State of Decay Archives - Page 3 of 3 - Tales of the Aggronaut

Early Access Zombies

September 27, 2013 by Belghast

Minor Renovations

Awhile back I decided to change out the Raptr widget I had embedded in my sidebar that showed the last few things I had played, to something more manual. I have always loved the feeling of the Steam library grid view, with its cool little preview images. So for my “Now Playing” section I strived to create something similar feeling. I think for the most part it works, but it is now a much more manual process as I have to create an image and then add it to my sidebar. I feel however that the results are worth it.

I had been wanting to do something different with my blogroll for a bit, but I was not really sure what I wanted to do. I am a very visual person, and even though I read most of the blogs in my RSS reader, I still think of them based on their visual appearance. The idea I came up with was making similar preview images for all of the blogs on my blogroll to give potential readers a flavor of the blog before even clicking through. I still have several more blogs to add to it, but I think the end result is really nice. Once again it is a much more manual process as I have to take time to create an image for each blog before I add them.

Blogrolls are one of those things that people tend to ignore in their own blogs, but for me it is a resource for someone to find other good voices. As a result I like to take care in trying to make sure my blogroll represents what I am actually reading. When pouring over this small change I did notice that a large number of the blogs on my roll were just not posting anymore. As a result I have pruned the list quite a bit, and will add to it as I notice people starting back up. Additionally I added a new section for “Gamecasts” since it is a mix of video casts and podcasts. I still need to add quite a few things to this list but it is a solid start.

Console Diablo

Recently I downloaded Diablo 3 again and gave it a spin trying to get back into the game. While I found elements of it enjoyable I also remembered all the things that frustrated me about it. I have come to the point where I just cannot stand the “click to move” mechanic. It just “feels wrong” for lack of a better term. I think in many ways this is the one thing holding me back from truly loving league of legends… I just can’t stand the control mechanics. When I heard Diablo 3 was coming to the consoles, I was initially not all that excited… but the other day I noticed that a PS3 demo existed. I figured what the heck, no better way to test and see if I like it.

It appears that all of my problems with the game stemmed in some way from the horrendous control scheme. With a controller, the game felt fresh and new and extremely enjoyable. Granted I only played a little bit the other night, and only had access to the Barbarian, but I had a blast. It made me remember just how much fun I used to have with Diablo in the first place. I am not sure if I am quite ready to shell over 60 bucks for the game on the console… but I can see myself picking it up sooner or later.

What I really want however if for them to patch in controller support for the PC version. This is the version that has the characters I want to play, and the friends I want to play with. I have a perfectly amazing XBOX 360 controller hooked to my PC that I use with more console friendly games. Essentially everything about the game was better with a controller. It is like they took so much more thought and planning into the user interface design as a whole. So please Blizzard… patch in controller support at least when you release the expansion. It makes everything about your game feel better.

Early Access Zombies

Back on September 20th Undead Labs released their extremely awesome open world zombie survival game… State of Decay as part of the Steam Early Access program. I picked it up shortly after but did not really have a chance to play it until last night. If you remember when this came out on the XBLA I raved about it for a long while, but really have not played it as much as I would like. One of the problems I have playing consoles is that it disconnects me from my group of friends. There is a large circle of us that hang out on mumble every night, and I have yet to find a really viable option for hanging out and chatting on mumble while playing the consoles in the loft.

Last night I happily fired up Mumble and then popped into the game. It feels as though the overall gameplay experience has tightened quite a bit. The Early Access candidate is in essence a beta test, and Undead Labs wants to make sure players know this while playing the PC release. Currently the client only has support for a controller, but they plan on eventually adding in mouse and keyboard support. Quite honestly I would rather they do this than half ass it like some of the other console ports like Force Unleashed.

The game is super responsive, and I can run it comfortably on maximum resolution making the client look so much nicer than the XBOX 360 one I was used to. I really hope they add in multiplayer co-op. This game just screams for it, because exploring this world with your friends would be so much more enjoyable than doing so with what are essentially scripted bots. I have no idea how long the game will be in this “beta” state on the PC, but everything about the title is at least as good as the XBLA client. So I would not hesitate suggesting the game to anyone. If you like zombies and you like fallout style open world exploration… this game is for you.

