Age of Decadence Reviews

[huckc]

One of the most recent GOG reviews: https://af.gog.com/game/the_age_of_decadence?as=1649904300


This is a typical review written by imbecile who most likely doesn't know what the word "literally" means and when it should be used. If however he really was reloading a single fight for several hours then he's an even bigger idiot. Most likely he won't even try Dungeon Rats even though it will have difficulty settings (due to his butthurtness).

Actually, this "imbecile" is pretty close to the mark. AoD is a really shitty game that really, when it boils down to it, is a choose-your-own-adventure simulator with some combat thrown in for kicks. AoD gives you the illusion of building a character with skill points, but, in the end, in order to succeed at the game, you cannot build a balanced character, you have to game the system and overload your skill points in one stat category (Combat / Social) or another, really skewing the overall game experience. The combat itself is unbalanced, even with a character with a strong combat build. The game is just poorly-designed. Dungeon Rats suffers inherits the same combat design issues.

Wrong about a couple things:

1. You can "succeed" with a far less than optimal character as there are multiple endings that don't require you to be a world-beater.
2. You can be good at both combat and social, this is a "hybrid" and is probably the most popular in fact and what I enjoyed the most. Winning every fight too.
3. The combat is is not unbalanced when a hybrid can win every fight in the game.

I don't think you've played the game enough...

 

[Vault Dweller]

^ There are tons of very diverse hybrid builds (combat and social) posted in the Murderous Psychopath thread (bodycount 100 or higher).

 

[Lurker King]

Jasede, why do you keep talking trash about AoD without knowing anything about the game?

(a) Because AoD was made by a Codexer dude. Since he is not special like other obscure celebrity devs, his game sucks.

(b) Because I think that AoD intended to be a FO clone but Vault Dweller is a bastard that doesn’t get what made FO special. Vault Dweller is like Sawyer trying to imitate BG2.

(c) Because Vault Dweller is a cold rational bastard that doesn’t allow fun. He doesn’t like animu shit, console Japanese stuff like Dark Souls and Final Fantasy, and colorful broken games like BG2.

(d) Because he demolished my posts in the past and the wounds in my butt will never heal. I’m too petty to get past that. It hurts muh feelings too much.

Let’s see. (a) is obviously incorrect, since having pedigree has nothing to do with being good or not. (b) is also incorrect, for he never promised or had the intention of making a FO clone, even though it was one of the main inspirations and it is regularly compared to it by reviewers. VD was also heavily influenced by many different games such as Prelude to Darkness, Realms of Arkania 2 and Darklands. In fact, I would dare to say that AoD is better than FO. It has all the cool stuff that made it great, without the weak parts. (c) is retarded and reveals a conception of irrationalism that requires justification. Any person who likes Japanese garbage but doesn’t enjoy AoD deserves some serious bitch slapping because he is not right in the head. (d) is understandable since we are all imperfect human beings, but is not good enough.

 

[Lurker King]

You can "succeed" with a far less than optimal character as there are multiple endings that don't require you to be a world-beater.

This type of complaints are either a confession of popamolism or a general complaint about the roles of scripted events and the abundance of skill/stat checks. Some players feel restricted because most cRPGs treat these checks as fluffy and then they complaint about everything else as a sadistic manipulation that is impossible to beat. The truth is that the game offers plenty combination of builds, choices and fail-and-keep-going scenarios. The frustration tells more about certain expectations, than the actual content. That is why trying to explain this with arguments don’t lead you anywhere. The complaint is more general and it is about something else: taking character building and skill checks too seriously. Which is ironic, if you think about it. They are complaining about having more choices and making character build fundamental to gameplay.

 

[Jasede]

VD has never demolished my posts in the past. We just like different games. We've always agreed on that. I don't like this style of game. It's a bit stupid of me to tell you I don't in this thread, it's like walking into the South and saying you hate sweet iced tea. I was just feeling bored. Also Dark Souls is the less anime than PS:T by a MILE.

 

[Tom Baker's Arse]

It certainly has been interesting observing the reaction to my post. There certainly are some small-minded people on this forum, I have learned that this past week. I do think that running through AoD to completion half a dozen times does qualify my opinion on the game as valid. I also think that I have played the game "enough".

Another interesting observation about this forum -- others can seemingly rate my posts at will, yet I *cannot* rate anyone else's posts. Why is this ?

 

[Goral]

Another interesting observation about this forum -- others can seemingly rate my posts at will, yet I *cannot* rate anyone else's posts. Why is this ?

Joined: Nov 3, 2016

You need to have an account for a year at least or pay tribute to DarkUnderlord.

 

[Tom Baker's Arse]

Joined: Nov 3, 2016

You need to have an account for a year at least or pay tribute to DarkUnderlord.

Sorry, that sounds like a cult. I'm out.

 

[Lurker King]

VD has never demolished my posts in the past. We just like different games. We've always agreed on that. I don't like this style of game. It's a bit stupid of me to tell you I don't in this thread, it's like walking into the South and saying you hate sweet iced tea. I was just feeling bored. Also Dark Souls is the less anime than PS:T by a MILE.

