Anthem: Bioware's next Mass Effect-like IP

[stellvia]

A triple a ea game is scoring worse than a game made by the people who made hyperdimension neptunia, probably the worst game I've ever played. What a timeline

One is a AA publisher of otaku games with limited budgets. The other is a AAA company with the full resources and expertise of EA, a multi-billion dollar publisher with 30+ years of expertise. Yet they're making rookie mistakes with Anthem like they've never designed a game before and didn't do any market research on what the standard features were of similar games. Also massive loading times for no discernible reason in a freeplay map that only allows 4 people to be in it.

[yasiru]

Cash shop with a half finished game thrown in. Not at all surprising from EA.

Way to contribute absolutely nothing to the conversation. Good job bumping your post count...

[szechuan]

Do you even realize you are posting an interview that is like 6 months old? Things have changed since then. The devs have consistently stated the cataclysms coming are what we would think of as raid content, not strongholds.

He's still saying Similar things.

Stronghold's are Anthem's Raids. Cataclysm's are World Events.

Finally, the third update will introduce Anthem's first Cataclysm, a type of time-limited world event said to be partly inspired by Fortnite's long-game seasonal narratives.
That said, we can put one theory to rest: Cataclysms are not Anthem's version of raids, as some players assumed. They are seasonal activities, not one-shot endgame missions.
https://www.gamesradar.com/anthem-ro...ties-and-more/

[SirCowdog]

You have any idea what game has good AI according to the community?

I've seen the bad AI complaint in basically every shooter but never see anyone have anything positive to say. I'm also trying to imagine what they expect hoards of enemies in PvE to play like.

I said "in some cases". Shooter trash enemies don't seek cover. They just move to a position where they have line of sight on you and fire. Melee guys just run to you and attack. The only enemies I've seen so far that have any real variation are the enemy storms and scar scouts, who just sort of dodge back and forth in the air, but otherwise seek to keep you in line of sight and fire. Snipers and turrets just sit there and fire whenever you're in line of sight.

Honestly, there's not much going on there. Now I admit that the combination of those factors does make some interesting situations. The melee guys flush you out of cover. The trash mobs harass you and force you to divide your attention or be swarmed. The fliers, turrets, and snipers drop the hammer if you're not careful.

But here's the thing: Just like earlier, more primitive MMORPGS, Anthem makes up for a lack of intelligent mobs that use different tactics by just giving enemies more hitpoints. The bullet sponge is real in this game. Bosses aren't threatening because they're smart. They're threatening because they have a bazillion hitpoints and hit like a freight train. This is not really all that advanced.

Granted, not all enemy AI needs to be a terminator. Trash mobs are trash for a good reason. But I would like to see some more challenging encounters with more complex mechanics. Enemy Javelins should be less bullet sponge, and more tactical. I'd honestly like to see a final encounter of a stronghold be a PVP match vs bots piloting javelins. A real 4v4 match, with smarter AI the higher difficulty you go. Then you can spice things up from there, adding objectives that aren't just "Kill all enemies". Maybe a race to collect resources, or control points or something. Warframe does this on some missions(granted, Warframe's enemy AI is nothing to write home about either).

I think it's just the state of the industry. I think what it boils down to is that just that adding more bullet sponge and enemy damage output is a somewhat weak approach to increasing difficulty. This is compounded in Anthem by the shallowness of tasks: Hold this point, collect x things, kill all enemies. I'd like to see something more along the lines of what World of Warcraft does with their raids and Mythic+ system: Adding extra mechanics and objectives in the higher difficulties.

Anthem is a hell of a lot of fun right now. It just needs more depth and variety in its encounter design.

- - - Updated - - -

I'm beyond astounded this has a lower metacritc score than the new compile heart game. That's a solid 3 yikes and an oof from me.

Metacritic is cancer. Less than useless.

The low scores are primarily from people who have a hate-boner for EA. The only thing I'll really say is that I don't believe Anthem is currently a $60 game. The gameplay is fine. The shooting is fine. Even the cash shop is fine considering how fair it is to collect coins(from what I've seen so far). Bioware is knocking bugs and gameplay issues down like a master-class whack-a-mole champion. They're being REALLY good about communication with the community.

Those people shitting on Anthem with low scores are NOT being fair. And this is coming from someone who's super critical of games and AAA publishers in general.

My suggestion? Pay the $15 for premier and play it for a month. You'll get your $15 worth of game, even if all you do is complete the story missions. In a lot of ways Anthem really is just a $15 gamer right now. And if you don't like it...oh no? It's not like that's a lot of money. Besides, if you hate Anthem after the first few days, you have the rest of the month to play anything else in the Premier Library before you cancel the sub and never look back.

