I dont understand one thing ... If auto-play is a virtue, then why play it in the first place? You can just watch a movie. It is far more interesting plot wise and it has far higher production values than any game. Have games became just ways to feel good about ourselves by being rewarded all the time? It makes no sense whatsoever. If I want to observe something, I can watch a movie or watch someone else play. If I want to play, I want the stimulation of actually needing to play the game. Imagine how XCOM EW would be if it would play itself or something like Counter Strike. I swear, the gaming field is heading in a very strange direction. When I was 20, I played The Walking Dead. So many people were complaining that it is virtually an interactive movie and that the input is minimal. Compared to this, that was Civilization. Now games that play themselves are a good thing. In a few years, there arent even going to be any more games. We just login, get the rewards, log-out. So much for interactive art.
Or maybe there’s no such thing as a slippery slope here, and we’ll keep getting all sorts of games with all sorts of gameplay. In other words, folks can play Lineage on their phones and Skyrim on their Switches at the same time. And BTW — please post general thoughts on auto-play here, and not on the Lineage 2 thread.
Auto play is a new type of MMORPG I guess. Just stay clear of these types if you dont like them. MMORPGs always were less attention required than other games im constantly clicking on differentent upgrades and rewards, while the character is fighting, im only level 20 though.
Auto play is perfect for anything that requires grinding of low difficulty contents. Almost all MMO's and loot based games have this kind of contents. Auto play allows players to grind when they are doing other things.
When I play a game,I generally dont do anything else at the same time,except looking at how to beat a hard boss or walkthrough of the game so no autoplay is for me useless,I want to play,not watch an interactive movie.
Auto-play switches the skill from the core game loop to the strategy progression. Some people like that, some don't. Which is fine as it is not the only type of game available.
Every big f2p title has the goal to find the right formula to make the player addicted and to find a way to get money even if a player swears to never spend anything. Its never about the gameplay. The auto-play function in a f2p title is one more way to give players with low selfesteem (sadly most humans are like this) the feeling of getting rewarded all the time without doing anything. This is one more stupid mechanism for addicting players who are not really playing.
So similar to managing your units in a rts,it sure work well in those but in a mmo...that dont fit with the genre.
I believe, that games should have Auto-play but only optional. Example is in grinding low level opponent to get this rare item, etc, you can just activate auto-play than to button smash the game for more than an hour. Auto-Play only becomes negative when the game requires the player play the game in Auto-Play or Auto-Quest.
I like it when I have to redo levels for quest completion like with Dragon Nest 2 Legend but the bot does not block,move away from attacks,dodge and get nearly killed...lowering my rank....still in that case because it could get you killed I prefer it far more because you can still go fully manual without the need for autoplay,I want to play games after all.
Not sure if auto-play refers to games like Monument Valley where when you try out all the possible moves (of which they're not that many... you figure it out in due time), you'll complete the level, and the game in due time, or if it's a button you press and the game does some default or user defined sequence for you automatically, without any further user input. If it's the former, I don't mind that. To me, that doesn't make it any less of "a game". Some games are made stupidly hard that I'll quit them, no matter how much "prestige" they have. I still had a blast going through MV's various puzzles, exploring the game's level design, and going through the incredible visuals If it's the latter, I use the auto play feature in Final Fantasy IV and FFIV: The After Years on random encounters that are pushovers. The characters do the last thing that they did before (e.g. fight, or special ability). Not only do I not have to be there, the game speed accelerates to 2X. I can either set it to autoplay and come back to it after a quick errand (like refilling water), or I won't have to sit around as long for the battle to win.
I guess it all comes down to what you consider "gameplay." I always wanted to get into something like World of Warcraft, but the repetitive grind of "go kill 30 rats and turn in this quest, then go do it again" was a massive turn-off. I liked the idea of a big, dynamic, open, social world, but not the mindless repetition. Order and Chaos Online promised a bit easier on-ramp to MMOs for me, since I could theoretically play anywhere, but it was such slow going because of the shallow progression curve. Star Wars The Old Republic was something that REALLY appealed to me, because I liked the single-player story-based RPG aspect of KOTOR, and this was even more of the same. But, ugh. Too many mobs and boring combat ... until, miracle of miracles, they FIXED it, they nerfed it to the point where I could enjoy the story and aesthetics without getting stopped every two steps by grunts who wanted to kill me. The FF7 port to iOS had an option to turn off random encounters. That was great, too! I'm enjoying Crusaders of Light and Lineage II Revolution because they offload all the boring bull$hit so I don't have to sit through it. I can enjoy the graphics, the gear and quest management, and the progression. I don't have to sit on the "ATTACK" button like an ape to make things work. I like it. If "combat" is your thing, well, these games aren't for you. I think they're for me. I like them.