darkSpyro

Yesterday, I thought "Hey, I haven't played Swap Force in a while, and I need to level up some of my guys. Why not play it?". So I started playing. I tried playing the third level (The one with the gilman), but got bored before finding the second gear, so I decided to go to the arena. The arenas are really boring, because they just send greebles, LifeSPs, chompies, and the occasional geargolem at you. Is there any way to bring back the fun for Swap Force? I also don't have 1 1/2 hours to waste on a level just to get a soul gem that I missed. I never though I'd say this, but I liked Skylanders:Giants better...

Heresy!

My best advice is go for 100% game completion. Don't make it a hassle, but just give yourself something to work toward. I always get extended hours out of many games after I have beaten them a couple times by trying to unlock all the trophies, or achievements, etc.

Getting to the end of this game is NOT an achievement...anyone who's thought they've "beaten" the game by doing so is fooling themselves. It's all of the other items you have to complete that makes the game last longer.

Alas, they've cut some of that time out of the figure upgrade process, but still...

I don't think there is a precise definition of beating a game. For some it may to just beat the story, but for others it may be to get 100% completion. Same goes for achievements. It could be an achievement for you to beat the story mode. Just because you may not necessarily get an in-game achievement, doesn't mean it can't be one for you.

Just have fun and do what you like to do.

I really liked swap force but the ability to skip dialogue and maybe more levels but shorter in length would help. My friend and I would be playing and we'd spend like 40 mins on a level and not even collect ALL the things, and he'd get bored and want to go play something else because the time commitment to a single level was too long. I wish we could have skylanders swap force engine with giants level break up and spyro's adventure hub that would be the win all.

So before Swap Force people were complaining levels were too short...........now people are complaining levels are too long.........

It's a matter of balance, especially when, if you want all the achievements, you need to do the levels 3 times each minimum (and if you mess up you're stuck playing the whole thing from scratch). With levels this long that can get tiresome.

It's the only reason I haven't torn through the rest of Hell and Inferno modes on Diablo.

Yeah unfortunately these kinds of games just aren't sustainable any more. I'm starting to feel a little tired but I think that's mainly from the stress of waiting for new releases...which is actually kind of sad lol. It's just about time to tear into Nightmare mode so it feels different and somewhat challenging.

I kinda like Giants better. We like the new characters but miss some features from Giants like Brocks arenas and heroic challenges. We played Giants more times than Swap Force.

Quote: WickedRogue

So before Swap Force people were complaining levels were too short...........now people are complaining levels are too long.........

Yep! Haha, I'm one of those people too. In reality - Giants wasn't too short - it was just about right, you just wanted "more". The REAL reason the levels seem monstrously long though are the bonus sections and collectibles thrown in to artificially lengthen replay. If you do a level without doing any gates or going for anything "extra" or worrying about picking up all the gold or whatever - the length actually is "just a little long" but not "irritatingly long". But when you have gates, bi-gates, swap courses, chest, random games like fishing, insignificant sums of money spread out EVERYWHERE, and the collect 4-5 random things relevant to this level added in, it feels like it triples how long it can take to complete a level. This is made even WORSE by the pace of movement vs size of the level and the actual REWARD for doing those things.

It's really a compounded problem more so than something as 'simple' as the levels are too long IMO.
- Unreall

I don't play skylanders anymore... I know it's really sad but... If we had a Wii U or another console, I would probably play... Cuz I'm playing on the Wii and I can't finish the game! It always crash at the end of each chapter!

EDIT: The minions animation is always there which is REALLY anoying for me... And you can only skip it when it's almost done! :S

So, based on what I'm reading -- is it correct to say that 'You cannot save your progress during a level?'

It seams more kiddish then the other two which I don't like.

I like the characters and game though.

My kids have stopped playing SSF all together since we beat the main story and found all the soul gems. They have not asked at all about wave 3 since they stopped playing, so I'm in no rush to get them. The completist in me wants to get all the new characters (I gave up on all the ingame variants this cycle) but who knows.

