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Weirdly I didn't have much trouble with the mechanics, though it sure seems like it'd be easy to. I guess a few issues here and there but I think I unconsciously picked up on a few of the rules (stand right next to something or right under something to make it big when you pick it up) fairly early on. Thankfully didn't spend much time wrestling with mechanics compared to figuring out concepts. But there's some of that.



That elusive hide-and-seek cow is at it again
I'm entering my fourth week without a game. I wonder if I'm phasing out and into other things. That happens with me. I'm into something for a few months then it's off near completely for months to years at a time before circling back around to it. I suppose I'm just preoccupied with the PC build for now. That and the flue last week has really kept me tethered to a small 10' shuffle in my house before I get winded. Man.

I did notice over the holidays Spiderman was like 20 bucks, and the Batman collection dropped again to 15. Both are probably back to like 89 now, or whatever they retailed on release.
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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



That elusive hide-and-seek cow is at it again
Started The Witcher 3. Not entirely sure why.
Still playing? Thoughts? I really didn't care for much of it at first but it has grown on me in the second zone; enough to keep with it, if I ever get my system back up.



Welcome to the human race...
Still playing? Thoughts? I really didn't care for much of it at first but it has grown on me in the second zone; enough to keep with it, if I ever get my system back up.
I don't think I've touched it at all since making that post.
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I really just want you all angry and confused the whole time.
Iro's Top 100 Movies v3.0



The People's Republic of Clogher
For the last week I have been mainly playing Pokemon Sword. Not properly played a Pokemon game since the OG Gameboy.

I really like it.
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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



there's a frog in my snake oil
This works in classic-land too, so I'm slapping it here

Second Look: Subnautica

OK the survival loops swept me away this time. It was 2am when I surfaced :/



Lost in Loops:

The core game (right now) is the way you extend the depths you can dive too, unearthing more exotic loot as you go, and discovering greater threats amongst the reeds and radiation.

Balancing your greed and inquisitiveness against the need to ascend is a fun tension. The dynamics can change, as you descend below 100m (and burn through your compressed O2), meaning the 30-second-warning is no longer quite long enough...

Pushing it too far as you ferret through a crashed ship section, or plunge deeper into an inviting cave, is super easily done. Streaking upwards towards the slanting sunbeams, thrumming with 'not gonna make it' thoughts, breaching the surface while nearly unconscious, is all pretty striking at times




Familiar Territory:

Cool as it is to reach the safety of your floating base, or gird yourself for greater survival and adventure... The best bit so far has been the way you get to know the wildlife around you, and get a feel for the local biomes, noting striking locations for future exploration.

The audio is solid, cuing you in to whether that giant basking seal thing has just released its distress defence, or alerting you that a dino-shark creation is speeding out of its reedy den towards you. Which is handy, because you can't face everywhere at once . So it's cool that you can also hear the minor grunting that means the seal-thing is just chilling beside you, as you navigate to your next target...


Story Mode All The Way:

Definitely a lot more fun in 'story' mode rather than 'survival'. (As easy as it is to snag colourful fish, actually squeezing sustenance out of them is just needless busy work )

There are enough loot/craft loops and lurking threats to keep you occupied as it is, as you nudge the narrative along, and the food stuff just repeats the worst of those mechanics really. And besides, you've got bigger fish to spy



VR :
  • You need your VR legs to imitate those sea legs, to a degree. Any scampering around your tiny base is done with the stick.
  • 'Head look' underwater has no nausea threat, but brings its own issues. Want to swim straight down? Kinda have to stare at your own crotch for a bit then... Want to swim up as fast as possible? You'll be craning at your ceiling.... (Possibly there are alternatives for this, but I haven't found them yet )
  • Generally though: Claustrophobic caves filled with explosive puffer fish? Giant ocean sunlight shafts? Shifting lights as you descend towards a possible jewel in the darkening depths? Yeah, all that stuff works pretty good
  • (Would still lurrrrvv hand controls in this, for defensive knife-fencing with sharks, and torch shining, and directing your free-floating forays. But it ain't happening, so this'll do )



New clues concerning one of FG's upcoming games...