Wrapping Up

Well I need to wrap this up and get up and around. I have a conference to attend today, and also need to make a trip to the cleaners… so I need to give myself as much wiggle room for finishing getting ready as I can. I hope you all have an excellent weekend. Ours looks like it is going to be super rainy. For those curious, my mom is recovering well and I am not sure if I mentioned this or not… but so is Lethbridge. Spoke with him last night and he is in a lot of pain after his surgery but doing okayish. He was in FFXIV for a bit last night playing the game one handed… which I guess is a good thing that a g600 can do.

Less of Me

June 8, 2013 by Belghast

It is officially the weekend and I’ve made my trip out to get sausage rolls once more. We have a bunch of stuff to do to get ready for my wife going out of town for a week.. So I am assuming that I really need to speed my way through this mornings blog post, so we can get on with that stuff. Additionally I forgot to pick up the cleaners on the way home… so we have to go do that as well. I’ve had breakfast at this point, showered, and had a 5 hour energy… so I am ready to confront anything.

Less of Me

This morning is a pretty monumental day for me. Not the date or anything about the day itself… but the fact that I weighed this morning and I am at my lowest point since I can remember. Back in 2003 we went on a pretty epic diet and were extremely successful with it. However we went on a cruise… and with in ability to really watch what we eat we fell completely off the bandwagon. We maintained a decent weight until a death in the family, then we completely fell apart. At that point we lost all the progress we made and then some.

Last year as a new years resolution we attempted to get back on the wagon… but for reasons that I honestly cannot remember the fell off the wagon again. The first week in march this year we started a new, and treated it as a completely new process. We have not been doing much of anything special, other than just religiously keeping track of our food intake. The process has finally reached a point where it is ingrained in our nature now. For once I feel like I am not really missing anything, and I have been able to log the food without actually feeling shame about what I am eating. If I eat something expensive calorie wise, I can still be okay with being under for the week.

This new view towards food and out intake has really paid off. The reason why today is so monumental is the fact that as of this morning we are on week 14 and I have lost 42 pounds since starting. That is an average of 3 pounds per week, which has been a fairly breakneck process. There have been so many changes as a result of this. In general I feel better about myself, and I think the result has been my willingness to continue to blog daily… and open up more about myself. I will never be small, it is just not a thing in the cards for me. I come from a family of big people, but I can be smaller. The stupid thing is… the only thing I really want is the ability to wear geeky t-shirts… which is ironic that they don’t really make those in big and tall sizes. You can get them in big sizes… but at 6’4” there will never be a time at which I do not require that T added onto whatever size I wear.

Survivalism

Last night I spent some more time with the survivals of State of Decay. I have to say the more I play the game the more I love it. This game really tweaks whatever instinct there is in me that comes out when I play Fallout and Skyrim. I was given a task of meeting up with some other survivors at a church… the objective was marked on my map… but I had hell bringing myself to keep driving the station wagon I had pilfered past all the houses I could be clearing. The whole “I wonder what is in that building over there” is so ingrained in me at this point.

The two big negatives I have encountered… and just personal ones. First off… melee weapons will always be what I favor for ease of use and ability to keep from drawing extra attention with gunshots. The only problem is melee weapons break super fast… I am really hoping that I either find a way to repair them… or find stronger melee weapons. I have an assortment of guns, but since ammo is so limited I really don’t want to use them. The second negative is that night is really dark… you can turn on a flashlight but it really doesn’t do much of anything to help you out. It is really only effective when you are exploring a building during the night.

One resounding positive is the fact that I managed to successfully make my way to the church without a melee weapon at all. I ended up just taking it very slowly and relying on kicks to finish off the zombies. I am sure there would have been no way for me to deal with a horde of zombies… but so long as I took them on one at a time I could kick them down without much issue. I found the flashlight extremely helpful as a way to draw attention to random shamblers that happened to be in my path. I could flash them with the light, and get them to charge me… at which point me and my entourage finished the job.

