• Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.

STEAM | October 2016 - A month where 100 games launch rather than coming out earlier

Status
Not open for further replies.

Nabs

Member
So apparently you can no longer post reviews for games you played through family sharing. That's new, right?

MWjf6dD.png

Yep. I bet people abused the hell out of that.
 

jshackles

Gentlemen, we can rebuild it. We have the capability to make the world's first enhanced store. Steam will be that store. Better than it was before.
I get that Valve is trying to clean up user reviews and enforce that 1 review = 1 purchase. And I think we're definitely headed towards 1 review = 1 verified Steam purchase. I'm kinda surprised it took them this long to "close the loophole" because, once again, shitheads ruin it for everyone else. I imagine a lot of the "dogpile negative" reviews some games get (although justifiably) were probably expounded on by users setting up networks of family sharing accounts for the purpose of review fixing. I wouldn't put it past some of the shadier devs doing this as well.

So it is a legitimate problem, but once again I think they could have found a better solution.

EDIT: does anyone here have a review they wrote prior to yesterday for a game they played via family sharing? Is it still up, or did it get removed?
 

Nzyme32

Member
So apparently you can no longer post reviews for games you played through family sharing. That's new, right?

MWjf6dD.png

New for sure - and much appreciated imo.

Edit - Also I really like the change to the account section. Not sure why I like it better though. Maybe because it looks cleaner
 

Uzzy

Member
Welcome home, Lara.

So I just finished the Rise of the Tomb Raider DLC 'Blood Ties', which sees Ms Croft return to the Croft Manor, ostensibly in order to find documents proving her legal right to retain the manor from the predatory gaze of the executor of the estate, her uncle. But really, it's about Lara reconnecting with her past, discovering the motivations of her parents and coming to terms with the Croft legacy.

sxRKVoA.png

Someone call Nick Knowles, this looks like a job for DIY SOS!

I've given the Tomb Raider reboot and RoTR a whole lot of stick, for entirely valid reasons as far as I'm concerned, so I was very surprised and really quite pleased to see that Blood Ties does something completely different to the rest of the series. Blood Ties has no combat, automatic traversal or explosions that throw Lara around the place and take control away from you. Rather, it's a quiet, meditative and melancholic exploration of the manor, looking at a variety of objects and letters involving Lara's childhood, her parents and her uncle. It's pretty much a Triple A version of Gone Home, which is honestly quite a bold move coming from Crystal Dynamics/Nixxes and Squeenix.

Though the developers/publisher do seem to have hedged their bets a little, with a shoot-em up mode attached to the DLC, which sees Lara gun down a bunch of ghostly apparitions within Croft Manor, because we sure can't have players getting bored because they haven't killed anything in the last five minutes can we?

Worst of all is the distinct lack of trust the developers seem to have in letting you find your own way around the puzzles, figuring them out for yourself. Here's a prime example.


The first puzzle in the game, you're given a very easy to read map and environmental clues that reveal where the hidden door is. But just incase you miss those bleedingly obvious signs, you can always rely on Lara's detective/instinct/witcher vision to highlight the hidden door in massive yellow light. The rest of the puzzles, which are all very slight, have their solutions very close to hand, often found in documents literally right next to the puzzle itself.

Regardless of that criticism, this is a solid, praiseworthy DLC. It's fairly short, clocking in around two hours, but it's got a good narrative going through it, which is rather sensitively played out. I enjoyed searching around the manor to reclaim Lara's past, and I just hope that Crystal Dynamics look to do the same in the next Tomb Raider.
 

RedFyn

Member
I'm trying to preorder Civ VI special edition off GMG and I wanted to use the referral 5% off code that I have but it's saying that it is invalid. I've never purchased anything from GMG but I've had an account for a while. Anyone know why it won't work?
 

Nzyme32

Member
I'm trying to preorder Civ VI special edition off GMG and I wanted to use the referral 5% off code that I have but it's saying that it is invalid. I've never purchased anything from GMG but I've had an account for a while. Anyone know why it won't work?

Probably because it is already applying a 20% discount offer to all members (VIPs), which is in replacement of a voucher code iirc.
 

ArjanN

Member
I'm not sure how predictable it can be. Typing of the Dead just suddenly showed up in the Winter Sale way back when. Valkyria had a bit of a run up before releasing. I think that was announced in late October.

I mean, 4 weeks is certainly as good as any guess, but I think the safest bet is this last quarter of the year

Typing of the Dead was a surprise release for the Halloween sale.

I'd take a Condemned 2 Halloween surprise release.
 
