First, some relevant background so you're aware of where I'm coming from:
I'm not a member of the older generation(s) of gamers that the article talks about, although it does raise some valid points. Compared to them, I'm quite young. But I do suffer from some of the same issues that they encounter over time. I have a problem in my hands, which I have alluded to in some other threads--I'm not sure if it affects the tendons at the base of my fingers, or something else. But, basically, my fingers are incredibly stiff and I am unable to move them independently. Sometimes their individual segments will snap out (this is called trigger finger) if I try. Only my index fingers, and in some cases, my right thumb, are actually good enough to do anything dextrous like pressing buttons. Typing correctly is impossible--I use a well-practiced hunting-and-pecking system.
My reaction time is relatively poor. I grew up on the Sega Genesis (Sonic the Hedgehog, Lion King, etc), and then moved to the original PlayStation. I was able to play these games quite well, even with only two fingers to use on the controller. I have experiences with platformers, like Ratchet and Clank or Crash Bandicoot, so I know how to react when it comes to moving or jumping out of the way.
But typically, that doesn't translate well to MMOs. Because of the way WoW calculates its jumps, for example, you can't jump out of fire--you don't stop taking damage in the air. "Fire" or ooze is alright if it doesn't kill you after one second, or if there's a few seconds of advanced warning (ARR does this very well with the red circles, lag notwithstanding.)
Things on the floor shouldn't be the only way of testing player skill in combat, although other mechanics tend not to go over well with large, uncoordinated random groups. I didn't level up enough to test ARR's dungeons, and I won't lie--I was quite afraid to.
I briefly played TERA, but not enough to fully judge it at higher levels of difficulty. (I almost finished the 1-15 start zone, for reference.) I had no problems playing the game during that easy zone and actually quite liked the reticle system and the ability to dodge relatively quickly. But I realize that, since it was still relatively dependent on being able to hit a lot of abilities (and the number keys) it could have very well gotten to be too much for me in the later levels, as WoW did in 4.0 and 5.0 raids.
Action-combat systems have some good ideas. They can be fun, if they aren't too twitchy. It would be nice if reticle-style targeting could be added, for instance, but doing so as an option would probably be difficult to maintain--and it might create schisms and arguments between users of both systems, just like some people discriminate against gamepad users on other forums for this game. Since ARR is aiming to reach a lot of people, (including, as one person said, the older players in Japan,) and since the game is trying to be a "traditional" MMO with FF flavor, it makes sense for them to keep "tab" targeting though. The slower combat is vaguely reminiscent of the older FF games, even though there are CDs measured in seconds or minutes.Â
The "target nearest" function that the X button provides is comfortable, and may be better than having to always aim a reticle, as allgivenover said--even though it can get difficult with many targets. Put simply, I like the combat the way it is, even if soloing at low levels is sometimes a bit simplistic. On the first beta character I made, I had a lot of fun during some of the solo duties.
I don't want to have to constantly circle-strafe as I did in Guild Wars 2. Hopefully analog sticks will help.
I'm not a member of the older generation(s) of gamers that the article talks about, although it does raise some valid points. Compared to them, I'm quite young. But I do suffer from some of the same issues that they encounter over time. I have a problem in my hands, which I have alluded to in some other threads--I'm not sure if it affects the tendons at the base of my fingers, or something else. But, basically, my fingers are incredibly stiff and I am unable to move them independently. Sometimes their individual segments will snap out (this is called trigger finger) if I try. Only my index fingers, and in some cases, my right thumb, are actually good enough to do anything dextrous like pressing buttons. Typing correctly is impossible--I use a well-practiced hunting-and-pecking system.
My reaction time is relatively poor. I grew up on the Sega Genesis (Sonic the Hedgehog, Lion King, etc), and then moved to the original PlayStation. I was able to play these games quite well, even with only two fingers to use on the controller. I have experiences with platformers, like Ratchet and Clank or Crash Bandicoot, so I know how to react when it comes to moving or jumping out of the way.
But typically, that doesn't translate well to MMOs. Because of the way WoW calculates its jumps, for example, you can't jump out of fire--you don't stop taking damage in the air. "Fire" or ooze is alright if it doesn't kill you after one second, or if there's a few seconds of advanced warning (ARR does this very well with the red circles, lag notwithstanding.)
Things on the floor shouldn't be the only way of testing player skill in combat, although other mechanics tend not to go over well with large, uncoordinated random groups. I didn't level up enough to test ARR's dungeons, and I won't lie--I was quite afraid to.
I briefly played TERA, but not enough to fully judge it at higher levels of difficulty. (I almost finished the 1-15 start zone, for reference.) I had no problems playing the game during that easy zone and actually quite liked the reticle system and the ability to dodge relatively quickly. But I realize that, since it was still relatively dependent on being able to hit a lot of abilities (and the number keys) it could have very well gotten to be too much for me in the later levels, as WoW did in 4.0 and 5.0 raids.
Action-combat systems have some good ideas. They can be fun, if they aren't too twitchy. It would be nice if reticle-style targeting could be added, for instance, but doing so as an option would probably be difficult to maintain--and it might create schisms and arguments between users of both systems, just like some people discriminate against gamepad users on other forums for this game. Since ARR is aiming to reach a lot of people, (including, as one person said, the older players in Japan,) and since the game is trying to be a "traditional" MMO with FF flavor, it makes sense for them to keep "tab" targeting though. The slower combat is vaguely reminiscent of the older FF games, even though there are CDs measured in seconds or minutes.Â
The "target nearest" function that the X button provides is comfortable, and may be better than having to always aim a reticle, as allgivenover said--even though it can get difficult with many targets. Put simply, I like the combat the way it is, even if soloing at low levels is sometimes a bit simplistic. On the first beta character I made, I had a lot of fun during some of the solo duties.
I don't want to have to constantly circle-strafe as I did in Guild Wars 2. Hopefully analog sticks will help.
