Farcry 4

CountChocula said:

Why do some of you guys keep referring to Far Cry's checkpoint save system as a "console" save system? I've never played any console games with this kind of save system.

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Then I have to assume you haven't played very many console games.

To be honest though, I think it has more to do with the fact that it's a limiting system, and consoles are synonymous with limitations.

JDR13 said:

Then I have to assume you haven't played very many console games.

To be honest though, I think it has more to do with the fact that it's a limiting system, and consoles are synonymous with limitations.

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That's correct, I don't own any consoles, but I've played a lot of PC games that were console ports and never come across a save system this crappy before. The checkpoints wouldn't be so bad if you could at least skip the cut scenes.

At any rate, despite the problems with unskippable cutscenes and bad save system, it is quite a fun game and worth buying IMO.

Ah, too bad. I hate checkpoint save systems, especially in a so-called open world. I'll wait for this one to hit the bargain bin.

The reason it's called a console system is because such systems are the norm on consoles, based primarily on technical limitations and archaic design traditions. I just explained the technical stuff above - and it's not my imagination.

Consoles have never had much memory and many of them never had much storage space. That's why you don't want your save games to be big and you don't want much streaming activity that requires a fast hard drive, because people don't all have games installed on console harddrives and they paid for the game as well. By using a checkpoint system, you minimise what you need to store and you minimise what needs to be kept in active memory.

As for this specific implementation, it's not particularly better or worse than most console shooters. It's very similar to Far Cry 2, as far as I can remember.

As for Far Cry - the original - I think that game was hugely inferior to Far Cry 3 - but then again, I really enjoy the character/crafting stuff and the RPG aspects. Far Cry - while visually impressive in its day - was extremely samey from start to finish, even for a freeform shooter.

Well, I didn't actually play it from start to finish - but I helped a friend with the last battle. I believe he played it on hardest difficulty and I remember some rather alien enemies. I think I played it a few hours until the repetition of the environment kicked it. But it WAS really pretty.

DArtagnan said:

As for this specific implementation, it's not particularly better or worse than most console shooters. It's very similar to Far Cry 2, as far as I can remember.

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Haven't played Far Cry 2, but when you mention "console shooters," are you referring to multiplatform shooters like COD, Borderlands, RAGE, Crysis 2, Halo, Metro2033, Bioshock? Other than Halo, I'm not aware of any recent shooters exclusive to consoles.

Far Cry 3's save system seemed more similar to arcade games or platformers than any recent multiplatform shooters I've played. The checkpoint system actually wasn't so bad, in fact it was fun to repeat assaults on enemy outposts and repeat some of the "Trial" missions that begin when you click on a red stone.

The reason the checkpoints were annoying was because in some cases, particularly in the tutorial and some main quest missions, you end up watching the same unskippable cut scene repeatedly. Another feature which seemed bizarre was the fact that this game has only three save slots, and for some reason we can only use the third slot.

CountChocula said:

Haven't played Far Cry 2, but when you mention "console shooters," are you referring to multiplatform shooters like COD, Borderlands, RAGE, Crysis 2, Halo, Metro2033, Bioshock? Other than Halo, I'm not aware of any recent shooters exclusive to consoles.

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I mean shooters that are designed around console limitations, with the PC being the secondary platform. Meaning most AAA games of the past 6-7 years.

Far Cry 3's save system seemed more similar to arcade games or platformers than any recent multiplatform shooters I've played. The checkpoint system actually wasn't so bad, in fact it was fun to repeat assaults on enemy outposts and repeat some of the "Trial" missions that begin when you click on a red stone.

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Well, it's not just shooters - but most console games. It's just that Far Cry 3 is a shooter. But most console games use a checkpoint system - and few dedicated PC games use them.

The reason the checkpoints were annoying was because in some cases, particularly in the tutorial and some main quest missions, you end up watching the same unskippable cut scene repeatedly. Another feature which seemed bizarre was the fact that this game has only three save slots, and for some reason we can only use the third slot.

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Yes, we agree it's annoying.

I hate QTEs. Mainly because my dad doesn't have the speed to mash the button as fast as these games require.

Is there a lot of "button mashing QTEs" ? Can you play the game on Easy and will it make things like QTEs easier?

Fluent said:

Is there a lot of "button mashing QTEs" ? Can you play the game on Easy and will it make things like QTEs easier?

