Avellone's Arcanum playthrough?

[MotelOK]

Apologies if this has been asked recently, I didn't see a search function on these forums. But is Chris Avellone not doing the Arcanum playthrough anymore? I think the last update to that was in the summer or something. Does the recent YouTube policy on posting video game videos mean we're not going to see it at all?

Any news on this would be appreciated. It was enjoyable watching Avellone deal with the same problems I had when I played the game.

[Darth Trethon]

Leave the poor guy alone....he's already doing great things for us on three KS projects at the same time...Pillars of Eternity, Wasteland 2 and Torment: Tides of Numenera....not to mention writing a novels on the side too that tie into those games. I'm shocked he still has any time to sleep, let alone play Arcanum.

 

Those are games I think nearly all backers of Pillars of Eternity will get at release if they haven't pledged for already. So please, let the guy work and I sure hope he also gets some solid time off during christmas and the new year to spend with his family and rest even if it delays these games a little bit.

[Osvir]

"No rest for the Avellone"

[Helm]

If he is enjoying himself by making the videos, then he should continue. If not, then he should stop. It doesnt make sense to force yourself to do something you aren't enjoying.

 

He's a busy man and I would probably rather have him use his office hours to work on PoE than make longplay videos anyway. What he does in his free time is of course a different story, but I think he has lost interest. Which is fine. Maybe he will make another video some day, only Mr. Avellone knows.

[Death Machine Miyagi]

Its really obvious MCA isn't into it. To the extent he is into it, he's really bad at it, such that watching his early Let's Play videos are almost an endurance test.

 

Dude, read the damn manual.

 

Anyway, I'll be genuinely shocked if he ever actually does play the thing to completion as he says he will. 

[Carlo]

I gave up on Arcanum about a dozen hours into it because of the combat system (and a non-optimized for combat character).  I don't blame him.

[Darth Trethon]

I gave up on Arcanum about a dozen hours into it because of the combat system (and a non-optimized for combat character).  I don't blame him.

It's one of those things that was amazing in its time and would impress so much that it became so unforgettable if you played it in its day.....nostalgia makes it amazing. But playing it now after so many years and with the industry having come so far....well....it's just not that good and its flaws are all the more glaring.

[BLOOD_BEAGLE]

I love Arcanum... but admittedly I've never finished the main quest. The temptation to go back to the beginning as a different type of character and see how things are different for them is always too great.

 

To this day Caledon is one of my favourite settlements in an RPG.

[nikolokolus]

I remember following the development of Arcanum with great interest before it was released and If I had ever been able to get the damned thing to run without crashing to the desktop every 10 minutes I probably would have loved it, but instead I shelved it, lost my copy and picked it up ten years later in a GOG.com sale.

 

I've tried playing it a couple of times and while I can see some of the charm and I want to like it, it's never really grabbed me and MCA is right when he bemoans the UI - it's bloody awful.

 

Maybe when I get tired of all of the other games on my computer I'll give it a spin, but I find replaying the Infinity Engine game, the first two fallouts and Temple of Elemental Evil far more compelling. I have a hard time faulting Avellone's halfhearted playthrough.

[Death Machine Miyagi]

I do regret that MCA may never finish the game and therefore never get to see 'the reveal' about Nasrudin and about the final 'villain'. He complained early on about how he didn't like plots about villains who want to destroy everything because that motivation doesn't make any sense.

 

Yet Arcanum takes great pains to make the villain's plan not only make sense, it almost makes

the goal of killing everyone downright sympathetic, which is likely a first.

 

[Kide]

Arcanum is pretty much my favorite game, but it certainly has a lot of problems especially with the combat system. Still the game I have finished 3 times. It would have been nice to see Avellone play, but for me personally at least it felt that he did not really enjoy it. Maybe it would feel  different when he got more into the world and see more, but at this moment nevertheless it just felt like that to me personally.

 

He has a lot of things to do that's for sure. So not too bothered if there is going to be more of the arcanum let's play or not.

[PK htiw klaw eriF]

I tried playing Arcanum recently and hated it. Between the terrible balance, awful combat system, and crap UI, I find the game to be almost unplayable.

[talharbash]

I remember in Arcanum if you went magic you skipped past a whole bunch of plot than if you went tech.

 

Also magic was horribly powerful. Tech was so weak.

 

I might install and play it again today.

Edited December 20, 2013 by talharbash

[Kide]

Yap, and the experience system kind of required you to have some ability to fight so to speak. So you could gain levels better. It had problems and bugs, one of the more interesting ones was a mage who cast magic underground, and became more evil because of it.... And then all of the good party members started to really really dislike me, even though i did not even know I was committing any crimes by casting spells in dwarfen mines...

 

I want to play properly through it with a really technological character at some point, kind of considering doing let's play of it some point, when there really is not that many of those in youtube either.

[LadyCrimson]

 

I gave up on Arcanum about a dozen hours into it because of the combat system (and a non-optimized for combat character).  I don't blame him.

It's one of those things that was amazing in its time and would impress so much that it became so unforgettable if you played it in its day.....nostalgia makes it amazing. But playing it now after so many years and with the industry having come so far....well....it's just not that good and its flaws are all the more glaring.

