Torchlight

[Humodour]

I tried, I really did but the cartoony artwork really put me off.

 

They went with those because they were easy to make. The game was done in either 6 or 12 months.

[Starwars]

I also had fun with it for a while but my interest just dropped after that. Tried starting it up again a few weeks ago but can't muster the interest. As a Diablo like game, it's not horrendous, but I find the atmosphere is really lacking in Torchlight and the character system doesn't feel deep enough to hold up the game on its own (though I didn't make it to the end either so what do I know).

Sorta mediocre I thought.

[Majek]

well the sequel is already coming so it must have invoked enough interest in people.

http://www.torchlight2game.com/

[LadyCrimson]

Well now, that's interesting. Multiplayer, outdoor areas, mod kit. That could improve my desire to play quite a bit. I could play w/hubby on LAN.

 

I bet it'll still be cartoonish tho. heheh

[Tale]

I tried, I really did but the cartoony artwork really put me off.

The cartoony artwork is part of the reason I like it. I absolutely abhore Diablo and Diablo 2. I have no interest in Diablo 3. But Torchlight I'm enjoying.

[Purkake]

But Diablo 3 will be cartoony as well. You are obviously biased, Tale.

 

[Tale]

If those unicorns can shoot lightning out of their horns, I'm sold.

[Majek]

Unicorns? Grrr Deathspank made me hate all unicorns. :D

[greylord]

Unicorns? Grrr Deathspank made me hate all unicorns. :D

 

I'm way excited at this point...maybe enough to d'l it on first release, and then hope they get the stand alone disk version later which I'll also get!

[Humodour]

well the sequel is already coming so it must have invoked enough interest in people.

http://www.torchlight2game.com/

 

Torchlight 1 took them less than a year to create and has sold over 500,000 copies so far.

 

So yeah, they'd be fools not to make a sequel. Even if all that sequel added was co-op multi-player (with dedicated servers like Battle.net), it'd sell over 1 million copies.

 

Remember this is most of the team that made the original Diablo 1 (and I think Diablo 2).

[sorophx]

Remember this is most of the team that made the original Diablo 1 (and I think Diablo 2).

 

ugh, really? sure doesn't look or play better than the original, it's ok for a clone, but for a successor... I really hope they make it more like Severance only 10 times bigger this time around

[Humodour]

They are an independent studio starting from scratch, making a game in a short time-frame. You can't expect them to match the critical success of Diablo 1 and 2 right away, though I think they did pretty well.

 

I think we can expect a lot more from Torchlight 2, especially since the engine and assets already exist yet they've still spent longer developing it than they did Torchlight 1 (not to mention it has multiplayer!).

 

This thread seems overly critical of Torchlight. The vast majority of the gaming press considers it to be one of the best Diablo-clones around, and its average rating is about 85%.

[sorophx]

it is one of the best clones (I haven't played Sacred or Titan Quest though). what I meant was that from the guys who had put the genre on the map I'd expect something else. I enjoyed it but now looking at it from this new perspective it doesn't look that good anymore

[LadyCrimson]

it is one of the best clones (I haven't played Sacred or Titan Quest though). what I meant was that from the guys who had put the genre on the map I'd expect something else. I enjoyed it but now looking at it from this new perspective it doesn't look that good anymore

I don't think I'd say it's 'most of the team' behind Diablo 1 & 2. It's most of the founding members/executives of Blizzard North...(who used to be another company before Blizzard bought & renamed them) they went from Blizzard North to making Flagship Studios (Mythos & Hellgate: London) and then teamed up with the guy who made Fate (which is what Torchlight looks a lot like) to create Runic. Or something like that. So it's not like you're taking Blizzard North wholesale & immediately dumping them into Runic. Different team and minds.

 

I don't know if you ever played Fate, but Torchlight is basically Fate but with a lot more Diablo/action-rpg touches. The pets, the fishing, the cartoony look, the item enchanting method (complete w/ability to over abuse it, lol) etc...all Fate.

[sorophx]

I remember the hype around Hellgate, and I saw Fate way back when it was released, didn't quite like it but I never really gave it a chance to fascinate me. need to check out Runic.

 

anyway, my beef with Torchlight results from the fact it's so damn short. I could live without LAN support (whoo needs multiplayer anyway, when the game is so small). even the cartoonish look is quite nice (not like Diablo 2 was very realistic) and I always wanted to play a gunslinger in a fantasy game.

