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STEAM | May 2014 - every time improve protection Steam Guard

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Stumpokapow

listen to the mad man
I've read previously that there will be The Banner Saga in one of the daily bundles of humblebundle. How do you guys are so sure?

No one is sure. If you want to buy the game right now, buy it right now. But it appears in this cover photo which Humble posted to their Facebook page:
TtXZOGvl.png
 
Dark Souls log.

You guys were right. I started to pay attention to my equipment load. While the Godzilla Armor doesn't make fat roll (thanks to that nifty Havel's Ring), it was definitely messing my speed. I tried and re-tried and think the best option for me right now is the Silver Knight armor.
Kinda ironic to see a Silver Knight killing his fellows with a giant axe.

My adventure yesterday was very different from the usual as I spent a LOT of time looking at stats, figuring out my best load and trying different weapons. I feel like I've smashed my way through this game, but now I require finesse.

I decided to explore a bit more of Anor Londo, made my way to the main hall. Deal with another Archer and found a giant blacksmith. There I upgraded my beloved Battle Axe +10 to a nice Lightning Axe +4. This plus my Silver Knight armor make me fearsome and fast enemy on Lordan's many monstrosities.

I think I saw the boss' fog door at the end of the main hall, just after a couple of giant bastards. I hope to be able to play soon, weekend I guess.

My saga of Dark Souls, is far from over.
 
Either my sarcasm-meter is borked or you're drunk (no offense).

Many beers will be drunk later today. So I think you're on the right path.

Well there could be some middleground though, because every time I think I'll have to download 50GB games over my 4Mbps connection a cute fluffy bunny dies.

I do feel bad for people with caps and slow speeds, but as someone with significant investment in a PC, I really want the hobby to push forward with bigger, faster, more detail, the whole bit. Sure, lots of indie stuff is great, and I've put more time into Out of the Park baseball than any other game the last couple years, but I want my big flashy gunny shooty bang bang games to push things.
 

Copons

Member
Many beers will be drunk later today. So I think you're on the right path.



I do feel bad for people with caps and slow speeds, but as someone with significant investment in a PC, I really want the hobby to push forward with bigger, faster, more detail, the whole bit. Sure, lots of indie stuff is great, and I've put more time into Out of the Park baseball than any other game the last couple years, but I want my big flashy gunny shooty bang bang games to push things.

I may have explained improperly.
I'd love gaming to push forward, always. It just that at the moment there's a great disparity between users, and while if one has a weak PC it could be described as his own fault, you couldn't say the same for people with crappy speeds. I have a 4Mbps and no options to increase that (until some provider go with fiber in my neighborhood).

So, as the technology to separate low and high res assets (textures, but more importantly uncompressed video and audio, that most users - even those with gaming rigs - without a proper sound system won't really enjoy) is available and I guess kinda easy to implement, well then, let's do it!
 

Ruruja

Member
Nothing wrong with 50gb games, and I say this as someone with third world internet. Just give us enough time to preload.

Thankfully this isn't the case anymore, but a few years ago I was on a broadband package with 10gb/month usage limit. Obviously I went way over that because it's ridiculously low, and they charged £1 per gb you went over it.

Lots of countries still have ISPs with usage limits. Getting a 50gb game isn't always about the speed.
 

JaseC

gave away the keys to the kingdom.
i just wish they made the super uncompressed stuff an optional download and be done with it. i don't want super high res audio and super high res textures :I

same for 1080p videos

i don't give a crap :p

You remind me of that guy who made a thread on IMDb earlier complaining about how the Irish media "forces [Saoirse] down our throats". What I'm getting at is that it's a good problem to have. ;) But on a more serious note I can understand how frustrating Blu-rayesque download sizes can be for those with slower connections and/or a relatively small download limit -- years ago, when the Orange Box released, I had to wait a few days to play Portal and Episode Two as I was nearing my monthly quota and my ISP's content server had yet to receive the data.
 

Zafir

Member
Allowing you to choose where to preload(without needing to junction) and install would help aswell. Often can't preload since Steam is installed on my ssd. :x
 

Dusk Golem

A 21st Century Rockefeller
I was going to talk you off the ledge by pointing out that the game is going to tank, but then I realized we were still talking about file sizes.

Yes, file sizes. XD; I love horror, if I don't make that obvious all the time, but unless the game is so amazingly unique and scary and fun and appeals to the mainstream and the like, it probably won't receive stellar reviews and it probably won't sell amazingly.

