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[PixyJunket]

I didn't see any of this so-called 'challenge' in Assassin's Creed 3. The only way to die in the game is to put the controller down during combat. The game was pathetically easy, and much, much easier than the first game, which was an easy game to begin with.

We "grew out" of simple games, don't you understand? Losing at a video game is a relic of the past. We have evolved to the deep, rich, complex mechanics you described above (and described accurately).

 

[derExperte]

I've played the series for maybe a total of 20 minutes or so but it looks to me as if the art direction for Desmond facial features changed based on the ancestor that was being portrayed. So in Revelations it was an old Ezio hence the look & for AC3 a more Native American look. I guess to make it more easier to understand that they were his ancestors.

You're giving them way too much credit. Almost everyone's faces have changed over the course of the series and most of the time not for the better. See Lucy. And the latest face overhaul for Desmond was for technical reasons, something to do with motion capture and the actor they were using afair.

 

[Lostconfused]

I didn't see any of this so-called 'challenge' in Assassin's Creed 3. The only way to die in the game is to put the controller down during combat. The game was pathetically easy, and much, much easier than the first game, which was an easy game to begin with.

What? I died a few times in AC1 during combat. I didn't die once during BroHo and Rev, can't remember 2. Yes, more variety but the enemies became less threatening and your gadgets more powerful. I mean Ubisoft themselves said they dumbed down everything because it's what the mainstream wants, you are Superman in the later ones.

I guess it really depends on how you played the games then. Since 3 added enemies that the majority of the abilities from the previous games didn't work against and removed or limited several of the abilities that were added in previous games. I guess it wouldn't be much of a change if all you did is wait for every single enemy to attack and counter kill them but the combat flow certainly got slower and more annoying in 3 with the addition of more powerful enemies and the new restrictions placed on your abilities.

But you are right this is Assassin's Creed 2-3, the game that doesn't have a difficulty setting. Where it's always easy unless you go out of your way to look for even a hint of challenge.

Actually wait.

I mean Ubisoft themselves said they dumbed down everything because it's what the mainstream wants, you are Superman in the later ones

I would certainly like to see a quote of that because it cant be possible to make a game simpler than 1 since it had the least amount of variety or options or abilities in the entire franchise.

 

[nexen]

Same. There are genres and game mechanics where all I need to see is the name of the genre the game is in and know I dont want it. Adventure games, rhythm games, shmup, procedurally generated levels. I want none of that.

 

[Sajjaja]

What's the origin of that gif?

Final Fantasy 14 I think.

 

[Drkirby]

Chrome is going to start blocking Chrome extensions not from the Chrome Store starting in January? What does this mean for Enhanced Steam, jshackles? (Nothing, I suppose)

I think Enhanced Steam is on the Chorme store, so that should be fine. But there are some non-store extensions I use that I hope there is some way to install them anyway without having to use the Dev version of the browser.

 

[Sendou]

Completed The Swapper

That game was amazing! The puzzles were fun, the gameplay fun, and the mostly silent story was very intriguing.

Now I wanted to do all the achievements, but... Reloading a save now only plays the credits. Which pretty much fucking sucks.

You can get around that by messing with the .ini file. Quick Google session should reveal exactly how.

 

[dirtywhirlwind]

Got kinda tired of downloading every game just to idle for cards, so downloaded SAM to try it out, and my first card drop is a foil (from Journey of a Roach). I think that's my second foil this week.

 

[Turfster]

All excited that I got a mail from Humble Bundle, turns out it's just the late ad for the new one. Reply to my earlier mail, come on, you can do it... It's only been 32 hours.

 

[Kevin]

Anyone here try Foul Play? Any good?

 

[FloatOn]

....................

sorry I don't have time to play every yearly sequel man.

 

[Rickenslacker]

Oh, I guess the Pinball FX tables aren't this week's humble. What a drag.

 

[Anteater]

chapter 6 in portal 2, that escalated quickly.gif

 

[derExperte]

Anyone here try Foul Play? Any good?

Imo it's a tad too easy and while the enemies look different they don't behave differently so the game becomes repetitive after a few acts. The charming presentation and 2 player mode help though. If you're in the market for mindless beat-em-up I say buy (and don't forget to use a coupon).

Oh, I guess the Pinball FX tables aren't this week's humble. What a drag.

