SteamGridDB users don't disappoint :LUL:
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SteamGridDB users don't disappoint :LUL:
Something for horror fans
Say what now? There have been multiple tests by so many people showing how much of a drain on system resources denuvo is, thus negatively impacting game performance. So yes, it is notoriously shite. It eventually gets cracked and those pirates get to play with the luxuries of not having this trash piece of malware bogging down their system and gaming performance. I'm not sure why u have a hard-on for them when it's so anti-consumer it literally shits on your system.
Denuvo is supposed to have a ~5% performance impact, and most games fall within that range. The only real aberration is that some implementations experience loadtime increases. But isn't constant since many Denuvo games have excellent loadtimes. It's an effective anti-tamper that holds up extremely well in many cases.
The last Denuvo game to get cracked was about 6 months ago, I believe. There are older games such as Anno which have remained uncracked for over a year. It's very impressive work.
Except that isn't true at all. Cracking Denuvo doesn't remove Denuvo. It just bypasses it. There is only one case of Denuvo being removed from the exe by crackers, which was Assassin's Creed: Origins. This had no impact on performance and the Denuvo version ran faster in some tests. Just general randomness.
Punkbuster is 20 years old. BattlEye is 16 years old. They've been using drivers since the mid-late 2000s. There is nothing to normalize.
Call of Duty from 2007 uses a "kernel level anti-cheat" called PunkBuster. (Nostalgia, eh.) If you go back and look at old forums, some anti-virus issued false positives for PB. But people didn't lose their minds, even though PB was way less robust and secure than modern solutions. Especially since the nasty RCE vulnerabilities in Call of Duty games were in the game itself, not the anti-cheat.
At the end of the day, cheats regularly operate in kernel space. A user-space anti-cheat is powerless to detect them. There are some workarounds such as reporting systems paired with manual review of match playback, if the engine supports that. Valve use machine learning in an attempt to figure out cheater-like behavior within the game itself. But VAC can't detect a lot of common cheating avenues due to its level of access. This is why installing a driver to monitor system status has been the normal approach for many years now, with nary an issue. It's only in the past month or so that people suddenly got up in arms about it.
It's not (just) environmental storytelling. It's also the natural interplay between mechanics and world, a density of interesting ideas, playing on expectations, the balance between abstraction mand specificity, economy of design in spatial terms and layering of play or lore or indeed environmental storytelling.Many, many games do this. Hell, most of them do. Environmental storytelling isn't rocket science. They just don't all have a Vaati video dedicated to each. It's nothing new and it's a little weird to imply they don't.
None of these are unique to this series, obviously, but the way in which it comes together so cohesively is not very common. One game that comes to mind is FEZ, which also strikes an incredible balance between between all of its components, elevating it far beyond the sum of its parts. From what I’ve played, there are just a few games like this.
Perhaps I should’ve been more specific because From themselves couldn’t replicate it as elegantly as they did in DS1. And that’s also far from a perfect game itself.
Call me weird, but I don't think a lot of games do it quite like that and so well. But if you have a few examples, I'm all ears. Always looking for something fresh to play!
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I've created a video about my problems with Steam and my ISP (Vodafone). No idea how else to proof to them that it's not my system or Steam in general.
Could I ask you guys to give it a watch (I know it's boring!), maybe there is a slight possibility for them to react if the video gets a couple of views
(I'm not an Influencer nor am I making money of videos. I'm normally just uploading my own benchmarks to YT so that I have an easy way to compare hardware after upgrading. Nobody really cares for that, rightfully so. And my goal is not to become a YouTuber. )
Could I ask you guys to give it a watch (I know it's boring!), maybe there is a slight possibility for them to react if the video gets a couple of views
(I'm not an Influencer nor am I making money of videos. I'm normally just uploading my own benchmarks to YT so that I have an easy way to compare hardware after upgrading. Nobody really cares for that, rightfully so. And my goal is not to become a YouTuber. )
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I believe it was Mor who got a reply from the developer about this, that said he is working on a big content update, and that when it's ready the game will launch on Steam.
