JacobkoshGamble a stamp.I can show you how to be a real man!Moderatormod
I am pretty sure the UGC is not playable on mobile but I'm speaking from memory and could be wrong.
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JacobkoshGamble a stamp.I can show you how to be a real man!Moderatormod
RISE FROM YOUR GRAAAAVE
Waypoint's "Waypoint 101" video game book club podcast is doing Dragonfall this month. (The idea with this podcast is that the staff all play through a game, and hopefully the community plays it too, and then they do a big podcast where they can talk freely about the entire game without having to spend time explaining it to the audience or each other.)
All of that conversation was great, but it still left me wanting something a little more... interactive. So many of my favorite cyberpunk experiences are about immersion, and I don't just mean in the "first person climbing and healing animations" sense. What I first loved about Blade Runner was the sense of place, whether in Decker's apartment, on the city streets, or in the abandoned building that JF Sebastian lives in. It's a big part of why the Hell's Kitchen level of the original Deus Ex is still so clear in my memory: that shitty bar; your brother's apartment complex; the crummy free clinic. So much of what I love about Ken MacLeod's The Star Fraction (one of my favorite cyberpunk stories) is the way he renders the feeling of being in different places--from the dorms of anarchist mercenary outfits, to the clean biolabs of corporate-sponsored universities, to the sacrosanct salesroom of the setting's Mormon Church Turned World's Super Store. (No, really, read The Star Fraction, it's great).
So, is it any surprise that I convinced the rest of the team to spend the rest of the summer playing Shadowrun: Dragonfall, a game that so elegantly creates feelings of place-ness?
...
A tactical RPG with "ruthless corporations bleed[ing] the world dry" set in "a stable anarchy known as the Flux State" that's put under threat by "the Great Dragon Feuerschwinge"? How the hell hadn't we already done an ep of Waypoint 101 about Dragonfall?
We'll be recording our episode of Waypoint 101 sometime in the back half of August, so you have some time. Those of us on staff are committing to putting 10 hours or so in the game, though I'm pretty excited to play through the whole thing, including the Directors Cut content that I never got around to before. Also: You don't need to go back to play the original Shadowrun Returns or any other Shadowrun game to play this. Just hop right in to Dragonfall.
I went over to their forums and submitted the little quick guide I've written up for newcomers, and
"We have years of struggle ahead, mostly within ourselves." - Made in USA
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Dr. ChaosPost nuclear nuisanceRegistered Userregular
edited July 2018
I'll never forgive Shadowrun for giving me an addiction to roleplaying as dwarves in fantasy games.
I want to play as the cool lizard men in Divinity OS 2 but I can't help but think back to just how damn awesome my vindicator minigun wielding dwarf Greasy was in Dragonfall and Hong Kong.
(Divinity would be a lot better series with miniguns)
jakobaggerLO THY DREAD EMPIRE CHAOS IS RESTOREDRegistered Userregular
I was only vaguely aware of Waypoint before (as being I believe one of the video games spaces pretty firmly pro respect and thoughtfulness and anti 'us gamers' rage?), but namedropping the Star Fraction and Ken MacLeod is a good sign, because man I love that book. Maybe this is a good excuse for a replay, to hang out in the Flux State again and hoover up the last achievements. Still haven't done the perfect Aztech run for example.
Also, that's awesome Jake. Better than that time a HBS called you out by name on a stream or on par?
I was only vaguely aware of Waypoint before (as being I believe one of the video games spaces pretty firmly pro respect and thoughtfulness and anti 'us gamers' rage?), but namedropping the Star Fraction and Ken MacLeod is a good sign, because man I love that book. Maybe this is a good excuse for a replay, to hang out in the Flux State again and hoover up the last achievements. Still haven't done the perfect Aztech run for example.
Also, that's awesome Jake. Better than that time a HBS called you out by name on a stream or on par?
I think that was probably the most awesome, because it's the actual guy who made the thing and because it meant he had been hanging out here reading us talk about the game.
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jakobaggerLO THY DREAD EMPIRE CHAOS IS RESTOREDRegistered Userregular
Forgetting to write out the word developer after HBS makes that sentence seem a lot more. . .internetty than intended.
I just started replaying Hong Kong recently. Made a Street Sam that is very cybered up with the Ares Laser and the monofilament whips. Been fun just being an unstoppable badass that nukes things with lasers and whips anything that gets close.
I just started replaying Hong Kong recently. Made a Street Sam that is very cybered up with the Ares Laser and the monofilament whips. Been fun just being an unstoppable badass that nukes things with lasers and whips anything that gets close.
