I personally think that each game that's greenlit should have to be played for at least 30 minutes by, like, 20 random community members that voted yes on the game before it is released in full on Steam or something.
Something to test the game's viability other than, "well it looks good".
You don't need to convince the people who said "yes," you need to convince the people who said "no."
Then again, that isn't a solution either because I know some entire genres where I would vote "no," no matter how good the game is within that genre.
Big ole thanks to @Masume for Super House of Dead Ninjas through SteamGifts. It took us a while to touch base since I've been super busy with moving, so thanks for the patience, as well!
It's going to get more and more strange when physical stuff gets increasingly endangered. When a digital game gets pulled, that's it, game over. You can't go to a mom and pop shop and find a dusty copy sitting on the shelf. Hell, look at shit like Marvel vs. Capcom 3, where there are two characters that you literally cannot get now (and thus cannot use nor practice against) because all its DLC and digital versions got pulled.
It's going to get even stranger when old physical media reaches the end of it's lifespan and millions upon millions of games just stop working.
It'll be interesting to see if the predictions of the lifespans of CDs, DVDs and Blu-Rays are accurate or not. Will our game collections outlive us or we will outlive our game collections?
You know how the Library of Congress has that thing where they archive certain movies deemed "culturally significant", and so they make backups of these movies so that our society as a whole should never lose them? We don't really have that for games yet, as video gaming is a relatively new medium in comparison to film, but think about it....can you imagine the internet jabronis arguing about whether or not something Gone Home is/is not a game and thus is/is not worthy of being archived? People still argue about early Mario titles and which one(s) are sucky and which one(s) is/are good.
Dude, there ARE rom and PC iso backup sites, there already are plenty of digital backups of all the old games. The abandonware stuff is a bit more 'legit', but still not exactly legal. Sort of like MAME stuff. Not something to talk about here, but trust me, archives DO exist, just not in a legal sense.
I think that's a big part of the issue. The copies are definitely still out there, but a proper archive, or even just sorting out the legal status of abandoned IP, would need some kind of coordination and not a small amount of effort. The rights to some titles are probably a nightmare to untangle, and I can't imagine there are many people both interested in and capable of doing so.
Speaking of Cryostasis, the developer (Action Forms) is based in Ukraine, while the publisher (1C Company) is based in Russia. I'm not sure when the game was removed from Steam/GOG - wayback machine suggests it was delisted from 1CC's website as of January 2013 - but it wouldn't surprise me if the current conflict was responsible somehow.
It was removed way before Russia went all CCCP on Ukraine.
Ahh okay, thanks. That fits the wayback timeframe, so it was probably just a publisher/developer/IP holder thing.
This does illustrate one of the issues with digital preservation, though. To amend my previous comment, PC gaming as a whole is effectively immortal - as DaringDirk points out, the backups often do still exist in some form - but some of its components are in pretty strange territory, legally and existentially.
It was removed way before Russia went all CCCP on Ukraine.
Ahh okay, thanks. That fits the wayback timeframe, so it was probably just a publisher/developer/IP holder thing.
This does illustrate one of the issues with digital preservation, though. To amend my previous comment, PC gaming as a whole is effectively immortal - as DaringDirk points out, the backups often do still exist in some form - but some of its components are in pretty strange territory, legally and existentially.
I personally think that each game that's greenlit should have to be played for at least 30 minutes by, like, 20 random community members that voted yes on the game before it is released in full on Steam or something.
Something to test the game's viability other than, "well it looks good".
You don't need to convince the people who said "yes," you need to convince the people who said "no."
Then again, that isn't a solution either because I know some entire genres where I would vote "no," no matter how good the game is within that genre.
So, Greenlight is unsolvable... problem solved!
Wait, I remember the answer to this one. We have to cut a baby in half!
I'm sure that's right. Just start halving babies. I'll tell you when to stop...
Child of Light is out. I REALLY want that game, and I can get it in Amazon for less than the standard steam price to boot because euro to dollar exchange. But it requires Uplay. Do I want it enough to deal with having another download service and that download service being Uplay of all things?
