Strategy & Sport Games PC

Category: Games

  • Age of Empires 2 Definitive Edition AI [explained]

    Age of Empires 2 Definitive Edition AI [explained]

    Are you scratching your head about how to win Age of Empires against the different AIs?

    Age of Empires 2 AI Difficulty

    Is the constantly improved AI handing you your you-know-what time and time again? Did you ever wonder why that is and how you can gain back control over the AoE battlefield?

    Age of Empires – it can seem so peaceful – but the AI lurks in the shadows

    Depending on the AoE version you are playing, your inhuman AI opponent comes with hundreds or even thousands of (new) lines of code, outlining all its strategies and behaviors.

    If you could take a peek at the code over the years, you would find everything from pre-programmed strategies per civilization, and tactics in deathmatch games to rules about the number of mills per farm the AI builds.

    Age of Empires AI’s code fraction

    Especially in the older versions of the AI, this could lead to very frustrating gameplay. The computer would build walls into nowhere or completely ignore your attack. The dumbest, oldest and closest to the original version of the AI shipped with AoE II DE is the so-called “CD” release.

    Over the 20+ years since its first release, Age of Empires has been released in several versions and updated versions. Today the relevant AoE releases are Age of Empires II DE (DE=Definite Edition), Age of Empires III DE and since the end of 2021 the long-awaited fourth release – Age of Empires IV (4).

    With all these releases, different versions of the included AI have been accompanying the game. And as the graphics have highly improved over time, so has the AI.

    And: Celebrating the about first 20 years of Age of Empires the AoE II Definitive Edition features all prior generations of the game’s AI (ex AoE III and IV versions).

    Age of Empires Definitive Edition AI

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    Next to featuring a new “Extreme” setting , making it very hard to beat, it also was taught how to counter your attacks more effectively, and the complexity of its strategies has also been enhanced.

    Three different AI options in Age of Empires 2 DE

    How does the AI in Age of Empires 2 DE work?

    Up until the recent Age of Empires IV’s AI, calling the computer player’s engine “intelligent” meant giving it too much credit. In reality it was just following a script of rules given by human coders (see above).

    For example, let’s say the AoE II’s AI owns more than 15 farms in a single town center with less than two mills, then it will build another one – with a small set of rules about where it should be built to minimize the distance to farms but not too close to another mill.

    Or if the AI finds out that an enemy has three or more military units and has reached castle age, or has a plan to hunt boar and is unable to queue up a villager, it’ll either research loom or set it as a research priority.

    Looking at the code you would see how using OR statements allow the AI to make a variety of decisions to reach the goal. The code would also employ AND statements, so that multiple conditions must to be met in order to trigger the same outcome.

    The improvements in this code over time make the AI increasingly adaptive to your gameplay, and thus extremely hard to beat on the toughest difficulty these days .

    Does Age of Empires AI cheat?

    In Age of Empires IV the AI does not only lurk – it learns from you

    During my 100s of hours spent in front of my screens playing various iterations of the AoE franchise, I remember accusing my PC of cheating multiple times. Definetly, you can easily get the impression that the Age of Empires AI is not playing fair. But from the publisher’s perspective, cheating (though technically easily doable) would ruin the player’s experience. So the newer AoE AIs do not cheat.

    But: The original AI was caught cheating on the highest difficulty.

    Age of Empires 2 DE AI as your Ally?

    The AI isn’t necessarily your opponent: In games with more than 2 opponents, one or more AIs playing different civilizations, you can make one or more AIs your ally and even communicate and support each other.

    When setting up the game, you can also build teams and team up with one or more of the AI players:

    buddying up with the AI

    The Definitive Edition AIs are also capable of being a more helpful ally than in older versions.

    What is the difference in AI in Age of Empires 2 Definitive Edition?

    Age of Empires 2 DE comes with three AI options when you choose to play a Skirmish in Single Player:

    Age of Empires 2 AI CD vs HD

    Age of Empires 2 Definitive Edition AI types

    1. CD-Version AI
      This is the original, oldest AI from the original game, the dumbest of them all. CD stands for Conquestors- or Compact Disc AI
    2. HD-Version AI
      This is the newer AI shipped with the later High-Definition (HD) graphics versions of the game
    3. AI
      This is the newest (pre-AoE IV), most advanced AI

    In Single Player Mode you can choose the difficulty level each AI should use, but you cannot individually apply different difficulty levels per AI (see image above).

