Video Games

[otc]

Those 40 man raids sucked, and again, it goes back to my beef about easy leveling allowing players not seasoned enough into the end game. It was not uncommon to get a Leeeeeeroy or two if your guild had to grab people to fill the raid.

I sold my account and felt real bad for anyone who had to play with the guy who bought it. Combine the fact that he was the kind of person who renamed my characters things like "LuvsToSpooge" and "******master" with the fact that it has got to be damn near impossible to effectively learn 70-levels worth of skills and spells all at once and you have a disaster of a teammate.

Hell, even in FFXIV, I feel like I haven't really gotten tuned to my class. With multiple expansions out, they really sped up the initial leveling and I'd keep running into scenarios where I didn't even have time to go do my "class quest" and learn new skills until a couple levels after they were unlocked.

But I'm not a moron, and I have experience healing in other games, so people seem to like having me in their group.

 

[javyn]

My favorite gamer name is "xXXx Euron NoScope 420 xXXx"

 

[otc]

Already seeing some deals on the Switch Lite. Down to 170

I am conflicted. The price is right and I've been thinking of a switch as a sort of travel toy.
I started playing an emulated Zelda BotW a while back and was having a great time, but it was not perfect. Would like to finish the game at some point.

I've enjoyed using my Surface Pro 5 with a ps4 controller as a portable console on airplanes, but it doesn't have enough oomph to emulate BotW. Games like that would be the perfect diversion on a plane, and the switch is the perfect console for it. It also looks like Assassin's Creed Black Flag is going to be released on the Switch, and I've wanted to try that game.

But is the switch lite too hamstrung? It is certainly a convenient form factor, but not being able to even plug in an HDMI cable seems rough. I could see a "Mobile-first" version that forgoes the dock and removable joycons but still allows for an HDMI cable if you want to play some Mario Party/Kart (even if capped at 720p)...but completely eliminating that function is a tough sell.

I honestly don't envision myself playing many games on the TV. Between less gaming time, having a gaming PC, and a GF who would want to use the TV, the Switch is really the only TV-console I would pick, and that's for the local multiplayer options. Single player games would most likely be beat in handheld mode.

So is the more convenient form factor and $100-150 lower price worth losing out on all of the sweet nintendo party games? Is the smaller screen going to be annoying and unreadable, especially on games where the devs didn't pay much attention to portable use (possibly true of the Assassin's Creed ports)? I've seen complaints about reading things like Zelda item descripitions on the original switch, and this screen is even smaller.

Or do I just hope that this fall's new Surface Pro has enough power to emulate BotW and funnel any potential switch money into my upgrade budget?

 

[otc]

Really though...a little bit of HDMI-out hardware would earn Nintendo my money yesterday.

I get that they want to differentiate and force consumers to buy the full switch, but it seems like they could drive more accessory sales this way. If I buy a switch lite, I'll probably never buy any additional controllers--you can use them, but I'm not playing multiplayer on a 5.5" screen...

If there were an HDMI-out, I'd probably buy a pro controller and a couple of sets of joy-cons. I'd also buy Mario Party, Kart, Smash, and a bunch of other multiplayer games. If it is purely a solo console, especially one that will often be used without WiFi, I'm going to buy a lot less stuff for it.

 

[javyn]

It sounds like lack of HDMI out is gonna be a deal breaker for you. I'm kind of the opposite actually. I'm a bit of a homebody so I like consoles. It was the HDMI input on the Xbox that made me choose it over Sony. Of course, I could just plug into another port of the TV, but, being able to run it through the Xbox means I can use my headset with whatever peripheral I have stuck in there, right now, a RasbPi.

 

[javyn]

Oh yes, Gears 5 is actually pretty damn badass. The campaign even threw a Mass Effect style dilemma at me at the end. Horde mode is fun too, but as usual, playing with randos sucks.

I like this game enough to where I don't even care about Borderlands 3 anymore. Gonna pass on that one.

 

[otc]

It sounds like lack of HDMI out is gonna be a deal breaker for you. I'm kind of the opposite actually. I'm a bit of a homebody so I like consoles. It was the HDMI input on the Xbox that made me choose it over Sony. Of course, I could just plug into another port of the TV, but, being able to run it through the Xbox means I can use my headset with whatever peripheral I have stuck in there, right now, a RasbPi.

