Follow along with the video below to see how to install our site as a web app on your home screen.
Note: This feature may not be available in some browsers.
Welcome to rpgcodex.net, a site dedicated to discussing computer based role-playing games in a free and open fashion. We're less strict than other forums, but please refer to the rules.
"This message is awaiting moderator approval": All new users must pass through our moderation queue before they will be able to post normally. Until your account has "passed" your posts will only be visible to yourself (and moderators) until they are approved. Give us a week to get around to approving / deleting / ignoring your mundane opinion on crap before hassling us about it. Once you have passed the moderation period (think of it as a test), you will be able to post normally, just like all the other retards.
If anything I think the older Wasteland 2 UI (which was very rough and unfinished, but conceptually sound) was probably too close to Fallout's. The new UI is definitely more modern, but I appreciate the more efficient use of screen space in the new one. I can understand why someone would prefer the old one however.
The next update to the Wasteland 2 beta will be another sizeable ones. We are adding more content in the form of the missile silo map, an interesting location that is set to challenge your problem-solving skills. Here is a short description from Jeremy Kopman, the level designer on Silo. “Slashed across eastern Arizona is a deep, winding canyon that provides the only access to a vast, resource-rich valley. As if traversing the labyrinthine paths – full of vicious animals and sociopathic raiders – wasn’t hard enough, the area is controlled by a fanatical branch of the Servants of the Mushroom Cloud. These monks worship Titan, bringer of death by the Great Glow… and a live ICBM with a nuclear warhead. Too bad braving this deathtrap is your only way to reach your next mission target: Damonta.”
Along with the new area, we’ll be releasing new AI types (big booms coming) and behaviors for more challenging combat, replacing the previous merchant screen with a brand-new one – designed in part based on community feedback – and add a new logbook interface. It will also include a reworking of the Leadership skill which will make its effects much more noticeable. And of course, the update will come with a large list of bug fixes and additional polish.
On a side note, we’ve received the first Mike Stackpole / Nathan Long novella and are in the process of reviewing it. Great news for those who have been patiently waiting for its release!
How can someone say that one in the left is aesthetically better than the one on the right?
Sure the one on the right can be made better with some tweaks but the one on the left is just some boxes with words.
The current dialog interface lacks heft and makes it feel like dialog is just something that's in your way of playing the game. The one on the right and the Fallout dialog interface give dialog a solid feeling so it feels like it's something important to do.
Alternatively, wait a day or two to read a real review, currently being finished - by me. (the result will be the same)
/
Nice to see Alec is lying through his hyped teeth and plays a game that exists only in his head - so i dont have to cover that angle. Another hype point for RPS.
A skeuomorph /ˈskjuːəmɔrf/ is a derivative object that retains ornamental design cues from structures that were necessary in the original. Examples include pottery embellished with imitation rivets reminiscent of similar pots made of metal and a software calendar that imitates the appearance of binding on a paper desk calendar.
Yeah, but unless you're speedreading you aren't moving your eyes that frequently. It takes some time to read one guy's dialogue, then the other guy speaks his bit, then back to the first...you make more eye movement when you are skimming over the inventory.
A skeuomorph /ˈskjuːəmɔrf/ is a derivative object that retains ornamental design cues from structures that were necessary in the original. Examples include pottery embellished with imitation rivets reminiscent of similar pots made of metal and a software calendar that imitates the appearance of binding on a paper desk calendar.
A skeuomorphic UI is one that looks like real-world objects, the idea being that seeing UI that looks like things the user interacts with in real life will make it familiar and intuitive (and less intimidating). It's a rather... controversial design philosophy these days. Apple's last chief iOS guy was fond of it and it ended up in a lot of their apps (fake leather, aluminum, and wood all over the place) but he's gone now and even they've mostly abandoned it.
The current dialog interface lacks heft and makes it feel like dialog is just something that's in your way of playing the game. The one on the right and the Fallout dialog interface give dialog a solid feeling so it feels like it's something important to do.
To be honest, I haven't picked up on any UI issues it works.. and I know what I'm clicking on. I don't care about having to look down at keywords then text. Full sentences are a nice addition. It's just a ui.
The current dialog interface lacks heft and makes it feel like dialog is just something that's in your way of playing the game. The one on the right and the Fallout dialog interface give dialog a solid feeling so it feels like it's something important to do.
Very well put.
An embelished interface puts emphasis on the role that dialogue has in the game. Fargo boasted, Thousands of pages of stuff. That’s only thousands of pages of changes – y’know, what happens if you talk to this person or that person, or go into this state, or that state; that’s were all the writing goes.
Why the dialogue interface should not deserve the love and attention to detail like the main interface and the inventory interface (with its contless reiterations) if dialogue has a such important role in the game?
The current dialog interface lacks heft and makes it feel like dialog is just something that's in your way of playing the game. The one on the right and the Fallout dialog interface give dialog a solid feeling so it feels like it's something important to do.
I just visited Atchinson in RN and got ALL the options and ALL choices on how to solve the big problem.
And then, after i already agreed to do three - four different ones - i also could remind him that his bombs almost killed his daughter - which made him just give up on the fight and surrender. (which is completely retarded, insulting option on its own merits, btw)
wanted to go back to Topeekan side, to see what happens - but infinite loading bug.
(and probably, you can simply choose to do any one of those options - in another example of wasteland 2 gameplay - have it all and the kitchen sink!!! school of design)
Although, if thinking reasonably about this, one would expect this is how things work because its a beta and those kinds of C&C in dialogues are just left completely open, for the time being.
(ive ran into several examples where a character says a red coded topic - but cannot answer anything about it if you then type it - so its all still buggy and unfinished)
-
btw, im much more annoyed by the inventory and character screen of the Ui. Amazingly... they managed to devolve it from previous iteration, in utility and efficiency.
(besides the obvious positive effects gained from icons and grid inventory)
Does anyone know if it's possible to download the Wasteland 2 novellas when the game is released? I'd like to read them, but I'm not really interested in dropping 60 bones in a beta.
Does anyone know if it's possible to download the Wasteland 2 novellas when the game is released? I'd like to read them, but I'm not really interested in dropping 60 bones in a beta.
Does anyone know if it's possible to download the Wasteland 2 novellas when the game is released? I'd like to read them, but I'm not really interested in dropping 60 bones in a beta.
I haven't got a Ranger Center account because I didn't backed its Kickstarter.
I couldn't back it because I didn't had any clue of its existence (I was a stupid console gamer )
I think I'll buy the collector's edition in its official site.
Improvements over the previous alpha version are what you would expect - though not those you wished for.
Basically, the rig we saw last time has been upgraded into a beta.
All features seem to be in, more or less, all main mechanics and visuals including the Ui - which are yet to be iterated upon but not changed significantly.
The combat is mostly done, dialogue functions as well as it can, exploration and other features are ... as they are. In.
The main thing is that its all there and mostly working - for the first time.
It is much more stable, although it has bugs - as befitting a beta version. The old infinite loading bugs are mostly gone - but the game still tends to do it. - the further you go, - the longer the loading becomes - as a general rule.
Sometimes loading still gets stuck. More often the more you advance through the game. The old trick of loading auto save and then loading another save from the game still tends to work. Mostly. Otherwise, get relaxed and wait between 5 and 10 minutes for the game to load.
Or kill it and restart.
