KickStarter INSOMNIA: The Ark - dieselpunk sci-fi action-RPG set on a decaying space station

[Black Angel]

YAMERO

 

[Fenix]

YAMERO

This game helps to catch up wth all these memes.........................

 

[filpan]

I sooo want to play this, and hopefully it will be playable after this patch.

 

[Squid]

I'm interested in this but the past couple of pages make me reconsider it. Is it that bad? I saw one review say the translations were incomplete or bad too? I guess I'll check back in later on.

 

[Jinn]

I'm interested in this but the past couple of pages make me reconsider it. Is it that bad? I saw one review say the translations were incomplete or bad too? I guess I'll check back in later on.

Do not touch this game for at least another 6 months, or until you hear about it being in a polished enough state to enjoy from someone here.

 

[Alienman]

Not really sure why are you going so hard on this game, and at the same time giving Pathfinder a free pass, actually giving it a personal GOTY.

 

[Jinn]

Not really sure why are you going so hard on this game, and at the same time giving Pathfinder a free pass, actually giving it a personal GOTY.

Because, and not that the two even need to be compared considering the differing circumstances:

1. Pathfinder has actual substance behind its mechanics to begin with. Insomnia was originally promised to be an isometric RPG with deep roleplaying mechanics. It's now a fairly shallow action-adventure game with RPG elements.

2. Pathfinder has a UI that is actually suitable for an RPG across the board, with proper feedback at almost every point of gameplay. Insomnia STILL doesn't even have a numerical representation for accumulated XP, nor does it inform you how much you are receiving from, say, killing something or completing a quest. Not to mention that it has a completely archaic and strange armor system (which I actually quite like now that I understand it) that is not explained in the game, or in the non-existent manual.

3. Actual tangible fixes to Pathfinder were made in the first couple weeks, and continue to be made almost weekly. In fact, I hardly encountered any bugs while playing Pathfinder in the first place.

4. Pathfinder is fully translated (or probably even originally written in?) and quite readable in English. Insomnia has a sometimes laughable translation, with parts that are still completely in Russian.

Bottom line, I've already gotten more out of Pathfinder for my money, and then some. Insomnia, however, is in way worse shape than it actually was upon release. Have you even played Insomnia? I'm pretty sure you would have some harsher words for it than I do if you had. On that note, you sure did play the living shit out of Pathfinder, considering how much you tend to rail against it.

Ultimately, I'm just trying to save people from tasting the promise of this game only to find that it's still essentially unplayable 10 weeks after its release: its wonderful setting, its excellent art direction, its interesting themes, its still fun gameplay (that reminds me a lot of Piranha Bytes games). I understand that it's a small studio and they've run into trouble releasing the game, and I was patient with that fact in mind. I was happy to wait 3, 4, even 5 weeks to play a somewhat fixed version of the game I bought for near full price. That time never came in those initial weeks, and still has not. Of course after so much time has passed I'm going to caution people away from it, because at this rate, it looks like it's never going to really be fixed at all.

 

[Alienman]

No, I have not played the game much, and I don't hold Insomnia in any higher or lower regard compared to Pathfinder. I find both games to be equally poor and a disappointment because of the release state, and from what I understand both games still have issues. I was mostly just curious why one broken game gets GOTY and the other gets shit on and warned off for buying. But I guess if you didn't have any issues I can see why. My playthrough was filled with different kind of bugs.

I'm not really railing against it. Just find it incredible disappointing that games are released this way now and it is more or less accepted by everyone.

 

[Jinn]

No, I have not played the game much, and I don't hold Insomnia in any higher or lower regard compared to Pathfinder. I find both games to be equally poor and a disappointment because of the release state, and from what I understand both games still have issues. I was mostly just curious why one broken game gets GOTY and the other gets shit on and warned off for buying. But I guess if you didn't have any issues I can see why. My playthrough was filled with different kind of bugs.

I'm not really railing against it. Just find it incredible disappointing that games are released this way now and it is more or less accepted by everyone.

Of course it's disappointing that games are released in such states. There is no denying that the developer and publisher suffers from it in the long run - and of course the buyer as well - but these releases happen often, and from there it's up to the individual to assess the nature of the situation. For me, I know it's not going to change, so I adjust my expectations.

