The Steam Thread

[INDalltheway]

Originally Posted by Ramzavail

yeah I missed the FM 16 sale, grr.

http://www.kinguin.net/category/2210...-steam-cd-key/
I've always had good luck with this site.

[Ramzavail]

thanks. I used it.

[JPhillips]

Grim Dawn is my favorite Diablo clone since Titan Quest. If you like those types of games, get it now while it's on sale. It's early access, but the full release is scheduled for February and the whole story is complete as is.

[Vince, Pt. II]

What about it do you like? I've found that since Diablo II, I play those games for about 1/2 the story and then get incredibly bored with them.

[JPhillips]

Mostly, I like the world they've created. I've found the map to be fun to explore. It's bleak, but captivating. The encounters are a bit too clumped, but it's nothing major. The leveling system is simple, but still offers plenty of directions on builds.

I've also died a few times on normal, which doesn't happen often in these types of games.

[QuikSand]

Originally Posted by JPhillips

Grim Dawn is my favorite Diablo clone since Titan Quest. If you like those types of games, get it now while it's on sale. It's early access, but the full release is scheduled for February and the whole story is complete as is.

Thanks. I have actually been scratching that itch with Titan Quest of late... would welcome a new entry in a comparable vein.

[IlliniCub]

Grim Dawn is actually made by the lead gameplay designer of Titan Quest and uses an updated version of the Titan Quest engine. I'd describe it as Titan Quest with the darkness and bleakness of Diablo thrown in. Definitely a great game.

[thesloppy]

I've been in Grim Dawn's early access for like 6 months too, and it's probably finally at the point where I'd feel comfortable recommending it, now that it's content complete. I'll also echo JPhillips in saying that the difficulty's ramped up a bit compared to Diablo, and I've died plenty of times (especially after passing level 35 or so)...the combat is a little closer to Path of Exile than Diablo, as bosses/mobs can require you to actually put some (slight) thought into when to use your skills, and some movement/dodging is often required during combat, as opposed to Diablo where you generally just click and wait.

[mckerney]

I backed Grim Dawn on Kickstarter but never played the early access. I'll probably start it up once I finish Dragon's Dogma: Dark Arisen.

[MizzouRah]

Oh wow.. Dragon's Dogma - one of my favorite games of all time. I finish very FEW games, but this one of those.

For $15 I think I'll pick up GD today.. I'm not a huge ARPG dude but this one looks pretty fun.

[SirFozzie]

For those of you with Rocket League, anyone up for some games this evening? Going to run an informal stream.

[mckerney]

Originally Posted by MizzouRah

Oh wow.. Dragon's Dogma - one of my favorite games of all time. I finish very FEW games, but this one of those.

Finally coming out on PC after nearly 3 years. After hearing so many great things about the combat for so long I can't wait to get into it next month.

[thesloppy]

Originally Posted by MizzouRah

Oh wow.. Dragon's Dogma - one of my favorite games of all time. I finish very FEW games, but this one of those.

Same here, and I "finished" Dragon's Dogma like 5 times over....it really is a fun game, which is truly the definition of "greater than the sum of it's parts", as it's production values and story are all kinda mediocre when judged on their own, but it just plain plays fun.

[Eaglesfan27]

Originally Posted by thesloppy

Same here, and I "finished" Dragon's Dogma like 5 times over....it really is a fun game, which is truly the definition of "greater than the sum of it's parts", as it's production values and story are all kinda mediocre when judged on their own, but it just plain plays fun.

Agreed. One of my favorite games despite no one part being truly stellar.

[MizzouRah]

Originally Posted by mckerney

Finally coming out on PC after nearly 3 years. After hearing so many great things about the combat for so long.

Yeah.. I saw that just a bit ago.

[MizzouRah]

Originally Posted by thesloppy

Same here, and I "finished" Dragon's Dogma like 5 times over....it really is a fun game, which is truly the definition of "greater than the sum of it's parts", as it's production values and story are all kinda mediocre when judged on their own, but it just plain plays fun.

Would agree with this. I typically play game X and after some hours I get that "ugh.. not really in the mood" feeling and either trade it in or delete it from Steam (if pc game). Not with DD.. that game had me playing daily until I finished it.

