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Yu-Gi-Oh Duel Links Hack

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A list of all the mods I love playing with in Battlefront 2 on PC!

PREFACE

To all gamers who joined us via the Epic Games free week, welcome to the Battlefront! If this is your first foray into the game you will find the in-game content fresh and entertaining for many weeks and possibly even months to come. However you can spice things up a lot by trying out some mods from the excellent modding scene this game has developed over 3 years! If you've been playing the game on PC for a while now but without any mods, hopefully my post gives you an idea of what you've been missing out on.
Mods for Battlefront 2 include:
If you're new to modding BF2, in a nutshell the steps for installing and using mods are as follows:
  1. Download and install Frosty Mod Manager (FMM) and give it permissions to Run as Administrator every time.
  2. Start FMM and give the path to the BF2 exe file.
  3. Download the mods you want from NexusMods and import them into FMM.
  4. Apply the mods you want in the right panel.
  5. The mods will be applied in the order specified in the right panel. If multiple mods modify the same file, the mod lower in the order will be the one whose changes will be in effect.
[Video tutorial showing the above steps]

DISCLAIMER

There is a non-zero risk associated with using mods in mutliplayer matches. The chances of anticheat picking up cosmetic, UI, sound and FX mods while playing online are extremely low but nevertheless they are there. Gameplay mods or stat/ability changing mods that the mod creators explicitly state never to use online have the highest risk of getting you banned and should only be used in offline game modes. I am not responsible for any mistakes you may make while using mods that could lead to you getting suspended or banned.
That said, I have been using mods in BF2 for online play since mid 2019 and I have never been banned or suspended. If you're sensible about which mods you use and when, you will most likely never have a problem. This is a luxury very few games offer.

MY LIST OF MODS

I've listed my mods by the categories they belong to. Each mod's name is the NexusMods link is to the images of the mod to let you directly view the images of the mod as I figured it would be what people would be most interested to see at first. My favourite mods which I consider to be must-haves are marked with ⭐. For some of the mods I've written a few short words. Here we go!

User Interface Mods:

This is my personal favourite category as I cannot imagine playing BF2 without these mods. Most of them are developed by u/Szaby59 and are mainstays in my mod load order.

Visual and Graphic Mods:

Gameplay Mods:

Cosmetic Mods:

Audio Mods:

And that is my list of mods! It may not have some of the very popular mods out there but this is my personal list. Hopefully this helps those who are new to modding to discover some amazing mods. If you know a mod not on my list that you feel is worth sharing, please do so in the comments.
submitted by ThrillSeeker15 to StarWarsBattlefront [link] [comments]

My Year In Gaming: Pandemic Edition (34 Mini Reviews & Stats Because I'm A Nerd)

Over the course of 2020 I played 33 games. Not bad for a 27-year old who's married, with a house and 4 pets and is pursuing writing on the side. And I think we can all agree gaming provided a much-needed escape from the craziness of this year.
If I picked it up once and never came back it didn't make the list because it didn't leave an impression on me.
This will be LONG, as I'll talk at the end about my favorites and my disappointments. Also some stats because I'm an excel nerd.
These are listed in the order they were played. Unless noted I finished/beat the game.
Let's GO!

THE GAMES

Bioshock: Remastered (PS4)
An enjoyable if dated shooter that drips atmosphere and prioritizes story and characters over gameplay. A very enjoyable experience even if the gameplay starts to wear thin towards the end and the final boss is a bit of the letdown.
4/5
Star Wars: Knights Of The Old Republic (PC)
Dated combat mechanics hold this one back from being considered a great in 2020. Both Mass Effect and Dragon Age are better. That being said, Bioware's always had incredible writing and characters, and KOTOR is no different. The combat ranges from infuriating to fun depending on where you fall in the story. Anything beyond Dantooine is typically enjoyable. Play for the story and choices, not the combat.
3.5/5
Kingdom Under Fire II (PC)
Note: This was played over a Steam free weekend, and as such, I didn't finish it.
A nice little mix of RTS, MMO, and action. Was fun over a free Steam weekend - may pick it up when it becomes cheaper. The epic scale ties everything together, even the small bit of story I got from the two days was entirely forgetful.
No Score
Unreal Tournament III (PC)
This is like Doom 2016 before Doom 2016. Fast-paced, frantic fun. Just stay away from the single player. I'm glad I was able to find a few guys still playing online, this is a hell of a lot of fun, but just like the Doom multiplayer, it didn't snag me for more than an hour or two.
2.5/5
Undertale (PC)
Note: I did not finish this game.
No, just no. I didn't like the gameplay (to be fair, I haven't played many bullet hell games and that's almost entirely the combat) and the story, while quirky, didn't grip me. I just couldn't get attached to the characters. Fun music though.
1/5
Hitman (2016) (PC)
A return to form for Hitman. The levels are massive, and while this lends to the openness of the game, it can also get overwhelming at times. I'd have preferred the gigantic maps being broken up by smaller ones throughout the course of the six levels, and the one in Japan kinda-sorta achieves this. Still, this is Hitman at its best, and stands right alongside Blood Money for top contender. Welcome back, 47.
4/5
Risk Of Rain 2 (PC)
Note: This was played over a free Steam weekend.
Enjoyed it! Addicting little game. Will certainly purchase despite never playing Risk Of Rain 1. Just needs a price drop. $14.99 or so? I'm in. Fast-paced fun.
No Score
Sea Of Thieves (PC)
Played this one with the wife. It's not bad, it just doesn't hold my attention. Sure, sailing the high seas as a pirate is neat. But there's virtually no depth and nothing to hold your attention.
2/5
Democracy 3 (PC)
I'd been in the mood for a political sim with everything going on in the news, and Democracy 3 isn't a bad game - but I remember it being better than it was. It just didn't hold my attention long. I like how in-depth the different focus groups can be and it looks like there's a healthy mod scene, but it quickly got repetitive and bored me.
2.5/5
Doki Doki LIterature Club (PC)
A game that isn't anything close to how it appears. I'm not one for most anime-styled games, nor am I a visual novel fan. But the psychological horror elements contrast so well against what the game presents itself to be and when the shit hits the fan it doesn't let up. This game does things I've never seen a game do, and it excels at them.
5/5
Alan Wake (PC)
Revisiting this one. First played it around release. Engaging, with solid if unremarkable third-person shooting (the flashlight mechanic is neat.) The episodic format really works well. This was my first time through the DLC - The Signal DLC is super fun - I really enjoyed the twist on the world and how it played on the concept of shining your light on words to make items appear. I almost wish at certain points it made you choose between items. This DLC also seemed a bit more difficult. Short, sweet, and too the point though. The Writer was fun as well, the hamster wheel/ferris wheel was fantastic, and it continued a great story, but I feel The Signal was just stronger overall.
4/5
270: Two-Seventy US Election (PC)
A fun little waste of a few hours but once you understand the mechanics and start winning it loses a lot of its appeal.
2.5/5
God Of War (PS4)
The best game I've played of the year so far. A fantastic story, great combat (the Leviathan Axe is amazing), and plenty to keep you coming back. The real challenge, though, is the valkyrie boss battles you can complete. Did I do them all? Yes, I did. But Sigrun alone took me a week. I became a man when I played God Of War.
5/5
Civilization V (PC)
My second pass at this game. It's fun at the start, but never manages to hold my attention. I had a similar issue with another 4X game a few years ago (Endless Space 2) and I've come to the realization I just don't think these games are for me.
2.5/5
The Last Of Us: Remastered (PS4)
A replay of a masterpiece. It's always nice to revisit The Last Of Us. The characters and story are fantastic, but I also really love the gameplay. It's gritty, realistic, and there's a lot to think about when you play through on hard like I did.
5/5
Call Of Duty: WW2 (PS4)
Note: I only played the multiplayer.
The multiplayer was alright for a Call Of Duty game. As with most Call Of Duty games, I played it for a bit then moved on. I don't feel a strong desire to check out the campaign, and the zombies mode was shut down minutes after firing it up for me. It feels like WW2 held my attention far less than other Call Of Duty games, but it is a nice break from the jetpacks and wallrunning that seemed to define the series this gen.
2.5/5
Star Wars: Battlefront 2 (2017) (PS4)
Fun multiplayer. That being said, even with all the amazing progress that's been made, it feels unlikely Battlefront 2 will ever step out of the shadow of its launch state no matter how much free content EA poured into it. That being said, this feels like Star Wars - the battles, the sound effects, I love it.
3/5
Detroit: Become Human (PS4)
Detroit: Become Human might just be the best Quantic Dream game. It has a lot going for it, I really enjoyed the many different paths the story can take. I was a little split on the flow chart at the end: on one hand, it kind of removes the mystery. But it also shows you, often times at mind-boggling length, just how far different paths can take you and how you can get locked out of entire sections.
3.5/5
The Last Of Us: Part 2 (PS4)
A game that has an incredible first half, and a repetitious and uninteresting 2nd half. Though I think this game might just have my favorite combat of any game, the bland and overly-long sections where you're forced to play as Abby just didn't do it for me, and have killed any desire I have to replay the game. Ironically, I really wish now the game had shipped with multiplayer as I could dive into that amazing gameplay without feeling the slog of the back half of the game. Ellie's story, and parts of Abby's, are great. But the game should have been shorter.
2.5/5
Darkwood (Switch)
Note: I did not beat this game. I only got an hour or two in.
Interesting mechanics and imagery but couldn't hold my attention. Doubt I will return to it. Was hoping it would be more engrossing than it was.
2/5
Call Of Duty 4: Modern Warfare Remastered (PS4)
It had an enjoyable campaign, with a few key moments. The missions that most hype up, ie "All Ghillied Up" didn't really do it for me. I vastly preferred the other missions. That being said, the gameplay doesn't hold up fantastically today. It's competent, but with a basic story. Nothing incredible.
3/5
Far Cry 3: Classic Edition (PS4)
The open world is neat, the island definitely has personality. However the best part of the game is Vaas. With his death occurring just a little over 2/3 of the way through, it leaves the rest of the game with a considerable void. One I probably should've given up on sooner. Mechanics are good, but it feels dated and repetitive the more you play.
3/5
Pillars Of Eternity: Complete Edition (PS4)
A good game that should've been great. Were it not for the bloated second act and lack of consequence, this game could've been a 5/5. Reminded me of Dragon Age: Origins in key points. Great worldbuilding and decent-to-good characters and companions. Lots of dialogue options, but they don't end up mattering much.
4/5
Doom (2016) (PS4)
One of the best FPS games ever made. A return to the arena FPS games of yesteryear, Doom seamlessly blends fast-paced gunplay and tight mechanics with some serviceable leveling and a decent story. Make no mistake: the focus here is the gunplay, and it holds up incredibly well throughout the campaign.
5/5
Super Mario 64 (Switch)
Note: I did not beat this game.
A classic to be sure. But one I didn't end up sticking with past a few hours. This one does feel best left in my childhood. Playing it now, it doesn't grab my attention as much. The music is timeless though.
2.5/5
Resident Evil 2 (PS4)
A wonderful return to survival horror, and my personal preferred Resident Evil game from this decade. 2 does so much right that it's so easy to look past its few shortcomings. Every encounter is tense, and the pace is kicked into overdrive once Mr. X shows up. Every enemy is a threat, the game drips atmosphere, and will leave you shook more than once.
4.5/5
Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare (2019) (PS4)
Note: I only played the multiplayer.
Got pretty addicted to the multiplayer for a bit. I had fun with the added realism, the weapons sound phenomenal and handle great. But, as with all Call Of Duty games, I got to level 30 or 40 and hung it up. One of the best Call Of Duty games in a long while.
4/5
Ratchet & Clank (PS4)
A fun little platformer that retains the series' signature wonky (and amazingly fun) weapons. There's nothing quite like using your Groovitron to send hordes of enemies into a dance mid-battle. Aside from the weapons however, this is a pretty standard platformer and the story feels incredibly safe. The humor works most of the time with how self-aware it is.
3/5
Spider-Man (PS4)
The best Spider-Man game ever? It's certainly up there. With an open world full of collectibles, tons of side-quests, a fun take on the Spider-Man lore, and great gameplay, Spider-Man is everything one could want in a Spider-Man game. Yes, the combat can feel a little too Arkham-style at times, but the game doesn't overstay its welcome and it works incredibly well.
4/5
Borderlands: Game Of The Year Edition (PS4)
Note: I did not finish this game and I played it solo.
I'm hot and cold on this one. On one hand, I literally could not care less about the story and that's good for pick-up-and-play sessions. But I don't feel compelled to return to it. This one will probably remain unfinished indefinitely. An okay looter-shooter.
2.5/5
Magicka 2 (PS4)
Note: I did not finish this game and I played it solo.
A fun little top-down action game, but I wish the levels allowed for the level of spell creativity that I thought it would. I ended up spamming familiar attacks instead of experimenting with new ones because I was playing solo. Definitely intended for co-op. However, the music and humor was pretty great and the game, while repetitious, didn't drag.
3/5
Halo 3 (Xbox One)
Note: I only played the multiplayer.
I always sucked at Halo multiplayer, but 3 takes me back to a more carefree time. I didn't stick with it, but the few hours I spent with it were fun. Remembering all of the old levels and times I used to play it was more fun than playing it now. The announcer's voice is still epic, though.
2.5/5
Gears Of War 4 (Xbox One)
Note: I only played the multiplayer.
The Gears Of War multiplayer is something you have to adapt to. As a Call Of Duty player, I tend to rush and you have to wallhug and be in cover 90% of the time to survive in this game. But there's a nice element of strategy to it and I love the executions and the lancer.
3/5

