From: bkoike@sdcc13.ucsd.edu (Bryce Koike)
Newsgroups: rec.games.programmer
Subject: Re: wishlist for the ultimate role-playing adventure? [poll]
Date: 16 Oct 92 15:21:25 GMT
Organization: University of California, San Diego

In article <81699@ut-emx.uucp> baylor@ccwf.cc.utexas.edu (Baylor) writes:
>In article <718437662.0@selene.FidoNet.Org> Brian.Wehrle@f99.n121.z1.FidoNet.Org (Brian Wehrle) writes:
>>Hey, ya' know I think Eob was the worst game I've ever played..
>>Yet Pool of Radiance was one of the best ever.
>>Huh.  Well, I'd like the game to be more of an ultima format...looking down
>
>	Am I correct in assuming everyone loved the Ultima format?

	I played EOB II for a while and somewhat enjoyed the
interface (the occasional adrenaline rush was very welcome as
compared to the SSI "Dungeon Crawl XXII" games).  Unfortunately, it
was a clumsy interface and *STILL* suffers from the Gamer's Tunnel
Vision Syndrome that's been around since Wizardry...
	If I ever have to play another game with a 3D view, I demand
peripheral vision.  Not being to see what the heck is going on to
the sides just drives me crazy (am I the only person who feels blind
when playing such games?).  Still the idea continues to be
interesting (as in Ultima Underworld), if it STILL needs help.
	(Personally, I feel that UU is worse than EOB...far too much
complication to a game that should have been a bit easier to play.
I despised fighting monsters because of how clumsy it was.)

>	Me personally, I can't stand it - it was too complex, mouse or no,
>and I couldn't do anything. I don't want to have to read a tome of 
>instructions before i can enjoy a game.

	While the newest Ultima looks really nice to me, it still
doesn't capture anything that I'm interested in.  (For starters,
fewer bright colors...I do like a darker feel to a game)  I must
admit that some things have definitely improved since Ultima III
(well, a lot of things), but there's still something lacking.  So
far as "tile-based" games go (is Ultima VII/whatever still tile
based?) the newest Ultima is probably one of the best
implementations I've seen.  Still, I don't like it much.

>	For me, it wasn't intuitive, it was just confusing. Maybe i'm just
>not game-minded, but i couldn't get into the game because of it's interface.
>							- baylor
>ps - this isn't an IBM specific question - how neat

[ack, I'm an IBM owner...please don't kill me!]

	:) I don't find many games intuitive for some reason.  The
new Sierra "Click Until Something Works" method feels so awkward
that I stopped playing (or even looking at) their games.  They look
nice, though, and these days that's what seems to matter.  EOB II
was awkward, but after a while I managed to develop strategies
around it.  Still, one shouldn't be forced to do things like that
just to play a game, and I got sick of trying to anticipate combats,
opening up the appropriate spell books (only 1 spell book open at a
time?!  Argh!), making sure that the fighters are still swinging....
	Sigh.
	Ultima Underword was worse...it felt like fighting in
marshmallow creme or something.  "Uhhh.....swing.....sword....."
clink.  "Uhhh......"  The graphics were quite pretty and the
interface was often less intrusive, but not always...sigh.
Newsgroups: rec.games.programmer