NationStates Jolt Archive

Or, more accuratly, a rant which nobody in the gaming industry (at least the part of the gaming industry that does these things) will ever read.

So screw the letter format, your getting a list of things I just want to complain about.

1. Little paper sleeves.
Seriously, If im going to pay $40-60 for a game, you could at least have the courtesy to include a jewel case. Im sure theyre horribly expensive, but I seriously doubt they cut into your profits that much, otherwise paper sleeves would have become more popular in the 90's. Yeah, the 90's, that magical era when jewel cases were standard.
If your going to leave out the jewel case, then ship the game in a bloody DVD case or something. Anything but a cheesy paper sleeve.

2. CD keys
Two options here, cut the damn things out, or PUT THEM ON SOMETHING WERE NOT GOING TO LOSE.
I hate it when I open a shiney new game, only to have a little square of paper fall out bearing a 200 digit CD key which I will instantly lose.
If you must include CDkeys, put them on the CD case, the manual, or the CD itself, somewhere that we will never lose it.
However, it should be pointed out that the whole idea of a CD-key became obsolete the moment the internet was invented, which was actually before the CD key, I think.

3. 'Episodic gaming'
I dont know about the rest of you, but the whole idea sounds like a scam to me. "Hey guys, your so super special were going to give you 1/4 the content for 1/2 the price! Isnt that nice?"
Its rather sickening to see it with games like the Sims, which release 20,000,000 addons at inflated prices, that, for some reason, people buy.

4. Stop whoring yourself out to consoles!
You screwed up Oblivion, which had the potential to be the most uber game of all time. You took it and you let Microsoft anally rape it until it was a broken, but very graphically appealing, console whore game.
To those who think it isnt, I suggest you take a look at the in-game menus. Notice style its done it. Then look at Morrowinds (which was, at least for me) far more convinient and appealing.
See the difference?

That was fun.

That looks like it felt good to write.

A little picky.

Some good points there. I agree with the thing about consoles too, even though I am a big console fan myself - When I buy PC games, I expect them to make good use of the mouse and keyboard and when I buy console games I expect them to make good use of the controller.

It was like masturbating with my eyes.

That looks like it felt good to write.

I felt good just reading it

Or, more accuratly, a rant which nobody in the gaming industry (at least the part of the gaming industry that does these things) will ever read.

So screw the letter format, your getting a list of things I just want to complain about.

1. Little paper sleeves.
Seriously, If im going to pay $40-60 for a game, you could at least have the courtesy to include a jewel case. Im sure theyre horribly expensive, but I seriously doubt they cut into your profits that much, otherwise paper sleeves would have become more popular in the 90's. Yeah, the 90's, that magical era when jewel cases were standard.
If your going to leave out the jewel case, then ship the game in a bloody DVD case or something. Anything but a cheesy paper sleeve.

2. CD keys
Two options here, cut the damn things out, or PUT THEM ON SOMETHING WERE NOT GOING TO LOSE.
I hate it when I open a shiney new game, only to have a little square of paper fall out bearing a 200 digit CD key which I will instantly lose.
If you must include CDkeys, put them on the CD case, the manual, or the CD itself, somewhere that we will never lose it.
However, it should be pointed out that the whole idea of a CD-key became obsolete the moment the internet was invented, which was actually before the CD key, I think.

3. 'Episodic gaming'
I dont know about the rest of you, but the whole idea sounds like a scam to me. "Hey guys, your so super special were going to give you 1/4 the content for 1/2 the price! Isnt that nice?"
Its rather sickening to see it with games like the Sims, which release 20,000,000 addons at inflated prices, that, for some reason, people buy.

4. Stop whoring yourself out to consoles!
You screwed up Oblivion, which had the potential to be the most uber game of all time. You took it and you let Microsoft anally rape it until it was a broken, but very graphically appealing, console whore game.
To those who think it isnt, I suggest you take a look at the in-game menus. Notice style its done it. Then look at Morrowinds (which was, at least for me) far more convinient and appealing.
See the difference?

That was fun.


I feel your pain pal, I feel it all too well.

5. I don't care how cheap CPU cycles or graphical resources are these days, that's no excuse for sloppy coding! YES, I'm looking at YOU, F.E.A.R. and TES4! You delay the bloody game in order to "optimise" the code and THAT is what we get? Jesus, what the hell was it like before?! There was a time when code monkeys did everything they could to scrimp and save cycles to make a game run as efficiently as possible. BRING THOSE DAYS BACK. Programmers need to stop being so god damned lazy! Which leads me to..

6. DON'T RELEASE BUGGY CRAP. I know, there will always be a few bugs in any piece of software, but that doesn't mean you should release an unfinished game and then get US to pay YOU for the privilege of being your beta-testers! What the hell ever happened to a well funded QA department? I should not have to immediately download a 100MB patch in order to avoid CTD's at 5 minute intervals in the brand new game I just bought! If the game isn't finished and properly tested, DON'T RELEASE IT.

7. Graphics. Good graphics are great, but don't make graphics the whole point of the game. If gaming was food, graphics would be ketchup. Sure, great ketchup makes EVERYTHING taste better, except for ketchup(adding ketchup to ketchup just gives you more of the same thing, so it doesn't count), but I don't order a steak or a burger for the ketchup. If my NES tells me anything, it's that even a game with obsolete graphics can be fun. If Catwoman taught me anything, it's that good graphics can never save a crappy game. Never.

8. Playstation. If it's one thing this brand needs improvement on, it's quality hardware. Why should I buy a PS3 when the previous ones were known for breaking down alot and disc-read errors? If I buy a game console, it better damn work, especially for $500-$600+tax and game. Nintendo didn't let me down yet. I have a >20 year old NES that works PERFECTLY and it had NO maintainence done whatsoever. My SNES still works perfectly and I didn't have it fixed or anything. Same thing with my N64. My PS2, on the other hand, got more disc read errors than seconds of actual gameplay and I played the hell out of it. Not as much as my NES or SNES or even N64. After all, can't play "disc-read error". Sony, I'd rather have an 8-bit system that WORKS than a $500(minimum) machine I can expect to break down right after the warrenty on it expires.

