Age of Decadence Reviews

[Aenra]

Fanboy number 1 got triggered.. you're quick, lol

 

[Goral]

Why so edgy? For most people, that's all it is, a CYOA..
Is it so inconceivable that someone paying for an RPG and ending up with a CYOA ends up disappointed?

(before you say it, yes, for most people. It takes a lot of rerolls to learn the combat tropes and a lot of people, logically, burn out after the first 482625 rerolls. It also assumes some deeper understanding of mechanics that are by now forgotten; mechanics for which no AoD manual exists to prepare you for by the way. Last but not least, it really is best played as a CYOA. RPG + combat entails a number of things AoD simply does not offer, mostly being comprised of dialogue screens)

*sigh* The word "edgy" is overused and misused.

As for your question, first we would have to define what is an RPG because Age of Decadence is definitely an RPG, although not of the shitty variety of Baldur's Gate or Skyrim. And yes, it is inconceivable that someone would call AoD "just a CYOA book" when you have there tons of interesting fights that require some thinking (unlike Fallout or Baldur's Gate fights), you can also steal in various places (especially after all the updates) and explore (e.g. the Abyss or the Monastery or the Library or Infaerie or Hellgate or Hangar or...). In Fallout the best location was the Glow and no one in his right mind would complain that we didn't see the process of descending into the crater or going down the elevator or that we had to fight through a bunch of long fights that posed no challenge (unlike in AoD where there are no tedious fights and they are certainly not easy for the most part). It's hilarious to me that retards like this guy would prefer if there were filler fights where he could just click on enemies and they would die or filler random encounters of the copy/paste variety (unlike hand crafted challenging fights in AoD that don't allow for boredom). Same goes for Betrayal at Krondor, there text is crucial for gameplay and very often we don't see things being done, we can only read about them. That's not a bad thing and I certainly prefer good narrative over boring Skyrim gameplay with copy/pasted everything.

What's more, saying that to learn combat you need humongous amounts of rerolls is not true, it takes only a couple of fights to learn the ropes and see what's what and that's enough to progress and finish the game (mastering the fights are for people who want to finish the game iron man style or kill as many enemies as they can or to get all the achievements). Retards on the other hand who can't learn from their mistakes and won't change their tactics but instead will try the same thing for the 482625 time won't learn anything anyway.

And yes it is inconceivable that someone would be retarded enough to buy a game without knowing what he's buying (by checking a demo first for example) and then bragging on the Internet to everyone how stupid he was. But what can you expect from a guy like this?

 

[Darth Roxor]

At least the konzept is gut.

I will never tire of reading German (or especially Dutch) reviews.

 

[Goral]

I will never tire of reading German (or especially Dutch) reviews.

I know about a (Polish) germanist who talks to her 5 year old son in German when he misbehaves and he can't stand it so suddenly he's super obedient.

Darth Roxor
https://www.wykop.pl/wpis/24699953/mam-znajomego-ktorego-zona-jest-germanistka-no-i-m/

 

[DavidBVal]

While I loved the game, I'm not a fanboy and very capable of criticizing some aspects of it.

But saying AoD feels like a CYOA... likely it comes from people that has never roleplayed, yet read some gamebook series like Lone Wolf, Way of the Tiger, etc and they lack other references for comparison. They can't see how both the late-CYOA books and text-heavy cRPGs both derive from the PnP roleplaying experience as it was conceived in the 70s and 80s.

There are sections of the game that are text based, but my impression is that they were, maybe, a 10% of the gameplay or less. The rest of the time it's pretty much standard cRPG exploration and combat. I absolutely love the mix, if anything I'd have loved more "CYOA" scenes out there, not less.

What would be my criticism of this game?

Well, most of it would be pure whining, as it's just minor things that don't really detract from the game too much.

* I would like more detail and more things out there in the late areas. they feel a bit unfinished and far from their lore potential.

* You can easily lock yourself out of certain content without having done anything wrong. On my second playthrough I really wanted to see what was that gate about, so without reading any wikis or spoilers I built a char that I thought would be able to deal with lore/repair, acquiring the helmet, the ghost hand, charging it, all of it very costly, yet some small random detail prevented me from doing anything at the gate (can't remember what it was, maybe a streetwise check? all I remember is it felt unfair and frustrating at the time). I understand "secrets" are meant to be hard to find, but currently it feels like some stuff is only doable if you read spoilers or restart 7 times the same build, or savescumm like CRAZY to backtrack & replay whole sections of the game extensively.

