[Poll] What are the two most important things to you in a computer roleplaying game?

[Butter]

You have an Iron Tower avatar, clown. They literally do C&C + combat.

AoD is more C&C + exploration. Combat is secondary, you can even play without ever fighting.

This is true, but quite a bit of effort went into the combat system. They could have gotten away with something much worse and simply said "It's a story-based game, don't worry if the gameplay sucks." Combat-oriented AoD playthroughs are a lot more satisfying than pacifist playthroughs.

 

[rusty_shackleford]

+ exploration

clicking dialogue choices is not exploration

 

[LarryTyphoid]

It always surprises me how many votes combat receives in poll such as these. Most of the best RPGs have shitty combat, especially the 90s isometric games that the Codex generally favors. Older games such as Wizardry might have decent combat but it's usually one of the weaker aspects. It's not like anyone plays Wizardry for the combat alone. Maybe it's coming from fans of games like Pathfinder, which have no redeeming aspects aside from the combat.

 

[rusty_shackleford]

It always surprises me how many votes combat receives in poll such as these. Most of the best RPGs have shitty combat, especially the 90s isometric games that the Codex generally favors. Older games such as Wizardry might have decent combat but it's usually one of the weaker aspects. It's not like anyone plays Wizardry for the combat alone. Maybe it's coming from fans of games like Pathfinder, which have no redeeming aspects aside from the combat.

exploration was added later or else it would be #2

 

[Pink Eye]

Combat is secondary

Completely disagree. Some of the story paths you can take in the game are combat oriented: Imperial Guard, Mercenary Murder Hobo, Assassin, etc. The beauty of Age of Decadence lies in the fact that every run is different in how you experience the game. Imperial Guard has you going up against exciting fights, culminating in an epic stand off where you repel an advancing enemy invasion. Assassin doesn't have to be played like this, but you can just fight your marks - that's what I did against the sister assassins.

This is what makes the game stand out from others.

 

[Ismaul]

+ exploration

clicking dialogue choices is not exploration

I mean what was talked about earlier: discovery.

All AoD is built on uncovering artifacts and piecing together what happened in the past, while at the same time figuring out current political machinations.

Combat is secondary to that.

 

[Ismaul]

It always surprises me how many votes combat receives in poll such as these. Most of the best RPGs have shitty combat, especially the 90s isometric games that the Codex generally favors. Older games such as Wizardry might have decent combat but it's usually one of the weaker aspects. It's not like anyone plays Wizardry for the combat alone. Maybe it's coming from fans of games like Pathfinder, which have no redeeming aspects aside from the combat.

exploration was added later or else it would be #2

It was added very early, almost no votes in.

Also, C&C has come to define RPGs for many here. There is no way combat and exploration would top the poll while leaving C&C behind.

 

[rusty_shackleford]

It was added very early, almost no votes in.

It wasn't there when I voted and a bunch of votes were already in.

 

[Ismaul]

It was added very early, almost no votes in.

It wasn't there when I voted and a bunch of votes were already in.

It was there when I voted, and there were around 5-7 votes for C&C and Combat, while the others sat between 0-3.

 

[Ismaul]

rusty_shackleford always going for the easy target to deflect from the harder one, eh?

The fact that exploration wasn't in at the very start doesn't change the fact that C&C > exploration for many when talking about RPGs.

Also, 45mins after creation of the thread:

I added an exploration option. I could reset the votes, but I think it's still early enough not to have to.

 

[Cryomancer]

Spells. Spells are by far the most important thing in any RPG. Just like guns in an FPS. If spells sucks in a RPG, is awful like if guns sucks in a FPS.

* OBviously I'm not talking about non magical games like M&B

 

[Harthwain]

Character creation and reactivity. Both go hand-in-hand. You make a character and what kind of character you make ought to make an impact on what you can or can't do. And, ideally, allow for different experience per playthrough (assuming character creation is good enough to provide significant change how the game is played).

