I envy all you folks who have had this week off. I went back to work Thursday, so, it's the weekend for me. Had some time last night and just stared at my screen before deciding on Warlock. Played some CKII during Christmas. We shall see what this weekend brings.
Misery loves company- I had to work yesterday and will be going in today. Everyone else has the week off but someone has to be there to keep the lights on and answer phones. No one else would do it so I allowed myself to be 'volunteered'. That better get noted somewhere in my file for that day when we might have an office purge. 8)
I've been making my family watch the Horatio Hornblower A&E series. :)
I haven't been gaming as much as I'd like...I can't get into a rhythm. I powered through Bioshock Infinite and was keen on X-Rebirth for awhile but here lately every time I have time to play I just end up going to bed early. Dammit Jim! (<-My 4 month old)
I promise you this...when he is a teenager and trying to sleep in...I am going to take an unnatural pleasure in waking his ass up....
I didn't know about the A&E series. when was it released?
Having just completed the ArmA III Campaign (which is superb) it's just simulations this weekend and all weekend.
I have F1 2013 (picked it up for a snip (£12) in the Steam sale) which seems to me, from my limited play of it last night, considerably better than 2012. The cars are much more twitchy. Also - LOVE the classic cars (when are they going to realise there's a HUGE market for older F1 simming?)
Also some DTM Experience which is also superb.
Sim driving hasn't been sooooo good.
Also - I do plan to complete my AAR for RAF:Battle of Britain Eagle Scenario - so anybody who was reading can expect that to be completed on Sunday and see me get my ass handed to me as ze Germans. Again, I apologise for my tardiness - real life at Christmas and all!
Quote from: Staggerwing on December 27, 2013, 07:02:09 AMMisery loves company- I had to work yesterday and will be going in today.
I was *at* work yesterday. Amount of work being accomplished yesterday/today may vary with the levee of attention being paid to my Civ V game as the Shoshone and a little multiplayer CardHunter action :)
I'm dangerously close to buying in on the IL-2 Sturmovik: Battle of Stalingrad early access...yes, I know, its $94, but it looks soooooo damn good. Really, the only thing holding me back is that I believe you can only play when the developer's servers are up and they only host them in bursts of activity. I would find not being able to play when I want due to this issue seriously irritating.
Otherwise, my campaign in XCOM Enemy Within is getting seriously interesting. I've also been playing through the campaign in CoD: Ghosts and it has improved somewhat. While definitely playable, its still overall a pile of unrealistic, over-the-top, implausible dog$hit.
This is the first time I've had Vacation days left at the end of the year.. So I took Xmas through New Yeas... I'll be giving FSX another shot at repairing.. If it does not go well, I"ll be playing (wait for it...)
Other Games!
Quote from: JudgeDredd on December 27, 2013, 07:44:27 AM
I have F1 2013 (picked it up for a snip (£12) in the Steam sale) which seems to me, from my limited play of it last night, considerably better than 2012. The cars are much more twitchy. Also - LOVE the classic cars (when are they going to realise there's a HUGE market for older F1 simming?)
Judge, are you a fan of rFactor or rFactor2? I'm thinking of buying a Logitech G27 Racing Wheel and getting back into racing.
I hear you about older F1 simming. I prefer the 60's and 70's era.
As for me, I worked yesterday but took today off, and I'm taking Wifey to see "American Hustle" today. After that, it'll be more time spent playing
Wings Over Flanders Fields. Still trying to get my joystick sensitivity & deadband worked out.
I'll also get in a bit of
Steam and Iron: RJW and some Ageod
Civil War 2.
I am still on vacation through January 2nd......so still have some time left.
For me, this weekend will be about exploring my new purchases, without likely getting very deep into any of them....
- Football Manager 2014
- Tomb Raider
- Splinter Cell Blacklist
- Sword of the Stars: The Pit
- Wings Over Flanders
- Front Office Football 7
- Left for Dead 2
- Aliens
- Walking Dead
- World in Flames (finally got for xmas, but not sure I am going to dive in right away...lot of reading to do and seems like they have issues over there)
Still possible purchases include:
- Combat Mission Market Garden
- Not a game, but the skin pack for WOFF
And of course any cheap sale that might come along:)
Quote from: Jarhead0331 on December 27, 2013, 09:46:29 AM
I'm dangerously close to buying in on the IL-2 Sturmovik: Battle of Stalingrad early access...yes, I know, its $94, but it looks soooooo damn good. Really, the only thing holding me back is that I believe you can only play when the developer's servers are up and they only host them in bursts of activity. I would find not being able to play when I want due to this issue seriously irritating.
Otherwise, my campaign in XCOM Enemy Within is getting seriously interesting. I've also been playing through the campaign in CoD: Ghosts and it has improved somewhat. While definitely playable, its still overall a pile of unrealistic, over-the-top, implausible dog$hit.
Watch yourself JH...CLoD looked amazing too...remember that...You could crash and burn. I know you know...andI know that particular horse has been flogged...just sounding off.
slick...yes I have rfactor2 and it is also amazing. I'd highly recommend it.
Quote from: Jarhead0331 on December 27, 2013, 09:46:29 AM
I'm dangerously close to buying in on the IL-2 Sturmovik: Battle of Stalingrad early access...yes, I know, its $94, but it looks soooooo damn good.
It's horribly tempting. The only thing holding me back are that, once I'm playing that, I won't play much in other flight sims (currently playing CLOD, DCS World and back in RoF after a brief relapse into the old IL-2 -- (after CLOD it is hard to overlook clunky graphics -- CLOD still looks better than DCS world and Rof -- which is promising for the BOSS (battle of stalingrad system)).
Actually, I'm not playing anything currently since I have one more day until my father-in-law moves out of my manloft. Even on vacation he works about 14 hours a day when he isn't meditating or sleeping or watching sports. Apparently he runs a company, a church and a small exclusive elite private school and gets about one email every 5 minutes.
Be that as it may, the day will come -- in fact tomorrow -- when I will regain my quarterdeck and play some games like Rome II, CMFI, DCS world etc.
