Frustrating!

 New World developers: this is frustrating!  I've completed a task and there is no place to stamp it on my card.  This is dumb!

Battlefield 2042 Shutdown

 Battlefield 2042 has a new special event, Leviathan Rising, and includes a game mode called Shutdown.  

Attack, Plant & Protect - Infiltrate enemy objectives & plant the Lances; a new mode objective in Shutdown, protect them, and score as many points as possible.

Defend, Locate & Disable - Locate and eliminate Lance Carriers, prevent their dropped Lances from being picked up, and defuse any that do get planted, with prejudice.

 Basically it is conquest but players get to plant the flag (the Lance).  It is also infantry-only so no vehicles.  Combat is all close quarter as the maps are small.  This is an entirely different experience than normal Battlefield.

 Personally, I do not find the mode to be much fun.  I enjoy the change in pace with the infantry combat, but matches can get lopsided quickly and it's pretty miserable spending 7 minutes (max for half of a round) getting killed repeatedly.

 This mode may be fun in a coordinated group, but as a solo player with unorganized teams this is a mess.  I will play enough to get the rewards but then I'm done and back to breakthrough.

2 hours, 400 rabbits

New World: Defiled Storage Chest of the Hare

 After about two hours of grinding and killing 400 rabbits I have my Defiled Storage Chest of the Hare.

 Now to find a spot in the house I want to put it!

Internet Outage

Offline Gaming

 My internet was out this morning... of course the one morning where I woke up early to play some online games.  Instead I had to settle for offline gaming.  My offline game of choice is Wreckfest and I nabbed first place in a race on my favorite track: Tribend.  Woot!

Look ma! First place!

Rabbit Face

Hip hop mother f*ckers

0.50% drop chance

 I jumped on to kill some corrupted bunnies in New World's "Rabbit's Revenge" event that started today.  One of the drops that is possible, with a 0.50% chance of dropping, is the Corrupted Rabbit Mask skin.  On my 6th kill; it dropped. Woot!

Why are runeglass gems so expensive in New World?

 Why!?

 Just a quick gripe: why are runeglass gems and their components so expensive in New World?  The game actively requires players to change gems between content... why make it so runeglass gems and their components cost thousands of gold or hours to farm together materials?  Why can't they be on the same level as regular gems that cost a few hundred gold?

 #frustrated 

Look at these prices!

New World: Infernus Farm Build

AKA the Solo Myrkgard Build

 As I mentioned in my last post I have been working to obtain Infernus in New World.  I am doing this solo which requires a build that can take a lickin' and keep on tickin'.  This means heavy armor and the ability to self heal.  And since we are in Myrkgard already; we may as well farm it... solo!

 The key's of the build are:

• Heavy armor with corrupted ward
• A warhammer with Trenchant Recovery
• A sword with life steal

Note: see image at the wayyyyyyyyy bottom for all of my current gear.

Armor and Attributes

 The good news on the heavy armor front is there is plenty of corrupted ward heavy armor.  If you've run Tempest Heart chances are you have various pieces of Tempestuous armor.  Or the Lorica Squamata chest piece from The Ennead.  Or from the Winter Convergence event you have the patterns that come with corrupted ward not only do you get the ward but also +Luck.  Upgrading the armor to 620+ also goes a long ways and the set can double for tanking corrupted expeditions.

 For gems I just went with opals in the armor.

 Attributes are 300 CON / 200 STR.  If you want to spend a lot of time being flung around but have a little more damage you can go 300 STR / 200 CON, but with the Season 1 patch moving the grit passive to 300 CON I am preferring the 300 CON build (with my heavy builds in the past I always went 300 STR because of the grit passive).

Weapons

 For the weapons I go with Warhammer and Sword and Shield.  For the hammer the key is Trenchant Recovery so you can self heal with heavy attacks.  For Sword the key is life stealing and shield you want the corrupted ward.

 The weapon builds are focused on defense and gaining life. Don't overthink it; there is a lot of flexibility here as long as you get the parts of the trees that boost defense and life gain.  I use Path of Destiny on my hammer because I have a hammer with Leeching Path of Destiny perk.

Warhammer Build

Sword and Shield Build

Misc.

To go with the armor and weapons you will want the following consumables:

• Corruption Tinctures (I use Strong as its the most cost effective) - this stops the damage ticks from corruption (my tincture running out in a bad spot is the only reason I am at risk of death).  These only last 5 minutes regardless of level so take lots of them.  Note: if a group clears the portals then the corruption is not active until the portals respawn so no need to use tinctures if the portals are cleared.  Also read below on a spot you can sit between kills that is safe from corruption all the time.
  
• Infused Health and Regeneration potions; don't use many as you heal mostly from your attacks but good to have in a pinch and if you end up with more than one group of enemies (you can tank quite a bit at once with this build).
  
• Hearty Meals.  They are cheap and I eat one before each kill for a little bit of healing.
• Carrot Cake.  It is the cheapest attribute food for STR/CON and I always seem to forget to bring enough so I get them in bulk!
  

 Where/what to farm?

