Sterile_Technique

Sterile_Technique, 3 dni temu

If you liked Skyrim, check out Enderal - it’s a total conversion mod, but in Steam as it’s own game. It’s much more linear than Skyrim - the world still feels open, but it’s much more dense, and it’s scaled more like a traditional RPG, so if you wander off the intended path too far, you’ll get your ass beat by mobs that are much higher level than you.

Side quests are meh, with a notable exception of the Rhalata line, which is kind of like a combo of thieves guild and dark brotherhood. Main quest line is fucking wild.

If you skip the vast majority of side quests, you might have an issue with scaling, since you’ll be missing out on all that xp. If you run into that and don’t want to do the quests, just use the command console to cheat some in.

Sterile_Technique, 9 dni temu

https://media1.tenor.com/m/7YPeqJqd5roAAAAd/my-eyes-my-eyes-burn.gif

Sterile_Technique, miesiąc temu

They need to release a fake “Witcher 4” that’s just an older Geralt moping around his vineyard bitching about how his knees hurt. All of his quests would be things like pestering his workers about how badass he used to be, going to town to return a watermelon to the fruit vendor because of a mushy spot he didn’t notice when he purchased it, shit like that.

All the while, the townsfolk would slip idle chatter about crazy shit that Ciri’s doing off camera.

Sterile_Technique, miesiąc temu

There were multiple endings depending on the choices you make throughout the game. Same for the two DLCs.

The ‘good’ endings were in the base game she confronts the winter and succeeds, returns to Geralt as a father figure, and lives on as a witcher. Then in the Blood & Wine DLC, Geralt basically retires in his own vineyard.

Sterile_Technique, miesiąc temu

Honestly, as a stopgap that just releases out of nowhere for the sole purpose of building hype for the actual Witcher 4, kinda like how Bethesda did with their random vault dweller mobile game, I’d be all for it.

Bonus points if it’s 16 bit.

Sterile_Technique, miesiąc temu (edited miesiąc temu)

Star Citizen looked so fucking cool when it was announced like 15 years ago. Since then it’s dipped lower and lower every single time new info comes out.

Like, the hopeful dumbasses that got burned initially like my dumb ass did with No Man’s Sky, I kinda get… but how the absolute fuck are they still getting sales?? Are there seriously still people that don’t know it’s a scam?

Sterile_Technique, 2 miesiące temu

https://media1.tenor.com/m/YGv21ulkylwAAAAd/ms-msxoxm.gif

Sterile_Technique, 2 miesiące temu

https://media.tenor.com/it7HCvqdTZMAAAAj/bird-dancing.gif

Sterile_Technique, 3 miesiące temu

If this is a long term thing, you might consider a left handed gaming mouse with programmable side keys.

I hate to recommend Razer cuz their build quality has taken an absolute nose dive, but the only one I know of is the Razer Naga: www.razer.com/gaming-mice/…/rz01-03410100-r3m1

Setting some of the side keys as WASD and the usual surrounding support keys (Q, E, R F, G, X, C) and you can play almost any game one-handed.

The learning curve to get your brain to accept mouse movement and clicks with your left hand is annoying as fuck though.

Sterile_Technique, 3 miesiące temu

Good to hear.

I’ve had 4 - the 1st was around 2012 I think, and it was fucking amazing.

The second was around 2016, and even before plugging it in, it felt cheap. Actually using it, problems started popping up like measles in a red state - one of the side buttons stopped working, scroll wheel was janky.

The 3rd was around 2016, after exchanging the second via RMA. The L-click button was super fucked up right out of the box - it’d do this annoying thing where you push it down once, and like multiple clicks would register (the internet called it the ‘double click issue’ but was was WAY more than double… happened when I was using some art software and I’d have to ctrl+z like 10 times to clear all the actions it registered from a single click).

4th was around 2016, after exchanging the third via RMA >_< it made it a couple weeks without incident, but just when I thought I was in the clear, the cursor started jumping upwards a shit-ton randomly, which was hell trying to click-and-drag on anything. Then the internal LEDs went out (oh well, don’t really care if it’s pretty, but did like being able to see it in the dark). Then the double click thing started again.

Dealt with that for a while cuz I couldn’t afford to replace it and was tired of dealing with Razer’s customer service.

Then I joined the Air Force and didn’t have any time at all to game, so kinda fall out of the scene for a bit.

Separated around 2020, got myself a Corsair Scimitar, and lived happily ever after. Doesn’t come in lefty though. :-/

Sterile_Technique, 3 miesiące temu (edited 3 miesiące temu)

Probably 3/4 of my steam library are games that remain unplayed, and that I purchased with no intention to ever play.

…but that $5 was WELL worth the one game in the bundle that I actually cared about.

