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Forum Games and Roleplaying / [IC] Trespassers of the Mulitverse: Unification: Blades, Guns, and Arconite

« on: August 20, 2023, 02:36:23 pm »

OOC

The TV dropped the team into a rather small room with a large black table at its center. Against the walls were shelves of boxes and crates with labels like "HANDLE WITH CAUTION", "EXPIRY DATE 8-23-4523", and "FRAGILE". A few dusty-looking lockers sat in a corner. It looked like the kind of place almost no-one went to. A single ceiling light illuminated the table. Stood at it were Lyra and Annie, both clad in their armor and with blades sheathed in scabbards on their backs. A small tablet, projecting an image of a map of the galaxy, rested just in front of Annie and Lyra. As the crew approached the two, Annie gave a friendly wave.

"Hey, you're here! Glad to finally get this done. To bring you up to speed - we already have a good idea of where the Trespasser is located." Annie points a gloved finger at a small collection of asteroids marked near the edge of The Drift. "The real problem is actually getting there safely and then reaching the Trespasser, not to mention being able to pinpoint the Trespasser's location so we don't waste time. But let's start with the most important things first." Annie waved at a few dozen red triangles and chevrons that were clustered around the asteroids. "Sovereign's got their crews guarding this thing fiercely. I'm not sure whether they've already been possessed, or if they just think they can still turn the situation to their advantage, but the point is, they're in the way.

Thankfully, Lyra and I have done a little prep work, so we've already got a few ideas on how to get past these guys. We could do one... or more... or maybe all of them!" Annie cracked a wicked grin at the prospect.

Lyra nodded, but she wasn't smiling. "But don't forget that this is just the first step. We've still got the actual base infiltration to worry about, not to mention killing the Trespasser itself. Plus, as disorganized as Sovereign's become, they've still got plenty of eyes in plenty of places. I'm worried that if we take too many of these opportunities, Sovereign will notice, and be ready to intercept us when the time comes to attack. Might be better to prepare our gear and tactics. Prepare ourselves best we can before we start sticking our heads out.

Which brings us to the next point - discretion is going to be our primary advantage. We can't just force ourselves into the facility and bombard it with missiles until it explodes, as much fun as that would be." Annie's smile faded and she rolled her eyes.

"Anyway, if you need one of us to fill you folks in, get a lay of the land, that sort of thing, just ask. We'll lay out our options in a little bit."

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Forum Games and Roleplaying / [IC] Trespassers v2: Griftlands: The Bog Brawl

« on: August 10, 2021, 05:23:20 pm »

(OOC)

It was at once subtle, yet clear that something about the castle had changed. A few of the inhabitants were drawn to one of the tables in the Quarters’ dining room, where a letter and a strange device lay. The letter was penned in simple, neat handwriting, explaining that the writer had a task in Grout Bog for the assembled people to perform, and that they would have another person to assist them. This ‘Grifter’ would provide more information once they arrived at the area - and the device would bring them to where they needed to be.

The device enclosed with the letter - a small black case with a blinking blue light in one corner - emitted a low beep before enveloping the group in a teal light. When the light faded, they were surrounded by swamp.

Following the letter’s instructions, the group arrives at the meeting point to find:

Choose your Grifter (Pick 1 of 3. Majority vote will win.)

[] Sal: A lady leaning against a tree, gaze focused on the knife she’s sharpening. She looks up from her work as the party approaches and nods. “You don’t look like you’re from the Feud at all. I take it you’re the group?”
[] Rook: An old man standing in the clearing, scribbling something onto a notepad. He cheerfully waves at you as you approach. Despite the overt friendliness, you can feel him looking the party over carefully. As he puts away his pen and paper, you notice the pistols resting in twin holsters. “You must be the team. You ready to go, then?”
[] Smith: You enter the clearing to find it empty, at least for the moment. Then a drunken Kra’deshi stumbles out of the bushes, hammer in hand. “I-I’m here, I’m here! I remembered I was supposed to be here the whole time! Wait, what the Hesh are you wearing?”

Without much else to delay them, the Grifter begins to lead the team to Grout Bog, being mindful of the muddy road. As they walk, there’s time to ask a few questions.

