The Escapist Users have ruined a game for me...

[Mikeybb]

Barring spoilers, there's rarely a forum post that can diminish a game I've enjoyed.

The only times this did happen that I can readily remember was with Mass Effect 3 and Kotor2.

In the former, it wasn't because of the ending (though I was disappointed with it) but because someone posted their alternate ending which I found to be so much better than the ones we'd been given with the way it caught the feeling of hopelessness that the previous games had so well.
I was left thinking more about the game we could have had, rather than the one we got.

The same happened with Kotor2 when I learned how much had to be cut to meet that imposed release deadline.
Thinking back to it, places where Kotor2 felt rushed or incomplete made so much more sense, and this left me imagining a completed version with another year or so development time.
The reconstruction effort is something I've been meaning to check out, but I still find myself wondering what could have been done by the original team.

Knowing these things did taint the enjoyment of said games and I've never really been able to replay them.

The truth is, I know that the reality of "what is" can never match up to the glory of "what could have been", but even so, that's the state I'm left in each time I've attempted to start them again.

 

[Techno Squidgy]

I actually loved Pagan Min. He was the only one that flat out admitted that he wanted power so he could do whatever the fuck he wanted. I was actually a little tempted to let him live out of a grudging respect for his honesty.

I haven't played Far Cry 4, I've seen a little bit of Jesse Cox's LP and the "secret" ending on youtube. From just that, I can tell I would much prefer the game if

Spoiler: not sure if this needs a spoiler tag, but hey ho, better safe than sorry

you'd just gone off to shoot guns with Pagan instead of joining the rebellion. Crushing the rebel scum, ruling Kryat(?) as Step-Father and Son, and then you'd get that lovely moment where Ajay meets his real dad and everything all goes a bit tits-up just in time for the finale.

 

[Irick]

That's the video that basically ruined my ability to ignore issues like this (specifically the Tomb Raider stuff).

Also, I hate that tippy2k guy too! He's not nearly as awesome and sexy as I, tippy2k2!

Farcry 3 and 4 are jokes, and the punchline is the FPS. Seriously, the fact that the storylines bug you are 'as intended'. In this case (as are there many) pointing to ludonarrative dissonance and just leaving it as that is missing something the game is trying to say. In any artform, there are techniques that can be used to convey an aspect of the unreal. Think of cubism or post-modern compositions (John Adams' On the Transmigration of Souls [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1jCdOjOaJsU]). They point to the accepted language of the medium and ask people to think on them. Your enjoyment of Farcry 3/4 is also intended, as is this conversation.

Is it bad game design to have the game highlight the absurdity or unrealness of the very situations we immerse ourselves in? I think that it's good every once in a while to acknowledge the weirdness that happens in the magic circle of our game worlds. Just what kind of worlds we create to explore and play in can raise great questions and cause us to think.

So, maybe we didn't ruin it for you eh? Maybe this is just a side effect of starting to think about gaming rather than just game!

 

[008Zulu_v1legacy]

I was expecting a pretty big backlash from the Krogans in my "evil Shep" playthrough but nope. Nothing.

Then there was me picking Anderson to be human Councillor suddenly ME3 Udina. WTF?

The story for Mass Effect, (I realise I am being somewhat generous with the use of story) is that it's written from the perspective of Ultimate Paragon. Unless you play it that way, you are playing it wrong. The franchise is easily one of the better examples on how to screw up the good choice/bad choice system, I didn't get to tell Illusive Man to eat a dick until the end of Mass Effect 2, getting railroaded in to joining a terrorist organisation isn't my idea of fun. At least with PC's, there's the Mass Effect Happy Ending Mod which fixes a lot of ME3's end game mistakes.

As for me, I wouldn't say they have ruined any games per se, some of the content they have revealed about games I have been interested in (only to find out it is full of fatal flaws) has saved me quite a bit of money, and from having to install uPlay.

 

[gmaverick019_v1legacy]

The same happened with Kotor2 when I learned how much had to be cut to meet that imposed release deadline.
Thinking back to it, places where Kotor2 felt rushed or incomplete made so much more sense, and this left me imagining a completed version with another year or so development time.
The reconstruction effort is something I've been meaning to check out, but I still find myself wondering what could have been done by the original team.

Knowing these things did taint the enjoyment of said games and I've never really been able to replay them.

The truth is, I know that the reality of "what is" can never match up to the glory of "what could have been", but even so, that's the state I'm left in each time I've attempted to start them again.

They are actually STILL updating the mod to this day on moddb, they (I think pretty recently) updated it to make the ENTIRE PLANET (droid planet, and it is an optional download) that was missing from the original game back into play (the jedi that you find on korriban dead in the cage actually was supposed to be found on the droid planet, so I think she *may* be alive on there instead).

I highly recommend installing it, while I still enjoyed kotor 2 without any mods or patches, the game is thoroughly more polished with that restoration mod.

*went to search for it actually*

they even updated it to make it compatible with the recent GOG version, which shows you how on the ball they are about it.

source [http://www.moddb.com/mods/the-sith-lords-restored-content-mod-tslrcm/news/tslrcm-183b-m4-78ep-11b-moty-k1rp-duplisaber]

 

[wAriot]

You should be thankful then, they saved you several playthroughs before realizing what a silly thing that was (and therefore realizing how silly YOU are, for not noticing them earlier).

