Some issues I have with RPGs

[rt052192]

Has anyone else noticed that every single AI in every single RPG ever is a lazy sack of shit? I mean seriously, in every single game I have to run around the country doing their shopping-list tasks. For instance, that quest in Oblivion where you have to kill the rats for the lady; is she really that lazy? No one in RPGs ever seems to do anything for themselves and the ones that try get destroyed by some sort of monster. Now I understand that these quests are just for exp grinding, but maybe sprinkle in some AI that do things for themselves every now and then.

Another thing, it became clear to me when I was playing Dragon Age: Origins that whenever I found clues to a treasure or someone needed help in a forest/dungeon it ALWAYS turned out to be a demon! I mean it really got obvious. Some lady "lured" me into a crypt thinking I was "helping" her and she got all arrogant thinking she "had me," but I had already prepared my party to destroy her, so it really wasn't all too surprising. A joke between a friend of mine is that to sum up Dragon Age: it's always a demon...

Also, the economic factor of most RPGs is grossly uneven and there hasn't really been an RPG that has satisfied my mercantile expectations. The wealth of your main character follows an exponential curve: poor, poor, poor, poor, extremely wealthy for the rest of the game. This usually renders skills such as mercantile(oblivion) or barter(fallout) completely useless. Maybe I'm just playing the wrong RPGs though? who knows?

Lastly, this isn't so much of a complaint as it is me fuming. The inventory system of games just frustrates me, but I understand it fits into the RPG element. "Trading colored pants for better colored pants." But what I always found funny about RPGs is that you can story almost anything and everything in your rucksack/fanny pack or how in Oblivion that one extra pound renders you crippled.

I'm I the only one who finds these "issues" with RPGs or maybe I'm playing the wrong games? Are there any other issues you folks have with RPGs that maybe I skipped over?

EDIT: Also, most of my issues derive from WRPGs.

 

[Kagim]

My answer to your problems? Kingdom Hearts.

Stupid NPCS? No problem. Rather then performing menial tasks for stupid NPCS most of your goals are based around fighting enemies that the weak NPC's can't handle. Even then you get help from them in most cases. The Gauntlet In Radiant Gardens is a huge example of this as each phase has a different person fighting alongside you.

Well, in Kingdom Hearts its ALWAYS the heartless yes. Then again the main enemy is the heartless. So I think its excusable there.

Money isn't really useful in that game except maybe to buy potions. The majority of the good items are found on enemies and really powerful weapons are made through synthesis which requires fighting enemies and taking there fleshy bits to be turned into powerful weapons made out of there fleshy bits.

In conclusion, go play Kingdom Hearts. Do it now! Rawwwrrrrrrrrr.

(in the middle of impersonating Godzilla he takes a deep breath and calms down)

In all honesty i have run into your problems and it does kinda bug me some people are to stupid to walk across the street to buy a new shovel, but mostly i just laugh at how silly it is.

For the money thing i never really took mercantile, though in Fallout 2 I purposely took penalties to my barter because it was bugged and the lower it was the better the deals you got >.> <.<.

Mostly i find buying things a waste of time.

For the demon thing. In Dragon Age is the primary enemy demons? It could be hinting towards that? Like a faction of demons? Or is it really dragons because i figured Dragon age just meant the same thing as Bronze age. Only instead of the age of Bronze it was the age of dragons. Not Dragons are dicks.

 

[rt052192]

For the demon thing. In Dragon Age is the primary enemy demons? It could be hinting towards that? Like a faction of demons? Or is it really dragons because i figured Dragon age just meant the same thing as Bronze age. Only instead of the age of Bronze it was the age of dragons. Not Dragons are dicks.

Well actually darspawn are the main enemy and demons are just sort of "hanging around" everywhere, but it's always a demon! Never any other sort of monster that tries to ambush you.

Also, most of my issues derive from WRPGs.

 

[The Procrastinated End]

1.If the NPCs weren't lazy they wouldn't need a player now would they?
2.Dragon Age doesn't really have anything else to use as a boss then demons.
3.The economic factor is more screwed over by the fact that at a certain point you find everything you need out in the world.
4.Play Diablo the inventory system makes it more to your tastes I guess. Seeing as how you have to shift things around to fit different sized items together.

