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Which RPGs surprised you that they're actually great?

pippin

Guest
Oblivion in particular and Bethesda in general only show the power of good marketing. It also appeared in a favorable scenario for them, so much so, that people don't even mind Bethesda's generally shitty DLCs. Ultima 9 and MM9 came out when crpgs were going through a material and creative crisis in the mainstream eyes, so for them half of the battle was already lost.
 

AngryKobold

Arcane
Joined
Aug 12, 2012
Messages
534
Bicycles simply dont register in a game developers' mind. It's a matter of cultural awareness.

A bicycle ride through a desolated and generously radiated landscape, something hard to imagine outside context of a bizarre comical relief. That's right: a matter of cultural awareness. I expect the idea to eventually sprout from a brain of moron mammal living in one of european eco- hellholes. My bet is on Denmark.
 

baturinsky

Arcane
Joined
Apr 21, 2013
Messages
5,526
Location
Russia
A motorcycle may use less gas but it also holds much less gas. Most bikes start feeling mighty thirsty after about 300 kilometres. That is, needless to say, inconvenient in a post-apocalyptic world..

You can use canisters and such fo gas.

I thinks pros are following:

Motocycle: Uses less gas, can squeeze in more places, easier to hide, can be dragged around etc.
Car: sturdier, you can move more loot and people in it.
Bycicles: no need for gas at all, drive-by shooting/sclicing on it is most pathetically awesome thing ever.
 

sser

Arcane
Developer
Joined
Mar 10, 2011
Messages
1,866,661
Might and Magic VI, Fallout 2, Risen and NEO Scav. Didn't expect much of them when going in.
 

RK47

collides like two planets pulled by gravity
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Joined
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Messages
28,396
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Not Here
Dead State Divinity: Original Sin
01.jpg

02.jpg
 

laclongquan

Arcane
Joined
Jan 10, 2007
Messages
1,870,144
Location
Searching for my kidnapped sister
Bicycles simply dont register in a game developers' mind. It's a matter of cultural awareness.

A bicycle ride through a desolated and generously radiated landscape, something hard to imagine outside context of a bizarre comical relief. That's right: a matter of cultural awareness. I expect the idea to eventually sprout from a brain of moron mammal living in one of european eco- hellholes. My bet is on Denmark.

It's already existing in novel form, Die the Fires series by S M Stirling. In a world forbid to develop steam and electric energy, they use bikes to move on roads, and pedal-powered platform on railroad.

Like I said, cultural awareness. US and Europeans get too attached to the idea of bicycles = eco hippy freaks. Any 3rd world nations passing through war know muscle powered bikes is the preferred form of vehicle.
 

adrix89

Arbiter
Joined
Dec 27, 2014
Messages
700
Location
Why are there so many of my country here?
Bicycles simply dont register in a game developers' mind. It's a matter of cultural awareness.

A bicycle ride through a desolated and generously radiated landscape, something hard to imagine outside context of a bizarre comical relief. That's right: a matter of cultural awareness. I expect the idea to eventually sprout from a brain of moron mammal living in one of european eco- hellholes. My bet is on Denmark.

It's already existing in novel form, Die the Fires series by S M Stirling. In a world forbid to develop steam and electric energy, they use bikes to move on roads, and pedal-powered platform on railroad.

Like I said, cultural awareness. US and Europeans get too attached to the idea of bicycles = eco hippy freaks. Any 3rd world nations passing through war know muscle powered bikes is the preferred form of vehicle.
In a post apocalyptic world it will be all about bikes and spears. They will duel each other like knights on horses in the past. Except the horses are all dead. The bullets are to expensive to make so no guns and motorbikes won't have any fuel.
 
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DraQ

Arcane
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Oct 24, 2007
Messages
32,828
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Chrząszczyżewoszyce, powiat Łękołody
Oblivion in particular and Bethesda in general only show the power of good marketing. It also appeared in a favorable scenario for them, so much so, that people don't even mind Bethesda's generally shitty DLCs. Ultima 9 and MM9 came out when crpgs were going through a material and creative crisis in the mainstream eyes, so for them half of the battle was already lost.
Oblivion's success was a freak I don't think is explainable by any single factor.

It was a combination of hype, track history, being flagship title on a new major platform and herd instinct in the context of fending off cognitive dissonance and post-purchase rationalization.
Without this pile-up of factors it probably wouldn't have succeeded.

Then, after this bizarre Rube Goldberg machine lifted it, mods helped keep it up.
 
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Miner Arobar

Educated
Joined
May 28, 2015
Messages
64
Oblivion in no way beats U9 in badness. In U9, if I recall, you'd break the game if you got too close to dungeon Wrong too early. Game was full of leftover things from an earlier and more ambitious draft of the main storyline. Oblivion, on the other hand, works as intended. It's just that what was intended wasn't very good.

