TyrianMollusk's recent activity
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Comment on Steam Winter Sale 2024: Hidden gems in ~games
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Comment on Steam Winter Sale 2024: Hidden gems in ~games
TyrianMollusk Link ParentNot really off-topic, as poorly as twin-sticks have been doing in the market. Make sure you try the demo for next year's Sektori, too. That thing is crazy, and probably going to sell just as...Not really off-topic, as poorly as twin-sticks have been doing in the market. Make sure you try the demo for next year's Sektori, too. That thing is crazy, and probably going to sell just as poorly as the rest despite its coolness, though NextFests have been helping some niche games find a little more attention.
- Waves -- Free since the dev passed away, but great nonetheless. There's also Waves 2 (also free) which had some neat ideas, but it was unfinished and not all its parts work. W2's "preview" beta has another version with another mode (Grid) that's pretty neat, and it has some different weapons.
- Assault Android Cactus -- This may well be the best level-mastery arcade twin-stick out there, and it's running its usual sale price of ... $5. Don't let the cutesy looks fool you: it's a beast.
- Devader -- Less brilliant or varied but still a gem of a game, full of clever play, weird enemies, and unusual ideas. Sadly, I haven't seen it go on sale in a while, but the dev did drop its price before they stopped putting it on sale, so it's just always pretty cheap now.
- Twin Ruin -- Laser-focused (ie no niceties ;) on simply intense arcade play and sporting a dual color mechanic plus a pointlessly low sale price.
- Devastator -- Another curious twin-stick variation from the great radiangames dev of the Xbox 360 indie arcade days.
- AtomHex -- Falls outside Steam, but it is another great and more than a little cracked gem of the genre that's always way cheaper than it deserves (and shareware, so you can play it a while without forking over the $2 or whatever). If you like color-swapping, this is must-have.
Since you like Crimsonland, you might also want to check out Tesla vs Lovecraft. Didn't really win me over, but might play better for you since it has some notable similarities.
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Comment on Steam Winter Sale 2024: Hidden gems in ~games
TyrianMollusk (edited )LinkI posted a nice list for the Summer sale, and going over things to update this time, it's pretty similar right down to the review counts (... depressing), so I'm just going to focus on one new...I posted a nice list for the Summer sale, and going over things to update this time, it's pretty similar right down to the review counts (... depressing), so I'm just going to focus on one new game that's limping along at 23 rather unappreciative reviews:
Combat Complex -- 30% off: $13.99 (early access)
Twin-stick shooter against various bugs and robots with some basic ARPG gearing/upgrades but a more arcade feel, offering fantastically tight action with probably three key factors:
- Enemies target you but hit each other, so you manage their attacks to help your fighting instead of just staying out of trouble.
- "Frenzy" orb pickups, which act a bit like combo meter fuel except instead of chaining hits for combo, you make frequent choices about whether an orb drop is worth chasing, keeping you close to danger.
- Instant gun switching with overheating instead of reloading, so you fight hard and switch constantly between your three guns (and moments of not shooting for faster movement) to keep any one from overheating while getting the best out of their specific properties.
I play a lot of twin-stick and top-down shooters, and this does a great job mixing the arcade twin-stick feel of high-intensity swarm chewing with tactical top-down dungeon crawling elements, and it's just really special feeling to play, at least if you pay attention. Plus, it's extraction style instead of being a roguelite or static arcade run, so you're always right at the best action while still getting procedural levels to change things up. That said, there's no scoring and a lot of rudimentary parts, so it lives entirely on action quality and the fun of the fight.
Games like this tend to get really underappreciated, and I'd really like this gem to find its players, because it just makes me happy someone is out there making something like this (and I want them to feel encouraged by some $$ interest, dontcha know--my partner and I already bought ours). It's got a demo, so give it a chance to grow on you once it gets past the gentle introduction.
If you don't like words, here's a video (link-only, not a channel) of one mission a few floors past the demo (blame Steam's game recording for creating glitchy sound artifacts that weren't there in play): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oa8_m6QuvOg
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Comment on The 2024 Steam Winter Sale is live (runs December 19 - January 2) in ~games
TyrianMollusk LinkIt's so sad how many games need attention so much, and Steam forces us through a meaningless 11-way popularity contest where we're basically voting for nothing. And what even is that "innovative...It's so sad how many games need attention so much, and Steam forces us through a meaningless 11-way popularity contest where we're basically voting for nothing.
And what even is that "innovative game" list?
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Comment on Steam Replay 2024: Discussion topic in ~games
TyrianMollusk LinkThree of the five top controller games in my Replay list don't have controller support. That's a testament to the use I get from Steam Input. I wish someone at Valve cared about Steam Input and...Three of the five top controller games in my Replay list don't have controller support. That's a testament to the use I get from Steam Input.
