Coelacanth

Coelacanth, 7 miesięcy temu

I believe what you’re looking for, my friend, is something called jazzcore.

Coelacanth, 7 miesięcy temu

Why do I suddenly get an urge to drop what I’m currently playing and jump into this? Is it actually this good? Holy hell.

Coelacanth, 7 miesięcy temu

Pacific Ride

My first thought as well. Going through the video I was constantly like “okay, this is the same developer right surely”… but apparently not.

Still looks pretty good.

Coelacanth, 7 miesięcy temu

Haven’t played much but it’s Deus Ex: Mankind Divided still. Only at the beginning so far, doing side quests and exploring Prague. Really enjoying what I’m seeing so far and already am feeling bad for how the series got cut off and cancelled.

Coelacanth, 7 miesięcy temu

My gaming PC is on Win 11 because it’s recent and I’m lazy and it’s convenient. My laptop runs Win 10 so it’ll be Linux I guess. Not really looking forward to finding a distro and reinstalling and whatnot but what can you do. It’s been a good few years since I last had a Linux box so I’m pretty rusty and not up to date on the recent best distros.

Coelacanth, 7 miesięcy temu

I used to use UbuntuStudio back when I was playing around with music recording and production ages ago because it ran the real-time kernel which was important for JACK I think. Last time though was just Mint.

Coelacanth, 7 miesięcy temu

I’m probably not going to be doing much gaming on my laptop, if any. I could be persuaded to experiment if you have any other suggestions.

Coelacanth, 7 miesięcy temu

Wow, thank you for the extensive reply! I did used to use xfce back in the day, yes. Never had a problem with it, but those were maybe simpler times. Might look into KDE this time, why not.

I was really thinking less of the DE and more along the lines of if you had any recommendations that weren’t Ubuntu- or Debian-based, as that’s pretty much all I’ve used I think. But maybe that’s too much experimenting…

Coelacanth, 7 miesięcy temu

Thanks again for the rundown! Snapshotting like that is definitely cool, I can see why you enjoy it. I’m no stranger to having to nuke the system partition and reinstalling because I broke something so snapshots definitely sound like a convenient tool. Though I might be older and lazier now and less prone to do a bunch of weird things.

I know the memes of “Arch, btw” and have always been scared of it tbh. Maybe it isn’t so bad though? I’ve also heard people praise Bazzite, but I might lot end up doing much gaming on my laptop as I said.

Is the whole thing about real-time or low-latency kernel still a thing, or is that old news? Just in case I wanted to play around with JACK again.

Coelacanth, 7 miesięcy temu

Are we certain Witcher is the larger game in which Gwent resides and not the other way around?

Coelacanth, 7 miesięcy temu

Latching on to your Lovecraftian recommendations I’d like to put forth Skald: Against the Black Priory, which should presumably also run excellently on the Steam Deck. Keep an eye out for it during the sale, it’s a great tribute to retro CRPGs and has a wonderfully gloomy lovecraftian vibe.

Coelacanth, 7 miesięcy temu

You’ll like it I think, I played it earlier this year and absolutely loved it. Great vibe, good story, beautiful pixel art and a great retro feel without the clunk of actual retro games 😄 Cool world building too.

Coelacanth, 7 miesięcy temu

Okay this is a little off script since it’s not an open world game, but if you’re only looking for satisfying movement you should take a look at Neon White. Just be warned that the writing is… on the cringier side. But that doesn’t really matter in the end.

Coelacanth, 7 miesięcy temu

Not really, though I can understand your point of view. I went into STALKER 2 fully aware that it wasn’t Anomaly, and I was able to enjoy it for what it is (despite needing to use console commands on three separate occasions to progress past hard-locking bugs). I finished it probably a month after release so don’t know its current state.

I was sufficiently engaged in the story and the presentation to definitely want to finish the game, and I enjoyed the new map and the blend of new and familiar locations. After spending so much time with the originals and the Anomaly map it was great to get a fix of more new content with the same vibe - some of the underground lab locations managed to hit classic STALKER vibes for me and kept me going to the end.

