catbarf on 14/9/2008 at 19:45
Quote Posted by Koki
It wasn't as great as he makes it sound to be though.
May well be my poor memory at work :p
Harvester on 14/9/2008 at 21:23
Quote Posted by The_Raven
If I recall correctly, the enemies would flinch in Half-Life 1; however, for some inexplicable reason, Half-Life 2 had nothing of the sort.
Yeah they flinch in Half-Life (I just finished another playthrough last night) but aside from that they stand in one place, they don't start moving and shooting back.
I also hate escort missions with the people I escort shooting me in the back, not running away when a grenade is thrown, walking blindly into the line of fire, etc. I'm looking at you, Medal of Honor Spearhead, it was one of the reasons I quit playing it halfway through.
Save points instead of the ability to save anywhere is also a huge dislike for me. Yes it makes the game more tense and more difficult, but my gaming time is limited, I don't want to replay every section 10 times. Yes I abuse quicksave/quickload but I don't care, I'm having fun this way.
Timed missions.
Badly implemented forced stealth levels.
A personal dislike that many here will disagree with: I don't like too much non-linearity. With a game like Far Cry of Deus Ex, I choose one path but then I keep wondering what's down the other paths, whether they are more fun or if I'm missing an important bit of storyline exhibition by going this way. The System Shock games are non-linear enough for me, you can often take multiple paths to a given destination, but in the end the player can be confident that he/she has seen everything.
demagogue on 14/9/2008 at 22:16
Quote Posted by catbarf
May well be my poor memory at work :p
And the Eliza effect... Sometimes games use really cheap tricks to convince the player something more complicated is going on. But if they can package it well, to hide how cheap it is, then it can be just as effective to the player.
It probably doesn't work as well now because we're all so game savvy we'd notice what's real and what's hacked.
I think I have a minority opinion in thinking there should be more narrative-style interaction in FPSs, talking to NPCs, using non-weapon inventory items, etc ... probably because I've been trained/spoiled by so many FMs pushing in that direction. Deus Ex had that, though, and some games in the horror genre or like Call of Cthulhu.
catbarf on 14/9/2008 at 22:47
Quote Posted by Harvester
A personal dislike that many here will disagree with: I don't like too much non-linearity. With a game like Far Cry of Deus Ex, I choose one path but then I keep wondering what's down the other paths, whether they are more fun or if I'm missing an important bit of storyline exhibition by going this way. The System Shock games are non-linear enough for me, you can often take multiple paths to a given destination, but in the end the player can be confident that he/she has seen everything.
I know the feeling all too well.
Quote Posted by demagogue
Call of Cthulhu.
I enjoyed Call of Cthulhu right up until the point where you got a gun. Then it became a mediocre FPS.
Xenith on 14/9/2008 at 23:34
Speaking of stealth. I find it very annoying when a game has a stealth system (sort of) and actually incourajes players to use it, but there's no real telling when or if you are hidden from an enemy. I understand those games are not fully stealth oriented, but come on, at least throw me a pixel in the corner of the screen which turns white when enemies spot me.
hooded_paladin on 15/9/2008 at 04:18
Quote Posted by demagogue
And the Eliza effect... Sometimes games use really cheap tricks to convince the player something more complicated is going on.
No, this really bugs me. I'm too much of an engineer to get fooled by this stuff and I see it in most games released nowadays. Simple games in big fancy wrappers - Assassins' Creed, Spore: I'm looking at you.
henke on 15/9/2008 at 05:55
BRING BACK THE GRAPPLING HOOK!
Shakey-Lo on 15/9/2008 at 07:26
On the topic of animated ragdolls and 'bad guys that react to being shot', GTA4 is far and away the best in that regard. Euphoria is awesome and its simply a matter of time before it becomes as ubiquitous as ragdoll tech became a few years ago. A guy will be running away, you can shoot him in the calf and he stumbles believably before picking himself up and shambling away; you shoot him in the head and he crumples to the floor. Gun down a motorcyclist in your convertible and grin gleefully as he bounces convincingly off your windshield :D It's a system that can create some disturbingly convincing deaths.
Thirith on 15/9/2008 at 08:40
Clumsy user interfaces. I've just reinstalled Arcanum for the first time since I originally got the game, and there's simply no excuse for how cumbersome it is when it comes to UI and controls. If I'm not mistaken, the game came out after the early Infinity Engine games, yet it tries to reinvent the wheel when it comes to UI and doesn't really improve on anything, at least in this respect.
In general, there are too many game UIs where depending on where you are, different keys/commands have different functions. If Escape gets you out of one menu, it should get you out of all menus.
People could learn a hell of a lot from the intuitive Apple UIs. There's almost never a good excuse for a counter-intuitive UI.
Koki on 15/9/2008 at 13:21
Something I just remembered and didn't even realize till I played Bioshock: Why do FPS protagonists always carry more normal ammo than the better kind?
[Edit]Arcanum's UI was sure ugly, but I don't remember it being clumsy. Try ToEE and it's Ring of Death.