The developer gave me the following reply about the same matter:
«I'm currently working on a big new update and want to wrap it up before the wider PC release, so it'll launch with the best possible version. Unfortunately, I don't quite have a date yet as to when it'll be ready, but I appreciate your patience. »
So, please don't forget to thank EGS users for beta testing the game for the rest of us.
Saturdays > Fridays > Sundays > Tuesdays > Wednesdays > Thursdays > Mondays
And now I'm having the same problem with Game Pass and Uplay. Slow without, fast with a VPN connection.
WHAT THE F*!
What's the next step? Block my VPN connection.
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My last post about my personal troubles, I get it, it's too off topic. But I'm cooking inside.
How are you, as a costumer supposed to protect yourself?
WHAT THE F*!
What's the next step? Block my VPN connection.
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My last post about my personal troubles, I get it, it's too off topic. But I'm cooking inside.
How are you, as a costumer supposed to protect yourself?
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For those looking for some NISA games, if you are a Humble subscriber, do check their current sale:
www.humblebundle.com
With the additional discount, many of these games have a 80%+ discount, and are cheap as hell (and surely cheaper than what these will cost on the next Steam sale):
A few examples:
www.humblebundle.com
www.humblebundle.com
www.humblebundle.com
www.humblebundle.com
www.humblebundle.com
www.humblebundle.com
www.humblebundle.com
Do note I linked to the "deluxe" and "limited" editions of the games.
If you just want the game, with no soundtracks or artbooks, the games alone are even cheaper than these.
The Humble Store: Great games. Fantastic prices. Support charity.
Choose from thousands of games for PC, Mac, Linux, and Android while supporting a charity of your choice. New games added every day!
www.humblebundle.com
With the additional discount, many of these games have a 80%+ discount, and are cheap as hell (and surely cheaper than what these will cost on the next Steam sale):
A few examples:
Buy The 25th Ward: The Silver Case Digital Limited Edition from the Humble Store
Limited EditionThe Limited Edition of The 25th Ward: The Silver Case includes the following: Game Digital Art Book Digital Soundtrack SummaryIt is five years since the events of 1999’s “The Silver Case,” set in the new 25th Ward that arose in the bayside area of Kanto. In a room of the “Bayside...
www.humblebundle.com
Buy Stranger of Sword City from the Humble Store
After your plane flies through a strange rift and crashes, you awake under an unfamiliar sky. This is Sword City, a dark fantasy world that combines magic and technology. Explore, level up, make a perfect team, and slay monsters. But choose your allies carefully if you want to find a way home...
www.humblebundle.com
The Humble Store: Great games. Fantastic prices. Support charity.
Operation Abyss: New Tokyo Legacy Digital Limited Edition includes: Operation Abyss: New Tokyo Legacy game Digital Art Book Digital Soundtrack ©EXPERIENCE ©MAGES./5pb. Licensed to and published by NIS America, Inc. All rights reserved.
www.humblebundle.com
Buy Phantom Brave PC: Digital Chroma Edition from the Humble Store
This bundle includes Phantom Brave PC (game) and the digital art book.SummaryOn a small, lonely island in Ivoire lives Ash, a Phantom who lost his life in battle, and Marona, who has the ability to communicate with Phantoms. Sometimes, Marona receives Bottlemails that float along the sea.Marona...
www.humblebundle.com
Buy PSYCHO-PASS: Mandatory Happiness Digital Alpha Edition from the Humble Store
The ultimate PSYCHO-PASS gaming experience arrives! The PSYCHO-PASS: Mandatory Happiness Digital Alpha Edition contains both the game as well as the comprehensive art book. In the world of the Sibyl System, where human emotions and criminal behavior are all quantified in a number known as the...
