Community MetaSteam | January 2019 - Steaming along through Epic storms

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Ex-User (307)

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I saw there was a long video takedown yesterday of Rainbow 6’s community yesterday for being too toxic. I haven’t played in a few months, but has the voice chat, teamkilling and griefing actually got that much worse in the last few months as the game’s popularity increased?
 
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Routa

Non-Stop MMO Searcher
Dec 22, 2018
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Finished Rumu today.

Cute 2 to 3 hour game about a robot vacuum cleaner on its journey to sentience. Would recommend.

Hard to say much more without spoilers.
 

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Spoke like a true adult... but KVD is still the same price as it was during the seal and I made some money. It’ll probably take forever to download. I’m think about it.
There's still some DLCs/Expansions for the game that are yet to be released (one should be soon, but there's more after that).
Maybe it would be better to wait until the game is "complete", in terms of content?
 

Guilty of Being

META MAN
Dec 5, 2018
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There's still some DLCs/Expansions for the game that are yet to be released (one should be soon, but there's more after that).
Maybe it would be better to wait until the game is "complete", in terms of content?
That’s the plan. 💪🏻
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How essential is Witcher 1 to enjoying W2 and W3?
I’ve heard both. I’ve yet to plan any of them, yet I own all three. I did play a bit of W2 in 2012, however.
 

Ex-User (307)

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How essential is Witcher 1 to enjoying W2 and W3?
Depends on what you mean I guess.

I played TW3 without ever playing the first two installments and never having touched any of the books.

Is it necessary to have played them? Absolutely not by my own experience. Did I spend a half hour or so reading a few of the Witcher "Primers" that sites like Eurogamer/Polygon/Kotaku/etc put out? Absolutely.
 

Ex-User (307)

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I actually want to read the books. Where do they fit in the games? Pre? Post? What?
The games aren't completely canonical, because they CDPR's continuation of the book series that technically ended back in '99.

So if you care, you can read the novels before, and play the games after. The games will lightly reference things from the novels.

Alternatively, the first game's plot revolves around Geralt having amnesia, so you could intersperse the books with playing the first game somehow.
 

「Echo」

竜の魔女。
Nov 1, 2018
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Mt. Whatever
Depends on what you mean I guess.

I played TW3 without ever playing the first two installments and never having touched any of the books.

Is it necessary to have played them? Absolutely not by my own experience. Did I spend a half hour or so reading a few of the Witcher "Primers" that sites like Eurogamer/Polygon/Kotaku/etc put out? Absolutely.
I at least wanna start with 2. It looks good. I do own all three, but the first Witcher game just looks... oof. Clunky and old. And I know a big complaint against Witcher 3 is the clunky combat, so that W1 looks even more clunky is not appealing at all to me.

I suppose I'll take the same route as you, reading primers that is, just primers for Witcher 2 instead.

Edit: Of course I gotta get through Sleeping Dogs first. One of my gaming goals for 2019 was raising my Achievement Completion rate to 70% or more and Sleeping Dogs is one of the games dragging my average down quite a bit. So yeah.
 

Lain

serial experiments
Sep 20, 2018
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The game is fun enough to play for being a HRPG. I ended up buying it on FAKKU since Valve was being silly with their approval process.
It's also not the first one with an orgasm counter being approved for sale on Steam.

Speaking of games, I've gone through the stuff I played this year and came up with my goty picks. Well, my main 4 picks. I'm still undecided on the last one.

Main picks:

GRIS
Odyssey
Ghost of a Tale
Iconoclasts

Battle for 5th place:

Cally's Caves 4
Moe Jigsaw
Fairune Collection
Mary Skelter: Nightmares
Meritocracy of the Oni & Blade
Sword Art Online: Fatal Bullet
Treasure Hunter Claire
Sorcery Saga: Curse of the Great Curry God
Ni no Kuni™ II: Revenant Kingdom
Vampyr
DragonFangZ
Darksiders III
YumeCore
Niplheim's Hunter - Branded Azel

EA candidates:

Touhou Luna Nights
Tower Hunter: Erza's Trial
Light Fairytale Episode 1
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Looks like

EA release has been set for March 28.
Just received a kickstarter update email about it and seems like the store page is already update to show it.

