The problem with bringing a PC exclusive title to Tablets
Troika
Member Posts: 36
Quoting Nathan from another topic, because I think it touches a meaningful point:
Wanting to open the product to the tablet market is understandable from a publisher's perspective, but it should have been communicated better. I think most PC gamers expected a PC version that is not compromised in any way and that generally a high quality is assured at release (400 improvements/bugfixes). That's why there has been some negative feedback, people who liked the original and expected to get a truly enhanced PC version of a PC-exclusive title got frustrated. And it really was a PC title at the core, you couldn't imagine Baldur's Gate having been designed the way it was for any other plattform at the time.
That's also why I believe it is a miscalculation to expect a big success on tablets, the game is just not very suited for the platform. I can't imagine the concept, gameplay, flow etc. feeling right on my tablet, even with the slight changes to the UI and control scheme. One thing is that it's too click/touch heavy, e.g. organizing the inventory on touch devices must be a chore (I certainly hope you didn't go for drag and drop item-transfer). Another point is the general pacing of the game, which is way too slow for what I'm looking for when gaming on my tablet. There are many other points, but what I mean to say is that unless you pump millions into marketing the game like crazy you won't even have a chance to see a big success on the tablet versions imho. Maybe I'm wrong and you the potential userbase will make up for it, but it still won't be a good tablet game no matter how awesome of a PC classic it is, just because of its desktop oriented game design.
I don't know how much was made from the preorder and post release sales so far, but I think your main customer base for this BG:EE are PC gamers and you will see the sales numbers reflect that. Even many of the potential tablet customers are PC gamers. If you want to keep that playerbase the core design decisions should be focused mainly on this platform before thinking about ports to tablets or other devices. Just my 2 coins.
It's of course not a tablet port, but you have to admit that the PC version was indeed compromised to some extent due to considerations about tablets (e.g. the GUI base-resolution). We would have a different version now had the main focus been improving and optimizing the original to suit modern desktop gaming.Nathan said:Also, seriously people - the pc version is no "tablet port". There's just one version of the game.
Wanting to open the product to the tablet market is understandable from a publisher's perspective, but it should have been communicated better. I think most PC gamers expected a PC version that is not compromised in any way and that generally a high quality is assured at release (400 improvements/bugfixes). That's why there has been some negative feedback, people who liked the original and expected to get a truly enhanced PC version of a PC-exclusive title got frustrated. And it really was a PC title at the core, you couldn't imagine Baldur's Gate having been designed the way it was for any other plattform at the time.
That's also why I believe it is a miscalculation to expect a big success on tablets, the game is just not very suited for the platform. I can't imagine the concept, gameplay, flow etc. feeling right on my tablet, even with the slight changes to the UI and control scheme. One thing is that it's too click/touch heavy, e.g. organizing the inventory on touch devices must be a chore (I certainly hope you didn't go for drag and drop item-transfer). Another point is the general pacing of the game, which is way too slow for what I'm looking for when gaming on my tablet. There are many other points, but what I mean to say is that unless you pump millions into marketing the game like crazy you won't even have a chance to see a big success on the tablet versions imho. Maybe I'm wrong and you the potential userbase will make up for it, but it still won't be a good tablet game no matter how awesome of a PC classic it is, just because of its desktop oriented game design.
I don't know how much was made from the preorder and post release sales so far, but I think your main customer base for this BG:EE are PC gamers and you will see the sales numbers reflect that. Even many of the potential tablet customers are PC gamers. If you want to keep that playerbase the core design decisions should be focused mainly on this platform before thinking about ports to tablets or other devices. Just my 2 coins.
Post edited by Troika on
6
Comments
Same game, different platform.
As long as Overhaul is committed to improving the game experience on all supported platforms, we'll all benefit.
fixed
Whining about the PC version being a console port just because the UI is set to upscale slightly at higher resolution is absurd. The most likely reason for that happening is simply because they designed the UI at one size, but later decided to make on default icon size larger on the PC version for any number of reasons (from being truer to the size ratio of the original game to being more friendly to touch-screen laptops) and instead of re-drawing the menu assets, they simply set the game to upscale them.
And you CAN disable UI scaling.
So it's a complete non-issue. I swear, "PC Gamers" these days can be such babies.
http://pockettactics.com/2012/12/03/baldurs-gate-for-ipad-impressions/
So, is there a wireless plan that also includes unlimited minutes per month on telephone communication, and how much is it, would be my first question? And then, I would need to shop iPad prices.
I am kind of starting to need to kill my ancient Jitterbug cellphone account anyway, since it malfunctions an unacceptable amount of the time, they charge outrageously for extra minutes, and I have killed my landline in an attempt to save money, which, so far, is not happening, thanks to GreatCalls outrageous extra minute charges.
EDIT: How long does a fully charged iPad or iPhone last? I ask because, with the changes in the weather over the last five years, I've suffered three-day long power outages, which never used to happen, and, I hear that people in hard-hit areas like New Orleans and along the Atlantic seaboard have had even longer outages to deal with.
Besides, half of our lot buys a game that's about half the price it would be on a console, then says "Well, I DIDN'T LIKE THE PRODUCT. SO I'M GOING TO PIRATE EVERYTHING ELSE NOW, K." Then they are surprised when the developer stops bothering with the PC platform.
The PC platform is NOT profitable in the slightest. Newsflash, companies need money to function. Be thankful that the PC platform still even gets games at all, it's honestly kind of a miracle due to these things. I mean really, how many people complained about BG:EE being TWENTY DOLLARS. That's a cheap-ass price tag, how many companies out there charge $15 for, like, a freakin' DLC map pack.
"Oh, well this company is above that." Yes, yes they fucking are. $20 for the whole game. That is extremely cheap. Now shut up.
A possible addition that would be so simple to add is when your in the inventory screen to have the ability to right click items on the ground and have them go directly to an open inventory slot, or making it so you can have 10 or 20 people in a multiplayer game.
These are the things that would make it different and interesting. Small tweaks and fixes.
I am sure we will see some cool new things coming down the pipe. I am really happy we got the chance for the revival and to get new and old people excited about playing the game again. This game is a real treat.
I really don't see any modern enhancements at all. They way the sold it I assumed there would be a whole raft of new features, maybe stuff like a group area for party members not in use (I.E. like the first inn in BG2) or all playable NPC levels scale to you even if they haven't been with the party for some time (I.E. Dragon Age). I thought Achievements would play a big part too. I also expected a completely new UI for touch screens.
Don't get me wrong, I'm completely happy with the game as is- when i've managed to get it to work (still a bit wonky but latest patch helped a lot!!) i've pumped tons of time into it and haven't had this much fun gaming since I played the originals in high school.
I just really feel like it was sold as having more new features. I should have gone and done more research beforehand. Anyway totally enjoying the game now its working. Could not be happier with the cheap $20.00 price point either.
I have a tablet without telephone communication. It is cheaper, and I have never really missed constant internet wherever I am (there is wireless networks at home, at the university and at work). Also, consider Android (AUSUS for instance). I settled for Android and used a lot of time comparing Ipad and Android tablets.
Back to OP: I have played Avadon which is a turn based game similar to BG amd it was a lot of fun and looked great. So I believe it will be a hit. BG is the game where you often deliber your next choice of spells and attack targets, which is just as well done on your couch
In fact, the reason why the mainstream gaming industry is as bad as it is today is all the morons who insist companies cant do no wrong, and spend their hard earned money on the yearly crap they put out with barely any effort. And people wonder why we dont get games like Baldurs Gate anymore, only the fanboys are to blame.
Its not they ignore PC Gamers because of complaining, its they ignore fans because they know people will support them no matter what they do.
