Dr Wookie

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Everything posted by Dr Wookie

  1. Elite: Dangerous (Kickstarter)

    It looks like ED is doing well, which can only be a good thing when it comes to future content being added: Frontier have made 14.1 million GBP (about $20 million) from >300,000 sales so far. The original budget was quoted as 8 million GBP, but was "substantially increased" later on; even so, ED may close to making a profit already. Not that scores really matter, but meta-critic has 22 reviews ranging from 70-90 /100 with a weighted score of 79; they all seem to say similar things... a very good foundation but more content is needed as the universe can feel empty (spoiler alert, it IS pretty damn empty ). The latest newsletter has new concept art for one of the 15 ships still to be added, the Fer-de-Lance. There were Fer-de-Lances in the original game, as luxurious bounty hunting vessels, but they looked pretty different (then again the current game is set >200 years later). The newsletter also states that the Mac version is expected to go into beta in around 3 months' time .
  2. Recently completed video games

    I put Vampire the Masquerade on hold for a while... I really enjoy the world and story telling, but I'm butting up against a bunch of combat heavy missions near the end that my character just isn't built for. Apparently there were immensely powerful weapons available in the original game for these missions that were removed in the unofficial update. It was good to hear from Dewar that there's lots of good character-specific dialogue for other clans, because I will probably need to go again some time later. Continuing the story-based game theme, I also played Valiant Hearts over the weekend. In a year that Ubisoft shat the bed so badly, it's good to remember that they put this little gem out also. I found the story to be very moving, and a good reminder that people largely helped each other out no matter which side they were on when away from the commanding officers. I learned a lot about WWI from the collectibles and snippets found in each level... the game was made in conjunction with groups marking the centenary of the start of the war. In certain situations, I found myself wishing for LESS game, as the action came to a screeching halt while puzzles tripped up the momentum; it hardly seems realistic that a company of soldiers would halt mid-charge while someone futzes with some levers and boxes somewhere. Valiant Hearts was suitably grim in many places, although presented with gorgeous style, so as a bit of an antidote I've started on South Park: The Stick of Truth. I've not watched the show for many years, but am having a good time. At its heart lies a very solid RPG, where the fantasy is in the minds of the kids playing a game (a bit like Costume Quest, but with considerably more depth). On top of this, it looks and sounds just like the show, and that's a good thing so far.
  3. Recently completed video games

    I hit the steam sales hard over the holidays, and am enjoying a wide variety of games after spending much of last year testing Elite Dangerous. I knocked off Jazzpunk and To the Moon each in a single day; both were wonderful in different ways. Both are like collections of minigames used to progress the story, but couldn't be more different tonally. Jazzpunk plays everything for surreal laughs, and definitely worked for me, lasting just long enough to start outstaying its welcome; it's a bit like an extended version of the Milkman Prophecy level from Psychonauts. To the Moon was highly surprising and touching, as I didn't really know anything about it. I also finished Episode 1 of Tales from the Borderlands. I heard very encouraging things about it, and am glad I tried it out. However, I am somewhat concerned that the rest of the episodes don't live up to the killer pilot (I'm looking at you here Wolf Among Us) I am currently going through Vampire the Masquerade: Bloodlines, a 10 year old game that was recommended to me time and again. It took a little bit of work to get it going, but I am enjoying myself immensely. I chose to answer a series of questions rather than chose my character directly, and I ended up with a Malkavian that sees the future but is clinically insane... the dialog options are great (getting their own dedicated font) as I often say things that don't often make sense at the time, but do later on like scrambled visions of the future. Love it!
  4. Elite: Dangerous (Kickstarter)

    I know what you mean... this unstructured gameplay is one of the reasons that I could not recommend this game without reservation. I happen to absolutely love it, but even so I only log in if I have a particular goal in mind. I still mange a few hours per week though. You're not "supposed" to do anything... one eventual goal might be to become Elite in one of the three disciplines: combat, trading or exploration; this will give access to special missions and other benfefits. You might want to check the news feeds to see if anything grabs you as worth checking out; news feeds might also make you interested in joining up with either the Empire or Federation. Maybe you fancy jum-starting a civil war by building up a minority faction within a system (you'll need help with this one). I try to think further than the next bit of equipment, but aiming for a new upgrade is good too. In one of my excursions out of well inhabited space I found a place with pristine metal reserves far from anyone else meaning that I can get gold, platinum or palladium in peace if I want to, for >10,000 credits a ton profit; mining is still in its infancy really and is definitely not recommended for long periods of time. At the moment, art is imitating life as I am on a black hole hunt. I know of one in the Mintaka system, and made the ~650 light year treck out there before, but my instruments weren't good enough to pick it up automatically, and if there's one thing you can't find by eye it's a black hole ! Now I have an advanced discovery scanner, I can pick up every celestial body in a star system, so I can track the little bugger down, and also do a hefty amount of exploration along the way. This is definitely podcast fodder, because out in deep space there's nobody around and it took a few hours to make the journey last time; now I have a better jump drive and the route planning is improved so that might cut down on travel time, but even so it's gonna take a while !
  5. Elite: Dangerous (Kickstarter)