[JPhillips]

Originally Posted by IlliniCub

Grim Dawn is actually made by the lead gameplay designer of Titan Quest and uses an updated version of the Titan Quest engine. I'd describe it as Titan Quest with the darkness and bleakness of Diablo thrown in. Definitely a great game.

Shows how much I pay attention!

The leveling system is reminiscent of TQ, simpler than PoE, but still offering a lot of possibilities.

[frnk55]

Originally Posted by IlliniCub

Grim Dawn is actually made by the lead gameplay designer of Titan Quest and uses an updated version of the Titan Quest engine. I'd describe it as Titan Quest with the darkness and bleakness of Diablo thrown in. Definitely a great game.

This game will soon become one of my all time favs. It's 15 bucks now so buy it now everyone. You won't be sorry!

[MizzouRah]

Originally Posted by frnk55

This game will soon become one of my all time favs. It's 15 bucks now so buy it now everyone. You won't be sorry!

Done

[EagleFan]

Anyone try 80 Days? Just started that today and it has been a very pleasant surprise. Guess I shouldn't say surprise since I heard good things about it but still more than what I was expecting.

[Thomkal]

Further explanation of what happened when Steam "bugged" out:

Steam Reveals What Caused Their Christmas Day Issue, Says About 34,000 Accounts Were Exposed

[PilotMan]

Originally Posted by SirFozzie

For those of you with Rocket League, anyone up for some games this evening? Going to run an informal stream.

I would, but I'm not sure my internet will be good enough or that I'll be awake enough for it to be any good.

[QuikSand]

Grr, looks like my laptop (with no dedicated video card) can't handle Grim Dawn. Bummed.

[MizzouRah]

I had no idea CoE 4 was out!

[MizzouRah]

Grim Dawn is freaking awesome so far. Kind of spooky too.

[Marmel]

Is Grim Dawn similar to Torchlight 2? Better or worse? I really loved T2.

[SlyBelle1]

Originally Posted by MizzouRah

Grim Dawn is freaking awesome so far. Kind of spooky too.

I am thinking of picking this up too....can you give any more details what makes this great and worth it? How is it different than other games of this type?

[thesloppy]

It's kind of hard to describe what makes Grim Dawn different from other games of this type, other than to say it just plays well.

Grim dawn has guns....not all that different from a range weapon in any other game, but it does "feel" like your character is shooting a firearm. There are factions within the game that will reward you with bounties and side quests aside from the main story. The maps are large (I don't think they're random, other than the few "roguelike" dungeons), with lots of area to explore and entrances into smaller off-shoot dungeons/caverns/caves, which allows for more of an "exploring" feel than you get from the randomly generated maps of similar games. There is a healthy degree of collection/crafting if you're a completist.

I've heard it described as halfway between the click-and-forget of Diablo 3, and the relative complexity of Path of Exile, which seems like a fair comparison.

For whatever it's worth, I believe at one time they were planning on releasing a demo near the 1.0 release date, but I have no idea where that plan is at now.

[MizzouRah]

Originally Posted by Marmel

Is Grim Dawn similar to Torchlight 2? Better or worse? I really loved T2.

It's been so long since I played TL 2. It's similar to Diablo but has much more in the way of character design and leveling and isn't so linear.

Watch some gameplay videos on youtube, that should give you an idea about the game.

[MizzouRah]

Originally Posted by thesloppy

It's kind of hard to describe what makes Grim Dawn different from other games of this type, other than to say it just plays well.

Grim dawn has guns....not all that different from a range weapon in any other game, but it does "feel" like your character is shooting a firearm. There are factions within the game that will reward you with bounties and side quests aside from the main story. The maps are large (I don't think they're random, other than the few "roguelike" dungeons), with lots of area to explore and entrances into smaller off-shoot dungeons/caverns/caves, which allows for more of an "exploring" feel than you get from the randomly generated maps of similar games. There is a healthy degree of collection/crafting if you're a completist.

I've heard it described as halfway between the click-and-forget of Diablo 3, and the relative complexity of Path of Exile, which seems like a fair comparison.