    Age of Empires 2 Definitive Edition AI differences

    These AIs differ in their level of “dumbness”. Especially the oldest AI (CD) has many bugs, building walls where no one needs them or ignoring your attack. With each release, it just got better and more “intelligent”. The Definitive Edition’s “AI” is pretty good (nearing too hard on “Hardest”).

    AoE2 which AI is Best?

    Because of the experience, time and effort put into the development of the AoE 2 DE “AI” without a doubt it is the best opponent – or ally – in any game.

    Age of Empires 2 AI Difficulty Levels

    AI Difficulty in Age of Empires 2 DE Campaigns

    As mentioned above, single-player lets you choose from 3 different generations of AIs, but you cannot choose a difficulty level.

    Interestingly, that’s totally different in the Campaign mode: When starting a Singleplayer Campaign you have three different options:

    • Standard
    • Moderate
    • Hard

    How good is AoE2 DE AI?

    I found that the difficulty jump from Standard to Moderate is a bit too steep and it’s definitely challenging for newbie players. The difficult jump from Moderate to Hard level is also quite noticeable and only experienced players will be able to navigate these jumps through extensive experience of playing the game. 

    The “Hard” option does exactly what it says. Very few casual players will be able to beat it.

    How do I change the difficulty in Age of Empires?

    Warning: During a running game in Age of Empires II DE the AI settings cannot be changed.

    Age of Empires 2 AI Builder

    With all the flaws of the original (CD) version of the AI, it was only a question of time until the modding community started to create a solution. And Microsoft developed the game to be open to individual scripts.

    So if you feel inclined to add your personal touch to the AI, there are ways to do it. A whole community exists to script custom AI for AoE.

    One way to try this is by employing the “Forgotten Empire” script, which seems to require Python 2.7 (actual version 3.x). In the Age of Empires official forum, you find more information in case you want to code your own AoE AI. Burt: This AI builder script seems to have gone out of business though.

    On Github, contributor “JakkelDragon” has recreated the original AI Builder and gives instructions on how to add your own AI code (written in Python) to AoE.

    JackkelDragon / AoE2DE_AIBuilder on Github

    Since this project is pretty recent (2020) it’s worth a look, if you feel inclined to script your own AI for Age of Empires 2 DE.

    A plugin for Microsoft Visual Studio Code renders support for scripting your own AI:

    Microsoft Visual Studio Code Extension for AI Scripting Support

    Read on: How to Ally with the AI in Age of Empires

    READ MORE

    Tips on How to get better in Age of Empires II

    Read our best tips on how to up your game

    GO
  • Business Strategy Games for PC

    Business Strategy Games for PC

    Everything I know about life I’ve learned from video games. Let’s look back at some actual and some rather ancient games

    OK, maybe that’s a little absolute, but as a longtime player I’ve learned to enjoy some of the subtle lessons included in many games.

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    I’m not talking about memorizing the patterns and getting the timing jussst right when you FINALLY beat that one level in Super Mario World.

    I’m talking more about some of the actual “real life lessons” that you can find here and there.

    Maybe in the middle of zapping aliens you’ll learn about the solar system. Maybe completing the bloody trench missions in Battlefield will give you a better sense of World War I than you get from “Wonder Woman.”

    Myself, I enjoyed the casino games in “Fallout: New Vegas” and the “Red Dead Redemption” series. RDR2 even showed me how to play dominoes correctly – I thought all you did was set them up and knock them down.

    I guess that’s another benefit of games besides the escape – it’s a way to slip in some instruction without making many mistakes, and maybe doing things wrong without any real-life consequences.

    Like “Sim City” was fun to focus on building a thriving community, but it was also fun to spawn monsters and disasters right after you cut the fire budget to build that cool stadium.

    Or cruise the very accurately rendered streets of San Francisco in “Watch Dogs 2” – better for your brain than learning the back roads of Vice City.

    Games with a Business Strategy

    Games that have a business strategy also have this benefit: they make you think and learn but are still entertaining.