Sterile_Technique, 3 miesiące temu

In the case of No Man’s Sky specifically, probably still pretty bad. It wasn’t “lackluster” it was straight up false advertising. What they did was deceptive and intentional.

They’ve done a TON since then to try to make it right, but that doesn’t excuse their initial crime.

Sterile_Technique, 3 miesiące temu (edited 3 miesiące temu)

They showcased a LOT of features that only existed in a demo version, stated plainly that they existed in the full game (as opposed to “this is something we WANT to add but right now it only works in the demo…”). Same in interviews: he went into great detail about features that didn’t exist.

NMS was like being advertised a brand new Lamborghini, charged for a brand new Lamborghini, then being given a 2003 Honda Civic.

That’s not something early access or beta would have fixed. Might have reduced the scale of community’s negative response simply by limiting the number of purple who would have bought it, but those who made the purchase and then realized they were scammed would have been just as upset.

Sterile_Technique, 3 miesiące temu

I almost jumped on the Cyberpunk bandwagon just because it was CD Projekt Red. Kept telling myself they wouldn’t stoop to Hello Games’s level. …and they didn’t stoop quite that low, but for CD Projekt Red to put out something as shitty as Cyberpunk was a shock.

Fortunately I kept reminding myself about NMS and never did try Cyberpunk without first seeing reviews from real players… and holy fuck. Sounds like they’ve fixed a lot and the price has dropped, so I might dive in some day, but I definitely dodged a bullet with that one.

Just goes to show that NO company is worthy of your loyalty, regardless of their history.

Sterile_Technique, 3 miesiące temu

Buggy is forgivable to an extent. Hell it’s part of the charm in some games (looking at you, Bethesda).

It comes down to whether or not the game that was delivered actually lives up to the game that was sold, especially regarding gameplay footage and features/concepts promised in things like interviews.

Back to NMS - the game they advertised and the game they delivered were barely even comparable: it what dishonest, and that’s ultimately what pissed the gaming community.

Witcher III… buggy mess, but it still looked and felt like the game they promised, so we say whining about bugs, but that was kinda it.

Cyberpunk… kinda in between. No where near NMS levels of false advertising, but also failed to live up to gameplay demonstrations; so the community’s reaction was predictably more angry than what we saw with Witcher III’s bugs, but without the torch-and-pitchfork response that NMS got.

Sterile_Technique, 4 miesiące temu

Star Wars: Racer Revenge is probably the best racing game I’ve played to-date. It’s very similar to, and often confused with, the N64 podracing game, but it’s way more polished, and the driving physics are chef’s-kiss perfect. Like, the N64 game, the pod and two engines all move together as one unit; basically a car racing game with a pod racer skin. The PS2’s Racer Revenge actually feels like you’re in a pod that’s being pulled by two distinct engines.

Try playing in 1st-person view and set the controls (if you have a PS2 controller) so the left joystick controls the left pod and right joystick controls the right pod - so to turn left for example, you’d pull back on the left stick to brake the left pod, and push forward on the right to accelerate the right pod; since they’re tethered together, the right one arches around the left a bit, and it pulls the pod to the left. It’s harder to play that way vs the usual ‘press X to accelerate’ mechanic, but after the first couple laps you’ll have the hang of it, and it feels so satisfying.

Unfortunately, the last time I tried to run a rom of this game, it did NOT emulate well, to the point of being unplayable. That was probably at least 10 years ago though, so hopefully advancements since then mean it won’t be an issue for you; but heads up.

Sterile_Technique, 4 miesiące temu

Soul Reaver did NOT age well, but fuck was that a good series for its time.

Sterile_Technique, 4 miesiące temu

…so grain of salt, cuz the name of this one doesn’t sound right, but the screenshots look correct: Gradius V?

Side scroller arcade-y jet fighter - I remember it being good.

I just don’t remember it being called Gradius >_<

Sterile_Technique, 4 miesiące temu

One of the weirdest games I’ve ever played: Okage: Shadow King.

Think Final Fantasy gameplay + Zelda: Majora’s Mask level of being genuinely bizarre as all hell.

Fair warning, the music will be stuck in your head for the rest of your life.

Sterile_Technique, 4 miesiące temu

Dark Cloud 1 definitely earns its spot on the list, too!

Sterile_Technique, 4 miesiące temu

Downhill Domination is… honestly stupid as all hell, but by design: it’s a lot of fun :P

It’s a downhill mountain bike racing game with a combat system, and it’s ridiculous. You start being able to punch the bicyclists next to you; once you knock enough of them off their bikes you upgrade to being able to kick; then iirc you eventually get a stick or something lol. Otherwise, it’s just another get-from-point-A-to-B-as-fast-as-possible game that doesn’t require a lot of thought.

