Farm, Fight, and, er, Fish: The Life Sims Megathread

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Video Games > Farm, Fight, and, er, Fish: The Life Sims Megathread

Talorat: Sep 18, 2007; Hahaha! Aw come on, I can't tell you everything right away! That would make for a boring story, don't you think?

Snooze Cruise posted:

i already did the revolution on my first play through!!! i am an expert in the genre B)
going to do the former tho

I'm debating whether I want to commit to a third playthrough to actually get the good ending where you actually make peace with the Gardeners as you need a LOT of things to go right in order for it to happen. It's a very cool game, and I enjoy how reactive it is to the various routes you can chart through it, it feels very real and alive in more ways than most of that genre. Somehow it did lose some of the emotional impact on the second play through, possibly because I was spending almost all my time in the colony rather than going on expeditions.

It plays perfectly on Steamdeck if anyone is curious btw, no tweaks needed.

# ¿ Sep 12, 2022 20:44

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# ¿ May 21, 2024 13:51

Talorat: Sep 18, 2007; Hahaha! Aw come on, I can't tell you everything right away! That would make for a boring story, don't you think?

Jack Trades posted:

smh @ the dog supremacists itt

Never thought I�d see anti cat racism in the life sim thread.

# ¿ Sep 22, 2022 21:58

Talorat: Sep 18, 2007; Hahaha! Aw come on, I can't tell you everything right away! That would make for a boring story, don't you think?

I am very annoyed that in Potion Permit buying the first clinic upgrade doesn�t make the clinic visually less disgusting. That was my primary motivation for the upgrade! This poo poo isn�t sanitary! There�s broken glass everywhere!

Also I agree with the other poster that said they seem very particular about the order in which you unlock things. They seem like they were really concerned that giving you all the game mechanic at once would be overwhelming, but the end result is a drip feed so slow it ends up feeling like there�s nothing to do but chop trees. It�s starting to feel very grindy.

# ¿ Sep 27, 2022 17:51

Talorat: Sep 18, 2007; Hahaha! Aw come on, I can't tell you everything right away! That would make for a boring story, don't you think?

Like many things, I suspect Potion Permit may have annoyed us because it�s so CLOSE to being good.

# ¿ Sep 29, 2022 01:02

Talorat: Sep 18, 2007; Hahaha! Aw come on, I can't tell you everything right away! That would make for a boring story, don't you think?

Jack Trades posted:

Okay, I was not expecting this game to have a quest that makes the player participate in prostitution.

Wait what? I don't remember this at all

# ¿ Jan 11, 2023 20:45

Talorat: Sep 18, 2007; Hahaha! Aw come on, I can't tell you everything right away! That would make for a boring story, don't you think?

Snooze Cruise posted:

I been putting a lot of time into Dinkum lately and I am really enjoying it but jeez this museum is weak... hopefully it gets fleshed out with more updates since still early access but its not a pretty museum at all :'(

Also personally wish you could get to the farming and animal husbandry stuff a bit quicker.

Agree on all points, it should at least give you the wheat seeds guaranteed when they seed seller first shows up since wheat is required for almost every other recipe, and it should give way more xp for farming related activities. The museum needs to be way better visually and also have rewards every x items instead of just a flat 100 permit points.

Also agree with the other poster who said we need NPCs other than shop keepers to show up naturally and flesh out the town.

Still, the game is 80% of the way there and I�m really excited to see how it evolves. It�s got the core gameplay down pat.

# ¿ Mar 3, 2023 05:27

Talorat: Sep 18, 2007; Hahaha! Aw come on, I can't tell you everything right away! That would make for a boring story, don't you think?

So many stardew clones are so much more tedious and grindy, I�m not sure why it�s such a common thing.

# ¿ Mar 18, 2023 04:29

Talorat: Sep 18, 2007; Hahaha! Aw come on, I can't tell you everything right away! That would make for a boring story, don't you think?

Ooo I loved sunless sea, sign me up.

