That sun keeps on rising and setting, rising and setting. It seems
every 24 hours we have an entirely new day. That's good though; that's
the whole point of these give-aways; we're keeping the sun-god happy
so he won't abandon us at the winter solstice (that IS the point of
all this, isn't it?).

You know what else happens every 24 hours (give or take a few hours)?
I give away even more games! And seeing as its a new day, we need new
toys to play with!

Quick, tear off the wrapping and let's find out what the first toy is.
Oh, it's "Take On Helicopters" (and the wrapping paper is embossed
with 909 jjcft 9t0 xb 3i I wonder what that means?). As the title
suggests, it's a helicopter flight simulator, created by the same guys
who developed the ARMA games. It's definitely a bit niche in its
appeal, but flying over the impressively detailed Seattle is a joy.
It's not a very hardcore simulator, the single-player storyline is
sort of poor, and the multi-player is dead-dead-dead, but the game is
still fun just for the spectacle it offers. I had fun, you might too.
Give it a try.

Unwrap your next gift! Oh, it's "Guts and Glory"; fortunately, I mean
the video game and not the real thing (now that would be a rather
unpleasant surprise to find in a gift box). Hey, you know that game -
"Death Stranding", I think they call it - where a guy travels a
dangerous world with a kid strapped to his chest? This game is like
that, except without the story or visuals or deeper meaning. All
kidding aside, this is a timed-trial game where you - with child in
tow- ride a variety of vehicles across a series of trap-filled tracks.
Its presentation is decidedly unimpressive, but it has fairly solid
gameplay - as you can discover using 0 V0398 dqhgcgq 5E should you be
fast enough - and is well reviewed. This sort of game isn't really my
thing, but it might be yours. Give it a try.

That's it. Two presents delivered, as promised. Praise the sun-god;
let his light continue to shine on us.

Have fun! Keep gaming!

On Mon, 20 Dec 2021 12:35:22 -0500, Spalls Hurgenson
<spallshurgenson@gmail.com> wrote:

>That's it. Two presents delivered, as promised. Praise the sun-god;
>let his light continue to shine on us.
>
>Have fun! Keep gaming!

Thanks for sharing these Spalls. They do not look like something I
would enjoy so I will pass again. I am guessing they are still
available as of this post.

Am 20.12.21 um 18:35 schrieb Spalls Hurgenson:
> Take On Helicopters

Claimed it, thanks Spalls...

On Monday, December 20, 2021 at 9:35:32 AM UTC-8, Spalls Hurgenson wrote:
> That sun keeps on rising and setting, rising and setting. It seems
> every 24 hours we have an entirely new day. That's good though; that's
> the whole point of these give-aways; we're keeping the sun-god happy
> so he won't abandon us at the winter solstice (that IS the point of
> all this, isn't it?).
>
> You know what else happens every 24 hours (give or take a few hours)?
> I give away even more games! And seeing as its a new day, we need new
> toys to play with!
>
> Quick, tear off the wrapping and let's find out what the first toy is.
> Oh, it's "Take On Helicopters" (and the wrapping paper is embossed
> with 909 jjcft 9t0 xb 3i I wonder what that means?). As the title
> suggests, it's a helicopter flight simulator, created by the same guys
> who developed the ARMA games. It's definitely a bit niche in its
> appeal, but flying over the impressively detailed Seattle is a joy.
> It's not a very hardcore simulator, the single-player storyline is
> sort of poor, and the multi-player is dead-dead-dead, but the game is
> still fun just for the spectacle it offers. I had fun, you might too.
> Give it a try.
>
> Unwrap your next gift! Oh, it's "Guts and Glory"; fortunately, I mean
> the video game and not the real thing (now that would be a rather
> unpleasant surprise to find in a gift box). Hey, you know that game -
> "Death Stranding", I think they call it - where a guy travels a
> dangerous world with a kid strapped to his chest? This game is like
> that, except without the story or visuals or deeper meaning. All
> kidding aside, this is a timed-trial game where you - with child in
> tow- ride a variety of vehicles across a series of trap-filled tracks.
> Its presentation is decidedly unimpressive, but it has fairly solid
> gameplay - as you can discover using 0 V0398 dqhgcgq 5E should you be
> fast enough - and is well reviewed. This sort of game isn't really my
> thing, but it might be yours. Give it a try.
>
> That's it. Two presents delivered, as promised. Praise the sun-god;
> let his light continue to shine on us.
>
> Have fun! Keep gaming!

I got Guts and Glory! The game, that is. It looks right up my alley.

Looks like your embedding with spaces is working to keep them out of
the bots digital grasp.

Thanks again Spalls!

