Is there a game that has better roleplaying than Age of Decadence?
Age of Decadence is fucking awful.
I can forgive it's garbage graphics and poor transitions, but the indie quality maps and map navigation, the boring, simplistic and repetitive boring combat system and the atrociously clunky interface I cannot stand.
It seriously plays like a game released in 1990 and I'm sorry, but that shit just doesn't fly. It took 7 years to develop and this was the best they could come up with, fucking embarrassing.
The writing may be excellent (I cannot confirm or deny, did not go far enough into it), but everything around is is awful. Pretty much every other CRPG released in the past three years is much better than this piece of crap.
>>341464269
Honestly, it's more of a CYOA with some really bullshit skill checks. It's obviously designed to be replayed over and over again, though. I really liked how combat does not fuck around and there's no filler encounters - if you're not a combat class, do not engage in fights.
>>341464464
stale pasta
>>341464269
Anything with a DM mode
>>341464269
I tried playing it, but I can't understand the combat and the controls are awful.
>>341464269
Arcanum, it gives you even more options during character creation and world reactivity is great considering it's size. It's genuinely great game if you use the restoration patch.
>>341464795
You must be retarded because the combat is simple.
>>341464269
>mfw lead developer gave up a cushy marketing executive job to work on the game full-time
>>341464269
Well, Codex has a hard-on for the game so it must be at least decent. That doesn't mean your average RPG fan will like it, though.
>>341465261
I don't understand it. The UI doesn't even have descriptions, there is no explanation as to what the stats do. I guess its too complex for me.
>>341464840
The issue I hard with Arcanum is that those options don't really come into play in the game itself or during the roleplaying. When in AoD you can use bodycount you possess as a leverage in encounters requiring intimidation.
>>341464269
>playing merchant
>being the best fucking merchant in the world
>so good at talking, I become the chosen one
>Go to next area, see some religious guys getting bullied
>jump in to help
>get slaughtered because not a combat class
>reload, walk by and look the other way because can't possibly help
>get to final area, need to convince faggot that I am chosen one for merchant quest
>I DON'T KNOW MAN. I KNOW EVERYONE SAYS YOU ARE BUT I DON'T BELIEVE IT AND I'M NOT GOING TO GIVE YOU ANY SORT OF CHANCE TO PROVE IT
>go back to merchant
>tells me I'm useless and to fuck off
>run over because of a situation that was literally impossible to win
No. Fuck this game. I did everything perfectly and got fucked at the end because of bullshit I had no control over.
>>341464269
Any tabletop rpg
>>341464518
I think of lot of problem with OMG WHY DO I KEEP DYING?!? comes from players being totally reliant on RPG logic and divorcing themselves from some common sense.
>met some a guy
>he tells you he has a deal for you if you meet him in this secluded alley
>average RPG logic - he has a sidequest for me, maybe even ask me to join a faction because I'm super special
>common sense - he's going to fucking rob you and kill you if you resist because you just a followed a complete stranger into a shady alley
pillars of eternity if playing as cipher imo
>>341466287
How exactly is it better at roleplaying? 90% of the check and decisions in PoE are just for flavour and don't affect anything.
>>341466546
>90% of the check and decisions in PoE are just for flavour and don't affect anything.
You mean, roleplaying?
>>341464518
>if you're not a combat class, do not engage in fights
You can make succesful hybrids if you replay the game a few times and git gud.
Loremaster/crossbowman is particulary fun.
the writing is kind of terrible because it's all over the place. when i played i felt like i had skipped half the story and just happened to be at the end, then the game was over. i'm still not sure what happened at the end, i believe there was a bomb. unless you play in a specific way, not everything makes sense.
also FUCK torque.
>>341464518
>fit people are stupid
meme
>>341466839
Yes, but like you said there's no way you're making a good hybrid character without meta knowledge from already playing the game couple of times. A lot of people dislike AoD because they're not really into replaying it when that's one of the core things game offers.
>>341466740
If choices don't affect anything then it's not good rolepalying, it's playing pretend in your own head. You don't need a game for that.
AoD reacts to pretty much all of your choices and nearly all of them hold weight.
>>341466546
>How exactly is it better at roleplaying?
the whole game is build around being an soul reading cursed individual so cipher perfectly fits into that category
>are just for flavour
doesn't this qualify for roleplaying?
>>341464269
mount and blade
>>341466287
Godlike Cipher has like, 80% more checks in the game than any other combination so yeah. PoE in general suffers from Obsidian literally using the first script draft they came up with.