GAME OF THE YEAR

It's been a long, crazy, quarantine-filled year! But only one game can stand out amid all the others. And it is . . .
God of War There's no argument. This game surpassed my high expectations and is now one of my top 5 games of all time. Let's go Ragnarok!
Runner Up: Resident Evil 2 I honestly didn't know if I'd like Resident Evil 2. But after finishing it, I immediately played through the B scenario, and that is incredibly unusual behavior for me. Addicting and very well paced!

MOST SURPRISING

Sometimes a game hits you a way you didn't expect. This game got its hooks in me in a way I didn't think, or I wasn't expecting it to.
Doki Doki Literature Club I will say no more on this other than you need to download and play it. It's free, it'll run on a potato, and it'll hook you hard.
Runner Up: Pillars Of Eternity Look, I've played CRPG games before. But I've never finished one. I put over 90 hours into this game. That's the 3rd or 4th most played game ever for me, and it was one playthrough. This game did something right.

MOST DISAPPOINTING

And lastly, sometimes games you're amped/hyped for don't swing for you. And thus we have the most disappointing category.
Undertale I literally sorted my Steam library by highest user rating. That's how I ended up playing this. I don't like anything about it besides the music. The humor didn't click for me, the characters felt off, it just wasn't for me and that left me with this "What am I missing?" feeling.
Runner Up: Darkwood Man, this should've been right up my alley. An abstract horror game with graphic imagery and tense survival. But it wasn't. And you know what? I'm okay with that. I gave it fair spin. I might try it again in the future, but I doubt it.

STATS

For nerds like me who are interested in the numbers.
I played 33 games this year. My average score was around 3.6 (which as an average is a little disappointing as I wanted to spend this year playing games I really loved but ended up being just "good".)
My most played genre was FPS at 30.3%, followed by Action at 21.2%.
Third-Person made up the majority of games' perspective I played at 41.4% (almost half!) followed by First Person at 31%. Not terribly surprising here - I enjoy both equally.
I played most games this year on my PS4 at 48.5%, followed by PC at 36.4%. Overall, I favorited any type of Console at 63.6%. I was actually expecting this to be higher. I tend to bounce back and forth - I think it's because the bulk of the PC games were played in the first half of the year.
I Beat 51.5% of the games I played this year. That might seem bad, but it's worth noting that 15.2% were games I only Played Multiplayer of, and and 6.1% were games that Had No End. Of games with an actual campaign, I Quit 15.2%, and I put 9.1% On Hold.

RECAP

Whew, that was a write-up! If you made it this far, thanks!
I think I'll keep my excel sheet going into next year. I tracked a ton of stuff I didn't even mention like secondary genre of games, the year it came out (to try and average what generation I was playing the most in), whether I have a desire to return to a certain game, etc.
It's been a hell of a year. I've no doubt thanks to the virus I've played more games than usual. But I've had some really fun times this year, and I've been more active on this sub which makes it even more enjoyable.
Thanks for reading!
submitted by dc_athena_op to patientgamers [link] [comments]

Oculus Quest 2 - FAQ, Should you buy it, FACEBOOK BAN HOW?!?!?!1?

Oculus Quest 2 - FAQ, Should you buy it, FACEBOOK BAN HOW?!?!?!1?
Hi there. I own a Quest 2 and I'm pretty intimately familiar with how it operates using a low-end system for PCVR and standalone. I've seen a lot of the same questions pop up and I'm praying the mods sticky this, but generally I just wanted to have one unifying post to answer a few of the most common questions. Sorry if your question isn't answered here, and if I ever get around to it, I'll update it with any other common questions I encounter.
1. Should I buy a Quest 2 for PCVR, or a Rift S?
You should buy a Quest 2. Everyone will give you a different answer to this question, but the Rift S's specs do not compare to the Quest 2 at this price point. One has a better resolution, one has a (potentially) higher refresh rate. They are similar sizes. The controllers are (basically) the same, except a lot of people say the new Touch controllers that ship with the Q2 track movement better. Edit: coffee_u has broken down the differences between the displays in a comment.
2. What does [Acronym] stand for?
By no means an exhaustive list, but here's the most commonly used ones.
  • PCVR- PC Virtual Reality, specifically used to refer to a headset that connects to a PC in order to function. The opposite would be a "standalone" or "all-in-one". The Quest and Quest 2 are "standalone" headsets that have PCVR support using a Link cable.
  • HMD- Head Mounted Display. Headset. The Quest, Quest 2, Vive, Rift, Index, Ody. etc. All HMDs.
  • Q2- Quest 2.
  • VRC- VRChat.
  • IPD- Inter-pupilary Distance, the distance between your pupils, measured in centimeters.
  • LCD, LED, OLED- Liquid Crystal Display, Light Emitting Diode, Organic Light Emitting Diode. LCD displays are (most likely) what you're using to read this, OLED displays are those cool ones that show true black without any glow, like on most recent phones.
  • VD- Virtual Desktop. There are at least 3 different products named Virtual Desktop, but usually people are referring to an app purchased in the Oculus or Quest store that allows you to access your desktop in VR. The Oculus Dash also has a Virtual Desktop, which you can access while connected to your PC and using the Oculus app with any PCVR headset. (Including Q2)
  • ToS - Terms of Service. That thing you always click "I agree" on without reading it. It outlines what you are and aren't allowed to use a service for.
  • OEM - Original Equipment Manufacturer, the people who made the product in question.
​
3. I heard the Elite Strap breaks super fast and I'll get banned from Facebook for looking at a Quest 2, and they're going to steal all my games!
There have been a LOT of hiccups with the Quest 2 release. The Elite Strap that shipped with the first release of Quest 2s is ridiculously fragile and Oculus is hard at work issuing loads and loads of replacements. At the time of writing, I do not recommend purchasing an elite strap.
Facebook does not want to ban you from Facebook, ever. You are how they make money. Those people who have been banned from Facebook since they started to require logins on certain HMDs have, for the most part, either been banned for breaking Facebook's ToS, or have had their accounts restored. And you, yes, you, person reading this who didn't break ToS and still got permabanned- We're all aware there are fringe cases of poorly handled FB bans, but the vast majority of people who used a legitimate Facebook with their real name and real birthday didn't have any problems, and the vast majority of those who did had those problems resolved. I'm not saying I support the login requirement, because I don't, but in all likelihood you're not going to have any problems. That said, if you -do- get banned from Facebook, there is currently no way to retrieve your games library. Just like if you get banned from Steam for breaking their ToS.
4. How does Oculus Link work, what sort of cable do I need? Do I have to use the Oculus Link cable? What even is Link? I thought that was the little shrieky dude from Zelda.
Oculus Link is the brand name for Oculus Quest's PCVR compatibility software. In simpler words, it's the LINK between your standalone VR headset and your PC. To use Oculus Link for Quest 2, follow these steps:
  1. Download the Oculus App for your computer.
  2. Connect your PC to your headset via your USB C cable. (What kind? I'll answer further down.)
  3. Enter the settings (Cogwheel) on your Oculus Quest 2, and select the "Rift" shortcut.
  4. Enjoy PCVR. Open the built-in Virtual Desktop app using the bar that appears before you (Should be the second to last button) and run your game.IMPORTANT NOTE: The Oculus App must be started BEFORE you initiate Link, or you WILL experience side effects, such as: A black screen, feelings of depression, issues with your own self worth, a deafening buzzing noise coming from the Quest's speakers, and death from epileptic seizure as the HMD flashes rapidly between white and black. To resolve most of these issues, hold the power button on the headset until it shuts down, and go turn the Oculus app on first. Dummy.
​
Now- The hot question. What sort of cables can you use? For the best possible experience, use the Oculus Link cable. That is a fiber-optic cable that can provide insane speeds and very low latency, which means smoother gameplay. But! If you're like me and you're not MADE OF MONEY, you can use any USB C Gen 2 cable. Don't have a USB C port on your computer? A USB C Gen 2 to USB 3.1 Gen 2 will work just fine. HOWEVER.
USB C cables longer than 4 meters (13ish feet) without some sort of active amplifier will NOT WORK. For anything. Ever. They're bogus cables, don't use them. Some people have managed to get active cables much longer working and have no problems, but I didn't tell you to do it. Lots of stuff about active and passive cables that I'm not going to go into here, do your research. I use this cable.
​
5. I have the worlds most GINORMOUS INSANE GAMING RIG WITH 40 NVIDIA 3080 TI's IN SERIES AND I'M STILL EXPERIENCING PERFORMANCE ISSUES GRAAAAAHHHH!!! (Or I have a normal budget PC and I'm also experiencing weird problems)
Turn off the Nvidia Overlay. It ruins everything, causes loads of issues with lots of popular VR titles. Try that first before you go down the deep dark rabbit hole of Redditor tech support, you'd be amazed at the impact it has. For diagnosing issues with PCVR, I recommend OpenVR Advanced Settings, available for free on Steam. This will let you change lots of things that SteamVR hides in the background. For the record, I play VRchat on a 1060 3gb graphics card, slightly subsampled, with no problems. (Once I disabled that pesky overlay.)
Additionally, if you're on a lower-end rig, chances are Steam Home or Oculus Home running in the background of your game is also destroying your framerates. You can disable Steam Home in SteamVR settings, but for Oculus it's a bit trickier.
​
6. Can I use my normal peripherals with the Quest 2 for PCVR? (Headset, mic, etc.) Do I want to? Are the speakers good? Is the mic good?
Yes. Yes you can. You can disable the mic and speakers as devices in your windows sound settings. The speakers are excellent for their size and design, the mic is ... not as excellent.
​
7. Can I play PC VRChat on Quest 2? What about wirelessly?
Yes, with the link cable. Quest VRChat is just for the wireless experience.
Remember when I talked about Virtual Desktop, that app you can download that lets you access your PC desktop in PCVR? Well, there's a patch for it, downloadable on Sidequest, which allows you to use PCVR over wifi. Not going to re-write this perfectly good guide on how to do it. Just click the link.
​
8. What's Sideloading?
Sideloading is the act of loading games/experiences/tools onto your Oculus Quest from your computer. No, It won't get you banned, and there's a million guides on how to do it. Use Sidequest.
​
9. Is good enough to run PCVR games?There are loads of tools online for this. You can check the steam store page of steam games for minimum requirements. Here's VRchat's minimum requirements.
https://preview.redd.it/k85wx59cpsz51.png?width=722&format=png&auto=webp&s=bcfe3a54db9d24915db0e5067226fb8b1a3f5a39
Minimum requirements, however, will result in playable (if blurry) games. USUALLY. Sometimes minimum requirements are the bare minimum required to run a game.
​
10. Is there a way to play in VR? What about ?
Usually, yes. With VorpX, most singleplayer and some multiplayer games can be converted for PCVR play. It doesn't work perfectly and it never will, but you -can- get some impressive stuff out of it. You won't have hand tracking, it won't be real 3d, and usually you won't have head tracking either. It's not an optimal experience, but it's what we got.
For non-steam VR games, just run the game. It should either punch through to SteamVR or to the Oculus app directly. Just make sure your HMD is supported by the game!
​
11. Do you work for Oculus? Why are you doing this? Why is your whole post history just being technical support? ARE YOU A FACEBOOK SHILL?!
I don't work for oculus, I just love VR, and I want to help people experience it. The Quest 2 is the first VR headset at this price point and outperforms a lot of other PCVR and Standalone headsets by far. There have been disappointments, yes, but the headset itself is nothing short of groundbreaking.
Hope this helped you!
submitted by Scarediboi to oculus [link] [comments]