- Justisaur

Justisaur <justisaur@gmail.com> wrote:
> On Monday, December 20, 2021 at 9:35:32 AM UTC-8, Spalls Hurgenson wrote:
> > That sun keeps on rising and setting, rising and setting. It seems
> > every 24 hours we have an entirely new day. That's good though; that's
> > the whole point of these give-aways; we're keeping the sun-god happy
> > so he won't abandon us at the winter solstice (that IS the point of
> > all this, isn't it?).
> >
> > You know what else happens every 24 hours (give or take a few hours)?
> > I give away even more games! And seeing as its a new day, we need new
> > toys to play with!
> >
> > Quick, tear off the wrapping and let's find out what the first toy is.
> > Oh, it's "Take On Helicopters" (and the wrapping paper is embossed
> > with 909 jjcft 9t0 xb 3i I wonder what that means?). As the title
> > suggests, it's a helicopter flight simulator, created by the same guys
> > who developed the ARMA games. It's definitely a bit niche in its
> > appeal, but flying over the impressively detailed Seattle is a joy.
> > It's not a very hardcore simulator, the single-player storyline is
> > sort of poor, and the multi-player is dead-dead-dead, but the game is
> > still fun just for the spectacle it offers. I had fun, you might too.
> > Give it a try.
> >
> > Unwrap your next gift! Oh, it's "Guts and Glory"; fortunately, I mean
> > the video game and not the real thing (now that would be a rather
> > unpleasant surprise to find in a gift box). Hey, you know that game -
> > "Death Stranding", I think they call it - where a guy travels a
> > dangerous world with a kid strapped to his chest? This game is like
> > that, except without the story or visuals or deeper meaning. All
> > kidding aside, this is a timed-trial game where you - with child in
> > tow- ride a variety of vehicles across a series of trap-filled tracks.
> > Its presentation is decidedly unimpressive, but it has fairly solid
> > gameplay - as you can discover using 0 V0398 dqhgcgq 5E should you be
> > fast enough - and is well reviewed. This sort of game isn't really my
> > thing, but it might be yours. Give it a try.
> >
> > That's it. Two presents delivered, as promised. Praise the sun-god;
> > let his light continue to shine on us.
> >
> > Have fun! Keep gaming!

> I got Guts and Glory! The game, that is. It looks right up my alley.

> Looks like your embedding with spaces is working to keep them out of
> the bots digital grasp.

> Thanks again Spalls!

Meh, I'll pass on these two. Was Guts and Glory fun?
--
Dang coldness, colony, works, z, strikes, software upgrades, free games, spams, (scam/fraud)s, greeds, inflations, body, life, craziness, BUSYness, etc. again. :( Happy Holidays / Season's Greetings / Merry Christmas / etc. though. :D
Note: A fixed width font (Courier, Monospace, etc.) is required to see this signature correctly.
/\___/\ Ant(Dude) @ http://aqfl.net & http://antfarm.home.dhs.org.
/ /\ /\ \ Please nuke ANT if replying by e-mail.
| |o o| |
\ _ /
( )

On Monday, December 20, 2021 at 3:32:36 PM UTC-8, Ant wrote:
> Justisaur <just...@gmail.com> wrote:
....
> > I got Guts and Glory! The game, that is. It looks right up my alley.
>
> > Looks like your embedding with spaces is working to keep them out of
> > the bots digital grasp.
>
> > Thanks again Spalls!
> Meh, I'll pass on these two. Was Guts and Glory fun?

I'll let you know when I get to it. I'm still playing Dark Souls III, I've got one
last achievement to get to get to 100%. I'll probably stop playing it after
that, but there's still a lot of games for me to try I've either bought or got free,
and I'm not sure that one's on the top of the list.

- Justisaur

On Tue, 21 Dec 2021 07:23:53 -0800 (PST), Justisaur
<justisaur@gmail.com> wrote:

>On Monday, December 20, 2021 at 3:32:36 PM UTC-8, Ant wrote:
>> Justisaur <just...@gmail.com> wrote:
>...
>> > I got Guts and Glory! The game, that is. It looks right up my alley.
>>
>> > Looks like your embedding with spaces is working to keep them out of
>> > the bots digital grasp.
>>
>> > Thanks again Spalls!
>> Meh, I'll pass on these two. Was Guts and Glory fun?
>
>I'll let you know when I get to it. I'm still playing Dark Souls III,

*--

Is DS3 hard? Aren't the previous ones very hard?

-pw

On Tuesday, December 21, 2021 at 7:51:23 PM UTC-8, PW wrote:
> On Tue, 21 Dec 2021 07:23:53 -0800 (PST), Justisaur
> <just...@gmail.com> wrote:
>
> >On Monday, December 20, 2021 at 3:32:36 PM UTC-8, Ant wrote:
> >> Justisaur <just...@gmail.com> wrote:
> >...
> >> > I got Guts and Glory! The game, that is. It looks right up my alley.
> >>
> >> > Looks like your embedding with spaces is working to keep them out of
> >> > the bots digital grasp.
> >>
> >> > Thanks again Spalls!
> >> Meh, I'll pass on these two. Was Guts and Glory fun?
> >
> >I'll let you know when I get to it. I'm still playing Dark Souls III,
> *--
>
> Is DS3 hard? Aren't the previous ones very hard?

Most people say it's hard. I don't know. It's not like you have to start
over if you die. You keep all your equipment, you just drop your souls
(money) which only disappear if you don't get back to where you
died last time before you die again, and lose your ember - hard to
explain, lets gives you some extra health and lets you summon help
- and be invaded. And start at the last bonfire (save point.) It's not
battletoads or nethack hard in any case.

