Support NeoGAF

[Stallion Free]

Tomb Raider will drop in price faster than I can drop my pants

game to get this month is Infinite

I got both and I'm all ready for Bioshock (just 100%d Tomb Raider), another game that I suspect will appeal to intellectually crippled individuals such as myself.

 

[scorpscarx]

Too much focus on...errr...focus mode, aka highlight errything.

I noticed this as well, it's hard to hope for anything reminiscent of the focus on stealth that the original Thief had in any game these days. I'm not sure how I feel about this, it might be a good thing. Thief stealth is just, stay in the shadows, don't make noise, probably some room for improvement there. I don't have much faith that the new one will improve in any groundbreaking way however, and I can practically guarantee you the maps will be more linear.

 

[Salsa]

Too much focus on...errr...focus mode, aka highlight errything.

gonna be optional for sure

 

[ClovingWestbrook]

Tomb Raider will drop in price faster than I can drop my pants

game to get this month is Infinite

I paid $24 for it but would pay $40. Its that good.

 

[Derrick01]

gonna be optional for sure

Whether that matters or not will depend on the level design and item placement. Like in Deus Ex HR it was nice they turned it off but the level design was so weak it almost didn't matter.

Nirolak seemed to think from the GI impressions that it won't be optional. Like Hitman there seems to be point of progress that require the use of it.

 

[Grief.exe]

I got the 3 Deus Ex games in the latest collection sale and I never played any of them. At first I planned playing them in order but I realized that, even though not by a big margin, I feel like playing Human Revolution first. I'm wondering if I'll be doing myself a disservice by not playing the original game first or if I can go HR > Deus Ex > IW with no regrets.

They don't really need to be played in order.

You are going to miss out on a couple hints during Human Revolution, but nothing too significant.

Play what you want to play, especially if it doesn't affect too much.

I recommend people skip over Witcher 1 a lot of times as well, sometimes people can get stuck in that game and not get to experience the greatness of the Witcher 2.

I would skip IW entirely by the way, its not worth playing.

Here are a couple mods I have bookmarked for Deus Ex 1.

http://www.reddit.com/r/gaming/comments/ceuyh/step_by_step_moddingguide_deus_ex_i_spilled_my/
http://www.dsogaming.com/news/deus-ex-new-vision-version-1-5-released/

 

[Stallion Free]

Ugh Deus Ex texture packs? What is the point?

 

[Dice]

Ugh Deus Ex texture packs? What is the point?

I'm usually against such things but in New Vision they are smartly done and look great.

 

[RionaaM]

I got the 3 Deus Ex games in the latest collection sale and I never played any of them. At first I planned playing them in order but I realized that, even though not by a big margin, I feel like playing Human Revolution first. I'm wondering if I'll be doing myself a disservice by not playing the original game first or if I can go HR > Deus Ex > IW with no regrets.

I played the original game for the first time last month, and loved every second of it. So I'd start with it if I were you.

 

[Stallion Free]

I'm usually against such things but in New Vision they are smartly done and look great.

It's like polishing a turd.

Then again, you turn on bloom in the Thief games so....

 

[Dice]

Then again, you turn on bloom in the Thief games so....

A very careful amount! It works with the whimsy already present!

 

[Salsa]

ddfix is cool and all but fuck that bloom

 

[Lizardus]

Wasn't Max Payne 3 14.99 for the game+season pass few weeks ago on GMG?

 

[Dice]

ddfix is cool and all but fuck that bloom

Did you try my settings for it? If you don't use bloom at all ddfix kills the colors of the textures compared to software mode.

 

[Stallion Free]

ddfix is cool and all but fuck that bloom

DDfix is outdated.

Did you try my settings for it? If you don't use bloom at all ddfix kills the colors of the textures compared to software mode.

There is a good chance you had a setting screwed up if that was the case.

 

[Dice]

There is a good chance you had a setting screwed up if that was the case.

Nope. D3D lighting is very, very different from software. If the game is made for software, D3D makes it look more 3D but less cartoony, very bland.

