This is amazing. Who needs Ableton Live anymore.
Community MetaSteam | December 2019 - Halo! Is It Me You're Looking For?
- Thread starter lashman
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few things can TRULY piss me off like this
Sekiro difficulty debate is overblown honestly, mostly because it's an action game with strict set of rules and not much room with character builds, and no online options, adding a difficulty option or two isn't going to be the end of the world nor will it affect its core design, only thing it will affect is people's perception of the game, Sekiro itself is already the most accessible game out of the "souls games": more checkpoints right next to bosses, generous blocking/parrying window, no stats leveling, extremely easy to read attacks, the only difference being that it demands you to play by a single rule that some might not be good at.
Adding an easy difficulty option is essentially just changing damage curve so the player get more "chances" when they fuck up. Sekiro's "hard" mode and new game+ is basically just making enemies do more chip damage if you don't properly parry (when the game already encourage you to do this in the first place), so it's not like the game is some masterpiece with its difficulty balancing. Adding more options for players with less capable response/reflex time is not a big deal.
Adding an easy difficulty option is essentially just changing damage curve so the player get more "chances" when they fuck up. Sekiro's "hard" mode and new game+ is basically just making enemies do more chip damage if you don't properly parry (when the game already encourage you to do this in the first place), so it's not like the game is some masterpiece with its difficulty balancing. Adding more options for players with less capable response/reflex time is not a big deal.
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One man has built his own performance capture kit using Media Molecule's Dreams, string, and a whole lot of tape
An armchair developer has already made something of a name for himself through his experiments in Dreams on PS4.
www.vg247.com
Have high hopes Dreams is one of those games Sony plans to bring to PC.
It just seems a prefect fit.
It took me years to find that game back in the day. No digital release, rare niche game.Oh hey, someone who actually bought and played Folklore. Now I know there are at least 3 of us still living in this world.
Rest in peace, Game Republic
Regarding the difficulty debate, I do think there are at least 2 quite distinct aspects to "difficulty". Let's call it "qualitative difficulty" and "quantitative difficulty", for lack of better terms.
The latter encompasses everything influenced by numbers, like damage, health etc., and it's usually rather easy to change (though not necessarily to balance such changes to maintain cohesive gameplay).
The former is more about game design decisions, and can be really hard to adapt -- and have design consequences touching almost every aspect of a game when doing so. One example would be the difference between arbitrary quicksave/quickload, save points, and continuous-save-with-no-load (i.e. Dark Souls).
I just bought it on release though
The latter encompasses everything influenced by numbers, like damage, health etc., and it's usually rather easy to change (though not necessarily to balance such changes to maintain cohesive gameplay).
The former is more about game design decisions, and can be really hard to adapt -- and have design consequences touching almost every aspect of a game when doing so. One example would be the difference between arbitrary quicksave/quickload, save points, and continuous-save-with-no-load (i.e. Dark Souls).
As far as I'm concerned, what that game really needs is being 1/3rd the length. Because neither its content nor gameplay depth hold up to the actual amount of time you need to spend on it.
I've got a copy of Folklore sitting on the shelf literally 50cm from my head as I write this post. Really unique game.
I just bought it on release though
It's amazing how these are the first five results I see when using Steam search.
Vita means life.I don't know if you got the memo, but Vita is ded.
Gatekeeping. Heck there are people who don't want a fucking subtitle in their game.People are against accessibility?
Play it on JP server like everyone elsefew things can TRULY piss me off like this
I guess the EU version will have its own twitter account... whenever it happens (if it happens).few things can TRULY piss me off like this
On another note, if the english version ends up being the same as the JP version balancing wise, I wonder how many people are gonna get disappointed in the game and not give it a chance.
In its current state, the game is pretty much designed to rush new players to the later parts of the game (quick to level up until a certain point, slow and kinda fragile enemies through a big part of the game followed by difficulty spikes in the late game, where players will need to learn about the overcomplicated equipment enhancement systems). :x
I could see new players being disappointed at first if the game isn't rebalanced for the west, but if they stick with it, the battle system is really fun once bosses can actually put up a fight.
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Uncontrollable rage if I ever encounter and forum goer advocating for this. I'll never forget sitting in my old room, tinnitius in both of my ears going insane, not having left the house in days and being able to play LF4 Dead because of the full closed captions.Vita means life.
Gatekeeping. Heck there are people who don't want a fucking subtitle in their game.
Play it on JP server like everyone else
There is a person here proudly advocating for gatekeeping and CRYING about the tryanny of THE CASUALS!!!!! Ok then.
