Operencia: The Stolen Sun - turn-based blobber by Hungarian pinball devs

[Silentstorm]

What's the difference between Hungarian pinball and regular pinball?

Pretty much the same, though Pinball FX/Zen Pinball is a mix of real pinball with video game pinball, and by that, i mean that the pinball tables do go for a look and feel that you could see in a real table but also do impossible things in real tables and have mini-games and mechanics to them that take advantage of it being a video game, though lately they have adapted real pinball tables to their games as well.

They're pretty fun and an excellent time waster for mobile or handheld devices, though they are also fun on computers and actual consoles as well, shame that they made quite a few licensed tables and it means that when a license expires, some tables stop being sold or adapted into the newer Pinball FX versions just like the Plants VS Zombies table that i quite enjoyed.

Still haven't played Operencia but they do make a fun pinball game even it's nothing that hasn't been done before, but from comments in here, it seems they are worse at making blobbers than they are at making pinball games.

 

[RuySan]

What's the difference between Hungarian pinball and regular pinball?

Maybe offtopic, but Zen Studios renditions of Willams classics are really great. My high scores are close of what I can achieve on a real table, which can only be a good sign. On Pinball Arcade, the game was much easier than the real thing.

 

[Mikeal]

What's the difference between Hungarian pinball and regular pinball?

Regular doesn't contain pepper.

 

[Andhaira]

Guys, how many hidden runes are there in the end of the first main dungeon/chapter? I just killed the first boss but before I complete the level/chapter I want to use the shrine of light to find all the secrets/runes.

Nyast

 

[vortex]

I hope they'll make a sequel.

 

[fantadomat]

Guys, how many hidden runes are there in the end of the first main dungeon/chapter? I just killed the first boss but before I complete the level/chapter I want to use the shrine of light to find all the secrets/runes.

Nyast

You will be able to find them near the end of the game. Don't get butthurt over not found secrets in the first few areas,you constantly find new items that could open up secrets in older levels.

 

[Andhaira]

Guys, how many hidden runes are there in the end of the first main dungeon/chapter? I just killed the first boss but before I complete the level/chapter I want to use the shrine of light to find all the secrets/runes.

Nyast

You will be able to find them near the end of the game. Don't get butthurt over not found secrets in the first few areas,you constantly find new items that could open up secrets in older levels.

Oooh ok. I was talking about the Light Shrine runes (Bright Rune they are called I think). Also I can't find the 3rd weight to use.

So by the end of the game I will be able to come back to older areas? Are you sure?

 

[fantadomat]

Guys, how many hidden runes are there in the end of the first main dungeon/chapter? I just killed the first boss but before I complete the level/chapter I want to use the shrine of light to find all the secrets/runes.

Nyast

You will be able to find them near the end of the game. Don't get butthurt over not found secrets in the first few areas,you constantly find new items that could open up secrets in older levels.

Oooh ok. I was talking about the Light Shrine runes (Bright Rune they are called I think). Also I can't find the 3rd weight to use.

So by the end of the game I will be able to come back to older areas? Are you sure?

You will be able to come back,but the light runes are in this level,no need to backtrack.

Spoiler

There is one on the level where you fought the boss,it is on the right side wall when you leave the tower with the light thingy activated.,in the middle.

 

[Andhaira]

Guys, how many hidden runes are there in the end of the first main dungeon/chapter? I just killed the first boss but before I complete the level/chapter I want to use the shrine of light to find all the secrets/runes.

Nyast

You will be able to find them near the end of the game. Don't get butthurt over not found secrets in the first few areas,you constantly find new items that could open up secrets in older levels.

Oooh ok. I was talking about the Light Shrine runes (Bright Rune they are called I think). Also I can't find the 3rd weight to use.

So by the end of the game I will be able to come back to older areas? Are you sure?

You will be able to come back,but the light runes are in this level,no need to backtrack.

