PancakeCats's recent activity
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Comment on Grand Theft Auto VI | Launch trailer in ~games
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Comment on Grand Theft Auto VI | Launch trailer in ~games
PancakeCats Link ParentI'm not sure I would say either prioritizes the right things, they just prioritize different things since they are aiming to deliver different experiences, beyond the most surface level connective...I'm not sure I would say either prioritizes the right things, they just prioritize different things since they are aiming to deliver different experiences, beyond the most surface level connective tissue of "open world video game." I know I'm really the problem here but I don't find having this dichotomy of player agency levels in the linear content verse the open world content to be an issue. Personally I don't even feel like Rockstar sells the game as anything other than what is, a cinematic narrative action game experience set in an expansive simulated open world. I don't find much disappointment in that aspect since I'm not expecting otherwise. If anything it's the culture around the games more than the games themselves that sell the series as this go anywhere do anything freeform experience. Which is certainly a facet of the game, but not what Rockstar is aiming for at the top level.
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Comment on Grand Theft Auto VI | Launch trailer in ~games
PancakeCats Link ParentWhile the goal is definitely selling Shark cards in a persistent online mode, I think Red Dead Redemption 2 proves singleplayer isn't just an afterthought. Even GTA V didn't launch with that...While the goal is definitely selling Shark cards in a persistent online mode, I think Red Dead Redemption 2 proves singleplayer isn't just an afterthought. Even GTA V didn't launch with that intent, it was only after GTAO became incredibly massive that they scrapped other singleplayer content in the aims of filling out online and putting more effort into the runaway success that consistently gains traction and earns more money. I think this a reasonable and understandable, albeit disappointing, decision to make, especially at the time. Rockstar was doing well pre-GTA V but they are in a whole other league after that game's wild success.
Rockstar went on to put the mind boggling revenue of GTAO ($500M a year well after its heyday) towards one of the most ambitious singleplayer experiences of all time. You may not like the game or agree with the design decisions of the RDR2, but I think its pretty safe to objectively say that RDR2 is art made with immense love and care for the craft (and horrific abusive crunch workculture), enabled by this borderline mythic level cash cow. They definitely tried for a second round at that with RDR Online, and if they had put the same level of work and care into it, its possible it might have gotten there. Alas Rockstar didn't commit and it languished early, leading to end of life support being announced maybe a few years in at most.
And yet, with this new GTA outing, they have said nothing about online, not even directly confirming its existence, and have focused entirely on the singleplayer. A seemingly luxurious, rich, and extensive singleplayer which appears to be taking far more from RDR 2 than GTA V, so much so I would say this new game is actually a sequel to the former more than the latter, tonally and mechanically. Which again reads to me that they put a lot of weight, love, and care into these singleplayer experiences as art and worthy of existing on their own. If the goal was only to make a vehicle to get you into the online money pits, they would surely try to follow up on the game that successfully created those money pits rather than the one that failed to do so, no? And it's not like RDR2 was a failure, the game still sold 87M units since launch, placing it in the top 5 selling games of all time, succeeded only by GTA V, Minecraft, and Tetris (if you combine different versions of the game). But even that is only just over a third of what their prior title has made, even with 5 less years of existence.
Given that, while I agree they will be squeezing us, because they know they can, it's admirable to continue to use a sizeable chunk of that towards creating more art. Art made with love and intent that exists on some level beyond extracting as many in app purchases as possible from as many people as possible. I think it's entirely possible at this point that the next online component will be a separate experience entirely, unattached from the singleplayer release of GTA VI. Even cynically viewed, GTA VI is a prudent stepping stone and foundation towards another infinite money machine, sure, but it does not feel like an afterthought.
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Comment on Grand Theft Auto VI | Launch trailer in ~games
PancakeCats Link ParentThis is an interesting example to make since I think they actually both suffer from a similar issue of appearing freeform on the surface but actually being rather restrictive when you poke at the...This is an interesting example to make since I think they actually both suffer from a similar issue of appearing freeform on the surface but actually being rather restrictive when you poke at the edges. I feel this is especially true in regards to Skyrim, but the cracks first started to show in Oblivion.
