The Miscellaneous PC & vidya Games Thread

[Tamas]

Robert Florence at RPS hates it:

http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2013/08/16/wot-i-think-space-hulk/

A lot of the criticism is obviously born out of being very familiar with the board game (and lacking the immediacy/frantic dice rolling of the original - something that translated well into the last Blood Bowl adaptation, though), but the glitches/slow speed at least should be possible to patch up (no animation mode, maybe?).

This is what happens when Tamas helps fund a game.

I impulse-bought it the day it came out because it had "Warhammer 40000" written on it, I did not help it in any way before that 

[Tamas]

Also, I have only played like the first two missions but I haven't found that many bugs. It is not as awesome as I hoped it would be that is clear, but it is hard not to take that RPS review as a nostalgic guy comparing his good old times with his friends at the table, to playing a single-player computer game.

[Syt]

My main complaints at this point are:
- Animation is WAY too slow (maybe realistic, but a real damper on my enjoyment ... I get the point that it's slow, lumbering soldiers vs. agile aliens, but this is too much). An option for faster movement of the marines would be much appreciated.
- Dice rolling is tucked away in the bottom right. I prefer the Blood Bowl solution where you get a pop up for each dice roll, increasing tension.
- Graphics could be nicer, but I can live with what they are.

[Tamas]

A reply on the review, I tend to (want to) agree with it:

As for the specifics:

-Animations: Incredibly slow. Except everyone forgets to mention that the genestealer animations are quite fast. Its never taken more than a minute for the genestealer AI to process his turn, simply because those cracked-up velociraptors zoom across the map. A terminator, on the other hand, has to spend half his turn just to turn around (as per the board game rules), so the devs opted to make them huge clunking behemoths. And I think its great. Perhaps not great if you're used to the super fast X-COM commandos dashing everywhere, but terminators are not supposed to be lithe. They look, and feel bulky. Now the devs did try to offset this by allowing you to order multiple units at the same time. So you can give orders to your other astartes whilst the first one moves.

-Bugs: They're out there. Looking through the community page on steam one will find all kinds of bug reports. Personally I have only encountered two: A specific animation bug where firing on a mission objective shows the terminator fighting into the air (it still registers though, but has caused a lot of confusion for some people) and a serious bug where completing mission six (exiting the librarian) leads to defeat instead of victory. This has stopped my progress cold in the game (which means no one can progress past mission six atm, including mr. Florence). To the devs credit:

"Sliverleech [developer] 1 hour ago
Version 1.0.1 on its way
Hi all,

We are right now working on a bugfix release that will come out in some hours from now.

It will as minimum fix
- OSX 10.6 input issues
- Mission 6 win condition (brown bag is over our heads)
- Mission 4 fixes to logic

And some menu issues found.

Just to let you know what we are working on!"

-AI: As someone who plays a lot of wargames, this is tremendously important to me. New X-COM had horrible AI, and had to employ game mechanics to work its way around it (the free move the aliens get). Empire Total War was/is unplayable due to bad AI. And no one is talking about Space Hulk's AI. Why? Because its quite good, that's why. First off its not predictable, so replaying a mission will mean the AI will use different entry points for its blips. Second, it forces you to make hard choices. Let's say you set a terminator on overwatch down a corridor (something you'll be doing a lot of). If the AI can't reach you that turn, it'll stay hidden, outside the line of sight (maybe behind a door, maybe around a corner). Now its your turn and you suddenly have a very tough choice to make. Do you leave your terminator behind a the rest of the squad moves on? Because if you leave him on overwatch, the most you'll be able to do is move him one step back. The AI is great at putting the player in catch-22s. And I've yet to see anyone mention it.

-Multiplayer: In regular multiplayer, you can't see how many genestealers are in a blip. In hotseat you can, however, because both players are on the same machine and the genestealer player can't be expected to memorize the values of all his blips. Not an optimal solution, to be sure, and it would be better if the devs gave an option to hide blip values. Still, its an understandable problem.

