Season 3 Week 4's tasks were a step up in my opinion. Not just a case of send in the a.i. clown's, the tasks this time round required a players more personal touch.
Task one was to infiltrate, obtain info and leave the area undetected and without firing a shot. To complete the mission anyway you need to remain undetected so no explosives or "cleverness".
For the most part. For me I scouted and had the a.i. teammates snipe 80% of the facility. With a stolen truck I went in, hid behind the building were the info was then used a distraction drone to lure the last guards away. Quick info grab and dash away to complete.
The second task was easy enough but with out using guns or explosives I had to use alternative's.
In my case a not so subtle helicopter roadblock. I landed about 800 meters ahead of the convoy, called in rebel reinforcements and distraction so rebels were my attack force. I ordered my a.i. team to also "man" the roadblock and I hid behind a large rock nearby. As command and control I needed to be safe of course......
Once the convoy got to about 100 meters from my blocking force I used an EMP drone to stop the convoy just short of the blocking chopper and ordered my team to fire. Mayhem and havoc ensued and yet the truck survived. So I hopped into it and drove to a nearby bunch of baddies who happily shoot the truck till it exploded, dangerous, but I hopped out just in time. Another quick mopping up and on to the next task.
Task three, destroy the three subs.
With no real restrictions other than not dying I played it cool and used a standoff hidden drone attack to complete the first two, the third needed a little more action form rebels as a distraction and a mortar attack to kill the sub. Easy.
A lot more hands on action this week. It makes me look forward to the next.
I like games that have cross platform play. And despite my thoughts on some games dropping their VR element, I like the idea of 'mixed reality' play (VR, non-VR 'traditional'?!? And augmented). The more inclusive a game the better.
I only wish Star Trek Online PC players were able to play with both their PS4 and Xbox brethren.... And that Eve Valkyrie looked to be more responsive in aiming your ship without the VR.
However this post isn't about those it's about the Sea of Thieves low end specs.... and my waffling.
It seems Rare has taken those low end specs and gone limbo dancing. Potato mode is real 540p mode and 15fps lock.
"At launch Sea of Thieves will have wide FOVs and will support 4K and
60fps, says the game's executive producer Joe Neat, however those
playing on less powerful machines will be considered too. "
" "We've actually added a 540p mode, so you can go below HD. We've also
added a 15 fps framerate lock because when we were talking to the
community some people were like: I'm actually happy playing 15 frames
per second. We were like: that's actually really cool, we should support
that."
It'll be interesting to see how that all works when the game is released. Plenty of development time yet.
Time to waffle!
A lot of gamers balk at a bare bones setup but I really do like games that run on bare bone specs. While I have a gaming laptop for stays away form home I also have a smaller non gaming laptop that once did a great job over 10 years ago. It's been updated and patched with many OS versions but I've also kept it up to speed with some games. For times where I need something lighter and "expendable", quick weekend breaks et al.
Some games run with no noticeable difference, Enter the Gungeon still looks like an 8-bit game. Democracy 3 still looks like a bubble chart.
Other games you think would work, don't. Like the 8-bit looking Domina and the blocks of Minecraft, they don't work with an Intel integrated graphics mode at all.
That's where my appreciation for modern game potato mode really comes in. Take Eve Online. While it was more important to check skills on a daily basis in the past. Enter Eve Potato mode on the go. Not a mode I'd engage in PvP with and not a mode I'd even contemplate anything beyond a level 2 in PvE. But some things in the land of space spreadsheets are the same no matter what mode your in. So it can be useful.
No sooner have I enjoyed a BF1 trial, decided to not get the full game due to price and trying to be up to speed with it (expansion/time).... I now read this:
Everything is included in that pack (excluding shortcut packs):
This has me tempted....... The cogs are turning....... It's already a splinter in my brain......
With CCP pushing the latest expansion in Eve Valkyrie - Warzone (I did waffle about it) with a move to gain a non VR playerbase; I was laughing to myself when I saw the trailer for SPARC, "I wonder when it'll be available to non VR players", nudge nudge, wink wink, har de har har. <Insert 16 your old girl's eye roll here>.
Coming across an old CD with a backup of game saves and settings
proved both nostalgic and entertaining. The CD held files for three
games.
Third up Chrome. Another bargain bucket purchase I got about a year after it came out. While there has been thought and polish applied to the game on release, it's still a lesser game than it could have been. Gamespot and IGN had some interesting reading when the game was released.
Like the last game I mentioned, I found this game to again be a 'no brainer'. Another shoot stuff and enjoy the ride for what it is.
