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newtmonkey

Arcane
Joined
Aug 22, 2013
Messages
1,725
Location
Goblin Lair
Descent
I finally decided to give DXX Rebirth a try, rather than fooling around with CPU cycles etc. in DOSBOX. WOW. This is a great source port, up there with Quakespasm (for Quake) and Yamagi (Quake 2). Like with those source ports, you can really customize how closely you want to game to mirror the original experience (I prefer non-filtered textures for games from this era, as filtering them just makes them look too blurry).

Playing this game with a flight stick and keyboard is simply amazing. One of the most amazing gaming experiences I've ever had; it is worth getting a decent flight stick solely to play Descent and Descent II (and Overload for that matter), though of course once you've got one you've got dozens of amazing flight sims stretching back 30 years or more waiting for you.

Gabriel Knight (original DOS version of course)
Never had this back in the day, though I had a friend who had it and I watched him play it for a bit.

I have recently been taking a break from RPGs to delve into adventure games, as I never really got into them as a kid (except for Kyrandia 1, QFG series, and Leisure Suit Larry). I started with Secret of Monkey Island, which I finished for the first time but had mixed feelings about (in summary, some of the best EGA graphics of all time, amazing MT-32 music, truly LOL writing, awesome insult swordfighting puzzle, but some annoying stuff where I got stuck mostly due to the interface [the semi-hidden hatch on the boat, not realizing you could scroll on the map for Monkey Island]). I gave the sequel a try and liked it more (especially that dynamic iMUSE music), but started to get annoyed with comedy adventure game logic and wanted to try something else.

Now this is more like it. It's a Sierra game so I'm sure I'll run into some bullshit at some point, but I was able to get to Day 2 without getting stumped, because stuff just made sense. I love how the game gives you a bunch of locations to explore right off the bat, even though some of the stuff is optional. Giving you access to optional locations in a game is a huge deal and I think not enough developers realize this. As long as you aren't wasting my time too much, give me some nice locations to look around in, maybe give me some optional story details... it goes a long way toward making the world feel like a world, rather than just a series of locations you have to visit in order to progress the plot (this is what soured me on Unavowed, btw, as I felt I was just being ushered from screen to screen following the story, without any chance to explore on my own and just get an idea of the world the game takes place in).

Anyway, some of the greatest graphics in an adventure game, a truly great soundtrack (that sounds godly on Sound Canvas hardware), interesting characters, and fun locations to explore. What's not to love about Gabriel Knight?
 

Unkillable Cat

LEST WE FORGET
Patron
Joined
May 13, 2009
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27,089
Codex 2014 Make the Codex Great Again! Grab the Codex by the pussy
It's a Sierra game so I'm sure I'll run into some bullshit at some point

Gabriel Knight is actually one of the least bullshitty Sierra games when it comes to unwinnable states, because Jane Jensen is a much better game designer than Roberta Williams.

But you get crap mazes instead. Two of them close to the end. Make some hard saves when you reach circular buildings.
 

newtmonkey

Arcane
Joined
Aug 22, 2013
Messages
1,725
Location
Goblin Lair
Unkillable Cat

I will save often in multiple slots, thanks. :) I don't mind mazes so much to be honest (I actually didn't mind the fireberry cave maze in Kyrandia 1, believe it or not), but it's good to know what I will be facing. Thanks bro.
 

cocorulverde

Educated
Joined
Aug 10, 2009
Messages
57
Quake II
So then, why not find a source port for this one that also supports software mode? Yamagi is the answer.
If you've not tried Quake II in software mode, I suggest giving it a try. It doesn't make the game any more interesting of course, but you might be surprised by how different it looks. I always felt the colored lighting in 3d accelerated Quake II was too much—everything seemingly looks yellow or red all the time. In software mode, the colored lighting is turned off, and you get much more natural colors. This is noticeable in the main game of course, but it's especially noticeable in the expansion packs which look like completely different games. The difference is really night and day, almost like turning off weird post-processing filters etc. on modern games. It's not like Unreal, where turning off the colored lighting would seriously ruin the look of the game.

