JCPhoenix

So I've played a fair amount of the Settler games, as well as the more recent Anno entries: 2070, 2205, and 1800. I find those games super micromanage-y, especially the Anno games. But not stressful. Like in Anno, you can just kinda keep things on autopilot, not doing very much, and things will be OK (though the AIs might start getting stronger).

Anyway, that's a good take that Frostpunk is more of a puzzle game. I hadn't considered that. If that's the case, that might explain some of my, aversion. Because that parallels somewhat an experience I had with another game: Wargroove. I was looking at Wargroove as a TRPG/SRPG (akin to Fire Emblem or Final Fantasy Tactics), where I have wide latitude to execute my own strategies. So in Wargroove, I kept trying to do my own thing, but kept losing the level. It took me awhile to realize the game wanted me to complete the level its way, not my way. And that's when I realized it was more of a puzzle game and less a strategy game. Which is weird, because I played Advance Wars as a kid. Though maybe it's because I was a kid I didn't realize it was a puzzle game at the time.

It might be with Frostpunk that I'm doing something similar. Expecting a colony manager, a la Banished, but not seeing the puzzle game aspect. I'm making those narrative decisions based on nothing logical. Rather emotional: "Oh these kids are gonna starve! I better do this instead of helping the workers!"

Thanks for this; this was helpful, for real!

I'm about halfway through FP1 (I have the DLC). I want to go back and finish it, but like you said, it just kicks the shit out of you. It's legitimately stressful for me to play it, so I've kinda been like "Ehhh...do I really wanna play right now?"

But I am hoping to eventually complete it. Because FP2 does look interesting.

Late to the party, but I finally picked up Helldivers 2. My friends have had it since it came out, but I was being the "hipster gamer" and didn't get the popular game. Plus, our group has a tendency to do "flavor of the week"/FOMO gaming, where 1 or 2 people buy a new game, convince/guilt trip others into buying the game, we all spend $30-50 on it, play it for like 2 days, then never touch it again. So I was hesitant to get it, lest I get burned again (a la Starfield). Lastly, I'm also not a huge shooter player.

But I wanted to played with the boys, and they were playing it again recently, so I picked it up. And I'm glad I did. Because it's fun. Stupid fun even. Which is right up our alley. Already put 20hrs in over the last week.

The mechanics are simple. The missions are straightforward. And I like that it's a pickup/putdown game. Play a 20-40min round, then come back later or tomorrow. It's not like we're playing hours on end, which is great. We'll play a match or two, then maybe do another before we start signing-off for the night.

Something tells me that Amanda doesn't know wtf she's talking about. Just making it seem more scary than it is, in hope of scaring people straight.

As a recently former Kansas Citian, it is odd that this robot is here. As the article says:

We hear every week these days about more businesses being vandalized or robbed in Kansas City, but when you look at the latest crime map by KCPD, it shows no illegal activity reported at this shopping center.

This part of the metro, in Raytown, doesn't strike me as an area that's high/higher crime. It's a pretty busy area. I've passed through this part of town many times night or day. Shopped in this area from time to time; never thought it was unsafe, since it's a rather suburban area (not saying the city areas are inherently more dangerous; I lived in KC proper).

I had a Sega GameGear as a kid. Yeah it was a Sega system, which Sega was major back then, but the GameGear was nothing compared to the Gameboy. Very cool system, in that it had a full color screen and was backlit.

Now that was at the expense of being heavy as all hell and a monster eater of AA batteries. 6 of them at at time!

I think that was basically the only non-major system I had.

My first DS was the DS Lite. I bought it when the game "Contact" came out. Played various JRPGs on it, as I'm wont to do with handhelds. IIRC, the DS Lite was backwards compatible with GBA carts, which was great. I loved the look, feel, and size of it. Honestly, DS Lite is probably my favorite Nintendo handheld, with the Switch a close second.

After that, I think the next DS that I had was the 3DS. Which I still have; I even booted it up earlier this year to try to play "Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney -- Spirit of Justice." I didn't end up playing it on the 3DS, since I have that anthology on Steam, but I wanted to see where I was.

