TallGuyCalif's Computer Gaming and Entertainment Site

Tag: MMORPG

  • Done with Destiny, Back to LOTRO and STO

    Between griefers and trouble finishing a Heroic Strike while wearing a Speaker mask, I’m just done with the frustration of Destiny and the Festival of the Lost. I’m tired of doing pointless quests for a random chance at crap. So I’m taking a vacation from Destiny (in fact, I nearly deleted it out of frustration, but held my temper in check).

    Now I’m going back to explore the last 2 years of content that I’ve missed in LOTRO. I’m also going to catch up in STO, too. And, frankly, I’m looking forward to getting back to significant story lines and (hopefully) fun quests. Sure, neither have combat that compares to Destiny, but they have atmosphere and are fun.

    Destiny, screw off!

  • Star Trek Online for PS4 is pretty good!

    Star Trek Online for PS4 is Star Trek Online. Sure, the controls are different from the PC version, and it’s a little dumbed down, but the basics of the game is still there and it is still fun. It also looks pretty good, so they’re taking good advantage of the PS4’s graphics capabilities. There were a few bugs that I ran into, but none game-breaking, and I can’t link my Arc account for some reason (perhaps because I have a lifetime subscription on the PC version), but the game was entirely playable. If I didn’t have so many hours invested (is that the right word for a game?) in the PC version, I’d play it more in a heartbeat.

    The control scheme is the biggest change from the PC version. In space, it uses the gamepad sticks very intuitively for ship control and camera control. Since the gamepad only has a few buttons, we only get a few powers that we can use, but the L1 button (left bumper for you Xbox folks) can be held down to bring up a radial menu of powers, it tends to work out. R2 (right trigger) fires phasers, while R1 fires torpedoes if they’re bearing on your target. Switching energy profiles is easy with the D-Pad, as is speed control. The ground controls are similar, but it uses “shooter” mode rather than RPG mode (options in the PC version). L2 is Aim Down Sight. Overall the control scheme is simple and works well.

    I’ve been using a gamepad with STO on PC from the beginning, and I have lots of powers mapped by using triggers and bumpers as modifiers for the ABXY buttons on my Xbox 360 controller. On the PC version we’d be at a severe disadvantage if we could only access a few powers, so we’ll have to see how the console version compensates for that.

    The early missions are a bit of a mash-up of the original Borg invasion missions from the early days and the more current Star Fleet Academy stuff, but fairly well done and a nice introduction to the controls and to the game. Loot drops are auto-looted if you get close, which is a nice improvement. I’ve never spent much time in shooter mode on ground missions on the PC, but I see that works pretty well on the PS4.

    It looks like the Temporal Agent start isn’t available on the PS4 version, which is a bit of a shame, given the tie in with the 50th anniversary of Star Trek, but perhaps it will come later.

    I did pick up the free (yesterday) 23rd century costume pack as well as a nifty Andorian Escort ship that was also free. That ship rocks – it’s almost unfair how quickly it stomps enemy ships to the curb. I don’t know if it was a mistake or not, but I’m happy I got it.

    My biggest disappointment is that I can’t link my Arc account to the PS4 version. I get to the Link Accounts screen, press the button, then the screen just reloads each time I press it. I’d sure like to be able to link my lifetime account and thousands of Zen to the PS4 version. I don’t actually want to play my PC characters on the PS4, but I’d sure like the unlocks I’ve earned over the years. If I can’t do that, my play time with the PS4 version may be at an end or at least very minimal, since my best experience with STO is going to be on the PC.

    If you’re an existing STO player, there probably isn’t a compelling reason to play on the console version, but the console version is probably much better for people that are new to Star Trek Online.

  • Finished Witcher 3 DLC, back to Dragon Age Inquisition

    My poor non-multitasking brain can’t handle playing too many games at once, mostly because I get the controls mixed up, so I tend to try to finish a game, then move on (MMOs excepted). So I just finished the excellent Witcher 3 Blood and Wine DLC, and had to decide on a new game. Finishing the Witcher 3 missions was both good and bad. I loved the game and hated for it to end, but had played it for many, many, many hours. I was in denial for a while, so I backed up to play another ending (I was only able to produce 2 endings to Blood and Wine, so I may have to look if there are more). I found a couple of extra missions that seem to have been unlocked by the ending, but other than that, no more quests. I cleared all the “unknown” spots on the map in Toussant, then went to Velen and did the same. I had maybe 16 on Velen’s map, and cleared all but one bugged bandit camp that just won’t clear. Then I went to Skellige, and found 80 question marks on the map (the map counts them, so I didn’t have to)! And they’re all out in the ocean, so tedious to get to, kill the sirens, grab the loot, become overburdened, and repeat. So I did 4 of them and gave up. Sure, I may come back when all other games disappoint me, but for the moment, I’m done with Witcher 3.

