PT Boats in Focus: Interview

[Onkel Neal]

News, info, and screenshots.

Neal

[AJ!]

It sounds like there is going to be no replay value whatsoever

No mission editor and scripted missions sounds like its all gona be over pritty fast... and its not gona be a case of falling back on multiplayer as i doubt there will be more then 5 people online at any one time.

Aw well. I might just be looking at the glass half empty

[EAGLE_01]

Scripted missions, no ME, vague areas of operation...it's a console GAME, not a sim. I am VERY disappointed. Been waiting on this since the first announcement. There is almost nothing cool for PC's anymore. Guess it's SH4, FSX and hopefully sometime soon, Black Shark (LOMAC).

P/S..You guys should check out 'Call Of Juarez' if you like shooter games at all. Very difficult and lots of fun.

[iambecomelife]

Originally Posted by EAGLE_01

Scripted missions, no ME, vague areas of operation...it's a console GAME, not a sim. I am VERY disappointed. Been waiting on this since the first announcement. There is almost nothing cool for PC's anymore. Guess it's SH4, FSX and hopefully sometime soon, Black Shark (LOMAC).

P/S..You guys should check out 'Call Of Juarez' if you like shooter games at all. Very difficult and lots of fun.

I had a bad feeling this game was going to be scripted. I'm really starting to wonder why we hardly ever see dynamic campaigns for PC programs, whether it's first person shooters or simulators or whatever. Once you purchase a title it's only a matter of time before you know that the German sniper is always going to be hiding in THAT particular clock tower, every time you play for all eternity. What fun! The closest to a dynamic experience you get is dealing with all the cheating TK'ers in a game's multiplayer mode. Hey, at least no two spawn kills will be exactly alike.

Is it that devs just don't feel like making an effort? Maybe they're doing this deliberately so people get bored quickly and need to buy new titles to stay entertained? Strange that about a decade ago programmers could create software with semi-dynamic campaigns & excellent replayability and have it fit on 3 or 4 floppy disks. Nowadays we get multiple gig installs and an amazing dearth of talent.

[mrbeast]

Graphically it looks a bit of a mixed bag. Overall I think SH4 looks better.

[EAST]

Its pretty funny that you write off a game because it has scripted missions. You don't even have to try it and see if they've done something innovative with it, you decide is sux because it isn't dynamic (which for most of you means random).

As far as I can see, no one else is making a PT Boat product with an eye to historical detail, physics, and multiplayer. Perhaps you do?

For my part, Akella makes very good games; perhaps reserving your negative opinions until you have experienced a demo, or the game itself, would be a better option.

[EAGLE_01]

Originally Posted by EAST

Its pretty funny that you write off a game because it has scripted missions. You don't even have to try it and see if they've done something innovative with it, you decide is sux because it isn't dynamic (which for most of you means random).

As far as I can see, no one else is making a PT Boat product with an eye to historical detail, physics, and multiplayer. Perhaps you do?

For my part, Akella makes very good games; perhaps reserving your negative opinions until you have experienced a demo, or the game itself, would be a better option.

Yeah. We'll see.

[iambecomelife]

Originally Posted by EAST

Its pretty funny that you write off a game because it has scripted missions. You don't even have to try it and see if they've done something innovative with it, you decide is sux because it isn't dynamic (which for most of you means random).

As far as I can see, no one else is making a PT Boat product with an eye to historical detail, physics, and multiplayer. Perhaps you do?

For my part, Akella makes very good games; perhaps reserving your negative opinions until you have experienced a demo, or the game itself, would be a better option.

It has scripted missions. I don't like scripted missions. Therefore I won't like this game. I am not going to buy it. Even in cases where a scripted game's graphics or gameplay appeal to me I never like the game as a whole because of the fundamental scripted nature. In this particular case I've seen the demo and I loved the graphics. All the more reason for me to lament the lack of a dynamic campaign. The fact that nobody else is producing a PT Boat sim doesn't make me feel like I forfeit the right to criticize Akella.

[EAST]

It has scripted missions. I don't like scripted missions. Therefore I won't like this game.

Because you don't own, and haven't purchased a game in the last <time period since you decided you don't like anything scripted> that has scripted content. Uh huh.

