Conference Call

GWJ Conference Call Episode 397

Super Time Force, Wildstar Open Beta, Burial at Sea Episode 2, Lego Marvel Superheroes, Special Guest AmazingZoidberg, Your Emails and more!

This week Shawn, Julian and Elysium are joined by community member Brandon Willsie! Also known as AmazingZoidberg.

To contact us, email [email protected]! Send us your thoughts on the show, pressing issues you want to talk about or whatever else is on your mind. You can even send a 30 second audio question or comment (MP3 format please) if you're so inclined.

Chairman_Mao's Timestamps
00.01.34 Bioshock Infinite: Burial at Sea episode 2
00.07.12 Lego Marvel Superheroes
00.11.17 Super Time Force
00.19.13 Wildstar Open Beta
00.27.48 This week's topics: Gaming throughout your lifecycle and the culture of

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Show credits

Music credits: 

Intro/Outtro Music - Ian Dorsch, Willowtree Audioworks

Tell Me a Story - SGX - http://sgxmusic.com/ - 27:19

Have No Tyrant - SGX - http://sgxmusic.com/ - 54:17

Comments

Loved this week's podcast, many thanks to AmazingZoidberg for the topics! The "gaming and the life cycle" topic in particular was really interesting to me, because I almost wrote in a few weeks ago with something along those lines. Gaming has definitely changed for me since I started playing over two decades ago (yeah, I know, I'm a lightweight compared to some others here). It was nice to hear Sean telling us about how his own children have kinda "kicked him out of the gaming party" since I recalling my sister and I doing something similar as we grew up. When we started out, we played with our dad, he'd guide us, help us along, dole out hints (this was before the Internet, back when they had hint lines and hint books). As we grew and got more independent, we play with or rather against one another, and eventually, we just played solo.
I imagine my boys will one day do the same thing. Provided they get into gaming, of course!

Anyhow, great podcast this week! Oh, and any chance someone on the conference call will try out Transistor and talk about it next week? Julian? I have no testicles to give though.

Fallout 3 may have just ruined Skyrim for me. With the potential of Fallout 4 being on the horizon I popped the game back in and son found myself out in the middle of the wasteland with a new character, trying to scavenge up food, drugs and ammo.

After a few hours I realised that I was having more fun in Fallout 3 than I was in Skyrim. It may be that I just like shooting stuff rather than faffing about with swords, bows and spells. VATS is still a brilliant, satisfying piece of design and you can't really beat listening to cheery music from the radio while I try to fight off two sledgehammer wielding super mutants with a lever action rifle and grenades.

On a related topic, Fallout 3 or New Vegas could be a good choice as a melancholic game to play.

This may be raving over the newer game a bit much, but I think Europa Universalis has killed Civilization for me. EU can't capture the same "starting brand new in an unknown world" as Civ, but it feels better in every other way to me.

Higgledy wrote:

Fallout 3 may have just ruined Skyrim for me. With the potential of Fallout 4 being on the horizon I popped the game back in and son found myself out in the middle of the wasteland with a new character, trying to scavenge up food, drugs and ammo.

After a few hours I realised that I was having more fun in Fallout 3 than I was in Skyrim. It may be that I just like shooting stuff rather than faffing about with swords, bows and spells. VATS is still a brilliant, satisfying piece of design and you can't really beat listening to cheery music from the radio while I try to fight off two sledgehammer wielding super mutants with a lever action rifle and grenades.

On a related topic, Fallout 3 or New Vegas could be a good choice as a melancholic game to play.

I thought I was the only one who liked Fallout 3 but not Skyrim (or oblivion, which I played after Fallout 3). I just couldn't get into the worlds enough.

I didn't much care for New Vegas. It was virtually impossible to explore-- every time I left the main road it was invisible walls, deathclaws, or these ridiculously lethal hornet things that kept demolishing me well into my level teens. Combine that with the fact that I didn't like anyone in the entire world enough to want to do anything for them if not for being forced to by quest lines, and you had a recipe for a huge "meh" from me.