I've been observing critical and audience response to a variety of horror films released in the last 15 years, and the results of how it usually works out is interesting. Generally horror movies seem more likely to score somewhere in the 4-7 range on most 10-scale user voted review scores, which is lower than a lot of other genres. This even goes into really good horror films, or films that are good for the audience they aim at. Probably as horror relies so much on emotional response and involvement and different people experience different levels of this and different enjoyments to this based on a large number of factors.

On the quality and how good the game itself will be is really up in the air (I could see it going both ways), but as I've enjoyed most every game Mikami has been involved with I probably will end up enjoying this too. But how an AAA horror game, let alone one that has honestly had very little media shown even here 3 months before release, or much marketing push, is questionable at best.

But file size wise, due to the engine, how long the game has been in development, the game's file size is probably going to be huge. I have no idea how big in scope they want the game to be, but there are a number of areas that overlook large areas with impressive draw-distances, so that has to count for something resource-wise.
 
Thankfully this isn't the case anymore, but a few years ago I was on a broadband package with 10gb/month usage limit. Obviously I went way over that because it's ridiculously low, and they charged £1 per gb you went over it.

Lots of countries still have ISPs with usage limits. Getting a 50gb game isn't always about the speed.

True. As a gamer though I'd pick an ISP plan that was unmetered even if it was much slower. Of course if even that option doesn't exist, then there are always retail copies.

I don't see much merit in the argument for curbing game sizes when an alternate option exists. Especially if it can lead to an end of cinematics looking like Bink videos and tiny ass textures that have had the blur filter applied on them infinitely.
 

Dusk Golem

A 21st Century Rockefeller
Just finished Year Walked. Loved it. The secret ending was also pretty great.

I played it a few months ago and quite enjoyed it too. I hope it finds some more success on Steam as it seems to not have been doing too hot at least so far.

Just to entice some people, here was my review on it from earlier this year:

header_292x136.jpg


Year Walk is best described as a sort of stylistic adventure horror game. It's not really a hidden object game, but more focused on atmosphere and puzzles. The story of Year Walk is that you play as a man named Daniel, who lives deep in the woods. You are about to perform something known as a Year Walk, which is an old Scandinavian legend to starve before the midnight of New Years and wander into the forest and night to seek a glimpse of the future. However, there are trials, and strange beings that are said will try to apprehend you, as the very act of Year Walking breaks the two truths of our world, time and space. As you play you have to overcome these trials, explore the deep and progressively strange and unsettling woods, and over it all maybe piece together why Daniel is so concerned about the future to risk his life.

The atmosphere of the game is great. It's more unsettling, surreal, and strange than scary, but I had a constant uneasy feeling and yet fascination to events as they transpired around me. Everything dips into legends and myths from Swedish and Finnish tales, with a helpful encyclopedia if you're interested in knowing more of the origin of things around you. The whole atmosphere is backed by a fantastic soundtrack that, like the game, is appropriately off-kilter.

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Year Walk strikes me as one of those games that sticks with you long after you beat it. The story isn't entirely surprising in how it plays out, but it's executed very well, and the details are a lot stranger and help make the whole situation far stranger than what actually happens. It's sort of like a classic folk-story in that what happens is somewhat predictable if you have any experience with stories of a similar kin, but that's not what makes the story interesting, it's how it's told and how everything comes to that natural conclusion. And Year Walk has a lot of depth, things to look into, and intriguing mysteries that stay in the mind long after you find out what ultimately happens.

Gameplay is pretty simplistic. You move left and right along a first-person 2D plane, and occasionally can walk forward or backward to another 2D plane. You interact with objects, and solve puzzles. The game isn't stylized like many other adventure games, with hidden item to find, as what you can and cannot do and interact with is very visible and clear, but some of the puzzles are a bit tricky. My tip is to sometimes think outside of the box. Most of the answers are often more obvious than they may seem at first, none are too challenging, but some aren't pushovers either. I also heavily suggest you keep a notebook and pen handy, it helped me a lot.

It's a game with great atmosphere, an interesting experience that'll last you about two hours, and for many I'd imagine an interesting introduction to Scandinavian myths and folklore. If you have an interest in atmospheric horror experiences, folk stories, or games with a surrealistic edge, I'd definitely give it a recommendation.
 

rookiejet

Member
Yeah I feel Valve is in a tough spot with releasing games on Steam.

