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Post by ForRealTho on Mar 6, 2024 17:36:00 GMT -5
So the Stalker games are out on console now, that's cool but Stalker without the insane modding community is really missing a big part of the experience
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Post by Coolverine on Mar 7, 2024 7:54:34 GMT -5
One of the best series ever.
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Post by Cop on Mar 8, 2024 11:36:07 GMT -5
I started that first game thinking I'd probably give up on it because I was (and am) an FPS player and I didn't care for RPG at all. The start was rocky to say the least, I wasn't used to not being the biggest badass around, so barging in (with a shit weapon, which I didn't realise at the time) and instantly dying didn't bode well, but I kept trying and eventually I got the hang of it and restarted the game with a better understanding of the mechanics and the RPG-aspects. Upon completing it the first time (and having a really hard time at the end because there aren't any shops there anymore and I wasn't quite ready for a prolonged battle), I instantly restarted the game and after doing side-quests for ages, I went into the final section of the game absolutely stuffed to the gills with gear (like an extra exo-suit in my backpack and tons of ammo), it was much more enjoyable. Sometimes it helps if you know what's coming I've completed the base-game and all it's expansions several times now, sitting at well over 200 hours combined for the 3 games. Just typing this makes me want to revisit them but I don't have the time and too much of a backlog of other games I still need to play for the first time...
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Post by ForRealTho on Mar 8, 2024 12:23:17 GMT -5
I started that first game thinking I'd probably give up on it because I was (and am) an FPS player and I didn't care for RPG at all. This is how I was with Mass Effect. I didn't get into it till years after the PC release. They hadn't quite figured out the formula 100% with ME1, its an FPS/RPG hybrid as well but with actual stats and such unlike Stalker. I really dug some of the music and the atmosphere but the intro mission on Eden Prime was kinda eh, and the combat a little jank and "floaty". I was thinking of just quitting but forced myself to get off of Eden Prime and into space, once you have your ship and can fly anywhere that is when the game starts to come together, its one of the best games I've ever played. The Legendary edition not only upgraded the graphics but refined the combat and skills. There is a reason Mass Effect 2 is on a ton of Top 10 Best games of all time lists. They really got the formula down, the 3rd game is IMO superior its just the ending really left a bad taste in a lot of people's mouths. The STALKER series has so many mods now its ridiculous. I got Stalker GAMMA installed and working, that game had the biggest performance boost of any game going from my old laptop to my new desktop. Its crazy to think a mod team took a 2007 game and upgraded the engine from 32-bit to 64-bit and added all the stuff they did. The GAMMA installer is very impressive. Just download, and hit install. I keep meaning to do a full replay of GAMMA but my backlog of triple AAA titles is pretty extreme. I just now finished the story of Diablo 4 this week.
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Post by ForRealTho on Mar 8, 2024 12:27:01 GMT -5
Dragons Dogma 2 is releasing in like 2 weeks. I'm for sure not getting it at launch. I might pick it up later.
If the 2nd game is anything like the 1st there are going to be some pretty disappointed people. I obviously haven't played it since it hasn't released yet, but the 1st game was very light on story. Yes it did have a story but it was pretty bare bones, more akin to Diablo 1 then Dragon Age or Baldurs Gate. Even Skyrim had a better story then Dragons Dogma.
DD is about the combat sort of like the monster hunter games. The combat really is excellent. Some of the best I have seen in an RPG. If the mechanics of combat aren't your thing and all you care about is story might want to skip this one.
Or maybe everyone is wrong and the story is amazing......we shall see
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Post by ForRealTho on Mar 9, 2024 14:52:41 GMT -5
I downloaded the HDR mod for Control. Turns out it actually replaces the .exes and everything. You just download it from NexusMods and extract to your Control folder. Done.
Looks very good, better then AutoHDR for sure. Adds a lot of video options. Control in HDR looks great with a lot of solid reds and such. I went from a very dark hallway to a full-bright room and it made me want to turn the brightness down lol.
There is no "official" New Game Plus in Control. However there is a web-based save editor that lets you make one manually.
You backup you savegames first, most important step. Then start a new game and let the opening cinematic finish. Then quit the game and load your new save in the editor, hit transfer and import everything. Download the save, put in the savegame folder and done.
Now you are the very beginning of the game with all of your stuff from the end, besides stuff which is progress locked but you unlock everything pretty quick.