 Simple: Disciple of Disorder in Myrkgard is the only enemy that drops Infernus.  Fast travel to the Tempest Heart shrine and it's a quick jaunt over some stairs and down to where Disciple of Disorder spawns.

 There is approximately a 5-6 minute respawn time.  In-between respawns I either do PvP arenas, recall to the house, or wander around Myrkgard farming other stuff/opening elite chests.

Map from linked website

Fight Mechanics

 The fight is straightforward.  Disciple of Disorder spawns waves of hound minions, but with your ward armor, 300 CON, and Trenchant Recovery and life steel on abilities you should be near full health the entire fight (remember to use corruption tincture or the corruption ticks will make it a lot harder to stay alive).

 My normal rotation is Shockwave followed by heavy attacks with the hammer.  I use Clear Out if I get surrounded by the hounds.  I throw in a Path of Destiny if a group of hounds are lined up (it can really charge up your heartrune).  Then I use Detonate whenever I can to speed up the fight but be careful as you take extra damage while using it.  I try to dodge the knockdown waves.  Dodging (so I don't have full stamina) also increases my damage due to my runeglass gem on my hammer and also triggers shirking fortification.

 I only swap to my sword when I am bored with hammer or if I end up with a bunch of extra adds that need to be blocked.

Safe spot from corruption

 There is a spot where you can sit up on a rock between a wall and a house right next to Disciple of Disorder that does not tick corruption.  Note: you cannot fight Disciple in this spot; it will leash and reset.  You will also aggro Disciple and the other corrupted that spawn here so it's not safe safe; just safe from corruption ticks between kills.

 See the screenshot below for the spot:

Safe spot!

Current Gear

All my gear for farming Myrkgard and for Infernus!

Farming for Infernus in New World

Great Tanking Sword

A farmin' we will go!

 

I am solo farming Infernus, a tanking sword, in New World.  I will post more info and a guide with my build and the consumables in the near future, but for now here is a screenshot of try number 20 or so (not sure how many times I'll have to do this until RNGesus answers the prayer)!

New World Rabbit's Revenge (2023)

Rabbit's Revenge: 2023 Edition

 Rabbit's Revenge is back in New World starting 4/12 and with it comes this creepy poster image!  Also it comes with some quality of play improvements; rewards are now guaranteed after 200/400 slain rabbits (last year there was no guarantee; I gave up after 600+ kills without the chest reward).

 

 

 Sorry Stanley, everyone will be gunning for you!

Day 3: New World Season 1

Bugs Bunny

 My day 3 in New World Season 1 featured bugs.

 First; I ran into a bug where refining Tier 5 materials doesn't seem to count towards the activity card task.  The first 5 counted, but the rest did not so the task sits at 5/50 and cannot be completed as far as I can tell.

 The next bug I ran into was that you sometimes cannot change the skin on your gear.  This is irritating considering you are awarded several skins in the season pass (and there are skins on the Twitch drop currently).  It is also random which piece of gear will not let you change skin and then on your next login it changes which gear is bugged.  For example; I could not change my chest piece skin this morning but all other slots were fine.  Yesterday it was all gear slots I couldn't change.

 While frustrating; these are not game breakers.  I am still over all enjoying the season and finding myself doing more and more of the card activities.  I tackled the first couple of quests in the storyline and hit level 39 now on the season!

Day 2: New World Season 1

Day 2 of New World Season 1

 New World Season 1 hit the servers this week and yesterday I posted about Day 1.  Day 2 is now in the books.

 For Day 2 I focused on starting my progression on the Season levels.  I opted not to start the story quest line and instead focused on some of the tasks in the season journey as well as completing activity cards.  

 I like the season journey as it gives a good cross section of activities to try out in the game.  Two of the activities, duels and playing music, brought me to parts of the game I've not touched in months.  While they were brief visits back to these systems it was good to be reminded they are there and to get rewarded for participating in them.  This, to me, is the best way for battle passes to work in games.

 The activity cards are mediocre.  They do hit that theme of encouraging players to explore different parts of the game, but I question why there was a need to add the complexity of the bingo card system.  There is too much time spent looking at menu screen for the card and tasks; time better spent actually playing the game.  I would much have preferred just a simple daily/weekly task list where a quick glance tells me what to go knock out.

 At least the task list on the cards can be refreshed because there can be a big discrepancy in level of effort between tasks.  One task will be "complete an expedition" that will take 30 minutes while another will be kill 10 enemies that will take a couple minutes while yet another will be "eat 10 food" which takes 30 seconds.  Refreshing, which costs azoth the more you refresh, can result in a simple bingo completion.  And again this micromanagement is happening in the menu taking away from engaging in the game.

 Another gripe of the activity cards (and season journey) is that it's all housed in the menu.  I would have loved if I could add tracking to the overlay UI so I could see progress the same way that I can pin a quest or recipe.  I spent way too much time in the menu and it took away from my engagement with the game world.

