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Guess what? There's a new RPG in town: Drakensang! FAQ about everything on page 7
Renegen
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
Platform : PC
When : 02/23/09 NA 03/27/09 EU(english)
Genre : RPG
Hardcore : Hell yeah
So what's it all about, Sir Seymour?
Quite possibly the best cRPG since the Witcher, and before that, many many years into the dark past, comes from the depths of Germany Drakensang : The Dark Eye!
What is this game exactly? Well first it looks a lot like the Witcher, Neverwinter Nights 2 & Dragon Age. It's a 3D RPG, accommodating up to 4 party members, dozens of skills and many hours of hack and slash and sidequest goodness. The kind of game that comes out once a year. Or maybe twice a year as 2009 is looking bright. This game fits like a warm glove, any RPG fan will feel right at home. The game takes place not in the DnD universe but in the Dark Eye universe, a similar ruleset really popular in Germany.
The Dark Eye? I'm blind here.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Dark_Eye
Those that remember the old Realms of Arkania games 10 years ago have some familiarity with the fantasy Dark Eye universe, but in essence this is similar in depth to the Dungeons & Dragons universe. If Dragon Age has the right to call itself the spiritual successor to Baldur's Gate, then so does Drakensang, since the game is just if not more heavy with numbers and complexity, all under the hood of course.
Do you roll characters in this one? No, you customize from scratch any of 21 classes. You have 8 attributes like strength, intuition, dexterity; 24 talents(skills) from healing wounds to seeing invisible passages; 3 crafting disciplines; many different spells, weapon and armor customization. Your warriors have combat skills too, instead of astral energy they use endurance, over 30 different active and passive combat skills to choose from.
Can I try it?
In fact there's a demo out, try the main website http://www.drakensang.com/ . The demo is quick to download, less than 600 megs and does it by cutting some of the higher resolution textures.
For those who have trouble fitting 30 minutes of downloading in their busy schedule, we already have a nice LP going! I am going to link to the first video of the LP where the guy discovers the game with you. The videos are also HD, just sit back and enjoy an excellent introduction and discovery to this amazing game.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K8aYO9E8qAo&feature=channel_page
Also, (kinda) pretty pictures! Forgive the low resolution, I set everything to minimum for my slow laptop. Overall I find the game runs faster than the Witcher, loading times are not as common at all.
PICS!! Follow me on my wild adventures to wild clearings and average towns!!
Part 1.
Here are some screenshots from my voyages around town, using my newly improved cutting edge party.
This is my burglar and his companions. He only steals from rich people. You have a lot of customization for your look, it's great.
A bear has run away from his beastmaster, he was so nice too, it always happens when you least expect it!
Let's hope "dancing" here doesn't stand for its martial skills.
I think he smelled the many berries I have in my pocket.
It actually turned out I didn't have the skills necessary to wrestle him for control, oh well. On with our journey!
We are in a dungeon here. This ugly creature is happy to spread the ugliness around, his attacks decrease your charisma.
They're really tough too, only 3 of them and you're practically dead. The game is always challenging.
That's it for now. Actually wait, there's more!
Minor spoilers
First a few screens from the demo, oogle at them stat junkies.
This is the talent screen, not one of these skills determines how hard you bash skulls. The thinking man's RPG. Maybe.
Next I jumped the weapon screen, this shows you the combat skills. These skills do help you bash skulls, or perforate them. And for the wimps in the defensive category, how not to let it happen to you.
Many spells. You can increase their strength like any other attribute up to now, spend experience points where ever you want, when you want.
In fact, you can even summon evil monsters. Yes, you "roleplay" as an evil bastard.
Bowyer. Deadlier than it sounds. Some of the best weapons are crafted with blacksmithing too.
You also get... plant gathering! The developer hasn't yet confirmed whether this will break the balance of the game, but there's a good bet it will, future alchemists.
And Quests!! There are a lot of quests in the demo alone. Exactly what you'd expect the good cRPG to have.
