CMLVI

I think a lot of it is that it’s direction was a bit different. Halo was built on basically immortal Master Chief. Reach had Spartan 3s, which weren’t as “Master Chief”-y, and we see every one of em die on screen as part of the story. That is a pretty stark contrast to Chief never dying. Additionally, if IIRC, the multiplayer was meh, and multiplayer was a huuuuge deal at that time. The story was great (even despite what people said about it at the time) but the multiplayer didn’t carry the game, so it was generally a “play the story, go back to Halo 3” kinda game.

My perspective on it, tho.

No, but I didn’t want the headache of multiple peripherals, and when you’re 15, it’s hard to convince a parent to spring for more expensive options out of convenience lol. There were options, but even still, some games didn’t come with native controller support (I built my 1st PC in college in…2013? for ESO, and the controller support was through a mod, and it barely worked at the best of times).

Theyve just gotten so similar in their function, it’s increasingly hard to justify a console anymore. Microsoft basically forgoing exclusives now only strengthens it

It also helps that consoles are becoming more and more PC-esque and expensive. Consoles were a good alternative because they were cheaper, had exclusive titles, and had the ability to couch game, and usually were just “pop disc in and play”. They were also pretty stand-alone devices. My biggest issue with PC gaming prior to really this generation was I cannot stand M+KB, I like sitting back in a chair with a controller. But now, peripherals are more able to operate on multiple platforms, games do cross-platform releases, cross play is more prolific (and cross-saves as of late), and it’s easier to switch now and not “lose” your friends. Plus, the cost of consoles anymore are much closer to equivalent PCs now.

Console positives are dwindling, or at least becoming neutral to PC.

Didn’t know that. It took me quite a while to realize Bugbear made Flatout as well lol

Ohhhhh this has me amped. Bugbear is a solid studio and OG Wreckfest was a very good game.

Honestly. Leave it to EA to take what was a winning, recurring formula and shitting on it til irrelevancy. The fast, twitchy movement, weird tools, etc are not what made BF fun. You’re supposed to feel like a cog; nothing special, another soldier in your small squad looking for the small wins. Those don’t get clip farmed, though, and it’s a CoD/Warzone economy right now. I do have some hope with the gritty WW2 games like Hell Let Loose and Enlisted seeing some success, it’s swinging back out of that type of genre and back to the BF roots.

Question remains, the big issue may be progression and the definitely happening micro transactions and battle pass, and their implementation.

I don’t think so, but it is “woke”, and that’s a good enough reason for many to stick their fingers in their ears and claim that’s why it didn’t sell well.

I don’t particularly think it is either, just that’s it’s conveniently there. The prevailing narrative about failed games recently has been wokeism, and not just the simple fact that games are increasingly shitty as the point isn’t a compelling narrative or gameplay, but how many micro transactions can be squeezed out of a franchise.

They won’t say that though, because they have a built in narrative of “we were too woke”; convenient excuse for a less micro transaction heavy game to be blamed, as well as an excuse to be more strict on themes in their games. None of the problems are solved, but they have a scapegoat.

Nah, I haven’t played ESO as part of the guild in over a month. I still get on and do some stuff, but it’s solo stuff or just with a group who linked up. Unless you’re joining an end-game guild, I’d say the function is more social than content. T&L maybe a little different, but the point of the big guilds is that you can join, and you have a group of “vetted” players you fit in with to play when you want to. It is what you make of it, y’know?

I would avoid zone-wide chats. They end up in pissing contests about who’s cooler, edgier, better, etc. Local or proxy chat let’s you talk to a party directly in front of you, like you are actually addressing the person instead of the name in a chat box.

As to what you should say, say the first thing that comes to mind, short of “want to buy GF”. Find similar minded people. Additionally, join guilds or discords. Check the game sub for guild finder stuff, join medium sized guilds that are doing content you like. Be prepared to leave if you don’t feel like you fit or it doesn’t mesh well. The beauty of MMOs is they generally have a decent sized player base, you’ll find community somewhere. They just rarely come find you.

What I’d say regarding anxiety…everyone has usually been where you are. On ESO, I help run a 1k+ person guild, where most groups are doing hard mode content or trifecta content (speed run, hard mode, no deaths). I don’t want to do the horribly sweaty stuff, but I’ve done some hard modes and such. Decent parse numbers are 110-120k just about, and I hit that. But when I started, I was at like…50k. I joined a group, talked to people, and bit the bullet and let people critique my gameplay. More often than not, if you are asking for help, people will give it and help you along, and that’s a big reason why we grew. We encouraged people to post parses, to show gameplay, so that it could be reviewed and advice given. It wasn’t public, but a fair few of us could see it and give pointers and suggestions.

Everyone starts somewhere. Just take the thoughts out of your head and put it in the chat box, and see who vibes with you!

Yeah, that’s the draw XDef has over CoD. It’s F2P and generally the content is earnable, outside of some cosmetics and additional currency. I think both “locked” factions can be bought through challenge completions, so not really P2W either, paying just unlocks it faster. And it’s not a bad shooter either imo, it’s just…the same as every other shooter. Very average.

Gotta get the game in front of the young eyes as much as possible to get that sweet miceotramsaction money from their parents

Thanks! I spent years in Diamond, and had a mini goal to get to Champ. Never really been one to practice mechanics, it was just sheer rotation and positioning. Like I can’t hit off the wall with any kind of consistency. Hit it in like…2019 and haven’t played much since, I actually played last night prior to this comment for the first time in probably a year.

Only games I ever 100%ed were…Assassins Creed 1 and Rocket League, strictly by achievements only. Like I never made it past Champ in RL, and AC1 was really just beat game and collect flags. I never have the urge to 100% a game cause usually it’s just a grind for grinds sake and that isn’t fun to me

I never got the PS Pro controller but I’m well-versed in the Xbox Elite bullshit. The best way I’ve seen to go about it is to buy a Core Elite from Gamestop or a store that has their OWN in-house purchasable warranty (Target goes through All-State or something I think so you have to send it in). It’s $30 to Gamestop but I’m covered for a full-year for when the bumper inevitably goes. If, by some miracle, it doesn’t, I go anyway and exchange it for a new one at a local store for no controller cost, and pay Gamestop another $30 for the warranty. It’s cheaper than a new standard controller and I don’t have to deal with any additional warranty process. It’s just an exchange. It’s bullshit that it happens, but the game I play the most basically requires the back paddles.

I’ve never had stick drift on the Elites (or any controller otherwise), it’s just bumper problems. I’ve heard the SCUFS get drift pretty badly second-hand and their replacement process is much slower. The new Turtle Beach controller seems decent, but I have doubts about battery life and I’m not ready to buy-in on it yet. The PDP Victric with replacement modules feels very similar to the PS Pro issue where the modules just are never in stock so that’s out too.

Some enterprising business could make a killing with a decent controller, but apparently Xbox won’t license wireless controllers unless you do specific things with them, likely preventing any real pressure to get better.

Nah. I’m staying at my current stage, paying for Live and then doing the extra $5 for Game Pass…shit tier? Idk what it’s called now. I don’t need to play CoD on day 1.

I very vaguely remember that lol,now that you mention it

Which is why I’m so regretfully enjoying it. It plays well despite being a Ubisoft game lol

As much as I hate to say it, Ubisoft has a really solid game on their hands. Some issue with netcode and I think the XIM/Cronus use is going to rise pretty quickly, but other games have dealt with it before. I’ve enjoyed the few hours I put in so far and will be playing it tonight with the boys. I’d like to see a classic TDM but hotshot works for now. Also a really cool take on the Kill Confirmed gametype