The Sonic video does remind me of how hard it was to outright crash games back in the 8-bit and 16-bit days. They would try to keep trucking no matter what happens.
The famous Sketch glitch in Final Fantasy 6 is an example of this. Sketch is supposed to draw an image of the sketched monster on screen, but you just tried sketching an invisible monster. The game goes "Shit, what do I draw? Fuck it, I'm drawing the 28th Spell in the Lead Character's Magic Menu. No I don't care that it's not an image file."
I'd argue software crashing is preferable over it doing some nonsense. I guess on an older game console the worst consequence is that the save file could get corrupted. Arbitrary code execution is a neat curiosity in a Game Boy game, but on a computer connected to the internet it's a huge security risk.
I'm glad that Spiderweb software continues living through releases and rereleases and remasters of their titles.
I want them to give actual windowed options and other resoloution stuff to Nethergate, it's pretty unplayable right now if you have any kind of big screen
What, is "just play it in full screen 800x600" not good enough for you??
On my ultra fancy 2560x1440 monitor? Noooo it is not
They said that when Overwatch 2 was announced. Overwatch's multiplayer is becoming OW2's multiplayer so you can play the new content without having to buy OW2. I guess whether you think that's nice or annoying depends on how much you like the changes they've made.
+1
reVerseAttack and Dethrone GodRegistered Userregular
Worked well for Warcraft 3, so why not do it again?
as mentioned in that article, that's not what ow2 was initially conceived as
i do think it sucks that you just don't get to play 6v6 anymore or play your hero the way they were originally balanced because of that
Completely losing the 6v6 and the original hero balance definitely does suck, though I do think this was always the implication of a “shared multiplayer environment where no one gets left behind.”
Cause like how else would they keep a unified player base?
Maybe they'll include classic as a game mode or at least something you can set up on custom maps
as mentioned in that article, that's not what ow2 was initially conceived as
i do think it sucks that you just don't get to play 6v6 anymore or play your hero the way they were originally balanced because of that
This stuff is always super interesting to me from like a data archiving perspective where you just can't go back and engage with X media anymore because.. it dosen't exist on that form.
Going to grab Guardians of the Galaxy since the developer getting bought makes me worried the license might not transfer and it might get pulled like so many Marvel games in the past.
Not sure what else I'd get.
Also, customary reminder to everyone that doesn't yet own it: Sleeping Dogs is $3.
+2
MaddocI'm Bobbin Threadbare, are you my mother?Registered Userregular
You already can't play a lot of heroes the way they were originally designed or balanced, so I dunno it's real hard to care all that much just because they're marketing this major patch in the worst way imaginable
Even when OW2 was first announced, the way they were talking around it suggested it was just gonna be an update to Existing Overwatch, except you could also buy a PvE campaign
I finished up 100%ing Neon White last night. I enjoyed it more than I thought I was going to; I'm not normally a "time trial" player, but the game has some affordances that make that style of play more tolerable to the type of player I am.
If you haven't looked too deeply into it yet, Neon White is an FPS platform game whose unique twist is that weapons and navigation are two sides of the same coin. Each weapon is a "Soul Card" that first gives you the weapon it depicts (like a handgun for Elevate, or a semi-automatic rifle for Godspeed), but also gives you a special movement technique usable by discarding the card. For instance, the aforementioned Elevate gives you another jump (even in midair) when discarded, and Godspeed makes you do a forward dash that pierces through enemies and breaks walls.
The levels are tightly designed to make use of these abilities. You're never going to run into, say, a Doom-style combat arena where weapon cards are littered around all over and it's up to you to spin out some kind of dance routine that takes the shortest path to defeating all the enemies; the levels are more like long corridors where you're given the tool you need right when you need it. The format of requiring you to defeat all of the enemies before the goal will open also puts a hard cap on how much Speedrunner Bullshit you can actually apply to bringing your time down, because even if you can easily get on the roof of a level and walk past everything, you can't do so and also hit all the targets you're supposed to. To some this might feel constraining, but personally I prefer not having to think too hard about whether I'm missing the target time because I'm just not being precise enough, or because I don't have the right approach.
