Community MetaSteam | March 2020 - Rise and Shine, Ms. Vance, Until It Is Done!

Status
Not open for further replies.

Wok

Wok
Oct 30, 2018
4,923
13,188
113
France
Just saw Dark Waters about the Teflon issue and since my rice cooker has been flaking, I'm now in the "I'm already dead" mindset.XD
I have followed a link from an article by the HuffingtonPost (in French), and apparently, you should be fine: there was no PFOA in the kitchen utensils which were tested by UFC Que Choisir since 2011. Unless you bought your rice cooker for very cheap from a Chinese seller on Amazon, or something like that, it should be okay w.r.t. PFOA.

 
  • Like
Reactions: Le Pertti

C-Dub

Makoto Niijima Fan Club President
Dec 23, 2018
3,992
11,886
113
I recently grabbed new networking equipment (TP-Link mesh WiFi which I'm using Ethernet backhaul on) and a new 10 inch tablet (Samsung Galaxy Tab A 2019 on reduced to clear) so I've been tinkering more with Steam In-Home Streaming, which has not always been great on my old home network before.

Let's just say I'm glad I upgraded my equipment. Even the ethernet connection seems to be better than it was on the shit-tier Virgin Media router I was using before. Latency is lower, I have more bandwidth locally, Plex seems to have less buffering. It's generally just better all around.

So I decided to try a VN to give streaming to the tablet a go, since I prefer those games played on a handheld. I played Eliza almost exclusively on tablets (either playing natively on my Surface Pro 6 or streamed to my Galaxy Tab via Steam IHS on my main gaming PC) and it works perfectly. I think I recall one audio hitch for less than a second for the whole 4-ish hours that I played it via streaming, and I'm not discounting that being my Bluetooth headphones rather than a network or streaming issue.

Before I could get good streaming going I was always tethered to playing games natively on whatever device was available. That meant either on the gaming PC hooked up to the TV or my Surface Pro 6 in tablet mode or docked to my 21:9 monitor. Now I've got more flexibility and I can pretty much play any game anywhere I want, without having to worry about what my partner wants to do.

And it's a great VN - I highly recommend it. I was skeptical that Zachtronics could move from super in-depth puzzle games to a narrative game, but they've proven they can do that too. I'd be very excited to see them do a challenging puzzle game with a well-written story, because they more than have the skills for it.

With the whole theme of streaming still in mind, now that I'm done with Eliza I think it's time to start up Disco Elysium. Excited to see if the multiple custom resolutions I setup, complete with headless DisplayPort dongle and the remote profile switching feature of DisplayFusion allows me to set my PC to 21:9 resolution and stream it to my office while my partner watches Ru Paul's Drag Race on the TV.
 

Le Pertti

0.01% Game dev
Oct 10, 2018
8,579
22,011
113
45
Paris, France
lepertti.com
I have followed a link from an article by the HuffingtonPost (in French), and apparently, you should be fine: there was no PFOA in the kitchen utensils which were tested by UFC Que Choisir since 2011. Unless you bought your rice cooker for very cheap from a Chinese seller on Amazon, or something like that, it should be okay w.r.t. PFOA.

Ah yes that's good to know, it's from FNAC/DARTY but it's Chinese made but an European brand I think. Cheap yes but should have base quality checks in place.
 

Wildebeet

First Stage Hero
Dec 5, 2018
798
1,883
93
Yeah it sucks also that my rice cooker started pealing off that shit pretty much after one month and it's the only way for me to cook so I have to keep eating. Will get a new one this month, there are some that proudly say they are teflon free.:D

When I move to a proper place and can start cooking I will probably get cast iron stuff.
You might also end up with super powers because of the chemicals. I think that probably happens.

I just cook a ton of rice in a pot, then stash it all in the fridge for the week. I've got two decent pans and that's all I need. Well, and a dutch oven.
 

Le Pertti

0.01% Game dev
Oct 10, 2018
8,579
22,011
113
45
Paris, France
lepertti.com
You might also end up with super powers because of the chemicals. I think that probably happens.