Child of Light is out. I REALLY want that game, and I can get it in Amazon for less than the standard steam price to boot because euro to dollar exchange. But it requires Uplay. Do I want it enough to deal with having another download service and that download service being Uplay of all things?
Decisions.
The version of Uplay you get with Steam products is really not a big deal. It's a small install, updates a tiny amount and only ever opens when you launch the game.
Honestly I like Uplay as a service. Though if they would go ahead and give me a sale on Anno2070 stuff that'd be great.
Child of Light is out. I REALLY want that game, and I can get it in Amazon for less than the standard steam price to boot because euro to dollar exchange. But it requires Uplay. Do I want it enough to deal with having another download service and that download service being Uplay of all things?
Decisions.
The version of Uplay you get with Steam products is really not a big deal. It's a small install, updates a tiny amount and only ever opens when you launch the game.
Honestly I like Uplay as a service. Though if they would go ahead and give me a sale on Anno2070 stuff that'd be great.
Well, as said, getting it in Amazon saves me about a third of the game's price compared to Steam, and that would probably require full on UPlay, I presume.
Child of Light is out. I REALLY want that game, and I can get it in Amazon for less than the standard steam price to boot because euro to dollar exchange. But it requires Uplay. Do I want it enough to deal with having another download service and that download service being Uplay of all things?
Decisions.
The version of Uplay you get with Steam products is really not a big deal. It's a small install, updates a tiny amount and only ever opens when you launch the game.
Honestly I like Uplay as a service. Though if they would go ahead and give me a sale on Anno2070 stuff that'd be great.
Well, as said, getting it in Amazon saves me about a third of the game's price compared to Steam, and that would probably require full on UPlay, I presume.
Mmm, I'd say that's worth it. I've never actually ran into problems with Uplay like I have with Origin but I know others occasionally have had issues.
How is prison architect anyways? The graphics kind of remind me of a flash game or something.
It's a fun game in the same vein as things like Theme Hospital, lots of management with occasional quick reaction times required when things start to get out of hand. It's pretty tough and definitely weighted against you, so a lot of the fun is trying to design a prison where control will be maintained for the longest possible time.
Then someone's light will break in their cell and they'll go mad and spark off just as food is taking too long to serve in the canteen because one of the chefs is waiting for a guard to come open a gate so he can put the bins out and oh look everyone is stabbing each other and the riot police are bludgeoning prisoners into unconciousness but there's not enough guards left alive to actually lock them back up and a new bus full of prisoners is arriving and there's no-one to meet them.
It's that kind of game.
The graphics are definitely more functional than anything else but there's lot of nice little details and you get used to seeing them bob around pretty quickly. The devs are also really good about supporting it, there's regular updates that tend to change the game fairly significantly.
Really? UPlay seems about as benign as non-Steam DRM gets. Ubisoft is playing nice with Steam these days, so there's no exclusivity shenanigans like EA/Origin. And it's miles ahead of horrifying DRM solutions that actively hate you like GFWL or malware like Securom or TAGES.
It's chief offense is that it's not Steam. That's significant, and I'd respect anyone's decision not to engage just to keep the gamebank in the family, so to speak. But I'm not aware of any issues that would warrant pitchforks and torches like some of the other services.
EDIT: I'm surprised to see Big Classy agreeing with your post, as he's the one who got me onto UPlay in the first place with his generous gift of Far Cry 3.
I have found UPlay pretty unobtrusive for when I play Rocksmith 2014 which is even a Steam game. The UPlay portion sort of piggybacks on Steam or something. The only strictly UPlay game I have is Far Cry: Blood Dragon and I don't remember having any problems with it other than forgetting I have it because I never launch UPlay (I really should just add it to Steam as a non-Steam game).
