What are you playing?

[lexluthermiester]

Noted, thanks.

For example;

STAR WARS™: X-Wing Special Edition

Includes STAR WARS™: X-Wing and all Tour of Duty expansions: Imperial Pursuit and B-Win

www.gog.com

and

STAR WARS™: X-Wing vs. TIE Fighter

Star Wars™: X-Wing vs. TIE Fighter includes the Balance of Power expansion pack featuri

www.gog.com

(I was going to edit above but you responded.)

 

[Splinterdog]

Having cleared out so many duplicate games and other stuff, I came across this gem which I never get tired of playing. Except maybe when Max has to lead Vinnie dressed as Baseball Bat Boy to safety.


Edit
I just came across the Payne Evolution mod. Has anyone tried this?

 

[robot zombie]

Finally getting back to the end of ME Enhanced. I really find myself playing it in bursts. I don't wanna oversell it, but my eyeholes get overwhelmed a bit at the level of visual improvements. Maybe I have a hyperfocus on it, I've played it many times in OG form. Not as many times with the predecessors, but I know the general look decently well. This is a natural evolution of that, to my eyes. In all of these subtle ways, it feels truer to past games, visually. And yet it far surpasses them in fidelity and impact. The DLSS is kinda magical, too. You see the blur... but there's something about it that evokes a subtle painterly effect. Very very different from AA. Still a compromise, but honestly I think it actually IMPROVES scenes a lot of times. That's just the feeling I get.

Novosibirsk Metro is craaazzzy. It's really got me tense. I keep the gamma slider down because the game is bright in spots otherwise, and I've come to like the dynamic. When it's dark, it's DARK. When it's dim, it's really pleasingly dim. The colors in the shadows and trailing light are so much better. So you can get away with very dim light and still have a sense of good fine detail. There's also a fade that comes with changing light sources - when light sources come on and off, the light cast dims away over a couple of seconds. This creates a transition for the flickering lights that not only makes them surprisingly easy to look at, but pleasantly smooth. Same thing happens with marching flames.

It also makes me use my gear more, adding another small element of challenge and provoking me to immerse myself more. The nightvision also looks better. Especially the improved, which strained me with how grainy it was. I think it had to do with filtering it down to the narrow spectrum of green with only a thin margin for pure blacks and whites at the very extremes just leaving too little information.

I just gotta add, this place really feels like the big finale now. Every part of it so far is a different kind of intense than anything else. I'm playing it with my he5xx's on. Truth be told, I have nicer headphones than these but the width and lightness they have brings up the atmosphere and spreads it around in a way that is truly encompassing and paranoia-inducing. I love it. I'm having little reactions to things I don't think I've ever reacted to or noticed before. Some of it may just be added but a lot of times I don't think that's the case.

It's really all about the colors. I'm seeing that more and more. It's in the colors where the light is dispersing across gradients. The shaping and transitioning are simply better. I couldn't figure it out, what was suddenly so captivating about the dim lights. I mean, shadow behavior is one thing. I ramble about lighting dynamics in levels a lot. This game is really something else in certain spots. The atmosphere is perfect and the images look significantly cleaner. I also play at massively higher frame rates in most spots. A lot of the noise is gone. Textures are better. Outfits and character models are improved. So many distractions eliminated. It's all really grabbing hold of me.

Anyway...

Spoiler

I get so bummed with these jpegs. They hate those shadows - really obliterates the. It has a way of making dark places look fuzzier than they actually do. I can see where it degrades them.

This light blinked a little slower and I caught the trailing light still lingering in the 'off' shot. You see it bouncing off of the tiles and the ceiling. An artifact, to be sure, but beneficial more times than it is distracting, IMO.

If you look very closely, the colors are subtly different on the static light in the two shots - it too is flickering very slightly. The flicker includes color shifts. Neat! I mean, peep the detail in the light shroud itself, with seemingly more transparent and opaque spots, a distinct patterning with a concentration of light from the source at the middle. The shape of the rear light's beam more matches the shape of the light inside than the diffuser around it. You can see a composite between the nearer, higher intensity spread and the secondary diffused light reaching further out, creating a very satisfying boundary that grabs the eye from back in the space, immediately pulling depth.

The different facets of lighting behavior in this place are kind of crazy to me. It's all seamless. I really dig that fade, too. I can think back and remember that when I'm in a dark space with a bright light and that light abruptly cuts, I will see an afterglow shrink into a central point like that with my own eyes. Listen, I know I'm not exactly normal for this, but the amount of information there is worth noting! You may not consciously notice that, but your visual processing definitely picks up on it. If I can train myself on it, you can sense it passively. More than anything, that's how it goes. You sense it. And then you find these surprising little chains of details.