9. cut scenes. Works great when used only when needed. Sucks hard enough to neuter the damn monkey when it's used WAY too often. I'm looking at you, Final Fantasy aka monkey neuterer.

2. CD keys
Two options here, cut the damn things out, or PUT THEM ON SOMETHING WERE NOT GOING TO LOSE.
I hate it when I open a shiney new game, only to have a little square of paper fall out bearing a 200 digit CD key which I will instantly lose.
If you must include CDkeys, put them on the CD case, the manual, or the CD itself, somewhere that we will never lose it.
However, it should be pointed out that the whole idea of a CD-key became obsolete the moment the internet was invented, which was actually before the CD key, I think.

That was fun.

I hate these things. I have Starcraft, but no CD code, and the thing is, I can't find a CD code! God. Does some one have a CD code?

10. No more cartoony graphic! I want graphics to look as real as possible!

I hate CD codes.

But I hate monthly subscriptions even more.

I already bought the F$@#ing game, now you're telling me that I have to spend less time with my game to work for money that I need to play said game.

@$$-holes!!!!!!

10. No more cartoony graphic! I want graphics to look as real as possible!

come on. Wind Waker and Okami weren't that bad. If anything, cartoon graphics make non-cartoon graphics seem less stale and unoriginal by making them look even more different.

*whips out the Famicom and starts playing Monster in my Pocket*

I hate these things. I have Starcraft, but no CD code, and the thing is, I can't find a CD code! God. Does some one have a CD code?

It's on the back of the CD case. It's easier to open shrink wrap than get it off. As such, it is a reasonable assumption that you did not acquire Starcraft legally, and thus do not have a valid complaint.

I hate these things. I have Starcraft, but no CD code, and the thing is, I can't find a CD code! God. Does some one have a CD code?

I can get you one ... no good for bnet though

I had the same thing happen with DiabloII it is fucking 40 bucks to buy the new battle chest with the LOD expansion because my brother was being "nice" and replaced the broken cd case which had the code on it

10. No more cartoony graphic! I want graphics to look as real as possible!
Has horrible nightmares from looking at the previews of Team Fortress 2. (say it ain't so!)

11. (For Valve) Steam Sucks Period. Having to go online to play a game on your own computer, then waiting for it to approve you is no way to play.

12. (For EA) Allies as stage props. Okay I know it's a FPS I know your allies are basicly supposed to be there for show, but can you please make their autodeath point not so obivious? And while you're at it can you make them actually shoot at the enemy? (Console Medal of Honor Series)

13. (Valve again) AI allies as allies. Okay in HL1 when someone followed you you can get them to stop by just using the use key, in HL2 they have an obsession with dogging you constantly telling them to leave only works for around 30 seconds before you're swarmed by your own teammates again. (At least in the default mode)

14. (Nintendo) The Wii? WTH were you guys smoking when you thought that up?

15. Here's an idea for a quick profit for you consolers. Do like Movie producers do, bring back some old games or old consoles.

Oblivion is still a great game on PC, since you can download stuff to fix the bugs and everything's fine. I don't like CD keys on the manual since my manuals are all in a huge pile separate from their corresponding games :rolleyes: .
My 2c: Console + RTS = BAD. Very very bad.

Does some one have a CD code?
Please don't make such requests here, lest ye be banned or DEATed.

4. Stop whoring yourself out to consoles!
You screwed up Oblivion, which had the potential to be the most uber game of all time. You took it and you let Microsoft anally rape it until it was a broken, but very graphically appealing, console whore game.
To those who think it isnt, I suggest you take a look at the in-game menus. Notice style its done it. Then look at Morrowinds (which was, at least for me) far more convinient and appealing.
See the difference?
Oblivion is far superior to Morrowind in every way, ESPECIALLY when it came to the menu system. Much easier to navigate, and personally preferable. 'Course, I'm playing the PC version, so perhaps I have a mildly biased opinion. (Ultra high settings rock. My computer doesn't even BLINK at Ultra-high setting Oblivion. Heee...)

However, apart from that personal bit, I do agree with your rant.

Or, more accuratly, a rant which nobody in the gaming industry (at least the part of the gaming industry that does these things) will ever read.

So screw the letter format, your getting a list of things I just want to complain about.

1. Little paper sleeves.
Seriously, If im going to pay $40-60 for a game, you could at least have the courtesy to include a jewel case. Im sure theyre horribly expensive, but I seriously doubt they cut into your profits that much, otherwise paper sleeves would have become more popular in the 90's. Yeah, the 90's, that magical era when jewel cases were standard.
If your going to leave out the jewel case, then ship the game in a bloody DVD case or something. Anything but a cheesy paper sleeve.

2. CD keys
Two options here, cut the damn things out, or PUT THEM ON SOMETHING WERE NOT GOING TO LOSE.
I hate it when I open a shiney new game, only to have a little square of paper fall out bearing a 200 digit CD key which I will instantly lose.
If you must include CDkeys, put them on the CD case, the manual, or the CD itself, somewhere that we will never lose it.
However, it should be pointed out that the whole idea of a CD-key became obsolete the moment the internet was invented, which was actually before the CD key, I think.

3. 'Episodic gaming'
I dont know about the rest of you, but the whole idea sounds like a scam to me. "Hey guys, your so super special were going to give you 1/4 the content for 1/2 the price! Isnt that nice?"
Its rather sickening to see it with games like the Sims, which release 20,000,000 addons at inflated prices, that, for some reason, people buy.

