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[Delta Foxtrot]

Title is a bit misleading (curse you guys for getting rid of the STEAM sales topic ), but the thread is very much about video game sales and nothing but.

As for Pufferfish, you might want to check the general computer thread over at Life Advice section. There seems to be a collection of knowledgeable chaps there.

[Gentlefish]

Title is a bit misleading (curse you guys for getting rid of the STEAM sales topic ), but the thread is very much about video game sales and nothing but.

As for Pufferfish, you might want to check the general computer thread over at Life Advice section. There seems to be a collection of knowledgeable chaps there.

Hah, worth a shot. Will do!

[puke]

free to play for a day like some of their limited offers, or free to add to your library forever as long as you do it today?  I cant quite tell by reading it.

nm, looks like its free to add to your library forever.

[Mephisto]

Looks like $200 might be the price for the Meridian 4 pack. I'm not saying this is the case in this instance, but if a game isn't normally for sale on Steam on its own, you usually get the price of whatever pack contains it, IIRC.

[Rolan7]

After clicking the "Install Game" button, it says it's registered to my Steam account, and the page now says I own it.  So I'm pretty sure this is another giveaway rather than a demo.

I've played a few of the games in the pack, they were alright...  I didn't try any of the adventure games, maybe they have more character.

Alpha Prime is a decent shooter, looks a bit similar to Red Faction 2 but with better graphics.  Ran fine.  A surprisingly complete plot is delivered by several voice acted NPCs, mostly over radio, with their own agendas.  It's nothing too innovative or complex, but it does the job well.  There's a gimmick of hacking security cameras and turrets wirelessly, it's not a factor in most fights which keeps it from getting repetitive.  Final boss was cool.

Space Trader Merchant Marine is too bland and repetitive.  Trading is boring and mostly pointless, and the sub-missions on each world are impossible to take seriously.  The shooting is very basic.  I don't remember most characters being VA'd.  Budget title, and it shows.

Obulis:  If you want a puzzle game like this, you're better off on a Flash arcade.
Penguins Arena: Same... I think this was part of the Portal 2 potato ARG.  Never played it again.

Vigil Blood Bitterness:  I launched this and couldn't figure out what anything was.  I think it was just an obtuse artsy UI, but maybe it was actually broken.  Uninstalled.  Kinda like EYE but way less playable (Which, despite EYE's redeeming qualities, is saying something)

Tank Universal:  Interesting game.  Centered around strategic first-person tank combat, with resource production and structures.  I found it too difficult, but it's worth the current $1.24 and I'm reinstalling it now.

I recommend going through the list, at least.  Most of the games are $1.24, and I bet most of the adventure games are probably worth that in B-movie value.

[Sensei]

I thought the Syberia games were pretty good, when I played them ages ago. Some of the other adventure games look... much less good.

[Darkening Kaos]

     MAX and MAX 2 both for $2.99!
     If I didn't already have MAX, I'd consider that worthwhile, I don't consider MAX 2 worth playing.

 Saw this mention, had to get it on GoG, and damn it, I started playing and am hooked. It's already crashed on me though,  then I stopped. Hopefully this isn't a recurring thing, since the alternative, MAX Reloaded, doesn't have AI...

    There is a long game bug where the game will start crashing after about 300 turns, and a few other bugginess shortly before that, but it is related to how much stuff is built.  You should try not to build more than 256 of any structure, and that includes the opponents.  The roads and bridges are usually the first to bug out - you will see engineers make a halfway move to their next project if you have ordered a line of something to be built.
    MAX (one) is all about rush tactics and being done before 150 turns.

[Delta Foxtrot]

http://www.gog.com/promo/strategy_first_codemasters_weekend_promo_080814

GOG Weekend promo. Jagged Alliance, Flatout (fun car/crashing games) and other assorted series and solo entries. Leisure Suits and some chopper sims caught my eye.

Space Empires IV, where does it rate at the grand scale of 4X's?
Also Combat Mission: Beyond Overlord. Does it still work or should I just look for later entries in the series?

[Lightningfalcon]

Battlefield 4 is free on Orgin right now.  Not a permanent deal, but you get it for about two weeks or so.   

[Frumple]

Space Empires IV, where does it rate at the grand scale of 4X's?

Couldn't quite say re: the grand scheme of things, but I would say it's a pretty decent sci-fi 4X. Is nice, definitely one of the better ones. Also some fairly expansive mods for it. I'd definitely recommend it if you can nab it for less than, say, five USD. Three bucks is a good price for it.

[puke]

I think there is still a good online community for it.  I think I was an active player of that game for about 10 years, and I don't expect to say that about any other title.  Even DF, I take long breaks from.

[BurnedToast]

Space Empires IV, where does it rate at the grand scale of 4X's?
Also Combat Mission: Beyond Overlord. Does it still work or should I just look for later entries in the series?

I had a post all typed up ranting about how terrible the game was.... then I realized I own SE5, not SE4

So uh.... SE5 sucks, don't buy it.... SE4 seems more popular, but I don't own it so I'm not sure.

Also it's only $2.50 on steam instead of $3 on GoG, so if you prefer steam or really want to save 50 cents... yeah.

[Delta Foxtrot]

On the other hand most games on steam (including SE4) are 2,50$ = 2,50€. GOG on the other hand actually tries to convert the price. Going by google the current rate is 3$ = 2,2€.
Even if GOG takes a chunk off I still probably save (cents, admittedly, but save nonetheless). All things being equal I prefer the less DRM'd version and this seems to be fairly equal proposition otherwise. So yeah.

[puke]

I had a post all typed up ranting about how terrible the game was.... then I realized I own SE5, not SE4

Yeah, 5 was a train wreck.  It had a lot of potential, but I don't know if he bit off more than he could chew, or if he just made questionable design decisions.

We were all looking forward to more modding capabilities -- and they did show up -- but so much of it just fell flat or didnt work well. 

I remember this one thing that typified many of the design choices: some part of race design was switched from numeric values to sliders or something like this.  The justification given was not that the simpler method made the game more accessible, but just that he wanted this version of the game to feel "different" than the previous versions so he was changing things up for the sake of making it different.  Lots of things went that way, for better or for worse.

So I guess the problem with 5 might be a lack of over-arching vision or concrete design goals.  It has a lot of improved features, but they're sort of slapped together and not very cohesive.

4 is tight.  Though I guess there are still die-hard fans of 3 who beef about the ship construction system in 4, so you'll never please everyone.

[Toaster]

In general, SE4 is considered the best of the series.  I tried to get into 5, but just couldn't; I kept wanting to play 4 again.