🚀 go-pugleaf

On Mon, 26 Sep 2016 12:59:38 -0400, in comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.action, Rin
Stowleigh wrote: 

>
>Every year there's pretty much one or two titles that I look forward
>to, but they usually have at least some multiplayer element, if not
>primarily a MP game.  
>
>An example of this is Battlefield One -- already purchased.
>
>Mafia 3 is the first exclusively single player game in recent memory
>that I can really say I am really looking forward to.  I can't
>remember the last time I even had that reaction to a single player
>game -- maybe Oblivion in 2006?
>
>Every time I watch a trailer for this game, I'm intrigued not only by
>the gameplay, but the storyline and setting.  And for those who read
>anything I've ever written here, you know how rare that is, because
>I'm the antithesis of a cutscene / "tell me a story" kind of gamer.

Sounds groovy, Rin. I'll check it out.

(Says the guy with a backlog of 40-50 games)

-- 
Zag

No one ever said on their deathbed, 'Gee, I wish I had
spent more time alone with my computer.' ~Dan(i) Bunten

Nope.  'real-world' gangsta settings are a complete turnoff for me. 
Anything GTA-like evokes an almost visceral negative reaction.  Probably 
some personality flaw in me :)

rms 

On Mon, 26 Sep 2016 16:32:58 -0600, "rms"
<rsqui...@MOOyossmanMOO.net> wrote:

>Nope.  'real-world' gangsta settings are a complete turnoff for me. 
>Anything GTA-like evokes an almost visceral negative reaction.  Probably 
>some personality flaw in me :)

Even late 1960's in a pseudo-New Orleans?  That's far from anything
modern enough to warrant the spelling of "gangster" as "gangsta" :)

If you're thinking of something like GTA San Andreas, yeah that was a
bit too ghetto for my tastes too, but not all GTA games are like that.

Mafia 2 was somewhat GTA-like in gameplay, but the world is so much
better -- not better in the sense that it's more open, or that it has
the comedic investment that always goes into the GTA series, but
better designed and more immersive overall.

On Mon, 26 Sep 2016 12:59:38 -0400, Rin Stowleigh
<rstow...@nevrhadgmail.com> wrote:

>
>Every year there's pretty much one or two titles that I look forward
>to, but they usually have at least some multiplayer element, if not
>primarily a MP game.  

>An example of this is Battlefield One -- already purchased.

>Mafia 3 is the first exclusively single player game in recent memory
>that I can really say I am really looking forward to.  I can't
>remember the last time I even had that reaction to a single player
>game -- maybe Oblivion in 2006?

>Every time I watch a trailer for this game, I'm intrigued not only by
>the gameplay, but the storyline and setting.  And for those who read
>anything I've ever written here, you know how rare that is, because
>I'm the antithesis of a cutscene / "tell me a story" kind of gamer.


I'm keeping an eye on it, but it's not on my "must immediately buy"
list, largely because of Mafia 2. That game too /looked/ fantastic
(and not just in regards to its graphics) but its actual missions did
not engage me. It absolutely wasted its open-world format too. Even
Mafia 1 had some serious flaws, although on the whole I consider it an
excellent game. Nonetheless, this track record leaves me wary.

Having said that, a lot of what I hear about the game /indicates/ that
the developers are trying to correct the errors of their previous game
(for instance, there's more emphasis on sandbox open-world gameplay),
and the characters and story look interesting. There have been some
worrisome comments on the gunplay though, although that was based on a
demo several months back so things might have changed since then.

All in all, this is a game I think I would /like/ to play, but also am
going to wait for the reviews to come out first.

Not that I would have pre-purchased the game in any case (I mean,
what's the point; it's digital so it's not as if they are going to
"run out"), but it might otherwise have been a blind day-one buy.

On Tue, 27 Sep 2016 09:53:10 -0400, Spalls Hurgenson
<spallsh...@gmail.com> wrote:

>On Mon, 26 Sep 2016 12:59:38 -0400, Rin Stowleigh
><rstow...@nevrhadgmail.com> wrote:
>
>>
>>Every year there's pretty much one or two titles that I look forward
>>to, but they usually have at least some multiplayer element, if not
>>primarily a MP game.  
>
>>An example of this is Battlefield One -- already purchased.
>
>>Mafia 3 is the first exclusively single player game in recent memory
>>that I can really say I am really looking forward to.  I can't
>>remember the last time I even had that reaction to a single player
>>game -- maybe Oblivion in 2006?
>
>>Every time I watch a trailer for this game, I'm intrigued not only by
>>the gameplay, but the storyline and setting.  And for those who read
>>anything I've ever written here, you know how rare that is, because
>>I'm the antithesis of a cutscene / "tell me a story" kind of gamer.
>
>
>I'm keeping an eye on it, but it's not on my "must immediately buy"
>list, largely because of Mafia 2. That game too /looked/ fantastic
>(and not just in regards to its graphics) but its actual missions did
>not engage me. It absolutely wasted its open-world format too. Even
>Mafia 1 had some serious flaws, although on the whole I consider it an
>excellent game. Nonetheless, this track record leaves me wary.
>
>Having said that, a lot of what I hear about the game /indicates/ that
>the developers are trying to correct the errors of their previous game
>(for instance, there's more emphasis on sandbox open-world gameplay),
>and the characters and story look interesting. There have been some
>worrisome comments on the gunplay though, although that was based on a
>demo several months back so things might have changed since then.
>
>All in all, this is a game I think I would /like/ to play, but also am
>going to wait for the reviews to come out first.
>
>Not that I would have pre-purchased the game in any case (I mean,
>what's the point; it's digital so it's not as if they are going to
>"run out"), but it might otherwise have been a blind day-one buy.

