It was for long a deeply felt hope and dream that with a new game made from scratch, immersion would be really an important part of the experience this time. This wasn't a grounded dream as it seems:
1)They changed the city names and expanded the lore, all those things seemed to be evolving, and the only thing that comes to mind is. So what?! They made the lore totally forgettable and the player can't help but to feel uninvolved. You don't know or even care about each city, each settlement, and why should you? It doesnt have its own history, people's stories, spirit to draw from and immerse yourself in a studious exploration. Just generic dots on a map, that you don't give 2 cents about. No significance, no variety, no secrets to be found, no strategic dynamics to be utilised in game from the various local differences.
2)Which expands to the races themselves. Doesn't matter with whom you are or which region you visit. The bots are generic copies of one another, no character, no unique race cultural DNA, just a generic blend with the same mannerisms, ways and acting all around. No different diplomatic and personal consequences of interacting at an inter-factional level.
3)Marriage and creating alliances. Really it doesn't add any depth as one would imagine. No importance as to how AI treats your party in a region when you marry their princess, and in general no immersive repercussions of this union are to be seen. It's just a sterile way to pile up more points on a linear system. I'd dare to say even the courting systems of previous games i found them a little bit more interesting than that.
4)It's all about battle, but do you give a damn? Battle for what? Renown? Honor? Complex personal motives? A Hellen of troy? None of this really exists in this game. You can save your King like a newborn Leonidas, against impossible battle odds, and what do you get? A big fat nothing. either you save him with ease, or you dreadfully pour sweat and blood against an awe inspiring army, you either way get a pseudo pat on the shoulder and a sterile +1 relationship status no matter how big the sacrifice. No battles to leave a mark, to have an ingame historical significance, to be remembered, bards singing poems about them, to inspire great festivities when you return victorious to your city or to inspire enemies to pursue back with unprecedented fervor and awe. So its only battle for battle, to gather a few more money points and that's it. With no purpose, no meaning. The wars are so random and spontaneous and even if you clear an area after a hard fought battle no realistic dissipation of the tension exists for a significant amount of time.
5)You really need to disband a companion to make upgrade and customisation decisions about them. Instead of organically managing your party however you wanted while in your presence. And summoning your lords and recruits of course with a command when necessary not looking for them yourself. Was that all really necessary though? Instead of making customisation easier and more immersive we take steps back? Why?
6)The combat AI seems to have some improvements from WB but its no where near satisfactory or human level decisions rational. A whola lot of adjustments need to be made. It's very counterintuitive to see how they react in most clashing scenarios that unfold within a battle.
7)The smithing experience was a novel addition, thus one i really looked forward for but my oh my was i to be surprised. Not only its not blooming with an in depth intriguing tree of unlockable capabilities but its the least rewarding i could expect. And God oh God it is SO resource intense and demanding. Or the varying prices for objects of similar weapons like daggers and swords, why be so immense as if they belong to different worlds. Or the XP which is being gained in such an uneven way depending on the weapon perk you concentrate on. Did they try to balance it before release? I really don't know.
Certainly many more will come to mind as time comes but at the moment the brain is too numb from.... a crawling sense of dissapointment after such a long wait... . Let's hope future upgrades will at least slightly improve some of the game's issues.
1)They changed the city names and expanded the lore, all those things seemed to be evolving, and the only thing that comes to mind is. So what?! They made the lore totally forgettable and the player can't help but to feel uninvolved. You don't know or even care about each city, each settlement, and why should you? It doesnt have its own history, people's stories, spirit to draw from and immerse yourself in a studious exploration. Just generic dots on a map, that you don't give 2 cents about. No significance, no variety, no secrets to be found, no strategic dynamics to be utilised in game from the various local differences.
2)Which expands to the races themselves. Doesn't matter with whom you are or which region you visit. The bots are generic copies of one another, no character, no unique race cultural DNA, just a generic blend with the same mannerisms, ways and acting all around. No different diplomatic and personal consequences of interacting at an inter-factional level.
3)Marriage and creating alliances. Really it doesn't add any depth as one would imagine. No importance as to how AI treats your party in a region when you marry their princess, and in general no immersive repercussions of this union are to be seen. It's just a sterile way to pile up more points on a linear system. I'd dare to say even the courting systems of previous games i found them a little bit more interesting than that.
4)It's all about battle, but do you give a damn? Battle for what? Renown? Honor? Complex personal motives? A Hellen of troy? None of this really exists in this game. You can save your King like a newborn Leonidas, against impossible battle odds, and what do you get? A big fat nothing. either you save him with ease, or you dreadfully pour sweat and blood against an awe inspiring army, you either way get a pseudo pat on the shoulder and a sterile +1 relationship status no matter how big the sacrifice. No battles to leave a mark, to have an ingame historical significance, to be remembered, bards singing poems about them, to inspire great festivities when you return victorious to your city or to inspire enemies to pursue back with unprecedented fervor and awe. So its only battle for battle, to gather a few more money points and that's it. With no purpose, no meaning. The wars are so random and spontaneous and even if you clear an area after a hard fought battle no realistic dissipation of the tension exists for a significant amount of time.
5)You really need to disband a companion to make upgrade and customisation decisions about them. Instead of organically managing your party however you wanted while in your presence. And summoning your lords and recruits of course with a command when necessary not looking for them yourself. Was that all really necessary though? Instead of making customisation easier and more immersive we take steps back? Why?
6)The combat AI seems to have some improvements from WB but its no where near satisfactory or human level decisions rational. A whola lot of adjustments need to be made. It's very counterintuitive to see how they react in most clashing scenarios that unfold within a battle.
7)The smithing experience was a novel addition, thus one i really looked forward for but my oh my was i to be surprised. Not only its not blooming with an in depth intriguing tree of unlockable capabilities but its the least rewarding i could expect. And God oh God it is SO resource intense and demanding. Or the varying prices for objects of similar weapons like daggers and swords, why be so immense as if they belong to different worlds. Or the XP which is being gained in such an uneven way depending on the weapon perk you concentrate on. Did they try to balance it before release? I really don't know.
Certainly many more will come to mind as time comes but at the moment the brain is too numb from.... a crawling sense of dissapointment after such a long wait... . Let's hope future upgrades will at least slightly improve some of the game's issues.