>>341467094
>If choices don't affect anything then it's not good rolepalying
false
>it's playing pretend in your own head
aka roleplaying in video games
>>341467221
>the whole game is build around being an soul reading cursed individual so cipher perfectly fits into that category
I understand your point but this doesn't make the game good at roleplaying since, as you just said, the game basically forces you into a specific role.
>doesn't this qualify for roleplaying?
It does, but it's not particulary good roleplaying.
I love the game but I find it so hard to get builds going
Any guides out there? I wanna do something like a barbarian iand maybe a shield + crossbow fella
>>341467365
>Godlike Cipher has like, 80% more checks in the game than any other combination so yeah
correct, that's why i've only mentioned cipher, basically a chosen one were the rest of the classes are only for decoration
>>341467404
>aka roleplaying in video games
Well shit, I guess CoD is RPG now because I can pretend I'm a wizard from the future who lost his magic and needs to use firearms instead.
If the game doesn't react to your rolplaying then it's not a roleplaying game. Flavour checks count as well but they are the simplest and cheapest form of roleplaying there is and can't make a good RPG on their own.
>>341464269
many
this isn't an RPG, it's a pick your adventure game, except to progress on the forking story paths you need to pick the exact right stats and skills or you get fucked. there's so many chokeholds where you get stuck if you can't pass one skill check for example. this isn't roleplaying, it's a game of guessing what skills the game will ask you to have next, and this completely kills player agency.
>>341464269
No.
Arcanum is the second best I can think of and it's not even close.
>>341468116
>this isn't roleplaying, it's a game of guessing what skills the game will ask you to have next
The game ask you to have all the skills in the game though.
The point is you pick what makes sense for the role you want to paly and see where it takes you. Don't be surprised that an assassin who can't assassinate or a trader who doesn't know shit about trading is not going to get very far.
>>341464269
Nice try Codex shills
Your game is pretty shit
>>341467516
>the game basically forces you into a specific role.
true, that's why when in comes to poe only a cipher mc can at least try to match the aod complexity
funny because the next obs game tyranny is more like aod that anything else reactivity wise, at least on paper
also, after playing the lates tton beta there's a hope that new torment end up being the new king or reactivity and choices
hyped
>>341467908
>Well shit, I guess CoD is RPG now because I can pretend I'm a wizard from the future who lost his magic and needs to use firearms instead.
chuckled, thanks anon
>>341468512
>also, after playing the lates tton beta there's a hope that new torment end up being the new king or reactivity and choices
I think Numenera will be an entirely different beast compared to these newfangled CRPGs we're getting these days.
>>341468116
>this isn't an RPG, it's a pick your adventure game
>implying "pick your own adventure" series are not RPGs by definition
>>341468465
I'm not talking about that shit, the issue is if your loremaster has 4 lore but a check demands that you have 5 and there's no alternate way to progess. fuck you for not minmaxing
>>341468876
Pretty much. Stats and all that shit simply exist for mechanically objective way to measure and show things, that's really not what roleplaying is about.
>>341468876
they could be called RPGs by some but they're never good RPGs
>shill your shitty game every goddamned day
>disregard every critique as pasta or GIT GUD XDDD
why isn't shilling a bannable offense yet?
>it's a 'what is an RPG thread' derail
Bet you fags have never played any blobbers and pretend all RPGs are story driven.
>>341469465
It's sad how many people completely ignored SSI generation and think CRPGs started with IE games. Not even just ignorant players, media isn't much better either.
>>341469050
>the issue is if your loremaster has 4 lore but a check demands that you have 5 and there's no alternate way to progess. fuck you for not minmaxing
You are not even supposed to pass all of your role-related checks. Fucking up from time to time serves as a watnnig that you need to invest in that skill more.
Checks that immedietaly result in death if you don't pass them are usually fairly low and obvious.
Example: I remember failing a [critcal strike] check against a bandit leader in his camp and failed to kill him. Instead, he forced me to the ground and his whole gang started kicking the shit out of me until I passed out.
I then woke up outside of the camp with lowered max HP because they beat the living shit out of me, but I also got a dodge increase because being kicked to near death was good practice.
Shit like this is what makes a good RPG.
I don't think you understand the point of roleplaying. You are not supposed to come out on top in every situation, you are not supposed to pass all the checks, you are not even supposed to see the the final ending.
If you get killed because you fucked up then congrats, that's your ending.
