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Worl of Warcraft



The People's Republic of Clogher
Been playing a fair bit of RDR2 Online recently.

It's not perfect yet, by any means, but it's a lot more featured than GTA5 Online was at launch. Plenty of well-acted co-op missions, single player quests plus assorted PVP activities, as well as being able to turn bandit/griefer and murder any players you see. You can even turn bounty hunter and bring those dastardly griefers to justice!

What I would like to see, however, is some kind of structure for living off the land - huntin', shootin', fishin' etc - as activities outside of the 'story' co-op stuff all seem to be variations on the 'shoot him', 'recover/steal this', 'escort them' type. You can still do all those things for a monetary reward but nothing more. You can't tame and sell wild horses either, well, you can tame them but they're pretty useless as they will never become your main horse.

Rockstar are pretty generous about dolling out gold, their paid currency, to players on a regular basis and I've not ever felt the need to actually use my own money when buying cosmetics.
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"Critics are like eunuchs in a harem; they know how the Tatty 100 is done, they've seen it done every day, but they're unable to do it themselves." - Brendan Behan



Welcome to the human race...
I finished the main quest for OG Red Dead Redemption the other day. It ended about how I expected the story to end considering its place between the GTA IV and GTA V, though I still have two separate save files set up for before and after anyway. Now I'm about 97.4% complete and wondering how badly I want to get to 100% - and also whether or not I want to play Undead Nightmare.

Now I'm trying to decide if I want to move onto the second one straight away or try something different.
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I really just want you all angry and confused the whole time.
Iro's Top 100 Movies v3.0



We've gone on holiday by mistake
I stopped playing Future Perfect when it went offline for PS2.

Beat God of War II and it's a sweet game.

Beat GH3, now tackling Expert, got 4 more songs to go.

I'm a big online guy.

I play Socom 3
COD2
BF 2 -PS2

online right now.
I love online stuff too. The Internet is great
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That elusive hide-and-seek cow is at it again
RDR2: mounting a horse is apparently the same button as punching one in the face. That's helpful. Ive been kicked now twice.



The People's Republic of Clogher
RDR2: mounting a horse is apparently the same button as punching one in the face. That's helpful. Ive been kicked now twice.
Yep, the control scheme is .... idiosyncratic to say the least.



28 days...6 hours...42 minutes...12 seconds
EAGERLY awaiting this game. Played so many hours on the original.

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"A laugh can be a very powerful thing. Why, sometimes in life, it's the only weapon we have."

Suspect's Reviews



That elusive hide-and-seek cow is at it again
Alright. I've gotten past the REALLY LONG INTRO missions I guess and I'm on my own now to do whatever. Pacing is a lot more comfortable now, but still missions act more as cut scenes with a few prompted button presses than a mission. It's nice on one level, but frustrating sitting through all the 'acting.' It looks great though! I'm just glad that I can still ride around shooting critters. Keeping vitals in check isn't nearly as taxing as I expected it would be.

Don't worry, I have no desire to keep posting random commentary on this game. There's more than enough of that (and properly done) earlier on in this thread. I may drop a few more posts as I get into it, but not a diary. I did get a laugh out of the Arthur and Lenny saloon mission. That was VERY well done!
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"My Dionne Warwick understanding of your dream indicates that you are ambivalent on how you want life to eventually screw you." - Joel

"Ever try to forcibly pin down a house cat? It's not easy." - Captain Steel

"I just can't get pass sticking a finger up a dog's butt." - John Dumbear



The Adventure Starts Here!
Hey, @Golgot !

I'm still slowly wading into VR with my Oculus Rift. Just played another game that doesn't have fluid smooth motion, but rather point a blue line at something, click and go there. The two games I've seen with this so far both say they were created with VR in mind (and not retrofitted).

I'm curious now if there are a lot of games like this out there. Honestly, the new one (ZED), I tried in VR first but that stupid point-the-laser-beam motion was so off-putting that I gave up and went to the regular PC version, which has a typical WASD walking motion. FAR more fluid and natural, and therefore actually more immersive than the VR headset with the laser beam pointing for motion.