It was always clear to me from the beginning that Pathfinder would receive the attention it deserved and eventually reach a good polished state. I can be patient when the massive potential and quality of gameplay outshines the technical issues for me, and when there is clear and steady evidence that progress is being made towards polishing a game. With Insomnia, I was not only disappointed by the plethora of technical issues it was released with, but also the lack of depth and potential in the gameplay itself. On top of that, the clear inexperience of the developers has left an increasingly sour taste in my mouth. I know if Insomnia ever gets fixed, I'll enjoy playing it a lot despite its shortcomings. But there is no doubt in my mind that Pathfinder is not only the better game of the two, but also that Pathfinder is going to be more polished and fixed than Insomnia ever will.

Overall, buggy release ≠ buggy release in my mind. It's far more complicated than that. So that's why Pathfinder gets GOTY for me, and Insomnia get's the mistrusting scrutiny I've given it since week 5 post-release.

 

[ERYFKRAD]

Insomnia was originally promised to be a tun-based isometric RPG with deep roleplaying mechanics.

No men, it was real time from the start.

 

[Jinn]

No men, it was real time from the start.

My bad. Misremembered that.

 

[Jenkem]

to be fair owlcat has more team members and a better publisher, as well as much much much more experience than herocraft. not to mention probably more money

 

[Jinn]

to be fair owlcat has more team members and a better publisher, as well as much much much more experience than herocraft. not to mention probably more money

and not that the two even need to be compared considering the differing circumstances:

Where they can be compared without a doubt though is they were both released as finished games for a full asking price.

 

[Micormic]

This is one game I was actually looking forward to trying, shame it turned out so buggy.



Might pick it up if they ever fix it.

 

[Jinn]

https://steamcommunity.com/games/783170/announcements/detail/1709576801691335066

Patch v1.4 news + things you might have missed while playing INSOMNIA
DECEMBER 6 - VAULT_13

Hello everyone! First things first — we know you are waiting for the v1.4 patch to be released. The update is wrapping up nicely, with almost all of the planned fixes already in the game. As a reminder, this patch will finally introduce an option to remap keys and a slew of improvements.

However, continuous testing by the QA team revealed additional localization-related issues that could severely affect your enjoyment of the game. We were faced with the option of releasing the build and attempting to fix these issues afterwards or taking an extra week or so to iron them out. Keeping in mind our priority to release higher quality builds, we’ve decided that option 1 is a better choice, especially if we aim to satisfy the expectations of our community. Again, thank you for your patience and understanding!

And to keep things interesting, today we will cover a question that was brought up several times in the comments section and the Community Hub: is there a point to playing INSOMNIA more than once? The short answer is “yes”, and besides some obvious arguments like picking a different background for your character (which results in getting unique side quests) or dealing with quest scenarios one way or another, we’ve decided to show you yet another reason to do so.

Sons of Morakh Clan vs The House of Bea Kera

As we’ve mentioned before, Object 6 is home to quite a number of diverse factions. Two of these factions stand out from the rest due to the fanaticism of their members - Bea Kera and the Sons of Morakh.


First, a bit of history. The Sons of Morakh — one of the oldest clans set on forging its path since the days of the Exodus. The "Morakh's Almanac" (a sacred book full of clan legends) says that it all started with the rebels of Taloy city, who illegally entered the territory of Object 6. Morakh was a leader that united them and merged the desperate masses into a militant community.

The former citizens of Taloy were slowly, but surely gaining in strength and numbers. Soon, they were able to hold their own against competing factions and multiply their wealth. "The Sons of Morakh" was an appropriate name chosen by Borka - Morakh’s offspring and successor.

By the time of Zers Morakh, the next leader in line, the clan began to stagnate after being the de-facto leaders of sector D for hundreds of years. A young criminal gang of religious fanatics called The House of Bea Kera has grown in numbers and started spreading its influences, slowly driving the Sons of Morakh out of business.

As a part of the Ordinate faction you, citizen KZ0012, have your own aspirations to follow and goals to achieve. It’s up to you to decide what faction you want to side with. Whether it is Morakhs or Bea Kera fanatics, you will get a different story path and quests to experience.

