Aaand ignored.
Peace once again reigns throughout the land.

* REMOVED *

This comment was deleted on May 31, 2023, 21:49. Reason: Intolerance (rule 2)

RogueSix wrote on May 31, 2023, 02:01:
It's a Larian game. They release a barebones version in August of this year, and after the obligatory 37 patches, the much improved Enhanced Definitive Super-Cool Edition in 2025 will be better in so many ways that it's guaranteed to be a night&day difference. I will play BG3, of course, but for me this is not even remotely a game I would play this year. It's probably an epic, long game and I want the best possible experience on my first (and most likely only) playthrough.

Hah, so true. I am literally just sitting down now to play Divinity Original Sin II. I know it's been "ready" for quite some time now, but since I was NEVER going to play it at launch given Larian's release strategy (or to be kinder - excellent long term support) it just kept sliding into the "I'll play that 'soon' " category.

The thing about System Shock is that it was so ground breaking. It introduced so much to the RPG genre years before games like Half Life:

1. First-person perspective
2. Interactive environments
3. Non-linear game play
4. Cyberpunk setting
5. Innovative audio design
6. Strong narrative
7. Survival horror elements
8. Groundbreaking AI

Unfortunately the GUI and much of the game play was pure repetitious jank. I doubt somewhat more detailed wall textures is going to fix that.

Cram wrote on May 31, 2023, 00:14:

RogueSix wrote on May 30, 2023, 16:18:

Cram wrote on May 30, 2023, 15:21:
Been a pretty great year for gaming

Which one? You mean when SS1 came out? 1994?

This year. Perhaps, to avoid whatever, I should say it's a pretty great year for gaming - For me.

Ah, yes, that's more like it .

Dead Space Remake (was perfect, remake of one of my favorite games of all time)

I mostly enjoyed my time with the free trial and I will get this at some point but no rush at all.

Resident Evil 4 Remake, which released on my birthday like some divine intervention sh*t (nearly perfect remake of my favorite game of all time)

OK. Meh for me. I played the demo and it was yucky consolitis infested mediocrity imo.

Jedi Survivor

Yeah, I will rent (EA Play Pro sub) that, too, after finishing Diablo IV and I hope that EA will have unfucked it by then.

Zelda TotK

OK. I don't play Switch games so this one's not for me.

System Shock Remake

Huge meh. The demo was garbage in my opinion and you'd have to pay me a C-level salary to play this game (especially the super boring and lame cyberspace sequences).

Street Fighter VI

Meh. Fighting games or beat'em ups, like sports and arcade racing games, belong on consoles and I'm not a console player. PCMR4ever.

Upcoming:

Diablo IV (100's upon 100's of hours in various betas, game is great and will only get better like all the previous titles did with time)

Yeah, this one I preordered (which is a rarity for me) and I'm looking forward to playing through the campaign and 100%-ing all maps. I hope it will be good but I won't get into ladder and seasons. I'm not a hamster or Blizzard's bitch.

Amnesia: Bunker - demo was excellent, superior to the last couple amnesia games right off the bat

The demo left a completely different impression on me. I put the game on 'ignore' on Steam. What a boring game...

Final Fantasy XVI - looking damn good (ps5)
Baten Kaitos 1&2 Remaster (Switch)

See above. No console games for me.

Baldur's Gate 3 - oh boy

It's a Larian game. They release a barebones version in August of this year, and after the obligatory 37 patches, the much improved Enhanced Definitive Super-Cool Edition in 2025 will be better in so many ways that it's guaranteed to be a night&day difference. I will play BG3, of course, but for me this is not even remotely a game I would play this year. It's probably an epic, long game and I want the best possible experience on my first (and most likely only) playthrough.

Mortal Kombat 1

Another beat'em up... naaaah.

Alan Wake 2

Nah. Alan Wake was horrible on PC so I have zero interest in the sequel.

Remnant 2

Nah. I tried the first one during a free weekend and thought it was boring af. It just did not grab me at all.

Hades 2 (maybe this year?)
Witchfire (hopefully this year)
Gloomwood (hopefully this year, early access has been excellent)

I might be interested in Hades 2 but certainly not in the other two games.

I'm having a great time - haven't had a year like this one in any recent memory. Perhaps ever.

I'm glad for you but except for Diablo IV and Jedi Survivor (and BG3 but see above... not a 2023 game for me) I can not concur and neither Diablo IV nor Jedi Survivor have me excited in a way that I would call it a great gaming year.
As far as Starfield is concerned, that one is in the same ballpark as BG3 for me. I will get Starfield much later when there is a GOTY or whatever. I'm not interested in a half-assed buggy Bethesda launch version. Gimme the full deal and with a bit of luck there will hopefully be some unofficial patches once I get around to it.

The best gaming year I can think of, by far, was 2002 (in no particular order): Morrowind, Dungeon Siege, Neverwinter Nights, Gothic 2, Battlefield 1942, Star Wars Jedi Knight II: Jedi Outcast, Warcraft III, GTA Vice City, Age of Mythology, Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell, Need for Speed Hot Pursuit, Red Faction II, Blood Rayne, Medal of Honor Allied Assault, Freedom Force, Hitman 2 Silent Assassin, Mafia and that's just the PC releases and only a selection. There were also many high profile console releases on top of this.

