aabicus – Page 4 – The Daily SPUF

Quake II RTX – Review

July 20, 2022July 22, 2022 aabicus 0 Comments graphics, lighting, quake, quake ii, ray tracing, RTX

Having recently finished Quake’s expansion packs, I was curious to see where id Software went from there. Imagine inventing the FPS genre, codifying it, and then propelling it into the third dimension within a mere 4-year span. Even more impressively, they’ve gone back and updated Doom and Quake to run perfectly on modern systems. At first, I didn’t think they’d given Quake II the same treatment, before remembering an experimental tech demo I encountered at GDC 2019: Quake II RTX is a “remastering” of the original game that ray traces every single asset. Ray tracing is a unique way of… [Continue Reading]

Featured

A Review of Quake’s Expansion Packs (Part 2)

May 17, 2022May 8, 2022 aabicus 0 Comments dlc, expansion, quake, retrospective, review

I wasn’t sure whether to write this article. You see, I wasn’t quite as enamored with the concept of the new expansion packs as I was the old. Sure, it’s nice to have more Quake, but I was bummed that they only used the base-game content. Plus they ignored all the new assets/weapons/enemies from the expansion packs. But I wanted to complete the entire set, and was curious to see what sort of gameplay updates developers had figured out in the many years since the originals released. Dimension of the Past This first expansion pack was released in 2018, to… [Continue Reading]

Featured

A Review Of Quake’s Expansion Packs (Part 1)

May 16, 2022May 8, 2022 aabicus 0 Comments dlc, expansion, quake, retrospective, review

On April 19 2021, the Steam version of Quake got a massive enhancement update. It added graphical updates, cross-play multiplayer, restored original soundtracks, and four expansion packs. Two of these, Scourge of Armagon and Dissolution of Eternity, were the canonical expansions released back during Quake‘s normal commercial cycle. The final two (Dimension of the Past and Dimension of the Machine) were added decades later, as free celebratory add-ons. This article will be focused on the earlier pair, with hopefully another for the latter two coming later. Quake For a Modern Audience Before I played through these, I re-completed the original… [Continue Reading]

Featured The SPUF of Legend

5 Ways to Farm Continental Coins in Payday 2

May 14, 2022May 11, 2022 aabicus 0 Comments farming, guide, payday, payday 2, spuf of legend

In October 2016, Overkill added a new currency to Payday 2 called Continental Coins. Borrowed from the John Wick universe, players could use these coins to upgrade their new safehouse and, when done with that, spend the remainder upgrading their AI heisters, optimizing or salvaging their CrimeSpree, and buying extra weapon mods. For such a valuable side currency, they sure don’t accumulate very quickly, which is why today we’re covering 5 Ways to Farm Continental Coins in Payday 2. 1. Side Jobs Side Jobs are the easiest way to earn a few every day. The Safehouse Daily side job will… [Continue Reading]

Featured

Disney’s Jungle Cruise: The Real-Life Conquistadors Behind the Villains

May 11, 2022May 3, 2022 aabicus 0 Comments Disney, film, fluff, history, jungle, movie, movies, random

So I just watched Jungle Cruise, the newest adventure movie released by Disney and starring Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson. It was a good popcorn flick, fun for the whole family etc. I was intrigued by its use of historical figures in the villainous roles. I guess everything below this line is technically spoilers, though they’re pretty tame in the grand scheme of things. The two main villains (Prince Joachim of Prussia and Lope de Aguirre, the 15th century conquistador) are both real people taken straight from the history books. And most of the internet has already discussed how thoroughly-fictionalized these… [Continue Reading]

Featured

Playing Druid in D&D 5e: A Complete Guide

May 1, 2022July 17, 2024 aabicus 0 Comments d&d, Druid, Dungeons & Dragons, roleplay, roleplaying

This article will consolidate Druid Fortnight! I know it was a pretty niche topic, but I hope you enjoyed reading about one of the most multi-faceted character classes I’ve encountered in any gaming system. If you took away anything from this series, I hope it’s that druid is definitely worth experiencing. If you feel any desire to try the class out yourself, I highly recommend you give it a shot. Table of Contents Introduction (How I Learned to Love the Druid) The 5 Best Races For Druids 5 Good Feats For Druids The Oddest Shapeshift Form in the Game 5… [Continue Reading]

Featured

D&D: 10 All-Purpose Druid Spells

April 30, 2022November 16, 2022 aabicus 0 Comments d&d, Druid, Dungeons & Dragons, magic, roleplay, roleplaying, spells

We’ve covered under-used spells, healing spells, and dedicated several articles to specific spells. But no series on druid would be complete without an article discussing the all-purpose tried-and-trues. These are the spells that most druids take because they’re usable pretty much no matter what. As always, this article is focused on early-game druids, so we’re only covering spells level 0-2. Guidance Guidance is D&D’s gift to clerics and druids, and everyone else wishes they got it. For free, you can now have a bonus D4 on every ability check (even initiative) when you aren’t surprised. And you can tag teammates… [Continue Reading]

Featured

D&D: 10 Pieces of Gear Every Adventurer Should Have

April 29, 2022June 1, 2022 aabicus 0 Comments d&d, Dungeons & Dragons, equipment, inventory, items

Hey look, an article even for players who aren’t druids! This one’s universally-relevant no matter what class you’re playing. One of the most common mistakes I see even made by veteran D&D players is not filling their backpack with random cheap junk just in case it becomes useful later. There are a ton of tools, items, and resources gathered in the ‘equipment’ chapter of every D&D sourcebook. Don’t go wandering into the wilderness without bringing the common stuff that will likely become useful at some point. The items listed here are jokingly referred to as the ‘aabicus starter pack’ within… [Continue Reading]

Featured

D&D Druid: On Choosing Your Weapons and Armor

April 28, 2022April 17, 2023 aabicus 6 Comments d&d, Druid, Dungeons & Dragons, loadouts, roleplay, roleplaying, weapons

Generally in D&D, full spellcasters are squishy but powerful, and martial classes are chonkier but with less magical versatility. But then there’s druid (and cleric), who gets both! Druid’s equipment options are structured differently from most other classes. You’re only allowed to use a handful of weapon types, and you can’t wear armor/shields made of metal. But there are nevertheless some great options in your proficiencies. Today I wanted to discuss some common considerations/options available to you when you kit out your new druid. And before we can discuss anything, there’s an important question you need to ask your GM.… [Continue Reading]

Featured

D&D: Comparing Druid’s Healing Spells

April 27, 2022May 20, 2022 aabicus 0 Comments d&d, Druid, Dungeons & Dragons, healer, healing, roleplay, roleplaying

Druid is the second-best healer in the game behind Cleric. This means you should be bringing at least one healing spell to the party. But which one should you prepare? Should you take more than one? Let’s find out! (As always, this guide is designed for early-level players, so we’re only covering the healing spells below 4th level.) (Author’s note: To read about the one shapeshift form that can heal teammates, check out this article. I would not consider it a meaningful source of healing compared to your spells.) 1. Goodberry Let’s start by talking about the most unique healing… [Continue Reading]