Geneforge 1 : Aaaa, my sanity !

[karry]

Just started playing Geneforge 1, and i am amazed at how bad it plays. The setting is nice, and mechanics are okay...probably, except for every single creature being able to cross entire screen in one turn and still attack.

 

But...the game is so slow when there is more than half a dozen creatures present, it refuses to be put in a window, must play at 16-bit. And it uses relative screen coordinates instead of absolute, wtf ?

 

But thats still not my main gripe. The game has the complete abomination as an interface. GUI is simply garbage. Controls suck. What with trying to melee attack and accidentally skipping your turn. Unscrollable and uncomfortable inventory. Tiny buttons for statictics access. Horrible screen scrolling. Doesnt center screen on creature when i want, but centers when i DONT want it to. And to top it off combat switch is on the "f" button, what ?!? I barely have time to find and push the stupid button when every enemy rushes at me, and the screen is too small to notice enemies beforehand.

 

Arrrgh ! Please, someone, tell me that later Geneforge games have better interface, i spend as much time battling controls as i spend fighting monsters in this game. I mean, this game was made 1 year AFTER Avernum 1, and in Avernum interface was archaic, but functional. Geneforge interface is just incredibly bad.

[Triumph]

Uh...calm down. Yes, the interface changes a LOT over the games. G2 is mostly the same as G1. G3 makes some notable changes, I think G4 changes more, and G5 has the most refined, not surprisingly. If you can't stand G1, you probably won't care for G2, so maybe try G4 or G4 (since they are generally considered to be all around better than G3, from what I've seen on here).

 

I didn't think the G1 interface was that much different (i.e. "inferior") to the earlier Avernum games...

[Dikiyoba]

Yeah, you're probably going to want to just skip to G4 if you have that many issues with G1's interface.

 

Dikiyoba.

[Serene Tempest]

I found the G5 interface to be really nice, to the point where going back to earlier games I actually got frustrated with them (which I hadn't been before). I'm looking forward to the eventual interface/engine updates of the older geneforge games, even though I'm sure it'll be awhile before we see any of them.

[Geneforgeisformeyukkyu]

Originally Posted By: karry

Just started playing Geneforge 1, and i am amazed at how bad it plays. The setting is nice, and mechanics are okay...probably, except for every single creature being able to cross entire screen in one turn and still attack.

But...the game is so slow when there is more than half a dozen creatures present, it refuses to be put in a window, must play at 16-bit. And it uses relative screen coordinates instead of absolute, wtf ?

But thats still not my main gripe. The game has the complete abomination as an interface. GUI is simply garbage. Controls suck. What with trying to melee attack and accidentally skipping your turn. Unscrollable and uncomfortable inventory. Tiny buttons for statictics access. Horrible screen scrolling. Doesnt center screen on creature when i want, but centers when i DONT want it to. And to top it off combat switch is on the "f" button, what ?!? I barely have time to find and push the stupid button when every enemy rushes at me, and the screen is too small to notice enemies beforehand.

Arrrgh ! Please, someone, tell me that later Geneforge games have better interface, i spend as much time battling controls as i spend fighting monsters in this game. I mean, this game was made 1 year AFTER Avernum 1, and in Avernum interface was archaic, but functional. Geneforge interface is just incredibly bad.

I think you're too used to modern graphics to appreciate it :9. I actually thought the G1 graphics/gui was decent until I started playing modern games and went back .

[grasshopper]

Originally Posted By: karry

But...the game is so slow when there is more than half a dozen creatures present,

Might have something to do with your system, geneforge runs very very slowly under wine, but very fast on xp in my experience

Quote:

But thats still not my main gripe. The game has the complete abomination as an interface. GUI is simply garbage. Controls suck. What with trying to melee attack and accidentally skipping your turn. Unscrollable and uncomfortable inventory. Tiny buttons for statictics access. Horrible screen scrolling. Doesnt center screen on creature when i want, but centers when i DONT want it to. And to top it off combat switch is on the "f" button, what ?!? I barely have time to find and push the stupid button when every enemy rushes at me, and the screen is too small to notice enemies beforehand.

you get used to it after about 10 zones. I found the enemies much more stupid than in later games, they take ages to attack.

inventory- manage it, dont take too many items.

