Hogwarts Legacy - Whimsical Wizardry

immortalfrieza

Elite Member
Legacy
May 12, 2011
2,336
270
88
Country
USA
You should already know the answer by now. These consoles cost $500 and most of these games are being charged at $70 plus. I prefer the days when the game worked right out of the box. I'm glad patches exist, but it also lets the way of laziness.


Most of the time, patches happen because of the former two, and not the latter "shit just happens". It's a legit complaint and there's no reason to downplay it or act like it's not a huge deal. I will forever call out things like this.
Not to mention the fact that any day 1 patches fix really obvious issues that should've been noticed and odds are probably were. Having worked in QA at Activision/Blizzard as well I can tell you that at the last build or two around release there tends to be a lot of really obvious issues that the developers just put as, literally, "Will Not Fix" because they either don't have the time or the inclination to fix them. As long as the game functions well enough that you can get from beginning to end the developers tend not to care at that point.


This logic doesn't track thought dude, because before games could be patched, they literally shipped however buggy they ended up and there was nothing they could do about it.
...and because of this, developers made damn sure that any bugs that got left behind weren't very important or noticeable because that was it. They had to work a lot harder to ensure that their games didn't have bugs in them when there was no opportunity to do anything about them.

As opposed to now where it's routine to treat early players like unpaid Beta testers because and ship a crappy bug filled game that they had to release day one patches for [sarcasm] because just getting it right the first time is SO difficult.[/sarcasm]

Basically, the industry has gotten incredibly lazy with QA because patches let them just fix after the fact... or just not bother with patches, collect their money, and laugh all the way to the bank.
 
  • Like
Reactions: BrawlMan

BrawlMan

Lover of beat'em ups.
Legacy
Mar 10, 2016
29,376
12,227
118
Detroit, Michigan
Country
United States of America
Gender
Male
 

Hades

Elite Member
Mar 8, 2013
2,253
1,698
118
Country
The Netherlands
So basically, it boiled down to "Gryffindor are where the good guys go, Slytherin are where the bad guys go...and oh yeah, I guess Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff exist too. We'll say that Ravenclaw can be where the clever ones go". (And yes, I deliberately characterized it as Hufflepuff getting forgotten almost as soon as it was acknowledged to be underdeveloped).
Aside from Ravenclaw and Hufflypuff not existing the house system in general is kind of a big mass.

Kids in Slytherin are supposed to be cunning and ambitious but somehow they have Crabbe and Goyle, who are mentally challenged and have no higher ambition than being Draco's bodyguards. Meanwhile Fred and George are highly cunning and have big(if goofy) ambitions but they aren't in Slytherin. Neither is Percy who's defined by his ego and ambition.
 

FakeSympathy

Elite Member
Legacy
Jun 8, 2015
3,487
3,222
118
Seattle, WA
Country
US
So the website that tracked streamers playing the game has been shut down

In a totally unexpected and non-ironic way, the tool that was meant to bully and condemned people for playing a game they liked, was bullied and condemned to the point of shutdown.

I am not a fan of cancel culture or mass harassment, but come on. They brought this upon themselves
 

hanselthecaretaker

My flask is half full
Legacy
Nov 18, 2010
8,738
5,910
118
The logic does track. While patches are useful, they've also led to much laziness and fix it later mentality. I find it funny that most smaller games like The TakeOver, Ninja Saviors, Shovel Knight, Fight n' Rage, etc. usually work right out of the box or download. I know these games can get patches too, but the game is usually already polished and they're adding more bonus content. Yet a majority of these elite, premium price games, have to be given immediate patches because of rushed development or a screw up on publisher management's part. We've seen this time and time again. So excuse me for pointing out the huge Day 1 DLC/patches problem that still persists with this industry and not expecting more and better, and to just shut up and act like it's not a big deal. Have you already forgotten Gotham Knights and Callistol Protocol? Don't bother bringing up games like Ragnarök or Hi-Fi Rush. They're the exception and not the rule. Even God of War 4 needed a big ass patch update to skip most walking sequences and cut-scenes, that took about 4 months to come out.

For the record, I am not against additional content support, but I am sick and tired of games being broken at launch. Another reason why I am opting out of most AAA games. I know Hogwarts case is not that bad, it is something that should not be ignored and let be flown under the radar. You don't like opinion? Though luck for you; I am not budging on this. If it flusters you that badly, you might as well not even bother responding.


I never implied or did. That's you assuming and putting words in my mouth again. Of course, I fucking know that. I was there like most of you on this site. Doesn't excuse the other extreme and the problems that exists today.

The thing is though, usually the typical “big AAA games” have ten times as many lines of code and variables to account for. So when a few things slip through it’s not likely because the devs were just being lazy or something. Game development is more complicated than rocket science, and until that changes through some miracle coding techniques or API wizardry (no pun), we’re going to have less than perfect results.

At least the good devs have good support for games beyond launch. Patch notes are often mind boggling to read with how many issues they fix that most people might not have ever even run into.
 

