I pre-ordered the Deluxe Edition of JPE2 for XBox Series X and have been playing it for several days now. I've beaten the campaign and am currently trying to play through the Chaos Theory scenarios in order to unlock the real meat of these park sim games where I'm personally concerned: the majority of the maps and dinosaurs for the Sandbox mode.
I say "trying" because at this point I'm really struggling to stay interested in bothering anymore. The original JPE definitely had its issues, which you'd think Frontier would have learned its lessons from and worked to address them for this sequel. But you'd think incorrectly; this game is at least as broken and cheap as its predecessor in every respect. I'm going to list some examples from my own experience over the past few days:
1) The "chaos" that occurred in the films was the direct result of human greed, meddling, and ambition. Think how the first film would have played out without Dennis Nedry, for example. Or how Jurassic World might have gone had Dr. Wu not developed the Indominus Rex. In other words, much if not most of the carnage in the movies was self-inflicted and unnecessary; while other disasters might well have struck in other ways, it's not all that difficult to envision scenarios where people could simply enjoy the dinosaurs. And those awe-inspiring moments of just taking in those dinosaur-populated vistas are far more what a game like JPE2 should be about than the terror of the latter half of the films.
But Frontier obviously doesn't get that. The "chaos" in JPE2 is built around sudden and often inexplicable clusters of events that ruin hours of careful, painstaking work, often within minutes or even seconds. Nothing feels random, but rather contrived and deliberate bordering on outright malice. For example, last night in Chaos Theory: Jurassic World I had no less than three Triceratops, five Gallimimus, and three Ankylosaurus die of old age WITHIN A 24-HOUR IN-GAME PERIOD. Oh, and that's not counting the T-Rex which also died of old age twice in three restarts during that same stretch. And of course in every case my guests left the park in droves and my cash plummeted irretrievably into the red. Game Over. Tonight as I was struggling to get my Aviary up and running I suddenly (yet unsurprisingly) got hit by one of the storms that have this uncanny timing to coincide with you being low on funds/about to reach a funding goal and/or dealing with some other emergency. I went into the red, waited for my guests to help dig me out enough to get the funds to build the hatchery...and then a Triceratops needed treatment for organ trauma. Almost immediately after transporting it back to its enclosure, another Triceratops had a concussion. And before I could even finish the treatment for that one, I got an alert that an Ankylosaurus had organ trauma. At that point I just turned my system off; it's not worth it. This stuff wasn't the result of anything I did wrong or could learn how to avoid during the next attempt; it was the game simply throwing up wall after wall on cue, time and again, in order to block my progress. That's just poor game design.
Frontier sells this franchise on the idea of building your dream park full of dinosaurs. The "chaos" the films are known for may be part of the mechanics and part of the challenge in the scenarios, but there's a point at which the frequency, the damage/cost, and having to repeat from your last save yet again simply become unfair and not fun anymore, which is the most damning sin for any game. JPE2 crosses that line and keeps going. I hate to break it to you guys, but the in-game disasters are NOT the stars of the show, not for what's supposed to be a park sim, yet you designed the game as if they are. That right there is the disconnect with those of us who don't mind a challenge thrown our way every so often, but generally just want to build our parks. At the very least you should put in some sliders for individual users to adjust their frequency if we want to.
2) The AI in JPE2 is pretty awful. Seriously, should I have to tell my MVU truck to treat a mild wound or an illness when they find it? Having to click on them AGAIN to get them to turn back around and do their JOB has actually lost me dinosaurs in the game. And let's talk about stuff like them and one of the Ranger Jeeps running into each other and getting stuck in a gate. I'm no programmer, but stuff like this feels either inept or phoned-in, Frontier.
3) The Amenity system could use a LOT more detailed and thorough explanation. I've begun to wrap my head around it, but it deserves at least a Youtube tutorial or something because I'm sure I'm not the only one who's struggled to understand why some of my shops/restaurants are profitable and some aren't even after I adjust my configurations. Please consider this a request.
4) Then there are the performance issues. Oh boy, are there performance issues. Guys, why is the framerate chopping as I pan the camera across my park on a brand new XBox Series X? Especially when it seems the textures and detailing are middling at best (even zoomed in everything, including the dinosaurs, is less than impressive and certainly less than current-gen platforms are capable of throwing out); I honestly can't see any visual improvement whatsoever over the original last-gen JPE. Oh, and why is my Ranger Jeep passing through foliage and trees as if they aren't there when in Direct Control? Inexcusable.
Some might say complaints like mine are "self-entitled", but from my standpoint I just paid a sizable (and non-refundable) investment for a product that I believe feels either rushed or simply phoned-in. So if nothing else I figure I ought to be able to air my issues with the game in the hope that you will listen and address as many of them as possible. I wouldn't be here and I wouldn't be as harsh with my criticisms if I didn't really love Jurassic Park and also really want to love this game. But for that to happen Frontier still has a TON of work to do. You'd have been better off to have delayed JPE2 until it was truly ready and worthy of its license, guys. I would have been more than okay with that, and looking at the other threads I suspect that many others feel the same way.
