(02-06-2014, 11:51 AM)Geredis Wrote: Arakash, don't get me wrong, I completely agree with you that, as the descriptions currently stand, they are terrible, and I'd agree also that my engine description was perhaps a little too generous in the information that it provides. I'd say though that the crux of it all, that we should have more commentary of that sort - obviously improved from where it is right now - and in more areas is a good, even necessary, thing to help keep everyone from having to constantly play a number comparison game any and every time they want to check things out.
Now, regarding the Monthly, I agree that to a degree it is buggy - but, I rather like that it's got such strange parameters. What you, as a designer, or you as a manufacturer might see in a design is not always what the consumer sees, and I see the Monthly as being the main way to get inside the head of the consumer, so I'd say that while there too needs to be room for improvement (namely with its adjectives coming from a relative instead of absolute scale, that looks at other vehicles in the market and in the same class), that doesn't mean it shouldn't be added in some fashion going forward.
Personally im not bothered at all by a numbers game, i play a lot of numbers heavy strategy games(Eador and Dominions for instance) and even hardcore wargames(Hearts of Iron, up to crazy games like War in the East) which other people don't touch.
Different perspectives and different games for different people i suppose. Nothing wrong with that
On the Gearcity Monthly
Just for reference, mostly to Eric, i tried to make sure to mention in my first post that i was aware that the current form of the Gearcity magazine wasn't what was going to be in the final product (its under development). So i hope there wasn't any confusion on that.
Onto the information you get, generally i like to receive clear, concise and useful information from an interface, i consider it a pretty high priority in game design though im obviously not a game designer myself.
I see your point about generally getting unclear information from consumer articles.
I think that is something you could add in later, with different magazines giving you different and perhaps biased feedback.
For now, id just like to get some quality and informative feedback that takes into account competitors and tells you things you cant see from a glance at the vehicle stats.
e.g.
"This vehicle is heavier than most on the Market"
"This vehicle is underpowered for its weight compared to others on the market"
"This Vehicle fails to meet the high standards of Comfort and Luxury set by others on the market"
"While a high quality vehicle, this Compact Car will likely not be popular due to its low fuel economy compared to others on the market"
"The reliable V420 engine is highly regarded in the community, the vehicle is bound to be more popular from the engine alone"
"The low safety record of the most recent Company 1 offerings is likely to mean this Sedan will never reach the popularity it may have done normally"
"This vehicle, with a modern Gearbox and Engine, is brought down by the outdated and overused Chassis 1 design. Its popularity will likely suffer as a result."
"This vehicle has recieved a lot of positive press for using the VSuper engine, which has been used to win 14 consecutive Championships."
"The performance racing teams of Company 1 have raised the anticipation for this new Performance Sportscar design"
(ok, so i went a little overboard with that example list
)You pointed out that the current systems are likely to be improved, so having more of them shouldn't be dismissed on that basis alone.
I still remain lukewarm and somewhat somewhat pessimistic about it, probably because i think i perceive there to be larger problems with the current implementation than you seem to. Again, as i said earlier, different people, different perspectives, nothing wrong with that.