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dteowner
Shoegazer
Joined: 21 Mar 2002
Posts: 7570
Location: Third Hero of Erathia |
You've played Wiz8. While there are several notable differences, that would at least give you a rough guide of what Grimoire might be like.
_________________
=Proud Member of the Non-Flamers Guild=
=Benevolent Dictator, X2/X3 and Morrowind/Oblivion Forums=
Sorry. No pearls of wisdom in this oyster.
RIP Red Wings How 'Bout Dem Cowboys! |
Sat Jul 16, 2005 4:20 am |
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crpgnut
Captain of the Guard
Joined: 22 May 2002
Posts: 197
Location: St. Louis |
Yay! I'm a completist too. Although, I had never heard that term til this topic. I love uncovering every inch of a map and finding every goody in every chest, barrel, corpse, etc. I wish that the automap would automatically fill in the name of where an exit leads once you find it. You should also be able to thumb through your automaps rather than just looking at the map that you're currently in. If it's not too late, you might ask Cleve if that's feasible. I'm thinking of a book of maps that you could flip from page to page. That way you could look at notes that are on maps that you were on in the beginning of the game. Backtracking is NEVER fun. Hopefully there is some type of fast travel system that allows you to warp to cleared locations.
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'nut |
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Tue Jul 19, 2005 2:48 pm |
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corwin
On the Razorblade of Life
Joined: 10 Jun 2002
Posts: 8376
Location: Australia |
You can annotate any map at any time. When you bring up the map screen, it displays the map for the area you are on, but at the bottom are two arrows which allow you to 'thumb through' ALL the maps you've visited and add extra notes if you wish. While you can fast travel around any map you're currently on, you can't automatically fast travel across several maps. However, clicking the fast travel on an exit takes you immediately to the next map, rinse and repeat, so you can move very quickly if you want.
_________________
If God said it, then that settles it!
I don't use Smileys, I use Emoticons!!
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Tue Jul 19, 2005 10:18 pm |
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donald_s
Village Dweller
Joined: 20 Jul 2005
Posts: 6
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It's been about 10 days, how about an update on the beta test? Has a partch been issued for bugs found so far? Has a manual been started?
Thanks!
Donald |
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Wed Jul 20, 2005 6:54 pm |
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dteowner
Shoegazer
Joined: 21 Mar 2002
Posts: 7570
Location: Third Hero of Erathia |
I've been tied up with work, so I've made very little progress. A couple of the testers have completed the game, though. There are about 8 major problems in the entire game. Cleve plans to issue a patch for the beta within a couple weeks that will deal with those buggies as well as a host of minor tweaks the testers have either identified or requested. As far as I know, there has been no progress on the manual.
_________________
=Proud Member of the Non-Flamers Guild=
=Benevolent Dictator, X2/X3 and Morrowind/Oblivion Forums=
Sorry. No pearls of wisdom in this oyster.
RIP Red Wings How 'Bout Dem Cowboys! |
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Thu Jul 21, 2005 3:16 am |
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corwin
On the Razorblade of Life
Joined: 10 Jun 2002
Posts: 8376
Location: Australia |
Cleve has posted what he considers the most annoying bugs in a general post on his forums. I've finished the game and logged every bug I found; most very minor. Hopefully we have found them all. The most important thing is fixing the few critical bugs that would prevent you completing the game. Once that's all done, Cleve can finish the manual/help files while we all do a final pass.
_________________
If God said it, then that settles it!
I don't use Smileys, I use Emoticons!!
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Thu Jul 21, 2005 6:54 am |
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cecirdr
Head Merchant
Joined: 14 May 2002
Posts: 66
Location: Newport, OR USA |
Excellent news! Though writing the manual is a large task in an of itself. But it's starting to look like Grimore will get released soon. |
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Thu Jul 21, 2005 11:15 pm |
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donald_s
Village Dweller
Joined: 20 Jul 2005
Posts: 6
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It's been about 10 days since the last update on the beta. Cleve said he'd be wrapping it up soon and putting out a patch in early August. Is that still on track? He also talked about an October release. Does that also seem to be on track? And will that be for the full game, or just the demo?
Thanks guys.
Donald |
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Sat Jul 30, 2005 1:36 pm |
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corwin
On the Razorblade of Life
Joined: 10 Jun 2002
Posts: 8376
Location: Australia |
Not much to report. Cleve is currently working on bug fixes and feature suggestions we have made. He also has said he wants to get back to working in the manual and help files. There are a few other areas where animations don't really suit the monster which he'd like to change as well. All this fixing and polishing takes time and he's the only person doing it in his spare time. He's told us that he sets aside 4 hours a day to work on the game; anything more is a bonus. We are all either still playing through or waiting for an update patch so we can begin again to see first if the previous problems have been fixed, and also if fixing those has created any new ones. Cleve understands that any minor imperfections in the game will cause him to be stoned on sight by certain elements in the gaming community!! 
