Shut up. I like my numbers

[Naheal]

It's been a while since I played WoW and am considering giving Cataclysm a try. For all the fun that I poke at WoW, I honestly can't say that I dislike it or that I want to "boycott the gaming entity that is WoW." I can't say that honestly because, to be honest, I'm a bit of a Blizzard fan and have been since Warcraft and Starcraft first came out. Honestly, I enjoyed WoW for what it was in BC, but I couldn't stay interested in Wrath. Still, I enjoy Blizzard games for what they are - an exercise in strategic and tactical combat with an emphasis on number crunching and gear micromanagement (for their RPGs) or deception against your opponent (in the case of Starcraft).

For discussion value, do any of you have a development company who seems to have produced a hiccup, but you've remained a fan regardless?

 

[Onyx Oblivion]

Square Enix.

Despite their uber-failures like FF14. (and 13, depending on who you ask).

As a developer, I've grown more wary. But I believe they can still spin gold...I personally found FF13 to be fantastic.

As a publisher, they've put out stuff like Just Cause 2, TWEWY, Dragon Quest 9.

[sub]And Kane & Lynch 2, I know[/sub]

 

[Count Igor]

I have to say, I enjoyed the numbers immensely, and I liked working out exactly how much damage X would cause if I used Y first while under the influence of Z.
But now, from my Cataclysm experience, they've gotten rid of those, and they now just say "Causes High Damage"
Which annoys me no end.

 

[Reaver3]

Lionhead studios

Fable 3 was crap, considering that they had an all star cast... the only people that saved the game was Simon Pegg and Stephen Fry

 

[Naheal]

Square Enix.

Despite their uber-failures like FF14. (and 13, depending on who you ask).

As a developer, I've grown more wary. But I believe they can still spin gold...I personally found FF13 to be fantastic.

As a publisher, they've put out stuff like Just Cause 2, TWEWY, Dragon Quest 9.

[sub]And Kane & Lynch 2, I know[/sub]

Also, Deus Ex 3 [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deus_Ex:_Human_Revolution]

 

[Finnra]

Any studio that produces more than 5 or so games will have hiccups. Mine would probably be HAL.

 

[Irridium]

I'd say Bioware.

The only part of Mass Effect 2 I enjoyed were the characters. Other then that, its one niggling issue after another, which all add up to make bigger issues.

But I still like their games I guess. But I'm not fond of all the "streamlining" they're doing. Mainly because its not really streamlining but more like cutting any feature that requires some sense of thinking.

 

[lacktheknack]

Bethesda, despite the fact that everything they release is bugged pretty badly.

 

[Paladin Forever]

I have to say, I enjoyed the numbers immensely, and I liked working out exactly how much damage X would cause if I used Y first while under the influence of Z.
But now, from my Cataclysm experience, they've gotten rid of those, and they now just say "Causes High Damage"
Which annoys me no end.

Actually, If you go into the interface options menu, Then Into Display options, Second option from the bottom on the left side (turn it off) Blizzard included this option for people like us.

 

[Naheal]

I have to say, I enjoyed the numbers immensely, and I liked working out exactly how much damage X would cause if I used Y first while under the influence of Z.
But now, from my Cataclysm experience, they've gotten rid of those, and they now just say "Causes High Damage"
Which annoys me no end.

Actually, If you go into the interface options menu, Then Into Display options, Second option from the bottom on the left side (turn it off) Blizzard included this option for people like us.

Good stuff. I'll check into that once I get the game installed again.

 

[Count Igor]

I have to say, I enjoyed the numbers immensely, and I liked working out exactly how much damage X would cause if I used Y first while under the influence of Z.
But now, from my Cataclysm experience, they've gotten rid of those, and they now just say "Causes High Damage"
Which annoys me no end.

Actually, If you go into the interface options menu, Then Into Display options, Second option from the bottom on the left side (turn it off) Blizzard included this option for people like us.

Joyus occasions!
I'll have to re-subscribe, as I un-subscribed because of it.
Thanks!

 

[Paladin Forever]

You are most welcome. Always happy to bring another one back into the fold.

 

[robinkom]

My avatar says it all. Production hiccups? Pick one. XD

 

[nin_ninja]

But I believe they can still spin gold...I personally found FF13 to be fantastic.

As a publisher, they've put out stuff like Just Cause 2, TWEWY, Dragon Quest 9.

All awesome games, except JC2. Haven't tried it yet so I can't say.

 

[Skoldpadda]

Bioware seems to be on a decline.
I've been a fan of them since Baldur's Gate 1. I've played, and beaten, all their games since then. I am a fan.

But Mass Effect 2, with all its hype regarding choices that transfer from its predecessor, disappointed me endlessly, since all those choices are meaningless. If Wrex lives, he makes a short cameo, nothing more. The Kaidan/Ashley thing was even worse. The Rachni Queen? If you've freed her, someone will come to say thank you and that's it. None of the characters who could potentially die in the first game were recruitable in the sequel, so you can see why I think ME3 will be even worse. The gameplay's fun, but the story's turning into a jumbled mess, and the mechanics get dumbed down to an unforgiveable degree.

Dragon Age Origins, which I completed two days ago for the first time, was fun, but arguably their worst (full) game yet. It took a long time to beat, but that's mainly because it gets drawn out so much. Long stretches filled with meaningless fights against millions of mooks does not equal good content. This is the first Bioware game where I feel no urge for a second playthrough whatsoever. You'll have to threaten me with physical violence to get me to play those goddamn Deep Roads again.

Dragon Age Awakening (which I completed two hours ago) was just an unbelievable crock of shit.

And now I hear Dragon Age 2 will get "streamlined" again. And Mass Effect 2 taught us what that means. It'll get streamlined and streamlined and streamlined some more until there's nothing left. And why? God, why?I like fiddling around in inventories, comparing weapons and feeling satisfaction when you've found a toy with higher numbers and pawning the rest for gold. Many people like that.

That being said, I'll still try out Mass Effect 3 and Dragon Age 2. But I'm not optimistic.

These are dire times for RPG fans indeed.

 

[HellspawnCandy]

It's been a while since I played WoW and am considering giving Cataclysm a try.

I would suggest waiting awhile, Cata at the moment is very slow moving and super grindy. I'm actually considering quitting for the time being.

Edit:OT I'd say THQ, I was a huge fan of Red faction and they seem to get a little weird with the sequels lately. But a lot of their games are pretty original and fun I think.

 

[Ickorus]

I'd say probably the most stand-out dev would be NCSoft, they've made so many almost brilliant games that I figure if I stick with the long enough they'll eventually crap out a bar of gold.

I have to say, I enjoyed the numbers immensely, and I liked working out exactly how much damage X would cause if I used Y first while under the influence of Z.
But now, from my Cataclysm experience, they've gotten rid of those, and they now just say "Causes High Damage"
Which annoys me no end.

If you go into interface options and 'Help' (I think, one of the bottom sub-menus anyways) there is an option called 'beginner tooltips', (Or some such) untick that to get your numbers back.

 

[thedoclc]

Any studio that produces more than 5 or so games will have hiccups. Mine would probably be HAL.

This person is exactly right. It's called regression to the mean. You win a ton of fans by releasing a stellar game. If it's stellar, it likely means you have great human resources and also have produced one of your better works. Your top talent can be stolen and your "best" effort is very likely to be followed by a less adept one. Hiccups are almost inevitable.

Back OT: Creative Assembly. Of course, your mileage may vary about which game was the hiccup, but for me it was Empire.