Red Dead Redemption 2

Discussion in 'Gaming' started by Rincewiend, May 3, 2018.

  1. Owain Taggart

    Owain Taggart Vice Admiral Admiral

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    I should have realized this sooner, but stirrups make a big difference in how much your horse's stamina drains. At its best option, it will drain 50% slower, which is pretty significant. I forget what they're called though.
     
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  2. SPCTRE

    SPCTRE Badass Admiral

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    quite a massive essay on the game by Film Crit Hulk - as per usual with Hulk, it is quite worth a read

    Red Dead Redemption 2: six months later
    A detailed look at the failures, and success, of Rockstar’s latest hit


     
  3. Owain Taggart

    Owain Taggart Vice Admiral Admiral

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    Has it been six months already? It doesn't feel like it's been out that long. Anyhow, I'm glad that I never encountered any problems with it or struggled with it in any way. For me it continues to be a great experience.
     
  4. Haggis and tatties

    Haggis and tatties Vice Admiral Admiral

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    I perfect example of why you should never pre order or buy at launch, and 6 months in and still no sign of any incoming fixes for the broken features that they were actually selling ps4 pro consoles version of this game on, enhanced on the pro with 4k and hdr, both of which are still broken. Lol
     
  5. Owain Taggart

    Owain Taggart Vice Admiral Admiral

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    Yeah, I've never pre-ordered anything, as I find the whole idea silly especially in this digital age.
     
  6. Spot's Meow

    Spot's Meow Vice Admiral Admiral

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    Same for me. It doesn't feel like 6 months! I also never had any issues with the game, not even a single bug that I can think of, which is pretty remarkable given how expansive the game is.

    Typically I don't like to pre-order anything, but in this case I did because I liked the goodies that came along with pre-ordering, special horse, saddle, etc. Not worth it for most games, but totally worth it for this one.
     
  7. Owain Taggart

    Owain Taggart Vice Admiral Admiral

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    What was the horse and saddle?

    I think the worst that's happened with me was during a mission with a carriage. I had swerved to avoid something and had somehow gotten my horses lodged between a V of trees and was completely stuck, with one horse dead. It was more hilarious than frustrating though and the only setback was having to restart from the last checkpoint, which wasn't too terrible.
     
  8. The Lensman

    The Lensman Commodore Commodore

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    Thanks to this comment, I went back to the stables and read up on horse equipment. With all the stuff in this game, I'd forgotten that some of the less obvious horse equipment actually does stuff.

    I'd gotten the game on first or second week of release, then picked up Elite Dangerous since it was on sale some months later and kinda drifted away from Red Dead. But I got bored with Elite and came back to Red Dead and have been blown away with the game all over again.

    My buddy and I who play the game have come to realize that the slower we play (move) the more immersive it is. Sometimes I'll just walk my horse from one place to another and really take in the sights. I got off my horse and just walked around the Murphee Brood territory and discovered all kinds of cool stuff, including a massive secret cave (no, not their base, a different one) among other things.

    Same with combat. I try to fight more methodically than just guns a'blazin. If possible, I'll try to shoot guns out of hands, or shoot 'em in the leg to incapacitate them, then hogtie. But I've done my share of headsplosions too. Love that fuckin semi-auto shotgun. I tend to forget the story side of the game due to open world part, but that's okay. I buy big open world games because I love them, and because i can buy one game and play it for a year. Easier on the wallet. :)
     
  9. TribbleFeeder

    TribbleFeeder Rear Admiral Premium Member

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    I think one thing that upset me was how...
    I didn’t realize Arthur dies at the end of the last mission.

    I wish I would have known and not completed it because I’d rather keep playing with Arthur than John. John is an okay character but I still had a bit of unfinished business with Arthur and I would have rather fulfilled everything in character.

    Now I’m questioning going back and replaying with a new Arthur and not worrying about the main quests. I just feel like I’ll never have the same bond toward new Arthur that I did with my original.

    I know it completed the story, I just really wish he didn’t have to die. I also wish my horse didn’t have to die. That scene was BRUTAL. My “Baba” is dearly missed.
     
  10. Owain Taggart

    Owain Taggart Vice Admiral Admiral

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    Yeah, and I think that the game doesn't properly tell you or remind you that you can upgrade all this stuff. It's too easy to assume it's all cosmetic.