[Video Games]

I said "in some cases". Shooter trash enemies don't seek cover. They just move to a position where they have line of sight on you and fire. Melee guys just run to you and attack. The only enemies I've seen so far that have any real variation are the enemy storms and scar scouts, who just sort of dodge back and forth in the air, but otherwise seek to keep you in line of sight and fire. Snipers and turrets just sit there and fire whenever you're in line of sight.

Honestly, there's not much going on there. Now I admit that the combination of those factors does make some interesting situations. The melee guys flush you out of cover. The trash mobs harass you and force you to divide your attention or be swarmed. The fliers, turrets, and snipers drop the hammer if you're not careful.

But here's the thing: Just like earlier, more primitive MMORPGS, Anthem makes up for a lack of intelligent mobs that use different tactics by just giving enemies more hitpoints. The bullet sponge is real in this game. Bosses aren't threatening because they're smart. They're threatening because they have a bazillion hitpoints and hit like a freight train. This is not really all that advanced.

Granted, not all enemy AI needs to be a terminator. Trash mobs are trash for a good reason. But I would like to see some more challenging encounters with more complex mechanics. Enemy Javelins should be less bullet sponge, and more tactical. I'd honestly like to see a final encounter of a stronghold be a PVP match vs bots piloting javelins. A real 4v4 match, with smarter AI the higher difficulty you go. Then you can spice things up from there, adding objectives that aren't just "Kill all enemies". Maybe a race to collect resources, or control points or something. Warframe does this on some missions(granted, Warframe's enemy AI is nothing to write home about either).

I think it's just the state of the industry. I think what it boils down to is that just that adding more bullet sponge and enemy damage output is a somewhat weak approach to increasing difficulty. This is compounded in Anthem by the shallowness of tasks: Hold this point, collect x things, kill all enemies. I'd like to see something more along the lines of what World of Warcraft does with their raids and Mythic+ system: Adding extra mechanics and objectives in the higher difficulties.

Anthem is a hell of a lot of fun right now. It just needs more depth and variety in its encounter design.

- - - Updated - - -



Metacritic is cancer. Less than useless.

The low scores are primarily from people who have a hate-boner for EA. The only thing I'll really say is that I don't believe Anthem is currently a $60 game. The gameplay is fine. The shooting is fine. Even the cash shop is fine considering how fair it is to collect coins(from what I've seen so far). Bioware is knocking bugs and gameplay issues down like a master-class whack-a-mole champion. They're being REALLY good about communication with the community.

Those people shitting on Anthem with low scores are NOT being fair. And this is coming from someone who's super critical of games in general.

My suggestion? Pay the $15 for premier and play it for a month. You'll get your $15 worth of game, even if all you do is complete the story missions. In a lot of ways Anthem really is just a $15 gamer right now. And if you don't like it...oh no? It's not like that's a lot of money. Besides, if you hate Anthem after the first few days, you have the rest of the month to play anything else in the Premier Library before you cancel the sub and never look back.

gamespot doesn't have a hateboner. also I got it for free with my new graphics card

[Sixnalia]

Trying out my Storm, now that my Ranger is in the 470 region.

Pretty fun, ended up getting masterwork for both seals for Ice Storm/Glacial Spike.
Feels good setting stuff up.

It's nice finishing strongholds now as well.

[Baconeggcheese]

@SirCowdog No like, I'm genuinely asking. I keep seeing people complain about the AI, like that was a huge gripe people were holding against destiny 2 for instance while for no apparent reason hand waving it in warframe even though the mobs don't do anything special in that game either. Or you look at your typical dungeon crawler / loot grinders and there's rarely anything going on there either.

I've seen this complaint over and over, but never seen or heard of something that was actually considered good in this respect. I'm curious what game has actually done this well. I'm having a hard time imagining what that would even look like, because you sure as hell wouldn't want a massive pack of enemies all playing like a human would if they were controlling that character or something that sophisticated.

- - - Updated - - -

I'm beyond astounded this has a lower metacritc score than the new compile heart game. That's a solid 3 yikes and an oof from me.

Hey if you haven't used that code yet I'd be happy to take it. I'm having plenty of fun with the game and its obviously a rushed out unfinished product. Imagine it'll be even better once they actually put some time into polishing it + some updates.

[Onikaroshi]

They really need to punish leavers, it's fine if you only want to farm 2 chest Strongholds and then bail, but do it in your own 4 man group. I find the whole of strongholds fun and it's a pain in the ass when you get 2 people leaving, and you can't backfill Strogholds atm.

