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[Servbot #42]

After playing some more Zero Gear with a joystick here are my impressions:

The game plays like Mario Kart with physics which i am not so sure it's a good thing in some cases but i'll talk about that later. The game is heavily multiplayer oriented so there are no cups or anything like that, what there are is a bunch of modes besides your standard kart races. Some modes play out like sports matches where you have to introduce balls (soccers balls, football balls, Etc) into the other team's net, the problem is that i feel that is hard to control the ball because all the players are pounding the ball at the same, the balls usually flies away which can be confusing, some sports like hockey feel less chaotic. Another mode is tag that consists of touching a special item, while holding it you gain points but any other player can take the item away from you by simply touching you, the twist is that after some time the rules will be reversed and the guy holding the item will lose points which makes for some fun moments, however there's no visual indicator on who is winning unless you check the score with tab which is a bummer. Other modes include pachinko and a mode where you have to jump into holes with different scores on them which are okay i guess but they get old fast. The part about Zero gear i most liked where the simple kart races, they feel similar to mario kart tough since there aren't enviromental hazards beside falling or any other visual effects they feel a little stale. Also a map would be very welcome.
Anyway i think Zero Gear has some potential and would like to see the developer work more on it, i don't think i am sold on it yet.

 

[x3sphere]

I'll just wait for a sale on ME2.. have too many games to play through at the moment anyway.

 

[graywolf323]

any word if the AI War Zenith Remnant expansion will show up on Steam?

I know some games haven't had their expansions show up (like Elven Legacy) :-(

 

[Shard]

any word if the AI War Zenith Remnant expansion will show up on Steam?

I know some games haven't had their expansions show up (like Elven Legacy) :-(

It should be for sale right now.

 

[crimsonheadGCN]

any word if the AI War Zenith Remnant expansion will show up on Steam?

I know some games haven't had their expansions show up (like Elven Legacy) :-(

The Steam page for AI Wars: The Zenith Remnant.

 

[graywolf323]

well I feel stupid, I only checked the front page and the only thing I saw on new releases was a Nancy Drew game

didn't think to do a search >_<

 

[Lafiel]

Dammit I evangelized Machinarium to everyone I could. You can't blame me.

I bought machinarium.
Though i haven't gotten around to playing it ofc.

 

[crimsonheadGCN]

From the makers of Star Wars®: Knights of the Old Republic™, Dragon Age: Origins™, and Mass Effect™ comes the dark second installment in the thrilling Mass Effect Trilogy! Mass Effect 2 is now available for pre-purchase! Check out the standard edition or the Digital Deluxe Edition that contains exclusive in-game items and more!

Mass Effect 2
Mass Effect 2 Digital Deluxe Edition

 

[Kipe]

AI War is on sale for $10.

http://store.steampowered.com/app/40400/

 

[Eaten By A Grue]

Mass Effect 2 bought. I will not fall for buying the Xbox360 version again.

 

[JoeMartin]

AI War is on sale for $10.

http://store.steampowered.com/app/40400/

I got this during the holiday sale and Christ it's hard.

You really gotta plan your shit out or the AI just rolls you, even on "normal" settings. And not like cheating either. They scout, check odds, ship accordingly, and just run through you when you least expect it.

If there's one piece of advice I have it's pick a home system with the least amount of adjacent systems possible.

And it's most likely on sale mid week because the steam-exclusive expansion was just released.

 

[Lafiel]

AI War is on sale for $10.

http://store.steampowered.com/app/40400/

So worth it, i bought this game on impulse (based on the concept) during the holiday sale. And was surprisingly very satisfied with the purchase. Anyone here, whose a fan of games like supreme commander, 4x games or sins of a solar empire, owes themselves to try it.

I got this during the holiday sale and Christ it's hard.

You really gotta plan your shit out or the AI just rolls you, even on "normal" settings. And not like cheating either. They scout, check odds, ship accordingly, and just run through you when you least expect it.

If there's one piece of advice I have it's pick a home system with the least amount of adjacent systems possible.

And it's most likely on sale mid week because the steam-exclusive expansion was just released.

Yeah, i'm really impressed with the ai in this game, it's one area that i find, that a lot of RTS games get wrong for me.

