Repeating my rant on a previous topic, but it really annoys me how pointless psuedo-RPG combat mechanics crept into every other genre. It ends up "gamifying" the experience, when in tabletop and old CRPGs all these stat and point systems are meant to be proxies for simulating and simplifying real scenarios and force everyone to follow the same rules - not be the end goals of gameplay itself. I appreciate the tradition in actual RPGs but then they add it to shit like The Division - which would work better as a straight FPS/tactical-shooter - or Starfield, which has piss poor combat mechanics and AI that's only made worse when you have to deal with hit points and armor classes. What you end up is a grindfest where the only goal is to lower the little health bars above all the bullet sponges in the room. In my opinion this is blending the worst aspect of genres, but people seem to like it for some reason. I never understood the point. I love the idea of being in a "space simulator" and hauling goods between planets or being a pirate and raiding freighters or whatever. Starfield could be a dream game. Instead what I see from people streaming it is they jump into an area and say "Oh that's a level 16 mook. I'm a level 12 Space Paladin so I'd better steer clear of this sector and only shoot the level 11 Space Orks Gang until I level up." It's so shallow and boring. I want to feel like I'm actually in a fantasy scenario, not manipulating points on a character sheet to beat the points of random enemy mobs.
There are hybrid systems I do enjoy. Deus Ex and immersive sims typically have complex mechanics that don't get in your way. Most modern games don't work for me though. Starfield is only the most egregious example because outside of those pointless psuedo-RPG mechanics its combat offers little else.
Totally agree. Not everything needs any of these RPG elements. Especially character levels. Character levels aren't all that fun. That's one of the things I liked about Breath of the Wild, nothing had a level, you could decide to deal with an enemy or area if you wanted to in the way you wanted to and not be held back by a magic number. You see an enemy that appears overwhelming, you do like you would in real life, freak out and run away. Maybe it was easy, who knows, you have to judge for yourself and not just look at a number.
I do like numbers in some cases though, but that would be more something like KOTOR, where the entire game is based on dice rolls and skill levels.
Repeating my rant on a previous topic, but it really annoys me how pointless psuedo-RPG combat mechanics crept into every other genre. It ends up "gamifying" the experience, when in tabletop and old CRPGs all these stat and point systems are meant to be proxies for simulating and simplifying real scenarios and force everyone to follow the same rules - not be the end goals of gameplay itself. I appreciate the tradition in actual RPGs but then they add it to shit like The Division - which would work better as a straight FPS/tactical-shooter - or Starfield, which has piss poor combat mechanics and AI that's only made worse when you have to deal with hit points and armor classes. What you end up is a grindfest where the only goal is to lower the little health bars above all the bullet sponges in the room. In my opinion this is blending the worst aspect of genres, but people seem to like it for some reason. I never understood the point. I love the idea of being in a "space simulator" and hauling goods between planets or being a pirate and raiding freighters or whatever. Starfield could be a dream game. Instead what I see from people streaming it is they jump into an area and say "Oh that's a level 16 mook. I'm a level 12 Space Paladin so I'd better steer clear of this sector and only shoot the level 11 Space Orks Gang until I level up." It's so shallow and boring. I want to feel like I'm actually in a fantasy scenario, not manipulating points on a character sheet to beat the points of random enemy mobs.
There are hybrid systems I do enjoy. Deus Ex and immersive sims typically have complex mechanics that don't get in your way. Most modern games don't work for me though. Starfield is only the most egregious example because outside of those pointless psuedo-RPG mechanics its combat offers little else.
Totally agree. Not everything needs any of these RPG elements. Especially character levels. Character levels aren't all that fun. That's one of the things I liked about Breath of the Wild, nothing had a level, you could decide to deal with an enemy or area if you wanted to in the way you wanted to and not be held back by a magic number. You see an enemy that appears overwhelming, you do like you would in real life, freak out and run away. Maybe it was easy, who knows, you have to judge for yourself and not just look at a number.
I do like numbers in some cases though, but that would be more something like KOTOR, where the entire game is based on dice rolls and skill levels.