I like it better in software mode too, absolutely love the colors, trouble is I am getting only 55 - 60 FPS, is there a way to unlock it or is it something specific to the software mode (used cl_maxfps variable, also played around with all the variables tied to the fps and display refresh .. nada). Any idea?
 
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conan_edw

Arbiter
Patron
Joined
Dec 3, 2017
Messages
846
Grab the Codex by the pussy Pathfinder: Wrath
:cry::cry:
:salute::salute::salute::salute:
YtTwTfk.jpg
 

HansDampf

Arcane
Joined
Dec 15, 2015
Messages
1,471
I was interested in American McGee's Alice. Installed this HD mod, but ended up not using it because I don't trust it.

Original: red and mad
11570303284530905088_6cexq.png


HD: pale robot
11570303284530905088_x5ibn.png
Sure, Alice looks a little sharper. But this change seems pointless to me. The game menus also look completely different. And I don't see much of an improvement in the background anyway. Weird. Custom 1080p resolution and AA are enough.

The game itself is crap, sadly, at least the platforming bits are, with those floaty controls. Combat is reduced to waiting for cooldowns, because close-up melee is far too dangerous. It gets a little more interesting once you get more weapons and can play with fire. But it's still more about exploiting AI rather than about skill. I'm playing this mainly for the setting.

And who names their kid American, lol?!
 

Sceptic

Arcane
Patron
Joined
Mar 2, 2010
Messages
10,871
Divinity: Original Sin
American has actually answered this question. It's hard to tell what he really thinks of this, when he talks about his mother you can see a mixture of awe and deference and "yep, she was batshit crazy".

Alice has some really cool and original level design (stands out even more by today's standards I think) and superb atmosphere and aesthetics, but the moment to moment gameplay is not what it's remembered for.
 

Baron Dupek

Arcane
Joined
Jul 23, 2013
Messages
1,870,765
Reaper's Coast is done, time to set sail and clear other two islands.
Had hard time to go either pair of Lone Wolves or experience the story of my goons (commie lizard, abdul and Manny Calaviera). Should go with wolves but whatever.
Hope there is no such puzzle like the one from Dark Forest in DivOS1...
 

Prime Junta

Guest
Giving DOS2 another whirl now that the definitive edition is out. I just can't get over how :decline: it is compared to DOS1, and I didn't even like DOS1 all that much. It's not just the retarded armour mechanics. It's like the whole thing was designed by people who only ever finished classic RPGs using the dullest, rotest, cheesiest tactics ever and for some unfathomable reason thought that was fun.

Did everybody who designed DOS1 just... leave, or something? 'Cuz that one had some genuinely fun encounters and cool tactics. It's like they took everything that was bad about DOS1 and made it worse while throwing out everything that was fun about it. Here there's nothing like, say, the undead pirate fight with the magic ballista, or the fight in the fiery place where the totem kept resurrecting your enemies, or really anything other than squishies on high ground, tanks on low ground, grind grind grind through armour, stun stun stun after. Plus the fights just drag on and on -- everybody's got a ton of hit points and armour and a lot of the fights have way too many enemies which means waiting and waiting as they cycle through their turns.

Seriously bros. If this is one of the most highly-praised retro cRPGs ever -- and it is, outside the Codex at least -- then there really is no hope left. At least Deadfire kept the :decline: boxed into some particular areas, this is just all :decline:.

:decline:
 

Azalin

Arcane
Patron
Joined
Mar 16, 2011
Messages
7,305
Played Beat Cop although I didn't finish it.It has nice pixel graphics and a good 80's atmosphere but that the only good part in it,it's core gameplay isn't that good and its get repetitive pretty fast and the story is just not interesting so I just uninstalled it before long.Not recommended.

To keep things balanced the way Josh Sawyer would like I decided to play a game about outlaws after the police game.So I finished Conquest of the Longbow:The legend of Robin Hood. I never played the Conquest games back in the day so I decided to try the one most people say is the better one,it's a decent old school adventure game with nice graphics for its time and music,I can't say I enjoyed some of the mini games though.If you are looking for some old school adventure you should add this one to the list.
 

