BeardyHat's recent activity
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Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games
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Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games
BeardyHat Link ParentI hope you enjoy them, they're really one of my favorite series ever. I'm already a big WW2 buff, so the added realism of the series, while still maintaining the fun is just great. Ostfront can...I hope you enjoy them, they're really one of my favorite series ever. I'm already a big WW2 buff, so the added realism of the series, while still maintaining the fun is just great.
Ostfront can definitely wait until you know you're going to enjoy the series. Again, they're not terribly different from each other, little tweaks and iterations here, so you'll get the idea once you start playing Assault Squad. Ostfront was actually developed by a splinter team of modders, as I understand it, but they really understand the series roots better than the original developers, it seems.
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Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games
BeardyHat Link ParentMen of War is one of the earliest, so it's not necessarily as refined, though the series hasn't changed substantially since its inception. At this point, I'd really recommend AS2 and Ostfront, as...Men of War is one of the earliest, so it's not necessarily as refined, though the series hasn't changed substantially since its inception. At this point, I'd really recommend AS2 and Ostfront, as those are the newest and if you're into multiplayer, have player bases.
If you just want to do the single player missions, you can't go wrong with most of them, just check steam reviews. I didn't play Cold War as I heard bad things. Call to Arms - Gates of Hell: Ostfront is pretty cool though as it has a dynamic campaign for single player, so you pick a faction and your allotted some resources to buy units, which you then pick from to take into battle. Winning earns you more resources with which to research new units, reinforce or repair your old ones and buy new ones. Though it has the least amount of factions not locked behind DLC.
Assault Squad 2 has a pretty huge amount of single player missions from a variety of factions such as Soviets, Japanese, USA, Commonwealth and Germany.
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Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games
BeardyHat Link ParentMen of War 2 doesn't feel like Men of War. It feels very much like they wanted to move more towards Company of Heroes, so many of the little things from MoW are missing. No longer can you break up...Men of War 2 doesn't feel like Men of War. It feels very much like they wanted to move more towards Company of Heroes, so many of the little things from MoW are missing. No longer can you break up a unit, for example. In the rest of the series, you get a unit of 8 to 10 men usually and you can split people off as you like, so you could send the machine gunner over to a flank position or what have you. Now you have units of 5 and they cannot be broken up.
You can no longer recrew your own guns. If your team gets killed on that gun, it costs you resources to actually get a new man there and if you don't have them? Well the gun sits there useless. Even if you have men in the field already that could move over and take it on, you aren't allowed.
Tanks lost their granularity. Where once you'd disable a tank and could repair and recrew it, now they generally just blow up and you can't do anything about it.
The game is significantly faster. Men of War is generally a pretty slowly paced game, so to speed it up it ends up just feeling "off" if that makes sense.
There's heaps of little changes that they made that just make the game feel like something else entirely. I played for 2 hours and decided to refund it because I just wasn't happy with it and after going back to Ostfront, I just knew I didn't want to pay MoW 2 any longer.
The UI is God awful.
You may like it, coming from CoH, as I think it still has some of the granularity of Men of War, but is (probably?) more approachable than the rest of the series. Again, as a veteran of the series it just feels bad to me and is lacking in all the things I adore about it, so you may differ there. I was excited about it and bought it immediately, which is something I flat out do not ever do with games, but I trusted the name and ended up coming away disappointed.
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Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games
BeardyHat LinkI feel like I haven't had any focus lately, at least, as it relates to a game. I've been pretty much just playing one level each morning of HROT which is a pretty great Boomer Shooter. One thing...I feel like I haven't had any focus lately, at least, as it relates to a game. I've been pretty much just playing one level each morning of HROT which is a pretty great Boomer Shooter. One thing it's made me realize is this: I like Boom Shoots that focus on recreating that early FPS feeling, rather than trying to iterate or be something slightly different. For example, I've heard that Turbo Overkill is excellent, but it honestly just looks a little too different for me; what I liked about the revival genre is that it felt like it kept on from a Quake and Blood lineage and didn't over extend itself much beyond that and honestly, I just have been preferring games that are "more of the same" for lack of a better term.
I've also been dabbling in some multiplayer stuff here and there with my buddies. Playing Call to Arms - Gates of Hell: Ostfront here and there both multiplayer and in my own campaign mode, but also played 2-hours of Hell Let Loose since my friend bought it for me a few weeks ago. It's a cool game and one I would have probably been obsessed with about 10 years ago, but I struggle in it right now with my limited time to play and...I think I'm just getting old. I struggle to identify targets and shoot them quickly enough for the most part, though I have periods where I do well.
