It's worth it Chucky in my opinion. I'm like you and usually don't buy games until they've gone on two years or reach the 'Game of the Year' edition stage. But I made an exception for RDR and it''s actually the first game I've ever pre-ordered, even if that was only 12 hours ahead. I still got some pre-order bonuses. I started with $200 cash and a free war horse and maybe an extra outfit, gear or weapon or something. (Edit: it was the Outlaw's Survival Kit, with some potions and other consumables apparently, and of course the double-action revolver unlocked in GTA Online)

I've dropped 50 hours so far and the progress is at 50%, so I'll get 100 hours out of it, and could go 150 if I were to just free-roam a lot (but I think I'll just play it again). On a per-hour basis it's a bargain. But with this game i say forget all about value, just get it because it's an amazing game and well worth the money. It's one of the very few games I would place alongside Witcher 3 as the best of the best. Of course there's every chance you could dislike it, but it seems you've gotten the sense it's up your alley. Honestly, this is why I put those little stories in my posts. Seeing someone say a game is good or not isn't all that helpful for me. But when I read about the actual gameplay, like a first hand account, I can get a sense of whether it's something I would like to play.

Yeah RDR 2 is full-price at the mo, and there aren't many games I'd advise to break your rules for, but this is probably one of them.

And I'd like to add that I began posting in this thread with two major complaints, CTDs and persistent mouse cursor. Since performing the cursor fix I mentioned earlier, both issues are gone. The game runs very smoothly, looks fantastic, and is now stable. That doesn't mean it will be for everyone, but on the other hand perhaps players shouldn't be as wary now of the technical issues at release.

Just curious, does anyone else love the poker in RDR 2 as much as I do?

+1 to what DBond has said.

I usually wait until I buy "games" as I'm a flightsim guy, but this purchase is easily the best purchase I have ever made regarding a game on PC. I've been playing it since it's release at least an hour or two a night and I'm only 26% done with the game. I played last night, completing 3 missions and I went from 24% to 26%. The game is absolutely massive. There is so much to do and experience. I just started Chapter 3 and there are 6 Chapters in it as well as 2 prologue chapters apparently. What I love about the game is that you don't have blow right through the story. Chapter 1 is basically linear and will lead you into the story. Once you get to Chapter 2 the world opens up. I'm still nowhere close to seeing the entire map yet because of all the side things I do just for fun.

It's a pretty incredible experience.

Do you have to follow a story? Can you just do what you want and just play the odd mission?

I hated Witcher 3. Maybe I should have given it longer but the story and dialogue was driving me nuts! It just seemed endless and I don't have much patience. I realise you didn't directly compare the 2 Mr Bond,I'm just trying to point out what I don't like in my games.

If you've ever played Outlaws Of The Old West,that just spawns you in the game and off you go,do whatever you want.

The story, aside from the first chapter, can be played in your own time, or even ignored. But as I mentioned earlier in the thread, story missions unlock many of the best abilities, weapons and items. But yes, you could exit the chapter 1 prologue, and get lots of play just doing side missions, random encounters, hunting, fishing, botany, poker, exploring or whatever else you wanted to do.

Honestly, I would have paid $40 just for the poker

And yes, I'm making no direct comparison in terms of game play with Witcher 3, just as a technical and narrative achievement. They are very different games, though in terms of quality they are each of the highest order in my view.

If you haven't played R* games before, like GTA, it should be noted that the formula for story missions usually consists of long conversations as you ride to the mission location, do said mission, then have long conversations on the ride back. Very different from W3 and it all just happens, you don't have to make dialog choices, and helps to color the otherwise mundane travel. But worth knowing I suppose.

Now that my CTDs are over, the worst thing about this game for me is the ridiculous timing of the auto-save prompts. I have a cougar clamped down on my arm and I am probably just about to die.... oh sure, I'd love an auto-save right now. Thanks.

I was out on my first bounty hunting mission, tracking some idiot down who had been poisoning people, when some guy came trotting past on his horse... I hailed him and he grunted something, so I hailed him again and he reined in, spun his horse around and drew his pistol.
''You trying to get shot'' he growled.
I slowly reined back and he just grunted again, scowled and turned around and rode off muttering to himself.
Not everyone is friendly out there... you never know what might happen when you meet any strangers.