Both Bethesda and Rockstar employ quest design that essentially amounts to playing a role in a script more than a character with agency. Most quests are binary, do this thing or fail the quest, and failure states are rarely interesting or have any follow through. I suppose Bethesda lets you continue playing in the failure state, but for most quests it might as well be a game over. Once you fail a quest in a chain there is no other progression that can happen afterwards for any questlines that actually compose the majority of the narrative content in the game. This is no different in my eyes than backing out of the gameover screen in a Rockstar game and playing the other openworld content.
Both games let you kill random NPCs but restrict player action in any meaningful way towards NPCs of any consequence, dubbed Essential NPCs in Bethesda games. And even the way you interact with NPCs you do have power over is restricted to killing them or not. When you are trying to kill them, you have about the same level of options in an Elder Scrolls as a selection of weapons in a GTA. When you arent, interaction is mostly limited to basic limited dialogue, usually from the NPC (especially pre RDR2) and without any consequence or effect beyond basic immersion. You always arrive at the predestined end point the devs prescribed for you, and any "choice" before the final binary decision making is usually an illusion of wieght and conseqeuence. Nothing besides their final choice makes any difference, whether in a Bethesda questline or a Rockstar campaign.
--Not attacthing any judgement towards you in this observation, I just found it to be an interesting thought path spurred by your comparison. --
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Comment on Fortnite is coming to Linux on the Epic Games Launcher in ~games
PancakeCats Link ParentIt feels a bit strange to outright call it vibecoded in the announcement? Even among AI coding supporters, I thought vibecoding had a generally negative connotation? Maybe my definition of it is...It feels a bit strange to outright call it vibecoded in the announcement? Even among AI coding supporters, I thought vibecoding had a generally negative connotation? Maybe my definition of it is lacking, but vibecoding is essentially taking all of the human process and understanding out and letting the LLM do all of the work, review, and maintenance of the code base and not having a human overseeing production beyond telling the LLM what they are hoping the final product will be? I'm not a fan of most AI usage due to ethical and environmental concerns, so it might just be my lack of up to date knowledge on the field culturally speaking.
Here at least, it feels like its an outright admittance of not giving a single fuck about the product, while also shitting on the prior product that you were supposed to stand behind (which was pretty ass, to be completely honest, sorry OG devs). Maybe that original team got mostly axed in the recent layoffs and now they literally dont have anyone left with the skillset to make a storefront? The whole press release just had an odd, dismissive of your own talent sort of tone to it, which really puts me even further off ever using any of their products. It's just... odd, from a corporate PR perspective.
(Not that i was in the target market for this in the first place. While im practically exclusively using Linux these days, im certainly not a fortnite player or someone who wants to support Tim Sweeney in any way.)
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Comment on Fall 2026 | Which anime do you look forward to? in ~anime
PancakeCats Link ParentFwiw I have really enjoyed the first couple seasons of Ranma 1/2! The original is actually one of the first anime i was ever shown by a friend, and I didnt really stick with it then. Loving the...Fwiw I have really enjoyed the first couple seasons of Ranma 1/2! The original is actually one of the first anime i was ever shown by a friend, and I didnt really stick with it then. Loving the reboot now though, the animation in the first season especially is very unique and a strong first showing, even if it does lose some of its stylistic flair in s2. It does sort of suffer from classic anime/manga mirage progression which I strongly dislike in most instances, but here at least it feels like we are inching forward towards actual growth and development a little bit at a time. And the show is charming enough that it gets away with it. Hoping they continue on a solid upward trend in S3.
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Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games
PancakeCats Link ParentIt's been a few years, but I remember going offroad being a high risk high reward way of ditching cops, as well as weaving through oncoming traffic. Cops tend to wreck themselves in the latter...It's been a few years, but I remember going offroad being a high risk high reward way of ditching cops, as well as weaving through oncoming traffic. Cops tend to wreck themselves in the latter especially which really helps lose wanted levels faster. And for offroading, even the more city tuned cars can still get away with some wild shit in the mud. Combine those with a lot of tight turns or 180s on highways or down side streets and I found I was able to get away from most chases fairly easily until later on when they start throwing helicopters at you, which can be avoided using tunnels but definitely complicate going offroad if they are locked in. I think there are a few late game upgrades that help reduce the time it takes to lose them as well? Or maybe harder for them to spot you.
