Wow, we're a month down in the new year already. Time flies when
you're playing games. You are playing games, right? Only one way to
find out...

Just Name The Games, Please
------------------------------
* Dead State Reanimated (new)
* Company of Heroes (replay)
* Master of Orion (2016) (replay)
* Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 (replay)

You're Gonna Go On A Bit About These Games, Aren't Ya?
---------------------------------------

* Dead State Reanimated (new)
A few years back (well, okay, more than a few), some friends and I sat
down and tried to figure out what a perfect "zombie-apocalypse"
simulation game would look like. We had a number of ideas, but if you
took some of the best parts of all of them, the end result would look
a lot like "Dead State". So, given this is exactly the sort of game
I've always dreamed of playing, why is this game so disappointing?

It's probably because - while it ticks a lot of the necessary boxes -
it does it all in such a half-hearted way. Everything about this game
feels amateur and incomplete. The combat - a poor-man's clone of X-Com
style tactics - is primitive and lacks basic features like crouching
or aiming. You can - apparently - sneak, but it's all handled
automatically, and there's no feedback as to how successful you are.
Dialogue and character interactions are limited. You can build stuff
in your base, but only from a limited selection (and only one of each
item. Running out of food and think having two farms might be a good
idea? Tough; you only get the one). Even the visual presentation of
the game feels dated; aside from the ability to scale up to
widescreen, "Dead State" looks like a game developed in 1999.

But the real problem is that this game has been done much better by so
many other games, some of which even preceded "Dead State's" release.
In particular, I'm thinking of "State of Decay", which shared many of
"Dead State's" limitations, but had much more engaging gameplay and
combat, and far better atmosphere. But there are doubtlessly numerous
other games that are similar in nature. They all pull from the same
pool of ideas, but their implementations are superior to "Dead
State's" lazy interpretation. The only thing that makes "Dead State"
somewhat unique is it's top-down viewpoint which, originally, was how
my friends imagined such a game. Still, that says more about our lack
of imagination than whether or not that viewpoint was most suitable to
task.

For all "Dead State" seems to be exactly the sort of game I'd want,
it's a dull, unengaging slog with too simplistic a simulation to be
any fun. There is a sequel and maybe one day I'll give that game a try
- I'd love to see my dream 'zombie simulator' pulled off successfully
- but I don't have any expectations that game will be any good either.

* Company of Heroes (replay)
It's all Stephen Spielberg's fault, obviously.

Why else would I reinstall this game except that I recently re-watched
"Saving Private Ryan". Even as saccharine as its core story is, it
remains an undeniably powerful and entertaining film, and - after
watching it - I couldn't help but want to continue the story, in one
form or another. There have, of course, been dozens of games that have
built upon "Saving Private Ryan's" legacy, from the epic D-Day landing
sequence in 2001's "Medal of Honor: Allied Assault" to the cinematic
warplay of the early "Call of Duty" games, but none of those appealed
to me. By placing the player as the central protagonist, they all
suffered by making him almost super-heroic in his abilities. I didn't
want to play as a guy who could mow down hundreds of Nazis and blow up
Tiger tanks single-handedly. I wanted to experience the fear and
helplessness as depicted in Spielberg's film. And "Company of Heroes"
seemed to best fit that need; its soldiers are vulnerable and weak,
and only by mastering strategy and bravely pushing forward regardless
of the odds could victory be achieved.

And in many ways, "Company of Heroes" delivered on this promise.
Although almost fifteen years old, its visuals still offer a
compelling - and often starkly beautiful - picture of war-wracked
Europe. The destructibility of the terrain remains impressive; trees
fall, craters pockmark the terrain, fences crumble and buildings
collapse. As stiffly animated and low-res textured they might be,
still its soldiers have a realistic humanity to them that even some
modern games haven't equaled. It doesn't take much imagination on my
part to believe I really am leading a company of tired, dirty and
scared GIs into battle.

Or, at least, not until they actually engage in combat. Then the
illusion quickly disintegrates thanks to their unimpressive AI. They
barely react to enemy fire on their own, and even as I desperately
click on nearby cover, two thirds of them seem content to stand in the
street as MG-40 machine guns mow them down. Orders to toss grenades
are as often as not ignored. Tanks wiggle incompetently trying to
figure out how to roll down an open street as they get hammered by
Panzerschreks. It's hard to feel sympathy - much less wallow in the
pathos of war - when your heroes are so stupidly self-destructive.

I remember the game being better. I remember my troops being more
pro-active. Is my memory wrong, or has the game changed? I am playing
the 'Complete Pack', which includes years of add-ons and patches, so
maybe the AI has been tweaked. But it's more likely I am remembering
this game with heavily-tinted rose-colored glasses, and it was always
like this.

Based simply on its production values and technology, "Company of
Heroes" remains an excellent game, and I still think it stands out as
one of the best "World War II" games ever created. It definitely
captures, if imperfectly, a lot of what made "Private Ryan" so
memorable. It's just not that fun to play thanks to its brain-dead AI
that requires constant (and too-frequently ignored) micro-management.
It makes me wish I'd never re-installed the game; that I kept to my
fond memories of it rather than face the awful reality. But no, I had
to go and play it again.

Thanks a lot, Spielberg.

* Master of Orion (2016) (replay)
The original Master of Orion was a classic. It's sequel -
unimaginatively named "Master of Orion II" - was excellent; I
vacillate whether it's better or worse than its predecessor depending
on my mood, but I'm certain that it remains one of the best 4X space
strategy games. "Master of Orion 3" was an unfortunate misstep that
mistook complexity for entertainment. And the 2016 game? Well, it's
fine, I guess.

