What Game Should I Play Next?

Thrasher said:

Only after about 5 weeks, I finished XCOM:UFO defense. Is that slow?

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What was the rush ?

Although I feel a bit tired of laggy low-fi UIs under DOSBox, I think I'll play World of Xeen next since I already went through the trouble of getting it running under DOSBox.

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I know what you mean, it can be an off-putting thing, but the truth is DosBox can be tweaked to near perfection with most games. It`s worth spending some time tinkering, especially the solutions can be then reused for other games.

Of course I assume you`re using the latest version with D-Fend (genius frontend) on top. You are, aren`t you?

Rather than using D-Fend, I just run DOSBox with a different config file for each game. Seems to do the trick. I got it running fine compared to the default config for most situations, but after a while one gets tired of constantly having to tweak. The remaining annoyance was the speed of cursor across large battlescapes. It would lag badly when there were many blinking graphics elements (like battleships). The cursor would only update as fast as the elements blinked on and off (at about a half second rate).

Thrasher said:

Rather than using D-Fend, I just run DOSBox with a different config file for each game. Seems to do the trick. I got it running fine compared to the default config for most situations, but after a while one gets tired of constantly having to tweak.

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Well, that`s why I use D-Fend- it handles multiple configs & GUI tweaking`s much easier this way too. Guess it`s ok if you got few games, but believe me, over a thousand it becomes a chore

This mouse problem seems like a challenge, lemme have a look...

I don't really see the advantage of tweaking the config settings using D-Fend vs. having individual config files for each game. Maybe you can clarify? Not having to install and learn D-Fend is a plus to me. I opt for the simplest approach whenever possible.

Hi. Just finished Risen, which I enjoyed a lot. It's quite a challenging game compared to the likes of Mass effect or Oblivion, to name a few. You really have to put some effort into it. It's a rewarding game with a nice atmosphere.
So, I guess I'm ready for a Gothic game now.. What do you recommend? Start with the first one?

Thrasher said:

I don't really see the advantage of tweaking the config settings using D-Fend vs. having individual config files for each game.

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Eh? I thought it`s self-explanatory...D-Fend is a Windows-environment frontend, it translates all of DoSBoX`s command-line options into graphics interface. Few clicks of the mouse vs notepad-digging is a win for me. And much, much simplier

Also if you`re familiar with Dosbox commands already, there`s nothing to learn- you`ll just see them in graphics form. Apart from that it`s a perfect old games database with screenshots `n all ...really worth an install, this

I fired up X COM on it yesterday - mouse worked fine, no lag or anything. I didn`t have any saves so it was only opening worldmap and such...but I think it`d be stable also in battles. Running on Win XP, that might be a factor.

Doesn't GoG.com sell the X COM games?

The slowup I saw was only in the specific situations I described earlier. The world map and all other situations performed admirabley.

I bought XCOM through gamersgate. It came prepackaged with DOSBox. I don't see it in the GOG catalog, though...

Well, I hope this thread isn't perceived as too self-serving. But I've been liking the feedback from everyone!

I started up World of Xeen and have now pretty much finished the Clouds of Xeen part, minus a few difficult areas (Dragon Caves/Volcano) What fun! DTE, you were right!

Not sure if I have found everything though, but I beat Xeen. It's a hell of lot of territory to explore and your party members age in the meantime. This is not a "hiking simulator"! There is pressure to finish ASAP.

Now to continue with the Darkside. The start was a bit a mysterious and sketchy. I had no idea how to do it. I found out that it does this by modifying the last save I had made before the battle with Xeen (yikes!); no replay of that one for me!

It modified the save by putting my party in the starting town in Clouds with all their XP and items, but with the award (and XP, I assume) of beating Xeen. Nothing in the instructions about that!

After a little foraying in Darkside Castleview it became apparent that I was way overpowered. So… what else to do but start my Xmas present to myself - Fallout 3 GotY.

Totally sucked into it now… Really liking it. Have all the DLC turned off for now. Have added the Ironsights and Darnified UI mod, per JDRs suggestions.

But… I keep getting my ass kicked by random spawns of raiders and Talon Co. bounty hunters. I want to explore thoroughly, but am tempted to run from quest location to quest location. Also, spending too much time on the back and forth between Megaton and loot locations because of carrying limitations and sorting through all the junk using that terrible UI for barter and containers (no sort filter options - everything alphabetically). I seem to remember Oblivion not being so bad. Certainly Morrowind was much easier to deal with….

Some junk seems potentially useful for crafting, so I am saving anything somewhat uncommon. Requires sort time. Should I just sell the junk and food items instead? I am running low on ammo and stimpacks because of the repeated spawns of raiders and talons; there were 4 in the last 2 raids each, and they had great guns (but no leftover ammo)…

I am avoiding reading walkthroughs for now, just playing on instincts. Haven't tried to create an optimal build; was getting tired of being overpowered. I'm level 5 now and have done most (I think) of the quests in Megaton, and haven't got much further than the stuff in Grayditch and the Sooper Dooper Market! Seems like just a scratch on the surface…

The guy is not min-maxed. Slightly higher stats in perception, agility, and slightly lower in strength, endurance and luck. I've put most points into small guns, sneak, lockpick, speech, repair, medicine, science, in about that priority…

What's your strength stat? I started with 6 in strength, and later boosted it to 7, and I never really had a problem with being over-encumbered, as long as I was selective about what junk I picked up.

