Today, Syp posted a bit about things that annoy him in MMOs that he likes. I considered responding to each in the comments, then realized I could make a post out of it (Syp's original points in italics):
WildStar: For a game that has made such a big, big deal about customization (and excels in this in many areas), the fact that classes can wield one and only one type of weapon (set) vastly annoys me. In most MMOs you can choose from different weapon types and experience different visual flair and animations, but here? What you got at level 1 is the same at level 50.
In most games, most weapons are simply skins, perhaps improving stats, but rarely affecting more than a few abilities (GW2 being a notable exception). For instance, in WoW, it doesn't really matter whether you're wielding a sword or an axe, or a mace. The animation will be the same. And for the casting classes, the weapon sits on your back or hip anyway. SWTOR, on the other hand, is similar to WildStar in that each advanced class has one ideal weapon (though you are free gimp yourself if you manage to choose a non-optimal configuration). But Syp is even more annoyed by something else in SWTOR, as you'll read below. All I'm saying is that, while understandably annoying, a single weapon choice per class is not unique to WildStar.
The Secret World: This game’s wonderful storytelling and nuanced body language is sometimes undercut by faces that are ugly and border on the uncanny valley. The facial art style doesn’t gel for me the way that it should and serves as an irritant when I’m trying to get into the tale.
This is a matter personal preference, I happen to really like the character art in TSW, more so than SWTOR for instance. (You'll see me harp on SWTOR a lot in this post. While these may be criticisms, they're not annoyances for me exactly.) Certainly in the cutscenes, the characters move more naturally in TSW than SWTOR. And though Syp does have a point about the uncanny valley, I think it just adds to the general creepiness of TSW.
You know what annoys me about TSW? To the point that it broke my favorite game for me? Playing rock-paper-scissors trying to kill everything twice in Tokyo. Complexity for complexity's sake alone (that the Scenarios that were supposed to prepare us for Tokyo never included). I went from preaching about "adapt to the game" to "fuck this shit" after just one session in Tokyo last fall. And honestly, it makes me sad.
Marvel Heroes: This game’s social tools are really lacking, I’ve found. There needs to be support to join multiple supergroups, better supergroup tools, and a proper LFG tool. Fast track these, Gazillion!
I have nothing to say here, since I've never played. But I felt I should be thorough.
Star Wars: The Old Republic: I do love that the game has housing, but coming from other MMOs like RIFT and WildStar, it can’t help but fail to live up to the industry standard. I am not a fan of the clumsy hooks and placement interface that makes sorting through one’s decor far more tedious than it should be.
I have a feeling the hooks we see in the player housing interface in SWTOR are the same hooks the devs have for the general world, just based on the placement of various items in the larger environment. I like that the Stronghold has some useful items; unlike Rift, which has very pretty—but useless—housing. WildStar seems to have some interesting utility in the housing system, but I pretty much stalled on all my characters after hitting 14 and getting a house. Where Syp is annoyed by SWTOR's placement interface (which is admittedly clumsy), at least the decorations I decline to use are not cluttering my inventory somewhere (but still counting for conquest points, which. . . I have no idea). I just wish all the companions for all my characters were there, and not just holograms.
RIFT: Such ugly armor. Such ugly. It makes the awesome wardrobe system weep in frustration. What is up with the armor artists in this game? Why must we all look like first drafts of a ninth grader’s fantasy portfolio?
Agreed. Rift's costume design aesthetic leaves a lot to be desired, but I did find a cool outfit in the cash shop for my rogue when Scooter and I returned briefly last fall. Rift's biggest drawback is its generic-ness. Not to mention they've changed the story in such a way that we had no idea what was going on in the world as far as the original threat from the Regulos the Dragon (a fan of big government), which seemed to have dissipated in our absence. Telara just doesn't hold my interest.
Neverwinter: Cryptic not only failed to live up to the insanely high standard it set for character creation in City of Heroes, but failed to live up to the industry medium in this respect. I am stunned how hard it is to make good or interesting-looking characters in this game with the sub-par customization options on display. Do they even know how hair looks?
