Steam Summer Sale....

With the summer sale on Steam now on I got a few e-mail updates saying games I'd wish-listed were now 'cheaper'. This lead to two things. Me buying some of them and removing others from the list altogether.

It's been a couple of years since I last did an overview post on what I'd been playing, what was 'done', what was being continued and what was 'removed'. I did this list in 2018,  this list early in 2019 & updated again in late 2019 and this one in late 2020. The early 2021 version was in progress when the post got wiped and it's content lost. With it I lost motivation to recreate it(it was a long post). I'm hoping that I'll get around to it again.... Maybe later in the year with a massive update of 2021/22. Time will tell.

Anyhow... 

Three games kicked from my wishlist.....

They are Billions is a game I've watched streamers play and one I've wanted for a while. It's not been on a 'good' sale price so I never got it. Funny(not haha funny) that now it's on a 'good' sale price I'm removing it. It's a hardcore game of wave/rush RTS survival. Maybe a bit too much so for my casual tastes. I'd only end up buying it to have and it'd not get the gamepaly it or I deserve... If you get my meanings..... The killer blow on my decision this time is that I've previously bought Diplomacy is Not an Option on sale a while ago(still not really played it yet but on my list todo). A more 'fun' experience even if it can get hard.

Synthetik 2 is from the looks of it a better game than the original. It improves on the first in many ways. Like being on multiple platforms etc. The reviews seem to say you take the new good with it's own issues. It's still an Early access game so has some leeway on it's current 'issues'. That said it's been a 'while' since I last really played the first game. The second hasn't really been on my radar, just the wish-list to keep and eye on. So seeing it now even on sale isn't conducive for me to get it from what I've seen. I'm happy with the first game. There's noting I've seen in the second that makes me want to get it over just loading up the first. 

Comanche is a game I wanted to see due to my nostalgia for Comanche Gold, back in the day. The 90's had a massive overkill of sims and sim like 'gunship' games. So my nostalgia was real for Comanche. Playing it via Xbox Ultimate was good at the time if short lived. I'm not sure if some of the graphical choices were on purpose for retro nostalgia but in retrospect it took away from it being 'modern' and didn't grow on me. Also in retrospect I think it's casual arcade but simulation take was too blurred. A mix the original pulled off but I feel didn't work here with the new iteration. The game may be 'released' but it still 'feels' early access with work to be done. I'd seen it on sale on other occasions but was always hesitant; That alone should have removed it from the list.

Four games I did purchase....

Fights in Tight Spaces.... A game I've wanted and tried, just waited for the sale price and this is it.

Slipways.... A space management, game that is a slimmed down grand strategy take. So grand strategy 'lite'. It's a game I've seen streamed and liked what I saw. A pretty chill game with lots of micromanagement to get lost in.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Shredder's Revenge.... As recent a game to the list as can be. As I posted, it ticks all the boxes for retro playable fun. A no brainer on more than just the price front.

As for Shooty Skies Overdrive.... My recent return kick to VR had me looking for something else to virtually do/shoot This game looked to be 'it', cheap(cheaper now on sale) quick fun.  

ABC Gamer

Speaking of that channel, ABC Gamer has gone through a few reworked iterations over the years. It's gone more younger viewer friendly(tho not so much now but still not watchable for me) since the Nichboy days. Which is a pity. Really liked it back then(but also like his new 'show' Back Pocket)...

Then again so many channels in competition to one another that all do such similar content....

VR waffle....

 

On a VR side note my 'elderly' mother(who insists she isn't but really is 'elderly'; But yet calls anyone in their 50's 'elderly'! Yes the comedic value is high. Anyway she got to stay over for a while last Christmas(support bubble!); And got to experience VR for the first time. 

Specifically the Oculus/Steam intro/interactive 'rooms'(easy intro), as well as some of the roller-coaster style ride type experiences. It was a liberating experience for her as she has limited mobility and her vision is likewise 'limited'(best described like trying to see through steamed/frosted glass). 

Yet to see and hear her reactions to VR was very emotive for me. She got to 'see' and feel something new; And experienced more in 10 minutes of VR than she had in real life years. Sad in ways but true. Old age and the human body can make the real world limiting in so many ways, in mind, body and perceptions of self.  

Looking back my mam has shared a lot of firsts and enjoyments with 'video' gaming through the years from Atari 2600(Jr) playing Grand Prix (still a piece of paper with my old console with times written on it!). To my first PC playing Quake; And now VR.....I'm glad to have been a part of a new first experience for her. She talked about 'seeing' things. I can't emphasis how that's such a big thing. 

Ultimately she's finicky with technology. Never really embracing it but not against it. Never a lover of mobile phones till it mattered to her and then she was a 'tech whiz' with one(feel raised physical buttons and audio feedback). 

