I liked to post in the Friday fun threads what video games I've been playing recently. Sometimes I recommend the games, and sometimes I ask for recommendations.
I've always enjoyed talking about video games. But themotte has made me picky over the years. Its not just talk that I want. It is thinking, understanding, and discussion of video games that interest me. Video games are mostly a mental activity for me, and so diving into a mental discussion about them often enhances my enjoyment.
I didn't post in the Friday fun thread about what I've been playing, so I'll post now. And I'd like to know what others are playing.
The post I would have written:
This week I've been hooked on factorio (again). I've done many playthroughs of this game. A few vanilla playthroughs (some multiplayer and some not). A krastorio 1 mod playthrough. A few different attempts at the bob's, angels, and seablock mods (never could get into them, too much work, and not enough reward). A krastorio II and space exploration playthrough.
This week though I have been playing with just the space exploration mod. There has been some hints in blogposts that factorio might have an expansion, and that the expansion might be related to the space exploration mod. I thought I'd try and wait for that expansion. But my patience has failed me.
Playing space exploration without the krastorio II mod has been surprisingly way more different than I would have expected. The major difference in my mind is that krastorio II makes the starting world gameplay last too long, and gives too many advantages. I never thought this would be a real problem, but I've never managed to truly beat a space exploration game before. And I realized part of the problem is that krastorio II ties you to the homeworld too strongly. While space exploration on its own forces you off planet just for the sake of some quality of life improvements. For example, you have to go to space in order to get the logistics network chests. The tech is not unlockable based on ground items alone. I don't remember if krastorio II mod combination forced me to go to space, but I do remember that the belt inserters made so many logists aspects so much simpler that the need for drone based logistics didn't seem as pressing. There were also special ground based fabricator buildings for Krastorio II that were larger and much faster (matching the space based ones). But with just the space exploration mod I'm realizing there is an intentional difference. Either you can choose land based production to get productivity bonuses. (and usually the first steps in refinement for special resources). Or you can choose space based production for speed bonuses.
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Notes -
FTL Multiverse, a massive expansion of a most excellent roguelite.
It adds an obscene number of events, sectors, species, weapons, strategies, secrets, endings, and ships to fly. Perhaps more impressive is the way it fits into the normal gameplay and world. I also found the writing to be cohesive and funny. Adding blue optionsthat are obviously bad ideas with predictably bad outcomes was a stroke of genius.
Highly recommended for anyone who liked the original FTL.
I've also been trying to get back into Nebulous: Fleet Command. It's a multiplayer space battle sim pitting teams of battleships, destroyers and the like against each other in glorious 3D movement. Fleets, ships, and even missiles are designed by the player in a robust editor.
The catch is that the dev was a Navy EWAR specialist and has strong opinions about naval warfare (in space!). It's the only game I know which bothers to model radar physics, including jammers. Given my day job, that just scratches an itch like nothing else.
I highly recommend that any wargame enthusiasts take a look.
I really like Nebulous, but since its launch I've had time to join an actual multiplayer match exactly once.
Shame the AI is a dunce.
I’ve definitely spent more time in the ship editor than in matches. Honestly, now that modular missiles are available I’ve been pretty overwhelmed and haven’t played a real match. There’s just so much to fix on my shitty fleets.
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