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Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games
PancakeCats Link ParentI got really into Unbound when it released a few years ago, fell in love with the campaign in a big way. There is something so satisfying to the loop of the game, trying to earn enough money to...I got really into Unbound when it released a few years ago, fell in love with the campaign in a big way. There is something so satisfying to the loop of the game, trying to earn enough money to both invest toward your car and pay for the buyin for the qualifier each week. Learning my car's handling to the point of feeling like Baby Driver during chase sequences with the cops was beyond satisfying. Car customization was also a lot of fun, I got absorbed in making each car distinct and stylized. I ended up getting pretty deep in, but fucked myself when i overextended my primary car up to S class. instead of leaving it as A+ where it was unstoppable, I put the money I should have used towards a new super car and got all the S-class parts and got it to a high enough rating in theory, but in practice the baseline was subpar enough that even a single slip up costing me any speed or acceleration at all would cost me the race. I love that the game forced me to live with this consequence, but at the same time it killed the playthrough so maybe a rollback to some degree would have been appreciated. I've been itching to start a new playthrough, so I picked up the ultimate edition on sale recently.
Agree that the soundtrack is banging, particular standouts in my memory are the Pixies cover, "Check The Lock," and a French(I think) rap song I cant recall the name of.
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Comment on Jon Watts is our ‘Star Wars: Episode X’ director in ~movies
PancakeCats Link ParentI've written about this at length on this site before in response to a similar comment, but ill stay more succint here. Even as a mild fan of the original series, there is so much more to the...I've written about this at length on this site before in response to a similar comment, but ill stay more succint here. Even as a mild fan of the original series, there is so much more to the franchise identity than just the Skywalker Family. Sure it's a throughline across most of the current series, but the worldbuilding specific to star wars, the light side/dark side struggles, anti authoritaran commentary, the iconography of the tech and the aliens, that is the core identity of the IP, the Skywalkers are just one vehicle to explore those things. Bioware's Knights of the Old Republic and Obsidian's sequel to it are the best and most thought provoking Star Wars media I have ever experienced by a large margin, exploring the politics, socioeconomics, and religion of the setting in ways that far outpace the movies in terms of depth. They are also set thousands of years before Anakin was even born and are essentially self contained. You don't need a chump related to Luke in someway to explore the settings themes and iconography.
If that read isnt cynical enough for you, you put it in the Star Wars franchise instead of an original IP for monetary and brand recognition reasons. People will turn out for Star Wars (or at least, they would have prior to the new trilogy being shat out with no overarching vision), but they might not turn out for Space Rebels: Fight For Freedom or whatever else they would call it.
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Comment on Small talk, ice breakers, lines in ~talk
PancakeCats LinkI interact with a lot of people in my work days, and during down time get to make a lot of small talk. Outside of my usual go-to's like "Any plans for the weekend?" or "What's the plan for the...I interact with a lot of people in my work days, and during down time get to make a lot of small talk. Outside of my usual go-to's like "Any plans for the weekend?" or "What's the plan for the evening?" I'll sometimes spice it up with some less plain questions, usually about a topic of discussion already being had with coworkers. Some recent favorites include:
-Do you believe in Bigfoot? Do you believe in the Lochness Monster? ( I live in the southeast US, and a lot of people said yes to Bigfoot and no to Lochness. Non locals were more likely to say no to both. All anecdotal evidence ofc.)
-Would you rather see Pitbull live or Limp Bizkit live? (an astonishing amount of people said Limp Bizkit, I could hardly believe my ears.)
-Are burgers a sandwich? (Again, an astonishing amount of people said no, burgers are burgers and sandwiches are their own separate category.)
-If you could see any band live, whether currently touring or disbanded, what would it be and why?I find questions like these are great at getting people to talk about themselves and open up to further conversations. Personally I view small talk as quick way to establish common ground so we can dig into the more interesting things, and never really understand why it's so despised.
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Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games
PancakeCats Link ParentI just finished a playthrough of Halo: CE coop with my partner and have been feeling much the same as you about this original outing. There sure are a lot of samey corridors in this game. The game...I just finished a playthrough of Halo: CE coop with my partner and have been feeling much the same as you about this original outing. There sure are a lot of samey corridors in this game. The game kind of tricks you with that first level, which feels open and expansive and showcases the nature of the ring. And then the game just shoves you in narrow grey corridors for the majority of the run time. I havent played any the campaigns, bar Halo: Reach, since I was a kid, and I remember there being more interesting levels in the following games, Halo 3 and Reach especially. The following games also add more options to the combat sandbox, which is the reason I play halo anyways. The guns feel good to shoot, the options are varied, there are more vehicles, and its a blast with a friend.