Do we know for sure they will be in one? Could be a bundle on Steam, happened before. Not that I care, I own them all already, just saying.

 

[curlycare]

You must be new here.

I'm waiting until I can get that game for $5 or under.

Heh not too new, but there's something special in that game.

Must be somesort of crave for nostalgia.
I still have the original game and the big-ass cardboardbox lying around.

 

[Derrick01]

Most SNES era games actually required the use of one's brain and/or reflexes. Most games today have an arrow on-screen at all times pointing you to your goal and when you reach it, you simply press a "win button" to murder your target. And if you fail that, you are moved ten seconds backwards to try again with no repercussions. And that's ESPECIALLY true for Assassin's Creed.

More complex indeed.

I think you overestimate just how challenging many of those games were. I played and finished a lot of SNES games when I was around 6-8 years old, many were not difficult so much as they required trial and error gameplay. Being stuck on a linear 2D plane where you move 1 direction most of the time really helped too.

 

[Sajjaja]

sorry I don't have time to play every yearly sequel man.

You don't have to play it, but the fact that you judge an entire series based on the first iteration which would no doubt have faults being the first entry in the series is what I'm puzzled by, however accurate those judgements may be.

 

[Tellaerin]

Those genres were left behind for better and more complex stuff once the 3D era came around.

Okay, let me see if I have this straight...

When developers abandon old genre conventions in an effort to appeal to modern audiences, they deserve to be scorned for it.

But when developers abandon old genres in an effort to appeal to modern audiences, on the other hand, it's no great loss because anything newer is automatically "better and more complex".

That about right? Because that's what I'm taking away from this conversation, based on your comments about games in general.

 

[nexen]

The only thing I can add to this discussion is:
Super Mario World > Super Mario 64

 

[Derrick01]

Okay, let me see if I have this straight...

When developers abandon old genre conventions in an effort to appeal to modern audiences, they deserve to be scorned for it.

But when developers abandon old genres in an effort to appeal to modern audiences, on the other hand, it's no great loss because anything newer is automatically "better and more complex".

That about right? Because that's what I'm taking away from this conversation, based on your comments about games in general.

It's pretty easy to understand. Gaming was on a steady incline of gameplay complexity until around 2004 or so and then it started dropping. But even though it started dropping, and has kept dropping, we haven't dipped back to early 90s simplistic arcade games yet. Well, until indies came along that is.

I want games to go back to how they were in the late 90s to mid 2000s, not further back. That was the sweet spot and if we can't progress any further then lets at least go back to that.

 

[dirtywhirlwind]

Do we know for sure they will be in one? Could be a bundle on Steam, happened before. Not that I care, I own them all already, just saying.

They have humble in their names so it's pretty safe bet.

Check link for the tables included:

Basic
Bonus

 

[woo and indeed hoo]

Much as I don't want to distract from this entertaining thread discussion WTF does it mean when I get this happen? The little green letter icon thing comes up in the Steam Client and I see I have a new comment only to be told that the comment has been moved or deleted :/. I have 17 of these now.

 

[CheesecakeRecipe]

Much as I don't want to distract from this entertaining thread discussion WTF does it mean when I get this happen? The little green letter icon thing comes up in the Steam Client and I see I have a new comment only to be told that the comment has been moved or deleted :/. I have 17 of these now.

Your secret admirer got rly scared you'd notice

Spoiler

I have no idea, might be a glitch. You know how Steam Community can be.

 

[derExperte]

Much as I don't want to distract from this entertaining thread discussion WTF does it mean when I get this happen? The little green letter icon thing comes up in the Steam Client and I see I have a new comment only to be told that the comment has been moved or deleted :/. I have 17 of these now.

You have a secret admirer who wants to tell you something but becomes scared and deletes his little love letters.

 

[nexen]

Much as I don't want to distract from this entertaining thread discussion WTF does it mean when I get this happen? The little green letter icon thing comes up in the Steam Client and I see I have a new comment only to be told that the comment has been moved or deleted :/. I have 17 of these now.

Stalker.

 

[Sajjaja]

Much as I don't want to distract from this entertaining thread discussion WTF does it mean when I get this happen? The little green letter icon thing comes up in the Steam Client and I see I have a new comment only to be told that the comment has been moved or deleted :/. I have 17 of these now.

Refreshing fixed it for me. Steam community tends to screw up.