I just cook a ton of rice in a pot, then stash it all in the fridge for the week. I've got two decent pans and that's all I need. Well, and a dutch oven.
I think I've gotten a super power! I repeal money at an alarming efficiency !:D

Yeah I've started to batch cook and have meals stashed in my fridge and it's bloody awesome!:D
 
OP
lashman

lashman

Dead & Forgotten
Sep 5, 2018
31,985
90,096
113
Hello! I am new here, I primarily play on PC and handhelds. Like pretty much any and all genres. Been playing games ever since I was little as my grandmother got me into gaming. I have seen this place have some great recommendations, so I wanted to join! :blobmorning2:
welcome, welcome :peekwaveblob:

and don't forget to set your custom tag and change its colour, if you want :)

oh, and you can link your steam account too!

Oh neat, I always want to participate in those PlayTracker Quests but I always forget about them. Might be a good excuse for me to play through Half-Life 2 and it's episodes again (I first played through it on PS3, blasphemy I know)
good luck then :) hope you can do it! :)
 

Knurek

OG old coot
Oct 16, 2018
2,515
6,209
113
Isn't this one of the bad dotemu ports? I wonder if they are still on the job or not.
Not to my knowledge. Matrix did the NDS remaster, not sure who Squeenix contracted for further ports - Wikipedia says Matrix.
 

kafiend

MetaMember
Dec 6, 2018
549
1,628
93
Yeah, teflon shouldn't ever come into contact with food. I'm all about cast iron. What bothers me a little is that you know every restaurant on earth uses non-stick stuff (and aluminum because it's cheap) wherever they can.
That's a ridiculously inaccurate comment. I can tell you that in over two decades and many, many hotels/kitchens I worked and cooked in, I never saw or used any teflon. I used and saw much cast iron though.
 
  • Like
Reactions: lashman

QFNS

Plays too many card games
Nov 18, 2018
1,278
3,104
113
Hmm, that's very good to hear. Guess I'll start going to back to older areas to grind, then. Didn't really carry more than a few potions at a time with me , so maybe that's the reason I'm having a harder time with this game than with SOTN.
Thanks for your input
I don't know if its a thing for everyone, but for sure a large part of the fun for me was seeing all the weird items that playing around with the weapons and shards. Every enemy in the game has a shard and even if most of them kinda suck its still interesting to see what they do. I'll also recommend farming some of the yellow ones as they increase in power as they stack and if you max them out they become permanent passives. Finding one of those for your weapon of choice can make a big difference.
 
  • Like
Reactions: BO7AMMOOD

Nabs

Hyper˗Toxic Pro˗Consumer
Oct 23, 2018
3,858
12,725
113
Bit curious about something: What's the consensus here on Bloodstained ?
I'm asking because I have played a few hours of it already, and gotta say I'm not very moved by it. It's just "okay". And I really like Metroidvania games, usually. One of my gripes is that movement in this game feels bad, you can't grap edges or anything and Miriam can't jump very far, The levels also all seem very small and cramped. The other, more important reason, is that the game seems to punish exploration. If you push ahead too much, you quickly run into a boss fight, and those tend to go on forever. So if you aren't stocked well in potions and other equipement, then you're dead. This is made harder by the fact that bosses don't have a health bar, which is usually a great way of understanding if you doing well in the fight or not. Removing it doesn't make the fight harder, just opaque and therefore frustrating. Was I doing good? Did I win by accident? Well, guess it's trial and error to find out.

It's funny, because I really like SOTN, but this game just feels frustrating in a way that SOTN doesn't. I think it's due to the fact that SOTN was, for the most part, a really easy game, and a lot of its flaws were easily overlooked because of it. This game somehow thinks that a challenging 5 minute boss fight is good fit for it, which just serves to shine a light on all those issues.
You'll be able to break the game in no time, then the bosses all become pushovers. That's one of the things that bothered me. By the midpoint, nothing challenged me.
 

Wildebeet

First Stage Hero
Dec 5, 2018
798
1,883
93
That's a ridiculously inaccurate comment. I can tell you that in over two decades and many, many hotels/kitchens I worked and cooked in, I never saw or used any teflon. I used and saw much cast iron though.
I hope so! I wasn't trying to speak too certainly I'm thinking fast food here, where food comes basically preprepared from a truck. There was a while where I had a lot of highway travel, and these chains are gross. Whenever I see in a Subway, McDonalds, Cracker Barrel, or random chinese place I just kind of fear what people are eating. I used to bring a cooler for myself. Not to mention the weird sprays, the plastics, etc. And what about the machines in the manufacturing facilities? I just don't trust any of it to not be weird.

