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Lionheart, to buy or not? - comments from developer
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Remus
Overgrown Cat
Overgrown Cat




Joined: 03 Jul 2002
Posts: 1657
Location: Fish bowl
Lionheart, to buy or not? - comments from developer
   

Still wondering the game is action RPG or not? or What you should expect from the game? There is interesting quotes from developer at RPGCodex (taken from Interplay forums, but the original statements were lost after database corruption).

quote:
(Intro from RPGCodex)... the Interplay forums, particularly the Lionheart forum has taken a turn toward the ugly. While there are positive threads, there are many threads how the developers have lied, how the developers should be ashamed of this title, taking the game back to EB, questions on why the game costs $50 instead of $20, and much more unpleasantness. However, on the subject of the devs lying, Eric Dallaire decided to stand tall and retort with this:

----------------------------------

If you didn't like the game that's your opinion and I respect it. But to post that we lied to you is a lie in itself. I have been very forthcoming that the demo represented some things about the game dead on and that the real game certainly contained more story and interaction, which it does. If you're disappointed that the end game did not have as much non-linearity as the beginning of the game, I can understand your point of view.

But we didn't lie. Since the beginning, when we were asked to make an action rpg, we have been saying that the game would have a story but also have combat and that it would have areas that you couldn't talk your way through. I think we've been very up front about Lionheart throughout production and post release.

I told people that if they didn't like the demo at all, then they would not like the game and I recommended that they didn't purchase it. Some people interpreted this statement as a callous disregard for what people wanted out of this game - but we wanted to be honest about what kind of game Lionheart is to avoid people from buying a game they didn't want.

I also said that if you liked the demo, you would love the game, and for or those on the fence, some would really like it while others still might not.

I stand by those comments.

If you really like elements of Lionheart but don't like other parts, that's fine, we'd love to hear your constructive comments. Believe or not, we're in the industry to make fun games that we want to play and that others will enjoy playing and we want to keep honing our craft. But we're human, and most of us are not going to wade into flaming rant-filled threads - this thread only got my attention because the title was so off base that I thought it deserved a defense. Please don't think this is a good way to get our attention, however.

To those that enjoyed the entire game, most of the game, or overall thought it was fun, I'm glad you enjoyed it. For those who liked some elements of the demo or full game but really hated this feature or that or wanted to see 80% of X, I wish the game could have been better for you (and I do want to hear what you liked/disliked). And for those people who bought this game thinking it was a different game, I am sorry that you were disappointed and I hope you get your money back or a trade-in. We certainly don't want to sell a steak to a vegan (or an apple to a carnivore ). Our intention was to make a role playing game that attempts to tell a good story while blending in strong action background.

Again, we want to see your feedback, but please keep the comments civil and constructive. For those that are on the fence about Lionheart, I would recommend that you do some research into previews, interviews, and read some reviews.




So, the game is action RPG, with "considerable amount" of dialogs & stuff. It's good action RPG? like better than Dungeon Siege or Diablo? Or it's Diablo with more dialogs and interactions/roleplay options? Well, previews, reviews, comments, complaints already start coming out, so decide yourself .
Post Wed Aug 20, 2003 3:35 am
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ShadowWolfe
Noble Knight
Noble Knight




Joined: 19 Feb 2003
Posts: 205
Location: In the northern mountains of the western continent.
   

Hell I like it ... nuff said ... i find it to be great... then again i really like icewind dale.
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Post Wed Aug 20, 2003 8:24 am
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stanthony
One Smart Dog
One Smart Dog




Joined: 28 Oct 2002
Posts: 556
Location: Tallinn, Estonia
   

Wipppiiii!!!! Another fan of Icewind Dale! Finally! I though it would never happen! I though I'm among the very few people with such a terrible taste here

Icewind Dale IMHO was a great game with excellent atmosphere. I didn't play full Lionheart yet, and to be honest I didn't like demo very much. I like IWD not because you go and kill stuff, but because of many minor details that add to story and atmosphere. I know I'm mad, but I don't care
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Post Wed Aug 20, 2003 8:37 am
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ShadowWolfe
Noble Knight
Noble Knight




Joined: 19 Feb 2003
Posts: 205
Location: In the northern mountains of the western continent.
   

I really liked the different enviroment alot ... most rpgs are lush meadows ... deep forests ... busy cities.... and high mountains ...
icewind dale was a emptyish frollock thorugh ruff mountain terrain in subzero conditions and cold deep caverns and temples ...
I thought it was a neat change from most games.
Plus the story was pretty neat and the enemies were awesome.
But yeah Lionheart reminded me ALOT of iwd
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Post Wed Aug 20, 2003 9:44 am
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JOTAS
Eager Tradesman
Eager Tradesman




Joined: 31 May 2003
Posts: 38
Location: Cwmbran. WALES
   

I liked the lionheart demo very much. When is it released in U.k. As for icewind dale 1 and 2, loved them
Post Wed Aug 20, 2003 10:11 am
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Dhruin
Stranger In A Strange Land
Stranger In A Strange Land




Joined: 20 May 2002
Posts: 1825
Location: Sydney, Australia
   

Hey, you're not the only one! I loved IWD. The artwork was *much* better BG, it had large mobs like Giants etc. If Lionheart is close to that good, I'll be happy.
Post Wed Aug 20, 2003 10:13 am
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Remus
Overgrown Cat
Overgrown Cat




Joined: 03 Jul 2002
Posts: 1657
Location: Fish bowl
   

Actually, most people like or okay with the first half of the game. After that (outside Barcelona), that is another story - you better go play some real action game from FPS genre .