My big problem with UPlay is that it seems I have two Uplay accounts through my own stupidity. So I have Far Cry 3 (which I love) on some weird account I can't find anymore, and all my other games like Trials, Splinter Cell and ACIV on my main account. Even though the loss of Far Cry 3 is my own fault I entirely blame uPlay.
So I finished Paper Sorcerer, which I'd backed on kickstarter a while back. I love the visual style. It changes enough as you proceed that just when it starts to get a little stale the game throws a curveball at you (including one "oh shit!" moment relatively early on.)
The gameplay is solid. Really it's the game that I wanted Legend of Grimrock to be. I know a lot of folks here loved that, but the real time combat just didn't do it for me. Paper Sorcerer has real time exploration (with lots of secrets to be found) and true, turn-based combat. And only a small percentage of the levels had random encounters, so usually you could explore at your leisure which is what I want from a game like this.
Your characters unlock preset skills or skill upgrades as you advance in levels. If there were to be a Paper Sorcerer II, I would hope that it would be a little more robust in the character advancement area. The game could go from good to great if it had an Etrian Odyssey style system where the skills might be predefined but you have to make meaningful choices/allocate limited points sort of thing. Gear advancement was also pretty linear and was another area that could be expanded in a sequel (although one of my best moments playing PS was finding an insanely good axe for my Minotaur. I was opening most battles with his "strong melee attack vs. all enemies" and I increased his damage output like 40-50% in one upgrade. Delciously murderous!)
A solid game overall, especially for what was largely a one person effort. Seeing my name in the credits was a hoot too, playing into my not so latent desire to be a modern Medici. There was a LordYod in there too. That you, @Lord Yod?
Really? UPlay seems about as benign as non-Steam DRM gets. Ubisoft is playing nice with Steam these days, so there's no exclusivity shenanigans like EA/Origin. And it's miles ahead of horrifying DRM solutions that actively hate you like GFWL or malware like Securom or TAGES.
It's chief offense is that it's not Steam. That's significant, and I'd respect anyone's decision not to engage just to keep the gamebank in the family, so to speak. But I'm not aware of any issues that would warrant pitchforks and torches like some of the other services.
EDIT: I'm surprised to see Big Classy agreeing with your post, as he's the one who got me onto UPlay in the first place with his generous gift of Far Cry 3.
I have never had any problems with Origin. Hell, even GFWL was always pretty non-malevolent to me.
But Uplay has consistently been a nuisance for me. The last UPlay game I played (and dammit, at work and can't remember what it was) I had a helluva time getting it to start up (and this was a Uplay-through-Steam title) and actually ended up having to uninstall/reinstall Uplay itself to solve the problem. I vented about it in chat that evening... but can't think of the game.
Really? UPlay seems about as benign as non-Steam DRM gets. Ubisoft is playing nice with Steam these days, so there's no exclusivity shenanigans like EA/Origin. And it's miles ahead of horrifying DRM solutions that actively hate you like GFWL or malware like Securom or TAGES.
It's chief offense is that it's not Steam. That's significant, and I'd respect anyone's decision not to engage just to keep the gamebank in the family, so to speak. But I'm not aware of any issues that would warrant pitchforks and torches like some of the other services.
EDIT: I'm surprised to see Big Classy agreeing with your post, as he's the one who got me onto UPlay in the first place with his generous gift of Far Cry 3.
It ranks higher than Origin for me but I can understand hating a platform. Personally I like Uplay for its rewards and it isn't something I have to keep open all the time, which is a huge boon. That said, it's constant updates (which often hang half way through) and that thing it does where it'll keep running in the background sneakily, even after you exit the game itself is awful. The last one you wouldn't even know about were it not for steam showing you as playing that same game after you've excited it.
Also, Far Cry 3 rocks. Almost as much Dark Souls 2! Thanks again you cruel, cruel man!
Wow that is a tacky amount of DLC Child of Light is launching with. Including a quest and party member? Kinda has taken the wind out of my sails a bit.
So much for that video talking about how the new Spiderman game has webs that don't stick to the sky. The web zip tutorial shows them sticking to nothingness within the first few seconds.