Before Greenlight it felt like they weren't putting enough on Steam, and skipping over games that they shouldn't have.

Now after Greenlight it feels like they are releasing way too much stuff on Steam, and it's probably only going to get worse. I don't know what the solution is.

The solution is to give the market individuals tools to better self-curate and send signals to each other regarding what's worth buying or spending time with. People will establish hierarchies of trust in the market tailored to their individual preferences and standards. Bottom-up optimization is, in my opinion, fairer and more operationally optimal than top-down optimization given the size of the audience and volume of product in consideration.

Concerning the curating at the store level, they absolutely should and it's really a terrible look to not monitor the content your system sells. Everything on the platform is a reflection of the brand or store that sells it. Reputation is going to be fought and won or lost, not only on the developer level, but the sales front level as well

All big box stores curate or manufacture everything those stores sell. For good reason.

Buyers are already wary of eBay sold products, as well as amazon marketplace items. I don't think steam needs or should follow suit.

Steam's trying to be a large marketplace (and a media one at that) not a "brand" or boutique store, so not unless all the games Steam carries are Valve branded would they be concerned with the perceived brand image of the individual products. The creators and/or individual sellers of said products are burdened with that feedback, as they are in large marketplaces like Amazon or eBay, or media marketplaces like iTunes. Feedback that concerns Valve would be one regarding how well they facilitate the transactions, and the quality of the purchasing experience itself pre and post sale (customer service, refund policies, etc, etc.)
 

Turfster

Member
Bundlestars Wild bundle
Price: 2.59€
  • Edna & Harvey: Harvey's New Eyes
  • A new beginning - Final cut
  • Gateways
  • Alien Zombie Megadeath
  • Mutant Storm
  • Astro Tripper
  • Vitrum

Now up:
Indie Royale Debut 13 bundle
Price: 1.82€
  • Toxic Bunny HD (GL)
  • The Howler (GL)
  • Data Hacker: Initiation (GL)
  • Memories of a Vagabond (already greenlit)
  • Age of Conquest III (GL)
  • One day for Ched (GL)
  • ?
 

JaseC

gave away the keys to the kingdom.
I just needed Vitrum, so here are the rest:

ModBot said:
I am giving away 6 Steam keys. To enter this giveaway, send a PM to ModBot with any subject line. In the body, copy and paste the entire line below that corresponds to the key you want (if you include more than one game, you will be blocked from entering).

Rules for this Giveaway:
- Do not trade keys you win off-site to enrich yourself. Don't try to claim games you have no interest in collecting or playing. Don't claim games to give them to friends off-site.
- If the key is already taken you will not receive a reply. Replies may take a minute or two:


A New Beginning: Final Cut -- MB-3ECC1266828E44F7 - Taken by KenOD
Mutant Storm Reloaded -- MB-72C6A0708DC9AD65 - Taken by didamangi
Gateways -- MB-58F955D4DC91F292 - Taken by Vlad
Astro Tripper -- MB-23AED19F76C82261 - Taken by Evrain
Edna & Harvey: Harvey's New Eyes -- MB-33810CFB68B3B6D2 - Taken by JPizzle84
Alien Zombie Megadeath -- MB-8C1DA08D08396F32 - Taken by Original Famous Ray
 

KenOD

a kinder, gentler sort of Scrooge
Thanks JaseC for A New Beginning: Final Cut, a new adventure for me to sink my time into.
---------------------------------
For those with Glitchspace a recent update.

Glitchspace Alpha 1.5 - Change Log

Changes
- New levels
- Updated player physics
- Visual feedback
- Updated gun
- Custom key binding

Bug Fixes
- Mouse sensitivity bug
- Mouse invert bug (inverting the X axis)


guys

should...should I finally tackle...CIV 5? o_O]

Don't worry my friend, there is plenty of help to get you into the game and it's quite fun when you do. Just remember to eat, drink, and blink from time to time as the body requires those things.

Anyroad to quote myself.

Watch these first. The second is the quick (still 15 minutes) introduction guide, the first is a full go through of everything that is well worth the time.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I__9ZlOUG4E
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F_YeoZeKtjA
Watch them and you'll have a very good idea of what to do.

Is Dynasty Warriors 8 worth the purchase? Looks like they ported the PS3 version and not the PS4 version.

Too many complaints of freezing, stalling, crashing, or otherwise stuck on the first level of a campaign. I say it's best to hold off for the moment.