    They have to be fun, right? Nothing too exciting about a “work simulator” — after all, would you rather zap aliens, storm the castle, and win the race, or project growth, track sales and crunch numbers?

    It’s cool, though, if you asked, ‘Why not both?’ since with the right programming and objectives, games can even simulate a modern business environment.

    With some of these simulations, it’s possible to try crazy market experiments to see what happens – and with much fewer financial or reputational repercussions at stake than bankruptcy or federal charges.

    Want to raise or lower your price drastically to see what your customers do? Go for it.

    Want to cut or boost employees? See what happens without having the lawyers involved!

    Or try your hand at a different line of work – instead of a boring old corporation, how about a farm, or a theme park?

    Your success with this software may not necessarily get you a job but could show that you have an aptitude and interest.

    Here are some of my favorite strategy games business fans can enjoy that have plenty of playability plus realism, so you can blend game time and work time and have them be fun as well as serious, even if you’re secretly strategizing about future missions to crush the competition, grab that market share and dominate the industry.

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    Capitalism

    Ubisoft, known for immersive hits like The Division, previously published “Capitalism” in 2001, and “Capitalism 2” a few years later.

    The goal of this PC game is to make money money money and then make more money.

    Players faced realistic business challenges and principles, including marketing, importing, pricing, and even finding the best raw products for manufacturing.

    What I like about Capitalism

    I remember giving this game kudos for trying to explain complicated economic terms in the lengthy tutorials, as well as allowing players to choose their difficulty level – a more exploratory Entrepreneurial mode or a hardcore, bare-knuckled Capitalism mode.

    I found it a great introduction to basic business, from simple supply and demand to why certain markets ride high and then crash hard.

    YouTubers Life

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    Hmmm…Youtubers Life … I’m not a social media influencer and I’m not sure I want to be one.

    But reading about the new title and all that goes with it is pretty interesting from an employment and financial point of view.

    Essentially it’s someone who talks about, writes about and shows images of certain products on their own channels.

    So what if the product maker gives him or her a ton of money to express a favorable opinion?

    It’s the best way to reach their followers who sometimes may number in the millions.

    What I like about YouTubers Life

    For those who want to learn more about this works, but maybe aren’t ready to put themselves out there on their own channel, there’s now a way to see the process in action.

    This game lets you become a make-believe prospective YouTube star, starting with a camera and a computer.

    As more people start watching and subscribing to your make-believe episodes, you’ll be able to upgrade your hardware. This game also includes some real-life considerations, like requiring you to take breaks to sleep, eat or go to school.

    You can also hire employees to make things a little easier for you. I guess I didn’t play enough to want to start my own channel but others may use it to get inspired.

    RollerCoaster Tycoon Adventures

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    Are you someone who has more fun at amusement parks wondering about how it all comes together rather than enjoying the rides and games?

    That’s me (actually, it’s partly by design – I love the mechanics of scary rides but my stomach no longer does – and probably never did).

    RollerCoaster Tycoon – a fun business strategy game

    But my inner marketer also likes all of the visible and less visible elements that can make or break a theme park, from smells to sounds to permanent smiles on the staff’s face even when they’re worn out from a long day.

    What I like about RollerCoaster Tycoon

    Short of actually working at a park, I found that I enjoyed this theme park simulation.

    It’s been around for several years in different forms for various computers and consoles; the present version is an app.

    Here, you’re charged with running a theme park – sure, it’s fun for guests, but the place has to make money.

    Keeping the doors open also requires a certain amount of costs, everything from food to safety and security. Then, of course, you have to always be looking for enjoyable attractions that will draw in new visitors, including roller coasters. Tap into your inner engineer by designing something that’s fun yet scary. And if you make a mistake and people get hurt, the world will never need to know.

    Big Biz Tycoon

    Speaking of life lessons, this one teaches us that mouthwash = healthy morale.

    How we get to this point is by being the ultimate micro-manager and being responsible for every little thing in a corporate environment, or at least the things that can make your people work harder.

    Just like in the real world, you can’t push people too hard without them burning out or walking out, but you can give them various treats, like food, drink, or the occasional bottle of Scope, apparently.

