Community MetaSteam | June 2022 - It's Hot Outside! Sit and Play Some Videogames.

[fokkusu]

Immerse yourself in the dark, gritty world of Los Angeles 2019, where you become both the hunter and the hunted.

 

[Ascheroth]

Seal time!
May your Deck's be well fed.

 

[Joe Spangle]

I don't have permission to view my own wishlist.

 

[Mivey]

The sale mini-game this time sounds fun, except the store subpages it links to aren't loading. I guess that's one way of making things challenging.

 

[Futaleufu]

Steam server is so busy it isn't even loading cards while crafting

 

[FunnyJay]

I've seen a few games on my wishlist at 75% - 90% off! Feels like the olden days!

 

[madjoki]

Tiny Tina's 90-day Epic exclusivity deal has come to an end.

Out now on Steam:

lolololololololololololololololololololol @ -20%

 

[yuraya]

So many good discounts. I had 34 games in my cart and almost everything except Tunic has 50+% off

Welp now shopping cart is dead again.

 

[ZKenir]

see ya in 2 hours when steam unfucks itself

 

[fokkusu]

Oh my god this is so annoying both gg.deals and Steam is ded

 

[thekeats1999]

Is it me, or does the usual Steam Sale Server Snafu seem even worse than usual?

Can't see any deals, can't see my wishlist, can't even log into FFXIV (most likely unrelated but I do own the steam version of FFXIV).

 

[Mivey]

Is it me, or does the usual Steam Sale Server Snafu seem even worse than usual?

Can't see any deals, can't see my wishlist, can't even log into FFXIV (most likely unrelated but I do own the steam version of FFXIV).

Seems so, I just needed to wait half an hour to confirm some sales in the app, since it wouldn't let me login.

 

[ZKenir]

now I only need to manage to check out...

 

[FunnyJay]

Is it me, or does the usual Steam Sale Server Snafu seem even worse than usual?

Can't see any deals, can't see my wishlist, can't even log into FFXIV (most likely unrelated but I do own the steam version of FFXIV).

Funny, I thought the servers were unusually stable when the sale just begun. People must have been hitting the servers hard a bit after the sale started instead.

 

[NarohDethan]

I guess Valve replaced the servers with daisy chained Decks.

 

[Ascheroth]

Uta trilogy did not hit their historical low again, so that will unfortunately have to wait for another day.
Still a pretty good haul there, put Seventh Lair and The Sekimeiya on there instead.

More VN heavy then usually, but what can I say, the Deck demands sustenance.
Gaben's evil plan working as intended.

Edit: Oh noes, The Sekimeiya is Deck Unsupported - gonna have to give it a try, but if I can't get it working I'll probably refund and pick something else.
Edit edit: Actually it seems to work just fine ¯\(ツ)/¯

 

[lashman]

Joe Spangle i appreciate your dedication to using the seal reaction

 

[「Echo」]

imagine the amount of computing that goes into the e-mail bot at sale time. Having to scan everyone's wishlist, what's on sale and also on those lists, sending the e-mails and hyperlinking everything.

 

[low-G]

This is probably my favorite Steam sale for themes / art / style.


Needs a new WipEout game

 

[Stevey]

First haul

 

[prudis]

some interesting quotes:

basically how the operation groups work:

Wingefors emphasised that, unlike some of the other industry giants aggressively scooping up key players in the space, Embracer Group operates differently. While Zynga, for example, is being integrated into new parent Take-Two Interactive, every Embracer-owned entity operates autonomously. THQ Nordic, Koch Media, Saber Interactive (and so on) conduct themselves as separate businesses. The ecosystem the CEO speaks of is the threads that tie these together and enable collaborations where those companies see fit.

The role of Embracer, he tells us, is to enable those businesses to focus on their own ambitions and support those where possible.

so they still dont know when they will put them ex-Edios folks

Naturally, Embracer is still in the process of signing and closing that deal, so the exact structure of Tomb Raider and the other former Square Enix IP and assets is yet to be decided. But Wingefors remains highly confident in the management at each of the three studios and says they will "operate with a great deal of autonomy."

How they plan with IPs

Wingefors observes that these are "very traditional IPs" -- after all, Tomb Raider, Thief and Legacy of Kain all debuted in the 1990s, with Deus Ex following in 2000. As such, the CEO says expectations of any financial return needs to be reasonable. He sees strong potential in the series' back catalogues, opening up the possibility of ports, remakes and remasters, and there are even opportunities for collaborations across the group. But what happens next inevitably comes down to the question of cost.

"Should we make something new? Should we do some licensing, or work for hire? If you have really strong AAA IPs in the group -- and I'm not necessarily talking about Tomb Raider in this case -- that makes that work easier," he says.
We will take good care of the people, the IPs, and if we set reasonable expectations, I think we will also be happy with the financial performance on this. Could you do things that are more lucrative in this industry? For sure. But that doesn't mean to me that you need to always maximise, and only do things that have the highest potential for the highest margins. If you do that, your business will become quite boring after some time."

