Game News Age of Decadence Preorders Begin

[zool]

I kinda felt indifferent to picking anyones side for anything but reward prospects, since they're all equally coldhearted assholes.

That's a very valid point. For instance, I would have liked the Imperial Guards to be a bit more idealistic: traditionnally, the military favours loyalty and honesty over treachery and backstabbing. Sadly, from what I've seen in the demo, they seem to behave pretty much as the Boatmen of Styx.

 

[Cassidy]

I kinda felt indifferent to picking anyones side for anything but reward prospects, since they're all equally coldhearted assholes.

That's a very valid point. For instance, I would have liked the Imperial Guards to be a bit more idealistic: traditionnally, the military favours loyalty and honesty over treachery and backstabbing. Sadly, from what I've seen in the demo, they seem to behave pretty much as the Boatmen of Styx.

Did you watch 28 days later? Among other things typical of zombie apocalypse films, it shows a beliavable portrait of how quickly such "loyalty and honesty" would degrade among the surviving military under a post-apocalyptic scenario. This is not a recluse gathering of warriors and loremasters that doesn't invite outsiders in and searches for ancient technology, and even those ones who are definitively far more civilized and honorable in Fallout than the Imperial Guard in AoD sent the PC to most certain death in the Glow. Also in Waterworld(shit movie, I know) the villains were survivors from the military before the collapse.

 

[Tigranes]

Preordered now for great justice.

 

[Chinese Jetpilot]

I kinda felt indifferent to picking anyones side for anything but reward prospects, since they're all equally coldhearted assholes.

That's a very valid point. For instance, I would have liked the Imperial Guards to be a bit more idealistic: traditionnally, the military favours loyalty and honesty over treachery and backstabbing. Sadly, from what I've seen in the demo, they seem to behave pretty much as the Boatmen of Styx.

Did you watch 28 days later? Among other things typical of zombie apocalypse films, it shows a beliavable portrait of how quickly such "loyalty and honesty" would degrade among the surviving military under a post-apocalyptic scenario. This is not a recluse gathering of warriors and loremasters that doesn't invite outsiders in and searches for ancient technology, and even those ones who are definitively far more civilized and honorable in Fallout than the Imperial Guard in AoD sent the PC to most certain death in the Glow. Also in Waterworld(shit movie, I know) the villains were survivors from the military before the collapse.

Well the problem with those examples is you're referencing two works of fiction.

 

[zool]

I kinda felt indifferent to picking anyones side for anything but reward prospects, since they're all equally coldhearted assholes.

That's a very valid point. For instance, I would have liked the Imperial Guards to be a bit more idealistic: traditionnally, the military favours loyalty and honesty over treachery and backstabbing. Sadly, from what I've seen in the demo, they seem to behave pretty much as the Boatmen of Styx.

Did you watch 28 days later? Among other things typical of zombie apocalypse films, it shows a beliavable portrait of how quickly such "loyalty and honesty" would degrade among the surviving military under a post-apocalyptic scenario. This is not a recluse gathering of warriors and loremasters that doesn't invite outsiders in and searches for ancient technology, and even those ones who are definitively far more civilized and honorable in Fallout than the Imperial Guard in AoD sent the PC to most certain death in the Glow. Also in Waterworld(shit movie, I know) the villains were survivors from the military before the collapse.

Sure, I've seen it and it was indeed an interesting portrayal of how an isolated and desperate military unit could quickly degrade in such a scenario. However, they were so to say in the middle (or at least in the immediate aftermath) of an apocalyptic scenario, not in a post-apocalyptic setting taking place long after said apocalypse. More importantly, they were too small to be a proper faction, in the sense that their only goal was surviving rather than the more lofty goal of restoring the state/empire. I would simply have liked the IG to be more of an idealist faction in the AoD setting, fighting for the restoration of the Empire and chasing dreams of a past long gone. I mean, that's what I was expecting to see after reading their description on the AoD website:

Imperial Guards - Formed from the remnants of the Imperial Army, the Imperial Guards are an independent, influential and powerful faction, maintaining order and preventing open war between Noble Houses. While the Noble Houses squabble amongst themselves, cloaked in subterfuge, espionage and counter-espionage, the Guards are more idealistic. Their primary goal is the restoration of the Empire to its former glory, regardless of how unrealistic this seems at the present.

 

[Toffeli]

I'll be dead before it's going to come out.

 

[Elhoim]

I kinda felt indifferent to picking anyones side for anything but reward prospects, since they're all equally coldhearted assholes.

That's a very valid point. For instance, I would have liked the Imperial Guards to be a bit more idealistic: traditionnally, the military favours loyalty and honesty over treachery and backstabbing. Sadly, from what I've seen in the demo, they seem to behave pretty much as the Boatmen of Styx.

Did you watch 28 days later? Among other things typical of zombie apocalypse films, it shows a beliavable portrait of how quickly such "loyalty and honesty" would degrade among the surviving military under a post-apocalyptic scenario. This is not a recluse gathering of warriors and loremasters that doesn't invite outsiders in and searches for ancient technology, and even those ones who are definitively far more civilized and honorable in Fallout than the Imperial Guard in AoD sent the PC to most certain death in the Glow. Also in Waterworld(shit movie, I know) the villains were survivors from the military before the collapse.

