CRPGAddict

[Morpheus Kitami]

You can always gain insights even from bad games, if only about what not to do when designing a game.

In fact, people who wanna do game design themselves should also play terrible games so they know what to avoid. Game designers not doing that is how we end up with so much shit (or maybe game designers genuinely like shit, who knows).

But it's not like all these shitty 80's games are terrible in an unique way, they're pretty much similar in their terribleness. Also it's not very useful for modern designer since nobody makes games like that anymore. It's not like making grindy barely functional dungeon crawlers with no story or sense of direction is a common pitfall for modern designers.

That's not the only pitfall one could learn to avoid when reading his blog. The shit games on his blog run the whole gauntlet of issues, except a bad and overly involved story, but give him time. He's done games too ambitious for their own good, games too big, too simplistic, too complex, whatever the hell that King Arthur game was, bad interfaces, lack of feedback, and that's just what I can think of off the top of my head. All issues that plague a good chunk of modern RPGs.
Although that's saying that grindy barely functional dungeon crawlers still don't exist, its just that now they have stories and they're called JRPGs. Hell, even the deluge of Ultima-clones that existed back in the day are still useful reads for the few guys making an Ultima-clone in 2020 AD for some reason.

 

[Nifft Batuff]

I think CRPGAddict has a very good clue about what makes a good CRPG, as here are his highest rated games thus far.
1. Ultima V: Warriors of Destiny
2. Ultima VI: The False Prophet
3. Pool of Radiance
4. Ultima Underworld: The Stygian Abyss
5. The Dark Heart of Uukrul
6. Might and Magic: Book One - Secret of the Inner Sanctum
7. Curse of the Azure Bonds
8. Wizardry: Crusaders of the Dark Savant
9. Might and Magic: Book Two - Gates to Another World
10. Disciples of Steel

I think this list shouts out the good quality of the analysis of the CRPG addict. But for the moment he is still working out at the beginning of the '90s. I am sure the "interesting" things that will stress the system will happen when he will reach the '00s, and even more the '10s and '20s (assuming he and someone of the codex will still be alive, obviously). I imagine an hypothetical updated list where the "classics" will be completely or almost completely wiped out:

1. Skyrim
2. Fallout 4
3. Dragon Age inquisitor
4. Fallout 3
5. Baldur's Gate 2
6. The Witcher 3
Etc...

And other interesting "weirdness" such as Dark Souls and Disco Elysium not being on this list not for some particular insightful analysis, but simply because in these games shops and economy are lacking.

 

[rusty_shackleford]

Same with Super 70s Sports Guy. He finally figured out that educators have no feel for Trump one way or another so decided to stick to what he knew. Rs have been on a stupid jihad against teachers since forever so that biases them.

Addict isn’t there yet.

US teachers are overpaid babysitters

 

[Desiderius]

Same with Super 70s Sports Guy. He finally figured out that educators have no feel for Trump one way or another so decided to stick to what he knew. Rs have been on a stupid jihad against teachers since forever so that biases them.

Addict isn’t there yet.

US teachers are overpaid babysitters

I thought so too, I was wrong.

 

[rusty_shackleford]

Same with Super 70s Sports Guy. He finally figured out that educators have no feel for Trump one way or another so decided to stick to what he knew. Rs have been on a stupid jihad against teachers since forever so that biases them.

Addict isn’t there yet.

US teachers are overpaid babysitters

I thought so too, I was wrong.

https://www.politifact.com/factchec...us-spends-more-almost-any-other-major-countr/
overpaid babysitters

 

[Tigranes]

$ per student != $ teachers get paid, honey

that's like thinking "christ US universities charge so much, their professors must all be millionaires"

 

[rusty_shackleford]

$ per student != $ teachers get paid, honey

that's like thinking "christ US universities charge so much, their professors must all be millionaires"

you're right, it's just a coincidence that USA also has nearly the highest salary for teachers in the world(despite getting third world-tier results)
https://www.businessinsider.com/teacher-salaries-by-country-2017-5

 

[Desiderius]

$ per student != $ teachers get paid, honey

that's like thinking "christ US universities charge so much, their professors must all be millionaires"

you're right, it's just a coincidence that USA also has nearly the highest salary for teachers in the world(despite getting third world-tier results)
https://www.businessinsider.com/teacher-salaries-by-country-2017-5

Every ethnic group in the U.S. outperforms the equivalent ethnic group worldwide. Rus is just so woke he's afraid to talk about black IQ.

Money has been spooged all over admin, special ed, and diversity nonsense. Teacher pay is significantly less than they could make in private sector. Alot of competition for slots since colleges prepare students so poorly for careers many choose teaching.

