Still one of my favorite songs to listen to while driving/road-tripping.
Gaming-wise, I'm feeling torn. I really want to play more of Prince Imrik campaign in Warhammer II. However, the
Command & Conquer: Remastered Edition is out today, and of course
Shadow Empire beckons. Argh!
Good song choice.
I'm plugging away in my first attempt at Wars of Succession as Sweden. It is 1705 and I am knee deep in Poland right now.
Great song pic. Triggers my nostalgia of being a 20 something in the 90's. It is definitely the season for road-tripping.
Shadow Empire definitely beckons me this weekend. Also, some Shellshock Live and maybe The Division 2.
And looking at buying Carrier Battles 4 Guadalcanal today, but probably won't have time to check it out.
Have a great weekend, Grogs!
Shadow Empire is calling my name as well.
I've got a great PBEM going on in Dominions 5 with a few guys from here. I have to admit though (and I know some of my opponents may see this) that in this particular match I've never been so confused/torn as to what to do next. There are some pretty clear choices to be made however there are some honor bound decisions that are there too.
Warhammer 40K: Gladius is also on my list of games to play.
And then there is my Kenworth K100E from the 1980's that I want to drive in American Truck Simulator. Cab Overs rule over Curb Huggers boys!
Will probably continue getting trashed in the Grogheads Dominions 5 MP game. Good times, and quite the learning experience. The diplomacy and psychology of real people managing nations is just as integral to the game as the actual mechanics.
Will continue rolling with the Tortoise in World of Tanks, and maybe get an Athens game going in EU:Imperator.
Also, watching with interest the chatter about Shadow Empires. I really shouldn't even be contemplating adding another game to an already huge library of unplayed games. Nevertheless, the temptation is there.
Quote from: W8taminute on June 05, 2020, 11:01:00 AM
And then there is my Kenworth K100E from the 1980's that I want to drive in American Truck Simulator. Cab Overs rule over Curb Huggers boys!
Spent many an hour in Dad's work rides way back when and all were cab overs. Wasn't until the end of his driving time that he got long nosed models from his bosses. All the feels for those things.
Plenty of boxes came in during the week, so its yet another weekend of putting things up/taking things out in the house. If time permits, then it's off to the races (literally) via
Wreckfest and maybe
Dirt Rally 2.0.
Vroom! Vroom!
A little burnt out on everything right now.
Good Song Choice.
I'm wanting to go back to Skyrim but just can't get excited about the game anymore. So I was thinking of trying-out the Enderal Mod for it. Anybody tried it lately? How much combat is there? Or is it just a cerebral thing?
Excellent song :notworthy:
I would like to continue my economic campaign of Port Royale 3. I will also pursue my game of Horizon, still one of my favorite 4x games of the last few years...really has this one more turn effect for me....ended playing until 1 am the other day despite being very tired. And i think i'll start the American campaign in Empire: Total War on hard.
Quote from: Myrmidon on June 05, 2020, 11:10:44 AM
Will probably continue getting trashed in the Grogheads Dominions 5 MP game. Good times, and quite the learning experience. The diplomacy and psychology of real people managing nations is just as integral to the game as the actual mechanics.
I'm right there with ya bud. I'm currently attempting to stave off defeat by hordes of Agarthan shard guards and magma children. I've done a bit of damage to solops' invasion stack, but managed to lose every battle along the way. Now there's another big doomstack on the horizon... :hide:
Aside from that, this weekend it's gonna be:
- Shadow Empire
- Shadow Empire
- Shadow Empire
- oh, and maybe a little Shadow Empire?
To paraphrase my comment in the other thread, this game's world generation is fucking insane. I'm currently playing on a planet that has 7-meter long advanced vertebrate super-crabs with massive jaws, and also some winged "maxilobsters" too for good measure. Haven't caught sight of any of these magnificent beasts in the first 4-5 turns, but I'd say later is better. :-\
Quote from: GroggyGrognard on June 05, 2020, 10:00:44 AM
And looking at buying Carrier Battles 4 Guadalcanal today, but probably won't have time to check it out.
Me too. And looking at CLoD (since the Tobruk expansion might be out some day):
PBEM turns and a whole lot of Shadow Empire, also been running and gunning in Doom Project Brutality 3.0 beta , official release for Project Brutality 3.0 is supposed to be soon.