4. Stop whoring yourself out to consoles!
You screwed up Oblivion, which had the potential to be the most uber game of all time. You took it and you let Microsoft anally rape it until it was a broken, but very graphically appealing, console whore game.
To those who think it isnt, I suggest you take a look at the in-game menus. Notice style its done it. Then look at Morrowinds (which was, at least for me) far more convinient and appealing.
See the difference?

That was fun.

1. Buy jewel cases. I buy a 300 cd walllet and put my games in it. To many cases.

2. Easy solution. Buy a Sharpie, and write the CD key on the CD itself. Wow you're done.

3. wait for a review to come out before you buy something.

4. Not going to happen. And Oblivion is still fun on the computer.

7. Graphics. Good graphics are great, but don't make graphics the whole point of the game. If gaming was food, graphics would be ketchup. Sure, great ketchup makes EVERYTHING taste better, except for ketchup(adding ketchup to ketchup just gives you more of the same thing, so it doesn't count), but I don't order a steak or a burger for the ketchup. If my NES tells me anything, it's that even a game with obsolete graphics can be fun. If Catwoman taught me anything, it's that good graphics can never save a crappy game. Never.

When I talk to people about this I use Pong as an example, no matter how good or bad you make Pong look. It's still Pong.

10. No more cartoony graphic! I want graphics to look as real as possible!

Very shallow, Wind Waker looks awesome. Cel-shading has it's advantages when used right.

14. (Nintendo) The Wii? WTH were you guys smoking when you thought that up?

I don't see anything wrong with it. It's a good idea, and there's no denying it is going to make money.

Very shallow, Wind Waker looks awesome. Cel-shading has it's advantages when used right. Wind waker looked like something out of a Preschool cartoon.


I don't see anything wrong with it. It's a good idea, and there's no denying it is going to make money. Not the console itself just the name argh!

16. Boob physics. Seriously. Cut that shit out. You claim the gaming audience is maturing; well then stop treating us like we’re still fourteen.

17. From pointlesswaisteoftime.com, do like large movie studios do and sponsor smaller studios that produce independent films (ex: Warner Bros. and Warner Independent). It will allow aspiring programmers, graphic artists, and designers to easier enter the field, which of course could mean that talented people that would have otherwise been missed, won’t get passed up in such a competitive industry. Also, it won’t cost you much money, and you will turn a small profit on nearly every title. And who knows? Maybe one of those games will be a hit and you’ll make a killing.

Wind waker looked like something out of a Preschool cartoon.

I thought so too, at first. Then I played it. Hot damn is that game fun, and the graphics really tend to grow on you.

Other great cel-shaded games are Dragon Quest VIII and the Sly Cooper games, not to mention Tales of Symphonia.


Not the console itself just the name argh!

You've got a point there. Though again, it grows on you. As for the console itself... well, I've already preordered mine. :)

1. Little paper sleeves.

They annoy me too, but I understand that they're the best option for, say, collections with several discs (for example, C&C Collected, which is seven discs)


4. Stop whoring yourself out to consoles!
You screwed up Oblivion, which had the potential to be the most uber game of all time. You took it and you let Microsoft anally rape it until it was a broken, but very graphically appealing, console whore game.
To those who think it isnt, I suggest you take a look at the in-game menus. Notice style its done it. Then look at Morrowinds (which was, at least for me) far more convinient and appealing.
See the difference?

I liked Oblivion's GUI. Morrowind's seemed pointlessly complicated.

10. No more cartoony graphic! I want graphics to look as real as possible!

Agreed, with exceptions. Nobody should try and change games like Katamari Damacy. But most game should use real graphics. Have you seen the pics of The House of the Dead III prototype? Cel-shading. It almost made me cry.

8. Playstation. If it's one thing this brand needs improvement on, it's quality hardware. Why should I buy a PS3 when the previous ones were known for breaking down alot and disc-read errors? If I buy a game console, it better damn work, especially for $500-$600+tax and game. Nintendo didn't let me down yet. I have a >20 year old NES that works PERFECTLY and it had NO maintainence done whatsoever. My SNES still works perfectly and I didn't have it fixed or anything. Same thing with my N64. My PS2, on the other hand, got more disc read errors than seconds of actual gameplay and I played the hell out of it. Not as much as my NES or SNES or even N64. After all, can't play "disc-read error". Sony, I'd rather have an 8-bit system that WORKS than a $500(minimum) machine I can expect to break down right after the warrenty on it expires.

And while we're on the subject of the PS franchise, can Sony PLEASE hire some hardware designers with half an imagination? They've been using the same controller for the last 11 years! Part of the fun in a new console is getting to know the new controller.

16. Boob physics. Seriously. Cut that shit out. You claim the gaming audience is maturing; well then stop treating us like we’re still fourteen.

I quote Peggy Bundy; "Men, god bless 'em. They're just children with paycheques."

Not the console itself just the name argh!

You're pissed because you think the name is stupid?

Oh I'm sorry "The Lone Alliance". I hope you are making a reference to Airheads.

It's just a name, get over it.

5. I don't care how cheap CPU cycles or graphical resources are these days, that's no excuse for sloppy coding! YES, I'm looking at YOU, F.E.A.R. and TES4! You delay the bloody game in order to "optimise" the code and THAT is what we get? Jesus, what the hell was it like before?! There was a time when code monkeys did everything they could to scrimp and save cycles to make a game run as efficiently as possible. BRING THOSE DAYS BACK. Programmers need to stop being so god damned lazy! Which leads me to..

6. DON'T RELEASE BUGGY CRAP. I know, there will always be a few bugs in any piece of software, but that doesn't mean you should release an unfinished game and then get US to pay YOU for the privilege of being your beta-testers! What the hell ever happened to a well funded QA department? I should not have to immediately download a 100MB patch in order to avoid CTD's at 5 minute intervals in the brand new game I just bought! If the game isn't finished and properly tested, DON'T RELEASE IT.None of the larger game companies give a damn how buggy and messily coded their games are, as long as they sell, which they still do. The issue is not the programmers, but the management. The programmers are not allowed to spend time writing code of reasonable quality; as soon as something "works", they must go on. If they are seen as wasting too much time, or if they complain, they risk being fired. What the management doesn't realize is that in the end, writing large systems concisting of crapcode means a lot of time must then be wasted patching things up in order to get it to run at all.

