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AoD combat beta impressions

A user named cat

Guest
Hey VD, how about putting in an audio track just as a placeholder for whenever you release another gameplay demo?

I slapped together a short, dark atmospheric track you could use to be looped, just to have some background ambience for exploring or something. Sounds sort've post-apoc to me: http://filekeeper.org/download/shared/Dark_Atmos.mp3
 

Fat Dragon

Arbiter
Joined
May 24, 2007
Messages
3,499
Location
local brothel
jagged-jimmy said:
Also what about timed quests? I sure hope those timers keep still until i atleast talked to the quest giver.
Game doesn't have timed quests as far as I know. As long as you're in town you'll have forever to do it. But once you leave to travel somewhere else in the world you're told that it'll take many weeks and that any unfinished business will reach a conclusion one way or the other with or without you during that time.
 

m_s0

Arcane
Joined
Jun 18, 2009
Messages
1,286
I don't really care about the graphics. Functionality is all I ask for. It looks great, can't wait until you release a public demo
 

Major_Blackhart

Codexia Lord Sodom
Patron
Joined
Dec 5, 2002
Messages
18,298
Location
Jersey for now
So VD, what changes are being made to blocking?
Is it going to be made more on par with dodge, or is it going to be toned down in some way?
 

Vault Dweller

Commissar, Red Star Studio
Developer
Joined
Jan 7, 2003
Messages
28,024
Gwendo said:
The only kind of difficulty that can just ruin completely the game to me, is the kind of those games where we keep missing hits. It's so frustating and annoying!
I don't think that's the case.

Phantasmal said:
Hey VD, how about putting in an audio track just as a placeholder for whenever you release another gameplay demo?
We have over 20 different tracks done by the guy who did King's Bounty music, but thanks anyway.

Fat Dragon said:
jagged-jimmy said:
Also what about timed quests? I sure hope those timers keep still until i atleast talked to the quest giver.
Game doesn't have timed quests as far as I know. As long as you're in town you'll have forever to do it. But once you leave to travel somewhere else in the world you're told that it'll take many weeks and that any unfinished business will reach a conclusion one way or the other with or without you during that time.
That is correct.

Major_Blackhart said:
So VD, what changes are being made to blocking?
Is it going to be made more on par with dodge, or is it going to be toned down in some way?
We're considering different ways to tweak shields (blocking itself is fine as a mechanic). Currently, giving shields HP seems to be the winner, followed by giving them DR. I will post my thoughts on this matter shortly.
 

A user named cat

Guest
Vault Dweller said:
We have over 20 different tracks done by the guy who did King's Bounty music, but thanks anyway.
Aw, I would've tossed you some tracks for free just for the fun of making them. Never really get the chance to put any atmospheric songs to use. Probably wouldn't be on the level of the King's Bounty composer though, of course.
 

Fat Dragon

Arbiter
Joined
May 24, 2007
Messages
3,499
Location
local brothel
Phantasmal said:
Vault Dweller said:
We have over 20 different tracks done by the guy who did King's Bounty music, but thanks anyway.
Aw, I would've tossed you some tracks for free just for the fun of making them. Never really get the chance to put any atmospheric songs to use. Probably wouldn't be on the level of the King's Bounty composer though, of course.
You could always check to see if the other Iron Tower guys are interested. I don't think SoW, Cyclopean, or the ZRPG have anybody helping with audio yet.
 

A user named cat

Guest
Are any of those games far along enough to even warrant audio as of yet? After briefly checking the forums it appears as if they're all still in the early design stages and nothing much is even set, which would make it a bit difficult to create songs without any visual inspiration.
 

Fat Dragon

Arbiter
Joined
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Messages
3,499
Location
local brothel
Are any of those games far along enough to even warrant audio as of yet? After briefly checking the forums it appears as if they're all still in the early design stages and nothing much is even set, which would make it a bit difficult to create songs without any visual inspiration.
ZRPG and Cyclopean are still in very early stages but SoW has been in development for a few years now and is making progress, and Gareth (its lead developer) has already posted quite a few screenshots for it and has gotten an artist to help with development.