www.humblebundle.com
Buy The Longest Five Minutes Digital Limited Edition from the Humble Store
Purchase a copy of The Longest Five Minutes Digital Limited Edition! Includes: The Longest Five Minutes The Longest Five Minutes - Digital Art Booklet The Longest Five Minutes - Digital Soundtrack SummaryOur hero faces the origin of all evil, the Overlord himself, but suddenly loses all memories...
www.humblebundle.com
Buy htoL#NiQ: The Firefly Diary from the Humble Store
At the bottom of an old ruin, a young girl named Mion awakens with no memory of how she arrived at this dreadful place. Guided by two fireflies, Mion must solve puzzles, outwit monsters, and avoid traps to escape the darkness! In htoL#NiQ: The Firefly Diary, you will guide Mion's escape from her...
www.humblebundle.com
Do note I linked to the "deluxe" and "limited" editions of the games.
If you just want the game, with no soundtracks or artbooks, the games alone are even cheaper than these.
Sounds like it perfectly on topic to me!
But yeah sucks that they are doing something like that. Maybe its something Steam does? Like how netflix didnt allow HD content in Europe?
Sometimes, it happens. For instance, I had to use a VPN to download some softwares (or Linux distribution, if I remember right), otherwise my speed was abysmal. I don't think that it is necessarily your ISP's decision. It could be congested paths on the Internet, and as Durante suggested, using the VPN makes you use other paths.
Something similar happened with Youtube and the ISP called "Free" in France: Pourquoi YouTube est-il si lent pour les abonnés Free ? (in French)
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Hello, that's indeed what happened, game is supposed to get a new update before releasing on Steam but it is indeed a timed exclusive, this is the mail, BTWI believe it was Mor who got a reply from the developer about this, that said he is working on a big content update, and that when it's ready the game will launch on Steam.
The developer gave me the following reply about the same matter:
«I'm currently working on a big new update and want to wrap it up before the wider PC release, so it'll launch with the best possible version. Unfortunately, I don't quite have a date yet as to when it'll be ready, but I appreciate your patience. »
So, please don't forget to thank EGS users for beta testing the game for the rest of us.
Sure, it's for two weeks now. And it is getting worse. Something is going on at their end and I need to proof that it's them and not me.
But why does a VPN sitting between my ISP and Steam helps to bring transfer speeds up in singificant ways then?
Those first 2 minutes are heartbreaking. Interesting history video overall though!
Don't waste your braincells on it.
Just keel over in laughter when the nerds try to hide their disappointment in how it performs on PS5 and XSX
THIS IS NEXT GEN!!!!!!
next gen releases, games look about the same with extra bells and whistles
WHERE ARE THE REAL NEXT GEN GAMES????????
Hey, it's Sunday ! What better ways to pass time on a SUNDAY than to yet AGAIN answer the key seller that sold me a beta key ?
So they contacted the real seller and he assures them the beta key is just like a regular key ! Gee, I was so sure he would tell them he sold a fraudulent product.
So I will send them the two steamdb links which show the beta key is not fully like the regular game, and wait patiently for Paypal to act.
So they contacted the real seller and he assures them the beta key is just like a regular key ! Gee, I was so sure he would tell them he sold a fraudulent product.
So I will send them the two steamdb links which show the beta key is not fully like the regular game, and wait patiently for Paypal to act.
You don't need to prove a thing. Just keep writing "I was sold a full key, this is a beta key" over and over. Regardless of what it activates, you were sold a regular key and what the seller actually provided wasn't a regular key, end of story
Well, I just got 3 lovers and my wife pregnant at the same time in CK2.
OP
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The Paradox sale reminded me that I wanted to pick up Planetfall since launch but never did. Is it worth it?
OP
I'm personally (so, it's worth zilch, eh) very wary of strategy games that have playable combats. It really didn't gel with me on Endless Legend or Total Warhammer 1.
