Windows

Fallout: New Vegas

I just started playing it and already I'm finding an assortment of problems. Its like playing Kotor II all over again.

The greatest RPGs in history are always buggy.

I disagree with this statement. While this is true for many great RPG there are many notable exceptions, e.g. Baldur's Gate II or Planescape: Torment. While they are certainly not bug free there is a long way to recent disasters or Fallout 2.

Also if we reach into the JRPG console market, which some people also consider to contain great RPGs, this statement is not really true. Never heard anyone complaining about bugs in Final Fantasy VII (at least if you don't count the PC port) or Chrono Trigger...

But of course the gist of your statement if absolutely true: If you want to enjoy great RPGs, especially CRPGS and their recent console descendants, you need to learn to live with bugs. Period.

Disclaimer: To avoid misinterpretation of the second paragraph: I don't say there are no great JRPGs. Besides the glorious Chrono Trigger and the mediocre Final Fantasy VII I just don't know enough about them to rule judgement. And honestly, I also don't really care.

Well, JRPGs are generally less buggy because they have much simpler game mechanics.

You are right about BG2 and Torment, of course :)

Indeed, and the hype level is always relative even when you lay Buggy Developer #2 on Buggy Developer #1 like a bug sandwich. Now, if only Lord British directed it

The last official patch fixes a lot of bugs, and there are some fan-made patches that fix a lot more. You could start with this, this, this, and of course this. It's still seven kinds of broken after all that (one of the few good quests I finally found happens to be broken and unfixed to this day D: ), but it's /a lot/ more playable.

Obsidian games are always half-finished, broken disasters. Regardless of the content within them.

Obsidian games are always half-finished, broken disasters

...which are more complete, playable, and enjoyable than most of the competition.

Obsidian has been finishing games at the same pace as Bioware in the last six years, and that with a much smaller team.

You know how they say, given a lot of time even a monkey can make a Starcraft II *cough, cough* I meant Diablo III... err time machine, yeah, that's what I said.

Still, Its clearly much buggier than Fallout 3. This is frustrating.

Still, Its clearly much buggier than Fallout 3

I'm sorry, but in Fallout 3 I experienced a show-stopping bug. An event that had to be triggered didn't happen. After torturous online-searching, I had to reload a much earlier save, because the game wouldn't complete its story otherwise.

You do agree that there is nothing worse than show-stopping bugs?

Also, even if New Vegas is buggier, it's because it is much more ambitious and complex than Fallout 3.

I had two of those in New Vegas so far; and one of them not only has no known fix to this day, it happens in one of the three or four actual good quests the game has.

And some of the things that Obsidian broke and/or left half-completed are not related to the ambition or scope of the game (the radio stations and the recipe lists pop up to mind immediately).

Oh c'mon. I know Obsidian is the darling of the RPG fans here at Moby and we all know how everyone here likes to fanboyishly attach to the seemingly underdog developers that struggle in the industry. Yes, I've enjoyed Obsidian games and I can say that most of their games have somewhat redeeming qualities as well as interesting emotional and intellectual themes, but please let's not beat around the bush or throw around idiotic hyperboles: all of the the darling designers and storytellers in Obsidian can't make up for the fact that they are a seriously understaffed/underbudgeted studio lacking competent programmers and a decent Q/A department.

Their products are incomplete, untested and crippled at base levels. Even when working with licensed tech. To call them more complete or playable than any other commercially available game out there is ridiculous.

To call them more complete or playable than any other commercially available game out there is ridiculous.

I meant "complete" and "playable" in terms of content and enjoyment, not from a technical point of view. I don't care for such things, so I enjoy their games more than others. Lucky me, I guess :)

So your three wives are the the most beautiful women in the world, but it takes you 6 hours just to get aroused, another 3 just to get an erection, and god knows how long to get the job done, if it ever comes around to it. Sure they have a great personality and all, but that's somewhat beside the point.

Actually, for the analogy to work correctly, the buggy product would be the wives, but that ruins the forum fantasy a bit. :p

The symbolism is astounding

This is pure, unfiltered brilliance. Quick, someone send this to Obsidian; such a horrible vision might just make them come to their senses and finally hire a couple f'ing playtesters.

It's not like they need to search too much either, they already have a lot of experienced people doing the job for free in the Nexus Forums.

I've found that the level of bugginess in New Vegas actually varies from person to person. Take me, for example. all I had to contend with is my gun frequently raising above my characters shoulder and then moving back down a moment later and a few never ending load screens. Yet I have heard of people suffering from corrupted saves, spinning heads (my favorite) and complete system crashes.

I had three or four crashes in 58 hours. And probably a few slight graphic bugs but I am largely immune to that.