Dr Wookie

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Everything posted by Dr Wookie

  1. Elite: Dangerous (Kickstarter)

    Congrats! I've not had much of a chance to try it out myself, but the adder has a lot of fans
  2. Nobody expects the Dragon Age Inquisition

    I'm 56 hours in and apparently am capable of taking on the final mission, according to dialogue options with the party. I've not even killed a dragon yet! I've enjoyed many of the hours spent with the game, but have been pretty frustrated or bored some of the time too. I am tempted to play it again at least once, so it's definitely not bad, but I agree it's nowhere near top-of-their-game Bioware
  3. Dying Light

    I've also watched a bit of Jim Sterling's livestream PC playthrough, which is somewhat concerning... apparently a post-release patch severely borked PC performance, although Techland is working on a new patch to deal with that. There was massive audio and visual stutter in his playthrough which was very off-putting.
  4. Dying Light

    Having watched the Giant Bomb quicklook, I'm more intrigued seeing how agility and combat level up separately, meaning that you can customise your approach. I'm digging the whole open world RPG approach. It's not my top priority, but I am tempted to check it out
  5. Dying Light

    I rented Dead Island from Gamefly, and found that the early game definitely had its charm, especially with analogue hack and slash. I lost interest after a few hours, and returned it, but if I actually bought it I might give it more of a shot. Random tangent, I gave Crackdown 2 about 40 minutes before saying "fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuck this" and returning the disk . I tihnk the reason for me losing interest may have been moving away from the utterly bizarre beach setting, where most of the zombies were clearly on holiday. Dying light sounds cool, but I may be too much of a wuss for the night zombies... they freak me out a bit for some reason
  6. Elite: Dangerous (Kickstarter)

    Cool AND useful, one up on me! There's no practical application of my expertise that wouldn't destroy the World
  7. Elite: Dangerous (Kickstarter)

    I am a professional astrophysicist so my idea of interesting is very different to yours ! Yes I got into space stuff because of the first game, and now I hunt black holes for NASA
  8. Elite: Dangerous (Kickstarter)

    Very true, and of course you can only explore a system once. Having said that, I just made 70 k for a single system with an earth-like world and a high metalicity one (plus other stuff I didn't bother to scan). I'm on my way down to the "bottom" of the galaxy and haven't really left civilization yet but still made 100 k in about 40 minutes. It's more about seeing what's out there than the cash for me though.
  9. Elite: Dangerous (Kickstarter)

    Discovery is like mining in that you need to prioritise: black holes and blue stars are worth more than red or yellow stars; similarly Earth-like worlds and metal rich planets are worth more than icy planets. People reckon that the data from the guy who went to the edge is probably worth about 40 million... 5 times as much as I've earned in the last 5 weeks . You can look at the system map after doing the discovery scan to see if there's anything worth scanning in detail... the representations of the planets and stars give you an idea what type they are. Then balance out cash with distance (400,000 ls travel is funny once but not recommended as part of your routine)
  10. Elite: Dangerous (Kickstarter)

    Unlucky! If you don't see the point in playing it might be worth taking a break... ED will be there when you get back, and will likely have fun new stuff in it . I finally got an advanced scanner and detailed surface scanner for my asp (never thought of it as grinding... if it seemed boring I did something else in game or entirely different). I am going to do a quick tour of systems with backer's planets and stations that I know of, then am heading out into the black . Yesterday I saw a video (turns out to be the last in a series) from a guy who had made it to the rim of the galaxy, via the centre, and now I want to do something similar. Crazy I know, since it took him 5 weeks, but I don't need to do it all in a rush.
  11. Nobody expects the Dragon Age Inquisition

    Having been a bit down on the game previously, I had an incredibly enjoyable session this afternoon with momentous stuff and a hard choice to make. Perhaps DAI suffers in the same way that the late game of Divinity Original Sin does in that it gives too much free reign to the player to dictate pacing. I'm loving my assassin skills, having earned them earlier on today.
  12. Elite: Dangerous (Kickstarter)

    Yeah Sag A* was a bit disappointing... maybe they'll add a disk later. I know they are hoping to add accreting black hole binaries, but this was always going to be after initial launch
  13. Elite: Dangerous (Kickstarter)

    Actually, the vast majority of black holes won't have accretion disks, because those are mechanisms for reducing the angular momentum of in-falling material. You get accretion disks in binary systems, and a big one around the supermassive black hole, but not around isolated black holes.
  14. Elite: Dangerous (Kickstarter)

