Risen 2: Dark Waters

[mkreku]

Ok, hmm.. I put in the DVD and started the installation. After a few seconds it asked for a Steam key which I entered. Then I left it to its own devices while I ogled my Collector's Edition loot. Now that I'm back at the computer, I noticed that the DVD isn't even spinning and the game is being downloaded from Steam's servers!

 

How do I stop this? I don't want to wait for hours to play this when I have the DVD in the drive! STUPID STEAM, I WANT TO INSTALL FROM DVD!

[Bos_hybrid]

Now that is a CE.

 

At the same time though, I'd be in the same boat as worst.

 

How do I stop this? I don't want to wait for hours to play this when I have the DVD in the drive! STUPID STEAM, I WANT TO INSTALL FROM DVD!

 

I don't get it, normally you just install the game and activate it on steam... Have you tried exploring the DVD for a different install exe?

[mkreku]

Nevermind, I uninstalled it and restarted the install and now Steam detected the install disc (I got a weird error message about busy Steam servers the first time). Instead of having to wait 1-2 hours it will now be done in 10 minutes. Better.

[Tigranes]

The DVD probably doesn't even have the game files, and you have to get stuff from Steam. Sometimes that's not true and there are workarounds. Steam tries to bone ya.

 

Finally got it going and played for half an hour. Initially it feels as clunky as any other PB game, but looks to be as Gothicy/RIseny as ever. Started on hard and still don't have the hang of combat so died in the tutorial battle.

 

Some silliness like a consolified UI (including a full-screen window for chests, luckily it fades in/out very quick and sets your cursor on Take All/Close button), but not too bad. I like how it autosaves you very often now.

[Morgoth]

Please keep us updated mkreku and Tigranes.

[Labadal]

I still have 50% to go.

[Tigranes]

Played a little more but had to come into the office. I probably won't be able to resist going back home in the evening to play a few hours.

 

For now, the game looks really nice once you get off the gloomy starting area (takes 10-20 minutes) then into the actual first island. Feels like Risen, but better - lots of foliage, bright sun, the mix of tropic/jungle environment and faded colonial uniforms, typical PB quests and encounters like a dude in prison who's had guards confiscate his equipment, so you get 3 different options to get one of them back, etc. I also like the voice acting and characters, actually - nothing elaborate, but the slimy colonial governor and his jaded underlings, etc. work nicely. You start with a rough aim of finding out what Steelbeard is doing and whether he knows anything about a means to kill the Kraken, as the Titan Lords are using it and other things to wreak havoc. But once you get down to it it's all about the classic PB faction intrigue and struggle - between the Inquisitors who're trying to keep things together, their local governors and soldiers who have their own priorities, etc. No pirates yet, so not sure how they're done. Note I'm playing with all settings maxed. There seem to be a few issues with flickering shadows/foliage at long distances but nothing noticeable yet. Game won't beat TW2 or anything like that but it's charming and makes me want to explore.

 

Haven't made my mind up yet about combat. Playing on hard, my first warthog proved very dangerous but doable if I just kept spamming attack. (The stagger mechanic is still there, but nowhere as bad as G3 stunlock.) It was more interesting having the practice fight with another swordsman, and I think it'll get fun as I get used to it and unlock different moves. Character development is a bit different. You have 5 attributes (blades, voodoo, etc), which are directly tied to 15? skills (e.g. Cunning => Silver Tongue, etc.) you use your XP ('glory') to increase attributes, which then indirectly increases your skills. And then, of course, each attribute has its bank of abilities like Sneak or Pickpocket. Trainers seem to be able to give you not only abilities but increases in skills or even attributes, as can items. It looks interesting, but I'll have to play more to find out.

[LadyCrimson]

I have a dumdum question. How to do attacks outside of just flailing away with the l-clicky mouse? One time I saw a help icon that indicated r-click+r-click=some kind of move (I think) but I haven't been able to duplicate it. (oops I mean opposite, edit-corrected)

 

The oddball camera jumping when in NPC dialogue and the foliage popping in and out (it does this a lot for me) as you wander is a bit distracting. My companion Patty got stuck on a crate first thing, while exiting the ship to the 1st island. But apparently it's like in FNV where if you go far enough away she'll eventually catch up again, so that was all right. Easy difficulty is actually easier than I expected for a Piranha game, may bump it up to normal. I'm still gonna suck at combat for a while tho.

 

Edit: I don't like the weird, washed out browns/low contrast in some ship/wood beam house type scenes, either. It's kind of ... odd. But the outdoors looks fine.

Edited April 27, 2012 by LadyCrimson

[GhostofAnakin]

For those of us who haven't played Risen, what other game does Risen 2 most closely resemble?

[LadyCrimson]

Looking at my video, I guess it was 3 l-clicks for a combo of some kind. Still can't seem to do it on purpose. Don't get it. Oh well, I'll figure it out.

 

I wish the auto-save had a limit of 5-8 save slots or something. It saves so often the amount of save files you have to sift through/delete becomes annoying.

[pmp10]

Is combat still dodge-driven or has it gone back to gothic3-style spam?

Can't find anything on it as ppl are really confused on how it worked in risen/gothic2.

I really don't get how they could play those games and not use side-dodging and back-jumping.

[Labadal]

Is combat still dodge-driven or has it gone back to gothic3-style spam?

