What are you playing?

[Vayra86]

Can you give me a couple of game examples that do this well other than Grim Dawn? I remember in 2004/2005 a "Purple/Epic" item in WoW felt really fucking amazing to get one, I mean hell 40 man raids were a challenge then. Now it's like nothing is special feeling anymore for any game.

Diablo 2 has it in spades, but you have to know where to look and some of those mechanics are hidden very well, not explained anywhere. The easiest example is breakpoints; as attacks would take a set number of frames, only specific numbers would be of any use to 'actually hit faster' for example. I'm not asking for that kind of complexity in Diablo again though The game should be clear on its intentions imho. That's what Grim Dawn does so well, yes you need to learn some basics about dmg scaling and reduction but they're explained on the dev's website even.

Torchlight 2 has some of it. Path of Exile has it, and in that game it just keeps on giving. Sure, every build has its 'cap', but the road to it is paved with major bumps.

And its exactly what I've been telling you since I've played the beta, that its more complex than D3 but not sure about GD.

Its not really more complex is it though. They just revamped D2 skill trees into something that looks different (the lines to new skills go diagonally instead of straight down ) and has lost the skill synergies, plus added some passives. A lot of those passives are reminiscent of D3. Looking at the Sorcerer, its pretty straightforward. You combine keywords to get good stuff. 'Oh Lightning does Crackling Energy, I'll look out for that now'. That's it. Not all bad though, there is 'build potential'. Though would you ever make more than 3 kinds of Sorcerer? I doubt it - and heck, you only really need one right.

I do like the dodge though. Combat flow has improved a little bit compared to D3. And its already in a good place.

Funny, I started with Lash and Chain Lightning initially... it felt a bit meh, switched to Firewall and Meteor and now the screen is just burning all the time Solid leveling!

Very nice summary of the overall changes and paths available in the game. I rate it higher than that, but that's a mostly meaningless thing since in the end....we both like the game, the number doesn't mean anything haha.

At first I didn't realize you could just respec so easily, but I played around with it just to try the different build combinations I could for a little while. I still end up with my original sorcerer build though, but it's nice that it can let me check out things super easily......although I wish it were significantly more expensive to do so.

Yeah, 7 or 9/10 I'll still burn a few hundred hours here no doubt

 

[Sithaer]

Diablo 2 has it in spades, but you have to know where to look and some of those mechanics are hidden very well, not explained anywhere. The easiest example is breakpoints; as attacks would take a set number of frames, only specific numbers would be of any use to 'actually hit faster' for example. I'm not asking for that kind of complexity in Diablo again though The game should be clear on its intentions imho. That's what Grim Dawn does so well, yes you need to learn some basics about dmg scaling and reduction but they're explained on the dev's website even.

Torchlight 2 has some of it. Path of Exile has it, and in that game it just keeps on giving. Sure, every build has its 'cap', but the road to it is paved with major bumps.


Its not really more complex is it though. They just revamped D2 skill trees into something that looks different (the lines to new skills go diagonally instead of straight down ) and has lost the skill synergies, plus added some passives. A lot of those passives are reminiscent of D3. Looking at the Sorcerer, its pretty straightforward. You combine keywords to get good stuff. 'Oh Lightning does Crackling Energy, I'll look out for that now'. That's it. Not all bad though, there is 'build potential'. Though would you ever make more than 3 kinds of Sorcerer? I doubt it - and heck, you only really need one right.

I do like the dodge though. Combat flow has improved a little bit compared to D3. And its already in a good place.

Funny, I started with Lash and Chain Lightning initially... it felt a bit meh, switched to Firewall and Meteor and now the screen is just burning all the time Solid leveling!


Yeah, 7 or 9/10 I'll still burn a few hundred hours here no doubt

It gets more complex once you start working on your end game build with the paragon tree/glyphs and the proper aspects + gear rolls to pay attention to. 'Arc lash only starts to shine once you have all those going on'
You can read a D3 build guide in 1 minute and pretty much understand it, now you can't do that with a D4 end game build so that alone says enough imo.

Btw did you know that D3 has some breakpoints too just like D2? Probably not cause its far less important and won't affect 99% of the playerbase not even me. 'its for the try hard min-maxer leaderboard GR pushers with specific builds'

There is also a damage chart/formula in D4 thats already being experimented with, since the game has a lot of various damage modifier rolls on gear but only a handful of them are actually something to pay attention to in end game.'like vulnerable damage, one of the most important multipliers'
I had a very easy time leveling with the chain light+lash build, since I was overleveled and geared I did not even have to chug a single potion during the last boss fight in the story on T2. 'this defo needs to be worked on for better story scaling'

Anyway there is a lot of stuff actually, not something for this topic but to be honest I don't really feel like opening a separate topic just for a few of us who might discuss stuff there and also having to deal with the ppl who just post there to throw shit at the game w/o even playing it.

