What are you thoughts on the micromanaging?

[Algonquin Assassin]

Before the game's release I was honestly a bit worried about the eating, sleeping, bathing, weapons maintenance etc, but in all the hours I played of the game not once have like like it's been a chore. In fact every time I start up I have a routine where the first thing I do is brush my horse, feed and pat him then away I go.

 

I'm pleasantly surprised by how well it's all integrated. R* could've made all of it really intrusive and annoying, but it's kinda hard to imagine the game without it. I played Red Dead Redemption a few weeks back and honestly it felt too barren because I'm so used to these mechanics in Red Dead Redemption 2.

 

What about you guys?

[josephene123]

Really mixed feelings. 

 

I think the dead eye core maybe drains too quickly - not to the point where it effects gameplay, because deadeye isn't really necessary. But seeing that red icon is enough to bother me.

 

Horses get dirty WAY too quickly - as do guns, imo.

 

And the only other thing that bothers me is how you have to craft every individual bullet/ ammunition type. Rather than, say - 5 at a time... You have to craft each one individually? To be honest this is one thing I'm unsure of, please could someone tell me I'm wrong!

 

Other than that, bathing, eating, drinking coffee, it all kind of added to the role playing experience and atmosphere. And I agree, most of the systems aren't pushed enough to bother you. The ones which do though, really bother me. I could sacrifice a bit of realism for my horse staying clean for longer than ten minutes at a time. 

 

EDIT: On the weight maintenance - I honestly just completely ignored that aspect of the game. I'm sure I was underweight the whole way through but Arthur never looked unhealthy and I guess I've no idea to what extent it affected my playthrough! 

Edited December 8, 2018 by josephene123

[The Jungz]

I really enjoy it, it adds depth to otherwise mundane activities.

 

Albeit, maintaining weight can sometimes be hard to follow as the system is not really clear on how much weight Arthur loses or gains depending on the amount of food that is required.

 

Otherwise, great feature. I hope they expand on those in the next Red Dead (and GTA possibly).

[Mach1bud]

I don't find any of it tedious or a chore at all. All great features that are present just enough for you to actually enjoy doing what it takes to refill them when the need comes up. 

[wangsparkinglot]

Breath of fresh air I think.. Never found it annoying t all.. 

[Meekail]

I wish there was a way to bath in the camp instead of having to go to town every time.

 

Or just have a way to wash off your face at least lol

[DexMacLeod]

I was pleasantly surprised by it. It was probably one of my biggest worries as the having to eat thing was by far my least favorite part of San Andreas. In RDR2 they do a good job of both making that stuff not really matter a whole lot and giving you multiple ways to accomplish the same thing.

 

The ability to do it all yourself by hunting and cooking your own food or just eat the can of whatever you've scavenged off of people makes it so that it's really as easy or complicated as you want it to be. I'll agree that guns get mucked up too quick but I'm the type that'll just walk through the river quick rather than bathe so that's probly not helping me.

 

Also, in line with what Meekail said, some things could be a little more convenient. I wish more towns had butchers and stables and such. I feel like every major town should at least have a stable if nothing else.

 

And the camp should totally have someone around who can cut your hair. I like my Arthur to have short hair but it generally stays pretty long just due to the fact that most of the time the barber shops are too far out of my way to bother with them. 

[BretMaverick777]

Echoing some thoughts already stated:

 

Didn't find any of the "busy work" to be a chore at all.  I like the immersion of doing camp/ranch chores like baling hay, feeding the chikkuns, milking the cow, and even shoveling sh** authentic.   Not required at all; just something appropriate for the era.   And a good way to bump up your honor after you've tied too many innocent victims to the railroad track, so there's that going for it. 

 

But yeah, a "quantity" slider is definitely needed, in all things.   The REAL tedium comes in having to repeat-spam the button to cook a buttload of big game meat, mix potions, sell/buy multiple items, and cut cross points into 400 damn rifle cartridges INDIVIDUALLY

59 minutes ago, Meekail said:

I wish there was a way to bath in the camp instead of having to go to town every time.

 

Or just have a way to wash off your face at least lol

I know rite...?!  

You can wash your face in a rain barrel Online; why is it so hard for SP mode? 

 

[Slappy212]

I played the game with a friend who owns a console...I honestly find it mind boggling that people think the sim elements are any fun. They add zero depth to the game. The issue is this: RPG devs know how to do this stuff. Rockstar clearly does not. They apparently have no idea how to add mechanical depth to their games.  