I find it fairly easy playing a spell caster, pyromancer is probably the
best as it's most versatile, but the others are just slightly behind.
You mostly just backpedal or roll away and cast spells at range,
there's even a short invisibility spell that combined with a silent
walking ring lets you backstab a lot of things, and a mind control
spell that lets you get some enemies on your side though it's a
bit difficult to use.

All that doesn't entirely work on everything and you have to learn
patterns of most bosses and some of the nastier mobs. There's a
few bosses where you're better off using a weapon than spells but
it's pretty few.

You can summon other players to help, or put down your own
summon signs to help others and get souls from that to level
up and get more powerful. No matter how powerful some skill
is needed though. I'm not that great at the skill part but I've
beat the game something like 7 times, once for the last DLC
though which really ups the difficulty.

Mostly skill is needed to fight off other players who invade, and
casting spells in PVP tends to get you killed (it works better in DS1.)

If you want to avoid PVP there's lots of options to do so. You can
play offline and summon the NPCs which aren't available
as many places as player summons, and they tend to suck in
comparison. I do that occasionally after I get tired of getting
killed by invaders in area that has NPC summons. You can also
just not ember and summon help, I do this quite a bit as long as
it's an area that I don't have too much trouble with. You can
summon right before a boss and when you enter the fight all
invaders are kicked. You can also set up private connections for
summons and recruit on the discord - which I have never bothered with.
Or just accept your fate that you'll probably die when someone invades -
which is mostly what I do. It does feel good when you kill off that
invader!

There are a very few areas where you can't summon help at all though
and there are a few NPC invaders that tend to be somewhat tough, but
still nowhere near as bad as most real players.

It can be frustrating when you're stuck on a boss or a path for a long
time, but you keep trying and trying out different tactics and you'll
get it eventually. You can look up what's most effective on all the
bosses and mobs, and people are still discovering more/better ways
to do some things. I know quite a bit of things that no one seems
to talk about that I either discovered myself or was shown in game
by another player I either summoned or was summoned by, which
is part of the appeal. There's almost an infinite number of ways to
approach the game.

As to difficulty on the easy side, there's people that play the game
with additional self imposed rules, the most popular being to play
the game without ever leveling up called "Onebro." Lots of people
have completed the game this way, I've even played a bit of DS1
as a Onebro and did fairly well after having played the game a
couple times through. Some go even further playing with not
ever dying, or getting hit, or taking damage, or dodging etc. which
seems insane to me but they manage it.

As to the other games DS1 is probably easier on the combat, as it's
a bit slower paced and armor works better, however the environment
is more deadly and confusing. If you can stand the older graphics
it's probably best to start there. DS2 is the worst, though I still beat it,
however I never did beat the DLCs. I'd recommend skipping DS2
unless you really want to try it after playing 1 & 3, or can't bring
yourself to skip a game in a series like me.

I'd say DS3 is the best overall, but DS1 is still worth playing, at least
long enough to learn the ropes if you find it too frustrating.

If you do ever decide to play any I'd be up for some private co-op,
though I might make it too easy where I can help at least until
end game. I have a level 12 guy I made for helping newbies and
I tend to run ahead and leave a swath of destruction leaving the
person I'm helping to just run to catch up. I try to pace myself and
let them lead, but sometimes when it's obvious they're not sure what
to do I just go Monty Python Lancelot.

If you just want some tips, I'll help with that. The main tip would
be don't skimp on health for level-ups. You're generally far
better off getting just enough other stats for whatever weapon
you want to use and raising health first, at least enough that
your estus (healing potions) heals about half your health.

Sorry for the super long ramble, but you asked :)

- Justisaur

On Wed, 22 Dec 2021 09:38:34 -0800 (PST), Justisaur >Sorry for the
super long ramble, but you asked :)
>
>- Justisaur

No ramble! I just printed out your comments because I just bought it!

Yesterday it was $60 at Steam. Today $15!! I splurged the extra $7
for the deluxe edition.

I think I am going to like it! I guess that means I can check out the
Steam Winter Sale since I "saved" money LOL! Isn't that how
governments think :-)

Thank you so much!

-pw

On Wednesday, December 22, 2021 at 12:12:41 PM UTC-8, PW wrote:
> On Wed, 22 Dec 2021 09:38:34 -0800 (PST), Justisaur >Sorry for the
> super long ramble, but you asked :)
> >
> >- Justisaur
> No ramble! I just printed out your comments because I just bought it!
>
> Yesterday it was $60 at Steam. Today $15!! I splurged the extra $7
> for the deluxe edition.
>
> I think I am going to like it! I guess that means I can check out the
> Steam Winter Sale since I "saved" money LOL! Isn't that how
> governments think :-)
>
> Thank you so much!

Great! I assume that's DS3?

Oh one other thing, make sure to read the red signs on the ground as
that's the basic tutorial (later there's some left by other players which
may be helpful or not.) I saw some new player video where the person
playing didn't do that and never learned how to do some very basic
moves. I remember one thing that threw me for the longest time was
jumping. You have to be running to jump.

