OS Neutral What Game You Play'n?

[Huntn]

Currently playing Cyberpunk 2077 via Crossover. Still overwhelmed that it actually works.

CP2077 is a breakthrough game in the realm of social interaction, at least from my experience. Still limited, unrealistic, but as I see it, the path forward for player immersion. I'm actually excited about AI (if it does not destroy civilization) otherwise being incorporated into games to provide more flexible companion relationships. And a city where you can bum a cigarette from anyone on the street and get into a conversation about a good restaurant, or the like.

 

[Queen6]

CP2077 is a breakthrough game in the realm of social interaction, at least from my experience. Still limited, unrealistic, but as I see it, the path forward for player immersion. I'm actually excited about AI (if it does not destroy civilization) otherwise being incorporated into games to provide more flexible companion relationships.

Did we play the same game? Games of 20 years ago have deeper emersion & dialogue. Right enough CP2077 has flashy graphics, but it wont trigger you same way as Alien Isolation can or does. If seeking photo realistic The Callisto Protocol will deliver.

I've played out CP2077 all endings and found it very over rated. There is little to no depth to the storyline, unlike the Witcher 3 that has serious gravity. Apparently when Witcher 3 blew up the dev's asked for a slice of the pie and were to told to take a walk. Hence why we now have the Metro franchise as they formed 4A Games. CDPR's best talent left due to the greed of the owner.... In this case we the gamers benefited as the Metro series is a storming play

Q-6

 

[SnoFlo]

Used to play the Ultima series back in the day, so that's my idea of, uh, "immersive dialogue" lol. I'm still gobsmacked by the flashy graphics of Cyberpunk!

 

[salamanderjuice]

Did we play the same game? Games of 20 years ago have deeper emersion & dialogue. Right enough CP2077 has flashy graphics, but it wont trigger you same way as Alien Isolation can or does. If seeking photo realistic The Callisto Protocol will deliver.

I've played out CP2077 all endings and found it very over rated. There is little to no depth to the storyline, unlike the Witcher 3 that has serious gravity. Apparently when Witcher 3 blew up the dev's asked for a slice of the pie and were to told to take a walk. Hence why we now have the Metro franchise as they formed 4A Games. CDPR's best talent left due to the greed of the owner.... In this case we the gamers benefited as the Metro series is a storming play

Q-6

Alien Isolation ain't 20 years old. Not even 10 yet!

I've only played through each once, but I felt a deeper sense of immersion with Baldur's Gate 3 than the first two or KOTOR. I was also pretty immersed in CP2077, granted I only played through it once.

 

[Queen6]

Used to play the Ultima series back in the day, so that's my idea of, uh, "immersive dialogue" lol. I'm still gobsmacked by the flashy graphics of Cyberpunk!

While the graphics are impressive, however the storytelling is weak worse the endless profanity in combat is trite at best. I'm ex UK mil so not remotely offended. Just like a book that over uses it's words it gets old fast. CP2077 the graphics work, however the rest doesn't. Predictable and tiresome, likely that's on me, is CP2077 a bad game in 2024? no, is it a stand out no, not remotely so...

Q-6

 

[Queen6]

Alien Isolation ain't 20 years old. Not even 10 yet!

I've only played through each once, but I felt a deeper sense of immersion with Baldur's Gate 3 than the first two or KOTOR. I was also pretty immersed in CP2077, granted I only played through it once.

Alien Isolation is now in it's tenth year, nor did I ever state the game to be 20 years old. Immersive gaming is what I gravitate to and Alien Isolation delivers that in spades...

Q-6

 

[Huntn]

Did we play the same game? Games of 20 years ago have deeper emersion & dialogue. Right enough CP2077 has flashy graphics, but it wont trigger you same way as Alien Isolation can or does. If seeking photo realistic The Callisto Protocol will deliver.

