Community MetaSteam | October - The size of this adventure is spooky

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Arc

MetaMember
Sep 19, 2020
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I wish Valve had took Source 2 licensing seriously so it could be a competitor to Unreal and Unity. Deadlock just feels good to control and while I know you could configure those other engines to emulate Source 2's movement, it is probably a lot of effort and not worth it.
 

CommodoreKong

Mercenary in the Badlands
Jun 15, 2019
758
2,138
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I wish Valve had took Source 2 licensing seriously so it could be a competitor to Unreal and Unity. Deadlock just feels good to control and while I know you could configure those other engines to emulate Source 2's movement, it is probably a lot of effort and not worth it.
Yeah I'm sure Source 2 is really made and updated with Valve games in mind. Valve would likely need a dedicated team making updates to Source 2 for third party requests/asks if they opened it up to other companies.

I would like to see Valve fully open up Source 2 "as is" for modders though given the Source modding community that exists.
 

Dandy

Bad at Games.
Apr 17, 2019
1,661
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My PC is fucked. I was getting a lot of BSODs the last month. Today I decided to try a few things, did an in place windows upgrade because files were corrupt. That made it worse. I finally said fuck it and reinstalled Windows completely. It seems to be in some sort of safe mode, still crashes. It's like there are no drivers installed for any of the hardware, and I can't connect to the Internet.

Time to buy a new PC. I refuse to build one again. Any recs for a good place in Canada? There is a Canada Computers close by. Are they okay?
 

Alextended

Segata's Disciple
Jan 28, 2019
5,710
8,928
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Booted up Metaphor, it seems nice. For a modern JRPG. I mean, I wanted to play stuff like Persona 5 before and started them as well but they were so slow to start and so cliche despite some cool art. SMTV too (but ok, like DQ the point of SMT is to be ultra traditional, still, linear dungeons to me aren't interesting to go through even if the area theme switches around). This one is presented nicely even in the start with a solid premise and aesthetics and everything. Despite the also archetypical so far characters and protagonist it's not grating. Though it really needs some TAA cos it's a shimmering mess in busier areas like the first city. Well, it could end up meh, I'm in the very beginning, just the vibe it gives me is cool like games like FF used to be in the 90s. The story seems FFT-esque. Also:
 
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Nabs

Hyper˗Toxic Pro˗Consumer
Oct 23, 2018
3,860
12,762
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Environmental Station Alpha got a C++ update with Steam Deck support and more:

Hi everyone! As I mentioned earlier this year, we have been working on a new version of the game with the intent of fixing various problems that have plagued the game for years now, including the game just straight up not functioning on Macs anymore. The list of changes/additions includes:

  • Steam Achievements
  • Mac/Linux support
  • Steam Deck support (not reflected yet on the store page, we're going through the verification)
  • Proper gamepad support, also on Mac/Linux
  • Bugfixes
  • 60 FPS
  • Steam Overlay (the Overlay was previously disabled because it caused rendering issues)

Apologies for the long wait, and thank you for your patience.

I don't know if I ever finished it, so I'll probably go back to it once I wrap up Afterimage.
 

Kyougar

No reviews, no Buy
Nov 2, 2018
3,289
11,736
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My PC is fucked. I was getting a lot of BSODs the last month. Today I decided to try a few things, did an in place windows upgrade because files were corrupt. That made it worse. I finally said fuck it and reinstalled Windows completely. It seems to be in some sort of safe mode, still crashes. It's like there are no drivers installed for any of the hardware, and I can't connect to the Internet.

Time to buy a new PC. I refuse to build one again. Any recs for a good place in Canada? There is a Canada Computers close by. Are they okay?
My Mini-PC often crashed when Windows was doing an update. When one day it BSOD'ed and never booted to Windows again.
I found out it was the SSD.
 

Dandy

Bad at Games.
Apr 17, 2019
1,661
3,995
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My Mini-PC often crashed when Windows was doing an update. When one day it BSOD'ed and never booted to Windows again.
I found out it was the SSD.
It probably is something relatively simple like that, but trying to figure it out will just drive me crazy with the state the computer is in now. I managed to get Internet working, but it BSODs if I do anything. Every time I try to run things to see what the problem is it just crashes before the tests complete.

It sucks having to buy a new PC a month before Black Friday, but I can't go a month without a PC, especially since I have vacation the first week of November.
 

Cacher

MetaMember
Jun 3, 2020
4,733
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edin made a thread about HDR gaming. I am curious as well because I use Special K to turn SDR into HDR in some games and they don't look particularly impressive (my monitor supports HDR 1000). Would love to hear some tips from you people as well.
 

