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Miss Mae
05-12-2014, 02:56 PM
In just under a week, the game Transistor will be released. It comes from the creators who brought us the beautiful Bastion (which quickly became one of my favourite games of all time), and needless to say I am excited.

Please tell me somebody else is as pumped about this game's release as I am?


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GTik6sYT_BE

Scotty_ffgamer
05-12-2014, 05:31 PM
Oh I'm excited! I didn't realize it was coming out so soon, which is definitely a pleasant surprise.

Madame Adequate
05-12-2014, 05:32 PM
Oh shit I didn't know the Bastion people were making a new game.

Very likely to get this!

Miss Mae
05-13-2014, 02:50 AM
I didn't realize it was coming out so soon, which is definitely a pleasant surprise.
Neither - I noticed that it was available for pre-release purchase on Steam, and then noticed the date when I clicked on it.

:excited:

Jiro
05-13-2014, 02:51 AM
I was already excited for this and then I did a preview piece for it and found out a whole bunch of really fucking sweet information and yep will buy.

magemasher
05-13-2014, 03:10 AM
It looks cool and I like the music on that video. Probably won't get it for a while though.

Mirage
05-13-2014, 03:14 PM
Never heard of, actually

Miss Mae
05-13-2014, 03:25 PM
But now you have! Get keen! :excited:

Mirage
05-13-2014, 07:10 PM
Its name, along with its genre makes it interesting. I'll check out the videos when I get home from work.

Miss Mae
05-20-2014, 03:05 AM
Tomorrow! :excited:

Pete for President
05-20-2014, 11:39 AM
Funky art style. I dig.

Miss Mae
05-20-2014, 03:48 PM
Funky art style. I dig.
True facts. The art in Bastion was also rad.

Three hours! :excited: :excited: :excited:

Madame Adequate
05-20-2014, 06:37 PM
Downloading right now :hyper: :hyper: :hyper: :hyper: :hyper:

Madame Adequate
05-20-2014, 07:48 PM
This may well be GOTY.

Designation: Jerk.

Vyk
05-22-2014, 02:54 AM
Ah, I love me some sci-fi noir. Just got this after work today, and after a bit of downloading, put in two solid hours. Hard to put the controller down. Sadly my computer doesn't like the game's engine as well as it probably should. But it only hangs now and again. No crashes at least

Freaking love the world and the story and the presentation. And the battle mechanics are ridiculously in depth. I love how any function can be a main function and be complemented by any other function for lots of interesting combinations

And it's nice to have a decent RPG with an adult female lead for once

NeoCracker
05-22-2014, 03:05 AM
Yeah, it's pretty fun! Not to far into it though.

Madonna
05-22-2014, 08:14 AM
krissy has been overeager about this for ages and I can see why. This is gorgeous and looks fun.

Loony BoB
05-22-2014, 12:03 PM
I don't believe I've heard of Bastion before. Should I play that first before looking into this game?

Miss Mae
05-22-2014, 12:15 PM
They are unrelated to each other, other than being made by the same people. Bastion absolutely captured my heart though, so whether you play it before or after Transistor, I definitely recommend playing it. It is one of my favourite games of all time.

Loony BoB
05-22-2014, 12:20 PM
*adds that to his list*

Vyk
05-22-2014, 08:49 PM
When people talk about indie games. There's Fez, Meat Boy, Braid, Castle Crashers. Bastion. It didn't really do anything special for me. But it did something special for a LOT of people. So here's hoping you're one of them. But it's worth owning just to have as part of your collection. Especially if you enjoy Kingdom Hearts style gameplay where you run around and thwack stuff. Except imagine it with the world being created around you (literally the path falls in place in front of you Alice in Wonderland style) and your whole adventure is being narrated by a top notch Samuel L Jackson knock-off from Afro Samurai or something. The game definitely helped put indie games on the map. And Transistor has some HIGH quality pedigree. They knew exactly what they wanted to create and they pretty much knocked it out of the park as near as I can tell. Can't wait to sink a few more hours into it. Its always nice when a game completely meets and exceeds your expecations

Skyblade
05-23-2014, 06:25 AM
Similar to Bastion, it executes atmosphere and style excellently (personally, I prefer Transistor on both counts). However, I am finding the gameplay itself extremely frustrating. I'm continually getting killed on the first boss, and I don't really have enough options to switch around or try many different strategies.

