Fallout 76 - One Way To Enjoy This 'Odd Fallout Game' More... [Editorial / Mini-Review]

[This post is currently Text-Only Mode, for now. I will be returning and adding some Screenshots gradually, 

but I wanted to quickly get this Posted, to help others that were initially disappointed, like me, possibly enjoy 76.] 

Before I even finish a 'First Impressions, From The B.E.T.A. And Beyond' post I am working on, I wanted to quickly post something here that might help those that are feeling 'frustrated' with Fallout 76... 'Disappointed' perhaps, as I was at first - although I couldn't put words to the feeling right away - all I knew is I was looking forward to this 'next fallout game' and thinking it was going to be "bigger and better than Fallout 4", only to feel... well, 'disappointed' is about the best word I can utilize really. All other words I would say, would come out of that feeling. The feeling that Fallout 76 gave me - a long-time player of Fallout games - having played every one in the series, spending over 2000+ hours in the Commonwealth of Fallout 4, building up Settlements and ignoring the Main Questline... it wasn't initially a good feeling, this game; and so I wanted to help other Gamers, here. Others that felt like I did. Gamers that enjoyed past Fallout games and really wanted to enjoy this one... #ReallyWantToEnjoyFallout76

While trying not to repeat too much of what I am putting into my 'First Impressions' posting, in progress, let me summarize what I went through - see if it is the same as you, my fellow Appalachian Vault Dweller [no big spoilers, some Game Concepts and Tips included]:

• Start the game with wide eyes, big smile, drink nearby, ready to start exploring a huge, new Fallout world!

• See the models/meshes are mostly the same as Fallout 4. That's fine, I guess. They are allowed to use their own assets over again. 

• See the controls are odd, different for every 'category' of gameplay (such as Building vs Combat). Oh it was designed for Console first. That's fine, I guess. I'll get used to the controls over time. [I personally don't want to bash Consoles, I like them as well. Although it makes game developing companies 'hold back' a bit, to try to stay within the limits of consoles (as opposed to pushing the limits of what PCs can do these days); I think we should all try, as Gamers, to get along #GamersNoMatterWhat ]

• See that there is not much to interact with in Vault 76. It seems not only 'abandoned' but 'dead'... That's fine, I guess. They want to push you out into the big world quickly. Here we go!

• See that the world looks beautiful... even if a 'dated' still. Some aspects are fantastic, so pretty; but some seems to be rehashes of Fallout 4 capability. That's fine, I guess. Is it a new engine that can't fully utilize yet? Or is it the old game engine with a bunch of tape and gum and Band-Aid™'s on it - enough to make it look almost like a new game engine?

• See that the animations and movement and combat are a bit... 'clunky'. V.A.T.S. is odd and doesn't slow down the game. That's fine, I guess. It can't slow down other players, due to there being some kind of PvP in this game, I heard, so that's fair I suppose. It's like a weird Aimbot really, one that only works if you have enough Action Points. That's ok.

• See that 80% of the models/meshes are the same as Fallout 4 - along with the issue of "many Textures 'loading in low-rez versions' sometimes" - just like Fallout 4. That's fine, I guess. If it's their old engine, with the old texture problems... Maybe they'll solve that someday. It doesn't look bad on HIGH Textures Setting, even though it makes it 'choppy' or 'stutter' for me.

• See that there are literally no other Humans, other than a few Players you bump into - but you don't see many, often. How many people are on this world? Oh, it's just one Server out of many? Oh, it's only about 20 people? That's fine, I guess. They can't put thousands of players on one server, I suppose. Still, I'm not seeing people that often. That one guy tried to kill me. That one person tried to Trade but it didn't work. Oh well, I'm going to play more 'solo' style anyway - I usually play that way.

• See that the 'no Human NPCs anywhere' takes a lot of the 'fun' out of the game. There is no longer a purpose or reason to do all of these things, it feels like. It's fun for a while, but soon gets 'dull'... That's fine, I guess. They are trying to make it more of a desolate, isolated world I suppose. Trying to really make it feel 'dead' and sad... Aren't they? That has to be why. 

• See that you don't seem to bump into other Players very often, other than at the very start, and when you do they either try to kill you or help you with one Quest then run off on their own. That's fine, I guess. I was going to play more 'solo' anyway. Oh, this House I can build (the C.A.M.P.) is cool. Maybe I'll leave these benches out in the open so others can use them. Oh, I can lock the door? Nah, I'll leave it open, so other Vault Dwellers can use my stuff and maybe have a pick through my garden!

• See that you can only hold 400 'pounds' of items in your Bank/Inventory (called a Stash). What? It's already full and I'm not even Level 10! How the heck am I supposed to collect anything for Building, Crafting, Maintenance of Armor, Maintenance of Weapons, I have to Plant Food and collect Water... This 400 'things' limit is going to be rough...

• See that the Quests are all given by Robots or Holotapes. See that the world is large, but it also takes a long time to get anywhere - unless you want to spend Caps to Fast Travel. That's fine, I guess. I'll sell some of all this Scrap and stuff I have, I'll get lots of Caps soon. Especially since I have to Sell so much, due to the '400 Stash Limit'.

• See that the Vendors/Merchants are all limited to 200 Caps. What? That's fine, I guess. Fallout 4 had Vendor cash limits too, I'll just hop between different Vendors and clean them all out, which will also allow me to see what they all have for sale...

• See that almost all the Vendors are 'linked' [by Faction] where you can't just 'go to a different Vendor and Sell more stuff'. What?? Only 200 Caps? And these guys are LINKED? How the heck am I supposed to get rid of all this Scrap and Ammo and things, without being able to Sell to different Vendors? This is getting wacked...

• See that you can go far across the Map, to find different Vendors of different Factions, that will have more Caps to Sell to - but find that they too, are limited to 200 Caps. Also, see that it costs Caps to Fast Travel - and you can't Fast Travel while Overencumbered anyway. That's fine, I guess. You couldn't Fast Travel in Fallout 4 while Overencumbered. But I really want to Sell all this stuff I'm not using. Hell, I Scrapped those 16 Weapons from that last Quest alone...

• See that your Stash is Full, you can't Sell to Vendors, everything takes up Space, while everything still has Value (to Build, or Craft, etc etc). What the heck?? I basically have to stop Looting...  Have to stop picking up things... in a Fallout game... this doesn't make any sense...