Very nice, and it has a demo to try it out.
 

Lomax

Member
50-75 MB installs!? Outrageous!!!

xrar6Ja.jpg


This seems like one of those things that's outrageous now, but in 10 years time will probably seem like nothing. Hell, internet speeds for 1,000 MBPS are starting to be installed in cities around the world as the new standard.

What's sad is you could update a few terms in this article and every single problem would still be true today.
 

Dusk Golem

A 21st Century Rockefeller
Also, as DreadOut is now on Steam, and I also have all achievements in the game but 1 and have found what I believe to be all the Easter Eggs and hidden areas, here's my thoughts (final revision with Act 2 announcement of being free and updating a bit from finding everything I believe) and altered for my Steam Review:

header_292x136.jpg


DreadOut is an Indonesian survival-horror game that takes inspiration from the Fatal Frame franchise, and pulls a lot from Indonesian myths and folklore. The game is currently incomplete, with a sort of episodic structure. Act 1 is currently released, with a future Act 2 and Free Roam mode confirmed for the future (Act 2 will be free for all purchasers, Free Roam is paid DLC).

First, a recommendation; play the demo on Steam before the main game. The demo is a prequel, where the demo ends is where the game begins. Lasts 15-20 minutes, nothing in the demo is in Act 1 of the game.

You play as a non-talkative protagonist known as Linda, who with a few friends is on a car trip, but they stumble upon a weird deserted city that isn't marked on their map. The friends go to investigate the town, and soon get wrapped up in some severe hauntings from the strange ghost that start coming out when night falls.

The game has a low-budget, and it shows. Graphically everything looks outdated, with low-res textures, odd character animations, and the like. There's also no real-time shadows. The game also has a few bugs. I didn't encounter anything game-breaking, but a few 'look through the wall with the camera', 'get stuck on an object for a moment', 'that character is levitating,' type of bugs, However, something I found interesting was that they didn't copy and paste many models. There were a lot of posters around town, and each one was legitimately different. Same with pictures, and just small details all about.Outside of a few chairs or piles of garbage, most of the models were unique to each other, and I was surprised the developers didn't take many shortcuts.

Mentioning this, something I noticed about the game is that there were a lot of secrets and original assets used for things that most players would probably not even end up finding or seeing. There's more I have to say on the topic, but I'll get back to this in a bit.

ss_441aca98b9c7692b9c7e15b8bc3f8d9a60e0842a.600x338.jpg


The game has legitimately great atmosphere. There are some fantastic scares, the feeling of unnerve that is caused by the game. It has an atmosphere to it that most horror games these days are missing from the days of old, sort of a combination of dread and excitement for what's going to come next. The atmosphere and scares are more akin to something like Fatal Frame or Kuon than Amnesia or Outlast, I should mention. Recommended at night and in darkness, with headphones.

This is backed by fantastic audio design. The music is great, the sounds are great. Voicing is okay, a bit cheesy but enjoyably so. However, with the music, how it is and how it's used in the game, is really effective, and also I can mention unique. The music is very different than any other horror game I have played, but very effective. And how the music transitions with events going on is very well-done. The audio is also unnerving, and sometimes hearing a weird sound, even without knowing its source or even without it leading to anything, raised the tension. It sometimes gets hard to tell if a sound you just heard is part of the music, or something in the environment, but I say this as a good thing.

And the game does not lie on its laurels. By this I mean a lot happens, and the game never throws the same thing at you twice. I was honestly surprised by the number of ghosts there are in this game, there were a lot more than I was anticipating. Some great enemy variety, and you fight each ghost really only once or twice, there was not a single ghost I think the game threw at you a third time. And the 'events' that happen, like scares or atmospheric additions, were all incredibly varied too. This definitely helped to raise the intrigue as you never knew what might be coming next, and some of what happens really goes into the unexpected.

Combat is similar to Fatal Frame, but a bit more simplistic. There isn't a charge rate like Fatal Frame, or a point system, but the closer enemies are, the more you damage them when you take a shot. And if you attack them right before they attack you, you deliver additional damage.

Even the puzzles are well done and intelligent. Figuring out what to do is fun, and they do a good job at laying out clues to what you need to do to help piece it all together. They have clever hints and details, while not being extremely obvious either. However, it should be mentioned that those with less patience and less of a desire to figure out cryptic clues may not like how they're handled. But if you loved puzzles from horror games in the 90s (which have been notably absent in recent years), then you'll likely be quite happy to see some return to form here.