Getting Started with MTG: 2020 Edition

It's been a minute since we've last seen an updated beginners guide, so here's my attempt to help clarify some things for someone just starting out. For those figuring everything out, welcome! There are plenty of links and information, so take your time, and don't be afraid to google around and ask questions. I'd also love some feedback from the more experienced community members.

What is Magic?

Magic: the Gathering is a Trading Card Game released in 1993 by Wizards of the Coast, and is currently the world's longest running physical TCG.   Each game of Magic represents a battle between wizards who cast spells, use artifacts, and summon creatures as depicted on individual cards in order to defeat their opponents, typically, but not always, by draining them of their starting life total.
Do you want to throw lightning bolts at your opponents until they die? Do you want to equip an army with tools of arcane power to overwhelm your enemies? Do you want to defeat otherworldly abominations using nothing but your wits and a swarm of rodents? If yes to any of the previous, this might be a game for you.

How does one play Magic?

The best current way to learn Magic is by downloading Magic: The Gathering Arena, which is free to play and will walk you through the game and show you the basics. Available on Mac and PC, with mobile coming, but no definite ETA.
Here is also a great video guide from Tolarian Community College: How to Play Magic The Gathering in About 15 Minutes!
Most beginner product will also include a rules insert that is good for getting started, but you may have some specific questions regarding certain interactions between cards. MTG is a complex game, and with a pool of over 20,000 unique cards that's constantly growing, there are bound to be lots of edge cases that aren't clear. You can read the Comprehensive Rules, but I've found the live MTG Rules Q&A to be full of knowledgeable individuals who are quick to provide answers to complicated interactions.

How do you want to play the game?/What is X format?

Are you just looking for casual games with friends? Trying to enter a competitive scene? Somewhere in between? This is generally best answered by looking at the different formats in Magic, and seeing what appeals the most to you. Each format is defined by what cards are available and each has their own banlist to help create fun play experiences.
Some quick highlights of popular formats:
Casual: (AKA "Kitchen Table") True casual magic. Play what you want, how you want! No one is policing you at home, except maybe your opponent.
Traditional constructed/competitive formats: 1v1, 60 card maindeck minimum + 15 card sideboard maximum, at most 4 of any unique card (except basic lands), 20 life.
Format Card Pool Notes
Standard Approximately the most recent 2 years of released regular card sets, rotating every fall. Tends to be most accessible, as these are the currently printed/most recent products, but not always loved due to rotation and huge shifts in the metagame.
Historic The entire pool of cards currently available on MTG:Arena. Designed for those on MTG Arena who would like to play competitively with a larger pool of cards. May eventually encompass/merge with Pioneer.
Pioneer Regular sets including Return to Ravnica - present. Newer nonrotating format, may eventually merge with Historic.
Modern Regular sets including 8th Edition - present. Designed to be a competitive nonrotating format for cards in the "modern" frame.
Legacy "Eternal format" including entire history of magic, with more banned cards than Vintage. Vintage, but with bans for power level.
Vintage "Eternal format" including entire history of magic, with almost no banned cards. Highest level of power for competitive magic, powerful cards are usually restricted instead of banned (limited to 1 copy in deck).
Pauper "Eternal format" including entire history of magic, but cards that have been printed at common rarity only. Nonrotating, competitive, budget-friendly magic.
    For some more detailed competitive discussion see /spikes  
Singleton formats: only one of each unique card (except basic lands).
Format Card Pool Defining Rules Notes
EDH/Commander "Eternal format" including entire history of magic. 1 Commander + 99 Card maindeck, 40 starting life, multiplayer Originated as a casual multiplayer format where your deck is led by a Commander, who defines the strategy of the deck.
Brawl Standard legal sets (see above). 1 Commander + 59 Card maindeck, 25 starting life (1v1), 30 starting life (multiplayer) Essentially designed as EDH for Standard cards, smaller cardpool, but all Planeswalkers can be commanders.
    See /EDH and /mtgbrawl  
Limited formats: 20 starting life, 40 card minimum maindeck, card pool is built from opening sealed packs + any number of basic lands.
Format Defining Rules
Draft Each player opens a booster pack, picks a card, and passes the pack to the next player. Repeat until packs have been exhausted, then build a deck.
Sealed Each player opens a set number of packs and builds a deck from those cards.
Cube Can be played as Draft/Sealed, but card pool is custom built instead of using official sealed booster packs.
    See /mtgcube  
Note: Typically, these formats only include cards that have been printed in black/white border, except casual/kitchen table.
There are many, many more formats and ways to enjoy the game, but these are just some of the more recognizable ones. Feel free to explore!

What should I buy?

My first and favorite recommendation is currently Jumpstart, which is not actually an official format, but allows you to open 2 packs and have a deck to play the game with. It is a relatively straightforward product that gives players the opportunity to try out different gameplay styles and still feel fun and casual. (Jumpstart supply is currently very limited and may be upcharged, I would not recommend paying more than $4-5/pack, if you can find it.)
For some cheaper, more consistent gameplay options at more casual tables, I'd recommend Card Kingdom Battle Decks, which are not meant for tournaments, but will lead to fun casual games against each other at reasonable prices.
If you are interested in constructed competitive 60 card formats, I'd look into the Challenger Decks. These are designed to be jumping off points for Standard when they are released, and contain viable cards built into consistent and playable decks to take to events. The most recent batch (2020 Decks) have just rotated out of standard, but are reasonably well built and can be found for cheaper than retail.
If you are interested in EDH/Commander, there are a number of preconstructed decks in a variety of themes released every year. This year in particular there were also decks released alongside some booster sets, which looks to be true for the near future. For this year, I'd probably pick either of the Zendikar Rising Commander decks, but as a starting point for the format, any that appeal to you personally will be more than fine.
Buying individual booster packs is not recommended, as chances are you won't receive value anywhere near what you could get if you spent that same money on individual cards. (Yes, even if you get a whole booster box.) Draft boosters are great if you want to actually play draft as a format, because the packs are essentially a component of the game at that point. If you want to crack packs for fun? Go for it, I'd be a hypocrite to tell you I've never done it just because I wanted to gamble. But do not expect a great rate of return.

Where can I play the game?

As mentioned previously, MTG Arena is a great place to learn the game where you can take time to try out a few different formats (Standard, Historic, Brawl, Draft). You can pay to get more packs, but you can earn in game currency and slowly build a collection that way. The microtransaction model is not my favorite, but a very viable way to play, especially online. Currently, most major Standard tournaments are held on Arena, and it receives the most support from Wizards of the Coast.
Magic also has one of the oldest digital card game platforms: Magic the Gathering Online (MTGO or MODO). This has almost every card in the game available, and players can trade and buy cards, unlike Arena. MTGO is one of the primary places for high-level competitive magic in older formats (Pioneer, Modern, Legacy, Vintage), as many cards that are expensive to buy physically are much more affordable as their MTGO counterpart. However, the interface is dated, and can be intimidating for many newer players to learn.
Physically, you could find events at Local Game Stores (LGS), many of which host sanctioned events, such as Friday Night Magic (FNM). Many of these game stores have employees who are more than happy to help figure out where you can get started, and will let you know what events they host for the community. There were also a number of Magic Fests hosted internationally, where players would gather to compete in different formats. However, during the 2020 pandemic, many of the physical events have shut down in the interest of public safety, and many players have shifted to webcam play. You can find more information here.

Is Magic an expensive game?

This game can be quite costly, there's no doubt about that. If you approach competitive and older formats, there are numerous cards that can be pricey, especially for what is technically just cardboard. Cards that are rare or competitively viable will tend to climb in price, and the secondary market for MTG is vast and full of speculators who may drive up prices to flip cards later.
That being said, there are many resources dedicated to providing ways to enjoy the game without spending excessively, and plenty of players enjoy finding ways to create interesting decks with cards that typically don't see huge amounts of play. Pauper allows people to play eternally viable decks that are very competitive, and you can find content creators such as Commander Quarters and subreddits like /BudgetBrews and /Pauper for communities finding cheap ways to enjoy the game.
Money will give you options, but expensive cards don't always create better play experiences, and it is important to keep in mind what you want from a deck before you invest in key pieces.
Also of note, is that MTG Arena is free to play, and with enough time and effort, players can definitely earn enough to build viable competitive decks. You can theoretically earn entire sets by primarily drafting and saving prize packs, but this will be difficult and time consuming, especially if you are newer to the game.

Have Fun.