OP
As much as I hate Denuvo and DRM as a whole, I did a research and have to agree with Aelphaeis Mangarae that this whole situation with Doom Eternal anti-cheat is overblown. Made a video about it:
In short, I'm not denying that this sudden addition of kernel-level anti-cheat 2 months after the game release is a shitty thing to do. But I can't find any proof that this new Denuvo anti-cheat is an actual malware and from what it looks it's really not that different from other anti-cheats that existed for ages before. I fully support you some of you don't want to install this crap on your PC, but that fearmongering and overreaction about this Denuvo anti-cheat will do more harm than good. So yeah, let's not spread the misinformation about Denuvo anti-cheat and better try to find a solid proof that it's actually doing something suspicious. Then it'll be a lot easier to fight against it and prevent other companies from using it.
In short, I'm not denying that this sudden addition of kernel-level anti-cheat 2 months after the game release is a shitty thing to do. But I can't find any proof that this new Denuvo anti-cheat is an actual malware and from what it looks it's really not that different from other anti-cheats that existed for ages before. I fully support you some of you don't want to install this crap on your PC, but that fearmongering and overreaction about this Denuvo anti-cheat will do more harm than good. So yeah, let's not spread the misinformation about Denuvo anti-cheat and better try to find a solid proof that it's actually doing something suspicious. Then it'll be a lot easier to fight against it and prevent other companies from using it.
With all due respect, you are describing storytelling through item description, a few sparse npc and environmental storytelling. I should be open and disclose that I dislike the souls games in many aspects, what I believe is overinflated praise of simple aspects is one of them. It's not against you, I just don't think it is intellectually honest to say this is something no other games do. From Hyper Light Drifter to Divinity 2, from Baldur's Gate to Outcast, deep world and stories are everywhere.
I'm not even sure what economy of spatial design translates to that is virtuous for instance. Many of From's games' decisions come from limited budgets for instance. What they achieve with it through conscious decisions is admirable but the design itself is not intrinsically incredible.
Point is, I get the feeling that what you want are worlds silently narrated rather than actively engaging you. Of course Hollow Knight is the easy pick, as is HLD. Caves of Qud come to mind as well. Brothers: A tale of two sons might be interesting to you as well and, in a weird way, The Witness as well.
Again, I am not attacking you and if you find joy in these games then you are lucky to have found something so much more of is going to be made. I just don't agree with putting down everyone else and acting as if they are doing it wrong, or rather, differently.
What did your research entail? You have the tech know how to discover and exploit software vulnerabilities where/if they exist? Or just google? It's not clear.
To add the only time I see these "your pc will blow up" arguments is when people defend the shit to blanket any opposition as absurd but oh well, whatever.
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I'm sorry but this comes off as rather dismissive and condescending toward people who have issues with it completely unlike the idea that it is "malware", which I don't recall anyone here saying.
The very specific problem is that kernel drivers are a huge escalation of privilege that not every user agrees to, very understandably. Such software needs to be hardened and the industry isn't known for its rigor. Case in point, reports of this update ruining performance for users.
The wider problem is that this capability gives power to the industry over the user, removing its ability to circumvent whatever bullshit it might try to pull next. This is the stated goal of this denuvo anti-cheat with MTs for instance. The uproar is both because of what Riot pulled and how Bethesda shoved this down its customer's throat.
There is a point to be made that kernel drivers are required for effective anti-cheat. I don't know that I agree with it but the issue here is that the industry has grown increasingly abusive of its users and we are seeing two bad actors step out of these driver's mandate : to prevent cheating and not interfere in any way with the user's hardware. To be secure and safe. Riot and Beth respectively made something technically incompetent and for purposes other than reducing cheating.
That is why the outrage is justified. Not to mention that just because abuse happened in the past doesn't make it not okay to protest today. MTs and DRM are good examples.
I don't know why but these horror games with these kind of graphics feels scarier to me than a lot of newer stuff.
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So, yesterday I played (and finished my first playthrough) of Hero must die. again.
I was completely unaware of this game launching, and mostly bought it because I noticed it was done by Pyramid (who did the DARIUSBURST series of shmups).
