Posted: Sat Jun 06, 2015 10:14 am Post subject: Re: Fallout 4
My thoughts exactly Nick. As much as I love Fallout, I'm not going to be preordering until I know more about it. Witcher did a good job of teasing gameplay and whatnot.
Posted: Mon Jun 08, 2015 6:55 am Post subject: Re: Fallout 4
I missed something off my list of things that disgust me about this:
ZERO rewards/benefits for pre-ordering.
The entire concept of pre-ordering only makes sense in terms of physical goods that require man-hours + factory-time to manufacture. You pre-order the new Nissan model, you get one of the first batch fresh from the Nissan factory, whilst everyone else waits many-many-months for it to become available from a local car dealership, for a MUCH lower price.
But with digital-goods, there are no slow conveyor-belts and welders putting each sellable unit together. Once the first unit (in this case 'the finished game') is built, a trillion units-per-minute can be sent at light speed directly to the customer's stupid gawping face.
And this is why Pre-Orders of games usually have benefits! Because your pre-order money is actually being used by the company to pay their staff to actually make the game they promise will exist. You are funding it to be created, and should be rewarded.
The BOD at Bethesda are probably thinking "Damn! We should have put a £100 price tag on it! These drooling fucking idiots will pay anything if we tickle their nostalgia-button!"
(It's a trick they learned from George Lucas.)
Tune in next week for a rant about why Skyrim is shite and Morrowind is still awesome.
Posted: Mon Jun 08, 2015 1:40 pm Post subject: Re: Fallout 4
Valid arguments Nick, however I am going to poke the bear here: I strongly disagree with you about Skyrim's quality. Easily one of my favourite games of the last decade. I will also disclose that I never did play Morrowind, so I can not make a comparison in that regard.
But absolutely true regarding the pre-order cash, you should get something in exchange at release - in game gear or something. Again, I have no intention of pre-ordering myself, I'll be one of the blokes with stupid gawping faces downloading it after the official release!
Posted: Mon Jun 08, 2015 3:09 pm Post subject: Re: Fallout 4
I myself absolutely loved Skyrim. Was I aware that the voice acting was laughable, the combat was maybe the worst of any game, the glitches were rampant, and the graphics subpar? Yes. That didn't stop me from playing more than a thousand hours of the game. It's a hell of a lot of fun with mods.
I myself absolutely loved Skyrim. Was I aware that the voice acting was laughable, the combat was maybe the worst of any game, the glitches were rampant, and the graphics subpar? Yes. That didn't stop me from playing more than a thousand hours of the game. It's a hell of a lot of fun with mods.
Damn it, Arty! I said I would rant next week, but you've forced my hand early, so here is a semi-rant whilst the kettle boils...
I've heard that the modded additions are great. It's something I should look into. But mods are external to the 'game Bethesda made and sell', and they do nothing to justify faith in Bethesda.
Now I, much like yourself, have racked up quite a few hours in Skyrim. But it wasn't hours spent enthralled by the game, it was hours spent desperately seeking the joys that the hype-train around me was endlessly tooting about.
My actual issues with Skyrim have nothing to do with graphical fidelity (I think it still looks great) or voice acting or bugs.
My first issue: The dismally dull (and laughably short) story of the main quest. I remember nothing of it! That's how epic and memorable it is. In stark contrast, I remember almost everything from Witcher1&2 as the writing and lore of the world is gripping and superbly told. (A bit like how DS9 and Babylon5 were pretty much the same premise, but one was utterly dull and forgettable with a Star-Trek logo on it, and the other has real memorable depth to it.)
My second issue: Level-Scaling of creatures/enemies. WHAT THE ABSOLUTE FUCK?! What is the bloody point of leveling up in an RPG if your foes level up with you? The thing that inspires a player to desire leveling-up is the knowledge that they stumbled upon on area where they weren't skilled enough, and they must improve and come back later. That process is what creates the failure->failure->failure->improve->failure->improve->SUCCESS->REWARD dynamic that make games both rewarding and memorable. With level-scaling of foes you just get instant gratification every time, which again leads to non-memorable experiences. (Instant gratification has diminishing returns. It rapidly becomes boring, much like watching a repeat of a quiz show when you still remember all the answers from last time.)
Morrowind gave me memorable experiences, because I had to really work for them. When I started playing it, I found a cave with a huge tower of rock inside, and I could see something glimmering at the top. Could I get up there? NOPE. So I did loads of other stuff and spent the level-points on athleticism. I came back days later with my new ability to jump a bit higher. Could I now climb that massive rock formation? NOPE! But I could get half-way up, and I found a load of awesome loot! A few days later I returned after massively leveling up my athleticism again, and finally I got to the top! That glimmering bauble that took me over a week to attain had awesome armour and weaponry inside! failure->failure->failure->improve->failure->improve->SUCCESS->REWARD!!!!!
That was bloody years ago, and I can still talk in great detail about it, because it was a hugely memorable and rewarding experience.
Conversely, when you find a cave with a glimmering-thing in Skyrim, you look for the steps to get up to it, you get the thing within moments of noticing it, and have zero reason to ever return. Zero reasons to remember the cave's location. Zero memories of your efforts to achieve something (because you didn't). And when somebody asks me about the experience, all I can do is shrug and say 'I was in some caves'. YAWWWWWWWWWWWWWN....
Posted: Tue Jun 09, 2015 3:48 pm Post subject: Re: Fallout 4
Pretty sure Nick nailed it. I would discuss it a bit more, but I just got 4 impacted wisdom teeth removed and the painkillers are making me feel like Tater's last post.
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Fallout 4
