Steam Summer Sale 2020 Spend-All

Picked up Push Me Pull You, Stab Stab Stab, Stick Fight, Ultimate Chicken Horse and Zombie Army Trilogy to snag my $5 road-trip discount. It almost made up for the fact that Push Me Pull You wasn't on sale.

Also used the points earned by that purchase to get a Duke Nukem background for my profile.

So, on the whole, a very successful steam sale.

Spoiler:

Why yes, I have become a parody of myself. Thanks for noticing.

Sounds like a Stardew Valley sort of recommendation.

PurEvil wrote:
beanman101283 wrote:

I picked up Shadow Tactics and Homeworld Remastered Collection. $11 isn't bad for the number of hours of entertainment they should provide.

Just a heads up that the original Homeworld expected heavy use of formations and tactics that didn't translate well when they remastered it. They basically put HW1 in the HW2 game engine with updated graphics, and those engines were developed by different studios. They had a patch early on that helped with this a bit (and may have done more tweaking by now), but I'd already been irritated by it enough that I'd uninstalled. While the game assets are still OK for being 22 years old, if HW1 feels unplayable switch over to the classic version which is included in the remastered edition.

That being said, if you've never played the original it's an amazing game... I re-played through it so many times I knew where all the mission triggers were for every mission. HW2's gameplay is a bit better, but the story is a little weird.

The best of the Homeworld games, IMO, is Cataclysm, which was done by yet another studio, with the HW1 engine. They fixed most of the really annoying problems with HW1, redid the units almost completely, and added a pretty good set of voice actors and an interesting story. The story isn't quite as impactful as HW1's, but it's really solid, and the mechanics are excellent.

Weirdly, they lost the rights to the name Cataclysm, perhaps because ActiBlizzard is so litigious and there was a Cataclysm expansion for WoW. So GOG has to sell it as Homeworld:Emergence instead. It's kind of a dumb name, and hard to remember, but IMO that's the version of Homeworld that you really want.

It's not on Steam, however. GOG only; they're the ones who found it and fixed it up. So this is probably a little off-topic for the Steam Sale thread, but I think that's a much better buy than Remastered, which is a mess. Doing HW1 in the HW2 engine is exactly backwards, they screwed that up terribly. The HW2 engine is much worse than the original. It looks nicer, but it sucks.

Cataclysm/Emergence gives you the good engine, a good story, and maybe the best set of units. Just drop your HW1 expectations, things are quite different in Cataclysm.

So, how do they calculate Steam points? I've spent like $35 during the sale, but my points would seem to indicate a *lot* more than that. Are they calculating from, like January first or something?

Edit - I see it counts past purchases, although how far back I don't know.

Robear wrote:

So, how do they calculate Steam points? I've spent like $35 during the sale, but my points would seem to indicate a *lot* more than that. Are they calculating from, like January first or something?

Yeah I was able to click on points history down at the bottom left of the Road Trip page. and it brought up a list of points earned from earlier this year and then within the last 30 days.

You can click view details on that screen to see how much money and points for each date.

I didn't even see that! It goes back to January 1. Apparently I've had both decent bonuses at work, and lots of stress, because I've picked up way too many games this year...

Here's my short list of what I'm considering:
Stationflow: based on the review of Aaron D it sounds like very interesting and well done logistics game.
Dead Cells: I played it when I had MS Gamepass and liked it a lot. Seems like a good addition to have permanently.
Circle Empires: Recommended on Three Moves Ahead and I've been having problems getting motivated to tackle more complicated games.
Wildermyth: It's early access so I've been holding off. Also after looking at some reviews it seems like combat may be too easy. Anyone confirm or deny?
Front Office Football 8: Rarely goes on sale, but this sale isn't that big. This one can be hit or miss for me. I like football, but usually burn out on these types of games.
Star Traders Frontiers: Mostly because so many people seem to love this game.
Afghanistan '11: I'll probably hold off since I have the Vietnam game but haven't tried it yet.
The Castles of Burgundy: I like the board game, but the steam version isn't well-reviewed. I'd mostly play it vs the AI.

I wouldn't get all of these, but anyone want to enable / dissuade on any of them? I also need to check to see if any games I own have good DLC on sale.

Star Traders is the standout on that list. Stationflow is mellow, but it's largely about signage.

Thanks to JohnKillo for Pyre.

I hear it's a critically acclaimed cross between Hatoful Boyfriend and NBA Jam from the makers of Bastion, and I look forward to trying it.

Zoso1701 wrote:

My wife recently got a Steam Account. Got to sit with her and try to find something for the person who mostly enjoys Mario and Animal Crossing, with a side helping of Diablo.

Stardew Valley?