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Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games
BeardyHat Link ParentHave you tried Men of War (Avoid 2, which just came out.) at all? I actually have a strong preference for it over CoH because it really tries to push the realism over other games. In particular,...Have you tried Men of War (Avoid 2, which just came out.) at all? I actually have a strong preference for it over CoH because it really tries to push the realism over other games. In particular, each soldier has their own inventory, so say if you have an AT Rifle team and the guy with the rifle is killed, you could sneak his mate over and pick up the rifle to have him take things over. Same goes for repairing and recrewing guns; just last night I was playing a match against my two friends and they killed the crew and damaged an AT gun I had in a town, so I sent some new, cheap riflemen up to cover it and had a couple run over, fix it up and then move it to a new position.
You can also do the same with tanks. Generally when a major component (such as an engine) gets knocked out on a tank, the crew will bail out and leave it there, but you can have them repair it and get it back into combat. Alternatively, if you've knocked out an enemy tank and haven't caused an ammo rack explosion or anything, you could go repair it and send it back into fight against your opponent.
There's also direct control. Admittedly, I don't use this too much because it forces you to focus on one particular area of the battlefield, but I do often use it when my enemy has a tank that maybe the AI isn't getting through or whatever. I can take direct control of my own tank, point to the weak spots on the enemy tank (such as the lower glacis) and start firing; or, if my tank hasn't been spotted, control it and move it into a flanking position so I can get side shots on the enemy tank.
It's really very cool and I highly recommend. The latest game in the series is technically Call to Arms- Gates of Hell: Ostfront and is my favorite (I've been playing this series for like 10+ years now), but Men of War: Assault Squad 2 is also excellent and I can highly recommend it.
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Comment on What have you been listening to this week? in ~music
BeardyHat Link ParentMetal is still absolutely my favorite, but I do dip in to many other things these days. I've always liked Classical (Baroque period, in particular. Something about that harpsichord), so I often...Metal is still absolutely my favorite, but I do dip in to many other things these days. I've always liked Classical (Baroque period, in particular. Something about that harpsichord), so I often have that on when I'm feeling chill, but I also like Vaporwave and have relatively recently (the last few years) found a deep love of classic Funk and Soul, as well as 80's Pop.
Opeth was one of my earliest introductions to harsh vocals, something like back in 2004 or so and it's been downhill from there. Some stuff I listen to now, I get weird looks from my wife, who absolutely cannot stand the more extreme stuff, which is understandable.
I did like doing the manual stuff way back, when I was in my various classes. I still have the ability on my current lens, but haven't really used it much, although my wife has framed quite a few of my old photos I took with manual focus. Definitely something I ought to get back into once I have a little more time to futz with stuff, I definitely still have photographer brain where I tend to look at things and think about how I might compose a photo. Not sure if I mentioned it previously, but I really like Black & White photography and kind of wish my camera could just have that "Mode" so I didn't have to go back in and edit it later; I'm sure the newer cameras can just do that now, but I haven't looked into it.
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Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games
BeardyHat Link ParentI did get the extra classes, though admittedly, I didn't investigate them at all because I was already hitting that burnout. But yeah, the boat definitely means now I need to explore everything...I did get the extra classes, though admittedly, I didn't investigate them at all because I was already hitting that burnout.
But yeah, the boat definitely means now I need to explore everything and I end up feeling more directionless, which the first quarter of the game isn't about. You really get pointed to a specific thing and told to do that and I found that pretty appealing for my mood at the moment.
This isn't my first DQ though, so I did expect this to happen at some point and my mood tends to shift periodically as well, as far as what I'm interested in playing at any given moment. I'll probably come back to it, but I'm not exactly sure when that'll be at this point.
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Comment on What did you do this week (and weekend)? in ~talk
BeardyHat LinkRecover. My wife and I were in the UK all last week as a trip for my 40th Birthday. London was pretty cool, though I had/have zero interest in the touristy stuff like Buckingham, Big Ben, etc,...Recover.
My wife and I were in the UK all last week as a trip for my 40th Birthday. London was pretty cool, though I had/have zero interest in the touristy stuff like Buckingham, Big Ben, etc, which we saw anyway. Portabello road was pretty cool though, but I'm already a big fan of thrifting, so it was basically an extension of that. By far the coolest thing and the entire reason I wanted to go on this trip was to go to Bovington Tank Musuem which was just absolutely fucking awesome. I was astonished at some of the tanks they have there, which I just assumed, no one had any examples of, such as the Char B1. They also had a very interesting exhibit on WW1 and the evolution of the tank, with a couple of examples you could actually go inside, which was just so, so cool. My wife actually enjoyed it a good deal, as someone who has zero interest in history, warfare or tanks, though, bless her, she could only take so much. She was absolutely a good sport though and endured 8-hours over 2 days there, because I won't be able to come back anytime soon. That said, even after that 8-hours, I could easily spend more time there and hopefully will someday in the future.