 

[Salsa]

DDfix is outdated.

I dont even know, I havent played a Dark Engine game in years but I remember all those "fixes" looking pretty damn bad

 

[Stallion Free]

Nope. D3D lighting is very, very different from software. If the game is made for software, D3D makes it look more 3D but less cartoony, very bland.

Oh so you are saying that you like the inaccurate software rendering?

 

[Dice]

Oh so you are saying that you like the inaccurate software rendering?

I'm saying a lot of old games like Thief, Blood, Descent, Quake 1, etc. Have art that is clearly made to look good that way, and when you translate it to D3D they lose a huge amount of their original color and personality and somehow even though the level itself or overall image looks more 3D, surfaces individually look more flat and stale.

It is akin to how old 2D games have full congruity with all their assets and a coherent artistic look that is very impactful, but then a lot of newer engines mix resolutions or even have 2D on 3D and it most often ends up looking like shit and no longer "alive" or "like a cartoon" as it did before. In the old 3D games being updated the effect is more that instead of a drawing of a hallway it looks like painted polygons.

However, using bloom you can recover some of the personality and artistic breadth. Most often it is overdone, but you can carefully adjust the ambient lighting level, intensity of source, contrast from source, size/spread, mapping resolution, color saturation, etc. until you get a proper balance to revive much of what the transition to D3D killed without smearing blur all over everything and blowing out highlights.

 

[Relax.MX]

I recommend people skip over Witcher 1 a lot of times as well, sometimes people can get stuck in that game and not get to experience the greatness of the Witcher 2.

Dont listen to this crazy man, the first Witcher is one of the best RPG ever, the choices are actually sensitive and feel important, no black vs white like Bioware or magic vs force like others, you can even chose stay neutral, the story is great(I remember the discussion with my friend for the ending not only the last video ), the "cards", etc.

I finished the games three times, with different specs(Vista and W7, Nvidia and Ati) and I never had a problem with a solution with more of 15 min of research on Internet and the last time I install like 3 mods in the same time

Is a PC RPG.. Just need investment of time to begin to get into..

 

[wenis]

Eww Tomb Raider talk in this thread of all places? Purge it with fire.

look at this guy... LOOK AT THIS GUY!

with his opinions and shit.

 

[Stallion Free]

I'm saying a lot of old games like Thief, Blood, Descent, Quake 1, etc. Have art that is clearly made to look good that way, and when you translate it to D3D they lose a huge amount of their original color and personality and somehow even though the level itself or overall image looks more 3D, surfaces individually look more flat and stale.

It is akin to how old 2D games have full congruity with all their assets and a coherent artistic look that is very impactful, but then a lot of newer engines mix resolutions or even have 2D on 3D and it most often ends up looking like shit and no longer "alive" or "like a cartoon" as it did before. In the old 3D games being updated the effect is more that instead of a drawing of a hallway it looks like painted polygons.

However, using bloom you can recover some of the personality and artistic breadth. Most often it is overdone, but you can carefully adjust the ambient lighting level, intensity of source, contrast from source, size/spread, mapping resolution, color saturation, etc. until you get a proper balance to revive much of what the transition to D3D killed without smearing blur all over everything and blowing out highlights.

I don't think software renderers really compare to 2D games played on the old TVs they were designed around (and that emulators deperately try to mimic the effects of). Quake 1 looks fucking sweet with a hardware renderer at my native res with a proper widescreen FOV and all OG effects (no bloom or other weird effects to make it look like a software renderer).

 

[Dice]

I actually have Quake extremely decked out with the amaaaazing QRP and very finely tuned darkplaces. See here. I have thought about maybe turning on texture filtering, but it would probably kill the gritty look. I want to get the water transparent but I'm too lazy to find a mod that does that but doesn't go overboard adding a bunch of crazy effects. That shit can fly in Quake 2 but not Quake.

 

[Alexios]

What's the DmC patch gonna do? It seems to be relatively large.

