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PC Games - Totally Accurate Battle Sim (EA) out today!

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  • PiptheFairPiptheFair Frequently not in boats. Registered User regular
    Hobnail wrote: »
    Artyoms protagonistic silence is especially strange because he has a journal which he reads aloud all the time

    imagine komrade boris's cat saying the lines instead

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MErfhEzce7s

  • JacobkoshJacobkosh Gamble a stamp. I can show you how to be a real man!Moderator mod
    edited February 2019
    Blankzilla wrote: »
    Turambar wrote: »
    Did you guys have instantly strong feeling about "Reapers" and "The Citadel" before you played Mass Effect for the first time?

    You have to actually play the game and read about stuff before things mean anything

    If those things sound boring though why would I want to read about them?
    I am not saying Anthem is as well written or interesting as Mass Effect, cause it ain't

    But divorced of context, meaning without being familiar with ME, I don't see how Reapers or The Citadel or Spectres are any more interesting sounding than the Anthem and Dominion and Freelancers

    The problem isn't Proper Nouns, its just that Anthem ain't particularly good once you learn what those Nouns are

    The difference is that the names in Mass Effect and Dragon Age are names. They're words that immediately indicate discrete, concrete things. The words in Anthem are just a cloud of obscuring smoke.

    A codex entry in Mass Effect reads like "The Reapers are a hypothetical race of machine entities that, according to the myths of various civilizations in the galaxy, are responsible for periodic mass extinctions." Or "The Citadel is a massive space station and the seat of galactic government." There's a straightforward connection between the name and the concept.

    My friend has read a bunch of the Anthem entries aloud to me and it's all iike "The Psychers were called forth by the power of the Third Verse during the Night Age to battle the Spiritmonger and the armies of the Desolation but were corrupted by the Weltschmerz and forced to retreat underground to the Deep Havens while awaiting the Synecdoche."

    It's just meaningless nouns pointing to other meaningless nouns in an endless, obscurantist onion; the mimicry of significance, rather than the substance. It could mean something, but the connective tissue has been left out. There's nothing concrete to get a hold of. It's just words that sound like things video games say.

    Jacobkosh on
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  • DarmakDarmak RAGE vympyvvhyc vyctyvyRegistered User regular
    Darmak wrote: »
    Jacobkosh wrote: »
    Anthem's world feels like some real xerox-of-a-xerox shit, where a bunch of nerds who shudder and recoil at the idea of reading anything without a dragon or spaceship on the cover were asked to come up with a world and ended up with something that feels like someone put the past twenty years' worth of generic shooter lore entries into an algorithm

    Ain't nothing wrong with only reading fantasy and sci-fi

    If you want to write a story of your own, you do your own work a disservice if you have an extremely limited exposure to different genres of storytelling. Hamstringing yourself by writing something that can only be derivative of an already incredibly derivative and constrained body of work is a poor showing for your creative endeavor.

    Look, if I want to write about cool wizards then I need to read about the coolest wizards, not about accounting or some nobody's boring biography or whatever.
    I get what you're saying, I'm just being dumb now

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  • ShortyShorty touching the meat Intergalactic Cool CourtRegistered User regular
    Jacobkosh wrote: »
    Blankzilla wrote: »
    Turambar wrote: »
    Did you guys have instantly strong feeling about "Reapers" and "The Citadel" before you played Mass Effect for the first time?

    You have to actually play the game and read about stuff before things mean anything

    If those things sound boring though why would I want to read about them?
    I am not saying Anthem is as well written or interesting as Mass Effect, cause it ain't

    But divorced of context, meaning without being familiar with ME, I don't see how Reapers or The Citadel or Spectres are any more interesting sounding than the Anthem and Dominion and Freelancers

    The problem isn't Proper Nouns, its just that Anthem ain't particularly good once you learn what those Nouns are

    The difference is that the names in Mass Effect and Dragon Age are names. They're words that immediately indicate discrete, concrete things. The words in Anthem are just a cloud of obscuring smoke.

    A codex entry in Mass Effect reads like "The Reapers are a hypothetical race of machine entities that, according to the myths of various civilizations in the galaxy, are responsible for periodic mass extinctions." Or "The Citadel is a massive space station and the seat of galactic government." There's a straightforward connection between the name and the concept.

    My friend has read a bunch of the Anthem entries aloud to me and it's all iike "The Psychers were called forth by the power of the Third Verse during the Night Age to battle the Spiritmonger and the armies of the Desolation but were corrupted by the Weltschmerz and forced to retreat underground to the Deep Havens while awaiting the Synecdoche."

