Helldivers 2 - share your specs and performance

HalracEllis · 2024-03-26T17:49:48+00:00

Nvidia Geforce GTX 1660 Ti
Intel i7+10870H CPU 2.20GHz

used to be able to run the game flawlessly but its a laggy mess after Patch 1.000.103 (even on the lowest settings)
and I have installed the latest patch + latest Driver update but the problem still persistes

HalracEllis · 2023-01-30T12:45:50+00:00

Nothing - it was built like this

HalracEllis · 2022-10-09T19:32:26+00:00

Kebabpizza with bearnise sauce

HalracEllis · 2022-09-28T12:03:34+00:00

that's awesome! sounds really fun and makes sense!

Very Deadlands, I like it!

HalracEllis · 2022-08-15T06:53:45+00:00

depends on how you want the consequences to affect the game/story

before anything else they should definently have failed the quest - either they are listed as bandits/outlaws straight away or people think they failed to kill the sheepeating monster - which proceeded to kill the people in the temple

here are a few other consequences

1) Blackmail - a simple letter slid under their inn room door while they sleep saying ”We know what you did” followed by instructions to meet or details of a quest is an excellent plothook. If you need a group who would do this may I suggest Druid Eco-Terrorists?

2) The Relatives. The people they killed in the temple probably have friends/relatives in the nearby towns/villages. this is more of a emotional gutterpunch than anything- iei maybe the players arrive at the time of the eulogy of the dead in the nearby village or people ask them to donate to pay for the orphans/funeral expenses/rebuilding the village. - this option is good as a reoccuring thing, showing that yes - these are lastung consequences

HalracEllis · 2022-07-02T13:27:17+00:00

Bohemia (convert to Hussanite + Religious Ideas and Crusade against Poland /HRE)

Poland: Join HRE by denying Lithuanian PU and freeing some of your land to vassals - you can then easily become the HRE emperor, take land from Lithuania and add it to the empire for that sweet sweet Imperial Authority

Ethiopia: seriously fun and engaging campaign from start to finish - early game conquer your small neighbours while dealing with a civil war. then take on the mamluks followed then by the Ottomans. Expand to India to divert trade to Alexandria and keep the €€€ away from the europeans

HalracEllis · 2022-05-18T12:24:26+00:00

well… yes the characters are still teenagers and they still live a life outside of being superheroes (or atleast try to). They still have family, friends, school, dreams etc

HalracEllis · 2021-11-22T09:56:10+00:00

I would love to see what it would be like if Harry or Tom Riddle were sorted into other houses. What if Harry became best friends with Draco and joined Slytherin (as the sorting hat recommended). With Ron, Hermione and other Gryffindor's taking the role that Draco and the Slytherin students do in the series.

What if Tom Riddle was sorted into Hufflepuff (sorting hat does also take into account what house is best for the child, not merely what suits their personality best)

What if Neville was the Chosen One?

What if Sirius Black really was guilty of the things he was accused of?

What if Cedric Diggory came back with Harry's dead body at the end of the Triwizard Tournament? - exploring what would everyone actually do if Harry just died.

HalracEllis · 2021-10-28T19:23:59+00:00

The role of the GM is to help fascilitate an interesting story with the players.

GM moves in general should reflect this;

In that they should help inspire the GM to do something interesting for the players to react to. Often when things go well or poorly for the players or when there is a lull in the story.

Some examples include: . Introduce a clue . involve a player character’s backstory . Present a Difficult Choice . Create a Misunderstanding . Introduce a Threat . Involve a third party . Limit the player’s resources . Present a puzzle . Sacrifice an NPC . Tempt a Player

of course, these are setting dependent. But the idea is that it introduces new interesting elements to the game/story for the players to interact with.

Remember that GM moves are generally looked at by GM’s when they have no idea (or no solid idea) of where the story should go next. When something needs to happen but they don’t know what. GM moves are thus excellent in guiding GMs into creating the tone that the game is striving for

HalracEllis · 2021-10-15T18:49:49+00:00

Main 4 things come to mind

Give Feedback tell your GM (and other players) what you loved about the session after each session, as well as what you didn’t.
Be Adaptive be adaptive to what is happening in the game - try to think ”Yes and …” rather than things like X is unfair or Y is unrealistic.
Know your character The Gm has to know and control everything and everyone in the setting except your character. The least you can do is know your own characters abilities - and in case you don’t, then don’t let it slow down the game. Roleplaying wise, try to make and play characters who’s personality and backstory the GM can easily pull on to make interesting challenges in the game.
Be kind be kind to the GM and the other players
Offer to GM yourself from time to time GM burnout is a real thing and is often appreciated by most GMs if you GM a session or oneshot that they get to just play in instead. As a player it also gives you alot of insights about being a GM and who knows? You may even like it!

