What do u HATE in older times? Any incline of nowadays?

This. Sometimes this was simply due to archaic thinking, but most of the time this was simply due to (cue overused cliché) "technological limitations". Namely, home computers would up and die if they tried to render most games full-screen, even some of the 2d ones. Wolfenstein 3D came close to full-screen rendering, but it wasn't until Doom and System Shock that "full-screen" took its first baby steps.

Here's a brilliant example of the "archaic thinking" style: The Last V8:



Look at that, 40% shows the game world, another 40% is the UI and the rest is a banner informing you what game you're playing.

 

On the other hand, putting a floppy disk into your old 1989 PC to install M&M 3, and then hearing it make sounds like the battle of Stalingrad is just SO NOSTALGIC

 

less to program that way.

 

CD-rips without video, music and sound.

Early 3d abominations.

Interfaces requiring to press 5 different keys and navigate through 4 windows do something as trivial as equip a sword.

Less than 256 color graphics.

 

Digital distribution is the main advantage of today's gaming to me. Better graphics too, obviously, but unfortunately that rarely accompanies good gameplay.

Horrible interfaces? Eh, I don't mind them and can easily play those games even these days. Actually, I don't reallty get the people complaining about the interface in most old CRPGs. There were some terrible abominations of the UI like Space 1889 or Whale's Voyage, but mostly they were fine and remain playable to this day.

Something like Skyrim has an equally terrible interface anyway, and many older games (from Wizardry to Uukrul) have UIs that are actually very easy to navigate.

EDIT: Oh yeah, also loading times for sure.

 

Licensed games.

Switching floppies.

30 minute loading times.

 

Die plz.

Dead Space is one of the examples of consoletard devs not including proper configuration of control scheme and you put it up as if it was some sort of shining example?

Amusingly enough, while the trend from terrible to good interfaces is definitely there, there are some massive exceptions.

Not necessarily.

First, while many early 3D games look relatively stale compared to their contemporary 2D games on screenshots, the ability to make objects rotate and animate smoothly and for their looks to convey their exact orientation made them look much better in motion.

Also, some old 3D looked good, while some relatively recent looks shit. It's usually the question of overall quality VS focus on whatever visual gimmick was fashionable at the time.

Focusing on fashionable gimmicks rather than overall quality is pretty much guaranteed to make your game look massive dongs after just a year or 2.

 

The funny thing is that GTA proved all the "3D is a must" wrong. The first GTA was released in the middle of the 3D hype, when absolutely everything had to be 3D. And along came a 2D game with very low hardware requirements - it was about the only new game that worked on my machine back then - and was a huge hit. GTA was about the only series that waited until the technology was ready before it switched to 3D.

 

There was no codex in older times. That's reason enough to complain a lot.

Which could be a good thing for SCO.

 

Well, characters still fall through tiles in Bethesda games, Obsidian games are still glitchy, patches still come out, and Fallout's inventory still isn't good. Games can take ages to install yet because they weight 20+ GiB even if there are no CDs. And instead of poorly optimized games for PСs we have poorly optimized ports.

But internet got faster! That's really awesum when you need to download 1 GiB 1st day patch. I remember downloading patch for Diablo 2, pressed "connect" and just went to sleep...

 

I didn't have any problems with the keyboard layout so I didn't even notice that you can't configure your keys. But aside from that, what is wrong with Dead Space controls? It's still way better than Bioforge, AiTD, Ecstatica etc, not to mention Fade to Black.

 

Well, there's a couple of things, most of which has already been mentioned

1. With steam no more draconian DRMs where you had to look up a fucking book, or insert a CD, every time you want to play your game, and if you lost your manual/CD you were fucked.
2. better interfaces, just no doubt about it, unless it's the interface of skyrim.
3. better graphics, obviously. Gameplay obviously trumps graphics, but if everything else is equal, the game with the better graphics is superior.
4. Generally less "finickiness" to everything.
5. Also we have a much wider selection of games than ever. Not just in time, but also in space: Before, you would have maybe less than 100 games being released every year, now, if you look at the right places, you can find 1000: Gaming today is so diverse that it has something for pretty much anyone. Which of course most of the codex hate, because they want gaming to remain 'their thing', and don't want the kid that threw them into the toilet to enjoy 'their' hobby.

 

Nope, the problem is that pretty much everything is made for everyone, not that there is something for everyone. Big difference, I guess you're too busy being the tough guy "throwing" guys in toilets to realize the difference.

 

Except GTA 1 was already a 3D game, albeit top-down, so...

That you can't configure movement keys in a WSAD game is bad enough if you're a southpaw.

Also it had pretty bad mouse smoothing/drunkenness emulation.

 

Fuck the haters, some of those things were great:



And we still managed to overcome them...

 

something like this?

 

yeah, some of them were cool and inventive, but most of them were a tedious pain in the ass. I remember it well, even though I was only a child when I played games on discettes with such DRMs.

 

Tripple-A games, yeah, pretty much. But if you could get your head out of your ass and look at other games than mass effect and dragon age, then you would discover that there are several good games out there being made that do not try to satisfy everyone.

Of course, codex will continue to discuss bioware and blizzard games (and project eternity, which is, surprise surprise, an attempt to capture the spirit of games like BG and BG2, and other infinity engine games), and only those, until their fingers become bloody stumps.

 

Oh, several, really? Several surely means there is a crazy wide selection now. I think you need to stick your head in one of those toilets.

 

Fail.
Build and order menus, as well as queues are functional elements, not pointless embellishments.
Still, it's better when GUI elements hide when not needed.

The only exceptions are simulationist embelishments - pointless stuff you ought to see in given situation, but that only applies to all sorts of first person games.

He already has.

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And forgot to come up for air.

 

Eh, I'm kindda with the toilet guy here.

The oughties were indeed a forlorn, desolate wasteland of big budget uniformity but today we're a couple of years into the age of digital distribution, indie rennaisance and a new dawn of politically incorrect diversity.

Yes, until recently there was a lack of games that used to belong to the AAA cathegory 20, 15 years ago, mainly epic RPGs and TB strategies. But right now, with all the Civs, Homams, King's Bounties, Conquistadors, Warlocks, Disciples, Endless Spaces or Paradox and Stardock games, I'd say the TBSes are more alive than ever. Not to mention we got even more goodies coming, like the new Battle Isle, Master of Magic or Age of Wonders revamps. Jesus, before 2008 if I wanted to play some new TBS title, all I got to choose from was Civ4 and Homam5. It's incredible how green the wasteland turned.

And as for the epic, party based RPGs, it's coming too. After playing Divinity 2 I'm not so fappy about the D:OS as many others but I can't see the TToN or Eternity being anything else than a treat.

 

Interface improvements (though many games today find new and inventive ways to have terrible UIs) and more screenspace are the big ones for me.

Current gaming climate holds back a lot of games but modern technology in itself is not bad.

 

Consoles.

 

No more fucking one-unit-one-time commanding like in Dune 2. When I saw Warcraft 1 introduced 4 unit grouping, I almost cried.