In time, you will know the tragic extent of my failings…

Posted on February 27, 2017 by SynCaine

Darkest Dungeon has defeated me, and I’m ok with that.

I’ve been playing and greatly enjoying the new Radiant mode, which reduced some of the grind in DD, mostly in how many dungeon runs you need between a fresh recruit and one ready for the final dungeon, which in the original mode was simply way too many. Radiant isn’t any easier though, just a bit shorter on the most repetitive parts of the game. It’s a great addition, and makes a game that was a lot of fun but a bit too long, pretty much perfect IMO.

That said, I’m not going to finish it. I successfully beat the first (of four) final dungeon, but after two attempts wasn’t able to beat the second. I know I could, if I bring the right party with the right trinkets, but even in Radiant mode getting those specific characters ready for the final dungeon was just asking too much from me at that point. I had the town mostly maxed out, beaten all but two of the side bosses, and had basically seen everything in the game save for the final dungeons.

There is also no guarantee that, had I put the correct party together, I’d been successful anyway. The difficulty is high on the final runs, you can’t get stronger, and so luck (RNG) plays a larger role. This isn’t to say its all luck, or even mostly, but getting virtue on your first character is a massive swing, for instance, and that’s mostly down to the RNG gods.

So I went online and watched a video of the final encounter and the ending to the game, which was basically what I expected it to be. ‘Cheating’ a bit, but it closes the circle with DD for me, and I can move on, at least until the expansion is finally released.

Plus the final update to Battle Brothers is out (in beta mode), and oh god is it good.

Posted in Random, Review | 4 Comments

EVE culture almost got raped

Posted on February 23, 2017 by SynCaine

The most recent ‘scandal’ event in EVE was the name change of the alliance “Just Let It Happen” due to a reported EULA violation that it promoted ‘rape culture’.

First, I’d love for someone to explain to me how changing an alliance name in EVE results in fewer rapes. Not less ‘rape culture’, whatever you want to imagine that might be, but actual rapes. Like was someone going to go out and rape someone tomorrow because they logged in and saw “Just Let It Happen” on their screen, but now that its been changed that person is all set on the raping?

This whole thing blew up, including getting CCP Falcon to comment that the decision was made by a support person, rather than a higher-up within CCP like Falcon. There was confusion over this because typically Falcon is the guy who approves alliance icons into the game, but that doesn’t mean he also approves or is in charge of name changes. The community also put together a nice list of other questionable names if viewed through the eyes of a SJW snowflake, which I think went a long way to show just how silly the initial issue really was.

Thankfully because CCP is CCP rather than your typical tone-deaf MMO devs, the change was reverted and everyone’s favorite online pro-rapist alliance is back! Their celebration roam using Rapiers, Coercers, and Stabbers should go swimmingly (yes I stole this joke from Reddit).

Posted in EVE Online, Rant | 14 Comments

Some people just don’t want a new experience

Posted on February 21, 2017 by SynCaine

I’ve been playing a solid amount of Darkest Dungeon since the release of the Radiant mode patch. For a still-accurate overview of my thoughts on the game, here is my review post from 2015. Radiant mode shortens the game, but doesn’t actually make it easier, which is perfect all around. I’ll likely have a wrap-up post once I actually beat the game. I’m on week 60 right now, with a nearly maxed village and multiple maxed heroes, so I should be pretty close, and just need to get the courage up to enter the final dungeon…

I also really enjoy reading comments about DD on various sites like Polygon or RPS, because people fall into basically two camps. One camp ‘gets it’ and enjoys the fact that in DD heroes aren’t permanent, and the point of the game isn’t to get your favorite buddy to the end, but rather to manage the whole stable of disposable heroes in such a way to eventually beat the final dungeon. The other camp is people who dislike the fact that heroes aren’t meant to be permanent, and just can’t get over that hurdle to enjoy the game for what it is.

The reason I find this so interesting is because it shows how set in there ways some people are. DD by its very design is intended to shake up a tradition in the RPG space (that heroes are the focus), and it accomplishes this very well. It can be rough at first, but once you make the mental shift things click. Yet some people don’t want that shakeup, and despite the rest of DD being what they want, they just can’t make it click.

In this regard, it’s easier to see why, for example, we continue to see basically the same MMO released over and over with just different settings. For every person sick of the same old kill/fetch/grind quest model, there are people who don’t want that shaken up, to the point that they won’t accept anything that does. It’s not ‘wrong’ by any means, because what you find fun is what you find fun, but it helps to explain why we don’t see more developers pushing gaming in different directions; it’s simple easier and safer to stay with what works and what people expect.