Spoiler

There is one on the level where you fought the boss,it is on the right side wall when you leave the tower with the light thingy activated.,in the middle.

What about the two gates that are locked in this same level/castle? One has the Bright Rune as a lock (but my Light Rune counter runs out by the time I can get there) and the other requires one more heavy weight to open.

 

[fantadomat]

Guys, how many hidden runes are there in the end of the first main dungeon/chapter? I just killed the first boss but before I complete the level/chapter I want to use the shrine of light to find all the secrets/runes.

Nyast

You will be able to find them near the end of the game. Don't get butthurt over not found secrets in the first few areas,you constantly find new items that could open up secrets in older levels.

Oooh ok. I was talking about the Light Shrine runes (Bright Rune they are called I think). Also I can't find the 3rd weight to use.

So by the end of the game I will be able to come back to older areas? Are you sure?

You will be able to come back,but the light runes are in this level,no need to backtrack.

Spoiler

There is one on the level where you fought the boss,it is on the right side wall when you leave the tower with the light thingy activated.,in the middle.

What about the two gates that are locked in this same level/castle? One has the Bright Rune as a lock (but my Light Rune counter runs out by the time I can get there) and the other requires one more heavy weight to open.

I played the game quite a long time ago,a few months. I don't remember everything.

Spoiler

for the weight you need three parts,one was in a secret corridor on the level that is the door,another one was somewhere around the first tower where you free the women. For the third part i don't remember. For the glyph you have to use the one you get from the place i told you in the last post. You have find it and get as a item while using the shrine. There were at least two secrets in the wine cellar,on where you have to go trough a long waterlly tunnel and one in the room with the stairs that exit from the cellar,not the ones you first came in. The waterlly tunnel you have to open by stepping on one of the tiles in the maze. Also there are i believe two secrets near the door with the rune(in the nearby rooms),one opens the room that is against the runned door,just look for switches on the walls. I believe that somewhere along those secrets is the third weight,but i could be mistaken. Anyway,good luck .

 

[Shackleton]

Guys, how many hidden runes are there in the end of the first main dungeon/chapter? I just killed the first boss but before I complete the level/chapter I want to use the shrine of light to find all the secrets/runes.

Nyast

You will be able to find them near the end of the game. Don't get butthurt over not found secrets in the first few areas,you constantly find new items that could open up secrets in older levels.

Oooh ok. I was talking about the Light Shrine runes (Bright Rune they are called I think). Also I can't find the 3rd weight to use.

So by the end of the game I will be able to come back to older areas? Are you sure?

You will be able to come back,but the light runes are in this level,no need to backtrack.

Spoiler

There is one on the level where you fought the boss,it is on the right side wall when you leave the tower with the light thingy activated.,in the middle.

What about the two gates that are locked in this same level/castle? One has the Bright Rune as a lock (but my Light Rune counter runs out by the time I can get there) and the other requires one more heavy weight to open.

You've become too used to quest compass Andhaira. The decline is accelerating.

 

[Darth Canoli]

but it becomes staggeringly slow

What you're doing is trying to take off the mark at top speed with your handbrake on.

What you should do is get Wizfast and fastanim (both of them) launch them in your install directory and then enjoy the best blobber of all times.
If you really can't find them (which isn't possible if you searched for it) i have them on my hard-drive and could put them on-line or search for the links which should be faster, like less than one minute.

 

[fantadomat]

but it becomes staggeringly slow

What you're doing is trying to take off the mark at top speed with your handbrake on.

What you should do is get Wizfast and fastanim (both of them) launch them in your install directory and then enjoy the best blobber of all times.
If you really can't find them (which isn't possible if you searched for it) i have them on my hard-drive and could put them on-line or search for the links which should be faster, like less than one minute.

Or just use the speedhacks of cheetengine.

 

[Incendax]

then enjoy the best blobber of all times.

