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[Arulan]

It's finally here. Easy purchase.

 

[ElectricThunder]

Things like this lend credence to the notion that we'll actually, even if via the scenic route, make it to that better, hopeful future from way on back several years now---I hope this absolutely blows the doors off and exceeds expectations to great and enduring success.

 

[Sinatar]

Wow this game is absolutely fantastic so far.

Folks who like deep, highly reactive, challenging RPG's absolutely need to give this a look. Games like this deserve your support.

 

[Durante]

Perhaps this should be part of the OP. Though I haven't actually died yet!

My favourite part of the game so far (minor very early merchant quest spoiler):

Spoiler

 

[Sinatar]

So I played for 10 hours straight and beat it in one giant marathon as a combat focused Mercenary.

If you plan on fighting people, pump up your block or dodge skill. My guy was an impenetrable tank with heavy armor and a heavy shield.

Thinking of going loremaster for my next run.

 

[AntiFacebook]

Can't wait to play this over the weekend.

How does the class selection affects the game?

 

[Mr. Tibbs]

Can't wait to play this over the weekend.

How does the class selection effects the game?

It has an enormous impact. A while back, one of the developers said this:

"However, while in the typical cRPG you see about 80% of the content in the first playthrough, in AoD you see anywhere between 5% and 15%."

From my experience, that percentage is completely accurate. AOD’s ridiculously ambitious. It would be an enormous undertaking for a developer with publisher backing, never mind a new studio attempting to self-publish and self-finance a cRPG. The lead designer broke down why it took so long in an amazing blog post.

The reactivity is pretty amazing. For example, leaving Teron for Maadoran has been incredibly varied. I've entered act 2 in entirely different circumstances multiple times without it being simply flavor text. I love that the game cuts off content without it being superficial. I wish more games did that.

 

[AntiFacebook]

It has an enormous impact. A while back, one of the developers said this:

From my experience, that percentage is completely accurate. AOD’s ridiculously ambitious. It would be an enormous undertaking for a developer with publisher backing, never mind a new studio attempting to self-publish and self-finance a cRPG. The lead designer broke down why it took so long in an amazing blog post.

This is probably due to the C&C in the game.
The question is if classes can affect outcomes too and how

 

[Fine Ham Abounds]

Ya'll are killing me. I gotta buy this this weekend even though I'm drowning under W3, Transformers, and my still unfinished playthrough of PoE right now

 

[Dr. Benton Quest]

Man this game is fantastic! I love how everything seems to have consequence.

Is there a way to get through the slums without fighting? I keep failing a streetwise check. :/

 

[The Technomancer]

Shit I have way too much on my plate but I need to play this

 

[Labadal]

I need to boot this up later. Bought it on Early Access but I haven't touched it.

 

[hemtae]

This is probably due to the C&C in the game.
The question is if classes can affect outcomes too and how

I got a few options to throw my praetor weight around. Other than that, I think they just influence the starting rep with various factions.

 

[Sinatar]

The question is if classes can affect outcomes too and how

It seems fairly important in that the beginning of the game changes substantially as does your affiliation with the various factions in the world (which affects which quests you're going to be able to do).

 

[Karak]

I am so stoked people like this. I was thoroughly unimpressed by most of it but when it comes down to it, there was a TON TON of work done here. Its good to see it rewarded.

 

[Purkake4]

I was interested in AoD once, a long time ago. Today, my interest has dropped to zero with the Kickstarter cRPG surge and the amazing indie stuff we have. This game really is a product of its time, but I'm glad it was actually finished.

Shoutout to Underrail for all the cRPG fans.

 

[Trigger]

I won't lie. Everyone's impressions are definitely selling me.

 

[Terra_Ex]

Glad to see the final release is here, now I can start playing it properly... soon. Loved what I played of it in early access.

 

[Purkake4]

I keep seeing this sentiment but it is absolutely irrelevant here. None of the Kickstarter era cRPGs are C&C monsters like this. Few games are; the closest comparisons are Fallout 1 and Alpha Protocol, and they don't quite get on this level.

C&C isn't the be all end all for a cRPG for me. There are genres that do it better today as well as other games that do the rest of the gameplay better.

 

[AntiFacebook]

C&C isn't the be all end all for a cRPG for me. There are genres that do it better today as well as other games that do the rest of the gameplay better.

like?

 

[Purkake4]

like?

The new wave adventure games like the Stanley Parable and Life is Strange (possibly pending conclusion). YMMV

 

[Azih]

Around the world in 80 days is another new one that does C&C great. I wouldn't say better than a good cRPG though. Dat Planescape,.

 

[ilikeme]

Been looking forward to this for a LONG time

I have time off during Christmas, and this is first on the list together with the expansions for Pillars and Witcher 3. Good times.

Wondering if I should go with a fighter build or talker build. Ah, that decision will be made when I sit with the Character Creator.

 

[Sinatar]

So my Loremaster run so far is like 100% different from my Mercenary run (outside of the locations obviously). Every character I've talked to and quest I've seen is unique.

This game is cray cray.