This is the most important thing I hope you get from this game. You might find a lot of discussion and content that might feel really negative, and much of it is out of love for Magic and what it means to people. There are plenty of reasons to enjoy Magic: the Gathering, and the most important thing is that you find what works for you, whether it's countering spells or reading lore or collecting bling.
There is so much more to this game than I could reasonably cover, from deck archetypes, to Vorthos/Lore, all the way to EDH deckbuilding and etiquette, but I hope this was a good start!

Misc FAQs

I found this card, what is it/where is it from/is it worth anything? Check out this Guide to Identifying Cards, then look up prices on TCGPlayer or MTGGoldfish.
I opened a card and it has [Insert Defect Here], what do I do? Misprints are typically a manufacturing defect, and usually you can contact Wizards of the Coast for a product replacement if its considered factory damaged. There is a market for misprinted cards, but it is very subjective. Some collectors focus on certain types of errors, and some are just looking for extremely rare occurrences (there was at least one quadruple misprinted deck that sold for $$$$$). There is no standard for what these are worth, only other auctions and what people might have paid, and no guarantee they will maintain any value without an active market. Remember: It is worth whatever someone will pay for it. Very minor misprints are worth little to no extra.
What does [[Insert Specific Term Here]] mean? Here is a list of typical Magic slang you might hear at a LGS.
Is [[Insert Product]] worth it? See TCC's: "Is It Worth it to Buy" Series.
I found a Mystery Box at Target/Walmart, should I get it? No. Also answered in the previous question, but these are loose boosters from damaged retail product resold at a markup. You might hear random folks get lucky with XYZ but they are in the smallest minority. Don't be a sucker.
Why is it taking so long for my Secret Lair? You can find current production/shipping timelines for the Secret Lair Drops here: Secret Lair Production and Shipping Status
List of other MTG related subreddits/sites: https://www.reddit.com/magicTCG/wiki/related
Honorable mention to professorstaff of Tolarian Community College, a pillar of the community and great resource for all things MTG.
If I missed anything, feel free to let me know, and I'll do my best to update this post, hope this helps at least a few people! Happy holidays!
submitted by hanshotf1rst to magicTCG [link] [comments]

FAQ/ General Info [1/2/2021]

FAQ v2 : The "2021 Vision" Edition

DISCLAIMER: this post is NOT meant to be a comprehensive guide. We have linked to many of the best guides available for that. If you have found this SubReddit, you should already have some grasp of what to do. This post is here as a small primer, a refresher for things that should already be known before making comments or posts here, as well as to compile the many resources we have at our disposal.The main focus of this sub will be - content, tools, and news on piracy, hacking, and such. We will provide MINIMAL support on how to get you there outside of this post. There are other Subs and Discords dedicated to helping you do all the hack stuff, most won't help with piracy. So, please look there first if it isn't directly related to piracy.
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Before you hack :
NOTICE - Before doing any hacking whatsoever, get Hekate and make a NAND backup. The process is easy, and is outlined in almost every CFW guide. Do NOT skip this.
NOTICE - Also set up Incognito (before doing anything after hacking) and/or 90DNS (before hacking), to block all access to Nintendo's servers. It is preferred to use Incognito, though.
FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION - It is also a good idea to set up a EU region Nintendo account, so you can use local multiplayer (and some other features that games lock behind an account), as well as taking advantage of the GDPR account protections. To enjoy the GDPR protections:
  1. Go to https://accounts.nintendo.com/setting
  2. Login with your NNID.
  3. Under ‘Other settings’, Edit ‘Usage information’ and set it to ‘Don’t share’.
  4. Save your changes.
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UnderPack and AtmosPack info :
The official UnderPrivlidged Website is up and running, hosting the download for the latest UnderPack as well. The UnderPack is just a shop app (Tinfoil with custom repos) and fusee-primary sigpatches. The AtmosPack is a compilation of apps, patches, settings, themes, and more, to take your CFW enabled Switch to a state of piracy nirvana. You will need an internet connection on your Switch to use the shop app, though.
The basics of the AtmosPack:
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GENERAL LINKS:
  1. Under's Domain - the official UnderPrivlidged website.
  2. SDSetup Guide - A full set up guide to hack your Switch. Unneeded with my AtmosPack.
  3. General Guide - A general guide. May be outdated.
  4. SXOS Website - The website for SXOS, a paid CFW.
  5. SwitchHaxing Sub - A SubReddit focused on Switch hacking.
  6. SwitchHacks Sub - Another SubReddit focused on Switch hacking.
  7. Official FirmWare Downloads - Downloads for OFW (Official FirmWare).
  8. Which Switch Models Are Hack-able? - Do you really need me to explain this link?
  9. Base64 Decoder - Decode the links encoded in Base64, for those who refuse to use the script below.
  10. Link Not Found - Link totally found!
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F.A.Q. :
You need custom firmware (CFW). At the moment, there are 2 options capable of "backup” loading: Atmosphere (easiest to just grab my UnderAtmos pack, which includes Atmosphere, sigpatches, and more) which is free, or SXOS which costs around $25 USD.
On top of that you need a way of launching the CFW payload to your Switch every time your Switch dies or you properly turn it off. The SX-Pro is a dongle which comes with the SXOS license and launches payloads. There are other dongles, most of which are cheaper but don't come with the SXOS license, though they work with all CFW options. You can also use your Android phone or a computer as well as long as you have the right cables to plug it into your Switch (a usb-c cable is required for the Switch end, with either a standard usb plug for computers, or an adapter for whatever your Android phone has). Payloads are a .bin file typically, and should be on the respective CFWs' websites. My AtmosPack contains payloads for Atmosphere, Hekate, Lockpick, and several other useful tools.
Another necessary part of "backups" is fooling the system into thinking you own the game - SigPatches. These files make the Switch think you are installing a game or app that you actually own. SXOS comes with one version of these patches built in, but for Atmosphere users you will need to grab them yourself. I recommend using these patches (included in both my packs), as they cover everything you would need with Atmosphere. It is as simple as dragging the files to your sd card, so don't worry.
You will also need a way of installing your "backups". You can use Goldleaf, the SX Installer (built into SXOS), or any other number of programs (DZ, Tinfoil, and/or N1dus for example). The process is pretty straightforward with any tool you choose. Though, you could also use my shop in either pack to download and install the games directly from the Switch.
XCI files are physical cartridge dumps. NSP files are eShop digital downloads.NSPs are considered more risky for a ban (doing any kind of hack is a ban risk, take it or leave it), but they don't need to be mounted like XCI files. Only SXOS can mount XCI files, but other CFW can install them like NSP files if need be. XCI mounting refers to tricking the Switch system into thinking a game cart (XCI) is inserted into the cart slot (mounted).
NSZ and XCZ are compressed versions of the aforementioned formats. These can typically only be installed with a few installers, since they are considered "more piracy focused" and some developers refuse to support that. They speed up downloads, and take up less space when storing them outside of the Switch, but installed they take up the same space. This makes them great for shop owners like me, to reduce footprints and make the downloads much quicker for my users.
​
SXOS supports XCI mounting and USB storage, both of which are not needed for many use cases (and USB storage might be coming to free CFW soon enough). Aside from cost, XCI and USB storage, there is very little different between SXOS and the free CFW options. SXOS users will often say that it is much easier to set up and use, but it is all the same: copy files to sd card, push the payload, and you are good to go. It doesn't get much simpler. SXOS just packages it all together, but then again... so does this post. I don't see me charging you thirty dollars.
For games, updates, and DLC try my UnderPack (contents of the UnderPack are in the AtmosPack as well).
If what you aren't looking for isn't there or you refuse to connect your Switch online, you can try The SwitchNSPs Sub , The SwitchLoader Sub or this post Game Sources (Feb2020). For all else, check the links in this post. It covers most things.
Enjoy your piracy obviously very legal backups.
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DISCORD LINKS - Here are some of the best hacking/piracy/emulation Discords around:
  1. This Sub's Discord - Great place to ask for help, find games, and more.
  2. The Quota'd Discord - An alternative to finding games (for use with the Shop app).
  3. AtlasNX Discord - For info related to Atmosphere.
  4. Switchfinite Discord - Has various info and links.
  5. RetroNX Discord - For info mostly related to Lakka and Retroarch on Switch.
  6. Switch Lan Play Discord - Want to play your online games while hacked/banned? Start here.
  7. Nintendo Homebrew Discord - A general scope Discord for discussion and assistance with all types of Nintendo homebrew. Be that Switch, Wii, 3ds, etc.
  8. Nintendo H&H Discord - Homebrew & Hacking Discord, from the amazing XorTroll.
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BONUS - Random Links of Awesomeness:
  1. SwitchTools Website - Various useful tools, all on one site. Go here for ChoiDojourNX (to update OFWs via homebrew).
  2. Automatically Decode Base64 code on Reddit - A Tampermonkey script uploaded by one of my users, u/DanielBlaze. It automatically decodes Base64 code on Reddit, which is VERY useful when browsing here and other subs that encode their links.
  3. NXTheme Installer - An installer for Switch themes, many of which can be found at NXThemes , as well as some of my own linked on my website.
  4. Android On Switch - The very popular mobile OS for phones and tablets, on your Switch.
  5. Retroarch Nightlies - The very latest builds of Retroarch on Switch (a multi console emulation bundle).
  6. Lakka On Switch - An entire OS for Switch based on Retroarch. No ban risk, with Gamecube and PS2 cores included!
  7. JoyCon Toolkit - A neat tool to change the colors of your controllers (what they show on the Switch). In case you modded them, or just are tired of the normal looks.
  8. Skyrim Switch Mods - The Nexus Mods page for Skyrim On Switch.
  9. GameBanana - A site dedicated to hosting mods. You might need to use the search function, but it has mods for several Switch games as well. Including Smash, Pokemon, Mario Kart, and more.
  10. GBATemp - An amazing forum with tons of information about lots of gaming subjects, including hacking.
  11. Rufus - A tool for managing external/usb drives. Perfect for formatting your SD card, since Windows doesn't allow over 32gb to be formatted as fat32. It is an overall great tool in general, and I recommend everyone have it on their PC.
  12. 7Zip - A tool for compressing and decompressing files on your pc. Great for use both related and unrelated to Switch hacking. Many downloads you will find will be ZIPped, RARed, or 7ZIPped. This tool can extract them all, and much more, for free.
  13. Homebrew App Store - Website that is linked to the homebrew app itself, for finding any number of random homebrew items for your Switch. Be that games, emulators, or tools, this site (and its app) has plenty. The app itself is included in the AtmosPack.
  14. SciresM Twitter - The Twitter for the main dev of Atmosphere. Feel free to follow for news on what he is up to.
  15. M4XW Twitter - The Twitter for one of the main devs for RetroNX (and other projects). Feel free to follow for news on what he is up to.
  16. Imbushuo Twitter - The Twitter for a dev working on Windows on Switch.
  17. Langer_Hans Twitter - The Twitter for a dev working on Android on Switch.
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Random links to Switch Hardware I think is very cool or useful (may or may not be of interest to you):
Case/Shell Replacement NES Style , Bluetooth Adapter and U-angle USB Adapter , Clear Shell Replacements , JoyCon rails that allow charging when in use , Cheap RCM jig listings .
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Other (unaffiliated) hack/piracy subs for different systems, in case you were looking to hack your ps3 or whatever:
Ps3Hacks , Ps3Homebrew , VitaHacks , VitaPiracy , 3dsPiracy , WiiHacks--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Also, a big shout out to our supporters! Thanks to anyone who helps people here, on the Discord, and/or donates. We can use all the help we can get to grow UP's Domain. Be that helping hands, new apps, or donations. Everyone can help.
submitted by underprivlidged to Unders_Domain [link] [comments]

Some words of unsolicited advice for the devs, before the Alpha really gets underway.