I'd say one other initial consideration is controller vs. KB/Mouse.
Controller is far easier initially, and while it's perfectly viable, I played
like 900 hours on it. I think if you're looking for every advantage
KB&M is better but a real pain to figure out mapping that actually
works (for some reason DS1 was set up better than DS3 for
KB/Mouse)

You may want an anti-cheat mod, On DS3 that's Blue Sentinel.
It's supposed to protect you from some malicious hack that
destroys your save-games and back them up automatically
as well as show you anyone cheating so you can disconnect.

If you aren't on the CSIPGA group on Steam you can add me as a
friend, same name there (same name pretty much everywhere online.)

- Justisaur

On Wed, 22 Dec 2021 13:09:16 -0800 (PST), Justisaur
<justisaur@gmail.com> wrote:

>On Wednesday, December 22, 2021 at 12:12:41 PM UTC-8, PW wrote:
>> On Wed, 22 Dec 2021 09:38:34 -0800 (PST), Justisaur >Sorry for the
>> super long ramble, but you asked :)
>> >
>> >- Justisaur
>> No ramble! I just printed out your comments because I just bought it!
>>
>> Yesterday it was $60 at Steam. Today $15!! I splurged the extra $7
>> for the deluxe edition.
>>
>> I think I am going to like it! I guess that means I can check out the
>> Steam Winter Sale since I "saved" money LOL! Isn't that how
>> governments think :-)
>>
>> Thank you so much!
>
>Great! I assume that's DS3?

Yes - DELUXE edition :-)
>
>Oh one other thing, make sure to read the red signs on the ground as
>that's the basic tutorial (later there's some left by other players which
>may be helpful or not.) I saw some new player video where the person
>playing didn't do that and never learned how to do some very basic
>moves. I remember one thing that threw me for the longest time was
>jumping. You have to be running to jump.
>
>I'd say one other initial consideration is controller vs. KB/Mouse.
>Controller is far easier initially, and while it's perfectly viable, I played
>like 900 hours on it. I think if you're looking for every advantage
>KB&M is better but a real pain to figure out mapping that actually
>works (for some reason DS1 was set up better than DS3 for
>KB/Mouse)
>
>You may want an anti-cheat mod, On DS3 that's Blue Sentinel.
>It's supposed to protect you from some malicious hack that
>destroys your save-games and back them up automatically
>as well as show you anyone cheating so you can disconnect.

No single player? I will boot it up and see.

>
>If you aren't on the CSIPGA group on Steam you can add me as a
>friend, same name there (same name pretty much everywhere online.)
>
>- Justisaur

There is a CSIPGA group on Steam? I've never accessed groups on
Steam. I assume you mean the website and not the app.

Thanks!!

-pw

On Wednesday, December 22, 2021 at 4:26:58 PM UTC-8, PW wrote:
> On Wed, 22 Dec 2021 13:09:16 -0800 (PST), Justisaur
> <just...@gmail.com> wrote:
>
> >On Wednesday, December 22, 2021 at 12:12:41 PM UTC-8, PW wrote:
> >> On Wed, 22 Dec 2021 09:38:34 -0800 (PST), Justisaur >Sorry for the
> >> super long ramble, but you asked :)
> >> >
> >> >- Justisaur
> >> No ramble! I just printed out your comments because I just bought it!
> >>
> >> Yesterday it was $60 at Steam. Today $15!! I splurged the extra $7
> >> for the deluxe edition.
> >>
> >> I think I am going to like it! I guess that means I can check out the
> >> Steam Winter Sale since I "saved" money LOL! Isn't that how
> >> governments think :-)
> >>
> >> Thank you so much!
> >
> >Great! I assume that's DS3?
> Yes - DELUXE edition :-)
> >
> >
> >You may want an anti-cheat mod, On DS3 that's Blue Sentinel.
> >It's supposed to protect you from some malicious hack that
> >destroys your save-games and back them up automatically
> >as well as show you anyone cheating so you can disconnect.
>
> No single player? I will boot it up and see.

You can certainly play alone. You have to get by the first boss and
get to High Wall before you can summon/invade with anyone anyway,
so it's not an immediate concern.

It defaults to online and open and auto-connects if your computer is
online. You can set a password to connect to you, turn off networked
mode, or disconnect from your network when launching it to prevent
anyone from joining you.

I feel like you miss out on a lot of the fun and ease with summoning
other people though. Some people will disconnect their network
temporarily if they get invaded and don't have anyone summoned.
I've done that, but mostly when I had to go, and you can't save when
someone's summoned or invading (even NPCs for some reason.)
Just doing that won't protect you from the save game breaking
hack though.

Just summoning someone you don't have to disconnect from the
network, you can black crystal them away (you start with a black
crystal.)

> >If you aren't on the CSIPGA group on Steam you can add me as a
> >friend, same name there (same name pretty much everywhere online.)
> >
> There is a CSIPGA group on Steam? I've never accessed groups on
> Steam. I assume you mean the website and not the app.

It's been around since 2018 and I think you can find it by going to
your profile in Steam, selecting groups and searching for C.S.I.P.G.A

Not really much activity there, and I'm not sure how to get alerts on
it. I think it's just like auto-friending everyone in it when you join, not
really sure.

