"Cater to all, classic to none.." Basically opium for the mass iTards...
Gaming Industry since the mid '00s == Maximize Profits but Design "Generic" Games with no heart/soul/lastability/risk-taking...
I'd jump on that train, if it wasn't for the many awesome games made since that time - yes, believe it or not, loads of awesome games released in the past 10 years. Just very few from BioWhore.
yep, but it does suck that none of the good games now are high budget / production.
Not sure I agree entirely with that, but to some extent, I agree; I think it has to do with expectations. I think it is a must to expect more from the more resourceful studios.
It also has to do with complacency. Developers know that they don't have to give it their all to sell a game. They don't have to innovate or make a polished product anymore. Not saying old games were all polished, "in the good old days"-approach, but today we're supposed to be better, more resourceful at this than 20 years ago, and I do believe that the small studios back then for most part really tried to get their games out there in the best shape possible because updating it once released usually wasn't going to happen.
Just putting it on the spear's edge for emphasis, okay?:
Gamers will buy anything, because it is an addiction, call it a hobby, an escapism. Whatever. So the devs are selling us experience and time-sink drugs. Starting with the pure stuff, then the shitty stuff, and we can't stop even if we feel the stuff we're using isn't pure anymore. It's brutal, and yes quite unfair - knowing that hardware is also a serious cost for gamers of all ages.
Personally, I feel the lowering of the bar is partly to blame by the Indie trend that's been washing over Steam, in addition to Early Access-projects. Players are simply more used to playing unfinished, shitty-looking crap - and even stick around to play that shit - in service of the developers while they fix it (or not fix it). Some projects stay in Early Access forever or they come out like half the project that was promised, but shit happens right? It is quite the indoctrination/adaption process implemented by the industry to make us tolerate low quality; and when medium quality happens; we rejoice in celebration as if it was platinum quality production values.
There's some serious oversaturation of shitty games, and the lowering of standards is real. Too real. Anyone can publish a game now using stolen assets even, although Steam has tightened up a little bit, its far from a 'first line of defense' against garbage.
"Oh, but don't buy crap then!": It's not that simple. For some people yeah, for others it isn't easy to avoid a game you might have been preparing for/hyped for. I know people who build computers based on games they are waiting for, without knowing whether the game is good. It's fun to look forward to new games, and it's a thrill when they finally come out, I'm sure we can all relate to that. Playing a brand new game. I do feel sad whenever I know this happens, and that the game I know they waited for ends up a disappointment. It has happened to me a lot, too. So I'd rather stay negative, and be positively surprised, than the other way around, it keeps me somewhat sane.
What I do like though, is the quantity of games we get, so far 2017 has had a lot, and more is on the way. If only they were all guaranteed playable and enjoyable Day 1, I'd be a different, more positive gamer today.
Last edited by EternalBlueScreen on Mon, 13th Mar 2017 10:12; edited 1 time in total
Well that sucks. In previous games, disabling automatic use of powers was the first thing I did.
Friendly AI never did what I wanted, and when there would be an actual use for their abilities it would be on cooldown, because they kept spamming them on random enemies.
With manual control there was at least some semblance of squad-based combat, even though the squadmates were mainly used as "power banks"
This new system with combat "presets" doesn't sit right with me either. You have access to all abilities, but you have to switch between these profiles to use them, which is apparently very tacticool and a an improvement in comparison to having the option to use all the powers at any time.
Annoying to see limitations of a gamepad as a controller being promoted as an amazing feature.
I suppose it is a step up from being completely shut off from some abilities that didn't fit within the 8 slots during combat, like it is on some other games, including DAI.
Would be much better if they at least removed the limit on number of abilities in a preset though.
Radicalus wrote:
You won't be able to tell companions to use abilities? Is that for real? Seriously, the fuck is that about? Then basically you will have less abilities to use than in a moba ...
I feel you guys It's a stupid idea that's supposedly implemented to speed up the combat, as you don't have to pause to give orders. Because that was such a problem >.<
I don't think I'm gonna like presets either, switching between them constantly sounds like a chore, especially since everything is put on cooldown then. You have 4x3 abilities in total, but making an interesting build out of three skills sounds like a challenge. I'd rather have 2 presets of 6 skills than 4 with 3.
Well that sucks. In previous games, disabling automatic use of powers was the first thing I did.