Its amazing to me that Chrono Trigger was the first game with a New Game+ and now its like a standard feature expected.
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Post by Coolverine on Mar 9, 2024 23:12:42 GMT -5
I have Chrono Trigger on SNES, still play it sometimes. Also have it on Steam, it has those incredible anime cutscenes from the PS1 version.
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Post by ForRealTho on Mar 10, 2024 0:13:21 GMT -5
I have Chrono Trigger on SNES, still play it sometimes. Also have it on Steam, it has those incredible anime cutscenes from the PS1 version. I don't think I actually finished it since I was a kid. In college I was hanging with a girl, went over her house and she was playing Chrono Trigger on the SNES. No idea she liked videogames. I gave my SNES and all my games to my High School girlfriends little brother, wish I would have kept them.
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Post by ForRealTho on Mar 11, 2024 9:38:03 GMT -5
This weekend I decided to test the HDR Control mod, which led to a New Game Plus playthrough. You would think doing New Game Plus would make it a walk in the park, but Control doesn't work like that. Yes it was easier having all the gun unlocks and top tier mods but I still died in a couple places.
My first playthrough I did the Alan Wake DLC last. This time soon as a the game was over I did that first. I don't recall having any trouble with it my first time but I died like 5 times trying to finish one of the very first sections of the DLC. Finally got it right before quitting for the night. Would have to go into spoilers to explain. Its a solid DLC to play before Alan Wake 2 there are playthroughs on YouTube that take less then 2 hours so it isn't super long.
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Post by ForRealTho on Mar 13, 2024 12:50:42 GMT -5
Last night I realized I have yet to play Fallout 4 on my new PC.
I finished it back in 2017 with like 50 mods, then I completely lost/overwrote that savegame and started over from scratch. Started with the Pilgrim Mod(which was pulled offline due to drama and restored but in a simplified state) and a Silent Hill mod but quickly got bored with the radical changes they made to base Fallout 4.
Looks like last time I played Fallout 4 was November of 2020. Didn't finish it.
You can use utilities to see what mods you were using. In the 4 years since I have played there have been updates and changes to some mods.
Fallout 4 wouldn't even launch when I tried it. Forgot Fallout 4 cannot handle high refresh rate monitors by default. You have to edit the .ini to get it to launch and the gun debris option STILL makes the game crash as soon as you shoot even now.
I understand Bethesda doesn't want to do a deep dive fixing the engine because of all the mods it will break.
Anyway I got the game up and running, at 1440p Ultra getting 150-300 fps. The engine cannot handle high framerates and the whole game plays faster with high FPS.
I installed a mod to fix that, fix gun debris, AND a mod that allows DLSS/DLAA, its actually the same mod Resident Evil 4 Remake uses.
For some reason those 3 mods aren't working. Gave up on fixing it. Those 3 mods happen to be .DLLs that interface with the game. Not sure why they aren't working. I'm 100% sure they are in the right folder so maybe my mod manager isn't working right?
Vortex is kinda looked down on by the mod community but I like it. Its very simple to use.
Going to have to mess with it later.
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Post by ForRealTho on Mar 13, 2024 12:51:48 GMT -5
I figured the Darker Nights mod + Pipboy flashlight + flashlight dynamic shadows would look amazing on OLED.
You can set Darker Nights to basically be pitch black and set the game to be nighttime 24/7.
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Post by ForRealTho on Mar 13, 2024 21:50:04 GMT -5
Figured out why mods weren't working........to get all mods to work properly in Fallout 4 you need to add 2 lines to a .ini file. Not all mods are dependent.
Can control DLSS from a menu. By default it was on DLSS Quality, but I put on DLAA, with TAA off it looks like a new game. Amazing.
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Post by ForRealTho on Mar 14, 2024 16:35:26 GMT -5
Got Alan Wake 2 and the Final Fantasy Remake on sale today. Not sure which to play first.
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Post by Coolverine on Mar 15, 2024 0:40:07 GMT -5
fyi Deus Ex Mankind Divided is free on Epic Store currently.
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Post by Cop on Mar 15, 2024 13:57:42 GMT -5
Several years overdue (and then another several weeks/months because I started playing Bulletstorm first and got hooked (again)) but I finally fired up Doom (2016). Initially said I'd buy a new PC just for that game, well, I didn't, I bought one last year. What that does mean is I can just put everything on ultra and not worry about. Initially I had turned motion blur off (as you do) but after playing for an hour or 2 I decided to switch it on just to see what it would look like...
