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Random Thoughts: Fixing The Secret World.

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This is a thread I wrote back in August of 2012 ~
**I'm posting this here on DeviantART for future reference, as I might
return to check back on The Scret World, later this year.

If anyone reading this is still playing TSW, feel free to let me know if
any of this has changed and how. ^_^

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Original Rant/Suggestion (Thread) Concept:
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Ok, so I've been seeing a lot of hate for TSW from many reviews as well as news *(blog) sites like Joystick.

So, with the monthly "promise" of updates coming from Funcom into TSW... I'll try to simplify "why" TSW is viewed in such a negative light, despite being relatively good Vs. a typical MMO. *(helping Funcom understand their game ~ and what "can" be fixed).


The Problem:::
The real problem with TSW is the combat.. yes.. we're back to that again, but just hear me out.

Look at dungeons in todays games.. how many types are there?... countless right?

Meh, not so much.
**There are 2 main types of dungeons.. "Progression and Grind".

What's the difference?

Progression is more commonly found in Console games via::
1. Legend of Zelda
2. Bioshock
3. God of War.

These are Dungeons/Zones that you'll generally spend the majority of your time *(hours at a time) exploring them, looking for secrets and.. mainly, backtracking to older areas to find tools/items that let you progress further into the dungeon via story mechanics.

Then you have Grind, now please note this is NOT a negative word and only used to convey it's general purpose ~ They are more common with MMO's and Dungeon Crawlers via::
1. Diablo
2. World of Warcraft
3. TSW
**Even some console games like Castlevania 2, Simons Quest.

Grind Dungeons are for the most part are pretty short in duration.. and designed for you to run through them, spamming your spells and killing shit.. and I mean LOTS of shit! ~ All in an effort to collect statistically superior "loot" ~ again and again, you'll be coming back to that dungeon to kill shit till you get that uber piece of gear or that quota filled via typical NPC quest.

The real difference however, is what mechanics they facilitate in your game:
 ~ Progression = Slow paced + Story Driven.
 ~ Grind = Fast paced + Loot Driven.

Now I could spend hours talking about this, but for the sake of sanity and reading comprehension.. I'll try to keep this short.

~~~~

The Secret World is designed as a progression based MMO via single player game mechs *(IE: Story driven w/atmosphere, puzzles, ect)

However, they included a combat system in the game that was designed to let players rip through content. *(IE: They're using spam combat, w/o limitations ~ as if we were playing your standard Diablo clone with a different camera angle).

This speeds up player progression and promotes a "run and gun" game play to both the normal quests AND dungeons.

Which again, is NOT what the secret world was being designed around. *(Story / Atmosphere / puzzles / ect).

Using this combat mechanic means.. that players don't have to take their time.. they aren't "counting each shot" *(unlimited ammo) and more importantly, they're getting bored at the lack of content... why?... because Funcom used the wrong combat system, which in turn.. made the rest of the game feel "tacked on" or lackluster.

~~~~

TL;DR

Sure you can also point to the "immersion breaking" chat via spoilers.. or the floaty animations... but at the end of the day, can you really say that you prefer TSW with it's "Grind-based" combat design.. *(speed/loot) ~ instead of what it should've had *(Progression)?

Anywho..

All of the above does NOT make TSW a bad game.. but with so many good games coming out *(good being subjective) ~ ya can't really blame the majority of us from just walking away from the secret world for "better designed" games.

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Ok, now that I've summed that up... there's something more important to address..
*Can combat/decks be changed now that the game has already launched?

The answer... prolly not ~ unless of course, you take the Square Enix route with what they did with Final Fantasy XIV and realize how badly you screwed up.. and take months/years ta revamp your game...... Which, I don't see Funcom doing.

I could be wrong however and they may very well be able to slow down combat and give it "weight" ~ but if not, there are always other things TSW could improve upon.

*Chat
*Single player instances
*Animations
*ect..

Anywho, best of luck to Funcom and to those that stayed! ^_^

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TO FUNCOM::
The next MMO you work on.. please understand, EVERYTHING IN YOUR GAME MUST WORK TOGETHER!

A good example of this is::
GW2 = Extreme Casual, w/easy button.. but the mechs = "Immersive Fun"... why? cause none of their mechanics are counter intuitive to what they were designing it to be.
*Combat, Dungeons, Dynamic Events, Loot system, Atmosphere, Story, ect...

While your game:: TSW = a single player game with multiplayer "tacked on". *(due to all of the above reasons).

//////////// just my 2 cents ~

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______________________________________________________________

This is a thread I wrote back in August of 2012 ~
**I'm posting this here on DeviantART for future reference, as I might
return to check back on The Scret World, later this year.

If anyone reading this is still playing TSW, feel free to let me know if
any of this has changed and how. ^_^

______________________________________________________________
© 2014 - 2024 Requiemsvoid
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