Tomi on 7/11/2018 at 10:28
Oh dear, I feel that it's coming out way too soon. I wouldn't have minded if they had pushed back the launch to February or something... Still, it's going to be interesting to see how this turns out, but I must admit that I'm getting more and more worried every day that my over-enthusiastic $200 pledge was a bit of a mistake! :D These previews seem quite favourable at least, so who knows, perhaps I'll be pleasantly surprised too.
Starker on 7/11/2018 at 19:06
I had mixed reactions from playing the alpha and beta builds, but I genuinely believe there is a good game hidden in there. When it works, it really works -- the atmosphere, the wonder of discovery, it's there. The only question is whether they managed to polish it up and fix the issues. It isn't Underworld 3 by any stretch of the imagination, and it feels every bit like an indie game built by a small team (as opposed to what Arkane is doing), but it is definitely built on immersive sim principles. I've had lot of fun experimenting with the runic spellcasting alone.
That said, I think it's quite likely they'll have a lot of issues at launch that they will try to fix after release. There's also DLC planned to add more content and features, so only time will tell how the game shapes up at the end. Of course, as a Looking Glass fan, I hope for the best and I'm willing to give them quite a lot of goodwill and every chance for the slim hope of LGS 2.
Severian_Silk on 8/11/2018 at 09:10
I also hope this turns out to be a fantastic game, even if it takes some fixing later on. I've been craving for a game like this for a long time. And it's always great to hear Stephen Russell!
I won't be buying it this month though. My toaster probably won't handle this game very well :( . So I'm waiting for the console release in 2019...
Renault on 8/11/2018 at 16:36
I'm happy to report that, even give the fairly high system requirements listed on the Steam page, I tried one of the Backer Builds on my 5 year old PC, and it ran quite well. I had it on "high" settings, and I was getting 60fps in all of the passage/corridor like areas, and still 30-40fps in the large open areas. I didn't play much because I don't want to know too much about the game before it's official release, but I do like the visual style I'm seeing. I remember on some of the early screenshots and video, it seemed much more cartoony to me. Doesn't seem to be as much of an issue now, although my exposure is limited.
I did notice several graphical glitches, some flickering and textures popping in and out, but I'm guessing that's more about it being an alpha version than it is about my ancient machine.
Twist on 8/11/2018 at 17:48
I'd like to second Starker's comments. Despite a litany of technical problems and some questionable design decisions, there's a potentially great cult classic at the heart of this game.
I just hope the studio survives long enough to flesh it out and polish it after it's released.
New Horizon on 8/11/2018 at 18:32
Quote Posted by Starker
I had mixed reactions from playing the alpha and beta builds, but I genuinely believe there is a good game hidden in there. When it works, it really works -- the atmosphere, the wonder of discovery, it's there. The only question is whether they managed to polish it up and fix the issues. It isn't Underworld 3 by any stretch of the imagination, and it feels every bit like an indie game built by a small team...
Definitely a small team. Something like 14 I think?
Severian_Silk on 8/11/2018 at 20:36
Quote Posted by Brethren
I'm happy to report that, even give the fairly high system requirements listed on the Steam page, I tried one of the Backer Builds on my 5 year old PC, and it ran quite well. I had it on "high" settings, and I was getting 60fps in all of the passage/corridor like areas, and still 30-40fps in the large open areas. I didn't play much because I don't want to know too much about the game before it's official release, but I do like the visual style I'm seeing. I remember on some of the early screenshots and video, it seemed much more cartoony to me. Doesn't seem to be as much of an issue now, although my exposure is limited
This is great! Then it might just work on mine as well. Thanks! I'd rather play this on PC.
Renault on 8/11/2018 at 21:27
Re: Stephen Russell, is anyone else just finding his voice work a bit...jarring? Huge fan of course, and I love everything he's done. Using his voice for Corvo in Dishonored 2 worked perfectly, but here it's just too distracting. I'm listening to it, and saying "oh, that's Stephen Russell" instead of it just naturally blending into the game. It's kind of similar to hearing someone famous like Samuel Jackson play Mace Windu, or even Kiefer Sutherland play Big Boss. The actual actor is so well known that you can't get them out of your mind when hearing the voice and playing/watcing the game/movie.
Nameless Voice on 8/11/2018 at 23:28
I just played the latest backer build, and while it does feel more polished and complete than the alpha prototype, it still seems to have a long way to go.
There's potential there - despite my hatred of the art style - but I kind of feel like just giving someone a physics toybox to play with doesn't exactly make for great gameplay.
The physics systems still feel clunky (roughly grabbing a crate and hauling it into a fire then throwing it at a door, it's a bit surreal); combat, archery and magic also feels clumsy; the AI are terrible (they get stuck in doors and can't even hurt you most of the time); stealth feels rather rough, not helped by the enemies not having good/informative barks.
Now, this was just from me replaying the tutorial section. It might handle a bit better farther in, once you get access to the skills. But making the game really clunky and forcing the player to buy skills to reduce that doesn't seem like a great design.
I guess we'll see.