Why so complicated?

*rant on* I know this has been mentioned a few(hundred) times already, but why is the new incarnate system so overly complex? It's not that I don't understand how it works, it just a pain in the rear for no apparent reason. If all common comps cost 20 threads, and all common abilities cost 3 commons, why not just make the abilities cost 60 threads and forget about having 50 different components?! Seriously, why have the components at all? Just make each level of ability cost x# of threads. *rant off*

Yeah, I'm not sure I get why the need for all the options either. Especially since a reward table gives you a choice of one of all the same kind of reward.

I would imagine they wanted to create a system people could really sink their teeth into, not something they could sort of walk through in a couple of play sessions. Getting to 50 isn't easy, quick or without complexity either.

This is really a good question.

Hmm...yeah, it does seem to be a bit of overkill. For the Alpha, at least different components were linked to different tasks. If you need something, take a little bit of a shortcut and do that task.

That doesn't seem to be the case here though. And if you haven't planned things out, it can lead to a bit of confusion. I started doing a few trials just for the sake of doing trials (well, and to unlock slots). I was surprised when one succeeded and I got a rare reward table. I had no clue what any of the components did, as I hadn't planned out what to put in any of the four slots (certainly didn't have a plan in place for a Tier 4). So I tried to hastily figure something out before I goofed something up and got left with super insps. Rather tough on-the-fly, especially given the somewhat muddy power descriptions (Seeker who does what now???)

@Benchpresser,

But what if you kept the 4 types of components, and just didn't bother naming them?

At the end of the trial your reward table would be:
1) common component
2) 10 Threads

or

1) uncommon component
2) 2 super insps

or

1) rare component
2) 3 super insps

or

1) very rare component
2) 4 super insps


You lose 'flavor' without having names, but it would certainly simplify your salvage.

Personally, I prefer simpler games with simpler mechanics which one doesn't need a sheet of paper and a pen to keep track of. Look at a game like Portal. I honestly don't understand why RPGs are always understood to require a degree of complexity to rival professional accounting (to the point where lack of micromanagement is seen as a flaw), but I do not miss it.

I still prefer the original Diablo and its clone, the original Dungeon Siege to most other click-n-kill that came after them, including Diablo 2 and Dungeon Siege 2.

...

Hmm... I wonder which game Dungeon Siege 3 will rip off this time. Maybe Devil May Cry?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Arcanaville Samuel_Tow is the only poster that makes me want to punch him in the head more often when I'm agreeing with him than when I'm disagreeing with him.

Why so serious?

had to!

I just find it wierdthat when I went to my Cardiac Core Revamp, in norder to get to my Paragon, I needed to start all over again to beginning and work on my radial tree to get to the component I need for my Paragon which is the radial boost revamp.

I know I need to do it, but...Im just not used to trees working like that really.

I guess I really don't care one way of the other. It could be made simpler, but as has been stated you would certainly lose 'flavor' to do it. The reality is that it isn't that hard, I mean I've already slotted all 4 new powers successfully and managed the crafting just fine.

Also, this could have something to do with it:

When I play, I'm often on Vent. And at the end of the trial, we (almost) all pipe up and say,
"Yay! Rare!" or
"Super YAY! Very Rare!" (to which we all hastily reply, "HAX!") or
"**** on all of you, 10 threads, this game sux." (to which we all hastily reply, "SLACKA!"

But then we get down to the Serious Business of figuring out which ^%*&% piece of salvage we need to use to get what we want. That takes some time, and some... the word escapes me, you do it with your head-part... sometimes it hurts... ah yes, thinkerating!

And during the thinkerating process, unbeknownst to us, but knownst to many psychologistical-type-people (I will call them 'Shrinks' to protect their feelings from that other derogatory term I used, cause they hate that) you become invested more in the characters, and in the powers, and feel like what some people call these 'tacked-on powers' become more intrinsically part of the player's experience with the character.

But maybe they're just doing it to mess with our heads, and punish us for our evildoing.

OK There seems to be a bit of confusion here.

The components are for 2 reasons to look nice and to soak up threads when people make mistakes because they didn't plan out their build.

1) If they wanted to just make 4 components called common, uncommon, rare and very rare (or some such) granted it wouldn't look as cool,

2) BUT the breakdown conversion of one component to another means that you can't just swap them out since you don't end up with enough threads to go from one rare to another for example.

This is why I say Devs made an intentional thread sink. Just as they did for the Alpha slot, I got lots of Alpha components I had no use for when working on Alpha slots.

At least this time you can choose your reward instead of knowing your reward is on a TF no one else wants to do. Oddly so far I am having the problem of only getting Rares so I have to plan really far out.

Right - and that's what got me. First successful run and I am presented the Very Rare option. And I'm like, "Wait, what? I don't even have my first slot unlocked yet, I need to quick choose a T4 in something? I uh, haven't planned quite that far out yet."

Actually that brings me to a point about the requirements interface. I'm sure I'll get the hang of it eventually, but for right now I can't look at the requirements for an ability and know which are the very rares, rares, etc. They are all just SuperX or PolyY written in the same font color. If they were identified as purple, orange, yellow it would be much easier to identify them.

"Ok, I might want a Seer eventually. The top two require this purple and that purple. Ok, those are in my reward table - great!"

I understand people wanting something complex, something to sink their teeth into.

However, this is the wrong kind of complex.

Interesting complex is "Hm, do I want to use Kinetic Combat on this attack for the Smash/Lethal defense bonus, or slot more and use Touch of Death and go for Melee Defense instead?"

Or any variation thereof. That is interesting because it requires making decisions based on what one wants to achieve, and where having a deeper knowledge of the game system in question allows for being able to think up more complex interactions, and having a better end result due to this knowledge (and using Mids', heh).

"WTF do I take... Okay lemme open the incarnate window... Search the bloody enhancement I have already decided I want... Right, I need this... Wait, this is a rare, that's for tier 3... Okay, a Semi-Conscious Energy."

The "interesting" bit is deciding what path I want to take up the Incarnate enhancement trees, depending on the character, build, and strengths and weaknesses and how I want to adress them. A scavenger hunt through a bunch of menus that slow down the whole game whenever they're opened to find out what the bloody bollocks I need to pick from the rewards table is NOT interesting in the least. There's nothing even minimally clever about it, like having to choose the right Taskforce to pick the right component.

So yes, if all they have is pretty different names and all can be grabbed from the same tasks, on the same table, depending on whatever the RNG has decided to award you (that is, if it's even random, which it may not be), they may as well save it and just use differently named "something of the well" for different ranks and be well done with it.