Friendly AI never did what I wanted, and when there would be an actual use for their abilities it would be on cooldown, because they kept spamming them on random enemies.
With manual control there was at least some semblance of squad-based combat, even though the squadmates were mainly used as "power banks"
This new system with combat "presets" doesn't sit right with me either. You have access to all abilities, but you have to switch between these profiles to use them, which is apparently very tacticool and a an improvement in comparison to having the option to use all the powers at any time.
Annoying to see limitations of a gamepad as a controller being promoted as an amazing feature.
I suppose it is a step up from being completely shut off from some abilities that didn't fit within the 8 slots during combat, like it is on some other games, including DAI.
Would be much better if they at least removed the limit on number of abilities in a preset though.
Radicalus wrote:
You won't be able to tell companions to use abilities? Is that for real? Seriously, the fuck is that about? Then basically you will have less abilities to use than in a moba ...
I feel you guys It's a stupid idea that's supposedly implemented to speed up the combat, as you don't have to pause to give orders. Because that was such a problem >.<
I don't think I'm gonna like presets either, switching between them constantly sounds like a chore, especially since everything is put on cooldown then. You have 4x3 abilities in total, but making an interesting build out of three skills sounds like a challenge. I'd rather have 2 presets of 6 skills than 4 with 3.
I'm actually replaying KotOR 1 these days,, and even though the story/characters/dialog is much worse than I remembered (but still very much fun), the combat aged very well for me (we're talking ~15 years here). Pausing doesn't take me out of it at all - it is an RPG afterall.
My problem with this choice of theirs is the following: Mass Effect will never have good TPS mechanics. You can tell that much by the videos. You just can't please everyone. Either make an action oriented game (like DS or similar), or make an RPG. You achieve nothing by taking out every element of RPG combat, unless your action is rock solid. Which, as we have seen, is not.
Believe it or not, people actually like tactical combat.
Rereading this thread and reviews on the net, I arrived at the very sad conclusion, that in 2017 us original ME1 and RPG fans are in fact the niche. Seen from another perspective, we must look like whining elitists of years long gone.
I guess that is why this whole thing is so frustrating.
Rereading this thread and reviews on the net, I arrived at the very sad conclusion, that in 2017 us original ME1 and RPG fans are in fact the niche. Seen from another perspective, we must look like whining elitists of years long gone.
I guess that is why this whole thing is so frustrating.
You just realized this, and not, say, in 2010 when Mass Effect 2 was released? And lets be honest here, are you seriously calling Mass Effect 1 an RPG?
Well that sucks. In previous games, disabling automatic use of powers was the first thing I did.
Friendly AI never did what I wanted, and when there would be an actual use for their abilities it would be on cooldown, because they kept spamming them on random enemies.
With manual control there was at least some semblance of squad-based combat, even though the squadmates were mainly used as "power banks"
This new system with combat "presets" doesn't sit right with me either. You have access to all abilities, but you have to switch between these profiles to use them, which is apparently very tacticool and a an improvement in comparison to having the option to use all the powers at any time.
Annoying to see limitations of a gamepad as a controller being promoted as an amazing feature.
I suppose it is a step up from being completely shut off from some abilities that didn't fit within the 8 slots during combat, like it is on some other games, including DAI.
Would be much better if they at least removed the limit on number of abilities in a preset though.
Radicalus wrote:
You won't be able to tell companions to use abilities? Is that for real? Seriously, the fuck is that about? Then basically you will have less abilities to use than in a moba ...
I feel you guys It's a stupid idea that's supposedly implemented to speed up the combat, as you don't have to pause to give orders. Because that was such a problem >.<
I don't think I'm gonna like presets either, switching between them constantly sounds like a chore, especially since everything is put on cooldown then. You have 4x3 abilities in total, but making an interesting build out of three skills sounds like a challenge. I'd rather have 2 presets of 6 skills than 4 with 3.
I'm actually replaying KotOR 1 these days,, and even though the story/characters/dialog is much worse than I remembered (but still very much fun), the combat aged very well for me (we're talking ~15 years here). Pausing doesn't take me out of it at all - it is an RPG afterall.
My problem with this choice of theirs is the following: Mass Effect will never have good TPS mechanics. You can tell that much by the videos. You just can't please everyone. Either make an action oriented game (like DS or similar), or make an RPG. You achieve nothing by taking out every element of RPG combat, unless your action is rock solid. Which, as we have seen, is not.
