Community MetaSteam | April 2020 - A Disaster Report From Raccoon City

[Wildebeet]

Apparently im on my 63rd XCOM2 campaign. Doing an iornman run and I just got wrecked on a chosen one mission. 2 guys dead. No healing options left, 2 soldiers down to 2 health blips. Its looking grim.

Stop posting about xcom. I walked away from that life almost a year ago and I'm not going back. I swore to my family I'd never take one more turn again. I'm a retired commander. I just want to bounce my grandkids on my brittle knee and bitch about my insurance, or something like that, whatever retired people do these days. reinstalls

 

[Aaron D.]

Man In Other Waters is so damn good.

It's like this perfect collision of Zen, style & mystery.

Game is super relaxing. Everything from the laid-back pace to the ethereal soundtrack. It just nails this mood of tranquility.

And what's funny is that it isn't the kind of relaxing that puts you to sleep. "Cause you're exploring these gorgeous topographic maps, collecting samples of marine life and following after the bread-crumb trail of the person who called you to this alien planet. So there's this sense of purpose guiding you forward. But you get to play it at your own pace.

Putting the puzzle pieces together of mapping out the taxonomy of individual life forms (plant, animal, fungi, etc.) just never gets old 'cause the writing is so good. It's that brand of sci/fi science that's rooted in the real-world but with a creative slant to spark the imagination. And you feel like you're discovering whole new alien eco-systems along with your player character as they comment in wonder over each new find. It just feels smart in presentation and delivery.

And speaking of presentation, this this thing is a shoe-in for Giant Bomb's GOTY Styyyyle category, at least as part of the conversation. It's totally strange but when I think of Waters, I keep coming back to Wipeout HD. That clean, minimalist style. The futurist angle. The bold, stark colors that never feel busy. It's a super-slick, cohesive package.

The game feels smart, aided by writing that feels well-researched & creative on the science end but also personable regarding the characters. The audio-visual suite is dialed in (Soundtrack of the Year candidate easily).

Feels like this one just landed at a really good time. With people's anxiety & BP being higher than normal, In Other Waters offers some respite and calm. It also offers glimpses of hope with the mystery of wonder & discovery that it explores, like all the best sci-fi out there manages to do.

Highly recommended.

 

[lashman]

Man In Other Waters is so damn good.

well i guess i now have no other choice but to buy it ...

DAMN YOU!

 

[Panda Pedinte]

Team17 is going to publish Hokko Life. Indie animal crossing for PC

Nice! I'm looking forward to the release, though I'm still mad how some folks were negative towards it just because it's "copying" Animal Crossing as if we have that franchise on PC.

Goddamn, being able to use the soundtracks from SoR1 & 2 is very nice

Man In Other Waters is so damn good.

It's like this perfect collision of Zen, style & mystery.

Game is super relaxing. Everything from the laid-back pace to the ethereal soundtrack. It just nails this mood of tranquility.

And what's funny is that it isn't the kind of relaxing that puts you to sleep. "Cause you're exploring these gorgeous topographic maps, collecting samples of marine life and following after the bread-crumb trail of the person who called you to this alien planet. So there's this sense of purpose guiding you forward. But you get to play it at your own pace.

Putting the puzzle pieces together of mapping out the taxonomy of individual life forms (plant, animal, fungi, etc.) just never gets old 'cause the writing is so good. It's that brand of sci/fi science that's rooted in the real-world but with a creative slant to spark the imagination. And you feel like you're discovering whole new alien eco-systems along with your player character as they comment in wonder over each new find. It just feels smart in presentation and delivery.

And speaking of presentation, this this thing is a shoe-in for Giant Bomb's GOTY Styyyyle category, at least as part of the conversation. It's totally strange but when I think of Waters, I keep coming back to Wipeout HD. That clean, minimalist style. The futurist angle. The bold, stark colors that never feel busy. It's a super-slick, cohesive package.

The game feels smart, aided by writing that feels well-researched & creative on the science end but also personable regarding the characters. The audio-visual suite is dialed in (Soundtrack of the Year candidate easily).

