Commented 7 years ago2016-05-10 10:03:16 UTC
in journal: #8701Comment #58527
Congrats, dude. Let us know if you do invest in a pro bike!
There are areas of the opportunities 'pool' that shrink, but there are other parts of the pool that are always expanding as you get more life and work experience. Don't get too anxious about thinking you need a perfect plan.
This comment was made on an article that has been deleted.
Commented 8 years ago2016-03-15 16:47:31 UTC
in journal: #8679Comment #62816
I use one hand with Flow and since a large part of your criteria seems to be one-handed convenience with the least possible keypresses, flow is absolutely the best option. Each word is one tap and a flick, regardless of where the letters are on the keypad. ONE. KEYPRESS.
T9 is like 4 or 5 for longer words. Pssht, ain't nobody got time for that.
Commented 8 years ago2016-03-12 21:30:13 UTC
in journal: #8679Comment #62813
Swiftkey has the best prediction model I've used by a huge margin. Plus using its 'Flow' input mode (as opposed to tapping) is definitely the most efficient way for me to text.
Commented 8 years ago2016-01-08 15:59:29 UTC
in journal: #8651Comment #58512
I'm not that fussed about CAH. I own the physical game which is good fun with booze, but Urby wants to play it online a lot and it's just never as good
I also backed Exploding Kittens' kickstarter and enjoyed it thoroughly for... about five games. The best part is the box that meows at you.
I'm majorly into Spyfall right now. So much fun & the replayability factor is huge. We play it on Tabletop Simulator every weekend, and the lulz are non-stop.
Battlestar's trick is that the Cylon players don't know that they're Cylons until quite late in the game, and the treachery and backstabbing mimics the show wonderfully. XCOM is completely coop and the joy comes from the sheer brutality of the companion app which ensures every game is suitably fresh and extremely challenging. 10/10 for both of them.
Commented 8 years ago2016-01-03 19:48:12 UTC
in journal: #8648Comment #52191
"when I get a puzzle in HL2 its usually like 'Ok I probably have to do something with the gravity gun, or use the environment around me in some dynamic way'"
... Are you saying this is a bad thing? That combat isn't just shooting and that puzzles use a diverse and dynamic environment? I so confoos.
Commented 8 years ago2015-12-14 20:14:51 UTC
in journal: #8635Comment #46165
I'd had no experience with AOC before, but I can happily report that there is no backlight bleeding and the blacks are black. You can't really compare LCD to anything modern, though.
You're right that you can edit on small displays, but consider how much effort it was for a five minute video project and multiply it by thirteen half-hour shows as per a standard British series run. When you're working day in, day out for months, you need efficiency in your workspace and having everything to hand is hugely important.
Commented 8 years ago2015-11-13 19:03:57 UTC
in journal: #8624Comment #61256
It's 78% positive reviews on Steam, 2much.
There are some things I don't like about it; I prefer the old dialogue system, for example, but overall I'm loving it. The combat feels great, the world is expansive and interesting, the AI is much improved and the crafting and building aspects are surprisingly robust.
It's far, far too easy on normal difficulty, but once I ramped it up to hard it feels much more like New Vegas did on hardcore mode. Much more fun and challenging. There are fights you literally just can't win unless you play it super smart, and I love that. On normal difficulty I wasn't even considering whether I could take a fight or not - I just went in as a one-man-army all the time and never had any trouble.
Also something I think has been largely looked over is the sound design. The sound effects are vastly, vastly improved. Every surface feels unique and real, and bullets whizzing by your head are exhilarating!
17 hours in, still very, very much enjoying it. Occasional bugs are frustrating and require a restart, but it's not been enough to prevent me enjoying it.
If you liked Fallout 3 and New Vegas, you'll like this. If you didn't, you won't. Simple.
This comment was made on an article that has been deleted.
Commented 8 years ago2015-11-02 14:39:32 UTC
in journal: #8622Comment #46143
Ha, yeah. There was a MAJOR upset when we recorded the whole series and then found out that first-person-recorded replays in GTA V are limited to first person in the replay editor. Nightmare. This was never planned to be from only my perspective, but we've figured out a workaround for season 2.
This comment was made on an article that has been deleted.
Commented 8 years ago2015-10-17 18:44:19 UTC
in vault item: de_retrostationComment #18039
Good lord, this is obscenely good. The architecture and theming is better than just about anything I've ever seen achieved in Goldsource. Incredible.
I love the colour theming and the subtle deviations in lighting used to aid navigation. That walkway with the blue lights highlighting the grey railing in particular is such a brilliant contrast to the orange surroundings. It's really, really sweet.
Really my only problem is the use of wooden crates... They're so... dull in comparison to everything else in the environment you've created.
Commented 8 years ago2015-08-04 18:35:47 UTC
in journal: #8586Comment #46111
Thanks guys, I'm actually pretty unhappy with how it turned out - it was meant to be very self-aware and ironic, poking fun at people pandering to the internet to get views... And it just ended up being exactly what it was supposed to be parodying. The original storyboard was much funnier imo - I think Wee Man took it a bit too far in the wrong direction. Still, loads of fun to work on.