That's just one image - or more, one perspective. There is a dynamic I can't show that you internalize as you move and look around. As your vantage point changes, so do these little 'micro' dynamics shift and pop out in different ways. The angle the camera looks from plays a drastic role in what you see. It's a constant barrage of finer visual cues that I can't say I remember detecting so overwhelmingly consistently in any interior I've seen in any game. I'm a firm believer that this stuff is crucial to that top-level experience with atmosphere-heavy games. This is really it for me. When you throw in the soundtrack, everything happening just grabs on in this uncanny way. On a macro level, you can always look to the visual design itself - that's always been strong here, but underneath, this is what I think is the type of stuff (and that really encompasses a considerable range of little aspects) that's really turning the gears. You can coordinate spaces and place things however you want, compose it with the mastery of a greybeard architect but there's no making up for the granularity in light behavior. The brain can't be fooled so easily further down in the onion. It's just another several layers of depth and evocation that simply doesn't come from other things. Other things can add it in other ways. But this is really kind of different to my eyes.

Cool spot.

But the fuckers down there make the spot up above nerve-wracking. All you hear is them stomping around and chowing down in that lower section... but the sound is really confusing. In certain spots it sounds much closer than it is and it's kind of upsetting. With headphones it's just right there, echoing out. I crouch, expecting to turn and find one, not remembering how many enemies are in this zone. The whole thing is just utter butt clenchies, tbh. I mean, right when you enter a nosalis jumps in the light up ahead while you're still in darkness, trying to get bearings. You just went through this access door and crawled up this wood-slatted wormhole to see it as you're getting up. I never reacted to that before. It was right there. Got me. Just letting you know the place is ALL death, immediately. You quickly learn why the boy's father strictly forbade entry into "The Forbidden Zones" of the metro. Right away, you understand he'd just die if he went through that door and crawled ~20 feet from his hideout.

Crazy situation, when you think about it. This kid has been living down here alone for weeks, possibly not even fully aware of the danger just outside, only being spared from being snatched by his undying loyalty to his M.I.A. father. Continuing to respect his wishes, retaining what are no doubt difficult survival routines for an adult, let alone a child to successfully hold in the face of total uncertainty just long enough to by chance get found by people who are not evil assholes. He's kind of a badass in his own right. I'd love to learn about who he might grow up to be.

The lighting is always on-point here.

Also...

Got'em! Artyom is the most gangster motherfucker alive. Stab something in the eye, that's personal. Any time they mess with the face, you just know it's really serious.

 

[freeagent]

I hate to say it.. my main game right now is still Mario Kart on my phone, I am just about level 100 on tier 45 or something..

 

[SN2716057]

Horizon Zero Dawn. The lip sync is a bit off at times other than that it is a gorgeous game.

 

[Sithaer]

Finished Mass Effect Legendary, only took me ~ 2 months/~230 hours. 'Close to a completionist playthrough'


This game will always have a special place for me, not many game can play with my feelings like this one. 'even if it was my third playthrough of the serie'

Now off to play Homefront as suggested by someone from here.
Other than that new season start in Diablo 3 on friday but thats just my usual thing every 3 months to get my 'ARPG' fill.

Having cleared out so many duplicate games and other stuff, I came across this gem which I never get tired of playing. Except maybe when Max has to lead Vinnie dressed as Baseball Bat Boy to safety.
View attachment 208828 View attachment 208829

Edit
I just came across the Payne Evolution mod. Has anyone tried this?

Nice, this is also something I have on my 'to play one day' list hopefully soon-ish.
I did play Max Payne 1 when I was a kid but I don't remember much and never finished 2 + completely missed 3.

 

[Splinterdog]

Finished Mass Effect Legendary, only took me ~ 2 months/~230 hours. 'Close to a completionist playthrough'
View attachment 209203

This game will always have a special place for me, not many game can play with my feelings like this one. 'even if it was my third playthrough of the serie'

Now off to play Homefront as suggested by someone from here.
Other than that new season start in Diablo 3 on friday but thats just my usual thing every 3 months to get my 'ARPG' fill.



Nice, this is also something I have on my 'to play one day' list hopefully soon-ish.
I did play Max Payne 1 when I was a kid but I don't remember much and never finished 2 + completely missed 3.

I just fired up Max Payne 1 and it has a problem with Ryzens, but this fix, put together by some very clever people, sorted it out.
Here's Max in the seedier side of life.

 

[64K]

I just fired up Max Payne 1 and it has a problem with Ryzens, but this fix, put together by some very clever people, sorted it out.
Here's Max in the seedier side of life.

View attachment 209218

A true classic. iirc it was the first game that I played where you could slow down time. I used that feature quite a bit.

 

[Sithaer]

I just fired up Max Payne 1 and it has a problem with Ryzens, but this fix, put together by some very clever people, sorted it out.
Here's Max in the seedier side of life.

View attachment 209218

Thanks!
So far I only checked if theres a workaround for 21:9 Ultrawide since thats needed for me.

Bookmarked, just in case I run into problems whenever I decide to start playing.

 

[Splinterdog]

If you hit the glowing red bedside table the bed vibrates away along the floor and reveals a weapon hidden under the bed!
Never noticed that before.