 

[spartan231490]

My answer to your problems? Kingdom Hearts.

Stupid NPCS? No problem. Rather then performing menial tasks for stupid NPCS most of your goals are based around fighting enemies that the weak NPC's can't handle. Even then you get help from them in most cases. The Gauntlet In Radiant Gardens is a huge example of this as each phase has a different person fighting alongside you.

Well, in Kingdom Hearts its ALWAYS the heartless yes. Then again the main enemy is the heartless. So I think its excusable there.

Money isn't really useful in that game except maybe to buy potions. The majority of the good items are found on enemies and really powerful weapons are made through synthesis which requires fighting enemies and taking there fleshy bits to be turned into powerful weapons made out of there fleshy bits.

In conclusion, go play Kingdom Hearts. Do it now! Rawwwrrrrrrrrr.

(in the middle of impersonating Godzilla he takes a deep breath and calms down)

In all honesty i have run into your problems and it does kinda bug me some people are to stupid to walk across the street to buy a new shovel, but mostly i just laugh at how silly it is.

For the money thing i never really took mercantile, though in Fallout 2 I purposely took penalties to my barter because it was bugged and the lower it was the better the deals you got >.> <.<.

Mostly i find buying things a waste of time.

For the demon thing. In Dragon Age is the primary enemy demons? It could be hinting towards that? Like a faction of demons? Or is it really dragons because i figured Dragon age just meant the same thing as Bronze age. Only instead of the age of Bronze it was the age of dragons. Not Dragons are dicks.

Seriously, kingdom hearts? I tried to play kingdom hearts, but the cutscenes made me want to punch disney in the face. It's like, i get it, good conqueres evil, more disney garbage, stop shoving it down my throat every 5 fucking minutes. I understand that is going to be the point of the game, but it doesnt need to be the point of every mission.

 

[Snarky Username]

1. If everyone did everything themselves, would they really need you? What other way are people going to give you quests? Not to mention that people, as a rule, are generally lazy.

2. Demons are one of the major elements of the game, seeing as the residents of Ferelden probably see one every 10 minutes. It's basically an element to make sure there's always action and you don't get anything for free.

3. I think that's because you really don't use the economy that much, seeing as the best weapons are usually thrown at you by random baddies. That being said, that's actually a valid complaint as that seems to happen to me in every RPG I play.

4. You're talking about a game with dragons! Personally, I would rather just assume that by some magical spell cast by some magical mage all the backpacks in the world render everything inside weightless than take up the time consuming process of asking myself which items I need and whether or not the items are worth their size and weight every time I find a new hat. When ogres come into play, I think you can assume that all pretense of realism has been thrown out the door...

 

[IamSofaKingRaw]

I hate RPG's too, Goddamn people abuse them in MW2 : )

 

[KeyMaster45]

The only issues I can really address for you is the implausibility of all that crap fitting in you backpack. The answer is simple...Hammer Space.

For those unfamiliar with the word I will provide its definition.

Hammer Space: The area generally located in the lower back region of all fictional characters, or in some special cases the inside pockets of their jackets. The size of this space is as of yet to be fully charted. The name is derived from second generation cartoon characters (IE the old Looney Toon and Disney cartoons) wherein characters held the ability to pull hammers from seemingly nowhere by simply placing their hands behind their back.

 

[MikailCaboose]

Well, from my memory the original two Fallout games were better in those regards that you mentioned. (Although the inventory is a pain and the scroll for selecting the amount of money in trading is...frustratingly exponential in speed. It starts slow, then it quickly blazes past everything until you are paying all of it. Ugh)

 

[Choppaduel]

1.If the NPCs weren't lazy they wouldn't need a player now would they?
2.Dragon Age doesn't really have anything else to use as a boss then demons.
3.The economic factor is more screwed over by the fact that at a certain point you find everything you need out in the world.
4.Play Diablo the inventory system makes it more to your tastes I guess. Seeing as how you have to shift things around to fit different sized items together.

good answer.

