t850terminator on 15/7/2019 at 20:45
Recently, I finished this Adventure game called The Shivah.
henke on 16/7/2019 at 06:07
The Shivah is a good one! My fave Wadjet Eye game.
Quote Posted by Thirith
I've not played it, but I have heard it makes for a great walking sim if you ignore all the huntery'n'stuff.
It's certainly very pretty. And getting close enough to get photos of the animals is as much of a challenge as just hunting them.
Quote Posted by Neb
I turned off all of the visual assists and it's balls hard to track or kill most stuff.
Whoa, I'm not quite that hardcore, I leave the assists on, seems like the tracks would be almost impossible to spot without them. I agree that other open world games with hunting could learn a thing or two from theHunter tho. The RDRs and Far Crys already have most of the ingredients required to be great hunting games, but next to theHunter they all end up feeling half-assed. It's like the designers of these games only look to other AAA open-world games for inspiration. :erg:
demagogue on 16/7/2019 at 09:08
Re: theHunter: COTW, I liked the narration and storytelling, but I turned it off eventually anyway because I typically played its predecessor--and have a mind to play this one--as more of a hiking sim and going after the occasional target more than anything else. And part of the whole point of that is not being told where to go or what to do. I'll probably go through stages of having the narration and missions on and off since I go back and forth on it. I agree it looks great. I couldn't imagine playing without the assists, but I could agree they could make it a little more subtle than large pulsating electric blue orbs. I got used to it from the previous one so don't mind too much.
I'm generally somewhat anti-hunting in real life, certainly for myself (if I ever personally did anything, it'd be wildlife photography) and I have different opinions about it generally. I don't like the commercialization of it or trophy hunting for its own sake (as opposed to an ethos of eating everything you kill, etc.), but I also recognize cases where it should be protected like for indigenous peoples and necessary hunting for population control, etc. But even all that aside, I've always recognized gaming as an outlet for activities, like hunting, that have a culture and history to them that you can tap into in the game that might otherwise be problematic in the real world. Come to think of it, a lot of them have to do with military & guns. I wouldn't fit in the military at all, but I love military sims. And I lean strong gun control, but I love the design and machinery of a well made gun, and am fascinated by their important place in history and the culture. (There's a pure gun sim coming soon that I'd probably like; I believe it simulates the actual mechanics of the gun, you can strip them, etc.) Anyway, contact with nature has always been important to me. I do a lot of hiking out in the mountains here, so this game is another nice outlet for me for that. I recognize the paradox of "contact with nature" and gaming, but it works for me, and I think you all are the kinds of people that can understand what I mean.
Twist on 16/7/2019 at 16:41
dema, are you familiar with (
https://store.steampowered.com/app/262410/) World of Guns? It's a free-to-play pure gun sim, where the only "game" to it is how fast you can dissassemble and reassemble each gun.
Given your interest in simulations and using games to connect with nature (which I completely understand) and visit cities (you've mentioned loading GTAV just to go for a relaxing drive), you might check out (
https://store.steampowered.com/app/529020/VirtualO/) Virtual-O.
It's a highly realistic (
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orienteering) orienteering simulator. It's still in Early Access and it's oddly expensive, so maybe wait for a sale, but it looks interesting. I bought it in one of the Steam sales, but I haven't gotten around to trying it yet. I found it while looking for something like it after playing Firewatch. In Firewatch, I enjoyed just turning off the assists and using the map and compass to explore its limited but beautiful environment. I liked the basic mechanic of using a topography map and compass to explore a natural environment or reach objectives within it, so I looked to see if any other games had done that... and that's how I found Virtual-O.
I love what Neb described and I wish more games employed that fidelity and AI simulation. If the game was about photography instead of hunting and employed the exact gameplay he described I'd be all over it. But emotionally I don't think I could handle it. I know it's probably inconsistent and hypocritical with both other games I play as well as films and novels I've enjoyed, but I am who I am and I just don't think I could even do a simulation of hunting animals. (And I'm not interested in arguing about it; I know it's probably irrational and I'm not suggesting anyone who would play it is wrong, unethical or anything. It's purely a personal thing.)
Now if someone would mod out all references to hunting and make it exclusively about photography and, I don't know, geocaching or orienteering, I'd be happy to pirate the game. :cheeky:
henke on 16/7/2019 at 18:39
Your Virtual-O link goes to the gun game, here's the one you meant: (
https://store.steampowered.com/app/529020/VirtualO/)
I remember reading about a Finnish-made orienteering sim on RPS a few years ago, tho I never tried it. A lot of these super-niche sims have quite steep prices, since they can pretty much corner the market. Anyway, looks intriguing! Adding to wishlist.
Nameless Voice on 16/7/2019 at 18:40
Well, consider how many hours of fun you'd get out of it compared to, say, a night out at the pub.
PigLick on 17/7/2019 at 02:22
omg that Virtual O was made for me! I actually used to be the 3rd top junior orienteer in Western Australia, got trophies and everything, its a brilliant sport. The sight of those orange/white checkpoints sent a shiver down my spine. Pity its so pricey. Definitely following this one.
demagogue on 17/7/2019 at 03:48
I like it too, from what I can see of it. It's a wonder a game like it hasn't come out before AFAIK, since exploration & waypoint-finding is such a major mechanic in a lot of games, although granting it's probably a niche interest. I could believe that Firestart was the push that made it happen.