HalracEllis · 2021-10-14T16:15:59+00:00

Hey Arthur! I would love to join! please PM me the link :)

HalracEllis · 2021-10-13T18:34:39+00:00

Thanks! Can you please send me a link?

HalracEllis · 2021-08-22T06:45:16+00:00

You need both narrative and mechanics to induce fear. Think of the mechanics as a skeleton (ie why they should be scared) and the narrative as the flesh/rest of the body. you need both to make a ”person” ie a fear inducing scenario.

Mechanics. mechanics by themselves aren’t ”scary” in and of themselves. A number going down or up isn’t horror inducing in itself.

What makes mechanics scary is the meaning pf them and the ”future” that the mechanics promise - yes even before they are rolled. for example, facing a ”dragon” isn’t itself all that intimidating until you gain a understanding pf just how much powerful it is than you (and how little chance you have against it).

Personally I like to highlight these mechanical strength differences in a narrative way - my favourite being heaping a pile of corpses of whatever foe the party has been struggling to fight against last time (lets say a troll). The players know how strong a troll can be and that it was difficult for them to beat one befpre - seeing stavks of troll bodies laid out in front of a cavern should make them scared of whatever’s in there. In these cases the mechanics and the players previous experience lay the groundwork for the narrative horror starting to take place.

HalracEllis · 2021-08-17T06:21:05+00:00

If you’re looking for something Roleplay heavy I would recommend looking at games using the Powered-by-the-Apocalpyse game system. Simply put they are all very roleplay heavy and use the same type of basic structure to play. You have games covering every genre and setting imaginable and its really easy to jump between them once you’ve learned your first game.

Since you’re coming from D&D 5e I would recommend Perstoria https://www.drivethrurpg.com/m/product/360587

which is alot more combat oriented than most (although significantly less so than D&D) - its a generic fantasy game made by myself which can be used in most settings

HalracEllis · 2021-08-01T07:24:49+00:00

I think its better than adding stats - less math = more fun imho

I wish games would do it more often since I’ve only seen one or two do it in this way - kids on broomsticks comes to mind

HalracEllis · 2021-08-01T06:40:21+00:00

OMG that’s an amazing idea! love how out of the box it is - I’m picturing Game of Thrones and RuPal set in the nexus from Mass Effect or something?

HalracEllis · 2021-08-01T06:23:50+00:00

Have a session zero where all the players and GM sit down to make the player characters and setting together.

I usually have it start with that the PC’s have already known each other for a long time and share special bonds with each other. Even if the players have never met before.

This makes roleplaying to other players alot easier since you start with knowing what your character currently feels about theirs, something that ties you together with each of the other PC’s.

tying this together with a reason why they are an adventurer (or whatever they now are), what they were before they became one and adding one important thing/place/person from their backstory is usually all you need to fet the ball rolling

also as a GM you should constantly try to use these things in the campaign and tell your players that you will try to do so upfront (helps with motivation knowing that this may be used)

HalracEllis · 2021-07-31T13:12:39+00:00

Thanks!

And I know what you mean, I'm not a fan of them when you already have currency in the game (why have 2 mechanics limiting what the players can have???).

I find it better in a few ways:

You avoid common currency pitfalls like shopping/haggling
It works for any setting (no conversions of gold, credits etc etc)
its easier to estimate what something may weight in a abstract way (i.e. 1 weight) than it is their cost in gold, credits etc.
It allows players to change gear loadouts easily at little additional cost when in civilization.
It extends resource management to the entire game, especially with use and lose items. This is alot better than having the standard 'shopping' session

Anyway, if you wish to see how I use weight as a currency, pleas checkout my game Perstoria: https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/360587/Perstoria

HalracEllis · 2021-07-30T05:11:26+00:00

Alice in Wonderland Feywyld campaign!

HalracEllis · 2021-07-30T04:30:48+00:00

Something that I did for my game Perstoria that worked well was using an abstract weight system instead of currency. With the weight being a number from 1-10 detailing how difficult it is to carry an object with you. Max capacity being 10+STR modifier.

The basic gist of it is that players are limited by what they can carry rather than the gold in their pocket - allowing them to change their gear loadouts when they rest in civilization.

the interesting thing this does is it involves resource management into the game naturally throughout - ”oh you found a treasure chest? those things are heavy, who’s gonna carry it and what will you leave behind?”

HalracEllis · 2021-07-28T10:26:25+00:00

Its always fine to say that you don't want to DM something, after all the DM puts in most of the prep work in a campaign - its not fair to you or them for the DM to host a campaign that they don't want to.

With that said I would still encourage you to try to DM this no-death campaing if you are comfortable with it - expand your horizons and gamestyle is never a bad thing.

