AoD October update

[Elhoim]

http://www.irontowerstudio.com/forum/index.php/topic,3493.0.html

First thing first, the extended demo is available for download to those who have pre-ordered the game. Use the link that was emailed to you by BMT Micro (our payment processor) when you placed the order. Should you have any problems (misplaced the email, no longer have access to the email account you used when pre-ordered, etc), send me a PM and I’ll sort it out. If your password doesn’t work, please PM me (keep in mind that it's past midnight in Toronto and I won't be available for the next 5 hours because beauty sleep is very important to me) or email BMT Micro and they will be more than happy to help you.

Second, we worked day and night to bring you the demo in the best state possible, but it’s still in the beta state, which means:

- You may run into minor issues; report them and they will be fixed asap
- We’ll continue to work on the demo’s areas and improve the balance, visuals, performance, and such. Stay tuned for updates.


Third, we’d like to thank our testers who did a great job testing the game for the last two months and were incredibly helpful. We couldn’t have done it without them.

We hope that you will enjoy the demo and share your impressions with us.

Thank you for your support and patience.

 

[Commissar Draco]

As already spoken in VoD will wait for next Thursday and full game; first Demo was enough to preorder and Commissar being neophyte Capitalist doesn't believe in free work (Beta Testing). Nethertheless ITZ a great news that game nears the completion and on Thursday to boot.

 

[Goral]

Thank you . That's awesome news.

 

[Helton]

If we preorder now will we get extended demo?

I'm playing Morrowind atm but when I'm done with that I might be seriously motivated to preorder for some more AoD sexiness.

 

[Vault Dweller]

Yes, of course. Pre-order and download from BMT right away.

 

[flabbyjack]

News flash: It is November.

 

[kazgar]

But its not the end of november, how are we going to update the future?

 

[Smashing Axe]

I can't seem to locate the guy we're supposed to find in Maadoran, is he there or am I just blindly missing him? Also with an Antidas loyalist praetor I wasn't able to find much related stuff to do in Maadoran, unlike the other factions. Am I missing something again or is there just not much? I'd think there would be a lot of opportunity to undermine Gaelius at every interval as an Antidas praetor.

 

[Elhoim]

I can't seem to locate the guy we're supposed to find in Maadoran, is he there or am I just blindly missing him? Also with an Antidas loyalist praetor I wasn't able to find much related stuff to do in Maadoran, unlike the other factions. Am I missing something again or is there just not much? I'd think there would be a lot of opportunity to undermine Gaelius at every interval as an Antidas praetor.

He's north of the arena, second house to the right of the blocked gate. Plus you can ask the guide near the city gate about him.

There your praetor adventures will start, you will LOTS of opportunities to bring House Aurelian down

 

[anus_pounder]

I must be legit blind, because I can't seem to find a blacksmith/schematics guy in Teron . Assuming theres one.

 

[Vault Dweller]

Where the cursor is pointing to.

 

[hiver]

I played a bit more, through the quest with Cassius, Aemulos(?) at the gate and the first assassin mission with those spies. I have to say... damn its good.
Quests seem even more diverse and deeper then before - though i have to say i didnt play the last demo after i heard you guys are going for some bigger changes.
Didnt want to spoil it.

The whole city is very visibly fleshed out now. Huge difference between this and that old first public version of Theron.
Everywhere you go there is something to do or discover.

Love the descriptive text when looking at some houses doors. There is even a lock-pick icon now - looks great.

Im not sure is the combat music the same as before or maybe something newer, but i just realized how great it sounds. Its really, really good.
A very good upbeat rhythm that also transfers the tension greatly, while it never really bothers you or .. gets into your ear too much, if you know what i mean. which is a great plus for something the player will hear a lot of times.
It really fits the rhythm of the combat itself too.


The new changes to the effects of targeted attacks are great too. Really like how that feels and looks now.
Much more...refined then previous somewhat ordinary versions. And much more precise.

At first it seemed strange to have to wait to collect a certain higher number of skill points before you could upgrade one of the primary skills.. being used to the previous system of insta-skill points. But, since there is a lot to do and everything is either tense or interesting - its not a big problem to collect enough quickly.


fact: I had more fun in these three fights and the few permutations that i tried then in all of new Xcom.

 

[Elhoim]

 

[Saduj]

Been playing as an assassin. Haven't done much other than explore and get into a couple of fights in the 2nd city yet but I can see there is a lot more to do. Should eliminate feeling that meta gaming is necessary. People who perceived a lack of opportunity to explore in the 1st demo should be pleasantly surprised with Maadoran.

