What Video Games Have You Been Playing VII: The Real Ending is Locked Behind a Paywall

[Groff]

They're not going to get the original experience either way, as they already know way too much about the game to enjoy it the way we did back then, in blissful ignorance.

That is my stance basically. People want to go back in time and be teens again, but it ain't happening.

But it's all about gameplay, so I don't see how a graphical update would be a negative thing. Yeah, some people will cry about it, but who cares? Will they not play the game because it doesn't like quite as terrible? I doubt it. Blizzard will likely attract the most people if they offer a decent-looking game with classic-wow gameplay. A "remastered" version similar to the Starcraft Update that they released recently.

Even today you have a toggleable option to use old character models if you want. WoW never had amazing AAA level of graphics, what it does have is style. If you like the way WoW looked a decade ago, you can just go ahead and turn everything to its lowest settings.

And you might want to overthink your stance on the modding-API, as it literally allowed you to automate half of your stuff in its original form. Remember the Original HealBot Addon? That think had it's name for a reason, as it chose the appropriate spell and spell level automatically for you after clicking the icon. Only after mods actually started making use of those systems did Blizzard limit the modding-API. If you want a game withOUT fancy addons, then you should be very much in favor of them making alterations to the system.

With or without addons and macros I honestly couldn't care less either way, whatever makes the game more enjoyable for you.

 

[hobbsyoyo]

Anyone follow what's going on with EA's Star Wars Battlefront II ?

Apparently the full game costs over $60 (closer to $100 for all the add-ons, not sure if that includes season pass for DLC) but it takes over 40 hours of gameplay to unlock the first two heroes unless you spend about another $40 in microtransactions.

That's crazy. I wish this business model would die but people keep feeding it...

 

[EgonSpengler]

I started a new game of Empire: Total War - with DarthMod's last mod - as the Republic of Venice. Selecting the World Domination victory condition, which merely says "control 35 territories", I'm free to set my own victory conditions: Unite the Italian people, win a decisive victory over the Turks once and for all, and make the Republic the chief maritime power in all of Europe. Easy-peasy. Starting an early game in 1700, I immediately reversed the gains of my predecessor's Morean War of 1684-1699 and sold my slice of Greece back to the Ottoman Empire for a pile of cash and some technologies. I knew I wouldn't be able to hold against a concerted effort by the Ottomans until I've built up my economy and my army, so I figured I might as well get something out of it. But to quote that great Austrian philosopher, I'll be back. After a year building a modern army for the new century (so long, pikemen; hello, line infantry and 12-pounder foot artillery), I told the Papal States it was either my way or the highway. They called my bluff and I marched on Rome. So far, so good.

 

[cardgame]

EA game developer responded to some criticism on reddit. His post is now sitting at negative four hundred and ten thousand votes. Six figures. The most downvoted comment in all of reddit history, even more than the top 100 most downvoted comments combined.

 

[Arakhor]

What was the criticism?

 

[cardgame]

oh and in the hour or so that it's been, it's down another 20k votes or so.

From what I've gathered in the thread, all of the truly iconic of the series are behind these paywalls. At 40 hours each, it's 200 hours of grinding toward nothing except the characters (no weapon unlocks or anything else, only characters) if you want to play as Obi-Wan, Leia, Anakin, Vader, or Luke

 

[Akka]

Regarding the vanilla code, it seems I was only partially right. They do have the code in the sense that they can retrieve parts of it, but not all of it since some parts are no longer there. Makes sense, as they've been building upon the original wow code for the past 13 years.

They have all the code. Versioning has existed for a long time.
But the code was optimized to work on very specific hardware and the rest of the infrastructure and architecture and communication protocols have been entirely remade since then, so they can't use it as is and will probably need to either rewrite it or heavily adapt it.

They're not going to get the original experience either way, as they already know way too much about the game to enjoy it the way we did back then, in blissful ignorance.

But it's all about gameplay, so I don't see how a graphical update would be a negative thing.

No, it's about playing WoW as it was then. Graphics to play a role, and it's not all about "nostalgia" (this argument is my berserk button on this discussion). It's about the design, and it goes much farther than just the gameplay.

 

[civvver]

Anyone follow what's going on with EA's Star Wars Battlefront II ?

Apparently the full game costs over $60 (closer to $100 for all the add-ons, not sure if that includes season pass for DLC) but it takes over 40 hours of gameplay to unlock the first two heroes unless you spend about another $40 in microtransactions.

That's crazy. I wish this business model would die but people keep feeding it...

That's horrible. I don't have any huge issues with grinding to get stuff in game but when they say or pay us money to unlock it's incredibly clear what's going on. It's not about the challenge or keeping gamers interested, it's just about trying to get them hooked and then not willing to grind so they pay. Just make the base game ~$90 and be done with it already.

They have all the code. Versioning has existed for a long time.
But the code was optimized to work on very specific hardware and the rest of the infrastructure and architecture and communication protocols have been entirely remade since then, so they can't use it as is and will probably need to either rewrite it or heavily adapt it.

No, it's about playing WoW as it was then. Graphics to play a role, and it's not all about "nostalgia" (this argument is my berserk button on this discussion). It's about the design, and it goes much farther than just the gameplay.

