How important is fluff to your RTS enjoyment?

[AdmiralZeech]

Thanks for the responses everyone! Whilst I certainly wouldn't go so far as "Side A, Side B" etc, it was interesting to pose the extreme and see what people thought.

what do you want help with?

Lol, I need someone to take away all my games, novels and anime so I can actually do something productive for once. And stop me from buying a PS4 to play Bloodborne

[Vee]

"Fluff" is important when you are first playing a game. Now I would still enjoy supcom if you removed all unit models and just displayed icons, but if it was like that when I played the game for the first time I would definitely quit immediately.

[Blodir]

I actually wouldn't mind at all, but I agree with others that it makes the game that much less approachable.

P.S I've never played the supcom campaign and I don't have any clue what any of the factions stand for

[Frozen_byte]

Lol, I need someone to take away all my games, novels and anime so I can actually do something productive for once. And stop me from buying a PS4 to play Bloodborne :P

You speak right out of my soul mate!

[Morax]

If the strategy is to take two pieces of bread, add peanut butter, and decide "fluff" is another ingredient that is needed I like lots and lots:

[Tremarl]

I don't play text based games. So no I'd enjoy some fluff

[justmakenewgame]

I actually wouldn't mind at all, but I agree with others that it makes the game that much less approachable.

P.S I've never played the supcom campaign and I don't have any clue what any of the factions stand for

that's a surprise... no, a shock!

AdmiralZeech
depends on target group. People were playing Quake with so ugly textures(to get like 120 fps) that any game would look good. But you see what's going on in game industy... Game are not changing for years and years. Just better graphics. There are games with 15 years old gameplay and just improved picture and effects.
For me: if someone in his promo video would start talking about actual game play and not as always - graphics, effects, other cheap hipe; i would be so glad and surprised... I'm disqusted by all those "presentations" like Star Citizen or Doom 4 or Mount and Blade 2. So if you ever make a game that would go for improved gameplay, you have a good chance to become a new legend in game industry.

[Nombringer]

I guess at that point your cutting into the market of people that play chess.

But you would be competing with game that has god knows how many years of people playing and knowing about it ect.... So it would probably fail

[tatsu]

Let's say I wrote an RTS.

Let's say I accidentally made amazing gameplay, in the style of TA/SCFA, but with great innovations of my own. And very good UI.

Let's say it was bug free, had a full range of multiplayer/online/competitive features, and good skirmish AI.

Let's say I have lots of pretty particle effects for projectiles and explosions.


But lets say I have no talent at 3D art or writing. And I don't even bother. My tanks are just icons, my superunits are just large cubes. The names of my factions are "Side A, Side B, Side C", the names of my units are "Light tank, medium tank, heavy tank, etc." There is no story, no context.


Would you miss the fluff that much? Do you get a lot of additional enjoyment from seeing that awesome "Monkeylord Spiderbot" blast its way through "UEF Pillar heavy tanks"? From the characters and the events in the campaign, the backstory of the factions, etc?

so long as the units had actual complex 3D models and there was projectile simulation in a grand way. to me it would be the best game ever.

[nine2]

Why not make some fluff? I bet u could recruit someone to make storyline and 3d models. Somewhere out there is a 3d guy dying to make an rts but doesnt have a programmer etc.