Do you find this to be true, too? It's impossible to get lost in the world if you've got frickin' laser beams on your hands.



there's a frog in my snake oil
Hey, @Golgot !

I'm still slowly wading into VR with my Oculus Rift. Just played another game that doesn't have fluid smooth motion, but rather point a blue line at something, click and go there. The two games I've seen with this so far both say they were created with VR in mind (and not retrofitted).
Teleportation was the primary locomotion technique in most early games, and is still the 'go to' crutch for a lot of games that err on the side of caution. It's the easiest to implement essentially, and definitely won't cause nausea etc.

And yeah I really hate it. The transportation jolt completely undoes all the smooth head-tracking that places you in the moment in the first place.

I can get along with it if the game's good enough. (Say in a decent puzzle game, where you tend to zap around a larger space, but spend time in each corner of it turning things over). If it's a more 'action orientated' game, or one with lots of transit, it becomes totally counter-productive though for sure, unless they've built the whole game around it. (Robo Recall kinda works on that front, for example).

I always check the game description to see what motion options they've got, although the vernacular is still up in the air. The other option to avoid is 'head tracked' motion - IE you have to look where you want to go. (So you've got the beautiful, dinosaur-filled Crysis world of Robinson: The Journey, but you can't amble over to towards the mountain pass while simultaneously looking over at the baby dinos gambolling by the forest's edge. Totally undoes all the world building & 'placing you in the moment' efforts. They build this wide vista, then force you to focus on the tiny bit of it you're moving towards. It's mighty meh :/)

For novel locomotion try:
  • Echo Arena or Mission: ISS [both free]. Spaceman zero-G manoeuvring using your hands alone. (Definitely find the airlock and go for a space walk in ISS )
  • Vivecraft / Skyrim / Fallout 4 for examples of the 'controller led' movement that lets you walk freely amongst open worlds without nausea.
  • Aircar [free] - Just because it's a good test of your VR legs, and very evocative. Flying around a Blade Runner city with zippy roll & yaw.

Probably best to find your own fave motion prefs though ultimately. (If you can stomach classic 'stick motion' then you've got more iron than me )
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Virtual Reality chatter on a movie site? Got endless amounts of it here. Reviews over here



The People's Republic of Clogher



Found a copy for Devil's Crush cheap on EBAY spent almost all night playing it on my Turbographx-16
Have you seen Demon's Tilt? Still in early access but it looks pretty neat.





The Adventure Starts Here!
Teleportation was the primary locomotion technique in most early games, and is still the 'go to' crutch for a lot of games that err on the side of caution. It's the easiest to implement essentially, and definitely won't cause nausea etc.

And yeah I really hate it. The transportation jolt completely undoes all the smooth head-tracking that places you in the moment in the first place.

I can get along with it if the game's good enough. (Say in a decent puzzle game, where you tend to zap around a larger space, but spend time in each corner of it turning things over). If it's a more 'action orientated' game, or one with lots of transit, it becomes totally counter-productive though for sure, unless they've built the whole game around it. (Robo Recall kinda works on that front, for example).

I always check the game description to see what motion options they've got, although the vernacular is still up in the air. The other option to avoid is 'head tracked' motion - IE you have to look where you want to go. (So you've got the beautiful, dinosaur-filled Crysis world of Robinson: The Journey, but you can't amble over to towards the mountain pass while simultaneously looking over at the baby dinos gambolling by the forest's edge. Totally undoes all the world building & 'placing you in the moment' efforts. They build this wide vista, then force you to focus on the tiny bit of it you're moving towards. It's mighty meh :/)

For novel locomotion try:
  • Echo Arena or Mission: ISS [both free]. Spaceman zero-G manoeuvring using your hands alone. (Definitely find the airlock and go for a space walk in ISS )
  • Vivecraft / Skyrim / Fallout 4 for examples of the 'controller led' movement that lets you walk freely amongst open worlds without nausea.
  • Aircar [free] - Just because it's a good test of your VR legs, and very evocative. Flying around a Blade Runner city with zippy roll & yaw.

