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

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Anyone found a good deal for Cloudpunk?

So far, I'm not finding it at Humble, GMG, ...
 
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Lots of great games here. Heavily recommend Edith Finch, Donut Country, Flower and Sayonara.


The problem is that Annapurna is one of those publishers along with Deep Silver and Private Division that took Epic's money hand over fist when it came to exclusivity deals. Afraid I'm not about to be on good terms with them for a while.
 
The problem is that Annapurna is one of those publishers along with Deep Silver and Private Division that took Epic's money hand over fist when it came to exclusivity deals. Afraid I'm not about to be on good terms with them for a while.

You do you, I personally won't say no to great games.
 
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Lots of great games here. Heavily recommend Edith Finch, Donut Country, Flower and Sayonara.

Highly recommend Sayonara Wild Hearts and Flower. Might pick up Florence myself.

Even tho I had weird audio issues with Flower and had to use a workaround to fix it.
 
Lots of great deals today.
They really want people to spend their money. :grinning-face-with-smiling-eyes:

Beamdog is having a sale (ends tomorrow):

There's a sale on Sokpop games:


And then, the weekend sales:

Daedalic publisher sale:

Might and Delight sale:

And, like fantomena already mentioned, there's also an Annapurna & friends sale:


And, let's not forget that during tomorrow's LudoNarraCon, as part of the event, 50+ games will be on sale as well:
 
So... XCOM Chimera Squad, eh?
Much less downtime in missions, actual unique characters instead of disposable pawns (let's be real, if you're not a streamer, randomly generated troops has zero upside - especially since nicknames are so limited), a timeline system instead of basic turns, streamlined "ressources" that do not devolve into a slow grind (with an obvious meta to follow if you want to be effective)...

It looks better than the other XCOMs honestly. Even if it will definitely get repetitive in mission design (not like the series is known for variety anyway)...
 
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GPD-Win-Max-specs.jpg

Still, the gaming benchmarks GPD list on their website sound pretty impressive all the same. They don’t list exactly what graphics settings they tested them on – only their “default settings”, whatever the hell that means – but the combination of its Intel Core i5-1035G7 CPU and Intel Iris Plus 940 graphics chip was able to hit over 60fps in Fortnite, Overwatch, DOTA 2, League Of Legends, Rainbow Six Siege, FIFA 20, Resident Evil 2, World War Z and Code Vein. Far Cry: New Dawn, Borderlands 3, Red Dead Redemption 2, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare, the Halo Reach alpha and Apex Legends all came within the 50-60fps range as well.
 
You do you, I personally won't say no to great games.

Far from me to tell anyone what they should do. I just find it personally relevant and try not to support companies that take the industry in a bad direction.

It's impossible for me to deny that Edith Finch is an amazing game and experience, though there would be a lot to nitpick :).
 
The problem is that Annapurna is one of those publishers along with Deep Silver and Private Division that took Epic's money hand over fist when it came to exclusivity deals. Afraid I'm not about to be on good terms with them for a while.

Same here, Annapurna is at least another year on my blacklist because of this. Yes they have great games. But there are plenty of other great games from other devs and publishers on pc. As I've said many times before: I'm done supporting companies doing things I don't like by giving them my money. And I'm not even an idealist. 😋

It does seem Annapurna is done with exclusivity deals lately, so if they keep this up for a while, I'll be happy to buy their games again.
 
Far from me to tell anyone what they should do. I just find it personally relevant and try not to support companies that take the industry in a bad direction.

It's impossible for me to deny that Edith Finch is an amazing game and experience, though there would be a lot to nitpick :).

I fully understand you, and I'm more or less on the same boat.
I barely own any of their games (I'm one of the few in here that doesn't even own What Remains of Edith Finch :giggle:), exactly because of what they did, and I simply prioritize other games and developers/publishers instead.

But then, there's games like Telling Lies, that are also published by them, that didn't launch exclusively at any store, and are from a developer that actively supports and promotes Steam and others stores/platforms, and I think to myself: is it fair to "punish" this developer, when his game was surely signed before the EGS, and their policies, were a thing, and his game is not exclusive?

So, yeah, as pretty much all publishers, or close to it, sign exclusivity deals (be it on the EGS, Apple Arcade, Streaming platforms, ...), I think one should also look at developers, or specific games, as well, in a case to case scenario.
Sometimes, who ends up being "punished" for these situations are games and teams that did nothing wrong, and didn't even benefit from such exclusivity deals.
 