It's better to contact them fast, before someone does before you.
Good point. Even if they're not ready for audio dev yet, they'd probably keep in mind any volunteers offering help for when they are ready.
 

jagged-jimmy

Prophet
Joined
Jan 25, 2008
Messages
1,550
Location
Freeside
Codex 2012
Vault Dweller said:
Gwendo said:
Phantasmal said:
Hey VD, how about putting in an audio track just as a placeholder for whenever you release another gameplay demo?
We have over 20 different tracks done by the guy who did King's Bounty music, but thanks anyway.
Music in King's Bounty was pretty nice. Good news.

Vault Dweller said:
Fat Dragon said:
jagged-jimmy said:
Also what about timed quests? I sure hope those timers keep still until i atleast talked to the quest giver.
Game doesn't have timed quests as far as I know. As long as you're in town you'll have forever to do it. But once you leave to travel somewhere else in the world you're told that it'll take many weeks and that any unfinished business will reach a conclusion one way or the other with or without you during that time.
That is correct.
Very good. I got the impression that time was somehow involved, thanks for clarification.
 

Frau Bishop

Erudite
Joined
Aug 16, 2005
Messages
2,147
Location
Mitten im Vaterland
Just listened to two of his AoD tracks and I really like them.
Although I don't understand why ashes winds are in rivers - still going to buy the game.
 

Major_Blackhart

Codexia Lord Sodom
Patron
Joined
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Messages
18,298
Location
Jersey for now
1. Where can we DL the AoD soundtracks?
2. What changes have you guys decided to go with regarding block? HP's or DR or both?
 

Dumb Bitch

Educated
Joined
Oct 12, 2009
Messages
92
Can't wait to get a taste of this RPG goodness. The combat seems even more tactical than in Fallout. Thumbs up!
 

Sarvis

Erudite
Joined
Aug 5, 2004
Messages
5,050
Location
Buffalo, NY
Vault Dweller said:
Gwendo said:
The only kind of difficulty that can just ruin completely the game to me, is the kind of those games where we keep missing hits. It's so frustating and annoying!
I don't think that's the case.

Phantasmal said:
Hey VD, how about putting in an audio track just as a placeholder for whenever you release another gameplay demo?
We have over 20 different tracks done by the guy who did King's Bounty music, but thanks anyway.

Fat Dragon said:
jagged-jimmy said:
Also what about timed quests? I sure hope those timers keep still until i atleast talked to the quest giver.
Game doesn't have timed quests as far as I know. As long as you're in town you'll have forever to do it. But once you leave to travel somewhere else in the world you're told that it'll take many weeks and that any unfinished business will reach a conclusion one way or the other with or without you during that time.
That is correct.

Major_Blackhart said:
So VD, what changes are being made to blocking?
Is it going to be made more on par with dodge, or is it going to be toned down in some way?
We're considering different ways to tweak shields (blocking itself is fine as a mechanic). Currently, giving shields HP seems to be the winner, followed by giving them DR. I will post my thoughts on this matter shortly.

For what it's worth, I can't stand equipment having HP. It never ends up being anything but a nuisance. Go with DR...


Not that anyone ever listens to me around here! ;)
 

Jason

chasing a bee
Joined
Jun 30, 2005
Messages
10,737
Location
baby arm fantasy island
Heavy connections within the Russo-Canadian Mafia allowed me to get my hands on a recent build of the Age of Decadence combat demo and I've been poking at it over the past week or so.

The demo, at least the version I've got, allows you to buy stuff from one merchant, distribute skill points, and speak to this guy to find out about the next battle.

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As you can see, LARP has gone the DEX/PER route, with Bow, Dodge, and Critical Strike getting the most attention.

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Armor is kept light to avoid AP, Dodge, and Attack penalties as much as possible. The red numbers above show that I haven't completely managed to avoid them.

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Check the merchant one last time and then it's off to the races.

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LARP gets the first turn due to relatively high DEX, not because she's a lady being played by a big hairy guy sitting around in his underwear (although that should count for something in a true RPG). The to hit % is slightly higher on the first shot as well. A 34% to hit even after the first turn boost does not bode well for the rest of the match.