These days, single player only games are pretty much never buy on
release (much less preorder).  This one will be different, but only
because I know I can easily refund through Steam if it stinks.

Rin Stowleigh <rstow...@nevrhadgmail.com> writes:

> Mafia 3 is the first exclusively single player game in recent memory
> that I can really say I am really looking forward to.  I can't
> remember the last time I even had that reaction to a single player
> game -- maybe Oblivion in 2006?
>
> Every time I watch a trailer for this game, I'm intrigued not only by
> the gameplay, but the storyline and setting.  And for those who read
> anything I've ever written here, you know how rare that is, because
> I'm the antithesis of a cutscene / "tell me a story" kind of gamer.

For me it's a maybe, I've watched some of the early access gameplay
videos available on Youtube (by BereghostGames). I can certainly get
behind the location and cars and music of the era but really what music
they actually have in the game, how's the driving (or does it matter,
maybe not if you just get around with short drives) and how's the
combat. Otherwise it looks like you complete missions and gain territory
and money and maybe unlock weapons based on who you let run your new
piece of criminal enterprise. Seems fine but it's been done before quite
a lot. Are they improving on the formula? I dunno.

Gunplay seemed standard for a cover shooter. Enemies take a few hits to
go down but are not sponges, maybe a single headshot does the trick too
but those didn't seem too easy to get. For sneaking and silent kills you
have a knife. Somewhat amusingly, blood spatters but never on your
guy. I guess he's that good :)

Weather effects seem cool in the world and there was a nice touch with
the car headlights, they slowly fade out when turned off like old light
bulbs did.

Some things I didn't like in what I saw was somewhat clunky character
animations, especially panicing civilians "running" around. Also the
main guy seems to have a modern style ear piece and presumably a modern
two-way radio in his pocket since he seems to have conversations over
it. Not really 1960s tech I think. Then there's some kind of magic
vision function that shows the locations of enemies and items right
through the walls but that didn't seem to be the kind of thing you can
use all the time.

I'm still not sure about this, I haven't played the previous games in
the series but it seems this one doesn't have much in common with
those. I think it'll be ok but will it be great, I have no idea.

On Thu, 29 Sep 2016 16:36:41 +0300, Anssi Saari <a...@sci.fi> wrote:

>Rin Stowleigh <rstow...@nevrhadgmail.com> writes:
>
>> Mafia 3 is the first exclusively single player game in recent memory
>> that I can really say I am really looking forward to.  I can't
>> remember the last time I even had that reaction to a single player
>> game -- maybe Oblivion in 2006?
>>
>> Every time I watch a trailer for this game, I'm intrigued not only by
>> the gameplay, but the storyline and setting.  And for those who read
>> anything I've ever written here, you know how rare that is, because
>> I'm the antithesis of a cutscene / "tell me a story" kind of gamer.
>
>For me it's a maybe, I've watched some of the early access gameplay
>videos available on Youtube (by BereghostGames). I can certainly get
>behind the location and cars and music of the era but really what music
>they actually have in the game, how's the driving (or does it matter,
>maybe not if you just get around with short drives) and how's the
>combat. Otherwise it looks like you complete missions and gain territory
>and money and maybe unlock weapons based on who you let run your new
>piece of criminal enterprise. Seems fine but it's been done before quite
>a lot. Are they improving on the formula? I dunno.

Honestly in terms of game mechanics, in Mafia 2 I don't think there
was anything that had not already been done earlier and better by
Rockstar in the GTA series.  What stood out for me in Mafia 2 was the
design of the world and the way the map designers choices embraced the
imagined setting.  It's a subjective measurement of a good time to say
the least, but instead of a large city that one could get lost in, the
city took on a sense of identity, as did the characters.  I find games
that provide that to be few and far between.  The Alan Wake games are
another example that I think really connected the player with the
environment well. 

To explain what I'm referring to, a lot of fantasy-themed games send
you off questing to some place called Kvyaranderrya or some other
place that sounds like the name was randomly generated for you by the
computer, and once you get there you get the sense that the designer
clicked a button to randomly generate the area, then went in and
placed a few buildings and positioned them in order to set up a quest.
Then you have games like GTA or Watch_Dogs which put us in a large
city, and often do a good job of capturing the vastness and sense of
anonymity one has in a place like modern L.A. or Chicago, but that's
not always a good thing.