Probably best to find your own fave motion prefs though ultimately. (If you can stomach classic 'stick motion' then you've got more iron than me )
After I wrote my post, I learned that the term I wanted was "teleportation." Apparently NOT "frickin' laser beam motion."

I'm unsure what "stick motion" is, though. The games I can play fairly easily right now are not action-oriented at all. (IRL I can get motion sickness way too easily.) So, the mouse game MOSS is about my speed. What kind of motion is that? I move the controller stick around and a little mouse on the screen moves (not me). Other games I like are sillier... probably for smaller kids. (I have to wade into this tech slowly.)

One tech question about the headset: If the images I'm seeing are a little fuzzy around the edges, what is causing that? Is that a graphics card issue, or an issue with the position of the two sensors (I have only the original two, not three)...or something else?



there's a frog in my snake oil
After I wrote my post, I learned that the term I wanted was "teleportation." Apparently NOT "frickin' laser beam motion."

I'm unsure what "stick motion" is, though. The games I can play fairly easily right now are not action-oriented at all. (IRL I can get motion sickness way too easily.) So, the mouse game MOSS is about my speed. What kind of motion is that? I move the controller stick around and a little mouse on the screen moves (not me). Other games I like are sillier... probably for smaller kids. (I have to wade into this tech slowly.)
Yeah by stick motion I mean standard stick control of the player, but specifically when applied to yourself. IE that's where 80% of people experience some form of motion sickness.

That's why teleport is such a path of least resistance for devs. It solves the problem. (Even if it's totally sub-optimal as an experience).

If stick is an option in the next first-person game you try have a go, but there's a solid chance you'll feel off after a while. It's mainly when you rotate your virtual body / perspective that your real limbic system rebels. (Your ears are good at measuring rotation, and acceleration, so your body knows you're not actually rotating, and seems to assume you've been poisoned, and may need to evacuate the cause )

A good place to play around would be the Vivecraft mod for Minecraft. It's free, painless to add, and has a ton of movement options. Try the controller-led option there (however they word it), and see how that feels in comparison to stick.

One tech question about the headset: If the images I'm seeing are a little fuzzy around the edges, what is causing that? Is that a graphics card issue, or an issue with the position of the two sensors (I have only the original two, not three)...or something else?
Have you done the set up bit in the settings menu? (Looking at a green cross to make sure horiz & vert lines are clear?).

Could be you haven't set the IPD right. You can measure it yourself with a ruler (it's the distance between the middle of your eyes, in mm). Or check on your optician's report if you've got one. Go back to that Oculus menu setting and you can physically adjust it (using the slider on the underside of the headset) and see if the vert lines look better. Could help.

If none of that clears it up then it's just the resolution of the screen, and/or the amount of aliasing your card is capable of. (There are some things that can be done, but most involve GPU grunt, or messing with the settings on every game you play).



The Adventure Starts Here!
Oh, I tried that Minecraft mod and couldn't handle it. For some reason, being INSIDE Minecraft freaked me out too much. That was psychological, though. I admit it looked cool.

I've played a few kids'-type games that are first person. I'm assuming they're purposely cheerier and low-level and slow, so I can handle those. I would NOT want to play anything shooter-related in VR. I can barely handle it in 2D PC mode.

I thought I had that physical slider on the headset properly adjusted but perhaps I don't. I'll go through your list of things to try before I decide that it's my graphics card. Would rather not upgrade the card at this point.



“I was cured, all right!”
Just bought all Splinter Cell games available on Steam. Can't wait to dig this franchise. Beat MGS Twin Snakes last night. A hell of a remake. Now, I'll finally have free time after work (at least for the next two months). Lots of games to play.

Also:

I need more power!



That elusive hide-and-seek cow is at it again
WOW! That looks awesome lol.
Great details too! The fabric around the neck waving in the breeze, the shaking of the screen when hit, sliding past your enemy without taking damage, catching the ledge when falling, and that sort of fatality kill at the end of that first group, it all looks so fun!