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Schattenherz
Head Merchant
Joined: 21 Sep 2003
Posts: 71
Location: Nuremberg, Old Europe |
Still WoW and BG2 Tutu... and getting bored with both of them... since so 6 Months... usally I'm hanging around on the WoW-Roleplaying Boards trying to defend why I (lvl 60 human Warlock) don't unsommon my Demons when entering a City ... (Shard-farming is still more boring than the 60+ missions...)  - you got to have hobbys 
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"Insanity in individuals is something rare - but in groups, parties, nations and epochs, it is the rule."
-Nietzsche |
Mon May 01, 2006 4:16 pm |
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xSamhainx
Paws of Doom
Joined: 11 Sep 2002
Posts: 2192
Location: San Diego |
Gothic II gold ed & Battle for Middle Earth I
Liking Gothic II so far, just always a pain setting up the configuration I want to play with, keep setting and re-setting up the buttons ad infinitum. Then, rifling thru the cfg files and all that.. I think I got it like I want it now, and starting out in Xardas's tower brought back great G1 memories and I knew I was in for a good time! The controls are way better this time around.
Also playing Battle for Middle Earth, and still grossly underwhelmed by it, unfortunately. After playing a fine RTS like Warhammer 40k, this minimalist-control, no-reconfigureable hotkey (and indeed no hotkeys at all for some common things like heroes) RTS clickfest frenzy, is at times just flat out annoying. I just wish I could get my paws on whoever it is in the game dev realm who is deciding that we dont need to be able to reconfigure hotkeys anymore, or even have them. Who uses hotkeys anyway? What is going on here???
Add to the fun the fact that to upgrade buildings, you need to produce more troops, and that's it. Thus, you must literally just keep pumping out troops and sending them kamikaze-style at the enemy. I know this is supposed to quicken the pace of the game in it's entirety, but I'm the type of player who prides himself on how many units I dont lose. Even more confusing is the fact that veteran units are a factor, so youre supposed to go kamikaze and also have a bunch of star quarterbacks left over.
Yes it's praised to the max, and yes it's a good looking game, but I fear the style demanded is totally contradictory to my own RTS philosophy.
_________________
“Then away out in the woods I heard that kind of a sound that a ghost makes when it wants to tell about something that's on its mind and can't make itself understood, and so can't rest easy in its grave, and has to go about that way every night grieving.”-Mark Twain |
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Mon May 15, 2006 1:13 am |
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JDR13
Magister of the Light
Joined: 16 Apr 2002
Posts: 376
Location: Michigan, United States |
Well I finally finished Wizardry 8 about a week ago. Took me about 5-6 weeks. I immediately started playing Call of Cthulhu after that. I'm already at the final battle of that game. Wizardry 8 was good. Not the perfect crpg that some people on these boards make it out to be, but it was a fun ride. COC was somewhat of a disappointment. It's one of those games that could have been so much better.
quote:
Originally posted by xSamhainx
Also playing Battle for Middle Earth, and still grossly underwhelmed by it, unfortunately. After playing a fine RTS like Warhammer 40k, this minimalist-control, no-reconfigureable hotkey (and indeed no hotkeys at all for some common things like heroes) RTS clickfest frenzy, is at times just flat out annoying. I just wish I could get my paws on whoever it is in the game dev realm who is deciding that we dont need to be able to reconfigure hotkeys anymore, or even have them. Who uses hotkeys anyway? What is going on here???
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Are you talking about the 1st BFME game? I picked up a copy of that a while back but I haven't gotten around to playing it yet. I've heard the 2nd game is better.
I bought a copy of Rise of Legends yesterday. I was very impressed by the demo and I'm looking forward to playing it. Haven't played an RTS in a while. |
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Wed May 17, 2006 7:02 am |
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xSamhainx
Paws of Doom
Joined: 11 Sep 2002
Posts: 2192
Location: San Diego |
Yep, Battle for Middle Earth I. I've heard nothing but good things about it, and it is a fun game, but as I was ranting and raving about in my last post, the actual unit controls are quite lacking when compared to such games as Warhammer 40k or even and old standby like Warcraft III.
On the RTS front I'm planning on Rise of Legends as well, looks pretty cool. Speaking of legends, there's supposedly a new Stronghold game on the way Im looking forward to, Stronghold Legends. Takes the old Stronghold "build a castle and rule a medieval kingdom" formula and throws it in a realm of mythology.
