The Video Game Thread - anything and everything...

[JediMichael]

I have a piece of FF6 art that I really like. Check out Dave Rapoza. He has a patreon where you can download digital files and print them yourself. I have one from FF6 and one from Super Metroid on my wall.

I kept getting sidetracked and just remembered I wanted to check him out. Very nice. I found his stuff on www.inprnt.com/gallery/dave_rapoza/
so once I can get some money again, I'll totally buy some stuff. Who needs to look at plain old walls anyways....lol.
I also really like the Metal Gear Solid piece and could go with the other one I have from another artist.

 

[HeartBlade]

I've held off on buyin the FFVII intergrade whatever whatever mostly because I gather it's not a complete story. I thought about buying it now that this next one is coming out, but...I gather it's not a complete story either. :\

FFVII is going to be a trilogy at least, possibly longer so the story isnt complete. Probably another 5 years for the story to end barring any dev issues although they may release complete edition with all 3/4+ games as a result.

 

[Solo4114]

FFVII is going to be a trilogy at least, possibly longer so the story isnt complete. Probably another 5 years for the story to end barring any dev issues although they may release complete edition with all 3/4+ games as a result.

I'll wait for the complete story then.

 

[JediMichael]

I'll wait for the complete story then.

Took them 4 years between part 1 and 2, although, I'm sure covid didn't help.
But I would expect at LEAST another 3 years, and maybe still 4, before the final part come out.
Then they can sell it for like $150+ game for all three parts.
Square is milking the Final Fantasy 7 brand for every penny they can squeeze out.

 

[Paul Andrew]

Took them 4 years between part 1 and 2, although, I'm sure covid didn't help.
But I would expect at LEAST another 3 years, and maybe still 4, before the final part come out.
Then they can sell it for like $150+ game for all three parts.
Square is milking the Final Fantasy 7 brand for every penny they can squeeze out.

It's probably the most popular FF, and definitely the one that cracked mainstream gaming most.

Don't look at me, I've been a fan since the NES.

 

[JediMichael]

It's probably the most popular FF, and definitely the one that cracked mainstream gaming most.

Don't look at me, I've been a fan since the NES.

Yeah. I really started with FF6, but have gone and also played the older ones a bunch as well. Just finished FF1 like a week ago.
Of course, I also knew a bunch of people who still didn't care for the whole turn based game play and were playing games like Mortal Kombat, Twisted Metal and those type games instead.
It seems all these newer RPG are trying to cater to them now with it being more action like.

 

[HeartBlade]

Yeah. I really started with FF6, but have gone and also played the older ones a bunch as well. Just finished FF1 like a week ago.
Of course, I also knew a bunch of people who still didn't care for the whole turn based game play and were playing games like Mortal Kombat, Twisted Metal and those type games instead.
It seems all these newer RPG are trying to cater to them now with it being more action like.

I do think traditional JRPGs require a mindset that is arguably different from what modern players want.

In RPGs, Fights are won based on player levels earned from grinding. No matter how good you are, your level 1 party isnt winning against a lv 30 boss. You will need to grind your party so their levels are also around level 30 and/or have the equipment to take on the boss. Winning is based on time invested in the game doing “boring things” aka killing the same enemy again and again to gain experience.

For action games, player skill is a much bigger factor. Players can dodge/guard to avoid or nullify damage. If skilled enough, players can technically beat bosses despite being significantly underlevelled if they are good enough (see Kingdom Hearts Lv 1 runs). I do think players see the appeal of action games as being more “skillful” because skilled players can “skip” the boring grind.

People do like RPG mechanics. They are prevalent in a ton of games from Dark Souls to new God of War where players can either grind or get better as a player to overcome challenges. However, grinding being the sole path to progression doesnt seem very popular. Also likely doesnt help that there are likely alot of players that dont take on the toughest challenges so may think just spamming basic attacks is enough to win most fights and dont explore the various options available to players in RPGs which become essential (and cannot be replicated in action games) when facing superbosses.