    What I like Big Biz Tycoon

    Even though the better CEOs will probably delegate some of these tasks, I did enjoy how this simulation showed how much little things were responsible for the ‘bigger things’ of a company doing well or doing poorly.

    Download Big Biz Tycoon

    Now, the game is out of development, though has still many fans. If you are looking to play this game, here is a link to a so-called abandonware website. Enjoy!

    Railroad Tycoon

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    Let’s wrap up our look at management and strategy games for business with another nod to nostalgia and include a series that convinced me that mass transit can actually be fun.

    I spent many hours in the early 1990s learning how to grow and manage the business side of a railroad, track by track and train by train. (Don’t tell, but there was also some American expansionist history slipped in.)

    Because you don’t have a lot of money, track, passengers or freight at first, essentially, the game becomes all about smart resource management.

    What I like about Railroad Tycoon

    To play successfully, keep pushing forward, avoiding or dealing with setbacks and always upgrading and investing. Learning about financing was also critical – you always need fresh capital and can’t raise money without investing well in railroad stocks.

    The franchise included three more Tycoons and some spin-offs including Railroad Empire.

    You also can find the originals on Steam or GOG.

  • Ace Combat 7 Skies Unknown PC – Gameplay Review

    Ace Combat 7 Skies Unknown PC – Gameplay Review

    Ace Combat 7 Skies Unknown for PC
    Ace Combat 7 Skies Unknown for PC

    Finally – it’s back: So let’s do a Ace Combat 7 Skies Unknown PC Gameplay Review!

    Today we gladly enrolled “Ace Combat 7 Skies Unknown” into our gaming library. How does it stack up?

    The Ace Combat (or AC) Franchise established air superiority in PlayStation’s skies way back in 1995 (with some titles also available for Xbox and iPhone) and has remained as the flagship of the arcade fighter jet genre, well deservedly I might add.

    Ace Combat: Assault Horizon – Grounded

    At the time of this writing, Ace Combat 7 is the only game in the franchise that is available on Steam, with “Ace Combat: Assault Horizon” being withdrawn. Why? Nobody is certain although it seems to be most likely due to licensing issues.

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    Either way, the recent release of AC7 gives us another chance to enjoy the cathartic yet captivating gameplay that we have come to expect from the AC series. And let’s be honest, are we all not desperate to scratch that itch?

    Let’s take a deeper look.

    Not Ready for TakeOff

    Sadly though, this title isn’t all ‘clear skies and ready for takeoff’, ‘sunny with cloudy spells’ is perhaps a more fitting description.

    Issues began rearing their ugly little heads just a few seconds after launching the game in fact, the sort of issues that we have sadly come to expect from the usual hodgepodges of a poor pc ports. When will developers learn?

    For instance, the menus have a total lack of mouse support. That’s right, no mouse support in 2019. It’s rather disconcerting quite frankly, we soldiered on though.

    Problems with HOTAS

    Lack of mouse supported menus aside we dive into the controls and are quite disappointed to see that yet again, we are faced with another issue perhaps more serious this time; a lack of remappable control options.

    Oh no, Namco.

    Sadly it appears as though only a few select HOTAS (Hands On Throttle-And-Stick) Joysticks are compatible for key remapping.

    These particular types of HOTAS being “hybrids” – HOTAS that are compatible with console and PC. This left a slightly bitter taste in our mouths but perhaps we expected a little too much? Oh well, we were still quite excited to try the game regardless.

    The game itself however? Beautiful at 60 FPS

    Taking a look at the graphics menu was quite refreshing, you’ll find plenty of options there to tinker with on your quest to achieve 60fps. Luckily, we were able to keep the settings maxed throughout our playthrough and let us tell you, what a sight it was.

    Having dealt with a few pre flight delays everything else begins to look fairly promising, our fingers crossed at this point.

    Ace Combat 7 PC Release Date

    Looking back, the official release date for Ace Combat Skies Unknown 7 PC was on January 31st 2019.

    Although AC7 was announced all the way back in 2015 with a scheduled release for 2017, some complications in the development of the game pushed it into 2019.

    In an open letter to the fans of the franchise, director Kazutoki Kono made an attempt to explain some of the problems the development team faced at the time.