 These complaints may seem like I am not enjoying the season, but that is not the case.  I am enjoying it a bunch.  I really dig battle passes in games as it gives me defined purpose to my playtime that is not just a repeat of what I've been doing for the last year (gypsum + OPR/arenas + the same faction quests in Ebonscale).  It will wear off as the season winds down but then I look forward to season 2.  I also don't mind the cost of premium as the rewards are outstanding in my book as a more casual player.

 If AGS cleans up the card system to be less annoying they are on the right path with Season 1!

 So what else is on the agenda with Season 1?

• I still want to get going on a New World Paladin build with all the Season 1 changes, but have to admit my sword and shield/greatsword build (medium armor) is holding up without any gear swaps.
• I need to try out the new Empyrean Forge expedition
• I need to do the season storyline 
• I need to jump into Outpost Rush and PvP Arenas to give them a whirl with all the balance changes
• Watching more Twitch to get the !drops - watching Work2Game this morning
  

Day 1: New World Season 1

My Day 1 Experience

 New World Season 1 hit the servers yesterday and with it a ton of changes.  So what did I do with my time on Day 1?

 The first thing I did was log in and drop $100 on marks of fortune.  Then I bought my six additional gear sets.  Following that I grabbed the Premium season pass with the +20 level boost (because time is my limiting factor these days; I'll just have to forgo avocado toast this month to make up the dollars).

 Then I just... did... nothing.  The original plan a lot of players had, which involved saving up a ton of stuff too turn in, was nipped when the production version of the Season XP Booster was found to only apply to passive experience and not all experience gained so those saved up activities were not going to be a "complete the pass in two hours".  Honestly this was a good change for the health of the season pass and the content surrounding it, but it did shoot my day 1 plans in the foot.

 I also watched BDLG's stream.

 I also started theory crafting my next build.  I wanted to go back towards heavy armor PvP tank or maybe a sword and shield/lifestaff build (aka the New World Paladin build).  With the changes to heavy armor it may be more feasible this time around.  Until then I am just rocking the sword and shield/greatsword build I've had for months.

 More to come as I move forward into more content later today.

New World Season 1 IS HERE

Season 1 FINALLY!

 New World Season 1 is rolling out as this post is being written (morning of 4/4/2023). Hype!

FIXED: Discord Install Failed: Can't find PresentationCore 4.0.0.0

Fixed: Can't find PresentationCore 4.0.0.0

Update: 4/11/2023 - I finally fixed this error.  The final fix was updating .NET framework to version 4.8.1 (which I got from here).  As of 4/11 the recommended version is 4.8, but multiple uninstall and reinstall of that version had no change in the error on install.  However, on a lark I tried the most recent version 4.8.1 even though it is not recommended a voila; problem solved!

Original post

Note: I have a support case open with Discord but no resolution yet. Figured I'd post here as well and also on Reddit.

History of issue:

• One day Discord stopped opening; click icon and nothing opens - no process started that I could see in Task Manager
• Figured I'd uninstall and reinstall.
• Used Windows uninstall; would click uninstall and nothing would happen.
• Ended up downloading Revo Uninstaller to uninstall which was successful
• After uninstall I am now unable to install

What I've tried

• Tried all steps for a corrupt install: https://support.discord.com/hc/en-us/articles/115004307527--Windows-Corrupt-Installation
• Tried installing the Canary client; still errors
• I also unpacked the DiscordSetup.exe with 7zip, copied to my root folder, and then extracted and ran the files inside (I followed guidance on YouTube but lost the video link)
• This at least causes the Discord opening screen to show up, but then it fails to a JavaScript error noted in this Screenshot https://imgur.com/lSFtVuO

What is happening?

All installs fail and generate a log and in that log everytime is a failure noting something in regards to being unable to find something called PresentationCore (assumed to be a DLL; part of Microsoft .NET)

Unhandled exception: System.IO.FileNotFoundException: Could not load file or assembly 'PresentationCore, Version=4.0.0.0, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=31bf3856ad364e35' or one of its dependencies. The system cannot find the file specified.
File name: 'PresentationCore, Version=4.0.0.0, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=31bf3856ad364e35'
   at Squirrel.Update.Program.executeCommandLine(String[] args)
   at Squirrel.Update.Program.main(String[] args)

I have verified PresentationCore.DLL is in the correct folders. I have used Microsoft's .NET framework repair tool.

As a note I went into Windows > Assembly folder and I see PresentationCore listed twice - both as version 3.0.0.0. It seems like I am missing version 4.0.0.0 but no real idea, even after a ton of googling, how to get 4.0.0.0 to show up in assembly.

Appreciative of any ideas anyone has while I also work with Discord support.

New World Season 1

For Real, Maybe

Two more days of waiting; 4/4 for the Season 1 launch in New World.

Steam Backlog: Bejeweled 3

How did this get in here?

 Next on the journey into my Steam backlog is Bejeweled 3.  I don't ever remember buying this game or even remember wanting to buy this game.  But it's in the backlog so it must be played!

 

  The game is a straight forward puzzle game.  Swap gems and line up three.  Get lucky (or plan strategically) and an avalanche of combinations is possible.  Line up more than three and get special gems that explode or have other effects on the board.

