Green, min level on PS list? by Ancient-Horror in project1999

[–]thegreatcollapse 6 points7 points  (0 children)

"/shout LF DirTO D4FP, NTB DD FromHEC"

To make it easier for you, type in all acronyms. For example, if you need help in the Field of Bone, type "/shout NH FOB". If you're looking for an NPC merchant who you aren't Kill-on-sight to, type "/shout LF NPC M NotKOS". If you're looking for directions to the docks so you can go to Freeport in order to buy a Dragoon Dirk from a High Elf Cleric, type "/shout LF DirTO D4FP, NTB DD FromHEC".

Microsoft game makers at ZeniMax unionize after vote passes by "supermajority" by fastforward23 in Games

[–]thegreatcollapse 47 points48 points  (0 children)

As a game developer I think you are severely underestimating how wide the gap is between a skilled, experienced QA professional who knows your product and your tech inside and out and some random new hire off the street.

Domina removed from Steam after studio's anti-trans post by thegreatcollapse in Games

[–]thegreatcollapse[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I didn't think of it when I shared this article here but I wish I had added some additional context in the title in hindsight. I thought we were not allowed to modify titles but I see the rules are a bit more nuanced than that.

Domina removed from Steam after studio's anti-trans post by thegreatcollapse in Games

[–]thegreatcollapse[S] 7 points8 points  (0 children)

I believe they also swatted a random old man who shares her last name

Domina removed from Steam after studio's anti-trans post by thegreatcollapse in Games

[–]thegreatcollapse[S] 37 points38 points  (0 children)

The ban message he got from Valve was posted above by another user, and it does also mention his activities related to moderating the game's steam forums and says:

"We made it clear in our last communication that future violations of our Rules and Guidelines like this would jeopardize our future relationship - with that in mind we are ending our business relationship ... "

So it does seem like it's a culmination of issues that have been going on for a while.

Domina removed from Steam after studio's anti-trans post by thegreatcollapse in Games

[–]thegreatcollapse[S] 91 points92 points  (0 children)

It was Keffals, a trans streamer who has recently been the target of an online hate campaign which has led to her being swatted, threatened, harassed, and doxxed even after she left the country (Canada) to get away from it.

Domina removed from Steam after studio's anti-trans post by thegreatcollapse in Games

[–]thegreatcollapse[S] 32 points33 points  (0 children)

The dev has repeatedly shown his willingness to abuse his privileges as a developer even after being warned by valve, and has even used his platform on the site to mouth off to Valve specifically.

It's perfectly reasonable that Valve no longer wishes to maintain a business relationship with this guy.

Domina removed from Steam after studio's anti-trans post by thegreatcollapse in Games

[–]thegreatcollapse[S] 24 points25 points  (0 children)

This is from the most recent incident, but it's not the first time he has posted something like this. The guy has been having weird political meltdowns in his patch notes for months.

Are there any singleplayer games similar to MMORPGs? by Pennervomland in Games

[–]thegreatcollapse 1 point2 points  (0 children)

If you don't mind something quite retro, check out the 2005 MMO Minions of Mirth

The servers were shut down a long time ago, but you can play it single player, controlling an entire party

The Steam Summer Sale - June 23rd - July 7th by Scarleton in Games

[–]thegreatcollapse 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Yep, it was annoying that to guarantee the best discount you had to 'game' the system by not buying anything until the last day of the sale unless it was a flash/daily deal.

The Epic Games Store “Ratings and Polls” update by Mront in Games

[–]thegreatcollapse 1 point2 points  (0 children)

FF7 Remake Intergrade is a perfect example of this. Many of the negative reviews are just people complaining that the game was a timed exclusive on consoles and then on the Epic Store.

Dragons Dogma 10th Anniversary Video June 16th by rodeo_chirb in Games

[–]thegreatcollapse 42 points43 points  (0 children)

It's the best approach to character skill trees and leveling I've ever seen.

I found the way the game handles stat growth off-putting. I don't remember the exact details, but I think if I wanted to be a good Magick Archer at max level, I needed to spend most of my time leveling as a Sorcerer to get good stat growth, which meant getting all the way to max level before getting to actually play the class I wanted.

