Game: What game are you currently playing??

[Ryllharu]

Did you get any sense of how level scaling works in Skyrim? This was one of the annoyances I had with Oblivion.

I'm guessing you mean enemy scaling.

Overall, the difficulty has been pretty much where it should be. I'm Level 15 now, and if I'm not careful, I die against stronger opponents. In fact, due to my perhaps excessive specialization towards assassination, I die in most melee combat. Anything using a greatsword or warhammer for example (and most two-handed battle axes as well).

Giants require intelligent use of the landscape (making sure they can't get within melee range, they one-shot you). Dragons require distractions so you can get in toward their weak spots, similar to the high dragons in Dragon Age. They do tremendous damage when they're facing you. If you don't hit certain mages fast and hard, they can kill you pretty easily, while others are a piece of cake.

Equipment wise, they're keeping to items at or below my level, with a few "bosses" and bandit leaders possessing the nicer stuff that acts as loot for me. I stole a powerful bow at the cost of well over a dozen lockpicks, and even now enemy archers are still often carrying the lower ranked bows. I'm only now starting to see some of the nice ones creep in (still not as good as mine).

That said, I've had a few enraging encounters. One in particular took me forever to get through, and I ended up using a lot of consumables. And it was just three bandit types. One better than average archer, one two-hander, and a unnaturally strong sword/shield guy. They seemed to each have three times the health of the average enemy in that same dungeon. There are a few other encounters where I have had to reload at least a half-dozen times.

tl;dr: I have found the challenge to be appropriate. Some enemies are a joke, some are very much combat "veterans." I die a lot, but only once did I feel it was unfair.


As a side-note, my character is now a lycanthrope. If I use that, then I have no problem killing everything in a room on my own.

[fahoumh]

Working my way through Castlevania: Lords of Shadow. So far it's been a pretty good game with some minor gripes. I find myself constantly trying to change the camera view but the view is computer-controlled. Sometimes it's difficult to see where I'm to jump because the camera's at a weird angle. Though, those could arguably just be my own failings. And as much as I love Patrick Stewart's voice, his narration can seem a little cheesy at times...but that could just be the script.

[darkshadow]

Lords of Shadow was fucking amazing keep playing it, by the end you will be totally sucked in; also after you finished it, don't skip the credits ;].

Just finished Assassin's Creed Brotherhood, just in time for Revelations.

[fahoumh]

Lords of Shadow was fucking amazing keep playing it, by the end you will be totally sucked in; also after you finished it, don't skip the credits ;].

I'm on Chapter 10 now so I'm almost at the end and it does seem to get better the further I go in the game. I'll make sure not to skip the credits, thanks :-)

[fahoumh]

Lords of Shadow was fucking amazing keep playing it, by the end you will be totally sucked in; also after you finished it, don't skip the credits ;].

Finished LOS on Friday and what a crazy last chapter. And thanks for the head's up on not skipping the credits.

[darkshadow]

I think he wants to know if you go back to kill some "rats", did they become annoyingly stronger or do they get oneshotted (like they should).

[Ryllharu]

Random critters? One-shotted. I can easily kill bears and saber cats now. A large part of that is the perks that improve damage with your chosen weapons.

People? They get a bit stronger. Not all bandits get one shotted unless I'm careful.

[Splash!]

That's good to hear.

I read that the system was an improved version of what was implemented in Fallout 3. Now I haven't played Fallout 3 but the system in Oblivion was just far too simplistic. Almost everything and everyone around leveling at pretty much the same rate as yourself doesn't even sound right in theory. Especially when going back and dealing with enemies in previously 'conquered' areas.

From what I understand, the level of enemies in a region is set based on the your level when you enter it for the first time. I guess that pretty much means that the only thing that grows is the unexplored portion of the world. And even then, the scaling isn't linear. So entering a particular new area at level 20 would be somewhat easier than entering the same area at level 5, which makes sense. Of course, this doesn't supposedly apply enemies that randomly pop in like Dragons, but it seems like they have put alot more thought into the whole thing this time.

This is based on what I have read. I have yet to experience any of it myself but from what you said, it sounds like it is a nice mix of challenge and that feeling of accomplishment you get when you have grown enough to one shot certain enemies.

[Ryllharu]

One final detail regarding leveling now that I've beaten a randomly popped dragon and toppled a few more bandit hideouts. I'm now between Levels 18 and 19.