Yeah but as we said, how many of these people with rose colored glasses would actually enjoy wow as it was then. I sure as hell wouldn't and I was a huge wow slappy. It was all I played for 7 years. But I've moved on, part of it is due to age and where I am in life now too, the grind of wow and tedium of many of the mechanics is not appealing any more.

 

[hobbsyoyo]

I predict Battelfront II is going to be a huge hit. As much as gamers grumble about this situation, they are still going to hand over lots of cash to buy the product, which is why the loot box gambling system has grown more and more central to the business model of game developers/publishers.

 

[REDY]

EA is ruining video game industry for decades, nothing new to see here

I now play Mark of the Ninja, I grabbed it during haloween discounts and it is totally worth it.

 

[Arakhor]

That's a great little indy game.

 

[Commodore]

I predict Battelfront II is going to be a huge hit. As much as gamers grumble about this situation, they are still going to hand over lots of cash to buy the product, which is why the loot box gambling system has grown more and more central to the business model of game developers/publishers.

Yeah, it'll be a hit now that EA is removing microtransactions completely from Battlefront II.

 

[Snerk]

Yeah, it'll be a hit now that EA is removing microtransactions completely from Battlefront II.

Will be a hit either way. Loads of buyers don't care one iota about the presence of microtransactions. But personally I'm very glad they scrapped it.

 

[Leifmk]

Big new DLC for EU4 as of yesterday. First I'm going to play as the Ottomans and see just how badly they've been nerfed as a player nation. Then I'm going to try another Byzantium game.

(Edit: I've been seeing reports of people playing in other parts of the world and observing cases where AI Byzantium manages to survive against AI Ottomans. That didn't use to happen at all before, so logically it should be easier to do it as a player.)

 

[Kyriakos]

Big new DLC for EU4 as of yesterday. First I'm going to play as the Ottomans and see just how badly they've been nerfed as a player nation. Then I'm going to try another Byzantium game.

(Edit: I've been seeing reports of people playing in other parts of the world and observing cases where AI Byzantium manages to survive against AI Ottomans. That didn't use to happen at all before, so logically it should be easier to do it as a player.)

It is just inevitable

 

[hobbsyoyo]

Yeah, it'll be a hit now that EA is removing microtransactions completely from Battlefront II.

But they aren't. :-(

They suspended it temporarily and will reinstate it when things quiet down, they have said as much.

 

[Arakhor]

Undoubtedly when people start enjoying the game and don't want to give it up.

 

[Leifmk]

It is just inevitable

In the previous version I could fairly reliably beat the Ottomans as Byzantium from the 1444 start, but it required some cheesy tactics involving deliberate exploitation of the AI. (Get control of an island with straits that can be walked across, bait the Ottoman army onto said island, send in the fleet to block the straits -- then occupy everything while his powerful army is helplessly stuck on Corfu or wherever.) AI Byzantium can't be smart enough to pull off stuff like that, so now there must be other ways.

Half the fun of games like this is finding ways to make world history go all weird.

 

[Kyriakos]

In the previous version I could fairly reliably beat the Ottomans as Byzantium from the 1444 start, but it required some cheesy tactics involving deliberate exploitation of the AI. (Get control of an island with straits that can be walked across, bait the Ottoman army onto said island, send in the fleet to block the straits -- then occupy everything while his powerful army is helplessly stuck on Corfu or wherever.) AI Byzantium can't be smart enough to pull off stuff like that, so now there must be other ways.

Half the fun of games like this is finding ways to make world history go all weird.

I think that the Byzantine empire in EUIII & the mod MEIOU was pretty challenging for the player, although this mostly meant that one had to have played that a few times so as to notice what they must do, and literally the first stage would be hugely crucial. Eg i ended up doing the same moves first, ie (if i recall now...) annex Epirus, declare war on some northern african power and take some coastal province (this so that i would avoid Castille getting an early foothold on at least north-eastern Africa), annex Candar (iirc Trebizond was a vassal of the horde), bribe Naples enough so that they at least will not declare war on you up to that point (VERY important), then build a somewhat not laughably minor army (i think 12K at the most; maybe just 10 though), and declare on the ottomans (who are in ongoing war against the Horde since the start of the game, pretty much). Occupy everything, hope for either the ottomans being maimed by the Horde or that you win some battles against similarly-sized otto armies in Europe, and then sue for peace for 3 provinces (i think; at least 3 anyway).
From then on things are easier. I always acted like a major power, even at the start of the game with the Byzantines -- no other way to actually succeed in that mod for EuIII byzantines.

It was a lot harder though, if you were playing Byz, than if you were playing something like England. I recall first going to war with Scotland and (just because it was so easy) declare war on the irish states at the same time, so that i could annex them and then annex half of Scotland and therefore be ready to annex it all by the time i could declare again. (I must have played a few hundred hours of EUIII, and ALL my games were as Byzantine, other than two very brief ones as England ).

 

[Leifmk]

Yeah, but Byzantium in 1399 (as it was in EU3) is one thing; by 1444 (as in EU4) the challenge is quite a bit steeper. You're down to three provinces plus one vassal, you're surrounded by the Ottomans who are extremely strong and they WILL be coming for you, your army is hopelessly much weaker than them, and getting alliances with more powerful nations is difficult. Fortunately your navy is still quite OK and the AI has blind and dumb spots.