My first jobs were all restaurants and kitchens too (not wonderful places, but not fast food or chains either), and basically nothing important was teflon because you need to cook and scrub the shit out of some of that stuff. But no place I ever was at used cast iron because the workers (myself included at the time) likely would've wrecked it.

So your restaurants sound cooler than mine!
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: kafiend and lashman

Rando10123

Junior Member
Sep 15, 2019
432
362
63
Bit curious about something: What's the consensus here on Bloodstained ?
I'm asking because I have played a few hours of it already, and gotta say I'm not very moved by it. It's just "okay". And I really like Metroidvania games, usually. One of my gripes is that movement in this game feels bad, you can't grap edges or anything and Miriam can't jump very far, The levels also all seem very small and cramped. The other, more important reason, is that the game seems to punish exploration. If you push ahead too much, you quickly run into a boss fight, and those tend to go on forever. So if you aren't stocked well in potions and other equipement, then you're dead. This is made harder by the fact that bosses don't have a health bar, which is usually a great way of understanding if you doing well in the fight or not. Removing it doesn't make the fight harder, just opaque and therefore frustrating. Was I doing good? Did I win by accident? Well, guess it's trial and error to find out.

It's funny, because I really like SOTN, but this game just feels frustrating in a way that SOTN doesn't. I think it's due to the fact that SOTN was, for the most part, a really easy game, and a lot of its flaws were easily overlooked because of it. This game somehow thinks that a challenging 5 minute boss fight is good fit for it, which just serves to shine a light on all those issues.
It's the best Metroidvania/Igavania since Aria of Sorrow. All the movement, attack animations and exploration are reminiscent of Iga's past games, and it's honestly pretty easy to break the game once you stock up the shards and rank them up, especially the passive ones because they become permanent.
 
  • Like
Reactions: QFNS and BO7AMMOOD

BlackRainbowFT

Mouse Accelerated Member
Apr 17, 2019
508
1,179
93
38
Switzerland
Bit curious about something: What's the consensus here on Bloodstained ?
I'm asking because I have played a few hours of it already, and gotta say I'm not very moved by it. It's just "okay". And I really like Metroidvania games, usually. One of my gripes is that movement in this game feels bad, you can't grap edges or anything and Miriam can't jump very far, The levels also all seem very small and cramped. The other, more important reason, is that the game seems to punish exploration. If you push ahead too much, you quickly run into a boss fight, and those tend to go on forever. So if you aren't stocked well in potions and other equipement, then you're dead. This is made harder by the fact that bosses don't have a health bar, which is usually a great way of understanding if you doing well in the fight or not. Removing it doesn't make the fight harder, just opaque and therefore frustrating. Was I doing good? Did I win by accident? Well, guess it's trial and error to find out.

It's funny, because I really like SOTN, but this game just feels frustrating in a way that SOTN doesn't. I think it's due to the fact that SOTN was, for the most part, a really easy game, and a lot of its flaws were easily overlooked because of it. This game somehow thinks that a challenging 5 minute boss fight is good fit for it, which just serves to shine a light on all those issues.
Hmm. I'd give it a 5/10.

I for one dislike the presentation... it looks cheap. The thing that bothers me the most (despite how inconsequential it might seem) is the fact that when the main character runs, the feet slide on the ground. There's something about the game that screams Poser3D.

Gameplay-wise I'd say that I really liked the game... or at least for the first few hours. Sadly as I progressed I started seeing flaw after flaw... there are some very obtuse and archaic design choices that I find unforgivable (e.g., the "yellow spikes" puzzle).

I stopped playing after the last boss killed me once. I didn't even bother trying a second time!

Hmm... maybe 5/10 doesn't accurately capture my feelings for the game. I'm just sure about one thing: an hypothetical Bloodstained 2 would almost certainly end up on my ignore list.

Edit: just to put things in perspective, I liked almost every Castlevania I've played (my favorite being Aria Of Sorrow) and I even liked Lords of Shadow!
 