[Non Funkable Token]

It barely affects gameplay which is good.

 

Sometimes I sleep, eat or change clothes for the sake of it. Roleplay and that.

[Rykjeklut]

1 hour ago, Fluffy Sock said:

It barely affects gameplay which is good.

 

Sometimes I sleep, eat or change clothes for the sake of it. Roleplay and that.

I always go back to camp/make camp at night, and eat something before I go to sleep.

 

 

[TheSantader25]

You know riding a horse is nowhere near as challenging as driving a car in GTA. I'm glad we have "something" to do in those moments. R* tried to flesh out the gameplay so people would stop calling this a Grand Theft Horse game. 

[BretMaverick777]

1 hour ago, Slappy212 said:

I played the game with a friend who owns a console...I honestly find it mind boggling that people think the sim elements are any fun. They add zero depth to the game. The issue is this: RPG devs know how to do this stuff. Rockstar clearly does not. They apparently have no idea how to add mechanical depth to their games.  

Some people (read:  lots of people) play this game for far more than "mechanical depth."   We play it for immersion, to feel like we're really there in a place and time that very few game developers have ever tackled.   Beyond the simple "mechanical depth" of shoot n loot.  

 

Sorry you don't have the aesthetic for that.  

[TheSantader25]

Tbh open world games have become repetitive and more of the same. Go "there" Shoot "that dude". It's things like this that can add depth and freshness to them. 

[Algonquin Assassin]

6 hours ago, Meekail said:

I wish there was a way to bath in the camp instead of having to go to town every time.

 

Or just have a way to wash off your face at least lol

I don't get that honestly...

 

John can't even take a bath in his own home. WTF?

 

This seems to be a common thing with R*. There's always atleast ONE thing that makes no sense.

[Xerukal]

Annoys me that Arthur washes himself using a water barrel in one of the earlier cutscenes of Chapter 2, but then we aren't able to do this ever outside of that one instance. 

 

Being to bathe in some clean rivers would've been nice too, but I suppose that process is automatic as you get submerged. Same with your horse. 

 

Anyway, I don't like how random the weight system is. Sometimes it's too sensitive and changes on a whim. Other times it takes a lot of conscious effort to get it to budge in either direction (gain or loss of weight). Example being, I accidentally got overweight yesterday and I slept through about 30 in-game days without eating or drinking anything, running laps around the saloon and exhausting myself before each subsequent sleep. I barely went down a single percentage, lol. Maybe the key to weight loss is letting missions and gameplay pass the time, not sleep. But we'll see. 

 

Other than that, the realism elements only enhance the game for me. I especially love the ability to walk around with items of food and drink (stew bowls, coffee cups), while actually talking to and interacting with people. 

[Guest Guest176525326]

38 minutes ago, Miamivicecity said:

 

  Reveal hidden contents

John can't even take a bath in his own home. WTF?

 

 

This seems to be a common thing with R*. There's always atleast ONE thing that makes no sense.

 

It's a safety measure, incase John goes underwater and drowns...

[Algonquin Assassin]

38 minutes ago, O.Z said:

 

It's a safety measure, incase John goes underwater and drowns...

 Well played sir. Well played.

[Emmi]

I must say I didn't even notice this stuff much in all the hours I played the game.

Like I took a bath maybe 3 times in total because actually, since the dirt, etc. fades away after time and completely gets reset once you die it's kind sensless anyways.

In the end I guess it's an aspect that R* could have left away and noone would care about it at all.

It's nice to have but as I said, I for once don't even notice its existence.

lol

[Algonquin Assassin]

5 minutes ago, Emmi said:

I must say I didn't even notice this stuff much in all the hours I played the game.

Like I took a bath maybe 3 times in total because actually, since the dirt, etc. fades away after time and completely gets reset once you die it's kind sensless anyways.

In the end I guess it's an aspect that R* could have left away and noone would care about it at all.

It's nice to have but as I said, I for once don't even notice its existence.

lol

I just do it because since there are no hookers in the game getting bathed by the ladies is really the only sexual gratification Arther gets lol.

[LeonVegaSuarez]

None of it is a chore to me. I would like easier quick access to the last item I used or ate though. Sometimes a bit of hassle to open the item wheel and scroll through 37 bread chunks, gin and cigarettes.