• See that it is possible, that they are trying to force Players to interact. Make you Trade with others, selling or giving your stuff away, instead of Collecting to Build/Craft with and/or Selling to Vendors for money. That's fine, I guess. I also see that you can only build 'ONE HOUSE', which is mine (the C.A.M.P.), so that's ok I guess. I suppose I don't need all this building material. But still... this is crazy that I already feel like I 'can't pick anything up' as often. In a Fallout  game!

It was at this point, that I realized that this game is so different ('yet so much the same') that it required a change of state of mind. I was playing Fallout 76, 'like Fallout 4' - and was coming up against walls and limits and differences - and becoming more and more disappointed...

The world does seem huge, that's good. It doesn't look 'bad' but it looks 'wierd'. The graphics aren't too bad, but if I turn them down just one notch, they start to look 'ugly' really fast. That's a bit wierd. Also, things seem to be 'lumped together' somewhat. For example, Bump Mapping and Ambient Occlusion seem to be controlled as part of the "Shadows" Setting ('bumps on things made by shading' and 'shadows that objects cast on nearby objects', respectively). If I turn down "Shadows" even one notch (from ULTRA to HIGH), these elements look 'bad' quickly...[I'm not a Developer or Programmer, so maybe that's how those things are supposed to work - personally, I thought those elements fall more under "Lighting", etc].

As of the time of starting this Posting, if I turn everything up with the ULTRA Setting, it looks pretty good actually, but it's 'choppy' and 'stutter' is there, for me [kind of like how it ran for me when I tried the High Resolution Texture Pack in Fallout 4 - yet some Textures still load in 'low rez' (like Fallout 4 did) lol]. Oh well, I'll put up with that, for now. Maybe someday I'll be able to Upgrade and enjoy it with the ULTRA Setting all over again [I often do this with older games, going back to them and 'maxing them out', enjoying them all over again at their highest settings]. Since I play more 'solo' style anyway, I don't have to worry about it leaving me open to dying to other players nearby as much, or ruining other teammates' experience with my 'lag' (by being affected by the stuttering/lag due to graphical settings).

There are other players in this Fallout iteration - one of their main Selling Points - but I don't seem them too often... In the Screenshot above, there are actually a couple other Players in Vault 76, during the B.E.T.A. when this image was taken; but I seem to be the only one interested in exploring the Vault itself, playing with things and actually watching the Training Video [lol]. I don't mind that I rarely saw people in the game, especially when some of them are just trying to fight or kill me anyway. Come to think of it, why don't they make PvP servers and PvE servers? ARK, another 'open world, survival game' does this - heck, one of the most successful MMO games of all time, did this - World Of Warcraft. If they made different servers for each game type, both parties would be happier, I think. PvP'ers can attack and fight anyone at any time, something I think they wanted to do in this game (my personal idea is to have PvP Servers be "Always On PVP" - that means no Pacifist Mode! Isn't that what PvP is about?). PvE'ers can Explore and Quest on PVE Servers to their heart's content, not  having to worry about getting killed or their C.A.M.P. vandalized while they are away [I personally had some of my house destroyed by vandals already - oh, animals can attack your home? Maybe it was them, too - either way, in a fully-PVE Server, you won't have to worry about others wrecking your home].

I also notice that I am constantly stuck at 400 Stash Limit and opening my Pip-Boy everywhere I go, to play "Inventory Management 76" after doing anything... You can see just above, my Weight Capacity (carrying items on person) is 230 units at the moment, and the Stash is shown on the right (the 'bank'), and it is almost topped out at 400; and this happens very easily and is like that almost all the time afterward. It's getting pretty annoying, frankly. I am seriously feeling like I am 'not wanting to pick things up' - and that's bad, for a Fallout game... Doesn't everything have Value, even Junk, since Fallout 4?

Maybe, I thought, I have to change my approach this game... 

Playing Fallout 76 'like it was Fallout 4' is just getting me more annoyed and disappointed every game session. So, I took a moment to step back and look at how Fallout 76 operates (and how it is different than Fallout 4 - remember, it is a 'side step' or 'spinoff' of the Fallout Series - they even stated specifically that it is not to be considered "Fallout 5").

In Fallout 76, you don't build up Houses on end, entire Towns like you do with Fallout 4 (the Settlements, something I had a ton of fun building up for my little Settlers, keeping them happy). OK. Then I don't really need all this Building material/Scrap for that, now that my C.A.M.P. is pretty much complete.

I have a little Cabin, Water, some Food growing, some Turrets up on the roof, all the Crafting Workbenches I could build, my Stash and a Bed to Rest in. I'll leave my Door open/unlocked so others can use my C.A.M.P.; I'm pretty much set, anyway. I'll just try to collect less of Building mats now then. Maybe I'll Sell what I can to Vendors [that 200 Caps limit, ugh] and I guess... I'll have to Drop the rest. That makes me sad, but I guess that's the way it is in Fo76.

In Fallout 76, the game limits how much you can Carry (which is the same as Fallout 4, limited by your Strength) but 76 also limits your 'bank' or 'workshop inventory' (the "Stash" mentioned above). It is no longer 'Unlimited' like in Fallout 4 Workbenches, but capped at "400"... That's crazy to me, but maybe it's to force people to interact with other Players more. Sell stuff to them, or give it away to new players. Hmmm. I guess this means, I'll be 'dropping' a lot of stuff, since I still need Materials for Ammo, Armor and Weapon upkeep, Food and Drink crafting, etc. Literally just throwing stuff away will take some getting used to (since in Fallout 4 I could eventually Sell it all, somewhere or another..). Maybe I'll drop it near the Starting Areas, to help others out! That will help make dropping all that stuff feel better [to me, heh].

The world is huge. Not 'absolutely immense', but it does seem larger than Fallout 4 so far [I personally have seen less than half of the Map, but more than 1/4 of it, so far]. Fast Travel costs Caps, the farther away, the more it costs. I'm paying about 30 to get horizontally across the map, crossing two large areas... Okay, I'll have to walk more, instead of Fast Travelling (especially since I'm Overburdened after clearing out an area, or doing a Quest).