Another game that just doesn't hold my interest. At least I managed to make a cute Half-Orc with pigtails. (Sorry, no pics handy.)
~~~ 
In most games, most weapons are simply skins, perhaps improving stats, but rarely affecting more than a few abilities (GW2 being a notable exception). For instance, in WoW, it doesn't really matter whether you're wielding a sword or an axe, or a mace. The animation will be the same. And for the casting classes, the weapon sits on your back or hip anyway. SWTOR, on the other hand, is similar to WildStar in that each advanced class has one ideal weapon (though you are free gimp yourself if you manage to choose a non-optimal configuration). But Syp is even more annoyed by something else in SWTOR, as you'll read below. All I'm saying is that, while understandably annoying, a single weapon choice per class is not unique to WildStar.
This is a matter personal preference, I happen to really like the character art in TSW, more so than SWTOR for instance. (You'll see me harp on SWTOR a lot in this post. While these may be criticisms, they're not annoyances for me exactly.) Certainly in the cutscenes, the characters move more naturally in TSW than SWTOR. And though Syp does have a point about the uncanny valley, I think it just adds to the general creepiness of TSW.
You know what annoys me about TSW? To the point that it broke my favorite game for me? Playing rock-paper-scissors trying to kill everything twice in Tokyo. Complexity for complexity's sake alone (that the Scenarios that were supposed to prepare us for Tokyo never included). I went from preaching about "adapt to the game" to "fuck this shit" after just one session in Tokyo last fall. And honestly, it makes me sad.
Marvel Heroes: This game’s social tools are really lacking, I’ve found. There needs to be support to join multiple supergroups, better supergroup tools, and a proper LFG tool. Fast track these, Gazillion!
I have nothing to say here, since I've never played. But I felt I should be thorough.
I have a feeling the hooks we see in the player housing interface in SWTOR are the same hooks the devs have for the general world, just based on the placement of various items in the larger environment. I like that the Stronghold has some useful items; unlike Rift, which has very pretty—but useless—housing. WildStar seems to have some interesting utility in the housing system, but I pretty much stalled on all my characters after hitting 14 and getting a house. Where Syp is annoyed by SWTOR's placement interface (which is admittedly clumsy), at least the decorations I decline to use are not cluttering my inventory somewhere (but still counting for conquest points, which. . . I have no idea). I just wish all the companions for all my characters were there, and not just holograms.
Agreed. Rift's costume design aesthetic leaves a lot to be desired, but I did find a cool outfit in the cash shop for my rogue when Scooter and I returned briefly last fall. Rift's biggest drawback is its generic-ness. Not to mention they've changed the story in such a way that we had no idea what was going on in the world as far as the original threat from the Regulos the Dragon (a fan of big government), which seemed to have dissipated in our absence. Telara just doesn't hold my interest.
Neverwinter: Cryptic not only failed to live up to the insanely high standard it set for character creation in City of Heroes, but failed to live up to the industry medium in this respect. I am stunned how hard it is to make good or interesting-looking characters in this game with the sub-par customization options on display. Do they even know how hair looks?
Another game that just doesn't hold my interest. At least I managed to make a cute Half-Orc with pigtails. (Sorry, no pics handy.)
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RE: Marvel Heroes - you didn't have a response, but I do. He's 100% correct on this one. Social tools are quite lacking. :)
ReplyDeleteIt's a common complaint for many games at launch. Marvel Heroes has no excuse more than a year after launch.
DeleteYeah, I was up there with you regarding TSW and Tokyo. I was just about to give it up for good until I found out the trick with AEGIS was to get another set of 3 controllers ASAP so you have a set for each weapon and use the mod that auto-switches them according to enemy shields. After that, it's business as usual.
ReplyDeleteYou also want to level your AEGIS speed skill up in case you run into tricksy enemies that like to switch shield types.
I'm guessing I'll eventually return. After all, I was even more pissed at EA/BioWare. But here I am, playing SWTOR again after almost a three-year break.
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