What are you currently playing?
- Thread starter LordOfDarkness
- Start date
Fire Emblem: Awakening. First off, let's just say that this game is making doubt, worry, and obsess with pretty much everything like min/maxing characters, getting supports, not letting characters die even though I could reset, getting money and exp, distributing exp evenly to everyone, analyzing percentages of critical hits, hits in general, evasion, and the seals, oh the damned seals. In Fire Emblem, certain items are used to promote characters so a Knight could turn into a General or Great Knight and stuff like that. Well, in Awakening, it's limited to Master Seals for promotions. Thing is, once you promote, that means you gain less exp and being powerful, you might end up "sponging" exp into the "wrong" characters.
A trend of the game is to have pre-promoted characters and in past games, they usually sucked aside from crappy characters in general and some good pre-promoted characters. The reason is that they don't gain the stat growths from going to level 1-20 unpromoted to level 1-20 (or 21-40) promoted. They just only have 20 levels to grow from and usually that's too slow, risky, and inefficient. But, sometimes there are pre-promotes who are life savers in harder difficulties like Seth from Sacred Stones, who is just plain good overall, and Frederick in Awakening who is "essential" for a non-frustrating run on Lunatic and Lunatic+.
Anyway, there's also Second Seals and that's how you "break" character archetypes, that is by re-classing you can gain different skills and take advantage of class stat growths. You have a Knight, he's slow, but he can re-class to a Thief who are really fast because of their speed growths. Re-class him into a Thief and take advantage of the speed growths and either put him on the Thief class tree or return him to the Knight class tree and see him move much faster than before.
Here's the issue, I don't know what happens in the full game and I don't know how many Master Seals and Second Seals you can get without buying them - they're both 2,500 gold a pop. That's making me obsess over them a bit and Fire Emblem games tend to have issues with getting money. Since I want to make use of everyone - Fire Emblem tends to have a colorful cast and there's bound to be at least 10 people you'd like -, I don't really know what to do. The available to make money without DLC - there's the Golden Gaffe which nets like 1,000 to 7,000 gold per play, it costs $3.00?, but getting the pack for gold, exp, and weapon maps is $6.00, not bad - is to use reeking boxes - only profitable on Normal; 500 gold to get 1000 gold, it costs 4,800 on Hard and up while getting 1,000 -, rely on the luck stat, the Armsthrift skill, and Leif's Blade to get boullions, or the Despoil skill which is basically Leif's Blade as a skill. Yeah, not the great when you think about it, still, like I said, I don't know what happens later, I just know I'm worrying a lot.
Ignoring my mental deterioration, this game is really sad, actually I think all Fire Emblems are sad, though this one hits you immediately, but since I only played through one of them and know about some of them, I don't know if this is the "quickest" to making you feel angry and sad. Let's just say that one character who you meet and will find innocent, kind, beautiful, and admirable doesn't find a happy fate. This happens in the first 9 chapters out of, if counting the side chapters, 50 chapters plus 25 DLC chapters, 3 of which shows an alternate ending of an alternate timeline where the antagonist wins and is what causes Fire Emblem: Awakening's story. Holy hell, 9 chapters and this game is making want to cry. Did I mention that it supposedly gets worse as more horrible events happen and hope seems utterly destroyed? Or that about 70% of the cast have really tragic back-stories. One "random" character you get is actually a nobleman who failed his entire country. You don't see that on the outside as he acts like an arrogant womanizer. Or how you meet the last of the Taguel. Or how slavery and implied forced prostitution is in the world of Awakening. One bandit leader mentions how "fetching young things fetches good coin". Chrom, who is one of the main characters, is the son of Ylissean exalt who persecuted and tried to kill all Plegians. Crusades, anyone? Wiping out a whole group of people 'cause they look, talk, and act differently, granted, there is an evil cult prominent in Plegia. So, Fire Emblem: Awakening does show some of the horrible parts of war despite being a T-rated game that seems like another everyday game for strategy game lovers.
