The game you linked, StarQuest Online, although good in theory sucks big ol donkey balls in application. It has the most horrenously bad UI and gameplay mechanics of any game I've ever played. I've tried to get into it several times because I absolutely love the concepts behind the game but it's the gameplay that keeps driving me away and not the graphics. You feel like you're fighting with your character constantly to do anything... even something as simple as walking across a room! The new developers have made some promises to fix these aspects of the game and if they do I'll be definitely playing it but not until I see that they have revamped the UI and controls. The reason why more people don't play StarQuest isn't because of the dated graphics it's because the gameplay is horrible in it's current state.
The UI is a disaster I agree, but I think that there have been some fixes since you played last. Besides a few crashes here and there the game runs pretty well.
I'll also point out that the game lacks any real tutorial and players are forced to seek guidance from veterans.
I agree the games bad right now. Let's look past the failures of the previous developers who I think were morally bankrupt and used the game to extort donations from the playerbase honestly. THe new developer is a longtime player of the game, and everyone who has invested in this incredibly immersive game are just thankful that there is new blood in her veins.
I love this game and have played it for 4 years now because it offers freedom like no other MMO. freedom to choose to be what you want to be. To do what you want to other players, to make a lasting impression on the game, and to suffer real consequences for your actions.
"I am not in a server with Gankers...THEY ARE IN A SERVER WITH ME!!!"
I've played a variety of games, from UO, Eve, DAoC, WOW, EQ, CoH, & DDO to name a few. Most of my time was in EQ, UO, CoH, and more recently DDO.
Game Play and Graphics aren't as important as the game crashing. The game shouldn't crash while playing it. Recently my game has been crashing while playing DDO. I'm not certain if its DDO or my computer. Every now and then even when browsing the system just dies and I have to reboot. Its usually not that big of a deal though, and I can pick things back up in a few minutes. If the game doesn't work at all, that is a huge problem and mor important than game play and graphics. Mainly because you never get into the gameplay, since it doesn't work.
That is the impression I'm getting with this game. Its not just the gameplay or graphics, but its hard to even walk across a room? The game is crashing some?
There is some serious competition for people's game time. I've played MUD's that are more fun than struggling with a game that doesn't work.
Thanks, but no thanks.
crashing > gameplay or graphics
========================== The game is dead not, this game is good we make it and Romania Tv give it 5 goat heads, this is good rating for game.
I've played a variety of games, from UO, Eve, DAoC, WOW, EQ, CoH, & DDO to name a few. Most of my time was in EQ, UO, CoH, and more recently DDO.
Game Play and Graphics aren't as important as the game crashing. The game shouldn't crash while playing it. Recently my game has been crashing while playing DDO. I'm not certain if its DDO or my computer. Every now and then even when browsing the system just dies and I have to reboot. Its usually not that big of a deal though, and I can pick things back up in a few minutes. If the game doesn't work at all, that is a huge problem and mor important than game play and graphics. Mainly because you never get into the gameplay, since it doesn't work.
That is the impression I'm getting with this game. Its not just the gameplay or graphics, but its hard to even walk across a room? The game is crashing some?
There is some serious competition for people's game time. I've played MUD's that are more fun than struggling with a game that doesn't work.
Thanks, but no thanks.
crashing > gameplay or graphics
You said yourself that DDO crashes sometimes. You also seem to expect AAA quality from small gaming companies. That's just not how life works. First you get the Khakis then you get the jobs then you get the money.
"I am not in a server with Gankers...THEY ARE IN A SERVER WITH ME!!!"
I'll settle for a mix of the two, an even balance. But a reasonable frame rate is a must, especially on low settings. Low frame rate on low settings means the game is too much for my puny student level rig. WoW, LOTRO & DDO run smooth. Conan struggles a bit. I'm waiting for a benchtest with GW2.
The old school players are nuanced, more complex thoughts (as far as game expectations go) than the average modern player, who would accept anything marketing throws their way.
The statement "Gameplay over Graphics", should not always be taken in the literal sense, it is contextual. For me the statement means that I would prefer a game where more effort was put by a Dev team and Designers in to its gameplay rather than its "Next generation" graphics.
