Dewar

I had a very snippy comment to write about that, but I'll just say no thanks.

Demon Souls might be a rough game to start with. I played it after Dark Souls and still found it pretty obtuse.

I should note that I was doing fairly well when I was playing, I got up to a 70% win rate and often had pretty good stats. I just found the whole thing stressful so I eventually stopped. I'll probably play some more once the next International comes around.

I could swear I posted that somewhere after the Golden Week Sale was linked, but yes, well worth the money.

I painted a miniature at a booth at PAX 3 years back and really enjoyed it. I went to a local Games Workshop and purchased a LotR orc paint set (http://www.collecttolkien.com/images/Figures/Figure%20Games%20Workshop%20LOTR%20Paint%20Set%20Box%202.jpg) and a few extra colors. There were enough tips in the included book to give me a good idea of what to do from there. I also had a few old pewter figures from the days when I had more time to play D&D so I painted a few of those. I ended up painting 8 figures or so and haven't been back to it in a while.

Everything I have seen shows enemies that move much faster, tighter timing requirements on parrying and dodging, groups of enemies that prioritize aggressiveness to quickly trim down the pack instead of cautiousness, that sort of stuff. Maybe it would feel different if I was playing it, but I'm not the only person I've heard talking about the pace increase. Edit: All that being said, I would play it if I could and I'm bummed out it's Playstation exclusive.

I think I shall jump back in for a while this weekend, do some more exploring, and mission toward that clipper while I'm at it. How has the community goal stuff been going? I did a couple of cargo runs for the first one and found it underwhelming.

DS2 has a surprising number of weapons that are very similar, but have a different move set, reach, scaling, etc. I remember going through Dark Souls 1 with my agility mage, trying out every rapier I could find, and experimenting with int scaling on each one to choose the one I wanted. I enjoyed that a lot, though I can understand why others might get annoyed with that process. I'm a loot sort of person. I get bored with a game once I get my optimal build because there's nothing out there left to find to improve it. As for pacing, I no-shielded DS2 so it's not that I was hiding behind blocking all the time. I guess if this and the Dota thread show anything, it's that I prefer my games slow and methodical, where I can plan ahead and take my time.

Wasn't there a Steam statistic somewhere that only 10% of people who get the first achievement in a game get the achievement for finishing? I don't think a 25% completion rate is bad at all. I haven't played Bloodborne (no PS4) but from the sounds of it they took a lot of what I like about Dark Souls out. Quickening the pace and lowering the equipment variety are the opposite of what I'd like to have, personally. Maybe if I play it, it'll click for me though.

I guess I would consider the whole time between seeing a thing, making a decision about the thing, and then reacting to it all bundled in my idea of "quick reaction times." I actually have pretty damn good reflexes, but my decision making time has somewhat lengthened since I was younger.

I wish I could watch it live. I had originally intended to ask for the day off, but these last few months at work have been a disaster.

I know that as I get older, I am less willing (and also less able) to jump into games that require really quick reaction times like Dota 2. These days I prefer strategy games that I can take my time in like Civilization, Banished, or XCOM. On top of that, I'm much less willing to deal with other people's bad attitude. I'd imagine, if a significant number of my peers feel the same way, that Dota 2 will always have those demographics.

Was it your first? I hear you never forget your first.

It's worth mentioning that Demon Souls is one of the games on sale for Golden Week on the PS3. It's definitely worth playing for $7

Wait, how can they have 40,000 developers but only 1000 apps? What are they counting as a developer? Anyone who has ever expressed interest? Anyone who downloaded the SDK?

I finally made a uPlay account for one of the more recent Heroes of Might and Magic. I regret it.

A healthy desire to not buy games you'll never have a chance to play?

Not surprising. It sounded like it was dead on the vine at PAX East.

I hate myself for being interested in Total War: Warhammer, but I am anyway. Given their track record, I'd guess buggy mess.

Hmm, my video card is 3 years old now I guess. AMD's new naming scheme is dumb.

Nice, they have a 2' x 5' print available.

You can say that about more than just VN's really. I like the DOA fighting system, but they felt the need to make that game about... what it's about I guess.

Hmm, it might be time to update my card as well. Talos Principle was chugging pretty hard.

Is there a link to the artist anywhere? I'd love to get a print but would prefer to buy from the artist. It's got to bizarre working for a modeling agency, knowing CES is coming into town and expecting to maybe be showing off a phone or something, and end up wearing a spider.

The basics of 401k is that you take out a percentage of your pay before taxes and put it into an account that invests it and tries to make it grow. Then when you're retired you pull it back out and get taxed for it then instead. It seems kinda silly at first but it offers you the advantage of 1) That money that you would be paying to taxes is instead being allowed to grow over 20 years, and 2) due to progressive taxing, you will likely be taxed at a lower percentage in your older years. The other plus is that, in an emergency, you can draw a loan from that account or even take money from it permanently if you have to (after paying a pretty good chunk in penalties and taxes)