If I were to boot up some STALKER right now I might go for Anomaly over another run of S2 though, and that will probably continue to be the case until the DLC drops.

Coelacanth, 7 miesięcy temu

Oh, you know what happened? I just realized, I hadn’t even read the introductory material and realized it was from a public survey. It’s a “first past the post” problem.

First past the post is remarkably shit isn’t it. I think your analysis is completely right.

Coelacanth, 7 miesięcy temu

I think FarmVille might genuinely be the “correct” answer for this question, but it was never going to win a popular vote contest like this.

Coelacanth, 7 miesięcy temu

I mean, it’s not like that at all though? Even setting aside the popularisation of the free-to-play model and its monetisation - which has defined mobile games (an industry dwarfing all other types of games in revenue by the way), FarmVille was the first innovator in terms of really invasive big data analysis of customer behaviour to maximise profit and retention. The way Zynga did player data analysis (back in 2009 I might add) literally set the tone for all modern internet. There are plenty of articles about the influence of FarmVille, here’s one.. There is another one here.

Coelacanth, 8 miesięcy temu

I’ve almost completely stopped keeping up with M:TG these days. I used to be into it but it just feels like it’s completely jumped the shark these days.

Coelacanth, 8 miesięcy temu

I enjoyed the early mythos of M:tG, but I already started losing interest when they went all Marvel with their whole Gatewatch thing.

Even though individual sets (like LOTR) have been well made and successful, the whole Universes Beyond thing just further dilutes the identity of Magic too much for me. I’m sick of endless exploitation of existing IPs from all over the entertainment business. I understand why they do it from a financial perspective, but it doesn’t appeal to me at all.

Add to that the endless garbage of Secret Lair drops like goddamn Spider-Man and SpongeBob and I think MTG just isn’t for me anymore.

Coelacanth, 8 miesięcy temu

I’m playing Mankind Divided right now and loving it, already bracing for the heartbreak of the unresolved cliffhanger I know is coming.

Coelacanth, 8 miesięcy temu

GIF inclusion

On that note, the GIFs don’t seem to load for me. Tried three different apps (Summit, Thunder, Sync).

Coelacanth, 8 miesięcy temu

Doesn’t load for me in Voyager either but it works in browser so there there alright. What the hell

Coelacanth, 8 miesięcy temu

Enjoy it! BG2 is still my favourite in the series, even having played BG3. Savour ever line David Warner utters as Irenicus, there have been few performances so perfect in a video game even all these years later.

Coelacanth, 8 miesięcy temu

I’ve been trying to get through NOLF this year (never played it before) and it definitely feels janky and clunky. Some pretty awful stealth too. It doesn’t really feel like they’ve aged all that well. Maybe the sequel is better, who knows.

I gave up after a couple of hours as I just wasn’t having fun at all, I realised I was only playing because it’s a classic and I wanted to be able to say I had played it.

Coelacanth, 8 miesięcy temu

System Shock 2. I’m basically also holding off on playing the SS1 remake until I hear official confirmation that the sequel is getting the same treatment.

Coelacanth, 8 miesięcy temu

BG3 is great and all but there are other games with at least equal voice acting quality. For all its qualities I never felt like “wow, I’ve never seen voice acting like this in a game!” when I played BG3. It’s really good and really consistent but nothing earth shattering.

I know I bring up Disco Elysium a lot, but that is one game where I got repeatedly shocked at the quality and diversity of the voice acting. With the exception of one single character I think it’s acted to absolute perfection.

I also didn’t really feel the same about Alan Wake 2 like, at all. I thought it had superb acting (both voice and full video segments) and probably hold the quality of its acting above BG3 personally. Alan Wake 1 less so.

Coelacanth, 8 miesięcy temu

I don’t think Ruby works well but I suspect it’s a problem with direction rather than the voice actor themselves.

Coelacanth, 8 miesięcy temu

The Alice videos in AW2 are some of the best acting I’ve seen in a video game.

