The Miscellaneous PC & vidya Games Thread

[Darth Wagtaros]

Yeah, no optimism that this is a good change.

[Valmy]

Microsoft has realized that we peasants just don't have the big bucks. They are abandoning us, just as IBM did before them.

[Grey Fox]

Both power based console makers are in much trouble. And with PC components being discarded by OEM. The future is grim.

[Crazy_Ivan80]

Microsoft has realized that we peasants just don't have the big bucks. They are abandoning us, just as IBM did before them.

the oligarchy has no use for peasants that don't work the fields. so no more gaming for us in the future

[Sheilbh]

Both power based console makers are in much trouble. And with PC components being discarded by OEM. The future is grim.

Everything as a Service/subscription?

[mongers]

Both power based console makers are in much trouble. And with PC components being discarded by OEM. The future is grim.

Everything as a Service/subscription?

Hopefully not emotional or sexual relationships.

[Sheilbh]

That's definitely on the roadmap.

[mongers]

That's definitely on the roadmap.

 

[Tonitrus]

Both power based console makers are in much trouble. And with PC components being discarded by OEM. The future is grim.

Everything as a Service/subscription?

Hopefully not emotional or sexual relationships.

I think you might surprised by how popular that notion might be...at least for the latter.

[Jacob]

I'd imagine that the only reason big-data personalized AI porn subscriptions aren't a bigger thing is reputational and legal risk for the big corps.

[Norgy]

I think that is what they call "ethics" or "corporate social responsibility".

[celedhring]

Oh, and Diablo II is on Steam, adding a new class:

https://store.steampowered.com/app/2536520/Diablo_II_Resurrected__Infernal_Edition/

I loved D1 and played that tons, but I never got into D2 at the time. I kinda liked the simple dungeon delve of the first game much better.

D2 is one of my favorite games of all time, and I make a replay every few years. I'll definitely be getting this... once I have time to play games again 

[mongers]

Enjoying this on steam, less a game, more of an interactive graphic novel or perhaps a theatre performance.

It had also sorts of sponsors/collaborators including Faber & Faber, the Scotish national library and a couple of well know actors doing the voices.

The 39 Steps on steam



 

[The Minsky Moment]

A lot of very interesting demos on this season's Steam Next Fest.

I'll try to get through a bunch over the weekend, but so far a few that have stood out include:

Replaced: Side scrolling platforming/fighting game, set in post-apocalyptic late 20th century America. Neither the theme nor the concept are particularly novel, but execution so far was solid, the art looks good and the story got me hooked.

Titanium Court: This one has been getting a lot of buzz, perhaps deserved. It's definitely weird. It's a strategy game of sorts, but the core seems to be a Match 3 game played out on map grid where you move around terrain tiles, using matches to gather resources but also trying to position your castle behind obstacles like rivers or hills.  You get a certain number of moves and then have to defend against the other castles.  If you survive there is a round of interacting with members of your court, where you try to figure out exactly who they are and what you are supposed to be doing.

Morg Borg Heresy Supreme  Apparently Morg Borg is a real life table top RPG based on a Swedish death metal aesthetic. This is a computer implementation of that system into a side scrolling hack-and-slash fighting game.  Art is interesting. I struggled a bit with the game play though. Could see this landing with the right audience.

Ardenfall Indie developed, Bethesda style open world RPG, seems to be attempting to channel the spirit of Morrowind with its exotic looking setting and scenery.

Scriptorium Master of Manuscripts: Casual game where you play a medieval artist.  Win commissions to earn resources that allow you to purchase more sketch elements and pigments that you can mix.

Then there are remakes of two of my favorites from the 1990s:

Machiavelli: The Prince: This looks like a straight up remake of the Micropose 90s era trading game, complete with the old school graphics and UI. Similar in concept to the Patrician series.  Worth it if you played and enjoyed the old game and miss it.

1492 - Colonization of the New World : This appears to be an effort to reboot or reimplement Sid Meier's Colonization (not authorized), with modern graphics and some more modern UI elements.  Really hope this will succeed and the demo played pretty well.  However, this same developer released a reboot of the Capitalism series of games and then appears to have abandoned it while still in early access . . . caveat emptor.

...

Estoeric Ebb is in the Next Fest but I already tried it in the last one. RPG based on D&D rules set, but emphasis here is more on story and exposition then build optimization and fiddly rules exploitation.

Hopefully more to come -  downloaded a bunch of military and strat games as well I hope to get to.

[The Minsky Moment]

More Demos . . .

Ratline Detective/investigator puzzle game that turns into 70s era hunt for Nazi war criminals.  Channel you inner Simon Wiesenthal.

Acceptable Losses  Resource management game where you assign WW1 squads to various missions, trying to maintain morale and health while making sure the enemy doens't break through your ragged trench line.

Battleplan Plays like a souped up version of the old Command Ops game with improved UI.  You give high level orders brigade or division level formations, which you can physically draw on the map, then your electronic soldiers try to carry them out.  Command Ops suffered from weak AI and problems with multiplayer - will this game address that?  I hope so, as the game looks good and the idea is sound. That said, I gave orders for my division to assemble, then pause for a bombardment, before a deliberate assault on a fortified town.  The armor raced ahead to the assembly point, the bombardment immediately commenced, and then the tanks plunged into the town  without infantry support  . . .  AND then rolled over the opposition without much trouble. Hmm . . .

Crimson Banner War of Liberation   This one cracked me up.  It's a game from a Chinese developer based on the Unity of Command engine, covering the 1946-1949 phase of the Chinese civil war.  Only the PLA side is playable and the developer makes no attempt at objectivity or impartiality.  The tag line reads: "Are you ready, comrades? You will command the People's Liberation Army, strike a heavy blow against the aggressive Nationalist reactionaries in the War of Liberation, and win the liberation of all of China!"  and you are exhorted to: "Rally hundreds of millions of workers and peasants, and sweep the decadent Nationalist reactionaries into the dustbin of history!"  The game is full of vintage pictures of the late 40s PLA in action and more can be unlocked with successful mission completion.  That said, the game is not at all bad.  It plays like a Unity of Command scenario. True the PLA forces have a big advantage in morale and quality but that cannot be said to be entirely unhistoric.  In the demo scenario, the PLA force safely outmatched the Nationalists but the victory conditions were set to pose a tension between rapid achievement of objectives and keeping casualties down.  Worth checking out if you have interest in a rarely covered conflict and are prepared to be amused rather than offended by blatant PLA propaganda. Too bad you can't take on the challenge of salvaging the Nationalists though.


As usual, there is a large offering of Vampire Survivors rip offs. Most interesting I saw were:

Wanderburg Instead of playing a monster hunter or grimdark hero, you playing a mobile castle/siege engine, sporting cannon, archers etc. Face off against waves of legionary companies and other large structures.  Fun variant.
Ramming Turtleship 1592 Oddball offering; what itsays on the tin.  Play a turtleship with a ram fighting off hordes of Japanese naval invaders.
Grind Survivors Gun based so more like Brotato, but bigger playing field and twin stick controls.