Author Topic: The official thread of Bioware/EA's ANTHEM (Read 19012 times)

Nintex · « **Reply #60 on:** February 18, 2019, 06:40:48 PM »

Looking at the videos of the YouTubers have started to pop up it seems that the gaming industry is really doing a bad job of explaining the following to the gamers at large.

1. Game development has not gotten 'easier'. In fact it got much more demanding and difficult. Sony and MS even upped the difficulty by adding Xbox One X and PS4 Pro into the mix
while at the same time demanding that everything runs on Xbox One S and PS4 as well.

2. Online games are harder to build than offline games. The Anthem shown at E3 might've actually existed and ran on Xbox One X at one point.
But getting all the environment animations, players, enemies and NPC's synced up between multiple players is an entirely different story.

3. Game development has gotten crazy expensive. The "FULL 60 DOLLARS!!" outrage is uncalled for because this same pricepoint has been kept since at least 2008 while labour costs
and pretty much all other development costs have gone up. Games have not gotten more 'expensive'. New ways of monetizing are not being used to fund the development of the current game but allow for development of the next
game. They have to make money from the existing product beyond the initial purchase because copies sold will not cover the minimum of 3 - 4 years of development of the next game.

4. It is clear to me that between Crackdown 3 and Anthem more publishers are looking for 'Netflix' 70/100 type games. They just want to push out content to their subscribers. These are not games meant to last 50 hours but
rather bite sized entertainment which you might boot up at any time when you feel like it. They are 'good enough' but not 'amazing' on their own. MS and EA didn't pick the right games for this approach though.
Anthem was considered a new AAA+ benchmark in gaming (which it seems, it was never meant to be) and Crackdown 3 of course 'the power of the cloud 6 years in the making'. All while Sumo was chugging along building a flashy open-world action game.

There seems to be a big disconnect between what the 'influencers' and gamers think the goals are of games like Anthem and what the actual goals of the publishers are.

Great Rumbler · « **Reply #61 on:** February 18, 2019, 07:14:07 PM »

Also, it's apparently not that good.

mormapope · « **Reply #62 on:** February 18, 2019, 07:35:49 PM »

I forgot there was an OT

Just kidding, this shit is gonna die hard brehs.

Playing the ten hour trial on EA Access. Playing on Xbone X, installed on an external HD. Played all major Bioware releases except DA:I and ME:A.

Pros
Game can look very pretty depending on the lighting and environment. Abilities in combat look spectacular.

Abilities are satisfying to use as the Storm class. Cooldowns are quick, can hover longer in combat. Lightning ability is great for AoE.

The majority of story stuff can be skipped. Most cutscenes and all dialog options can be skipped.

Combat is fun when everyone is spamming abilities. Matchmaking with randos is usually pretty efficient.

Cons
Incredibly bland cast of characters, worst cast in a Bioware game easily. First person stuff in the main fort is complete fluff. Give less of a shit for the characters versus something like Destiny or Diablo (pretty damning imo).

Game's visuals are very inconsistent. Character models, the Javelins, animations in general, look really outdated. Mass Effect Andromeda looks better after all it's patches, and has better animation across the board.

Loot has been total shit. No excitement for what you'll get from enemies. Leveling up unlocks more slots to equipe passive modifiers. All abilities can be loot drops, crafting seems to level up existing abilities? All armor is cosmetic.

Enemy design is bland. Mission design is bland (not surprising, but good loot would offset this, and vice versa).

Performance on Xbone X is fucking terrible. Turning off motion blur and chromatic aberration, you can see just how juddery and inconsistent the framerate is. Doesn't matter if you're staring at a tree or neck deep in red crab monsters, it runs horrendously.

Load screen nirvana.

Verdict

If this was free to play, I could consider this to be decent competition against Warframe, a decent start that could lead to something great. As a $60 game, god damn, you can buy a lot more enjoyable games.

My take on it. Unless there's a major overhaul or expansion planned, avoid for the foreseeable future. I've enjoyed dumping time into Destiny as a franchise, and Diablo 3. Anthem does have a slightly addictive flavor to it, but I don't foresee a rewarding endgame.

HardcoreRetro · « **Reply #63 on:** February 19, 2019, 03:59:53 AM »

The writing for one of the female characters in the hub was great. She keeps bitchin on about wanting to pet some animal and then later on goes on about her own pets. She starts crying if you tell her to shut up and just give you a fucking mission.