I wish someone at Valve cared about Steam Input and the people who use it, because it's actually pretty important, and there are a lot of painfully ignored issues.
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Comment on Is anyone planning to play Path of Exile 2? in ~games
TyrianMollusk Link ParentThere are some actual-combat ARPGs creeping forward lately, like top-down shooters Combat Complex, Dreadhunter, CyberCorp, Greyskin, and Last Hellion. I've been wanting ARPGs to go a more gameplay...This game is an ARPG unlike any other, the combat actually matters.
There are some actual-combat ARPGs creeping forward lately, like top-down shooters Combat Complex, Dreadhunter, CyberCorp, Greyskin, and Last Hellion.
I've been wanting ARPGs to go a more gameplay oriented direction for a long time now, but the player community is generally extremely hostile to it. I'm glad PoE2 is looking to go this way, but while I respect that on the surface, I'm very concerned at just how poor their action quality is right now. You can really tell GGG both has little experience with real action and continues to hold painfully arrogant views toward controllers and other styles of play, because as poorly as the game plays on kbm, it's way worse on controller and full of anti-play design choices and just aggressively dumbed down. I really hoped they were going to do better than they did for PoE1 given the talk, but clearly they're still stuck in their old mindsets and not really open to walking the walk or listening.
I'm playing on controller via Steam Input converting to the kbm WASD interface, which is at least less abjectly bad than their built-in controller play, but there are a lot of really unnecessary issues there from their terrible, almost mouse-obsessed kbm UI and various wrongheaded design points they're still stuck on, and there's still the basic issue that even the intended kbm play is noticeably weak/clunky, from the standpoint of good top-down/isometric action games.
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Comment on Is anyone planning to play Path of Exile 2? in ~games
TyrianMollusk Link ParentNote that you aren't really paying for prerelease itself. You have to buy a certain amount of premium currency via the early access supporter pack. So you get full value in currency, and early...I won't pay for pre-release, however.
Note that you aren't really paying for prerelease itself. You have to buy a certain amount of premium currency via the early access supporter pack. So you get full value in currency, and early access comes along with that. You pay nothing extra for early access, and things you spend your premium currency on (like much-needed stash space) apply to both PoE2 and PoE1, so even if you feel you're not getting that value out of PoE2's early access sometime, you have all of PoE1 to fall back on.
That detail changed the "pay for early access" proposition a fair bit for me.
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Comment on Your partner asks for your phone, you refuse over privacy, they tell you they don't trust you. How do you respond? in ~talk
TyrianMollusk (edited )LinkI don't assert privacy over my partner. That would just be weird. We're partners, and there's no intrusion in one of us looking at something.I don't assert privacy over my partner. That would just be weird. We're partners, and there's no intrusion in one of us looking at something.
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Comment on Thoughts on a Democratic postmortem in ~society
TyrianMollusk Link ParentIt's wrong to think votes don't matter just because we expect the state election to go a certain way. That's like saying no one person should vote because their vote won't change the outcome...it’s kind of depressing to think voters in so many states just don’t “matter” for this
It's wrong to think votes don't matter just because we expect the state election to go a certain way. That's like saying no one person should vote because their vote won't change the outcome (someone I know actually makes this argument for why they never vote). People should still vote, because we need everyone to participate instead of just spectating. The fact that you can swing key states by spending millions pushing the right voters to the polls is gross. The stay-at-home votes have way more influence than people realize.
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Comment on Thoughts on a Democratic postmortem in ~society
TyrianMollusk Link ParentWhen almost eight times as many Ds stay home as Rs, you get big percentage shifts all over the place among those who did vote. Hard to say how much switching would even register if some of that...When almost eight times as many Ds stay home as Rs, you get big percentage shifts all over the place among those who did vote. Hard to say how much switching would even register if some of that missing 16% of Biden voters had showed up, but we wouldn't be wringing hands over it like this.
Trump lost votes. I'm not convinced it matters who switched sides to bolster Trump's lower turnout, when that many Ds didn't turn out at all.
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Comment on Thoughts on a Democratic postmortem in ~society
TyrianMollusk LinkNo, they did not. Trump got two million fewer votes than 2020. He did not put up a winning campaign or a winning plan. Getting fewer votes than his previous losing campaign would be a clear...They viewed Trump as being likelier to fix things, with a big bold plan (tariffs, deportations, tax cuts).
No, they did not. Trump got two million fewer votes than 2020. He did not put up a winning campaign or a winning plan. Getting fewer votes than his previous losing campaign would be a clear political disaster to learn from, had the democrats turned up at the polls.
Democrats did not show up, just like they didn't the first time with Trump v Clinton, when it was widely considered "obvious" no one would be insane enough to actually pick Trump for president. Fifteen million "get that guy outta here" votes Biden had that Harris did not see, and those numbers did not go to Trump. They sat on their couches and watched. Again.