One good thing about the timeframe -- in the late 60's, unlike today,
retail had not been supplanted by the same old superstore franchises
(replaced by strip malls with the standard stores you see in every
city).  And, New Orleans is kind of a unique place even today, so by
choosing that setting it seems to me they acknowledge the strengths of
Mafia 2 (I never played the first game so I can't comment there) and
are attempting to build upon it, at least I hope that's what it
signifies.

>Gunplay seemed standard for a cover shooter. Enemies take a few hits to
>go down but are not sponges, maybe a single headshot does the trick too
>but those didn't seem too easy to get. For sneaking and silent kills you
>have a knife. Somewhat amusingly, blood spatters but never on your
>guy. I guess he's that good :)
>
>Weather effects seem cool in the world and there was a nice touch with
>the car headlights, they slowly fade out when turned off like old light
>bulbs did.
>
>Some things I didn't like in what I saw was somewhat clunky character
>animations, especially panicing civilians "running" around. Also the
>main guy seems to have a modern style ear piece and presumably a modern
>two-way radio in his pocket since he seems to have conversations over
>it. Not really 1960s tech I think. Then there's some kind of magic
>vision function that shows the locations of enemies and items right
>through the walls but that didn't seem to be the kind of thing you can
>use all the time.

I saw that, and the x-ray vision thing does concern me.  I am not
counting on historic authenticity in a video game, and I have seen
people lambast Mafia2 for nitpicky historically inaccurate details,
but they didn't bother me while I'm playing.  If Wolfenstein can add
zombies to a WWII setting, Xray vision might be doable as long as they
are consistent with any sci-fi liberties they might take.

Besides, aren't you old enough to remember those X-ray vision classes
they used to sell in comic books?  They were real!  I saw them ;)

>I'm still not sure about this, I haven't played the previous games in
>the series but it seems this one doesn't have much in common with
>those. I think it'll be ok but will it be great, I have no idea.

Mafia 3 - its due out in a week .

I'm interested but need convincing that it is significantly 
different from the GTA games in both game play and how -the-world -works.

I tried Mafia 1st one in its day & didn't take to it.
& I'm pretty worn out re. the GTA format. 
(\__/)
(='.'=)
(")_(")  mouse (Got a Curry For Supper)

On Thu, 29 Sep 2016 20:50:13 +0100, "Trimble Bracegirdle"
<no-spam@never.spam> wrote:

>Mafia 3 - its due out in a week .
>
>I'm interested but need convincing that it is significantly 
>different from the GTA games in both game play and how -the-world -works.
>
>I tried Mafia 1st one in its day & didn't take to it.
>& I'm pretty worn out re. the GTA format. 

Check youtube gameplay videos for ideas.  My hunch is that if you
generally object to GTA-like gameplay that you wouldn't want to buy
upon release. There is a Mafia II demo available on Steam you can try.

Am 26.09.16 um 18:59 schrieb Rin Stowleigh:
>
> Every year there's pretty much one or two titles that I look forward
> to, but they usually have at least some multiplayer element, if not
> primarily a MP game.
>
> An example of this is Battlefield One -- already purchased.
>
> Mafia 3 is the first exclusively single player game in recent memory
> that I can really say I am really looking forward to.  I can't
> remember the last time I even had that reaction to a single player
> game -- maybe Oblivion in 2006?
>
> Every time I watch a trailer for this game, I'm intrigued not only by
> the gameplay, but the storyline and setting.  And for those who read
> anything I've ever written here, you know how rare that is, because
> I'm the antithesis of a cutscene / "tell me a story" kind of gamer.
>
Ouch 
http://fabnewz.com/2016/10/02/mafia-3-review-copies-withheld-by-2k-before-the-games-release/

Does not sound to good for the game. Withheld release copies usually are 
an early warning sign for a stinker...

On Sun, 2 Oct 2016 20:45:01 +0200, Werner Punz <we...@gmx.at> wrote:

>Am 26.09.16 um 18:59 schrieb Rin Stowleigh:
>>
>> Every year there's pretty much one or two titles that I look forward
>> to, but they usually have at least some multiplayer element, if not
>> primarily a MP game.
>>
>> An example of this is Battlefield One -- already purchased.
>>
>> Mafia 3 is the first exclusively single player game in recent memory
>> that I can really say I am really looking forward to.  I can't
>> remember the last time I even had that reaction to a single player
>> game -- maybe Oblivion in 2006?
>>
>> Every time I watch a trailer for this game, I'm intrigued not only by
>> the gameplay, but the storyline and setting.  And for those who read
>> anything I've ever written here, you know how rare that is, because
>> I'm the antithesis of a cutscene / "tell me a story" kind of gamer.
>>
>Ouch 
>http://fabnewz.com/2016/10/02/mafia-3-review-copies-withheld-by-2k-before-the-games-release/
>
>Does not sound to good for the game. Withheld release copies usually are 
>an early warning sign for a stinker...

