What games are you playing now?

Why did I fall for this?

You do know what a 'set piece' encounter is right?

You do know that a set-piece encounter is different to 'waves' or 'respawns', right?

Take the bridge encounter as an easy example:

You are at the start of a bridge. The enemy has a row of archers above you on each side, backed up by a mage on each side. The enemy also has several tanks that hold the actual crossing of the bridge. There is no 'boss' element here, but none of it is trash.

If you walk over the bridge you will be held up by the tanks while the archers and mages cut you down.

The archers and mages are static units, they do not move.

This is a 'set-piece' challenge.

It has nothing to do with 'just exp', nothing to do with 'trash mobs', nothing to do with 'wasting time'.

It is a game of chess. You have to find a way to break the 'set-up' without 'walking into the trap'.

It's intelligent mechanics that can only be solved by intelligent thinking by use of skills and 'out-of-the-box' imagination.

Neither Diablo nor the deep roads have a damn thing in common with this method of RPGing. Very few RPGs do.

And Icewind Dale is jam packed with 'set-piece' encounters and puzzle-monster-challenges. Just the same as working out a lever puzzle, it's just monsters instead of levers.
 
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TITANFALL! (beta!)

pros
Its really good! The parkour, the gun action, the maps and titan : pilot balance… The game is just amazing! Anyone who likes multiplayer FPS should get this game NOW. :)

cons
No Australian servers. Microsoft are working on 2 cloud servers for Australia but no ETA. From Melbourne I get 150-250ping to east asia or 240-290 to USA west. It's actually surprisingly playable at ~150ping.

Also, rumours of "the game will have dedicated servers. More on this in the months to come."
 
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As far as I can tell, the only person suppressing opinion in this thread is you..

I think the main problem here is your understanding of the concepts of fact and opinion.

You stated a definitive absolute fact % trash mobs, ascfact. Which means you have not only done a science based study of potential encounters, but also determined what IS. And IS NOT a trash mob, definitively.

Which is of course nonsense. Basically you disagree with others here, which is fine ... But for some reason you have determined that your statements are fact and others are opinion.

Either way this is going nowhere and really needs to stop
 
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I think the main problem here is your understanding of the concepts of fact and opinion.

You stated a definitive absolute fact % trash mobs, ascfact. Which means you have not only done a science based study of potential encounters, but also determined what IS. And IS NOT a trash mob, definitively.

Which is of course nonsense. Basically you disagree with others here, which is fine … But for some reason you have determined that your statements are fact and others are opinion.

Either way this is going nowhere and really needs to stop

Are you suggesting there is no correct definition of 'trash mobs'?

I could have sworn someone posted a definition. Maybe you missed it.

Web definitions
(Trash Mob) A small group of easily dispatched foes.

I'm unaware of any RPG which doesn't make use of 'trash mobs' to some extent. The better the player you are, the more trashy all mobs become?

Using the phrase to simply disparage a game that you feel is combat heavy is an inaccurate use of the phrase.

It is not 'opinion' when someone has an opinion about a factual topic. For example, "I am of the opinion that Arnold Schwartzenegger is actually a post-op female" would be both a lie and kind-of insultory - but claiming this is an 'opinion' that doesn't deserve ridicule is a stretch beyond a stretch.

Yes, I know the game very well. I know exactly the extent of the 'trashiness' of the mobs. Feel free to study the monsters in the game and come back to refute my statistics with fact rather than 'opinion about the fact'.
 
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As for Icewind Dale being 'widely accpeted' as having lots of trash mobs, I can find no great evidence of this. The first result for Icewind Dale Trash Mobs in google actually brings back a search result of a thread where someone complains of the trash mobs in BG2 compared to the quality mobs in IWD:

Every now and then, a few posters on this forum would ask, "How can anyone prefer ID over BG?" or "What sort of person thinks ID series is the best of the IE games?" Suchy, Black, and others have echoed this thought a couple times.

Well, I am that sort of person (and maybe Darth Roxor too) who does think so. And I thought it might be interesting to explain why I think so, even though I understand I won't change anyone's mind about these decade old games. It's more for bouncing off these opinions and wondering if anybody else ever felt the same.

