Disco Elysium Pre-Release Thread [GO TO NEW THREAD]

[epeli]

Kasparov Marat Sar and any other ZA/UMers: What do you think are the worst aspects of your game?

 

[HoboForEternity]

Oh man the hype is off the chart. I know i should not get this excited, but alas hope is an addicting poison.

 

[bataille]

The Revolution needs you.

It won't happen, because the rest not on their level.

This needs to be printed out and put on the tombstone of the slowly dying RPG genre.

The good news is that once Kasparov dies, we'll take his DNA with gigantic syringes and create an army of 3 meter tall communist superdevelopers.

 

[Kasparov]

Kasparov Marat Sar and any other ZA/UMers: What do you think are the worst aspects of your game?

This is no way to pick up girls, my man.

This needs to be printed out and put on the tombstone of the slowly dying RPG genre.

The good news is that once Kasparov dies, we'll take his DNA with gigantic syringes and create an army of 3 meter tall communist superdevelopers.

And you, good sir, will be mighty surprized because that will be 3 metres of something far stranger than a communist.

 

[epeli]

Kasparov Marat Sar and any other ZA/UMers: What do you think are the worst aspects of your game?

This is no way to pick up girls, my man.

I don't recommend picking up girls at codex unless you really love surprises. I'm just trying to save the poor codexers who are suffering from too much love in this thread.

Seriously though, it's always interesting to see how well indie creators recognize their weaknesses and how honest & open they are about that. Dismissing such questions with a joke is your thing, I guess.

 

[santino27]

Didn´t meet with Thomas, but it appears word gets around:

I'm not sure Beekers counts as a plus in any column. He and the RPS shills are both net negatives.

Otherwise, still very hyped.

 

[Ezeekiel]

Kasparov Marat Sar and any other ZA/UMers: What do you think are the worst aspects of your game?

This is no way to pick up girls, my man.

I don't recommend picking up girls at codex unless you really love surprises. I'm just trying to save the poor codexers who are suffering from too much love in this thread.

Seriously though, it's always interesting to see how well indie creators recognize their weaknesses and how honest & open they are about that. Dismissing such questions with a joke is your thing, I guess.

It probably can't compete with popular multiplayer-shooters in terms of multiplayer. Pretty big oversight if you ask me.

 

[ArchAngel]

Kasparov Marat Sar and any other ZA/UMers: What do you think are the worst aspects of your game?

This is no way to pick up girls, my man.

I don't recommend picking up girls at codex unless you really love surprises. I'm just trying to save the poor codexers who are suffering from too much love in this thread.

Seriously though, it's always interesting to see how well indie creators recognize their weaknesses and how honest & open they are about that. Dismissing such questions with a joke is your thing, I guess.

It probably can't compete with popular multiplayer-shooters in terms of multiplayer. Pretty big oversight if you ask me.

Also the survival aspects are severely lacking. I heard the city just does not have enough trees to chop down so you can make your hut and your furnace.

 

[Ezeekiel]

Kasparov Marat Sar and any other ZA/UMers: What do you think are the worst aspects of your game?

This is no way to pick up girls, my man.

I don't recommend picking up girls at codex unless you really love surprises. I'm just trying to save the poor codexers who are suffering from too much love in this thread.

Seriously though, it's always interesting to see how well indie creators recognize their weaknesses and how honest & open they are about that. Dismissing such questions with a joke is your thing, I guess.

It probably can't compete with popular multiplayer-shooters in terms of multiplayer. Pretty big oversight if you ask me.

Also the survival aspects are severely lacking. I heard the city just does not have enough trees to chop down so you can make your hut and your furnace.

Damn, I didn't even notice that! No wonder the devs don't want to give an honest critique of their own game.

Kasparov what are you people doing... You can take one look at the steam charts and see what sells, can't you? Another indie failure I guess...

 

[frajaq]

This is no way to pick up girls, my man.

Is the protagonist a virgin? This is important for my immersion

 

[Kasparov]

Seriously though, it's always interesting to see how well indie creators recognize their weaknesses and how honest & open they are about that. Dismissing such questions with a joke is your thing, I guess.

No joke. I find your question odd and difficult to address for multiple reasons. This is just not how art works. Ask any writer, coder, composer or painter: everyone wishes they could be a little better at their craft at any given time. And this is not how video game development works.