    You really don't need an asp to go exploring... all you need is a fuel scoop, a good discovery scanner and maybe a detailed surface scanner. A refinery and mining lasers are optional if you want to exploit some pristine reserves you come across, but you can always make a note of where resources are and go back. I had a fully kitted out explorer cobra that cost somewhere between 2 and 3 million, but you could do it for less in an adder. Very long jump distances are only necessary if you have somewhere in mind... 10-15 ly ranges will get you anywhere you need to get to
  15. Nobody expects the Dragon Age Inquisition

    I'm definitely hot and cold, and I don't think I'm far in despite putting in over 35 hrs... I'm at the point where I'm working towards my specialization (I'm some whay through level 12). As far as I understand it, a decision you make ~10-15 hours into the game has a huge effect on how the later game plays out... different missions, bosses etc. and one way could be significantly better than the other. I was a lot happier before the big choice and immediate consequence because the war map was a lot emptier and seemed more managable. Now, every time I clear a bunch of stuff, a whole load more comes on. And the area maps are chock full of icons. I think the various artists have done a fantastic job, but I'm just not enjoying the game as much as I hoped. It's pretty good in shortish bursts, which is a shame because I was up till gone 1 am on a work night doing the first really big thing... that enthusiasm is just gone. @Twig: yesterday's play session after the update didn't crash once, which may indicate some improvement in the nvidia drivers. There's a new game experience as well which reset my DA optimisation choices.
  16. Elite: Dangerous (Kickstarter)

    If you want to dip into PvE, you could try the MOBIUS group that has over 3000 members now. There's nothing in the game mechanics to stop people attacking and hurting each other, but people agree not to (with the exception of conflict zones where people can be on opposite sides).
  17. Elite: Dangerous (Kickstarter)

    Woohoo! I finally made enough money to get a basic Asp, though it will probably take another few weeks or months to kit it out fully. Being an explorer ship, I was kinda surprised that the highest jump distance is similar to that of the cobra, although the range is a lot larger because it holds 2 or 4 times more fuel (I tihnk 4 but can't quite remember). The cockpit is fantastic with probably the best visibility of any ship in the game, meaning it will be fantastic for VR. It's pretty nimble for such a large ship, and feels great after the Type 6. Basically it feels like a bigger brother for the Cobra; it isn't quite as fast but can hold a whole lot more stuff and has beefier and better placed weaponry to boot. I think I'm going to really enjoy gradually building it up .
  18. Elite: Dangerous (Kickstarter)

    Oooh, juicy details of next month's 1.1 update from PC Gamer: http://www.pcgamer.com/elite-dangerous-patch-11-preview-community-goals-revealed/ COMMUNITY GOALS Players can chip in (or maybe try to prevent) grand scale actions to take place within a certain time limit; anyone can join in whether in open play, private groups or solo mode. An example is a community goal to bring food to a planet facing famine... if enough arrives before the time limit expires then the population is saved PRETTIES Gas giants get a new shader to add depth to the clouds, while populated planets will finally get city lights on the night side
  19. Nobody expects the Dragon Age Inquisition

    I succumbed and bought this last week... GMG's 30% off was a good deal, but coincidental as I decided to buy it anyway. So far I like it quite a bit, but don't love it. It is astonishingly pretty in places (my 970 runs everything on Ultra or Fade Touched at 60 fps), but it's buggy as hell. I've had at least one crash to desk top every day that I've played it, often 3 or 4. Plus I've had people and animals either hovering above the ground or sinking in. I've done the first really big thing with an accompanying sing-song and my war table is covered in shit to do... it's a little bit off-putting to be honest. Having played Origins multiple times, and enjoyed DAII I am invested in the dragon age setting (Thedas for short, seriously!) However, I do feel stifled by the more *ahem* streamlined gameplay; I spent agest trying to find a way to swap equipped weapons before finding out I couldn't anymore. I wasn't having much fun in combat, until I got a sort of infinite hookshot that lets me ping around the battlefield and stab animals from afar f. I do sometimes use the tactical camera, and I rather like the slowmo control it gives you, but mostly just play like an action game. The quests are OK, not outstanding or terrible in general so far... I might actually prefer DAII for its structure where everything is being "told" by Varric and some sequences where he bullshits what happened are great fun. Having said that there is a pay-off for that in DAI that I just got to and really appreciated. I do enjoy the companions, talking to them and listening to banter between them. My character is an incorrigible flirt but I'm not trying to romance anyone properly. I mix up my party quite fairly regularly, although I am ambivalent about one guy since they are interesting but too closely match my character's skillset.
  20. Elite: Dangerous (Kickstarter)

