Features that annoy you.

[ShadowPaladin V1.0]

some are complex... "

 

Deadly_Nightshade

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

Can you name a few ? I was thinking of the big names BG/IWD PST FO etc.

 

Not one of which captures the horror of seeing the expert sphere grid for the first time

[Ewen Brown]

"If that is the case why do console RPGs have such complex game mechanics ?"

 

i don't think he was talking about game mechanics

[kirottu]

Insta-Kill situations.

[ShadowPaladin V1.0]

"If that is the case why do console RPGs have such complex game mechanics ?"

 

i don't think he was talking about game mechanics

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

In what other way would you "dumb down" a game ?

[Deadly_Nightshade]

Dumbing down games to please the "general gamer"... or to make them fit for consoles

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

some console games are good, Zelda is one example, but most are trash...

Also, I agree that, sadly, most "Six-pack Joe/Jane" gamers do like there games dumbed down... <_<

 

Deadly_Nightshade

[ShadowPaladin V1.0]

Oh just came up with another one. Story battles.

 

You meet the boss and you waste tons of items keeping yourself alive only to discover that you just cant win the battle.

 

In Tales of Symphonia I fought the guy for over two hours (which isnt uncommon for big boss encounters in some games). Did a couple of 100,000's damage to him only to find out that he couldnt be killed.

 

It's not so much the not being able to kill him bit, but rather the waste of money (for items) that titanic battle was, as well as being ultimately pointless.

 

On the other hand if a boss whacks you for 99,999 (thanks a bunch Dark Ixion) then you know full well your not strong enough.

[ShadowPaladin V1.0]

some console games are good, Zelda is one example, but most are trash...

Also, I agree that, sadly, most "Six-pack Joe/Jane" gamers do like there games dumbed down... <_<

 

Deadly_Nightshade

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

I wouldnt call Zelda complex though. And how much trash is there for each good PC game ?

 

If anything it's the expansion of consoles and the former PC devs making games for the, that has led to the largest drop in quality of console games.

[SteveThaiBinh]

Oh just came up with another one. Story battles.

 

You meet the boss and you waste tons of items keeping yourself alive only to discover that you just cant win the battle.

Absolutely. Or there are the times, as with Malak for the first time in Kotor 1, when you're pretty much beating the crap out of him and yet he's allowed to escape certain death only because he's an important NPC.

 

This isn't hugely annoying, but it just happens to be annoying me right now, so I'll share: pausing on the inventory screens in BG1 and BG2. In BG1 the action doesn't pause if you have the inventory up. It was annoying to begin with, and they made such a fuss over it, with big red warning messages everywhere. However, after a few hours, I got used to it - it encouraged me to think and prepare before battles, and moreover when I arrived in town, inevitably at the wrong end of the map, I could set my party walking off to the shop, bring up the inventory screen, and re-organise my stuff ready for selling while my party was on its way.

 

Just as I was beginning to appreciate this system, my character progresses to BG2 and now the inventory screen pauses the game. So why was it so important in BG1? Why persuade me to like a feature only to snatch it away?

[astr0creep]

some console games are good, Zelda is one example, but most are trash...

Also, I agree that, sadly, most "Six-pack Joe/Jane" gamers do like there games dumbed down... <_<

 

Deadly_Nightshade

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

I wouldnt call Zelda complex though. And how much trash is there for each good PC game ?

 

If anything it's the expansion of consoles and the former PC devs making games for the, that has led to the largest drop in quality of console games.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

The best games have simple mechanics yet hard to finish. Example: the first Oddworld, Ico, Shadow of the Collossus. Easy to pick up, hard to play.

[ShadowPaladin V1.0]

The best games have simple mechanics yet hard to finish. Example: the first Oddworld, Ico, Shadow of the Collossus. Easy to pick up, hard to play.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

I wouldnt say that was the case with RPGs though. I've just run through the entire FF series and the first one is incredibly basic mechanics wise. Which would tend to debunk the myth that console RPGs are being dumbed down.

 

Although the inclusion of the shrines has probably made the game easier overall not having any save points to use tents at adds difficulty.

[6 Foot Invisible Rabbit]

Features that annoy me:

 

1: Not being able to make my own character. I want to be able to choose my own class, skills, gender, and what not. I want the character to be mine, not the designers.

 

2: Full Vioice Overs. I hate them.

 

3: Being dictated how my character should react. Baldur's Gate 2, for eample, forces you to either care enough about Imoen to go after her or you care enough about revenge to go after Irenicus. For a neutral evil halfling thief both seemed trivial and I would have thought to go my merry way, but no I just couldn't play my character. Or to even care about leaving Taris in KotOR 1, or going after Master Li in Jade Empire.