As for releasing buggy crap, that's the way the management wants it: screw quality testing, those stupid customers will buy it anyway.

Oblivion is far superior to Morrowind in every way, ESPECIALLY when it came to the menu system. Much easier to navigate, and personally preferable. 'Course, I'm playing the PC version, so perhaps I have a mildly biased opinion. (Ultra high settings rock. My computer doesn't even BLINK at Ultra-high setting Oblivion. Heee...)

However, apart from that personal bit, I do agree with your rant.
My PC would blink even less if my shitty RAM wouldn't cause the game to crash or I could afford Oblivion.

Yeah it was a good game Cromotar, but I still think it would have been good with different graphics.


You're pissed because you think the name is stupid? I'm not "Pissed" I just think it's stupid.


Oh I'm sorry "The Lone Alliance".
I chose this name for a Nation because it was an Oxymoron.


It's just a name, get over it.
Revolution was a good enough name, whii change it? I seriously don't see a logical reason to change it to Wii.

I'm saying since I think it was a crazy idea for a name:

The sentence:
WTH were you guys smoking when you thought that up?

WTH were you guys smoking
This of course is the gag of claiming that the reason someone does something stupid\weird\crazy is because they were high.

when you thought that up? Here is the delivery of the sentence stating that the name must have been some drug induced thought.

Clear enough for you?

Yeah it was a good game Cromotar, but I still think it would have been good with different graphics.


I'm not "Pissed" I just think it's stupid.

I chose this name for a Nation because it was an Oxymoron.


Revolution was a good enough name, whii change it? I seriously don't see a logical reason to change it to Wii.

I'm saying since I think it was a crazy idea for a name:

The sentence:



This of course is the gag of claiming that the reason someone does something stupid\weird\crazy is because they were high.

Here is the delivery of the sentence stating that the name must have been some drug induced thought.

Clear enough for you?

Big deal. You are wasting to much time on it. If you dont want a Wii don't buy one. Just go make drama somewhre else.

Big deal. You are wasting to much time on it. If you dont want a Wii don't buy one. Just go make drama somewhre else. You're the one turning it into a battle. I made my point and moved on you're the one who got overly defensive.

Some very good points, except about the wii. They changed it for one simple reason; so that idiots like me would want to buy it. and also so that everyone would talk about it endlessly. I for one want to have a wii. in my living room or in my bedroom. oh god im so childish.

as for buggy unfinished games being released, the developers and publishers are both to blame. a lot of games do get released before they are finished, but some are just messed up, like boiling point, which they had plenty of time to fix but left the bugs in to get more development time, and vampire: bloodlines, where the company died after the game was released.

my pet hate: having to have the CD in to play a game. It makes the drive make noise, and wears it out. and after GTA3 broke my CD drive by being in there, even though the game needed nothing from the CD, I stopped. Theres a no CD patch for almost every game so why do they do it?

You're the one turning it into a battle. I made my point and moved on you're the one who got overly defensive.

ROFL!

I'm the one saying it is no big deal. Wow how you like to spin things. I love how you say I am getting "overly defensive", when I am the one saying it doesnt matter. You are the one taking a stance and saying you hate the name. I never stated if I hated it or liked it. I just said it was a non-issue.

Whatever you need to convince yourself so you can sleep well at night.

Isn't putting the CD-key on the CD terrible idea? You'd have to put in the CD to start installing it, then take it out to put in the CD key, then put it back in to continue installing.

My peeves, specifically aimed at RPG and strategy-game makers:

First, import more RPGs to the US!! Quit leaving hundreds of them over in Japan, while importing boatloads of crap FPS things. I don't want to have to take another course in Japanese just to play some decent games. And no I don't care if FPSes are the bestsellers in the US. Maybe if you imported more RPGs that figure would change--after all, it's hard for a category to make stellar amounts of sales here when it's hardly represented!

Swords have been done to death. Time to modernize! I'd love to see a decent RPG character whip out a machine gun. And no, I don't mean a 1920s mobster machine gun! Also--Parasite Eve was not a real RPG, so don't even think of releasing some new version of that thing in response to calls for more modern weaponry.

Magic is cool. Keep that in. And don't give me any crap that it'd be "unrealistic" in a modern-setting game. Game magic is NEVER realistic, who do you think you're kidding?! That's why it's a game...

Too much realism sucks. If I wanted reality, I'd go outside, not play your games!

Most of you have clued up and realized that some of us like to mess with the config files, and made them easy to get at. Those of you who haven't...get with it.

Quit calling them "cheat" codes. It's NOT CHEATING to make MY game do what I want in a single-player game!

Don't whine when I don't buy your GodModeless games. Being able to be killed (in reality) sucks, and one of the reasons I play is to be invincible, even if it is only on screen. That'd make the game unrealistic? Tough. See my comment about too much realism.

STOP wrecking things in the name of "balance" and then putting those changes in the same patches that fix real glitches!!! It's like sticking a rider on some congressional bill. "If you want it to stop CTDing, hanging, and basically being a pile of junk, download this. Oh BTW we took this opportunity to neuter some of the best parts of the game." Grrr!

Don't say you have a GodMode and then leave that part filled with glitches.

STOP wrecking sequels to good games! Black & White 2, this means YOU!

If you do a sequel, improve it enough that I don't end up thinking I wasted my money (Civ IV vs Civ II).

And yeah, quit with the CD codes and the CD-in-drive requirement. All I'll do is write the code on the disk anyway, so there's no real point in putting it anywhere else. I'll use a scrap paper to temporarily have it handy when actually installing, same as I do now.