And now I have acquired the mini gun.
You may be tough, but you are nothing compared to the noodle extruder.
Look, most characters aren't going to compete with an unknowable horror.
Listen to me, I'm just trying to keep everyone humble. Going against the gods is one thing, but I don't want someone getting cocky and trying to oppose the noodle extruder.
So, I decided to poke at Dragonfall. I'm new to this setting, and I just did the Trial Run mission...
...so, uh, is it just me or is the whole Lodge thing incredibly dumb?
Like, let's review the mission they send you in: they lie to you about the mission objective (after Monika already gets killed in the opening sequence to establish that Bad Intel Will Get You Killed), they lie to you about your mission role, they saddle you with a dude they intend to shoot you in the back mid-mission, they saddle you with one of their own assets that you're expected to kill yourself, they blackmail a random civilian electrician into the crew instead of getting an actual rigger and *then* make her an involuntary mass homicide and domestic terrorist, likely traumatizing her for life. All for an extremely circuitous assassination attempt that you could just have asked me to do in the first place, and some test of character. And then Luca seems surprised if you tell him that whole thing was dumb and you will not be doing any further business with him.
Like, maybe I'm not understanding the setting correctly, but what smart runner would run again for a Johnson that explicitly and admittedly will lie to you about your run objectives and intentionally send their own payroll runners to die for a test of character of someone else? Even if you're playing an amoral jerk only in it for number one (which I'm not, so Lana's unnecessary traumatizing already had me out), this seems like a straight up "things that will get a shadowrunner 100% killed" bingo.
Are these people explicitly selecting for very dumb shadowrunners that will not last past a couple missions so they can never learn too much, or something?
So, I decided to poke at Dragonfall. I'm new to this setting, and I just did the Trial Run mission...
...so, uh, is it just me or is the whole Lodge thing incredibly dumb?
Like, let's review the mission they send you in: they lie to you about the mission objective (after Monika already gets killed in the opening sequence to establish that Bad Intel Will Get You Killed), they lie to you about your mission role, they saddle you with a dude they intend to shoot you in the back mid-mission, they saddle you with one of their own assets that you're expected to kill yourself, they blackmail a random civilian electrician into the crew instead of getting an actual rigger and *then* make her an involuntary mass homicide and domestic terrorist, likely traumatizing her for life. All for an extremely circuitous assassination attempt that you could just have asked me to do in the first place, and some test of character. And then Luca seems surprised if you tell him that whole thing was dumb and you will not be doing any further business with him.
Like, maybe I'm not understanding the setting correctly, but what smart runner would run again for a Johnson that explicitly and admittedly will lie to you about your run objectives and intentionally send their own payroll runners to die for a test of character of someone else? Even if you're playing an amoral jerk only in it for number one (which I'm not, so Lana's unnecessary traumatizing already had me out), this seems like a straight up "things that will get a shadowrunner 100% killed" bingo.
Are these people explicitly selecting for very dumb shadowrunners that will not last past a couple missions so they can never learn too much, or something?
Pretty much. Alternatively, 'no, Mr. Bond, they expect you to die.'
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38thDoelets never be stupid againwait lets always be stupid foreverRegistered Userregular
They are pretty much looking for incredibly amoral people who are only after the bottom line. Their requests are all pretty terrible, at least the two I can remember.
cj iwakuraThe Rhythm RegentBears The Name FreedomRegistered Userregular
And for any newcomers: yes, Dragonfall is the best, but don't skip Returns/Dead Man's Switch. It's more 'street level' and less epic, but it has some great character moments and story progression.
Also, some great cameos.
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3cl1ps3I will build a labyrinth to house the cheeseRegistered Userregular
So, I decided to poke at Dragonfall. I'm new to this setting, and I just did the Trial Run mission...
...so, uh, is it just me or is the whole Lodge thing incredibly dumb?
Like, let's review the mission they send you in: they lie to you about the mission objective (after Monika already gets killed in the opening sequence to establish that Bad Intel Will Get You Killed), they lie to you about your mission role, they saddle you with a dude they intend to shoot you in the back mid-mission, they saddle you with one of their own assets that you're expected to kill yourself, they blackmail a random civilian electrician into the crew instead of getting an actual rigger and *then* make her an involuntary mass homicide and domestic terrorist, likely traumatizing her for life. All for an extremely circuitous assassination attempt that you could just have asked me to do in the first place, and some test of character. And then Luca seems surprised if you tell him that whole thing was dumb and you will not be doing any further business with him.
