Ramblings From the Journal of a Madman ....

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Ramblings From the Journal of a Madman ....

Post by Rex Claussen »

Well, amigos, the Year 2023 is here; I wish you all the very best.

When I last posted I indicated I had gathered a lot of momentum on Map 32 of Parallax. Alas, that momentum dissipated once I had rediscovered a 2010-era game called Red Dead Redemption. A few weeks ago I started playing it on an XBox One (the game was only developed for consoles). It is the first "open-world" game I've played, and my first console game to boot. It took quite a while to get used to the XBox controller and its controls, but I've gained a general proficiency. I also needed to learn and understand the many elements of this action-RPG game, including "quick travel" to locations I've already visited, the almost mandatory use of the targeting system known as Dead Eye, and the concepts of morality & honor. To top it all off, I had played for at least one week before I realized how to use the map.

At first I somewhat ignored the main missions in favor of bounty hunting, helping strangers, and searching for all manner of goodies. But, of course, one can't indefinitely wander around aimlessly looking for cougars and wolves to bag. The main missions, after all, tell a story and to make progress one needs to accomplish those missions. Mostly, I have been doing fine with the shoot-em-up types of missions; where I'm challenged is with the horse and carriage races. There is a required horse carriage race that winds around hilly and rocky terrain, and it's easy for a novice console player to sail off the track over a cliff or get stuck between rocks and spend (what seems like) an eternity backing the carriage out before getting back on the track. One such mistake is all that's needed for the player to come in dead last in the race and have to start over. I must have played and failed that mission dozens of times before I got lucky and won the race.

The story-line is also extensive, moving from the Southern USA into Mexico and back. After about 3 weeks of playing I have just started the Mexico mission. I can already see the difficulty ramping up so I'm dreading what might follow. I have amassed about $3500, a small fortune for that era. I've also found 3 treasure caches, amounting to another $500, and plenty of goods that I can sell for a few hundred dollars. So far I haven't found a pressing need to spend my money, aside from an excellent game device known as an Improved Campsite which I can use to save progress and use "quick travel"; and another that allows me to buy or rent property where I can save games and replenish my ammo, etc.

At any rate, this is an engaging game that I wish I had played sooner. I will need to make an uncommonly high effort to pull myself away from this game to pursue other endeavors, including DooM editing. But I'll try. (In related news, Jeff Ligda has started composing new music for Parallax and it promises to rival the music he made for Paranoid and Paranoiac.)

Keep on truckin'.
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Re: Ramblings From the Journal of a Madman ....

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Rex Claussen wrote: Mon Jan 02, 2023 0:11 I have amassed about $3500, a small fortune for that era. I've also found 3 treasure caches, amounting to another $500, and plenty of goods that I can sell for a few hundred dollars. So far I haven't found a pressing need to spend my money .....
I have now amassed over $28,000. I have found all the 9 treasure caches and sold all that gold. I've made quite a bit of money on bounty-hunting jobs (especially capturing the target and returning him alive, which pays double), hunting/skinning animals and selling their pelts and other parts, helping strangers who reward me with cash, and other ways to enrich me. As for spending all that money, the big ticket items I've purchased are weapons; these can be pricey, as much as $750 apiece. Safe houses are also not cheap, going as high as $400 apiece.
I will need to make an uncommonly high effort to pull myself away from this game to pursue other endeavors, including DooM editing.
Actually, when I'm on travel I'm automatically pulled away from Red Dead Redemption, as I don't carry my game console around with me. Hence, I have made some progress on Parallax. But more on that elsewhere.
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Re: Ramblings From the Journal of a Madman ....

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I have not played RDR or RDR2 (that abbreviation always gives me cause to pause because I tend to read it as R2D2) but I understand that they are exceptionally good games. I think the lack of a PC version for the first one is probably the main reason for me not playing but I'm pretty sure I will give RDR2 a go at some point.

The Witcher III and (currently) Cyberpunk 2077 have both consumed far too much of my time. If something about a game captivates me enough, I become a completionist obsessive and end up losing hundreds of hours tracking down each and every minor quest and treasure dump in the game. For context, Cyberpunk is a game where the main story, plus the major side quests, can probably be done in around 40 hours. I have around 1500 hours logged. I have completed all side quests, minor "gigs", police call outs, found every body with an information shard on them (and there are around 200 of them) and amassed several million "Eddies" (Eurodollars). And done it twice! I'm actually dreading the fact that there are three major character paths and there is one that I haven't really engaged with yet, other than playing the initial prologue section (which, to be fair, are where most of the major path specific differences occur).
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Re: Ramblings From the Journal of a Madman ....

Post by Rex Claussen »

1500 hours is an impressive amount of time logged, and suggests a truly immersive experience. Good for you.

I can’t buy/play any new PC games because of my outdated Windows hardware. This might change soon, but meanwhile I’m happy whiling away my spare time on XBox games.
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Re: Ramblings From the Journal of a Madman ....

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Rex Claussen wrote: Sun Feb 05, 2023 15:00I have now amassed over $28,000.
I now have almost $60,000, which was relatively easy to achieve once I acquired the proper weaponry and expertise on their use. Previously-difficult enemies (cougars, bears) are relatively easy to defeat and their pelts, etc. yield handsome profits. Night-watch jobs and bounty-hunting also allows for the amassing of large sums of money. I've finished the main storyline of RDR and am now just continuing so I can complete the various challenges. The challenge that poses most difficulty for me is disarming human opponents, as they tend to remain in cover while sniping at me. Meanwhile, I have started RDR Undead Nightmare, which is a blast to play. Once I'm done with that it will be on to RDR2. But enough about non-DooM stuff.
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