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Comment on Ahead of an all-digital future for PlayStation, Sony needs to prove in courts that players know they don't own digitally purchased games in ~games
PancakeCats Link ParentThis a good point, I remembered the case but never actually read the full media release. Thanks for bringing it back up. Here's hoping we get better consumer rights before they decide its no...This a good point, I remembered the case but never actually read the full media release. Thanks for bringing it back up. Here's hoping we get better consumer rights before they decide its no longer worth it.
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Comment on Ahead of an all-digital future for PlayStation, Sony needs to prove in courts that players know they don't own digitally purchased games in ~games
PancakeCats Link ParentThey didnt offer a meaningful benefit for customers in return. Its only net negatives for everybody but Sony, and they arent even trying to hide it. I suspect if they made a disc to digital...They didnt offer a meaningful benefit for customers in return. Its only net negatives for everybody but Sony, and they arent even trying to hide it. I suspect if they made a disc to digital program like Xbox and a resale market on digital copies then there would be less pushback from consumers, but retail game businesses would still pushback.
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Comment on Ahead of an all-digital future for PlayStation, Sony needs to prove in courts that players know they don't own digitally purchased games in ~games
PancakeCats Link ParentI dont know, it's not very surprising that people like the monopoly that treats them well and has for decades. Steam is probably one of the most consumer friendly companies in the industry, and by...I dont know, it's not very surprising that people like the monopoly that treats them well and has for decades. Steam is probably one of the most consumer friendly companies in the industry, and by far the most consumer friendly platform in gaming among the major players. Not to mention how entrenched people are in its ecosystem/communites after said decades. Most people arent thinking about it that deeply or at all, and Steam isn't obviously harmful at a glance. Even though it does still do harmful monopoly things, it's usually not harmful to their users.
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Comment on Ahead of an all-digital future for PlayStation, Sony needs to prove in courts that players know they don't own digitally purchased games in ~games
PancakeCats (edited )Link ParentI'm sorry, the PSN refund window is prior to download? What's the point then, if by the time you download it you have already nullified your ability to refund it. At least with Steam you can run...I'm sorry, the PSN refund window is prior to download? What's the point then, if by the time you download it you have already nullified your ability to refund it. At least with Steam you can run the game at least once to make sure it works and is something you feel was properly worth your money. Two hours may not be enough, but its something compared to "prior to download." Maybe I'm misunderstanding your meaning, but thats not parity at all in that instance.
Additionally, you can and always could continue to play CS:GO through the beta branch feature, and last I heard it still had an active enough player base to find matches. It definitely still sucks though, making the forums and achievements and reviews for both games merge together is a messy & unnecessary move. And PlayStation would do the exact same thing if they decided it suited their interests. So if anything both scenarios just reinforce why we need better digital purchasing/ownership rights as consumers.
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Comment on What are your current pain points with Linux? in ~tech
PancakeCats Link ParentExactly, my monitors are just a display, nothing more. Buying updated displays isnt exactly appealing with the state of todays tech landscape, in both price and levels of bloat. And if anything,...Exactly, my monitors are just a display, nothing more. Buying updated displays isnt exactly appealing with the state of todays tech landscape, in both price and levels of bloat. And if anything, the lower specs have helped my Nvidia 2080 go a lot farther than it otherwise might have.
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Comment on What are your current pain points with Linux? in ~tech
PancakeCats LinkI switched to linux at the start of the year after hitting my breaking point dealing with Windows trying to control my PC. I went with Bazzite for something that was focused around out of the box...I switched to linux at the start of the year after hitting my breaking point dealing with Windows trying to control my PC. I went with Bazzite for something that was focused around out of the box support for NVIDIA cards and my intended uses. Overall its been a fairly painless transition/experience, and I have a seperate older drive in case I need Windows for whatever cursed reason. Its been months since I last loaded Windows though.
My computer is unrelated to my work, so productivity software is mostly a non issue. As far as gaming goes, my main pain points have been dual monitor support and cursor locking. Im a freak who still uses my monitors i got 12(!) years ago, 1600x900. I inherited a 1920x1080 monitor from a roommate, and was using that alongside the other 900p monitor. I've since given it to my partner after she got a PC for her work, but while I had two different sized monitors I had a plethora of issues related to cursor locking in games and applications. The issues were inconsistent and hard to diagnose, and eventually I resorted to just shutting off the other monitor when problems arose. After switching back to two monitors of the same size, issues mostly went away. Here and there I have cursor locking troubles but I can usually fix it quickly. Bazzite has decent documentation for most things I need from it and there are countless forums to search while I learn the OS better.