Ok, so the key is using Turn() way more frequently. It's actually far more turn based than I initially thought.

Vyk
05-23-2014, 08:35 AM
Yeah. They give the option of playing it like an action game, but its nearly impossible once the tutorial stuff is done and gone. Anymore, I can't really even imagine trying to face some of these enemies in real time. Also be wary of limiters. They tend to make the game a lot harder when active and I'm not really sure the level bonus is worth the headache. I had a lot of situations where I'd lose a skill due to being "killed", but I only just finally died on a huge boss fight and it asked if I wanted to restart without the limiters and I realized they were kind of holding me back. I should have read them more carefully to begin with. They'd been causing me a huge pain for quite a while really lol

Madame Adequate
05-23-2014, 05:58 PM
Yeah limiters are a huge handicap for very little reward. They're for challenging yourself, not actually for improving your XP, because if you're good enough to consistently win with them on you don't need the XP anyway.

Vyk
05-23-2014, 06:24 PM
It's a novel concept. I don't really enjoy being godlike in most RPGs. So I'll probably end up using them eventually. But I was obviously not ready yet

Sephex
05-23-2014, 11:59 PM
Well, I wanted to play this game, but I don't have a good enough graphics card to play this on my PC, nor do I have a PS4. Looks like I'll just have to play this some other time.

Vyk
05-24-2014, 03:27 AM
The people in the comments section on Polygon's review were saying a potato could run the game. I never bothered to check to specs to see. Though my computer runs pretty hot while playing it, I imagine the inclination was that it didn't take much. Unless you just have an intel integrated GPU or something. Then I could understand. Otherwise you may be able to run it and the recommended specs might be off. Who knows. Supposedly the developers have also said the game runs better offline so that could boost something too if anyone is having chugging issues. The first time I ran it, I used my Game Booster software, but it still kinda chugged here and there. The last few times I've played, I let all the Windows systems stay on and it's been running fine. Still makes my system hot for some reason though

Skyblade
05-24-2014, 03:39 AM
Well, the second big boss, the Spine, was giving me a lot of problems. Until I found the ability combo that seems to utterly break the game.

Spark() with Mask() as an upgrade. Then you just sit there and spam Spark.

With Mask as an upgrade, it makes you temporarily invisible while casting Spark. Everything loses track of you, even bosses. Heck, even the Spine's tail will miss if you're invisible before it hits you (though it does aim for you, and if it catches you off the cycle, it hurts).

Also, never go anywhere without Jaunt() installed. Way too useful to have a quick escape that can teleport through most small barriers and enemies and doesn't get crippled by Turn().

krissy
05-24-2014, 05:52 AM
played 5 minutes

goty

Madame Adequate
05-24-2014, 07:10 AM
Man I loved this game until it ended because god damn was that an abrupt ending that left you with damn near zero answers.

I feel like Supergiant was trying to do two things, one to create an atmosphere (and my god did they succeed) and one to tell a story, but the latter just didn't come together in the end.

e; That was too harshly phrased. I still love this game. I'm just disappointed that there were so many ideas never explored and so many questions never answered, unless you want to take the most oblique of hints and extrapolate hugely from them.

Skyblade
05-24-2014, 01:25 PM
Man I loved this game until it ended because god damn was that an abrupt ending that left you with damn near zero answers.

I feel like Supergiant was trying to do two things, one to create an atmosphere (and my god did they succeed) and one to tell a story, but the latter just didn't come together in the end.

e; That was too harshly phrased. I still love this game. I'm just disappointed that there were so many ideas never explored and so many questions never answered, unless you want to take the most oblique of hints and extrapolate hugely from them.

Honestly, I kind of expected that from fairly early on. From how much they were revealing, and what sort of information they were choosing to tell us, I sort of got the feeling that we were going to have a lot of unused potential in things like the world and setting. Which sucks, because I doubt we'll see it expanded upon in a sequel or anything.


I'd probably have finished by now if I wasn't trying my utmost to complete all the challenges as I go. Stupid things restricting your abilities and giving you timers. Planning challenges are by far the best.

Scotty_ffgamer
05-24-2014, 02:20 PM
Just finished downloading the game. I should be playing it a bit after work today!

