OFF TOPIC:

Speaking from a feminstic but also Australian position, I think it's kinda problematic to outright ban language internationally when the connotation of concern is specific to one culture. We use that word pretty liberally here, and it isn't done so with remotely the same definition; instead, it is typically used interchangeably with "dickhead" and "arsehole". Whilst I definitely support your efforts, I don't think this is the right way to go about it, as it's a very clear use of American exceptionalism when Americans, taken as a part of the world, make up a minority of people on the Internet.

ON TOPIC:

Yeahhhh, Elon both frightens and disgusts me. What a selfish twat.

Mate, you have no idea what you're on about. Larian is one of the most transparent studios there is, and they have not once released a game with microtransactions or DLC. Similarly, every game they made has had a free "definitive edition" within twelve months of release.

Research before you make claims like this, Larian are not a AAA studio.

Honestly mate? Buy it. This isn't a AAA game; this is a AA game made completely independently, without microtransactions or lootboxes or any of the many bullshit practices of modern gaming. The studio deserves your support.

It does have a multiplayer component, but it's co-op. The game can be played in its entirety either way, and indeed, the single player experience is fantastic. So's the multiplayer experience. The former is similar to Dragon Age Origins, and the latter is literally Dungeons and Dragons. Both are fantastic, and both are worth playing.

Don't skip it. This is a deeply special game, and if you're sick of the AAA bullshit, a great way to show the greater industry is by supporting it. Vote with your wallet.

Seriously mate, you didn't warn about the TVTropes link? Some of us need to go to bed!

Quite a lot honestly, but the trailers are really awful in terms of advertising what the game actually is. It's a survival game with management sim elements, using creature collection as its core gameplay loop. It feels weirdly cohesive in terms of mashing together these styles - kinda like Dave the Diver in that regard.

Far as I've been able to tell, it was first announced in 2021, so it's been in development since then, at latest.

There's no evidence whatsoever of AI use (lot of accusations, but actual devs have spoken out and challenged them). Really strikes me that there's a non-zero number of people who feel somewhat threatened by this game's existence, considering the death threats the dev team has reportedly been receiving.

Cool, does this mean they'll actually fucking sell the thing in Australia, or is it just forever going to be dodgy resellers?

Reddit monkey-brain says big number mean good, so I updoot anything good. I say if you like something, give it a doot.

I'm gonna piss a lot of people off, and say that I really, really cannot stand Halo - the whole franchise, not just the 343 stuff.

The way I see it, my problem with the series is twofold: storytelling and gunplay. The storytelling is weak at best: whilst I'm usually a huge fan of environmental storytelling, there's just so little information in game for me to go off! It wasn't until I read the Reach novel that I figured out who the Covenant were beyond just "evil aliens". I questioned this issue on the site we don't talk about and was told to read the books, but put simply, if I have to read a book to understand your plot, then you haven't told your plot well enough. Chief is presented in the game as this incredible figure (as are the Spartans), but the games never really tell you why, and as such I never really care about Chief or his bullshit.

Regarding the gunplay, I find it (and movement) simply too floaty to be enjoyable. There isn't enough recoil from a lot of the weapons, and the SFX on most of the guns don't give a great sense of power.

I understand that it's a massive series of nostalgia for a massive number of people. I understand that it redefined FPSes, and I respect the games for this. They deserve every bit of praise people give them. They aren't bad games, but I just do not enjoy them.

Got a source on the child labour thing? Not doubting you, but as a non-American I'm confused as to how the hell youse aren't in open revolt.

EDIT: Responding individually later. In short, fuck. In long, thanks all for sending me those links, I'm gonna go wash my eyes out with bleach and attempt to un-know all that I now know

Yeah, ultimately this article reads as if it is questioning the quality of a work on the basis of how the audience engages (or doesn't engage) with it. Ultimately there is one case where the character dies due to a bad dialogue choice, and that response is very clearly a joke one for if you're not roleplaying.

I dunno, it just seems as if the article is clickbait, and if this game dev would prefer playing a game 90% ludonarrative dissonance and 10% no meaningful player choice.

Been a fan since the start, so here's my two cents:

Dragon Age Origins is amazing. Buy each of the expansions. Save files transfer from expansion to expansion, and there are also a few DLCs for the base game. Usually everything is sold in one package - either the Ultimate Edition on Steam (which can also be modded), or GoG. GamePass only has the basegame.

Once you've completed the final DAO expansion (Witch Hunt), DA2 is worth playing at least once for its story. It has two expansions (Mark of the Assassin and Legacy) both of which are improvements on the base game. Don't bother with any other DLC unless you get it all in a package deal. Save file transfers directly into DA2 from DAO.

Once you've completed DA2, DAI is also worth playing (I personally liked it more than 2, but YMMV). Mainline it if you start getting bored, as the main quest is worth the playthrough. It had three expansions, the first two played during the main campaign (both endgame) and one postgame expansion. All are worth playing, but The Descent and Trespasser are the most important for the overall world. DAI saves are a bit weird, as they don't come from DA2. Instead, you fill in your choices in the Dragon Age Keep (should be first result on Google) and export them to DAI. I suggest jotting down major choices as you go.

Outside of the three games, there's also a series of novels and a Netflix series, as well as a series of comics. The first five and following three comics are available in collections, generally pretty cheaply. Novels are printed to order. If you enjoy the stories in the games, I strongly recommend Asunder by David Gaider and The Masked Empire by Patrick Weekes. Tevinter Nights was great, but it may lose relevance when the new game comes out in the coming couple of years, as it was written as a kind of preview for what's coming up. The Netflix series was good, but likely of little relevance to the greater narrative.