Ask questions (Pick any of the options.)
[] Who they are: You’ve only just met this person, but they’re supposed to be guiding you. Knowing them better might help in this endeavor.
[] Your destination: Grout Bog is, so far, just a name to you. You’ll get there soon enough, but knowledge of what to expect would still be nice.
[] Advice: The circumstances that were described in the letter you received suggested that this mission would be more than just hunting down and destroying a Trespasser.
[] Something else: Go ahead and ask the grifter whatever might be useful. They might not know, but it can’t hurt to ask...

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Other Games / Custom Character-Type Games

« on: February 17, 2020, 12:19:22 am »

I've been watching/listening to the archives of Vinesauce Vinny's Tomodachi Life streams, and I've been wondering what games on the PC there are that have a (sort of similar) kind of ability - where you can make your own characters and have them in the world of the game.

NOTE: The games I have in mind are not games with character customization systems like CodeVein, Dark Souls, or the Elder Scrolls series. I'm more thinking along the lines of games where you can have multiple custom characters in play at once.

The games I can think of off the top of my head are:
XCOM 2 (Complete with a fairly in-depth and moddable character customization system, though IIRC classes are randomly determined)
OpenXCOM and its mods (Kind of - you can change faces, give characters armor, and give them custom names, but you can't change much else
Dwarf Fortress (Kind of - you can maybe give characters nicknames I think, but you can't change much else besides)
Rimworld (Similar to the above IIRC)
Death Road To Canada (You can give characters somewhat unique appearances, as well as give them a skill and trait. Probably one of my favorite ones, since you both do and don't have control over who they are.)
The Sims (Put characters of your own design into ordinary-ish life - but I can't attest to the quality of the experience, since I haven't played much of this one)
Darkest Dungeon (Give your characters custom names and cry as the attack that really needs to hit misses)
Disgaea 2 (Give your non-story characters names and watch as they accrue a massive body count)
Into The Breach (You can give mechs and characters custom names, but you can't change much else besides)

If anyone could recommend me a game with similar features, I'd be grateful.

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Life Advice / Considering Switching to Linux - What do I need to know?

« on: August 29, 2018, 07:52:06 am »

I can’t say my laptop hasn’t suffered from its own problems with Windows 10, and yeah, plenty of the things that Microsoft’s doing now are pretty sketchy as it is...

Which has go me considering installing a Linux OS.

Thing is, I still want to be able to play games on my laptop. I know there’s programs that let you do that - (WINE) comes to mind - but I’m still a bit afraid of what changing OSes will do -can I still keep things like photos?

Anything I should know before installing Linux in general?

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Play With Your Buddies / [SSLP] Darkest Dungeon: The 12th Bay's Invitation to Iniquity

« on: June 05, 2018, 02:21:20 pm »

I started a Screenshot Let's Play of Darkest Dungeon over on another forum, known as Maidens of the Kaleidoscope. Note that the website's security certificate has expired - this means that when you enter the website you may recieve a warning saying this website isn't safe. This is because the security certificate expired a few days ago. I'm afraid there's nothing I can do about it - and the site itself hasn't asked for my credit card information as of yet, so I'd say it's fairly safe even it its current state.

I thought I'd post it here in case any of you were interested in reading edgy adventuring stuff alongside infodumps, and if you're interested in putting your name (or just a name) on a hero, go ahead and post it here and I'll add it in.

https://www.shrinemaiden.org/forum/index.php/topic,21444.0.html

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Life Advice / Heading to China soon. What do I need to know?

« on: June 01, 2018, 04:03:31 pm »

Exactly what the thread title says. As a way to get a bit of experience actually working a day in my life, I've agreed to head to China on June 10th to work in a tech firm in Shenzhen. Now, my Chinese is rather poor and I'm not really sure what to expect when I get to Shenzhen, so I'm wondering: What should I expect and prepare for in China?

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Play With Your Buddies / OpenXCOM Awesome Guns: A Suspiciously Smooth Start Of Serious Slaughter

« on: December 16, 2017, 06:07:07 pm »

Oh boy.

Here it is...