Feels like this one just landed at a really good time. With people's anxiety & BP being higher than normal, In Other Waters offers some respite and calm. It also offers glimpses of hope with the mystery of wonder & discovery that it explores, like all the best sci-fi out there manages to do.

Highly recommended.

Did you already finished it? How many hours in total?

 

[prudis]

I recommend people to ge those 2 months of Stadia Pro to play Gylt at least. I found it to be pretty good. It's like 3-4 hours long.

well
i am pretty confident that Gylt will releases on other platforms way before Stadia is available in my coutry

 

[Aaron D.]

Did you already finished it? How many hours in total?

I'm like 5 hours in and 20-something% complete.

 

[Panda Pedinte]

I'm like 5 hours in and 20-something% complete.

Cool, I'm almost 2 hours in and enjoying the overall mood the game sets. The soundtrack fits perfectly.

 

[Daoko64]

 

[Aaron D.]

Wow, that artwork and animation is striking.

 

[Nabs]

Finished up Hob. Pretty good. Now I'm playing the free Steamworld Quest via Stadia. It's cool so far, but battles are taking a lil too long. Maybe I need to be better.

Shoutouts to not paying for Indie games in 2020.

 

[Futaleufu]

As someone who was lucky enough to get his hands on a key, I can confirm that mechanically it is essentially a CS clone. Not that that's something to be ashamed of, CS is a very good game getting the right "feel" of it isn't easy.
There are plenty of differences content-wise to differentiate it, from how armor works, to characters with abilities (which you have to purchase like you would with grenades) and weapons' alt-fire/aim-down sights, etc.
If they can nail down the anti-cheat as they promised (among other smaller nitpicks I have) the game should do very well, although that ultimately depends on Riot's standards for what well is.

I wonder which fighting game template they are going to copy when they release theirs.

 

[Le Pertti]

Ah it worked to start up Fallout 4 and go into the creation club and after my steam account shows up as connected in bethesda thingie, so hopefully all goes well from here for Fallout 76!

 

[AHA-Lambda]

 

[prudis]

that looks , well, definitely interesting

 

[Deku]

Oh, the final chapter! Finally

 

[beep boop]

 

[Li Kao]

Highly recommended.

Real time, UI wise ?
Let me explain this strange question. I hated the fact that in Subnautica I had all this wonderful fauna description to read... while the FUCKING hunger bar wasn’t paused.

 

[Joe Spangle]

Gears Tactics looks good but too expensive.

 

[「Echo」]

Square-Enix JP confirms one case of Covid-19 in Tokyo office. All employees will WFH from 8-April to 6 May.

当社従業員の新型コロナウイルス感染について | SQUARE ENIX

スクウェア・エニックスのニュースリリース

www.jp.square-enix.com

This is despite the fact that they cut off staff trips since Feb, used social distancing in office, and tried their best to sanitize. Kinda scary. Hoping for the best.

 

[Mor]

Can confirm that marauder's fight is brutal the first few tries but it's a really impressive fight. after finishing Alyxit was time to finish Slayer's rampage, and good lord if it's impressive. So far I can say that while it's not the best shooting experience for me (as it is for a lot of people) I can safely say that it's the one that I'm enjoying the most.

 

[fantomena]

Stacks on Stacks is a lot of fun, but I don't wanna play it on Stadia as I don't want a time limit on playing games.

So I found out just now that the game is out on Steam:


Thought it was a timed exclusive like Gylt and Spitlings.

On the matter of time limit on games. I hate it. Despite having game pass ultimate till 2022 (was dirt cheap for me in 2019, so I bought a bunch), I use it as a way to demo games. Also partly why I don't have PS Plus (the other part is that I play all my MP games on PC).

 

[Li Kao]

Just spent the last 2 hours helping fan translating a site. On the plus side, it wasn't free work. But I still feel odd about hating this company asking for fan translations trend and doing that today.
But it wasn't for free


On another topic, I'm torn about Fallout 76. The cdkey offer is tempting and I don't hate the concept, but... I don't really care about it either. These days I'm more conscious about my tastes and playing time possibilities. If this is bought for cheap and hoarded, why bother ?
That's some heretical line of thought for a steam thread, please excuse me

 

[lazerfox]

I risked it and bought it on cdkeys. The wastelanders update will add NPC's so it will hopefully feel more like Fallout 4 which I quite enjoyed.