On the flip-side, supports, a mechanic that shows certain characters building friendships with each other, are often humorous, endearing, and sometimes heartbreaking. It's the main reason some people play Fire Emblem despite not being good at strategy games. It can turn a jackass into a lovable character, well, someone who you understand and can tolerate more than if you just left him as is. It can even make other characters even more tragic. One person you get is a perfectionist and holds an unrequited love for someone. By the game's design, she is not allowed to be with him. On her character, it's because she think he shouldn't be with someone of her status. It's kind of bull when said character can end up with her friend, another soldier, a noblewoman, a dancer, your character if she is female, and possibly, a random villager. Sometimes when you have her fall in love with another character, it's implied that she still loves him. It's sad and painful, especially factoring her husband and daughter who knows about this. Also, there are some goofy moments during cutscenes. Basically, it makes the game less sad by giving those moments you can cherish. Even in a war, there might be that memory of your fellow soldier talking about how chocolate gives him gas or how his sister's wedding was the last and best thing he had before he joined the military. Those funny, loving, and even sad moments that turns a war into something more tolerable than just mindless killing for ideas that could have resolved peacefully.
Also, the game has an amazing soundtrack.
The horns always gets me. It this piece really exciting. To note, many of the tracks have a normal and "Ablaze" version. Normal means nothing but planning and movement is going on. "Ablaze" is when actual combat happens.
There's also Conquest (Ablaze), another exhilarating track.
A trend of the game is to have pre-promoted characters and in past games, they usually sucked aside from crappy characters in general and some good pre-promoted characters. The reason is that they don't gain the stat growths from going to level 1-20 unpromoted to level 1-20 (or 21-40) promoted. They just only have 20 levels to grow from and usually that's too slow, risky, and inefficient. But, sometimes there are pre-promotes who are life savers in harder difficulties like Seth from Sacred Stones, who is just plain good overall, and Frederick in Awakening who is "essential" for a non-frustrating run on Lunatic and Lunatic+.
Anyway, there's also Second Seals and that's how you "break" character archetypes, that is by re-classing you can gain different skills and take advantage of class stat growths. You have a Knight, he's slow, but he can re-class to a Thief who are really fast because of their speed growths. Re-class him into a Thief and take advantage of the speed growths and either put him on the Thief class tree or return him to the Knight class tree and see him move much faster than before.
Here's the issue, I don't know what happens in the full game and I don't know how many Master Seals and Second Seals you can get without buying them - they're both 2,500 gold a pop. That's making me obsess over them a bit and Fire Emblem games tend to have issues with getting money. Since I want to make use of everyone - Fire Emblem tends to have a colorful cast and there's bound to be at least 10 people you'd like -, I don't really know what to do. The available to make money without DLC - there's the Golden Gaffe which nets like 1,000 to 7,000 gold per play, it costs $3.00?, but getting the pack for gold, exp, and weapon maps is $6.00, not bad - is to use reeking boxes - only profitable on Normal; 500 gold to get 1000 gold, it costs 4,800 on Hard and up while getting 1,000 -, rely on the luck stat, the Armsthrift skill, and Leif's Blade to get boullions, or the Despoil skill which is basically Leif's Blade as a skill. Yeah, not the great when you think about it, still, like I said, I don't know what happens later, I just know I'm worrying a lot.
Ignoring my mental deterioration, this game is really sad, actually I think all Fire Emblems are sad, though this one hits you immediately, but since I only played through one of them and know about some of them, I don't know if this is the "quickest" to making you feel angry and sad. Let's just say that one character who you meet and will find innocent, kind, beautiful, and admirable doesn't find a happy fate. This happens in the first 9 chapters out of, if counting the side chapters, 50 chapters plus 25 DLC chapters, 3 of which shows an alternate ending of an alternate timeline where the antagonist wins and is what causes Fire Emblem: Awakening's story. Holy hell, 9 chapters and this game is making want to cry. Did I mention that it supposedly gets worse as more horrible events happen and hope seems utterly destroyed? Or that about 70% of the cast have really tragic back-stories. One "random" character you get is actually a nobleman who failed his entire country. You don't see that on the outside as he acts like an arrogant womanizer. Or how you meet the last of the Taguel. Or how slavery and implied forced prostitution is in the world of Awakening. One bandit leader mentions how "fetching young things fetches good coin". Chrom, who is one of the main characters, is the son of Ylissean exalt who persecuted and tried to kill all Plegians. Crusades, anyone? Wiping out a whole group of people 'cause they look, talk, and act differently, granted, there is an evil cult prominent in Plegia. So, Fire Emblem: Awakening does show some of the horrible parts of war despite being a T-rated game that seems like another everyday game for strategy game lovers.