1) Take a lesson from the likes of CivIV and old school CD games. Don't require a the CD to be in the drive to play the game and better yet, don't require a CD key. And do not include embedded malware, I mean "anti-piracy" programs. Neither CD requirement nor CD key nor "anti-piracy" programs will stop piracy. You want to stop piracy? Don't make shitty games.

2) Stop making demos shorter and shorter. It encourages pirating. You can't figure out if you like a game by playing the demo becaused it takes 3 hours to download the 3GB demo file to play for 15 minutes. You have to pirate the damn game to get a feel for it to see if you want to buy it.

3) Episodic gaming is bullshit, for the most part. Penny-Arcade is coming out with an episodic game and I can only trust them to do it right. Episodic gaming makes it look like you are doing, but we know you are doing less. You don't have to make as much content or support older chapters. Release a whole god damn polished game and stop sapping people of money for half-assed, broken-promise games or people will stop buying them. I'm looking at you Arena Net.


PS. Note to gamers: Counter Strike is about as realistic as Unreal Tournament, thank you.

11. (For Valve) Steam Sucks Period. Having to go online to play a game on your own computer, then waiting for it to approve you is no way to play.

damn right. steam blows.


12. (or whatever number its up to): SAVE POINTS.... for gods sake let us save when we want. i hate having to play through an entire level/episode/whatever for an hour at a time when i've only got half an hour spare before i have to go out... if i could just save where i was and it picked up from there again automatically next time i turn the console on or start up the game (much like a dvd) i'd be a happy bunny

13. violence does a good game make! personally i often want to explore games and levels without having to kill however many dozen/hundered badguys who pop up at every turn. this applies to racing games too... all driving games should have a free-drive mode. GTA got it right in that you could walk and explore the game world at your leisure, and that was half the fun. Just Cause is the opposite: i want to go for a drive and explore the 1,025 km^2 of tropical paradise on offer, but i can't take two steps down the road without having my arms blown off by some gringo with a shotgun :mad:

14. bots! why are there no bots in multiplayer any more? ok there's online gaming and all that wank, but what about those of us with limited bandwidth, or the many people out there without internet access? too many multiplayer games these days (i'm looking at you, Halo) don't have any AI mulitplayer capabilities, and that sucks when all you're looking for is a quick blast in a hurry...

13. violence does a good game make! personally i often want to explore games and levels without having to kill however many dozen/hundered badguys who pop up at every turn. this applies to racing games too... all driving games should have a free-drive mode. GTA got it right in that you could walk and explore the game world at your leisure, and that was half the fun.

No. GTA was a sandbox game, not a driving game. Driver was a driving game. For Driv3r they tried to add get out and walk around, the series sucked by Driver 2, but that just killed the series. A driving game is not a damn sandbox. And even more, racing games are not driving games and definately not sandbox game. If you want to play a game and go drive around and do whatever the fuck you want, don't get a racing game.

No. GTA was a sandbox game, not a driving game.

i know that. i was saying that GTA gets the balance of exploration and action right. Just Cause (for eg) does not, and most other games (Fable, of note) don't have any sandbox or free-play/drive/explore/whatever at all, whatever kind of game they are.

A driving game is not a damn sandbox. And even more, racing games are not driving games and definately not sandbox game. If you want to play a game and go drive around and do whatever the fuck you want, don't get a racing game.

i don't see what's wrong with having free-drive modes in racing games :confused: the levels are already there, and in modern racing games the courses are large and open-ended (ie not necessarily a set route, or just one route and all side streets blocked off by invisible barriers...) so a free drive would be quite fun.

i know that. i was saying that GTA gets the balance of exploration and action right. Just Cause (for eg) does not, and most other games (Fable, of note) don't have any sandbox or free-play/drive/explore/whatever at all, whatever kind of game they are.



i don't see what's wrong with having free-drive modes in racing games :confused: the levels are already there, and in modern racing games the courses are large and open-ended (ie not necessarily a set route, or just one route and all side streets blocked off by invisible barriers...) so a free drive would be quite fun.

Need for Speed: Most Wanted got that pretty good. in the races the barriers are there, but otherwise you can go anywhere, so you get the best of both worlds.no people to run over though, but if GTA4 is that pretty itl be awesome.

And yes SAVE POINTS. I cannot stand pressing F5 and nothing happening. especially in half life 2 where quicksave is F6. I pressed F5 every few minutes and then exited the game to find I hadnt saved it at all. what a retard. So I played Final fantasy 7 (PS version) on an emulator on the PC so I could quicksave. It was awesome. UNtil rocket town, about 24 hours in, when cutscene made it crash and I could never get past that point. So I bought the PC version and played through again without the quicksave and amazingly, it crashed 24 hours in, about ten minutes play after the other time. And I really cant be bothered to play through it again on a playstation.

oooh oooh,

15 (or whatever) Ragdoll Physics.

People say that when your really immersed in a game, then after you shoot someone they flail around like someone stole their spine, it ruins the immersion. Those people are stupid. Ragdoll physics is awesome. Shoot someone in the head and they flip over backwardsand land on their head. Shoot someone in the shin and they flip forwards and land on their head. Just like in real life. only funnier.

It's on the back of the CD case. It's easier to open shrink wrap than get it off. As such, it is a reasonable assumption that you did not acquire Starcraft legally, and thus do not have a valid complaint.

I don't know about the poster you're replying to but I have a tendancy to loose the CD case and manual . . .

I don't know what's wrong with him that he can't google Starcraft Keygen though . . .

Isn't putting the CD-key on the CD terrible idea? You'd have to put in the CD to start installing it, then take it out to put in the CD key, then put it back in to continue installing.

Well you can write it down if you need to install it. You can also take the CD out and look at it. After all it is idleing anyways waiting for a key. It is a safe way to keep it. You will never lose it... And if you do, you dont need it anymore...