That is not my first day on the Codex, Jasede. I have a good memory for this kind of stuff. Besides, this talk about iced tea is a bit misleading, don’t you think? There is a difference between your personal tastes and the act of tasting it itself. We all have our personal idiosyncrasies and preferences. I agree that this is subjective to a certain extent. But the act of tasting itself requires knowledge and certain demands that are somewhat objective. For instance, even if you don’t enjoy iced tea, if you are a connoisseur, you can provide an exaustive characterization of what is an iced tea, maybe you know a lit bit about its history, the variants, how to make a good iced tea and how to taste an iced tea properly, e.g., what properties you should try to detect with your tongue and what things you shouldn’t do (not having mentals in your mouth, etc.). This objective feature restricts things a lot. And the reason why I think this is important to this discussion is that despite the enormous variety of games labelled as cRPGs, some, or at least some of the games you enjoy, are surprisingly similar, for instance, they have a complex character building, enemies to kill, level progression, resource management, etc. AoD has all that in spades. That is why I think your supposed uninterested talk about matter of taste is insincere and pure rationalization. The features that make a game rewarding for a combatfag or a storyfag are objective, you can pinpoint them, and AoD has both of them.

It certainly has been interesting observing the reaction to my post. There certainly are some small-minded people on this forum, I have learned that this past week. I do think that running through AoD to completion half a dozen times does qualify my opinion on the game as valid. I also think that I have played the game "enough".

Small-minded people tend to call people who strongly disagree with them small-minded. I don’t care how many times you played AoD. You could have played the game a million times. This is a discussion about game design and features we should expect in cRPGs. Do you think that you are the first do express this type of criticisms in this forum? We have these discussions at least twenty times. This topic was analyzed to death. This controversial topic involves general beliefs about what is the proper of character building, expectations about what kind of gameplay is worthy, good habits and bad habits acquired from past cRPGs, etc. This is basically a philosophical discussion. I could simply repost gigantic walls of text to prove my point or write a paper about it, but I don’t think you are worth the trouble. You sounds like another player with a closed mind and superficial beliefs about game design.

 

[Excidium II]

Jasede, why do you keep talking trash about AoD without knowing anything about the game?

(a) Because AoD was made by a Codexer dude. Since he is not special like other obscure celebrity devs, his game sucks.

(b) Because I think that AoD intended to be a FO clone made by a bastard that doesn’t get what made FO special. Vault Dweller is like Sawyer trying to imitate BG2.

(c) Because Vault Dweller is a cold rational bastard that doesn’t allow fun. He doesn’t like animu shit, console Japanese stuff like Dark Souls and Final Fantasy, and colorful broken games like BG2.

(d) Because he demolished my posts in the past and the wounds in my butt will never heal. I’m too petty to get past that. It hurts muh feelings too much.

Let’s see. (a) is obviously incorrect, since having pedigree has nothing to do with being good or not. (b) is also incorrect, for he never promised or had the intention of making a FO clone, even though it was one of the main inspirations and it is regularly compared to it by reviewers. VD was also heavily influenced by many different games such as Prelude to Darkness, Realms of Arkania 2 and Darklands. In fact, I would dare to say that AoD is better than FO. It has all the cool stuff that made it great, without the weak parts. (c) is retarded and reveals a conception of irrationalism that requires justification. Any person who likes Japanese garbage but doesn’t enjoy AoD deserves some serious bitch slapping because he is not right in the head. (d) is understandable since we are all imperfect human beings, but is not good enough.

How does this one breathe with VD's dick on his throat 24/7?

 

[Delterius]

I do think that running through AoD to completion half a dozen times

Sorry, the cutoff point is 7 times.

 

[an Administrator]

One of the most recent GOG reviews: https://af.gog.com/game/the_age_of_decadence?as=1649904300


This is a typical review written by imbecile who most likely doesn't know what the word "literally" means and when it should be used. If however he really was reloading a single fight for several hours then he's an even bigger idiot. Most likely he won't even try Dungeon Rats even though it will have difficulty settings (due to his butthurtness).

Actually, this "imbecile" is pretty close to the mark. AoD is a really shitty game that really, when it boils down to it, is a choose-your-own-adventure simulator with some combat thrown in for kicks. AoD gives you the illusion of building a character with skill points, but, in the end, in order to succeed at the game, you cannot build a balanced character, you have to game the system and overload your skill points in one stat category (Combat / Social) or another, really skewing the overall game experience. The combat itself is unbalanced, even with a character with a strong combat build. The game is just poorly-designed. Dungeon Rats suffers inherits the same combat design issues.

BLASPHEMY!
AoD cult shall burn you on a stick!

 

[Lurker King]

How does this one breathe with VD's dick on his throat 24/7?

So you are going to resort to name calling now? How old are you, twelve? Do you like PoE or The White March? Ok, so how do you breathe with Sawyer's dick on your throat 24/7?