Game could also use a better way of dealing with the cutscenes, some are 16:9 and then some are 21:9 its like all over the place even with my 21:9 ratio fix in place. 'not having a proper 21:9 support in 2023 should be a crime..'

 

[ZenZimZaliben]

I just hit 50th on Sorcerer. My biggest gripe - The game is ugly. The main color palette is all browns..no jungle, grass or tree's. I really am not a fan of how boring the environment is to look at. However the game play is a lot of fun. Tons of build diversity and combinations, more so than any other diablo game. I am not a fan of how everything levels with you so you really never feel like an overpowered god...which is bad IMO. I agree it deserves a 6.5/10 range.

 

[AusWolf]

I've just come back from the UK's biggest rock/metal festival, so I installed an old classic for some nostalgia - Guitar Hero 3.

Edit: I named my band 'Sleep Not' (sorry for the dad joke).

 

[kapone32]

Respec is like a common/standard thing in ARPGs/looter shooters tho.
If it had no option for that or if it was very expensive then the devs would get quite a backlash for that nowadays. D2 also added the reset tokens to the game a long time ago, sure you had to farm some for the materials but you were farming those places by default anyway. 'just some bosses'

I actually prefer it this way, never liked the idea of not being able to try different builds or just quickly fix what I've messed up.



And its exactly what I've been telling you since I've played the beta, that its more complex than D3 but not sure about GD.
I've also finally finished the main story yesterday at lvl 53 and started doing end game activities today.
First thing was to unlock T3 difficulty right away so that I have access to better items, still using my leveling build on my Sorc but I'm planning to switch to a full Arc Lash build once I have the required gear/stats for it else it doesn't work well. This one: https://maxroll.gg/d4/build-guides/arc-lash-sorcerer-guide
Also to finish off whatever I've missed cause yea I still need some renown to max out the area rewards.


Btw there is this interactive map thats very useful:
https://d4builds.gg/map/

Collecting those Lilith statues gonna be fun.. I will just leave those for the last.

I have to say that I concur with everything that has been said but the the most thing you are going to Associate this with D2 is the frustration level until you find a nice Weapon. I am at Level 26 and it is 10 second death if you are not careful. I saw the Money Goblin and lost my mind trying to catch it. Events are great. The biggest gripe I have is it is totally online so someone that is way more powerful than you can finish a challenging Quest in no time or Events especially. The Campaign is cool and the Missions have Great progress and the non Campaign content is actually an Upgrade from D2 but has the same feel. Of all the Games i have bought this year this one has brought me back like no other.

I just hit 50th on Sorcerer. My biggest gripe - The game is ugly. The main color palette is all browns..no jungle, grass or tree's. I really am not a fan of how boring the environment is to look at. However the game play is a lot of fun. Tons of build diversity and combinations, more so than any other diablo game. I am not a fan of how everything levels with you so you really never feel like an overpowered god...which is bad IMO. I agree it deserves a 6.5/10 range.

I was too busy trying to survive to notice a lot of what you are saying but i agree Grim Dawn is way more beautiful in presentation.

 

[cmguigamf]

Finally playing Dishonored, and trying to go stealth only. Pretty fun, don't know why it took me all this time.

Aaaand it's done. After some 18+ hours, I've completed my first playthrough. Probably my personal record for quick saves->quick loads for any game in recent memory. Would have gotten Ghost+Clean Hands if it weren't for those meddling kids if EGS actually had achievements for the Definitive Edition, the lack of which I only realized after beating it. Oh well, if I ever do a second run it will probably be on Steam, where I own the base game.

Is the DLC worth playing or do I just move to the sequels?

 

[Space Lynx]

Aaaand it's done. After some 18+ hours, I've completed my first playthrough. Probably my personal record for quick saves->quick loads for any game in recent memory. Would have gotten Ghost+Clean Hands if it weren't for those meddling kids if EGS actually had achievements for the Definitive Edition, the lack of which I only realized after beating it. Oh well, if I ever do a second run it will probably be on Steam, where I own the base game.

Is the DLC worth playing or do I just move to the sequels?