Unlike Breed, Chome suffers by really trying to mimicking other genre games too much. Breed was good because it was it's own thing, like a bad B movie. But Chrome takes itself too seriously, for the most part. That's not to say it isn't fun to play, it does have it's moments. I mean I remember finishing the game but I don't have any nostalgia other than "oh yea, I played that game". It has no likable quirkiness to keep you interested.
Installing and playing this game was no problem on a modern PC with Windows10.
After a quick run in the first mission and a look at my old saves (precise inventory management approved) the nostalgia was gone and I uninstalled the game.
While Breed had a more gung-ho soundtrack that was apt; Chrome has a more generic not in your face kind of soundtrack. It's not bad but for me it's not memorable in any way at all.
Coming across an old CD with a backup of game saves and settings
proved both nostalgic and entertaining. The CD held files for three
games.
Second up Breed. A generic sci-fi squad FPS bargain bucket purchase I got about a year after it's release. Given it's troubled development history between Brat and CDV it's a game that I describe as being 'so bad it's good' at least in my view
The install was flawless but unfortunately I wasn't able to get the game running in any way. Almost like the copy protection was not fully verifying the serial code. I also had issues with my anti-virus not liking a lot of the game files. I'd need to try it on a virtual or rebuild XP machine.
I'm glad I've got the files and the install CD's are still working but in fairness as retro goes the nostalgia isn't worth the kind of time I'd have to put in to get it working again, if at all.
Gameplay wise it was passable, once you turn your brain off. At least that's what I remember. Some games work better that way and this was one of them. It's very much a "just go with it" kind of a game. The release reviews say it all, from middle of the road to trainwreck. It was never going to age like a fine wine.
There was a patch to apply to the game that did update elements so it's not like the game was released and then abandoned. From what I understand the game was unplayable when delivered to be distributed, they then took that and spent time to remould it into a "playable" game. That still had problems on release but were fixed for the most part by the patch. I don't recall having any problems with the game when I got it. I just took it for what it was, being glad it was cheap.
The true striking memory I have of this game is from the music. It has really great music.
I'd never really returned to the first expansion after my initially playthrough way back in the day. Like that expansion the Alex expansion by comparison was a chopped down version of the game with a time limit. So again was played and dropped. I always favoured the main game.
Since my original main game purchase I've rebought various versions since (OS changes), most recently my latest version being the gold edition on steam. That version contained the main game and the first expansion. By this time I'd completely forgotten the Alex expansion existed, lost to time.
So finding it on a disk with all it's old install folder/save games and settings was a true blast from the past. I first tried to get it to run with my steam version but it wasn't having any of it. The serial number for Alex wasn't even being recognised. However with some file foolery, mainly with copy/paste and some config path tweaking it worked from the old save folder off the disk! I must have known I'd need the files in the future. Future me thanks younger me.
The only problem with the configuration is that it isn't widescreen, so has the two black lines on both sides of the screen. In game I dont' even notice the lines so I'm ok with it for now.
Playing the main game, I usually pick the Romans, so it's a refreshing change to play both a faction of pikes in an era of pikes in this expansion. They are a mincing machine. Send the pikes in with a broad line, defend the flanks with spearmen, light missile troops behind and horses for distracting and messing up the rear of the enemy.... I'm back in my element like I'd never left.
Given Alexander had a short life the game's 100 turn limit makes you push further and faster than may be tactically safe. I'll be doing a fresh campaign restart once I've gotten over the nostalgia of the old saves.
I've added the steam version into my wish list and at €3.99 I'll pick it up sooner rather than later but no rush yet as this older version still does the job.
On a side note, like the main game this expansion has just been released as a standalone game on iPad. It's gameplay really does stand the test of time.
Also of note is a new RTW:Alexander playthrough just released by LegendofTotalWar only last month.... synchronicity again at play. Well worth a look:
The latest Endeavour was to gain 500 Gold Pressed Latinum from a Dabo game. As my KDF character has been parked at DS9 since she dinged 60 I thought it best to complete it with her by a visit to Quarks. Very fitting synchronicity.
It only took 4 games with three bets per game 1200 EC for 500+ latinum from Dabo and the Endeavour was complete.
Not being into R&D I'll have to see about bulk selling all my charecters accumulated R&D materials.
Star Trek Online has taken a backseat of late. Some minor character maintenance and a quick round of admiralty missions are ongoing. I'm mainly doing the admiralty for the dilithium and to complete the first round of levelling for my Klingon character.
I've managed to curb the need to spend Zen so have risen the total from 3000 to 4000.
The last two weeks or so have seen a lot of R&D sales / promotions (Ships). Which I've ignored as I'm not into the R&D side of the game. I may have upgraded a weapon once but that's about the height of it. Does that even count as R&D?!?
