Got in a great 7P game of Ares' The Thing. I was the starting alien. I infected someone and they, in turn, interacted with someone else.
Just as the rescue helicopter was to arrive, I decided to out myself as an alien. That instantly cast doubt on those two other players, one of which was actually human. The humans left him behind and we won. So fun.
You have to take stock of your goals for the evening. E.g., does the game need to wrap up at a certain time?
I'm someone who doesn't mind playing a game for literal days. However, if you need the game to end at a certain time, then that means there's an implicit time-limit on play. That, to me, strongly suggests you want to keep the timer in play.
I would make the decision up front that the timer will be in play and decide for yourself what a maximum timer duration could be for your time requirements. Then, I'd announce it to the group ahead of time and allow the group to discuss what a reasonable timer duration should be.
As an aside, time limits like these are often not arbitrary and are part of the rules for game or experience reasons. Bullet is supposed to invoke similar feelings to a bullet-hell shooter. Removing the time limit, to me, seems like just choosing to play an entirely different game. A significant part of the game is being able to make decisions while under the stress of a time limit.
Similarly, I view the timer in Cosmic as intentional. The original Eon edition called the cards "Compromise" cards. I believe the intention was to force a compromise (as in, neither player necessarily gets an optimal outcome) I think it hurts the game to allow players to be able to entirely analyze the situation in order to make an objectively optimal decision.
Say a simple (hours enjoyed playing)/(price of game) equation. How many hours (you enjoyed) per $ do you think is reasonable/expected? Or is there other criteria for you?...
Price per unit time suggests that the only value of a game is in how much time it consumes.
The value calculus is going to be different for everyone but for me, I tend to look for:
A game which is a game first and foremost rather than an entertainment experience. That is to say: something that demands decision making of me in which I can either increase or decrease the payoffs of those decisions. Games which focus heavily on cinematic scenes, heavy QTEs, or long dialogs disinterest me.
I am often willing to take a punt on a game that tries to do something creative and interesting.
I tend to not like games that demand a high degree of memorization and/or dexterity.
Games which perform well. A recent example of a regretful purchase I made was with Shin Megami Tensei V. I adore the series but the framerate on the Switch really brought my experience down to a level where I just didn't want to play anymore.
The weights of these things will change from game to game and other elements may enter or exit the equation from time to time, of course.
I normally find turn-based combat really boring but I find Shin Megami Tensei games so engrossing in part due to the combat. You need to pay attention to mechanics and properly prepare for each boss fight if you want to overcome them. It’s not about just gathering enough exp. Do you know any games similar to SMT when it comes...
tri-Ace games have fantastic combat mechanics, imo. Give the original Valkyrie Profile, any Star Ocean (later games have more intricate combat), or Resonance of Fate a spin.
I made a post earlier about Owncast. Long story short, I have to wait 48 hours to try it. In the meantime I decided to look into PeerTube livestreaming and I was astounded by how good it actually is....
i've been programming for some time and i've always had a solid command of the language i program in. will i have a problem creating complex and scalable applications because i don't use frameworks?
I strongly disagree with this. As with all engineering tasks, it comes down to what you're trying to solve.
If a framework can do some significant lift for you, then it's a question of whether learning it is worth the time and effort saved in writing a bespoke solution that does what the framework offers. You also have to measure how "locked in" to the framework you'll become and whether or not that will be a problem for you.
One example of a framework I wish I never touched is React Native. The way React Native handles everything from dependency management to coding practices to how to handle breaking changes is nightmarish. More than once on a React Native project did the entire project explode for reasons such as wildly major refactors (with only 6 to 12 months given for folks to switch over), "clever" code having wacky ambiguities and conseqent side effects, a convoluted toolchain breaking somewhere in the middle, and even the package manager itself being conceptually problematic (which I understand is not the fault of React Native but still) I am convinced the team lost more time in learning and coping with the idiosyncracies of the framework than if the project had just been written in Java and Obj C with some useful libraries.
One example of a framework (or game engine or whatever you'd want to call it) I adore is Monogame. Monogame is super straight forward. You're given a game loop, I/O handling, and some additional niceties. Nothing is obfuscated from you. The tools you use, with the single exception of the MGCB, are whatever you want to use. There's no magic. Everything is right there in plain ol' C# for you to see and understand clearly.
As you rightly point out, some tasks are both critical and complex (e.g., cryptography) and shouldn't be performed on one's own. Choosing a framework or a library that will handle that for you is prudent. However, most of the features of a framework are not that. Most features are about solving boilerplate and general issues for you so you can get to the task of writing whatever it is you're trying to write. That's all well and good. However, choosing a framework can come with as many headaches as they relieve, if you're not diligant.
So I’m a Gen Z’er, a bit on the older end of the spectrum. Currently finishing my bachelor’s degree, if that gives you some perspective on my age. My dad actually owned a PS2 when I was born, but by the time I started playing video games it was on an Xbox 360. We didn’t get the first “new” console that I actually...
I think there are enough tabletop games in the hobbiest game space for everyone. That means there's a very wide range of games from the simplistic to the complicated. I think if expectations are not kept in check, it can be easy to bite off more than one can chew.