Disclosure: I have my own bias in that Icewind Dale was one of my first RPGs, or my very first RPG I think, while I played BG almost a decade after its release. So yes, it does not help that I played one close to the time of release and the other after it had aged badly.

The Icewind Dale games start on a high, persist on a high, and end on a high.
This difference alone is a major factor for me. Yes, the Baldur's Gate games do reach their epic moments much later. But starting off in the early forest in BG1 or Chateau Irenicus in BG2 always felt too low key for me. There are no interesting enemies to fight, no large scale encounters, and no intensity or heat in the situations you face. Icewind Dale has you killing hordes of goblin armies from the start, moving on to a dozen yetis and ancient ghosts, and then onto the lizardmen in Dragon's Eye. The first five hours are so compelling you feel you are reaching for an early climax. The BioWare habit of keeping trash mobs in the early hours of the game have not made me their biggest fan.

This point alone may be the only reason, and everything else is entirely peripheral by comparison.

Nobody in the Icewind Dale games talks like a LARPer or a faggot.
.
..

Haha, no, I am just joking. This judgment is probably too harsh, I admit. Still, even though this factor doesn't make or break a game, it is something that annoyed me in Baldur's Gate. The caricature medieval accents when clicking on Candlekeep guys and the "Hi-ya!, I'm Imo-en." made me cringe. The long-winded medieval-style dialogue by every generic NPC to make a simple point did not win me over either. In Icewind Dale, for some reason, when I first listened to the dialogue by the priest in Easthaven, I just stopped to read and listen to his story about the wartime sacrifice in which a warrior froze himself into a portal. That was well-delivered, without being in the phony talking style of a typical BG NPC. (Now, if you like the BG voice acting, more power to you, because that means you got to enjoy BG a lot more than a sucker like me did.)

There are no loss-of-control or passive moments in Icewind Dale.
Surely I am not the only one who resents watching the Gorion-Sarevok confrontation, or the arrest of Irenicus by the mages for illegal use of magic, over and over again. I hate losing control, and I just want to be the one in charge at all times, instead of having to be a passive spectator to a cinematic that can't be skipped. I think ID wins points for trying to tell its narrative through the setting and environments rather than by cut-scenes, because that is something more suited for the gaming media.

These are not the only points, but I'll stop here before I make an enormous wall of text. All I can say is that I enjoyed Icewind Dale enough to play it twice from start to finish, while I did not enjoy either of the Baldur's Gate games to finish them once. I still accept, though, that I might be completely wrong and that I am not doing it right. Perhaps enjoying BG requires a different mindset from enjoying ID.

In which case, what would BG fans say that mindset would be? More patience? More slowing down and smelling the roses?

http://www.rpgcodex.net/forums/index.php?threads/icewind-dale-series-compared-to-the-baldurs-gate-series.76106/
 
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I finally gave up on AC4 due to the "trailing" missions, mostly. Also, I find that almost all the missions, including those of the storyline, are structured around a handful of gameplay systems. They're not offering much in the way of unique mechanics or "set piece" scenarios.

Meaning that once you've seen the systems - you've seen most of what the game has to offer.

The story was interesting enough, but I can't really stand the thought of repetition on that level.

Oh well….

While waiting for ESO, I'm dabbling in a few games. I was enjoying MMX a lot, but it grew a bit stale after a while. A bit too much combat and the story wasn't very engaging. The dungeons are very pretty, but they lack that special something to keep exploration fresh. Most of what you find seems to be chests with randomly generated loot. Not terribly exciting.

I've also played a bit of Marvel Heroes after hearing from multiple sources that they've made great improvements to it. That does seem to be true, and it's definitely one of the most generous F2P games I've played - seeing as how you can pretty much get everything for free without that much grind involved.

That said, at its core - it's kinda barebones and the story missions aren't terribly interesting.

It reminds me of the old Irrational Freedom Force games, only without the tactical gameplay. Very similar vibe and the same way of delivering the story through (appropriately) silly and cheap-looking comic slides ;)

I was never a big fan of those, but if you're into the Diablo genre and you like Marvel stuff - it's not bad at all. It has the basic combat and itemization down - and it feels great just blowing stuff up - but it badly needs a more compelling narrative and a stronger atmosphere. Things that are unlikely to be added, at this point.