Fantastic.

Great Rumbler · « **Reply #64 on:** February 19, 2019, 01:36:13 PM »

Quote from: HardcoreRetro on February 19, 2019, 03:59:53 AM

The writing for one of the female characters in the hub was great. She keeps bitchin on about wanting to pet some animal and then later on goes on about her own pets. She starts crying if you tell her to shut up and just give you a fucking mission.

Fantastic.

Thanks, Anita!

MMaRsu · « **Reply #65 on:** February 20, 2019, 12:49:50 PM »

Dont buy this crap yall

nachobro · « **Reply #66 on:** February 20, 2019, 01:45:36 PM »

i already did! suck it, eurotrash!

MMaRsu · « **Reply #67 on:** February 20, 2019, 01:59:03 PM »

Have fun playing a broken boring game then

nachobro · « **Reply #68 on:** February 20, 2019, 02:02:23 PM »

had a good time with the demo, can't really pretend to care what a random youtube video says

MMaRsu · « **Reply #69 on:** February 20, 2019, 02:07:40 PM »

Well that guy finished the game and he's a big Bioware and lootshooter fan so I assume he knows what he's talking about.

His biggest points

-loadscreens everywhere, wanna see your inventory? loading screen. Want to equip a new weapon? 4 loading screens. Decide you don't like that weapon? Another 4 loading screens to change it back.
-Feels very repetitive, even more so than something like Diablo 3 or Destiny. This because the game has only a few missions, which you need to replay over and over to level. Those other games hide that feeling by just being better games. Having more varied and interesting missions and or structure.
-The endgame is weak, there are only 3 "raids" or "dungeons". And one is just the last mission you are supposed to replay

.

He basically says that Bioware had a lot to learn from lootshooters from the past, to improve on that and make a great loot shooter.

Instead they didn't learn from any of Destiny's faults, and the game is even worse than that game supposedly.

Cerveza mas fina · « **Reply #70 on:** February 20, 2019, 02:12:05 PM »

Loading screen to see your inventory? Id like to see that

Also Mmrasu: no one that has played any bioware stuff beyond ME2 has any illusions to where they stand now.

MMaRsu · « **Reply #71 on:** February 20, 2019, 02:17:48 PM »

I totally agree, I loved Bioware back in the days.. I have not even played Mass Effect 3 due to all the bad word of mouth. And I really enjoyed Mass Effect 2 ( except the shitty RED VEINS ALL OVER MY SCREEN WHEN GETTING SHOT AT WTF )

But yeah they haven't made a good game in years as far as I'm concerned.

nachobro · « **Reply #72 on:** February 20, 2019, 02:36:55 PM »

yeah you have to go through a loading screen to get to the forge (how you set equipment loadouts). kinda annoying but fixable, can just speed the load time or add in a "test/training area" where you can try out weapons before going on a mission. easy enough. not being able to change loadouts mid mission is kinda silly but also fixable.

people also seem really upset that you have to go back to the base/forge to see what gear you got post-mission but i'm not seeing how that's different than decrypting engrams in destiny

paprikastaude · « **Reply #73 on:** February 20, 2019, 02:39:17 PM »

Xbox marketing has a GAF review thread-esque meltdown

https://twitter.com/XboxQwik/status/1098220698152034304
https://twitter.com/XboxQwik/status/1098241534451802113

nachobro · « **Reply #74 on:** February 20, 2019, 02:40:41 PM »

if i made co-marketing deals for this and Fallout 76 I'd be mad too

Cerveza mas fina · « **Reply #75 on:** February 20, 2019, 02:47:58 PM »

I wonder how big of a flop this will be

F2P within a year?

nachobro · « **Reply #76 on:** February 20, 2019, 02:50:12 PM »

I imagine some clever math will be used to make it not look so bad. They gave away keys to it for every 20 series Nvidia card sold so they can count those as sales. That's how I got the game, a resold gfx card key. Plus they can count EA/Origin Access as sales probably.

Positive Touch · « **Reply #77 on:** February 20, 2019, 02:56:37 PM »

mass effect 3 was mostly a great game please eat my ass guys

The Sceneman · « **Reply #78 on:** February 20, 2019, 03:20:32 PM »

I agree. The multiplayer was the shiiiit. Story had lame ending but who cares you still got to shoot aliens in the face for 20 hours.