Believe it or not, people actually like tactical combat.
You're preaching to the choir, man
But I kinda agree with Leo too. It's not really news, any of it. ME was never an RPG - first one pretended to be, but it didn't do that very well. Personally I wouldn't even call myself a ME1 fan. It was a decent enough game, with a great setting and solid, if somewhat uninspired main storyline, but it was also a mess of badly designed combat, shallow side content (it was the first Bioware game that started heavily reusing same maps for multiple quests - something DA2 got the shaft for later on) and broken gameplay mechanics (like the Mako, which should've been fun in theory, but its execution was so bland and boring that it almost killed the game for me).
So, I suppose the direction Andromeda's taking shouldn't be a surprise. Having said that, I don't think it really needed to be even more of an action game, with even less tactics and player control involved. I think ME3 - while less of an RPG than the first game - found a solid balance and pace as far as combat goes.
Rereading this thread and reviews on the net, I arrived at the very sad conclusion, that in 2017 us original ME1 and RPG fans are in fact the niche. Seen from another perspective, we must look like whining elitists of years long gone.
I guess that is why this whole thing is so frustrating.
You just realized this, and not, say, in 2010 when Mass Effect 2 was released? And lets be honest here, are you seriously calling Mass Effect 1 an RPG?
If I go back through my posting history, I'll probably find a similar post somewhere in 2010. Only then, I thought they were making a mistake. Now I realize they are just making massive amounts of money, because apparently this must sell really well, it just so happens to be shit.
ME1 had many parts that were RPG like. ME2 was the worst in the series in this regard. I'd say ME1 is halfway between KotOR and ME:A. So ... half RPG maybe?
I don't remember any RPG elements, just BS standing in the way of the action. It really wanted to be an action game, but it is as if they feared that people would not like it. Lo and behold, people actually wanted an action game.
I don't remember any RPG elements, just BS standing in the way of the action. It really wanted to be an action game, but it is as if they feared that people would not like it. Lo and behold, people actually wanted an action game.
Replaying ME1 now, and there ARE RPG elements. Rudimentary, but they're there and they impact gameplay. How you spec out your characters matters, which weapons and powers you use against specific enemies matters. Positioning your squad properly matters(albeit on the higher difficulties, on normal you can just use them as power supplements).
Dialogue choices are binary for the most part, and they hardly impact the ending. In hindsight that should have been a clue on how the series would end
Mass Effect: Andromeda Has Around Same Amount of Speaking Characters as Last Two Games Combined
Quote:
There are over 1,200 speaking characters in Mass Effect: Andromeda.
That's almost double the amount from Mass Effect 3, according to PC Gamer. Mass Effect: Andromeda creative director Mac Walters revealed the large cast for the RPG at PAX East, and the game's producer Michael Gamble added further information on the topic.
"The lines of dialogue we have in Andromeda is like Mass Effect 2 and 3 combined," Gamble said. "So the number of characters is vaster, but the amount of stuff you and that character can talk about is also larger — especially the squad, we definitely focused in on the squad."
Gamble added that that big figure doesn't include the smallest speaking roles, such as shopkeepers with a line or two to say.
Player freedom seems to be a focus point for Mass Effect: Andromeda, so a humongous speaking cast makes sense. We'll first get to meet all of these characters with the game's early access trial later this week.
So the game has some 1100 or so hostiles then?
("Throwing grenade!" is speech too I suppose. )
EDIT: Also were exactly were those 600 or so NPC's in Mass Effect 3 if they're not talking about the actual hostiles.
Quote:
That's almost double the amount from Mass Effect 3, according to PC Gamer. Mass Effect: Andromeda creative director Mac Walters revealed the large cast for the RPG at PAX East, and the game's producer Michael Gamble added further information on the topic.
(I doubt there were even a 100 you could actually speak to since a bit further down they're not counting one-liners like shopkeepers and ambient NPC's saying the same line every time you walk past them.)
It's irrelevant anyway. It doesn't matter how many NPCs you have or how much dialogue, what matters is if any of it is any good. It's the same problem with the open world idea, where developers spout off about how big their playable area is. Completely pointless if you end up with something like DA Inquisition.
It's irrelevant anyway. It doesn't matter how many NPCs you have or how much dialogue, what matters is if any of it is any good. It's the same problem with the open world idea, where developers spout off about how big their playable area is. Completely pointless if you end up with something like DA Inquisition.