Hi all,
I've been a part of countless Betas/Early Access/playtests etc. by now, and unfortunately that also means I've seen plenty of games rise and fall in the process, sometimes through no fault of their own. Case in point: I was a part of the beautiful Evolve community from Day 1, and I trust the devs miss their old relationship with THQ as much as I do, seeing as what happened to that poor game once 2K's genius sales team got their paws on the monetization model. RIP to a title (and genre!!) which was lightyears ahead of its time.
Over the years, I've come to realize one simple fact about games that seems almost stupid to point out in conversation, but that a surprising number of devs (or perhaps publishers, who stifle the devs' creativity/Research and Development efforts for budget concerns) also seem to forget: games are mechanics, first and foremost.
You are not making a movie, you are not writing a novel with an interesting story, you are not trying to impress anybody with graphical fidelity or soundtrack or celebrity cameos or whatever else. I am not saying all of these aspects are somehow bad things to have; in fact, some of the greatest games in history (Shadow of the Colossus, Ocarina of Time, and yes, even Doom) showcased the best of these areas as well. However, what I am saying is that if your game only emphasizes all of these cosmetic features, but the core gameplay loop itself is shit, your game is absolutely guaranteed to fail, regardless of how nice the graphics are, how witty the dialogue is, how much effort was spent crafting the soundtrack, or whatever else.
Look at every single popular title we see thriving today: Minecraft sacrificed graphical fidelity for some of the most replayable and layered exploration/survival mechanics ever, adding an Infiniminer spin to Dwarf Fortress's already proven success. League of Legends stole DotA's entire gameplay loop and in a stroke of financial genius, made it both free-to-play and standalone. Battlefield allowed you to truly experience sprawling flavors of total warfare across land, sea, and sky, regardless of how beautiful the Frostbite engine can also be. Call of Duty boiled down close infantry combat into arcadey, bite-sized pieces you could pick up and put down numerous times throughout the course of one day. Apex Legends took the rough framework of DayZ/H1Z1/PUBG battle royale and added DotA-style heroes plus hyper-mobile combat for its unique take on the format. Fortnite ripped from the same source material, but introduced an unprecedented building/cover system lifted straight from its forgotten zombie-survival campaign mode.
Even supposed "sleeper hits" with unexpectedly healthy playerbases showcase the same exact truth; Rainbow Six: Siege brought tactical-ops gunplay into the 21st century, adding a layer of depth and polish which Counter-Strike could only dream of. Dying Light took the "proof of concept" open-world zombie mash of Dead Island, and added a great mix of parkour and day/night cycles to really "bake in" a daily routine of exploration, scavenging and combat. Rocket League added a loony mix of arcade racing and physics to an otherwise obvious replica of soccer. And so on, and so on.
In other words, the more you "lean into" game mechanics specifically, the more likely your game will continue to live on; I believe mechanics are literally a bottomless well of success for any developers both intelligent and fortunate enough to explore them. And that is where Back4Blood comes into question.
It is no secret whatsoever that this game is essentially a spiritual successor to the Left4Dead series. More than just a vague or superficial inspiration, we are basically seeing some identical parallels in the Alpha footage: four hasty humans with guns and consumables can be downed and revived, traveling down a linear level into a safe house while sharing items and banter along the way. There are basic horde zombies alongside Special infected, "setpiece structures" for some of the level design, and so on.
My request for the devs is this: please, please lean into improving every mechanic this game has, which Left4Dead does NOT have, because I fear there is more than a slight chance of jaded newcomers (mistakenly) saying something like “Oh, this is just Left4Dead inside a new engine? Yeahh I’m not paying $60 for a reskin”, and now you’ve lost them forever (via bad first impression alone).
The following is only a rough list, but so far I remember a couple standout features which already set Back4Blood completely apart:
Now, I do not want to get my hopes up here, but if this last point means there is any chance for a new "wave survival" mode, where you are forced to hunker down and gradually build up defenses against an increasingly punishing tide of zombies (think Gears of War's excellent "Horde" and "Beast" modes), that would be simply incredible.
But now let me expand on what I meant earlier by "lean into the mechanics", using the bullet points mentioned above.

The Card System

For example, when it comes to the roguelike deck mechanic, please stray as far as humanly possible away from any boring-ass "Trivial +% buff to Stat X" incrementalism as your game balance allows. Obviously, having significant stat increases like a critical damage multiplier or heavy health/"armor" boost is one thing, but if we are ever stuck in the Korean MMO-grind territory of "+1.5% extra HP" or whatever, I believe this approach will not make a sufficiently noticeable difference from Left4Dead's formula to set this new game truly apart.
Limit-test the shit out of this card system, and only scale back the mechanics once you find something obviously broken; it is better to try and FAIL at making the card system incredibly flavorful and impactful, than to never try at all. Believe in your creativity when concocting brand-new mechanical interactions here, and not just dopey number-crunching which has minimal impact on each session's memorable variety.
Let horde zombies die instantly to any headshot, but then explode for minor AoE damage too, so your heroes have to gamble on a long-range damage strategy. Let the Special infected die, but then respawn as two of themselves with half HP and damage each, unless you make sure to first prevent this duplicate-resurrection by killing them with a specific weapon type like melee, fire or whatever else. If it is raining, let the vomiting Specials leave a large pool on the ground that deals Area damage/debuff constantly (or perhaps indefinitely), since the ground is now wet. Let the pouncing Infected deal massive extra damage to humans that are much further away, forcing you be particularly careful for them, but also perhaps forcing you to rush forward through the level as a means of countering this buff by decreasing pounce distances as much as possible. This game is in Alpha, so throw as many of these crazy combinations into the card rotation as possible, and only remove them once the playerbase decides it is truly too much to handle (perhaps some of the more "extreme" cards could be restricted to a higher Campaign difficulty, or "hardcore" multiplayer lobbies, so that noobs aren't scared away from the game early on?)
Even for the human card loadouts, adhere to this exact same "move fast and break things" power level for their design, ignoring vanilla stat boosts as much as you can: let the first 10 rounds of every assault rifle magazine be loaded with explosive ammo. Allow instant, "snap-targeting" POV camera to the iron sights of a gun, but then remove the hipfire crosshair entirely, for a purely "marksman" playstyle. Allow a single healthpack to be used twice (but maybe let these particular HP bars drain slowly over time, if this card becomes too overpowered in humans' favor). Allow much faster reload speeds and large magazine sizes for the "gunner" class, but then remove their ability to sprint (or make them walk slower; I'm not sure if B4B has a sprint button).
I believe this deckbuilding facet of the game is a great addition to the genre overall, and a massive key to B4B's future success.
Edit 1: Oh, I should also mention at this point; I fully understand (and lament) the eternal tension between developers trying to expand on new ideas, versus their publishers refusing to finance anything more than a two-minute brainstorming session for each area of the game. Thus I can fully appreciate the adverse effect this shareholder pressure would have, on such efforts as keeping the card system surprising and engaging via direct development hours invested.
However, I also trust we can all recite horror stories by now of penny-pinching managers essentially dooming even AAA projects by strangling their necessary innovation stage in the cradle (I’m not talking just in gaming here, or even in the entertainment industry overall). Warner Brothers management obviously has to waddle up to shareholder HQ at some point in B4B's life cycle, but let me just emphasize one thing: in this day and age, you are not only being given a simple choice between "less money and more money". You are potentially being exposed to the rib-cracking dilemma of "some revenue versus NO revenue".
I'm not only talking the failure to turn a decent profit here: I'm talking a real potential for premium creators to not even make back their initial investment to begin with, if things go terribly sales-wise. WB Games has already been slapped to its senses once in the recent past, so let's all just hope that crucial lesson stays fresh in their busy minds.
This is not a time when our grandmas would budget $60 per year on new games at Christmas, so "Hey, let's all just hope that guaranteed expenditure goes to WB this year". Ours is an unprecedented era where free-to-play games with 60GB installs and premium graphics are more than enough to distract untold millions of players year-round, so your mandatory sales task is having to convince all these FPS consumers that your purchased game is definitely worth more of their time and money than that free game.
Today we do not preorder titles from physical stores, with no real hope of refunding them once we realize how broken their business model (or even basic gameplay loop) is. We download entire titles and DLC from pro-refund services like Steam, who have both the infrastructure and intelligence to sidestep some major legal hurdles guaranteed down future roads. The global landscape is now ever-changing.
Today there are not a bunch of happy people with leftover thousands in their bank account to burn on whatever entertainment catches their fancy. We are living dead in the middle of COVID Winter, so people's financial and psychological tolerance for sales-team bullshit like this Non-Cosmetic Season Pass junk will not go over well, and they will be unusually quick to respond. I can almost guarantee you this.
There is nowhere for salesmen to hide anymore, and I say this as a former sales guy myself (emphasis on the "former", ethically speaking; goodbye to those sweet paychecks 😅). The internet contains enough online ratings, pre-release "journalism", and just overall unflinching player scrutiny at this point to behead any oh-so-clever publisher who thinks they can "pull a fast one" on consumers nowadays. There is nowhere left to hide.
Anyway, um ... moving on.

Character Traits

I'll start to move along a bit more quickly here, but I don't remember exactly what TRS's Community Manager mentioned about what makes each human character different; I believe besides the truly unique melee weapons they are locked to, everything else was just health and "strength" boosts ...?
I would urge that, once again, the devs avoid any boring, "+50 HP to your health bar" or "+10% melee weapon damage" stuff right now, and create character perks which truly stand out from the others. These buffs should help justify us preferring our favorite characters to begin with.
Remove crosshair-spread completely for the dedicated "sharpshooter" character. Give one of them the "berserker" ability to dual-wield melee weapons, for double the strikes. Allow a character to carry far more explosives or consumables, as the "mule" class for the team. Allow the "hunter" class to either spot Special infected from much further away with an extra UI outline, or just somehow "smell them coming" initially and warn the rest of your team, long before any of the others can.
Lean into every single mechanic, as far as "fair" balancing allows of course (if these buffs pull human winrates too high in Versus mode or whatever, perhaps either start drip-feeding Team Zombie some speed/damage buffs in response, or even just revert the original human changes entirely). Ignore boring-ass vanilla stat boosts that do not make an immediately tangible impact on the game. I cannot stress this enough.