Don't get me wrong, I think the adaptation to tablets will do wonders to our game on a nuts-and-bolts level as the above review suggests, but I'm scratching my head over what kind of tablet-owner is going to purchase a 1.8gig, 40-hour plus *monster* of a game and find the time to properly dig into it and get their money's worth. I don't think that type of player exists on the Appstore yet, and BG is too old and flabby to be the vanguard for the introduction of "serious games" on the iPad et al.
Caveat: I hope I'm utterly wrong and the game rakes in obscen amounts of cash and bathes in incadescent showers of critical acclaim
World of Warcraft, Starcraft 2, Diablo III, Guild Wars, EVE. They are not making any money on those games at all, are they?
(P.S. : This is sarcasm and your knee-jerk reaction makes you look like a moron.)
A lot of the complaints about BG:EE are pretty valid. The plus is it's still BG and runs easily on newer systems.
Unless you're one of the people suffering crashes.
Or you had a game ending bug like the Rhasaad dialog loop.
But except for those two things, it's perfect, right? Brand new UI-
-well, a slightly tweaked UI. That had some weird display problems early on. Well, it's better anyway.
And hey, unlike most modern games since this game is ancient and has already been patched up(officially and unofficially) it should come out of the gate feeling pretty stable and bug-free, right?
Well, they're working on it anyway. And most of the bugs are really minor! Aside from those crashes, anyway. Like the one where your characters need about 1 second after you click them before they respond to orders. Sure, it shows up all the time if you're quick with a mouse, but at least it doesn't really hurt(unless you really needed Imoen to move right then, anyway). Or the way the mouse-wheel is kind of dodgy on some menus, but how often do you need to look at your quests anyway?
...
In short, *yes*, BG:EE is a decent boost to an old game, but there are a *LOT* of little, irritating flaws that reflect poorly on Overhaul. Even if they're patching it pretty quickly, it smacks of the modern habit of companies releasing half-finished products and letting their consumers test them. It might be cheaper, but it's dishonest. Even if there *is* new content, it's nothing stellar, and I have a hard time going "wow, this is great".
I'm enjoying the game, and I'll probably get BG2:EE(though this time I'll wait a month or two to let other people beta-test it), but don't act like it's "entitled" just because some people are unhappy. This isn't some mod, it's a product, and after laying down $20 dollars for a 13 year old game the *customers* who bought said product are free to state their opinions of what they got.
With this game I can take my time, think, smoke a cigarette, drink my coffee, and hit that pause button whenever im ready, and hit it again one second later for another round of decision making.
Everygame I see on tablets/phones are fast paced games that need full attention, that are not even fun for 30 mins, or are just plain dumb.
BG for tablets IS perfect for players like me, that like to take it slow.
I DO enjoy my action packed Battlefield 3, my strategic hardcore Starcraft 2 and my blood pumping League of Legends mind you, but I would NEVER play this kind of games on my tablet.
BG on the other hand...
This probably sounds like a really, really dumb question, but, how do you get sound on a tablet? Is there an earbud jack like on an iPod?
I'm satisfied with BGEE on my PC -- better experience (to me) than the modded original on my up-to-date PC. No harmful bugs -- that is, if I don't look for them, I don't notice them. Though its nothing really new to an "old time player", BGEE is giving me enough hours of pleasure to justify the small price tag per hour (compared to other sources of entertainment).
It does seem like a natural for a tablet, to me (versus other more up to date RPGs). An Android tablet version for about $10 borders on a "no brainer". And, looking forward to BG2EE.
My tablet creates oscillations of pressure transmitted through the air, thanks to a device commonly referred to as a pair of speakers which can be found mounted on the back of the case.
Just being a pedant.
As for whingery, I think the absurdly low price of "apps" in the smartphone and tablet world is setting horrid expectations across the board. I'm sure somewhere someone is ranting about how BG:EE on iOS "is not a $10 game".