Then again, it should be. It is, in almost every regard, "Master of
Orion II" with updated graphics. Oh, there are some tweaks made to the
underlying systems - everything is all on one map now, for instance -
but 90% of MOO2016 is just a revamped MOO2. So with one of best 4X
space strategy games as its basis, and nicer production values, why
does it seem such an average game?

Well, for one thing, it's lack of innovation hurts it as much as it
helps. I'm hard pressed to see why I should play this game over the
original; the 1996 game ran a lot faster, for one thing. None of the
changes made really appeal to me either.

Take the main map. In the original, if you wanted to see your
individual colonies, the game would open up a separate window; in
MOO2016, you just zoom in until the individual planets are visible.
It's artistically and technically impressive (if not too innovative;
"Ascendancy" was doing something similar all the way back in 1995) and
is neat the first few times you do it. But constantly zooming in and
out of the map is slow and time-consuming and - after you play for a
few hours - not much fun.

Here's another nitpick: limited by the technology of the time, a lot
of the MOO's setting and flavor was left up to the imagination of the
player. Sure, the Psilons looked like 'Little Grey Men' aliens, but
whether there was more than a superficial resemblance wasn't
specified. In MOO2016, there's a lot more effort put into the setting,
but that comes at a cost. I no longer feel like I'm building /my/
space empire; I feel like I'm just working for somebody else.

Another one: improvements to star systems (building things like Star
Gates or terraforming gas giants) now require special units. This adds
additional cost and - more importantly - much more micro-managing as
you have to shuttle the worker units from place to place. It's
annoying and tiresome make-work.

The game is chock full of little flaws like the above. Individually,
none of them are too serious, and they don't significantly alter the
core gameplay of the game, but taken together they grate on you as the
hours go by. Uninteresting tactical combat, brain-dead AI and far too
much micro-managing don't help either.

> What Have You Been Playing... IN JANUARY 2020?
>
I haven't been playing too much this month but a quick run down,
although before that I have to put my 'that guy' hat on. It's an MP-40
not an MG-40. Alternatively it's an MG-34 or an MG-42. Now on with the show.

Shadow Tactics: Aiko's Choice
-----------------------------

A Realtime Tactics Stealth game that I mentioned before so I won't
repeat myself. I'm probably about half way through and still enjoying
the challenge of where's the 'key' to unlock this set of enemies. If you
like the look of this I can very much recommend the original which now
spends most of its time on sale.

The Procession to Calvary
-------------------------

I've been thinking about buying this one for sometime but having watched
a video review on Jimquisition I thought why not give it a go as it's
only £6 or so. It's a point-and-click adventure with a rather
interesting graphics style. It uses Renaissance art, for stitching
together both the scenes and the characters. It's very much tongue in
cheek and for once I actually found a game that was described as
humorous, well funny. The humour doesn't always work which is ironic
giving its Monty Python style look. Yes you may have seem the more
famous sketches but try and watch the TV series to see how many of them
fall flat to put it mildly.

One of the positive points I found is that unlike many of the games in
the genre the puzzles aren't horribly obscure. I've played a few where
it honestly feels that you're not solving it by brain power but instead
just trial and error.

I wouldn't describe it as a great game but it's enjoyable enough and
well worth £6.

In Other Waters
---------------

Another cheapo that's been on may radar for a while and I finally got
around to buying it. It's a strange one as you play as a diving suit
A.I. who has to guide a scientist exploring an extraterrestrial sea for
life forms. The UI can best be described as minimalistic so you get a
contour map and the icons for different features. Some of those features
are way points for travel, some points of interest and other lifeforms
to be catalogued. There's also oxygen and power but as yet these haven't
come into play but I expect they will.

So far it does seem more like a walking-sim than a standard game but for
me that's ok as I like walking-sims if the story is engaging. One of the
downsides is it's not great at explaining what you're actually doing or
how to do it. Oh right that's what that button does.

I do like this game but I'd imagine it's got quite niche appeal, worth
checking out just to see what you think.

Hellblade Senua's Sacrifice
---------------------------

A late and short entry. I picked this one on Amazon Prime as played
probably the first hour. I'm not sure if I like it so far as it seems to
be some strange combination of story/atmosphere and puzzles you solve.
One thing I will say, it's one of the very few games where I think
graphics count.

>Hellblade Senua's Sacrifice
Are you using headphones? The aural soundscape is important. I don't
recall if there's much combat early on, but later there are arena-style
battles that I found very enjoyable in the VR version.

rms

On 01/02/2022 18:55, rms wrote:
>> Hellblade Senua's Sacrifice
>   Are you using headphones?  The aural soundscape is important.  I
> don't recall if there's much combat early on, but later there are
> arena-style battles that I found very enjoyable in the VR version.
>

Headphones are something I just don't like so that's a no from me. I do
hope that it doesn't get to combat heavy as that's not my thing either.

>What Have You Been Playing... IN JANUARY 2020?

A little more Disco Elysium, but I switched to books & movies this month
for whatever reason, have been watching 3-5 movies every week. I intend to
get back to gaming more this month, probably with one ps5 game and one pc
game.

rms

On Tue, 1 Feb 2022 19:04:50 +0000, JAB <noway@co.uk> wrote:
>On 01/02/2022 18:55, rms wrote:

>>> Hellblade Senua's Sacrifice

>>   Are you using headphones?  The aural soundscape is important.  I
>> don't recall if there's much combat early on, but later there are
>> arena-style battles that I found very enjoyable in the VR version.