You get to meet her later again. Such production assets cannot be wasted on a simple quest.
Part 2.
This is the talent screen, not one of these skills determines how hard you bash skulls. The thinking man's RPG. Maybe.
Next I jumped the weapon screen, this shows you the combat skills. These skills do help you bash skulls, or perforate them. And for the wimps in the defensive category, how not to let it happen to you.
Many spells. You can increase their strength like any other attribute up to now, spend experience points where ever you want, when you want.
In fact, you can even summon evil monsters. Yes, you "roleplay" as an evil bastard.
Bowyer. Deadlier than it sounds. Some of the best weapons are crafted with blacksmithing too.
You also get... plant gathering! The developer hasn't yet confirmed whether this will break the balance of the game, but there's a good bet it will, future alchemists.
And Quests!! There are a lot of quests in the demo alone. Exactly what you'd expect the good cRPG to have.
You get to meet her later again. Such production assets cannot be wasted on a simple quest.
Here are some screenshots from my voyages around town, using my newly improved cutting edge party.
This is my burglar and his companions. He only steals from rich people. You have a lot of customization for your look, it's great.
A bear has run away from his beastmaster, he was so nice too, it always happens when you least expect it!
Let's hope "dancing" here doesn't stand for its martial skills.
I think he smelled the many berries I have in my pocket.
It actually turned out I didn't have the skills necessary to wrestle him for control, oh well. On with our journey!
We are in a dungeon here. This ugly creature is happy to spread the ugliness around, his attacks decrease your charisma.
They're really tough too, only 3 of them and you're practically dead. The game is always challenging.
That's it for now. Actually wait, there's more!
Minor spoilers
You get to own your own house in this game. You can deposit loot there, travel quickly, and it looks nice too.
In your garden you can grow plants you previously encountered. I also bought a chicken as you can see. I have no idea what the chicken does, but I'm glad Drakensang has chicken mechanics gameplay.
In your garden you can grow plants you previously encountered. I also bought a chicken as you can see. I have no idea what the chicken does, but I'm glad Drakensang has chicken mechanics gameplay.
But the best part about this game is that, it's about time. There hasn't been a cRPG so immersive in years. Even the Witcher frustrated me with some design choices(drunkness anyone?) or extreme loading times, this game is a joy to discover. What's the difference between that sword that's D+1 or that doubleaxe that's W+3? I still have no idea.(actually it might be a bug) Have fun just like the first RPGs you played years ago!
Where can I get this?
This game has quietly come out after February 24. Some people have problems finding it, I recommend Amazon since the game has a nice manual with it. But Direct2Drive and Gamergate are also 2 digital download options.
Oh and the game retails for about $30. It doesn't feel like a budget title though. And a sequel has already been announced! So this could turn into a beautiful friendship..
Common questions
Rear the manual. Just kidding.
You can also always look at http://www.chromatrix.com/html/tde-games.html which lists the rules there. I synthesized their information in this post sometimes.
If you want to figure it out yourself, press k to see all the under the hood information.
Camera Problems
Most talents will have a talent check to succeed. How do they work? This is how:
Say you want to heal some wounds. First you must select the bandages and then click on a friend.
You roll 3 20 sided dices for the 3 attributes that govern Treat Wound. They are Cleverness (CL), Charisma (CH) and Dexterity (DE).
If you roll 2 20s, you fail. If you roll 2 1s, you succeed.
Your Treat Wound talent is at 12 and you have a +1 bonus from the bandages for a total of 13.
You roll a 14 in CL. Rhulana has 9 in CL.(I forgot) You subtract 5 points from your Talent Points (TaP), you now have 8.
You roll a 6 in CH. Rhulana has 7 in CH because of a status down. Because your CH is still higher, your TaP remain at 8.
You roll a 11 in DE. Rhulana has 11 so your TaP remain at 8.
Now you add the difficulty rating. Here the difficulty is 0. If it was +3, you would reduce your TaP to 5.
If your TaP are above 0, you succeed!
Why won't pick lock work?