On that last note, the game takes an interesting approach to pushing you toward the target times. Each level has four available medals-- Bronze, Silver, Gold, and Ace. You'll get the Bronze medal just for clearing the stage, but the higher ones require specific target times. However, each lower medal you get unlocks something. Bronze Medals unlock the collectable gifts that you use to advance the side-plots (and also serve as interesting fetch-quests / resource management challenges / alternate level goals), Silver Medals unlock your best time's ghost, and Gold Medals unlock an icon on the course that shows you where the "official" shortcut is. The target times are very well-balanced in that respect; navigating the "main" path of any given level without stopping is always sufficient to get you the Gold Medal, and using the hinted shortcut on top of that is always sufficient to get the Ace Medal. Since they require a certain number of Gold Medals or better on previous level sets to access the set of missions, it's nice that they're built to be cleared by human hands. The fact that your jump is so floaty and none of the enemies move also means that staying alive is rarely the main challenge.
And, my goodness, how many levels there are! There's a total of 125, counting certain side-regions. My overall in-game time was around 15 to 20 hours or so, so even if you aren't planning to grind for record times, there's still plenty to do here.
On the plot side, I feel like Neon White exists in a weird space. Its tale of a group of dorky assassins hashing out a betrayal (or three) in the afterlife is too genuine to be parody, which leaves me feeling like it's just... genuinely made by people who love anime narrative trappings. There are some parts where a character's text goes unpunctuated in a way that feels very... "online anime fan?" It's hard to describe aside from calling it "kind of, but not entirely, weeby". The "almost, but not quite, entirely unlike tea" of the anime style. The "we got the voice of Spike from Cowboy Bebop to be our main character, we've made it" kind of attitude. The good news, if that has you questioning whether that's really something you want to put up with, is that the cutscene skip / fast-forward button is available on the first play-through, so if all you want is a terrifically well-executed time-trial platformer set to breakbeat tunes, you can pare it down to only that. For what it's worth, I honestly enjoyed the story and the setting, which presents a form of Christian cosmology that maps to its inspiration about as well as the Jedi Order describes Buddhism and incidentally takes the piss out of the degenerate prosperity-gospel sects of Christendom plaguing the world today. I heartily recommend it, regardless of which half of the experience you might enjoy.
My favorite musical instrument is the air-raid siren.
+6
minor incidentexpert in a dying fieldnjRegistered Userregular
Cause like how else would they keep a unified player base?
I was just thinking about this and the esports angle, and man, wouldn't it be a trip if we just totally revamped everything about Baseball every few years? New base layouts, tons of new rules, new numbers of players on the teams, new field sizes.
I guess what I'm getting at is that if you're designing for esports (which Blizzard clearly has been) and you want to ensure you keep a unified player base, why are you making a """sequel""" instead of just iterating (slowwwwly) on your original game in the first place?
Everything looks beautiful when you're young and pretty
That's about what I expected. They call it Overwatch 2, but it's basically a major update for Overwatch.
Is anything going to be fully lost, other than being able to play 6v6?
They're removing the 2CP game mode (2 control point, so the Anubis, Horizon, Hanamura, and Paris maps), because basically nobody likes it. Not sure if they'll stay around accessible in like an arcade playlist or custom game type like the various FFA and deathmatch maps that aren't part of the normal playlist.
Cause like how else would they keep a unified player base?
I was just thinking about this and the esports angle, and man, wouldn't it be a trip if we just totally revamped everything about Baseball every few years? New base layouts, tons of new rules, new numbers of players on the teams, new field sizes.
I guess what I'm getting at is that if you're designing for esports (which Blizzard clearly has been) and you want to ensure you keep a unified player base, why are you making a """sequel""" instead of just iterating (slowwwwly) on your original game in the first place?
