Just sort of a goofy poll, but I'm curious:

When was the last time you were up till quarter to three playing a game, what game was it, and were you feeling guilty or psyched to be up so late?

For me: It was August 4th/5th, and I was brewing up T80s in Flashpoint. For once, I didn't feel all that guilty because I had already had a nice night with the gf, and she was long asleep. I love those nights!

Last night, rummaging the dustbins of Arcanum, looking for large springs and railroad spikes. Roleplaying at its finest. ;)

The last time? Max Payne. I don't know the exact day, but not too long ago. I was my second night with it and I got a little obsessed so I just finished it.

Flashpoint should be out in US stores now at a nice price point, too. Can't wait to get a copy!

When? Earlier this month
What game? Diablo 2 Expansion
Guilty or Psyched? I would only be guilty if I was not searching/trading till all hours of the morning for a better bow for my Amazon in Nightmare mode.

-DavidCPA

Count me in. D2 Expansion. Earlier this week. Played through Act 3 w/my new Druid until The Wife yelled at me from the bedroom.

"Played through Act 3 w/my new Druid until The Wife yelled at me from the bedroom."

Um, that would be guilty.

"Played through Act 3 w/my new Druid until The Wife yelled at me from the bedroom."

Heh, yep. Been there, done that.

Last night and every night since last week.

Trying to get a handle on Echelon--screwy physics and the puzzle-based missions are making me old.

Why?

Review.

Why now?

GamePen needed one.

I was playing Starcraft earlier this month. I kept doing the "I'll just play a few more minutes" justification. I thought it was early still, because I wasn't very tired. I finally quit and saw that it was 3 am. My wife had gone to bed at 10 and was fast asleep the whole time, so I wasn't guilty.

Trevor

Oh. Not guilty. Not psyched. It's SOP. I'm usually up that late. Perk for being unemployed.

Last night. Independence War 2. ~3:00am.

Last time for me was counterstrike about 2 months ago, before my soundcard let out the magic smoke.

Last night with Spider-Man for review.

You want short? This game defines the term. I'm now playing around with all the extras but two nights ago, I started at 6:45 and had the game done by 10:30 PM. That's with a break to put the kids in the bathtub and into bed which lasted at least 45 minutes.

My wife will tolerate lateness to bed when it results in paid reviews. She will not tolerate similar lateness when it's just me, Jaheira, Minsc, Dynaheir, Imoen and Ajantis wandering the Sword Coast.

--Dave

For me it was Max Payne. It was the same day I got it so i just powered right through the game. When I was done it was 9:00am Sunday morning. Needless to say I felt utterly drained and mentally exhausted. Also my entire perception on reality was slightly altered until I got some sleep.

Guilty? Hell no. I am a single, white, male, prfessional who owns his own house. Thus I can do what I want, when I want to, and as loud as I want.

Women and computers suck the life out of you, but atleast when I get tired of my computer I can turn it off and walk away from it. Try that one with your Wife/GF.

Also... I have played Combat Mission at all hours of the night. I get PBEMs at all hours and I am usually just dying to see what happens next. ;)

Jeff

"Women and computers suck the life out of you, but atleast when I get tired of my computer I can turn it off and walk away from it. Try that one with your Wife/GF."

Careful, this thread is about the games. Keep it up and this thread will lose its original intent, and Supertanker will show you his Wife-gaming Essay (apologies if I'm wrong about it being Supertanker's article).

Last week, playing Pharoah, me falling into the "oh, just a little longer" trap.

- Alan

Last night, Arcanum demo, finally got across the bridge, looked at my watch and said, 'holy shit! 4:30!!' The wife and kid are out of town, but it wouldn't matter if they were or not. So no guilt, never guilt when it comes to games. BTW, this is a milestone for me, I actually finished an RPG. OK, I know it's only a demo, but, hey, I finished it. And, ever since reading about Punchy McGroin, I've gone back and have made another guy with an INT of 2. It's hilarious, I'm laughing my ass off. Better than the real game.

DeanCo--

"but atleast when I get tired of my computer I can turn it off and walk away from it. Try that one with your Wife/GF."