 I put in my hour of playtime and feel satisfied enough to check this one off my Steam backlog checklist.  My final score:

This post is part of my running series: My Steam Backlog (see all MySteamBacklog tagged posts). 

New World Season 1

Still Delayed

Looks like we'll be waiting a few more days for New World Season 1.  April 2nd is the new target.

New World Season Pass

Complete the pass in 2-3 hours?

 I came across a video by Lemoni that explains how to complete the New World Season 1 pass. According to Lemoni, the pass can be completed in just two to three hours, which is significantly less than the "50 hours to complete" quoted by the developers in a recent video on seasons. Watching Lemoni's video has left me wondering where the developers got their estimate of 50 hours from, and why the pass is structured in this way.

 Video embedded below:

 To speedrun the Season Pass, the key is to pre-stage objectives and have items ready to turn in, which many regular players likely already have. Once the player has prepared, they can use a 2x season experience potion and turn in all the pre-staged objectives to receive double the experience. This way, players can maximize their returns within the short time the potion is active and quickly complete the pass. While it may not be possible for every player to complete the pass in just a few hours, this method demonstrates how players can make progress much faster than the estimated 50 hours. 

 I'm not against maximizing return in a video game, but I think this shows a poor design to the season pass where experience is rewarded lump sum and the potions apply to those lump sums.  This is counter to pretty much every "battle pass" I've come across. Just using the Battlefield 2042 Season 4 pass as a comparison; any experience boost only applies to passive experience gained for actions taken.  Any mission completed that rewards experience is not affected by the pass.  Also you can't save up to "turn in" a mission later on; it just completes when you reach the criteria.

 The main two issues with the New World season pass as I see it: passive experience is negligible and there is too much tied to the moment something is turned in (aka lump sum).

 Passive experience is what is gained by just playing the game.  Kill a wolf; get season experience.  Complete an arena match; get season experience.  For some reason New World decided passive experience was going to be so small that it would be impossible to use just passive experience to complete the pass (even though they try to say it's possible in their video).  Yet, in the "card" system player's can get a lump sum reward for things as simple (and dumb) as eating 10 stacks of food.  Not even eating 10 stacks of food over normal play where you have to let the food buff expire; you can just ram down 10 in 10 clicks and be done!  Yet going on an open world adventure and fighting through hordes of enemies will barely be noticeable on the progress bar.

 Since passive experience from just playing the game is not the way then what is the way?  That is the lump sum card system where players get a literal bingo card of objectives to complete (like the eat 10 food).  However, the bingo card spots don't autocomplete.  Player's get to choose what part of the bingo card are completed after fulfilling the requirement. This is why Lemoni's method works: you just keep saving up completed items to cash in during the boost.

 There are also lump sum reward challenges for the season; quite a few as Lemoni notes in his video you can get ready ahead of time since they are all turn-in related actions and thus you can cash in with the double experience.  It is so bizarre that lump sum rewards get doubled by the boost potion.  Unaware players are going to be punished for not knowing and those that do know are going to progress faster than the developer planned 50 hours.  No doubt speed runners will then complain about a lack of content for the season.

 The sensible way for this to have worked is that players get passive experience for almost all of their activities and the boost potion doubles passive experience gain for a short period.  Lump sum rewards should be static and unaffected by the boost.  This would mean players get more rewards for just playing the game instead of putting together a shopping list / completing a task list and lumping it all together for one giant boost.

 Also while I have not played the pass on PTR myself just watching the videos I am not a fan of the bingo card system.   The game didn't need another system to define objectives; it needs to drive players to existing structures such as town boards.  The season story quest line and challenges are fine, but the addition of the bingo card as the proposed main way to progress is overly complex compared to just rewarding us for playing the game.

 Season 1 is still delayed from the original planned 3/28 launch so we still have some time to wait.  What are your thoughts?

The Role of PvP in Online RPGs

Insights from Elden Ring

 I came across an interesting infographic from Elden Ring that sheds light on the state of PvP in online RPGs. One of the standout data points was that out of the 9 billion+ deaths in the game, only 2% were caused by other players. Additionally, there have been over 1 billion summons, but only 12% of those were invasions (i.e. the PvP mode).

 These figures are not surprising since Elden Ring is primarily marketed as a single-player RPG. However, they highlight the fact that most gamers tend to prefer cooperative play over competitive play when it comes to multiplayer games.

 Even though 12% of a billion and 2% of 9 billion may seem like small percentages, they still translate to a considerable amount of PvP gameplay. In fact, it may even exceed the amount of PvP gameplay found in some PvP-focused RPGs.

 From my perspective, this data underscores the importance of solid PvE and cooperative play as the foundation for multiplayer RPGs. While PvP can be added to the mix, it should never detract from the main focus of the game.

What are your thoughts on this topic?

 

 

 

 

Original image source: https://i.redd.it/zdwlwdh5sxoa1.jpg

No Rodgers News

Where is the Aaron Rodgers trade!?