    The manual's finally been released (at least v 1.01)! It's available at http://hosting.zaonce.net/elite/website/assets/ELITE-DANGEROUS-GAME-MANUAL.pdf
  6. Rocksmith

    Rocksmith and Rocksmith 2014 are both heavily discounted in the Steam Sale right now : 2014 with 66% off at $20.39, original Rocksmith (good for a song pack if nothing else) 75% off at $7.49. Some song DLC is 25% off too. These deals will be gone soon, so act now if you want
  7. Elite: Dangerous (Kickstarter)

    I've been using a 360 controller this whole time, and it works well... I definitely recommend giving it a try. You can bind the buttons how you like. The basic ship is a bit rubbish for fighting, and there is absolutely no leveling or scaling, so you might want to run away from fights to start with (a tradition with Elite games). If you do want to fight, you get the most maneuvarability when the speed is in the blue zone and the engine has 4 pips. An official players guide should be coming this week. By the way "clean" pirates don't have bounties in the current system, but a kill warrant scanner will reveal bounties elsewhere
  8. Elite: Dangerous (Kickstarter)

    ELITE DANGEROUS 1.0.0.0 NOW RELEASED! The game is now fully released to the public ! And it's looking smoother and better than ever so far! @BadFinger and anyone else, feel free to add me... I am CORVUS MUNINN . At the moment I am visiting the UK with my laptop and using my mum's wifi, and so am keeping to SOLO mode, which has the lowest bandwidth requirements. I'll be back in the US at the end of december though. Also, I am helping a bunch of players test the background simulation by helping an independent faction in the Lugh system rise to power, hopefully sparking a war to separate from the Federation.
  9. Elite: Dangerous (Kickstarter)

    It's a game that is in for the long haul, but it is not necessarily massively competitive... there is no endgame, and other people's achievements won't really affect you (unless you fight in open play and get massively outmatched). However, you can always play in private groups or solo; there is a fairly large and ever expanding group for PvE called Mobius that anyone can join if that's your thing. Once you get used to it, you could play for 15-30 minutes, or several hours. Missions have real time deadlines though, so if you log on a week later, you will probably have failed.
  10. Elite: Dangerous (Kickstarter)

    HOLY COW! NEW GAMMA VERSION (2.0) Total surprise this, a new version has been added with headline features including two new ships (Adder and Type 7), route planning, and the addition of a "secret" LAUNCH TRAILER FD have released the launch trailer for the game... more bombastic nonsense than a reliable indicator of game play, but it looks cool !
  11. Elite: Dangerous (Kickstarter)

    There's just been a new post up on the forums from Frontier saying that there will be no wipe at launch! I will make my own wipe and start at Lave !
  12. Day of the Tentacle Special Edition

    Exciting times! I've not played this in years, and would definitely pick this up!
  13. Its beginning to look a lot like GOTY

    Without a doubt, my game of the year (indeed the last few years) is Elite Dangerous (big shock, I know)! It's not out for another 8 days (December 16), but does just about squeeze in. However, it's not a game I could simply recommend to everybody, because despite its awesome graphics and audio, and despite being universally hailed as one of the very best VR experiences out there, it's very much in the same mold as the original game. The idea is to make your way in the Galaxy, gaining money, reputation and power by trading, exploring, piracy, bounty hunting, mining, taking civilian or military missions etc.. There is no main story line, and even though there's various degrees of multiplayer available, it can be hard to meet up with friends, let alone see players you don't know. Also, the player is not at all special, and since there is no leveling at all, there is no scaling either. But it's everything I was hoping for when I backed the game and much more, with a whole bunch still to come. Divinity: Original Sin is a highly enjoyable CRPG with a bunch of great systems, and I absolutely loved the first ~50 hours or so, but then the very open and unguided nature comes back to bite it in the ass as I spent a good 20-30 hours wondering what the fuck I was missing, and hunting down things that are required for the only real obstacle to progress in the game, and are easily lost in the scenery. By the time I got to the final fight, I got so fed up, I ended up youtubing the end. If there was a bit of pruning and guidance, it would be an utterly fantastic game Middle Earth: Shadow of Mordor was my favourite open worldy jumpy stabby game of the year, with fabulously characterful orcs and a great Nemesis system I absolutely loved the atmosphere of The Wolf Among Us, and even though the story line didn't live up to the promise of the first episode I had a good time playing as Bigby, and even bought the first volume of the graphic novel. I'm excited to play South Park: The Stick of Truth and Dragon Age Inquisition, but haven't got round to either yet even though I got the South Park game in the latest steam sale.
  14. Elite: Dangerous (Kickstarter)