(My personal experience isn't to try to shut down the user, just that accessibility is part of what makes games so great and difficulty is an accessibility feature.)
I like your breakdown of the difficulty types. Full ground up acessibility has to be planned for from the get go but smaller boosts to things like health or enemy health can be done too.Regarding the difficulty debate, I do think there are at least 2 quite distinct aspects to "difficulty". Let's call it "qualitative difficulty" and "quantitative difficulty", for lack of better terms.
The latter encompasses everything influenced by numbers, like damage, health etc., and it's usually rather easy to change (though not necessarily to balance such changes to maintain cohesive gameplay).
The former is more about game design decisions, and can be really hard to adapt -- and have design consequences touching almost every aspect of a game when doing so. One example would be the difference between arbitrary quicksave/quickload, save points, and continuous-save-with-no-load (i.e. Dark Souls).
As far as I'm concerned, what that game really needs is being 1/3rd the length. Because neither its content nor gameplay depth hold up to the actual amount of time you need to spend on it.
I've got a copy of Folklore sitting on the shelf literally 50cm from my head as I write this post. Really unique game.
I just bought it on release though
As far as Persona goes, I stuck with 5 til the bitter end (and it was bitter) but I'm very cautious about ever picking up another one. At one point I had to restrain myself from snapping the PS3 disk, which is something that had never happened to me before.
That is how it all starts.
First you want subtitles in your game.
Then you want the ability to pause your game.
Soon after you will want an easy mode.
Next thing you know they will be selling you booster packs so you can skip most of the game and enjoy the best parts instead.
Are you seriously comparing an actual graveyard (MT Everest) filled of dead rich stupid people thinking they could make it, to a video game in terms of difficulty of / sense of achievement ?
There's a sensible difference between sitting in front of a screen with a gamepad and climbing MT Everest, hello
Besides outside of Sekiro, Fromsoft games are all coop rpgs where you can overlevel and overpower every single boss if you wish to, while playing with a friend just in case. If we could drop the myth about them being hard it would be appreciated
For the past week or so my laptop's WiFi had been on a decline. I wasn't sure if it was a software issue, drivers, maybe a Windows update - since for the longest time Bluetooth was a-ok, even when WiFi wasn't.
Well, Bluetooth finally kicked the bucket and I sprung for an ax200 for $20. So far it's working perfectly, so while it sucks that it seems like it really was hardware, at least everything is working fine now.
Well, Bluetooth finally kicked the bucket and I sprung for an ax200 for $20. So far it's working perfectly, so while it sucks that it seems like it really was hardware, at least everything is working fine now.
Thank god for Youtube.Next thing you know they will be selling you booster packs so you can skip most of the game and enjoy the best parts instead.
Sorry, I didn't mean you couldn't get the abilities, I mean you are actively punished for using them - the OG God of Wars are my go-to example because it was so blatant. Almost all the special moves did a lot of damage but they animation locked you and were so long there were maybe one or two enemies in the game you could use them on in hard difficulties. Compared with the normal difficulty where you could use them, take a hit or two, and survive. This tends to be my observation in most games I play now - going above normal severely restricts what playstyle and weapons / moves you can use without dying instantly. Sure, they force you to use dodge/parry more but they remove so many tools from your toolbox in the process as to be a net loss in variety anyway.
Could be I'm just not playing the right games, though.
Wow Linus must really be getting a work out carrying all those boxes.
Ultrawide sounds nice, but I think if I upgrade from my 27 inch, 1440p 144hz, IPS Gsync monitor that I got last year for a little over $500USD, I will want to get a 27 inch 1440p, 144hz, GSync, OLED monitor with HDR.
Oh and maybe by the time these are out and less than $700USD, Sony will update the PS5 to output at 1440p!!!!!
It seriously rubs me the wrong way that Sony doesn't support 1440p output when so many PS4 Pro games will render at 1440p. I mean, MS has been great about 1440p output on XB1X and even XB1S, but Sony has dropped that ball HARD.
Speaking of 1440p monitors, getting an XB270HU remains one of my better gaming-related purchases, 5 years on. I haven't an inkling for an upgrade to better specs yet, but perhaps I'll buy a monitor arm for it next year, just so I can play DS/3DS games in portrait orientation. 
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SFV just looks and animates so well, such a step up from SF4
I don't agree that difficulty is related to accessibility though. Usually when that word is used it's for disabled people who need help or color blind people or people like me who can't read ant-size text on a big TV, things like that.People are against accessibility?
