Steam is running an 'Endless Replayability' sale, featuring games
that, well... benefit from being played over and over again. Now, I
don't really know (or care) much about the sale, but it is, I think, a
great jumping off point for discussion. Specifically, let's list any
games that we just keep playing and replaying.

But first, how do we define "endless replayability"? Is it a game we
play, put away, then come back to again over the years? Or is it a
game which sits on our hard-drives endlessly, that we never stop
playing? Well, seeing as we already did a poll on the former, let's
assume for the purposes of this thread it's the latter. It's either an
'endless' game (like "Team Fortress 2" or "BeamNG.drive") which you
just keep playing, or a game with a clearly defined end that you
immediately go back and replay as soon as you finish it (such as
"Skyrim" or "Civilization"). But the main defining factor for this
category is that it's NOT a game where you take a break and come back
to it later.

Now, if you have been paying any attention to my posts over the years,
you can probably guess which of my games qualify for this category.
Yup, it's those god-damned truck-driving games ("EuroTruck Simulator
2" and "American Truck Simulator") which constantly appear on the
monthly 'what have you been playing' threads. And even when they don't
appear, you can be sure that I am STILL playing them (I just don't
have anything new to say). In fact, my contributions to the list
probably would be better entitled as 'what have I been playing OTHER
than truck-sims' ;-)

But I wanted to give a few shout-outs to other 'endless' games.

Most notably: the Civilization games... even though I'm not actually
playing them. But that's because I find them so addictive that I had
purposefully STOPPED playing them for that very reason.

"Skyrim" also gets a nod. The only reason I stopped playing it was
because it was becoming increasingly top-heavy and crashy with all the
mods I'd added. I was spending more time getting the game to work than
actually playing! But I think - had the game better stability - it
would still retain a place on my hard-drive.

"Left4Dead" used to be an endless game for me. I got a lot of mileage
out of that one. But decreasing user-count (everyone migrated to L4D2,
which I never enjoyed quite as much) finally resulted in an
uninstallation. But it offered a tremendous value for how much I paid.

Finally, a tip of the hat to "Ultima 5", way back in the late 80s. It
took me MONTHS to finish that game the first time, and after I was
done I went back to the well again and again. It was, undeniably, the
most played game on my 8-bit computer. It really only was my moving to
PCs that made me stop playing...

Anyway, those are the games that come to mind when I think of games
with 'endless replayability'. What games kept you -or are still
keeping you- endlessly enthralled?

Spalls Hurgenson <spallshurgenson@gmail.com> wrote in
news:s5i94jlnetnql4h3hvvq49gnq3nsdiic7b@4ax.com:

> "Skyrim" also gets a nod. The only reason I stopped playing it was
> because it was becoming increasingly top-heavy and crashy with all the
> mods I'd added. I was spending more time getting the game to work than
> actually playing! But I think - had the game better stability - it
> would still retain a place on my hard-drive.

If I recall correctly, you stayed with the original 32-bit version. That used to crash pretty often
for me, too. The 64--bit edition, on the other hand still runs pretty well for me, even with 196
mods currently installed.

I did play Diablo 1 and 2 for several years, also Vampire: the Masquerade-Bloodlines, and the
first three Wing Commander games, Crusader: No Regret/Remorse, Outlaws, Privateer, and
Neverwinter Nights 1 and 2.

I still occasionally revisit the Harebrained Schemes' Shadowrun trilogy, the first Witcher
game, and Fallout: New Vegas.

Those I remember best.

On Wed, 15 May 2024 11:22:49 -0400, Spalls Hurgenson
<spallshurgenson@gmail.com> wrote:

>Anyway, those are the games that come to mind when I think of games
>with 'endless replayability'. What games kept you -or are still
>keeping you- endlessly enthralled?

I played a lot of Diablo 2 back in the day but I don't remember if it
was in one long session or broken up with other games. But I did play
Diablo 3 for a year or so non-stop. I have a 1000 hours in Titan Quest
but that was over years, not in one long play session.

I also put a lot of time into World of Warcraft back in the classic
days of the game. I played Lord of the Rings Online non stop for 13
months and I will likely go back to it sooner or later.

