Game Pass for Xbox and PC

Remember the defense of these companies dumbing down their games for mass market online experiences was they'd make so much money (and bring new fans in!) they'd then be MORE able to fund the more intricate or involved single player games. They either miscalculated and aren't making the money or are liars who are just going to take their more money and run with it and not put it back into the industry through niche and/or higher quality games. It's not hard being correct by just being negative against the gaming industry, but there were a lot of people very optimistic about the direction of the industry 10 or 15 years ago that I feel should eat some crow and choke on it.

It's the same argument made in Hollywood. Big blockbusters to fund the small, quality, indy films. The problem is the indy films used to be good, like Pulp Fiction, and now everything from indie films to blockbusters all suck. The film studios just used the big successes to fund their social and political activist film and messages.

And now, we're also seeing game studios doing the same thing, increasingly out of touch with what gamers actually want. Or maybe gamers actually do just want socially charged/contrived bullshit in games, and watered down mmo-lite shit games like TESO, or endless lifeless mobile games. Which is fine, then let's just acknowledge that's the industry now instead of Bethesda and Blizzard constantly flexing their OG gamer cred and then shitting the bed constantly.

I don't know if Game Pass style systems actually make games better or worse overall, as there seem to be some good games that will be boosted from the exposure, and some big companies content with just shitting out mediocre experiences that people will be okay with due to it being part of a free service. No matter, I like the Game Pass model and MS buying up all sorts of shit, because (like society as a whole at this point) I hope it helps force some sort of change, whether it's the industry finding more viable ways to improve, or just going bankrupt, something has to change from the mediocre add-on pay-for-skins mobile model. Right? Maybe.

Then again, how many times are we going to say 'if this upcoming game sucks then the industry is dead' only for the industry to continue to make bank and they shit on the generation that enabled them to ever even exist.

As someone who really isn't much of a Elder Scrolls fan (Morrowind was great, everything after that has been huge steps down) but who used to like MMOs, TESO was a pretty fun game for a while. I started with Morrowind release and probably would have played it for a couple years and returned for the other xpacs but what killed it for me was the insane time-gating in the crafting system that made it pointless for a new player to try to do anything rather than just join a super-active guild and get someone else to do it for you, and the way the asshole designers put mandatory PVE abilities inside their shitty PVP system. Even with said super-active guild carrying me through the PVP stuff it was unbearable.

Utnayan said:

It's basically a disguised theme park with an atrocious expansion system. Skyrim feels like a real world. I agree. TESO feels like a theme park jammed into a very veiled attempt at exploration - even when they lifted the level gates.

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The amount of content in ESO is insane. Whether or not you like the content is a matter of opinion, but only someone whos never played the game would think the game is thin on content. The expansions are completely fine for the cost, there is no shady business practice, linking to an idiots rant on the foums doesn't prove your point. What, do you expect them to develop single player Skyrim sized mmo content in an expansion? You get new raids, new dungeons, new overland and delve maps, new quests, etc...per expansion. Of course its themepark, all mmos are, it doesn't try to hide it like there's some grand conspiracy. You sound like someone who hates MMOs , thats cool, but don't take it out on probably one of the top 3 MMOs out at the moment.

Vorph said:

As someone who really isn't much of a Elder Scrolls fan (Morrowind was great, everything after that has been huge steps down) but who used to like MMOs, TESO was a pretty fun game for a while. I started with Morrowind release and probably would have played it for a couple years and returned for the other xpacs but what killed it for me was the insane time-gating in the crafting system that made it pointless for a new player to try to do anything rather than just join a super-active guild and get someone else to do it for you, and the way the asshole designers put mandatory PVE abilities inside their shitty PVP system. Even with said super-active guild carrying me through the PVP stuff it was unbearable.

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What is time-gated anymore these days? Research times can be skipped. Transmutation stones drop like candy. There is literally nothing I wait on in the game to fully gear up a character. And mandatory PVE abilities in PVP, what does that even mean? There is no differentiation in abilities. Don't want to derail into a white knighting of ESO, but I swear you guys sound like you played the game for 5 minutes and just quit and love to rag on it.

I have no idea if the game is still like it was back then, those are just the reasons I quit when I did.

Vorph said:

I have no idea if the game is still like it was back then, those are just the reasons I quit when I did.

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The game was rebalanced a lot over the last year; they went back and adjusted the need for pvp skills in pve content. This doesn't change the fact you do need to grind out some character development to unlock certain pve abilities though, that's a thing.

Needing pve abilities in pvp will always be a thing; it's part of the freedom TESO has. They have however recently implemented pvp gear restrictions so proc ability sets are not allowed.

The crafting pain point is meh as they give a way research scrolls a lot and each spec realistically only needs a couple of traits unlocked. Time gating as part of the crafting is kind of part of the fun, too. I enjoyed unlocking all the researchable traits and like the idea it takes time to do.

I finally started playing Octopath Traveler and while it's not amazeballs, it's certainly worth the price of free and can occupy my time until something else comes out.

It's either this or I continue obsessively making maps in Dungeondraft / Foundry

spronk said:

hey im playing octopath traveler too. its fun recruiting all 8 characters, but after that i feel super stuck. i ended up just spending time grinding levels, i still can't figure out what my main party of 4 should be. it REALLY sucks that people who are not in your party don't level, so if you fuck on who you pick, you are really boned. Not to mention I don't even know whats gonna happen when I try to do chapter 2 of the 4 characters I am not playing, i guess they will all still be level 12 when I enter their chapter? All seems fucky

I really, really enjoyed dragon quest XI-S from start to finish but octopath traveler i feel like dropping off soon

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You two should touch peni.

I do enjoy that the starting position of the 8 characters means that you will end up with a pretty balanced set of 4 initially. I mean you could skip past some by going out of the way geographically, but that has to be fairly uncommon.

Wasteland 3. Annoyed I fucked up the pat marshals rep, liked not loved, for the good ending. So I caved and bought some expansion which can give rep. The expansion sucks balls. Found a guide that says I can skill check it. Fml. I should plug in the new ps5 :S