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Comment on Elections: ultimately, it’s going to be okay in ~society
TyrianMollusk Link ParentAmericans don't run second big party candidate campaigns for president unless you've won. Anything else, sure, you learn and you run again. But with president, you only get that first chance to be...Americans don't run second big party candidate campaigns for president unless you've won.
Anything else, sure, you learn and you run again. But with president, you only get that first chance to be the R/D candidate. Harris had her chance, and now she's done. Her getting another chance won't even be considered a possibility.
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Comment on Elections: ultimately, it’s going to be okay in ~society
TyrianMollusk Link ParentNo, we need to make it what it was supposed to be, and not the cheap, no-effort exploit it became, where a senator can just declare filibuster instead of people having to actually get up and...Honestly, we need to be rid of it.
No, we need to make it what it was supposed to be, and not the cheap, no-effort exploit it became, where a senator can just declare filibuster instead of people having to actually get up and execute it.
It's pretty true that sometimes someone needs to take the kind of stand that requires something as ridiculous as a filibuster, but the filibuster is supposed to have a very real price in effort, time, and plain old public absurdity. When you take the price away but not the power, it becomes completely broken, and that changed the entire mechanics of how the senate does business.
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Comment on 2024 United States election megathread in ~society
TyrianMollusk Link ParentYeah, it does: the group of people who stayed home and didn't vote. It doesn't really matter what we can say about the people that voted and who they chose. Trump got millions fewer votes than...The margins on this loss are big enough that it doesn’t come down to any one “group”.
Yeah, it does: the group of people who stayed home and didn't vote. It doesn't really matter what we can say about the people that voted and who they chose. Trump got millions fewer votes than 2020. Harris just got way way fewer votes than Biden did. So many people stayed home instead of voting. Even though Trump set himself up to lose by running the same disaster as always--and we need to look at his numbers and see that this campaign did not work to win him the election--people did stay home in enormous numbers and he walked away with it despite himself.
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Comment on Humble Choice - October 2024 in ~games
TyrianMollusk Link ParentToo good? A $12 bundle isn't a great deal, especially for the deliberately random array of games they get to go in on these. I got several prepaid months on a Black Friday sale a while back which...That seems like a really good deal - too good to be true.
Too good? A $12 bundle isn't a great deal, especially for the deliberately random array of games they get to go in on these. I got several prepaid months on a Black Friday sale a while back which brings the per-bundle price down to $7.60, and I skip most months because the bundle isn't worth it.
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Comment on Humble Choice - August 2024 in ~games
TyrianMollusk LinkGreat to have a Humble Choice that's finally worth getting for me, though it's amusingly got nothing I'm particularly excited to get. Sifu and Astral Ascent were both games I figured I'd pick up...Great to have a Humble Choice that's finally worth getting for me, though it's amusingly got nothing I'm particularly excited to get. Sifu and Astral Ascent were both games I figured I'd pick up some day when they're cheap, and I wouldn't even buy Gotham Knights, but I've been sitting on a key from a previous charity bundle, which is useless unless I get a second key, because if I were to bother playing it, it would at least have to be together with my partner. Maybe its multiplayer won't get shut down before we try it.
So this bundle sweeps up all three of those nicely, and there are a couple other "sure whatever" tier games in there. Looks like I haven't taken a Choice bundle since early 2023--only three more months left now from a Black Friday 13-month deal so old I don't think it was even Choice yet.
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Comment on Why is ‘left stick to sprint’ so unpleasant in games? in ~games
TyrianMollusk LinkStick-click buttons are an absolute abomination that never should have happened. They're bad for hands, for gameplay, and for controllers. There's not one upside to them. They are just such a...Stick-click buttons are an absolute abomination that never should have happened. They're bad for hands, for gameplay, and for controllers. There's not one upside to them. They are just such a stunningly bad idea.
Nowadays, though, controller makers have finally allowed us a few more buttons to use, and we can remap the stick clicks to something actually viable and erase that mistake, especially since we're crippled anyway and most things won't recognize buttons that aren't already present on the system's standard controller. Having to hard-remap the controller using things that are already there would be even dumber if not for salvaging L3 and R3.
With my current under-buttons, it's been pretty nice having R3 and L3 usable, both for extra functionality options and relief from trying to get devs to stop designing things so badly on stick clicking. Too many devs just don't listen about controller play.
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Comment on Steam Summer Sale 2024: Hidden gems in ~games
TyrianMollusk Link ParentThis is the Hidden Gems thread, so posting does have some presumption of being a hidden gem, and I don't know that I'd really double down on arguing something your linked site estimates averaging...This is the Hidden Gems thread, so posting does have some presumption of being a hidden gem, and I don't know that I'd really double down on arguing something your linked site estimates averaging over 90,000 daily players this month as hidden, just because they have it ranked "only" the 14th highest populated MMO. This month has Helldivers 2 posting a peak 90k daily Steam player count.