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I fully understand you, and I'm more or less on the same boat.
I barely own any of their games, exactly because of what they did, and I simply prioritize other games and developers instead.

But then, there's games like Telling Lies, that are also published by them, that didn't launch exclusively at any store, and are from a developer that actively supports and promotes Steam and others stores/platforms, and I think to myself: is it fair to "punish" this developer, when his game was surely signed before the EGS, and their policies, were a thing, and his game is not exclusive?

So, yeah, as pretty much all publishers, or close to it, sign exclusivity deals (be it on the EGS, Apple Arcade, Streaming platforms, ...), I think one should also look at developers, or specific games, as well, in a case to case scenario.

I don't agree that every publisher has signed exclusivity deals. Far from it, actually, which makes the boycott easier. That being said, I'm with you in saying that it's something you decide personally, on a case by case basis.

I'm going with a blanket avoidance of those publishers and studios that signed those selfish deals, but that's only my personal policy. The thing is, the whole "we can't punish the little guys in the trenches" reasoning has been a problem with the gaming industries for a while. Lootboxes, MTX, always-online, it's always about the people caught in the middle.

It's up to everyone to make up their mind individually and do what they think is best.
 
C9AFB0792FFC773C0BD29D32AD041ED158C6798E



It took some effort, but at long last I got myself a Paildramon (right). IMPERIALDRAMON HERE I COME :dmcblob: :dmcblob: :dmcblob:
Taomon turned into Kuzuhamon (middle) and so far she does not disappoint.
Duramon (left) is also close to reaching the requirements for digivolving into... I dunno, which I'm very much looking forward to! :evilblob:

Got myself a LadyDevimon as well and I'm going to start working on preparing her for turning into Lilithmon.
My Darkdramon is already Mega but can DNA-digivolve into something else, so I'll start preparing for that soon by growing myself a BanchoLeomon.
Then there's my MetalSeadraom which can also evolve further but the requirements are humongeous and apparently that form was only introduced in the second game, so I'll probably wait for that (but might still start preparing anyway because why not).
Bunch of other Ultras lazing around on the farms, but I'm not really training anyone for anything particular (yet), which I probably should start soon-ish if I want more Megas.
 
C9AFB0792FFC773C0BD29D32AD041ED158C6798E



It took some effort, but at long last I got myself a Paildramon (right). IMPERIALDRAMON HERE I COME :dmcblob: :dmcblob: :dmcblob:
Taomon turned into Kuzuhamon (middle) and so far she does not disappoint.
Duramon (left) is also close to reaching the requirements for digivolving into... I dunno, which I'm very much looking forward to! :evilblob:

Got myself a LadyDevimon as well and I'm going to start working on preparing her for turning into Lilithmon.
My Darkdramon is already Mega but can DNA-digivolve into something else, so I'll start preparing for that soon by growing myself a BanchoLeomon.
Then there's my MetalSeadraom which can also evolve further but the requirements are humongeous and apparently that form was only introduced in the second game, so I'll probably wait for that (but might still start preparing anyway because why not).
Bunch of other Ultras lazing around on the farms, but I'm not really training anyone for anything particular (yet), which I probably should start soon-ish if I want more Megas.
I SWEAR I DIDN'T FORGET ABOUT THIS GAME, IT'S JUST THAT I'M FOCUSED ON FINISHING DAEMON X MACHINA AND SOME OTHER SHORTER GAMES :crying-face: :crying-face: :crying-face:
 
I'm going with a blanket avoidance of those publishers and studios that signed those selfish deals, but that's only my personal policy. The thing is, the whole "we can't punish the little guys in the trenches" reasoning has been a problem with the gaming industries for a while. Lootboxes, MTX, always-online, it's always about the people caught in the middle.

I'm close to a "blanket" avoidance myself.

Personally, I'll tell you what I did:

-I haven't purchased a single game that was previously an EGS exclusive;

-for all publishers that signed exclusivity deals, I believe I only purchased two of their games: Telling Lies (the only Annapurna game I own), and Outward (Deep Silver).
In both situations, as soon as their publishers announced exclusivity deals, the developers came forward and stated, without any doubt, that their games were not exclusive. Sam Barlow (Telling Lies), as you may recall, even announced at a presentation that he loved Steam. The guys from Outward took a lot of heat, because their game was launching very soon after that deal for Metro: Exodus, and they continuously assured people that the game was launching on Steam, and that they obviously had nothing to do with their publisher signing another game as an exclusive. In both cases, I really couldn't possibly "punish" these developers, when again they did nothing wrong themselves, they signed their contracts way before the EGS was a thing, and they found themselves in a situation they had nothing to do with.
 