Capture by Bethesda

The world is also 'empty' feeling. I mean, it looks pretty good actually - the architecture, the surroundings, the visual effects - but this "No Human NPCs" thing makes the world feel pretty depressing... Why even do Quests? Who am I helping, doing them, since everyone is dead? I rarely run into Players, so it can't be them. There really is something psychological, to 'picking up' and 'turning in' Quests/Missions to human beings in games... Maybe they'll increase the number of Players on a Server someday. I dunno.

You know what? The huge, open world. The lack of NPCs - the only 'mobs' (mobile NPCs) are enemies, and they are kind of spread out a bit. The game seems to be more 'exploring' and less 'interacting with others' (as a 'Solo' style player). You know what this reminds me of? Minecraft.

With Fallout 76's huge, open world, the ability to 'fight' with other players if you really wanted to; but mainly the goals seeming to be Explore and Experience the world, 'open but barren' as it is - to me, this is indeed much like Minecraft, or even more apt perhaps, No Man's Sky [Now Including "Game Release Disappointment"™! lol BTW, No Man's Sky is more fun now, with Base Building and more NPCs and Missions and Shortcuts put in it]. Maybe I'll play 76 that way... Explore. Quest. Survive. [don't make Metal Gear: Survive joke... don't make Metal Gear: Survive joke...] Less like Fallout 4 and more like Single Player Minecraft, or No Man's Sky, yeah. A huge world to explore, mostly barren of other NPCs, save for Enemies. Think: MC or NMS...

You know what? After playing a while with this mindset; I am really enjoying the game more! 

It's weird, the less I play the game like 'Fallout 4' and the more I play it like Minecraft, more like a "Fallout Metal Gear: Survive" [sorry I couldn't resist] - the more I am finding I am actually enjoying Fallout 76! The more I play the game like 'No Man's Sky' [trying not to make the 'game release disappointment' joke again...], the more that I just Explore and Quest and kill the Enemies I run into along the way - and try not to think of Fallout 4 - the more I am actually enjoying this game.

Note: this thought concept (line of thinking) is probably geared more for a Solo-style player of the game. A PvP'er might have more fun thinking/playing it like Planetside 2 or even more so, Ark or Rust. I personally still think they should have separate PvP and PvE servers though - as it is, both parties are not happy with how they play together. PvPers can't start proper fights and PvE'ers are annoyed at the ones that want to fight... Beth, wouldn't separate servers that allow both parties to experience the game how they want, solve that?

Anyway, I've stated my point and now I'm rambling [well I guess I did call this an 'editorial' so it's sort of allowed, heh]: the less that I approached the game like Fallout 4 and the more I played the game like it was Minecraft or No Man's Sky, the more I enjoyed Fallout 76... They did say it was 'different', they did say they were 'trying something new'... So maybe we shouldn't approach this game like it was "Fallout 4.5"...

There are a lot of issues with the game, a bunch of bugs (insert Bugthesda joke here), a lot of changes that can happen to improve the game; but as it stands, it is not a total loss, even though the game does 'feel' quite despondent (lonely)... This is a different 'branch' of Fallout, a different experience. They've even stated that "this is not Fallout 5" and "the next Fallout 5, which will be Single Player" is going to come - which is fantastic and awesome for us Fallout Fans - but that also means that this is not it. The more I keep this in mind, the more I play this game like the open-world, exploration, survival game that it seems to be; the more I am enjoying it. At least, it has helped me. Perhaps it will help you, too. 

See You In Appalachia!

~Troy from The Game Tips And More Blog

Dream Of Mirror Online - Closed Beta Key Code Giveaway

You asked for it, you got it - thanks to Suba Games and Wicked Interactive - DOMO is back!

Here at The Game Tips And More Blog, we are giving away 1,000 Closed Beta Key Codes, to help celebrate the return of Dream Of Mirror Online.

For this special occasion, we are not just going to give you ONE key, we are going to give you FOUR key codes, so that you can share them with your closest friends - and bring them with you into the return of this anime-themed social MMORPG when its Closed Beta begins on February 13th.

Once the Beta begins, prepare to enjoy these Features of Dream Of Mirror Online:

Just some of the many features to be found in DoMO.
(Click to see Full Size)

To get a 4-Pack of Closed Beta Keys, just send me an email at GameTipsAndMore@Gma il.com (removing the space) and put "DOMO" somewhere in the Subject Line. Some example subject lines are:

• "I want to play DOMO!"
• "I LOVE DOMO"
• "Please give me my keys so that I can play with my friends in DOMO once again"

Then, I'll send you your 4-Pack of Key Codes, which you and your friends can use to Register, via the Header at the top of this article (click on the image at the top of this post, where it says 'Join Now!').

That's it!

The Official Dream Of Mirror Online 'Teaser' Trailer

from Suba Games (October 2014)

Get ready to relive the magic of DOMO - or experience it for the first time - and See You In The Game!

The Game Tips And More Blog Presents: The Elder Scrolls Online Beta Key Giveaway (Final Beta Weekend)

This upcoming weekend is the last weekend for The Elder Scrolls Online Beta!

To celebrate - and to allow one more TES fan get in on the action, I am giving away one fresh, crisp TESO Beta Key - completely free! All you have to do is send me an email (gametipsandmore_at_gmail_dot_com) or leave a comment below, telling me a favorite memory of yours from a previous Elder Scrolls game. If you haven't played any of the previous TES series at all, just tell me something you are hoping to do in the new Elder Scrolls Online and I'll randomly pick one lucky email out of the batch and send you your very own, unused and direct from Bethesda, Elder Scrolls Online Beta Key!

The final weekend of the beta will run from Friday, March 14th at 12:00PM EDT until
Sunday, March 16th at 11:59PM EDT. The winner will be notified via email before that time.
Have fun reminiscing (or looking ahead), good luck to you... and See You In the Game!

Battlefield Play4Free - First Impressions, Graphics Comparison, Tips and Brief Shotgun Gameplay/x264 Test Recording (1080p)

I recently got around to trying the 'Play For Free' version of the Battlefield series and created an account through their website to try this game out.
[I remembered much later that I actually had an account that I used during the Beta phase, but I completely forgot about that - and also what the game was like back then anyway - too much Battlefield 3 cleared all of that from my brain, I suppose!]
It is free to create an Account and play forever if you so desire, but there are also many options for purchasing weapons, armor, clothing, and other items with "Real Money".

The 4 classes available to play in BFP4F, with information on each. Click to see Full Size.

After creating a free account (which is assigned to an e-mail address), I started out playing the Medic class and it seemed to get more fun as it went along. You don't start out with paddles/defibrillators, but you do start out with a healing box that you throw down (as in Battlefield Bad Company 2), a Machine Gun (MG3), pistol (M9), Tracer Darts (a'la BFBC2) and a knife - but no grenades (yet). Running around dropping healing boxes and backing up my team was great and when I unlocked the Defibs, I felt like I was playing BFBC2. After getting used to the Controls (adjusting the sensitivity, changing some of the default hotkeys, etc) in no time it felt like good'ol Battlefield.

A hotel in Battlefield 2 (bottom) and the same hotel in Battlefield Play4Free (top)
Click to see Full Size

The visuals are akin to Battlefield 2, with extra shaders and effects mixed with some BFBC2 elements. For instance, you can 'spot' the enemy and the BFBC2-type 'triangle' appears above their head for a while and they appear on the map. The environment looks more like Battlefield 2 than Battlefield Bad Company 2, with many models (shapes) looking like they were pulled straight from BF2 and just converted. This is not a bad thing particularly, I enjoyed BF2 a lot, and with some shading, fog and other graphical boosts that were done, the game doesn't look too bad - especially when you consider it's a free-to-play title and won't cost you one cent if you don't want to spend it.

Graphics comparison between Low, Medium and High 'Video Quality' settings.
Click to see Full Size

I would have liked more complexity to many things, but it makes sense that they tried to keep the polygon/videocard usage down, supporting more types of machines/older ones, so that more people could play it (and they could also potentially make more money). It does look very playable, especially if you can turn things up a bit, and the gameplay is still The Battlefield Formula, which meant soon I wasn't paying attention to the graphics at all - I was too busy capturing points, driving teammates around, an' killin' an' healin'.. If you like the Battlefield style of gameplay, especially Battlefield2, you should enjoy playing this game.

Unlabeled comparison of that apartment complex that is forever under construction.
Click to see Full Size

The starting guns for the Medic were low accuracy and low damage and you will get killed a lot in direct firefights, but with some practice with short bursts and aiming down the sights, you can still kill others, even at a distance, and slowly start to make points. The starting rifle for the Sniper packs more of a punch of course, but seems to take forever to reload and has bullets that must be made out of solid granite, because they seem so heavy and drop so much. The starting guns for the Engineer was an RPG and [what I found to be,] a decent sub-machine gun (I have always been a fan of the PP-2000 though, I remember fondly running around in Bad Company 2 with Magnum Rounds in one /evillaugh). Recoil is high on these beginning guns, but I assume it gets better later on as more becomes unlocked at higher soldier levels. Grenades don't seem to go straight all the time, in random throws, which makes for some tense-but-funny bounces.

Although the PLAY NOW buttons will get you into the thick of battle very quickly, you cannot choose what game mode to play (Rush, etc). If you want to choose what game type to play or what server to play on, there is a server browser [indicated in the picture above with green arrows] button in the upper-right corner of the Launcher.



I found at the website, after logging in that there was a 'Starter Pack' for each class, a sort of 'preview' of a couple weapons that you can buy, which included a high-damage shotgun in it for my Medic. That was a lot of fun, if you don't mind having to run-and-gun into the frays, but it only lasted one day, then the gun disappears and is no longer usable anymore. Still, it was a nice little preview and I got some fast close-quarter kills with it while it lasted (see Video).

As with most online games that can possibly make money from you, the levels come fast at the beginning to get you hooked, then slow down quite a bit (I found it started to 'feel slow' around Level 6 or 7). You can purchase eXPerience boosters and as you level you can purchase more weapons as they become 'unlocked'. You gain free tokens called Credits as you play the game, but gain them slowly (automatically over time it seems, based on Time Played) and these Credits purchase weapons that [mostly] last one day (or items that have limited numbers of uses, such as healing bandages). You can purchase tokens called Funds ("Play4Free Funds", which used to be called "Battlefunds" during the Beta) with Real Money that you can use in the Store to purchase weapons as well, including versions that last forever.  If you are willing to purchase Play4Free Funds, you can also unlock weapons and items 'early' with them, that is, be able to purchase/unlock and equip items before the level you would normally have to be to unlock and use them.

Shotgun trial (not that kind) and the hotel from BF2.
Click to see Full Size

For the shotgun that I mentioned earlier, using these Play4Free Funds purchased with Real Money, it would cost about $.06 to use for a day and about  $1.00 to use forever. If you didn't want to spend any money for it, it seems that you can gain enough free tokens (Credits) to buy it for a day of play in about 5 or 6 rounds if your team is winning matches (about an hour of solid playtime) and just over twice that amount if your team is constantly losing matches. There was a sub-machine gun (a UMP-45) that was in the Engineer Starter Pack as a preview, and as another example, for that gun to use for one day, you would have to play about 5-6 rounds (each round lasting about 10-15 minutes) if you won most of them, and play about twice that long if your team kept losing. You can even purchase this gun (the UMP-45) to use forever with free tokens, but you would have to play about 4 hours a day for over 3 weeks and not spend much of the earned Credits on anything else. Quite a run, but if you are having fun playing the game anyway (and for free) the fact they give the option to purchase it that way is nice.

There is a Training section [the button is indicated in the picture above with green arrows] with trees and abilities to unlock for your soldier in order to drive vehicles, etc. For example: Medics do not start out with Defibrillators and must train for the equipment to revive fallen teammates.


You gain Soldier eXPerience by killing, capturing points, healing, etc and the XP gains you Levels, which unlock future items and weapons and each level gives you a Point that you can spend in MMORPG-style 'Talent Trees', where you can improve aspects of that Soldier or unlock different abilities, such as the ability for people to Spawn off of you or sense what direction damage is coming from (it doesn't do that at first), the ability to lay Claymores (and the ability to not trip them when you run by), fly vehicles and more. Thus, the more you contribute to your team by killing, capturing and healing, the more abilities to do these things you unlock. With the free Credits you gain over time as you play, the more you play, the more weapons and items you can unlock. The whole system encourages involvement and seems to work well, as there has only been a couple of games where I saw "AFK'ers" (people who have the game running but are Away From their Keyboard or not playing/helping). There were also a couple games where people said in Chat for others to "come stat-pad with them" (I left those games); but as I said, these were only a couple of games out of the 50+ I have played so far. Overall, everyone seems to be runnin'-n'-gunnin' and helping out their team just fine.

