GrogHeads Forum

Here's my little lot:

The Long Dark
The Stanley Parable
Dungeons 2 (more for my lady than for me but I will play it)
Stardrive 2 (yes, I said I wouldn't buy it, but there are hardly any games like this on Linux right now and I need something to tide me over to Solaris and the hoped-for Linux port of GalCiv 3)

I reckon that will be it for me.  Well, hope.

argh!

Maybe an add-on for Train Simulator and Endless Legends.

You know, there are a few titles on my Wishlist at 50% off, but none of them really have inspired an impulse buy.  Too many other games I haven't played much yet, and only two or three of the titles on my list are "must buy".  Deep discounts on decent games seem to be lacking.  I'd be surprised if I buy anything this year, which hasn't happened since I first got my Steam account 4 or 5 years back.

I wonder if this is an intentional decision by Valve to damp down their sales in December to spread out (and possibly maximize) their revenue throughout the rest of the year?  Or is it just indicative of how many games I've bought in the last year that I still haven't played?  Hard to be sure, but I don't think I've bought that many more games this year than in the prior two...

Helicopter DLC for ARMA III.

Well, that's all I managed to get before I gave up. We shall see whether tomorrow brings with it better connection mojo.

Quote from: IronX on December 22, 2015, 02:51:42 PM
Helicopter DLC for ARMA III.

Well, that's all I managed to get before I gave up. We shall see whether tomorrow brings with it better connection mojo.

Go for the DLC bundle. All three DLCs for a decent price.

This actually maybe it.... I have tittered back and forth on Horizons and still cannot get myself to purchase because of the price.  Only other thing I may purchase is Common Sense DLC and/or Templar Battleforce that may do it.


Cities: Skylines After Dark DLC (actually from Amazon $5 cheaper)


PE

Quote from: PanzersEast on December 22, 2015, 03:02:13 PM
This actually maybe it.... I have tittered back and forth on Horizons and still cannot get myself to purchase because of the price.  Only other thing I may purchase is Common Sense DLC and/or Templar Battleforce that may do it.


Cities: Skylines After Dark DLC (actually from Amazon $5 cheaper)


PE

Dang, $6 for Cities: Skylines After Dark DLC is a good price!  Thanks PE (and Amazon) for throwing a wrench into my Winter Sale game plan... :knuppel2:

Beyond Earth
To the Moon
Ceres

So far:

Lux Delux
Predestination
The Seven Years War (1756-1763)

Quote from: bbmike on December 22, 2015, 03:54:07 PM
So far:

Lux Delux
Predestination
The Seven Years War (1756-1763)

I finally broke down on Predestination too...

In addition:

Rogue State,  Project Cars and Starlight Tactics.

Satellite Reign so far, but I forgot all about Predestination.  Hang on.......nah, still not cheap enough for an impulse buy.

Skyrim- legendary edition
The Long Dark
Dark Souls- prepare to Die edition
so far

Quote from: -budd- on December 22, 2015, 06:29:27 PM
The Long Dark

Let me know what you think.  I just had a quick go in the first (supposedly noob-friendly) area and promptly froze to death on my first night. :D

Mad Max for $20....   Hmmm....

Thoughts pro or con, anyone?

None...

EUIV - Common Sense + Content Pack

And that may be all for me in the Steam sale.

Was hoping for some substantial discounts on CivBE - Rising Tide and or Divinity Original Sin but looks like I'll have to wait a bit longer.

Recently I've been finding I've been getting a lot of fun playing some of the games I've had for some time (Flashpoint Campaigns, XCOM, Avernum Escape from the Pit etc.) rather than buying new games. Weird idea I know, I'm sure I'll come to my senses soon  :)

Quote from: sandman2575 on December 22, 2015, 07:24:45 PM
Mad Max for $20....   Hmmm....

Thoughts pro or con, anyone?

I bought it full price and found it a decent enough game but gets really repetitive really fast.  It is a fun game though and for $20 I think you'd get that much enjoyment out of it.

Quote from: Huw the Poo on December 22, 2015, 07:20:06 PM

Quote from: -budd- on December 22, 2015, 06:29:27 PM
The Long Dark

Let me know what you think.  I just had a quick go in the first (supposedly noob-friendly) area and promptly froze to death on my first night. :D

It is new and shiny and i did install it, not sure when i'll get to it ......it is new and shiny though ;)

I decided Satellite Reign wasn't my cup of meat, got a refund and Seven Years War instead

Already owned some of the more popularly purchased ones, such as The Long Dark, so I grabbed a few smaller indies I'd been wanting. 

I've actually been gorging on Marvel Heroes the past couple days, during their holiday events.  So these new titles may not get too much focus yet, which is nothing new for my video game sale purchasing.


The Consuming Shadow
EU4: Common Sense dlc
Cardinal Quest 2
Mytheon



Note:

I spent much more in Steam Game Gifting to family than my own.  So I still failed to get out of there cheap.   :))

I bought Shallow Space and Darkest Dungeon.

Quote from: Wolfe1759 on December 22, 2015, 08:04:48 PM
EUIV - Common Sense + Content Pack

And that may be all for me in the Steam sale.

Was hoping for some substantial discounts on CivBE - Rising Tide and or Divinity Original Sin but looks like I'll have to wait a bit longer.

Recently I've been finding I've been getting a lot of fun playing some of the games I've had for some time (Flashpoint Campaigns, XCOM, Avernum Escape from the Pit etc.) rather than buying new games. Weird idea I know, I'm sure I'll come to my senses soon  :)

Bought that a couple of Christmas's ago.  Never finished it, but, I really liked it.  Old timey RPG goodness.

For chrissakes, people...

Is it a game you could see getting a daily deal? THEN DON'T BUY IT UNTIL THEN, OR UNTIL THE LAST DAY!

Quote from: Arctic Blast on December 22, 2015, 11:49:31 PMIs it a game you could see getting a daily deal? THEN DON'T BUY IT UNTIL THEN, OR UNTIL THE LAST DAY!

But there are no daily deals.

So far:
Satellite Reign
Convoy
Blood And Gold: Caribbean!

Quote from: amandachen on December 23, 2015, 12:36:00 AM

Quote from: Arctic Blast on December 22, 2015, 11:49:31 PMIs it a game you could see getting a daily deal? THEN DON'T BUY IT UNTIL THEN, OR UNTIL THE LAST DAY!

But there are no daily deals.

Correct.  What Valve do now is highlight different games on different days, but the deals remain the same throughout the length of the sale, just like last time.

I am weak...bought about 15 games i already own in other formats just to have them available for download....

One new game in the bunch: Shallow Space

Only bought Commander: The Great War so far as an entry level wargame. I'm also strongly considering Pike & Shot but the discount isn't that great. On the "maybe"-list are: Civil War 2, Revolution Under Siege Gold, Age of Wonders 3, Flashpoint Campaigns: Red Storm and a DLC or two for Europa Universalis 4. Could not decide yet on what to buy.

I kinda hoped to get some decent discounts for several games so I could buy a few and be "supplied" for at least the next six months.

Quote from: Thjan on December 23, 2015, 05:41:33 AM
Only bought Commander: The Great War so far as an entry level wargame. I'm also strongly considering Pike & Shot but the discount isn't that great. On the "maybe"-list are: Civil War 2, Revolution Under Siege Gold, Age of Wonders 3, Flashpoint Campaigns: Red Storm and a DLC or two for Europa Universalis 4. Could not decide yet on what to buy.

I kinda hoped to get some decent discounts for several games so I could buy a few and be "supplied" for at least the next six months.

I would recommend P&S as a game (however I can't say what price is right for you).  FC:RS is a very good game IMO, though the game-play takes a little bit of getting used to.  BTW Thjan, have you thought of posting your experiences as a new wargamer in thishttp://grogheads.com/forums/index.php?topic=15686.0 (http://grogheads.com/forums/index.php?topic=15686.0) thread?

Quote from: Father Ted on December 23, 2015, 06:30:08 AM
BTW Thjan, have you thought of posting your experiences as a new wargamer in thishttp://grogheads.com/forums/index.php?topic=15686.0 (http://grogheads.com/forums/index.php?topic=15686.0) thread?

Will definitely do so when I gathered some more experience.

Quote from: Wolfe1759 on December 22, 2015, 08:04:48 PM
EUIV - Common Sense + Content Pack

And that may be all for me in the Steam sale.

Was hoping for some substantial discounts on CivBE - Rising Tide and or Divinity Original Sin but looks like I'll have to wait a bit longer.

Recently I've been finding I've been getting a lot of fun playing some of the games I've had for some time (Flashpoint Campaigns, XCOM, Avernum Escape from the Pit etc.) rather than buying new games. Weird idea I know, I'm sure I'll come to my senses soon  :)

this +1000

this year has mostly been Xcom Long War, CKII, EU4, Supreme Commander and WitP AE

I'm still trying to find out if the Common Sense DLC is worth buying. I heard it borked the game and was a huge step backward. Has this been addressed/patched?

