Michael Emrys Posted August 14, 2012 Share Posted August 14, 2012 I gave up on reading game reviews some years ago when it became increasingly apparent that the writers were shallow, self-involved narcissists incapable of perceiving much outside their own egos and the needs of those egos. If there is anyone in the industry I am being unjust to in saying that, I apologize; but it's just not worth the time and money to sift through all the dreck to find the one gem among them. Michael 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted August 14, 2012 Share Posted August 14, 2012 I wrote game reviews for Armchair General, so watch who you're lumping in with the dreck. But then I *am* a shallow, self-involved narcissist. I do think most game reviewers are trying to reach an audience, and to provide that audience with honest, fair reviews - sometimes they're just not particularly fair to the *games* when doing so. If you dislike a game for reasons you can't describe? You probably shouldn't be the one to review it. Pass on it. This Out of Eight guy isn't a terrible writer, and I've seen him deal with other games fairly. But in *this* case? He seems to have deliberately focused on the trees to miss the forest. The fact that he couldn't hide his negativity toward the game in-text and then gave a reasonable score... well, I think that he knows it's a good game in sum but for some reason chose to describe everything he dislikes about it. I'm sure he has his reasons for that, but I think it largely invalidates his review as an informative piece. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Emrys Posted August 14, 2012 Share Posted August 14, 2012 I've noticed a general rule about art—and game design is an art—and that is that the more excellent a piece is, the more glaring and disappointing any perceived flaws in it become. This also applies to many other areas in life. I suppose it has something to do with the way our brains are wired. Michael 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chek Posted August 14, 2012 Share Posted August 14, 2012 No, no, no. Rules: get yourself a bottle of Kossu. Start recording when you are halfway through the bottle. By the end of the video the bottle must be empty. I'd pay to see that 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chek Posted August 14, 2012 Share Posted August 14, 2012 I've noticed a general rule about art—and game design is an art—and that is that the more excellent a piece is, the more glaring and disappointing any perceived flaws in it become. This also applies to many other areas in life. I suppose it has something to do with the way our brains are wired. Michael You are (gulp) right Mr Emrys,this is art and great art is often controversial. For me this game is a masterpiece and when people start criticising...I mean critiquing it I start pulling what's left of my hair out and rant at the computer screen.I won't repeat what I say as I'm quitely confident it would result in an instant ban. Aside from the odd little dimple which one must expect in any manufacturing process(which of course only add character),this game is a flawless gem, a shining beacon in the wilderness of wargaming and that is my completely unbiased,balanced opinion. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeyD Posted August 14, 2012 Share Posted August 14, 2012 the more excellent a piece is, the more glaring and disappointing any perceived flaws in it become. In 3-D animation that's come to be known as the 'uncanny valley.' Where the art get you 98% to reality but something small like the immobile facial expressions or dolls eyes start to creep you out. Think the films 'Polar Express' and 'Beowulf'. Sends chills down your spine whatching those things. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Emrys Posted August 15, 2012 Share Posted August 15, 2012 Aside from the odd little dimple which one must expect in any manufacturing process(which of course only add character),this game is a flawless gem, a shining beacon in the wilderness of wargaming and that is my completely unbiased,balanced opinion. I'm not willing to go quite that far. I see it more as an otherwise attractive young woman who is wall eyed and snaggle toothed. Michael 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Battlefront.com Posted August 15, 2012 Share Posted August 15, 2012 We are often criticized by critics as not being able to take criticism (that's a sentence that won't win me literary praise!). That we don't want to have areas of the game that could use improvement highlighted and suggestions made for improvement. This is the single biggest factually incorrect statement tossed at us regularly over the years no matter how many times I point out the hundreds of features that have been included/improved due to user criticism/suggestion. Simply put, Combat Mission wouldn't be 1/10th as good as it is, as a whole product, without the discussions we've had with you guys over the years. Sure, we disagree with specific criticisms/suggestions, but that's our right as game designers to do that. I think deep down you guys know that if we blindly adopted whatever whims are put forward by customers that CM would be a horrid product. If it even ran at more than 1fps The only thing we object to is being held to a standard which doesn't make any sense to be held to. Because at that point the opinion loses value. Opinions without value don't have a practical, positive purpose for anybody. Which means the more a review is unreasonable the less value the review has to its audience. I wish reviewers would keep that in mind. I'm not just talking about games, but anything which is worthy of review (TV shows, movies, consumer electronics, home appliances, etc). "This is an otherwise good freezer, but it would be better if it could flash freeze fresh produce so that it didn't get freezer burn". "As far as organic fertilizers go, this is the best. However my plants died and I think they should do something about that". So on and so forth. Holding us to standards that $200,000,000 budgeted games can't live up to is rather pointless. Glass half empty perspectives, in general, are less useful because nothing is perfect. That said, I don't think it's fair to judge Combat Mission against other wargames only. It's too small a niche to do that exclusively. Though I do think the emphasis of a wargame review should be on the game part and not the surrounding elements. CMBO's graphics and UI were comparatively worse than it's big budget peers of the day, but it's gameplay just as unique as current CM games are today. Fortunately we recognize this and that's why we continue to have success as a game company and as a wargame company. Steve 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Erwin Posted August 15, 2012 Share Posted August 15, 2012 And I would like to think that the majority of your fans/customers appreciate that, Steve. Others may simply not have the life experience to be aware of how hard it is to run a small company, to program AI, or program a game period with limited resources (and limited customer base). There's a reason that so many new RTS and multiplayer games exist - and that is because they don't have to develop a sophisticated AI - which has always been the #1 programming challenge for games that need to work vs the AI. What BF has accomplished in the last decade(!) of CM series is astonishing when you consider how many other small talented wargame developers have gone out of business. On a different note - on the heels of the Olympics - I would like to throw out a suggestion to officially recognize some of the talented modders and scenario designers who have helped make the CM series so vibrant and long-lived. I am thinking of an annual vote by members for the top modder and top scenario designer for the year per CM title. They would be recognized in a sticky forum with a list or category of mod types (or scenarios) they created. Clearly they are not motivated by money, and they already have the game, so BF wouldn't even need to give away copies... Maybe simply a certificate signed by you, Charles and the BF crew mailed to them. This would be cheap, simple and not time consuming. But, it would serve as an official "attaboy" to recognize, congratulate and applaud their volunteer efforts. To avoid perhaps a situation where the same person wins every year, in addition, we should also vote for other categories so that others may at least get their names on the "sticky" list. Hope someone can improve on this idea... 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sburke Posted August 15, 2012 Share Posted August 15, 2012 We are often criticized by critics as not being able to take criticism (that's a sentence that won't win me literary praise!). That we don't want to have areas of the game that could use improvement highlighted and suggestions made for improvement. This is the single biggest factually incorrect statement tossed at us regularly over the years no matter how many times I point out the hundreds of features that have been included/improved due to user criticism/suggestion. Steve Oh yeah sure, there you go again talking about 'facts". Geez if we all stuck to facts we'd have had no invasion of Iraq to be able to then game out in CMSF. Facts just get in the way. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sburke Posted August 15, 2012 Share Posted August 15, 2012 I am thinking of an annual vote by members for the top modder and top scenario designer for the year per CM title. They would be recognized in a sticky forum with a list or category of mod types (or scenarios) they created. Hope someone can improve on this idea... I would assume by "modders" we include the folks who actually produce the models in the game, not just folks modding the finished game. You'd also definitely want categories otherwise I'd be stuck having to cheer for Mord and/or DC all the time as the unit mods are still my favorite. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Emrys Posted August 15, 2012 Share Posted August 15, 2012 Hope someone can improve on this idea... I think the winner should get a free night with an outrageously hot call girl. Heck, with that as the prize, I might just take up modding myself. Michael 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LongLeftFlank Posted August 15, 2012 Share Posted August 15, 2012 The silly season up in Port Townsend, is it then? A few days of sunshine making you all frisky? 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZPB II Posted August 15, 2012 Share Posted August 15, 2012 I think the prize should rather be something new and exciting that is a break from everyday life. Like a Weasel ride! 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Emrys Posted August 15, 2012 Share Posted August 15, 2012 I think the prize should rather be something new and exciting that is a break from everyday life. So you're saying that outrageously hot call girls are just a part of the daily grind for you? Boy, when you Finns get to bragging you know no limits do you? Michael 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Erwin Posted August 15, 2012 Share Posted August 15, 2012 sburke: Did not mean to steal any of your thunder. But, I have assumed that you get paid and get mentioned in the credits. I'm thinking of the unpaid volunteers like Aris, who put in (how many?) man-months into improving nearly every vehicle and the terrain. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sburke Posted August 15, 2012 Share Posted August 15, 2012 sburke: Did not mean to steal any of your thunder. But, I have assumed that you get paid and get mentioned in the credits. I'm thinking of the unpaid volunteers like Aris, who put in (how many?) man-months into improving nearly every vehicle and the terrain. Paid? LOL Yeah in my dreams. I did get a copy of CMFI, but I had already bought one and I'd have contributed what little help I was able to without that anyway. As it is my free copy is going to someone else who I am hoping to get more interested in the Italian theatre as well as time in with the mapping tools before they are applied to CMBN. Getting mentioned in the credits just makes me one more person folks can blame if they find something in the game that blows their immersion "sburke how the hell did you miss that!" I think it was Steve and Charles' way of getting back at me for some of their fictional dialogue I wrote. Wait did I say fictional? 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Erwin Posted August 16, 2012 Share Posted August 16, 2012 Well then you are definitely a candidate. I'll check at WeBoB as they have a neat Poll Forum than might be usable as a voting method. If people want to nominate candidates I'll be happy to start making a list. Since volunteers have always done so much to improve the CM games, it seems like an appropriate way to say "thanks". 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sburke Posted August 16, 2012 Share Posted August 16, 2012 Well then you are definitely a candidate. I'll check at WeBoB as they have a neat Poll Forum than might be usable as a voting method. If people want to nominate candidates I'll be happy to start making a list. Since volunteers have always done so much to improve the CM games, it seems like an appropriate way to say "thanks". I already got my thanks and it consists of an incredible amount of material we can expect from BF over the next year (and years after that). I swear it is like Christmas coming every few months. however if you are thinking of categories and candidates, I have a few to suggest. User Interface Artwork Jean-Vincent Roy 3D Models Dan Olding Animations and Models Cassio Lima 2D Art Dan Olding Mike Duplessis Marco Bergman Florian Schroeder Fernando J. Carrera Buil Christopher Nelson Michael Andersson Cover Art Jean-Vincent Roy Music Daniel Sadowski Konstantin Savin Constantin Cat Quick Battles Michael Andersson Mark Ezra Tutorial Christopher Nelson Stephen Grammont Campaign Designers Max von Bargen Christopher Nelson Jon Sowden Scenario Designers Kip Anderson Alan K. Davis Stephen Grammont Anthony Hinds Jon Martina Jari Mikkonen Christopher Nelson Kari Salo Peter Wenman Jurrie van der Zwaan Martin van Balkom 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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