I've played out CP2077 all endings and found it very over rated. There is little to no depth to the storyline, unlike the Witcher 3 that has serious gravity. Apparently when Witcher 3 blew up the dev's asked for a slice of the pie and were to told to take a walk. Hence why we now have the Metro franchise as they formed 4A Games. CDPR's best talent left due to the greed of the owner.... In this case we the gamers benefited as the Metro series is a storming play

Q-6

I accept your disagreement… however at this point all games have scripts with limited dialog choices, Starfield infuriated me because it was the same as Fallout 4, but this game, I was invited over for dinner to play a laser shooter game with the nephews, sit down for dinner, climb a tower to look at the city at night, and have some sex if I wanted. Another primary character invited me on a date to check out the old neighborhood. I’ve never seen or experienced this before. Now maybe you have, but for myself this is breakthough territory. And what is next, my speculation, will be AI, addressing characters with your mic, and more fleshed out conversations. 🤔

And I’ll add, the Along The Watch Tower ending, driving off to the sunset , with the Nomads, and my girlfriend with an uncertain future felt most profound.

 

[Queen6]

I accept your disagreement… however at this point all games have scripts with limited dialog choices, Starfield infuriated me because it was the same as Fallout 4, but this game, I was invited over for dinner to play a laser shooter game with the nephews, sit down for dinner, climb a tower to look at the city at night, and have some sex if I wanted. Another primary character invited me on a date to check out the old neighborhood. I’ve never seen or experienced this before. Now maybe you have, but for myself this is breakthough territory. And what is next, my speculation, will be AI, and addressing characters with your mic, and more fleshed out conversations. 🤔

TBH I found CP2077 to be rather overly easy, dull and boring. Graphics have the flash no argument there and still a standout. Acid test for me; I've played it all out, all endings and have never revisited. It's shallow even Doom 3 has a deeper storyline. The romance/sex is kind of a joke and adds little to nothing to the storyline. Kind of meaningless, just satire gone wrong.

CP2077 is just a game blown out of proportion by social media, not remotely close to the source as said a looter shooter with little depth or meaning. Witcher 3 you have to commit and put in more time than most games span to fully realise. You could be 1K in and still be surprised... Cyberpunk in media, look to Bladerunner or Altered Carbon (1st series) as they get it right, CP2077 not remotely close...

Q-6

 

[imrazor]

It is an alternative to Crossover that also includes GPTK support (WINE doesn't support it out of the box as far as I know). So DX12 games (that don't have anti-cheat) will run.

Crossover has had DX12/GPTK support for a while now...

Unleashing the Gaming Revolution: CrossOver Mac's DirectX 12 Support Update! | CodeWeavers Blog

By Meredith Johnson | Brace yourself for a future where CrossOver Mac's DirectX 12 support unleashes your gaming prowess like never before.

www.codeweavers.com

Yes, it does cost money but is not exorbitant - well compared to something like Parallels anyway. Speaking of Parallels, one virtual machine is also now free ... VMware Fusion. It's worked well with some older games, but I haven't tried any modern-ish AAA games.

 

[diamond.g]

Crossover has had DX12/GPTK support for a while now...

Unleashing the Gaming Revolution: CrossOver Mac's DirectX 12 Support Update! | CodeWeavers Blog

By Meredith Johnson | Brace yourself for a future where CrossOver Mac's DirectX 12 support unleashes your gaming prowess like never before.

www.codeweavers.com

Yes, it does cost money but is not exorbitant - well compared to something like Parallels anyway. Speaking of Parallels, one virtual machine is also now free ... VMware Fusion. It's worked well with some older games, but I haven't tried any modern-ish AAA games.

I didn't mean to imply that Crossover didn't.

 

[Queen6]

Finished up The Callisto Protocol, blind run on rec'd settings was better than expected. Remains to have it's flaws, certainly a unique play, absolutely a gore hound. Game is not a frightening horror experience such as Alien Isolation or Visage, equally not for the squeamish.

Pity the Publisher didnt give Striking Distance Studios the promised timeline as you can see the potential in the IP,
also a potential victim of the studios own ambition. Graphic's to this day remain impressive, equally games generally stand on their gameplay & narrative. TBH the references to Callisto being a spiritual successor to Dead Space was a very dangerous statement and ballooned expectations, topped of by fractured launch...

A fair retrospective by someone who appreciates both Dead Space & The Collisto Protocol for what they are...

The Callisto Protocol:

• Gameplay - Control can be clunky, some sharp difficulty spikes without warning and camera angles can exacerbate. Once realised can easily be overcome. The whole dodge aspect takes time to adjust (KB&M). Enemy variation lacks, some were cut due to time constraints.
• Audio & Graphic's - Remain to be industry leading.
• Narrative - Player needs to fill in a lot of the gaps, either due to cuts or deliberate artistic intention.
• Performance - Was good on my 2018 PC, no bugs or issues just played out and never gave issue.

