In both Morrowind and Oblivion, if I clicked directly on an object that was, say, 30' away or so, arrows fired would fall below it. I could hit it by clicking above it. At least in Morrowind, this was also true with creatures; to shoot a creature, I had to click above it, frequently entirely outside the model or even a box around the model. I didn't play Oblivion long enough to be quite sure how it worked, but I did notice the same basic thing; clicking on a thing did not aim at it, but rather, aimed below it by a distance determined by range.
The thing is. My basic wired-in concept of "an RPG" is that this is not how it works. In an RPG, I pick a target, and my clicking precision is irrelevant; if the engine is able to determine what I meant to click on, the sole determinants of my success are game-world things like character archery skill, dodges, etcetera. If a game does not work like that, but relies on my ability to decide how far above something to aim, it is not an RPG to me, no matter how many stats it has, because fundamentally I can only play characters who have my abilities.
__________________ Hear me / and if I close my mind in fear / please pry it open See me / and if my face becomes sincere / beware Hold me / and when I start to come undone / stitch me together Save me / and when you see me strut / remind me of what left this outlaw torn
So, yeah. Bethesda the corporation are being abusive assholes.
This is a sort of interesting tangent to the discussion in the Apple thrad. To the extent that this is true:
Quote:
Originally Posted by BrotherMan
From a legal standpoint they do have to expend time, effort and money to defend perceived incursions on their brand. Agree with this specific case or not, it is something they have to do.
...I would think it's even more true in this case, given that the product lines are direct competitors in the same market.
Of course, that's not to say I approve.
__________________
"Trans Am Jesus" is "what hanged me"
If a game does not work like that, but relies on my ability to decide how far above something to aim, it is not an RPG to me, no matter how many stats it has, because fundamentally I can only play characters who have my abilities.
The "Action RPG" is a pretty common sub-genre these days.
__________________
"Trans Am Jesus" is "what hanged me"
In both Morrowind and Oblivion, if I clicked directly on an object that was, say, 30' away or so, arrows fired would fall below it. I could hit it by clicking above it. At least in Morrowind, this was also true with creatures; to shoot a creature, I had to click above it, frequently entirely outside the model or even a box around the model. I didn't play Oblivion long enough to be quite sure how it worked, but I did notice the same basic thing; clicking on a thing did not aim at it, but rather, aimed below it by a distance determined by range.
The thing is. My basic wired-in concept of "an RPG" is that this is not how it works. In an RPG, I pick a target, and my clicking precision is irrelevant; if the engine is able to determine what I meant to click on, the sole determinants of my success are game-world things like character archery skill, dodges, etcetera. If a game does not work like that, but relies on my ability to decide how far above something to aim, it is not an RPG to me, no matter how many stats it has, because fundamentally I can only play characters who have my abilities.
I can understand that. However I love FPSs so it doesn't really affect me.
Skill checks are more present in Skyrim but combat is still FPS.
__________________
Much of MADNESS, and more of SIN, and HORROR the soul of the plot.
So, yeah. Bethesda the corporation are being abusive assholes.
This is a sort of interesting tangent to the discussion in the Apple thrad. To the extent that this is true:
Quote:
Originally Posted by BrotherMan
From a legal standpoint they do have to expend time, effort and money to defend perceived incursions on their brand. Agree with this specific case or not, it is something they have to do.
...I would think it's even more true in this case, given that the product lines are direct competitors in the same market.
Of course, that's not to say I approve.
So far as I can tell, the legal requirement is COMPLETELY solved by sending a letter saying "hey, we have a trademark over sort of near that", and getting a response back saying "yes, you do, our thing is different, look how it is different."
And even if it weren't, it would absolutely be solved if Mojang were to drop the trademark application and change the name. Which they've offered to do.
So at this point it's just dickery, not a legal requirement. The original letter might have been a requirement; this isn't.
__________________ Hear me / and if I close my mind in fear / please pry it open See me / and if my face becomes sincere / beware Hold me / and when I start to come undone / stitch me together Save me / and when you see me strut / remind me of what left this outlaw torn
If a game does not work like that, but relies on my ability to decide how far above something to aim, it is not an RPG to me, no matter how many stats it has, because fundamentally I can only play characters who have my abilities.
The "Action RPG" is a pretty common sub-genre these days.
Yes. I sometimes like them, but I don't experience them as RPGs. They aren't about the character any more than a platformer is. And the thing is, the only appeal to me of the Big Worlds would be the character development and story. So an action RPG with a huge immersive world is pointless to me. Sad me.
__________________ Hear me / and if I close my mind in fear / please pry it open See me / and if my face becomes sincere / beware Hold me / and when I start to come undone / stitch me together Save me / and when you see me strut / remind me of what left this outlaw torn
There are supposedly an 'infinite' number of side quests, but I've no idea how that works.
They have a quest generator of some kind. Sounds really interesting. It will be interesting to see if they get repetitive or not.
Supposedly, key characters in a quest aren't fixed. They get selected by the computer when the quest starts. This eliminates the need for tons of 'essential' characters who can't be killed.
I know there are unkillable characters in the game though. Reviews say that kids can't be killed. I know for a fact that Barnabas, the 'dog' that hangs out with Clavicus Vile is unkillable. I've done the quest with him and he couldn't have been taking damage since he was always in the front when enemies showed up.
__________________
Much of MADNESS, and more of SIN, and HORROR the soul of the plot.
Does Skyrim have random ambient light sources in all the indoor environments to the point where torches and Night Eye are rendered utterly pointless, like Oblivion did? 'Cause I couldn't play Oblivion without modding that out.
Also, how does arrow damage scale? I always thought it was a bit low compared to melee and spell damage, making archer characters more difficult even above having to be more careful about aiming, and would usually tweak it up a bit with mods in both Oblivion and Morrowind.
I would say those are both still issues. I haven't needed the one torch I picked up, and the arrows have really only proven successful against the weak ass skeletons.
The only time I've used light spells were to investigate wall carving or search for treasure in dark corners. There have been a few times where night-eye would have been useful, but not many. I used it a lot in Oblivion as it made arrows and spells easier to target.
I've not messed with archery at all in this game, but in Oblivion it was great when combined with sneak attacks and often poison. "Must have been a ra...arghh," (thunk) said the bandit with a poisoned arrow sticking out of his head.
__________________
Much of MADNESS, and more of SIN, and HORROR the soul of the plot.