Middle-earth: Shadow of War - Catch All

My biggest gripe about the first game is that the Nemesis system is by far the best part of the game, but it's heavily story-gated. By the time you finally unlock all the fun toys and start building your own orc army the game is over.

So my hope is that the second game starts off with all that good stuff already unlocked, and then just adds more mechanics on as you go (betrayals, infiltrators, etc.). That gameplay video looked very promising so I'm fairly optimistic so far.

I re-installed the game to give it a quick look-see because the sequel talk has got me interested; My saves were still there so that's pretty cool.

I don't particularly like using bees or Caragors at all, either, but the way the game levels the orc captains makes it plausible to trim the fat quickly. They only acquire immunities gradually. If you prune them before they get strong, then you can easily manage their immunities. For this reason, I decline from killing low level orcs with Immunity to Caragors. That means that I will almost always be given some other way of killing them when they get high level. Conversely, if they DON'T get Immunity to Caragors, and they seem to be racking up all my favorite modes of assassination, I kill them off before they get too troublesome. Eventually, you can end up with a bunch of very high level orcs, all with Immunity to Caragors, and a host of interesting ways to die.

That's pretty clever, LarryC. I hadn't considered curating them in that way. I probably won't go back through SoM, so I'll just keep it in mind for the future.

It just seems like so much work.

Vector wrote:

It just seems like so much work.

I definitely converted vs let live normally orc captains based on their immunities. Most of the time it was as simple as "This guy is vulnerable to stealth and ranged... I'll make sure he is the one promoted in the duel."

I really liked killing them and by the time the branding was introduced, I was a little annoyed by it. Part of the reason I'm excited for this one is that I never really tried to engage with the branding so it's almost a whole new mechanic.

One thing I remembered at lunch today, I really hope this has the awesome screenshot system from the first one.

I especially like that everything is BIGGER

I just noticed on the Xbox Store that this is a Play Anywhere title. I was thinking of double dipping anyway and this make it that much easier to do so since I get the PC version for free.

Now delayed until October 10th.

Vector wrote:

Now delayed until October 10th.

Wonder if that is going to be the Scorpio release date?

Infyrnos wrote:
Vector wrote:

Now delayed until October 10th.

Wonder if that is going to be the Scorpio release date?

That was my first thought when I saw the news this morning. I guess we'll find out soon enough.

polq37 wrote:
Infyrnos wrote:
Vector wrote:

Now delayed until October 10th.

Wonder if that is going to be the Scorpio release date?

That was my first thought when I saw the news this morning. I guess we'll find out soon enough.

Probably, how else will we see the moistness?
IMAGE(https://photos.smugmug.com/Comics/Pa-comics/n-xmQS5/i-DzsCnN2/0/2100x20000/i-DzsCnN2-2100x20000.jpg)

Infyrnos wrote:
Vector wrote:

Now delayed until October 10th.

Wonder if that is going to be the Scorpio release date?

I read a rumor this week that October was the month for that.

This delay is even more painless than the one for Red Dead.

Starting to get pretty excited about playing this game. Probably a day one purchase for me

http://www.pcgamer.com/i-came-for-mi...

I totally lost my hype for this game thanks to the micro transactions. Great reviews could pull me back in, but there's little chance of a full-price purchase right now.

Yup the gambling type loot boxes have pushed me away from wanting this. These types of loot boxes are bad enough on free to play games, I'm out when they add them to single player full priced retail products.

I don't understand how these gambling loot boxes have not been regulated yet. Pretty gross that developers or publishers prey on people with this stuff. I'll pick this up when it's bargain bin priced, and I won't be spending a dime on the microtransactions. And even then that's only if it's gets amazing reviews.

Meh. I heard a lot of complaints pre-Zelda breath of the wild release about how you have to pay extra for omoebas, if you wanted the good loot but I never did, and I never felt I missed having the bonuses at all. I can't even tell you what they were at this point. I'm pretty sure I will have an enjoyable experience without spending extra, so the fact that other people decide to spend extra doesn't really bother me.

I believe these crates are like Dota, Mass Effect, or Rocket League style. Its basically a crate that has a bunch of items in it ranging from grey to orange rarity. You buy keys to unlock them and then have a chance at getting the loot in it. I don't mind microtransactions to a certain extent I'm the same that they are largely ignorable, but at least if you decide the value for an item is worth it you get what you pay for.

These types of crates are basically gambling, I think they set a bad precedent and I don't want them to become the norm in gaming. I think it takes advantage of people who would be prone to gambling addiction, or takes advantage of kids that don't necessarily understand. The odds of getting items should be clearly displayed on the box at the very least. Its predatory behaviour, I really hope governments start cracking down on this.

I'm in on day one but despise that there's any micro-transactions at all. The good news is that I am very confident they'll be completely optional. As long as they aren't intrusive, I'll be happy.

I remember various GWJers avenging my death by slaying the orcs who killed me in the last game. Anyone know if that will still be a feature?

I recently finished Shadows so I'm very pumped for this game!

I don't quite get the hate for the microtransactions in a single player game. I like that they give the option for people who value time over money to be able to purchase boosts to speed progression through the game. Plus if it's a game I really enjoy it's a way to allow me to "tip" the developers for a job well done. I frankly wish it were a feature in more single player games.