That is it for me. I am not surprised by this. Hack n' Slashers and
MMOs are designed for infinite replayability.

On Wed, 15 May 2024 16:36:15 -0000 (UTC), "Mark P. Nelson"
<markpnelson@sbcglobal.net> wrote:

>Spalls Hurgenson <spallshurgenson@gmail.com> wrote in
>news:s5i94jlnetnql4h3hvvq49gnq3nsdiic7b@4ax.com:
>
>> "Skyrim" also gets a nod. The only reason I stopped playing it was
>> because it was becoming increasingly top-heavy and crashy with all the
>> mods I'd added. I was spending more time getting the game to work than
>> actually playing! But I think - had the game better stability - it
>> would still retain a place on my hard-drive.
>
>If I recall correctly, you stayed with the original 32-bit version. That used to crash pretty often
>for me, too. The 64--bit edition, on the other hand still runs pretty well for me, even with 196
>mods currently installed.
>

Yup, you are correct. I played long before there was an official
64-bit version (in fact, one of the mods I tried was to add 64-bit
memory support to the game! ;-)

I've tried to go back to Skyrim since, but I still run into a similar
problem. Not so much the crashes, but that fucking around with mods
still takes a lot more time than I'd like. Even with stability no
longer and issue, you still have to worry about installation and
compatibility and just finding and downloading all the mods you're
interested in. It's not an impossible task, but, well...

You say you have 196 mods. I don't quite remember how many I had;
probably it was around half that. But imagine you were to delete them
all, uninstall the game and then only come back in ten years and try
to get back to where you are now, not quite remembering everything you
used or all the specifics about getting it running . It would be a bit
of a chore, wouldn't it? So you could do that... OR you could just
play another game.

As I said, had I stuck through with "Skyrim", I probably would have
been happy as a pig in slop. But having quit it all those years ago,
I've little desire to return, no matter my fond memories or how
improved the infrastructure has become.

On 5/15/2024 9:36 AM, Mark P. Nelson wrote:
> Spalls Hurgenson <spallshurgenson@gmail.com> wrote in
> news:s5i94jlnetnql4h3hvvq49gnq3nsdiic7b@4ax.com:
>
>> "Skyrim" also gets a nod. The only reason I stopped playing it was
>> because it was becoming increasingly top-heavy and crashy with all the
>> mods I'd added. I was spending more time getting the game to work than
>> actually playing! But I think - had the game better stability - it
>> would still retain a place on my hard-drive.
>
> If I recall correctly, you stayed with the original 32-bit version. That used to crash pretty often
> for me, too. The 64--bit edition, on the other hand still runs pretty well for me, even with 196
> mods currently installed.
>
> I did play Diablo 1 and 2 for several years, also Vampire: the Masquerade-Bloodlines, and the
> first three Wing Commander games, Crusader: No Regret/Remorse, Outlaws, Privateer, and
> Neverwinter Nights 1 and 2.
>
> I still occasionally revisit the Harebrained Schemes' Shadowrun trilogy, the first Witcher
> game, and Fallout: New Vegas.
>
> Those I remember best.

Just as I'm playing FO3 right now with no mods (GOG version which was
free is supposed to be a lot more stable, and so far it is.) I've only
had 1 crash on launch in 30 hours and probably as many launches and no
game affecting bugs so far (Only possible bug is Paladin Hoss keeps
showing up every time I exit my Megaton house and running off, but I
already completed his quest.)

I am running cheat engine for the speed hack (1.2x any more and it
starts getting buggy and a bit too fast.) and zero weight cheat. And
running some of the console commands, like making dogmeat immortal
(essential, so he still gets knocked out, surprisingly rare though.) I
would like some of the mods like respawn timer slowdown, xp = easy only
(less xp), ripper fix (it's got a bug in unmodded that was never fixed.)
the motorcycle mod, and UI and other fixes. It doesn't feel worth
risking the crashes I had all the time with others.

If it was crashing all the time, I'd hop on the modding right away.

I don't know if I could play Skyrim modless, I like using magic in
fantasy games with mages, and magic is utter garbage in the unmodded game.

