tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post1232231553641119162..comments2024-03-28T15:04:57.804-04:00Comments on The CRPG Addict: Martian Dreams: Won!CRPG Addicthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01238237377918550322noreply@blogger.comBlogger50125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-35985703682322998402021-04-24T21:40:11.314-04:002021-04-24T21:40:11.314-04:00I headcanon that this game's Avatar's pare...I headcanon that this game's Avatar's parents named him/her after the hero of the Second Martian Expedition.Evil Midnight Lurkernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-90952738507844217122018-01-28T12:19:42.780-05:002018-01-28T12:19:42.780-05:00For me as well the M60 was always such an anti-cli...For me as well the M60 was always such an anti-climax. It's just a big gun. Imagining one would be well within the capabilities of a 19th century mind. Even the automatic firing wouldn't have been new, since Gatling guns were in use since the US civil war in 1860s.<br /><br />A person from 1991 would be able to imagine a weapon with an actual paradigm shift. A nuclear bomb? An industrial laser? Cutting with *light itself*! You could even shoot him right through his transparent barrier. How about that for a surprise?<br /><br />But no. Just a big freaking machine gun. The M60 doesn't even have exceptionally high muzzle energy, the individual shots are only about two and half times more powerful than a civil war era musket.<br /><br />Actual cannons aren't even in the same league. Even a light 12 pounder deck gun from age of sail (same size as the canal barge cannons) packs 150 times the energy of the M60. If an M60 can breach the barrier, then a 19th century person wouldn't have had any trouble of conjuring a weapon big enough. Heck, even a 16th century person would scarcely have any trouble.Viilanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-63024990321489174232017-03-18T02:15:29.614-04:002017-03-18T02:15:29.614-04:00That last one seems most likely, since the final p...That last one seems most likely, since the final part of the game runs more or less on literal dream logic.Paphvulhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17793765634686489221noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-27204346283606087692017-03-18T02:04:06.728-04:002017-03-18T02:04:06.728-04:00As someone whose only exposure to Ultima has been ...As someone whose only exposure to Ultima has been the fourth game, I can say this; the art's pretty nicely drawn, if generic.<br /><br />I stopped about 63 pages in; it honestly just felt like a generic fantasy manga.<br /><br />You'd have a conniption. XD<br /><br /><br /><br />To quote the Editable Codex:<br /><br />The story follows the quest of the fifteen-year-old boy Deane, who was adopted in infancy by a druid of Yew after the murder of his mother, a knight of the Order of the Silver Serpent. The story revolves around his search for his adoptive brother Shiva, a druid who went missing in an attempt to become the Avatar.<br /><br />Like the first manga, the events of the comic again prove very far flung from the expectations of Western Ultima fans. In Quest of the Avatar, many of the characters have switched genders as they did in the NES port. Iolo, for example, has become the fourteen year old girl "Io." Julia is now a thirty-eight-year-old male, still named "Julia," and Katrina is the ten-year-old boy "Kati." <br /><br />No, this isn't someone's fanfiction.Paphvulhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17793765634686489221noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-60306394532430181792017-03-18T00:12:00.777-04:002017-03-18T00:12:00.777-04:00Meh For me I think its just the capping of "D...Meh For me I think its just the capping of "Do you even research Bro" problems I had since like I mentioned above...there was an even better pop-culture weapon to use ....and the M-60 isn't appreciably better than choices that ACTUALLY EXISTED in that era. Basically they "Rule of Cooled" it....cept...it doesn't even come off as cool. Just kinda a "hunh well thats done". And aslo like I sstated above they had an even easier out if they had gone with a "nothing in this world" statement instead since they could have had The Avatar pull a magic weapon out of the dreamstuff as a callback. Sorry I can't help but see it as the "lazy" call. I honestly think if they had cut a lot of the cameos and tightened up the structure so that you weren't bouncing back and forth so much it wouldn't be so distastefull to end it on "and then you went all Rambo on his buttocks". Even Notsputin deserved better.Honor Sharpehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02992100501425422093noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-1148958127224672132017-03-17T20:14:35.662-04:002017-03-17T20:14:35.662-04:00Three comments regarding the combat system...
