AI52487963'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
AI52487963 LinkThis week we played the FPS Deadzone: Rogue for our podcast on roguelike/lite games This game has a fascinating history starting out as an extraction shooter in the heels of Tarkov, failing...This week we played the FPS Deadzone: Rogue for our podcast on roguelike/lite games
This game has a fascinating history starting out as an extraction shooter in the heels of Tarkov, failing miserably, then totally tearing down and rebuilding up as a roguelite design. I think the fact that the game is event remotely good given that backstory really underscores the effort the developers put in to making sure it was a fun game.
I was glad to be forced to sit down for two weeks and deep dive Deadzone Rogue because my first impression from the Steam Next Fest demo was extremely underwhelming. But one of my cohosts LOVED it at the time, so I figured something g had to be there.
Fast forward to now and after having rolled credits on it, I’m happy to say I was wrong about my first impressions and that Deadzone Rogue is a perfectly fun game for what it’s going for. There nothing really revolutionary about its design, there’s some clever builds and interesting decision making here and there, but I think it’s backstory adds a lot to its relevance.
The games story is also kind of slapdash and generic, but fun in a kind of low brow 80s Canon Films sort of way. After the end of the first act I was actually quite interested to see where the game was going plot-wise and the ending left me feeling very interested in what’s next for the game.
I think the worst part overall is the grind. Standard difficulty feels padded out with enemies being overly bullet spongey and I had a lot more fun playing on easy mode. The fact there’s special side missions you can do that are shorter runs but with more focused challenges is neat and I think adds a lot to wanting to beat challenge X in harder difficulties.
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Comment on What game is your personal "Silksong"? in ~games
AI52487963 LinkStarcraft 2 for me. I grew up on the original and Brood War, which remain on my short list for 10/10 perfect games still. I remember browsing websites in the pre-Google era seeing preview assets...Starcraft 2 for me. I grew up on the original and Brood War, which remain on my short list for 10/10 perfect games still.
I remember browsing websites in the pre-Google era seeing preview assets for the sequel which were clearly just mods with high hopes, not realizing I’d have to wait almost a decade.
When the music leaked, Blizzard was still in full WoW mode and I had waning hopes for ever getting a StarCraft sequel until I heard the bombastic tunes that sounded very familiar. I always thought that it was going to be some kind of rug pull like “the StarCraft soundtrack remastered” or something until we got the reveal announcement and indeed, it was about time!
Launch day was nothing short of biblical in my dorm. Roommates were going bananas climbing the ladder and finding all the imbalanced and broken builds. Streaming was out of control, Day9 dailies, etc. It was a magical time.
Since then, it feels like SC2 has kind of fallen out of relevance in comparison to things like Counterstrike and League, but it still holds a special place in my gaming fandom. If we ever get a StarCraft 3, or similar level of successor, I can only hope it will capture that same lightning in a bottle moment.
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Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games
AI52487963 LinkThis week we played the procgen 4X fantasy game Hero’s Hour for our podcast on roguelike/lite games. Yes, we do discuss at length whether it qualifies for talking about on a roguelike podcast, and...This week we played the procgen 4X fantasy game Hero’s Hour for our podcast on roguelike/lite games.
Yes, we do discuss at length whether it qualifies for talking about on a roguelike podcast, and I think it generates some interesting discussion about how 4X and other Civ-like (lite?) games blend into the standard rogue genre.
Overall, I thought this game was interesting despite the bad tutorial. The differences between the factions and heroes makes for some interesting gameplay decisions. The art and music is fun and charming, and the big battle sequences are quite fun to watch.
Makes me want to dip my toes into the Heroes of Might and Magic series, from which it’s inspired by.
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Comment on California attorney fined for using twenty-one AI hallucinated cases in court filing in ~tech
AI52487963 Link ParentImagine the Chuck McGill meltdowns about LLM hallucinations!Imagine the Chuck McGill meltdowns about LLM hallucinations!
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Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games
AI52487963 LinkThis week for our podcast on roguelike games we played The King Is Watching I thought this game was neat. It starts off strong with a very colorful and detailed art style, has a pretty thorough...This week for our podcast on roguelike games we played The King Is Watching
I thought this game was neat. It starts off strong with a very colorful and detailed art style, has a pretty thorough tutorial, and some interesting and unique mechanics.