When it comes down to do you have it what it takes to get it done that's not an accessibility argument. You either can do it or you can't. There's a reason why tee ball stops being a thing after you reach a certain age and it doesn't get brought out for you if you can't hit, you just get left behind. Not everything has to be made for everyone especially when we're not talking about disabilities. Sucking isn't a disability
It's such a rare thing nowadays to see a game made with 1 difficulty in mind and even more so when that difficulty is actually challenging. If people don't like it there are literally tens of thousands of other games to play. Missing out on one won't hurt them.
Pick zeku and do his attacks and special moves
He has some nice recovery animation after some.attacks.
Oh hey, someone who actually bought and played Folklore. Now I know there are at least 3 of us still living in this world.
Make that 5, though sadly I never finished it. Got about half way through and got caught up playing other games.
Entertainment should be accessible. Period. Accessibility is more then just disabled, but more honestly needs to be done in that as well. You don't need to make things "easy" by making it accessible.
I mean honestly the souls game difficulty is pretty much overrated.
I mean honestly the souls game difficulty is pretty much overrated.
Maybe accessability is not the right word here? More like usability?
because Dark Souls definitely have a usability problem.
And I say that as someone who loves the games.
Scenario:
New player to Dark Souls 1 reaches the first bonfire in Undead Burg.
The bonfire menu allows him/her to "Kindle flame"
Is this good? Bad? It doesn't say anywhere.
Player tries to Kindle the bonfire.
Is met with a message: "Cannot kindle while hollowed".
Say that the player has actually understood the difference between being human and hollow, so the player rechecks the no fire menu.
"Reverse hollowing".
Right! Let's do that!
.... Has no humanity to offer...
Player now has to figure out to exit the bonfire menu, open the inventory and use a humanity. Are these finite? Should they be saved? How would you know? It is not stated anywhere... You can obviously find them in the game world since you you found some in Firelink, but how rare are they? Who knows right now?
You pop a humanity, reverse hollowing at the bonfire, attempt to kindle, and are then met with the message that you need to offer humanity to kindle!
It would have been nice to know that before hand! Especially since the player still doesn't even know what kindling a bonfire actually accomplishes!
A veteran souls-player knows the answer to all these questions, but for the new player this information doesn't really exist in game... This is an usability issue...
And how does weapon scaling work? Where is it stated that it even exists?
Dark Souls really suffer from usability issues. Again, this coming from someone who really likes the series!
because Dark Souls definitely have a usability problem.
And I say that as someone who loves the games.
Scenario:
New player to Dark Souls 1 reaches the first bonfire in Undead Burg.
The bonfire menu allows him/her to "Kindle flame"
Is this good? Bad? It doesn't say anywhere.
Player tries to Kindle the bonfire.
Is met with a message: "Cannot kindle while hollowed".
Say that the player has actually understood the difference between being human and hollow, so the player rechecks the no fire menu.
"Reverse hollowing".
Right! Let's do that!
.... Has no humanity to offer...
Player now has to figure out to exit the bonfire menu, open the inventory and use a humanity. Are these finite? Should they be saved? How would you know? It is not stated anywhere... You can obviously find them in the game world since you you found some in Firelink, but how rare are they? Who knows right now?
You pop a humanity, reverse hollowing at the bonfire, attempt to kindle, and are then met with the message that you need to offer humanity to kindle!
It would have been nice to know that before hand! Especially since the player still doesn't even know what kindling a bonfire actually accomplishes!
A veteran souls-player knows the answer to all these questions, but for the new player this information doesn't really exist in game... This is an usability issue...
And how does weapon scaling work? Where is it stated that it even exists?
Dark Souls really suffer from usability issues. Again, this coming from someone who really likes the series!
All of these things you are saying sound like something good to me tho, i loved the fact that Souls games don't tell you anything or try to tutorialize you beyond basic controls.
I understand why others might dislike it, but for me it added to the mistery of my first ever playthrough of Dark Souls 1.
I understand why others might dislike it, but for me it added to the mistery of my first ever playthrough of Dark Souls 1.
Although I've read every recent comment about From Software's games, I can't remember if this argument was already brought up...
To me, excessive difficulty is incompatible with current consumer rights (especially in relation to digital goods). I mean... I can see people purchasing the game, thinking they're good enough and then just give up after a few hours... well past the return window. They'd literally end up having spent 60 bucks for nothing as they'd be "locked out" of the content they paid for.