 

[Copons]

Nice! I'm looking forward to the release, though I'm still mad how some folks were negative towards it just because it's "copying" Animal Crossing as if we have that franchise on PC.

I think many (me, at least ) are negative with Hokko Life because it looks awful, uninspired, even creepy AF at times. Basically, it looks like a generic mobile rip-off.

People aren't generally against clones per se.
When a clone is done with a little bit of quality and personality, people will respond well. See the success of Temtem for example!

 

[lashman]

 

[AHA-Lambda]

Oh nice!! I really liked Coteries of New York

 

[lashman]

Oh nice!! I really liked Coteries of New York

well ... there you go then

 

[Spamlynguist]

Loving this surge of Vampire: The Masquerade games. I still need to pick up Coteries of New York. Just bought it

 

[Blu]

Released:





$11 for both

The Iridion Collection on Steam

store.steampowered.com

 

[lashman]

I still need to pick up Coteries of New York. Just bought it

that was fast lol

 

[Daoko64]

Wow, that artwork and animation is striking.

that looks , well, definitely interesting

This is basically Crusader Kings 2 with attitude and 4th wall jokes.. seems really solid so far.
There is both story mode with different scenarios and also free play mode.

 

[Spamlynguist]

that was fast lol

God bless CDKeys

 

[Hektor]

 

[Li Kao]

I think many (me, at least ) are negative with Hokko Life because it looks awful, uninspired, even creepy AF at times. Basically, it looks like a generic mobile rip-off.

People aren't generally against clones per se.
When a clone is done with a little bit of quality and personality, people will respond well. See the success of Temtem for example!

Yup, negativity comes from different people imho. You have the Nintendo crusaders, people that don't like rip-offs, and people that genuinely think human characters are creepy AF.
I'm lightly guilty of the second (PTSD from the AppStore rip-off culture) and 200% of the third.

 

[texhnolyze]

Gears 5 is free for several days.. why not, I guess?

This is my first Gears. But after playing through the first chapter, I feel like I've played this game a million times before. And gosh, the Hollywood style cheesy dialogue, I don't think I can handle that for another several hours.

 

[Li Kao]

Anxiously waiting for the second wave of the Switch EU spring Sale today. For nothing because it has been made abundantly clear to me that the best you can hope is 45 euros for a Nintendo game, be it on official discount or grey market.

But it passes the time until my grocery order arrives with 3/4 of the stuff ordered
Who do I have to kill for butter and french fries ?

 

[prudis]

and people that genuinely think human characters are creepy AF.

and there are also weirdos are me that think the AC chars are much creepier than the ones in Hokko

 

[Ruvon]

This is basically Crusader Kings 2 with attitude and 4th wall jokes.. seems really solid so far.
There is both story mode with different scenarios and also free play mode.

Wow, never heard of this before, thanks, it looks really nice !

 

[Li Kao]

and there are also weirdos are me that think the AC chars are much creepier than the ones in Hokko

Creepier ? Yeah, I wouldn't cross that line. But no argument from me that several AC designs are... something.

 

[Aaron D.]

Real time, UI wise ?
Let me explain this strange question. I hated the fact that in Subnautica I had all this wonderful fauna description to read... while the FUCKING hunger bar wasn’t paused.

Both.

You get moment to moment environmental flavor descriptions as you travel from node to node. As well as real-time dialogue as your scientist comments on new discoveries, objectives & goals. Then when you get back to your home base and travel to the Lab there's full taxonomy reports for each life form, with multiple tabs of increasing complexity based on info gathered in the field.

The good news is that life support systems are never a problem. You do have an Power/O2 meter to watch when out exploring but it lasts maybe 20-30 minutes in real time if I had to guess. There's waypoint stations that the person you're looking for set up where you can recharge. But more importantly, you can just call for an evac back to your home base at any time, so you're never in danger of blacking out.

It's a very casual system that keeps you aware that you can't hang out forever in your suit, but it's not punishing at all.

This is basically Crusader Kings 2 with attitude and 4th wall jokes.. seems really solid so far.
There is both story mode with different scenarios and also free play mode.

