Elex I don't know….

Upcoming RPG lesson from Fluent about how Elex is better for wolfing than wolfing thinks it is

Originally Posted by wolfing
I didn't care for the game.
…
Definitely not my type of game.

Did you play it with mushrooms?

Originally Posted by joxer
Did you play it with mushrooms?

Yes, mushrooms all the way!

Originally Posted by NewDArt
Upcoming RPG lesson from Fluent about how Elex is better for wolfing than wolfing thinks it is

Meh. It's tempting, but nah, I'm good.

I don't think the game has level-scaling, though. Unless you consider repopulating certain spots between chapters with harder enemies, as Gothic originally did it, to be level-scaling. The enemies remain the same strength throughout the game as well, and the overall re-spawns during a chapter are very mild, so much so that I only noticed one single enemy that actually re-spawned in my 170 hours with the game thus far (a Spine Hound near a random house in the hills.)

I also find it odd to complain about such a thing in a game like ELEX, when the scaling and re-spawns are way worse in literally every other open-world RPG that has been released recently. ELEX is by far the least offensive in that regard and PB maintains the best design in that area to me, but hey, to each their own.

I'm playing with mushrooms, too. Although the Steam Controller only has a single mushroom. Maybe call them…pepperonis? Since the trackpads look like them. Vegan pepperonis, though.

Called it

It's "odd" that wolfing has a problem with something Fluent doesn't.

Very, very odd indeed!

Originally Posted by NewDArt
Called it

It's "odd" that wolfing has a problem with something Fluent doesn't.

Very, very odd indeed!

No, it's okay has an issue with it, I just find that criticism odd is all.

Are there open-world RPGs that I don't know about that are better than ELEX in that area?

Scratch that, I don't really care. Cheers, @wolfing, you didn't like it and I am okay with that.

Originally Posted by Fluent
No, it's okay has an issue with it, I just find that criticism odd is all.

Are there open-world RPGs that I don't know about that are better than ELEX in that area?

It's hard to say, since I haven't personally experienced these respawns - and I don't have a huge problem with respawns in general.

I bet joxer has a suggestion or two

I can understand why it's frustrating to encounter high level enemies in areas you've previously cleared, though.

I don't remember any respawns in the Risen games - but I could be wrong. I prefer cleared areas stay cleared - but few open world games do that, so I've come to accept respawns to a certain degree.

It's all about implementation and the particulars. Earlier Bethesda games had horrible respawns - but I'm ok with how it works in FO4 and Skyrim and it's easy to mod.

Never had a problem in the Gothics - but then I only ever completed the first Gothic. To me, Gothic 2 was too much of the same at the time of release and Gothic 3 was broken and I lost my savegame after 50 hours or so.

Originally Posted by NewDArt
I bet joxer has a suggestion or two

Not in this particular case as I didn't finish the game yet and I didn't experience anywhere some unbearable respawns that are talked about in this thread. Some trashmobs I've seen respawned, but these so far weren't minibosses, just "junk".

If it's true that at some point Elex tosses endless amount of hard trashmobs on you…
In excessive and irritating godlike trashmobs openworld games where no_respawn mod doesn't exist, for example Dragon Age Inquisition, the trick not to uninstall the game before finishing it was to lower the difficulty on easiest possible while exploring/freeroaming then return it back while doing actual (side)quests. This way you're basically ignoring/instakill the annoying filler.

Originally Posted by NewDArt
It's hard to say, since I haven't personally experienced these respawns - and I don't have a huge problem with respawns in general.

I bet joxer has a suggestion or two

I can understand why it's frustrating to encounter high level enemies in areas you've previously cleared, though.

I don't remember any respawns in the Risen games - but I could be wrong. I prefer cleared areas stay cleared - but few open world games do that, so I've come to accept respawns to a certain degree.

It's all about implementation and the particulars. Earlier Bethesda games had horrible respawns - but I'm ok with how it works in FO4 and Skyrim and it's easy to mod.

Never had a problem in the Gothics - but then I only ever completed the first Gothic. To me, Gothic 2 was too much of the same at the time of release and Gothic 3 was broken and I lost my savegame after 50 hours or so.

Well, Gothic 3 was a bit different than the other Gothic games in that enemies re-spawned a bit more. At least, in some spots they did.

Gothic 1 & 2 had a system where enemies only re-spawned between chapters. Sort of like "intelligent respawning." When the chapter ends, then enemies could respawn. They could be the same type of enemy, or could be a higher level enemy, but it was done in a careful way, and the enemy themselves, be it a scavenger, molerat or ripper, remained the same strength level all game no matter where you spotted them at. And not every enemy node on the map re-spawned, just some.

ELEX mostly has that design, with the difference being that there are high level and low level monsters scattered all around, at all times. Being the world is much bigger and more open than Gothic 1 & 2, it's like a wild, unpredictable land where you never know what you'll run into, mostly. Some areas, like Ignadon, have a higher concentration of higher level enemies, i.e. Ignadon is mostly a "high level" area. Yet within that area are varying degrees of enemy strength as well. Edan would be an easier area, yet you might spot a Troll, a nasty Forlorn or a gang of very tough Reavers. Tavar would be a middle ground yet is also mostly filled with death for a lower level character. And at all times you can spot high and low level enemies here and there. I still see critters, for example, biters, and other weaker enemies (and it's neat that they stand there and chill with me as I have the Friend of Beasts skill.)

