Home » BIT COMPOSER GAMES » Jagged Alliance: Back in Action (by Coreplay) » JABIA post mortem on Steam discussion board
| JABIA post mortem on Steam discussion board[message #317583]
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Sat, 20 April 2013 07:42 
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 sbobovyc |
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Messages:83
Registered:November 2012 |
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A poster on Steam discussion boards posted the following question, and I thought to share my response here.
Quote:
I mean, between Fallout 1,2,tactics and brotherhood they aren't that dissimilar to the J/A series! Anyone think a company like Bethesda could turn around such a beloved franchise? Don't get me wrong, I didn't mind JABIA, but it wasn't as good as I had hoped!
I've played/own all the games you've mentioned + Jagged Alliance 2 Gold. They are great games and have stood the test of time (for the most part). On release, JABIA was missing some key features and it hurt it in the reviews. This series has very dedicated fans, I am sure you've seen the 1.13 mod for JA2. The publisher and developer released a bunch of patches following release fixing most of those problems. They could have just let things be post launch.
I can think of a dozen little things that could have been added to make JABIA a better game. For example, adding leaning and side stepping. There are many tactical situations where this would be useful. For many different reasons, depth was sacrificed in favor of simplicity.
There are not that many team based tactical real time strategy games. On a technical note, the game uses a really solid lighting engine which makes the game look good. AI is not the best, but with the fog of war turned on can surprise you. I think this game deserves a score of 80/100 instead of 62/100 (according to metacritic).
As for whether Bethesda could make a good Jagged Alliance, I really don't know. Their technical skills are good, but their expertise are in open world rpg. BitComposer just selected Full Control to do the next JA. You can look up their portfolio and see that they have experience in creating turn based tactical games. I look forward to see what they create.
[Updated on: Sat, 20 April 2013 07:43] by Moderator Report message to a moderator
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| Re: JABIA post mortem on Steam discussion board[message #341282 is a reply to message #340870]
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Sun, 31 May 2015 19:57 
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| zippythezip |
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Messages:38
Registered:January 2013
Location: Nova Scotia, Canada |
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Anthropoid wrote on Mon, 04 May 2015 19:02I've been playing the heck out of this game using sbobovyc package of mods (drop all items; camera tweak, etc.) as well as the Realistic Rebalancing mod by Killatomate.
I absolutely love this game, and I do not understand why it is not one of the most famous in the series. Course I also really liked Hired Guns, which also seems to be generally disliked if not ignored.
To me the AI is fine. The pauseable real-time action sequencer and the line of sight system are IMHO, light years ahead of JA2, and the graphics are much less hard on the eyes. Only real complaints I have is that the camera (even with the tweaker) is a bit awkward (hard to see inside some small rooms, etc.) and that many of the features in JA2 1.13 mod are not included.
To me, wedding this engine with all the content in 1.13 would make the perfect JA game . . . well near perfect.
I have to agree, love this game, as long as you add the mods. The pause and go is way better than turn based in that it adds a more fun factor and strategy.
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Private 1st Class
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| Re: JABIA post mortem on Steam discussion board[message #342709 is a reply to message #341282]
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Wed, 07 October 2015 06:28
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| yupper |
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Messages:44
Registered:October 2012 |
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The problem(s) with this game is not the PnG system--which as many players have noted, you can get use to and eventually appreciate. In fact, the PnG system isn't really hard to get use to at all for most RPG players, who are familiar with similar systems from 90's isometric Black Isle CRPGs like Baldur's Gate right up to more contemporary CRPGs like Dragon Age: Origins. The problem(s) is that the game is a stripped down version of JA2, with many features that are incomplete or broken (like the in-game economy), lacks polish, and has no "soul." Most of the "old school" JA2 mod users really just wanted JA2 on an updated engine, and they failed to deliver even that. Clearly, some stuff were "nixed" due to pressure to release the game on a deadline, like working Skyrider helicopter. Some stuff have been "fixed" by modders without having to do anything with the engine, like M.E.R.C. and (limited) IMP, but other stuff cannot be fixed with mere config editing, like time based salaries for mercs and proper trader inventory refresh.
[Updated on: Wed, 07 October 2015 06:44] Report message to a moderator
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