Quote from: JudgeDredd on December 27, 2013, 10:06:55 AM
Quote from: Jarhead0331 on December 27, 2013, 09:46:29 AM
I'm dangerously close to buying in on the IL-2 Sturmovik: Battle of Stalingrad early access...yes, I know, its $94, but it looks soooooo damn good. Really, the only thing holding me back is that I believe you can only play when the developer's servers are up and they only host them in bursts of activity. I would find not being able to play when I want due to this issue seriously irritating.
Otherwise, my campaign in XCOM Enemy Within is getting seriously interesting. I've also been playing through the campaign in CoD: Ghosts and it has improved somewhat. While definitely playable, its still overall a pile of unrealistic, over-the-top, implausible dog$hit.
Watch yourself JH...CLoD looked amazing too...remember that...You could crash and burn. I know you know...andI know that particular horse has been flogged...just sounding off.
CLOD is the best Flight sim available at the moment (with the Team Fusion mods). BOS should be roughly, CLOD done in a more robust fashion within a version of the RoF world, but with significantly less hyperdetailed (CLOD level) stuff going on. A recent post in the Il-2 BOS forums mentioned that CLOD models the entire internal structure of the aircraft so that a CLOD model takes maybe 3-4 times the development work as a BOS model and most of that extra work does nothing in the game but take up processing time most of the time. The BOS flight models should be at least as detailed as the CLOD models, but probably slightly more accurate since the useless complexity impacting the models is being reduced.
I don't think BOS is likely to be as fragile a system as CLOD has been.
^You could be right...and both of you are definitely right that it looks amazing...but once bitten and all that.
I'll wait see.
By the way - just a question...how does DCS World WWII impact on Battle of Stalingrad? Or doesn't it? They are the same development teams are they not?
Quote from: Staggerwing on December 27, 2013, 07:11:43 AM
I didn't know about the A&E series. when was it released?
It's an excellent series. It aired late 90's, early 2000's.
Quote from: JudgeDredd on December 27, 2013, 10:43:42 AM
^You could be right...and both of you are definitely right that it looks amazing...but once bitten and all that.
I'll wait see.
By the way - just a question...how does DCS World WWII impact on Battle of Stalingrad? Or doesn't it? They are the same development teams are they not?
They are strangely parallel, but not directly related. It's like parallel evolution: brachipods and peyllcypods-- both have hinged shells and filter-feed from various substraits, but one is a mollusk and the other some kind of Lophophoreate-organism.
I won't prejudice the issue by saying which flight sim is really not a clam.
But here are the parallels:
1) both teams have some development experience in IL-2 and CLOD and in the Precursor of DCS world, Lock-on.
2) each has picked an already-functioning non WWII "world" to work in (DCS and Rof)
3) both are doing WWII
Not so parallel:
1) BOS is focused on a crucial moment in a relatively small space and time frame and seems to be planning to expand by going from theater to theater in narrow segments of space and time while DCS WWII seems to be more focused on bringing out single aircraft and locating them in some more generic space and time
2) DCS WWII has some aircraft already sort of in it (the DCS P-51 flyable and the FW-190 AI) and is on Kickstarter I think
while BOS has no completed aircraft -- just an alpha of the LAGG-3 and maybe a bf 109F but already has some hither-to-unseen aspects such as snow in the runway.
3) DCS WWII seems to be aimed at more detail in the aircraft
4) BOS is committed to not going too far in terms of detail
So I hear the talk of a standard and premium early access program for Stalingrad...but only see mention of the Premium right now for $94...does anybody know when the standard version will be available and for what price? $94 is a little steep for me to jump into right now so hoping the standard might be a little more affordable.
Nothing new to see here. Rome 2, CMFI, and Steam & Iron Baltic campaign along with teaching the grandkid bad habits.
Quote from: Grim.Reaper on December 27, 2013, 11:11:28 AM
So I hear the talk of a standard and premium early access program for Stalingrad...but only see mention of the Premium right now for $94...does anybody know when the standard version will be available and for what price? $94 is a little steep for me to jump into right now so hoping the standard might be a little more affordable.
I think the only difference is that premium subscribers received early access in November and standard subscribers received early access just recently in late December. $94 is the only price point at this time.
Quote from: Jarhead0331 on December 27, 2013, 11:40:27 AM
Quote from: Grim.Reaper on December 27, 2013, 11:11:28 AM
So I hear the talk of a standard and premium early access program for Stalingrad...but only see mention of the Premium right now for $94...does anybody know when the standard version will be available and for what price? $94 is a little steep for me to jump into right now so hoping the standard might be a little more affordable.
I think the only difference is that premium subscribers received early access in November and standard subscribers received early access just recently in late December. $94 is the only price point at this time.
Thanks JH....appreciate the heads up. Might have to hold off on this one for a little but, it does look like it is shaping up nicely though.
I've been off since early Tuesday afternoon and don't go back to work until after the new year.
I'll be spending some time with my new Xbox One. So far I've played about 20 minutes of Ryse: Son of Rome and 2-3 hours of Forza 5. I've never really been a racing sim fan, but Forza 5 really has its hooks deep into me. The Top Gear hosts doing the voice work is a really nice bonus as well. Ryse...is ok, but so far its a little too much like Infinity Blade on iOS for my tastes. I've also got CoD: Ghosts and Dead Rising sitting unopened. After watching my cousin play the Dead Rising demo on Christmas I think it may be just a little too over the top in the gore department for me.
Be spending most of the morning finishing up my carrier imports for Command. Once their done I might actually play a scenario or two. The rest of the week will be split mainly between Command, Distant Worlds, CK2, Hearthstone, and FC:RS. I'd like to try and get some Rome 2, Arm3 or Skyrim time as well but my computer is locking up whenever I put my video cards to heavy use. need to fix that before I start to get into anything graphics intensive.
I am extremely addicted to Wings Over Flanders Fields. I rarely play anything on my desktop but that right now. I recently put in a request to transfer to Jasta 12 in Flanders to get into the middle of the action in '17. After about a dozen missions with them, we've just now upgraded to Albatros D.Vs so it should be a decent upgrade from my earlier D.III with the underpowered 160hp engine. Now to get used to flying the new version 'on the edge'. ;D
I also picked up Front Office Football 7 recently, and started a career with the home team. I've only been playing it on the laptop when lounging about. I'm looking forward to seeing what the update will bring since they offered a cash prize for graphical improvements to the interface. Can't wait to see what the modders do!
