Katana314

Katana314, 4 godziny temu

I mean, when they work indie, they don’t need to unionize.

We probably won’t see unions; just a collapse of AAA. The Game Awards this year was a joke with only about 3 big contenders, and most were regarded as “indie”.

Katana314, wczoraj

Code Violet looks so cool in concept and screenshots. I’m just sad I get a vague impression the studio is biting off more than they can chew, with things like floaty animations and descriptions of potential feature creep. I’d be happy to be proven wrong.

Katana314, wczoraj

Huh. Never thought I’d see a path of consequences that punishes companies disloyal to their employees.

Granted, these people are dooming their chances of working in the game industry again, but maybe at this point they’re okay with that burn.

Katana314, 3 dni temu (edited 3 dni temu)

The last few days, I haven’t run into any players fighting each other. There may in fact be some matchmaking effects deciding this, based on my past behavior.

It helps in my case that I have a lot of upgrades and don’t feel bothered about losing really good gear anymore. Interestingly, I’ve often felt the good gear helps against ARC, but not much against committed players. A well executed blindside ambush can take down even a player with a heavy shield.

The main defense is the psychology. Fostering a sense of communal protection by shooting the wasps that are attacking someone else, bringing one defibrillator in case you find downed players, and in some very rare cases, acting as protector for someone who was wrongly downed. Eventually, some PVP-heavy players decide they have more to fear from attacking others than being passive.

A weird tip to try; when seeking some objective and worried for ambushes, play the Recorder. Some attackers are looking for the thrill of combat, not loot, and are dissuaded by an open musician. Other players are just fearful you’ll shoot first, which is less likely when you’re announcing yourself and taking your hand off your gun for the instrument.

Katana314, 3 dni temu

Does Proton even work on Macs? It seems pretty clear at this point Linux is a far better gaming OS.

Katana314, 3 dni temu

I’ve used it for Epic and GOG, Lutris for Ubi/EA, but can either play MS UWP games? That seemed to be the one huge hurdle for any third party launcher in general.

Katana314, 2 dni temu

It might be an option that doesn’t come up much, but older/lower-spec consoles are an option: The Playstation 4 and Xbox Series S. They’re not available for recent big AAA games, but that’s less and less of the big trends. There have still been many games coming out this year for the PS4.

That’s, of course, if you’re really on a low budget for hardware. Otherwise, a PC is a great investment for games on Steam sales.

Katana314, 5 dni temu

And, we can see a huge set of third party fromsoft games that are generally doing well, even after removing the bad parts. I wonder what that says.

Katana314, 5 dni temu

I kinda like and appreciate the theme that:

• We should try talking things out with people
• some people will never accept any negotiation
• People (or demons) that don’t negotiate are the ideal candidate for violence

Doom feels so much more cathartic if you can gather a setup where all the demons deserve each ounce of pain.

Katana314, 5 dni temu

Tunic is hard, and uses the Estus system, but it doesn’t take much on death.

Another Crab’s Treasure has an accessibility menu that lets you choose to return currency, make Kril invincible, or even give him a gun.

Stellar Blade has an easy mode you can choose, and no death penalties or retrieval. Although, even then, it can be a tough game.

Katana314, 6 dni temu

I feel like another option for horror is to spam the effort. Literally have 5 to 10 studios all making horror games, with a fraction of the budget. One of the big successes in horror is that some of the best ones were made with large restrictions on technology, effects, budget, etc. If you search the “Survival horror” tag on Steam, there’s a pretty large wash of games succeeding in the space now.

You could also note how many “horror-focused” Resident Evil games go through some form of reset where you lose your buildup of equipment, or change pace. They recognize that the genre isn’t well-suited for a constant escalation of power until you fight god, the way JRPGs do. Thus, people who enjoy those games are more likely to munch through them like doritos. Many streamers even have nights where they will buy some half-dozen of the games on Steam and just keep going through them.

Katana314, 5 dni temu

I could be wrong, I think it’s a rare case of a game releasing with zero levels. The idea there was to let people take it and make their own levels for it (which, I’m sure, many did)

Katana314, 11 dni temu

It is extremely rare - I do it when I have some form of dedication to the developer, or their rare variety of ambitious game. I may not have even done it once this year.

So I think that matches the OP’s feelings of buying early in support. Largely, it doesn’t matter.

Katana314, 15 dni temu

Ark seems to fit into the same niche that enjoys Roblox, Fortnite, and Five Nights at Freddy’s. That might make a statement about how much money they have.

Katana314, 15 dni temu

It’s a quandary that blasts the very question.

There is no good reason for us to define, or seek out, the “worst games of the year”. Only outrage culture wants us to direct hate towards known bad games like Black Ops 7, even though by any practical analysis it’s a better game than hundreds of ignored, pretty bad asset flips, and even some high-effort low-thought indie games that have come out.

