Drova: Forsaken Kin - 2D action RPG inspired by Gothic series

[mediocrepoet]

Please, please, please vet your writers carefully.

I'd rather have programmer writers than modern activist writers.

sser, you want a new gig?

I hear MCA has a reasonably clear schedule.

 

[Dunadan]

For anyone so inclined, I've made a mod for this game that makes everyone look like Celts (since it's supposed to be based on Celtic mythology and peoples, after all) and have names befitting a Celtic environment (i.e. Cengiz is now Conchobar, etc.)

The mod also changes the bodytype selection label in Character Creation from 'Physique' to 'Sex'.

https://rpghq.org/forums/viewtopic.php?t=3144-drova-dediversified-1-1-drova-forsaken-kin

 

[Infinitron]

Do you have a question? Leave them in the comments, we gonna answer them in a later episode

Timeline
00:00 Intro
00:33 Why did you study IT?
02:24 Does developing fulfill you?
04:58 What should every developer have?
06:48 Why did we choose Unity?
08:07 What were recurring issues in development?
09:35 What is a typical day as a developer?
10:25 Chris question: Unity or Unreal? Why?
11:05 Outro

 

[GrainWetski]

Do you have a question? Leave them in the comments, we gonna answer them in a later episode

Timeline
00:00 Intro
00:34 What is Drova?
01:19 How did it start?
02:33 What was our approach?
04:07 Why the name Drova?
05:47 Why not a solo project?
07:25 What were the biggest issues during development?
09:20 Chris question: When making a Character in Drova, which bodytype would you choose?
09:27 Outro

Do these people actually use bodytype 1/2 in real life? I suggest everyone starts calling whores on the internet bodytype 2s like true feminists!

 

[cyborgboy95]

 

[GloomFrost]

A true spiritual successor to Gothic indeed. Should do Auto levelling next.

 

[Jinn]

Fast travel is acceptable in these types of games, but only much later, preferably near the end. Allowing it from the beginning is kinda decline. At least they haven't caved and added quest markers...yet.

 

[MadMaxHellfire]

graphics are truly hard to decypher and controls are quite bad. not really the best of the beginnings.

 

[Jinn]

graphics are truly hard to decypher and controls are quite bad. not really the best of the beginnings.

What are you even talking about? Graphics are fine, and in regards to controls it sounds like maybe you need to get used to them, but in no galaxy would I call them bad. You're constant moaning indicates a need for a new hobby rather than the fact the games you're playing are actually bad.

 

[MadMaxHellfire]

you need to get used to them

so they *are* bad.

 

[Jinn]

so they *are* bad.

No, you are bad. A not-so-subtle difference you need to realize before you continue whining in every thread you post in. Your criticisms often boil down to that.

 

[Alpharius]

A true spiritual successor to Gothic indeed. Should do Auto levelling next.

Gothic had these runes that allowed teleporting to old camp, new camp etc.
The fast travel they added just allows moving between four fixed points on the map.

 

[kryminator]

Guys, there is some cave in the north with nice non-cave-ish entrance where some single guy with dagger is. on the west side of this cave interior there is inaccessible another cave visible, some spiders are there and my question is how to get there?

 

[toro]

Guys, there is some cave in the north with nice non-cave-ish entrance where some single guy with dagger is. on the west side of this cave interior there is inaccessible another cave visible, some spiders are there and my question is how to get there?

There is nothing you can do about it until chapter 4 (i think). Unfortunately some content is gated behind story chapters.

Spoiler

the guy with the knife is a Ruin Raider which went insane

 

[kryminator]

Another question, regarding shrines:

might be a spoiler

Some shrines on the map of shrines are connected by lines with each other - does it mean anything? I am asking because there is also a note somewhere in the game saying that everyone should take pilgrimage to all the shrines and that pilgrimage starts from shrine of Luna. So my question is does the order of activating shrines matter? How to figure out what the order is? Only thing I know is that Luna should be the first one.

 

[toro]

Another question, regarding shrines:

might be a spoiler

Some shrines on the map of shrines are connected by lines with each other - does it mean anything? I am asking because there is also a note somewhere in the game saying that everyone should take pilgrimage to all the shrines and that pilgrimage starts from shrine of Luna. So my question is does the order of activating shrines matter? How to figure out what the order is? Only thing I know is that Luna should be the first one.

The secret/good ending requires you to visit all the shrines. You can activate them in any order but you need to activate them all.

One shrine is story gated.

 

[Infinitron]

00:00 Intro
00:50 Why did we make an Open World?
02:46 Do you see a difference in the types of Open World games?
03:58 Was it worth implementing our "95%" Open World in Drova?
05:52 Next Project: Open World vs. Linear?
08:52 Having a working Open World system, why not reuse it?
09:35 Chris Question: Open World & more workload or Linear & more freetime?
09:45 Outro

 

[Jaedar]

Fast travel is acceptable in these types of games, but only much later, preferably near the end. Allowing it from the beginning is kinda decline. At least they haven't caved and added quest markers...yet.

You have to reach chapter 2 afaik, and it costs money every time.

