White Gold - whatever happened to it?

gunsmoke on 3/1/2011 at 21:04

Did you play Boiling Point? Expect that level of quality. Buggy and just 'off'. Same with their new game.

gozioso on 3/1/2011 at 21:11

Boiling Point (fully patched to 2.0) was a really fun game, which showed great potential for the developers. However, I recommend that you avoid the gamersgate version of White Gold like the plague. It has the following issues:

(1) No English manual
(2) Crappy localization job (only the cutscenes have voice acting...they simply deleted the Russian ingame VO)
(3) No patches applied (and no obvious way to apply the Russian 1.1 patch)
(4) DRM issues which prevent you from playing
(5) Flickering issues with ATI cards
(6) Issues with sound effects cutting out
(7) Ridiculous $30 price tag for a 2.5 year old game

I was one of those people who was really looking forward to this game (and Precursors, which, unfortunately, has similar issues), but there is no way in hell I will purchase it in its current state. :nono:

gozioso on 18/1/2013 at 21:25

I just finished playing the Gamersgate version, and I wanted to post an update to this thread. Since the original release, Gamersgate has released the original russian sound files as a downloadable patch. This fixes most of the sound problems. Furthermore, Wesp5 (of Vampire:Bloodlines fame) has released an unofficial patch that fixes some other issues. My thoughts on the game:

Good:
(1) HUGE, open world to explore with loads of optional sidequests
(2) Solid gunplay mechanics with a decent weapon selection
(3) Lots of vehicles to use on land, air, and sea
(4) Good length (it took me at least 50 hours to finish)
(5) Very addictive gameplay
(6) Reasonably priced at $15
(7) Fairly stable (only two crashes total)
(8) RPG/FPS hybrid with perks and upgradable weapons

Bad:
(1) Absolutely God-awful localization job (think Zero Wing bad)
(2) There are still some broken quests and scripting bugs
(3) Certain areas have poor performance (thankfully very few), and I have an Alienware R4 death machine which should easily chew up any game available
(4) Last several hours of the game are a tedious, linear shooting spree (similar to the ending area of the first Stalker game)
(5) Balancing faction relationships can be challenging (and very expensive)
(6) Far too much money is required to bribe the various jackasses throughout the game to progress the plot
(7) There is no manual, and some of the in-game help text is flat out wrong (ex. you can't change camera angles in vehicles)
(8) Sprinting is wonky
(9) I don't think there is a way to get the 1.1 patch fixes on the Gamersgate version (which might address some of my complaints) [I tried the 1.1 diskless patch, but it kept prompting for a serial key and wouldn't accept the one given by Gamersgate]
(10) The story is pretty inane (the crappy localization makes this worse)

Well, as you can see, the game isn't perfect by any means. However, I quite enjoyed it despite these issues. It is truly a diamond in the rough. Your mileage may vary. If you are thinking about purchasing the game, be sure to visit the RPGWatch forum ((http://www.rpgwatch.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=44)) for useful information.

I also bought Precursors, and once I finish that game, I'll update this thread with my impressions. Feel free to ask me any questions in the meantime.

Sulphur on 19/1/2013 at 13:41

I will have to buy this eventually, because it's the reason for the funniest RPS article ever written.

(http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2011/02/17/the-longest-day-24-hours-in-white-gold/) This will be an obligatory link in every thread for this game.

gozioso on 26/1/2013 at 19:02

As far as (9) on my bad list, I just found out a way to patch the game. Refer to the instructions in this thread:

(http://www.rpgwatch.com/forums/showthread.php?p=1061181487#post1061181487)

I recently finished Precursors, and I enjoyed it:

Good:

(1) Large, open world spread across several planets (3 large ones)
(2) Solid gunplay mechanics with a decent weapon selection
(3) Good length (it took me at least 50 hours to finish)
(4) Very addictive gameplay
(5) Reasonably priced at $15
(6) RPG/FPS hybrid with perks and upgradable weapons
(7) Much better localization job than White Gold
(8) Space exploration

Bad:

(1) There are still some broken quests and scripting bugs
(2) Random terrible performance issues
(3) There is no manual
(4) Very abrupt ending (the game was planned as the first in a trilogy)
(5) Only land vehicles in the game (there are flyers, but you can't use them)
(6) Space side of the game is pretty simplistic

Bottom line:

If you liked White Gold, you'll definitely like Precursors.