For instance, if you decide to stick with Sons of Morakh, one of the tasks you will have to carry out in order to prove your loyalty is to literally destroy an underground illegal drug manufacturing facility, where Bea Kera uses the labour of brainwashed religious fanatics:

The place is a dump - the main lamps are no longer functional, leaving only the orange emergency light to bleed through the wire beams. The only well-lit rooms are the ones where drugs are made. Ventilation systems are barely functional, so the air feels thick and hot. And the only way to get an opportunity to pay a visit to this dark place is to make a choice that will make Bea Kera your sworn enemy. On the other hand, you can work for them and witness a whole different story in the process...

Let us know which faction you’ve picked during your playthrough in the comments below. See you next week!

This is only really posted for the likes of Jenkem and a few others, since we're the only ones insane enough to still have hope of this game getting fixed.

December's delay is going to be that real good shit though! (Originally posted on Oct. 26th)

A fine December delay indeed!

That's right, folks. After the patch was delayed for the 2nd time last week, we get another delay this week. For a basic technical patch to fix things like a dysfunctional inventory, broken quests, holes in the game world that lead to bottomless pits, and preventing NPCs who are leisurely walking from sounding like they are jogging at a good clip.
We'll see you in 2019...maybe. I wish I had never played it so I didn't know what I was missing out on.

 

[Heretic]

I have hope for this game, too. I'm patient and they look like they want to patch it.

 

[filpan]

I wanted to buy it this week but I gave up. We'll see what the situation will be on spring or summer

 

[Saduj]

Based on what I’ve seen from others, I’ll buy this if they can get it to the point where the bugs are merely a nuisance.

 

[Jinn]

I wanted to buy it this week but I gave up. We'll see what the situation will be on spring or summer

Based on what I’ve seen from others, I’ll buy this if they can get it to the point where the bugs are merely a nuisance.

You both should definitely check it out when the time comes. I will be updating my impressions and feelings towards this game when I'm able to try out the v1.4 patch, so keep an eye on this thread.

 

[Kem0sabe]

Seems like the 10 euros i spent on this shit was too much... months for a patch that fixes issues that should never have been present on launch day. Fuck them... those 10 euros would have bought me 2 caipirinhas.

 

[Jenkem]

any news?

 

[toro]

any news?

They found the main programmer. Unfortunately he overdosed on Krokodil.

In other words, if you are bored then you can read the support guy posts:

One of the things I've learned through the years is that keeping silence is the worst thing that a dev can do. Sure, it's more pleasant to tell the community good news only, but since games are being made by human beings and we are not flawless (I suppose life would be boring if we were), mistakes and unexpected things happen, which results in delays and faulty decisions being made. Anyway best thing we can do is to fix what is wrong and try to avoid the same mistakes in the future.

Thanks for being supportive about this! Sometimes it's really hard to process all the criticism (especially when it's emotional) that has been projected towards the team, our game, and me personally. Being the main person who serves as a bridge between the dev team and the community is a blessing and the curse at the same time, and the only thing that keeps me going with this are people who believe in us/me and that we can make finish what we have started.

P.S. communities at Steam are known to be toxic and whatnot, but the only reason for that is the lack of devs response and involvement. Most of bigger devs prefer to have their own platforms for communication instead (which they can fully control). This doesn't make much sense especially when you actually use Steam as your primary platform to distribute the game though

I was disappointed no less than that, knowing I have to break these news to you guys. All I can do is to come up with at least something to make the updates somewhat interesting with lore bits etc. Everything else is up to the team and QA, and hopefully there will be no more delays.

It's like a journal. With real drama.

 

[Junmarko]

any news?

They found the main programmer. Unfortunately he overdosed on Krokodil. In other words, if you are bored then you can read the support guy posts:

They have been at it for a long time. Very ambitious for a first game - it is important that they get it fixed before moving on to their next project though.

Thanks for being supportive about this! Sometimes it's really hard to process all the criticism (especially when it's emotional)

They need to keep pushing through that. No one will remember how buggy it was if they keep patching it to an acceptable state.



A lot of team morale to be gained as well if they do this, their future projects will never be stifled by past failure. (GSC Games - STALKER)

 

[Jinn]

It's like a journal. With real drama.

Hahaha! That was actually a response to one of my posts. I feel for the guy. It's got to be hard to keep apologizing and making excuses for the unfortunate and slow progress of the project. He really does do a good job though, all things considered. Hopefully he comes back to the codex someday.

 

[Black Angel]