Dave Taste Tests Some Russian Wines

[oledavy]

Alright, Civ 5, one last time.

It's a pity, for all the shortcomings of its SP, I felt like Civ 5 could potentially shine in MP. The tactical unit puzzles were always my favorite aspect of the game, and getting to match wits with another player with them was always a really appealing idea to me. Removing the AI, its inability to fight wars and its abusable nature, felt to me like it might leave a pretty decent game.

Although I never got used to large unsettled sections of the map, those always (and still do) drive me crazy.

But alas, it was not to be. RB never adopted Civ5, the MP support wasn't there until too late. When the time came that I might venture from RB to a Civ site that actually does play Civ 5, I discovered League of Legends.

But we're back now, for one last ride.

My life at the moment does not allow for me to do reporting justice to two games, and PB35 will be getting to majority of my attention. I will try to upload a screenshot and a short paragraph about what I'm doing each turn, as explaining myself helps me play better. I intend to approach this game pretty casually though.

I also expect there to be very little lurker interest in this game. However, if there is, and people are curious about what's going on, I will be more than happy to respond and provide as much information as I can. This isn't really a game brimming with frequent verbose reporters though, so I expect I will have little indication afterwards of what their plans were and this sub-forum will get little traffic.

Doom and gloom about views aside, I'm optimistic that I might win this one. I think in general civ skill I match up very favorably against the field. As always though, I expect it may come down to who I border more so than anything else.

My biggest fear at the moment is that this game will die due to:

A. Slow turn pace.
B. A player turning out to have a slow PYFT rating.

We'll cross that bridge when we ge to it however, and in the meantime I'm going to stay optimistic.

Working on thinking of a fun thread title and naming scheme. Feel free to post suggestions (or I might use my never fully realized Billy Joel one).

In the meantime, I don't feel like there is a whole lot to talk about until I get my civ choices.

Any questions?

[Dreylin]

I'll be lurking around this and shall try to encourage additional verbage from all participants. I never really got into Civ5, and consequently am not too familiar with its quirks.

On naming scheme, how about other unloved members of otherwise-successful gaming franchises? (not that I have any specific examples, but there must be lots)

[Bobchillingworth]

+1 for that theme! Star Control 3, MoO 3, Deus Ex: Invisible War, Mass Effect 3, any of the 3DO Zelda games, Super Mario Sunshine, etc...

[picklepikkl]

I liked Mass Effect 3 :< (or, at least, don't think it's as bad as popular opinion would have it).

But, then, I also feel the same way about Matrix Reloaded and Revolutions, so what do I know.

[oledavy]

I thought about doing that theme, and I still may. My only reservations about doing it are:

1. Pindicator did a bad sequels theme in Civ 5 PBEM 2 (his capital was Matrix Revolutions actually)
2. I haven't played the majority of the games Bob just mentioned XD

I'll log that as two votes for shitty video game sequels though

Sincerely flattered that anyone from Civ general is following the set up process for this game. I'll definitely be posting some more thoughts when I get my choice of Civs.

Re: picklepikkl

Big Mass Effect fan here (see PBEM38)

I think as it was released the ending was pretty bad. The extended cut fixed enough of the issues with it that I was happy. I do agree the backlash was overblown, and that the ending to three games as sprawling as ME could never have delivered on the hype. That being said, I still think the initial pre Extended Cut 'pick a color' ending alongside the almost shocking lack of payoff for what happens with your crew, was pretty disappointing. I think ultimately, the developers were just too rushed and couldn't deliver what they really wanted.

Still my second favorite game in the series though (I don't think ME1 holds up extremely well) and one of my all-time favorite game series

[BRickAstley]

Super Mario Sunshine is awesome. Especially for speedruns.

[Bobchillingworth]

I actually haven't played any of the games I listed! Poor word-of-mouth preceded them. Plus in ME3's case I didn't want to install Origin.


I actually prefer the first Mass Effect to the second by a fair amount. It felt rewarding to receive exp for kills and random loot when clearing sidequests. Also Mass Effect 2 peaked too early in difficulty- the game essentially blew its load with the Horizon mission a 3rd of the way through (less with DLC), throwing just about every enemy type it had to offer at you.