In an unrelated topic, I only just started listening to the podcast again in March after a couple of years off. When did you start bringing forum members into the podcast?

I am green with envy.

doubtingthomas396 wrote:

In an unrelated topic, I only just started listening to the podcast again in March after a couple of years off. When did you start bringing forum members into the podcast?

I am green with envy.

2013's Donation Drive upper tier reward.

That said, it was great hearing you on the podcast Zoidberg, and great topics too. When i think about games and me through the ages i have similar memories of bonding with my brother. He was five years older than me, so we didn't share much in the way of interests, but i have so many memories of watching him play Zelda, and swapping lives on Spelunker or Super Mario.

Dryden wrote:

When i think about games and me through the ages i have similar memories of bonding with my brother. He was five years older than me, so we didn't share much in the way of interests, but i have so many memories of watching him play Zelda, and swapping lives on Spelunker or Super Mario.

I vividly remember my brother (6.5 years older than me) and I were playing through Ocarina of Time, but separate save states which usually meant we refused to watch the other play and spoil the game. But neither of us could figure out how to get a fish into a jar to get to the water temple as little Link. We spent nearly a week trying fishing and everything. It was the first zelda game for both of us so we had no idea what to expect.

One morning I wake up to find a note on the TV from my brother who had a much later bedtime: "[Lysias], I got the fish, found the last piece of the triforce, got a new sword and was transported seven years into the future where the world has been destroyed. I'll show you how when you get home from school."

Don't think I learned a single thing at school that day.

Privateer 2?!?!? Are you f*cking kidding me? One of the biggest piles of sh*t in the entire genre ruined space games for y'all?! I don't even...I can't...what the f*ck people...

Flight Unlimited was awesome though, and 1942 PAW is still one of the finest WWII flight sims ever.

Thanks to everyone for the opportunity to invade your earholes this week with my voice and my topics. It was a blast!

Veloxi wrote:

Privateer 2?!?!? Are you f*cking kidding me? One of the biggest piles of sh*t in the entire genre ruined space games for y'all?! I don't even...I can't...what the f*ck people...

You shut your filthy mouth.

Seriously, Privateer 2 came at a very specific moment in time for me, it had a combination of dog fighting and commodity trading that didn't exist in the other space sims of the day. That balance is the thing I have never really found in another space sims. Either they swing too far towards being complex (evochrome legends, the entire X series, etc) or they are dogfighting only.

I'm really hoping that Star Citizen can strike that balance.

AmazingZoidberg wrote:

You shut your filthy mouth.

Never! I've played maaaaaaaaaany a space game, and P2 is one of the worst of the lot.

AmazingZoidberg wrote:

Seriously, Privateer 2 came at a very specific moment in time for me, it had a combination of dog fighting and commodity trading that didn't exist in the other space sims of the day. That balance is the thing I have never really found in another space sims. Either they swing too far towards being complex (evochrome legends, the entire X series, etc) or they are dogfighting only.

I'm really hoping that Star Citizen can strike that balance.

Okay, wait, have you played the original Wing Commander: Privateer? It's pretty much the pinnacle of the space combat/trading genre even 21 years later.

Otherwise, Star Citizen won't hit that balance because, honestly, it sounds like nothing can.

It's all just chasin' dots anyways, guys.

Lysias wrote:

This may be raving over the newer game a bit much, but I think Europa Universalis has killed Civilization for me. EU can't capture the same "starting brand new in an unknown world" as Civ, but it feels better in every other way to me.

You're not the only one, the EUs killed Civ for me too.

Eleima wrote:

I have no testicles to give

If you didn't already have a tag, this would be it.

tboon wrote:
Lysias wrote:

This may be raving over the newer game a bit much, but I think Europa Universalis has killed Civilization for me. EU can't capture the same "starting brand new in an unknown world" as Civ, but it feels better in every other way to me.

You're not the only one, the EUs killed Civ for me too.