I think the only downside is the meta progression system. Not anything that can’t be fixed in the long term, but it sort of felt like I didn’t really unlock anything super meaningful after a number of runs.
Overall a game that I put roughly on par with Loop Hero: interesting art and mechanics, maybe a bit grindy for my tastes, but interesting enough for one of my cohosts to put 100+ hours into it and platinum all the achievements.
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Comment on 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple | Official trailer in ~movies
AI52487963 Link ParentI’d be on board for a “28 centuries later” followed by a “28 millennia later”I’d be on board for a “28 centuries later” followed by a “28 millennia later”
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Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games
AI52487963 LinkElden Ring Nightreign This week we played Elden Ring Nightreign for our podcast on roguelike games. Wow what a blast this was! I was initially skeptical and baffled when Nightreign was announced:...Elden Ring Nightreign
This week we played Elden Ring Nightreign for our podcast on roguelike games.
Wow what a blast this was! I was initially skeptical and baffled when Nightreign was announced: a Fortnite Souls game? Cmon. But I remember how much I liked base Elden Ring before getting burned out on the Mountaintop of the Giants and I was excited to jump back in.
And man does it deliver. It’s not perfect, but it’s got amazing potential to it. If you’re a fan of souls games at all, then you get a really solid 45 minute experience of monster bashing. I was always big into the coop covenants from souls games and this feels like the ultimate incarnation of it.
A new mode is coming in a few weeks which should offer a different, possibly less sonic level speedrun speed to it also. Very excited to see how this game develops and am praying as hard as I can to get an Armored Core Nightreign in the future.
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Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games
AI52487963 LinkElden Ring Nightreign This week we played Elden Ring Nightreign for our podcast on roguelike games. Wow what a blast this was! I was initially skeptical and baffled when Nightreign was announced:...Elden Ring Nightreign
This week we played Elden Ring Nightreign for our podcast on roguelike games.
Wow what a blast this was! I was initially skeptical and baffled when Nightreign was announced: a Fortnite Souls game? Cmon. But I remember how much I liked base Elden Ring before getting burned out on the Mountaintop of the Giants and I was excited to jump back in.
And man does it deliver. It’s not perfect, but it’s got amazing potential to it. If you’re a fan of souls games at all, then you get a really solid 45 minute experience of monster bashing. I was always big into the coop covenants from souls games and this feels like the ultimate incarnation of it.
A new mode is coming in a few weeks which should offer a different, possibly less sonic level speedrun speed to it also. Very excited to see how this game develops and am praying as hard as I can to get an Armored Core Nightreign in the future.
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Comment on All things classic Doom in ~games
AI52487963 LinkFor my podcast on roguelike games, we covered the classic DoomRL open source game as well as its commercial 3D remaster Jupiter Hell. I’m still very impressed by its spin on the OG DOOM formula...For my podcast on roguelike games, we covered the classic DoomRL open source game as well as its commercial 3D remaster Jupiter Hell.
I’m still very impressed by its spin on the OG DOOM formula with traditional roguelike mechanics. More than just that, though, I’ve come to realize just how tight and focused its gameplay is when compared to something like Nethack.
Fun fact: the demake of Jupiter Hell that released recently has a steam workshop mod that you can load to just straight up play DoomRL with controller support and Steam achievements.
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Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games
AI52487963 LinkThis week for our roguelike podcasts 75th episode, we covered the legendary platformer Spelunky I had a lot of fun revisiting this brutal game that drove me to insanity the first time I played it...This week for our roguelike podcasts 75th episode, we covered the legendary platformer Spelunky
I had a lot of fun revisiting this brutal game that drove me to insanity the first time I played it 12 years ago. I didn’t beat it this time around but my main goal was playing the daily challenge consistently during our two week evaluation period.
On the steam deck, it’s a dream. The form factor is great and the smaller screen helps to hide that it’s locked at 720p which is unfortunately apparently on 1440p monitors. But the gameplay remains so crisp and solid and easy to pick up and play.
That’s not to say it’s easy though. Spelunky is one of the most famous “tough but fair” games out there and I really appreciate the thoughtful design decisions behind it. Opening shortcuts teaches you level progression and gear juggling. The shortcuts allow you to practice against the enemies in that biome. But the shortcuts also start you tremendously under-geared, so you’re incentivized to start from the beginning and work your way up (down?).