The "no need for 10x over profit margins" and IP crossmedia plans

And obviously, when you have an IP such as Tomb Raider, you can look a lot at the historical outcomes. I run my business on absolute numbers, not to percentages. And if you invest whatever, not talking necessarily about Tomb Raider, but a big AAA -- let's say you're investing $150 million and you bring in $300 million, or $250 million. That might be okay. You don't have to do 10X over some period of time. And you can always work with platform holders, you can do collaborations, you can do some de-risking on the financing. Obviously with iconic IPs, you can bring that IP to other media and companies where you can have some more profits coming through."

Long term IP plans

Wingefors stresses that Embracer and its companies think "super long-term" about any IPs they acquire, before sharing more insight into the process. First, a company will begin with remastering work for titles that could benefit from it. These old games are then used to prove whether there is a market for more -- if fans cry out for a sequel, Embracer's businesses are listening.

The group is going through this process with a number of IPs. Wingefors describes THQ Nordic as "still in the remastering/remakes phase" but teases that the publisher will release "some amazing things over the coming years." But such products, he says, take a decade or more to build up to.

Problematic classic IPs

The problem with a few IPs is that the world has moved on," Wingefors says. "Expectations of sequels are quite enormous, and it could be game styles that are very expensive to make nowadays in the modern world. I don't want to highlight a specific IP, but we have some iconic IPs that are difficult to actually find a business case on, because if you do it properly, they cost at least $30 to $50 million to make. And you need to put a very good team on it. So, that makes the business case difficult sometimes."

"I'm not saying that it's for Thief," Wingefors adds. "But that is always something we need to consider. Thief is a fantastic IP. I know there's a huge fanbase for that, so I'm sure my team will look deeply into that, and there is a lot of love for that IP also coming with the transaction."

About pandemic:

"The pandemic found a lot of new players and audiences across the world that enjoy games, and find gaming very social and entertaining," he says. "I still believe there will be growth in the gaming industry this year, and even though a few KPIs showed weakness in the first quarter, there are some other KPIs showing better progress. So, I'm optimistic. I think the underlying market is very strong. PC gaming is greater than ever. I think there is a continued super demand for PlayStation 5, Xbox, and a strong demand for Nintendo, and people can't get enough of mobile gaming.

 

[Lashley]

Nothing in the Steam sale that I'm desperate for personally

 

[Yoshi]

Leaked Bloodlines 2 screenshots from the cancelled Hardsuit Labs version. Found on Reddit. Credit to Viktor Blanke:

Click to view

 

[prudis]

ntroducing a major content update for the award winning indie game, Into the Breach, coming on July 19th, 2022!

---Into the Breach: Advanced Edition---

Nearly every aspect of the game will be expanded with new content, including:
- New mechs and weapons
- More enemies, more bosses, and more missions
- New Pilots and pilot skills
- More challenging difficulty mode
- 7 Additional languages

 

[toxicitizen]

Leaked Bloodlines 2 screenshots from the cancelled Hardsuit Labs version. Found on Reddit. Credit to Viktor Blanke:

Click to view

I really hope one day we'll find out what the hell happened on this project.

 

[ExistentialThought]

Nothing in the Steam sale that I'm desperate for personally

 

[kio]

Joe Spangle i appreciate your dedication to using the seal reaction

I appreciate the new reaction emoticons but still think we need a Deck one.

 

[Satori]

Bleh. been trying for a week to add my phone number to my new Steam account and Steam will not send me a sms code.
Support sent me a copy paste response and said my number is valid but they cant help me.

 

[FunnyJay]

Leaked Bloodlines 2 screenshots from the cancelled Hardsuit Labs version. Found on Reddit. Credit to Viktor Blanke:

Click to view

Is it just me or does the guy in the first pic have a gigantic head?

 

[thekeats1999]

So it turns out that it was Steam causing my login issues with FF XIV. A couple of months back they decided to force a link between your S-E account and Steam account if you own it on Steam. No problems up until the launch of the Steam Sale and the servers fall over.

All I can think of is that it was the same person who decided to link Fortnites servers to EGS servers which prevents people from playing games whenever Fortnite has a major update.

Bloody idiot whoever it was that thought of it.

 

[Futaleufu]

If you are looking for an arcade style racing game get Gravel

 

[prudis]

content update


also they finally shrinked the size

 

[Futaleufu]

3 hours in the sale I still cant see the Steam Lab collections

 

[madjoki]

content update


also they finally shrinked the size

85GB of extra data? WTF.

 

[Yoshi]

Some great deals and historical lows. I'll keep updating this post to add more games.


