defiance could have been so much more

[dbcameron]

Indeed it could have. I still enjoy the game, but it could have been a lot better. IMO they should have released it on only one platform at first(ideally Xbox :P). I attribute most of this games issues to trying to balance all the beaurocratic bull**** for supporting three platforms. Nothing stops progress like beaurocracy.

Amen to that. ( though I would have said PC ^_^)

But It could have been better, it could still be better. I'm just tired of people thinking this is a done and over conversation three months after release. It started bad, got better step by step, and we'll see what happens with the rest of it.

[Ataraxia]

Defiance is an average, mediocre-ish attempt at a MMOTPS. If Trion added more MMORPG elements to the game... I'm pretty sure it would satisfy 80ish% of the community. I feel its the only direction Trion can take to succeed with this game.

[Remag Div]

More reasons the game would have been better on PC:

- Way better graphics optimized for current PC's instead of being held back by crappy 360/PS3 hardware
- UI could have been designed from the ground up on PC-only instead of pleasing the console crowd
- DLC and patches don't have to go through an awful inspection process from Microsoft and Sony which they need to approve
- They could have focused their efforts on ONE version of the game instead of THREE
- PC's smell better

[dbcameron]

If you're talking about quest hubs, crafting, better trading systems and more clan support then Yes!

If you're talking about the standard gear grind for a more powerful gun then I'll pass.

[UncivilS3rvant]

So by now is it unrealistic to expect them not to make the same mistakes over and over and over? Good God man, good shooter and RPG UI's for both consoles and PC's have been around for decades, yet game companies still act like it's some kind of voodoo magic? And the same can be said for weapon mods, stats and character progression. Reinventing the wheel with each new game is both time consuming and futile. Learn from the good examples of the past and don't repeat the bad examples.

This is why every game that is released is an instant classic, because game development is ancient and therefore everyone knows what they're doing and how to do it.

[barbzilla]

You put it into words so well. I feel so sorry for anyone that has to be spoonfed everything in order to have fun. The real story in any game is best when it's your story. I've played a couple other games that understood that with players that totally understood it. It's so sad that many in this game don't.

Yesterday, I ran from arkfall to arkfall and saw streams of cars doing the same thing. It was what I'd imagined it would be all along-like in the trailer. Every ark hunter racing to get the goods. And in one moment I put myself there. I was on Earth but an Earth that had been changed. And it was a race to get what was available.

The landscape is fantastic to me. And I think it's great that there's such a contrast between the bay area and San Francisco. I see the fast travel spots as little safe havens within a big sort of wilderness.

I play the game and imagine I am my character. I looked around last night and there were all these big burly guys and I'm this female ark hunter who can sometimes do better than them.

One time I was walking around and a car was following me-it was a friend of mine. For about half an hour he played land shark in his car as I went and tried to hide behind things while he was stalking me. It was a lot of fun. Silly but fun. It doesn't all have to be about some story someone made up to tell you. Make your own fun.

Great post, Vega.

You are right, in that this can be the most entertaining gameplay experience you can have. There is a name for it as well. It is called emergent gameplay. Emergent gameplay is a gameplay experience created by the player using the tools the developers gave them in the form of an open world. This type of gameplay can be seen easily in games like Eve online and Star Wars Galaxies. Defiance wasn't set up well for this type of gameplay though. In fact the community aspect of the game took a sideline and many of our complaints during early alpha, beta, and open beta were ignored when we begged the devs to fix the interface and allow better community interaction.

Defiance was set up to be an on the rails game. You may have some choice in what you do, but everything is locked behind barriers that require you do this or that to unlock something else. This may make the game more accessible, but it doesn't help emergent gameplay. The game was crafted to tell us a story, and it did that fairly well (I think), but that doesn't add longevity. We were given some story missions to coincide with the show, in the hopes that watching the show would help add interest into the game world, so people would log on weekly to play a few rounds of pvp, do a mission, and hopefully buy something.

Part of the issue was the investment level. Since Comcast decided to split the investment between a show and a game, we only had half the budget for both (well more like three quarters actually). This left everything feeling a bit rushed. The game came out half cocked, and the show lacks a coherent storyline (though they did finally get to the point by episode 12). All we can hope for at this point is that they make enough off of advertising and game sales to actually ramp up the development on both products and deliver an experience worthwhile to both the consumer and the investor.

[medohgeuh]

So by now is it unrealistic to expect them not to make the same mistakes over and over and over? Good God man, good shooter and RPG UI's for both consoles and PC's have been around for decades, yet game companies still act like it's some kind of voodoo magic? And the same can be said for weapon mods, stats and character progression. Reinventing the wheel with each new game is both time consuming and futile. Learn from the good examples of the past and don't repeat the bad examples.

My point was more that it's usually the player base the issue is with, not the game itself. There's this tendency amongst gamers today to approach everything with a set of unwarranted expectations. Assuming perfection is possible will always lead to disappointment and I admit this as one of the most notorious perfectionists I know of.

The sooner people realize this, the better.

I don't even see what the big deal is about the UI once you plug a gamepad in, it makes enough sense to me after that. I've seen way worse i.e. the first Borderlands which Defiance is often compared to. I don't really give a **** about stats or whatever, either… this isn't a glorified spreadsheet we're talking about here and that's just fine with me.

- They could have focused their efforts on ONE version of the game instead of THREE

Only legit complaint in your list. The rest is all PC elitism horse****.

[Ataraxia]

If you're talking about quest hubs, crafting, better trading systems and more clan support then Yes!

If you're talking about the standard gear grind for a more powerful gun then I'll pass.

Ew hell no, the best part of this game is that the gameplay is skillbased! That's probably the only thing that keeps me from leaving the game.

[Daholic]

My point was more that it's usually the player base the issue is with, not the game itself. There's this tendency amongst gamers today to approach everything with a set of unwarranted expectations. Assuming perfection is possible will always lead to disappointment and I admit this as one of the most notorious perfectionists I know of.

The sooner people realize this, the better.

Noone is asking for perfection, the high expectation from fans have to be shouldered by Trion mostly. We all know in the attempt to sell copies, they show some appealing gameplay, ****, all companies do it, but once you purchase the product and you find out its a dumbed down version of Time Splitters, then people will complain.

The whole purpose of an mmo-esque game is to keep players engaged and interested.

Pure comedy here..check this out...How many time have you heard someone say "Oh, I left Wow because I got sick and bored with it, but gee-willickers Defiance sure has got me hooked with its simple dumbed down mechanics that cater to my play style, uninteresting gear progression including a slot machine type lock box that makes weapons totally random, this to caters to my simple play style that allows me to LUCKLY get the best gear without actually doing anything of skill to get it"

[Daholic]

Ew hell no, the best part of this game is that the gameplay is skillbased! That's probably the only thing that keeps me from leaving the game.

Skillbased??? Like running, dodging, shooting, rolling, and stying the hell out the way of fire? Sounds more like common sence that skill, but hey im sure theirs people out there who thinks it takes skill to unlock a door, to a home they've owned for 20+ years.