It's an interesting take on JRPGs, for sure.
First of all, a single playthrough is 2-3 hours, which is great for a guy that struggles to find time for long game sessions.
Your character has 5 days left to live, and basically, you try to do as much as you can during your finite life.
Naturally, you won't get to see everything in a single playthrough. But, completing quests in a previous playthrough will help you on the next ones (either by making the requisites of certain quests or objectives easier to accomplish, by having certain new quests available to you, and more). The game has 50+ endings, and you surely need quite a few playthroughs to get to see most of the content.
Second, instead of getting better, and stronger, in your path to the "final" battle/boss like in most RPGs, things are reversed here. The game starts in the final boss battle. Your character has all the money possible, the best equipment, and maximum hit points and mana points. Instead, your character will grow weaker as time passes (you will gradually lose hit points and mana points, you will need to change your equipment for weaker one since it will start feeling too heavy for your character, ...).
There's quite a few interesting things going on.
The gameplay isn't terribly deep (but enjoyable), but it basically makes you manage the time you have left, and make decisions that will affect not only what you will get to accomplish in a playthrough, but also the legacy that you are leaving when you die.
In a way, this is Groundhog Day, the JRPG.
You will keep repeating these 5 days. Your results will be different, considering your choices, your party, and what you will prioritize.
So far, things have been ending in a rather bleak way. In this game, vanishing the bad guys isn't necessarily a way to get a fairy tale ending, because, for example, the lack of a villain may mean that the different races will stop cooperating, and start turning against one another.
The game is well worth a look, if you want to try something a bit different.
And, I have to mention Kenji Ito's (composer on the Mana and SaGa series, among other works) soundtrack to the game.
The main theme of the game is rather epic. Great stuff.
You can hear some of it in the (somewhat crappy) trailer below, starting at: 1:03:
I was completely unaware of this game launching, and mostly bought it because I noticed it was done by Pyramid (who did the DARIUSBURST series of shmups).
It's an interesting take on JRPGs, for sure.
First of all, a single playthrough is 2-3 hours, which is great for a guy that struggles to find time for long game sessions.
Your character has 5 days left to live, and basically, you try to do as much as you can during your finite life.
Naturally, you won't get to see everything in a single playthrough. But, completing quests in a previous playthrough will help you on the next ones (either by making the requisites of certain quests or objectives easier to accomplish, by having certain new quests available to you, and more). The game has 50+ endings, and you surely need quite a few playthroughs to get to see most of the content.
Second, instead of getting better, and stronger, in your path to the "final" battle/boss like in most RPGs, things are reversed here. The game starts in the final boss battle. Your character has all the money possible, the best equipment, and maximum hit points and mana points. Instead, your character will grow weaker as time passes (you will gradually lose hit points and mana points, you will need to change your equipment for weaker one since it will start feeling too heavy for your character, ...).
There's quite a few interesting things going on.
The gameplay isn't terribly deep (but enjoyable), but it basically makes you manage the time you have left, and make decisions that will affect not only what you will get to accomplish in a playthrough, but also the legacy that you are leaving when you die.
In a way, this is Groundhog Day, the JRPG.
You will keep repeating these 5 days. Your results will be different, considering your choices, your party, and what you will prioritize.
So far, things have been ending in a rather bleak way. In this game, vanishing the bad guys isn't necessarily a way to get a fairy tale ending, because, for example, the lack of a villain may mean that the different races will stop cooperating, and start turning against one another.
The game is well worth a look, if you want to try something a bit different.
And, I have to mention Kenji Ito's (composer on the Mana and SaGa series, among other works) soundtrack to the game.
The main theme of the game is rather epic. Great stuff.
You can hear some of it in the (somewhat crappy) trailer below, starting at: 1:03:
Unrelated to anything I've finally started on a personal project I've been attempting for years. Originally I thought the only way I would accomplish it is writing some custom application, but instead I decided to learn a bunch of specific Excel functionality to make it work for now (might still do the app at some point). I'm going to try to make a list of my top XXX games of all time.