 

[toddhunter]

If I gift myself coj and blood dragon do I get two items in my inventory or only one?

Sorry if it is a faq.

 

[woo and indeed hoo]

Your secret admirer got rly scared you'd notice

Spoiler

I have no idea, might be a glitch. You know how Steam Community can be.

Hm, possibly. Which one though?

Spoiler

lol

OR....someone complains to Valve about my irreverent screengrab comments and Valve deletes them :/ Oh and when I say irreverent I mean very NSFW and politically incorrect you are banned from NeoGAF for all eternity and then some.

 

[FloatOn]

You don't have to play it, but the fact that you judge an entire series based on the first iteration which would no doubt have faults being the first entry in the series is what I'm puzzled by, however accurate those judgements may be.

well it's not like I played the first twenty minutes or something. I played the entire thing.

I mean maybe it got better but if it didn't impress me enough with the first game (or the foundation of what the series is based on) then I think it's pretty telling that I won't enjoy the rest of the series.

 

[oipic]

Much as I don't want to distract from this entertaining thread discussion WTF does it mean when I get this happen? The little green letter icon thing comes up in the Steam Client and I see I have a new comment only to be told that the comment has been moved or deleted :/. I have 17 of these now.

Are you (heaven forbid) 'following' any threads on SPUF that might be heavily moderated? I had a similar thing recently, had posted in a thread there, was automatically 'subscribed' to it, then in true SPUF fashion some loons posted some nonsense which was promptly removed... but the notifications for said replies lingered on. I could be entirely on the wrong track, though!

 

[RionaaM]

I just beat Hyper Hexagonest on Super Hexagon and am in need of something like it. A low spec game that doesn't require me to listen to the in-game soundtrack [or indeed, any sound] and isn't particularly complicated. Super Hexagon managed to cover all those bases, but is there anything else on Steam that matches those specifications?

I still haven't found a game that scratches that same itch. Fast-paced game, but easy to learn and play (of course, hard as balls to master), and with a great soundtrack.

It was my go-to game when I didn't feel like playing anything else. It's extremely rewarding too, and I could actually feel I was making progress and getting better.

 

[Tellaerin]

It's pretty easy to understand. Gaming was on a steady incline of gameplay complexity until around 2004 or so and then it started dropping. But even though it started dropping, and has kept dropping, we haven't dipped back to early 90s simplistic arcade games yet. Well, until indies came along that is.

I want games to go back to how they were in the late 90s to mid 2000s, not further back. That was the sweet spot and if we can't progress any further then lets at least go back to that.

So 3D platformers are inherently more complex and demand more skill than 2D platformers, despite not requiring nearly the same degree of timing or reflexes?

So bullet hell shooters are inherently better than Compile-style vertical shmups, despite the fact that they really demand different things from the player? (Bullet hell shmups are almost like driving games in a way - I'm guiding a 1-2px hitbox down narrow lanes whose edges are defined by bullets and trying not to go off that road and "crash" - while Aleste-style stuff prioritizes twitch reflexes and fast reaction times.)

You're entitled to your opinion, but it's far from universal law.

 

[Tenrius]

Much as I don't want to distract from this entertaining thread discussion WTF does it mean when I get this happen? The little green letter icon thing comes up in the Steam Client and I see I have a new comment only to be told that the comment has been moved or deleted :/. I have 17 of these now.

I had one of those two days ago. I assumed it was an actual deleted comment though.

 

[Grief.exe]

Looks like DayZ Standalone is getting ridiculously close

While I appreciate a devblog would be very interesting for many people. I think there is only one thing with any real purpose now, and that is to release the alpha. Without that, the devblog doesn't really serve a purpose and would take hours away from preparing the release.

 

[RionaaM]

I'm going to be doing another ModBot mega old-stuff giveaway soon. I am pretty confident most of what I'll be putting up is already taken or not worth anything, but it'll be another free for all. Probably this evening. It'll be anything older than a month or so old that isn't taken as well as any Origin keys that aren't taken. Gotta clear out the backlog.

And once again I forgot to get rid of my spare Origin keys. Damn it.

It offers more. And that's the problem, it offers too much without anything that's better, a problem most of those huge games have nowadays. And I liked the series from AC1 until Rev.

Wise words, and completely true.

 

[MRORANGE]

Edit: spoke too soon, mobot's doing its thing.

 

[MMBosstones86]

All I've gotten from the last few pages is that Derrick is defending Assassins Creed.