[Video Games]

@SirCowdog No like, I'm genuinely asking. I keep seeing people complain about the AI, like that was a huge gripe people were holding against destiny 2 for instance while for no apparent reason hand waving it in warframe even though the mobs don't do anything special in that game either. Or you look at your typical dungeon crawler / loot grinders and there's rarely anything going on there either.

I've seen this complaint over and over, but never seen or heard of something that was actually considered good in this respect. I'm curious what game has actually done this well. I'm having a hard time imagining what that would even look like, because you sure as hell wouldn't want a massive pack of enemies all playing like a human would if they were controlling that character or something that sophisticated.

- - - Updated - - -



Hey if you haven't used that code yet I'd be happy to take it. I'm having plenty of fun with the game and its obviously a rushed out unfinished product. Imagine it'll be even better once they actually put some time into polishing it + some updates.

I used it the day I got it and it's preloaded and ready to go

[SirCowdog]

gamespot doesn't...

Taking anything gamespot says seriously is definitely a mistake.

[Onikaroshi]

Taking anything gamespot says seriously is definitely a mistake.

Taking anything any reviewer says, good or bad, is a mistake. You have to try things for yourself to figure out if you like them or not.

[Video Games]

Taking anything gamespot says seriously is definitely a mistake.

ign just gave it a 6.5 lol. Rip this game

[Otaka]

Way to contribute absolutely nothing to the conversation. Good job bumping your post count...

Actually he contributed but you didnt.

The game DOES have cash shop and the game seems half finished due to massive loading times along with the amount of them... alot of quality of life things are disabled for some reason, such as private partying everywhere. (along with text chat, not that i care... people would just spam it anyway)
A dev even said in some interview that you can complete the story solo... not as far as ive seen since if you go into freeplay you are literally forced to get into a grp with other players. And you are forced to go into freeplay atleast twice. Its not the biggest deal but its an outright lie saying you can do it solo, not that i would but i have friends and if we arent exactly 4 players then some random guy gets put into our freeplay or stronghold group no matter if we want it or not.

Same thing if you get disconnected from servers during such forced public gameplay... the player who gets dced might not be able to rejoin because some random player gets added instead. Atleast if you have to restart the game to be able to connect to servers.

- - - Updated - - -

ign just gave it a 6.5 lol. Rip this game

Rip bioware, EA is gonna disband the studio for sure... thats what they always do. :/

[SirCowdog]

@SirCowdog No like, I'm genuinely asking.

I'm curious what game has actually done this well. I'm having a hard time imagining what that would even look like, because you sure as hell wouldn't want a massive pack of enemies all playing like a human would if they were controlling that character or something that sophisticated.

The thing is people need to keep in mind that Anthem IS kind of an RPG. I mean, yes, it's a third person looter shooter too, but it's not a PVP arena shooter(which is where you'd find more advanced bot AI that can do anything a player can do). And that's where I'd tell you to look for examples of better AI: Arena shooter bots. I mean, even as far back as Quake Live, or Unreal Tournament. Enemies that will run away when low on health, or prioritize getting certain weapons of buffs around the map before fighting you. That sort of thing.

Could this be applied to packs of enemies that we see in Anthem? Maybe, although I'm not sure of the scope or depth of programming design that would take. Nor am I entirely convinced it's necessary for the low level swarms. Any encounter that used such a smarter AI would almost have to be an instance, and have to be limited to a few targets instead of the packs we normally see in Anthem. It's a different dynamic of encounter entirely.

Also, can you imagine the tears and salt generated when a team of 2 or 3 smart AI ganged up on a single player, using combos to lock them down and burn them? I would tell them: "Welcome to GM3 son. Git gud". But you know that's not what most players want to hear.

- - - Updated - - -

ign just gave it a 6.5 lol. Rip this game

Stop listening to paid outlets using a scoring system. Do you even know what that 6.5 is based on?

Go watch a few different streams and youtube channels and form your own opinion.

[Sixnalia]

I'm with you on the Storm. I'm not as high level as you yet, but it seems we might play similarly. Feelsgoodman.

The masterworks for the frost storm and glacial spike feel damn good. ;_;
Looking forward to seeing how it does with more gear. Biggest weakness right now is the squishiness without MW components.

