Essence_of_Meh

Essence_of_Meh, 3 miesiące temu

For those wondering about why such basic features are mentioned here it’s because work on Squadron 42 (single player part of the project) moved to the polishing stage and everything created for it is being ported back to Star Citizen (multi player part).

Is it worth an article? It is if you’re interested in the game, I guess?

Is SC a perfect project? Of course not, far from it. I do find it interesting however how… angry it makes people and how much they want it to fail. Yeah, I know $1000+ packages and so forth (not needed if you just want to play the game btw).

For those interested in actually checking for themselves whether it’s a scam or not, there are free flight events multiple times a year - you get to see the current state of the game with everything good and bad it entails. Surprisingly enough, they tend to bring in more players every single time.

Essence_of_Meh, 3 miesiące temu

I absolutely agree with this point. I think CIG’s inability to openly communicate when things go bad is a big reason for the scam allegation (that and loooooots of issues with planning, especially early on). I see it’s as a serious problem for a project that presents itself as “open development” (which it is, don’t take me wrong, but not as much as it should be).

I think both CIG and players underestimated how long it takes to build a company, tech and two big budget games at the same time. It’s 100% on the devs to realize and communicate that, which they failed to do.

For better or worse, S42 is officially in its final stretch. Is it really? Transfer of people towards SC seems to confirm that but we’ll see when the game finally releases. When that happens we’ll also see whether game taking this long was worth it.

Essence_of_Meh, 3 miesiące temu (edited 3 miesiące temu)

Just to clarify, which roadmap are we talking about?

• The changes to the release view from last year or so?
• One from CitizenCon after addition of full planet exploration?
• One from the early days where SC was suppose to be a prettier Freelancer with planets separated by a loading screen and consisting of a small hub for activities?

I’d like to make sure which one we’re talking about.

Edit: I’d also like to add, how far are we going with people being scammed?

I can understand this view for early backers (I’m one of them) but what about people who decided to drop money on the game in the last 2 or even 5 years? Were they also scammed despite hundreds of articles about delays, issues and thousands of people yelling about a scam every time SC is mentioned?

Essence_of_Meh, 3 miesiące temu

Eh, let’s not act like CIG is completely blameless in all of this. They made a lot of mistakes along the way and SC is still far from what they promised it to be.

They’re getting there, but it’s a slow process.

Essence_of_Meh, 3 miesiące temu

Some people think trying to “defend” the project means I completely agree with how and what is being done so I’m just trying to cover my bases.

Essence_of_Meh, 3 miesiące temu

Except scope hasn’t really changed in years? I might be wrong since I’m not trawling through every single piece of content released but I’m pretty sure most of the expansions are related to CIG figuring out details of already promised features.

I’m sure someone following the game closer can provide more details on that.

Essence_of_Meh, 3 miesiące temu

On the contrary, the last few years were pretty much fully focused on Squadron, with SC being maintained by (almost a) skeleton crew - hence the slow updates.

Now updates are seemingly picking up, though it’s early to say for sure since we only got one quarterly patch so far, with next one probably targeting April-May (depending how porting some of new additions goes).

Essence_of_Meh, 3 miesiące temu

Which is why I appreciate them doing free flight events. They don’t present the game in the best light a lot of the time but it’s a great way to test if the game is for you in it’s current form (or even in general). They are also a good way to prevent new players from feeling scammed so there’s that.

I feel like a lot of us backed and stayed with this project despite all of the issues exactly because they’re trying to do something no one else is willing to risk. It’s a rough road, full of mistakes and delays but they’re sticking with it, which is more than many people expected.

Essence_of_Meh, 3 miesiące temu

If you hated Nier Automata then perhaps Drakengard 3 would be more up your alley?

It’s still emotional by the end but that game has more humor and is more whimsical/strange - especially during route A. The initial humor can be a hit or miss but I think it’s used nicely to contrast with later parts of the story.

Unfortunately it’s a PS3 exclusive and considering how the game runs on that system the best way to play it is emulation.

Essence_of_Meh, 3 miesiące temu

Episode Aigis (or The Answer in the west) was an expansion/epilogue to the base game. (In)Famous for its focus on combat and sparse story content.