Shame =\
What, do you live in some tired old city that doesn't have invisible skyscrapers or something?
It's going to get more and more strange when physical stuff gets increasingly endangered. When a digital game gets pulled, that's it, game over. You can't go to a mom and pop shop and find a dusty copy sitting on the shelf. Hell, look at shit like Marvel vs. Capcom 3, where there are two characters that you literally cannot get now (and thus cannot use nor practice against) because all its DLC and digital versions got pulled.
It's going to get even stranger when old physical media reaches the end of it's lifespan and millions upon millions of games just stop working.
It'll be interesting to see if the predictions of the lifespans of CDs, DVDs and Blu-Rays are accurate or not. Will our game collections outlive us or we will outlive our game collections?
You know how the Library of Congress has that thing where they archive certain movies deemed "culturally significant", and so they make backups of these movies so that our society as a whole should never lose them? We don't really have that for games yet, as video gaming is a relatively new medium in comparison to film, but think about it....can you imagine the internet jabronis arguing about whether or not something Gone Home is/is not a game and thus is/is not worthy of being archived? People still argue about early Mario titles and which one(s) are sucky and which one(s) is/are good.
Dude, there ARE rom and PC iso backup sites, there already are plenty of digital backups of all the old games. The abandonware stuff is a bit more 'legit', but still not exactly legal. Sort of like MAME stuff. Not something to talk about here, but trust me, archives DO exist, just not in a legal sense.
I think that's a big part of the issue. The copies are definitely still out there, but a proper archive, or even just sorting out the legal status of abandoned IP, would need some kind of coordination and not a small amount of effort. The rights to some titles are probably a nightmare to untangle, and I can't imagine there are many people both interested in and capable of doing so.
Speaking of Cryostasis, the developer (Action Forms) is based in Ukraine, while the publisher (1C Company) is based in Russia. I'm not sure when the game was removed from Steam/GOG - wayback machine suggests it was delisted from 1CC's website as of January 2013 - but it wouldn't surprise me if the current conflict was responsible somehow.
Wow that is a tacky amount of DLC Child of Light is launching with. Including a quest and party member? Kinda has taken the wind out of my sails a bit.
fucking hell. THERE'S MORE DAY 1 DLC THAN THE GAME COSTS!
Wow that is a tacky amount of DLC Child of Light is launching with. Including a quest and party member? Kinda has taken the wind out of my sails a bit.
fucking hell. THERE'S MORE DAY 1 DLC THAN THE GAME COSTS!
Wow, yeah, looking at that DLC list moves this game right into "wait for the 'Complete Edition/Director's Cut or a crazy good sale" pile.
It is a ridiculous amount of DLC but it looks like it's pretty much just two different skin packs, one of which must have come with preorders since it says I have it. And some just extra loot packs/power bumps. The only meaningful looking one is the Golem set with quest & character. It seems pretty safe to ignore it all as opposed to worrying about when it'll be bundled together. The majority of it seems to just be there for if someone really feels like spending extra money on it for the heck of it.
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KalnaurI See Rain . . .Centralia, WARegistered Userregular
I personally think that each game that's greenlit should have to be played for at least 30 minutes by, like, 20 random community members that voted yes on the game before it is released in full on Steam or something.
Something to test the game's viability other than, "well it looks good".
You don't need to convince the people who said "yes," you need to convince the people who said "no."
Then again, that isn't a solution either because I know some entire genres where I would vote "no," no matter how good the game is within that genre.
So, Greenlight is unsolvable... problem solved!
My point is that even if I say yes because it looks and sounds good, is that a true impression of the goods on hand, or is it all a dog and pony show? That's why I said random folks who said yes, not no. Because the folks that said no weren't the ones interested in it anyways.
