Gonassis

OK, hear me out. After playing the Legend of Grimrock 2 for the last couple of months (I know, I know, it's a 10 year old game, but it's REALLY GOOD, I am a man of a good puzzle, what can I say, especially if it's an annoying one), I've jumped over to try out the Boneraiser Minions, which is a thread in-itself (TL;DR just get it). 😅 With that said, this has probably been like my 23rd dungeon-like title that I've had a chance to play in the last two decades, and although I do like to control my dungeon master, that's the point of it after all, with all of "AI this, AI that" news roaming around, it again got me thinking about the OG daddy of it - the Dungeons & Dragons. I know that the tabletop games niche hasn't been that successful in the last two-three years, but what I see is an opportunity to spice things up. Where? Well, there's a crucial element in each of the DnD game - campaign planning. Why not introduce a digital component (an app maybe?) that would tie in with the tabletop game? An AI Dungeon Master with whom you could either bounce off campaign ideas, or completely let go of the wheel, it would be at your disposal either way. This is also a chance to introduce a layer of AI companions since we have a strong presence of roleplaying elements, which have been on the rise for the last two years, together with the cosplay industry that amplifies it all, so that could potentially expand the "gamebility" in another direction, creating and building custom DM characters. I'm aware that this is maybe a "taboo topic" since we're removing the most important element - hoomans - but since this is a small part of a bigger picture, maybe it could add something to the overall gameplay and experience? I'm a little bit torn between yes and no, but funnily enough, I have DnD session planned for next week with a couple of my close high-school buddies, so this is going to be a topic point for sure, I'll report back what the mutual consensus was and if it was a heated one 😂 EDIT: The discussion has already started, I don't think it will wait for the game itself haha I'll come back with the feedback once I sum it up.

I would probably say Halo, but the storyline is a bit flimsy in terms of uniqueness

Fable, for sure!

Nope. The only thing that made it relevant was users' discussions about it. If it fades away, it's essentially gone. It seems like the tech stack, both software and hardware-wise, is overlapping across a huge area, so this is what made them more or less in line. Now it's more console vs PC, more so since the hardware is based on it.

I don't know, after trying Meta Quest and other top-of-the-line VR headsets, I'm a bit off-put by the PSVR2 🤨 They should really try to focus on reiterating it as soon as possible.

I don't know. I have a hard time with VR when the game and its graphics are not "as realistic as possible." It just doesn't suit me for some reason.

I'm trying really hard to remember, if I remove the "sim racing" category from this, that would probably be the Death Stranding

Yeah, that's one of the reasons why it got mixed results. Other manufacturers have similar options ranging from $30 till $50, while this one is clocking in $90. I think that Apple's monitor stand is Valve's steam deck dock - just here to look pretty and make money.

So, I'm going through the various publishers and I'm seeing a trend of extremely mixed results for the official Steam Deck docking station. Some outlets praise it for its design and integration, others blame the price and (lack of) features or power. Dexterto wrote: "We’re not upset with our purchase of the Steam Deck Dock. It’s a clean-cut and totally viable USB-C dock. However, there’s just this lingering feeling that it doesn’t bring enough to the table that any other dock available on Amazon could do. Other than the need to keep things aesthetically pleasing, that is." And they gave it a 6/10, you can read the review here. Phoronix wrote: "If you can afford it, great, otherwise there are plenty of other Linux compatible USB-C hubs/docks/adapters on the market depending upon your needs." No score was given, but they have some nice photos and an overall positive score. You can read more in their review. Esportsheadlines.com wrote: "If you can afford it, the official Steam Deck Dock is certainly a good investment. It's not only well integrated in to the SteamOS itself, but also features all the ports one would need for a pleasant couch gaming session." From what I can tell it's quite a high number, 9 out of 10. Here's their review. TheVerge wrote: Ah, well.. I don't know what they wrote tbh. They did an extremely poor review focusing on what the dock can't do, instead on what it can, so I have no clue if it's a good source or not. This is your standard Verge I guess, like Unboxing Therapy. They always want to have their nose in everything, even if they aren't capable of reviewing it. It's here. From what I can tell by default is that Apple's monitor stand is Valve's docking station. It's an overpriced piece of tech that fits the device well and does the job, but its role is to bring in more money, and there are several cheaper alternatives out there. Luckily Valve doesn't bother too much with competition and they actually welcome it, so that's good. We would just need a docking station that can be integrated with Linux as well as the steam deck dock can. Valve Official Steam Deck Dock.mp4

Ah, you reminded me of that night I spilled Red Bull over it 😄 If you think coffee is bad, imagine a sugary drink being all over your Logitech G19 keyboard. And back then those things were frikin expensive!

Hmm, it's actually interesting for me to learn about this game, as I never heard of it. 😁 just read stuff on wikipedia and some other sites. this was from 1992? boy that was older than me by slightly I think. 🤣 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alone_in_the_Dark also the original is on steam too. but I think I'll go wait to see if this remake will actually be very good. https://store.steampowered.com/app/548090/Alone_in_the_Dark_1/ EDIT: it's actually interesting to see that the trilogy of alone in the dark is actually available on GOG for just about $1.49 🤔 https://www.gog.com/en/game/alone_in_the_dark

I see, you're on to a new phase then... true, managing games are built to... well... manage stuff, and that can feel like work, or even is a chore depending on the perspective. Playing stuff in pure sandbox mode? That feels like getting some relaxed creative juices flowing, or oddly like Lego. 😁 just having fun doing stuff. For me, Lego was a large part of my childhood, so even now, Minecraft has that forever appeal of "virtual Lego" for me. 😀 So I don't care about that aspect of Hi-res graphics of Minecraft. Though, shader packs and animated textures are more fun to play with if the PC can handle it. 😁 also reminds me of a friend who once commented that Minecraft has no appeal to him at all because of the simple graphics. Although I do appreciate great HD graphics on other games too, like all the stuff that's coming out as Unreal Engine 5 demos are very cool. 😎

Weird, this oddly reminds me of tinnitus, the way you describe it. 😅 also, does that mean you play as an in game vampire? 😁 Just kidding.

I never owned a console, but I've played many games on PS2 with my friends... so there goes my choice. 😂 (the only one in fact 🤣)

This is exactly my same reasoning lol. 🤣 though I use the orange night filter settings when browsing walls of text on the internet at night, but if I'm gaming? well... I'd rather not. but if I had to, I'd rather buy those yellow Esport glasses. 😎