StaceyPowers

Me too--always hanging out in The Rift with its perpetual autumn and sunlight.

Are there any movies which you think would have worked/would work better as a video game? I don’t just mean “which movies should be made into video games,” but which stories/experiences told in a film format would be improved by a video game format. I got to thinking about this because the idea of a TLOU movie has been thrown around, but it almost sounds like it would be redundant to me next to the video game experience of the story, which is so visceral/immediate. So now I am wondering if there are any existing movies which would feel redundant in the same fashion had they been video games first—or even if they were made into video games now. Nothing is coming to me off the top of my head, but I know while watching some movies I have had this thought before, especially about those which maybe featured stories that felt either shallow or rushed, but interesting action scenarios or worlds to explore.

I was reading @killamch89's thread concerning the ongoing woes of Fallout 76, which sounds like it continues to be disastrous in many respects long after launch. @DC made a quip about No Man’s Sky. I gather that No Man’s Sky is a game which has led to pretty divided opinions. I know a lot of people still don’t like it, but I was almost surprised to see it referenced in this light, as I have heard a lot of folks mention it has made a considerable recovery/improvement since its initial rocky launch. I havent played it, so I don't have an opinion about the game either way. So, that made me wonder about games that fit into that category alongside (possibly?) No Man’s Sky, and which serve as an example of what Bethesda should be aiming to do to increase support and improve Fallout 76. First of all, to those here who have played No Man’s Sky, what are your opinions on how the game has evolved since its release? Has this game gotten a lot better since launch, as I have heard, or do you feel that it is still weak? What are some other games that were rocky at release but which you think have improved significantly now and which you can contrast with Fallout 76’s issues?

I love the mini-games/gambling in Red Dead Redemption. My favorite is probably poker, but liar’s dice is starting to catch up, and I have been spending a lot more time with blackjack lately as I learn about basic strategy. But I am guessing poker will always be my favorite. I like the horseshoes game in theory, but I never really seem to get into it. What are everyone’s favorite mini-games in RDR? What about in RDR2 (which I have not played)? @kingpotato

What is your preferred breakfast?

In this post, we were talking about how wobbling while walking or a bit of wobble aiming down a gun sight can add a more realistic flavor to a game. @The Blackangel mentioned that smart enemy AI makes a big difference in how realistic a game feels as well. Both @killamch89 and @Alyxx mentioned that realism is most important to them when a game is in first person. In fact, we could just add first person to the list of what makes a game feel realistic, I suspect--though there are some exceptions (TLOU feels very real to me, to the point where I can forget I am perched over Joel's shoulder). What are some other factors that can make a game feel more realistic? Off the top of my head: Graphic and sound quality (obviously). Little details--like when wet ground makes a different sound than dry ground, or when you can see subtle kicking up of dirt or snow when walking. A minimalist soundtrack (cause real life has none). Solid dialogue and strong voice acting. Complex characters with well developed backgrounds and motivations. What can you come up with?

I'm thinking of buying a set of dice just to try this.

After many hours of gambling in Red Dead Redemption, I am more or less breakeven on blackjack and poker, but I seem to win with more consistency than I would expect at liar’s dice. I have made quite a bit of money on it. I notice in the stats that it only seems to track liar’s dice losses, and not liar’s dice wins. It also has a trophy (which I just got) for winning a game of liar’s dice without losing any dice. All of this makes me wonder if liar’s dice is simply an easy game against computerized opponents rather than that I am oddly good at it. Who else here seems to find liar’s dice in RDR easy? @kingpotato @skyfire

I have been learning about blackjack basic strategy, and decided I would try it while playing blackjack in Red Dead Redemption. So, I opened it in front of me last night and played for a while. But I have not figured out yet how many decks of cards are being used, and haven’t run nearly enough trials to figure out which form of the basic strategy is getting me the best results. Does anyone know how many decks are used for this card game?

Neither.

I restarted Skyrim recently with a new char, and I don’t have Clear Skies yet, and I suddenly realize how bleak and gray most parts of the map are most of the time without it. Apparently I walk around almost unconsciously using Clear Skies anytime the sky starts getting cloudy as a regular habit. Does anyone else obsessively Clear Skies in Skyrim? It’s not that I have anything against cloudy weather—it is just that it brings more color to the game. I do kind of hope for a sunnier location for the next Elder Scrolls game. @kingpotato @LadyDay @killamch89

I was enjoying a dramatic sunset IRL yesterday which reminded me of a specific sunset in a video game—namely when you’re at Soldier’s Field in BioShock Infinite, and everything is sort of luminous lavender. It is a static sunset, but still one that sticks with you, not the least because that warm glow fits with some of the fleeting moments of peace and hopefulness in that section of the game. As far as dynamic sunsets go, I think my favorites are those in Skyrim, but Fallout also does a good job with sunsets, and so does RDR. What are your favorite sunsets in video games? And on that note, what about your favorite sunrises? @kingpotato @killamch89 tagging you both because I think we've talked about video game weather before, and this topic is in that area.

yes, yes, exactly. This is half the problem with these controllers. Just plugging and uplugging is a risk. Thank you for this bit of technical information/perspective. This helps me understand better why backwards compatibility is such an issue with PlayStation.

@kingpotato just mentioned he would like to see a climbing skill incorporated into the next Elder Scrolls game, an idea that I like as well. The funny thing about Skyrim though is that you can climb up almost anything if you are determined enough. One of my favorite things to do when I am bored is see if I can get to remote high spots on the map that I likely was never meant to get to. There are some cool little secrets too—like a rooftop in Solitude that has a free health potion that respawns that is hard to climb to. At the same time, it is pretty unrealistic. I have to admit that while I get irritated at the fact that Fallout: New Vegas will not let you climb up things that you are not meant to get up and over, it is more believable. I like the idea of a climbing system where you start out more like you are in NV, and then as you keep climbing stuff, you are able to handle steeper slopes and move toward more Skyrim-like freedom. Another game where I love to climb is Unreal Tournament 2004. There too, you can get up to remote, unlikely places in the map, especially if you have quad jump activated. Not like it gives you a tactical advantage if you have bots playing against you—they are pretty much omniscient. But getting to the highest point gives me a feeling of deep satisfaction. Who here likes to climb in games? Which games are best for climbing? How could climbing be improved in your favorite games?

So I don't need PS+ if I keep the local saves?

Did anybody receive any games or hardware as a holiday gift, or give games or tech to anyone else? Or did you take advantage of any holiday deals to grab something cheap? I picked up a digital copy of Spec Ops: The Line for $5.99 at the PlayStation Store. So far, that’s it for me though.

We seem to be pretty harmonious in agreement on this thread that there really isn't anywhere to "go" with "innovation" right now in consoles. We basically can only get two things out of new consoles right now: new games, and quality of life improvements. We seem to be pretty harmonious in agreement on this thread that there really isn't anywhere to "go" with "innovation" right now in consoles. We basically can only get two things out of new consoles right now: new games, and quality of life improvements. So, what quality of life improvements do you want the most for whatever console you play? To me, what we’ve been hearing about sounds pretty good—no more load screens, faster and more effective loading of levels, etc. The biggest quality of life improvement I want though has nothing to do with the console—it has to do with the controller. DualShock 3 controllers have done nothing but die on me, and I can’t afford to replace them with anything but crappy aftermarket ones. I wish that the next controller will be a bit sturdier and less finicky, with a longer lifespan. That by itself would thrill me. Obviously I also want backwards compatibility that goes all the way back to the original PlayStation, but we all know how unlikely that is. @The Blackangel, @Crazycrab, @skyfire, @kingpotato

You know what the single most bizarre, unnatural thing is about running around Skyrim? There are zero bathrooms. I’ve never seen so much as a bed pan or an outhouse. I just thought I would point this out, because once you stop to notice it, you really get to wondering what Skyrim’s population does to empty its bowels, especially in town.

@Crazycrab, @Shagger and I were talking about the incident involving rights and royalties between CD Projekt Red and Andrzej Sapkowski. For those who don’t know, CD Projekt Red purchased the rights off Sapkowski for The Witcher for a meager amount (I think it was like 10 grand). Sapkowski accepted this sum with the belief that the game would do nothing. Obviously, The Witcher 3 is now one of the biggest games in existence. Sapkowski then went after them for more money, and they settled out of court. How does everyone feel about this issue? This is one which I easily can see both sides of. I don’t feel that CD Projekt Red was “wrong” or “unfair,” though I do think they were “lousy.” I.e. “all is fair in war and capitalism,” sure—I’ve got it—but they sure could’ve distinguished themselves by doing him a good turn. Unless I am wrong about their financial situation, it wouldn’t have hampered them to do it voluntarily. If I made hundreds of millions off of a game, I’d pay the person who made the stupid mistake of selling me the rights for 10 grand more without even stopping to think about it. But that’s just me, I guess :/