  • Like
Reactions: Swenhir

didamangi

Sometimes maybe good, sometimes maybe shit.
Nov 16, 2018
1,280
3,774
113
Jakarta, Indonesia
steamcommunity.com
Anyone got a good, non-anime recommendation for 1440p/4K wallpapers? In the mood to change mine up.
My bookmark on wallhaven. At least 4K in size, 16:9 ratio, sort by date. First timer might change sort by date to toplist or views though.
 
  • Like
Reactions: BlueOdin

Le Pertti

0.01% Game dev
Oct 10, 2018
8,579
22,011
113
45
Paris, France
lepertti.com
We also have a thread!

 

Ascheroth

Chilling in the Megastructure
Nov 12, 2018
5,290
12,250
113
Got in the mood to play Romancing Saga 2 again.
Empress Beaver (my second generation) has successfully thwarted the Coup d'État in Cumberland and annexed the Kingdom, which seems to have unlocked the Crusader class for my next generation, nice. :blobking:
The downside is that my frontline tank Walrus took a lot of KOs and is almost gone for good :/

Now I can either take a look at the Steppe or open up the trade route in the canal.
I like this game so much (but I seem to only be able to play it in small doses, lol)
 
  • Like
Reactions: Kvik

Li Kao

It’s a strange world. Let’s keep it that way.
Jan 28, 2019
7,867
15,893
113
Uh, Path of Exile act 3 has gone from occasionnal to regular slowdowns. I can take a hint, Jeeesus.
When your 970 doesn’t cut it anymore in a diablo-like, you know that’s it.
 

BlueOdin

Dec 3, 2018
995
2,665
93
i'm just using Display Fusion with these settings:

My bookmark on wallhaven. At least 4K in size, 16:9 ratio, sort by date. First timer might change sort by date to toplist or views though.
We also have a thread!

Thanks everybody! Through combined efforts I found this one that I really like and will probably keep for a while:

 

Wok

Wok
Oct 30, 2018
4,923
13,188
113
France
After I crafted a badge, I was granted a coupon for... an anime game of the adult section of Steam... I did not know this was possible.


 
  • Like
Reactions: 「Echo」

rybrad

Junior Member
Apr 22, 2019
265
633
93
Speaking of board games, I will be playing some more Gloomhaven with friends later today. Has anyone played the early access PC version recently?


One of my friends had bought it on release and recommended to wait since it was sparse at the time, but I know they have since updated a fair amount.
PC version doesn't have any of the tabletop campaign stuff yet. I would recommend just waiting for the campaign stuff since you have already played the board game. It still feels a bit tech demo-y as of the last time I played at the start of the year. That being said, they have had a few sales on it so if you like Gloomhaven, it is probably worth picking up on sale for when the campaign comes out.
 
  • Like
Reactions: ExistentialThought

kio

MetaMember
Apr 19, 2019
1,601
5,133
113
So I finished a few games over the weekend:

I remember the reception not being positive on release but whatever they did post-launch worked because I enjoyed my time with it. It's not very long (took me 9-10h to 100%) or challenging but it's entertaining and it's quite pretty.

This one I enjoyed a lot. It's an interactive novel, not exactly a game, but the story and tone are quite striking with the perfect amount of nuance to make it relatable.

I tried but ultimately I was defeated. I can't play this thing anymore. It's trash from an era where we didn't know any better. I still finished the 1st and 2nd games but near the midway point of the 3rd I hit my limit.


I'm currently playing The Phantom Doctrine which is an interesting take on the XCOM formula with a lot more focus on stealth and human resources management than on action. It has been very good so far.
 

EdwardTivrusky

Good Morning, Weather Hackers!
Dec 8, 2018
7,394
12,478
113
kio Don't know if you've seen this but it might be useful...

 

LEANIJA

MetaMember
May 5, 2019
3,218
7,860
113
Austria
I hate uplay aaaaggh! It doesn't start anymore and reinstalling it doesn't help.

