Useless gaming news & chatter

[Samwise]

I look at it the other way - with games touting their story or narrative as the most important part, there isn't that much to be gained from actually playing through it. 

Those games already fail as games and I'm not talking about them.  I can actually think of a few games I've played recently that would indeed have been better if I'd just watched the cutscenes, but I maintain that those aren't games in the first place, they're movies with a little bit of game stapled on (Last of Us, I'm looking at you).  

Maybe the problem is that those games are infecting people with their shitty notion of what a game is supposed to be.  I'd buy that argument.

Microsoft to buy Mojang?

 

After Notch threw his big public hissy fit about Facebook buying Oculus?   

[Cyrrex]

Kind of a head scratcher to me, too.  I guess Minecraft is still the top selling app on just about every store everywhere, but I don't know how that would play out at Microsoft, where huge sales figures for the PS4 online store aren't exactly something you can brag about in boardroom meetings.  Maybe they're just after the name, and we'll be seeing a Minecraft 2 announcement some time soon.

They could turn it exclusive, in theory. Or do value-add stuff for PC/Xbox customers like hosting servers in Azure or whatever.

Anything and everything Microsoft would do to it would ruin it utterly.  What could you improve about Minecraft that can't already be done with the current game?  For free? 

[Fabricated]

You literally couldn't pick a dumber acquisition for Microsoft, so of course this is likely true.

[Yegolev]

What could you improve about Minecraft that can't already be done with the current game?  For free? 

You could improve the direction of the flow of the money.

[HaemishM]

New crowdfundable Space MMORPG from PGI, the people responsible for MechWarrior Online. It doesn't even try not to look like the cheapass version of Star Citizen, pledge site included. That said, if you watch the Extended Trailer after 3:00, Bryan Ekman will tell you that what they are doing is a MMORPG without NPCs cause the players do everything.

This seems too shitty to be true.

It's PGI. You KNOW it'll be a shitty clusterfuck of half-promised, never-delivered features and imbalanced fuckery.

EDIT: Also, an MMO DID have no NPC's (sort of) - Asheron's Call 2. It sucked monkey ass.

[Yegolev]

I'm ready for "indie" to stop being considered a game genre.

[schild]

I'm ready for "indie" to stop being considered a game genre.

Would you prefer Alternative? Finding good music in the 90s was hard.

[Yegolev]

Sort of like that, yes.  I'd like to just not have "indie" as a tag or filter since I can already sort by price in any modern market.

[Falconeer]

New crowdfundable Space MMORPG from PGI, the people responsible for MechWarrior Online. It doesn't even try not to look like the cheapass version of Star Citizen, pledge site included. That said, if you watch the Extended Trailer after 3:00, Bryan Ekman will tell you that what they are doing is a MMORPG without NPCs cause the players do everything.

This seems too shitty to be true.

It's PGI. You KNOW it'll be a shitty clusterfuck of half-promised, never-delivered features and imbalanced fuckery.

EDIT: Also, an MMO DID have no NPC's (sort of) - Asheron's Call 2. It sucked monkey ass.

So far, 61 people have pledged, for a whopping total of 5k $  


EDIT: PGI HOLDS THE LICENSE FOR WING COMMANDER! (but chose not to use it) 

I wanted to take a moment to address a few important topics floating around the Fringe.

We do indeed currently hold the license of Wing Commander.  We first contacted EA about the WC brand in the spring of 2012, long before the initial announcement of products like Star Citizen.  We approached EA because we had a deep love for the space combat genre and Wing Commander was right there alongside MechWarrior as our most beloved franchises we grew up with.  In short at the time we thought we were going to be the ones taking that big initial risk to try and bring space shooters back. 

Over the course of the next 18 months a significant amount changed –  Star Citizen was announced, and by Late 2013 we found ourselves in possession of an exclusive license to Wing Commander and assembling a small team to craft a new experience.  We spent six months developing, designing, and working on a marketing video with help from outsourcing partners.  As we approached our reveal date, there was a moment of pause when we started to reflect on the brand, and design concepts.  We reached a pivotal moment when some of our best design ideas were being pushed to the side as they just didn’t fit within the constraints of a WC game.

We looked carefully at what our WCO product was, looked at other competing products, and decided that we needed to move away from the Wing Commander universe.  It was a tough choice, as we have a deep love and respect for the brand. 

It became clear that our very best and original game idea was contained within all of the concepts that were pushed aside for our WC product. The concept for Transverse was born from a single thought, and inspired by all those unused ideas.  In the end we realized we should be making our best idea and in doing so we found a corner of the spacesim genre that would make us stand out.  In doing so we would also be providing Star Citizen with the respect it deserves and what it represents to their customers.