Actually if this is my metric for a good game maybe Anthem is up my alley, lol

Svejk · « **Reply #79 on:** February 20, 2019, 03:22:26 PM »

Falling down is faster than flying down... Dem phyziczzzz

https://kotaku.com/in-anthem-falling-is-faster-than-flying-1832759800

nachobro · « **Reply #80 on:** February 20, 2019, 03:43:14 PM »

Quote from: The Sceneman on February 20, 2019, 03:20:32 PM

I agree. The multiplayer was the shiiiit. Story had lame ending but who cares you still got to shoot aliens in the face for 20 hours.

Actually if this is my metric for a good game maybe Anthem is up my alley, lol

The combat does feel a bit like ME3 MP + ME:A

Nintex · « **Reply #81 on:** February 20, 2019, 03:54:13 PM »

I see Kotaku is doing another hit job on a quality Bioware product.
That's some dumb shit.

HardcoreRetro · « **Reply #82 on:** February 20, 2019, 04:03:18 PM »

Do you work at EA?

bork · « **Reply #83 on:** February 20, 2019, 11:59:27 PM »

Quote from: HardcoreRetro on February 18, 2019, 10:55:31 AM

I'm liking what I'm hearing about the loading screens.

Sonic 06 levels.

Worse!

https://twitter.com/Nitomatta/status/1098409197773848576

Dickie Dee · « **Reply #84 on:** February 21, 2019, 12:43:55 AM »

https://twitter.com/TheOnion/status/1098308824577044485

kingv · « **Reply #85 on:** February 21, 2019, 01:05:07 AM »

I feel like the load screen times are not much worse than destiny 2... they are just more static and boring

bluemax · « **Reply #86 on:** February 21, 2019, 01:26:10 AM »

Quote from: Premium Lager on February 20, 2019, 02:47:58 PM

I wonder how big of a flop this will be

F2P within a year?

Rumor has it if they don't have 1mm DAU by end of March they'll get hit with layoffs. Probably gonna get layoffs no matter how it performs.

Cerveza mas fina · « **Reply #87 on:** February 21, 2019, 01:41:39 AM »

Quote from: bork on February 20, 2019, 11:59:27 PM

Quote from: HardcoreRetro on February 18, 2019, 10:55:31 AM
I'm liking what I'm hearing about the loading screens.

Sonic 06 levels.

Worse!

https://twitter.com/Nitomatta/status/1098409197773848576

Tbf sonic 06 wasnt bottlencked by xbox one specs

nachobro · « **Reply #88 on:** February 21, 2019, 09:06:17 AM »

pc with ssd

MMaRsu · « **Reply #89 on:** February 21, 2019, 12:11:57 PM »

That video was pc

nachobro · « **Reply #90 on:** February 21, 2019, 12:24:29 PM »

i got faster load screens than that during the beta.

that person should invest in tech from this decade.

Rufus · « **Reply #91 on:** February 21, 2019, 12:27:16 PM »

Says it was on an SSD.

https://twitter.com/Nitomatta/status/1098415103748128768

But hold on, they originally claim they compared it, implying they created the comparison.

But then there's also this?

https://twitter.com/Nitomatta/status/1098429660822523910

nachobro · « **Reply #92 on:** February 21, 2019, 12:31:09 PM »

makes me wonder what outlet they got it from, cause i don't have a top tier pc and still have yet to see any load screen that long

MMaRsu · « **Reply #93 on:** February 21, 2019, 12:53:20 PM »

nachobro · « **Reply #94 on:** February 21, 2019, 12:54:42 PM »

funny thing is there's plenty to bag on in the game without having to make up load time videos and claim you created them

- no waypoints on map
- no notice on map of public events
- no text chat on pc
- loads to get to the forge
- two endgame missions
- no numerical character stat breakdown
- nothing story
- hard has the same enemy ai as normal

but hey it'll keep me busy. i'm enjoying playing it with friends and will be in tonight. some of the complaints i see are just goofy though. oh the missions are similar...you mean just like every mmo and destiny and division and other loot games? maybe this genre just isn't for you lol

demi · « **Reply #95 on:** February 21, 2019, 01:05:51 PM »

spoken like a destiny player

nachobro · « **Reply #96 on:** February 21, 2019, 01:10:44 PM »

i honestly should have gotten into destiny and division earlier.