It's been a lot of fun to have a computer feel new again, and feel like a tool im controlling instead of something held hostage by a company I despise.
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Comment on Who likes GTA? in ~games
PancakeCats LinkI am a fan of most of Rockstar's output, seemingly against the grain here, so I'll wax poetic on why I have always enjoyed these games, and why I think a lot of people cant seem to quite gel with...I am a fan of most of Rockstar's output, seemingly against the grain here, so I'll wax poetic on why I have always enjoyed these games, and why I think a lot of people cant seem to quite gel with what Rockstar is doing. I think what drew me in to most of the games in their catalogue, going back to playing Vice City and San Andreas as a kid, is the world's Rockstar creates with each release. The humor ranges from gross and low hanging to fine, the gameplay is serviceable to quite good depending on the title and it's age, but the sense of place these games offer are, in my opinion, unparalleled by any other open world game on the market, bar maybe Suckerpunch's recent outings in the "Ghost of Tsushima/Yotei" series. (Even then, those games are going after different things, with a more condensed world that acts more as a traditional game space than a believable space the player inhabits during their playtime.) Getting to know the map of a GTA game is satisfying, driving around the map while listening to Rockstar's wonderful and varied radio stations is borderline therapeutic, and depending on the game, I think they offer genuinely compelling character driven narratives that align to identity of each space Rockstar is trying to capture, for better or worse.
More than anything else, I think the reason to play these games, the reason I keep coming back to them time after time, is for the world that they build as a foundation for each outing. It's why I have hundreds of hours in each title, including GTA V which I think isn't that great of a game after playing it for over a decade. The gameplay itself can sometimes be caught between open ended sandbox and linear narrative in a way that is clashing and off putting to certain players. Even still, I love existing in these spaces, and its the one thing Rockstar has rarely fumbled in all of their output. If you want (very lengthy) expanded thoughts on the series and why I think the games have become more polarized as time has gone on, I've tucked them away in the box below.
Long winded retrospection on the evolution of Rockstar's output & my reasoning as to why the games have both the cultural status and complicated reception they carry.
Nowadays, what is considered believable and impressive has shifted, but at the time of release, each game pushed the boundaries of what was possible on the consoles they released on. GTA III practically pioneered the open world genre as we know it, and each subsequent release raised the bar in some aspect, whether it be size, atmosphere, or simulation complexity. GTA: Vice City was an effective time capsule of 80's nostalgia. GTA: San Andreas felt like an expansive world with multiple states and cities, all capturing unique vibes, and had probably the most fleshed out world in the series in terms of interactivity and systems. Continued hits led to a cultural weight behind Rockstar's output, each game being a technical showcase as much as a kooky sandbox. This continues in GTA IV, which is a very physics driven title, which remains impressive considering the limited hardware to work with on its original platforms of release. It was also a notable upgrade in cinematic ambitions for Rockstar, which have always injected cinematic inspirations into their games, but now the games had more believable characters and more of a focus on cinematography and direction. I think this is where the divide in what people want from Rockstar games and what Rockstar is trying to deliver with their games starts to widen.
From IV onward, Rockstar starts to deliver stories with more substance, if you dive beneath the satirical surface, at the cost of tightening the reigns on the player. Niko's story focuses on the shattering illusion of the American dream in a gritty HBOesque narrative, and as such they reel in the absurdity, reel in the player's ability to cause mayhem, and reel in the expansive maps to a claustrophobic rats nest interpretation of New York, instead of the glitzy dreamland it can often be sold as. And much more than previous games, the character you inhabit feels like a fleshed out character you control through a narrative, rather than a caricature to possess to interact with a sandbox.