If they spread out the waves this much, they need to do something more to make players to keep interested in the game. The only "new" thing we have to look forward to is Sheep Wreck Island and getting a Sneak Swapper to get into those zones.

Quote: Zylek

My kids have stopped playing SSF all together since we beat the main story and found all the soul gems. They have not asked at all about wave 3 since they stopped playing, so I'm in no rush to get them. The completist in me wants to get all the new characters (I gave up on all the ingame variants this cycle) but who knows.

If they spread out the waves this much, they need to do something more to make players to keep interested in the game. The only "new" thing we have to look forward to is Sheep Wreck Island and getting a Sneak Swapper to get into those zones.

Yep, the reason why I've been harping on the content aspect of the game. They kinda did that up to Wave 3 with the Zones, but they actually need incremental content. I would love the storyline aspect change or add certain things based on your figures...but everyone screamed bloody murder last time with Heroics.

The need is known, but the execution is tricky.

Quote: GhostRoaster

Quote: Zylek

My kids have stopped playing SSF all together since we beat the main story and found all the soul gems. They have not asked at all about wave 3 since they stopped playing, so I'm in no rush to get them. The completist in me wants to get all the new characters (I gave up on all the ingame variants this cycle) but who knows.

If they spread out the waves this much, they need to do something more to make players to keep interested in the game. The only "new" thing we have to look forward to is Sheep Wreck Island and getting a Sneak Swapper to get into those zones.

Yep, the reason why I've been harping on the content aspect of the game. They kinda did that up to Wave 3 with the Zones, but they actually need incremental content. I would love the storyline aspect change or add certain things based on your figures...but everyone screamed bloody murder last time with Heroics.

The need is known, but the execution is tricky.

Some sort of additional RP factor outside of just special zones based on the character you are currently using would be awesome. Be it interaction with certain NPCs, unlocking aspects in different stores. Yeah, I'd like the game to mature a bit with its player base and have some deeper RP elements.

I do think that the size of the game is great, but the size of the levels is too long. Any time you hit an in-level game check point, that should be the start of a new level. It makes restarting to find that last treasure chest a daunting experience if know it's going to be 60 to 90 minutes.

Having said that, I do like the overall content level - mini-quests, the arena, score attack and speed trails all add a good chunk of stuff to do. But the level length makes 'one quick game' impractical.

Bright side: Level length means the adventure packs are a good length.

Quote: SkylandCitizen

I kinda like Giants better. We like the new characters but miss some features from Giants like Brocks arenas and heroic challenges. We played Giants more times than Swap Force.

The arenas are still there. Talk to the fish at the tent on the left-hand side of Woodberry.

I beat all of the levels and I got all the soul gems but it just gets repetitive, getting extra collectibles won't get you much in the long run so I agree this is quite boring

I still think the answer to this is to release mid-iteration games, with one in the Spring that doesn't have new figures (or upgrades to existing characters), just an expansion pack with new levels/story. They could even do it as DLC, but given many parents don't have their system connected, they simply do a disc release (console only). They could do a lot of reuse of the assets and the engine, and it wouldn't have to be as long as the regular game. It would do a great deal to drawing out those year long waits between new games and keep people interested in the latter waves (and maybe not frontload figure releases as much, but definitely get a full selection of variations of the figures out). Possibly even put one of the figures as a pack in for it that isn't available otherwise, or maybe a variant.

The Call of Duty games do this with DLC, as do a lot of other games. It takes a long time to create a new full feature game, but you draw off a small team and with a lot of reuse of features you could do it.

I've taken a break from the game to play other games (*cough* Lego Star Wars TCS *cough* Sonic Generations*cough* *cough*), so I have a fresh new experience and new characters to use after Christmas.

BTW, I still say SSA is the best of the three.