I SWEAR I DIDN'T FORGET ABOUT THIS GAME, IT'S JUST THAT I'M FOCUSED ON FINISHING DAEMON X MACHINA AND SOME OTHER SHORTER GAMES :crying-face: :crying-face: :crying-face:
I mean I also took a break for a few months :P
It's the only proper Digimon game on Steam so far, it's better to savor it instead of rushing through in one go :D
 
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I'm close to a "blanket" avoidance myself.

Personally, I'll tell you what I did:

-I haven't purchased a single game that was previously an EGS exclusive;

-for all publishers that signed exclusivity deals, I believe I only purchased two of their games: Telling Lies (the only Annapurna game I own), and Outward (Deep Silver).
In both situations, as soon as their publishers announced exclusivity deals, they came forward and stated, without any doubt, that their games were not exclusive. Sam Barlow (Telling Lies), as you may recall, even announced at a presentation that he loved Steam. The guys from Outward took a lot of heat, because their game was launching very soon after that deal for Metro: Exodus, and they continuously assured people that the game was launching on Steam, and that they obviously had nothing to do with their publisher signing another game as an exclusive. In both cases, I really couldn't possibly "punish" these developers, when again they did nothing wrong themselves, they signed their contracts way before the EGS was a thing, and they found themselves in a situation they had nothing to do with.

That's a pretty good policy and I understand your reasoning.

It often ends up being a case by case basis kind of thing. For instance, Outward is a game that has so many merits it's not even funny, from the no-crunch policy of Nine Dots Studio to the things the game attempts to do. As much as I want to take actions that turn those publisher's brand into something carrying a degree of toxicity as a consequence for taking exclusivity deals, there are some cases where it's really hard not to reward a great game and studio. I still didn't buy Outward but it's mostly because I can live without it and the incentive of hurting Deep Silver in the process helps hold off a while longer.

Everyone has a different view and reasoning on this, which I respect and relate to. As fantomena said, there's also that one game that's so damn good it's hard to say no. I'm just glad that there is an overall rejection of exclusivity as a business practice. How everyone goes about fighting it is up to their own morals and reasoning for how to be effective at that.
 
I don't know if it's been posted, but here's a new Fanatical bundle:


$5 for

Blood: Fresh Supply
RollerCoaster Tycoon Classic
Warhammer 40,000: Sanctus Reach
The Walking Dead: Michonne
The Walking Dead + 400 Days DLC
The Walking Dead: Season Two
Redeemer: Enhanced Edition
This War of Mine Final Cut
This War is Mine: Stories Season Pass DLC
 
There's a free weekend, and a sale, for Project Winter:


Anyone played it?
Is it any good?

The game caught my eye last year, since I like the look of it, but I'm not much of a multiplayer guy (I assume it has no bots, right?).
 
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There's a free weekend, and a sale, for Project Winter:


Anyone played it?
Is it any good?

The game caught my eye last year, since I like the look of it, but I'm not much of a multiplayer guy (I assume it has no bots, right?).


2 of my friends got free copies of this because their University teacher worked on it and they said they enjoyed it but I know nothing else about it lol.
 
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interesting article

Very interesting read. I can certainly get behind his argument in many cases.

However, I can't help think that if the likes of MH:W and other triple-digit, six zeroes games didn't exist, the world would be poorer for it. The discussion I think shouldn't so much be about the budget of a game but instead the structure of its development and relationships of power of individuals involved in it.
 
I mean I also took a break for a few months :p
It's the only proper Digimon game on Steam so far, it's better to savor it instead of rushing through in one go :D
I usually do the same with almost every game, star playing, take a break, jump into other games and then come back to the first game, I guess I'm weird when it comes to enjoying games, I have my own way hahaha
 
I don't know whether or not to buy XCOM. I want to because I love those games. I'm wary because it looks like they took out a lot of what I enjoyed.