Red Dead Redemption continues this trend, focusing on a former outlaw in the dying throws of the Wild West, and reigns in the chaos even more, bucking sandbox player freedom for a character driven romp through the cowboy genre and western pastiche. John Marston, the protagonist of the first Red Dead outing, is character with principles and ideals, such as a commitment to wife and son you never even see for the majority of the experience that is held so strongly, that the game doesn't let you hire prostitutes, a first in Rockstar's output since GTA III. That may be a small and strange thing to highlight on paper, but I think its emblematic of a move away from full player freedom and a further step on the path towards character driven experiences. You can still shoot up a town and run from the law, but beyond that most activities and interactions in the game are firmly in the bounds of "is this something John Marston would do?" Missions become more linear, story telling is stronger but more focused in scope, and sandbox complexity takes a back seat. Even still, the world they create is as masterfully crafted as ever, offering multiple different flavors of western landscapes and phenomenal ambience. As a lifelong fan of the western setting, it's a joy to just exist in the space, listening to the sparse guitar and crickets.
Then we come to GTA V, which was a seminal release in it's day, 13(!!!) years ago, but I think has aged the worst out of any Rockstar's output in the HD era. It hit this critical mass that few games do, selling faster than any entertainment property ever, because even still, Rockstar is pushing the boundaries of what is possible in these types of games and the consoles they release on. It is definitely dated now, but even the original Xbox 360/PS3 release of GTA V is astonishing in the fidelity and scale for a console with 512mb of ram. Unfortunately, I think Rockstar's cinematic ambitions cause this game to suffer more than any other, depicting a shallow, hollow, corrosive image of life in LA/Hollywood. Characters are almost unanimously shallow and shitty people who are rarely fun to be around, the game focuses on spectacle more than systemic substance, and outside of the main narrative there are few interesting things to engage with. At the same time, its the most widely accessible game to date, the map is their best yet, and the multiplayer, GTA Online, is a seismic shift in the series's tone, gameplay, and focus. It's the most chaotic sandbox that Rockstar has offered in years, free from narrative ambitions and chained instead by capitalist satire morphed into genuine greed. The studio has more money than god, all eyes on them as a borderline religious figure in the industry, and instead of chasing another GTA V, they pull a 180 back into Red Dead Redemption's slower character driven gameplay with the release of Red Dead Redemption 2.
I think Red Dead Redemption 2 outclasses all of Rockstar's previous output by far, it's not even close. At the same time, the divide between the players expectations of the Sandbox and Rockstar's intent for the experience is at its widest. Especially after GTA V's style over substance, all gas no brakes approach, it could be jarring how much they slowed everything down, from the story pacing to the animations and movement. It's a brave choice, coming off of the runaway success of GTA V knowing it might alienate players of that game. Luckily the game they made was so compelling it sold almost as many copies anyway.
The game is more committed to its characters than ever, with Arthur Morgan being one of the all time greats of player characters. Beneath a gruff towering mass of muscle and questionable morality is a complicated man with depth and unexpected insight, who is still written with enough room for however the player might choose to play him. It's genuinely astonishing how well they pulled this off, and how deeply they committed to their choices for the game's design around Arthur's character. In every aspect, the game encourages you to slow down and take it all in. Hunting and fishing are large parts of the games recreational systems, and both require thoughtful preparation and care to really make the most of. You can't really rush RDR 2, not if you want to get the best experience from the game and truly absorb what it's trying to impart.
Outside of the open world, Rockstar's heavy hands are much more noticeable. The more you try to poke at the edges of the narrative experience the more you see the ropes just out of view, cordoning off experimentation and freeform mission structure in favor a cinematic mostly linear narrative that has you shooting countless people throughout the runtime to make the TV show a bit more interactive. I don't mind this so much, I'm not really looking for freedom in the mission structure in these games, but a lot of people rub up against this. People see this expansive open world with so much to see and do, and expect it to translate into the campaign. This is reasonable to an extent, but its never been how Rockstar operates, at least in the modern era of their games, and its never really advertised as such. In the end, I think its a problem of mismatched expectations of what Rockstar wants these experiences to be, and what players idealize these experiences to be in their heads.
From the looks of it, GTA VI seems to be injecting more Red Dead DNA and for me, that is fantastic news. It's another brave choice, going deeper into the systemic sea of Red Dead instead of going back to GTA V's flashy accessible puddle. The line between cutscene and gameplay seems more blurred than ever, and while I'm on board for more of Rockstar's storytelling, I can see this being a big issue for a lot of fans. The game isn't in our hands yet, but it seems like you might be relinquishing control far more than prior entries during the main story, while having far more systemic substance in the open world in trade. I have already seen so much negative discourse from people who hyped themselves up far too much for what was always going to be another Rockstar game that pushes the envelope technically and in narrative. It was never going to be a truly life changing game, it was never going to redefine gaming forever. That's just what people wanted it to be after so much build up. Take the game for what it is, what Rockstar has intended it to be, and I think people will have far less disappointment around it. That's not to say people can't like Rockstar's output, or the studio itself, I just rub up against people who are angry about a game they made up in their own heads not materializing.