Edit: ok after uninstalling and reinstalling again it worked. Still, I have to start getting too old, now I just want everything to be on steam so I don't have to deal with other launchers.
That's what I'm telling Ubisoft whenever they push one of their "how do you like UPlay" surveys: ;)
And Uplay isn't even the worst laucher. It's probably up there with Origin and the Xbox app, and it's still garbage.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Le Pertti
OP
lashman

lashman

Dead & Forgotten
Sep 5, 2018
31,985
90,096
113
 

Futaleufu

Laughing Chojin
Mar 14, 2019
702
1,143
93
Started The Disney Afternoon collection, Rescue Rangers is okay, RR2 is trash, the worst kind of sequel possible where everything is inferior to the original game.
 

gabbo

MetaMember
Dec 22, 2018
3,524
5,570
113
Toronto
I'm currently playing The Phantom Doctrine which is an interesting take on the XCOM formula with a lot more focus on stealth and human resources management than on action. It has been very good so far.
Ive made a home on the fense about this game. Id love to hear more of your thoughts when youve completed it
 
  • Like
Reactions: kio

PC-tan

Low Tier Weeb
Jan 19, 2019
3,797
6,155
113
28
California
Hello! I am new here, I primarily play on PC and handhelds. Like pretty much any and all genres. Been playing games ever since I was little as my grandmother got me into gaming. I have seen this place have some great recommendations, so I wanted to join! :blobmorning2:

___
This past month I have played a decent amount of World of Horror and I have say I love it. It reminds me of some board games I have played such as Arkham Horror and Eldritch Horror. I am excited to see what is added to the combat rework and when mods are introduced.


Speaking of board games, I will be playing some more Gloomhaven with friends later today. Has anyone played the early access PC version recently?


One of my friends had bought it on release and recommended to wait since it was sparse at the time, but I know they have since updated a fair amount.
Did you use to be on OF? and also welcome
 

ExistentialThought

Coffee Lover ♥☕
Feb 29, 2020
1,638
5,019
113
Thank you all for the welcome!!! :coffee:

PC version doesn't have any of the tabletop campaign stuff yet. I would recommend just waiting for the campaign stuff since you have already played the board game. It still feels a bit tech demo-y as of the last time I played at the start of the year. That being said, they have had a few sales on it so if you like Gloomhaven, it is probably worth picking up on sale for when the campaign comes out.
That is definitely good to know! I will keep a close eye on when the campaign is added. Just got back home from playing a Gloomhaven session and the campaign is what I enjoy the most.

Did you use to be on OF? and also welcome
That was/is me. I still browse Gematsu here and there, though I post a lot less, it does not help this year has been crazy busy at work so far.
 

Wibblewozzer

Robot on the inside
Dec 6, 2018
1,129
1,722
113
This one I enjoyed a lot. It's an interactive novel, not exactly a game, but the story and tone are quite striking with the perfect amount of nuance to make it relatable.
I highly recommend Quarantine Circular if you liked Subsurface that much. I would think Subsurface would be the one I enjoy more since I love robots and AI, but I actually thought Quarantine was simply more interesting and overall done better. The variety of endings are also more interesting to come across since there're multiple things that factor into it and it's not just a binary final choice.

 

Kvik

Crossbell City Councillor
Dec 6, 2018
4,297
10,681
113
Downunder.
Yeah it sucks also that my rice cooker started pealing off that shit pretty much after one month and it's the only way for me to cook so I have to keep eating. Will get a new one this month, there are some that proudly say they are teflon free.:D

When I move to a proper place and can start cooking I will probably get cast iron stuff.
One month is a very short time for a rice cooker to start peeling. Are you sure you're only using the plastic spatula that come with it? Obviously you'll get light scratches after a number of years, but it'll only start peeling if you're using metal utensils against it, or it's not true non-stick-coated.
 

「Echo」

Reaper on Station。
Nov 1, 2018
2,745
7,698
113
Mt. Whatever
Ah rice cookers. I've had the same Mitsubishi one for like a decade lol. I brought it with me from Japan. Great investment considering I eat rice like 6 out of 7 days a week lol.

Also I totally forgot Animal Crossing was this month lol. So in the end I guess I have one day-1 buy for March! Well I am tempted to cancel that physical pre-order though and get a digital copy instead but... I dunno yet.
=========

ExistentialThought Welcome! o/

=========

Now quotes!

Am I the only one who doesn't get excited by huge slabs of glass? I NEED a physical keyboard (shortcuts! hotkeys! ...power... user... stuff!)... I'm super bummed that TCL won't be making a new BlackBerry phone...

