Do you get annoyed at the state of RPGs?

[Iznaliu]

Adom

We need more people to spread the word!

 

[Vorark]

It isn't bad at all, as long as you're not expecting AAAAAA+ RPGs. As someone mentioned, what is a disappointment is the RTS genre. MOBAs as an evolution? No way.

 

[Lacrymas]

To answer the title question - yes. What I get annoyed about is wasted potential, ALL the "AA" RPGs could've been amazing (except T:ToN) had they put some more thought into them. Analyzed a bit more what makes a good RPG good. There's always something that is pushing the entire thing down. At least we get RPGs though, RTSs and City Builders are nowhere to be found (and the couple that do come out are shit, nowhere near even mediocrity like the recent RPGs).

 

[Dorateen]

The advent of Grimoire changes everything.

 

[anvi]

Skyrim and Witcher 3 are the biggest 'rpg's in the world at the moment

Have you played the Pathfinder: Kingmaker Kickstarter Update series?

Never heard of it, is it out?

RPGs? What about gaming in general, no matter the genre? Shit's a disgrace. Everything I once loved is gone,

Yep. It is demonstrably true. Although I think RPGs got hit worst. At least with FPS I still have stuff like Arma2 and 3 which are pretty good. TBS I have Age of Wonders 3 and various other 4x games which are pretty good. Flight sims, DCS is maybe the best there has ever been. It is only one which is sad, but at least it exists. RTS... hmm ok can't think of a single good modern RTS. Some stuff seems to be hanging in there, some stuff has died completely. Some stuff is having a resurgence, space games were mostly gone for a long time but are having a comeback at the moment, although none of them I would want to play. There are a lot of survival/building games happening at the moment which seems to have taken over from the SimCity type of game, I'm ok with that, but there is a lot of crap in that genre and they are mostly the same as each other. But I think it could grow into something good.

Skyrim and Witcher 3 are the biggest 'rpg's in the world at the moment, yet are barely even RPGs. Yet stuff like DoS, Blackguards, and whatever else gets relegated to tiny indie budgets or scraping for kickstarter pennies. Does that annoy you? I feel pretty cheated.

Larger budget = more chance to be shit. I find myself enjoying indies for the most part.

Yeah but tiny budget is shit too. There should be something in between and it isn't happening. Or enough.

We've got plenty of great crpgs to play while the plebs suck Todd's dick.

Like what?

A genre in a medium which appeals to more niche tastes has a narrow market, who would've thunk.

But it isn't just narrow, it is barely existent. It might seem better these days if you enjoy stuff like PoE and Tranny, but I thought all those were crap.

modern games that can't even match feature set on a quarter century past,

By now we should have and expect far more from RPGs as standard

That's why I feel cheated. If you look at games like BG2, in the late 90s, they had reached a high standard. If some games today could build upon that we would have some amazing RPGs, but it isn't happening. It is like there was an apocalypse after that and we are now just rebuilding but with primitive tools.

 

[anvi]

Last few years i enjoyed a lot of good rpg's: Adom, Tome, DCSS

Oh how spoilt you are with these 1 man ascii games.

 

[anvi]

I got annoyed a lot somewhere around 2005-2010 when you truly had to struggle to find decent RPGs. Now? Not that much, and there's been wealth of good games to play the last few years. Feel pretty happy about it actually.

Totally agree with this, except it was more 2005-2013 for me. I actually quit gaming entirely between 2009-2013 simple because I was so disappointed by the endless decline. Things are pretty good now in comparison to those dark times.

I felt the same way but what is better now? It looked like it was picking up with DoS, Tranny, POE, and Numanuma, but only one of those wasn't hot garbage.

 

[anvi]

Im more annoyed by the state of FPS and RTS genres.

Not to mention that its been a long time since we got anything remotely similar to Wing Commander or Freespace.

Have you played Space Rangers 2? It is 2d but it is fun. Arma3 scratches my FPS itch more or less. RTS genre died hardest.

 

[anvi]

Seriously, i don't get what's so great about this "RPG" genre.

1: Mechanics and gameplay often suck
2: Story is usually shallow and suffers from lack of creativity. Aren't you tired of general Tolkien fantasy? And a few games that have "great story" in the eyes of "RPG critics" have nothing but pretentious boring plots.
3: This "C&C" mechanics... both choices and their consequences feel arbitary in most of them. And a few RPGs that do C&C right are nothing better than your average CYOA.

I kind of agree, but it needn't be like that. If you look at Temple of elemental evil, BG2, Krondor, etc, they were starting to get really good in the 90s. But then it turned to shit since then. If it could have continued to grow they would have been amazing by now.

 

[TC Jr]

Yeah but to gaming in general, most of its already been said in the thread but the fact that there hasn't been a better stealth game than thief 1+2, like the potential is mental yet mechanically all the genres have either stayed the same or regressed. Gaming I think is just too big for it own good now. Most modern games are considered "good for what they are", people willingly accepting modern shit just cause.

 

[an Administrator]

IF IF IF IF IF IF IF IF IF IF IF IF.....

 

[anvi]

Yeah but to gaming in general, most of its already been said in the thread but the fact that there hasn't been a better stealth game than thief 1+2, like the potential is mental yet mechanically all the genres have either stayed the same or regressed. Gaming I think is just too big for it own good now. Most modern games are considered "good for what they are", people willingly accepting modern shit just cause.