I did dig the Tali romance though, until obsessive shippers on the internet ruined it.

[picklepikkl]

Shamus Young of "DM of the Rings" has a great critical analysis of the Mass Effect games on his site: http://www.shamusyoung.com/twentysidedtale/?p=27792 (warning: 50 parts long). I highly recommend it, if you're interested in game design and storytelling. One major thing he asserts (which I had felt myself but could rarely find someone to agree with me) is that the story went off the rails in 2 moreso than it did in 3: that's where the real structural flaws were introduced (Cerberus retcon, a wild shift in tone and stakes from ME1, all your efforts ultimately just leaving you where ME1 ended, just to name a few).

Also, I went hunting and found your PBEM38 thread, and the first page made me laugh enough that I'm saving it to archive binge later. That sort of player profile seems like the best gift you can give your opponents in a community like this. If you don't want to repeat pindicator too much, maybe "unloved franchise elements"? Scrappy Doo, Wesley Crusher, Turian Councilor... :P

(god I hope Andromeda doesn't suck)

[ReallyEvilMuffin]

I liked Mass Effect 3 :< (or, at least, don't think it's as bad as popular opinion would have it).

But, then, I also feel the same way about Matrix Reloaded and Revolutions, so what do I know.

The twins and the freeway. Enough said. I liked reloaded but even I couldn't really get into revolutions.


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[oledavy]

I actually prefer the first Mass Effect to the second by a fair amount. It felt rewarding to receive exp for kills and random loot when clearing sidequests. Also Mass Effect 2 peaked too early in difficulty- the game essentially blew its load with the Horizon mission a 3rd of the way through (less with DLC)

That is an excellent point, the "suicide mission" was anything but if you did the least bit of prep work.

Shamus Young of "DM of the Rings" has a great critical analysis of the Mass Effect games on his site: http://www.shamusyoung.com/twentysidedtale/?p=27792 (warning: 50 parts long). I highly recommend it, if you're interested in game design and storytelling. One major thing he asserts (which I had felt myself but could rarely find someone to agree with me) is that the story went off the rails in 2 moreso than it did in 3: that's where the real structural flaws were introduced (Cerberus retcon, a wild shift in tone and stakes from ME1, all your efforts ultimately just leaving you where ME1 ended, just to name a few).

Also, I went hunting and found your PBEM38 thread, and the first page made me laugh enough that I'm saving it to archive binge later. That sort of player profile seems like the best gift you can give your opponents in a community like this. If you don't want to repeat pindicator too much, maybe "unloved franchise elements"? Scrappy Doo, Wesley Crusher, Turian Councilor... :P

(god I hope Andromeda doesn't suck)

Bookmarking that series to read at some point. I love a good rich analysis of something I'll post replies to your points after I get around to reading it (date TBD), but I do agree with not liking the Cerberus retcon at all. One of the things from ME2 that sat with me poorly.

I'm humbled regarding my PBEM38 thread. I hope you enjoy the read! I had a lot of fun that game, and conducted a pretty good military campaign against cataphracts if I do say so myself. That being said, I did a couple of things near the end that seemed like good ideas and the right thing to do at the time, but which I now regret with a few years of hindsight.

I unfortunately will not be doing player previews this game. My long absence from the site means I know nothing about Adrien for example. I have played with Ichabod and Yuri before (back in PBEM38), talked to Nic a lot, and watched HAK play PB7, but these games were all a long time ago, and I imagine the players have evolved quite a bit since then. (Although I still expect Yuris to beeline the Oracle )

"Unloved Franchise Elements." Not a bad idea, logging +1 votes for that.

And yeah, excited and apprehensive for Andromeda. I like the direction they're taking the series, we'll see if the execution is up to par.

The twins and the freeway. Enough said. I liked reloaded but even I couldn't really get into revolutions.

This. I don't remember much else interesting or good from the second movie, but that was just a great sequence.