What Games are you playing 2015?

[hinode]

I for one am totally comfortable letting most of a day's stamina be 'wasted' in Record Keeper. Especially on weekdays.

In closely related news, I am now well behind Snow progress-wise despite starting more than a week before him.

[Jo'ou Ranbu]

What can I say, I'm very much the target audience for those kinds of games - clinically obsessive and almost always at my cellphone's reach. I don't fret about wasting stamina myself (I mean, I don't stop Saints Row playing sessions for that), but I spend way too much time using the phone anyways and most of it is very low-maintenance.

ANYHOW.

Final Fantasy An Autobattle By Any Name - Yeah, cleared FFIX's boss gauntlet. Sealion and Black Waltz were indeed significantly nerfed, having just above half their Elite iteration HP, which meant I didn't even see Tsunami this time. And Baku is pretty much worthless: ST physical 2HKO that's kinda slow is a terrible thing to specialize in, especially in a game with stat busts as good as these. The latter three fights pretty much saved my score from the bargain bin and brought me to mastery level, so in addition to Carbuncle, I got a Major Growth Egg and a Major Summon Orb. I'm pretty good to go back to the autobattle maingame dungeons now.

[Dark Holy Elf]

The game limits the real-life time you're allowed to play it, like a mother that doesn't want you to play too many Vidcons.
So that means that the time you can spend playing is more precious than the time you're playing a regular game. This also means that when you're not playing despite having a full stamina bar, you are wasting precious playtime. Since the stamina bar gets fully charged every five hours this means you need to connect every five hours or you are essentially not playing as well as you could. If you don't play the game for a few days, you waste precious game time and maybe some events (just try doing it. You can't)
Hence the trap.
likewise if your mother limited your gametime to 30 minutes every day that cannot be stacked, you'd try playing every single day even if you didn't enjoy it that much

It's still cool though. I like traps.

That's actually how I first played video games, I had a half hour limit per day. It never really made me want to play games I didn't enjoy, though! Not like there weren't plenty of other fun things to do with my free time (and there still are). I rarely ever feel trapped by video games in this way as such. I have my own traps, mind (mostly reading stupid nonsense on the internet), but I don't really enjoy them and take steps to avoid falling into them.

Not trying to 'defend' anything. I'm genuinely curious. You and Grefter both talked about the game like you were trapped by it. But I honestly don't feel anymore 'addicted' to FFRK than any other RPG I play. Yes, it's a Skinner Box, but most games are in some way or another?

Most other games have more to offer on the fronts of writing, strategic gameplay, and/or exploration. Nothing wrong with enjoying a skinner box or even playing a game just for that if that's your thing, but don't try to reduce the other things games do well.


Anyway, sorry Gourry, I tried to keep up the good fight but I can't resist any more. I have given into this fad and started mobile Final Fantasy.

...

Final Fantasy Dimensions - Played the first couple hours, just got access to jobs. I appreciate that the requisite "pre-jobs" part actually has some party dynamics due to the innate PC magic and skillsets, better than the equivalent parts of FF5 and FF3 etc. I also appreciate that this game seems to have some teeth to it, not super-hard or anything but the first dungeon felt very legitimate and the bosses have been competent. I don't appreciate how bad the writing seems to be so far, but oh well, I kinda knew that going in.

[The Duck]

More acceptable!

I had a gaming time limit growing up (and I have a self imposed one now due to a hectic schedule), but if anything, that made me want to maximize the time I had, which was part of what got me into strategy games (Brig, Master of Magic and Orion, Heroes of Might and Magic, the Civ games). I play more endless kind of games (don't wanna say roguelikes) nowadays because I'll know I enjoy my time with them.

The weird thing to me about FFRK is that some (I guess the ones that have already quit) seemed miserable while playing it and even people who like it say things like "the trudge continues" and make remarks on quality of life improvements. Having sunk an hour into it and being told that the gameplay doesn't really meaningfully improve, I'm just baffled. I don't think the game gating your ability to experience something that you don't need to be around or alive for is a plus in this case. RK is at least not nearly as cynical when it comes to the free to play model as most things. Sorry Fen, I am with you on 99% of things. At least we will always have our undying hatred of Magna Carta.

If you're willing to pay a little bit of money, there are some alternatives that are fairly cheap, like 80 Days (choose your own adventure type of game where you are the valet to Phileas Fogg, who has made a wager to go around the world in 80 days, absolutely fantastic writing), 10,000,000/You Must Build a Boat (match 3 with some compelling RPG elements), and Monument Valley (neat puzzle game). There are ports of good games out there too but those are a little bit more pricy and hardware dependent.

[Grefter]

80 Days is pretty great but gives me option paralysis (one more game where I am the problem).  I have to play You Must Build a Boat, but understand it adds timing to match 3?  Sounds cool.

FFD is great thank you for playing it Elf (you will think it is lame and boring).

I played games growing up with time limits as well, it was also why we got into strategy games (X-Com, Civ), because they were huge and could be play cooperatively with 3 people and you could pool your time to hour and a half (and hey if its all three of you then people are less likely to keep track of time well...).

Honestly the trudge/grind/trap is an ironic joke that is pretty consistent in games that use slow progressive grindy mechanics.  It is the exact same thing I say about MMOs when I am in them (and it is a lot of overlap, chase rares, repetition, lots of hours for low progress curve).  Mix that genre where the drive is for constant progress and gate that progress behind a time system where you can "lose" progress if you don't spend your time and it is a very different structure than allocated amounts of play time when you are young.

If you have the wrong personality type (and I know I do) then it starts to feel like it is mandatory play times instead.

Also that thing Zenny mentioned of it having parts where it has tons of little fights instead of larger chained fights and that shit is rough on an older phone that just meets specs and isn't as responsive. No, don't go to Relics screen!  I wanted to pick the last battle in the list and had to tap it 4 times before you selected the wrong thing!

Such is life.

[Dark Holy Elf]

I figure a FF5-like will have to try pretty hard for me to hate it!

[Cotigo]

I for one am totally comfortable letting most of a day's stamina be 'wasted' in Record Keeper. Especially on weekdays.

Good for you.

[The Duck]

I can understand freezing on choices in 80 Days because I realized that different routes become available based on you talking to people en route (which is problematic because my knowledge of geography is terrible and I always ask about stupidly impossible route options) and sometimes through walking around the streets after you stay at hotels. There are so many choices and route combinations that it's mindboggling to me, and that has offered some great replay value. The North Pole is also really interesting.

10,000,000/You Must Build a Boat (both made by the same company that can't name games) are match 3s combined with the endless runner games, plus some RPG elements. Your character runs horizontally across the screen and will stop at various things like chests or monsters that you have to match specific tiles to deal with (keys for chests, swords/staves to kill monsters). You basically lose on your run when you're pushed to the very left of the screen (either by time or being pushed by monsters). You can buy upgrades to improve your swords and magic to get through monsters faster. It's a very tight loop and while runs don't tend to be long, it's easy and quick to get back in to start another one. 10,000,000 refers to the high score you want to get on your runs by the end, YMBAB has quests that you can take on to get rewards to improve your stuff. Good stuff.

[DjinnAndTonic]

Well, uh... that certainly answered my question!

For me, I actually like most of what FFRK offers. Especially at the higher-end where I am now, it's more like a deck-building game with FF characters. Anyone who plays TCGs can understand the inherent fun in deck-building. The way the characters are set up, they are all both unique and yet they have mix-and-match skillsets/equipment builds. It is literally the game I wanted to make when I was 16. It's less about playing it and more about collecting -stuff-. The fact that FFRK has the occasional good battle or resource puzzle is just a bonus. My comment about the quality of life features was just that. There were some extraneous menu diving procedures that have been averted due to the game displaying more info and having more options for playing it. It took away some of the minor tedious bits.

The stamina 'trap' doesn't seem to really bother me. It is a train game. When I'm at home I play real games.

Speaking of...

Splatoon: OMG this is great, I actually have played with some of my kindergarten students online on this, they're adorably bad.

Smash U: Finally picked up on my own copy instead of just playing the 3DS version constantly. Cleared all the Solo Events. Two Player events next! Speaking of, my Player Two totally bought me some amiibos and now I am even happier than usual.

[hinode]

Personally, I like the nostalgia. Also when I come back home from work I often feel too tired to play a real game (or at least one that's worth spending money on), so I boot up a mobile time waster for a few minutes.

Incidentally, I decided to skim an FF9 LP to see how the earlygame went in more detail and the LPer mentioned 1/256 steal rates on some rare items. Now I feel even less interested in actually playing FF9 than before, somehow.

