as an official thing 🤞. Merry Christmas Luke! Sooo what was the hardest class you had to balance?
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Post by smilesja on Dec 25, 2023 1:57:07 GMT
I'm surprised it did that well with all of the hate from "fans", and by that I don't mean long time Bethesda fans, but the so called fans who haven't bought the game and are just jumping on the bandwagon. My favorite reviews are ones who say that the game sucks but they put over 300 hours on it. I mean, if you're willing to waste your life on something you hate, you better list out the good in explicit detail. But yeah, it's officially getting review bombed on Steam. Surprised it took so long.
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Post by smilesja on Dec 25, 2023 0:02:25 GMT
How many hours did you play?
I am at 550 and counting, in NG+++
I'd say take a break, speaking of which I gotta do my NG. XD
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Post by smilesja on Dec 24, 2023 21:55:40 GMT
I think I'm getting to the point where I've played this game too much. I ran into the ashta mission in Akila yesterday and was confused for a minute because I thought I'd already done it in this PT. Guess not.
How many hours did you play?
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Post by smilesja on Dec 24, 2023 8:00:05 GMT
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Post by smilesja on Dec 23, 2023 16:19:57 GMT
Spec Ops: The Line is one of the most overrated games of the last decade. I felt more moral quandary from the Call of Duty Modern Warfare reboot, than I ever did with Spec Ops. I disagree. The white phosphorus scene alone especially the aftermath is one of most memorable gaming experiences. But whatever different taste.
It seem you don´t get my point. Too bad. My example Spec Ops wasn´t about who memorable Spec Ops is but more how this multiplayer hurt the perception of the game.
The Spec Op The Line also has a seperate team working on it and it also treat as a separate entry but it still sucks. Why? Sure multiplayer and singleplayer can co-exist if the game is planned at the beginning as such and the devs are seeing them as equal to eachother and not just tacked on because the Publisher wants it. Some singleplayer campaigns are also a waste of time and it had been better in hindsight to focus solely on Multiplayer.
I'd argue it was the hypocritical narrative and bland gameplay that hurt it, with the multiplayer added being the icing on the cake. As for the WP scene...... well I don't want to derail the topic any further, but all I'm going to say is that pre reboot COD was at least upfront gameplay wise of you committing war crimes and it didn't feel all self-righteous in doing so.
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Post by smilesja on Dec 23, 2023 16:08:33 GMT
A single adjective isn't much of a critique. Singleplayer and multiplayer can certainly coexist, but most games have a clear focus on one or the other. The Battlefield and Call of Duty series have their 4 hour singleplayer experiences with a quite high production value for the short time they last and the later Mass Effect games have their shoe box sized arenas for co op MP. What I don't like is when the singleplayer part gets simplified because it has to work in multiplayer too - four abilities is enough, who needs that skill/gear wheel anyway? I do wonder where this claim comes from given how little sense it makes...at least in context for BioWare/ Dragon Age. Afterall despite this being an argument and despite you not being able to pause in multiplayer games you're still able to do it in the SP game. An ability/ equipment wheel, and the tactical camera. Even the ability limit has no baring on multiplayer since pretty much anything you can do to extend abilities for MP could just as easily apply to SP. And vice versa. The much more likely explanation is its gameplay balancing, which I have discussed whenever this comes up, between console and computer and making it a more even experience or engine limitations of some sort. I mean if anything, the reason why combat was "simplified" for Dragon Age was to have it better adapted for consoles not necessarily because of multiplayer.
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Post by smilesja on Dec 23, 2023 1:49:48 GMT
While it’s certainly possible for good sp to still exist alongside mp, there is a definite damaging implications. Hence I’m glad direction of travel seems to have changed. For the few good examples there is often an extra MP team for that. Like Bioware Montreal doing ME 3 MP. But if the Singleplayer team also have to do MP because they have to do well that´s bad for the overall product. Its just a check box for the marketing and Publisher to fund the game. An example Spec Ops: The Line great anti war game atleast its Singleplayer.
From Kotaku over 10 years ago:
"Lead designer Cory Davis sounded off:
"The multiplayer mode of the Spec Ops: The Line was never a focus of the development," Davis said, "but the publisher was determined to have it anyway. It was literally a check box that the financial predictions said we needed, and 2K was relentless in making sure that it happened - even at the detriment of the overall project and the perception of the game."
Against Davis' wishes, development on the multiplayer component proceeded and was farmed out to Darkside Studios. The result, according to Davis, was a "low-quality Call of Duty clone in third-person," which "tossed out the creative pillars of the product." "It sheds a negative light on all of the meaningful things we did in the single-player experience," Davis said. "The multiplayer game's tone is entirely different, the game mechanics were raped to make it happen, and it was a waste of money. No one is playing it, and I don't even feel like it's part of the overall package - it's another game rammed onto the disk like a cancerous growth, threatening to destroy the best things about the experience that the team at Yager put their heart and souls into creating." "
I could also pick Dead Space 2, Tomb Raider Reboot or something else as an example. By the way i personal would argue that DAI MP is also one of more bad ones. Sure its similiar to ME 3 which is still awesome but a repeat just in a different setting doesn´t work.
