Gaming

Marathon looks like an Ai agent would create. Art style, gameplay and story wise.

This is the next game from the Destiny creator Bungie. A multiplayer extraction shooter. It has nothing to do with the original Marathon game its based on, an old single player game. Those who could hands on the game describe it as a Destiny like controls and animation, but as an extraction shooter mode.

As for me, I would probably even check the game out, if it was free to play (its full price game, like Concord) and if it would be playable on Linux. Bungie is anti Linux, so not for me anyway.

I recently got a job after finishing university, all is good. However, after 5 full days of being behind desk job, I feel a bit exhausted of being behind desk.

Thus my desire to game on PC has soured immensely. Despite having a huge backlog and actually want to finish games.

I’m debating to purchase a Steam Deck OLED in the hope, I can actually play some decent games on there without getting fatigue of desk/ screens but that’s a big investment (€670-700).

So I was wondering; how do the adults of Lemmy with 5 full days of work still get the time and desire to play their games?

cross-posted from: https://lemm.ee/post/61066503

cross-posted from: https://lemm.ee/post/61066449

cross-posted from: https://lemm.ee/post/61065843

This little handheld console has been so great. My PC and Steam Deck must be so disappointed with me.

Retro consoles set up video

I had been following r/SBCgaming for a while and never felt the need to play very old console games. But now it seems that these consoles have really come a long way in what they can play. I saw reviews for the Retroid Pocket 5 and thought it looked amazing. Then I saw the prices of the Retroid Pocket 4 pro and it was a no brainer.

I bought the Retroid Pocket 4 Pro on eBay for £120 (probably could have gotten it cheaper, but I rushed to buy this). The fact that such a tiny and pocketable handheld can run Nintendo Switch games (less demanding ones) really blows my mind. I carry this with me everywhere. It fits in pretty snug trouser pockets and is only slightly bigger than my phone (although my phone is an S23 Ultra with a chunky case). I’ve had it for over 2 weeks and I’m still in the honeymoon phase and using this instead of my gaming PC or Steam Deck. I’m discovering consoles I never owned (3DS and Wii games). The fact that it plays Android games as well is such a great bonus (mainly Balatro with save game sync online) is such a great bonus. It has WiFi 6, hall effect analog sticks (much better than the Switch!), an IPS display, headphone port, analog triggers, bluetooth 5.2 and a decent battery. This this has no business being this good.

For anyone else interested:

· If you’re looking for an affordable, pocketable console with good performance then the Retroid Pocket 4 Pro is amazing and I would recommend it. Buy this on eBay as people are unloading these to upgrade to the new console.

· If you want better performance then the Retroid Pocket 5 has a better SOC and much better screen, but is twice the price and much less pocketable. Order on AliExpress when there’s a sale/coupons.

· Buying a console like this is a bit like adopting Linux.... You’ve got to be willing to tinker and troubleshoot. It took me hours to set it up (use this guide) and I still haven’t sorted out Vita emulation.

This is a device I didn’t know much about and really didn’t expect to enjoy this much. If you haven’t come across these little consoles, definitely take a look! If you want to test the waters and see if this is for you, then starting with emulation on your phone will is a good way to start.

Review video

Retro Pocket 5 review video

Video comparison

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.blahaj.zone/post/24407950

I'm playing this game for literal months, hyperfixating on it for some weeks until I get into frustration cycle and abandon it for months.

Most of my characters meet their demise quite early on thanks to my impatience and bad risk assessment (permadeath isn't great for risky players like myself :p).

I was playing around the new species (mountain dwarf) and the reworked god, Makhleb, to distract myself from a recent stress and suddenly found myself in the Realm of Zot.

After getting my runes from the Swamp, the Spider Nest and the Slime Pit, I headed to Zot. The area was pretty easy for my character except for one thing - Protean Progenitor.

The enemy would quickly build up magical contamination on me leading to some nasty mutations. I got berserkis before I realized this and couldn't remove it with my pathetic supply of potions of mutation.

Nonetheless, I entered Zot:5 and very carefully cleared the East lung. Most enemies weren't a problem except, of course, Orbs of Fire. I could kill them 1 on 1 with no problems but malmutation.... well, according to the logs all the evil mutations I have gotten (including -scrolls) were from the first encounter with them.

In hindsight, I should've taken this as a sign to go raid the Crypt in hopes of getting some !mut but I was too excited. So, the moment I cleared most of Zot:5 (yes, most of - I decided not to clear the rest to avoid getting more mutations) I grabbed it.

It went really bad real quick. A brimstone fiend, Zot trap that summoned a vortex, unwanted berserk that activated in the worst moment and the inevitable demise.

Sad, but at least I learned stuff about Zot:5 and the orb run. I think I'm prepared for the next time I get to Zot.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.wtf/post/19419649

There are obviously a wide range of philosophies companies have when it comes to both intellectual property and modding communities that tend to spring up around successful video games. Some are jealous protectors of all things IP, which is generally a giant mistake that limits the reach, the fun, and the engagement these companies should be having with their biggest fans. The other is one that is more lenient or even celebratory of the harmless use of these fan-works. But rarely do we see the dichotomy at work in one specific instance.

