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Latest Comments by scaine
If You Like… Slay the Spire
21 April 2023 at 8:58 am UTC Likes: 1

Quoting: inlinuxdudeAs someone who has almost 2,500 hours into StS, I'd disagree with this.

Wow, good job. You're on a whole different level from me, with my 110 hours. The last 50 or so of which were trying, probably 75+ attempts, to beat the Heart as Ironclad. Every run, Ironclad, 75+ times, no ascensions - but no luck. I beat the Heart with one of the others... can't remember which now, but not with the Ironclad.

I didn't really dig into it in the article, but one of the reasons I mostly gave up on StS is that problem - the sheer randomness of it. There's very little you can do to influence what relics you get, or what cards you're offered. So in around 75 runs, I faced the Heart a few times thinking I had a chance, but only a few. I prefer games that are a bit more mindful of my time. Games like Breach Wanderers offer excellent customisation, while Roguebook similarly offers many, many more cards to choose from, allowing for far greater "direction" when you're playing.

But when a game clicks, like StS has for you, I completely understand how fun that is. That's how I feel about Noita (650 hrs) and Gunfire Reborn (180 hrs) and in the past, how I felt about Tales of Maj'Eyal (300 hrs) and 7 Days to Die (800 hrs).

2500 hours though. Goddam, that's amazing!

If You Like… Slay the Spire
21 April 2023 at 8:24 am UTC

Quoting: g000hMy preferred title other than Slay The Spire is Ring of Pain - I highly recommend it.

Good shout - Ring of Pain is absolutely amazing and the game I play most on my Deck thanks to its awesome controls. That said, I didn't include it because it's not really a deck builder. There's the equipment, I suppose, but the core of the game is to make one of the same three choices you always have - move, attack, or use equipment. You're not really "playing a deck of cards".

Still an amazing game though - great graphics, amazing atmosphere, loads of twists and turns, and some incredibly satisfying synergies available in the mid to late game.

Edit: I just remembered that it was your Steam message after my last Deck Builder article that led me to buy Monster Train - so thanks for that!!

If You Like… Slay the Spire
20 April 2023 at 12:31 pm UTC Likes: 1

Yep, although I didn't really want to get into the whole "engine-builder" vs "deck-builder" argument, Domninion is indeed the daddy of that... genre? Sub-genre? I'm not sure. I don't really care, it's a good shout to mention it, definitely.

If you don't mind playing with randos on the internet, then you can sign up to https://dominion.games/ and play the base game for absolutely free. Quite a complex game when you factor in the DLC packs, so it's worth starting basic and working up!

Valve rolls out Proton 8.0 to further improve Steam Deck and Linux gaming
18 April 2023 at 1:20 pm UTC Likes: 2

Quoting: Liam Dawe
Quoting: scaineSo... is Proton experimental now based on Proton 8, or is it still at 7? I'm not sure how I'd check?

Edit - Based on this, it looks like it's still v7.
As mentioned, there will be an Experimental update later this week :)

It was mentioned! Reading comprehension fail! I was too excited by the lovely big list of changes!

Publisher of King under the Mountain backs out so it's re-releasing as Mountaincore
18 April 2023 at 11:00 am UTC Likes: 1

Quoting: Chrisznixnot willing enough to put endless hours into gaming anymore

Pfff, what kind of crazy talk is this?? If you're not gaming, what the hell are you even doing with your life!?

Seriously, I'm not quite at the "do less gaming" stage, even in my early 50's, but I definitely have less patience for either a lack of quality, or a disrespect for my time. So I'm much more critical of what I play and more inclined to spend quality moments with games I know will deliver. Most recently, that's Noita, Gunfire Reborn, Remnant, and Last Epoch. In the past, it's been Grim Dawn or 7 Days to Die. In the very distant past, it included Killing Floor, and the incredible Tales of Maj'Eyal.

Valve rolls out Proton 8.0 to further improve Steam Deck and Linux gaming
18 April 2023 at 10:26 am UTC Likes: 2

So... is Proton experimental now based on Proton 8, or is it still at 7? I'm not sure how I'd check?

Edit - Based on this, it looks like it's still v7.

Publisher of King under the Mountain backs out so it's re-releasing as Mountaincore
18 April 2023 at 10:24 am UTC Likes: 1

Quoting: Purple Library Guy
Quoting: scaineI'd love to get into these games, but the AI just does my head in. Rimworld, Prison Architect, Oxygen Not Included, Rise to Ruins, man I've tried a lot of these, and they all have one problem - I'm not a very good god. Every single time, I get to some stage of the gameplay and I need one thing done immediately, or the colony will fail. One thing, or you all die. Stop what you're doing, and do this one thing. The thing is priority 9, chopping trees is priority 1. Why are you still chopping trees? And... you're dead. And that guy inside, cooking? He's dead. That clone running out of oxygen over there? Yep, dead.

I don't get why AI in these games is so frustrating. But it is, so I kind of gave up on them.
I have little experience of this kind of game, but I just played a little bit of The Wandering Village and I've been having exactly this kind of problem.
Which is a pity, because otherwise I'm enjoying it--I kind of like the big lummox dinosaur-ish thing your village is on the back of as it lumbers along, and I like the issues raised by the fact that the village is moving through terrain which can be useful or dangerous and you have to worry about the health and feeding of your source of mobility. But the whole bit where you can't just tell the villagers to work on THAT, that thing I want done now, is definitely a pain.

I had this exact issue in Wandering Village too - I'd just completed a big building and literally seconds later, my dino walked into a smog zone and all my land started mutating. I had to build a smog recycler and none of my villagers particularly cared to do so, despite my usual panic reaction of putting every job at low priority and the smog recycler at highest. I didn't play past that point, tbh... I've learned my lesson with these games! They're just not for me!!

Publisher of King under the Mountain backs out so it's re-releasing as Mountaincore
17 April 2023 at 5:07 pm UTC Likes: 4

I'd love to get into these games, but the AI just does my head in. Rimworld, Prison Architect, Oxygen Not Included, Rise to Ruins, man I've tried a lot of these, and they all have one problem - I'm not a very good god. Every single time, I get to some stage of the gameplay and I need one thing done immediately, or the colony will fail. One thing, or you all die. Stop what you're doing, and do this one thing. The thing is priority 9, chopping trees is priority 1. Why are you still chopping trees? And... you're dead. And that guy inside, cooking? He's dead. That clone running out of oxygen over there? Yep, dead.

I don't get why AI in these games is so frustrating. But it is, so I kind of gave up on them.

Ubisoft hiring Linux developer talent for XDefiant
16 April 2023 at 5:51 pm UTC Likes: 4

Quoting: KlaasSo that will lead to native Ubisoft Connect… right? That's something that I've always wanted.

To be honest, I'm not sure this will lead to native anything. I think all they're trying to do here is make their stuff run better on the Deck.

Ubisoft hiring Linux developer talent for XDefiant
15 April 2023 at 6:12 pm UTC Likes: 4

Quoting: kokoko3kSo they are trying to hire a developer without being even clear about the job?
It seems more like a promotional thing than a job opportunity.

What's unclear? The careers website and the job description look pretty bog standard to me.