Yeah, but I can think of at least one thing you can do with a wife/gf you can't do with a computer.

>When was the last time you were up till quarter to three playing a game, what game was it, and were you feeling guilty or psyched to be up so late?

Heh, I do most of my gaming between 11 p.m. - 3 a.m. Almost every night, other than weekends. Played some Giants last night. No guilt.

Stefan

---

Quote:

Yeah, but I can think of at least one thing you can do with a wife/gf you can't do with a computer.

---

Last week, replaying BGII. Loved it

"Played through Act 3 w/my new Druid until The Wife yelled at me from the bedroom. "

This little trick works for me all the time: go to bed with her and wait about 10 minutes. Then, when she is sleeping, just get up.

Also, when I get up in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom, I just stay up and game a little.

I never get yelled at and I don't have to share the computer.

I'm up at 2:45 am pretty much every single night, usually either playing a game or answering some email or screwing around on the web.

In fact, the ODD thing for me has been that I've gotten addicted to the God Damned Harry Potter Books and have been READING at that hour for most nights of the last two weeks.

I usually hit the sack around quarter AFTER three.

But I'm a night person.

(Rob, try to remember to ask the same question again one week after Civ3 hits shelves.)

Last night. Shoot Club went until about 5am.

Otherwise, however, I've become something of a morning guy. My girlfriend has managed to rope me into a conventional schedule for every night but Shoot Club. And I used to routinely stay up until 6am!

Women. Sheesh.

-Tom

Shoot Club! Oh, if only I could go to Shoot Club, that would be the greatest. What happened at Shoot Club last night!?


And also, I had a shoot club experience two weeks ago. I went to Maine to see some buddies (fantasy football draft day) and I brought up a couple of games to show the guys. The game I was most looking forward to showing was Sacrifice. At first they liked the volcanos and firefists, but as soon I really started playing they lost total interest. Sac is the sort of game that you "feel" rather than watch. I remember a Shoot Club along these lines once.

Since I suffer from insomnia, I rarely hit the hay before 3 am PST. I usually spend this time posting in forums, updating my website, answering emails, or playing games. Quarter to Three is computer time for me.

Currently, Shogun Warlord Ed has my attention. Also, Diablo 2x expansion is a recent staple. Sometimes, I'm trolling bungie.net servers playing Euros and Aussies.

Raphael

Max Payne. I picked it up from EB on my lunch break, left work around 3:00 PM, installed it on my PC and played until 7:00 AM the next day. My darling GF wasn't as incredulous as I'd feared, since I'd done the same thing with NBA Street (PS2) just a few weeks earlier.

Of course, when she's playing Heroes of Might and Magic III until the cows come home, that's OK. Apparently.

Shoot Club last night was Unreal Tournament's ChaosUT mod, which we'd never tried, and then a bunch of Diablo II.

"The game I was most looking forward to showing was Sacrifice. At first they liked the volcanos and firefists, but as soon I really started playing they lost total interest. Sac is the sort of game that you "feel" rather than watch. I remember a Shoot Club along these lines once."

The guys at Shoot Club *hate* Sacrifice for two reasons: 1) it's a tough game to play when one person (me) is experienced and everyone else is new, and 2) they're a bunch of Philistines.

-Tom

Man, can we just give Sacrifice GOTY 2 years in a row? I'm not much of an RTS fan, but I can't get enough of this game. I played the SP campaign to completion on my old rig, then again on my new rig that I built in April. I'm about to try a 3rd campaign now that I have a Geforce 3. Gotta love that branching mission structure.

The funny thing is, I've NEVER played it multiplayer... I actually have a few reservations about how I imagine it would play. It seems as though it would be entirely geared toward defensive play, and that attacking would be a very frustrating experience beacause of how long it takes to convert souls. Does it play out that way?

-Matthew

I know it sounds crazy, but I was still playing Jagged Alliance 2 last Saturday at 1am. No guilt, but the wife did drop the hint many times that I was too engrossed. The good news is that once the family is asleep, I can play for a while. Of course I sometimes pay for it the next morning at work.

