Why is it .... you have a nice adventure genre series, and there are lots of adventure players who love the MYST series and yet............. it has come very close to being an 'action-adventure' game.??!!!?!?
Timed puzzles/chores, and jumping. I just started this and have been in Gahreesen Age. Now, i must say, jumping in the Cleft wasn't a problem, when you fell there..there was a place to go and climb back up or another way to get there w/just short jumps over the bridge. You did not have to start over.........fine. BUT now, having spent an afternoon trying to 'power up' , hurry up run here, step on the grate, run there, push this, step on that, and of course out of time, i am pretty much fed up. I guess it would have been just to difficult to have a nice enjoyable game you could SAVE when you wanted, did not have to redo a whole sequence, waste time w/timed puzzles, and jump and restart an area.
I am ticked.!!! grrrrrrrrrrr. See, the thing i REALLY enjoyed about the Myst series was you could move at your own pace, not feel pressured and 'enjoy the ride and the scenery". Does anyone else feel this way? Graphics nice, sound is good(but 'sparse'), but character almost uncontrolable--hate the 'floating'cursor!

You're preaching to the choir, pal. Well, when I'm reading it, anyway. Hate to tell you, but the misery has just begun. Wait 'til you start having to manipulate fireflies (with no save game function) and move crates, floating in water (with no hands or arms).

I loved Myst and Riven so I guess I'm a fan and supporter of the gang at Cyan. But that sound you'll hear at the end of Uru is the sound of them dropping the ball. Thud! A lot of loyal fans have been defending this turkey, but the truth is; the emperor has no clothes!

I thought I was the only one who did not like URU.

glad to know i am not the only one taking issue w/this game. Yep--i know more misery ahead...fireflies? manipulate?...floating in water should be interesting since my cursor does that! I adored Myst and Riven!! i keep Riven loaded just for the purpose of going to the beach for a mini vacation when i want! I know why the emperor has no clothes........lost 'em trying to 'power up' in Gahreesen! i have yet to get thru that. i hope they drop the ball loudly and hard enough and get back to basics.....wonder, wander and explore, enjoy.

i can understand people complaining about the jumping as if you miss you "die" and have to get all the way back to where you were which is pain but i don't get what the big deal is with the fireflies. the hardest part was placing the crates correctly but this isn't timed and you can't "die" . you should practice the jump( again you can't die here)so you know where and how to jump before getting the fireflies. once you get them its easy.

The problem with that firefly puzzle is...
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...figuring out what you are doing wrong that is causing them to abandon you. Without cheating, this will take a dumb guy like me several trips through the link, load, go to books, link, load, run around in circle, link, load and try again nightmare. Meanwhile I could be playing something entertaining.

I think a lot of people took issue with Uru at first. Some for tech reasons, some because learning how to make the avatar move precisely enough wasn't as easy as I'd expected, some because of the dearth of instructions on certain matters.

I know I growled enough when I was getting started! After awhile though I came to like ..well..pretty much everything (always thought the scenery & music were awesome) and now I really love the whole game. The expansion file helps a LOT imho. I enjoyed the puzzles in Kadish no end ~ once I got my KI... I always liked the fireflies... but then I have always liked fireflies <g> I thought it was one of Uru's most original puzzles.

Your progress IS saved as you go along. The journey cloths allow you to link to the last one in an Age you touched (for easier travel) but you can also always use the beginning panel. The bent corners are pages you can turn in the books. I was VERY frustrated until somebody told me that!

I'm not downing on anyone else's opinions here though I imagine its obvious I don't agree.

Hope it gets better for you too.

Susan

With regard to the save game function and the firefly puzzle; you can't save your progress at an important point. If you loose the fireflies before you get into the cave you have to start all over again as I outlined above. A real save game function, like ever other game I've played, would allow you to save a game just before you start to work your way across the water to get to the cave. But noooooo!

Unless there is something I missed. Wouldn't be the first time for that!

Nope, AFAIK you are right about that, Randwill. I had to try several times to get the fireflies to the end. (First objective didnt give me any trouble).

On the other thread, Jenny100 has pointed out that while Uru saves your actions as you go, it doesnt save your location. You gotta get back through books & cloths. Yes, gotta agree ~ a quicksave would be less frustrating for some of those jumps and for the fireflies. (Though I honestly didnt mind rounding them up repeatedly. I loved walking around with fireflies. )

I think they thought it would be more immersive & consistent to limit motion this way (books & cloths) ~ but there are already other unrealistic elements. I dont personally think a quicksave function would really detract all that much from the immersiveness of the environment.

Susan

A save game feature AND a quick save feature would've been great for this game. i think any game that comes out should have at least a 'save where you are' option so as to avoid ENDLESS repetition. It irks me no end to see the point/click genre dissolving and the Action/adventure genre replacing it. The timed/action 'power-up' puzzle in Gahreesen would have been interestig, had you been given enough time to solve it (some of us have arthritis in hands and can't move very fast or precise) or perhaps an automatic 'solve' after the 15th time! As it is now...it is an irritable stumbling block which for some people will be impassable. i am going to play another age, but if that mess in Gahreesen is an example of the rest of the Ages, Cyan will have to keep 'em. And i hate to say it, but i have a feeling the 'new' games to the Myst series will have More Action and less adventure. in other words....goodbye point and click--only able to save when reach a certain point (probably cheaper to make the game i guess)and endless jumping and running to and fro...endless repetition. I think Cyan forgot the reason or maybe weren't aware the reason a lot of people liked the Myst series...point/click, go at YOUR own pace. Too bad..........

Thankfully the new Myst game, Revelation, is being handled by someone other than Cyan. The word is that Revelation is in the old Myst style that Cyan has abandoned. Also, I'm told , you can save your game anywhere you like as many times as you like.

Cyan will undoubtedly pick up an action/adventure fan base with their new direction. Just be glad that there are still developers who can produce the kind of pure adventure games that Cyan practically invented. Then abandoned.

I believe Exile showed that others can pick up the ball and run with it. Let's hope that Revelation continues the excellent Myst tradition that got me interested in adventure games in the first place.

It will probably be like Exile, with panning at nodes.

Quote:

Cyan will undoubtedly pick up an action/adventure fan base with their new direction.

They undoubtedly won't. Most action/adventure gamers will still think it's boring without enemies to fight. And even action gamers appreciate a save feature in a single player game. There were a lot of complaints about the "level saves" in Indiana Jones and the Emperor's Tomb.

i am glad to hear about 'Revelation". Too bad Cyan cannot come up w/a work around for the action (power up in G-age- or others i don't know about yet.....sheesh..)...'cause if it is essential to solve or complete then i wasted $$'s for a game i will never finish.....AND it will certainly make me think a long, long time before i buy another 'cyan' project.

The trick for me, as an avid Myst/Riven/Exile fan, was NOT to approach Uru with the same expectations. Myst lovers enjoy other adventure games (maybe not as much) that do not have the same peaceful, at-your-own-pace exploratory atmosphere so why not Uru? I definitely agree about the limited save feature. Also, I found myself sometimes confused about where the heck I was at and what I was supposed to do next. Even though I did enjoy Uru, I'm not sure it was enough to buy the expansion pack.