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Post by Xeogred on Aug 2, 2021 18:14:52 GMT -5
Up to chapter 7 (of 18?) in VC. I'm also doing the skirmishes along the way. You get just as much exp/money as you do main missions here!
The only thing tripping me up so far at times, is not knowing when an enemy unit will be extremely tough defense wise or not. I'm starting to see how valuable headshots are, but sometimes I'll get up on a Shocktrooper and they'll still tank a full barrage to their face like nothing. I'm also not sure if it's good to use the tank's anti-armor shots against normal infantry units, but sometimes it one shots them so I'm going to keep doing it lol.
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Post by Ex on Aug 2, 2021 20:27:03 GMT -5
toei SargeThe Pyramid level well we'll see. Sometimes I enjoy mazes, I mean, I did beat the original Zillion, and that game is nothing but a maze level (in a good way). I will likely use a FAQ to get passed the adventure stuff, because it's done in that Japanese menu command style that I'm not a big fan of. XeogredI often used the tank to drop a shell in the middle of a pack of infantry. Exploding mortars and such. IIRC the original VC1 supports approach and angle damage. So with an enemy it's better to shoot them from the back then the front (flank them). But yes sniper rifle shots to cranium is always a good choice.
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Post by Xeogred on Aug 2, 2021 21:18:53 GMT -5
Hmm, I'll try to position towards their back more often next time. It's interesting that the enemy AI seems to work on a line of sight, while you have more of the overhead map to view things and such. IE, I've been able to sneak up on people a lot so far and they never really seem to notice until I take on the offense, even if I'm just sitting a few feet behind them they won't do anything until then haha...
If you recall the first desert mission, that was the last one I did today and I finally had some success with Snipers in that one. I'm also really liking the Base camp retreat/deployment mechanic. It even seems like, maybe I shouldn't deploy the max number of units initially. There's times where it's more wasteful to move people around just to retreat. Deploying at a taken over camp can be a way faster method to move units around. This all probably only makes sense to those who have played VC haha.
That said, 20 turns seems like the standard so far and that's a very generous amount to finish missions. Plenty of time to move units around a lot.
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Post by toei on Aug 2, 2021 21:46:36 GMT -5
toei Sarge The Pyramid level well we'll see. Sometimes I enjoy mazes, I mean, I did beat the original Zillion, and that game is nothing but a maze level (in a good way). I will likely use a FAQ to get passed the adventure stuff, because it's done in that Japanese menu command style that I'm not a big fan of. Xeogred I often used the tank to drop a shell in the middle of a pack of infantry. Exploding mortars and such. IIRC the original VC1 supports approach and angle damage. So with an enemy it's better to shoot them from the back then the front (flank them). But yes sniper rifle shots to cranium is always a good choice. As with any side-scrolling maze, you'll get through it if you explore it systematically. So if you see a hall with five doors, first you time you take the first door, then the second, and so on. After that you just have to pay attention to where you are, and investigate anything that looks suspicious for hidden items. This game is odd in that the adventure segments are abridged versions of the Famicom and MSX's game, while the platforming sections are unique to it. It came out just two days after, so both Sega and the makers of the Famicom game had to be working from the same original plans, but I guess Sega must have thought they weren't exciting enough and turned it into a hybrid action/adventure game. And while the Famicom game has some interesting moments and elements, it's the least intuitive Japanese adventure game I've played. I just kept getting stuck. I enjoy the genre overall, and this normally doesn't happen to me much, but that game is just badly constructed. The Master System avoids 90% of that by being much more straightforward, but there's one section like that towards the end. You'll know when you're there. It takes place in a different land.
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Post by Ex on Aug 3, 2021 0:18:19 GMT -5
Interesting tidbits there toei, thanks for sharing. I didn't know the Famicom version was as similar. I made it to the sea part where you board a boat and get attacked by an evil spirit. That's where I saved my game tonight. So far I think this one is pretty good.
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Post by toei on Aug 3, 2021 0:30:17 GMT -5
Valkyria Chronicles sounds great, btw. I'd definitely play it.
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Post by Sarge on Aug 3, 2021 0:34:12 GMT -5
Man, screw the arcade version of Gain Ground. Not only is it more unfair than the Genesis version (expected, so not so bad by itself), but once you hit the fourth set of levels, you can't continue from there! Boo. Hiss. I hate it when arcade games are clearly quarter-munchers, but then decide, nope, you're done. I mean, I've played this far (and dumped in a small fortune), let me keep playing!
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Post by Ex on Aug 3, 2021 0:41:25 GMT -5
Valkyria Chronicles sounds great, btw. I'd definitely play it. I don't know what your PC specs are, but this game did get ported to PC (in case you weren't aware): store.steampowered.com/app/294860/Valkyria_Chronicles/Here's the requirements:
This is a game I recommend to everyone, honestly. Loved it.
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Post by toei on Aug 3, 2021 1:02:23 GMT -5
Yeah, VC is just one of those concepts that we used to dream about in the '90s come true. I'm sure thousands of kids thought "wouldn't it be amazing if when it was your turn in Shining Force you could actually move around and attack in real-time", but the tech was not there (they could have done some half-assed top-down gameplay, I guess, or more likely, some kind of side-scrolling deal in a separate screen like Ax Battler, but that wouldn't have been much fun). I did play a bit of it, and a little of the fan-translated PSP game. Which I could emulate, but I'd much rather play the original made for a major home console rather than the presumably less ambitious handheld sequel. I doubt I can run it with my budget laptop, though. I'd bought Way of the Samurai 3 on Steam and it wouldn't even start.
Actually, I'd meant to ask this before. I have a work computer that would probably be good enough to run games like this or Yakuza 3. When I work I connect to a VPN, but I can go online without it. Now, of course, anything I install on that computer probably gets logged somewhere where IT (which is like 5 overworked guys halfway across the world who literally can't keep our various trash networks and software running) can see it. So, I guess the question is, is the idea of playing those games on my work computer (outside of work hours) as dumb and foolish as I intuit it is? People might play some browser game here and there without issue, but installing and running Steam and a whole game? I'm almost definitely the least tech-savvy regular here, so I thought I'd ask y'all.
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Post by Ex on Aug 3, 2021 9:47:06 GMT -5
I'd much rather play the original made for a major home console rather than the presumably less ambitious handheld sequel. In regards to Valkyria Chronicles II, in some ways I consider it more ambitious than the original game. By way of further game systems development (combat mechanics) and sheer content. I actually beat VC2 before I beat VC1, simply because I had a PSP a few years before I had a PS3. I do not consider the PSP sequels lesser from a gameplay perspective, if anything they are even better mechanically. Both VC2 and VC3 evolve the game systems further from VC1. Graphically the PSP sequels are outstanding for their platform, closely emulating the aesthetic of VC1, but of course there's only so much a PSP game can do graphically versus the PS3. Still, not bad...
PPSSPP can "up res" PSP games too, making them look way better than the PSP natively could, also.
Where VC2 suffers is its story IMO. It is more lighthearted and goofy than VC1. VC2 goes the "high school kids save the day" route basically, with younger more naive protagonists than VC1 had. So I didn't enjoy VC2's story as much as VC1's. However, VC3 has a far darker plot and more somber characters than VC1 or VC2. VC3 is very serious and has a really cool plot and interesting characters. However VC3 has a massive amount of content and I eventually burnt out on it. Though I plan to revisit and complete VC3 someday. I did beat VC1 and VC2... I own, but have not yet played, VC4.
Anyway my point is this, if you can run PPSSPP well and want to play some VC, give VC2 or VC3 a shot. If you don't like the goofy lightheartedness of VC2, VC3 would be your jam. It's just that VC3 isn't HRG compliant yet, while VC1 and VC2 both are.
If you are concerned that your work computer's OS activity is monitored, you can simply use the computer outside of its supplied OS. A dual boot method. You could do this using a partition or an external drive. In your situation, I would use the external drive method for better safety of your work computer.
So you could boot into an operating system that exists entirely outside the work computer's own HDD, but still use said computer's hardware to power your external OS. To do this, you would use an external USB drive (solid state preferably) setup as a bootable OS. Again this is done using a dual boot method, something that happens on the BIOS/UEFI level before your computer ever even boots into an OS to begin with. Your IT dudes can't see what you are doing at the BIOS/UEFI level, because that precedes their operating environment. And you are going to be booting into your own operating environment, something they can't monitor. You would install Windows to the external USB drive, and boot the computer from that drive. Then you would be running an OS entirely on that external drive. You would install games on that external drive. Everything you do would be happening on the external drive, so whatever software the IT guys use for monitoring wouldn't even exist on the external drive. And whatever changes you make only happen on the external drive, so there's no compromise towards the work environment they setup. Plus your external drive will be portable and runnable from other computers as well (not just your work computer).
Here's links on how to do this:
Just be sure if you use this method, that when you install software/games, you are installing them on the external drive. Don't accidentally install them on the internal drive of the work computer.
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