There are some new bugs, a few coming from Ui which forces you to manually kill the game process through task manager - but bugs are not the main problem of the Ui.
Gameplay hasn't been touched much or at all, in most of the game content. Some new changes to some skills have been made. Few good, few worse.
TL;DR:
There is no Tl;dr version. Practice brains.
Character creation:
I was playing with Character creation screen and then it kinda just downed on me - attributes in W2 are actually made, or designed for single player game - mechanically.
In this kind of game, a party game with so many team members - free selection of skills like this cannot work in some great, engaging way at all.
It is only that good, only works in such a great way - in single player RPGs.
Party based games optimal mechanical setup seems to be one with class builds mechanics.
And if you look at the scope and numbers of W2 attributes and skills - they do look as if they are made for a single player RPG of this kind.
Its a Fallout with a party of seven.
-EDIT- THIS IS NOT A COMPLIMENT!
- and these two pics are cheap crap. aimed at "pleasing" the "fallout crowd" - while the game works to twist everything good about Fallouts into another mass market drivel.
ATTRIBUTES
Intelligence
Previously, intelligence limited how many skill points you can invest into Surgeon skill. Dont see any such limits for any other attributes and skills in this current beta.
In this new version, the amount of points that have to be invested into Intelligence to produce specific amounts of Skill Points (survival points) later on - which is Intelligence main effect, goes like this:
Intelligence 1, and 2, - two Survival points per level up, Int 3, 4, 5 – gives 3 survival points per level up, Int.6,7,8 - 4 SP, Int 9 and 10 - 5 SP.
- i dont see what 10 Int gives over 9, but this setup largely solves problems with attribute system and Int importance from Alpha version of the game - which makes the whole character creation better.
Now, the strongest intelligence benefit require more points to be spent - which balances the equations, - and most importantly, allows players to create several different builds that all work in the game. And work naturally.
Coordination
- was previously the most important attribute for any build. Not any more.
Though its still a very useful attribute for ranged weapon builds – you dont have to rely on it anymore, not even for such builds, or character types.
Awareness
- isnt needed above six at the most, while 4 is more then enough - even for melee builds. You can make viable builds with high Awareness but low Coordination,
But it would be nice if it had a few more gameplay uses, especially for melee builds.
* My melee guy with 1 Int advances in levels and skills just fine for the game as it is now. Others just have even more of Survival Points to spend.
Speed
- its main effect of increasing how far you can run in one turn isnt that useful or needed in this game. Better if you stay in place and shoot at incoming enemies. It has other values in increasing the initiative – and influencing AP amounts.
Melee fighters dont need it that much since even with low speed you can move enough.
But it becomes more valuable if you go for low Coordination builds.
Strength
- usually does not need not more then 3-4 points for ranged weapons builds. And it isnt needed for Melee builds more then that either. However, if you want to create a viable build based on high strength combinations - there are several such builds possible - which are playable.
High-low APs, high-low Luck, high-low Int variations, for example - with some nice diverse effects in gameplay. (which are unfortunately largely, heavily undermined by how easy it all is).
Luck
- gives you one AP extra and increases evasion a little bit - not a big deal. Not worthy of more then 4 points at the most.
(or 5 + the rabbit foot)
Investing over 6 doesnt seem to make any sense or use at all. Scotchmo has 10 and i had Pills with 8 Luck and nothing visible was happening except they sometimes get one more lonely AP... which is mostly useless for them anyway. And it didnt even happen more often. (Suggestion, - Luck gives more APs at higher levels,... and a few more ill keep to myself)
Still, it has a use, and if the combat was tougher, its effect on evasion and critical chances would become much more valuable.
Character Builds
I just tried and i made high Str-Speed - low Coordination-Awareness builds, with different versions for luck and intelligence. All would play - if you would use their specific strengths and weaknesses correctly - if the game allowed you to have environment that supports it and makes it actually useful... (more positive thoughts about that further down the review...)
+ You can make an average Joe, that works because of average capabilities in his main stats - not despite them.
+ You can do the same for ranged weapons and melee weapons builds.
+ You can create a Highly intelligent but physically weak character that works because of these specific stats - not despite them.
+ Or the usual High Physique, lower Int joe - that has his own advantages and disadvantages.
(All this is of course negatively affected and distorted because of huge amounts of XP, random encounters loot and insane leveling up rhythm)
So, surprisingly... the character creation attributes system... is great. Only some small details could be added in a few spots, but generally... i cant find a single thing on it i would drastically change, currently.
What is missing is the game around it.
The content that would make it all actively more valuable as consideration and as active part of gameplay.
While being re-written for a more discerning, bit older audience, as it is supposedly meant to be.
Not just in its prose, but in its scenarios. (more on that along the way)
XP
And then...i realized another thing.
I couldn't believe i didn't notice it before now.... I guess i was more concentrated on the game itself, its many, many bugs of all kinds, etc. - so i didnt even think about that XP counter thing kept happily chirping and counting at the end of each combat encounter.
I guess im a genius.
The thing is, if you kill five raiders - who give 50 xp each = the total amount tally of XP points will be 250 xp.
- as the xp counter dutifully shows. Right? - Right.
BUT... instead of 250 XP being split between party members - EACH ranger gets 250 XP - individually.
Which, times five, six or full party of seven, gives ... 1250 xp, 1500 xp, or 1750 xp points for that single encounter.
So... in addition to there being too few skills for such a large party game, in addition of game being combat heavy, in addition to there not being enough -or any- real different options inside most of the locations in this beta... The game gives the players up to seven times (per companion) as much xp points as you actually earn per encounter, mission, quest or accomplishment.
That must be some kind of a record.
One would hope they did so only because beta... did they? Surely they wouldn't think this is the way XP will be counted in the final release, right? Haha.. ah, im talking crazy shit here, aren't i? hah!
Ui
- Is... ungainly. Thats the first word that came to my mind.
The change from list to real inventory and icons is great. The way it works is not.
+ Backpack from precious beta allowed me to see all my character inventories - at one click. And easily exchange items between them.
Now i have to click on each and every character to see what hes got.
6 or 7 clicks instead of one or two - just to open all inventories.
Worse... character screen for some reason has the paper doll and equipped items in it -
While inventory-backpack does not change to the character selected in the character screen, and vice-versa.
Which means i have to click two separate times to see what one character is wearing and what he has in his inventory.
And more double clicks for all other other characters.... 7 x 2 = 14 clicks to see what each character has in his inventory and what he has equipped.
Opening backpack or character screen does not change the selected character in the main Ui hotbar.... ffs...!!
When i open the character screen i dont see everything at a glance. I have to tab around and scroll too. With loads of free screen space outside - empty.
Instead of that horrible, ineffective mess, do this:
Inventory.
When you click on any ranger here - the whole inventory and character doll changes - together with the Ui hotbar.
One click does everything. And i would still have those backpacks from the alpha if possible, as an additional ease of use feature.
Character screen.
This - is a character screen. One click sees ALL.
Oh yeah, that lower left cool placeholder? Perfect for ranger portraits.
Game ui.
-
NARRATIVE AND LOCATIONS
Ranger Citadel:
As the opening of the game - it failsat logic and coherence of its own narrative. Fails at establishing some kind of story that will suck the player in.
In fact - it does the opposite.
General Vargas tells you - you are teh only one who can go out and find out what happened with Ace and their secret project of fixing radio towers.