Yes its true that the npc laziness is annoying, but it not a deal breaker and definitely doesn't happen in every single RPG.

 

[Kagim]

Seriously, kingdom hearts? I tried to play kingdom hearts, but the cutscenes made me want to punch disney in the face. It's like, i get it, good conqueres evil, more disney garbage, stop shoving it down my throat every 5 fucking minutes. I understand that is going to be the point of the game, but it doesnt need to be the point of every mission.

Eh, Most people will admit the first game is a bit to straightforward, however there are hints to something a little deeper over all. Such as Darkness not inherently being evil.

Overall most missions are based around Trying to Find Riku, Kairi and Mickey. Not killing the bad guys. However whats the point of conflict if there is no enemy.

Now, Kingdom hearts 2 is where you get into a much deeper stroyline.

While yes, there is a big bad. Lots of players like me have found it hard to understand why.

While the Heartless were simply a reactionary force, killing anything in front of them, the nobodies are a group of thinking feeling(despite what the game says outloud it hints heavily otherwise) people whose goal is to wipe out the heartless and save everyone.

And they are your enemy. Through the game you end up killing the members of this group simply because you don;t agree with there methods. It's not longer good versus evil, rather two groups with different opinions on how to deal with the problem killing each other.

Unlike with the heartless where killing one just meant sending there heart to kingdom hearts killing a nobody destroyed them utterly and completely.

Hell, the leader isn't really corrupt even, as in the in between game he has Axel kill the people trying to rebel because they wanted to take all the power for themselves rather then free everyone.

There no longer is a clear line between good and evil, and i thought that was pretty awesome.

The big bads reaction at the end of the game is understandable to me. Seeing as how he just watched all of his people get beaten to death by Sora. I'd be pretty unforgiving and pissed to.

In the second game Kingdom Hearts really finds itself. Its true story is fleshed out much better and the Disney aspect really feels more like a set piece then the focus of the plot.

Sorry... I just think it was a well done game, and i do generally tell people to just read a synopsis of KH1 and jump into KH2. Just because it is about a hundred times better put together.

 

[matrix guardian]

My favorite (to laugh at) NPC missions are the ones that go like this:
Guy1: Go convey this message to Guy2. You can find him across the room, a few feet away. In fact I think he is standing right behind you.
(talk to Guy2)
Guy2: Oh, really. Thats good to know. Blah blah blah. Send my reply to Guy1 and tell him what I just told you. (Because, you know, he's like, totally not within earshot or anything )
Guy1: Thanks for the help, here is your reward. I couldn't have done it without you. (Since, you know, my legs are just for show, they don't actually move. And my voice can only reach one foot away. No body can hear me past two feet, so it's a good thing you walked up to me.)

 

[Hyper-space]

Has anyone else noticed that every single AI in every single RPG ever is a lazy sack of shit? I mean seriously, in every single game I have to run around the country doing their shopping-list tasks. For instance, that quest in Oblivion where you have to kill the rats for the lady; is she really that lazy? No one in RPGs ever seems to do anything for themselves and the ones that try get destroyed by some sort of monster. Now I understand that these quests are just for exp grinding, but maybe sprinkle in some AI that do things for themselves every now and then.

Another thing, it became clear to me when I was playing Dragon Age: Origins that whenever I found clues to a treasure or someone needed help in a forest/dungeon it ALWAYS turned out to be a demon! I mean it really got obvious. Some lady "lured" me into a crypt thinking I was "helping" her and she got all arrogant thinking she "had me," but I had already prepared my party to destroy her, so it really wasn't all too surprising. A joke between a friend of mine is that to sum up Dragon Age: it's always a demon...

Also, the economic factor of most RPGs is grossly uneven and there hasn't really been an RPG that has satisfied my mercantile expectations. The wealth of your main character follows an exponential curve: poor, poor, poor, poor, extremely wealthy for the rest of the game. This usually renders skills such as mercantile(oblivion) or barter(fallout) completely useless. Maybe I'm just playing the wrong RPGs though? who knows?