EU4 makes me feel like I am actually directing a country which Civilization doesn't quite capture. Eu4 has supplanted Civ for me which is saying something because I was mesmerized by Civilization (I).

doubtingthomas396 wrote:

I didn't much care for New Vegas. It was virtually impossible to explore-- every time I left the main road it was invisible walls, deathclaws, or these ridiculously lethal hornet things that kept demolishing me well into my level teens. Combine that with the fact that I didn't like anyone in the entire world enough to want to do anything for them if not for being forced to by quest lines, and you had a recipe for a huge "meh" from me.

I haven't played Fallout: New Vegas. I found it for pennies so I'm going to give it a try (I ordered it before your post.) I shall curb my expectations but I'll probably get my money's worth regardless.

Loved Rabbit's League of Legends story...how funny !
I am 40, so I was always waaay ahead of my Dad who used to visit and game with me on weekends when I was a child.
It's funny now as he has retired. I have given him a Oblivion, and Civ 5 on his laptop, and I get to answer gaming support calls 2 or 3 times a week.
It's got to the point I answer the phone "Civ 5 helpline, how may I help you ?"

Higgledy wrote:
doubtingthomas396 wrote:

I didn't much care for New Vegas. It was virtually impossible to explore-- every time I left the main road it was invisible walls, deathclaws, or these ridiculously lethal hornet things that kept demolishing me well into my level teens. Combine that with the fact that I didn't like anyone in the entire world enough to want to do anything for them if not for being forced to by quest lines, and you had a recipe for a huge "meh" from me.

I haven't played Fallout: New Vegas. I found it for pennies so I'm going to give it a try (I ordered it before your post.) I shall curb my expectations but I'll probably get my money's worth regardless.

You have deftly summed up my philosophy of gaming. Having a capable PC and a steam account means I never have to play a game that costs me more than $15 ever again. I find I have much more fun with games that broke a $20 bill than ones that cost three of them.

Certis wrote:

It's all just chasin' dots anyways, guys. :drink:

IMAGE(http://i.imgur.com/GV4dsS5.jpg)

Greg wrote:
tboon wrote:
Lysias wrote:

This may be raving over the newer game a bit much, but I think Europa Universalis has killed Civilization for me. EU can't capture the same "starting brand new in an unknown world" as Civ, but it feels better in every other way to me.

You're not the only one, the EUs killed Civ for me too.

EU4 makes me feel like I am actually directing a country which Civilization doesn't quite capture. Eu4 has supplanted Civ for me which is saying something because I was mesmerized by Civilization (I).

agree with you and it is a little sad, in a nostalgic sort of way. The Civ series got me through a lot of good (and bad) times. Civ I was the first game I remember buying for my kicking 386 PC when I switched from C64 to PC. A lot of Civ 2 was played with my oldest asleep in one arm. Similarly for Civ 3 but with youngest. Civ 4 got me to actually make a mod for a game (even though it was only for me but it was a really cool (to me) map generator based on plate tectonics to generate land masses and long-term weather patterns to generate rivers and tiles.). Civ 5 didn't do it for me though, and in part I blame EU3 for that. Now that we have EU4, I just have no interest at all in playing Civ.

Good job Zoidberg!

Wait, that doesn't sound right...

mwdowns wrote:
Eleima wrote:

I have no testicles to give

If you didn't already have a tag, this would be it. :D

Well this episode certainly ended on a weird note.

When do we get a spoiler section for Burial at Sea Part Deux?

Dark Souls has ruined most action-adventure style RPGs for me now. I can't deal with Elder Scrolls' dull and grinding combat either.

Good job hopping on the podcast Zoidberg, you seemed to fit in well.

EDIT: Final Fantasy Tactics Advance ruined most turn-based RPG's for me. After playing that RPG's without positioning bored me.

AmazingZoidberg wrote:

Seriously, Privateer 2 came at a very specific moment in time for me, it had a combination of dog fighting and commodity trading that didn't exist in the other space sims of the day. That balance is the thing I have never really found in another space sims. Either they swing too far towards being complex (evochrome legends, the entire X series, etc) or they are dogfighting only.

