I had the same overwhelming reaction to BG3's creation menu, but honestly, the game goes the mile to let you change everything later if you feel like it and honestly there's a "go with the flow" vibe by the fact that very few cases have instant game over conclusions.
I would say though that combat tends to be a measure twice and cut once because there's often an easy way of dealing with it, being either using the environment or exploring first another location that might give an advantage.
What you see is a glorified DIY joystick controller with a LCD (‘MFD’) and plenty of RGB inspired by a VF-1 (Block 6) Valkyrie of the Macross franchise....
Maybe I didn't pay attention, but I expected The Expanse (the game), where my ragtag of space murder hobos go from colony to colony doing quests a la Mass Effect and having space combat like in the show/books.
In contrast, we have the same "planes but not planes" in space that you need to first lower their shields then destroy the hull like in most space games.
Bethesda has just published a new blog post detailing updates coming to Starfield in the short and long term, including a ton of popular requests, most of them on the technical side, initially.
What I mean by this, is instead of when you fail and are met with a game over, the game finds some way to keep it going. Instead of being forced to reset to a previous save or an autosave checkpoint, the game’s story continues in an interesting path. Are there any games like this?...
Yet often you have to repeat the mission, and often said missions have concrete failing states (don't be spotted, don't miss the car, don't let x die) and less opportunity for branching from a failure.
Avenging Spirit for Gameboy and Arcade was exactly like that, and I think maybe Messiah had that mechanic, although you spent a long stretch being a plump and frail cherub.
That sounds fantastic. I would also rather start as a grunt that knows some martial arts or is good with gadgets and have a rockman/megaman mechanic that let's you learn/open the skill tree from the enemies you defeat.
That would mean that going for a big baddie can give you a big reward, but you're also risking making it stronger.
Plus it would give a boon to strategize lining oponents as you see what skills you need for defeating bigger enemies.
Made space travel meaningful and dangerous: Running into baddies, dangers or simply out of fuel was always possible, but the further you went it was possible to gain better resources.
Flying was also challenging (but fun) when you had to consider gravity and the fact that the ship won't break unless something stops it. So fuel conservation was juggling between all these things.
In fact, landing in a high-gravity planet was not only hard, but in some cases gave one ticket to Pancake'd town.
In Starfield, ships are only there as fast travel vehicles. In No Man's Sky, they are more meaningful, though it still feels like a magic plane in a vacuum.
Resource gathering felt like an adventure: In most of these games resource gathering is a chore, something I need to do to build X or buy Y. Starfield had resource-rich planets that were actively dangerous, be it by creatures or by natural phenomena, the buggy would start to take damage and it was a gamble with knowing when to pack up and leave.
NMS gets close but if I spent more time inventory sorting, pressing X for mining a resource and scanning for further resources, I'm not enjoying my time with it.
Alien encounters were tense: The first time I met an alien in Starflight, it was as nerve wrecking, as I could "raise shields" and start combat, but also try figuring out if I could understand them. The crew may (or not) speak partially their language, so they may seem helpful but actually be plotting to shoot you down while your shields are down.
The crew could help these cases when simpathetic aliens were found, or the oposite when they scanned the ship and found their foes.
The problem I have with new games is the lack of urgency, I can't believe the main quest if the game invites me to play looter simulator or yet spend another hour mining iron.
I’ve been thinking about the PS1 game ‘Driver’ a lot recently. It’s a game I spent a lot of time on during my youth, and whilst I’m sure it doesn’t hold up some 20 years later, it was still a highlight from my ‘gaming youth’....
Unity cuts 265 jobs as part of a company 'reset' (www.engadget.com)
How are you all playing these insanely complex games?
Just some off the top of my head: Destiny, Deep Rock Galactic, Overwatch, and most recently Baldur’s Gate....
Gabe Newell on why game delays are okay: 'Late is just for a little while. Suck is forever.' (www.pcgamer.com)
Valve says "technology doesn't exist" yet for full Steam Deck 2.0 (www.eurogamer.net)
Intel doesn’t think that Arm CPUs will make a dent in the laptop market (arstechnica.com)
You game with a controller, my game is the controller. We're not the same. (discuss.tchncs.de)
What you see is a glorified DIY joystick controller with a LCD (‘MFD’) and plenty of RGB inspired by a VF-1 (Block 6) Valkyrie of the Macross franchise....
Full extent of Team17 cuts threaten third of the company - sources (www.eurogamer.net)
The Lamplighters League a 'Big Disappointment' for Paradox as It Confirms $22 Million Write-Down (www.ign.com)
Relogic: Makes a statement on Unity and donates 100k to Godot and FNA with a further 1k a month moving forward. (twitter.com)
https://sh.itjust.works/pictrs/image/155aa45b-6730-4b43-b1d2-84707c59a46e.webp
The Elder Scrolls VI will skip PS5 and isn’t coming until at least 2026 (www.theverge.com)
Starfield review - a game about exploration, without exploration (www.eurogamer.net)
‘Starfield’ Announces Nvidia DLSS Support, Food-Eating Button, Future City Maps (www.forbes.com)
Bethesda has just published a new blog post detailing updates coming to Starfield in the short and long term, including a ton of popular requests, most of them on the technical side, initially.
What are some games that "spin" failure states?
What I mean by this, is instead of when you fail and are met with a game over, the game finds some way to keep it going. Instead of being forced to reset to a previous save or an autosave checkpoint, the game’s story continues in an interesting path. Are there any games like this?...
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Tried to make Abed (Danny Pudi) in Fallout 4 (beehaw.org)
Any Community fans out there? How did i do?...
Baldur's Gate 3 Topped 5.2 Million Units Sold on Steam, Says Belgian Embassy (wccftech.com)
Baldur's Gate 3 has already sold over 5.2 million units on Steam alone, not counting GOG, according to the Belgian Embassy.
Doing things in games because it simple felt good.
I’ve been thinking about the PS1 game ‘Driver’ a lot recently. It’s a game I spent a lot of time on during my youth, and whilst I’m sure it doesn’t hold up some 20 years later, it was still a highlight from my ‘gaming youth’....
Linux passes Mac for Steam's second-most used OS, possibly due to Steam Deck (www.destructoid.com)
Linux overtakes Mac in Steam's July hardware report, with the Steam Deck and its popularity looking like a likely motivator.