Cities: Skylines - First Impressions

So yesterday evening, I sat down to start what seems to latest version of video game crack: Cities: Skylines. Then, at 4am, I suddenly realised that I forgot to go to bed, and then instead of actually going to bed, I decided my new metropolis needed bus routes up the wazoo! So it's good. It's forget your dinner and neglect your children good!

Looking at some of the other Steam reviews, the comparison to both SimCity and the Cities series. Many centuries ago, I remember thoroughly enjoying SimCity, so last year I went ahead and bought the latest SimCity, which was an utter disappointment: I ended up giving up on the game after just a couple of hours. However, I'm a great fan of citybuilders (Anno 2070 taught me that much), and I did really enjoy the Cities XL series.

Cities:Skylines, plays very much like a simplified version of Cities XL 2012 (which is the last one I played), which has it's pros and it's cons. What I like is that they've simplified the city zoning structure so you don't need to micromanage between low, middle and upper class housing, instead relying on low and high density zones and a levelling, which works pretty well. One of the main things I really enjoyed about Cities XL was the ability to trade with AI towns and other towns that you have built, allowing maps to become connected, which allows you to make towns tailored to a certain need, so you can export it to other towns. Trade is present in Cities: Skylines, but it is entirely automated and you cannot trade between maps, which is a little disappointing. If you enjoy city building with a high degree of micromanagement, I'd probably recommend the Cities XL series over this, but the simplification does make Cities: Skylines easier to play. I'll cover everything when I do a full review (I am currently ill and cannot speak).

Overall, Cities: Skylines has made positive inroads with the concept, providing a great fun and easy to use piece of software. Any game that makes me forget to eat, drink and sleep is definitely a worthy investment. At almost half the price of most current titles, I can see a lot of bang for your buck! Hopefully, I'll be back next week to do a proper review!

Modding Games: Hibblejayvlog

This week on Hibblejayvlog, I tackle modding and why we mod out our games. Modding is a very vast topic, and I just touch the tip of the iceberg here:



Transcription (may not be 100% accurate):
Welcome back to another week of Hibblejayvlog. Today I wanted to talk a little bit about modding in general. Although I've not really had the time to do nearly as much reviews as I'd have liked, one of the main things I wanted to show off with my channel and blog is mods, as well as full games. Mods are often programmed by an individual or small group and are usually released for free, for the enjoyment of the community. So in doing what I do, I wanted to give a little back to the authors of the mods that I use.

So why do we mod our games? Well, there are 3 general reasons. Firstly, there are tweaks, fixes and patches, which slightly alter the gaming experience to make it closer to what the developers originally intended it to be or to make the game more a more enjoyable experience. The unofficial Skyrim patches, are an example of the modding community coming together to fix various issues in the huge game that is Skyrim. A game so vast, it would take an age for the dev team to find, fix and distribute all the patches. I actually remember seeing on the Bethesda support page something along the lines of "if you're here to report a clipping issue, don't bother, we don't have time to fix it", which I thought was pretty funny.

Secondly, you can mod a game to expand upon the content that's already present. So things like new quests and new weapons & armours, etc. Those mods can vary wildly, from a few megabytes for a new weapon, up to several GB. The mod that springs to mind here is Kobayashi Maru mod for Star Trek Bridge Commander. Which weighs in at well over a GB for a game that's only a few hundred MB big, adding a whole heap of new stuff, pretty much quadrupling the original content of the game, while still letting you use most of it in the original game itself.

Finally, there are total conversion mods, which completely change away from the original game. Some of these eventually blossom into their own games, like Day-Z and Dota 2. These mods use the user interface and framework of the original game to effectively create a new game, which can range from something of a similar nature, to a completely different topic!

There are many examples of all of these different kinds of mods for literally thousands of different games out there. This is probably where I'd tell you put your search engine to work and try them out for yourself, but actually, I air on the side of caution when it comes to mods, and here's why. There are some mods out there, that while still being lore-friendly, can fundamentally alter the experience of the game. Don't get me wrong, this isn't always a bad thing, but it can detract or alter the original experience of the game as intended by the developers. Take my earlier example of Skyrim. Something like a texture pack isn't going to be detrimental to your experience, but modding the BFG 9000 into your game is going to seriously screw up the difficulty for you. I'm not saying don't do it, just be sure of what experience you want to get out of the game when you are considering putting mods on - particularly if it's you're first playthrough. In that case, I'd recommend getting a feel for the game, and getting to know what you like and what you would change. Then put on the mods you feel the game needs and try it out!