I just memorize my keys.

All these and more. As civ nut, I hate the way they've inprove graphics but the last game is no better than the one before, worse actually. Just get us to shell out more dough.

One thing that annoys me is that PC games always require super-high hardware to run. Not every PC gamer has the newest, highest-spec PC on the market. At I not even talking about "minimum spec" here. Quite often you buy something that your computer has the necessary specs for, but it's still like walking through treacle. When I bought Deus Ex, the graphics were years out of date, but I enjoyed it because it was fun and ran smoothly.

One thing that annoys me is that PC games always require super-high hardware to run. Not every PC gamer has the newest, highest-spec PC on the market. At I not even talking about "minimum spec" here. Quite often you buy something that your computer has the necessary specs for, but it's still like walking through treacle. When I bought Deus Ex, the graphics were years out of date, but I enjoyed it because it was fun and ran smoothly.

this is why i've largely given up on PC gaming - its too expensive and requires me to either upgrade (expensively) or get a new PC fairly often, and i can't be bothered. and even then, whatever you have is almost guarenteed to be out of date in no time at all.
i'll still get Spore, but apart from that i'm moving over to console gaming and 'casual gaming'

this is why i've largely given up on PC gaming - its too expensive and requires me to either upgrade (expensively) or get a new PC fairly often, and i can't be bothered. and even then, whatever you have is almost guarenteed to be out of date in no time at all.
i'll still get Spore, but apart from that i'm moving over to console gaming and 'casual gaming'

Ah, you see you're going about it wrong. What you need is a long memory. When a good game is coming out, think to yourself "I'll buy that when it's old" - it'll cost less and it will run smoothly.

16. Printed Manuals

I want one. A PDF manual is useful for years down the road when I've lost the printed manual, but when I'm learning the game I need to be able to consult the manual while I'm playing the game, plus those printed manuals make good bathroom reading.

17. Keymapping

Why is this feature ever left out? Let me decide what keystrokes do what. That way I can customise the game to my preferences. Maybe I really liked a control scheme in a game I played 12 years ago and want to emulate it. Hell - I know a guy who played Half-Life with a Mouse+Joystick combo. It was insane. Let us do that.

18. Consistent UI

Once the game is released, the UI can't change. The game basically is the UI - having to relearn a new UI is like starting over a brand new game, and that gets pretty boring pretty fast. This is a bigger problem with MMOGs, though I've also seen it in some single player games. This is actually what drove me away from both EQ and EQ2.

My biggest rants on gaming -

1) Cut scenes can never substitute gameplay. I never want to see another long drawn-out movie when gameplay would have been possible. It's a lose-lose situation. The movie takes up more space on the disk, is probably more expensive to make, and the player ends up wondering why he paid for a game that he is suddenly finding himself watching. I have nothing against cut scenes, no matter how long-winded they are, when they're just for the purpose of furthering the plot along.

2) Random encounters. We're not in the dark ages of gaming anymore. These things made sense when there was no way the computer could handle all the enemies on the screen. That's not the cast anymore, especially on the Wii, 360, or PS3 where it will be very easy to have beautiful, detailed environments and characters and still display detailed enemies on the screen. Now random battles are nothing more than annoyances that just slow down the game and make exploration too frustrating to bother with.

3) Multi-game stories. I don't care how good a story is, I don't want to pay for multiple games just to see how it ends, especially considering how these multi-game stories are either like Kingdom Hearts and .Hack where the whole thing has less plot than what most single-game RPGs should have, or they're like Xenosaga and are only expanded into multiple games as some cheap money making scheme.

4) Also, if you're going ot make a multi-game story, please, no prequels to better games that managed to fit quite well into a single game. I'm looking at you, Xenosaga.

Ah, you see you're going about it wrong. What you need is a long memory. When a good game is coming out, think to yourself "I'll buy that when it's old" - it'll cost less and it will run smoothly.

That's basically what I do. I've not bought a "new" game for years.

I just finished Loom.

And it was brilliant.

My biggest rants on gaming -

2) Random encounters. We're not in the dark ages of gaming anymore. These things made sense when there was no way the computer could handle all the enemies on the screen.
I like random encouters. They're a classic feature of RPGs.

Not the console itself just the name argh!

Yes, symbolism about togetherness is terrible isn't it.

And while we're on the subject of the PS franchise, can Sony PLEASE hire some hardware designers with half an imagination? They've been using the same controller for the last 11 years! Part of the fun in a new console is getting to know the new controller.

I completely agree, even though I don't own a Sony console, I hate that the name and controller only slightly changes every now and again. From memory these are the changes that the Playstation controller has undergone (Feel free to correct me if I'm wrong) :-

- Added control sticks (the left one is in a stupid spot IMO, D-pads should be put in a corner somewhere like on the XBox and GC controllers)

- Added Rumble

- Added L & R 3

- Slimmed it, added wireless, added an accelerometer

14. bots! why are there no bots in multiplayer any more? ok there's online gaming and all that wank, but what about those of us with limited bandwidth, or the many people out there without internet access? too many multiplayer games these days (i'm looking at you, Halo) don't have any AI mulitplayer capabilities, and that sucks when all you're looking for is a quick blast in a hurry...

I liked it when companies realised that you don't always have up-to-date hardware and friends on call 24-7, but most of my favourite games have bots, so I'm not too affected by stuff like that.

One thing that annoys me is that PC games always require super-high hardware to run. Not every PC gamer has the newest, highest-spec PC on the market. At I not even talking about "minimum spec" here. Quite often you buy something that your computer has the necessary specs for, but it's still like walking through treacle. When I bought Deus Ex, the graphics were years out of date, but I enjoyed it because it was fun and ran smoothly.

I remember when I first got UT2004, our computer met the minimum requirements, but unless there was 3 or less players and only 2 of them were actually firing, it ran worse than a Game and Watch game.