[Meeplelard]

Aren't there like only 2 or 3 enemies the entire game that have that 1/256 steal rate item? Hillgigars is one of them with the Fairy Flute I believe, an item of Eiko's you get like one dungeon later in the Iifa Tree anyway.  Another I believe is the optional book boss in Alexandria, and I don't even think the item was particularly interesting.  Honestly feels like such a non-factor for most of the game, it's not worth considering unless you're an absolute completionist who must get everything ASAP.

[Dark Holy Elf]

Speaking as someone who isn't personally a completionist nor obsessed with Steal, it is an absolute dick move for the game to have a "can't steal anything..." message tempting the player to keep trying with a success rate of 1/256.

Like sure, once you know the rate is that horrible you can make a decision not to go for it, but how is a player supposed to know that? He or she could reasonably waste lots of time trying to steal the item assuming that the odds of getting it were something at least somewhat reasonable and that he or she was just having bad luck so far. It's an obnoxious trap.

[hinode]

After checking the wiki, it looks like the LPer was wrong about Masked Man's Mage Masher being 1/256. It's actually 1/16, which would be still be kinda annoying if you didn't have four Thieves for that fight.

Okay yeah, that one case isn't as insanely obnoxious as the LPer made it out to be, but 1/256 rates for steal existing at all is a dumb design decision for the reasons Elfboy mentioned.

[Meeplelard]

Oh, I'm not denying the 1/256 Steal Rate is something that is moronic and should be shot into the sun, just saying FF9 doesn't have it that commonly so it's not as bad as it sounds, though the few times it does come up, it's awful (especially since the items in question are so inconsequential, it's a major case of "why bother?")

To be fair, FF9 does have Detect that tells you the item you aren't stealing, though, if you're not using an FAQ, it's hard to tell how meaningful that item is.

[Fenrir]

I don't really see FFRK as that great or anything Gourry don't panic.
I'm also not really trapped by the game despite being able to feel and talk about its evil.
I like the refreshing lack of story and, indeed, deck building / interesting lategame battles / spritework

I don't feel the other mobile games are a good alternative, I tend to just binge play through them. The only one I still play from time to time is Super Hexagon.

80 days was quite lovely but I just could not really get into it. I remember travelling with the Orient Express, I reached China super fast, Orient Express is OP plz nerf.


FFRK:
So when did the message board to go to for a random new videogame go from Gamefaqs to Reddit? Anyway I like randomly browsing the subreddit at work. Lots of good info + that chart http://i.imgur.com/x0FBRRs.png

I really want to use Irvine because of his sprite but I know that's just the worst idea. Right now I'm using Terrible Cosplayer / Boring Locke / Blitzballz / FF9 duo, everybody's good except Locke. I am tempted to just feed him eggs until he reaches level 50, just to finish his quest, then never touch a boring FF4-6 character again.


Witcher 3: Still good, still good. You don't get that much detail from sidequests from any other game, really.
Battle system also still a fucking mess

[Captain K]

Streetpass Mii Plaza roundup:

Find Mii II:  Got the final hat (Pink Yoshi hat), so I can stick this in the vault now.

Flower Town:  Got the last plaza ticket from completing jobs, so I can stick this in the vault now.  Still have 3 or 4 plant breeds left, but meh.

Battleground Z:  Beat the game.  That was really short, probably the shortest of all the games unless you count Warrior's Way.  Yay, the zombie plague is cured and everyone got turned back into humans.  Uh wait, that was curable?  So all those zombies I killed... whoopsie!  Why is this throwaway game making me have lingering thoughts about the repercussions of my actions?  Still have lots of plaza tickets to get, so I'm not done with it yet.

I now have every costume in the game except for the one for beating Ultimate Angler, which won't be anytime soon from the looks of things.

[Scar]

Found Kains memory crystal.

He's back in the party, and this time...I know. Etter then to stick a crappy lance on him.

Danjuro ftw.

Might save up my mithril til Zack or balthier show up.

Also, not having guns in the game and giving us a character who only uses guns is awesome.

Man Irvine sucks.