Gun Sights

I would very much like to say that as a huge fan of iron sights in shooting games, there is an absolute world of difference that a distinct separation (between hipfire and sighting/scoping) can make in an FPS. For anybody who doesn't believe me, I would point you to the incredibly meaty, immersive, and rewarding gunplay of the Insurgency games. Sights exist for a reason.
You do not want the hipfire accuracy to feel like a fucking magical laser beam, or it will start to feel like reskinned Left4Dead (or even worse: Counter-Strike) all over again. Let the players truly feel the crazy kick of an LMG for once, if they decide to go in like Rambo and ignore the sights on top of the goddamn gun. I don't think there's a prone position in this game, but perhaps reward players who use the crouch button with reduced recoil from both hipfire and iron sights when they shoot?
Now that you've actually chosen to introduce gun sights in this game (a feature I also absolutely loved in Evolve too, by the way), give players a good reason to use them! Aside from the positive step of “weak spots” on the Special infected, and the obvious bonus to aiming with sights in general, you can also perhaps add “hanging traps” to the map which are set off if you shoot the single rope suspending them, introduce “treasure goblin” zombies who run away but can be shot for their loot if you are fast and accurate enough, maybe place the new Snitch zombies on far-away rooftops so players are rewarded for distinctly fast and accurate gunfire, and so on.

Environmental Features

Ohhh boy, where do we start with this one.
Okay: what we already see here is great. Fog, maybe rain or dust storms, increased wind making it harder to hear other humans or zombies, possible lightning strikes lighting the grass on fire? Etc.
But let's get really crazy here: what about acid rain that forces you to run for cover, numerous times in one match? What about massive sinkholes that open up on the ground in larger field areas, forcing you to take a now careful trip over what used to be an easy sprint across fully open ground? What about destroying certain walls, fences or windows of buildings (to give zombies more access you ambush you), or just removing the side of a building entirely, caused by a messy "military air strike"?
Even for the tamer weather effects, try to brainstorm ways in which otherwise simple seasonal changes can have terrifying effects on the zombies experiencing them. I already mentioned vomit lasting much longer in rain, but how about making strong winds cause the vomit (or even pouncing Infected) to travel much farther as well? Howling winds masking the screams of certain special Infected, allowing them to sneak up much closer to you before being revealed? Snowy or "icy" areas causing all the corpses which comprise the Tall Boy's giant arm to be frozen solid, forcing him to swing it more slowly but then also cause massive damage?
The sky's the limit folks (no pun intended). Let us feel like the in-game world lives and breathes just as much as the actual zombies do.

Fortification Mode ...?

I don't want to elaborate on this too much, in case I'm barking up the wrong tree. But I just want to say to Turtle Rock that if anyone can develop a worthy fusion of Left4Dead's gunplay, Gears of War's Horde mode and World War Z's punishing horde AI, it's you guys. Like I said, I was a part of Evolve's community from the very beginning, and while it crushes me to think about the future that game could've had under competent publishers, the innovative talent and relentless polish of that game cannot be denied by anybody. TRS devs are second to none.

In Summary

This post is already gigantic, but I feel like I've made my point in as many different ways as I can. Here I'll now leave the
TL,DR: Dear devs: move fast, and break things. Or as the saying was made famous at GDC, "Fail fast, and find the fun". Lean into everything which makes your game different from Left 4 Dead, because the existing framework is already beloved by gamers, many times over. Make B4B faster, crazier, scarier, just ... better. Do NOT be afraid to punish the players with new modifier cards that might be extreme at first, because you can always just nerf or remove them later; WE ARE YOUR GUINEA PIGS. But on the other hand, find ways to mix already-existing mechanics like explosive weapons or rainy weather into disproportionately large gameplay implications, so that you don't have to burn a bunch of precious development resources on creating an entirely new Special infected from scratch or whatever.
You've already got a great thing going here, so please, just keep the train rolling forward as far as Unreal Engine and your mighty little brain cells allow.
Oh, and one final
Edit 2: I know it might seem like I downplayed the importance of great graphics and sound etc. above, but that was not my intention whatsoever. I simply wanted game mechanics to be PRIORITY #1 in the design pipeline, so that we don't ever have to worry about players becoming numb to what might devolve into "reskinned Left4Dead gameplay loop", once the eye-candy (inevitably) loses its appeal.
However, it is a fair assumption that fighting players’ boredom means making their most common tasks as interesting as possible, and cosmetics actually play a huge role in that specifically. If the most common B4B player activity is shooting zombies, we should definitely make that part of the game as variety-filled as possible via cosmetics as well, alongside the crucial mechanical trappings.
Even for such an old game, Left4Dead's brutal gore system is still simply incredible: shooting a sprinting zombie in the guts makes them glance down as they stumble onto the ground, clawing at their own innards like unraveling spaghetti. Shoot them in the head? If the bullet isn't big enough to just explode their skull completely, they still slump over instantly dead, their brain immediately losing any connection to their body. Used explosives on a horde? They all burst up and outward from the impact simultaneously like bloody fireworks, dozens of limbs and torsos blossoming apart in a demonic ballet.
We absolutely need more of that in B4B: make us feel the impact of our guns on the horde. Small arms fire leaves only small red holes, but larger-caliber or explosive rounds should start mulching them: meat and guts punching out their exit wounds and leaving large bloody splatters on the walls behind them. I know there was muzzle flash from guns in the Alpha footage already, even though other cosmetics like zombie dismemberment and door-breaking are clearly in Alpha state, so just keep up the good work guys. (Perhaps mechanical implications for gore as well? Armless zombies can't grab you, one-legged zombies stand still or fall prone, gutless zombies start vomiting up blood but will still swipe at you if you walk too close? One can dream.)
Not just the gore, mind you: polish every cosmetic involved with the core gameplay loop. Make the Specials' screams and impacts echo in our ears, to justify their status as our “arch-enemies”, as opposed to the faceless Horde. When the Ogre roars in your face, your eyes should falter into tunnel-vision as primal fear takes over your now-hyperventilating character's brain (in the B4B Alpha footage, that poor guy just kinda ... pops up like a Plants vs. Zombies character off to his daily commute, and then plods around like a giant baby ... do you guys remember the intense ground-shaking and boss music of Tanks in L4D?? Make us FEAR the Ogre, not just laugh as we walk past his sad slow ass.)
Gunfire should sound punchy, dangerously loud (does it draw Horde attention?), and satisfying upon impact, not just those crappy muted "click" noises of COD Warzone and Co. (again, I would point readers to the Insurgency series for exemplary explosive and firearms audio; from what I remember, Subnautica was another indie game with incredible audio design.)
However, when it comes to how "accurate" the gun sounds are, or how closely textures match their real-life counterparts? Not as big a priority IMO, since the core gunplay loop is not disassembling your gun or adding random cosmetics to them (err ... I hope). This is not ARMA, and any game with zombies already in it surely isn't compelled to mimic "realistic" items or environments (past a reasonable degree). When struggling to decide how zombies, guns, or explosions "should" sound, err on the side of fun I say. All in all, I’m confident you can afford to spend slightly less dev resources on the whole “realism simulator” side of things, seeing as players’ attention should most likely be elsewhere.
I think I might have sounded like I'm now off to play the Alpha like the rest of you all, but my PC can't actually run the Alpha (and perhaps not the full game when it comes out with optimizations, either). This entire wall of theoretical text was just a combination of my time with unfinished games of all types, and a whole lot of Left4Dead specifically; though purely hypothetical, I'm confident I covered everything that came to mind here.
Have fun without me guys, and above all else: massive congratulations to Turtle Rock specifically, on this new chapter in their timeline. You guys are some of my favorite devs on the planet (who else had the fucking brains to release FREE map DLCs to avoid splitting up the playerbase, all the way back in 2015?? The talent of pioneers always speaks for itself).
Wishing Phil Robb, Chris Ashton, and friends the very best, because you guys definitely deserve it. Take care
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September 2020 Noteworthy Releases on Switch

