I'm still on my Final Fantasy XIV binge, because there's so goddamn much still for me to do in it despite the countless hours I've logged playing it. When I'm not busy just being the prettiest miqo'te in the game, that is.

https://www.twitch.tv/philodox42/schedule?seriesID=073e4ee5-b0b8-4d5e-8193-58a4efc5a65a

Any other dorks of this particular stripe on HC?

Figured this might be a good way to reconnect with some of the friends I've left behind along the way and rekindle/reapply some of my previous 'obsessions'.
Not to say that I don't listen to music anymore, but I'm not as picky as I once was and tend to spin vinyl with the kids on some modest speakers while the ThunderCougerFalconBi... *ahem* McAlister Audio Massive Attack sadly collects dust for the most part. Hoping to change that soon though.

Anyway, the shameless plug: [philodox42 on Twitch]

I've only had three streams so far, and one was largely a technical test. I'd recommend watching the first bit of the long one as that's when the raid hit and you can see me scramble.

I'm actually pretty close to Affiliate after that raid, so a follow would really help and it would be a great way to catch up with some old friends. I can also post here the next time I stream in case anyone wants to chat.  Doesn't have to have anything to do with Minecraft... and if anyone here does play Minecraft, lmk and I can send you an invite to my server.

PS. If the links aren't allowed, please strip them from the post.

I'm looking forward to getting more cars and leaving Rookie status behind... life is all about money and rep. Also, the soundtrack is entertaining for the period.

If you follow cars, this game will really date itself (2008). A lot of the cars (like the Cadillac XLR-V) are long extinct.

Persona 4 also had a killer soundtrack and I'd say this is one of the best reasons to get a Playstation. The only weakness of the games is their linear design and the slight repetition of the battles. In a way, I think the Persona games tell you more about modern Japan than Sega's Yakuza games (which are also legendary).

http://www.loop-the-game.com/
 

So I got interested and emailed the guy for pricing. Turns out they're quite expensive, not surprising since they're handmade and quite tricky to get just right. Cost is £15,000 plus shipping. Gulp.

https://robertsspaceindustries.com/ for more info on what the game is about. 

It won't be listed on steam or origin, since it's basically a company that started with a kickstarter and has pulled in something like 100mil in crowdfunding.  There's no publisher to breathe down their backs to cut content to make arbitrary deadlines, but also no one to force them to cut back on hookers and blow so things can get done.  Hence, you need to sign up on their website:  https://robertsspaceindustries.com/enlist.

My referral code is STAR-HQPD-Q546 if you want some free in-game-dosh.  Just enter it in on the sign up page.  If you have a buddy that already has the game and you think he's prettier than I am, feel free to use his code as you get the same benefit... though I won't get the fancy little go-cart.

edit:  Free "weekend" is apparently expanded to last until the 8th.  Anyone want to do some junk in game let me know.  Game's pretty fun, but obviously incomplete.  Ship balance doesn't appear to be one of the dev concerns right now, so the pvp arena is a bit iffy.

Any HC'ers want to meet up to crawl through D3 together? Lets use this thread to coordinate.

I plan on getting the game sometime next week and I should be good to go if others are interested.

Anyone else getting the Switch? 

I still have my original Game Boy from 1989.  Also many other iterations afterwards.   I'll have to post a Nintendo Portables line up picture when I get the Switch. 

http://steamcommunity.com/groups/headcase

Come one, come all!

I'll grab some screenshots of my lousy ship and uninspiring progress later tonight, to get things started.

I've setup a dedicated KF server. Server details (Moved by request.)

Also taking map requests, whitelisted mods, anything you desire. Could setup multiple admins if one of you would like admin powers.

Happy KF'ing!

I play (very very poorly) at a few websites. 

I already have a copy of each game so I want to gift both of these to one person. Who wants them?

Batman Arkham Asylum GameoftheYear Edition

Batman Arkham City GameoftheYear Edition

EDIT: I will send you a link to redeem. 

 

The story is, someone found out that the 2 DLC packs for GRID 1 that was available for consoles was actually released on the mac version. So, he dug up all the DLCs specific files from the Mac build and put it into the Windows build so that you can also play using the DLC content where you get following content in your game:

'8 Ball' DLC Pack Cars:

• McLaren F1 GTR • TVR Cerbera Speed 12 • Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X • Honda S2000 • Nissan GT-R GT500 • VW Nardo • Pontiac Firebird Trans AM • Volvo C30

Prestige Pack Cars and Track:

Track: Mount Panorama Circuit in Bathurst, Australia.

Cars: • Lamborghini Gallardo GT • Lamborghini Gallardo LP560-4 • Mazda Furai • Mercedes SLR McLaren 722 • Honda Integra Type-R (DC5) • Lotus 2-Eleven • Bugatti Veyron • Jaguar XKR GT3 • Ferrari F430 GTC • Ferrari F575 GTC

The only downside of the DLC is, you cant use those cars in the career which is a waste.