Something similar happens if you are studying something related to programming or game development; you'll start saying to yourself "this mechanic is badly implemented", "I wouldn't have used this kind of menu here", "this thing is causing memory leaks" or "who in the seven hells tested this area?"

 

[Mikeybb]

They are actually STILL updating the mod to this day on moddb, they (I think pretty recently) updated it to make the ENTIRE PLANET (droid planet, and it is an optional download) that was missing from the original game back into play (the jedi that you find on korriban dead in the cage actually was supposed to be found on the droid planet, so I think she *may* be alive on there instead).

I highly recommend installing it, while I still enjoyed kotor 2 without any mods or patches, the game is thoroughly more polished with that restoration mod.

*went to search for it actually*

they even updated it to make it compatible with the recent GOG version, which shows you how on the ball they are about it.

source [http://www.moddb.com/mods/the-sith-lords-restored-content-mod-tslrcm/news/tslrcm-183b-m4-78ep-11b-moty-k1rp-duplisaber]

It's a slight aside to the topic, but this is what I genuinely love and treasure about pc gaming.
That sometimes a talented, dedicated individual can just decide to invest a truly impressive amount of time for no other reason than the challenge and improving a game for others.
I think it's one of the reasons it sets my hackles up when developers take an anti modding/customization stance with a release.

Anyway.
Thanks for linking and responding.
It's been a while since I've checked that out, I may have to see if my steam list will allow me time off to revisit the old classic-that-could-have-been.

 

[gmaverick019_v1legacy]

They are actually STILL updating the mod to this day on moddb, they (I think pretty recently) updated it to make the ENTIRE PLANET (droid planet, and it is an optional download) that was missing from the original game back into play (the jedi that you find on korriban dead in the cage actually was supposed to be found on the droid planet, so I think she *may* be alive on there instead).

I highly recommend installing it, while I still enjoyed kotor 2 without any mods or patches, the game is thoroughly more polished with that restoration mod.

*went to search for it actually*

they even updated it to make it compatible with the recent GOG version, which shows you how on the ball they are about it.

source [http://www.moddb.com/mods/the-sith-lords-restored-content-mod-tslrcm/news/tslrcm-183b-m4-78ep-11b-moty-k1rp-duplisaber]

It's a slight aside to the topic, but this is what I genuinely love and treasure about pc gaming.
That sometimes a talented, dedicated individual can just decide to invest a truly impressive amount of time for no other reason than the challenge and improving a game for others.
I think it's one of the reasons it sets my hackles up when developers take an anti modding/customization stance with a release.

Anyway.
Thanks for linking and responding.
It's been a while since I've checked that out, I may have to see if my steam list will allow me time off to revisit the old classic-that-could-have-been.

you're very welcome, and I could NOT agree more on all of this, there have been alot of games that were given near immortality in life due to modding and communities keeping a game going. It's truly impressive what some people have done in the past when given the tools/means to hit the ground running with an idea.

It also rustles my jimmies fucking hard (especially for rpg games) when developers don't like to accommodate any sort of modding, especially when they go out of their way to make sure it's difficult to do so. This is one of the major reasons why I disliked DA2 and DA:I, considering all the great stuff I use in DA:O.

Ever played the brotherhood of shadow mod for the first kotor? shit was insanely well done when it comes to lore/character depth for a mod, it added a ton of depth to revan and what happened before the game basically if you haven't....another one of those mods that truly had me impressed for modding, most developers would charge 30-40 dollars now a days in DLC for the amount of content in that mod.

 

[Mikeybb]

Ever played the brotherhood of shadow mod for the first kotor? shit was insanely well done when it comes to lore/character depth for a mod, it added a ton of depth to revan and what happened before the game basically if you haven't....another one of those mods that truly had me impressed for modding, most developers would charge 30-40 dollars now a days in DLC for the amount of content in that mod.

I'll add that one to my list.

I think you hit on the point why devs (or more accurately, publishers) take that stance these days.
The idea that if you limit what can be done with your game to expand it firmly to your storefront, money will roll in.

Don't think it works too well personally.
I guess a happy compromise would be adding devtools for modders to the end of the post release development plan and then adding a whole bunch of assets that modders could use to each bit of dlc you release.
It'd result in a period of dlc exclusivity that publisher money types crave, and the life extending modding that keeps people playing something years after release.

All the same, my preference lies with the bethesda model.

 

[gmaverick019_v1legacy]

The average RPG player would want to beat a lying fucking piece of shit like you to death.

ladies and gentleman, the next zeel.

glad to see you have such GREAT conversation value, and you obviously proved me wrong in one sentence there.

 

[Padwolf]

Goddamnit Gary! You had one job, Gary! Why would you do this to Tippy?!

I've never actually played FarCry 4. I just came here to defend myself!

To be honest I think the only game I've had ruined for me has been Mass Effect 3. I'm just incredibly put off at the endings. I've watched them all, and I just think "I dunno... I don't think that's what my character was aiming for" and then all the drama kicked off and then I just forgot about the game and still haven't touched it.