Katana314, 16 dni temu

Does sound like laziness. I get the impression it’s because some things change in the game depending on difficulty, like number of items, etc. So, it can’t exactly go back and turn the 3-ammo pile you picked up into 8 ammo.

Katana314, 16 dni temu

Between this and the Divinity controversy, I think the gaming world needs some kind of Responsible AI seal, like the old Nintendo Seal of Quality. While Microsoft is shoving Copilot into Notepad, it can be really hard to guarantee every team member has never used an AI for anything.

Standards like “No generative AI” are a good one, and it turns out we’re also under debate whether AI for concept art - something absent from the game files - is okay. Many say not.

Katana314, 16 dni temu

A DBD creator I like made a video about this topic, and the degradation of the term.

Katana314, 16 dni temu

Okay but first, will you admit that if my cancer curing Unicorn only dispenses 100 doses of its miracle medicine from its butt when I kill a homeless man, you’d agree killing the homeless is a moral good, right?

Or, you know, we could throw away silly fantasy scenarios.

Katana314, 16 dni temu

Same way you’d celebrate a studio for “No workplace abuse.” People would have to come forward to testify about it, as concept art generation is very likely to arise from hiring fewer artists.

It’s also pretty easy if the credits list an abnormally low, or zero, number of concept artists.

Katana314, 16 dni temu

Really? Can you share your fully realized and operational generative AI that exists, and only created its model from artwork you personally made or retain full legal reproduction rights to?

Answers Yes, or Sorry, I Lied.

Katana314, 16 dni temu

Again: This is not a cake. This is a recipe book and an oven. Scenario’s demo reel showcases models they have finished training, and vouch that you can make one from scratch. I am asking you for a finished AI model you have ready to use.

Katana314, 15 dni temu

Yeah, quite often the games themselves have needed broad changes to account for how people tend to shoot on controllers.

For instance, PC games will typically penalize your accuracy or sway the scope if you strafe around, which is terrible for controller players as you describe. Other times, the “aim down sights” action became very standard in a world of gun-at-corner hipfiring, because it lets them snap aim onto enemies for at least the first shot.

Katana314, 18 dni temu

In some ways, I try to acknowledge the original race to the voting on prices was sometimes bad for indies. The Factorio dev even saw the writing on the wall and decided to head it off, declaring “This is the game’s price floor. Buy it or don’t.”

Katana314, 17 dni temu

In some ways, I think we have to accept the early years of “8 indie games for $2!!!” is over. Inflation has hit, and indie devs have to buy their coffee too. If you really want a near-freebie, keep an eye out for bundles on Fanatical, where they’re sometimes $3 each game.

Katana314, 20 dni temu

Recently this channel came up in my feed. There’s a few like this, that will highlight interesting games on Steam that haven’t had much attention.

www.youtube.com/

Katana314, 20 dni temu

I’ve had an idea of making a visual novel with gen AI, but I’d want to attach “Placeholder: AI Artwork” in a visible location for each sprite. And I only even consider that because I’m not exactly a known game dev and don’t have ready access to artists.

Larian should likely expect if they’re taking shortcuts in their position, they’d get backlash. I can at least recognize that they’re trying to be moderate about it.

Katana314, 22 dni temu

Emulation seems neat to me, but I know behind every comment on it there’s a whispered implication: Piracy. Very few people are imaging their own game discs. That unfortunately makes it less appealing to me, especially as trustworthiness shifts at many of those sites.

Katana314, 23 dni temu

Best way of handling this is to load the environment with random events that can occur on various return trips. Sea of Thieves and Red Read Redemption 2 do this, though it doesn’t work for every game.

The other good way to handle it is a fun movement system, eg Insomniac games.

Katana314, 25 dni temu

If you haven’t played games in a while, a subscription service like game pass or PS+ can be a good idea.

It’ll let you try out a lot of games that you might not try otherwise, and also try/discard some games that seemed cool but turn out to be unlikable.

Katana314, 25 dni temu

I’m a sucker for Zenless Zone Zero. I recognize it’s often catering to male gaze, but I appreciate there’s some uniqueness and interesting themes to the designs.

Basic example, “Corin” being on first blush just a cute maid cut, but also following a Frankenstein design theme with the bolts/chainsaw and hair color.

They’ve also had a “bunny-girl”, Alice, who much like real bunnies is skittish and easily frightened (and is thankfully not nearly as sexualized as the theme often carries)

Katana314, 24 dni temu

If HL3 was ever to get news, I don’t really think Valve would do it on someone else’s awards show. They tend to own their own announcements.

Katana314, 24 dni temu

Something I tried to do earlier to help with it, in this very channel, was a “Downvote any game you’ve heard of before” thread. It was a nice exercise to help people post odd games no one had heard of.