>Headphones are something I just don't like so that's a no from me. I do
>hope that it doesn't get to combat heavy as that's not my thing either.

I played H:SS without headphones and it's fine without (I do have 5.1
speakers though). It's not a requirement but it helps; a lot of the
supplemental audio is of the 'voices' in the protagonist's head.
Having them surround you helps immerse you in her madness; it
reinforces the idea that the voices aren't something you are just
hearing but an integral part of the character/ But don't worry if you
are just using 2-speakers; the effect isn't as pronounced but it's
good enough.

I'm not sure I'd call the game combat heavy, but a good portion of the
game does revolve around its battles. It's rare that you'll fight more
than three or four enemies at a time, and there is usually a
significant pause between combats as you traverse the environment. The
fights themselves aren't too difficult, but you'll have to master the
mechanics at least somewhat to get through them. The rest of the game
is very walking-sim coupled with a few fairly simple puzzle sequences.

My initial experiences with the game seem to have mirrored yours, and
even after I got through the first boss, I wasn't sure I cared enough
to continue. But the game has a slow burn and by the time I got to the
half-way mark I knew I was going to push forward to the end. I wasn't
entirely thrilled with the game by the time I completed it - it's a
flawed title - but I am glad I did play it regardless. Overall it gets
more things right than it gets them wrong, and it made for an
interesting journey. That may not sound like high praise; regardless,
I consider it one of the better games I've played in recent years, so
I recommend you keep at it.

On Tue, 1 Feb 2022 18:45:37 +0000, JAB <noway@co.uk> wrote:
>I haven't been playing too much this month but a quick run down,
>although before that I have to put my 'that guy' hat on. It's an MP-40
>not an MG-40. Alternatively it's an MG-34 or an MG-42. Now on with the show.

I /could/ point out that there actually was an MG-40; it was a
predecessor to the better known MG-42 with an extremely limited
production run before its successor became the dominant machine gun.
Since I don't think the game actually specifies what type of gun the
Nazis are using, /technically/ they could be using the older weapon.
But instead, I'll admit I was wrong and thank you for the correction
because, in truth, I did mean the MG-42 and for me to claim otherwise
would be disingenuous. ;-)

>In Other Waters
<snip>

This is one of the games I keep meaning to play, but keep putting
aside because of its visuals. Reviews have, generally, been fairly
positive but, man, getting past those graphics is a big step. And
although it is in many ways very different to these other games, its
spec-fic maritime setting can't help but remind me of titles like
"Subnautica", "Sunless Sea" and "Abzu"; all Indie titles that take
place in the ocean and failed to 'grab' me with their gameplay.

But maybe I'll finally give this one a chance. Maybe. Right after I
play this other game with SSAO and HDR lighting and
super-high-resolution textures and all that other stuff that makes my
GPU cry. ;-)

Spalls Hurgenson <spallshurgenson@gmail.com> writes:

> What Have You Been Playing... IN JANUARY 2020?

* 1945 Air Force (Android, top down shmup) - I finally got tired of
this. Progress was as slow and grindy as ever so I figured, why do I
bother?

* Sky Force R. (Android, also top down shmup) - I thought I'd like to
shmup but looks like I'm all shmupped out. This is actually prettier
than 1945 but controls feel a little off. Which is kind of funny as
the "controls" mean just your finger moving around on the touch
screen. But still, responsiveness matters.

The games presents a bit of a challenge from the get go and that can
of course be overcome by one of two things, i.e. grinding or
money. Also I didn't find out what the "R" stands for.

* Cyberpunk 2077 - did a mission or two. I should try to remember to not
default to combat if there's a choice to avoid since I suck at it and
my gear isn't great either. Also I seem to have completely forgotten
all the hacking stuff or how to defend if someone's hacking my
cybernetics. Should check the tutorials again. Anyways, not much
progress with removing Keanu from my head.

* Witcher 3 - also played a little of this. It's funny, PW asked about
detective games and Witcher 3 was mentioned on (I think) PC Gamer's
list. Not that it's actually a detective game but things kinda work
out that way since missions often start with using witcher senses to
find clues or follow tracks.

Not really getting into this much.

* Does Paypal count as a video game? Browser based, casual, loot boxes?
I was just cast in a small role in their security theater. Apparently
actually using Paypal to pay for stuff is badd. So going to avoid
doing that in the future.

Spalls Hurgenson <spallshurgenson@gmail.com> wrote:

> Wow, we're a month down in the new year already. Time flies when
> you're playing games. You are playing games, right? Only one way to
> find out...
....
> Well, that's me proving I've been playing video games this month. So
> what about you?

I recently played Star Wars: Squadrons free weekend on Steam. It was
nice and fun like X-Wing, TIE Fighter, and X-Wing Alliance. Mouse and
keyboard controls suck so I pulled out my rarely used old (bought it for
BF1942 back then IIRC!) USB MS Sidewinder joystick. It still works
perfectly in my eight months old, updated 64-bit W10 Pro PC. :D Anyways,
the game was better and funner even though I sucked in single player and
against AI. I wanted to play more, but no time and energy again. :(

> What Have You Been Playing... IN JANUARY 2020?

2020?! Dude, we're in 2022. ;)
--
:) (L/C)NY (h2o tiger) & Black History Mo. GG & go LA Rams! Dang tiredness, sickness, bodies, works, times, colony, nest, life, weather (winter again), etc. :(
Note: A fixed width font (Courier, Monospace, etc.) is required to see this signature correctly.
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/ /\ /\ \ Please nuke ANT if replying by e-mail.
| |o o| |
\ _ /
( )

On 2/1/2022 8:47 AM, Spalls Hurgenson wrote:
>
> Wow, we're a month down in the new year already. Time flies when
> you're playing games. You are playing games, right? Only one way to
> find out...
>
I've only been playing two games in the last month.