- Right after he sends a group of other Rangers back inside the Citadel - while there are few more digging Ace grave - and several more just loitering down near the entrance.
- AND MANY MORE IN THE CITADEL.
The opening of the game requires you - the player, to shut down your brain in order to just go along with it.
The notions of "meh, its only a vidya gaem", - and - "yeah, yeah...whatever... wheres the shootan" - are effects this intro creates for the players.
Nobody can see that setup as anything but some quick excuse, just to get the game going.
The starting premise is imagined and executed poorly - in the way that discredits its own narrative.
(Also, the new trader mentions gen. Patton and then brazenly insults him by accusing him of being a strategist. A strategist!? ... what has general Patton done to you Inxile to insult him so? Are you not aware he will kick your asses skyhigh next time he reincarnates? And he should. The man was a genius TACTICIAN! Who was famous for his long, almost epic disagreements with one strategist - who was his boss? )
...and you do this in a game thats supposed to be... tactical?
:shakes head sadly:
The World:
As you step out of the Citadel for the first time, you are given the main mission (which is supposedly a bit urgent - only not), and the world map to explore. Naturally, since there isnt anything rally forcing you to do the Radio Tower quest, you go loitering and malingering around.
We all know about too many cashes of loot and too many Oasis. It seems a few "secret" loot caches (that you memorize first time and then always search directly for in any future playthrough) - were removed. But only two or three ... i think. If even that.
The rest are in the same positions as in previous Alpha version of the game, but the loot in them has been rearranged.
Now i find a single radiation suit, instead of seven in that specific one. (Solution: make them random. Have them randomize positions every-time the player starts new game. Randomize the loot in them - and make several appear only with higher Outdoorsman skill. Even if its a small difference it will have a huge effect on how empty and engaging the world map is now. Do the same with Oasis - remove 50% of them.)
Yeah,... dont mention it.
Random Encounters:
Are currently the main representative of Wasteland 2 combat. For the whole of the game.
Random encounters maps and locations have been updated and now have more versions in the rooster.
It is still one bigger map with several smaller areas cut off from others and covered with fog of war.
There are two or three such big maps whose small parts are used for random encounter maps - but that in itself is not that big of a problem - the real problem is that doesnt change anything but the visuals.
Getting stuck with one character at some specific place, or not having a line of sight to an enemy despite clear visibility, or not being able to take cover or even move into some specific squares are usual bug features of these events too but, this is a beta of the game.
Such buggies are to be expected.
None of them completely freezes the game or makes you restart the game.
But random encounters suck so much that they create this very negative reaction and opinions about combat and its very mechanics.
Why do they suck so much?
Because;
1. You always start them with all your rangers bunched up together - and enemies right next to you. This directly and very obviously lowers the importance of several big important skills and even some attributes.
Weapon skills dont need to be raised above 3 or 4 for the whole Beta
Speed - which gives greater distance reach - important for melee fighters - doesn't matter since everyone are close by.
Since all of this is insanely easy - it makes Leadership skill a dump skill - since a few allies reacting on their own are the only thing that spices up the combat from complete repetitiveness.
The worse that happens is a ranged er.. ranger sometimes, rarely, runs toward the enemy - if he/she doesn't have a line of sight (which is bugged), if a melee fighter runs towards enemy - its a good thing. usually, my allies clean most of the enemies easily.
2. The new maps are certainly much better then that basic rigs from ALPHA, but all they bring is new look. They do not create any difference in combat. Its your team, all bunched up, with enemies right next to you or around you. Its always, always the same thing.
3. The very basic Ai - when applied to this sort of basic setup for a combat encounter - creates an overwhelming feeling of horrible, uninspired combat altogether, whose mechanics dont really matter. Now add the rest of the bad effects numbered here on top.
Because they are so numerous - they produce rivers and floods of weapons, items, medicine and other things for the player.
And way, way...waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay too many XP points.
- (Solution: ... i have it but im not telling you. I should get payed for this. Some are but i dont see them doing this.)
(And no... its not that, its better than those basic things that are now appearing in your head.)
Destructible cover?
In combat so far - all random encounters, Ag center, Highpool, infected places, wreckers crew base and a few fights in RN, - i only blew up some small boxes, usually one per combat - and you cant even aim at them yourself.
You aim at the enemy crouching behind (with much lowered to hit chance) - and then bullets just kinda hit the box. Every time - so far, despite lower chance to hit the enemy...i guess.
Effect on combat - currently minimal. (maybe it will look better and mean more in tougher, more complicated fights...)
With all that in mind, follow me as i exit the Citadel and immediately go the other way.
The places that are available before you do the Radio Tower are Rail Nomads, Level Lupe mine, ... and... dozens and dozens of random encounters. Thats it.
Level Lupe mine appears through a radio call from the Citadel, alerting you there is some trouble - triggered when you come close to the location on the World map.
For all the horrible faults of this small location (explained and described in painful details bellow) - i would think this is a sign of how Inxile tends to populate the world map and have your team doing some actual WASTELAND RANGERS - PolICE - stuff.
Hopefully, they will do it in a completely different way than this horrible little map does, in the future. Otherwise all rangers teams will be running away from any such event.
And then, that means: after just going from Ranger Citadel straight to Level Lupe mines (horribly designed small mission-location - even discounting some larger bugs that are now reported) - then from there back to Ranger Citadel to trade - and then going more or less straight to Rail Nomads - results in this:
By the time i got to Radio tower small location (a circle corridor area with every single relevant thing, item or small cave marked with lights or explained, force fed to you by the game - regardless of your actions) - i was two levels stronger, like this:
and Scotchmo, still fresh
lets add some toaster repair - i have survival points to burn
By the time i stepped inside AG center i was like this:
You tell me where to spend those points.
Radio Tower:
A very small and completely linear corridor map, that is designed like a small ring...- as if that makes any difference..- where every single little clue about the main quest and any immediate tasks is FORCE FED to the player by the game.
You dont need to use any skills to figure out anything. You dont even need to click onto something yourself .
(damn was Fallout a great game, wasnt it? whoops your ass upside down W2),
The game writes everything for you, pushes everything in your face. The blood on the (dance) floor, the descriptions of what happened and even puts small fuckin glowing lights above anything that it wants you to click - which fuckin includes the Aces badge in the "bushes" and the cave where MAIN QUEST stuff is.
Wasteland 2 exploration...
- will damage your children brains.
In addition, the radio tower is placed inside a ring of rocks or, inside some hills that surround it. And i thought Inxile consulted like, scientists and like, army veterans?
What you do as a player? Go through the corridor, click when prompted while game explains and writes everything down for you, get the items, get a small bonus transmission of weird shit as a flavor to the narrative - and go away.
Thats it.
None of it is dependent on any of your skills - except two small and inconsequential cosmetic things. One toaster and one item inside a synth - that you can get back and get even if you dont have the most basic skills for it right at that moment - which is doubtful.
- BN says you can talk those bandits there to join with Rangers, depending on how you handle them - which is a nice thing. Although it wont matter much for the Citadel or Rangers - at least in this beta. Whether it will influence anything later on - i have no idea but i choose to highly doubt it considering the design shown so far.
So, until proven otherwise - ill count that as another empty, cosmetic "option" that isnt doing anything real.