It still holds up today and is well worth the under $5 sale price it routinely goes on sale for. If you like punishing platformers, that is.
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Comment on What are some of your favorite Nintendo Switch games? in ~games
AI52487963 LinkIf you’re into 80s style NES games, then UFO 50 is an absolute MUST for the switch. I put more than 50 hours into it and haven’t beaten half the games but the experience itself is so unique,...If you’re into 80s style NES games, then UFO 50 is an absolute MUST for the switch.
I put more than 50 hours into it and haven’t beaten half the games but the experience itself is so unique, especially for single player and 2 player gameplay.
Worth it just for Vainger, Party House, and Mini & Max alone. Elfazar’s Hat is great for two player coop as well.
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Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games
AI52487963 LinkThis week for our roguelike podcast’s 75th episode, we covered a titan of the genre with Spelunky! I remember getting brutalized by it 12 years ago, beating it, and thinking “great I’m NEVER...This week for our roguelike podcast’s 75th episode, we covered a titan of the genre with Spelunky!
I remember getting brutalized by it 12 years ago, beating it, and thinking “great I’m NEVER playing that again”, only to have a lot of fun revisiting it this week.
It’s truly timeless and elegant, but you can sort of see some of the wrinkles. It being locked at 720p feels rough in a full screen 1440p monitor, but it plays amazingly smooth and clear in the Steam Deck.
It’s interesting to hear my cohosts reaction who had never played it and how progression systems have had their impact in Spelunky wake. I’m glad no-progression roguelikes still exist, because sometimes firing up a game for the first time and seeing the meta progression wall ahead of you can feel more daunting than dying once every 45 seconds.
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Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games
AI52487963 Link ParentI got burned out after taking 4 hours to beat Seven Spears Ashina. Maybe I should go back to it…I got burned out after taking 4 hours to beat Seven Spears Ashina. Maybe I should go back to it…
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Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games
AI52487963 Link ParentI’ve been intrigued to try Two Crowns since the podcast episode. It’s certainly a mega hit popularity-wise, and I can totally see how the coop communication and strategy aspects really mesh well...I’ve been intrigued to try Two Crowns since the podcast episode. It’s certainly a mega hit popularity-wise, and I can totally see how the coop communication and strategy aspects really mesh well with the two sides of the kingdom.
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Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games
AI52487963 LinkKingdom: New Lands This week we played the 2D side scrolling tower defense game Kingdom New Lands for our podcast on roguelike games. Overall I think it’s a reasonably nice and cozy game that has...Kingdom: New Lands
This week we played the 2D side scrolling tower defense game Kingdom New Lands for our podcast on roguelike games.
Overall I think it’s a reasonably nice and cozy game that has a deceptive amount of strategic decision making to it for a game that has one action button: use coin on object.
The art is great, the sound design is great, but I almost think the constrained gameplay design hinders a lot of strategy. At times it feels like Starcraft if you couldn’t control your units behavior.
The fact that there isn’t really any text or notification or tutorial or anything means you have to learn by failure. I think a mark of true quality for a rogue game is if failure is at least fun in some way, but failing a run here feels bad at least half the time. Individual island runs take so long that if you soft lock yourself in economy, then failure feels like this slow strangulation until you hit the reset button manually.
The game is also frustratingly slow to me. The horse stamina is a system that I wish I could upgrade faster, as it’s really annoying to go from one end of the map to the other and having your horse object to going faster most of the time.
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Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games
AI52487963 LinkVellum This week we played the 3rd person hack and slash game Vellum for our podcast on roguelike games. Overall: I had fun with it. At first I was kind of meh in the art style and gameplay, but...Vellum
This week we played the 3rd person hack and slash game Vellum for our podcast on roguelike games.
Overall: I had fun with it. At first I was kind of meh in the art style and gameplay, but it grew on me a lot the more I played it. Vellum is very much a “don’t judge a book by its cover” game, as there’s quite a lot of new twists on the rogue formula here that are very interesting.
We all know the choose-one-from-three perk system that’s common in roguelikes these days but Vellum offers a twist for applying that formulas to the enemies as well after each stage. There’s a great amount of decision making on how you want to buff your opponents relative to yourself that builds over the 5 or 6 stages in a run in a novel way.