    As to the rest of the game, you're absolutely right. I think the first mistake many make with this game is to approach it at a fast speed, and then are frustrated when they experience issues related to the UI. As this game heavily relies on contexual actions, one needs to really pay attention to their surroundings, and someone who tries to speed through it might miss those contextual cues. I'd wager 90% of complaints are related to this. Sure, the game does have its faults, but no more so than any other game and no game has perfect UI. In fact, I think many of the complaints are exaggerated, like in the article above. A temperature button? Really? The only time the temperature ever shows up is when entering a town. I've seen people complain a lot about the radial menu too, but guess what? GTAV, possibly the most popular game in the GTA franchise had the same radial menu system that sent me to my death more times than I can count. It was confusing as shit, especially in the heat of battle, but it never physically stopped me from enjoying the game. Same here. Got a little off track here, but meant to say that if people just step back and take it slow, they're less likely to run into frustrating issues. Let the game go at its own pace.

    The cave...
    Is that the cave with the crazed man? I ended up having to kill him as he got aggressive and wouldn't leave me alone.

    And yeah, this is still one of the most beautiful game worlds I've experienced in recent times. I love exploring its nooks and crannies as there's always some interesting surprises everywhere.
     
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  11. The Lensman

    The Lensman Commodore Commodore

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    To be honest, I blame myself more than the game. I probably looked at all the stuff at the first stable, had a limited amount of money and prioritized for other things. Also, at that stage, had not ridden or become as familiar with the "cores" and and all that stuff either. Up to the point I read your post, I had done well enough with the horse in all manner of scrapes and hadn't thought about it. But what was still plain is that there was room to improve my horse because I was burning through horse stimulant like crazy.

    I stumbled across my current horse, a white elite level horse I named Ghost, and while she's far better than my previous horse, I'd like to give her all the advantages for even better efficiency.

    For myself, I didn't have a problem with the UI any more than any other game. Since I played the shit out of GTA V on PS3 and 4, the wheel was familiar. When traveling the world I usually keep the semi-auto shotgun (which I call "Ole Trusty") handy for any big threats that need to be put down quick. The other weapon will vary depending on my need. While I agree that having "talk" and "weapon" on the same button wasn't smart, I've had very few incidents with it though I did have one last night when trying to hand over some herbs to a guy I had saved.

    But yeah, too many games emphasize frantic action, so when a game like this comes along, a lot of gamers will pan it as "boring" rather than a game that forces them to utilize a completely different play style. Like the first Rainbow Six game that came out in the early 2000's. All those quick action Quake gamers who were used to armoring up enough to take a rocket to the chest were dropping like flies in a game that was one shot, one kill with no health packs and armor to pick up. The game required methodical and tactical TEAMWORK and most players simply weren't used to that and struggled with the whole concept :lol: I remember that games early multiplayer days and the respawns were insane. People were too used to Wolf3D, Doom, Duke, Quake and every other fps that was just more of the same.

    Even Shadow Of Colossus, one of my top five games of all time, had a lot of gamers complaining that it was too slow. But that game was meant to be played and experienced differently. It's slower pace, combined with the largely empty lands contrasted those few frantic instances battling the colossi. I've never forgotten the experience and thankfully the recent remaster was released as I can now continue to enjoy it with even more beautiful graphics.

    As for that article......good fucking god what a bloated mess of endless blathering and bleating. The whole time I felt like I was reading the words of someone who's never played much video games and who coulnd't understand the scope of what Rockstar was trying to accomplish on a console system. On a PC, this game would be simplistic. I felt like telling the writer to go back to playing Mario Bros cuz that seems to be more in line with what they're good at.

    The cave
    This one was empty. Over in this part of the world, there's a guy who does a wolf call and has a wolf with him. I assume that's who you're talking about, though I've never been able to follow him. The cave I'm talking about has a lot of bats in it, can be accessed possibly by two ways, though if you can find the secondary entrance, it seems like it would be a fall with questionable survival odds. Given it's huge size, I was actually surprised there wasn't more there, but since I'm still wandering this part of the world, I may go back in to make sure I didn't miss anything.

    Definitely. This game is a masterpiece and is easily one of the greatest games I've ever played. I'm not one to go hard core immersion when gaming, I usually try to find a good middle ground, but with this one I've gone a bit more hardcore than usual. Play with no hud on, never use fast travel (but then I never do regardless of game...that's as hardcore as I usually get), move as I would in real life (no running Arthur or my horse everywhere), etc.

    I've started crafting more as well. Why pay when I can make alot of the stuff?
     
    Last edited: Apr 28, 2019
  12. Owain Taggart

    Owain Taggart Vice Admiral Admiral

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    Oh man, I had friends that we played multiplayer with. We'd either try to clear out the tangos, or see which one of us could last the longest in player vs player matches, and one guy would always end up dropping a grenade at his feet. Those games were super tense! It really kept you on your toes. I found the one-shot kill concept so refreshing and there really wasn't anything like it in the day. It's somewhat ironic that while some complain that shooters have become slower, I actually feel the opposite. They've only become twitchier and more in your face. I was disappointed when the R6 games eventually evolved into regular shooters, I think starting with Vegas? I haven't played the latest one, but looking at footage, it appears to be more like a regular fast-paced team-based style shooter. I look at the trailer for Rage 2 for instance and it feels so hyper and twitchy.