Like, maybe I'm not understanding the setting correctly, but what smart runner would run again for a Johnson that explicitly and admittedly will lie to you about your run objectives and intentionally send their own payroll runners to die for a test of character of someone else? Even if you're playing an amoral jerk only in it for number one (which I'm not, so Lana's unnecessary traumatizing already had me out), this seems like a straight up "things that will get a shadowrunner 100% killed" bingo.
Are these people explicitly selecting for very dumb shadowrunners that will not last past a couple missions so they can never learn too much, or something?
No you're pretty much right. I actually always annoyed me that
you don't have the option to berate Luca for being a fucking amateur playing cloak and dagger in the dumbest way possible.
They are pretty much looking for incredibly amoral people who are only after the bottom line. Their requests are all pretty terrible, at least the two I can remember.
Alternatively, people who will buy their "it's for the greater good" shtick.
They are pretty much looking for incredibly amoral people who are only after the bottom line. Their requests are all pretty terrible, at least the two I can remember.
See, the thing is, even if you're only looking after yourself, these guys look like they will burn you off inside three jobs. If you have morals, they're obviously terrible, but even if you don't have morals, they're still a bunch of idiots that clearly consider runners not merely "replaceable" (which far as I can tell is more or less the usual place runners end up in), but outright "disposable". If you care for your own skin enough to want to have time to spend your cash, you probably also wouldn't work for these dudes!
They are pretty much looking for incredibly amoral people who are only after the bottom line. Their requests are all pretty terrible, at least the two I can remember.
See, the thing is, even if you're only looking after yourself, these guys look like they will burn you off inside three jobs. If you have morals, they're obviously terrible, but even if you don't have morals, they're still a bunch of idiots that clearly consider runners not merely "replaceable" (which far as I can tell is more or less the usual place runners end up in), but outright "disposable". If you care for your own skin enough to want to have time to spend your cash, you probably also wouldn't work for these dudes!
I think of them kind of like the people that create spam emails. All the bad grammar and misspellings aren't entirely accidental. They weed out anyone attentive enough to detail and smart enough to fall for the scheme playing on people's greed.
Vauclair: "My plan will kill every dragon!"
Me: I am in favor of this plan
Vauclair: "It will require the murder of every human being in the entire Berlin metropolitan area!"
Me: ...and suddenly I am a lot less in favor of this plan
I probably would have let him hit the button otherwise.
Then I could talk to Firewing and she seems to be just about the only dragon I know of in this setting that appears to be, well, not cartoonishly evil? Like she's dangerous and has rage issues but also seems to have a motivation beyond "STUFF" and some cheap "you cannot understand the workings of this great mind" stuff that somehow basically always comes down to "CEO that speed-read The Prince once". And a cyberpunk dystopia probably could do with something protecting what forests remain. So I let her free. It's not like we're going to be more fucked because of one more dragon at this point, and she might actually be somewhat positive for a change.
Vauclair: "My plan will kill every dragon!"
Me: I am in favor of this plan
Vauclair: "It will require the murder of every human being in the entire Berlin metropolitan area!"
Me: ...and suddenly I am a lot less in favor of this plan
I probably would have let him hit the button otherwise.
Then I could talk to Firewing and she seems to be just about the only dragon I know of in this setting that appears to be, well, not cartoonishly evil? Like she's dangerous and has rage issues but also seems to have a motivation beyond "STUFF" and some cheap "you cannot understand the workings of this great mind" stuff that somehow basically always comes down to "CEO that speed-read The Prince once". And a cyberpunk dystopia probably could do with something protecting what forests remain. So I let her free. It's not like we're going to be more fucked because of one more dragon at this point, and she might actually be somewhat positive for a change.
Re your spoiler: If you've got a save at the appropriate point still, I highly recommend checking out what happens if
you join Vauclair
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38thDoelets never be stupid againwait lets always be stupid foreverRegistered Userregular
Vauclair: "My plan will kill every dragon!"
Me: I am in favor of this plan
Vauclair: "It will require the murder of every human being in the entire Berlin metropolitan area!"
Me: ...and suddenly I am a lot less in favor of this plan
I probably would have let him hit the button otherwise.
Then I could talk to Firewing and she seems to be just about the only dragon I know of in this setting that appears to be, well, not cartoonishly evil? Like she's dangerous and has rage issues but also seems to have a motivation beyond "STUFF" and some cheap "you cannot understand the workings of this great mind" stuff that somehow basically always comes down to "CEO that speed-read The Prince once". And a cyberpunk dystopia probably could do with something protecting what forests remain. So I let her free. It's not like we're going to be more fucked because of one more dragon at this point, and she might actually be somewhat positive for a change.