 

[Nth]

It's probably the most popular FF, and definitely the one that cracked mainstream gaming most.

Don't look at me, I've been a fan since the NES.

Yeah, I bought my first PlayStation just for FFVII after being a hardcore anti Sony, Nintendo fan boy.

 

[Paul Andrew]

I do think traditional JRPGs require a mindset that is arguably different from what modern players want.

In RPGs, Fights are won based on player levels earned from grinding. No matter how good you are, your level 1 party isnt winning against a lv 30 boss. You will need to grind your party so their levels are also around level 30 and/or have the equipment to take on the boss. Winning is based on time invested in the game doing “boring things” aka killing the same enemy again and again to gain experience.

Conversely, when a game employs those mechanics but isn't an RPG it can be hit or miss.

In the God of War reboot there's an area where the game opens up and let's you explore a little, so I did. Immediately found a place it lets you visit that gets you one-shotted. I quit after beating my head against it for an hour. Haven't gone back to it, because I expected in an action game to be able to just get good enough to pass things like that, not be limited by equipment levels.

 

[JediMichael]

I remember playing FF12 back in 2006 for that first time. I was in an area that I was just a tad underleveled, low on life, and wanted to find a place to to safely heal up. I found a cave, thinking I could do this....except that it had enemies that were WAY stronger. I didn't make it.

 

[HeartBlade]

Conversely, when a game employs those mechanics but isn't an RPG it can be hit or miss.

In the God of War reboot there's an area where the game opens up and let's you explore a little, so I did. Immediately found a place it lets you visit that gets you one-shotted. I quit after beating my head against it for an hour. Haven't gone back to it, because I expected in an action game to be able to just get good enough to pass things like that, not be limited by equipment levels.

Yeah I agree and its an example of poor/bad RPG implementation mechanics. Level is tied to Gear in new God of War and determines alot of Kratos' stats (damage output, durability, ability to parry attacks). Since there are limits to how much you can upgrade a certain piece of armor, you inevitably have to find and use newer armor pieces. Despite the RPG mechanics, there is also no ability to "grind" to strengthen Kratos either for more durability/damage output/etc. so you are stuck with if you get caught in a difficult part of the game.

While it is impressive that a rare few players can still beat Sigrun despite using the base armor, that is incredibly rare in skill and bosses are more "predictable" than basic mobs since they are 1 v 1. You can reduce difficulty unless you are planning on Give me God of War though so its not the worst.

 

[Nth]

RIP, original voice actor of Max Payne, James McCaffrey passed away at 65.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1736769229641138673

 

[JediMichael]

Never played Max Payne, but have seen plenty from it.


I also just.saw this map comparison between GTA 5 and 6.
Of course, as of now, its just fan made, but a lot of times, they get pretty close to the real deal.

Someone else said it could possibly be all these citys within FL, which would be pretty cool, growing up in Orlando, it would be cool to see their take on it, and more than just the Miami area.

 

[cboath]

Orlando to miami us like 4.5 hour drive IRL. So thats the bottom HALF of floride

 

[JediMichael]

Orlando to miami us like 4.5 hour drive IRL. So thats the bottom HALF of floride

Yeah, and even then, its going to be scaled WAY down anyways. Still though, looks like there will sure be a ton to explore.
I really hope they include a Disney World type theme park of some kind.
Comparing this map to actual Orlando, I see it all. I hope the real map ends up being the same or even closer.

 

[HeartBlade]

I just wonder if there is going to be some amusement park with Mack Rodent and Pals fighting against the governor of the state lol.

I did play both Red Deads and beat 2 (still need to do 1) but never got into GTA. I should try 5 before it gets deserted for 6.

 

[Solo4114]

The only Rockstar game I've ever been able to get into was LA Noire. And even that one, I've never finished.

I dunno what it is, but I tend to find their games to feel....self-indulgent? They try SO HARD to be "cinematic," but within the confines of the game, I find it irritating. Give me a cutscene rendered thru the game engine; don't make me do a 5 minute walk-and-talk sequence.