AG Center:
The most uninspired, overlong, boring, linear, uninspired location in the current game. Designed by you know who, MC of A.
(not really but, thats how its widely known)
A huge location - dungeon, dwarfing even some parts of Athkatla taken all together, its fit for a whole RPG city.
At first sight, it has all the ingredients for it too. Huge underground chambers and levels, some sort of a plot about intentional sabotage, some other forces behind it all... clues into the future gameplay content.
And yet it doesnt present or have any of it.
fixing huge steel doors with safe-cracking skill... dont ask me why...
It is excruciatingly boring by itself. Your whole task and gameplay you perform is to go into each and every section, clean them of any enemies which are ridiculously weak and simplistic. Not even level 1 party would have any trouble with those. And flip all the switches. If there is some more complicated switch - you always, always have three or four ways to do it.
The main villain plot dissolves in few quick moves with the scene with dr. Larsen - the stupid villain - of which you all heard enough. Its still completely the same to the point of him misdirecting you further in the dialogue, but then - when you try to leave - goes, "Nope! im going to attack you five or six heavily armed rangers with my pee shooter - from a pool of blood! paw! paw!"
- while each of rangers can one shot him -
(would be nice if anyone from inxile talked about it and said that is obviously just a placeholder - but, they aint talking, theyre just listening....)
There is a kind of internal AG center mission thread - delivered through the story of various researches and scientists and people trapped in lower levels - yet nothing is done with it - while none of them are in any real danger.
---hostage crises !!-
Monsters dont react to ranger party at all or ever try to harm the researches there. Who are non- NPCs, btw.
You can wait as long as you like. They wont budge, just look at you.
Two others you find in some kind of "immediate danger" - are in no danger whatsoever, the monsters never even try to attack them - you can take your sweet time about it.
Peter in the cage and old geezer shooting rabbits.
You get a hard ass and a smart ass dialogue option with Peter, later on. Because you can – for some reason – lie to him about another researcher dying. (nothing you can stop anyway),
There is absolutely no reason to lie about it – nor there is any consequence to that whole business.
It only changes his motivation to work harder to rebuild the place or - like, not. -So its all nothing but pure cosmetics. Means fuck all to you or your rangers.
(the dialogue you actually pronounce for that option is not written in any sort of believable way either)
The old Geezer gives you some helpful info on surroundings but once you hear it first time, you dont need it anymore. And it isnt anything crucial anyway - you can find or understand everything without him.
Sue – is the one that let the pigeons carry the infected seeds. Nothing you do has any effect on that.
Skinner is someone with whom you can have a few cosmetic options. His son has turned into a pod zombie... and there seems to be something about it, as you can lead him with you and run into his son and then kill him.
You can give him some snake-squeezings and he collapses asleep on the floor.
Most probably nothing but cosmetics.
The solution to the AG center doesnt have anything to do with any of it. And you always end up doing the exact same thing over and over until you clear the infection, and start the radio dish again.
If any of your rangers get infected - it means fuck all. Nothing happens except the ranger has a purple icon over his head.
In previous version you could refuse to clear the infection and refuse to give cure for Matt, which didnt do anything, or had any actual consequences, but that doesnt happen now.
Maybe now it requires just more waiting, or going to Ranger Citadel... which doesnt make it less useless and devoid of any actual consequences. maybe its bugged (will investigate more thanks to saves)
AG CENTER destroyed:
Additionally, if you let Ag center die, the scouting of it in such a destroyed state is even worse and especially horribly done.
You come there to check what happened and to check on their radio antenna (placed nicely inside the building, of course, because thats where radio antennas and dishes work the best.
Outside, you run into Kathy, caught in mutated vines that are killing her.
Doesnt stop Kathy from talking to you for 5 or 10 minutes, cracking jokes and laughing and gossiping while You – the player – cannot do anything about it. Because youre role is not to affect the game.
She doesnt even mention she is about to die horribly – and has no problem going over every fucking key word you click.
- She actually laughs and makes jokes in few of those replies. I kid you not.
Your role is to click when prompted. And facepalm copiously. After youre done – she dies horribly. - Heh!
Whole place is locked off, except the room with the radio dish.
And the stupid villain idiotically waits for you at the fucking entrance, in another handy pool of blood – again!
He just goes through exact same stupid schtick - as he does if you go for AG center first.
And guess what? You get the magical serum to clear infestations – ANYWAY.
(All of this can be easily removed, and transformed into much, much, much more interesting, engaging, tense, and rewarding game -
If the starting plot setup is adjusted, if the opening excuse for the story is corrected into a believable setup and main quest adjusted accordingly - which would improve and enhance the whole game. By orders of magnitude. (ive written one such script in an hour , so others should be able to do it too – because otherwise – youre all brain dead)
But that would require drastic reduction of XP gained from each encounter, further balancing of combat, better Ai, tougher enemies and much more hand crafted combat encounters, ... and several other things. Etc, etc, etc.)
HighPool:
Best combat area and best combat encounter in the whole game main quest so far. (provided some specific conditions are met previously to coming there...-explained in more details further ahead - because purposes.)
Horrible, uninteresting, boring, linear, uninspired, unimaginative part inside the buildings, in tunnels.
Some nice potential for NPCs and something actually interesting to play, in the town itself.
Horrible – help with elections "story" or side quest.
+ Nice options with mortar - didnt kill anyone though, when fired correctly.
Apparently you cant critically fail using demolitions on it to change the targeting - hopefully that bug will be fixed expediently. (and if it was me i would add several different results of firing it - depending on attributes and skills of ranger that is doing it - including blowing up different NPCs on top - because i am that great, yes)
Jessie Belle small sub quest starts interestingly enough, ...
But... the solution for her quest, her dowry... is in the fucking cave inside Highpool and inside a safe... So, it turns out, its nothing more then a fetch quest.
How horrible... i thought its going to go into who knows what direction... something ill discover as i travel, in some other place. Lookin for her father...
But no, its right there, impossible to miss – and hidden behind a safe-crack skill check to make it even more fuckin bland and uninteresting.
+ Good dialogue options with Vulture cries. Very good little surprise since the last time. (suggestion - hide a key word for those dialogue options as yellow one that player must type themselves.)
+ Great little consequence if you steal medicine form hospital. Dont let Dr. change his mind later. (unless a very high smart ass skill check is achieved. - sentence explains you needed medicine to fight to help Highpool - give some medicine back as a bonus to solve the smart ass skill check and get doc to help you with something or trade.. err... providing he can trade or help with anything else?)
- Guy with the lost dog should tell you about it regardless of whether youve seen the dog already or not. Dont want to run guy-dog-guy-dog-guy just to solve it. Allow just saying where the dog is as a solution for less xp. Its right bloody there, not in different location - alternatively, move the dog down into the entrance area - covering somewhere in fear – with option to get it killed by wreckers if you lead it with you too soon.
- The inside of the Highpool is so ... uninspired now, so basic, so poor... that it doesnt have enough money to buy itself some better enemies, rather then poor, pathetic, annoyingly boring cockroaches.
As it is now, it has no place being in the game. It does nothing, brings nothing.
- The supposed options BN mentions, like letting it all blow up - doing only the radio dish - helping choose a mayor... -
It all sucks and doesn't come out of any gameplay. Those are all non-choices. Because the game forces all of them onto you.
