Last night was a rough night. I got unceremoniously startled awake by our youngest cat at two in the morning and struggled to get back to sleep. While I have never been diagnosed with having a panic attack, I had what I can only deem as one. It felt like my heart was beating out of my chest even though both my blood pressure and heart rate were in the normal ranges. On top of that I could not get my mind to shut off.
This morning I have to go into work, which in the time of largely unchecked COVID-19 spread is always stressful given that there is no legitimate reason why I should need to do this thing other than for “face” with my management. On the way into work I have to drop our eldest cat at the vet for a glucose check, and if she so much as gets a hint of the cat carrier being around she freaks out and often pisses all over whoever is carrying her. Basically my brain went into overdrive running through the worst possible scenarios of how my morning was going to go… all the while ensuring that my day was going to be shit due to sleep deprivation.
A few weeks back I shared my concerns about how successful this console generation launch would ultimately be, and last night it seems some of those concerns were at least warranted. The reluctance of both Microsoft and Sony to reveal pricing and start pre-orders made me think that in both cases supplies for 2020 would be exceptionally limited if for no reason other than the constraints of ramping up production during a pandemic. Last night emails went out to Sony account holders, but I am not exactly sure what determined getting one versus the many folks who did not. I am wondering in my case if it was tied to PlayStation Plus access, because I have long considered that just part of the cost of owning a PlayStation console.
The email is not a preorder notice… but instead a notice that you can now register for the opportunity to preorder a console. The verbiage contained within the email and on the registration page goes a little something like this.
There will be a limited quantity of PS5 consoles available for pre-order, so we will be inviting some of our existing consumers to be one of the first to pre-order one from PlayStation.Sony Playstation 5 Pre-Order Registration Email
If you did not get one of the emails you can register through the page on PlayStation.com. I signed up because I had avoided purchasing a PlayStation 4 Pro in part because I was planning on upgrading to the 5 this year. I’ve squirreled away some cash for this purpose and have already prepared the spouse for this expense. In theory once the pre-orders open I will pop in and try and reserve a unit, but I do feel like I will be racing the bots.
When you submit your registration you are asked to provide your PlayStation ID, which is likely there to try and stop bots from scooping these all up to scalp for a premium. That said I would not be surprised if those same craigslist/ebay flippers are now instead creating a number of bogus PlayStation accounts, since you can do that without owning a console. It does however make me wonder if they are going to prioritize this system somehow, so that the first wave is to folks who have verified ownership of a PlayStation 4 and an active PlayStation Plus account or something along those lines. It will be interesting to see how this system plays out.
The majority of my game time last night was spent snuggling with cats on the sofa and playing some more New World. This time I started the game in a vastly different location than I did during my first test, and as a result getting to other territories seems considerably easier. As such I have popped over to the next settlement that the quest chain sent me to. However the quests I am being given are still sending me back across the border for various objectives.
I’ve leveled to 17 so far, and I believe the highest I had gotten in the previous test was somewhere in the vicinity of 25. My first time in the game I was picking abilities from all over the place and as a result I created something that felt very uneven to play. Now that I have focused largely on the defensive tree for sword and equipped a full set of heavy armor I feel considerably more sturdy than I was previously. As a result I seem to be able to take encounters that are significantly higher than my level, and have successfully defeated packs of 23ish mobs that aggro’d onto me while exploring.
Last night I found myself however switching things up and starting to level healing staff a bit. I found out that it seems weapon experience is gained by whatever weapon you last damaged the mob with. So I can whittle something down with Sword and Shield, and then swap quickly to Healing Staff and get that last hit in allowing that weapon to soak the benefit of the full experience. As a result I have poured on some very quick levels and at the very least now have that AOE pulse heal which comes in handy for recovering from a rough encounter.
One of the biggest frustrations that I have had so far in combat is really a two fold problem. Firstly I really hate how hard it can be to get a tag in on a mob when there are multiple people fighting it, as instead you end up registering hits on the players (and since I am not flagged it is effectively damage that just poofs). The second frustration is how seemingly random the aggro table seems to be on mobs. I would be interested to see how the formula actually works because the game seems to be fairly unacceptable to trains, aka where a large number of disengaging mobs chain onto a new target. I noticed this happen a few times in the previous test and I have seen it happen to me a few times here to a lesser extent.
All in all though, I am still really enjoying myself. As Bhagpuss said in his comment yesterday, if it released tomorrow I would likely happily play it in production while they stomp any residual bugs over time. I did not at all expect myself to enjoy the game in the way I have, and I am interested to see how it shapes as it nears release.
The post The Next Town Over appeared first on Tales of the Aggronaut.
