soulsource@discuss.tchncs.de 5 days ago
Tough question.
Of all the games I have played, only few have 100 hours playtime, and all of them are over $10 except for
- Dwarf Fortress. However, I would have to lie if I said that it is constantly fun. There are gameplay mechanics that are boring, like the labour management (though that got vastly improved in version 50.x).
I do have one game suggestion though that is consistently fun all the time, and costs less than $10 - however I have less than 100 hours on it, because I never looked into the user-generated levels:
- TIS-100. It’s a puzzle/programming game by Zachtronics (so it’s in the Zach-like genre by definition), and it is amazing. Also, as said, there are user-generated levels, so even after you finish the main campaign, there’s a vast selection of puzzles to solve.
- Baba is You would go in a similar direction, but misses the $10 price point (by a tiny bit).
rtc@beehaw.org 5 days ago
Cool. I could still get Baba is You at some point, and I’ve never played a Zachtronics game before.
I do know one game which 95% meets all conditions put—Heroes of Might and Magic 3’s base game without mods so far. The game has a ‘fan’ trap where they tell just about everyone that a popular mod is either the definitive or best way to play. I played that first. I later played without mods, it was many times more complex and somehow better balanced. I felt abusive because the mod, at that particular time, had a first time load screen which claimed the original makers did not know what they’re doing—and merely stating anytime that you prefer it without mods would incite open hostility from many, even when no reference was made to the horrible methods used. The game itself, however, fully utilises having practical knowledge and using it to strategise which method you’ll use against your enemies (for example counter attack, drain their armies and resources, or simply charge at them with full freedom of how to go there and to adapt) and giving you freedom with hundreds of possible strategies to play with, and the game involves the simulation of choosing any side who range between the most evil to the lesser evils all fighting each other as similarly minded factions (and doesn’t really play into the harm of civilians in the game itself). There is something really enjoyable about it even if some maps could last 10 hours at a moderate pace, and even longer if you simulate a show of force with complete map domination and capture (which can be useful when you can carry over the hero levels to the next map, which is stated beforehand).
I’m playing this currently. I’m also looking into the enjoyability of wholesome sexual content, and the enjoyability of the comedic evasion of characters from people who want to do sexual acts with them but which will only lead to trouble later. But these come later and not from games.
soulsource@discuss.tchncs.de 5 days ago
I did play a lot of of HoMaM back in the days - and also just recently installed VCMI on my PC, in order to re-play HoMaM 3. I didn’t start with that though - too many other games to play in my backlog… I never tried any mods - I don’t even know if the modding scene already existed back in the 90s, when I originally played it. I must confess that I prefer HoMaM 4 over HoMaM 3 - it feels a bit more complex.
There is one game series that is quite similar to Heroes of Might and Magic, that I personally love, and that gets the “fun all the times” and “100 hours play time” easily for me, but I didn’t mention it before because the current iterations are way above $10: Dominions. I haven’t bought Dominions 6 yet because of the size of my gaming backlog, but I have had a lot of fun with Dominions 4 and 5.
rtc@beehaw.org 5 days ago
Yeah, I never looked into that series because I can’t afford it. Nevermind, since I have a backlog too…
And perhaps I’ll get heroes 4 while I’m at it. The review led me to avoid it at the time. I’ve played 1–3 so far (not playing the expansion of 2 fully because I didn’t like it and playing it regardless turned out to be painful), having never finished the base campaign of 3 let alone the expansions. I could play 4 soon after.