I've always been attracted to and befuddled by the whole Xseries of games. I don't even know if they're meant to be played in any particular order. Some are clearly more beloved than others, but from my perspective, outside looking in, they all look pretty samey to me: 4x space baubles, shiny and hard.

View this comment - View article - View full comments

[Block Survival: Legend of the Lost Islands](https://store.steampowered.com/app/641980/Block_Survival_Legend_of_the_Lost_Islands/) deserves a shout out. I just finished this gem over the Thanksgiving weekend. It's got a "Positive" review score, but only 36 reviews. Simple, straightforward, smiling shootin' fun. Normally $4.99 USD, it's on sale now for a measly 99 cents on Steam!

View this comment - View article - View full comments

I've been waiting for this since I voted for it on Steam Green Light years ago. I can wait a couple years more, if need be. Still, it's nice to hear updates and assurances.

View this comment - View article - View full comments

git muthafuckin' clone!

I hope this means Kozec-san has un-paused his Patreon payments, too. :)

View this comment - View article - View full comments

PvE with a sense of humor. I've been ogling this game since I first heard about it, but the $40 price tag has kept me well clear of even being tempted to buy it in Early Access. A demo is just the thing I want to give it a try.

I played Defiance a PvE MMO on the X360 back in, what? 2010? I made so many new friends then. A PvE game sees players jumping in to join strangers, help them overcome whatever plight they may be in. It is so very rare to see an MMO that is primarily aiming at PvE with an emphasis on the solo player. At a measly 3.2 GB I'll be playing this later today. :)

View this comment - View article - View full comments

Quoting: Alloc

Quoting: NanobangWait---what? This is a public beta of an alpha?

Well, yes. You see there's a difference between the regular (static world) FPS where each time you get into the game you start clean (or at most keep some kind of skills or item selection). Not much of an issue if such games change stuff in between because you start a "new game" anyway. With games like 7dtd and the like changes required to fix issues can just as well lead to breaking saves and this is obviously very annoying for players. That's why we do an experimental first that's hopefully *primarily* opted in by people who are aware of the implications and also willing to provide feedback before the masses get the regular build.

As for the other stuff ... as I said I'm not much into gameplay features, I love to just play it myself ;)
But do you really want materials that are impenetrable by zombies? I know I wouldn't because that would make the game stale at that point as you'd just have no threat at all anymore once you got a building of such a material. Sometimes logic has to be reduced in favor of more interesting gameplay.
I'm sure you'd also not like if you couldn't carry any blocks but would need some kind of (pushed/pulled) vehicle to e.g. move a single block of stone :D

Thanks for the explanation of the betalpha thing. Like I said, I've got no problems with it; I just think its fun to say. So say it with me Alloc! "It's the beta of the alpha, the beta of the alpha, the beta beta beta of the aaaaaallpha!" XD

Re the strength of materials. Please be fair, I did say my issue wasn't about *realism*, only about my feeling of annoyance that materials they were as frail as they were, not that they were frail at all. (Maybe the word "consistency" would have been better than "logic.") So it feels a bit unnecessarily ad absurdum to for us to jump to talking about building materials being impervious to zed destruction, or having to cart around the metric tons of dirt and clay and whatnot we dig up.

Thanks for coming to GoL and taking the time to talk to us here. Your being here underscores the Pimps' obvious support and attention to Linux, please share my thanks with everyone there. :)

View this comment - View article - View full comments

Quoting: liamdaweThe actual release isn't going to be the full alpha 17, they're saying it will be an experimental public beta ...

Wait---what? This is a public beta of an alpha? I've got nothing against that. I just think its lovely to say aloud! "It's the beta of the alpha, the beta of the alpha, the beta beta beta of the aaaaaallpha!"

Version metrical lyricism aside, it's been a few years since I spent any time in 7DtD, so it might be time to look in on Navezgane again. Alone or with friends, I enjoyed 7D2D primarily as a base building/exploration game in a zombie infested world. People kvetch about the graphics, but I never saw any thing wrong with them.

The game did have a couple quirks that drove me to such distraction that my sense of immersion was undermined, and that I think in the long run would inevitably erode my fun to the point that I would cease playing.

The first was an ambient audio environment that was loaded with screams, cries, and groans that had absolutely nothing to do with the actual environment. I don't know which was more annoying, hearing zombies right behind me in the middle of an open field, or constant awareness of how much richer the environment would be with the actual sounds of the actual critters in the area.

The second was the inexplicable frailty of so many building materials under the blows of supposedly "rotting" flesh. I could overlook, maybe, their tunneling through dirt, but brick? Concrete? Steel? How was it I could harm these zeds with clubs or arrows or even lead bullets? It wasn't a matter of realism but of not being internally logical.

All that said, I never lost sight of the game's alpha state, and have always found each new iteration of the game to be better than the last and have always been happy that the devs cared about their Linux build.

View this comment - View article - View full comments

Shadow of Lady Croft is groovy enough for me. Just Cause 3 would set me to weeping uncontrollably with thoroughgoing Joy, so probably good it isn't that.

View this comment - View article - View full comments

(Newsreel footage: grainy, black and white film of penguin WWII soldiers storming a beach, fighting outside then in a provincial village, and finally jubilant citizens lining the boulevard and cheering our penguin heroes with raised glasses of Wine.)

[Voice-over] "Steam Play saves the day, and another abandoned Linux port lives on! The people say have some more Wine, Linuxians! You're doing swell!"

View this comment - View article - View full comments

Oooo---I love a game where I get to be the bad guy/gal! How did I miss this was coming? Well, no matter. It's on the wishlist now! Thanks Liam!

View this comment - View article - View full comments