I understand that from a capitalist standpoint, the company did nothing "wrong." I just know that if I made the kind of money they did with a game like that, I'd think back to the guy I persuaded to part with the rights for 10 grand and throw him a larger slice of profit of my own volition. I have a hard time believing it'd have inconvenienced them in a major way to pay him more than they originally did. I'm glad they settled though, and on the plus side, I expect he has made a lot more money through the trickle down through people outside of Poland finally realizing he exists =D

I think we have already talked about improvements we want to see in Elder Scrolls VI in terms of gameplay mechanics. But what additions do you want to the activities you can do in the game? For example, here are some things I’d like to see added: A fishing system would be cool. We can hunt, so it would be great if we can also fish. I want to be able to convert cleared forts/houses to be my houses. So often, they are in just the right location, and sometimes there are buildings that are never inhabited again after you kill their occupants. So why can’t we claim these houses and turn them into homesteads for ourselves? I would love a crafting system that lets me make custom attire. It would be cool if different features from different outfits could be combined, or completely custom colors selected, etc. I would love something like a detailed character creation, but for clothing, weapons, etc. I want to be able to take my kids and spouse to do stuff, like shop in town or whatever. It would be cool to be able to open and run a shop, not just invest in a store at a super high perk level. I want to be able to move the beggars off the streets by building homes for them or paying rent for them. The arena in Oblivion is cool. Some kind of “sport” feature of this nature would be nice. Gambling could be fun. Maybe some simple dice or card games invented for the ES universe. You could go into the taverns and play (like you can with poker and such in Red Dead Redemption). Those are my ideas for now. What are some ideas for activities you would like to be able to do in the next Elder Scrolls game? @LadyDay, @kingpotato, @killamch89, @DylanC

I was reading this thread about developers talking about how the next generation of consoles isn't expected to be all that innovative, and merely improve upon performance/provide better quality-of-life for gamers. If the next generation of consoles were going to be “innovative,” however, I am curious what that would look like, and interested in what we as gamers want. I honestly have a hard time picturing what I’d be looking for, aside from some form of more immersive, comfortable VR experience. Beyond that, I am just not that imaginative. What types of innovations—not just changes in performance—do you want to see from future gen consoles, even if we’ll be waiting one or more generations past the PS5 and Xbox Series X to see those innovations? @kingpotato, @The Blackangel, @skyfire, @Shagger

When I upgrade my console, I’ll probably buy The Witcher 3, as I clearly am missing out on a game that will appeal to me. That being said, part of me will cringe about it, because I know that the studio underpaid for the rights (and yes, I know some people will debate me on this—regardless, it isn’t the point). The point is that usually, I protest practices I dislike by not purchasing products. But with video games, that is almost impossible. It seems like the vast majority of studios have one serious issue or another, whether it is crunch time, squabbles over rights, microtransactions, or so forth. So, my question is, what can we do as gamers to fight practices we don’t like in the industry without just giving up on the industry altogether? So far, all I really have come up with is to post on forums or write articles condemning crunch time or complaining about microtransactions. @LadyDay, @Shagger, @killamch89, @kingpotato, @The Blackangel, @DylanC, @Alyxx, @Executor Akamia, @Crazycrab

Here is a silly question for those who play Skyrim: How full does your inventory tend to be? Mine is usually within like 20 points of being full at all times, or it is full. Usually I play a one-handed warrior, so I generally have a cluster of favorite weapons chewing up my inventory space, to the point where I pretty much have to grab the standing stone ability that boosts your carry weight. That’s even with wearing light armor. Things are a lot better with my new destruction mage character, as my challenge to myself is “no physical weapons.” So that frees up a lot of carry weight. But the really big problem for me is my potion stash. And I fear this will only get worse with the new character. Even with fairly strict rules on what potions I will and will not pick up, I always seem to have about half my inventory weight full of them. That’s even if all I am carrying is like … health, invisibility, and the larger magicka potions. I go to the store and I try to destash … but I just can’t. Everything looks like it might be useful someday. So, I am a hopeless hoarder. Does anyone else hoard potions, or something else, in Skyrim? Any tips for kicking the habit? =D @kingpotato @killamch89 @LadyDay

Which is why I game late at night. It helps me sleep :)