Sterile_Technique, 4 miesiące temu

Better late than never I guess.

https://lemmy.world/pictrs/image/8f8c622f-3ea5-4541-b405-8d33f28d2708.jpeg

Sterile_Technique, 5 miesięcy temu

If the build quality of their peripherals is any indication, I can only assume this product will also be shit.

Sterile_Technique, 6 miesięcy temu

My parents didn’t let me buy any shooter games other than jet force gemini

At least you landed on solid gold! Jet Force Gemini was the single best shooter for the N64. Far superior to Golden Eye. Yes, I’ll die on this hill.

Sterile_Technique, 6 miesięcy temu

Especially in the era before just looking shit up on the internet when you hit a snag. I remember scouring levels in that looking for a path that I’d missed when I couldn’t figure out where I was supposed to go next.

Definitely a highlight of the N64 for me. It’s up there with the Zeldas in my book.

Sterile_Technique, 6 miesięcy temu

…in an it was the worst thing ever kind of way - cuz that meant it was over Q_Q

Sterile_Technique, 7 miesięcy temu

…wait, actually this has the potential to be amazing! I remember the early days of online gaming, and gamers for the most part were some of the most welcoming and friendly people I’ve ever been around.

Something changed, and ‘gamer’ became a toxic word, and all but niche gaming communities kinda went to shit.

If Elon makes some cringe-ass MMO or something, it will act as a sponge to soak up all the toxic assholes from other gaming communities.

Do it.

Sterile_Technique, 7 miesięcy temu (edited 7 miesięcy temu)

When I was a teen I played WoW from vanilla through Cata… Had over a full year of in game /played time on just my main.

…and I made a lot of alts.

100% full-blown addicted.

Blizzard is actually the one example of enshittification that I can actually be thankful for - I didn’t really ever quit; they just stopped supplying my drug of choice. They definitely had the power to keep me enthralled, but instead shifted to a younger and younger target audience as I was ofc aging the opposite direction.

The Kung-Fu-Panda xpac trailer was finally my cue to accept that my dealer wasn’t going to provide that fix anymore.

Then I started making healthy life decisions discovered Ark >_<

Edit - …Ark owned my life for a bit, too:

https://lemmy.world/pictrs/image/b163eef3-35fc-4184-b8ff-3fcd0fcbdbae.png

Sterile_Technique, 7 miesięcy temu

Portal if you want to pass the controller, Portal 2 if you want multiplayer. Both great options for what you’re describing.

Sterile_Technique, 8 miesięcy temu

Ark’s Ragnarok map is almost a copy-paste of this image… I think it’s older than 5 years tho.

Sterile_Technique, 8 miesięcy temu

www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/images/237805

Sterile_Technique, 8 miesięcy temu

Don’t conflate legality with morality.

Sterile_Technique, 8 miesięcy temu

Ya got those flipped.

Sterile_Technique, 8 miesięcy temu

What did I get flipped?

Legality vs morality

Why wouldn’t torrenting the source code of proprietary software would be a legal issue?

It would be a legal issue. But it’s not a moral issue, which is why so few people are showing sympathy for Nintendo. They lose nothing if someone gets a copy of the code - there’s no victim. They do however have a LONG reputation for weaponizing the legal system by attacking fans with frivolous lawsuits - those DO have a victim, and are therefore a moral issue with Nintendo as the aggressor.

But regardless of context, again don’t conflate legality with morality. Ever. History is absolutely stuffed with atrocities that adhere to established law, that doesn’t make those atrocities okay. Videogame code is pretty minescule compared to legal attrocities like slavery or the holocost etc, but point remains that the law in-and-of-itself doesn’t mean shit.

Also fuck Nintendo.

Sterile_Technique, 8 miesięcy temu

Isn’t an event horizon just a question of being dense enough to bend light past the point of no escape?

A hollow planet supporting a detached core with enough density to have an event horizon seems kinda ridiculous… If even light can’t escape it, I don’t see some rocky ‘shell’ withstanding that much gravity. Any hollow section would have collapsed well before reaching the point of the planet’s densest point forming an event horizon.

Sterile_Technique, 9 miesięcy temu

Halo CE, Halo 2, and Halo 3 are great. Then the franchise was purchased by 343 and everything since has been a soulless COD clone with a Halo skin… and a random RTS.

Sterile_Technique, 9 miesięcy temu

Image search pulls up Masters of Albion

Higher res shot:

https://lemmy.world/pictrs/image/70d66116-564e-482a-9e29-5fbf8a870a38.png

Sterile_Technique, 10 miesięcy temu (edited 10 miesięcy temu)

Iirc (edit - apparently incorrect) Halo was the first to use left joystick as forward/backward and left/right strafe; and right joystick as look up/down and pivot left/right.