If you think the game is bad, try to present arguments to sustain your point, you know, like someone who actually knows what he is talking about. Otherwise you can just keep your mouth shut like a casual. I know this is really difficult for you because you think that living inside this forum makes you special, but you should try. It would be great.

 

[an Administrator]

I think that AoD intended to be a FO clone

I would dare to say that AoD is better than FO

Let's be fair for a moment, AoD is very different from Fallout. Not even close to a 'clone'. It's not even isometric!

 

[Cadmus]

How does this one breathe with VD's dick on his throat 24/7?

So you are going to resort to name calling now? How old are you, twelve? Do you like PoE or The White March? Ok, so how do you breathe with Sawyer's dick on your throat 24/7?

If you think the game is bad, try to present arguments to sustain your point, you know, like someone who actually knows what he is talking about. Otherwise you can just keep your mouth shut like a causal. I know this is really difficult for you because you think that living inside this forum makes you special, but you should try. It would be great.

LOL ITS CYOA BECAUS DIEALOG

 

[Excidium II]

How does this one breathe with VD's dick on his throat 24/7?

So you are going to resort to name calling now? How old are you, twelve? Do you like PoE or The White March? Ok, so how do you breathe with Sawyer's dick on your throat 24/7?

If you think the game is bad, try to present arguments to sustain your point, you know, like someone who actually knows what he is talking about. Otherwise you can just keep your mouth shut like a causal. I know this is really difficult for you because you think that living inside this forum makes you special, but you should try. It would be great.

why would I try to argue about AoD with you of all people lmao

Suffice to say that if you think VD's design school is good then you have a fundamentally flawed understanding of RPGs and how CRPGs are meant to emulate them in computer format.

 

[Lurker King]

Suffice to say that if you think VD's design school is good then you have a fundamentally flawed understanding of RPGs and how CRPGs are meant to emulate them in computer format.

Of course! Why I didn't think that before? You are the God of truth. You know everything. I should simply accept your arbitrary opinion without any arguments at all. Keep repeating the same thing over and over to people who disagree with you. It sounds so convincing and productive.

 

[Excidium II]

How does this one breathe with VD's dick on his throat 24/7?

So you are going to resort to name calling now? How old are you, twelve? Do you like PoE or The White March? Ok, so how do you breathe with Sawyer's dick on your throat 24/7?

If you think the game is bad, try to present arguments to sustain your point, you know, like someone who actually knows what he is talking about. Otherwise you can just keep your mouth shut like a causal. I know this is really difficult for you because you think that living inside this forum makes you special, but you should try. It would be great.

LOL ITS CYOA BECAUS DIEALOG

Well it is a CYOA but it doesn't really affect it's RPGness other than it being a very amateur/simple way to go about things. Player agency through scripting brute force.

 

[Cadmus]

How does this one breathe with VD's dick on his throat 24/7?

So you are going to resort to name calling now? How old are you, twelve? Do you like PoE or The White March? Ok, so how do you breathe with Sawyer's dick on your throat 24/7?

If you think the game is bad, try to present arguments to sustain your point, you know, like someone who actually knows what he is talking about. Otherwise you can just keep your mouth shut like a causal. I know this is really difficult for you because you think that living inside this forum makes you special, but you should try. It would be great.

LOL ITS CYOA BECAUS DIEALOG

Well it is a CYOA but it doesn't really affect it's RPGness other than it being a very amateur/simple way to go about things. Player agency through scripting brute force.

I don't really follow all the retarded arguments leveled against AoD so I don't know what the problem with its RPGness is but the CYOA complaints are fucking retarded. I haven't seen a single good argument as to why is a strongly branching story at some point considered a CYOA instead of a good branching story.

Secondly, I don't give a shit what an RPGness to you is or what the fucktards sitting around a table and pretending to be a sir knight Gandalf do to get themselves off, this is a computer game.

 

[Excidium II]

It's a computer game with the purpose of simulating fucktards sitting around a table and pretending to be a sir knight Gandalf to get themselves off.

 

[HoboForEternity]

Sorry, that sounds like a cult. I'm out.

and nothing value was lost

 

[Lurker King]

I don't really follow all the retarded arguments leveled against AoD so I don't know what the problem with its RPGness is but the CYOA complaints are fucking retarded. I haven't seen a single good argument as to why is a strongly branching story at some point considered a CYOA instead of a good branching story.

Secondly, I don't give a shit what an RPGness to you is or what the fucktards sitting around a table and pretending to be a sir knight Gandalf do to get themselves off, this is a computer game.

What arguments, Cadmus? He just repeat a couple lines other people say about AoD, he doesn't have any arguments. A guy that thinks that Alpha Turd is a good cRPG and still repeat trash people talk about AoD is completely retarded and deserves no attention. Just put him on ignore.

 

[Ninjerk]

We need a white knight rating for you-know-who ^^^^^^

 

[Lurker King]

 

[HoboForEternity]

i successfully convinced another one of my steam friend to buy AoD

that's 3 now if i don not count those who bought or did not buy it based on my topics on gamefaqs.