Features that everything should have.

[Danpascooch]

Okay, I'm pretty sure that all of us have already thought something along the lines of "Hey, why didn't the people who made this do it differently? It would be much easier." This thread is dedicated to the features that we think every product should have, because they're convenient, and not very hard to implement.

So, to get the ball rolling:

1. Loading screens
If you ever played Oblivion, you may have noticed that it tends to freeze during the loading screens. But the loading progress bar sometimes moves so slowly that it's hard to know if it's frozen, or just going slow. So, if loading screens had something moving around that stopped when the game froze, it would make that much easier on us.

2. The Xbox Guide button
I don't know whether this happens in the Playstation or not, but some Xbox games keep playing cutscenes even when the centre button is pressed. Just because I want to see what the achievement I just got was, doesn't mean I want to miss what's happening in the game.

3. Battery compartments
Okay, so this one is a little petty, but sometimes while switching batteries, I've got a lot of stuff lying around and have to spend a lot of time searching for the compartment cover. It's entirely plausible that it can get lost while doing this. Well, the battery compartment cover in my TV remote is connected to the remote itself, so it can't be misplaced. Smart, huh?

So, Escapists, what features do you wish that everything had?

Number one seems like a good idea in theory, but sometimes the game can freeze and still have the damn thing spinning, and that just adds a new layer to the confusion.

As for number two, I think a lot of that is technical, I don't know if all cutscenes can be paused easily, because they may not be video files, they may be utilizing the engine to generate the elements of the cutscene

As for number three, I wholeheartedly agree, it wouldn't work with all devices, but it should be used a hell of a lot more than it currently is.

Here is mine:

Micro USB

Micro USB has become more or less standard on smart phones (except Apple, who insist on owning everything that is ever used in tandem with their products, I'm surprised they don't require Apple brand fucking electricity for $30 a watt) But I don't think it should stop there, it would be incredibly convenient if all phones, and mp3 players, Gameboys, ect. Used Micro USB, it's convenient.

 

[Jenova65]

You know what they should totally replace loading screens with............................?
Seamless and diverting elevator rides, mm hmm! Oh wait a minute :/ *hates all those people who moaned at BioWare for not breaking immersion.........*

 

[Ren3004]

Oh, start using universal chargers. Apparently they'll do it for cell phones, so that's a start. I don't want to throw away a perfectly good charger when I get a new phone/laptop/whatever.

 

[WafflesandBacon]

438. The Option To Skip Every Cutscene

I have headdesk'd many a times due to long pointless cutscenes.

 

[firedfns13]

I'd like fast travel in real life!
That'd be sick.

Another good feature would be turning on and off gasoline usage for my vehicles.

 

[crudus]

Cup holders? There aren't enough places to put my drink.

You know what they should totally replace loading screens with............................?
Seamless and diverting elevator rides, mm hmm! Oh wait a minute :/ *hates all those people who moaned at BioWare for not breaking immersion.........*

I was fine with he elevators. I wasn't fine with there only being 5 things being said.

 

[Andronicus]

Life should have a ctrl+z and a ctrl+f function...

Or, even better, a walkthrough.

And the option of using God mode.

The option to reverse horizontal and vertical directions on console games, for both aiming the camera/POV of the main character, and also when moving around a 3D space, like when you're flying.
They're usually pretty good with this and put it in most games, but that just makes the games that don't have it stand out more.

 

[Angerwing]

Wifi. Everything can be improved by wifi.

 

[Ren3004]

Wifi. Everything can be improved by wifi.

*shakes fist at Microsoft for making me stretch a cable throughout the length of my room whenever I want to connect to Live*

I remembered another one: pockets. I hate shorts and pants without pockets.

 

[Ironic Pirate]

All games should have custom control schemes.

I like having options, but giving me five horrible sets of controls only ends in pain and sorrow. We had these in games from almost a decade ago, why have they suddenly disappeared?

Yes, this a thousand god damn times. R2 is not a fucking shoot button RDR, why can't I change it?

 

[Ren3004]

All games should have custom control schemes.

I like having options, but giving me five horrible sets of controls only ends in pain and sorrow. We had these in games from almost a decade ago, why have they suddenly disappeared?

Yes, this a thousand god damn times. R2 is not a fucking shoot button RDR, why can't I change it?

I love your avatar.

The edit button. All forums should have it.

 

[Rusty Bucket]

COOPERATIVE!!

Jesus Christ developers, do you not realise the addition of co-op can make an all right game great? Take Left 4 Dead. Play that solo. How exciting.

Can't think of anything non-game related at the moment...

Christ, yes! Take Halo for example. Playing the campaign on your own is pretty good. Solid gameplay, but nothing particularly special. Get a friend in there though, and it becomes a sandboxy, physics based clusterfuck of joy, backed up by one of the greatest soundtracks in videogame history. Co-op can make alright games good, and good games great.

 

[Ren3004]

I just thought of another one. PC games should have decent gamepad support. It's really annoying finding out that your gamepad doesn't work with a game or, even worse, that the game is unplayable if you have a gamepad installed (yes, this happened to me).