Oh, that skill scales, too.

It's a very fascinating design to me, but that's beside the point. I'm only in Chapter 2 and haven't noticed anything yet regarding re-spawning. A lot of the older areas I still run around in seem to be empty mostly. Oh, and there is a biter near the mortuary teleporter in Edan that re-spawned in my game as well. So that would be 2 that I clearly remember, and I remember because I was shocked they were there.

Risen 1 had the same design as the first 2 Gothics.

Maybe the game just hated me, but every freaking time I had to go somewhere, I would teleport to the closest portal and there would be 3 spiders, 5 raptors, 3 boars and 2 mutants right there.

Originally Posted by wolfing
Maybe the game just hated me, but every freaking time I had to go somewhere, I would teleport to the closest portal and there would be 3 spiders, 5 raptors, 3 boars and 2 mutants right there.

That's weird. Maybe it's something related to using a teleporter, because I noticed the biter near the teleporter I mentioned also re-spawned (after I teleported there.)

Ideally, I would want respawns to happen as a result of a "realistic" simulation of wild-life and enemy movement. As in, if I clear a dungeon - it makes sense that it might repopulate, eventually - because it could act as a base or a monster-hub.

That's sort of what I tell myself with Bethesda games - and I usually mod them so it happens very infrequently. But bandits retaking some supermarket after a month or so makes sense to me.

My problem with respawns is when they don't make any sense - and when they happen so frequently as to ruin any sense of progression and natural order.

A complete lack of respawns is a challenge to implement for a huge open world game - because you will need to balance progression around that.

Some games deal with that by making quests the main source of XP - but I dislike that approach. I want combat to feel rewarding - and I want the choice of how to progress.

Which is one reason I dislike the initial stages of Elex - and the entirety of Witcher 3, because combat felt like a grind with no reward.

The chapter respawns is a compromise and it's ok. I don't expect I will mind it much in Elex - if at all.

Originally Posted by wolfing
every freaking time I had to go somewhere, I would teleport to the closest portal and there would be 3 spiders, 5 raptors, 3 boars and 2 mutants right there.

OMG
Did you bork some game settings or something?
I've never experienced something like that. A trashmob or two respawned here and there, that's what I was seeing. Normal difficulty.

Keep in mind I did not finish the game yet. Maybe that does start happening later. If it does… Expect me to suggest no buying it till modders make no_respawn mod if it does.

I woke up yesterday and just couldn't find the motivation to play Elex. Since I've fallen way behind on the Witcher series I decided to check out the old enhanced edition. Even with its limitations the old Witcher brought gaming goodness to my day that was horribly lacking in Elex. Elex feels like a chore to me. Struggling to progress in the Gothic & Risen series never bothered me like it does in Elex. The world building and sense of immersion kept me from getting too frustrated. So I'm shelving Elex for now because while I appreciate the PB model immensely this game just lacks in fun factor. If I had to point to one critical flaw I'd point to level scaled respawns. I'm tired of re clearing areas to range for supplies, defend safe houses and teleporters. That is one HUGE departure in the PB model here and it's making it more of a chore than a game quite frankly.

There's definitely some exaggerating here in regards to the respawning.

It's not one of those games where you can clear an area and it'll be repopulated the next day. It takes a fair amount of in-game time before anything spawns in an area you cleared.

Also, I didn't notice level-scaled spawns in my game until I was level 25+

Fwiw, you can prolong the amount of time before an area respawns by not looting the bodies of the creatures you killed.

We all know the score with these games. Wait until at least a year after they're released before purchasing, and if there's ever a GOTY/Enhanced Edition etc. that's the time to give them a go.

Until that point most Open World RPG's are largely unfinished nowadays.

Originally Posted by Falksi
We all know the score with these games. Wait until at least a year after they're released before purchasing, and if there's ever a GOTY/Enhanced Edition etc. that's the time to give them a go.

Until that point most Open World RPG's are largely unfinished nowadays.

I generally agree with that, but I don't think people will need to wait that long if they want to play Elex.

The main reason for waiting in most cases is DLC. PB has stated there's not going to be any DLC for Elex.

From a technical standpoint, it's very solid. I'd say wait for 1 more patch, and the only reason I even say that is because there's apparently one in the works right now.

Originally Posted by JDR13
There's definitely some exaggerating here in regards to the respawning.

It's not one of those games where you can clear an area and it'll be repopulated the next day. It takes a fair amount of in-game time before anything spawns in an area you cleared.

Not trying to exaggerate, but this is baffling as hell to me. I've played 162 hours and haven't seen level-scaled respawns. Am I missing something?

For the record I've also been through the same areas multiple times, etc.. I'm level 23 by the way. 70 hours in, chapter 2.

Well.. what's the furthest you've actually got before starting over?

Originally Posted by JDR13
Well.. what's the furthest you've actually got before starting over?

Just edited my post, but 70 hours in, chapter 2, level 23. Just joined a faction before finishing chapter 1.