I can't tell about rest of those games, but Baldur's Gate at least wasn't real time, and if it would have been it would have sucked (even more than it does now, I kinda don't enjoy that game.)
I also do not like Baldur's Gate. Why do I have to keep pausing and unpausing? If they had just made it turn-based straight up with an end turn button, it would have been much better.
YES! OMG. I completely forgot. The camera in this game is so annoying that you can not zoom it out. There is no reason I should not be able to zoom outallthe way and also zoom in all the way.
The camera zoom level is very controversial. In fact, the camera range at first in HoN was a little bit further back and then they changed it to be closer up. The overall consensus is that since a larger viewable area gives such a large advantage, whatever the allowed max range would be then all players would have to play at that max range to not be at a disadvantage. One of the skills required in the game is "map awareness" and many heroes and gank attempts would be much harder to do if you could zoom out to the whole map. It is hard to explain. I would analagize it to legalizing steroids. Steroids are bad to your health but if it was legal, all players would have to use them or be at a disadvantage. In the same way, if you could zoom out your camera to large distances, everyone would be forced to do that even though the overall game would be less fun. Whether or not the current camera distance is sufficient is debatable, but you definitely should not be able to zoom out as far as you want.
A Halt button? Seriously? Imagine if you were playing Mario and pressing right just once made Mario start walking right until you pushed the stop button. The only reason that these games have this control scheme is because the original was a Warcraft 3 mod and inherited the controls from Warcraft 3. And now because the genre is tied up in an insular hardcore community, they don't even think about changing it because they are used to it.
A halt button is necessary because there are times when you dont want your character to halt. For example, if you want your character to move and attack the nearest creeps as they come up while you focus on other parts of the map then you would not want him to halt. You could have the default behavior be halt, as in your hero wont auto imitate the nearest enemy unless you toggle that behavior, but then you would need another button to tell him to do that, which would be the same thing.
And this is a large part of the problem here. You say that we only played these games for a few hours, and are therefore somehow less qualified to comment on them than someone who has played them extensively. But that's exactly the problem here. You have played these games extensively, and have become accustomed to their bullshit. That bullshit has become second nature to you, so you no longer realize how bad it is. Your experience is blinding you to the negative aspects because you already have a set of ingrown expectations and understandings that new users do not have. The same is almost definitely true of the game's developers. If they had chosen to do tests with random people off the street instead of a closed beta for existing fans, they would have had the opportunity to uncover these flaws which are invisible to the trained eye.
The controls themselves have not changed since the beginning of dota. The random people who played the game from the start would be no different than the random people who play it now. There wasnt any complaints then, there wouldnt be any complaints now. In fact, I have yet to see any new players in the forums complain about anything you guys have been complaining about here.
League of Legends is a similar game with a simplified control scheme. Many of the issues you guys have been complaining about here, such as a larger camera distance, auto halting after telling your character to move, no denys, much easier to last hit, much less "quick click requirements," etc are addressed. Even after playing that game, I can still say that the control scheme in Dota/HoN is better. Furthermore, partially because of all the differences that LoL tried to "improve" from dota, the community in LoL is much less competitive (and much less of egotisitcal douche) and will most likely be less popular despite being free.
And why are we still arguing about this? All I wanted to do was to see if anyone here plays this game or wanted to learn. Its not like anyone's opinions are going to change because of someone else's. It is pointless to argue about this to people who do not yet have a firm grasp on the game.
Oh, one more thing. Many heroes have summons and there is an item you can get that lets you summon things and another that lets you gain control of units so all heroes have the potential to control multiple units. Therefore, an RTS style control would still be the best way.
Oh, one more thing. Many heroes have summons and there is an item you can get that lets you summon things and another that lets you gain control of units so all heroes have the potential to control multiple units. Therefore, an RTS style control would still be the best way.
Speaking of which, have you tried Ophelia? Her early-game guerilla tactics are EXCELLENT, especially if you can Command 3 Minotaurs, or 2 Minotaurs and 1 Catman Champion. Just flank through the forest and Command your monsters to Focus-Fire on the enemy hero.
What a beast, though I don't know how long she can sustain the numerical advantage she gets. bg
yeah i've played her and chen a good bit. (she pales in comparison to dota counterpart though ) Shes really strong mid game but looses momentum late game. Good hero overall but so hard to play efficiently
I can't tell about rest of those games, but Baldur's Gate at least wasn't real time, and if it would have been it would have sucked (even more than it does now, I kinda don't enjoy that game.)
I also do not like Baldur's Gate. Why do I have to keep pausing and unpausing? If they had just made it turn-based straight up with an end turn button, it would have been much better.
Well that's pretty simple. There really has never been a good way to relay commands to more then one member of your team efficiently (if they are all computer controlled) especially if they are all going to do different things (unless you set up if then statements like FFXII).
If anyone cares, HoN has gone to a F2P model. There has also been a lot of changes since beta to make it more newbie friendly.
I was just about to find this thread to make this post. The first comment on the Rock, Paper, Shotgun post is priceless and spot-on.
I’ve been a HoN account holder since early beta, and I’m absolutely furious with the decision to make HoN Free To Play…
Actually I’m not, they have set it up nicely so nothing changes at all for current players, while S2 get a nice monetary boost which they sorely need. Good show chaps!
EDIT: BTW, the HoN forums are a known cesspit full of trolls and idiots. They definitely do not represent the majo… oh wait, yeah trolls and idiots probably do represent the majority of HoN’s playerbase xD.
Hm... I might try Dota 2 when it comes out in late 2011 when it's anticip... oh wait, it's Valve...
Yeah. I have a feeling that when it eventually comes out it will be the most playable game in the genre. I just also expect a TF2 business model that will be full of fail.
Comments
League of Legends is a similar game with a simplified control scheme. Many of the issues you guys have been complaining about here, such as a larger camera distance, auto halting after telling your character to move, no denys, much easier to last hit, much less "quick click requirements," etc are addressed. Even after playing that game, I can still say that the control scheme in Dota/HoN is better. Furthermore, partially because of all the differences that LoL tried to "improve" from dota, the community in LoL is much less competitive (and much less of egotisitcal douche) and will most likely be less popular despite being free.
And why are we still arguing about this? All I wanted to do was to see if anyone here plays this game or wanted to learn. Its not like anyone's opinions are going to change because of someone else's. It is pointless to argue about this to people who do not yet have a firm grasp on the game.
So, uh, anyone here want to play?
What a beast, though I don't know how long she can sustain the numerical advantage she gets. bg
Boris requested an invite at this email: shahruh.a.k@gmail.com