Community MetaSteam | August 2021 - Openness Is Its Superpower

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r3n4ud

Dr. Boom Boom
Oct 17, 2018
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CMS just got a date announced and it's dropping in 6 days!

...The same week as City of Gangsters.

I'm well and truly F'ed.
Shit! I bought so many games recently, oh so many games. Today after picking up Haven Park, Death Trash and Dodgeball Academia I was going to halt my purchasing for awhile……. But CMS is releasing soon and damnit I’m weak! :(
 

Aaron D.

MetaMember
Jul 10, 2019
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Shit! I bought so many games recently, oh so many games. Today after picking up Haven Park, Death Trash and Dodgeball Academia I was going to halt my purchasing for awhile……. But CMS is releasing soon and damnit I’m weak! :(
I've been a fan of the series since its debut back in 2014, so nabbing 2021 was never a question.

But I at least thought I could push it off for a bit if the playing field was too crowded regarding my current rotation.

Then I sampled the demo and boy was that a mistake.

Makes the idea of kicking it down the road soooo much harder. Woof.
 
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hersheyfan

South Sea Islander
Jul 17, 2021
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steamcommunity.com
Well, that escalated quickly!

Sorry for the delayed reply all, had my second vaccine shot earlier today (different time zone) and it did a number on me lol.

If you've already started Ys VIII then you might as well keep going. I only recommend that order because that way you follow the natural evolution of the gameplay and visuals. Ys Seven would definitely feel like a huge step down after Ys VIII but if that doesn't bother you then it doesn't really matter. They're all fantastic games, if you ask me.
Yeah, I don't mind a graphical downgrade at all - I can play retro stuff with zero complaints. Its more the gameplay stuff I'm worried about honestly, hoping that it doesnt feel too dated/stiff when I get around to it.
Hm. Ys VIII is a massive improvement over Seven and Celceta.
I've played Celceta after VIII (cause Celceta was released later on PC) and I definitely wished I'd played it earlier, but it was still good (my least favorite of the party games though).
But if you're already knee-deep in VIII might as well continue.

Also, Seven has a killer soundtrack
Well, for me personally I had a really good time with what little I played of Celceta back in the day, and my memories of it didnt seem that much worse than the third of Ys VIII ive already beaten. Then again, it might just be my nostalgia goggles talking, so maybe I better not risk it haha.

Also, that track you posted is fire! :fireblob:

Ys Seven is a PSP game, so clearly visually a lot of simpler than VII. Going 7 > Celceta > VIII, you get the experience of each game improving visuals as well as the gameplay getting more refined as Falcom has time to hone the party-based Ys formula.

Not sure how it would feel to go back, honestly. At its heart, it's still a really good game, so after the first few hours, getting used to the simpler looks and mechanics, it's probably fine.
Hmmm, based on what the three of you said, I'm going to put Ys VIII on hold for now (its been a while since I played it anyway, I've likely forgotten everything), and just fire up Ys 7. If I end up liking it despite its age, I'll push through the three games in release order before getting to Monstrum Nox. :pleasedblob:

Thanks everyone!
 

RionaaM

Vogon Poetry Appreciator
Sep 6, 2018
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You're in for a treat. If you play them in that order (and I recommend that you do since it's the release order), they'll just keep improving as you go with Ys VIII and IX being two of my favorite games of the last few years. At the very least definitely start with Seven because it's kinda rough due to both being the first party-based Ys and being originally developed for the PSP. It's still great but it's going to feel like a massive step down if you play it after the other 3.
Yep, I'm playing them in release order. I already played 4 on SNES and PC Engine, but I didn't like them much and didn't really pay attention to the story. Hopefully Celceta will fix that for me!
It's a very traditional dungeon crawler, with a really simple yet clever combat system and the very typical Falcom level progression, where you quickly level up and become stronger, while usually initially a bit weaker when entering a new dungeon or area.
Great music and a very different feel than most other Falcom titles. Kind of a shame that I don't see Falcom, with their current sole focus on Ys and Trails, ever going back to this kind of Xanadu game. Even Tokyo Xandu, while a pretty good game on its own, is a very different beast.
Falcom sure has a loooot of games. I've only played the Ys series (and not all of them yet), but I own everything that's available on Steam. Someday I'd like to sit down and go through all of them.
 

