Best and worst thing about Brighter Shores

[Jakob Fel]

Brighter Shores is somewhat of a polarizing game; some don't like it, but even the ones who do like it seem to have a few things they don't care for. As such, I'm curious what other people think:

What is your favorite thing, and your least favorite thing about Brighter Shores?

For me, my favorite thing is the sense of adventure/mystery that you just don't get with most modern MMOs. From the moment I created my character mere minutes after early access went live, I've felt that sense of newness, mystery and adventure that I felt early on in my RuneScape adventures, especially the days after Jagex re-opened Classic the first time, as I began RS in 2004 after Classic was originally closed. I've also played early days in a couple MMOs, most notably The Elder Scrolls Online (I was in the beta), but none of them feel quite as "new" and mysterious as Brighter Shores has.

My least favorite thing is the fact that it lacks any sort of sandbox roleplaying aspect (including lack of side content outside of the core loop). While I know it's not meant to be a sandbox MMO in the way RS is, the fact that I have little to no reason to chill and chat with other players, roam the world, get in-character with roleplaying and play side content a la minigames is a bit of a letdown. Fortunately, this can be improved with time.

What about the rest of you? Just give one favorite and one least favorite thing about Brighter Shores!

[Jakob Fel]

Publicado originalmente por Belt:

For me the worst part is logging on and the best part is logging off

Guess what: goofy replies like this ain't helping anyone.

[Omega Haxors]

Favorite: Agency given to you from forager. It's one of the few professions you can play wrong, but also one of the few you can play very very right. But the important thing is: you play it the way you want to, and that's awesome. Any time a game lets you loose in a sandbox to figure out the best way forward is always a great time for me.

Worst: Grotesque level gaps and some of the worst balancing I have seen in a video game. A few select methods are obscenely overpowered while others feel like they got nerfed because being below-average was still too strong for them. This leaves the game feeling way shallower than the sum of its parts, just from how much content you're outright skipping.

[Jakob Fel]

Publicado originalmente por Omega Haxors:

Favorite: Agency given to you from forager. It's one of the few professions you can play wrong, but also one of the few you can play very very right. But the important thing is: you play it the way you want to, and that's awesome.

Worst: Grotesque level gaps and some of the worst balancing I have seen in a video game. A few select methods are obscenely overpowered while others feel like they got nerfed because being below-average was still too strong for them. This leaves the game feeling way shallower than the sum of its parts, just from how much content you're outright skipping.

Yeah, the balancing is absolutely an issue. It also doesn't help that they ruin the pacing of the quests by not telling you the quest's skill requirements ahead of time, so the combo of the balancing issues and poor pacing really messes with the feel.

[Amor fati]

I don't have a favourite, its mostly just wasting time. Least favourite is that it feels souless and boring to play at this stage of the game

[Omega Haxors]

Publicado originalmente por Amor fati:

I don't have a favourite, its mostly just wasting time. Least favourite is that it feels souless and boring to play at this stage of the game

Game's only enjoyable if you yourself can match the soullessness of the gameplay, which is why it's only really popular among losers with nothing going on outside and stoners with nothing going on inside. Heard one guy say they're only playing because "they ruined OSRS by putting politics in it" which I think pretty much sums up the vapidness one needs to posses in order to play this game for any extended period of time.

[Celebeth]

I treat the game as a game that's in development. We're playing a framework, barely more than an engine. For that reason I can concur that there's not a whole lot in the gameplay that is there to be really enjoyed, at this very moment. But that will change, despite what the loudest voices on these forums will tell you.

The framework that does exist shows a lot of yet unfilfilled potentials.

I do like grinding, sandboxxy games in general, so that doesn't bother me. But many people come into this game with themeparky expectations. They compare this game to other, older games and expect the same features. When found lacking that they leave bad reviews.

Those people should return when the game gets released. And then answer the question from OP.

[Jakob Fel]

Publicado originalmente por Omega Haxors:

Publicado originalmente por Amor fati:

I don't have a favourite, its mostly just wasting time. Least favourite is that it feels souless and boring to play at this stage of the game

Game's only enjoyable if you yourself can match the soullessness of the gameplay, which is why it's only really popular among losers with nothing going on outside and stoners with nothing going on inside. Heard one guy say they're only playing because "they ruined OSRS by putting politics in it" which I think pretty much sums up the vapidness one needs to posses in order to play this game for any extended period of time.