Just grabbed Beyond Sol, which is a game I looked at a while back and completely forgot about.

Well, wait for it..........my big purchase so far........Star Wars Legos, Complete Saga.....I guess seeing the new movie recently got the juices flowing for anything Star Wars:) 

Quote from: Jarhead0331 on December 23, 2015, 07:02:47 AM
I'm still trying to find out if the Common Sense DLC is worth buying. I heard it borked the game and was a huge step backward. Has this been addressed/patched?

have you got the link to the issue - ive only noticed good things TBH, havent had an issue with anything

The EU4 issue is that the main theory behind the expansion, which allows small countries to build 'up' instead of requiring them to build 'out', screws with the game balance -- not in a buggy way, but it doesn't feel like EU per se anymore, especially when EVERY OTHER FACTION IN THE GAME starts, reasonably, using the same rules.

Not an opinion I can have yet, not having played EU4 enough to have an opinion. ;) But I could see what would bother other people on it.

Just added:

Heroes of Steel: Tactics RPG 
Colonial Conquest 
Revolution Under Siege Gold 

I should add that if you want the improvements of Common Sense, those are already patched in free; and if you want the units of Common Sense, you can (and actually must, if I understand correctly) order those separately.

Also, if you try the new rules and you think they screw up the game balance too much, then you can just turn off that portion in a couple of ways.

Quote from: undercovergeek on December 23, 2015, 08:54:37 AM

Quote from: Jarhead0331 on December 23, 2015, 07:02:47 AM
I'm still trying to find out if the Common Sense DLC is worth buying. I heard it borked the game and was a huge step backward. Has this been addressed/patched?

have you got the link to the issue - ive only noticed good things TBH, havent had an issue with anything

Read through the reviews on the steam page. They seem to encapsulate the beef fairly well.

Are the game changes in Common Sense limited to that expansion or were many of the changes patched into the core game.

I remember buying that Aztec expansion, Sun Rise or some such, for CK2 and really disliking what it did to the game.  I uncheck it now in the start up menu and it doesn't affect the game anymore.  However I also know that PI likes to add many of the expansion improvements to the core game as a patch in which case disabling the DLC doesn't do anything.

Okay, so what did I actually get?

The two Common Sense DLCs (rule pack and unit pack).

Two Rom2TW DLCs I was missing.

AttillaTW and all available DLCs. (This was the big purchase.)

Kings of Israel (the boardgame port.)

X3 Terran Conflict + Albion Prelude

Lost Planet 2 (the game that I have joked about never, ever going on sale, went on sale -- after a 50% price reduction! Yeesh, I wonder if the devs are going to announce a new game soon...??)

Making History WW1 and WW2 (bundle)

Gremlins, Inc. (not actually a real boardgame but basically a boardgame ;) )

Templar Battleforce

All that was somewhere between $85 and $90.


The next day picked up Sniper Elite 1 & 2 and 2's DLC for about $15 total. Thought seriously about 3 but decided to wait.


Also recently but not on sale.

7 Years War (bought this before the sale intentionally, to support the dev).

7 Days to Die (didn't want to wait for the sale before jumping into the Grog server. In hindsight, I might as well have waited as I haven't had time/energy to play it due to pre-Christmas thingies.)


And then, already pre-bought on a Season Pass, but the last of the Arkham Knight DLCs arrived as a Christmas surprise last night, adding four in-game side-missions that I really would have preferred to be in the initial release: Croc, Hatter, Freeze, and Ras al'Ghul all return for the last time. (Unless someone other than Rocksteady decides to carry on with the series.)

Quote from: Bison on December 23, 2015, 09:43:09 AM
However I also know that PI likes to add many of the expansion improvements to the core game as a patch in which case disabling the DLC doesn't do anything.

There are basic game improvements as part of free patching; and the units of the expansion are sold separately from the new rules for the expansion. My understanding is that the new rules can be turned off (and now even refunded, within the Steam timeframe) if you decide they're breaking the game.

Quote from: Jarhead0331 on December 23, 2015, 09:41:11 AM

Quote from: undercovergeek on December 23, 2015, 08:54:37 AM

Quote from: Jarhead0331 on December 23, 2015, 07:02:47 AM
I'm still trying to find out if the Common Sense DLC is worth buying. I heard it borked the game and was a huge step backward. Has this been addressed/patched?

have you got the link to the issue - ive only noticed good things TBH, havent had an issue with anything

Read through the reviews on the steam page. They seem to encapsulate the beef fairly well.

I've been doing just this, and one thing that crops up in many of them is the complaint that unfortified provinces fall instantly.  This is a core part of the game now even if you don't have Common Sense (which I don't).  Since I got into it late, I have never known any different, and I have to say it doesn't bother me.  If a province has neither a fort nor an army, why wouldn't it fall instantly?  Some of the complainants also mention that this makes rebels a major pain, but it isn't like rebels just appear out of nowhere; you get loads of warning that a rebel uprising is possible, and numerous ways to stamp it out before it begins.

Anyway, that's one theme of the complaints.  I haven't looked much into others so perhaps they hold more water.

Quote from: Thjan on December 23, 2015, 05:41:33 AM
Only bought Commander: The Great War so far as an entry level wargame. I'm also strongly considering Pike & Shot but the discount isn't that great. On the "maybe"-list are: Civil War 2, Revolution Under Siege Gold, Age of Wonders 3, Flashpoint Campaigns: Red Storm and a DLC or two for Europa Universalis 4. Could not decide yet on what to buy.

I kinda hoped to get some decent discounts for several games so I could buy a few and be "supplied" for at least the next six months.

Age of Wonders 3 is a great game, especially with its DLS. Highly recommended if you like strategy fantasy with a turn based tactical layer.

Broforce for $7.50. It's a hoot!

Bought

Pillar's of Eternity
Baldur' Gate II : Enhanced Edition
Predestination

Quote from: MetalDog on December 22, 2015, 11:46:08 PM

Quote from: Wolfe1759 on December 22, 2015, 08:04:48 PM
EUIV - Common Sense + Content Pack

And that may be all for me in the Steam sale.

Was hoping for some substantial discounts on CivBE - Rising Tide and or Divinity Original Sin but looks like I'll have to wait a bit longer.

Recently I've been finding I've been getting a lot of fun playing some of the games I've had for some time (Flashpoint Campaigns, XCOM, Avernum Escape from the Pit etc.) rather than buying new games. Weird idea I know, I'm sure I'll come to my senses soon  :)

Bought that a couple of Christmas's ago.  Never finished it, but, I really liked it.  Old timey RPG goodness.

You should get with the times an d upgrade to CiV V    >:D

These:

Garry's Mod                            2.49 USD
XCOM: Enemy Within                    7.49 USD
Pillars of Eternity - Hero Edition   17.99 USD
Rebel Galaxy                         13.39 USD
Graviteam Tactics: Operation Star 4.49 USD
Football Tactics                          11.04 USD
Hard West                            13.99 USD

There's still a couple I have my eye on but this should keep me busy until next Christmas.

Quote from: KyzBP on December 23, 2015, 11:22:55 AM
These:

Garry's Mod                            2.49 USD
XCOM: Enemy Within                    7.49 USD
Pillars of Eternity - Hero Edition   17.99 USD
Rebel Galaxy                         13.39 USD
Graviteam Tactics: Operation Star 4.49 USD
Football Tactics                          11.04 USD
Hard West                            13.99 USD

There's still a couple I have my eye on but this should keep me busy until next Christmas.

make sure you download the free Long War mod for XCOM: Enemy Within... IMO its probably the best mod of all time for any game I have played

Agreed - and a lot of the theory has been put into the new one

Quote from: Windigo on December 23, 2015, 12:26:27 PM

Quote from: KyzBP on December 23, 2015, 11:22:55 AM
These:

Garry's Mod                            2.49 USD
XCOM: Enemy Within                    7.49 USD
Pillars of Eternity - Hero Edition   17.99 USD
Rebel Galaxy                         13.39 USD
Graviteam Tactics: Operation Star 4.49 USD
Football Tactics                          11.04 USD
Hard West                            13.99 USD

There's still a couple I have my eye on but this should keep me busy until next Christmas.

make sure you download the free Long War mod for XCOM: Enemy Within... IMO its probably the best mod of all time for any game I have played

That was the main reason I bought it.  O0

My haul so far is zip, nadda, nothing.  Its not that there are no items on my wishlist (15 or so actually), its the fact that what the sale price is today will be the sales price until Jan 4th. I'm not feeling that I have to always check in to see what the flash sales/daily sales are.  I will be getting a few items, but I've got plenty to occupy what little gaming time I have lately, so just don't feel like I have to rush it this year.  Kinda think Steam may be losing out on some impulse buys...but then again with their new Refund Policy, maybe not *shrug*

I've mostly picked up some games I've meant to grab before, such as Decisive Campaigns: The Blitzkrieg from Warsaw to Paris and Graviteam Tactics: Operation Star with the DLC's. I may pick up another game or few, but these are a good start.

nothing yet - if anything, Squad but thats not on sale

I finally picked up Pillars of Eternity and Homeworld: Remastered Edition yesterday.  I nearly grabbed Nobunaga's Ambition as well, but decided to hold off for the time being. 

