Annoyances and Pet Peeves..., Vent off what you don't like about this game. Options

[Crystal Talian]

Actually, Marley, the clock does still advance ten minutes when you cast your rod in the English version. Saps your stamina, though - even if you don't catch anything.

[Grizzly Wing]

Ok I fully understand the time in doors thing. But I'm not really complaining about that because like you said its only ever really been a factor in AWL and I honestly don't remember that much about ToT. Did time pass in doors in that game? But what I still don't get is the whole game being buggy for using tools. That still goes over my head because how can something they've been doing years now all of a sudden come up buggy in a new game?

I expect glitches and stuff from HM64. It was 64 and technology wasn't up to par back then. Glitches as severe as that most likely would not happen now. But I think in this day and age something like that should be easily fixable. Once again I could understand if this was in the previous installments but to the best of my knowledge there hasn't been a single HM where time did not pass while using a tool. So as such I expect nothing to be wrong with that in future installments.

Now you said you do some programming yourself so maybe you could shed some light on this. So is it the case that something they've been doing for years in dozens of games can all of a sudden become a problem in another game? Is it because of the engine change? Even if that was so I'm sure its something they could have dealt with just like they did in previous games. Or is it something that has to be changed from game to game due to new engines and what not. Now I don't know much about programming but wouldn't that particular part of the games be fairly similar? If so there should not have been something so buggy that it could not have been fixed for this particular HM like all the others.

But this isn't my subject of expertise so I could just be completely talking out of my behind about this stuff so take it with a grain of salt.

[Saffy]

I am a programmer. I work at a video game company, where I program games and test them on a daily basis. I may not be a complete expert since I'm new to the industry, but I have been coding for eight years and have worked on a number of small game projects. I understand the complexities and weirdness of code.

For simplicity's sake, I'll respond directly to a number of your comments.

But I'm not really complaining about that because like you said its only ever really been a factor in AWL and I honestly don't remember that much about ToT. Did time pass in doors in that game?

I played less than a week of ToT and hadn't noticed time passing in doors. Perhaps it did. My guess is even if they had the system in place, they probably chose to avoid it for some reason or another. I've personally only felt time passing inside worked for A Wonderful Life. That game (series) also made sure to implement a lot of efforts regarding time, such as seasons passing if you stayed out late. For that reason, I actually really liked how time passed. There's a lot of effort put it into it. Effort. It was relevant to the game.

But what I still don't get is the whole game being buggy for using tools. That still goes over my head because how can something they've been doing years now all of a sudden come up buggy in a new game?

Simple really, the game might mess up if you use a tool when a time-based event should happen. It might not sound like much. Oh, how could something simple like tools which they've done countless times mess up? It just does. Now, I'm not saying that they stopped time when using tools to prevent bugs. I'm just suggesting that if it were the case I could very well understand it. It can be quite amazing what bugs will cause serious errors. Some are really complex, while others are just buried or extremely rare.

I expect glitches and stuff from HM64. It was 64 and technology wasn't up to par back then. Glitches as severe as that most likely would not happen now.

Technology only serves to create more issues. When you make the platforms more complicated, there's a lot more code going into the game. The fact is games aren't as simple as they used to be. I'm sure there's a lot more code in place than HM64, which means many, many more errors can arise.

But I think in this day and age something like that should be easily fixable.

Easily Fixable - Nope. You never know what problems will arise, even if done countless times. It's silly.

So is it the case that something they've been doing for years in dozens of games can all of a sudden become a problem in another game

Yes, quite easily. I've seen some really strange problems in my time. You need to realize that code has a way of interfering with itself. You could add a simple feature that appears unrelated to something else, and next thing you know half the game doesn't work.

Is it because of the engine change? Even if that was so I'm sure its something they could have dealt with just like they did in previous games.

Possibly, if what we're referring to was actually the result of a bug.

It really comes down to time, resources, and priority. Maybe there was a bug that they simply had no time or people to fix. Maybe they had other more pressing deadlines to reach, and freezing time momentarily was an acceptable solution. Really depends on the severity of what might have been. If a problem existed.

Now I don't know much about programming but wouldn't that particular part of the games be fairly similar?

It depends on the engine. It could be very similar or it could not be. I'm sure a lot of their code is similar and easily ported from one game to another. But I'm sure they're constantly improving upon it at the same time too.

If so there should not have been something so buggy that it could not have been fixed for this particular HM like all the others.

So many bugs slip through either unnoticed or because they just aren't a priority. It's not uncommon for games to be shipped with dozens to hundreds of known issues. You just tackle the larger issues.

I realize I sound very nitpicky, but your calling the programmers lazy I personally took offense to. I can imagine a lot of work going into this game. I can imagine hard deadlines to push the game out. I'm sure the programmers and the rest of the team on the game put forth a lot of effort and time. I also get the impression they had a small team (despite what the credits say) making the game quite an accomplishment.

[torchy7]

im just wondering is it true that you can only have 3 types of animals in a barn
and can you have multiple barns
and
do you think they'll change it ,if you can only have 3 types of animals in a barn,
for the UK version?

thanks

im just wondering is it true that you can only have 3 types of animals in a barn
and can you have multiple barns
and
do you think they'll change it ,if you can only have 3 types of animals in a barn,
for the UK version?

thanks

[Siesta]

-Getting hearts a huge pain. It's a long process just to get a few heart, and it also eats up a lot of money.

-Luna looked a lot cute when short, in my opinion. It was something that made her different from the other girls, which was something I really liked about her. Now she seems lanky. =S

-The areas seem really big, maybe it's just me... I remember things being much closer in TOT than in AP... it takes like an hour in game to get to another place.