    Hopefully the fully release will come with a manual! HERE IS AN UNOFFICIAL PLAYER'S GUIDE, COMPLETE UP TO BETA 2 http://www.mediafire.com/view/5jxh750heuhzedw/Elite+Dangerous.Pilots+Guide.Manual.Tutorial.pdf If you do start over, you will (probably) start in an orbital station, with your eagle waiting at a bigger star port in the same system. If you go to the system map, then there will be a little blue icon next to the station with your ship. If you don't want to start over, you can see the same blue icon on the galactic map next to the system with your ship . By the way Elite Dangerous won best VR Simulator and was a finalist in the Virtual Reality Awards 2014: http://www.virtualrealityreviewer.com/virtual-realty-awards-2014-full-video-winners/
  15. Elite: Dangerous (Kickstarter)

    Everyone who ordered the game before release gets an eagle as a second ship; if you chose the Imperial Bounty Hunter start, then you have two eagles . If you had no ships in storage, the storage tab would show (0) not (1)
  16. Elite: Dangerous (Kickstarter)

    Yep, missions are definitely harder to come by, because reputation is factored in to whether or not they are available. However, in general bigger space stations are more likely to have them than outposts. I would recommend selling one of your ships: you should have a second ship waiting in your starting system (or if you go to a shipyard, look for stored ships and it will tell you where it is). The eagle sells for about 40k and the sidewinder sells for about 30k
  17. Elite: Dangerous (Kickstarter)

    Probably... I think the original plan was to have no wipes after the start of gamma, but there's been quite a bit of balancing so there might be one (possibly partial where they reset progress but let you keep credits). The recent discussions have not mentioned anything about being an early start. I'm away from home, only able to play it on a laptop in bursts of ~30 minutes before it overheats and turns off so I won't be playing much before I go back to the US at the end of December. I've had fun trying different starting points out (available to kickstarter backers), including Lave, the Founders' System (where I did a job for the Dark Wheel) and on the edge of explored space . I was able to visit my space station when starting as an imperial bounty hunter, but haven't seen my planet (I really did back this game to a very silly level )
  18. Elite: Dangerous (Kickstarter)

    The single player scenarios are training missions, combining docking, trading, and combat (simple and advanced). ED has a steep learning curve to start with, and it took me several hours to get past some of the missions, but can breeze past them now. One highlight for me was to play hide and seek in an asteroid field, trying to pick off weaker ships while using stealth to hide from a badass. The first combat tutorial video I posted above was taken from one of the earliest combat scenarios.
  19. Elite: Dangerous (Kickstarter)

    Good luck! This week's newsletter was full of interesting stuff, including this peek at the Majestic Interdictor that made its debut at the premiere: ALL IN! Anyone who preorders the Mercenary edition can now download and play single player combat scenarios, and Frontier have released this video which is supposedly the first in a series of pilot training videos BLACK FRIDAY (?!) DEALS Getting into the spirit of our cousins over the pond, FD are selling ship skins at 50% off until Monday, and have made a new bundle of Cobra skins that is free to anyone that gets it before December 1 Which pond? This one They have also added boxed copies of the game to the store SPACE PORN! They also show off user-found nebulae like this: And this video of a black hole It's not QUITE right, because the distortion should be centred on the black hole, but nearly there and damned impressive! I've mentioned it on the forums, hopefully they'll change it.
  20. Elite: Dangerous (Kickstarter)

    @Logman: I've been using a 360 gamepad since last December, and it works well for me. It took quite a bit of messing around with the bindings to get it to feel right though, since I play in front of my TV, and avoid keyboard commands if possible. The executive producer (Michael Brookes) reckons that the gamepad is as good as a joysick HOTAS set-up, but prefers HOTAS because it feels more immersive. @Dewar: you should definitely be able to get into gamma if you backed for the game during the kickstarter... I'm repeating myself here and being specific, because one forum user backed to the name an NPC level and then topped up to the game after the KS finished and can't get in. Here is a link to a post by Frontier staff with a link to the launcher (just to show it's legit): https://forums.frontier.co.uk/showthread.php?t=62562 You will need the email and password to log in (almost certainly the same as for your Kickstarter account). It would probably be far quicker to get your password from kickstarter than Frontier at the moment
  21. Elite: Dangerous (Kickstarter)