I currently have a freshly punched Labyrinth on my tabletop, waiting to be learned. It's been slow going - I've not really delved into the rules for very long. They're not massive but the lingo is a bit strange to get used to. Kinda funny - the fonts and the green color on the manual reminds me of the old VG Vietnam 1965-1975's manual.
I may end up packing that one up and dropping LnL's Eisenbach Gap Deluxe on the table soon, instead. Thanks to Jack Nastyface's generous offer, I'll be exploring my first LnL game. It will also be the first old-fashioned hex & counter ground warfare tabletop wargame I've played in almost 20 years. Thanks Jack!
Quote from: MengJiao on December 27, 2013, 11:02:36 AM
Quote from: JudgeDredd on December 27, 2013, 10:43:42 AM
^You could be right...and both of you are definitely right that it looks amazing...but once bitten and all that.
I'll wait see.
By the way - just a question...how does DCS World WWII impact on Battle of Stalingrad? Or doesn't it? They are the same development teams are they not?
They are strangely parallel, but not directly related. It's like parallel evolution: brachipods and peyllcypods-- both have hinged shells and filter-feed from various substraits, but one is a mollusk and the other some kind of Lophophoreate-organism.
I won't prejudice the issue by saying which flight sim is really not a clam.
But here are the parallels:
1) both teams have some development experience in IL-2 and CLOD and in the Precursor of DCS world, Lock-on.
2) each has picked an already-functioning non WWII "world" to work in (DCS and Rof)
3) both are doing WWII
Not so parallel:
1) BOS is focused on a crucial moment in a relatively small space and time frame and seems to be planning to expand by going from theater to theater in narrow segments of space and time while DCS WWII seems to be more focused on bringing out single aircraft and locating them in some more generic space and time
2) DCS WWII has some aircraft already sort of in it (the DCS P-51 flyable and the FW-190 AI) and is on Kickstarter I think
while BOS has no completed aircraft -- just an alpha of the LAGG-3 and maybe a bf 109F but already has some hither-to-unseen aspects such as snow in the runway.
3) DCS WWII seems to be aimed at more detail in the aircraft
4) BOS is committed to not going too far in terms of detail
Thx MJ...appreciate the time.
Quote from: MetalDog on December 27, 2013, 06:54:45 AM
It's Friday! Are you STILL off?!
I am retired so I'm off every day. I hope it stays that way--I would hate to have to re-enter the work force right now.
I will probably be playing a little
Civilization V,
Diablo III,
Sid Meier's Ace Patrol, and I'm not sure what else. Like most everyone around, I have a lot games to choose from not even including the games on my backlog list.
Quote from: Kushan on December 27, 2013, 12:05:12 PM
I've been off since early Tuesday afternoon and don't go back to work until after the new year.
I'll be spending some time with my new Xbox One. So far I've played about 20 minutes of Ryse: Son of Rome and 2-3 hours of Forza 5. I've never really been a racing sim fan, but Forza 5 really has its hooks deep into me. The Top Gear hosts doing the voice work is a really nice bonus as well. Ryse...is ok, but so far its a little too much like Infinity Blade on iOS for my tastes. I've also got CoD: Ghosts and Dead Rising sitting unopened. After watching my cousin play the Dead Rising demo on Christmas I think it may be just a little too over the top in the gore department for me.
Be spending most of the morning finishing up my carrier imports for Command. Once their done I might actually play a scenario or two. The rest of the week will be split mainly between Command, Distant Worlds, CK2, Hearthstone, and FC:RS. I'd like to try and get some Rome 2, Arm3 or Skyrim time as well but my computer is locking up whenever I put my video cards to heavy use. need to fix that before I start to get into anything graphics intensive.
Let us know what you think of Ryse: Son of Rome.
Quote from: Jarhead0331 on December 27, 2013, 02:47:30 PM
Quote from: Kushan on December 27, 2013, 12:05:12 PM
I've been off since early Tuesday afternoon and don't go back to work until after the new year.
I'll be spending some time with my new Xbox One. So far I've played about 20 minutes of Ryse: Son of Rome and 2-3 hours of Forza 5. I've never really been a racing sim fan, but Forza 5 really has its hooks deep into me. The Top Gear hosts doing the voice work is a really nice bonus as well. Ryse...is ok, but so far its a little too much like Infinity Blade on iOS for my tastes. I've also got CoD: Ghosts and Dead Rising sitting unopened. After watching my cousin play the Dead Rising demo on Christmas I think it may be just a little too over the top in the gore department for me.
Be spending most of the morning finishing up my carrier imports for Command. Once their done I might actually play a scenario or two. The rest of the week will be split mainly between Command, Distant Worlds, CK2, Hearthstone, and FC:RS. I'd like to try and get some Rome 2, Arm3 or Skyrim time as well but my computer is locking up whenever I put my video cards to heavy use. need to fix that before I start to get into anything graphics intensive.
Let us know what you think of Ryse: Son of Rome.
I own it and played through a good portion of it....graphically, truly awesome! The death scenes are amazing and gruesome if you like that sort of thing:) As for the gameplay, jury is out on this one. It is great at the start, but it does appear to be lacking in depth. So far seems like you pretty much do the same thing over and over, kill people and kill more people....people also say the campaign is short, but haven't reached the end myself. I actually stopped playing it for awhile since it was repetitive for me.
Quote from: Slick Wilhelm on December 27, 2013, 09:50:32 AM
Quote from: JudgeDredd on December 27, 2013, 07:44:27 AM
I have F1 2013 (picked it up for a snip (£12) in the Steam sale) which seems to me, from my limited play of it last night, considerably better than 2012. The cars are much more twitchy. Also - LOVE the classic cars (when are they going to realise there's a HUGE market for older F1 simming?)
Judge, are you a fan of rFactor or rFactor2? I'm thinking of buying a Logitech G27 Racing Wheel and getting back into racing.
I hear you about older F1 simming. I prefer the 60's and 70's era.