I even recall articles counting it as a point against the game due to its ‘awkward controls’ …but apparently after a tiny learning curve, the entire community/industry got on board.

Sterile_Technique, 11 miesięcy temu

Nice mix of metal and violin.

Juuuuust in case you’re not already familiar with symphonic metal… It’s pretty fuckin great.

Sterile_Technique, 11 miesięcy temu (edited 11 miesięcy temu)

Blind Guardian is pretty hit-and-miss: their shit lands somewhere on a spectrum of metal to renaissance-faire lol. Sacred Worlds is another one of my favorites.

All of Metallica’s S&M album is solid fucking gold, but the best (imo) song from it almost never gets the spotlight, so it’s tragically easy to miss: No Leaf Clover

Avenged Sevenfold isn’t symphonic metal, but they’ve got two songs that at least dip their toes in that water: The Stage, and Little Piece of Heaven.

Epica

If you know Epica you’re probably already familiar with Nightwish, but in case your not… well, Nightwish. Most of their music is more similar to Omega than the one I’m about to link, but this specific song is just so fucking weird, I love it: Scaretale. Definitely check out their other songs too!

Essence of Datum / Naxayras

You’d probably like Pelican - kind of ambient rock. Or Russian Circles, which is similar but more mellow.

Mohamed Shawky

Not familiar, and the only Mohamed Shawky’s I’m seeing on YouTube are a physicist and an athlete. Judging entirely by the name, I’m guessing it’s got some Arabic vibes, and the best I’ve got there is the first one I linked, Wheel of Time, mostly because of the intro… Antti Martikainen has some Arabic sounding songs - that dude’s music is ALL over the place… I recall one being a kind of Arabic metal that I could have SWORN was called “Ancient Worlds” but searching that isn’t coming up with anything. He does have Arabic hybrid sci-fi music lol. Skim that dude’s channel, and brace for a musical roller coaster.

Rivers of Nihil

Hmm, maybe try Lorna Shore, especially Pain Remains. Lorna Shore is WAY too throaty-howler-monkey-shit for me personally, but fortunately they’ve got instrumental versions too.

Sterile_Technique, 11 miesięcy temu

Halo 1, 2, and 3 all looked fine. Halo 4 and up all look like shit, cuz 343 made them shit.

Sterile_Technique, rok temu

try using the console to set the speed to like 0.5 or even slower. When things speed up, the game physics goes nuts; slowing them down stabilizes them again.

Sterile_Technique, rok temu

Orcs Must Die! $9.99 $2.99 (70% off)

Hybrid tower defense and 3rd person shooter/slasher. This game is… fucking stupid! Like by design - your character is a moron, and says some of the dumbest shit you’ll hear come out of a protagonist’s mouth. So with this game, you get a high dose of face-palmy humor paired with orc arms/heads/bones/etc flying across your screen after they get blended up by all your traps. Gameplay is surprisingly solid; you’ll get some time to think and plan where to place traps and obstacles; then you’ll get hit with a wave of orcs and other fantasy critters and try to manually pick off any that make it through the traps. There are a couple more games in this series - imo #1 is the best, but if you like this one, keep the others on your radar too.

Sterile_Technique, rok temu

Once you get a hold on dodging/parrying/etc, you’ll feel like a damn ninja, especially on harder difficulties; but leading up to that, yeah combat is… OK. Also don’t miss out of experimenting with different builds - one of my favorites optimized using bombs, which later into it makes you a walking B-52 - fun build if you enjoy clearing trash via a wave of pure chaos, then mopping up the stronger guys by way of the sword.

And yeah, the whole package is what counts here: Witcher 3 is a fantastic all around game. It isn’t without it’s imperfections, but they are barely noticeable amidst the tsunami of ridiculously high quality you’ll be hit with from all the other features.

Sterile_Technique, rok temu

Witcher 2’s controls are a bit janky, but it’s a solid game in and of itself for the story alone; if you can stomach some pretty bad mechanics to enjoy an otherwise decent product, I’d say start at #2.

Witcher 1 is… so bad it’s kinda comical. I’d just pull up a story summary of Witcher 1 on youtube and call it a day. If you’re a masochist, go ahead and give the actual game a whirl; but I’d recommend modding the snot out of it to at least make your character OP as fuck, allowing you to mostly skip the god-awful combat. But even then, the only selling point is the story, which again you can just pull up on YouTube.

That said, you can dive into 3 with zero knowledge of the previous two and be just fine. There are things that will go over your head, but nothing significant.

Sterile_Technique, rok temu

Abiotic Factor

Hadn’t heard of that one… it’s like a survival builder set in Half Life 1 lol. Wishlisted!

Sterile_Technique, rok temu

Oh, good catch. Fixed.