Topic: The Chit Chat Thread

@RogerRoger Yeah, he's right. I will get around to it soon. It's just that my PS Plus sense is tingling with that one...

So I just realized with Toys R Us gone in my city now and Kmart gone a few years ago the only places left for me to get games physically is GameStop or Walmart both compies I don't like. Looks like I will really be going digital now.

@KratosMD Cause I want to play it now, lol. That and with shipping and tax a $60 game ends up being like closer to $70.

@KratosMD They even do same day delivery these days!

But that's what I've been doing for years. I order the games online, I get them a day ahead of release (two days in the case of God of War), it's way cheaper than digital (I can save up to €8 per game, even more if they're €70 on the digital store). And shipping is free, at least, most online retailers don't include any shipping.

@KratosMD Right, that's true as well. I found a pretty good site that has this reward system. So it's only the cheapest way to get games in most circumstances, you also gain points with every purchase you make, effectively making each following purchase cheaper than it already was.

The postal service is definitely the worst part of delivery! I used to live in an apartment on the thirteenth floor, but they were too lazy to take the lift (I think I read somewhere that they get paid per delivery), so they always claimed I wasn't home. If you're not home for two consecutive days, it then gets delivered at the nearest pick-up point. So I had to wait two days, and then get it myself lol. I used to pick the option to let it deliver at my local supermarket, so I could pick it up after school/work. It still worked out in the end, but ever since I moved things have gotten a lot better.

I buy all my games online and (so far) all my 'pre-orders' have arrived on the day of release - if not before. I used to buy games from stores - often during my lunch hour or on the way home from work but I still couldn't play them until the evening - that was before we had to install to disc too so I was no worse off than having them delivered.

I guess if you don't pre-order or buy games after release, there is a delay of a few days (at most) before it arrives but that has never bothered me at all. If I haven't bothered buying it before, then I can certainly wait a few more days and its not like I don't have a growing backlog I can always play in the meantime.

Virtually all my game orders nowadays come with free P&P and my pre-orders don't take the money until dispatch.

@KratosMD Why doesn't the retailer send out games a day (or two) earlier to compensate? I had an email from GAME a few days before they dispatched telling me they were packing the game ready to dispatch - sent first class the day before release and arrived on the day. The retailer could dispatch a day earlier than they normally would to ensure it arrives when its expected

Yeah I usually use Shopto, Simply Games or GAME online if I pre-order as they all use Royal Mail so I can get it delivered at work, and they usually arrive a couple of days before day one. For anything else I use the previously mentioned sites and Amazon, whichever is the cheapest. I also use CEX a bit as I have about 80 quid of credit, but I would never buy any recent releases from them as even though it wouldn't cost me anything I don't want to support the extortionate prices.

@RogerRoger I guess that depends personal experience as I have not had problems with Amazon for years. Game let me down years ago too - not just once either - back in the 360/PS3 era and I tend to use them for 'exclusive to GAME' editions - pricing also can be a bit higher too with them. Apart from GoW which I ordered from GAME (because they had the limited edition), some of the last few games I have pre-ordered came from Amazon - Wolfenstein 2, Assassins Creed: Origins and most recently Far Cry 5 - all arrived with Royal Mail and on the expected day. God of War was posted the day before it released and I only got notification at 6pm of dispatch - not a lot of margin for error there. I do remember being let down by Amazon but they did compensate me with a £10 voucher and the game arrived the next day - GAME gave me nothing and said it was not their problem!

Like I said, it does depend on personal experience and do use Game Collection and ShopTo as well sometimes - neither of those have let me down yet either...

@RogerRoger As I said it comes to personal experience - the only time Amazon let me down, they gave me a £10 voucher and the only time game let me down, they basically said it wasn't their fault and that delivery dates are just estimates.

The main reason I opt not to use game in general is that their pricing can be high. They sell the exclusive editions at RRP because they are the only ones with it. Their standard editions can be a few £'s more too. I bought Burnout Paradise from Game Collection for £28.95 - it was £34.99 at GAME...