One good hting I have to say... I've been playing Wild Arms lately - excellent (old) game. That, and the Zelda, Ocarina of Time and Zelda, a Link to the Past are absolute favorites. Oldies, but goodies. Much better than the junk the put out these days. Graphics don't make up for content. Sorry.

16. Boob physics. Seriously. Cut that shit out. You claim the gaming audience is maturing; well then stop treating us like we’re still fourteen.

Huh? I mean, other than the fact most all of the women would have serious back problems if they were real, and don't require bras to hold up their chests... what's the matter with boob physics? (This sounds interesting...)


But I hate monthly subscriptions even more.

I already bought the F$@#ing game, now you're telling me that I have to spend less time with my game to work for money that I need to play said game.

Yes, yes, yes... either make the game free, and make us pay to play it, or make us buy it and then play free, but for crying out loud, there's only so much we can afford - particularly if we're not planning to obessess over the game month after month. It's eliminated the casual player entirely.

this is why i've largely given up on PC gaming - its too expensive and requires me to either upgrade (expensively) or get a new PC fairly often, and i can't be bothered. and even then, whatever you have is almost guarenteed to be out of date in no time at all.
i'll still get Spore, but apart from that i'm moving over to console gaming and 'casual gaming'

How is console gaming cheaper? A new console of exponentially increasing value comes out every 5 or 6 years, or less, at which pont they stop development for previous consoles; and the games cost upwards of $50 and there is nothing else you can do with a console but buy games and accessories. The insinuation that console market is cheaper than the computer market is absurd.

The sony-style controller is the best on the market. It has the best ergonomic shape and design. A d-pad and a wannabe d-pad of buttons in odd places is just confusing and unnecessary. Shoulder buttons in unexpected places, or combined into the face buttons, is even worse than randomly placed d-pads. You don't change what is good and what works. If you find a company changing controllers every console release, it is because the last controller sucked balls.

Fergi America;11766471']Swords have been done to death. Time to modernize! I'd love to see a decent RPG character whip out a machine gun. And no, I don't mean a 1920s mobster machine gun! Also--Parasite Eve was not a real RPG, so don't even think of releasing some new version of that thing in response to calls for more modern weaponry.

Then you'd like my stuff. It's got swords, but lots of guns, too. I describe it as "Like Star Wars before humans left their system."

Yes, yes, yes... either make the game free, and make us pay to play it, or make us buy it and then play free, but for crying out loud, there's only so much we can afford - particularly if we're not planning to obessess over the game month after month. It's eliminated the casual player entirely.

Pirate. Servers. ;)

How is console gaming cheaper? A new console of exponentially increasing value comes out every 5 or 6 years, or less, at which pont they stop development for previous consoles; and the games cost upwards of $50 and there is nothing else you can do with a console but buy games and accessories. The insinuation that console market is cheaper than the computer market is absurd.

The sony-style controller is the best on the market. It has the best ergonomic shape and design. A d-pad and a wannabe d-pad of buttons in odd places is just confusing and unnecessary. Shoulder buttons in unexpected places, or combined into the face buttons, is even worse than randomly placed d-pads. You don't change what is good and what works. If you find a company changing controllers every console release, it is because the last controller sucked balls.

Consoles are better for casual gamers who couldn't be bothered upgrading the same machine over and over every few months, so they buy a brand new one every few years instead.

I don't understand why people say that computers must be upgraded all the time. I've had mine unupgraded for about three years, playing from Tiberian Sun to Oblivion. Although I need a new graphics card, my Civ 4 flashes red and crashes and Oblivion looks like Tiberian Sun. It plays other games fine though.

I don't understand why people say that computers must be upgraded all the time. I've had mine unupgraded for about three years, playing from Tiberian Sun to Oblivion. Although I need a new graphics card, my Civ 4 flashes red and crashes and Oblivion looks like Tiberian Sun. It plays other games fine though.

Well computers generally need to be upgraded to play the latest games. Not everyone does this however.

I describe it as "Like Star Wars before humans left their system."Left their system? Star Wars takes place "a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away".

Left their system? Star Wars takes place "a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away".

Magic. It's always magic.

Well computers generally need to be upgraded to play the latest games. Not everyone does this however.
Yes, but only if you really need to play them on the absolute highest settings IMO.

Yes, but only if you really need to play them on the absolute highest settings IMO.

True, I have Vampire:The Masquerade Bloodlines just about running on low settings and it's still great. Even if it does randomly crash during loading scenes, which last a long time.

The sony-style controller is the best on the market. It has the best ergonomic shape and design. A d-pad and a wannabe d-pad of buttons in odd places is just confusing and unnecessary. Shoulder buttons in unexpected places, or combined into the face buttons, is even worse than randomly placed d-pads. You don't change what is good and what works. If you find a company changing controllers every console release, it is because the last controller sucked balls.

Are you serious? After an hour of play, the PS controller leaves your hands so disfigured you need a half hour of own time before you can do anything requiring dexterity. The hand grip is only half as wide as the human hand. I mean what the hell is that? The buttons suck too. They don't trigger until you get the button flush with the surface of the controller. That is very hard on your thumbs.

Face it. The NES controller is better than what Sony offers.

Left their system? Star Wars takes place "a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away".

... Uhh, how does that contradict what I said? First, I didn't say it was Star Wars, they could just be compared on the surface. Second, the humans had to start somewhere. They weren't always all over the galaxy.

Are you serious? After an hour of play, the PS controller leaves your hands so disfigured you need a half hour of own time before you can do anything requiring dexterity. The hand grip is only half as wide as the human hand. I mean what the hell is that? The buttons suck too. They don't trigger until you get the button flush with the surface of the controller. That is very hard on your thumbs.

Agreed. I think the best controller available today is the XBox Controller S/XBox 360 controller (they're similar).

