The Backlog Check-in Vol. 252: 10/29/22: Harvestella Edition

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isthatallyougot
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Re: The Backlog Check-in Vol. 252: 10/29/22: Harvestella Edition

Post by isthatallyougot »

argyle wrote: Tue Nov 01, 2022 8:59 am So I'm seriously considering selling the Steam Deck.

Here's the thing - there were two reasons I got it. One was for the emulation, which is really cool - but I'm not sure it's enough by itself to justify the price. The second was to have access to PC games without having to putz around with them to make them work. I do IT all day, I hate to do it at home to get a game to run.

Sadly, it seems this is still a pipe dream. So I picked up RE 7 Gold in a sale last week for $15. Installed it on the deck, and it wouldn't start. Tried a few times, restarted a couple of times, no go. Finally ran updates on the deck, tried again and it started. OK, great. So I went in to turn up the resolution to see how well it would run. Every time I even selected 4k, it would instantly hard lock. The entire system froze, reboot was the only option. I still haven't played RE7.

It was during this process that I finally accepted the facts: you're always going to have to fiddle around with PC games to get them run, but with the deck it isn't actually running Windows, it's Linux. So at this point it's even more difficult for me to tweak because 1) I don't know a lot of Linux and 2) most games aren't made to run natively on it anyway, they're (from my understanding) basically being passed through a backend Windows "emulator". Oh, and the deck can't run games as well as a mid-range gaming PC.

I was thinking before I got it that Gamepass would be a big reason for me to have it, but I foolishly didn't realize that since it's running Linux the only way to play Gamepass games is to stream them. So you have to have access to a good internet connection when using GP on it, and even then more fast-paced games will probably have some degree of lag. So that's out.

Final nail, more games than I thought just flat-out won't run on the deck - no support at all. So the only real boon I have left is the emulation, and $400 is a lot to pay to play portable PS2 & older games.

Bright side, if I sell now I shouldn't have any issue getting most if not all of my money back. Oh, and all of this has reminded me why the Switch rocks (I just wish they'd go ahead & release a Switch 2/Pro/whatever that's more powerful).
Yeah, the Proton layer isn't always perfect. Of course, native Linux developed titles are smooth as butter, and that's increasingly common over time, with so many games being built for both Windows and natively for Linux. For me, it doesn't matter because if there is a major issue (which is rare in my experience) with a title I want to play that isn't native to the penguin, I'll just switch over to my Windows machine. And to be fair you can install Windows on the Deck, if you'd rather.
Phaseknox wrote: Tue Nov 01, 2022 1:24 am I’m going to buy the gold edition physically when it’s cheap, it includes the main game and the DLC that has a third person camera option and the Shadows of Rose expansion.
Yeah, normally I prefer to wait and get the whole package when it gets cheap, but I couldn't pass up $8 and change for a game I really wanted. That's a steep discount, even in comparison with shady key-selling sites.
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argyle
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Re: The Backlog Check-in Vol. 252: 10/29/22: Harvestella Edition

Post by argyle »

isthatallyougot wrote: Tue Nov 01, 2022 9:15 am And to be fair you can install Windows on the Deck, if you'd rather.
Yeah, but I'm guessing Windows would chew up a good chunk of the already limited resources of the system. :\
"When I was ten, I read fairy tales in secret and would have been ashamed
if I had been found doing so. Now that I am fifty I read them openly. When I
became a man I put away childish things, including the fear of childishness and the
desire to be very grown up.” ― C.S. Lewis

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isthatallyougot
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Re: The Backlog Check-in Vol. 252: 10/29/22: Harvestella Edition

Post by isthatallyougot »

argyle wrote: Tue Nov 01, 2022 9:34 am Yeah, but I'm guessing Windows would chew up a good chunk of the already limited resources of the system. :\
Yeah, I'm sure that's true. My feeling about this iteration of the deck, if I were to get one, which I did contemplate for a bit, was that I would be getting it for lots of indies in my backlog and, as you mentioned, emulation. But I don't have much occasion where I really want to play in a portable fashion most of the time, so it was a pass for me. I may still consider it in the future, but I probably wouldn't get enough use from it to justify the expenditure.
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Phaseknox
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Re: The Backlog Check-in Vol. 252: 10/29/22: Harvestella Edition

Post by Phaseknox »

argyle wrote: Tue Nov 01, 2022 8:59 amIt was during this process that I finally accepted the facts: you're always going to have to fiddle around with PC games to get them run
Yeah, that’s a big part of why I’m not a PC gamer because I hate troubleshooting to figure things out. I just don’t have the patience for it, I get frustrated with things easily. This always reminds me of the time back when Two Worlds II came out, I got it for Xbox 360 and my friend got it for PC. I had played a good bit of it and when I asked my friend what he thought of it, he said that he hadn’t even started it yet because he was fiddling with it to get it to run and after he did he was messing with all of the different setting options. A couple of days later I assumed that he had finally started playing it so I asked him what he thought of it, and he said that he was still messing with its settings. :lol: This is what bothers me about another gaming forum that I frequent, almost everyone there is a PC gamer so whenever they get a new game they talk about its graphics and performance but not about the game itself. I just want to know what they think of the game, but they’re too busy nerding out about graphics, effects, lighting and frame rates. It’s annoying.
isthatallyougot wrote: Tue Nov 01, 2022 9:15 amYeah, normally I prefer to wait and get the whole package when it gets cheap, but I couldn't pass up $8 and change for a game I really wanted. That's a steep discount, even in comparison with shady key-selling sites.
Yeah, that’s a great deal and you’ll be able to get its DLC for cheap later. But for me I want a physical copy, because I own Resident Evil 0-7 physically. The gold edition will most likely be on sale Black Friday, so that’s when I’ll get it.
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argyle
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Re: The Backlog Check-in Vol. 252: 10/29/22: Harvestella Edition

Post by argyle »

isthatallyougot wrote: Tue Nov 01, 2022 9:39 amI would be getting it for lots of indies in my backlog
Yeah, the indies are one of the main things that work well on it, but more of them are on the Switch and are easier to get working - which is one of the things that got me to using that again.
"When I was ten, I read fairy tales in secret and would have been ashamed
if I had been found doing so. Now that I am fifty I read them openly. When I
became a man I put away childish things, including the fear of childishness and the
desire to be very grown up.” ― C.S. Lewis

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crimson_tide
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Re: The Backlog Check-in Vol. 252: 10/29/22: Harvestella Edition

Post by crimson_tide »

Played: Ys 9

Beat: Ys 9

Bought: Jedi Fallen Order (bruh, it was like $6...), DMC5+Vergil, Ghostbusters, One Piece Pirate Warriors 4, Lapis X Labyrinth, The Immortal, Death's Door

This week: I don't know... Death's Door is supposed to be short. That or One Piece. Because I still might buy Sonic Frontiers next week. Maybe. Possibly. But it's Sonic. We'll see...

So after 6 straight weeks, I finally beat Monstrum Nox. It was fine. I mean that in the best possible way. It is of course going on my games of the year list but as a solid midcard stalwart. It has A LOT of pieces that I loved. It is as PS2 action jrpg as you are likely to get without breaking out the system and slapping in Kingdom Hearts or Dark Cloud 2. But the soundtrack, frantic battles, dumbass weird horde mode thing...they do so much heavy lifting. This 9 chapter game should have bowed out gracefully at 7 tops. The story and characters were fine but not worthy of the amount of playtime. The ease of play was insane. It respected my time in every other way. The quests were clearly marked, the fast travel, the majority of the traversal options...hell, you didn't even have to go to a store to shop, someone at your base would do it for you! It was awesome...until it wasn't. The biggest disappointment? After all that extra ass musical flair, the final chapter, every single song was just mid. It's like the game just gave up. The enemies were basic and dull. The combat uninspired. It's like the game just stopped trying. Had they wrapped it up quicker and ditched a lengthy and ultimately pointless subplot, this could be all time stuff. I am glad I played it and even if you aren't planning to dedicate the time to beat it (I think I was pushing 50 hours), it's definitely worth a go to see if it's up your alley. I completed every quest so something was going right. I just wish they wrapped it up quicker. They even make you do that dumb thing after the final boss where you have an hour of useless dialogue that you have to hunt for in order to hit credits and save the clear file. Please stop doing that games. I am begging. I hate this practice, it's obnoxious.

But please if you are vaguely interested, I would give Ys 9 a go. It does a whole bunch right and like 90% of the music rocks. If that doesn't sell you, it's just Kingdom Hearts by way of Hot Topic and even more jrpg tropes. If that doesn't sell you nothing will

PS-No old man, there is no fishing. Sorry...
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Phaseknox
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Re: The Backlog Check-in Vol. 252: 10/29/22: Harvestella Edition

Post by Phaseknox »

crimson_tide wrote: Tue Nov 01, 2022 5:31 pmif you are vaguely interested, I would give Ys 9 a go. It does a whole bunch right and like 90% of the music rocks.
I just bought it along with a bunch of other games.
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canedaddy
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Re: The Backlog Check-in Vol. 252: 10/29/22: Harvestella Edition

Post by canedaddy »

crimson_tide wrote: Tue Nov 01, 2022 5:31 pm PS-No old man, there is no fishing. Sorry...
Ha, I just saw what I thought was a Ys game on PSN with what appeared to be a fishing minigame. Guess it wasn't that one.
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argyle
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Re: The Backlog Check-in Vol. 252: 10/29/22: Harvestella Edition

Post by argyle »

So I had been ignoring the extra assistance features they added in when they ported the GBA Castlevanias while I was playing Circle of the Moon because I wanted to play it "as intended".

That ended last night. I abused the crap out of the rewind function in the grim reaper fight. I *will* finish this game! :P
"When I was ten, I read fairy tales in secret and would have been ashamed
if I had been found doing so. Now that I am fifty I read them openly. When I
became a man I put away childish things, including the fear of childishness and the
desire to be very grown up.” ― C.S. Lewis

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canedaddy
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Re: The Backlog Check-in Vol. 252: 10/29/22: Harvestella Edition

Post by canedaddy »

Random question: Anybody here play Breath of Fire III? Thoughts? I'm flying out of town next week and could use a Vita game for the plane. That one looks like it might do the trick.
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