[Feedback] My small list of grievances (mechanical)
I've already been all over these forums complaining about content, but what I don't see talked about enough are the mechanical issues with this game. So I'd like to submit my modest list for your review.
Camera placement should center the character in the screen - I am firmly in the camp that there is no innovation to be had here. Firmly. Character in the middle of the screen where we have a full view of everything in front, right, left, and a small view of what's behind. Over-the-shoulder view if the character is using a gun, that then centers on the gun (like in ME, that's fine)
The only argument I ever read about why this is "better" is that with the character in the middle of the screen, it blocks treasure chests when you open them. And I can tell you, this bothered me exactly zero times, and certainly not enough to warrant the problems, like having a blind spot in battle on the left side of the screen or not being able to pan the camera quite right or quickly enough to see something that just happened behind you. Not to mention there is an assumption here about what side the player's dominant hand\eye\etc. is on and for a game that touted its accessibility, I think this is a glaring oversight.
Rolling and attacking are very disjointed experiences. Movement in general, jumping, all of it makes the character stop short sometimes and it really kills the enjoyment of exploration, smashing canisters, and attacking. I don't mind the moves toward a more hack-n-slash or adventure RPG experience, but that experience has to be smooth. I had some of the same complaints in Inquisition - my character should not slow to half speed just because she pulled out her staff. Swinging the weapon should be smooth, movement should be smooth, and the entire experience should be polished. You can't make a souls-lite soulslike and not have smooth battle movement for the player character.
The player character should be able to traverse obstacles without additional time added for animations. It should not take me double the time to do a jump puzzle because the character hits her stomach on the edge and has to climb up. The animation is too long. Stuff like that worked in Pitfall: The Mayan Adventure because it didn't take a full 2-3 seconds for Harry to climb up over an obstacle he missed, and it happened so seldom that I am even reluctant to use it as an example. Aside from that, there's the Role Play aspect here. It kind of makes me feel like an idiot doing this in front of my companions as they gracefully sail over with no issues. I can imagine them snickering in the background because Rook missed the ledge again.
Save games should start the character exactly where they left off. What in the world is up with the save games? This is 2024, there is no reason to not be able to save our game and pick it up where it left off. This can't even be an engine limitation - Frostbite was used for Inquisition as well so if this is a limitation there, it's something entirely new. I happen to think the decision to use Frostbite was a good one despite its challenges in the RPG space. It's mature, it's polished, and it freaking performs. I mean, my month 1 experience with BG3 was the thing crashing to xbox desktop what seemed like every hour. I left Veilguard on for DAYS without trouble. I like it, and Inquisition managed to deliver a solid RPG experience with it, why couldn't Veilguard?
We should be able to access the menu in cutscenes. This also seems to be a design decision, because we were not blocked from this in other games. If I wanted to cut a conversation short because I messed something up and wanted to load, I didn't have to sit through the entire conversation before I could do that. This is a regression in every sense of the word. I really don't appreciate being forced to sit through long dialogues and mash a button to advance just to get back out of them.
There's probably more, but that's what stands out to me the most. I'm away for a trip and don't have access to my xbox, so I have been playing Inquisition and BG3 and didn't even really realize the simple, mechanical things Veilguard is missing until I got away from it for a while.
I hope that the developers do a better job with Mass Effect, if that project is even still progressing. I'm sincerely worried about the future of this team when it seems like they are trying to reinvent the wheel instead of using the wheel to deliver a smooth experience.
