If they remake this with difficulty options that are actually challenging I would be o board. The graphics where excellent and comic like so should age decently. This is kinda cool.
There was a planned patch to address the dificulty and some showstopper quest bugs, supposedly actually done and in testing, but when the company crashed it just kind of disappeared into the chaos.
I would assume anything like that would show up in the rerelease.
The game's story wasn't fucking generic. It was actually kind of cool.
There's two factions of elves that eternally die and get reborn, and one side has gone nuts and is genocidin' the lands, including all the non-immortal common-folk. There are magic people in the world called Fateweavers who can view parts of anyone's fate, but everyone's fate just says 'killed by genocidal elves' so despair is a bit high for the future of the Faelands.
Then there's you, a recently deceased nobody resurrected by a gnome engineer and his Massive Green God Machine. Fateweavers can't pinpoint your future so you're considered kind of outside the realm of reality, and the linchpin for why you're the BIG IMPORTANT HERO.
Like I mean cliche elves and medieval and shit but the opening premise is cool.
I have a vague recollection of there being a lot of conflation about whether the elves were literally immortal, or figuratively immortal because they kept inheriting the names of those that came before, and re-enacting their deeds. Which I thought was another fun twist on the "lost lived elves" trope.
First off I fucked up. We are talking about the Fae: humanoid, pure embodiment of Nature in the Faelands (where the game takes place).
They are immortal in that they follow LOTR Elven rules. However, their spirit does eventually inhabit a new body down the road - reincarnation with all your memories intact. Now, combine this with a world where Fateweavers can tell you about your destiny, and you've got the potential for very bored folks with a skewed perception of morality, time, etc.
As is tradition, the greatest achievements are recreated infinitely in the House of Ballads. There, Fae LARP as either themselves from years past, or other Fae who are currently dead or doing something else in their life (a greater achievement then the one currently being roleplayed at the local Fae indie theatre).
So they're literally immortal. But also figuratively immortal, because they're culturally reinforcing the Faelands cyclical, and predetermined nature through infinite recreation of the past.
Reckoning allows you to join a bunch of factions, and the House of Ballads is compelling. You as the main character, The Fateless One, can either throw a big fucking wrench into their tradition, a little smack in the face to contemplate moving on past it. Or you can let them continue this shit, playing a loop of the past while the entire world fucking burns.
The game's story wasn't fucking generic. It was actually kind of cool.
When I was younger, I began writing a fantasy setting that drew heavily from Norse mythology, in which the main character's birth had been hidden from the Norns/Fates and, as a result, the grand tapestry of that character's life and destiny was never started. And because of that, everywhere the character went, he just passively and inadvertently interfered with everyone else's Fates. He couldn't help it -- he wasn't "supposed" to be there. And he became a terrible threat to the Gods by unraveling their plans with every decision he made, with every step he took, and relationship he developed. I thought it was really cool.
And then a year later, Kingdoms of Amalur came out.
So, after hearing about the coming remaster, my initial response was "Wait...a remaster for that? Why? I coulda sworn it was perfectly playable on modern systems already." So I redownloaded the game and promptly went to bed (it's been a long week).
Just now, I remembered that I was going to see if it really needs a remastering. Powered on my Xbox Elite 2 controller, fired up the game, and...
I mean, it plays perfectly fine to me. The resolution was set to my old monitor's setting (1920x1080), but it's got 2560x1440 as an option. Sure, the textures could use a touchup, but it's not Morrowind bad (closer to a mix between Fable 3 and Oblivion), and combat felt fluid and natural and how to play the game came back quickly.
Guess I'm going to keep my THQ Nordic ban going since I think I'm just gonna go ahead and keep playing the original release version.
| Origin/R*SC: Ein7919 | Battle.net: Erlkonig#1448 | XBL: Lexicanum | Steam: Der Erlkönig (the umlaut is important) |
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AegeriTiny wee bacteriumsPlateau of LengRegistered Userregular
The main reason for a remaster is to rebalance the games combat. If it had one flaw, it was ridiculously easy once you got to a certain point and the level scaling was cripplingly flawed.