Perhaps, but there's a nifty solution for that, known as the Steam
refund :)

On Mon, 26 Sep 2016 12:59:38 -0400, Rin Stowleigh
<rstow...@nevrhadgmail.com> wrote:


>Every time I watch a trailer for this game, I'm intrigued not only by
>the gameplay, but the storyline and setting.  And for those who read
>anything I've ever written here, you know how rare that is, because
>I'm the antithesis of a cutscene / "tell me a story" kind of gamer.

I pre-ordered a copy for £27.99 from Green Man Gaming. I am genuinely
interested in playing Mafia III as soon as I can. I ended up quite
enjoying GTAV although I am only a few hours into the game.

There are quite a few games coming up in the next few weeks that I
want:

Mafia 3
Watch_Dogs 2 
Shadow Warrior 2
Battlefield 1
Civ VI
Dishonoured 2
Titanfall 2
Skyrim Special Edition
Infinite Warfare


I need to pre-order some gaming time from somewhere.
-- 
Rob

On Mon, 03 Oct 2016 04:55:06 +0100, Mr Rob
<noemail...@jsjsaiiowppw.com> wrote:

>On Mon, 26 Sep 2016 12:59:38 -0400, Rin Stowleigh
><rstow...@nevrhadgmail.com> wrote:
>
>
>>Every time I watch a trailer for this game, I'm intrigued not only by
>>the gameplay, but the storyline and setting.  And for those who read
>>anything I've ever written here, you know how rare that is, because
>>I'm the antithesis of a cutscene / "tell me a story" kind of gamer.
>
>I pre-ordered a copy for £27.99 from Green Man Gaming. I am genuinely
>interested in playing Mafia III as soon as I can. I ended up quite
>enjoying GTAV although I am only a few hours into the game.
>
>There are quite a few games coming up in the next few weeks that I
>want:
>
>Mafia 3
>Watch_Dogs 2 
>Shadow Warrior 2
>Battlefield 1
>Civ VI
>Dishonoured 2
>Titanfall 2
>Skyrim Special Edition
>Infinite Warfare
>
>
>I need to pre-order some gaming time from somewhere.

I decided to wait and see on Mafia III, only because Battlefield 1 is
due out so soon after and I know it's going to consume most of my
playtime for months to come, and that I will start on it the day its
released.  Mafia III, being single player gets lower priority, but if
the reviews come back strong I might go ahead with the buy, and try to
finish it even while ramping up on BF1. 

>I decided to wait and see on Mafia III, only because Battlefield 1 is
>due out so soon after and I know it's going to consume most of my
>playtime for months to come, and that I will start on it the day its
>released.  Mafia III, being single player gets lower priority, but if
>the reviews come back strong I might go ahead with the buy, and try to
>finish it even while ramping up on BF1. 


I'm up for some multiplayer on BF1 if you and/or anyone else in the
group is interested.

I'm also looking for some people to play The Division with. I love
that game and it's even more of a blast when played with other people,
especially in the Dark Zone.
-- 
Rob

On Mon, 03 Oct 2016 21:31:34 +0100, Mr Rob
<noemail...@jsjsaiiowppw.com> wrote:

>
>>I decided to wait and see on Mafia III, only because Battlefield 1 is
>>due out so soon after and I know it's going to consume most of my
>>playtime for months to come, and that I will start on it the day its
>>released.  Mafia III, being single player gets lower priority, but if
>>the reviews come back strong I might go ahead with the buy, and try to
>>finish it even while ramping up on BF1. 
>
>
>I'm up for some multiplayer on BF1 if you and/or anyone else in the
>group is interested.
>
>I'm also looking for some people to play The Division with. I love
>that game and it's even more of a blast when played with other people,
>especially in the Dark Zone.

Here is one thing about multiplayer gaming that kind of sucks --
players need to be somewhat geographically close to each other for any
sort of reasonable experience, for example being in USA and playing on
European servers or vice versa introduces too much latency.  Even
between the two coasts of the US, due to selection of server according
to ping, it pretty much gets separated in west and east coast players
(actually in reality quite a bit more granular than that).  Players in
places like Australia really get screwed by this if a game is not
popular enough to have servers there, or they only have a handful to
choose from.

BF is one of the few games out there that still allows for dedicated
servers, a lot of other games have gone to peer to peer matchmaking
which kind of exacerbates the problem.  For example you could friend
someone across the pond and usually it will let you play a game with
them, but the experience is usually going to be screwy for one or more
players in the game, with shots not registering against hit boxes,
rubber banding, or other anomalies.

One good thing about BF1, they went back to an in-game server browser
instead of that web-browser based atrocity they left us with in BF3
and BF4.  I think EA forced DICE to do that and they got caught with
their pants down when the initial release required Internet Explorer,
and with Windows 10, IE was basically replaced by Edge overnight.

Well the bad news is that this means I am no longer eager for the
release of Mafia 3:

http://arstechnica.com/gaming/2016/10/mafia-3-pc-port-capped-at-30fps-at-release/

... but the good news is it means more time I'll be available to play
Battlefield One!  

I'll check back around on this game later to see if they patch it so
that the frame rate doesn't suck hairy balls.

