osmosisch

- stopped playing Diablo (or similar game) - played with a controller for a bit (sorry I don't have anything more serious)

The interesting thing to me is that when TR went off on their own again they also produced something that wasn't as good, in Evolution. Some real synergy went on in L4D1 development apparently.

What is wrong with you?? Like, what thought process makes this ok?

Cephalopolis would be my pick for the next one

Hard Rain is probably my favourite level throughout both games. Mostly due to the amazing storm and cool gimmick of going back to where you started.

I just looked at the number of pages, checked out the post date of the thread and blanched. What a project, Ben. It's been fascinating to read and I'm happy I've been able to get some games in with you as well. Duke Nukem Forever, damn. I still remember reading this pcgamer issue. The original was one of our playgroup's absolute favourites at the time. Squishing shrunk friends under the mighty boot took a surprisingly long time to get old.

I feel like we did remove a bunch of the wonder and terror of learning the game for you, like just straight up dealing with witches, calling a bunch of surprises, and never really wiping. But there's something to be said for a guided experience, especially since I believe your tolerance for failure/tedium isn't very high Ben. A mixed bag. For what it's worth, I have very fond memories of getting better at especially the first game, but that was with a fixed group of friends who had many evenings to spare. We've all aged and changed since then.

Borderlands is probably the closest to what I think Ben means, you go on a romp, shoot mans and share loot. Destiny and its upcoming sequel also scratch this itch. I've played through all the id Software games in coop when that was a thing - very fun & recommended. The most collaborative adventure game I can think of (outside of Portal 2) is Trine, but that's a bit outside the scope here. The Sniper Elite games also have some pretty neat co-op or so I'm told. I've been meaning to try that out. http://www.co-optimus.com/review/1989/page/2/sniper-elite-4-co-op-review.html

Haha, great, Korax. Gotta remember that trick. I guess the same thing can be done with fuel supplies. It's no surprise to me, knowing Tom, that this game mostly relies on a make-your-own-fun attitude. He's got a very exploratory playstyle, and has built this game towards that. Not for everyone, for sure (I'll probably also get tired of it in another couple of evenings).

Yeah!

Oh man, I just had an absolute nailbiter. I'd been doing a bunch of nonlethal missions with a character and had amassed a cute little array of tools and the increased income meant I was ready to take on a personal mission for the first time! Why not, I thought, how hard can it be. Armor-piercing quiet pistol and a wrench had carried me through most of the earlier missions with nary a problem. I was not prepared for the size of the target ship.It dwarfed my pod to an extent I had not previously witnessed. I docked and exited, trying to scope out the lay of the land. Alarm timer will take 52 seconds... oof, better make sure I'm not seen. Probably not even enough time to make it to the other side of the ship, where my goal was (to steal the Frobnatz Bandersnatch, or whatever it was). Of course the first encounter I manage to mess up, and the alarm timer starts ticking. Pause. OK, I got this. I just need to get past this sentry here and this group of five dudes. And then there's a locked door, security level 1 I already have; 2 I can clone from this guy...let's zoom out a bit more. The security levels go up to 6!? Crap. Sooo.. if I corrupt this sentry it should take out this group. That will get me the next security level. I have 3 charges on my Sidewinder teleport device, that can save me a ton of time. I have a three-charge personal shield I can use to deflect a bunch of guys here into killing each other. I honestly don't remember much about the next 45 in-game seconds except that it was a mad dash and scramble. I used up all the charges on everything except my pistol. A stealth device I grabbed along the way ended up being extremely helpful, letting me just bypass a bunch of guys. Still, with about 5 seconds on the clock I approached the chest with my goal. At this point I felt I had basically zero chance to make it but I wanted to be captured grasping my objective. With 2 seconds on the clock, I stood over the opened chest, the object of my desire safely tucked in my inventory, replacing one of the spent devices. Pause. Look around. Hang on, there's a window in the next room. Wasn't there something about those? Oh right, smash window, eject into space! 2 seconds is plenty of time to aim the pistol through the doorway at the window, fire a bullet, and chase it outwards into the cold vacuum. I emerged from the ship hovering above a hostile base, as the ship I just left sailed off majestically. 0.5 seconds left on the timer. That's enough for the night. This game can surprise you, make you feel extremely stupid and then extremely smart. Great job, Tom.

West of Loathing is also a recent one, and very good.

Great write-up @thepaulhoey - agreed on all counts. Lovely evening, definitely would be up for more.

*hackles I didn't mind but I was also very tired so it kind of fit my mood.

There's matchmaking for strikes, and the rest is fine solo I found at least.

America's political climate is so right-wing that a lot of their so-called socialists are social democrats (ie. the 'capitalism but with some cushions' that in Europe is mostly center to right-wing). It's one of those things that causes extreme confusions in these discussions

What I find the worst about this aspect of BBT is that it's hard to show people how terrible and insidious it is because each isolated instance can be dismissed with things like 'oh yeah that joke wasn't great.' You then have to come up with a plethora of examples before you can even get anywhere. Bleah. The amount of self-hatred the nerds display makes it a good subject for this thread as well.

I adore killing floor. Friend me up!

Interesting, I liked all the things you mentioned and they make IC my favourite of the Bas-Lag books. Have you read The City and the City? I think it's my favourite overall of his works, but it also mostly deals in perspective.

Source

Man, that eels bit:

First school day today, dropping the kids off at their new classes. Always a thrilling feeling, and so cool to see how everyone comes back from the holidays. Warm feelings day.

Booting this up on PC after playing quite a lot of D1 on the PS4 felt amazing. Buttery-smooth framerates, gorgeous graphics, a mouse and best of all, no bullshit monthly fee. Never looking back.

That's amazing miffy, crossing my fingers for you.

That captain just looks like the nicest guy somehow. Great smile.