Sure, I've seen it and it was indeed an interesting portrayal of how an isolated and desperate military unit could quickly degrade in such a scenario. However, they were so to say in the middle (or at least in the immediate aftermath) of an apocalyptic scenario, not in a post-apocalyptic setting taking place long after said apocalypse. More importantly, they were too small to be a proper faction, in the sense that their only goal was surviving rather than the more lofty goal of restoring the state/empire. I would simply have liked the IG to be more of an idealist faction in the AoD setting, fighting for the restoration of the Empire and chasing dreams of a past long gone. I mean, that's what I was expecting to see after reading their description on the AoD website:

Imperial Guards - Formed from the remnants of the Imperial Army, the Imperial Guards are an independent, influential and powerful faction, maintaining order and preventing open war between Noble Houses. While the Noble Houses squabble amongst themselves, cloaked in subterfuge, espionage and counter-espionage, the Guards are more idealistic. Their primary goal is the restoration of the Empire to its former glory, regardless of how unrealistic this seems at the present.

You can ask Carrinas for his motivation:

"Why? I spent most of my life in the wasteland, keeping the cities safe from the Ordu, raiders, desert tribes, and everything else that’s lurking out there and waiting for an opportunity to strike – an opportunity we’ve never given them.

We’ve lost a lot of men over the years, but when your life consists of nothing but skirmishes, battles, and ambushes, losing men becomes part of the game. It becomes just another cost of keeping a legion out there. The attrition rate."

"I’d never questioned it, until I came to Teron. All I could think was "is this what we’re fighting for?" So that cutthroats, thieves, and whores can go about their business without having to worry about anything else? I have more respect for my enemies, than for those we are defending.

Then I realized that there was only one way to make the deaths of all those who had fallen meaningful. We had to take over and save those who could be saved, show them that they could live lives that are worth living, instead of swimming in shit and fighting for crumbs."

 

[almondblight]

Let's look at the facts. Every maker of proper RPGs is gone or switched focus. Obsidian's last few projects, including the canceled ones, were action RPGs. That alone tells you all you need to know about the market. Spiderweb embraced the mainstream. KotC sold fuck all and put KotC 2 firmly on hold.

I think KotC sold poorly mostly because it didn't get a lot of exposure and people were pretty turned off by the graphics. Remember that game Omega Syndrome? Whenever I see it brought up the reaction is usually 90% of the people saying "how did I not know about this game?"

Not saying that TB RPG's aren't more niche than other genres, but recent ones have had a number of issues - lack of exposure, graphics turning off customers (KotC), bugs (ToEE). It's hard to say what the market is like. I think Armageddon Empires is a pretty good case study - it seems like a pretty niche title, but sold pretty well because of good word of mouth (I think including a glowing review on Penny Arcade).

 

[Johannes]

Let's look at the facts. Every maker of proper RPGs is gone or switched focus. Obsidian's last few projects, including the canceled ones, were action RPGs. That alone tells you all you need to know about the market. Spiderweb embraced the mainstream. KotC sold fuck all and put KotC 2 firmly on hold.

I think KotC sold poorly mostly because it didn't get a lot of exposure and people were pretty turned off by the graphics. Remember that game Omega Syndrome? Whenever I see it brought up the reaction is usually 90% of the people saying "how did I not know about this game?"

Not saying that TB RPG's aren't more niche than other genres, but recent ones have had a number of issues - lack of exposure, graphics turning off customers (KotC), bugs (ToEE). It's hard to say what the market is like. I think Armageddon Empires is a pretty good case study - it seems like a pretty niche title, but sold pretty well because of good word of mouth (I think including a glowing review on Penny Arcade).

Well, who knows, maybe AoD will be a smash hit but would you give up your dayjob counting on that?

 

[Kalin]

Preordered for $40, and I don't mind waiting. The demo itself is far better than most any game released during the past years. If the rest of the contents match what we have seen so far - and that seems very likely - this could very well be the best computer role-playing game since Arcanum.

 

[Commissar Draco]

"Why? I spent most of my life in the wasteland, keeping the cities safe from the Ordu, raiders, desert tribes, and everything else that’s lurking out there and waiting for an opportunity to strike – an opportunity we’ve never given them.

We’ve lost a lot of men over the years, but when your life consists of nothing but skirmishes, battles, and ambushes, losing men becomes part of the game. It becomes just another cost of keeping a legion out there. The attrition rate."

"I’d never questioned it, until I came to Teron. All I could think was "is this what we’re fighting for?" So that cutthroats, thieves, and whores can go about their business without having to worry about anything else? I have more respect for my enemies, than for those we are defending.

Then I realized that there was only one way to make the deaths of all those who had fallen meaningful. We had to take over and save those who could be saved, show them that they could live lives that are worth living, instead of swimming in shit and fighting for crumbs."

Ellhoim beat to this, iG are idealistic but it is not Hippie naive idealism, or lofty idealism of Knights of Round Table, IGs plays full Renegade. I was more disappointed how How the Head of House Daratan was uncharismatic and frankly speaking dillusional. It was hard not to betray him. His Lutenant Dellan was dirty bastard cool guy though.