What impresses me is the deeper thoughts that went in to designing a game and the possibilities that these offer to me when I play it rather than the lights and whistles and special FX full of colors it may have which I can watch but do nothing with.
Having said that, of cource if the game has both it is always a plus, nice graphics with smooth animations are important elemets too.
But if you present me a game that has all of the graphics but is really baren of gameplay options and a game that has the gameplay but its graphics are of an older style, I will choose the later, because I can use my own immagination to compensate for the lack of visual perfection.
But in a game where your character simply cannot sit in a chair it is just there in your face, "you can;t sit" you are limited to what the gameplay possibilities are, and I am giving siting on chairs as an example because it is a simple example to demonstrate the thought process involved.
An analogy I like to make is the difference between a Novel and a Comic book, a Novel represents the Gameplay, a Comic Book is graphics. In a novel we compensate for the lack of pictures (graphics), through the detailed descriptions and our imagination. In a comic book we have Pictures (graphics) but everything remains on the current action on the surface, never does it go too deep in descriptive detail or incites us to use our immagination to go beyond what is already there.
- Duke Suraknar - Order of the Silver Star, OSS
ESKA, Playing MMORPG's since Ultima Online 1997 - Order of the Silver Serpent, Atlantic Shard
Yes I would rather have better gameplay then Graphics, I could care less about graphics if the game play is great.
Perfect Example - I play a ton of Making History 1 and 2 and both have very poor graphics but I have put a ton of hours in because the gameplay is great.
I think most old school gamers (1980s - 1999) would rather have great gameplay and poor graphics over great graphics and poor gameplay.
I think another great example is Age of Conan, Amazing graphics, bad gameplay, game failed and is now F2P.
Considering graphics, I want full 3D but I'll settle for slightly obsolete graphics. The sort that went into AAA games 5-10 years ago. Think Half Life 1 or better. While the characters still looked a bit rough in that generation of games, they had everything needed to support gameplay. Such as decent screen resolutions, which allowed you to recognize objects at some distance.
Today even most free2play MMOs meet the above standard, so I think the industry at large has reached a satisfactory quality level here .
But on the gameplay side, things are not nearly as well. Original and well designed games are just as rare as 10 years ago. I think development studios in general should shift more of their efforts to gameplay design, as that area really needs improvement. Too many games are just uninspired clones of another, successful game.
Short version:
I'm generally happy with the state of graphics in games. But gameplay often sucks and really needs more attention from developers.
The thing is that everyone has this idea that a game has to look good enough from the beginning to "last long enough to compete against incoming games".
The problem is that while a game may look good, it's never going to change mechanically, and if it does, expect NGE-sized flak over it. So, look at it as a game, like the new Star Wars game, as being able to look good enough for another few years, but the gameplay will never change, and we know *exactly* what to expect by now for future content. The same stuff.
On the other hand, EVE and Entropia were able to do visual upgrades, as well as many other games, and the core is still what it is, and can be improved on in it's own unique way. So dammit people, play a game that amazes you with it's gameplay, graphics can come later with enough demand and funding... because gameplay will never change, and if you're playing tired shit simply because it's the best looking thing on the market - guess what? Your problem.
Writer / Musician / Game Designer
Now Playing: Skyrim, Wurm Online, Tropico 4 Waiting On: GW2, TSW, Archeage, The Rapture
Yes. I DO want gameplay over graphics....for some of my games. That is why I play Minecraft (although the graphics are really starting to grow on me ). But I also play SWTOR now...which has great graphics even if the game play isn't ridiculously innovative. The game play is fun, and I enjoy the graphics.
I agree Lizardbones. The non mainstream players are too spread out on what they want. The fact is they can all agree that theme park rail shooters, and generally just dumbed down game play is not what they are looking for.
SQO may not be what every player is looking for but it's one of the few games that becomes what you put into it.
A lot of bugs have been fixed, and some graphics upgrades made a couple of years ago. The game is much better off than it was then. I'm not saying that all the bugs are gone though, btu it is much more playable than it was back then.
Most of us don´t actually know what we are looking for until we see it...