Do people feel this will detract from your gameplay somehow or is it more of a statement of protest to wait until it's discounted to buy it?

Docjoe wrote:

Do people feel this will detract from your gameplay somehow or is it more of a statement of protest to wait until it's discounted to buy it?

As Vector said, implementation is critical in cases like these (although I'm not nearly as confident as he is), but a game that comes fitted with additional price tags after I've already spent $60 on it is very rarely not going to be obnoxious. Ease of progression can be made variable by built-in options, like other games have done.

Beyond that, if the progression structure is not generally enjoyable, having dissatisfied customers pay more money to alter the game experience feels like a uniformly bad direction for this medium.

Plus if it's a game I really enjoy it's a way to allow me to "tip" the developers for a job well done.

That's what DLC is for.

To answer your question, I'm not buying this full price if WB is not willing to stand behind the game as it was developed (if this came directly from the creatives at Monolith, and not a Revenue Enhancement Team out of WB, I will eat three hats and a shoe).

And to be clear, I'm not angry, or even disappointed. These days, I'm practically looking for reasons not to buy games, considering the bounty of good sh*t we've been getting.

Hyetal wrote:

Plus if it's a game I really enjoy it's a way to allow me to "tip" the developers for a job well done.

Docjoe wrote:

That's what DLC is for.

I strongly disagree with this thought process. DLC is more game. These boxes require no additional work after implemented. "Tipping" someone for months worth of more development inherently devalues that fact that is it more gameplay. These boxes are just for items or orcs in the game that already exist in the programming.

Making DLC is predicated on the assumption that consumers will want to give the developer more money for a product they enjoyed. It's functionally the same thing as "tipping".

These microtransactions are peddling bits of code that you technically already paid for, but you can pay more to get them faster. I think that concept–in a finished (and henceforth unaltered) campaign with defined beginnings and endings–is fundamentally noxious to video games as a medium.

The execution in this game might be fine, and unobtrusive as previously said, but it sets an unhealthy precedent for when Shadow of Murder comes along and it's Shadow of Microtransactions instead.

Great goofs aside, this is ultimately a philosophical issue, and that's where I come down. Also, if you want to give a developer more money, just wait for the game to go on sale and gift it to people. Longer tail means more DLC, means more opportunities to reward their good work.

Edit, heads up: Your quotes are wrong.

Docjoe wrote:

I recently finished Shadows so I'm very pumped for this game!

I don't quite get the hate for the microtransactions in a single player game. I like that they give the option for people who value time over money to be able to purchase boosts to speed progression through the game. Plus if it's a game I really enjoy it's a way to allow me to "tip" the developers for a job well done. I frankly wish it were a feature in more single player games.

Do people feel this will detract from your gameplay somehow or is it more of a statement of protest to wait until it's discounted to buy it?

You can be absolutely sure, that gameplay will change on whether lootboxes are in a game or not. I mean, otherwise they would not be in the game. While the game will obviously be playable and winnable without purchasing anything but the fullpriced game, the gameplay will most assuredly be tailored just so, that it will be much easier if you just purchase a few boxes. Thats also why you can purchase boxes with in-game currency - This is to make you understand how much easier your life will be, if you purchase some more. Either by grinding (Boring) or by spending real-life money (Easy).

The thing is, every company executive understands the concept of nudging, which is that people will vastly prefer to take the path of least resistance - Here, lootboxes will be that path.

Basically, like every salesman, they will try to con you into paying more money, and getting high (loot) while doing so.

(I've worked in sales for 18 years now, and understand these basic principles quite well by now.)

Hyetal wrote:

Making DLC is predicated on the assumption that consumers will want to give the developer more money for a product they enjoyed. It's functionally the same thing as "tipping".

These microtransactions are peddling bits of code that you technically already paid for, but you can pay more to get them faster. I think that concept–in a finished (and henceforth unaltered) campaign with defined beginnings and endings–is fundamentally noxious to video games as a medium.

The execution in this game might be fine, and unobtrusive as previously said, but it sets an unhealthy precedent for when Shadow of Murder comes along and it's Shadow of Microtransactions instead.

Great goofs aside, this is ultimately a philosophical issue, and that's where I come down. Also, if you want to give a developer more money, just wait for the game to go on sale and gift it to people. Longer tail means more DLC, means more opportunities to reward their good work.

Edit, heads up: Your quotes are wrong.

Tipping (at least in the US) is not asking them to do more work, it is addition money for the same work. DLC is paying for more gameplay which took more work.

I don't think that loot boxes will improve the game, but hey... I can afford to drop some real money on boxes if it makes things go faster. I get less than 5 hours of play time a week. It's my time that is at a premium right now. I am probably part of the problem.

I respect the differences in opinion on this one and you're right, there are tons of great games out there and if this will ruin your experience then I understand skipping this one.

I would prefer micro transactions that allowed you to buy specific boosts or items but on the other hand I also sort of enjoy the gambling aspect of loot boxes. Will have to see how it is implemented. And hopefully this is an add to the game, not a mandatory barrier to progression.

The game costs $80 CAD. These is no world where they can justify a "tip" with that price.