ModBot said:
Instructions for participants:
I am giving away 10 Steam keys. To enter this giveaway, send a PM to ModBot with any subject line. In the body, copy and paste the entire line from the message below that corresponds to the game you want. (if you include more than one game, you will be blocked from entering). Confused? Watch this GIF tutorial or ask for help.
Want to make your own ModBot giveaway? Click here for a quick tutorial thread. Please give generously.

ModBot Basics:
- I really appreciate thank you messages, but please send them to me (HowardRoark, not ModBot!) via PM instead of in thread.
- 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.

Rules for this Giveaway:
- If you are a lurker you are not eligible for this giveaway. You need five or more posts in either the current Steam thread or the previous one to be eligible
- This giveaway is a raffle. The winners will be selected by random draw 24 hours after the draw was created. Any games not claimed after that point will be given away first come first serve.



KHOLAT -- MB-7B5B7916D13DE51A - Taken by KainXVIII. 14 entrants total.
DISTRAINT -- MB-83C1773AA9479191 - Taken by MaxiLive. 4 entrants total.
Dawn of Magic 2 -- MB-7D5586B61048E28B - Taken by texhnolyze. 2 entrants total.
A.I.M.2 Clan Wars -- MB-6401558126D5812B - Taken by Mackenzie 92. 1 entrants total.
Star Wolves -- MB-C6A5F82231D155AD - Taken by illusionary. 4 entrants total.
Apartment 666 -- MB-A03FCB07557DDF18 - Taken by ExoSoul. 1 entrants total.
Dead But Alive! Southern England -- MB-E00A137A56783690 - Taken by Purkake4. 3 entrants total.
Planet Alcatraz -- MB-D3313F24A903084E - Taken by Henry Swanson. 6 entrants total.
Konung 2 -- MB-4FEFCCEE8D1A99D7 - Taken by bloke. 1 entrants total.
Konung 3: Ties of the Dynasty -- MB-E6210F6A4B160162


t1476923950z1.png

Last repost!
 

jshackles

Gentlemen, we can rebuild it. We have the capability to make the world's first enhanced store. Steam will be that store. Better than it was before.
In the next Enhanced Steam release, we're adding some more search filtering options

(rough sketch)

One of the options I'm looking at adding is something along the lines of "games you can't afford" (as in, hide games that cost more than your current wallet balance) but my question is: does that sound too presumptuous? Like - maybe you can afford a particular game, but you just don't have enough money in your wallet? Obviously in those cases you would simply enter your own amount below, but

Do you think people would "get it" if it's worded that way, or is there a better way it should be worded?
 

Dusk Golem

A 21st Century Rockefeller
So a few pages back I got some interesting feedback from you guys that was quite helpful for this post:

So I need your guy's opinion, which store header do you guys think is better?

A:
caf1b6053d52415b0ba5aea746571677.png


B;
eabb32dcc4698ce79126c6b8a11e12f5.png


Opinions appreciated.

So I took your guy's advice, but did sprinkle a bit in myself. I did a take mostly inspired by Annubis's suggestion, and the big picture mentions. Curious to get your guy's take on this one?

b1ab72e627204283ffc2c96d54bb3bd4.png


Part of me thinks I should put something more eye-catching to the side, but then the darker figure might work fine, but it might be less eye-catching. I've debated on a few different takes with this, but I think hearing people's thoughts has been helpful.

Don't mind opinions and critiques, it's why I ask and it is helpful. I saw some didn't want to offend me, but I take no offense at all. Collecting multiple people's opinions since it helps me as I definitely am not in marketing. I don't mind if I have to do several more takes either, and interesting to hear everyone's thoughts as the contrast of opinion is helpful to reflect on.
 

shockdude

Member
In the next Enhanced Steam release, we're adding some more search filtering options


(rough sketch)

One of the options I'm looking at adding is something along the lines of "games you can't afford" (as in, hide games that cost more than your current wallet balance) but my question is: does that sound too presumptuous? Like - maybe you can afford a particular game, but you just don't have enough money in your wallet? Obviously in those cases you would simply enter your own amount below, but

Do you think people would "get it" if it's worded that way, or is there a better way it should be worded?
Imo "can't afford" is both unclear and redundant. People already know how much is in their wallet, and they might be interested in seeing games a bit above or below their wallet amount. The "Items' price above" filter should be enough (and is an excellent idea btw).
If you really want a wallet-based filter, maybe add button to autofill the filter with your wallet amount instead?
 

jshackles

Gentlemen, we can rebuild it. We have the capability to make the world's first enhanced store. Steam will be that store. Better than it was before.
Imo "can't afford" is both unclear and redundant. People already know how much is in their wallet, and they might be interested in seeing games a bit above or below their wallet amount. The "Items' price above" filter should be enough (and is an excellent idea btw).
Maybe a button to autofill the filter with your wallet amount instead?