Coelacanth, 8 miesięcy temu

I played BG3 straight after Cyberpunk and that really stood out to me as well. The immersion and emotional impact of voiced protagonist lines really got me invested in Cyberpunk in a way I missed in BG3.

Coelacanth, 8 miesięcy temu

They’re mostly also just all the same, so playing one after another back-to-back exacerbates the issue, at least for me. There are some exceptions, but that checklist filled Ubisoft collect-a-thon design philosophy really wears you out quick. At least it does me.

Coelacanth, 8 miesięcy temu

It’d be kind of like if Assassin’s Creed Unity played the same song that was in that famous reveal trailer (…)

God, that AC Unity trailer with “Everybody Wants To Rule The World” might still be my all time favourite trailer. It’s so good.

I’m glad AC Shadows is going in a good direction though. I thought the series was completely lost after the shift to RPGs. Still not sure I’ll play it but I might consider it now on sale. Yours is not the first surprisingly positive review I’ve seen.

Coelacanth, 8 miesięcy temu

A high effort post on Lemmy? It’s more likely than you think!

Absolutely love these, they are delightful! They must take a lot of energy to put together but it’s so very much appreciated.

Coelacanth, 8 miesięcy temu

I haven’t gotten around to them myself yet (they’re on the docket this year) but I’ve heard this said about Yakuza 1&2 since the release of Kiwami 1&2.

Coelacanth, 8 miesięcy temu

The classic Fallouts do have some quirks, but I hope you get through them and can get into it. They are absolutely amazing games, well worth your time.

Coelacanth, 8 miesięcy temu

The original is rough yes, but I don’t know anyone that would play it over the Remaster these days. And the remaster is fine as far as playability goes. However, it’s still a candidate for this thread simply because the DS1 bosses will feel very anticlimactic for anyone who has played DS3/ER/Bloodborne/Sekiro.

Coelacanth, 8 miesięcy temu

I’ve personally gotten a lot out of all the AI enhanced graphics technologies, and pretty much consider these applications the absolute perfect use case for the AI we have today. Yes, they shouldn’t be a substitute for optimisation, but overcorrecting the other way and attempting to claim that DLSS is garbage that ruins everything and looks like shit is also bad (and untrue).

Even frame generation has its uses, as long as you don’t play something fast paced where there is a lot of camera movement and/or you’ll feel the added input lag too much.

A special shout-out to the redheaded stepchild of the family too: DLDSR is a fantastic technology and once you’ve tried it you’ll never want to go back.

Coelacanth, 8 miesięcy temu

The F1 season kicked off, so I played around a bit with F1 Manager 2024 since it was free on Epic a few weeks ago. It’s much like the previous iterations of the series - great presentation but vapid and shallow underneath. It’s a real shame, because there are things about it that are compelling. Having all those real team radios and proper circuits and gorgeous cockpit views during races and all the official branding does make a difference. In-race management is also pretty damn fun.

The problem is that it was designed by a team that don’t understand management games. Everything about it starts falling apart the more seasons you play, which is the complete antithesis of what management players are after. The great things like team radios disappear as you replace your drivers and staff members with youngsters or generated people who don’t have voice clips. Nobody has a personality, there are no off-track events that make you invested. The greatness of the perfectly replicated race calendar fades as tracks aren’t added or removed between seasons. There are no interesting regulation changes over time that change fundamental aspects of the car or the rules. The power ranking and properties of the engines never change.

There is no soul or depth here to hook you for years upon years and make you want to build a dynasty. It basically only works if you pick a top or midfield team and try to manage a championship win during the first or second season, beyond that it loses its shine. Still, it’ll be a decent distraction this week as there is no race to watch.

Coelacanth, 8 miesięcy temu

I’m taking this topic to be less of “what’s the most important video game” (which we already had a long discussion post about recently re: the BAFTA award thing) and more of “what’s the best game to just sit down and play right now”. In which case, probably Portal 2? I can’t think of a much better candidate in terms of being a perfect execution of what it sets out to do with an appeal that can be compelling for absolutely everyone regardless of taste.