Say you encounter a group of 5 bandits at their hideout. Three of them will be weaker than you, lower quality equipment (sometimes substantially so). These guys are trivial to take out with a single bow shot and only the 3x modifier you get from that. One of the other two will be about your level. You can take him out in two shots. Once with a sneak attack and one regular shot (sometimes it takes three total arrows). Or give him a one-shot via a backstab with a dagger.

The last one will feel significantly higher than you. If he's got a two-handed weapon, he will one-shot you in light armor. If he's got a bow, he will have many more of the perks. The last one I fought like this had the perk that staggers on an arrow hit. This will be at about skill 50. He can easily two-shot you with his bow. Hitting him from a sneak attack will only take about 1/4 of his life bar. He will be a tough opponent no matter what way you decide to take him down. I have to go for the 15x dagger backstab usually. Even that isn't always a one-shot.

So you get a nice difficulty curve on any encountered group. This is improved even over fallout, where each of a group are all sort of the same, only equipment differs.

[Archangel]

I've been playing Borderlands a bit

It's pretty cool, like a more fun to play version of Fallout 3.

[Animeniax]

I've been playing Borderlands a bit

It's pretty cool, like a more fun to play version of Fallout 3.

I enjoyed both but Borderlands is a lot more whimsical and therefore less involving and meaningful than Fallout 3. I enjoyed Bioshock 2 more than 1 because of this feeling and what I felt was a better story.

[Buffalobiian]

I've been playing Borderlands a bit

It's pretty cool, like a more fun to play version of Fallout 3.

I agree. FO3 was way more serious. I didn't have as much fun, and stopped playing in the end because I couldn't find this place on the map. (that's unrelated though, sort of).

My Lilith with heaps of critical and elemental damage + SMGs ruled that world. Still have to finish playing the expansion packs I bought for it. The tournament one is actually pretty hard. Or I just suck at fighting aliens.

Can't wait for Borderlands 2. Let's hope ATI drivers won't have so much of a problem with them this time.

I wanted to play Bioshock 2, but I was trying to get through Bioshock first. It's just so non-engaging though.. I don't know if it'll ever happen.

[Deadlift]

Currently Playing:
- Nintendo 64: Ogre Battle 64
- SNES: Chrono Trigger
- XBOX 360: just bought it and have yet to use it ..

[darkshadow]

I'm currently playing YOOOO MAARVEEELL!!...ultimate! ;D

[Marik]

I started playing Castle Crashers again after hearing about the Blacksmith and Pink Knight DLC's. I'm currently replaying stages trying to pick up weapons that I don't have. I just got the Unicorn Horn from the painter.

[Alhuin]

Going old school with some Legend of Zelda: Link to the Past. With the release of the newest Zelda game fast approaching (and the Zelda texture pack for Minecraft I recently downloaded), I've been craving some Zelda action. And since I don't have the proper controller for an N64 emulator (for Ocarina of Time and Majora's Mask) which I really wanted to play, I have to settle with the SNES game. Not that it's bad or anything, cause I always liked it... I just liked OoT much more, and I never beat MM.

[Flash Gordon]

Just wrecked stage 9-B in rRootage

[darkshadow]

Hehe it was great wasn't it ;D.

[Ryllharu]

In between various long term sessions of Skyrim, I've been playing Saints Row The Third. It's basically everything I wanted GTA4 to be, only GTA4 turned out to be really boring in all of its trappings of realism. SR3 doesn't give a shit about realism, so it feels a lot more like the true spirit of GTA (1 through S.A.). Funny considering the franchise started as a ripoff of GTA.

It's a hell of a lot of fun to be a gansta. I upgraded a motorcycle so powerful I can barely control it.

I fly into cars Dukes of Hazard Style when I'm stealing them (and got an achievement for doing so). Then I run over people, wait for the cops to show up, grab one of them and use him as a human shield while I shoot the others. Then I run away, steal a jetski, crash it, steal a flatbed truck (jumping through the windshield this time), and plow through the cop cars on my way home to safety.

Or if I just get bored walking on the street, I switch to fists, and through a set of quick time events, elaborately beatdown some random schmuck. It's really engaging and satisfying.

All while wearing a superhero costume, or nothing at all for some streaker hilarity. And just like Skyrim, I've been avoiding the main storyline. I've just been running around town.

So yeah, it's fun.

[Archangel]

Gettin my weeboo on motherfuckers!