For those of you interested, some of the JA2 fan sites are distributing a user-made expansion called Deidranna Lives. I don't know if it's any good, I'll mess with it when I finish Unfinished Business.

The other game that kept me up was Combat Mission. There are some interesting scenarios where you're obviously outclassed, and the objective is just to delay the enemy, so I get my butt kicked but keep trying to improve.

I think of all the genres though, RPGs and strategy games tend to lock me up the most. I'm sure most of us here have played one of the Civ games (or MOO, or MOM) through an all nighter.

Flashpoint when it was first released here in Australia. My wife got the shits and threw my pillow in the hallway and told me to sleep on the floor.

:-)

Last night, Diablo 2. I'm in the second act, and wanted to get my druid through the maggot lair.

No guilt. I'm always up that late. I get home from work late, and play games to chill out before bed.

Rob:
"Keep it up and this thread will lose its original intent, and Supertanker will show you his Wife-gaming Essay (apologies if I'm wrong about it being Supertanker's article)."

Hey, I resemble that remark! ;)

Stefan:
"Heh, I do most of my gaming between 11 p.m. - 3 a.m. Almost every night, other than weekends. Played some Giants last night. No guilt."

Assuming I'm not working, I'm usually online or gaming from 9 p.m. to midnight during the week, and until 2 or 3 a.m. on the weekends. If I ever get yelled at (which is rare, given Pepper's now-legendary tolerance of gaming), it is the next morning when I am too groggy to snap to attention.

As far as the games that keep me up late, weekends are mostly Counter-strike and Day of Defeat with clanmates. During the week recently has been user-made Max Payne levels and continuing to work my way through Throne of Bhaal. I also play some Quake3 CTF against bots when the baby can't sleep. She loves the bright colors, movement, and booming noises, and only stays awake a few minutes when it is on. Now that she is starting to talk, I'm trying to teach her to say, "Impressive."

"Yeah, but I can think of at least one thing you can do with a wife/gf you can't do with a computer."

Speak for yourself, champ!

"Man, can we just give Sacrifice GOTY 2 years in a row? I'm not much of an RTS fan, but I can't get enough of this game."

Why is that surprising? Sacrifice isn't a RTS game. It's Quake with delusions of grandeur and much better graphics. Battlezone was much closer to a real RTS game, and while I'm at it, a far superior game.

Me: "Yeah, but I can think of at least one thing you can do with a wife/gf you can't do with a computer."

He: "Speak for yourself, champ!"

Gah. Those are some might disgusting peripherals you got there pardner. By the way, is that USB?

Supertanker,

What clan do you play CS & DoD with?

Me... [CoFR]

Here's a game that might keep me up till Qt3 when its released: Battle Realms. The screens make it look like it will "out-Warcraft III" Warcraft III. I love the new screens of the villagers working in the field. And the interface looks like it will make you eggs and bacon after a pleasant night's gaming.

"Me... [CoFR]"

Hey, me too! I'll send you an email so we don't bug everyone with meaningless chatter.

[CoFR]Supertanker

aye, Arcanum and OFP are the games that keep me playing either 3am or pm. If it weren't for OFP, Arcanum would be my pick for GoTY so far.

"For those of you interested, some of the JA2 fan sites are distributing a user-made expansion called Deidranna Lives. I don't know if it's any good, I'll mess with it when I finish Unfinished Business. "

I got that in the recent CG cd rom.. sounds cool. I still havent finsihed Unfinsihed Business as well...come to think of it I never really finsihed JA2 all the way (but I am close).

etc

While we're talking about "powergaming" or "gaming hangovers", here's my personal best experience...right after I graduated from college, I decided to (finally) start playing Freespace 2, which I had received as a Christmas present.

8 hours later (yes, only 8), in the early hours of the next day, I staggered forth from my bedroom having defeated said game. Jeez, those were the days...

August 11th.

Baldur's Gate II.

No guilt -- my wife was at work. What was I supposed to do? Housework? Pshaw!! ;-)

My wife and I both work the overnight shift, so "Quarter to Three Gaming" has sorta lost its meaning with me. I work from 10pm to 630am. (Play a lot on lunch hours, and such, too. Currently on my work set: Trade Empires Demo.) So, it's very different now...

