Murdoc

Phaedrus' Street Crew
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    2015

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Posts posted by Murdoc

  1. Posted

    You're branding their mind.

     

    What you described as your expanded train of thought is literally what the overarching mission for the second half of the map is.

    Maybe I am too early into the second map, because it hasn't seemed to play out like that yet, it just seems like I brand some dudes and they will fight for me if I get into a fight. They also don't stay branded, it seems, if I leave the area and come back or start a mission... at least one mission I started seemed to reset them.

     

    And Dewar, you make a good point. And hearing how it may become a little more political later on the map, I'll nitpick this one little thing to a very specific and totally stupid level. I just wanted Orcs with personality to brand, so maybe its just the fact their eyes glow bothers me, I dunno, it's stupid I know.

     

    Also, totally in agreement with SecretAsianMan about the system, it's why I hope they really expand this concept for later games, because it's super cool and a really solid first iteration, but I'm greedy and want more from it down the road.

     

    I treated the Fable series similiarly. I liked Fable 1, did it give me everything I want? No. So Fable 2 came out and it was awesome, bigger, and I thought really great. But still room for improvement, so I  figured by Fable 3-5, it would be a really amazing game. Sadly they decided to can the series, crap into a bag, and sell it as Fable 3. But the idea of investing in the idea of a series was there.

     

    I feel the same way about Mordor, even if it's the same game and not a lotr thing, so I am on board.

  2. Posted

    Not saying it isn't thematically appropriate, I just think it looks really dumb.

     

    Finally got brand and...erm...

     

    Still having fun, but I'm going to get nitpicky. It was Talion that just suddenly suggested "Oh, we should just brand some dudes so we can get our cake and eat it to". So... you were aware you had this power the entire time and decided not to use? Kind of dumb.

     

    Also, brand. Not exactly the best name, it's possession. When I heard about the power, I thought you were beating the crap out of an orc and having them swear fealty to you, sort of like Ratbag(man I wished they kept him around). The supernatural, possession thing kind of just detracts from the power fantasy for me, but that's just me. Also, I was hoping it was literally branding them, like a cow, that would have been cooler. Again, if there is ever a sequel, just let me be a cool orc captain or a saruman type collecting my own orc army.

     

    edit: Just to expand on this train of thought. I like the nemesis system and when they introduced Ratbag and knowing, vaguely, about the brand system I guess I constructed a feature that isn't quite there. As I take out the hierarchy, I supposed  I was going to install my own Orcs as captains, then by taking out their bosses, eventually make them Warchiefs, thus supplanting the Mordor hierarchy. To me that seemed really cool and political, but I had it a bit wrong.

  3. Posted

    It is something I plan on picking up and was just telling a friend today, maybe I'll get it when I eventually grab a rift. Then I was told this doesn't have rift support... didn't they let people preview it at E3 on an occulus rift? Why the hell wouldn't they have shipped with it, even if it was an extra little download with a warning for "jank". 

     

    Perplexing or I am miss remembering reports from E3.

  4. Posted

    I think it's more the direction of the greenery, rather than the idea of a more lush Mordor that isn't sitting with me. Just feels out of place and (to no fault of the games) doesn't hold up as well on my low settings, so has kind of detracted from the game experience. I think with a slight color adjustment and direction change to make it feel a little more gnarly and dark, it would have fit the vibe of the game a tad more. The muddy, puddle ridden terrain of Udun just look far more impressive than a green grass texture with little bits of low poly mesh swaying. Again, just a directional shift with the same concept could have looked cooler.

     

    The strongholds on the second map are super cool though, I really enjoy that. 

     

    And oof.

    The white girl with the dreads, god damn, that is some horrifying hair decisions in this

  5. Posted

    Got to the second map.

     

    So far I'll mimmick everyone's comments on the story, I knew it wasn't going to be great and it's not what I am here for, but yeah, it's not interesting at all. I like your wraith pal though, he seems cool.

     

    So the second map, not entirely sure if I agree with the idea to have it, unless there is a significant plot or game design reason, I'm just not digging it. I'm on a lower graphical setting and lets just say the nature of the biome doesn't hold up as well as the rock, brick, and mud of Udun. 

     

    From at atmosphere point of view, it just feels off. Granted I am not a Tolkien scholar or anything and most of what I know/remember from Lord of the Rings of the film, but from a gut feeling, I want Mordor to be desolate and imposing, I think the first map did a good job at doing this. I understand and accept the game is a bit repetitive in it's environment and it would be difficult to get different looking desolation/rock/brick/mud types and have it feel different, along with the fact this could have been production or budgetary constraints.

     

    However, looking at what they have done with what they had in the second map, it just doesn't feel right. Even starting with the idea of doing a different biome, I think they could have done a better job with the direction, what is presented here feels kind of like generic video gamey jungle number 2. Also, the context of a different map that is unconnected with the first one also kind of breaks me out of the immersion. Open world games never serve themselves well when they do this.  I understand this could have been a technical constraint. However, if they go forward with a sequel, I'd keep it in mind to stick with one map, even if it means to sacrifice a variety or biome and just try to diversify what they had. Though understandable this would post a lot of problems on how the nemesis system works and such, but I think those design issues should be solved for future titles.