Quote: defpally

I still think the answer to this is to release mid-iteration games, with one in the Spring that doesn't have new figures (or upgrades to existing characters), just an expansion pack with new levels/story. They could even do it as DLC, but given many parents don't have their system connected, they simply do a disc release (console only). They could do a lot of reuse of the assets and the engine, and it wouldn't have to be as long as the regular game. It would do a great deal to drawing out those year long waits between new games and keep people interested in the latter waves (and maybe not frontload figure releases as much, but definitely get a full selection of variations of the figures out). Possibly even put one of the figures as a pack in for it that isn't available otherwise, or maybe a variant.

The Call of Duty games do this with DLC, as do a lot of other games. It takes a long time to create a new full feature game, but you draw off a small team and with a lot of reuse of features you could do it.

I definitely like this idea of expansion packs. This would open many gates and seemingly endless possibilities.

Quote: lcopley98

Quote: defpally

I still think the answer to this is to release mid-iteration games, with one in the Spring that doesn't have new figures (or upgrades to existing characters), just an expansion pack with new levels/story. They could even do it as DLC, but given many parents don't have their system connected, they simply do a disc release (console only). They could do a lot of reuse of the assets and the engine, and it wouldn't have to be as long as the regular game. It would do a great deal to drawing out those year long waits between new games and keep people interested in the latter waves (and maybe not frontload figure releases as much, but definitely get a full selection of variations of the figures out). Possibly even put one of the figures as a pack in for it that isn't available otherwise, or maybe a variant.

The Call of Duty games do this with DLC, as do a lot of other games. It takes a long time to create a new full feature game, but you draw off a small team and with a lot of reuse of features you could do it.

I definitely like this idea of expansion packs. This would open many gates and seemingly endless possibilities.

If they could deliver at least 8 chapters and maybe one or two additional PVP excursions/mini games for a sub $30 price I'd be game...or even use this to experiment with different gaming aspects to see what customers would like (and keep some traditional elements in)...

my concern is playing it safe won't keep them in the game...diversifying too much might be very risky...

Quote: Tel Prydain

I do think that the size of the game is great, but the size of the levels is too long. Any time you hit an in-level game check point, that should be the start of a new level. It makes restarting to find that last treasure chest a daunting experience if know it's going to be 60 to 90 minutes.

Having said that, I do like the overall content level - mini-quests, the arena, score attack and speed trails all add a good chunk of stuff to do. But the level length makes 'one quick game' impractical.

Bright side: Level length means the adventure packs are a good length.

Quote: SkylandCitizen

I kinda like Giants better. We like the new characters but miss some features from Giants like Brocks arenas and heroic challenges. We played Giants more times than Swap Force.

The arenas are still there. Talk to the fish at the tent on the left-hand side of Woodberry.

Yes, swap force have arenas but giants' arenas had more personality.

The biggest problem with this game for me is the release schedule. I haven't played for weeks and I have no inclination to play until a full suite of character abilities is released which will enable me to unlock every area in my next play through.
There was a 6 week gap between waves 1 and 2 here in Oz and that's just ridiculous. You've long finished the game before new characters are released!

Honestly, with them staging the waves so far apart - I'd argue that either a DLC expansion or a 'second game' sans figures would be do able (though could lead to overkill if not done right).

The way I look at it - Activision is looking at a game a year - like the CoD series, but that has extensive MP components to keep things fresh, with constant (well when I played) patching and DLC levels. - so the game LASTED almost a year without growing old in the tooth.

With skylanders? There is no patching. There is no online MP. The adventure packs are OK - but don't get the MP benefits that CoD does to maintain longevity, If they go annually they have to adapt to what CoD has done. As it stands - the 'waves' are how I'm pacing myself. Before Jolly this weekend, I hadn't played in like a month - but that was on purpose - so that when I get the rest of the figures I want - the game won't be so stale that I just do the infinite money thing and never touch them until the 'next' one.
- Unreall

I totally agree...the customer shouldn't have to pace themselves...Activision has to find the right pace betweeen new content and new characters. They've stepped it up this year on the figure side (maybe the 70+ characters forces that issue) but the content is still a problem for longevity.