Zeron posted:

Portia is very janky and has issues, but it's incredibly satisfying how you basically build up the whole world from scratch. And then you're seeing the results of your work and progress everywhere in the game as you go.

This is basically how I feel about Portia. It has a lot of jank and rough edges, I for one hated the sound effects for combat which are just awful, but it makes up for it in charm and a rewarding gameplay loop.

# ¿ Apr 6, 2023 17:29

Talorat: Sep 18, 2007; Hahaha! Aw come on, I can't tell you everything right away! That would make for a boring story, don't you think?

SexyBlindfold posted:

How does Sandrock compare to Portia on that front? Both have been sitting on my wishlist for a while and I'm not sure if I should go for cheaper or newer

Someone in this thread was complaining that the characters and environment of sandrock is a lot more cynical and less optimistic that Portia, which seems like it would sap out one of the best things about the game. Is that the case?

# ¿ Apr 6, 2023 20:37

Talorat: Sep 18, 2007; Hahaha! Aw come on, I can't tell you everything right away! That would make for a boring story, don't you think?

A GIANT PARSNIP posted:

Is Dinkum worth playing now or should I wait for it to exit early access? I can deal with a bit of jank or a couple of villagers or resources that still need to be added, but I�d rather wait if large portions of the game are missing.

I bought it on sale while drunk so it�s not a question of buy/don�t buy.

It's really fun, I found that there's still plenty to do at this point, but it definitely isn't finished yet. I really hope the dev adds a bunch more NPCs that you get for free that don't have stores or anything just to liven up the island. As it stands each individual villager has an associated store and as mentioned takes a lot of effort to get on the island in the first place.

# ¿ Apr 17, 2023 23:21

Talorat: Sep 18, 2007; Hahaha! Aw come on, I can't tell you everything right away! That would make for a boring story, don't you think?

Anyone got any recommendations for a good chill numbers go up game? I played and liked Stardew Valley, Dredge, Potionomics and Dinkum. Did not like potion permit or Story of Seasons Olive town. What would be the best game to play that won�t feel stale or like a rehash of what I�ve played before?

# ¿ May 11, 2023 00:05

Talorat: Sep 18, 2007; Hahaha! Aw come on, I can't tell you everything right away! That would make for a boring story, don't you think?

Oh yeah I was curious about those, are any of the newer ones worth playing?

Edit: also I played and loved My Time at Portia despite the Jank

# ¿ May 11, 2023 03:26

Talorat: Sep 18, 2007; Hahaha! Aw come on, I can't tell you everything right away! That would make for a boring story, don't you think?

Jack Trades posted:

Do I want to do that though? I'd like for more people to know about it but I also don't want to ruin the game for those people.

I guess the actual ending twist is different enough that it will still keep people guessing.
The game is 13 Sentinels.

The game in spoilers is fantastic and for what it�s worth it does have enough going on in regards to the hallucination that it doesn�t feel like a cop out although it does cheapen the extremely clever �time travel isn�t real� reveal, which was my favorite oh gently caress moment of the game

Don�t click the above spoiler unless you already know the game obvs.

# ¿ May 11, 2023 18:30

Talorat: Sep 18, 2007; Hahaha! Aw come on, I can't tell you everything right away! That would make for a boring story, don't you think?

Anyone know if the Game Pass version of Rune Factory 4 supports mods? Specifically the gay marriage mod

# ¿ Jun 15, 2023 17:32

Talorat: Sep 18, 2007; Hahaha! Aw come on, I can't tell you everything right away! That would make for a boring story, don't you think?

Anyone have any experience getting Atelier Ryza running on the steam deck? It�s half off this week and seems like a good pick up

# ¿ Jun 27, 2023 22:22

Talorat: Sep 18, 2007; Hahaha! Aw come on, I can't tell you everything right away! That would make for a boring story, don't you think?

Trivia posted:

I too wanted to like Spiritfarer but just found the grindiness too repetitive. I wasn't much interested in the characters or their fetch quests either.

Too bad too, I liked the art direction.

Big agree on all points, it�s SO grindy.