I've stopped a few passers by as I go along... not had the same response from anyone yet. Which is quite refreshing!

If anyone draws down on me I kill them. Thats pretty much my only bad guy tendency. But a lot of times you'll just be riding around town in a slow walk and some random guy will get pissed because you are too close and he will draw down on you...

A patch dropped and the new build should be 1207.73. Among the changes are 'improvements' to the cores draining issue. So they don't use the word fixed, but at least they're aware of it and making changes. Too early for me to notice the difference, but I did fire it up to be sure it still ran OK

I got a rainstorm, which lasted from 12:08 PM to 1:28 PM, which seemed longer than many I've seen before. I did sit still, so that I wasn't heading in to, or away from, the storm. I never tested it before so I don't know if it's actually different. Pretty useless report actually. Curious if anyone else notices if the days seem longer, or if your cores seem to last longer. Too many variables to easily tell I think, but if it's different we should feel it I think.

Body weight is working better. I've been perpetually underweight since the start of chapter 2. Tonight I ate three steaks and a can of beans, which is more than I would usually eat, slept a few hours, and it rebounded to average weight next day. I ate that much just to see if I could raise the weight quickly now. It didn't seem to matter what I ate before, it stayed stuck at underweight. But you know, it doesn't matter, as the penalty for underweight is small, and is countered by an even better bonus. I mean, I like the trade of +5% damage taken for -5% stamina drain. Going to average weight makes these values 4.5%. It's pretty insignificant isn't it? But I wanted to see if whatever cores changes they made could be seen somehow. For me it looks like it's getting there.

I wish the PS4 had an hour counter so that I'd know but I'm pretty sure I got at least 100 hours in the game if not more because of free roaming/role playing and also role playing a lot after the last prologue which does a beautiful job of setting things up for the story of the first game. There's also an amazing amount of unique dialogue that I would hear all the time during different days and times. Just when I think they surely wouldn't have voice acted anymore dialogue I hear something new.

I also did not know this until long after finishing the main game but I learned that if you are without a horse, you can attempt to talk to an NPC in a wagon and they might give you a ride back into town which I tried after the fact. Even though you eventually get to the point of hearing repeated dialogue this game is so great in the way they designed NPC interaction and choosing to talk to people in different ways. Really adds to the role playing experience and living in the world.

They are two completely different games like Dbond said Chucky, I loved Witcher 3 too but its also a series that has way more story and background going on and more role playing heavy. RDR2 is very easy to get into and pick up and I think you'd be immersed and impressed pretty quick and play it how you like. The beauty is the story too but you can choose to leave it be or plough through it if you like. There are some turning point type of main story missions that will thrust the story along too so sometimes you might see players recommending that you do this or that before you proceed with such and such a mission.


I look forward to playing the game a second time someday. The world was big and mysterious at first and I did not yet understand how to play the game yet so early on, when I could have been doing things that I ended up doing later on, I did not. Next time I'll probably spend time trying to bring some meat to the gang and "live" in the first area longer because I did not know that you could. I wonder if there would be dialogue I missed out early on based on the location and time in the story.

There's also side missions that can be missed and somewhat random. There's an Uncle cattle driving mission that I wanted very much to do but by the time I was ready for it it would disappear. I got worried that I missed out altogether but after spending a lot o tedious time hanging around camp it finally showed back up. I like hanging around in camp and living there but it was frustrating that I had to sort of game the game when I wasn't in the mood just to get that mission to show up again.

dont get your hopes up, like i told you before this is what they could do, consider this as good as it will get, the problem is the way the game was written and they arent going to change that.