* Crafting armor and weapons: felt a bit unimpressed when I played a crafter character, and after raising to 10 and managing to get my hands on the starmetal ores to craft an armor, I found out you get the same stuff off the last arena encounters (again speaking from memory, but 2H axe starmetal and musculata armor, which happened to be what my build required). Feels a bit silly that 10 crafting points, which costs a LOT to raise, give you the same gear than pitfighting (gaining SP and tons of gold in the process)

* World feel: While overall it's fantastic, I felt it lacked some contrast, maybe? I get it, everyone is a bastard that cares about his own skin, I love it. But maybe throwing in a few characters that are genuinely compassionate or at least decent would make the "evil" stand out more. I remember the time that as an Assassin

Spoiler

I was in that house near the gate where I had to kill everyone because they were spies (still in Teron) and when you arrive they appear to be poor sick commoners that beg for help; this is supposed to be a conundrum for the player. Yet I was 101% sure it was going to be a trap, which in a way means the scene "failed". After Miltiades, the girl you help in the street, and other few similar encounters, the player is too much on guard.

Actually, nevermind my early statement, I can't come up with better criticism and I'm a complete fanboy :D

 

[Darth Roxor]

There are sections of the game that are text based, but my impression is that they were, maybe, a 10% of the gameplay or less. The rest of the time it's pretty much standard cRPG exploration and combat. I absolutely love the mix, if anything I'd have loved more "CYOA" scenes out there, not less.

you obviously haven't played a merchant

 

[DavidBVal]

There are sections of the game that are text based, but my impression is that they were, maybe, a 10% of the gameplay or less. The rest of the time it's pretty much standard cRPG exploration and combat. I absolutely love the mix, if anything I'd have loved more "CYOA" scenes out there, not less.

you obviously haven't played a merchant

I did. Obviously I assume when someone complains about CYOA elements in AoD they weren't playing a talker build, othwewise they're plain retarded.

also, even as merchant (with body count 3), I wouldn't say I spent more time in conversation than in other gameplay parts.

 

[Trash Player]

* Crafting armor and weapons: felt a bit unimpressed when I played a crafter character, and after raising to 10 and managing to get my hands on the starmetal ores to craft an armor, I found out you get the same stuff off the last arena encounters (again speaking from memory, but 2H axe starmetal and musculata armor, which happened to be what my build required). Feels a bit silly that 10 crafting points, which costs a LOT to raise, give you the same gear than pitfighting (gaining SP and tons of gold in the process)

I am not really impressed with the system either; while it is ingrained with the greater part of character building, it is rather barebones.
Tough luck on the loots, you hit the anti-jackpot here: the only good Skymetal weapon is that 2-handed axe. The blades are plain, i.e. worse than the Bluesteel ones.
However, there is no Skymetal armor, only Bluesteel ones. That one on the last challenger is a Bluesteel Imperial with full Crafting 10 bonuses.
Crafting is mainly for that sharpening bonus if you know the game inside out; some lootable/bought/found weapons outclass forged ones and PA is too good to not use.

 

[DavidBVal]

* Crafting armor and weapons: felt a bit unimpressed when I played a crafter character, and after raising to 10 and managing to get my hands on the starmetal ores to craft an armor, I found out you get the same stuff off the last arena encounters (again speaking from memory, but 2H axe starmetal and musculata armor, which happened to be what my build required). Feels a bit silly that 10 crafting points, which costs a LOT to raise, give you the same gear than pitfighting (gaining SP and tons of gold in the process)

I am not really impressed with the system either; while it is ingrained with the greater part of character building, it is rather barebones.
Tough luck on the loots, you hit the anti-jackpot here: the only good Skymetal weapon is that 2-handed axe. The blades are plain, i.e. worse than the Bluesteel ones.
However, there is no Skymetal armor, only Bluesteel ones. That one on the last challenger is a Bluesteel Imperial with full Crafting 10 bonuses.
Crafting is mainly for that sharpening bonus if you know the game inside out; some lootable/bought/found weapons outclass forged ones and PA is too good to not use.

You're right, the sharpening was good and useful, and now I remember the armor was bluesteel. But being top-crafted, the ordeal of getting enough starmetal to craft one myself would have only granted a very small bonus, hardly worth it. The axe, I remember being looking forward to craft one myself and finally getting it off the fight felt a little meh. I think the last fight drops should have crafting 8-9 upgrades, not 10, in fact no item in the game should have those top upgrades.

 

[IHaveHugeNick]

Wenn ist das Nunstück git und Slotermeyer?

