Spaz'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
Spaz (edited )LinkAn update on my Noita misadventures for @ICN - Spoiler warning for anyone else This week I made somewhere around 20 attempts to survive the depths but unfortunately only a few of the runs were...An update on my Noita misadventures for @ICN - Spoiler warning for anyone else
This week I made somewhere around 20 attempts to survive the depths but unfortunately only a few of the runs were noteworthy. Though I have started to figure out a lot more stuff regarding wand building and have uncovered a few more secrets along the way. I now know why Stevari shows up after attempting to cut my way out of the Holy Mountain. In retrospect my first posts must have been amusing for someone that knows the game well and understood that the worm which cut the hole in the ceiling was the reason I had to fight the skeletal god.
My first run of significance started with the finding of a wand that had a triple cast and 4 plasma cutter spells on it all of a handful of metres into the mines. After clearing the mines and realizing the plasma seemed to be able to cut through everything I was curious if I could cut a path through the tree outside. Leaving the mines I went to the tree and decided to work my way to the top just to see what was up there. Along the way I found a room with the Kantele and some notes, and while I didn't know what I could do with it at the time on a later run I accidentally figured out that it can open a portal back to the surface... not that I can recall the combination to do that however. After visiting the top of the tree, which I assume might be a boss fight area to be triggered somehow with the Kantele, I went down the other side and saw some tombstone nestled in a nook carved out of the trunk. Again I've yet to figure out what to do there. I continued on my way into the frozen wastes to the West. After a short hike I noticed what looked like caverns under the snow and began to burn my way down with my trusty plasma cutter. Mere moments later I lost my footing as the snow shifted and fell into my array of plasma beams below, promptly ending my life.
Another run ended quickly after making my way across the lava pool East of the mines and beyond the bridge finding the mech-squid boss who dispatched me with ease. On a subsequent trip I found another plasma cutter wand and decided to see what lay below the bridge itself. I was climbing down the left wall carefully for what felt like an eternity when some ominous music began playing. Scared of what may arise from beneath me I began cutting my way into the rock when I started to notice the faint glow of something in the wall. A nuke... why is there a nuke down here and why do I feel like this tablet is foreshadowing something terrible. This run concluded soon after by accidentally throwing the bottle of acid I was carrying, melting myself into a puddle of goo.
A dozen or so runs passed before I was making any good progress into the dungeons once more. With some great luck I was able to find more hearts than ever before, crafted a minigun-like wand that never ran out of mana, had two ambrosia bottles and found a nuke orbit spell on my way through the jungle. If I could just make it to the end then surely my wand firing a spark bolt trigger that explodes into chainsaws and magic arrows surrounded by spinning nukes would vaporize anything standing before my path to glory.
Like a ghost I tip-toed my way through the Temple of the Art until I laid my eyes upon the glowing red gateway. I finally made it, beyond the great crimson portal and into the terrifying unknown.
I approached the spider-like three eyed behemoth with caution expecting it to attack the moment I was within striking range. Upon realizing I would have to be the one to initiate the fight I took some time to prepare myself by strategically placing some puddles of ambrosia around our battle theatre. Finally as prepared as I ever would be, we began. Immediately retreating to the right I jumped into my ambrosia before launching the earth shattering nuclear chainsaw payload... which he threw right back at me sending me flying off and into the awaiting lava below where, once again, I was liquefied. Now I know that fireproof doesn't mean lavaproof.
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Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games
Spaz Link ParentIt's helpful to know that some of the secrets are meant to be that obscure, and with that knowledge I'm going to give myself 24 hours of playtime after completing my first run before I start...It's helpful to know that some of the secrets are meant to be that obscure, and with that knowledge I'm going to give myself 24 hours of playtime after completing my first run before I start looking stuff up.
Not that it matters now since I died and lost that wand but I had that Spells to Power modifier near the end of my run! I didn't even try it as I figured Circle of Stillness didn't count as a projectile, assuming it was some kind of shield spell. Also I recall that Spells to Power had a crazy high amount of mana drain so it sat in my inventory unused.
When I returned to Noita last night I found Stevari in the Holy Mountain waiting for me which was a surprise, this must be the Steve that @Soggy mentioned. I'm really hoping I don't have to deal with mini-bosses in the Holy Mountains past the Hiisi base.