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But there is a kicker to all of this; the game's current length. Act 1 of the game lasts for about three hours. It ends on a high note, the game gets better and better as it develops and Act 1 has a fantastic climax... But it ends as its getting very good, and leaves you wanting more. Act 2 is coming free to everyone who purchases the game in the future, and I'll update this review whenever it comes about, but for now what is in Act 1 will probably take players somewhere around 3-5 hours to complete.

As it is now, it's a bit short, and still to be seen how long the entire package of the game will be (if Act 2 will be just as long, longer, or shorter than Act 1), but what they have here is fantastic, it legitimately is one of the best classic-styled survival-horror games to release in the last few years, and I think genre enthusiast who like certain elements of horror games that have been absent since the days of old will really appreciate the game. It's well-paced, well-executed, but due to the length for Act 1 maybe a little undercooked right now.

It feels like the length may have been a budget thing. The developers only had $26k to make the game, and my guess is that they were running low on funds and decided to release what they have so far to help development costs. And I hope it works, there is a very confident horror game here, and honestly some of the most fun I've had in a horror game in a while.

The weird thing is the secrets I mentioned earlier. There are complete sections of the game you could miss if you don't do some exploration. There are ghosts you won't fight unless you go off the beaten path. A tip to the wise is when it turns night-time and before you enter the school, don't enter the school like the game suggests and instead head back towards the town you just came from. There are literally four different types of ghosts if you head backwards at this point that you'll never encounter in the main game. And little hidden areas and easter eggs to uncover all about. So on that front, there is some really cool optional content to explore in the game.

There's also a few cool unlockables. Once you complete the game, you unlock three additional outfits, all of which are actually pretty well designed, and can be used on a second and later playthrough.

There's also a few side areas you can explore right now that don't really lead to anything, which I can only guess are there right now for the possible future Free Roam Mode (a lot of buildings and side-areas off the beaten-path are currently inaccessible or kind of barren right now, and I assume will be open in the free-roam mode the developers are working on).

I want DreadOut to succeed. I really liked what was here, I'd even go as far to say this has serious potential to be one of the best horror games for fans of the genre to release in the last few years. But Act 1 goes by easily in 3-5 hours, and as of the moment of this review there are no conclusions here.

But DreadOut is completely worth experiencing, even as it is now. It's tense, sometimes terrifying, has the right amount of weirdness to it, and is actually a lot of fun. Its low budget shows, especially in the graphics department, but through clever design, good execution, and variety at hand, manages to be a fun experience.
 

KenOD

a kinder, gentler sort of Scrooge
I heard Nosgoth and instantly thought Legacy Of Kain. Deep down inside, I know I might be tempted enough to actually buy a working, playable, complete Legacy of Kain Blood Omen for modern systems for that much.

Likewise the original idea of Soul Reaver (see that Mama Robotnik thread), which would put Darksiders to shame.
 

-MD-

Member
Too many complaints of freezing, stalling, crashing, or otherwise stuck on the first level of a campaign. I say it's best to hold off for the moment.

I've experienced zero issues in my 10 hours so far. DW8 at 60fps is sweet.
 
Dusk, would you think it would be more fair if they went Early Access with Dreadout? It seems decent enough but for the average, possibly not-well informed buyer it would really stink to think you're getting the full game when you're just getting half.

Also, it's weird that they don't tell you ingame to play the demo first, or integrate it in some form into the final game. Seems like a somewhat major oversight on their part.
 

Acccent

Member
Buying games on GOG doesn't give you Steam keys?
I just got Luftrausers from the sale (the price stays in $ so that makes it quite cheap in €) and didn't receive a key. I don't mind it, I'm just surprised.
 

Turfster

Member
Buying games on GOG doesn't give you Steam keys?
I just got Luftrausers from the sale (the price stays in $ so that makes it quite cheap in €) and didn't receive a key. I don't mind it, I'm just surprised.
There's only one GOG game that gives you a Steam key (if you register it on the dev site) and that's Race the Sun.
 

HoosTrax

Member
Buying games on GOG doesn't give you Steam keys?
I just got Luftrausers from the sale (the price stays in $ so that makes it quite cheap in €) and didn't receive a key. I don't mind it, I'm just surprised.
Fraid not. Their whole shtick is that they don't do DRM, which translates to no Steam keys.
 
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