But I’ll humor you for a second - there will always be things that could be improved on.

ZA/UM started out with no video game developers. I´m not even kidding. Some of us had dabbled a little on the fringes of video game development, but not really.

Personally, and specifically for Disco Elysium, I would not mind taking my current experience and traveling back in time a year - no make that two years - to redesign a few areas over here and some game assets over there. I began transitioning from analog to digital when I joined this project so I could say that I wished I was a better digital artist in general.

If everyone here had the experience we have now, but back then, holy shit man...

If I look back on the development so far - I think we´re doing pretty damned well. ZA/UM has brought together a group of extremely talented people and I can tell you that everybody is giving their best and then some to craft the best experience possible for you fuckers.

"If" this, "if" that, so many "if’s"...

As creators we are critical of each other’s work and that of our own. Our discussions and brainstorming sessions have led to some very interesting concepts that would revolutionize almost any aspect of a cRPG you can imagine. Prototyping strange and novel concepts takes time. Alas, there is not enough talent to do all of that in the time we have left for this one project.

All in all there are some seriously cool things we could do if we had:
A) a dedicated team that was twice - or better yet three times - the size of ours and
B) more time and
C) more money, which quickly translates to B) more time and A) more talent.

These points apply to any project that takes a team - be that a video game or an architectural project or an opera production.

You want to help out? Learn to code and code well. Or learn to draw. If you don´t have what it takes, come do my laundry or cook lunches.

Anything more specific and meaningful than what I´ve typed up here would have to wait for a "post mortem" at a later date waay after Disco is out.

Is the protagonist a virgin? This is important for my immersion

I suspect you might be a virgin.

 

[agris]

Kasparov more importantly, can the protag catch venerial diseases and do they impact your state of mind? i've been waiting to role play a narcissistic late-stage syphilis infected alcoholic with high physical strength, neuroticism and poor impulse control.

 

[Prime Junta]

Kasparov more importantly, can the protag catch venerial diseases and do they impact your state of mind? i've been waiting to role play a narcissistic late-stage syphilis infected alcoholic with high physical strength, neuroticism and poor impulse control.

Dunno about that but I think I caught influenza from that Geek Speak podcast.

 

[Prime Junta]

Another one, wherein we learn that the Electrochemist wants you to take all of the drugs, until you in a state of perpetually drunk. http://thetorchentertainmentguide.com/dance-of-death-du-lac-fey-disco-elysium-egx-rezzed-2018/

The way all the voices combine is to make a very complex stat system. That combined with the plethora of dialogue and action options given to you can mean radially different games each time you play. At least it seems so. From what the developer I talked to said, as the games go on the options and outcomes become more extreme. For example, the Electrochemist suggests you try alcohol for more charisma. If you do, later they’ll push to have more, then more later, and more, until you in a state of perpetually drunk and only left with terrible options when prompted.

 

[conan_edw]

 

[lophiaspis]

Marat Sar Stalin or Trotsky? And why?

And is there an analogue of Stalin and Trotsky in your world? How about Hitler and Mussolini?

 

[Kasparov]

Well nao:


Marat Sar briefly joined the JESawyer convo, but you have to scroll through the twitter feeds. I have no idea how to reasonably navigate that...

 

[Kasparov]

Joseph Siemsen of MAROONERS´ ROCK gives his two cents on the matter (http://maroonersrock.com/2018/04/disco-elysium-pax-hands-on/)

PAX East 2018 had a strong Strategy and Isometric RPG showing this year! With Divinity Original Sin II bringing the console version, Pillars of Eternity II, and Banner Saga 3 it was a treat for fans of the genre. Amongst all of these established heavy hitters, there was a Disco Ball shaped gem that stood out from everything I saw on the show floor, Disco Elysium by Zaum Studios. “Disco Elysium A Detective RPG” orginally caught my interest with its trailer. Showcasing a dirty painterly art style, a groovy mash up of steampunk, grungy 70’s cop stories, and Noir, and mystery. It looked fascinating, it looked different, not only in visuals but in the way it played as well. I booked an appointment to play immediately.