    According to Kono the then current game art and design standards were way below the development team’s vision and because of this the team went to work addressing the qualms they had. In addition, the developers changed their focus from primarily building for PS4 exclusively to then focusing on compatibility with Xbox One and PC as well.

    Good move Namco.

    Ace Combat 7 Trailer featuring Raffale Pilot Pierre-Henri “Até” Chuet

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    Interestingly, an actual pilot – and obviously the role model and name giver for our hero in Ace Combat Skies Unknown – thinks the game play has become somewhat more realistic. This is promising news for an otherwise arcade focused game, hopefully simulator fans who might have otherwise been discouraged from dipping their toes in the AC franchise will decide to give it a go this time.

    Watch this testimonial trailer – as an avid simulator fan myself, I was pleased to see AC7 take a step into my world, albeit lightly.

    Cloud Surfing and Raindrops

    What the team have managed to do with the weather is probably one of the best and well thought out improvements to the game. According to “Até” clouds play a big role, especially during combat, just as they should. We might also mention that the thunderstorms in game are quite impressive too!

    Ace Combat 7 VR

    Caveat: Not for PC! Negative! Sorry!

    Due to Sony sending in some coding troops to help the development team with VR only the PS4 Version of Ace Combat 7 comes with VR capacity out of the gate.

    Unfortunate. Well, that’s the advantage of one company putting its resources behind a product (Sony didn’t do that with its laptops enough it would seem – I loved the Vaio notebooks).

    In our opinion, we would say the PC gaming market is more than ripe for a good VR Fighter Jet game, at the moment pc gamers have few choices and even less so when it comes to the arcadey style of AC.

    However, I come bearing encouraging news; on the physical case of Ace Combat 7 the small print does indeed state that the VR part of the game is only going to be exclusive to PS4 for one full year. I for one won’t be holding my breath expecting a sudden flood of VR compatibility across the other platforms but we’ll have to see.

    In a perfect world, we PC Gamers might be able to also experience VR Capabilities around the end of January 2020.

    Fingers crossed.

    VR for Ace Combat 7 (PS4) review

    At the moment though, the VR experience of the Ace Combat 7 PS4 edition is far from “complete” anyways.

    Yes, you’re able to experience how it feels to be flying inside a fighter jet cockpit, all the while being immersed in realistic ‘3D’ sound as you move your virtual head around. But at least on PS4, VR at the moment is an add-on at best; Only the “Mobius 1” missions come with VR capabilities.

    Or to put it bluntly, about 90% of the game does not come with any VR capability whatsoever. So to call this game ‘VR compatible’ is a bit of a stretch indeed.

    It seems like for every step forward we take two steps back.

    So we PC gamers aren’t missing much at the moment, it seems as though Sony just did the bare minimum to slap the ‘VR’ label onto the game. But who knows, maybe when Sony looses its ius primae noctis on the VR feature at some point in 2020, Ace Combat for PC will receive a decent VR update? It’s not as if the bar has been set very high now is it?

    So there is hope, we PC Players may still be able to enjoy the entire campaign and multiplayer in VR after all. As it stands, the VR experience of the Ace Combat 7 PS4 version is far from ‘complete’ and not anything I would miss.

    Should you shoot for the Ace Combat 7 Collectors’ Edition?


    Collector’s edition revealed for ACE COMBAT 7 Skies Unknown

    Here is what you get from the Collectors’ Edition:

    • Full version ACE COMBAT 7: SKIES UNKNOWN
    • The Ace Combat Season Pass: comes with three new and shiny aircraft, three additional missions and One music player mode (weird!)
    • The Collectors among you will drool for the included Exclusive Arsenal Bird figurine (40 cm:500g)
    • If you ever wondered how to get hold of an art book, here is your chance: 150 pages filled with everything a devout fan of this franchise would kill for
    Ace Combat 7 Collector's Edition Shopping Spree

    Wait? You are still here, not ordering on amazon?

    Then it seems you are not (yet) a devout fan of this Game…

    In this case that’s good, because… well it’s no longer available.

    And if you are already a huge fan and collector, and you were one of the few chosen ones, you probably have the Arsenal Bird figurine by now encased in a glass container for everyone to admire. Lucky you.

