From Newsgroup: comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.rpg
On Sat, 16 Apr 2022 10:41:45 -0700 (PDT), Jay Roi
<
jeremyroy2005@gmail.com> wrote:
On Tuesday, June 18, 1996 at 4:00:00 PM UTC+9, Ranzer L. Averon wrote:
Wow I can't believe a retard like this guy posted this stupid shit way back when
I was 5 years old. I was smarter than this idiot even then hahaha
And yet, it was /you/ who revived a 26-year old thread* ;-)
But, of course, out of curiosity, I had to go back and read what the
original poster wrote.** It's an... intriguing diatribe; a long and
meandering post without too-few paragraph breaks that indicate a lack
of concern about the readability of his writings.
First impressions suggest it's a trollish shit-post, but I think the
author was being earnest, if impolite and unable to distinguish that
just because he didn't like a game didn't meant it wasn't any good.
His assumptions that Ultima VII was awful because it isn't linear, or
emphasis character and world interaction over combat were matters of
personal taste. I mean, he does make some valid criticisms of the
game; for all that I love Ultima VII, it's combat was the weakest part
of the game, and its constant insistence that you nanny your followers
quickly became tiresome. But its other strengths - while not focused
on the sort of gameplay he preferred - are what made the game so
memorable to so many others..
Actually, what I disliked most about his post was that it failed to
address how Ultima VII proved console superiority (as per his post's
subject line). That he disliked the game was clear, but that was a
subjective opinion. Nowhere did he provide convincing evidence that
console RPGs were better on any objective way.
It was all the more glaring failure since even at the time there were
numerous CRPGs on PCs that were thematically and mechanically similar
to console RPGS (Knights of Xentar, for instance), and as many console
RPGs that were similar to their PC cousins (in fact, a port of Ultima
VII was available on the SNES for two years). His argument only
reinforced how few games he had actually played. It says more about
his youth and how narrow his viewpoint actually was.
Still, I can't fault the original poster too much. Inexperienced and
unpolished as his remarks may have been, I think he spoke with an
emotional honesty that's almost refreshing compared to the usual
quiet, almost contemplative discussions on Usenet today. Of course, I
can say this only now, more than a quarter of a century later. Had I
read that post back in '96, I would surely have responded with as much
vitriol as the original poster.
And I can almost understand his frustration; coming from a background
of playing less-sophisticated action/RPGs, he'd probably heard the
virtues of Ultima VII extolled repeatedly (computer RPG fans had an
almost cult-like obsession with it... and I say that as one who still
drinks the Kool-Aid when it comes to that game) and decided to give it
a try... only to be sorely disappointed when it didn't match his
expectations of what a 'real' CRPG should be. I wonder what became of
him, and how (or if) his tastes in games have changed over the
years...
-----------------------------
* then again, I'm responding to your necropost, so who am I to talk?
;-)
** The original post, for those who are interested:
Posted by: Ranzer L. Averon
Date: Jun 18, 1996, 3:00:00 AM
I just played Ultima 7, and I think it sucks. I hate that shit where the
story line is non-linear. I get so lost when I can go anywhere I want at >anytime. I play games to beat it....NOT wander aimlessly for hours on
end, accompishing nothing that has anything to do with the storyline or
the plot. Why are there so many missions I have to accomplish just to
help someone out. And what the fuck, I don't want to read about every
single characters' life story. I don't like reading, I like to play. I want to
kill and get experience points and gold for it. RPGs are not about >interaction, it's about fighting. And how come when I do fight in Ultima, >it's in realtime. That sucks. I can't keep track of all the characters on the >screen at once. Also, this game is extremely slow on my 486/33. And
what's with this shit about being GOOD in the preceeding games (which
I've given up on because of the poor graphics). I want to go hack-n-slash, >kill, and steal anything that crosses my path. I don't want to worry about >pleasing that stupid confounded king, Lord British. Screw him! Although
i think the game suck, there are some good points about Ultima that I
must give it credit for. The graphics of Ultima 7 are superb. If only the >game was half as good as the graphics, then I would like it. I want >graphics, not some stupid story to follow that I don't care about. What
the fuck's with constantly feeding those people?! Why don't they go eat >automatically like on the game consoles I play. What's wrong with the >Fellowship, I didn't see anything wrong with them. But apparently, Lord >British and the Avatar did. Why do I always have to light a tourch when
I enter a dungeon?! I don't care about light, I care about fighting the bad >NPCs. I'm sick and tired of collecting reagents for some stupid spells, >which isn't graphically pleasing when casted. The RPGs I play are visually >impressive, just like Ultima 7, and should remain that way. RPGs should
have good graphics like Ultima 7 and 8 for that matter. Even though I
have a sound card, I can't use it because of this game's damn Voodoo
memory crap. When I beat Ultima, I expect a great ending like all those
game consoles, not short ones. But I must say the ending was visually >impressive but too damn short. I don't like being called an Avatar. What
the fuck does that mean. Is it like some ancient name from the game?
Why the hell do I have to wear swamp boots so I won't get poisoned
when I walk over or in a swamp?! Don't you think that's going overboard
with the realism. I walked on swamp in real life, and I never have
gotten sick or anything cloese to that. Speaking of realism, or the lack
of it, why do my characters never have to sleep yet they have to
complain that they're hungry. Also, when I do sleep, why do my
companions stand there like morons for eight hours? If the game was
so realistic, shouldn't my companions carry a sleepingbag also? And
when I DO give it to them, they don't use it. There are some other
things about this game that I DID find better than most game
consoles, the graphics. RPGs are meant to have good graphics! And
some other things I find unrealistic witht he storyline is the part
where I have to serach for two people who work for the Fellowship,
Elizabeth and Abraham(I think those were their names). Anyway,
why are they always ONE town ahead of me? A person tells me to
goto one town, and when I get there, they're not there, and I'm told
to goto another town. Game console RPGs will never do that to me.
They'll never lead me running around searching for someone I can't
catch. And why does the Guardian need the help of Batlin? I never
understood why an all powerful demon would need a human to help
him out.
Now, if you think of me as troller, keep in mind that I played Ultima
7 till it's conculsion. I expect a good ending, but was sorely
disappointed. Also, I could've used some title like "Ultima 8 is better
than Ultima 7" but I didn't. Even though though the Ultima 8
sucked, I did like the music on my scc-1.
One more thing before I'm finished with my ramblings, why the hell
is the box nothing but black. I mean come on people, are the artists
too lazy or something? I'm talking about the old box, not the new one.
I'm going to stick with game consoles. I like the graphics better.
I think I've said enough.
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