Mivey

MetaMember
Sep 20, 2018
4,295
12,183
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Booted up Metaphor, it seems nice. For a modern JRPG. I mean, I wanted to play stuff like Persona 5 before and started them as well but they were so slow to start and so cliche despite some cool art. SMTV too (but ok, like DQ the point of SMT is to be ultra traditional, still, linear dungeons to me aren't interesting to go through even if the area theme switches around). This one is presented nicely even in the start with a solid premise and aesthetics and everything. Despite the also archetypical so far characters and protagonist it's not grating. Though it really needs some TAA cos it's a shimmering mess in busier areas like the first city. Well, it could end up meh, I'm in the very beginning, just the vibe it gives me is cool like games like FF used to be in the 90s. The story seems FFT-esque. Also:
I use this reshade mod to inject TAA into the game. It's not completely perfect, you get some artefacts with certain text boxes, even though the person creating it tried to miminise it where they can.

If you can live with the artefacts, this will improve IQ quite a bit. I'd use the Lyall as well, a number of improvements, such as the ability to increase LOD, shadows, and reduce AO scaling so it's less insane on the GPU.
 
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Line

meh
Dec 21, 2018
1,700
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Some thoughts on games I played:


It's a very, very anime metroidvania. With all the tropes that you would expect, including the nosebleeds and all that shit. But since it's 3D and it doesn't have a big budget, it looks more than a bit weird. And shoddy all around, including the translations, the sound mixing, the lighting effect improperly applied to wrong parts of the scene... I mean... it's very indie, and not in a god way.

But it has heart? And a lot of RPG elements, level ups, gear pieces with multiple stats, enemy drop cores that you can insert into your gear for stats and effects, it has crafting and side quests, three characters with three weapon types each that all play differently and get unique combat skills... but it's light on metroidvania parts, since each level does get unlocked with new power ups, but each is also really self contained, with decent enemy variety and a bunch of secrets, but it feels really linear.

And despite having a lot of elements that work well together... they're all a bit messy. Like the crafting, you need ingots and gems to craft weapons and improve the amount of cores on them... so outside of chests here and there, you melt copper ore into ingots, right? No you don't. You need to find later copper nodes in the world to get them to pop out full ingots. The ores you barely need beside the very start, and by the time you can farm ingots, they're obsolete. :huhblob:
Same for cores, every single enemy has a unique core type, but you can only slot two or three on your gear at once since you don't have room (and if you make more room using precious resources, you'll run out for the next set of gear...).
You can make tons of different food types, but they're all +stat buffs, so you only use the best one (or the +drop one)...
Weapon combos and skills have a high chance to stun enemies, that's cool and rewarding offensive play, except a lot of bosses can also be stunlocked relatively easily and don't do anything...

It's not bad, but it's really rough around the edges.


It's not really a metroidvania, it's a Zelda-like really. Some screens are even suspiciously similar to the first game, it has its share of homages.
And it's a really good one? The dungeons are good, the world map is fun, and the twin stick shooting (although I think it works better with M&KB) is unique and well done too, with the right amount of physics applied to make your ship feel fast and precise without being "blocky". Plus the game has a lot of sequences on water or ice that makes it more momentum based movement, it's neat.

Now the upgrades are simple, the level up is very Zelda 2 in simplicity and functionality (and mostly here to help if you struggle a bit, plus you can reset your build at any time at no cost)... it's just a really great game.
My only issue would be that the late game turns heavily to combat, and while all encounters are good and only marginally challenging, it lacks a bit of the "last Zelda dungeon" magic. They can be too long, but in this case, it really is the opposite.
It also comes with a post game... but it only has combat and repeats a lot of already seen enemies and bosses with a twist, it's a bit limited, if welcome content to an otherwise short experience, it took me about 8h for 100%.
 

Durante

I <3 Pixels
Oct 21, 2018
4,052
19,547
113
Thanks for the impressions on Erza. This showed up several times in my recommendations and I was (and am) somewhat intrigued.
Your text matches almost exactly what I would have expected from briefly browsing the game page and reading a few of the reviews, but it's good to have that confirmed. So I know what I need to be in the mood for in case I ever decide to play it (basically a substantially worse Afterimage).
 

Mivey

MetaMember
Sep 20, 2018
4,295
12,183
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Watched Pat play through the end of SH2 yesterday.

Game seemed incredible for horror lovers but how the fuck ya'll can put yourselves through that for "fun" is beyond me. I'd be an anxious wreck playing that shit.
Similar to horror films, it's taste thing. Some people will hate it, some people will like it. As a fan of horror, I can say it's basically about a certain kind of thrill, though arguably the more you engage in the genre, the lesser that effect is. Given that horror is, by its definition, never going to be massively popular, I am surprised how many AAA and AA titles we got in recent years., from the Dead Space remake, the Alone in the Dark remake, the Until Dawn remake, Alan Wake 2, Still Wakes the Deep, and lots of indie titles too.
The overall trend seems to be that all of these bomb or fail to make a big splash. I am curious if Silent Hill 2 remake can break the trend.
 

