What Video Games Are You Currently Playing

[jasondonervan]

The Analogue NT has brought me way more entertainment than I had dared to. Congrats on your baby!

 

Thx Squee, it's a bit good. They discontinued the NT, right? Keep yours close!

[markedone]

The hardware looks awesome.  But if you dont already have a library of snes carts, god help the wallet of anyone trying to track down certain games.

 

Also I dont understand how it can look and sound better than emulation?  Im not familiar with how audio side of emulation works but visually, you can already pump out high resolutions without lag, with plenty of scaling/visual options.  Their claims give me "gold-plated-cables" vibes...

Edited November 30, 2018 by Marked x 0ne

[jasondonervan]

The hardware looks awesome.  But if you dont already have a library of snes carts, god help the wallet of anyone trying to track down certain games.

I have a plentiful stash of SNES carts. It's probably my favourite console out of them all, there's a reason I kept hold of it all from back then. A lot of loose cart pickups aren't as pricey as you might think. Sure, there are collector grails that run for silly money, but there's a lot that can be had on the cheap, especially if you're shopping for Japanese versions.

 

Also I dont understand how it can look and sound better than emulation?  Im not familiar with how audio side of emulation works but visually, you can already pump out high resolutions without lag, with plenty of scaling/visual options.  Their claims give me "gold-plated-cables" vibes...

 

This probably covers it better than I could:

 

Super Nt Review - The Ideal FPGA Console?

 

There is no true substitute for original hardware. But that's not what the SNT is about - it's for breathing life into original carts on a system that aims to recreate as accurately as possible the original experience on modern displays. If you want to use an original SNES, you'll have to track down a 1-chip unit, then invest in something like a Framemeister which is the wrong side of 'reasonably priced' just to get that system displaying properly on an HDTV... or a CRT, an even pricier prospect, many of which are ageing fast with no real way to fix them when they die...

 

Emulation is an easy option. But to compare what the SNT does with snake-oil-esque claims of the benefits of 'gold-plated cables' does it a huge disservice. It may not be a device for everyone, but it's certainly one for me.

[markedone]

Ah, cheers.  I just dont understand it yet, didnt mean to call it the 'ol snake oil.  That technical info sounds like a fun read later.  Im sure the in-person experience shows it best so glad to hear its working nicely for ya

Edited November 30, 2018 by Marked x 0ne

[jasondonervan]

Ah, cheers.  I just dont understand it yet, didnt mean to call it the 'ol snake oil.  That technical info sounds like a fun read later.  Im sure the in-person experience shows it best so glad to hear its working nicely for ya

 

No probs. Do give that article a read if you want to get a grasp of the technical stuff going on behind the scenes.

[jasondonervan]

Former Sierra On-Line dev posts original source codes to eBay

 

Former Sierra On-Line developer and creator of the Leisure Suit Larry games Al Lowe is listing the original source code for games he worked on to eBay, with more to follow. As reported by Ars Technica, Lowe plans on listing more of his collection to eBay, which will likely include his other Leisure Suit Larry games, Kings Quest III, and Police Quest I.

 

As of right now, the source code for Leisure Suit Larry 2 is currently bidding at over $2,000 USD. In addition, Lowe explains that he saved the original backups of his complete programming pipeline, which include the Sierra utilities that converted plain-text, ASCII commands to interpreted code. 

 

Lowe warns potential buyers that the disks haven't been tested so there's no guarantee that they will work, and owning the disks does not grant legal rights to commercially redistribute them. "Realize that, while you’ll have my data as of the day of Larry 1’s creation, you will not own the intellectual property rights to the game, the code, the art, or anything else," Lowe says in the Leisure Suit Larry 1 listing.

 

(ebay listings)

 

 

 

 

[usagi]

replaying Alien: Isolation. fuck I love this game. one of the best from the last 5 years.

 

it's also one of the best-looking games I can still run on my now-5 yr old rig.

