Author: Medicinal Warlock

I brewed some tea
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Tea Talk: Developer hijinks

Medicinal Warlock 0 Comments , , , , ,

In general, despite me really hating their business model at times and feeling really iffy about their new VIP system in Paladins, I like Hi-Rez. The devs actually put a lot of effort and love into developing the game. Paladins have been growing rather well, its community vibrant, its playerbase number is rather respectable (though we won’t know the actual player count since you can launch Paladins directly through Hi-Rez’s launcher instead of going through Steam), and its eSports scene is growing. This is in no small part due to Hi-Rez’s continuous efforts to develop and promote the game. But that… [Continue Reading]

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Gunpoint

Medicinal Warlock 0 Comments ,

I have a soft spot for stealth games, although I’m not very good at them. The appeal of quietly sneaking around, sight unseen, taking out every guard with surgical precision to clear your part to the objective is rather unique. It contains both the methodical approach required by puzzle games as well as the heart-stopping anticipation of horror games. There is a rhythm, with bursts of actions in between long silences, as dictated by the movement of the enemies on the map. Gunpoint is definitely one of the more action-y stealth games I’ve played, though. Compared to Mark of the… [Continue Reading]

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Customizability: Article #4 – Finale

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After talking about the gameplay customization systems in three games I quite enjoy, I suppose it is time to talk about my thoughts on the subject in general. Firstly, it struck me that all of them feature a system which requires you to unlock new weapons/cards/parts/whatever. I personally don’t think it is entirely because of microtransactions, although I am pretty sure that contributes to it. Why I say that is because of this: Even in Alien Swarm and its fan-made expansion Alien Swarm: Reactive Drop features such a mechanic, and those games are completely free with no microtransactions at all. But then,… [Continue Reading]

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grenade!
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Customizability: Article #3 – Loadout

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… what? Can’t do a bunch of articles about customizing playstyles without mentioning a game that lets you build your own guns. For those severely out of the loop about this game, Loadout is a game where you build your own guns. Aside from that, it features nudity, extreme amounts of gore, crass schoolboy humour, and nudity. It is also completely dead on PC and can only be played on PS4 although it first launched on PC. And I will forever remember the day where the PC servers are shut down with plenty of tears. And bitterness. My own feelings… [Continue Reading]

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Customizability: Article #2 – Paladins

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Paladins, aside from its champion roster, also has a rather good customization system. A two-tiered one, in fact. Aside from a card system where you build your loadout deck before the start of the round, there’s also a item system where you buy items you need while playing. We’ll start with the former, as it is the main customization option available in the game. Paladins uses a point-based system along with its cards. You don’t directly alter the champions’ kits, but you can pick cards that enhance the skills or add additional attributes to it. Each champion has sixteen cards,… [Continue Reading]

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Brrrrr
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Customizability: Article #1 – Team Fortress 2

Medicinal Warlock 3 Comments , , ,

When I play multiplayer FPSes, one thing that I really look out for is player customization, both in terms of cosmetics and playstyle. I have a feeling this is because TF2 is my first ever multiplayer game, and the first one I ever sank more than a hundred hours into. Between cosmetic and gameplay customization, the one that matters most is gameplay customization. I enjoy the greater amount of control the devs give for us to pick the playstyle we really like, by letting us design one that fits us. Hence, the ability to tailor a character’s kit to my… [Continue Reading]

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Filling in the blanks in FTL

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I was playing FTL: Faster Than Light the other day, and I decided to have a bit of fun with the names. I named my Kestrel The Bar, and my starting crew members as Bartender, Bouncer and Waiter. The backstory was, they were a bar-on-a-spaceship that serves people across the galaxy while flying around. One day, the bartender overheard two Rebel agents discussing some rather sensitive intel and the Rebel’s plans to hold their home planet hostage. Once they left, the three of them closed their bar, readied their arms (space pirates want space rum but doesn’t like to pay),… [Continue Reading]

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I brewed some tea
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Tea Talk: The TF2 Community and charity

Medicinal Warlock 0 Comments , , ,

I frequent Reddit a lot. More specifically, I frequent /r/tf2 a lot. It’s like a more civilized SCUD with more fun things happening. Recently though, there was a thread that caught my attention. A teacher was asking for help. He or she has a student that falls on the autism spectrum, and the teacher found out that he likes TF2. Recently, the student has been getting into trouble and getting frustrated. One of the reason is that the student was getting bored of the entertainment available. Thus, the teacher turned to the community and requested for TF2-related images. The only… [Continue Reading]

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Twelve Against Twelve

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There’s a trend in modern multiplayer first person shooters that disturbs me. No, it’s not the modern military shooter, that trend is already dying out. It’s not the rise of hero shooters either, since I do enjoy Paladins when I have enough to actually build a damn loadout. Overwatch I’m not too fussed about, but that’s partly because of the rather lackluster customization options available (I want my hats, dammit!). No, it’s an issue that I’ve been noticing for some time. Team sizes are shrinking. Overwatch, by default, is a 6v6 game. Paladins is a 5v5 game. Dirty Bomb has… [Continue Reading]

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The Scotsman’s Skullcutter

Medicinal Warlock 7 Comments ,

I’m really not fussy when it comes to Demoman melee weapons. I don’t mean Demoknight melee weapons, because that I do care about. I used to be a fan of the Persian Persuader before it was murdered and a pretender put in his place. I then messed around with my HHHH for a bit. But truth be told, I like it better when things go ka-BOOM. So I only ever ran Demoknight when I ever touched Medieval Mode. In normal gameplay, I prefer to be chucking bombs from a comfortable distance. And don’t you dare suggest that I’m spamming explosives blindly,… [Continue Reading]

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