    It's just meaningless nouns pointing to other meaningless nouns in an endless, obscurantist onion; the mimicry of significance, rather than the substance. It could mean something, but the connective tissue has been left out. There's nothing concrete to get a hold of. It's just words that sound like things video games say.

    yeah, this is what playing Destiny was like, too

  • rhylithrhylith Death Rabbits HoustonRegistered User regular
    Anthem's story is fuckin garbage, but I sure am enjoying flying around raining down ice until everything freezes and then shattering them with a giant lightning bolt.

  • PhillisherePhillishere Registered User regular
    edited February 2019
    Jacobkosh wrote: »
    Anthem's world feels like some real xerox-of-a-xerox shit, where a bunch of nerds who shudder and recoil at the idea of reading anything without a dragon or spaceship on the cover were asked to come up with a world and ended up with something that feels like someone put the past twenty years' worth of generic shooter lore entries into an algorithm

    I'm not as harsh as you (I think "Humanity gets turned into slave race, revolts and escapes, and is now trapped on an artificial planet that is trying to kill them" has potential), but it does follow a long trend of MMOs that are set in the empty middle of the story - lots of cool shit happened in the past, lots of hints of cool things that are going to happen in the future, and you are trapped in the Long Now grinding for loot in the hopes that the next DLC might actually advance the story to the interesting parts.

    Phillishere on
  • Mr. GMr. G Registered User regular
    The codex in Mass Effect and Dragon Age are written to explain it to us, human beings on earth playing a video game, and the one in Anthem is to tell people who live in Anthem what Anthem stuff is

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  • IoloIolo iolo Registered User regular
    The Weltschmerz and I are going to get so drunk when the Synecdoche finally comes.

    Lt. Iolo's First Day
    Steam profile.
    Getting started with BATTLETECH: Part 1 / Part 2
  • JacobkoshJacobkosh Gamble a stamp. I can show you how to be a real man!Moderator mod
    Jacobkosh wrote: »
    Anthem's world feels like some real xerox-of-a-xerox shit, where a bunch of nerds who shudder and recoil at the idea of reading anything without a dragon or spaceship on the cover were asked to come up with a world and ended up with something that feels like someone put the past twenty years' worth of generic shooter lore entries into an algorithm

    I'm not as harsh as you (I think "Humanity gets turned into slave race, revolts and escapes, and is now trapped on an artificial planet that is trying to kill them" has potential), but it does follow a long trend of MMOs that are set in the empty middle of the story - lots of cool shit happened in the past, lots of hints of cool things that are going to happen in the future, and you are trapped in the Long Now grinding for loot in the hopes that the next DLC might actually advance the story to the interesting parts.

    this is a really good point and puts a finger on something that has frustrated me about a lot of games that I hadn't really had a name for before

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  • InquisitorInquisitor Registered User regular
    Shorty wrote: »
    Jacobkosh wrote: »
    Blankzilla wrote: »
    Turambar wrote: »
    Did you guys have instantly strong feeling about "Reapers" and "The Citadel" before you played Mass Effect for the first time?

    You have to actually play the game and read about stuff before things mean anything

    If those things sound boring though why would I want to read about them?
    I am not saying Anthem is as well written or interesting as Mass Effect, cause it ain't

    But divorced of context, meaning without being familiar with ME, I don't see how Reapers or The Citadel or Spectres are any more interesting sounding than the Anthem and Dominion and Freelancers

    The problem isn't Proper Nouns, its just that Anthem ain't particularly good once you learn what those Nouns are

    The difference is that the names in Mass Effect and Dragon Age are names. They're words that immediately indicate discrete, concrete things. The words in Anthem are just a cloud of obscuring smoke.

    A codex entry in Mass Effect reads like "The Reapers are a hypothetical race of machine entities that, according to the myths of various civilizations in the galaxy, are responsible for periodic mass extinctions." Or "The Citadel is a massive space station and the seat of galactic government." There's a straightforward connection between the name and the concept.

    My friend has read a bunch of the Anthem entries aloud to me and it's all iike "The Psychers were called forth by the power of the Third Verse during the Night Age to battle the Spiritmonger and the armies of the Desolation but were corrupted by the Weltschmerz and forced to retreat underground to the Deep Havens while awaiting the Synecdoche."

    It's just meaningless nouns pointing to other meaningless nouns in an endless, obscurantist onion; the mimicry of significance, rather than the substance. It could mean something, but the connective tissue has been left out. There's nothing concrete to get a hold of. It's just words that sound like things video games say.

    yeah, this is what playing Destiny was like, too

    Reminds me of armored core games.