Re your spoiler: If you've got a save at the appropriate point still, I highly recommend checking out what happens if
you join Vauclair
That might be may favorite part of the game and that's saying something.
Vauclair: "My plan will kill every dragon!"
Me: I am in favor of this plan
Vauclair: "It will require the murder of every human being in the entire Berlin metropolitan area!"
Me: ...and suddenly I am a lot less in favor of this plan
I probably would have let him hit the button otherwise.
Then I could talk to Firewing and she seems to be just about the only dragon I know of in this setting that appears to be, well, not cartoonishly evil? Like she's dangerous and has rage issues but also seems to have a motivation beyond "STUFF" and some cheap "you cannot understand the workings of this great mind" stuff that somehow basically always comes down to "CEO that speed-read The Prince once". And a cyberpunk dystopia probably could do with something protecting what forests remain. So I let her free. It's not like we're going to be more fucked because of one more dragon at this point, and she might actually be somewhat positive for a change.
Re your spoiler: If you've got a save at the appropriate point still, I highly recommend checking out what happens if
you join Vauclair
That might be may favorite part of the game and that's saying something.
Come onnn, Hairbrained Schemes. You got two projects in development, don't let me down.
I worry that the rights to the FASA properties are just so fucked and have caused them so many headaches that they might have sworn them off at this point.
Come onnn, Hairbrained Schemes. You got two projects in development, don't let me down.
I worry that the rights to the FASA properties are just so fucked and have caused them so many headaches that they might have sworn them off at this point.
Battletech proved an excellent game. Shadowrun series really made the studio I think. I think part of it though is that they want to branch into new things. But I really really want another Shadowrun game. Maybe in Denver this time. So many different times and places. So much you can do.
Also I think Battletech would be fun as shit with later stages too. Like a clan invasion where clan mechs have to follow the Zellbrigen to the letter would be interesting. Like they choose a target and that is it no matter what.
Come onnn, Hairbrained Schemes. You got two projects in development, don't let me down.
I worry that the rights to the FASA properties are just so fucked and have caused them so many headaches that they might have sworn them off at this point.
Battletech proved an excellent game. Shadowrun series really made the studio I think. I think part of it though is that they want to branch into new things. But I really really want another Shadowrun game. Maybe in Denver this time. So many different times and places. So much you can do.
Also I think Battletech would be fun as shit with later stages too. Like a clan invasion where clan mechs have to follow the Zellbrigen to the letter would be interesting. Like they choose a target and that is it no matter what.
I've always wanted to see what could be done heading into more rural jungles in Shadowrun, like the country surrounding Seattle, the Salish Shidhe Council (SSC) or Amazonia. The urban jungles get a lot of play already in Shadowrun, so its the road less traveled that I am really curious about.
Come onnn, Hairbrained Schemes. You got two projects in development, don't let me down.
I worry that the rights to the FASA properties are just so fucked and have caused them so many headaches that they might have sworn them off at this point.
Battletech proved an excellent game. Shadowrun series really made the studio I think. I think part of it though is that they want to branch into new things. But I really really want another Shadowrun game. Maybe in Denver this time. So many different times and places. So much you can do.
Also I think Battletech would be fun as shit with later stages too. Like a clan invasion where clan mechs have to follow the Zellbrigen to the letter would be interesting. Like they choose a target and that is it no matter what.
I think a Crimson Skies game would be baller too
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Dr. ChaosPost nuclear nuisanceRegistered Userregular
Come onnn, Hairbrained Schemes. You got two projects in development, don't let me down.
I worry that the rights to the FASA properties are just so fucked and have caused them so many headaches that they might have sworn them off at this point.
I don't care exactly what HBS does next, it'll probably be really good no matter what.
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H3KnucklesBut we decide which is rightand which is an illusion.Registered Userregular
edited September 2020
Crimson Skies? Not like, a flight game (that would be my preference but I suspect that's too much for their studio size to take on), but a tactical game where you command & manage a squadron, though?
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The Monster Baru Cormorant - Seth Dickinson
Steam: Korvalain
Waypoint's "Waypoint 101" video game book club podcast is doing Dragonfall this month. (The idea with this podcast is that the staff all play through a game, and hopefully the community plays it too, and then they do a big podcast where they can talk freely about the entire game without having to spend time explaining it to the audience or each other.)
I went over to their forums and submitted the little quick guide I've written up for newcomers, and
ANYWAY, this is pretty cool and I'm really excited to see a bunch of new people playing this game and curious what their reaction will be.