Soldiers supporting each other in a corner battle behind buildings.
Click to see Full Size

The sound in the game has differing cracks and booms for the various weapons with echo effects (Reverb) when you are inside buildings,etc and the vehicles each have their own engine sound [although there is some 'vehicle engine sounds' in the backing/environmental track that play in the background of each map (such as the rain and birds in jungle maps) that is somewhat confusing at times if your ears catch it in the background, you think a vehicle is nearby and it isn't]. I still laugh once in a while playing because every soldier uses The Wilhelm Scream. Nice. Most of the Voice Overs in the game sound like they came from BFBC2 but are tweaked a little. [The phrase when gaining control of a point still cracks me up, as it sounds like an old Clean & Clear commercial ("clear and under control.."), just like it did in BFBC2]. With the Communication Rose (Hotkey 'Q' and you choose an option, like Need Ammo) you can hear yourself and other Soldiers, but it's rare to hear someone spamming it.

 If you are having trouble hitting the numbers for the different weapons and slots, or just want to change them, you can assign other keys for them in the Game Launcher under Settings (the gears button at the top). I liked to assign the numbers for items only, so my weapons are actually Spin Mouse Wheel Up for one and Spin Mouse Wheel Down for the other.


The music, which doesn't play during regular gameplay, is a nice hard-rock/heavy-metal take on the BF theme by Corroded. A looping 2-minute track called Age Of Rage plays while you are in the Game Launcher menu that sounds a lot like the music from The Terminator movies (not a bad thing). Short phrases from their version of the theme play when you Win, Lose or Level Up and a longer version plays while Loading. The hard-rock sound fits the game well.

Always take time to enjoy the scenery in life. Here are some trees and shadows.
Click to see Full Size

Overall, Battlefield Play4Free is like most free-to-play online games that use Microtransactions: it is in fact free to download, install and play and there is also the ability to purchase items and 'boosters' to level up/unlock items faster as well - but you don't need to spend any money on it at all if you really don't want to or cannot do so (and of course have the time to play to get what you want the slower/free way). Although it feels a little clunky to play at first if you're coming from the Retail versions of the Battlefield series, once you get used to the DirectX 9 graphics and mechanics, it eventually 'feels' like a Battlefield title (A Good Thing) and once you get used to it overall - it is a lot of fun to play (The Main Thing).

I almost forgot.. the gameplay video!  This clip was a test of a few things at once; Bandicam's 'External Codec' setting using x264 (H.264/AVC) available in version 1.8.2/2012-09 [new version at the time writing this post began] and higher, Bandicam's automatic Logo overlay with transparency (our logo, lower right corner), BFP4F's one-day-only 'Starter Pack' 870 Combat Shotgun, and the uploading of a clip directly from the recorded file/output to YouTube.
Enjoy!

Video Specs and Tech Talk:

Recorded game: Battlefield Play4Free, Online FPS
Recorded with: Bandicam Registered Version @1080p
Recording codec: x264 (H.264/AVC) using the 'External Codec' implementation in Bandicam
Recording settings/variables: 'VeryFast' Preset, CRF23, 'Zero-Latency' Option selected, Logo option with transparency (our logo, lower right) 

The first of many recordings testing out Bandicam's usage of other codecs installed in a system (called 'External Codecs' in the program), this clip was recorded using the x264 Advanced Video Coding codec. Not an editing-friendly codec (it is slower to seek/move between sections within an editing application and can have artifacting issues), it still manages to work well with little effect on framerate, with the proper settings. The Constant Rate Factor quality setting of 23, recording at 1920x1080, gave an output bitrate of about 20000kbps, resulting in a file size that uses about 150MB per minute of recording (a half hour of recording at this resolution and bitrate [with MPEG-4/AVC] would take up about 4.5GB). 

The 'VeryFast' Preset in x264 auto-selects a few things, such as 1 reference frame per GOP, no Trellis encoding, no Deblocking, no CABAC and no B-type frames in the original recording/output. I suggest the faster Presets, as the slower ones compress far too much on-the-fly and create lag in the game and in the recording - more on this will come in a future article**. The CRF set at 23 allowed some 'breathing room' for recording and compressing on the fly (it is a medium quality setting, a CRF of 18 being more of a 'standard high-quality' MPEG-4 setting), it also saved a little bit of disk space as this just-over-two-minute file was only about 300MB. While still watchable and acceptable in quality, the absence of deblocking (to hide macroblocks and other compression artifacts) and the high compression of flat/low-detail areas, making them smoothed out/blurred is visible, however. It is suggested to use a higher bitrate/rate control factor (if the system can handle it), even though more diskspace will be utilized. Youtube seems to have recompressed it as well, as even at the '1080p' Youtube setting, some quality has been lost from the original uploaded file. Still, it seems acceptable for a medium quality recording setting.

**A separate article/post testing out and explaining recording with h.264/AVC (MPEG-4 Part 10) in detail, for use in programs like Bandicam, Dxtory, MSI Afterburner, etc. can be found here at this blog: http://gametipsandmore.blogspot.ca/2013/05/game-recording-with-mpeg-4-using.html

Have fun and See You In The Game!

APB Reloaded - Some Criminal Tips For Faster Money (Video)

I haven't played APB in over a year and decided to try boot'er up once again. It's now on Steam and works great. It automagically logs you in and informs you that if you don't have a Gamersfirst Account (the publisher for APB Reloaded) you can create one at their website for free. If you are a fan of the Grand Theft Auto series of games, this Free To Play (F2P) Player-Versus-Player action-oriented "MMORPG" is definitely one you should try. I did a 'First Impressions' article last year when I tried out the Reloaded Beta. That article is here: http://gametipsandmore.blogspot.ca/2011/09/apb-online-reloaded-beta.html

Since then, I have been having the passionate love-hate relationship with this game again; but having a blast overall. I see there are still a good influx of new players and people asking questions in the game and on forums and so I thought I would put together a few quick tips helping fellow Criminals with some concepts that will assist in speeding up making some cash (don't worry - Enforcer tips to come in the future).