^ All that is true. But being so big should mean that smart companies can find a niche and satisfy it. But mostly it doesn't happen, it is just huge companies mass producing dumb crap, or one man bands producing endless Eschalon Book 15 type stuff.

 

[anvi]

IF IF IF IF IF IF IF IF IF IF IF IF.....

Well yea, but that's why I feel cheated. Not only did it not grow, but it declined and then mostly died out completely. By now we should have had RPGs with a story as good as Sopranos, Breaking Bad, The Wire, etc. And with gameplay as good as DoS or better. There is no reason why it couldn't happen, except maybe that there are so many easily pleased dimwits who have no standards.

 

[markec]

Im more annoyed by the state of FPS and RTS genres.

Not to mention that its been a long time since we got anything remotely similar to Wing Commander or Freespace.

Have you played Space Rangers 2? It is 2d but it is fun. Arma3 scratches my FPS itch more or less. RTS genre died hardest.

Yeah SR2 is a good game, its HD version is on a sale right now for 4 euros and I really recommend it to everyone.

 

[TC Jr]

Yeah but to gaming in general, most of its already been said in the thread but the fact that there hasn't been a better stealth game than thief 1+2, like the potential is mental yet mechanically all the genres have either stayed the same or regressed. Gaming I think is just too big for it own good now. Most modern games are considered "good for what they are", people willingly accepting modern shit just cause.

^ All that is true. But being so big should mean that smart companies can find a niche and satisfy it. But mostly it doesn't happen, it is just huge companies mass producing dumb crap, or one man bands producing endless Eschalon Book 15 type stuff.

From the companies perspective they make more money adding in shit most of us detest, games aren't made by gamers now, it's a commity type of deal. Whether one of the companies could produce a game without all the modern shit and still be a success isn't a risk worth taking. Most gamers nowadays are brain dead retarded and won't touch a game with "shit" graphics or "complicated" gameplay because all the shit that they're playing is all cinematic stuff and they're not only fine with that, but expect it as well. (All my opinion, I'm shit posting a bit but still)

 

[anvi]

That's all true, but it is possible to be profitable in a niche. Some companies are doing well with that. It requires a massive budget to make stuff for the mainstream gamer because like you said, they expect top of the line graphics and hollywood voice actors and that costs tens of millions at least. So there is room for companies who can't afford that anyway, to make games for niches, especially now that those niches are bigger than ever. DoS is an example of that, Arma3, X series, Panthoen, various others, all doing this. But they are few and far between.

 

[Drog Black Tooth]

Do you get annoyed that your dick is not as hard as it used to be "back in the day"?

 

[cpmartins]

No. I played DOS and liked it a lot. I'm playing Voidspire Tactics and enjoying it. I played Witcher 3 and enjoyed it as well. I also started on Realms of Arkania and I'm liking it too. Just play whatever strikes your fancies and fuck all the rest.

 

[Lilura]

I played DOS and liked it a lot.

Keep your bad taste to yourself, pls.

 

[Doktor Best]

Lots of Weltschmerz in this thread. I think were doing great currently.

 

[buru5]

I played DOS and liked it a lot.

Keep your bad taste to yourself, pls.

 

[Tito Anic]

Oh how spoilt you are with these 1 man ascii games.

Quit your irony, casual

 

[Starwars]

I got annoyed a lot somewhere around 2005-2010 when you truly had to struggle to find decent RPGs. Now? Not that much, and there's been wealth of good games to play the last few years. Feel pretty happy about it actually.

Totally agree with this, except it was more 2005-2013 for me. I actually quit gaming entirely between 2009-2013 simple because I was so disappointed by the endless decline. Things are pretty good now in comparison to those dark times.

I felt the same way but what is better now? It looked like it was picking up with DoS, Tranny, POE, and Numanuma, but only one of those wasn't hot garbage.

Those games, while certainly of varying quality, hold up pretty well as far as I'm concerned. And for me there never were that many RPGs that I would consider great today. If I go back and play older RPGs, most of them don't really stand out as amazing anymore though they may have knocked me on my ass when I first played them (BG2 being a prime example). Fallout is my fav game of all time but if it had come out today? Definitely not. I know people on here always claim that nostalgia isn't a part of it but for me it's a pretty big thing with a lot of older games compared to newer ones. Arcanum is another one of my favs but it's a fucking annoying game in many ways, and I overlook a lot of that shit because of my previous attachment to the game.

And I mean... Underrail, Age of Decadence, other "non-hardcore" games like Dragonfall and Hong Kong, interesting games like Serpent in the Staglands, the Expeditions games, "RPG-likes" like Sorcery!. And then interesting upcoming games like No Truce With The Furies.

Not everything is what I would call a masterpiece, definitely not, but there's a lot of good playtime to be found. I have no idea how people can't find enjoyment in the wealth of games being offered nowadays.

That said, there are certainly parts of RPG design where one would've wished for... more advancements in our current day and age.

 

[anvi]

That said, there are certainly parts of RPG design where one would've wished for... more advancements in our current day and age.

All of it?!

I think most RPGs are quite crappy, even the old ones. But I think they have (or had) huge potential and it all kinda died sometime around 2000.

 

[Viata]

I think most RPGs are quite crappy, even the old ones. But I think they have (or had) huge potential and it all kinda died sometime around 2000.

Out of curiosity: what are your favorite crpgs?