I'd have jumped at getting an Oculus Go for her but her vision really is limited. She'd have trouble navigating menu's, 'seeing' what to do on her own.  Not insurmountable but a delicate subject barrier to entry. A short VR experience is different to living with it....It's 'complicated'. Not, not worth a try but she has to want it as well which is a no for now and probably a no long-term.....

Eve Gunjack....

I've been pottering away with Gunjack. Getting a few steam achievements in the process. Mainly by aiming to get the 3 star ratting on each mission. Which has been fun and which I've done on all but 4 levels (# 14, 17, 18 & 20).

The end of the last level (level 20) is the scorpion battleship which kicks my áss. I'm missing a trick here as I keep trying to kill the subsystems yet don't seem to be able to do damage to the overall health when targeting elsewhere. Then again I've only tried to do it twice so I'm not exactly 'trying'. 

Fun shooter is fun but I'm in no way breaking my back over it. Getting the star ratings and completing the end mission are the real motivators. It's a fun game but repetitive. Once the motivators are 'done' I can't see myself getting back to it for a while. Even then it'll be for the rose tinted good bit highlights. Niche game is niche. Long-term gameplay in Gunjack will come more easily if you have any from of love for ye-olde arcade style wave shooters(vertical or otherwise). For me that comes more from my C64 days and specifically Lightforce. 

As gunjack is a few years old I'm noticing a very two sided coin to it's interweb footprint. The year it came out it was 'fresh', 'visionary' and 'visually stunning'; Now it's all the opposites. 30 minute video's praising it then have turned into 30 minutes of down-talking it now......  Either-way then and now, both pro or con were overthinking it. It's a turret wave shooter, not the second coming! 

Anyway.

Last time I mentioned the Drake 'mini' boss; It's an Eve Online ship I have a fondness for. In doing mission 11 to get it's third star, this time round, I decided to record it. Great ship with some fun Gunjack mechanics.

A Casual Carebear Gamer

VR and (mainly)Eve Gunjack....

First things first, I've prolonged getting my decided upon choice of VR headset for a 'while'. An Oculus Rift was on the verge of purchase when news hit that the Rift S would be out. So I waited. Mulled and waited some more. This week was the straw the broke that camels back; Mainly due to the high volume of....the entire country that's ordering online for the December season(as retail is pretty much closed with a lock-down). No better time for VR.... I saw it being sold a few days ago at a local store chain(click and collect) for slightly more than if I'd gotten it from source... In my mind I could get it there and then be home with it for an extra €20 instead of waiting a week or two for delivery. So I did it and had it on my PC and on my head within an hour. Bit of a surreal moment to get the thing I've been mulling for such a long time so quickly.

On a side note about the Facebook sign-in ..... It's not something I'm overly concerned about. At a basic level of the argument I'll be using the Rift S with Steam for the most part and not the Oculus store so....... Meh?!

The Rift S controllers and VR in general are so easy to use and get into..... VR interaction is intuitive. Reaching out and grabbing something in VR is natural. So much so that you forget you've got controllers in your hands. 

So the game I've spent the most time in so far.....

Gunjack.... While the game is simple in overall gameplay mechanics. It's a fun VR shooter. Gunjack is usually €4.99 and I picked it up on sale for €2.49 about a year and a half ago although it feels longer(yea I mull things over, bit of a contradiction given some of my impulse buy's). I've got my monies worth in just a few minutes playing it now.

The 'Boss' fights in the game are Battleships from Eve Online so the Abandon and the Scorpion make a big impression that I can appreciate. A mini boss that I really enjoy (as a Caldari at heart) is the Drake with it's 5 repping drones. Each of which you need to kill before you can damage the ship. Not that you need to know any of that going into the game, it doesn't make a difference. Them showing up will be an event even if you know them or not. The way they act in Gunjack is not how they act in Eve(for the most part). Different game different mechanics etc....

As with all VR a video for YouTube doesn't do it justice. Being in the 3D/360 degree environment even sitting down with a controller is a literal enveloping blast. Here's mission 2:

Casual Carebear Gamer

I know saying all of this is really late to the party but I'm not waffling on this blog to be cutting edge or for profit. I'm just here to waffle about my gaming and this is a big step. I've no regrets in buying it. A gaming device I'd recommend but not one I'd say is essential. Definitely try before you buy if there's the slightest doubt. There are plenty of VR centers where you can try out VR for 30 minutes to an hour. More than enough time to see for yourself. 

There are downsides to VR. Wearing the headset is easy but the view initially starting out felt like it was blinkered(in a scuba goggles kind of way). The view in VR is wider and not like the slit video above; Yet there's still a black surround but once your in an activity/game all that becomes imperceptible and your only going to 'see ' the content your concentrating on. 

