twisty on 4/3/2002 at 14:46
Having played through the demo four times now, I have to say the Arx Fatalis is going to be a brilliant game. While I have posted in other threads about things that Arkane Studios definitely have to iron out before releasing the full version to the general public, I thought that it would be a good idea if we put together a thread which lets them know about the things they got right. With all of the bug reports and everything else, it would be good to actually send these guys some encouragement. Anyway, here goes:
<ul><li>A brilliant magic system:thumb: . I remember that you guys spoke about the rune drawing technique months before Black and White was released. I think that this provides a highly immersive experience, and make you feel like you are actually learning magic, rather than just pressing a combination of buttons. It took a little while to get used to, but its by far the best magic system that I've ever used.
<li>Great FMV intro! Its one of the most exciting introductions that I've seen.
<li>Incredibly detailed environments (20,000 polygons per room is quite amazing really) with great texture work to boot.
<li>Nice looking meshes and skins, apart from the central charachter (imo).
<li>Its also refreshing to finally have a game again (not since underworld really) where you get to interact with the environment in such a complex way. Its a great buzz having the freedom to experiment and to actually achieve something from it.
<li>Animals.
<li>Having other NPCs help you adds to the feeling of immersion.
<li>Large variety of vegetation. </ul>
I really look forward to seeing what else the full version has in store for us.
PraetorJudis on 4/3/2002 at 15:35
Great atmosphere and environments, and I like the character design.
Excellent magic system.
One word: AUTOMAP!
xman on 4/3/2002 at 18:27
Just to be sure they don't remove good ideas because some people said it's not perfect...
- Magic system
- Graphics (textures, polygons, everything). I just can't believe someone complained about a so-called not enough detailed environment. It's just great! Don't
- Good level design (as far as the demo lets me know)
- Animations (NPCs and animals are alive!)
- I've got legs !
- Intro is nice indeed (I don't really think it should be much different)
- The plot does not seem dull to me (it's like saying " 'The sixth sense' sucks! " after seeing the movie for just a few minutes while the end rocks!)
- A large variety of actions (making a fishing pole, cooking, chemistry)
- Secret areas and hidden items!
- I quite like the interface (you can improve it but please don't change it radically) It's already quite similar to System Shock 2's and I like that.
- Really good sounds (except that the player's movements are too loud in stealth mode)
I think that's already a good list... I'll extend it if I think about something to add...
Nethawk on 4/3/2002 at 19:56
Well, here's what I liked about the demo:
1) Definitely the environment and atmosphere. Very cool, immersive, and scary.
2) The rune magic system. Highly innovative and shows a desire to move away from standard hotkey configuration systems
3) The ability to create/modify various objects/food items. That's just wicked. Awesome stuff.
...and here's what I felt needed improving:
1) The intro. Though not bad, I still felt that they should be showing us what happened to Arx rather than telling us. I wanted to see hordes of people going underground, above ground cities being ravaged, fires everywhere - you know, a little action rather than a narrative. The other thing is that I couldn't get why the mage was telling the gods what happened; wouldn't the gods - being the sentient entities they're supposed to be - already know what happened? Were the gods on a coffee break while Arx was being ransacked and missed the action or something? That was just plain odd. To lend the intro more credibility, the mage might have been writing down on a scroll what happened instead and plan to leave the scroll for someone (i.e. us to find. The cool action scenes would have played along while he was telling the story.
2) The interface: well, I think a lot people already said what they didn't like, so I won't elaborate. Just clean it up and make sure the cursor doesn't dissapear when we're trying to click out and back into movement mode.
3) Stealth mode currently sucks. Aside for the icon telling me when I'm supposed to be silent (I'd prefer they remove the icon altogether and include a hold crouch mode), they need to lose the "Fat Albert" footstep sounds the main character makes. I challenge anyone of normal size to make even remotely that much noise while walking barefoot on a stone floor.
And that's about...it.:erg:
Dark Angel on 4/3/2002 at 20:44
Yeah we need one of these threads :)
Heres what i love about Arx:
* This has got to be the most detailed design i've ever seen! The terrain, the models, the characters, absolutly beautiful!
* The atmosphere is the best i've seen since Thief II
* The textures they used, most of them look like they're at 512x512 and just about all of them are photo-realistic, it goes with the design and all but i just had to make meantion of them.
* The sound is really great, the ambients, the voice acting, collision sounds for specific materials and especially the footsteps. they have a feeling like Thief does.
* Piggies! i ams loving thems piggies! :D
* The fire, ohh the fire.. best i've ever seen!
* The player movement, its really good compared to most first person games..though still needs a bit of work, but its almost right up there with Thief/Shock2.
* i love getting in fights!
* Lots of design detail, things like combining objects and such, like in Underworld
* The magic casting system, very nice, i love the feeling when you cast a spell!
* i have a body! In first person i can look down and i have feet and arms, its great!
i know theres more, but thats all i can think of right now and most of it i wouldn't know how to explain :)
Raf on 4/3/2002 at 20:53
I won't answer all posts, because there are more and more eveytime I log in, so I hope you'll excuse me. But, can you tell me exactly what you dislike about the cursor disappearing ? is it the fact that when you go into freelook mode, it hides ? we made it this way because, it is basically of no use to have it on the screen as you freelook and it felt more imersive to have absolutely no icon when exploring, but if a majority of people want it always on the screen, it takes about 20 seconds to change :)
Also, I noticed that usually people haven't picked up the fact that you can combine gold on NPCs (to buy ale to Tizzy in the Tavern for example), and did you know you can throw your burning torch into the scene to use it as a flare...
Anyway, we're stuffing our option screen with new hotkeys and lots of customizations at the moment, so your complains were worth it.
Dark Angel on 4/3/2002 at 21:19
i'm not really sure what the problem was with the cursor disapearing...it never happened to me, but i really think that instead of just changing interface concepts to doing it strictly one way, that the user should be able to choose interface options like such, because we all have our own preferences...you know? That wouldn't require too much work would it? Just True or False options that is, such as "Enable this feature?"...just a thought you might want to consider if you haven't already. :)
Raf on 4/3/2002 at 21:30
Also, the stealth icon is supposed to tell you when you are not visible by monsters, it's not a silence indicator.
Fuinelen on 4/3/2002 at 21:45
.... and whether it appears or not is defined by your stealth skill and the lighting?
So, is it completely independant of the sneak key?
Bye,
Fuinelen
Nethawk on 4/3/2002 at 21:53
Quote:
Also, the stealth icon is supposed to tell you when you are not visible by monsters, it's not a silence indicator
Hmmm...confooosing. I thought stealth mode was just a silence indicator, and whether or not any monsters saw me depended if I was able to sneak around them like in Thief. Ok, I know it's not Thief, but the logic remains. Anyhow Raf, the expanded hotkey customization list and the quicksave sounds great. Thanks for your courtesy and professionalism. Can't wait for the final cut to come out. :thumb:
