Bay 12 Games Forum

I want to know what makes a rpg qualify as hardcore. Difficult? Traditional? Dark? Mature? Manly? EXTREME? I mean, almost anything could qualify as hardcore if you stretch the definition far enough.

Front Mission 1 (SNES, DS) and 3 (PSX) are SRPG favourites of mine. Both have detailed worlds and good storylines with political and personal conflicts. Both have 2 main storyline paths, basically easy mode and hard mode, and even easy mode is fairly challenging. Both are fairly gritty without being over the top about it. A little bit of tedious micromanagement upgrading units, but this is the DF forum after all, it's nothing you can't overlook.

7th Saga for SNES gets honourable mention for being stupidly difficult for absolutely no good reason, if that's what you're looking for. It's not the highest quality game overall though.

Valkyrie Profile : Covenant of the Plume (DS) is another SRPG and definitely hardcore. In fact it tries way to hard to be hardcore, but it's still fun. The game revolves around making a pact with a demon (or something, I don't know), in which you can murder your own teammates and steal their souls for buffs. Battle strategy is generally to surround and gang-beat opponents into bloody pulps to accumulate OVERKILL BONUS. It also gives the choice between more and less difficult story paths.

The PC recommendations in this thread are all good. Baldurs Gate and Fallout series, Arcana, Planescape, etc. Never was a fan of the Elder Scrolls games but everybody else seems to like them. The SNES, DS, and PSX/2 all have a huge library of quality RPGs, if you have the hardware. Used PS2's and DS's are dirt cheap now too, I recommend investing.

I get randomly spychecked by my own team when I'm cloaked.

That's the worst. Pyro flails around with his flame thrower at absolutely no provocation. Damn Pyro's being paranoid.

Anyway, Kunai + DR + Diamondback = Only way to spy. Whatever you're doing, you get heals or crits!

This gameplay is almost identical to that of Atari's arcade game Gauntlet.

I consider this a victory.

I don't think the sniper class is for me. I usually get bored with it very quickly and I'm just naturally shit at it. Anyone have tips for playing as a spy instead?

I feel the same way about (Rifle) Sniper, it plays too slow and doesn't feel satisfying so I have no desire to get good at it. (Huntsman) Sniper is another matter entirely. Arrows are fun.

Tips for playing spy? When disguised:
Always face the direction that the other team would be facing, even if it means running backwards.
Turn around periodically, both the get a fuller view of your surroundings and to look like you're checking for enemy spy's (ei: you) behind you.
Don't call medic when you're disguised as someone who's not damaged. You might fool the medic momentarily, but most players immediately spycheck a teammate who does this.
Enemy dispensers refill your health + cloak, charge up before you start sapping stuff.

Also:
Get good at sidestabs. Run beside someone, quickly turn and stab. Playing spy on Degroot is actually kind of good for practicing this, since it's basically all you'll be doing.
Pick a type of cloak and stick with it. The three different watches have drastically different playstyles, get used to one first. Revolvers and knives can mostly be interchanged without drastic changes to play.
Regardless of what cloak your using, find corners with minimal visibility for uncloaking.
Stab -> Quickswitch -> Sap. Learn to do it. Spies who don't make Engineers lives hell aren't doing their job properly.

Actually, there's probably all sorts of stuff I could say. I'll leave it there. Also, use the Connivers Kunai. It is OP.

(Searching through Android Market)

Man, there sure are a lot of minesweeper clones...huh... Is that? I think it is!

The 1992 X-Men Arcade Game! With WiFi Multiplayer!

There seem to be quite a few quick ports for <3$, but free ones look few and far between. Hell, I saw a 4$ port of Battle for Wesnoth...a Freeware game :\

I just made >3 pounds of chicken wings. Hotwings and Honey Garlic wings. It has only just occurred to me that I probably can't eat 3 pounds of chicken wings.

Does anyone want some wings? I can mail them to you. They are delicious.

Thats alot of copyright infrigments.

Yeah, if it were anything other than freeware it would be pretty bad. As it stands it's only technically illegal? Maybe it's in the clear if they argue that it's parody? I always forget exactly how that works.

Wait, the Chrono Trigger cat is in this? And the Robot-Crab from some Sonic game? I thought this was a NES tribute.

Dead Ringer Spies never drop a weapon either. After you kill a spy, run over its corpse to see if you collect any ammo. If you don't, then it's probably a Dead Ringer Spy.

To be clear, they do drop a weapon, it just doesn't provide ammo. Frequently I see a gun on the ground run over my old corpse to try and refill my DR, and then I'm like...Oh, right.