Honestly, all three games are worth playing in order. There's nothing atrocious about any of them (DAI won game of the year in 2014), although none have aged super well. In the case of DA2, it may be worth mainlining if the environments bother you (game was made in 18 months, so most maps were recycled several times). If you do mod DAO, just do texture mods for now; there's some great stuff out there, but only really worthwhile for later playthroughs.

If you find yourself really loving DAO, Baldur's Gate 3 is a spiritual successor to it and a direct sequel to the games that were DAO's original inspiration. Do check that out when it comes out at the end of the week if DAO is your jam.

Feel free to DM me if you have any other questions!

Not free, but I swear by Scrivener as a word processor - I've been using it for both my novel and Uni essays for years and it is just a total lifesaver, as it makes document management so much easier. Strongly recommend

God I want a Doctor Who community so bad.

Dragon Age would be great too

Mate, you are magic! Took four attempts, but I got there. God, we really are giving this site the hug of death, aren't we?

Which app are you using? I like Jerboa, but if there's something better, I'm all ears.

As an Isabella romancer, I approve this message

I dunno, I'd argue prion disease is a great method of punitive justice; cruel, unusual and painful! What's not to love?

Joke's on you u/Spez: we've got a new Reddit, with blackjack and hookers!

Not remotely microtransactions at all. The purchase you're referring to is the deluxe edition upgrade, which came free to anyone who played the game during the beta, and costs $10 USD for:

• The Soundtrack
• An Artbook
• An ingame dice skin
• Some completely cosmetic items that are outclassed by literally every other thing in the game.

Honestly? To call this a microtransaction is making a pretty big and unjustified claim. This is a bonus to chuck the devs a little extra money for the soundtrack and artbook. The additional stuff is moreso a bonus for purchasing the first two. By comparison, CoD charges $18USD for a gun skin.

Cooooool, so they're gonna release it in Australia to stop the scalping here, right?

Right?

This is for a friend, right?

I know it's only a matter of time until it shows its ugly face again, but I really got sick of r/tifu. I swear most stories on there were creative writing pieces that boiled down to "tifu by sexing so hard that a person found out and now I'm embarassed". Great that it's not clogging up my feed any longer.

All I want is a working community search, then it'll be perfect!

As a fellow Steam user/gamer, I'm in this picture and I do not like it whatsoever

Definitely great news that they exist, what would you say my best bet for tracking them down is? Megathread is pretty quiet on this matter

Fuck, I definitely drank too much, how the fuck did it cycle back to 2008?

Christ, I must know what this game is, because it sounds great

Great question! Really loved the Bioshock series, along with Bethesda FPSs (although they're not great, I rather enjoy the open worlds). Cyberpunk was great fun, although disappointing in a lot of ways. The Doom series is a personal favourite, although Eternal wasn't perfect, I really loved how the stories were handled in the previous two games.

For me, I like to seek a balance between story and gameplay. My big thing though is immersion, and being able to really understand the Universe the game takes place in.

Whilst not FPSs, the closest thing to Halo that I loved (Space-Opera shooters), the Mass Effect trilogy tops the list.

FWIW, AAA is not typically defined by budget, but instead by the presence of a publisher and methods of release. If you go by standard definitions, as a completely independent developer who crowdfunded the game at the start, Larian's actually indie.

That's fair, I apologise for being as defensive as I was.

Honestly that's 100% the right way to play it - it is such a laugh, the writing is really tongue in cheek, and the gameplay is really, simply fun, so I really think you and your mate will love it!

I second this. My life massively improved when I started to set out to leave the world a better place than I found it in - on average, people feel happier when around a friendly person

Hey mate, both PC and PS5 have couch-coop (I own it on both). For the former, you need to plug in two controllers, and it'll just kinda work, and the latter has it in the "session settings".

Absolutely mate, although I've not had much luck with them having Doctor Who - most only have the modern show if they have Doctor Who at all. Do you have any recommendations?

Very true, but I'm in the wrong country and VPNs are inconsistent at best with iplayer

Much as I'd like to agree with you, you're clearly talking out of your arse.

Teachers are hamstrung by administration nowadays. If we could treat kids differently, we would. Alas, terrible admin+awful parents means differentiation isn't even remotely possible.

FWIW mate, very familiar with the missing episodes - largely have copies of the remaining soundtracks. What I'm looking for is a way to watch everything else. iPlayer could be doable in any case, although I'm aware they have a habit of blocking VPNs, so I'd appreciate a method a little more foolproof

Been checking nearly daily, still none. Please do set it up, Dragon Age is one ot my all time favourite series!

Dragon Age. I need somewhere to bitch about not having news despite being promised news back in November (like goddamnit Bioware, all we want is a trailer!)

There are a few people, definitely, that I've thought about reaching out to. I have them on Facebook, could literally just send them a text at any moment.

The problem is twofold: the first; crippling anxiety. I worry that I'd be an inconvenience to them, or worsen their day for my having contacted them. I worry that maybe they never liked me in the first place - after all, they never reached out either.

The second issue is a general loss of social skills. The pandemic turned me into a hermit, and even though I've been in Uni both before the pandemic and after, my social skills have never recovered. I can't just join a group like other people do. I don't get on with people super easily in group settings; I'm better in one-on-one situations.

Certainly, this may just be anxiety. But it's that what if question that stops me from reaching out.

Do you sass that hoopy itsraining? Now there's a frood who knows where his towel is