Mirage
05-24-2014, 02:49 PM
The people in the comments section on Polygon's review were saying a potato could run the game. I never bothered to check to specs to see. Though my computer runs pretty hot while playing it, I imagine the inclination was that it didn't take much. Unless you just have an intel integrated GPU or something. Then I could understand. Otherwise you may be able to run it and the recommended specs might be off. Who knows. Supposedly the developers have also said the game runs better offline so that could boost something too if anyone is having chugging issues. The first time I ran it, I used my Game Booster software, but it still kinda chugged here and there. The last few times I've played, I let all the Windows systems stay on and it's been running fine. Still makes my system hot for some reason though

My surface pro 2's integrated graphics can run FF14 and portal 2, so idk lol. Maybe I'll get this game and play it there.

-edit-
According to Steam:

OS: Windows 7 32-bit
Processor: Dual Core CPU - 2.6ghz
Memory: 4 GB RAM
Graphics: 1GB of VRAM: Intel HD 3000 GPU / AMD HD 5450 / Nvidia 9400 GT
Hard Drive: 3 GB available space

An i5 at 2 or 2.2 GHz is probably enough, though. I'm kind of guessing that they're just saying 2.6 in case you have some sort of old architecture or an AMD processor that is a bit less efficient per cycle.

And Vyk: Systems kind of do get hot if you're using all of the available power :p. My PC does even if I run 5 year old games as long as i turn up some of the image quality settings.

Vyk
05-24-2014, 08:43 PM
Well I mean I run a modded Skyrim and it barely gets warm. The system-intensive games run it hot, but if its not very intensive my laptop barely shrugs for some game and doesn't consider it any harsher than watching videos on YouTube while other games are apparently insane. Though it's likely it was just optimized for nVidia and I have ATI or something like that. It obviously uses a wider range of resources. But it still runs pretty damn great

As for the aburptness, or the vagueness of the plot (disclaimer - I have not beaten it yet), I sorta took to be like something like Shadow of the Colossus or Ico, where you kinda just get thrown in, do your thing, and then its over. And you can extrapolate what you want from the setting and environment. I actually love games where you're only given part of the story and the rest is left up to interpretation. It sorta fits for a noir game especially. But my impression may be misguided since I have not beaten the game just yet

Mirage
05-25-2014, 12:35 AM
Sounds like one of your components can't keep up with the others when you are running Skyrim, so that just one of your CPU or GPU goes at full speed, which would generate less heat in total than if you did something that maxed out both at the same time.

If your CPU can't feed the GPU fast enough, the GPU won't get very hot. If the GPU can't deal with stuff as fast as the CPU can send it to it, the CPU won't run very hot either. If both manage to finish their respective tasks at exactly the same rate, however, both will max out and it'd get pretty warm in there.

From the specs listed on Steam, it does look like it demands more of the CPU compared to the GPU than many other games. It wants a mid-end CPU but only an entry level GPU. Often times, games can deal with an low-mid end CPU as long as you have a mid-high end GPU, which means it would max out your video card long before it would max out your CPU.

-edit-
also, maybe you know this already. in either case, i guess someone else could get something from it

Vyk
05-25-2014, 05:08 AM
I understand bits and pieces of computer processing stuff, but nothing like that, so it was definitely news not wasted on me. And it may help someone else's understanding as well. Didn't intend to hijack the thread, but thanks for humoring the topic none-the-less. Probably still mildly relevant for anyone interested in playing the game. And almost in-topic since the game takes place in a computer related world

Skyblade
05-25-2014, 06:10 AM
And almost in-topic since the game takes place in a computer related world

I saw this right as I was trying to formulate a way to convert all of this into a meta-discussion about how the actual events of the game's world play out when viewed from outside the computer shell they live in. :D

Skyblade
05-27-2014, 02:36 AM
Forgive the double post, but I've beaten it now. I kind of have to agree with Rock, Paper, Shotgun's review. Overall, it's an outstanding game, there is a huge tonal clash between the setting and the gameplay.

The gameplay is itself pretty good. It progresses you at a decent rate, and it constantly keeps you pushing yourself. The Limiters are a fairly reasonable way to implement difficulty into the system. I'm currently playing with all of them on. All off is way too easy by this point, as I just waltz straight through fights. Once I hit the max level (if 24 is indeed the max and not just an achievement point), I think I'm going to turn off the ones which limit my own abilities (less memory and the inability to swap functions freely is not ideal), but leave on the ones which buff the Process.

If I had a criticism of the gameplay, it's that it doesn't work well early on. You are way too limited in the beginning, and it makes the combat unnecessarily difficult. The difficulty curve is massively warped because of this. An easy mode or functions similar to Limiters but working for you would be very welcome.