DLC hasn't impressed me all that much honestly. I'm not completely done with them though. I'd just go to Dishonored 2 honestly.

 

[mechtech]

Still on the game of life for over 6 weeks straight. Need to unplug soon and try the grim dawn update or chillax with some Terraria..............soon I hope.

 

[wNotyarD]

Started Horizon Zero Dawn. Sure feels good when the game autosets itself to maximum quality on your PC

 

[64K]

Aaaand it's done. After some 18+ hours, I've completed my first playthrough. Probably my personal record for quick saves->quick loads for any game in recent memory. Would have gotten Ghost+Clean Hands if it weren't for those meddling kids if EGS actually had achievements for the Definitive Edition, the lack of which I only realized after beating it. Oh well, if I ever do a second run it will probably be on Steam, where I own the base game.

Is the DLC worth playing or do I just move to the sequels?

The DLCs are not the same quality as the base game but that's usually true of DLCs in general. They are worth a playthrough imo. They aren't that long and won't eat up much of your gaming time even if you end up not caring for them. I put the base game on my replay list and replay it every 3 or 4 years. To me it's a great game.

 

[Space Lynx]

The DLCs are not the same quality as the base game but that's usually true of DLCs in general. They are worth a playthrough imo. They aren't that long and won't eat up much of your gaming time even if you end up not caring for them. I put the base game on my replay list and replay it every 3 or 4 years. To me it's a great game.

When Steam Deck 2 comes out in 2-3 years, you should really consider pre-ordering one, I really think if you did your next replay of Dishonored on the Steam Deck 2 it will knock your socks off (I am assuming the screen will be better, and other improvements) playing it on Steam Deck 1 was awesome as heck imo, I can't imagine it on a better screen with the Deck 2.

anyways, my head hurts and im tired, farewell TPU


on topic: Monster Train in bed on the Deck, then sleep.

 

[Sithaer]

I just hit 50th on Sorcerer. My biggest gripe - The game is ugly. The main color palette is all browns..no jungle, grass or tree's. I really am not a fan of how boring the environment is to look at. However the game play is a lot of fun. Tons of build diversity and combinations, more so than any other diablo game. I am not a fan of how everything levels with you so you really never feel like an overpowered god...which is bad IMO. I agree it deserves a 6.5/10 range.

You can mostly thanks the ppl who kept complaining after D3 that the game is too colorful and doesn't feel like a grim/hell-ish Diablo game.
So now Blizz instead did the exact opposite just to play it safe/appeal to the more oldschool fans of the serie at least with the look/art style of the game.

Personally I don't mind and find the art style fitting to the struggling world of D4 but I wouldn't mind a bit more 'punchy' design for some of the skills/spells tho.
After playing D3 for ~11 years my first time launching D4 felt like I just turned completely color blind but I got used to it by now. 'at least you can add some colors to your character's gear via transmog/color palettes'

 

[Vayra86]

It gets more complex once you start working on your end game build with the paragon tree/glyphs and the proper aspects + gear rolls to pay attention to. 'Arc lash only starts to shine once you have all those going on'
You can read a D3 build guide in 1 minute and pretty much understand it, now you can't do that with a D4 end game build so that alone says enough imo.

Btw did you know that D3 has some breakpoints too just like D2? Probably not cause its far less important and won't affect 99% of the playerbase not even me. 'its for the try hard min-maxer leaderboard GR pushers with specific builds'

There is also a damage chart/formula in D4 thats already being experimented with, since the game has a lot of various damage modifier rolls on gear but only a handful of them are actually something to pay attention to in end game.'like vulnerable damage, one of the most important multipliers'
I had a very easy time leveling with the chain light+lash build, since I was overleveled and geared I did not even have to chug a single potion during the last boss fight in the story on T2. 'this defo needs to be worked on for better story scaling'

Anyway there is a lot of stuff actually, not something for this topic but to be honest I don't really feel like opening a separate topic just for a few of us who might discuss stuff there and also having to deal with the ppl who just post there to throw shit at the game w/o even playing it.
View attachment 300540

Game could also use a better way of dealing with the cutscenes, some are 16:9 and then some are 21:9 its like all over the place even with my 21:9 ratio fix in place. 'not having a proper 21:9 support in 2023 should be a crime..'

Good to hear that there's something left in the tank at level cap. I did read a bit about the Paragon changes but yeah, looks good.