Happy New Year! And... we finally have a release date!
Posted by U7 committee (Creator)

Our dear backers and everyone else who's checking out this update,

I hope you're all enjoying your holidays (or that you did enjoy them if they're over already)!



Happy holidays!

I'm also very happy to tell you that we set the date for Minotaur's Early Access release to 28 March 2019. Finally! (Hopefully for you, just like for us. it's more like "Yes, finally!" than "Ugh, finally".)

Over the course of past half-year, we've been working hard on final parts of Nod's route, and created what I think are the most beautiful and emotional scenes of the game so far. We can't wait to share them with you... And I've prepared some screenshots in the meantime.


One of Nod's many memories


Mentor playing her part


A voodoo doll of Nod


It's ok, she's just sleeping... Probably.

Hades, we even got a walking Armadillo mech in one of the scenes.


You have 20 seconds to comply

Nod's story also got all five endings that we originally intended for it to have. One of those is so secret I'm not sure how to get it myself.


I bet you won't

We also did a big update to Club 703 (something for which we didn't have much time lately, unfortunately) - you can find more screenshots there. As well as new concept art...


Ollie had to dress up for the occasion


SLAM IT

...and last but certainly not least, a fat, delicious playlist of Unter's songs mixed with melancholic electronic tracks we used (or intended to use) for some of final scenes. Do check it out when you have time.

Of course, before release we'll also make sure to do what we've been wanting to do for a long time now - ask you how you'd like to be credited, and which platform you'd like to own you copy of the game on. Technically, everyone who signed up for beta will already have a DRM-free Early Access version, but it will of course not count towards total number of copies you pledged for.

And now that we're done with final chapters, we can finally add remaining items requested by our backers! With that, we'll have all in-game items at home in Royce.

Well, it's time to get back to work. As usual, we thank you for your support and patience, and hope to discuss fates of Nod, Ollie and other residents of Royce with you really soon : )

Yours,

Nick & u7committee

 
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Ascheroth

Chilling in the Megastructure
Nov 12, 2018
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Finished RiME, as my first game in 2019. Been playing it the last few weeks with my niece.
Beautiful game, but way more sad than I expected (I thought it would be a pretty, happy-go-lucky adventure puzzle game. Little did I know....).
Looking at the achievements, and ingame collectible list I basically saw nothing outside the critical path though, lol.
 

Ascheroth

Chilling in the Megastructure
Nov 12, 2018
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I finally found the blueprints for a Beacon in Subnautica and promptly built it. Now I can actually locate my base properly, lmao.
Also decided to finally take a trip to the Aurora and look for more blueprints and stuff. Especially since I got a radio message that essentially says "you should grab some things there".
Problem is that I'm fucking terrifed of going near it. I was near there, but not somewhere I can actually enter and the sound design there is terrifying and I saw a Reaper swim buy in the distance which thankfully didn't see me and frankly I just want to get out of here.
I also got a new radio transmission while there so I promptly used it as an excuse to go back to base.
...Maybe I should go look for some Magnetite and build a Stasis Rifle for some peace of mind before going there.

Alternatively I could just yolo there and if it works out it's fine and if not I get attacked/eaten a few times until I build a resistance. Stalkers and sandsharks were also scary at first, and now they're ¯\_(ツ)_/¯.
 
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freshVeggie

almost there
Sep 7, 2018
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What happened to the "Best Game you played in 2018" thread someone here wanted to make?
I checked and it looks like I haven't played a 2018 release, only older stuff. Would be cool to have a thread like that.
 
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Digoman

Lurking in the Shadows
Dec 21, 2018
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I at least wanna start with 2. It looks good. I do own all three, but the first Witcher game just looks... oof. Clunky and old. And I know a big complaint against Witcher 3 is the clunky combat, so that W1 looks even more clunky is not appealing at all to me.

I suppose I'll take the same route as you, reading primers that is, just primers for Witcher 2 instead.

Edit: Of course I gotta get through Sleeping Dogs first. One of my gaming goals for 2019 was raising my Achievement Completion rate to 70% or more and Sleeping Dogs is one of the games dragging my average down quite a bit. So yeah.
Late response but here it is:
In terms of story, Witcher 3 is more or less self contained once you get a quick recap from second one. What playing the previous games offer is more of a "get to know these characters" advantage to enjoying the story.