    I recently bought the Dragon Age: Inquisition (DAI) Game of the Year edition on sale for $20. I already owned DAI and one of the DLCs, but buying the 2 remaining DLCs would have also cost $20, so I just bought the GOTY edition, which had a few more goodies. Origin very nicely dropped the 2 new DLCs into my existing game files, rather than making me delete it and download the whole thing, so kudos to the EA Origin team.

    I’ve now started playing DAI’s 2nd DLC, The Descent, and must admit to being a little disappointed. While the surface DAI areas are open-world-ish, this is strictly linear so far, and involves tediously looking for gears to open doors. The combat and banter is still great, but coming from Witcher 3, this feels constraining. I also miss Witcher-Sense – even though there is Inquisitor-Sense, it isn’t quite as good.

    So I’ll work through DAI’s DLCs, but I’m also busy doing Star Trek Online’s summer event activities on Risa, because I want this year’s ship! Of course, I will still occasionally pop into Destiny and The Division when friends are online.

  • Yes, Damn It, Destiny: The Taken King is Good!

    Destiny’s The Taken King expansion has revitalized the game and addicted me again, hence the “damn it” in the title. I was doing so well at enjoying other games and going days or even a week without launching Destiny. But now that The Taken King has come out, it’s an obsession just like Destiny was at launch. That isn’t to say that TTK is perfect – far from it. There are annoyances and a few glitches, flaws, and problems, but the smoothness of the game play and the fun missions (mostly) overcome them.

    The first thing about TTK is that it is even more MMO-like than before. As Yahtzee said about World of Warcraft when he reviewed it, “It’s all about the numbers!” In TTK, the level cap was increased, but the level is pretty meaningless. I went from level 35 to 40 in seconds by turning in some bounties with one of the Red Bull XP boosts active. No, the only thing that matters is the light level of your gear, much like in other MMOs. The goal of this was to render obsolete all of our year 1 gear, so Ice Breaker, Thorn, Vex Mythoclast, and Gjallarhorn. There are year 2 variants of some of the old Exotics, but not the favorites I listed above. Bungie’s goal, I think, was to get more diversity in loadouts. Even the Exotics now have different perks and stat rolls when you get them, so if you and I both have Helm of Saint-14, they will be different, either slightly or significantly, though the primary perk will stay the same (and, generally, yours will be better, because RNGesus hates me). So now everyone will be dressed differently and have different gear. Until we get raid gear, that is. Since raid gear is the only way to get the highest light level stuff (310), everyone who has raid gear will wear it. Now, it is possible to sacrifice your raid gear by using it to infuse other stuff, thus raising the other gear’s light level, but it will be a while before many people have enough raid gear to use it like that. I have no raid gear, having not done the raid (because my light level is too low and I’m not that good). Oh yeah, and we can have swords now, and they are awesome!

    There are lots and lots more missions in TTK, and even some of the old ones have been updated. I’ve killed Oryx on all my characters, yet I haven’t finished all the missions available. They weren’t kidding when they said TTK added more content than the original game. So there’s lots more to do and most of it is fun. And there are hidden side-quests and goodies that are a delightful addition to the game.

    There are a few missions that are just crazy hard, and some of the Heroic Strikes are just stupid hard. I’ve had other players bail at the start of some strikes and at the nearly unkillable boss after wiping a few times on others. That isn’t much fun. That’s probably the thing that will break my addiction and get me back to playing other games. On Friday night, for example, I ran into a mission I couldn’t solo (nor could others who are better than I am), then found a strike where the other guys bailed at the end. I was ready to give up at that point and shut down the PS4, but instead I found a couple of friends who helped me with both and it rebounded into a good evening rather than a depressing one.

    So, yes, The Taken King is good, damn it, and I can’t wait to play more.