I make art things! deviantART:Kalnaur ::: Origin: Kalnaur ::: UPlay: Kalnaur
It is a ridiculous amount of DLC but it looks like it's pretty much just two different skin packs, one of which must have come with preorders since it says I have it. And some just extra loot packs/power bumps. The only meaningful looking one is the Golem set with quest & character. It seems pretty safe to ignore it all as opposed to worrying about when it'll be bundled together. The majority of it seems to just be there for if someone really feels like spending extra money on it for the heck of it.
Still. It does't really feel kosher to have that much DLC on day 1. Especially when it ends up costing more than the game itself.
I really don't like day 1 DLC in the vein of party members since it means that their character, their dialogue, their story is significant and the company decided players don't get that story with the game they purchased unless they pay more. Same carp ME3 pulled.
A quest and character I can ignore. The rest being cosmetic or perks isn't that bad. The way you all were talking I thought we had another sharpest situation til I checked.
Posts
Made all the better by this waiting for me when I got home:
Thanks @The Brayster! Now I can run my re-enactments of OZ!
Yeah, like mobas. Fuck those games
Big ole thanks to @Masume for Super House of Dead Ninjas through SteamGifts. It took us a while to touch base since I've been super busy with moving, so thanks for the patience, as well!
I think that's a big part of the issue. The copies are definitely still out there, but a proper archive, or even just sorting out the legal status of abandoned IP, would need some kind of coordination and not a small amount of effort. The rights to some titles are probably a nightmare to untangle, and I can't imagine there are many people both interested in and capable of doing so.
Speaking of Cryostasis, the developer (Action Forms) is based in Ukraine, while the publisher (1C Company) is based in Russia. I'm not sure when the game was removed from Steam/GOG - wayback machine suggests it was delisted from 1CC's website as of January 2013 - but it wouldn't surprise me if the current conflict was responsible somehow.
Now playing: Teardown and Baldur's Gate 3 (co-op)
Sunday Spotlight: Horror Tales: The Wine
Ahh okay, thanks. That fits the wayback timeframe, so it was probably just a publisher/developer/IP holder thing.
This does illustrate one of the issues with digital preservation, though. To amend my previous comment, PC gaming as a whole is effectively immortal - as DaringDirk points out, the backups often do still exist in some form - but some of its components are in pretty strange territory, legally and existentially.
Now playing: Teardown and Baldur's Gate 3 (co-op)
Sunday Spotlight: Horror Tales: The Wine
See System Shock 2
http://www.fallout3nexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=16534
Winners don't use drugs
Boy, I sure wish I'd quality control what I write in those messages.
PSN: TheBrayster_92
Wait, I remember the answer to this one. We have to cut a baby in half!
I'm sure that's right. Just start halving babies. I'll tell you when to stop...
Steam profile.
Getting started with BATTLETECH: Part 1 / Part 2
Child of Light is out. I REALLY want that game, and I can get it in Amazon for less than the standard steam price to boot because euro to dollar exchange. But it requires Uplay. Do I want it enough to deal with having another download service and that download service being Uplay of all things?
Decisions.
The version of Uplay you get with Steam products is really not a big deal. It's a small install, updates a tiny amount and only ever opens when you launch the game.
Honestly I like Uplay as a service. Though if they would go ahead and give me a sale on Anno2070 stuff that'd be great.
Well, as said, getting it in Amazon saves me about a third of the game's price compared to Steam, and that would probably require full on UPlay, I presume.
Mmm, I'd say that's worth it. I've never actually ran into problems with Uplay like I have with Origin but I know others occasionally have had issues.
It's a fun game in the same vein as things like Theme Hospital, lots of management with occasional quick reaction times required when things start to get out of hand. It's pretty tough and definitely weighted against you, so a lot of the fun is trying to design a prison where control will be maintained for the longest possible time.
Then someone's light will break in their cell and they'll go mad and spark off just as food is taking too long to serve in the canteen because one of the chefs is waiting for a guard to come open a gate so he can put the bins out and oh look everyone is stabbing each other and the riot police are bludgeoning prisoners into unconciousness but there's not enough guards left alive to actually lock them back up and a new bus full of prisoners is arriving and there's no-one to meet them.
