Eshanas

Apparently the PS4 port is still active? " The PS4 version of Blacklight Retribution will continue to operate as-is since there are no game servers being hosted for it." I like how on Steam they say 'Official Support Ending' and ask for feedback. So the mind naturally wanders into 'Unofficial' support. Digging into it, someone on Reddit asked, and the company or admin said: "I don't see that getting done right now, as it would require development work to convert the PC client to P2P." Other comments talked about Server Binaries or Source Codes but have seemingly fallen on deaf ears; and most of the community just shrugged and moved on. I wonder how the default reaction could be switched from meek and feel-good acceptance to "Oh, we'll handle it, give us the code!". "Oh, no biggie, we can take up the mantle, you guys go on ahead with your new project!"

I have finished the main storyline of Knights of Pen and Paper 2. Now I'm whacking at the DLC. Fun little game but I did thought it was something more like tabletop simulator at first, bummed when I couldn't make my own scenarios/mods even with preset stuff. But the game was okay, it does encapsulate how it is to play a TTRPG with friends.

I can go on for threads about how NuXcom was a disappointment.... Mostly because of the greater stuff like the shift from global strategic warfare to being this more covert-ops single base thing; or even just how it turns into this weirdly local and small war when in the original we were dishing it out on Mars. Speaking of, there's another RPG I played, and enjoyed, but forgot to mention. Avernum Escape from the Pit, I think. The story was great and you can advance your own character, but for some reason it became forgettable. It's not a bad game, not at all, just the sort of thing you have to play your own music for. And the big bad there was an ultimate revenge quest that soars beyond any realistic scope or form, but it still worked out well.

So I got Flare, the RPG. Man, this brings me back. The graphics remind me of Icewind Dale, the Avernum series, and even Cabela's 2003 hunting game. I love it. I like how it's a bit of the reverse of Avernum, Arx Fatalis, and Underrail : instead of clinging to the underworld, you want to get back into it. Definitely a game I can see myself loving for a long time.

I've beaten the main storyline of Knights of Pen and Paper 2. Keep trying to beat the ultimate boss Fifi, almost did it, but Fifi gets me everytime. Just going to finish up the DLC stuff, then go back round to FiFi when I'm like...toting a level 40 party.

Fallout 1 and Fallout: New Vegas are high on my lsit, despite their faults (which , now that I think of it, basically boil down to that you go to a town, solve their problems, move on, never return - very linear. Makes the world feel so dull and dead. I don't know why multiple/layered quests aren't more of a thing). 2 was okay, good, but the tone was off for me and the plot made less sense than 1 because the Enclave are such bad villains compared to Unity. Underrail is one of my favorite RPGs despite being loaded with ESP/Psionics stuff. The setting is basically Metro+Fallout; you're a nobody shmuck just trying to get by who gets sent out further and further and gets entangled into bigger and bigger things until you're facing down this huge being. ...Which also sounds a lot like Age of Decadence, which was very hard to get into but IMO worth it. The No-Magic Late Roman era setting also did favors for me. Though I never got over how weak the character is. Give me something. Arx Fatalis deserves a shoutout. And my first RPG was Icewind Dale. The first one. I really loved having this competent, capable party just spelunking in caves, fighting carrion crawlers and mummies, and the usual gauntlet of fighting a god. Four - maybe even Five - of these games all include fighting a god or god-like being in the end. Maybe that's just a hallmark of the genre. I do tend to shift more to strategy - Mount and Blade, Rome Total War, and OG Xcom and the like are were my hours often go to - or even action shooters with a veneer of customization - but a good RPG gets my attention any day - I'm just very picky about them.

I'm into a lot of Witchhouse and alt-pop/alt stuff. Post-Rock as well. But I've been jamming a lot to Ugliarchy's BABYTALK a lot during work hours. BABYTALK "My first track on my new experimental gothic music bandcamp. Decided on the name Ugliarchy as it seemed fitting. I recommend headphones but it starts slow and quiet but gets loud so be careful"

Ross - thanks for this. I often feel like I'm hitting a roof or a rut while selecting games. Then comes this list. As someone who really liked your other videos listing off games you're waiting for due to convergent interests and tastes, it's just what the doctor ordered.

Does anyone else think AI has reached a plateau? On one hand, you have stuff like F.E.A.R which has great AI for the time; or rumours that stuff like the Chernobyl series had to tone down their AI lest the AI complete the game without the player. And then you get stuff like Fallout: NV, and the Assassin's Creed Games, and Far Cry, where the AI doesn't seem to be 'dumb' but you can game them and tell their limits very quickly. Maybe I'm missing something - I'm stuck on a 'gaming laptop' that overheats quickly even with an attached fan - and there are plenty of games out there with AI that can keep you on your toes or doesn't act like, well, a robot in a video game all the time. Any games press the envelope or impress ya'll?