-Graphics. Everything looks like it should. Haven't seen many criticisms of the game so far on this front. Its also worth noting the many little details the devs have hidden away in the game. Purity seals on machinery. Tomes and codexes, prayers scribbled on walls. Bones and scratch marks. Again, not the kind of stuff you notice, but its there, and contributes (along with the ponderous thunk of the terminators) to that Warhammer 40k feel. Also, the excellent first person cam. Whenever you select a unit, on the top right corner you'll see a blurry video feed of what he can see. It's great stuff.

To sum it all up: Space Hulk is a game that was obviously released a bit too soon, and as such has some bug fixing to do. That's the business and I understand, devs don't control their own QA and all that. Unfortunately this includes a serious game breaking bug that will hopefully be fixed today. As for the actual game, it is clearly obvious that this was designed by fans, huge fans, of Warhammer 40k. It refuses to distance itself from the source material in any noticeable way, and I just can't criticize a studio for making that choice (it even shows the dice rolls in the message window). I've enjoyed it tremendously so far. Just know what it is (a board game adaptation) and know what its not (fast-paced. It's slow and ponderous, as I believe it should be.)

Oh and there should be a patch out today for the mission 6 bug and the like.

All in all, I really like RPS as I almost always find myself agreeing with them on games, but that piece of fanboi tantrum is way too far away from my impressions. Truly great game? No. Much, much better than that wall of whine makes it out to be? Yes.

I mean, FFS, he spends like a paragraph on the fact that if you are on hotseat mode, you can see the number on the genestealer swarm markers during the genestealer turn. Really, mate?

[Syt]

-Animations: Incredibly slow. Except everyone forgets to mention that the genestealer animations are quite fast. Its never taken more than a minute for the genestealer AI to process his turn, simply because those cracked-up velociraptors zoom across the map. A terminator, on the other hand, has to spend half his turn just to turn around (as per the board game rules), so the devs opted to make them huge clunking behemoths. And I think its great. Perhaps not great if you're used to the super fast X-COM commandos dashing everywhere, but terminators are not supposed to be lithe. They look, and feel bulky. Now the devs did try to offset this by allowing you to order multiple units at the same time. So you can give orders to your other astartes whilst the first one moves.

I get that, but it makes my turn tedious, not tense. I'm not saying that they should remove the slow movement, but at least give the option for fast movement.

[Tamas]

I just played the first mission of the non-tutorial campaign. That RPS review was REALLY unfair. Poor sobs are probably losing a lot of sales because of it.

[garbon]

Steam has Kalypso's catalog upon on sale. Man, they really do make shitty games, don't they?

[Syt]

Steam has Kalypso's catalog upon on sale. Man, they really do make shitty games, don't they?

I was going through the list yesterday and looked at the metacritic scores - pretty depressing, yeah. Now, I did like Patrician 3 a fair bit (or Patrician 2 Gold as it was called here), and Tropico 3/4 are ok if a bit too easy (I recall 1 being much harder).

[Syt]

That RPS review was REALLY unfair.

That I can agree with.

[Syt]

Trailer for Redshirt:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nf850By_Nds

[Tamas]

The 6th mission of the Space Hulk campaign is HARD. Or I am unlucky with rolls. But I just can't complete the damn thing.

[Syt]

http://chrischung.com/catlateraldamage

Play as a cooped-up cat where your paw is your only weapon and mischief-making is your only directive. Move your paw to swat at things and knock them onto the floor. Knock as much stuff on the floor before time runs out! Made for the 2013 7DFPS challenge.

Movement: WASD Keys
Sprint: Hold Shift
Jump: Space (hold to jump higher)
Look/Swat: Mouse (ESC to unlock cursor)

[Syt]

Sid Meier's Ace Patrol is out on Steam.
http://store.steampowered.com/app/244070/

Anyone who played the iOS version?

[Syt]

New naval/air combat game coming out 24th September:

http://matrixgames.com/products/483/details/Command:.Modern.Air/Naval.Operations?utm_source=Matrix+Newsletter+-+August+2013&utm_campaign=Matrix+August+News&utm_medium=email

THE CLASSIC CLASHES OF HISTORY. THE HEADLINES OF TODAY. THE BATTLES OF TOMORROW.