  • Still gaming, just not writing enough

    I’ve been too silent on here for too long. I’ve been playing lots of games, but I haven’t been writing my impressions of them, and oh boy do I have impressions to share. So I’ll try to write more frequently about some of the games I mention here.

    I’ve finally broken Destiny’s hold on me, so I am playing other games. I still check in on Destiny a few times a week, but no longer have the compulsion to play it to the exclusion of all else. I’ve even done some good things, including killing Skolas in the level 35 Prison of Elders (I was helped greatly by two players that were very good and knew what they were doing). I also helped a friend’s husband conquer Hard Mode of both the Crota raid and the Vault of Glass (well, I participated and killed things). So those were good accomplishments.

    My newest addiction is Elder Scrolls Online. I got it on sale for PS4 and I really like it. It isn’t so epic as Lord of the Rings Online, but the combat is great, and the crafting is pretty good, and the story is fine so far. Every chance I get, I pop online and work on one of my three characters.

    Speaking of LOTRO, I still play it a couple hours per week. The story is great, so I want to finish exploring the end game areas. I must admit, however, that I have little hope of getting all 8 of my characters through the end game and level 100. Too much repetition…

    I also bought the Borderlands Handsome Jack collection for PS4. I’d already played Borderlands 2 on PC, so I started with the Pre-Sequel, which I’m enjoying. However, I started a Borderlands 2 character, since some friends are playing that, and I realized that Borderlands 2 is a much better game. The Pre-Sequel seems to be puny in comparison, and I’m near the endgame of it.

    I’ve also been playing a tiny bit of Dragon Age: Inquisition. The problem is, I’m just about to start the end game, and I don’t want the game to end. I’m invested in the story and the characters, and I don’t want to be done with it, just to be able to play a few bolt-on DLCs later. So I’m taking it slower than I probably should.

    Finally, I’ve actually started up Star Trek Online a few times recently, mostly because of the giveaways to build excitement for the new season. I realized that there are game mechanics that are new and I need to learn them. So when I get done with Borderlands or Dragon Age, I’ll take some time and get back into STO. I have a lifetime subscription, so I don’t feel too guilt about stepping away for a year, but it is getting to be time that I should come back.

  • Finally arrived at Dol Amroth in LOTRO

    After a bit of questing in West Gondor, my Lore Master finally made it to the city of Dol Amroth in LOTRO. The city looks great with tremendous detailing on the stonework and the doors. Swans and statues of swans are present everywhere. The city has a number of districts, and you are given a quest by a grumpy guard to visit all of them (I say the guard is grumpy, because he didn’t have nice things to say about elves, the race of my LM). When I got to the dock area, I was given a couple of quests regarding fishing. So while I was sent off to collect fish and to fish from a pier, nobody even mentioned the Corsair ship blocking the harbor entrance, nor the Umbar fleet in the surrounding waters. Nope, far more important for me to collect crates of fish than to worry about the blockade…

    Other areas of the city have similar nuisance quests, yet there are some serious quests, as well. There is a quest line to join the city guard, which seems like a lot of work, but I’ll do it, most likely. Overall, Dol Amroth seems like it will be an okay place to stop and quest for a while.

    The amenities are all present, but somewhat spread out and inconvenient. The LOTRO designers made such brilliant crafting halls in Forlaw and especially Aldburg, where crafting stations, vault keeper, auctioneer, and forge/relic master existed in a small, convenient space, yet here they are spread over a wide area and in different buildings, etc. So not great for crafting, but I can always jump to Aldburg when I need crafting time.

    Dol Amroth in LOTRO’s West Gondor is a treat and looks so good it isn’t to be missed. I’m glad I made it.

  • Getting into LOTRO again

    I’ve been trying to break my Destiny addition, or at least tone it down to just a habit, so I can play other games. I bought Gat out of Hell (along with Saints Row IV) for PS4 and have played that a bit. I have many other games that need playing, too, but the pull of Destiny is too strong. Like an abusive relationship, Destiny mistreats its players and abuses them, then, occasionally, gives us a neat gun or pieces of armor, and all is forgiven. While I’m not trying to equate a game with spouse beating, I wonder if the mental processes may be a little similar, since so many of us keep coming back for more abuse with no guarantee of good rewards.