BrawlMan

Lover of beat'em ups.
Legacy
Mar 10, 2016
29,376
12,227
118
Detroit, Michigan
Country
United States of America
Gender
Male
The thing is though, usually the typical “big AAA games” have ten times as many lines of code and variables to account for. So when a few things slip through it’s not likely because the devs were just being lazy or something. Game development is more complicated than rocket science, and until that changes through some miracle coding techniques or API wizardry (no pun), we’re going to have less than perfect results.
I know that. Part of the problem is the crunch and work abuse that goes on. Stop rushing these games out and give the developers time and put someone in charge that cares about what the hell they're doing. The reason so many AC games are/were buggy at launch, is because of crappy coding and treating their coders like shit. Not every single case is laziness, but let's be real here, a lot of it has gone on either due to rushed development, greed, or throwing out there for a quick buck only to fix it way later. In the worst case scenarios: never fix it at all.

At least the good devs have good support for games beyond launch. Patch notes are often mind boggling to read with how many issues they fix that most people might not have ever even run into.
True. I praise the ones who actually check their shit before launching, and even if there is a problem, I usually won't be upset if they got everything else right that is important. Or if the game is actually good and fun to play.
 

Drathnoxis

I love the smell of card games in the morning
Legacy
Sep 23, 2010
5,749
2,099
118
Just off-screen
Country
Canada
Gender
Male
I'm glad to hear it's better than Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone for the GBA, which is the only Harry Potter game I played before the lesson that movie tie in games are universally garbage was drilled into me. I do love Harry Potter
triangle will allow you to quick parry an attack and if timed right will cast Stupify on the enemy which stuns them (which I find hilarious that you parry a dude and call him stupid and he just gives up for a second).
You aren't calling them stupid:

Dictionary.com said:
stupefy
[ stoo-puh-fahy, styoo- ]
verb (used with object), stu·pe·fied, stu·pe·fy·ing.
1. to put into a state of little or no sensibility; benumb the faculties of; put into a stupor.
2. to stun, as with a narcotic, a shock, or a strong emotion.
3. to overwhelm with amazement; astound; astonish.
https://www.dictionary.com/browse/stupefy
And it's LeviOsa not LeviosO.

Now I feel like this is approps. Also I've been waiting for an excuse to post it.


I actually don't know if that's true(all the wierdos go to Hufflepuff) but it's funny so why not?
It's pretty much true. An excerpt sung by the Sorting Hat in Order of the Pheonix:

Said Slytherin, "We'll teach just those
Whose ancestry's purest."
Said Ravenclaw, "We'll teach those whose
Intelligence is surest."

Said Gryffindor, "We'll teach all those
With brave deeds to their name."
Said Hufflepuff, "I'll teach the lot
And treat them just the same."
Slytherin gets the evil ones, Ravenclaw gets the nerdy ones, Gryffindor gets the protagonist ones, and Hufflepuff gets... the rest.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Dalisclock

Asita

Answer Hazy, Ask Again Later
Legacy
Jun 15, 2011
3,220
1,076
118
Country
USA
Gender
Male
Aside from Ravenclaw and Hufflypuff not existing the house system in general is kind of a big mass.

Kids in Slytherin are supposed to be cunning and ambitious but somehow they have Crabbe and Goyle, who are mentally challenged and have no higher ambition than being Draco's bodyguards. Meanwhile Fred and George are highly cunning and have big(if goofy) ambitions but they aren't in Slytherin. Neither is Percy who's defined by his ego and ambition.
Yep. I think the best explanation I heard for this was that Rowling had originally written the series with "soft" worldbuilding, more emphasizing a wondrous and otherworldly feel than anything else. Much like - for instance - Ghibli's Spirited Away, it explains just enough about the world and its mechanisms to carry the story and the audience is left to fill in the blanks and let their imaginations run wild at its fantastical nature. As the needs of the story changed, more details were improvised to make the world fit the needs of the story.

And this leads us directly to the problem: As the needs of the story evolved and more elements were added to meet that need, it became more and more apparent which elements were also being neglected, and some of the rules we were originally introduced to began to make less and less sense.

Eg. "There's not a witch or wizard who went bad that wasn't in Slytherin" works well enough for the first book when you're more or less led to believe that Hogwarts is pretty much the only wizarding school of note and that the wizarding population is probably less than that of the UK (and mostly exists within its borders). It works significantly less well when Goblet of Fire introduces other major schools from other countries, one of which allegedly flat out teaches the Dark Arts, never mind the expansion of the wizarding government to have its own police force. Even limiting the scope of the statement with an implicit "in Hogwarts", if that tendency was as pronounced as implied in the first book, you'd think that being sorted into Slytherin would automatically put you on some kind of watch list from the government and a 'needs special counseling' shortlist from the faculty.

And looking back with the knowledge of how the story was (and was not) fleshed out, it is as you say. The worldbuilding would definitely have benefited with the major cast having been better spread out across the school rather than just putting all the protagonisty students in Griffindor and the antagonisty ones in Slytherin and calling it a day.
 