 

[crimsonheadGCN]

It seems like the producer for Battlefield: Bad Company 2 wants to do a Squad Pack on Steam:

@L_Twin maybe it's a bit early to announce, but it'd be lovely to have a "SQUAD PACK" on steam like L4D,L4D2 and Borderlands did 4packs

http://twitter.com/cheeriokilla/status/7735553882

@cheeriokilla I like this idea as well, we're working on it.

http://twitter.com/L_Twin/status/7739900612

I would really like to see this happen.

 

[Javaman]

Damnit. Everytime I see this thread get bumped on Tuesday or Thursday I think the next deal has been announced. And now I'm part of the problem. P

 

[Fragamemnon]

I got this during the holiday sale and Christ it's hard.

You really gotta plan your shit out or the AI just rolls you, even on "normal" settings. And not like cheating either. They scout, check odds, ship accordingly, and just run through you when you least expect it.

If there's one piece of advice I have it's pick a home system with the least amount of adjacent systems possible.

And it's most likely on sale mid week because the steam-exclusive expansion was just released.

Having home systems with multiple adjacent systems isn't necessarily that bad. At worst one of the systems is a level IV and you can just raid the warp gate on it to prevent waves from hitting your home systems, since the only valid systems to be hit by the AI waves are ones adjacent to enemy systems with warp gates. You can also hit the guard posts in those systems to reduce the rate of reinforcements so you don't get reamed as bad during cross-planet raids that happen every few hours.

I adore the game, the tactics are endless and the AI is able to compete and challenge the player due to the nature of rules it works with, which are intentionally asymmetric so as to allow the AI opponent to really put up a fight. It's one of my favorite games released last year.

The Zenith Remnant is available on Gamersgate/Steam/Impulse and through Arcen's own website though. The point on the Steam page is that the Steam version of the expansion will work only with the Steam version of the base product, which everyone already has since you can register the original AI Wars code through Steam and get the Steamworks-enabled product no matter where you purchased AI Wars.

 

[Talamius]

It seems like the producer for Battlefield: Bad Company 2 wants to do a Squad Pack on Steam:

The more this idea catches on the better. Developers and publishers need to realize selling a 4 pack at a slightly reduced price per copy will work out in the long run because you sell a lot more copies overall. A little short term loss for long term gain

 

[Schmattakopf]

Does anyone play the original AI War online?

I was thinking of getting it for $10 during the holiday sale, but that's the main selling point for me.

 

[brain_stew]

It seems like the producer for Battlefield: Bad Company 2 wants to do a Squad Pack on Steam:



http://twitter.com/cheeriokilla/status/7735553882



http://twitter.com/L_Twin/status/7739900612

I would really like to see this happen.

I can see that selling like hotcakes. The 4 pack deal certainly seemed to help Borderlands.

 

[Fragamemnon]

Does anyone play the original AI War online?

I was thinking of getting it for $10 during the holiday sale, but that's the main selling point for me.

I don't-I get my competitive RTS fix elsewhere-but one thing to note is that there is no automatch/game browser or anything with AI War. If you want to play a co-op game, it's pretty much LAN or direct IP connect. This actually makes plenty of sense given that it takes many hours to finish a game on the standard map settings, so a 'casual' co-op game of AI War really doesn't exist.

 

[MNC]

My thread didn't really take off concerning steam on network drives, but so far it works; I've mapped a network drive to my computer and copied my steamfolder (without steamapps) to it.
Tried opening steam through my network folder - it works I've got steam running on a 4TB network drive now! Installed braid, and it worked on my own PC. Gonna try it on my sis' laptop to see if it works as well. So far, all goes as planned. Offline games will probably take a while to load but work perfectly.

As for online games, I dunno, but I think it will work as well. Loading's the only thing that will take a while... I'm installing Mirror's Edge now, to see how a network drive without a Documents folder handles savefiles. Hope it works. Anybody tried something like this so far?

 

[Schmattakopf]

I don't-I get my competitive RTS fix elsewhere-but one thing to note is that there is no automatch/game browser or anything with AI War. If you want to play a co-op game, it's pretty much LAN or direct IP connect. This actually makes plenty of sense given that it takes many hours to finish a game on the standard map settings, so a 'casual' co-op game of AI War really doesn't exist.

