junkevil said:
Section8 said:
As a shooter veteran, I'm fucking insulted by this. So we're all supposed to "sit up and take notice" because something looks nice? As a shooter veteran the last thing I want is some system kludged over the top of the shooting mechanic that makes me artificially miss based on a to-hit roll, rocket launchers and miniguns be damned.
did you ever play vampire the masquerade: bloodlines? you had to build your firearms and melee skills before you could shoot a gun well or use a katana well. you would miss with the gun and do little damage with melee weapons of your skill was not high enough.
Yep, played it and loved it, though mainly for the gameplay beyond just combat. The dialogue in particular, but also the density of non-combat interactions. It seemed that just about everywhere there were locks to pick, computers to hack, shadows to hide in, and so forth. The magic was pretty entertaining too.
But. The combat was pretty passable, I know a lot of people weren't fans, but I enjoyed it. I don't think it would work in a pure FPS, but for a hybrid it was solid. A shade better than System Shock 2 in that regard, though not quite up to Dark Messiah standard.
However, I also played Arcanum, where the combat tried to be turn-based and tried to be real-time, and ended up failing at both. That's the vibe I get from Fallout 3. Take a look at
this screenshot. How exactly are those percentages reconciled with a player manually aiming? And to further complicate the issue, Compare the aiming efficiency of a pair of thumbsticks to a keyboard/mouse combo.
Bethesda have a track record of not even getting the simple things right, so why would anyone expect them to somehow devise a system that is perfectly balanced for VATS users and manual FPS players on two vastly different input methods? Since they seem to be focusing on VATS as a primary mode of play, is anyone not expecting the "straight FPS" mode to be gimpy and awkward?
And on the other hand, what's so exciting about the tradeoff? VATS sounds about as deep and interesting as KOTORs shitty drudgefest of a combat system. Actually, less so, since force powers are unlikely.
That's why I'm skeptical. I've played and enjoyed a fuckton of FPSs and FPS hybrids, and know my way in and out of the common systems they use. The problem is, Bethesda's take on FPS/RPG hybridisation is poorly thought out, not innovative in the slightest, and likely to cause all sorts of difficulties. It's almost like they're deliberately trying to emulate the mistakes made by Arcanum and Fallout Tactics with relation to combat.
also, it was the best fpsrpg ever made. (to date that is, but i don't see any competitors really.)
/me misses troika
System Shock 2 holds a special place in my heart, but Bloodlines is right up there. Fantastically good game that deserved better, just like the guys who made it.