Games or series that I played a lot on the DS line were practically all of the mainline Ace Attorney games, and even some of the spin offs like the Professor Layton crossover and AA:Investigations. Fire Emblem was another. I think I played Awakening, Fates, and Echoes. I played at least one Pokemon game, too.

Congrats! I know what you mean about the imposter syndrome. I just started a new job, and was super worried. But having got here, seeing the work, doing it, I'm like, "why was I even worried?" I'm sure there'll be something new, but given that the "base job," is familiar, I have confidence I'll be OK. And I'm sure the same will apply to you.

Enjoy your time off. I took 4 weeks off. I miss it already 😭

I'm a week into the new job. And so far it's fine. In some ways, very different from my last job, but in other ways it's very familiar to me. So far, the work doesn't seem like anything crazy. It's mostly stuff I've done before.

I'm having to commute again, which kinda sucks, but at least the commute isn't any longer than what I used to do before I went full remote at previous job. At least by car. I still need to give public transit a try, though I have my suspicions that that'll be longer.

And at some point, probably soon, I'll be able to do a hybrid schedule, at least a couple days a week. So that'll be nice.

Not gonna lie, after a month off of work, it was tough to have to wake up early again and work! I need to win the lotto or something.

Getting used to living in my new city. After 3 weeks of living here, I'm still liking it. That said, I haven't gone out as much as I'd've liked because 1) I'm still trying to get things unpacked and situated, and 2) I'm a homebody hermit. Easier (and cheaper) to just stay home and chill.

Huh didn't know P1 and P2 were SMT games. Good to know. I've tried at least one entry in the SMT side and just could not get into it. Don't even remember which it was. I get they're both dungeon crawlers, but I don't think I'm a fan of the more old-school SMT-style games.

Maybe that'll be the reason I go back to visit: BBQ!

I've only played P3 Portable and Persona 4, on PSP and Vita respectively (though I also have these on Steam now). I have Persona 5 (also Steam), but I've yet to start it, since I have quite the backlog to get through. Including P3 and P4!

I got fairly far into P3P before stopping, while I didn't get as far into P4 before stopping, then restarting, then stopping again (though I got a little further than the first time). My last attempt must've been during the pandemic, so not that long ago. It's not necessarily that I didn't enjoy them; I just have a thing with JRPGs where I intend to take a short break...which often turns into years-long breaks.

P3P was more enjoyable than P4, IMO. P4 just seemed really slow at the start, while P3, I felt had much better pacing. If I'm remembering the correctly, the latter just dropped you straight in to the weirdness, and it just kept going, where I felt like P4 had more lulls in the action.

I don't mind the school stuff, though I'll admit it's not my favorite thing in the world. I do try to make an effort, rather than just breeze through it. I do hope to one day complete both of them and then get to P5. I very much enjoy their visual styles and music. I also like games that take place in the modern world, so the series is right up my alley.

For something like Civ or Stellaris, I'd count "completion" once I've won at least one game. Because, ideally, I've shown some mastery of knowledge, skills, and mechanics that allowed me to win. I don't need to play and win as each leader in Civ or every race/trait and combo in Stellaris to say I've completed it.

This is similar to how I'd view "completion" in open-ended games like Cities:Skylines or Banished. Having played a city or town for several hours, was I able to keep the residents alive, stabilize the city if there were any issues, and also grow and develop the settlement for a significant, though arbitrary, length of in-game time? If the answer is Yes to all of these, then I've "completed" the game. I've understood how things work in the game. Doesn't mean I have to understand every nuance or know every little trick. But I know enough that things are going well and largely continue to go well. And every time I start a new map, things tend to always go well.

Earlier this year, I stopped playing Eve Online for the nth time after mostly playing straight through since 2019. Because I viewed my time during this last 4-5yr stint as "complete." I achieved practically all the goals I set out to do: join a major alliance, join massive PVP fights, engage in smaller PVP fights, make money that I ever had before, buy and fly ships I'd never used before, learn how to explore and navigate wormholes, try out specific types of industry, play with IRL friends, own and run my/our own station, and more.

In all of these, "completion" obviously doesn't mean I'll never go back. There's always more to do, new things to see. But for now, I am satisfied with my progress, experience, and understanding. I'm no longer a noob.