My only real complaints...

[Kozunai]

I prefer the way that ToT ran, like I don't like the fact that you don't find the people walking from place to place, they teleport. I hate that. I liked the island and stuff alot better in ToT, but overall AP is the better game.

[ZBoy]

I prefer the way that ToT ran, like I don't like the fact that you don't find the people walking from place to place, they teleport. I hate that. I liked the island and stuff alot better in ToT, but overall AP is the better game.

I'm a stickler about the littlest things like that, and I can't tell you how angry it got me to find out they teleport.

[ClassicTyler]

Refining ores, the high prices, the lag, the ugly trees in the background and how the fertilizer has almost no effect, even with shining fertilizer, on the quality.

[mijito]

I prefer the way that ToT ran, like I don't like the fact that you don't find the people walking from place to place, they teleport. I hate that. I liked the island and stuff alot better in ToT, but overall AP is the better game.

good point
I was going to say that in the original post and it slipped my mind... hard to believe that after removing the people from almost everywhere the framerate still sucks.

during the festivals or the circus everyone talks about how they are going and all the things they're gonna do... when you get there: only 4 or 5 show up. the circus can only show the animals you're the only human there along with theodore.

I think part of the problem with the framerate is that there's almost always full draw distance from the point you're standing on all the way to the rest of the 3D map... and I think they did this so you could take panoramic photographs with the camera, maybe if the draw distance toggled to "shorter" when you're moving around (I think this is called selective rendering but not sure, where the cpu/gpu only renders what's showing up on the screen) it would help the speed and possibly the # of people that can show up simultaneously.

so yes... there was lazy coding IMO too, specially considering the wii's not the most powerful console around. but as saffy said it has helped the game have less bugs and it definitely shows... at a price.

p.s. in ToT time only froze while inside YOUR home. everywhere else it kept running and villagers kicked you out of their houses/shops (actually your character kicks itself out saying he/she better leaves)

This post has been edited by mijito: Dec 2 2009, 05:23 AM

[Cheerio Cake]

This is very petty, but I hate the higher-heart level "titles" (the thing it says at the bottom describing your relationship with the person). I hate how at 10 hearts its: "Blank and I are PRACTICALLY TWINS" Grrarrgh. If I was going to marry somebody, I would NOT MARRY MY TWIN! That is the same thing that it says about my PET BOAR. I was expecting something romantic. And so it irritates me, and I try my hardest not to look at it because it makes me aggravated. Hopefully after marriage they improve....*grumbles*

[Rack]

It does. After you get married, it says " So-so and I have vowed our love for each other". And when you have children it says "The cute child of So-so and So-so".

[Mizukithepanda]

The waffleing camera.

A still camera is extraordinarily outdated - especially considering they were able to implement it in other games. Even Harvest Moon 64 allowed you to change the camera angle (albeit only on your farm and in a very limited manner), so Animal Parade not having even a partial motion camera is absolutely absurd. And it drives me waffleing nuts. If this were like Wind Bazaar, where the screen was set up so you didn't really need a full or even partial motion camera, it wouldn't annoy me so much. But the fact is, the land in Animal Parade is so expansive (and chopped up to death with retarded loading screens) that leaving out the full-motion camera just makes the game painful to play. I would never go so far as to call the lack of it laziness, but rather a very poor business decision. Or possibly budget problems - one never knows.

[EquineParade]

Chase is a jackass.

Luna is a beanpole.

Owen is a bobble head.

Natsume took out the wi-fi features.

I got used to the frame rate issues though.

(IMG:style_emoticons/default/lalaexdee.gif) I love Owen but I found that funny for some reason. My only issue is the slight lag, other than that I love all of it!

[Harvest Moon 881...]

The only things I don't like in the game is Owen's GIGANTOR head, and teeny body.
And the lag. The game would be so much better if there wasn't any lag.

I don't mind Luna's growth spurt that much, and I like how you can zoom in on her with your camera and look at the shape of her mouth! =3

[Aya]

Surprised that no one has mentioned Finn yet. I find him to be
on the annoying side and useless. If I wanted a fairylike sidekick,
I'd play Zelda.
This is only the second HM game I've played so I don't know if the
others give you a sidekick.

[quincy52]

After playing it for awhile I don't even notice the lag anymore, it's only apparent when I first start out.

The extremely long gametime is the only thing that bothers me mostly, so I can't play that often. I also wish you didn't have to wait til 6 hearts to ride your animals.

[Juli]

I find the loading times a bit annoying, but it doesn't bug me as much as when I was starting out in the game. I'm also rather annooyed by the lack of camera control, it can get annoying if something that you want to see is hidden thanks to the camera angle. But I'll live. I never did play ToT, but I've been told AP is the bestter game so I'm not gonna complain much.

And the other day, it looked like I was dealing with a few glitches, but they were gone the next day I played, so I'm guessing it's cause me and my brother had been kind of overworking the Wii that day and our system does tend to mess up if we dont give it a break, haha.

[mijito]

"you can only have 3 different kinds of animals in your barn..." yet in horn ranch's barn you can see there are 4 (horse, cow, sheep and goat)... [color="#006400"]

[ClassicTyler]

Oh, and the winter song. I absolutely despise it.
The part at the end before it loops again:
Dooo Doo Doooo Doo Dooo.

It makes me want to kill the composer.

[Mizukithepanda]

Unfortunately most Harvest Moon songs are like that. The only song I hated enough to want to kill the composer for though, was the Summer theme in HM64. That song was so waffleing annoying...

Another pet peeve: the cast. In general. They're all so darn boring. I don't want to marry/befriend any of them.