That's the #1 thing they need to fix next time. I'm assuming of course we'll have a new toy innovation as well.

Quote: BlazeHeatnix28

I've taken a break from the game to play other games (*cough* Lego Star Wars TCS *cough* Sonic Generations*cough* *cough*), so I have a fresh new experience and new characters to use after Christmas.

BTW, I still say SSA is the best of the three.

I agree that SSA is probably my favorite. If they re-made it with better graphics and able to play as characters from Giants and Swap Force, it would be my favorite game by far.

Quote: SkylandCitizen

Yes, swap force have arenas but giants' arenas had more personality.

What does that even mean? Seriously - I'm not being sarcastic, I really want to know.
The graphics, the arena specific gimmicks, the variety and the range of opponents all seem improved in Swap Force.

But...But...the Cyclops point their butt to the skylander in the arena in Giants!!!!

They need to make a side game that's a toy box mode like Infinity. I would want it to be a stand lone game so it wouldn't take away from the main game. Could you imagine??? Level Creation, Skylander Sports, Mini Games, Custom Arenas, etc.

Quote: Tigorus

They need to make a side game that's a toy box mode like Infinity. I would want it to be a stand lone game so it wouldn't take away from the main game. Could you imagine??? Level Creation, Skylander Sports, Mini Games, Custom Arenas, etc.

For me personally....not sure if I would dig that. I play games...I don't want to create them

I think the franchise has to dig a little deeper on playability and extend the lifespan to extend with how they are releasing figures. As previously communicated...Adventure Pack helps...but doesn't solve the problem.

I like how TellTale releases CHAPTERS of content over time.

A tad OT but when I was looking for some evidence of wave 3, I noticed that some Infinity chars are for the toybox only.

Now, I see that they state that clearly on the packaging but I do wonder how many are purchased with this not paid attention to?

I'd like to see a side-mission mode that was a randomly generated dungeon - like Diablo.

Spyro’s adventure was occasionally described as Diablo for kids, and I think it’d be neat to see that reflected in a new game mode. You can link it to the story mode, so that the further you are in the story, the further into the dungeon you can go before being returned to the hub-town.

We’ve already seen from heroic challenges that you can randomise levels – there was one challenge where you had to unlock three gates, but which path you needed to take was different each time. In my head each ‘level’ of the dungeon would be a massive pile of rooms or islands, each with different monsters and loot, and each time you played the level you’d be teleported into randomly selected number of those rooms until you found the stairs ‘down’ that would load the next level.
It could contain random charms, gold, hats and so forth – you could even have ‘rare’ items that spawned only rarely.

The lower/last levels should be silly hard – a real challenge.

+1 - I like this idea.

Imagine if you did not get to see all of the enemy types unless you played multiple times some were random or there was some "legendary" item you had to grind for?

Quote: Tel Prydain

I'd like to see a side-mission mode that was a randomly generated dungeon - like Diablo.

Spyro’s adventure was occasionally described as Diablo for kids, and I think it’d be neat to see that reflected in a new game mode. You can link it to the story mode, so that the further you are in the story, the further into the dungeon you can go before being returned to the hub-town.

We’ve already seen from heroic challenges that you can randomise levels – there was one challenge where you had to unlock three gates, but which path you needed to take was different each time. In my head each ‘level’ of the dungeon would be a massive pile of rooms or islands, each with different monsters and loot, and each time you played the level you’d be teleported into randomly selected number of those rooms until you found the stairs ‘down’ that would load the next level.
It could contain random charms, gold, hats and so forth – you could even have ‘rare’ items that spawned only rarely.

The lower/last levels should be silly hard – a real challenge.

Best idea yet. I've always been a Diablo fan. I can't wait for the new expansion to D3.

