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PaperclipPerfector  1mo ago (text post)   2143 thread views

Friday Fun Thread for March 8, 2024

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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I started playing Rogue Trader this week, as I'm on vacation. For some reason people call it a CRPG, but it's as much an RPG as Final Fantasy Tactics or Paradise Cracked were: it's just a fight after a fight after a fight. I hope it gets better in Act 2, I really miss a proper hub with factions and quests that don't always require you to murder everyone.

I am enjoying it more than BG3, though. Still lots of "why would I ever pick that" abilities, but there are enough abilities that turn everyone into a murder machine. Except the Sister of Battle, whose bolter is laughably weak and won't shoot straight.

Also in the theme of keeping games-related comments together, some good news!

Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri is now on Steam!

It's old and the UI is a bit clunky (though fan patches can help), but it's a beloved classic for a reason. Prokhor Zakharov is my guy all the way for gameplay reasons--probably a popular choice in these parts--but there's something to love in each character. For a (very) deep dive into the interplay of game mechanics, storytelling, and philosophy of SMAC, I also recommend the classic blog series Paean to SMAC: Meditations on Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri.

My fave quote is the Free Drones' introduction. I don't know who had the idea to turn an Australian folk ballad usually associated with the caprine tones of Bob Dylan into a haunting and ominous oath, but it turned out perfect.

I was just thinking of giving my copy of SMAC another spin. I have a P233 MMX that would probably be perfect for it.

SMAC actually came front of mind in the culture war thread about SBI and bad writing. Because while the flavor text that reflects the viewpoints of the various factions is deeply political, none of it feels like cheap shots. It's like every factions ideology is steel manned. At least that's how I remember it. Maybe going back to it in my middle age will change that perspective.

I believe it still holds up, but if you do give it a whirl, post a report? If a game in the 2000s can make a sympathetic Christian fundamentalist, it's gotta be doing something right.

SMAC is tragic. They can't make another one because the publisher went bankrupt. All of the IP rights were bundled and poorly split and auctioned off. Now it's not clear who owns what.

Any attempt at a remaster will be met by lawsuits from people with various claims.

Why'd you even play it, there's an AI patch that unfucks the AI and iirc you could run it through Dosbox or something else pretty well.

It has avaliable DRM-free on GOG for 13 years. The strange thing is EA sold it for so long on GOG, but not on steam, while the Command & Conquer: The Ultimate Collection (which was also just released on steam and is also published by EA) never was on GOG (and still isn't).

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