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General / Re: The Widescreen Thread
« on: January 29, 2008, 03:45:48 pm »
Well - 5:4 is actually the only thing I care about - just like most LCD users with non-widescreen monitors. =)
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General / Re: Eurogamer Review
« on: December 21, 2007, 03:24:47 am »
Wohoo - the famous Tom Bramwell coming to the Bit-Blot forums.
Aquaria - a success story. =)
Aquaria - a success story. =)
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Gameplay / Re: Two suggestions
« on: December 20, 2007, 04:09:44 am »Quote
The map could be improved simply by having a particular area be highlighted as if you were there when clicked on.
Why not implement 4 shades of grey instead - don't tell me that it's too difficult to code. =)
2 shades (white and grey) for the active region as usual and a darker color scheme with two shades of grey for inactive regions...
I still think that implementing a "map-scribble" feature would be interesting. I hear the Zelda comparisons coming. :-D
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Gameplay / Re: Two suggestions
« on: December 19, 2007, 07:41:31 pm »Quote
I actually figured out those things about the map pretty early on in the game. I think what we're referring to is the fact that you can only see an outline of the rooms you're not in and not the details of what sections of those rooms were actually accessible to you or not. The few icons you can see don't save you from aimless wandering.
Precisely what I meant.
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General / Re: Eurogamer Review
« on: December 19, 2007, 04:45:48 pm »
Like I said before - I only get to review games that are within my usual "scope" - all reviewers are assigned certain genres. =)
When it to being objective: my main proof that I'm being objective is that I write my reviews independently and yet my scores always fall into the overall score range on sites like gamerankings or metacritic. Although I'm usually closer to the bottom of the range since I have a very critical view of most games. =)
When it to being objective: my main proof that I'm being objective is that I write my reviews independently and yet my scores always fall into the overall score range on sites like gamerankings or metacritic. Although I'm usually closer to the bottom of the range since I have a very critical view of most games. =)
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General / Re: Eurogamer Review
« on: December 19, 2007, 03:52:09 pm »Quote
but to give a great review to a game that you find to be a chore to play is rather courting disaster for a critic, IMO.
Well - I can give you an example: the GTA series.
I don't like the series except for the first title and that's only because I remember it fondly when I've been playing it with my friends on LAN. It IS up my review alley genre-wise, yet I don't quite like all the open-ended gameplay. Yes, I found the game (GTA: San Andreas) a chore to play but I gave it a high score because I could see how most other people could find the game enjoyable. I've been around the gaming business long enough to be able to objectively tell a good game from a bad one. At least that's what I like to think. The "subjective influence" on my final score can maybe change it +/- 1, rarely more.
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General / Re: Eurogamer Review
« on: December 19, 2007, 03:14:29 pm »
I know that this isn't a flame. =)
As to the subjective reviews. Believe it or not but we have very clear guidelines to writing reviews at my place and it happens frequently that I give a game a high score although I don't like it. Why? Because objectively speaking it's good - there's nothing wrong with it except for me not liking it. If I were to be only a gamer I'd dismiss the game with a bad review but as a journalist I have to deliver more than that.
As to the subjective reviews. Believe it or not but we have very clear guidelines to writing reviews at my place and it happens frequently that I give a game a high score although I don't like it. Why? Because objectively speaking it's good - there's nothing wrong with it except for me not liking it. If I were to be only a gamer I'd dismiss the game with a bad review but as a journalist I have to deliver more than that.
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General / Re: Eurogamer Review
« on: December 19, 2007, 05:47:54 am »
Well - you found certain points worth mentioning, Tom apparently didn't - different reviewing styles.
You listed several points that stand out as Aquaria is an indie title - they don't stand out so much if you compare them to most mainstream releases - at least the ones that deserve to be praised.
Depth of the story? I for my part didn't find the story too deep. The story is deep compared to what? Other indie titles?
The "emotional undercurrent" sounds like a very subjective opinion of yours and is borderline fanboyish. It's good that such a thing hasn't been mentioned. =)
Voice acting? Yeah, Aquaria HAS voice acting but is it that good? Again, compare it with some mainstream titles.
Remember that EuroGamer is NOT an indie portal and the things you mentioned might be special for an indie title but are virtually taken for granted in any good mainstream game so why mention them? EG shouldn't cut Aquaria any slack because it's independent - in fact I find it good that they reviewed the game exactly like a mainstream title and it still received a 7/10. Most indie games don't even make it on the review list.