For whatever it's worth, I believe at one time they were planning on releasing a demo near the 1.0 release date, but I have no idea where that plan is at now.

This... pretty much. Although I don't feel yet like I have to spend a ton of time messing with all the deep character stuff if I don't want to and still bash some skulls in.

Spooked me out a bit last night too playing while the house was asleep. The graphics and sound are excellent.

[thesloppy]

Originally Posted by MizzouRah

This... pretty much. Although I don't feel yet like I have to spend a ton of time messing with all the deep character stuff if I don't want to and still bash some skulls in.

Spooked me out a bit last night too playing while the house was asleep. The graphics and sound are excellent.

Yeah, I'll admit to putting like 3 seconds of toal thought into my character build, through 40+ levels. I've stuck to a single class and simply maxed out the 4 low-level skills I use.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Finally bought a few games. Bought the Stronghold bundle that had several of the original games. Also bought Dungeon Hearts. Rounded out the grouping by purchasing the You Don't Know Jack bundle. Spent around $19 for 17 games.

[Vince, Pt. II]

I also caved and bought Grim Dawn. I can echo most of the sentiments above - it just feels right. The setting, the SFX/music, the character building. They provide an incentive for lore and exploration as well, which helps to keep you from just blindly smashing everything. I'm only a couple hours in and haven't seen any of the difficulty noted by some, but I've definitely started to see creatures that make me use my health potions. Interesting things that are different from prior entries:

-Multi-classing. When you create a character, you simply create a character. You don't choose your class until your first level up. At level ten, you can select a new class to start putting skill points into, or you can simply keep pouring points into your original class.

-Exploration incentives. You can find shrines out in the world, and when you cleanse them (by sacrificing items to them), you get a point of Devotion. The Devotions are spent like skill points on a map of constellations. Each point unlocks a star, and your selection of stars is gated. The first constellation you have access to is a five pointed hub that unlocks branches of constellations around you, and each branch is themed. Most stars provide a passive stat bonus, but some provide actual skills or abilities. I've only found two so far, so I can't speak to the longevity of this decision making process, but I like it thus far.

-Moving around in the world feels fluid. In games like Diablo, the acts are very stark and different; even moving from zone to zone sometimes felt like a very abrupt change to different geography. It always felt very video-gamey to me. It's still early yet for me in Grim Dawn, but the world seems to flow together much more seamlessly between zones.

[Eaglesfan27]

You guys are selling me on Grim Dawn. I wonder how well it will run on a surface book.

[djsatu]

I'm also intrigued about Grim Dawn. Anyone know how the game would run on my graphics card (4400 Intel HD)? I have 8 gigs of ram, intel core [email protected] (2 core, 4 logical processors) also.

[MizzouRah]

Originally Posted by djsatu

I'm also intrigued about Grim Dawn. Anyone know how the game would run on my graphics card (4400 Intel HD)? I have 8 gigs of ram, intel core [email protected] (2 core, 4 logical processors) also.

Good question.. there are many graphic options though.. so maybe on lower settings. I would search on the forums for the graphic threads.

My GTX 970 runs at 60fps on 4x/4x with all settings maxed.. so happy with this particular Christmas present. The game is certainly beautiful!

[MizzouRah]

Originally Posted by thesloppy

Yeah, I'll admit to putting like 3 seconds of toal thought into my character build, through 40+ levels. I've stuck to a single class and simply maxed out the 4 low-level skills I use.

+1

[NobodyHere]

Originally Posted by thesloppy

Same here, and I "finished" Dragon's Dogma like 5 times over....it really is a fun game, which is truly the definition of "greater than the sum of it's parts", as it's production values and story are all kinda mediocre when judged on their own, but it just plain plays fun.

One thing I thought was fantastic about DD was the lighting in the dungeons. Never have dungeons seemed so creepy to me.

Just remember to keep plenty of lamp oil on hand.

[CrimsonFox]

Just got Rocket League. Oh man is this fun. who wants to play?