_________________
“Then away out in the woods I heard that kind of a sound that a ghost makes when it wants to tell about something that's on its mind and can't make itself understood, and so can't rest easy in its grave, and has to go about that way every night grieving.”-Mark Twain |
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Wed May 17, 2006 2:03 pm |
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Danicek
The Old One
Joined: 15 Dec 2001
Posts: 5922
Location: Czech Republic |
Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory. Fun and use it to take a break from Oblivion (and RPGs in general). |
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Fri May 19, 2006 7:10 am |
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RPG Frog
Blade Runner
Joined: 02 Jan 2004
Posts: 748
Location: the Matrix |
Oblivion. I'll fire up BFMEII in a month or so.
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Between the years when the oceans drank Atlantis and the gleaming cities…there was an Age undreamed of, when shining kingdoms lay spread across the world like blue mantles beneath the stars…Hither came Conan, the Cimmerian, black-haired, sullen-eyed, sword in hand…to tread the jeweled thrones of the Earth under his sandaled feet. - Robert E. Howard |
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Fri May 19, 2006 2:02 pm |
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JDR13
Magister of the Light
Joined: 16 Apr 2002
Posts: 376
Location: Michigan, United States |
quote:
Originally posted by xSamhainx
Yep, Battle for Middle Earth I. I've heard nothing but good things about it, and it is a fun game, but as I was ranting and raving about in my last post, the actual unit controls are quite lacking when compared to such games as Warhammer 40k or even and old standby like Warcraft III.
On the RTS front I'm planning on Rise of Legends as well, looks pretty cool. Speaking of legends, there's supposedly a new Stronghold game on the way Im looking forward to, Stronghold Legends. Takes the old Stronghold "build a castle and rule a medieval kingdom" formula and throws it in a realm of mythology.
You seem to enjoy RTS games xSamhainx. Did you play the Age of Mythology series? I have the original and expansion but I've never had time to play them. Since I'm finally in the mood to play some RTS games again, (Command & Conquer Generals was the last RTS I played) I was thinking about taking a stab at the Mythology series as soon as I finish Rise of Legends.
Sigh.... so many games, so little time. |
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Sat May 20, 2006 3:12 am |
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xSamhainx
Paws of Doom
Joined: 11 Sep 2002
Posts: 2192
Location: San Diego |
Age of Mythology is good fun, I had a great time with it, and got about 3/4 thru the campaign. I didnt play the expansion tho, I have it, but I got deep into NWN and and a couple other things and just never went back to it. Id say it's easily in the top 5 RTS Ive ever played. Titans man, I dont know how I didnt get my paws on them, but I just didnt get around to it.
It sorta changes up the Age series in small ways, for instance, the lack of healers that stand around healing your units as they fight. This takes the series in the direction of you the general being ready to both lose units, and build more on the fly, but it's not ridiculous if you know how to manage your troops. Lots of micro involved, a very micro-intensive game, pick out the wounded and run them away from the battle while the healthy are rotated in. Use you mythological unit's powers at the right time, dont squander them. And heroes of course, bust out many mythological hero units such as Jason or Perseus, etc. Then youve got the mythological units which arent heros. I'm tellin you, get 3 or 4 Medusas goin, or some Minotaurs, a huge Colossus bashing on a enemy building, or watch your Cyclops tossing around war elephants and it's something truly special to behold!
But then again, Im just talkin the Greeks there, youve also got the Egyptian civ and the Norse with all their cool units, and the Atlanteans in the expansion. Egyptians have a Sphinx, jackal-headed Anubites, giant venom spitting snakes called Wadgets and all that jazz. Plus, if you enable "rotating buildings", you can really create a killer little egyptian city. The Norse have Frost/Fire/Mountain giants, Einherjar
You also have a power resource in AOM, different ways of getting it per civ, and it allows you to build your mythological units. Greeks get it thru worship, Egypt must build monuments, Norse get it thru battle. Pick a god, and get a gnarly god power. I still think the graphics are great looking, and with full 360 and zoom you can really enjoy them.
It's a great game, and I easily like it more than Age of Empires III, I just never finished it and do intend to eventually. The unit control is on par with AOE2, all the familiar stances and formations etc are there.