Well you may be right, but I still don't see it as much of an issue. Maybe if I had gotten used to it on PS4 it would bother me to have things move along faster, but it seems to go at a reasonable pace as it is. I usually eat and sleep each day anyway, and there are plenty of consumables. And if you hunt you'll always have plenty of food. A steak refills all cores. If R* stretches things out more on PC I'm all for it, but I'm fine with the way it is now. Whatever improvements were to have been made with this patch aren't obvious to me, but then again I wasn't paying close attention to it before. And I'm back to underweight

I like a lot of the optional activities you can do in this game. I keep raving about the poker, and I rarely pass up a game. I win some and lose some but overall I'm probably up around $40. The game should track and display this stuff. And I like the hunting too. If you want some of the kit like a better satchel or the trapper's reinforced gear it requires pelts, which takes some dedication, doesn't it? Gotta find the right animal, and then a three-star example of it, and then kill it cleanly. And as the chapters tick by the camp gets further and further from the center of the map, so returning to camp with an elk pelt is quite the ride. If I play again I'll do more of this while still at Horseshoe Overlook. The hunting isn't too hard, it requires patience and a good shot, but on PC I reckon everyone's a good shot. Dead-Eye makes it much easier, especially on birds and waterfowl. Hunting and skinning improves Dead-Eye, and the higher levels unlock some good abilities.You can improve it in other ways too of course, but hunting tends to be bounty-free. Pearson loves you for it, it can keep the camp fed, and the legendary animals allow the talismans and trapper kit to be made. So yeah, it's fun, useful and let's you breath in the fresh air

Needed a perfect elk pelt for a satchel upgrade, headed out northwest of Valentine and up in to elk country. Took this one, and it was a pretty long shot too. The rolling block with express ammo is what I like for this sort of game. That gun, a bow, a shotgun and the .22 rifle are what you need. For what it's worth, legendary animal pelts can not be damaged, and some require multiple hits so don't worry you're ruining the pelt. The rolling block /express combo is perfect for big game. I like the bolt-action/express too, but it does a little less damage. Good for medium sized like deer and pronghorn.




Got a new horse, the black Arabian from St Denis. Accelerates faster than the brindle thoroughbred and has elite handling. Not a big upgrade, but a bit more performance. Named her Ricochet. She's fiesty

Nice!

I'm still in chapter 2 hanging out at Horseshoe Overlook just to keep hunting in a more central location.
The problem with that location is fishing and most of the weapons are locked.

I really need some moose antlers and the only time I found one a grizzly spooked the moose as I was equipping the rifle. Man those moose can really move when spooked. I got a perfect grizzly hide so it wasn't a total wash.

What really irritates me is every patch my graphics settings get all mixed up.

Smart move



What do you mean?



True, though there are a number of weapons you can find out in the game world, although only the shotguns would really be good for hunting, at least of the ones I have found. I avoid spoilers so who knows how many I've walked past already? I've had two quests for ages now, rock carvings and dino bones, and I've never noticed any. Surely I've stood right next to some by now

I've found three shotguns --a pump, a side-by-side and the semi-auto. The side-by-side was above a fireplace on a mantle but I don't recall where (edit: now I do and this can be obtained on a chapter 2 mission). I do know the others but don't want to spoil it, but if anyone's not concerned with that I can reveal the locations. Always be on the lookout for cellars and attics/lofts with a ladder leading up to them. And when you get close to these guns a mini-map marker actually pops up, unless you've disabled it I suppose, so you know one is nearby. I think the best big-game hunting rifle is the rolling block, and you can get the standard one in a chapter 2 mission, and the rare one in a chapter 3 mission, but it falls as loot off a NPC, so it could be missed. I bought the .22 as I never found one. You can use the bow for small game, but you need to craft small game arrows, so the .22 is a better choice for me, and the scope helps a lot as you can keep your distance so the quarry doesn't bolt.



Same here, but I use the balanced preset so easy for me to revert. If anyone is doing a custom setup then I can see how annoying that would be.

Most of the rifles and the last shotgun or two are locked until later in the game, but since there's hardly any difference between them it's not a big deal. Except that sweet semi-auto shotgun.

I looked it up and made a big mistake with the fishing. It unlocks after you take Jack fishing. The way I remembered it, that was the last thing you did before moving camps. I've been avoiding that mission for a week or more and this whole time I could have been fishing.

Those are cool shots DBond, i guess like odyssey i will expend most of my time framing pictures lol. Can you kill bears or the legendary bear with a well aimed headshot or they get buffed health ?