- Justisaur

On Wednesday, December 22, 2021 at 8:09:50 PM UTC-8, PW wrote:
> On Wed, 22 Dec 2021 19:15:35 -0800 (PST), Justisaur
> <just...@gmail.com> wrote:
>
> >On Wednesday, December 22, 2021 at 4:26:58 PM UTC-8, PW wrote:
> >> On Wed, 22 Dec 2021 13:09:16 -0800 (PST), Justisaur
> >> <just...@gmail.com> wrote:
> >>
> >> >On Wednesday, December 22, 2021 at 12:12:41 PM UTC-8, PW wrote:
> >> >> On Wed, 22 Dec 2021 09:38:34 -0800 (PST), Justisaur >Sorry for the
> >> >> super long ramble, but you asked :)
> >> >> >
> >> >> >- Justisaur
> >> >> No ramble! I just printed out your comments because I just bought it!
> >> >>
> >> >> Yesterday it was $60 at Steam. Today $15!! I splurged the extra $7
> >> >> for the deluxe edition.
> >> >>
> >> >> I think I am going to like it! I guess that means I can check out the
> >> >> Steam Winter Sale since I "saved" money LOL! Isn't that how
> >> >> governments think :-)
> >> >>
> >> >> Thank you so much!
> >> >
> >> >Great! I assume that's DS3?
> >> Yes - DELUXE edition :-)
> >> >
> >> >
> >> >You may want an anti-cheat mod, On DS3 that's Blue Sentinel.
> >> >It's supposed to protect you from some malicious hack that
> >> >destroys your save-games and back them up automatically
> >> >as well as show you anyone cheating so you can disconnect.
> >>
> >> No single player? I will boot it up and see.
> >
> >You can certainly play alone. You have to get by the first boss and
> >get to High Wall before you can summon/invade with anyone anyway,
> >so it's not an immediate concern.
> >
> >It defaults to online and open and auto-connects if your computer is
> >online. You can set a password to connect to you, turn off networked
> >mode, or disconnect from your network when launching it to prevent
> >anyone from joining you.

Password is easiest, and you can give it to friends.

> >I feel like you miss out on a lot of the fun and ease with summoning
> >other people though. Some people will disconnect their network
> >temporarily if they get invaded and don't have anyone summoned.
> >I've done that, but mostly when I had to go, and you can't save when
> >someone's summoned or invading (even NPCs for some reason.)
> >Just doing that won't protect you from the save game breaking
> >hack though.

I meant I kill the program when I have to leave and someone's connected
It complains about maybe not saving your game, but I've never had an
issue across all the games.

> >
> >Just summoning someone you don't have to disconnect from the
> >network, you can black crystal them away (you start with a black
> >crystal.)
> >
> > > >If you aren't on the CSIPGA group on Steam you can add me as a
> >> >friend, same name there (same name pretty much everywhere online.)
> >> >
> >> There is a CSIPGA group on Steam? I've never accessed groups on
> >> Steam. I assume you mean the website and not the app.
> >
> >It's been around since 2018 and I think you can find it by going to
> >your profile in Steam, selecting groups and searching for C.S.I.P.G.A
> >
> >Not really much activity there, and I'm not sure how to get alerts on
> >it. I think it's just like auto-friending everyone in it when you join, not
> >really sure.
> >
> >- Justisaur
> *---

> Okay. I did start it up but had to plug in a controller to accept the
> on-line agreement as I could not scroll to the bottom to activate the
> button using the slider or page up and down keys.

The mouse should work, but like I said, setting up mouse/kb is
a major pain. Right click with the mouse will bring up a menu to choose
actions from. It doesn't show the keyboard keys for some reasons.
You can change keymapings for the keyboard and
actually map A, B, X, & Y to those keys though those may not be the
best choices. If you set up for esdf it should work. Even though I'm
playing kb & mouse I forget what I have things mapped to. It's
probably best to just stick to controller if you don't want to go
through all that, especially as you wouldn't know what exactly
you're going to want where yet.
> And I did deactivate the on-line play.

Sad noises, but that's probably best to start. You can always activate
it if you want co-op help after you get to High Wall, and you will.

> Trying to figure out how to select the class that you are playing as.
> I almost always play a fighter or something similar in RPGs because I
> feel overwhelmed with having to learn so many spells and what they do
> and how and when to use them. So time for a change. Can I switch in
> mid-game?

TDLR for the following; Start as Pryomancer. If you get frustrated with or
don't like Pryomancer, start a Knight, and vice versa. I've found keeping
a cadre of different builds has kept me interested especially as each
class has an easier time in different parts of the game. Knight "Quality"
and Pryomancer are the most versatile and you can get a taste of any
other more specialized build with them. When you find an area too
hard with one switch to the other, you may find it easy with the other.

----------

Spellcasting doesn't inundate you with spells, you only start with one.
Pyromancer gets a fireball to throw, Sorcerer gets a magic arrow,
Cleric gets a heal.

A lot of the attack spells are just pure upgrades, or useless or only
good in PVP so there's not a lot to mull over, and they come fairly slow
so you have plenty of time to try them out. There's some utility/buff
spells as well, but again not that many, and most I don't use. The main
utility ones I use are an invis, a charm, and one that keeps you alive at
1 hp when you would've otherwise be killed but then goes away. Each of
those is from a different class (though you can get them all, easiest if
you're a Pyromancer) There's also weapon buffs of each element, but
again I tend to use only one for each class and not even that often as
I usually rely on the attack spells.