Poppinfresh wrote:

I need advice! The only Civilization game I never played was Civilization III. I enjoyed all of them (with the later ones being my least favorite.) I know it's a only a bit over a buck, but there are so many games to play, and so little time, is the game something that would still get played and enjoyed even though it's well past its prime? Or should I just get back to Assassin's Creed: Odyssey and the more modern games in my library that are staring at me?

I think if you play Civ with a focus on “role playing a civilization through history*”, Civ 3 can still be a lot of fun. If you play as more of a “figure out all the systems and how to beat them”, it’s probably best left behind in favor of other things.

robc wrote:

Here's my short list of what I'm considering:
Front Office Football 8: Rarely goes on sale, but this sale isn't that big. This one can be hit or miss for me. I like football, but usually burn out on these types of games.
Star Traders Frontiers: Mostly because so many people seem to love this game.

I wouldn't get all of these, but anyone want to enable / dissuade on any of them? I also need to check to see if any games I own have good DLC on sale.

I played the FOF series to death many moons ago. It has one of the best sim engines out there. Player development arcs, stat balancing, etc., are spot on. However, I just haven't been able to get into later versions because of the presentation/UI. I'm hopeful that the next version, with the developer working on UI/presentation enhancements with the Football Manager crew, will bring this one back to life for me.

I think you'd really enjoy Star Traders Frontiers.

Godzilla Blitz wrote:
robc wrote:

Here's my short list of what I'm considering:
Front Office Football 8: Rarely goes on sale, but this sale isn't that big. This one can be hit or miss for me. I like football, but usually burn out on these types of games.
Star Traders Frontiers: Mostly because so many people seem to love this game.

I wouldn't get all of these, but anyone want to enable / dissuade on any of them? I also need to check to see if any games I own have good DLC on sale.

I played the FOF series to death many moons ago. It has one of the best sim engines out there. Player development arcs, stat balancing, etc., are spot on. However, I just haven't been able to get into later versions because of the presentation/UI. I'm hopeful that the next version, with the developer working on UI/presentation enhancements with the Football Manager crew, will bring this one back to life for me.

I think you'd really enjoy Star Traders Frontiers.

Maybe I'll hold off on Front Office Football and see what the improvements are in the next version. Star Traders will be a likely buy. Thanks!

Robear wrote:

Star Traders is the standout on that list. Stationflow is mellow, but it's largely about signage.

Dead Cells is by far the best thing to me. Spent 60 hours on PC and at least that much again over on Switch and it's still fun.

So I've got Brigador and Cloudpunk in my cart. Was wondering if anyone's played either game and can give me a 2-second review?

I appreciate people chiming in with Stardew.... we have it on the Switch, and on my Steam Account. The graphic style (as she says "we have a Super Nintendo, I like playing that when I want games that look like that.") This isn't said with any malice or "FPS GRAPHICS BRO WOO!" intent. I think just as she's a much more casual player these days, she prefers things that "look new."

And, I am weak and bought No Man's Sky.

The Trainz DLC is down under $1,000. That's a heck of a deal right there s/

Zoso1701 wrote:

I think just as she's a much more casual player these days, she prefers things that "look new."

IMAGE(https://steamcdn-a.akamaihd.net/steam/apps/666140/header.jpg?t=1590488997)

https://store.steampowered.com/app/6...

I really enjoyed Portia. Has a nice balance between building and social. Though it does feel more focused on item production (small to large) than farming.

I grabbed Workers & Resources: Soviet Republic, Hardspace: Shipbreaker and the colon-less Cloudpunk.

Maclintok wrote:

So I've got Brigador and Cloudpunk in my cart. Was wondering if anyone's played either game and can give me a 2-second review?

I've played Brigador and enjoyed it. There's a lot of room for customizing loadouts and a really strong aesthetic (art style and music both). The difficulty ramps up pretty fast, though.

I have not played Cloudpunk, but people have been saying good things about it recently in the space-sims thread.

Aaron D. wrote:
Zoso1701 wrote:

I think just as she's a much more casual player these days, she prefers things that "look new."

IMAGE(https://steamcdn-a.akamaihd.net/steam/apps/666140/header.jpg?t=1590488997)

https://store.steampowered.com/app/6...

I really enjoyed Portia. Has a nice balance between building and social. Though it does feel more focused on item production (small to large) than farming.

Does Portia have and type of strategy involved or is it a game to just be creative and make things? I typically don't like games like Stardew Valley although admittedly it was a bit better than I thought it would be. I played it for a while before I hit my tolerance wall and just stopped playing completely.

I've drawn blood. In for the DLC for the American Truck Simulator. Been having a lot of fun with the European one.

misplacedbravado wrote:
Maclintok wrote:

So I've got Brigador and Cloudpunk in my cart. Was wondering if anyone's played either game and can give me a 2-second review?

I've played Brigador and enjoyed it. There's a lot of room for customizing loadouts and a really strong aesthetic (art style and music both). The difficulty ramps up pretty fast, though.

