So, what're you playing?

[schild]

Surface.  Sorry, man, those suck.

I have a Surface Book with the i7 and discrete graphics and it's fucking ridiculous. Short of getting some giant dumb 8lb thing, I can't imagine a better laptop based on the options currently available. It is exceptional.

My only complaint: I wish the screen resolution wasn't 3000x2000.

[Yegolev]

Alright man.  Glad it's working out for you.  I hates my wife's Surface like I hates hobbitses.

[apocrypha]

Same, totally love the Surface, but it's not for gaming :)  (edit: to be clear, when I say "Same" there I'm actually replying to Merusk's post. Also, mine's an i5 one).

Anyway, I'm playing Overwatch. I'm enjoying it a lot more than I thought I would!

[schild]

Runs Hex and Diablo 3 fine. Are there other PC games I should be playing?

[Nebu]

Runs Hex and Diablo 3 fine. Are there other PC games I should be playing?

Yes, Path of Exile. 

[schild]

Runs Hex and Diablo 3 fine. Are there other PC games I should be playing?

Yes, Path of Exile. 

I have played Path of Exile and determined that no, I should not be playing it, because it is a bad game.

[Bann]

Diablo 3 is to Path of Exile what Hearthstone is to Magic the Gathering. 

[schild]

Magic is overly complex with bad art and a bunch of engineering wasted on giant skill trees that largely could've been built into items?

Nah.

But I get the analogy, shame production matters more to me in ARPGs than it does in CCGs.

[Nebu]

I have played Path of Exile and determined that no, I should not be playing it, because it is a bad game.

I am again reminded that we have different tastes in games.  Well played.

[Rasix]

Your tastes seem to run toward "grind".  

I'm playing DE: Mankind Divided.  It's pretty decent, but it runs like garbage on my system. So much caching. I've never seen a game access my HDD this continually.

It's the same game as HR, just with a more glitch prone plot (seriously, this is some Witcher 1 level of "the fuck, how am I on this quest.  YOU NEVER SAID THAT.") and more stealth friendly mission layouts.  It seems easier too. Even though I'm a fan of the series, people should probably wait for this one to go on sale. It feels more like a beefy expansion pack than a new game.

[Nebu]

Your tastes seem to run toward "grind".  

Currently playing: HotS, WoT, Football Manager, and PoE. 

 

[Rendakor]

Nebu and Bann: are you guys in the F13 POE guild? If not, message me tonight (IGN Rendakor) and I'll add you.

[Yegolev]

Runs Hex and Diablo 3 fine. Are there other PC games I should be playing?

Not if your PC is a tablet, no.

[Merusk]

If you only have experience with the Tablet-Only version I can see giving Schild grief. You're also comparing the experience of driving a Lexus based on ownership of a Corolla. Sure they're the same company and parts but it's a wholly different product.

The Tablet and the Laptop versions of the Surface are so different that branding them the same was an error on Microsoft's part.

[schild]

The laptop is a fucking animal.

[Yegolev]

I stand corrected, then.  I didn't know there was a "laptop" Surface.  Good job on branding, Microsoft.

When I first showed my wife something on my MacBook Pro, she tried to use it as if it had a touchscreen.  I blame someone.  Not sure whom.

I found myself playing a lot more Moon Borderlands last night.

[schild]

I stand corrected, then.  I didn't know there was a "laptop" Surface.  Good job on branding, Microsoft.

When I first showed my wife something on my MacBook Pro, she tried to use it as if it had a touchscreen.  I blame someone.  Not sure whom.

I found myself playing a lot more Moon Borderlands last night.

https://www.microsoftstore.com/store/msusa/en_US/pdp/productID.325716000

i7 w/ dgpu

nuts

[Merusk]

How's the battery life now that you've had it a while, Schild? I had mine for only ~6 months and didn't notice any depreciation, but I think you were in the first wave with me putting you at almost a year now.

[Rasix]

I'm playing DE: Mankind Divided.  It's pretty decent, but it runs like garbage on my system. So much caching. I've never seen a game access my HDD this continually.

Got a new SSD and moved the game to it (well, actually I screwed that up and just ended up redownloading it  ).  Also got another 8GB of ram.  Cleared that right up.  Still some minor lag when you load the map, but nothing like it was. Game would take seconds to load menus before.

[Yegolev]

nuts

Perhaps ironically, I feel like that hinge dealy will get caught on mine.

[schild]

How's the battery life now that you've had it a while, Schild? I had mine for only ~6 months and didn't notice any depreciation, but I think you were in the first wave with me putting you at almost a year now.

Seems fine, but I barely ever have it unplugged. I sleep on planes and refuse to work on them, so like, I'm never really in a situation where I don't have access to an outlet.

[HaemishM]

I too did not realize the Surface had a tablet and laptop version that were different. The only experiences I have are when clients are looking at goddamn responsive web sites I do and the fucking drop down menu links don't work right on their touchscreen (or worse, don't work right when they are using a mouse instead of the touchscreen). I'm guessing since they are at like 1024px width resolution, they are the shitty tablet version, which can DIACF for all I care.

[Sky]

lol 13" screen, what is that a phone

Anyway. On topic.



New bass. I do not call it George. Though I did call George and tell him he should check out my new bass, if that counts.

[lamaros]

Playing Duelist, cross between M:tG and Pox Nora. Ok so far!