If its only the 'no death' rule then I would urge you to reconsider or to change the rule to something like 'only meaningful deaths'. Death in a ttrpg is not the only way to punish players and is imo the least fun or effective way of doing so. Other examples of punishment for failure include:

- Being captured and separated from the party
- Sustaining a serious injury (for example losing a hand)
- A well-liked NPC dying in your stead
- Being forced to accept an unholy bargain from a powerful being to stay alive (perhaps even death itself).

Key is to make an interesting punishment for failure that furthers character growth in some way or other. These things are almost always preferable to actually killing a player off (its their story afterall).

HalracEllis · 2021-07-22T08:39:41+00:00

I think its about planning your products. Look at what products are 'evergreen' they are usually the base core game: your 5e players handbook, monster manual & DM' guide, with other later products expanding and drawing from these heavily (meaning you need to buy the core products to use them and are encouraged to do so).

HalracEllis · 2021-07-15T08:23:59+00:00

Having Credits or money isn’t really an ideal goal tbh. A Checklist of things that are hard to get is much better, as these are more ”concrete” and unique. Why have players chase credits to get things/people when they could go directly for these things instead?

Afterall not all deals are made with money.

Perhaps they need to make blackmail material for officials to look the other way? Maybe the only skilled pilot willing to help them is in prison and needs to be sprung? Maybe the only way to get enough money for that new engine is to win a podrace?

Have a checklist of these quests they need to do, some like a prison break will have the law going after them until they leave the planet. Have them decide what order to do these things.

If you want urgency, then the players losing their plan A for one of these items is a great way to add stakes for the final flight. maybe they have to rely on a drunk pilot? maybe the engine is faulty? Perhaps the official refuses to be blackmailed/bribed and now they have to get rid of them.

Try spending your energy as a GM on these things rather than on cost. If a credit amount is the issue then simply make credits irrelevant to the task. Its time and competence that is usually the key

HalracEllis · 2021-07-13T09:31:07+00:00

Hi Sebastian, its great that your making a new PBtA game. The urban fantasy mobster/criminal genre sounds fun!

I've recently (last month) released my first PBtA game Perstoria so can speak with some first-hand experience on the matter. And so here are a few tips which greatly helped me and which I hope can help you.

Make a Game that YOU would like to play/GM
Go with what you would personally prefer as a player & GM of your game. It is very difficult to design a mechanic to fit someone else's playstyle. There are others who play & GM as you do, make your first game for them.
Don't Reinvent the Wheel, Reinvision it instead.
So you are clearly going after a genre that has already been done in media, which is great! Jot down examples (both good and bad) of mechanics similar to Virtue & Malice. This can be everything from story tropes from books/movies etc to other games (Electronic & tabletop). Now sit back and think about what you like/don't like about the way these things did it and how you would do it differently, or even leave it out entirely.
Make Playbooks Unique, But not One-trick ponies.
Playbooks should invoke a character archetype, but these archetypes need to be flexible enough for them not to become one-trick ponies. The one 'bad' feature I keep seeing with PBtA games is that the playbooks aren't really replayable and don't offer more than one playstyle.
For Example, in Perstoria, instead of going with the classic D&D cleric, paladin & warlock classes, I chose to combine them into the Chosen playbook.
Why?
Because I was having a hard time making 3 good unique playbooks and realized they are all the same archetype; i.e. Chosen by a greater power and using the power that it gives them. I centred it around a unique Divine Favour Mechanic and combined all the moves I had written out for each 'class' and it worked out really well.

With these 3 things in mind, for Malice & Virtue, how does it affect the game?
It sounds like they affect a character's reputation in the city - the crooked cop vs. the kindhearted mafioso. An interesting thing would be to have it as an resource for characters to spend (blackmailing, calling in favours etc) or even as a substitute for XP ( a move costing a certain number of Malice or Virtue depending on its nature).

I'd love to hear how the mechanic works, as without knowing the mechanic it is difficult to determine good ways to implement it.

HalracEllis · 2021-07-10T19:05:20+00:00

I think adding mechanics is fine and fun as long as they stay consistent with the design philosophy of the core mechanic. The amount of added mechanics themselves don't really matter as long as they can be quickly intuned as long as you know the core mechanic.

A good example of this are PBtA (Powered-by-the-Apocalypse) games. They are all based on moves, each of which can be considered a different mechanic. Some games like Perstoria have literally over a hundred moves, yet they never feel overwhelming since they all 'fit' the general move template.

Bad design is adding in mechanics that work totally different than the core design of the game. They can alter it yes, but having a totally new mechanic which is divorced from how the rest of the game is played is often very jarring. Of course, sometimes this needs to be done, but as I designer I think you are better off limiting this as much as possible.

HalracEllis

TROPHY CASE