XCOM: UFO Defense (AKA: UFO: Enemy Unknown in Europe and Australia) is the very first XCOM game, and the start of the now-famous XCOM series, and while it's somewhat hampered by some truly extreme micromanagement (you have to manually put almost every item in your soldier's inventories), repetitive music, and a whole slew of bugs, it was good. Good enough to, well, be the start of the now-famous XCOM series.

Though this game is now clearly showing its age, there's still a (somewhat small) modding community that's made a number of mods and modpacks that change the game.

You want a laser sniper rifle? There's a mod for that.

You want more armor types? There's a mod for that.

You want your game to turn into a busty space pirate simulator?

Yeah, there's a mod for that too. Don't ask how I know of it, just... It's out there.

The mod I'm going to be playing through is the Awesome Guns mod, which adds a lot of variety to the weapons in the game, including a shotgun, a machine pistol, a sniper rifle, and a proper assault rifle. Other changes include:

Aircraft weapons are much less accurate and powerful at the beginning of the game.

Alien plasma weapons cannot be immediately used (the Weapons and Items section of the mod's website says the alien weapons are controlled by the mind). They must be researched and converted for use by normal soldiers. Of particular note is that the Blaster Launcher and the Small Launcher cannot be used by soldiers (though Stun Grenades and Blaster Rockets can be researched).

There are more armor types, including two types that can be purchased at the start of the game (The Light Vest and the Heavy Vest). Flying suit offers less defense than the power suit, and needs Floater research and UFO navigation before it can be developed.

I'll be playing through the game on the easiest difficulty (renamed from "Beginner" to "I'm too young to die!" by the mod), to make sure that I won't lose soldiers so easily.

If you wish I can rename a soldier so that they have your character's name (I''ll pick anyone who's reached Squaddie rank or higher). I wouldn't advise this until I've got at minimum personal armor researched, but I will still honor requests to put characters into the game.

Just don't expect them to survive very long.

Before I begin:
I just want you to know before I start that I can't guarantee.... anything.

I can't guarantee my own integrity, my own ability to keep a schedule, my ability to make a~~n entertaining~~ not terrible LP, or, like I said, anything.

Another thing you should know is that in this game, soldiers come and go (read: die) easily. Very easily. I wouldn't advise asking to be added in until I've got power armor researched unless you're fine with the idea that your character may die at any time.

Actual start of the update... sometime. Most likely when finals stop kicking my ass. (Finals end next week.)

In the meantime, though, what would you like our first base to be named, where should it be located, what should our save file be named, and what should our weapons of choice be? (This will affect what weapon upgrades I prioritize, as well as what I equip most of my soldiers with.)

The current weapons we have available includes:

Spoiler: List of weapons (click to show/hide)