     

    Also, there is a bit of narrative dissonance now between the caution people keep telling me to take and my actual capabilities. Not to reiterate the balancing issues of the game, but they are pretty start, I feel like I am end game, but I'm probably only half way. 

     

    Again minor things since I am still enjoying it, but the gaps/issues/gripes are pretty apparent which makes me hopeful this game sold very well to have a really well thought out sequel as I am sure it can have.

  7. Posted

    I think there is a huge market for Lynch style of weird, so I don't think The Black Glove will suffer from that aspect. I think it's the whole package, the art is okay and the concept isn't an easy sell. The hook itself is a bit hard to get, I tend to read a couple paragraphs, look at a couple screenshots before anything and I didn't immediately "get" what was going on, the clash between arcade games and 1920 theatre didn't inform me what the game was or how it played, so the wow factor is completely missing if you have to spend a couple minutes in a video to show/explain what your game is.

     

    Comparing it, a little unfairly, to Flame in the Flood, it takes me two seconds to look at the screens and see a more solid sense of what it's about. I may make wrong assumptions, but I can see a game there that I think it is, that pulls me in to read and discover more to either confirm, challenge, or turn me off of that assumption.

     

    It also doesn't hurt FitF (ew) that it has a stronger execution of art and concept, it's a safer idea and concept than the Black Glove. 

  9. Posted

    Yeah it's funny, I don't normally like games that scale, but at this point, I feel my dude is a little too over powered and kind of wished the orcs were a bit tougher now. I know it's entirely my fault for side missioning it so far, but I'm sure the developers could have come up with something to tune this, but it is probably more complicated than that.

  10. Posted

    I don't think that's reasonable. You don't know that the people asking for realism are the same people complaining about it when it's implemented. There is a sliding scale of realism and most people will fall in the middle, so any game at either extreme will have its critics. Just because "life is unfair" doesn't mean games should be. In fact I would argue that a game that is inherently unfair and doesn't follow clearly defined rules is poor game design.

     

    EDIT: Nothing I have seen from Isolation is unfair, I'm not arguing against that example.

    While this has nothing to do with Aliens, there was a funny write up or talk at one point with someone from Firaxis talking about random rolls in Civilization. They had to tune the randomness not to be random, because players perceived the actual random algorithm with being unfair, so they did tweaks for it to not be completely random, but feel fair.

     

    (I may have heard this story on Idle Thumbs too, I don't remember, but hopefully the information is accurate.)

  11. Posted

    Nearing the end of the first map and boy, you guys weren't kidding, that difficulty curve drops like a rock. I think I heard Dead Rising 3 had the same issue, if you go around the side content too much you become way too over powered.

     

    Batman always felt a bit balanced, but after upgrading a ton of abilities in Mordor I can't even think of how many Orcs and captains you can slice through. I hope there is someway they ramp up the difficulty.

     

    My initial trouble on executing wasn't understanding the hit streak system, after that I cut through a ton of captains, I don't even think any of them try to follow me around anymore, I haven't had a guy come back in awhile.

  13. Posted

    Annnnnnnnnd great. I get home to find out my hard drive decided to die which is really strange timing and just fantastic as I was really looking forward to playing all weekend.

    I'm guessing this doesn't have cloud saves so I'll get to start from the beginning, which to be honest, I'm not really looking forward to. So thus ends my murder playthrough for at least a few months when I feel like beginning again.

    What a bummer.

  15. Posted

    I kind of want to keep a captain alive for as long as possible, just to see how far they let you take it. I imagine a furious dismembered orc showing up in some kind of primitive wheelchair using his teeth as his only remaining weapon.

    I am inadvertently doing this because I can't manage to do executions so I am creating these ungold powerful beings that are immune to everything and look like horrible, hobbling mutants. So far they haven't gotten worse than a bag over their head.

     

    I have one of those lumpy plague looking orcs, but have't confronted him, he's already ugly as hell, so I can't image what would happen when I throw him into a fire.

    ***

    Hearing that there is a second map is awesome, because so far the map I am on is a bit tiny and I've learned it enough to get around by recognizing everything.

     

    Does anyone know how the vendetta system work? Like where are they pulling these names from? Steam or that Warner Brothers account I haven't signed up for? If it's steam, I'm going to have to start adding some people playing this game because I only see 2 same people to take revenge for.

  16. Posted

    I've debated if I should stop playing until I get a new video card. The game looks fine, but I really want it to look amazing when its on high. At first glance, I'd probably agree the game seems not terribly well optimized, but if I take into consideration the amount of characters, what ever AI, and the variety of those character models, its probably enough to justify it running a bit slowly with its fidelity.