Other games in the thread are looking at 1,000 total Steam reviews as a major, sometimes even insurmountable milestone. Double-digit average player counts are something many such overlooked games count as a blessing. Some of the games I suggested--which are legitimately great games in their space--have all-time daily peaks in single digits.
Now, I'm not saying people shouldn't have a look around if they haven't paid GW2 any attention, and that goes even if they don't like MMOs, because it does have its own feel. But this thread doesn't work if we bring in everything with huge active player counts just because we'd like to see even more people play them. A 90k daily playerbase is a massively popular game, and it's straining the bounds of rationality to call it overlooked just because a handful of MMOs have even higher numbers.
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Comment on Steam Summer Sale 2024: Hidden gems in ~games
TyrianMollusk Link ParentI can definitely talk about that, as I've been duo partied for most of my playtime :) I'm not sure there's anything we had to actually split up to do solo, but there are some issues you'll hit...I can definitely talk about that, as I've been duo partied for most of my playtime :) I'm not sure there's anything we had to actually split up to do solo, but there are some issues you'll hit here and there of various types, mostly just bugs and poor design.
First off, the game has several modes and ways to play. Where you go and how you want to play will have a big effect on duo-ing. My partner and I are kinda anti-social, so there are several things we don't do because they are designed for more than two, and several things we don't do optimally, because we don't like "other people" :) Dungeons and fractals, for example, are instanced modes designed for parties of 5. We've duoed enough of those (I suggest necromancers if you try this) for basic box-checking and opening content, but it's definitely easier if you bring a group. Raiding and strike missions (think mini-raids) are for larger squads, and we don't do those. Naturally, if you don't mind grouping up and are only concerned about forced solo stuff, you'll have no issues with such parts of the game.
General open world play is most of what we do, and it's pretty duo-accessible. There are some "group" events you'll need to watch out for, but once you are leveled and have decent exotic-tier gear, you can take many of the champions and groups events that aren't too big. There are large-scale "map meta" events in many zones which won't succeed unless you have a group (and sometimes a well-organized one), but many of these can be done just by hitting them alongside others at good times, so while you'll need to catch other people, there's nothing you won't be able to experience. We don't mind working with other players in open world type stuff, as it's generally sufficiently impersonal.
Now, for the story, you will have various issues. Occasionally, you hit an achievement that only counts for the lead player, which requires various tedious workarounds, like redoing the story. We generally write these off, mainly because story is generally terrible and something we try to get over with so we can go back to things we enjoy. Sometimes the story will get too into being a solo story, and it will make the non-leader something dumb like a ball of light that just follows, or cheers for the lead, or your actions just don't count and you have to wait for the leader to advance things. That's annoying, but it doesn't block anything or force you to split. One issue that used to come up was story instance size changes, where the story would advance and change the boundaries of the instance, but not actually check where the players were. Since the non-lead is irrelevant, they can get suddenly kicked for being outside the new boundary. I think that has been fixed, so you get bounced into the instance instead of kicked from the activity, but we avoid triggering it regardless out of fearful habit. I think we may have sometimes ended up running separately because of a bug or connection glitch that dropped one of us, but we usually log out and back in again to restart the story section together.
Oh, one thing to note, is the early story depends on your character creation choices, so if you want to play those together, you need to make the same choices. You're not locked out or anything, as you can always do them together anyway, but you may need to, for example, do one person's level 10 chapter, and then do the other person's level 10 chapter. You have to be at the same step in the same story for doing it together to advance the story for both of you. Making the same race and character background choice (these sound important, but by the time you do about the level 40 story chapter, they'll never matter again) will let you play all story together, but if you want different races/backgrounds, you can work around that by repeating or splitting, until the storylines merge.
There are some activities that don't work with parties. These are on the level of goofy mini games that come up in seasonal festivals and some such things, and you'll often or always get split doing these. They're not really a big deal, and most aren't great concepts anyway, so most just want to get it over with and get out.
In short, no, you don't have mandatory solo things that split a party, but there are issues to be aware of and things that need more than two if you want to do them.
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Comment on The Steam Summer Sale 2024 is live (runs June 27 - July 11) in ~games
TyrianMollusk Link ParentDon't forget ITAD's browser extension "Augmented Steam", which they took over from the devs of the old Enhanced Steam extension. Augmented Steam is a huge Steam store upgrade for anyone who uses...Don't forget ITAD's browser extension "Augmented Steam", which they took over from the devs of the old Enhanced Steam extension. Augmented Steam is a huge Steam store upgrade for anyone who uses Steam, with price info, links, and personal note space right on the store page.
I don't know what's crazier, that Storage Inc fans have to build their own sequels or that Tipston also doesn't have workshop support.
Still, glad to see another game like this. Storage Inc was a gem.