Combat Knife. Does not appear in the base game (the closest analogue would be the Stun Rod). Inflicts a good amount of lethal damage (60 melee), but I don't actually know what the chance to hit is. Regardless, using this weapon means you need to get right next an alien that may have a gun, claws, or, worse yet, the ability to turn you into a zombie with a single attack. Because of this, I would not advise making them our weapon of choice... though I won't stop you if that gets the most votes. (Due to how the time unit system works, dual-wielding knives won't actually help.) Note: If we use this is our weapon of choice, I will phase them out for Laser Swords and Plasma Blades once they are unlocked through research.
Pistol. Appears in the base game, though Awesome Guns seems to have changed its appearance and stats somewhat. Low damage, moderate accuracy, and fast firing. Holds 9 rounds in its clip. As in life, it's mainly relegated to a backup or sidearm rather than a proper primary weapon, but if you want it to be the weapon of choice... Hell, I'll go for it then. (Same with the Combat Knives, dual-wielding Pistols won't make them any more effective.)
Machine Pistol. Unique to the Awesome Guns mod. It's got much less accuracy than the normal pistol and doesn't inflict any extra damage per bullet, but it has a much greater rate of fire due to its access to an Auto firing mode. It also holds more bullets than the Pistol, holding 15-round clips. Too bulky to fit in a soldier's belt slot (which will be explained later), so it's likely intended for use by grenadiers, scouts, and combat medics, which will likely have one hand full at all times (grenade, motion scanner, or medkit) and thus will need a one-handed weapon to avoid the accuracy penalty that comes from holding a full-size rifle in one hand. Slightly more viable for a weapon of choice than the pistol, but it doesn't inflict a whole lot of damage and you'll need to get close to hit the enemy. Note: If we use either the Pistol or the Machine Pistol as our weapons of choice, I'll upgrade them to Laser and then Converted (Plasma) Pistols once those weapons are researched (Neither the Laser nor Converted (Plasma) Pistols have have a Machine variant).
Rifle. Appears in the base game as well, though this mod's variant has its stats altered slightly to make it less terrible. Does a bit more damage than the Pistol, and has access to a (rather inaccurate) Auto firing mode. It's Aimed firing mode, while very accurate, also takes a lot of time units. Requires both hands to use, and is thus ill-suited for grenadiers, scouts, or combat medics. Note: if this weapon is used as our weapon of choice, I will upgrade it to the Laser and then the Converted (Plasma) Rifle once the proper research is completed.
Sniper Rifle. Unique to the mod, this weapon is slow but accurate, and deals more damage than the other weapons previously listed. Not a good choice for people that need to move around a lot (scouts or medics). Can be upgraded to the Thunderbolt, which is essentially a much slower, much more powerful, and somewhat more accurate Sniper Rifle.
Shotgun. This one is unique to the Awesome Guns mod. Works in a similar manner to the Shotgun from Doom, shooting a horizontal spray of pellets that inflicts a bit of damage when hitting a target. This means that close range, the Shotgun will inflict a lot of damage, while at longer distances the shotgun will start dealing less and less damage. Good for close range, though one should be careful if there are civilians or fellow XCOM operatives near the enemy target, as it's possible to hit them as well. Note: Although the Shotgun's ammo can be upgraded, there is no Laser or Converted (Plasma) variant. There is, however, a variant of the Shotgun in the form of the mod's Heavy Laser, which fires three high-damage lasers per shot.
Grenade Launcher. Another weapon unique to the Awesome Guns mod. A single-shot weapon that can deliver High-Explosive, Incendiary, or Smoke rounds. Since it's AoE by nature, it's not a weapon to be used around civilians or fellow operatives. Note: Just like the Shotgun, there's no associated Normal -> Laser -> Converted (Plasma) upgrade tree for this weapon.
Heavy Cannon. Though it appears in the base game, its stats are changed by the Awesome Guns mod. A multi-shot weapon that delivers either Explosive grenades, Incendiary grenades, or Armor-Piercing flechette shells (similar to a shotgun's). Like the Grenade launcher, but explicitly for lethal purposes. Suffers from the Grenade Launcher's problems in that it risks hurting non-targets as well, making it a questionable weapon of choice. Note: If these are picked as our weapon of choice, these will be upgraded to Laser and then Converted (Plasma) Cannons once the research becomes available.
Auto Cannon. Again, it appears in the base game and is modified by the mod. It's ammo types are the same as the Heavy Cannon, but deal less damage than the Heavy Cannon's ammo. It trades the Heavy Cannon's power and accuracy for automatic fire (a five-shot burst) and an overall higher ammo capacity. As with the Grenade Launcher and the Heavy Cannon, not a good weapon of choice due to the risk of friendly fire. Note: Upgrade chain is same. It should be noted that the Laser and Converted (Plasma) cannons do not have an Auto variant, nor do they have specialized ammo types.
Rocket Launcher. Appears in the base game and is modified by the blah blah you get the point. It's ammo types are Explosive and Incendiary. Very slow to fire, but also rather accurate. The risk of friendly fire, is, of course, extreme. No real upgrade tree for these aside from the ability to later load the weapon with Blaster Rockets.
Armor-Piercing Rocket Launcher. Unique to the mod, this is a single-shot weapon that is discarded after use. Inflicts an extreme amount of damage to an area, and is quite accurate. Not a very good weapon of choice due to the temporary nature: you'd be better off with grenades since you get more of them.

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Other Games / Videogame Headcanons/Crackpot theories.

« on: November 08, 2017, 12:08:13 am »

Just a thread where you can post any of the little stories you made up in your head about what's going on in video games.

Payday 2: Sokol is the most determined member of the PAYDAY Gang. He may appear supremely talented (almost to the point of being Marty-Stu-ish), but he fucking sucked at every single field he initially applied himself to (hockey, engineering, heisting). But no matter what anyone (the coaches, the trainers, the other team members, his own family) said, he kept trying.