     

    I really don't want to stop playing, but by the time I get a new card, I'll probably be bored of the game.

     

    The question is where do they go from here? I mean constraining such a neat game with a property and timeline like Lord of the Rings, not to mention how interested people are in the IP (The hobbit movies aren't doing great) seems a little weird. I wonder if they will transfer the idea of a sequel to something new or keep the LOTR train going, it's so far my least favorite part of the game. With that said, if I could be a Orc running around killing other captains and trying to manipulate events so I could become a warchief and build a gang of drunken cockney mutants, I'd call that a sequel well done.

  17. Posted

    Man, there are some guys that just won't die. I really wished the wording was a bit different when they were defeated but not dead, so I'd at least expect to see someone again. This one guy just won't die, I can't finish executions on him, so I assume I'll never be able to actually kill him?

     

    Another guy is basically invulnerable except to range and explosions, so great, does that mean he can only be defeated and not executed? Or are there some later abilities that will be granted so I can actually keep them dead?

  19. Posted

    Ok, so the game started intended to be a Batman game and running through my head playing Mordor, I'd much rather have had that theme going on.

     

    Basically, the overall strategy mechanic is a list of a bunch of captains(gang leaders) and a top tier of war chiefs. They have names, they have a list of strengths (like good against heavy attack, can't be killed by monsters, etc) and a list of weaknesses (scared of fire, weak to poison). You're presented with essentially a list that there are X number captains and as you make your way exploring the landscape and interrogating orcs, you reveal their identity and their weaknesses. 

     

    In this system you can also see who they are fighting with, if anyone, almost like an old civilization game, you see a red line connecting them with another Orc captain. I haven't gotten too far into using this system, but I'd imagine killing one of their enemies, will strengthen them or there are other ways to pit the two against each other.

     

    In addition, there seems to be deliberate quests to make a deal with lower ranking orcs to kill their captain and have them assume the role. So they are now somewhat of an ally/puppet. 

     

    The nemesis system seems a bit more chaotic and while it isn't totally, random, I am still early into it where it feels that way. When fighting regular orcs (gang members) through some set of circumstances the game will make them a nemesis, this happens before combat or in the middle, meaning they are given a name and a similar set of strengths and weaknesses. If you don't kill them there and then, they will flee and come back through the course of the game and hunt you down. They make references to past encounters with you (Remember the airfield?). Again, I am too early to see how this all plays out, only one nemesis has gotten away from me and did just show up again, I think with a helmet over his eye complaining about the scar I gave him last time. I killed him pretty quickly, so I haven't encountered the really tough ones other people have mentioned.

     

    There is probably more going on too, I'm still early in.

  21. Posted

    Thanks SecretAsianMan, I tend to just fiddle with the settings until I get something that looks good and plays alright. It took some adjusting and I am on a low-medium setting.

     

    I'm really enjoying the game, but wondering if I should stop playing it now so I can wait to get a new video card so I can crank it up to look a bit better, because on high it's pretty gorgeous. 

     

    Couple hours last night, first impressions:

     

    I never got into the batman games until just a few months ago, so the combat system is probably really tiresome for everyone, but since it's new to me, I enjoy it a lot, while it's similar to Assassins Creed I find this far more fun and interactive.

     

    Mordor seems small. Maybe more opens up in time? I don't think so though.

     

    Main characters eyes are too far apart, he looks cross eyed or just plain dumb at times. I had a costume change, which I guess works like the Arkham system, so at least I don't look like I am in crappy rags, but it does change it in the cut scenes, so I think it's breaking a bit of the immersion for me.

     

    I have a feeling the nemesis system and the whole "political" game with the captains and chiefs is going to make it's way into A LOT of games in the next few years. I dare to say, this could be this generations cover system mechanic.

  22. Posted

    That benchmark thing in the options was not a good test of the game./ Once into it it looked great, but once 10 orcs show up I had to stick it on low. Well looks like its time for an upgrade.

     

    So far, really digging the systems and the little systemic stories that are coming out of it.

  23. Posted

    Ok, so I found out my specs. To note I think the last time I looked at them was for Skyrim and ran the thing on high or something, anyway, it was never impressive, but Skyrim looked awesome.

     

    I get home and Mordor defaults me to low. The art is nicely done, but it's looking a little 2nd generation 360 game. I did their benchmark thing and was getting average 65fps, which I am the sort of idiot that thinks a steady 30 is good enough, so I cranked it to very high and got my 30 and it doesn't feel like I'm staring at a game from 5 years ago. So yay!

     

    I have a 550TI to note, so yeah, might be time for an upgrade one day.

  24. Posted

    That would be a cool graphical treatment and I do like brkl's idea about minreals. In context to the fiction, why do they know this or that is useful or does something specific for them? I guess maybe they did unmanned surveys before, but then why don't they know the landscape? We're about 1% into a design doc for a Idle Thumb's Beyond Earth mod.


    Anyway, I'll wait until its out.