When I did go to shops, I also hated GAME and their practices - trying to push and sell their 2nd hand version of games over the new. One staff went out the back and fetched a 2nd hand copy and asked me if I would rather save £2 for that than the new one - 2/3 times. When I declined, reached under the counter and pulled up a new, in cellophane copy that he could have got when I went to buy! RIDICULOUS. That's another reason I reluctantly use them now.

Whenever I've bought some something in store from Game the staff would always try to sell me disc insurance for a few extra quid. I've always declined but apparently there are some kind of commission/bonus to sell as many as possible.

I always thought Amazon Logistics was only used for the bigger parcels and the smaller packages that can fit through a letter box are delivered by Royal mail. I could be wrong though.

@RogerRoger Just out of interest, how many games did you have to buy to get 70 quid worth of reward points?

Generally I get everything online because it's convenient and I rarely go into town these days. I mostly order from Amazon, and like @BAMozzy experienced, if there ever is a problem they have excellent customer service. They have been unable to fulfil a few pre-orders over the years - most recently Danganronpa V3 - in which case I just go to shopto or Game.

I like the staff in my local GAME as they're always friendly. In general it's not a great shopping experience though. The store is cramped and feels a bit "sterile" (I can't really think of a better word). Sometimes they have decent deals though and I have got a few things on a whim. They unseal all the games though which is a shame. Where I used to live they didn't. I do wish there was an indie games shop in my town as they're usually nice to go to.

@JohnnyShoulder Sometimes preorders from Amazon are Royal Mail. There doesn't really seem to be a pattern though. I forgot about the disc insurance thing at GAME. Do they think I my discs as coasters or frisbees? I keep my things pristine. 😂

@RogerRoger It is very, very irritating. The discs are always pristine but a couple of boxes have had scuffs or even scratches on them. It makes me wince.

@RogerRoger They can be pretty reckless. When I get used games I always ask to see the disc, which makes me feel like a fusspot, but rather that than a scratched disc. 😂 Strangely enough I did once receive Rogue Galaxy on the PS2 unsealed from GAME's website even though it was listed as "new". The disc wasn't pristine either. I didn't return it because it wasn't an easy to get hold of game at the time. No idea if they still do this - it was 10 years ago and only happened the once.

I mostly only go to GAME whenever they're giving out Pokemon codes (and I got to remember to go this month and grab a Xerneas/Yveltal code). The staff at my nearest shop seem friendly enough, but I rarely buy anything there due to the high prices. If the price of something is similar to elsewhere then I'll usually try to buy there just because I do like having a dedicated video game shop on the high street.

@RogerRoger Amazon must hate your post code as i don't recall them ever not packaging stuff up properly.

Does anyone else think we may have gotten last the point where games with a realistic art style will stop having trouble aging badly in that department? As I’m playing Bloodborne, I think the game still looks fantastic even if God of War or Uncharted 4 is a bit more detailed with the textures and whatnot; it came pretty close to the PS4’s launch if I recall correctly. I’m not sure it will be a huge problem from now on. I’m not sure I can imagine the game being ugly in the future.
Perhaps they won’t feel top notch or as close to it anymore, but I don’t know about ugly.

@Jaz007 The idea of games improving (in the graphical department) during the lifespan of a console isn't as true as it used to be anymore. Back in the 80s, 90s and early 00s every console had a different architecture and every console was a new learning experience for the developers. These days though, they're basically PCs in a box. If the developer is familiar with developing on PC (and they should by default), there's not much of a learning curve left. Maybe we get engines that do more with the same hardware, maybe new techniques to make a game look better, but it's not an uphill struggle like it used to be anymore. So I think that early PS4 games will compare much more favourable to the later games than early PS2 games versus late PS2 games for example.