As for me, I worked yesterday but took today off, and I'm taking Wifey to see "American Hustle" today. After that, it'll be more time spent playing Wings Over Flanders Fields. Still trying to get my joystick sensitivity & deadband worked out.
I'll also get in a bit of Steam and Iron: RJW and some Ageod Civil War 2.
Whilst I do love rFactor2 - there is one thing (I just remembered when firing it up just now)...the menu system is pretty poor. Once you're in game and racing, it's superb...but trying to select something is just awful.
In order to have all tracks available, you have to go through all the cars...individually...one at a time...through each car, regardless of group to get to the car you want to drive. You just have to scroll through all the cars. It's not like they even just list the groups, then you select the group and go through the cars.
Also - it still seems unfinished in places. For example the rev counter on the 1960's cars seems to be useless because it's showing full revs waaaay before you are at the top of the revs. And things like updating is a total pita. At least, I think so.
But - as I said, once you are in game the feel of the cars and the racing is fantastic.
In addition to starting a new Pontus campaign in Rome II, I'll spend some time with some of the games I've picked up over the last couple of weeks - Rise of Venice, Divinity:Dragon Commander, Aarklash Legacy, Expeditions:Conquistador. It will be interesting to see which holds my attention the longest.
I got sucked into another month subscription to SWTOR, so that'll be my weekend.
Quote from: Jarhead0331 on December 27, 2013, 09:46:29 AM
I'm dangerously close to buying in on the IL-2 Sturmovik: Battle of Stalingrad early access...yes, I know, its $94, but it looks soooooo damn good. Really, the only thing holding me back is that I believe you can only play when the developer's servers are up and they only host them in bursts of activity. I would find not being able to play when I want due to this issue seriously irritating.
I bought in last weekend. The flight models are already fantastic even though they're still a work-in-progress. Damage modelling is still alpha but the graphics of bullets and cannon rounds striking an enemy look just plain awesome. They've already coded in a bunch of very cool ambient stuff that doesn't really affect gameplay but adds a lot to the immersion factor. I really like the little runnels your landing gear carve in the snow for instance.
I've been having a problem in that I cannot get the bombs or rockets to work. Whenever I try a ground mission, I just get an error message and then booted back to the lobby. This has been affecting others as well as it comes up in the early-access bug reporting forum for the game.
There is a new update coming out today (it's downloading now) so hopefully it'll fix the issue I'm having with ground attack stuff.
The time limitations are annoying but they made no secret about them. The latest game session went live today at 20:00 GMT and will run until Jan 5th, I think.
The price tag was definitely steep. I don't know what the devs have planned as their business model but I suspect it'll follow along the lines of Rise of Flight. I bet that if you're willing to wait, the price will drop and the base game may even go free-to-play like RoF did. I just bought in because I'd had about 6 beer in me when I checked my credit card statement and found that they'd accidentally double-charged me for something and put the credit back on my card. "Serendipity!" I slurred as I pounded the buy button.
Quote from: Bison on December 27, 2013, 11:02:08 AM
Quote from: Staggerwing on December 27, 2013, 07:11:43 AM
I didn't know about the A&E series. when was it released?
It's an excellent series. It aired late 90's, early 2000's.
I really enjoyed it! I should watch it again sometime soon.
As for gaming,
Imperialism II has been calling me again lately. Can I resist?
Quote from: Silent Disapproval Robot on December 27, 2013, 04:19:57 PM
Quote from: Jarhead0331 on December 27, 2013, 09:46:29 AM
I'm dangerously close to buying in on the IL-2 Sturmovik: Battle of Stalingrad early access...yes, I know, its $94, but it looks soooooo damn good. Really, the only thing holding me back is that I believe you can only play when the developer's servers are up and they only host them in bursts of activity. I would find not being able to play when I want due to this issue seriously irritating.
I bought in last weekend. The flight models are already fantastic even though they're still a work-in-progress. Damage modelling is still alpha but the graphics of bullets and cannon rounds striking an enemy look just plain awesome. They've already coded in a bunch of very cool ambient stuff that doesn't really affect gameplay but adds a lot to the immersion factor. I really like the little runnels your landing gear carve in the snow for instance.
I've been having a problem in that I cannot get the bombs or rockets to work. Whenever I try a ground mission, I just get an error message and then booted back to the lobby. This has been affecting others as well as it comes up in the early-access bug reporting forum for the game.
There is a new update coming out today (it's downloading now) so hopefully it'll fix the issue I'm having with ground attack stuff.
The time limitations are annoying but they made no secret about them. The latest game session went live today at 20:00 GMT and will run until Jan 5th, I think.
The price tag was definitely steep. I don't know what the devs have planned as their business model but I suspect it'll follow along the lines of Rise of Flight. I bet that if you're willing to wait, the price will drop and the base game may even go free-to-play like RoF did. I just bought in because I'd had about 6 beer in me when I checked my credit card statement and found that they'd accidentally double-charged me for something and put the credit back on my card. "Serendipity!" I slurred as I pounded the buy button.
Does this imply for even the single player content it will require connection to their servers to play like ROF did originally? Is that a short term thing or is that the planned release model? If so, kind of strange they realized for ROF it was important to have an offline mode but in the new game it is only online? Is there actual single player content available in the early access or just MP?
Thanks!
First off, I'm happy to report that as of today's update, ground attack goodies are working for me. I had a tonne of fun trying and failing to hit anything but dirt with my bombs and rockets on the 109 and LaGG-3.
As for the login thing, I recall reading that there would be an offline mode like RoF's once the final version of the game is released.
Quote from: Kushan on December 27, 2013, 12:05:12 PM
but my computer is locking up whenever I put my video cards to heavy use. need to fix that before I start to get into anything graphics intensive.
A few things to try:
1) Reseat the video card in the bus. Doing this solved a similar issue I was having.
2) Heat build up. Use an app to check the temp of your video card while under load. Also taking the side cover off and pointing a fan at the video card.
3) Is your power supply beefy enough to support the load the video card is asking from it? Which video card have you, and how big of a power supply?
take the video card out and clean the damn thing. I was getting lots of problems until I did this as the fan and heatsink assembly was mostly covered with a shroud. I used compressed air from a can, Smuck would have broken out a razor.