On sale for the first time since 2019:

The best God of War game:

Bundles:

Lakeview Bundle on Steam

store.steampowered.com

HITMAN™ Essential Collection on Steam

Become Agent 47 and master the art of assassination in the Hitman Essential Collection.

store.steampowered.com

Portal Bundle on Steam

store.steampowered.com

Valve Complete Pack on Steam

store.steampowered.com

40 cents bundle (comes with 2 games):

Save 99% on Mega Discount Bundle on Steam

Don’t miss out on this amazing game collection that offers hours of fun and unforgettable experiences! Enjoy top hits across different genres, from RPGs to shooters and puzzles, all at an unbeatable price. Act fast — this offer is limited-time only!

store.steampowered.com

If there's any other good deals, let me know and I'll add it to the list

 

[Ascheroth]

Happy to report that from my quick 15 minute try, The Sekimeiya does appear to work just fine despite being "Unsupported".

The official reason given seems to be something like "doesn't run well on the Deck with any graphics settings" and while it's true that in-game fps seemingly fluctuate wildly according to the overlay, even reaching single digits, in practice it feels totally smooth, which is good enough for me. Not sure what's going on there.

 

[Li Kao]

I appreciate the new reaction emoticons but still think we need a Deck one.

Oh my god, yeah, this ! So obvious inretrospect that… oh, you mean a Deck one.
Please carry on.

 

[Gevin]

How does the sale game work?

 

[Li Kao]

By the way, let’s be real and super serious. Seriouser, even.
I come back from surgery, I post a smiley to say I’m alive and everyone reacts with the Steam Seal.

You fucking weebs.

 

[Mivey]

By the way, let’s be real and super serious. Seriouser, even.
I come back from surgery, I post a smiley to say I’m alive and everyone reacts with the Steam Seal.

You fucking weebs.

Hope you doing fine, and will be up and about quickly.

Also happy Steam Sale.

 

[Satori]

How does the sale game work?

Click to get a clue. find the fake game and you will get a new clue

Cheat sheet

Guitar Billionaire
Custard Castle Small Claims Court
Bass Ain't Bitin' 2022
Dead Seagull Zoo Magnate
Actually... Frankenstein's Monster Edition
It's Probably Fine
Help The King Get To The Toilet
The Consecration Of Esthme
Pro Poker Amateur
Hold In Your Farts

 

[Gevin]

Click to get a clue. find the fake game and you will get a new clue

Cheat sheet

Guitar Billionaire
Custard Castle Small Claims Court
Bass Ain't Bitin' 2022
Dead Seagull Zoo Magnate
Actually... Frankenstein's Monster Edition
It's Probably Fine
Help The King Get To The Toilet
The Consecration Of Esthme
Pro Poker Amateur
Hold In Your Farts

Oh cool, unfortunately the store is still pretty slow for me and I can't get any category page to load any games

 

[Kiru]

Click to get a clue. find the fake game and you will get a new clue

Cheat sheet

Guitar Billionaire
Custard Castle Small Claims Court
Bass Ain't Bitin' 2022
Dead Seagull Zoo Magnate
Actually... Frankenstein's Monster Edition
It's Probably Fine
Help The King Get To The Toilet
The Consecration Of Esthme
Pro Poker Amateur
Hold In Your Farts

I only get empty pages for now, meh...

 

[inky]

same, still not working

 

[Snakethesniper]

Happy to report that from my quick 15 minute try, The Sekimeiya does appear to work just fine despite being "Unsupported".

The official reason given seems to be something like "doesn't run well on the Deck with any graphics settings" and while it's true that in-game fps seemingly fluctuate wildly according to the overlay, even reaching single digits, in practice it feels totally smooth, which is good enough for me. Not sure what's going on there.

Didn't know about this VN, looked it up and seems promising, off in the cart it goes

 

[Madventure]

Looks like the Remastered blade runner is hot garbage.

The Blade Runner game's new remaster looks worse

A remastered re-release of Westwood's excellent Blade Runner video game is out today, though it looks worse than the recent GOG release.

www.rockpapershotgun.com

They also took down the old edition on GOG (Kind of)
you have to now buy the more expensive edition to get the what was cheaper edition, there's now subsequently a bunch of shitty bugs, errors, etc from the "remaster" and I know it literally just came out but lol ouch

So far all they're doing is snatching defeat from the jaws of victory

 

[Deku]

The easiest way to find these fake games is that you go through all the carousels and search for TH.4X. They can not be found when the game is not visible, so you have to click through the carousel and keep searching until you find the game

or go through all the sub categories and hope that the game is on the first page

 

[Amzin]

Store was working for a few minutes there but it's broken for me again. This does seem worse than usual.

 

[lashman]

If you are looking for an arcade style racing game get Gravel

yeah, i can vouch for this one - it's GENUINELY great!

How does the sale game work?

right now - it doesn't

 

[prudis]

85GB of extra data? WTF.

if i could guess , uncompressed art and audio
meanwhile, another EGSie: