Steam #17 - PC gaming, sales, discussion, etc.

[SniperHF]

One other random note, Diviniy II The Dragon Knight Saga is pretty good. Particularly the Expansion Flames of Vengeance. The base game is a little sparse content wise. Usually sold as one package the "Developer's Cut".
They don't play like D:OS at all being third person hack and slash games but the Larian style is all there.

I should also mention the first time I played it back in the 90's I did not know you were supposed to use the pause feature during battles. That made the 1st boss fight just about impossible.

Yikes I don't think I'd have kept playing

 

[Oogie Boogie]

You talking Divinity Original sin 1/2?
It has *some* similarities but a lot of differences too.

BG is obviously not 3d, it's far less interactive as well in terms of the game world. But Divinity is nearly unrivaled in that for RPGs unless you go back to Ultima VII.
Combat is obviously important in Divinity, but I'd say in BG it's even more so. For one BG is not turn based so the combat is much more hectic. D:OS has a lot more puzzles and dialog tree solutions than does BG.

Baldur's gate has a much larger emphasis on systems and character building. AD&D defines basically everything.

Baldur's Gate II in particular has similar companion dialog to Divinity OS 2, which is why I think the comparison is made often. I'd also say BGII is more well written than Divinity (though not universally, there's some cringe).

Also Baldur's gate II is superior to BGI though there are some who dispute this . BGI is kind of a low-level D&D romp with a story that unfolds slowly. BGII is an epic tale and one of the most well thought of in all RPGs.

In generally I think the real-time with pause combat is such a big difference between the two games that I don't find them nearly as comparable as others do who focus more on the softer stuff.

Both are excellent games though everyone should at least give a shot.



IMO if you want some more modern party based RPG flavor I'd check out: Expeditions Viking (Conquistador too but it's a bit more heavy on the strategy side)

And

Wasteland 2.

I think those two games are the most similar to D:OS 2 in terms of modern games. Expeditions Viking in particular is a little known gem. Historical setting, pretty good turn based combat, solid story.





BTW for a shameless plug, if you want some Divinity Original Sin 1 content you could check out my two mods:
A Necromancer's Crusade
Dunamis - Enhanced Edition

I'm certainly not a game developer but I think my mods are the best story mods D:OS 1 has to offer. They have quests with multiple resolutions, branching stories, puzzles, dual dialog like the main game, and hand crafted combat + unique items.

If there isn't a story continuation that I would miss, I might look more into BGII first then perhaps. Both are 50% off on Fanatical right now. I might be okay with it not being turn based combat at least. Doesn't seem like something that would be a deal breaker for me. BGII is kind of sounding like something I should try first at least, because depending on how long the story would really take to get going in the first one, it might bore me out eventually if I had to go SEVERAL hours.

Expeditions Viking looks pretty good, I honestly hadn't heard of it before. I added that and Wasteland 2 to my wishlist. I'm sure within the next month or so they may be on sale.

I'll have to keep your mods in mind in case I do end up snagging Original Sin 1 on Steam. I have it on my PS4, but only because at the time it was on a super dirt cheap discount and I had been wanting to play it, but I really want it on my PC eventually (maybe during the next time its on a discount)

Edit: I'm also giving Pillars of Eternity a go. I forgot I had it in my steam log from a while back. I believe I got it from a humble bundle a few years ago. I'm at the VERY very beginning, but I'm liking it so far.

It's an amazing game, but with all games of that time period it does not hold your hand. Both in your character builds and the actual quest lines. I actually gave up on it a few times until I read a guide on how to build a good party and whenever I got stuck on a quest I just looked it up. I should also mention the first time I played it back in the 90's I did not know you were supposed to use the pause feature during battles. That made the 1st boss fight just about impossible.