Overall not a dud, nor a superstar. I enjoyed the experience, expect to revisit soon enough. Next time I'll have greater knowledge and seek out a lot of what I missed on the blind run. If your into Sci-Fi with body horror it's worth a play if bought on a deal. Those of us that picked Callisto up free on Epic got a steal. OG Fallout series is free this week. Might just work on the M1 Mac as there's source ports for F1 & F2 🤞

If Callisto 2 ever comes to pass I doubt it will have the same budget, impact or commitment. If nothing else The Callisto Project was a passion project driven by a highly dedicated team and an inspired director. Which is a very rare animal in the AAA space.

The Callisto Project gets a pass, Dead space it's not, but it's someting and a solid gaming experience if into the genre...

Q-6

 

[Queen6]

Another fair retrospective on Callisto

Still of mixed mind, yet want to revisit Black Iron Prison sometime very soon... So in some respects I guess the game worked, although imperfectly. Combat remains to be visceral & brutal, beyond many other's.

nb spoiler's abound...

Q-6

 

[Huntn]

Sept 2024

• Alien Isolation- With the Shooter Mod, I thought I’d get somewhere, but the way it’s configured you craft bullets from scrap, which is a bit unrealistic, but not really an issue. Crafting in games is usually a compromise with realism. The thing is both pistol and shotgun, the pistol has no effect on it, just pisses it off, but the shotgun can be used to drive the meanie away, but you can’t kill it, (I read this) which makes sense, cause that might make for a short game. The thing is scrap seems to be in short supply and you might feel like a smoke bomb, or flash bang might be more useful. Anyway, second attempt at game, and I asked myself, why am I here? Granted if you enjoy alien associated tension, this might be the reason. In my old age, I’m now hostile towards the horror, SciFi horror genre. I’ve set the game aside.
• Days Gone- Post apocalyptic, PlayStation port, zombie shooter, fast moving variety. Nice country environment, but even with a console where I could easily replenish my ammo, I tired of the routine as presented. Set aside.
• Dying light- Another zombie shooter by the people who made Dead island, which I enjoyed. This is set in a city environment, with interesting jump and climb dynamics. Not far enough into this.
• Fallout 4- Working through my 2024 play through. Good as ever. I may skip Nuka World and Far Harbor this time, but the radiant quests are sending me to Far Harbor anyway. I’ve set up most settlements, working with the Minutemen, Railroad, Brotherhood of Steel, and a Goul name Murphy which is part of a F4 content mod (Depravity), which opens up new avenues to deal with the Common Wealth, but I’m skipping the Vault DLC which I can’t remember the name of.
• Cyberpunk 2077- Reinstalled and working though 4th playthough, on hard, this time with Phantom Liberty DLC, that appears in the last half of the game. Regarding Phantom Liberty, I read up on it and there is a way to complete it, but continue to the end of the vanilla game. The main quest, I can’t ask for more, Tactical combat is dynamic. At this point I’m still early in the street cred dept, my sword skills are not that developed, and taking on 3 adversaries, by putting cyber hacks on 2 of 3 before attacking, makes a huge difference. I burned one, and reset optics on the second one, entered the fray attacking the handicapped ones first not giving them time to recover. In this environment, everyone has cyber implants and is tied into the network, allowing for these type of attacks. And the only you develop skills with specific weapons is to use them in combat.
• World of Wairships- Still playing regularly, with friends on occasion.

 

[Queen6]

