They killed Oblivion by dumbing it down so far for consoles. They did a lot to improve upon that issue with Fallout though. Of course, Oblivion was boring just for the setting if nothing else. It felt generic, especially after coming off of Morrowind.
Portal, seriously? You'd rather have a color scheme of white, silver, and blue? Portal is about as bland as you can get as far as color palettes go. I suppose the sequel added in some green and brown though, didn't it? Of course, Portal is supposed to be bland looking. I assume that's why they had to add in the ruined areas in the second... to be able to add details of some kind.
Bioshock Infinite does appear to have a very wide color palette. But you know what? The game also looks quite cartoony from a stylistic standpoint. I don't think that cartoony would go over as well for Rage given the tone. It may be post-apocalyptic, but it's not Borderlands.
It's a huge fucking pain having to fix all the console-inspired idiocy in each Bethesda game, but, once you install enough UI mods, there's actually a fun game.
That has only really been a problem in their last two or three games though, hasn't it? It seems like consolitis caught up with them on Oblivion. Sure, you could install mods and fix a lot of the problems, but the game was still pretty dull... especially in comparison to the masterpiece which was Morrowind.
To add to Mirror's Edge's problems, you couldn't actually configure all of the keyboard as you wanted. I play with the numpad (old habits die hard) and Mirror's Edge won't let me configure half of those buttons, numlock on OR off.
Likewise, I seem to recall it not allowing me to use ALT. It made playing the game a lot less enjoyable for me, as I couldn't use the controls I was accustomed to. Otherwise, it was a very interesting title.
In fact, considering those numbers, I'm shocked that any developer still releases any PC-only games at all. If they're not developing console ports, they're basically throwing away most of their money.
A lot more people have computers than they have consoles. The only barrier you see is that some games won't run that great with onboard graphics. Sadly, most people are unwilling to spend the extra $50 on a decent video card.
It doesn't seem that a lot of people are really investing in good graphics either. Everything has to play on the lowest common denominator nowadays, which means cheap, five-year-old console hardware.
That's only a benefit if you make a habit of loosing CDs, which I don't.
Lack of LAN play is especially idiotic in today's market, as more and more families find themselves with multiple computers under one roof. Your argument would have made sense ten years ago when only geeks had more than one PC in the house. There are still [i]plenty[/i] of people that simply do not have a good enough connection available in their area to support online multiplayer. LAN is better in all circumstances, but it's sometimes absolutely required.
I'd really like to see Diablo get "spawn installs" again as well, so I don't have to buy four copies of the game so that the family can play together. We didn't need to purchase four copies of Mario Kart to all enjoy that one together, after all.
You being gay doesn't effect me though. Assholes in SUVs and redneck big rigs do. They consume more fuel and drive up the costs for people like me. They present more dangerous obstructions while on the road, which increases my insurance rates. They take up more room in parking lots, etc.
Unless you're working construction, you do not need a truck for your daily driver. I'd be shocked if any of these fucking yuppies use their trucks for hauling anyway. They might scratch the paint, after all.
Federally mandated lifestyles? They've always been there. It's called social egineering. Just look at the tax breaks you get from being married and having kids.
Small sedans work for everyone. Just because you think you need a full cab, long bed, 4x4 was metal testicles hanging off the trailer hitch doesn't mean you need one.
Earth 2 would make for a great film! The show left a lot of questions unanswered. I still don't think that Tim Curry's character is really gone for good.
Educated soldiers are a liability. You wants morons that will follow orders without question, otherwise they might start to reconsider just why they're committing horrendous acts. Here's a hint, to help their employer's bottom-line.
I don't know where you have worked or what has happened to you to make you so jaded about employment, but trust me that it doesn't need to be that way.
What happened is that I naively thought that hard work would get me ahead in the corporate world. I found out the hard way that all you get from that is exploited and discarded. After two or three times of this happening over a ten year span, I tried doing what everyone else was doing: very little. Y'know what? Employers constantly compliment me on my work now, and promotions have been pretty abundant. I fit in now. I don't make my peers (and hence the managers) look bad by comparison. I do less and am generally much happier about it.
Similarly, if you do a bit above the standard, look for how to make the company succeed, at most (not all) companies you are likely to be noticed, and sooner or later are more likely to be promoted, given a raise, or in bad times, less likely to be laid off.
And right there is the problem. You're delusional. The harder you try and the more effort you put in, the more you are exploited. The more you are disliked by your peers (and even some higher-ups) because you make them look bad. You go in, do the very least you can to not get fired, and go home at night. You don't go out of your way to teach everyone to replace you. You don't "cross-train" so that you can fill two or three roles without a raise. You certainly don't answer calls when you're off duty.
This is of course where carefully laid out employment agreements come in. Unions used to be damn good about making sure you didn't fall into "cross-training" bullshit without the proper compensation. If I'm trained to fill two or three roles, and are expected to do so when need be, I am at least two or three times more valuable... right?
You are putting the organization at risk for your own gain.
Then fuck you and fuck your organization. Here's a hint, I only work for the organization for personal gain. I'm not there to better the organization, I'm there to make money for myself. The organization would have no problem firing me for its own gain. I have no problem doing all I can to ensure that it's easier to just keep me around.
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They killed Oblivion by dumbing it down so far for consoles. They did a lot to improve upon that issue with Fallout though. Of course, Oblivion was boring just for the setting if nothing else. It felt generic, especially after coming off of Morrowind.
I would imagine Rage, or rather the engine behind it, is the reason Bethesda wanted to buy iD.
We can only hope. With an iD engine behind them, I have high hopes for future Fallout and Elder Scrolls titles.