  • BlankZoeBlankZoe Registered User regular
    edited February 2019
    Jacobkosh wrote: »
    Blankzilla wrote: »
    Turambar wrote: »
    Did you guys have instantly strong feeling about "Reapers" and "The Citadel" before you played Mass Effect for the first time?

    You have to actually play the game and read about stuff before things mean anything

    If those things sound boring though why would I want to read about them?
    I am not saying Anthem is as well written or interesting as Mass Effect, cause it ain't

    But divorced of context, meaning without being familiar with ME, I don't see how Reapers or The Citadel or Spectres are any more interesting sounding than the Anthem and Dominion and Freelancers

    The problem isn't Proper Nouns, its just that Anthem ain't particularly good once you learn what those Nouns are

    The difference is that the names in Mass Effect and Dragon Age are names. They're words that immediately indicate discrete, concrete things. The words in Anthem are just a cloud of obscuring smoke.

    A codex entry in Mass Effect reads like "The Reapers are a hypothetical race of machine entities that, according to the myths of various civilizations in the galaxy, are responsible for periodic mass extinctions." Or "The Citadel is a massive space station and the seat of galactic government." There's a straightforward connection between the name and the concept.

    My friend has read a bunch of the Anthem entries aloud to me and it's all iike "The Psychers were called forth by the power of the Third Verse during the Night Age to battle the Spiritmonger and the armies of the Desolation but were corrupted by the Weltschmerz and forced to retreat underground to the Deep Havens while awaiting the Synecdoche."

    It's just meaningless nouns pointing to other meaningless nouns in an endless, obscurantist onion; the mimicry of significance, rather than the substance. It could mean something, but the connective tissue has been left out. There's nothing concrete to get a hold of. It's just words that sound like things video games say.
    Ehhhh

    I think you're exaggerating a little bit

    Like, The Dominion is the bad guy empire that used to rule shit and is coming back.

    The Legion of Dawn is the army that wrested control from The Dominion and started a new human society.

    The Freelancers are pilots that are essentially mercenaries that have not bound themselves to a single group or faction.

    Cyphers are humans with psychic powers who help coordinate missions over long distances and process intel.

    All of which are Proper Nouns but the name absolutely ties into what they are and makes sense

    I am sure there are some totally nonsense names in there but The Citadel is no more grounded or tolerable than The Dominion or what have you

    BlankZoe on
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  • BlankZoeBlankZoe Registered User regular
    Mr. G wrote: »
    The codex in Mass Effect and Dragon Age are written to explain it to us, human beings on earth playing a video game, and the one in Anthem is to tell people who live in Anthem what Anthem stuff is
    Yeah see this I can agree with

    The problem is that the story isn't very interesting but also they have presented it to us in the most obtuse way possible and it sucks

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  • OmnipotentBagelOmnipotentBagel floof Registered User regular
    edited February 2019
    Also I should probably clarify that I'm not saying Bioware's stuff is bad because their names aren't interesting enough. Names are fuckin' hard, they're always the thing I struggle with the most when coming up with characters or concepts and, as is becoming clear as we talk about previous Bioware stuff, you can make the names matter if you put in the work. The core of my complaint is that, rather than giving us a strong pitch for the game and using that to get us interested in the words they're saying, I feel like with Anthem they're pitching us all these words and hoping we'll be curious enough about them to find out what the game is like.

    And I don't feel like they're good enough words to do that.

    (and also then the actual game doesn't make a great first impression either and you're left with two underwhelming pieces trying to sell each other, thinking "I'm just gonna go play more Apex")

    OmnipotentBagel on
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  • TurambarTurambar Independent Registered User regular
    Having just played a bunch of Andromeda and then Anthem

    I like Anthem's story wayy more than ME:A

    It's pretty short so far, but at least there's no padding

    Feels concentrated

    Steam: turamb | Origin: Turamb | 3DS: 3411-1109-4537 | NNID: Turambar | Warframe(PC): Turamb
  • OlivawOlivaw good name, isn't it? the foot of mt fujiRegistered User regular
    Sorce wrote: »
    Karl wrote: »
    The thing is, one of my favourite games was not great on release.

    But Ubisoft spent time and effort on Rainbow Six Siege and it's awesome now.

    The question is, will bioware do the same?
    I think the question is whether or not EA will let them.

    I mean, look at Andromeda's post-release.