[HaemishM]

Why don't they just sell the Wing Commander license to Star Citizen? It's not like those assholes don't have the money for it. 

[Lucas]

Larian CEO Swen Vincke reflects on D:OS release, crunching, what comes next, Kickstarter, game design. A great read that encompasses a lot of topics (so it makes sense not to relegate it to the specific game thread) :

http://www.lar.net/2014/09/12/thoughts-after-releasing-divinityoriginal-sin-and-what-comes-next/

Opening:

Ok,  let’s do this thing. Lots of people have been asking me for numbers and thoughts on the release of Divinity: Original Sin, so here are a few.

Divinity:Original Sin did pretty well. At the time of this writing its Metacritic critic rating is at 87%, it’s user rating at 89% and it’s been at the top of the Steam charts for most of the summer, occupying the nr. 1 spot for around a month.

It has sold well over half a million units by now– mostly from Steam, with 10% from retail.  ”Break even” has been reached, our debts have been paid and we are now in the profitable zone. While not all of the money is for us as we had private investors on board, the game did sufficiently well for us to envision funding our next endeavors with it, meaning we’re pretty happy about its performance.

[ezrast]

Current Humble Bundle isn't awful. Gone Home; Papers, Please; Monaco; some other stuff.

[Lucas]

Bejeweled 3 is now free on Origin (stil at $4.99 on Steam). I would recommend it at its full price anyway (it's so much MORE fun and varied than those crappy "sagas" facebook games), but the "free" tag is a nice incentive if you're not against the Origin service.

[Fabricated]

In a move that surprises no one, Double-Fine's Dwarf Fortress in space thing Spacebase DF-9 is unceremoniously being bumped from Early Access to 1.0 with a majority of the promised features not being there, and the game is presumably being mothballed.

[schild]

Tim & Co have no clue how to develop or create complex systems. They are awful.

In other news: http://www.breitbart.com/Breitbart-London/2014/09/17/Exposed-the-secret-mailing-list-of-the-gaming-journalism-elite

lol

k

I met Kyle Orland in a Gamestop in Maryland a bit after joining Big Huge Games & starting f13. He's a total fucking tool and I don't even want to read the whole article, but I'm linking it to say: If this turns into a discussion about Zoe Quinn, I'm gonna start handing out bans. Let's keep the talking to what a total pack of goon morons exist within games journalism.

[Mithas]

This mailing list shit is real? These people are not journalists.

[Margalis]

In a move that surprises no one, Double-Fine's Dwarf Fortress in space thing Spacebase DF-9 is unceremoniously being bumped from Early Access to 1.0 with a majority of the promised features not being there, and the game is presumably being mothballed.

SHOCKING NEWS!

Has DF ever made mechanically solid game?

DF is basically just a scam developer at this point. Every thing they release relies on some sort of funding hoodwinking.

Edit: Orland is a tool. I followed him on Twitter for all of day before I had to unfollow him.

[Rendakor]

Tim & Co have no clue how to develop or create complex systems. They are awful.

In other news: http://www.breitbart.com/Breitbart-London/2014/09/17/Exposed-the-secret-mailing-list-of-the-gaming-journalism-elite

lol

k

I met Kyle Orland in a Gamestop in Maryland a bit after joining Big Huge Games & starting f13. He's a total fucking tool and I don't even want to read the whole article, but I'm linking it to say: If this turns into a discussion about Zoe Quinn, I'm gonna start handing out bans. Let's keep the talking to what a total pack of goon morons exist within games journalism.

Why aren't you on this list and providing us with juicy insider details silly drama and lulz?

[schild]

Because the "Intolerable Schmucks Google Group" just isn't something I wish to involve myself with.

In other news, I'm trying really, REALLY fucking hard not to buy a goddamn white PS4 w/ Destiny. The draw of that game may be too fucking much. Ugh.

[Ginaz]

Tim & Co have no clue how to develop or create complex systems. They are awful.

In other news: http://www.breitbart.com/Breitbart-London/2014/09/17/Exposed-the-secret-mailing-list-of-the-gaming-journalism-elite

lol

k

I met Kyle Orland in a Gamestop in Maryland a bit after joining Big Huge Games & starting f13. He's a total fucking tool and I don't even want to read the whole article, but I'm linking it to say: If this turns into a discussion about Zoe Quinn, I'm gonna start handing out bans. Let's keep the talking to what a total pack of goon morons exist within games journalism.

 

[Ginaz]

Because the "Intolerable Schmucks Google Group" just isn't something I wish to involve myself with.