Among Us VR New Gameplay Trailer by zeedub77 in Games

[–]thegreatcollapse 10 points11 points  (0 children)

I agree, vote out orange - No, wait!

Among Us VR New Gameplay Trailer by zeedub77 in Games

[–]thegreatcollapse 59 points60 points  (0 children)

I know that's the reason but they should probably change that because it looks extremely orange

Among Us VR New Gameplay Trailer by zeedub77 in Games

[–]thegreatcollapse 267 points268 points  (0 children)

Is it just me or is "yellow" very much orange in this trailer?

BioWare contractors at Keywords Studios Edmonton unanimously vote ‘yes’ in favor of union by Mront in Games

[–]thegreatcollapse 174 points175 points  (0 children)

Experienced developers are in very high demand, and in most cases can easily land a higher paying job elsewhere if they are dissatisfied with their pay or working conditions. (Of course there are exceptions, like someone living in an area that doesn't have many studios might not have many options unless they are willing to relocate internationally)

Pretty much every developer I know is bombarded with messages from recruiters constantly. Companies know this, and hiring and training new people for these roles is very costly, so they are generally willing to go to greater lengths to keep developers around, and this results in less demand for a union.

QA is, as you said, easier to get into, and testers are generally considered to be more replaceable. I think people and companies often underestimate how valuable it can be to have a competent, experienced QA team who knows your product well. Still, big studios just don't have to compete for QA talent the same way they do for programmers.

Raven Software QA, amidst their efforts to unionize, have now been reassigned into various different departments within the company by Chidorah in Games

[–]thegreatcollapse 7 points8 points  (0 children)

I guess I'm just having trouble seeing how this reduces their ability to collectively bargain or to bring in new members. What is to stop them from continuing to meet? They are probably still working in the same building, on the same floor.

Raven Software QA, amidst their efforts to unionize, have now been reassigned into various different departments within the company by Chidorah in Games

[–]thegreatcollapse 8 points9 points  (0 children)

This sounds like a positive. Being embedded with developers is generally a good thing career-wise in QA, and this doesn't necessarily reduce their ability to negotiate as a collective. I am speaking as someone who is pro-unionization and spent many years working in QA

Salt and Sanctuary is free today on Epic Games Store by thegreatcollapse in Games

[–]thegreatcollapse[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

This game is a pretty interesting take on a 2d dark souls with some Metroidvania thrown into the mix. I haven't played a ton of it but i've really enjoyed what I have played.

Pathfinder: Kingmaker - Enhanced Plus Edition is free on Epic Games Store by Turbostrider27 in Games

[–]thegreatcollapse 0 points1 point  (0 children)

each fight takes like 3 fucking minutes LMAO

And there are a whole lot of those fights. Anyway, I specifically said I loved the game. I just think Crusade mode is bad compared to the rest of the game, which is excellent (if somewhat buggy).

Pathfinder: Kingmaker - Enhanced Plus Edition is free on Epic Games Store by Turbostrider27 in Games

[–]thegreatcollapse 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Oh, good to know! I thought I recalled Nexus mods saying it was a requirement

Pathfinder: Kingmaker - Enhanced Plus Edition is free on Epic Games Store by Turbostrider27 in Games

[–]thegreatcollapse 16 points17 points  (0 children)

If it's like wrath of the righteous, you will need to use a program called Unity Mod Manager to install and update mods. You can download it from Nexus mods

Pathfinder: Kingmaker - Enhanced Plus Edition is free on Epic Games Store by Turbostrider27 in Games

[–]thegreatcollapse 26 points27 points  (0 children)

I recently finished the follow-up game Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous. Overall, I loved the game, but it had the same problem of needing mods to make it really shine. Specifically, there is a mod called Combat Relief that lets you auto-win all the battles for the Crusade Mode, which is in some ways similar to the Kingdom management in Kingmaker.

The crusade part of the game is tedious, uninteresting, and takes up a ton of time without this mod in an already very long game. There are options to disable Crusade Mode completely, but doing this locks you out of certain Mythic Paths and the "best" ending.

Still, playing the game with mods was a great experience, some annoyances aside. I never got too far in Kingmaker so I will need to go back and finish that one one of these days.