Edited December 1, 2018 by usagi

[Squee]

replaying Alien: Isolation. fuck I love this game. one of the best from the last 5 years.

 

it's also one of the best-looking games I can still run on my now-5 yr old rig.

 

The ONLY game that ever utilized the Kinect in any positive way. The NPCs and the Xenomorph could hear you talk, so whenever my girlfriend and I played it we would be whispering which only made the game even more scary. Fucking loved it!

[KovalainenFanBoy]

 

The hardware looks awesome.  But if you dont already have a library of snes carts, god help the wallet of anyone trying to track down certain games.

I have a plentiful stash of SNES carts. It's probably my favourite console out of them all, there's a reason I kept hold of it all from back then. A lot of loose cart pickups aren't as pricey as you might think. Sure, there are collector grails that run for silly money, but there's a lot that can be had on the cheap, especially if you're shopping for Japanese versions.

 

Also I dont understand how it can look and sound better than emulation?  Im not familiar with how audio side of emulation works but visually, you can already pump out high resolutions without lag, with plenty of scaling/visual options.  Their claims give me "gold-plated-cables" vibes...

 

This probably covers it better than I could:

 

Super Nt Review - The Ideal FPGA Console?

 

There is no true substitute for original hardware. But that's not what the SNT is about - it's for breathing life into original carts on a system that aims to recreate as accurately as possible the original experience on modern displays. If you want to use an original SNES, you'll have to track down a 1-chip unit, then invest in something like a Framemeister which is the wrong side of 'reasonably priced' just to get that system displaying properly on an HDTV... or a CRT, an even pricier prospect, many of which are ageing fast with no real way to fix them when they die...

 

Emulation is an easy option. But to compare what the SNT does with snake-oil-esque claims of the benefits of 'gold-plated cables' does it a huge disservice. It may not be a device for everyone, but it's certainly one for me.

 

 

also, FPGAs are really expensive, so it's not like they are overcharging you for nothing the good ol audiophile way. Whether or not FPGA emulation is worth it is a different issue though

[usagi]

 

replaying Alien: Isolation. fuck I love this game. one of the best from the last 5 years.

 

it's also one of the best-looking games I can still run on my now-5 yr old rig.

 

The ONLY game that ever utilized the Kinect in any positive way. The NPCs and the Xenomorph could hear you talk, so whenever my girlfriend and I played it we would be whispering which only made the game even more scary. Fucking loved it!

 

 

mad. I wish I could play it in VR.

[jaderpansen]

replaying Alien: Isolation. fuck I love this game. one of the best from the last 5 years.

 

Yup.

 

Will never forget the first descent into the reactor core. No laundry could have saved those pants.

 

Never understood the criticisms about backtracking. 10/10.

 

(Only meh would be DLC. Dunno, the whole thing doesn't really work in the "jump in and quickly do some objectives" kinda way to me, also not real incentives besides leaderboards.)

[bronchuseven]

I just got done getting all the achievements (minus the Special Event ones since they don't seem to have special events anymore...) in Deus Ex Go. I thought it was a great game, and having somewhat of a story added to it all was just icing on the cake.

 

And now I want to go back and replay Deus Ex: The Fall. So I'll probably be playing that for the next couple days.

 

I also replayed Transistor recently. Bastion is badass, but Transistor totally grabbed me in a way Bastion did not. I still have to check out Pyre. Supergiant Games is one hell of a development studio.

 

Oh! And I just reinstalled Final Fantasy Tactics: War Of The Lions onto my phone. Haven't played it since it was updated from the 3.5 inch screen sizes, so I'm pretty psyched to dive into it again. It's easily in my top 3 favorite games ever.

I play FFT on my phone as well - when you include the PS1 version as well, this is the game I've played the most hours on in my life.

[Nebraska]

Opportunity arose to obtain an Analogue Super NT, so...