Posted in Random | 15 Comments

EVE: ISK-making update

Posted on February 20, 2017 by SynCaine

I wrote about what I was doing in terms of ISK generation a little while ago, and now its time for an update.

Overall I have enough ISK to buy a Wyvern (Super Carrier), but I’m still at least a few weeks away in terms of skills, so that purchase hasn’t been made yet (I could just buy skill injectors, but using those still feels a little dirty to me). The good thing is Wyverns come up for sale often within the Imperium, so I doubt I’ll have to wait more than a day or so once am I ready. The short-term plan is to use it for ratting/Incursions, while converting my current ratting carrier into a combat ship. Long-term the plan is to get the Wyvrn into PvP fleets, but I won’t do that until I’ve at least become adept at PvP in the carrier.

In terms of ISK generation, things haven’t changed all that much, though they have expanded. I’m producing more items now, both T1 items via BPOs, and also T2 via invention. What is interesting about all of this, if I do the ‘start from stratch’ method, is that it takes some time to get going. First I buy a BPO in high-sec and have it shipped out to Delve. Then I research it for material and time efficiency, which depending on the BPO can be a few weeks or more. Once that is done, if I’m also going to make the T2 version of the item, I then need to create copies off the BPO, as well as train the skills (if needed) related to that invention process. I also need to buy and ship out the data cores for invention, and also some of the harder-to-produce items for T2 production.

Once all of that is done, T2 production can begin. To keep it going, I need to continue to produce the T1 version of the item, repeat the invention process, as well as importing more of the components as needed. Having more ISK to play with is a huge help here, because instead of shipping out 1-2b worth of ‘stuff’ from Jita, I’m now importing 10-20b, which means I not only need to import less, but I also have the ISK to import items that are significantly cheaper in Jita than in Delve, and simply re-list for easy profit.

In fact, my production has ramped up so much that reprocessing the drops from ratting is no longer covering mineral demand, and I’ve started buying those in Delve frequently. Luckily prices for minerals are low (thanks dozen Rorqs multiboxers!), so that hasn’t hurt the profit margin. I also do a little bit of mining when matching something on the computer, as its a super-easy mostly-afk activity, though it is funny to see how many minerals I mine (not a ton) vs how many I actually use (decent amount now). That said I’m only mining in a smaller ship, not a Rorq (I could Rorq mine, but I don’t mine enough to justify the cost and bit of training needed).

Once the Wyvern is purchased, I’ll have to find a new ISK-focused goal. I have looked into capital ship production, as that’s both great ISK and in high-demand in Delve, plus the fact that it requires a large amount of ISK to get rolling would make it a decent goal, and one that could scale up into Super and Titan production eventually.

Posted in EVE Online | Comments Off on EVE: ISK-making update

Amazon Games Studio is already dead

Posted on February 15, 2017 by SynCaine

Amazon Game Studios (AGS) is dead before it even released their first game. How do I know this? Because they signed John “After EQ1 everything I touch burns to the ground, with each failure burning faster then the one before” Smedly, and not only to be part of the team, they also gave him an entire studio. Honestly how does this even happen?

Smedly ‘helped define the modern MMO’ it says. Really? Smed defined (some of?) EQ1, yes, but he hasn’t defined a single thing since, and modern MMOs sure as hell aren’t like EQ1 when Smed was working on it. You know what Smed has recently defined? How to fail at Kickstarter, then fail on Steam via the same game people repeatedly told him they don’t want. That’s the kind of resume you look at over at Amazon and think “yea, lets invest a lot of money and resources into that track record”?

This is a big reason why the MMO genre is a dumpster fire outside of EVE right now. A guy has one hit title years and years ago, then turns in a meh product (Planetside 1), goes on to make a more meh product (Planetside 2), gets Sony to dump that entire studio under his leadership, gets that picked up by some VC group, then gets dumped by that group, and to top it all off comes back and his next project was so terribly nothing it couldn’t even stay on Steam, the freaking land of a million ‘do nothing’ games. And people at the top look at that and go “yea, this is our guy!”.

Can’t wait to see how this all turns out (it turns out horribly and people lose jobs while Smed most likely goes to the next pony show, because the MMO genre hates you).

Posted in EQ2, EQNext, FreeRealms, Kickstarter, MMO design, Pirates of the Burning Sea, Random, Rant, SOE being SOE, Steam Stuff | 8 Comments

CoC, CR progress update

Posted on February 10, 2017 by SynCaine

Mobile gaming update time.

The Clash of Clans… clan is going strong. Our core is now around upper TH9 and a few of us are working at the early/mid stages of TH10. Personally my main account is midway through TH10, while my alt account is a near-max TH9. We do still have a good group at TH8 as well, and overall we also have a couple open spots for new recruits.