Coelacanth, 8 miesięcy temu

Divinity: Original Sin 2 is basically just more BG3 (though with less production quality) so that should be right up your RPG-loving friend’s alley. Turn based combat and click-to-move lets you play the whole thing with just your mouse I’m pretty sure.

Coelacanth, 8 miesięcy temu

I’m in the minority that says the newest games don’t need to get 60fps 4k ultra on the newest GPUs

This is a great take tbh and I agree. Future proofing is a thing and we’ve seen old benchmark games hold up remarkably well thanks to it - hell, look at Crysis! I also think a lot of people underestimate just how demanding 4k is. We’re still not at the point where 4k is the new 1080p imo.

Coelacanth, 8 miesięcy temu

I’m kind of in the same boat. SS2 will always be there if I wanted to play it, and a remaster isn’t really making me more or less likely to. But a full remake would be very interesting especially since the studio was so successful with the SS1 remake and it turned out so well.

Coelacanth, 8 miesięcy temu

Graphically it looks awesome too. At the native settings it would have had around 2012 it didn’t look to great, but after raising it to the max it looks really good. It can be crazy how future proofed older games are with graphic options.

One of the best things I’ve found for cleaning up older games is DLDSR. Hell, I try to use it on any game I can get away with, but on older games especially it’s great because you have so much excess FPS to play with that it’s basically free. The anti-aliasing effect of it is especially nice on older games and typically much better than the native AA solution.

Coelacanth, 8 miesięcy temu

Intent is critical for my enjoyment of art. What makes art wonderful is that it lets you connect with another human being, get a glimpse into their mind, see their perspective, feel their feelings.

Gen AI as it exists today has no intent, so I have no interest in it.

Coelacanth, 8 miesięcy temu

I have a good PC but not top-of-the-line and I was getting playable frames at launch already. The only way 40 FPS on a top PC makes sense to me is something like playing in 4k and with DLSS turned off.

Coelacanth, 8 miesięcy temu

I agree that the original is tighter, but I love the free-form adventure of 2.

While that is also true, what I hear most about is the tone. Fallout 1 is really rather dark, grim and gritty. It leans more into the heavy side of a post-apocalyptic setting and some people really liked that, and were disappointed when FO2 came out and leaned noticeably more into the wacky side of things.

Played it? I voiced a talking dog in it!

Wait, really? That’s so cool! Do you know the current status of the project? The last update was over two years ago…

Coelacanth, 8 miesięcy temu

I think that’s another thing as well, a lot of people go in with the idea that you can to some extent “play as yourself” like you do in many RPGs. And they get frustrated when they’re only given stupid or horrible dialogue options like “why would I ever say any of these things?!”. Because the game is actually rather restrictive in terms of roleplay: yes you can choose your flavour and variety of crazy but at the end of the day you’re always Harry, you’re always insane and damaged and you can’t change that.

For me personally, I’m also an utter failure and I hate myself deeply, so maybe that’s why I easily resonated with the protagonist. And in the end, much of the actual story is about dealing with failure, about finding hope amidst despair and about overcoming and letting go of the past.

Coelacanth, 8 miesięcy temu

I honestly wish Larian had just left the IP alone and done a standalone D&D game. There is absolutely no narrative reason for any of the tie-ins and callbacks, it was literally just a case of wanting the brand recognition for better marketing and then shoehorning in some old fan favourites and calling it a day. Seeing Sarevok and Viconia as they were in BG3 just makes me sad.

Coelacanth, 8 miesięcy temu

I don’t know how far you got, but you might have gotten unlucky with who you spoke to in game. Lena, Anette, Tommy, Mañana and Roy are all immediately accessible for example and are all rather lovely people, providing some soft contrast to other more abrasive characters.

Can’t say anything about the delivery of the content though. It’s certainly extremely info dumpy and text heavy - part of why I was saying to start with that it’s less than a game and more of a novel.