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timppu: ...
Looks good, that's similar to the party I usually create, except I don't have a paladin, but a berserker. And the wizard acts as my leader. I think I also sometimes opted for 5 characters instead of 6. Eg by taking out the druid/cleric. That way, if I'm not mistaken, the characters level a bit faster.
Btw, make sure you have fire attacks of some sort for the trolls. Fire arrows or even the acid arrow spell works quite nicely.
Still in the prologue, Icewind Dale 2 seems quite good, pretty much what I wanted so far (I liked the first IWD). I was so immersed by it yesterday that I didn't remember to check the clock until about 3am, when I started thinking "man I haven't eaten anything after lunch, maybe it is a time for a supper... ooops, 3am? Really?". :D Luckily it was weekend so I could sleep long.

It was a negative surprise though that... this game doesn't have a proper quest log where it is easy to see which quests you have still unfinished? It has a similar journal system as the first Baldur's Gate?

I find that surprising because IIRC, Baldur's Gate 2 already had a proper quest log system... and it was released in 2000, two years before Icewind Dale 2? This doesn't make sense, or is the quest log system buried somewhere?

Oh, one thing though: the game seems to work much better in Windows 7? I have installed it on two of my laptops, and on my older Windows 7 laptop it works fine and smooth. In the more powerful Windows 10 laptop I had to use the "remove/rename ddraw.dll"-trick so that it wouldn't crash on startup, but now that it runs, the scrolling of the screen is very jerky. Still some direcdraw compatibility problem I guess, related to Windows 10 poor (emulated) performance with full screen DirectDraw?

I guess I need to check somewhere a fix for that. Some suggestion was to change the graphics to 16bit colors and Software BTL or something...
Post edited June 22, 2019 by timppu
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timppu: Still in the prologue, Icewind Dale 2 seems quite good, pretty much what I wanted so far (I liked the first IWD).
Unfortunately the prologue and the first chapter are the best parts of Icewind Dale 2 (at least in my opinion), some later sections can get pretty tedious.
Can't really help you with the quest log, since I don't remember it that well...but since IWD2 is pretty linear, it shouldn't be that big a problem.
I made a brief foray into Soldier of Fortune, mostly for nostalgia's sake, and while it was a fun romp, I kept running into a frustrating issue in which the framerate would drop to about 1 to 2 frames per second every couple minutes. I found several possible fixes after some research, but I was too lazy to take the time to implement them. Besides, I really only played the game as a segue into Soldier of Fortune II. I played the sequel extensively when I was younger, and though I only completed the game twice despite many more attempts at it, I hold a lot of fond memories for it.

I knew going in that my rose-tinted glasses could (and most likely would) be shattered. I just didn't expect it to happen so quickly. I got about twenty minutes into the prologue and had already died twice, despite playing on the easiest difficulty. My memories of the game being difficult were accurate, but my memories of the game being fun despite the difficulty were less so. That's not the say the game isn't fun; it's just that, now that I'm older and have less time for gaming in general, I don't have the patience or willpower to dedicate a lot of time to a game like this. I just didn't find the gunplay satisfying enough to stick with the game, and the awful and useless stealth mechanics don't offer any kind of alternative to just shooting everyone up.

As a side note, I was kind of disappointed that I didn't find the game fun enough to continue, simply because I found myself far more intrigued with the plot and storytelling than I ever was as a youngster.

Once I decided to move on to something else, I faced the dilemma of choosing a game to play. The computer I have access to most often can't run a lot of the newer games I enjoy, so I decided to try some of the older games in my backlog that I’ve wanted to play but have always been intimidated to play or worried that I would struggle with the older game design. I finally settled on Darklands, but the issue I ran into immediately upon starting the game had less to do with game design and more to do with the chosen font and the low resolution. In the five minutes I spent playing the game, I started to feel a little queasy trying to read the in-game text, which really stinks, because it’s a game I’ve long been intrigued by.

Anyway, I decided it would probably be best to try something that was easier to pick up and play for short periods of time without losing any progress. Scrolling through my library of games, I came across one I forgot I had, and one that I remember enjoying.

Painkiller: Black. This is definitely a game that was created for one purpose, and it is obvious the developers were invested in fulfilling that purpose. Simply put, the gunplay is incredible. I have acquired the shotgun and the stake gun so far, and both of them are so satisfying to use. They pack just the right amount of punch, the sound effects provide the perfect oomph to each shot, and the Havok physics mean enemies fly backward from well-placed shots, but with just enough weight to them they make the weapons seem powerful without looking like you’re blasting away at substanceless bodies.

The plot mostly serves as an excuse for your character to go through each level laying waste to your enemies. The levels are mostly well-designed, and they are perfect for those who like a challenge when it comes to finding secrets. I’m terrible at it, but it is satisfying on the rare occasions when I do find a secret area.

And, lastly, I was able to play Dark Souls III for about fifteen to twenty minutes the other night. I wished I could have had more time, but I just couldn’t justify spending more time with a game than with my 3 month old daughter. I’m smitten by the girl, after all, it’s hard being away from her.

But I digress. The short time I had with game was just enough for me to fight Dancer of the Boreal Valley, and incredible boss fight that gave me no end of trouble on my first play through. I died to her countless times my first play through, and the time I did manage to beat her, it took forever because I kept circling a pillar in the room and would wait for specific openings to toss a fireball. Combine that with the fact I still got killed several times using this tactic, and there were many times I would move over a little bit to throw a fireball, but I’d chicken out at the lest second and go back behind the pillar.

