Steam, GOG and all that PC shebang thread

[Nester the Lark]

The expansion packs for Syndicate, Dungeon Keeper, Magic Carpet, Populous and Populous: The Beginning have all been added to GOG. They're included with new purchases, and are free upgrades for anyone who already owns any of those titles.

[Da Robot]

Steam deals,

Final Fantasy VII 50% off till Monday and Half Life complete/series 75% off



GOG weekend deal.

Interplay sale, 50% off.

www.gog.com/promo/interplay_weekend_promo_041013

[Nester the Lark]

For the next week, if you buy any game on GOG.com, you'll also get The Witcher: Enhanced Edition for free.

www.gog.com/news/special_promo_get_the_witcher_free_with_any_purchase

[Da Robot]

Team Fortress Halloween update is live, play on payload race map Hightower (renamed Helltower) and earn magic spells (to fight with) and fight skeletons. Sounds a lot better than the previous years events. Last years got pretty annoying when no one want to fight that wizard boss Merasmus and just killed each other instead.

Also halloween Steam sale, now has Typing of the Dead: Overkill, it the Wii game House of the Dead: Overkill with keyboard typing instead of lightgun shooting.

There's also a halloween sale at Gog as well.

[nocturnal YL]

Huh? they still make the typing version of House of the Dead?

And magic in TF2? Interesting.

[The Qu]

Potentially questionable and a more than a bit political, but you can get I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream for ten cents here. It works, I did it.

[Nester the Lark]

Couple of good releases on GOG today.

First of all is Wing Commander: Prophecy - Gold Edition, the fifth game in the series. It includes the extra Secret Ops missions. With this release, GOG now has all of the main games in the WC series. Go buy them all!

There's also Dust: An Elysian Tail, an action-RPG/metroidvania filled with furries (or Funny Talking Animals, to be precise). It's 50% off for the first week.

Finally, GOG is having a charity promo by offering three indie games of your choice for US$5, with all proceeds going to a charity of your choice. Games include Waking Mars, FTL: Faster Than Light, Oddworld: Abe's Oddysee, The Whispered World, Pid, Botanicula, Darwinia, Incredipede, Creatures Village, and Driftmoon.  The charities are WWF, Worldbuilders, and Gaming For Good.

[Da Robot]

Oh boy, GoG is doing a sale, with a very unique twist . . .

Games can be up to 80% off but they have limited amounts of the game to sell (like a retail store would)

Just bought a copy of The Real Texas for 80% off (there were 400 copies, and I got mine when there was like under 190 left)

[Nester the Lark]

Wing Commander: Armada is now on GOG, which means that the entire series (including spin-offs) is now available. (Well, except for Wing Commander: Arena on XBLA, but I don't think any self-respecting fan considers that a true WC game.) Aside from Privateer 2, Armada is the only other game in the series I've never played. It's got some strategy game elements to it, but was also notable for being the first (and only) multiplayer game in the series. I think it was originally only a LAN game, but the GOG release can be played online. I really wish I had a flight stick for my PC right now.

Anyway, GOG's having a promo for 50% off the entire series.

[Nester the Lark]

I'm such a Wing Commander fanboy.

Just wanted to share GOG's awesome promo video.

[8bitretroshit]

Kinda wanna check out Wing Commander, them space shooter games are generally pretty fun, but I had no idea it was an 8 game large franchise...

Might aswell ask since you're a self proclaimed-fanboy: which one of these is the best (to start with as a newcomer) and which ones should I avoid completely (unless they all happen to be super rad)

Maybe I'll snatch a game or two from the last hours of the promo

[Nester the Lark]

Hmm... That's a tough question. I think they're all still pretty playable by today's standards, although the first two games (which are bundled together on GOG) may feel like SNES games. In fact, the original game and its first expansion were ported to the SNES back then. So, they may feel a little dated, but shouldn't be unplayable.

WC3 makes the leap to polygonal 3D graphics and live-action FMV. Still a little klunky, as it was early 3D, but it's my personal favorite in the series because it found the best balance between the missions and story segments.

WC4 runs on basically the same engine as 3, but there's a much heavier emphasis on story. We're talking some Metal Gear Solid length cutscenes. Pretty good writing and acting in both games, though. (Cheesy, but in a good way. ) The GOG release uses the FMV from the DVD release, so it has the best video quality.

Prophecy runs the smoothest and feels the most modern, so it plays great, but the story, writing and acting aren't as good. Plus, it was meant to be the start of a new story arc that was never continued, so the ending is a little unsatisfying.

Speaking of story, it's a pretty big part of the Wing Commander experience. The interaction you have with the other crew members is what sets it apart from other space combat games, and brings things down to a personal level. The overall story is very epic and RPG-like.  So, if you don't want to jump into the middle of a story arc, you can go ahead and start from the beginning. The first three games chronicle the Terran-Kilrathi War. The fourth game is more of a standalone story about a civil conflict resulting from the end of the war, but it has the same characters. Prophecy, as I mentioned earlier, is the equivalent of a reboot. It still takes place after 4, but follows a new main character fighting a new enemy.

The gameplay got more streamlined as the series went on. The earlier games are a little more sim-like, while by the time you get to Prophecy, a lot of functions are automated. Again, WC3 and 4 probably found the best balance here.

Privateer is a spin-off series that's more of a space trading game in the style of Elite or Star Control 2. The two games don't really have anything to do with each other, storywise.

Academy is just a simple mission simulator that runs on the WC2 engine.  No story.  Not bad, but not essential.  I've never played Armada.

It's worth mentioning that a joystick or flightstick is highly recommended for playing these games.  It's tricky to play them with a mouse.  I'm not sure if you could use a controller, but something with an analog stick is really ideal.  You'll probably still have to tap something on the keyboard every now and then, though.

Anyway, I'm sorry this was such a long answer, but there are different pluses and minuses to starting with the various games.  Hopefully I've given you enough information to help you decide what's most important to you.  For story, start from the beginning.  For gameplay, go with Prophecy.  For something in-between, go with WC3.

Also, I think the 50% discount on GOG only applies if you buy the whole set, not individual games.

[8bitretroshit]

I was hoping for a long and detailed answer like that, so thanks! I dig 1/2's old school look from what I'm seeing. I'll find out how dated the gameplay will end up being. Think I'll grab the third one too in case the first two really are too sim-ey for me. That and the cheesy 90's live action cutscenes, ofcourse!

And you're right, deselecting one disables the applied discount for all titles. Those crafty GOG people..

[Nester the Lark]

I wouldn't worry too much about the first two games being too sim-like. They're really action games at heart. I think the most complex thing you have to do in the original WC is land your ship after a mission, which involves: 1) requesting clearance, and 2) lining up with the front of the carrier (a position you're usually in already when coming out of autopilot). Once you're close enough, the landing sequence kicks in (although it helps to cut your speed a little, just to be safe). In Prophecy, clearance is requested automatically when mission objectives are accomplished, and you simply hit the 'A' key to land.

Starting with WC1+2 is actually a really good value. Two full games + four expansion packs = a LOT of missions to fly.

I kind of envy you in a way. To go back and play those games again for the first time...

Watch out for those asteroid fields.

[Nester the Lark]

GOG.com's Winter Sale is going on now, but the site's a little slow because they're getting swamped.

EDIT: Oh yeah, and they're giving away Fallout 1, 2 and Tactics for FREE.