Haexpane wrote...
Streamlined = proactive against complaints of dumbing down. Instead of admitting things are being stripped and gutted, like ME2, (ME1 inventory is bad, yes, but they could have fixed it instead of gutting)
I work in an area that is heavily involved in software development. Streamlined ALWAYS means cutting features or using the most basic features. In 10 years I've never heard a user once complement how "streamlined" a system is.
It's ALWAYS the project managers, upper managers, or dev leads that brag about streamlining.
The most famous version of "streamlined design" Apple Iphailphone 4 w/ the "streamlined" antenna.
What about the imacs that looked like Lamps? Another "streamlined" tech that was garbage
I don't wanna turn this into yet another one of those endless "ME2 dumbed down RPG elements!!!" because I always felt that Mass Effect kinda sucked at RPG elements and they never really added much - it's not like removing inventory from a game like Fallout. Hell, Bloodlines was a great RPG and the inventory there was completely minimal - a grand total of four armors to choose from the whole game, the choices are staggering.
What I will say is that "streamlining", as often as it can be a euphemism for gutting perfectly serviceable elements for wider appeal, isn't all that bad in theory. For example, Mask of the Betrayer is one of my favourite RPG's ever, but goddamn do some of the mechanics annoy me. I know that it's based on D&D, but it really doesn't translate well in-game.
Look at memorizing spells as an example and how horribly unintuitive it is. I'm playing as a cleric and I've memorized oodles of buff spells to help my party fight orcs and elemental attacks to give me an offensive edge. However, along the way, a bunch of vampires and skeletons attack me, and I can't defend myself with some awesome anti-undead spells because all the ones that I have memorized are either buffs or elemental attacks that undead might be resistant to. It seems kinda goofy, you know - oh wait, we're heading to a cemetary, better memorize my sunburst, then rest afterward to be ready!
To be fair, D&D was meant to be turn-based, but still, the whole "memorization" mechanic seems pretty stupid to me and doesn't translate well into an RPG.
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