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Dhruin
Stranger In A Strange Land
Joined: 20 May 2002
Posts: 1825
Location: Sydney, Australia |
| Gods: Lands of Infinity - Preview @ WithinGames.de |
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WithinGames let us know they have a <a href="http://www.withingames.net/?show=articles&type=showpreview&id=81" target="_blank">preview</a> of Gods: Lands of Infinity. The article is in German but here's some of the comments from the email:<blockquote><em>The preview is quite positive and states that the pros of the game are the very tactical round-based combat system, the interesting and motivating character development and the good musical score. The only contra seems to be the technical presentation (with low-detailed models, some fuzzy textures, etc.) - but hey it's a rpg, not a shooter ; - )</em></blockquote> |
Wed Feb 08, 2006 7:02 am |
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corwin
On the Razorblade of Life
Joined: 10 Jun 2002
Posts: 8376
Location: Australia |
I've played both demos, with the most recent being far better than the original, but it still crashes out VERY regularly!! This absolutely needs to be fixed as it's very frustrating to win a long challenging battle and then CTD before being able to save!! This is definitely a second tier game at best.
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If God said it, then that settles it!
I don't use Smileys, I use Emoticons!!
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Wed Feb 08, 2006 7:04 am |
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wG_mithrandir
Village Dweller
Joined: 08 Mar 2002
Posts: 14
Location: Austria |
Hi there!
I played both demos too and must say that the game didn't crash that often. On my journey to char level 13 or 14 there where "only" three crashes (directly after battle of course). OK, that's still too much but I wouldn't say it crashes "very regularly". Did you check the logfile in your game directory for any hints on the crashes? Maybe we can send them to Cypron so they get more infos on the problems?
bye, Peter
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'Logic is a little tweeting bird chirping in a meadow.'
within Games - Something Lost And Never Seen
mithrandir@withingames.net |
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Wed Feb 08, 2006 7:44 am |
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Dhruin
Stranger In A Strange Land
Joined: 20 May 2002
Posts: 1825
Location: Sydney, Australia |
I had a couple of crashes but I still liked it quite a bit. Bear in mind they don't have a publisher yet -- when they do, the publisher may do the their own Q&A and insist on extra work...or not, of course.
I do think they've made some very basic mistakes that will come in for criticism and it's disappointing that devs continue to fall for simple things. The quality of the writing can get pretty ordinary and the interface and fonts are simply far too big, for starters. Still, one of the most interesting projects around.
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Editor @ RPGDot |
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Wed Feb 08, 2006 12:01 pm |
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ToddMcF2002
Leader of the Senate
Joined: 10 Jan 2005
Posts: 317
Location: Boston MA |
Wow how did this escape my radar? I downloaded the movie clips and I'm very impressed - but they don't show any gameplay.
The graphics are decent and the level design looks exceptional. Sort of equivalent to Morrowind and Gothic 2 from the clips at least.
Is this a FPS perspective? In the screenshots the camera is all over the place. Does it have a controllable camera like NWN? Single character or party based? How big are the maps? Freedom of exploration?
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"For Innos!" |
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Wed Feb 08, 2006 2:33 pm |
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vid
Guest
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quote:
Originally posted by ToddMcF2002
Wow how did this escape my radar? I downloaded the movie clips and I'm very impressed - but they don't show any gameplay.
The graphics are decent and the level design looks exceptional. Sort of equivalent to Morrowind and Gothic 2 from the clips at least.
Is this a FPS perspective? In the screenshots the camera is all over the place. Does it have a controllable camera like NWN? Single character or party based? How big are the maps? Freedom of exploration?
why dont you try it out for yourself with the demo?  |
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Wed Feb 08, 2006 3:44 pm |
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ToddMcF2002
Leader of the Senate
Joined: 10 Jan 2005
Posts: 317
Location: Boston MA |
I'm at work! I will when I get home. But give me a preview please
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"For Innos!" |
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Wed Feb 08, 2006 3:58 pm |
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vid
Guest
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quote:
Originally posted by ToddMcF2002
Wow how did this escape my radar? I downloaded the movie clips and I'm very impressed - but they don't show any gameplay.
The graphics are decent and the level design looks exceptional. Sort of equivalent to Morrowind and Gothic 2 from the clips at least.
Is this a FPS perspective? In the screenshots the camera is all over the place. Does it have a controllable camera like NWN? Single character or party based? How big are the maps? Freedom of exploration?
[/quote]
ok, its really more comparable to oldstyle rpgs (might and magic, wizardry, realms of arkania....) than to gothic or morrowind.
It has a first-person-view and is partybased, but you start with only one character.
The maps are more bg-style, because you have single maps like cities or locations which then are connected via an overland map.
Exploration is there, but not to an extent gothic presented. (No little caves with a microcosm for example)
Trading seems to play a big part in how you can get money.
There is no character creation. You always start with the same character, which then is customizable during the game of course.
It has turnbased combat.
Besides magic, alchemy seems to play an important role.
Ah, and the music is simply beautiful! |
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Wed Feb 08, 2006 4:25 pm |
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ToddMcF2002
Leader of the Senate
Joined: 10 Jan 2005
Posts: 317
Location: Boston MA |
I'm definately looking forward to playing this. It does bring up the whole issue of the "Publisher" though. Here is a game, already done AND in English language. Why can't I just give my $40 strait to the developer via PayPal and download it? All the money goes to the developer. Since I need an internet connection to download it anyway, I can create an account to activate the download like XP enforces. I'd do it without complaint. I don't need to give money to Best Buy and some publisher who only contributes a distribution network and a glossy box.