Also, this is a great port, it runs great even on my PC maxed @ 720p while looking pretty pretty good.

It actually seems to be much closer to the engine feel of DMC4 than Lost Planet 2 even though the latter is on an iteration of that engine while this game uses UE3 instead. That's pretty impressive too. It's weird they didn't manage 60fps on consoles.

They could release it running like shit and people would defend it saying such PCs are too weak for modern games, that optimization isn't magic that renders your specs meaningless, whatever they say when people call a game unoptimized.

The actual game is not horrible either, it's quite fun, if not as crazy and cool as other entries and with too much padding.

 

[XANDER CAGE]

What's the DmC patch gonna do? It seems to be relatively large.

Also, this is a great port, it runs great even on my PC maxed @ 720p while looking pretty pretty good.

It actually seems to be much closer to the engine feel of DMC4 than Lost Planet 2 even though the latter is on an iteration of that engine while this game uses UE3 instead. That's pretty impressive too. It's weird they didn't manage 60fps on consoles.

They could release it running like shit and people would defend it saying such PCs are too weak for modern games, that optimization isn't magic that renders your specs meaningless, whatever they say when people call a game unoptimized.

The actual game is not horrible either, it's quite fun, if not as crazy and cool as other entries and with too much padding.

It's probably the DLC content, or something.

 

[Ledsen]

Question:

If someone gifts me Bioshock Infinite from a different region, I still get the pre-order bonuses, right? It's £29.99 in the UK and I'm very tempted to ask a nice Brit to buy it for me.

 

[Deques]

Question:

If someone gifts me Bioshock Infinite from a different region, I still get the pre-order bonuses, right? It's £29.99 in the UK and I'm very tempted to ask a nice Brit to buy it for me.

All the pre-orders follow the game

 

[JaseC]

Question:

If someone gifts me Bioshock Infinite from a different region, I still get the pre-order bonuses, right? It's £29.99 in the UK and I'm very tempted to ask a nice Brit to buy it for me.

Yes.

Edit: b10.

 

[Ledsen]

Yes.

Edit: b10.

That's amazing. £29.99 is super cheap. Now about that Brit...

 

[JaseC]

That's amazing. £29.99 is super cheap.

It's $44.99 in South American territories, which is oh-so-slightly cheaper still.

 

[Deques]

Yes.

Edit: b10.

Always b10

That's amazing. £29.99 is super cheap. Now about that Brit...

There is probably plenty of nice brits around here. You wont have hard time finding one

 

[Ledsen]

It's $44.99 in South American territories, which is oh-so-slightly cheaper still.

For me, it's 288 SEK vs 287 SEK :lol

 

[Deques]

For me, it's 288 SEK vs 287 SEK :lol

For 1 SEK you can buy one Jenka bubblegum if they are still around and still cost 1 SEK. (Feeling old now)

 

[Glass Rebel]

Man, Konami is dumb.

1. Announce MGR PC already.
2. Give me Lords of Shadow PC already you filthy teasers.
3. Show more Lords of Shadow 2. People barely care about Mirror of Fate.

It's $44.99 in South American territories, which is oh-so-slightly cheaper still.

Might have to hit up Salsa.

 

[JaseC]

Always b10

Woe is me.

For me, it's 288 SEK vs 287 SEK :lol

You might need that 1 SEK one day.

 

[Ledsen]

For 1 SEK you can buy one Jenka bubblegum if they are still around and still cost 1 SEK. (Feeling old now)

When I was young... Hubba Bubba bubblegum were 0,5 SEK. They came with Turtles stickers. You're not old. I'm old

 

[Deques]

When I was young... Hubba Bubba bubblegum were 0,5 SEK. You're not old. I'm old

Turtle stickers? That's around in the beginning of 90's, am I right?