The difference between TH9 and TH10 is pretty interesting in terms of wars. Offense is stronger at TH9 than defense, which means in wars you are always aiming for 3 stars, and not getting 3 usually means someone is cleaning up for you. At TH10 a 3 star verse a decent base is rare, and feels like a thrill, while only getting one star is more common than at TH9. This impacts not only the importance of a solid attack at TH10, but also in how you build your base. Do you try to make the base a tough base to fully 3 star, or focus on preventing a 2 star attack (heavy protection of the TH)? It’s a very fun challenge.

CoC has also started doing events, where one unit or spell are significantly cheaper to produce, and you get a small gem reward if you successfully attack three times using that unit/spell. It’s not a major change to the game, but it’s a nice little change of pace, and keeps CoC a little fresher between updates.

In Clash Royale, the addition of the clan chest has made keeping our roster active much easier. I’m currently removing people who fail to get at least 10 crowns per chest, and since we get FLOODED with people applying as soon as a spot opens up, so far this has worked fairly well. Even the 10+ minimum is low, as technically everyone needs to get 30+ for the group to get the top reward, but we are lucky in that we have a few players who are very active (100+ crowns) and pull everyone else up.

I also like what SuperCell is doing in CR for new card releases. Rather than dropping a bunch in an update, they now roll one card out every few weeks, and when that new card is released, they also launch a special challenge mode around it. The challenge mode allows you to build a deck out of all the cards in the game, whether you have them or not, and forces you to use the new card in the deck. So far it’s always been fun, as it completely shakes up the meta and really gives a nice break from ladder grinding.

After a hot start and then some stumbling (first version of tournaments), I think SuperCell has CR in a good spot right now, and this shows in terms of how high the game ranks on the mobile app revenue charts.

We are still on break for Boom Beach.

Posted in Boom Beach, Clash of Clans, Clash Royale, Inquisition Clan, iPhone | 1 Comment

XCOM Long War 2 – Additional thoughts

Posted on February 7, 2017 by SynCaine

More random thoughts on the Long War 2 mod for XCOM 2 today.

The random map generator is on full display in the mod, since you play a lot more missions than in the base game, and it’s pretty great. I’ve yet to play on a map that didn’t make sense due to the randomness (blocked doors, or buildings in a nonsensical spot for example), and with the tile set that is used being based on the location of the mission, you start to ‘recognize’ areas not on their exact map layout, but instead by their general feel. Upper US missions are often in the snow, while missions in Mexico are often in arid areas. A mission in a rural area feels like it, and are very different from a mission set in a major city.

Adding to the ‘more is better’ concept, the greater variety of enemies also helps keep things interesting. In the base game it wasn’t uncommon to only see a certain enemy a few times before you progressed beyond them. In Long War 2, since you not only run more missions overall, but mission difficulty varies based on region and infiltration rating, one squad might face mid-tier enemies, while your more rookie squad will still be facing early tier enemies on their mission. And with the enemy able to raid your areas, and those missions you have civilians fighting on your side, you really get a fully spectrum of power and abilities as you play the game.

I especially like this because the early tier of the game, with more human enemies and traditional firearms, is my favorite, and Long War 2 gives me a lot more of it. I don’t hate the more sci-fi stuff later, but IMO nothing beats blasting an enemy in the face with the starting shotgun, or the feel/sound of the base sniper rifle taking down a Sectiod from a mile away.

Speaking of weapons, the slower pace also filters down into research, so you don’t jump up in weapons/armor so quickly, and you can’t instantly equip all your soldiers with the new gear anyway due to more limited supplies. This is further protracted by the fact that you use multiple squads at the same time, so even if you get your original five soldiers geared up, you will likely still have another 5-10 guys that need the better gear, along with the better weapon mods and such.

XCOM 2 felt too fast for me, because the game greatly increased the amount of stuff over XCOM 1, but didn’t extend the total number of missions you ended up running to beat the game. Since XCOM 1 didn’t feel rushed to me, I never felt a huge need for the first mod. For XCOM 2 I think it hits a certain sweet spots in terms of extending the game in order to better allow you to see all of the fun stuff, and how it all interacts over multiple missions.

All of that said, I’m not sure I’ll actually finish my Long War 2 game (which I’m very OK with, as I’ve seen the story/ending anyway), mostly because I don’t think I’ll find upper-tier gameplay as fun, and since there will be more of that as well to progress, I might hit a wall. I most certainly haven’t yet, but I could see that happening. Either way though the mod is absolutely fantastic, and gets the most out of XCOM 2, which itself really was an excellent game. Highly recommended to anyone looking for deeper TBS gameplay.

