Starwars Posted January 10, 2010 Share Posted January 10, 2010 I just don't think Troika spent too much time developing the combat engine, whereas you can see AoD has taken on that as a major part of the game and a real labor of love. This was something that surprised me about the demo. Because combat is not really the focus of the game, and just one of many paths you can take through it, I did not expect for it to be this strong. I think combat systems in general are pretty weak over the board in most RPGs, even ones that focus more on combat. So it was fun to see that this had obviously received a lot of attention (and still does as there are still tweaks being made and still a few things not implemented in the demo). A few months ago I would've likely been in the "release the goddamn game" camp, but now I'm glad they're taking the "Blizzard route" and tweaking away until the game is really strong. The potential is definitely there. Listen to my home-made recordings (some original songs, some not): http://www.youtube.c...low=grid&view=0 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Radek Smektala Posted January 10, 2010 Share Posted January 10, 2010 The demo is really fun, isn't it? I usually avoid fighting like a plague in RPGs, playing diplomats in the three or so games that allow it, so the amount of enjoyment I got out of the combat demo comes as a surprise. I played a two handed axe guy. I probably could have been smarter on how I spent my money. I got past the three raiders, but the next guy took me apart a couple times and I stopped there. That only goes to show how varied the character builds can be. I wasn't able to get past the barbari for the longest time, but took down the next guy in the first try, with plenty of health to spare. I believe I was attacking his hands, lowering his AP in the following round, and also keeping close to him the whole time. That way, he couldn't hit me with his trident, and whenever he tried to disengage, I got an opportunity attack. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wrath of Dagon Posted January 31, 2010 Share Posted January 31, 2010 New version of the demo available: http://www.irontowerstudio.com/forum/index...pic,1259.0.html Supposed to be a lot harder. "Moral indignation is a standard strategy for endowing the idiot with dignity." Marshall McLuhan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tigranes Posted January 31, 2010 Share Posted January 31, 2010 I thought i was done with this combat demo, but if it's a lot harder I'll have to give it a try, good stuff. Now, if only they'd let me donate money instead of buying silly merchandise... Let's Play: Icewind Dale Ironman (Complete) Let's Play: Icewind Dale II Ironman (Complete) Let's Play: Divinity II (Complete) Let's Play: Baldur's Gate Trilogy Ironman - BG1 (Complete) Let's Play: Baldur's Gate Trilogy Ironman - BG2 (In Progress) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wrath of Dagon Posted January 31, 2010 Share Posted January 31, 2010 I thought i was done with this combat demo, but if it's a lot harder I'll have to give it a try, good stuff. Now, if only they'd let me donate money instead of buying silly merchandise... If you go under Patron in the store, they have donation cards and if you buy those, almost all the money goes to ITS. "Moral indignation is a standard strategy for endowing the idiot with dignity." Marshall McLuhan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tigranes Posted January 31, 2010 Share Posted January 31, 2010 Oh, I'll check those out then. I think I only saw mugs and shirts. Let's Play: Icewind Dale Ironman (Complete) Let's Play: Icewind Dale II Ironman (Complete) Let's Play: Divinity II (Complete) Let's Play: Baldur's Gate Trilogy Ironman - BG1 (Complete) Let's Play: Baldur's Gate Trilogy Ironman - BG2 (In Progress) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wrath of Dagon Posted February 9, 2010 Share Posted February 9, 2010 An interesting interview about the Lovecraftian game Iron Tower is also working on: http://www.criticalgamer.co.uk/2010/02/08/...udio-interview/ "Moral indignation is a standard strategy for endowing the idiot with dignity." Marshall McLuhan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bos_hybrid Posted February 9, 2010 Share Posted February 9, 2010 (edited) Now, if only they'd let me donate money instead of buying silly merchandise... You what? Why would anyone donate to a video game company? You show support by buying their game, hell buy it twice if your obsessed, but donate? If you go under Patron in the store, they have donation cards and if you buy those, almost all the money goes to ITS. What? Edited February 9, 2010 by Bos_hybrid Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wrath of Dagon Posted February 9, 2010 Share Posted February 9, 2010 Now, if only they'd let me donate money instead of buying silly merchandise... You what? Why would anyone donate to a video game company? You show support by buying their game, hell buy it twice if your obsessed, but donate? If you go under Patron in the store, they have donation cards and if you buy those, almost all the money goes to ITS. What? They're asking for donations to help them advertise the game, so that it has a better chance to be successful and thus enable them to make more games. Of course if you're happy with the mainstream crap, there's no reason to be concerned about it. "Moral indignation is a standard strategy for endowing the idiot with dignity." Marshall McLuhan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hurlshort Posted February 9, 2010 Share Posted February 9, 2010 This company doesn't have a publisher paying the bills, so they are basically using their own money to fund the projects. Given that it is also not a genre that is considered commercially