Posts by Algor

  • Now you're thinking with polls (Portal 2 questionnaire)

    Now I've only played a few, but the main issue I have with user created Portal content is they generally lack any kind of re-learning curve or pacing. I don't expect them to teach me the entire game over again, but when you are thrust into a difficult puzzle that combines a few already complex mechanics, it makes for a far more frustrating experience than an enjoyable one.

  • The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim

    If there's anything good about them, it's they will help you in combat up to a certain extent (if they get hurt too badly they leave). Otherwise, yeah they just really hurt the flow of the game. Getting on/off feels really janky and slow, they don't have much more stamina than the player, they can't take big drops or slide down massive hills as shortcuts

    You're always welcome to try the horses, but if there was a way to get one without paying.. that is the way to go. There's just not enough of a difference or benefit like there is in Red Dead Redemption.

  • The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim

    Steam says I have played 69 hours and I feel like I am done with this game. I finished the main quest, imperial, thieves guild, mages guild, dark brotherhood, companions, not sure what other quest lines are there. Bethesda definitely has some of the best environmental storytelling around, as well as some of the best visual areas of interest that draw you into an area for no other reason than because it looks cool. I went with heavy armor / unarmed and felt that I tapped out very early in the game with the dragon armor and +melee enchant. There might be a few standout upgrades here and there but I got used to not finding any so I just stopped looting most enemies and containers. I was also a bit disappointed with the unarmed route since you seem to miss out on many things in the game like applying potions to your weapon (you can't douse your fists with a potion?), and some of the useful perks are at the end of talent trees where you'd have to waste points on perks you can't even use (like creating more powerful poisons). Overall though, I would say it's their best outing yet (although it could have used a pint-sized-slasher-esque moment or two). Oh, and the horses sucked and I never used them

  • What are you playing now?

    Like Skyrim, I played Rage on PC but with a 360 controller. Most of these games are designed with the console in mind so the PC controls just feel really bad. I don't seem to remember having that issue in Rage though, maybe the collectible items were spaced further apart. On the other hand I feel like the selection area in Skyrim is pretty broad where sometimes I want more fidelity

  • The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim

    Been pretty good so far, most of the issues I have from UI and UX. This is even with SkyUI installed (maybe part of the issue?). I'm not one to usually say this but it feels like very much a shoddy PC port.

    - Why does left click assign right hand ability and vice versa?

    - Why do I click-drag to move in local map and WASD to move in the global map?

    - Why is the dialogue selection so fucked up? Sometimes it selects the option the mouse is over, sometimes it selects what is highlighted... also sometimes [enter] will skip dialogue, other times only left click will skip

    - Could really use mod that tells whether a book has been read and/or provides skill increase (I just got a mod that tells if it does skill increase, part way there...)

    - Why is [enter] a confirm button? Could they have picked a button further from WASD?

    - The fuckery of swapping what R and E do in the game is pretty annoying

    + I got the detailed maps mod that shows roads, actually gives tons more depth to the world and made it seem larger.

    I was also looking forward to playing as unarmed guy punching the shit out of everyone, pretty disappointing to see that isn't even an option anymore (well you can- it seems to work the same way, but it is not a perk so you will never level up from doing it). Edit: I do see there is at least one perk related to this so I will go back to unarmed again. Also using a 360 controller instead of keyboard now, this is much much better than before.

  • L4D2 Yama b1

    Finished it up tonight;

    Map3

    - Skyportal issue near start

    - Confused why I was getting back on the lift? I never felt like that was my goal, I just went there because there was nothing else. There was a boomer just standing there at the top and I couldn't do anything about it. awkward

    - Right away at the lift exit I wasn't being drawn anywhere so I went to the right and didn't think I could get through so I went to the left. Turns out the right is just large enough to fit through. Are both intended routes? here

    - Lots of great detail in the buildings though much of it lost in the darkness

    - Missed just about every single exit in this map, got near it, didn't see it, went back after getting stuck, found it

    - Ironically the one spot that looked like an exit was a death pit (blinky red tube)

    - Whole map is really dark overall, no real light parts to rest eyes with

    - I felt like the size of this map was just about right

    To get back about direction with the first map, there were two main areas I got stuck;

    here next to the bar.

    - I think the majority of the problems are from this. While I think the area with the fire escape stairs leading into some apartments may add extra confusion, going up these stairs and having your back to the exit which is hidden in darkness is the main problem.

    ...and here on the street with the bus.

    - This actually does a nice job at forcing you to explore, but I feel as though that is due to looking for an exit in all the areas where there is no exit. It's possible the line of cars is a bit too forced and could have a gap in there somewhere for the main route.

    - At the far left of the car detour there is nothing really on the exit route to pull you that way. The last car next to the bus has the potential for a headline to create some interest maybe like this.

    Other areas of feedback;

    - The start of the map has a bit of a lighting conflict like this.