It's hard to recommend the first game because it is a old low budget game that played a little different even at the time. The combat ends being more of rhythm thing that gets a little boring. The other problem is that the game only gets good after a few hours. It does have great atmosphere, sidequests and what I think is the best main story of all three games, but between it's technical limitations, it's age and the fact that it terms of overall story is the least important for W3, it is probably better to skip it.

The second game it's a gigantic leap in terms of production values and gameplay systems. This was one is easy to recommend to at least try a little. The greatest complaints at the time were also about the combat but you will know very soon if it's tolerable to you or not. It's not really open world so you can get "lost" on it, but offer the traditional great choices and consequences (including a completely different second act depending on them) and great characters that with their relationships with Geralt help define him more from the amnesiac from the first game. Several of these characters will appear on the final game.

So, short version: I is perfectly possible to enjoy Witcher 3 just by getting quick recaps, and maybe it's better to get straight to it in order to not get burned out. In my experience it was great the see the whole journey of the characters, but the first game is hard to recommend unless you really more of this universe. The second one is probably worth a quick look to see if "clicks" with you, but also skippable if you want to go directly to the best game.
 

「Echo」

竜の魔女。
Nov 1, 2018
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Mt. Whatever
Late response but here it is:
In terms of story, Witcher 3 is more or less self contained once you get a quick recap from second one. What playing the previous games offer is more of a "get to know these characters" advantage to enjoying the story.

It's hard to recommend the first game because it is a old low budget game that played a little different even at the time. The combat ends being more of rhythm thing that gets a little boring. The other problem is that the game only gets good after a few hours. It does have great atmosphere, sidequests and what I think is the best main story of all three games, but between it's technical limitations, it's age and the fact that it terms of overall story is the least important for W3, it is probably better to skip it.

The second game it's a gigantic leap in terms of production values and gameplay systems. This was one is easy to recommend to at least try a little. The greatest complaints at the time were also about the combat but you will know very soon if it's tolerable to you or not. It's not really open world so you can get "lost" on it, but offer the traditional great choices and consequences (including a completely different second act depending on them) and great characters that with their relationships with Geralt help define him more from the amnesiac from the first game. Several of these characters will appear on the final game.

So, short version: I is perfectly possible to enjoy Witcher 3 just by getting quick recaps, and maybe it's better to get straight to it in order to not get burned out. In my experience it was great the see the whole journey of the characters, but the first game is hard to recommend unless you really more of this universe. The second one is probably worth a quick look to see if "clicks" with you, but also skippable if you want to go directly to the best game.
Thanks for taking the time to write this up! This definitely cements my decision to skip the first one and start with 2. I'll be sure to do some reading first though, about the 1st game and lore to get a feel for the Witcher's world.
 
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Ex-User (307)

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I'm sure this has been said a million times, but I could really use some better sorting options for wishlists. Mine is relatively small compared to some (300ish games), but it's just unwieldy as hell.
 
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lashman

lashman

Dead & Forgotten
Sep 5, 2018
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I'm sure this has been said a million times, but I could really use some better sorting options for wishlists. Mine is relatively small compared to some (300ish games), but it's just unwieldy as hell.
... not to mention ANY sorting options for the game list
 

「Echo」

竜の魔女。
Nov 1, 2018
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Mt. Whatever
Holy smokes, my PC handles Sleepy Dogs at 4K-60 FPS amazingly. Usually I have to settle for 1728/1800p or 4K-30FPS, but not this time! I guess tomorrow I can throw a reshade in there and have some real fun with the graphics! Guess I know which game I'll be getting my first screenshots of the year from.

United Front Games, come back... :cry:
 

Matimeo

MetaMember
Oct 21, 2018
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Tizoc ocean horn was designed from the ground up for touch on Apple devices. I remember it was really hyped in the mobile gaming community. The combat feeling that way is mostly because of that I bet.
 

