Panzer Corps, Ascension, Men of War, Steel Battalion, Fallout: New Vegas, Kard Kombat, Twitter Questions, Your Emails and more!
This week Shawn, Julian, Cory and Rob Zacny talk games and tackle a whole mess of your email and Twitter questions.
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. You can also submit a question or comment call in to our voicemail line at (612) 284-4563!
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CastMedium
Game Thing Daily
Good Old Games
Panzer Corps
Ascension
Fallout: New Vegas
Steel Battalion
Kard Kombat
Show credits
Intro/Outtro Music - Ian Dorsch, Willowtree Audioworks
George - Benoit Casey - http://www.cerebrimusic.com - 0:50:00
Comments
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Nice to hear some New Vegas love on the show. I've had some mixed feelings about it over time, but I'm really enjoying it now.
I also jumped from finishing Fallout 3 right into New Vegas just after it's release, but what was striking to me was how NOT a Bethesda game it was. I couldn't just go wandering around in this game. Every time I ventured off the roads I'd get my ass handed to me. It frustrated me to no end and I quit shortly thereafter.
I later started playing the Oblivion mod Nehrim which explicitly defined itself as a more "hard core" rpg whereby you couldn't just go wandering aimlessly until you were levelled and equipped to do so. This got me thinking that way about New Vegas, which I have since gone back to and am now really enjoying.
It's funny how bias and/or expectations can color our view of games...
“Hacked by bourbon, maybe.” - Jonman
Need pictures of the Steel Battalion setup, otherwise how am I to be properly jealous?
BGG: muzzynyc
The Steel Battalion controller is very similar to the deluxe Twinklestar Sprites controller:
It’s time to take your place among the mysteries and regard yourself as one of them.
- Carlos Castaneda
New Vegas wasn't much of a revelation for me in that way because I had played Fallout 3 with the FWE (Fallout 3 Wanderers Edition) mod. It added stuff like hunger, more serious injuries and a myriad of other things. Basically, it makes the game harder and more immersive. I highly recommend checking it out if you have the desire to head back to Fallout 3 at some point.
How did I live before digital distribution of old, cheap games?
MilkmanDanimal wrote:You did live before digital distribution of old, cheap games. Now you just play games.
That might make me give New Vegas a shot. I found that the easy openness of Oblivion made it feel aimless, like there wasn't much point to going in any direction because every direction was more or less the same. It sounds like New Vegas is closer to the original Fallout, which definitely discouraged you from wandering about until you were well-equipped to do so.
I would also give Nehrim a shot if you have the pc version of Oblivion and dig the fantasy setting. It's surprisingly polished for a free mod. It basically creates a whole new game with the Oblivion engine. Some things can't be helped - like the inventory system, but overall it is great.
“Hacked by bourbon, maybe.” - Jonman
Cory — "atmosfeel" — in the letter? Mistake? Or stroke of brilliance?
BGG: muzzynyc
Cory Banks wanted to see the confirmation of Plants vs. Zombies getting 40+ movie offers...
http://www.popcap.com/about-us (under PopCap by the numbers)
I also saw it in a San Francisco Gate article (http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/articl...) where VP John Davison confirmed the movie offers.
"It is a fact of life that people love to complain, particularly about how terrible the modern world is compared with the past. They are nearly always wrong." - Steven Levitt
XBL & Steam: S0LIDARITY || PSN: Sobiesa
Tom Chick: "Strategy gaming has never been stronger."
Shawn Andrich: "It's a strategy-palooza!—because there's not a whole lot going on otherwise."
Burn. You know Rob Zacny was right there, right?
Gravey, I'm never sure, on a scale of 1-10, just how serious you are when you post. – Minarchist
For those who didn't know, Kard Kombat is an clone of Spectromancer which has been out for years on steam: http://store.steampowered.com/app/22...
For legal reasons they had to change the art and card names. Apparently, the reason they used the word 'Kard' is to make the descriptions of cards differ from those in Spectromancer.
Everything else is exactly the same.
I'd reccomend it to anyone who enjoys card games like Magic. I'd say the PC version is your best bet if only for the graphics and more expansions.
John Davison is a vp of Gamespot, not PopCap, so while I totally like and respect John, can't say that's coming straight from the horse's mouth.
How did I live before digital distribution of old, cheap games?
MilkmanDanimal wrote:You did live before digital distribution of old, cheap games. Now you just play games.
Great show! Also, nice to hear a Unity mention on the podcast. It's such an accessible, indie-friendly engine. "Even artists can use it!" will end up being their slogan one of these days.
Love the Fallout New Vegas talk. I've also just jumped into this after it went on sale recently. Love the game and can't recommend it highly enough. It's definitely stable for me.
Cory, if you want it to look even more beautiful, grab this texture pack.
Really easy to install (just copy to your new vegas folder) and it will make your experience even better.
If we hit that bullseye, the rest of the dominoes should fall like a house of cards. Checkmate. --Captain Zapp Brannigan
First: Thanks for all the New Vegas tips/mods.
