Why games often offers LESS stuff than previous ones?
I an not talking about dumbing down the character progression into a barbie dressing game, i an talking in stuff to use. Morrowind to Oblivion = No polearms, no levitation, no mark/recall, no spellmaking, no crossbows(...) Even games that aren't much dumbed down suffer from it. Compare how many magical effects exists on Gothic 1 with Risen1.
With all other types of software, newer versions most times offers way more options.
Alot of stuff has been pruned away from certain RPGs because it's essentially worthless. You could name at least a dozen spells in Baldur's Gate 1 & 2 that are only in the game because they are in the sourcebooks for 2nd Edition. And I don't object to it, even if only for the flavor text. But has anyone ever used Goodberry for anything??
Sorry but polearms are not useless. Levitation is not useless. Mark / recall is not useless. Attributes are not useless. Detailed reputation system is not useless (...) on Morrowind. To be fair with skyrim, Vampire Lord form was amazing. Some shouts that stop time, disarm the enemy, etc is also amazing...
On Gothic to Risen, the same thing. Risen 1 has way less spells than Gothic 3.
Only looking to WATER MAGIC. Hailstorm is not useless. Summon Goblin, Summon Golem, Ice Explosion, Sleep, Tame Animal(that at high AK can even tame shadowbeasts), Ice Lance, Ice Explosion, Frostwave, etc are not useless.
alot of what people call dumbing down i call streamlining. there is no reason for every weapon to be it's own separate skill imo. so i have no issues for when a games just merges them all into a single skill. like for example in mass effect 1 every single gun is it's own skill but i only put points into shot guns as they are op in that game. making the rest pointless
Not one skill for each weapon. But see Fallout New Vegas. Has by far the best gun mechanics that i saw in a RPG.
Why games often offers LESS stuff than previous ones?
I an not talking about dumbing down the character progression into a barbie dressing game, i an talking in stuff to use. Morrowind to Oblivion = No polearms, no levitation, no mark/recall, no spellmaking, no crossbows(...) Even games that aren't much dumbed down suffer from it. Compare how many magical effects exists on Gothic 1 with Risen1.
With all other types of software, newer versions most times offers way more options.
It's a different market. Professional software (like say photoshop) needs to attract a different kind of client than a video game company appealing to the broader market.
Why games often offers LESS stuff than previous ones?
I an not talking about dumbing down the character progression into a barbie dressing game, i an talking in stuff to use. Morrowind to Oblivion = No polearms, no levitation, no mark/recall, no spellmaking, no crossbows(...) Even games that aren't much dumbed down suffer from it. Compare how many magical effects exists on Gothic 1 with Risen1.
With all other types of software, newer versions most times offers way more options.
Alot of stuff has been pruned away from certain RPGs because it's essentially worthless. You could name at least a dozen spells in Baldur's Gate 1 & 2 that are only in the game because they are in the sourcebooks for 2nd Edition. And I don't object to it, even if only for the flavor text. But has anyone ever used Goodberry for anything??
I have used it in BG1 many times. First because your 10 hp mage may suffer 4 damage and you don't want to waste that cure light wounds on him , second because I'm the kind of player who avoids having the party rest at inconvenient places , so every pinch of healing counts when you run out of potions and other spells.
@jjstraka34 I have little interest in open world timesinks, but I am seriously considering buying Skyrim just for this mod (Enderal) - tha trailers on youtube look great. Since you seem to have liked it, how would you say it compares to the IE/NWN experience? I am especially wary of the twitchy TES combat...
@jjstraka34 I have little interest in open world timesinks, but I am seriously considering buying Skyrim just for this mod (Enderal) - tha trailers on youtube look great. Since you seem to have liked it, how would you say it compares to the IE/NWN experience? I am especially wary of the twitchy TES combat...
I mean, it you struggled with Skyrim, Enderal is tuned to be way harder. The combat mechanics are generally the same, they can't do anything about the engine. What's different are the spells and RPG elements.
I swear this ius like the 10th type of topic like this I remember seeing here.
Companies make different things and people like different things. There are people who hated BG triology and refuse to play it but do like skyrim and visa versa.
TL;DR - Oblivion/Skyrim is extremely dumbed down compared to Morrowind or Daggerfall and sold much more. But when small studios do the same and for example, Dumb down Gothic mechanics to launch ArcaniA or made awful D&D adaptations like SCL, the studio generally fails miserably.
[...]
IMO PF:KM is the best modern RPG by far.
I've TES III (WinXP)), IV - Remaster Deluxe (XBox X) V Anniversary (XBox X)
Plus FO 3, FNV and FO4 (XBox X).
