AggroChat #503 - Over One Million Players

Featuring: Ammosart, Ashgar, Belghast, Grace, Kodra, Tamrielo, and Thalen   This week we start off with some discussion of the Video Game Trailer show…  which really should just call itself that because the “Awards” thing feels like an afterthought at this point.  Bel is excited for Witcher 4 and Dispatch, and Ash’s favorite game of all time is finally getting a Sequel.  We also are curious what sort of game Intergalactic is going to end up being and sure hope it is not a soulslike. From there Bel talks about softening his thoughts about Path of Exile II as he is probably a day out of getting to maps.  Kodra and Tam however have become significantly less charitable than last week. We also talk a bit about Caves of Qud which has actually launched now.  Then Ammo and Tam share their glowing praise of the new Indiana Jones game from Machine Games.  While it technically is a stealth game, it is also a fascist punching simulator with quirky oneliners which is also great.   Topics Discussed: The Game Awards 2024 Lots of Trailers, Few Awards The Death of ESports Path of Exile II - One Week In Caves of Qud Indiana Jones and the Great Circle

Featuring: Ammosart, Ashgar, Belghast, Grace, Kodra, Tamrielo, and Thalen   Hey Folks! This week we end up mostly talking about the early access launch for Path of Exile II.  This truly was a feat of cloud engineering as the Grinding Gear Games team delayed for a few hours to prepare for the onslaught of over a million players…  then the game just worked pretty much flawlessly until some minor issues on Saturday.  It is hard to explain how big of a feat this is, especially considering the struggles that Last Epoch had with unexpected success, for a game that has never had more than 300k peak concurrency to scale up this fast is massive. When it comes to the actual game… Bel is not having a great time as Warrior, but everyone else seems to be greatly enjoying themselves. We talk about the good bits, and the bad bits.  From there Bel talks a bit about the OnlyFangs Hardcore WoW Event, and then Ash and Kodra share their experiences with Atlyss.   Topics Discussed: Path of Exile II Early Access Launch Feat of Cloud Engineering Everyone Loves it But Bel OnlyFangs Hardcore World of Warcraft Event Atlyss

Featuring: Ammosart, Belghast, Grace, Kodra, Tamrielo, and Thalen   Hey Folks! We had a show where we were not certain we were going to record… and then suddenly essentially had everyone but Ashgar.  Bel has been revisiting Starfield and talks about what a weirdly offputting game it is.  From there Bel and Grace talk about their experiences with Dungeon Clawler which is essentially Peglin but with a Claw machine instead of Pachinko.  Kodra has ventured forth into Veilguard and finds the pacing and structure a bit odd, so we talk about that and how it contrasts from the only Dragon Age game he has ever played, Origins. Tam talks about all of the stuff that has been going on this year in Star Citizen and how the free-fly event is less spectacular than previous outings.  Tam also shares his experiences with Stars Reach Alpha and how he is not entirely certain what that game is trying to be.   Topics Discussed: Starfield is Offputting Dungeon Clawler Veilguard Structure Star Citizen’s 2024 Stars Reach Alpha

Featuring: Ammosart, Ashgar, Belghast, Grace, Kodra, Tamrielo, and Thalen   Hey Folks! This is ACTUALLY episode 501 and we have the entire crew.  We start off talking about the Settle folks surviving what was effectively a category one hurricane and living without power for around 48 hours.  From there Bel talks about finishing Dragon Age Veilguard and how the game has learned lessons from the Mass Effect 3 ending.Grace talks about their experiences with Enshrouded and starting the game from scratch.  Thalen talks a bit about I am the Future and Ash shares his revisiting of N++ playing it co-op with friends.  Lastly, we dive into the Path of Exile II Reveal Stream and all of the announcements surrounding the upcoming release of POE2 Early Access.   Topics Discussed: Surviving Seattle’s Collapse Dragon Age Veilguard Stuck the Landing Enshrouded Updates I Am Future N++ Co-Op Path of Exile II Full Reveal Stream

Featuring: Ammosart, Ashgar, Belghast, Kodra, Tamrielo, and Thalen   Hey Folks! This week we talk about Episode 500 and the ramifications of recording that many shows.  From there Ash talks a bit about Unnamed Sound Voltex Clone and Beatmania SImulator on his further descent into rhythm gaming.  From there we talk a bit about Beastieball's early access as it steps ever closer to the full release.  Dragonquest 3 HD-2D is out and we talk a bit about the changes to the game.  A bunch of us got more keys to hand out for Soulframe and as a result way more folks have had a chance to play it.  So we talk some more about how weird of a game it really is.  Lastly, Tam shares with us that there is in fact a happy ending to the Rogue Trader CRPG…  just not in the way you might think.   Topics Discussed: Episode 500 Unnamed Sound Voltex Clone Beatmania Simulator Beastieball Early Access Dragonquest 3 HD-2D Soulframe is Wierd Rogue Trader Happy Ending