Pillars is a great game.  You're in for a real treat playing it.

None here yet, not sure whether to get 2-3 in sale possibly Mordheim, Chaos Reborn and DLC for AOW 3 or just buy DC Barb at full price and be done with it.

Quote from: steve58 on December 23, 2015, 02:24:51 PM
Kinda think Steam may be losing out on some impulse buys...but then again with their new Refund Policy, maybe not *shrug*

The refund policy must be the reason.  No way they'd want to stress that with people going mental over refunding games due to flash sales, especially since they specifically allow for refunds for games bought just before they went on sale.

Speaking of which, I got The Long Dark refunded.  There just isn't a game there yet.  It's a stick-gathering simulator.  It shows plenty of promise, yes, but I'm not spending my budget on mere promise during the almighty winter sale.

For those of you who bought Predestination what do you think?  I'm so close to pulling the trigger but I can't decide.

Quote from: Martok on December 23, 2015, 04:42:15 PM
I finally picked up Pillars of Eternity and Homeworld: Remastered Edition yesterday.  I nearly grabbed Nobunaga's Ambition as well, but decided to hold off for the time being.

Wow....didn't notice Nobunaga only $29...I originally tried it but didn't wrap my head around it, so returned it when it was $59...maybe time to give another try.

If giving up flash sales and daily deals is the price we have to pay for a refund policy, I'm all in favor.

I'm also curious about the current state of Predestination.

The Banner Saga

Banished

Too great of a price on both of these to pass up.


Groggy

Quote from: Huw the Poo on December 23, 2015, 03:55:30 AM

Quote from: amandachen on December 23, 2015, 12:36:00 AM

Quote from: Arctic Blast on December 22, 2015, 11:49:31 PMIs it a game you could see getting a daily deal? THEN DON'T BUY IT UNTIL THEN, OR UNTIL THE LAST DAY!

But there are no daily deals.

Correct.  What Valve do now is highlight different games on different days, but the deals remain the same throughout the length of the sale, just like last time.

(https://i.ytimg.com/vi/Y2oGFNZkayc/hqdefault.jpg)

In that case, Rome Total War II with all DLC and Dirt 3 are now downloading. Other purchases under heavy consideration.  ;D

Heh, yeah, at least this way you get two weeks to decide whether a deal is worth it instead of feeling under pressure.

Quote from: Huw the Poo on December 24, 2015, 03:47:19 AM
Heh, yeah, at least this way you get two weeks to decide whether a deal is worth it instead of feeling under pressure.

Couldn't agree with you more...I like it this new way.

Quote from: W8taminute on December 23, 2015, 05:26:09 PM
For those of you who bought Predestination what do you think?  I'm so close to pulling the trigger but I can't decide.

Installed and launched it but haven't played it yet. I'm undecided on playing now or waiting until it's more 'done'.

I got it last night and so far just played the tutorial.  The most unique thing about it seems to be the option to start in the era leading up to space flight.  Other than that I can't say if it offers anything beyond the standard cookie-cutter SF 4X.

Added Alan Wake American Nightmare and Deus Ex GOTY . They just released a new mod for Deus Ex, GMDX, this isn't the one the have on steam.There's a few more i'm considering, any opinions are welcome

for consideration
Silence of the sleep
The Master Plan
Transistor
Grim Fandango -remastered
Xenonauts
Space engineers

I try to stick with the 75% off rule, so if the prices are going to stay the same the rest of the sale i might be done. I'm not feeling the big pull from any of these.

bbmike and tgb:


Thanks for the feedback.  I'll keep the game on my wishlist but will hold off for now.  I think I'm going to pick up Football Tactics instead!

Quote from: Bison on December 23, 2015, 04:43:31 PM
Pillars is a great game.  You're in for a real treat playing it.

Yeah, I'm definitely looking forward to getting into this one -- have been for a while, really.  Any particular advice/recommendations for a newbie? 

Quote from: bbmike on December 24, 2015, 08:28:43 AM

Quote from: W8taminute on December 23, 2015, 05:26:09 PM
For those of you who bought Predestination what do you think?  I'm so close to pulling the trigger but I can't decide.

Installed and launched it but haven't played it yet. I'm undecided on playing now or waiting until it's more 'done'.

From what I've seen and heard so far, I would maybe continue to hold off for the moment.  The devs did just release another fairly big update, but I still get the impression the game (while promising) is somewhat rough around the edges and not yet ready for "prime-time". 

Quote from: tgb on December 24, 2015, 10:14:23 AM
I got it last night and so far just played the tutorial.  The most unique thing about it seems to be the option to start in the era leading up to space flight.  Other than that I can't say if it offers anything beyond the standard cookie-cutter SF 4X.

Predestination does do a few things differently from most space 4x titles.  Probably the two most notable features are an almost Civilization-style pre-warp start (optional), and the system used for exploring & developing your colonies. 

Quote from: kludger on December 23, 2015, 03:47:25 AM
So far:
Satellite Reign
Convoy
Blood And Gold: Caribbean!

A couple of more from my wishlist:
Rebel Galaxy
Chaos Reborn
Pinball Arcade Season 2

Quote from: Huw the Poo on December 22, 2015, 02:32:37 PM
Here's my little lot:

The Long Dark
The Stanley Parable
Dungeons 2 (more for my lady than for me but I will play it)
Stardrive 2 (yes, I said I wouldn't buy it, but there are hardly any games like this on Linux right now and I need something to tide me over to Solaris and the hoped-for Linux port of GalCiv 3)

I reckon that will be it for me.  Well, hope.

Added:

Empire TV Tycoon
Noct
Party Hard

How is Empire TV Tycoon?  It's on my wishlist and I almost pulled the trigger a couple of times, but just couldn't get off the fence.

On my phone right now, but briefly, I like it.  I was pulled in by the nice presentation but it turns out the gameplay is solid too.  Lots to do, loads of stats to track, and it's a good laugh making your own films.  I'm also impressed that all the films you schedule for your channel are real life films.  The interface is surprisingly good too; I was expecting it to be crap but it really isn't.

I've only put an hour or so in but right now the only potential danger is it lacking longevity.  I can't say for sure yet, but even if it's the case, at this price it wouldn't prevent me from recommending it anyway.

Next time I get a chance I'll post longer impressions.

Added Windward and Pillars of Eternity.

Bought Commander: The Great War, Flashpoint Campaigns: Red Storm + Addon and Sunless Sea so far.

Considering: Pike & Shot Campaigns, Homeworld: Deserts of Karak and CMANO. Too many interesting games, not enough time to play :(

Quote from: Martok on December 24, 2015, 01:37:57 PM

Quote from: Bison on December 23, 2015, 04:43:31 PM
Pillars is a great game.  You're in for a real treat playing it.

Yeah, I'm definitely looking forward to getting into this one -- have been for a while, really.  Any particular advice/recommendations for a newbie? 

Save often.   :)

Life Is Strange
Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic
Valkyria Chronicles

^putting aside all the japanime crap, Valkyria Chronicles is a surprisingly good game.

I made out like a bandit!

Beyond Sol
Ceres: Tactical Space Combat
Hard West
Homeworld
Pillars of Eternity
Rebel Galaxy
Victor Vran
Void Destroyer

Heh, I managed to put Ceres into my shopping cart, at 10 am CST on Christmas Day. And that was the last time Steam worked for me, for a while...  :2funny:

Quote from: Jarhead0331 on December 25, 2015, 09:35:09 AM
^putting aside all the japanime crap, Valkyria Chronicles is a surprisingly good game.

My thoughts exactly. I'm not an Anime fan (Metal Gear Solid not withstanding) but it is a very good squad-based strategy game with a ton of depth.

Quote from: Jarhead0331 on December 25, 2015, 09:35:09 AM
^putting aside all the japanime crap, Valkyria Chronicles is a surprisingly good game.

My question is, how easy is it to ignore the japanime crap?  I've avoided Valkyria despite the glowing reviews because I just can't stomach the stuff. Metal Gear is about as far as I'm willing to go in putting up with it.

Edit - lol - looks like Ian and I are on the same page re: japanime...

Also, is the Steam store closed for Xmas or something? It's been down for a few hours now...

If you turn off your brain on the cut scenes and can get past some missions that are brutally difficult if you don't know what needs to be done it is a great game. Think more x com but where the soldier interaction is important.
Trust me if you like small squad tactics it is a great game.