    I’ve been playing more LOTRO lately, after MONTHS away. I’ve been logging in to LOTRO once a month to pay my housing upkeep, usually a day or two after my house and kinship house gets locked because my prior payments ran out. So I’d pay to unlock the houses and then pay another month in advance, then not touch it again. Well that’s changed, and now I’m back playing.

    My highest level character, a Lore-Master, was already in Western Gondor, and, at level 99, was able to take on most of the enemies there. I still haven’t made it all the way to Dol Amroth yet, but I’m enjoying the area and all the quests and killing the Corsair invaders.

    A few days ago, I took the “swift horse” to the Dead Marches, which was pretty neat. The Dead Marshes are very well done and look great. I ran into a “warband” solo hunter guy, who promptly kicked my squishy LM butt. I saw in yesterday’s patch notes that he’s been made a little easier to kill, but I didn’t run into him last night before I left the Dead Marshes. While the Dead Marshes area is neat, and the quests are pretty good, including the flashback one involving Frodo and Sam, getting around is a terrible slog. We can’t use mounts in the Dead Marshes, so travel is slow. And there isn’t a milestone at the Gondorian guy’s camp, so we can’t zip back when our quests are done. So while I liked the Dead Marshes sequence, it’s a bit too much work for a game, and that makes it less fun than I’d like.

    Now that I’m back in West Gondor, I’ll continue on to Dol Amroth and wherever else my Middle Earth adventures take me.

     

  • Star Trek Online: Making a Fat Bajoran on Risa. Adventures of Lt. Cmdr. Fatass

    I decided to experiment with the character editor to make my Bajoran Female character look more like the reality of myself and many other ‘Muricans with a little (or a lot of) extra weight. Unlike all the other avatars I see in their tiny swimsuits on Risa, Lt. Cmdr. FatAss here has as large a belly and legs and torso width as I could make. It makes her more representative of most of us playing the game, I’d suspect, and I couldn’t stop laughing as I flew her around Risa and compared her to all the petite lovelies that everyone else uses. I’m surprised her floater was even able to lift her! That being said, she’s at the limits of the fatness scale of the editor, so she looks stout, but not enormous like the stereotypical fat person we all know or see on TV. Admittedly, it is a game, so we don’t want it to reflect reality too much, but it sure was fun being different from everyone else on Risa!

  • Star Trek Online Graphics Bug: Flying Without a Floater

    Even with yesterday’s patch, my studly Joined Trill Admiral in Star Trek Online is so badass that he can fly in the Risa events without a floater. Or at least he’s pretty good at hiding his floater (the jetpack thing used on Risa). The video below shows it. I think it is the outfit he is wearing, because when he was in his boring old uniform, the floater was visible. But now that he’s trying to relax from his stressful job as an Admiral in Starfleet, he changed into relaxing off-duty robes (and, no, he won’t say if he’s wearing underwear, ladies), and his floater has become a fancy stealth unit.

  • Star Trek Online Swimsuits on Risa

    I’ve been enjoying the Star Trek Online Summer Festival on Risa, working towards the “pearls” needed for both the Risian Corvette and the Risian Cruiser. I’m also busy earning “favors” to get swimsuits for my two female captains. Now that I’ve achieved that (see below), I will look into better jetpacks and even shorts for my one or two male captains that are participating.

    My Bajoran female captain looks pretty good in a swimsuit:

    screenshot_2014-06-10-19-58-28As you can see, the STO devs have done a nice job lovingly modelling her curves and how well her bikini fits. All the pictures here are 1920×1080, so click them to zoom in for a better view. She looks good from the back, too:

    screenshot_2014-06-10-19-58-43

    The only problem with seeing her in a swimsuit is when she’s flying around in the jetpack. In this state, she is viewed from behind and often slightly below, particularly when climbing. I don’t like the angular and exaggerated calves visible in the next picture.

    screenshot_2014-06-10-19-58-07

    I bought a different swimsuit for my Klingon female captain. It looks pretty good on her:

    screenshot_2014-06-10-20-35-50

    Interestingly enough Klingons apparently have a strange-looking ridged spine, perhaps to go along with their brow ridges. It is clearly visible in the picture below (again, click to zoom in).

    screenshot_2014-06-10-20-35-13

    While I admire the attention to detail by the STO devs, I don’t think that spine is very attractive. If I had know about it, I would have considered a swimsuit that has more of a back on it to hide the ridges. But you may like it, and now you are aware of it.