I've also gone and pre-ordered Thief - even though I said I wouldn't. I got it quite cheap from GMG - and I'm just a weakling these days.

So, I'll be reporting back on that one. Taking a hit for the Watch, possibly ;)
 
I finally gave up on AC4 due to the "trailing" missions, mostly. Also, I find that almost all the missions, including those of the storyline, are structured around a handful of gameplay systems. They're not offering much in the way of unique mechanics or "set piece" scenarios.

Meaning that once you've seen the systems - you've seen most of what the game has to offer.

That's disappointing to hear. I was really looking forward to fully diving into AC4 when I had the time. Hopefully the setting alone will keep me playing long enough to get my money's worth.
 
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I'm not disagreeing with your opinion nor why you quit the game, but I'm at a complete loss as to what 'trailing mission' means, so I have no idea what the subject matter of your post is. I can only beg to differ on the amount of varied set-pieces, you're met with a new and varied set-piece on practically every screen. Yes you do get more 'used' to what the game is generally like by the end, that's kind of common to all games, that kind-of means you've been paying attention and improving yourself, which is a positive sign in a game normally, that of familiarising yourself with the games 'general design', but I don't feel at all that the set-pieces are either lacking in number or massively repetative.

But I was just mainly interested in finding out what 'trailing missions' means. I like to learn new things and if this is a common term then I would be delighted to improve my vocab by being told what it means.
 
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That's disappointing to hear. I was really looking forward to fully diving into AC4 when I had the time. Hopefully the setting alone will keep me playing long enough to get my money's worth.

It's possible it changes later on. It said 35-40% completed - but that's including some side stuff. I don't think I was more than a third of the way through the main story at most - so I don't know if it changes up eventually, though I wouldn't count on it.

It really depends on your tolerance for doing similar missions multiple times.

The big negative is the way they're constantly making you follow people using the exact same methods over and over. It got REALLY old after doing that for the 6th or 7th time.

With all that money they've got, I'm surprised they couldn't find other ways to make you gather information on where to go next. Someone must have been asleep during play testing.
 
I'm almost done with TRoT (only the main quest finale, riverfather temple and DLC probably final area left), and those RoA remake guys still haven't released the patch 1.33.
Would help if M&M10 bonus dungeons get out in a next few days but I don't think it will happen.

So now I'm not sure what to play next. Stalker trilogy maybe?
 
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I never bought it because back then when it got out, it looked like Desperados clone, or Commandos:BHL clone, just not in wild west or worldwar2. And I didn't want another such game.
You sure I'm gonna like it?
 
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I dunno, it has a lot of humor as its core emotion, it combines stealth, action and tactics within amusing stories. I've never played Desperados or Commandos so I can't compare, but one of the commenters on the link says it's like Commandoes. Like the Witcher, you control your swordplay with varied mouse movements and each of your merry men has it's own unique attacks.

I dunno, check out some let's play snippets on Youtube, that's what I normally do. I've never known anyone to hate the game. It has a higher user score than its metacritic score and is only an 8.4 because people seem to like giving it a 9 rather than a ten:

http://www.gamespot.com/robin-hood-the-legend-of-sherwood/reviews/

Only 5 out of 744 users in this poll gave it a 1 star.
 
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Gaming time has been significantly cut back due to real life complications, but I've been working on a few things recently.

DDO, of course, still takes a fair cut.

I've been plugging away at MMX. By the time I get thru that my review will be better described as a retrospective, but so it goes. I'm having some buyers remorse with my party selection, but I'm too far into the game to punt and put together a better crew. My need to completely mow 100% of every map isn't helping, either. I noticed that there's a Steam achievement for walking 123,000-some tiles. Yep, I'll be getting that one unless it includes all the hidden areas since I haven't been able to access all of those yet (again, back to poor party build). Still having a great time with the game, though.

Filled in some gaps working on another playthru of Majesty. That game continues to have great legs. It's a very enjoyable game on its own merits, but it really shines as a "change of pace" game. You can play in short shots without losing track of what you're doing, too.

Finally, picked up Fallen Enchantress on a $5 Steam sale. That's been on my wishlist for a long time, but I'm doing my best to resist starting it since I should be focusing on MMX.
 
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