You only get to have up to about 4 (you can get up to 6 with heavy
attunement and rings, but that's usually overkill) spells prepared at
endgame so it's not that big a deal switching between them in play.
My usual load out is 2 different attack spells of different elements,
one defense and one utility spell.

If you just consider each spell like a weapon, then there's about 4x as
many actual melee weapons to choose from and they're more
complicated as you have to decide if you want to infuse them with an
element or not and use resins instead, or some you can't.

The melee classes are all fine, but I personally find melee a tad harder
(though some claim if you aren't melee you aren't getting the full DS
experience.) You can still use bows or crossbows, they aren't anywhere
near as effective as attack spells, though they do have longer range.
You won't get one to start except with Thief.

I'd probably pick Knight as you get the best starting shield that
won't be surpassed for awhile, you can just hold block and let an enemy
hit the shield, they get staggered momentarily, and you won't take
damage and can immediately retaliate with your sword, and swords are
pretty fast and heavy attack has some good reach. Blocking won't help
against most bosses, and many enemies will attack fast or heavy enough
to stagger you though. You also start with the best armor, but armor
doesn't mean quite as much in DS3. Knight is also the best start for a
'Quality' build (even amounts of Strength & Dex) which I find the easiest
of the melee classes and gets the biggest selection of weapons to
choose from, so you can choose a weapon that will work well against
any enemy.

---- (you can skip between the dashes as I discuss the other classes)

I'm very partial to Thief as it's the only class to start with a bow.
However the bow is pretty low damage, and I'd say useless against
most bosses as it's too slow too. It's good for sniping with patience.
It also starts with the bandit dagger which is one of the best fast
weapons - I still use it at end game on a couple characters. If you two
hand it, it has fast step weapon art which is generally better than
rolling, and it can bleed which does more damage the more hp your
enemy has, making it great against anything that's not immune to
bleed. But there's the problem, there's just barely enough that's
immune to bleed that a bleed build gets really hard against some
enemies. I cover that with a fire flamberge for my bleed build, as
most things that are immune to bleed burn quite well, but I'm still
slower killing some things than other classes (which means
easier to die.)

On Wednesday, December 22, 2021 at 8:11:38 PM UTC-8, PW wrote:
> Oh -- I have the "Prepare To Die" edition but I don't think I ever
> even started it. Read that it is very hard. That is why I asked if
> III is hard.

While I found DS3 easier to start, I'd played DS1 & 2, and the
skills you gain by going through those mostly carry over.

I'd guess DS1 is easier to start, or at least it takes a bit more time
with the 'tutorial' area. The first boss is probably easier in DS1,
but it's been awhile since I played it so I'm not sure. I'd suggest
you play it as long as you can stand, then switch to DS3.

I'll fire it up and see what I think after all this time.

- Justisaur

On Thursday, December 23, 2021 at 8:47:23 AM UTC-8, Justisaur wrote:
> On Wednesday, December 22, 2021 at 8:11:38 PM UTC-8, PW wrote:
> > Oh -- I have the "Prepare To Die" edition but I don't think I ever
> > even started it. Read that it is very hard. That is why I asked if
> > III is hard.
> While I found DS3 easier to start, I'd played DS1 & 2, and the
> skills you gain by going through those mostly carry over.
>
> I'd guess DS1 is easier to start, or at least it takes a bit more time
> with the 'tutorial' area. The first boss is probably easier in DS1,
> but it's been awhile since I played it so I'm not sure. I'd suggest
> you play it as long as you can stand, then switch to DS3.
>
> I'll fire it up and see what I think after all this time.

Well... DS1 the tutorial boss is much easier but that's where it ends.
The mobs tend to be grouped up in tight places where they
can gang up on you or along cliffs. My first three deaths for this run
were to falling off cliffs. The first real boss in DS1 might also be easier,
but there's a trick to him which trips up most people, which I happened
to remember so it took me 2 tries. General mobs and environment
I'd say are much harder, not really in a fun way in my oppinon. Bosses
vary, but overall probably slightly easier, but has more puzzle aspect.
So yeah, DS1 harder overall. Even with all the hours of skill and
barely remembered knowledge it still took me dozens of deaths just
to get to the first real boss, where I can possibly do that with less
than a handful in DS3.

It definitely doesn't feel as good. The graphics and movement are
both janky, and as I mentioned the tight spaces.

You might want to go through the DS1 tutorial, on the other hand
the graphics, and janky movement might put you off. Not a big
deal if you skip it. I like the intro :)

- Justisaur

On Thursday, December 23, 2021 at 8:39:10 AM UTC-8, Justisaur wrote:
> > >It defaults to online and open and auto-connects if your computer is
> > >online. You can set a password to connect to you, turn off networked
> > >mode, or disconnect from your network when launching it to prevent
> > >anyone from joining you.

> Password is easiest, and you can give it to friends.

I was wrong on this, Password doesn't work to keep invaders out. It's
to make sure if you're trying to connect to a friend for co-op that the
spot stays open for only people with that password.