Will the game be ready by October? Good question, for which I don't have an answer. New testers found it difficult to get started without a manual to help explain all the choices. The initial learning curve is short, but steep. Therefore, they all requested a manual be written before release which takes time away from polishing the game itself. Game stopping bugs are well under controll; there are VERY few of them. Several of us have tested out the critical path thoroughly and logged every glitch we could find. However, we want people to enjoy the game and it is difficult, complex, but quite funny as well. If people struggle too much getting into the game, they likely will never purchase it and missout on the best parts. All these issues have to be juggled by one person to determine when the game is ready for release.
When you download the game, you get ALL of it, just like the games from Spiderware. When you reach a particular point in the game (about 30 hours ) you will need to buy the game (likely about $25 but that's obviously up to Cleve) before you can continue. I assume this will get you a key to unlock the final 90% of the game. Hope that answers all your current questions; thanks for your interest.
_________________
If God said it, then that settles it!
I don't use Smileys, I use Emoticons!!
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Sun Jul 31, 2005 5:30 am |
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Gorath
Mostly Harmless
Joined: 03 Sep 2001
Posts: 6327
Location: NRW, Germany |
Cleve should take the time it takes to write an excellent manual AND polish the game. He is working on it for such a long time that 6 months more donīt really make a difference, at least if he doesnīt need the money.
An unadequate manual will frustrate many players of the shareware part and will directly translate to lost sales.
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Webmaster GothicDot |
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Sun Jul 31, 2005 1:40 pm |
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dteowner
Shoegazer
Joined: 21 Mar 2002
Posts: 7570
Location: Third Hero of Erathia |
While I agree with you, Gorath, I think it's safe to say a "6 more months" announcement would receive a rather nasty reception from the majority of the gaming community.
I've said before and I'll say again--I think October is possible, but optimistic. I think Christmas is far more likely. The QA on this game has got to be far more stringent than any major release that's been put out in a couple years. Any bugs will be grounds for some of the kiddies out there to viciously dismiss a good game. Imagine the ruckus if Cleve put out Grimoire in a state similar to the release of Dungeon Lords. DL got slammed pretty good, but that would seem quite kind compared to what some folks would do to Grimoire.
_________________
=Proud Member of the Non-Flamers Guild=
=Benevolent Dictator, X2/X3 and Morrowind/Oblivion Forums=
Sorry. No pearls of wisdom in this oyster.
RIP Red Wings How 'Bout Dem Cowboys! |
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Sun Jul 31, 2005 2:22 pm |
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donald_s
Village Dweller
Joined: 20 Jul 2005
Posts: 6
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Years ago I talked with a software developer for Hewlett Packard. He said they had made a big mistake with testing. They would try to fix every little thing, until marketing would scream at them and they'd release the software in whatever state it was in, guaranteeing there would be problems. What they changed to was a system of prioritizing. They'd prioritize what had to be done with the release date in mind. Get the important stuff done. Sure there would be a few bugs, but they wouldn't be show stoppers.
In Grimoire's case, bugs that crash the system, major game balance problems and a manual would seem to be the show stoppers. If there are misspellings, an empty chest or two, or a graphic that doesn't match the monster, so what? Those aren't game play issues. Even the critics won't say "Don't buy Grimoire, two of the graphics aren't so great". Pick a release date (say December 1, 2005) and come up with the best possible game that can be readied by then. Perfect? Of course not. But playable with no major problems would be great.
My two cents.
Donald |
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Sun Jul 31, 2005 2:42 pm |
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corwin
On the Razorblade of Life
Joined: 10 Jun 2002
Posts: 8376
Location: Australia |
Donald, with any other game I'd agree with you, but here the situation is different. Usually people are hoping a game will be good and are disappointed if it's not. With Grimoire, there are a lot of vocal people hoping it will be bad and who will be VERY disappointed if it isn't!! Then there are some for whom it will be a disaster no matter what state it's released in!! The game is already in far better condition than DL; everything works!!
_________________
If God said it, then that settles it!
I don't use Smileys, I use Emoticons!!
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Mon Aug 01, 2005 6:29 am |
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Nukester
Head Merchant
Joined: 03 Nov 2002
Posts: 52
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quote:
Originally posted by Gorath
He is working on it for such a long time that 6 YEARS more donīt really make a difference
^^^^^
Fixed that for ya |
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Mon Aug 01, 2005 4:26 pm |
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donald_s
Village Dweller
Joined: 20 Jul 2005
Posts: 6
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Cleve indicated on his website that the beta patch would be issued pretty soon, but it also sounds like he pretty busy. Has the testing been delayed weeks or months? Also he said something about a problem with scripting for NPCs. It had the ring of a potential show stopper. What have the testers seen?
Thanks!
Donald |
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Fri Aug 12, 2005 1:11 pm |
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