 

4: AI Control of party members. It is stupid because the AI is stupid. Also the party control system of KotOR 1 and 2 is the worst period.

 

5: Not being able have my character have the same conclusions as the player. In KotOR 1 due to the who revelation thingie I figured the whole plot twist way before then. The first time through I was playing a fairly Intelligent scoundrel/consuler type (16 Int/14 Wis, which would exceed what I would give myself in DnD stats) I should have been able to say "So what. I already figured that out." But no, Bioware had to script the character as a moron even if his/her statistics say otherwise.

 

6: Scripted battles. My characters could have easily taken out Malak on the Leviathon, but no Bioware lacks the foresight to notice that they made the freaking game way too easy to begin with and wouldn't lket my character kill the bugger right there and then. Clue to developers, if you don't want me to defeat your main villain do two things: A. Don't let me face him til you want him dead or B. Make him impossible to beat at which time I first encounter him. NOT BLOODY DIFFICULT!

[Darque]

Things that annoy me:

 

1) NPCs that say the same thing over and over and over again...

 

2) Unrealistic loot... gold pieces from a bat? Where is it keeping it.. nevermind, I don't want to know...

 

3) Drizits Duadunum or whatever that drow from the Forgettable realms is called

 

4) Random encounters... meh

 

5) Annoying NPCs that you HAVE to deal with... like that imp thing in BG2.

 

6) Easter Eggs.. Hate them passionately.

[Gabrielle]

Icewind Dale 2 for using 3rd edition rules.

Other games that use 3rd edition rules

Lame npcs that have nothing to say, nothing but pack mules. (BG1, NWN)

Romances that suck, they're really not "romances" IMO (Kotor games)

Unkillable monsters, unless it's done a special way (Bloodlines werewolf)

Bad voice acting

Bad soundtracks

[Deadly_Nightshade]

Bad Games...

 

Deadly_Nightshade

[Diamond]

Random encounters

Permanent stats reduction

Savegame only at 'savepoints'

 

 

I can't understand why people complain about bad VO and acting in this thread, are they 'features'?

[CoM_Solaufein]

Games that do not let you save whenever you want to.

 

3D games with bad graphics. For the longest time I refused to play 3D games until they started to look "realistic".

 

Permament stat reductions. If you have a level drain, like they do in BG2, than I expect a spell or a priest to heal my level back.

 

A game that forces you to take certain NPCs in order to complete a quest.

[ShadowPaladin V1.0]

If a game dosnt have save points I keep forgetting to save. Although I wouldnt advocate save points on the PC since it's so unstable.

 

But save points will improve your gaming skills :D

Edited February 21, 2006 by ShadowPaladin V1.0

[CoM_Solaufein]

I have a problem with saving. I am always caught up in the game I forget to save. Save and save often we learned in computers class 101. Which is why a game should let you save whenever you want to and do auto saves when you leave an area.

[ShadowPaladin V1.0]

I have a problem with saving. I am always caught up in the game I forget to save. Save and save often we learned in computers class 101. Which is why a game should let you save whenever you want to and do auto saves when you leave an area.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

Thats one reason I like save points. It's like a reminder to save the game.

Sometimes they can get frustrating , especially in FPS games, but they do improve your skills in a way that wouldnt happen if you could save after each encounter.

 

Grandia X is probably the only one where you could go for hours without being able to save since you could only save in town locations. But it wasnt called Grandia Xtreme for nothing

[astr0creep]

I look forward to a day when I don't have to manually save ever again, when a game's auto-save feature does more than just save at the start of a new section or before bosses. All I want is an auto-save that will work 1-5 seconds before I die in any game and 2- Upon quitting the game to go put my baby to sleep.

[Diamond]

Hey, what about save system coupled with demo recording capabilities. You can then rewind the game back to the point you want.

Disadvantages, of course, are more computational and disk space overhead.

[ShadowPaladin V1.0]

Hey, what about save system coupled with demo recording capabilities. You can then rewind the game back to the point you want.

Disadvantages, of course, are more computational and disk space overhead.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

Sounds like sands of time. Of course the rewind capacity was only a few seconds. Could make an interesting premise for a game though and I expect blu ray wouldnt have any trouble technically.

[Diamond]

I expect blu ray wouldnt have any trouble technically.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

How would blu ray assist in it?

[astr0creep]

Diablo 2's save feature was very cool. It added a great sense of survival, also eliminating the bad quicksave habit many of us have.

 

I love to save whenever I want in PC games but it makes it all too easy.

[ShadowPaladin V1.0]

I expect blu ray wouldnt have any trouble technically.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

How would blu ray assist in it?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

You would have enough space to store lots of different rewind locations. Sorry I was thinking off on a tangent there :D

 

I was kind of thinking of a game that would actually require you to stop and rewind time in order to progress.