I work tonight, but then I'm off the next three nights. Not sure how much time I'll have for gaming, though, as I'll be headed to SE Minnesota this weekend for my mom's family's Christmas gathering.
Time allowing on Sunday, I've been itching to get back into Fallen Enchantress: Legendary Heroes and Distant Worlds: Shadows. I've also started a new campaign in Rome II as Athens, so I'll probably spend at least a little time on that as well.
I'm going to be fooling with DayZ. Also I'll probably play some Rising Storm and fly some flights in FSX with the DC-9 Classic collection I got for my birthday.
Quote from: Grim.Reaper on December 27, 2013, 04:27:13 PM
Does this imply for even the single player content it will require connection to their servers to play like ROF did originally? Is that a short term thing or is that the planned release model? If so, kind of strange they realized for ROF it was important to have an offline mode but in the new game it is only online? Is there actual single player content available in the early access or just MP?
Thanks!
Part of the problem here is a language thing: in BoS-speak, "online" does not mean "MP". In fact there is no MP yet. For the purposes of development (remember we're still in pre-alpha here) you have to log in to their servers to play single-player. Content at the moment is limited to dogfighting the AI.
As I understand it the SP mode in the actual release will utilise the servers to keep track of stats and update careers/campaigns. You will be be able to fly offline, but won't have access to this facility.
Just to add a little topicality to this otherwise OT post:
Airland Battle,
BftB/HttR,
Planetside and
IL2:BoS
I've been getting back into Rising Storm myself. I had a great round last night even though we lost the match. I was playing as a squad leader for the Marines. I got some good arty marks down for the commander and then rushed the huts behind the trenches covering the beach after we took those. I was able to get in under the pillars and racked up 32 kills with my Thompson before I was hit by friendly fire. Ended up getting 72 kills for 14 deaths that mission. Good times!
Quote from: Father Ted on December 27, 2013, 06:42:59 PM
Just to add a little topicality to this otherwise OT post: Airland Battle, BftB/HttR, Planetside and IL2:BoS
Ted, have you been able to take off in the LaGG under full real conditions with complex engine management? I just can't do it. I think it's because they've not yet implemented the tail wheel lock for the LaGG yet. If I hold the brakes and rev the engine to 2700 RPM and then let go, torque pulls me right off the runway and into a snow bank even if I kick full rudder over. If I try slowly increasing throttle, I can just barely manage to keep it straight with full left rudder but then I can't get enough lift before I run out of runway even if I lighten the load to 20% fuel.
.
Quote from: Bison on December 27, 2013, 11:02:08 AM
Quote from: Staggerwing on December 27, 2013, 07:11:43 AM
I didn't know about the A&E series. when was it released?
It's an excellent series. It aired late 90's, early 2000's.
Thanks, I'll scan netflix and the like for it. :)
Quote from: Slick Wilhelm on December 27, 2013, 05:07:25 PM
Quote from: Kushan on December 27, 2013, 12:05:12 PM
but my computer is locking up whenever I put my video cards to heavy use. need to fix that before I start to get into anything graphics intensive.
A few things to try:
1) Reseat the video card in the bus. Doing this solved a similar issue I was having.
2) Heat build up. Use an app to check the temp of your video card while under load. Also taking the side cover off and pointing a fan at the video card.
3) Is your power supply beefy enough to support the load the video card is asking from it? Which video card have you, and how big of a power supply?
Besides the heat thing, and related to #3, it can be a power supply in the process of failing. I've seen this happen a couple times. When under load, the croaking PSU can't put out the steady current that the video card needs (which is quite a bit compared to the other parts in a computer). So the computer may only freeze up and/or blue screen when playing video intensive games.
It can also be a sign of the motherboard going too, but that can be the cause of almost all computer issues so check the others first.
There are some cheap but effective devices to check your PSU. Browse Newegg for PSU testers. Alternatively, there are some guides out there on the interwebz that tell you how much juice each wire out of your PSU should be putting out so you can verify it with a multimeter.
Quote from: Staggerwing on December 27, 2013, 08:37:06 PM
There are some cheap but effective devices to check your PSU. Browse Newegg for PSU testers. Alternatively, there are some guides out there on the interwebz that tell you how much juice each wire out of your PSU should be putting out so you can verify it with a multimeter.
The testers are just on/off rail checkers. At least the ones you're thinking about.
You'd have to grab a trusty diagram and check the voltages on certain connectors, while it's running, to see if it's getting the proper voltage. There's still a problem, however. You need to check how many amps it is putting out under load which your regular multimeter will not be able to do because the amperage on the 12v for maximum vid card use is so high. Would pop your multimeter fuses in a wink, even if you could rig it up so that the computer was running full blast while you could check a 12v connector. It's a nightmare.
I just end up getting a decent power supply, plugging it in, and seeing how it performs with the new one. If it's still acting up then it's very likely the motherboard is dying because a dying video card happens far far less often.
Quote from: eyebiter on December 27, 2013, 06:56:56 PM
Waiting to see if Rome Total War goes on sale for 50% off on Steam this weekend
You missed it. It was half price on both Steam and GMG yesterday or the day before.
Quote from: tgb on December 27, 2013, 09:00:17 PM
Quote from: eyebiter on December 27, 2013, 06:56:56 PM
Waiting to see if Rome Total War goes on sale for 50% off on Steam this weekend
You missed it. It was half price on both Steam and GMG yesterday or the day before.
Still can get here for 50% off...GetGamesGo
http://www.getgamesgo.com/product/total-war-rome-2-live
Can also get Rome 2 Keys here for about $23....
http://www.kinguin.net/category/2488/total-war-rome-ii-steam-key/
I have used this place for a few steam games and never an issue...key comes pretty instantly and no issues in activating.
Quote from: Slick Wilhelm on December 27, 2013, 05:07:25 PM
1) Reseat the video card in the bus. Doing this solved a similar issue I was having.
2) Heat build up. Use an app to check the temp of your video card while under load. Also taking the side cover off and pointing a fan at the video card.
3) Is your power supply beefy enough to support the load the video card is asking from it? Which video card have you, and how big of a power supply?