I research the game on the internet, I download and play the demo from the internet. Why do I need to go to Best Buy again??? I can backup my own download (preactivated) onto CDs/DVD's myself. Give me a PDF manual.
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"For Innos!" |
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Wed Feb 08, 2006 4:55 pm |
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vid
Guest
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quote:
Originally posted by ToddMcF2002
I'm definately looking forward to playing this. It does bring up the whole issue of the "Publisher" though. Here is a game, already done AND in English language. Why can't I just give my $40 strait to the developer via PayPal and download it? All the money goes to the developer. Since I need an internet connection to download it anyway, I can create an account to activate the download like XP enforces. I'd do it without complaint. I don't need to give money to Best Buy and some publisher who only contributes a distribution network and a glossy box.
I research the game on the internet, I download and play the demo from the internet. Why do I need to go to Best Buy again??? I can backup my own download (preactivated) onto CDs/DVD's myself. Give me a PDF manual.
My thoughts exactly.
While i like nicely done boxes/manuals for pcgames, i would definately buy this game online without boxing or printed manual.
And i would also definately buy this game AT ONCE for a price around 20 to max. 30 euros.
Maybe cyphron studios will think about it and maybe they can also present an option to get the game with box and manual for like 10 euros more.
The team of this bardstale clone: devils whiskey did that, if i remember correctly.
Will the option to publish it be negated when they sell some copies via internet? |
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Wed Feb 08, 2006 5:04 pm |
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ToddMcF2002
Leader of the Senate
Joined: 10 Jan 2005
Posts: 317
Location: Boston MA |
I'm sure it negates it - but if they are doing it in the first place...
Personally, I'm sick of the whole publisher issue. Remember Burut's "GoldenLand"? Can't play it - no distributor. Will Wooden Dragon's "The Inquisitor" ever see the light of day? How about UDC's "Heart of Eternity"?
Just LAST WEEK I had to buy Cauldron's "Conan" on EBay and ship it here from the UK because once again - no damn Publisher.
I'm sick of the strong arming, the buggy quarter end releases, the lack of patches because of sluggish sales, the licensing BS and false marketing.
I'm *sure* many dev's have dropped projects outright because they can't see a financial future for their half developed game. If internet distribution was a reality, they would have a better incentive to finish a product and release it themselves.
Heck knows there are enough RPG sites to get the marketing preview exposure!
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"For Innos!" |
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Wed Feb 08, 2006 5:27 pm |
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vid
Guest
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Within that context it would be interesting to get some information on how good independent games like "mount & blade" or "minions of mirth" sold and where a certain break-even point was reached to make this enterprise worthwhile and to live from it. |
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Wed Feb 08, 2006 6:52 pm |
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ToddMcF2002
Leader of the Senate
Joined: 10 Jan 2005
Posts: 317
Location: Boston MA |
If Minions of Mirth is still around in a year that will be telling. Content wise it looks fantastic. The graphics however - I'm not sure are up to even Everquest standards. The world looks pretty large but barren. The community looks active though - and the game's interface looks very detailed. The Single Player offline mode is a great addition.
For $25 I might have to get a copy. You've distracted me by mentioning Minions of Mirth!
Mount and Blade got some great reviews.
I'll put aside Baldur's Gate tonight (reluctantly) and try Gods.
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"For Innos!" |
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Wed Feb 08, 2006 8:30 pm |
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Dhruin
Stranger In A Strange Land
Joined: 20 May 2002
Posts: 1825
Location: Sydney, Australia |
The last figure Armagan released for Mount&Blade was 8000 copies - so let's say 10,000 by now. I haven't seen numbers for MoM. Both of these are essentially two-person outfits, so it doesn't take a lot to survive - a bigger team is a different matter. The best retail-to-download figure I can give you is Stardock's 4x space strategy, Galactic Civilisations. GalCiv sold 100,000 copies worldwide, 10% -- 10,000 copies -- coming from direct download. Bear in mind Stardock owns the game download site TotalGamingNetwork, which makes it rather easier for them and it still only moved 1/10th of retail (although a lot more profitable per copy).
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Editor @ RPGDot |
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Wed Feb 08, 2006 8:43 pm |
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ToddMcF2002
Leader of the Senate
Joined: 10 Jan 2005
Posts: 317
Location: Boston MA |
So I tried the game. A few things:
LIKES
- Graphically the engine is pretty nice - I had it running at 1280x1024 with great framerates (x850 XT). Textures and models were pretty nicely done. Nice and colorful with decent animations.
- I like the camera control during combat - pretty nicely implemented
- I like the turn based combat, the options during combat etc.
DISLIKES
- Lack of mouse look. Why? Really I should be able to go into 3rd person mode for exploration, but I'd settle for being able to look up and down. You should be able to toggle between the cursor and using the mouse for movement!
- Combat animations: you should not just "appear" in front of your target, you should see movement.
- Areas feel pretty hemmed in. Let me walk to the destination!
- Crashes after combat. Oh well - easy to fix I'm sure.
Overall I'm impressed that an independent shop got a game into this state. Its pretty good. I do wish the music from the trailers was in the game!
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"For Innos!" |
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Thu Feb 09, 2006 1:53 am |
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