If I didn't know any better, I would say you guys are being paid to advertise Shadow Empires. All the talk is making me curious. For the meantime, I will continue my M2TW Short Campaign as England. When I left off last night, the Holy Roman Emperor had been excommunicated, again, and I steamrolled Hamburg, Magdeburg, and the Imperial capitol, Frankfurt. All the while, he was gathering Cardinals in Rome and when Pope Zappa (I shit you not) died, a new Imperial Pope was elected (he's got 5 Cardinals), Pope Villanus (I shit you not again). He promptly bade me cease operations against the Emperor or risk Excommunication AND an Inquisition. Just as the Ceasefire was set to expire, France, who is my other objective to completing the Short Campaign, declared war on ME! How GREAT!!!! Just so happens that the second coming of Alexander (6 Command stars and never been in battle (yet)) is my commander and sits outside Caen, poised to blitzkrieg Paris or Rheims. I am going to make him pay!
I will also be trying my fortunes in Magic the Gathering:Arena. I haven't played the last two days as I was getting my ass handed to me 8 or 9 times out of 10. Using decks that I had won many matches with over time. So, I essentially rage quit and cooled off. But its allure is strong and I must obey.
I played Enderal a couple of years ago and enjoyed it a lot, Slash...but the combat was purely secondary to the storytelling.
Gus paid me fifty cent to say I like Shadow Empires. But seriously all kidding aside it really is a fun game. It has that 'just one more turn' feel to it.
Usually I pay .75 so that's great deal.
Ohhh. So you've gone up on what you're paying now? Nice. That Day Job must be working out for you then. O0
Quote from: MetalDog on June 05, 2020, 06:24:52 PM
If I didn't know any better, I would say you guys are being paid to advertise Shadow Empires. All the talk is making me curious.
I think it's partially the fact that SE's scope is so ambitious, plus dares to be a little different from most other 4x/war-games. Plus the fact that (at least going by Explorminate's early review) it actually *succeeds* at doing all these things, is pretty damn remarkable.
From the article:
Quote
Shadow Empire is the one of the finest strategy titles to be released in a very long time and stands head and shoulders above its competition in either the 4X or the wargame genres. It is a big, deep, complex and difficult game, and not without problems, but it is truly original and there is nothing else out there to match its unique, daring blend of the 4X, wargaming, grand strategy and role playing genres. Despite the many balls the player needs to juggle, once the systems are learned the game rarely feels overwhelming and can be played through relatively quickly.
Make no mistake, this is an essential purchase if you are a fan of deep and immersive game experiences. Not since the aforementioned Aurora 4X or Distant Worlds: Universe have PC gamers been treated to a product sporting such incredible depth and replayability. The procedurally generated content is shockingly well produced and displays a quality and scope far in excess of necessity for providing a good wargaming experience, whilst the underlying and often hidden automatic systems, such as the private economy or trading houses display an attention to detail bordering on the fanatical.
Now obviously, that's only one review, so take it with as many grains of salt as you're comfortable with. But it's generally seeing positive feedback so far, especially in the forums (including Matrix/Slitherine).
Quote from: MetalDog on June 05, 2020, 06:24:52 PMFor the meantime, I will continue my M2TW Short Campaign as England. When I left off last night, the Holy Roman Emperor had been excommunicated, again, and I steamrolled Hamburg, Magdeburg, and the Imperial capitol, Frankfurt. All the while, he was gathering Cardinals in Rome and when Pope Zappa (I shit you not) died, a new Imperial Pope was elected (he's got 5 Cardinals), Pope Villanus (I shit you not again). He promptly bade me cease operations against the Emperor or risk Excommunication AND an Inquisition. Just as the Ceasefire was set to expire, France, who is my other objective to completing the Short Campaign, declared war on ME! How GREAT!!!! Just so happens that the second coming of Alexander (6 Command stars and never been in battle (yet)) is my commander and sits outside Caen, poised to blitzkrieg Paris or Rheims. I am going to make him pay!
Zappa and Villanus?!? That's just too good. :2funny: Stuff like that almost makes me want to get this game sometimes.
Here's hoping Alex 2.0 gets to kick around some frogs! >:D
Martok, you don't have Medieval 2 Total War?
The thing I'd forgotten about Medi 2 TW is how comical the accents are. The over-stressed French, Spanish, and German makes me laugh every time. :2funny:
If Martok doesn't have M2TW I will eat my hat.