    I think it's a fair prediction that if Anthem does not hit anywhere near its projected launch sales numbers, EA is far more likely to cut their losses than throw good money after bad

    Why should we put more money into improving a thing with no guarantee it'll show a meaningful return on investment, they'll say

    That's the most mercenary short-term thinking I can imagine and it fits with how they operate

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    PSN ID : DetectiveOlivaw | TWITTER | STEAM ID | NEVER FORGET
  • VeagleVeagle Registered User regular
    Coinage wrote: »
    Gamers love randomly capitalized words, though.

    Black Flag was real good.

    steam_sig.png
  • A Dabble Of TheloniusA Dabble Of Thelonius It has been a doozy of a dayRegistered User regular
    This is what i know for sure. Anthem is gorgeous and super fun. The gameplay and controls are fantastic.

    You can capitalize any of those words if it makes you feel better.

    vm8gvf5p7gqi.jpg
    Steam - Talon Valdez :Blizz - Talonious#1860 : Xbox Live & LoL - Talonious Monk @TaloniousMonk Hail Satan
  • OmnipotentBagelOmnipotentBagel floof Registered User regular
    I'll grant you gorgeous. The rest is not reflected in my experience

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  • PhillisherePhillishere Registered User regular
    This is what i know for sure. Anthem is gorgeous and super fun. The gameplay and controls are fantastic.

    You can capitalize any of those words if it makes you feel better.

    Yeah. I really liked the moment-to-moment gameplay in the demo and am looking forward to playing it with the full release tonight. It's a shame the game is getting savaged, because it is actually really fun as a game.

  • JasconiusJasconius sword criminal mad onlineRegistered User regular
    edited February 2019
    i'm about to win my first Civ 6 campaign on the expansion

    at this point its just formality, i have double score and more army than everyone else combined.

    it seems like it's over be before any of the new mid/late game stuff really came into effect, which is unfortunate

    the AI seems worse than before because it doesn't seem well equipped to deal with the way strategic resources work now. if the AI doesn't receive map luck and isn't predisposed to a play style which would enhance resources, then it seems to get stuck in an endless loop of not having Important Stuff but also being too weak to do anything about it

    in example, the year is currently ~1500AD, and while I have WW2-era Infrantry, the 2nd place AI still had an army composed entirely of it's unique warrior monk unit, which is Classical Era at best, presumably because it never got Iron or Nitre to update its units. As a result, his total military score is: 75. Mine is 1400

    Jasconius on
  • BlankZoeBlankZoe Registered User regular
    I enjoyed my time playing the demo but all of the problems that have been described and detailed outside of the gameplay (bad story pacing, gatekeeping mission structure, load times, having to load back to base to try any gear on, etc.) outweigh the fun I was having, personally

    If I am spending 60 dollars on a game I want to enjoy all of it, not one part and tolerate the rest of it

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  • OmnipotentBagelOmnipotentBagel floof Registered User regular
    My one-sentence summary of Anthem would be "It's at it's core a decent shooter, with every other piece of the package endeavoring to prevent you from accessing it."

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  • TynnanTynnan seldom correct, never unsure Registered User regular
    It's a shame Bioware has had two duds in a row. They try to tell the sort of story I want to see with the sort of game I really want to play, but they've been missing the mark in bad ways lately.

  • TurambarTurambar Independent Registered User regular
    Blankzilla wrote: »
    I enjoyed my time playing the demo but all of the problems that have been described and detailed outside of the gameplay (bad story pacing, gatekeeping mission structure, load times, having to load back to base to try any gear on, etc.) outweigh the fun I was having, personally

    There's only one wall/pacing issue, and they patched it so that the quest starts counting from level 3 instead of when you get the quest, and they fixed the bug where it was only giving one person in a squad credit per chest

    I did it before the patch and it wasn't really that bad

    Part of the challenges is completing 3 missions. Missions you were gonna do anyway. And when you've completed those missions you've already finished most of the challenges

    The patch also improved load times (though there are still too many load screens)

    I hope people give the game a chance, because I think it is an amazing game

    Like, potentially one of my all-time favorites

    Won't blame anyone for wanting to wait for a couple more patches though

    Steam: turamb | Origin: Turamb | 3DS: 3411-1109-4537 | NNID: Turambar | Warframe(PC): Turamb
  • JayKaosJayKaos Registered User regular
    I'm definitely gonna pick it up in a couple months just based on my experience from the demo, just too much stuff right now to play (also Apex)

    Steam | SW-0844-0908-6004 and my Switch code
  • BlankZoeBlankZoe Registered User regular
    I will happily buy it down the road if they address the various issues, I would like it if the game succeeded because I had fun with the demo and like Bioware

    But 60 bucks now is way too big of an ask for me, especially since it may not get a ton of support depending on the sales figures