You can also always look at http://www.chromatrix.com/html/tde-games.html which lists the rules there. I synthesized their information in this post sometimes.
If you want to figure it out yourself, press k to see all the under the hood information.
Camera Problems
I even got into a scuffle with a few posters here. Initially when you first play, the camera feels very wrong. This is because there hasn't been many multi character party 3D games, the camera work is different from a 1 person 3D game where the camera is always behind the player. Having such a camera wouldn't work for a team game so you need multiple perspectives.
If the farthest camera mode is 1, and the closest is 4, use the mouse wheel to switch between them. 1 is the best to order a party around. 3 is best to order a single character around. In 3, use WASD to move around. 2 is also pretty good in all situations.
How does Combat work?
If the farthest camera mode is 1, and the closest is 4, use the mouse wheel to switch between them. 1 is the best to order a party around. 3 is best to order a single character around. In 3, use WASD to move around. 2 is also pretty good in all situations.
The higher your stats in general, the better.
Say you have 10 attack value (AV). You can increase this by spending point in the weapon mastery.
When you swing, you roll a 20 sided dice.
So 10 in AV with hit 50% of the time.
But wait, your enemy then adds the highest of Parry (PA) or Dodge (DV) to that number.
So for example :
You roll a 3.
Your enemy has 5 in PA and 4 in DV.
subtotal = 8
You have AV of 10, so you hit.
At this point, your damage kicks in. a 1D weapon rolls a 6 sided dice, doing 1-6 damage. 1D+4 is 5-10 damage.
You roll say 5 damage. You then subtract the armor value (AR) of their armor from that damage.
He has 1 in AR, so you inflict 4 damage.
I'm wounded
Say you have 10 attack value (AV). You can increase this by spending point in the weapon mastery.
When you swing, you roll a 20 sided dice.
So 10 in AV with hit 50% of the time.
But wait, your enemy then adds the highest of Parry (PA) or Dodge (DV) to that number.
So for example :
You roll a 3.
Your enemy has 5 in PA and 4 in DV.
subtotal = 8
You have AV of 10, so you hit.
At this point, your damage kicks in. a 1D weapon rolls a 6 sided dice, doing 1-6 damage. 1D+4 is 5-10 damage.
You roll say 5 damage. You then subtract the armor value (AR) of their armor from that damage.
He has 1 in AR, so you inflict 4 damage.
If you ever receive in one hit more damage than your constitution, you will receive a wound. Wounds decrease your Parry, Dodge and Attack values. After a few wounds, you will miss all swings basically and be a walking punching bag.
The talent Fortitude also protects you from wounds, it rolls some kind of talent check and you have a chance to avoid the wound.
To heal wounds, you need the Treat Wound skill and you need bandages or other similar curing items.
How do talents work?
The talent Fortitude also protects you from wounds, it rolls some kind of talent check and you have a chance to avoid the wound.
To heal wounds, you need the Treat Wound skill and you need bandages or other similar curing items.
Most talents will have a talent check to succeed. How do they work? This is how:
Say you want to heal some wounds. First you must select the bandages and then click on a friend.
You roll 3 20 sided dices for the 3 attributes that govern Treat Wound. They are Cleverness (CL), Charisma (CH) and Dexterity (DE).
If you roll 2 20s, you fail. If you roll 2 1s, you succeed.
Your Treat Wound talent is at 12 and you have a +1 bonus from the bandages for a total of 13.
You roll a 14 in CL. Rhulana has 9 in CL.(I forgot) You subtract 5 points from your Talent Points (TaP), you now have 8.
You roll a 6 in CH. Rhulana has 7 in CH because of a status down. Because your CH is still higher, your TaP remain at 8.
You roll a 11 in DE. Rhulana has 11 so your TaP remain at 8.
Now you add the difficulty rating. Here the difficulty is 0. If it was +3, you would reduce your TaP to 5.
If your TaP are above 0, you succeed!