@Jaz007 Its possible that the games we see now won't look as aged in the future because of their more realistic looking visuals. If you look at Goldeneye (N64 - 1997) which was a game that actually attempted to bring 'realism' into gaming with character faces from the movies, by 2007 (just 10yrs later) with Uncharted, that game made Goldeneye look incredibly dated and basic. 10years later though, Uncharted is still a 'good' looking game - ok its not as good as Uncharted 4 or Lost Legacy but its not so 'bad' its ugly either. Its still just as playable and still looks good - if somewhat 'soft' (if you play the PS3 version) because of the lower resolution. Point is though that games evolved 'less' in the last 10years compared to 10yrs before that in a lot of ways. Its a bit like resolution - now we are at 4k, the jump up from 1080p isn't as big as the jump up from SD to HD (in TV - its more obvious in gaming) and I can see 8k having less impact than 4k does. HDR obviously makes a much bigger difference.

As someone with an Xbox One X that also 'enhances' (some) 360 games to a 'higher' resolution making them as 'sharp' with great 'textures' due to much better (built in) texture filtering as modern games, the visuals are often not too far off the modern PS4/XB1 games. They certainly haven't aged as rapidly as the previous generations. They are still 'great' games to play and don't look or feel dated.

What we are seeing now is more a refinement rather than an evolution of technology. Polygon counts are higher but its 'diminishing' returns. The biggest advancements are more in filling their world's with more vegetation, more NPC's, better lighting, water mechanics etc as well as being able to make the worlds 'bigger', more open with no 'loading' screens. I know we had open world games with no 'loading' screens last gen - until you wanted to go into a building. You also had narrow 'corridors' where the next area would load in whilst you travelled these barren areas - its something I think God of War uses too with the caves for example to areas off of the Lake of Nine but the point is, the modern game can have much better 'streaming' to eliminate these 'loading' sections.

The biggest difference I see in the future is more 'density'. More NPC's/AI/wildlife, more objects that can be moved or broken, better interaction with the 'world' (vegetation that moves or can be destroyed for example) and things like that. Maybe even more realistic NPCs and worlds too. By that I mean NPC's that actually build houses over time instead of constantly working on a house that never develops. We do see a bit more of that in games like H:ZD and AC: Origins where workers actually do have 'jobs' but its still quite limited - for example you don't see an NPC constantly sawing the same log but never getting anywhere...

Going back to this 'gen' games won't necessarily be as 'dated' from a visual sense but may feel somewhat 'static' or even empty - may even notice the pop-in more too. To a degree you do get that now by going back to last gen, fewer objects are able to be moved or broken, emptier or more 'barren' looking environments, loading areas, less 'impact' on the world, NPC's more static (as in locked to a specific task - like walking a set path or sawing the same log).

Point is, I think we will see more interactivity and realistic worlds, more dynamic rather than just realistic 'looking' worlds that are quite static. not just certain trees that can be cut down but any tree for example. Not just the jug or cup on the table that can be moved/broken but the table too - maybe even see environments change over time like buildings that actually get built or fields that actually get ploughed, seeded and grow. Return to a desolate village and the wildlife has taken it over more and the buildings are falling into greater disrepair. That can make current games feel more static despite having day/night cycles.

So last night after a 20 year hiatus I started running a Dungeon and Dragons campaign. It's was alot of fun since it was a few of my old friends that a recently reconnected with so it kinda felt like old times, except this time my son was able to join in.

Not sure how popular Dungeon Drangons is here but I might post an summery of our weekly adventures here. This week we mainly created character's for 5th Edition so far we was a Half-Orc fighter, a Dwarf Fighter, a Half-Elf Rogue and a High Elf Sorcerer. Next weekend we will begin their first adventure.

@Kidfried Lol no I didn't. When I did have my son I always thought it would be cool if he would get into it, bit I didn't pressure him into it. He actually started watching people on YouTube playing it and such.

If you ever want to see it played I suggest looking up Critical Role on YouTube it's a weekly series where a bunch of voice actors get together and play Dungeon and Dragons. One of the players is Ashley Johnson who was Elle in The Last of Us. The others are Travis Willingham who does Mustang's voice in Full Metal Alchemist, his wife Laura Bailey who's done several anime and video game characters voices, Liam O'Brien who does several voices as well for games and anime and a few others that do anime and video game characters voices.

As for me my sessions are about 4 hours long mainly due to people's schedules.