# ¿ Jun 29, 2023 00:17

Talorat: Sep 18, 2007; Hahaha! Aw come on, I can't tell you everything right away! That would make for a boring story, don't you think?

Megazver posted:

Dave the Diver seems to be genre-adjacent. Have any you tried it?

It�s a super charming little game, I really enjoyed it in early access and will have to finish my play through now that it�s at 1.0. There�s quite a lot of game there for being as cheap as it is. Plays great on Deck too!

# ¿ Jul 1, 2023 15:35

Talorat: Sep 18, 2007; Hahaha! Aw come on, I can't tell you everything right away! That would make for a boring story, don't you think?

Arsenic Lupin posted:

This. I've said this often in this thread, but the moment when I walked away was when I had to torture somebody to death.

I�m sorry what? I thought it was a chill life sim game.

# ¿ Jul 13, 2023 17:59

Talorat: Sep 18, 2007; Hahaha! Aw come on, I can't tell you everything right away! That would make for a boring story, don't you think?

Moonstone island just released. Anyone have a chance to play it yet and have an initial review?

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1658150/Moonstone_Island/

# ¿ Sep 20, 2023 18:38

Talorat: Sep 18, 2007; Hahaha! Aw come on, I can't tell you everything right away! That would make for a boring story, don't you think?

I�m enjoying it so far! Other than a few minor polish things like buildings loading in a frame after the backgrounds do, or occasional stuttering, it feels very rich. I�ve only really explored the main island so far so I�m looking forward to exploring around.

# ¿ Sep 21, 2023 05:44

Talorat: Sep 18, 2007; Hahaha! Aw come on, I can't tell you everything right away! That would make for a boring story, don't you think?

Eiba posted:

Just to follow up on this, Wildmender now has its own thread because it is in fact quite good.

I have a longer post in that thread, but I felt folks here should know that the co-op is great, and so is the chill farming life-sim stuff. (Though there is harsh survival stuff and light combat, when you venture off to explore the world.)

I find it immensely satisfying that it's a game where your garden isn't just a big square monoculture, but tends to look like actual gardens of early agricultural people with everything mixed together to the mutual benefit of all the plants, and by extension you.

And the character customization, while light, is cute and to the point. You can change the color value of each piece of your clothing at any time, allowing you to look cute and distinct right from the start of the game (a very important element of a coop game, imo).

A big thanks to everyone who recommended this. I'm having a ton of fun with it. Also worth noting because it's not documented anywhere, it plays PERFECTLY on Steamdeck, although I may need to adjust some settings to improve battery life.

# ¿ Oct 3, 2023 19:56

Talorat: Sep 18, 2007; Hahaha! Aw come on, I can't tell you everything right away! That would make for a boring story, don't you think?

Sounds like a good pick up! Thanks for the detailed review!

# ¿ Nov 3, 2023 08:13

Talorat: Sep 18, 2007; Hahaha! Aw come on, I can't tell you everything right away! That would make for a boring story, don't you think?

I am having a ton of fun with Sandrock, it just oozes charm. It�s not perfect, but it kept all of the good things about Portia while vastly improving on all of its predecessor�s deficiencies.

For some reason, it�s such a small thing but I found the 3 day story segment where your hometown friend comes and visits you on her break from college really charming. It doesn�t affect the main plot at all but it really contributes to the feeling that it�s a lived in world that people are actively working to make their lives in and make better.

# ¿ Nov 22, 2023 21:47

Talorat: Sep 18, 2007; Hahaha! Aw come on, I can't tell you everything right away! That would make for a boring story, don't you think?

Yeah you can craft and sell some items for a profit but it seems like the profit margins on that are pretty slim compared to commissions.

# ¿ Nov 22, 2023 21:56

Talorat: Sep 18, 2007; Hahaha! Aw come on, I can't tell you everything right away! That would make for a boring story, don't you think?