Oh geez
I'm going to keep my eye on it for sure. Since both games are highly regarded I may eventually end up playing both of them anyways

 

[SniperHF]

If there isn't a story continuation that I would miss, I might look more into BGII first then perhaps. Both are 50% off on Fanatical right now. I might be okay with it not being turn based combat at least. Doesn't seem like something that would be a deal breaker for me. BGII is kind of sounding like something I should try first at least, because depending on how long the story would really take to get going in the first one, it might bore me out eventually if I had to go SEVERAL hours.

They are directly linked (to the point where you can import your character even) but I played BGII before I and it didn't bother me.

BGI does eventually get cooking, but it takes some time. It has sort of an early game story that's related to the overall plot and develops then you move on to the bigger issue.

Baldur's gate II on the other hand, after a somewhat lengthy tutorial dungeon, drops you off immediately in perhaps the greatest RPG city ever created.

Both of these games are quite long.

 

[Oogie Boogie]

They are directly linked (to the point where you can import your character even) but I played BGII before I and it didn't bother me.

BGI does eventually get cooking, but it takes some time. It has sort of an early game story that's related to the overall plot and develops then you move on to the bigger issue.

Baldur's gate II on the other hand, after a somewhat lengthy tutorial dungeon, drops you off immediately in perhaps the greatest RPG city ever created.

Both of these games are quite long.

Damn, I might end up just buying both then this weekend since there's a deal on them.
I've just been in the mood for a good RPG game like this with a good story for the past few days.
Have you played Kingdom Come: Deliverance? It's another game I've had my eye on for a while, but I held off in the beginning since there were a LOT of bugs apparently.
It's been over a year now, and I'm still seeing good reviews from people, although some are still saying it's buggy.

 

[SniperHF]

Have you played Kingdom Come: Deliverance? It's another game I've had my eye on for a while, but I held off in the beginning since there were a LOT of bugs apparently.
It's been over a year now, and I'm still seeing good reviews from people, although some are still saying it's buggy.

Good game, you can probably find me yammering about it a few pages or so ago in the separate thread for it. Nothing like Divinity obviously. Plays more like a TES game, Mount and Blade with more RPG elements, or The Witcher. But with a realistic edge to it.

It's still kinda buggy but I didn't run into anything crazy except one minor quest I couldn't complete and visual bugs and such.

 

[RandV]

Damn, I might end up just buying both then this weekend since there's a deal on them.
I've just been in the mood for a good RPG game like this with a good story for the past few days.
Have you played Kingdom Come: Deliverance? It's another game I've had my eye on for a while, but I held off in the beginning since there were a LOT of bugs apparently.
It's been over a year now, and I'm still seeing good reviews from people, although some are still saying it's buggy.

To be more specific BG1 is like the warm up game starting from level 1 and going up to about level 6 (by old DnD rules) with a rather ambiguous and mediocre starting story. Kind of an 'beta' version of a Bioware game. Balder's Gate two continues the story of your character maybe a year after BG1 with a select few of the BG1 companions in your party, introduces Bioware's iconic inter-party character dialogue, and is a level 6-15 epic quest with an amazing story and an awesome villain that's introduced right away - so no ambiguity in the plot.

I actually find BG1's simplicity kind of charming. Blizzard came out with Diablo at about the same time and that more or less set the CRPG standard for quick levelling and looting, so BG1's simplicity where every +1 piece of equipment is precious is kind of refreshing. But either way if you don't have the time you can easily skip it and go straight to BG2 without losing too much.

Or perhaps the best way to do it if you have no familiarity with either is to start BG1 and play a few hours into it, and if you ever feel it's a bit slow just stop playing and switch to BG2. The characters that carry over is basically the first 5 characters from BG1, gives you an idea of the setting and a familiarity with the game mechanics. Personally for whatever reason I got pretty far into it but never actually finished BG1 which had no impact for me playing BG2.

 

[Oogie Boogie]

And now Kingdom Come Deliverance is 50% off

To be more specific BG1 is like the warm up game starting from level 1 and going up to about level 6 (by old DnD rules) with a rather ambiguous and mediocre starting story. Kind of an 'beta' version of a Bioware game. Balder's Gate two continues the story of your character maybe a year after BG1 with a select few of the BG1 companions in your party, introduces Bioware's iconic inter-party character dialogue, and is a level 6-15 epic quest with an amazing story and an awesome villain that's introduced right away - so no ambiguity in the plot.

I actually find BG1's simplicity kind of charming. Blizzard came out with Diablo at about the same time and that more or less set the CRPG standard for quick levelling and looting, so BG1's simplicity where every +1 piece of equipment is precious is kind of refreshing. But either way if you don't have the time you can easily skip it and go straight to BG2 without losing too much.

Or perhaps the best way to do it if you have no familiarity with either is to start BG1 and play a few hours into it, and if you ever feel it's a bit slow just stop playing and switch to BG2. The characters that carry over is basically the first 5 characters from BG1, gives you an idea of the setting and a familiarity with the game mechanics. Personally for whatever reason I got pretty far into it but never actually finished BG1 which had no impact for me playing BG2.

This sounds like something that I could probably do. I forgot that I had Pillars of Eternity in my steam log from a previous humble bundle ages ago, and I'm playing through that now and I'm enjoying it.
I think I'll end up buying both BGI & BGII since they are only $10 a piece on Fanatical. There's just so much that I've missed out during the years it feels like.

 

[aleshemsky83]

 

[Oogie Boogie]

Anyone tried Outward yet? Looks pretty interesting from the bit that I have seen.

 

[God King Fudge]

You talking Divinity Original sin 1/2?
It has *some* similarities but a lot of differences too.

BG is obviously not 3d, it's far less interactive as well in terms of the game world. But Divinity is nearly unrivaled in that for RPGs unless you go back to Ultima VII.
Combat is obviously important in Divinity, but I'd say in BG it's even more so. For one BG is not turn based so the combat is much more hectic. D:OS has a lot more puzzles and dialog tree solutions than does BG.

Baldur's gate has a much larger emphasis on systems and character building. AD&D defines basically everything.

Baldur's Gate II in particular has similar companion dialog to Divinity OS 2, which is why I think the comparison is made often. I'd also say BGII is more well written than Divinity (though not universally, there's some cringe).

Also Baldur's gate II is superior to BGI though there are some who dispute this . BGI is kind of a low-level D&D romp with a story that unfolds slowly. BGII is an epic tale and one of the most well thought of in all RPGs.

In generally I think the real-time with pause combat is such a big difference between the two games that I don't find them nearly as comparable as others do who focus more on the softer stuff.

Both are excellent games though everyone should at least give a shot.



IMO if you want some more modern party based RPG flavor I'd check out: Expeditions Viking (Conquistador too but it's a bit more heavy on the strategy side)

And

Wasteland 2.

I think those two games are the most similar to D:OS 2 in terms of modern games. Expeditions Viking in particular is a little known gem. Historical setting, pretty good turn based combat, solid story.





BTW for a shameless plug, if you want some Divinity Original Sin 1 content you could check out my two mods:
A Necromancer's Crusade
Dunamis - Enhanced Edition

I'm certainly not a game developer but I think my mods are the best story mods D:OS 1 has to offer. They have quests with multiple resolutions, branching stories, puzzles, dual dialog like the main game, and hand crafted combat + unique items.

Love Wasteland 2. Great game.

 

[BigMac1212]

So, I bought Borderlands, Borderlands 2, and Borderlands the Pre-Sequel. I got 3 updates, 2 general updates for the latters and the original now called "Borderlands Game of the Year Edition." Before I go into these games head-on, what new stuff did the updates contain?

 

[Warden of the North]

They all got 4k updates. BL1 got quality of life upgrades like the mini map and inventory layout stuff to bring it more in line with the more modern games. It also apparently fixed the previously lackluster final boss. And character skins. It also enabled SHIFT codes which gives you free awesome loot.

Aside, BL2 is the high point in the series by a very large margin. It improves on BL1 in every single way.