After my BlackBerry Q10 I bought a Samsung Galaxy S8 Edge but the official keyboard gadget sucked beyond belief. I dropped my S8 (literally, as in "it broke") for a BlackBerry KeyOne, which I'm still rocking.
Meh. I mean, I used to be a big flip-phone stan WELL into the smartphone age but eventually I just accepted the reality of "progress."

Well that and I started to actually use smartphones for more than just calls and texts. Gaming, apps. kindle reading, streaming, etc... I wouldn't want a big keyboard getting in the way of that stuff.

I do have my eye on this current returning trend of foldable smart phones and I hope the tech keeps improving cuz it looks really neat to me.

The game seems to run at any resolution you write into its config file, so I used DSR to play it.
I wouldn't say that 5k eliminates the need for AA, but the quality is pretty good when combined with the game's normal postprocessing AA.

I actually dropped down to 4k for playing though so that I can maintain rock-solid locked 60 FPS (It would actually run at 70+, but I lock it at 60 with RTSS; Very smooth and consistent).
Ah, I see. Thank you for taking the time to reply! I only have a 1080ti, so I think if I tried downsampling I'd have to settle for 30 FPS. Unfortunately since 4K is my native resolution, my downsampling options are really limited but it's still the best form of AA far as I can see.

Really need next-gen Nvidia cards... 😓

Former 970 gang! :peekwaveblob:

Really had to get rid of it when I got a 4K TV though.

Even before then I had troubles with the VRAM. (Skyrim mods, R6 Siege Ultra textures, etc...)

Oh right, Langrisser 1&2 are out on PC on March 10th too. Hopefully the port is competent, cuz I really wanna give those games a shot.
Same here! And I'm really hoping someone in the PC community can make a mod to combine the modern UI with the old artwork. Cuz I vastly prefer the Urushihara artwork, but I do like the new modern UI. So... :face-with-cold-sweat:

[MOD] FONT FIX :: FINAL FANTASY III General Discussions
Oh god, Durante pls help Square Enix if you can.
Instead of calling UI/text font by name, as all other devs, they used Windows font variables... Which are different between Japanese and Latin-based locales.
:toucan:
I KNEW IT! I was gonna post my speculation in the last thread too but I hesitated! I think it's the same reason a lot of my physical VN's just don't work on American PC's.
 

ExistentialThought

Coffee Lover ♥☕
Feb 29, 2020
1,638
5,019
113
Same here! And I'm really hoping someone in the PC community can make a mod to combine the modern UI with the old artwork. Cuz I vastly prefer the Urushihara artwork, but I do like the new modern UI. So... :face-with-cold-sweat:
Thank you for the welcome!

You may already be aware of it, though the Langrisser I & II remake will allow you to swap to the "original" artwork like the below image, though it is still clean lines. I do wish they would just include the original games as a bonus (I wish more remakes did this since it is just fun to have the originals of classic games).


 

「Echo」

Reaper on Station。
Nov 1, 2018
2,745
7,698
113
Mt. Whatever
Thank you for the welcome!

You may already be aware of it, though the Langrisser I & II remake will allow you to swap to the "original" artwork like the below image, though it is still clean lines. I do wish they would just include the original games as a bonus (I wish more remakes did this since it is just fun to have the originals of classic games).


Yeah I know they let you switch, but I'm not sure if they let you switch just the artwork/portaits?
 

ExistentialThought

Coffee Lover ♥☕
Feb 29, 2020
1,638
5,019
113
Yeah I know they let you switch, but I'm not sure if they let you switch just the artwork/portaits?
Oh I think I see what you mean now, from the demo on Switch it looks like it is all or nothing for setting the art style, meaning the battle effects and backgrounds also change alongside the portraits.
 

Le Pertti

0.01% Game dev
Oct 10, 2018
8,579
22,011
113
45
Paris, France
lepertti.com
One month is a very short time for a rice cooker to start peeling. Are you sure you're only using the plastic spatula that come with it? Obviously you'll get light scratches after a number of years, but it'll only start peeling if you're using metal utensils against it, or it's not true non-stick-coated.
Ah yeah plastic only. It has always kind of burnt the rice but didn't stick at first but after awhile it started to stick where it burnt and that's where the marks are. Now it pretty much burns and stick to the whole bottom.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Kvik
Status
Not open for further replies.