Change for changes sake??

ZombieTron's picture
Submitted by ZombieTron on Fri, 01/23/2009 - 16:39

OK, OK, I know more new stuff announced for Paradise so it's time for me to have another moan!

Sorry Criterion, please don't take this personally, but seriously... what are you guys doing???

OK, I understand that 95% of BP owners haven't completed the game, so maybe all of the changes are a way to try to get that figure up. But, did you ever consider that those players haven't completed the game not because it's too difficult, but because it's just not that good?

I say this because for me, the offline single player game is the easiest game I have ever completed. I completed it quicker then any game I have ever completed before. I got a full 1000 gamerscore which is exceedingly rare for me. And I only had to redo a handful of the events.

None of the reviews I have read or comments I have seen in the countless forums I have discussed Paradise in have complained about the offline game being too difficult.

So Why Make it Easier now??

This isn't even my main complaint right now.. as I have already completed the game, so the stuff that dumbs down the offline game doesn't concern me.... but the changes to the Stunt Run timer, and the changes to Barrel Rolls makes me worry about how much fun it will be to play online after the update is released.

The Stunt Run pie will be slower at the beginning of a stunt run, but will speed up as you get more multipliers. This sounds like it is actually going to make stunt runs a lot more difficult and going for super high stunt runs sounds like they will be harder to do as the pie will go quicker the more multipliers you have. Ofcourse this will be the same for everybody, but why change this? No-body was complaining about the stunt run pie not giving enough time before??

Hopefully CG know what they are doing and this change actually makes stunt runs more intense and fun... but it sounds like change for changes sake to me.

And dumbing down Barrel Rolls is really worrying! I feel like my quest for higher rolls is going to be a lot harder now, and single barrel rolls really weren't that hard to land before. Again, I don't remember anybody complaining about the impossible task of landing a single barrel roll. It does feel like every little bit of skill required has been removed.

Will the fact that multiple barrel rolls actually sound harder to do now mean Timed Challenges are less fun??

I know I should reserve judgement until after I actually experience the changes. But I just don't understand why CG are changing things that no-one has ever complained about, and not changing the things that really need changing to encourage that 95% to complete the game. A Fog Switch would be a great help to all those who are trying to complete the game post-Bike pack, and a rotating GPS or the option to have a rotating mini-map instead of a static one would also help.

OK so there is my two cents, Please let me know what you think of the changes...

Comments

ZombieTron's picture

ZombieTron

Fri, 01/23/2009 - 16:54

I am really looking forward to seeing the changes to the night time visuals!  

kevlar0's picture

kevlar0

Fri, 01/23/2009 - 18:25

I'm really really looking forward to shiny fog, that will be just great.

Can anybody else think of ways to dumb down Paradise??

He's not the messiah, he's a very naughty boy.

Abernyte's picture

Abernyte

Fri, 01/23/2009 - 19:10

I suppose the changes to stunt run and road rage could be viewed as a means of making the game more challenging for more experienced players but I have to agree, why? I can't remember hearing anyone talk about that being a problem.

As for the barrel roll change I can see where this would make stunt runs easier as you could avoid a fair amount of wrecks when attempting barrel rolls but again I don't think I've ever heard anyone complain about this.

What I do hear everytime I'm in a freeburn room is people complaining about the fog. I think many people feel that it really hurts the game experience, especially when it doesn't sync up properly between players. Yes the effect is impressive but so is nightime - and we can shut that off. Hopefully we'll see an on/off function for the fog in the future.

I guess my point, assuming I have one, is that they seem to have addressed issues that I don't thing many players viewed as problems and have not yet addressed issues that a lot of people are bothered by.

Regarding the appearance of the billboards, warning lights etc. assuming it hasn't changed since I saw them in September then I think most, although certainly not all, people will be pleased with that change.

The changes to the junkyard do sound very promising.

 

ZombieTron's picture

ZombieTron

Fri, 01/23/2009 - 19:58

I just tried some ranked races again, haven't done that for ages! And now I remember why...

Before each race there is a run down of the whole grid showing how many times people have played or what their ranks are or how many rivals they have. I really don't want to sit through 7 car shots each race! It is super tedious!! And a lot of the time this lasts longer then the race itself!!!!

Why didn't CG remove this? it is really annoying.

Also, I want to keep the car I selected for the race, why does it change back to my freeburn car? It means I have to try to drive to a junk yard in a different car which handles differently before the next race starts which I don't have time to do.. I really want to just have the option to stay in my race car without having to go to a junk yard again.

And put in a fricking Fog switch!

