I'm having an extremely difficult time immersing myself in myst 5...

Let me explain.

First, I want to say that I loved myst 2 - 4. Having said that, I can objectively say that I am greatly disappointed with myst 5. Where my expectations too high being this the finale? A resounding no.

All I was expecting was to find the same qualities that made the previous games so charming. The ability to immerse yourself in worlds of beauty, and allow yourself to be seduced by the mysteries around you. At a nice and slow pace! Solve puzzles, exercise your brain, become obsessed...

Now I look around in myst 5 I am smacked in the face by a low poly caricature of the old myst paradigm. Ugly! Unbelivebeable! Uninviting! I just can't immerse myself...

I had to give up the beauty of old for the ability to dash about faster, and for what? This ain't doom, I am not chasing and blasting monsters, and nobody is chasing me. So what's the point?

The storyline a characters suffer too. Myst 4 was definitely the best for that. Now all we get is bitter old yeesha and that weirdo Escher! So sad...

Bottom line: They rushed to market on this one, I don't know why. And somehow they felt compelled to introduce new technology which adds NOTHING to the gaming experience! If something is successful why change it?

End of rant. This are my opinions. I don't need now for all the myst fanatics to get all charged up and go on the attack. I am only sharing my opinions with those who might want their disappointment validated.

I guess I can replay 2 through 4...

Riisho,
LOL, your are validated. Seems you join a commonality with a group. Read the next post Myst V versus Alantis and others you may find that interesting

MST4EVR

While this thread does not offer much, it does point out why Myst 5 was done in 3d and the advantages and disadvantages of doing so. I had no problem in immersing myself in the game, probably it's because I am used to 3d games.

I think this should have been called MYST 5 - Mission Accomplished

I know this doesn't help after the fact, but this is what Cyan/Ubisoft could have done to address their budget restraints:

Outsource programming to china. Programmers paid 50 cents an hour could have developed 10 worlds to explore for the price of 5. The drawbacks might be only slight, like poor subtitles in the game, but I could live with that. With the money saved they could have kept live actors. My suggestion would be to cast Jet Li as Escher and Zhang Ziyi to play Yeesha. Wouldn't that be something! I'd pay 15 more dollars for that!

quote:

Originally posted by ivanxuereb:
While this thread does not offer much, it does point out why Myst 5 was done in 3d and the advantages and disadvantages of doing so. I had no problem in immersing myself in the game, probably it's because I am used to 3d games.

This thread was really useful education and answered all my questions. Thank you. It really sad to see quality and imagination succumb to financial pressures.

To Riisho:

Yes...I had a difficult time as well becoming immersed in this game for a number of reasons I have already discussed in other threads....so I won't delve too far again. It was funny to hear you mention the "Doom" comment though! I also expressed this feeling that I was playing a passive version of Doom - which made me also want to take out a few Bahro given the opportunity! You mentioned several good points on this Riisho and one that I have yet to read or mention is that although the "ages" load quicker than URU's did...it would have been nice upon linking... to instantly appear in the age without a black loading screen. The pre-rendered games do a great job with enhancing a linking experience. By allowing you to feel like you are flying/traveling into this book - seeing the world you are about to enter...just really adds an important element to the feel of the games. So I think this is another difference effecting the immersion in MYST V (nevermind URU)...at least it was for me anyway.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: neo...1,

It isn't the 3D aspect that removes the immersion. Doom 3, F.E.A.R, Splinter Cell 3, Half Life 2, and Farcry are very immersive. Farcry is one of the most immersive because of the size of the islands. Being able to walk 3 miles without a single loading screen or studder is incredible.

Hey Zeus...

Yeah...I wouldn't say that it is solely the 3-D that breaks the immersion. As discussed before there are a number of aspects that do it. Sticking to just this last topic...I think the particular engine and the loading sequences definitely play a part in breaking the immersion for me. I found Todelmer fairly immersive however it was too "small" & short lived.

You bring up a great point about the other games and of course your final point of being able to walk 3 miles without a loading screen or a studder.... 3-D is most definitely not an issue for me there!

So I have to say that 3-D does effect the immersion for me in this game... or if you prefer...it is more likely this particular engine that is one contributing factor of many.

Low poly? I don't get it. You must have something wrong with your (outdated?) computer. I'm not particularly a fan of 3D but the game looked fantastic on a machine with a newer graphics card. I can nitpick with the best about the game's other shortcomings, but graphics is not one of them.

Who was the "low poly" comment intended for Dara?

Riisho wrote:

quote:

Now I look around in myst 5 I am smacked in the face by a low poly caricature of the old myst paradigm. Ugly! Unbelivebeable! Uninviting!

My game was anything but "Ugly! Unbelivebeable! Uninviting!".

I found the puzzles a bit too easy. I remember I could spend hours in an Age in the previous games. This one went too fast. And if they went to computer generated characters, I wish they would have brought back the character design of Uru. But apart from those I loved the game very much.

The thing that makes 3D great is how you move in the space, and how the world changes around you. It's how you have an infinite variety of views and how things change as you move in the space, that sort of thing. Perhaps that will help.

quote:

The thing that makes 3D great is how you move in the space, and how the world changes around you.

That's what I like about 3D as well. Don't get me wrong, I loved the earlier titles too! But it was just so neat to be able to walk around an object on a random path, viewing that object from all angles, rather than having to depend on a single viewing angle in pre-rendered. I guess it's my curious side that draws me to Myst games in the first place, and in my opinion, that curiosity was much more fully satisfied by the ability to explore freely and observe the scenery from any viewpoint. I remember feeling frustrated occasionally with the earlier titles because I was unable to get a better look at things... whether I actually NEEDED a better look, or was just curious, was immaterial.

Plus, even with the gorgeous scenery in Riven, for example, once you've seen a particular view, you've SEEN it. Meaning, it will never change. Uru and Myst V were so dynamic, with the constantly changing viewpoint, that I found them more immersive.

Conclusion? I love 2D. I love 3D. As long as it's Myst!

mszv & Mowog
I share your opinion about 3D. But I was disappointed with character graphics (these were static reference point shots). I realllllly dislike not being able to esc out of the speeches.