Yeah, they get extra health, or so it seems. Maybe taking several high velocity rifle rounds to the noggin is what makes you legendary, eh?

Tonight I headed up to the northeast part of the map. Hadn't been there so wanted to uncover it and see what's around. Found two new towns actually. Entered a legendary animal area and dismounted to see if I could get it. Turned out to be the moose. I shot him three times in the head during a single Dead-Eye with the full-damage rolling block rifle/express ammo combo. So you'd have to say it's extra tough. Same with the legendary buck, but I used a repeater on that one.

While I was stalking the moose, this was stalking me. Throwing knife took him out. I hate snakes




Ricochet is packing a few pelts. Three perfect deer, one boar and the legendary moose. Each deer was dutifully carried in to the nearest town and sold to the butcher, then I headed back upland for the next one. My rule is never waste a harvested animal. Some are too big to carry, you can't throw a bison on your horse, but the rest I always take back to camp or sell to the butcher.





Below the falls in the background is the legendary Steelhead. I hooked it a few times but didn't land it. I've not quite gotten a handle on the fishing. I've caught a number of fish, including a nice 15 pound muskie here. But of the five legendaries I've fought I've only landed one. I spent about a week on this trip and it rained for half of that time. One complaint people have had is the storms go by too fast. Something sure has changed, although it could be sort of the default state for the NE part of the map. My first time there so can't say.

how is it

I am using a savegame editor from Nexusmods that allows you to change your character's loadout. As much as I am enjoying the game, it's been bugging me that I cannot discard unwanted weapons. Been using it without any side effects so far.

Also, I probably made the mistake of being a good housefather at the start, so at this point in my game (about halfway in) money is never an issue. In my next playthrough I should probably blow more money on whiskey and beer so that paying off a bounty will be much harder.

Last night I literally spent an hour hunting for a perfect squirrel... I am not sure if I should be playing this game

You just know that somewhere in the world someone's job is nothing but horse tail physics

We should start a thread on it


Johan, right there with you. I spent quite a bit more time than that looking for a racoon haha. Today I went hunting for a panther for the satchel upgrade. Didn't know exactly where to look, but had a hunch. Arrived there around dawn and slowly made my way through the area, with the bolt-action out. After about 20 minutes, I thought I heard a cat's growl, on the other side of a small rise. I was crouched to keep quiet and moved in that direction. Heard it again, louder this time. Definitely a cat. As I crested the rise and prepared to go to scope, the panther pounced on me in a flash and mauled me, and I fought it off but near death. Before I could bring up the wheel to administer first aid it pounced again and killed me dead.

So I tried again, but moving through the terrain in such a way that no close ground was out of sight. This time I spotted it about 200 feet away. It was resolved as a big cat or something. Study revealed Florida Panther. I had to wait a few minutes for it to move to an angle for a headshot, and I shot it with the bolt-action. Loaded it up alongside that racoon, and back to camp. That got me the kit satchel upgrade. The big cats are dangerous in this game, even gators seem more interested in running away, but the big cats will hunt your ass down.

A couple more screens. If I'm posting too many let me know.

Back at camp, with the panther and the 'coon on Ricochet. Look a the detail on the saddle, and the shoe prints in the mud, And this is on balanced. Superb looking game isn't it?




I said before I had only landed one legendary fish, the smallmouth bass. Make it two. I got the chain pickerel too. I've caught hundreds of these in real life, but none as big as this. It was the size of a pike. And it should be said that the animal and fish artists for this game did a spectacular job. When you look closely at one of these fish, or a ringneck pheasant or a mallard duck, or any animal really, the detail of the creature is phenomenal. Just beautiful. For the pickerel I switched to the controller, and I'm not sure that's why I landed it, I think because it was only 9 pounds and easier than a sturgeon or a steelhead. But using the controller is very different from keyboard. You actually sort of 'reel' it in on the controller.

What a view. The Dakota River bend, and I reckon how Horseshoe Overlook got it's name. The pickerel was pulled out of the river on the left. Both of these shots are from first person, which is how I play on foot. Most of my screens are third person though, since the free camera is only available then.