Videogame Discussion Thread

There's what many people would likely consider audio "elitism" all over these boards. I don't see it as such, but rather people who actually know what the hell they're talking about simply having a discussion. What's the difference between distortion measurements for audio gear and, say, an interplay web for a video game? There really isn't any.

Guess I just figured people here might be more inclined to have a more technical discussion about video games. I was wrong. I don't mean that as an insult, just an observation. This just isn't the place for me when it comes to video game discussion, and that's fine because that's not why I come here. Sorry if I came off as condescending, I genuinely wasn't trying to be. But I'm going to speak matter-of-factly when I'm confident in my knowledge of a topic, just as anyone else would and as happens here regarding audio all the time.

@YMO I have an LG CX with VRR and it's incredibly effective at smoothing out framerate irregularities, particularly when playing at over 60 FPS.

 

Maybe just start a specific thread for the kind of deep dive you’re into? Then you can see whether or not others are interested in joining in that kind of discussion.

Don’t take the frosty welcome too hard. You just failed to get the lay of the land of the casual, general-purpose vidja games thread before launching into a PhD level dissertation defense.

 

@Boops Eh, I'm already part of a community that does regular deep-dive discussions on games. I didn't really intend to go as deep as I ended up going (which was still fairly superficial, tbh), it just kinda happened. Habit I guess, because most video game discussions I join are deep-dives. I may still check this thread periodically and offer useful and/or relevant information if I'm able, but I probably won't spend much time in this thread.

I've been around since Changstar, so I get how things are around here. I'm not particularly bothered by it; just a misinterpretation on my part, no big deal.

 

Who like what more ATM, the PS5 or Xbox?

For some reason I been researching a lot on the Xbox Series X (cause I keep thinking of Mountain Dew and Doritos) and Game Pass. Never had a Xbox before, since most of my gaming taste is on the Switch. Also I feel PS5 is more aimed for the western market since Sony is not focusing on the Japanese market as much anymore (make sense, PlayStation world HQ is in Cali).

But I did pick up that Sony A80J OLED, not hardcore gaming it up though. Downside is no VRR (Sony promise a firmware update for the A80J, but I'm not holding my breath on that). 4k/60 is enough.

 

I think part of that perception is that the less than top tier Japanese devs are still focusing on the PS4 with forward compatibility in mind rather than target a smaller audience on the hard to get consoles. Existing large audience > smaller new audience. And for the less fortunate; too few sales = dead studio.

On console choice. Pick the one with the exclusives you want to play the most. The console is in service of the games. They aren't that different anymore.

 

Gamepass is a gamechanger. I was skeptical, but I bloody love it.

 

Japanese audience is more mobile focus, hence the Switch is still the gold standard for the Japanese market. I have a Switch Lite, and if I wanna get a console again I kind of wanna get out of my comfort zone. I don't care for executives that much if I gotta be honest.

@Beefy if I get a Xbox, does it come with Mountain Dew and Doritos?

 

I’m on Mac now.

 

Enjoying the Demon's Souls remake on PS5. Resolution and locked-at-60fps frame rate are really a revelation. Atmospherics, weather effects, and new animation is top tier. I was skeptical of the concept of the total remake, but I am convinced. I would kill for a similar ground up remake of Dark Souls that was as faithful to the original as this one is.

Separate question: can anyone recommend a bluetooth dingus that works with PS5 so I can use my Airpods for game sound? I'm using PortaPros plugged into the controller for now, but want to try wireless.

 

I decided to just stick with PortaPros plugged into the controller. These sound too good to spend any more money.

Demon's Souls finished. So good to revisit this game. A few more thoughts:

• Valley of Desolation in 60FPS is just so good.
• The art direction, environment design, character design, modeling don't do anything interesting beyond the original game. It is all pretty great high-resolution stuff and pretty to look at, but this was already great in the original and is just carried forward.
• After a full playthrough, the lighting is the most next-gen amazing thing. Not even talking about Tower of Latria which already looked good in the original. Exteriors and interiors of Boletaria castle are wonderfully lit. I don't know enough about how these things are done in this gen of consoles, but the quality of the light is so much more realistic. Things feel cinematic and photographed in a way I am not used to. It all comes together in the Old One's layer at the very end of the game: a ruined beach under a bright cloudy sky, the fog rolling in, the birds overhead. Holy shit.
• I got a lucky drop of the Mirdan Hammer very early on and used it the entire game. I went for a quality build and maxed out the hammer and compound longbow.
• f**k whoever it was that I kept dueling in the Old Monk fight with the scraping spear and stacked regen items. I hate you.

If you have a PS5 and never played Demon's Souls, you should do it!

 

Honestly you may want to wait two weeks and play Elden Ring as your first one. Demon's Souls is, at this point, more of a deep cut. It was the first attempt at this kind of design which, IMO was realized best and most fully in Dark Souls 1. The Demon's remake has streamlined some things and made some concessions for new players, but it still has a lot of idiosyncratic conventions and that make it hard to recommend as a first taste. But if you are going in with all that in mind, then by all means!

 

Really looking forward to Elden Ring. I have my network latency down to 1ms (+2.4ms decode time) with everything hardwired, so I should be able to play on my Nvidia shield without issues. With controller latency and everything added in it should be less than 1 frame of latency at 60fps.

 

Me, too, but Horizon Forbidden West comes out the week before and I'm not sure which to play first!

 

I just started Last of Us 2 in the meantime, which I never managed to play. I am a huge fan of the first game and it is great to be back with these characters. The score is again incredible. Visuals are amazing per Naughty Dog usual. I am a scavenging fool and have to look in every drawer. I’m three hours in and loving it so far.

 

This isn't so much an artform game as a fun romp to ruin friendships with but I've been playing ROUNDS with friends and cussing each other out over Discord while getting Hail Mary dropshots in is good fun. It's made by the same guys that developed Totally Accurate Battle Simulator and while it's not quite the splash of madness that that game was, it's a fast paced game that can run fluently on any reasonably new iGPU and the plethora of builds you can make is varied enough to make runs unique.