In other news, I'm trying really, REALLY fucking hard not to buy a goddamn white PS4 w/ Destiny. The draw of that game may be too fucking much. Ugh.

I would have already bought it if not for my sausage fingers making playing FPS with a game pad almost impossible.

[schild]

Yea, there are no fucking words for how much I hate thumbsticks. Maybe I'll just play Fallout New Vegas to completion for the first time.

[Ginaz]

Tim & Co have no clue how to develop or create complex systems. They are awful.

In other news: http://www.breitbart.com/Breitbart-London/2014/09/17/Exposed-the-secret-mailing-list-of-the-gaming-journalism-elite

lol

k

I met Kyle Orland in a Gamestop in Maryland a bit after joining Big Huge Games & starting f13. He's a total fucking tool and I don't even want to read the whole article, but I'm linking it to say: If this turns into a discussion about Zoe Quinn, I'm gonna start handing out bans. Let's keep the talking to what a total pack of goon morons exist within games journalism.

Some more emails.
https://archive.today/JFoxJ

[schild]

Man, look at that Rogue's Gallery of douches.

[Trippy]

In other news, I'm trying really, REALLY fucking hard not to buy a goddamn white PS4 w/ Destiny. The draw of that game may be too fucking much. Ugh.

The "white" Destiny PS4 is actually a light grey, if that matters to you.

[schild]

It doesn't. It just matters that it comes with Destiny.

[Rasix]

You're shaking my faith in humanity.  Can you go back to shitting on Double Fine?

Bloodborne.  That might be worth having one.

[Rendakor]

Because the "Intolerable Schmucks Google Group" just isn't something I wish to involve myself with.

In other news, I'm trying really, REALLY fucking hard not to buy a goddamn white PS4 w/ Destiny. The draw of that game may be too fucking much. Ugh.

I bought one, but I'm really awful at thumbsticks. Debating either dropping the game or buying that kb+m adapter thing someone linked in the Destiny thread.

[Signe]

I am all thumbsticks, all the time.  I'm hoping I'll be sick of Destiny by the time I can afford a PS4 so I don't have to buy the white one.  Are the controllers white, too?  oooo.  I'm still torn about whether to get the new Borderlands for the 360 or wait... it'll be AGES after October if I wait.  I'll be the last one to play.    

[schild]

You're shaking my faith in humanity.  Can you go back to shitting on Double Fine?

Bloodborne.  That might be worth having one.

Bloodborne is what is actually driving this Destiny thing. I know I'd rather play Destiny when other people are still playing, and I'm GOING to own a PS4 for Bloodborne, so why not now.

[schild]

Because the "Intolerable Schmucks Google Group" just isn't something I wish to involve myself with.

In other news, I'm trying really, REALLY fucking hard not to buy a goddamn white PS4 w/ Destiny. The draw of that game may be too fucking much. Ugh.

I bought one, but I'm really awful at thumbsticks. Debating either dropping the game or buying that kb+m adapter thing someone linked in the Destiny thread.

THERE'S A KEYBOARD/MOUSE ADAPTER?

[Signe]

Wait.  I thought you could just plug the stuff into the USB port or use a Bluetooth thingymajiggies. 

[Margalis]

I wonder if people like Ben Kuchera realize that when they call making a forum thread "harassment" all it does is tell people to roll their eyes at claims of harassment. Ben Kuchera is the sort of preachy scold that should exist only as parody. "I'm so disappointed that you won't immediately delete a thread on your forums for no reason other than that I don't like it, even though it's not against your own TOS."

greg.tito comes off looking pretty good there.

[Trippy]

I am all thumbsticks, all the time.  I'm hoping I'll be sick of Destiny by the time I can afford a PS4 so I don't have to buy the white one.  Are the controllers white, too?  oooo.  I'm still torn about whether to get the new Borderlands for the 360 or wait... it'll be AGES after October if I wait.  I'll be the last one to play.    

The bundled controller is two-tone: light grey (same as console) on the top part of the shell and slightly darker grey for the bottom half.

[Trippy]

Because the "Intolerable Schmucks Google Group" just isn't something I wish to involve myself with.

In other news, I'm trying really, REALLY fucking hard not to buy a goddamn white PS4 w/ Destiny. The draw of that game may be too fucking much. Ugh.

I bought one, but I'm really awful at thumbsticks. Debating either dropping the game or buying that kb+m adapter thing someone linked in the Destiny thread.

THERE'S A KEYBOARD/MOUSE ADAPTER?

Yes but it doesn't work like you think it does. The game does not support mouse input. Instead the dongle translates mouse movements into roughly equivalent joystick movements based on hand tuned zone and acceleration settings.