As to the original question: Witcher 1. I had very little expectations, tend to like open-worldish games a lot more than more linear, story-heavy games, and the early part of the game didn't impress me at all. Then the alchemy system, the folklore stuff and the bestiary, and especially Vizima got to me.
 

anvi

Prophet
Village Idiot
Joined
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Messages
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Kelethin
Gods: Lands of Infinitron
How come you guys call it Infinitron? When I played it, it was called Lands of Infinity. Good game too.

Oblivion in particular and Bethesda in general only show the power of good marketing. It also appeared in a favorable scenario for them, so much so, that people don't even mind Bethesda's generally shitty DLCs. Ultima 9 and MM9 came out when crpgs were going through a material and creative crisis in the mainstream eyes, so for them half of the battle was already lost.
Oblivion's success was a freak I don't think is explainable by any single factor.

It was a combination of hype, track history, being flagship title on a new major platform and herd instinct in the context of fending off cognitive dissonance and post-purchase rationalization.
Without this pile-up of factors it probably wouldn't have succeeded.

Then, after this bizarre Rube Goldberg machine lifted it, mods helped keep it up.
What are you guys blabbling about?! Oblivion sold like hot cakes because it had the best graphics of any game at the time. People were posting screenshots on every forum I visited and everyone was going nuts over how pretty it was. Graphics > EVERYTHING in modern gaming.
 

laclongquan

Arcane
Joined
Jan 10, 2007
Messages
1,870,144
Location
Searching for my kidnapped sister
Neverwinter Nights2 OC. If you listen to all the pissing and moaning around here, you would think original campaign is a piece of crap that doesnt worth your time to make a character. But it is a surprising game, kinda like KOTOR1, in that the sum of all its parts is greater, enough that it make you overlook some flaws.
Not that I ever heed much to Codex opinions (Fallout 1 is better than 2? Bah humbug!)
 
Joined
Jan 28, 2015
Messages
891
Location
Canuckistan
My team has the sexiest and deadliest waifus you can recruit.
When I went to play some of the more foundational CRPGs Telengard turned out to be waaaaaaaaay better than I expected. It's simple, but tight enough to keep you compelled for one more run. I expected to play it for a few hours and leave it as a curiosity, but even now just thinking about it has me wanting to dive back into that dungeon.
 

Haplo

Prophet
Patron
Joined
Sep 14, 2016
Messages
6,138
Pillars of Eternity 2: Deadfire
Neverwinter Nights2 OC. If you listen to all the pissing and moaning around here, you would think original campaign is a piece of crap that doesnt worth your time to make a character. But it is a surprising game, kinda like KOTOR1, in that the sum of all its parts is greater, enough that it make you overlook some flaws.
Agreed. It's actually a decent game. MotB is even better though. But maybe I'm biased towards this series, I've spent several years playing NWN1 (mostly PWs).

It was a turning point alright. Into a ditch.

Quoted for Truth.
 

ilitarist

Learned
Illiterate Village Idiot
Joined
Oct 17, 2016
Messages
857
Spiderweb Software games.

They look like a crap and UI is bad and you expect to see tons of text and self-entitled indie refusal to follow conventions and structure. Nope. Those are decent RPGs. There's not as much text as you'd expect and all text matters, not like recent Bioware/Obsidian obsession with putting more text in their games. There's nice difficulty curve. Character progression is not obscure or limited. Those are good games and if they'd have a big budget you could imagine them in, say, BioWare lineup. Of course, you'd have to add pointless drama, romance, narm and pseudomoral issues, but lack of those things is one of the reasons I'm currently playing Geneforge 5 and not whatever Dragon Age Inquisition expansions are called.
 

anvi

Prophet
Village Idiot
Joined
Oct 12, 2016
Messages
7,530
Location
Kelethin
I can't when it comes to Oblivion. It was a turning point in gaming.

It was a turning point alright. Into a ditch.
That's what I meant. And Morrowind was a part of that. I have a theory on all this and those two games are key to how the games industry is today.

Spiderweb Software games.

I want to like them but they are too shallow. Character progression and combat is bad. Being an indie darling isn't enough to overlook that.
 
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Self-Ejected

IncendiaryDevice

Self-Ejected
Village Idiot
Joined
Nov 3, 2014
Messages
7,407
That's what I meant. And Morrowind was a part of that. I have a theory on all this and those two games are key to how the games industry is today.

'Your' theory... :



Time-stamped it at Polygons for you.

I personally dislike most historically polygon-based games, but that's a different topic.
 
Joined
Nov 6, 2009
Messages
1,494
Ultima IV: I had bought Ultima III at release and fantasized on the manuals for a whole summer while waiting to get my C64 back from an overseas relocation. When I effectively played, I was underwhelmed. Though I completed it, it was only good for what it was.
I bought Ultima IV, expecting more of the same and it absolutely blew my mind.

Divine Divinity: I hate H&S with a passion, but the developers were raving about Ultima VII so I bought it used. Once out of the first dungeon, I was amazed by its depth and world building (too bad for the last act).

FO:NV: I hated FO3 (never went past Rivet City to this day) with such a burning passion that I expected an abysmal spin-off, even if it was made by Obsidian. I got hooked instantly and it fast became one of my favorite game ever.
 

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