Stardew Valley. Indie "Farm Life" game. The developer (individual
person) recently released v1.5 with more added stuff and a relaxing
"can't really lose" game is just what I need these days.

Serf City. AKA Settlers, a 1994 Blue Byte game for DOS. I actually
install DosBox some time ago just so I could play this game. Another
generally quiet but not quite so peaceful game. Playing it always
reminds me of watching an ant farm as my little serfs run around doing
their jobs.

What did you play in January?

--
I've done good in this world. Now I'm tired and just want to be a cranky
dirty old man.

On 2/1/2022 1:43 PM, Anssi Saari wrote:
>
> * Does Paypal count as a video game? Browser based, casual, loot boxes?
> I was just cast in a small role in their security theater. Apparently
> actually using Paypal to pay for stuff is badd. So going to avoid
> doing that in the future.
>
Can you expand on that please? My landlord will only accept rent
payments thru PayPal so if there's a problem....

--
I've done good in this world. Now I'm tired and just want to be a cranky
dirty old man.

On Tue, 1 Feb 2022 17:35:43 -0800, Dimensional Traveler
<dtravel@sonic.net> wrote:
>On 2/1/2022 1:43 PM, Anssi Saari wrote:

>> * Does Paypal count as a video game? Browser based, casual, loot boxes?
>> I was just cast in a small role in their security theater. Apparently
>> actually using Paypal to pay for stuff is badd. So going to avoid
>> doing that in the future.

>Can you expand on that please? My landlord will only accept rent
>payments thru PayPal so if there's a problem....

The biggest problem is that PayPal operates like a bank, but isn't
regulated like a bank. That means the end-user is afforded a lot less
in the way of protections than if he or she were handling his money
through a traditional financial institution. PayPal can, for instance,
shut down accounts of freeze funds for 'violations of acceptable use
policy', and there is very little recourse for the user. Sometimes
they do this and even fail to notify the end-user (in fact, they're
currently being sued in a class-action lawsuit for this very sin).

Note that when they shut down accounts, they aren't obligated to
release any funds in that account to the account holder; there are
numerous reports - and lawsuits! - about PayPal essentially stealing
people's money this way. PayPal has also directly pulled money out of
people's associated bank accounts - often without notification or
explanation - when service payments are required and there were
insufficient funds in the PayPal account.

PayPal account holders are also frequent target of scams and hacks,
and - because PayPal isn't regulated the same way as banks - customers
aren't afforded the same protections as might be credit card or bank
account holders. Admittedly, banks aren't particularly generous in
this area either, but you still have more rights and protections; if
someone empties out your PayPal account, PayPal won't - and isn't
required to - do anything about it. It doesn't help that PayPal, like
many large modern tech companies, has practically non-existent
customer service.

In fact, while its unlikely to happen, were PayPal to go bankrupt or
were there to be a sudden run on its accounts, there'd be little to
ensure PayPal could payout all the money it is holding back to all its
account holders (as, for instance, the FDIC insurance all banks are
required to carry provides).

For a huge percentage of its customers, these are non-issues; PayPal
isn't shutting down accounts willy-nilly, and most people use it
without problems. But when PayPal does decide to freeze an account or
payment, it is incredibly hard to find out why (or even if) it
happened, and how to rectify the problem. For those it does happen,
many people battle their way through their limited options and often
reclaim some of their moneys, and consider that a win. But it's not
that hard to find PayPal horror stories.

If you use PayPal simply as a payment processor, you're probably safe,
but you probably don't want to keep your money in a PayPal account for
any longer than you need to transfer it. It's just too risky.

Also - and the importance of this will vary from person to person -
but PayPal was founded and run by (amongst others) Peter Thiel, who is
a very right-wing libertarian conservative. Using PayPal enriches the
man and furthers his causes.

