Cutter wrote on Mar 4, 2015, 15:54:
ForgedReality wrote on Mar 4, 2015, 14:58:
What you end up with is a sequence of quests to make the game feel more reactionary, but then to try and make it feel fuller, they put in optional side-quests, which often feel like just what they are--last minute additions. Is there a middle-ground between "do whatever the eff you want" and "when you do this, the game feels the impact"?
The problem I've always had with CRPGs - even the ones I love - is how static the world is. I'd dearly love to see one that unfolds around you, and if you choose not to participate some of them, at least, will pass you by. With games like ED there isn't enough structure. There's no hook to engage you. You should be able to overhear a conversation in a spaceport bar that starts you on a quest, or find or buy some smuggled data that gives you the opportunity to pursue a quest organically.
As much as people bitch about quests with time limits I always found it absurd that I could go off and do whatever I want for as long as I want and come pack to said quest and pick up like it was frozen in time just for me. I always find that jarring. I'd love to come back and see the townsfolk say, 'Oh you blew it, man. Some other adventurers came through, saved our bacon and got the reward so we don't need you anymore.' Or the town got wiped out or what have you.
I want to be able to not always win. I'd like some setbacks and let downs. I'd like to be considered a pariah because I told the villagers I'd save them and failed to do so. Winning is a lot sweeter after you've failed a number of times.
Yeah I've felt that before too. But then you're getting into a certain level of gameplay difficulty that would turn a lot of people off to it. What happens if you take on too many tasks at once, or accidentally get one assigned to you, and you've not enough time to do everything? What if you go play another game for a couple months and then come back to this one, forgetting that you were in the middle of something important, and then fail it without really knowing, or you have to re-learn certain things about the gameplay mechanics? I've had that happen to me with DA:O, Skyrim, The Witcher 2...
I get what you're saying, but you can't please everyone at once. One of the things I really fucking HATE about some games is the ultimatums you're given. Do this one, but then you CAN'T do this one, or something really bad happens either choice you make. That fucking annoys me no end because it's a GAME, not real life. Even in real life, you don't get those kinds of absolutes very often, if at all. It's like, jesus christ, are you actually
trying to spoil the fun factor for me here?
Also, I'm a completionist, so the inability to do everything kind of gets to me sometimes. If there's a quest I leave behind only to discover I'd done so later down the road, too late to do anything about it, I'm like "fuck man! This is bullshit!" It's caused me to reload to many hours earlier in the game to just do those tasks on occasion, so the fact that I only have a certain amount of time to do something before I fail it could make the game feel more grind-y than necessary, I think, especially with random encounters and shit everywhere. If I want to reload to earlier, I'd hate to think how many times I'd have to retry quests because I ran out of time, and it would force me to rush through too much, and I feel like I'd miss out on a lot of the experience of the game because I'm always worried about this ticking motherfucking timebomb on my shoulder all the time.
I dunno. Maybe it's just me, but I want to
play a game, not be
frustrated by it. That kind of shit makes me put a game away and not feel like going back to it later. Maybe it could be done right, but it's a delicate balance to walk, I think.