One of the things that I generally look forward to at this time of the year are the big reveal shows. Traditionally these were part of the giant cluster of events that was E3, but with Covid still boiling through the country those are all rightfully cancelled. What exists in its place however is a number of individual productions by the big companies themselves. Last night was the big PS5 reveal event and to be truthful it felt pretty much like one of the good Sony shows of old. It was chock full of interesting titles, a number of which were console generation sellers for me personally.
The above embedded video should be queued up to the beginning of the show if you want to partake of it. If for some reason the embed is not working for you, then it is roughly 40 minutes into the Gamespot coverage. I would say the best part about getting the presentations in this manner is that it was completely devoid of big showy in person events or the horrible before and after the show hype squad trying to get us excited about what we are about to or just saw. Instead the games themselves stood on their own, which is ultimately the way I would prefer everything work from this point going forward. I am not a fan of the correspondents telling us how we should be feeling with their ever Plasticine sheen of being paid to be excited for something.
If you don’t want to sit through the entire hour and some change show, here are a list of trailers for the games that were shown off specifically.
I didn’t get to watch this as it was actually happening live, but when I got off a conference call and clocked out I picked up the stream from the very beginning. So for those who were watching it in real time my “live tweets” were delayed by about thirty minutes. If you are curious about my in the moment reactions as I was watching the presentation you can check out that twitter thread here.
The Games that Sold Me
Ultimately when it comes to a new console generation, what matters most are the games that are on it. I am by nature a PC gamer, and as a result when it comes to playing a console, you have to hook me on the exclusives. That traditionally has been the reason to own a PlayStation console, is that they have games that never (or very very very belatedly) arrive on the PC. Xbox looks like a great console but since my play method of choice is with the mouse and keyboard and the vast majority of games ultimately release as well on Windows, it is an uphill battle to make me care. So as a result I am going to talk about the three games that will have ultimately sold me this PlayStation generation.
Spider-Man: Miles Morales
I love that we are seeing a hand-off between Peter Parker and Miles Morales with this next Spider-man game. It looks every bit as amazing as the first one, with updated graphics for this console generation. Into the Spiderverse is one of my favorite comic book movies in general and is most definitely my favorite spider film, so I am super on board for this game. Miles is just such a great character in general and this being a launch title has me real excited.
Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart
I love the Ratchet & Clank franchise. It was probably the game series that I spent the most time playing on the PS2, and I was super into the most recent game that released a few years ago. This alone probably would have sold me a new console to be honest. I like the whole set up of dimension hopping, which should add a really interesting flair to the already frenetic gameplay. The thing about this franchise as a whole that I love is the creativity that it always brings. Super on board with this.
Horizon Zero Dawn II: Forbidden West
I love Aloy and I love Horizon Zero Dawn. I will absolutely buy the first game again when it releases on PC and I will absolutely play through it in its entirety. This was the game of the generation for me when it comes to the PlayStation 4, and I have been anxiously awaiting the sequel since 2017. The big take away from the trailer is it looks like this game is overall much larger. HZD had plenty of room to roam around but was not on the scale of many of the big open world titles. It seems like this generation is going to change that because it feels like we are covering a large area in the various biomes displayed, at least more variety that we saw in the first game. It also gives the impression of underwater combat and I really hope they stick the landing on that, as it is something that most games struggle with. I had hoped this would be a launch title, but I am guessing we will have to wait awhile.
Other Things of Interest
Little Devil Inside
There were a ton of titles that I thought were interesting. Godsfall still looks really cool but I am somewhat concerned as to what sort of game it might be. Right now it looks very much like a significantly higher resolution Skyforge, which isn’t a bad thing but definite the vibe I am getting. Pete and I talked a bit last night about the concern that this is a launch title and the game didn’t really show much as far as varied environments, which gives me a concern that this might be some sort of an arena brawler which lowers my excitement considerably. It also seems the type of thing that will eventually release on PC.
Kena: Bridge of Spirits
Kena: Bridge of Souls looked adorable, like a blend of an action rpg with Pikmin as you appear to be gathering fuzzy adorable critters to do your bidding. I was also into the trailer for Little Devil Inside which appears to be some sort of monster hunting game, or as I referred to it Arthouse Monster Hunter. Stray was a weird game full of robots and apparently cats, which could be cool or could be incomprehensible nonsense so it is too early to tell. Goodbye Volcano High gave a strong Night in the Woods vibe, but realistic looking Anthros are always a hard sell for me personally. Deathloop was the other big title that I am looking forward to, but it isn’t a console exclusive so 99.9% chance I will just be playing this on PC.