Spec Ops: The Line is one of the most overrated games of the last decade. I felt more moral quandary from the Call of Duty Modern Warfare reboot, than I ever did with Spec Ops. That being said, multilplayer and single player can co-exist and you can have multiplayer in your anti war games if you're willing to treat them like separate entities.
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Post by smilesja on Dec 22, 2023 7:42:54 GMT
Oh... we're about ready for me to begin my annual Winter Replay of Inquisition. Last year I put almost 500 hours into the playthrough. I'm trying to decide if I want to play now, or wait a little longer and see what we're got in store for Summer 2024. 500 hours...for one playthrough. And I thought my 893 for the entire game was impressive.
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Post by smilesja on Dec 22, 2023 2:33:45 GMT
I don´t. I am glad that´s existed so that Bioware can focus on Dragon Age and Mass Effect minus the most stupid Games as a Service nonsense which there in them if Anthem haven´t existed. I don´t care if this me sound like a jerk but i was hoping that Anthem became a big failure. I was and never has been interested in this to strange non Bioware game. It would be terrible if this would have been a huge success because i like my Bioware singleplayer games. And their 10 years of support plan well i doubt that there was much room for other games in this time because Anthem needs as a Live Service Game constant content.
It´s like the recent news with Naughty Dogs The Last of Us Online. I even think at release this would have been a good game and much better than Anthem at release. But it has been the right decision to cancel this game because ND like Bioware don´t have the ressources to do singleplayer and Live Service Multiplayer both at the same time.
You absolutely can have both good single player and multiplayer in the same game. Both me3 and dragon age had quality single and multiplayer games which was good for everyone.
It's an absolute fable that mp aspects destroy single player games and visa versa for that matter.
Yeah multiplayer content is what makes games unique from other forms of medium. I don’t understand the massive pushback by gamers to them. It’s just strange. |
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Post by smilesja on Dec 21, 2023 19:44:26 GMT
I didn't need to click that video to remember how terrible Anthem was, both as a project and as a game. Guns that rolled properties that only worked on other guns, the lowest tier ones doing more damage than the supposedly better ones and all of them looking like a single manufacturer's product line. The most entertaining thing about Anthem was Jason Schreier's article. I really wanted to like it and play it with my future wife, but she opted out after less than five minutes because of the crazy camera shakes and I called it a day after a few boring missions. Too bad, Anthem had some great gameplay and honestly reading an article about people breaking down to crunch is not what I call entertaining. |
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Post by smilesja on Dec 21, 2023 17:47:21 GMT
2 million units in its first week are fine i guess but the other 3 million units aren´t that impressive if the game is sold so cheap. Even for 1 cent.
Anthem for one cent? This game is so bad the price fell to .01$
Angry Joe has a video of Starfield. ... a game I was interested in buying. Good thing I waited. YongYea also has a video on this same game... why even modders are now leaving.... it is so bland.... where on earth did all this hype come from? That's why I'm so blaze about hype....
Which bring me to DA4.... which I will make a buy/nobuy decision three months after game launch. Player comments is the true metric of a game's acceptance as worthy of play, imo.
The Starfield modders leaving is a clickbait title. It was only one prominent (albeit controversial) modder who said that he didn’t want to mod Starfield because he found it mediocre. Yet clickbait writers, YouTubers and people who hate the game took that statement and ran with it to continue their doomsaying. Right now Starfield has thousands of mods in Nexus with already a UI update, Starfield Radio, and countless others already surpassing Morrowind. And that’s without the Creation Kit coming out. Honestly, just look at gameplay and decide for yourself, people now and days are so contradictory with their beliefs it’s hard to take them seriously.
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Post by smilesja on Dec 20, 2023 23:49:25 GMT
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Post by smilesja on Dec 19, 2023 20:18:20 GMT
No tsuer I completel ybelieve this given BG3 won GOTY but I found this on my youtub efeed It did win GOTY and I enjoy it so that's all tha tmatters to me. I've even been considering buying a second copy for my Xbox so I can pla yit there too. Looks like clickbait to me.
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Post by smilesja on Dec 18, 2023 19:25:15 GMT
Skyrim had the best theme song, but the one that had great tracks was definitely Oblivion, it contributed to the atmosphere of the game making it immersive.
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All I'm going to say is that I killed them both in a fun battle lol. But yeah I'm finally level 3 and I finally unlocked the way of the open hand monk. I used my stunning flurry of punches to keep the giant at bay while Wyll and Shadowheart whittle them down with spells and attacks. 
I was getting burnout so haven't touched it in months. Might have another go next year sometime once some more patches and the DLC have dropped. 
