Orogogus wrote on Aug 6, 2023, 22:18:MeanJim wrote on Aug 6, 2023, 21:27:I'm apparently the kind of filthy casual developers cater to now; just reading this made me a little angry. I've hated detect magic/identify mechanics for like 40 years now, since pre-Gold Box SSI RPGs like Shard of Spring and Wizard's Crown. The last time I found it tolerable was probably Rogue, where it's part of the puzzle gameplay. Since time became a gating factor in my gaming, I usually stop playing CRPGs once I start spending too much time imagining how I'd like to set up filters and scripts to skip past tedious gameplay cruft -- that's when I realize I'm not having fun any more -- and item identification is way at the top of that cruft pile. It's right down there for me with starvation mechanics where you have to manually shove apples and cheese into your characters. I'd cheat before I put up with that kind of disrespect of player time nowadays.
Since both identify and detect magic can be ritual cast, you wouldn't need to buy scrolls or rest to identify items, unless you don't have anyone that can cast it. As for how to implement it, if a small team like the one behind Solasta can do it, Larian should be able to figure it out. In Solasta, you cast detect magic, any magical items in your party's inventory, loot on bodies or containers had a shiny border and get a little ? icon on it. Since the spell lasts for a while, I got into the habit of casting it after a battle. Corpses and any container with loot that had a magical item in it would display "magic detected" when you got in range.
Things only had to be identified once. If you later find an item you had identified before already, they were auto identified when picked up.
I don't know if it's a D&D thing or something Solasta implemented, but the game rolled either history or arcana check (I don't remember which) when picking up items and if passed they were identified when picked up. You just needed to make sure to pick them up with the character that had that attribute or transfer it to their inventory to see if they could auto identify it.
Again, this is something they could implement as an option like Solasta did.
Burrito of Peace wrote on Jan 25, 2023, 07:32:Kxmode wrote on Jan 25, 2023, 02:12:
I don't run Linux.
Do you have a router? Because if so, there is a very, very high probability that you are.
VaranDragon wrote on Apr 27, 2022, 03:07:Slashman wrote on Apr 26, 2022, 18:33:
Ah yes...the generic gruel slop of space 4x games. Whoop...whoop...
I wish I could play a game like Master of Orion 2 again. But with better graphics and maybe some new mechanics. MOO2 came out in 1996. 1996!!!! And it still it is the only 4X Space Game to this day, that featured completely different alien species, with different mechanics, goals, personality, politics, militaries and technology.
Does anyone else think that these things should be standard in any space 4x game? Alien "races" should be more than just the same race, with the same mechanics, but with reskinned ships and different cutscenes.
Beamer wrote on Nov 30, 2021, 09:10:Baenwort wrote on Nov 30, 2021, 08:04:jdreyer wrote on Nov 29, 2021, 23:56:The Half Elf wrote on Nov 29, 2021, 23:41:Steam forces a MFN clause in its contracts, so no publisher can offer a lower price on GoG than they have on Steam. That's monopolistic behavior, because no one can afford to tell Steam to fuck off.El Pit wrote on Nov 29, 2021, 18:51:
If it's not on Steam, people won't buy it. Not even DRM free. It must be on Steam. THIS is a pseudo-monopoly that people actually want and seem to like. Which is bad for competitors. But people seem to care more about having their stuff in one place than about DRM.
How is a pseudeo-monopoly when people choose the best option?
I'd say the problem is the other way around.
It makes some sense in the physical world to price markets differently due to the cost of transport, handling, and other stock related costs. It also makes sense due to different marketing spends due to the limited reach of advertising distribution.
In a digital store none of those apply. You should have to offer it at the same price at all same language store fronts. (Due to marketing costs being different in each language you advertise in)
Why should the store front pay the cost of the game companies price trickery to increase profits?
Regional pricing isn't entirely around cost. It's also around ability to pay
Asking someone to pay $60 in a nation where the average weekly take-home is $60 isnt going to sell you many games in that region. Instead, people there will pirate. This has a triple effect of legitimizing piracy in that nation as the only way to play, making piracy more accessible globally, and creating major multiplayer and version issues.
So the other option is to price games lower everywhere. Have you seen how long the credits are for AAA games these days? Can't have 400 people in Montreal and California making a game that you sell for $15. The budgeting doesn't work.
So we have games priced according to what people can pay.
It makes sense. If you don't like it, maybe you're the type that thinks a flat tax makes sense. I disagree. Everyone is better in the current system. People in wealthier counties both get more advanced/bigger games, as well as an industry that pays their peers to make games, and people in less wealthy nations aren't excluded from the hobby entirely by being absolutely priced out.
jdreyer wrote on Nov 29, 2021, 23:56:The Half Elf wrote on Nov 29, 2021, 23:41:Steam forces a MFN clause in its contracts, so no publisher can offer a lower price on GoG than they have on Steam. That's monopolistic behavior, because no one can afford to tell Steam to fuck off.El Pit wrote on Nov 29, 2021, 18:51:
If it's not on Steam, people won't buy it. Not even DRM free. It must be on Steam. THIS is a pseudo-monopoly that people actually want and seem to like. Which is bad for competitors. But people seem to care more about having their stuff in one place than about DRM.
How is a pseudeo-monopoly when people choose the best option?
Creston wrote on Mar 14, 2013, 11:53:Dev wrote on Mar 14, 2013, 11:39:
This is not nearly the first time EA has decimated a studio they've bought out. Is origin around anymore? Bullfrog? Or any of the others?
Let's see if we can make a full list of studios that have they outright killed, and studios that are currently in the slow process of dying from the EA-touch.
Outright killed:
- Origin
- Westwood
- Bullfrog
- Mythic
- Lionhead (not sure if this one should be in the next category or not.)
- Pandemic
Slowly dying:
- Maxis
- Starbreeze
- Lionhead (just for completeness' sake. I have no idea if they're actually still around.)
- Bioware. (I'm on the fence on this one. DA2 was absolutely EA-ified, but ME3 was a very good game that just suffered from one dipshit writer who is way too much in love with himself. DA3 and ME4 will be the final nail in the coffin, or a slight reprieve from their inevitable death.)
- Popcap.
Any others? I'm sure I'm missing at least half a dozen other studios that EA killed.
Creston