Because you have to willfully prevent yourself from doing something sensible and logical - as your main narrative dictates - but do some willful moves - just by your own - PLAYER decision.
Nothing of it comes from gameplay itself, nothing depends on how you performed up to that point - so therefore, it is not part of the game but a meta thing you are doing yourself.
Because the game gives you ALL the options and ALL the skills – which works directly against any sense of an cRPG game, and any sense of there being some actual real options.
HighPool destroyed:
Creates nothing, affects nothing. You still get the mission and exact position of the Wreckers base – and its just a small combat map with horribly easy 6 or 7 Wreckers you can kill without thinking about anything except not running into them directly.
There is no tactical demands of any kind. Youre free to nicely stroll right into the base and take best cover positions before you start shootan – despite Wreckers having few people in high places, including the sniper.
The infected locations and Wreckers crew holdout.
UNFORTUNATELY - they both appear regardless of which place you chose previously or what you "chose" to do.
Which creates another heavy dissonance with supposed purpose of splitting those two places, - creating reactivity BIG example, - by forcing the story into a crude binary fork.
Infected places:
Nothing.
Three small maps with stupid pod people to blow up and some flies to swat.
Spend one magical AG center serum – that you get even if you let AG center get destroyed – to make everything so beautiful and great and awesome...
Level LUpE Mine:
Small location, simple quest. Miners are stuck inside and cant go out because of the dangerous badgers. They have to blow up a part of the mine that caved in - but they dont have the dynamite caps to detonate the dynamite thats already there.
Why or how doesnt come into it. (it just happened like that, mkay?)
Take the caps and go in.
The map is a small corridor going into a circle like a ring. When you come in - the caved in rocks cutting the miners are on your left. Somehow they immediately hear you and some dialogue appears in the air where they are "shouting" - what you need to do, as if youre a retard and it needs to be repeated again - after a guy outside told you the same already. (this happens a lot and various characters fall out of ...character and break the forth wall constantly to tell you what you bloody need to do - most ridiculous example is the chief of Topeekans tribe reminding you to go back to another topeekan to collect a reward for helping that other guy)
So you go through the corridor popping badgers, you come to last area with six of them - which turns out to be right next to the trapped miners part of the cave - that is completely open to badgers.
Miners dont even any weapons. But somehow badgers just didnt kill them all. Because.
You go in there, put the caps on dynamite and while youre team and the miners stand right next to three big stacks of dynamite - that completely obliterates the rocks closing off the exit - in a bloody closed space... and then everyone happily runs out.
- RPG design quiz question: what is the biggest problem with this setup? hint: it aint the dynamite being set off in a closed space right next to everyone.
- you get a brofist for a correct answer!
Rail Nomads:
Another location bloated into gigantic proportions, with very little inside it.
Or, there is something inside it – but its made out of dissonance upon dissonance - currently.
You enter the town through a long corridor. Because thats the way you enter towns, right?
The town is currently a huge empty area where nothing much happens. Few smaller things that can happen are all safely removed from the town proper, and kept in a few smaller sections nicely placed behind some corridors.
The junkies and hobos are all removed from the town proper – and placed into small additional areas accessible through corridors – practically inside the town – but literally unconnected to it or anything inside it.
Because you cant really count on dumb players to discover them themselves anymore.
In the town, you can go into some individual wagons and have some small instances of interactivity or looting, talk to a few NPCs and then visit smaller secluded sections to fight some junkies, frogs and wolves - which are all basically inside the town.
You have the town boss to talk to, so you can get exposition for the current local main quest, and nothing much beside it.
The intro to it - is horrible, hamfisted, incoherent and insulting to intelligence.
A direct copy of one of the biggest possible cliches - that of Romeo (ralphie) and Juliet (jessie), done in very hamfisted, incoherent, unconvincing and very obnoxious way.
Served as a first thing you run into every single time you go to that place.
Which was supposed to be about two sides fighting each other. Two sides, bent on weird religions.
But in Wasteland 2... you dont get to play a Fist full of Dollars in such a setup, oh no.
Instead, you prevent someone very deserving from getting a Darwins award.
Thats your introduction into this setup, into this town and its quests.
And none of it, not a single thing about it used in any way a reasonable person would expect.
There is no wit to it, no tongue in cheek, no smartarsing, no irony, sarcasm, no options of any sensible kind - no nothing.
Its just the most obnoxious : Save the "poor" kid - who just fell or - was magically pulled into a lake that doesn't pull anyone or anything else, ever again - or is never mentioned again as anything relevant to anything.
OR DONT. HAHAHA! Because!
That girl, his Juliet, who loves him so very much - doesnt do anything to help - doesnt call anyone else or uses a rope or a branch.
- And if she really loves him she would risk alerting anyone she can to save his life, despite being from the enemy side, - which would have lowered the hostilities - EH? (cant have that, now can we?)
Instead - "her great idea" is to run towards the empty entrance to the area - because hey, you guys are just about to arrive there. mkay?
Not to mention how idiotic it is - if you save him, to then see him and his Juliet (Jessie) run straight to kids playground - right next to a bike with a RIGGED EXPLOSIVE OH NOES - but you cant even shout "Hey! There is a fucking bomb on that fucking bike!". - Shooting the bomb was only added after backers complained and mentioned it many times.
I followed Jessie instead - shot the explosive on the bike - she, angela and scotchmo (later on) react and notice it.
Which allows me to use that as a dialogue option to solve the main problem later on - because nobody could figure out leaving bombs around will kill your own people too. And your own children. - Is revealing this amazing info to the guy who planted those bombs around - supposed to make me feel smart?
Because it is achieving the completely opposite.
This also makes Topeekan side look like unbelievable incompetent idiots - because they dont do anything about a guy who is planting bombs everywhere. Even in their children playgrounds.
Morons.
Atchinsons village:
You can go and visit Atchinsons part, which is also a part of the same bigger Rail Nomads map, but you first have to kill two dozens of Rail Thieves, who are in between Topeekans and Atchinsons, ... while being more numerous, tougher and better equipped then two fighting sides... But without a single connection to the two sides or any tiny bit of that setup, quest or its story.
They are there to simply wait for you to kill them.
Besides being narratively incoherent and unfitting for that area - that section of the Rail Nomads story provides a second best combat experience, besides afore mentioned intro to Highpool. (err... best of... isnt really that much of a compliment, in this case, mkay?)
Unfortunately, by the time you get there, you are too strong, too advanced and too well equipped for it to present a real challenge. Additionally, in this new version one bigger area of that bandit camp was split in two - which splits a big bandit group in two smaller ones - that you can deal with much more easily then before.
for fuck sake...
At entrance to the village you can talk to some woman who wants to kill both leaders and finish the war in that way.
While talking to main guy Atchinson, who is planting bombs around:
- i got the option to make peace, without use of any skill - just by clicking on key words
- i got the option to steal the item they need from Topeekans
- i got the option to mention it was his daughter that almost got blown up by a bomb he put in children playground (Jessie is
right there, but cant be talked to because i didnt save Ralphie... which is somehow my fault... while she didnt do anything
herself, nor i can talk to her about her da almost killing her or killing other children)
- i got the option to just take the item Topeekans want and do what i want with it
- once i know where the item is hidden, i can take it without talking to anyone about it in any future replay.
The problem being - i got all of those options. All at once. And i dint even have to worry in which order i click the keywords.
