KickStarter ATOM RPG - Wasteland Soviet style! - now with Dead City update

[HoboForEternity]

Russian bear sex

 

[ERYFKRAD]

Russian bear sex

Just without russians or bears

 

[KeighnMcDeath]

I thought Russians were bears? All the Russian women try to leave because of this.

 

[jaekl]

What's the build in this game for guys who want to crush their enemies rather than gab with the locals and weasel out of everything?

 

[jackofshadows]

What's the build in this game for guys who want to crush their enemies rather than gab with the locals and weasel out of everything?

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1615121587

by the looks of it, I've played a very similar one the last time (solo survival sniper), it was a total powerhouse.

 

[jaekl]

This game rules in case anyone was wondering.

 

[dskdev]

I've been playing this game recently and been having fun. It replicates a lot of the same balance problems of the original Fallouts uncritically when it comes to making a build and combat, but for what its worth its fine so far.

I stumbled upon a let's play on LPArchive/SA though and the guy playing it seems to absolutely despite it. (Linked here: https://lparchive.org/ATOM-RPG/) has anyone else checked it out? I would check the 196 pages of this topic but...nah, I won't.

His main criticisms seem to be the lack of themes, lack of choice in the story, over reliance on references for humor, over reliance on purple prose and pointless dialogue, and there's also some kind of political bent to it all? The game being set in Soviet Russia and most of the NPCs wanting it to come back.

 

[MjKorz]

I've been playing this game recently and been having fun. It replicates a lot of the same balance problems of the original Fallouts uncritically when it comes to making a build and combat, but for what its worth its fine so far.

I stumbled upon a let's play on LPArchive/SA though and the guy playing it seems to absolutely despite it. (Linked here: https://lparchive.org/ATOM-RPG/) has anyone else checked it out? I would check the 196 pages of this topic but...nah, I won't.

His main criticisms seem to be the lack of themes, lack of choice in the story, over reliance on references for humor, over reliance on purple prose and pointless dialogue, and there's also some kind of political bent to it all? The game being set in Soviet Russia and most of the NPCs wanting it to come back.

The game has plenty of C&C and reactivity to accommodate most builds and multiple endings. For me, not knowing the references was part of the game's charm as it added to the game's bizarre, sometimes outright schizo atmosphere.

 

[thesecret1]

the lack of themes

Debatable

lack of choice in the story

There are choices, but admittedly not that many, and they mostly come in play at the very end

over reliance on references for humor

True.

over reliance on purple prose

It's not that bad, but yes, it is present.

pointless dialogue

Nah. What there was that didn't relate to quests was there for flavor.

there's also some kind of political bent to it all? The game being set in Soviet Russia and most of the NPCs wanting it to come back.

That's the most unfair criticism of the whole bunch. Most NPCs want USSR to come back because they associate it with pre-apocalypse life and because the politburo, in one way or another, managed to survive and keep pushing the ideology. If anything, it satirizes the USSR, but doesn't go as far as to try to disparage it.

 

[FreshCorpse]

I read that LP at the time, thought it was basically uncharitable. ATOM RPG is fundamentally a good game.

That said, there are some balance issues and my party fell behind the curve towards the end. Acquiring good gear is very important in this game and if you systematically miss opportunities (eg by letting enemies walk away wearing their equipment) you will struggle later on.

I don't see how you could play it and view it as pro-Soviet in really any way. It is very critical of the USSR and only a very surface reading of it could take it as earnest nostalgia for the Russian C20.

 

[TheEntitledOne]

Honestly, this game had the best flavour NPCs I've ever seen. And only pro- USSR I remember was the alleged dindu nuffin on the Berlin war fight

 

[dskdev]

After playing a while more I am starting to understand one of the other big criticisms from the LPer, the fact that the writing is very cynical. Most quests you either enter with bad intentions, or are duped into doing something bad, including the main quest somewhat, and a lot of dialogue options are either apathetic and/or dickish. Though this might just be a theme of the game or part of the humor, I don't think the devs actively have some kind of vendetta like the LPer implies a lot.

And that Smash Mouth reference...why? lol

 

[OSK]

Though this might just be a theme of the game or part of the humor

You've never met a Slav before?

 

[Technomancer]

why?

 

[the mole]

How did they know I robbed the caravan

 

[MjKorz]

How did they know I robbed the caravan

You didn't rob just one caravan, did you? You systematically kept robbing caravans so serious people decided to put an end to your bullshit and set an ambush for you. And then they put you into the ground.

 

[the mole]

How did they know I robbed the caravan

You didn't rob just one caravan, did you? You systematically kept robbing caravans so serious people decided to put an end to your bullshit and set an ambush for you. And then they put you into the ground.

I don't recall officer

 

[Arthandas]

Do shields work when using a 2H weapon?
They still impact accuracy even when worn on the back, which implies they should also block damage.

 

[Mark Richard]

Replaying ATOM RPG for the first time since 2018. Some may recall the rough English translation was difficult to understand and rife with grammatical errors. I wanted to briefly mention the improved English translation specifically because I've never seen it brought up and always wondered how it turned out. For context – the developer brought on Age of Decadence and Battle Brothers writer Scott Hamm to go over most of the writing in a march 2019 update (v1.08) and presumably he was thought to have done a good enough job, as he continues that role in Trudograd.

And it is. Good, I mean. There's no sanitization, no instances of the writer padding the dialogue or using a thesaurus like they're trying to advertise themselves at the expense of the game, and the errors have largely been cleared up. It's a very straight translation that effectively communicates meaning without losing any of the original flavour. I once claimed ATOM “won't go down in our memories as a decent homage to a better game”, and now that the years have put some emotional distance from the release hype, I still think this holds true. That's because the eastern European influence isn't merely a marketable gimmick, but in the very bones of the thing.

Has it been 6 years already? 2018 was unbelievable. Kingdom Come: Deliverance, Pathfinder: Kingmaker, ATOM RPG. Just this succession of crowdfunded dream games.

 

[deama]

I remember not liking the OG, but I liked trudograd though.

 

[Beastro]

Someone should make an futuristic apocalypse RPG set in Africa.

It's called Haiti.

 

[Serus]

Someone should make an futuristic apocalypse RPG set in Africa.

It's called Haiti.

That's in the Caribbean, but still - niggers. In Africa i'd say Sudan or Somalia are somewhat apocalyptic at this point. Anyway, you don't need to be very futuristic about that. And if you are, Western Europe is a much more fun setting. Realistic too.

 

[Bumblebee Man]

Still need to get around to playing this. I got it a while back but I've been balls deep in an Underrail replay. Reading the recent posts in this thread has me pretty keen to give it a whirl next.