    Yeah, I was thinking of you when I wrote that, wondering if you got access yet. If not, you definitely will get into the training missions on Wednesday . I suggest that you go to store.elitedangerous.com, and try to sign in with your email and password used in the kickstarter. If that works, you could click on the "My Downloadable Products" tab, and see if Gamma is there.
  22. Elite: Dangerous (Kickstarter)

    I had a fantastic time at the premiere, the first ED event that I could attend... 12 hours of pre-party, party, and after-party, definitely back in Blighty . I've put a bunch of photos on facebook if anyone's interested in having a gander : https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10153453037369152.1073741866.558999151&type=1&l=75430eeb34 I had a really great chat about all sorts of games with Mike Channel from Outside XBox / Eurogamer, as well as a huge variety of original players and young kids... great fun. It was wonderful to put faces to many of the forum names I've seen over the last couple of years, and it was nearly always surprising! There was an hour long livestream hosted by Jessica Chobot and Andy Akinwolere, captured from Twitter here: The main attraction was the live demo near the end, with the first in-game arrival of the Imperial capital ship, and it made quite the entrance: NO MORE BETA/ GAMMA IN FULL SWING Beta closed on November 22, and only Preorders are available now. Anyone who pre-orders will be able to play the tutorial missions from Wednesday... get practising! Gamma 1.0 is now available, and I think that anyone who pledged for the game during the Kickstarter phase has access --- ALL SPACE RESTRICTIONS GONE! There is no more bubble, and all 400,000,000 star systems are ours to explore! Including Sol, and Lave where it all started --- MULTIPLE START OPTIONS! Kickstarter backers with suitable pledges can choose from a number of start positions, including an Imperial bounty hunter with an upgraded Eagle, an independent trader starting at Lave Station with a Cobra and 100 credits, a long-range cobra on the edge of explored space, and a choice of ships starting at the Founders' system. I now see the reason for introducing Beta 3.9 a couple of days ago... the Gamma update was very quick, probably a few tweaks. ELITE DANGEROUS APP The Elite Dangerous companion app is available now for IOS, and will soon be available for Android and Windows phones. It has a nice intro to the game, and if you log in with your ED username and password, you can find your stats, look at the stock market for the station you're in, and see which ships are available. Hopefully more functionality will be added There have been some rough patches, but ED is looking good for launch! Another wipe could happen, so I'm not commiting myself to any play yet other than messing around with some of the start positions.
  23. Elite: Dangerous (Kickstarter)

    That's great to hear ! I've flown back to the UK for the Premiere, so haven't had much of a look at 3.9, but squeezed in about 20 minutes. The premiere is today, 22nd November, and will be livestreaming on twitch at 20:00 GMT (3pm EST) if anyone is interested... the actual event goes from 6 til midnight though, and I've been invited in early as one of ~20 community ambassadors that helped show off the game at various events. Very exciting!
  24. Elite: Dangerous (Kickstarter)

    You can totally play solo... you will be in the same galaxy, with the same events, and if someone buys up limited supplies then you won't get them; however, you will never encounter other players. Alternatively, there is a private group with several hundred people who want to play PvE. The game rules say you can attack and destroy other players, but members choose not to. I prefer this approach to a separate PvE mode, because that would give PvE an advantage if there was no friendly fire. Trading can be very serene, but you can still get attacked... when I am in a trading ship, I upgrade shields and thrusters, along with the power distribution, going for a quick getaway rather than a fight. Well established trade routes have small profit margins, so you need to explore a bit to find the good stuff. The starter ships offered by the various kickstarter rewards are all pretty easy to get at current prices (which are way higher than initial prices, and probably pretty close to release values). As a result, the head start is only perhaps 10-20 hours' worth of play. Alpha and beta backers have reduced insurance costs, which is only a real advantage if you explode often... I've lost 1 ship in the last ~40 hours of testing (but then I was mostly playing in a PvE group ). Founders (including all alphas) get immediately inducted to the Federation of Elite Pilots, with extra mission opportunities and discounts, but start out Harmless like everyone else. I am hoping that we can create new games that disable all of the privileges, because I have rather a lot; we've asked for this option several times over the last ~2 years.
  25. Nobody expects the Dragon Age Inquisition

    I am glad people are liking it so far! I am going home tomorrow, and will be away until after Xmas so I won't be playing it for a while. I am pretty tempted to download it tonight to see what it's like... but maybe I can show SOME willpower ! I was going to leave Shadow of Mordor for a few months, then caved a week or so later. PC Gamer have a ~2 hour video going through all of the choices to be made in Dragon Age Keep, the tool for importing the state of the world into Inquisition. Listening to the first part is what made me play DAO again. It could be useful for people who have saves on different platforms and would like some guidance of how to set up the world according to their canon (I played DA2 on 360)