Now, seeing how Vulture cries dialogue is handled, i can hope this is a bug or unfinished, unbalanced, beta only sort of setup.
Solutions and Suggestions:
Many, many, many... but youre not going to get any.
You wont do them anyway, because an awesome company like that cannot allow some random internet people to "teach them" how to do things – you only bought a few icons from some random fans, after all. Right? And, at best...youll say that was actually your plan all along, from the beginning but... you know, this and that... betas, awesome, visceral, hype, hype, HYPE.
... ok, ok... ill give you one:
Do not put that Ralphie quest as something the players HAVE TO engage, as an intro - at the start of the town and that whole area. Instead, move it someplace else and make it an optional quest. Or just let the rangers enter the town in another place so they get introduced to the town and its problems first – not to a godawful character who doesnt deserve anything else but a Darwin award.
... See? You wont do even that, let alone all the others i have.
Not to worry, youll get to play my W2 mod someday.
- edit -
Prison:
Nothing much to say really, Its the same set of crappy design decisions as the rest of the game.
I could number many of them, like raising two "bridges" by first uses for mechanical repair skill - where one bridge gets you access to a spot you can just walk to (around the house right next to it) without any problems and another just gives you a minimal, almost non relevant way to flank some guard post that doesnt make much difference (while the guards Ai is bugged), or another example of reactivity when you find a sick woman who begs you to kill her and the game doesnt let you do anything else - regardless of your skills and collected items... the only "reactivity" being one kid suddenly appearing if you kill her and you can then just talk him out of "ratting on you"...
or you can release some sex slaves... (easy lockpick) and then have a single idiotic evil guy turn up later to attack your whole team og super high level rangers....
Corridors in another "canyon area" and some caves to go through between different sections filled with pop-a-molling... (badgers being the moles and a fight or two against super weak human bandits) - whatever...
The area is not really fully explorable either since you cannot go into the prison itself at all.
all in all...
:picard multi-dimensional facepalm:
SKILLS:
Leadership, Perception, First Aid, Brawling, Barter, Mechanical repair, and Alarm disarm - are useless in this Beta. - require 1 point at the most, or none at all.
Lockpicking and Safecracking
- have some basic value - undermined by cheap, superfluous items you keep finding in lockers and safes. (work fine with just 3 or 4 points invested)
+ Amazingly, i had a few of critical failures – for the first time in W2 – when i tried to lockpick some moderately difficult containers and safes.
About half of safes were removed or exchanged for usual containers, some locked some not.
There is too many safes in the game.
Not to mention these skills are actually one skill, split just to create a false sense of there being a lot of skills in the game. (which is the "reason" for there being so many safes all over the game)
- and the reason why some sub-quest items such as Jessie Belle dowry are inside safes, regardless if it makes any sense or a better gameplay. They have to make them valuable somehow, gee.. you people!
Outdoorsman
... the lack of outdoorsman skills gives you the most and best awards in the game. The less you have of it – the more random loot encounters you get.
It is used in a few lonely places inside some quests now, but not in a way that makes much sense.
For example, you need to use it in one laboratory in AG center, to get some items from some glass boxes... which should have been a task for more scientific skills.
Surgeon – First Aid:
Quote from Chris Keenan, a dev working on W2 about these skills:
Janury 14, 2014 - Chris Keenan said:
On the field medic and surgeon skills, we really wanted to make sure that we got those right since they're such a pillar of the gameplay. We want to achieve the feeling of a scarcity and not being able to properly heal and revive your party when they go down has a huge negative impact. Watching twitch streams, we found that very few people understood how to do this properly and even when they did, there was a good chance it wouldn't revive your character. That sucks...
The feedback for what to do when your PC goes down will be much better. Also, information on healing items to be used by your medic is drastically improved. In the current iteration, when a PC goes down and you use the surgeon skill on him, it will "cease the bleeding" so they won't be going closer to death. It will take the surgeon a full turn to apply the healing and will heal a certain amount based on the item used and the surgeons skill level, but they will be taken out of the fight while they are busy working on the downed PC.
Serious injuries can only be healed by basic trauma kits - which - for some reason cannot be equipped into the hotbar - assigned to a hotkey. Why?
A Surgeon cannot do anything about more serious injuries unless the character is unconscious... Why?
Now, every time someone needs surgery – there is a small pop-up screen displaying items that can be used...
WHY ? WHYYY?
(oh... i get it... it was too complicated for InXile target audience)
The other items that state they literally heal specific amounts of HP are not applicable – if the character is unconscious. Only Field medic can use those items...
Why?
Field medic skill cannot help with any of those injuries in any way. Why?
Sutures that stop bleeding can only be used while the ranger is conscious, if unconscious – you cant, even if ranger has bleeding wound. Field Medics CANNOT use sutures to stop bleeding.
Your expert surgeon cannot stop the bleeding!
Your expert Field medic cannot do anything to help more seriously wounded!
Surgeon cannot use basic medic packs – Field medic cannot use basic trauma kits!!!
FFS...!
Dialogue Ass skills:
Are not that bad. Instead of dialogue options, they represent different personalities. The problems with them is that they are too easy, that the game gives you secondary and tertiary options to do the same thing and achieve same result if you dont have them.
(Skill checks for them should be much higher – relevant to importance of the specific outcomes – and attributes should influence them. Low Int should decrease chances for success with Smart Ass, low Str should decrease chances for success in Hard Ass, etc. They should close other options if used successfully or unsuccessfully or open unique ones. Additionally – if the XP amounts and leveling up and surplus of skill points is minimized – then each team wont be able to have all of them at high levels. At least.)
- dont mention it.
Demolition skill
Has become almost useless. I cant find any single use for it, that now cannot be done in some other way. Havent used it once yet.
Oh, right... i used it on the mortar in front og HighPool walls. Not that its needed in any way
- you can now shoot the bomb on the bike – and you cannot disarm the bomb on the generator behind Rail Nomads main building because it has been removed... i think.
Computer skill
Is barely used, maybe two times so far... once to get an item from that dead Synth... and... i cant really remember... >Radio tower? Anything else brain? no?... ok.
Weaponsmithing
Is drastically improved over previous version. Now you actually need to invest a few more points into it (Angela has less of it at the beginning), to avoid turning all weapons into many, many "weapon parts" – which can be sold but not for much.
Now most of new parts seem correct for the type of weapons you get them from.
And the best: You can actually apply those mods on weapons! Even two.
And they dont explode or disappear!
Weapon skills:
Out of all weapon skills a single Ranger needs only one. Therefore, per each ranger - other weapon skills dont matter, - are not an option you have to consider - on top of you being more then able to easily have two weapon skills per ranger - if you want to. Or three.
Warning, Naked guns in the game!
- i have such an awesome solution for this incidental consequence...
If you then add many random encounters, with all items and XP they bring, on top of that, then the way XP is magically increased up to seven times as much as you actually earn, on top of that - and then add the fact there is too little skills for such a big party anyway...
And the fact this is supposedly one third of the game...
You get the Wasteland 2 beta.
Which plays the best and works the best – if you strictly follow the main quest path
Started with party of four, didnt take Angela with me, and went straight as main quest goes.
- I dont have any outdoorsman, weapon smithing, or any lockpick skills, through the start. Only one, Hard ass skill, no Brute force either.