Well most RTSs don't have a specific co-op mode. I thought AI War's online was only co-op.

 

[Fragamemnon]

Well most RTSs don't have a specific co-op mode. I thought AI War's online was only co-op.

Yeah, there is only co-op multiplayer play online. My post was more of a 'hey, if you're thinking about getting this, be aware of the following limitations' sort of thing. Some people kind of balk at the notion of not having a game browser around so they can 'jump into ' an existing online game in progress, a feature which AI War does not have.

 

[mclem]

The more this idea catches on the better. Developers and publishers need to realize selling a 4 pack at a slightly reduced price per copy will work out in the long run because you sell a lot more copies overall. A little short term loss for long term gain

I had great difficulty convincing my friends they want to play Left 4 Dead (I'm up to three friends having the game now, so close to being able to play it properly among friends). What I'd love to see is the ability to buy a temp licence which you can hand over permanently and it becomes a full game, or give it away temporarily and they get a copy of the game that they can only play with you. I don't think that's particularly exploitable but gives me a bit more control and means friends don't have to make a commitment before they get to play the game.

 

[Javaman]

I had great difficulty convincing my friends they want to play Left 4 Dead (I'm up to three friends having the game now, so close to being able to play it properly among friends). What I'd love to see is the ability to buy a temp licence which you can hand over permanently and it becomes a full game, or give it away temporarily and they get a copy of the game that they can only play with you. I don't think that's particularly exploitable but gives me a bit more control and means friends don't have to make a commitment before they get to play the game.

A higher proliferation of demos would be a much easier way.

 

[Schmattakopf]

Yeah, there is only co-op multiplayer play online. My post was more of a 'hey, if you're thinking about getting this, be aware of the following limitations' sort of thing. Some people kind of balk at the notion of not having a game browser around so they can 'jump into ' an existing online game in progress, a feature which AI War does not have.

I see--thanks for the info.

 

[poppabk]

A higher proliferation of demos would be a much easier way.

Wasn't there a timed demo for L4D2 when it came out, or was that just for the first one?

 

[Volcynika]

Wasn't there a timed demo for L4D2 when it came out, or was that just for the first one?

L4D1 and L4D2 demos came out prior to release and worked until the full games came out.

 

[HK-47]

How do you know how long ME2 will be? I spent a good 30-40 hours play ME. Didn't time it buy I'm still not done yet and I know I've been playing it since it released on PC for a few hours each time I do, surely more than 10 times. Gotta try to finish it before ME2 comes.

Don't rush through it .

And if you'd rather have a retail disc go for it. But the convenience of Steam is going to make me look past the 40 dollar effective price point (the regular edition) has at Amazon for the disc version. Get all the same bonsuses in digital format (soundtrack, art book...) and no box around the house? Sign me the hell up.

Look main quest was about 20 hours. And all the side quest stuff was the definition of pointless so its all pointless padding that isnt satisfying.

Also 10 extra bucks for that joke of a deluxe edition is sad. Especially since stuff like the soundtrack will end up on the tube on launch. Art book is the only worthwhile part of it.

 

[bengraven]

My wife found out how much I spent on the Steam Christmas sale and she almost left me.

No joke.

 

[NIN90]

get a hooker from the money you saved from the steam deals

 

[Dave Long]

My wife found out how much I spent on the Steam Christmas sale and she almost left me.

No joke.

How much did you spend?

 

[Jirotrom]

My wife found out how much I spent on the Steam Christmas sale and she almost left me.

No joke.

whoa... how much did you spend?

actually just found out... barely over 70...

 

[GHG]

My wife found out how much I spent on the Steam Christmas sale and she almost left me.

No joke.

Just out of curiosity

Spoiler

and also to find out where abouts your wife is on the scale of crazy

how much did you spend?

 

[Chiaroscuro]

My wife found out how much I spent on the Steam Christmas sale and she almost left me.

No joke.

Never allow your wife to know how much you spend in games. Seriously, I would be in big trouble.