This time, however, the fight went very differently. For one thing, it helped immensely that I have around 20 vigor, which is significantly more than I had the first time I played. For another, better stat allocation for melee means I do more damage per hit. Plus, I’m just... not scared anymore. Which probably sounds funny, but one of my biggest issues each time I play through a Souls game for the first time is fear. I’m always terrified of the bosses, which makes me play it too safe, and that only makes things harder. I’ve learned to respect enemies on the Souls series, but not fear them.

I’m saying all this to say that I killed Dancer on my first attempt. I simply stayed close, kept up the pressure, and made relatively effective use blocking and rolling to avoid damage. Many of her attacks in the first phase are actually pretty easy to avoid with little effort, but the second phase introduces many quicker sweeping moves that are much more difficult to avoid. Blocking becomes much more difficult, too, because the additional damage type added by the second sword Dancer summons means it’s impossible to avoid chip damage through the shield, and the long, hard-hitting combos will break your guard by the third hit (unless you’ve invested an insane amount of points in raising your stamina, I suppose). Still, the most effective method of dealing with her, I found, was staying close, only backing away to heal or to avoid the long spinning attack with which she starts her second phase and that she uses occasionally throughout.

I just wish I had more time to play this game. There are so many builds I’d like to try, and I’d even like to try some challenge runs. Alas, I suspect none of that will happen anytime soon.
Path of Exile - Well I just couldn't stop playing the game this week; put around 40+ hours into it and got around to beating all 10 acts with my lvl.70 Templar. I ended up not spending a dime on the game; I've also had a much better a time with the game than I had with Diablo 3. It's a very good game... And I won't be playing it anymore - I'll be too tempted to throw money at it and well rent and food cost money :(

Space Hulk Ascension - Trying it out after looking at my backlog of games; Seems pretty fun so far and the Warhammer 40k universe has been peaking my interest as of late.

World of Warcraft - Got to lvl 52 with my Human Warrior, kinda getting bored with the game again at this point. I don't really know what I want to do; the quest just aren't interesting enough.. blah. Also tried the WOW Classic Beta during the 48hour crash the servers special - I don't really understand what the fuss is over the Classic version of the game is: The only upside to this version of the game I found was the longer level progression and enemies were harder(which is nice) but I don't see the whole reason for taking away all the expansions & QoL features the modern WOW has to get that.. Granted I'm new to WoW so maybe some people have a point, idk.
Post edited June 23, 2019 by comradegarry
Halo, KOTOR and Fable. I actually started a video game review channel on youtube and I hope to get around to reviewing these 3 games.
Saints Row IV.
I made a fairly short run in Transcendence but died when I ran out of fuel. After several years since the last time I should have read up a bit on how to.
Post edited June 24, 2019 by Themken
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Daedalus1138: I made a brief foray into Soldier of Fortune, mostly for nostalgia's sake, and while it was a fun romp, I kept running into a frustrating issue in which the framerate would drop to about 1 to 2 frames per second every couple minutes. I found several possible fixes after some research, but I was too lazy to take the time to implement them. Besides, I really only played the game as a segue into Soldier of Fortune II. I played the sequel extensively when I was younger, and though I only completed the game twice despite many more attempts at it, I hold a lot of fond memories for it.
I have fond memories of Soldier of Fortune 2, also, mostly just because of how outrageously violent it was. Ripping a guy's belly open with your machine gun and watching his ugly polygonal guts fall out never got old. I don't recall finding it too difficult, except for the jungle level in which guys you couldn't see were always nailing you with grenades ("Cuidado!"). That wasn't fun...
Having a blast with Divinity: Original Sin Enhanced Edition.

I love the amount of customizability and theory crafting there is in this game. I've been playing for 5+ hours now and all I've done so far is a couple of quests and tons of fiddling around in the menus thinking about mechanics, builds and combinations. The system is so great that I can't stop myself from thinking about possible builds even when I'm not playing the game.

This game seems to be heaven for those who like to think a lot while playing and think about it while doing something else. It truly feels like the sky is the limit.

Also, it's nice that the story is kind of light-hearted with tons of goofy humor. A nice break from all the grim-dark that's been around for the last 10 years. The atmosphere itself almost inspires crazy experimentation on its own.
Post edited June 25, 2019 by user deleted
I'm playing (and loving) Severance Blade of Darkness. What a great game! Really deep combat, great level design, chilling atmosphere, this game has got it all.

I was lucky enough to buy it here before it got pulled. If there ever was a game that deserved a remaster, it's this one.
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samuraigaiden: I'm playing (and loving) Severance Blade of Darkness. What a great game! Really deep combat, great level design, chilling atmosphere, this game has got it all.

I was lucky enough to buy it here before it got pulled. If there ever was a game that deserved a remaster, it's this one.
ditto
GREAT GAME

Throwing body parts at your enemies isn't that effective, but it sure is fun. :D
Has anyone played Conquest Frontier Wars: Conquest Forever?

I'm trying to figure out how to uninstall it, and it's pissing me off! :P
This is why I hate mods.

Is there a way to use CCleaner to remove one specific program?
Post edited July 03, 2019 by tinyE
I'm playing Mad Max. Still early going but I'm liking it so far. Also always nice to see a AAA game that's well-optimized. Runs at high settings and looks pretty without making my computer work too hard.
Played Assetto Corsa today for more than 2 hours after a looong break. I am in middle of GT2X Championship, and as a next in line was Mugello track. This track is for me more challenging than Nordschleife and very hard to drive it without errors. And the race was 30 laps long :facepalm: Thankfully the setup provided by the game for this race was pretty solid so after 3 completely botched races, I was able to finish it on 4th try with only one hickup. Still after slowly moving forward to first place, I had to defend my position almost until the very last lap of the race.