[Kail]

Playing a surprising amount of Battleborn recently.  The PvP is just as baffling as it was in beta, but the story mode is a lot more fun than I was expecting.  It's basically like if you mixed Left 4 Dead co-op gameplay with Overwatch characters.  It's still got the annoying leveling system and the WORST loot system I've ever seen, but outside of that I'm having a surprising amount of fun.

Still working on Deus Ex: Mankind Divided, too.  It didn't really grab me at first, but it is kind of growing on me.  Not so much for the gameplay as for the setting and the story, it's one of those games that isn't shy about shoving it's political message in your face, which you don't often see in AAA games.  I do wish they'd tone down the massive, game spanning achievements, though.  I am 25 hours in and I just got disqualified for one of them because of a choice I made an hour or two ago.  Just for old times sake, I booted up the original Deus Ex and was surprised how much achievements have impacted my playstyle.  In the original, it feels more organic, because if you mess up, you can muddle your way out of it, while in Mankind Divided (and Human Revolution) a mistake usually results in a quickload because that means I possibly just unchecked three or four achievements and I don't want to waste the last hundred times I've reloaded trying to preserve them.  So Adam is this supercommando ninja who glides invisibly through the battlefield but the instant he's detected he rolls his eyes and says "ugh, fine, shoot me" and jumps in place until he dies.  Also, in the original game they GIVE YOU AMMO 

[Rasix]

My son has switched from League of Legends to DotA2.   Mechanics aren't bad once you turn off the awful auto-attack. He really enjoyed parts of TI6(?), and that combined with not having to actually own heroes, makes it an easier game to play. Doesn't cost me a damn thing either, which is nice.

I think I'm on the last section in Deus Ex: HD.  This is going to clock in under 25 hours, and it feels pretty short as well. I'd really suggest waiting a Steam sale or two before picking this up. It's fun, but I don't think it's a great value.

edit: Of course, the boy is into Pokemon now.  So that's where the money will go instead. School doesn't allow trading, but apparently there's a pretty vibrant before school black market going.

[schild]

The school doesn't allow.... trading?

What, are they some kind of pre-connectivity Pokemon purist conclave?

[satael]

Playing CK2 again. Having a blast playing viking (once again) and raising daughters into shieldmaidens so they can lead raiding parties into England (though I have to say that the Reaper DLC makes a single character's life ever more precarious...)

[Rasix]

The school doesn't allow.... trading?

What, are they some kind of pre-connectivity Pokemon purist conclave?

Eh, they just don't want the cards out before school or during school hours.  Kids that are in early care or after school care can trade and play at will.

[schild]

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOH

The card game.

Teach him how to play Magic. ʘ‿ʘ

[Kail]

I think I'm on the last section in Deus Ex: HD.

Yeah, me too.  I think my first clue was when I found a triangle unlock video named "Storyline considerations for designing the last level". 

As for length, I'm not complaining.  Total playtime for me was 35 hours, and Human Revolution was probably 36-38 depending on the DLC.  Part of that was the titanic load times in Mankind Divided compared to Human Revolution, no doubt, but even so, I don't know that it was THAT much shorter.  It definitely like there was less main storyline stuff but also more side missions and things.

[penfold]

Finally got round to playing Witcher 2, just so i could buy Witcher 3 which Ive heard too many people raving on about to want to miss, but held off buying because I hadnt finished the previous games.

The first one i didnt get to far, barely out of starting castle. The second I played to the swamp village but was a bit hard going and some other games came out. Last weekend I used a 5k dice mod for cash and a merch mod for some kit, bought some high end armour and swords and Ive just been enjoying the story since. A very well crafted thing it is indeed.

[Rasix]

I think I'm on the last section in Deus Ex: HD.

Yeah, me too.  I think my first clue was when I found a triangle unlock video named "Storyline considerations for designing the last level".  

As for length, I'm not complaining.  Total playtime for me was 35 hours, and Human Revolution was probably 36-38 depending on the DLC.  Part of that was the titanic load times in Mankind Divided compared to Human Revolution, no doubt, but even so, I don't know that it was THAT much shorter.  It definitely like there was less main storyline stuff but also more side missions and things.

I clocked in at 26 hours.  I think I left a lot of Prague unexplored, but completed every side mission I ran into.  BTW, for anyone playing, the Sarif side mission doesn't go away once you get the first "be sure to finish up your side missions" prompt in the main story line. The side content this time was a lot better, and there were always multiple routes though the content. Of course, I went stealth + no kill, but eventually gave up on the "no alarm" achievement. It really wouldn't be that hard to put it off. If anything though, they need to tweak the energy consumption as I almost went though all of my biocells. It's kind of dumb that you just tear through your energy with take downs.

Overall, I'd say it's almost worth the price. I like to get around 30 hours for full priced game and almost got it, even if the playtime was a bit bloated by early long loading times. (SSD + more ram cleared that up).  

No idea what to play next.  Life is Strange, MSGV, mobas, mmos?  I hate being between games.  

[Sky]

I've been messing around in Project Zomboid again. I really miss the original violin score and the story parts/npcs, but there's something about the game I really enjoy.

So far I'm about two weeks in trying to remember how to play and figure out how to secure a base with as little wiki help as possible (not that there's much there anyway, which I'm ok with). I do lean on the online map a bit much at this point, I should probably stop using that until I learn the map a bit better from exploration.

[Malakili]

Zomboid remains my favorite zombie survival game to date. It had a period of ill-fated development, but they've gotten their act together. If you can put up with playing an kind of old school isometric RPGish thing which does feel a bit dated at this point, the general gameplay systems are great.