    Whilst the art book is a nice little touch (and pretty much par for the course as far as Collector’s editions go) the price tag for the package itself is rather steep. Expect to fork out $200 for the Collector’s edition, feel free to pour yourself a stiff drink also.

    I am one of the unwashed. I love a great game more than nearly anything, but I will not (and more importantly can not afford to) invest 200 bucks to get a figurine and an art book. Oh, and don’t forget the Season Pass.

    But to each his own. I take off my hat for long time fans of the series and pass this time.

    Ace Combat 7 Gameplay

    The engrossing gameplay of the Ace Combat Franchise is what kept it afloat through all these years.

    Before take off, you have the option to choose what type of controls you want (Standard or Expert) to set the granularity of the gameplay. The handling of your jet will feel totally different depending on your settings and this is where AC7 comes into it’s own. In fact, several gamers starting out on Standard redid the campaign because after getting used to the expert level, the game simply opens up in terms of controls. This is adds a layer to what are in my opinion, the best games of this genre.

    In campaigns, you have 20 different missions to play through, featuring multiple objectives to complete. The bulk of which comprises mostly of destroying targets such as tactical buildings and enemy aircraft.

    At first it may seem like everything is just a little too easy, but given time and a bit of progress, the difficulty ramps up just enough to keep you busy and focused on staying alive.

    Alongside the improvement of the enemy’s AI (which was sorely needed), the weather becomes a more and a more interactive feature of the game. Included within is a dynamic weather system that isn’t only cosmetic, for instance, high winds will actually affect the jet causing the plane’s heading to change. Lightning even plays a role, if you are unfortunate enough to be struck by it expect to experience a momentary loss of weapon system capability.

    Ace Combat 7 on Steam

    Surprisingly Ace Combat 7 isn’t that demanding on your gaming rig, some laptops and a decent computer should be able to deal with it without a breaking a sweat.

    However let’s not get too ahead of ourselves, don’t expect 4k on mid tier systems (you shouldn’t be anyway) but you probably will have a decent gaming experience with your slightly aged PC. I think some praise is due for the developers in this regard.

    On Steam, at the moment (February 2019) there are two options to get hold of the game: The Ace Combat 7 Skies Unknown Launch Edition and the Deluxe Edition which contains the Seasons Pass.

    On Steam you will also find achievements, trading cards, and the popular community hub.

    Ace Combat 7 Strangereal Edition vs. Aces of War vs. Deluxe Edition?

    Besides the price tag, consider these facts when choosing your version of Ace Combat 7.

    • Ace Combat 7 Collectors’ Edition (Strangereal Edition): This version practically contains the whole “package.” Sadly, it is no longer available for purchase in the official retailers.
    • Ace Combat 7 Aces of War: This bundle features the Launch Edition, an Exclusive Steelbook, and Aces of War Artbook. This version is only available for Ace Combat 7 Xbox One and PS4. Currently accessible on the Bandai/Namco website.
    • Ace Combat 7 Deluxe Edition: It contains the base game plus the season’s pass. For us PC gamers, this is the best option available.  

    Ace Combat 7 Multiplayer

    The multiplayer capabilities of Ace Combat won’t disappoint you.

    That is as long as you are not hoping for finishing the single player campaign in “co-op multiplayer”. Sadly this not a feature.

    The Ace Combat Multiplayer comes with two different modes:

    • Team Deathmatch: The players become randomly assigned to teams (2 vs. 2 or 4 vs. 4), the team with the highest score wins.
    • Battle Royale: Anything goes in this mode. You enter a lobby against a maximum of seven players and try to survive as long as you can.

    Ace Combat 7 News

    Hint: If you get stuck in any part of the game it would be a good idea to ask for help in the Ace Combat 7 Reddit thread, plenty of helpful info is to be found there.