    Speaking of slow games, I bought and started playing Stardew Valley recently. Would love to hear the complaints surrounding that one and the questions about where the guns are in it :D Such a relaxing game though.

    My rule is that I never fast-travel unless I feel like I'm in a hurry or short on time. Otherwise, I love riding off to my destination as you never know what you'll encounter. Just when I think I've seen all stranger missions, there's always something new.

    Oh, another thing I love about both the original game and this sequel are the challenges. There's something about it being in this wild expanse that makes me more likely to try my hand at some of the more absurd challenges that I wouldn't otherwise give a second thought in the GTA series. In the first game there was this absurd challenge of trying to kill a grizzly with your knife. It took me quite a few tries but eventually did it. The animals in this sequel seem to be much smarter though and more aggressive. For instance, there's a white goat in Lagras that is no joke! If you even get a tiny bit near it while trying to talk to the shop owner, the goat will often get the better of me by headbutting me.

    That's a great point. From a PC standpoint, you have all these extra keys on a keyboard, to the point that it would really benefit from a PC port due to its complexity. To do so much on a controller with limited buttons? I'm actually rather amazed at what they accomplished, fitting in as much as they did, and I'm actually glad at the approach they took.


    Oh, nope, that doesn't look like the same one. The one I was talking about is a bit more like a deep overhang near some water. It wasn't very big compared to the one you're describing, although the crazed man did have a bunch of wolves with him and there are a bunch of letters in the cave describing how he was raised by wolves.
     
    Last edited: Apr 28, 2019
  13. SPCTRE

    SPCTRE Badass Admiral

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    if you are amazed at what they accomplished with their control scheme, I'm actually a little horrified
     
  14. Owain Taggart

    Owain Taggart Vice Admiral Admiral

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    All in context. Given how complex and the number of things they ended up fitting in and only having a limited number of buttons to do it with, yes I'm amazed. This game is jam-packed with contextual options and it could have ended up far worse or having many features cut. I've seen far worse UI in other games.
     
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  15. Owain Taggart

    Owain Taggart Vice Admiral Admiral

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    So, I just completed the main narrative and playing the epilogues now.

    Brutal is right! Even worse knowing what Arthur's fate is. But damn, what a story! It's probably one of the most affecting games I've ever seen. The mountain top struggle with Micah was pretty great, but I'm sad that we'll never see Arthur again. He's become one of my favourite game characters ever. And the hat! At first, I was a little perturbed that I couldn't change my hat, but it all makes sense that it ends up being Marston's hat :D
     
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  16. Lookingglassman

    Lookingglassman Admiral Admiral

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    I hated the first one and gave up on it, but this one looks good. Do you have to know the backstory from the first one to play this game and also is it worth it?
     
  17. Owain Taggart

    Owain Taggart Vice Admiral Admiral

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    You don't necessarily need to know the first one seeing as this one is actually a prequel. It's just kind of fun knowing the details that eventually lead up to the first game. I'd say, definitely worth it. To me, it's been Rockstar's strongest narrative to date. If it were a movie, I could see it being Oscar worthy.
     
  18. Owain Taggart

    Owain Taggart Vice Admiral Admiral

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    So, finished the Epilogue and damn, to say this game has a powerful narrative would be an understatement. I already want an RDR3! Now I'm riding around finishing up some of the collections like the dinosaur bones and the fishing. It's really interesting to be in the original game's environments with the better lighting scheme. I was riding around Cholla Springs and encountered a huge dust storm that was rather impressive that I don't remember happening in the original game with such intensity. It looked and felt pretty brutal.
     
  19. Owain Taggart

    Owain Taggart Vice Admiral Admiral

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    Still playing. Been doing Algernon Wasp's Exotics Duchesses and Other Animals mission and while doing so I've noticed some amazing detail I had never noticed before. This is a collection task type of mission and so is long drawn out, and has you killing a large number of birds for their feathers, and the easiest way to do that is to keep visiting the same areas after travelling away and sleeping to respawn them. Well, it turns out that animals decompose in this game. They don't simply disappear. And the most amazing thing out of this is that they leave their bones behind. This is most noticeable if you keep returning to the very same spot to find the bones of those you killed before. And depending on the type of animal and its size, like the alligator for instance, you'll end up seeing a full ribcage and their skull as well as any other little bones. That's some insane detail! I'll try to get a screenshot of this. It took me a while to figure it out, but once it dawned on me what was actually going on, I was quite impressed. Rockstar went all out on the little details.
     
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  20. Owain Taggart

    Owain Taggart Vice Admiral Admiral

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