Relive the brutal air struggle between Iran and Iraq. Wrestle the Falklands under your control. Hunt down rogue nukes in Pakistan. Go "Down Town" around Hanoi and spar with the deadly NV air defences. Lead nuclear-powered sharks of steel against the masters of antisubmarine ops. Trade volleys of fire in close-quarters gun duels, or obliterate the enemy with sophisticated, heavy-hitting hypersonic missiles from hundreds or thousands of miles away. Escort vital convoys to their destination, or make a last stand against all odds. When things escalate out of control, step up to unconventional or even nuclear weapons. Play the most dangerous game of hide and seek – at sea, on land and in the air. Command is the next generation of air/naval wargaming.



YOU ARE IN CONTROL

Surface fleets, submarine squadrons, air wings, land-based batteries and even satellite constellations are yours to direct as you see fit – from the lowliest pirate skiff to the mightiest aircraft carrier, from propeller biplanes to supersonic stealth fighters. Every sensor and weapon system is modeled in meticulous detail. You are given the hardware; but you have to use it well.



THE WORLD AT YOUR FINGERTIPS

Throw your distorted flat maps away – Command uses a realistic 3D earth globe for each of its scenarios. Rotate and zoom in and out of the action, from satellite view down to the trenches and wavetops. Play scenarios or build your own on any place on earth – from classics like the Middle East, South Atlantic, North Cape and Europe to new and rising hotspots like the Arctic, the Pacific and the Indian Ocean.



RELENTLESS REALISM

Sensors and weapons work just like in real life, with all their strengths and weaknesses. Units move, detect, fight and win or die based on what their systems can and cannot do. Electronic warfare and technological levels can tilt the balance of battle. The weather can be your best ally and your worst enemy. The terrain, both overland and undersea, can hide you from the enemy but also can block your weapons from firing. Thermal layers, convergence zones, surface ducting, the deep sound channel and factors such as water salinity and temperature may decide the sub vs ship duel. Command's battle environment is as unforgiving as the real thing – and as rewarding for those who understand it.



AIR/NAVAL WARFARE AROUND THE WORLD

Korea. Colonial wars. Vietnam. Middle East. Cuba. Falklands. Iran-Iraq. World War 3. Desert Storm. India & Pakistan. The Arctic circle. Future conflicts in the Pacific, Norwegian Sea, Russian periphery and more. Experience conflict from post-WW2 all the way to 2020+ and beyond. Test your mettle against lethal land-based missile forces, air regiments, naval fleets or pirate groups. Face off against threats of the past, present and future. How do you measure up against the challenges of modern warfare?


LEAD, DON'T MICROMANAGE

Modern warfare with all its technicalities scaring you away? Your staff & tactical AI sweat the details so you don't have to. Aircraft position themselves to deliver their warloads optimally; Ships and subs maneuver on their own to reach out and touch the enemy (including winding their way around islands, landmasses and even known mines) – and everyone tries very hard to save his skin when bullets are flying. Manage the big decisions and let your virtual crews get to the details – and still intervene whenever you want.



MAKE YOUR OWN WAR

Think you can build a better conflict? Prove it! Command's integrated scenario editor offers unparalleled functionality for making your own scenarios or editing existing ones. Create and share with other players detailed, exact-down-to-the-meter land installations from all over the world – from airbases to port complexes to ICBM fields. Customize unit icons, sound effects, even platform weapons and sensors (Aegis on the USS Iowa – click and done). Create multiple sides with variable, complex alliances and postures. Assign forces to detailed missions with custom behaviors and inheritable doctrines. Script complex interactive events with the advanced event editor. Assign variable success thresholds – from triumph to utter defeat. From a gunboat duel all the way to global thermonuclear warfare – the possibilities are endless.

That looks a bit non-exciting to me, but might be of interest to hardcore naval enthusiasts (sorry, Neil, no dreadnoughts).

[sbr]

Map sucks.