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PaperclipPerfector  3d ago (text post)   1582 thread views

Friday Fun Thread for July 10, 2026

Be advised: this thread is not for serious in-depth discussion of weighty topics (we have a link for that), this thread is not for anything Culture War related. This thread is for Fun. You got jokes? Share 'em. You got silly questions? Ask 'em.

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Video Game Thread

What are you playing? Did you pick up anything great in the Steam summer sale?

I'm working my way through Half-Life (1998) and its expansions. It's pretty great even beyond the nostalgia, and I like the general feel of the engine and how you move around in it. Even the much-criticized Blue Shift is kinda fun. The engine was always one of the main strengths of HL and played a large part in its many mods' successes too, IMO. I'm playing with the 'original models' because I prefer how those weapons look and sound. I tried Black Mesa again briefly but I don't really like many of the changes they made. It's not a faithful remake.

Playing the new-ish Rogue Trader Trazyn DLC. Owlcat does make a nice CRPG. I'm trying to go for a balanced alignment run where I don't exceed rank 2 in any alignment. They show a mirror universe character with that affliction but I'm not sure its possible with all the colony buildings.

I loved the Owlcat Pathfinders and Rogue Trader, but with RT, it felt like I could see the rails on the universe much more clearly than with the others. It felt smaller. Not sure if it actually is, but it feels that way. Maybe it's that a lot of the tedious mechanics (e.g. wealth, inventory) are handwaved because you're a Rogue Trader who doesn't need to deal with such trivial inconveniences, and those are actually load-bearing on the immersion. Maybe it's the reduced narrative complexity and choice branches. I don't think I could bring myself to start another RT playthrough today, whereas there are still things I'd like to try in WotR or KM.

and those are actually load-bearing on the immersion

(Disclaimer: I've never played the tabletop game nor do I know anything about 40k.)

When I did background research on Rogue Trader, I wanted to learn about mechanics and gameplay, but (I guess because its a TTRPG) all the answers online are explaining the 40k lore or what a Rogue Trader is. I don't care! I had the same problem when trying to google "Difference between Warlock and Wizard 5e" -- I guess these games are for theatre kids instead of mechanic enjoyers.

It took me awhile to adjust to the shop system and the cargo system, because the game explains them in in-universe immersion terms. It took me too long to realize cargo was your cash and the items themselves are free (its mostly about the reputation, I think?). If you want tedium, I hear min/maxing cargo turn-ins requires you to micromanage to avoid overfilling units.

There's also the space combat minigame (I think it's quite complex for a minigame), that is prohibitively difficult compared to the rest of the game. I really like that it has it though, because I think it is immersive! I feel like the gameplay is reflecting (what little I've read) about the Rogue Trader fantasy.

The only immersion-breaking thing is that I am swinging a sword at all. That is Abelard's job, hello?

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