The Big Reveal
One Generation, Two Product Offerings
The other big reveal of the night is that we finally got to see what the PlayStation 5 look like. I gave it some shit last night, but overall I like the look of it. I don’t like it anywhere near as much as I like the controller design, and quite honestly it reminds me of a fancy USB hub or a cable modem. The key concern that I have is that it is vertical orientation, and I question if it will be a good thing sitting it on its side. Both the Xbox Series X and PlayStation 5 appear to be designed so that all heat is vented through the center of the console out and out the top. Tipping the unit over may cause heat to evacuate the system less efficiently, and given the power that both are packing I would imagine heat dissipation is going to be key to sustained performance.
The other concern that I have with the horizontal orientation is that it appears that a large chunk of the unit is cantilever out over the base. I can absolutely picture my cats trying to hop up on top of this and flipping it off of the shelf. All of that aside it does at least look unique, and isn’t just a box… though admittedly I still greatly prefer the appearance of the Xbox Series X. The internet is already full of memes as is expected, but if I remember correctly there were a similar batch of memes floating around with the Xbox reveal so I think that is just part of life. The more I get used to this design the more it grows on me, but it does look like it will be a pain in the ass to break open for repair work, and this is coming from someone who has changed out several PS3 bluray drives for friends.
It’s About the Games
Horizon Zero Dawn II: Forbidden West
In the end however the design ethic of the console doesn’t really matter that much. When it comes down to purchase, it will rely solely upon the catalog of games available and this reveal hearkens back to some of the great shows from the past. The only part that was left out however was the price point, which I guess matters significantly as well. If this is a $600 console, I am not sure if one great launch game is going to make it worth the price of admission. If it is a $400 console this is an instant pre-order for me, but Sony has not shown a great willingness to launch consoles at a significant loss in the past and I fear a repeat of the PS3. I am more than likely targeting the all digital unit, given that I just don’t buy physical games and my hope is that comes with at least a $50 price break.
So what were your thoughts? Are you more interested or less interested in the PlayStation 5 at this point? Will you be instead following the path of Green and Black and going with the Xbox One X? Drop me a line in the comments and let me know your thoughts.
The post Sony PlayStation 5 Reveal Thoughts appeared first on Tales of the Aggronaut.
Featuring:Â Ammo, Ashgar, Belghast, Grace, Kodra, Tamrielo and Thalen
Tonight we start off with what has become a regular side topic of us talking about our lives dealing with the pandemic. From there we dive into Cloudpunk a game about a digital dog and delivering packages in a blade runner landscape. Bel dives into a discussion about how Modern Consoles are effectively turning into Gaming PCs and the weirdness of cross generational purchases for Microsoft games. Bel also waxes nostalgic about Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater and how he is greatly looking forward to the upcoming remaster of 1+2 coming this September. We end up getting off on a side jaunt into Elder Scrolls games, and then transition into a talk about Sodoku. Finally we talk some about the announcement of a brand new Paper Mario game and the new footage available for Ghosts of Tsushima.
My Appearance in Astral Chain
This morning is technically part of my weekend, and as such I contemplated following “holiday rules” and ignoring a post. However since we are in the middle of Blapril that might set a bad precedent for the various participants. Instead this morning you are going to get a random assortment of blurbs that are sorta left on the cutting room floor. These are things that I don’t necessarily want to devote an entire post to, but still have things to say. For example here is a picture that my friend Storm sent me from Astral Chain because apparently in that universe I am a Toilet Fairy. I can’t say it is a profession that I would have chosen for myself, but I am also not going to fight it terribly hard. I should probably play Astral Chain at some point because it is either going to be right down my alley or I will thoroughly reject it… because I am not sure there will be much of a middle ground.
New Playstation 5 Controller Design
Unlike Microsoft, Sony keeps unveiling their system bit by bit… and up until this point we really didn’t have much to go on as far as stylings for this next generation. However if this controller is any indication for what the final system might look like I am completely on board. This controller reminds me of you took the vibe of Tron Legacy and combined it with the Robotic designs from Portal. It also looks like maybe just maybe they are making a design that is a little bit friendlier to larger hands. There is a problem I have with the Dualshock 4 that my pinky fingers fall asleep when I am gripping the controller because I am sorta having to tuck them back up and under to get all of my fingers on the sides. I’ve written about my favorite large hand controller designs before, but this is definitely a thing for me personally. Thanks to growing up on movies like Bladerunner… this is what I expected the future to look like and I am thankful to Sony for starting to realize that cyberpunk reality. If the new console is inexplicably orb shaped they will even score more points with me.