Just turn off online mode as you already did.

-

P.S. I had little desire to continue play DS1 again after testing difficulty
again after all these years. They made a remastered version but
it's so far only on the Playstation, whichever one, I suppose it will
come to PC eventually? There's also Demon Souls which precedes
DS1 they remastered, people are waiting for it on PC as well.

DS1 I also have only one achievement to get to 100%, it's hidden though
and I have a character at over 700th level (!!!) so whatever it is, I couldn't
find it last time, I might bother to hunt it down eventually but not before
finishing the same on DS3 and trying all these Christmas presents!

- Justisaur

>I'd say one other initial consideration is controller vs. KB/Mouse.

I have had to twice bring up the task manager to quit the game because
I could not get out of a menu, like the control settings without a
controller hooked up.

I guess I am going to have to use a controller if I want to play the
game properly.

-pw

On Saturday, December 25, 2021 at 7:37:11 PM UTC-8, PW wrote:
> >I'd say one other initial consideration is controller vs. KB/Mouse.
> I have had to twice bring up the task manager to quit the game because
> I could not get out of a menu, like the control settings without a
> controller hooked up.
>
> I guess I am going to have to use a controller if I want to play the
> game properly.
>
> -pw

Definitely easier to begin with. If you do stick with KBM, just remember
right click will give you a menu you can choose what you want to do
with the mouse, back being one of those.

- Justisaur

On Monday, December 20, 2021 at 3:32:36 PM UTC-8, Ant wrote:
> Justisaur <just...@gmail.com> wrote:
> > On Monday, December 20, 2021 at 9:35:32 AM UTC-8, Spalls Hurgenson wrote:
> > > That sun keeps on rising and setting, rising and setting. It seems
> > > every 24 hours we have an entirely new day. That's good though; that's
> > > the whole point of these give-aways; we're keeping the sun-god happy
> > > so he won't abandon us at the winter solstice (that IS the point of
> > > all this, isn't it?).
> > >
> > > You know what else happens every 24 hours (give or take a few hours)?
> > > I give away even more games! And seeing as its a new day, we need new
> > > toys to play with!
> > >
> > > Quick, tear off the wrapping and let's find out what the first toy is.
> > > Oh, it's "Take On Helicopters" (and the wrapping paper is embossed
> > > with 909 jjcft 9t0 xb 3i I wonder what that means?). As the title
> > > suggests, it's a helicopter flight simulator, created by the same guys
> > > who developed the ARMA games. It's definitely a bit niche in its
> > > appeal, but flying over the impressively detailed Seattle is a joy.
> > > It's not a very hardcore simulator, the single-player storyline is
> > > sort of poor, and the multi-player is dead-dead-dead, but the game is
> > > still fun just for the spectacle it offers. I had fun, you might too.
> > > Give it a try.
> > >
> > > Unwrap your next gift! Oh, it's "Guts and Glory"; fortunately, I mean
> > > the video game and not the real thing (now that would be a rather
> > > unpleasant surprise to find in a gift box). Hey, you know that game -
> > > "Death Stranding", I think they call it - where a guy travels a
> > > dangerous world with a kid strapped to his chest? This game is like
> > > that, except without the story or visuals or deeper meaning. All
> > > kidding aside, this is a timed-trial game where you - with child in
> > > tow- ride a variety of vehicles across a series of trap-filled tracks.
> > > Its presentation is decidedly unimpressive, but it has fairly solid
> > > gameplay - as you can discover using 0 V0398 dqhgcgq 5E should you be
> > > fast enough - and is well reviewed. This sort of game isn't really my
> > > thing, but it might be yours. Give it a try.
> > >
> > > That's it. Two presents delivered, as promised. Praise the sun-god;
> > > let his light continue to shine on us.
> > >
> > > Have fun! Keep gaming!
>
> > I got Guts and Glory! The game, that is. It looks right up my alley.
>
> > Looks like your embedding with spaces is working to keep them out of
> > the bots digital grasp.
>
> > Thanks again Spalls!
> Meh, I'll pass on these two. Was Guts and Glory fun?

I just gave it a try. 2.5 hours. It's got some fun in it, but it's mostly in
watching your characters die in rediculous obstacle course where
there's cannons and buzz saws and mines and spikes. It reminds
me a bit of Postal. It also reminds me of a number of mobile games
where you launch your character in a car or whatnot to see how
far you can go, it feels like it would be more suited to mobile.

After awhile the frustratingly deadly courses are a bit much.

The graphics look pretty rudimentary and the controls are pretty
touchy on a controller. It feels like something some teens would
make for windows 3.11.

It's currently at 75% off and even at the $3.74, I couldn't recommend it.
Maybe $2, but based on other's expressed preferences here I don't
think anyone would find it of any value except at "free."

- Justisaur

On Mon, 27 Dec 2021 06:07:59 -0800 (PST), Justisaur
<justisaur@gmail.com> wrote:

>It's currently at 75% off and even at the $3.74, I couldn't recommend it.
>Maybe $2, but based on other's expressed preferences here I don't
>think anyone would find it of any value except at "free."