Katana314, 25 dni temu

Silly Poly Beast - 3 GB Another Crab’s Treasure - 7.7 GB

Rabbit and Steel - 376 MB, coop PVE game, plays a lot like FFXIV raids

Katana314, 26 dni temu

The worst part is, I consider myself a bit of a gooner; I like alluring, attractive characters. But that was meant to be a story-based game, and yet it designed so many jokes around attractive women dressing in rags, being clueless, easily offended, and seemed to design the story around an intense contact between a shonen hero and a large-breasted woman.

At least in something like Stellar Blade, they evade the subject because they know there’s nothing constructive to say.

Katana314, 27 dni temu

I wonder how they plan to cover the events. Normally, you’d bring gaming journalists, but Saudis are terrified of journalists.

Katana314, 28 dni temu

Apollo is out there in Kuh’rain, wondering if Ace Attorney will ever pick up on an old story so his boss can tell him something important and he can say back “Yeah, Mr. Wright, I figured that out because I’m not an idiot.”

Katana314, miesiąc temu

Huh. A long time ago I would’ve thought this purchase would’ve gone the other way around.

Katana314, miesiąc temu

What’s sad is, I also had a silly web project like this, but had to abandon it since browsers (logically) decided to mute webpages on load until you interacted with them.

It was basically just user selection of image and audio, and then you pick a spot to forever zoom into. A little like YTMND.

Katana314, miesiąc temu

Wonder if H4 will really continue off WOA’s ending; or if it’ll be some weird reboot.

Tap for spoilerFor those who don’t know, the ICA, signature org 47 follows, was dismantled in WOA’s story since it was basically a servant of Providence. Providence itself was too large to destroy, so Diana still runs it, basically just dismantling as much as she can.

I might even be interested in some form of main character switching for Hitman if they can invent someone that has most of 47’s capability with some interesting nuance. (No, the spoiler is not that 47 dies)

Katana314, miesiąc temu (edited miesiąc temu)

I think the studies showing how certain minds can be targeted and manipulated by dark gambling patterns made me think differently about gambling. I’m less likely to blame the victims now - in many ways it can be difficult or near-impossible for them to control those impulses. I’d at least like lootbox gambling slop to be regulated the same as casinos.

Look how popular fantasy sports is now. It’s basically just the casino industry seeking out new avenues to cheat the definition of “Playing odds to win cash”.

Katana314, miesiąc temu

Don’t forget, “Turns out it was a losing bet to back DEI and Trans people”.

This is something scared, pathetic, loser, feral, spineless, sociopathic, moronic fascists come up with to try to win a crowd larger than an elevator; Assume the outcome as a foregone conclusion and try to talk around it, or claim it’s already happened.

Respond directly. “What? That’s ridiculous. I’ve never even seen ANY AI that I liked. Who told you it was going to pervade everything?”

Katana314, miesiąc temu

Take a look at Half-Life 2’s old Face Poser software. I feel like you don’t see that sort of action-level control much anymore.

Indie studios are evading the need for lipsync entirely, by making simple models, giving people masks, putting them on radio overlays, etc. AAA studios are overengineering it, putting a $4,000,000 actor in a motion capture suit for each of their cutscenes to capture every fine detail as they stare in wonder at the white ping-pong ball in the studio with the sign written; “LOOK HERE”.

Face Poser was a good median; it’s where the director gets control, but you don’t need a vast technical setup beyond animations, some vowel extraction, and some basic know-how. It means that if the director wants to add a criticism “No, character B should give a dubious, unsure look when character A says that”, it’s something they can apply directly rather than ask the animators to do by hand.

For some reference, old machinima like Clear Skies, or my own “AS” made use of Face Poser.

Katana314, miesiąc temu

Ooh, sorry, politics not allowed. /s

Sarcasm, but it’s sad that kind of hate gets wrapped into the definitions of “political opinions” these days.

Katana314, miesiąc temu

I could still see it as an admission of imperfection.

Arc Raiders includes an “unstuck” feature. They’re aware their physics system isn’t infallibly perfect, and getting stuck permanently could lead to loss of hard-earned gear. So, if a player is in one spot for more than a minute, they offer an option to teleport you to a safe place a few feet away.

Katana314, miesiąc temu

Watch Dogs 2 had an “invasion” system like Dark Souls, but it also allowed pausing in the world anytime you weren’t being invaded. It’s been a nice thing to point to anytime Souls fans make that excuse.

Katana314, miesiąc temu

I’d love it if a group could collude on a standard for music signals.

Imagine this: You have a music player following this signal standard.

Game starts, it signals GAME_STARTED, and the media player signals STOP_GAME_MUSIC, so the game itself plays no BGM, leaving it to the music player. But, then the game can also signal later on: THEME_MENUS, THEME_EXPLORE, THEME_COMBAT, THEME_BOSS; and the media player can respond to that by cross fading between playlists built for each.