Arguably part of Riots success in the eSports arena is that they've resisted the temptation to do lol2 (though wild rift is kinda that?) And focused on genuinely trying to solve for issues that have popped up
Cause like how else would they keep a unified player base?
I was just thinking about this and the esports angle, and man, wouldn't it be a trip if we just totally revamped everything about Baseball every few years? New base layouts, tons of new rules, new numbers of players on the teams, new field sizes.
I guess what I'm getting at is that if you're designing for esports (which Blizzard clearly has been) and you want to ensure you keep a unified player base, why are you making a """sequel""" instead of just iterating (slowwwwly) on your original game in the first place?
so they can sell it to you again
+2
MaddocI'm Bobbin Threadbare, are you my mother?Registered Userregular
edited June 2022
OW is going F2P with the "launch" of "Overwatch 2", along with the removal of boxes in favor of a shop, and battle pass system being added
The PvE whatever has been pushed out to Next Year Maybe
All you're buying when you buy "Overwatch 2" (when it's available, you can't buy it yet) is the PvE campaign, the multiplayer is just free. It's coming ahead of the PvE portion because that part has been in development hell and got delayed to next year.
Posts
I'd argue software crashing is preferable over it doing some nonsense. I guess on an older game console the worst consequence is that the save file could get corrupted. Arbitrary code execution is a neat curiosity in a Game Boy game, but on a computer connected to the internet it's a huge security risk.
WOOF
it's one thing to do the destiny thing of 'this content will go in a vault but maybe you'll get to see it again some day'
then there's this
Is anything going to be fully lost, other than being able to play 6v6?
My brain when watching Gundam: robot good!
On my ultra fancy 2560x1440 monitor? Noooo it is not
Steam: https://steamcommunity.com/id/TheZombiePenguin
Stream: https://www.twitch.tv/thezombiepenguin/
Switch: 0293 6817 9891
i do think it sucks that you just don't get to play 6v6 anymore or play your hero the way they were originally balanced because of that
Completely losing the 6v6 and the original hero balance definitely does suck, though I do think this was always the implication of a “shared multiplayer environment where no one gets left behind.”
Cause like how else would they keep a unified player base?
Maybe they'll include classic as a game mode or at least something you can set up on custom maps
This stuff is always super interesting to me from like a data archiving perspective where you just can't go back and engage with X media anymore because.. it dosen't exist on that form.
Steam: https://steamcommunity.com/id/TheZombiePenguin
Stream: https://www.twitch.tv/thezombiepenguin/
Switch: 0293 6817 9891
Going to grab Guardians of the Galaxy since the developer getting bought makes me worried the license might not transfer and it might get pulled like so many Marvel games in the past.
Not sure what else I'd get.
Also, customary reminder to everyone that doesn't yet own it: Sleeping Dogs is $3.
Even when OW2 was first announced, the way they were talking around it suggested it was just gonna be an update to Existing Overwatch, except you could also buy a PvE campaign
If you haven't looked too deeply into it yet, Neon White is an FPS platform game whose unique twist is that weapons and navigation are two sides of the same coin. Each weapon is a "Soul Card" that first gives you the weapon it depicts (like a handgun for Elevate, or a semi-automatic rifle for Godspeed), but also gives you a special movement technique usable by discarding the card. For instance, the aforementioned Elevate gives you another jump (even in midair) when discarded, and Godspeed makes you do a forward dash that pierces through enemies and breaks walls.
The levels are tightly designed to make use of these abilities. You're never going to run into, say, a Doom-style combat arena where weapon cards are littered around all over and it's up to you to spin out some kind of dance routine that takes the shortest path to defeating all the enemies; the levels are more like long corridors where you're given the tool you need right when you need it. The format of requiring you to defeat all of the enemies before the goal will open also puts a hard cap on how much Speedrunner Bullshit you can actually apply to bringing your time down, because even if you can easily get on the roof of a level and walk past everything, you can't do so and also hit all the targets you're supposed to. To some this might feel constraining, but personally I prefer not having to think too hard about whether I'm missing the target time because I'm just not being precise enough, or because I don't have the right approach.