Quote from: Gusington on June 06, 2020, 12:20:56 PM
If Martok doesn't have M2TW I will eat my hat.
Me too...
Before I take that bet, let's see the hat.
No way! Get your own hat!
You gents are going to have consume some head-ware then, because I do not, in fact, own Medieval 2. O:-)
I have...philosophical reasons against owning that game. Toonces even kindly tried to gift it to me a few years back, but I gently refused it on the grounds that I felt that accepting said gift would be hypocritical of me.
Quote from: Martok on June 06, 2020, 05:46:46 PM
You gents are going to have consume some head-ware then, because I do not, in fact, own Medieval 2. O:-)
I have...philosophical reasons against owning that game. Toonces even kindly tried to gift it to me a few years back, but I gently refused it on the grounds that I felt that accepting said gift would be hypocritical of me.
Too bad i can't seem to find my hat.... ::)
Is it the only TW you do not have?
I also do not own Rome 1 (it's by far my least-favorite TW game of all time) or Napoleon; I was soured by my experience with Empire. As a whole, I consider the period from Rome 1 through Napoleon to be the series' low point, with the games generally being rubbish.
I also don't own Three Kingdoms -- not because I don't want to, but because my current machine is a piece of crap and would only be able to run the game on minimum specs. Am planning to purchase a new, honest-to-goodness gaming PC later this year.
WHAT!!!
:/
Gus, try dipping your hat in Sweet Baby Ray's Bar-B-Que Sauce before you eat it. It'll make it go down easier. :bd:
Quote from: Gusington on June 06, 2020, 09:49:13 PM
WHAT!!!
:/
I know it's been a while, but I used to rant on a pretty regular basis over on the old Wargamer forums (and maybe here too -- I'm too lazy to go back and check) about how much I hated CA for what they did to Rome 1, Medieval 2, and Empire. After the masterpieces that were Shogun 1 and Medieval 1, those three games felt like the devs had just completely s*** all over their own franchise.
At least Empire was widely (and justifiably) panned. But why Rome 1 and Medieval 2 get so much love -- even/especially after all these years -- I don't think I'll ever fully understand.
I'll tell you why I love Medieval 2, it's because this was the time period I first delved into when I started reading history. So, the map and the players just hit the sweet spot. Are there some f'd up things about it? Yup. Can't tell you how many times I have had the same thing happen: neighbor declares on me, I build armies to take cities, then the Pope says, "Cease hostilities or risk Excommunication." So now I have these expensive armies and have to twiddle my thumbs for x amount of time. Another thing is packing the College of Cardinals so there is a constant procession of Popes that are against me. Another is how I never win Merchant takeovers. Attacking or defending.
Quote from: Martok on June 06, 2020, 11:17:49 PM
Quote from: Gusington on June 06, 2020, 09:49:13 PM
WHAT!!!
:/
I know it's been a while, but I used to rant on a pretty regular basis over on the old Wargamer forums (and maybe here too -- I'm too lazy to go back and check) about how much I hated CA for what they did to Rome 1, Medieval 2, and Empire. After the masterpieces that were Shogun 1 and Medieval 1, those three games felt like the devs had just completely s*** all over their own franchise.
At least Empire was widely (and justifiably) panned. But why Rome 1 and Medieval 2 get so much love -- even/especially after all these years -- I don't think I'll ever fully understand.
I agree with you wholeheartedly. The entire series is unmitigated dogshit. It's the posterboy of stapling a shallow map-painter onto a decent multiplayer RTS. I tried getting back into the series with Britannia for its potentially interesting supply mechanics, but bounced right off of it when I realized it's just the same old turd with polished graphics.
[/drunkrant]
Warhammer II: Total War seems pretty good, I picked it up on a sale recently with the DLC in hopes of playing some multiplayer but havent' been bothered.
Quote from: Martok on June 06, 2020, 11:17:49 PM
Quote from: Gusington on June 06, 2020, 09:49:13 PM
WHAT!!!
:/
I know it's been a while, but I used to rant on a pretty regular basis over on the old Wargamer forums (and maybe here too -- I'm too lazy to go back and check) about how much I hated CA for what they did to Rome 1, Medieval 2, and Empire. After the masterpieces that were Shogun 1 and Medieval 1, those three games felt like the devs had just completely s*** all over their own franchise.