Getting off topic now

Jenka still exists, I googled after it and found a place where they sell 300 gums for 240 SEK.
http://www.roligaprylar.se/Jenka-Tuggummi.html

 

[Salsa]

I live in South America and I can help anyone trying to buy a couple cheaper copies of Bioshock Infinite

warning though, i'll keep the second one

 

[Dr Dogg]

It's apparently selling pretty well though. Who knows.


Unless you're trying to say that you're shy and don't drop your pants that fast.

Squenix title it's pretty inevitable.

Deus Ex HR £30-£40 launch 2 months later £15.
FF XIII-2 £40 launch, month later £20, 3 months later £7.50.
Sleeping Dogs £25-£40 launch, month later £20, 2 months later £15, 4 months later £5.
Hitman Absolution £20-£40 launch, month later £10, 2 months later £6.

Round about figures but if you shopped around prices were crazy after a month or so but yeah I bough most of them at full price so that makes me stupid (and I bought Tomb Raider as well).

 

[Deques]

Squenix title it's pretty inevitable.

Deus Ex HR £30-£40 launch 2 months later £15.
FF XIII-2 £40 launch, month later £20, 3 months later £7.50.
Sleeping Dogs £25-£40 launch, month later £20, 2 months later £15, 4 months later £5.
Hitman Absolution £20-£40 launch, month later £10, 2 months later £6.

Round about figures but if you shopped around prices were crazy after a month or so but yeah I bough most of them at full price so that makes me stupid (and I bought Tomb Raider as well).

That's why never buy Squeenix titles at launch. Sometimes you get games bundled with dlcs at cheaper prices too.
But don't tell everyone to never buy Squeenix titles at launch, else Squeenix will go bankrupt

 

[derFeef]

it's like I can already see Derrick talking about how good Thief 4 is while playing it, only to talk about how terrible it was when thinking back on it a week or so later

:b

He secretly enjoys games, I know it.

 

[Glass Rebel]

Squenix title it's pretty inevitable.

Deus Ex HR £30-£40 launch 2 months later £15.
FF XIII-2 £40 launch, month later £20, 3 months later £7.50.
Sleeping Dogs £25-£40 launch, month later £20, 2 months later £15, 4 months later £5.
Hitman Absolution £20-£40 launch, month later £10, 2 months later £6.

Round about figures but if you shopped around prices were crazy after a month or so but yeah I bough most of them at full price so that makes me stupid (and I bought Tomb Raider as well).

I didn't realize it was this bad/good. I was going to wait anyway but it probably won't be for that long.

 

[Drkirby]

Nearing the end of Hitman Absolution, and I have to say, its not bad. My biggest grip is that its an Hitman themed FPS campaign, when I preferred the more Puzzle like nature of Blood Money, and the shorter levels. I really dislike how the levels are now a series or stages rather then one huge stage to play though, and the game have far to much time spent infiltrating layers of stupidly large levels before getting to the final target.

I also really miss the ability to choose what I would bring with me on a Mission. Though I will say I like the game making use of a standard weapon bar rather then the wheel system Blood Money used.

Bit confused as to why there is an entire level in which I get a new suit though, which takes 2 minutes of game time. Is it a call back to anther Hitman game, or just a waste of loading time?

 

[Dr Dogg]

I didn't realize it was this bad/good. I was going to wait anyway but it probably won't be for that long.

Well I got Tomb Raider on the dirty 360 (yeah I know) for £32, on launch day and the survival edition. Seeing as you can get Steam keys for around £20 already I'd say it will be on offer in a month or 2 officially. Though I think this is more to do with SE's approach to marketing rather than all there titles being bomba's. They probably make more revenue by selling low at volume than they would at a higher cost.

Put it this way I got Sleepy Dogs cheap on PC and bought all the dlc the moment it came out (no thanks to EatChildren) and when it was on PS+ I bought all again, twice. I don't care though because the game rocks and if my frivolous nature helps them make this a franchise they can have as much of my money as they want.