I have not played Cloudpunk, but people have been saying good things about it recently in the space-sims thread.

Hmm if Brigador is mostly about brutal difficulty then I may be able to wait on that. Thanks dude, I’ll check out the conversation about Cloudpunk!

robc wrote:

Does Portia have and type of strategy involved or is it a game to just be creative and make things? I typically don't like games like Stardew Valley although admittedly it was a bit better than I thought it would be. I played it for a while before I hit my tolerance wall and just stopped playing completely.

Progression is very goal oriented, so there's a road map every step of the way. It offers up a sense of direction with palpable milestones. Building & expanding bigger and greater things to progress the story. It's a nice flow. It's an interesting juxtapose to something like Minecraft that feels completely freeform and without direction.

IMAGE(https://steamcdn-a.akamaihd.net/steam/apps/1072420/header.jpg?t=1592920081)

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1...

On the same note I'd strongly recommend DQB2. It's sort of the same deal, but the narrative beats are way stronger directionally speaking, so if you're looking for a builder/brawler you can't do much better.

It’s that time of year again for the Steam summer sale, so it’s the usual look through my wishlist to see what I’d like to get for (hopefully) a nice discount.

Well, it’s been a unique first half of the year and having spent a lot of time in lockdown (and accumulating many indie games from the itch BLM bundle, plus all those Epic freebies), I’m left wanting to choose something different outside of my usual gaming preferences.

So what am I looking for? Well, something chilled where I can perhaps listen to my own music selection or podcasts. Puzzle games usually fit that bill for me but what else is there?… here’s what I have so far…

Cloudpunk (25% off) - a rain-drenched cyberpunk metropolis delivery driver - sounds like the job for me.
MudRunner (75% off) - Slowly drive powerful all-terrain vehicles over difficult terrain delivering goods, ask for help and help friends on multiplayer - I can do that, how difficult could it be?
Hardspace: Shipbreaker (20% off) - Carve & slice spaceships to recover valuable materials to pay off debt - err, it’s in space and I have a high-powered laser cutter, sign me up!

OK, I seem to have struck a bit of a theme here!

Others Im considering…

Firewatch (75% off) - a mystery in the wilderness
FAR: Lone Sails (60% off) - another wilderness and a journey to keep your unique vessel going, overcome numerous obstacles.
Islanders (60% off) - minimalist strategy game about building cities on colorful islands.
Glass Masquerade 2: Illusions (65% off) - This is the sequel to the first of which I have - an artistic puzzle game inspired by stained glass artisans, very chilled.

Lastly a couple of digital board games that also fit the bill...
Istanbul: Digital Edition (50% off)
Indian Summer (50% off)

I’d be interested in any recommendations for other games that fit the same criteria or experiences with any of the games mentioned

Neutrino, I've only played Islanders on that list. It's OK for killing a bit of time so it can fit the bill if that is what you're looking for. I find it a bit uninteresting though.

Hardship looks cool as can be.

robc wrote:

Neutrino, I've only played Islanders on that list. It's OK for killing a bit of time so it can fit the bill if that is what you're looking for. I find it a bit uninteresting though.

Thanks for your feedback for Islanders, I'm not expecting a lot of depth for this one, I will give it a shot as it's not a big expense, maybe it will keep me interested for a short time.

I did a fair bit of trimming in the shopping cart before finally pulling the trigger. My modest haul (everything coming in at under $10 and even $5!):

- Battlefleet Gothic: Armada: It's W40K right? I'm usually down for strategy games in that universe. I know the sequel is much more highly regarded but this was nearing Starbucks latte price so I thought what the hey.

- Talisman: Origins: My childhood favourite. I know I have the board game squirreled away somewhere at my parent's place if I could just gird my loins and dedicate a weekend to clearing out my old closet's junk. Anyhoo... I own a previous iteration of digital Talisman but always bounced off of it. This one is supposed to be retuned for solo play so maybe it'll stick a lot better.

- Pandora Complete: I'm currently enjoying the heck out of Proxy Studio's Gladius, a W40K spin on Civ-style 4x. I wanted to dig back into their catalog... of one other game...and check out how they got their start. Pandora is supposed to stay more in the traditionial 4x lanes and overall sounds like a deeper game than Gladius

- Disciples III: Reincarnation: I recently reinstalled Disciples 2: Rise of the Elves and had completely forgotten that a third game existed in this series. I wasn't entirely encouraged by the user scores but we were in the vicinity of Tim Horton's waterlogged coffee swill, so there wasn't a whole lot to lose on this one.

Total damage: $23.55 CAD. Not too shabby. My restraint training over the years is paying off a bit.

Also, Every single game I bought in the sale managed to have a colon in the name...

Game Names: The Commentary

I picked up:
To The Top,
Until You Fall
BoxVR
And Pony Island to get over $30 for the $5 discount.

And there's a decent chance I'll play the Pony game first.