--
-Justisaur

ø-ø
(\_/)\
`-'\ `--.___,
¶¬'\( ,_.-'
\\
^'

On 5/15/2024 8:22 AM, Spalls Hurgenson wrote:
>
> Steam is running an 'Endless Replayability' sale, featuring games
> that, well... benefit from being played over and over again. Now, I
> don't really know (or care) much about the sale, but it is, I think, a
> great jumping off point for discussion. Specifically, let's list any
> games that we just keep playing and replaying.
>
> But first, how do we define "endless replayability"? Is it a game we
> play, put away, then come back to again over the years? Or is it a
> game which sits on our hard-drives endlessly, that we never stop
> playing? Well, seeing as we already did a poll on the former, let's
> assume for the purposes of this thread it's the latter. It's either an
> 'endless' game (like "Team Fortress 2" or "BeamNG.drive") which you
> just keep playing, or a game with a clearly defined end that you
> immediately go back and replay as soon as you finish it (such as
> "Skyrim" or "Civilization"). But the main defining factor for this
> category is that it's NOT a game where you take a break and come back
> to it later.
>
>
>
> Now, if you have been paying any attention to my posts over the years,
> you can probably guess which of my games qualify for this category.
> Yup, it's those god-damned truck-driving games ("EuroTruck Simulator
> 2" and "American Truck Simulator") which constantly appear on the
> monthly 'what have you been playing' threads. And even when they don't
> appear, you can be sure that I am STILL playing them (I just don't
> have anything new to say). In fact, my contributions to the list
> probably would be better entitled as 'what have I been playing OTHER
> than truck-sims' ;-)
>
> But I wanted to give a few shout-outs to other 'endless' games.
>
> Most notably: the Civilization games... even though I'm not actually
> playing them. But that's because I find them so addictive that I had
> purposefully STOPPED playing them for that very reason.
>
> "Skyrim" also gets a nod. The only reason I stopped playing it was
> because it was becoming increasingly top-heavy and crashy with all the
> mods I'd added. I was spending more time getting the game to work than
> actually playing! But I think - had the game better stability - it
> would still retain a place on my hard-drive.
>
> "Left4Dead" used to be an endless game for me. I got a lot of mileage
> out of that one. But decreasing user-count (everyone migrated to L4D2,
> which I never enjoyed quite as much) finally resulted in an
> uninstallation. But it offered a tremendous value for how much I paid.
>
> Finally, a tip of the hat to "Ultima 5", way back in the late 80s. It
> took me MONTHS to finish that game the first time, and after I was
> done I went back to the well again and again. It was, undeniably, the
> most played game on my 8-bit computer. It really only was my moving to
> PCs that made me stop playing...
>
>
> Anyway, those are the games that come to mind when I think of games
> with 'endless replayability'. What games kept you -or are still
> keeping you- endlessly enthralled?

Dark Souls 3. I was up for playing it infinitely, helping people in
co-op, slowly learning PVP, trying stupid hard challenges like no
leveling, or no getting hit, playing my pyromancer up to stupid high
level to NG+7 etc.

Them taking down the servers so there's no co-op killed it for me. Sure
they brought them back, eventually after ER had been out awhile. I
still feel like it was a conspiracy to get people to stop playing DS3 so
they'd buy and play ER instead. The co-op numbers never recovered, and
stayed about 1/3 what they were before. I can't say that wouldn't have
been the case anyway as many fans were wanting to try ER anyway, but I
probably would've held off a lot longer.

_____

A lot of indy 'rogue-lites' are play forever games. While I like a lot
of them, I never got *that* into them. I know there's people who play
Vampire Survivors for insane numbers of hours, just accumulating things,
and trying to unlock every last thing, playing afk overnight even (when
I get to that point, you aren't playing anymore, so I don't see the point.)

Nuclear Throne, Risk of Rain, Rogue Legacy, Immortal Redneck,
Cosmochoria are all ones of that breed I liked. I 'finished' the games,
but the game keeps going after that point, pretty much as long as you like

____

Looters really fall in this category too. Diablo, Borderlands, etc.
You can keep playing trying to find that perfect combination of weapons
and mods for them pretty much forever. I tend to just finish them once,
though Borderlands you don't really get the fun crazy guns until you've
gone through the game around 3 times.