Generalizations and insults are beta behavior. Know what else is beta behavior? Wasting time hanging around the forums of a game you claim to hate or not play.

Publicado originalmente por Celebeth:

I treat the game as a game that's in development. We're playing a framework, barely more than an engine. For that reason I can concur that there's not a whole lot in the gameplay that is there to be really enjoyed, at this very moment. But that will change, despite what the loudest voices on these forums will tell you.

The framework that does exist shows a lot of yet unfilfilled potentials.

I do like grinding, sandboxxy games in general, so that doesn't bother me. But many people come into this game with themeparky expectations. They compare this game to other, older games and expect the same features. When found lacking that they leave bad reviews.

Those people should return when the game gets released. And then answer the question from OP.

Well said and I agree entirely. It's an MMO made by a literally tiny team, it's not hyper-monetized, it's natural that it's going to take time. The fact is that they've already made concessions to improve the experience for the players, even though they clearly intended the game to go a different direction than what the critics want.

We're talking about a small studio run by a very player-first individual who just wants to make fun games. It'll take time but the roots are there and I'm patient; I might not subscribe until I feel it offers enough value for me to do so but I'm happy to present feedback and constructive criticism in hopes of helping Andrew and the Fen Research team improve the game.

And you're exactly right, these folks need to find something else to do with their time and come back later if they're this determined to ignore the purpose of threads like this in order to complain harder.

[FOOD]

Publicado originalmente por Jakob Fel:

Best and worst thing about Brighter Shores

The Best things are the Memes and the Copium.

The Worst things about Brighter Shores is Brighter Shores.

[Fogmoz]

My favorite thing? Playing the game. Mapping out an Episode for the first time, discovering all the nodes, making mental notes for potential quest objectives, feeling zen doing a chill loop or semi-afk skilling while watching videos, having random convos in a crafting hall, celebrating someone’s 500, or putting spreadsheets together. All good stuff.

Least favorite? This ‘discussion’ board. People actually giving feedback and suggestions is fine, but too often it’s people whining or making a new post about the same ♥♥♥♥ that’s already been hashed out ad nauseam. If that wasn’t bad enough, there’s the neet children with nothing better to do than attempt to troll with the same braindead replies when, if they had any self-awareness, they’d realize how pathetic it makes them look.

If you genuinely want to be part of the game’s community, join the Discord or Subreddit and watch as the little trolls desperate for attention try to tell you you’re coping as you leave them behind. 😂

[Ponder]

My favorite things are downvoting FenSamuel whenever he posts on the subreddit and hating on the game.

My least favorite thing is the game design. It's hard for me to understand how someone with no limit on time and money can create such a thoughtless, uninteresting, unfun design. Is this really their dream game? Do they even play it? But I will say that I enjoy the game's art and music, which has a unique charm.

[Amor fati]

Publicado originalmente por Ponder:

My favorite things are downvoting FenSamuel whenever he posts on the subreddit and hating on the game.

My least favorite thing is the game design. It's hard for me to understand how someone with no limit on time and money can create such a thoughtless, uninteresting, unfun design. Is this really their dream game? Do they even play it? But I will say that I enjoy the game's art and music, which has a unique charm.

FenSamuel doesnt post hating on the game? And i agree with you on the least favourite things on the game.

[Amor fati]

Publicado originalmente por Amor fati:

Publicado originalmente por Ponder:

My favorite things are downvoting FenSamuel whenever he posts on the subreddit and hating on the game.

My least favorite thing is the game design. It's hard for me to understand how someone with no limit on time and money can create such a thoughtless, uninteresting, unfun design. Is this really their dream game? Do they even play it? But I will say that I enjoy the game's art and music, which has a unique charm.

FenSamuel doesnt post hating on the game? And i agree with you on the least favourite things on the game.

Oh unless you meant your favourite is hating on the game lol

[Ponder]

Publicado originalmente por Amor fati:

Publicado originalmente por Amor fati:

FenSamuel doesnt post hating on the game? And i agree with you on the least favourite things on the game.

