Game News Wasteland 2 Kickstarter Update #55: New combat trailer, plus the usual physical release drama

[Infinitron]

Tags: Brother None; InXile Entertainment; Wasteland 2

With Wasteland 2 just two weeks away from release, inXile have produced a cool new trailer for the game. It's a kind of "tutorial trailer" that demonstrates the depth and variety of the game's character and combat systems, with narration by General Vargas himself. You can see it in the latest Kickstarter update, which also has some information about the game's physical release.

Hello Rangers!

Thomas here with some odds and ends of housekeeping as we come every closer to release! But let's kick off with a bang. Here's a new Wasteland 2 trailer hot off the presses, showcasing the intricacies of our character and combat system:



On to the housekeeping…

Options for Getting the Game

As we have mentioned during the Kickstarter and after, the way we'll be distributing digital copies of the game will be through a number of our digital retail partners, including the most popular and DRM-free options. When you redeem your key(s) on release day, you will be able to pick from these digital retailers:

Steam will no doubt be the go-to option for most of you: Wasteland 2 will be added to your Steam library, it will automatically update to the latest version and it offers cross-platform support, meaning your single key is valid for Windows, Mac and Linux.

GOG.com is a fully DRM-free option. They support Windows, Mac and Linux as well.

We may offer more options, but the above should cover every wish from fully DRM-free to auto-updating on each of our platforms.

Physical copies will be shipped out to the address you listed on the Ranger Center. All physical copies – retail and backers – will need the ability for a day 1 patch system. By the time physical copies arrive to backers the gold master version we sent out for print will be a month and a half old, and will be missing vital optimization and balance passes, as well as systemic changes like the addition of headshots that we recently put in. We need to ensure that our players are experiencing the most up to date code, so we will be utilizing the automatic updating system that Steam provides for physical copies.

Every physical copy tier comes with a digital version of the game also, where you can pick the fully DRM-free GOG.com or Steam. If you prefer a fully DRM-free physical copy we will be willing to print and ship a day-1 version of the game to you at a later time, simply contact us through the Ranger Center if this has your preference.

Steam Keys & Beta Access

After hearing from our backers on the beta key "locking you" into Steam and discussing the issue with Steam, we found a nice solution for people who want to opt into the beta but receive a final copy somewhere else. We will be adding a "Revoke Key" button on the Ranger Center which will deactivate your Steam key (automatically removing it from your Steam library) and reset your digital retailer choice, allowing you to go back and choose another one of our digital retailers such as GOG.com.

If you have redeemed your Wasteland 2 beta key on Steam and plan to play the final game on Steam, you don't have to do anything, your beta key turns into a full release key automatically on release day.
​

Looks like they ended up doing exactly what Divinity: Original Sin did. Let the nerdrage begin.

 

[Morality Games]

Whew! Good thing they decided to let me turn my Steam copy into a GOG one or else I would have been forced to banish inXile to the Abyss.

 

[Infinitron]

Happy about being able to revoke the Steam beta key, but I'm confused about the physical copy. Will the boxed version I receive have a DVD that I can install and play the game from? The update is worded as if I cannot.

That's because you cannot.

If you prefer a fully DRM-free physical copy we will be willing to print and ship a day-1 version of the game to you at a later time, simply contact us through the Ranger Center if this has your preference.

 

[FeelTheRads]

Is that revoke button there yet because I can't find it?

 

[Volourn]

So lame about the hard box copy bullshit. It sounds retartet. Wwelcome to new age shit.

 

[Kem0sabe]

Makes the combat look much more deep than it actually is.

 

[sea]

Is that revoke button there yet because I can't find it?

Is coming for final release, beta is still on Steam only and other platforms are not available until September 19.

Happy about being able to revoke the Steam beta key, but I'm confused about the physical copy. Will the boxed version I receive have a DVD that I can install and play the game from? The update is worded as if I cannot.

That's because you cannot.

If you prefer a fully DRM-free physical copy we will be willing to print and ship a day-1 version of the game to you at a later time, simply contact us through the Ranger Center if this has your preference.

To clarify, we are sending boxed Steam copies to everyone. Your DRM-free disc will be sent at a later date (as mentioned in our replies to users).

 

[Roguey]

Yay, three copies!

Going to be a pretty generous year for me.

 

[undecaf]

sea Any word on the extra copies from backing T:ToN high enough?

 

[Brother None]

sea Any word on the extra copies from backing T:ToN high enough?

What's the question? Digital WL2 copies from T:TON act as they do on the Ranger Center (you can claim Steam key now, reset it on release if you like), physical CE is identical to the one WL2 backers get, so it is Steam-tied as well.

 

[skuphundaku]

Way to go tending to your backers' needs by making all the physical editions use Steam! And, yes, this is sarcasm.

 

[undecaf]

What's the question?

When will those keys from T:TON be available?

 

[sea]

Way to go tending to your backers' needs by making all the physical editions use Steam! And, yes, this is sarcasm.

1. All physical backers get a DRM-free version from GOG if they want it.
2. You can kindly contact us at the Ranger Center and we'll get you an additional DRM-free copy sent to you at no extra charge.

When will those keys be out?

If you got Wasteland 2 with your Torment pledge, Steam/beta keys have been available for months now at the Torment site. For non-Steam purposes it's the same as Wasteland 2 backers, you'll want to wait until September 19.