Quote from: sandman2575 on December 25, 2015, 11:11:59 AM
Also, is the Steam store closed for Xmas or something? It's been down for a few hours now...

Its being overloaded by everyone redeeming their brand new activation codes they received for Christmas:)

Been proud of myself so far, only the $5 purchase of Star Wars legos and that's it.....

Haven't gotten anything, yet, but I'm sure I will soon.

Steam store isn't working for us either, I can tell my boys are growing up, in the past (like last week) they'd have been screaming bloody murder that that couldn't spend all their Christmas steam money immediately, now they're just watching YouTube and waiting patiently.

Quote from: jamus34 on December 25, 2015, 11:16:05 AM
If you turn off your brain on the cut scenes and can get past some missions that are brutally difficult if you don't know what needs to be done it is a great game. Think more x com but where the soldier interaction is important.
Trust me if you like small squad tactics it is a great game.

Seriously? Without knowing anything about the game only its title I thought this was a vampire fps thing - there is research to be done

I've played Valkyria Chronicles twice (on the PS3, its original home), and admittedly I like the anime crap -- even if the hero is hilariously oblivious to the moral implications of his Darwinian philosophizing which goes on and on and on... and then when the story runs up against a practical problem for it, I figured "at last we'll see the in-plot dramatic reason for him taking those positions in the face of the war he's dealing with"... and then he, or the writers, shook their heads like an etch-a-sketch and after a moment of mental dissonance he jumped over the problem without addressing it at all and went on with his life.  :crazy2:

So if you like a fantasy alt-history WW1 + WW2 interwar tactical sim where the hero espouses the same philosophy as Hitler more-or-less while a similar genocidal slavery and bigotry is going on and this is never ever ever addressed in the game at all (his philosophy supporting what's going on I mean), then you may have less problem with the story than me. ;)

Other than that, I didn't mind the story, which aside from the broken aesop can be described as follows:

WW2 kicks off early with not-Russia invading a European confederation (including not-Germany) over control of a recently discovered energy source which has replaced coal and oil (and steam from those sources); and the quaint little neutral country of not-Estonia (or maybe not-Lithuania, with a large dash of not-Holland) is caught in the middle when the Russian panzers and shock troops roll in. The plucky civilians turn out to have a kick-ass military academy, and one young man returning from wandering the world to train as a naturalist gets swept up into the war to protect his invaded hometown and his not-Jewish adopted sister.

Fortunately, he can bring their deceased Dad's super-experimental tank, built back during not-WW1, so not surprisingly he's soon in charge of managing a platoon of quirky characters. The local baker's daughter, who is rather more gung-ho for defending their country than he is, tags along. Also, eventually there are human/alien hybrids (although not many of them).


The gameplay works like this: each side during a battle gets a certain number of command points per turn (based mostly but not entirely on the command skills of officers in the fight), and you can activate one character with a command point or one armored vehicle with two. Once activated, you zoom into a... I can't recall if it's 1ps or 3ps... view, where you can move the person or armor around the map taking various actions based on their own internal action point allowance -- rather like Mordheim in this regard, except that the enemy gets to shoot freely at you while you're doing this (if they have line of sight etc.) At any time you can pause to shoot back, which uses variable amounts of action points. Shooting back can use auto-aim to cycle through targets, but you can also manually aim for more precise options on targets (headshots for example). Once you've decided you're done moving your character, you end that turn, and it's the other side's turn. If you've set yourself up properly your characters can attempt opportunity fire during enemy movement.

The customization between missions isn't anywhere nearly as deep as even XCOM (the modern remake), but it pays to pay attention to your quirky characters' quirks because bigoted characters won't fight as well with not-Jews on the team, and especially nearby physically on the map, while gay characters will perform better near other gay characters. Or etc.

Has anyone else been tempted by Legends of Eisenwald for $7.49?

Quote from: JasonPratt on December 25, 2015, 11:05:43 AM
Heh, I managed to put Ceres into my shopping cart, at 10 am CST on Christmas Day. And that was the last time Steam worked for me, for a while...  :2funny:

Was gonna get the old Bowl Bound football manager sim but the Steam store ... she's dead Jim.

re: Legends of Eisenwald

I bought it a long while back during some promotion or other.

It looked like it might grow into something a bit more like Darklands, but it didn't.

I ended up having a major tantrum about it, not helped by the developer's refusal to admit that there was anything less than historically appropriate about some of the graphics.

I've given it another go in the last month or so and decided that while it isn't the game of my dreams, it's not as bad as I thought at first.

I'm not in love with the combat system, but I'm not sure that it's significantly less realistic than what you'll find in something like Blackguards , Banner Saga, or Expeditions: Conquistador.  I've been playing Thea recently, and as much as I like that game, I think I much prefer Eisenwald's 'innovative' combat system to Thea's 'innovative' combat system (Thea uses a card game and, mercifully, an auto-resolution option).

The quality of the graphics is very good.  And I don't have a quarrel with the representation of the individual items that you can equip.  My problem is with the pseudo-renaissance armor in the main character screens of a game that is set in the early 15th century.

The writing runs the gamut from slightly less than ok to reasonably ok.  The writing in the introductory episode sometimes feels aimed at adolescents, but it gets better as the game progresses.

On the whole I'd say the game is probably worth picking up for less than $10.  I'm probably being too harsh, and you might find that you actually like it. 

I'm all in favor of supporting independent East European game developers because they can bring a refreshing perspective to their subject matter.  But I can do without the not-so-post-Soviet attitude towards constructive criticism.

I played Valkyria Chronicles for a while, but the tactics felt quite shallow. The only way to win many missions with the highest ranking is "run towards someone and shoot him in the face, load a save if you miss"

With elite characters (with greater movement ranges), it becomes boring fairly quickly.

It's certainly not X-COM.

Quote from: Grim.Reaper on December 25, 2015, 11:16:53 AM

Quote from: sandman2575 on December 25, 2015, 11:11:59 AM
Also, is the Steam store closed for Xmas or something? It's been down for a few hours now...

Its being overloaded by everyone redeeming their brand new activation codes they received for Christmas:)

Yikes...looks like it might be worse than that. Right now, even though I'm logged in as me, the client and webpage keep encouraging me to log in to my account. If I go to account details, I am now seeing details...for someone else's account, right down to associated email accounts for him AND that he has attached to his Paypal connected to Steam. From looking at Steam forums, this is happening to thousands of people right now. Got a financial account or card associated with Steam? I'd start watching it like a hawk, and probably change some passwords.

(https://www.grogheads.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.barenakedislam.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2015%2F12%2FBcOCQyRCYAAEYng.jpg&hash=ed16e99cbfe24e1dd7a5293f9ab9c5189ec2d139)

Steam Community is down

First World Problems.

Also - I sold something on the community market that was worth $15, so now I have a $15 credit in my account.  :knuppel2:

Yikes, I see the same issue...I see someone elses account so can only imagine someone else can see mine....

Does anyone have Star Wars: KOTOR 2 from Steam?  I'd like to get it at the sale price, but I remember buying KOTOR 1 a while back, and I had some issues with the game freezing quite a few times IIRC.  Just want to know if #2 had the same issue.

Cheers and Merry Christmas (making due with SWTOR MMORPG for now)
~DakDesertflame (Jedi Consular)

Quote from: Apocalypse 31 on December 25, 2015, 04:00:51 PM
Steam Community is down

First World Problems.

Also - I sold something on the community market that was worth $15, so now I have a $15 credit in my account.  :knuppel2:

Serious question : are you sure it was out of your account? Steam is completely fucked right now. Everyone is half logged in to other people's accounts. Hell, 5 minutes ago, everything was Chinese. Now I'm seeing account details for a dude with a $30 gift card on his account that I could totally spend if I wanted to right now. The entire system is screwed up.

The email I received said it was something I had on the market, but I agree, there's a lot of funky stuff going on right now.

Quote from: sandman2575 on December 25, 2015, 12:53:19 PM
Has anyone else been tempted by Legends of Eisenwald for $7.49?

Actually I was quite tempted but I did some digging and it sounds like the main campaign is linear, and not that long- maybe 10-20 hours.  I'm just not interested in a game like that at this time.  Unlike Darklands, which is randomly generated every new game and therefore has essentially infinite replayability.

If I'm wrong, somebody correct me, but I did quite a bit of review searching before ultimately deciding to pass.

Quote from: endfire79 on December 25, 2015, 04:07:39 PM
Does anyone have Star Wars: KOTOR 2 from Steam?  I'd like to get it at the sale price, but I remember buying KOTOR 1 a while back, and I had some issues with the game freezing quite a few times IIRC.  Just want to know if #2 had the same issue.

Cheers and Merry Christmas (making due with SWTOR MMORPG for now)
~DakDesertflame (Jedi Consular)

Sorry I missed this earlier.

I also had the repeated KOTOR2 freezing issues.  For years & with different computers. 