As seen in the Talent explanation, your governing attributes have a huge impact on the chance of success. A mage with 10 in all 3 pick lock attributes will have a -30 disadvantage. A thief might have 15 in all 3 attributes for a -15 disadvantage. This means the mage needs 15 in lockpick to be equal to the thief in ability! No way! So first boost your attributes and your pick lock pick talent.
You also get a -10 penalty if you don't use a tool, virtually guaranteeing you'll fail. Hairpins give +1 and are disposable. Lockpicking knives give +2 and are not destroyed after an attempt.
Place the tool in your hotbar. Click on the tool then on the locked chest. Now finally you will have a fair chance to open the chest.
How to detect traps?
You also get a -10 penalty if you don't use a tool, virtually guaranteeing you'll fail. Hairpins give +1 and are disposable. Lockpicking knives give +2 and are not destroyed after an attempt.
Place the tool in your hotbar. Click on the tool then on the locked chest. Now finally you will have a fair chance to open the chest.
You need a high value in the perception talent.
How do I get new spells, talents, combat skills or crafting formulas?
Various NPCs sell them. Check that you meet the requirements.
How do I craft?
You can copy down the formula anytime, but you must have the minimum prowess to craft the item. Go to a workbench. Put all the materials in your inventory. Now click on the workbench, select the formula and craft the item. No talent check required.
---Yeah
Renegen on
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Posts
Also: I must try the demo.
Heh.
Doh, but wait, isn't it a bit different? I know Austria and Switzerland are special.
White FC: 0819 3350 1787
Special is a good way to describe it, yeah.
Special German.
Na, it's just different so you can have fun figuring it all out again.
It is weird though, you'd except a 1D to be followed by an ...8 or something, but it's just 1D - 3. Huh?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Realms_of_Arkania:_Blade_of_Destiny
Good times. I wonder what edition of Das Schwarze Auge they are using for this new game.
I thought the same damn thing :winky:
The name of your main character is randomly generated, they can get quite crazy. Also they differ depending on the race you use.
I don't know, the game seems quite high quality, I expect a good story.
And yes, the Gothic series was made in Germany.
Been playing the demo since it came out, I really like it.
But Renegen is clearly a communist because he doesn't like The Witcher. You bastard.
Currently playing: GW2 and TSW
Of course, there's the demo to try it out... go, there are very few worthy RPGs coming out.
And I do like the Witcher, but something was just off a bit..
Downloading it now. I'll give you a report after I check out the demo.
EDIT: I played through some of the demo. The game is basically Neverwinter Nights 2, except it uses Das Schwarze Auge instead of Dungeons and Dragons. The interface is a lot cleaner, in my opinion. So far the area transitions have been pretty seamless, unlike NWN, but I'd wait for the final game before passing judgment on that.
You can choose from a Dwarf, Battlemage, or an Elf in the demo (you will get an Amazon as a NPC in the demo as well). They also show all of the other classes available at character creation. In addition, there's a locked "Expert mode" which I assume will allow you to roll up your own stats, as you are only allowed to choose your Name and Class when you start.
The first thing that struck me was that the initial load-time was masqueraded by a voice-over, speaking outloud the contents of a letter that was sent to your character. I thought this was a good move on their part... get the exposition out of the way during the loading screen.
Adventures - Going near a quest NPC will bring up either a cutscene or conversation. Whenever you have a conversation with a NPC, it draws the camera to first person perspective so you can talk to folks up-close and personal. Trading is a similar affair, except it brings up the trade window. The map is very functional and has a hand-drawn aesthetic that I love. I wrestled with the camera for a bit, but it is functional and didn't cause major problems for me.
Combat - Pseudo-turn based, just like NWN. It has options for auto-pausing for each combat round or just at the beginning of combat. Magic is MP based (called Astral Energy or something like that... AE is the acronym used). Combat was a pretty straightforward affair... get the red bar (hit points) down to zero. Once you set yourself and your companions to attack, they will continue to auto-attack targets. No big scripting/AI things that you can mess with, like BG or NWN, at least that I can see. The game claims that you can adventure with up to 4 NPC companions. When things die, you can click on their corpse and it brings up an easy-to-use loot window. Wolves don't drop gold, they drop teeth and pelts.
