Topic: The Chit Chat Thread

@FullbringIchigo @Th3solution @Kidfried @JohnnyShoulder @themcnoisy @crimsontadpoles

Hey everyone, thanks for the responses. Good to know I'm not alone.

I am having a really busy/stressful time at work, plus kids and all that. I'm still enjoyng keeping up with news and new releases but when it comes to playing them, I'm just not getting into it. I also think I am getting analysis paralysis or whatever as well because I have such a huge backlog I am finding it hard to choose and if it doesn't hook me I want to move on which is unlike me. I am going to try and start Shadow of the Tomb Raider this weekend as I want something narrative and see how that goes.

Read Dead 2 is pretty much dead to me - just the thought of the time I need to sink into it is putting me off. What I have played I have liked but I feel like it will need a few hours a day to clear it out any time soon.

It's a good comparison with TV shows - I've been the same there. If a season is more than 13 episodes, I won't even start. I'm even put off by that length of seasons. I think 6-8 episode seasons work the best narratively.

@Rudy_Manchego Same here. Open worlds can be very off-putting to me for that very same reason. Just the thought of having to play a 100-hour game. I don't have the time for that anymore. I sometimes don't play any games for weeks at a time. Such is life!

@Kidfried I was wondering, did you ever get around to beating Thronebreaker yet?

@Octane Yeah - in the last two years as well I played HZD, BOTW, Skyrim and some smaller open world games like Infamous and even GOW and it got to the point on RDR2 that when someone stopped me in the open world I just ignored them so I could race to the next objective which is not what you should be doing in a game like that.

@Rudy_Manchego you know i'm fine with long seasons in TV shows as long as the show is episodic, that way you can drop in and drop out at will without having to keep up with a story BUT if it's one overarching story set over multiple seasons (EG: Game of Thrones) then i wont bother

it's why i like shows like Star Trek, NCIS or Poirot

With the release of Crackdown 3 to mixed/negative scores I wonder how Gamepass shapes XBOX game studios game output?

The common excuse I’ve seen flaunted about from reviewers/fans seems to be ‘its not worth full price, but worth a try on gamepass’.

That’s pretty concerning. I hope MS doesn’t go for less ambitious just to feed the gamepass line up with original content.
Now I’d like to think MS will be better starting next gen with the studio acquisitions, but there is little optimism to have based on their current output. I also can’t imagine the likes of Obsidian being given 4,5 maybe even 6 years for a new IP/game, only for the game to be put on Gamepass.

I think it’s only a matter of time till Sony starts putting its First Party titles on PSNow or a similar subscription service (5-10years). I wonder if these subscription-streaming services will affect the types of games we’ll start to get.

@RogerRoger Yeah - what gets me with open worlds is when I feel like I have a To-Do list of actions, like a million icons. If the world is small and the actions fun, a bit like Spiderman or Infamous I can cope but a huge open world where it affects my OCD in leaving things becomes like a chore.

@FullbringIchigo I miss the show format of the X-Files. It had a bigger narrative but that was only a handful of episodes per season. You still had all the stand alone episodes and they were often very tonally different.

@Kidfried Not yet, but that's because the game is so broken it won't let me boot it up at times. The final battle in a pain in the arse, way too OP, so I thought I'd ask you for some tip and tricks, but that will have to wait I guess!

@Rudy_Manchego that's one of the reasons i love Deep Space Nine, it's format is very similar

@Fight_Sora_Fight That’s an interesting point that game subscription services might cause a relative decrease in game quality. Production costs and development time have got to be affected. I guess it’s a question of would you rather have a bunch a decent games or a few fantastic transcendent games? Or to continue with TV/Movie analogies — Would you rather have Netflix with a tons of pretty good Netflix original content (so many that you could never watch/play them all) or have access to go out to a new huge high quality large budget blockbuster movie about 4-5 times a year? (Edit: Geez, I realize I’m full of ‘would you rather’ scenarios today. See the PS5 thread for more 😂. Sorry about that)
For me, I’d rather have really great GOTY type games being made and buy them separately than have so-so games being released and pumped out to the service.
Obviously we can have both — and have great AAA games as well as subscribe to a service. But if the service model grows, you can’t help but feel like the amount of ‘blockbusters’ being made might suffer. I think the advent of Netflix for example has diminished the quality of the cinema in recent years.

@FullbringIchigo Oh wow - what a series. I used to eagerly await each season.

@Fight_Sora_Fight It's an interesting point. Given that Crackdown 3 has been in development for so long I would say that the development hell it went through might have affected quality though it might have made them think, ah this will do, don't pump any more cash.

I think the market will turn to subscription services in the future as it makes the most sense. On the positive, I hope that it might lead to more investment in indies and AA titles - so games that are niche that would attract people into keeping subscriptions - or revive old games, a bit like Netflix has done with many of its series. Those games don't attract AAA numbers but conversly, are the kind of thing that would keep those fans buying a monthly subscription. For example JRPG's don't sell as well as big western titles but there is a a very dedicated fan base who probably would pay a subscription if they got good quality titles.

Of course, where this leaves big AAA games is another question. I think while people are still trying to sell hardware, a focus will be on big wow factor games. Sony will still want a huge experience to tempt people. When software becomes a service, I could see first party titles going after subscription markets. I think it will also lead to more insidious monetization. If a big online MP game goes on a subscription service then the way to make money is in game purchasing.

Well, €10 a month is always too good for what ot offers. I can't see Sony offering a similar service for the same price and still release games like Uncharted, God of War, Spider-Man, etc. on a regular basis.

@Rudy_Manchego Yeah I get in a gaming rut sometimes when I just don't know what I'm in the mood for. It is one of the reasons I have PES as a side game. I find indie titles always good for a palate cleanser.

@Rudy_Manchego a subscription service is fine but it shouldn't replace a physical or a digital download service but it should sit side by side and complement it

if gaming goes full subscription then we lose what little control we have left

@Kidfried yeah you can still buy CD's

Yep technically he’s my brothers dog but he lives with my parents now.
Took a photograph of him with my phone when we were walking in the woods above my house. @Kidfried

I got up at 12 and sat on the sofa all day.

@kyleforrester87 I got up at 7:20am and have only just got in.

I attempted a bike ride after you gave me inspiration. Well I pumped my tyres up, realised the chain hasn't been oiled in 4 years, the rear brake is also misaligned so put it back in the shed. Took the car to work as per usual. Anyways.

Anyone played megaman 11?

@themcnoisy boo get it serviced and have another go. I got a new chain yesterday. How exciting.