Can't find anything on it as ppl are really confused on how it worked in risen/gothic2.

I really don't get how they could play those games and not use side-dodging and back-jumping.

 

You can only block. No dodging.

[Labadal]

For those of us who haven't played Risen, what other game does Risen 2 most closely resemble?

 

It feels close to Two worlds 2 sword fighting.

[pmp10]

Is combat still dodge-driven or has it gone back to gothic3-style spam?

Can't find anything on it as ppl are really confused on how it worked in risen/gothic2.

I really don't get how they could play those games and not use side-dodging and back-jumping.

 

You can only block. No dodging.

Oh dear.

And I suppose you still cannot block animals forcing a constant attack spam?

Thanks for the answer btw.

Edited April 27, 2012 by pmp10

[Tigranes]

It's been that way in the couple fights I've had, but in my experience it takes a couple hours at least to get to grips with PB combat and really play it properly. We'll see - Risen combat certainly wasn't attack spam vs attack spam, unless you did it taht way.

[pmp10]

It's been that way in the couple fights I've had, but in my experience it takes a couple hours at least to get to grips with PB combat and really play it properly. We'll see - Risen combat certainly wasn't attack spam vs attack spam, unless you did it taht way.

True but it had dodging.

I hoped PB had learned the lesson of what happens when Gothic 3 did away with it.

[mkreku]

I've been having a blast so far. The first part of the game (the tutorial area) is pretty clever. It doesn't really feel like a tutorial, but more like part of the introduction, yet it teaches you the most basic features of the game. It is over quickly.

 

After that it's back to old Piranha Bytes style: let loose on a big island and get your ass handed to you. Repeatedly.

 

I'm having plenty of fun so far. The weakest thing about Risen 2 is the combat (at least for now, when I still don't have neither magic nor firearms). As usual, I might add. The strongest part is the world and exploration. There is always something to find, if you look closely enough. The combat IS so far just a matter of clicking rapidly until your enemy goes down (if it is an animal) or try to block your enemies blows long enough for your provisions to heal you and then hit him back (if it's human). Honestly, so far I've mostly been hiding behind Patty.. I'm hoping there will be a dodge later. I'm on the verge of buying a parry at least.

 

The graphics are functional. Nothing really jawdropping, but definitely good enough to not hurt your eyes. Sometimes I would even describe it as beautiful. But it's rough. The popup and the flickering is there. I don't mind, but I understand if others are disturbed. It runs like water on my rig at least, and that's much more important.

 

I do not get any feeling of 'consolitis' either. The UI is great so far.

[Labadal]

Even if there is no no dodging, you can still evade some attacks. The Warthogs for example, when they rush you, take a few steps to the side and then hit them. Most challenging foes so far were a Jaguar and a Ghoul. I also failed to kill Severin 10+ times. Other duels have been easier, especially now that I have trained my skills a bit more. Also, Dirty fighting can be amuzing, blinding an opponent never gets old.

 

As mkreku says, the exploration is the best part. PB are very good at building up worlds that makes exploration feel worthwhile. Voice acting has also been better than expected.

[Gorth]

I'm tempted... If I were to go shopping at Gamersgate, is the Treasure Isle DLC worth getting together with the game?

[LadyCrimson]

I also failed to kill Severin 10+ times.

Do you get any reward for beating him? I fought him a couple times, and both times as he stood over my beaten, bloody body he told me he was "impressed." Still, I left him alone and got on the boat to leave the island. Did I miss anything?

[mkreku]

I got an achievement for beating him. Just fight as usual, when you get low on hitpoints, eat provisions and keep your block up. When your hitpoints are back to safe levels, continue fighting.

 

I also died 10+ times to him before I figured it out. Probably 20+.

[LadyCrimson]

I am such a dummy. Concentrating so hard on Fraping and figuring other game things I forgot all about putting/using provisions in the quickbar thingie. I'm sure that would've helped, lol. Blocking I'm still trying to get the hang of - the "feel" of combat still just feels awkward motion-wise. At least Patty's a big help.

 

Past all the initial yakkity yak and starting to explore now. Definitely a nice aspect of the game, as mentioned. Lovely to walk around picking clams and flowers. I like the background music too.

[Tigranes]

Played a couple more hours and I'm loving it. Even on hard the regular enemies like the monkeys seem to be susceptible to attack spam, though, hopefully they patch and rebalance like they did with G3 because I have a feeling they screwed up the timing or something. It's more entertaining with human enemies and I guess also when I get more abilities.

 

So, I learned the Kick ability... but how do I do it?

 

edit: ah, right click + space.

[LadyCrimson]

I seem to have lost my quickbar on-screen graphic. It worked for a while then I exited and when I restarted, it was gone. Hotkeys still work but I can't see the bar. On Normal difficulty now, doesn't seem much harder. Beasts aren't a problem, but humans are a bit.

 

Any clue on what might be a good way to go skills wise? I was thinking firearms and cunning, since I like the notion of having a Silver Tongue.

[Tigranes]

'B' will return your quickbar.

 

I'm putting up swords and cunning for now, invested money in pickpocketing and picklocking training first but my thievery isn't high enough for most chests so I'm scrounging money to get some combat upgrades. Done most of the quests but quite a bit of exploring left to do in the first island.