 

[rusty_shackleford]

Teacher pay is significantly less than they could make in private sector.

Absolutely wrong. Private school teachers are paid significantly less despite producing better results.
Do you guys even bother to check things before spouting dumbshit opinions?
https://nces.ed.gov/programs/digest/d12/tables/dt12_087.asp

 

[Tigranes]

$ per student != $ teachers get paid, honey

that's like thinking "christ US universities charge so much, their professors must all be millionaires"

you're right, it's just a coincidence that USA also has nearly the highest salary for teachers in the world(despite getting third world-tier results)
https://www.businessinsider.com/teacher-salaries-by-country-2017-5

You made a basic misinterpretation and cited data that doesn't back up your claims. Instead of admitting it like a rational person, now you pretend nothing has happened. *shrug*

As for your new blanket, the data needs to account for relative living costs to show whether this is proof of 'overpaying'. Have you done that?

Finally, you are correct that private school teachers are paid significantly less, but when Desiderius says "private sector" this obviously includes other jobs. So that's three different basic comprehension errors in five minutes.

The joke is that you're talking to someone who has a very low opinion of the US school system, but even correct opinions can be defended in the most incompetent ways.

 

[Desiderius]

Teacher pay is significantly less than they could make in private sector.

Absolutely wrong. Private school teachers are paid significantly less despite producing better results.
Do you guys even bother to check things before spouting dumbshit opinions?
https://nces.ed.gov/programs/digest/d12/tables/dt12_087.asp

The private sector, not private schools. Private school teachers get hosed even worse. I know, I've been one.

 

[Desiderius]

There is no end to the things that suck about the U.S. School System. Most of them could be greatly improved if people like us grew some balls, took them over, and ran out the dipshits. Same with unions.

 

[Gangrelrumbler]

The 6 million mediocre indie roguelikes made during the last decade disagree with you!

I've never seen a modern roguelike as shitty as bad games Addict had played. Even mediocre games have some sort of a goal, a story, variety of monsters etc. I've also never seen a Roguelike that is close to being as grindy as the 80's games. Even the good ones like Ultimas.

Ok, I try to keep it simple for you guys. There are basically two ways I can form an opinion on games. I play them all (while technically possible, unlike the CRPGAddict I have a life and not autism). Or I trust someone else opinion. In the second case, do I trust some randos on the internet because they say so (see quotes of randos below) or do I trust a guy who plays all these games, records while he plays and gives in-depth description? I very often disagree with the CRPGAddict's opinion on games, but I can do that because he puts them out there. As much as I like for example best of lists (like the Codex one), I don't take it for gospel until I actuall played the games. Or I read in-depth reviews like some of the Codex ones, where I can see pro and cons and get a good sense of the game.

That is true in some part. If you seek opinion in the bottom of the barrel of the 80's RPGs then there is currently no better source on them than his blog. Since there's no reason to play them anyway I've agreed with Horvatii that there's no utility in that. Games nobody ever heard of and nobody wanted to play turned-out to be not worth checking-out.
As of his opinion on anything modern it has as much value as any random professional reviewer out there. They both played a lot of shitty games and wrote something about them.

 

[rusty_shackleford]

You made a basic misinterpretation and cited data that doesn't back up your claims. Instead of admitting it like a rational person, now you pretend nothing has happened. *shrug*

so USA is nearly #1 in the world for both per-student spending and teacher salary
but I'm wrong because you said so despite not providing an argument whatsoever.
'k

As for your new blanket, the data needs to account for relative living costs to show whether this is proof of 'overpaying'. Have you done that?

goalpost shifting

Finally, you are correct that private school teachers are paid significantly less, but when Desiderius says "private sector" this obviously includes other jobs. So that's three different basic comprehension errors in five minutes.

macaroni arts degrees aren't valuable in the private sector

butthurt teachers upset that they're being outed as frauds and have no coherent argument beyond "NO UR RONG!"
honestly, kind of what I'd expect from overpaid babysitters so I'm not surprised

 

[newtmonkey]

I think this list shouts out the good quality of the analysis of the CRPG addict. But for the moment he is still working out at the beginning of the '90s. I am sure the "interesting" things that will stress the system will happen when he will reach the '00s, and even more the '10s and '20s (assuming he and someone of the codex will still be alive, obviously). I imagine an hypothetical updated list where the "classics" will be completely or almost completely wiped out:

1. Skyrim
2. Fallout 4
3. Dragon Age inquisitor
4. Fallout 3
5. Baldur's Gate 2
6. The Witcher 3
Etc...

And other interesting "weirdness" such as Dark Souls and Disco Elysium not being on this list not for some particular insightful analysis, but simply because in these games shops and economy are lacking.