On Thu, 06 Oct 2016 20:59:54 -0400, Rin Stowleigh
<rstow...@nevrhadgmail.com> wrote:

>
>Well the bad news is that this means I am no longer eager for the
>release of Mafia 3:
>
>http://arstechnica.com/gaming/2016/10/mafia-3-pc-port-capped-at-30fps-at-release/
>
>... but the good news is it means more time I'll be available to play
>Battlefield One!  
>
>I'll check back around on this game later to see if they patch it so
>that the frame rate doesn't suck hairy balls.

This is the first time ever that I've played a game that has made me
feel uncomfortable visually and given me a tiny hint of nausea.

It only happens when driving a vehicle. The driving is horrible with
keyboard and mouse. Something is just completely off between pressing
the keys/moving the mouse and how that translates to what happens on
the screen.

There doesn't seem to be any delay or input lag, but there's something
definitely not right. I've never had that kind of problem with any
game before, ever.

I'll try the Xbox controller to see if that is any better.
-- 
Rob

On Fri, 07 Oct 2016 12:17:37 +0100, Mr Rob
<noemail...@jsjsaiiowppw.com> wrote:

>On Thu, 06 Oct 2016 20:59:54 -0400, Rin Stowleigh
><rstow...@nevrhadgmail.com> wrote:
>
>>
>>Well the bad news is that this means I am no longer eager for the
>>release of Mafia 3:
>>
>>http://arstechnica.com/gaming/2016/10/mafia-3-pc-port-capped-at-30fps-at-release/
>>
>>... but the good news is it means more time I'll be available to play
>>Battlefield One!  
>>
>>I'll check back around on this game later to see if they patch it so
>>that the frame rate doesn't suck hairy balls.
>
>This is the first time ever that I've played a game that has made me
>feel uncomfortable visually and given me a tiny hint of nausea.
>
>It only happens when driving a vehicle. The driving is horrible with
>keyboard and mouse. Something is just completely off between pressing
>the keys/moving the mouse and how that translates to what happens on
>the screen.
>
>There doesn't seem to be any delay or input lag, but there's something
>definitely not right. I've never had that kind of problem with any
>game before, ever.
>
>I'll try the Xbox controller to see if that is any better.

Hopefully they will fix it.  To cap a game at 60fps in the year 2016
is an indication of shortsightedness and lack of touch with the modern
PC gamer, but to cap a game at 30fps seems indicative of a much bigger
problem.  They shouldn't have released if it was in that bad a shape
in terms of optimization.  Just postpone for that platform until it
can be done right, we can wait.

Am 07.10.16 um 02:59 schrieb Rin Stowleigh:
>
> Well the bad news is that this means I am no longer eager for the
> release of Mafia 3:
>
> http://arstechnica.com/gaming/2016/10/mafia-3-pc-port-capped-at-30fps-at-release/
>
> ... but the good news is it means more time I'll be available to play
> Battlefield One!
>
> I'll check back around on this game later to see if they patch it so
> that the frame rate doesn't suck hairy balls.
>
>
>
>
As I said "no reviews until release" is always a bad sign. In Mafia IIIs 
case it is quality problems.
Btw. the 30fps cap will be patched out the next few days, but the game 
has a lot of other problems on the PC side as well.
I would wait a few months or for the Goatse (GOTY) edition.

I just wonder why the game studios always try to go for a 30fps cap, no 
matter what, it is not like there hasn´t been a shitstorm over this many 
times already. I guess marketing people will never learn that a "unified 
experience" (aka a shitty 30fps experience because of the xbone) over 
all platforms is not wanted.

Am 07.10.16 um 14:39 schrieb Rin Stowleigh:

> Hopefully they will fix it.  To cap a game at 60fps in the year 2016
> is an indication of shortsightedness and lack of touch with the modern
> PC gamer, but to cap a game at 30fps seems indicative of a much bigger
> problem.  They shouldn't have released if it was in that bad a shape
> in terms of optimization.  Just postpone for that platform until it
> can be done right, we can wait.
>
Ah 30fps caps usually are there for two reasons

a) The xbone cannot handle more than that and marketing people insist of 
a unified experience.
b) They want to provide a movie like experience as lame excuse for a)
again marketing people insisting on something stupid and unwanted.

On Sat, 8 Oct 2016 09:08:47 +0200, Werner Punz <we...@gmx.at> wrote:

>Am 07.10.16 um 14:39 schrieb Rin Stowleigh:
>
>> Hopefully they will fix it.  To cap a game at 60fps in the year 2016
>> is an indication of shortsightedness and lack of touch with the modern
>> PC gamer, but to cap a game at 30fps seems indicative of a much bigger
>> problem.  They shouldn't have released if it was in that bad a shape
>> in terms of optimization.  Just postpone for that platform until it
>> can be done right, we can wait.
>>
>Ah 30fps caps usually are there for two reasons
>
>a) The xbone cannot handle more than that and marketing people insist of 
>a unified experience.
>b) They want to provide a movie like experience as lame excuse for a)
>again marketing people insisting on something stupid and unwanted.