And then when the games end up opening up to the full open world experience, at least with the few I've played, it feels a mile wide and an inch deep. Plus the control schemes always feel awful and counter-intuitive to me.

I want to like them. Westerns are a genre I dig. Noire films are a genre I dig. Hell, even crime films are fun. But I just have a hard time getting into these games. I had way more fun with Saints Row 3 and 4, by comparison, and their over-the-top goofiness.

 

[Riceball]

What are everyone's thoughts on Starfield? I recently got a new PC and it came with a trial for XBox Game Pass and when I saw Starfeld on it, I decided to give it a try. After playing it for a few days now, I'm still on the fence about it. It's interesting but I don't like how there's a lot the game doesn't tell you how to do and you have to figure it out yourself or look online. Somethings are easy enough because it's the same basic game mechanic in every game. But then are things specific to this game that it either doesn't bother to tell you how to do it or it does so very quickly and if you blink, you'll miss it.

 

[cboath]

What are everyone's thoughts on Starfield? I recently got a new PC and it came with a trial for XBox Game Pass and when I saw Starfeld on it, I decided to give it a try. After playing it for a few days now, I'm still on the fence about it. It's interesting but I don't like how there's a lot the game doesn't tell you how to do and you have to figure it out yourself or look online. Somethings are easy enough because it's the same basic game mechanic in every game. But then are things specific to this game that it either doesn't bother to tell you how to do it or it does so very quickly and if you blink, you'll miss it.

Kinda like they farm out QC and testing to the first purchasers, i think they now essentially do the same with documentation. I'd wager they fully expect people to look up how to do things on the internet as opposed to telling you how the game actually works anymore. There was a time, if you're old enough to remember, when games came on disks 3.5" floppies, and even 5.25" if you go back enough. Docs were part of copy protection. They'd print them on dark paper - with black text so they were nearly impossible to xerox. You'd still get pirates who'd type out the whole book into a text file to add to the zips for download. Seems like now, they just say f it, and don't want to spend a dime on proper docs, instructions in game, or anything else and farm it off on the customers.

 

[Riceball]

Kinda like they farm out QC and testing to the first purchasers, i think they now essentially do the same with documentation. I'd wager they fully expect people to look up how to do things on the internet as opposed to telling you how the game actually works anymore. There was a time, if you're old enough to remember, when games came on disks 3.5" floppies, and even 5.25" if you go back enough. Docs were part of copy protection. They'd print them on dark paper - with black text so they were nearly impossible to xerox. You'd still get pirates who'd type out the whole book into a text file to add to the zips for download. Seems like now, they just say f it, and don't want to spend a dime on proper docs, instructions in game, or anything else and farm it off on the customers.

Yeah, I remember back when games actually came with printed instruction manuals, I remember some later ones that actually printed out keyboard layouts that showed what each key on the keyboard did.

But I'm fine with not having an instruction manual since most games have a tutorial stage/level that goes over the basics and when it introduces new things, the game will pause so you can read a popup that tells you about the new thing and how you do it. My issue with Starfield is that the tutorial only covers the very basics and doesn't pause to introduce you to new functions in the game. For instance, the game doesn't explain to you how to set a particular weapon or tool to a hot key like every other games does. I had to figure that out myself.

It's also kind of annoying is that certain things can only be done directly in the game's scan mode, and a key that does one thing in scan mode does something entirely different outside of it. In scan mode, the G key calls up a ground map, but outside of scan mode it throws a grenade and I've wasted grenades because of that. Thinking of it now, I think I'm going to remap the grenade button so I don't waste any more grenades.

But I've only barely started the game so I'm going to give it a little longer before I decide whether to continue with it or go back to Cyberpunk for my second playthrough. But so far, it's not comparing well to Cyberpunk. Cyberpunk's graphics (and character animations) are better despite being a somewhat older game, and the overall gameplay is better with a far better tutorial and way of explaining new things. But Starfield is a little better in explaining how to advance your character, but only by a little bit.