AARD VARKMAN posted:

also it's extremely good that they made chest/inventory management basically not required since it all just gets pulled from wherever it has to. it's such an obvious thing that is kind of tedious in other games just magically works instead

Extreme nitpick but the only problem with this system is that nearly everything pulls from your storage except for a tiny list of exceptions that DON�T. Feeding camels food, giving gifts, and bait for sandfishing all require the items to be in your actual inventory, which is tough to remember when nothing else requires it.

The translation and voice acting for the English localization are much better than Portia. Im glad the success of the first game in western markets made them invest more into filing off the rough edges.

# ¿ Nov 23, 2023 00:09

Talorat: Sep 18, 2007; Hahaha! Aw come on, I can't tell you everything right away! That would make for a boring story, don't you think?

Bremen posted:

Potionomics says Steam Deck Verified but I haven't actually tried it. Nothing in it is real time though so I figure at most it might be a bit cumbersome.

I can attest that it plays perfectly on deck, there controls are great and it�s a really good time. I spent basically the entirety of a flight across the Atlantic playing it and managed to not get bored. At some point I was like �dang I�ve been playing this game for 6 hours straight I should probably do something else, oh wait, I�m trapped here, there�s literally nothing better to do with my time� and so I played it for another 4 hours.

# ¿ Dec 3, 2023 01:45

Talorat: Sep 18, 2007; Hahaha! Aw come on, I can't tell you everything right away! That would make for a boring story, don't you think?

A Sometimes Food posted:

It's one of the steepest improvements between sequels I've seen yeah. I bounced off Portia hard and Sandrock grabbed me near instantly. It's just so much more charmingly written and well designed.

It's also one of the few of these games where I'm having real difficulty trying to decide who to romance because there's so many good options. Venti, Nia, Unsuur and Mi-An are all frontrunners but then Elsie and Grace got character development so they're good too. And part of me wants to romance that dork Burgess just cause of how consistently funny every scene he's in has been.

Not to mention that disaster Catori.

The game also makes you feel like absolute dogshit if you flirt with someone and then reject them when they confess their feelings to you. Oh my god Venti I�m sorry, but my heart belongs to Mi-an

# ¿ Dec 3, 2023 08:50

Talorat: Sep 18, 2007; Hahaha! Aw come on, I can't tell you everything right away! That would make for a boring story, don't you think?

It was also the first good game in the genre for like a decade. We take it for granted now that a cozy life sim game can be commercially successful but back when concerned ape was working on Stardew it was definitely a gamble. Personally I bounced off stardew about the point where I started feeling like my daily chores were becoming real work, but it�s amazing the effect it�s had on a lot my friends, family members, and the gaming industry as a whole.

# ¿ Jan 10, 2024 09:22

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# ¿ May 21, 2024 13:51

Talorat: Sep 18, 2007; Hahaha! Aw come on, I can't tell you everything right away! That would make for a boring story, don't you think?

Snooze Cruise posted:

city life sim

1. you own a clothing shop. its style savvy as a life sim.
2. you could date OLs. this is appealing to a himejoshi like me.
3. uh instead of butterfly collecting maybe there is like a thing where you can take photographs of people on the street who aren't like character characters. yay street photography.
4. trips on public transit. this is where the really fantastical elements of the game come into play for americans.
5. maybe its secretly about gentification or something, people would write think pieces about it and say its smart.
6. one romanacable character is part of a bad long form improv troupe and many events involve you suffering through their show. i like long form improv but this would be funny.
7. relaxing farming music, bleh! its time for cool city tracks that have horn sections

e:
Wait wait the photography system you could actually tie back to the clothing store stuff too by like certain outfits like giving you inspiration when you photograph them and then letting you like try new things in your designs???

Actually genuinely I think you�re on to something here. There�s lots to love about cities, why isn�t there a cozy city life sim. Why must everything be rural!

I could actually see a cool life sim concept based around a single city block or apartment building. I do think you need a strong gameplay hook to replace the farming though. Maybe go the racettar route and have your character run a store?

# ¿ Apr 17, 2024 03:23

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Video Games > Farm, Fight, and, er, Fish: The Life Sims Megathread