Ja! Beiherhund das Oder die Flipperwaldt gersput!

 

[Mustawd]

Ban all Eurotrash please.

K' thanks.

 

[Lurker King]

And yes, it is inconceivable that someone would call AoD "just a CYOA book" when you have there tons of interesting fights that require some thinking (unlike Fallout or Baldur's Gate fights), you can also steal in various places (especially after all the updates) and explore (e.g. the Abyss or the Monastery or the Library or Infaerie or Hellgate or Hangar or...).

It is not inconceivable once you understand that these complaints are convoluted attempts to say something else.

When a negative reviwer says: "This game is a CYOA, not a cRPG".

What he really means is: "This game has too many choices. A proper cRPG is an action game with stats".

When a negative reviwer says: "This game is too restrictive. I want the freedom I had in FO".

What he really means is: "My choices are important to my survival and may have unforeseen consequences. Besides, they are governed by stats. I want superficial choices and no character building restricions".

Of course, once you understand what they really mean, it becomes obvious why they try to criticize the game under false pretenses. They are afraid to say in the open that cRPGs should be action games or that choices should be superficial because that's impossible to defend and would make them look like retards.

 

[Lurker King]

Feels a bit silly that 10 crafting points, which costs a LOT to raise, give you the same gear than pitfighting (gaining SP and tons of gold in the process)

Barebones? Crafting allows you to repair your own armor, which is immersive and reinforces the gritty feeling of the combat system. You have many different bonuses for the techniques (4 techniques with crafting 10!) and bonuses in decomposing, which is another cool resource management feature associated with crafting. And how cool it is to have a distinctive armor that no one else has? The 10 crafted armors are gorgeous and look unique.

PA is too good to not use.

PA is OP, but it requires power tubes, lore and HP sacrifice to unlock its potential. You can't use two-handed weapons with PA. Besides, it has a much lower DR than most heavy armors, which makes a big difference. It's not a no brainer.

 

[AbounI]

You're right, the sharpening was good and useful, and now I remember the armor was bluesteel. But being top-crafted, the ordeal of getting enough starmetal to craft one myself would have only granted a very small bonus, hardly worth it. The axe, I remember being looking forward to craft one myself and finally getting it off the fight felt a little meh. I think the last fight drops should have crafting 8-9 upgrades, not 10, in fact no item in the game should have those top upgrades.

I guess this NPC (Widowmaker?) comes from the " Murderous Psychopaths Needed" extra content which could explain why you can loot from him some top crafted material.

 

[Vault Dweller]

On top of the above mentioned bonuses, Crafting gives you exactly what you need when you need it and makes all Teron fights (when you have nothing) much easier. Around the endgame you can craft some very powerful stuff which makes quite a difference in the endgame fight.

In general, crafting and looting aren't easy to balance. Loot has always been an important factor (a reward for a tough fight, for exploration, etc). Crafting represents an alternative way of acquiring powerful gear, thus competing directly with looting. Reduce looting and you decrease rewards and increase dependency on crafting, making it a forced skill. Increase looting and players start thinking that crafting is useless. We did the best we could but if anyone has a better suggestion (for future games), I'd like to hear it. In games like Diablo it's usually handled via rare ingredients, which makes looting part of crafting, but I'm not sure if it's the right way to go.

 

[Trash Player]

Feels a bit silly that 10 crafting points, which costs a LOT to raise, give you the same gear than pitfighting (gaining SP and tons of gold in the process)

Barebones? Crafting allows you to repair your own armor, which is immersive and reinforces the gritty feeling of the combat system. You have many different bonuses for the techniques (4 techniques with crafting 10!) and bonuses in decomposing, which is another cool resource management feature associated with crafting. And how cool it is to have a distinctive armor that no one else has? The 10 crafted armors are gorgeous and look unique.

You misquoted. That quote is from DavidBVal.
By barebones, I am not commenting on usefulness of Crafting as a skill but the techniques are not interesting or varied enough for me.
No comments on the cosmetics and immersive factor.

 

[Darth Roxor]

and bonuses in decomposing

hell yeah more steel when decomposing steel garbage

 

[Vault Dweller]

By barebones, I am not commenting on usefulness of Crafting as a skill but the techniques are not interesting or varied enough for me.

Care to elaborate?

Let's say the setting is the Spanish Inquisition and you'd like to forge your own sword. Which techniques would you consider interesting or varied?