I'd like to see the top difficulty level practically require maxed out figures to have a reasonable chance to beat it. Diablo 3 is a good example, the highest skill level requires not only a max level character, but also a nice selection of gear.

That's one thing that would be great for Skylanders 4, add equipment. More than just hats, but maybe a few other slots (not full gear sets, would make it too complex for the younger crowd). They could even be "trinket" type slots so they would not have to create outfit graphics that would work for every character, but maybe graphical touches (like sparkles, or frost coming off them, etc.). The items could be possibly element based for some things, and have randomly generated stats and quality levels. Have "legendary" items that offer really cool new abilities. Loot would really be a nice addition, make it drop from enemies or chests. It would really pump up the RPG elements and the replay value. Of course this might force them to sunset some backwards compatibility, due to memory size concerns particularly on the SSA figures.

This idea could also maybe even take the form of the power discs like Infinity. Instead of just raw figure counts, it would add new things for them to sell to us. At 80 playable characters, the roster is getting very bloated, but they need physical things to sell. Add in blind packs (yeah I know many would be upset at this), and the trade opportunities could skyrocket.

Quote: lcopley98

Quote: Tel Prydain

I'd like to see a side-mission mode that was a randomly generated dungeon - like Diablo.

Spyro’s adventure was occasionally described as Diablo for kids, and I think it’d be neat to see that reflected in a new game mode. You can link it to the story mode, so that the further you are in the story, the further into the dungeon you can go before being returned to the hub-town.

We’ve already seen from heroic challenges that you can randomise levels – there was one challenge where you had to unlock three gates, but which path you needed to take was different each time. In my head each ‘level’ of the dungeon would be a massive pile of rooms or islands, each with different monsters and loot, and each time you played the level you’d be teleported into randomly selected number of those rooms until you found the stairs ‘down’ that would load the next level.
It could contain random charms, gold, hats and so forth – you could even have ‘rare’ items that spawned only rarely.

The lower/last levels should be silly hard – a real challenge.

Best idea yet. I've always been a Diablo fan. I can't wait for the new expansion to D3.

Not familiar with Diablo, but really like the sound of this idea.


Also like the comment about a difficulty-level designed for maxed-out characters and players who have truly developed their gameplay.

Quote: Tel Prydain

Quote: SkylandCitizen

Yes, swap force have arenas but giants' arenas had more personality.

What does that even mean? Seriously - I'm not being sarcastic, I really want to know.
The graphics, the arena specific gimmicks, the variety and the range of opponents all seem improved in Swap Force.

Well, for thing you have Brock talking during battles. It felt like you were in a gladiatorial combat arena. You have spinning blades, shifting floors, limited food, huge opponents, when you lose Brock taunts you, etc.

Swap Force arenas are bland.
Edit:
The audience chants your name no matter who you put on the portal.
Brock sometimes says "That was beautiful!" when you win. Made you feel like you achieved something special.
Details like these all add to the enjoyment of the game. Giants arenas had better atmosphere.

At the moment, yes i'm bored of Swap Force and i have to agree the Giants Arenas are better

Quote: LloydDXZX

I don't play skylanders anymore... I know it's really sad but... If we had a Wii U or another console, I would probably play... Cuz I'm playing on the Wii and I can't finish the game! It always crash at the end of each chapter!

EDIT: The minions animation is always there which is REALLY anoying for me... And you can only skip it when it's almost done! :S

Sounds like it's time for an upgrade.

I don't think I'll be as bored of Swap Force as anyone here, because there are a few things we haven't done yet; the Sneak Zones, Sheep Wreck Islands and new Skylanders that haven't arrived in stores yet. So far, this game has kept me from feeling bored.

I really like the randomized dungeon Idea maybe with some online co op, Kinda reminds me of Spiral Knights. It would be cool if you could have a limit to how many characters you could take down there with you maybe like 3 per person or something so people like me who have 40 something skylanders have some challenge!