World of Warcraft Shadowlands Alpha
The Friends and Family Alpha for World of Warcraft Shadowlands started this week, and like I assumed I did not get an invite. There was a time when I was pretty much getting these like clockwork, but I feel like I have said enough bad stuff about the company and the game that I am no longer considered friend nor family. All of that said I am excited it has started because I actually do love World of Warcraft spoiler season. I have a weird stance on spoilers in general, because they actually enhance my enjoyment of the product and hype me up about it. Now I tend to try avoiding some of the story beats, but the various world building products that start leaking out and how the systems are going to work are absolutely candy for me to gobble up. On one hand I have to admit that I would have liked being invited because it would have been fun to test out the various classes. On the other hand I wouldn’t want to burn myself out on a game before it even releases as I have done a few times in the past. I have a lot of hope going into this expansion that it will start to turn the game as a whole around. Having been back the last few weeks I am remembering how fun it is at times, and how much enjoyment I get out of piddling around. The corrupted item system however can die in a freaking fire.
Destiny 2 on Google Stadia Fake Screenshot
Another thing that happened this week that is worth talking about is that Stadia went open to the public. Everyone can sign up for 2 months of free Stadia Pro to get in and kick the tires. The problem I have seen so far is that the tires might fall off. Stadia appears to be actively blocking any third party capture solutions, including even GeForce experience and as such you have to rely on their baked in screenshot functionality accessible by hitting F12. The problem with this is that the above image bears no resemblance to the image that I actually saw on the screen while playing the game. I am guessting that the image is saved on the server side where the fidelity is significantly better. That image is perfectly fine and if the game looked like that while playing I would consider this a rousing success visually at least. What the game-play instead looks like is more akin to what I remember playing Destiny 1 on the PS3 felt like.
The nail in the coffin for me however is how the game performs. I specifically chose Destiny 2 just like I did when I was testing out GeForce Now because it was a game that I have deep experience playing and understand how it is supposed to be performing. I opted not to connect this up to my cross save so that I could experience the New Light intro. In it you pick up the Khvostov auto rifle, a weapon known for its smooth handling and honestly probably the ideal starter weapon. Trying to aim down the sights and take out Fallen felt like my mouse was jumping all over the place constantly. The cursor movement felt exceptionally jerky and random making it near impossible for me to stomach playing through even this first mission. I’ve stopped and restarted it a half dozen times, and for reference I am using the chrome based web client over a wired gigabit connection straight into my router. This machine has full access to my 350 Mbit internet connection, which should be more than cromulent for playing 1080p gaming.
Contrast that to my experience with the same game on GeForce Now and I am questioning how viable Stadia is for pretty much any sort of shooter going forward. I am going to play some of the other game that are less demanding on fine motor skill and see how they work out. However in playing GeForce Now it was not that different than playing over Parsec streaming to my desktop upstairs on the same LAN. The sad thing is… I am pretty close to their ideal customer given that I play games remotely all the freaking time. However the end result just did not feel good… and it could be that the server is just overloaded at this point. However it felt the same at 10 pm at night as it did this morning at 8 am… which should have significantly different bandwidth footprints. Not my jam but I am thankful that I did get to play with it in person.
Final Fantasy 7 Remake
Well folks it is finally here, and as I write this I am hearing the soundtrack playing in the background. I am weird and have all of my consoles connected to a capture card instead of directly into the television. So that means while I am playing games I am actually doing so through the Elgato HD Capture software window maximized. It works for me because it allows me to capture footage directly while playing and just hit the print screen key in order to take screenshots. Anyways all of that nonsense aside I have Final Fantasy 7 Remake up and ready to go and a day off work to play it. However I have to admit now that I do… I am thinking about playing other things. Seven was not the pinnacle game for me that it was for so many others. I originally played it on the PC, and really the game that blew me out of the water was Final Fantasy 3/6 depending on when it was released. The first Final Fantasy game I played on the Playstation was the 8th, and as a result I probably have more affinity for it than I do this one. That said I do plan on playing it this weekend, just not sure how far I will make it.
Final Fantasy 7 Remake Soundtrack
With that we bring to a close my random list of topics. I am once again going to spin this around to Blapril for a moment, because quite often you are going to find yourself in this situation where you have a bunch of small bits of content that don’t really fit together. It is perfectly fine to do one of these cutting room floor posts where you clear out a bunch of thoughts that are disconnected. It helps greatly to break things up with images and captions like I have done, or to at least use headings to help the readers shift between them. As time passes and you get more used to creating content on the fly, you can pretty much take any assortment of things and make it work. My readers may however disagree with me and tell me that these sort of posts are crap, but they have always been a crutch that I could fall back on when I didn’t have much else to talk about.
consoles available for pre-order, so we will be inviting some of our existing consumers to be one of the first to pre-order one from PlayStation.Sony Playstation 5 Pre-Order Registration Email
