Devil Dancer
Registered User
- Jan 21, 2006
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OT: Video Games VI
- Thread starter Calicaps
- Start date
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Xenforo Cloud will be upgrading us to version 2.3.5 on March 3rd at 12 AM GMT. This version has increased stability and fixes several bugs. We expect downtime for the duration of the update. The admin team will continue to work on existing issues, templates and upgrade all necessary available addons to minimize impact of this new version. Click Here for Updates
Have tracking and should have my Steam Deck delivered Thursday.
CapitalsCupReality
It’s Go Time!!
- Feb 27, 2002
- 67,441
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Nothing compels me to play my daughter’s Switch….annoying….
Mario Strikers seems mildly intriguing….anyone play? Any fantastic Switch games to recommend?
arstechnica.com
Mario Strikers seems mildly intriguing….anyone play? Any fantastic Switch games to recommend?
Review: Mario Strikers: Battle League could be the game of the summer
Balancing issues can't stop the frenetic fun of full-contact footie.
arstechnica.com
twabby
Registered User
- Mar 9, 2010
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Nothing compels me to play my daughter’s Switch….annoying….
Mario Strikers seems mildly intriguing….anyone play? Any fantastic Switch games to recommend?
Review: Mario Strikers: Battle League could be the game of the summer
Balancing issues can't stop the frenetic fun of full-contact footie.
Metroid Dread
Breath of the Wild
Mario Odyssey
Celeste (multiplatform game, but is a good one to play in handheld mode)
I upgraded to Premium on PS+ today, which is the highest tier for PSN (Essential > Extra > Premium). Seems to be worth the coin. They have some really solid titles available to play included in the package like Spider-Man: Miles Morales, Returnal, Death Stranding, AC Valhalla, Demon’s Souls, NBA2k22, etc plus the traditional PS+ catalog and a few hundred classic games from prior consoles available to stream.
It also has a trial feature for the highest tier that allows you to play some new games for a limited amount of time before deciding to buy.
Maybe all of this was standard on Xbox and PS is finally putting out a parity product but I like the update.
It also has a trial feature for the highest tier that allows you to play some new games for a limited amount of time before deciding to buy.
Maybe all of this was standard on Xbox and PS is finally putting out a parity product but I like the update.
g00n
Retired Global Mod
- Nov 22, 2007
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Saw that yesterday. A lot of games in the catalogue. Not bad for $120/yr
BTW getting more into HFW after moving on to the main area. Getting used to the mods and menus is always part of the adjustment. Not really deep into the story at all yet but the gameplay and landscape is as good as you'd expect.
Well worth the price for a lot of people, which means I expect they’ll increase the price next year. It’s essentially the cost of two base-level PS5 games. You might not get the newest games exactly at release but there are very few I need to play the day they come out. HFW was actually my first pre-order and day one download in years. I’m willing to pay for the rare occasion when I want a game the day it comes out so it’s a solid deal for me. Games like like Death Stranding, Demon’s Souls, and Returnal would games for me that I’d never buy except on deep discount (if that) but now I’ll get the chance to give them a shot.
They also have some cool games from the older systems that you can stream. Haven’t been able to dig deep into it but at first glance there’s a good selection.
Also, I bought the new Lego Star Wars for my son but it’s too complicated for him so I’ve been playing it by myself and it’s great.
g00n
Retired Global Mod
- Nov 22, 2007
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I'd buy it if I had more time to play AND didn't have a brand new pile of shame.
Decided to trade in a few games that still had value and came away with Pillars of Eternity 2, The Outer Worlds, FF XV, XCOM2, and Shadow of Mordor. Also found the complete edition of Pillars elsewhere. So all of those are lined up behind HFW which means a subscription doesn't make sense at the pace I play.
I'm least enthused about FF XV based on the format and the style, based on the videos I've seen. Mixing turn based with 3rd and 1st person games.
Haven't played a sports game in forever and that might hold true until the next soccer game, whenever that is.
This is all PS4 still. The bundles they were offering for PS5 were like $800 and I'm not dropping that on a marginal upgrade for my setup. If I was 4K, maybe.
CapitalsCupReality
It’s Go Time!!
- Feb 27, 2002
- 67,441
- 22,621
Walmart had some in the $600 range. The more expensive ones come with multiple games, controllers, etc.
CapitalsCupReality
It’s Go Time!!