--
-Justisaur

ø-ø
(\_/)\
`-'\ `--.___,
¶¬'\( ,_.-'
\\
^'

Justisaur <justisaur@yahoo.com> wrote at 16:43 this Thursday (GMT):
> On 5/15/2024 8:22 AM, Spalls Hurgenson wrote:
>>
>> Steam is running an 'Endless Replayability' sale, featuring games
>> that, well... benefit from being played over and over again. Now, I
>> don't really know (or care) much about the sale, but it is, I think, a
>> great jumping off point for discussion. Specifically, let's list any
>> games that we just keep playing and replaying.
>>
>> But first, how do we define "endless replayability"? Is it a game we
>> play, put away, then come back to again over the years? Or is it a
>> game which sits on our hard-drives endlessly, that we never stop
>> playing? Well, seeing as we already did a poll on the former, let's
>> assume for the purposes of this thread it's the latter. It's either an
>> 'endless' game (like "Team Fortress 2" or "BeamNG.drive") which you
>> just keep playing, or a game with a clearly defined end that you
>> immediately go back and replay as soon as you finish it (such as
>> "Skyrim" or "Civilization"). But the main defining factor for this
>> category is that it's NOT a game where you take a break and come back
>> to it later.
>>
>>
>>
>> Now, if you have been paying any attention to my posts over the years,
>> you can probably guess which of my games qualify for this category.
>> Yup, it's those god-damned truck-driving games ("EuroTruck Simulator
>> 2" and "American Truck Simulator") which constantly appear on the
>> monthly 'what have you been playing' threads. And even when they don't
>> appear, you can be sure that I am STILL playing them (I just don't
>> have anything new to say). In fact, my contributions to the list
>> probably would be better entitled as 'what have I been playing OTHER
>> than truck-sims' ;-)
>>
>> But I wanted to give a few shout-outs to other 'endless' games.
>>
>> Most notably: the Civilization games... even though I'm not actually
>> playing them. But that's because I find them so addictive that I had
>> purposefully STOPPED playing them for that very reason.
>>
>> "Skyrim" also gets a nod. The only reason I stopped playing it was
>> because it was becoming increasingly top-heavy and crashy with all the
>> mods I'd added. I was spending more time getting the game to work than
>> actually playing! But I think - had the game better stability - it
>> would still retain a place on my hard-drive.
>>
>> "Left4Dead" used to be an endless game for me. I got a lot of mileage
>> out of that one. But decreasing user-count (everyone migrated to L4D2,
>> which I never enjoyed quite as much) finally resulted in an
>> uninstallation. But it offered a tremendous value for how much I paid.
>>
>> Finally, a tip of the hat to "Ultima 5", way back in the late 80s. It
>> took me MONTHS to finish that game the first time, and after I was
>> done I went back to the well again and again. It was, undeniably, the
>> most played game on my 8-bit computer. It really only was my moving to
>> PCs that made me stop playing...
>>
>>
>> Anyway, those are the games that come to mind when I think of games
>> with 'endless replayability'. What games kept you -or are still
>> keeping you- endlessly enthralled?
>
> Dark Souls 3. I was up for playing it infinitely, helping people in
> co-op, slowly learning PVP, trying stupid hard challenges like no
> leveling, or no getting hit, playing my pyromancer up to stupid high
> level to NG+7 etc.
>
> Them taking down the servers so there's no co-op killed it for me. Sure
> they brought them back, eventually after ER had been out awhile. I
> still feel like it was a conspiracy to get people to stop playing DS3 so
> they'd buy and play ER instead. The co-op numbers never recovered, and
> stayed about 1/3 what they were before. I can't say that wouldn't have
> been the case anyway as many fans were wanting to try ER anyway, but I
> probably would've held off a lot longer.
>
> _____
>
> A lot of indy 'rogue-lites' are play forever games. While I like a lot
> of them, I never got *that* into them. I know there's people who play
> Vampire Survivors for insane numbers of hours, just accumulating things,
> and trying to unlock every last thing, playing afk overnight even (when
> I get to that point, you aren't playing anymore, so I don't see the point.)
>
> Nuclear Throne, Risk of Rain, Rogue Legacy, Immortal Redneck,
> Cosmochoria are all ones of that breed I liked. I 'finished' the games,
> but the game keeps going after that point, pretty much as long as you like
>
> ____
>
> Looters really fall in this category too. Diablo, Borderlands, etc.
> You can keep playing trying to find that perfect combination of weapons
> and mods for them pretty much forever. I tend to just finish them once,
> though Borderlands you don't really get the fun crazy guns until you've
> gone through the game around 3 times.