The fact that nobody else is producing a PT Boat sim doesn't make me feel like I forfeit the right to criticize Akella.

lol...little more than self-gratification and ego wrapped in a weakly intellectualized justification.

Why don't you go make the game that no developer has the will, ability, intelligence, what have you, to make. Write out your design spec, pitch it, fund it, hire for it, create it. Not that you would actually ever do that, but I do wish you could experience some punk*ss climbing on his soapbox proclaiming that your game sux because you didn't do <insert your pet issue here>.

The point is this: if you discourage people from purchasing a game in this very small and relatively unproductive gaming niche, you become a large part of the reason there aren't more games created for it. If it sells well but has enough communication from the community, you not only may see another game from them, but you will see changes. Witness the changes from Silent Hunter 2 - Silent Hunter 3: all community driven. But trust me, not from the whiners and complainers, but from the communicators.

I'll stop here in case I'm guilty of "trying to teach a pig to read".

[jdkbph]

In general I agree that scripted = bad. However, there are exceptions.

Janes/EA did a fairly nice job with Longbow 2 back in the day. The campaign was a series of scripted missions, but they were branching (ie, the next one of several possible, depending on the outcome and events of the last), persistent (eg, things damaged or destroyed in the previous remained in that state for the next), and many of the elements were random or "multiple chance" (eg, probability that a given unit or event may or may not spawn/occur, if it does it may occur anywhere within a wide area, and it's behavior may follow one of several tactical plans or conform to one of several possible doctrines).

All in all it worked.

Now if these PT boat guys do something like this....?

On the other hand, Longbow 2 was definitely an exception to the scripted = bad rule. I don't know if anyting like it has been done since. Unfortunately, most scripted mission sims are exactly what the gentleman with the complaint suggested.

JD

[iambecomelife]

Originally Posted by EAST

Because you don't own, and haven't purchased a game in the last <time period since you decided you don't like anything scripted> that has scripted content. Uh huh.

lol...little more than self-gratification and ego wrapped in a weakly intellectualized justification.

Why don't you go make the game that no developer has the will, ability, intelligence, what have you, to make. Write out your design spec, pitch it, fund it, hire for it, create it. Not that you would actually ever do that, but I do wish you could experience some punk*ss climbing on his soapbox proclaiming that your game sux because you didn't do <insert your pet issue here>.

The point is this: if you discourage people from purchasing a game in this very small and relatively unproductive gaming niche, you become a large part of the reason there aren't more games created for it. If it sells well but has enough communication from the community, you not only may see another game from them, but you will see changes. Witness the changes from Silent Hunter 2 - Silent Hunter 3: all community driven. But trust me, not from the whiners and complainers, but from the communicators.

I'll stop here in case I'm guilty of "trying to teach a pig to read".

You seem kind of ... emotionally invested in other people's criticism of this game.

I disagree with you about the merits of the game but you have a right to your opinion and I guess I have a right to mine.

Not too sure I'm going to make inferences re: your personal character all because your opinion about a computer simulation differs from mine, but that's just me.

Again, you are implying that in order to gain some moral right to criticize a product I have to create a PT boat game myself. Not sure I understand that.

You're going to stop here?

No way! You're on a roll, my friend. Keep it up.:rotfl:

[EAST]

Point was an intelligent person would get all the facts before forming an opinion, but like I said, trying to teach a pig to sing.

Complain away.

[Seeadler]

I don't know whether it is elsewhere also but here in Germany one can rent a few days (over a weekend) any new game at a video/DVD rental shop. Thus I make it with all new games which interest me, I try them a few days for less money to see if they convince me and how they fulfill my expectations and then I decide whether to buy them or not.

[iambecomelife]

Originally Posted by EAST

Point was an intelligent person would get all the facts before forming an opinion, but like I said, trying to teach a pig to sing.

Complain away.

The fact is it does not have a dynamic campaign. Am I accusing them falsely of not having a dynamic campaign or did they indicate in the interview that it will not have one?

Please note that I'm not calling you unintelligent, an egomaniac, etcetera because YOU seem to plan on purchasing it - that's your decision and I personally don't mind.

[Onkel Neal]

Scripted missions or not, it's too early to judge the game. I've played some great subsims and naval sims that had scripted missions. They didn't have the longevity of an Aces or SH3, but I certainly enjoyed the game for several months.