Still no Rodgers news so I guess the answer to the question I posed before vacation, "I wonder if we'll have final Rodgers news before I get back?", was a no.

Trump was also not arrested as he told me he would be.

New World's Season 1 update was also delayed from March 28th to March 30th.

Diablo 4's beta actually ran a day longer than expected so I got to give it a whirl.

I guess I should say thanks for the universe pausing while I enjoyed not catching any fish while on vacation.

 

Conflicted: Thoughts on Diablo 4 Beta

Hackin'n'Slashin'

 The Diablo 4 beta ran longer than I thought so I was able to grab a download after getting back from vacation and give it a whirl (of hacking).  I am conflicted about the game.

 I have to admit there is an addictive quality to the game.  I found myself saying "just one more level" or "one more dungeon" before I had to finally cut myself off late into the night morning (oh, the sun is almost up).  I haven't binged a beta like this since New World.

I started as a Barbarian but found melee to be rough in this game.  Ranged attacks seemed like the way to go and after a few jaunts through the Diablo 4 sub-reddit and a couple YouTube videos it was clear ranged was the way to go so I restarted as a necromancer.

heartlessN - N for Necro!

 It was playing as the necromancer that the game grabbed me and didn't let go.  A satisfying drip drip drip of loot flush with constant upgrades.  Ranged combat that was far more manageable than up close melee.  A map filled with points of interest and "go here" indicators.

 There was also a story which from the community accounts is pretty good, but within 30 minutes I was back to "skip".  It is the rare game that catches my attention for story and in an "action RPG" the last thing I am diving into is story.  It was also a beta and I needed to avoid FOMO on the beta rewards for reaching level 20.  I still got the gist of the story.

 Action combat and story aside there is a lot else going on in Diablo 4.  There is "crafting and gathering" in a sense as you can upgrade gear and gather nodes throughout your adventures.  It does not seem like there is a cradle-to-grave crafting system and it's mostly focused on upgrades.

 There are "open world" zones you inhabit with other players; a little MMO to go with the action RPG.  These zones can have dynamic events where multiple players can participate, but rarely did I run into that scenario.  Towns featured other players and the lag to go with them.  I am lukewarm on this feature and not sure it fits.

 While the game was binge-worthy there were some things that didn't sit quite right with me and in my post-binge clarity have kept me from hitting that pre-purchase button.

 Chief among things that didn't sit quite right was the theme.  The opening cinematic (along with some of the early story) is pretty gruesome.  This is not a game I would feel comfortable playing in front of my 13 year old or letting him play.  Maybe it is old age, and I am not sure what I expected from a game in the Diablo franchise, but I have a hard time saying I am going to sit through this dark and drab world for hundreds of hours.

 The other major issue I had was the zoom level; it is way too close.  There were multiple boss battles where I legitimately could not see what was going on.  Playing as a necromancer with lots of pets I often found my pet skeletons at the edge of the screen chopping down what was next.  I would jump in with ranged attacks at screens edge with little idea what I was even hitting.  The game needs to zoom out.  

 Also I found a lack of reward in getting rewards.  The constant drip of loot is great and the pace at which upgrades come is excellent (at least in the early leveling we got in the beta), but other than some numbers going up I found little in the way of variety.  Sword better than the wand you had?  Equip it.  Scythe better than the sword and shield you had? Equip it.  While that can be satisfying it also meant that I was never really attached to anything.  

 Maybe this changes with the legendary loot (see Dragon Spine of Empowering Reaper on right) and the special ability it comes with (which you can extract and stick in other gear), but as it stood in the beta I never got a sense of being rewarded for my play style.  There was a distinct lack of attachment to the weapon and armor I was obtaining and thus a distinct lack of feeling rewarded.

 Last, a quick note on balance.  The classes were not balanced for this beta.  RIP anyone trying to play on harder difficulty as melee.  Melee is weak.  Playing as a necromancer was a cakewalk in comparison to barbarian.  I trust they will tune this up for launch, but it is worth noting because it was that imbalanced in the beta.

 I haven't paid attention to Diablo in a long time and had mostly written off Blizzard since the Activision merger.  So I was not keeping tabs on the game coming and it was honestly only through some streamers I follow that my interest got piqued.  This was a similar trajectory that brought me to New World (where I've spent thousands of hours now).  There was a lot to like about Diablo 4 and it's on my "possible" list, but I do struggle with the theme and whether I really can stick that out for any length of time.

 Diablo 4 comes out in June so I've got some time to think on it.

Missing out on Diablo 4 beta

Still on vacation so probably going to miss the open beta for Diablo 4.

Steam Backlog: Batman: Arkham Asylum

Dark... Black

 Batman: Arkham Asylum, of which I played 9 hours, was fun.  It landed at a point in my life where I had just become a new father and I started spending more time in singleplayer offline games than I did in online multiplayer games.  I never beat the game, but do have fond memories of it.

 Like other games I did not choose to revisit Arkham so just going to share some thoughts (see past posts tagged Batman:AA).