I do like real-time strategy quite a bit, far more than I like FPS, but it's still second to RPG. I dont play competitively, I usually just play thru the campaign and play skirmish vs the pc. When I have played multiplyer, it's co-op with a friend vs several pcs or something. I just have more fun playing with someone then against someone when it comes to RTS, that's just me tho.
Also been cautiously checking out some turn-based lately, and can report good results with both Disciples II and the demo of Heroes of Might and Magic V, which I am picking up when I see it. Theyre slower games, but it's actually kinda nice to be able to take your time and plan a little more, eat a sandwich or something while your playing
-EDIT- Added links to myth unit guide
dang, all this exposition on AOM makes me want to play it! Especially since I never checked out the Titans or Atlanteans..
_________________
“Then away out in the woods I heard that kind of a sound that a ghost makes when it wants to tell about something that's on its mind and can't make itself understood, and so can't rest easy in its grave, and has to go about that way every night grieving.”-Mark Twain |
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Sat May 20, 2006 6:01 am |
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JDR13
Magister of the Light
Joined: 16 Apr 2002
Posts: 376
Location: Michigan, United States |
That's it, I'm definetely playing AOM soon!
Yeah, I've been in that situation where I took a break from a game and never went back to it.(Morrowind) Sometimes you just get sidetracked for whatever reason.
Looking through some of my old games recently, does anyone remember Total Annihilation Kingdoms? I remember it being a pretty good fantasy RTS.
I recall being frustrated because it had pretty steep system requirements for the time and it ran like crap on the rig I had back then. Tempted to dig it out and see how it holds up today.
Oh well, back to the topic. |
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Sat May 20, 2006 6:45 pm |
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booyah_boy
Head Merchant
Joined: 08 Feb 2006
Posts: 55
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I thought I'd give a quick update on how my own gaming goes...
As of my last post, I have completed GTA: San Andreas, Rage of Mages, Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones, and Kingdom Hearts II, and just began the following:
- Fable: The Lost Chapter / PC / I know a great many criticisms were levied at this title as being too much of a "console-port", however, I decided to give it a whirl anyway. Frankly, while the system leads to a great deal of repetition (and very, very little challenge) I am enjoying myself. Really, the experience thus far is somewhat akin to the time I spent playing Diablo: ultimately it boils down to a lot of clicking and thousands of enemy deaths, all of which are interspersed with a few quests. Not terribly exciting, but fun. At any rate, I anticipate being able to complete such within the next few days.
I am still working on the following:
- The Elder Scrolls: Oblivion / PC / Continuing my trend of dedicating only an hour or so - occassionally less - per day to this game, I've made it through the first few challenges of the Arena, and even joined up with the Dark Brotherhood. The quests I've recieved so far have been the best the game has offered yet. I especially loved the pirate ship quest (where I was fortunate enough to be able to waltz right onto the ship, as the pirates attacked some of the guards and were slaughtered) and the murder mystery quest (although the fact that I was the only armed guest - and was dressed entirely in black - should have given it away...a little more work on the AI in that sequence would have been nice). I just recieved the order from Lucien to cleanse the Dark Brotherhood's haven, and am looking forward to doing so tomorrow.
- Vampire the Masquerade: Redemption / PC / I'm making steady progress, however, I find myself enjoying the game less and less as I continue to compare it - unfairly - to Bloodlines. The problem is, I am inclined to favor single-character games to those based around a party...oh, well.
Furthermore, I have - for the thousandth time - given up on Gothic. That's right, it has been uninstalled again...still, I'm certain my desire to complete the game will lead me to try again in a month or so. Actually, I am considering skipping the first game, and going straight to Gothic II (I happen to own a copy of the Gold Edition, complete with Night of the Raven), which I have heard manages to improve upon the original in manifold ways. I suppose I shall have to wait for my impatience with the game to simmer down to a gentle boil ere I consider either.
Lastly, although I did complete the storyline on both GTA: San Andreas and FE: The Sacred Stones, I continue playing through both, loving the fact that each title allows you to continue playing after the curtains have come down on the main production...after all, there is still a lot of enjoyment to be had from speeding along the highway on my NOS'd Banshee or directing my troops into battle.