Sept 2024

• Alien Isolation- With the Shooter Mod, I thought I’d get somewhere, but the way it’s configured you craft bullets from scrap, which is a bit unrealistic, but not really an issue. Crafting in games is usually a compromise with realism. The thing is both pistol and shotgun, the pistol has no effect on it, just pisses it off, but the shotgun can be used to drive the meanie away, but you can’t kill it, (I read this) which makes sense, cause that might make for a short game. The thing is scrap seems to be in short supply and you might feel like a smoke bomb, or flash bang might be more useful. Anyway, second attempt at game, and I asked myself, why am I here? Granted if you enjoy alien associated tension, this might be the reason. In my old age, I’m now hostile towards the horror, SciFi horror genre. I’ve set the game aside.
• Days Gone- Post apocalyptic, PlayStation port, zombie shooter, fast moving variety. Nice country environment, but even with a console where I could easily replenish my ammo, I tired of the routine as presented. Set aside.
• Dying light- Another zombie shooter by the people who made Dead island, which I enjoyed. This is set in a city environment, with interesting jump and climb dynamics. Not far enough into this.
• Fallout 4- Working through my 2024 play through. Good as ever. I may skip Nuka World and Far Harbor this time, but the radiant quests are sending me to Far Harbor anyway. I’ve set up most settlements, working with the Minutemen, Railroad, Brotherhood of Steel, and a Goul name Murphy which is part of a F4 content mod (Depravity), which opens up new avenues to deal with the Common Wealth, but I’m skipping the Vault DLC which I can’t remember the name of.
• Cyberpunk 2077- Reinstalled and working though 4th playthough, on hard, this time with Phantom Liberty DLC, that appears in the last half of the game. Regarding Phantom Liberty, I read up on it and there is a way to complete it, but continue to the end of the vanilla game. The main quest, I can’t ask for more, Tactical combat is dynamic. At this point I’m still early in the street cred dept, my sword skills are not that developed, and taking on 3 adversaries, by putting cyber hacks on 2 of 3 before attacking, makes a huge difference. I burned one, and reset optics on the second one, entered the fray attacking the handicapped ones first not giving them time to recover. In this environment, everyone has cyber implants and is tied into the network, allowing for these type of attacks. And the only you develop skills with specific weapons is to use them in combat.
• World of Wairships- Still playing regularly, with friends on occasion.

Pity about Alien Isolation, but if it not's for you... Ultimately it's a stealth focused survival horror game firmly based on the original 1979 films world. The trainer would allow you to explore unhindered. TBH wouldn't be much of a game, more an experience and a long one at that.

Dying Light is good and a fun twist on the Zombie genre. Lot's of exploration & verticality, with it's expansion is also a big game with fresh & changing dynamics. You can put a lot of hours into this one and not get tired of the play

Having a 2nd run at The Callisto Protocol NG+. Likely will be more enjoyable as wont get surprised by difficulty spikes and will also be able to explore & find more. The game has a good premise but they should have focused more on gameplay & narrative and sunk less into the graphics. When you complete the game and see the sheer amount of companies and people involved in the credits you can understand why the budget ballooned to something in the region of $160 million...

As said it was unwise to compare & relate The Callisto Protocol to Dead Space as it's simply doesn't come close. I can see the potential. Dead Space's genius was in it's setting, varied combat and a narrative that pushed the player ever forward on a path of discovery.

Maybe a playthrough on the hardest level will change things up🤔 Although I just think all this will do is dial up the boss fights to eleven... Might do as Callisto is relatively short at 8-10 hours... Retrospectively on my 2nd play and considering a 3rd, so there's someting to The Callisto Project...

Q-6

 

[Huntn]

Baldur's Gate 3- (Mac/PC) Is on sale for 20% off at Steam, first sale that I've seen on this 2023 title, had to buy it, been waiting for a sale, some of the best character models I've ever seen, but once I got into combat, discovered it was very tedious turn based combat. 😐 My bad, have requested a refund from Steam. Note: at Steam it has overwhelmingly positive reviews...

 

[txa1265]

Baldur's Gate 3- (Mac/PC) Is on sale for 20% off at Steam, first sale that I've seen on this 2023 title, had to buy it, been waiting for a sale, some of the best character models I've ever seen, but once I got into combat, discovered it was very tedious turn based combat. 😐 My bad, have requested a refund from Steam. Note: at Steam it has overwhelmingly positive reviews...

The reminder that even 'Top 10 All-Time' games are NOT for everyone!

I saw the announcement of another Total War RTS game coming to iPad and had to remind myself of the many times I've spent $ to beat my head against amazing RTS while I just don't connect with the entire genre! 🤣

 

[salamanderjuice]

The reminder that even 'Top 10 All-Time' games are NOT for everyone!

I saw the announcement of another Total War RTS game coming to iPad and had to remind myself of the many times I've spent $ to beat my head against amazing RTS while I just don't connect with the entire genre! 🤣

Total War is an RTS series where you can pretty easily ignore the whole RTS part and still have a good time. It's also quite different from other games like StarCraft.