This doesn't happen with any other form of entertainment... you might stop reading a book because it sucks but you'll never be able to buy a book with the last 100 pages glued together.
To me, excessive difficulty is incompatible with current consumer rights (especially in relation to digital goods). I mean... I can see people purchasing the game, thinking they're good enough and then just give up after a few hours... well past the return window. They'd literally end up having spent 60 bucks for nothing as they'd be "locked out" of the content they paid for.
This doesn't happen with any other form of entertainment... you might stop reading a book because it sucks but you'll never be able to buy a book with the last 100 pages glued together.
IF a souls game had an easy option, why would that diminish the hardness of the normal option for those who want it? Is it some kind of "you have to earn to see what the game has to offer" kind of things?
Some people have the notion that because that easy mode has to be balanced, tested, and other development related stuff, it is a waste of time since the percentage of people that would use said options is minimal compared to the people who enjoy the game as it is.
I disagree by the way, bringing more people in is always in the best interest of the game, at least from a commercial stand point.
Agreed!
The amount of accessibility options that are being added into games nowadays are a great step. Though still not perfect, and it has taken far longer than it should have to get to this point, anything that gives more people the option to play games or genres they otherwise might not have been able to is incredible.
Microsoft's push with their adaptive controllers is another that has been great to see develop. I can only hope they continue to expand in that market. It can be so beneficial to so many folks. Hopefully they can work on getting the costs down at some point in the future too.
I agree with this too.
Even if it's not the usual settings of, 'easy, normal, hard', if it's something more granular that allows people to enjoy a game then cool. I can still crank up those options if I choose.
Being able to share amazing game experiences with more folks whether through telling your personal experiences to one another or actually playing together would be really nice. Those are some of the best times I have with games.
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I very much agree with that. If the game tell you to press LB to attack, it can tell you what the hollow state is. So many things are abursdly hidden for no reason.
But I'll go one step further: those problems are massively worse for someone that knows and has played the entire franchise.
Because it changes with every game!
Maybe not the hollow form, but caps? Iframes? Damage scaling? Everything's different from one game to another!
Have you played DS1 and 2 and upgraded your armor? Cool, in the 3rd game you'll obviously know that it's not possible and they're little more than cosmetics. No? Too bad! Hyperarmor? Not a thing anymore! "It's just as intended, oops no, it's a bug, we'll fix that six months later lol".
Adaptability in DS2 will obviously extend your iframes and make you drink your estus flask faster. It says so in the UI: "Boosts ease of evasion and other actions". Sooo clear. Especially for a stat that didn't exist before, and would disappear forever later.
Let's not even talk about repairing, which is just a small cost to pay at bonfires in 1, straight up removes all of the fragile weapons from PVE in 2 (as you won't even be able to kill a boss before they break) but is otherwise automatic, and... 3 has both aspects, except you don't lose much durability so it's almost pointless.
From Software games are the worst case of inconsistency in videogames, combine that with unexplained UI and stats, or outright hidden ones like estus flask drinking time?
It's a nightmare if you're looking for something "like Dark Souls". Because two Dark Souls can be extremely different and feel like they're made to screw experienced players. And tell new players to fuck off.
And I still think that players think too much about easy modes, which are not elegant, but do not alter the game for them.
However just dropping numbers by 90% does not mean that a game is suddenly accessible. If you can't succeed at what is asked of you, it's not fiddling with numbers that will help: it will just take 10 times longer before you start again.
That's why I will always argue for optional automated systems to help the player instead. Let the players choose if they want to skip the hard part, maybe with invincibility at first, then by playing itself.
Not everyone can play games like the "hardcore" can, and what may appear to be a simple platforming section or shooting gallery can become a complete roadblock for some. Let them play the rest of the game instead of saying "git gud".
Removing half of the colored targets is NOT what is going to help colorblind people.
OP
I'm playing a great and challenging Vortex campaign in Total War: Warhammer 2 with the Cult of Sotek (Lizardmen) on Very Hard + Hard battles. While several campaigns I've played before became a bit too easy after a while, this one is keeping me challenged with the right amount of enemy attacks. It's incredible how Sega managed to balance a game with such a huge amount of content!