I'm closing in on the end I think, I have all the divine crystals, and have killed drivianus so I guess I might write some impressions. The opening is pretty rough. There's the body type a/b thing, followed by a pretty boring segment of running around until you actually reach the real game map and can play. But once you start playing it's pretty good.

The combat has the "time your attacks for faster attacks" from gothic, but also some dodges and blocks (limited stamina ala dark souls, but attacking doesn't consume). your attacks also actually hit in arcs so you can fight multiple enemies without it feeling shite. I didn't really invest in the various weapon skill trees, but I they seem ok. I do like the combat, it's pretty actiony though, so player skill matters a lot. The stats also don't give that much benefit on their own, they mostly lock out better weapons, which makes it more about player skill.

There are some pretty cool things to find while exploring (although I didn't find any mandrakes for statup potions, they're either extremely rare or I'm very blind), but I think the overhead perspective is a major detriment here. It's hard to actually feel like you are exploring when you can't see more than 10m ahead, but can xray vision to see through most walls and cliffs (but not into buildings with roofs, but there's not a lot of those). So you never get hyped for whats in the distance, or hyped for inside the ancient ruins guarded by stronk enemies, because the former is invisible and the latter you can just see. The game also loves to put impassable obstacles in places that vanish without a trace or mention when you get the appropriate quest (I feel a bit gaslit honestly). Was especially annoying when I was exploring the north part of the map and then had to run aaaall the way back because I didn't have the appropriate quest (if you can finish the dungeon there's a shortcut to the exit...). Still, there are some cool areas, environmental puzzles and high level enemies to run into (or past).

In terms of quests and other city content I'm disappointed. It feels mostly like standard fare. Fetch quests, kill quests, run around and talk to people quests. Feels kinda like an afterthought, especially since the game doesn't have the oppressive wilderness that forces you to scrape together several levels doing shitjobs. There's quite a big area with shit tier mobs that you can kill right from the start, and the first minitown explicitly sends you out to kill a lot of stuff. Really makes me miss gothic quest design, which was generally better about having some alternate solutions and stuff. I guess I will also mention in this section that I did notice that the people are very racially diverse considering the setting, and there's an even split of both genders in every profession (it is especially noticeable because gothic was quite strict about these things). I also don't really care for the story. Both factions are upset at how bad the land is, but the intro also makes it clear that your hometown also has shit tier land, which makes the remnants desire to pack up and go there quite strange.

Overall, it's good as a first effort. Once I start playing its pretty engaging, and it's fun moment to moment. But I don't really feel the urge to go back to playing that much, I'm not really that excited to see what happens next. I do think it has a bit too much dark souls dna to be a good gothic spiritual sequel. The only thing that really impressed me is how enemy corpses will wither as time passes, eventually just becoming bones. That is cool as you run around areas you've already been and see all the corpses in various stages of decay.

 

[Jinn]

You have to reach chapter 2 afaik, and it costs money every time.

Still a little too early, but better at least. And I think it only costs like 50 gold or something? Drop in the bucket by that point in the game.

 

[Jaedar]

You have to reach chapter 2 afaik, and it costs money every time.

Still a little too early, but better at least. And I think it only costs like 50 gold or something? Drop in the bucket by that point in the game.

Start of chapter2 I did not find 50 gold completely trivial (it's not a lot, but also not nothing), but later in the game it does obviously become trivial.

The only thing that really impressed me is how enemy corpses will wither as time passes, eventually just becoming bones. That is cool as you run around areas you've already been and see all the corpses in various stages of decay.

it's determined by the passage of chapters
so if you spend 95% of the time in the first chapter mopping up the map and seeing the bodies as fresh as always for almost all of the duration of the game, the jump from bodies to bones is another moment of silliness

Yeah I figured it was chapters. I didn't lawnmower the map chapter 1 or 2 though, because I was hoarding most of my lps for magic. So it worked out nicely.

 

[Marat]

The game's shortcomings lay with the lackluster writing and worldbuilding. Neither the main character nor anyone else has much of any personality or anything else to make the player care about them. It is worth saying that, having seen the little bits about the Bygones and their presence in Drova, the devs are capable of writing something intriguing, at the very least.

The game's shortcomings do not lay with combat, which is pleasantly fluid and satisfying whilst not completely dumbed down, nor do they lay with exploration which should draw you in with mysteries of the world and people/events in it, not a camera perspective.

 

[whocares]

although I didn't find any mandrakes for statup potions, they're either extremely rare or I'm very blind

You're reverse-Illidan. Deaf not blind. You're supposed to listen for those fuckers.

 

[Jaedar]

You're reverse-Illidan. Deaf not blind. You're supposed to listen for those fuckers.

ooohhh. I do remember hearing some weird singing noises in some places and wonder wtf that was :D

 

[Cyberarmy]

You can also find mandrake roots in money pouches. There are some trades that sell them en masse, you can buy all of them, save, open them and hope for 1-2 mandrake.
It is always profitable even without anymadrakes btw, you'll get some rubies, diamonds from them too.

 

[Parabalus]

Game seems nice, you can also run past mobs easily. Going north from the woodutters through some ruins yielded a few epics, including runestones.

How tight are the LPs if you want to do magic? Should you skip all strength and agility increases?

The animations and gameplay are very smooth too.