I can't really play a game repeatedly.. I always get sick of it and
quit.
--
user <candycane> is generated from /dev/urandom

On 15/05/2024 16:22, Spalls Hurgenson wrote:
> Steam is running an 'Endless Replayability' sale, featuring games
> that, well... benefit from being played over and over again. Now, I
> don't really know (or care) much about the sale, but it is, I think, a
> great jumping off point for discussion. Specifically, let's list any
> games that we just keep playing and replaying.
>
> But first, how do we define "endless replayability"? Is it a game we
> play, put away, then come back to again over the years? Or is it a
> game which sits on our hard-drives endlessly, that we never stop
> playing? Well, seeing as we already did a poll on the former, let's
> assume for the purposes of this thread it's the latter. It's either an
> 'endless' game (like "Team Fortress 2" or "BeamNG.drive") which you
> just keep playing, or a game with a clearly defined end that you
> immediately go back and replay as soon as you finish it (such as
> "Skyrim" or "Civilization"). But the main defining factor for this
> category is that it's NOT a game where you take a break and come back
> to it later.

The majority of games I never even finish so coming back to them is
pretty rare for me. The only game I've played for years and years is
World of Tanks and I dread to think how many hours I put into that. My
game time in the last few years severely tailed off as I was getting
more and more despondent into the increased focus of MTX by WG. The
final straw was when they closed the forum and a community manager went
into gaslighting mode by effectively saying it's just old farts that
don't understand Discord that are against this.

I thought well, this old fart will delete their account then.

On Fri, 17 May 2024 03:00:05 -0000 (UTC), candycanearter07
<candycanearter07@candycanearter07.nomail.afraid> wrote:

>I can't really play a game repeatedly.. I always get sick of it and
>quit.

It is the exact opposite for me. I keep going back to the same games.

On Sat, 18 May 2024 09:28:18 -0400, Mike S. <Mike_S@nowhere.com>
wrote:

>On Fri, 17 May 2024 03:00:05 -0000 (UTC), candycanearter07
><candycanearter07@candycanearter07.nomail.afraid> wrote:
>
>>I can't really play a game repeatedly.. I always get sick of it and
>>quit.
>
>It is the exact opposite for me. I keep going back to the same games.

The monthly "What Have You Been Playing" threads save me from this
fate. I feel obligated to keep trying new games in order to have
something to write about. I mean, there's only so many times I can
tell you how much I enjoy driving a truck. ;-)

Well, I mean, I'd /still/ play other games - I'm infamous for my need
for novelty - but I'd return to old classics a lot more often.

Still, the number of times I've gone, "Oh man, I'd love to give
<insert old game here>" but decided against it because I knew that
game would utterly DOMINATE that month's allotted play-time and I
wanted to have at least two or three more games on the end-of-month
round-up is... well, it's happened more than a few times.

TL;DR: Usenet saves me from my folly again. ;-)

Mike S <Mike_S@nowhere.com> wrote at 13:28 this Saturday (GMT):
> On Fri, 17 May 2024 03:00:05 -0000 (UTC), candycanearter07
><candycanearter07@candycanearter07.nomail.afraid> wrote:
>
>>I can't really play a game repeatedly.. I always get sick of it and
>>quit.
>
> It is the exact opposite for me. I keep going back to the same games.