The flight back wasn't so bad, but this weekend we've just been recovering. I'm still wiped out, but I managed to get some things done today while the kids were at school, such as mowing my lawn, which was dire and replacing the battery in my Sister-in-Law's car, which, by the way, fuck Ford and their designs. Utter, utter garbage. Every time I've worked on this car over the past 10 years or so has just been a cluster fuck and what should be easy never is and often requires proprietary tools. This simple battery replacement took me 2+ hours, because it's just such a janky, shitty design.
I also finished my book about Shareware, Shareware Heroes which was pretty interesting and started on reading All Quiet on the Western Front which is great so far. I'm well more than halfway through it now and very much enjoying it, though that feels like such a weird thing to say for such a book.
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Comment on What did you do this week (and weekend)? in ~talk
BeardyHat Link ParentMy wife is a good driver, generally and she has been driving manuals as long as I have (25+ years), but when we were out in the UK last week, I rented a Renault Clio with a manual. I drove it 2+...One of the scariest moments in my life was many years ago while teaching a girlfriend to drive manual; she made a poor decision to turn left, stalled in the middle of the left turn, and a huge truck stopped, inches from my face.
My wife is a good driver, generally and she has been driving manuals as long as I have (25+ years), but when we were out in the UK last week, I rented a Renault Clio with a manual. I drove it 2+ hours and the next day when we needed to do the same trip again, I asked her to drive, as I was feeling nervous about my driving skills, being on the opposite side of the car, on the opposite side of the road.
She stalled it twice in the parking lot of the place we were leaving and I just said, nope! I'll cope with my slight anxiety of driving so that we don't get stalled in a roundabout with oncoming traffic, no thank you.
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Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games
BeardyHat LinkNot much. I went on a week long vacation and at the start of it, I'd been playing Dragon Quest 3 on GBC and I did make more progress, got the boat, but then just kind of stopped there. I do like...Not much.
I went on a week long vacation and at the start of it, I'd been playing Dragon Quest 3 on GBC and I did make more progress, got the boat, but then just kind of stopped there. I do like the game, I just think I've had enough of it at this point, as it's not really going to have any substantive change from here to the end.
But it was the main thing I was playing and now I'm kind of lost as far as game time goes. I've been dabbling here and there, made some more progress in Yellow Taxi Goes Vroom, which is still good, but I'm not feeling the same level of passion for that I had been prior to my trip.
Also tried playing a bit of I am an Air Traffic Controller 4, a game in a series I really love, but the game is so flawed from a technical standpoint, I have a hard time really getting into it. There's just too many annoying things about it compared to the 3DS games, that I'm really not sure it's worth getting into, although there's nothing else like it.
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Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games
BeardyHat Link ParentGood on you for persisting and getting through it. All that said, I do think your correct in your assessment about game design changing. This year I've been playing both Dark Souls and Lies of P...Good on you for persisting and getting through it.
All that said, I do think your correct in your assessment about game design changing. This year I've been playing both Dark Souls and Lies of P parallel and I believe Lies really blows it out of the water from a game design perspective; this from me for whom Dark Souls was a revelation back in 2011.
I still like it, but this run for me really petered out in Sen's. I've completed it, but just haven't felt the motivation to go back into the Fortress and collect the things I missed.
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Comment on What are three things you're feeling positively about today? in ~talk
BeardyHat LinkMy flight from London to home in the States was painless and I got to read a whole lot during it. Ended up finishing the book I was on and starting a new one. I'm still riding high and feeling...-
My flight from London to home in the States was painless and I got to read a whole lot during it. Ended up finishing the book I was on and starting a new one.
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I'm still riding high and feeling great after experiencing Bovington Tank Museum, something I realistically thought I'd never be about to do. I also got a cool hoodie out of it.
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Just hanging out with my wife all week and getting to be people again. Family helped us so much watching our kids for an entire week so we could take this vacation. We were busy every day, but it was so nice just to be a couple and do everything on our own time and on our own whim. We had some stressful times during the week, but even if we had stress or anxiety, we didn't have any conflict and were able to just be present with each other.
Bonus: it would have been nice to have more time on vacation, but it's also very nice to finally be home. I'm excited to sleep in my own bed and I got the best greeting one for possibly hope for from my youngest child.
