So... wtf is that ending? [Spoilers]

[chicken]

Why did they leave it so open like that? What the hell. Is this how they are unofficially announcing a Sub3? Or are they just trying to piss people off?

Just to rant but why is this game so hand holdy? It is like BZ just assumes the player is an idiot. The original has no thoughts of the player at all and that’s awesome.

[[BHA] Parazac]

having just finished the game, i can honestly say this is the most mediocre game i have played in a long time.

we just have to face facts, they may have talent for making a game but not for story writing.

[Paladin Two-Seven]

We told them to stop, we tried but they kept on forcing the game through production hell.
Almost everyone who followed and witnessed the devastation left a long time ago.

[Fluffy Bunny]

Why would the ending piss anyone off?
The original does hold your hand a bit until maybe mid-game. I actually thought near the end of SN1 it would have been nice to have more direction. If I didn't know there were 2 bases in the lava zone when I first played, I would have left assuming I had thoroughly explored it. It took hours wandering around in the PRAWN until I finally found 1 of them.

[Mansen]

Originally posted by vivy:

Why did they leave it so open like that?

Because it fits the game, the genre and it is literally how the first one ended as well. On a completely open note.

[Fluffy Bunny]

Originally posted by BHA Parazac:

we just have to face facts, they may have talent for making a game but not for story writing.

They hired an award winning game story writer to write the script.

[que]

Originally posted by Fluffy Bunny:

Originally posted by BHA Parazac:

we just have to face facts, they may have talent for making a game but not for story writing.

They hired an award winning game story writer to write the script.

Here it's shown that the awards don't say everything.

[Fluffy Bunny]

Originally posted by Paladin Two-Seven:

We told them to stop, we tried but they kept on forcing the game through production hell.
Almost everyone who followed and witnessed the devastation left a long time ago.

Told them to stop what? You tried what?
I suspect a part of the "production hell" came from listening too much to the trolls continuously telling them they hated everything they were doing, so felt they had to keep fixing what was already fine. They hated the first voice actress and her accent so they got another, then they hated the new one and lambasted them for getting rid of the old one, hated that Robin was not being serious enough, then later hated that she was too serious, then hated that she wasn't serious enough again, hated the sister, hated that there were women in the game, hated the first story iteration, then the second, then the third, hated everything new that was added, criticised that the game was too different from the first, criticised that the game was too similar, etc.
I don't blame them for getting confused listening to all the morons, and wish they had ignored them completely. The end product probably would have arrived sooner, better quality and more like their initial vision.

[Andreas]

Originally posted by Fluffy Bunny:

Originally posted by BHA Parazac:

we just have to face facts, they may have talent for making a game but not for story writing.

They hired an award winning game story writer to write the script.

She's not going to win any awards for this "story".

[chicken]

Originally posted by Fluffy Bunny:

Why would the ending piss anyone off?
The original does hold your hand a bit until maybe mid-game. I actually thought near the end of SN1 it would have been nice to have more direction. If I didn't know there were 2 bases in the lava zone when I first played, I would have left assuming I had thoroughly explored it. It took hours wandering around in the PRAWN until I finally found 1 of them.

Mostly because it's a kick in the balls. You go through 75% of the game forced to helping Al-An and there's nothing to show for it at the end. What do you truly gain out of helping him? What was the point? A 3 minute space building cut-scene, the left "to your interpretation" worries about a civilization the story does an awful job of making you care for?

I don't hate the game at all but the Story was truly a slap to the face.

[TheGraveDigger]

Originally posted by Fluffy Bunny:

Originally posted by Paladin Two-Seven:

We told them to stop, we tried but they kept on forcing the game through production hell.
Almost everyone who followed and witnessed the devastation left a long time ago.

Told them to stop what? You tried what?
I suspect a part of the "production hell" came from listening too much to the trolls continuously telling them they hated everything they were doing, so felt they had to keep fixing what was already fine. They hated the first voice actress and her accent so they got another, then they hated the new one and lambasted them for getting rid of the old one, hated that Robin was not being serious enough, then later hated that she was too serious, then hated that she wasn't serious enough again, hated the sister, hated that there were women in the game, hated the first story iteration, then the second, then the third, hated everything new that was added, criticised that the game was too different from the first, criticised that the game was too similar, etc.
I don't blame them for getting confused listening to all the morons, and wish they had ignored them completely. The end product probably would have arrived sooner, better quality and more like their initial vision.

they didn't get rid of the voice actresses because people hated them, the voice actresses were unavailable at the time

[Big Bozzles]

Originally posted by Fluffy Bunny:

If I didn't know there were 2 bases in the lava zone when I first played, I would have left assuming I had thoroughly explored it.