Like the premade character thing ... really putting me off. I liked how you brought in no name rookies and some floated to the top and became your characters and they didn't just start out awesome. There was never any point playing XCOM where I said, damn, I wish snake boob lady was on my side.

At least it's cheap.
 
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I've cut my game purchases right back and have only weakened a couple of times so far this year.
As i'm in the final run to the Story end in Xenoblade Chronicles X after ~220 hours of dicking about in between Story/Normal and Affinity Missions i was wondering what to play next and I have pulled In Other Waters and XCOM: Chimera Squad out of my library and into the queue... to play after i play Andromeda on PC. Can't wait to get my PS4 Ryder recreated on my PC with my Femshep.

giphy.gif
 
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I don't know whether or not to buy XCOM. I want to because I love those games. I'm wary because it looks like they took out a lot of what I enjoyed.

Like the premade character thing ... really putting me off. I liked how you brought in no name rookies and some floated to the top and became your characters and they didn't just start out awesome. There was never any point playing XCOM where I said, damn, I wish snake boob lady was on my side.

At least it's cheap.

Treat it for what it is, a "spin-off", a side-diversion, an experiment. :)
This isn't supposed to be XCOM 3, which will surely happen, and will have the usual stuff we love. It's supposed to be a game where they are trying different things. Some you'll probably enjoy, some you probably won't. ;)

On the plus side, from what I've seen and read, there's a decent amount of content (more than what people were expecting, considering the price), and there's Mod support (a cool feature, that will surely result in some cool user-made content).

Plus, beside the snake boob lady, isn't it cool that, on top of the usual shooting, you will be able to have a squad member that does this:

 
Treat it for what it is, a "spin-off", a side-diversion, an experiment. :)
This isn't supposed to be XCOM 3, which will surely happen, and will have the usual stuff we love. It's supposed to be a game where they are trying different things. Some you'll probably enjoy, some you probably won't. ;)

On the plus side, from what I've seen and read, there's a decent amount of content (more than what people were expecting, considering the price), and there's Mod support (a cool feature, that will surely result in some cool user-made content).

Plus, beside the snake boob lady, isn't it cool that, on top of the usual shooting, you will be able to have a squad member that does this:

That axiom guy is part of the problem though! Smashing looks cool, but not when it's a large toad in sci-fi armor doing it. And I can't even sacrifice him off my team.

Yeah I mean for 8.50 on humble store, I can try it. But they took my favorite part of the game out, and gave me mandatory comedy aliens in it's place.

Well, you know, how long is it going to be before I can cover him up with a helmet mod anyway. Like a week?
 
Well, you know, how long is it going to be before I can cover him up with a helmet mod anyway. Like a week?
With mod support?
I give it a few hours. :grinning-face-with-smiling-eyes:
You can count on that. Oh, and some naked mods for the Snake Lady. :ROFLMAO::ROFLMAO::ROFLMAO:

---

In other news, poor Yuzo Koshiro:



And if anyone is wondering, he does have a good PC, but doesn't want to install games in his main machine, since it's for work:

 
I have arrived at the stage where I wait for user reviews instead of critic reviews, it's the reason why I haven't picked up Chimera Squad yet. I see no reason for why I shouldn't like it, but since the discount last for a while more, I will wait until the user reviews starts rolling in.
 
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Picross 3D hard levels are now in Voxelgram (at least the first 6 sets ... dunno how many there are in P3D)

 
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Picross 3D hard levels are now in Voxelgram (at least the first 6 sets ... dunno how many there are in P3D)

Same as with Normal, 10 sets + challenges.
After that there's about 1000 DLC puzzles to add though.
 
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Don't really use Linux per se but having it as a rescue OS that boots from USB drive is a lifesaver when Windows dies.
 
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Cloudpunk is pretty chill, just what I needed, loving so far.

I"m so conflicted on this one.

Had it Wishlisted since the day the Steam page went up. Then I saw a 40 min. gameplay vid and was deflated by the quality of the writing & voice acting. I'm typically all about some jank as I love underdog, shoestring-budget indies. But in this case it felt actively distracting.

Though flying around those gorgeous Blade Runner landscapes still sounds intoxicating in a sci/fi Euro Truck Sim kind of way.

What's your read? Am I being overcritical?

Also curious about k/m control as I rarely pull out my wired 360 pad, and I understand this one leans heavy into vertical movement. Any feedback on that front?
 
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