 

[Lurker King]

You misquoted. That quote is from DavidBVal.
By barebones, I am not commenting on usefulness of Crafting as a skill but the techniques are not interesting or varied enough for me.
No comments on the cosmetics and immersive factor.

Ok, I fixed the quote. I understand what you are saying, but this would require a major revamp of the whole game. In Underrail, for instance, you have more varied effects, but they required many additional skills and additional resource management (e.g., respawning enemies providing resources).

 

[DavidBVal]

You're right, the sharpening was good and useful, and now I remember the armor was bluesteel. But being top-crafted, the ordeal of getting enough starmetal to craft one myself would have only granted a very small bonus, hardly worth it. The axe, I remember being looking forward to craft one myself and finally getting it off the fight felt a little meh. I think the last fight drops should have crafting 8-9 upgrades, not 10, in fact no item in the game should have those top upgrades.

I guess this NPC (Widowmaker?) comes from the " Murderous Psychopaths Needed" extra content which could explain why you can loot from him some top crafted material.

I am a late comer to the game so I just experienced the content "as a whole" and definitely felt like a too good reward with the top upgrades. Let's admit it, it may be a tough fight but in the end every decent combat build is going to win that battle in a couple tries... Actually, I won it in one round (good positioning and a little luck with rng). multi-enemy fights like the triarii were the hardest in Arena for me both times I completed it.

Like I said, it's really no big deal, just pointing at small things that catched my attention during a 99% perfect trip.

 

[HeatEXTEND]

Why so edgy? For most people, that's all it is, a CYOA..
Is it so inconceivable that someone paying for an RPG and ending up with a CYOA ends up disappointed?

(before you say it, yes, for most people. It takes a lot of rerolls to learn the combat tropes and a lot of people, logically, burn out after the first 482625 rerolls. It also assumes some deeper understanding of mechanics that are by now forgotten; mechanics for which no AoD manual exists to prepare you for by the way. Last but not least, it really is best played as a CYOA. RPG + combat entails a number of things AoD simply does not offer, mostly being comprised of dialogue screens)

Is this some kind of bait or are you this stupid ?

 

[Parabalus]

I am a late comer to the game so I just experienced the content "as a whole" and definitely felt like a too good reward with the top upgrades. Let's admit it, it may be a tough fight but in the end every decent combat build is going to win that battle in a couple tries... Actually, I won it in one round (good positioning and a little luck with rng). multi-enemy fights like the triarii were the hardest in Arena for me both times I completed it.

Like I said, it's really no big deal, just pointing at small things that catched my attention during a 99% perfect trip.

I think it's important that even if you have 10 crafting, you can still find SOME items which are sidegrade/upgrade from what you can make yourself, especially since crafting also gives you more whetstone damage and is very useful for adventures. If anything, there should some unique meteor weapons, the ones in Ganezzar or the arena challenger loot you mentioned. They'd still likely be worse than what you can craft, but it would make the choice a bit harder.

To make an extreme example, you can come into Maadoran with 10 crafting, kill Kadmos (or rob the meteor safe if you're a dagger man) and make yourself a weapon which won't have a lootable upgrade, except for the challengers for a few weapons types - I think that's more than okay.

Care to elaborate?

Let's say the setting is the Spanish Inquisition and you'd like to forge your own sword. Which techniques would you consider interesting or varied?

While the comparison will surely irk people, the AoD system has some of the weaknesses that PoE crafting has, in that compared to e.g. Cromwell, you can craft much more powerful, customised items, but they are "generic" and "less memorable" than the uniques. AoD does have unique craftable weapons, but they are shit compared to the stuff you can make out of ingots.

This isn't really intended as criticism, since I can understand the conundrum, and I personally love the crafting system, but it can rub people the wrong way.

 

[Aenra]

Is this some kind of bait or are you this stupid ?

If you are incapable of grasping what i said, or more to the point exactly what i meant by it? Why the fuck do you bother me.. give a rating and go die or something, cba ffs, am tired with you people.. you need a surgery to get the dildo out of your brain and then someone holding the juices in, 24/7.. cba

 

[HeatEXTEND]

Is this some kind of bait or are you this stupid ?

If you are incapable of grasping what i said, or more to the point exactly what i meant by it? Why the fuck do you bother me.. give a rating and go die or something, cba ffs, am tired with you people.. you need a surgery to get the dildo out of your brain and then someone holding the juices in, 24/7.. cba

Is this some kind of bait or are you this stupid ?

 

[Mustawd]

His posts are always worded very weirdly.

Just his thing I suppose.