CriticalGaming

Elite Member
Legacy
Dec 28, 2017
11,227
5,682
118
This all stems out of the price of fame. Like you can have a perfectly functional story built upon just enough elements to make the world clear enough to work around what the main plot is doing. However as the series grew and grew in fandom and more content was made, too many eyes start looking deep into the setting like Dark Souls lore finders, and then you start to see how the sausage was made and how a lot doesn't make sense.

I don't think there is any such thing as a perfectly realized fantasy world because when you look deep enough or ask the right questions you'll see the man behind the camera. Fantasy writing is contingent on the reader and author both understanding that this shit is fake and that the reader will suspend disbelief and assume everything "just works" for the sake of enjoying the story itself.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Dalisclock

Drathnoxis

I love the smell of card games in the morning
Legacy
Sep 23, 2010
5,749
2,099
118
Just off-screen
Country
Canada
Gender
Male
you'd think that being sorted into Slytherin would automatically put you on some kind of watch list from the government and a 'needs special counseling' shortlist from the faculty.
You would think so, especially since there were roughly 2 Slytherins depicted as not evil over the course of the entire series and not a single Slytherin chose to side with Hogwarts against the Death Eaters in the final battle. Honestly, they should just send then all to Azkaban as soon as they are sorted.
 

BrawlMan

Lover of beat'em ups.
Legacy
Mar 10, 2016
29,376
12,227
118
Detroit, Michigan
Country
United States of America
Gender
Male
Apparently the PC ports has been having memory leak issues, causing performance drops
Once again, my point has been proven. Thank you, FS. Seriously, it's 2023 and we're still getting mediocre or shitty PC ports. This should have stopped being a thing a long time ago. Either have the PC version match the quality of the simultaneous release of the consoles, or wait later porting the game on PC.
 

Satinavian

Elite Member
Legacy
Apr 30, 2016
1,935
803
118
Once again, my point has been proven. Thank you, FS. Seriously, it's 2023 and we're still getting mediocre or shitty PC ports. This should have stopped being a thing a long time ago. Either have the PC version match the quality of the simultaneous release of the consoles, or wait later porting the game on PC.
Yes, i still always have to question why bad PC ports are just accepted as normal but bad console ports (like CP2070) are treated like some scandal.
 

CriticalGaming

Elite Member
Legacy
Dec 28, 2017
11,227
5,682
118
Yes, i still always have to question why bad PC ports are just accepted as normal but bad console ports (like CP2070) are treated like some scandal.
Because console gaming drives the gaming market. Console gaming needs to be good in order for the gaming industry to thrive.
 
  • Like
Reactions: FakeSympathy

BrawlMan

Lover of beat'em ups.
Legacy
Mar 10, 2016
29,376
12,227
118
Detroit, Michigan
Country
United States of America
Gender
Male
Yes, i still always have to question why bad PC ports are just accepted as normal but bad console ports (like CP2070) are treated like some scandal.
Because "that's the way it is!", it'll be patched at some point, or the fans will mod it themselves. The other reasons are because you have gamers and professional critics in the gaming sphere, that have forced themselves to accept the low bar, or that used to getting fucked in the ass, expecting a smile on their face.
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: FakeSympathy

LegoDnD

Regular Member
Jan 10, 2023
51
20
13
Country
United States of America
You would think so, especially since there were roughly 2 Slytherins depicted as not evil over the course of the entire series and not a single Slytherin chose to side with Hogwarts against the Death Eaters in the final battle. Honestly, they should just send then all to Azkaban as soon as they are sorted.
From minute 1, it always struck me as odd that the sorting hat has an overt pro-Slytherin bias, with the way he suggests to Harry to join them as if candy and trafficking await. And why were Ron and Hermoin...the girl not in Hufflepuff and Raven-Claw respectively? Harry's social group should have been 1 from each house, with a conflicted Malfoy as the Slytherin rep.
 

CriticalGaming

Elite Member
Legacy
Dec 28, 2017
11,227
5,682
118
So now I'm about 11 hours into the game and I need someone to send help. I have done absolutely NOTHING! Like seriously, I'm on my second day of school and I have done fucking nothing in the game because I can't stop running around looking at shit. The paintings move and sometimes have funny things to say to you, there are side quests everywhere (turns out the game has over 100), and the students are all really fun to do quests for and there are over 600 collectibles which I would never try to get all of them because that's insane, but i keep stumbling into them and grabbing them anyway. GAH!
 

Silvanus

Elite Member
Legacy
Jan 15, 2013
12,077
6,371
118
Country
United Kingdom
I've been watching Girlfriend Reviews playing it on Twitch. The environments look great and a lot of fun to explore, but it also seems very.... empty. Literal hours go by without encountering any enemies, in an RPG with combat mechanics. The characters seem characterless and there's bugger all music or even atmospheric/environmental sound.