IDK, it's easy for me to get burned out on a game. On the other hand,
I always get nervous when paying money for a game so I'm stuck in a
weird limbo :P
--
user <candycane> is generated from /dev/urandom

On Sat, 18 May 2024 20:50:04 -0000 (UTC), candycanearter07
<candycanearter07@candycanearter07.nomail.afraid> wrote:

>Mike S <Mike_S@nowhere.com> wrote at 13:28 this Saturday (GMT):
>> On Fri, 17 May 2024 03:00:05 -0000 (UTC), candycanearter07
>><candycanearter07@candycanearter07.nomail.afraid> wrote:
>>
>>>I can't really play a game repeatedly.. I always get sick of it and
>>>quit.
>>
>> It is the exact opposite for me. I keep going back to the same games.
>
>
>IDK, it's easy for me to get burned out on a game. On the other hand,
>I always get nervous when paying money for a game so I'm stuck in a
>weird limbo :P

Back-in-the-day I used to make it a point to play every game I've
purchased at least twice to completion (albeit not necessarily
consecutively). I felt it was the best way to get value for my money.

I still sort of feel that way, but the sheer glut of games I have at
my fingertips sort of makes that impossible. If I went back to replay
all the games I've already played once, I'd never have time for new
games. And if I didn't get new games, The Number wouldn't go up!

Quite the conundrum.

On 5/19/2024 9:21 AM, Spalls Hurgenson wrote:
> On Sat, 18 May 2024 20:50:04 -0000 (UTC), candycanearter07
> <candycanearter07@candycanearter07.nomail.afraid> wrote:
>
>> Mike S <Mike_S@nowhere.com> wrote at 13:28 this Saturday (GMT):
>>> On Fri, 17 May 2024 03:00:05 -0000 (UTC), candycanearter07
>>> <candycanearter07@candycanearter07.nomail.afraid> wrote:
>>>
>>>> I can't really play a game repeatedly.. I always get sick of it and
>>>> quit.
>>>
>>> It is the exact opposite for me. I keep going back to the same games.
>>
>>
>> IDK, it's easy for me to get burned out on a game. On the other hand,
>> I always get nervous when paying money for a game so I'm stuck in a
>> weird limbo :P
>
> Back-in-the-day I used to make it a point to play every game I've
> purchased at least twice to completion (albeit not necessarily
> consecutively). I felt it was the best way to get value for my money.
>
> I still sort of feel that way, but the sheer glut of games I have at
> my fingertips sort of makes that impossible. If I went back to replay
> all the games I've already played once, I'd never have time for new
> games. And if I didn't get new games, The Number wouldn't go up!
>
> Quite the conundrum.
>
And So Began The Schism between The Number Acquired and The Number
Played.... :P

--
I've done good in this world. Now I'm tired and just want to be a cranky
dirty old man.

Dimensional Traveler <dtravel@sonic.net> wrote at 16:52 this Sunday (GMT):
> On 5/19/2024 9:21 AM, Spalls Hurgenson wrote:
>> On Sat, 18 May 2024 20:50:04 -0000 (UTC), candycanearter07
>> <candycanearter07@candycanearter07.nomail.afraid> wrote:
>>
>>> Mike S <Mike_S@nowhere.com> wrote at 13:28 this Saturday (GMT):
>>>> On Fri, 17 May 2024 03:00:05 -0000 (UTC), candycanearter07
>>>> <candycanearter07@candycanearter07.nomail.afraid> wrote:
>>>>
>>>>> I can't really play a game repeatedly.. I always get sick of it and
>>>>> quit.
>>>>
>>>> It is the exact opposite for me. I keep going back to the same games.
>>>
>>>
>>> IDK, it's easy for me to get burned out on a game. On the other hand,
>>> I always get nervous when paying money for a game so I'm stuck in a
>>> weird limbo :P
>>
>> Back-in-the-day I used to make it a point to play every game I've
>> purchased at least twice to completion (albeit not necessarily
>> consecutively). I felt it was the best way to get value for my money.
>>
>> I still sort of feel that way, but the sheer glut of games I have at
>> my fingertips sort of makes that impossible. If I went back to replay
>> all the games I've already played once, I'd never have time for new
>> games. And if I didn't get new games, The Number wouldn't go up!
>>
>> Quite the conundrum.
>>
> And So Began The Schism between The Number Acquired and The Number
> Played.... :P

That is a very very wide chasm for me..
--
user <candycane> is generated from /dev/urandom