My main wand was pretty good as it had very low cast/recharge and a decent mana pool/regen. I had set it up using a couple sparkbolt triggers that then released even more sparkbolts with damage plus, it could burst about 900-1000 damage before depleting my mana and would regen fully in under one second. It was able to shred Steve and turn him into bone dust pretty quickly but he still managed to claim half of my HP. Luckily I found a hole in the ceiling of the Holy Mountain that must have been made by that worm I saw earlier. With that I took a chance and went back up into the Hiisi base, found a healer Hiisi and charmed it with some pheromone potion to make it heal me. I found out about that trick on a earlier run when I stumbled upon a healer that had already fallen into a pool of pheromone liquid.
Now making my way down into the jungle I had full health, was immune to explosions and fire. Things were looking up. Maybe it was because of my perks but the jungle was surprisingly easy so I took my time and collected an obscene amount of gold. I found the Dragoncave with the giant egg in it and played it safe by casting a silly number of Circles of Stillness around the room before attempting to break the egg open. I expected a dragon so I was caught off guard when the giant red worm emerged. Thankfully my precautions paid off and my wand was able to slay this worm of unusual size with relative ease. After that I continued on to the next Holy Mountain at the end of the jungle.
Again Stevari was waiting for me there but luck remained on my side and I ground him up before he could so much as lay a single boney finger on me. This time I got a perk that let me edit my wands anywhere which sounds like it could be one of the best perks one could get, though it would have been nice to get it a bit earlier in the journey. I continued on my descent into the Vault.
Dropping down into the vault things seemed to be oddly quiet for a change, all my other entrances into the previous sections were met with instant chaos and combat. Little did I know what waited for me beyond those stacked boxes.
I booted the crates out of the way like the unstoppable noita I was only to be greeted by two robot ninjas wielding lightsabres and shields... my wand was useless against them and I was made into a pile of minced meat before I could even comprehend how dire the situation was. Saatana...
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Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games
Spaz Link ParentI thought about doing that but want to play around with the world generation for the second run to make it more of a challenge. Having kept the default settings for my first world I found that the...I thought about doing that but want to play around with the world generation for the second run to make it more of a challenge. Having kept the default settings for my first world I found that the biters ended up being far too easy even with pretty light defenses. Also I want to take a look at some mods after this vanilla run is completed.
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Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games
Spaz Link ParentThat's really cool, I'm glad to hear there's more than just going down into the depths. I actually died before even going into the cave for the first time; I went to the left and found the tree,...That's really cool, I'm glad to hear there's more than just going down into the depths. I actually died before even going into the cave for the first time; I went to the left and found the tree, then went up the tree and got an egg, became greedy, died.
A few runs later I was in the first layer and could see the other side of the mountain, had some awfully slow lightsabre wand and painstakingly chipped my way out to the surface. I ran through a desert to find a mysterious pyramid and entered, everything seemed okay until I stumbled upon a large green mass that wasn't doing anything. By this time I was already paranoid of the environment so I didn't chance it and left it alone assuming it was an area probably intended to be done when you're better equipped. I probably should have just taken the chance though as I was promptly killed by falling into acid upon returning to the cave.
I'm guessing angering the gods is all part of the standard experience and Steve is probably just another noita that upset these gods too, right? Are we going to have a god angering party down there? That would be cool...
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Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games
Spaz Link ParentI'm a big fan of challenging games so I've been enjoying Noita's brutality so far and I'm not surprised that the player ends up being one of the biggest dangers to themselves. I'd guess about half...I'm a big fan of challenging games so I've been enjoying Noita's brutality so far and I'm not surprised that the player ends up being one of the biggest dangers to themselves. I'd guess about half of my deaths at this point have been by my own hands. I'll be sure to post an update on my misadventures in next weeks What are you playing thread for you.
I'll have to take a closer look at the tablet, I didn't hover over it for more than a second figuring that it would be deciphered by some game mechanic later on in the game. All I've been using it for so far is throwing it at things, it definitely helped me out early on in the Fungal Caverns with those big purple tanky squid things. I'm guessing the tablets (found two different ones so far) have some special use otherwise, they're too mysterious to not do something beyond being a fancy rock to throw at creatures.
I had figured out the kick direction stuff but it's good to know about the spell force depending on cursor distance. Also the right click to drink will be very useful, previously I was spraying potions on the ground to drink them. I'm still not sure what the point of eating is but I do know that very bad things happen if you eat way, way too much.
Might have to hit you up on that offer to avoid any big spoilers. The only thing I want to know right now would be is it possible to strip a wand of an "always casts X" modifier? I've found a really awesome wand but the problem is that it casts Circle of Stillness every time, which at first seemed great, but my game crawls down to a handful of frames per second after I cast it around 20 times making it mostly useless to me.