 

[aleshemsky83]

Decent bandai namco humble bundle for those interested

Humble BANDAI NAMCO Bundle 3 (pay what you want and help charity)

Apparently streamable autodeletes videos, meant to post this

 

[Do Make Say Think]

Sniper Elite 4 is on sale on Steam.

Great game. Highly recommended to anyone who likes slower and more deliberate third person shooters. I had an absolute blast with this game.

 

[Frankie Spankie]

The whole Sniper Elite franchise is on sale. I still think the original is the best even though it's pretty dated. 4 is definitely the best of the modern versions (2-4) though.

 

[SolidSnakeUS]

Valve has shown off their new VR set. It's super f***ing expensive ($1000 for the full set), but the specs sheet for it is really damn high end for VR. Talking legit, seriously considering getting a full set. But I will after full reviews have come out.

Valve Index

 

[Seedtype]

It definitely looks promising. But I'll be waiting for reviews as well. Not quite sure if it's worth the jump. I feel like I would need to upgrade my GPU and possibly CPU as well(which might mean pretty much new computer). The racing sim I regularly play has pretty high CPU usage.
I won't be getting a full set though. It's too much of a pain to setup my VR between racing sim and standing room.
Definitely getting tired of the Oculus software. I hate having to have it on to play non-Oculus games. For a while there you could have the software not needing to run when you were playing a non-Oculus game, but a few updates ago they forced the issue. Also, I kinda want to get out of anything Facebook related at this point. Good thing I only have a couple of games from that storefront.

A lot of other sim racing fans are really swearing by the Pimax's FOV though. Hopefully some of them will buy the Index for comparison.

 

[Oogie Boogie]

Divinity: Original Sin is $7.99 on Steam right now,
Original Sin II is $26.99

Too good of a sale to pass up on Original Sin. I have it on my PS4, but I'd MUCH rather have it on PC.

 

[SniperHF]

Too good of a sale to pass up on Original Sin

The new combat focused spin off should be interesting. Remember I recommended Expeditions to you a while back and the devs behind that series are co-developing the Divinity combat spinoff with Larian.

 

[Oogie Boogie]

The new combat focused spin off should be interesting. Remember I recommended Expeditions to you a while back and the devs behind that series are co-developing the Divinity combat spinoff with Larian.

Sounds dope!
I remembered your recommendation about Expeditions, I caught it on a sale and picked it up a few days ago. About to actually start up a play-through of it right now

 

[Leafs at Knight]

I know this is the Steam thread but Epic is having a pretty insane deal on their store. Didn't know where else to post it.

 

[SeidoN]

I know this is the Steam thread but Epic is having a pretty insane deal on their store. Didn't know where else to post it.

shame their store is less functional than 2006 Steam, and I wont spend a penny on their platform while they buy out exclusivity deals

 

[SolidSnakeUS]

The fact it doesn't have cloud saving in 2019 is f***ing hilarious.

 

[Commander Clueless]

I know this is the Steam thread but Epic is having a pretty insane deal on their store. Didn't know where else to post it.

Might be a sensitive topic in a Steam thread.

But yes, it's basically the PC gaming thread since we don't have a sticky. Best place for it.



Looks like a pretty great sale. Perhaps Epic is finally flexing their financial might to benefit the consumers as well as the developers? Or maybe it's just a sale...

EDIT: Epic is eating the cost. Interesting...

 

[SeidoN]

Might be a sensitive topic in a Steam thread.

But yes, it's basically the PC gaming thread since we don't have a sticky. Best place for it.



Looks like a pretty great sale. Perhaps Epic is finally flexing their financial might to benefit the consumers as well as the developers? Or maybe it's just a sale...

I dont have a problem with Epic as such, if they wanna put out a shitty launcher with decent game prices and give consumers a choice, be my guest, but dont remove the choice and force customers to use your platform

its like PS4 v Xbox exclusives except if one of those consoles was barely functional