But whatever they did in that recent patch must have fixed it.  I finally got past the points where my character had always stopped moving in the past. 

I can't guarantee it may not happen later in the game, but I've gone further than I ever had before without it doing that.

Ok..just four titles so far..

1) Gem Craft..an excellent little tower defense game, on sale for just a couple of dollars. I am quite pleased with this purchase
2) Rebel Galaxy...a Freelancer/Wing Commander: Privateer clone, very good for what it does. Just starting out on this, also quite pleased with how open-ended this is.
3) Conquest of Elysium 4...a no brainer, been looking at this for weeks. I have had all the Dominions iterations for years. This will be on my hard drive forever.
4) Sid Meier's Colonization...had the first one, many years ago, and also had this one when it first came out. Great game, and needed just to re-acquire it.

With 21 dollars left..strongly considering ETS 2: Scandanivia, and Empire TV Tycoon.

Grabbed Star Wars Empire at War Gold (which I've never played) and Empire TV Tycoon.

Quote from: DennisS on December 25, 2015, 09:35:37 PM
1) Gem Craft..an excellent little tower defense game, on sale for just a couple of dollars. I am quite pleased with this purchase

I've wanted this for ages, it looks really good.  No Linux version though, sadly.

QuoteWith 21 dollars left..strongly considering ETS 2: Scandanivia, and Empire TV Tycoon.

I heartily recommend Empire TV Tycoon.  It's a hidden gem with lots of soul.  Lots of lovely film references sprinkled throughout the gameplay, loads of decisions to make all the time, fluid gameplay, intuitive interface.  Actually it kind of reminds me of the Anno series, in that the flow of time is glacial but you somehow always have stuff to do, and you're constantly darting all over the building attending to this and that.

With a few hours logged now, literally my only complaint so far is the sound/music which is....not great.  But apart from that...really good game.

Quote from: Thjan on December 25, 2015, 07:07:28 AM
Bought Commander: The Great War, Flashpoint Campaigns: Red Storm + Addon and Sunless Sea so far.

Considering: Pike & Shot Campaigns, Homeworld: Deserts of Karak and CMANO. Too many interesting games, not enough time to play :(

Added Pike & Shot Campaigns, some DLC for Graviteam Tactics (-85%!) and that's it for now I guess. CMANO is tempting at -50% but I think I have enough interesting wargames to get into the genre. Also the low resolution of the globe kinda annoys me. Besides, I am pretty sure I will not be able to resist Homeworld: Deserts of Karak when the release date gets closer. :D

I need to stop reading this thread...I keep seeing games other Grogs have gotten that I want to add to my wishlist  :crazy2:  (just added Ceres)

Steve,

You should get Ceres.  It has a fairly steep learning curve, but after a couple of hours I think I'm getting the hang of it.  It reminds me a bit of Nexus: The Jupiter Incident. Lots of fun!

^what were they thinking when they designed the ships in Ceres? They are butt ugly! Look more like they were made out of scrap and junk than anything else.

Ceres?? Didn't even know this game existed. Like steve 58, I've gotta stop reading this thread!

From poking around on Steam and YouTube, have to agree with Jarhead -- the ship art definitely leaves something to be desired.

Still, I'm intrigued.  Though reports of hard-to-read UI and overall bugginess leave me wary...

There's a demo...

added

Endless Legend collection
Deadlight
Contagion

Also picked up for my nephew
Xcom complete
Left for dead 2
Endless legend collection

Nothing whatsoever for me! Yay I feel strong! :D

I am still busy with what I got;
Combat Mission, Elite, Falcon and DCS on PC.
Destiny, Just Cause 3 and FFXIV on PS4.
Monster Hunter on 3DS.

Advanced Squad Leader on the table.

Besides one small purchase, nothing else for me...much different than year's past.  I am just finding most games are not on sell enough that is much different then I can get throughout the year during other sales or other stores and really nothing burning to buy.

Damage so far:

Shadow of Mordor
Wolfenstein: Old Blood + New Order
Fallout 3 + Fallout New Vegas

Standout so far has been Shadow of Mordor - I know this game got lots of praise heaped on it, but I was never all that keen to try it. But now I understand why folks were so high on this game. It really is fantastic.

I love the atmosphere and visual style of Wolfenstein Old Blood -- it really is a treat, everything is pitch-perfect and designed with wonderful imagination in a delightfully comic-book but also pretty sinister style. But I'm finding I really *don't* love the 'on-rails' play style. Guess I haven't played a FPS-like game like this is a while -- I'm used to much more freedom to explore.

Still Contemplating / on the fence:

Nobunaga's Ambition
Seven Years War
Hegemony III
Darkest Dungeon
Legends of Eisenwald
Starpoint Gemini 2
Ceres

...I'm sure a couple of those will wind up in the 'purchased' column before the sale is done...

Predestination - I'll probably buy it when it is finished.  Looks interesting but I never buy anything before a final build.

Pillars of Eternity - I've had it and it has a design flaw in my opinion.  There are no noteworthy items (weapon, armor, etc.....).  After about two weeks of game play, I really started to miss this.  I never got back into the game.

I've bought - nothing on the steam sale.  I have so many games I want to play & have been spending so much time on Fallout 4 - I cannot get motivated to buy something else.

Because I have the coolest wife I was able to add FM16 to my list.  Unfortunately, all games except WiTP:AE are taking a backseat to XCOM with The Long War mod installed.  Truly a blast!

Considering fm16 as well, just haven't seen a good price yet...

Quote from: Grim.Reaper on December 28, 2015, 03:50:26 PM
Considering fm16 as well, just haven't seen a good price yet...

My wife was at Walmart yesterday and grabbed me $40 worth of Steam Gift Cards so the price suddenly seemed right. :)

That works:)

Nothin yet except for Pillars of Eternity's White March via gift certificate.

Quote from: Huw the Poo on December 27, 2015, 08:22:20 PM
There's a demo...

Thx Huw! ...downloading now.

I've received a couple of games as gifts, but haven't purchased anything yet.  I do have a $20 Steam gift card burning a hole in my pocket, though. 

I had an unexpected gift, which included some Steam funds, so I made my wishlist a little lighter.

Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind Game of the Year
Skyrim Dawnguard
Skyrim Dragonborn
Tales from the Borderlands
Knights of Pen and Paper 2
Sheltered
Invisible, Inc. Contigency Plan Bundle
The Curious Expedition

...on top of the shite I already bought from a good Christmas, which I posted in a thread that shall not be named, otherwise risking the sarcastic wrath of one metallic creature.

Quote from: Banzai_Cat on December 28, 2015, 11:36:26 PM
I had an unexpected gift, which included some Steam funds, so I made my wishlist a little lighter.

Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind Game of the Year
Skyrim Dawnguard
Skyrim Dragonborn
Tales from the Borderlands
Knights of Pen and Paper 2
Sheltered
Invisible, Inc. Contigency Plan Bundle
The Curious Expedition

...on top of the shite I already bought from a good Christmas, which I posted in a thread that shall not be named, otherwise risking the sarcastic wrath of one metallic creature.

Well - I hate you Banzai Cat.  I looked at your list and checked the ones that I have never played.

And now I want Knights of Pen and Paper 1 Expandier and Invisible Inc.

I have way too many unplayed games already and way too much real world work to do.

Well... finally caved.... caught up on most of the EU IV DLCs I was missing which was most of them... except for the Cossacks stuff.
Also got Invisible Inc. cause it just looks cool.

About $60 CDN... so not bad.... as long as I actually learn to play EU IV now.....  :buck2:

Dumb question: Are there daily deals?

I don't see any, and I feel like I haven't seen a 'Daily Deals' promotion happen for the last few Steam sales.

Edit: For clarification - the items displayed "TODAY'S HIGHLIGHTED DEALS" don't seem to be true Daily Deals that were reduced even further from Steam sale prices.

Quote from: airboy on December 29, 2015, 11:32:42 AM
And now I want Knights of Pen and Paper 1 Expandier and Invisible Inc.

You also want Empire TV Tycoon. ;)

Nothing for me as yet. I'm dithering about Elite.

Quote from: Apocalypse 31 on December 29, 2015, 01:20:32 PM
Dumb question: Are there daily deals?

I don't see any, and I feel like I haven't seen a 'Daily Deals' promotion happen for the last few Steam sales.

Edit: For clarification - the items displayed "TODAY'S HIGHLIGHTED DEALS" don't seem to be true Daily Deals that were reduced even further from Steam sale prices.

There are no daily deals. They just highlight different games each day. I think we had a discussion about this a few pages back. Its disappointing on the one hand, but on the other hand, at least you know you have until the end of the sale to get a deal.

Yeah, I like it this way.  The discounts are already generous enough, and you don't feel pressured into buying something before a deal ends.