    Refreshingly, after the release of the Ace Combat 7 PC version the gaming community (modders) and the development team have kept working on the game. Here are some improvements so far:

    • “Modders fix pop-in and add ultra wide Monitor Support”: “pop-in” is traveling at full speed when suddenly a vast 70-story building appears out of nowhere in front of you and you crash into it. To fix this annoyance modders were able to amplify the draw distance of the game; in other words, your game will load more models than usual.
    • Another Modder was able to find a fix for ultra wide monitors (21:9) taking full advantage of higher resolutions, a feature that should have been in the stock game.
    • “More Flight Stick Support” One of the most common complaints that currently haunts the Ace Combat 7 PC version is the lack of Hotas compatibility. The development team is now adding more options to fix this issue. From now on we can only hope that the developers continue expanding the compatible list in the future.
  • The Division 2 [PRIVATE BETA] played

    The Division 2 [PRIVATE BETA] played

    Tom Clancy The Division 2 private bet
    Tom Clancy The Division 2 private beta

    I was happy to get my eager hands on an invitation to the beta test of the new release in the Tom Clancy The Division Franchise.

    After downloading the game and a phase of randomly trying to find a fitting avatar (I was shortly tempted to stick to a “Wolverine” character), I was “welcomed” with a brilliantly done intro-video which left me with an eerie “Apocalypse Now” feeling.

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    Directly after this Intro I find myself waking up with a view of the Washington Monument and a distress call from HQ via comms.

    Base of Operations aka The White House

    The Base of Operations, formerly known as The White House, is under attack by a new faction of bad gals and guys, the “Hyenas”.

    Meet a Super -Badguy Saint - and he is nearly bulletproof in his layers of armour ... without upgrading my weapon I would not have made this level
    Meet a Super -Badguy Saint – and he is nearly bulletproof in his layers of Armour … without upgrading my weapon I would not have made this level

    And, so I immediately find myself in battle and really enjoy it, attacking the White House campers from behind.

    Myself Being an intensive The Division 1 player, the sequel directly makes me feel at home.

    Feels good to see effects from shooting

    And yes, being an often frustrated lone wolf player in The Division 1, it finally gives me some smiles to see the bad guys doing me the favor of really dropping dead after only one magazine round hit them.

    The Division 1 can be quiet … stubborn, when it comes to the bad guy accepting his demise.

    The Division 1 relies on real life teams too much

    That by the way is one of the big downsides of The Division so far: For “classy” gamers, with job, dog, wife and kids, coming up with some buddies to kick Rikers’ ass exactly when we all have some time is not easy.

    And, so I find myself playing alone just to have some fun, and not bother to start to go attend local network events just to find some buddies who have time right now.

    And then next week they ask me to help them with their relocation. Do you know that pattern?

    I am simply tired of telling the “my back hurts” lie.

    The Division is not for gamers with a life

    The problem with The Division 1 is that the level of difficulty seems not to adapt to the number of actual players on your team. The Bad guys simply don’t care and treat you like you came in battalion strength.

    But mostly it is just yours truly.

    And mind you, at the time of this writing I am only at Level 21 … still a long way to reaching the famous “Level 30”. And already I sometimes switch of my PC and go to bed in the middle of the night frustrated and close to tears.

    Battalions of enemies.

    So does The Division 2 offer poor lone Wolves like me (and you?) some solace? Will it get easier on your own?

    Tom Clancy’s The Division 2 - Kelso
    Tom Clancy’s The Division 2 – Kelso

    The verdict is still out. At least directly on my first mission (to rescue a kid from the Hyenas) I met Kelso, a tough AI team member who really kicked enemy ass… hope she stays at my side during the game (and my wife won’t find out).

    Beta Ingame Music

    What really kills the fun for me is the ingame music. But since I hope this … “aggressive metal”??? … is played only in beta phase, I will not go into this assuming this will be amended with the final release. If not I will not buy the game.

    Note to Ubisoft: I loved the soundtrack if TD1. Please bring it back!

    Why this music it used at all is beyond me (especially the Atrium fight). A sound-effects-only beta would have been more to my liking.

    Update: It seems now that I only really detest the game music in the Atrium scene. It seems it is not the “beta” music and I will have to stand it, but the rest of the soundtrack seems to be good.

    Servers are unstable 02/08/2019 – first day

    I drop off the game each time I finish the Hotel scenario. No prob, it’s beta for a reason, but hope this will improve soon.

    Agent in Need of Backup

    So far I have not found out how to answer (or even open and show) distress calls.

    What are your thoughts?