- Feb 27, 2002
- 67,441
- 22,621
HTFN
Registered User
- Feb 8, 2009
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XV can basically be played at full speed until shit goes down and you need it. Took some time to adjust to it but I thought it ended up alright, it’s a little less turn based and a more like an auto-pause that kicks in when you stop moving and need to think. The hard part is remembering to stop moving and think when you’re getting your ass whooped instead of running like hell
And if you play XCOM 2 buy the expansion and treat it like the base game, because it’s less like an add-on and more like XCOM 2.5. Has a chemistry/buddy mechanic, some new factions and classes, these cool zombie missions where kills don’t cost an action, and the whole thing is worked into the main narrative anyway so it just ends up being a massively improved version of the same game and story in the end.
My main justification for the ps3 purchase as it had a bluray player early in the HDR wars so was a safe bet before things got a little solidified. 700 to 800 way too rich for what I practically expect usage-wise.
CapitalsCupReality
It’s Go Time!!
- Feb 27, 2002
- 67,441
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Exactly the same boat….it’s a core Home Theater device for me in my two main viewing areas inside. I’m not overpaying forget that. Not that I won’t game a little, but not much.
Shipping was delayed and my Steam Deck arrived today. Still getting it set up, but early impressions are that the build quality is excellent. It's lighter than you'd think, and feels really good in the hand, with ergonomic control locations. It's light and yet feels built like a tank. Design-wise, this is a real hit.
The touch screen is very impressive (they put a better one in the 512Gb model, so this only applies to that version). Speakers are loud and clear too. It has a 3.5mm headphone jack and presumably you can pair Bluetooth headphone/earbuds to it as well. (yes, I successfully paired some AirPods Pro with it). Of course, Bluetooth playback will further drain the battery. It has a micro-SD slot, so bear that in mind in your calculus, if looking for a lower-end model. You can extend that storage, though you'll take a performance hit when installing games to the external storage.
It's running Linux-based SteamOS, I gather, but you can install your own OS and use it like a PC, if you want to play around with it. I am still installing content. Going to try Shadow of the Tomb Raider, Alien Isolation, Far Cry 6, Watch Dogs Legion, and Control. It looks like action RPGs will play like a dream on this, with only the very latest needing you to compromise much on settings. Fantastic for retro games.
It comes with a high-speed wall charging cable that is a generous 4.5 feet long. It meets the device at a USB-C connection. I have also plugged the device into a modern desktop computer with a USB-C cable (directly into the back of a high-quality ASUS ROG Strix X-570E Gaming motherboard). Doing so prompted a message saying that I might want to switch to wall charging, as this connection will not pack the kind of juice that directly charging from the wall gives you while gaming. During installation and updates, can confirm that desktop USB-C charging gets enough power to remains at 100 percent indefintiely, but that's basically running at idle. I'll have to see what happens when gaming under load.
It comes with a really nice hard case with heavily rounded corners for carrying around. It has a plush bag for the wall charger cable. There is an indentation covered by a nice quality wide elastic for you to store the charging cable in its bag when in transit. These aren't throwaway accessories. They are really nice.
I just bought another 100W USB-C wall charger adapter and will pair that with a longer 20V 5A fast charging USB-C to USB-C power delivery charging cable. You want Thunderbolt-level charging. I already installed a 512 GB micro-SD card to extend storage to 1TB+, although I'll only be putting retro games on the external storage.
During downloads, I am getting 75 MB/s at peak, but I also had down times that plateaued for a while at 150Kb/s and stubbornly stayed there. Cold booted and it went right back to 65MB/s plus.
I'm also rediscovering how many of my recent titles were bought on other launchers like UbiSoft and Epic. That's a bummer. Summer Steam sales in a couple of weeks should take care of that.
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Games play really well on the SteamDeck. Navigation of game launcher interfaces is still a little clunky, but they get the job done. Once you are in-game, the standard Xbox Halo-style controls all apply (although I found at least one game that didn't have Invert Y axis working properly). Feels natural. It plays older retro games seamlessly via a Dosbox shell.
I've played around with the Linux side today. Essentially, the console starts up in Steam gaming mode. You can hold the power button to go into desktop mode, which puts you into Linux, with full directory file tree access. I loaded a bunch of mp4 video clips that I grabbed off YouTube onto the external micro SD card. You can install VLC or whatever other media player you like to watch videos in Linux mode, through a free app store. Slick. I've never used Linux before, but it's a breeze to pick up.