Quote from: Huw the Poo on December 29, 2015, 01:42:10 PM

Quote from: airboy on December 29, 2015, 11:32:42 AM
And now I want Knights of Pen and Paper 1 Expandier and Invisible Inc.

You also want Empire TV Tycoon. ;)

Muwahahahahaha!  >:D

Knights of Pen and Paper are one of my go-to favs. The first one ended pretty quickly, and there's a TON of grinding in it. The second one is more of the same but with new abilities and better graphics. "Better" being a relative term, considering the first one looked like an 8-bit pixel game.

Empire TV Tycoon is fun, too, though I don't quite have the hang of how adverts work. I need to spend some more time with it, eventually. With Morrowind and the other Skyrim expansions, I'm looking at several hundred hours of gameplay with that alone! Sigh. #firstworldgamerproblems

Quote from: Banzai_Cat on December 29, 2015, 03:06:59 PM
Empire TV Tycoon is fun, too, though I don't quite have the hang of how adverts work.

What the game doesn't explain particularly well is that adverts need to satisfy two criteria...both audience numbers, and types of audience.  So although you may get 70,000 viewers for that block with a target of 68,000, if they aren't the right kind of viewer, you will still fail.  The block will turn a dark colour so you know it's failed.  You can then schedule it in for another time.  You can show them as often as you like until they're satisfied (or they expire), and you'll notice that as you schedule them the game will keep a tally of how many you've scheduled versus how many you need to schedule to get the bonus.

When you're going for a juicy (or difficult) advert bonus, you will find it useful to schedule marketing campaigns in the same block.  Hiring a PR manager can do wonders for this...once trained up a bit, they can develop marketing campaigns that significantly boost viewing figures, and the better ones can be as large as five blocks too (probably even longer, I haven't played an awful lot yet so still plenty to see).

Don't forget to rotate your film library as often as possible.  Get rid of those low-freshness films pronto, and buy some decent ones.

I had a side quest the other day to show a horror film at 1am rated 4.9 or higher.  Handily, my scriptwriter (who specialises in horror) had just finished a horror script so I quickly hired some actors and put it into production (the choices you make here affect the eventual rating significantly...e.g. emphasise visual effects for horror, cameo roles for comedy etc...later on you'll get a breakdown of why you got the rating you did).  The film  - my horror masterpiece, "Boobies and Bums" - was completed just in time and had a 5.9 rating, so I duly scheduled it and got a very nice bonus for doing so. :)

I'm showing my first TV show later.  Not sure how these work yet, I think you have to schedule a whole run.  Anyway, I had a spare late-night slot which my audience analyst predicted would be viewed mainly by "geeks" - hopefully a good fit for my show, which is a quiz show.  I'm looking forward to seeing the feedback so that I can tailor it to the most suitable audience.

Great game this, a proper hidden gem.

Battle Brothers.  Started to play it, seems like a good one.

I was naughty this year and couldn't keep away from the sales.....

Decisive Campaigns: Case Blue
Draft Day Sports: Pro Basketball 4
Empire TV Tycoon
Horizon
Legend of Grimrock 2
Rebel Galaxy
The Endless Legends DLCs
Invisible, Inc plus DLCs

Now let's see how many I actually play before next Christmas  ::)

Quote from: Steelgrave on December 29, 2015, 08:42:34 PM
I was naughty this year and couldn't keep away from the sales.....

Decisive Campaigns: Case Blue
Draft Day Sports: Pro Basketball 4
Empire TV Tycoon
Horizon
Legend of Grimrock 2
Rebel Galaxy
The Endless Legends DLCs
Invisible, Inc plus DLCs

Now let's see how many I actually play before next Christmas  ::)

Let me help.  It is Christmas until the start of Epiphany.  Christmas runs from the birth of Christ until the Wise Men show up 12 days later.  Thus, it is Christmas until 12th night - which is on January 5. 

See: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twelfth_Night_(holiday) for non-Catholics or those who really don't want 12 days of Christmas.

Quote from: Steelgrave on December 29, 2015, 08:42:34 PM
I was naughty this year and couldn't keep away from the sales.....

Decisive Campaigns: Case Blue
Draft Day Sports: Pro Basketball 4
Empire TV Tycoon
Horizon
Legend of Grimrock 2
Rebel Galaxy
The Endless Legends DLCs
Invisible, Inc plus DLCs

Now let's see how many I actually play before next Christmas  ::)

I enjoyed Grimrock 1 for awhile but after about 7 levels grew tired of the endless, annoying, perplexing puzzles and gave up. I wonder if 2 is more the same?

Quote from: Rayfer on December 30, 2015, 08:36:06 AM


I enjoyed Grimrock 1 for awhile but after about 7 levels grew tired of the endless, annoying, perplexing puzzles and gave up. I wonder if 2 is more the same?

From what I read, it is.  Didn't bother picking up the 2nd one.

There are more action/exploration oriented tile-based 3D RPGs out there now, minus annoying puzzles, so Grimrock isn't the only show in town.

Same experience here, amusing at first, but then I just couldn't be arsed anymore.

I didn't finish Grimrock 1 and I likely won't finish 2 either. But for a couple of dollars, I figured it was worth a couple hours entertainment. That or I'm truly a Steam sale whore   8)

I picked up Massive Chalice today.  I thought the idea sounded interesting when it was first released but the reviews were kind of lukewarm and I wasn't a fan of the cartoony art style but I figured for $5, why not give it a whirl?

Darkest Dungeon is pretty cool but tough!  I thought I was making great progress and then two disastrous back to back dungeon runs have got me in all kinds of trouble.  Two people are dead, 5 have lost the plot and are waiting in line to get into the loony bin, one's got the clap, one's a drunk, and one's really, really into sheep.

Quote from: Steelgrave on December 30, 2015, 09:50:35 PM
I didn't finish Grimrock 1 and I likely won't finish 2 either. But for a couple of dollars, I figured it was worth a couple hours entertainment. That or I'm truly a Steam sale whore   8)

With these very low sale prices happening so often it is rarely about the money anymore...it's about not having the time to play them.

The most unique thing about it seems to be the option.

Quote from: Rayfer on December 30, 2015, 10:26:55 PM
With these very low sale prices happening so often it is rarely about the money anymore...it's about not having the time to play them.

Indeed. 

That's become the greater driving force behind my purchasing (relatively) fewer games the last couple years.  Not because I'm broke the week of a sale (although that sometimes is still the case ::)  :-[ ), but because why spend the money when I know I'll likely never get around to playing said games anyway?  I already have far more than I'm ever likely to get to as it is. 

Distant Worlds: Universe and CMANO, I'm happy if I ever get past the manuals.  :P

Quote from: Rayfer on December 30, 2015, 10:26:55 PM
With these very low sale prices happening so often it is rarely about the money anymore...it's about not having the time to play them.

Not having time, and increasingly, not having HD space. I've gotten to the point that I'm passing up stuff just 'cuz I don't have any more room. I'd probably grab GTAV but I don't have the crazy 65+ GB space.

Never thought I'd see the day when 1TB wasn't enough for games, but man, now that pretty much every AAA title requires 30-40GB, it's getting hard to manage. In the last couple months I've repeatedly gone through my Steam library and ruthlessly uninstalled games I don't play often. I have 81 games in my library but only 37 installed.  HD space!!  Need more!!

Quote from: sandman2575 on December 31, 2015, 10:27:54 AM

Quote from: Rayfer on December 30, 2015, 10:26:55 PM
With these very low sale prices happening so often it is rarely about the money anymore...it's about not having the time to play them.

Not having time, and increasingly, not having HD space. I've gotten to the point that I'm passing up stuff just 'cuz I don't have any more room. I'd probably grab GTAV but I don't have the crazy 65+ GB space.

Never thought I'd see the day when 1TB wasn't enough for games, but man, now that pretty much every AAA title requires 30-40GB, it's getting hard to manage. In the last couple months I've repeatedly gone through my Steam library and ruthlessly uninstalled games I don't play often. I have 81 games in my library but only 37 installed.  HD space!!  Need more!!

Time to save some money on purchasing games and purchase a new hard drive instead:)

I thought I was done. I had about $3.30 left in my Steam wallet and I saw Rome: Total War (which included Rome: Total War - Alexander) was only $3.19 or somewhere around there, so I caved. Never played R:TW.

Quote from: Banzai_Cat on December 31, 2015, 11:58:11 AM
I thought I was done. I had about $3.30 left in my Steam wallet and I saw Rome: Total War (which included Rome: Total War - Alexander) was only $3.19 or somewhere around there, so I caved. Never played R:TW.

I'm sure others will disagree....but I liked the original far more than Total War Rome II.

I loved RTW back in the day. It had one of the best ERE campaigns in the Barbarian Invasion add-on. But it's just too old-looking for my tastes now.  :'(

Quote from: Rayfer on December 31, 2015, 12:26:27 PM
I'm sure others will disagree....but I liked the original far more than Total War Rome II.