Posted in Random | Comments Off on XCOM Long War 2 – Additional thoughts

CCP Dev destroys another snowflake

Posted on February 6, 2017 by SynCaine

In alternate facts land, CCP has a long and well documented history of dev favoritism. They find the really important players and, because of how smart and dangerous those players are, they go after them in order to protect their friends’ in-game. It’s why I always tell everyone to only play honest and fair MMOs like “insert generic Asian import here”. It’s totally not because my thin-skin can’t handle failing as a tiny fish in a big pond, I swear!

Evil CCP is at it again today, this time CCP Pointybits going after famed player AverageGuyGreg. Was Greg too close to reveling the corruption within CCP? Was he about to take down the Imperium single-handedly? Was he simply too bright a beacon of truth? We will never know, because he is yet another innocent and total sane player destroyed by a corrupt CCP dev.

Hopefully someone names a station “His name was AverageGuyGreg”, you know, in his ‘honor’ and totally not as a joke at his expense via Fight Club reference.

Posted in EVE Online | 2 Comments

All we do is win win win

Posted on February 6, 2017 by SynCaine

Can one tiring of winning? Can ‘once in a lifetime’ moments happen to you so often that they become almost the norm? As a winner can a point be reached where you start feeling bad for everyone else? Do you almost wish you could share the wealth with those less fortunate?

Nope. We win, you lose, basically always. Sorry?

Sure, throwing up the graphic that the city of Atlanta has a grand total of one championship across all the major sports while Boston has 33 (now 34) was a little mean. And yes, having a parade down our streets basically every year has become a little routine, but it’s a small price to pay. Is it a little unfair that in recent years, the city of Boston has been on the positive side of the biggest comebacks in both baseball and now football history? Sure, but life’s not fair, and god just likes Boston more than your city by a mile and a half.

We recently had the greatest, most clutch DH in the history of baseball retire, only for the greatest player in NFL history to further cement his legacy this year. There will most likely never be another Tom Brady in the NFL. Many of his record will never be broken, and going forward the conversation will be heated about who is the second-best of all time, because the top spot is now undisputed and beyond reach. The conversation around greatest QB+Coach combo is even more out of reach for everyone else. It really is all a bit silly.

And the greatest thing about it? Next year the Patriots will be favored to win the Superbowl again. They will basically be a lock to make, at least, the AFC championship game. It’s an embarrassment of riches, one that will likely never happen again, to any city.

Feels good man, feels good.

PS: Can the Pats win the SB next year in less dramatic fashion though? All 7 of their games have been nail biters, and it can’t be healthy to be on edge for 4 hours straight. Just give me a nice blowout by halftime, so I can spend the second half of the game in ‘feel good’ mode, rather than having it come at literally the last play in overtime. Thanks god, I know you won’t disappoint.

Posted in Uncategorized | 8 Comments

Games that are never finished, until they actually are

Posted on February 2, 2017 by SynCaine

Two items that occurred recently that have me questioning the current state of gaming a bit. The first is the upcoming update for Battle Brothers (BB), which sounds freaking awesome (and I think will mark the end of Early Access for the game). The second is the news that the devs behind Mordheim are working on a Necromunda game (yay!), which means no more updates for Mordheim (boo!).

On the one hand, I have a game I really like in BB, that I know is going to get significantly better next update. I also know that won’t be the last update, and considering the full evolution of the game to this point, I could see BB getting additional updates for a long time. That’s awesome, and makes me invested in the game beyond just liking it right now.

The flip side of that is Mordheim, which I also greatly enjoy but now feel a bit down on because I know nothing else is coming. I was hoping for more warbands, more maps, and/or additions to the number of weapons/armor in the game. If you buy it right now the game has a lot of content, and is ‘done’, but man it also still has so much room for additional content. Content I’d easily pay DLC-money for but now won’t even get the chance.

The reason I’m a bit conflicted right now is I think both my expectations around BB and the disappointment in Mordheim are fairly new developments in terms of gamer thinking. ‘Back in the day’, when I finished a game I enjoyed, I was happy and that was it. If I bought a game and it wasn’t great, I moved on, and again that was it. Today it feels like almost all games are in this constant state of change. Civ VI came out as a ‘full’ game, but right now I know its going to get expansions and patches that will make it better, so the fact I don’t really like it right now isn’t all that upsetting, even though I paid full price. That should be weird, but right now for me it’s normal.

I know this has been pretty common in the MMO space since day one, and I also know that non-MMO gaming has in parts been shifting towards MMO stuff like updates and having online bits, but it all seems to be creeping more and more towards games never being done, and then a sense of disappointment when they actually are done. It all feels very strange.

Posted in Random, Steam Stuff | 5 Comments