    I've still not played with the asp or larger ships, but the Cobra Mk III is my favourite ship that I've tried so far, and I've spent >90% of my time in one since I started properly (I reset my gamma commander 1 week before launch). I think that this is mostly due to my propensity to doing a variety of things rather than sticking to one thing and specialising for that; I'm not trying to make money as fast as humanly possible unlike some people who obsess over credit yield per hour for each profession (shame really as it turns ED into work). Plus it looks like an upgraded Cobra is the fastest ship in the game to date (15 more ships to come), so great for running away (if you're me) or chasing after people (if you're a bit more aggressive). I rember the dev team saying that they had to make concious effort to not just make the Cobra best at everything, since it is the iconic ship.
  21. Elite: Dangerous (Kickstarter)

    I decided to give bounty hunting a bit of a go yesterday, after months of trading and exploration. So jumped into a viper, upgraded the crap out of it and had at it . A few lessons learned the hard way --- I knew that the viper had been toned down in testing (it was apparently massively overpowered), but it was quite jarring when I first got in the new one... no more 500 m/s boost for me --- while the frame shift interdiction device thingy is fun to use, it's probably not best to start off with a deadly dropship! He basically laughed at me, fired all of the guns in the world at me and I flew into him at full speed (accidentally) while we were both at about 75% hull... I blew up quite badly! --- If someone is clean in the current system, but a kill warrant scanner tells you that they are wanted elsewhere, killing them will still earn you a bounty (oops!) --- Sometimes pecking at someone a bit rubbishly turns out better than just blowing them up! I had a go at a wanted asp with a ~10 k bounty, but they jumped before I could seal the deal. However, they left behind 5 tons of palladium that I sold on the black market for 35 k... Result! --- outposts can be a fugitive's friend, since you are unlikely to be scanned for crimes or naughty cargo. Black markets are a bonus too. --- Since all of the weapons seem to be less powerful, fights are less visceral but more survivable for both parties (check out one of my early videos here). I prefer the old style of combat in some ways, but now there are more options for surrendering, dumping cargo etc.. Given that you no longer keep bounties if you blow up before cashing in, fights are more considered
  22. Recently completed video games

    I finished South Park: The Stick of Truth this week (I'm really burning through my steam list). As I said earlier I'm a bit of a lapsed SP fan, but I did like it even though I'm not the ideal audience. This is mostly because the game is very solid, with mostly fun combat where different attacks are buffed by different input... e.g. hit A here, here and here or rotate left stick then press X at the flash... there's even a special move that turns into a rhythm game. I played as a thief, and my specials felt good and powerful; I'm interested in playing again to see how the other classes feel, but not right now. I also like that while most characters get knocked out, if you choose Kenny as a buddy he'll get straight up killed (for the fight)... also his specials are very risky. I enjoyed most of the references that I got, but I'm sure I missed a whole load others. The whole game felt like an extended episode, and clearly a lot of love went into getting the feel just right. As another Ubisoft-published game, I suppose it's not too surprising that the cutscenes in the last hour or so glitched so that random characters kept fading into and out of existence. With 66% off, I definitely am happy to have played it for $20... full price would have been too much though.
  23. Oculus rift

    Thanks for the advice. I've played ED with DK1, HD prototype and DK2 and they have all been great but as you say there are a lot of drawbacks with the dev kit. Plus I'm moving countries again at the end of May, and Sensible Wookie wouldn't buy until after then. Impulsive, Tempted Wookie needs to quiet down
  24. Oculus rift

    I'm as conflicted after CES as before! It looks like Crescent Bay has a similar resolution to DK2, with physical optics reducing the screen door effect. This is generally good news, but will make text harder to read. Oculus have said that CB is close to what they want the first consumer version to be. I've been umming and aahing about whether to get DK2 or wait for CV1. On the one hand, CB is already supposed to be much improved over DK2 in many areas other than the screen, and I'm now sure I could run it (and hence probably CV1) at 90 Hz with my 970 and i7. On the other hand, a major use would be Elite Dangerous, which is text-heavy. Oh well, waiting to buy can't hurt !
  25. Elite: Dangerous (Kickstarter)

    I'm at around the 4 million cr mark, and don't grind anything really... I'm just touring points of interest around the galaxy, getting exploration data along the way. Looking at the system map after the initial discovery scan can tell you whether it's worthwhile doing surface scans of planets before moving on... high metalicity or Earth-like worlds are provably worth a punt, and I made about 150 k selling data while going from Barnard's Star to 17 Draconis (a system highlighted in the behind closed doors E3 demo: it's well out of the plane of the galaxy so the Milky Way looks very different). Speaking of exploration, there's a very nice Kotaku article on the Great Expedition: http://kotaku.com/one-thousand-gamers-embark-to-explore-the-entire-galaxy-1677603818 It turns out that one of the members of the team that hopes to explore every star in the game was a mission planner for NASA, and he's found the experience very similar Last time I visited the Ayethi system (home to my space station and planet), the main faction was at the tipping point for an economic boom. So I am thinking of heading back there to do missions and trade in order to tip them over and see what happens .