General gaming discussion

The Nal

Gamestop closing down in Ireland. 40m losses! WTF

Retr0gamer

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120557852#Comment_120557852

Nobody is buying games at the prices they have them listed and nobody wants funko pops.

Zero-Cool

I just remembered that Max Payne 1 & 2 are both getting remakes and it put a big smile on my face.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_aAN-ANs3EE

SuperBowserWorld

I fell for the 75% off a Ubisoft game. Again. This time Riders Republic. Think the first hour is horrible hand holding, but then it gets good. Also, I need to go visit Ireland in AC Valhalla. Got the DLC that includes Ireland cheap. 😁

Whatever you say about Ubisoft they certainly have the technical chops to push 60 FPS, up to 4K, huge open world games, around, cross platform. Free updates too. Also their games, at least the ones I've played, look gorgeous, and vivid and colourful. AC Origins, Far Cry 5, AC Odyssey, Riders Republic... just look so beautiful.

Maybe they should license their engine to 3rd parties ... ahem ... MS. 😁

Retr0gamer

Every time i decided there's been long enough between playing a ubisoft game I boot one up and instantly getting the feeling of 'I've played this already'.

SuperBowserWorld

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120569767#Comment_120569767

Comfort food 😁

I swore I'd never play an AC game again after I burned through Odyssey. Then I played the 4Kx60FPS upgrade of AC Origins when that came out and it's a much better and much shorter game. Great main character and you can turn off all the map markers etc for a really relaxing game.

Mr Crispy

If they're truly scaling back the next instalment as the rumours suggest, I'll be very interested. But if the bloat is still there, they can **** off.

Zero-Cool

Yupp, Mirage will be very telling, i don't think Ubi can help themselves though, someone will stick their nose in and say not enough activities on the map.

SuperBowserWorld

My main point above was that they have a pretty solid cross platform engine ... and there have been a number of games recently with big technical issues and no noticeable improvement in gameplay. Like redfall and the jedi survivor game. I think that's a UE4 issue or usage issue as least from a technical point of view ?

Cordell

It's poor implementation, which will be poor using any engine. Epic's 1st party games prove that UE4 is as solid as any other engines, when used right. And in the upcoming UE5 with its new and complex features like lumen and nanite there's even more potential to screw up. So I predict a return to cinematic 30fps gaming experience.

Retr0gamer

Alex Battaglia at DF retro has been highlighting major issues with UE5, most notably that it's incredibly poorly optimised for multiple cores and it action like a single threaded engine. It's a weird one and something I wouldn't expect from Epic.

Watchdogs Legions is one of my favourite games. I also really enjoyed AC Valhalla.

I agree, they are solid, well made games. People think they have to go achievement/trophy hunting and then complain about all the boring filler side stories. Do yourself a favour and set yourself free from the achievement hunting shackles, you'll enjoy gaming a lot more if you do.

It also shows you can't just take the Internet's word for it when it tells you a game is crap. You have to play it yourself to find out.

I'm Actually really tempted to play Redfall. With my tendancy to go against the crowd I might end up loving it. But maybe in this case I'll give it a year 😄

johnny_ultimate

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120570714#Comment_120570714

That’s UE4 the problems are with rather than 5. Slightly more understandable given it’s targeted at now aging tech, although the crap PC ports are still unacceptable. We’re still waiting for the first non-Fortnite UE5 games, but hopefully it’ll be a lot smoother when it comes to things like open world / traversal streaming.

Retr0gamer

https://metro.co.uk/2023/04/26/we-played-zelda-tears-of-the-kingdom-and-its-mind-blowingly-good-18670110/

I guessing I'm going to have to drop every other game I'm playing.

Playstation/PC has humanity coming as well. Good few days for new games.

walkonby

There’s a sweetspot between easy and controller-flinging difficulty. I enjoy Soulsborne games but they do push things too far. But on the other hand the likes of Kirby and Pokemon are too easy to engage me (I mist try Cassette Beasts actually as it sounds like Pokemon without baby-friendly challenge level)

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120573367#Comment_120573367

I never did finish it BoW, think I'll tackle that as my next game before moving onto Tears. I'm going to try it on a PC emulator, apparently you can get 4k@60fps that way. I do of course already own the game, so all perfectly legal.

Grumpypants

Might have to dust off the old Switch next week, but Darkest Dungeon 2 is out now and that's perfectly suited for the Steam Deck.

Grumpypants

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120570402#Comment_120570402

These games really need a Story, collector, or Exploration option. Like some do with a story/easy/hard difficulty.

Story just sticks to the missions and clears the collectables out of the game. Anything needed for progression should be a mission.

Collector has all the pointless collectables and has map markers telling you where to go.

