What do you just hate in games...

Adagio · July 6, 2003, 11:49

... that's a common thing in games..?

I simply can't stand magic (unless it only comes "in small doses") in games, but still there's new "magic games" released every now and then... If some game company releases an RPG game, there's 99% risk, for that game to include magic... way too much magic...

This is really sad, since I like the general idea in RPG games (i.e. you build up your character over time)

A little magic can't hurt, but it's almost always way too much

Urban Ranger · July 6, 2003, 12:09

Cheating computer players.

Henrik · July 6, 2003, 12:10

Quote:

Originally posted by Urban Ranger
Cheating computer players.

Indeed

General Ludd · July 6, 2003, 12:33

Poorly done and out of place 3D graphics just for the sake of having 3D graphics.

Adagio · July 6, 2003, 12:46

Agree...

Too bad that's what they're always putting into the Tycoon games (75% of all new tycoon games are in 3D... none of those 3D Tycoon games are good)

child of Thor · July 6, 2003, 16:26

As design(marketing) decisions - very deliberate and small inbuilt hrs to completion, plus limited replayability.

da_hal · July 6, 2003, 17:11

Hal's most hated:

10. Games that come in huge boxes but are 90% air.
9. Movie tie-ins.
8. Sequels that use the same engine and basically only add scenarios.
7. "Strategy manuals" where the writers only played 10% of the game.
6. Cannot turn off sound.
5. 1k+ game cd's in the bargin bin.
4. No keyboard shortcuts.
3. Sim-anything (somebody's getting a beatdown for making me buy sim-planet.)
2. Piss Poor A.I.
1. Games released in beta form that require 2+ patches just to be stable.

Chilean President™ · July 6, 2003, 17:24

Games that came without translation or subtitles

yeah, I know, you don't have that problem over there

Odin · July 6, 2003, 18:06

F*cked up sequels.
cough*Ultima 9*cough

Buggy games released to make Christmas.

AI Cheating.

Sandman · July 6, 2003, 18:59

Barrels that explode when you shoot them. They're bloody everywhere in games.

Bug-fests. There's no excuse. They say that it's because PCs are all so different, but most bugs are common across all machines.

Modability and mod-makers. Now, I don't hate these, but I do think that they help to ensure that games are made half-heartedly. If you're a games company, why not release the product half-finished and leave the fans to finish it? Why pay programmers when modders work for free?

Urban Ranger · July 6, 2003, 23:39

Quote:

Originally posted by Sandman
If you're a games company, why not release the product half-finished and leave the fans to finish it? Why pay programmers when modders work for free?

Still, the publisher is still going to take a hit and that title just won't sell. Besides, a lot of gamers don't have access to mods (maybe less now since Apolyton is becoming famous

).

St Leo · July 7, 2003, 01:08

10. Games that come in huge boxes but are 90% air.

I like huge boxes.

8. Sequels that use the same engine and basically only add scenarios.

Nothing wrong as long as they are cheap.

5. 1k+ game cd's in the bargin bin.

I like the bargain bin.

Maquiladora · July 7, 2003, 02:38

Crates in FPS (even when not infiltrating a box factory) and unnecessary amount of keys needed to play eg, tilt this way tilt that way, bob up and down abit to see over ledge...

Nubclear · July 7, 2003, 04:05

Overly complex gameplay for simple things.
Overly simple gameplay for complex things.

Dis · July 7, 2003, 04:14

lately the gaming boxes are too small

hardly any room for manuals, and many companies do not even try to put out decent manuals anymore. They rely on in game help or a pdf manual.

cheating, major gameplay bugs

Nubclear · July 7, 2003, 04:18

Quote:

Originally posted by Dissident
lately the gaming boxes are too small

hardly any room for manuals, and many companies do not even try to put out decent manuals anymore. They rely on in game help or a pdf manual.

cheating, major gameplay bugs

I *HATE* big boxes. They take up soo much room on the shelf (Yep, I keep my boxes) and most of them are even 1/3 filled.

And yeah, I hate in-game help or PDF as opposed to manuals.

Dis · July 7, 2003, 04:23

well that's a good point. I do lack the room for boxes (I have actually discarded all the old boxes to my old games when I moved accross country). but I like large manuals. So that is a dilema for me.

Nubclear · July 7, 2003, 04:47

Quote:

Originally posted by Dissident
well that's a good point. I do lack the room for boxes (I have actually discarded all the old boxes to my old games when I moved accross country). but I like large manuals. So that is a dilema for me.

I like manuals with a fine balance of "largeness" and "thickness". I mean, I dont awnt a manual the size of a PDA with literally thousands of pages, but I dont want a HUGE manual with only a few pages.

I like reading manuals, especially when I have nothing better to do. A way to pass time and maybe learn something new.

DrSpike · July 7, 2003, 06:17

1 - Cheats in MP.
2 - Sim games.
3 - Habitual whiners who show up for each new patch to declare they aren't playing the game any more.

Note there may be some overlap.

Adagio · July 7, 2003, 06:40

Quote:

Originally posted by Chilean President
Games that came without translation or subtitles

yeah, I know, you don't have that problem over there

Reminds me of one of the worst things:

Games that only comes translated, giving the buyers no chance to get the game in original language (unless you're going to visit that country)...

