T w e n t y S i d e d
When it comes to giving things to the players versus making them “earn” them:
Give a player a fish, and he’ll probably try to sell it to an NPC fisherman.
DM of the Rings Remastered CI: There He Goes Again
Wednesday Action Log 01-08-25
This week I’ve not done much.
I’m pretty much burnt out on They are Billions. Mostly due to it not really giving a sense of progression aside from a new enemy every once in a while, and working through the tech tree. I guess you could argue that the larger population requirements and increased enemy quantity could be considered progress, but it just felt tedious.
Other than that, I’ve just been watching YouTube and staring at my steam library.
So what’s everyone else doing this week?
A Last Try at LotRO
I’ve been listening to a lot of Tolkien universe (I know the common term is “legendarium”) over the Christmas holiday. This has prompted me to re-install Lord of the Rings Online in a final attempt to “enjoy” the storyline into the post-Rings gameplay Standing Stone has been putting out for years now. I had to give a bit of thought to how to do this, actually. I think I have made it to a point that would have facilitated “moving on” to a new story, except I always seems to get stuck or confused. One thing is easy to straighten out: skip side quests until you have to level. The “Epic Quests” are the storyline of the game, and I *do* remember hitting a dead-end at one point by not being able to beat one chapter. Doing side-quests is *highly* repetitive, with only a handful of starting quests available. Let me rephrase that: there are *a lot* of side quests, but you preform them in all of the same areas. There are only a few starting areas, then after that they all concentrate into the same quest lines. You really need to just focus on getting one character through the storylines.
Continue reading ⟩⟩ “A Last Try at LotRO”
DM of the Rings Remastered C: Railroad Goes Ever on and on
Wednesday Action Log 01-01-25
This week I’ve been playing more They are Billions.
My opinion of the game hasn’t changed since last week, I like the game, but it’s frustrating when a mistake can lead to up to an hour of time lost. Also I’ve had the game crash sometimes when I change tabs, it might be due to having the game in full screen, but when it crashes it becomes stuck. Unable to be closed by task manager, or shutting down windows.
Other than that, I’ve not really done much.
Anyway, what’s everyone else done this week? Also, happy new year!
Reflections, (kinda) explanations, and a happy new year.
Hello there! It’s been a while since I said hi.
I know these days the only time I come in here is to sulk, and I do try not to (hence the prolonged lack of anything on my part) but I don’t like sitting here silent. So I thought i’d just talk about things. ‘Things’ being m0stly my dad. And a bit about why I personally haven’t taken part in the site for so long.
It’s a bit of a gloomfest, so if that’s not what you’re looking for this year, I wanna wish you a very happy new year right here. I’m grateful you’ve all stuck around as much as you have, you’ve been a wonderful part of keeping this site alive and we’re all so grateful to you.
Thank you.
Now onto the moping.
Continue reading ⟩⟩ “Reflections, (kinda) explanations, and a happy new year.”
…and a Happy New Year*
…depending on what calendar you use. Not to mention if you live on a different planet. This holiday season seems to be just a bit off-kilter, timing-wise. I mean, it’s still *days* until New Years. I’ve been using my time off (and difficulty adjusting to everyone having different schedules for a few weeks) collecting “Snow-Covered Parcels” in Star Wars: The Old Republic. I think I’m just about done. I did not notice that all purchasable Life Day rewards are “bind on pick-up,” which means you have to either carefully plan which character might actually use anything you buy, or buy everything useful for *each* character. Except stronghold decorations, which bind to legacy because that’s the only way decorations work. But that’s my fault; I didn’t read the label closely before starting the event.
Continue reading ⟩⟩ “…and a Happy New Year*”
From The Archives:
What is Vulkan?
What is this Vulkan stuff? A graphics engine? A game engine? A new flavor of breakfast cereal? And how is it supposed to make PC games better?
Good to be the King?
Which would you rather be: A king in the middle ages, or a lower-income laborer in the 21st century?
Shamus Plays LOTRO
As someone who loves Tolkein lore and despises silly MMO quests, this game left me deeply conflicted.
The Plot-Driven Door
You know how videogames sometimes do that thing where it's preposterously hard to go through a simple door? This one is really bad.
Bowlercoaster
Two minutes of fun at the expense of a badly-run theme park.
Why I Hated Resident Evil 4
Ever wonder how seemingly sane people can hate popular games? It can happen!
The Best of 2019
I called 2019 "The Year of corporate Dystopia". Here is a list of the games I thought were interesting or worth talking about that year.
Silent Hill 2 Plot Analysis
A long-form analysis on one of the greatest horror games ever made.
The Best of 2015
My picks for what was important, awesome, or worth talking about in 2015.
Rage 2
The game was a dud, and I'm convinced a big part of that is due to the way the game leaned into its story. Its terrible, cringe-inducing story.