Portal, seriously? You'd rather have a color scheme of white, silver, and blue? Portal is about as bland as you can get as far as color palettes go. I suppose the sequel added in some green and brown though, didn't it? Of course, Portal is supposed to be bland looking. I assume that's why they had to add in the ruined areas in the second... to be able to add details of some kind.
Bioshock Infinite does appear to have a very wide color palette. But you know what? The game also looks quite cartoony from a stylistic standpoint. I don't think that cartoony would go over as well for Rage given the tone. It may be post-apocalyptic, but it's not Borderlands.
How are you supposed to play multiplayer then? I don't think I could go back to building on my own.
The system requirements were about the most tolerable aspect of GTA4. :\
Minecraft requires you to login and authenticate with the remote server. I'd say that's DRM.
It's a huge fucking pain having to fix all the console-inspired idiocy in each Bethesda game, but, once you install enough UI mods, there's actually a fun game.
That has only really been a problem in their last two or three games though, hasn't it? It seems like consolitis caught up with them on Oblivion. Sure, you could install mods and fix a lot of the problems, but the game was still pretty dull... especially in comparison to the masterpiece which was Morrowind.
To add to Mirror's Edge's problems, you couldn't actually configure all of the keyboard as you wanted. I play with the numpad (old habits die hard) and Mirror's Edge won't let me configure half of those buttons, numlock on OR off.
Likewise, I seem to recall it not allowing me to use ALT. It made playing the game a lot less enjoyable for me, as I couldn't use the controls I was accustomed to. Otherwise, it was a very interesting title.
In fact, considering those numbers, I'm shocked that any developer still releases any PC-only games at all. If they're not developing console ports, they're basically throwing away most of their money.
A lot more people have computers than they have consoles. The only barrier you see is that some games won't run that great with onboard graphics. Sadly, most people are unwilling to spend the extra $50 on a decent video card.
It doesn't seem that a lot of people are really investing in good graphics either. Everything has to play on the lowest common denominator nowadays, which means cheap, five-year-old console hardware.
That's only a benefit if you make a habit of loosing CDs, which I don't.
Lack of LAN play is especially idiotic in today's market, as more and more families find themselves with multiple computers under one roof. Your argument would have made sense ten years ago when only geeks had more than one PC in the house. There are still [i]plenty[/i] of people that simply do not have a good enough connection available in their area to support online multiplayer. LAN is better in all circumstances, but it's sometimes absolutely required.
I'd really like to see Diablo get "spawn installs" again as well, so I don't have to buy four copies of the game so that the family can play together. We didn't need to purchase four copies of Mario Kart to all enjoy that one together, after all.
Blizzard seems absolutely intent on fucking Diablo 3 up in any way they can. The lack of LAN play and persistent Battle.net DRM wasn't already enough?
You being gay doesn't effect me though. Assholes in SUVs and redneck big rigs do. They consume more fuel and drive up the costs for people like me. They present more dangerous obstructions while on the road, which increases my insurance rates. They take up more room in parking lots, etc.
Unless you're working construction, you do not need a truck for your daily driver. I'd be shocked if any of these fucking yuppies use their trucks for hauling anyway. They might scratch the paint, after all.
Federally mandated lifestyles? They've always been there. It's called social egineering. Just look at the tax breaks you get from being married and having kids.
Small sedans work for everyone. Just because you think you need a full cab, long bed, 4x4 was metal testicles hanging off the trailer hitch doesn't mean you need one.
It almost makes you wonder if the automakers may have exaggerated the costs of compliance, the way they always do.
I mean really. Was there ever anyone who actually thought that 25mpg was really the best a small sedan could muster?
I don't know, the live-action series worked just as well if not better than the cartoon.
Earth 2 would make for a great film! The show left a lot of questions unanswered. I still don't think that Tim Curry's character is really gone for good.
Educated soldiers are a liability. You wants morons that will follow orders without question, otherwise they might start to reconsider just why they're committing horrendous acts. Here's a hint, to help their employer's bottom-line.
You kill the cops while they're standing at the doughnut counter, then torch their car.
I go to the airport expecting a quick pass through a metal detector and nothing more.
I don't know where you have worked or what has happened to you to make you so jaded about employment, but trust me that it doesn't need to be that way.
What happened is that I naively thought that hard work would get me ahead in the corporate world. I found out the hard way that all you get from that is exploited and discarded. After two or three times of this happening over a ten year span, I tried doing what everyone else was doing: very little. Y'know what? Employers constantly compliment me on my work now, and promotions have been pretty abundant. I fit in now. I don't make my peers (and hence the managers) look bad by comparison. I do less and am generally much happier about it.
Similarly, if you do a bit above the standard, look for how to make the company succeed, at most (not all) companies you are likely to be noticed, and sooner or later are more likely to be promoted, given a raise, or in bad times, less likely to be laid off.
And right there is the problem. You're delusional. The harder you try and the more effort you put in, the more you are exploited. The more you are disliked by your peers (and even some higher-ups) because you make them look bad. You go in, do the very least you can to not get fired, and go home at night. You don't go out of your way to teach everyone to replace you. You don't "cross-train" so that you can fill two or three roles without a raise. You certainly don't answer calls when you're off duty.
This is of course where carefully laid out employment agreements come in. Unions used to be damn good about making sure you didn't fall into "cross-training" bullshit without the proper compensation. If I'm trained to fill two or three roles, and are expected to do so when need be, I am at least two or three times more valuable... right?
You are putting the organization at risk for your own gain.
Then fuck you and fuck your organization. Here's a hint, I only work for the organization for personal gain. I'm not there to better the organization, I'm there to make money for myself. The organization would have no problem firing me for its own gain. I have no problem doing all I can to ensure that it's easier to just keep me around.