Music - Pretty standard fantasy stuff. Pastoral themes linger in the air, just like pretty much every other fantasy game out there. It's fairly well done, though not groundbreaking by any means.
Sound - A bit annoying, but the voice acting is passable (at least, so far). You'll probably tire of your companions and their repeated slogans, but that's true in all of these games. Nearly every quest encounter has at least some spoken dialog. Some of it is campy, but it works for the most part.
Graphics - Pretty much what you'd expect from a current generation of RPG. It's more detailed than Guild Wars or the original NWN, but a bit less detailed than Fallout 3/Oblivion. The game has this effect where if you are moving through an area where the camera would be obscured by a close-up object (cliff or tree), it would still allow you to view your characters by cutting away the center portion of the obstructed screen. Thus, I haven't run into a part where I can't see what I'm doing yet.
The Das Schwarge Auge system itself is pretty complicated (on par with DnD 2nd or 3rd edition), and I can't really judge it as I haven't played the Pen and Paper system. But the game looks like it tries to emulate the system as much as possible, which is fairly cool.
A good storyline is extremely rare in games.
But I like the art style and the character designs, simple and goofy but it kinda fits in with some of the names. And it's no too too goofy. But it is also pretty immersive. They have their own currency, weight system and a very different way of keeping up with armor points.
Anyway, I like.
Yarr
In regard to what? The number of games with good stories? The quality of stories in games with supposedly good stories? I might have to disagree with you on both counts. Although to be fair, it's the same for games as it is for books and movies; you need to wade through the vast sea of shit to find the good stuff.
This looks interesting though, I might have to try it out as well...
Let 'em eat fucking pineapples!
To be honest I'd rather not have multiplayer in an RPG. It destroys immersion and usually makes any game turn into a hackfest where all do you is kill monsters and get "phat lewt". While that's true for most games, if I'm playing by myself then I'm not pressured into looking for action, I can sit on my ass and immerse myself in the world all I want. I can read it's books, talk to it's citizens, explore the world just to see it, and actually enjoy it without having to worry that some other asshole is going to come along and ruin it all for me.
" Good Day, Fair Maiden, May I bother thou for a bit of mead? "
" LEIK OMG DUDE COEM ON STOP TLAKIN GAY AN LETS GO KIL LSTUFF LOL "
Not that "just playing" a video game is bad, mind you... the idea for most computer RPGs is that the computer substitutes for the GM. But having played Pen and Paper RPGs for most of my life, I expect a bit more from my RPGs. Even the so-called immersive and massive games like Oblivion and Fallout pale in comparison to the unlimited adventures that I've had with my friends in multiplayer games (Tabletop AND online).
Got it working but the solution doesn't make sense.
Have you tried zooming in? The camera follows your character 100% of the time when it's zoomed in closer. Very natural. It does behave weird a bit when it's zoomed out, but that's just getting used to.
Blade of Destiny is a truly epic game, it's how an rpg should be with first person exploration with SRPG style grid turn based battles, played that a lot with a couple of friends when I was younger. Fantastic game. Perfect Gold Box style game.
I made a game, it has penguins in it. It's pay what you like on Gumroad.
Currently Ebaying Nothing at all but I might do in the future.
I didn't have too many issues with the camera... mainly just that it wasn't very interesting, the dialog choices were rudimentary, and didn't really give you the ability to say what you want to say, so to speak. It's not a terrible looking game, but the animations felt a bit stiff and clunky, and almost every NPC had the annoying habit of evoking some particular god or goddess during conversation, sometimes multiple times, which was sort of awkward. I just didn't care for it.
I have a hard time to believe that you "love cRPGs" when there's less than 1 of them coming out a year. But anyway, you have the right to an opinion. I just think you could have played the demo for longer than 10 minutes before discarding it, especially for someone who "loves" the genre.