Saturday, August 5, 2017

Orcs Must Die! Unchained & Marvel Heroes Omega

Since the launch of the PS4, and the introduction of free-to-play games on that console what has been offered has varied in quality. For the most part you'll find games that don't shy away from asking for money for in-game micro-transactions, and that at some point demand such a purchase for you to really be able to make the most of your experience with it. Games which are sometimes mere mobile games by nature, and other times games that harbor a richer and more elaborate presentation. I've found a few gems among the free-to-play games library, and some games not worth returning to. I think the greatest disappointment of all for me was finding at floor 23 of Grasshopper Manufacture's "Let it Die" that the boss residing there was such a deliberate overpowered sponge that you had to either pay up for extra tries/lives or not get much further. It was such a problem that I deleted the game from my console out of sheer frustration. I believe, as a gamer, that there needs to be a balance when it comes to a free-to-play games' gameplay. There needs to be a way to play through it without paying, and a good reason to pay the developer outside of the base game offerings. The latter need possibly being tied to DLC of the exclusive/cosmetic sort which does not produce a pay to win situation. There also needs to be a fairness in regards to the free progression. It can't be too tedious/grind heavy, or the developer risks losing a majority of it's player base. The player needs to feel that they are properly rewarded for their time invested regardless of whether or not they've paid for anything within the game.

Tuesday, August 1, 2017

Questionable Quickie ~ Why Injustice 2's AI Simulator is Not A Proper AI Simulator

I've tried since the launch of Injustice 2 to find the perfect AI simulator setup for my AI simulator team. Sometimes I've succeeded, and other times I've failed using the same three character team with the same static stats. What's odd is that like a match against a human player even once promising AI constructs in similar match-ups were beaten regardless of former victories under similar circumstances. Hear me out a moment. At one point (using the same setup) my lvl.20 Aquaman beat a lvl.20 Batman, but going against the same character with the same level, and moves later on my Aquaman ended up fighting differently, and lost as a result. Ultimately as a bi-product of becoming more negligent, and careless with the actions, and reactions he/it applied. The latter Batman also did as the former batman tended to do, only switching things up as to not mirror every other Batman, but more effectively so due to my Aquaman's missteps. All the while with my Aquaman harboring a similar brawler type setup as this Batman AI obviously had.

What you have to take in account is that players tweak 6 stats up to 30 points each, but limited to a total of 60 points altogether. Points which are strategically allotted to make the AI character behave in a certain/specific way in the unmanned matches. These are strategically assigned, and more often than not players will adjust the stats as appropriate for the type of character they are putting into a match. A couple of examples being that a zoning character will get a decent amount of their stat points allotted to zoning, and runaway while characters that are brawlers will get more stat points assigned to rushdown, combos, and counters. All because the characters are more efficient with certain play styles. Thus is the "programming" to act, and react in specific ways, but not in a truly adaptive AI mannerism.

Hobby Highlight Archives (July 2017)

Fighting Games

video game cases

Despite being called a salty noob by so many internet naysayers me, and fighting games have a long history. A very long history. A history spanning over thirty years. It was journey through time that included my early gamer days, and my latter gaming journalist days. Though my path has fairly much been set since then my origins leading up to today were more of a chance encounter. It wasn't until my 13th birthday that I really got into fighting games, and I really had to fight for that opportunity on a religious scale due to my parents' stance on violence. It was a late entry point no doubt, but an entry point at the perfect time. That time being at a point when the genre was really beginning to expand.

Tuesday, July 18, 2017

Fallen Legion: Sins of an Empire (PS4)

YYT, or YummyYummyTummy as they are known is a development studio who is trying to break the mold of action RPGs by setting the stage for "Fallen Legion: Sins of the Empire" with a sort of reactionary 'dial-a-combo' system. Something that kind of takes in account a turn-based strategy, but not entirely so. At the heart of this story, choice, and action driven game you follow, and play as a fallen emperor's daughter who goes by the name Cecille, and/or Octavia. It seems the reluctant successor Octavia finds herself in a bit of a mess as her father's kingdom is facing economic ruin, and all out warfare, because of the state of things. Greedy for her father's position as the next rightful ruler is one of Octavia's acquaintances, Legatus. Legatus wants the throne, and power for all the wrong reasons while Octavia wants to get in power long enough to set things right. At least in her own point of view. Thus is the struggle, or rather the fight focus of the protagonist, and antagonist of the plot. Through the inheritance of a talking Grimoire Octavia discovers how to cast spells via soulmancy as well as how to summon exemplars from Elysia, or souls of long lost warriors who can fight alongside her in battle. She uses this newfound power to fight her way to her father's throne while facing the army of Legatus. Along the way she makes choices for the kingdom that will either boost morale, or cripple said morale while effectively changing the ending of her tale once she succeeds in doing what she does.

Tuesday, July 11, 2017

Hobbying on a Budget

I was a habitual spender for the longest time. I used to buy entertainment related items on release including video games, and dvds. Nowadays, however I'm very careful how I budget my extra $100 hobby funds each month. I've learned that buying things on launch usually isn't the best idea, especially with the trend of half-assed movies and broken ass video games being released more, and more regularly. I'm all about getting more bang for my buck even if that means waiting a bit. If I buy dvds now, for example I'll usually pick up something out of the bargain bin, and something that is a sure hit. As far as games go I've come to the point I don't mind buying a used game, and will do that if it means I can use the rest of my hobby money on something else as well. When it comes to games, in particular I tend to buy the ones with good replay value. Shooters, arcade style games, and fighting games are my top picks. On occasion I'll also pick up an RPG, because I know from experience that the RPG games contain vastly more content than your standard action/adventure game. It's all about getting more while paying less. The total opposite of what Hollywood, and various gaming studios bank on the average hobbyist doing. Don't get me wrong though. I understand that to make ends meet, and to keep providing entertainment the respective industry providers must make a certain amount of day one sales at the initial marked price. It's just not gonna be me until they do away with their corporate greed, and poor business practices though.

Saturday, July 1, 2017

What if games are being created to grief & cheat you?

Did you ever feel like the odds in competitive games were unfairly stacked against you? That certain things seemed so blatantly, and obviously placed in the AI's or other players' favor that it was more than just a coincidence? Well, you are not alone. It has been speculated by many gamers that certain games are being manipulated for one reason or the other. In Destiny, for example an overwhelming community majority thinks Bungie has purposefully ignored complaints about unfair adjustments, and that through their disregard for the gamer have made things purposefully unfair. Some claim the matchmaking is intentionally geared to pair top tier players against players doing questionable things online. Often times it's the gamers who are calling out Bungie on these things in their forums that see the greatest negative impact to their k/d. Not only that, but Bungie moderators also remove posts that make them out to be guilty, and sometimes ban complainers from the forums entirely.