Community MetaSteam | November 2022 - Miles, you gotta go fast.

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EdwardTivrusky

Good Morning, Weather Hackers!
Dec 8, 2018
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I don't know if this has been posted yet but a quick search says no so here goes.
After a few months of not checking it looks like there's some uncertainty going on at Groupees, there's no bundles on offer at the moment and a ticker is saying there's a "Relaunch" soon.

However being pessimistic as ever chat have pointed out a handy command line tool that will help you to manage and download your Groupees library.
I'm giving it a quick test now and it seems to be working.

Basically login to groupees, use Inspect to get your SessionID, paste it into a file so you can easily copy/paste it ( or use Export Cookies.txt to do that ).
You can then use the GroupeesDownloader to query your account, download your library data, split into Games, Music, Others then generate the download links. You can also reveal any unrevealed keys too.

The links:
GroupeesDownloader
Groupees Downloader cli by GMMan on github

Aria2c - not essential but handy. Any downloader will do i suppose.
Aria2c from github - CLI downloader tool
Aria2c Options Document Wiki

Export Cookies extension - Again, not essential but handy. I use it for YT-DLP all the time. There's a link to using "Inspect" in your browser to pull out the value from a cookies but this is far simpler. Export Current Site to a cookie file, open that and copy the big long SessionID.
Export-Cookies-txt Extension for Firefox by lennonhill
Export Cookies-txt by Lennonhill on github

Code:
Download your Bundle Info
.\GroupeesDownload.exe dump-bundles --bundles-db ".\My_GroupeesBundles.json" --cookie "<SESSIONID>"

To make sure i got everything i ran these commands to reveal any still hidden Products and Keys:

Reveal Products:
.\GroupeesDownload.exe reveal-products --bundles-db ".\My_GroupeesBundles.json" --cookie "<SESSIONID>" --all

Reveal Keys:
.\GroupeesDownload.exe reveal-keys --bundles-db ".\My_GroupeesBundles.json" --cookie "<SESSIONID>" --all

( i think that's the right order, it seems to be. Get fresh list of Bundles, then update bundle file with the two reveal commands using --all )

Split Games into a list for downloading
.\GroupeesDownload.exe generate-links --bundles-db ".\My_GroupeesBundles.json" --filter-games --organize BundleAndType --output "My_GroupeesLinks-Games.txt"

Split Music into a list for downloading
.\GroupeesDownload.exe generate-links --bundles-db ".\My_GroupeesBundles.json" --filter-music --organize BundleAndType --output "My_GroupeesLinks-Music.txt"

Split Misc stuff into a list for downloading
.\GroupeesDownload.exe generate-links --bundles-db ".\My_GroupeesBundles.json" --filter-others --organize BundleAndType --output "My_GroupeesLinks-Others.txt"

To download your stuff use this for example:
.\aria2c.exe -i "My_GroupeesLinks-Others.txt" --header "Cookie: _groupees_session=<SESSIONID>"

However, i went in to the games list, highlighted everything from one bundle, copy/pasted/saved it into a new file.
.\aria2c.exe -i "My_GroupeesLinks-BundleOne-Test.txt" --header "Cookie: _groupees_session=<SESSIONID>"

You'll probably want to limit the download speed to something sensible so you don't annoy others on your network and possibly the groupees servers.
--max-overall-download-limit=<SPEED> 

e.g.
.\aria2c.exe -i "My_GroupeesLinks-BundleOne-Test.txt" --header "Cookie: _groupees_session=<SESSIONID>" --max-overall-download-limit=2M
All that info and more is on the github page but sometimes it's handy to have a working example to look at.

All of this may not be necessary, like at all. Everything may be fine and dandy... but it helps to have a backup of your stuff in case things do go pear shaped and at least we have a method to selectively download items from Groupees if you've already got most things downloaded and backed up.

It's going to save me thousands of clicks as i have quite a lot of bundles in my library!

This will not solve an issue of developers re-using very old keys you may have not revealed until now but i think you can contact Groupees to get that sorted... possibly but you may not get a response for a while or it may happen instantly. Dunno.
 

r3n4ud

Dr. Boom Boom
Oct 17, 2018
618
1,934
93
Quebec, Canada
I contact them and told them that the DLC was not showing up despite saying that it was a pre-order on my purchase receipt email.


Hopefully they are able to provide it otherwise I'm likely going to take it up to PayPal and mention how I didn't get the DLC despite it mentioning so.
I preordered from them as well and not only did I get my key days later after release, I also received a regular key and missing the preorder goodies. I had contacted them asking why I'm not receiving my key when the game released and they responded days later apologizing and said all preorders are regular keys and offered my a $10 coupon on next order christ sakes :mad: I emailed them again and said no not good enough and send me a preorder key and no response yet
 

Li Kao

It’s a strange world. Let’s keep it that way.
Jan 28, 2019
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Looking into it, looks like the Atari 50 collection might answer both my nostalgia and the need I feel for more historical context in this type of product.
Unfortunate that this is fucking Atari, though. I mean, my first machines were Atari and I’m not against a trip back down memory lane, but it’s not a trip at this point, we are in the boonies with them.
 