The main reason for a remaster is to rebalance the games combat. If it had one flaw, it was ridiculously easy once you got to a certain point and the level scaling was cripplingly flawed.
If that's something the remaster addresses, cool.
I never got very far in the original game, so I haven't encountered the scaling issues people here are talking about. But gameplay feels very quick and intuitive to me and the original release still feels fine as it is to me.
Feels a bit weird about the whole no jumping thing, though.
| Origin/R*SC: Ein7919 | Battle.net: Erlkonig#1448 | XBL: Lexicanum | Steam: Der Erlkönig (the umlaut is important) |
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DragkoniasThat Guy Who Does StuffYou Know, There. Registered Userregular
The main reason for a remaster is to rebalance the games combat. If it had one flaw, it was ridiculously easy once you got to a certain point and the level scaling was cripplingly flawed.
Yeah...like...the combat was fun until I managed to craft like master tier armor/weapons within the first 12 hours(without doing anything special).
Then everything died so fast that the combat didn't matter.
Chakrams are very cool. But big hurty thumpy swords and warhammers are also super fun to swing around. And scepters are like magic machine guns. Staffs make you feel like some kind of magical monk. Really, it's impressive how fun they managed to make all of the weapons.
It’s more correct that the MMO started first and the idea for this game came out of secondary workd building work.
It was always intended to be a MMO setting as Kurt wanted to make a WoW like game as he was obsessed with that.
My understanding was that Kingdoms of Amalur was actually the game Big Huge Games was building before they were acquired by 38 Studios, who was already working on Copernicus/Amalur MMO in parallel. They added the Amalur stuff into the game that was already in progress, though I'm not sure how far along it was at the time of acquisition.
Excited to see what tweaks (if any significant ones) are made for the remaster.
The combat was awesome. While an MMO would probably had a hard time competing with WoW from a universe perspective. One of the things I hated most about MMO's were their incredibly boring combat mechanics. I quit WoW when I got to the end game as I was a Priest and I didn't want to look at bars for hours on end. Even newer MMO's like SWTOR had really bad combat systems (better now to be fair). The idea of this more action-y combat in an MMO was really interesting. Hell I'd say it did a better job with comic book over the top action combat than City of Heroes. It's reminds me more of Diablo 3 but with a 3rd person perspective.
I really hope they re-balance the game, as I'd definitely do another run through.
The main reason for a remaster is to rebalance the games combat. If it had one flaw, it was ridiculously easy once you got to a certain point and the level scaling was cripplingly flawed.
Yeah...like...the combat was fun until I managed to craft like master tier armor/weapons within the first 12 hours(without doing anything special).
Then everything died so fast that the combat didn't matter.
The abilities were also a bit crazy. My initial build was a Might focus that used Relentless Assault to essentially disable all skill-based aspects of the combat system. I eventually switched to a Might/Finesse hybrid that used Scattershot in melee range. It felt like you had to work hard if you wanted to come up with a build that wasn't broken.
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KakodaimonosCode fondlerHelping the 1% get richerRegistered Userregular
The expansion comes out on December 14th. If you bought the Re-reckoning Fate version, it's free.
I'll be interested in the reviews. I really liked the game play of the original, but the pacing/balancing was terrible. If they can do a good job with that in the DLC, might be worth a look.
I mean, I honestly think Bethesda missed a big opportunity not doing the same for skyrim when they released the special edition. I would shell out for a dragonborn sized dlc right now in a second and probably a million or two other people would too.
Titan Quest says hi. They just released another expansion a day or two ago. It happens.
Personally, I just figure this is THQNordic keeping the fire stoked for an older product they acquired while they work on a sequel.
Titan Quest is still in active development. Kingdoms of Amalur is from a now-defunct studio that hasn't been in active development for a decade. A bit different.
Titan Quest says hi. They just released another expansion a day or two ago. It happens.
Personally, I just figure this is THQNordic keeping the fire stoked for an older product they acquired while they work on a sequel.
Titan Quest is still in active development. Kingdoms of Amalur is from a now-defunct studio that hasn't been in active development for a decade. A bit different.