Oh unless you meant your favourite is hating on the game lol

Yea lol

[Tower Dove]

The last major patch was imho horrible. I though that it would be ok because they took their time. They managed to disjoint den monsters for no reason and then you are bound arbitrarily to 2 to 3 monsters that gives ok xp. In 35 years of gaming, I think it is the worse update I've seen in a game tbh :'). It's put on top of unadultered crap(the combat system which is an abheration) and it is arguably worse than combat itself.

Those people can't make games apparently.

[Jakob Fel]

Publicado originalmente por Fogmoz:

My favorite thing? Playing the game. Mapping out an Episode for the first time, discovering all the nodes, making mental notes for potential quest objectives, feeling zen doing a chill loop or semi-afk skilling while watching videos, having random convos in a crafting hall, celebrating someone’s 500, or putting spreadsheets together. All good stuff.

Least favorite? This ‘discussion’ board. People actually giving feedback and suggestions is fine, but too often it’s people whining or making a new post about the same ♥♥♥♥ that’s already been hashed out ad nauseam. If that wasn’t bad enough, there’s the neet children with nothing better to do than attempt to troll with the same braindead replies when, if they had any self-awareness, they’d realize how pathetic it makes them look.

If you genuinely want to be part of the game’s community, join the Discord or Subreddit and watch as the little trolls desperate for attention try to tell you you’re coping as you leave them behind. 😂

Your favorite is one of my favorites as well! Some of my favorite moments in the game were when I first entered Hopeforest and started exploring, not exactly knowing what was out there. It created a sense of mystery and exploration you don't often get with MMOs today!

And I'd also have to agree on your least favorite. I love forums, which is why I use Steam's discussion boards plenty. I am in the fan-made Brighter Shores Discord server but by and large, I don't enjoy long-term discussions in a chat service. Plus, I also don't care for how busy most larger Discord servers are; it's why I only log into Discord once or twice a month.

That being said, I agree that the community on this forum is atrocious. A lot of the replies here are evidence to that. They can't even be civil enough to list legitimate pros and cons because they don't care about the game, they're just here to complain and be miserable. It's pathetic behavior, to say the least.

Publicado originalmente por Ponder:

My favorite things are downvoting FenSamuel whenever he posts on the subreddit and hating on the game.

My least favorite thing is the game design. It's hard for me to understand how someone with no limit on time and money can create such a thoughtless, uninteresting, unfun design. Is this really their dream game? Do they even play it? But I will say that I enjoy the game's art and music, which has a unique charm.

I disagree but I appreciate that you actually understood the "assignment" unlike the many troll replies to this thread. I do think certain aspects of the game are definitely un-fun, but I also think the core of something special is there.

I also will say that I think Andrew would have done better to gather the fanbase earlier in development to get our ideas on how to create the sort of game most of us truly hoped for. Then again, I get his reasons for not doing so: he didn't want to just outright remake RuneScape. Problem is, RS did so many things right in its core design and leaving out certain aspects of that core design removes some of the fun factor.

For me, I was really hoping for a proper open world and very in-depth quests at the least, but the quests feel more like a means to an end here. Meanwhile, in RS, the quests feel equally as important as the skills, which is what makes that formula so appealing.

Publicado originalmente por Tower Dove:

The last major patch was imho horrible. I though that it would be ok because they took their time. They managed to disjoint den monsters for no reason and then you are bound arbitrarily to 2 to 3 monsters that gives ok xp. In 35 years of gaming, I think it is the worse update I've seen in a game tbh :'). It's put on top of unadultered crap(the combat system which is an abheration) and it is arguably worse than combat itself.

Those people can't make games apparently.

Personally, I really liked the patch but I understand that it does devalue some of the work that some people put into the episodes' combat skills. Also, I don't think the combat system is bad; I'd actually take it over the OSRS combat system, no joke. Then again, despite being a 20-year vet of RS, I actually was one of the few who genuinely preferred EoC over the classic combat system, but still.

I'd say that, much like other aspects of the game, the combat feels more in line with RSC in a lot of ways. RSC even required three turns to pass before you could retreat (which is roughly the amount of turns that pass before your Immunity spell finishes casting).

But similar to the reply I quoted above, I appreciate that you didn't just leave some stupid troll comment. I might not really agree in full but I respect that you actually cared enough to leave some proper feedback.