And trying.

And trying.

And long after many, many others would have quit, Sokol attained a truly unbeatable level of skill and experience.

Grinder represents this sheer determination. When others might fall over and die, Sokol perseveres and maintains his strength. No matter what happens, Sokol will keep going until the foe is beaten back.

To persist wear away at an obstacle until it is gone...

That's what it means to be a Grinder.

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Other Games / Alien Swarm: Reactive Drop - Alien Swarm+ Coordination Thread

« on: April 22, 2017, 06:35:12 pm »

Quote from: Twinwolf on April 22, 2017, 08:52:10 am

This sounds like the kind of thing that needs a thread for setting up multiplayer games of it.

I guess I could make it...

For the unfamiliar, Alien Swarm is a free game on Steam, revolving around a squad of four IAF Marines who mainly fight the titular swarm, a group of parastic insect-like(?) organisms that have been making human colonies disappear. While the original Alien Swarm only had the Jacob's Rest campaign, there is now an expansion pack/replacement of sorts.

In addition to all the content from the original Alien Swarm, Reactive Drop includes:

Several more campaigns already packaged!
New guns!
Steam Workshop Support!
Up to 8 players at once, making use of the entire character roster!

The best part is that this expansion remains entirely free! If you haven't played this game yet, give it a go! This thread can also be used to help coordinate games with friends if need be.

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Other Games / Survival Crisis Z Tech Help!

« on: November 17, 2016, 06:08:37 pm »

I'm not sure if this goes in Other Games or Life Advice, so if this thread needs to be moved, do so (or ask me).

Anyway, one of the games on Bay12's free games list is "Survival Crisis Z", which does need a fix to run on newer operating systems like Windows 10.

However, even after the fix is applied, I wind up with a horrible frame rate drop.

Has anyone found a way to actually fix this? The game for the most part has become quite unplayable due to the fact that I basically die anytime I enter combat.

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Other Games / Made-Up Names Thread

« on: November 12, 2016, 12:35:23 pm »

Post the odd nicknames you've made for things like actions, individuals, groups, etc.

Here's a few examples:

Fallout New Vegas's Powder Gangers - (The) Powder Gangsters

Fallout New Vegas's New California Republic - (The) National Cash Register (From it-he.org)

Fallout New Vegas's Caesar's Legion - Legion (No titles, just "Legion") OR Bunch of Misogynistic Pricks Who'd Save Me A Lot Of Trouble If They Stuck Their Swords Up Their Sphincters.

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DF Dwarf Mode Discussion / Does Cooking save space?

« on: September 17, 2016, 09:29:34 pm »

I don't have enough barrels to make drinks! I mean, the river never freezes so that's fine, but the dwarves might not be too happy about that. So, does cooking save space?

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DF Suggestions / Rename Leaves so They Don't Get Confused With Fruits

« on: September 17, 2016, 08:53:42 pm »

Just what the title says.

I'm checking the "leaves" section of the stocks, on the z-menu, and I'm getting:

strawberries [11]
squashes [14]
winter melons [16]
and so on.

I know the actual fruits have capital letters, but there should be a bigger difference to make it easier to determine what can be eaten and what can't. Otherwise the new players will be thinking "OOH! Peaches! Why aren't my dwarves picking them up?"

I know those were my thoughts when I saw the leaves.

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DF Suggestions / Make Pots = Barrels when moving items to a Trade Depot

« on: September 17, 2016, 07:28:35 pm »

Make pots count as barrels as far as trade goes. When you're designating items to be moved to a trade depot, barrels have their own category.

Pots are counted as "tools", despite having the same capabilities of a barrel, without the ~~marginal~~ disadvantage of angering the ~~hippies~~ elves. Just bothered me.

It wouldn't be a huge change (hopefully), so it should be simple to fix.

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Creative Projects / AzyWng's Written Works Thread

« on: September 05, 2016, 05:16:38 pm »

I may or may not make this into a series. The (admittedly rushed) ending does make it kind of prime for at least one follow-up story.

Spoiler: The Story (click to show/hide)

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