 

[hiver]

Seems that BMT Micro takes a nice cut of the money... almost 10%?

Have you guys looked over other options? I mean probably, but that one seems a bit steep.
Have you checked CC Bill service? I used it a few times in Europe, for buying online and it seemed good, fast, etc. But i dont know how much they would charge themselves.

Also, 25 bucks is only 20 euros.
Thats certainly a plus here.

 

[Vault Dweller]

... people were pretty turned off by the graphics....

Probably.

Remember that game Omega Syndrome? Whenever I see it brought up the reaction is usually 90% of the people saying "how did I not know about this game?"

Well, it's an old game from way back when. KotC was mentioned on a lot of sites and got plenty of exposure. The Codex, Watch, Banshee, Coyote posted interviews/articles and gave it various GotY awards. You can't be a hardcore gamer and be unaware of one of these sites.

 

[Vault Dweller]

Seems that BMT Micro takes a nice cut of the money... almost 10%?

Have you guys looked over other options? I mean probably, but that one seems a bit steep.
Have you checked CC Bill service?

I talked to most indie developers. Seems to be the norm and BMT's pretty good. Plimus takes 10%, Fast Springs 8.9%.

 

[hiver]

greedy bastards.... sucking on indies too.

 

[Deleted member 7219]

2013. Damn. After the demo I really bought into the idea that the game would be finished soon. But in the words of Luke Skywalker... "That's a whole 'nother year!". I won't pre-order this early, I might buy it if the game is actually released... if it isn't, I haven't lost any money.

 

[Vault Dweller]

Ellhoim beat to this, iG are idealistic but it is not Hippie naive idealism, or lofty idealism of Knights of Round Table, IGs plays full Renegade. I was more disappointed how How the Head of House Daratan was uncharismatic and frankly speaking dillusional.

He is a man without any real talent (although he would have made a decent Centurion), who was convinced that he's destined for great things, which made him do things he shouldn't have. His House fell not because of House Aurelian's plotting and scheming, but because of poor leadership.

 

[almondblight]

Well, who knows, maybe AoD will be a smash hit but would you give up your dayjob counting on that?

No, JediLearner's an idiot. Also, I think Oscar's already given up his day job to work on this (and Gareth's done something similar for his project). All the more reason we should support these people more than Kickstarter peeps that say "we might do this if we get the cash ahead of time."

But my point was tangential, that I do think there could be a bigger market for such games than we might think. It's a bit different, but Legend of Grimrock has been good at building up a certain amount of hype through constant updates, interviews, and by being "pretty". It will be interesting to see how well it sells.

 

[Vault Dweller]

2013. Damn. After the demo I really bought into the idea that the game would be finished soon. But in the words of Luke Skywalker... "That's a whole 'nother year!". I won't pre-order this early, I might buy it if the game is actually released... if it isn't, I haven't lost any money.

Not trying to convince you to pre-order, but do you truly believe that the game might not be released? That after all these years and two demos, we'll just say "fuck it, let's grab $2,000 we made from pre-orders and go to Disneyland!"?

 

[likaq]

Preordered for 123$ including VAT.
This + W2 pledge = 239 $
It's ~ 40% of my monthly income.
But i don't regret it.
ITS has the potential to become the second Troika Games and W2 to become first proper fallout-like crpg since Arcanum.
Go, indies, go!

 

[Vault Dweller]

Thanks. You won't regret it.

 

[empi]

2013. Damn. After the demo I really bought into the idea that the game would be finished soon. But in the words of Luke Skywalker... "That's a whole 'nother year!". I won't pre-order this early, I might buy it if the game is actually released... if it isn't, I haven't lost any money.

Not trying to convince you to pre-order, but do you truly believe that the game might not be released? That after all these years and two demos, we'll just say "fuck it, let's grab $2,000 we made from pre-orders and go to Disneyland!"?

Do you think that Grimoire will get released?

 

[Deleted member 7219]

2013. Damn. After the demo I really bought into the idea that the game would be finished soon. But in the words of Luke Skywalker... "That's a whole 'nother year!". I won't pre-order this early, I might buy it if the game is actually released... if it isn't, I haven't lost any money.

Not trying to convince you to pre-order, but do you truly believe that the game might not be released? That after all these years and two demos, we'll just say "fuck it, let's grab $2,000 we made from pre-orders and go to Disneyland!"?

I don't think there's anything untoward in what you're doing, I think you believe it will be released, and I think it actually will, sooner or later. I'm just a little disappointed that it won't be until 2013 (I liked the demo so much). I completely understand the constraints of a small, self-funded non-professional team but why release the demo now, with the full release so far ahead?

 

[kentable]

Pre-ordered for $40. Now to see if I can slip some multi-headed dick action into AoD. (not really though.) Support the bitches!

 

[Brayko]

Since I'm GETTING that MCA autograph ($250 WL2 tier) even if I have to gut infants in the process, I'm gonna have to probably wait a few months to pre-order AoD. Will definitely go for the top pre-order option if I can though.