For setting up the Steam Deck in a docking station mode, you can pair a full-sized wireless keyboard and wireless mouse to the Steam Deck via Bluetooth. You can directly connect a monitor to it with a USB-C to HDMI cable, although you run down the battery that way. Better is to get a USB-C to USB-C power delivery and HDMI adapter/splitter, to ensure continued charging while you are sending video to the monitor.
I've a raspberry pi, which is a far more compact solution for something like that, but a raspberry pi doesn't have near as much computing and GPU power as the Steam Deck.
I've played around with the Linux side today. Essentially, the console starts up in Steam gaming mode. You can hold the power button to go into desktop mode, which puts you into Linux, with full directory file tree access. I loaded a bunch of mp4 video clips that I grabbed off YouTube onto the external micro SD card. You can install VLC or whatever other media player you like to watch videos in Linux mode, through a free app store. Slick. I've never used Linux before, but it's a breeze to pick up.
For setting up the Steam Deck in a docking station mode, you can pair a full-sized wireless keyboard and wireless mouse to the Steam Deck via Bluetooth. You can directly connect a monitor to it with a USB-C to HDMI cable, although you run down the battery that way. Better is to get a USB-C to USB-C power delivery and HDMI adapter/splitter, to ensure continued charging while you are sending video to the monitor.
I've a raspberry pi, which is a far more compact solution for something like that, but a raspberry pi doesn't have near as much computing and GPU power as the Steam Deck.
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twabby
Registered User
- Mar 9, 2010
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Just finished my first playthrough of Elden Ring. What an excellent challenge. It’s not for people who dislike the Soulsborne series, but it was easily my favorite so far. There’s so much to do, so many random quests and dungeons, and some brutally difficult side bosses. The final boss was enough of a challenge that I had to co-op it but it didn’t feel cheap at all.
I’m probably going to do a dexterity build for my second playthrough.
I’m probably going to do a dexterity build for my second playthrough.
HTFN
Registered User
- Feb 8, 2009
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I went in raw thinking I'd explore so many neat things, got my cheeks clapped, beat Magrit, got lost in the castle, and got distracted with baseball.
Hit me with your stats so I can bust my ass through the stupid choke point and go play the game again
twabby
Registered User
- Mar 9, 2010
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I went with an Astrologer (sorcery) build.
I forget my final level, but I was something like 60 Vigor, 75 Intelligence, 35 Mind, 20 Strength, and then I think I left the rest of the stats unchanged. Maybe I upgraded Stamina a bit.
I have no idea what my level was at Stormveil Castle. I think I upgraded vigor the most early on. More HP early is really important.
twabby
Registered User
- Mar 9, 2010
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Just to add to the above: when it comes to Soulsborne games I’ve found that committing to a playstyle and build is much more important than building a well rounded character. If you’re going with a magic build, invest in intelligence or faith and ignore dexterity, strength, and endurance for the most part. If you’re going with a “Hulk Smash” build don’t worry about arcane, faith, intelligence, and mind and instead focus on strength and endurance.
Though I will say that no matter your build I’ve found Vigor/HP has always been important. Getting one-shotted is really annoying and you’re going to make mistakes, so having a buffer is nice.
I did my sorcery build and the only thing I did outside of leveling up intelligence/mind/vigor was to add enough strength points so that I could hold a good enough shield.
Though I will say that no matter your build I’ve found Vigor/HP has always been important. Getting one-shotted is really annoying and you’re going to make mistakes, so having a buffer is nice.
I did my sorcery build and the only thing I did outside of leveling up intelligence/mind/vigor was to add enough strength points so that I could hold a good enough shield.
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Eirikrautha
Registered User
Cool deal! Thanks for the info; my 64GB model ships soon (got the email today). We'll see how it compares to your review of the high end one...
Besides storage size, they're supposed to be exactly the same except the type of M.2 storage (eMMC is about 12% slower than NVMe for loading, 25% for booting) and the anti-glare screen for improved experience outdoors. Same screen specs...
- Panel: Optically bonded IPS LCD
- Resolution: 1280 x 800 pixels (16:10 aspect ratio)
- Size: 7 inches diagonal
- Brightness: 400 nits
- Refresh rate: 60Hz
Eirikrautha
Registered User
Yeah, I'm thinking I'll wait a little while and then replace the internal drive (there are a lot of guides online that make it seem doable). I want to make sure I don't have any issues that would need an RMA before I potentially void any warrantees...