 

 

 

 

 

This is some seriously boutique hardware. I've never seen SNES games look so crisp and sound so good. Tons of visual/scaling options. Plays all regions. Heck, it even supports the Super GameBoy cart and all native hardware (controllers, arcade sticks... SNES mouse, lol). And a randomised boot sequence with audio by Squarepusher? Sure, why not.

 

 

Analogue are putting out a Megadrive equivalent next year. Thankfully for my wallet, I don't have quite the nostalgic affection for that era of Sega that I have for the SNES....

 

i'm jealous

 

 

playstation classic hands on impressions

 

more ps classic impressions

 

this thing is getting killed

 

 

https://youtu.be/niG3MpfsgLk

[oscillik]

I recently replayed Alien: Isolation too! Game is still solid, and legitimately fucking scary to play (and this is on a PC, without the fancy Kinect / PS4 mic stuff).

 

From what I've read, quite a few of the games on the PlayStation Classic are the PAL versions. Fucking stupid. Like all of these 'classic' systems (except the Analogue stuff), they're cashgrabs.

[tec]

replaying Alien: Isolation. fuck I love this game. one of the best from the last 5 years.

 

it's also one of the best-looking games I can still run on my now-5 yr old rig.

Awesome game, for me there is the Alien trilogy of films and then this game. No prequels, no Predator mash ups, none of that shite comes close.

[eugene]

i'm doing some hardcore mega time intensive premium deep european pc gaming recently.

 

crusader kings 2 - this game is simply a masterpiece, immense depth and breadth within a living and highly complex and interconnected medieval world. for those unfamiliar with it, basically you manage a dynasty within a feudal system, grow and develop your character and the descendants, conquer and rule lands in many different  ways to deal with very different situations, deal with religious stuff, diplomacy and court intrigue. all of those elements affect each other, your reputation and many other parameters. it's sandboxy in its nature but very rich in content. currently i'm busy kicking musulmans off iberian peninsula, but my vassals are getting strong and often exploit my righteous wars to try to take over my kingdom or secede. one of my ruler characters got her face torn off by a sneaky vassal who pretended to take care of her cancer, she died shortly after and a pretty big civil war ensued during the regency that almost screwed my whole dynasty. some of the manners you lose in this game are extremely fun.

 

x4 foundations - this is what elite dangerous was supposed to be, where the world is actually a world. it's very busy and there's a very well developed economic system.  there's a lot of shit to do, from exploring the galaxy in a tiny scout, trading (which is very dynamic and interesting due to the economic system) to  managing massive industrial complexes and leading wars with huge fleets. the sense of scale is really awesome in this game. it's pretty clunky and buggy at the moment and some design choices are pretty weird (there's really no reason for those massive and hollow stations you can traverse on foot), but the developer is very reliable when it comes to fixing and stuff as it was evident in previous x games.

[Hk47]

 

I just got done getting all the achievements (minus the Special Event ones since they don't seem to have special events anymore...) in Deus Ex Go. I thought it was a great game, and having somewhat of a story added to it all was just icing on the cake.

 

And now I want to go back and replay Deus Ex: The Fall. So I'll probably be playing that for the next couple days.

 

I also replayed Transistor recently. Bastion is badass, but Transistor totally grabbed me in a way Bastion did not. I still have to check out Pyre. Supergiant Games is one hell of a development studio.

 

Oh! And I just reinstalled Final Fantasy Tactics: War Of The Lions onto my phone. Haven't played it since it was updated from the 3.5 inch screen sizes, so I'm pretty psyched to dive into it again. It's easily in my top 3 favorite games ever.

I play FFT on my phone as well - when you include the PS1 version as well, this is the game I've played the most hours on in my life.

=D

Even though Metroid II is my favorite game ever, I would have to say I've probably dumped more time into FFT than any other game as well. It's... Indescribably amazing once you wrap your head around it. And after reading loads of different walk-throughs/tips & hints pages, I still have quite a lot that I can experiment with. There's so many jobs you can combine with other class skills that... It's basically infinite when it comes to building a team.