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  • TurambarTurambar Independent Registered User regular
    If you're on PC, you can sub to Premier for a month for 15$

    A month should be plenty to play through the current content, and if you like it, Premier gives a 10% discount on the game

    Steam: turamb | Origin: Turamb | 3DS: 3411-1109-4537 | NNID: Turambar | Warframe(PC): Turamb
  • BlankZoeBlankZoe Registered User regular
    I'm on PS4 so nope

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  • Undead ScottsmanUndead Scottsman Registered User regular
    Tynnan wrote: »
    It's a shame Bioware has had two duds in a row. They try to tell the sort of story I want to see with the sort of game I really want to play, but they've been missing the mark in bad ways lately.

    Hopefully Dragon Age 4 has a smooth production, because I'm looking at visceral (two duds and a troubled production) and am worried that the only thing keeping Bioware alive is that EA doesn't have another company they want to buy at the moment.

  • OlivawOlivaw good name, isn't it? the foot of mt fujiRegistered User regular
    Blankzilla wrote: »
    I will happily buy it down the road if they address the various issues, I would like it if the game succeeded because I had fun with the demo and like Bioware

    But 60 bucks now is way too big of an ask for me, especially since it may not get a ton of support depending on the sales figures

    Yeah, that's the thing, I can't imagine spending sixty dollars on this product as delivered regardless of what the post-release support will be like

    Releasing the game early for people who pay more (or who pay five to fifteen dollars for a month of EA Premier, itself a baffling decision) seems like the worst possible decision, since everybody is done with the game already and they're not putting out great word of mouth

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  • el_vicioel_vicio Registered User regular
    oh don't worry the reviews are all pretty middling

    So.

    EA killed Bioware, then? Is it done?

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  • captainkcaptaink TexasRegistered User regular
    Apropos of nothing, I reinstalled Jade Empire last night.

  • BlankZoeBlankZoe Registered User regular
    el_vicio wrote: »
    oh don't worry the reviews are all pretty middling

    So.

    EA killed Bioware, then? Is it done?
    No. The game lliterally came out today.

    It having medicore reviews does not mean Bioware is dead, jesus

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  • StraightziStraightzi Here we may reign secure, and in my choice, To reign is worth ambition though in HellRegistered User regular
    Every once in a while I gain a sudden understanding for why they invented safety coffins

  • el_vicioel_vicio Registered User regular
    After the stinker ME: Andromeda and this being mediocre, it's reasonable to assume that it won't be a blockbuster seller (especially since there seems to be no real hype and bad marketing), hence the assumption? No need to "jesus" me.

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  • HobnailHobnail Registered User regular
    You mean like a coffin with a handle on the inside

    Wait, do coffins like latch when you close the lid?

    Broke as fuck in the style of the times. Gratitude is all that can return on your generosity.

    https://www.paypal.me/hobnailtaylor
  • BlankZoeBlankZoe Registered User regular
    There is a gigantic leap between "Anthem may not be a success" and "EA killed Bioware. Its done."

    Like, I am not saying Bioware's future is smooth sailing and secured but saying they are dead and buried literally the day the game launches is super super super jumping to conclusions

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  • StraightziStraightzi Here we may reign secure, and in my choice, To reign is worth ambition though in HellRegistered User regular
    Hobnail wrote: »
    You mean like a coffin with a handle on the inside

    Wait, do coffins like latch when you close the lid?

    No I mean like coffins with aboveground breathing tubes, or with a little string that was hooked up to a bell above the surface

    Real popular during the nineteenth century

  • Munkus BeaverMunkus Beaver You don't have to attend every argument you are invited to. Philosophy: Stoicism. Politics: Democratic SocialistRegistered User, ClubPA regular
    Blankzilla wrote: »
    el_vicio wrote: »
    oh don't worry the reviews are all pretty middling

    So.

    EA killed Bioware, then? Is it done?
    No. The game lliterally came out today.

    It having medicore reviews does not mean Bioware is dead, jesus

    What reviews, Blank? What game?

    Bioware has been dead for years

    Humor can be dissected as a frog can, but dies in the process.
  • TynnanTynnan seldom correct, never unsure Registered User regular
    Blankzilla wrote: »
    el_vicio wrote: »
    oh don't worry the reviews are all pretty middling

    So.

    EA killed Bioware, then? Is it done?
    No. The game lliterally came out today.

    It having medicore reviews does not mean Bioware is dead, jesus

    What reviews, Blank? What game?

    Bioware has been dead for years

    Bioware? Ain't heard that name in a long while...

This discussion has been closed.