Making the game faster won't fix the simplistic combat, halfway completed maps, aborted story, and EQ1 level graphics. That's wasted time I could be playing Grimoire or Wiz 7.

 

[lukaszek]

deterministic system > RNG

 

[Naraya]

this game is rubbing me in a wrong way.
Very childish, omfg end of the world is upon us, seal the hole asap! Oh and you are a king and queen is in your party.

It does look like how mmx should have though

I just skipped all of the dialogue, for me it wasn't the lore (however it is banal shit boring) but rather VO that was cringeworthy. Gameplay wise it's fine.

 

[Renevent]

I hate these fucking puzzles, how do I swap the last two pieces (highlighted tile and the one directly below it)?

 

[Delterius]

I always dismantle the rubik's cube tbh.

 

[vortex]

Too swap these pieces you need to swap 9 pieces around that highlighted one.

 

[Efe]

you "deposit" the out of place tile to an adjacent loop and then rearrange its neighbors into correct position.

 

[Multi-headed Cow]

This game is charming as hell. Knocked Outer Worlds on the head (Worse than FNV, not bad enough to be bad, not very good either) so I fired up Operencia on game pass since that's somehow more enticing than Metro when it comes to shit that Epic kidnapped, and it's been enjoyable. Gone through the tutorial and the first real dungeon on hard combat and it's still distressingly easy, and the dungeon isn't nearly as intricate as something from Grimrock, but the combat feels smooth and reasonably quick and the light puzzling and exploration/secret finding is nice, and the writing's enjoyable fluff. It absolutely shits all over Bard's Tale 4, that's for goddamn sure. In every way except soundtrack.

 

[Multi-headed Cow]

6-7 hours into the game and nearing the end of the "Deva fortress" now and the game's still pleasant. Even though the smith-chick party member has some completely flat voice acting which is a real bummer. Keeping her out of the party just because I want nothing to do with her bantz. Difficulty has increased appreciably (Actually want to use consumables at times, camp use is semi-regular) and dungeons and puzzles still aren't anything to write home about but since everything's moving at a nice pace it's hard to get too bent out of shape about it.

Special award goes to the crafting system, because I hate crafting systems in 99% of RPGs (Looking at you Underrail you ABSOLUTE FUCK) but I actually enjoy it in Operencia. The crafting system is as simple as you find a recipe, and then next time you visit a camp you're presented with a basic logic puzzle to figure out the recipe itself. Once you've solved the puzzle, you get some peanuts in XP and more importantly the consumable item (Potions/bombs/oils). Consumables don't take any materials to make, once you've solved the recipe the consumable is always in your skill slots (For the consumable slot, each party member has one slot open) and then it has finite charges that fully refill every time you rest at a camp. Good fucking shit. Actually makes finding a recipe a real treat since you get a fun little puzzle and it gives you with more options to toy around with, and since it's just per-rest charges it's not like you end up hoarding the fuckers.

 

[Goral]

I've just finished it via Gamepass (Xbox One S version) on casual difficulty (everything on normal) and it took me 35 hours to complete, although much of it was caused by my shitty skills with gamepad (especially in Balvanyos where there were these trapdoors with arcs), the game just doesn't respond well while walking (I often stopped for no reason). I had to look at walkthrough 3 times:

Spoiler

- the first time at Deva castle just before Anna fight (I thought I'm missing something and maybe there's a way to use the weights that were there, had I had information that we have all we need in that room I would have figured it out)

- the second time in Attilla's tomb where rooster was (I found the invisible wall further from the entrance and had machines blocking my way to the other one, although I suspected it might be the case I didn't bother to test it myself not wanting to waste time unnecessarily, had I found the other one first I would have found the other one too, but you could open bars only from the first one)

- the third time in Glass palace (I knew I need the crystal to power lifts up but I thought I'm missing some hidden leaver plus later I didn't think about using wand at the exact time lift was at our level so that bars would go down, totally counter intuitive). I actually immediately figured out the arrow puzzle but the in-game hint helped with that (someone from my party said that upper number is higher for some reason).