[Fenrir]

Witcher 3: Liberated two ancient evils hellbent on taking revenge (from two different questlines)

That's cool though, I have new shoes

[Sierra]

VP2: Up through Forest of Spirits, pointless backtracking time. I must be doing something wrong because bosses are actually getting two turns. I actually scrounged enough materials to assemble a Shiny Rupture, though! But just because the materials are available this early doesn't mean I'm supposed to have it, I think. I have like double strength Phyress now. Everything burns. You guys? It's just a shame you can only ever get one because there's only one Arbalest. Also because I'm an obsessive idiot I'm wasting way too much time skill farming for extra archer einherjar that are nice using for variety now but who I absolutely know will be obsolete once the full SG valk team is assembled.

PURE WHITE.

[Grefter]

Fallout Shelter - Everyone else with iOS devices are playing this right?  It is like super casual Sim Tower, which is to say it is shallow as fuck but still super addictive because it is fucking Sim Tower still.

I got a rare Gatling Laser at the start of the game and have coasted on that for all exploring outside.  8 hour trip out with like 8 stimpacks and a few Rad Away to test the waters and came back when I was wanting to set it up to run over night while I slept.  15 hour trip out today wth 25 Stims and 15 Radaway.  Turned back before they ran out, but my explorer did start taking a ton of damage from stuff because even though she was levelled I hadn't got any stat boosting places discovered before she was sent out.  Sending out someone else with the Gatling Laser and some armour she found.  Another with the Flamer she found and some armour.  Now my first explorer is going to build up some Luck over night just casually playing some poker.



if someone made card sets where the backs were aces and eights i would totally buy them even if they technically could be used for cheating

[Jo'ou Ranbu]

Final Fantasy Double-Dealing Autobattle - My whole party is now level cap-broken. I also got Black Mage's Memory Crystal, so I'm likely amassing billions of Growth Eggs to dump on him so I can get Mana Spring, that sounds shiny as fuck for Vivi.

[Anthony Edward Stark]

Watch Dogs was on sale for $15 so I picked it up. It has some interesting ideas with controlling the environment, and it's probably at its strongest during stealth segments where you have to do just that. However, it tends to rely on hard fail conditions like AC rather than just making it so you probably can't take on more than a couple people at once head-on like AP or DX. Makes the game more frustrating than tense often.  So when it works it works, when it doesn't it's frustrating.

[Jo'ou Ranbu]

Saints Row 4 - Beaten. The novelty of being obscenely overpowered never really wore off, but I felt the missions in Saints Row 3 were more fun in general. Regardless, I certainly had much more fun with both games than I'd ever expect to, especially considering it's a GTA-like. Certainly worth the like 10 bucks I paid for both.

[Sierra]

Saints Row 4 - Beaten. The novelty of being obscenely overpowered never really wore off, but I felt the missions in Saints Row 3 were more fun in general.

Yeah, that was basically my impression. Also gradually ramping up to heights of insanity (SR3) is easier for me to take than starting amped at 11 (SR4). Which says a lot about SR4's caliber of absurdity considering SR3's tutorial mission was a pretty nuts way to begin that game too.

Of course it's worth it for the wardrobe either way.

[Fenrir]

Fallout Shelter - Everyone else with iOS devices are playing this right? 

Do you really want us to be addicted to two games we have to check out every once in a while?



So, Witcher 3. I just did a pretty amazing questline. Witcher 3 manages to have a pretty down to earth attitude, caring about little details that would be quickly glossed over in an inferior game like Dragon Age Inquisition.
It manages to still stay distinctly Polish despite having a high budget, instead of trying to copy high budget games.
Witcher 3 has a lot of downtime, which would be a big failure of design for me, but I think it helps build the world in a meaningful way. By downtime, I mean going from point A to point B, or having to gather vanilla and baking powder because someone wants to bake a cake or something.


The worst part about the game is its Ubisoftness. As in, objective vomit everywhere on the open world, + you're looking at the minimap more than at the environment. Those things were the cardinal sins of last gen and it looks like CD Projekt Red hasn't learned anything. (BTW, worst company name right here)
That design is just not fun. I wish minimaps disappeared alltogether and games would have to rely information some other way. Sure you can disable it, but the whole game is designed around the mini map, so disabling the minimap is pretty much like disabling jumps in Mario.

Other games have tacky big arrows or golden lines showing you were you need to go, and while that's a very inelegant approach, it's better than having jack shit, forcing the player to look at the minimap all the time. Right now I am playing Minimap: The RPG: Now with cutscenes



I can still say that the game's a major improvement over Witcher 2 and I wish more games would learn from its approach to writing.