The only other game that has ever come close for me is Dark Gate (developed by Hit-Point, published by Kemco)... And even that is severely lacking in comparison. Especially when it comes to the story and dialogue.

15 years after first playing on a PS1, then getting the PSP version... Then the iOS build... I still don't feel like I've discovered more than half the game.

=X

[Squee]

Successfully murdered Sean Bean in Hitman 2. Felt good.

[ghOsty]

Tried the beta for Red Dead Online; it kinda sucks... the progression seems MUCH slower/more grindy online, the economy seems favored towards microtransactions and pay-to-win, and overall it just felt a lot less immersive compared to the single player (damn kids running around shooting at everything)... I don't see myself playing online much.

Fortunately, I bought it for the single player which is fantastic, and I'm still enjoying my slow progression through the story as Arthur.

[Guest Ovitus]

Think I might finally play Alien Isolation. I tried the Vive mod for it a while back and it was a bit janky. Maybe it's been improved, but it's not really meant for VR outside of the head tracking with the goggles. Still need to control and interact with everything using a regular controller. I'll play it 2D.

 

 

i'm doing some hardcore mega time intensive premium deep european pc gaming recently.

 

crusader kings 2 - this game is simply a masterpiece, immense depth and breadth within a living and highly complex and interconnected medieval world. for those unfamiliar with it, basically you manage a dynasty within a feudal system, grow and develop your character and the descendants, conquer and rule lands in many different  ways to deal with very different situations, deal with religious stuff, diplomacy and court intrigue. all of those elements affect each other, your reputation and many other parameters. it's sandboxy in its nature but very rich in content. currently i'm busy kicking musulmans off iberian peninsula, but my vassals are getting strong and often exploit my righteous wars to try to take over my kingdom or secede. one of my ruler characters got her face torn off by a sneaky vassal who pretended to take care of her cancer, she died shortly after and a pretty big civil war ensued during the regency that almost screwed my whole dynasty. some of the manners you lose in this game are extremely fun.

 

 

I have this game sitting in my library as well. Would like to learn how to play Europa Universalis IV someday.

[ambermonk]

Tried a new playthrough on Fallout: NV yesterday but it kept crashing, even after two or three different fix attempts. I'm too old to be bothered with this kinda shit.

So I opted for a new NMS playthrough instead, and have begun my journey in a completely different star system from where I started last time. Not only do I admire how vastly open the game is, but also that it appears to be a different procedural set each time to keep things fresh. Looking forward to see what kind of additional updates we get down the road.

And like I said before, if Bethesda follow Hello Games' example and strive to improve FO76, then I might finally try it out as well...even if that takes up to two years.

[oscillik]

Think I might finally play Alien Isolation. I tried the Vive mod for it a while back and it was a bit janky. Maybe it's been improved, but it's not really meant for VR outside of the head tracking with the goggles. Still need to control and interact with everything using a regular controller. I'll play it 2D.

It is, without a doubt, the scariest game I've ever played.

[Rubin Farr]

Is the Sega Genesis Classics worth picking up? My brother was always more of the Sega fan than I was, but 50 games for $30 seems like a good deal.

[Guest Ovitus]

 

Think I might finally play Alien Isolation. I tried the Vive mod for it a while back and it was a bit janky. Maybe it's been improved, but it's not really meant for VR outside of the head tracking with the goggles. Still need to control and interact with everything using a regular controller. I'll play it 2D.

It is, without a doubt, the scariest game I've ever played.

Soma was the most terrifying video game for me, being a bit of an existential crisis with the notion of abandoned consciousness.. The idea of not being at the top of the food chain is another fear of mine.. defenceless against creeping apex predators

[usagi]

Soma was brilliant too. great themes in there, as you suggested. it has a lot in common in common with A:I as far as gameplay goes. I plan on replaying that soon as well to 100% it, it never logged me completing the last few chapters for some reason.