So yea I've no regrets about buying the Rift S, not at all. I went with it because it was specifically PC oriented as opposed to the Quest 2 etc(listed as *PC VR-compatible*) . Where it's optional to be connected to a PC. I'm a PC gamer, I don't want a headset that will be non PC centric. It's not like they could change something down the line.... Like needing a Facebook login....(bucket load of sarcasm). So otherwise I'm taking a chance that it won't be cheaper for the next few months before it disappears form being sold.

I chose the headset instead of the current hassle of getting a next gen console. I'm all about the Xbox but for now going from Xbox One to Series X does nothing for me that I can't already do. Series X will be a buy in a year or so.

The headset built in directional sound is also kinda cool. While not a user only sound system..... I could be in Gunjack combat sitting a few feet from my wife and she could only hear about as much as if I'd my normal headphones on(Razer Kraken 7.1 v2).

Other games I've tried in VR so far:

Everspace. As a more dedicated VR implementation, one I was looking froward to it let me down. I was unhappy at how it felt. I spent 2 minutes in combat and said no to more. Graphically is was jagged and not the smooth, slick game I've played normally.

Google Earth VR is a fun time waster. A bit like your in a god mode for the new Flight Simulator just to see the landscape. 

House of the Dying Sun's implementation of a cockpit space flight shooter was epic. A real surprise. A really cool game to play in VR. I'll be doing more with it.

Race the Sun was fun in VR. I felt it made the game easier to play in first person mode. 3rd person mode took a moment to get used to. In game spacial awareness etc.... As fast as the game is I felt no motion sickness with it.

Subnautica; a Game I've enjoyed for over 200 hours was both a joy and a nightmare to see in VR. After 200 hours of normal gameplay I've been trained to play the game a certain way and getting used to a controller instead of a keyboard and mouse was hard. Setting up the Rift controllers was a no go as they didn't work with the game(not for me). The initial loading time for my main playthrough was always long but for VR it was really long. Make a cup of tea long. The subnautica listing says that VR is still experimental and in development(I doubt it, at this stage given it been out a while). Don't get me wrong, it was great to walk around one of my bases, lean to look around a corner and just experience things from a 'real' first person perspective, actually in the shoes of the main character. Overall as a VR game it feels unfinished in a lot of ways so maybe it's never going to feel 'finished'. Like being in the Seamoth and viewing a headless character model while trying to pilot the thing!

It was also the first game to make me  feel a 'that's not right' disorientation. At least in walking mode; In the water was a different story, freedom was a bit hampered by using a controller. Worth seeing and experiencing some locations for the initial fun awe factor but I can't play the game in VR. After having left the game I was still a little unbalanced after taking the headset off and for a little while after that. As if my own real world spacial awareness was off kilter. Hmmmm don't VR and drive; Different games may affect different players differently. The worst I did was misjudge a step on the stairs and spill a drink I was carrying. 

So VR is good overall. It seems that the bigger the game the more one sided a gamers opinion is going to be, in a love it or hate it way. Whereas the smaller games are more enjoyable overall. Expectation vs the VR reality, proof really is in the doing.

One VR game I'm looking forward to getting further into is Tetris Effect Connected which gets a VR patch in December.

As for Gunjack 2: End of shift it seems to be for the Gear VR only. It might have been a game I'd buy if it was on Steam but since all VR has ceased from CCP I won't get to find out.

And last but not least Beat Sabre is one I want to get.

Fun to be had yet for sure.

VR again....

The HTC Vive Pro details are out. With the Vive Pro at $799 and the old (current) version going to be down to $499 it's just about cheaper to buy the Occulus Rift.... I wonder if the Rift will have an updated version incoming? 

https://www.pcgamer.com/the-htc-vive-pro-arrives-in-april-for-dollar799-current-vive-drops-to-dollar499/

Speaking of VR....

I recently bought Subnautica which has been included under the VR header in my steam collection.

Subnautica

It's not a big collection but it would be interesting to see them in VR.

And I'm still considering House of the Dying Sun:

EnterElysium

ACG

So many games so little time....

VR

There were some interesting comments about VR and VR devices on Roundtable Live! - 8/25/2017 (Ep. 99) hosted by BaerTaffy worth a watch/listen at about the 52 minute mark....

Wearable pc....

I think I'll be waiting for the next generation of wireless VR headsets.

Eve VR and headsets....

Despite my ranting about CCP, the march of technology has made me more curious about the next wave of VR headsets. It should be an interesting time.

As part of my curiosity I have been watching the new video's from a youtuber called Reload
that I want to share, his VR playlist is worth a look.

Interesting....

Time will tell....