Topic: Red Dead Redemption 2 OT

I'm in the Shady Belle camp and there's a grey dot (both on map and mini-map) on the second floor of the house, right on my bed, indicating a companion but I can't see anyone. Am I missing something?

@andreoni79 It could be a reward for one of the fetch quests you do for other camp members but haven’t picked up. They stay there (and on your mission log) until you do. Annoyingly I normally have enough dynamite, gun oil etc so can’t pick it up.

@Kidfried I’ve heard mixed but mostly indifferent things so far. But most peopl have had a few instances of just being killed multiple times before they can do anything else as it’s a bit of a sparse experience otherwise.

I’ll probably hold off for a little bit longer.

@Kidfried Yeah I'd be up for that. Probably not until the new year though. I'm hoping to finish the story before Christmas, but time is not on my side, due to work, personal life and general festivities.

So it's looking like after xmas when I finally get stuck into online. I might have a look out of curiosity though!

@Thrillho Oh, thanks. I forgot about those rewards! I even tried to climb the balcony to see if Uncle or the reverend were collapsed up in the attic...

I've hit level 10 in Red Dead Online and apart from a few hiccups, most of my numerous hours on it have been relatively smooth. I've been killed about six times but only by bears and cougars while the real pests seem to be getting on with their own thing. It's actually been surprisingly civilised.

Unfortunately, it does seem like it will be a proper grind just to make some money but I'm just playing it exactly like I played the story mode, ignoring missions and going off to hunt and forage.

I haven’t ventured into RD Online yet, still working through the single player story. After a rough week, I finally was able to sink several hours into it today. I’m pretty far into Ch 3 at this point and what struck me today was how the game seems to be inspired by the Yakuza games. Now let me explain ... I realize the gameplay is nothing like Yakuza, but whole lovable tough guy protagonist of Arthur and Kiryu is a trope very much the cut from the same cloth. And just the way Arthur goes from one mission or side quest to the next, getting caught up in these crazy people’s problems and even though he is a outlaw, he has the soft heart and let’s himself get pulled in. I just finished the part where he helps the suffragettes and also the traveling cross-dressing British circus performer. It’s not quite Yakuza level of silliness but there are some pretty funny quests and situations, as well as dialogue. I could just image Arthur saying “Nani?” as these people ask him for the most bizarre forms of help. 😂 The flow of the game is also very similar. How you’re trying to go from point A to point B and NPCs just completely disrupt your progress to take you on an unplanned wild goose chase.
I am getting a bit fatigued with the pacing, though. It is a fun game, but at this point, I’m just running past and ignoring strangers who ask me for help on the road because I need to make some progress.

The other thing I noted today was just how solid the voice acting is. It’s simply fantastic.

@Th3solution I made Yakuza comparisons to this game to so good insight from you there.

The pace picks up from mid chapter 4, with chapter 5 quite linear. I’m just into chapter 6 now but faffing with challenges (currently playing poker around the map).

@Thrillho That’s encouraging that the pace picks up. The large world and mediocre fast travel make it a little bit cumbersome working through the game. I realize the whole point of the game is to have all these wonderful random encounters while riding through beautiful vistas, all the while leveling up your bond with your horse and improving your stats while you explore... but it takes so long to journey to and fro. I have started just using the stagecoaches more and that helps some, but it does cost money. The fast travel from camp is nice, but it’s only one way. I preferred the options to fast travel from a tent/campfire in the first game.

@Th3solution I’ve not used stagecoaches much but use the train for long distances. Money hasn’t been an issue for me as I did the treasure hunts early on (with help from online guides) which has left me with more gold bars than I know what to do with!

I seem to have lost momentum with this game, partly due to a busy few days and partly due to the distraction of online. Need to get back into the story, starting on Monday.

I dabbled in online, but I'm not 100% happy with my character. I didn't get much further than the first cut-scene. To make matters worse, my wife started online and made an excellent cowgirl, now I have Avatar Envy.

@Gremio108 Is it possible to make a good looking avatar? I watched some gameplays on YouTube and the a lot of faces looked kinda ugly, tbh.

@WanderingBullet My wife managed it. But my guy looks like a cardboard cut-out that got run over by a lawnmover, so what do I know?

@Gremio108 Haha, I think it might be easier to get away with it if your avatar's a male since you can cover the bottom half of the face with a thick beard. Hopefully Rockstar will add in more better character options when the online mode officially launches.

The more I play this, the more I fell it suffers from the same disease I've detected in The Witcher 3: "whatsnextness". You can clearly recognize it asking yourself why are you playing it and the only answer you find is "just to see what's next" since all the rest is just mediocre...

RDR was a surprise gift this Xmas off my wife as she had noticed it was a top seller. Going from my prior history with time heavy RPGs all of which I put down within 5 hours (botw, Nier Automata, witcher 3, bloodborne) I wish she didn't bother after playing for a couple of hours.

It's breathtaking in its presentation, voice acting and immersion. Awful in its minute to minute gameplay, the controls are too heavy and unnatural (for a game) after playing the super responsive and trimmed down Spiderman and Soul Calibur 6. That's not necessarily a criticism per say, every big well received RPG massively long action hybrid has convuluted control schemes, you get them in the end but Its a barrier to enjoyment for sure.

@themcnoisy It becomes more natural with a little time. It’s uncomfortable at first, but then it starts to make sense. They fit the game perfectly. It gives the you feeling of the weapons being from that time frame if you think about it too. If might not be for you, but stick with it a bit longer. The controls feel better fitting after a little bit.

@Jaz007 It will I'm sure. It's not the shooting I am referring too. More the quality of life stuff like accidentally falling off the mountain and then having to re start the initial mountain climb, context specific inputs flitting in and out of use, accidentally roping my horse up etc. The biggest danger to my character thus far has been myself.

@themcnoisy Not played the game, but i hear that adjusting some of the options can make it feel better.

https://www.pushsquare.com/news/2018/11/guide_red_dead_redempt...

@themcnoisy Oh yeah, the context specific stuff isn’t perfect, but it works well enough.
And I don’t think I’ve fallen off the mountain yet, but there you’ve just got to be careful I guess lol. Game does punish you a bit there.
And accidentally roping up your horse? I’ve crashed into trees (letting go of the stick will have you avoid that though, and then it kinda just ends up being funny when I mess driving lol. If we can crash cars why not horses.) do you mean hitching or what? I’m not sure what you’re doing here.