[Bos_hybrid]

This thread seems overly critical of Torchlight. The vast majority of the gaming press considers it to be one of the best Diablo-clones around, and its average rating is about 85%.

 

What? Someone on this forum pointing to reviewers as correctly judging a game? I thought they were all hacks....

[Purkake]

I remember the hype around Hellgate, and I saw Fate way back when it was released, didn't quite like it but I never really gave it a chance to fascinate me. need to check out Runic.

 

anyway, my beef with Torchlight results from the fact it's so damn short. I could live without LAN support (whoo needs multiplayer anyway, when the game is so small). even the cartoonish look is quite nice (not like Diablo 2 was very realistic) and I always wanted to play a gunslinger in a fantasy game.

There's a whole trope for that.

 

This thread seems overly critical of Torchlight. The vast majority of the gaming press considers it to be one of the best Diablo-clones around, and its average rating is about 85%.

 

What? Someone on this forum pointing to reviewers as correctly judging a game? I thought they were all hacks....

Obviously it's because there was no one to bribe them to lower the scores

[sorophx]

There's a whole trope for that.

 

oooh, nice, thanks!

[Purkake]

Just don't click any links in there or you'll be lost forever.

 

 

At least don't say I didn't warn you

 

[Humodour]

it is one of the best clones (I haven't played Sacred or Titan Quest though). what I meant was that from the guys who had put the genre on the map I'd expect something else. I enjoyed it but now looking at it from this new perspective it doesn't look that good anymore

I don't think I'd say it's 'most of the team' behind Diablo 1 & 2. It's most of the founding members/executives of Blizzard North...(who used to be another company before Blizzard bought & renamed them) they went from Blizzard North to making Flagship Studios (Mythos & Hellgate: London) and then teamed up with the guy who made Fate (which is what Torchlight looks a lot like) to create Runic. Or something like that. So it's not like you're taking Blizzard North wholesale & immediately dumping them into Runic. Different team and minds.

 

I don't know if you ever played Fate, but Torchlight is basically Fate but with a lot more Diablo/action-rpg touches. The pets, the fishing, the cartoony look, the item enchanting method (complete w/ability to over abuse it, lol) etc...all Fate.

 

Well, Runic Studios includes at least Matt Uelman (the audio composer for Diablo 1), Kenneth Williams (designer for Diablo 1, producer on Diablo 2 and LoD), Max Schaefer (designer for Diablo 1, designer for Diablo 2, executive producer for LoD), Erich Schaefer (lead designer for Diablo 1 and Diablo 2), Peter Hu (lead programmer on Diablo 1, Diablo 2, and LoD), as well as the entire team of Flagship Studios Seattle.

 

So sorophx, maybe if Runic were rolling in the cash and free-time from the success of Starcraft and Warcraft like Blizzard was they'd have been able to live up to your expectations, but as it stands I think you'll have to wait for Torchlight 2 for that.

 

Although Runic made Torchlight as a spiritual successor to Mythos, not Diablo. Though clearly Torchlight is strongly Diablo-inspired by proxy.

 

Speaking of fantasy gunslingers, I think I'll go play Septerra Core.

[Purkake]

At this point I should once again express my undying love for Septerra Core. (Available now on Good Old Games).

[sorophx]

I think you'll have to wait for Torchlight 2 for that.

 

I can hardly wait for it to come out!

 

At this point I should once again express my undying love for Septerra Core

 

that was one very difficult game. well at least that's how I remember it. never beat it

[Purkake]

At this point I should once again express my undying love for Septerra Core

 

that was one very difficult game. well at least that's how I remember it. never beat it

More like endlessly frustrating, but it's totally finishable.

[Majek]

Oh right, i still have to replay that one of these days.

[LadyCrimson]

@'Krezack - I have no idea how many total people comprise Runic Games or Flagship Seattle (wiki says 14 from Flagship Seattle went to Runic) but anyway...yes it's very influenced by Diablo ppl, was just saying Runic Games is not Blizzard North reincarnated. Especially after so many years for those people to get different ideas of what they like in a game then they once had.

 

I can understand disappointment from the 'it's Diablo ppl' perspective, tho. I remember when Peter Molyneux, one of the main guys for Bullfrog/Dungeon Keeper etc. made Lionhead Studios, I was all excited. But....