"How the hell did you end up working for The Wee Man?" - I worked on a 4srs music video that he happened to be cast in; not as the Wee Man character (he's actually a legit decent actor). We got chatting at the wrap party and when I realised who it was I offered my services.
"who's slinging their boobs around for a video?" - One of them was literally a Brazzers porn star (Paige Delight). I didn't know this at the time, and I now have the glorious keepsake of a photo of her biting the absolute fuck out of my arm. The bruise didn't heal for a fortnight. Shortly after that photo was taken she revealed her profession and took great pleasure in watching me awkwardly not know where to look when she showed me some of her... work.
"What happened to beer and tits?" - Doesn't really work on the whole internet meme front.
"Also 1:01. Nice crevasse." - I regret making that more than you'd believe.
This comment was made on an article that has been deleted.
Commented 8 years ago2015-06-29 14:51:52 UTC
in vault item: Military DutyComment #20925
What an enjoyable experience!
Overall this is an incredibly impressive mod. Locations are unique and interesting, whilst still feeling extremely routed within the Half-Life universe. Vanilla assets are used alongside custom content in such a well-balanced way that you instantly accept the world you’ve been dropped into. The facility feels like it’s alive and NPC scripting and detailing is at an exceptional level. There’s always loads to look at, and that really helps keep the mod fresh over its surprising and impressive length.
So please keep in mind that I am a huge fan of this mod, but I’m now going to focus on a few reasons why I’m not quite putting it in the ‘personal favourite’ category.
Firstly, there are repeated occasions where level transitions are rather jarring. This happens most notably in the intro, but also several times throughout the mod as a whole. Huge changes occur between maps that could be better hidden with a fade or with a more enclosed level change. It’s a minor gripe, but it occasionally left me a little disorientated and unclear on what had happened around me.
Second, I was slightly disappointed at the lack of actual puzzles. The closest we really get to a puzzle is finding a button, pressing it and then only finding out what it unlocked afterwards. More signposting for where you need to go would reduce the feeling of “I wonder what that button did”. Also, more carefully thought out puzzles in general would be welcome relief from gameplay which is unfortunately just combat from start to finish – to the extent that around half way through I was finding it quite grating (though it got a lot fresher again towards the end).
Though there are exceptions, I found the lighting to be somewhat lacklustre throughout. There are some beautiful examples of good lighting, but for the majority of the mod, the lights are simply there to illuminate rooms, rather than to add atmosphere and character to them. The biggest exception to this is in the loading bay where the tram ride finishes – it’s absolutely stunning in both design and lighting. More of this!!
Aside from what I’ve already said about lacking puzzles; gameplay-wise the mod is very strong, albeit with a few irritations. I constantly only just had enough ammo and health to proceed, and that suggests that it’s fantastically balanced. It was a genuine challenge, but never utterly ruthless. Fantastic. The irritations were firstly an overuse of unfair monster spawns right behind you that required quick loading if low on health and secondly a major overuse of barnacles. Barnacles aren’t a challenge, and they’re ok to have occasionally, but in the quantity they’ve been used here they are really annoying.
Finally, though it was clearer towards the end, I felt like a more overarching purpose would have made the mod more enjoyable. You’re told at the start that the objective is to kill witnesses to the Black Mesa disaster, yet doing so actually fails the game at least once (killing a scientist needed for a retinal scanner). This leaves the player somewhat lost for purpose, and lowers their guard when Barneys are first encountered.
I know this seems like a lot of negative points, so again I’d like to stress that I really love this mod! It’s hugely impressive, hugely ambitious and extremely well executed. I’m just being very critical because it’s so close to being perfect!
Congratulations on releasing this, you’ve done brilliantly.
There are areas of the opportunities 'pool' that shrink, but there are other parts of the pool that are always expanding as you get more life and work experience. Don't get too anxious about thinking you need a perfect plan.
T9 is like 4 or 5 for longer words. Pssht, ain't nobody got time for that.
Relevant XKCD:
Great review, I hope you're just as critical of The Core when it comes out! :]
I also backed Exploding Kittens' kickstarter and enjoyed it thoroughly for... about five games. The best part is the box that meows at you.
I'm majorly into Spyfall right now. So much fun & the replayability factor is huge. We play it on Tabletop Simulator every weekend, and the lulz are non-stop.
If you're looking for more immersive games, Battlestar Galactica: The Board Game and XCOM: The Board Game are both phenomenal.
Battlestar's trick is that the Cylon players don't know that they're Cylons until quite late in the game, and the treachery and backstabbing mimics the show wonderfully.
XCOM is completely coop and the joy comes from the sheer brutality of the companion app which ensures every game is suitably fresh and extremely challenging. 10/10 for both of them.
... Are you saying this is a bad thing? That combat isn't just shooting and that puzzles use a diverse and dynamic environment? I so confoos.
80GB?! That's like, two games by modern standards
Wish i was joking.
You're right that you can edit on small displays, but consider how much effort it was for a five minute video project and multiply it by thirteen half-hour shows as per a standard British series run.
When you're working day in, day out for months, you need efficiency in your workspace and having everything to hand is hugely important.
Clickity!
