Starsman
-
Posts
2248 -
Joined
-
Quote:That's mostly evidence that we should have been given some form of one-on-one duel mechanic that was usable in any zone.Originally Posted by BrandX
Also, we had some of the dumbest PvP anyways. Duelers in open PvP zones crying when someone interrupted their duel proved this
I think Pocket D would have been INCREDIBLY more intersting if once in a while a real fight broke out there, but an entirely consentual one. -
Quote:If you make a strip club, and dress the attendants in tuxedos... is that adding to the perceived decency of the establishment?Originally Posted by BrandX
Or am I mistaken, and those outfits are indecent?
And I know you will bring many things this game allows, but fact is this game not only has much more cartoony style, but also went out of its way to avoid overly sexual things like visual nipples or color pallets that would allow players to have a naked-ish look by "smart" tinting of spandex.
B&G is intentionally pursuing that, though, they are intentionally giving you the ability to cover everyone in butter!!! And it's not like they deny it either, they ask you for your birth date even to enter their page. That's not to appease the outcry, that's exactly what they aimed for. The artist they hired to lead the character design is famous precisely due to his near-hentai "soft-core" style.
I personally dont care, it's not like I want the game banned. But I feel forced to poke fun at the topic every time someone tries to defend something NCSoft themselves openly admit about the game's risqué design. -
Quote:Originally Posted by BrandX
Then of course they'd say the character was totally different from what they picked, but they picked that class for ease of leveling.
Fun fact: almost all my characters are magic because their SOs are listed first at Ghost Falcon and I run a way lower chance at buying the wrong type.
There should be no "origins" as we know them in this game. And no power upgrade path should in any way be tied to lore. Make things clearly what they are and keep the lore open for the user to decide on. Did he get more accuracy because of a magic spell? cybernetic adjutment? mutation? alien gifted spandex? The game should not determine this by giving labels like "Insight Of The Grey" -
Quote:You don't need to play B&S to know it lacks decencyOriginally Posted by BrandX
So you've played it?
-
Quote:Originally Posted by Vyver
whatever happened to RockPaperScissors World of Starcraft anyways? last time I checked Activision had simply taken down a youtube video and then poof, the news stream stops cold
Blizard backpedalled a bit about their actions, claimed their only concern was the name used for the mod, but after that, I never saw any additional info. I don't have the game (it's the kind of game I would love to play precisely when I'm away from my internet and the DRM prevents me to play the campaign offline) so I cant check their mod library to see if it ever got out. -
Quote:The gameplay video I saw made the thing look really wowish to me, in almost every way. Character proportions were a bit different, but environments, critters and eve the shaders seemed very similar. The open worlds with countless critters just standing there waiting to be killed... I don't think this game will be for me (even if I abandoned my NCSoft boycottOriginally Posted by JKedan
I suspect Father Xmas meant gameplay, but visually I get more 'Iron Giant' from Wildstar than I do anything else.).
-
Quote:Raids are... hmmm. This game needed raids. But not the raids we got in trial form post GR. Well... technically they worked...Originally Posted by Ironik
Yeah, raids. Ugh.
This game needed raid content that multiple groups and large guilds were able to do together, but that type of content should not have defined advancement. ALSO story should not have been strongly locked behind them either.
One idea I liked (and I guess incarnate system is SORT of like this) was to add new enhancement slots. Slots that you were able to add enhancements to and these enhancements would affect all powers. We would have been able to slot anything there, from regular SOs to IOs. Add to this a special set of enhancements that can only be slotted there, and make a purple class version that can only be acquired via raiding.
This would have kept a reason to raid, but it would not have locked all progression under raiding.
Yea crafting complexity was insane. I hated the system at first, it stopped feeling like a hobby and more like work. I didn’t get into it until much much later when merits alleviated the feel of randomness a bit.Quote:I didn't understand the point of the complexity of IOs, except as a method for removing Influence from the players' coffers.
I think they should have created 3 salvage pieces total:
Normal, Uncommon and Rare. That's it. No "Ring of doom" or "psychotic winder", just Normal Salvage, Uncommon Salvage and Rare Salvage. These should not be categories, just plain and simple "crafting currencies".
Then, the higher level minimum "equip" level is for the salvage, the more salvage units it cost. That's yet another complexity in the system, not only did they create a huge array of colorful salvage, they also divided it in 3(?) level ranges, earning low level salvage was useless for high level salvage.
Finally, if you have an invention that can be level 20 min and 40 max, just make the thing exemplar all the way to 20!!! It was absurd that players had to hunt down for the lowest level version of an invention!
Yea, they went WAY too stingy in everything but recharge and defense. I partially blame Arcanaville's campaigns on SR! Didn’t exactly turn out as she wanted but I think her ranting made the devs thing def was so unfairly attacked that they had to be generous with it. And SR was so unable to benefit from it that def IOs had to grant lots of recharge.Quote:The level-restricted choices seemed like a holdover from the original design, but the weird 2.5% of this and 1.7% of that versus 10% of this and 12% of that meant that certain sets were always in demand while others were orphaned. Much better to make them Acc+Dam bonus *or* Dam+End bonus... which do you need more? That would've led to more customization, I think.
BAH! I'm becoming a cranky old man!!! -
Quote:I am afraid that that is EXACTLY what happened here.Originally Posted by Vyver
Remember when Megas XLR was a popular show with good ratings, but was canceled because the brand-new CEO of CN "didn't get it".
thats a thing that happened
BTW, similar happened to the original run of Doctor Who, coupled with a "power struggle" that slowly siphoned the show's budget until it was forced to be canceled. -
Quote:Not sure about the legality of this one, but there is also the Amstrad Abandonware page, hosts an emulator and even has flash versions of said emulators allowing you to play... Ikari Warriors!Originally Posted by Codewalker
That's why projects like DOSBox exist.
Games like Doom and Quake for which the source code has been released continue to be upgraded by volunteers to run on modern systems.
See also: The Ur-Quan Masters, aka Star Control 2. Played through that one (again) not too long ago. Great game.
-
Quote:If everything else in the park is not pulling it's own weight, and CoH was the only west title doing so (before GW2's launch) then it WAS the closest NCSoft West ever got to maximizing returns on investment. Meeting expectations? Sure... you are not meeting my expectations on rationality either but I also will admit, my expectations are perhaps unreasonably highOriginally Posted by JKedan
I don't believe that is true. Pulling one's own weight is not even remotely the same as meeting expectations, much less maximizing return on investment..
I still play old console games in an emulator (perfectly legal so long as I actually own the games I play, best with disk based games.) Most console games can easily be replayed decades later either by getting a console or running an emulator.Quote:Originally Posted by SteelRat
Thing is though, how many old games do people actually still play? Do people still play Spy Hunter, or Manic Miner, or Elite, or any of those games that don't require a cost by a company to maintain? Or for example, what happens when an old game you love doesn't run on your new PC because of OS compatibility, or graphics support or a myriad of other reasons?
The difference here is that the closure of an MMO is something that's forced on the players en masse by the company that runs it and so there's that whole "wanting something you can't have" effect that takes over, but ultimately it's no different to upgrading your Amstrad CPC464 to a PC and finding you can't play Ikari Warriors anymore.
There are MANY very well known workarounds to computer upgrades breaking games, going from VMWare virtualization of old hardware/software combinations to plainly keep an old computer running DOS or Windows XP around. If you trully believe this game should be no different, then we should get all needed stuff to just build our own servers or virtualize them
-
Quote:This is the thing that puzzles me: did they/you have this concern during the creation of GR? Because it was already obvious that players passivley or actively resented the faction wall from CoV, and it was very obvious in that a lot of players rolled heroes simply because most players where on the blue side.Originally Posted by Black Pebble
HOWEVER, I do agree that while both COV and GR introduced incredible content and systems, which certainly injected new life into the game, they did have the unintended side-effect of also dividing the player base.
It was definitely a concern that we as a studio had.
I know that hindsight is always 20/20, but EQ shows us that we can have insane number of factions without preventing players from playing together. (EQ2 showed that they learned having too many factions was not a good idea, they cut down to 2 true player factions.)Quote:We were in a bit of a sticky pickle. If we homogenized content too much, there would be no uniqueness to being a Hero or Villain. But it was also nearly impossible to create enough unique content for six different factions. Players don't want generic content that works for both Heroes and Villains, they want great content that makes them feel truly heroic or villainous.
So... I just think CoV could have been just as it is, without preventing heroes from going to RI or villains from going to Paragon City and players from teaming up for missions. They would just not be able to take on contact from the other faction.
IMO, the worst bit is that SOE seemed to have thought that it worked so they had to do THEIR super hero MMO have the same faction wall (although they at least allowed shared zones.) -
Quote:Documentation is not about keeping a diary... its about keeping and updating a single featureset "bible" where everyone can go and look at what can do what, and list every single potential problem (that you likely dont even know about until some one brings up X or Y.)Originally Posted by Fantabulous
I am not a software developer but my employer would have my rear end in a bear trap if I didn't document what I did in a day.
-
Quote:You are someone's alt account, because I don't think anyone accused you of being "this Another Fan guy" by nameOriginally Posted by Fantabulous
I am not Another Fan. I just hate lynch mobs.
How does the trope goes?
Cop - Did you take it?
Guy - I never took that money!
Cop - I never accused you of taking money... -
Quote:I think I have a "magic formula" that could have fixed PvP (and also immortality in PvE: permanent damage.Originally Posted by Brillig
If I had to pick just one thing, I'd pick PvP. Adding PvP after the fact is a really tough needle to thread, and when you try to do it in a game that allows players to be gloriously imbalanced.... it's going to be a disaster.
And as others have pointed out, this decision bled over in to a lot of other bad designs and issues.
Mind you, by permanent I dont mean literally permanent, just damage that cant ever be healed back by direct heals or accelerated regeneration, only some minor natural regeneration would apply against that.
The idea is one I took from games like Xmen Vs Street Fighter, where they set a max to the amount of health you can regain by swapping characters and stay off screen regenerating.
We still would have balance issues but at that point they are easier to address. Offensively, you could make certain rules, like "weaker attacks have larger percentages of sticky damage" while stronger hitting attacks can take a lot more health but deal less sticky damage.
The first attack in an assault (like jumping from stealth or landing your first hit against the target) may also not land any sticky damage and finally, perhaps range also could determine how much damage would be sticky (the farther away you are, the less of it would be sticky.)
All this would have required new code, but same applied to suppression. -
Quote:Wow... just how many of these accounts you have in reserve?Originally Posted by Fantabulous
I'll Ask the obvious question.
If it was so hard for Paragon Studios how come every other game I play can take care of business ?
-
Quote:I will clarify my point a bit:Originally Posted by Impish Kat
As many of you know, Bases were kinda my thing for a while... so...
Sorry, but I have to disagree here. It wasn't the lego-ish-ness of bases that made them difficult to build, it was the initial PVP-raid-pathing that made it such a pain in the tukus.
As evidenced by some incredibly beautiful bases since that was disengaged, many builders loved the "legos", and were in fact begging for more pieces.
It was impossible to create a cavern base, a sewer, a circus tent or a space station (all we needed were "windows" with stars textured to them.)
I saw some bases that looked close to sewerish but there were no round connecting "hallways" or water floors.
No vaulted ceilings, no round rooms, etc. I would have loved to use empty versions of all maps you normally encounter with a grid to place decorations on them.
One thing we got VERY late in the game (sort off, via the find contact GUI) that I thought bases should have provided from day one is the ability for a computer in the ability to communicate with any contact, regardless of relationship. Even if you never met the contact, the base computer should have given the player a way to get a random "emergency call" that connected them to contacts they have not met yet.Quote:HOWEVER, I do agree that bases could have used more functionality in terms of group activities. The re-vamped CoP was, even considering it's flaws, a step in the right direction.
Also, bases should have allowed to teleport directly to mission doors. -
Quote:I would have liked it if they gave him the full power of the victory.Originally Posted by Black Pebble
I enjoyed the movie a lot, but it dawned on me well after the fact - the bad guy won.
I'm not sure if I like that or not. -
Quote:My issue was not so much the corridors but the pitch black textures with the crazy glowy animations in the Prison... it did get worse when you got to hallway ends where I was not able to distinguish clearly that there was a slight wall frame connecting rooms that would not let me walk through...Originally Posted by Fire Man
I never got to run around in it, but it was more about open spaces than corridors. That's another thing I liked about it.
Who's idea was that btw? The Prison's black walls? -
Quote:As long as it was not like the Eternal Prison... It's the first thing in the game that ever made me want to smack some devs!Originally Posted by Fire Man
Really though, I'm super sad that you guys never got to see the new office interior that was made for Kalisti Warf. I know, another office interior, but even I as impressed.
This was a nicely lit, ultra modern, clean office interior that even had windows! Fake ones, to be sure but they were done very well. It was all very befitting for the new zone. Unfortunately I don't think that work got into the beta build. -
Quote:Originally Posted by Knight_of_Armor
Psssh. "Easy" for you to say.
-
Quote:*looks at the virgin goats*Originally Posted by Angry_Citizen
You can sacrifice the goat, but I'm pretty keen on those virgins.
...
You sure about what you sain? -
Quote:Heck can you imagine if someone like Amazon bought them? Want Twinkies? The only way to get them is buying from Amazon! I'm sure Bezos would LOVE to exploit Twinkie addiction.Originally Posted by Rabid_M
Well....no. Little Debbie snack cakes and fruit pies can't stop a jaywalker, much less a super villain.
Still, I'd be thrilled if Little Debbie purchased Hostess and managed to reopen the factories and save most of the jobs.
Alternatively the same applies to Wal-Mart. If you got the munchies, you MUST go to a Wal-Mart to get your Twinkies! -
Quote:Yea, I think one of the rules of bankrupcy is that all managemnt salary should be frozen or forced to be insanely lowered (to regular-management levels.)Originally Posted by Ironik
I don't hold any respect for weasels lining their coffers while making underlings suffer. I don't give a **** about the math. You lead by example or you lead not at all.
Off. With. Their. Heads.
I tend to have a bit of a thing about unions, they CAN be problematic and I have personally see them turn into mafia-like conglomerates that stand more for themselves than the good or interest of actual employees, but this here... this is too long running to be just an overly powerful's union job. This is just bad management.
For the good of these people (and our dear Twinkies) some one like Little Debbie (who already makes their own twinkie's called Cloud Cakes) may aquire them and reopen the plants if only to expand their market share. -
OK, this place is nearing the end but darn it Im going to take it back to its prime!!! Time for some movie ranting and spoiler threads!!!
THIS IS FULL OF SPOILERS!
SO!!! SKYFALL!!!
I . hated it. I know I am the minority but I did. There is a LOT to love about the movie, but there was so much wrong that *I* was not able to forgive.
First for the good sides:
Daniel Craig: Some hate him but this guy does an amazingly great bond, IMO.
Judi Dench: This was in the trailer, but take the shot! this woman was great.
Javier Bardem: he managed to make an extremely flamboyant criminal feel truthfully deadly and cold blooded. He did a magnificent job.
In addition the movie had a lot of good action scenes and excellent cinematography.
OK now for the bad things:
Naomie Harris: meh may be the script but she was forgettable. Not bad, simply.. meh.
Ben Whishaw: again may be the script but UGH I wanted to choke this guy in his own vomit. The character attempted to be arrogant but it was just cliché and monotonous.
Now for plot itself, and one last warning, this thing is going to be full of spoilers. I wont summarize the entire movie here, but I will cover the things that made me hate the movie.
Sub Plot about closing MI5: the entire movie drags an absurd plot that sort of pretends there is some very thick 4th wall, where the loss of some important data results in the minister inquiring even the requirement of the organization to exist. The entire inquiry scenes are full of absurdity, trying to solidify or break (cant decide what) the fourth wall by justifying why the agency even needs to exist. Again, its absurd and at the end its just turns out to be padding (they try to squeeze in some inspirational speech but I found it to not hit a single note.)
Q, as I noted above, Q is a very arrogant individual. I will forget about the fact that it just does not seem to do a good job at portraying it in any believable way. I will also forget about all the fake computing things because I accept that real computing is boring for non-computer people. However, I cant accept that it ends up being Bond that figures out the computer password and not Q, the supposed master hacker! Ah but if it was just this the thing that really annoys me is the fact that this super genius decides the way to crack into a hackers computer to see if the stolen data is in it, is to hook it not once but twice with double Ethernet connections to the entire frigging MI5 network!!! This hacker already demonstrated he was able to hack the MI5 network with a click of a button and this super genius decides to physically plug his computer into the network!!! This is beyond non-computer people this is just stupid 101!!!
I would be able to forgive the above if it was not because the ENTIRE movie from this point forward depends on this moron connecting the infected computer to the network ah and that brings me to my 4th complaint:
I forgot the name for this trope but the villain had the entire thing perfectly planned to the minute! Absolutely everything he did was perfectly choreographed! From being captured, being taken to MI5, this moron geek plugging the computer into the network at an exact time, all doors in the building opening up, escaping through the subway, meeting with 2 cop dressed assistants carrying a bomb, having Bond follow him all the way to a big chamber where he planted said bomb, detonating the bomb, and having a train come out of the hole created by the bomb, then getting out of the subway and meeting again other cops, getting to Ms inquiry with the minister and there attempt to kill her. In fact, the only thing apparently he did not count on was an additional guy jumping in the way of the shot.
Then there is Skyfall, the house where Bond grew up. Here is a scene that was not bad but it was far from bond. During this entire sequence they go over the house, they realize they only have one hunting rifle. So they must manage with a lot of household traps! The A Team montage follows. I mean, seriously, during the entire scheme I was not able to get The A Team theme music out of my head! They did all the cuts you would expect in the classic TV show until they finished rigging the perfect mouse trap. Again: not a bad scene off itself but this seemed to have been taken away from the script for The A Team 2.
Now to the final thing I hated about the movie: the entire villains plot. His entire goal, apparently, was to kill M. That was all he wanted. Thing is: he sort of succeeds. But no, he does not. Instead, mid action scene, they get M shot by some nameless minion. She does not die but starts bleeding badly. The bad guy comes to kill her near the end but Bond gets rid of him, stealing the victory away. M still dies, but due to a casual minions bullet and slow bleeding. My issue here is the movie could have redeemed itself drastically, and carried at least some brave punch, by allowing the bad guy to get away with his goal: let HIM kill M. You were going to kill her anyways, let that guy have it. Force Bond to endure the much tougher and sour taste of failure. But no that would have been too good. Got to make things tragic but not THAT tragic BAHRG
Anyways, its very likely you all loved the movie (since everyone seems to) but there, here is my rant! -
Quote:I feel forced to agree.Originally Posted by JKedan
Just out of curiosity, how is this any better?