As for graphics it do matter. A game don´t have to look like AoC but there is a limit to how old a game can look for any player. Mine is around Guildwars, if it looks less good then I don't bother.
MMOs are games you spend years in and if it looks really old already when you start it will be Flintstones graphics after a while.
Kyleran: "Now there's the real trick, learning to accept and enjoy a game for what
it offers rather than pass on what might be a great playing experience
because it lacks a few features you prefer."
John Henry Newman: "A man would do nothing if he waited until he could do it so well that no one could find fault."
FreddyNoNose: "A good game needs no defense; a bad game has no defense." "Easily digested content is just as easily forgotten."
LacedOpium: "So the question that begs to be asked is, if you are not interested in
the game mechanics that define the MMORPG genre, then why are you
playing an MMORPG?"
For some reason, all games I have liked and loved because of the gameplay also had good graphics (when they launched of course). This seems straightforward to me, if you can afford good graphics, you can also afford the good game designers.
So games with good graphics tend to attract me, not only because of the graphics, but because those are usually the games with the better gameplay. I'm not saying this is always the case of course, there are many many exceptions, but I do think that on average, a game with better graphics, also will have the better gameplay, or rather, it will have a bigger chance to have the better gameplay.
edit: (oh, I just wanted to add that this is my experience across game genres, it's not limited to MMO)
Minecraft shows that as long as your mechanics are good, it has a good chance of succeeding. However, if graphics are too poor and thus hindering the enjoyment of the game, then it isn't a 'good' game.
At the fundamental level, a game is an entertainment media.
Everyone's taste will be different and across different genre's.
Your typical FPS vs RPG will have vastly different graphical acceptance to a player.
Gdemami - Informing people about your thoughts and impressions is not a review, it's a blog.
i think grafix is wat matter cus w/out gfx u cant even get into the game or u player, while w/ good gfx u can have fun knowing that u player is cool and that ever1 can see how cool ur
Comments
I agree
The game you linked, StarQuest Online, although good in theory sucks big ol donkey balls in application. It has the most horrenously bad UI and gameplay mechanics of any game I've ever played. I've tried to get into it several times because I absolutely love the concepts behind the game but it's the gameplay that keeps driving me away and not the graphics. You feel like you're fighting with your character constantly to do anything... even something as simple as walking across a room! The new developers have made some promises to fix these aspects of the game and if they do I'll be definitely playing it but not until I see that they have revamped the UI and controls. The reason why more people don't play StarQuest isn't because of the dated graphics it's because the gameplay is horrible in it's current state.
Bren
while(horse==dead)
{
beat();
}
The UI is a disaster I agree, but I think that there have been some fixes since you played last. Besides a few crashes here and there the game runs pretty well.
I'll also point out that the game lacks any real tutorial and players are forced to seek guidance from veterans.
I agree the games bad right now. Let's look past the failures of the previous developers who I think were morally bankrupt and used the game to extort donations from the playerbase honestly. THe new developer is a longtime player of the game, and everyone who has invested in this incredibly immersive game are just thankful that there is new blood in her veins.
I love this game and have played it for 4 years now because it offers freedom like no other MMO. freedom to choose to be what you want to be. To do what you want to other players, to make a lasting impression on the game, and to suffer real consequences for your actions.
"I am not in a server with Gankers...THEY ARE IN A SERVER WITH ME!!!"
Gameplay > Graphics!
In the last year i played
AoC for a month,
Rift for 2-3 months
SWTOR for a month
I took some breaks for reading books, because i just got bored of these games
Now i am back to VG. Well graphics is not too bad, but in comparison ...
And i would rather resub DAoC or UO than one of the above.
Playing: VGSoH
Played: UO, DAoC, SWG, SWTOR, WoW, AoC, EQ2, Eve
I've played a variety of games, from UO, Eve, DAoC, WOW, EQ, CoH, & DDO to name a few. Most of my time was in EQ, UO, CoH, and more recently DDO.
Game Play and Graphics aren't as important as the game crashing. The game shouldn't crash while playing it. Recently my game has been crashing while playing DDO. I'm not certain if its DDO or my computer. Every now and then even when browsing the system just dies and I have to reboot. Its usually not that big of a deal though, and I can pick things back up in a few minutes. If the game doesn't work at all, that is a huge problem and mor important than game play and graphics. Mainly because you never get into the gameplay, since it doesn't work.