Exploration has it all, but you have to find them yourself.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120574101#Comment_120574101

Just do whatever you want, you don't need to take them out of the game. Pretty sure there is a filter on the map if I remember correctly?

SuperBowserWorld

It's pretty mad that people get a better experience of Switch games on PC emulation.

Nintendo need to wake up and produce a sufficiently capable docked only Switch. Basically a Series S like, sized and priced machine would be enough to polish then up to 60 FPS and up to 1440p.

Their is already a portable only Switch, the Lite, so a home console one fits into the "platform" model that they mentioned ages ago.

Retr0gamer

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120574147#Comment_120574147

They really don't though. The Switch is still selling like crazy. They know well there's no need for a new switch until the sales start to die down.

Developing a new machine also isn't as easy as you make it out to be. I'd say with the security being cracked wide open Nintendo won't be revisiting the Switch hardware.

walkonby

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120574211#Comment_120574211

It’s not “selling like crazy.” It’s trending down year on year.

https://www.cnbc.com/amp/2023/05/09/nintendo-full-year-earnings-2023-switch-sales-plunge-22percent.html

SuperBowserWorld

Nintendo are free and easy when it comes to hardware. They have released 3ds, 2ds, 2Ds XL, the mini consoles, the game and watches ... not so long ago.

so, I can easily see them releasing a home console "Switch".

I'd say they'd love to make it digital only and locked to a service to avoid piracy..

but ... Nintendo fans love physical media and physical media is another form for advertising and FOMO that digital can not provide.

I think they've been quiet hardware wise because they just are terrified to upset the Switch applecart after the Wii U bomb.

Actually, I'd say Nintendo hardware designers must be in a terrified state these days. 😁

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120574147#Comment_120574147

It gets even better. On Windows 11 Auto-HDR kicks in. So I get it 4k@60fps with HDR 😃

Edit: I've only a 1440 monitor. So I'm rocking 2K@120fps with HDR 🤣

SuperBowserWorld

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120574403#Comment_120574403

How much for a PC to emulate Switch games like this? Note: I own the physical games.

Potential-Monke

That's one of the main reasons I haven't got a Switch. I've zero interest in the portability, so a docked only Switch would interest me. Should only be a couple of hundred then.

johnny_ultimate

https://www.eurogamer.net/nintendo-no-plans-for-switch-successor-before-april-2024

Unsurprisingly, it will likely be later in 2024 before a Switch successor arrives. It’s pretty obvious when you think about it. A similar form factor hybrid device that offers a proper generational performance leap is still probably just outside the realm of affordability still. Steam Deck is a solid jump for sure, but the basic model is 50 quid more expensive than even the premium OLED Switch and comes in a substantially larger form factor. And there’s no Dock included either.

So yeah, given the limitations and again assuming a hybrid form factor, I think Nintendo is likely waiting until the hardware can be sold at a comparable price to the Switch at launch, or at least well clear of the XBSX and PS5. I’d love a Switch successor soon, but with generational leaps in even top tier GPUs offering poor value for money at the moment it’ll be no surprise if it’s still a bit away. I’d also hate if they split SKUs into portable and non portable models - the magic of the Switch is that hybrid, and really the Switch Lite exists because it seems to be the only reasonable way to get a cheaper model out there. That said, a Dock with more robust upscaling tech would be neat - but probably not cheap.

McFly85

The switches successor will be interesting. Nintendo love to have a reason outside raw specs to release a console. Something nobody else is doing.

But the switch has done phenomenally well to the point where people would assume their next console is just the switch, but better - it wouldn’t surprise me to see it being more different than that.

The big thing I want is for them to treat digital collections properly. I don’t want to have to transfer all my games to a different console, I should just be able to sign in and download whatever I want. It will most likely be backwards compatible with the switch anyway - people have come to expect it when they have digital collections, and it makes sense that games that were once on VC to purchase are now behind a subscription, so people cannot buy an old game and play it though different console generations.

recyclops

I wonder would it be worth just emulating TOTK after I pick it up to get the best version of it. I am yet to emulate my switch on steamdeck yet unsure how easy it is. My swtich hasnt been turned on since I finished Metroid in Jan and has drift issues so the thoughts of playing it on my TV with issues is the only downside I can see of hte game.

Retr0gamer

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120574262#Comment_120574262

Sales are down but down from figures that make it the fastest selling console of all time. It's 6 years in, most console sales start to drop after 3 years, so even if sales drop it's doing extremely well with a high software attach rate. I mean it has a chance of becoming the best selling console of all time, although realistically I think it will end up close behind the DS in third place.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120574480#Comment_120574480

I mean it comes with a dock? Just keep it docked and enjoy the nintendo goodness?