Melan on 5/8/2017 at 09:28
Cleve has already fixed those initial bugs, and added his characteristic comments on Homo Sapiens in (
http://steamcommunity.com/games/650670/announcements/detail/1444946018259466626) the news update. :D For all his reputation, ha had also fixed the bugs in the original demo very quickly, and seems to be doing the same right now.
I have been playing the 2013 superdemo in anticipation of the release, and I stand by (
http://www.ttlg.com/forums/showthread.php?t=140246&p=2167454&viewfull=1#post2167454) my comments on the earlier, smaller demo. Additional remarks:
* The superdemo allegedly contains only a small chunk of the game. This is impressive because in these days, it'd make for a full game and then some. I got about a months' worth of play out of it, and was apparently very close to the end by the time I was done. It is properly big.
* In the tradition of
Wizardry VI (Bane of the Cosmic Forge), there are dungeons that open up into other, deeper dungeons. What looks like a small side area suddenly blows up into a separate wilderness section that has exits to other mini-dungeons. The feeling of discovery is tremendous, and you constantly feel like unearthing cool secrets and small details.
* Character building is a lot of fun; leveling up isn't quick, but there is a good sense of progression through the superdemo. When you start mopping up enemies which had massacred you previously, or get your hands on a good piece of equipment, it feels really good. Some of the random loot chests are fairly samey, but that may have been fixed in the final.
* Something you couldn't appreciate that much in the original demo is the puzzle design. Some of it works counterintuitively WRT the user interface (which is very old-school, and takes some learning to get used to), but it is all in the classical tradition - challenging, but fair and very satisfying when you figure something out. I was stuck only twice during my playthrough (once due to UI-related shenanigans, and once due to a bug that needed me to reload a save).
* It is in this tradition of fantasy that's part fairy tales and myth, part AD&D and Gary Gygax (some of it via D.W. Bradley), and part colourful, idiosyncratic fun. It doesn't do the mud filter thing, and it is not grim and gritty. It has a sense of wonder that doesn't feel fake or ironic.
All in all, this is the real deal. It is not a nostalgic look back into a certain style of gaming, and it isn't part of the indie pixel retro scene, it is an authentic experience that could at one time have been Wizardry 7.5. I suppose the market for that kind of game isn't very big, but by God, those of us who wanted another game in that tradition got a real treat. A rough gem, but a gem.
ZylonBane on 5/8/2017 at 19:49
What the hell is all that babbling about "Sapiens" and brainpower percents? Does he always talk like that?
Renzatic on 5/8/2017 at 20:09
Like every oddball you meet on the internet, it's hard to tell whether he's bullshitting everyone for attention, or if he's entirely sincere.
It's usually safer to assume the latter, I find.
Jason Moyer on 6/8/2017 at 02:52
He posts on RPGCodex and lives in an actual cave. I'm pretty sure he's sincere.
ZylonBane on 6/8/2017 at 15:00
So apparently he believes he has superior Neanderthal DNA. Hence the use of "sapiens" as an insult. No I am not making this up.
reizak on 6/8/2017 at 15:56
Quote:
I am the man who woke up and stayed awake, in a world of sleepers.
- (
https://xkcd.com/610/) Cleve Blakemore
RationalWiki has a decent (
http://rationalwiki.org/wiki/Vault-Co) TL;DR of his (
http://vault-co.blogspot.com/) blog for those who aren't quite brave enough to plumb its depths. Not to mock mental illness, I've certainly had my own share of issues, but he seems proper nuts. He also seems very excited about the prospect of an apocalypse, whether it comes from nuclear holocaust, supervolcanoes, or Hillary Clinton.
Renzatic on 6/8/2017 at 19:23
Quote Posted by ZylonBane
So apparently he believes he has superior Neanderthal DNA. Hence the use of "sapiens" as an insult. No I am not making this up.
Yeah, I know you're not. I've seen it elsewhere before. It all stems from the idea that Neanderthals had larger skulls, and thus,
obviously, had more highly developed brains. It's all just more pseudoscientific bullshit for the race realist contingent to cling on to.
Thought the greatest irony is that the people who espouse this theory also tend to be hardline Social Darwinists. Make of that what you will.
Renault on 7/8/2017 at 05:41
I think he needs to work on his pricing. I would have maybe tried it for 10 or 15 bucks.
Renzatic on 7/8/2017 at 05:48
All drama and political intrigue aside, is it a fun game?
Sulphur on 7/8/2017 at 06:15
Quote Posted by Brethren
I think he needs to work on his pricing. I would have
maybe tried it for 10 or 15 bucks.
If you want to try it, that's what the Super Demo (god, the cringe is real) is for.