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Sarpedon starts out throwing shit at me. He doesn't always connect, but does more often than not and makes sure I know about it.

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So I do what any self-respecting archer would do: whip out the steel barbed arrows and start aiming for the legs. While barbed arrows aren't really the best choice against an armored opponent, it feels appropriate when trying to cripple someone. A touch of class.

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I miss my first leg shot partly due to targeted shots having a lower chance to hit. However, after getting off a couple regular shots, I let him get close and manage to put one through the knee. Success!

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Of course, at this point he's right up on me with the spear, crippled or not. I try to slip away but being in his ZOC means he gets an attack of opportunity. My dodge fails and he hits me. One more hit and LARP is no more.

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Impressions and aimless bitching:

Combat is solid, with different options (Fast Shot, Aimed Shot, changing ammo, etc) providing my archer a decent amount of control over each encounter. Luck, however, still plays a role at times so don't be surprised to see a perfectly played battle turn into a clusterfuck with one critical hit. Didn't see any defensive options (thinking along the lines of some sort of "ready" stance that uses some or all of your AP in a turn in exchange for being harder to hit or make it easier to block incoming blows).

This particular match was my ninth so far, all of them up to this point being against single opponents except for one foursome (1 vs 3). The multiple opponent battles, such as the one against two Ordu following the one above, are welcome change-ups and definitely raise the tension level. Here's to hoping that encounter design in the full game doesn't rely too much on 1 vs 1 combat.

About difficulty: most of the battles were finished after the first or second try, although the one above took several reloads (had trouble hitting the bastard while he had no trouble hitting me) and I still haven't beaten the battle with the two Ordu that follows. And you can't save during combat so blow-by-blow save spamming won't help, not that I would ever do such a thing...

Graphics are acceptable, nothing special and nothing to complain about. You've all seen them by now. I do get some funky graphical glitches from time to time (the bottom of the bow disappearing or stretching down to the character's feet, skin stretching from one leg to another, ceilings behaving badly), but nothing problematic. Plus, I'm using a rather flaky AGP card so these issues could possibly be on my end. Animations are satisfying and believable (i.e. dodging looks like dodging, getting hit looks like getting hit, falling over dead looks like falling over dead, etc).

On a non-graphics presentation issue, there was something "off" on seeing some characters say (through floating text) "I'm gonna fuck you up!". Not to imply that naughty words don't ever have a place in games, but this particular example doesn't fit the setting and feels more unintentionally goofy than hard-bitten or callously brutal.

But enough babbling for now as I've got a couple of Mongolian goatfuckers to kill before going to bed.
 

Nick

Iron Tower Studio
Developer
Joined
Apr 21, 2004
Messages
317
Location
Over the hills and far away
Jason said:
Graphics are acceptable, nothing special and nothing to complain about. You've all seen them by now. I do get some funky graphical glitches from time to time (the bottom of the bow disappearing or stretching down to the character's feet, skin stretching from one leg to another, ceilings behaving badly), but nothing problematic. Plus, I'm using a rather flaky AGP card so these issues could possibly be on my end.

Damn, that looks scary. PM me your PC config, please.
 

SlavemasterT

Arcane
Joined
Nov 23, 2005
Messages
2,670
Location
not Eurofagistan
It's looking good, and I'm glad to see (from the death description, anyway) that the writing seems to be quite improved. Actually, the art looks great, I'm glad they managed to get such talented folks on for that.

I'm still hoping for a release sometime during my lifetime.
 

Major_Blackhart

Codexia Lord Sodom
Patron
Joined
Dec 5, 2002
Messages
18,298
Location
Jersey for now
So I'm guessing the wombat demo isn't out yet for everyone?

Who's taint must I massage with my stubbled face to attain this artifact?
 

deuxhero

Arcane
Joined
Jul 30, 2007
Messages
11,302
Location
Flowery Land
Two questions

1.What exactly counts as a dagger, and what exactly counts as a sword?
2.Is it possible to use more than one type of weapon on a single character (like a crossbowman who swichs to a sword when foes get close ) or is specializing heavily encouraged?
 

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