Even using my examples of KOTOR and ME, comparing them to (relatively) modern counterparts, Jedi Survivor and Andromeda, you can see that the storytelling has taken a back seat to the open world. ME 1-3 were all very tight corridor cover shooters, going from fully constructed combat environment to another, while Andromeda tried to shoehorn in survival crafting and exploration. KOTOR has more deep RPG mechanics and overall a better story than Jedi Survivor, and I would agree it’s because the focus changed on providing sprawling open worlds over more bespoke environments. I would also say that the combat in Andromeda and Jedi Survivor are superior to their older counterparts, but at the loss of other things.
When you look back, it was cool what they were doing at the time, but progress is such that all newer games have iterated on those groundbreaking formulas and improved upon them, making the older games seem less spectacular than they were at launch. I have fond memories of playing PS2, N64 and Dreamcast, but when I go back to play some of those games I enjoyed as a kid, I find that there’s always something super sub-optimal like the controls or some arcane mechanic that doesn’t make much sense. I find this to be the consistent issue going back to PS2 era and earlier.
I think the PS3/360 era is the one I have the most nostalgia for all things considered. There were a lot of stellar RPGs like KOTOR and Mass Effect that generation. Stuff like Red Dead Redemption was coming out. Control schemes finally became generally standardized and understandable. Tutorials, saves and decent graphics were really finally all combined properly for the first time.
I find the same sort of issue with movies. When you go back passed the 80s, you start hitting pacing issues. Same with video games. When you go back passed the mid-2000s, you’re going to run into early installment weirdness.
Yeah and right now we’re all raving that Helldivers 2 is great.
The point is that on average these massive conglomerates of corporate shareholder-driven studios are not soulful because they have the soul beat out of them. Devs have tons of soul, but if it ends up in the final product is ultimately a decision of the management, and they have had the souls sucked out of them.
There are still soulful games, but on average the industry is soulless.
Could very well be that recent. It’s been a while since I played and paid attention to the development and happenings of the game.
Either way, it was something we’d been asking for since the start of the game, and I’m really happy new players get to experience it right out of the box!
You also have the benefit of years of development for SoT that has brought features, QoL improvements, and invite-only servers.
Originally the game was very super pvp oriented and there was no way for you to get out of the open world. A few years months ago they implemented private invite-only servers where the reward amount was reduced but it allowed players a secluded area to focus on their own thing instead of worrying about being harassed by a maxed out galleon crew coming after them.
It’s actually a really fun game overall, even when you’re fighting people. I used to roleplay as a pirate, and our ship was called the Salty Swallow.
“You’ll never forget your encounter with the crew of the Salty Swallow! Arrrrrrr!”
And then the whole crew dies, because we’re all bad.
I know dozens of people who wanted this game because they really loved the ship combat in Black Flag but substituted Sea of Thieves as it was the only close game out at the time. These are the kinds of people who buy games on a whim, play them for a week and then never again.
Not a single one of them gives a single flying fuck about Skull and Bones. In fact, when it was released everybody had a revived interest in playing Sea of Thieves instead.
No, the game is still a scam because it’s been literally over a decade of development and every time I’ve been invited to go try the latest and greatest in their innovation, the game is laggy as balls and the servers never work. Also the fact that they have ships costing as much as actual automobiles that people purchase despite still being technically in beta is absolutely bonkers. They’ve had several waves of crowdfunding and the game is still in a pretty garbage state.
Trust me, I’ve wanted an actual successor to Freelancer for longer than this game has been in development, and it still doesn’t scratch the itch because whenever I try to play it, the game essentially doesn’t work.
Cost discipline is the last thing on these guys’ radar. A 20,000 dollar ship? That’s like a third of somebody’s annual salary.