Moreover, everyone's going to find different things complicated. I've been in this hobby for decades. I don't find Gloomhaven particularly complicated. I very much enjoy hex and chit war games. But god damn, I cannot wrap my head around Oath. There's just something about it in which the rules don't click for me.
One of the first things I do when considering a new purchase is head over to BGG and read some reviews. If it looks up my alley, then I'll give the game a go.
I’ve really liked hitbox controllers for Street Fighter 6. I’ve been really happy with how they’ve turned out and they’re a joy to use. If there’s interest I can post the build process/instructions/guide....
As much as I want to like VR, it just makes me so nauseous. Even games attempting to mitigate motion sickness make me nauseous.
There's a game on PSVR called RIGS. It's a high speed sports game. That game made me nauseous in about thirty seconds and the nausea lasted for hours. Such a dreadful experience.
recently, it was announced one-time only deluxified version of Food Chain Magnate (FCM) would be held on Gamefound (campaign not launched yet) featuring a different art style than the infamous Spotter Spellen game known for its retro yet functional graphic design which some felt was so bad refused to play it despite it receiving...
The fallout from the big Unity mess continues, with the MonoGame team jumping in to present a new plan for the future of this open-source and cross-platform framework for game developers....
Wait until you find out you'll need to pay for electricity to run the game and Internet service to download it in the first place. CDPR is in bed with Big Everyone!
A new Star Ocean The Second Story R gameplay trailer was shared online today, providing a new look at the remake of the second entry in the series developed by tri-Ace....
Yeah, I'm rather bored with the wide-but-shallow approach Bethesda games take. Tons of geography with maybe 20% filled with things of consequence. I am uninterested in collecting 42,000 wheels of cheese or finding some random space hobo on a planet.
Silent Hill: Ascension fails to impress with greedy monetisation and cluttered UI (www.eurogamer.net)
Recap Monday week 42 - what did you play last week?
A day late but better than never! Any suggestions? Warning? Please share!
Xbox's new policy — say goodbye to unofficial accessories from November thanks to error '0x82d60002' (www.windowscentral.com)
Archive link: archive.ph/ajgMB...
How to approach timers for players who dont like them? (Cosmic Encounter)
Hi all, I’m interested in some advice from folks used to facilitating board games....
When was a game's price worth it to you?
Say a simple (hours enjoyed playing)/(price of game) equation. How many hours (you enjoyed) per $ do you think is reasonable/expected? Or is there other criteria for you?...
Do you know any good JRPGs with engaging gameplay similar to SMT?
I normally find turn-based combat really boring but I find Shin Megami Tensei games so engrossing in part due to the combat. You need to pay attention to mechanics and properly prepare for each boss fight if you want to overcome them. It’s not about just gathering enough exp. Do you know any games similar to SMT when it comes...
PeerTube is amazing for streaming! :)
I made a post earlier about Owncast. Long story short, I have to wait 48 hours to try it. In the meantime I decided to look into PeerTube livestreaming and I was astounded by how good it actually is....
The gaming industry needs to become more like holywood
As games get bigger and become more cinematic (and more expensive), there will be studios that grow and grow and then make big layoffs in a lull....
I don't like using frameworks in my applications
i've been programming for some time and i've always had a solid command of the language i program in. will i have a problem creating complex and scalable applications because i don't use frameworks?
I got a PS2 last week and I'm still amazed by how easy it was to set up
So I’m a Gen Z’er, a bit on the older end of the spectrum. Currently finishing my bachelor’s degree, if that gives you some perspective on my age. My dad actually owned a PS2 when I was born, but by the time I started playing video games it was on an Xbox 360. We didn’t get the first “new” console that I actually...
I Need To Admit I’m Never Going To Play My Giant Board Games (www.thegamer.com)
CW: article contains swears...
I made 2 hitbox controllers from scratch (i.imgur.com)
I’ve really liked hitbox controllers for Street Fighter 6. I’ve been really happy with how they’ve turned out and they’re a joy to use. If there’s interest I can post the build process/instructions/guide....
VR still makes 40-70% of players want to throw up, and that's a huge problem for the companies behind it (www.pcgamer.com)
Why virtual reality makes a lot of us sick, and what we can do about it.
"Going digital will be cheaper for consumers because we can cut out the middle men", they said.
Food Chain Magnate - Between Two Deluxes (www.thegamecrafter.com)
recently, it was announced one-time only deluxified version of Food Chain Magnate (FCM) would be held on Gamefound (campaign not launched yet) featuring a different art style than the infamous Spotter Spellen game known for its retro yet functional graphic design which some felt was so bad refused to play it despite it receiving...
MonoGame plan to create a non-profit foundation to support development (www.gamingonlinux.com)
The fallout from the big Unity mess continues, with the MonoGame team jumping in to present a new plan for the future of this open-source and cross-platform framework for game developers....
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Star Ocean The Second Story R New Gameplay Trailer Showcases New Mechanics, Updated Combat; Demo Available Now (wccftech.com)
A new Star Ocean The Second Story R gameplay trailer was shared online today, providing a new look at the remake of the second entry in the series developed by tri-Ace....
Unity rushes to clarify price increase plan, as game developers fume (www.axios.com)
archive...
Unity introducing new fee attached to game installs (www.gamedeveloper.com)
Bethesda says most of Starfield's 1000+ planets are dull on purpose (www.pcgamer.com)