Second: I'm hearing chatter that Shawn was wrong about Nolan North voicing Johnson in Shadows of the Damned, and that it was actually Greg Ellis. I have chosen to accept this as fact instead of checking myself, as I just love it when Shawn is wrong.
Enjoy your wrongness, sucka!
"$10 - Exclusive Sean-cam where he just shakes his head, over and over." From Pyro's Kickstarter, "Endless Pit of Human Misery Livestream"
RE: iOS card games, has anyone tried Shadow Era? http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/shado...
It's by the same guy who did Battle for Wesnoth. Despite its slower pace I'm liking the game so far, although I'm still learning the nuances.
Hey, I spent a whole 2 minutes googling to confirm Nolan North was in Shadows of The Damned after a random person tweeted me saying it was so.
“Don’t ask what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive, and go do it. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive.” ― Howard Thurman
According to their forums, expansions and improvements are on the way for Kard combat. Deck building will make it in at some point as well.
Edit: male it in? What was that?
You just sit in your wrongness and be wrong, Skippy.
"$10 - Exclusive Sean-cam where he just shakes his head, over and over." From Pyro's Kickstarter, "Endless Pit of Human Misery Livestream"
A co-worker, of all people, recommended this to me yesterday. It's on my list. MP?
"$10 - Exclusive Sean-cam where he just shakes his head, over and over." From Pyro's Kickstarter, "Endless Pit of Human Misery Livestream"
Yep, but I haven't tried it out yet.
Upbeat Corey Banks sounds like… Al Roker?
For those of you who cocked their heads at the word "grognardian" (as I did), here you go:
1. Ultra-hardcore wargamer (wargames - Advanced Squad Leader, Combat Mission, etc), comes from French word that means "grumbler"
2. In D&D, a person who prefers an older edition to the newer one.
3. Playing a game (especially war games) with full reality settings - no cheats at all
(via urbandictionary.com)
You guys are doing a really good job selling Men of War. Killer farmers? Hunting for steaks and beer? I have money for that.
The secret to life is to realize that we are all full of shit and none of us really know what we are doing. After that, it's all gravy.
Don't be embarrassed because you like something (or someone). If you like something, own it. Belt out those Spice Girls lyrics! (I know I do.)
"Yeah, well, uh, just keep your Power Gloves off her, pal, huh?" -Corey, from "The Wizard"
Damn, that's hardcore.
- "Are you sure can't just roll some dice?"
- "Nope, we're playing full reality settings. So your turn is over so you can't move, and I'm going to attack with my Thompson..."
Gravey, I'm never sure, on a scale of 1-10, just how serious you are when you post. – Minarchist
"Grognard" is from a French Empire term for grumbling veterans.
Words... are a big deal.
Jill Lapore wrote:Editing is one of the great inventions of civilization.
I never knew that and I'm quite surprised it's French.
How did I live before digital distribution of old, cheap games?
MilkmanDanimal wrote:You did live before digital distribution of old, cheap games. Now you just play games.
Ouch, dude. On top of adding the e in.
"$10 - Exclusive Sean-cam where he just shakes his head, over and over." From Pyro's Kickstarter, "Endless Pit of Human Misery Livestream"
It's the tidbits like that one that get me invited to Three Moves Ahead.
Words... are a big deal.
Jill Lapore wrote:Editing is one of the great inventions of civilization.
$40 seems like a lot to ask for if they just copied Panzer General. Generally, clones/re-makes are budget priced and it's not like they had to build a complex 3d-engine or something.
It would have been an insta buy for me if it was a cheaper title and available on Steam.
Two notes:
1) I can't confirm this right now, but I've heard that the game is the product of The Lordz Games Studio, which is essentially a studio of one. That one person (or even something like 10 people) put this together is astounding.
2) While I've never played any of the Panzer General games, I gather from Julian and Zacny that the interface for this is WAY better. Sure, you could go to GOG.com through your favorite video game website's affiliate link and buy PG2 for $10 or whatever, but this is a data-driven game. So whatever gets you that data in as clear a way as possible is important.
Bonus Point #3) Speaking only for myself, I've spent $40 on far worse titles.
What Panzer Corps needs, and likely won't get, is a demo. I'm really enjoying it so far, and think it's a game I'd come back to with far more regularity than, say, Civ 5.
"$10 - Exclusive Sean-cam where he just shakes his head, over and over." From Pyro's Kickstarter, "Endless Pit of Human Misery Livestream"
So do Cory and Rabbit have a reverse Tyler Durden-Marla Singer relationship?
I swear they're never on the cast without one another.
I have nothing to add to El Taco. He's said it all.
For the record, in the STALKER series, Shadow of Chernobyl and Clear Sky do end when you finish the main objective, but there are mods to allow free play after finishing. In particular, the Complete mods, which are highly recommended for a bunch of reasons, include that feature. Call of Pripyat lets you choose whether to leave the Zone (and end the game) or stay after you finish.
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