they scratch the itch that i used to get from wow/mmos pretty well (and wow kinds sucks now so it doesn't hold my attention for long)

MMaRsu · « **Reply #97 on:** February 21, 2019, 01:15:22 PM »

Quote from: nachobro on February 21, 2019, 12:54:42 PM

oh the missions are similar...you mean just like every mmo and destiny and division and other loot games? maybe this genre just isn't for you lol

Come on man stop this bs. It's obvious that other games try to diversify their missions and mission structure. Destiny 2 learned a lot from the missions in Destiny 1 right?

I mean I dont really care but I don't think that "this genre isnt for you" is a valid defense, since these complaints come from people who actually love this genre.

demi · « **Reply #98 on:** February 21, 2019, 01:22:36 PM »

I think Anthem may be worth visiting down the road - it's clearly going to have growing pains like D1 did - but we will see I guess.

nachobro · « **Reply #99 on:** February 21, 2019, 01:26:51 PM »

most destiny missions seem to be "walk through this sewer looking tunnel shooting dudes and eventually fight a boss". division has a bit more variety but it's just adding on "hold F next to this generator/computer/scanner" to the mix. most missions in these games seem to be their version of "kill x kobolds" in wow. i'm not even complaining on that front. it's just some shit to do while chatting with people in dickscord or watching stuff on giantbomb.

Quote from: demi on February 21, 2019, 01:22:36 PM

I think Anthem may be worth visiting down the road - it's clearly going to have growing pains like D1 did - but we will see I guess.

them committing to free content updates is what convinced me to get in cheap now. we'll see how long that practice actually lasts but it seems their first content update will be in march.

playing division 1 to pass the time til anthem has basically convinced me to get division 2 though, assuming it'll run well on my pc

Nintex · « **Reply #100 on:** February 21, 2019, 02:00:20 PM »

I don't understand where people got the idea that Anthem would have story and gameplay.
It is nothing more than a loot shooter.

You shoot stuff, it dies, you get loot. Getting to fly like Iron Man is like icing on the already stuffed cake.

Loot shooters are pretty much the crack cocaine scraped from the streets of interactive entertainment products.

nachobro · « **Reply #101 on:** February 21, 2019, 02:01:14 PM »

and i'm gonna be playing three of them at once like some disgusting junkie

MMaRsu · « **Reply #102 on:** February 21, 2019, 02:01:53 PM »

Except the loot in this game sucks and is nothing more than a stat increase, no cool new weapons or ability's, or armor with stats.

Mr Gilhaney · « **Reply #103 on:** February 21, 2019, 02:02:50 PM »

is anthem good?

Great Rumbler · « **Reply #104 on:** February 21, 2019, 02:06:06 PM »

Wait for Outer Worlds instead.

nachobro · « **Reply #105 on:** February 21, 2019, 02:11:02 PM »

Quote from: MMaRsu on February 21, 2019, 02:01:53 PM

Except the loot in this game sucks and is nothing more than a stat increase, no cool new weapons or ability's, or armor with stats.

what? all your javelin abilities other than the ultimate are based on the gear you have equipped

MMaRsu · « **Reply #106 on:** February 21, 2019, 02:14:10 PM »

Yeah but every upgrade is just a stat increase instead of a change to your abilities.

It's like playing Diablo 3 with the basic ability's that just increase in damage over time, not how you use them or what they do.

Cerveza mas fina · « **Reply #107 on:** February 21, 2019, 03:53:33 PM »

Quote from: MMaRsu on February 21, 2019, 12:53:20 PM

(Image removed from quote.)

Sounds a lot like destiny

Rahxephon91 · « **Reply #108 on:** February 21, 2019, 06:45:07 PM »

I don’t really understand your defense of the game Nintex.

Where did people get the idea that it would have a story? From Bioware themselves? From the game’s obnoxious Fort Tarsis talk to people to advance shit. I’m sorry saying bs like it was never meant to have a story as a defense for the story being shit is lame. The game has a focus on world building and it’s story.

Oh EA intends it to be a 70 MC game that people quickly play and leave has no basis in reality for a GAS game meant to last for a long time.