On 2/1/2022 8:18 PM, Spalls Hurgenson wrote:
> On Tue, 1 Feb 2022 17:35:43 -0800, Dimensional Traveler
> <dtravel@sonic.net> wrote:
>> On 2/1/2022 1:43 PM, Anssi Saari wrote:
>
>>> * Does Paypal count as a video game? Browser based, casual, loot boxes?
>>> I was just cast in a small role in their security theater. Apparently
>>> actually using Paypal to pay for stuff is badd. So going to avoid
>>> doing that in the future.
>
>> Can you expand on that please? My landlord will only accept rent
>> payments thru PayPal so if there's a problem....
>
> The biggest problem is that PayPal operates like a bank, but isn't
> regulated like a bank. That means the end-user is afforded a lot less
> in the way of protections than if he or she were handling his money
> through a traditional financial institution. PayPal can, for instance,
> shut down accounts of freeze funds for 'violations of acceptable use
> policy', and there is very little recourse for the user. Sometimes
> they do this and even fail to notify the end-user (in fact, they're
> currently being sued in a class-action lawsuit for this very sin).
>
> Note that when they shut down accounts, they aren't obligated to
> release any funds in that account to the account holder; there are
> numerous reports - and lawsuits! - about PayPal essentially stealing
> people's money this way. PayPal has also directly pulled money out of
> people's associated bank accounts - often without notification or
> explanation - when service payments are required and there were
> insufficient funds in the PayPal account.
>
> PayPal account holders are also frequent target of scams and hacks,
> and - because PayPal isn't regulated the same way as banks - customers
> aren't afforded the same protections as might be credit card or bank
> account holders. Admittedly, banks aren't particularly generous in
> this area either, but you still have more rights and protections; if
> someone empties out your PayPal account, PayPal won't - and isn't
> required to - do anything about it. It doesn't help that PayPal, like
> many large modern tech companies, has practically non-existent
> customer service.
>
> In fact, while its unlikely to happen, were PayPal to go bankrupt or
> were there to be a sudden run on its accounts, there'd be little to
> ensure PayPal could payout all the money it is holding back to all its
> account holders (as, for instance, the FDIC insurance all banks are
> required to carry provides).
>
> For a huge percentage of its customers, these are non-issues; PayPal
> isn't shutting down accounts willy-nilly, and most people use it
> without problems. But when PayPal does decide to freeze an account or
> payment, it is incredibly hard to find out why (or even if) it
> happened, and how to rectify the problem. For those it does happen,
> many people battle their way through their limited options and often
> reclaim some of their moneys, and consider that a win. But it's not
> that hard to find PayPal horror stories.
>
> If you use PayPal simply as a payment processor, you're probably safe,
> but you probably don't want to keep your money in a PayPal account for
> any longer than you need to transfer it. It's just too risky.
>
> Also - and the importance of this will vary from person to person -
> but PayPal was founded and run by (amongst others) Peter Thiel, who is
> a very right-wing libertarian conservative. Using PayPal enriches the
> man and furthers his causes.
>
Thanks for the info. I don't use PayPal as a bank. I have a regular
bank checking and saving accounts. All I use PayPal for is to pay my
rent and those are all manually initiated transfers. Unfortunately I do
have to have my checking account linked so I can do that but there's
never been any hint of an issue with mystery transactions and there's
never been any kind of a "service charge" on my PayPal account. Nor any
balance kept IN my PayPal account they could try to pull such from.

--
I've done good in this world. Now I'm tired and just want to be a cranky
dirty old man.

On 01/02/2022 19:39, rms wrote:
>> What Have You Been Playing... IN JANUARY 2020?
>
>   A little more Disco Elysium, but I switched to books & movies this
> month for whatever reason, have been watching 3-5 movies every week.  I
> intend to get back to gaming more this month, probably with one ps5 game
> and one pc game.
>

Well playing Disco Elysium is a bit like reading a book!

On 02/02/2022 01:31, Dimensional Traveler wrote:
> Stardew Valley.  Indie "Farm Life" game.  The developer (individual
> person) recently released v1.5 with more added stuff and a relaxing
> "can't really lose" game is just what I need these days.
>

I do play games like this as I find they're a nice time waster. The
problem with pretty much all of them though is that at some point they
basically become unplayable without spending real money. The good thing
is the App store is full of other games which are very much the same to
play.

On 01/02/2022 20:01, Spalls Hurgenson wrote:
> On Tue, 1 Feb 2022 18:45:37 +0000, JAB <noway@co.uk> wrote:
>
>> I haven't been playing too much this month but a quick run down,
>> although before that I have to put my 'that guy' hat on. It's an MP-40
>> not an MG-40. Alternatively it's an MG-34 or an MG-42. Now on with the show.
>
> I /could/ point out that there actually was an MG-40; it was a
> predecessor to the better known MG-42 with an extremely limited
> production run before its successor became the dominant machine gun.
> Since I don't think the game actually specifies what type of gun the
> Nazis are using, /technically/ they could be using the older weapon.
> But instead, I'll admit I was wrong and thank you for the correction
> because, in truth, I did mean the MG-42 and for me to claim otherwise
> would be disingenuous. ;-)
>

No problems, although I think from the sound it's supposed to be an MG-42.

>> In Other Waters
> <snip>
>
> This is one of the games I keep meaning to play, but keep putting
> aside because of its visuals. Reviews have, generally, been fairly
> positive but, man, getting past those graphics is a big step. And
> although it is in many ways very different to these other games, its
> spec-fic maritime setting can't help but remind me of titles like
> "Subnautica", "Sunless Sea" and "Abzu"; all Indie titles that take
> place in the ocean and failed to 'grab' me with their gameplay.
>
> But maybe I'll finally give this one a chance. Maybe. Right after I
> play this other game with SSAO and HDR lighting and
> super-high-resolution textures and all that other stuff that makes my
> GPU cry. ;-)
>

Subnautica and Sunless Seas are games I really like in particular the
latter. I got it very early on and it was a breath of fresh air. The
atmosphere of dread it invoked and the stories you could engage with
where both very good. It also helps that originally they went for the if
you die you die and that was it. Have I got enough fuel to make it back,
yes if I turn the light off but that means my crew will start going mad.
Probably it's biggest downfall is although there's some randomisation of
location placement a new game pretty much starts with you doing the same
thing for an hour or so before you can do something different.

In Other Waters, let's just say the graphics are rudimentary. Personally
I found that ok as they are so basic it becomes a theatre of the mind
experience.

On Wed, 2 Feb 2022 08:59:02 +0000, JAB <noway@co.uk> wrote:

>I do play games like this as I find they're a nice time waster. The
>problem with pretty much all of them though is that at some point they
>basically become unplayable without spending real money. The good thing
>is the App store is full of other games which are very much the same to
>play.

There are no micro transactions in Stardew Valley. Reviews on Steam
are 'Overwhelmingly Positive'. If you like farm games, this is
probably the one to get.