The files are also available here and here.

$499 seems about $100 too much but I went ahead and plunked down on Amazon. I figure I can always cancel later if I change my mind. The TV integrated features seem pretty damn cool.

Rockstar released a video of actual in game footage, and I have to say, I am really looking forward to this one.... once it is released for PC (fingers crossed it is not a shitty port like IV).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=N-xHcvug3WI

FFuuuuuuu...

So I order another drive after wading through a goddamn WaReZ nightmare of finding part numbers and sifting through descriptions of long-since unused parts.  That will be here in another 3 weeks or so.

So hey, if anyone has anything awesome to say about the game, please feel free to post it here and console me.  First world problems are never more keen than when you live in the capital of the 2nd world...

The PC, as a gaming platform, is superior to consoles. It is more powerful and more customizable, it offers unparalleled support for third party controllers as well as support for independent developers. It is cheaper to develop for, and its native keyboard and mouse interface is significantly more precise than a dual analog stick controller. But all of this comes at a cost - a good gaming PC is a lot more expensive than a console, and it also requires time to set up as well as some technical skill on part of the user. Consoles, in the meanwhile, are cheap, easy to use, require almost no effort to set up, and offer a platform that is at once uniform for everybody and also gives large publishers near total control over content.

In the long term, if you want to make a lot of money, cheap usually wins out over good. But, given that PCs cannot compete on price, they need to offer a superior gaming experience over consoles in order to justify their price (and effort) premium. They certainly have the power to do this, but are game developers and publishers willing to take advantage of that power in order to justify the PC's increased cost?

More and more AAA titles for the PC are simply console ports that don't offer anything over their console versions - in fact, many offer less. There are a few PC-specific things that are key to the gaming experience on the PC that don't really exist on console - things like FOV sliders in 1st and 3d person games, re-bindable controls, support for high frame rates, and customizable graphics settings - and which are commonly not addressed in a typical console port. Then, PC-exclusive AAA titles are more commonly bound up with draconian DRM - as we've seen in Diablo 3 and now Sim City, just to name a few standout examples.

All of this creates frustration for the gamer, and hurts the gaming experience. Still, I think this is not even the worst of it.

Games are becoming more and more dumbed-down. This is not a sinister conspiracy, it's simply the side-effect of games that are made with consoles in mind. The typical console controller has less buttons and generally less precision than a keyboard and mouse setup, and a game that is made with that controller in mind has to have by necessity a simpler interface, and more importantly, simpler mechanics. The FPS genre is a great example. In the past, we've had games with complex mechanics, like the movement in the Quake or Unreal games, which are only possible on keyboard and mouse. But now, with developers like Bungie flat-out stating that most players are preferring to play shooters on a console, such mechanics are largely going to be a thing of the past. Now, I'm not enough of a gamer to list off every single example of mechanics being simplified for consoles, but if even I have noticed it, then it has to be a pretty significant issue. Entire genres of gaming are now at risk - things like traditional RTS or complex simulation games like the combat flight sims of yore.

In essence, this leads me to believe that in order for the PC to survive and indeed thrive as a gaming platform, it needs developers to take advantage of PC-specific strengths, which is unlikely with games that are made with cross-platform compatibility in mind.

Unfortunately, this is not the last of it. Given how far tablets and smartphones have come, I simply don't see the need for a casual user to even own a PC. There really is no reason why you can't do social networking from a tablet just as easily, and a tablet is a lot cheaper, easier to use, and one heck of a lot more convenient than a PC. This, together with the price factor, is why I believe the PC is likely to become a much more niche thing in the future.

Being a niche thing is fine, but being a expensive, high-performance niche is very dangerous. In order to take advantage of the power, you need large developers with extensive budgets making AAA titles. In order for those titles to justify their development cost, there needs to be a more extensive market. A high-performance, expensive platform does not lend itself well to supporting an extensive market, and this is why I'm worried.

Some part of my pessimism is selfish - I'm an FPS player, and I like strategy games as well, both turn-based and real-time. I also have a lot of nostalgia for the old-school space sims and combat flight sims. All of these are genres that are either inferior or straight-up impossible to do on console. Now, there are still games that I enjoy on console - like fighting games, which is probably where I'll migrate to eventually - but I don't want to see the games I enjoy most disappear, or become dumbed-down to the point where I no longer enjoy them, which has already happened with modern FPS.

Thoughts? Am I totally off-base here? What is the way for PC to justify its increased cost and survive as a gaming platform in the future? Will all of this be fixed simply and elegantly with a console that offers native keyboard and mouse support and allows me to play the kinds of games I want to play? Is independent development going to carry the PC, inferior budgets and all, or will somebody make a console that's indie-friendly, thus removing even this market from PC exclusivity? And am I alone in thinking that things like DRM and Microtransactions irritate the hardcore gamer to the point where they consider not buying the games they would otherwise buy in the first place?