Wok

Wok
Oct 30, 2018
4,923
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France
Here's what's joining GeForce NOW this week:
  • A Plague Tale: Innocence (Free on Epic Games Store, August 5-13)
  • Death Trash (day-and-date release on Steam, August 5)
  • Starmancer (day-and-date release on Steam, August 5)
  • CyberTaxi (Steam)
  • Eldest Souls (Steam)
  • Elex (Epic Games Store)
  • The Flame in the Flood (Steam)
  • GRIME (Steam)
  • Hakuoki: Kyoto Winds (Steam)
  • MetaMorph: Dungeon Creatures (Steam)
  • Super Animal Royale (Steam)
  • Tales of the Neon Sea (Steam)
  • Zero Hour (Steam)
 

toxicitizen

MetaMember
Oct 24, 2018
1,655
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Tokyo Xanadu, despite having "Xanadu" in the name feels more like "Zwei meets Cold Steel" tbh. I liked it a lot, but yeah it would be cool if they made some games again that aren't "Trails-ified" in some way.
I was tempted to give the Zwei games a shot soon and that comparison honestly makes me even more eager to try them. I loved both Xanadu Next and Tokyo Xanadu but I bounced off Gurumin super hard. It just was not for me and I've been getting a similar vibe from Zwei 2, at least visually, so I was a little hesitant. But you make them sound pretty good!
 

Mivey

MetaMember
Sep 20, 2018
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Falcom sure has a loooot of games. I've only played the Ys series (and not all of them yet), but I own everything that's available on Steam. Someday I'd like to sit down and go through all of them.
Yeah, one of the oldest studios in Japan, and probably the world, and they are still insanely productive, pumping out games in a yearly or near yearly rate.
And while you can tell at times how rushed their games are, it's insane the quality they still manage to produce.
 
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lashman

lashman

Dead & Forgotten
Sep 5, 2018
32,412
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Latin America keeps getting fucked :negative-blob:
Fuck. I was actually looking forward to this one.
yeah, it fucking sucks :( guess Humble are on the "fuck poor people" train now as well ... sigh
















Steam Next Fest boosts engagement and sales for most games
October event registration open through August 15th




Registration is open for the October edition of Steam Next Fest, with the deadline of August 15 fast-approaching. For those considering the event, we're excited to share some analysis on the impact of 2020 Next Fest participation with regard to wishlisting and sales rates.

The first Steam Next Fest ran in the summer of 2020 as a way to offer playable demos to fans in the absence of physical events such as E3. We've since run the event three more times as an opportunity for devs to build an audience for their upcoming games. Each fest has comprised hundreds of games offering demos for players to download and try. The fests have also provided an opportunity for devs to feature scheduled livestreams and connect with players over the course of the multi-day event.

The median jump in wishlists was up over 400% among participating games
Among 2020 Next Fest participants, the median game saw daily wishlist additions jump 421% during the fest, compared to the two weeks leading up to the event. Wishlisting rates were higher than 421% for half of participating games, while 45% saw a smaller increase, and 5% experienced a decrease in their rate of wishlist additions.

Wishlisting rates were still up after the event
The rate of wishlisting remained elevated for the majority of games even after Next Fest ended, with the median game seeing a 15% increase in daily wishlist additions in the three weeks following Next Fest compared with the two weeks prior to the event.

This increase in wishlist additions resulted in more sales
To study Next Fest's impact on sales, we tracked whether Next Fest wishlist additions were converting to sales among the games that have been released since participating in the fest. The median released game saw an increase of 292% in "converting wishlists" made during Next Fest compared to converting wishlist additions made in the two weeks leading to Next Fest.

Player participation in Steam Next Fest remains strong
Through our 2021 editions of Next Fest, we've continued to see strong player interest. For example, the median number of wishlist additions has increased in the 2021 editions of the fest.

To join us in Steam Next Fest October edition, register now through August 15th.
 

RionaaM

Vogon Poetry Appreciator
Sep 6, 2018
887
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Yeah, one of the oldest studios in Japan, and probably the world, and they are still insanely productive, pumping out games in a yearly or near yearly rate.
And while you can tell at times how rushed their games are, it's insane the quality they still manage to produce.
I'm overwhelmed by the Trails franchise. There are too many games, and I've heard they are all very long. I plan on playing them after I'm done with Ys, but maybe it'd be better to start with a smaller series, like Zwei or Xanadu Next.
 
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Mivey

MetaMember
Sep 20, 2018
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I'm overwhelmed by the Trails franchise. There are too many games, and I've heard they are all very long. I plan on playing them after I'm done with Ys, but maybe it'd be better to start with a smaller series, like Zwei or Xanadu Next.
Just my two cents. but it might be a better idea to mix the games a bit, instead of playing all Ys games before playing all Trails games, and so forth. For one, as you said, there's a lot of them and there's also the chance of getting burned out from a series by playing one game after the other.
 
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