(Wow thats a lot of yapping, thanks for reading all that if you made it this far. Am I rambling incoherently? Am I full of shit? Please let me know. I love hearing measured takes on these games that have more thought than a 12 year old's comment history.)
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Comment on Wildfires expose — and detonate — buried bombs and mines from World War I and World War II in ~enviro
PancakeCats Link ParentIt never fails to amaze me how often humans toss their trash into the closest source for one of their most vital needs. Toxic waste from the local industry? Dump it in the river. Unused ordinance?...It never fails to amaze me how often humans toss their trash into the closest source for one of their most vital needs. Toxic waste from the local industry? Dump it in the river. Unused ordinance? Dump it in the river. Human waste? Dump it in the river. Doesnt matter that we bathe in said river, or that we drink from it. We just don't wanna deal with this inconvenience in the now, so in the closest water source it goes. Hopefully the bombs that don't explode from the wildfires get disposed of in a better way, ideally recycled for other uses away from killing.
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Comment on What game are you terrible at? in ~games
PancakeCats Link ParentYes! This monent for me was the first fight with the claw guys who swipe rapidly. It was the first time I felt the rhythm of the combat, which I soon started to feel everywhere, and the game...Yes! This monent for me was the first fight with the claw guys who swipe rapidly. It was the first time I felt the rhythm of the combat, which I soon started to feel everywhere, and the game clicked. In my case, I even got the satisfaction of it all clicking on two seperate occasions. I replayed it on my steam deck last year, after having originally played on mouse and keyboard around launch. I got to essentially relearn to play the game on controller, and it honestly felt like slowly getting back in the swing of an instrument. When you get the flow right, its really quite a beautiful dance.
These are definitely valid and understandable concerns to have, especially given the track record on display. But for me, RDR2 really sold me on Rockstar's continued singleplayer output. That was such a rich, enjoyable, and well realized singleplayer experience, probably one of the most memorable I have had in years. There were a few iffy things like preorder bonuses locking off minor one off side activities, but I never felt like I was lacking a piece of the full game. There was so much game in there I forgot about the preorder content pretty quick. I'm a tad less optimistic with that being the case here, being that entire stores are locked off which definitely sucks, but from everything I have read (finely tuned marketing, I know) in the lead up, the game seems to be very expansive and well realized once again.
Another not insignificant piece of the puzzle is that some of the upper management in the studio has gone through some big (seemingly positive) changes. Former studio head Dan Houser dipped after RDR2's release, and if Jason Schreier's recent reporting on the game's development is to be believed, a lot of the toxic upper management has been purged. Those who stepped into fill those roles are also people who have been with the company for decades, like Aaron Garbut who has been credited as art director and for open world design since GTA 1 and is now a design director on the project. To me this says this is a Rockstar invested in somewhat cleaning up their image and culture, which I'm optimistic will lead to a better game and consumer experience, at least in this aspect of the release.
While valid, I think it's important to add that Rockstar tends to be one project studio, and beyond the skeleton teams supporting online, everything and everyone went towards RDR2. Given that a large share of the online content updates are reportedly repurposed scrapped singleplayer expansions, I think GTA V is a case of having something blow up beyond what even the studio expected and pivoting to where the money is. Then using that money to fund your next big project, which crucially didn't sacrifice its integrity in favor of chasing online dollars. The online of that game was clearly given less priority and resources, and it's bare bones nature shows. It definitely sucks to not see further singleplayer support for these titles post launch, but if it means we get more lavish singleplayer experiences down the line, I think I'll take that devil's deal.
As you say, time will tell if this is misplaced optimism or not, but even with GTA V's rough post launch support, I don't see this Rockstar as a studio willing to substantially compromise their output in favor of chasing more money when they already have more money than god. Maybe that's naive, because even as I write this I'm grappling with my own faith in a company to produce worthwhile art when companies are always incentivized to extract as much as possible. Maybe its a desperate attempt to cling to some optimism in an industry constantly flooded by negativity and dread. In any case, I appreciate your perspective for helping sober those expectations up.