On that last note, the game takes an interesting approach to pushing you toward the target times. Each level has four available medals-- Bronze, Silver, Gold, and Ace. You'll get the Bronze medal just for clearing the stage, but the higher ones require specific target times. However, each lower medal you get unlocks something. Bronze Medals unlock the collectable gifts that you use to advance the side-plots (and also serve as interesting fetch-quests / resource management challenges / alternate level goals), Silver Medals unlock your best time's ghost, and Gold Medals unlock an icon on the course that shows you where the "official" shortcut is. The target times are very well-balanced in that respect; navigating the "main" path of any given level without stopping is always sufficient to get you the Gold Medal, and using the hinted shortcut on top of that is always sufficient to get the Ace Medal. Since they require a certain number of Gold Medals or better on previous level sets to access the set of missions, it's nice that they're built to be cleared by human hands. The fact that your jump is so floaty and none of the enemies move also means that staying alive is rarely the main challenge.
And, my goodness, how many levels there are! There's a total of 125, counting certain side-regions. My overall in-game time was around 15 to 20 hours or so, so even if you aren't planning to grind for record times, there's still plenty to do here.
On the plot side, I feel like Neon White exists in a weird space. Its tale of a group of dorky assassins hashing out a betrayal (or three) in the afterlife is too genuine to be parody, which leaves me feeling like it's just... genuinely made by people who love anime narrative trappings. There are some parts where a character's text goes unpunctuated in a way that feels very... "online anime fan?" It's hard to describe aside from calling it "kind of, but not entirely, weeby". The "almost, but not quite, entirely unlike tea" of the anime style. The "we got the voice of Spike from Cowboy Bebop to be our main character, we've made it" kind of attitude. The good news, if that has you questioning whether that's really something you want to put up with, is that the cutscene skip / fast-forward button is available on the first play-through, so if all you want is a terrifically well-executed time-trial platformer set to breakbeat tunes, you can pare it down to only that. For what it's worth, I honestly enjoyed the story and the setting, which presents a form of Christian cosmology that maps to its inspiration about as well as the Jedi Order describes Buddhism and incidentally takes the piss out of the degenerate prosperity-gospel sects of Christendom plaguing the world today. I heartily recommend it, regardless of which half of the experience you might enjoy.
I was just thinking about this and the esports angle, and man, wouldn't it be a trip if we just totally revamped everything about Baseball every few years? New base layouts, tons of new rules, new numbers of players on the teams, new field sizes.
I guess what I'm getting at is that if you're designing for esports (which Blizzard clearly has been) and you want to ensure you keep a unified player base, why are you making a """sequel""" instead of just iterating (slowwwwly) on your original game in the first place?
i would like to contribute to your gofundme in this trying time
Arguably part of Riots success in the eSports arena is that they've resisted the temptation to do lol2 (though wild rift is kinda that?) And focused on genuinely trying to solve for issues that have popped up
Steam: https://steamcommunity.com/id/TheZombiePenguin
Stream: https://www.twitch.tv/thezombiepenguin/
Switch: 0293 6817 9891
so they can sell it to you again
The PvE whatever has been pushed out to Next Year Maybe
I cannot stress enough that Overwatch 2 isn't 'Overwatch 2'
Ripped off probably if anyone is selling you a free game
The Omnic War and/or Talon. I'm not when the PvE takes place but presumably that's it.
It's FTP for now, so you don't buy anything.
https://subsetgames.com/itb_ae.html
Into The Breach: Advanced Edition
wait so can I just buy it if I don't have a netflix account?
ITB is an outstanding game I highly recommend it
It was playable at Blizzcon when it was first announced in 2019
There was also some new info at their 2021 Blizzconline
All you're buying when you buy "Overwatch 2" (when it's available, you can't buy it yet) is the PvE campaign, the multiplayer is just free. It's coming ahead of the PvE portion because that part has been in development hell and got delayed to next year.