 

[undecaf]

If you got Wasteland 2 with your Torment pledge, Steam/beta keys have been available for months now at the Torment site. For non-Steam purposes it's the same as Wasteland 2 backers, you'll want to wait until September 19.

Well shit. Dunno how I missed that.

 

[skuphundaku]

Way to go tending to your backers' needs by making all the physical editions use Steam! And, yes, this is sarcasm.

1. All physical backers get a DRM-free version from GOG.
2. You can kindly contact us at the Ranger Center and we'll get you an additional DRM-free copy sent to you at no extra charge.

I shouldn't have to ask for a DRM-free copy explicitely. The physical versions were implicitely expected to be DRM-free by default. Also, not everybody reads all updates, or even if they do, they don't go through them with a fine-toothed comb, so a large number of contributors may never get the opportunity to ask for their DRM-free copy. That is a very shitty way to treat the prople that funded your project. Those that pledged for the physical tiers, even if they are fewer in number, gave far more money than those that pledged for the cheap digital tiers.

 

[crawlkill]

the dark alliance between boxcodex and the blacksmiths of the tinfoil hat shakes and burbles in its sleep, dreaming dreams of lost passwords and the NSA poring over lists of their achievements, knowing their every romanced NPC, knowing their innermost selves

seriously though is it not utterly plain at this point that boxes serve neither producer nor consumer and are offered out of a sadly-possibly-legitimate insect fear of the fear of the future

 

[Haba]

I shouldn't have to ask for a DRM-free copy explicitely.

I shouldn't have to ask for gluten-free meal explicitly, even if I am deathly gluten-allergic. Instead everyone else should have to eat gluten-free food as well.

 

[crawlkill]

I shouldn't have to ask for gluten-free meal explicitly, even if I am deathly gluten-allergic. Instead everyone else should have to eat gluten-free food as well.

this is even more appropriate than the one-level-deep metaphor. at least with food problems your actual health is at risk. the DRMophobes risk...having...to use Steam? they're the antivaxers of e-commerce.

that video made me frown, though. I really don't like that general's voice actor. dude is nooo Ron Perlman. and why did they have the phrase "too close for comfort" in there twice within, like, 90 seconds? both of them delivered horribly? blech. hopefully not indicative of the quality of dialogue in the product. it's a shame when marketing materials don't flex the full breadth of the talent of the team behind them. a video about combat mechanics can still be punchy and fun.

 

[Haba]

Well, with Fallout you could make a combat "mechanic" video solely with death animations.

 

[skuphundaku]

I shouldn't have to ask for a DRM-free copy explicitely.

I shouldn't have to ask for gluten-free meal explicitly, even if I am deathly gluten-allergic. Instead everyone else should have to eat gluten-free food as well.

obvious strawman is obvious

 

[FeelTheRads]

I shouldn't have to ask for a DRM-free copy explicitely.

I shouldn't have to ask for gluten-free meal explicitly, even if I am deathly gluten-allergic. Instead everyone else should have to eat gluten-free food as well.

So.. what you're saying here is... DRM is good and everyone should have it unless they're allergic to it?
Wow, excellent analogy.
Sure, man, I hope nothing ever takes away from you the right of being forced to use malware to run your games!
By the way, the food was advertised as "gluten-free" but everyone got the gluten.

And, I can't speak for anyone else, but to me the most annoying thing about this practice is not that they tie it to Steam, but that they typically are bullshitting about it. HURR DURR ITZ TO PROTECT YOU DUMB SHIT U DONT KNOW HOW TO PATCH A GAME, rather than saying that they don't want/can't provide patches themselves and have to use existing platforms.
At least inXile was somewhat decent about it, as opposed to Larian or Revolution. But inXile also specifically said they totally wouldn't tie it to Steam. So eh.

 

[skuphundaku]

At least inXile was somewhat decent about it, as opposed to Larian or Revolution.

They did bury the lede in the middle of a huge update. I noticed it by pure luck. How many others missed it and have no clue about the fact that their physical editions are using Steam? Nobody knows, but sure as shit they're going to be pissed.

 

[Haba]

obvious strawman is obvious

Aww, cute. You are saying that YOU shouldn't have to ASK, yet... everyone else should just go with whatever suits you perfectly. Yup, sounds like a straw-man to me!

And, I can't speak for anyone else

Congrats for reaching the point.

I hate DRM just like the average guy, but Wasteland 2 doesn't have DRM so I am awright with it. And no, Steam platform by itself is not a DRM.

Why is it that the anti-Steam crowd is so averse to common sense? Larian and inXile are simply trying to be as cost-effective as possible when it comes to getting the physical stuff shipped. In fact, they are willing to lose money to cater to a minority by burning an extra disc - you effectively get multiple copies of the game.

Putting the disc copy steam-free would piss of way more people, not to mention the patching hassles for computer illiterates.

Sure, it'd be nice to do customized shipments to each and every pledger, but unfortunately that's not how those things roll.

 

[Davaris]

I would prefer a GOG version and wait for a DRM free disk to be sent, only when they have finished patching all the bugs. Its not like I can play this game on my old computer anyway. lol

 

[valcik]

the DRMophobes risk...having...to use Steam? they're the antivaxers of e-commerce.

Nah. My gaming rig is completely off-line, i.e. not connected to the interwebz. It has nothing to do with phobia or other emotions, it's simply a matter of technical possibilities. So I'm just ignoring any computer game which does require online support, does this oppress you in any way?