 The first memory that jumps back to me is "dark... black".  The game hit the mark for the cliche Batman "black".  Everything is dark and brooding.  I don't think "daylight" or "bright light" exist in the Asylum.

 I also remember the combat and it was fun; albeit I do remember it being a little harder to master on keyboard/mouse than I expected.  That did push me away from finishing the game (as well as having a young kiddo taking up my free time).  With more time this is one I'd probably revisit to finish at some point.

This post is part of my running series: My Steam Backlog (see all MySteamBacklog tagged posts).

Steam Backlog: Bastion

Narrator Narrates

 I played Bastion for six hours when it came out and I loved every minute of it.  It is not a game I chose to revisit and play as part of my Steam backlog journey but it brought back lots of fond memories (see all posts tagged Bastion).

 The most memorable aspect of Bastion was the narrator.  It narrates every action the player takes and makes it feel like it was designed commentary when it is actually dynamic; ever-changing based on what the player is doing.

 "The boy moves forward to smash the thing."

 "The boy smashes the thing."

 I didn't have to smash it.  Did it know I was going to smash it?  Was it leading me along?  The narration is phenomenal in that regard and I can still hear the voice in my head.  The game world, story, and combat itself was a ton of fun, but the narrator put it over the top.

 At one point the game had me thinking hard about MMOs as well.  Narration was a big idea; Bastion showed me that dynamic narration can work and that is exactly the type of narration an MMO would need.  Then more aspects of the game spilled out of my brain into that blog post and if you told me tomorrow that a Bastion MMORPG was being developed I would be the first person in line.  So much of Bastion make sense for an MMORPG.

 Now that I've written this post I think I may have to revisit this gem!

 This post is part of my running series: My Steam Backlog (see all MySteamBacklog tagged posts).

Steam Backlog: Among Us

Sus

 I will admit that I joined the bandwagon when Among Us swung back around in popularity well after it's original launch.  I think it was AOC streaming it during the 2020 presidential run that really hooked me.  We play a lot of hidden role board and card games in our house and I played a bunch of Town of Salem so I felt right at home in Among Us.

 The initial run was great, but I never got anything going with any gamer groups which I think is why I didn't spend more than a couple hours stabbing/getting stabbed by random internet strangers.  Eventually I found it more entertaining to watch groups play than to play myself.

 Among Us.  Fun for a few, but otherwise a flash in my Steam backlog.

 This post is part of my running series: My Steam Backlog (see all MySteamBacklog tagged posts).

Diablo 4 sounding good

On vacation but reading blurbs on Diablo 4 and seems the vibes are positive.  May check it out.

Diablo 4?

Should I Play Diablo 4?

 So Diablo 4 is coming out soon.  Should I play?  I honestly don't know much about the game.  If you have a thought leave a comment.

Vacation

Rodgers news before I get back?

 Getting ready for a little vacation here.  I wonder if we'll have final Rodgers news before I get back?

???

Ranting at the end of the world: The Last Of Us Episode 9 (Show + Podcast)

• 
  Original rant: LINK
• Episode 5 rant: LINK
• Episode 6 rant: LINK
• Episode 7 rant: LINK 
• Episode 8 rant: LINK
  

Episode 9: Giraffes!

 Spoilers... duh.

 The dude did not cover baby Ellie's ears up.

 The hint that the timing and circumstances of Ellie's birth is why she is immune is as dumb of a solution as that vampire movie where they found the cure to being a vampire by the dude flying through his windshield and being burned by the sun and that specific duration of sun exposure is a vampire cure.

 Giraffes.  Because apparently people are hungry enough to eat each other but not hungry enough to eat giraffes that apparently have no fear of humans.

 Joel in earlier episodes: losing hearing, "losing my edge", gets easily flanked.  Joel in episode 9: terminator.

 The doctor's and nurses didn't hear WWIII breaking out in the hospital?  Ellie clearly wasn't that important if no one was left to guard her.  Good try by the doctor though; he almost had Joel there.

 Excellent! Another functional vehicle for Joel to escape in.

 Ellie might be developing trust issues.

 I don't think Joel is the good guy.

 The podcast did nothing to help

 Oh so now we want to go back to Tommy's place and be safe?  Should make for another season of "Finding Tommy".

 /r

theHunter: Showcase Update

Call of the Showcase!

 theHunter: Call of the Wild (don't worry I get confused to on what part comes first; theHunter or the CotW) has released it's Showcase Update. I enjoy this game but don't follow it closely.  What I wanted to check out with this update were a) the free trophy lodge, b) gear load outs, and c) the change to spook range.  So I jumped in and shot some animals.

Promo image for the new lodge

 I already owned a lodge (which I bought as an add on) so the lodge system was not new to me.  I am glad to see that they've added a free lodge because it's a great part of the game that every player should get a chance at without having to buy extra.  While I don't make my lodge public it is fun to browse through my lodge every time I revisit the game (and this is a regular on my "return to" list).

 I jumped in and checked out the lodge and the free lodge is amazing.  Forget for a moment the trophy slots and just the visuals (see the promo screenshot above) of this lodge are spectacular.  It feels like the quintessential hunting lodge: rustic, wood everywhere, and all the accessories.  I loved it so much I had to grab a trophy from my main lodge and slap it over the fireplace.