On the flip-side, supports, a mechanic that shows certain characters building friendships with each other, are often humorous, endearing, and sometimes heartbreaking. It's the main reason some people play Fire Emblem despite not being good at strategy games. It can turn a jackass into a lovable character, well, someone who you understand and can tolerate more than if you just left him as is. It can even make other characters even more tragic. One person you get is a perfectionist and holds an unrequited love for someone. By the game's design, she is not allowed to be with him. On her character, it's because she think he shouldn't be with someone of her status. It's kind of bull when said character can end up with her friend, another soldier, a noblewoman, a dancer, your character if she is female, and possibly, a random villager. Sometimes when you have her fall in love with another character, it's implied that she still loves him. It's sad and painful, especially factoring her husband and daughter who knows about this. Also, there are some goofy moments during cutscenes. Basically, it makes the game less sad by giving those moments you can cherish. Even in a war, there might be that memory of your fellow soldier talking about how chocolate gives him gas or how his sister's wedding was the last and best thing he had before he joined the military. Those funny, loving, and even sad moments that turns a war into something more tolerable than just mindless killing for ideas that could have resolved peacefully.
Also, the game has an amazing soundtrack.
The horns always gets me. It this piece really exciting. To note, many of the tracks have a normal and "Ablaze" version. Normal means nothing but planning and movement is going on. "Ablaze" is when actual combat happens.
There's also Conquest (Ablaze), another exhilarating track.
Vergil'sBitch
I am Nero's Mom & Obsessed fan girl
Believe it or not, I'm actually giving The Walking Dead a second chance after my sister and a few of my friends convinced me to give it another go.
EDIT:
Just finished Ep:1 and while I'm getting more into the story, my opinion on Telltale still stands, Telltale sucks a**, they can't optimize a game for s**t, framerate drops, game freezing, texture pop ins and I literally had to edit the games programming just to get episode 2 to work right.
Telltale doesn't deserve their praise at all. Their writers should just go work for a company that knows how to develop games.
I just hope Gearbox pushes them into making their Tales from Borderlands more optimized.
EDIT:
Just finished Ep:1 and while I'm getting more into the story, my opinion on Telltale still stands, Telltale sucks a**, they can't optimize a game for s**t, framerate drops, game freezing, texture pop ins and I literally had to edit the games programming just to get episode 2 to work right.
Telltale doesn't deserve their praise at all. Their writers should just go work for a company that knows how to develop games.
I just hope Gearbox pushes them into making their Tales from Borderlands more optimized.
Last edited:
Dark Drakan
Well-known Member
Framerate does drop sometimes and there are a couple of texture pop ins but has never hampered the experience for me (even games with huge budgets have this issue). Hasnt frozen or crashed on me at all on console and transitions between episodes were fine. They have crafted a great game as a package but as its on a shoestring budget its never going to be a technical masterpiece and its still technically an arcade/indie title by an indie studio (125 employees is rather small studio). Foundations are there though and they were founded by former members of LucasArts. However as Borderlands is a collaboration rather than solo work I would imagine the teams would be merging for Tales from Borderlands so wouldnt be as rough around the edges.
They deserve the praise for the games whole experience (technical shortcomings aside) its definitely worth suffering thorough a couple of technical issues to experience the game. They have been improving with every title though and will end up a really top studio. They just have to conquer the framerate issues as they are their main struggle currently. The Wolf Among Us fixed quite a few things that people didnt enjoy in The Walking Dead series or that were a little rough around the edges and they learned a lot from the series (still a handful of technical issues here & there). I personally hope that some of the writers do end up doing more collaborations with other studios because they have nailed the story writing/emotional aspects, just need the development side to catch up and they will be a real force. Games arent broken, just need optimising and transitions between scenes to be smoother. Ive played games by AAA developers that are more unplayable and broken than this.