On Tuesday, February 1, 2022 at 9:42:47 PM UTC-8, Dimensional Traveler wrote:
> On 2/1/2022 8:18 PM, Spalls Hurgenson wrote:
> > On Tue, 1 Feb 2022 17:35:43 -0800, Dimensional Traveler
> > <dtr...@sonic.net> wrote:
> >> On 2/1/2022 1:43 PM, Anssi Saari wrote:
> >
> >>> * Does Paypal count as a video game? Browser based, casual, loot boxes?
> >>> I was just cast in a small role in their security theater. Apparently
> >>> actually using Paypal to pay for stuff is badd. So going to avoid
> >>> doing that in the future.
> >
> >> Can you expand on that please? My landlord will only accept rent
> >> payments thru PayPal so if there's a problem....
> >
> > The biggest problem is that PayPal operates like a bank, but isn't
> > regulated like a bank. That means the end-user is afforded a lot less
> > in the way of protections than if he or she were handling his money
> > through a traditional financial institution. PayPal can, for instance,
> > shut down accounts of freeze funds for 'violations of acceptable use
> > policy', and there is very little recourse for the user. Sometimes
> > they do this and even fail to notify the end-user (in fact, they're
> > currently being sued in a class-action lawsuit for this very sin).
> >
> > Note that when they shut down accounts, they aren't obligated to
> > release any funds in that account to the account holder; there are
> > numerous reports - and lawsuits! - about PayPal essentially stealing
> > people's money this way. PayPal has also directly pulled money out of
> > people's associated bank accounts - often without notification or
> > explanation - when service payments are required and there were
> > insufficient funds in the PayPal account.
> >
> > PayPal account holders are also frequent target of scams and hacks,
> > and - because PayPal isn't regulated the same way as banks - customers
> > aren't afforded the same protections as might be credit card or bank
> > account holders. Admittedly, banks aren't particularly generous in
> > this area either, but you still have more rights and protections; if
> > someone empties out your PayPal account, PayPal won't - and isn't
> > required to - do anything about it. It doesn't help that PayPal, like
> > many large modern tech companies, has practically non-existent
> > customer service.
> >
> > In fact, while its unlikely to happen, were PayPal to go bankrupt or
> > were there to be a sudden run on its accounts, there'd be little to
> > ensure PayPal could payout all the money it is holding back to all its
> > account holders (as, for instance, the FDIC insurance all banks are
> > required to carry provides).
> >
> > For a huge percentage of its customers, these are non-issues; PayPal
> > isn't shutting down accounts willy-nilly, and most people use it
> > without problems. But when PayPal does decide to freeze an account or
> > payment, it is incredibly hard to find out why (or even if) it
> > happened, and how to rectify the problem. For those it does happen,
> > many people battle their way through their limited options and often
> > reclaim some of their moneys, and consider that a win. But it's not
> > that hard to find PayPal horror stories.
> >
> > If you use PayPal simply as a payment processor, you're probably safe,
> > but you probably don't want to keep your money in a PayPal account for
> > any longer than you need to transfer it. It's just too risky.
> >
> > Also - and the importance of this will vary from person to person -
> > but PayPal was founded and run by (amongst others) Peter Thiel, who is
> > a very right-wing libertarian conservative. Using PayPal enriches the
> > man and furthers his causes.
> >
> Thanks for the info. I don't use PayPal as a bank. I have a regular
> bank checking and saving accounts. All I use PayPal for is to pay my
> rent and those are all manually initiated transfers. Unfortunately I do
> have to have my checking account linked so I can do that but there's
> never been any hint of an issue with mystery transactions and there's
> never been any kind of a "service charge" on my PayPal account. Nor any
> balance kept IN my PayPal account they could try to pull such from.
> --
> I've done good in this world. Now I'm tired and just want to be a cranky
> dirty old man.

I've personally had them temporarily freeze my account, remove money
from it and my linked checking. I haven't used them in over a decade due
to all the issues.

- Justisaur

On 2/2/2022 12:59 AM, JAB wrote:
> On 02/02/2022 01:31, Dimensional Traveler wrote:
>> Stardew Valley.  Indie "Farm Life" game.  The developer (individual
>> person) recently released v1.5 with more added stuff and a relaxing
>> "can't really lose" game is just what I need these days.
>>
>
> I do play games like this as I find they're a nice time waster. The
> problem with pretty much all of them though is that at some point they
> basically become unplayable without spending real money. The good thing
> is the App store is full of other games which are very much the same to
> play.
>
SDV has no "Pay to play" features. Regular PC game, no DLs, nothing
like that at all. Buy the game, you get everything.

--
I've done good in this world. Now I'm tired and just want to be a cranky
dirty old man.