Quote:

Arrrgh ! Please, someone, tell me that later Geneforge games have better interface, i spend as much time battling controls as i spend fighting monsters in this game. I mean, this game was made 1 year AFTER Avernum 1, and in Avernum interface was archaic, but functional. Geneforge interface is just incredibly bad.

They have better interfaces, the writing is better, the spells are better, the creations are better, the equipment is better, the graphics and gameplay are all bettr.

Geneforge 1 has the best story. And it is the only one to really have an unexpected mini story in it (the secret), although you could argue that the Trakovites are a mini story, i don't know. I think it was designed without sequels in mind. I get a much more complete feeling from the game than the other ones.

[karry]

Quote:

I didn't think the G1 interface was that much different (i.e. "inferior") to the earlier Avernum games...

Oh, it certainly is. Much slower, less thought out, and most importantly - ill-suited to real-time. When there is a bunch of explosive critters running my way, but i cant see them in time because the game field is so zoomed in, i cant push the fight button fast enough because my left hand is on the arrow keys since mouse scrolling barely works and i cant react fast enough...urr...

I just dont understand how this abortion could be born, Avernum interface is okay, why is this one so much worse ?
Or how about lockpicks. You are forced to manually click as many times as the number of required lockpicks. Why couldnt it be a simple dialogue window that automatically dispenses lockpicks as needed is beyond me.
Or trading interface, that prevents you from seeing item descriptions on mouse hover, so you have to click "?" icon to check every item on what in the world it is.

Quote:

I think you're too used to modern graphics to appreciate it

I think you, sir, should actually read the post you are trying to answer to first, before you write a response to a problem i didnt pose.

Anyway, guess i'll demo the latest games.

[Randomizer]

A lot of your complaints were fixed in later Geneforge games, but Jeff doesn't like to go back and make major changes to an existing game interface.

 

Someday he will make an updated version of the Geneforge games to run on the current generation of computers and the interface will be updated to something more like Geneforge 5. It will have a little new content, but the main storyline and zones will still be there. The combat system will probably be more like Geneforge 4 and 5.

[Unplayable Playable Character]

Umm... I really don't see why you're having so much difficulty. The inventory is, in fact, scrollable and so is the map. If you're having trouble with the scroll rate just use the mini-map. Really, "f" and "g" are the only two keys you should ever use (not including the spell hotkeys, but I don't favor those much).

[beren terino]

I have to say...I think you're wrong. I've been going back and playing through G1 for the first time (previously having played only 3-5)and it's entirely playable. Yes, the interface isn't quite as polished as the later games, but it's far from impossible. The inventory window is the worst offender, but usable items are on top, and by the time I have more than a screen or two of items, my poor Shaper is over-encumbered and on his way back to town to sell things.

[grasshopper]

It would be even more playable if there was a wingbolt canister somewhere in there

[Unplayable Playable Character]

Wingbolts are G4-G5 creations. G1 would be much more unplayable if there was a wingbolt canister somewhere because that would mess up the balance of the game.

[Unbound Draykon]

yeah it would mess up the game just by adding a measly wingbolt canister would not only make it easier but it would entirely alter the story simply because if there are wingbolts that would also mean that there drakons and eyebeasts in the game then the story would be alterd because the drakons don't appear until later in the game

[grasshopper]

Ah. Caught by the factual correctness police.

[karry]

"Yeah, you're probably going to want to just skip to G4 if you have that many issues with G1's interface."

 

Played G4 demo...same thing. Interface is somewhat more streamlined, but combat is still complete [censored] with everyone running around at the speed of light and crazy screen recentering going on all the time. Still full screen only, with relative mouse tracking ? Hotkeys are still the same with no chance of remapping.

 

Its like Jeff Vogel doesnt ever play his own games and has NO IDEA how uncomfortable they are ! Sorry Jeff, you are an idiot. Supposedly you made each game under 100k$, but it doesnt take that much money to sit on your ass for one measly day and THINK THINGS THROUGH before implementing them. F*** you, Jeff Vogel.

[Slawbug]

Karry: We all have criticism for games we play. Criticism of Spiderweb games is certainly tolerated here. Personal attacks are not tolerated, regardless of who the target is. (Please see the Code of Conduct.)

 

It's clear you are frustrated. It's also clear you have let it get the best of you. If you're going to post on these forums, you need to be more respectful of other people. This is your official warning: any further violations of the Code of Conduct, including minor violations, will result in a ban.