I could agree with the music since most tunes are quite catchy and the editor should indeed have been mentioned even if it doesn't matter to the average player...
I think you don't read enough Eurogamer reviews - they really don't mention things that don't stand out either way.
You listed several points that stand out as Aquaria is an indie title - they don't stand out so much if you compare them to most mainstream releases - at least the ones that deserve to be praised.
Depth of the story? I for my part didn't find the story too deep. The story is deep compared to what? Other indie titles?
The "emotional undercurrent" sounds like a very subjective opinion of yours and is borderline fanboyish. It's good that such a thing hasn't been mentioned. =)
Voice acting? Yeah, Aquaria HAS voice acting but is it that good? Again, compare it with some mainstream titles.
Remember that EuroGamer is NOT an indie portal and the things you mentioned might be special for an indie title but are virtually taken for granted in any good mainstream game so why mention them? EG shouldn't cut Aquaria any slack because it's independent - in fact I find it good that they reviewed the game exactly like a mainstream title and it still received a 7/10. Most indie games don't even make it on the review list.
I could agree with the music since most tunes are quite catchy and the editor should indeed have been mentioned even if it doesn't matter to the average player...
I think you don't read enough Eurogamer reviews - they really don't mention things that don't stand out either way.
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General / Re: Eurogamer Review
« on: December 19, 2007, 04:04:00 am »
Quemanqua - sub-par journalism? You know, you've written a very long review - TOO long. Normal journalists don't have so much time/space to review a game so they have to set their priorities... How do I know that? Because I'm a game journalist myself, working for two Polish magazines (paper, not online).
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Gameplay / Re: Two suggestions
« on: December 19, 2007, 04:01:34 am »
Yep, I had something like toggles for various objects on the map in mind - like in RTS or economic games... I agree, however, that the ability to place map notes would solve the problem in a neat way although the whole explored/unexplored issue would still need to be resolved.
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Gameplay / Two suggestions
« on: December 19, 2007, 03:25:44 am »
I searched the forum and to my amazement there are very few suggestions how to improve the game (maybe people are too impressed with it =) apart from some technical issues...
Well - I have two - they are the major gameplay problems I have with the game and both have been mentioned by Eurogamer - their review does have a point...
1. More save points - every area should have AT LEAST one - not all do. It's not that the game is too difficult or something but you just can't leave it any time you want without major backtracking or losing all your progress... This is VERY annoying - more save points wouldn't hurt the gameplay in the least.
2. This has been suggested before but I 'd like to go into it further: better map. This may require some major patching but it should be worthwhile - before all the other reviews start to appear. =)
The areas should be labeled, there should probably be small dots in flower/leaf spots... Also, if you leave a given area you should still be able to see which parts of it you have explored and which you haven't (make it appear exactly like the active region, just darker) - otherwise you might not remember to come back with a new ability etc. - maybe "dead ends" requiring a special ability should also be marked. I think that you have modified the appearance of the explored parts of the map already in the new patches but it still doesn't work perfectly - I have white areas, grey areas, dark grey areas, really, really dark grey areas - as if the map output from different versions got mixed up. =)
The map is in my opinion THE most important part of any exploration game. I HATE pointless moving around and too much backtracking - even if I like the overall atmosphere of the game. This would also solve most of the "where should I go next" problems...
These two issues may be responsible for some of the "Aquaria has a forced atmosphere to it" comments I've read in a few places. It's as if you HAVE to concentrate on enjoying the surroundings because you have to wait for the next save point to pop up or backtrack without knowing if you have been somewhere or not.
Well - I have two - they are the major gameplay problems I have with the game and both have been mentioned by Eurogamer - their review does have a point...
1. More save points - every area should have AT LEAST one - not all do. It's not that the game is too difficult or something but you just can't leave it any time you want without major backtracking or losing all your progress... This is VERY annoying - more save points wouldn't hurt the gameplay in the least.