My general rule of modding is that mods are infinitely harder to get rid of than they are to install. In most of the games I run with mods, it's a case of install the mod by dragging and dropping, and uninstall the mod by deleting the entire game folder, reinstalling the game, then reinstalling all the mods you wished to keep. As someone who's never actually finished Skyrim because I've had to keep re-doing installs and restarting characters, take it from me not to just vomit every mod you come across into your game. If you're not sure about a mod, make a backup of your current install, so you can revert back if it doesn't work out. And for the love of everything that is holy, read the description! Just because all the mods you've installed for a game before have been drag and drop, doesn't strictly mean the one you are about to install is. There is also the matter of conflicts that you should be clued up on as well. Again, if you're not sure make a back up!

The other thing to keep in mind, is that mods are generally not made by large groups. Mods are not tested on a wide variety of platforms and if something does go wrong, you are likely to receive little to no support. This brings us back to the aforementioned point that mods are a lot harder to get rid of than they are to install.

Most of what I just said makes it sound like I don't recommend modding games, but that's not true. There are some truly fantastic mods out there, which impact tremendously on your enjoyment. I've even seen mods that rival or even surpass the quality of the original game! What I am saying is be wary. A good practice, albeit a tedious one, is to install mods one at a time, making backups beforehand and running the game after each install to make sure everything is working swimmingly. If it's your first time playing a game, I recommend only modding the game to what you need, but if you're returning to the game and wanting a different experience from before, then by all means knock yourself out.

Remember that mods aren't made by huge companies, and they are usually distributed for free, so share and endorse the mods you've enjoyed, it will really make a developers day!

So that's all for today. Modding is a colossal sea, that I've just taken a quick paddle in, so if you've got anything to say on the subject please post a comment below. I'd also be interested in hearing your stories of the great and the grim mods that you've experienced in your gaming careers. Remember you can find me on social media using the links below:

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/hibblejaybob
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Hibblejaybob
Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/user/hibblejaybob
Blogger: http://hibblejaybob.blogspot.co.uk/
 
I'll see you next week! Bye!
Hibblejaybob

Test Drive Madness - Maserati MC12 GT1

Another weekly I want to start. After reviewing cars during the day as part of the Test Drive Tuesday, me and my friend (Sozedge on screen) like to team up and do some races in the TDT cars. This always ends up in shambolic disasters as opposed to meaningful races, so this series is more for the yuks than it is a legitimate review of racing the TDT cars. This week, we bring you the Maserati MC12 GT1 at Watkins Glen, Laguna Seca, Silverstone and Daytona.

Again, I apologise that out microphones are quiet and hissy in places, will try to get it sorted next week.

Test Drive Tuesday - Maserati MC12 GT1

Game: Simraceway
Cost: $12

A great feature of Simraceway is that every Tuesday, they allow you access to a car that you might not have. During which time, they host a good variety of quick races and you are free to drive the car in practice mode on any track you like. If you want to buy the car, its discounted to 50% off for the duration of the Test Drive Tuesday event. I have taken part in a few TDT's and have done the last 3. I'm thinking of turning it into a weekly regular feature on Youtube and this blog, with driving and racing in the car. Unfortunately, due to my very slow internet, I doubt I will ever get a video online before the TDT event ends, but the review will feature on Wednesday or Thursday.

So this Tuesday, the car of choice was the Maserati MC12 GT1, which I took for a spin on the Watkins Glen Long circuit. My video review is above (I do apologise for the sound on the videos, my microphone is of lack-lustre quality at the best of times and can be quite quiet).

In brief, its probably the best fun I've had in a supercar since starting the Test Drive Tuesdays. As someone who's not well experienced in high-powered rear-wheel drives, I found that this car is very stable though corners and a can accelerate and brake well in a straight line. It is still quite easy to loose traction and spin out powering though corners, as it is under heavy braking, but its certainly good fun to drive a nice open track like Watkins Glen and its not that powerful that I got caught out every lap. At $12 its probably a little too pricey to buy myself, but if I had to get a supercar in my collection, this would probably be my car of choice.

Videos of racing to follow!

