I'm hoping PE rekindles my CRPG love...I feel fatigue

[jivex5k]

Well I read another thread here about BG1 that got me thinking.

I recently bought BGEE, and I must say it's very very tedious.

I've never played BG1 at all, only BG2, but I played the hell out of BG2....

 

Now I can't even put in more than 20 minutes before I'm bored of the game...I must be getting old or something.

I even bought PST to try it out....again it's the same deal. I gave up after 2 days and I couldn't find my way out of that damn dungeon or whatever the starting area is.

 

I'm wondering though, is it because they are so dated at this point? Is it the UI that's pushing me away? Has my attention span decreased so much that I can't sit through these types of games anymore?

 

I dunno, I was pretty into Skyrim for a while, logged over 80 hours on that game. I tried getting into Fallout New Vegas....just got bored of it after an hour or two. I think Skyrim managed to engage me somehow more than these other games, I felt like a kid exploring a new lush world.

 

I find myself playing League of Legends more than anything these days....it's just very deep and there is always more strategy to learn.....I digress

 

Have any of you experienced this fatigue? Can you sit through the old CRPGs still?

I'm hoping with PE the updated UI, all the experience of previous world/story building, and the fact of a new world is enough to keep me invested in the game. I just want to feel that connection again, you know?

[jezz555]

Yeah I definitely feel you bro. The crpgs are really slow going by today's standards. But PE will likely be modernized to the point were it'll be quicker to get into. That's why I advocate for more voice acting, I think it keeps you awake during some of the tedium and get's you engaged. I'm thinking/hoping PE will fix the issues you're talking about

Edited December 4, 2012 by jezz555

[Felithvian]

BGII is unrelentingly oldschool. This includes the UI, game mechanics, and difficulty. You'll have to manage your ill-mannered ways if you pretend to revive this old classic. Did you even leave Candlekeep? If not, just explore the lands a little bit, and before long the game will start nudging you toward the main story arc.

 

Patience is required to appreciate BG. On the upside, you actually get well-written characters and plot, compared to the drivel that infects Skyrim.

Edited December 4, 2012 by Felithvian

[Sacred_Path]

Sadly, most CRPGs aren't very strong on the gameplay side. It's the atmosphere, the exploration, and often the story that are the high points and motivate you to go on; thus, replays tend to be not as much fun. And if you've seen/ played many, that also subtracts a bit from the enjoyment.

I very much hope that PE will score not only in the story and world departments but also on the tactical level, so that you can really grind your teeth on it for a long time. So far things are looking very bright IMO

Edited December 4, 2012 by Sacred_Path

[NerdBoner]

I must be getting old or something.

I even bought PST to try it out....again it's the same deal. I gave up after 2 days and I couldn't find my way out of that damn dungeon or whatever the starting area is.

 

I was pretty into Skyrim for a while, logged over 80 hours on that game

played Skyrim for 80 hours...

 

can't make it out of the crematorium in Planescape: Torment.

 

*smashes face into desk*

 

You, sir, perfectly define the spirit of everything that has gone wrong with the modern gamer.

Edited December 4, 2012 by NerdBoner

[mcmanusaur]

Cool story, bro.

[LadyCrimson]

I don't have RPG fatigue, I have gaming fatigue in general. Old or new, AAA or indie. At the moment, the only games that capture my attention for more than 30 minutes at a time are the older design/building focused ones. So I can sympathize. I personally couldn't play Skyrim for more than about 10 hours, however.

 

The last RPG that I spent time on (months, 100's of hours..) was New Vegas, and I'm starting to feel like that was a last hurrah. Either that or I'm tired of these modern 3D rpg's that are pretty, but feel soulless and detached. So I'm also hoping P.E. changes that, or at least, by the time P.E. comes out, I'll be out of gaming fatigue again .... no pressure, Obsidian, no pressure.

 

As always, the usual advice applies - take a (very) long break from gaming of any kind, or play something different than an RPG. Everything gets old if you stick with it uninterrupted for too long.

[Jarmo]

There definitely is an adjustment phase when starting a decade old RPG with old graphics and old gameplay.

 

If you've played the game before and liked it, you're kind of, sort of vaccinated against this. If you play a game frequently enough and there's no direct comparison with better gameplay and graphics you play alongside, you might not suffer any ill effects whatsoever.

 

It's the worst if you pick up a game you've never played or touched before, there's a mighty high cliff to scale before the enjoyment begins.

 

I've tried Arcanum twice in the past few years, but haven't passed the initial adjustment challenge.

I almost couldn't replay Fallout 1 at all, but then passed the phase, barely, continuing to enjoy the heck out of the game afterwards.

[Gfted1]

I've tried Arcanum twice in the past few years, but haven't passed the initial adjustment challenge.

 

Im with you on this one. Recently tried Arcanum for the first time ever, got to the crash site and got one shot by a wolf, never started the game again. That and it looked kinda crap and I cant be bothered with mods.

[LadyCrimson]

I couldn't get into Arcanum when it was released. It just felt awkward for some reason. I haven't tried since.

 

When I replayed a bit of BG1 a while back, I had little difficulty adjusting to the "age" of the game itself, but it didn't take long for my memory to kick in and make it hard to want to continue for long (another game I originally played 100's of hours on).

[Pshaw]

Honestly every game you named suffers from the same problem with me which is boring combat. Skyrim and fallout slightly less so but it's still pretty tedious. Simply put I have a hard time enjoying the story and characters when after every brief interlude of conversation I need to dive into another hours worth of stale comabt encounters.

[TreverJohansen]

I'm not to sure what people are looking for when they say this is stale combat?. I mean how much more can you really want, skyrim was great in combat letting u block cast magic or use a sword and magic in one hand i found myself either planning alot of attacks for battles with those liches. I mean if u want a combat experience that's amped I would suggest joining an MMA gym and go spar. People need to get it out of their heads that everything has to be in your face assasian's creed style running around basically one shoting everything in site with a story arc that holds ure hand the whole way through following the yellow brick road.

[NoxNoctum]

Ya boring combat is a problem with some RPGs, I'm surprised you did 80 hours of Skyrim though, nothing bores me like the combat in Elder Scrolls games (granted I've only tried Oblivion and that was enough for me... also Fallout 3 which had the same style despite it being guns and all that)

 

Try out ToEE with circle of eight mod if you're looking for a refreshing take on the genre. Unfortunately the story is lacking. It's got a lot of atmosphere though and the combat is best I've seen in a CRPG. Has an almost oppressive vibe though, it's very dark (a lot of this comes from the music, which is quite different from your typical fantasy stuff). Combat is TOUGH too (a huge plus for me).I remember it took me like 30 tries to kill a certain hill giant.

 

I really wish PE had gone that route for combat but oh well.

Edited December 4, 2012 by NoxNoctum

[Osvir]

There definitely is an adjustment phase when starting a decade old RPG with old graphics and old gameplay.

 

Yep. Pretty much this. Society is different today, and games too. How long have we been fed acceleration? Nowadays you pretty much have everything at your fingertips. By the press of a button.

 

@General: Old games requires devotion, even for someone who has never experienced the entire story. But it is outdated. Putting myself in your perspective, you used to play Baldur's Gate a lot when it just came out right? "Been there. Done that" mentality is also a part of it. I just finished Baldur's Gate and I loved it (I was devoted), but now that I've finished it and I'm playing Baldur's Gate 2 right after it I'm fatigued (2 huge games in a row and they play exactly the same? Phew). Also I really enjoyed my party composition (Imoen, Jaheira, Khalid, Dynahier, Minsc + Fighter Kit) and half of it is taken away at the beginning of Baldur's Gate 2. That sucked balls. I'm not too fond of Yoshimo, Aerie and Kivan taking their places. Heck I feel as if no one can fill their places.

 

I usually do this though: Decide before I am playing that I am going to make progress, no matter how small (I get swept away though). Makes it so much better to enjoy small steps at a time, brick by brick, but yeah. If casually playing Baldur's Gate its going to take some time. I played Baldur's Gate like I play League of Legends, fast. Explored every area, saved a lot, rested a lot, moved on. Hotkeys for the win! I was playing it like it was nobody's business (many times without pause and only reaction). I guess that's an aspect of it too, old games requires time and energy, it is like working in a sense. Also, I played in Casual because I wanted to finish the story. Might need to crank up that difficulty too. "Easy" can make a game awfully boring.

 

Still, I'm hoping that P:E goes back to the roots but is slightly more speedy (talking especially about movement, but I think in general too). Specially in fights, I want my characters to be able to run (or charge). This is going to be in P:E (Update #15-#16 don't know which one). Out of combat I'd like a decent speed slightly above IWD and BG, but not much. It is something part of the "charm" in my opinion. Enemies should swarm you, they should charge, at first creeping, but when they see you they move up. In Baldur's Gate the encounters are "fixed" in a way that they are very static. Dynamic encounter would be awesome in where the enemies patrol, they do **** whatever they do. I think that's one thing about Baldur's Gate, many of the enemies don't have a "soul". Tasloi, Gibberlings and Xvartz are all fodder and could very well be related in type of species. Ogrillons against Kobolds. Bandits. I felt more like they were all in the way more than anything remotely intriguing "Who are these guys? No matter. Chop chop".

 

A game with Soul might need to have encounters with Soul. Enemies with battle shouts. Druids that can shake your screen just as much as when you shake the screen with Earthquake spells. Sound plays a very big in that hurricane. Though I don't think we have anything to worry about regarding spell animations. It's 2012. The paper doll of the IERa ("Yera") is vastly inferior to how 3D models. Dwarf's won't just look different, they'll walk different, they'll swing different.

 

I think P:E will feel more alive, I hope it'll stay more to the roots than taking inspiration from modern games. Dragon Age: Origins had a nice pacing in combat, it just felt dull. I'd really like to see a Baldur's Gate-esque reaction. When an enemy dodges they dodge, movement is part of dodging. Not just "You missed!" in a text or in the log. An enemy blocking with a shield and virtually physically so, different enemies having different types (I think the wolf in DAO had something like it, like a stun lock). Probably not going to happen but it would be cool. Clashes, struggles and wrestling for power (decided by a dice roll).

 

I'd like to see Stamina be apart of running somehow, but not walking (or as a time based stat). I'd prefer if it was static for a purpose (combat & OoC running/activity).

 

I hope it'll be similar to Baldur's Gate in movement, maybe +0.1-0.2 faster walking speed with running at maybe +0.6-0.8 of what Baldur's Gate is.

[LadyCrimson]

As long as movement speed is faster than Diablo1's town movement, I'll be happy enough. God, that game's movement speed was annoying even during original release. Yet I still played it forever.

 

I liked the combat in New Vegas - when I didn't use VATS. I'm not sure why I liked it so much, maybe because of the sniping. I always like sniping (one reason I like Borderlands too0. But typically I'm not into first person perspective much. Too often it = a viewing arc that feels far too restrictive, (no peripheral vision) which drives me crazy.

 

I'm not always really sure what people mean by boring combat either - well, at least outside of the clickclick of original Diablos, that I understand. Outside of that however....there's clunky or overly complicated combat mechanics/UI, which can often put me, personally, off a game. But I'd guess most people are referring to complex strategies in combat, vs. just rapid sequences of spell/attack hotkey-mashing.

[Monte Carlo]

Lady C is right. A change is as good as a rest. Apart from a very occasional game of Medieval 2 or Company of Heroes I'm down to about an hour or three a week while I do other stuff. The only games on my horizon right now are CoH2 and P:E.

 

I am as pumped to hell about both, and expect P:E to simply be an updated, more user-friendly game of yore.

[aluminiumtrioxid]

There definitely is an adjustment phase when starting a decade old RPG with old graphics and old gameplay.

 

If you've played the game before and liked it, you're kind of, sort of vaccinated against this. If you play a game frequently enough and there's no direct comparison with better gameplay and graphics you play alongside, you might not suffer any ill effects whatsoever.

 

It's the worst if you pick up a game you've never played or touched before, there's a mighty high cliff to scale before the enjoyment begins.

 

I've tried Arcanum twice in the past few years, but haven't passed the initial adjustment challenge.

I almost couldn't replay Fallout 1 at all, but then passed the phase, barely, continuing to enjoy the heck out of the game afterwards.

 

It's strange, however, that I could never finish either Fallout or any TES game, nor bring myself to replay Arcanum, but can play PST or BG1-2 indefinitely...

[rjshae]

I'd like to see Stamina be apart of running somehow, but not walking (or as a time based stat). I'd prefer if it was static for a purpose (combat & OoC running/activity).

While not wanting to see physical exertions like running have a direct impact on stamina, I would like to see the recovery rate slow down significantly while the character is exerting themselves. I'd also like to see some of the optional combat actions be limited based on the current stamina. A bruised and battered character shouldn't be charging around the battlefield.

[jivex5k]

I must be getting old or something.

I even bought PST to try it out....again it's the same deal. I gave up after 2 days and I couldn't find my way out of that damn dungeon or whatever the starting area is.

 

I was pretty into Skyrim for a while, logged over 80 hours on that game

played Skyrim for 80 hours...

 

can't make it out of the crematorium in Planescape: Torment.

 

*smashes face into desk*

 

You, sir, perfectly define the spirit of everything that has gone wrong with the modern gamer.

Wow...sorry that viewpoints that aren't yours are deemed what's wrong with gamers.

There's no need for personal attacks, I didn't realize there was a correct way to be a gamer.

 

I could make a snide comment here, but I'm gonna refrain.

If you don't agree with my post or my viewpoints, why not explain why instead of attacking me?

[TMTVL]

I've been replaying Arcanum and Fallout. I'm also thinking of playing through BG2 again. The IWD series I don't like all that much because I like having companions with character (ToEE had a really interesting combat system, so I'm willing to forgive it). PS:T I didn't really like because the combat system was really out of place in a game that could have been my favorite game ever, if it had no combat, or a turn based system.

 

That leaves BG1, which had kinda interesting companions, but BG2 just did it all better.

 

If you want my opinion of Fallout 2, you're gonna have to wait. It's too big for me to work my way through until I can get a few months off work.

[Dream]

Honestly every game you named suffers from the same problem with me which is boring combat. Skyrim and fallout slightly less so but it's still pretty tedious. Simply put I have a hard time enjoying the story and characters when after every brief interlude of conversation I need to dive into another hours worth of stale comabt encounters.

 

I want an RPG with Bayonetta's combat system.

[Boof]

Hope you didn't donate too much, because these games are no longer for you, nor should they be changed to suit you.

Back to League of Legends and Call of Duty.

[jivex5k]

Hope you didn't donate too much, because these games are no longer for you, nor should they be changed to suit you.

Back to League of Legends and Call of Duty.

Grow up man, someone can enjoy a multitude of game genres.

It's a lot easier to stereotype though isn't it?

Come back when your ready for an adult discussion. I never said a single thing about changing this game.

Edited December 4, 2012 by jivex5k

[Wulfic]

I actually began my adventure AGAIN with Bg yesterday and I have to say I am not bored NOT AT ALL. Its great and I love the game. Some things about the game are annoying like the really infantile. They dont have the depth of the DA:O dialogs and not so many choices but the game feeling is awesome. I tried to play BG again without the EE and failed because of the dated UI and so the new one is actually pretty much the same but thanks to the resolution it is appealing, I still think P:E will beat the crap out of the BG series !

[jezz555]

I must be getting old or something.

I even bought PST to try it out....again it's the same deal. I gave up after 2 days and I couldn't find my way out of that damn dungeon or whatever the starting area is.

 

I was pretty into Skyrim for a while, logged over 80 hours on that game

played Skyrim for 80 hours...

 

can't make it out of the crematorium in Planescape: Torment.

 

*smashes face into desk*

 

You, sir, perfectly define the spirit of everything that has gone wrong with the modern gamer.

 

This is a little uncalled for. People have shorter attention spans these days, it's just the way things are, it's not something to mock someone over. PS:T was a great game for its time, but it is old now, I think we can all acknowledge that. There is no reason a gamer shouldn't want a more modern game, enough with the "I'm too tough for modern features" mindset, sometimes an upgrade is good.