1. T...Three comments regarding the combat system...<br />1. The big problem Martian Dreams had wasn't so much the way it used the combat system, but the inherent limitations of the U6 engine. The equipment the game offered was initially very exciting - a relatively broad range of firearms, from tiny derringers to powerful elephant guns, plus a range of more or less improvised melee weapons - but it just could not work when you have the limited visibility that U6 offers. To make firearms truly valuable - to justify the trips back to the only place on Mars where you could buy ammo - the guns would have needed to be much more useful. This could be achieved if the player had at least 50% more visibility. That would mean that for many critters, you could cut them down significantly before they got into melee range. As things were, however, I think most people switch to sabres and sledgehammers sooner or later, which is unfortunate.<br />2. Surely, some excuse could have been found to provide at least some armour-like options on Mars. For instance, allow the player to scavenge the shell off the many janitor robots, and then have Carnegie craft a plate armour or something out of it. Or Buffalo Bill could make a couple of different types of armour out of plantimal hide... err, bark.<br />3. Generally, combat, and item management in the broader sense, could have been much more interesting had they carried over some of the crafting from Savage Empire. Surely, the expeditions didn't have quite so much ammo with them that you can just keep on buying it from Buffalo Bill? Surely, there would be a need to produce gunpowder and the like?<br /><br />I suppose the relative lack of attention to combat and combat equipment is just further indication that Origin saw this as an adventure game first, and complex RPG second. This may have been a reaction to the poor reception Savage Empire had.<br /><br />...All this having been said, I will also insist that neither U6 not SE has any combat even remotely as epic as fighting the leviathan on Mars. And the fact that outside of the end-game sequence, you could go through the whole game without encountering a leviathan just made them all the more epic. It was this thing, that's out there, and eats your party for breakfast if you encounter it early on...Jakub Majewskihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04346544936010598248noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-38778773171675835472017-03-17T19:58:32.039-04:002017-03-17T19:58:32.039-04:00You know, there is another way of looking at this ...You know, there is another way of looking at this M60 thing. If this felt right to people at the time - and that seems to be the case - then it was the right decision, full stop. It may feel wrong in retrospect, but surely it's wrong to criticise Origin from the perspective of what today's audiences know? While I've pointed out in another comment that there was no problem with the Avatar knowing about the M60 because there were still many military-themed publications in the pre-internet era, the fact also remains that most people - kids, teens, and adults alike - were blissfully ignorant of such details, and did not have a quick way of looking things up. There was no Google to search for "what is the most powerful gun".<br /><br />So, all in all, I think you gotta give the designers a break :). Yes, they went for the easy, pop-culture-based solution. And yes, they probably did so mainly because they didn't know any better. But in the end, it was the right decision for the audience they had at the time.Jakub Majewskinoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-73232004905895772632017-03-17T16:09:11.512-04:002017-03-17T16:09:11.512-04:00Specifically a .50 Cal rifle which uses the same c...Specifically a .50 Cal rifle which uses the same cartridge design as the original .50 Browning Machine Gun.tlhonmeyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03256644187305759072noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-52733709506788230202017-03-16T21:06:40.606-04:002017-03-16T21:06:40.606-04:00Oh you just mean a .50 Cal rifle. Sorry I misunder...Oh you just mean a .50 Cal rifle. Sorry I misunderstood from the usage.Honor Sharpehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02992100501425422093noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-50782024274969258782017-03-16T20:03:19.761-04:002017-03-16T20:03:19.761-04:00I think not every one will object to a purely humo...I think not every one will object to a purely humorous CRPG. It all boils down to the gameplay really.<br /><br />Penny Arcade's CRPG was nonsensical but fun for one thing.<br /><br />I'm still waiting for a CRPG built on the Discworld setting.Kenny McCormickhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01553499727945099493noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-24401992828830344132017-03-16T19:38:12.402-04:002017-03-16T19:38:12.402-04:00Like Lord British?Like Lord British?Kenny McCormickhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01553499727945099493noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-74503995095693106752017-03-16T17:53:18.773-04:002017-03-16T17:53:18.773-04:00Yeah,tht too but I was a good marksman with the BM...Yeah,tht too but I was a good marksman with the BMG on Single shot.Mr. Pavonehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13286558267156792637noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-34383616838163230112017-03-16T17:36:53.622-04:002017-03-16T17:36:53.622-04:00I think y'all mean the Barrett Anti-Materiel o...I think y'all mean the Barrett Anti-Materiel or similar rifles. A Browning Machine Gun would be a silly weapon choice for a marksman.Honor Sharpehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02992100501425422093noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-37113797015888012022017-03-16T16:13:30.046-04:002017-03-16T16:13:30.046-04:00Yeah, true. Even a Mosin-Nagant can do that. My po...Yeah, true. Even a Mosin-Nagant can do that. My point being curbstomp level overkill on the part of clueless writers.Mr. Pavonehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13286558267156792637noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-61579557892625594232017-03-16T15:57:52.942-04:002017-03-16T15:57:52.942-04:00Mr. Pavone: Heck, a good 30-06 is effective at 10...Mr. Pavone: Heck, a good 30-06 is effective at 1000m. The .50 BMG is for when you want to destroy vehicles at that distance. tlhonmeyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03256644187305759072noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-45263198977727813812017-03-16T14:16:21.340-04:002017-03-16T14:16:21.340-04:00Yeah but that things a siege cannon...may as well ...Yeah but that things a siege cannon...may as well summon a tank then. The only reason I used a "Napoleon" is that that was what the 12 pound cannons we used during the Civil War were called. I'll agree...thing woulda worked though. Course....evrything would be gone in the room if you used THAT in a small enclosed space.Honor Sharpehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02992100501425422093noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-19109331212396333012017-03-16T09:52:55.095-04:002017-03-16T09:52:55.095-04:00I know that the "what?" is some kind of ...I know that the "what?" is some kind of look command, but I'm amused to think it's what your character said in response to the nonsensical thing the NPC just said in each of your screenshots.Kishhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11456086726407491007noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-87337369836042878242017-03-16T05:34:15.506-04:002017-03-16T05:34:15.506-04:00Haha, no I wasn't quite thinking about Napoleo...Haha, no I wasn't quite thinking about Napoleon's field guns.<br /><br />More like this baby from Edinburgh castle, that our plucky young Avatar may have seen on a school trip.<br /><br />https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mons_Meg<br /><br />;)Tristan Gallhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16769219573533545742noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-22269343167309408072017-03-16T04:43:54.183-04:002017-03-16T04:43:54.183-04:00Am I the only one to absolutely dig this absurd, f...Am I the only one to absolutely dig this absurd, fun and original background ? And the adventure-y take ?<br />Of course it can't be taken seriously, but, come on, does somebody take heroic fantasy seriously ? Oh. Some do...Tramboinoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-39957397022753035962017-03-16T02:04:03.954-04:002017-03-16T02:04:03.954-04:00I feel like the M60 was *everywhere* in movies in ...I feel like the M60 was *everywhere* in movies in the 80s and 90s. <br /><br />Rambo is one example, but since it was the standard SAW of the US Military during 'Nam, it was in Platoon, Full Metal Jacket, Jacob's Ladder.....<br /><br />So it was very present in the public consciousness then as "that big powerful cool gun badasses use."<br /><br />I remember it feeling very....right....to my pre-teen brain.old wow bastardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13219195579845781590noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-26643701348397614672017-03-16T00:13:40.346-04:002017-03-16T00:13:40.346-04:00I could see three ways of it working.
1) The perso...I could see three ways of it working.<br />1) The person just thinks 'give me an M60' and poof, an M60 appears.<br /><br />2) The person has been in the military or such, summons something that works roughly like an M60 based on their experiences even if none of the insides are the same. Might not fire at exactly the right rate or whatever, but has roughly the same effect.<br /><br />3) The person summons an M60 based on seeing it in some 80s action movie. It weighs nothing, fires a million rounds a minute, and never runs out of ammunition. Oh, and can cut a car in half. Canageekhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03770924810559440307noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-17910861468158408612017-03-15T23:35:07.022-04:002017-03-15T23:35:07.022-04:00"... but still, what other RPG game has ever ..."... but still, what other RPG game has ever tried to assemble all of its NPCs in one place?"<br /><br />The only one I know is Dragon Age: Origins, which postdates this game by about 20 years. It's very well done in that game, as I generally end up feeling both satisfied and a little sad for that adventure to be over, which always surprises me.Quirkzhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16409671254311123117noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-7316210088298769922017-03-15T23:33:30.323-04:002017-03-15T23:33:30.323-04:00Heh thinking about it a little more...since this i...Heh thinking about it a little more...since this is technically the Avatar if I had been the devs I would have gone in the opposite direction. Had the Avatar pull out the Mystic Sword from 4 and slice into the room that way. Then have Notsputin go into shock at a sword getting in and he surrenders.Honor Sharpehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02992100501425422093noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-15976819331977386922017-03-15T22:58:47.230-04:002017-03-15T22:58:47.230-04:00I've noticed throughout my life that certain g...I've noticed throughout my life that certain guns get a go at being the new, cool thing. When I was in elementary school it was all about the Uzi. They were in every TV show and movie. They cut down hundreds of men, blew up cars and tore buildings in half. As a teen, it was 9mm and .45s. Then the M60 was the go-to gun for winning wars. The late 90s saw the P90 take the movies by storm. Lately it seems like the .50 BMG is the weapon of choice. Out can't be a sniper without one, even though most shows and movies have the sniper shooting a man at less than 100 meters when a BMG will reliably reach out over 1000 meters.<br />It seems like the M60 was chosen because it was the fetish gun of the time.Mr. Pavonehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13286558267156792637noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-28298670419874806352017-03-15T17:43:58.661-04:002017-03-15T17:43:58.661-04:00That's a riot. Thank you for not providing a l...That's a riot. Thank you for not providing a link.CRPG Addicthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01238237377918550322noreply@blogger.com