This already has had the benefit of giving me insight to my own opinions! Like I'm realizing that while I'm mostly right about my opinions of games, I'm noticing that there are a few modern/recent games that could slot into my top 100 games of all times.
Without ever trying to look at things comparatively and objectively I didn't think that would be the case.
This already has had the benefit of giving me insight to my own opinions! Like I'm realizing that while I'm mostly right about my opinions of games, I'm noticing that there are a few modern/recent games that could slot into my top 100 games of all times.
Without ever trying to look at things comparatively and objectively I didn't think that would be the case.
There is a shocking lack of animu girls in the actual gameplay for as many as are on the title screen there...
I didn't want to be sound dismissive and people who don't like this have my full support. I just said that those kernel drivers existed long before Riot and Denuvo anti-cheats, like Easy Anti-Cheat, Punkbuster, BattlEye and others, and I don't remember anyone standing up against them that furiously. Here is a good article about what kernel-level anti-cheat does - Why anti-cheat software utilize kernel drivers
I criticize Bethesda for forcing everyone to install this anti-cheat even if people don't want to play multiplayer. I don't like this myself and would rather not install this shit on my PC. But let's not let emotions take over reason, and if you want to fight against kernel anti-cheats as a whole, then let's also boycott every game that has Easy Anti-Cheat and others, no need to stop just on Doom Eternal and Valorant. This is what bothers me in this situation the most, suddenly people started to care about the kernel-level thing like Riot and Denuvo invented this crap, but it's not true and that's what I'm talking about. This is a worrying trend indeed and I would hate to see more games using this stuff, but people need to have a clear understanding of this whole situation, and that's what I've tried to do, to clear everything up. I know that not everyone will agree with me, but I don't want to blindly jump on the hate train despite being against this precedent, and everyone is free to make their own judgment about this whole situation after hearing my point of view.
But that is not what I said. Again, I mean no insult but please read my post. I'm on mobile and can't really summon up the energy to type it again.
In a nutshell it's not about kernel drivers by themselves. It's about drivers used for purposes outside of their purview and in technically incompetent ways. It is about who writes these drivers in an industry increasingly hostile to the consumer, and whether they should be trusted.
That is of course a rhetorical question considering the shit they are up to and the state these drivers shipped in. It is dangerous and unacceptable to do what both Beth and Riot did. The risk for abuse of this capability is exactly why the outrage isn't overblown.
Played the CK 2 learning scenario for about 4 hours today, so I quit and decided to play the actual game now (as in, not the learning scenario).
I don't understand everything I do, but it's really fun and it's really grabbing me.
I don't understand everything I do, but it's really fun and it's really grabbing me.
There's a lot easier ways to prevent players to cheat with microtransactions than adding anti-cheat. In AC: Origins you could have cheat the currency and get infinite lootboxes, but in AC: Odyssey it was are server stored so it was impossible to cheat this time. Companies can force microtransactions in a lot less intrusive way than adding kernel-level anti-cheat. So yeah, there's a lot of "What if" regarding this situation, and believe me, I'm expecting the worse from this industry. But again, kernel-level anti-cheats existed long before Riot and Beth decided to do that, and yet no one used them in the ways you've described as far as I know. You are right for standing up against this, and I was talking more about spreading unconfirmed info and less about concerns that companies can do something worse.
I'm totally enamored with 32-bit inspired modern indies.
There's just something about them that feels both retro & fresh.
Feels like I'm always on the lookout for more accomplished Playstation 1 indies.
Really dig the horror ones. I'm still patiently waiting on Stay Out of the House from premier devs Puppet Combo.
But what I really want is an open-world, sandbox PS1-inspired indie. Just something where I can get out there and free-roam explore a gloriously lo-fi PS1 landscape. Seem to have trouble finding those.
Got close with Autogeny but that game is a bit too obscure and directionless for its own good.
The quest continues.
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