Yep, and a) or b)  would be exactly the manifestation of the much
bigger problem I mentioned above.

If an Xbox can only handle 30 minimum, then most likely 60 on the PC
would be a struggle at 1080p, and that's a serious problem for any
modern titles.

I never bought the "cinematic" experience excuse.  30fps on realtime
rendering looks different than 30 frames of film rolling by at a
perfectly consistent speed with no frame variance whatsoever, and
films do not require interactivity from the player, and a frame rate
response to that interaction.  

The level of acceptable responsiveness required for watching something
versus the responsiveness required for actually doing something is as
different as night and day.

On Sat, 8 Oct 2016 09:06:34 +0200, Werner Punz <we...@gmx.at> wrote:

>Am 07.10.16 um 02:59 schrieb Rin Stowleigh:
>>
>> Well the bad news is that this means I am no longer eager for the
>> release of Mafia 3:
>>
>> http://arstechnica.com/gaming/2016/10/mafia-3-pc-port-capped-at-30fps-at-release/
>>
>> ... but the good news is it means more time I'll be available to play
>> Battlefield One!
>>
>> I'll check back around on this game later to see if they patch it so
>> that the frame rate doesn't suck hairy balls.
>>
>>
>>
>>
>As I said "no reviews until release" is always a bad sign. In Mafia IIIs 
>case it is quality problems.
>Btw. the 30fps cap will be patched out the next few days, but the game 
>has a lot of other problems on the PC side as well.
>I would wait a few months or for the Goatse (GOTY) edition.

My first reaction when I read the news you posted about that was that
I would just wait until after release and see what the Steam reviews
and Metacritic user scores looked like before buying.  

But then I saw the 30fps cap thing and I just said no fucking way I'm
buying this in it's current state.  

Whenever the user scores on Metacritic start coming in averaging 3 or
so out of 10, it largely foretells that games future chances of
pulling itself out of suck.  Games can improve but when the scores are
that bad, in all but rare cases it is an indication of something
fundamentally wrong with the game that is not going to be easy to fix
in a simple patch.

I saw that they are claiming the frame rates will be opened up by this
weekend, but it just doesn't make sense.  If they were only days away
from fixing such a game-breaking issue, one that would just go away
with a single patch release, why would they have not done whatever it
takes to make sure their game was not reviewed without that patch?  

Either releasing a poorly tested patch that fixes the frame-rate issue
but might have other bugs, or delaying the games release by one more
week would have been viable last minute defensive strategies.  

But the fact they just released the game, knowing reviews would be
impacted and sales subsequently (and probably irrepairably) affected,
shows exactly what you've said -- the frame rate isn't the only
problem.  

It's like they just decided the worst of the problems are probably
unfixable, they are never going to get good reviews, so they might as
well minimize their losses and not undergo the expenditure of changing
the release date.

>I just wonder why the game studios always try to go for a 30fps cap, no 
>matter what, it is not like there hasn´t been a shitstorm over this many 
>times already. I guess marketing people will never learn that a "unified 
>experience" (aka a shitty 30fps experience because of the xbone) over 
>all platforms is not wanted.

Marketing douches have fucked up more than one game to be sure.  I
just wonder if that is the only issue here.  

Marketing isn't responsible for optimizing the engine.  One
possibility I thought about is that it's just got "ARMA disease",
where the engine creators (pointing at Bohemia Interactive here) just
don't have the skill and a good enough grasp of multi-threading and
paralellism to make a performant engine.  If that's the case the game
won't be fixable.

On Fri, 07 Oct 2016 08:39:25 -0400, Rin Stowleigh
<rstow...@nevrhadgmail.com> wrote:


>Hopefully they will fix it.  To cap a game at 60fps in the year 2016
>is an indication of shortsightedness and lack of touch with the modern
>PC gamer, but to cap a game at 30fps seems indicative of a much bigger
>problem.  They shouldn't have released if it was in that bad a shape
>in terms of optimization.  Just postpone for that platform until it
>can be done right, we can wait.

It's patched now.

I really am enjoying this game. The house to house combat in the
Haitian shanty town early in the game is hugely enjoyable. Ammunition
is fairly scarce and you can only carry so much for each of the two
weapons that you're carrying so you have to make every shot count.

No run and gun or spray and pray in this game. You have to use cover
and you have to aim carefully. The pistols and automatic weapons have
noticeably short range so no 'cheesing' from distance either. The AI
is smart enough to come looking for you and flank you once they figure
out where you are.

As for the driving, It's not my favourite part of any of this kind of
game. But the soundtrack more than makes up for it. I love the 60's
music, even if it was a little before my time (or at least before I
have any memory of being a nipper).