So another huge thing I have to say about the game… is how gracious and personal the response from Undead Labs has been to the success so far. I watched twitter for awhile yesterday afternoon… and sent my congratulations to Undead Labs for just how overwhelmingly positive the response has been. Before I knew it I was being tweeted by Annie Strain… wife of Jeff Strain the founder of Undead Labs… thanking me for my kind words. This has only made me want even more success for them… because that kind of personal touch is really unheard of these days.

It added a completely different dimension to this whole process… it feels very much like I am rooting for the little guy and when they win it feels like we win as well. The game really is amazing, and so far I have only encountered a couple of bugs. The entire experience is extremely polished and feels better than most traditional AAA release titles I have played. If they can follow up with a PC release, multiplayer, and DLC content packs… I feel it will continue to be an amazing success. The figures I saw floating around yesterday put it at just over 130,000 sales on the first day, which I believe puts it in the top ten of XBLA releases.

Come Back Haunted

So another big thing that happened this week, is that the new Nine Inch Nails single has been released… Come Back Haunted. This was a massive surprise since at one point Trent Reznor had said that Nine Inch Nails was essentially over. The upcoming album is the aptly labeled “Hesitation Marks” which is scheduled for release September 3rd. NIN will always have a special place for me, it is one of those projects that has been so much to me over the years. There always seems to be something that speaks to me, regardless of which “Halo” we are listening to. Every doubt, every fear, every indecision seems to be reflected somewhere in his library of songs.

I’ve been a loyal devotee since the Pretty Hate Machine days, and Down In It is still among my favorite songs. This new era feels like a blending of everything that has come before, into a new sound… almost retrospective. More than anything it feels like a strong mix of the Downward Spiral era mixed with the Pretty Hate Machine. Whatever it is, it feels fresh, vibrant and new… and I am in love with it. I will be anxiously waiting for September when we can get the full Halo. Here is hoping that a few more tracks get leaked in the process.

Wrapping Up

So in the name of full disclosure… I have been listening to Nine Inch Nails Year Zero while writing this mornings post. I have found that if I listen to something, I can tune out the television and other background noise and focus on what I am writing easier. The same thing goes for when I really need to crunch through code at work… but in that case I tend to listen to movie and video game soundtracks. Otherwise I find myself naming my variables after songs… the same way I named the SoD section above after a NIN song. Anyways… I hope you all have a great day… and I hope we can find all the things needed to get my wife on her way this week.

Shinobi Jones

June 7, 2013 by Belghast

I am struggling with existence this morning. I have always thought the saying “Thank God Its Friday” was a little trite, but I have been telling myself for the majority of the week “all you have to do is make it through Friday”. I am not really sure what about this week has made it so stressful, but I am certainly feeling it. It might be the fact that I know I am just about to be completely alone for a week as my wife has to go to a conference thingy. Have I mentioned that I don’t really embrace change well?

The Hills have Dead

One of the games I have really been looking forward to on the Xbox 360 is State of Decay. This is the open world exploration based zombie game from Undead Labs. It was available as of yesterday on the Xbox Live arcade for 1600 points… aka $20. Additionally it seems that Undead Labs is trying the failed 38 Studios approach of launching a console game and then bankrolling that success into a MMO version. So as I look at the game, I am also in the back of my head thinking about how well this will work in MMO form.

Basically in a quick sound byte… State of Decay is Dead Island but done better. You are given a more interesting world to explore, populated with less random encounters and a stealth mechanic should you choose to deploy it. I am about as subtle as a hurricane, so this is usually lost on me… but stealthier folks will love being able to sneak up on the shambling dead and get a silent take down. There is a lot going on in the game, and most of it really good… especially for a Xbox live title.

The premise is simple, you are at a campground when the world falls to shit… and you and your friend Ed (poor bastard) agree to go around searching for survivors. By saving other characters you essentially end up building a pack of stalwart zombie hunters. I believe later on you can develop an enclave of survivors and protect them, building influence with each of them. This influence seems to dictate the type of things you can do.