I agree it will be interesting to see how the list looks in 2060 when he gets around to playing these games. I know that he designed his rating system specifically so that Baldur's Gate would get a (near) perfect score (or something to that effect), but who knows? Maybe after playing all these games he'll go back to Skyrim and realize that it's not an amazing RPG, but is just a fun action game with tons of boring filler content that adds nothing to the experience.

Even if he doesn't, and decides that, yeah, Skyrim is his greatest RPG of all time, so what? That doesn't mean he doesn't have some valid points about how underrated Demon's Winter and Dark Heart of Uukrul are, how legitimately awesome most of the Gold Box games are even today, or how tedious all of the Bard's Tale games really are. Even if he plays all these classics and still determines that Skyrim is his GOAT, I still respect his opinion more than the significant number of shitposters on this site who go on and on about games but haven't played anything released outside of 1997 and 2001.

 

[Grauken]

The 6 million mediocre indie roguelikes made during the last decade disagree with you!

I've never seen a modern roguelike as shitty as bad games Addict had played. Even mediocre games have some sort of a goal, a story, variety of monsters etc. I've also never seen a Roguelike that is close to being as grindy as the 80's games. Even the good ones like Ultimas.

Ok, I try to keep it simple for you guys. There are basically two ways I can form an opinion on games. I play them all (while technically possible, unlike the CRPGAddict I have a life and not autism). Or I trust someone else opinion. In the second case, do I trust some randos on the internet because they say so (see quotes of randos below) or do I trust a guy who plays all these games, records while he plays and gives in-depth description? I very often disagree with the CRPGAddict's opinion on games, but I can do that because he puts them out there. As much as I like for example best of lists (like the Codex one), I don't take it for gospel until I actuall played the games. Or I read in-depth reviews like some of the Codex ones, where I can see pro and cons and get a good sense of the game.

That is true in some part. If you seek opinion in the bottom of the barrel of the 80's RPGs then there is currently no better source on them than his blog. Since there's no reason to play them anyway I've agreed with Horvatii that there's no utility in that. Games nobody ever heard of and nobody wanted to play turned-out to be not worth checking-out.
As of his opinion on anything modern it has as much value as any random professional reviewer out there. They both played a lot of shitty games and wrote something about them.

It's okay, not everybody has an interest in the history of the genre, people like you are welcome to go to IGN and read about the newest Dark Souls clone or whatever is hot right now

 

[Zed Duke of Banville]

I remember 4 years ago CRPGaddict cried that if Trump wins, he'd have to get a real job. How come he's still running his blog?

He is a teacher in an academic institution.

IIRC, he changed employment within the last four years and is now a teacher.

 

[mondblut]

I remember 4 years ago CRPGaddict cried that if Trump wins, he'd have to get a real job. How come he's still running his blog?

He is a teacher in an academic institution.

IIRC, he changed employment within the last four years and is now a teacher.

DRRRUUUUUUUUUUUMPFFFF!!!

Orange man stole his welfare!

 

[Jasede]

Teacher? As much as I might hate his political views and his, as someone said, aseptic writing style, the man is a goddamn professor for English Literature. Which, sure, is 'technically' a teacher, but it sure sounds misleading.

Well, unless I misremember.

 

[rusty_shackleford]

Teacher? As much as I might hate his political views and his, as someone said, aseptic writing style, the man is a goddamn professor for English Literature. Which, sure, is 'technically' a teacher, but it sure sounds misleading.

Well, unless I misremember.

even worse
he's a professor in macaroni arts

 

[Darth Canoli]

I'd rather read the opinions of the CRPGAddict, who has played (and enjoyed) the classics, than a large portion of the posters on the Codex, who are here solely to shitpost and have not played a game made prior to 1997—if they have substantially played any games at all.

I think CRPGAddict has a very good clue about what makes a good CRPG, as here are his highest rated games thus far.
1. Ultima V: Warriors of Destiny
2. Ultima VI: The False Prophet
3. Pool of Radiance
4. Ultima Underworld: The Stygian Abyss
5. The Dark Heart of Uukrul
6. Might and Magic: Book One - Secret of the Inner Sanctum
7. Curse of the Azure Bonds
8. Wizardry: Crusaders of the Dark Savant
9. Might and Magic: Book Two - Gates to Another World
10. Disciples of Steel

Sure, maybe these ancient dinosaurs have nothing on Codex darlings Dragon Age: Origins and Disco Elysium, but they have something to offer.

What about the gems he rated poorly, it's easy to take a top list, specially since he started from the more ancients?
You can't use that argument until he reached 2019 and we can see how he rates the popular garbage.

I'm guessing you won't like his list as much in 20 years.