Edit: Right instead of just pulling some figures out of my arse here's some historical pricing just for Steam and their various sales:-

Deus Ex

• 17-10-11, £29.99
• 26-11-11, £14.99
• 01-01-12, £10.19
• 24-03-12, £7.49

Sleeping Dogs

• 17-08-12, £26.99
• 18-10-12, £14.99
• 27-12-12, £10.19
• 28-01-12, £7.49

Hitman

• 20-11-12, £26.99
• 20-12-12, £14.99
• 27-01-13, £10.19

I was pretty much spot on. Bare in mind the most of the time when Steam had a price drop so did GamesGate or GMG at the same price or lower (and with GMG's perpetual voucher codes and Steam keys they are on fire at the moment).

 

[Glass Rebel]

Thanks for financing SE games then

I have enjoyed all Square-Enix Europe games I've bought so far but getting burnt on Hitman: Absolution (and I'm not talking about the price) really made me wary of their releases. I want to support their efforts but they do an awful job in promoting them. I pre-ordered Human Revolution only because of that leaked review build and will do the same for Thief, any Deus Ex sequel and Sleepy Dawgs 2.

 

[Salsa]

I remember when Skyrim came out

clocked 90 hours in a week, left the game in the middle of some quest

never came back, for absolutely no reason

totally burnt out too quick

I should uh.. finish it

kinda feel like it

at the same time though I wonder if i'll be able to come back to it and get up to speed fast enough

 

[JaseC]

I remember when Skyrim came out

clocked 90 hours in a week, left in the middle of some quest

never came back

I should uh.. finish it

kinda feel like it

I've often felt the same but have yet to bother. Steam says I haven't played Skyrim since April 2012 (81 hours all up), but I'm fairly sure I didn't actually play it at that time and just wanted to check something. And on that note, it'd be nice if you could view a detailed history of your play time.

 

[Salsa]

I've often felt the same but have yet to bother. Steam says I haven't played Skyrim since April 2012 (81 hours all up), but I'm fairly sure I didn't actually play it at that time and just wanted to check something. And on that note, it'd be nice if you could view a detailed history of your play time.

that'd be awesome. And yeah, mine lists last played as november 2012 but that's when I got the 680 and ran a bunch of games to try it

last time I had an actual Skyrim session was November or December 2011


hot damn has it been so long

 

[-tetsuo-]

I really wish I could enjoy Skyrim. I was a target of anger in the OT with all my bashing of the game when it first came out. I am still waiting for that perfect string of mods to drop so that I can enjoy the game. It looks like it may never happen for me, though.

 

[Dr Dogg]

Thanks for financing SE games then

I have enjoyed all Square-Enix Europe games I've bought so far but getting burnt on Hitman: Absolution (and I'm not talking about the price) really made me wary of their releases. I want to support their efforts but they do an awful job in promoting them. I pre-ordered Human Revolution only because of that leaked review build and will do the same for Thief, any Deus Ex sequel and Sleepy Dawgs 2.

Here's the problem I have. Way back in the Eidos days they were my go to publisher, mainly due to Champ/Footy Manager but that lead me to discover Deus Ex, Hitman and Thief, Tomb Raider was a given (that and I used to go past Core Designs office once a week and had it on the brain) and Just Cause because Grapple-shutes man.

Now I liked them as a publisher as their portfolio mainly consisted of games that at least tested your brain more than most or were puzzle or strategy focused. Obliviously times change, developers move on and Square-Enix bought them out. As much as I like that franchises like Deus Ex and Hitman are still going they're a shadow of the games I loved. They're not bad games but held up against their predecessors they're anything but the puzzle or tactical focused games they once were.

I can understand why Hitman went in the direction it did. About the time Blood Money came out most of the genuine complaints on the official forums were more aimed at the lack of narative focus and that the game was just isolated sections. Unfortunately what we got was Kane and Lynch - The Hitman Years and lets be fair if you're playing a Hitman game for the story you're doing it wrong.

Still Sleepy Dawgs is better than Robot Roller Skating Ninjas... with machine guns... and flames out the sides. If they're willing to publish games that the likes of Activision don't see fit in the market I'd be pleased as punch.