Thanks for hearing me out.
I say "trying" because at this point I'm really struggling to stay interested in bothering anymore. The original JPE definitely had its issues, which you'd think Frontier would have learned its lessons from and worked to address them for this sequel. But you'd think incorrectly; this game is at least as broken and cheap as its predecessor in every respect. I'm going to list some examples from my own experience over the past few days:
1) The "chaos" that occurred in the films was the direct result of human greed, meddling, and ambition. Think how the first film would have played out without Dennis Nedry, for example. Or how Jurassic World might have gone had Dr. Wu not developed the Indominus Rex. In other words, much if not most of the carnage in the movies was self-inflicted and unnecessary; while other disasters might well have struck in other ways, it's not all that difficult to envision scenarios where people could simply enjoy the dinosaurs. And those awe-inspiring moments of just taking in those dinosaur-populated vistas are far more what a game like JPE2 should be about than the terror of the latter half of the films.
But Frontier obviously doesn't get that. The "chaos" in JPE2 is built around sudden and often inexplicable clusters of events that ruin hours of careful, painstaking work, often within minutes or even seconds. Nothing feels random, but rather contrived and deliberate bordering on outright malice. For example, last night in Chaos Theory: Jurassic World I had no less than three Triceratops, five Gallimimus, and three Ankylosaurus die of old age WITHIN A 24-HOUR IN-GAME PERIOD. Oh, and that's not counting the T-Rex which also died of old age twice in three restarts during that same stretch. And of course in every case my guests left the park in droves and my cash plummeted irretrievably into the red. Game Over. Tonight as I was struggling to get my Aviary up and running I suddenly (yet unsurprisingly) got hit by one of the storms that have this uncanny timing to coincide with you being low on funds/about to reach a funding goal and/or dealing with some other emergency. I went into the red, waited for my guests to help dig me out enough to get the funds to build the hatchery...and then a Triceratops needed treatment for organ trauma. Almost immediately after transporting it back to its enclosure, another Triceratops had a concussion. And before I could even finish the treatment for that one, I got an alert that an Ankylosaurus had organ trauma. At that point I just turned my system off; it's not worth it. This stuff wasn't the result of anything I did wrong or could learn how to avoid during the next attempt; it was the game simply throwing up wall after wall on cue, time and again, in order to block my progress. That's just poor game design.
Frontier sells this franchise on the idea of building your dream park full of dinosaurs. The "chaos" the films are known for may be part of the mechanics and part of the challenge in the scenarios, but there's a point at which the frequency, the damage/cost, and having to repeat from your last save yet again simply become unfair and not fun anymore, which is the most damning sin for any game. JPE2 crosses that line and keeps going. I hate to break it to you guys, but the in-game disasters are NOT the stars of the show, not for what's supposed to be a park sim, yet you designed the game as if they are. That right there is the disconnect with those of us who don't mind a challenge thrown our way every so often, but generally just want to build our parks. At the very least you should put in some sliders for individual users to adjust their frequency if we want to.
2) The AI in JPE2 is pretty awful. Seriously, should I have to tell my MVU truck to treat a mild wound or an illness when they find it? Having to click on them AGAIN to get them to turn back around and do their JOB has actually lost me dinosaurs in the game. And let's talk about stuff like them and one of the Ranger Jeeps running into each other and getting stuck in a gate. I'm no programmer, but stuff like this feels either inept or phoned-in, Frontier.
3) The Amenity system could use a LOT more detailed and thorough explanation. I've begun to wrap my head around it, but it deserves at least a Youtube tutorial or something because I'm sure I'm not the only one who's struggled to understand why some of my shops/restaurants are profitable and some aren't even after I adjust my configurations. Please consider this a request.
4) Then there are the performance issues. Oh boy, are there performance issues. Guys, why is the framerate chopping as I pan the camera across my park on a brand new XBox Series X? Especially when it seems the textures and detailing are middling at best (even zoomed in everything, including the dinosaurs, is less than impressive and certainly less than current-gen platforms are capable of throwing out); I honestly can't see any visual improvement whatsoever over the original last-gen JPE. Oh, and why is my Ranger Jeep passing through foliage and trees as if they aren't there when in Direct Control? Inexcusable.
Some might say complaints like mine are "self-entitled", but from my standpoint I just paid a sizable (and non-refundable) investment for a product that I believe feels either rushed or simply phoned-in. So if nothing else I figure I ought to be able to air my issues with the game in the hope that you will listen and address as many of them as possible. I wouldn't be here and I wouldn't be as harsh with my criticisms if I didn't really love Jurassic Park and also really want to love this game. But for that to happen Frontier still has a TON of work to do. You'd have been better off to have delayed JPE2 until it was truly ready and worthy of its license, guys. I would have been more than okay with that, and looking at the other threads I suspect that many others feel the same way.
Thanks for hearing me out.