Lastly, this isn't so much of a complaint as it is me fuming. The inventory system of games just frustrates me, but I understand it fits into the RPG element. "Trading colored pants for better colored pants." But what I always found funny about RPGs is that you can story almost anything and everything in your rucksack/fanny pack or how in Oblivion that one extra pound renders you crippled.

I'm I the only one who finds these "issues" with RPGs or maybe I'm playing the wrong games? Are there any other issues you folks have with RPGs that maybe I skipped over?

EDIT: Also, most of my issues derive from WRPGs.

Didn't the lady pay you to kill those rats?

Also, diverse and complex AI is incredibly costly and time-consuming, so developers have to make a simpler (or dumbed down) AI in effort to balance out resource dedication. That goes also for the in-game economy, things like this takes time to plan and a lot of man-hours to test for buggs or balancing issues. A lot of trial and error that just sometimes is not worth it.

 

[TPiddy]

Has anyone else noticed that every single AI in every single RPG ever is a lazy sack of shit? I mean seriously, in every single game I have to run around the country doing their shopping-list tasks. For instance, that quest in Oblivion where you have to kill the rats for the lady; is she really that lazy? No one in RPGs ever seems to do anything for themselves and the ones that try get destroyed by some sort of monster. Now I understand that these quests are just for exp grinding, but maybe sprinkle in some AI that do things for themselves every now and then.

I seem to remember running into a party of dwarves who WERE doing their own thing for themselves in the deep roads. Hell, I remember this happening on multiple occasions. And no they did not get destroyed.

Another thing, it became clear to me when I was playing Dragon Age: Origins that whenever I found clues to a treasure or someone needed help in a forest/dungeon it ALWAYS turned out to be a demon! I mean it really got obvious. Some lady "lured" me into a crypt thinking I was "helping" her and she got all arrogant thinking she "had me," but I had already prepared my party to destroy her, so it really wasn't all too surprising. A joke between a friend of mine is that to sum up Dragon Age: it's always a demon...

Let's see... the ancient tree in the forest was not a demon, darkspawn set up ambushes, as did mages and wolves. Hell, you're even lured into a trap by a playable character! (Zevran). Your claim that every NPC who needs help or lures you somewhere is always a demon is just way off base.[/quote]

Also, the economic factor of most RPGs is grossly uneven and there hasn't really been an RPG that has satisfied my mercantile expectations. The wealth of your main character follows an exponential curve: poor, poor, poor, poor, extremely wealthy for the rest of the game. This usually renders skills such as mercantile(oblivion) or barter(fallout) completely useless. Maybe I'm just playing the wrong RPGs though? who knows?

Considering that the game keeps track of how much money you've had at once, and that the most I ever got was $250, I wouldn't say you ever get extremely wealthy in Dragon Age. Especially considering that most of the good gear costs over $100, like Andruin's Blessing or The Rose's Thorn at $174.

Lastly, this isn't so much of a complaint as it is me fuming. The inventory system of games just frustrates me, but I understand it fits into the RPG element. "Trading colored pants for better colored pants." But what I always found funny about RPGs is that you can story almost anything and everything in your rucksack/fanny pack or how in Oblivion that one extra pound renders you crippled.

Yes, this is a legit gripe that is unfortunately commonplace in most RPG's. Diablo's inventory system was pretty good, and there are similar games with that model, but at least Dragon Age had the 'buy additional backpacks for more space' concept going on. Though it could have done it better by giving every person in the party a certain amount of space, it also suffered from the flaw that you just get entirely too much STUFF in general. By the end of the game I had 142 health poultices, and I never bought ANY of them.

Two Worlds had an innovative idea where you could combine two of the identical weapon for a stat bonus, and Fallout had the 'repair' option when dealing with similar weapons, both of which got more use out of repeat item drops.

 

[sageoftruth]

I hate RPG's too, Goddamn people abuse them in MW2 : )

Good one. I love intentionally getting the two mixed up whenever "RPG" is mentioned.

Friend: Look out! He's got an RPG!
Me: Crap! I hope it isn't Wizardry 4."