The world is similarly excellent. The structure of it is phenomenal, the discovery of new information is incredibly well designed, and the interaction you have with the world is very charming. It develops a personality for Red, and an identity for the world.

The big problem, though, is that the world is dead. Granted, this is a side effect of the story, to a degree. Within the first few minutes, you see a handful of people's bodies (and you claim abilities from them), but you never see any others except for the Camerata members. No people running, no clusters of survivors holing up for refuge. The world is sterile, even before you reach the sections where the Process has taken over completely. So much potential is lost here, and it shatters what would otherwise be a near flawless setting. We see the city: it's shops, theatres, and taverns, but never the people.

Also, I think the ending was missing one small addition which would have made it perfect. The way it's presented, I actually kind of hate it, but since the addition is easy enough to imagine into the game, and could technically fit in with what we've seen, I can headcanon it easily enough to avoid hating the ending.

Still, a fantastic little netpunk foray, and well worth the entry fee.


EDIT: I should also point out that I have no idea how you could insert other characters without fracturing the loneliness and isolation that is such a core part of the mood. But I still think it would have served the game to have some life in this world.

Vyk
05-28-2014, 11:04 PM
Level 24 or Memory 24? Because I have 24 memory, but I'm only level 11. I get the feeling I'm extremely close to the end however, and I've been playing for about 10 - 12 hours. I really haven't been paying much attention to achievements though..

Skyblade
05-29-2014, 01:20 AM
Level 24 or Memory 24? Because I have 24 memory, but I'm only level 11. I get the feeling I'm extremely close to the end however, and I've been playing for about 10 - 12 hours. I really haven't been paying much attention to achievements though..

Level 24. Memory caps at 32.

I'm almost 22 right now. But Steam crashed, so I have to reboot before I play more (I hate rebooting).

Vyk
05-29-2014, 05:39 AM
So I get to enjoy this game for a bit longer. How the hell are people saying they beat it in 6 hours though. Wtf

Skyblade
05-29-2014, 07:26 AM
So I get to enjoy this game for a bit longer. How the hell are people saying they beat it in 6 hours though. Wtf

I played with Limiters constantly, completed all Challenges I could, and I was only about Level 13 when I beat it, I think (hard to track or remember). Currently playing through Recursion, the game's New Game+.


For those interested, the absolute level cap is 30. Reaching that point will give you two of every Function, and access to all passives, along with a 32 Memory limit.

Also, word of advice: While the final boss uses a fairly radical strategy compared to any of the others, make sure you are capable of taking on normal foes with whatever setup you use to defeat him. Because it's going to be a while before you get access to an Access Point when you start a New Game+, and enemies get harder on Recursion as well.

Dat Matt
06-01-2014, 11:53 AM
I would be more excited if I could get bastion to work on my PC. It just won't work.

Vyk
06-01-2014, 02:01 PM
I'd give you my experiences with it if I could. I didn't really enjoy it the way everyone else seems to have. Transistor has struck way more chords with me than Bastion ever did. Though it always struck me as very low resource. I did have trouble getting Super Meat Boy up and running, but that was strictly a controller issue, which was fixed with a dll file

Jiro
06-05-2014, 12:41 PM
I did a thing where I talked about some stuff. (http://pressstartnews.tumblr.com/post/87882348570/thoughts-on-transistor)

krissy
06-15-2014, 05:01 AM
yeah i beat it tonight
really good
i thought everything was explained dunno why you guys are saying it was ambiguous
did you hit up all the vote points etc? all the dialogue bits?

jiro i see where you're coming from on a lot of those issues
didn't think it was stalking, it felt like they had a lot of relations before the game started
if what'shisface knows red well enough to know how she responds emotionally to stuff like her poster etc
i think they've spent plenty of time together
dont think she'd have taken the jacket otherwise
i did feel off about her being voiceless actually
i know its part of the plot... which made the times she started typing to communicate a bit more heartwrenching i guess

Skyblade
06-15-2014, 05:37 AM
The stalkery bit is because you don't know that they have a preexisting relationship when the game starts. There's no indication that they know each other at all. The talk doesn't seem to build from a relationship they already have until way later.

krissy
06-15-2014, 08:03 PM
yeah that's pretty true, i think it's a in medias res issue
i literally thought i messed up and skipped the intro when i first started playing