I agree that some locations in both games are meant to be hidden and difficult to find. I think the difference here though is that in SB1 the layout of areas are fairly open and pathways into deeper or adjacent areas are noticeable enough given a little time spent there.

Whereas in BZ the vast majority of locations are tight cramped enclosures with many paths jutting off in different directions. I constantly found myself needing to look up coordinates to find a location the game had already given me a marker to find and still had trouble locating the exact hole I had to go through to weave back to the spot I was actually looking for.

I admit if I didn't already know much of the original game before I played it, I would've had more trouble finding things than I did. But in BZ there were so many times that I would hit a dead end, only to find the marker I was trying to get to was under 100m just beyond a wall or just below me which was incredibly frustrating.

[Fluffy Bunny]

Originally posted by TheGraveDigger:

Originally posted by Fluffy Bunny:

Told them to stop what? You tried what?
I suspect a part of the "production hell" came from listening too much to the trolls continuously telling them they hated everything they were doing, so felt they had to keep fixing what was already fine. They hated the first voice actress and her accent so they got another, then they hated the new one and lambasted them for getting rid of the old one, hated that Robin was not being serious enough, then later hated that she was too serious, then hated that she wasn't serious enough again, hated the sister, hated that there were women in the game, hated the first story iteration, then the second, then the third, hated everything new that was added, criticised that the game was too different from the first, criticised that the game was too similar, etc.
I don't blame them for getting confused listening to all the morons, and wish they had ignored them completely. The end product probably would have arrived sooner, better quality and more like their initial vision.

they didn't get rid of the voice actresses because people hated them, the voice actresses were unavailable at the time

Fair enough, but people still whined about the change in actress and change to a more serious tone despite asking for it. I remember the criticism saying she sounded emotionless and too old.

[Big Bozzles]

Originally posted by Fluffy Bunny:

Originally posted by Paladin Two-Seven:

I don't blame them for getting confused listening to all the morons, and wish they had ignored them completely. The end product probably would have arrived sooner, better quality and more like their initial vision.

I can't speak on critiques from early access as I wasn't engaged with the discussions back then, but I think that most critiques of the game after launch are fair.

As for the superficial complaints people have (women, Indian PDA, same sex relationships) I think that's just ridiculous to complain so much about. I think there are far more relevant issues that arose throughout the game that left me dissatisfied in the end.

The bulk of which revolve around the story. Which was half finished before the new writer came into the picture. Then rewritten to fit a new narrative. That alone wouldn't be an issue if the final product was well rounded, but in my opinion it wasn't.

The new story involves two plot lines that are poorly connected. Robin's main reason for arriving on the planet is to discover what happened to her sister. You can effectively end the game without ever realizing that truth, which in my mind is a huge flaw.

Just to kinda summarize my point here. It seems like there were many complaints throughout development of BZ. Yes, a lot might've been over the top, but some could've prevented big issues that still plague the game now that it's released if they were considered more.

[Weaver]

Originally posted by vivy:

Why did they leave it so open like that? What the hell. Is this how they are unofficially announcing a Sub3? Or are they just trying to piss people off?

Just to rant but why is this game so hand holdy? It is like BZ just assumes the player is an idiot. The original has no thoughts of the player at all and that’s awesome.

You mean exactly like the first one? You escape the planet and then are left in limbo without knowing what happens to Riley?

The game is no more hands holdy than the first game. The first game held your hand first with drop pods at every important location, then using the Sunbeam to hold your hand to find the Gun Island, then using the Degrasi GPS to hold your hand to later locations. It's exactly the same except with Al-An pointing out GPS locations instead.

[chicken]

Originally posted by Weaver:

Originally posted by vivy:

Why did they leave it so open like that? What the hell. Is this how they are unofficially announcing a Sub3? Or are they just trying to piss people off?

Just to rant but why is this game so hand holdy? It is like BZ just assumes the player is an idiot. The original has no thoughts of the player at all and that’s awesome.

You mean exactly like the first one? You escape the planet and then are left in limbo without knowing what happens to Riley?

The game is no more hands holdy than the first game. The first game held your hand first with drop pods at every important location, then using the Sunbeam to hold your hand to find the Gun Island, then using the Degrasi GPS to hold your hand to later locations. It's exactly the same except with Al-An pointing out GPS locations instead.

It isn’t like the first one though. Ryley found a cure to a civilization killing disease. He built his own rocket and made it home. Sure we don’t know if he’s in jail or a big wig in Altera. But at least, for what we needed to do in the game, achieved closure for it all. We solved our purpose and was rewarded with what we should have been rewarded with.

In BZ there is no closure or reward. We spend 75% of the game helping some random alien and for what? You can literally finish the game without ever knowing what happens to your sister and Robin doesn’t even care. Your sister becomes an actual side objective when she was supposed to be the plot. The direction of this story was bad.