I envy people who can stand the awful AoD art direction and the lack of atmosphere in general, I truly do
I've tried to like this game but failed miserably every single time because i could not immerse myself into it
I love fallout 1, planescape torment and arcanum because those games had wonderful atmosphere and art style
That's like unlike many i liked poe more(not perfect by any means, solid 7/10) because i could immerse myself and care about the lore and the characters easily
>>341470153
Git gud
>>341470153
>lack of atmosphere in general
>implying defending the pass from Ordu as a Legionary 300 style wasn't atmospheric
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SsJgjGjppG0
>>341470631
Game has its moments.
The biggest problem is that there's no real good "roleplaying" in Age of Decadence. Sure, you pick some starting stats relating to your guild and your first or two playthroughs (which are extremely short) can be somewhat enjoyable seeing important events play out from different perspectives, but afterwards the game becomes a side quest & skill point shopping list simulator. I think combat is actually one of the game's stronger points (combat assassin and imperial guards in particular were great) while dialogue playthoughs were mostly pretty shit.
Combat character: different weapons, tools, crafting and upgrades, aimed attacks, explosives, poisons etc. you get to utilize in meaningful non-random encounters and some really awesome and unique game-changing loot relating to combat
Non-combat character:
>try skill check
>fail and reload
>try again with one more skill level in the related stat
>fail and reload
>try again with two more skill levels in the related stat
>repeat until successful
That is the all the depth there is to non-combat encounters, because failing a check usually leads to instant quest failure (and guild kick), unavoidable combat (also unwinnable for non-combat characters) or just instant death. Instead of trying to come up with an interesting role all you do is hoard skills points for future skill checks rather than actually using them, because there's no real way to know which skills will be useful beforehand apart from few really obvious ones like a thief needing Steal skill. There's some particular balance issues as well like Streetwise being used almost everywhere whereas I've only once seen a Traps skill prompt.
>It's a codexers invade /v/ only to get BTFO episode
>>341470098
AoG does occasionally have good ideas, like the thing you described, but here is where it fails: a good RPG makes you feel like you're shaping your character, creating him as events unfold. What AoG too often makes you feel like is a mouse in a labyrinth where some scientist gives you a shock every time you pick a wrong direction. You're not allowed to really roleplay because only specific builds are allowed to pass through the story.
And no I'm not talking about getting killed, I'm talking about situation where for example there's 2 ways to progress, one being combat, where your char sucks because you're not a combat class, and the other is passing a check, which you can't pass because your skill isn't high enough and you've got no way to gain more exp.
>>341471214
That's not really, true. You're just supposed to stick to a class you're playing.
>>341469358
>every goddamned day
This game shows up on /v/ maybe once or twice a week.
This thread is also using it as an example about roleplaying in RPGs in general, so how is it shilling?
>>341466983
because you're just a random nobody within the game world. you have to be play multiple characters on different paths to get the full story.
>>341466983
You are skipping more than a half of content either way.
The game is wide, not long. It's designed with replayability in mind.
>>341471408
In AoG it's a straitjacket of guessing. There simply isn't enough alternate ways to progress. Like >>341471117 said, non-combat characters are severely gimped.
>>341471556
>shill damage control with anime pictures
Holy shit, you can't make this up
>>341472365
Thanks for not answering my question. You can stop pretending to fit now.
>>341464840
I've really wanted to get into Arcanum, but I've always put it aside. Is it still any good?
>>341464840
Arcanum would be excellent if its combat systems weren't ass. I swear to god, someone put them together in last two weeks before game went gold.
>>341473167
It's very good if only for the huge variety of builds, for example you can build a pure speech/charisma character unlike Fallout because your companions are actually pretty useful.
Only thing that sucks are few unskipable bloated dungeons filled with trash mobs, but even VtMB suffers from that shit.
>>341473167
I tried to get into it like 5 times, but the shitty, unbalanced combat and the abundance of random encounters made me drop it every time. When I finally got through the fucking rock golems with the overpowered black necromancy starter spell the sight of fuckton of goblins or whatever made me nope the fuck out and never pick the game again.
At least PS:T had the courtesy of presenting an interesting world from the get-go, thus making the shoddy combat feel at least bearable, but Arcanum felt pretty damn generic story and lore wise, though I've heard it gets better later on.
>>341472767
>/v/ is one person
Wanna know how I know you're from reddit?
>>341470631
rip and tear
ITT: anons spout the word "roleplaying" and quantify it without stating what their definition of roleplaying actually is