Sure, but it's in new hands. I'm sure THQNordic didn't buy the rights just to let it languish.
To be clear, a marquee game from a fresh studio that was a big enough flop (read: successful, but not successful enough) to completely destroy said studio, to the point that local state government was actually involved.
I was there watching that trainwreck happen in real time. It was a goddamn trip I tell you what.
"The sausage of Green Earth explodes with flavor like the cannon of culinary delight."
To be clear, a marquee game from a fresh studio that was a big enough flop (read: successful, but not successful enough) to completely destroy said studio, to the point that local state government was actually involved.
I was there watching that trainwreck happen in real time. It was a goddamn trip I tell you what.
I read about that one. Didn't the state of Rhode island partner with the dev studio and lose millions of dollars?
To be clear, a marquee game from a fresh studio that was a big enough flop (read: successful, but not successful enough) to completely destroy said studio, to the point that local state government was actually involved.
I was there watching that trainwreck happen in real time. It was a goddamn trip I tell you what.
Yeah, this wasn't the game that did that though. The MMO they were working on concurrently was the bigger issue.
To be clear, a marquee game from a fresh studio that was a big enough flop (read: successful, but not successful enough) to completely destroy said studio, to the point that local state government was actually involved.
I was there watching that trainwreck happen in real time. It was a goddamn trip I tell you what.
I read about that one. Didn't the state of Rhode island partner with the dev studio and lose millions of dollars?
Yep. The main problem was that 38 Studios had such crazy ambitions and set so much money on fire that there wasn't a realistic chance that it ever would be profitable.
To be clear, a marquee game from a fresh studio that was a big enough flop (read: successful, but not successful enough) to completely destroy said studio, to the point that local state government was actually involved.
I was there watching that trainwreck happen in real time. It was a goddamn trip I tell you what.
I read about that one. Didn't the state of Rhode island partner with the dev studio and lose millions of dollars?
Yep. The main problem was that 38 Studios had such crazy ambitions and set so much money on fire that there wasn't a realistic chance that it ever would be profitable.
3 mil to break even. But this is the game they released to fund their moneypit idea of an MMO. And they were in severe dire straits when this came out. So it seriously needed to do like 10 mil to keep the company afloat.
One of the rare times where "only 3 mil sales" actually is a genuine failure.
"The sausage of Green Earth explodes with flavor like the cannon of culinary delight."
Reckoning was partway through development before the developers, Big Huge Games, were bought by 38 Studios and the game was given the "Amalur" setting as a precursor to the planned MMO.
My read on the situation is that Reckoning did fine. It performed within expectations and paid for its own development.
It just couldn't dig 38 Studios and the Amalur MMO project out of its ever-expanding money pit and became the scapegoat.
Posts
I would assume anything like that would show up in the rerelease.
First off I fucked up. We are talking about the Fae: humanoid, pure embodiment of Nature in the Faelands (where the game takes place).
They are immortal in that they follow LOTR Elven rules. However, their spirit does eventually inhabit a new body down the road - reincarnation with all your memories intact. Now, combine this with a world where Fateweavers can tell you about your destiny, and you've got the potential for very bored folks with a skewed perception of morality, time, etc.
As is tradition, the greatest achievements are recreated infinitely in the House of Ballads. There, Fae LARP as either themselves from years past, or other Fae who are currently dead or doing something else in their life (a greater achievement then the one currently being roleplayed at the local Fae indie theatre).
So they're literally immortal. But also figuratively immortal, because they're culturally reinforcing the Faelands cyclical, and predetermined nature through infinite recreation of the past.
Reckoning allows you to join a bunch of factions, and the House of Ballads is compelling. You as the main character, The Fateless One, can either throw a big fucking wrench into their tradition, a little smack in the face to contemplate moving on past it. Or you can let them continue this shit, playing a loop of the past while the entire world fucking burns.
When I was younger, I began writing a fantasy setting that drew heavily from Norse mythology, in which the main character's birth had been hidden from the Norns/Fates and, as a result, the grand tapestry of that character's life and destiny was never started. And because of that, everywhere the character went, he just passively and inadvertently interfered with everyone else's Fates. He couldn't help it -- he wasn't "supposed" to be there. And he became a terrible threat to the Gods by unraveling their plans with every decision he made, with every step he took, and relationship he developed. I thought it was really cool.