I occasionally see people respond to my weekly Upcoming Releases posts with comments like “it's just a buncha' shovelware”, and I don't think people realize the potential in some of the games they're dismissing. And especially with Nintendo stepping back from their regular Nintendo Directs, I think there's likely to be a fair number of Switch players asking themselves, “so now what?”
Because of this, before we jump into the next month, I'm going through the list of upcoming games for that month that we know about, and highlighting the ones that have a strong chance of being worth paying attention to, as well as a brief snippet about the game explaining why it's worth watching.
I will specifically only be highlighting games that have a reasonably strong pedigree, or that are otherwise particularly noteworthy in some way beyond “this looks good, it could be interesting...”. This means that I'll likely be mentioning a lot of ports, as it's easier to know a game will likely be good if it was already good on another platform (I'm including games that scored 75 or higher on Metacritic on other platforms, 80% positive or higher on Steam, and/or 4 or higher rating on Google Play store). I'll also mention games whose developer has a decent track record for producing quality.
Oh, and before getting into the games, I should note that this is just the list we have available right now – there are likely to be new games announced after this list comes out, as well as games on this list that get delayed. Also, I should note that this is not a list of the only games worth getting on the Switch this month – just the ones that I feel can be backed up with more than just “feels” given what we know now. And of course, since these games aren't released yet, I obviously can't know they're good, they just look promising.
Two things I want to touch on for this month's list in particular. Firstly, this list includes a lot of games with vague “Summer” or “Q3” release dates, since September is the last month that could be considered either of those things. At least as far as anything we know, these games are announced to be coming out before the end of September, though of course these could also be targets that we'll find out have moved. Secondly, a lot of the games in this month's list have prior releases without a Metacritic score. I'm actually looking at this as a good exercise to see exactly how indicative Steam and Google Play user reviews are for predicting critical review scores of a Switch port. I suppose we'll see!
Anyway, on to the list!
9/2 – Piffle: A Cat Puzzle Adventure (Trailer) (No Metacritic Score as of 10/10/20) – Mobile developer Mighty Games has only one game on Metacritic with enough reviews to have a Metacritic score, but that score (for iOS game Shooty Skies) is a solid 83. However, that's not to say Piffle: A Cat Puzzle Adventure is an unknown entity – the game has been out on mobile devices since 2018, and currently has an average user rating of 4.3 on the Google Play store. This game is a cutesy take on the sort of Puzzle game where you release a multitude of balls (or in this case, cats) at an angle to try to take out blocks above. Clearly, this game is going to be on the more casual side of things, but if you want to get an idea what to expect, you can try it out on your smartphone now.
9/3 – Good Pizza, Great Pizza (Trailer) (No Metacritic Score as of 10/10/20) – This arcadey restaurant game (compare to Cook! Serve! Delicious!! 2 and the various “Cooking Tycoon” games already on Nintendo Switch) was released on iOS in 2014 and PC in 2018, and while neither version has enough reviews to have a Metacritic score, the PC version currently has an 87% approval rating on Steam with 230 reviews. This game distinguishes itself from other games in the genre with its clever, funny writing and bizarre customers.
Announced on 9/3 - 9/3 – Spellbreak (Trailer) (Metacritic Score: 74) – I didn't list this in my predictions but it did not have a release listed prior to its release. This is a free-to-play online battle royale third-person shooter that reviewers said was a nice magical twist on the genre. Note: This had a Metacritic score over 75, but then it dropped.
9/4 – Dirt Trackin 2 (Trailer) (No Metacritic Score as of 10/10/20) – This game was released some while ago on mobile devices (I'm having trouble seeing when, exactly), and while the graphics on this racing game are nothing special, it currently has an impressive 4.7 average userscore on Google Play, with over 1800 reviews. That's not the only thing noteworthy about this game, either – it looks like this game will support races for 20 players online. Given how much the Nintendo Switch needs quality racing games, hopefully this will help to fill that need.
9/4 – Lair of the Clockwork God (Trailer) (Metacritic Score: 82) – The PC version of this game released earlier this year, and currently has a score of 84 on Metacritic. This game is a clever hybrid of point-and-click adventure games and platformers, and critics loved its silly, “stupid” sense of humor and unique meshing of gameplay elements.
9/4 – Paradise Killer (Trailer) (Metacritic Score: 81) – This is a game I missed in my original predictions, but list here for those looking at this article after the fact. This is an open-world graphic adventure game where you're interviewing various suspects on an island to get to the bottom of a murder mystery.
9/4 – Roommates (Trailer) (No Metacritic Score as of 10/10/20) – The PC version of this game released back in 2014, but never got enough reviews to get a Metacritic score. However, players enjoyed it – the game currently has an 80% approval rating on Steam, with 80 reviews. This game appears to be a dating sim/life management sim-style game where players must manage the schedule, chores, and social life of a student in a college dorm.
9/7 – Shaolin vs Wutang (Trailer) (No Metacritic Score as of 10/10/20) – This game was released on PC in 2018, and while it doesn't have enough reviews for a Metacritic score, it currently has a 92% approval rating on Steam with over 750 reviews. This game is billed as a “indie casual fighting game”, aiming to appeal to a wider range of players than just fighting game diehards.
9/8 – AVICII Invector (Trailer) (Metacritic Score: 81) – When this game released on other platforms in 2019, it got scores ranging from 79-82. This is a music-rhythm game featuring the music of AVICII, with a stylish futuristic presentation. If you want to give it a try, this game has a demo out on the eShop right now.
9/8 – Meganoid (Trailer) (No Metacritic Score as of 10/10/20) – Mobile developer Orange Pixel's one game to get rated on Metacritic, Gunslugs 2, got a Metacritic score of 78. Meanwhile, this game released on mobile devices and currently has a Google Play user rating of 4.0 or 4.4 (depending on the version you go for). This is a challenging procedurally-generated action-platformer. Watching video, it kinda' puts me in mind of a fast-paced sci-fi Spelunky, though that's just speculation. Anyway, one of the versions of this game on Android is free with ads, so you can give it a try if you're curious.
9/8 – OkunoKA Madness (Trailer) (Metacritic Score: 82) – This game's predecessor, OkunoKA, got a Metacritic score of 80, and hopefully this follow-up will be just as good. This game is a super-fast challenging platformer.
9/8 – RPG Maker MV (Trailer) (Metacritic Score: 65) – This game, first released on PC in 2015, has yet to get enough reviews to get a Metacritic score, but players absolutely love it – Steam users give this game a 92% approval rating with over 3500 reviews. As the name indicates, the RPG Maker series is a powerful toolset for creating and sharing your own custom-made RPGs. What's more, the PC version currently costs $80, while the Nintendo Switch version will be selling for $50, making the Switch version the less-expensive alternative, for a change. Even cooler, you don't even need to buy the game to enjoy other players' creations – NIS America plans to release a free player alongside this game allowing anyone with a Nintendo Switch to download and play the RPGs made by other players (sadly, no cross-play with the PC version, though), so RPG fans without a creative bone in their body will have a lot to look forward to as well.
9/10 – Death and Taxes (Trailer) (No Metacritic Score as of 10/10/20) – This game released on PC earlier this year, and hasn't gotten enough reviews to get a Metacritic score. However, the reaction of players has been positive – the game currently has a 90% positive rating on Steam, with over 900 user reviews. This is a game that puts you in the role of Death, which is apparently a desk job that has you stamping paperwork and organizing your desktop. I get a vibe from this one that reminds me a lot of Papers, Please, so those who enjoyed that game may want to give this one a look.
9/10/20 – Deleveled (Trailer) (No Metacritic Score as of 10/10/20) – Developer Quantum Astrophysicists Guild has a solid track record when it comes to quality, boasting an average Metacritic score of 76. This game is a Puzzle-Platformer that has players controlling two squares above and below a series of platforms that must transfer their velocity to help each other past obstacles.
9/10 – Hotshot Racing (Trailer) (Metacritic Score: 76) – This is a game I missed in my original predictions, but list here for those looking at this article after the fact. This is a retro-style racing game that critics praised for its arcade-style racing and multiplayer play.
9/10 – MO:Astray (Trailer) (Metacritic Score: 86) – This game, first released on PC in 2019, was overlooked by critics, but it has an impressive 94% approval rating on Steam, with over 2250 user reviews. This is a platformer that has you playing a sticky ball of goo that can fling itself around and stick to walls.
9/10/20 – Othercide (Trailer) (No Metacritic Score as of 10/10/20) – This game already released on other platforms earlier this year, and the different versions of the game got an average Metacritic score of 76. This is a Tactics-style Strategy-RPG and critics praised its top-notch tactical gameplay.
9/10 – Tomoyo After -It's a Wonderful Life- CS Edition (Trailer) (No Metacritic Score as of 10/10/20) – This visual novel takes place after the events of Clannad, which got a Metacritic score of 83, and while the PC version of this game, released in 2016, does not have enough reviews for a Metacritic score, players are universally thrilled with it – the game has a 94% approval rating with 325 reviews. This game's story follows a pair of young lovers whose desire to spend a nice Summer together keep getting trampled on by unexpected house guests. Interestingly, this game also houses a game-within-a-game Tactics-style Strategy-RPG that players can partake in as well, for those looking for something beyond the standard visual novel gameplay.
9/10 – Wintermoor Tactics Club (Trailer) (No Metacritic Score as of 10/10/20) – This combination Tactics-Style RPG and Visual Novel (hey, didn't I just post about one of those?) got a Metacritic score of 81 when it released on PC earlier this year. Critics praised its lighthearted story and accessible gameplay.
9/11 – Firework (Trailer) (No Metacritic Score as of 10/10/20) – This game, released on PC in 2018, was overlooked by reviewers, and doesn't have many user reviews on Steam yet, but those who have reviewed it are unanimous in their response – the game has a 100% approval rating on Steam with 24 reviews. Judging from the trailers, this looks like an action-platformer that reminds me a lot of the Mega Man games.
9/17 – Intertial Drift (Trailer) (Metacritic Score: 79) – This is a game I missed in my original predictions, but list here for those looking at this article after the fact. This is an arcade racer with a unique two-stick control scheme.
9/17 – Fight Crab (Trailer) (Metacritic Score: 72) – This is a game I missed in my original predictions, but list here for those looking at this article after the fact. This is a game that has you fighting as various crabs wielding weapons. Critics praised its unique gameplay and sense of humor. Note: This game previously had a Metacritic score above 75, but that later dropped.
9/17 – Dog Duty (Trailer) (No Metacritic Score as of 10/10/20) – Developer Zanardi and Liza has mostly flown under the radar of critics, but their prior game, Battle Bruise, has a 91% approval rating on Steam with nearly 300 reviews. Dog Duty is a bit different, though, and appears to be a sorta' small-scale Real-Time Strategy game, with players commanding three units and positioning them to take out enemies. In any case, it certainly looks interesting.
Announced on 9/17 - 9/17 – Hades (Trailer) (Metacritic Score: 92) – I didn't list this in my predictions but it did not have a release listed prior to its release. This game is an action-packed Roguelike that critics praised for its excellent combat and fantastic story.
9/17 – Mini Motor Racing X (Trailer) (Metacritic Score: 72) – Critics overlooked this game when it released on multiple platforms in 2019, but Steam users liked it, with a 97% positive rating from over 35 user reviews. This game is also the successor to the iOS game Mini Motor Racing, which got a Metacritic score of 79. This looks to be a lighthearted racer with 4-player split-screen play and two different racing modes: top-down and behind-the-vehicle. Also, the Nintendo Switch version is getting new game modes, too. Given the lack of quality racing games on the Nintendo Switch, hopefully this will give players one more good option.
9/17 – Moero Crystal H (Trailer) (Metacritic Score: 74) – This is a game I missed in my original predictions, but list here for those looking at this article after the fact. This is a raunchy dungeon crawler that critics praised for its humor and solid gameplay. Note: This had a Metacritic score over 75, but it has since gone down.
Announced on 9/17 - 9/17 – Ori and the Will of the Wisps (Trailer) (Metacritic Score: 93) – I didn't list this in my predictions but it did not have a release listed prior to its release. This previously-Xbox One and PC exclusive sequel to Ori and the Blind Forest is a beautiful Metroidvania with a focus on platforming.
Announced on 9/1/20: 9/17 – Super Punch Patrol (Trailer) (Metacritic Score: 75) – Game developer Bertil Hörberg has a stellar track record, having produced the Gunman Clive games and Mechstermination Force, all games that received Metacritic scores of 79 or higher. His new game, Super Punch Patrol, is a Final Fight-style Brawler with a similar cel-shaded "sketchy" art style to Gunman Clive.
Announced on 9/3/20: 9/18 – Super Mario 3D All-Stars (Trailer) (Metacritic Score: 82) – Now that this is officially announced and dated, this is the easiest call in the world to make. Two of the games in this collection have been called "the best videogame of all-time" more than just about any other games out there, and Super Mario Sunshine is pretty damn good too. Nintendo would have to mess up this release pretty severely for it to not get a high Metacritic score.
Announced on 9/17/20: 9/17 – The Long Dark (Trailer) (Metacritic Score: 77) – This is a game I didn't have in my original predictions because it was released right when it was announced, but list here for those looking at this article after the fact. Critics praised this for being a solid, challenging survival game.
Announced on 9/1/20: 9/22 – Rebel Galaxy Outlaw (Trailer)(Metacritic Score: 83) – This game came out on PC in 2019, and Metacritic gives that version of the game a score of 77. Critics praised the game's space combat gameplay as being a spiritual successor to beloved classic Freelancer.
Announced on 9/10/20: 9/23 – Castlestorm II (Trailer) (No Metacritic Score as of 10/10/20) – The original Castlestorm got a Metacritic score of 78 when it released on the Nintendo Switch, and there's little reason to expect its sequel will fare any worse. This is a side-scrolling Tower Defense game that incorporates action and puzzle elements as well, with players building their towers and aiming a ballista at the enemy's tower to try to knock it down.
9/23 – Unrailed! (Trailer) (No Metacritic Score as of 10/10/20) – This game released on PC in 2019, and while critics overlooked it, the game has a nice 92% approval rating on Steam, with nearly 3600 user reviews. This game has a blocky “voxel”-style look that will undoubtedly draw comparison to Minecraft, as well as gameplay that has you mining for resources, but this game is a bit more focused, with players working together to try and build their train's tracks before it derails.
Announced on 9/3/20: 9/24 – Alluris (Trailer) (No Metacritic Score as of 10/10/20) – Released to multiple platforms in 2019, but not getting enough reviews to get a Metacritic score, the Steam version of the game has a 92% "very positive" rating with over 100 reviews. This is a card-based RPG with "choose your own adventure" elements.
9/24 – Dungreed (Trailer) (No Metacritic Score as of 10/10/20) – Yet another game critics overlooked but users thoroughly enjoyed, Dungreed's 2018 PC release has a 90% approval rating on Steam with 4575 reviews. This one looks to be a fast-paced action-platformer with RPG and Roguelike elements. Edit: Delayed until 10/27/20
9/24 - Embracelet (Trailer) (Metacritic Score: 84) – Developer Machineboy's prior game, Milkmaid of the Milky Way, earned an average Metacritic score of just over 75 between all of its versions, and its follow-up looks to be even more ambitious, with players exploring an island and using a magical bracelet to solve puzzles.
9/24 – Going Under (Trailer) (Metacritic Score: 82) – This is a game I missed in my original predictions, but list here for those looking at this article after the fact. This is a Roguelike critics praised for its goofy presentation and fun gameplay.
9/24 – Rivals of Aether – Definitive Edition (Trailer) (No Metacritic Score as of 10/10/20) – This platformefighting game was released on PC in 2015 and Xbox One in 2018, yet there still haven't been enough reviews for the game to get a Metacritic score. Users are absolutely ecstatic about the game, though – it has a 94% positive rating on Steam with over 11,600 user reviews. The Nintendo Switch version also promises to include all of the game's add-on content, including cameo characters like Shovel Knight and Ori.
Announced on 9/8/20: 9/24 – RollerCoaster Tycoon 3 Complete Edition (Trailer) (Metacritic Score: 71) – This classic management sim may be 16 years old now, but it's still beloved by many, and the PC version has a Metacritic score of 81. This release includes the Soaked and Wild expansions, as well as the series' signature Coaster Cam.
9/25 – Trollhunters: Defenders of Arcadia (Trailer) (No Metacritic Score as of 10/10/20) – While a licensed game based on a direct-to-Netflix children's series doesn't seem like a surefire bet when it comes to quality, this one is being developed by Wayforward, who has been extremely consistent in putting out quality game after quality game in recent years, even rising above mediocre licenses with fantastic games like The Mummy Demastered. Hopefully this game will be in keeping with their usual quality.
9/29/20 – Alwa's Legacy (Trailer) (Metacritic Score: 76) – This game got a Metacritic score of 78 when it released on PC earlier this year. Critics seem to be saying that this is a solid kid-friendly Metroidvania.
August/September 2020 - Sunless Skies: Sovereign Edition (Trailer) – Well, this didn't come out in August, so that just leaves September. This is a follow-up to Sunless Sea, which released on the Switch earlier this year. However, it is generally agreed that Sunless Skies is much improved over its predecessor, with the 2019 release of the game on PC getting a Metacritic score of 87. This is a game that balances RPG and survival elements with a dark, almost Lovecraftian atmosphere in an alternate-world Victorian England swallowed up under the Earth. Note: Delayed until TBA
September 2020 – Space Crew (Trailer) – This game is the successor to Bomber Crew, which got a Metacritic score of 75. Based on how Bomber Crew played, I'm guessing this one will have you controlling a spaceship by having you direct each member of the crew to control their own individual responsibility within the ship. Note: Delayed until October
Summer 2020 – Pixeljunk Eden 2 (Trailer) – The original Pixeljunk Eden got an average Metacritic score of just over 80, so there's good reason to expect its long-awaited sequel to be top-notch. This is a unique platformer that has you controlling a flea-like creature jumping and swinging on the scenery. Note: Delayed until Fall 2020
Q3 2020 – Nongunz: Doppelganger Edition (Trailer) – Nongunz was originally released on PC in 2017 and got a Metacritic score of 75. This is an Action-Platformer that critics praised for its challenging action. Note: Missed release date
.
Anyway, that's what I could find for September 2020 on the Switch, but no doubt some of you have specific games you've got your eye on this next month. Please feel free to give a shout out to any game you feel deserves attention! :-)
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Price is not the only way to grow Xbox GamePass #Xbox #XboxLiveGold #GamePassUltimate