Actually, I'm pretty sure you're in the majority where the overall fandom is concerned, as I continue to see lots of people praise the first RTW over Rome II. 

In contrast, I have a total death-hate for RTW, and love Rome II.  Go figure.  :P 

Gus hates Atilla.  Well, actually he fears it.  It is his nemesis.

^  Heh! 

To be fair, he's far from the only one for whom this is true.  Quite a few folks (and not just here at GH) seem to struggle with Attila as opposed to Rome II. 

The only thing I've picked up this sale was Tabletop Simulator for NZ$12.

Because I read these forums and because I have way too many games unplayed already, today I bought:
Knights of Pen & Paper 2
Armada 2526 Gold Edition
Heroes of Steel RPG
:uglystupid2:

Quote from: airboy on December 31, 2015, 08:35:58 PM
Because I read these forums and because I have way too many games unplayed already, today I bought:
Knights of Pen & Paper 2
Armada 2526 Gold Edition
Heroes of Steel RPG
:uglystupid2:

This is either the worst support group ever...... or the best..... :D

 :uglystupid2:

Quote from: airboy on December 31, 2015, 08:35:58 PM
Because I read these forums and because I have way too many games unplayed already, today I bought:
Armada 2526 Gold Edition
:uglystupid2:

I feel guilty.....not :D

My wish list keeps growing because of this thread/group.  I've yet to pick up anything, but I've still got a few days :P

Got some residual funds in my wallet so I'm eyeing one last grab - Invisible, Inc.  What's the verdict on that one?

Quote from: Huw the Poo on January 01, 2016, 09:08:40 AM
Got some residual funds in my wallet so I'm eyeing one last grab - Invisible, Inc.  What's the verdict on that one?

I just picked this up as well and have been playing a bit. It's an interesting TBS. Kind of puzzle like but there's more than one solution to the puzzles.
Campaigns seem short to me but I'm still learning what must be done and I'm only on my first FINAL mission.
For the price is seems like a good time waster with a little more meat than the usual fare.

My haul to date:

Darkest Hour: A Hearts of Iron Game 
7 Days to Die 
Convoy 
Homeworld Remastered Collection 
Rebel Galaxy 
Age of Mythology EX 
Empire TV Tycoon 
Invisible, Inc. 
Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor Game of the Year Edition

Plus from Matrix:
DC:Case Blue
Civil War 2
GG:World at War

All in all more than enough to keep me busy for the year!

Heroes of Steel ($5 Steam Sale) is an excellent, turn-based, tactical combat, D&D type dungeon crawl.

I've played it 3 hours and I've been very impressed.  Story is enough to keep you interested.  The controls are well thought out.  Pathing for characters is excellent.  You can group your party together outside of combat for even easier movement.

Your party is 4 characters (fighter, healer, thief, mage) with a good number (but not overwhelming) options in combat.

As a turn-based, tactical, small party combat sim it is just excellent.  Beats the hell out of the Spiderweb games for tactical combat. 

If you want some somewhat thoughtful, tactical D&D combat sim Beer & Pretzels game - this one is a great buy.
O0

Quote from: Anguille on January 01, 2016, 04:36:38 AM
:uglystupid2:

Quote from: airboy on December 31, 2015, 08:35:58 PM
Because I read these forums and because I have way too many games unplayed already, today I bought:
Armada 2526 Gold Edition
:uglystupid2:

I feel guilty.....not :D

Me neither.  Tee-hee. 

Finally joined in - Battle Brothers, Chaos Reborn and Wolfenstein The New Order

Stalingrad for $1.24.

The game doesn't have a 1920x1080 setting, and I'll probably hate the gameplay.  I got it because it looks like a Russian designer's attempt to represent a great patriotic moment of the Great Patriotic War.  It took me a while to figure out that there really was an English manual, it was just buried away inside the Steam installation.  I'm looking forward to watching the Russian archive films and a Russian's take on what ruined Stalingrad is supposed to look like.  Too bad it can't be retro-fitted onto CMBB.

Well, the only game I've purchased is Squad, and that isn't on sale. 

I had a few in my cart, but ultimately I realize that I've got such a huge backlog that I can wait until summer and revisit the sales then.  There just isn't anything I have to have right now.

im seeing a lot of what Toonces said and the logic includes myself - are we all getting old or sensible at the same time?

^  That, or we just happened to be sober(-ish) at the time we were posting... 

Quote from: Martok on January 02, 2016, 01:27:53 PM
^  That, or we just happened to be sober(-ish) at the time we were posting...

this is toonces were talking about!

New Year=New Toonces!

Seriously, though, I was looking at quite a few games: Pillars of Eternity, Banner Saga, EUIV DLC's, and so on.  In the end, though, I have so much on my plate that I just don't see me getting to those games anytime soon.  Even though we're not talking a lot of money, I've pretty much hit saturation. 

Squad is different because I'm actually going to play it.  I'd rather have one $40 game I play, than eight $5 games that simply go into the pile.

Quote from: undercovergeek on January 02, 2016, 02:38:05 PM

Quote from: Martok on January 02, 2016, 01:27:53 PM
^  That, or we just happened to be sober(-ish) at the time we were posting...

this is toonces were talking about!

lol

Quote from: Toonces on January 02, 2016, 04:15:34 PM
I'd rather have one $40 game I play, than eight $5 games that simply go into the pile.

Wise words my beer-soaked friend.  It's a lesson I have yet to learn, to my shame.

Quote from: Huw the Poo on December 22, 2015, 02:32:37 PM
Stardrive 2 (yes, I said I wouldn't buy it, but there are hardly any games like this on Linux right now and I need something to tide me over to Solaris and the hoped-for Linux port of GalCiv 3)

WELL.  Didn't I say it?  Didn't I say I wouldn't give that bellend of a developer any more money?  Then I sheepishly bought his little sequel anyway?

Well you'll never guess what!  StarDrive 2 doesn't work on my PC and the developer has completely ignored my support requests!  AGAIN.  For fuck's sake, why don't I take my own advice?  I solemnly swear that I will never ever ever buy this twat's games ever again.

Refund requested.

lol - well done Huw

I picked up Star Ruler 2 and Shadowrun: Hong Kong.

Wasn't sure if I'd play the first but it seems to have enough options to make the factions play different enough to try.

The latter was gonna end up in my pile at some point.  Tossed it in while I was there.

Bought several survival, open world, crafty type games.  I love this genre of games.

Quote from: Bison on January 02, 2016, 08:50:02 PM
Bought several survival, open world, crafty type games.  I love this genre of games.

Which ones - was looking to give one a try this year

Added Grim Dawn...think that ends my purchases....just bought this and Star Wars Legos....spent just about $20 during the sales....that's pretty good for me:)

Well I just had £6.89 refunded to my wallet so I need to spend that on something before the sale ends!  Might get Caves of Qud.

Quote from: Huw the Poo on January 03, 2016, 09:42:53 AM
Might get Caves of Qud.

Surprised you don't have it yet.

Quote from: Nefaro on January 03, 2016, 03:58:14 PM

Quote from: Huw the Poo on January 03, 2016, 09:42:53 AM
Might get Caves of Qud.

Surprised you don't have it yet.

Yeah I have been eyeing it for quite a while.  However, what's even more surprising is that I don't yet have Bioshock: Infinite, given my unabashed adulation of Bioshock.  I might well go for that one.

Quote from: Nefaro on December 25, 2015, 07:50:45 PM

Quote from: endfire79 on December 25, 2015, 04:07:39 PM
Does anyone have Star Wars: KOTOR 2 from Steam?  I'd like to get it at the sale price, but I remember buying KOTOR 1 a while back, and I had some issues with the game freezing quite a few times IIRC.  Just want to know if #2 had the same issue.

Cheers and Merry Christmas (making due with SWTOR MMORPG for now)
~DakDesertflame (Jedi Consular)

Sorry I missed this earlier.

I also had the repeated KOTOR2 freezing issues.  For years & with different computers. 

But whatever they did in that recent patch must have fixed it.  I finally got past the points where my character had always stopped moving in the past. 

I can't guarantee it may not happen later in the game, but I've gone further than I ever had before without it doing that.

Thanks Nefaro, purchased and downloading  O0

Quote from: undercovergeek on January 03, 2016, 04:35:44 AM

Quote from: Bison on January 02, 2016, 08:50:02 PM
Bought several survival, open world, crafty type games.  I love this genre of games.

Which ones - was looking to give one a try this year

The Long Dark
Subnautica
The Forrest
Stranded Deep

I went a little over board now that I think about it.

Subnautica is fantastic.

I like Subnautica a lot.  The underwater sea is awesome to explore.  I hope they continue to develop and add content to the game throughout the early access process.