I really need to beat Dragonfall so I can move on to Hong Kong .
Ed: iPhone autocorrect originally changed that sentence to say “... so I can Niven to hong long.” I shoulda left it that way - sounds cyberpunky.
Steam: Elvenshae // PSN: Elvenshae // WotC: Elvenshae
Wilds of Aladrion: [https://forums.penny-arcade.com/discussion/comment/43159014/#Comment_43159014]Ellandryn[/url]
"We have years of struggle ahead, mostly within ourselves." - Made in USA
I want to play as the cool lizard men in Divinity OS 2 but I can't help but think back to just how damn awesome my vindicator minigun wielding dwarf Greasy was in Dragonfall and Hong Kong.
(Divinity would be a lot better series with miniguns)
Also, that's awesome Jake. Better than that time a HBS called you out by name on a stream or on par?
I think that was probably the most awesome, because it's the actual guy who made the thing and because it meant he had been hanging out here reading us talk about the game.
All the games are free on Epic right now.
And now I have acquired the mini gun.
You may be tough, but you are nothing compared to the noodle extruder.
Listen to me, I'm just trying to keep everyone humble. Going against the gods is one thing, but I don't want someone getting cocky and trying to oppose the noodle extruder.
This is important.
...so, uh, is it just me or is the whole Lodge thing incredibly dumb?
Like, maybe I'm not understanding the setting correctly, but what smart runner would run again for a Johnson that explicitly and admittedly will lie to you about your run objectives and intentionally send their own payroll runners to die for a test of character of someone else? Even if you're playing an amoral jerk only in it for number one (which I'm not, so Lana's unnecessary traumatizing already had me out), this seems like a straight up "things that will get a shadowrunner 100% killed" bingo.
Are these people explicitly selecting for very dumb shadowrunners that will not last past a couple missions so they can never learn too much, or something?
Also, some great cameos.
No you're pretty much right. I actually always annoyed me that
I think of them kind of like the people that create spam emails. All the bad grammar and misspellings aren't entirely accidental. They weed out anyone attentive enough to detail and smart enough to fall for the scheme playing on people's greed.
Steam Profile
3DS: 3454-0268-5595 Battle.net: SteelAngel#1772
My general reaction to the ending, summarized:
Me: I am in favor of this plan
Vauclair: "It will require the murder of every human being in the entire Berlin metropolitan area!"
Me: ...and suddenly I am a lot less in favor of this plan
I probably would have let him hit the button otherwise.
Then I could talk to Firewing and she seems to be just about the only dragon I know of in this setting that appears to be, well, not cartoonishly evil? Like she's dangerous and has rage issues but also seems to have a motivation beyond "STUFF" and some cheap "you cannot understand the workings of this great mind" stuff that somehow basically always comes down to "CEO that speed-read The Prince once". And a cyberpunk dystopia probably could do with something protecting what forests remain. So I let her free. It's not like we're going to be more fucked because of one more dragon at this point, and she might actually be somewhat positive for a change.
Re your spoiler: If you've got a save at the appropriate point still, I highly recommend checking out what happens if
That might be may favorite part of the game and that's saying something.
Also I love the track for the finale.
Come onnn, Hairbrained Schemes. You got two projects in development, don't let me down.
Yeah, it's rare to have an epic 'final boss' track nowadays, especially in WRPGs.
I worry that the rights to the FASA properties are just so fucked and have caused them so many headaches that they might have sworn them off at this point.
Battletech proved an excellent game. Shadowrun series really made the studio I think. I think part of it though is that they want to branch into new things. But I really really want another Shadowrun game. Maybe in Denver this time. So many different times and places. So much you can do.
Also I think Battletech would be fun as shit with later stages too. Like a clan invasion where clan mechs have to follow the Zellbrigen to the letter would be interesting. Like they choose a target and that is it no matter what.
I've always wanted to see what could be done heading into more rural jungles in Shadowrun, like the country surrounding Seattle, the Salish Shidhe Council (SSC) or Amazonia. The urban jungles get a lot of play already in Shadowrun, so its the road less traveled that I am really curious about.
I think a Crimson Skies game would be baller too
But I would understand.
After Dead Man's Switch, Dragonfall, and Hong Kong, I can understand that the studio felt like taking a break from Shadowrun for a while.
Battletech was that break. Let's hope they get back to Shadowrun. :P
Sid Meier made something like that a few years back. It is definitely a sub genre that exists already.
Edit: Sid Meier's Ace Patrol.
Panzer Dragoon Saga?