- I'd never actually completely won the game,
and
- I'd purchased Ultima IV+V+VI as a triplet for like ~$1 from GOG, even though had IV already, so I could play V for the first time. You can port over your guy from IV to V, so why not complete it first?
So I'm working on that.
But it's a terrible, terrible slog. It took hours for me to go from having two of the eight stones - Yellow and Red - to having five - adding Purple, Blue, and Orange. I have three more to get. Even armed with a complete map of the game, dungeon maps (yes, I'm using other people's maps), and a wonderfully equipped party . . . it took hours to put myself a further three stones from the next step.
I got off to a slow start, having to locate where I was with my sextant, and then moving towards a city, then getting a ship, then getting the dungeons (Covetous, Deceit, and Shame today). There are just
so
many
encounters.
Here I am, chased by orcs, headless, and cyclops. They all move as fast as I do, and faster than I do in rough terrain. I will have to fight them all, no matter what I do.
Combat is a slog. I'm going to win each and every one hands down, it's just a question of doing so. Straight-line row-and-column targeting and movement, a lack of a quick combat mode, and orcs, rogues, liches, headless, ettins, lava lizards, nixies, sea serpents, mages, etc. just keep showing up. Fight, fight, fight. It's actually boring, and takes a lot of time.
The game doesn't have a pause function, either - you just "Pass" if you wait long enough. Do that outdoors for a couple of minutes while you check the map and you'll be in another boring and useless fight. Experience is given only to the person who delivers the killing blow, so your better combatants quickly max out their levels and the lagging party members keep lagging. Especially, say, Katrina the Shepherd, who can only use a sling (the weakest ranged weapon).
Still, I'm determined to finish it. I finish relatively few games - the "end game" screen isn't always worth it, and once the fun becomes not-fun why keep playing? But for Ultima IV, one of the truly unique gaming experiences . . . yeah, I'll tough it out.
I'll be straight with you boss... as much as I love some games, eventually the slog overcomes my enjoyment in the play and I quit and never go back. The Ultima series was that for me. Every one I've tried to play I ended up quitting at some point and deciding it just wasn't worth ever trying again with.
ReplyDeleteA large part of this is the open world, the other part is slog. I'f slowly discovered I'm really not a fan of Open World Sandboxes, it's too easy to get sidetracked into a 12 hour rabbit hole which does nothing to help your progress... and then I'm tired of the slog. I've only ever finished a few Open World games, and those were by really following the plot hard and ignoring sidetracks until almost the end, and then going back and following up sidetracks I was interested in (because I knew I was this -><- close to finishing, so if the slog became onerous, I'd just stop and go finish the game.
And those games were Fallout 1 & 2, and Far Cry* 2 & 3. I've never finished any other (truly) Open World game.
* While it's 'open world' and 'sandbox', the openness is really constrained to very small areas, and the sandbox is limited to "kill dudes in different ways". So it's easier for me to stay on track and maintain progress in the game. Though Far Cry 3's douchey main character came real close to killing my interest in hearing the next asinine thing he was going to say... I persevered by just ignoring the dialogue and plot. It helps that "kill dudes in different ways' fulfills a "back to the dungeon" itch I like video games to scratch, and the Far Cry series is a chunky, meaty, hearty bowlful of just that.
A lot of games just outstay their welcome. Generally a really big game, with a very loose plot (or a tight one that's hard to stay tight to) can lose you along the way.
DeleteIn any case, I figure at some point the game loses the fun of playing it. That's reason enough to stop. You don't need to hit some end game screen to move on if you're really done having fun.
If a game keeps you to the end and keeps you challenged, that is a win.
ReplyDeleteBut sometimes, you get what you came for from a game, and then you move on. Finishing is worth it only if the journey is worth it.
As far as open world games, they can be great playgrounds that happen to have a mission/story, which can be neglected in search of greater fun.
What Rob said.
DeleteOh definitely. I know the slog, and back in the day even tried to persevere through some games (the only one I finished despite hitting the "I'm not having fun anymore wall" was Fallout Tactics because i thought I was "1 mission away from done". I wasn't, but then sunk cost fallacy kept me sloggin through).
DeleteI can't even tell you the number of games I've dropped at some point because the enjoyment ceased to exceed the slog, or in a lot of cases (with strategy/tactical civilization/kingdom builder games) I just get bored. It's a rare title that holds me to the Game Over/Finished screen.
And those I keep coming back to every couple of years, like MoM, MoO 1-3, Dwarf Fortress, Kings of Dragon Pass.
It's way easier for me to finish mission based games like KotoR 1 & 2, Alpha Complex, Deus Ex 1-3, Far Cry 1-3, Crysis 1-3, Warcraft 1-3, Starcraft 1 & 2, Majesty 1 & 2, Dungeon Keeper 1-3, etc. In fact I finished all those games to the end and occasionally boot-up Majesty and Dungeon Keeper to play non-mission based games of them. The others? Not so much, once I finished them, that was it for single player (now LAN parties of Warcraft/Starcraft? Yeah, tons back in the day).