 

[Queen6]

SCP - Containment Breach Ultimate Edition (Reborn)

SCP: Containment Breach is one of the early examples of an SCP game, combining many popular entries in the series and forming a difficult, extensively replayable game.

Ultimate Edition combines numerous mods from the community with improvements to expand the content. More SCPs, more paths & more detailed visuals. If you get into the game it will draw you in all the more deeper, so be warned...

Q-6

 

[Queen6]

Lately, many indie games like the ones @Queen6 has been showing us, are catching my attention. Small & sweet games that can be found on Steam or other places, even for free. But they are always for Windows.

So, given that I am going to keep being a Mac user, and thanks the power of Apple Silicon, I’m considering that an M4 or M4 Pro should be enough to run all this games using Whiskey. What do you think? Should I wait until the M5 to see if the GPU gets an important boost? Or an M4 should be enough?

Paint's still wet, however there's a Mac version....

SCP Containment Breach HDRP Edition, I've yet to play but it's in the que.

Q-6

 

[Populus]

Paint's still wet, however there's a Mac version....

SCP Containment Breach HDRP Edition, I've yet to play but it's in the que.

Q-6

It’s the Alpha n.6 right? I see they are on Alpha n.41 on Win…

Maybe, if developers start finding it easy to a) port Windows games using the new porting tools, or b) getting better at coding for the Metal API, we may start seeing more games on Apple Silicon. The capabilities the M3 and M4 GPUs are offering are really promising!

If you try it out on a Mac just let me know how it runs.

 

[Queen6]

It’s the Alpha n.6 right? I see they are on Alpha n.41 on Win…

Maybe, if developers start finding it easy to a) port Windows games using the new porting tools, or b) getting better at coding for the Metal API, we may start seeing more games on Apple Silicon. The capabilities the M3 and M4 GPUs are offering are really promising!

If you try it out on a Mac just let me know how it runs.

Likely the phases of the dev process as is on Linux, macOS & Windows. I came across just as the dev dropped. If you have a Mac load & play. I'll more likely play on the PC as it's got more power and I only reserve a few favourite's for the M1.

TBH unless Apple get's onboard, gaming will never bloom on the Mac. Personally I think Apple would go for a console approach as then they would have complete control unlike the Mac. Bottom line is dev's, studio's & publishers need to get paid out and Apple has zero interest in the process. Sadly even Linux has overtaken macOS as a gaming platform so. Want to game? Build or pickup a Windows box, install a stripped down version of Windows and use it only for gaming is the best solution.

Q-6

 

[Populus]

is not exorbitant - well compared to something like Parallels anyway

From what I see on their website , Crossover is 74€ per year. You mean Parallels is now more than 70€ per year? God I hate software rental.

 

[Queen6]

Baldur's Gate 3- (Mac/PC) Is on sale for 20% off at Steam, first sale that I've seen on this 2023 title, had to buy it, been waiting for a sale, some of the best character models I've ever seen, but once I got into combat, discovered it was very tedious turn based combat. 😐 My bad, have requested a refund from Steam. Note: at Steam it has overwhelmingly positive reviews...

Same discount on GOG with a far better refund policy, 30 days vs just a few hours. Steam is both the best & worst of digital stores... Tactics are obvious; lock in the players, kill the competition, ramp up the pricing. Valve only serves Valve if you think it serves you, good luck with that one...

Even free games have enforced DRM, I wonder why 🤔

Q-6

 

[Donfor39]

Today one of my relaxing ex Consoles Games is making p.c. purchase Baldur's Gate 3.
Steam slightly reduced offer 39.99 uk.

 

[salamanderjuice]

Same discount on GOG with a far better refund policy, 30 days vs just a few hours. Steam is both the best & worst of digital stores... Tactics are obvious; lock in the players, kill the competition, ramp up the pricing. Valve only serves Valve if you think it serves you, good luck with that one...

Even free games have enforced DRM, I wonder why 🤔

Q-6

Pretty sure publishers set the prices on all the game stores. There's plenty of DRM free games on Steam too and they could easily be far far worse. They do let publishers sell steam keys on other sites for free, the Steam Deck is tinker friendly and they don't block you from installing games from outside Steam, etc. Compared to Apple or Microsoft they're pretty open.