Episodes earlier than these are of course superb, yet visually they look baaaad on today's systems even though I don't mind dated graphics (I still play WinXP games 😂), they'd need remasters or remakes.
Are there less complex adventures post century than they were over 25 years ago, say? Sure. Yet that's not necessarily a bad thing - much of it is hiding the mechanics of the game system and dice rolling, some folk like more management, others, more "streamlining" as Megamike suggests, Not everyone wants or needs to see how the sausage is made. You can have com-plex/sophisticated, just not complicated, if you will.
The beauty of NWN and similar AD&D or D&D and RPG adaptations is you can keep all the dice rolling 'engine' of the system under the hood as much or as little as you like.
Thing is folk don't live inside game worlds, we're not Tron - folk have lives to live! - it took me a decade to finish NWN, life gets in the way, and am still discovering new things about it today - and I bought it in 2002!
Gone are the days when I have the luxury of getting up at 6am and playing NWN solid till 6pm!
The Oblivion remaster on XBox X is a marvel incidentally (though £60 is a little dear for the Deluxe edition), it's currently on version 0.411
I have no issue with paying for downloadable extra content of quality for a fair price... but things like paying $20+ for a single model reskin for instance? Nah. There is absolutely no need for customers to tolerate this kind of greedy behavior. At all.
I've no issue with any price for any skin, yet if...IF one wanted to be HL Mencken-ish or Ambrose Bierce-ish about it,
it appeals to the "Money and fools..." market nicely.
Besides, if someone wants to pay $20/£15 for a cosmetic item that does nothing then knock yourself out, am not going to judge or stop them, nobody is making folk buy these vanity items, BUT I dislike payola to advance in a game however.
Trivial little cosmetic things that might take five minutes to whip up which Players will gladly buy for $20 help or should help pay for the shoe leather in polishing and patching post release, responding to bug reports and so forth.
This is why I appreciate Beamdog's persistent support and polishing of the NWN platform, way longer than most other publishers.
Comments
Sorry but polearms are not useless. Levitation is not useless. Mark / recall is not useless. Attributes are not useless. Detailed reputation system is not useless (...) on Morrowind. To be fair with skyrim, Vampire Lord form was amazing. Some shouts that stop time, disarm the enemy, etc is also amazing...
On Gothic to Risen, the same thing. Risen 1 has way less spells than Gothic 3.
Only looking to WATER MAGIC. Hailstorm is not useless. Summon Goblin, Summon Golem, Ice Explosion, Sleep, Tame Animal(that at high AK can even tame shadowbeasts), Ice Lance, Ice Explosion, Frostwave, etc are not useless.
Not one skill for each weapon. But see Fallout New Vegas. Has by far the best gun mechanics that i saw in a RPG.
It's a different market. Professional software (like say photoshop) needs to attract a different kind of client than a video game company appealing to the broader market.
I have used it in BG1 many times. First because your 10 hp mage may suffer 4 damage and you don't want to waste that cure light wounds on him , second because I'm the kind of player who avoids having the party rest at inconvenient places , so every pinch of healing counts when you run out of potions and other spells.
I mean, it you struggled with Skyrim, Enderal is tuned to be way harder. The combat mechanics are generally the same, they can't do anything about the engine. What's different are the spells and RPG elements.
Companies make different things and people like different things. There are people who hated BG triology and refuse to play it but do like skyrim and visa versa.
Plus FO 3, FNV and FO4 (XBox X).
Episodes earlier than these are of course superb, yet visually they look baaaad on today's systems even though I don't mind dated graphics (I still play WinXP games 😂), they'd need remasters or remakes.
Are there less complex adventures post century than they were over 25 years ago, say? Sure. Yet that's not necessarily a bad thing - much of it is hiding the mechanics of the game system and dice rolling, some folk like more management, others, more "streamlining" as Megamike suggests, Not everyone wants or needs to see how the sausage is made. You can have com-plex/sophisticated, just not complicated, if you will.
The beauty of NWN and similar AD&D or D&D and RPG adaptations is you can keep all the dice rolling 'engine' of the system under the hood as much or as little as you like.
Thing is folk don't live inside game worlds, we're not Tron - folk have lives to live! - it took me a decade to finish NWN, life gets in the way, and am still discovering new things about it today - and I bought it in 2002!
Gone are the days when I have the luxury of getting up at 6am and playing NWN solid till 6pm!
The Oblivion remaster on XBox X is a marvel incidentally (though £60 is a little dear for the Deluxe edition), it's currently on version 0.411