.com.unity Forums
  The Official e-Store of Shrapnel Games

This Month's Specials

BCT Commander- Save $8.00
winSPWW2- Save $5.00

   







Go Back   .com.unity Forums > Digital Eel > Weird Worlds: Return to Infinite Space

 
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
  #1  
Old January 5th, 2006, 12:01 AM

PrismRa PrismRa is offline
Private
 
Join Date: Jan 2006
Posts: 3
Thanks: 0
Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts
PrismRa is on a distinguished road
Default Why no stats?

Where can i find stats in the game about the quality of a weapon, or shield or see if a weapon deflects missiles etc?
  #2  
Old January 5th, 2006, 03:15 PM

nihilix nihilix is offline
Corporal
 
Join Date: Jul 2005
Location: St. Paul, Minnesota
Posts: 158
Thanks: 0
Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts
nihilix is on a distinguished road
Default Re: Why no stats?

They're not in the game. The game likes you to figure out these things for yourself.

But if you go outside the game, you can open up the .ini files (which is what you change when you're modding) and you find all sorts of things laid out for you - like weapon and shield stats.
  #3  
Old January 6th, 2006, 06:03 AM

PrismRa PrismRa is offline
Private
 
Join Date: Jan 2006
Posts: 3
Thanks: 0
Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts
PrismRa is on a distinguished road
Default Re: Why no stats?

It seems like a concious decision on the part of the developer. Any of the devs or people in the know care to comment as to why?
  #4  
Old January 6th, 2006, 03:32 PM

nihilix nihilix is offline
Corporal
 
Join Date: Jul 2005
Location: St. Paul, Minnesota
Posts: 158
Thanks: 0
Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts
nihilix is on a distinguished road
Default Re: Why no stats?

I've been a Fearless Tester for both this game and the original SAIS, so I'd guess I'm somewhat in the know...

This game - Wierd Worlds - is great, but it's not deep. There's simple things you do, there are a lot but a limited number of items you can have, only so many enemies. It's like a solitaire game, kind of - same deck, shuffled and you get certian things sometimes and others at other times.

Anyway, a game that takes between 5 to 45 minutes to play is helped when it has something in it that is not immediately apparent... something that it takes you a while to discover.

So that's part of the reason that the weapons and shields and devices and stuff aren't explicitly laid out. Because it takes you a while to discover - oh, that the Sardion Optimizer, in addition to making your weapons hit more often, also increases your fire rate. That the beam that the Urluquai use has a long firing time, and that's useful to blow up incoming missiles. What the Melodium Conograph does. (Have you figured that out yet? Did you laugh?)

Another reason is because it kind of messes with the flavor of the game to have some things laid out for you. You can read the shield descriptions and get some idea of what is better than what - 'adequate' is not as good as 'superior'. But to have it all laid out - fire rate, damage per second, antimissile yes/no - would make it feel different.

The designers played paper wargames, the old Avalon Hills etc. and that's what is under the combat game here. But you don't have to see it to run in it.

So that's the choice that was made. Fingers or Zdim may also chime in on it, but I'm pretty sure I've hit the main reasons.
  #5  
Old January 7th, 2006, 05:32 PM

ZylonBane ZylonBane is offline
Private
 
Join Date: Nov 2005
Posts: 28
Thanks: 0
Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts
ZylonBane is on a distinguished road
Default Re: Why no stats?

"Replayability through obscurity", eh?
  #6  
Old January 11th, 2006, 02:09 AM
Brainiac4's Avatar

Brainiac4 Brainiac4 is offline
Corporal
 
Join Date: Jun 2005
Location: Scenic Maplewood, MN
Posts: 184
Thanks: 0
Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts
Brainiac4 is on a distinguished road
Default Re: Why no stats?

Kind of.

Another Fearless Tester chiming it.

It is a deliberate decision. I asked for more numbers, or at least more indications of relative strength, multiple times during the early testing phases and got turned down. They did add the coin values to items as a nod to relative strength indication -- comparing two drives or weapons and seeing that one is rated at 1 coin and the other at 3 is a fairly good indication which one is better.
  #7  
Old January 26th, 2006, 02:34 PM
Ripcord O'Reilly's Avatar

Ripcord O'Reilly Ripcord O'Reilly is offline
Corporal
 
Join Date: Oct 2003
Location: Kirkland, WA
Posts: 187
Thanks: 0
Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts
Ripcord O'Reilly is on a distinguished road
Default Re: Why no stats?

Use your formidable powers of observation. Read the descriptions. Watch combat closely. Listen to combat sounds closely. Nearly everything you need to know is there, and these things become more and more apparent with subsequent plays.
  #8  
Old February 6th, 2006, 01:19 AM
Brainiac4's Avatar

Brainiac4 Brainiac4 is offline
Corporal
 
Join Date: Jun 2005
Location: Scenic Maplewood, MN
Posts: 184
Thanks: 0
Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts
Brainiac4 is on a distinguished road
Default Re: Why no stats?

That there would be one of the devs talking, so I think it's safe to conclude that yes, it's a deliberate choice.
 

Bookmarks

Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is On

Forum Jump


All times are GMT -4. The time now is 11:53 AM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.1
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.
Copyright ©1999 - 2024, Shrapnel Games, Inc. - All Rights Reserved.