I honestly haven't made it past 1am this year. Around 9pm I grab a soda, I'm pumped, I'm going to stay up all night. Then around 11 I start getting just a little sleep, nothing I can't handle. Then around 1 I crash.

It was probably CS or Urban Terror for me over a weekend in the last couple of months. I just kept playing one more map, one more round, one more kill, etc.

I generally game from after dinner (6-7pm) until 11 on weekdays with GT3 in the mornings before work being a regular in the last couple of weeks (75% done!). Weekends see me up early and gaming most of the day until 11 or maybe 1 if I slept in.

Diablo 2 did it again. I need to visit a new website now. Who runs Quarterpastfour.com?

No guilt, because my wife was busy reworking a few dozen pictures from our new digital camera at the same time. She actually went to sleep after I did and we both start work at 8:00 AM though she gets the better deal because she works from home while I have a 25 mile, 45 minute commute:-(

-DavidCPA

P.S. Was it worth it? Yes. Gained 3 levels with my Amazon (lvl 60). Got two high damage bows from my online D2 buddy. Completed my second four perfect diamond shield for my paladin. A very productive night wouldn't you say?

"Gah. Those are some might disgusting peripherals you got there pardner. By the way, is that USB"

http://www.fu-fme.com/

the first three days after I finally bought Alpha centauri sometime in july. Also I agree with you Rob those are my sentiments exactly. I got into the beta actually so I'm going to start camping out bye the mailbox come sunday.

"The guys at Shoot Club *hate* Sacrifice for two reasons:"

1. We're all strict fundamentalist Christian fanatics who think it violates all of the tenets of our faith.

2. We fear the word "pejorative"

-Amanpour

Oh, and was I dreaming or did Wumpus say that Sacrifice is really just Quake with delusions of grandeur? I don't know anything about any game at all (save for one I only know to call "Crowbar") but...

Is he on crack?

-Amanpour

Dave Hunt - you wouldn't be on US East, would you? You're close to my level, we should do a few Bloody Runs one day.

Jason,

Yes, I am on the US East Realm with account name adivad. Just killed Baal in Nightmare and moved on to Hell tonight partnering with my buddy's barbarian.

I would like to mention that Hell difficulty in D2:LOD is tough as Hell so far. The 100% resistance penalty is insane. I'm a bowazon so carrying a shield isn't possible. I need new armor with high resists and I need it now. Looks like another QT3 moment is coming this weekend.

-DavidCPA

the last time, was a few weeks ago with warheads.
time before that was mbout a moth ago where i decided i wasnt going to sleep and spent all night playing Lords of the Realm 2 and watching Star Trek: the next gen. That went on untill probally 9am when i went downstairs.

Guilt, nah, im a night person for a number of good reasons the primary being i can go online at night, and the tv is better :) That last paragraph makes me reailze how much of a nerd i really am. Im going to bed now :(

May Peace Favor Your Sword
Shining One

' My girlfriend has managed to rope me into a conventional schedule for every night but Shoot Club. And I used to routinely stay up until 6am!'

Tom's dating again? That was quick.

He's popular with the ladies.

Remember -- this is a swingin' LA bachelor we're talking about!!

Besides -- you know that Computer Game Reviewers get all the chicks! Isn't that why everyone got into the business?

'Girlfriend' might not be the appropriate word. She's a paid escort I got from g.o.d. in return for favorable comments about Max Payne.

-Tom

"'Girlfriend' might not be the appropriate word. She's a paid escort I got from g.o.d. in return for favorable comments about Max Payne."

Is she a dwarf? Not that there's anything wrong with that...

ROFL!

"'Girlfriend' might not be the appropriate word. She's a paid escort I got from g.o.d. in return for favorable comments about Max Payne."

Well, they DID have a fire sale. "Everything must go!" I think that is what the sign said. I saw Tom talking to one of the guys and he was quite animated. He had his hands out in front of him, quite far mind you, and they were cupped towards him. Now it all makes sense...

Jeff

As long as she isn't one of the skanks off the GodGames calendar. If she is, well, I hope Tom has had all his shots.