- Intentionally made less optimal builds with the least possible points spent on Coordination and Awarness - middle Int, lower Luck, and average in others. Intentionally did not give everyone 10 APs.
Here at level four, just after radio tower, on the way to Highpool directly. Now saving survival points because im not sure what i will need there the most. Because i will need to diversify a bit more.
getting this gun is now a celebratory event
and a bit later, a new ranger:
- a BIG difference, isnt it?
Immediate positive effects on the gameplay:
+ Died a few times, one time fairly and squarely too, despite trying everything. They bested me. Not the RNG or buggs, or stupid Ai. First time ever.
+ Actually started thinking about random encounters as trouble – not loot-XP pinatas to whack.
+ Have been forced to use First Aid and Surgeon skill – inside the combat for the first time.
+ Got very happy about the first better assault rifle found.
+ Now its worthwhile to give another character a point in first aid. Needed, actually.
+ And to invest more in weapons at the start.
- still, because of how XP is counted - we get levels too quickly, which sets the game on the downward spiral of XP-Skill points-horribly easy combat - gameplay death.
There are some good incidental things popping up naturally from this system and its mechanics, that does produce a benefitial, positive gestalt effect in gameplay.
Unfortunately it is of very small scope or influence on anything. Which tends to then enhance the feeling of same cool things missing from the quests-mission structures, and their non-plots in some cases, and the lack of anything specifically interesting or engaging in the gameplay execution of the same.
To explain, these positive gameplay gestalt effects of mechanics and skill present themselves in these few nice things:
+ you can send individual rangers all over one single map or split the party and have them fight or interact with the game separately, even at the same time.
+ you can loot different containers at the same time, with more characters, or send just one to go back through some dungeon to pick up something you forgot, or to press a switch - whatever - which runs very smoothly without any bugs or mistakes -
+ you can exit the location with just one ranger running or staying put near to the exit - especially helpful if another ranger gets stuck somewhere - which they do.
+ love the fact that you can open inventory while traveling the world map and heal, change weapons, ammo, etc. - thats what i mean when i say great utility and efficiency.
The problem is that the game designers do not use these for anything so they remain superficial, cosmetic small benefits for players ease of use.
Suddenly, amazingly... combat itself starts to look and feel much better.
Highpool combat scenario is almost good for low level party. Almost great, even. Best combat encounter in the main quest of the game - only noticeable if you get there with as low levels as possible.
Nice options for a first more serious fight, decent shutout in second stage and underwhelming last fight against the mini boss Jackhammer.
Going in, my thinking was: "Ok, i dont have much medicine items left... cant risk serious injuries, have to do these first guys as fast and as painless i can. For me, hehe. Lets take a peek and see their positions... aha!
Sniper on the roof, assault on flank, melee takes the best ambush-surprise position, pistol supports him...double time! ...and ... and here we go!"
+ Broke a bone when trying to knock down wooden fence with 1 point in brute force - awesome. (Strength should provide bonus or disadvantage for brute force skill - which would play well with character attribute builds)
The combat as it is now – is good enough to be really engaging – IF the environment and design of combat encounters are set up better. If enemies are tougher and Ai can do some basics. And leveling up is drastically reduced.
The destructible boxes bring a bit of nice flavor to it now. The fact that my guys and enemies can shoot their own allies - is a good thing. I would say that even targeted shots are not really needed in this case, if this kind of combat encounters becomes the norm.
In this – low level, low party numbers, - case, the Jessie Belle subquest even makes you resort to unusual solutions for problems:
Solving two problems with one solution that the game does not reveal or force feed to you in any way.
- therefore it grows organically, naturally from available mechanics and skills, as a good example of what i mean when i say small positive gameplay gestalt effect.
mkay?
My low level team is more or less forced to use some basic tactics and thinking - in order to prevail over a dangerous or tougher foe (in my imagination mostly) - with as less damage and status effect injuries as possible. (which is in turn very negatively affected with radical, extreme overabundance of medical items in current beta and enemies being way too easy and too dumb)
The tactical approach has very engaging, real benefit - you win the engagement through thinking and using the available environment as befitting your ranger individual skills and weaknesses.
Tactically. - hell yes.
- (what is missing of course, is even tougher enemies and better enemy Ai - though for a beta they do act and try to fight you by adapting to your tactic atleast a bit - but since youre usually too strong and too well equiped - it doesnt come to much, even if there are no those silly mistakes in running around like headless chickens - which doesnt happen that much now. But still does.)
- Jackhammer desperately needs a good armor, and better skills and much tougher bodyguards, to make it a valuable, maybe even tough final, deciding fight before entering Highpool proper.
Highpool shines as a big combat arena, (somewhat, relatively speaking), with some good environmental – tactical options (that should be used more in HighPool and the whole game), while it easily, naturally enhances the value of thinking and approaching combat with considerations about your character builds, skills and capabilities - if you reach it with low level, 4 or less rangers in the party.
(them high walls... not used at all by anyone... high walls... HIGH WALLS! Hint! Hint!)
With some ok, and one interesting NPC, now a potential companion.
And a lead into finding Wreckers base - (which should be done by the players themselves, depending on OUTDOORSMAN SKILL - not delivered on a silver platter by the game narrator or any of those NPCs.)
Thats what all of it should be.
And it could be done, relatively easily - with resources and assets already there. Telling the same but much better story in much, much, much, much engaging and reactive manner.
- No, it cannot be done just by turning everything into fighting.
+ Noooo,.. im not going to tell you how in details - because i should be payed for stuff like this. Just the things mentioned above should keep a medium game studio bussy for a month or two of uptempo work.
+ Ive already written Ag center plot and quests in a way thats approximately ... 13-15 times better then the current script, and thats after reducing the score for 5-6 points for possible arrogance balancing.
ALL THE...
- another Wasteland 2 is trying to dig itself out from under those heaps of dissonances and garbage, right in front of you -
If you play the main quest as if you had no other options, if you dont take Angela or go to get Scotchmo, keep to 4 ranger party or less, and travel in straight lines as main quests leads you - the main narrative and plot become more visible, game becomes actually playable - at least for that opening stage, or until you reach level 6, or 7... where it breaks down –
Because you still get too many levels and skill points and equipment, that even such linear playthrough - where you actively avoid random encounters if you can - with intentionally suboptimal builds - ends in surpluses of survival points, skills and veritable mountains of equipment all the same.
BUT - in such a playthrough i find the main plot, the main story - interesting and engagingly presented.
I liked the synth in the radio tower cave, taking its leg back, getting a weird item from it, .... (though one has to wonder why its hole body isnt of any interest to anyone, y know?.... and you could have that solved by making that Synth self destruct... yknow? Even after successful computer skill check – which could only delay it)
.... hearing those few weird electronic radio transmissions, or the one with some dialogue - and i liked how that mysterious traveling merchant that gave Rose and Jackhammer their artificial but advanced hands, or a whole leg to some other NPC, was introduced, as a side-story, kind of indirectly.
Pushes all those curiosity buttons in correct ways.
Now,
IF tactical considerations in all combat encounters is designed more strongly...
IF environment and positions of enemies are hand crafted to demand tactical approaches as starting fight in HighPool does... (which means removing the very close combat encounters unless they serve a specific purpose – like say a sudden attack by a mob of Mellee fighters)
IF XP gain is drastically lowered so a fight that brings 100 xp gets divided to a whole party
IF – the usual raiders and bandits do not have insane amounts of medical items
IF – the world map is changed a lot, including stashes and random encounters...