 

[newtmonkey]

What about the gems he rated poorly, it's easy to take a top list, specially since he started from the more ancients?
You can't use that argument until he reached 2019 and we can see how he rates the popular garbage.

I'm guessing you won't like his list as much in 20 years.

I probably won't, and it will probably look a lot like the RPG Codex's Top 101 PC RPGs, which includes such classic RPGs as the console action game with stats Dark Souls, the console action game with stats Dark Souls II, the console action game with stats The Elder Scrolls: Oblivion, the console action game with stats Alpha Protocol, and the console action game with stats NieR: Automata. Maybe with Skyrim replacing seminal "RPG" Dark Souls on the list.

 

[Darth Canoli]

I probably won't, and it will probably look a lot like the RPG Codex's Top 101 PC RPGs, which includes such classic RPGs as the console action game with stats Dark Souls, the console action game with stats Dark Souls II, the console action game with stats The Elder Scrolls: Oblivion, the console action game with stats Alpha Protocol, and the console action game with stats NieR: Automata. Maybe with Skyrim replacing seminal "RPG" Dark Souls on the list.

But Codex top 101 is rigged because X calls for his twitter retarded acquaintances to vote massively and infuse their disgusting taste in our midst.
Not that we don't have a consoletards crowd of our own.

Some people just shouldn't have the right to vote, you should pass an IQ test first.

About his GIMPY scoring system

The rating scale I designed to quantify my enjoyment of CRPGs in 10 categories: game world, character creation and development, NPCs, encounters and foes, combat and magic, equipment, economy, quests, graphics/sound/interface, and gameplay. Each category gets 10 points and the highest theoretical score is 100. Anything about 35 is worth checking out; anything above 50 is actually "good"; and anything above 75 is the cream of the crop. The name comes from my favorite cocktail; it technically stands for something, but it was forced and not worth recounting.

I would put economy and equipment together (or economy with worldbuilding)
UI should be it's own category
Graphics/art-style should be his own category (To me M&M III was the pinnacle of 2D art-style)
Music and sound effects should have their own category too (it's a good part of Fallout 1/2 success, for example)

All those scores should only be there to give some insight to use in order to get a final score and you should NEVER try to ADD them to give a game a final score because as most of us know, the best games are worth way more than the sum of their parts and the mediocre ones way less.

Game design is an alchemy, not an addition of features, otherwise, AAA cRPG would be masterpieces and we all know they're not, far from it.

 

[Grauken]

I probably won't, and it will probably look a lot like the RPG Codex's Top 101 PC RPGs, which includes such classic RPGs as the console action game with stats Dark Souls, the console action game with stats Dark Souls II, the console action game with stats The Elder Scrolls: Oblivion, the console action game with stats Alpha Protocol, and the console action game with stats NieR: Automata. Maybe with Skyrim replacing seminal "RPG" Dark Souls on the list.

But Codex top 101 is rigged because X calls for his twitter retarded acquaintances to vote massively and infuse their disgusting taste in our midst.
Not that we don't have a consoletards crowd of our own.

Some people just shouldn't have the right to vote, you should pass an IQ test first.

About his GIMPY scoring system

The rating scale I designed to quantify my enjoyment of CRPGs in 10 categories: game world, character creation and development, NPCs, encounters and foes, combat and magic, equipment, economy, quests, graphics/sound/interface, and gameplay. Each category gets 10 points and the highest theoretical score is 100. Anything about 35 is worth checking out; anything above 50 is actually "good"; and anything above 75 is the cream of the crop. The name comes from my favorite cocktail; it technically stands for something, but it was forced and not worth recounting.

I would put economy and equipment together (or economy with worldbuilding)
UI should be it's own category
Graphics/art-style should be his own category (To me M&M III was the pinnacle of 2D art-style)
Music and sound effects should have their own category too (it's a good part of Fallout 1/2 success, for example)

All those scores should only be there to give some insight to use in order to get a final score and you should NEVER try to ADD them to give a game a final score because as most of us know, the best games are worth way more than the sum of their parts and the mediocre ones way less.

Game design is an alchemy, not an addition of features, otherwise, AAA cRPG would be masterpieces and we all know they're not, far from it.

You have your head so far up your ass its astonishing you can see anything

 

[rusty_shackleford]

here's how I rate games:
shit
-or-
wow that was pretty good

here's how asspies rate games:
ACCORDING TO MY GIMPLETY SYSTEM I HAVE CREATED TO PERFECTLY MEASURE MY SPECIFIC QUALIFIERS OF WHAT I CONSIDER TO BE AN RPG, THIS GAME GETS A 3.488888753/5 DUE TO NOT PROPERLY SIMULATING ECONOMICS IN A DUNGEON CRAWLER