    - Even at the bottom I am still not pulled anywhere because it is evenly dark

    - Was just an idea I had.. maybe turn the car 180* so the brake lights are casting down the street instead. Could serve as subtle hint of closed road in addition to the roadblocks.

    - This room could definitely use a strong light in the back

    - Some nice story telling in the last main street area

    - At least two cases I saw of the roll up doors easily being crouch height but are blocked off to players

    - First time I played I encountered a tank by the street bar and that went very badly when my whole team was in a small dead end. The second time a tank appeared in the last street intersection and it went very well because there was plenty of space to maneuver. Maybe that's life

    - Could really use a medkit or two at the elevator

    Great looking map you've got with some minor flow issues that can turn into a solid map! Congrats on your milestone and best of luck.

  • L4D2 Yama b1

    I will try to get back to the first map to see exactly where I was confused. I played the second map today (excuse the horrible photoshops );

    - Dojo lacks definition to exit, definitely add a light or something to call out SCREEN

    - Bulletproof glass? Would be more dramatic if it could break, doesn't make a whole lot of sense either

    - Medkit box behind door in awkward position

    - Courtyard after dojo especially dark, this whole section is flashlight dependent. Hard to read enemies, eyes need rest

    - Getting off the road blocked by truck + tree... there was a panic event that failed due to infected piling up on closed door leading to village

    - Nice looking village area, non linear and lots of nooks. Just what the game is made for.

    - Village again very dark, player and characters not picking up light. Im standing right next to a ligiht but hardly getting any. Character artsits would be angry! SCREEN

    - Got lost at end and went back to beginning, exit looks like a dead end, had no idea about path. Consider adding strong light spilling out from path SCREEN

    - Cool temple area, framerate definitely taking a hit

    - Top of temple hill, no lights, no infected the entire stretch

    - Dont even know about lift before i am told i need to turn it on, consider routing through here earlier? I also think it might be better if the lift started away and the player had it call it back, rather than to power it on

    - Lift panic event very easy to defend, could use more routes of attack, all infected just came up the stairs

    - Lift ride was cool, nice detail on the middle support, good place for a cool ambient moment

    - Lift had awkward slow exit, two survivor bots died going down ladder, could this be stairs instead?

    - Confused why i had to call a lift that was broken, especially when there is another forced panic event right after

    - No instruction about generator, just turned it on because it was glowing, enemies clipping through exit door

    - This is one loooong map! This is killer for player fatigue, especially if the team wipes

  • L4D2 Yama b1

    Cool, congrats on the release. I also made it past the first map and partway into the second.

    - Nice work on the custom assets, lots of stuff here. Five years is a crazy project!

    - Fireworks were cool, consider even adding some earlier on in a more up front location. Also seemed like the survivor bots were walking right into the explosions.

    - Immersion of being in Japan killed by all the standard vehicles

    - I agree that the main path is hard to find at times, not sure if that was the intent to some degree

    - Overall the map seems a bit too dark

    - Had a number of long stretches with no infected and lots of special infected. In my short experience with l4d that is due to navmesh issues or lack of places out of LOS to spawn more enemies

    - When I think of japan i think of compact, bright, color. This map has a lot of that going on!

    - I had no idea why I opened the elevator doors, when I found out the path I felt it was very contrived. I also had very little health at the time so I didn't want to jump down that long distance.

    - The ladder at the elevator shaft is REALLY bad. I got stuck on it for a while, two of my survivor bots died climbing it, a charger was stuck on it causing my allies to scream endlessly.

    - Allies had a really hard time getting into the ambulance (partly due to jumping into a small crouch area, partly due to being stuck at the ladder)

    - I don't know how I got from an ambulance to a house

    I will get back to the rest some time soon, good luck with the updates!

  • Slingplates (Portal 2)

    Errr... I tried to repro it over lunch with no luck. I will try again later tonight to figure out what exactly it was I did

    Edit: Couldn't get it to repro. Pretty sure it was the first room and was involving a launch pad pushing me through a portal. I tried about every combination of that but couldn't remember exactly how I did it. I think I dropped the cube or missed it and went back to get it and accidentally was launched somewhere causing me to get stuck in the loop.

  • Slingplates (Portal 2)

    Neat stuff, just about the right amount of puzzling. I didn't feel lost at all but just had to figure out what I had to work with. Only issue I had was in the first room. I fell in the water and when the game reloaded I was in a continuous loop of falling into the water.

  • The Last of Us

    Quote from Furyo

    Funny that Nolan North clearly is doing the voice over once again for this trailer. I wonder if he'll also make the game. The character reminded me a lot more of Sam Fisher in Conviction than Nathan Drake

    They are saying it's Troy Baker and Ashley Johnson. In any case, I'm sure Nolan North will show up somewhere in the game

  • Spec Ops: The Line

    Looks pretty interesting, glad to see they have made some improvements over their media blackout. Might be worth playing in a foreign language so you don't have to hear Nolan North playing himself again as the player character for the thousandth time this year .