On 2/2/2022 7:10 AM, Justisaur wrote:
> On Tuesday, February 1, 2022 at 9:42:47 PM UTC-8, Dimensional Traveler wrote:
>> On 2/1/2022 8:18 PM, Spalls Hurgenson wrote:
>>> On Tue, 1 Feb 2022 17:35:43 -0800, Dimensional Traveler
>>> <dtr...@sonic.net> wrote:
>>>> On 2/1/2022 1:43 PM, Anssi Saari wrote:
>>>
>>>>> * Does Paypal count as a video game? Browser based, casual, loot boxes?
>>>>> I was just cast in a small role in their security theater. Apparently
>>>>> actually using Paypal to pay for stuff is badd. So going to avoid
>>>>> doing that in the future.
>>>
>>>> Can you expand on that please? My landlord will only accept rent
>>>> payments thru PayPal so if there's a problem....
>>>
>>> The biggest problem is that PayPal operates like a bank, but isn't
>>> regulated like a bank. That means the end-user is afforded a lot less
>>> in the way of protections than if he or she were handling his money
>>> through a traditional financial institution. PayPal can, for instance,
>>> shut down accounts of freeze funds for 'violations of acceptable use
>>> policy', and there is very little recourse for the user. Sometimes
>>> they do this and even fail to notify the end-user (in fact, they're
>>> currently being sued in a class-action lawsuit for this very sin).
>>>
>>> Note that when they shut down accounts, they aren't obligated to
>>> release any funds in that account to the account holder; there are
>>> numerous reports - and lawsuits! - about PayPal essentially stealing
>>> people's money this way. PayPal has also directly pulled money out of
>>> people's associated bank accounts - often without notification or
>>> explanation - when service payments are required and there were
>>> insufficient funds in the PayPal account.
>>>
>>> PayPal account holders are also frequent target of scams and hacks,
>>> and - because PayPal isn't regulated the same way as banks - customers
>>> aren't afforded the same protections as might be credit card or bank
>>> account holders. Admittedly, banks aren't particularly generous in
>>> this area either, but you still have more rights and protections; if
>>> someone empties out your PayPal account, PayPal won't - and isn't
>>> required to - do anything about it. It doesn't help that PayPal, like
>>> many large modern tech companies, has practically non-existent
>>> customer service.
>>>
>>> In fact, while its unlikely to happen, were PayPal to go bankrupt or
>>> were there to be a sudden run on its accounts, there'd be little to
>>> ensure PayPal could payout all the money it is holding back to all its
>>> account holders (as, for instance, the FDIC insurance all banks are
>>> required to carry provides).
>>>
>>> For a huge percentage of its customers, these are non-issues; PayPal
>>> isn't shutting down accounts willy-nilly, and most people use it
>>> without problems. But when PayPal does decide to freeze an account or
>>> payment, it is incredibly hard to find out why (or even if) it
>>> happened, and how to rectify the problem. For those it does happen,
>>> many people battle their way through their limited options and often
>>> reclaim some of their moneys, and consider that a win. But it's not
>>> that hard to find PayPal horror stories.
>>>
>>> If you use PayPal simply as a payment processor, you're probably safe,
>>> but you probably don't want to keep your money in a PayPal account for
>>> any longer than you need to transfer it. It's just too risky.
>>>
>>> Also - and the importance of this will vary from person to person -
>>> but PayPal was founded and run by (amongst others) Peter Thiel, who is
>>> a very right-wing libertarian conservative. Using PayPal enriches the
>>> man and furthers his causes.
>>>
>> Thanks for the info. I don't use PayPal as a bank. I have a regular
>> bank checking and saving accounts. All I use PayPal for is to pay my
>> rent and those are all manually initiated transfers. Unfortunately I do
>> have to have my checking account linked so I can do that but there's
>> never been any hint of an issue with mystery transactions and there's
>> never been any kind of a "service charge" on my PayPal account. Nor any
>> balance kept IN my PayPal account they could try to pull such from.
>> --
>> I've done good in this world. Now I'm tired and just want to be a cranky
>> dirty old man.
>
> I've personally had them temporarily freeze my account, remove money
> from it and my linked checking. I haven't used them in over a decade due
> to all the issues.
>
My sympathies but as I said earlier it is the only way my landlord will
accept rent payments.

--
I've done good in this world. Now I'm tired and just want to be a cranky
dirty old man.

On Wed, 2 Feb 2022 09:10:54 +0000, JAB <noway@co.uk> wrote:

>No problems, although I think from the sound it's supposed to be an MG-42.

From the few details we have of the MG-40, it is essentially an MG-42,
minus a few features. It was essentially a prototype for the later
gun, and the MG-42 is basically an improved MG-40. So I wouldn't be
surprised if they sound a lot a like too.

I know, I know; nitpicky. But it's Usenet. And, yeah, of course the
gun in "Company of Heroes" is an MG-42. I'm just arguing for the sake
of arguing. ;-)

YS1 and YS2

For ages in my pile of shame, I finished YS1 but did not finish YS2
because the last 20% were heavily annoying with tons of backtracking
through a labyrinth like temple.
I gave up and finished it via youtube.

On Tue, 01 Feb 2022 21:24:06 -0700, PW
<iamnotusingonewithAgent@notinuse.com> wrote:

>
>>
>>* Witcher 3 - also played a little of this. It's funny, PW asked about
>> detective games and Witcher 3 was mentioned on (I think) PC Gamer's
>> list. Not that it's actually a detective game but things kinda work
>> out that way since missions often start with using witcher senses to
>> find clues or follow tracks.
>
>*---
>
>I thought Witcher 3 is an RPG sort of like Skyrim. I only played it
>for a little when it came out and keep thinking about getting back to
>it (and same goes for Skyrim - almost every day I think about that
>one).

Well, you're not wrong. It is a CRPG similar to "Skyrim". It's a bit
more story- and character-focused than Bethesda's opus, which aims to
be more of an open-world sandbox that just happens to also have a main
quest. As such, the quests in "Witcher 3" tend to be more involved.
The protagonist of the game is also a 'monster hunter', and the game
plays up his ability to track beasts and discern their abilities by
having you use them in many varied ways... which sometimes includes
using them in more human-oriented mysteries.

