Bing

Prompt: "Historic photo. Snowman built in a anti-aircraft gun emplacement, 1944."

Artillery, not an AA gun but I'll take it

I've played Ghost Recon on and off since....well forever. I first played it on PS2, and it's the only game to get the honor of first install (and never uninstall) on every PC I've ever owned, paired with the incredible Heroes Unleashed mod. I'm going to try to explain why I still come back to it. I'll take you along with me via screenshots I took over my last few outings.

First let's set the stage. It's the futuristic year of 2008 and the world teeters on the brink of war. Radical Russian nationalists want to restore the old Soviet Union and invade neighboring Ukraine and Belarus, with Georgia soon to follow. In response the US sends your light infantry special forces unit known as the Ghosts to pull off important missions before and during the impending war. Far fetched I know.

Let's address the elephant in the room - the graphics. Ghost Recon isn't a looker, even for it's time. You can't even see your gun, just a reticle. Back then it was done due to limitations but today I still think it helps a graphically limited game hold up better than they would have. Your imagination helps fill in the gaps. Just look at this sick reload animation!

When you get down to playing and you're trying to figure out which bush hides the guy that just smoked your sniper team, all the graphic details are the last things on your mind. What you're focused on is moving in on the bad guys

At it's core the game is a tactical shooter. You use your team of 6 guys broken in up to 3 teams to scout ahead, lay down cover fire or flank. They don't do a lot on their own but the cool part is you can jump to any member of your squad. Controlling them remotely is done with a simple map, no in depth planning like in Rainbow Six/DoorKickers. You just tell what team where to go (you can link multiple waypoints to do flanks), how bold they should be in movement (stop when shot at or move forward no matter what) and how they should engage enemies (don't fire unless fired upon, normal aimed shots, or suppress/use grenades). If you want to get fancy you can even tell them what direction to face when they get to their destination

Compared to Arma 3, Ghost Recon AI is limited in functionality BUT they are so much easier to control in my opinion. In Arma it always feels like I have to be a keyboard pianist to do anything with them, let alone break them into separate teams doing separate things at once. In Ghost Recon I can't expect miracles but I can manually control them at any point to do the trickiest/coolest parts. This simplicity lets me focus on what's going on and not what key command to get them to do the right thing. More than anything I think that is the key to immersion in games, and Arma Reforger is doing well in that regard.

Enemy AI is surprisingly good for its time. If you shoot at them their first reaction will be to run for cover or maybe take some pot shots in your direction. If you pull back and hide they will slowly make their way towards you or try to flank your last known position. They will make you regret your mistakes. Under most circumstances if you are careful and have another team nearby to back you up you'll pull through okay. If you like to live dangerously Heroes Unleashed has game modes with XXL versions that spawn way more enemies than normal and you'll probably end up regretting your life choices!

Let me talk about the Heroes Unleashed mod real quick. It takes the core vanilla game and adds HUNDREDS of maps made or imported over the years, made them all compatible with all game modes, added tons of weapons and gear etc. Gigs worth of stuff added to a base game that takes up a few MB. It feels like a massive "more of the same but better" type of mod which is the kind I like most. And if you don't like something it's easy to change it through included mini mods that act as a settings menu. You can truly feel the passion which is always great to see!

The use of mid size levels instead of wide open worlds is underrated too. I love a good open world don't get me wrong but there's something to be said for having a game where you just load it up, make a few choices and get right to the fun without a ton of travel. Most missions will last from 15-30 min which makes it nice for busy schedules.

The simple, serious and surprisingly immersive fun it provides still holds up better than many. The controls are different (but not bad) and the graphics are very dated but it has earned a spot on my desktop even to this day. Thanks for coming to my Ted Talk!

I've been playing Kingdome Come Deliverance on and off for quite a while and after finishing the story years after my initial install and I feel like I'm finally qualified to write a bit about it!

It does two things I like. First is it takes place in a non fantasy medieval setting. No dragons, orcs or spell casting here. I like that it takes an look at the real world 1400s and all the good and not so good that comes with that. Don't get me wrong I love a good fantasy setting but it's refreshing to get something a little more grounded now and then.

Second I like that your character begins as a nobody. You aren't the chosen one. You aren't a noble in a position of power. You have few practical skills and can't even read at the start. If anything Henry's superpower is learning everything he can to become the character you want him to be. You aren't born a main character and even at the end of the game you won't be the most important person in the room.

I really grew to like the combat in the game. It's easy enough to learn but hard to master but once you figure it out combat can be a ton of fun, but it does get a bit janky in larger battles with everyone bumping each other everywhere.

The world is about the right size in my opinion. The world is large enough to get a sense of scale but with a decent amount of density. Towns have different character and they have enough to discover to keep things interesting. I rarely used fast travel preferring to enjoy the rides across the countryside.

I liked it a lot and I'll be keeping an eye on the sequel after it releases!

Only The Best for Travel!

Theme

Create an image showing a form of transportation to make jaws drop! Mass transit or a personal ride. No matter what, you are asked to spare no expense in your designs!

Voting process

Everyone can submit their image to this post. At the end of the week all images will be collected and shared in a new voting post wherein people can vote on their favorite image. This will be up for at least 24 hours before a winner is made.

There are no extra points to be earned, OP will decide on a winner in case of a tie.

Rules

• Follow the community’s rules above all else
• One comment and image per user
• Embed image directly in the post (no external link)
• Workflow/Prompt sharing encouraged but not required (we’re all here for fun and learning)
• OP will declare winner in case of a tie
• The challenge runs for at least 7 days from now on
• Down votes will not be counted
• Voting and final scoring will be done in a separate post.

Scores

At the end of the challenge the image with the most votes, wins!

The winner gets to pick the next theme. As always, have fun everyone!

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/21830930

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/21829820

https://www.copakeauction.com/featured-lot-taxonomy/cavalry/

Bing/Dalle Prompt: Dramatic concept art. A dark cold night with a small moon covered by clouds. Wind in the trees. A moonlit purple moor with a road. A man rides his horse on the road. French cut hat, lace at his chin. Rapier and pistols twinkle in the dim light. Rides up towards a distant old inn door. Ghostly fog.

Inspired by one of my favorite poems

Bing Prompt: "Sky projection of thunder storm weather radar map viewed from the ground. Green screen green shades with big blotches of red and yellow fill the sky. Perspective looking up from rainy city street."