Skanky Burns · July 7, 2003, 07:49

Games that don't work out of the box. Sure, I like patches that improve certain aspects of the game or add features, but the plain vanilla game should still be playable.

I also dislike games that are released locally a few months after they are released for others. Such as Vice City, which is going to be released in another week.

lord of the mark · July 7, 2003, 10:06

I dont have the problems with Sim games some of you seem to have. I enjoyed simcity, and like the idea of a "computer toy". Simearth - i found the manual didnt explain game play that well, and many of the DOS aspects of this game in terms of interface were frustrating - the science in the manual was very interesting though, and i may come back to it. Now if it were released for windows with an improved interface that would be great.

Ive done simtown with my kid, and watched some of her schoolmates play simpark - not bad for what theyre trying at all. Now if i can dig up Simmania from where it got packed up during our move, i'll try simtower.

"The Sims" as far as i can tell was a flawed implementation of an interesting idea. Even so its brought millions to PC gaming, and spawned an industy of x-packs - a good sign lots of people like it.

OTOH I have not bought and do not intend to but any games whose principle theme is gory violence, or auto theft and killing pedestrians.

(runs to flameproof area)

da_hal · July 7, 2003, 12:59

i have/had sims, simearth, simcity 2000, simgolf (and, if you include theme park by bullfrog, 5 total.) most of these were fun for a while, but quickly got stale. what i hated about sim stuff:

1. no real strategy. once you figured out what to do regardless of the crappy manual, you could suceed 10/10 times.

2. unstable and buggy in large resolutions and endgames when the numbers started hitting byte limits.

3. unsatisfying endings (i believe it was a 1" X 1" little clickbox when your race achieved colonization capability in simearth. yay.)

3a. or even worse, no ending, ala sims and simcity.

4. poorly thought out controls, such as the building model in simgolf and the land sculpting tool in simcity 2000.

I also don't like games where the main goal is killing, unless it's part of a larger strategic context (eg. warfare in civ.) I had/have my fill of those in old arcade games thanks to mame.

The games today are too much flash, not enough substance. I think it has to do with the controls. Your thumbs just aren't dexteritous enough to manage fine movements, so games are relatively simplistic in action but complex in graphics.

(for people who disagree, I'd gladly kick your butt in say street fighter II, most sports games, and just about anything else with my joystick vs your joypad.)

*joins mark in the flameproof shelter*

Adagio · July 7, 2003, 13:43

Quote:

Originally posted by da_hal
1. no real strategy. once you figured out what to do regardless of the crappy manual, you could suceed 10/10 times.

Actually most Sim games doesn't have an ending... You set the goal yourself...

E.g. in SimCity you can set the goal you want to archive. It could be to have the largest population possible, or the richest population, or just the happiest population... You can't suceed in all possible ways, at the same time...

Quote:

Originally posted by da_hal
2. unstable and buggy in large resolutions and endgames when the numbers started hitting byte limits.

The only Sim game I have ever found unstable, is SimLife... but what else to expect from a Dos game, played on WinXP...

Quote:

Originally posted by da_hal
3. unsatisfying endings (i believe it was a 1" X 1" little clickbox when your race achieved colonization capability in simearth. yay.)

I have never played a Sim game, that have had an ending yet... and I hope I never will...

Quote:

Originally posted by da_hal
3a. or even worse, no ending, ala sims and simcity.

That's what makes Sim games so great... they don't stop the game, when you're having the best time ever... You can always make your city better... in some way...

Quote:

Originally posted by da_hal
4. poorly thought out controls, such as the building model in simgolf and the land sculpting tool in simcity 2000.

I haven't had any problems with controls... only shortcuts... if that's what you're refering to?

Mahdimael · July 7, 2003, 15:24

I never really liked Simlife or simcity- I'm more goal-oriented, and there were never any rewards in those games for doing well- just fewer negatives. I like Pirates and Sword of the Samurai, however, which were open ended.

I hate clones of games. I hate the phrase "Like X, but with Y" (i.e. Like Starcraft, but with Llamas!)

I dislike games that are not intuitive. Complexity is fine, as long as I can get a summary of what's going on.

I dislike games where the computer cheats to win, or otherwise gains some advantage in-game.

Smash · July 7, 2003, 15:53

Bad music.This is alot more important than you might think.

Like playing GTA3 and just grooving..."ease off the pressure,slow down your wheels and put away the spank""

Compared to playing Civ3 and hearing that Kenny G modern era crap.That should have been a victory condition cuz when I hear it the game is over

Adagio · July 7, 2003, 16:02

Oh, music is important... that means: It's important to have a switch to turn OFF music in games... if you can't turn it off, the game is 99% certain that it'll be deleted within very short time...

lord of the mark · July 7, 2003, 16:52

Quote:

Originally posted by ADG

Actually most Sim games doesn't have an ending... You

I have never played a Sim game, that have had an ending yet... and I hope I never will...

in sim earth, IIRC, the game ended when the intelligent species reached a certain level of development and thus interstellar travel - but that wasnt really the point of it, and there were scenarios that didnt have that at all.

Mahdimael · July 7, 2003, 17:26

actually, the game didn't end...the sentient species would develop over time to a "nano" age and leave the planet, and you would have the opportunity to raise another creature to sentience (until 10 billion years had passed, I think, at which point the sun burned out and the game ended)

Pekka · July 7, 2003, 17:29

the lack of nudity.