That's not a bad idea, thanks for the feedback. Obviously there is some feature overlap here, but I still think it would be worthwhile for people to filter out games higher than their wallet balance if they want to. Valve used to allow price searches, and when they did Enhanced Steam had a "games you can afford" button on the home page that was very popular. Unfortunately Valve removed price searching from the store front and the feature had to be removed - and while this isn't ideal, this is kinda the next best thing.
 
So I took your guy's advice, but did sprinkle a bit in myself. I did a take mostly inspired by Annubis's suggestion, and the big picture mentions. Curious to get your guy's take on this one?

https://i.gyazo.com/b1ab72e627204283ffc2c96d54bb3bd4.png

Part of me thinks I should put something more eye-catching to the side, but then the darker figure might work fine, but it might be less eye-catching. I've debated on a few different takes with this, but I think hearing people's thoughts has been helpful.

Don't mind opinions and critiques, it's why I ask and it is helpful. I saw some didn't want to offend me, but I take no offense at all. Collecting multiple people's opinions since it helps me as I definitely am not in marketing. I don't mind if I have to do several more takes either, and interesting to hear everyone's thoughts as the contrast of opinion is helpful to reflect on.

While I like the purple, the image looks kind of muddy to me, for lack of a better term. Perhaps the figure should be a bit more clearly defined? Also, an alternative to the very minimalist banners could be option A, but without the 3 figures, if that is possible.
 

Dusk Golem

A 21st Century Rockefeller
Ucchedavāda;220747929 said:
While I like the purple, the image looks kind of muddy to me, for lack of a better term. Perhaps the figure should be a bit more clearly defined? Also, an alternative to the very minimalist banners could be option A, but without the 3 figures, if that is possible.

...You know, that's such a simple idea but could probably work. Sometimes simplicity is best. And it muddied is a good way to describe it, I was thinking grungey with it, but that might not be the best approach.

Actually, let me whip something up here from a few notes I made from the different designs.
 

jediyoshi

Member
So apparently you can no longer post reviews for games you played through family sharing. That's new, right?

MWjf6dD.png

I can't believe that was a thing to begin with. Hope that came about from an oversight rather than intended.

So a few pages back I got some interesting feedback from you guys that was quite helpful for this post:



So I took your guy's advice, but did sprinkle a bit in myself. I did a take mostly inspired by Annubis's suggestion, and the big picture mentions. Curious to get your guy's take on this one?

I'd say try checking it out on different displays, I get the feeling it's darker than you intended as it's hard to discern what's supposed to be on the left of the image. Since the title is so large, I'd also try centering it vertically since it looks stuffed up top.
 

Dusk Golem

A 21st Century Rockefeller
386d262c46abdb427f6300a2757a688f.png


OKAY, so thank you for everyone sharing opinions, thinking on it this might be most reflective but I can touch-up more and such of course. What do you guys think of this one?
 

zkylon

zkylewd
i'd say there is still a middleground between treating something without enough sensitivity and outright glorifying it like Hatred.
yup, that's what the gta 5's and the deus ex mankind divided's and the hotline miami 2's have done for all this time, don't revel on sensitive issues, but definitely be flippant and childish about how they portray them

it's a disservice to your audience not only because you're being insensitive but also because you're being lazy

to me something like gta 5's torture scene is no better than anything in hatred, they're just masking it behind poorly constructed, shallow "satire" that had nothing actually meaningful to say


yay
 
D

Deleted member 144138

Unconfirmed Member
386d262c46abdb427f6300a2757a688f.png


OKAY, so thank you for everyone sharing opinions, thinking on it this might be most reflective but I can touch-up more and such of course. What do you guys think of this one?
Much better.
 
386d262c46abdb427f6300a2757a688f.png


OKAY, so thank you for everyone sharing opinions, thinking on it this might be most reflective but I can touch-up more and such of course. What do you guys think of this one?

I like it.
My only comment mirrors what jediyoshi said: Consider centering the text vertically, as the text is currently closer to the top (almost touching the edge) than to the bottom.
 
Well done! Watched up to the pitch black mine level so far and I was wondering why you didn't collect the gold scarabs. Aren't they worth like $5k each?
You are very right. Scarabs are easy money but once a dark level comes up, I usually try to finish it quickly. Usually avoided deaths are a trouble in the dark for me.
All your Spelunky talk lately has made me want to get back into it after like 3 years of not playing haha. Still can't beat it, though. :(
If a casual gamer like me can do it, you can do it too!! With lots of trial and error :p
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Top Bottom