...One flick of the mouse and I already felt sick, lol. Had it on for about a minute before I wisely decided to switch it off again. Didn't even get into combat, just walking around was already intolerable enough, lol.
It's also the first game that I've played that takes over the lighting scheme of all my Razer peripherals (Kb/Mouse/Mousepad). I'm leaving it on for now but it does have a tendency to go a bit overboard with the flickering. Just navigating the menus is already seizure inducing. It's not as bad during the gameplay, but when you do a glory kill it does go full rainbow.
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Post by Coolverine on Mar 16, 2024 0:25:21 GMT -5
Been having trouble sticking with any game all this week, but I bought Jedi Survivor. Hopefully it will be as good as they say it is.
Thought $31 was a fair deal.
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Post by Emig5m on Mar 16, 2024 1:18:13 GMT -5
Been having trouble sticking with any game all this week, but I bought Jedi Survivor. Hopefully it will be as good as they say it is. Thought $31 was a fair deal. The first one didn't capture me in at first, put it away, and then started again and enjoyed it enough to finish it which is rare for me (to this day I've never even finished a grand Theft Auto game and most games I play for a couple hours and forget about it). Jedi Survivor got bad reviews on Steam initially, kinda scared me off. I kinda wanna bite for the sale but I also kinda don't want to get into something right now that I couldn't finish before next Thursday when Horizon Forbidden West comes out. I might even pick up a PS5 Dual Shock controller just for it because the feedback triggers and everything is pretty cool in that game...
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Post by Coolverine on Mar 16, 2024 9:16:09 GMT -5
First impressions, the graphics are amazing. Framerate is completely smooth so far without raytracing. With raytracing it's still smooth but just not as. Story and combat so far also good. Heard there comes a point where performance gets worse, guess I will find out. Might leave raytracing off, it does make a striking difference but still looks great without it anyway.
*edit* lol discovered that by default, the game set itself to 4K (DSR resolution) but I set it to 2560x1440. 4K is smooth enough but 1440p will save some resources. Still looks great with DLSS quality, which DLSS was off by default (AMD FSR was on instead).
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Post by ForRealTho on Mar 16, 2024 13:08:28 GMT -5
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Post by Cop on Mar 16, 2024 13:30:10 GMT -5
You know what's scary? Having Steam open in the background after clicking your link and clicking on some of the pictures, not the video though, and then coming back to the boards to comment on it only for the screenshots to keep cycling in the background and eventually, unbeknownst to you, land on a video, after which a scared girl's voice starts praying in your headphones... :eek:
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Post by ForRealTho on Mar 16, 2024 15:10:11 GMT -5
Finally started Alan Wake 2. Frame Generation and DLSS on. Unlike Cyberpunk I couldn't see any difference between DLSS Quality or Balanced so I have it on Balanced. Getting like 130 fps with everything maxed. The only issue is the blur. DLSS causes blur unfortunately Alan Wake 2 has no sharpening bar. There is sharpening in the .ini tho.
Turned on RTX Sharpening+ which is much faster unfortunately it has an FPS hit, so the .ini is the way to go or ReShade sharpening but I haven't installed it.
I didn't realize AW2 was a detective game where you looked for clues. I went off the path in the first scene and found a bunch of clues but it wouldn't let me pick them up or make notes about them. Maybe I was pressing the wrong button? I don't know. I just went ahead to the next scene. Maybe it will let me go back. Was like a 30 second walk from the parking lot.
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Post by Emig5m on Mar 16, 2024 21:33:10 GMT -5
I couldn't imagine playing that stoned at night in a dark room with noise canceling headphones... lol. I might check the other key sites to see if I can find it cheaper than the Steam sale price, might be interesting for cheap...
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Post by Coolverine on Mar 18, 2024 2:41:30 GMT -5
lol this is actually a setting in Jedi Survivor:
Guess I'll find out why this has to be a setting later. The graphics look incredible, it defaulted evertything to Epic. Sometimes it looks real, especially with raytracing on.
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Post by ForRealTho on Mar 18, 2024 7:03:11 GMT -5
lol this is actually a setting in Jedi Survivor:
Guess I'll find out why this has to be a setting later. The graphics look incredible, it defaulted evertything to Epic. Sometimes it looks real, especially with raytracing on.