But this isn't really that unusual; if you squint at them, practically
every game has a 'mystery' aspect to it to one degree or another.
Adventure games are often a series of short 'mysteries' (ne puzzles)
that usually need to be solved by a combination of keen observation,
conversation with the locals, and logical deductions. Even action
games have an aspect of mystery to them; what tasks need I perform and
in what order to best kill this MF beast standing in my way? Some
games just highlight this a bit more than other.

"Witcher 3" isn't what I would call a mystery game, but its character
does - in game and in other media - share some similarities to a
detective. It isn't used all the time, but there are quests when, yes,
protagonist Geralt plays up that angle of his character. If your 'e in
the mood for a pure mystery game, it's not a title I would suggest you
start with, but if you're in the mood for a good RPG and having a bit
of detective work appeals to you, "Witcher 3" might suit you better
than, say, "Bards Tale IV".

On Wed, 2 Feb 2022 07:48:32 -0800, Dimensional Traveler
<dtravel@sonic.net> wrote:

>SDV has no "Pay to play" features. Regular PC game, no DLs, nothing
>like that at all. Buy the game, you get everything.

My god, the poor developers. How do they ever expect to make money by
only creating an excellent product that people enjoy paying and are
willing to pay money for?

I hope some big-name publisher swoops in and saves them from their
foolishness by inserting all sorts of pay-for cosmetics and extra
grind that you can pay to bypass. It's the only way to be successful,
after all.

(It was clear that was sarcasm, right?)

On Tuesday, February 1, 2022 at 8:47:42 AM UTC-8, Spalls Hurgenson wrote:

> * Master of Orion (2016) (replay)

I never got around to MoO 2016, especially after being so badly burned on
MoO 3, and MoO being the superior game to MoO II. I'm more interested in
the 'pay what you want' MoO remake, but my last attempt at playing MoM I
just wasn't into it, and I preferred MoM.

> Well, that's me proving I've been playing video games this month. So
> what about you?
>
> What Have You Been Playing... IN JANUARY 2020?

**** Dark Souls, 2 & 3.
DS 3 I've been playing and have posted enough about. The servers being
down has put a big damper on my play though. I'm finding I can't get
past Dancer on my new sorcerer without help, and I can't get help.

I have another character I want to play, a strength based heavy armor
one for PVP, but with the servers down I can't PVP at all, so don't want
to play them.

There's a fan made server mod, which I'm tempted to try, but the reports
are it's still pretty unstable. They're working on it and planning to put up
a cloud based solution so it can scale with multiple users, integrated
with the anti-cheat mod (which has a block vs. the RSE attack.) No idea
how long that will take though, nor how long the severs will be down, as
no one is willing to give possible time lines, which doesn't bode well.

I've noticed some of the complaints against DS3 by DS aficionados is
it's 'too linear' as compared to the previous 2. I actually rather like this
as I found much of the platforming - or crawling along planks and
tree limbs, and being lost far from my taste, and it's nice to have a somewhat
clearer path, though there are still plenty of detours and easily missable
areas.

One other flaw I've noticed is that there's a pretty optimal weapon for
most the first half of the game (dark hand) so pretty much almost all
my characters use it, which makes replaying the first half somewhat
boring. In my DS 1 play I found the same issue with another (drake
sword.) I didn't notice that in DS 2 at least.

DS 2 I started playing about a week before the servers went down as
I had discovered there was a event among the DS communities to play
DS 2 which rotates between the different games so as to increase
the number of players in each for some time to get through the game
with lots of co-op/pvp. I found DS 2 was more fun than I remembered
with more co-op, and it probably has the best start and tutorial area
ramping up difficulty much slower,. The first boss is actually fairly easy
with 'one easy trick' or with co-op and is much further into the game.

It is much easier to go to a harder than intended path to begin with as
I find the first area after the tutorial area hard to find though, and
the loss of the servers pretty much killed it for me after I got through the
4th boss.

DS 1 Prepare to Die I went back to as it's supposedly unaffected by the
servers being down, while DS 1 Remastered is. Unfortunately I found
no co-op or pvp and the early areas too nasty, the regular mobs to
get through being far harder than either of the following, while the
early bosses are way too easy. It's also just a tad too janky.

DS 1 Remastered - I had broke down and bought this, it seems to
have fixed the janky feeling of Prepare to Die, but the graphics
actually seem worse to me, the textures no better and the only
difference is that everything seems darker and more color
saturated. The color saturation is the opposite of the Dark
Souls feel. Unfortuantely I felt a bit lost on what kind of character
to make and just gave up on it, along with it looking not like
Dark Souls should.

I can't recommend any of these due to the severs being down
until further notice, unless you have a Playstation.

*** Middle Earth: Shadow of War. (Thanks Spalls for this freebie!)

I've got through a good portion of the game, but it feels very
console check the boxes. I'm more going through the motions
than enjoying it. There's been some moments. There's an
Orc voiced by Kumail Nanjiani which is somewhat amusing,
but definitely not orcish. There's also an Orc singer I ran
across, really bad singing and verses, but pretty spot on
for such. That's about it though.

The gameplay there's just too many things you can do in
combat to remember them all, and many of the orcs you
run across are immune to an average of more than half of
them. You can see what they aren't immune to if you
prepare in advance, but remembering how to use the ones
they aren't and how best to to that is difficult with each,
and then you find out when you try some that they just
aren't effective against that orc. I imagine I'm more than
halfway through the game, but still feel like I'm fumbling
around most of the time due to this.

It's odd the combat feels so close to Mad Max which I loved,
but yet just barely far enough away that it just doesn't work.

I'm not feeling any pull to fire this back up, and went back to
DS3 briefly until I realized I was stuck at Dancer.

- Justisaur