You don't have to go all the way to a Joker Ammunition Vending Machine (if the closest is far away, especially when on a mission). You can Resupply at the nearest Mailbox and Vehicle Vendor/Spawn by hitting 'I' to open your inventory, then 'T' to resupply.

The game doesn't do a lot of hand-holding for an MMO, but there is a fair amount of text in the game and chat windows that inform you of things you can do as a Criminal. You can simply mug people walking down the street (in my opinion a slower way to make money). You can steal vehicles and sell them to Chop Shops for profit (the shops can be shown on the map). You can also ram-raid stores and grab all the loot that drops out. These are life lessons, people.

Here is a short video showing some tips for new players and concepts for criminals on how to make money a little bit faster (Locations shown are in the Financial District but concepts apply to any District, some footage was shot on a server that did not give full bonus/money for turn-ins):

I cover mostly Ram Raids and Chop Shops, but with some little tips and tricks thrown in. I created this video because I saw a few things in-game that I thought I'd help with. One was a new player attempting to ram a store front that wasn't 'raidable'. Another is players parking waaay-far-away from their fences/contacts and walking forever to turn in their goods. Like this poor guy below (don't worry, I blurred your name):

Maybe he didn't know you can drive into here and park closer. Even with that, Veronika Lee is in a very busy area. Enforcers traffic is high with their Contact and Impound Lot nearby and Criminals go to the Money Laundry not far from here. One will get you caught and the other will get your loot-laden ride stolen. I suggest the Fence location mentioned in the video for fast, more-out-of-the-way-and-therefore-away-from-people turn-ins. I like hyphens. I go over the differences in vehicles and how much each can carry and I also show some Chop Shops that are close to GA5 repair centers, so that it's a short/fast trip to drop vehicles off for faster cash.

Some things I didn't cover in the video but wanted to add are:

• When ram-raiding, it is slower to stop the vehicle and back in, or smash straight in and then move the vehicle out of the way. If you want to be faster and lower your chances of getting Witnessed, learn to do a 'drive-by' ramming by coming in at a sharper angle and 'bouncing' off the store window, smashing it and collecting the loot after you stop just on the other side of it.
• Loot-laden Vans and Trucks will drive slower. You will have to figure out your own balance of danger vs profit. If you are above $1500 in 'dirty money' and can be witnessed all the time by passing  cops, don't use a slow vehicle if possible. But, if you want to get tons of cash at once and the District isn't very busy, using a full van again and again to go well over $1500 is possible if you stick to back roads and take an outside route around to the Money Laundry. It's all up to you. If you keep ram-raiding, just don't forget to repair your vehicle at a GA5 station, ram-raiding causes it damage too!
• Chop Shops will not take multiple vehicles fast one after another. Mix it up a bit by doing some ram-raids on the way to the next Chop Shop area (repairing before you hand it in of course) or grab the most expensive vehicle you see and drive it straight to the next closest one. The choice is up to you.

If you've been playing constantly since Beta and are Rank FiveBillion and know all the little tricks in the game, you might not learn a lot from the video; but if you are a new player or are looking for help making faster money as a Crim, the simple concepts presented in the video will make your cash flow just a little bit more... flow-y.


See you in the games!

Star Wars: The Old Republic Gets Anti-Aliasing - NVIDIA vs AMD/ATi Still Image and Video Comparisons

I haven't played SWTOR in a while and it was great to see when logging in that a patch installed a much-asked for anti-aliasing capability to the game engine (which came out only days after our post poking fun at it, but it was something asked for since Beta). Great job listening to your customers, devs!

To turn it on, simply open up the Preferences in SWTOR and under Graphics, it's a pulldown menu that allows Off, Low and High settings.

The HERO engine was said to not have this capability, so either they injected it, programmed it, or it must be a post-processing filter, similar to Skyrim's FXAA (Fast Approximate Anti-Aliasing) and BF3's Post Filtering, where the calculations (the detecting and blurring of the edges) isn't done at the drawing stage but afterward.
It works well:

Having now a set of good mid-range video cards, one NVIDIA and one AMD/ATi, I thought I'd see what the difference was in-game, when each was set to High.
Here is a short video showing the two side by side, in a short clip speaking with an NPC, and a pan and still shot of a FRAPS captured frame from the game:

There aren't really any big differences by the look of it, unless you really want to nit-pick. Both do a great job. Textures seem to be slightly crisper with ATi, slightly clearer, and NVIDIA seems to use higher-quality settings for AA from the get-go, just picking High makes it look great. I find with the newer ATi cards that forcing Higher Quality Anti-Aliasing (Supersampling, HQ A.I., etc.) results in a higher-quality picture overall versus the NVIDIA, using a GTX560 as a comparison against an HD6870. Again, both do a great job though - if you have those cards or higher the game is smooth as silk to play. Hopefully your video card can handle turning on Anti-Aliasing. If it can, things will run a little slower but the sometimes-distracting jaggies are heavily reduced with this great addition to the game.


To celebrate this new option from the developers and my upgrade of a monitor (Thanks, P!), I present a larger size Star Wars Loading Screen Desktop Wallpaper at 1920x1200, from us to you:

The Star Wars: The Old Republic Loading Screen Desktop Background Wallpaper at 1920x1200

See you in there!

Forcing Anti-Aliasing In Star Wars: The Old Republic (SWTOR) with Video and Screenshot Example

Since Beta, I have been attempting to force Anti-Aliasing in Star Wars: The Old Republic. I see that many many people are also trying to do the same. I have read that Bioware themselves states that with this game's HERO Engine, there is no such capability (I am guessing to allow possible merging with consoles, allowing console play in the far future, I see few other reasons other than keeping the gaming overhead low for older machines, to increase marketability).

I have a GTS250 and Santa gave me an ATi/AMD Radeon HD 6870 for Xmas. I want to share here, my findings:

Nvidia AA set in the Nvidia Control Panel VS Amd-Ati AA set in the Catalyst Control Panel.
Unedited (cropped and pasted only) other than the 3 logos put in, FRAPS capture, same area, same NPC.
Either one is stretching or one is squishing, take your pick. I always wondered why all the females seemed to have huge butts in the game. Actually, I think it's just the character models are different (randomly generated), the main thing to notice is the difference in the aliasing ('stair-stepping' on the edges of the lines/models)
Click to see Full Size.