Going to download Episode 1 of 2nd Season of The Walking Dead when I get home (series on console has far less issues than PC versions).
I'm rather happy to be proven wrong about the Story telling in the Walking Dead, but no Telltale does not deserve the praise they're getting, 125 employees should be making this game run with no problems at all, I mean Titanfall is being developed by 50 people and from the footage I've seen, that game runs great, even bigger indie games that have far less employees run better, Flying Wild Hog developed Shadow Warrior in a year and half with 40-50 developers and that game runs great, never had any problems with that.
There is no excuse for Telltales horrible optimization, Telltale just sucks at making games while are good at story telling, that's it.
I should not have to edit the games programming myself just to make the game functional.
Finished S1E2, moving on to Ep3, and if I have to fix the game again then......:thumbsdown:
Dark Drakan
Well-known Member
Glad your giving it another chance and the budget behind Titanfall is HUGELY superior to anything Telltale have gotten near as well as the development tools Respawn are using are FAR superior to anything Telltale have access to. Like racing a Ferrari against an old classic sports car, both were assembled in similar ways but parts in the Ferrari and team behind it have access to far better tech, tools and expensive parts than the classic car manufacturers so going to run a lot better. Tech & tools Telltale are using are rather dated and only so much they can get out of them. Employee numbers do only tell half the story but still they are only a small studio with budget, marketing and man power. 50 people with millions in budget/market and the best tools are going to create something that runs & sells better than even a 500 person studio with small budget and less advanced tools. Like giving one man a JCB to dig a hole and 100 people spoons to dig the same size hole in the same time frame.
No you shouldnt have to edit programming to get it running but this is the first instance I have heard of anyone having to go that far. I had to wait years for a mod team to release a proper ending to KoTOR II but I enjoyed it despite its glitchy, rushed mess off an ending, these are the lengths we sometimes have to go to as gamers as different consoles/PC configurations can throw up technical issues all over the shop for developers. The game episodes cost £3 its not exactly being sold at retail (£40) for the game so budgets are strict as well as their tools. For me personally the experience I had was well worth the cash and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Yeah it has some issues here and there & some technical hiccups but was enjoyable none the less. Counting down the hours until I finish work and can get home and play the next episode.
Got a lot of respect for indie developers and especially for ones like Hello Games (No Mans Sky) and their ambition even though they are only a 2 man team. Finally feels like some of the games are starting to get some heart and soul back & they are the teams taking the risks. I think thats main issue with gaming today as most games feel soulless and like they are merely going through the motions and being churned out purely for the cash. Can feel the heart & see the vision of these small teams and the passion they have for the industry in their games, they might not be perfect technically but they have more heart in them than most AAA games ive played in years.
Stopped playing for the night at the part where they stop the train at the tanker, gonna continue after work tomorrow.
Ended up enjoying the story quite a bit, I'm glad my friends and my sister convinced me to give the game another chance, my opinion on Telltale still hasn't changed a lot though, I'm still waiting for them to do their own thing, however if Tales from Borderlands ends up being better optimized as well as having as good of a story, then I'll give Telltale some credit, maybe Gearbox can teach them a thing or 2 about PC ports because Gearbox knows how to make damn good PC ports.
Ended up enjoying the story quite a bit, I'm glad my friends and my sister convinced me to give the game another chance, my opinion on Telltale still hasn't changed a lot though, I'm still waiting for them to do their own thing, however if Tales from Borderlands ends up being better optimized as well as having as good of a story, then I'll give Telltale some credit, maybe Gearbox can teach them a thing or 2 about PC ports because Gearbox knows how to make damn good PC ports.
