Recent reviews by Chuxsta

what a time killer. 18.7 hours in 2 days.
guess who found a new hyperfocus.

must remember to eat and do adult stuff.

i dont really agree with reviews when something is in early access.

What a Game!!
If you have any issues with this title, its really a you problem!

i barely lasted 7 mins let alone days.

My first review was after a few hours play time.
Im now up to 90 hours as of writing this.

This game is huge, think RDR2 and double it.
Been new to this aspect of the table top gaming it is a very steep learning curve.
One i am glad i stuck with, even though i still have a long way to go regarding mastering all of the fundamentals.

Playing a game on easy mode is something i would never usually do. Im usually lets just skip the insane mode right away. but im playing this one on easy easy mode, it makes my mistakes known to me with out punishing me to the point of game over. Although it has come very very close at times. it allows you to soak up the lore learn the ins and outs of D&D combat.

i have some bits of advice i have kind of learnt along the way that changed how i play and enjoy the title.

dont be a save scum.
unless,, you are learning how spell and class mechanics work, not because your fireball didnt crit.
I only save after a major event where there has been a lot of dialog and events changed due to them.
if there was a huge fight, not just a mid corridor fight with lots of low hp trash.
or after a long rest at camp.

and on that note, dont camp after every fight either. its so much fun limping away from a trash fight only to stumble into another one after standing on a trap.


i kept true to what i understood about dungeon fighting. which was the stereotypical Tank, DPS and Healer combo. Although i keep defaulting back into this pattern, i came to realise through playing and reading a rather large article on it.
This method doesn't work here too well.
there are companions and some spells that can cause focus attacks on them, making them a tank for a short period. but the time spent keeping one character alive with hardly any spells to do so, could be better spent taking out multiple enemies with big spells and combinations of Water and lightning, Oil and fire etc etc.
i found healing only worth it as a second thought, left over bonus action cause there is nothing else left.

shall return and give this more time.
for now,,
if you like gathering, building, survival that you control the realism.
this is a very very beautiful game in the making.
my only grumbles so far im putting down to it been in early access.
they will probably get ironed out as time goes on.

but so far, i put this at the top of its genre by a long shot.

when i have time i will write a review this game deserves.

long story short, skipping to the end...

its the poodles plums.
its polished in every area. forgot what its like to play a game on release that just works.

changed back to not happy with game. there is too much missing, i know its all on its way and there is a time line. this game should be in early access at least. cant wait to play it on release day. ( by release day i mean.. when its FINISHED! )

coming from someone who would usually skip anything in this genre, i am HOOKED.. drawn in and in a happy way.. like so many others have said... " I cant really say why, but this could be one of the best games i have ever played." to help put that in context, my first ever computer game experience was the Pong tennis game on a black and white CRT.
34 hours play time in 4 days. last time a game kept me up till 2am without noticing is well over 10 years ago.
that says it all..
its not a boast or a brag, its a testament to what this game has done for me.

i am playing it pure solo, no cheats or guides.. i am learning the hard way.
exploring new areas is actually dangerous and i have lost all my gear once already.
took me a while to make it all again.

currently ditched my first big home base and taken to the seas looking for new lands.
fun times ahead.


" vikings log, day hundred and something.. "

survived my first Troll attack on home base. due to location and the million foot trench round my home i had started to feel very safe. so i had started to drop my guard when at home base.. would put all weapons in the same trunk and free up space for other crafts etc...
by the time i had checked the Umpteeenth chest twice just in case i missed it, the troll had thrown a fit and left..
it was then i realised i had off loaded all weapons at a portal location for more wood... its always about more wood!!! Giggerty ...

World of Goo for grown ups.

Starts out simple and fun. Eventually ends up with you beating yourself up wishing you had paid more attention in school again.

10/10

gets constant updates. although i have not even got close to completing all levels, new ones are been added. as well as all of the community made levels...

so satisfying to nail a complicated build.

music, well.....i wont spoil it.... just wish there was a shuffle feature or a way to modify the in game track list.

graphics are brilliant, the transition from the drawing board to 3D is beautiful and seamless.

cant wait to see what is coming next.

i would like to see more info regarding material cost while building and editing.
eg, when selecting a group of items, a tooltip showing the total cost of said amount.
ability to select all of same part type, eg ctrl click the road and all road pars are selected then the ability to upgrade the entire lot with the stronger one.

initial thoughts after an hour or so.

my 2p worth so far though..

pretty much every first review is spot on, the good and the bad... some of the bad ones are people not really knowing what they are on about. as in there is a setting to change their gripe if they could be bothered to ask or look.

Loving every aspect of it so far apart from,

in the 20+ years of experience of riding 2 wheels incorrectly, the back brake has always stopped an unwanted wheely.
just feathering the rear brake is enough to control the front wheel..
but for some reason when in game i almost dislocate my thumb from pushing down on the rear brake button the front wheel comes up and over.
EDIT " i forgot to add that this is with the moto3 class, i always start at the bottom and work up. "
update " i can also can confirm that letting go of the accelerator and smashing the rear brake do nothing to stop a 20kg push bike from flipping over. "

the riders look too big for the bike in chase view,
the first person cameras are a bit... erm.... odd... the second one is a camera mounted in the riders belly button.


UPDATE
all of this is still based on MOTO3 class only... am about half way through the first season
after a few days more play time..

I am a biker at heart and love computer games, but i honestly dont think it is possible to make a motorbike simulator.
so they will always be arcade simulators, i am pointing out the obvious for a reason,,, its leading up to something...

See....
.
with that in mind and ignoring a few annoying bugs ( Crash to Desktop, i wont go through my list here), awful graphics of what i think are people. i would much rather an empty garage than one full of mine craft characters that followed a you tube chav make up video.

its the best simcade bike title out there to date!
i have found a work around for the stupid wheely issue. its not one i am proud of but it stops me putting the controller out the window. turn off realistic assists ( i think its that one ) so you get anti wheely settings in game. i pop that on to 1.. still get the wheel coming up but its now manageable.. as it should be.

what they have managed to do, in a very very clever manner, is give players the ability to ride on " the edge" with out the life time of practice needed.
this in reality is an extremely finite window that only few can ever master the art of manipulating it.
they have managed to take this small window and prize it the ****!! open so some of us slow pokes can experience that on the edge feeling..

to further bolster that on the edge sensation there is the new 3 sided flip flops and fuel usage.
so if you want to push it that extra bit,,,, you can.. do a full lap, engine mapping up, balls to the wall" on the edge" but your flip flops will start to fall apart and you will guzzle fuel...

and finally the A.I.
it has its issues,, another thing that is a loooooooong way off from been perfect.
but ignoring them and taking in to account the differences in this AI...
its amazing!!!!!!
there are the occasional random crashes, almost as if an invisible metal bar was shoved through the front wheel, i personally think they brake WAY toooooooooooooooooo early. but now ride accordingly around that. i appreciate they are braking smoothly and applying the slow in fast out moto on EVERY corner.

but the general feel around them is brilliant. finding the right difficulty setting is the key here i think.
start at 50% and crank it up 5% at a time.
currently at 75% and its almost identical to my times.

once you get the difficulty sorted and used to their annoyances they start to become a welcome presence on the track..

and that is the first time i think i have ever said that about any driving AI.