 

Eating is no problem since I discovered the great effects of big game meat. Horse feeding and brushing is a non issue as well. 

 

 

Washing could use some improvements. We should be able to wash our faces in rivers or barrels, not just when taking a bath. I would also like the option to shave when camping in the wilderness. It makes sense for Arthur to be able to shave wherever.

[Nugsy]

I find it fascinating that you're all talking about story mode.

Online's where it's at for me, and what my vote was for.

I'm now used to eating regularly to keep my online character +7.5% overweight. I chose a fat guy & it irks me that he loses weight without attention.

The only issue is that I need a fair bit of looting & hunting to maintain my food supplies.

 

[Edit] NOW I see the 'online' section... Bye!

Edited December 8, 2018 by Nugsy

[Lonely-Martin]

I very much enjoy it, real San Andreas vibes for me. 

 

And on those days I've less time to play, it hasn't hampered that when I do forget or leave things be.

[Nutduster]

I mostly like it and think they did a good job making it not much of an imposition.  Most of them instead feel like optional activities you can do for immersion and to chill out for a while at camp.  You don't need to do anything (eat, cut your hair, shave, tend your horse) very often - it helps certain things to do it once in a while but it's far from mandatory and even if you do all of it, you won't spend much time on it.  I even did camp chores as Arthur occasionally.

 

I do think a few minor tweaks would improve things:

- The bath in

Spoiler

John's house

should work.

 

- There should be a way to do a quick waist-up wash in rain barrels and water troughs. Going to get fully clean in a designated bath is a bit of a chore so I don't do it very often, but I'd still occasionally like to wipe the muck off my face and the blood off my shirt.

 

- Horses shouldn't get dirty so fast, especially on top (I do understand splatter on the undercarriage and legs). Not a big deal for darker-colored ones but the white Arabian I mostly used was constantly filthy - looked like a spotted horse half the time.  This happens like 4x faster than I'd like. 

 

 

Edited December 8, 2018 by Nutduster

[Cutter De Blanc]

I wish I could starve to death

 

Also wish horses lost bonding over time and neglect, as once I get them to level 4 I forget to be nice to them

[Slappy212]

17 hours ago, BretMaverick777 said:

Some people (read:  lots of people) play this game for far more than "mechanical depth."   We play it for immersion, to feel like we're really there in a place and time that very few game developers have ever tackled.   Beyond the simple "mechanical depth" of shoot n loot.  

 

Sorry you don't have the aesthetic for that.  

Well I'm more gameplay focused, and I don't like barriers between me and meaningful gameplay. That's what micro managing is. 

[HopalongCasidy]

I just want the bath lady to scrub my head, is that too much to ask?

[RamArmy]

On 12/7/2018 at 10:21 PM, Meekail said:

I wish there was a way to bath in the camp instead of having to go to town every time.

 

Or just have a way to wash off your face at least lol

I read somewhere that all it takes to wash your horse is to go thru a deep river. 

I think the same applies to Arthur. Now that I just started chapter 3, I take a quick dip in the lake to accomplish this.  

[Smokewood]

1 hour ago, RamArmy said:

I read somewhere that all it takes to wash your horse is to go thru a deep river. 

I think the same applies to Arthur. Now that I just started chapter 3, I take a quick dip in the lake to accomplish this.  

change outfit = instant clean. There is also a large wooden bucket in camp to wash face.

[Jimbatron]

I generally liked it but a few tweaks would go a long way.

 

It would be good for example if the game had some way of warning you you character is hungry if you are going to lose weight. You can become underweight even if you eat enough to keep your health core fully maxed. I suspect the may have changed that last minute to make the game more playable (so you don’t have to eat as often before serious impacts occur). Perhaps even your character saying out loud  “I’m famished” or some simple stay like current : hungry / full. In terms of realism we all know if we’re hungry or not but in game your health core doesn’t give the full picture. You only know if you were hungry yesterday after you’ve lost weight in the game!

 

It would also be good to queue multiple items to cook. Surely I can fit 5 venison steaks on that grill at once (for stowing).

 

Not sure if it’s a bug but it’s also annoying I need to brush the horse two or three times before it’s clean. I’d be fine if it took a bit longer but why isn’t it that I say “brush the horse” and he continues until it’s fully clean? 

Edited December 10, 2018 by Jimbatron