CaptainKremin: This is where our respective opinions seem to differ wildly.
You, on one side, seem happy to sacrifice an approriate control scheme and aspect ratio (amongst a list of other things) for graphical fidelity. That's an anathema to me and to a lot of others...
a PC product should fully and absolutely support the medium for which it is made, and speaking for myself graphics are a FAR way down the list when compared to gameplay and a level of accessability I would expect from such a flexible medium as a PC.. these issues aren't just broken, to be fixed at a later stage,
they were conscious design choices entirely contrary to everything those who had an interest were told they would be... this is a let down and a lot of people feel as if CDP have gone back on their word, these are reasonable issues for a lot of people to get pissy at.
Also you seem to be willing to further give CDP a free pass, by virtue of the fact that we've got some free stuff, others too may be a little more reasonable about this aspect .... if it wasn't for the fact that it as well, is going straight into the Xbox release... and as there are still issues to be fixed, the sentiment exists that further to the design compromises, we are also testing these 'thank you bonuses' for a more polished later Xbox release....
suddenly relegated from the primary audience to the beta testers is a hard pill to swallow, things aren't looking very bright for those who have kept the faith for 3 years... a 3 years in which, I must add, the faithful (for want of a better phrase.. rabid, being another) have enabled CDP's reputation... This has to be repeated for emphasis.. CDP wouldn't be where they are atm, regardless of their developing skills, if it wasn't for the support of the PC hardliners given, in light of the support they felt they were getting from CDP... another let down, reasonable or not, that's the situation.
So given the way a lot of people see things, myself included to a certain degree,
how much faith do you think is held for any future developments by CDP, to be suited to the gaming style they wish, considering that historically (hysterically) once certain compromises are made in design they are never backtracked upon (I can't think of any games that have changed design, back, to a more complex situation when an audience has been made for a lesser complex one)..... again dejection and very little hope for pleasant future tidings.. ok these are strong words I'm using, however we are reaching the point in gaming evolution where arguements are being made for the classification of gaming to fall under 'lifestyle'... and this being the case it is pefectly understandable that people, some certainly, and more extremely, than others, invest strongly in this pastime and even more so, their preferred method of executing that pastime, and therefore disappointment weighs more heavily upon them.
We come to the final points you make.. success equating to revenue to be spent on expanding the franchise and the possible detriment in people making their very vocal opinions felt. Well given the circumstances that I've already laid out, the loyal, vocal follower's of CDP have already contributed to their success in terms of both word of mouth and expenditure and this is what they have received in return, regardless of how unreasonable some may see matters... this isn't the product they wanted or.... and this is VERY important... what they were led to believe they would get given CDP's long proclamations of PC-centric design...
it would be unreasonable for someone speaking in all honesty to deny that this game, as designed, is more suited to the console stable of design ethos, in fact the only thing even remotely more suited to the PC is that it is more graphically intensive, and as already stated this is a lesser concern... So in the end CDP have become popular with a different audience with a different product despite a lot of the information, and I dare say intentions, CDP have released.
At this point hissy fits aren't going to do them any harm, playing nice and supportive didn't get them anywhere and as far as risking further design compromises are concerned, there's not a lot else that can go wrong.
TL;DR Over a 3 year period CDP led their community to believe that they understood the compelxities of the issues of PC gaming and that they were dedicated to fully catering to those issues.... and in the end CDP delivered shinies and a list of priorities more suited to a different market..... People are pissed and the blame lies at the feet of CDP themselves. Some of these issues may eventually be addressed, but alot of people will still be reaching for the vaseline.
Pretty much this, you saved me a lot of typing, thank you.
I find it hard to stay angry with CDP at this time. They have shown their commitment to their fans in the past and that buys a lot of goodwill in my book, but that past involved a different game.
TW1 was deeply flawed in places but the richness, detail and shear breadth of the game helped carry me through, leaving me with the impression that the devs had truly tried their hardest to produce the best game they could for their target market, given the limited resources they had to work with. Even the UI was designed to add depth to the game, I remember looking with wonder, trying to imagine what all the little twiddly bits were for.
I expect some will now think me about to say TW2 is badly designed, well, no. I think the devs have once again tried their hardest to produce the best game they could, for their target market. The change here is the target market. Graphics design, UI, character control, size of game and possibly even the size of the levels and length of quests all show compromise. This doesn't mean the game is bad but it does raise the question of how much bigger and better the game could have been if the time dedicated to improving the console experience had been spent on core game elements.