Prime Junta

Guest
Continuing my tour of games I either didn't like or felt lukewarm or conflicted about: fired up Tyranny and rolled with a loremaster this time -- something I didn't do in any of my playthroughs for the review.

First off, man is it wordy. I did not remember it being so wordy. Everybody has tons to say and most of it isn't very interesting.

Second, yeah damnit I like the visuals and atmosphere. It does have a mythic, Bronze Age vibe to it. They nailed that as far as I'm concerned. It's not as sophisticated visually as Deadfire but aesthetically I think I almost prefer it.

Third, the combat doesn't feel as bad as I remember it from Tyranny. I suspect a big reason is that Deadfire's elimination of per-rest abilities desensitised me to ability spam, plus after the trainwreck that is DOS2 it feels like a reprieve.

Bottom line so far, I'm enjoying it more than I thought I would. Cooldown-based mechanics are Satanic of course but other than that little detail it's better than I remembered so far at least. A Tyranny 2 with improved mechanics could have been rather glorious, and in a way it's a shame that will never be -- on the other hand it's likely the mechanics would have been even more derp so it's probably for the better. It's a shame about the world though, I do like the metaphysics and the way it's set up, as well as the whole concept of playing as a minion of the evil overlord.
 
Self-Ejected

aweigh

Self-Ejected
Joined
Aug 23, 2005
Messages
17,978
Location
Florida
newtmonkey

I've been binge-playing Doom 2016 / GZ-Doom sourceport back and forth these last few days and I suddenly got a big itch to try out other iD shooters so I decided to try out Wolfenstein. I considered starting with Wolfenstein 2 since it's the most recent and was developed in tandem with Doom 2016 but since I've read that these Wolfenstein games have a story or whatever I decided to start with the first one, The New Order.

Anyway TLDR I couldn't agree more man, what a fucking waste! I could not get into the claustrophobic areas and corridors and while the cutscenes were "well acted" they quickly became a huge irritant that would constantly interrupt the meager gameplay. I mean, goddamn even the fucking introduction where you're trying to jump out of the fucking plane is a mess of QTE-driven cutscene garbage design, and then when you land you are kept on a tight leash and forced to do the same shit you've been doing since Medal of Fucking Honor back in 1973 or whenever the fuck that game came out.

I couldn't take much of it, I uninstalled it at about when they begin forcing you to stealth heavily in I think the 3rd or 4th level, I was like FUCK THIS. What a let down.

EDIT: Also I didn't like the movement. I found crouching and sliding around like a retard to be dumb and it felt clunky, and the dual-wielding system also felt clunky and labored. I'm not a good enough FPS player (I'm not really one at all) to accurately describe what they did wrong here all I know is that it felt like the complete opposite of what Doom 2016 feels like where they made jumping around and grabbing ledges and sprinting feel very satisfying; nothing about movement in The New Order felt satisfying basically, it all just felt clunky.
 
Self-Ejected

aweigh

Self-Ejected
Joined
Aug 23, 2005
Messages
17,978
Location
Florida
Oh, and the movement modifer key for leaning and going prone is obviously because of having to make it work on console. It is hugely inferior to having seperate keys for leaning/prone, y'know like every other PC FPS has done it. This isn't necessarily THAT big of a deal, but it's just one more thing.

EDIT: Oh, and ONE MORE THING!

Having to spam USE KEY every 2 nanoseconds to constantly pick up shit. COME ON.
 

newtmonkey

Arcane
Joined
Aug 22, 2013
Messages
1,725
Location
Goblin Lair
The funniest part of playing Wofl:TNO for me is when the "intro" is finally over and you wake up in that hospital, and you think "finally, the game has started for real!" All hell breaks lose and you find a map showing you are basically in one giant room LOLZ. WTF is the point of the map?

Constantly having to pick up each individual piece of ammo was indeed the worst.
 

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