Also, I am awaiting the arrival of my reserved copy of Hitman: Blood Money. A huge fan since the inception of the original, I expect if this title has even a fraction of the appeal noted in the previews that I will eagerly be setting every other game aside in it's favor...with the exception of Oblivion. |
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Sun May 21, 2006 12:40 pm |
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xSamhainx
Paws of Doom
Joined: 11 Sep 2002
Posts: 2192
Location: San Diego |
Gothic II - Battle for Middle Earth - Disciples II
I had a number of problems with Redemption that just led me to do the old "all weapons" and "gimme blood points for my stats" cheat, then just giving up playing it thru entirely and having fun running around causing the maximum mayhem and carnage til I went crazy on different levels. I disliked the fact that instead of letting you choose your clan or whatever, youre locked into one from the get-go, and like a Vampire the Masquerade showcase, the game trots out each of the clans for you to interact with, but not be one of.
My primary beef with Redemption however was the fact that your character is so absolutely, woefully un-vampirelike, it's ridiculous. Simple humans with simple weapons had me down repeatedly, and they themselves were quite resistant to gunfire and other abuse themselves. I remember getting a handgun for the first time, and putting several rounds in a simple human at close range, and he just kept coming, ridiculous. Meanwhile, a couple solid hits and my immortal ass is on the floor. Then, they dont give you enough points to boost your stats and abilities to the point they are really useful, I ended up cheating and giving myself tons of points so I could be effective. Then, I enjoyed it for a while, but it ended up boring me anyway and I moved on to something else.
Oblivion is officially on the back burner here while I am playing Gothic II, I like them both, I just feel that I want to see what all the hubbub about Gothic II is about. Im liking it, it's a fun game as was Gothic I, but it's just not very forgiving at all at first. Be prepared to die a lot at first, and that can be a problem for some people such as myself who prides himself on not dying, and staying away from the old "save every 5 mins" gameplay. You had better save, quite a bit, or youre going to be doing a lot of repetition. The interface is Gothic II is far more mouse-driven, configurable, and easier to jump into, tho I had no problem with Gothic I's interface after I got into the groove.
_________________
“Then away out in the woods I heard that kind of a sound that a ghost makes when it wants to tell about something that's on its mind and can't make itself understood, and so can't rest easy in its grave, and has to go about that way every night grieving.”-Mark Twain |
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Sun May 21, 2006 10:53 pm |
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booyah_boy
Head Merchant
Joined: 08 Feb 2006
Posts: 55
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quote:
I disliked the fact that instead of letting you choose your clan or whatever, youre locked into one from the get-go, and like a Vampire the Masquerade showcase, the game trots out each of the clans for you to interact with, but not be one of.
Ah, yes, that was rather annoying from my perspective as well; luckily, my annoyance was alleviated by the inclusion of said option in Bloodlines.
quote:
My primary beef with Redemption however was the fact that your character is so absolutely, woefully un-vampirelike, it's ridiculous. Simple humans with simple weapons had me down repeatedly, and they themselves were quite resistant to gunfire and other abuse themselves. I remember getting a handgun for the first time, and putting several rounds in a simple human at close range, and he just kept coming, ridiculous. Meanwhile, a couple solid hits and my immortal ass is on the floor.
Amen! I know exactly what you mean, and was disappointed that the same issue was prevalent in Bloodlines at times (although nowhere near as often). It was the thought of playing as an immortal who would never have his "ass on the floor" that drove me to purchase the game in the first place.
quote:
Then, they dont give you enough points to boost your stats and abilities to the point they are really useful, I ended up cheating and giving myself tons of points so I could be effective. Then, I enjoyed it for a while, but it ended up boring me anyway and I moved on to something else.
I am somewhat hesitant to agree with you about the lack of experience points - after all, they need to retain some degree of challenge, and limiting your skills will do that - however, I too have been tempted to cheat my way to acquiring more...still, I continue to play the game, and hope to be able to complete it soon, for one very important reason...
Hitman: Blood Money arrived today!
I had not anticipated recieving the game for some time yet, however, lo and behold, I arrive home to find it sitting on my bed (you've got to love parents who take their time to visit the store and pick up a game for you). So, I'm rushing through my games now (having just made it through the Arena on Fable, and setting aside GTA:SA as complete) in eager anticipation of the next chapter of 47's escapades.
