For Amusement Purposes Only

Fair point. I’ve played it on and off for years now, and I still have no fucking clue where the game wants me to go (although it’s a lot better now than it used to be). The storyline is… complex to say the least, and the game doesn’t do much to drive you an particular direction. Progression is also lateral, not vertical, so while you have a wide variety of options and directions to explore, they can be shallow and overwhelming at the same time.

On the plus side of that, every time I come back, it’s like a new game, but with the same combat / movement that got me addicted back when it was nothing but grind.

And agreed - their music production is definitely spot-on.

Warframe has some of the best movement in a game ever. Not exactly an MMORPG, not exactly Open World, but definitely space ninjas on crack.

Also, it can be played completely free. There is a paid currency model (platinum), but it’s tradeable between players (so you can trade items and earn Platinum), and most non-cosmetic items are obtainable through gameplay.

It’s been around since the early 2010s but keeps evolving and manages outperform AAA titles on the regular. If you like high fantasy sci-fi cosmic horror madness on drugs that won’t be invented for another 100 centuries or so, give it a shot.

FL 11 was an amazing piece of software - that’s the version that really kicked it into the big leagues.

You should check out the newest version - the download manager is much better since FL Studio 20, and they’ve got a bunch of new packages and plugins. The Flex plugin is one of the best traditional instrument synths I’ve ever worked with (think it came in on v 17 or 18).

Even the new version has excellent performance on my 10 year old desktop - you’ll love it when you get a chance to upgrade.

If you’re into music production, FL Studio has a lifetime license that’s stood the test of time, and has kept up with or exceeded the capabilities of packages like Reason, Ableton, and Logic. It was the first to really embrace an open VST plugin interface, and has so many options that even after 25 years I haven’t yet explored them all. It also comes with a ton of free instruments you can download (basically free DLC).

I picked up a lifetime license for $99 in 2001 when it was Fruity Loops 2.0. Used it for 10 years as it evolved and was amazed that it was keeping up with the big boys. That encouraged me to drop another $80 to upgrade to the producer edition to start making professional level tracks - and I was not disappointed.

The best part? The base license is still just $99. Producer edition is still $179.

EDIT: side note - the demo is actually the full software package, so you can try it out for free. The license just unlocks the capacity to save projects with the plugins that are covered by your licensing.