It's normal to struggle for stimpacks and ammo in the early going. I played on "Very Hard" difficulty, and every encounter was a challenge for me. I usually couldn't just gun my way through any battle, I had to use the terrain to my advantage if possible, or set traps with frag mines.

One really cool tactic is to sneak up on an enemy and plant a grenade on him by pickpocketing. Just make sure you're not standing next to him afterwards.

Yep, I think I got sloppy and stopped sneaking everywhere and got ambushed!!!! I'm feeling a little impatient at the pace of exploration...

Need to start being the sneak again. Good tip! But level 5 already? Should I restart with the slow leveling mod (or just install it and somehow edit my level back down)?

Strength is only average = 5. I think I'll take the perk to up a stat next, and make it strength. My character will soon be a little above average in almost all stats.

Even though it is tedious and slow, I have been using VATS a lot, thinking it's allowing me to conserve ammo. But perhaps not? Still running, backing up, and dodging around terrain quite a bit. No just standing and gunning.

I played with 'Arwens Reduced XPR' mod, which reduced my XP gain by around 65-70%. That rate of advancement felt about right to me, and I couldn't imagine trying to play without something to slow the ridiculous default XP gains.

VATS definitely makes things a bit easier, but I prefered to use it only when I had to.

I also started on "Very Hard". Only modded out the waypoints on map & compass. There`s few other mods I`d try but as it is I`m ok with vanilla balance. Although I might consider this leveling slowdown... But then, it might slow down by itself later...

Same as what JDR13 says, every battle is a challenge (well, it was at the beginning at least). But thats the point - I love this game so much I` m in no rush anywhere.
Trying to fight only in buildings/near cover. VATS is great for targeting the weapon hand - then switch to Chinese Army Sword/sledgehammer. Also shotgun for stubborn ones.

Slowly exploring (sneaking is a must most of the time), only done few quests so far...

Saving most of the junk also, once you got workbench & some schematics it will come in handy.

As for inventory, I thought you can carry waaay too much...but didn`t mod it, too lazy - i`d have to backtrack too many times I guess...

regarding selling in Fallout3

This was brought to my attention only recently D'oh!
There are little arrows on the top of your inventory when selling(and in PipBoy)
that allows you to catergorize the different classes of "stuff". Why this was never in any documentation I'll never know.

also Use the slower levelling mod, I got to max level about 2/3 way through main story and that killed most of the sidequests for me. Never use the extra xp perk, it's SO unneccesary. For your best experience IMHO, ignore the main story for a while, the subquests are SO much more fun/funny/challenging etc etc etc

don't worry about picking up stuff, get the repair skill up so when you get overloaded, repair the heavier stuff. It increases the selling price as well so it's all good(if not best skill).

cstapleton said:

This was brought to my attention only recently D'oh!
There are little arrows on the top of your inventory when selling(and in PipBoy)
that allows you to catergorize the different classes of "stuff". Why this was never in any documentation I'll never know.

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Double D'oh!

and double thank you! That makes my inventory management SO much easier.

Cheers!

zadokAllen said:

As for inventory, I thought you can carry waaay too much…but didn`t mod it, too lazy - i`d have to backtrack too many times I guess…

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Long tedious back and forth for looting kills the fun for me, so I fast travel when I'm shuffling loot. I don't like having to do it, but I think it's the lesser of two evils.

I'd much prefer unlimitted inventory ala the Gothics, though.

With the mod I mentioned above, I hit level 25 (out of 30) at around the 150 hour mark. Without that mod I would have hit the ceiling in less than 50 hours.

Like zadoAllen, I modded the compass as well, but I went one step further and also removed the red enemy markers, which I felt were unrealistic. Iirc I did it by modifying the Darnified UI config file. I also edited it so that the HUD didn't display "HIDDEN" whenever I was sneaking, for further realism.

Also, changing the timescale is a must! The default timescale is ridiculously unrealistic, as the Day/Night cycle changes about every 20 minutes. To change the timescale: open the console with the ~ key, and type set timescale to xx, with xx being the number you want. The default is 30, which means the ratio of in-game time to real time is 30:1. I use a setting of 8, which makes Day/Night last around 2 hours. You only have to change it once, as it will save the changes when you save your game. To check it, just type show timescale.

I think the red markers on the compass could be considered realistic if you assume your character could detect enemies using all senses that not properly captured in the game. Like smell or vibrations or just better sound or visuals. I also understand why they may seem unrealistic given the sensory info presented by the game.

I saw your previous comment on timescale and didn't appreciate it until playing. It is rather odd yet not unusual. There have been other games with this same quirk that didn't bother me too much. I am more worried about messing up time dependent puzzles, quests, or other state effects and their interactions with real-time controls.

I'm at 6th level at the 21 hour mark. But more importantly I've only been to a few discovered locations more than before… It's the @#$*(&#($*& back and forth to transport loot. Hate it. It's the same thing that killed The Witcher for me. Watchout Fallout 3, you're standing on shakey ground.

I need to find a mod the completely removes all inventory constraints ala the Gothics.

Thrasher said:

I am more worried about messing up time dependent puzzles, quests, or other state effects and their interactions with real-time controls.

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There aren't any to worry about.