Le Pertti

0.01% Game dev
Oct 10, 2018
8,696
22,410
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45
Paris, France
lepertti.com
Is there an easy way to check which which incomplete badges have buyorders in place for the rest of the cards? Sometimes I get booster packs and unpack them but never make buy orders for the rest of the cards and then forget which game it was.
 

Li Kao

It’s a strange world. Let’s keep it that way.
Jan 28, 2019
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Is there any way for me to know if a bunch of steam keys are valid ? Because of that baka EdwardTivrusky I felt guilty and copied all my 'unused' groupees keys in a .txt

Honestly plenty of shit in there, but some interesting ones. Which is why I'm asking myself if I wouldn't have redeemed them without checking the 'used' option. Giving away a ton of shit is not specially fun, but already redeemed ones feels even worse.
 
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Le Pertti

0.01% Game dev
Oct 10, 2018
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Is there any way for me to know if a bunch of steam keys are valid ? Because of that baka EdwardTivrusky I felt guilty and copied all my 'unused' groupees keys in a .txt

Honestly plenty of shit in there, but some interesting ones. Which is why I'm asking myself if I wouldn't have redeemed them without checking the 'used' option. Giving away a ton of shit is not specially fun, but already redeemed ones feels even worse.
I know Wok used to be able to check keys, I think he had a custom script or something. So it should be possible, but I have no idea how sadly.
 

Deleted member 113

Guest
Not entirely PC related (well, it will be playable on PC through emulators ;)), but a lost/unreleased PC Engine shmup from the early 90's has been finished, and will be released later this month.




Besides physical copies, the ROM of the game will be released for free on November 25th at the following website:

 

Mivey

MetaMember
Sep 20, 2018
4,330
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Nope it's a DMC style game and to me at least, as someone who can't stand those types of games, what they did to Valkyrie is offensive. The game barely has any story or character development (just like those games) and all you do is go through bland linear levels using the repetitive combat and doing the same moves over and over for 10-15 hours (just like those games). I think the reviews were in the mid 60s or something like that and it totally earned that score.
I really love RPGs, but you know what I also like? Games that don't always need 60+ hours to finish. If the combat is bland then yeah, that kills a DMC style game cold in the water. But on the other hand, a game inspired a bit old norse legends presented as over the top anime nonsense does sound like a pretty nice diversion
 
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Li Kao

It’s a strange world. Let’s keep it that way.
Jan 28, 2019
7,905
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It would be real cool of Atlus to announce the SMTV PC port. No, because we are slowly approaching my anniversary, a new Pokemon is releasing, I don't need to be tempted to buy a Switch. Again.
Mmh, buy a new CPU and get playable frame rate on some demanding emulators...

It's your anniversary, what do you want ? EVERYTHING !
 

Avern

MetaMember
May 14, 2020
370
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I know I'm just repeating after JCB here, but if you like shmups, absolutely check out Gunvein.


Since shmups are ultimately autoscrollers, I think the greatest sin they can commit is to be too slow. Waiting for an autoscroller to get back to something interesting is horribly boring, and the best games in the genre make sure you're always doing something (while a lot of indie shmups fail horribly at it). Gunvein nails it.

Killing enemies faster rewards more bomb-chips, encouraging aggressive play. Bomb chips don't magnetize far, so you have to rush around the screen to catch them. You've got a 3-purpose button that slows you down, focuses your shot, and locks onto close-range enemies so you can launch a volley of lasers. It encourages a lot of action on your part, since you have to constantly turn it on for damage and micro-dodges, but off again to chase bomb-chips or macro-dodge. The lasers can also reveal hidden bomb chips in the ground that are all over most of the levels, so even if you're ahead of the curve on killing enemies, you need to scramble to pick up extra bomb chips before a new wave of enemies shows up.

It's the best indie shmup I've played in years. Feels like a Yagawa-CAVE game, but with some aesthetic sensibilities pulled from Crimzon Clover.
 

Cacher

MetaMember
Jun 3, 2020
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Derrick01

MetaMember
Oct 6, 2018
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I'm still trying to process the latest NPD chart and seeing that plague tale bombed so hard that even star ocean outsold it. With like 10 less days available too...

I really love RPGs, but you know what I also like? Games that don't always need 60+ hours to finish. If the combat is bland then yeah, that kills a DMC style game cold in the water. But on the other hand, a game inspired a bit old norse legends presented as over the top anime nonsense does sound like a pretty nice diversion
A 60 hour DMC game feels like a game made just to torture me (and well, FF16 looks to be attempting that) so I'd agree that it's good that valkyrie is short but it still feels brutally long at times because the game is so shallow. The main story missions feel like they take 2 hours each because you're really doing nothing but going from combat arena to combat arena with nothing to break it up. There's very few cutscenes in the game or story development in general, there are side quests but it's generally the typical fetch/kill junk you find in japanese games and, crucially, you can't do any of them while on story missions. They have to be launched as separate missions from your base, EACH side quest, even though they all take place in the same maps as the story missions. You also can't do multiple quests at once as they all count as their own missions.