Spoiler

Seems like later fights in assassin quest line got a bit easier. 2nd fight with the spies was definitely toughest for me. Attack on the assassin's guild was over quickly with nobody getting too hurt and final raid was over quickly too. Neelos AND Fulvio survived to the end easily this time. Never had both survive before. I'm a little disappointed. Not playing a crafter so I was looking forward to using Fulvio's armor after looting it in the 1st demo.

 

[Smashing Axe]

The length of the game really depends on the playstyle you elect to go with. A pure noncombatant will get through the game in no time, however a hybrid or combat focused character will take a long time to finish everything, as you get access to both more areas and have time delays with combat. I don't know what else could be done to extend the length of a noncombatant's play-through, as they are very limited in the quests they can take and the solutions available to them, more so than a combat character who can just beat everything to submission.

I think finding quest-givers and sources of interaction is a lot more difficult in Maadoran compared to Teron, as you don't have the same handy map interface (You do have quick-travel options but it doesn't give you a layout of the city), and there's lots more patches of just blank non-interactable areas, such that you might well miss the locations that actually do have content to them. I personally don't really like pixel hunting and looking for doors that light my cursor up.

 

[Smashing Axe]

Well I think the loremaster has to choose a faction to side with, unlike some of the others like the thief that automatically start in a faction. The merchant is pretty quick if you don't do any combat quests. There's some nice variation in the ultimate outcome of the plotline, some not so obvious like

Spoiler

keeping the balance of power between the competing noble families so that the merchants can swoop in and take the lead role

 

[Vault Dweller]

VD.

I think the game is a bit short on the full run. This issue has been brought up before. What do you think about it? Yeah, I know; replayability through different factions/role. But still it feels a bit too fast.

Not sure what answer you expect. This demo contains over 100 hand-crafted fights (i.e. no filler), 130 fights if you count variations, over 70 hand-crafted quests, and about 350,000 words. Obviously, the game would have been a lot longer and 'epic' if all this stuff was available in one playthrough, but we went a different way and I can't say that I regret it.

 

[Smashing Axe]

Vince, is there a way to make Antidas emperor whilst remaining a Daratan praetor? I've tried but no dice.

 

[Vault Dweller]

Keep in mind that he didn't become an Emperor. He was proclaimed one by another faction, so a) it's nothing but words so far and if you recall that's what PC says to Carrinas - 'promise him anything now, we'll sort it out later', and b) you have to be a member of that faction (i.e. a guard) to convince them to make such a gesture. With Carrinas gone and House Aurelian weakened or finished (based on what you did in Maadoran), Antidas will be in the best position for him. The rest remains to be seen.

Mind you, what you did as a Guard isn't pointless, but Antidas' future there is in the hands of the Imperial Guards and it can go either way.

 

[hiver]

hah, modesty and virtue mechanics eh? that was funny.

Madoran looks a bit too bright and maybe too clean. A bit too Arabic and not enough Roman in a way. From that old illustration of it i kinda expected something closer to the city design and art style like we had in original combat demo. A bit weirder mix of styles. Maybe darker colors, gray buildings and maybe dirtier. I think it wouldnt be bad to add a bit more Roman styling over that Arabic architecture and feel - if its possible. Maybe a few buildings on the side, or the fort could have a stronger Romanesque influence and such. Atleast in the Arena district.

Maybe it would look better if it was night time? Bit more atmospheric. And it could be a nice change since a lot of locations seem to be in full daylight.

The new area borders effect is great though. Perfect.



-edit- moved for bigger bragging potential-


Nice fight. (third or fourth attempt)

- then... two turns later:

- (damnit i should have taken a movie of that!)

 

[Saduj]

If anyone else is doing the arena quests...

Spoiler

Have you been able to beat Nicander? I've come close a couple of times, once with full health but.... What is this guy's fucking critical hit skill at? Those one shot deaths would be pissing off if the animation weren't so .

 

[Smashing Axe]

Spoiler

I was lucky, I critted him in the head and knocked him out for two rounds, which allowed me to win the fight. Nice reward for beating him though, I must say.

 

[Saduj]

Spoiler

Actually, he's not that bad. He actually only beat me once in a fair fight. Then I reloaded my last saved game and didn't realize that I saved before healing after the big battle at the raider camp.
He beat me a few times when I was gimped... I need to sleep.

 

[Smashing Axe]

Anyone know how to get to the Hellgate? If it's even possible in the beta

 

[Vault Dweller]

No.