2. This has been suggested before but I 'd like to go into it further: better map. This may require some major patching but it should be worthwhile - before all the other reviews start to appear. =)
The areas should be labeled, there should probably be small dots in flower/leaf spots... Also, if you leave a given area you should still be able to see which parts of it you have explored and which you haven't (make it appear exactly like the active region, just darker) - otherwise you might not remember to come back with a new ability etc. - maybe "dead ends" requiring a special ability should also be marked. I think that you have modified the appearance of the explored parts of the map already in the new patches but it still doesn't work perfectly - I have white areas, grey areas, dark grey areas, really, really dark grey areas - as if the map output from different versions got mixed up. =)
The map is in my opinion THE most important part of any exploration game. I HATE pointless moving around and too much backtracking - even if I like the overall atmosphere of the game. This would also solve most of the "where should I go next" problems...
These two issues may be responsible for some of the "Aquaria has a forced atmosphere to it" comments I've read in a few places. It's as if you HAVE to concentrate on enjoying the surroundings because you have to wait for the next save point to pop up or backtrack without knowing if you have been somewhere or not.
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General / Re: Eurogamer Review
« on: December 19, 2007, 03:04:13 am »Quote
They seem to copy Edge, in that they actually consider 5 to be average
Or rather: they don't seem to follow the ultra-annoying 7-9 rating trend... Many sites nowadays do - 7 crap, 8 average-good, 9 awesome. ;-)
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Support / Re: Widescreen support PLEASE
« on: December 18, 2007, 06:53:40 pm »Quote
Some LCDs are 5:4 for some reason
Not "some" - almost all 17" - 19" LCD monitors are 5:4 and according to e.g. the Steam Hardware Survey over 40% of the users have monitors in this size range.
In fact the 1280 x 1024 resolution is one of the most widespread resolutions right now because almost all modern 17" and 19" non-widescreen monitors use it. It's even a standard with its own name: SXGA
The explanation, according to Wikipedia is the following:
Quote
There is much speculation on the origin of SXGA. Some believe its use began back in the mid-1980s, as an upgrade from XGA 1024×768. At the time, memory was extremely expensive. Using 1280×1024 at 8-bit color depth allowed 1.25 MiB of video RAM usage, fitting nicely with available RAM chip sizes.[1][2]
1280 pixels × 1024 pixels = 1,310,720 pixels
1,310,720 pixels × 8 bits/pixel = 10,485,760 bits
10,485,760 bits ÷ 8 bits/byte = 1,310,720 bytes = 1.25 MiB
It's really a bad mistake to omit this option when making a modern game since 4:3 isn't all that popular nowadays...
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General / Re: Aquaria hit the P2P
« on: December 11, 2007, 10:12:27 pm »
Oh, c'mon people. Let's not overdramatize the issue. I regularly use P2P to download "all kinds of stuff" and I always buy everything that proves to be worthwhile. OK - in Aquaria's case I bought the game on day 1 without even having played the demo but that's another story.
OK - there may not bee too many "honest pirates" out there but like someone said before the people who download games instead of buying them wouldn't have bought them in the first place. However, they contribute to the buzz surrounding the game so they can be considered as "free advertising" and nothing spreads the word better than viral marketing. =)
I remember a lecture by some serious economist who claimed that e.g. the music industry doesn't lose money because of illegal downloads but rather makes quite a bit of profit off it.
Of course this would be a problem if MOST people were software pirates but the fact of the matter is that most people are honest buyers...
OK - there may not bee too many "honest pirates" out there but like someone said before the people who download games instead of buying them wouldn't have bought them in the first place. However, they contribute to the buzz surrounding the game so they can be considered as "free advertising" and nothing spreads the word better than viral marketing. =)
I remember a lecture by some serious economist who claimed that e.g. the music industry doesn't lose money because of illegal downloads but rather makes quite a bit of profit off it.
Of course this would be a problem if MOST people were software pirates but the fact of the matter is that most people are honest buyers...
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Support / Re: Demo Save Games not importing
« on: December 11, 2007, 07:18:48 am »
It's not weird - it's acting like a normal, secure system. It's not the system that's acting strange - people aren't used to working in a secure environment.
Vista doesn't allow to write into Program Files when you're not an administrator because it's a directory by all user accounts. Guess what - you can't install applications for all users under Linux/Unix when you're not on a root account... Too many people are still stuck with the Win95 ideology. =)
Vista doesn't allow to write into Program Files when you're not an administrator because it's a directory by all user accounts. Guess what - you can't install applications for all users under Linux/Unix when you're not on a root account... Too many people are still stuck with the Win95 ideology. =)
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