With the Nvidia GTS 250, I was unable to, in any way, shape or form, enable or force Anti-Aliasing. I tried Ntune and other applications that work with Nvidia brand video cards, I tried initialization tweaks (.ini file editing), everything. Nothing worked and judging by the images on the internet of people who 'HAVE IT ENABLED LOOK AT THE SCREENSHOTS', it is never really enabled and there are still jagged edges all over the screen.

For those who don't know, a Tip of what Anti-Aliasing (A.A.) is:
When a graphic adapter (video card for example) talks to the monitor to draw dots and objects so you can see things with your human eyes on the screen and attempts to draw a straight line at an angle, it cannot do so properly, due to the fact that the screen is made up of dots. The result on the screen can only 'resemble' or 'imitate' a straight line at an angle. Thus, the result is termed an 'alias' or 'fake version' of a line at an angle. This is fine, but the jagged edges are distracting to the human eye, especially as they move and jiggle when there is movement on the screen.
Because of this, we have the option to try to get rid of them (which is impossible, but we can try to 'hide' them) via a technique that blurs the jagged edge over and over a few times and blends it with the surrounding dots - and that very "attempt to hide the problems of the jagged imitation of a line at an angle" is termed Anti-Aliasing. Literally, we are against and trying to get rid of, the jagged representation of a straight line at an angle that is being displayed by dots on a screen by blurring it over and over. That's it. 

[Hey, that means we can have rallies and find members by asking them "ARE YOU AGAINST ALIASING??" and they can shout back "HELL YA I AM" and then we can high five each other and all drink and shoot guns together to loud music, celebrating our brotherhood of jagged-free-ness.] 

I had planned on recording a New Series for the Game Tips And More blog, using SWTOR (it actually began with the game Bully, but I haven't uploaded those videos yet) it was to be a series that I entitled "Let's Play Without Talking" (because...well....I don't talk - other reasons for this name will be explained with that Series of uploads/videos/posts). In recording my gameplay and annoyed at not being able to get Anti-Aliasing working with the Nvidia card, I threw in my shiny new Radeon and attempted to force AA in the Control Panel (as I did with the Nvidia Control Panel for the GTS). What resulted was AntiAliasing in SWTOR. Wonderful.

The 4xAA difference can be clearly seen, especially in the front of the brown armor, along the neck and down the bars of the holding cell behind. There is really nothing more I can add, this video is proof: As of Christmas 2011, The Way To Fully Enable Anti-Aliasing In SWTOR is to buy an AMD/ATi video card!


See you in there!



**Update 2012-01-22:
There has been a patch that enables AA within the game itself.
Creating testing videos and will post em once compiled...
Compiling.............
.......................................
Done!
Article and new video can be found here:
http://gametipsandmore.blogspot.com/2012/01/star-wars-old-republic-gets-anti.html

Star Wars: The Old Republic Beta - First Impressions and Screenshots

I have been in MMO Open and Closed Betas such as World of Warcraft, Champions Online, Allods, Rusty Hearts, Victory and more. The most recent is none other than Star Wars: The Old Republic Beta and since the NDA has been lifted, I now share with you my First Impressions and a bunch of Screenshots!

Without giving away any of the actual story itself (and a few other limiations I believe still in effect) I will discuss the graphics, gameplay, how it performs, the setting, audio, mechanics and more. I believe that anything more than that is still not allowed at this time, and I wouldn't want to spoil 'too much' of the game for you regardless. I attempt to utilize screenshots and video that does not give away any important storyline aspects. If any of this coverage oversteps any bounds of the Game Tester Agreement, anyone, please let me know and I will correct it so as to honor the Agreement.  

Not from the movie, from the game.

 First of all, the main source of all the hype and excitement, this is Star Wars we are talking about. STAR FRICKEN WARS. You can't get much of a better licence than that these days (except for maybe Star Trek (nerd fight (including myself) incoming)). At the helm of the Frigate is Bioware, developer of Neverwinter Nights, Baldur's Gate, Mass Effect, Dragon Age and Star Wars: Knights of The Old Republic. Taking in all of that and especially the last one, it makes sense that they are doing SWTOR. A proven track record and most of all, making fun games, you just know before even touching the keyboard that these Canadians are going to create something great. You just know it.

  

Star Wars: The Old Republic is no exception, from what I have seen thus far. Many elements of their past games, from Neverwinter Nights to Dragon Age, are present in this game. Without listing them all in this Mini-Review, the most notable is the '3 Choices' game mechanic. Before even that, I have to mention that every NPC that has to do with Quests is voiced. I mean they talk and tell a story. In a cutscene (animated with the game engine). Most games have a few 'main' NPCs that have a paragraph or two of voiced acting and the rest are just a "Hello" with text that you read yourself. Not here. Every single NPC with a thingy above their head that has to do with giving, helping or receiving quests has a voice actor and is animated in their own cutscene. That alone already has my clothes off. The '3 Choices' of previous Bioware games is here, with the ability to use the mouse or the keyboard to choose your reply to their questions or assignments.  

Example of the 3 Choices game mechanic, similar to other Bioware games. Click to see Full Size.

Differing from what I have seen and played of Mass Effect and Dragon Age, your replies actually make a difference. Not only are their differing responses from the NPC, depending on the choice you make, you will get Light or Dark points in the The Force, which you use for your Force Powers in the RPG portion of the game.

You can choose your reply 1, 2 or 3 with the keyboard to create suspense and see how your choices are judged by the game and NPCs, or you can mouse over the choices to see which response will give you Light or Dark Force points, ahead of time. The way you choose and grow is up to you. 

Ruins in the forests of Tython. Click to see Full Size.

As you can see already,  to compare to some other MMORPGs out there, the graphics style is more World of Warcraft and less RIFT/Aion. It has more of a stylized cartoon-y nature than highly detailed realism. I suspect this choice was made to lighten the load on game rigs and open the game up to older systems with less horsepower, thus encouraging more players/subscribers. It turned me off at first, but after you get used to it (much easier for people who have watched The Clone Wars animated series) it actually does a good job of representing Star Wars. The robots and ships suffer from oversimplification the least, then the architecture and environments, then the character models, which seem like rounded versions of The Clone Wars Series. Despite the simplified models [possibly for future console gameplay/games?],  from the very beginning of character creation and you see your character class story in a Yellow Text Crawl in space, you really feel as though you are entering the Star Wars Universe.