[Video Games]

The thing is people need to keep in mind that Anthem IS kind of an RPG. I mean, yes, it's a third person looter shooter too, but it's not a PVP arena shooter(which is where you'd find more advanced bot AI that can do anything a player can do). And that's where I'd tell you to look for examples of better AI: Arena shooter bots. I mean, even as far back as Quake Live, or Unreal Tournament. Enemies that will run away when low on health, or prioritize getting certain weapons of buffs around the map before fighting you. That sort of thing.

Could this be applied to packs of enemies that we see in Anthem? Maybe, although I'm not sure of the scope or depth of programming design that would take. Nor am I entirely convinced it's necessary for the low level swarms. Any encounter that used such a smarter AI would almost have to be an instance, and have to be limited to a few targets instead of the packs we normally see in Anthem. It's a different dynamic of encounter entirely.

Also, can you imagine the tears and salt generated when a team of 2 or 3 smart AI ganged up on a single player, using combos to lock them down and burn them? I would tell them: "Welcome to GM3 son. Git gud". But you know that's not what most players want to hear.

- - - Updated - - -



Stop listening to paid outlets. Go watch a few different streams and youtube channels and form your own opinion.

I don't listen to any review from anybody. This isn't about me, but the people who read reviews. This game is gonna tank.

[Eleccybubb]

ign just gave it a 6.5 lol. Rip this game

Does say a lot when even IGN give it a pretty meh rating. Even worse than Andromeda I might add and the same as Metal Gear Survive.

But of course what matters most is your opinion of the game. In mine it looks like it needed more time to be ready and that it's launched with content intended to be in held back.

[yasiru]

Actually he contributed but you didnt.

The game DOES have cash shop and the game seems half finished due to massive loading times along with the amount of them... alot of quality of life things are disabled for some reason, such as private partying everywhere. (along with text chat, not that i care... people would just spam it anyway)
A dev even said in some interview that you can complete the story solo... not as far as ive seen since if you go into freeplay you are literally forced to get into a grp with other players. And you are forced to go into freeplay atleast twice. Its not the biggest deal but its an outright lie saying you can do it solo, not that i would but i have friends and if we arent exactly 4 players then some random guy gets put into our freeplay or stronghold group no matter if we want it or not.

Same thing if you get disconnected from servers during such forced public gameplay... the player who gets dced might not be able to rejoin because some random player gets added instead. Atleast if you have to restart the game to be able to connect to servers.

- - - Updated - - -



Rip bioware, EA is gonna disband the studio for sure... thats what they always do. :/

The disconnect thing is supposed to be fixed now IF you are in an actual squad, which to be fair is the only thing that matters. If you don't get re-connected to the exact same server during freeplay it shouldn't be much of an issue. But if you join friends or are match made into a mission/stronghold I believe you will get re-connected back to the guys who you were in a squad with.

[Baconeggcheese]

The thing is people need to keep in mind that Anthem IS kind of an RPG. I mean, yes, it's a third person looter shooter too, but it's not a PVP arena shooter(which is where you'd find more advanced bot AI that can do anything a player can do). And that's where I'd tell you to look for examples of better AI: Arena shooter bots. I mean, even as far back as Quake Live, or Unreal Tournament. Enemies that will run away when low on health, or prioritize getting certain weapons of buffs around the map before fighting you. That sort of thing.

Could this be applied to packs of enemies that we see in Anthem? Maybe, although I'm not sure of the scope or depth of programming design that would take. Nor am I entirely convinced it's necessary for the low level swarms. Any encounter that used such a smarter AI would almost have to be an instance, and have to be limited to a few targets instead of the packs we normally see in Anthem. It's a different dynamic of encounter entirely.

Also, can you imagine the tears and salt generated when a team of 2 or 3 smart AI ganged up on a single player, using combos to lock them down and burn them? I would tell them: "Welcome to GM3 son. Git gud". But you know that's not what most players want to hear.

Yeah I have to imagine at best you'd want more mechanics on mobs as opposed to truly better AI. Like the Titans have actual mechanics you need to react to instead of just shooting at you, and that makes it fun even though its not all that sophisticated of an AI. Though again, you can only have so much of that. Your Peon level mobs really shouldn't do much more than run at you and attack, maybe duck for cover every once in a while.

Figure the line of thought should be more ARPG and less shooter when it comes to that.

[SirCowdog]

I don't listen to any review from anybody. This isn't about me, but the people who read reviews. This game is gonna tank.

So you're making the point that a bunch of sheeple are going to see low scores from paid outlets and scoring websites(who are known for not meeting due diligence), then not buy the game because they never bothered to take a real look?

The sad thing is, you're probably right. Publishers like EA put too much stock in those same scoring websites, too.