And then a year later, Kingdoms of Amalur came out.
Just now, I remembered that I was going to see if it really needs a remastering. Powered on my Xbox Elite 2 controller, fired up the game, and...
I mean, it plays perfectly fine to me. The resolution was set to my old monitor's setting (1920x1080), but it's got 2560x1440 as an option. Sure, the textures could use a touchup, but it's not Morrowind bad (closer to a mix between Fable 3 and Oblivion), and combat felt fluid and natural and how to play the game came back quickly.
Guess I'm going to keep my THQ Nordic ban going since I think I'm just gonna go ahead and keep playing the original release version.
If that's something the remaster addresses, cool.
I never got very far in the original game, so I haven't encountered the scaling issues people here are talking about. But gameplay feels very quick and intuitive to me and the original release still feels fine as it is to me.
Feels a bit weird about the whole no jumping thing, though.
Yeah...like...the combat was fun until I managed to craft like master tier armor/weapons within the first 12 hours(without doing anything special).
Then everything died so fast that the combat didn't matter.
Chakrams are very cool. But big hurty thumpy swords and warhammers are also super fun to swing around. And scepters are like magic machine guns. Staffs make you feel like some kind of magical monk. Really, it's impressive how fun they managed to make all of the weapons.
My understanding was that Kingdoms of Amalur was actually the game Big Huge Games was building before they were acquired by 38 Studios, who was already working on Copernicus/Amalur MMO in parallel. They added the Amalur stuff into the game that was already in progress, though I'm not sure how far along it was at the time of acquisition.
Excited to see what tweaks (if any significant ones) are made for the remaster.
I really hope they re-balance the game, as I'd definitely do another run through.
E Q U A L S
I L L I D A N
The abilities were also a bit crazy. My initial build was a Might focus that used Relentless Assault to essentially disable all skill-based aspects of the combat system. I eventually switched to a Might/Finesse hybrid that used Scattershot in melee range. It felt like you had to work hard if you wanted to come up with a build that wasn't broken.
Why?
You don't usually see DLC for ten-year old games
PSN/Steam/NNID: SyphonBlue | BNet: SyphonBlue#1126
I'm looking forward to seeing something new in the Amalur setting.
Titan Quest says hi. They just released another expansion a day or two ago. It happens.
Personally, I just figure this is THQNordic keeping the fire stoked for an older product they acquired while they work on a sequel.
Titan Quest is still in active development. Kingdoms of Amalur is from a now-defunct studio that hasn't been in active development for a decade. A bit different.
PSN/Steam/NNID: SyphonBlue | BNet: SyphonBlue#1126
Sure, but it's in new hands. I'm sure THQNordic didn't buy the rights just to let it languish.
I was there watching that trainwreck happen in real time. It was a goddamn trip I tell you what.
I read about that one. Didn't the state of Rhode island partner with the dev studio and lose millions of dollars?
Yeah, this wasn't the game that did that though. The MMO they were working on concurrently was the bigger issue.
Yep. The main problem was that 38 Studios had such crazy ambitions and set so much money on fire that there wasn't a realistic chance that it ever would be profitable.
Oh wow. So Eurogamer said that Rhode Island reported the game needed to sell three million to break even, which is downright budget-priced in today's AAA development. Goddamn, AAA costs have skyrocketed.
We don't know for sure how much it sold. Curt Schilling said it sold 1.2 million, but let's just say he's not the most reliable of sources.
3 mil to break even. But this is the game they released to fund their moneypit idea of an MMO. And they were in severe dire straits when this came out. So it seriously needed to do like 10 mil to keep the company afloat.
One of the rare times where "only 3 mil sales" actually is a genuine failure.
My read on the situation is that Reckoning did fine. It performed within expectations and paid for its own development.
It just couldn't dig 38 Studios and the Amalur MMO project out of its ever-expanding money pit and became the scapegoat.