Gaming Signal: September 2006 Archives

Tuesday September 19, 2006

Preview: Company of Heroes

I know Tim has already discussed the demo, but I've had a few hours with the final relased version of the game and figured I'd add my take.

Certain elements have been taken from the venerable classics as well as the newcomers and been blended together in a very workable WW2 RTS. For example, the games various units all have special abilities that can be used (pioneered in early RTS games like Warcraft and C&C) in certain circumstances - like throwing a grenade or improving their morale. From more modern RTS games we have the ability for pickup items on the battlefield (like rocket launchers or machine guns) to improve the unit as well as a units ability to gain veteran status or be resupplied with troups in the field.

I was surprised to see resource gathering in this game - when it was loading up I kept thinking, "there's no way they have you gathering some crazy resource in a WW2 game, right?" When in fact they do - you have three resources (manpower, munitions, and fuel) that actually fit the game. The plight of units spread all over France following D-Day, for example, is enhanced by the lack of resources they had and how much value they got from taking a munitions dump or fuel depot.

There is a population cap - at first I was annoyed by this as its often a crutch used to keep framerates up or keep games in balance. In thise case there is a bit of that, but the cap is also used to simulate the limited troops that were available during certain phases of the war. I suppose because I haven't felt that pinned down by it I don't find it frustrating yet - we'll see how that goes over time.

The graphics are solid, the sound is nice, and the voice acting doesn't sound lame - so far now, it's a fun one.

Monday September 11, 2006

Tidbits for September 11, 2006

It is time for my monthly tidbit post, and it will have a few interesting bits of information for the folks out in cyberspace. So without further ado...

If Hollywood were to make a Half-life movie, then I would seriously consider contacting the maker of this trailer. This was made for a digital film class and it is well worth a look.
As gamers, we all have some expectations for our next generation consoles and the titles that will be created for them. The folks over Pointless Waste of Time have created a manifesto that documents some of those expectations and predictions regarding the possibility of those coming true. I will warn you that there is some colorful language which is inappropriate for younger readers... (thanks John)
Indie game creators finally have a magazine where their work is discussed, and it is available for free via download. This is done by the great folks over at Game Tunnel who track the independent game creation market.
According to Alex Ward of Criterion, real physics do not make for great game play. Criterion created the Burnout series of games and the shooter Black. I do tend to agree with the statement, and it really is a question of what type of game you are making.
And finally since we can't have just one movie clip, we have a different take on the whole Mortal Kombat versus Street Fighter debate. (yet more thanks to John)

Saturday September 02, 2006

POLL RESULTS: Episodic Gaming and you!!!!

Here are the results of the latest Gaming Signal poll.

QUESTION
Would you buy a game as a series of episodes?

RESULTS

(20 total votes)

Wow, great turnout for this topic, but then again its been up for weeks. So with the fact that about 45% of folks responding would go for episodic gaming, I will ask my followup question about which area of gaming is best done as a series of episodes? And thats our next poll topic!!!

When is it time to hang up your sword?

That is the question that needs to be asked when it is time to end your subscription to a given MMO title. It is one that has been asked by most of us at some point, but what is the answer? Of course, the follow on question, is how do you make your exit? I will try to answer both of these questions from my standpoint, and then look forward to seeing how others see it.

Before I begin, I should probably state that I have been playing these types of games for years from the beginnings of Everquest (which I played way too long) to World of Warcraft. I have played many of the major MMOs and have beta tested several others (the list is at the end of this article.) In every case the question was always, when is the game done? This question originally came up since I have just recently stopped playing World of Warcraft, and I was debating when I should let my friends know that I have quit. But that still does not answer the first question from above...

For me, the time to quit is when the game represents a time sink that offers less fun to the actual time spent playing. It comes down to a ratio for me, and I don't think I can state it numerically. But there is a number, and it is somewhat fluid depending on the people I play with and the flexibility of the game. I should also state that I am fully aware at the upper levels of the game that there is a certain amount of mindless crap (which is lumped into the not-fun category) that goes into every raid/encounter/event due to logistics of getting the right mix of folks together to do said raid/encounter/event. But what happens when you find that your patience is waning for that and the simple process of logging in feels like an obligation? Well that was the point at which I felt it was time for me to leave the game. Combine this with the simple fact that the game requires more and more time to do "end-content", and it has now crossed the barrier for me and its time for me to leave. I mean there is a definite risk of spending so much time in game where you have less time for family and friends. I know that might be a bit of an overstatement, but I know some folks who live their entire lives outside of work in a game, and I dare say that is unhealthy.

But what about leaving? How do you do it? Me, I just canceled my accounts and walked away. Thereby allowing me a safety net in case I feel that I want to go back through the process of learning why I stopped in the first place. Heck I did that a bunch of times with Everquest, but I cannot sell my accounts nor can I just self destruct in the game. My avatar is an extension of myself and I cannot do it that way. Others will perform some grand exit extravaganza by giving gear away and making a show of deleting their characters. Some will even resort to alienation to ensure there is nothing to come back to.

Now I throw the question out to our readers, when is it time to leave a MMO?

My MMO List:

Beta tested: