Redwolf's Journal (continued)

 Being entirely too critical about the state of some current games... After a long-running, system-spanning, started-in-person-and-went-online D&D campaign ended, one group reshuffled a little and started a new campaign set earlier in the history of that world. The DM wanted to use a... certain style. Hmm, I forget the term now. It would be a bit wilderness focused, leaning a bit more heavily on random encounters during travel and resource tracking than a heavy narrative. That was not highly appealing to me, but I was willing to try it. Out the gate, we had a few hiccups. The character background I had in mind was largely tossed aside to fit in with another character. That's not a huge deal to me, but it did throw me off a bit. The game style isn't seeming as satisfying as hoped. For my end, I think I prefer a little more narrative continuity than randomness. The "encounter" for one early day in travel was finding a flute in the road. With an idea what we were in ...

 So, Baldur's Gate 3 is definitely the better of the games I've played recently - probably my (and maybe others') game of the year. It isn't perfect, but it's a good adaption of D&D 5E rules with a solid enough story, some great characters, and a lot of creative ways to interact with things. Excellent. Starfield has me thinking a bit more, though. It's certainly not as good, but the overall game is reasonably good.  Most of the not-good in the game itself seems to stem from engine limitations as Bethesda's Creation Engine, even with iteration, has a lot of the same feel of its previous games. Outpost building is a variation of what was seen in Fallout 4/76. Starship building seems to be a variation of that. The fact that you have to load between surface/space/shipboard play feels like it's largely because ship flight/combat seems to have been bolted on rather than really integrated. And there are interface and animation issues that look familiar all ...

Okay, first thing's first - I have to admit to giving into the dark side and buying Diablo IV. I am not a fan of Blizzard these days as a business and I'm not a big fan of many of the turns WoW has taken since the days I was really active in it. But... Diablo IV is a solid ARGP-looter. The story is above average, told pretty well, and was compelling enough for me through the campaign. If I didn't already have an appreciation for Diablo lore, I'm not sure I would praise the story quite so highly, but I think I'd still have to say it's better than the norm for such games. So as a level 49 rogue having completed the main story, but not yet gotten into the 50+ "endgame," that's my review: good game, pretty good story, worth playing if you're reasonably into the game style. The cash shop deserves to burn in hellfire (~$25 for a cosmetic class ensemble?) and the company is iffy, but the game itself is good. What lingers in my mind after playing is th...

 The Battletech Mercenaries kickstarter has been one of the only such projects I've tracked in the last several years and it's been an interesting ride. At over seven million dollars pledged (and a handful of hours left), it's actually sitting close to the top 20 most-funded (specifically) Kickstarter projects of all time. This when their minimum to go forward with the base offering was fifty thousand and their previous kickstarter project for the Clan Invasion ended at around 2.5 million dollars. That seems to indicate the game, market, and awareness is growing quite respectably. I'm happy with the performance and stretch goal unlocks, though a little worried that it may not reach 7.5 million as that would unlock Crescent Hawks swag. 8 million would be even better with Blood Asp mechs and another force pack unlock. Through some of the streams with Catalyst Game Labs employees along the way, I've learned a few things. I knew FASA died out at Battletech (as well as o...

 I've gotten into mostly-listening to some streams and videos about Battletech in recent times, including getting caught up in hype over the Mercenaries kickstarter project. One discussion had me thinking about the suspension of disbelief involved in the setting, how things don't fit, and in some cases why. In fairness, most science fiction settings require certain leaps - perhaps more so for settings that are built around games, as games require certain things.  One of the most commonly-fudge aspects in scifi is that of scale. Frequently planets are distilled down to a single dominant terrain and can be flipped by a single battle - not very realistic if you take even a passing glance at modern Earth. But when your setting is constructed around the conceits of a tactical wargame, that's what you get. Managing more than lance-, or maybe company-, sized battles gets unwieldy fast, so smaller scale battles have to matter somehow. What brought this up was more discussion of soc...

 I got an itch lately after having a friend go through repeated car issues, thinking that my own vehicle is over fifteen years old. I haven't really had notable problems with it, and the mileage is low for that age, but it did make me consider if there is a major breakdown of some sort, whether it's worthwhile to repair becomes a question very quickly. So I started looking around online a bit and thinking of criteria. If I get a replacement vehicle, I would want something: 1) Newer 2) Lower mileage 3) Conducive to my height (so very similar or better driver headroom/legroom) 4) Able to carry a medium household appliance (washer, stove, etc.). My current sedan lacks this and, while not common, I have missed that at times. 5) Having 4WD/AWD. While I've only owned 2WD vehicles and generally been fine, a little more ability to get going in winter weather has a strong appeal. 6) With a similar overall footprint. I don't really want or need a larger truck/SUV. Looking all thi...

 Yeah, I find I'm using this less and less. I'd already pared down use to mostly commenting on entertainments and there's really only one or two people readily interested in such things anyway. But, I suppose I'm still subject to wanting to write down thoughts once in a while. The most recent thing on my mind is A Plague Tale: Requiem . I knew from the first game it wasn't going to be a happy experience. I didn't expect it to be quite so easy for me to define in one word, though. The game is bleak . The game follows Amicia and Hugo again (along with some new characters and a couple old ones) in seeking to find a cure for Hugo's condition connected to the supernatural plague rats. Things start off okay, then soon take a turn - and that sets the tone. A few times, the characters reach a new place that seems nice and peaceful and you just know it's going to soon devolve into a rat-infested nightmare. Only the most naive of players would have any illusion o...