If anyone else manages to grab a copy, drop a line herein and let's chat. |
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Tue May 23, 2006 12:26 am |
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JDR13
Magister of the Light
Joined: 16 Apr 2002
Posts: 376
Location: Michigan, United States |
About a 3rd of the way through Rise of Legends right now. This is the best single player campaign in an RTS game I've played since Starcraft. |
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Tue May 23, 2006 4:26 pm |
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thartanian
Guards Lieutenant
Joined: 20 Sep 2003
Posts: 156
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xSamhainx since you like RTS games, have you tried Rome: Total War? That game rox because of the sheer number of units on the battlefield. Plus the city simulation aspect is also pretty good.
I've witnessed some amazing gaming moments in this game. For instance, I was getting massacred during a battle and began to regroup my spearmen and cavalry. As soon as I grouped them together and began to charge, the weather changed and began to rain. Lightning sounding from all sides of my 4 speaker system, adrenaline running throughout my body, it was great!! I charged them and took them down. I remember another time when I ordered all my archers to line up on my castle war so that they can get ready to battle off an invasion. I accidentally crowded a section up on the wall and a few of my archers fell to their death, hehe. Another time, my general, along with his bodyguards, were hauling ass back into the castle with an opposing army trailing close behind. As my general was getting near the front gates of the castle, my men threw down some oil and lit it. My general and his bodyguards burned horribly.
I must say, the code written into this game allows for some really neat gameplay, hehe. Anyhow, I strongly recommend this game to any person who loves the RTS genre.
As for what I'm currently playing: Simcity 4, Diablo 2, Theme Hospital, Ultima Online, Zelda: Ocarina of Time, Brain Age and the New Super Mario Bros for the Nintendo Ds
All are great games. |
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Wed May 24, 2006 5:35 am |
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xSamhainx
Paws of Doom
Joined: 11 Sep 2002
Posts: 2192
Location: San Diego |
I saw both Spellforce II and ROL @ Best Buy yesterday, and I grabbed SpellforceII, but left ROL. I think part of it is that I didnt particularly like Rise of Nations. It just didnt impress me when compared with say Empire Earth or even Age of Empires II, the feel of the game just wasnt there for me. I prolly should play the ROL demo, it's most likely nothing like RON.
I think the upcoming HOMMV factor is there as well, and the realization that Im spending just a ridiculous amount of money on games lately. Even ten or twenty dollar bargain titles start adding up, then stack on full-priced Oblivion, Gun, AOEIII, Spellforce II, and it's time to stop the madness and complete what I already own before I move on. HOMMV is the last title Im buying for a while!
Plus, I still need to bust out that Age of Mythology expansion already....
edit-
@ thartanian-
You know, I gave Medievel:Total War a spin and just didnt like it all that much. I was playing Warcraft III at the time, and was liking the inverse: smaller more specialised armies and magic, as opposed to the huge monolithic waves of troops and no magic or healing. I admit it, I sucked, I had no idea what I was doing and my troops went down like they were getting hit by a giant lawnmower. And the game just looked like "Total Crap" too. Im far more forgiving on graphics than I used to be, but M:TW was just uninspiring to say the least.
I know Rome:TW has come a long way in many respects, Ive actually had it in my hand before, but ended up putting it back and grabbing something else. I did see some program on Discovery Channel in which they actually used the R:TW game engine to film the battle scenes ("Decisive Battles"), and the graphics definitely did look pretty damn awesome. Still the really "huge army thing" is something still kind of foreign to me. I may have to check it out now that you mention it tho, it's the one concept of RTS I have never really gotten into and seriously played. Your descriptions do make it sound pretty fun!
@ Booyah -
quote:
Originally posted by booyah_boy
I am somewhat hesitant to agree with you about the lack of experience points - after all, they need to retain some degree of challenge, and limiting your skills will do that - however, I too have been tempted to cheat my way to acquiring more...still, I continue to play the game, and hope to be able to complete it soon, for one very important reason...
Do that and you'll "get your vampirism on" a bit more intensely, that's the bad thing about the game in the first place is that youre far too weak. At least Bloodlines was better about it, I never felt that I was seriously underpowered. Im not saying make yourself godlike in Redemption, but at least more vamp-like! Seriously, I cant quite remember what I boosted, but I remember it was like 100x more fun once I did it and was playing with some real power, but then again if youre near the end there's no use in doing that this late in the game..
_________________
“Then away out in the woods I heard that kind of a sound that a ghost makes when it wants to tell about something that's on its mind and can't make itself understood, and so can't rest easy in its grave, and has to go about that way every night grieving.”-Mark Twain |
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Wed May 24, 2006 5:43 am |
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