All in all, I'd say Mafia III is a decent game. Better than Watch_Dogs
and not too far behind GTA V.
-- 
Rob

On Sun, 09 Oct 2016 21:18:32 +0100, Mr Rob
<noemail...@jsjsaiiowppw.com> wrote:

>On Fri, 07 Oct 2016 08:39:25 -0400, Rin Stowleigh
><rstow...@nevrhadgmail.com> wrote:
>
>
>>Hopefully they will fix it.  To cap a game at 60fps in the year 2016
>>is an indication of shortsightedness and lack of touch with the modern
>>PC gamer, but to cap a game at 30fps seems indicative of a much bigger
>>problem.  They shouldn't have released if it was in that bad a shape
>>in terms of optimization.  Just postpone for that platform until it
>>can be done right, we can wait.
>
>It's patched now.
>
>I really am enjoying this game. The house to house combat in the
>Haitian shanty town early in the game is hugely enjoyable. Ammunition
>is fairly scarce and you can only carry so much for each of the two
>weapons that you're carrying so you have to make every shot count.
>
>No run and gun or spray and pray in this game. You have to use cover
>and you have to aim carefully. The pistols and automatic weapons have
>noticeably short range so no 'cheesing' from distance either. The AI
>is smart enough to come looking for you and flank you once they figure
>out where you are.
>
>As for the driving, It's not my favourite part of any of this kind of
>game. But the soundtrack more than makes up for it. I love the 60's
>music, even if it was a little before my time (or at least before I
>have any memory of being a nipper).
>
>All in all, I'd say Mafia III is a decent game. Better than Watch_Dogs
>and not too far behind GTA V.

The only part I would keep from Watch_Dogs would be the multiplayer
hacking hide and seek mode.  That alone was worth many times the price
(didn't spend much time in single player), so I don't think Mafia III
would scratch that itch.

But I am very interesting in it for the setting as you said.

What's your opinion of the texture quality?  Hearing lots of negative
feedback that they look bad / dated.  Did anything else improve with
the patch other than frame rate?  How is mouse+kbd control?

Because BF1 is coming out in a few days, I'm now inclined to wait a
while on this one, maybe until the initial novely of BF1 wears off.
Maybe even discounted.  I was really looking forward to it but they
need to grab my dollars while they are hot, I guess.  If they snooze
they lose. lol

Am 09.10.16 um 22:18 schrieb Mr Rob:
> On Fri, 07 Oct 2016 08:39:25 -0400, Rin Stowleigh
> <rstow...@nevrhadgmail.com> wrote:

> All in all, I'd say Mafia III is a decent game. Better than Watch_Dogs
> and not too far behind GTA V.
>
Thanks a lot, due to your review I just bought it :-)

On Mon, 10 Oct 2016 19:58:01 +0200, Werner Punz <we...@gmx.at> wrote:

>Am 09.10.16 um 22:18 schrieb Mr Rob:
>> On Fri, 07 Oct 2016 08:39:25 -0400, Rin Stowleigh
>> <rstow...@nevrhadgmail.com> wrote:
>
>> All in all, I'd say Mafia III is a decent game. Better than Watch_Dogs
>> and not too far behind GTA V.
>>
>Thanks a lot, due to your review I just bought it :-)

How do you like it so far?

Am 10.10.16 um 21:52 schrieb Rin Stowleigh:
> On Mon, 10 Oct 2016 19:58:01 +0200, Werner Punz <we...@gmx.at> wrote:
>
>> Am 09.10.16 um 22:18 schrieb Mr Rob:
>>> On Fri, 07 Oct 2016 08:39:25 -0400, Rin Stowleigh
>>> <rstow...@nevrhadgmail.com> wrote:
>>
>>> All in all, I'd say Mafia III is a decent game. Better than Watch_Dogs
>>> and not too far behind GTA V.
>>>
>> Thanks a lot, due to your review I just bought it :-)
>
> How do you like it so far?
>
Haven´t had time to play it yet (kids)
I will start playing it on the weekend.


Werner

PS: Mafia II is lingering in my PS3 collection as well.

On Tue, 11 Oct 2016 09:10:33 +0200, Werner Punz <we...@gmx.at> wrote:

>Am 10.10.16 um 21:52 schrieb Rin Stowleigh:
>> On Mon, 10 Oct 2016 19:58:01 +0200, Werner Punz <we...@gmx.at> wrote:
>>
>>> Am 09.10.16 um 22:18 schrieb Mr Rob:
>>>> On Fri, 07 Oct 2016 08:39:25 -0400, Rin Stowleigh
>>>> <rstow...@nevrhadgmail.com> wrote:
>>>
>>>> All in all, I'd say Mafia III is a decent game. Better than Watch_Dogs
>>>> and not too far behind GTA V.
>>>>
>>> Thanks a lot, due to your review I just bought it :-)
>>
>> How do you like it so far?
>>
>Haven´t had time to play it yet (kids)
>I will start playing it on the weekend.
>
>
>Werner
>
>PS: Mafia II is lingering in my PS3 collection as well.

After reading the preview (basically a review of a game demo that
starts at the prologue then jumps to a point about 20 hrs in), it
makes me want to pick it up, technical issues aside.  It sounds like
they did with the world / setting exactly what I was hoping they
would.

Unfortunately now is a little too close to BF1 release, (preloading in
2 days) and since it matters if I play that immediately upon release,
and it really doesn't matter when I pick up Mafia III (buying later
just means more things fixed), then the decision to wait is pretty
easy.