The Republic's Trooper Class selection screen. Click to see Full Size.

Imperial Officer in a Space Station. Click to see Full Size.

NPCs wear proper attire for the time period, and buildings, ships and droids all have a primitive-empire/republic look to them. Even the friggin sounds of engines, weapons and droids are slightly less 'clean' than the movie versions if you listen carefully. Wonderful.

Hallway in a Sith Academy, with Droid. Click to see Full Size.

 

A Taxi on Tyhton. Click to see Full Size.

The simplification of the graphics does seem to help the gameplay. On the system I played on, a couple years old now, I was able to get 40-70fps for the most part (120+ if you are looking directly at the ground) and it went down to about 25fps in more complicated/heavier areas and in battles. Not bad at all. With that and less than 70ms latency from Central North America, I did not feel like it was stuttery or laggy, and the loading times between each zone seemed fine at about 10-15 seconds. The zones have a lot to do in them and aren't too small, so you shouldn't be loading a lot as it is. I can't distinctly remember how many times I have seen a loading screen, other than at the beginning/logging in.

A Sith Loading Screen. Click to see Full Size.

The areas are literally packed with Quests. Everything you see and pass by has some use, even if it isn't by you. I wondered what some ornaments were as I ran by sometimes, only to find out when I tried another class they were now my Quest Objectives. NPCs sometimes feel spread a little thin in spots, but there are ample numbers running around performing their tasks, whatever they may be. You can pause awhile and watch Recruits around you run to their classes, meditate, or spar in practice battles. Imperial Officers hassle bystanders. Drunks wobble around in front of Cantinas, which yes, have Twi'leks and performing bands inside. Nothing absolutely ground-breaking perhaps, but it does have the desired effect of making you feel like you are part of that world, that things are going on around you; but not so distant from you that you lose interest. 

See if you know what this is. Click to see Full Size.

The Quests themselves do have standard MMORPG fare (Kill X of Y, Deliver This, etc) but it is not all the time and even when they occur, they certainly don't feel like it. Again, each and every Quest NPC has a game-engine cinematic with full voice. With this, you are pulled further into the stories and world. Not all interactions have a Light/Dark Points question, but the conversations are definitely not left boring. Each NPC has various responses based on your choices, so even if you make a couple of characters in the same area (2 classes share a starting area) you may still not eventually see all of the responses, even if you make different choices each time (there are three options per choice for the most part). There is an ability to see and hear your party members' conversations and interactions, and they in yours, during Quests. You can even 'roll' to make a reponse choice when in a group. When starting a conversation, there is an option to wait for other party members, or start the conversation for yourself. If your party members are not in the immediate area, they can join by Holocall and will show up as a hologram next to you, ready to engage in the conversation.

Party members can join in NPC conversations and roll to make choices as well via Holocall. Click to see Full Size.

Even when a Quest may be simply "Kill This Person" or "Retrieve This Item", there is always a story, always a mood, always a character that will all be a part of the Quest and the result is that even if you run into two of the same archetype of Quest back-to-back, you won't mind it. To run into a lot of similar Quests, you'd have to go out of your way, anyway. Quests felt varied and interesting. The presence voice acting at every turn is a huge difference in feeling enveloped in the game, coming from MMOs where NPCs are standing around and if you click on them you only get a paragraph to read and start you on your Quest. Here, every NPC has a story (which you can skip through faster if you want, you don't have to listen to each part, if you desire) and each Quest in an area felt different. One would have you find someone and bring them back, another would have you kill someone, another would have you collect an item, and all the while, within each Quest there are choices to be made. Do you bring the person back if they don't want to go? Do you kill the person? Do you take the item to someone else, or sell it yourself, or do your job and take it back? Not only these, but how you respond and go about these actions, as Conversation Choices, all add to the engulfing atmosphere and stories and universe - and this is the Star Wars Universe we are talking about.

Republic Loading Screen. Click to see Full Size.

Just attempting to think about all the movies, books, games, Expanded Universe and more, there is a huge amount of material to be pulled from. If this game is successful, you can pretty much be guaranteed Expansion Packs for the next decade. From what I've seen and how I've heard those who have played talk about it, unless Bioware/EA pulls some crazy, huge, insane mistake or change of some sort, this game is pretty much guaranteed to be successful as is. Based on how Bioware seems to be listening to what people are saying and how they have looked at past games and listened to what people want, it is going to be a long, wonderful ride.

A Taxi on Dromund Kass. Click to see Full Size.

You want Mounts? I saw Level 20's on vehicles (trying to play all the classes, I did not get to 20, hah). You want Sidekicks/Pets/Companions? You get them before you are Level 10. You want PvP? Starting at Level 10, you got it. Requeuable (automatically join again after the round is over), from anyhwere (don't need to go to a certain area/NPC), solo or group join and you're in. I only played a couple games of PvP in the Arenas. MMO Player Versus Player is usually a slower pace, with things such as Auto Aim, when compared to First Person Shooter action type games, but it was fun. Voiced instructions for each Arena and Play-By-Play Announcers of what is happening in the Arena are just two more things to add to the List Of Things That This Game Does That Kicks The Asses Of Other Games. It's a long list.

The Pit, PvP Arena. Click to see Full Size.

And Now... More Screenshots!

(At this time, with an NVIDIA videocard, there seems to be no way to enable Anti-Aliasing (helping filter out the stair-stepping effect that occurs when the game attempts to represent a straight line at an angle, usually along the edges of shapes, etc.) even forcing it in the Nvidia Control Panel in Windows, or editing an ini file or any other way)

This is sort of a Game Tips And More Blog Screenshot Exclusive - as it's not normally something you would see in the game. When I took a shuttle to an orbiting space station, what was supposed to be the docking bay walls and windows, took a little bit to load. In the meantime, I got this great view of the planet below and hit the Capture button. After I did, the docking bay loaded and all you can/should see is the moon after that and a little bit of the planet in a much more restricted view out the bay doors. I just thought it was a pretty view and wanted to share it with you.  Click to see Full Size.



  



My New Wallpaper. Make it yours. Click to see Full Size.

See you in there!