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Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games
Spaz Link ParentVery true, a friend gifted me the game and blessing/curse is exactly how I would describe his relationship with it. He has shown me his train network map that has been under construction for the...Very true, a friend gifted me the game and blessing/curse is exactly how I would describe his relationship with it. He has shown me his train network map that has been under construction for the last year, nearly 800 hours into it, and it is quite impressive to put it simply. If your plan is to make anything like what I saw then good luck because that is going to take some dedication!
I'm currently about 100 hours into my first factory with my only goal being to launch the rocket before calling that run complete. It's in the final stages of research now and can probably get the rocket launched in another 10-20 hours if I don't get sidetracked by tinkering with circuits again. Then I can start over, apply what I've learned and hopefully make a factory which is less of a spaghettified mess that I can expand forever.
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Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games
Spaz Link ParentThat was our original thought with the PTT users so I started applying a server-wide mute on our Mumble server while we were playing just to be sure. The rest of us were using voice detection and...That was our original thought with the PTT users so I started applying a server-wide mute on our Mumble server while we were playing just to be sure. The rest of us were using voice detection and occasionally had the issue happen too, just with less frequency than the PTT users did. I'm sure the remaining issue will be sorted out soon enough with a patch.
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Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games
Spaz Link ParentShoot, I wish we knew about that mod earlier! You're right, from what others are saying they have limited the player connections server side now so the mod doesn't work anymore. Also the last...Shoot, I wish we knew about that mod earlier! You're right, from what others are saying they have limited the player connections server side now so the mod doesn't work anymore.
Also the last patch says they've fixed some issues with player voices not recording but we still had it happen once this past weekend. For us when it did occur it was only one players voice lost on the recordings, the rest would work fine. It also was happening more often to the 2 people that were using push-to-talk, so if your group has it happen checking if they're using PTT is a good first step to troubleshooting it.
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Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games
Spaz Link ParentContent Warning has been pretty entertaining and it's been a while since my group laughed this hard at a game too. Would be nice if it allowed for more than 4 players though. We were rotating a...Content Warning has been pretty entertaining and it's been a while since my group laughed this hard at a game too. Would be nice if it allowed for more than 4 players though. We were rotating a few people between playing and watching the others via Steams streaming which still kind of fits thematically being influencers and all that.
Have you had any issues with mics not recording on the videos? It seems to happen randomly to us despite everyone's mic working well in the game otherwise.
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Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games
Spaz LinkDespite having entirely too many half-finished games going at the moment (Factorio, Disco Elysium, Kenshi, Warhammer 40K: Inquisitor) I snagged Noita the other week. I've had it on my wishlist for...Despite having entirely too many half-finished games going at the moment (Factorio, Disco Elysium, Kenshi, Warhammer 40K: Inquisitor) I snagged Noita the other week. I've had it on my wishlist for years, saw there was a recent big update and a deep sale so I figured it was time.
I am hooked. There's something about punishingly difficult Finnish games that really seem to draw me in for whatever reason as another favourite of mine is My Summer Car. Noita is on a whole new level when it comes to challenge so it's quite fitting that MSC had previously taught me a number of Finnish swear words that I've used liberally in my short introduction to this new game. After having made about 20 attempts I think I'm starting to get a handle on things, however my growing confidence has lead to my demise all too frequently. Perkele.
The wand crafting in the game is really something else. It's quite intriguing how much freedom the system gives you but as I've come to learn the cost of this freedom is often paid in blood... my own blood specifically. I've had two runs that seemed to be going quite well only to end abruptly while testing out a new wand setup in the safe Holy Mountain respite.
There also appears to be more to this game than I originally thought. Having been conditioned over the years to always try going "the wrong way" first, I've found stuff that makes me believe there could be far more in this world than just the cave you're initially meant to go into. I won't say anything else on that, spoilers and all. I'm quite excited to see just how deep this world goes and am doing my best to not look up anything at all, surely I'll figure out what that weird green tablet says and what this Kiuaskivi thing does beyond lighting even more things on fire.
Last night I finished my session after finally getting through the Hiisi Base area, my wands are pretty okay and I have a decent amount of health. Though I had to scramble to get into the Holy Mountain as about midway through the base a large worm flew by me, fortunately it seemed to be going after someone else but I didn't want to remain in the area with that thing lurking about.
Upon entering the Holy Mountain I was told that I had angered the gods, so I think I might be getting close to the final area. I saved the session there and will return tonight to see what horrible things these gods have in store for me.