True. Just looking at the so far shown dialogues one can see the "great" writing quality.
Also like JB wrote, i bet many lines are just variations of them announcing to throw a grenade, or giving a warning that they will charge you now.
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The alien design is so unbelievable bad this time.
Most of them look so cutified, or like some teens doing cosplay. But i guess that's what the little gamer girls will like about this
The size of the game world almost guarantees a lower overall quality game in terms of assets. And lowering standards across the board is in tune with the concept of console parity to some degree. They don't want the game to look a lot worse than what's served on PC, because that isn't going to go down too well.
I understand the challenge open world games face, and I understand what open UNIVERSE games face; even a limited in size galaxy like Andromeda which promises handcrafted worlds (I believe 4 or 5 planets?) versus a game relying on procedurally generated content like No Man's Sky.
I couldn't possibly care about 1200 NPCs, and yes I do believe that they are SPEAKING, either in a Sim'lish alien language, or in English, whether we're talking a few generic lines, or actual dialogue put in context beyond generic combat calls.
I do care about the important characters being fleshed out both visually, personality-wise and in terms of dialogue - and BioWare has promised that.
The thing about 1200 NPCs is PR and wooshes right past me, no harm done, I'm not going to put any stock in them throwing numbers at me. I'm not going to flame for it either, at the very least the industry isn't using the word "EPIC" every other word these days like the used to.
I think its great that BioWare makes these types of games, and I wish they had competitors, just like for example Sports Interactive with Football Manager; no competition means they can do what they want and still sell. It means they can write into a wall like ME3, but still revive and reboot the franchise and have people start caring again, this time for a new Shepard/Ryder and for a new cast of main characters in a similar setting, and the wheel spins a second time around, and if this game hits home, they'll go Andromeda 2 or come up with a reason to move to a third galaxy?
In any case, once EA and BioWare realizes it is time to update their engine and revolving framework like animations and so forth, we'll be a ton better off - it is sort of like Bethesda milking their current home-made engine one last time for Fallout 4, knowing that the engine wouldn't stop people from buying cuz its fucking Fallout 4.
Add a new modern engine, a new updated motion capture and implementation framework to a new BioWare IP, then we can retire the discussion of out-datedness ruining the AAA feel for BioWare, at least for a few years - but for now, I think we're stuck with feeling as if we've played every BioWare game because of their shared assets, methods and tools between Dragon Age/Mass Effect the last decade. I also feel they're boring/sloppy with their alien designs, possibly also a result of their engine limitations. Engine limitations however doesn't fully explain the lack of detail throughout, because we know the engine can do better - but I'm sure the quantity requirements of filling the asset needs for a big game world has put pressure on even a large company like BioWare even with their ability to outsource.
I miss deliberately fat, ugly, misshapen, thin, tall, low, long-hair'y, drug-addict'y, mentally challenged, angst'y/psychologically scarred whatever individuals; you know humans/aliens with real world "defects"/or flaws sometimes of their own fault, other times not - to inhabit the games. I also miss the inclusion of more types of real world accents, they can speak English, but weave in more variety in dialects beyond Oxford English and American English. It'd be great to hear more Indian/Chinese dialects, French, Scandinavian, or something like that. Then add some political, religious flavors as well; make up religions for aliens, make up stuff, surely when you build a new galaxy, there's room for all kinds of stuff with depth and not just the easiest and most obvious developments.
A planet full of crazy people. A planet full of super-intelligent people, but they lack the resources to realize their potential. A planet where the entire "atmosphere"/sky layer is filled with mud-like mass and at the core is a large pocket sustaining life and the people inside have developed sight through other senses than vision etc etc, whatever go for it. I dunno, have a party, get drunk and have someone sober take drunks and blend that shit together and do something original.
A typical BioWare NPC is bland, generic, stereotypical or overly cartoonish both in terms of personality and appearance.
Well they do say in corporations you promote people to the level of their incompetence. It will be interesting to see if that holds true in this instance.
Given how GTX 660 is a minimum requirement, you should be able to run at medium settings/30fps fine.
The way I see it, every life is a pile of good things and bad things. The good things don’t always soften the bad things, but vice versa, the bad things don’t always spoil the good things and make them unimportant.
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It's a stupid idea that's supposedly implemented to speed up the combat, as you don't have to pause to give orders. Because that was such a problem >.<