My trophy moose in the new lodge

 Next on the list to check out was gear load outs. 

Spend less time prepping and more time hunting with Loadouts

Shorten the time between hunts by saving your favorite configurations of weapons and equipment into different loadouts. You can switch between them at any time by heading to your nearest Cache.

 I will admit my interest was influenced by the drama from New World over gear sets coming in the New World March update.   Combine that with Ashes of Creation recently talking about user interface and gear sets as part of the interface and it seems like gear sets are all the rage in my gaming circle.

 Load outs (yes with a space; what the bleep is the problem with these devs and using spaces properly... the SPACE Hunter.... load SPACE outs) are a great addition to theHunter.  I will admit that I have never sang the praises of the UI in theHunter; getting gear from storage and into your inventory is a nightmare at times.  I can't tell you how many times I've gone into the field without the right ammo, guns, or accessories.  

 Players get 5 load outs to start and 5 more can be unlocked for a total of 10.  This feels like the right number for the way the game is designed.  The average hunter needs load outs for small, medium, and large game animals so 3 was the minimum.  Throw in that most folks like to dabble with bow and then most of us have our "fun" load out (like black powder) and five meets most players at how they play the game.  *cough* New World developers can take note on this front *cough*

 Lastly the spook range changes

 The distances at which animals will spook when hearing gunshots have been adjusted.

 Not a lot of detail to go on.  After reviewing the community feedback it seems like the range is shorter (i.e. less likely to spook).  I nabbed about five harvests when I played earlier and it did seem like nearby members of the same herd were less likely to bolt when you nabbed their friend.  I could not tell if I was spooking them less by my movement but I am also lazy and sprint/4-wheel all over the place.

 Jumping back in and stalking some animals reminded me how much I enjoy this game.  The visuals are great and the hunting balances perfectly between realism and arcade.  I've bought quite a few add-ons now for the game but I feel like I've gotten more than my money's worth from every one.  If you haven't tried the game out I'd highly recommend it!

My Steam Backlog

Me

Time to Play the Backlog?

 Does anyone ever look at the LIBRARY tab of their Steam client and wonder what is all hiding under it?  If it is anything like mine it is a long list of games you've bought and never played (or barely played).  I've been contemplating working through this backlog.

 It is actually a bit crazy when I look and see the size is 150+!  Some of this is sprawl from games I've tried over time, but the majority are games I've bought and quite a few that haven't gotten much attention (some not at all!).

 A quick shuffle through the list and by my count I have not played approximately 40 of the titles!  That is 25% of games I've bought that I've never played.  There is a much longer list of games that have been installed and played but not for any length of time.

 So I am considering reviewing this backlog with a few goals in mind:

• Create a blog post for each game (which may include its expansions)
• If I played the game already it will just be about memories from the game
• If I haven't played the game or didn't play it enough to get a sense for it then I will play the game before posting.  Goal will be at least 1 hour.
  
• Create some videos along the way

 This is also cheat mode for next week when I will be away from posting.  I will queue up a few posts from the backlog.

 Do you play your Steam backlog?  If so; leave a comment!

Having Fun In 2042

Topping the Scoreboard In Battlefield 2042

 I've been enjoying Season 4 of Battlefield 2042.  The game is in a really good spot.  I wanted to take a break from my normal "support" role and play the more aggressive play style with the Assault class and specialists.  I've become a big fan of Zain and landed some great matches; either topping the scoreboard or landing in the top squads.

 While I am more "aggressive" playing assault I am still "support" in my non-existent heart so I spend a lot of time watching flanks for the team.  It is surprising how many kills you can get when you learn the spots where better players flank and just wait for them.  They never expect someone to be waiting for them and I have been able to wipe entire squads.

 Oh and the new sticky grenade is mucho fun.

Look Mom! First place again!

 

Look Mom! The team carried me!

2nd place is the first loser... err wait!

Third Times the Charm

New World Devs Flop Flip

 And Nope. Ok Maybe? Just a little bit more.  

 

 There we go!  Third time's the charm!

 Not as good as the original patch note or the second patch note, but better than nothing.

A big loss for the MMORPG community

Ghostcrawler Steps Down

 Unfortunate news; Ghostcrawler is stepping down from Riot Games and thus stepping away from the Riot MMORPG that was in development.  A big loss for the MMORPG community.

 Ghostcrawler, of World of Warcraft fame, was seen as one of the few lead voices in the MMORPG space.  Similar to the "Yoshi P" of Final Fantasy 14 or Steven Sharif of Ashes of Creation: single people that the community puts on a pedestal above all other developers.

 Also Ghostcrawler leading a new MMORPG project for a company that has the resources that Riot Games has was a promising combination.  League of Legends (Riot's flagship) is massive and building an MMO from it's already established world is promising.  Ghostcrawler was icing on the top of the cake.  He made us all feel better about this massive undertaking and it being done right.