The original release was pretty long (about 30 hours, I think) so I guess they thought it would be too much work to add it to base remake? Or they just wanted money, I dunno. It’s Atlus. They have a… special approach to game development.

Essence_of_Meh, 3 miesiące temu

This hurts twice as much since I’m just going through the FemC route for the first time. She’s great! (ಡ‸ಡ)

Essence_of_Meh, 3 miesiące temu

I played her as my new game+ when I first played P3P

That’s exactly what I’m doing as well. Correct me if I’m wrong but isn’t Ken romance optional? Granted, it might be easy to fall into but still.

Still need to go through P1 & 2, for now they’re just taunting me whenever I look through my game library…

Essence_of_Meh, 3 miesiące temu

It could also be Ken or the original MC considering his hermit social link. Man does Persona love their age-difference tag.

Essence_of_Meh, 3 miesiące temu

I mean… I love Ms. Toriyumi Maya so there’s no need to defend him. Besides, everyone is a dog on the internet after all.

Essence_of_Meh, 4 miesiące temu

This sounds interesting. I didn’t have time to try out the demo myself so thanks for the impressions, sounds like something right up my alley.

Essence_of_Meh, 4 miesiące temu

I have a side question if you don’t mind.

In multiple posts you mentioned how you expected people on fediverse to be “more principled” and how they can only support the smaller option or just give up and accept everything corps throw at them which is why you’re surprised some play gacha games.

Does that expectation also extend to “normal” F2P games like Apex, Fortnite etc? Does it include people playing full-price AAA games? Titles like GTA, Diablo, Halo, majority of MMOs and more - games that not only are paid but also include season passes and micro transactions.

Should people also avoid those?

Just so we’re clear, it’s a genuine question. I have no skin in the game as I don’t really play HSR, AAA games or really care what people expect from me but I’m curious about your perspective on things.

Essence_of_Meh, 4 miesiące temu

Which is totally fair - I feel like most (conjecture?) people who dislike such things will simply avoid these games and play other stuff.

OP focused on gacha games but didn’t mention paid ones despite the fact many of them implement similar monetization schemes which is why I’m curious about their point of view on this.

Essence_of_Meh, 4 miesiące temu

Alright, that cleared up some things, thanks. I assume FIFA’s (well, EA’s FC) Ultimate Team also falls under that umbrella since it’s straight up rolling for power?

Since you’re fine with cosmetics what about mobile/gacha games that are primarily that?

For example, I play a game called Girls Frontline - I didn’t pay anything yet have all bar 3 characters (the missing ones can be farmed on stages I haven’t played yet) with most of them leveled up and equipped for pretty much any available content. There’s no stamina that needs to be refilled and events have 3 difficulty levels to allow even new(ish) players to complete the story. The main monetary incentive here comes from skins (which can also be obtained using saved up resources). Would a game like this be alright according to your perspective?

While majority of gacha can absolutely be predatory there are more titles like that within the “genre” which is why I’m interested in your focus on mobile titles. Sorry if it sounds like I’m trying to look for a “gotcha” or something like that - that’s not my intention.

Essence_of_Meh, 4 miesiące temu

I’m glad I could give you a chance to expand on your view in a more neutral manner. I like discussing things and learning other people’s points of view so I try to approach online discussion in a positive and open-minded way. It’s not always easy but I try.

I think the main reason people jumped on you so easily was the tone of your OP and some of the more heated comments - they come off like you aren’t really interested in an explanation but rather looking for affirmation in shit talking other people’s interest in those games. Feeling strongly about a topic can be a detriment at times and it’s an easy way to derail a decent topic for a conversation.

That said, seems like we’re pretty much on the same page even if I don’t feel as strongly towards the disliked parts of the industry as you do. I simply stick to titles that don’t punish me for not spending ever increasing amounts of money.

Essence_of_Meh, 5 miesięcy temu

Tim partially retreads the stuff that was already mentioned by various people in the industry (including Gabe Newell) but it’s by no means a bad thing - especially since he adds some personal stuff as well.

If anyone is interested in game design and history of the industry Tim’s channel is a great watch in general. There’s lots of cool stories and tips for aspiring devs.