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Only encountered this in the tutorial and one of the main quest missions where you must escape a burning building. I don't think the difficulty level affects the QTEs

Yeah I'm not big on QTE's usually but they're not too bad, for example I was outflanked by some pirates and ended up stumbling into the river, only to be grabbed by a waiting crocodile. Killing the croc is a QTE - the message on the screen actually says "mash space". Fighting off a crocodile that's latched onto your face is always going to be a mashfest anyway, so the QTE suits that situation.

It really is great fun - the save system is unfortunate but not even close to a deal breaker.

Well it looks like I'll probably pass on Farcry 3, simply because of the button-mashing QTEs. My dad just can't do them, so he'll end up dying every time one happens. Lame.

The QTEs don't bother me. It's the sillyness of how you acquire new weapons that gets me. I don't understand why they couldn't just make it a bit more realistic.

badmofo said:

Yeah I'm not big on QTE's usually but they're not too bad, for example I was outflanked by some pirates and ended up stumbling into the river, only to be grabbed by a waiting crocodile. Killing the croc is a QTE - the message on the screen actually says "mash space". Fighting off a crocodile that's latched onto your face is always going to be a mashfest anyway, so the QTE suits that situation.

It really is great fun - the save system is unfortunate but not even close to a deal breaker.

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Oh, I'm playing without any HUD, and I never saw that button prompt - no wonder the crocs always eat me.

JDR13 said:

The QTEs don't bother me. It's the sillyness of how you acquire new weapons that gets me. I don't understand why they couldn't just make it a bit more realistic.

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It's explained that the Rakhyat merchants give some weapons to you free after you conquer a lot of outposts for them. I don't have a problem with the sillyness, but this does result in a problem with the game's economy.

Once you buy or receive free three or four cool weapons such as the recurve bow, sniper rifle, the GL-94 perhaps a couple more, and then add modifications, there is really nothing else to spend money on in this game, other than replenishing your ammo from time to time. I think it could have been improved by making you save up to purchase vehicles.

My work-like-a-horse days are over.

Bought it finally. Deluxe edition ofc, on Steam ofc, it's currently downloading. I promise if it's true that from three savegameslots two are blocked I'll overspam Ubisoft's forum just as I did with annoyances in HoMM6. And not just on that issue. You all know how allergic I am on bugs and I will never forgive myself for not seeking justice on Bethesda's Skyrim forum thinking they'll sort it all out quickly without any push from a fan.

Let me get this right. You are buying a game with know deficiencies and then going to complain about them? It would be smarter not to buy at all.

Yes, you got that right.

And of course I'm gonna complain on something - if it happens to me. How can I spam Ubisoft's forum without glueing thousands of screenshots with the problem all over the place?

And why whould it be smarter not to buy at all a game described as fun by a few forum members already? You mean I should wait till Ubisoft fixes issues and leave others to report problems? But… That's something I've already partially did - I didn't report Skyrim bugs on the official forum and now I'm eating myself because of it.

If the game annoys you, why would you buy it, and not vote with your wallet? I play games to have fun, not be annoyed, and be a complain bot, but to each his own.

Actually, it's possible to both have fun and be annoyed by a game. So, if the fun outweighs the annoyance - it might be worth it.

It's not rocket science

Not buying the annoyance would be an option if there was Farcry3 demo to try before buying the whole game. Then I could see if it's fun or just annoying. However there is no demo and I don't know if I'll be annoyed.

I won't buy something that from the description it'll obviously annoy me (like endless mobrespawn grinders), but from things I've read so far about Farcry 3, I don't see something so annoying that would make me stop playing the game and uninstall before I finish it.
If you hint on uplay… Yes, it's the most annoying "feature" I've seen in my life, however I was "trained" to accept it with Anno2070 and HoMM6 so I'm kinda not bothered with it much.

@Dart I am of the option that if a game has features that annoys one, don't buy it up front as a point to the devs (or more likely the publisher). Otherwise, you're just encouraging them to make the next game even more annoying. But some of us are more disciplined than others.

Thrasher said:

@Dart I am of the option that if a game has features that annoys one, don't buy it up front as a point to the devs (or more likely the publisher). Otherwise, you're just encouraging them to make the next game even more annoying. But some of us are more disciplined than others.

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I don't think I've ever played a game that didn't annoy me. But some of us are more in touch with ourselves than others

As far as developers changing their designs in a specific way because you don't buy the game, I find that particularly naive.

I remember buying Dragon Age because I really wanted to support a return to form for Bioware.

Can you remember what they did with Dragon Age 2?

The whole vote with your wallet thing is a lottery - at best.