 It will be sad to see him gone from Riot and will no doubt cast more doubt on the legitimacy of Riot's MMORPG.  The game was confirmed as in development but never promised it would make it to the finish line.  Ghostcrawler being gone is a strike against it.

Ashes of Creation Monthly Update

Ashes of Screenshots!

 Ashes of Creation's monthly update focused on the user interface (UI) and it featured screenshots!  I used an exclamation point so I must be excited.  Right?  You may want to read on.

  I know, I know!  Ashes of Creation is a work in progress so if I don't want to follow a game in development then I shouldn't follow it.  I shouldn't be here complaining about it either but if you know me then you know I can't help myself.

 The reason I choose to dig into Ashes of Creation is twofold.  One: it is the promised one; the savior of this MMORPG genre that I love so dearly.  Two: it has no issue taking money from people all while saying it doesn't need our money.  If a game developer can take the time to sell calendars for an unreleased game then it can stand up to some criticism about taking its damn sweet time to release a game.

 Ashes is under a glacially slow pace of development.  Years (yes, years) ago you could buy the "indie studio" but Interpid Studios is way past being a small indie game developer.  Ashes makes a lot of promises and yet shows very, very little in their updates which is concerning for a game this long in the pipeline.

 Which brings me to my main gripe: Ashes should be showing us more at this point.  If they can't then this game is so far out in the future we shouldn't be talking about it and the team definitely shouldn't be wasting cycles on calendars or monthly live streams.  

 Look at Pax Dei coming out of left field and generating buzz and showing more in a short intro video than the entirety of six years of Ashes updates.  Pax Dei seems much closer to an alpha than Ashes.  This may seem a poor comparison.  How long has Pax Dei been in development?  This is a fair criticism, but Pax Dei isn't asking for my money and isn't clogging up my feeds with lackluster updates.  If Pax Dei hits the 6 year mark of monthly updates without showing anything close to a finished game then we can revisit it.

 Back to Ashes.  

 As with the recent class updates the UI update this month was a typical lackluster update.  A developer was brought on and talked about their team and their approach. Then some screenshots were shown of different UI components which were followed by yet more screenshots of sample user interface windows which were followed by... more screenshots.  

 I don't think once during the UI update we saw an actual functioning UI overlaying a game being played.  That is concerning.  There is a place for showing the static components of a UI, but the magic of a UI is seeing it and how it interlaces with the underlying game.  How a UI functions is as critical as how it looks.  All we got from this update was how it may look because we didn't actually see it in the game.

 There has been a lot of praise in the Ashes community around this update and how "good" the UI looks.  I am not sure if these folks are playing ancient games or are that detached from current offerings, but the UI screenshots shown were as generic of a UI as I could imagine.  There was nothing to write home about.  If anything I'd of said the UI is a little too artsy; I prefer a utilitarian approach.  The game can be beautiful and awe inspiring, but the UI needs to be functional.

 If it's not clear; I was not impressed.  This adds to the mounting concern I have about Ashes.  Each update is lacking in substance on the promised topic.  We had an entire UI update and didn't see the UI being used.  We heard more about promises of the UI: customization, sizing, and accordions.  Did we see these in action? No.  It is like anything else with Ashes: promises.  Promises that may or may not be delivered.  This was not an update that screams to me that the game is approaching any state of release.

 Let me know how wrong I am by leaving a comment.

 

Ranting at the end of the world: The Last Of Us Episode 8 (Show)

• 
  Original rant: LINK
• Episode 5 rant: LINK
• Episode 6 rant: LINK
• Episode 7 rant: LINK
  

Episode 8: Apocalyptic Bingo!

 Spoilers... duh.

 I don't need the podcast to break down this one.  Congratulations to everyone that had cannibalism on your apocalyptic bingo cards!  Game players knew we would get here but it was a shocking awakening for TV-only viewers.  Episode 8 was an uncomfortable episode to watch, but don't worry Joel is back so we're good.

 I will have to admit that the show got the pacing and tension-building right in this episode (a top critique of mine for past episodes).  This episode had a solid reveal going from a "something's not right here" to "oh sh!t!" in a slow, dreadful series of events.  It is unfortunate it had to feature a miraculous recovery by Joel that required viewers to suspend disbelief yet again in a show that does nothing but expect viewers to suspend disbelief.

 Also I am not sure if this is what the show was going for, but in an episode starting out with bible reading isn't it cliche our savior Joel rises from the dead.  Anyone that thought Joel was ever in any danger (or Ellie for that matter) has never played a video game with side quests.

 I do want to harp on the "sense of danger".  As uncomfortable as this episode was to watch it was more from the creep factor than it was from any sense that something bad would happen to our main characters Joel and Ellie.  Like a video game its just a case of finishing the side quest to get on with the main story.

 Can we dispense with the cannibalism as well please? It is uncomfortable to watch and detracted from an otherwise great tension builder of the creepy preacher targeting a young girl.  We could have gotten all of the drama of this episode without taking the cannibalism.

 Anyways, Joel is back to a full healthbar so on to new adventures.