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Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games
BeardyHat Link ParentYeah, exactly. With the quests and the combat that's often a component, which as you mentioned, you feel obligated to, it just takes ages and often feels like a slog when you need to wear down...Yeah, exactly. With the quests and the combat that's often a component, which as you mentioned, you feel obligated to, it just takes ages and often feels like a slog when you need to wear down Magic or Physical Armor. I know fights often went the same in the first game due to lack of it, but dammit, liked teleporting people into oil and lighting it on fire immediately.
I actually much prefer the light hearted nature of D:OS, over Mass Effect. I did enjoy ME and ended up playing though and completing the first two completely, but I have a poor memory, so I'll be damned if I can really tell you anything about either game. In that regard, I prefer D:OS just because I remember the mechanics better, as well as some of the sillier aspects of it. But, much as I love D:OS, I haven't mustered any interest in BG3, just because I was so... Disappointed in OS2, though I'm also feeling a little bit "over" D&D as a concept, so that has something to do with it as well.
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Comment on What have you been listening to this week? in ~music
BeardyHat Link ParentSorry for the slow response, been traveling for the last week and haven't had the mental energy for Tildes! Finally heading home today, so I'm currently waiting at the airport for my flight. I...Sorry for the slow response, been traveling for the last week and haven't had the mental energy for Tildes! Finally heading home today, so I'm currently waiting at the airport for my flight.
I definitely ought to take more pictures, but I struggle to get over my awkwardness at carrying my camera around and then whipping it out for pictures. I don't judge anyone doing it, so I have no Idea why I feel so self-conscious about it. Honestly, I probably should have brought it on my trip here, because it might have encouraged me to take more photos. What kind of lens do you typically run?
Not in Canada, but Colorado, USA.
Black Metal is 100% my jam and what I spend a good portion of my time listening to, though it's tied closely with Thrash, but I spend a good majority of my time listening to newer Darkthrone. Used to listen to a good deal of Prog and Death years ago, but got largely bored with both, though Hath - All That Was Promised is a fucking incredible album. First time I've really enjoyed a Death metal album in ages and Prog for me is pretty limited, just because I tend to prefer shorter albums these days. That said, I love Intervals and am always looking forward to new stuff from him.
Haven't actually heard of either of the bands you mention, but I'll check them out! Always like a recommendation and I get fewer these days since I'm largely off Reddit, though I suppose I can always go check out the Metal subreddit when I'm looking for something new.
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Microsoft's decision to close down Tango Gameworks, Arkane Austin and other game studios is largely motivated by the desire to keep IPs, and ensuring the studios can't work for Microsoft's competition
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Comment on What have you been listening to this week? in ~music
BeardyHat Link ParentOh, weird! Actually, I do like Photography, though I'd call it more of a minor hobby for myself, really. I did it much more frequently when I had more time and took several classes through high...Oh, weird! Actually, I do like Photography, though I'd call it more of a minor hobby for myself, really. I did it much more frequently when I had more time and took several classes through high school and college for it.
I did relatively recently pick up a new DSLR with a 50mm lens (my favorite workhorse lens size), but it was a used, quite old Rebel XTi to replace my old XT that was stolen. It was cheap, but I maybe should have picked up something that was easier to connect to my PC, because I find myself just using my phone more often since it'll automatically upload everything to Google Photos.
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Comment on Most people think playing chess makes you 'smarter', but the evidence isn't clear on that in ~games.tabletop
BeardyHat Link Parent40k and Age of Sigmar. I haven't tried Old World yet.40k and Age of Sigmar. I haven't tried Old World yet.
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Comment on Most people think playing chess makes you 'smarter', but the evidence isn't clear on that in ~games.tabletop
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Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games
BeardyHat Link ParentI've definitely been consulting a guide here and there when I feel like I'm losing momentum. I'd generally prefer not to use them, but when I'm not sure where I go next, I do look.I've definitely been consulting a guide here and there when I feel like I'm losing momentum. I'd generally prefer not to use them, but when I'm not sure where I go next, I do look.
Sorry to hear about your hand! That does make gaming challenging. I actually cut part of my left thumb off about two years ago (ER visit with deep ass needles to numb it up was absolutely the worst part. Still makes me wince.) and discovered that it was pretty damn essential to have a vertical handheld for gaming. My hands are large enough that I can play a Gameboy/GBA SP with one hand, especially turn based games. Really helped me keep my sanity while that thumb was largely unusable for gaming.
Glad to hear you're liking it! I know I sound like a broken record at this point, but it really is one of my favorite series. I can't even remember how I came about it at this point, but I think I received it in a bundle with a bunch of other historical wargames, which I'm not sure I actually ever even tried other than MoW.