2023 (for me) is not even going to begin competing with a year like 2002 in any way, shape, form or fashion. No contest at all.

Cram,
Try the Thief 2 HD Mod 1.0.
https://www.nexusmods.com/thief2/mods/5
It creates a "Thief 2 The Metal Age" icon -doesn't use Steam-, and a "Thief 2 FMs" icon on desktop.

Also leaves an icon in the Thief 2 folder: "NewDark Graphics Settings", that allows excellent tweaks. Select "Thief 2 FMs" and not original mode if you're gonna play fan missions.

Above all: the "Config 3" Full Color, "View Current Settings", gives -for me- the clearest best illumination for Thief 2.

To automatically go to the end of a level, press Ctrl + Alt + Shift + End

Disclosure:
Cheats:
Dark.cfg :
add the line "cash_bonus 55000" or whatever value, not higher than 65,535 as I think gold is a 2 bytes value.

User.cfg:
cheats_active
LockCheat -unlocks most of the doors and chests.
cheats_active
NoKillGoalCheat -in some campaigns, this allows kills when they were not.

Also used Cheat Engine, Health, Arrows, Potions, Food, everything is 4 Bytes, Exact.
Use Windowed (borderless) and Vsync on.
With Bathory campaign, copy its folder into FM folder inside Thief 2 folder.
Run "Thief 2 FMs" on desktop. Find the mod.
Launch C.E. before the game, or the game may close, no problem, just launch it again.

This comment was edited on May 31, 2023, 01:49.

WannaLogAlready wrote on May 31, 2023, 00:47:
Cram, please restrain yourself, how can you enjoy gaming so much, eh?!
When others are suffering, yes, suffering

PC has so much to enjoy, new games, remakes and old games, it's mind staggering.

Between newer titles I'm having a truly amazing Thief 2 modded revival (the excellent Thief 2X campaign, the Bathory Campaign -heavens what a marvel that one was-, etc), after re-playing Thief 1, 2 and 3.

It's crazy.

Saw your Thief comment. Thief 2X is stunning, should/could have been it's own published released game. I have not heard of the Bathory Campaign, will look into it. Assume it involves bathing in blood and evil countesses.
Even found time to replay Thief 3 this year, for the probably 25th time since 2004. Despite its "consolization" issues, it's truly a great game. Hail Shalebridge Cradle.

Cram, please restrain yourself, how can you enjoy gaming so much, eh?!
When others are suffering, yes, suffering

PC has so much to enjoy, new games, remakes and old games, it's mind staggering.

Between newer titles I'm having a truly amazing Thief 2 modded revival (the excellent Thief 2X campaign, the Bathory Campaign -heavens what a marvel that one was-, etc), after re-playing Thief 1, 2 and 3, with enhanced lighting, more ammo, etc.
And now System Shock, yeah !!

RogueSix wrote on May 30, 2023, 16:18:

Cram wrote on May 30, 2023, 15:21:
Been a pretty great year for gaming

Which one? You mean when SS1 came out? 1994?

This year. Perhaps, to avoid whatever, I should say it's a pretty great year for gaming - For me.

Dead Space Remake (was perfect, remake of one of my favorite games of all time)
Resident Evil 4 Remake, which released on my birthday like some divine intervention sh*t (nearly perfect remake of my favorite game of all time)
Jedi Survivor
Zelda TotK
System Shock Remake
Street Fighter VI

Upcoming:

Diablo IV (100's upon 100's of hours in various betas, game is great and will only get better like all the previous titles did with time)
Amnesia: Bunker - demo was excellent, superior to the last couple amnesia games right off the bat
Final Fantasy XVI - looking damn good (ps5)
Baten Kaitos 1&2 Remaster (Switch)
Baldur's Gate 3 - oh boy
Mortal Kombat 1
Alan Wake 2
Remnant 2
Hades 2 (maybe this year?)
Witchfire (hopefully this year)
Gloomwood (hopefully this year, early access has been excellent)

Yep, these are just the sequels/remasters/remakes (minus Witchfire and Gloomwood), I know.
Doesn't include all the new original titles that will also enter the mix and end up on future lists as sequels/remakes are made.
I'm having a great time - haven't had a year like this one in any recent memory. Perhaps ever.

EDIT: Forgot about, so far, Octopath Traveler 2, which was amazing. Metroid Prime Remastered, which was excellent and very well done. I guess Starfield will be a thing too.
I'll say this about 1994 though - Final Fantasy VI released in NA and god damn if that wasn't the most amazing game ever made at that point in time.
This comment was edited on May 31, 2023, 00:47.

Backed this so long ago on Kickstarter, excited, but still waiting for them to send me my GOG keys!

Snagged that free System Shock Goodie Pack pack.

Cram wrote on May 30, 2023, 15:21:
Been a pretty great year for gaming

Which one? You mean when SS1 came out? 1994?

This is like dating my high school sweetheart! Just hope it doesn't end the same way...

Sweet!

Been a pretty great year for gaming

phinn wrote on May 30, 2023, 12:26:
The new Nvidia Game Ready driver mentions both Diablo and System Shock releases, what a time to be alive

Can't wait to play SS when I get home later! The stars aligned for the weekend too, the missus is at her friends place all weekend so I'll be going pretty hard on Diablo IV early access!

The new Nvidia Game Ready driver mentions both Diablo and System Shock releases, what a time to be alive