I'm really hoping that Star Citizen can strike that balance.

I never played Privateer 2, but P1 was a lot of fun back when it was new. I tried to go back and play it about 6 years ago though and it just doesn't hold up...

Have you tried the Elite series? There's a new one coming out that should be pretty good, and Elite has always had both good trading and good dogfighting. I played the heck out of Elite Plus on Dos. Elite 2: Frontier was a little on the complex side though. Probably because I didn't have the manual though. Elite was kind of Privateer before Privateer existed.

Star Citizen is too macro-paymenty for me.

I'd never heard of Elite until after the podcast, looking at the videos of the nwe one it looks amazing and right up my ally. I'm definitely interested but the price for the premium beta is a bit high.

I've downloaded P2 and watched the opening cutscenes (oh the memories) but I can't get my usb joystick to be recognized

Thanks for the compliments, I'm just thrilled I didn't ruin everything. It was an exciting experience and I had a ton of fun. Mad props to Shawn for keeping everything running smooth and making it look easy.

I think you have to enable the joystick in the game's options menu before it'll work.

All the talk about flight simulation,s has me thinking of the simulation games I've played growing up, Freelancer, Elite, F15 strike eagle, star lancer and who can forget the wing commander series. (Oh and of course, privateer).

Have you guys tried warthunder ? It was from the developers of IL-2 Sturmovik.
It has some really good control mechanics and epic dog fights.
They have support for game controllers as well as Keyboard and mouse.
There are several flavours to cater for your play style, the arcade mode, realistic mode as well as simulation mode.

I've been enjoying this for the past pew months, best of all it's a free to play with no crazy pay wall mechanisms.

Really good buffer before Star citizen hits the open market.

Veloxi wrote:

Okay, wait, have you played the original Wing Commander: Privateer? It's pretty much the pinnacle of the space combat/trading genre even 21 years later.

Weird... I'm sure you must have meant to type "Elite" there, but it's come out all wrong somehow...

On the subject of "dark/moody games", I was really surprised no one on the podcast mentioned Kentucky Route Zero! I just finished Act 3 this weekend and it's one of the moodiest, most stylistically unique games I've ever played. I kept expecting somebody to bring it up, especially since the guy who wrote in mentions being a musician and Kentucky Route Zero uses music in some really interesting ways.

Anyway, if that "miserable bastard" who wrote in happens to be reading this, definitely check that one out!

I....
Think I have to go give Diablo 3 another shot. I bought it day one and quit the heck out of playing because of the way the auction house monetized my experience to be worth well under $0.10 an hour,
Anyone know if it's worth it starting fresh, no expansion, this far into the game's lifecycle?

Evanatious wrote:

I....
Think I have to go give Diablo 3 another shot. I bought it day one and quit the heck out of playing because of the way the auction house monetized my experience to be worth well under $0.10 an hour,
Anyone know if it's worth it starting fresh, no expansion, this far into the game's lifecycle?

It's certainly worth trying with the latest patch, even without the expansion. Personally, it's still not holding my interest, but it's MUCH better than it used to be.

Manmoth wrote:

On the subject of "dark/moody games", I was really surprised no one on the podcast mentioned Kentucky Route Zero! I just finished Act 3 this weekend and it's one of the moodiest, most stylistically unique games I've ever played. I kept expecting somebody to bring it up, especially since the guy who wrote in mentions being a musician and Kentucky Route Zero uses music in some really interesting ways.

Anyway, if that "miserable bastard" who wrote in happens to be reading this, definitely check that one out!

I'm seconding this for all miserable people, regardless of the marital states of their parents. Also, for non-miserable people.

JUST PLAY KR0. EVERYONE.

For joystick owners looking for an amazing challenge and therefore infinite gratification, try DCS A-10C.

The miserable bastard should check out Papers Please if he has not already.