Yeah, CK2-lite is the first thing I thought.

So you've played it yourself? Would you recommend it?

 

[Daoko64]

Yeah, CK2-lite is the first thing I thought.

So you've played it yourself? Would you recommend it?

Yup played for 2 hours. loving it. good price too.

 

[MonthOLDpickle]

I risked it and bought it on cdkeys. The wastelanders update will add NPC's so it will hopefully feel more like Fallout 4 which I quite enjoyed.

I wonder if I buy the Eu one, would it activate on a non-eu beth launcher?

 

[Myradeer]

It was way too barebones for me. I wouldn't recommend it, but others seem to enjoy it so consider my opinion with grain of salt.

 

[FeedMeAStrayCat]

Anyone try out Dreamscaper: Prologue? It's free! I did a few runs and had a quite enjoyable time. Will definitely put more time into it later today

 

[prudis]

FeedMeAStrayCat oh thx for a reminder

It was way too barebones for me. I wouldn't recommend it, but others seem to enjoy it so consider my opinion with grain of salt.

this kinda gets me more interested in it ... for th uberhardcores we have CK2 and similar .... i would be totally in for something simple and silly

 

[Ruvon]

So what do you guys think about this wave of "Prologues" we can see coming ?

Seems to be slowly replacing the goold old demos, and as Simon Carless is saying in this article : Tales From Discoverabilityland: To Demo, Or Not To Demo

it gives more feedback for devs because they can create a separate Steam page so people can give reviews, which is not possible with demos available on Steam page for upcoming games.

I like it so far, makes demos / beta / free samples way more visible, and according to Simon Carless, it doesn't stop people from wishlisting on the "real" Steam page.

 

[Daoko64]

this kinda gets me more interested in it ... for th uberhardcores we have CK2 and similar .... i would be totally in for something simple and silly

I'm sure you would like it. tis definitely Ck2 lite. They explain everything.

So what do you guys think about this wave of "Prologues" we can see coming ?

Seems to be slowly replacing the goold old demos, and as Simon Carless is saying in this article : Tales From Discoverabilityland: To Demo, Or Not To Demo

it gives more feedback for devs because they can create a separate Steam page so people can give reviews, which is not possible with demos available on Steam page for upcoming games.

I like it so far, makes demos / beta / free samples way more visible, and according to Simon Carless, it doesn't stop people from wishlisting on the "real" Steam page.

I approve of prologues. basically sold me on these games

 

[xxr]

So what do you guys think about this wave of "Prologues" we can see coming ?

Seems to be slowly replacing the goold old demos, and as Simon Carless is saying in this article : Tales From Discoverabilityland: To Demo, Or Not To Demo

it gives more feedback for devs because they can create a separate Steam page so people can give reviews, which is not possible with demos available on Steam page for upcoming games.

I like it so far, makes demos / beta / free samples way more visible, and according to Simon Carless, it doesn't stop people from wishlisting on the "real" Steam page.

I like it. I can organize all these prologues directly in my library and play them from there, it's very smooth.

 

[prudis]

Sega Europe has appointed Tim Heaton as its new chief studio officer. The veteran exec previously served as Sega Europe's vice president of studios while also working as the studio director at Total War developer Creative Assembly.

In his new role, Heaton will oversee Sega Europe's core development studios including Creative Assembly, Sports Interactive, Amplitude Studos, Hardlight, Relic Entertainment, and the recently acquired Two Point Studios.

According to a press release, that means "driving forward the continuing studio collaboration with a focus on shared skills and learning to further uplift services and quality, while continuing to advise the wider business on all development matters."

With Heaton moving on from Creative Assembly, the studio's former COO Gareth Edmonson will be stepping into the newly vacant studio director role. Moving forward, he'll be tasked with growing the UK studio and overseeing operations across its offices in the UK and Bulgaria.

news

news

www.gamasutra.com

 

[Ge0force]

Platonic finally added checkpoints to Yooka's impossible lair:

Yooka-News: Impossible Lair Update... and more! - Playtonic Games

We’ve got a bit of a hefty news dump for you today regarding Yooka-Laylee and Yooka-Laylee and the Impossible Lair. … Read More

www.playtonicgames.com