 

[Dave Long]

whoa... how much did you spend?

actually just found out... barely over 70...

Wha?! That's only $10 over the price of one 360/PS3 game! I was expecting like $300 or something.

I spent that much in one day at sale time and added more before the sale ended (and this week too!).

 

[Jirotrom]

Wha?! That's only $10 over the price of one 360/PS3 game! I was expecting like $300 or something.

I spent that much in one day at sale time and added more before the sale ended (and this week too!).

one of the reasons I asked was because there was a guy on here that spent 600 bucks... and if that was him I'd understand wifey's point of view. Then again i don't know the living conditions of our gentleman here

 

[Dave Long]

Yeah, if it were the $600 guy, I'd totally be on board. I figure if you have a PC capable of running much of what's on Steam, you're probably able to afford $70 in games, though.

I guess not?

 

[Des0lar]

My wife found out how much I spent on the Steam Christmas sale and she almost left me.

No joke.

What? If it's really just 70$ than I can't understand her AT ALL. 70$ for something you love (that's playing games) is well worth it...

Are you in financial trouble?

 

[Tenks]

Yeah, if it were the $600 guy, I'd totally be on board. I figure if you have a PC capable of running much of what's on Steam, you're probably able to afford $70 in games, though.

I guess not?

Eh? Most of the stuff on the steam sale were older games that any modern $350 computer could run decently.

I don't see why anyone is so appaled when you have no clue about his situation. Maybe he's horrible with money and is constantly spending it when it isn't exactly avaliable. This could easily just be a straw breaking the back. To some people $70 is a pretty large chunk. That could be 1/8 of a month's rent.

 

[Peronthious]

Does anyone play the original AI War online?

I was thinking of getting it for $10 during the holiday sale, but that's the main selling point for me.

I've done a few games, and their forums/irc channel (#aiwar on irc.rtsnet.org) generally have people looking to play. I find it more enjoyable in co-op than solo, but it's definitely playable solo, and still quite fun.

 

[bengraven]

I spent $97. She knew I had spent $40 the first day on some deals, but I neglected to tell her about a few other purchases from some of the daily deals. And the last day I suddenly picked up a couple of $10 games I wanted to ensure I got, which brought me over my initial $70.

It was stupid on my part, very stupid, I didn't realize how they had added up. She, however, has the ability to use a calculator while looking through our second bank account (which I thought she had no access to, but apparently I forgot to wipe the cookies).

She knows how horrible I feel and I believe with time she'll forgive me, but I'm never spending that much on games again without first telling her.

Eh? Most of the stuff on the steam sale were older games that any modern $350 computer could run decently.

I don't see why anyone is so appaled when you have no clue about his situation. Maybe he's horrible with money and is constantly spending it when it isn't exactly avaliable. This could easily just be a straw breaking the back. To some people $70 is a pretty large chunk. That could be 1/8 of a month's rent.

First off, my computer is pimp. :lol

Second, you're right, I'm very bad with money at times. I've become 10000x better in the last 5 years, but once a year or so I'll do something stupid and this was apparently my time, right at the end of 2009. Since becoming a dad this was my first mistake with money and I'm regretful of it.

We had the money, she was just upset because it basically drained that second account and she had used our second check card for a purchase and was denied and this confused her.

 

[Rufus]

I think I get your tag now.

 

[Tenks]

She'll get over it. Women love to guilt trip everything and act way more pissed than they actually are.

 

[bengraven]

I think I get your tag now.

No you don't. I had a momentary lapse of judgement. It's not a case of irony.

Now if I said "I don't give a fuck, Mount & Blade was almost worth a divorce", then my tag would be ironic.

(well...it almost...is...worth a divorce...it's quite a good game...)

She'll get over it. Women love to guilt trip everything and act way more pissed than they actually are.

To be honest, I over-react by stating it was just the sale's fault. We've also had other, non-money related issues for the last few weeks. But that's another thread and one for another forum.

 

[JudgeN]

I spent $97. She knew I had spent $40 the first day on some deals, but I neglected to tell her about a few other purchases from some of the daily deals. And the last day I suddenly picked up a couple of $10 games I wanted to ensure I got, which brought me over my initial $70.