Simraceway Review

Website: https://www.simraceway.com/‎
*Currently in Beta*
Category: Motor Racing
Cost: Free (has micro-transactions)
My Rating: 85%

Simraceway is an up and coming online racing platform that's currently in an open beta stage. It's available for free with all the tacks and 3 cars by default, with many other cars currently available for purchase and more under development. 

Cars
The development team at Simraceway have the luxury of having their own track and racing instruction school at the Infineon Raceway in Sonoma, California, complete with a team of experienced racing drivers. This allows the team to really get most realistic driving experience for the cars they develop - of which they have made some videos of the process: http://youtu.be/A2LrA_4zaaU. I have done test drives of a good dozen of the cars they offer, from VW Jettas to Maserati supercars, go-karts to IndyCar and while I don't claim to be a racing guru, my opinion of the physics is that they are very well done: Even low powered cars can catch you out if you make a complete mess of a corners (I always drive will all the driving aids turned off). High powered cars can be almost undrivable if you don't know how to deal with them, but far from that acting against the game, it really shows off the difficulties of driving and racing these cars as you would face if you tried it for real. It also means when you do eventually master driving a car and put out a great flying lap, you get a great sense of satisfaction from the challenge!

The cars are visually well modelled both internally and externally. Damage (with the exception of major individual components such as wheels and wings) is not modelled visually, which is a bit disappointing but the game is still in beta. The physics modelling of damage is also very well done, and while fairly simple low powered cars can take a few bashes before any noticeable impact, but gently glance a wall in a supercar and expect to suffer for your crime!

Overall, the cars look great and handle realistically ("well" is a very subjective term).

Tracks
Simraceway has decent lineup of tracks, which they release for free when they are developed. Being an American-based company, most of the tracks available are based there and features a mix of road courses such a Sonoma and the Circuit of the Americas and oval tracks such as Daytona and Indianapolis. There are a few famous tracks outside America, including Silverstone and Zandvoort, with more surely to be added. One feature I did like was that all the variations of circuits are neatly grouped in one menu per track, unlike other racing sims. The tracks themselves all seem well modelled with tracks, kerbs, gravel traps and features all appear to be correctly placed, though I haven't visited any of them in person!

While I do have a strong computer setup, I'm still very very impressed with optimisation of the game as a whole. With full graphics settings, 59-AI cars racing on a track AND fraps recording the screen, the game remained at a comfortable 50-60 FPS. Things only got a bit hairy when large crashes involving many cars brought the FPS down to about 15 FPS, but those are exceptional circumstances. This allows the tracks and backgrounds to be modelled in great detail, and they are!

Single-player
As a multi-player platform, single-player comes in the form of "practice", where you can either take a car around your track by yourself, or race against the AI. The AI races are all very mechanical: all the cars look identical and all follow near-perfect vector lines, which takes alot of the fun out of single player racing, albeit, single player isn't a full feature of Simraceway.

Multi-player
Multi-player is the main staple of gameplay in Simraceway and comes in two forms: Quick Races and Events. In quick-races, its a straight up race against other people on a track. Sometimes its all in the same car and recently, users can select from a set of cars. So, the experience boils down to the people you play with, which is usually bad - "rammers" are very infuriating and can put to waste what is usually 90% of a great race. Of course, in racing, accidents happen all the time, but rammers intentionally hit into your car hard and there is no punishment for regular offenders. This can sometimes reduce your time on the game to waiting until the people you know are rammers to leave or go into a race so that you can form another one of your own, which is very detrimental to the experience. 

In these races, qualifying is done away with and instead, users starting positions are determined by their Skillquant. The Skillquant is a well balanced score and is worked out by several factors including how many places you've gained/lost during races, how often you followed the racing line and how often you lost control of the car. I think its a very good idea as it means having a minor bump or a bad start doesn't mean the end of your race-winning career, and gives a good reflection on users actual racing ability.

Events are races against the clock, where you go to a track by yourself and try to get the best time. What I really like about events is the ghosts, if you enable them. When you start, you get the ghost of the slowest recorded time and when you set a time, the ghost then becomes that of the person above you in the timing sheets, and so on until you are at the top. It can be very comical to be worried about having the ghost in front of you, only to see it spin off into a wall and you know you're getting a better time! That feature makes the Event experience quite pleasurable in my experience.   

Other Features
Other than the default cars, you are required to buy to other cars which can be done with real money, or "credits". Credits are worth 0.1 cents per credit, but as you race online in either events or quick races, you gain 5 credits for every lap you complete, which is nice as regular users can then "win" the cars they want, rather than having to spend money.