Dark Drakan
Well-known Member
Im just glad your getting some enjoyment out of it and enjoying the experience more than you thought you would. It doesnt benefit me in any way praising games and im not paid to do so but they changed my opinion on the entire point and click genre and opened my mind to other genres I 'thought' I wouldnt enjoy. I originally dismissed the game entirely as I didnt like point and click games. However people kept telling me to play it so I downloaded the demo and thought it was decent and took a chance on Episode 1. Before I knew it I had downloaded all 5 episodes and 400 Days and loved it. So now I always want to try and tempt others to broaden their horizons too and step out of their usual comfort zone as some games in different genres might surprise you. Only satisfaction I get is opening peoples minds to new series/genres that they end up enjoying that they may not have tried originally. I thoroughly enjoyed The Wolf Among Us too and hadnt actually heard of the Fables series before it. However had I not listened to friends and members on our forums I would never have even tried The Walking Dead. Then in turn not tried The Wolf Among Us either and missed the experience of both entirely based on an assumption and misconception of a genre.
As long as you enjoy the game it matters not what your opinion of the developers are in the long run. They will get better and all the lessons they learn from each game/episode will transfer to the next. They listen to fan feedback a lot and try to add things into each episode based on fan feedback in regards to the story and next games in series. Im excited for their Game of Thrones title that is coming next year. If they can mix what they learned from their experience with The Walking Dead & The Wolf Among Us it will be superb. Not going to be to everyone's taste but then variety is what makes the world so interesting.
Playing Deus Ex: Human Revaluation again. Still fun and I need ti start upgrading. And Final Fantasy xiv. It's good so far but sucjs playing by myself. 
)Vergil'sBitch
I am Nero's Mom & Obsessed fan girl
Saints Row 4, Castlevania: LoS: Mirror of Fate HD, and Soul Calibur II HD.
I need to get my ps3 sorted.
I need to get my ps3 sorted.
Got home ready to continue playing the Walking Dead and guess what happened, this is the 2nd time I've had to reprogram the damn game and the damn thing has lost my save file.
So have to start over, Telltale has a long way to go to get my approval.
EDIT: F**K IT! That's the 3rd time in a row the game has f**ked my save file, I'm not playing through the whole f**king game a 3rd time making the same damn choices, I'm done with their broken game, Telltale is one of the worst video game developers in video game history, this is just unacceptable.
So have to start over, Telltale has a long way to go to get my approval.
EDIT: F**K IT! That's the 3rd time in a row the game has f**ked my save file, I'm not playing through the whole f**king game a 3rd time making the same damn choices, I'm done with their broken game, Telltale is one of the worst video game developers in video game history, this is just unacceptable.
Last edited:
Dark Drakan
Well-known Member
Currently loving Episode 1 of Season 2 of The Walking Dead, Telltale why are you so cruel...? Heart was in mouth in so many scenes, so dark but cant wait for next episode. Only thing that sucks about episodic gaming... the wait for next episode.
http://actual-levi.tumblr.com/post/70470925574/scarz3542-yes-yet-no-at-the-same-time-love
This made me giggle....
check it out
This made me giggle....
check it out
Vergil'sBitch
I am Nero's Mom & Obsessed fan girl
The Wolf Among Us.
I think there's more swearing in there than there is in DmC.
Also, Soul Calibur 2 HD Online, and Castlevania: LoS: Mirror of Fate HD.
I think there's more swearing in there than there is in DmC.
Also, Soul Calibur 2 HD Online, and Castlevania: LoS: Mirror of Fate HD.
The complaint against dmc reboot is not about cursing in general. It's a complaint of it being tasteless approach at being cool. In other words, catering to teenagers who love to curse and go "IM AWESOME!".
cursing in general is fine, its when you do it to come off as cool...then people make fun or complaint about it.
Take Heller from Prototype , he curses alot but he doesn't write "**** You" or say "**** you" to act cool. It's how he is. When he's angry he curses.
So just like with white hair, it is not the cursing itself that people complained about but how it was being used.
Dark Drakan
Well-known Member
Season Pass is currently on offer for £6.69 just purchased it myself.
Currently playing WWE 2k14.
Vergil'sBitch
I am Nero's Mom & Obsessed fan girl
I didn't say anything about complaining and I wasn't complaining myself either. I was just making an observation.
What I should have said was:
Then again, someone would've probably have picked me up on that comment too.
Thought you said it in context to complaints about reboot's cursing. Did not mean that you were complaining, just people who did.
Speaking of cursing, this video is hillarious :