Level 44... apparently I slowed down quite a bit somehow Knocking down side quests and gathering Aspects... Close to the end of Act 2 story wise

You can mostly thanks the ppl who kept complaining after D3 that the game is too colorful and doesn't feel like a grim/hell-ish Diablo game.
So now Blizz instead did the exact opposite just to play it safe/appeal to the more oldschool fans of the serie at least with the look/art style of the game.

Personally I don't mind and find the art style fitting to the struggling world of D4 but I wouldn't mind a bit more 'punchy' design for some of the skills/spells tho.
After playing D3 for ~11 years my first time launching D4 felt like I just turned completely color blind but I got used to it by now. 'at least you can add some colors to your character's gear via transmog/color palettes'

I'll take this color palette over that Diablo 3 theme park any time though. The spells actually stand out now, that's a good thing imho. And I like how they've played with 3D/isometric and height differences too. Its not entirely thoughtless 'oh let's just go grayscale here'. The map design itself though is not interesting at all, far too many places are just filler with a web of passages. Again... some major difference there with Grim Dawn where almost every map has a purpose one way or another and so many hidden things. Yes, D4 has a big map... but at least 50% could have been cut out to save you some walking, too. Somewhat more iconic places often serve a purpose in a quest and prior to that, they're just yet another area that you can often not even access completely. That feels weird too, out of place, something the linear setup of previous games doesn't suffer from at all.

Minor gripes, all of them, really. But it's these little things that really define the difference between 'good game' and 'masterpiece'. I've never been amazed at the game's brilliance at any point in time so far, but most elements are functional and enjoyable, that's really it. And to be fair... older Blizzard games always had many of those masterpiece elements in design. Dialogue is another aspect where you can see this clearly. Not a single character in D4 is really memorable thus far, I have to say. Where is the memorable one liner. Stay a while and listen...


By the way... @Space Lynx did you play this one yet. And everyone else... this is a surprisingly cool Diablo clone, and one that definitely has those 'oh I just became a God' moments.

Book of Demons

Book of Demons is a Hack & Slash Deck-building hybrid in which YOU decide the length of

www.gog.com

 

[Sithaer]

Good to hear that there's something left in the tank at level cap. I did read a bit about the Paragon changes but yeah, looks good.

Level 44... apparently I slowed down quite a bit somehow Knocking down side quests and gathering Aspects... Close to the end of Act 2 story wise


I'll take this color palette over that Diablo 3 theme park any time though. The spells actually stand out now, that's a good thing imho. And I like how they've played with 3D/isometric and height differences too. Its not entirely thoughtless 'oh let's just go grayscale here'. The map design itself though is not interesting at all, far too many places are just filler with a web of passages. Again... some major difference there with Grim Dawn where almost every map has a purpose one way or another and so many hidden things. Yes, D4 has a big map... but at least 50% could have been cut out to save you some walking, too. Somewhat more iconic places often serve a purpose in a quest and prior to that, they're just yet another area that you can often not even access completely. That feels weird too, out of place, something the linear setup of previous games doesn't suffer from at all.

Minor gripes, all of them, really. But it's these little things that really define the difference between 'good game' and 'masterpiece'. I've never been amazed at the game's brilliance at any point in time so far, but most elements are functional and enjoyable, that's really it. And to be fair... older Blizzard games always had many of those masterpiece elements in design. Dialogue is another aspect where you can see this clearly. Not a single character in D4 is really memorable thus far, I have to say. Where is the memorable one liner. Stay a while and listen...


By the way... @Space Lynx did you play this one yet. And everyone else... this is a surprisingly cool Diablo clone, and one that definitely has those 'oh I just became a God' moments.

Book of Demons

Book of Demons is a Hack & Slash Deck-building hybrid in which YOU decide the length of

www.gog.com

I'm kind of feeling a bit overwhelmed currently after the story and I also need to go back and max out my renown rewards in every zone + trying to make up my mind about my build or which to go for/collect the needed aspects for it,etc.
Tho its ~normal in a new game, I assume after a few Seasons all of this will feel normal/simple stuff, tho I'm wondering how the seasonal game will work out but thats another story.
Yeah the map design as a whole does leave something to be desired but at least since I got my horse its not that bad to travel all over the place.

But in overall I think the game has a decent foundation/base that seems to work for most ppl who like this genre. 'from what I've read/seen the game is being accepted more positively than not'
I'm curious to see where will they take the game from here with Seasonal updates and the actual expansions later on. It sure as heck wasn't cheap but I rather spend this much on a game like this than on another random AAA game with like no replayability and at most 15-20 hours of content yet they cost 60 or more $ anyway..