Some think it's a Soma sequel.



Being playing a lot of CoD: Modern Warfare lately.



Ha SMG guy huh, I play with the AUG sometimes, this year I like the Kilo141 and the RAM-7 AR but I got most kills with an LMG PKM 83 kills / 16 deaths in Domination .



“I was cured, all right!”
Ha SMG guy huh, I play with the AUG sometimes, this year I like the Kilo141 and the RAM-7 AR but I got most kills with an LMG PKM 83 kills / 16 deaths in Domination .
Superb!
RAM-7 is GREAT, but yeah, I'm more of an SMG guy. Used to play with M4 in the beta+day one. That weapon was freaking insane. They nerfed it for a reason, but what about the .725? That gun needs to be nerfed ASAP! A guy just sniped me with that damn gun last night.

Never tried the LMG PKM, got curious now.



Superb!
RAM-7 is GREAT, but yeah, I'm more of an SMG guy. Used to play with M4 in the beta+day one. That weapon was freaking insane. They nerfed it for a reason, but what about the .725? That gun needs to be nerfed ASAP! A guy just sniped me with that damn gun last night.

Never tried the LMG PKM, got curious now.
Yeah .725 's range is abnormal, very annoying, especially when players start jumping with it.



Just finished William Chyr's Manifold Garden. One of the prettiest games I've ever played, and maybe the single-most atmospheric. Its sense of scale is amazing. The repeating level concept is fantastic: if you fall off an edge, you just fall into the same area eventually. It repeats in all directions, which is good because the other core mechanic is that you can switch the gravity as you approach any surface.

It's often a pleasure just to move/look around, in part because the sound design is tremendous, as well. Open areas feel different than closed ones, and every block put in its place or long fall has a satisfying sound or thud.



As a pure puzzler it's maybe a notch below the best of the best: it won't pull your brain apart quite the way the Portals did, or at least it didn't for me (in part because at least one mechanic is very similar to one of those, though with a cool twist). But that also means you probably won't be stuck for too long, and none of the concepts or areas overstay their welcome just to pad the length of the game.




The Adventure Starts Here!
Does it make you dizzy at all, though? Something about infinite spaces or drops makes me queasy in a game. It's why I struggle with a bunch of VR games and still play only the simpler, kid-type ones.



there's a frog in my snake oil
Is it wrong that my first thought was: That's would be badass in VR

(Hard to tell from the trailer how much is based on optical illusions from a fixed point etc that might not work - and there are some directorial camera movements in the trailer that would be a, ummm, a challenge if they're in game... But all of the falling through architecture and swooping gravity changes and such look like X-games style puzzle fun to me )

---

Erm, and in partial 'classic gaming' news, this crossplay VR title is pretty ace



One player on standard controller, one in the headset. Review over here.

And it seems they literally just added remote play, so in theory almost worth a buy in classic version if you know someone with a headset



there's a frog in my snake oil
Oh sweet, the other person doesn’t even need to own it for remote play!

You don´t even need to buy an extra copy, only the host needs to have a copy of the game.



“I was cured, all right!”
Anyone playing Escape from Tarkov or any other Milsim?

I've been watching videos of Tarkov for so very long, but still, can't buy the game because it's only avaiable in dollar...
I'm so interessed in the game that I wanted to buy "The Edge of Darkness edition". It's U$139,99, but like I say, only in dollar. So for me, it's R$597,09 + taxes. Something like R$789,80 if I'm not mistaken. The standart edition then. U$44,99 = R$191,89 + taxes.

I heard that the game migh never come to Steam or any other plattaform. Boy, that fu****g sucks.

Tell me about your adventures in Tarkov if you're playing.