Dandy

Bad at Games.
Apr 17, 2019
1,661
3,995
113
New PC acquired! I'm not going to post exactly which one because I don't want to know how badly I overpaid. It's got a i7-14700KF and a 4070 TI Super which are the main things. I do have to figure out how to disable all these RGB fans at some point.

It was listed as being $400 off which is nice, but it was expensive. I'm sure I could've built something equivalent for several hundred less, but I built my last 3 PCs and I am too old for that shit now. The stress, the sweating, the panic when things don't fit. I just had to open the box, plug it all in, and go.
 

Line

meh
Dec 21, 2018
1,700
2,943
113
Thanks for the impressions on Erza. This showed up several times in my recommendations and I was (and am) somewhat intrigued.
Your text matches almost exactly what I would have expected from briefly browsing the game page and reading a few of the reviews, but it's good to have that confirmed. So I know what I need to be in the mood for in case I ever decide to play it (basically a substantially worse Afterimage).
It's requires a certain mood for sure. The slapstick anime stuff is fine in general if you like it, but the rest reminds me quite a bit of modern Ys, in the way the the levels are arranged, the tiers of gear and how spammy the combat can get, but in a side scrolling version... but it's always on shaky grounds, it would have benefited from fixing some things instead of adding more content like they've done since the EA.
 
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NarohDethan

There was a fish in the percolator!
Apr 6, 2019
9,143
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Watched Pat play through the end of SH2 yesterday.

Game seemed incredible for horror lovers but how the fuck ya'll can put yourselves through that for "fun" is beyond me. I'd be an anxious wreck playing that shit.
I think the same about people who ride rollercoasters.
 

Lashley

My ho ho hoes 🎅
Similar to horror films, it's taste thing. Some people will hate it, some people will like it. As a fan of horror, I can say it's basically about a certain kind of thrill, though arguably the more you engage in the genre, the lesser that effect is. Given that horror is, by its definition, never going to be massively popular, I am surprised how many AAA and AA titles we got in recent years., from the Dead Space remake, the Alone in the Dark remake, the Until Dawn remake, Alan Wake 2, Still Wakes the Deep, and lots of indie titles too.
The overall trend seems to be that all of these bomb or fail to make a big splash. I am curious if Silent Hill 2 remake can break the trend.
I hope SH2 does well. I loved the touches like one of the rooms rotting more and more to symbolize Mary's cancer battle then the 3 fights getting progressively worse to symbolize their arguments.

I think the same about people who ride rollercoasters.
That's even worse to me, wilfully putting oneself in harms way.
 

MegaApple

Just another Video Game Enthusiast
Sep 20, 2018
1,646
4,196
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Probably one of the best run-n-gun 2D scroller I've played in a while; probably the best retro throwback game of 2024.

 

Kyougar

No reviews, no Buy
Nov 2, 2018
3,289
11,736
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BardsTales

Junior Member
Aug 8, 2024
5
20
3
Is there any game out that is like SimCity, meaning a city builder in more-or-less modern city times? Besides SimCity itself and Cities:Skylines. I wanted to try cities but I'm just less and less a fan of paradox and their "the DLC costs another 300 $" ways. I also know of Metropolis 1998, which looks really lovely but it's far from finished.
 

dex3108

MetaMember
Dec 20, 2018
3,442
15,791
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Is there any game out that is like SimCity, meaning a city builder in more-or-less modern city times? Besides SimCity itself and Cities:Skylines. I wanted to try cities but I'm just less and less a fan of paradox and their "the DLC costs another 300 $" ways. I also know of Metropolis 1998, which looks really lovely but it's far from finished.
Anno is probably closest thing to what you want.
 
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LEANIJA

MetaMember
May 5, 2019
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Austria
Is there any game out that is like SimCity, meaning a city builder in more-or-less modern city times? Besides SimCity itself and Cities:Skylines. I wanted to try cities but I'm just less and less a fan of paradox and their "the DLC costs another 300 $" ways. I also know of Metropolis 1998, which looks really lovely but it's far from finished.
I also would like to have such a game; just a modern SimCity-like without all the resource & traffic management of Cities Skylines or other city builders. Unfortunately nowadays it often comes down to that and thats just too much of a hassle for me personally; I would love a simple game like SC2000/3000 without having to worry about having enough ore, oil, lumber or whatever to unlock some sort of building.

Alas, I dont know of any game that is really like SimCity, most games have some sort of "spin", and most games Ive tried arent very good either. But these are the ones that come to mind, your milage may vary.




These two are a bit older and as far as I know didnt review well; I never played them much




Ive only played them a little bit and couldnt really get into them



I liked this one but its also based on resources and unlocks. It does have a freeform mode eschewing all that, tho. And you can upload your cities and continue on mobile. Theres also a Pocket City 2 (featuring a first person walk-around-mode), but its not on PC yet.




Ive not tried these two


And Skylines is okay, and you dont really need all the DLC (however, during a sale, it might be a good deal to get some of it)
 
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