Game is ok. Can look pretty amazing on PC. Shooting can be pretty fun. In the end it has the same problems that I have with these games. Just kind of boring missions and simply the fact that I don’t care about loot. Still at least the gameplay is fun.

HardcoreRetro · « **Reply #109 on:** February 22, 2019, 05:35:28 AM »

*Looks at the current metacritic*

MMaRsu · « **Reply #110 on:** February 22, 2019, 03:30:30 PM »

According to ACG the loading on a SSD is 1 to 2 minutes, with a M2 cutting it down to 45 seconds.

And as the game progresses the loading times increase...

$:-\$

Raist · « **Reply #111 on:** February 22, 2019, 04:25:53 PM »

Reviews average tracking quite lower than ME:A

Cerveza mas fina · « **Reply #112 on:** February 22, 2019, 04:34:03 PM »

Why did EA put Westwood etc down but Bioware is allowed to carry on?

paprikastaude · « **Reply #113 on:** February 22, 2019, 04:38:55 PM »

Quote from: Premium Lager on February 22, 2019, 04:34:03 PM

Why did EA put Westwood etc down but Bioware is allowed to carry on?

you think they carry on after this

Nintex · « **Reply #114 on:** February 22, 2019, 04:44:33 PM »

Lay-offs could be possible but EA is fast running out of studios and if they signal that they will end BioWare it is almost certain that Microsoft would pick them up.
So at this point, I expect it all depends on what is currently in the pipeline and if that is promising or not.

Rufus · « **Reply #115 on:** February 22, 2019, 04:47:55 PM »

A lot of pressure to put on the next Dragon Age.

Nintex · « **Reply #116 on:** February 22, 2019, 05:36:46 PM »

Angry gamer can't appreciate Majestic Loading screens

benjipwns · « **Reply #117 on:** February 23, 2019, 01:42:15 AM »

Quote from: Premium Lager on February 22, 2019, 04:34:03 PM

Why did EA put Westwood etc down but Bioware is allowed to carry on?

well in that specific instance, the disaster was called Earth & Beyond

iirc, they did allow almost the entire studio to move to EA LA if they wanted

Bebpo · « **Reply #118 on:** February 23, 2019, 08:24:01 PM »

I was at lunch today at a restaurant bar and one of the guy servers walked by to the other servers and was like "I was up until 5am playing Anthem last night, THAT GAME SUCKS" and then another guy server was all "Yeah, did you play the beta, that game's terrible" and then a 3rd male server chimed in "Yeah, I picked it up and it's so bad" and then the one gal server just sorta stood quietly looking at her 3 co-workers like what the fuck is up with this nerd talk.

Just made me wonder when games will eventually be more inclusive. My friend group hangouts are similar where all the guys will talk about some latest videogame and all the girls just sit there and wait for the guys to stop talking about games so they can join the conversation.

Anyhow that doesn't have much to do with Anthem but it also does.

bork · « **Reply #119 on:** February 23, 2019, 08:33:59 PM »

Quote from: Bebpo on February 23, 2019, 08:24:01 PM

I was at lunch today at a restaurant bar and one of the guy servers walked by to the other servers and was like "I was up until 5am playing Anthem last night, THAT GAME SUCKS" and then another guy server was all "Yeah, did you play the beta, that game's terrible" and then a 3rd male server chimed in "Yeah, I picked it up and it's so bad" and then the one gal server just sorta stood quietly looking at her 3 co-workers like what the fuck is up with this nerd talk.

Just made me wonder when games will eventually be more inclusive. My friend group hangouts are similar where all the guys will talk about some latest videogame and all the girls just sit there and wait for the guys to stop talking about games so they can join the conversation.

Anyhow that doesn't have much to do with Anthem but it also does.

She could be a huge nerd and just put on her workplace face- A few weeks back at work I was helping someone and she asks me if I like video games, then proceeds to tell me how she has this whole multi-PS4 setup at her place just to play multiplayer Destiny, was asking me about the whole Diablo mobile debacle, and wanted to know if I thought she might be able to get away with having PS4 remote play software installed on her work laptop.

Never would have guessed she was so into the vidya. Found out she's also big into cosplay and was a guest at Dragoncon once or twice. You never know!

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Author Topic: The official thread of Bioware/EA's ANTHEM (Read 19012 times)