There are some really cool mechanics as you go out and explore the world. One of the niftiest things is that you can at any point essentially fortify your position. While this defies reason a bit, because as you fortify your position you magically brandish a hammer, nails and a stack of bedraggled board. However this function allows you to protect yourself from zombies busting through windows to come attack you and the human target… Ed. This will buy you more time to rifle through the bags and chests in an area to scavenge for materials.

So far I have encountered two kinds of undead. The first is your normal shambling kind that if they hear you comes running but can pretty much be beat down with a bat easily unless they swarm you. When I was searching the camp I discovered a maintenance shed that was guarded by a half dozen of a completely different kind of undead. These were far more dexterous and had an almost demonic appearance with glowing eyes. As a result these were much harder to take down… and quite honestly damned near killed me. However as I said earlier… the game really rewards risk taking, because the maintenance shed was completely loaded with stuff to scavenge.

At this point I have not really played the game for very long, as I had some things I was planning on doing in The Secret World. However the content I have played has left me wanting to play it more. If you like zombies and you like Fallout style open world exploration… then I would give this game a look. Additionally it has some pretty good voice acting and writing so far, even though I have not really experienced a lot of it. As a whole it very much feels like Dead Island meets Fallout meets Walking Dead by Telltale. If that sounds like an enjoyable combination… then you should totally check this one out.

Shinobi Jones

Last night we lacked our quorum of five members, so nothing really coalesced in the game around a “group activity”. Since I had not yet done the “Last Train to Cairo” sequence, I figured it was as good a time as any to go get my whip. First off I have to give Funcom major kudos because this is hands down the best issue they have released. The feel of this mission goes above and beyond everything we have experienced to date. It makes me extremely anxious to see what seven and eight are going to be like… especially with seven supposedly having a 007 flair.

I am going to try to keep from spoiling any of the content… but essentially the mission pack is a wild ride of sabotage, puzzles, stealth, and the most epic train sequence you have ever seen. All the while you have these great flavor references to the Indiana Jones movies. This is made all the more surreal by the fact that of late I have been rocking a combination of the shinobi outfit… with the glowing draugr mask… to produce a ninja with glowing blue eyes. Jones. Shinobi Jones… with my subtle rocket launcher combat style.

As always the puzzles are extremely puzzling. There was one deadly floor trap that took me over thirty minutes and probably a dozen deaths to get the hang of. All of the risk however is well worth the reward, as you not only get your spiffy new whip… but also get a 10.1 epic helm in the process, as well as some currency with a new faction of the Council of Venice. I have heard rumor that through the upcoming expansions, there will be similar 10.1 epic items, all designed as a way to ease someone into being able to do the NY raid content. If so I fully support this notion of gear through truly epic quest sequences.

I really need to go back and complete the Tyler Freeborn sequence of quests, as I have left that one hanging as well. Quite honestly I am sure there is a lot of content I have missed, as the only issue that I have fully explored was the first one, with the awesome prom night sequence. Carter is still one of my all time favorite protagonists in this game, but after taking the train to Cairo… I am starting to really like combo of Nassir and Said. Quite honestly almost all of the content is extremely well written and memorable.

The Secret World has been one of those games that I fired up every few weeks and piddled around a bit in. However it has been months since I had actually played the game seriously. Each time I come back for awhile, I marvel at just how well crafted it is. It still has some very rough spots around the edges, but they have improved a lot in the last year. I hope that they manage to find that point of equilibrium at which they are able to continue producing introducing content, and as the same time sustain their work force. The game always gives me some awesome experiences.

Wrapping Up

I have more things I could talk about, but honestly my head is killing me and I want to wander off and find some headache medicine. Additionally it is already getting late in the morning, and I need to gather laundry for the cleaners. I might do a few bonus posts this weekend, because I have a few ideas that need to congeal in my head for awhile before throwing out onto paper. I hope you all manage to survive the coming work day, and that it ends up turning into a weekend quickly. Ours is going to be dictated by preparation for my wife to travel, and by myself mental preparation for being alone for a week.