It was stupid on my part, very stupid, I didn't realize how they had added up. She, however, has the ability to use a calculator while looking through our second bank account (which I thought she had no access to, but apparently I forgot to wipe the cookies).

She knows how horrible I feel and I believe with time she'll forgive me, but I'm never spending that much on games again without first telling her.



First off, my computer is pimp. :lol

Second, you're right, I'm very bad with money at times. I've become 10000x better in the last 5 years, but once a year or so I'll do something stupid and this was apparently my time, right at the end of 2009. Since becoming a dad this was my first mistake with money and I'm regretful of it.

We had the money, she was just upset because it basically drained that second account and she had used our second check card for a purchase and was denied and this confused her.

Upset over $97? This is a wife trap, don't fall for it :lol

 

[Schmattakopf]

I've done a few games, and their forums/irc channel (#aiwar on irc.rtsnet.org) generally have people looking to play. I find it more enjoyable in co-op than solo, but it's definitely playable solo, and still quite fun.

Thanks, that link was helpful. It's not that I don't think I would enjoy single-player, I just have such a huge backlog, I have to have some sort of criteria for buying new games.:lol

No you don't. I had a momentary lapse of judgement. It's not a case of irony.

I think he was more referring to you admitting that it was stupid on your part...

I would never admit that.

I'd be proud that I actually made a decision to buy that many games at once.

 

[Shafto]

Really?! That upset over $97!?!?!

To the point when you're calling it 'the one stupid thing I do every year'?!?!

Man. That's grim! :lol

 

[Zachack]

I spent $97. She knew I had spent $40 the first day on some deals, but I neglected to tell her about a few other purchases from some of the daily deals. And the last day I suddenly picked up a couple of $10 games I wanted to ensure I got, which brought me over my initial $70.

It was stupid on my part, very stupid, I didn't realize how they had added up. She, however, has the ability to use a calculator while looking through our second bank account (which I thought she had no access to, but apparently I forgot to wipe the cookies).

She knows how horrible I feel and I believe with time she'll forgive me, but I'm never spending that much on games again without first telling her.



First off, my computer is pimp. :lol

Second, you're right, I'm very bad with money at times. I've become 10000x better in the last 5 years, but once a year or so I'll do something stupid and this was apparently my time, right at the end of 2009. Since becoming a dad this was my first mistake with money and I'm regretful of it.

We had the money, she was just upset because it basically drained that second account and she had used our second check card for a purchase and was denied and this confused her.

You should just add a zero to all the dollar values because the ones you're using aren't nearly high enough to justify any reaction similar to the one you're describing unless you've literally had an intervention due to some sort of spending issue.

 

[Javaman]

Never allow your wife to know how much you spend in games. Seriously, I would be in big trouble.

That's one plus about digital purchases. They are easier to sneak in the door. :lol :lol

edit-'s

 

[Magni]

I spent $97. She knew I had spent $40 the first day on some deals, but I neglected to tell her about a few other purchases from some of the daily deals. And the last day I suddenly picked up a couple of $10 games I wanted to ensure I got, which brought me over my initial $70.

It was stupid on my part, very stupid, I didn't realize how they had added up. She, however, has the ability to use a calculator while looking through our second bank account (which I thought she had no access to, but apparently I forgot to wipe the cookies).

She knows how horrible I feel and I believe with time she'll forgive me, but I'm never spending that much on games again without first telling her.



First off, my computer is pimp. :lol

Second, you're right, I'm very bad with money at times. I've become 10000x better in the last 5 years, but once a year or so I'll do something stupid and this was apparently my time, right at the end of 2009. Since becoming a dad this was my first mistake with money and I'm regretful of it.

We had the money, she was just upset because it basically drained that second account and she had used our second check card for a purchase and was denied and this confused her.

Do you hide the family's finances from her?

I'm not married/sharing accounts yet, but once I get there I've always known I'd keep my own personal account for my personal expenses (games, tech stuff that only I care about, presents for her etc), have her have her own account as well for the same reasons, and then leave the common account for, well, common expenses (kids, food, vacations, etc).

Makes more sense to me anyways.