Agreed. I think the best controller availible today is the XBox Controller S/XBox 360 controller (they're similar).
*agrees*

i have my own pet axes to grind, though i aggree whole heartedly with many of the points raised. i personaly feel that anything i cannot be myself creative with that is not a requirement for survival, or at least keeping out of trouble, is a total waste of resources, my own being somewhat severly limmited, and for this reason, am unlikely ever to invest in dedicated game machines of any flavour.

i would observe however, that computer gaming, like any industry, is to a large degree driven by what people are willing to pay and what they are willing to pay for it. the votes you cast and the cash register are always counted. especialy if enough people 'vote' the same way.

writing the cd key on the inside of the case liner is a good idea, or on the paper sleave. and zeesh, paper sleaves, how chintzey can they get for something that's over priced to begin with to not at least put in in some kind of end user reusable protective packaging.

i'm not realy interested in what most games, the ones that seem to sell the most, seem to be about. but if that's what the industry thinks they want, and will continue to think they want as long as they keep buying, well i can't very well expect my one voice to be catered to at the expense of others.

fortunately there are intrepid game designers who freely or very nearly freely distribute their creations, often ones nearer my heart then those industry offers at the inflated prices they know there are suckers who will pay.

i love tricksey gizmos. but only if i can use them to create and explore with myself and in my own way.

=^^=
.../\...

Left their system? Star Wars takes place "a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away".

Ill take Detail obsessed sci-fi nerds for $1000 Alex

Well computers generally need to be upgraded to play the latest games. Not everyone does this however.

No, they need to be upgraded to play the intensive games. FEAR, Oblivion, etc. Oblivion makes my computer weep on the lowest settings, but I can play any game on the source engine at native resolution just fine.

greed. I think the best controller availible today is the XBox Controller S/XBox 360 controller (they're similar).
That is the most absurd thing I have heard today. The controller is poorly put together with buttons in odd places that are hard to reach. The sony-style is the best designed, as proven by Nintendo Gamecube adopting it.

Consoles are better for casual gamers who couldn't be bothered upgrading the same machine over and over every few months, so they buy a brand new one every few years instead.
If you are a casual gamer and have to upgrade it every few months you are (a) not a casual gamer and (b) are computer hardware illiterate. I am running a Radeon 9600 PRO and I can run everything below the most intensive games perfectly fine, which I don't even care to play anyway. Just for use that don't get it, Radeon 9800 PRO is the standard bottom level ATI card right now.

That is the most absurd thing I have heard today. The controller is poorly put together with buttons in odd places that are hard to reach. The sony-style is the best designed, as proven by Nintendo Gamecube adopting it.

I'm not 100% about this, but I remember having read that the fist Playstation controller was in fact designed by Nintendo. Remember that the Playstation started off as a project by both Sony and Nintendo. This could however be fanboy wishful thinking. I'll have to check that.

I'm not 100% about this, but I remember having read that the fist Playstation controller was in fact designed by Nintendo. Remember that the Playstation started off as a project by both Sony and Nintendo. This could however be fanboy wishful thinking. I'll have to check that.

That's correct as far as I know. But it doesn't force Nintendo to go back to the Sony-style design. It is the most ergonomic and easy to use, especially in comparison to the Xbox style.

Are you serious? After an hour of play, the PS controller leaves your hands so disfigured you need a half hour of own time before you can do anything requiring dexterity. The hand grip is only half as wide as the human hand. I mean what the hell is that? The buttons suck too. They don't trigger until you get the button flush with the surface of the controller. That is very hard on your thumbs.

Face it. The NES controller is better than what Sony offers.
Maybe this has something to do with hand size? I find the PS2 controllers to be the most comfortable by far, but I am a pretty small person with relatively small hands. I find the standard GameCube controllers too large, and I actually bought myself a special one that's smaller and slimmer through the grips so that I could play MarioKart without my hands cramping up.

Maybe this has something to do with hand size? I find the PS2 controllers to be the most comfortable by far, but I am a pretty small person with relatively small hands. I find the standard GameCube controllers too large, and I actually bought myself a special one that's smaller and slimmer through the grips so that I could play MarioKart without my hands cramping up.

I have a PS2 controller for playing Sensi and lego star wars, but I would much prefer a Xbox 360 pad. I like the ergonomics and it has a USB connection which is handy cos I had to use an adaptor for the PS2 one.

Well, I'm not much into console games. I've only owned a console for 6 months, and I'm still more used to PCs - if I were to play a game on my Xbox, and then play the same game on my PC, with all other variables the same, I would do better on the PC, since I am more familiar with the controls.

To Microsoft, RE Halo RTS: Release a PC version as well. You have already shown that you can make awesome RTSs in the past, so this is NOT new ground for you. Age of Empires is one of the greatest RTSs of all time - in my mind, it is on the level of Starcraft and Command and Conquer. There are a lot of RTS veterans who may not even own a console, or not be very good with them, who would love a PC version of Halo Wars.

No, they need to be upgraded to play the intensive games. FEAR, Oblivion, etc. Oblivion makes my computer weep on the lowest settings, but I can play any game on the source engine at native resolution just fine.


That is the most absurd thing I have heard today. The controller is poorly put together with buttons in odd places that are hard to reach. The sony-style is the best designed, as proven by Nintendo Gamecube adopting it.

albeit with better stick positioning.

Maybe this has something to do with hand size? I find the PS2 controllers to be the most comfortable by far, but I am a pretty small person with relatively small hands. I find the standard GameCube controllers too large, and I actually bought myself a special one that's smaller and slimmer through the grips so that I could play MarioKart without my hands cramping up.

You must hate the original XBox controller

I don't know how small your hands have to be to consider the gamecube controllers large. The standard one is teeny tiny. The wavebird make ones are remotely larger.

I don't know how small your hands have to be to consider the gamecube controllers large. The standard one is teeny tiny. The wavebird make ones are remotely larger.

Yes but only in the middle, if you are grasping you controller there, comfort and victory is not to be expected.