There is another major feature, which I will discuss in my next post.
 

Issues
One of the major problems I have with this game as it is, as I've already discussed, is rammers, and I hope that Simraceway can come up with some way of dealing with them that prevents them from racing in that manner and discourages others from doing the same.

Given the diversity and optimisation of the game as a whole, even in the beta stage it is now, I feel it would not take a significant amount of work to add a full featured single player mode, be it customisable careers or just individual races with imperfect-AI driven cars. While at the moment, the safety car is not functioning on all tracks, when it was working, it provided a very good racing experience with full flags and I really enjoyed the fact you could opt in to formation laps for standing or rolling starts. Realistically, if they just fixed the safety car and made some AI profiles with different liverys then they could turn the game from a good online racing platform to the one of the most diverse modern racing gamings on the market today, and (perhaps as someone with a fairly slow internet), I do feel the game is lacking for it.

Nevertheless, given the platform is completely free, if you're into racing its very much worth a look. Despite my few criticisms it has now become my racing sim of choice, and I have recently introduced my friend to it too: he's now hooked!

Want to see more? Check out my Simraceway videos on my Youtube channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/hibblejaybob

Thanks for reading!

New Blog

So, as a person with more games on their Steam list than most Valve employees, I found myself a tad bored when my £50 gaming mouse went all Mac-style on me and couldn't right click. In these dark and lonely time, I decided to myself 2 things: that first, I was going to get back into game building and secondly, I was going to start a blog about gaming. And as with all ambitious projects of mines, I've picked the perfect time to begin: my final, and most important year at university starts next week, all the while I'm at working, learning two languages, doing a competitive year as a target shooter and qualifying to become a real life racing driver. There is no way at all that I might be overstretched!

Anyway, gaming takes up alot of my time so I want this to become a regular fixture of mine and hopefully, readers enjoy it enough that it becomes a regular fixture of theirs too. Now, I can't keep up with constant new releases (as an independent here, I anything I spend on games comes out of my budget for food), and my computer setup is already rather precarious, so I can't really do the crowbarring necessary to get alot of vintage games running on my setup. So rather than a constant stream of reviews on new games or retrospect of old ones, both of which are already well covered on the internet, I'd think I'd dedicate my blog to the overall topic of gaming. Mainly, I'd like to focus on discussing the development of, and the concepts behind the games we see today and how they've evolved the games of yesteryear. One thing I would like to do fairly regularly is discuss the hard-working modding community, reviewing some good mods and talking about how their work changes the games we play. And once I violently crowbar gently absorb the necessary knowledge to begin my games creations in earnest, I'll talk about what its like and and the work behind developing a game of your very own.

Of course, I will also do some reviews on the games I'm playing now and some of my favourites from the past. Generally, I hold quite positive opinions of games that others might be quick to criticise and complain about, so I wouldn't say the reviews would be highly critical, so I reckon my reviews would be the case of documenting the reasons why you should buy or play a game. As for what I play, I'm very open and have everything from Call of Duty to Rail Simulator, Indie to Triple-A developers, and ages and genres across the board. I'm happy to play anything, although I very much enjoy simulation. In particular, I spend alot of my time on Microsofts Flight Simulator. Indeed, my very idea for starting this blog came from my friend who regularly does videos for the benefit of those interested in flying. His site can be found here: http://merryfaceaviation.com/ and is well worth checking out, if you're interested.

So, this has been a fairly long post, thanks for reading. I don't have all that great sound gear on my setup, so while I put a far few videos on my Youtube channel (http://www.youtube.com/user/hibblejaybob) I narrate fairly few. Now that I've started this, I will try to do more, time allowing. I will put videos online fairly regularly and like relevant ones here. I also have a long-abandoned project doing content creation for RailWorks which can be found here: http://giffordlightrailway.blogspot.co.uk/. For the moment, most of my discussions will be done by text on this blog. So before I go, I'd like to give a shout out to a couple of great places to go for insights into games and funny things that happen in them: first is Zero Punctuation (http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation) and second is Random Encounter (http://uk.gamespot.com/shows/random-encounter/).

So thanks again for reading, throughout this blog, feel free to give any comments, questions or suggestions on any topics or games I've mentioned, or that you want me to cover. See you all soon!

Hibblejaybob