IF – the enemy Ai is further improved (become capable of group-team support and using environment tactically like the player does) and they are made much tougher...
- the game might turn out mediocre, kinda.
IF – the options in the quests, locations and missions are not force fed to the player, but instead get created by players own gameplay choices... and by players actually exploring and discovering things – instead of the game force feeding all of it to you...
IF – the narrative, writing and setups for missions and quests are rewritten into something less obnoxious and fit for more concerning audience... more internally coherent and interesting...
- the game might turn out as something....
much...
- edit -
Well, you can screw all that. According to some "line producer" the game is a masterpiece whose reactivity ...
Brother None said: ↑
when in the end the game already evinces minor and major choices and consequences with a granularity and scope that rivals early Fallout 1/2, simply framed in a different way.
Brother None said: ↑
And the possibilities you have with player gameplay action as the primary choice factor can be fascinatingly varied and much more granular;
Then he listed several examples of this ingenious reactivity:
Brother None said: ↑ I've given multiple examples where things change because of decisions you make, I have brought up the fact that the game world recognizes you ignoring this mission exactly once just a few hours ago, and that was primarily to make the point of how easy it can be to miss WL2's reactivity because it reacts to actions you may not be likely to make.
Who only appears if you try to save Ralphie but accidentally fail or you delay for a few seconds too much.
But doesnt do anything if you go and shoot the fucking retard in the lake yourself.
Or doesnt do anything about or even sees that enemy Atchinson (Jessie) standing right there, running around screaming - OR DOESNT DO ANYTHING TO HELP RALPHIE EITHER.
- How about getting Angela to shoot ralphie? She is the one who says "cmonn! we have to save that kid!" - Nothing happens at all. Vargas doesnt call to say how bad it is from you either. But he does call if you try to save the kid and then accidentally fail - because he telepathically knows what you did!
The scene is idiotic in multiple ways, first as a horrible hamfisted fake setup - just after you went through Ralphie Darwin award attempt - he and Jessie run straight next to that bike - even if Jessie is like, not supposed to be seen in Topeekans part of the town, right?...(so much so that she would let her love drown to avoid someone seeing her or her dad having a word about it)
And then its supposed to kill Jessie because she chooses just that moment to go closer to the bike. BECAUSE ! EXTREME EMOTIONAL STUFF ABOUT GAME MODELS YOU SEE FIRST TIME AND NEVER AGAIN!
- and then later on, you can like REVEAL that amazing fact to her father - who is the one who planted that very bomb there - and she doesnt react to that at all? And he isnt capable of figuring out what a bomb on children playground can do? (plus, when you like... pick one of the options for peaceful solution he literally says "enough of our children have died... lets end this..." - and you the player can just facepalm.
- nothing in the whole setup tells you anything about the feud, or to which side Jessie and Ralphie fall - until after the fact.-
Everyone knows there is a bomb on that fucking bike by now. And now - because backers complained, you can just shoot it.
Why do you need Angela to bark about it? It can only surprise you once - first time you play and you managed not to hear about it somehow. And its such a idiotic scene-right after another completely idiotic scene that it can only make you vomit.
Its nothing that any player will seriously consider as some option he should let happen for many reasons.
what is that but another text tweak that changes nothing and does nothing.
having Angela with you when you talk to the trader in RNC,
Is a cheap failure at creating some extreme emotional engagement since she kills him - AFTER YOU GET WHAT YOU NEED FROM HIM - for which the game provides three different ways. Smart ass skill option, Hard ass skill option - or just saying he was mentioned in Aces log book pages you found previously in the cave in Radio Tower area - which is MARKED BY A BRIGHT LIGHT SHINING OVER THE ENTRANCE.
having Scotchmo with you when you dig up a certain grave,
Its a grave of his WIFE - WHICH IS COMPLETELY UNMARKED (the only completely unmarked grave in that graveyard!) - he attacks you and you have to kill him - WHICH RESULTS IN IMMEDIATE RELOAD. - (and you will never do it again).
working through missions to back Kathy's candidacy,
Why the fuck would i? Dont Rangers need that water? I think i distinctly heard general Vargas talking about how HIGHPOOL SUPPLIES WATER FOR RANGERS AND TEH WASTELAND.
letting the witness to Hegedus live and not convincing him,
In the retarded scenario where the sick woman is begging you to kill her and the game DOES NOT LET YOU DO ANYTHING ELSE? - edit- you can walk away (leaving poor sick woman to suffer) and reactivity will be ZERO.
deciding not to follow up on either AgCenter or Highpool, etc etc.
Thats a rather absurd reduction into nonsense. And im replying to such inanity only because other people reading it and seeing it unanswered will think its somehow true.
AoD is in a league of its own now. And i already talked about differences between the two games in this very thread, probably inside the previous smaller review.
The first petition to delay a game in the history of gaming industry should be started by the codex!
Maybe they could implement a difficulty setting limiting the maximum party number?
I wouldnt mind game being delayed more, if necessary, but that really depends on Inxile and what they want to do and achieve.
I think a lot can be accomplished just by fixing the XP amounts. Not to mention abundance of equipment and first allies who are too strong, even with reduced skills as they have now - compared to previous alpha version.
- It always looked to me as if Angie is available just for the beta, actually, seeing how she is level 14 and you can get her right at level 1...
The random encounters can be changed in the way that would make them less of a reward and XP machine. Specific diminishing returns applied precisely would help, but there are other ways to make them enhance the game.
and so on.
From playing the current version, its gameplay - it seems to me that the player should end the prologue with level 2 at the most. Then get level 3 or 4 before East part of the map opens up.
/
Seems some moderator edited my post and... arranged the formatting. Thanks moderator. You did hamper my free style there a bit... but.. ill let it slide. this time. ;P
hope youre not the same megamoron who puts idiotic tags in other members profiles because of cretinous, pathetic and despicable reasons only a retarded subhuman pig would be motivated with.
I first had it in text file, which copied into a open office doc would looses its exact formatting - which when copied into codex forums conversations form - for spell checking and linking all the pics and videos - does not remain the same when i bloody copy it into a forum thread text editor section... which does not remain exactly the same when i post it.
And it was around five in the morning and sea waylaid-ed me with his recounts of burgers employment options in Canada... so i just couldnt deal with it anymore...
/
Ill have to go back and adjust some things, i did harp about RN and Ralphie quest a bit too much - again - but its mostly because i had to play through that again just recently, while coming at it already annoyed from before - and the game starts to get much more infinite loading malfunctions when i reach that part, especially if i come to it later, after finishing the prologue missions. - so i couldnt properly finish it because when i try to return from Atchinsons part ... it just gets stuck and nothing helps.
I know i can just avoid dealing with it in any way and just run away, but it is the first thing you get involved with in that area and it serves as some sort of intro to the whole deal.
- the tone i used when writing about RN and Ag center worse parts is partially such to better present the lousy feeling i get when playing those sections. its not literally seriously literal.
one great thing about not writing a official review of some kind. can just let it all loose as i please at the moment.
/
ill add the Prison when i play it, but Felipepepe already wrote about it and it is supposed to be a combat heavy area anyway.
- ill note any future changes about specific things in posts like this. probably just a few.
)
target audience)
- awesome.
