Level scaling OR Don't play RPGs then girlie man.

Koki on 9/1/2011 at 19:20

Quote Posted by dethtoll

Bitch, FF8 was the last Christmas gift to me from my dying aunt in 1999.

If you were going for the sympathy angle, it failed.

june gloom on 9/1/2011 at 21:07

I wasn't. And I don't need any sympathy from you anyway, dongtrucker.

steo on 9/1/2011 at 21:22

Simmer down, children.

Chade on 9/1/2011 at 23:19

FWIW, I thought it was entirely appropriate that specialising in stealth in Oblivion meant that, you know, combat became a little tricky.

It would be nice if RPG's could move beyond "pick a random class for shits and giggles and then proceed to beat the crap out of everything", and Oblivion went a fair way down this path. Nowhere near far enough to make up for nerfing your combat skills, but overall I was still happy with the change.

EDIT: girlie men ...

Phatose on 10/1/2011 at 00:07

Quote Posted by Chade

There are a number of problems with that - not the least being that Oblivion only punished you for specializing in stealth if you chose a stealth based class. Claim to be a fighter, but never actually fight, and you'll be better off.

The whole system was ass backwards on just about every level possible.

As for FF8...meh. Leveling in that game didn't destroy the game the way it did with oblivion. It was just completely pointless. They could've removed levels entirely and no one would have noticed. Unfortunately, the draw system that replaced it as the primary growth mechanic was clunky and grind-tastic at best.

And tactics...well, if a game has half hour long random battles, it doesn't much matter if they level scale or not. The game is fucked either way. And really, that's just the tip of the iceberg with that game.

gunsmoke on 10/1/2011 at 01:49

Quote Posted by Subjective Effect

ALL GAMES ARE BOUGHT ON PC ALL ALL ALL NO ONE EVER BUYS THEM FOR CONSOLES HUUURR

Err, I meant to say - I'd quite like to play some of this stuff on my PS3 too.

I know you'd like to. But you cannot. They are simply not console friendly. Caveat Emptor, dewd.

Chade on 10/1/2011 at 02:04

Quote Posted by Phatose

*shrug* That's a mere detail. Oblivion's systems had problems, sure, but IMO that's not a particularly interesting one.

Also, encouraging stealth from stealth based characters is not punishing them!

Aerothorn on 10/1/2011 at 02:49

FF8 is the only FF that I really enjoy. Guilty pleasure.

As for Oblivion's leveling, the problem was not so much that it existed as it was how unbalanced it was. The monsters scaled to your level, but your level wasn't a great estimation of power. If you farmed skills you were damn powerful (as one might expect), but if you didn't farm skills at all and played in a fairly normal way it underpowered you. Leveling should be a joy, but I feared each level-up, knowing that I hadn't gotten my stat bonuses blah blah blah. Really, really stupid. If Skyrim is going to scale things to your level (rather than your ability) they need to eject the whole "bonus stat" system and just have flat levels.

Jason Moyer on 10/1/2011 at 03:30

Quote Posted by Phatose

I found Oblivion easy as piss as either a Thief or Assassin, but YMMV. There were aspects of the stealth I didn't like but overall I found it as overpowered as it is in Morrowind and FO3.

Nameless Voice on 10/1/2011 at 04:48

Yeah, the stat bonuses are idiotic, I hope they get rid of those in Skyrim. You always feel the need to constantly minmax which skills you gain, because otherwise you're at a serious disadvantage with regards to your stats. The fact that the hit point bonus for Endurance isn't retroactive just makes it far, far worse.