 

[Tenebrous]

So my Loremaster run so far is like 100% different from my Mercenary run (outside of the locations obviously). Every character I've talked to and quest I've seen is unique.

This game is cray cray.

How long did your first run take? HLTB is pretty sparse on info at the moment.

 

[Steel]

Ending up biting on this last night. And I gotta say, I like. Made 4 different characters like I always do in this type of game, and the way things are turning out are very different. Out of the drifter, grifter, Praetor and trader, I'm liking the grifter best, and the Praetor a close second. I especially loved (Praetor first town decision making tree)

Spoiler

how, when you're sent to the mines to capture the forge you can just fool them into thinking you're a replacement for Sahad(or whatever his name was), and just go in, activate the forge for them and completely abandon your master. Weird as hell that this doesn't hurt your word of honor either.

The multi-pathed nature of this game is reminding me of Way of the Samurai 4 with less silliness. I like.

 

[Sinatar]

How long did your first run take? HLTB is pretty sparse on info at the moment.

10 hours on the nose.

 

[Rad-]

Game is pretty good, I'm enjoying it. Writing is solid and the feel of the game reminds me of a more hardcore Fallout 1&2. Graphics are pretty ugly though.

I made a banter focused Praetor but still got pulled into a fight and got owned before I even landed one hit. Me wanting to poke my nose into everything will get me killed hundreds of times.

 

[Tenebrous]

10 hours on the nose.

Ouch, that short? Thanks.

 

[human onion]

I've been reading about this game for a while and I'm gonna try the demo. It sounds like it takes its RPG aspects to 11,and I've always wanted to play a game like that.

I also like the idea that it's a truly replayable game. A lot of games with 'replay value' tend to lock you out of very little content because the game is too long.

 

[Labadal]

Ouch, that short? Thanks.

The point is replayability and unique content.

 

[Mr. Tibbs]

This is probably due to the C&C in the game.
The question is if classes can affect outcomes too and how

Not exactly. Your starting class determines which quests and factions you deal with. You'll have almost an entirely different experience playing a thief than you would playing loremaster. Your moment-to-moment choices have a big impact, but class determines the possible narrative structure of your adventure. The quests are completely unique.

 

[Sumio Mondo]

Ouch, that short? Thanks.

Adds more replayability for me. It's refreshing seeing an RPG that length, quite honestly.

 

[decoyplatypus]

"Ten hours" means I may actually have time to replay this game, which is a nice feature in an RPG that emphasizes C+C.

 

[PeskyToaster]

The OT subtitle caught my interest immediately. I will take a look when I get home.

 

[Purkake4]

Either way it has nothing to do with your original statement. Divinity or Pillars existing has nothing to do with this game's niche.

And I still see it as quite a stretch to not play a game that takes the Fallout 1 model to another level because of The Stanley Parable.

Still speaking about my personal opinion. There was a time when the cRPG market was dry as a desert and AoD seemed like an oasis. Now there's amazing cRPGs like Shadowrun: Dragonfall, Underrail, PoE and AoD seems like a game from a different era, but not in a good way.

Those games manage to capture the overall cRPG experience quite well. If I really want to experience a fully reactive story, I play an adventure game that focuses on that one aspect. For a cRPG, I'm perfectly happy with the standard "this common videogame option for this problem doesn't bring the expected results and the situation is much more complex than it seemed at first glance with possible repercussions down the road".

 

[Azih]

Still speaking about my personal opinion. There was a time when the cRPG market was dry as a desert and AoD seemed like an oasis. Now there's amazing cRPGs like Shadowrun: Dragonfall, Underrail, PoE and AoD seems like a game from a different era, but not in a good way.

Yeah but what are you basing this personal opinion on? Is it the simplistic graphics?

 

[HK-47]

Still speaking about my personal opinion. There was a time when the cRPG market was dry as a desert and AoD seemed like an oasis. Now there's amazing cRPGs like Shadowrun: Dragonfall, Underrail, PoE and AoD seems like a game from a different era, but not in a good way.

Those games manage to capture the overall cRPG experience quite well. If I really want to experience a fully reactive story, I play an adventure game that focuses on that one aspect. For a cRPG, I'm perfectly happy with the standard "this common videogame option for this problem doesn't bring the expected results and the situation is much more complex than it seemed at first glance with possible repercussions down the road".

I'm not really sure what this means and cant figure out how it does or doesnt apply to AoD or how Shadowrun or PoE are more modern than AoD.

 

[Purkake4]

Yeah but what are you basing this personal opinion on? Is it the simplistic graphics?

It's the antiquated design, complete with a ridiculous amount of stats, an unintuitive interface and clunky combat. I can respect what they're going for, but PoE does a lot of the same things while also feeling like a game designed in the last few years.

I'm not really sure what this means and cant figure out how it does or doesnt apply to AoD or how Shadowrun or PoE are more modern than AoD.

One of the classic C&C tropes in cRPGs is to present a common videogame situation and then subvert it, Witcher does a lot of this for example. I feel that this is enough C&C for me and I don't really need to take this up to 11 and have 8 different stories in one game.