There are a ton of mods to remove spiders from different games. I laughed the first time I saw one I think for Dragon Age Origins.
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Post by Coolverine on Mar 18, 2024 7:34:54 GMT -5
Funny DA:O was also EA-published.
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Post by sj on Mar 18, 2024 10:49:52 GMT -5
I started that first game thinking I'd probably give up on it because I was (and am) an FPS player and I didn't care for RPG at all. This is how I was with Mass Effect. I didn't get into it till years after the PC release. They hadn't quite figured out the formula 100% with ME1, its an FPS/RPG hybrid as well but with actual stats and such unlike Stalker. I really dug some of the music and the atmosphere but the intro mission on Eden Prime was kinda eh, and the combat a little jank and "floaty". I was thinking of just quitting but forced myself to get off of Eden Prime and into space, once you have your ship and can fly anywhere that is when the game starts to come together, its one of the best games I've ever played. The Legendary edition not only upgraded the graphics but refined the combat and skills. There is a reason Mass Effect 2 is on a ton of Top 10 Best games of all time lists. They really got the formula down, the 3rd game is IMO superior its just the ending really left a bad taste in a lot of people's mouths. The STALKER series has so many mods now its ridiculous. I got Stalker GAMMA installed and working, that game had the biggest performance boost of any game going from my old laptop to my new desktop. Its crazy to think a mod team took a 2007 game and upgraded the engine from 32-bit to 64-bit and added all the stuff they did. The GAMMA installer is very impressive. Just download, and hit install. I keep meaning to do a full replay of GAMMA but my backlog of triple AAA titles is pretty extreme. I just now finished the story of Diablo 4 this week.
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Post by ForRealTho on Mar 18, 2024 21:16:49 GMT -5
I wasn't planning on touching FF7 Remake till I finished Alan Wake 2.
Decided to fire it up tonight just to see how it looks. When I turned HDR on all the sudden the colors looked like shit, almost like streaming HDR content to Twitch without changing the colors to SDR in OBS.
Googled it an oddly enough weren't that many threads about yet, yes other people were having the problem but didn't seem widespread. So I figured oh well, have AutoHDR or RTX HDR.....then I got to thinking...started the game and sure enough RTX HDR was working fine, HDR looked pretty good.
Turned off RTX HDR and bam, HDR working fine. So apparently the issue was RTX HDR and the built in HDR conflicting.
FF7 Remake looks excellent. Getting 120 FPS consistent.
Installed a few mods for a better FOV and to make your companions fight more aggressively.
For some reason there is an autoresolution changed that lowers your resolution if you don't hit the target framerate, common on consoles but not needed on a decent PC. Used a .ini to disable that.
Ended up playing it most of the day.
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Post by Coolverine on Mar 19, 2024 2:59:10 GMT -5
One of my friends gifted me Company of Heroes 3 when he heard how sad I am.
Multiplayer and skirmish matches are excellent but the campaign is very middling so far.
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Post by ForRealTho on Mar 19, 2024 16:07:30 GMT -5
I haven't played Company of Heroes since the first one. I just googled it and that was in fucking 2006 lol. Time flies. I thought I played it 10 years ago, naw, try 18.
Speaking of games............make sure if you upgrade to the Nvidia App to check the box that says "Download drivers automatically and notify you to install"
Been using RTX HDR a ton, even downloaded the Nvidia Inspector version that lets you tweak it. It works in Thief 1/2 but the colors were off a bit. Some banding, I didn't really dig into any fixes.
Turns out there was a new driver in early March that fixed "RTX HDR now gamma 2.2 not 2.0".
Soon as I saw this I installed it and I fired up Thief The Black Parade and loaded my favorite mission and HOLY SHIT, I've never seen Thief look that good. Like the HDR is very smart, you walk past a window with light pouring in and its crazy bright. Pure white light sources are almost painfully white.
I'm tempted to drop FF7/Alan Wake 2 and just play through The Black Parade again.
Also OBS had a patch and it fixed a ton of stuff related to HDR. It looks like 2024 really is the "year of HDR on the desktop" finally.
Also Thief is from 1998, I went to the top viewpoint in The Black Parade and it bogged down from 90 fps to 60.....on an 4080 Super LOL. Gotta love it.
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Post by ForRealTho on Mar 19, 2024 16:08:26 GMT -5
I just checked my Steam library and I have Company of Heroes 2 but apparently never played it
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