The Miscellaneous PC & vidya Games Thread

[Sheilbh]

I will be getting that :ph34r

I've read books about the revolution and a bit of the civil war and remember seeing passing references to the Czechoslovak Legion fighting to Vladivostok (which just doesn't seem the quickest or best route out of Russia), and I've thought I want to read a book about them because it's just so wild.

[Syt]

Yes, I remember reading about it, either in Keegan's First World War or Stevenson's 1914-1918 and thought it sounded like a crazy story - not least, as you rightly say, because going from Western Russia to Vladivostok as opposed to ... ANY OTHER DIRECTION seems really weird at first glance.

[Crazy_Ivan80]

Yes, I remember reading about it, either in Keegan's First World War or Stevenson's 1914-1918 and thought it sounded like a crazy story - not least, as you rightly say, because going from Western Russia to Vladivostok as opposed to ... ANY OTHER DIRECTION seems really weird at first glance.

A similar thing happened with the belgian expeditionary corps in Russia. They ended up in the US eventually.
Seems lots of people were doing an 'anabasis' in those years

anyway, I've started my journey to Vladivostok.

[DGuller]

Seeing the story of the legion, I think I know now where HOI4 pathing algorithm took its inspiration.

[Crazy_Ivan80]

Seeing the story of the legion, I think I know now where HOI4 pathing algorithm took its inspiration.

Heheh

And one of the voice actors sounds like zelensky when giving speeches. Maybe one of the enemies will look like putler...?

[FunkMonk]

The GTA 6 trailer just dropped and it's set in Vice City, the in-universe equivalent of Miami, and I feel like the game trailer just shows how Florida actually is 

[Syt]

It looks fancy, but in many ways kinda indistinguishable from a UBI Soft open world game trailer IMO. If you showed me this and said it was for Far Cry 7, I would believe you.

I still have my fondest memories of GTA Vice City and San Andreas, and I wish they would return to make tackle a historical setting (we had 80s Miami, 90s LA/SF/LV, even 60s London, if we count 2D titles) ... why not a 70s title?

[Jacob]

All I know is that the high level creative thrust behind the GTA title have been out at Rockstar for years. I expect this will show signs of creative stagnation and franchise exploitation. Of course, that doesn't mean the game won't be good or that it won't be successful, but this is not the Rockstar of old. While that is potentially good in a number of ways, it may also impact creative direction. We'll see.

[Syt]

To be fair, I wasn't wowed by the GTA5 trailer, either, but did enjoy the game (though I never even came close to progressing much in the game, instead often choosing to goof around/explore the island, since unlike previous titles it unlocked the whole map from start).

I was watching a video essay about Miami Vice on the weekend and how it shaped the perception of Miami (esp. the early Michael Mann seasons) and, together with Scarface, pop culture around that era and place. It specifically pointed out the night drive - going down city streets to a moody soundtrack, something that the movie Drive later also did. And in fact that's still one of my fondest GTA memories - cruising down the harbor roads at night in a not-Ferrari while it's raining and "Broken Wings" played on the car radio. Sure, the graphics are very dated by today's standards, but man - they sure created a strong feel of time and place with the technical means of the PS2 era. (And it helped that the game had an absolutely star studded cast.)

[Josquius]

I'm just happy to see a new GTA. They've been content to milk GTA online for way too long.

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Though yes. A 70s/80s UK based game would be the dream.
Or, probably a bit off piste for GTA , the same
Era but Hong Kong.

[crazy canuck]

All I know is that the high level creative thrust behind the GTA title have been out at Rockstar for years. I expect this will show signs of creative stagnation and franchise exploitation. Of course, that doesn't mean the game won't be good or that it won't be successful, but this is not the Rockstar of old. While that is potentially good in a number of ways, it may also impact creative direction. We'll see.

I seem to remember, they lost some of their most creative types back in the day, and never quite recovered.

[The Minsky Moment]

All I know is that the high level creative thrust behind the GTA title have been out at Rockstar for years. I expect this will show signs of creative stagnation and franchise exploitation. Of course, that doesn't mean the game won't be good or that it won't be successful, but this is not the Rockstar of old. While that is potentially good in a number of ways, it may also impact creative direction. We'll see.

If throwing lots of money at a game makes it good, then it should be truly outstanding.
Not sure the premise holds though . . .

[FunkMonk]

Red Dead Redemption 2 is their greatest ever game and it's not even close though.

[Syt]

Graham Smith on RPS suggests keeping GTA Vice City as a nostalgic memory, and that it hasn't aged well:

https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/grand-theft-auto-vice-city-is-best-left-as-a-hazy-enjoyable-memory

Probably true. I have it on Steam, but I'm not curious enough to install it and all the fixes/patches to make it run well on modern systems.

[Josquius]

I don't know about vice city itself but I tried vice city stories a few years back on my psp and... Yeah. Unplayable to my modern standards.