ZombieTron's picture

ZombieTron

Fri, 01/23/2009 - 20:14

OK so I just watched the Crash TV Podcast episode 21 and it made me feel a bit better about the changes. Night Time looks a zillion times better (although maybe still not quite perfect). And hearing the explanations for some of the changes helps, and that the Stunt run pie wont go quicker then it does now... phew!

They didn't talk about the Barrel Roll changes, so I guess I will have to wait and see on that one to see if I can still pull off the types of Barrel Roll's I was doing before.

I hope the handling really is improved... who knows maybe after the 6th of February Paradise will feel more like Burnout!

Chu's picture

Chu

Sat, 01/24/2009 - 06:51

I'd like to get a little angry about this, but I really like CG and am going to stay hopeful. As long as my Togue hasn't changed, I won't really care about the other useless changes.

ZombieTron's picture

ZombieTron

Sat, 01/24/2009 - 13:14

I really hope the changes have been thought about and will make Burnout Paradise a better game.

When we first heard about the Party Pack, my first thought was that my mates wont be able to pull off a Barrel Roll on their first attempt, so it does make sense to have single Barrel Rolls easier to do as it will make the Party Pack more satisfying and fair.

Improved night time visuals are an absolute must! I did some ranked racing yesterday, all in night time, and I struggled to know where I was at times, as the navigation of Paradise is based on being able to see landmarks, this update is truly, very welcome.

Having had a look around the other Burnout forums, my knee jerk reaction was shared by most posters, but I think that it is an over reaction and the changes actually don't sound all bad.

I like the sound of the handling changes as it seems less easy to crash so a bit more forgiving. I always thought BP wants you to crash more then not, so I think this change is a good thing. Although the crashes look spectacular, you really don't want to be forced into a crash when you feel like you should have been able to avoid it.

So, sorry for being so negative yesterday. Hopefully all of the changes are positive ones. I will let you know what I think after the update!

Abernyte's picture

Abernyte

Sat, 01/24/2009 - 14:15

Having seen the podcast and given this some further thought I guess my take on it now is that most or all of these changes will help newer players. Having played this game for close to a year it is easy to forget how frustrating some of the stuff could be early on. Further there are a ton of new players out there - pretty much everytime I go into a random freeburn room I have more challenges done then everyone else combined and I haven't done all the challenges - and I suppose it could be a bit intimidating for them to go online.

That said, the way these changes have been implemented seems to needlessly impact some of the long time players.

Revised Handling - Rather than modify existing cars, perhaps introduce new versions with the easier handling and better strength. You accomplish the same goal without adversely impacting anyone who loves the existing cars as is.

Tweaking barrel rolls - I'll have to wait and see on this. Certainly makes it easier to do your first one. Until I try it out I don't know how this will effect multiples.

Road Rage - Have to say this is the one change that I don't think does anything for new players - just limits the higher scores. Can't really see why this was necessary.

Stunt Run - I'm really not clear on how this will work. If the stunt run timer starts out slower and then gets faster up to the point where it is the same speed it is now then that makes sense - helpful to new players, no adverse impact on the veterans. If it just keeps getting faster then you're just limiting high scores.

Junkyard - Sounds good to me. Looking forward to see how this actually works.

Visuals - As I said in an earlier post, I think most people will like this.

Restarts - I don't need it but it doesn't hurt the game for me in any way. If other people want it more power to them.

Overall I guess we (I) need to remember that those of us who read/write these posts are, for the most part, the hard core fans. For CG / EA to succeed they need to maintain the influx of players into the game, including the casual player. The fact is we are only a fraction of the games users, and therefore a fraction of the revenue stream. In the end it's the new players' money that will pay for the next edition of Burnout be it a variation of Paradise or more along the lines of Revenge or Takedown. So as much as we may not like some or all of these changes we may well benefit from them indirectly in the end.

That said, WHERE IS MY FOG SWITCH AAAARRRRRGGGGGHHHHHH!

 

Evasion-Lv6's picture

Evasion-Lv6

Sun, 01/25/2009 - 21:23

I was a bit pissed off at first but after thinking about it more i don't think any of the changes will bother me except for slowing the cavalry down, every car should be able to do every race or challenege imo but some cars are harder to do this than others for obvious reasons, but what about barrel roll through the hoop in the cavalry after th 6th or taking the jump onto the i-88 after the fishmarket on the I-88 burn it just about had the speed to do those tasks as it was

I understand the changes are for the newer players to feel more intune more quickly but there's still no fog switch i see that as being a bigger obstacle to newer players than a cars speed or handling, the cavalry was a great alrounder and could complete the game without needing to change car i wonder if this will still be possible after the 6th