Essence_of_Meh, 5 miesięcy temu

According to this tweet by the dev game will also be available on mobile (albeit after the PC release).

Essence_of_Meh, 5 miesięcy temu

So nothing will really change? Seriously though, I’m just glad this stuff will be properly marked so people can make an informed decision.

Essence_of_Meh, 5 miesięcy temu

Is it really dumb?

AI generated content has a lot of unanswered legal questions around it which can lead to a lot of headache with moderation and possibility of illegal content showing up (remember that not only “well meaning” devs will use these tools). It’s seems reasonable for a company to try minimize the risk.

As for disclaimer, it will allow people make an informed decision - not sure what’s wrong with that.

Essence_of_Meh, 5 miesięcy temu

I’d like to mention that I’m not exactly up to date with AI related legislation so treat what I’m about to write as a genuine attempt to understand their worries rather than trying to be smart.

I remember there being a lot of uncertainty about the legality of what and how can('t) be used in training models (especially when used for commercial purposes) - has that been settled in any way? I think there was also a case of not being able to copyright AI generated content due to lack of human authorship (I’d have to look for an article on this one as it’s been a while) - this obviously won’t be a problem if generated assets are used as a base to be worked upon.

As for illegal content - Valve mentioned it in regards to live-generated stuff. I assume they’re worried about possibility of plagiarism and things going against their ToS, which is why they ask about guardrails used in such systems. On a more general note, there were also cases of AI articles coming up with fake stories with accusations of criminal behavior involving real people - this probably won’t be a problem with AI usage in games (I hope anyway) but it’s another sensitive topic devs using such tools have to keep in mind.

Again, I’m nowhere near knowledgeable enough to write this stuff from a position of confidence so feel free to correct me if any of this has been dealt with.

Essence_of_Meh, 5 miesięcy temu

Thanks for the links, that’s exactly why I wasn’t sure where things stand currently. While I am familiar with EFF, I wasn’t aware of that article so it was an interesting read.

The one I kind of remembered (even though only partially) was the Reuters article, which contains this quote I was referring to:

The office reiterated Wednesday that copyright protection depends on the amount of human creativity involved, and that the most popular AI systems likely do not create copyrightable work.

It’s obviously a bit more complicated than how I mentioned it initially so I’m glad I could read it again.

The original ban was always meant to be temporary as far as I understand, Valve simply wanted some time to decide rather than make a rash decision (it’s easier to open the floodgates than it is to clean up after the fact). I’m sure things will change in the future as AI tools become more and more common anyway.

Essence_of_Meh, 5 miesięcy temu

Damn, that’s a good chunk of info! Thanks for taking the time to go into details on how things work.

Essence_of_Meh, 6 miesięcy temu

The few glimpses at technology (future bike for example) and ads gives me hope for a neat spin on the classic elements of the setting. That’s all we can do for now, I guess.

Essence_of_Meh, 6 miesięcy temu

I wish all you guys had the same access to modding as PC crowd but I’m afraid anything like script extender would be too much of a risk for any console manufacturer. Still, they do experiment with console mods so who knows, maybe one day?

Essence_of_Meh, 6 miesięcy temu

THERE’S A BEYBLADE MINIGAME!

I mean, it looks interesting. I don’t expect much from the writing based on what was shown but gameplay seems alright?

Essence_of_Meh, 6 miesięcy temu

I’m pretty sure devs are fully aware of what’s going to happen which is why they avoided putting their names on the project and included the source code.

Hammer was always going to come down since they included game assets in the build - news articles won’t really change much on this matter,

Essence_of_Meh, 6 miesięcy temu

Of course, I hope my comment didn’t imply otherwise. Unfortunately even a different title and completely original assets (AM2R?) won’t help much with some companies.

Good enough project will catch their eye sooner or later anyway.

Essence_of_Meh, 6 miesięcy temu

Didn’t have time to check it out myself yet but considering there’s still no public release date it’s most likely case of “things change too much to focus on teaching” or simply forgetting (spending days on a project can blur the line between what is and isn’t obvious). Not trying to dismiss your complaint obviously - one should expect people to need some guidance.

It might be worth letting the devs know - the more people mention it the more likely they’ll realize it’s a problem.