Gonna take a little break today I think and try the demo of Lies of P on Steam. I'm not a big souls like player in general but this one looked pretty cool and since it has a demo, why not.

 

[Braegnok]

Soon,.. Johnnny be Rollin into Dogtown.

 

[Bomby569]

i fell like i'm setting myself up for disappointment, being Ubi and all, but i so want this to be good

 

[kapone32]

Well I posted a thread in the Your latest Tech Purchase. It is one of those hard drives that is loaded up with RAM and the Emulator OS that runs everything. So I got it up and running after replacing the USB Cable. Well today it was Gyruss, Ridge Racer 7 and some other shumps like Galaga and Space Invaders. The experience of the day though was Flashback on the 3DO, what an experience. One thing that is not appreciated is how well Sprite Games look with the richness of the colour in modern panels. I would post a pic but it is on my laptop and the quick screenshot function does not work in that OS. Now it's back to D4.

 

[ne6togadno]

Save 60% on Wizard with a Gun on Steam

Wizard with a Gun is an online sandbox survival game for 1 - 4 players set in a magical wilderness wrought with dangerous creatures and arcane mysteries. Embark on a journey alone or with a friend to collect, craft, and outfit your wizard however you see fit as you explore the unknown.

store.steampowered.com

 

[nomdeplume]

i fell like i'm setting myself up for disappointment, being Ubi and all, but i so want this to be good

It certainly has taken on a proven formula.

Would be nice if it avoided setting potentially interested parties up for a major letdown.

 

[oxrufiioxo]

Just finish the FFXVI demo gotta say I'm pretty impressed both by the visuals and much darker tone to the story vs a lot of other entries in the series.

I've already pre ordered it prior to trying the demo out but now I'm even more excited about the direction the series is taking. Glad save progress carries over.

 

[Space Lynx]

Just finish the FFXVI demo gotta say I'm pretty impressed both by the visuals and much darker tone to the story vs a lot of other entries in the series.

I've already pre ordered it prior to trying the demo out but now I'm even more excited about the direction the series is taking. Glad save progress carries over.

yep, thats the FFXIV director for you. Endwalker was also dark.

 

[oxrufiioxo]

yep, thats the FFXIV director for you. Endwalker was also dark.

I was a little worried it would give me Final Fantasy XII vibes which is probably my least favorite main line title.

Both this and FFVII Remake are much darker than previous entries which I actually like. I do like the battle system from 7R better though but that's just based on the demo.

I hate MMOs so don't really know much about FFXIV.

 

[Space Lynx]

I was a little worried it would give me Final Fantasy XII vibes which is probably my least favorite main line title.

Both this and FFVII Remake are much darker than previous entries which I actually like. I do like the battle system from 7R better though but that's just based on the demo.

I hate MMOs so don't really know much about FFXIV.

yeah he made FFXIV and FFXVI as im sure you know, but I personally liked FFXII myself, I plan to replay it someday, the "Zodiac Age" remaster of it, I have not played yet so that is what I will do on my Steam Deck someday, problem is, it never goes under 24.99 sale price... every major sale... so i always skip over it, im not paying that for such an old game. Square needs to wake up and do better discounts on major Steam sales.

 

[oxrufiioxo]

yeah he made FFXIV and FFXVI as im sure you know, but I personally liked FFXII myself, I plan to replay it someday, the "Zodiac Age" remaster of it, I have not played yet so that is what I will do on my Steam Deck someday, problem is, it never goes under 24.99 sale price... every major sale... so i always skip over it, im not paying that for such an old game. Square needs to wake up and do better discounts on major Steam sales.

Maybe people like me are to blame for that I purchase every Final Fantasy pc port at full price even if I don't plan on playing them lol. Mostly in the hopes that Final Fantasy will continue to come to PC. I do finish most of them on PC though.

The Zodiac remaster is ok pretty bare bones hopeing the 9 remaster/remake is much better.

 

[nomdeplume]

Well I posted a thread in the Your latest Tech Purchase. It is one of those hard drives that is loaded up with RAM and the Emulator OS that runs everything. So I got it up and running after replacing the USB Cable. Well today it was Gyruss, Ridge Racer 7 and some other shumps like Galaga and Space Invaders. The experience of the day though was Flashback on the 3DO, what an experience. One thing that is not appreciated is how well Sprite Games look with the richness of the colour in modern panels. I would post a pic but it is on my laptop and the quick screenshot function does not work in that OS. Now it's back to D4.

800M games < Ridge Racer 7 emulation in 4K