viable, there is very little chance they will attract a publisher anytime soon. So relying on donations seems pretty reasonable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wrath of Dagon Posted February 9, 2010 Share Posted February 9, 2010 Actually they've had lots of interest from publishers, but the strings attached make it not worthwhile. They might still get a publisher for Eastern Europe, since the distribution model there is different. "Moral indignation is a standard strategy for endowing the idiot with dignity." Marshall McLuhan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tigranes Posted February 9, 2010 Share Posted February 9, 2010 You what? Why would anyone donate to a video game company? You show support by buying their game, hell buy it twice if your obsessed, but donate? I liked the combat demo. I liked how they're releasing it even though a real demo will come later, and how much support (3 versions?) there is for it, and I was surprised at how well done it was. Value can be determined in ways other than the market model: that is how the market changes. After all, this system was set up only because quite a few people asked to be able to donate. Hurlshot, that's the impression I used to have as well, but its surprising how much interest they get from publishers. edit: If you go under Patron in the store, they have donation cards and if you buy those, almost all the money goes to ITS. Checked that out, but there are only $25 and $50 options and I didn't think it was worth 25USD (counting exchange value). Oh well, I'll do it when they let me donate the amount I want. Let's Play: Icewind Dale Ironman (Complete) Let's Play: Icewind Dale II Ironman (Complete) Let's Play: Divinity II (Complete) Let's Play: Baldur's Gate Trilogy Ironman - BG1 (Complete) Let's Play: Baldur's Gate Trilogy Ironman - BG2 (In Progress) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hurlshort Posted February 9, 2010 Share Posted February 9, 2010 That is good to hear about the publishers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hell Kitty Posted February 10, 2010 Share Posted February 10, 2010 but the strings attached make it not worthwhile. What's the issue? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wrath of Dagon Posted February 10, 2010 Share Posted February 10, 2010 I think one of the problems was that if you go retail, you have to price downloads the same as retail, which would increase the download price since the cost of retail is a lot more. Another issue is retail is doing fewer and fewer PC games, so the benefits are much smaller than they used to be. There're probably others, but I don't know. "Moral indignation is a standard strategy for endowing the idiot with dignity." Marshall McLuhan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Purkake Posted February 10, 2010 Share Posted February 10, 2010 (edited) You know that you can get a publisher and not go retail, right? Also what's different about distribution in Eastern Europe? I don't know if Estonia goes under that definition of Easter Europe, but there's nothing particularly special about game sales here. Edited February 10, 2010 by Purkake Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wrath of Dagon Posted February 10, 2010 Share Posted February 10, 2010 I don't think publishers would be willing to finance a small indie studio. So for them, the publisher mostly would provide retail and may be some advertisement. "Moral indignation is a standard strategy for endowing the idiot with dignity." Marshall McLuhan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Purkake Posted February 10, 2010 Share Posted February 10, 2010 (edited) Stardock or Steam? They have been publishing indie stuff for a while now. Edited February 10, 2010 by Purkake Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wrath of Dagon Posted February 10, 2010 Share Posted February 10, 2010 That's not really a publisher, that's digital distribution and it's not exclusive, unlike a publisher. Don't know what their plans are wrt to that, but would make a lot of sense, especially if they could do a promotion at some point. "Moral indignation is a standard strategy for endowing the idiot with dignity." Marshall McLuhan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Purkake Posted February 10, 2010 Share Posted February 10, 2010 And the Eastern Europe distribution model question...? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wrath of Dagon Posted February 10, 2010 Share Posted February 10, 2010 Something about them not liking to pay in dollars. "Moral indignation is a standard strategy for endowing the idiot with dignity." Marshall McLuhan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Purkake Posted February 10, 2010 Share Posted February 10, 2010 And that constitutes a "different distribution model"? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wrath of Dagon Posted February 10, 2010 Share Posted February 10, 2010 I think it forces you to go retail, and deal with a third party instead of direct. "Moral indignation is a standard strategy for endowing the idiot with dignity." Marshall McLuhan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Purkake Posted February 10, 2010 Share Posted February 10, 2010 We don't have Euros here, Sweden, Norway, Poland, Switzerland and a whole bunch of other countries don't have Euros but are all happily using Steam... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bhlaab Posted February 11, 2010 Share Posted February 11, 2010 You what? Why would anyone donate to a video game company? You show support by buying their game, hell buy it twice if your obsessed, but donate? You realize that it costs money to make games right? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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