Online play is fun and interesting as well. There’s a voting system for applying buffs to your home base that meshes well with a coop environment and a lot other subtle design choices like that which I haven’t seen in other roguelite games.
It’s great fun for a 20-30 minute “filler” session and wound up being one of the top 10 “hidden gem” games we’ve covered so far on the podcast.
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Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games
AI52487963 LinkThis week we played the Hades-meets-Smash-Brothers action platformer Spiritfall for our podcast on roguelike games Overall: we really enjoyed this one. It finally felt like I was the Smash pro of...This week we played the Hades-meets-Smash-Brothers action platformer Spiritfall for our podcast on roguelike games
Overall: we really enjoyed this one. It finally felt like I was the Smash pro of the neighborhood instead of being that kid that got wavedashed on all the time lol. Spiritfall really does a good job of blending elements from Hades' god boon selection and synergy system with the combat style of Smash, but with some unique twists.
It's probably a good sign that I'm thirsty for more of it, as right now it kind of feels like the Smash 64 equivalent to that particular series. If a Smash Melee version of Spiritfall came out, man would that be an amazing game. It's already really good, but with some minor tweaks here and there it could be on par with Hades IMO.
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Comment on Experience on Mastodon in ~tech
AI52487963 LinkI have a podcast handle on gamedev.placeand enjoy the community a lot. It’s small, but fun and the guy running it seems like a chill dude. It does seem like a lot of bigger name game devs split...I have a podcast handle on gamedev.placeand enjoy the community a lot. It’s small, but fun and the guy running it seems like a chill dude.
It does seem like a lot of bigger name game devs split their time to bluesky, if not a majority of it. But they all have the same tacit fear of it being a ticking timebomb to enshittify in the next 5 years or less.
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Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games
AI52487963 LinkThis week we played the first person puzzle game Blue Prince for our podcast on roguelike games Overall we really liked it! Very innovative merging of old school point-and-click adventure games...This week we played the first person puzzle game Blue Prince for our podcast on roguelike games
Overall we really liked it! Very innovative merging of old school point-and-click adventure games with deckbuilding randomization mechanics. I think if you’re remotely interested in either, you’ll have a lot of fun with Blue Prince.
My main criticisms are twofold: RNG and note taking. I think the complaints about the games RNG are valid. I tested some nexus mods that give you a bit of help with rerolls and it helped immensely. You can bend the randomization to your will a little bit, but I don’t think you’re given enough meta progression tools to counter it.
A major part of the game is taking notes yourself in an actual physical real world notebook. This is fun to compare notes with others, but if you think you have a solution to something and it turns out wrong, it could be days until you find out by either someone else telling you or looking up the answer in the wiki.
The Outer Wilds has a genius system of in-game reference manual design that helps to keep your focus and guide you along the main quest and story. If something like that existed for Blue Prince, it would help me a ton. My podcast cohosts had no problem with many of the puzzles, so it’s likely a me thing, though.
In the end, I had a great time with Blue Prince. It definitely plays better as a “two brain game” where you can turn your steam deck screen to the person next to you on the voice and ask “what is this painting?” I like the cutscenes, art direction, and narrative a lot. I just sort of wish there was more of it.
I’m excited to see devs take this formula of randomized building design and apply it to other genres like survival horror or classic dungeon crawls like Legend of Grimrock. I think there’s a lot of potential to run with the formula and open up new gameplay styles from this, so kudos to Blue Prince for innovating it!
This week we played Orcs Must Die! Deathtrap for our podcast on roguelike/lite games.
Despite only one out of the four of us liking it, I feel this is one of the funnier episodes we’ve done in a while. Not every game is for everyone, but sometimes it is fun to dunk on questionable design decisions.
None of us ever played the other games in the OMD series, but I can sympathize with some of the reviews the game got in their behalf. Having to wait 4 years for a new entry and getting…this would make me similarly frustrated.
Deathtrap looks good, it plays good in the moment, but when compared to our episode we just did previously to Deadzone Rogue or with the mega hit Elden Ring Nightreign, OMD Deathtrap feels like an especially lackluster experience that was a riot to pick apart.