A lot of folks still seem disappointed with the performance.  I hope
they can patch it to properly utilize SLI.

Am 13.10.16 um 04:48 schrieb Rin Stowleigh:
> On Tue, 11 Oct 2016 09:10:33 +0200, Werner Punz <we...@gmx.at> wrote:
>
>> Am 10.10.16 um 21:52 schrieb Rin Stowleigh:
>>> On Mon, 10 Oct 2016 19:58:01 +0200, Werner Punz <we...@gmx.at> wrote:
>>>
>>>> Am 09.10.16 um 22:18 schrieb Mr Rob:
>>>>> On Fri, 07 Oct 2016 08:39:25 -0400, Rin Stowleigh
>>>>> <rstow...@nevrhadgmail.com> wrote:
>>>>
>>>>> All in all, I'd say Mafia III is a decent game. Better than Watch_Dogs
>>>>> and not too far behind GTA V.
>>>>>
>>>> Thanks a lot, due to your review I just bought it :-)
>>>
>>> How do you like it so far?
>>>
>> Haven´t had time to play it yet (kids)
>> I will start playing it on the weekend.
>>
>>
>> Werner
>>
>> PS: Mafia II is lingering in my PS3 collection as well.
>
> After reading the preview (basically a review of a game demo that
> starts at the prologue then jumps to a point about 20 hrs in), it
> makes me want to pick it up, technical issues aside.  It sounds like
> they did with the world / setting exactly what I was hoping they
> would.
>
Actually the reviews now are in and they are mediocre. The main points 
were. As soon as you are in the open world (not the tutorial which is 
excellent), the mission design is absolutely repetitive with the same 
mission design 10 times over.
And of course still some technical issues.
Seems like holding back early reviews was done because they knew they 
had an unfinished/unbalanced game on their hand, like it is in 90% of 
those cases.

On Wed, 12 Oct 2016 22:48:52 -0400, Rin Stowleigh
<rstow...@nevrhadgmail.com> wrote:


>Unfortunately now is a little too close to BF1 release, (preloading in
>2 days) and since it matters if I play that immediately upon release,
>and it really doesn't matter when I pick up Mafia III (buying later
>just means more things fixed), then the decision to wait is pretty
>easy.


I'm just downloading Battlefield 1 now on the Origin Play First Trial
(part of the Origin Access monthly subscription). I can play the game
for 10 hours for 'free'. I'm not sure if that is single player and/or
multiplayer.

It's a 40GB download so I might wait until the morning before playing
it.
-- 
Rob

On Sat, 15 Oct 2016 01:04:22 +0100, Mr Rob
<noemail...@jsjsaiiowppw.com> wrote:

>On Wed, 12 Oct 2016 22:48:52 -0400, Rin Stowleigh
><rstow...@nevrhadgmail.com> wrote:
>
>
>>Unfortunately now is a little too close to BF1 release, (preloading in
>>2 days) and since it matters if I play that immediately upon release,
>>and it really doesn't matter when I pick up Mafia III (buying later
>>just means more things fixed), then the decision to wait is pretty
>>easy.
>
>
>I'm just downloading Battlefield 1 now on the Origin Play First Trial
>(part of the Origin Access monthly subscription). I can play the game
>for 10 hours for 'free'. I'm not sure if that is single player and/or
>multiplayer.
>
>It's a 40GB download so I might wait until the morning before playing
>it.

Hmm.  I preloaded it earlier but didn't see an option to play.

On Fri, 14 Oct 2016 20:54:25 -0400, Rin Stowleigh
<rstow...@nevrhadgmail.com> wrote:

>>I'm just downloading Battlefield 1 now on the Origin Play First Trial
>>(part of the Origin Access monthly subscription). I can play the game
>>for 10 hours for 'free'. I'm not sure if that is single player and/or
>>multiplayer.

>>It's a 40GB download so I might wait until the morning before playing
>>it.
>
>Hmm.  I preloaded it earlier but didn't see an option to play.


It's a feature of the Origin Access subscription service.

I pay £4.99 per month and get free games periodically. It's the same
type of model as Playstation Plus and Xbox Live Gold. You get free
games and the option to upgrade standard games to 'Digital Deluxe'
versions a few months/years after release.

The blurb says:

"Enjoy your trial - you get a full 10 hours of gameplay. Pretty
awesome eh? 

Don't forget your stats and progress carry over if you decide to
purchase the game. Alright - enough reading. It's time to go"


I don't know if it's really 10 hours of cumulative gameplay or whether
it's a trial that lasts 10 hours of real time once you click the
"Start Trial" button.

I shall find out very soon!

-- 
Rob

26.9.2016, 19.59, Rin Stowleigh kirjoitti:

> Mafia 3 is the first exclusively single player game in recent memory
> that I can really say I am really looking forward to.  I can't
> remember the last time I even had that reaction to a single player
> game -- maybe Oblivion in 2006?

Out of curiosity, how big in Gig's is the download when purchased
thru Steam ?