 

[64K]

There's one Easter Egg where you're out on a ledge and if you follow it around and turn right to an open window inside is a picture of a man that died during the making of Max Payne and a candle burning. I thought it was pretty cool of the Developer to honor his memory like this.

 

[Vayra86]

I just fired up Max Payne 1 and it has a problem with Ryzens, but this fix, put together by some very clever people, sorted it out.
Here's Max in the seedier side of life.

View attachment 209218

Oh man. This game. Memories

 

[Deleted member 24505]

Oh man. This game. Memories

yeah that fucking crying baby

 

[Deleted member 202104]

Playing a little bit of everything trying to see what sticks.

Metro Exodus:

Days End:

and always more ATS:

 

[Space Lynx]

Well, tonight I hooked up Steam Link to my 40" 1080p wall mounted tv... and ran an ethernet cable through two rooms for it as well. Also, updated it and my Steam Controller, and I rested in bed playing Bastion on my 1080p tv...

I reassigned the buttons, pretty neat the way I am playing this game... I don't even touch the traditional 4 buttons, I re-mapped everything to the buttons on the back of the controller that most controllers don't have, then re-mapped the trigger and left and right buttons... I charted a little graph in a notebook so I don't forget and get used to it while playing... having a blast so far.

Should have done this ages ago, its just been collecting dust on me... but this game is capped at 60 fps, so I was thinking the games that are capped at 60 fps... I might as well play using Steam Link.

@weekendgeek ATS looks like a game I may have to download for this bed setup too.

 

[INSTG8R]

Getting my VR on and playing a lot of Elite Dangerous( play alot anyway) HL Alyx(amazing VR experience) grabbed the TWD VR game(supposed to be a must play after Alyx) Grabbed Arizona Sunshine not tried it yet.
Pic of my usual “office” for lulz

 

[Space Lynx]

Getting my VR on and playing a lot of Elite Dangerous( play alot anyway) HL Alyx(amazing VR experience) grabbed the TWD VR game(supposed to be a must play after Alyx) Grabbed Arizona Sunshine not tried it yet.
Pic of my usual “office” for lulz
View attachment 209566

would oculus quest 2 play more games at 90hz if i hooked up to my gtx 1070?

 

[INSTG8R]

would oculus quest 2 play more games at 90hz if i hooked up to my gtx 1070?

Most games are installed on your PC and are running through your GPU anyway . It’s hard to quantify FPS in games. There’s a paid program called fpsVR I’ll probably grab sooner or later.

 

[Ruru]

Started Legend of Dragoon (PS1) as it's been already three years since I played this last time (and actually finished it then). I hate myself as I owned a physical copy but I sold it like ~15 years ago, these days this is an expensive game so I'll play with emulator (though with a PS3 gamepad). Didn't finish it when I owned this which sucked.

One of the best PS1 games without a doubt.

 

[Splinterdog]

Got to be honest, RE Village hasn't got that certain something that pulls me back like RE 2&3 (remakes) have, so I'm retiring it until I'm in the mood for it.
And the FSR certainly boosts the FPS, but then it was smooth as silk at 144fps before anyway. Many people think FSR on this game is rubbish, but it looked ok to me.
Edit
Fired up Tomb ATI and gave those bats a whipping.

 

[rtwjunkie]

The nightvision also looks better. Especially the improved, which strained me with how grainy it was.

The thing is, real military NVG’s do have a grainy picture, and depth perception is not to be completely trusted, as well as having a lack of peripheral vision. They are promoting a fallacy by making that mode more clear.

 

[robot zombie]

The thing is, real military NVG’s do have a grainy picture, and depth perception is not to be completely trusted, as well as having a lack of peripheral vision. They are promoting a fallacy by making that mode more clear.

It still has that. It's really a different kind of grain, one you would also see in dimmer places without them. THAT is gone. It still has that characteristic patchy DOF and other optical distortions, including the natural grain you get from driving the crap out of a sensor to pick up everything possible. I'll have to grab some shots. It looks like real-life nightvision should, for the most part. What I was talking about was more of a 'video-gamey' effect. An artifact pattern that I was acclimated to in that game, that made it less convincing. That screenspace "shimmer" you get with hard lighting and tight/stark transitions in color/contrast.

Promise, it is still difficult and stressful to use in the tunnels! Actually, these tunnels are terrifying now and the nightvision really is no reprieve when you get jumped from all angles by nimble, deer-sized raptor-pig-mole things in near total darkness. You just see how hard they are to track!

 

[freeagent]

yeah that fucking crying baby

Max Payne was the first game I actually paid for lol.. I didn’t play it much though because my computer wasn’t strong enough lol.. I own that game on iOS too but haven’t really played it yet.. just watched the intro for old times sake

 

[Ruru]

I remember playing MP1 on my "first" PC, P2-400 @ 450, 160MB & GF2 MX, ran fine on medium settings.

 

[Splinterdog]

Sniper Ghost Warrior Contracts 2 is a stunning looking game.


I wish they had included alternate key bindings instead of having to mess around swapping keys all over the place.