[thesloppy]

One gripe I do have about Grim Dawn is though I noted above you use can use firearms, it doesn't seem that they're properly balanced. They're not particularly restricted to any class (though I think the demolitionist gets some bonuses), and it seems like they're perhaps purposefully 30% lower in damage than melee weapons. Though I was able to use a firearm early on with a couple character builds I've eventually always ended up feeling forced to play with a melee weapon, because I eventually find an melee artifact/item that is literally two to three times as powerful as any firearm I can find.

For example, the idea of using two pistols is neat, and there are specific skills and armor/items to buff up the build....except your chances of finding a single decent pistol (let alone two) seem to be astronomical past the first dozen levels or so, which kind of ruins the whole idea. There are seemingly a couple other builds/ideas, and/or features to each class that appear to run along that same line, where the concept sounds neat, but is crucially underpowered in execution, or where the rareness of the related items/loot doesn't allow you to properly play the build you're trying to make.

That said, the developers have said they're going to spend a good part of the next couple months before the official release doing testing and balancing, so hopefully that will all change for the better in the future.

[thesloppy]

Originally Posted by NobodyHere

One thing I thought was fantastic about DD was the lighting in the dungeons. Never have dungeons seemed so creepy to me.

Just remember to keep plenty of lamp oil on hand.

Yeah! The expansion was especially good at that. Did anybody come close to beating the Daimon boss in the Dark Arisen DLC? Despite all my hours put into that game I didn't even come close....it seemed nearly impossible, like you'd have to slog through three straight hours of combat AND hope to got really lucky. Maybe I was missing something crucial, though.

[sovereignstar v2]

Originally Posted by CrimsonFox

Just got Rocket League. Oh man is this fun. who wants to play?

What's your steam handle? Mine is 'Seoulstar' for anyone that wants to add me to play some Rocket League.

[thesloppy]

A hint from Grim Dawn that took me way too long to figure out: the #3 skill on your hotbar is mapped to your middle mouse button.

[Vince, Pt. II]

Originally Posted by thesloppy

....except your chances of finding a single decent pistol (let alone two) seem to be astronomical past the first dozen levels or so, which kind of ruins the whole idea.

It's funny, I'm at level 22 and I have found nothing but pistols. And I'm playing a full on melee build.

[djsatu]

I picked up Titan Quest tonight and absolutely love it. It's been a long long time since I've played these types of games, and was scared there would be alot of buttons (mouse/keyboard combo), but its really not that bad. Just learned about holding shift to hone in from long distance etc. Is there a certain beginner layout of the keys/buttons that I should follow for this game? Im pretty much using the mouse for everything, and using the M for the map. Can see things getting really hectic later on, and I really don't want to get caught having to use a bunch of buttons etc when **** hits the fan.

[thesloppy]

Originally Posted by Vince, Pt. II

It's funny, I'm at level 22 and I have found nothing but pistols. And I'm playing a full on melee build.

Of course!

...though I think I possibly still could've been using firearms at around that level. Somewheres around there I got my first epic weapon, and every one since then seems to have been melee for me.

I will also mention that I've been dying a lot recently. Perhaps I just suck, but it seems like in the later levels things can get pretty tough. There seems to be parts of the map and/or particular mobs/bosses that are scaled for a bit above your level, whereas some are static, as determined by map/story. Now that I'm level 40 running into a boss/mob of level 45, with the right set of buffs, can put a dying on me several times over.

[CrimsonFox]

Originally Posted by sovereignstar v2

What's your steam handle? Mine is 'Seoulstar' for anyone that wants to add me to play some Rocket League.

sircrimsonfox
anyone can add me to play things too

[Peregrine]

I picked up Gemcraft: Chasing Shadows on sale during the Steam Winter sale - for only 2 bucks. This game is great so far - it's a really well put together tower defense game with some nice addons like skill development, spells, etc. Well worth the 2 bucks if you like that kind of game.

[MizzouRah]

Originally Posted by Vince, Pt. II

It's funny, I'm at level 22 and I have found nothing but pistols. And I'm playing a full on melee build.

I'm using some hatchet thing like a mad man.

[JPhillips]

The splitting missile spell for the arcanist is fantastic. I'm up to a point where it pierces through enemies and splits when it stops piercing. It's a great mob stopper.