I can max out everything with my 780ti for a rough benchmark.
Pebs, GTA V is a masterpiece - it's pretty cheap for what you get!
Strideh, if we promised to make Ant stop pretending he's Australian would you be able to deal with him?
There are some things I don't like about it; I prefer the old dialogue system, for example, but overall I'm loving it. The combat feels great, the world is expansive and interesting, the AI is much improved and the crafting and building aspects are surprisingly robust.
It's far, far too easy on normal difficulty, but once I ramped it up to hard it feels much more like New Vegas did on hardcore mode. Much more fun and challenging. There are fights you literally just can't win unless you play it super smart, and I love that. On normal difficulty I wasn't even considering whether I could take a fight or not - I just went in as a one-man-army all the time and never had any trouble.
Also something I think has been largely looked over is the sound design. The sound effects are vastly, vastly improved. Every surface feels unique and real, and bullets whizzing by your head are exhilarating!
17 hours in, still very, very much enjoying it. Occasional bugs are frustrating and require a restart, but it's not been enough to prevent me enjoying it.
If you liked Fallout 3 and New Vegas, you'll like this. If you didn't, you won't. Simple.
I love the colour theming and the subtle deviations in lighting used to aid navigation. That walkway with the blue lights highlighting the grey railing in particular is such a brilliant contrast to the orange surroundings. It's really, really sweet.
Really my only problem is the use of wooden crates... They're so... dull in comparison to everything else in the environment you've created.
Easily a 5 star effort. You're a king.
Capt needs to work on his Roman Numerals
Still, loads of fun to work on.
"How the hell did you end up working for The Wee Man?" - I worked on a 4srs music video that he happened to be cast in; not as the Wee Man character (he's actually a legit decent actor). We got chatting at the wrap party and when I realised who it was I offered my services.
"who's slinging their boobs around for a video?" - One of them was literally a Brazzers porn star (Paige Delight). I didn't know this at the time, and I now have the glorious keepsake of a photo of her biting the absolute fuck out of my arm. The bruise didn't heal for a fortnight. Shortly after that photo was taken she revealed her profession and took great pleasure in watching me awkwardly not know where to look when she showed me some of her... work.
"What happened to beer and tits?" - Doesn't really work on the whole internet meme front.
"Also 1:01. Nice crevasse." - I regret making that more than you'd believe.
RIFL
edit: also congrats!
edit edit: but really, buy a microphone!
Overall this is an incredibly impressive mod. Locations are unique and interesting, whilst still feeling extremely routed within the Half-Life universe. Vanilla assets are used alongside custom content in such a well-balanced way that you instantly accept the world you’ve been dropped into.
The facility feels like it’s alive and NPC scripting and detailing is at an exceptional level. There’s always loads to look at, and that really helps keep the mod fresh over its surprising and impressive length.
So please keep in mind that I am a huge fan of this mod, but I’m now going to focus on a few reasons why I’m not quite putting it in the ‘personal favourite’ category.
Firstly, there are repeated occasions where level transitions are rather jarring. This happens most notably in the intro, but also several times throughout the mod as a whole. Huge changes occur between maps that could be better hidden with a fade or with a more enclosed level change. It’s a minor gripe, but it occasionally left me a little disorientated and unclear on what had happened around me.
Second, I was slightly disappointed at the lack of actual puzzles. The closest we really get to a puzzle is finding a button, pressing it and then only finding out what it unlocked afterwards. More signposting for where you need to go would reduce the feeling of “I wonder what that button did”. Also, more carefully thought out puzzles in general would be welcome relief from gameplay which is unfortunately just combat from start to finish – to the extent that around half way through I was finding it quite grating (though it got a lot fresher again towards the end).
Though there are exceptions, I found the lighting to be somewhat lacklustre throughout. There are some beautiful examples of good lighting, but for the majority of the mod, the lights are simply there to illuminate rooms, rather than to add atmosphere and character to them. The biggest exception to this is in the loading bay where the tram ride finishes – it’s absolutely stunning in both design and lighting. More of this!!
Aside from what I’ve already said about lacking puzzles; gameplay-wise the mod is very strong, albeit with a few irritations. I constantly only just had enough ammo and health to proceed, and that suggests that it’s fantastically balanced. It was a genuine challenge, but never utterly ruthless. Fantastic. The irritations were firstly an overuse of unfair monster spawns right behind you that required quick loading if low on health and secondly a major overuse of barnacles. Barnacles aren’t a challenge, and they’re ok to have occasionally, but in the quantity they’ve been used here they are really annoying.
Finally, though it was clearer towards the end, I felt like a more overarching purpose would have made the mod more enjoyable. You’re told at the start that the objective is to kill witnesses to the Black Mesa disaster, yet doing so actually fails the game at least once (killing a scientist needed for a retinal scanner). This leaves the player somewhat lost for purpose, and lowers their guard when Barneys are first encountered.
I know this seems like a lot of negative points, so again I’d like to stress that I really love this mod! It’s hugely impressive, hugely ambitious and extremely well executed. I’m just being very critical because it’s so close to being perfect!
Congratulations on releasing this, you’ve done brilliantly.