Anyway, I've really enjoyed this game but maybe that's because I don't have much experience with blobbers. It is linear but has very interesting and varied levels, for the most part enjoyable puzzles (although some of them are annoying and you need to explore almost every nook) and decent fights. Sure, combat is simple and lacks some depth but it allows for some simple tactics using interesting skills, allows us to use various potions and there are "party skills" that can save the day. I'm not sure how they could improve combat though unless they would give us bigger party to control (so the 3 extra companions) and allow us to place them at whatever formation/distance we would want them just before the fight would start. Anyway, it's turn based and isn't a slog so it's a win in my book all things considered.

Character creation and levelling system (skill trees) is also simple but good and is well balanced for the final boss. Earlier I rarely had to rest and at the end had over 30 wood pieces but that was on normal. I might try to replay the game at some time (played as a fighter so the next time I would choose a magician), although knowing what I know now even on hard it shouldn't be that hard (I'm not sure if I would want to waste my time on iron man though, on normal it would definitely be doable but only hard/hard/hard makes sense for iron man if anything).

Plot-wise it was above average, although that faggotry nonsense was just egregiously bad. WTF is with all the devs adding LGBTFAGS content even in such (relatively) obscure game such as this? And fellow Hungarians at that? WTFF? Why? In any case I enjoyed the banter and some comments (e.g. when there were huge blocks with spikes archer commented "as if blocks weren't enough they had to add spikes to them as well") and liked Elia plot-twist. Contrary to some in this thread I enjoyed both her character and the voice of the actress.

I also have to agree that crafting/potion system is great, plus there is decent loot here without the annoying parts. You don't collect trash like in some games and at some point you have a merchant with you so you don't have to waste time on shopping. The only thing that it lacks is teleporting.

All in all I recommend this game, it's hard to rate it but I would give it 7, maybe 7.5/10 and I would like to see a sequel or an expansion.

P.S.
Here are my characters at the end:

Spoiler

I've just noticed that extra characters that were with me when levelled up didn't spend SP and talent points so I can distribute them as I see fit. This will make for a nice fight with dragon.

P.P.S.
lukaszek
Prologue is quite boring, once you finish it it gets better although that doesn't mean you will like it. I would recommend finishing it though and checking out Lake of Anna at least.

Still it sucks the same option simply doesn't work with an XBox One controller

It works for me but it's half a year later so maybe they've fixed it.

 

[LESS T_T]

Steam and GOG release on March 31:



https://steamcommunity.com/games/985950/announcements/detail/1722000388023224726

Operencia: The Stolen Sun arrives on Steam March 31!

We've seen you asking for a release date - we are happy to say that you can start adventuring March 31 in the lands of Operencia.

If you are reading this, please take a moment to click on that Wishlist button, it helps us tremendously!

Our modern homage to classic first-person dungeon-crawlers takes you to an unconventional fantasy world inspired by a faraway land referenced in countless Central European folktales. An old-school turn-based battle system combines with inspiration from unexplored mythology to offer an RPG experience that feels unique yet also familiar.

Unravel the epic story where an unknown force has abducted the Sun King Napkiraly, leaving Operencia in a state of perpetual darkness – and eventual doom. From hidden royal tombs and cursed castles to an ascent up the World Tree to reach the Copper Forest of the Land of the Gods, explore diverse settings throughout the far reaches of the land…and beyond. Each location boasts its own unique atmosphere, visual style, level design and puzzles to solve.

This ultimate version of Operencia comes with an extreme Hard Mode designed by our battle master Babar, aimed only at the most seasoned adventurers. Combine that with the Permadeath mode to really give yourself a heart attack whenever an enemy lands a crit on your heroes.

Again, you’ll be our hero if you wishlist the game.

 

[V_K]

Wake me up when it's on 80% sale.