 

I disagree about the "amazing for its time" bit. I tried the game not long after it came out and I was singularly unimpressed vs. other games I'd played. The UI and combat "feel" were some of the things that rubbed me the wrong way back then. Quite badly.

 

I'll agree that nostalgia is definitely a powerful thing.

[Tauron]

I never felt there was much appeal for tech vs magic world setting...it didnt make much sense. But it was one of those things it just that way in this world. Also I wanted to make techno mage. A mage that uses tech to amplify his "gifts" in certain manner or something, BOY WAS I WRONG!

[Karkarov]

As a guy who posts Let's Plays to you tube and has dropped more than one half way through.... it is okay he quit.  Seriously when you aren't enjoying the game anymore your let's play starts to suck, if you aren't having fun with it don't make video's out of it.  Not only will making the videos of the footage you didn't enjoy not be fun but most people probably won't have fun watching either.  If it isn't fun, it isn't worth the effort.

[Kide]

Yup, as said before to me it seemed he did not enjoy it. Maybe he might have enjoyed some later content and areas, but for now at least to me it seemed he did not enjoy it.

 

Though I personally would not want to leave let's plays unfinished, but I think it is a little bit also about who is doing it. I am sad to see a let's play I have followed been left unfinished. But for some special cases, it is the better choice.

 

Depends on the reasons a bit.

[Karkarov]

Yup, as said before to me it seemed he did not enjoy it. Maybe he might have enjoyed some later content and areas, but for now at least to me it seemed he did not enjoy it.

 

Though I personally would not want to leave let's plays unfinished, but I think it is a little bit also about who is doing it. I am sad to see a let's play I have followed been left unfinished. But for some special cases, it is the better choice.

 

Depends on the reasons a bit.

I have a simple benchmark.  I cut and edit the whole video then I watch it one time.  If I get half way through it and find I haven't really enjoyed it yet or it is boring me... well if I don't find myself entertaining it is a safe bet no one else will either.

[Kide]

 

Yup, as said before to me it seemed he did not enjoy it. Maybe he might have enjoyed some later content and areas, but for now at least to me it seemed he did not enjoy it.

 

Though I personally would not want to leave let's plays unfinished, but I think it is a little bit also about who is doing it. I am sad to see a let's play I have followed been left unfinished. But for some special cases, it is the better choice.

 

Depends on the reasons a bit.

I have a simple benchmark.  I cut and edit the whole video then I watch it one time.  If I get half way through it and find I haven't really enjoyed it yet or it is boring me... well if I don't find myself entertaining it is a safe bet no one else will either.

 

 

Well.... I do not really know if I can judge if I am been "entertaining", because I am simply been me. One person commented to me that he enjoyed watching me play simply because he felt I enjoying what I was doing. I can easily judge though if I enjoy playing something or not. But then judging if that is what others see? Suppose it is kind of more a feeling based thing.

Edited December 21, 2013 by Kide

[Grape_You_In_The_Mouth]

If Arcanum's combat system was holding you guys back, I recommend the only good mod for it, which rebalances the game nicely but will make you have to die/retry (just use the virgil debug menu for cheats if problems).  I used melee and real-time melee/casting a lot and enjoyed it, which is directly contrary to the modder's turn-based design.  All the other mods are completely ridiculous, unfortunately.

 

Direct Link

 

Description on GoG

 

 

As for Chris Avellone, I don't think we should just brush away that he stopped playing it.  He did put in a lot of time already, but he just finally made it to Tarant.  He probably hates the game because it's like so many games he's made and played, but it was a stretch goal.  We're like a girl who finally decides to get fuc*ed, and half-way through, the guy doesn't want to anymore.  Do we demand he deliver, even if his heart isn't in it?  I would be in favor of a review of the game's story after he uses cheats to beat it quickly, to give some closure, but I also found Chris' videos hilarious.  Another issue is that he probably doesn't want to spend a bunch of time trashing Tim Cain's masterpiece, but I think Tim can take it.

[Kissamies]

Heh, first time I played Arcanum when it was new, I got overwhelmed when I got to Tarant and quit soon after. Combat and interface had a lot to do with it. Can't blame Chris Avellone if same thing happened to him. I only finished the game this year.

 

I also don't think he should keep making the videos if he's not enjoying it. Those videos probably wouldn't be very fun to watch.

[Reever]

If he is enjoying himself by making the videos, then he should continue. If not, then he should stop. It doesnt make sense to force yourself to do something you aren't enjoying. He's a busy man and I would probably rather have him use his office hours to work on PoE than make longplay videos anyway. What he does in his free time is of course a different story, but I think he has lost interest. Which is fine. Maybe he will make another video some day, only Mr. Avellone knows.

 

I agree with this. That was more of a "gag goal", as I see it, so let him do what he's supposed to do :D

[BLnoT]

I had no idea Chris Avellone was working on so many other projects.  Kudos to the Avellone.

@Helm   Looks like i will have to change my Avatar, cant be taking yours.

[Sir Chaox]

I disagree with anyone wanting to give MCA a break on this. Promises have been made...

 

Plus, I think he started getting into things after getting Sogg.