Don't expect too much from Reflective, who produced titles such as Star Trek: Away Team and Zax: The Alien Hunter, which each overall ranked 2328/3211 and 2010/2275 at Game Rankings.
Post Wed Aug 20, 2003 10:57 am
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stanthony
One Smart Dog
One Smart Dog




Joined: 28 Oct 2002
Posts: 556
Location: Tallinn, Estonia
   

Wow! It's good to know that some people still think IWD is good I feel much better now I think that IWD's artwork was on a very high level for the time. Some things were extremely impressive. And with Trials of Luremaster game also had some not-trivial puzzles to solve.

If Lionheart is near that good I'll have it. Hm... Interesting thing... Last days I see people on different forums and in media comparing Lionheart with IWD in this or that way. Interesting
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- Arm-pulling? Get me back me pan!

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Post Wed Aug 20, 2003 12:10 pm
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Remus
Overgrown Cat
Overgrown Cat




Joined: 03 Jul 2002
Posts: 1657
Location: Fish bowl
   

quote:
Originally posted by stanthony
Wipppiiii!!!! Another fan of Icewind Dale! Finally! I though it would never happen! I though I'm among the very few people with such a terrible taste here


Actually, i don't see many people dislike IWD 1, even here at RPGdot. The game also got many positive votes from reviewer, and sell pretty well, and that's why it got two expansions & then IWD 2. Yeah it's hack & slash oriented, but that largely depend on player like action games or not, not because of the production value of the games. And speaking of production value, IWD indeed have many positive things like good music, good user-interface, good graphics (for that time), good setting for adventure, good implementation of D&D rules, etc, etc....

However, for Lionheart, there are complaint of combat control problems, bad animation, etc, which certainly making the hack & slash aspect become uninteresting. It means the problems related to implementation, not the d20 system, or basic idea of the game itself (fantasy+history)...
Post Wed Aug 20, 2003 1:33 pm
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Ammon777
Warrior for Heaven
Warrior for Heaven




Joined: 20 Apr 2002
Posts: 2011
Location: United States
   

Icewind Dale was my most FAV game of ALL TIME. Seriously. I played all the way through Icewind Dale, 5 (five) freakin times!!! I love barely living through a battle. My party:

-- 2 warriors
-- 2 clerics
-- 2 spellcasters

That combo kicks major butt.
Post Fri Aug 22, 2003 4:29 am
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Dinzy
Village Dweller
Village Dweller




Joined: 26 Jul 2003
Posts: 19
   

After about 15 hours into the game it starts to get boring. The enemies are really hard so you have to lure one out at a time, beat it, save and repeat hundreds of times. There also isn't enough reward in terms of treasure and such later into the game. I am not sure I will even finish it. If you do get the game buff up your sneak skills. THe devs mentioned you can sneak past enemies for 75% of the experience. This may make the game fun.

I also had many interface complaints. THe automap is terrible. Not only can you not quickly move to a place you have already been, but you cannot zoom or even add notes. A game like this needs these features for me because I like to go back and find the creature I couldn't defeat or the chest I couldn't open.

I think that the developers may have had a time contraint. THe game shows promise so I will defiantely keep an eye open for future reflexive projects but I want to see them acknowledge Lionheart's faults.

The suggested price of the game is ridiculous. Buy it when it drops to 30 bucks or less. Full price for a game that lacks the full features isn't really fair. Interplay is trying to capitalize on the fat that there are no new RPGs out right now.
Post Sat Aug 23, 2003 3:32 pm
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GokYabguHan
Head Merchant
Head Merchant




Joined: 01 Jul 2002
Posts: 62
   

After playing the game nearly 20 hours, I can say that Lionheart is not a disappointment for me. I must admit that it is rather different from what i expected; but, combination of Diablo style gameplay with Black Isle style dialogs-quests-story and Fallout's experience system is a different and delicate taste for me.
I like the graphics of the game; character animations, architectures of the buildings, dungeons, armor and weapon graphics really deserve praising. Dungeon graphics and gameplay reminds me my Diablo 1 times. And some environments resemble Icewind Dale series.
I found the system requirements to high for such a 2D game. I am playing the game on my PIII 650 and it's slightly slow on it.(especially in bigger maps)
Main theme music of the game is excellent; but there's not enough sounds and musics to keep the atmosphere on high levels, i think.
In conclusion, i can say that i can not prevent myself to continue playing the game. I am playing because, it has one thing that so many recent RPGs do not have -spirit-

Lastly, i want to ask four questions to the developers of the game:
1)Why can i not give command to my character to strike an opponent while in pause mode
2)Why can i not take notes on the map and why are there no signs to show important locations in it
3)Why can i not read books that i found in the game
4)Why can i not overwrite to my previous saves

So, tell me why?
Post Sun Aug 24, 2003 1:27 am
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Kabduhl
City Guard
City Guard




Joined: 01 Feb 2003
Posts: 127
   

ummm cause the devs suck maybe?

and yeah the system req's for a 2d scroller are absurd ... learn how to optimize your game fellas or you won't make many sales ... i bet this game loses a bunch of money every review site and at least half of the player reviews i've read have not looked favorably on the game .....
Post Sun Aug 24, 2003 4:38 am
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hoyp
High Emperor
High Emperor




Joined: 02 Oct 2002
Posts: 501
   

This game doesn't deserve to be called an "action" rpg since it doesn't require any skill or reflexes to win in combat. And the combat isn't exactly strategic either. Anyway, I think it's a good game with horrendous combat.
Post Mon Aug 25, 2003 5:20 pm
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