I saw an interview on this topic once explaining why pre-orders are important. If I remember correctly, it still serves 2 purposes. For one, its to start getting people to talk about the product online and generating conversations/hype about the pre-order incentives, so its a marketing thing. The second is to get the player’s money reserved for, or “committed”, to their game before a different game that they may also have an interest in takes their final $60(or more these days) for the month.
I was a big fan of early tell tale series like walking dead and wolf among us so the idea of Alumni from the studio in conjunction with Critical Role intrigued me.
I decided to go in on a whim and try out Dispatch.
A return to Episodic games however this time instead of 3-4 months between episodes it has a schedule of 2 episodes every week for a total of 8 episodes.
I had a lot of fun with it and the voice acting is engaging and entertaining. It even has what some would argue is actual gameplay aside from the usual choose your own adventure game loop.
I will say it does seem to have less impact from and fewer of the choices that you’d find in a typical telltale game but it’s only the first two episodes, which seem to be mostly introduction, tutorial and set up.
I expect it to get a bit messier as the episodes go on and hope to get to experience the Dispatch side of gameplay a bit more. As it stands there is only one session of Dispatch per episode.
I wasn’t aware of the cast all too much going in and it was nice to see Joel Haver bookend the second episode, big fan of his movies, shorts and animations.
Also of note, as someone who hasn’t watched any marvel movies and isn’t really into the whole superhero thing outside of seeing it dissected and picked apart (invincible, the boyz, etc), I think this game can be enjoyed by lovers and haters of the current blockbuster trend.
We discussed pre-ordering in an earlier post. I’ve been waiting for Outer Worlds 2, but I wouldn’t pre-order it.
Outer Worlds 2 officially launches on the 29th - but Steam offered an “Early Access Pre-Order”. What that means is that if I pay for it now, I get to download and play it now. So I did.
It’s not a pre-order at all. It’s just moving the release date.
I mean, that is a pre-order, but with a bonus. In a usual pre-order, you pay now to get stuff at the same time as everyone else. You’re just guaranteed to get it, while others might find that vendors have run out of stock. So let’s face it, preorders of digital (i.e. non-scarce) goods make zero sense for the customer. They’re only good for the seller to get the money earlier.
In other words, the tech may be creating more work, not less
In other words, they are finding out what every other branch in the software industry has been finding out 
AI is great to speed up certain well defined and solved problems (it’s great for porting code, for example, or to spit out well-solved and documented algorithms in a language that you might not immediately find a reference implementation in), but it sucks at software design. Which every developer was able to tell after a couple hours trying to get one to do anything complex. But managers tend not to listen.
On the other hand, evidence is mounting that AI does indeed stand for “actually indians”, seeing that most tech companies that are doing mass layoffs are just re-hiring equal numbers, but the new hires are foreign workers on visas. They work for less money and have a weaker bargaining position.
Electronic Arts admitted that the use of AI “might present social and ethical issues that, if not managed appropriately, may result in legal and reputational harm, cause consumers to lose confidence in our business and brands
Really, EA? You start worrying about that now?? What in your reputation could you possibly destroy more than you already did?
I know everyone here is excited for this news
And this
https://www.minecraft.net/en-us/article/removing-obfuscation-in-java-edition
I picked a really really stupid week to buy Oblivion Remastered. Had no idea this was out so soon 
Unfortunately for me, about 30 minutes into the game, I began to realize I didn’t feel so well. And I got worse by the minute. Mental refreshment began to sound better and better…
I called it a night.
Still feel crummy today but I won’t be going anywhere. Hoping to get into the game today.
I advise a degree of caution. Whilst it may seem light-hearted (indeed, in parts, it is), Outer Worlds 2 is a much more complex game than the first one. There are lots of choices, and you never know which ones matter until after you’ve made them.
There’s a lot of reading involved, and a lot of complex and confusing situations. Nothing is what it seems.
I played through the introductory / training section 7 times before I got an outcome I liked. The end result of the introduction is always the same - but the choices you make along the way change aspects of the later game.
Save often. Be prepared to go back, and do things differently.
Thanks for heads up.
I have been easing thru the story and trying to really think. Not easy when my head is swimming and I am dosing myself with meds.
So far, I have gotten quite a few of the, ‘this will be remembered’ notices.
In 7 attempts, I didn’t manage to. Nor did I manage to persuade the guy on the intercom to shut down the mechs. It may be that with a different skill set I might have succeeded. Trouble is, there are thousands of possible permutations. There was a limit to how many I was prepared to try.
It looks like the beginning of the main game is scripted, so I think you always start with the same survivors - which would mean you can’t change who dies.
I did! 
I expunged his record in exchange.
That must have made him feel better.
For about 10 minutes.
I just found the guy again. He remembers what I did for him, according to his terminal entries.
He also has a rotation at the Vox, the place I need to go…
I thought I was heading to sabotage the mech repair centre, but due to a peculiarity with the map and quest marker, I ended up at the Vox relay instead.
I was pretty sure it wasn’t a good idea to assault the place when I was only level 5, but hey, I was there, and I had saves to fall back on…
It was a spirited fight, and I had to reload saves after dying a few times. The boss, Montelli, was particularly tough - and there’s a nasty twist at the end.
Having completed the Vox, all my quests are now out of synch. I hope the game can cope.