So I slightly lost my mind this time...   :D


Mad Max
GRID Autosport Complete
Age of Wonders III Collection
Hand of Fate
Sniper Elite 3
Valkyria Chronicles
Darkest Dungeon
Poker Night 2
TW Shogun 2 Fall of the Shogun + assorted clan dlc
Call of Juarez Gunslinger
Legends of Eisenwald
Mount & Blade - With Fire and Sword
Hitman Absolution
Hegemony III
Making History: The World Wars
Nobunaga's Ambition
Starpoint Gemini 2 Gold Pack
Fallout 3 GOTY
Fallout New Vegas Ultimate
Fallout 2
Wolfenstein New Order + Old Blood
Middle-Earth Shadow of Mordor GOTY



Holy f**k that looks bad, all written out like that   :o

Damage is north of $250...

Welp, got that out of my system. No more new games for... a few weeks or so...

Nice collection of games you accumulated there!  You're right, that should keep you busy for a few weeks.   ;D

Managed to control myself a bit during the sale. I was looking at Total War: Attila, but decided that I need to play the TW games I already have more often.

Train Simulator 2016
To End All Wars
Revolution Under Siege Gold

I've bought also Abalone. It's a board game. I've played it a lot when i was younger. I've played one game so far on my Windows tablet. It runs well and the AI is competent. I've spent hours on this board game and it's excellent. It's a kind of chess game.

Thea The Awakening was my one purchase of the season. It looks like Civilization but plays like a rogue like RPG. So far so good.

You guys aren't helping. I almost bought Subnautica last night; I've been hedging between it and two other 'sea' survival games, but Subnautica looked the best of the bunch. I saw it was on sale for $13 and change last night but managed to control myself. I only got in a little Skyrim with my two expansions before I had to call it a night to return to work today.

Also, Invisible, Inc. is pretty fun, and I do NOT like stealth games at all. Perhaps I'm too neanderthal in my game tastes but I prefer to bust in guns blazing instead of sneaking around like a nancy boy. But this game makes that kind of nancy boy'ing kind of enjoyable. The tension ramps up at a decent pace and I like the corporate-hacking angle it has. The only thing I'm not big on is how it feels like you have very little room for error, which I know is kind of the point of this game (the game itself even says you WILL fail often), and even then it's not that big of a drawback.

Quote from: Banzai_Cat on January 04, 2016, 07:29:31 AM

Also, Invisible, Inc. is pretty fun, and I do NOT like stealth games at all. Perhaps I'm too neanderthal in my game tastes but I prefer to bust in guns blazing instead of sneaking around like a nancy boy. But this game makes that kind of nancy boy'ing kind of enjoyable. The tension ramps up at a decent pace and I like the corporate-hacking angle it has. The only thing I'm not big on is how it feels like you have very little room for error, which I know is kind of the point of this game (the game itself even says you WILL fail often), and even then it's not that big of a drawback.

I don't recall feeling so much tension in a turn-based game, in the past, as when playing Invisible, Inc. 

They must've done something right with it.  I often have to take a break after a run or two, to lay off the nail biting.   But it's great for making you strategize multiple moves ahead, sometimes on the fly, while still having a range of different approaches available.

I just wish there was a little more recon, or an option for it, so you're not going in totally blind. I'm thinking a real-world infiltration would have tons of details on floor plans and such. I don't necessarily want to know where my target is, but it would be nice to know what the floor layout is like before going into a hostile building.

So not to let the sale go by without making a purchase, last night I grabbed Wasteland 2 and Star Ruler 2.

Finally made my first purchase of the sale: The Seven Years War.  May be my only purchase this sale, but there's still a few hours to go ^-^

Quote from: steve58 on January 04, 2016, 08:58:42 AM
Finally made my first purchase of the sale: The Seven Years War.  May be my only purchase this sale, but there's still a few hours to go ^-^

Haven't done it yet but if I do buy one and only one game it will be The Seven Years War. Yikes...I'm running out of time.

Quote from: Rekim on January 04, 2016, 04:52:07 AM
Thea The Awakening was my one purchase of the season. It looks like Civilization but plays like a rogue like RPG. So far so good.

Thanks for mentioning this, looks right up my alley, added it to my wishlist for a future sale.

I picked up a couple of more over the weekend:
Nobunaga's Ambition: Sphere of Influence (50% off was still $30 but fun so far)
Lords of the Fallen ($10 worth a try)
Zen Pinball - a few new 2015 tables on sale

Almost pulled the trigger on GG:WitE bundle and Cogmind, but managed to hold off since I have plenty to keep busy with for now.

Rest of my haul from earlier in the sale:
Satellite Reign
Convoy
Blood And Gold: Caribbean!
Rebel Galaxy
Chaos Reborn
Pinball Arcade Season 2

I debated picking up Thea at least three different days of the sale.  Two things made me wait longer:

Wariness of crafting.  Specifically the amount of crafting materials I saw in some playthroughs.  I'm not into extensive crafting games and that made it look like a big focus of the game.. sorting through crafting recipes and hoards of materials.  :-\  Need to bash stuff & find shinies!  :knuppel2:

..and..

The card combat mini-game.  While I was initially enticed by the hope of some CCG-like strategy for the combat, it doesn't look to be so.  Seems pretty simplistic, actually.  :-\ 


I'll still get it eventually, since it has some procedural & narrative stuff to discover.  How soon depends on how crafting focused it really is, which I'm still unsure about.

I only got Elite for £9.99

Hmmm... i *think* my total haul of video games has been 3 old Star Trek adventure games from GOG for like $7.50...   I already had pretty much everything from Matrix i wanted (and I have waaaaaaay too much).   However, I went totally overboard on board wargames, between Conflict of Heroes and Combat Commander + expansions, so I still ended up in the red.    :2funny:

Layers of fear. Basra dlc for steel armor and seven years war

As of the end of today and covering the period from when the Matrix sale started, I picked up Close Combat: Cross of Iron and Panthers in the Fog, War in the East, Espana 1936, Rising Storm(to round out my RO2 experience) and finally Commander: The Great War.

Of all of these, I've put more miles on RO2 at this moment but look forward to some serious, "sitting down with the laptop and some gin-and-tonics," time until sales begin anew in the Christmas 2016 timeframe.

Quote from: Dammit Carl! on January 04, 2016, 08:19:01 PM


Of all of these, I've put more miles on RO2 at this moment but look forward to some serious, "sitting down with the laptop and some gin-and-tonics," time until sales begin anew in the Christmas 2016 timeframe.

(my bold)

A whole year of boozing in front of the laptop? 

That's quite a bender!

Hah.

Could have worded that better, couldn't I?   :P

Ended up grabbing GRID Autosport, Windward, Hatred, Party Hard and Curious Expeditions since I've last posted. Already got my refund for Hatred, which is just a crap game (as well as one for Star Wars : Empire at War...those graphics have not aged gracefully). Making my way through everything else I picked up to see if I need to get my cash back for anything else. I love Steam's new refund system.  ;D

Quote from: Dammit Carl! on January 04, 2016, 10:44:25 PM
Hah.

Could have worded that better, couldn't I?   :P

Could be a good time!   If your liver survives.  ^-^

You're in for a real treat with Rising Storm, Carl.  I strongly prefer it to Red Orchestra.

Oh yeah, I also picked up the second Assassins Creed on GamersGate for like $4-5.  In total, I've spent less than $40.00 on games this holiday season, including the various fall sales.  All in all, I'm pretty happy -- both with my restraint (although being broke during some of the sales helped ::) ), plus with the few purchases I did make. 

Quote from: Huw the Poo on January 02, 2016, 06:15:41 PM

Quote from: Huw the Poo on December 22, 2015, 02:32:37 PM
Stardrive 2 (yes, I said I wouldn't buy it, but there are hardly any games like this on Linux right now and I need something to tide me over to Solaris and the hoped-for Linux port of GalCiv 3)

WELL.  Didn't I say it?  Didn't I say I wouldn't give that bellend of a developer any more money?  Then I sheepishly bought his little sequel anyway?

Well you'll never guess what!  StarDrive 2 doesn't work on my PC and the developer has completely ignored my support requests!  AGAIN.  For fuck's sake, why don't I take my own advice?  I solemnly swear that I will never ever ever buy this twat's games ever again.

Refund requested.

You know what's terrible?  I'm seriously considering purchasing his Sector Zero expansion for Stardrive 2 when it comes out.  I already know that he makes half-completed games and treats his customer base like crap, and yet I'm still thinking about giving him more money.  :-[  There's something very wrong with me. 

Quote from: Martok on January 05, 2016, 08:48:03 AM
You know what's terrible?  I'm seriously considering purchasing his Sector Zero expansion for Stardrive 2 when it comes out.  I already know that he makes half-completed games and treats his customer base like crap, and yet I'm still thinking about giving him more money.  :-[  There's something very wrong with me.

Same here!  :idiot2:

Well I got my refund and spent the money on Bioshock Infinite.  A much, much better use of my money!

Bioshock Infinite is a trip...it's a lot of fun.