PAX is a busy, bustling place. Things constantly on the move, meaning time with games is somewhat limited. With Disco Elysium something groovy happened, I forgot about the con, it disappeared it was me and the game. I was told to play for about twenty minutes and then they would be happy to answer any questions I may have. I played for over forty minutes.

After experiencing darkness and a hilariously and cleverly written introduction where you argue with your brain, the main character wakes up, not knowing who he is, where he is or why he is there. He doesn’t even particularly know where all of his clothes are. Right on, already a mystery to solve! Through clues, I discover most of my clothes, that one shoe is missing seemingly out the broken window, and fail a check to figure out how to get my necktie off the ceiling fan. While walking around various things will trigger different parts of the brain, clueing you into what’s happening. This also sometimes triggers amusing conversations with that part of the brain. Your brain will also harshly criticize your behavior as you go around trying to not only piece together who you are, but also the mystery behind the dead body hanging in the tree behind the hotel you are housed in.



Overall my experience is hard to put into words, but it was entrancing. I was engrossed in the world presented to me. The art style, inspired by oil paintings, pulls all the various elements together into a world where of course bell-bottomed pants and steam driven carriages exist together! The writing is well written and extremely clever, more than once causing me to laugh with its subtle Dr. Who and Pink Floyd references. The voice acting drives the writing even further, and I could easily see having a fun time being a voice actor on this project. The focus on investigating the environment, social encounters, and gathering information and away from combat (though there is still some combat, it just isn’t a focus gameplay element) is a fresh take on the genre that I personally look forward to experiencing in full. The fact that Disco Elysium caused me to forget I was at PAX East 2018 for close to an hour is the reason I granted it a Writer’s Choice Award and a nomination for Best Indie Game of the show! That and the fact that “Bell-Bottomed Pants” is a character attribute. Keep an eye out for Disco Elysium, it’s far out, man.

Also ChrisBob (the orange guy) did an interview with Rob at EGX Rezzed. If you squint you can maybe make out some of the text on the screen (no, not really), but you can see the beginning sequences of the game.

 

[Kasparov]

Oh hey, more RPS impressions from EGX Rezzed. Fast forward to 05:45

Imagine, if you will, that renowned gonzo journalist Hunter S. Thompson made a video game about an alcoholic cop trying to solve a murder - that, my friends, is Disco Elysium

 

[Prime Junta]

Hey Marat Sar is getting compared to Hunter S. Thompson cooler than getting compared to China Miéville?

Spoiler

yes. yes, it is

 

[epeli]

I find your question odd and difficult to address for multiple reasons.

I know. Civilized folks outside the codex might even call it fancy french names like "faux pas", whatever that means. Self-critique is always hard and you've also got a product to market on top of that, maybe even contractual obligations binding your tongue. But you guys seem pretty exceptional so I gave it a shot. No indirect artillery fire either; as direct as possible.

Thanks for taking the time to answer. The fact that you're mostly an artist shop gives some insight into what the weaker points of ZA/UM software might end up being. Don't worry about writing post mortems yet - I'm sure some codexers and other grumpy gamers will tell you in colorful words why everything is shit. If you're lucky, there might even be reasonable critique somewhere in that!

 

[Ninjerk]

Dickso Elision

 

[ArchAngel]

I find your question odd and difficult to address for multiple reasons.

I know. Civilized folks outside the codex might even call it fancy french names like "faux pas", whatever that means. Self-critique is always hard and you've also got a product to market on top of that, maybe even contractual obligations binding your tongue. But you guys seem pretty exceptional so I gave it a shot. No indirect artillery fire either; as direct as possible.

Thanks for taking the time to answer. The fact that you're mostly an artist shop gives some insight into what the weaker points of ZA/UM software might end up being. Don't worry about writing post mortems yet - I'm sure some codexers and other grumpy gamers will tell you in colorful words why everything is shit. If you're lucky, there might even be reasonable critique somewhere in that!

As long as it does not burn out people's GPUs like recently released Battletech seems to do (according to some complaints) they should be OK in less artistic parts of game making.

 

[nobre]

Yeah, if you could make it so that the game doesn't remove entire C drive when uninstalling, that'd be great.

 

[Zero Credibility]

I have not been paying any attention to this until now, so all I can say is wow. Really hyped, shame you changed the title. That song used in the trailer, can it be found somewhere?