Yeah, its just that my home gaming is almost all on PC. I actually do have an HTPC and a set of 4 xbox controllers for it. For a while I was trying to acquire all of the well-reviewed local multiplayer/co-op games on Steam...but Nintendo just has the best library for that stuff. Was giving kotor2 a go on there too (never finished), but between sharing the TV with my GF and preferring PCs, I don't see myself using a console a ton. The only exceptions are things like...I really wanted to play RDR2 but there's no PC option.

Honestly, the last time I used all 4 controllers was probably the new years before last. Bunch of friends were staying at a house for the weekend and we had enough people to cycle through my Steam games on a laptop. I don't regularly have enough people around at my place with nothing to do to the point where we would pull out the games...but something that can hook up on a TV in an AirBNB on a ski trip or something? Might be kind of nice.

A switch lite that could be connected to a TV without carrying around a dock or stack of adapters would be super clutch. A switch lite that can't is still kind of interesting, but not gaining access to their great library of party games seems like a mistake.

 

[Joffrey]

Just started a strategy game for mobile called Polytopia. Pretty fun so far.

 

[gettoasty]

Anyone have any leads on how to get a projector setup for PS, anticipating the FF7 re-release. Thinking about either painting the wall or DIY projector screen. Only other connections to the projector would be sound and a tv tuner for free local television.

 

[otc]

How dark is your room and/or how big are you trying to project?

Walls kind of suck. Behr makes a cheap paint that will work in a dark room or with a very bright projector, but even then, you should prep your wall very well. There are some more expensive paints, but I don't know that they work *that* much better.

If you aren't trying to project that large, you also get some extra brightness for free (a projector that might be a little dim at 100" might look pretty good at 75"). If you can cut much of the light out of your room, you can also get away with a worse surface.

This screen is huge, cheap, and well regarded: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00HZRM9K0?tag=thewire06-20&linkCode=xm2&ascsubtag=AwEAAAAAAAAAALqF&th=1

I see retractable screens in thrift shops fairly often...old slide-show screens found in grandma's basement. Probably your absolute cheapest option. Or you can just buy a new version of that for like $75 on Amazon.

 

[gettoasty]

Room has two large windows lol...but I do not think I am stickler about "best" viewing quality. My viewing probably would be limited to local hourly news, sporting events, and gaming.

Wall option just to be cheap but can build something like this,



As far as the screen goes, I don't think I want something permanent just yet. This will be my first foray. With the paint at least if I want to rearrange the room it will just be an entire blank, unobtrusive wall. That said I do not even remember the last time I actually sat down to watch television.

The large project screen is enticing me back to console gaming that is the biggest draw I think.

 

[Bhowie]

Just started a strategy game for mobile called Polytopia. Pretty fun so far.

Yeah, nice little game. I’ve gone down the rabbit hole of trying for high scores.

 

[Joffrey]

I gave up on the game after a couple of weeks particularly after I found a strategy wiki page.

 

[otc]

Held a switch lite for the first time the other day.

Did seem like a nice form factor, but I think I would want the slight screen real estate advantage of the real switch...especially for games that still have relatively small text.

 

[gettoasty]

Any idea of the latest WiFi system for home coverage?

Have these in my Amazon cart; read a bunch of reviews and watched some YouTube videos. Still cannot decide. I think ultimately it's what is economical. I think my current internet is average, so, I think any setup at the new place with the potential for up to 300Mbps is going to be light years ahead.

Orbi at Costco on sale right now, three satellite mesh system

TP Link Deco https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07NF6V8SC/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER&th=1 (Most economical compared to Orbi)

Netgear Nighthawk https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07RZ2Y4KY/ref=ox_sc_act_title_2?smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER&psc=1 (Not sure if it is just marketing for gamers and the higher premium)

Asus https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0752FD3XJ/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER&psc=1

Further reading, I'd prefer a device that will allow me to assign different SSID since home will have a lot of smart devices. The Deco for example only has the option to set guest connection, which is the only workaround when assigning devices to the server. ?