That is the impression I'm getting with this game. Its not just the gameplay or graphics, but its hard to even walk across a room? The game is crashing some?
There is some serious competition for people's game time. I've played MUD's that are more fun than struggling with a game that doesn't work.
Thanks, but no thanks.
crashing > gameplay or graphics
==========================
The game is dead not, this game is good we make it and Romania Tv give it 5 goat heads, this is good rating for game.
I want both for my 60 bucks.
You said yourself that DDO crashes sometimes. You also seem to expect AAA quality from small gaming companies. That's just not how life works. First you get the Khakis then you get the jobs then you get the money.
"I am not in a server with Gankers...THEY ARE IN A SERVER WITH ME!!!"
graphics are nice, but you don't need them to make money
e.g
WoW
LoL
Minecraft
In today's world, there is no need to choose. If a game does not have good gameplay *and* graphics, count me out.
I'll settle for a mix of the two, an even balance. But a reasonable frame rate is a must, especially on low settings. Low frame rate on low settings means the game is too much for my puny student level rig. WoW, LOTRO & DDO run smooth. Conan struggles a bit. I'm waiting for a benchtest with GW2.
The old school players are nuanced, more complex thoughts (as far as game expectations go) than the average modern player, who would accept anything marketing throws their way.
The statement "Gameplay over Graphics", should not always be taken in the literal sense, it is contextual. For me the statement means that I would prefer a game where more effort was put by a Dev team and Designers in to its gameplay rather than its "Next generation" graphics.
What impresses me is the deeper thoughts that went in to designing a game and the possibilities that these offer to me when I play it rather than the lights and whistles and special FX full of colors it may have which I can watch but do nothing with.
Having said that, of cource if the game has both it is always a plus, nice graphics with smooth animations are important elemets too.
But if you present me a game that has all of the graphics but is really baren of gameplay options and a game that has the gameplay but its graphics are of an older style, I will choose the later, because I can use my own immagination to compensate for the lack of visual perfection.
But in a game where your character simply cannot sit in a chair it is just there in your face, "you can;t sit" you are limited to what the gameplay possibilities are, and I am giving siting on chairs as an example because it is a simple example to demonstrate the thought process involved.
An analogy I like to make is the difference between a Novel and a Comic book, a Novel represents the Gameplay, a Comic Book is graphics. In a novel we compensate for the lack of pictures (graphics), through the detailed descriptions and our imagination. In a comic book we have Pictures (graphics) but everything remains on the current action on the surface, never does it go too deep in descriptive detail or incites us to use our immagination to go beyond what is already there.
Order of the Silver Star, OSS
ESKA, Playing MMORPG's since Ultima Online 1997 - Order of the Silver Serpent, Atlantic Shard
Yes I would rather have better gameplay then Graphics, I could care less about graphics if the game play is great.
Perfect Example - I play a ton of Making History 1 and 2 and both have very poor graphics but I have put a ton of hours in because the gameplay is great.
I think most old school gamers (1980s - 1999) would rather have great gameplay and poor graphics over great graphics and poor gameplay.
I think another great example is Age of Conan, Amazing graphics, bad gameplay, game failed and is now F2P.
Sooner or Later
I want graphics over gameplay and character customization over everything.
All of my posts are either intelligent, thought provoking, funny, satirical, sarcastic or intentionally disrespectful. Take your pick.
I get banned in the forums for games I love, so lets see if I do better in the forums for games I hate.
I enjoy the serenity of not caring what your opinion is.
I don't hate much, but I hate Apple© with a passion. If Steve Jobs was alive, I would punch him in the face.
I want both. Gameplay is more important but I cant play game where i graphics is not at least acceptable for me.
Considering graphics, I want full 3D but I'll settle for slightly obsolete graphics. The sort that went into AAA games 5-10 years ago. Think Half Life 1 or better. While the characters still looked a bit rough in that generation of games, they had everything needed to support gameplay. Such as decent screen resolutions, which allowed you to recognize objects at some distance.