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Comment on From its start, Gmail conditioned us to trade privacy for free services in ~tech
Spaz Link ParentThat's hilarious. I am curious though, how do the recipients of your emails react to that? And do you work it into the message somehow or perhaps finish with "adult diapers" like a signature at...That's hilarious. I am curious though, how do the recipients of your emails react to that? And do you work it into the message somehow or perhaps finish with "adult diapers" like a signature at the end of your email?
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Comment on 25th anniversary interview with RollerCoaster Tycoon’s creator, Chris Sawyer in ~games
Spaz Link ParentOpenRCT2 really is the only reason I can go back to playing RCT these days. The quality of life additions, higher resolution support and uncapped framerates go a long way in making it playable by...OpenRCT2 really is the only reason I can go back to playing RCT these days. The quality of life additions, higher resolution support and uncapped framerates go a long way in making it playable by todays standards.
That said, I still find myself preferring Parkitect when I do get the urge to manage a park and design some coasters.
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Comment on 25th anniversary interview with RollerCoaster Tycoon’s creator, Chris Sawyer in ~games
Spaz LinkIt's hard to believe that it has been 25 years since this iconic game launched and RCT is one of those titles that will always have a fond place in my heart. This is a relatively short interview...It's hard to believe that it has been 25 years since this iconic game launched and RCT is one of those titles that will always have a fond place in my heart. This is a relatively short interview with Chris but still offers some interesting insights into his choice to use machine code and how some of the instantly recognizable sounds came to be.
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25th anniversary interview with RollerCoaster Tycoon’s creator, Chris Sawyer
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Comment on Some of the biggest names in indie games are teaming up to put on a 'no fluff' showcase of new game announcements in ~games
Spaz Link ParentWhen the term "Triple I" came about I believe that the I's meant indie, so to me the event name stands for The Indie Indie Indie Initiative. Considering that and the short write up putting heavy...When the term "Triple I" came about I believe that the I's meant indie, so to me the event name stands for The Indie Indie Indie Initiative. Considering that and the short write up putting heavy emphasis on indie developers and not being a "AAA" showcase I believe it's entirely reasonable for someone to assume an event called The Triple I Initiative would be about completely about indie games.
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Comment on Some of the biggest names in indie games are teaming up to put on a 'no fluff' showcase of new game announcements in ~games
Spaz Link ParentIt's inclusions like Gearbox in events like this that make "indie" a completely meaningless term these days. Gearbox, formerly owned by Embracer and now currently owned by Take 2, even has it's...It's inclusions like Gearbox in events like this that make "indie" a completely meaningless term these days. Gearbox, formerly owned by Embracer and now currently owned by Take 2, even has it's own publishing branch... it's hard to be any further away from indie in my opinion.
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Comment on Do you have any game sub-genres that you have a name for, but aren't big enough to be "official" sub-genres? in ~games
Spaz Link ParentIt's interesting that you now climb it for that reason but I totally get it, it's strange how a place that started as something that could instill a sense of dread has now become a reward in...It's interesting that you now climb it for that reason but I totally get it, it's strange how a place that started as something that could instill a sense of dread has now become a reward in itself. For me it's become somewhere that I can disconnect from my mental-self and as tacky as it sounds... become one with the hammer.
After your comment when I went back to continue my climbs it wasn't so much to improve my time but more to obtain that golden cauldron and become my first and probably last 'perfect' game, which is odd in itself as I'm not one to care about game achievements. Having previously thought my skill had plateaued, it was very gratifying to see my technique improve over these climbs. Each successive climb became more enjoyable than the previous run, even if the time hadn't improved I felt that I was making progress.
This game has now given me my most empowering and equally devastating moment in all of my gaming history. I was somehow on pace to finish under 3 minutes, and normally I don't do well on the tower but in this run I astonishingly flew up it in 3 pulls, even skipping the first dish... only to take the worst possible bounce off the first space rock above. I floated listlessly sideways for an agonizing minute and a half staring at the timer helplessly before finally reaching the next rock. It was a simple reminder that not only can I far exceed my greatest expectations but also that in one horrible moment everything could be taken away and all I could do is watch. It was wonderful and terrible at the same time.
A Difficult Game About Climbing certainly seems like it's taken inspiration from GIRP for sure. GIRP was a game that I always wanted to try but it never worked for me previously, so now I'm stoked that the link you sent does work. Thanks for that, I know what I'm doing tomorrow!
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Comment on Do you have any game sub-genres that you have a name for, but aren't big enough to be "official" sub-genres? in ~games
Spaz Link ParentYour previous comment made me go back to that accursed mountain and do 100+ more climbs... seeing you mention it again prompted the need to brag that I got my personal best time down from 9:50 to...Getting Over it With Bennet Foddy Climbing a mountain as a man in a pot, using only a sledgehammer. Portrays itself as a rage game, but I feel is somewhat more accessible than others (although definitely not for people who don't play games at all). It is super cool when you play through it a second time, and you realize how good you've gotten at the controls, as first runs usually take 4-6 hours, and then the second run takes 30-45 minutes. I actually wrote a super long comment on about why I like this game so much.
Your previous comment made me go back to that accursed mountain and do 100+ more climbs... seeing you mention it again prompted the need to brag that I got my personal best time down from 9:50 to 4:16. Using a speed-running timer the sum of my best segment splits is down to 2:28 but there's no chance I'll ever get a perfect run to claim that time. Heck, if I ever get sub 4 I will retire from that game fully satisfied.
If you haven't seen it already there recently was a new Foddy-like game released that you may be interested in: A Difficult Game About Climbing
As well as a new game from Bennett himself slated for release sometime this year: Baby Steps
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Comment on Save Point: A game deal roundup for the week of March 10 in ~games
Spaz Link ParentI recently played through the campaign and the DLC missions doing co-op with a friend on the highest difficulty. While we didn't bother trying to find the collectable notes we were quite thorough...I recently played through the campaign and the DLC missions doing co-op with a friend on the highest difficulty. While we didn't bother trying to find the collectable notes we were quite thorough in completing all the main and optional objectives, all in all it took us about 35 hours to do everything in a relatively stealthy fashion.
The last Sniper Elite game I played was V2 and in comparison I really enjoyed 4's open style maps that allow for much more variety in how you approached the objectives vs V2's quite linear missions. For what it's worth, the person that I played the game with has played all the Sniper Elite games extensively and said that 4 is by far his favourite.
For $5 I would highly recommend it.
You're welcome, I'm also enjoying writing about my experience. Though for lack of time to play this week I will skip the upcoming weekly thread and post another update for you the following week.
Like much of this game a lot of my ability to defeat Stevari in that run was because I got lucky with a pretty good wand build early on. That luck would soon run out the first time Skoude was summoned. I miraculously killed it, narrowly avoiding death by the skin of my teeth. With no heart to heal myself and the Holy Mountain having been mostly eaten away by the gods destructive aura, I went to collect my golden reward from the heaping pile of bone dust. As I did I saw a familiar faint glowing ring emerging from below, my eyes widened as I witnessed another Skoude bore through the floor and finish what the first one had started. Initially I assumed it was a regular mechanic but on further testing I haven't had the game spawn a second one in the same mountain area, so I have no clue what happened there.
I do like the plasma cutter for how quickly it can slice through material but have become reluctant to use it to dig for that same reason, now preferring the luminous drill any time I have the option. While still quite dangerous I do like using plasma as the payload of a trigger spell.
That's kind of disappointing that the tombstone thing is only a streamer monument, again I imagined it was going to be part of a boss quest and had envisioned a slime monster with many faces because of how it looked. I probably should have realized the top of the tree was some sort of achievement area as I did notice the one pillar with the marking the dragon worm boss that I had killed earlier. Never would have guessed that other thing was a music machine and didn't touch it believing it would kill me. Similar story with the race track, I ran away from it when I saw the little robot thing jittering in the upper left corner of the track. I'm definitely going to go check that out now.
It does seem somewhat cruel to have that boss so close to the start but cruelty does fit the bill in this game. While the first boss I found was the green spider in the pyramid, the mech squid was the first one that I actually fought, or at least tried to fight. I'm going to skip your details on it for the moment, after a few attempts I think I may have figured out what needs to be done seeing that he appears to copy some of the things I've cast at it. As I've become quite efficient at removing myself from the world I want to try try hitting him with either the plasma cutter or one of those scary giga saw discs that always return to the caster. Hopefully it will use them just as carelessly as I have.
Until you mentioned that it hadn't dawned on me that some random Hiisi could now pick up a wand equipped with a nuke only to doom us all... wonderful.
I'm looking forward to checking those posts and the wiki. It's getting harder to resist the urge but now that I'm somewhat reliably getting through the vault (50/50) I feel like it won't be long before I can claim a victory.
I couldn't resist looking at the quest hint. I was wondering if those hand statues were anything more than traps. After kicking it (I kick almost everything at this point) and having the handy robot pop out it made me think there's something else I have to do with it but hadn't really taken time to figure it out yet. I'll see what I can come up with.
Until next time, wish me luck.