At least Empire was widely (and justifiably) panned. But why Rome 1 and Medieval 2 get so much love -- even/especially after all these years -- I don't think I'll ever fully understand.
I remember how you, me as well, used to be upset about the change of strategy map, from a board type of strategy map to a map where we could go everywhere. The main reasons being the AI not being able to use the strategy map as well as in the first two games and i didn't (still don't) like the fact that i had to micromanageme the agents (diplomats, spies etc) on the main map (difficult to spot etc.).
However, given the support you've shown for R.T.Smith over the years, i was indeed convinced that you had Medieval Total War 2 (as he was the lead behind it).
Still, you do have different TW games post change of strategy map, so i really do wonder what is the difference between, say, Medieval Total War 2 and Rome 2?
I think that Napoleon is much superior to Empire (having played both just lately for the first time). The AI in Empire is just beyond bad and the worst i've seen in the series so far.
Well I managed to "beat" Disgaea 5 this weekend. Much Monster Hunter that just starts the post game grind.
Really starting to get into MTG: Arena had some brutal matches yesterday but overall I've been trying to play 5-6 a day.
Beyond that any and all free time has been spent with Shadow Empires. I hope it does well for Vic as it seems like the perfect blending of the free form play of ATG with the depth and characterizations her was able to create with DC:Barbarossa.
Quote from: jamus34 on June 07, 2020, 06:37:37 AM
Well I managed to "beat" Disgaea 5 this weekend. Much Monster Hunter that just starts the post game grind.
Really starting to get into MTG: Arena had some brutal matches yesterday but overall I've been trying to play 5-6 a day.
Beyond that any and all free time has been spent with Shadow Empires. I hope it does well for Vic as it seems like the perfect blending of the free form play of ATG with the depth and characterizations her was able to create with DC:Barbarossa.
Good on ya', Jamus!! A couple of quick (totally unasked for) suggestions:
1) Try to get your daily 500 Gold/XP bonus. It's usually something simple like, "Cast 20 Red or Green spells." Sometimes the bonus is 750, but, damned if I can figure out a pattern of when they occur. The Gold allows you entry into tournaments as well as buying Booster packs from the Store. The XP unlocks Bonuses which can range from Boosters, XP and Gold, to Mastery Orbs and Gems (although buying the season pass to unlock all of the Mastery Bonuses is cheesey (you can grind for them in tournaments by paying Gold to get in and winning Gems depending on how many wins you get in the tourney, but, it's an arduous process (Unless you are good at drafting a deck which I am apparently shite at))).
2) There are different ways to build your card inventory but the two main are entering tournaments and buying Boosters. Gold is used for both, 1000 for a Booster and 5000/10,000/20,000 to enter a tournament. Just depends on what kind of tourney you want in to.
Having gone back to Medi 2 TW myself I will tell you what I think's the best thing about it. It's the...pacing. There's almost never a turn where you don't have something new to do. A new unit to recruit, a city to upgrade, another faction's Assassin sabotaging your city to deal with, Crusade by the Pope, on and on and on. There's very little down time. There's always something new and shiny just ahead of you. The game doesn't overwhelm you with stuff to do but keeps you busily entertained. I don't know who deserves credit for this but it's near perfect.
After some wrangling I got Stainless Steel 6.4 to run and it's great but because it's a slower version, it takes much longer to build things and recruit units, there's some long periods of turns where there's not very much to do--- kind of boring at times. Medi 2 doesn't suffer from this at all. Historically accurate you ask? Look someplace else I say, but it's FUN.
However the Old Girl is starting to show her age a bit. The graphics look very dated to me now, especially the Battle graphics. But the AI is still good and will give you a real fight.
I loved the merchants in Medieval 2 - if I was playing a European Kingdom I would really enjoy sending a lone merchant to Timbuktu (literally) and make a killing on incense or some such. To each his own. Going to eat my hat now for lunch, with some bbq sauce.
Remember that Odd Prince or Son-In-Law you would sometimes get. The guy who would develop a, 'Love For Butterflies' or some such that would make him infertile while giving him increased Piety or something, you could never tell. :pullhair: You wanted to assassinate him yourself, but just stick him way-off in some dead-end province instead. Then later he becomes the only guy you could use to lead an army without getting killed by the Papal Inquisitors. :bd:
That happened to me often :/
I have, 'Simon Cowles' as one of my spies. He's VERY critical of the French cooking. :coolsmiley:
:D