 

[Sinatar]

It's the antiquated design, complete with a ridiculous amount of stats, an unintuitive interface and clunky combat. I can respect what they're going for, but PoE does a lot of the same things while also feeling like a game designed in the last few years.


One of the classic C&C tropes in cRPGs is to present a common videogame situation and then subvert it, Witcher does a lot of this for example. I feel that this is enough C&C for me and I don't really need to take this up to 11 and have 8 different stories in one game.

So you haven't played the game and have no interest in playing the game. Why are you in this thread?

 

[HK-47]

It's the antiquated design, complete with a ridiculous amount of stats, an unintuitive interface and clunky combat. I can respect what they're going for, but PoE does a lot of the same things while also feeling like a game designed in the last few years.


One of the classic C&C tropes in cRPGs is to present a common videogame situation and then subvert it, Witcher does a lot of this for example. I feel that this is enough C&C for me and I don't really need to take this up to 11 and have 8 different stories in one game.

Except it doesnt look like PoE does anything like this. What same things does PoE do? Also its odd to ram AoD for being outdated when you claim you want games that follow classic conventions. A fully reactive story is a lot less common. Outside of Fallout and Arcanum who else attempts that?

 

[Steel]

Still speaking about my personal opinion. There was a time when the cRPG market was dry as a desert and AoD seemed like an oasis. Now there's amazing cRPGs like Shadowrun: Dragonfall, Underrail, PoE and AoD seems like a game from a different era, but not in a good way.

Those games manage to capture the overall cRPG experience quite well. If I really want to experience a fully reactive story, I play an adventure game that focuses on that one aspect. For a cRPG, I'm perfectly happy with the standard "this common videogame option for this problem doesn't bring the expected results and the situation is much more complex than it seemed at first glance with possible repercussions down the road".

You don't see the point of having choice and consequence in a more sanboxy game? And I wouldn't even say that the majority of adventure games do C&C particularly well, either, it normally just comes down to 90% of your choices being throwaway wrong choices and only one or two right choices.

Except it doesnt look like PoE does anything like this. What same things does PoE do? Also its odd to ram AoD for being outdated when you claim you want games that follow classic conventions. A fully reactive story is a lot less common. Outside of Fallout and Arcanum who else attempts that?

It's not a CRPG, but Escape Velocity nova has pretty good C&C with a shitload of different storylines available depending on missions you take.

 

[Purkake4]

So you haven't played the game and have no interest in playing the game. Why are you in this thread?

I played the demo and I'm here to express my opinion on the game and it's place in the market today.

Except it doesnt look like PoE does anything like this. What same things does PoE do? Also its odd to ram AoD for being outdated when you claim you want games that follow classic conventions. A fully reactive story is a lot less common. Outside of Fallout and Arcanum who else attempts that?

The same things being: rpg mechanics, creating and customizing characters, a focus on roleplaying and the story. My whole point is that my expectations of the genre have moved on with the new cRPGs released while AoD hasn't, which makes it less appealing to me today than it would have ~3 years ago.

You don't see the point of having choice and consequence in a more sanboxy game? And I wouldn't even say that the majority of adventure games do C&C particularly well, either, it normally just comes down to 90% of your choices being throwaway wrong choices and only one or two right choices.

I don't see the point of C&C being the one things that makes the game (unless it is a story-only game like LiS etc.). Witcher 3 did C&C in a sandbox, it worked and it wasn't super overbearing.

 

[Azih]

PoE has a ridiculous number of stats and numbers in character creation as well so I don't know if you can hold that against AoD.

 

[Durante]

I don't even see how numbers are a bad thing.
Anyway, PoE, D:OS, M&MX, Grimrock 2 and so on and so forth -- and AoD -- are all part of what I would classify as "renaissance CRPGs", and yet they all accomplish at least one fundamentally unique thing.
To me, this illustrates perfectly the incredible breadth and depth of a genre we almost lost completely.

Anyway, loving the game so far. The only thing I'm missing is a UI scaling option.

 

[Steel]

IAnyway, loving the game so far. The only thing I'm missing is a UI scaling option.

Yep, that's the annoying thing about most games these days, CRPGs and 4X games in particular. I'm actually purposefully playing at 720p because of that.

I don't see the point of C&C being the one things that makes the game (unless it is a story-only game like LiS etc.). Witcher 3 did C&C in a sandbox, it worked and it wasn't super overbearing.

Witcher 3 doesn't do it to this extent. By any means.

 

[Llyranor]

Haha! It's good to see the old 'tyranny of choice' argument being brought up again in 2015! Makes me all nostalgic.

 

[bonesmccoy]

Subbed. I've been following this game for a while, but I'm still on the fence.

People who are getting this now: How similar is the combat to Dead State?

 

[TemplaerDude]

I remember reading about this in high school in 2004 I think, ha ha ha. I've got a hefty backlog right now but Yang did a good enough job selling this, seems right up my alley.

 

[brian!]

love the interactions the developers have with the players on the steam discussion page