But rarely doesn’t mean never. You can see both philosophies at play in the case of a mod made for the hit game Stardew Valley, still kicking nearly a decade after release. The mod in question is called Baldur’s Village and consists of a new town to play in, along with the inclusion of a bunch of characters from another hit game, Baldur’s Gate 3.

Created by NexusMods user BV and uploaded on March 8, Baldur’s Village added over 20 characters from the 2023 GOTY winner to the farming sim, along with new locations, shops, special items, dynamic story events, and other content. “So much love went into this—amazing work!” Larian CEO and BG3 director Swen Vincke wrote at the time.

But the fan mashup of two beloved games is no longer available to download on Nexus. “This mod is under moderation review,” reads a disclaimer added to the page on March 29. According to a spokesperson for the mod database, Wizards of the Coast was responsible for sending a DMCA takedown notice against the fan content for infringing on its ownership of Dungeons & Dragons, which Baldur’s Gate 3 is based on.

It’s a bit stunning to see this play out with such diametrically opposed responses. Larian Studios, the folks that actually poured their efforts into making an absolute masterpiece of a game, saw the mod that made use of that work and loved it. This isn’t entirely surprising, given that Larian has a habit of doing new and interesting things generally. That a higher up like Vincke even chimed in personally to express his admiration is genuinely unsurprising.

Sadly, it is equally unsurprising that Wizards of the Coast simply sent the lawyers at the mod. WotC has been slowly descending into IP troll-dom in recent years. Whether the takedown ends up getting rescinded now that this is all going public is an open question, but it should be obvious that nothing in this free mod represents any kind of threat to WotC.

And it is natural to wonder, given Vincke’s comments on the matter, if this sort of philisophical difference didn’t play a role in Larian deciding to get out of the Baldur’s Gate franchise moving forward.

Apparently someone at Hasbro or Wizards thinks a fan mashup of BG3 and one of the most popular games of all time in a non-competing genre might get in the way of whatever it’s doing with the franchise. Vincke wasn’t impressed with the move. “Free quality fan mods highlighting your characters in other game genres are proof your work resonates and a unique form of word of mouth,” he wrote on Monday. “Imho they shouldn’t be treated like commercial ventures that infringe on your property.”

One of these two is the good guy in this story and the other is the big bad. If you’re having trouble figuring out which is which, you may have an evil alignment problem.

This is aging like good wine: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3U8bLArlRXw

6 yrs now and I still love every single scene. So well done 👏 👏

Hard to imagine a time where we were struggling with Games on Linux at all nowadays :>

(Yes many of the snippets were contributed by me but @mdiluz@mastodon.gamedev.place did a stellar job glueing everything together)

This is Darkwave, electronic genre inspired by 80s goth. IMO essential Cyberpunk, but CD Projekt RED went for another direction for the game’s OST

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.wtf/post/19256400

What have you all been playing?

I beat Chrono trigger which was excellent!

I have finally started cyberpunk 2077 after years of owning it. I'm really liking it! Think I'll be thoroughly sucked into this one

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.ml/post/28202261

The international Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement are calling on people to cancel Game Pass subscriptions, avoid Microsoft-owned video game properties such as Minecraft and Call Of Duty, and boycott all Microsoft Gaming and Xbox-branded products in protest at the company’s reported business connections with the Israeli military.

The call follows allegations this January about the Israeli military’s usage of Microsoft’s Azure cloud technology and artificial intelligence products in the course of its bombardment and invasion of Gaza.

According to a joint investigation between the Guardian, Israeli-Palestinian publication +972 Magazine and Hebrew-language outlet Local Call, with additional reporting from Drop Site News, Microsoft have “deepened” their relationship with Israel’s defence establishment since 7th October 2023, when several Palestinian militant groups struck across the border and massacred over a thousand people. Israel responded to the attack by mounting a ground offensive and airstrikes that have destroyed much of Gaza and killed tens of thousands of Palestinians.

Video games’ influence on popular culture has never been more prevalent. Their effect is visible and audible in today’s music, across the world of TV and cinema, and on the catwalk. Even your favourite language-learning and fitness apps feature progression systems and rewards popularised by games. To reflect the medium’s universal impact, ahead of the 21st BAFTA Games Awards, we asked the public a provocative question : what is the most influential video game of all time?

As more than one responder said, it’s unfair to have to choose just one. Do you pick the pioneers that shaped the early days of the medium, the innovators that were ahead of their time, the ones that proved formative to your own creative journey, or simply the ones that made you most emotional? As might be expected, among the extraordinary number of responses we received was a staggering variety of games — ranging from titles that launched the industry to contemporary giants released mere months ago. The top ten alone spans multiple genres, from platformers to shooters, sandbox adventures to simulations.

So, without further ado, here are the public’s top 21: each of which, it’s fair to say, has had a seismic impact on games and those who play them…

Also great for pen and paper RPG games like Starfinder and Mothership

I loved the first game and I’m so excited for the second one. I’ll pick this up on day one.

If you haven’t played the first one, please check it out, I’m sure it’s super cheap at this point.

Major update: 64-Bit, 2x New Boss Units, 1x Station Unit, New Shield Upgrade, New BG Gfx Infinite Cosmic Space String

Mirrors:

1. https://tetramatrix.itch.io/old-school-retro-mini-game-spaceship
2. https://tetramatrix.github.io/spaceship/