It's that kind of game.
The graphics are definitely more functional than anything else but there's lot of nice little details and you get used to seeing them bob around pretty quickly. The devs are also really good about supporting it, there's regular updates that tend to change the game fairly significantly.
Really? UPlay seems about as benign as non-Steam DRM gets. Ubisoft is playing nice with Steam these days, so there's no exclusivity shenanigans like EA/Origin. And it's miles ahead of horrifying DRM solutions that actively hate you like GFWL or malware like Securom or TAGES.
It's chief offense is that it's not Steam. That's significant, and I'd respect anyone's decision not to engage just to keep the gamebank in the family, so to speak. But I'm not aware of any issues that would warrant pitchforks and torches like some of the other services.
EDIT: I'm surprised to see Big Classy agreeing with your post, as he's the one who got me onto UPlay in the first place with his generous gift of Far Cry 3.
Steam profile.
Getting started with BATTLETECH: Part 1 / Part 2
SteamID: edgruberman GOG Galaxy: EdGruberman
The gameplay is solid. Really it's the game that I wanted Legend of Grimrock to be. I know a lot of folks here loved that, but the real time combat just didn't do it for me. Paper Sorcerer has real time exploration (with lots of secrets to be found) and true, turn-based combat. And only a small percentage of the levels had random encounters, so usually you could explore at your leisure which is what I want from a game like this.
Your characters unlock preset skills or skill upgrades as you advance in levels. If there were to be a Paper Sorcerer II, I would hope that it would be a little more robust in the character advancement area. The game could go from good to great if it had an Etrian Odyssey style system where the skills might be predefined but you have to make meaningful choices/allocate limited points sort of thing. Gear advancement was also pretty linear and was another area that could be expanded in a sequel (although one of my best moments playing PS was finding an insanely good axe for my Minotaur. I was opening most battles with his "strong melee attack vs. all enemies" and I increased his damage output like 40-50% in one upgrade. Delciously murderous!)
A solid game overall, especially for what was largely a one person effort. Seeing my name in the credits was a hoot too, playing into my not so latent desire to be a modern Medici. There was a LordYod in there too. That you, @Lord Yod?
Steam profile.
Getting started with BATTLETECH: Part 1 / Part 2
I have never had any problems with Origin. Hell, even GFWL was always pretty non-malevolent to me.
But Uplay has consistently been a nuisance for me. The last UPlay game I played (and dammit, at work and can't remember what it was) I had a helluva time getting it to start up (and this was a Uplay-through-Steam title) and actually ended up having to uninstall/reinstall Uplay itself to solve the problem. I vented about it in chat that evening... but can't think of the game.
The experience soured me.
Steam ID: Good Life
It ranks higher than Origin for me but I can understand hating a platform. Personally I like Uplay for its rewards and it isn't something I have to keep open all the time, which is a huge boon. That said, it's constant updates (which often hang half way through) and that thing it does where it'll keep running in the background sneakily, even after you exit the game itself is awful. The last one you wouldn't even know about were it not for steam showing you as playing that same game after you've excited it.
Also, Far Cry 3 rocks. Almost as much Dark Souls 2! Thanks again you cruel, cruel man!
I always read that as Legend of Grimlock. And then I'm sad that that game doesn't exist. Because it totally should.
Steam | XBL
Steam ID: Good Life
What, do you live in some tired old city that doesn't have invisible skyscrapers or something?
You can actualy get a feel for what an archive would be like by listening to this podcast wherein a researcher at Stanford is hoping to archive online and digital worlds: http://alifewellwasted.com/2009/03/03/episode-two-gotta-catch-em-all/
My point is that even if I say yes because it looks and sounds good, is that a true impression of the goods on hand, or is it all a dog and pony show? That's why I said random folks who said yes, not no. Because the folks that said no weren't the ones interested in it anyways.
Having a quest/whatever cut out at launch is really not cool.
Agarest not sharpest darn auto correct