I know I'm going off on the game for abandoning its RPG roots but even as a DMC clone it fails in most areas.
 

MomoVideo

ķ͕͕̍̅͋ḭ̼͂̕lļ͓̞̙̀͗͆̊ ͉͛m͕̲̮̆̒̐̍͢e ͠
Apr 5, 2021
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I do not understand Valkyrie Elysium. Who is it catered to? It fails to bring old fans of Valkyrie games because this one looks like a DMC clone instead of a proper jRPG and it looks unappealing to new players because it looks cheap and shallow while asking $60 for it.
 

Li Kao

It’s a strange world. Let’s keep it that way.
Jan 28, 2019
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I did my stupid. I may or may not have re-subbed to FFXIV. Halp.
Everything is so foggy...

Is there a way to check if I did a dungeon ? (if it's not part of the MSQ obvs).

Well, I guess I have to hunt down the Metacouncil FFXIV thread.
 

thekeats1999

MetaMember
Dec 10, 2018
1,462
4,261
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I did my stupid. I may or may not have re-subbed to FFXIV. Halp.
Everything is so foggy...

Is there a way to check if I did a dungeon ? (if it's not part of the MSQ obvs).

Well, I guess I have to hunt down the Metacouncil FFXIV thread.
Easiest way to tell if you have done a dungeon is to go in the duty finder. When you select a dungeon, trial or what have you there will be a green tick to indicate that it has been completed.

And welcome back.
 
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Derrick01

MetaMember
Oct 6, 2018
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Plague Tale 2 has too many issues to be goty candidate.
Are we talking TGA nominations? Because I can pick apart most of the nominations. Horizon and xenoblade being in the goty list is a far worse affront than plague tale. Wasn't stray there too? That barely qualifies as a game at all, you do almost nothing in it but run and press X to automatically land every jump.
 

didamangi

Sometimes maybe good, sometimes maybe shit.
Nov 16, 2018
1,294
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Jakarta, Indonesia
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MomoVideo

ķ͕͕̍̅͋ḭ̼͂̕lļ͓̞̙̀͗͆̊ ͉͛m͕̲̮̆̒̐̍͢e ͠
Apr 5, 2021
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Let's not jump to conclusions. Maybe it won't be Resident Evil-bad, maybe all new graphical options will be a toggle in the options.
 
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dex3108

MetaMember
Dec 20, 2018
3,491
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Let's not jump to conclusions. Maybe it won't be Resident Evil-bad, maybe all new graphical options will be a toggle in the options.
It's not just about toggles. It will totally break mods. And we went through this tons of time with other games that got major updates and it was always best choice to leave option for original release to exist.
 

Prodigy

Sleeper must awaken
Dec 9, 2018
930
2,003
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It's not just about toggles. It will totally break mods. And we went through this tons of time with other games that got major updates and it was always best choice to leave option for original release to exist.
First they should release two exe.s of course, in case of performance problems or some mods breaking.

In saying that, you can get a GOG version for free if you own it on steam. Actually thinking about it I am pretty sure the steam version is also DRM free so you can make a copy of that as well.
 

didamangi

Sometimes maybe good, sometimes maybe shit.
Nov 16, 2018
1,294
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Jakarta, Indonesia
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First they should release two exe.s of course, in case of performance problems or some mods breaking.

In saying that, you can get a GOG version for free if you own it on steam. Actually thinking about it I am pretty sure the steam version is also DRM free so you can make a copy of that as well.
Just tested it and you're right. Steam version is DRM free. Nice.
 
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toxicitizen

MetaMember
Oct 24, 2018
1,655
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Damn it CDPR how the hell you don't get that this is bad decision

Good. As long as the new features are completely optional (or they make the old build available as a branch), this is ideal for me. I just wanna load up my save, start NG+ with ray-tracing and get the last achievement I'm missing. I don't wanna start over completely on a new version and I don't want to be forced to do a full playthrough on the old version just for the one achievement either.
 

Dandy

Bad at Games.
Apr 17, 2019
1,664
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The only games I played that were on the TGA nominees list were:

Return to Monkey Island. Loved it to pieces.

Elden Ring... BUT! According to Steam I played 7 hours. 4 of these were me messing around in the character creator and replaying the tutorial with various classes. I didn't kill a single boss, and think I stopped after I talked to the witch for the first time. Not for me, and I knew it wasn't, but FOMO and people telling me how it actually was very approachable convinced me to ignore my gut and buy it.

Pokemon Legends: Arceus. I played this for about 20 hours before losing all interest in it. I never finished the main story, and spent most of my time farming Eevees to evolve, but never did.

No Man's Sky and Final Fantasy XIV. Both old games. This is what I do. Re-play old games instead of playing newer ones that sit unplayed in my library.
 
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