Well, that is the advantage of getting games for free; you can try
games out without losing anything of value (well, except your time ;-)

I don't know if I'd be so harsh on the game (well, except for the
price assessment, but then again, I don't think most games are worth
anywhere near their asking price anymore). It's quite obvious on the
surface that it's a one-note Indie game; it's not going to compete
with bigger triple-A (or even B-list) titles. It's not intending to.
It's a cheap thrill based on the gimmick of unrealistic physics-based
driving. It is not a game that is expected to absorb you for days and
weeks. It's niche and stupid, but sometimes that's all you want. And
it makes no pretense to be anything but what it is.

I'm not a fan of these games myself, but there are lots of people who
do like these games, and from all appearances, it's a fairly well-made
example of the genre. So while I've no desire to play it, I can't be
too judgmental against it. I'm not its intended audience.

O>It's been around since 2018 and I think you can find it by going to
>your profile in Steam, selecting groups and searching for C.S.I.P.G.A
>
>Not really much activity there, and I'm not sure how to get alerts on
>it. I think it's just like auto-friending everyone in it when you join, not
>really sure.
>
>- Justisaur

*---

Steam can't find C.S.I.P.G.A. or CSIPGA

-pw

PW <iamnotusingonewithAgent@notinuse.com> writes:

> Steam can't find C.S.I.P.G.A. or CSIPGA

I think there was a typo in that, the whole group name is c.s.i.p.g.a
CSPIGA. But I can't find the group searching for CSPIGA either. I got in
some years ago but I don't remember how, as Olaric.

Geeknix seems to have managed it recently so it must be possible. I
guess one way is to post the web link for the group but will that draw
in hordes of Usenet trolls?

On Tue, 04 Jan 2022 14:20:25 +0200, Anssi Saari <as@sci.fi> wrote:

>PW <iamnotusingonewithAgent@notinuse.com> writes:
>
>> Steam can't find C.S.I.P.G.A. or CSIPGA
>
>I think there was a typo in that, the whole group name is c.s.i.p.g.a
>CSPIGA. But I can't find the group searching for CSPIGA either. I got in
>some years ago but I don't remember how, as Olaric.
>
>Geeknix seems to have managed it recently so it must be possible. I
>guess one way is to post the web link for the group but will that draw
>in hordes of Usenet trolls?

It's https://steamcommunity.com/groups/CSPIGA
(yes, the P and I are inverted. IIRC there already was some other
group using that preferred initialism, and Steam assigned us this one.
That's my story and I'm sticking to it ;-).

It's definitely the place to be; ever so bustling and noisy. Why, I
think somebody said something in it two or three years back. I don't
know why everybody isn't a member.

On Tue, 04 Jan 2022 11:55:08 -0500, Spalls Hurgenson
<spallshurgenson@gmail.com> wrote:

>On Tue, 04 Jan 2022 14:20:25 +0200, Anssi Saari <as@sci.fi> wrote:
>
>>PW <iamnotusingonewithAgent@notinuse.com> writes:
>>
>>> Steam can't find C.S.I.P.G.A. or CSIPGA
>>
>>I think there was a typo in that, the whole group name is c.s.i.p.g.a
>>CSPIGA. But I can't find the group searching for CSPIGA either. I got in
>>some years ago but I don't remember how, as Olaric.
>>
>>Geeknix seems to have managed it recently so it must be possible. I
>>guess one way is to post the web link for the group but will that draw
>>in hordes of Usenet trolls?
>
>It's https://steamcommunity.com/groups/CSPIGA
>(yes, the P and I are inverted. IIRC there already was some other
>group using that preferred initialism, and Steam assigned us this one.
>That's my story and I'm sticking to it ;-).
>
>It's definitely the place to be; ever so bustling and noisy. Why, I
>think somebody said something in it two or three years back. I don't
>know why everybody isn't a member.
>

I am in, at least in (fragpup) at least in a browser. The Steam
client could not find the group or I messed up. It did find some
others that start with CSP.

-pw

On Sun, 26 Dec 2021 05:48:05 -0800 (PST), Justisaur
<justisaur@gmail.com> wrote:

>On Saturday, December 25, 2021 at 7:37:11 PM UTC-8, PW wrote:
>> >I'd say one other initial consideration is controller vs. KB/Mouse.
>> I have had to twice bring up the task manager to quit the game because
>> I could not get out of a menu, like the control settings without a
>> controller hooked up.
>>
>> I guess I am going to have to use a controller if I want to play the
>> game properly.
>>
>> -pw
>
>Definitely easier to begin with. If you do stick with KBM, just remember
>right click will give you a menu you can choose what you want to do
>with the mouse, back being one of those.
>
>- Justisaur

*---

I am not sure how much I can take of this constant dying Justisaur,
with no quicksaves or save games (besides the one bonfire I have come
across). I didn't even bother with the Giant Crystal Lizard more than
once in the first chapter.

I thought I was really going to enjoy it. But no matter what my
timing is, and how I parry or attack it is not helping much.
Especially when I end up in the vegetation. I can't see!

I switched to a controller but the camera is really throwing me off
and costing me lives unneccessarily.

I've read a couple of walkthroughs and reviews. Got me!

Maybe I will pick it up again someday soon.

-pw