**** UPDATE ****

If you read the original article, the changes in price are no longer happening. Also as part of this reverse of course, they are making the Free to Play games (part of my proposal for Xbox Live Silver) available without a subscription.
They could still do more of the changes I mentioned (and slightly increase the price) but it is all about setting expectations and reasonable features that will be free.
from the article:
"...we have decided not to change Xbox Live Gold pricing.
We’re turning this moment into an opportunity to bring Xbox Live more in line with how we see the player at the center of their experience. For free-to-play games, you will no longer need an Xbox Live Gold membership to play those games on Xbox."

With the recent announced rise in prices, Xbox preverbally stepped on a rake for Friday. While I understand the move to push more GamePass Ultimate memberships, you can do more by adjusting features and fostering good will to encourage promotion to GamePass and GamePass Ultimate.
[References]
So here's the deal, we all felt for a long time that the move was pushing toward GamePass since they removed the 12 month subscription from the stores (though you can still find them many places like BestBuy, Target, Walmart, GameStop & Amazon). But you can see that instead of taking the route of adjusting the features, they just changed the price. Rightly people are outraged and flabbergasted they would do this in the pandemic but there were other options they could have approached it with.

What was changed?

Starting next month it was announced that the following changes for Xbox Live Gold are going into effect (it has been noted that if your subscription does not lapse you are not affected; i.e. auto-renew)
Without a yearly pricing the minimum will become about $120 USD for the year. Now Xbox Live Gold does not include anything other than the discounts and bonus games each month when compared to GamePass Ultimate (as of now is about $15 USD per month with other options). So with that there is a reason to upgrade however the right options is even more important.

What are current Features?

[Reference LifeWire]
For Xbox Live Silver you have the following features
For Xbox Live Gold these features are added to the above
GamePass is separate from the above and allows the following
GamePass for PC is also separate and does the above for PC games
GamePass Ultimate is a combination of all four plus the following

So how could it be better?

The biggest issue to me is that things have not been shifted to reflect the new services and opportunities. While price adjustments are to be expected with time, the shift of features to better align with consumer expectations and requirements has not been taken into account. Now some changes will get some backlash but I think if the prices were balanced it would make much more sense to go this route instead of just raising prices.
What that here is my thinking on what a realignment could look like. Note that my proposed changes are bold and italicized.
For Xbox Live Silver you have the following features
For Xbox Live Gold these features are added to the above
GamePass is separate from the above and allows the following
GamePass for PC is also separate and does the above for PC games
GamePass Ultimate is a combination of all four plus the following
So the main thrust is not just a price change but a realignment of features to provide higher value. The key point is to shift some of the pain points of needing to pay for Xbox Gold while providing some value to the service. The main difference is opening of multiplayer while limiting the capabilities with that to just in-game communication. That way the use of parties becomes a major plus to the service. Also console streaming being new to Xbox One consoles and newer, could be available at this Live Gold service and higher. In terms of price, I could see an increase of each subscription price while being less than GamePass Ultimate. So like instead of $60 for 6 months, make it $40 or $45. Then the price for a year becomes a little more than before while still being a decent deal. Free multiplayer games won't require the service at all, which is a big plus for gamers. As long as the combination of GamePass for Xbox, PC, and Xbox Live Gold combined becomes more than the GamePass Ultimate then you have a winning strategy.
I think in the end with some innovation and reshuffling of the features you can get to a point where people see the value of Ultimate while Gold is still there for those who want it or can't afford the full Ultimate package.
submitted by Jazzynupexbox to u/Jazzynupexbox [link] [comments]

All known info about CC: Remastered Edition - IF YOU GOT QUESTIONS CHECK THIS TOPIC FIRST!!!

UPDATED ON 08/31/2020

Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles Remastered Edition

Release date: 08/27/2020 (worldwide) Release Trailer
Platforms: PS4, Nintendo Switch, iOS, Android
Price:
The PlayStation Store pre-orders will include a special PlayStation 4 theme featuring artwork and music from the original game. For now you can NOT get this theme unless you pre-ordered!
Japanese Box art: PS4 - Switch
Official Website:
The PS4 and Switch versions only have a physical edition in Japan. Two warnings if you are planning on importing:
1) The game will be completely in Japanese with no English option.
2) The game is region locked! This mean that even if your PSN/Switch account is from the region that you want to play with, it will still check the game region and match you with those people. This eliminates the chance for players with different game regions to play together unless Square Enix engineers some work-around. Read further ahead for complete clarification!!!
There is also a light version of the game for iOS/Android & PS4/Switch. This version can be downloaded and played for free TO A CERTAIN EXTENT:
1) Single play up to the end of the first in-game year (three dungeons). Online multiplay for up to four players up to the end of the first in-game year (three dungeons) along other free version players and full game owners. Cross-platform functionality lets you form parties with players across different platforms.
2) You can join up with people who have the full version of the game and play up to 13 dungeons, this way you are not limited to just the first 3. You wont get any "end of year" celebrations this way. Your chalice simply reverts back to 2/3rds full. The game also mentions you can't get more than 2 drops of myrrh.
3) WARNING: Lite players can't craft master's weapons, and it seems like Lite players miss out on all craft-able accessories, if being unable to craft the flame/frost/thunder craft's is any indication. The crafters don't even list them as options. So for a casual play-trough this is not a problem. But if you plan on playing like years 8-9 and so on it's best that you just buy the game.
​
Features confirmed for the Remastered Edition:
Bonus questions:
To clarify further; GAME REGION ≠ ACCOUNT REGION
The region is locked to the GAME. NOT your ACCOUNT!!! So if you want to play together with someone from across the world get the GAME from the same region. So visit the same PSN/Switch store region to buy the game. Or import the game both from Japan (warning Japanese text if importing). So you're PSN/Switch account region has zero influence when booting the game, but it is important when buying the game.
​
GLITCH WARNING!!!:
MAKE BACKUP SAVES OF YOUR GAMES! There is a glitch that can lock you permanently in Tipa Peninsula on Year 2. This may not be the only glitch that could ruin your save file. You have 4 save slots, so make at least 1 copy.
The glitch: After beating Goblin Wall online and changing their chalice to Fire, Goblin Wall disappeared and their chalice was reverted to Water. The miasma stream element was fire, locking them in Tipa Peninsula. They tried visiting all of the area's locations and beating River Belle Pass, online and offline, and restarting the software. Goblin Wall did not return, nor was there any in-game record they'd beaten it.
The fix: None. Do not play Goblin Wall online on Year 2. Beat it solo. If you have already beaten it solo you are safe to host it online past year 2.
What probably causes the glitch:
  1. The host must be on year 2 and disconnect and rejoin during the ready up phase before the dungeon begins.
  2. The second player must be on year 1 (in this case they were playing the lite version). For charity sake there were 3 players and 2 & 3 were both on the lite version.
  3. No player received moogle mail on the first clear, meaning that I was not the host at the end of the dungeon.
  4. The chalice reset to water, but we theorize it might have given the host to player 2 who does not have year 2 or goblin wall available. So it inherited? Their chalice I don't know. 5. This occurred again when rejoining mid dungeon with player 2 being a lite player.
​
Credit to the people who provided more information:
- u/Master_Of_Waves
- u/Splash4ttack
- u/DapperStapler
- Discord: Disappointed Father
- u/NicoDeMagio
- u/theUnLuckyCat
- u/iharadraws
- u/subaqueousReach
- u/SenerioIX
If anyone finds anything new not listed here feel free to comment it and I will add it (provide source).
submitted by majoraswrath360 to crystalchronicles [link] [comments]

best online multiplayer games pc free no download video

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