 

[NecroLord]

Character creation and combat system.
However,I am also partial towards presentation,exploration and stellar music score(Arcanum and Deus Ex for example). Arcanum does not have the most robust combat system,but it excels in other areas.

 

[Dadd]

Necromancy and jiggle physics

 

[Sunri]

Romance

 

[Grunker]

bunch of storyfags

 

[Silverfish]

Character creation and reactivity. Both go hand-in-hand. You make a character and what kind of character you make ought to make an impact on what you can or can't do. And, ideally, allow for different experience per playthrough (assuming character creation is good enough to provide significant change how the game is played).

Same. I dig being able to make any retarded idea that comes to mind and seeing how it plays out. This is the same reason I tend to favor shorter games.

 

[Daedalos]

Disgusting combatfags on codex, no surprise.
You want C&C and combat? Well that makes no fucking sense lol.

STORY is paramount.

The reason why you guys never recognize a good RPG when ya thrown one in yo face.

You have an Iron Tower avatar, clown. They literally do C&C + combat.

No, Colony Ship does all of the options, actually. Story and writing being the best part of their games, not the combat.
You lose.

 

[Pink Eye]

jiggle physics

As of recent memory. Dungeon of Naheulbeuk is the only cRPG that I played that featured jiggly jiggles. Backpacks doing jiggling is so cute!

 

[Serus]

Reactivity, believability/authenticity, and C&C

What "reactivity and C&C" has to do with "believability/authenticity?" You can have a very believable gameworld and story that is linear and straightforward and you can also have C&C that don't make any sense and make it unbelievable. There are more than one category cramped into one answer in your poll. No wonder so many people voted for it. I don't know Crispy if you did this on purpose to screw the results or out of ignorance but it makes the poll even less worthy than it would be normally (not much, as all such polls).



Also where is KC2 option? "Whether there are many women* with big tits present?"
*or men

 

[Blutwurstritter]

Good combat is a big plus but I never thought of it as genre defining trait when it comes to rpgs. Ego shooters usually have better gameplay when it comes to first person and strategy games have better gameplay when it comes to turn based or real time stuff. So what makes rpg's stand out compared to those? I don't think its the combat. I expect from a rpg a decent story line coupled with exploration and some form of character development. And more varied game play that may break out of the strict gameplay pattern that other genres often have.

 

[Üstad]

AoD is more C&C + exploration. Combat is secondary, you can even play without ever fighting.

Combat is not secondary non-combat playstyle is secondary, it's C&C+combat game, it has almost nothing to do with exploration.

 

[Darth Canoli]

I voted the first two (Turn-Based only, Real-Time crap don't cut it) because that's what's most important and most difficult to pull off.

Still, last two are important as well.

• Reactivity, believability/authenticity, and C&C
• Exploration and a varied, interesting game world

Good exploration, like in Might & Magic III: Isles of Terra is also important, I'll add great sound effects and music into that category (Exploration & Immersion).
A nice setting enhance the experience, like PST's or Dark Sun's ones.

As for the last one, Authenticity & believability is the most important as it could ruin an otherwise good game for me or at least turn it into a far lesser experience, then C&C and reactivity.

A perfect cRPG would do all four: Great Tactical TB combat, Deep and meaningful character creation and development, Exploration & Immersion and Reactivity, authenticity & C&C.

But it doesn't have to succeed on all four to be a great game.
On the other hand, fucking exploration up, like making it a walking simulator with too much backtracking and tedious traveling and/or too many containers to open for no reason (just put more loot in 4 times less containers) can ruin an otherwise decent game.

 

[Jasede]

Interesting. I also voted for the first two.

But I'll enjoy a story game if the story is excellent (incredibly rare) and I don't value C&C as much as exploration. I also hate cosmetic C&C where only dialogue changes. I want to be locked out of quests and have plot characters die.

 

[NecroLord]

jiggle physics

As of recent memory. Dungeon of Naheulbeuk is the only cRPG that I played that featured jiggly jiggles. Backpacks doing jiggling is so cute!

VTMB also has jiggle.