I've also ignored the Sompek Arena. It may reward R&D materials and dilithium but it doesnt' scratch any itch for me.
The more I play the more I've been able to appreciate the subtlety of the Endeavour system.
While I've done a lot of them I've also chosen to not do others. And it doesn't feel like I've missed anything by skipping them. It's a great system if it's pro's and con's are that subtle.
No super fantastic rewards that would make me do things I dont' want to do; But plenty of rewards that at the least end of the scale are better than nothing for a little extra time in a game I'm enjoying anyway. Who can argue about that. Nothings perfect, I do think STO's system is better than most. I've always found WoW dailies to be grind on grind, and the likes of the Events in Eve offer feck all decent rewards. To be fair Eve doesn't even know if it has dailies or not yet.
The Dev's playing the board game (Vid on twitch) was something new. Not that I watched it. Once I saw it was over 4 hours long (like most D&D) I moved on. Live events can be filled with chaff. Post processing/editing adds so much for future viewability. There are better Trek boardgame video's that are more consumable. Like games from Wil Wheaton's Tabletop series (the Dracula & WttD vids there are also well worth a look).
My wife bought Planet Coaster last week and has been playing it a good bit since.... So much so that I've been finding myself humming the main theme......
With the current free weekend for Rainbow Six Siege, I took the opportunity to download and try it out. Not for the gameplay but for the free gun and patch you get in Ghost Recon Wildlands.
Technically you only get them if you own both games but the free weekend is a workaround for that. It's one reward I wouldn't use my free points on either, I dont' really care about the patches and the weapon itself is "meh".
When I first heard about Siege I was interested in the game but that
fell off shapely the more details I heard. Playing it now I'm glad I had
nothing more to do with the game.
Anyway my main's progress is ongoing with his efforts to Tier up (down?), slowly but surely.
I also took the time to change up my co-op character, loosing the ballistic facemask and going with a better overall helm/balaclava and goggles look. I think it works well for him.
Taking him out for a spin in the wild (pun intended) soon proved/reinforced my views on multiplayer. It could just have been the random nature of co-op, that the people I was with were the true random of random. Three attempts at different groups only showed confusion raining supreme and a true lack of will to communicate was evident. All of that was as a I played as a backseat onlooker. Trying to lead groups like that is like trying to heard a glaring of cats, impossible. I'll have to try again during the week.
Wild West Online may be a long way off but the early footage from PCGamer was interesting. It made me constantly think of one thing over and over. I don't like X because Red Dead Redemption did it as Y. It has a big hill to climb as most people will be comparing it in every way to RDR.....
Time will tell if the game develops to be great.
The latest Title update (7) has been released and has no true feature to go along with the changes, tweaks and fixes. Always nice to get updates that improve the game, I must just be spoiled with getting more content along with a patch load of changes.
The tier Wolf Skin reward is way to bright for any of my camo schemes, if it was darker it would have been better. But I guess that's what the MC Black camo is for.
Season 3's third week has kicked off with a revisit to some more missions.
Again like last weeks challenge set they were easy to complete with the A.I. team despite the mission specifics.
The reward bandanna in woodland camo looks good but not for my characters.
It's been a while since I've been back to Cities Skylines. The latest reminder of the game comes from the newest DLC Cities Skylines - Concerts. (Steam link)
Not a DLC I'm going to get straight away but it does look good. I might get it if there is a sale with one or two other DLC's I've not gotten yet. Hmmmmm concert considerations....
The game is still on the road to redemption but making good headway with it's latest Patch (1.33). A patch filled with fixes, updates and improvements. Whats not to like.
The continued support the company makes me happy now despite the initial deflation of expectation at launch. It's making up for it now in the long term. That is brought home even more to me now with that Mass Effect Andromeda news.
Progress is slowing so much that it really is a grind now. The only reason to push on is the potential for the reward to be worth it. For Level 21 to 20 the camo reward might be.....
With one escalation and the RNG mother of all RNG Feats left to do in Bangkok I knew a final push in the level would need a lot of luck to complete that last part. Tuppence a Wish seemed unreachable.
The save point to try the challenge dated back to when I first started the level and I'd tried on and off since. But luck was with me, a quick one more reload and try bounced the right way.
It was a unique moment, I celebrated like Matt Damon's character in the Martian.
With those two done I've now cleared Bangkok.
I've got mixed feelings about the level now that its all done. It had it's moments yet not the most memorable. Like some hotels in real life, glad to have had a short stay but equally glad to be leaving. Maybe on Pro difficulty it will be different. I'll be completing all levels on normal before attempting to replay any level in pro mode.