Featuring: Ammosart, Ashgar, Belghast, Kodra, Tamrielo, and Thalen   Hey Folks! We are all reeling a bit from the past week, but we start off things with the joyful return of Ammo from her trip to Japan.  She spends a bit of time talking about all the arcade hopping and wonderful food that she found along the way. From there we dive into the furious growth of Pokemon TCG Pocket and how it has swept through our friend group.  Ash talks about his experiences with Monster Hunter Wilds Beta and Bel shares his own comfort gaming in the form of the weird Path of Exile Necro Settlers Event League.  Bel also talks a bit about playing the Brighter Shores Early Access, and how it has some core design problems that will keep him from playing for very long.  Kodra talks a bit about GeekGirlCon where we realize…  that he has in fact been talking about it every year since the very first year in 2016.  Our podcast…  is old.  He also talks a bit about his role in the upcoming SudokuCon Stream and some of the nonsense he is going to be doing combining two of his loves: Sudoku, and Celeste.   Topics Discussed: Ammo Returns from Japan Pokemon TCG Pocket Monster Hunter Wilds Beta Path of Exile POE2 Delay Necro Settlers League Brighter Shores Early Access GeekGirlCon 2024 SudokuCon Upcoming Stream

Featuring: Ashgar, Belghast, Grace, Kodra, Tamrielo, and Thalen   Hey Folks! We are back after a week off last week due to too many being out. When we do one of those weeks missed we have a truly stupid number of topics to discuss, and this week is no exception.  We start off talking a little bit about Xenoblade Chronicles X getting a Switch release date, and Utopia Must Fall the game that you get when you make Missile Command a Roguelike.  Related we also talk a bit about Nodebuster which is going for a somewhat similar thing.  Bel and Grace talk about their experiences with Wayfinder, a game that completely changed its business model from freemium cash grab to buy the box. Tam talks about an interesting situation of being in a deeply collaborative “competition” and how cool those moments are. Ash shares his thoughts about Windblown the new co-op ARPG from the folks behind Dead Cells.  Tam shares his thoughts about I Am Your Beast and Kodra in a bit more detail about Tactical Breach Wizards.  Bel talks about his recent adventures in Return of Reckoning, a fan-run Warhammer Online server that itself has been up and running for a decade now after the official game closed down in 2013.   Topics Discussed: Xenoblade Chronicles X Switch Announcement Utopia Must Fall Nodebuster Wayfinder Competitions that Aren’t Windblown I Am Your Beast Tactical Breach Wizards Warhammer Return of Reckoning

Featuring: Ashgar, Belghast, Grace, Kodra, Tamrielo, and Thalen   Hey Folks! This week we start off with Ash’s early thoughts about Metaphor: ReFantazio.  From there Grace and Bel decide to share some of the great things going on in Diablo IV after last week’s story bashfest. Kodra is Cursed and cannot upgrade hardware without it for some reason going completely off the rails.  From there he talks about Mechwarrior 5: Clans where we are in fact the baddies.  Tam shares his thoughts on Kingdom Eighties where kids on bikes try and save their hometown.  Kodra has hit the credit roll for Zelda Echoes of Wisdom and shares some of his final thoughts.  Tam talks about playing through Adios a game so good that he dealt with it not having an inverted control scheme.   Topics Discussed: Metaphor: ReFantazio Diablo IV Vessel of Hatred Endgame Kodra is Cursed MechWarrior 5: Clans Kingdom Eighties Legend of Zelda Echoes of Wisdom Credit Roll Adios

Featuring: Ammosart, Ashgar, Belghast, Grace, Kodra, Tamrielo, and Thalen   Good Morning Folks! This week we had one topic dangling from the previous week so we started out with some discussion about Ravenswatch and their interesting take on the action roguelike genre.  From there Bel and Grace share their thoughts about Diablo IV Vessel of Hatred and how Blizzard largely missed the mark with the story, but that the game is in a pretty good mechanical state otherwise.  From there Tam shares his experiences with the new Rogue Trader CRPG DLC Void Shadows.  Then we wrap things up by talking about UFO 50 a game about a video console from an alternate reality…  and how interesting some of the takes on 8-bit gaming are.  We also talked a bit about the creativity of that era and how it had not really returned until the Indie explosion enabled by Steam.   Topics Discussed: Ravenswatch Diablo IV Vessel of Hatred Expansion What they did wrong What they got right Rogue Trade Void Shadows DLC UFO 50 Misremembering Games from the 80s

Featuring: Ammosart, Ashgar, Belghast, Kodra, Tamrielo, and Thalen   Hey Folks! We start the show with a quick discussion about Path of Exile, and how we are now two months into a League, a position where things would normally be dead…  and that the Currency Exchange is still hopping.  This leads to a secondary discussion about Kodra’s woes as he attempts to do the Merchant Guild thing in the Last Epoch.  From there Bel talks about Witchfire with its Hexen meets Destiny meets Hades PVE extraction shooter gameplay. Bel also got an invite to Soulframe Preludes the next game from Warframe maker Digital Extremes and shares some of his early impressions.  From there we dive into the Magic the Gathering Commander situation with controversial card bannings, death threats, and Wizards of the Coast yoinking control of the format away from the players.  Tam shares his thoughts about playing Yazeba’s Bed and Breakfast and Thalen his early thoughts about playing Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth.   Topics Discussed: Path of Exile Currency Exchange in a Dead League Last Epoch Woes of Merchants Guild Witchfire Soulframe Preludes The MTG Commander Situation Yazeba’s Bed and Breakfast Like A Dragon: Infinite Wealth