Anteater

Hentai Specialist
Sep 20, 2018
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I keep hoping they'd add an "arcade" mode in Shadow Warrior 2 or something that remove all the loot/stats stuff, really dislike that part even though you can halfass it mostly, but it's still annoying to keep equipping new weapons or running into enemies with elements immunity or whatever.
 

freshVeggie

almost there
Sep 7, 2018
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Another one down. Wasn't in the mood for a complicated game, so I chose a walking sim with Adrift or Adr1ft or whatever dumb name devs go with.
It's a solid game with an incredible first impression. The visual quality and sheer awe-inducing experience of floating in space is impressive. While short, later half feels like a slog because of repetitive tasks. In general, there is very little aesthetic change throughout the game which coupled with the 6DOF and dark emptiness of space makes for an easily confusing ride. You loose orientation in a matter of seconds, that's why I finished it in one sitting. Controls are pretty well done. The realistic slow movement of the player makes it comfortable to barrel-roll. thrust. ascend and so on.
The story is weak though, with all of it being told through audio logs and texts. They aren't interesting and so are the characters which consist of the player and the rest of the space station crew. Right of the start, you learn that everybody died in a catastrophic accident. Similar to the movie Gravity, your whole mission is to traverse the wreckage of the station to activate an emergency pod back to earth. To do that, you must go to and activate four parts of the station. The only obstacles are your sense of spatial orientation and the ever-fleeting oxygen reserves. Everywhere you go there are handy O2 canisters floating in space for you to refill. You have to experience Zero-G for yourself. Debris, boxes and all kinds of stuff is not only floating but also reacts physically correct to you. So cool.
Give it a try for the setting and well-executed feeling of being stranded in space alone. Wish I had a VR headset. Must be sweet for stuff like this.

 

Tizoc

Retired, but still Enabling
Oct 11, 2018
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Oman
ko-fi.com
Quick round up of CES Laptop news and otherwise

ASUS ROG Mothership
The Asus ROG Mothership is a 17-inch, 10-pound Surface Pro for gamers
Heavy-ass laptop wherein the keyboard can be detached, putting much of the hardware onto the screen part of it

ASUS Zephyrus 2019 models
Asus ROG Zephyrus S GX701 and GX531 with Nvidia RTX 2080 Graphics | Digital Trends

Acer Swift 7
CES 2019: Acer Swift 7 Laptop With 92 percent Screen-to-Body Ratio launched
Acer Swift 7 Laptop With 92 Percent Screen-to-Body Ratio Launched at CES

Alienware m17 and m15 (specs detailed)
Alienware's New m17 and m15 Gaming Laptops Pack Nvidia RTX 20-Series | Digital Trends
Dell Alienware m17 With Core i9, Nvidia GeForce RTX GPUs Launched at CES

Acer Triton 500 and 900 models revealed
Acer Reveals 2-in-1 Triton 900 Gaming Laptop with RTX 2080 | CES 2019 | Digital Trends
The 900 has a pretty neat gimmick to its screen

Samsung Odyssey model(s) releasing this year with RTX
Samsung Announces G-Sync-Enabled Notebook Odyssey with RTX Graphics | Digital Trends

ASUS' ROG G703, Star II and Hero II models, and FX505DY & FX705DY models
Asus' Gaming Laptops Include AMD Ryzen And Nvidia RTX: CES 2019 | Digital Trends

ASUS Zenbook S13
Asus Refreshes Ultraportable Lineup at CES With ZenBook 14, ZenBook S13

HP & Acer to launch new chromebook models with AMD gfx cards in them
Acer, HP Launch World's First Chromebooks With AMD Chips at CES 2019

Gigabyte Aero laptops to get RTX
CES 2019: Gigabyte ready a revamped AERO 15 with RTX graphics

HP announces Omen 15 laptop with 240Hz display(!!)
CES 2019: HP announces Omen 15 laptop with 240Hz display, Omen X Emperium 65 monitor with G-Sync HDR support and more | Digit.in

EDIT:
Future of Razer Blade models
Razer Blade Could Have OLED Screen, 240Hz Refresh Rate: CES 2019 | Digital Trends
 
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Milena

Lost in VR
Jan 4, 2019
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I actually want to read the books. Where do they fit in the games? Pre? Post? What?
The games come after the books.
Season of Storm is the last released book, but it's a prequel to the novels, so it's a standalone story with no connection to the games at all.

Are the books necessary? I'd argue that The Witcher 1 and 2 can be enjoyed without the books, as Geralt
doesn't have his full memories yet.

Before playing The Witcher 3 I'd recommend reading the books, though, as they explore the relationship between Geralt and the two important characters that are front and center into the story here.
 
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