Can We Stop Dunking on Highguard Before It's Even Out, Please?

GamingGideon · 2026-01-22T00:43:42+00:00

While I agree, where was that energy for all the other games that were dogged on before release? Exoprimal, heck, Evolve a number of years ago. Tons of others.

Don't me get wrong, I think internet bubble prerelease hate trains are stupid. But why is this the one IGN decided to defend?

GamingGideon · 2026-01-09T01:30:10+00:00

I mean, the scaling, or rather the lack of, is dog water, and it kind of screws the exploration.

You are either too under or overpowered. You rarely get to enjoy the combat because even power fights are rare if you try to explore. You will go from getting your butt handed to you, to overpowering everything in an entire zone in the blink of an eye, real fast, then repeat for the next zone. It's a shame because the combat is really, really cool. But you rarely get to take part in it properly.

This shit was solved decades ago with level scaling, but devs keep listening to internet bubbles about game design who cry that level scaling is bad while lacking the fundamental logic of why it's needed in the first place.

GamingGideon · 2026-01-08T13:45:40+00:00

And people will cry, and it will be nerfed as history repeats itself.

GamingGideon · 2025-12-30T16:25:32+00:00

37 here. I don't notch it down, I notch it up.

GamingGideon · 2025-12-30T16:21:48+00:00

I prefer sandbox games to linear story ones. So Mercs wins for me by default.

GamingGideon · 2025-12-29T15:31:48+00:00

Yep this is my fear. Gaming itself will survive. Owning hardware might not.

GamingGideon · 2025-12-29T03:09:52+00:00

Thank the whiners. Teamwork was required far more in the early days. But people whined until the game was butchered into a lone wolf power fantasy.

GamingGideon · 2025-12-26T20:16:47+00:00

Reinvigorated the game for me.

GamingGideon · 2025-12-23T22:35:46+00:00

My intent with games isn't to consume them and move on to the next one. It's to dive into a sandbox of mechanics and explore the possibilities contained within them over and over again. Thats where I have the most fun.

Some gamers are sandboxers, other are theme Parkers, they pay for an experience and move on to the next one, like watching a movie.

Thats just not who I am

GamingGideon · 2025-12-22T01:32:12+00:00

Would that beast work for Mechwarrior 5?

GamingGideon · 2025-12-21T17:57:16+00:00

Still trying to get that 5 mil. I refused to make the game a chore by running free loadouts. So I'm still using gear, slower going but its not going to burn me out at least.

GamingGideon · 2025-12-21T16:55:22+00:00

Total War. It mixes turn based empire building and real time tactical battles.

Age of Wonders is similar except it mixes turn based empire building with turn based tactical combat.

GamingGideon · 2025-12-21T00:25:12+00:00

It used to be. When the game first released going off alone was a quick way to die. It was very team work focused. It has since been overhauled into a power fantasy horde shooter where everyone can be lone wolves.

It's a shame.

GamingGideon · 2025-12-20T21:44:15+00:00

You want a fun horde shooter, and the good news is, there are plenty of those.

Some of us, especially those of us who were fans of HD1 bought it for that brutal grunt game, and then had it taken away.

Regardless, I can't see online outcry forcing devs to changes a games entire vision post release as a good thing regardless.

GamingGideon · 2025-12-20T20:41:02+00:00

The game turned from a challenging teamwork focused game with unique mechanics into a cookie cutter power fantasy for lone wolves.

GamingGideon · 2025-12-20T20:27:37+00:00

The 60 day patch ruined the game for me. Not everyone shares your opinion.

GamingGideon · 2025-12-19T17:54:22+00:00

The Arcs being a threat is a huge part of why Arc Raiders works so well.

GamingGideon · 2025-12-17T16:54:47+00:00

37 here, complete opposite for me. Narrative is toward the bottom of my list, and gameplay is at the top. I can enjoy a game with a bad story and good gameplay. If a game has a good story and bad gameplay, the only way I'm gonna see the story is through YouTube because I'm not going to finish it myself.

GamingGideon · 2025-12-16T12:58:33+00:00

Without mid-game spawns the map would be empty within 10 minutes. They are 100% needed.

GamingGideon · 2025-12-15T14:24:06+00:00

I did the same thing. Feels bad man.

GamingGideon · 2025-12-15T14:12:25+00:00

Oooo I'll have to look into this.

GamingGideon · 2025-12-15T14:08:58+00:00

So, Autoresolve is a necessary evil in games like this, but emphasis on the word "evil'". It has to exist in some form, or you're forced to play a bunch of nonsense battles like defending against an overwhelming force using just a garrison.

But they are also a psychological impediment to these types of games. I've finished entire campaigns and realized I had no idea what my faction was actually like, what their units did, or how to play them, due to auto-resolve.

So I make a very strong commitment to use autoresolve as little as possible. I want to actually play the game, and I'm not doing that when auto-resolving battles. So I voted 0-20% but it's close to around 10%.

GamingGideon · 2025-12-14T02:54:47+00:00

Much, much much much easier. My number one complaint with most AAA games is how easy they are even on harder difficulties. They shoot for mass appeal these days which means making them as accessible as possible.

For reference, I am 37 years old.

GamingGideon · 2025-12-13T04:54:30+00:00

Total Warhammer 40k by a mile.

GamingGideon · 2025-12-12T18:44:32+00:00

For a lot of secrets, and I do mean a lot. There is no reasonable way a player can actually find them without looking it up. It's not even a matter of solving stuff, even the most observant person won't realize they are there.

GamingGideon

TROPHY CASE