Comments on: MechQuest Critical Analysis II: Too Small Team?

By: alabamapitty

alabamapitty — Sat, 27 Dec 2008 21:57:06 +0000

I don’t know Peanut, the AQ battle system is really good. Not as good as MQ’s, but definitely a close second. You have everything where it needs to be, the weapons, spells, and armors work well together, and all the battle effects are beautiful. I don’t find it confusing, it just takes a little getting used to, which can be said for all games. That said, MQ does still beat it, if only by a tiny margin.

By: Zeke

Zeke — Sat, 27 Dec 2008 20:08:13 +0000

@StJason: What? That is REALLY off-topic. Besides, MQ is a turn-based RPG that is in its “prime.” They can’t just change the entire battle system >.>

I personally think MQ is better than the others. AE has learned from DF and AQ’s mistakes.

Perhaps the REASON that the team is smaller is because they have learned from the past, and don’t NEED as big of a team, because of sheer experience.

Of course, DF and AQ need larger teams because, being older, they have TONS more bugs and balancing to do.

~Zeke~

By: StJason

StJason — Sat, 27 Dec 2008 08:50:04 +0000

Completely off topic, but I had a thought about mechquest’s battle system. What if it was moved to real-time? Basic numbers would stay the same, but instead of having turns, turns become X number of seconds, maybe two. So you’d have to time your weapons pretty well, or you’d be sitting without power and/or active weapons. It would also give the Perception stat something to do.

I’ve thought for a long time now that MQ was the unwanted stepdaughter of AE. Which is a shame, as it is also the most distinctive of the four games. With some TLC, Mechquest could be a real star, but instead it’ll lurk in the background while Dragonfable and AQW gets everything. (AQ is so big, hoary, and convoluted, I’m looking forward to the sweep so that we can get rid of much of the old junk)

By: The Peanut Master

The Peanut Master — Sat, 27 Dec 2008 00:53:21 +0000

Oh, I was talking about the way our battle systems work, but going into the enemies separates it even more.

By: ZamuelNow

ZamuelNow — Sat, 27 Dec 2008 00:22:34 +0000

Well, the biggest problem with DragonFable’s battle system isn’t the classes but rather the enemy pool. More innovative enemies would help it immensely.

By: The Peanut Master

The Peanut Master — Sat, 27 Dec 2008 00:03:31 +0000

Thanks for the comments everyone. As for Maegwyn, you’re probably right, I have definitely underestimated her. I guess I just don’t consider to be on the same level as the real staff members, such as Warlic, Zhoom, Rolith, etc., which is why I didn’t count here as a full “1″. I can see both ways though. And even if I were to count each of the staff members as a full 1 (making 9 total), it’s still painfully obvious that MechQuest’s team is smaller than the others, and I still see that as a pretty big problem.

It really helps MechQuest’s case that as you guys have said, MQ’s battle system is far superior to DragonFable (which is too simplistic and damage-oriented), AdventureQuest (imo choppy, slow, and limited), and AQWorlds (let’s just say this: A LOT of holes). MechQuest’s team does the best with the least, and while they have the smallest team, if I had to pick one game master and one game development team to work on MechQuest’s future, it would be Warlic and the current game staff. I only wish AE would give MechQuest the support it gives the other games, as doing so would not only push MechQuest into elite status, but easily prevent it from decreased attention and ultimately decreased production.

By: Seriyu

Seriyu — Fri, 26 Dec 2008 22:30:08 +0000

I had always preferred AQ’s battle system above MQ’s, but MQ is a close second to be sure. AQ’s system seems to be more malleable, for instace. they can just add another button or two to the sub attack menu if they want to add special effects or attacks.

And as a side note, I find it funny that whenever people are comparing games, they leave AQ out. It’s like a forgotten grandparent.

By: alabamapitty

alabamapitty — Fri, 26 Dec 2008 19:27:43 +0000

I think AQ’s battle engine, while completely different from the other three, falls in the area between MQ and DF. Just my opinion though. MQ does an extraordinary job with the numbers it has, and I think adding anyone to the payroll would only complicate manners. Yes, MQ’s team is small, but not too small.;-)

By: Zeke

Zeke — Fri, 26 Dec 2008 18:15:41 +0000

You are FAR underestimating the power of Maegwyn and her bug-squashing.

Getting rid of bugs and glitches are essential to the game. There were some pretty powerful bugs in the game.

I have to agree with Zamuel. MQ >>>> DF >> AQW, IMO.
~Zeke~

By: Sir Dorigo III

Sir Dorigo III — Fri, 26 Dec 2008 16:43:32 +0000

Also, Zhoom is working on AQW and hes crucial there as well, so Its hard to tell how much he can do for each of the three games.