Thanks Slick. I've reseated the video cards. Also downloaded EVGA's software to monitor the temp. I doubt its the PSU, I had my my old one go out last year and bought a brand new 1000W PSU. I think it should be more then enough to power x2 GTX 570's. It could just be that Rome 2 and ArmA 3 are not optimized for SLI. I know the Skyrim engine isn't, but its never given me much trouble until recently.
Quote from: Silent Disapproval Robot on December 27, 2013, 06:43:05 PM
I've been getting back into Rising Storm myself. I had a great round last night even though we lost the match. I was playing as a squad leader for the Marines. I got some good arty marks down for the commander and then rushed the huts behind the trenches covering the beach after we took those. I was able to get in under the pillars and racked up 32 kills with my Thompson before I was hit by friendly fire. Ended up getting 72 kills for 14 deaths that mission. Good times!
That's pretty damn impressive. I've been playing a while now, and 72 kills represents 2 or 3 matches worth of kills for me.
It was definitely not the norm. I'm usually in the 15-25 range per match in a full server.
Quick question, anyone playing/have played Baldur's Gate Enhanced Editon? Any good? Says MP and Cross Platform MP, what is Cross Platform? PC and Console? PC and Mac?
Quote from: MetalDog on December 27, 2013, 09:34:12 PM
Quick question, anyone playing/have played Baldur's Gate Enhanced Editon? Any good? Says MP and Cross Platform MP, what is Cross Platform? PC and Console? PC and Mac?
I played it and it was good. For me it was easier to get this than to get the original and mod it up. Others have no issues with the mods. Also, the added party members add some new content.
Right now it is available on PC, MAC, and IOS. Website says in a future patch it will allow MP across these plaforms and Android when released. Not sure if this was ever done.
Thanks for the info. I know I can always count on you guys to come up with the goods :)
I've gotten hooked on Tales of Maj'Eyal. Maybe some Rome 2.
Once again wasted a Friday night killing sand people in SWTOR. I really need to play a real wargame soon.
I will continue my darkstar one campaign which is progressing well. I would like to finish it before going back to work on the 6th. 8)
stayed up until 5am playing Distant Worlds and Thunderbolt Apache Leader
Looks like I'm about to pull off my first ever campaign win with TAL, playing Libya'84
Tried some more things to get FSX to work.. when that failed.. tried BF4 for a lil while bleh... Played some Assassins Creed (came for free with the card) Then continued a Rome II campaign that I hadn't played in or month or two.. that was better..
Was in Washington DC with family until late last night, but can start gaming again today if allowed some time by the family, off from work until 1/2.
I want to continue with WWI-themed gaming but not all my components for WOFF have arrived yet. So I may start a Civ V modded campaign in the industrial/modern era as Russia as a fail safe. Maybe a new campaign of SCWWI, maybe the WWI mod for CoH, or Sid Meier's Ace Patrol until everything arrives for WOFF.
If I get sick of WWI, then it will either be an Iceni campaign in Rome II, CoH 2, or Assassin's Creed: Black Flag.
I've been off since 12/20 and will return on 12/31. I was playing random Steam games until FM14 went on sale. I imagine this is where I'll be for a long while. They really did a fantastic job with the interface improvements.
I'll play something eventually, perhaps after another night of 12 hours of sleep. So...tired...
^ Lisa really took a lot outta you, eh?
Quote from: Jarhead0331 on December 27, 2013, 09:46:29 AM
I'm dangerously close to buying in on the IL-2 Sturmovik: Battle of Stalingrad early access...yes, I know, its $94, but it looks soooooo damn good. Really, the only thing holding me back is that I believe you can only play when the developer's servers are up and they only host them in bursts of activity. I would find not being able to play when I want due to this issue seriously irritating.
Otherwise, my campaign in XCOM Enemy Within is getting seriously interesting. I've also been playing through the campaign in CoD: Ghosts and it has improved somewhat. While definitely playable, its still overall a pile of unrealistic, over-the-top, implausible dog$hit.
Do you even play games or just buy them? ;D
Quote from: Staggerwing on December 28, 2013, 06:48:33 PM
^ Lisa really took a lot outta you, eh?
Heh, that and spending 3 days entertaining 4 kids...who were amped up on a lot of sugar...and Christmas excitement...and who APPARENTLY NEVER NEED TO SLEEP. :o ;D
So I finally took a few turns in Strategic Command: WWI - Breakthrough in the First Balkan War campaign (begins 1912). I have the difficulty level on easy to learn. So far I am enjoying it, I must say. Even on easy the AI is making, what seems to me, intelligent moves and I am able to grasp the different phases of the game. It is similar mechanically to Commander: The Great War, and even without music is still rather immersive.
Anyone have any advice on how to get the most out of SC:WWI?
Don't lose? ;)
I don't go back to work until Friday, and I'm working from home then. We're driving back from Phoenix very early this Thursday morning.
Meantime I've been playing RAF some more and writing more content for my review of it. I hope to get to Field Commander: Alexander tomorrow.
Meanwhile I just received notification that Picket Duty arrived at my home. I knew I should have had it sent to me here in Phoenix. ???
'Don't lose'...got it. Anything else? 8)
Avoid assassinations? Just trying to be helpful :)
^Well if I did that then the prerequisites for the SCWWI game world to exist, wouldn't...
I've gone back to Skyrim this weekend, after trying pretty hard to like Game of Thrones RPG. I can see what all the complaints re: GoT are about now, as it really is big and long on the dialogue while the action is pretty straightforward and uninspiring so far. I'm only an hour or so in, so it may open up more in the late game.
Meanwhile in Skyrim, I've had some really boss fights, with a Blood Dragon fight this morning taking the better part of a half hour or so. I cleaned up a few quests (the one where you get the Dawn Breaker sword, whichever quest line that is) and then earlier today I started Dawnguard. I've decided to do the vampire questline this time through since I did the hunter questline last time and I doubt I'll play it through a third time. Man, I keep forgetting just how awesome Skyrim is. What a great game...I'm totally immersed.
I've been in a RPG mood, too. I went back to Avernum:Escape From the Pit. Trying to reorient and clean up some quests.
I'm starting to feel the urge to conquer the world or at least fight out a major engagement at an operational level or above. The problem is I'm just not sure which game to choose let alone have a desire to play. I'm leaning toward TOAW3 or something along those lines. Maybe I'll finally give Decisive Campaigns: Case Blue an honest to goodness good faith play. Ultimately I'm getting to be more and more of a curmudgeon these days and hate learning new games, which is the number 1 reason why I want the Tiller crew to increase the 2d counter size on all games.
Quote from: Bison on December 30, 2013, 12:21:27 AM
I'm starting to feel the urge to conquer the world or at least fight out a major engagement at an operational level or above. The problem is I'm just not sure which game to choose let alone have a desire to play. I'm leaning toward TOAW3 or something along those lines. Maybe I'll finally give Decisive Campaigns: Case Blue an honest to goodness good faith play. Ultimately I'm getting to be more and more of a curmudgeon these days and hate learning new games, which is the number 1 reason why I want the Tiller crew to increase the 2d counter size on all games.
Case Blue was fun. I turned the clock back to before the 2nd battle of Kharkov (to late April 1942). The Russians exterminated the Wehrmach pretty fast after breaking through north of Kharkov.
Anyway, it's a pretty fun game system.
Quote from: Gusington on December 29, 2013, 06:14:35 PM
So I finally took a few turns in Strategic Command: WWI - Breakthrough in the First Balkan War campaign (begins 1912). I have the difficulty level on easy to learn. So far I am enjoying it, I must say. Even on easy the AI is making, what seems to me, intelligent moves and I am able to grasp the different phases of the game. It is similar mechanically to Commander: The Great War, and even without music is still rather immersive.
Anyone have any advice on how to get the most out of SC:WWI?
I love that game. I've played every scenario from both sides. Here is what I learned.
The game is about morale. Every loss causes a drop in your morale and certain things can boost it, like sinking a naval unit or conquering a country or taking a city.
If you are playing a campaign the best thing to remember is you can't advance everywhere until you build up your forces. For the CP I would recommend leaving the naval alone except subs. You can lose a lot of morale fast losing BB's and CA's. Subs will need tech to survive so you will need to invest.
For the Allies try to stabilize the front then build up and attack. The CP can hit you hard early but later you can wear them down by attrition on 3 fronts.
Heavy artillery and shells are key. You can take any square you want if you have them. I tend to research Inf, Art, Shells, Trench Warfare, Production, Infrastructure and the other one that build up your industry as soon as possible. I usually leave Air and Naval alone until much later in the campaign. I almost never research Intelligence, Air Ships or motorization.
Attrition is the best way to drop the enemy morale provided you can get the better of it. That is where Artillery comes in. Blow them out of their trenches and assault.
It's better to keep units in being than to build them from scratch so try not to lose them completely but replacements cost so try to make the enemy build up lot of units each turn.
Remember that Russia also pays for Serb replacements so to wear them down attack both at once if possible.
The Brits support Greece and I think Romania so you can wear them down too if you can get to their allies.
Germany suppports all the CP minors so use them wisely.
Austria can actually get quite strong if Russia can by blunted early so don't let them just sit back and only fight one country at a time. Italy, Russia, Serbia and Romania can all make Austria spend.
Send Brits to the ME and you can beat the Turks with some Russian help.
France only supports France so eventually they can get on almost equal terms with Germany in the West and cost them a lot. The Brits and French can field more artillery than Germany can so eventually they can get a big advantage and cause a lot of casualties.
As Germany you can use unrestricted warfare if have a good morale advantage. You can completely cut off GB from overseas production and it takes a while for the US to get over up to tech speed but their entry will boost Allied morale and reduce yours so if you are way ahead in morale then do it, if not then use you gut to decide.
Austri can keep Italy out of the war forever by ceding territory but it costs a lot and just seems wrong. I never give it up but it's your call.
Quote from: Marty Ward on December 30, 2013, 12:55:05 PM
Quote from: Gusington on December 29, 2013, 06:14:35 PM
So I finally took a few turns in Strategic Command: WWI - Breakthrough in the First Balkan War campaign (begins 1912). I have the difficulty level on easy to learn. So far I am enjoying it, I must say. Even on easy the AI is making, what seems to me, intelligent moves and I am able to grasp the different phases of the game. It is similar mechanically to Commander: The Great War, and even without music is still rather immersive.
Anyone have any advice on how to get the most out of SC:WWI?
I love that game. I've played every scenario from both sides. Here is what I learned.
The game is about morale. Every loss causes a drop in your morale and certain things can boost it, like sinking a naval unit or conquering a country or taking a city.
If you are playing a campaign the best thing to remember is you can't advance everywhere until you build up your forces. For the CP I would recommend leaving the naval alone except subs. You can lose a lot of morale fast losing BB's and CA's. Subs will need tech to survive so you will need to invest.
For the Allies try to stabilize the front then build up and attack. The CP can hit you hard early but later you can wear them down by attrition on 3 fronts.
Heavy artillery and shells are key. You can take any square you want if you have them. I tend to research Inf, Art, Shells, Trench Warfare, Production, Infrastructure and the other one that build up your industry as soon as possible. I usually leave Air and Naval alone until much later in the campaign. I almost never research Intelligence, Air Ships or motorization.
Attrition is the best way to drop the enemy morale provided you can get the better of it. That is where Artillery comes in. Blow them out of their trenches and assault.
It's better to keep units in being than to build them from scratch so try not to lose them completely but replacements cost so try to make the enemy build up lot of units each turn.
Remember that Russia also pays for Serb replacements so to wear them down attack both at once if possible.
The Brits support Greece and I think Romania so you can wear them down too if you can get to their allies.
Germany suppports all the CP minors so use them wisely.
Austria can actually get quite strong if Russia can by blunted early so don't let them just sit back and only fight one country at a time. Italy, Russia, Serbia and Romania can all make Austria spend.
Send Brits to the ME and you can beat the Turks with some Russian help.
France only supports France so eventually they can get on almost equal terms with Germany in the West and cost them a lot. The Brits and French can field more artillery than Germany can so eventually they can get a big advantage and cause a lot of casualties.
As Germany you can use unrestricted warfare if have a good morale advantage. You can completely cut off GB from overseas production and it takes a while for the US to get over up to tech speed but their entry will boost Allied morale and reduce yours so if you are way ahead in morale then do it, if not then use you gut to decide.