Is this the Bizzaro steam thread?

 

[drizzle]

Since I messed up on the Humble Bundle, I decided to give my extra keys to my cousin.

As it turns out, you can't re-gift gifted Humble Bundle keys. The only thing you can do with them is "Claim". Also, either I'm very stupid or I can't see the gifted games on her Humble Bundle profile. The only way to access their pages (which you wouldn't need to do, because they're already redeemed on Steam) is to directly access their "key" URLs.

Good that you can't re-gift them, but sadly you can't have them show up on your page, for better inventory of stuff. Oh well.

 

[Rickenslacker]

The only thing I can add to this discussion is:
Super Mario World > Super Mario 64

SM64 is the best Mario game all times.

ALL TIMES

Spoiler

I don't actually care for the traditional 2D Mario games a whole bunch.

 

[wetflame]

41 keys are now free for for all.

I won Agricultural Simulator! Haha, thanks!

 

[Clawww]

41 keys are now free for for all.

good stuff

 

[TenaciousNorth]

Looks like DayZ Standalone is getting ridiculously close

Very curious about this one, I feel like I missed the party by not having a gaming PC when it became very popular. Excited to dive in with the standalone release.

 

[rtcn63]

The giveaway games appear to still be updating.

 

[PixyJunket]

All I've gotten from the last few pages is that Derrick is defending Assassins Creed.

If it allows him to marginalize and deride all 2D and indie video games, the end justifies the means.

 

[ss_lemonade]

Eh... really didn't mean to derail the thread that badly, sorry about that.
Have some keys, this is a multi entry 24 hour competition, that means you can apply for more than one code. If it's a Warner brothers game or Worms then use this link and add the code at the end of the urls:

https://www.humblebundle.com/downloads?key=

turns into:

https://www.humblebundle.com/downloads?key=INSERTYOURCODEHERE

GL:HF!

Thanks, just realized I won Organ Trail!

 

[Derrick01]

All I've gotten from the last few pages is that Derrick is defending Assassins Creed.

Is this the Bizzaro steam thread?

Only from shallower indie games. I won't defend it as far as "normal" games go, it's one of the worst out there for sure.

 

[drizzle]

Omg all the keys are already gone.

I go away for 5 minutes!

 

[DukeBobby]

If it allows him to marginalize and deride all 2D video games, the end justifies the means.

He really likes Mark of the Ninja, though.

 

[jshackles]

Chrome is going to start blocking Chrome extensions not from the Chrome Store starting in January? What does this mean for Enhanced Steam, jshackles? (Nothing, I suppose)

As long as you have it installed through the Chrome Store, you should be good to go.

If it's impossible to override that is very frustrating. I use HTTPS Everywhere and MediaHint from off-site and if Google ever moved against adblocking I'd get that externally as well.

I think Enhanced Steam is on the Chorme store, so that should be fine. But there are some non-store extensions I use that I hope there is some way to install them anyway without having to use the Dev version of the browser.

I don't think anyone has confirmation on this, but I imagine you'll just have to change your extension page into developer mode (but not the whole browser). This is only a simple checkbox at the top of that page.

I believe they're going for something similar to Android where you have to consciously decide to allow applications from "untrusted sources". Probably with a warning box too.

EDIT: Spoke too soon. Looks like if you want to load non-Store extensions you'll need the dev channel Chrome install. Again, this won't affect Enhanced Steam users.

 

[woo and indeed hoo]

Well that question got many more replies than I expected!

I favour the stalker theory myself. If he looks like Cary Grant in North By Northwest then he needs to de-stalk himself and make himself known to me forthwith!

Are you (heaven forbid) 'following' any threads on SPUF that might be heavily moderated? I had a similar thing recently, had posted in a thread there, was automatically 'subscribed' to it, then in true SPUF fashion some loons posted some nonsense which was promptly removed... but the notifications for said replies lingered on. I could be entirely on the wrong track, though!

I don't think so :/. What's a SPUF anyway?

Edit: spoke too soon, mobot's doing its thing.

Or you have me in your blocked list :'(.

EDIT:

Air Conflicts Secret Wars -- MB-A7D64B4F4026F0E2 - Taken by woo and indeed hoo. 6 entrants total.

Apparently not! Thank you so much awesome fellow GAFer! Spitfire piloting here I come!