The reason difficulty is linked to accessibility in the realm of disabilities is that there's plenty of people that don't have the same motor skills you have due to their disability. Could be as obvious as someone that may not have use of a second hand, or any number of other imagined reasons they simply can't play games quite the same way you do. Some of these people can still perform very well in games, they've adapted, but not everyone is physically able to adapt which is where difficulty levels do allow them access to enjoy the game. If there was an easy mode that allowed them to more liberally mash through bosses or have double the healing, etc. this is the sort of thing that allows them to enjoy the same game at their level without affecting others' enjoyment.I don't agree that difficulty is related to accessibility though. Usually when that word is used it's for disabled people who need help or color blind people or people like me who can't read ant-size text on a big TV, things like that.
When it comes down to do you have it what it takes to get it done that's not an accessibility argument. You either can do it or you can't. There's a reason why tee ball stops being a thing after you reach a certain age and it doesn't get brought out for you if you can't hit, you just get left behind. Not everything has to be made for everyone especially when we're not talking about disabilities. Sucking isn't a disability
It's such a rare thing nowadays to see a game made with 1 difficulty in mind and even more so when that difficulty is actually challenging. If people don't like it there are literally tens of thousands of other games to play. Missing out on one won't hurt them.
And just to make sure it's clear, I'm speaking in the sense of having difficulty options. I'm not asking for the base level of a game to be dumbed down.
Celeste is always a great option. There's loads of people that put it down because it's too hard. Or they do get through it and comment how difficult the game is. Yet it has a built in difficulty adjustment that's been there since the start (I believe) that allows you to essentially cheat your way through the whole game but that hasn't diminished the difficulty or satisfaction people get at completing the tough game. And those options were added for accessibility. This article from Vice addresses it if anyone wants to see a developer's thoughts on it and the response they've received.
I think many people who enjoy a certain aspect of a game have the fear that "making it more accessible" means dumbing down the game to appeal more to the WIDER AUDIENCE (Jim Sterling voice).
A fear that isn't unfounded, imho. There are many examples of game series just doing that (Elder Scrolls, X Series) alienating the very fans who liked the games for what they are/were.
A fear that isn't unfounded, imho. There are many examples of game series just doing that (Elder Scrolls, X Series) alienating the very fans who liked the games for what they are/were.
Of course, which is why I pretty much always add that when discussing difficulty and accessibility because it often becomes a go-to argument as to why someone doesn't want easier difficulty in a game they enjoy. I mostly enjoy games to keep their complexity, but I still argue strongly for increased accessibility (in any of its forms) as options on top of whatever the base game is designed with.
Hmm, just spent a few more hours in Steins;Gate. Maybe not reading further than the end of the relative slog that is chapter 1 was an error in my last two failed attempts. Things accelerate already, or you could say shit is clearly taking the direction of the fan.
But I'm back with my eternal issue. I don't like playing a 100% text game on a desktop, and don't have a GPD. So that leaves me with...
Thinking about it, the death of my mobile is the perfect opportunity to buy a 16/9 android phone and finally play VN under warm blankets.
But I don't really have the money for what I want, a 150-250e mid-budget phone.
But I'm back with my eternal issue. I don't like playing a 100% text game on a desktop, and don't have a GPD. So that leaves me with...
- Moonlight for Vita, but I never even could get the fucking POS to recognize dpad inputs.
- Steam Remote Play on iPad, but then I will get the giant black bars from hell thanks to Apple dumb ratio.
Thinking about it, the death of my mobile is the perfect opportunity to buy a 16/9 android phone and finally play VN under warm blankets.
But I don't really have the money for what I want, a 150-250e mid-budget phone.
Steins;Gate is on Vita, too, you know...
...Speaking of backlogs, though, I finally god all gold medals for Motorstorm: Arctic Edge tonight. A game that I first bought digitally on PSN when I was 12.
I'm turning 23 next month. This might just be my record for game I've had on my backlog the longest!
...Speaking of backlogs, though, I finally god all gold medals for Motorstorm: Arctic Edge tonight. A game that I first bought digitally on PSN when I was 12.
I'm turning 23 next month. This might just be my record for game I've had on my backlog the longest!
It's just another URL...
www.gamesindustry.biz
Just 15% of Shroud's US audience followed him to Mixer
Michael "Shroud" Grzesiek, a popular Twitch streamer who signed an exclusivity deal with Microsoft in October, saw his …
www.gamesindustry.biz
Hey, at least Mixer legitimately has more features than Twitch. Not something that you can say about EGS versus Steam!
OP
I liked No Mans Sky and its good that they keep updating it but phew that was a buggy game and every time ive gone back to it I just get bugs bugs bugs and it puts me off. Instead of releasing all this new content i wish they would just do a massive bug squash (maybe they have?)
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