I cannot help but largely agree with the OP, regardless of the tone, the feedback can be exctracted well and I share it.
I don't think I came "overhyped", even though I surely awaited this game since the trailer. While it has good moments in the main plot and some side activities, you can just feel a certain "discrepancy" to the open world. Let's not forget all the initially basically promised features that were cut out (showing you management or priority issues down the line).
Let's ignore fixable bugs: Many "quality of life" aspects are missing (hinting at priority issues and time constraints). I can honk my car and play with the lights, but honking doesn't do much as the reactive vehicle or ped AI isn't there or very basic. Yet, I cannot walk unless you consider zooming in to lower the speed walking while intensively staring ahead. The game lowers your pace automatically at some spots though.
What I don't get is why this wasn't minded; some mod already allows you to walk.
Adds the ability to walk with ALT instead of constantly running.
www.nexusmods.com
Look. It gives a sour taste when on release a simple feature many apparently hoped to get to just take in the sights could not be delivered by the devs, but apparently could be modded in with ease. Even if the rest of the story is great and if many memorable moments were had in it (for me).
I have a large respect for the quest designers and creative folks. I hope they see this post and understand this. I hope devs and mods and whatnot see many posts and realize that people might be confused, disappointed, maybe a bit angry but that their work shouldn't be downplayed. I just feel the company management or whoever gave the according decision released this too early and / or changed course over the general development process too often, losing valuable time.
Yet, I don't want to surgarcoat it or "cope". The game has fun parts but, no over-hype, is not what I expected in terms of world display quality or deliverance after waiting years with passion. The focus on marketing and giving certain illusions in the mind of the viewer of said marketing, ads, and whatnot didn't help.
You can just tell the rough edges after playing a while and they stand in stark contrast to marketing snippets I recall. It's as if focus went strongly into the main quest but "quality of life" features and world interactions were neglected.
- Character editor could've seen more options
- Unable to edit my character's appearance at a Ripperdoc
- Ripperdoc interactions could've seen more animations, even basic ones like sitting on the chair and selecting things from a screen other than a menu pop-up menu like I am doing online shopping - the animations are there anyway, shown in marketing material and as part of the first interaction with your own ripperdoc
- Walking
- Vehicle AI improved including believable police responses
- All the cut features initially promised, hinting at priority and time issues
- Lack of pressure in the open world outside certain main quests (you'd feel wanted, but can stroll around as if nothing happened)
- Speaking of open world, it seems a bit sterile at times, lack of interactions with it make you seem like a tourist just gawking at it for the most part
+ Regardless of those sour things, at least a good main story largely throughout, memorable moments and interesting side quests
I feel the game should've been either managed into one fixed direction from the start or have been released later alternatively to deliver a truly next to flawless experience on release. But it is what it is now.
I just don't want to complain. What can be fixed?
Well, some things cannot be realistically fixed now, just as I assume some cut content won't be added later as they would have to rewrite parts of the game and story maybe - or just not have it tie into these parts.
But they can focus on quality of life improvements, AI issues and pop-ins and bugs. Some can be salvaged and improve and it will be. But they are going to have to do better for the next game upon release, no way of sugarcoating it from my personal viewpoint. Whether it is management or the demands of investors, I dunno. But one can't just focus on the money side.
Of course, they can, but then the company and devs (or management) take a lot of criticism. Some perhaps wrongly (devs?).