Austri can keep Italy out of the war forever by ceding territory but it costs a lot and just seems wrong. I never give it up but it's your call.
One thing I remember from the demos was the game turns by the AI seemed to take very long...is that still the case?
I played the demo and the turn times weren't too bad. I can echo undermining enemy morale by killing their fleets. Russia at the start sometimes will send theirs out into the Baltic and as Germany sinks the main Russian units you can see the morale hits they take. Also if England can cut Germany's supply line to Sweden with subs or naval units, Germany will suffer big time in Production Points.
Thanks for the above Marty, very helpful. Right now I am playing the smaller Balkan War campaign so the AI turns are not taking too long at all.
This week the temperature here is supposed to drop below zero and there are a couple of snowstorms on the way...so I am thinking of properly restarting COH2 as well.
Ended up playing a few hours of Distant Worlds this evening. Started a pre-warp human civilization and have really been enjoying the relaxing nature of the game. It's been a long while since I last played, so I'm pretty rusty. Just and waiting for my colonization tech to be researched so I can expand and ramp up my economy. Money is a major issue right now to building a fleet capable of cancelling my pirate protection contracts.
I reverted to a save in Skyrim right before I chose the vampire questline in Dawnguard. From what I can tell, the two questlines are essentially the same after the very first part. I did the part where you fill the chalice and the whole vampire thing was just getting old already. I really am more of a vampire hunter than vampire lover. Now, if vampires could stand for Good and Right then I might be more interested, but I'm just not into the whole evil thing. That's hard for me to role play, no matter how hard I try.
So, I finished the cup quest and then reverted to a prior save and took it back up as part of Dawnguard. It's been a year since I played the quests so it should still be pretty boss.
Once I finish that I'm going to solve the Skyrim Civil War as an Imperial this time, then finish the main quest and then, finally, get on with Dragonborn DLC that I bought like a year ago!
I've been playing some Saints Row IV - much the same as the previous version, but still enjoyable jump in and kill crap. Kind of set in some sort of "Matrix" world with aliens...so I'm not sure I like the setting as much as the previous one with different gangs - but still good old fashioned shoot em up fun
I stayed up til 3 to get some arma III mp action on over at sim hq - loved it
Now - not feeling so good, mmmmmmmust sleep, but first kill the libyans in rome II
I've been playing some Distant Worlds: Shadows, BOTF, and a little Crusader Kings 2.
I've been in a life or death struggle with the Averni as the Suebi in Rome 2(they started it). But after some big fights, I've managed to turn the tide against them and now closing in on their last city. I want to see if they'll ask for peace or go quietly into the history books.
Once I get COH2 out of my system I am [finally] going to start a Rome II Radious mod campaign as the Iceni.
As far as Skyrim, I didn't enjoy the Dragonborn DLC that much...I just didn't like the island setting as much as the base game and the areas of Dawnguard DLC. "Finished" the game a couple of months ago after about 150 hours put in, which is nothing compared to some of the other guys around here.
I started an Iceni campaign and found it to be a bit boring. All the Briton factions have the same units and after polishing-off the enemies to the west, nothing happens. Nobody likes me well enough to trade and nobody hates me enough to declare war on me. So after the plague hits one of my cities, I begin to build a proper conquering army and my scouts show me everybody in Britain already has 20 unit armies and building more. I haven't even gotten to 10 yet. :-[ So nothing to do but recruit the same type troops and watch the world go by while I wait. The Suebi are in it up to their Naked Warrior butts right from the start. More my style.
Well my fledgling human empire just got crushed by rampaging pirate hordes. Note to self: I need to build multiple fleets.
Way to dash my Iceni-dreams...
Maybe you can do better than me Gus. The Iceni need some Druid Death-Dealing units or Dragons or at least some Skyrim-like castles. ;)
Quote from: Sir Slash on January 01, 2014, 01:18:55 AM
Maybe you can do better than me Gus. The Iceni need some Druid Death-Dealing units or Dragons or at least some Skyrim-like castles. ;)
Wailing bean-sidhe and screaming deathfire pigs?
^They don't have them?? Damn.
How about some Dreadnaught Class War Elephants? ;D
Yes! Now we're talking.
Quote from: Bison on December 31, 2013, 03:21:35 PM
Well my fledgling human empire just got crushed by rampaging pirate hordes. Note to self: I need to build multiple fleets.
I really need to get around to trying a Shadows-era game. I've heard it's pretty fun/interesting starting with just your home planet and slowly colonizing your home star system while fending off the pirates (or at least trying to... ;D ).
Thanks to Kushan for being a good sport. We couldn't get a CKII MP going, so, he suggested Warlock. Thanks, man :)
Quote from: Martok on January 01, 2014, 02:26:20 PM
Quote from: Bison on December 31, 2013, 03:21:35 PM
Well my fledgling human empire just got crushed by rampaging pirate hordes. Note to self: I need to build multiple fleets.
I really need to get around to trying a Shadows-era game. I've heard it's pretty fun/interesting starting with just your home planet and slowly colonizing your home star system while fending off the pirates (or at least trying to... ;D ).
I've had to tone down the pirates a lot. They are just too overwhelming if you haven't played with them in a few dozen previous games.
I've been getting into Shadow Warrior a bit. Fun game thus far.
Quote from: Bison on January 01, 2014, 06:53:30 PM
Quote from: Martok on January 01, 2014, 02:26:20 PM
Quote from: Bison on December 31, 2013, 03:21:35 PM
Well my fledgling human empire just got crushed by rampaging pirate hordes. Note to self: I need to build multiple fleets.
I really need to get around to trying a Shadows-era game. I've heard it's pretty fun/interesting starting with just your home planet and slowly colonizing your home star system while fending off the pirates (or at least trying to... ;D ).
I've had to tone down the pirates a lot. They are just too overwhelming if you haven't played with them in a few dozen previous games.
Holy crap, you ain't kidding!
I started a Shadows-era game yesterday as the Humans...and got royally murdered by two different pirate factions (both of whom had been harassing me since pretty much the beginning). It was like a college football draft pick finding out what playing in the NFL is really like... :o