Today even most free2play MMOs meet the above standard, so I think the industry at large has reached a satisfactory quality level here
.
But on the gameplay side, things are not nearly as well. Original and well designed games are just as rare as 10 years ago. I think development studios in general should shift more of their efforts to gameplay design, as that area really needs improvement. Too many games are just uninspired clones of another, successful game.
Short version:
I'm generally happy with the state of graphics in games. But gameplay often sucks and really needs more attention from developers.
The thing is that everyone has this idea that a game has to look good enough from the beginning to "last long enough to compete against incoming games".
The problem is that while a game may look good, it's never going to change mechanically, and if it does, expect NGE-sized flak over it. So, look at it as a game, like the new Star Wars game, as being able to look good enough for another few years, but the gameplay will never change, and we know *exactly* what to expect by now for future content. The same stuff.
On the other hand, EVE and Entropia were able to do visual upgrades, as well as many other games, and the core is still what it is, and can be improved on in it's own unique way. So dammit people, play a game that amazes you with it's gameplay, graphics can come later with enough demand and funding... because gameplay will never change, and if you're playing tired shit simply because it's the best looking thing on the market - guess what? Your problem.
Writer / Musician / Game Designer
Now Playing: Skyrim, Wurm Online, Tropico 4
Waiting On: GW2, TSW, Archeage, The Rapture
Yes. I DO want gameplay over graphics....for some of my games. That is why I play Minecraft (although the graphics are really starting to grow on me
). But I also play SWTOR now...which has great graphics even if the game play isn't ridiculously innovative. The game play is fun, and I enjoy the graphics.
Different games serve different needs for me.
nevermind
Most of us don´t actually know what we are looking for until we see it...
As for graphics it do matter. A game don´t have to look like AoC but there is a limit to how old a game can look for any player. Mine is around Guildwars, if it looks less good then I don't bother.
MMOs are games you spend years in and if it looks really old already when you start it will be Flintstones graphics after a while.
gameplay > graphics.
When people say they don't care about gameplay but graphics is most important, I can't help but imagine a baby in a crib looking at a mobile.
Epic Music: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vAigCvelkhQ&list=PLo9FRw1AkDuQLEz7Gvvaz3ideB2NpFtT1
https://archive.org/details/softwarelibrary_msdos?&sort=-downloads&page=1
Kyleran: "Now there's the real trick, learning to accept and enjoy a game for what it offers rather than pass on what might be a great playing experience because it lacks a few features you prefer."
John Henry Newman: "A man would do nothing if he waited until he could do it so well that no one could find fault."
FreddyNoNose: "A good game needs no defense; a bad game has no defense." "Easily digested content is just as easily forgotten."
LacedOpium: "So the question that begs to be asked is, if you are not interested in the game mechanics that define the MMORPG genre, then why are you playing an MMORPG?"
For some reason, all games I have liked and loved because of the gameplay also had good graphics (when they launched of course). This seems straightforward to me, if you can afford good graphics, you can also afford the good game designers.
So games with good graphics tend to attract me, not only because of the graphics, but because those are usually the games with the better gameplay. I'm not saying this is always the case of course, there are many many exceptions, but I do think that on average, a game with better graphics, also will have the better gameplay, or rather, it will have a bigger chance to have the better gameplay.
edit: (oh, I just wanted to add that this is my experience across game genres, it's not limited to MMO)
Minecraft shows that as long as your mechanics are good, it has a good chance of succeeding. However, if graphics are too poor and thus hindering the enjoyment of the game, then it isn't a 'good' game.
At the fundamental level, a game is an entertainment media.
Everyone's taste will be different and across different genre's.
Your typical FPS vs RPG will have vastly different graphical acceptance to a player.
Gdemami -
Informing people about your thoughts and impressions is not a review, it's a blog.
Well yeah, I do take gameplay over graphics. Would be happy with ascii if the gameplay was there.
This isn't a signature, you just think it is.
Yes, but I draw the line to Ascii.
i think grafix is wat matter cus w/out gfx u cant even get into the game or u player, while w/ good gfx u can have fun knowing that u player is cool and that ever1 can see how cool ur