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Incline I finally played and beat Age of Decadence

Moaning_Clock

SmokeSomeFrogs
Developer
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Feb 7, 2021
Messages
655
Yeah, I know, I'm ultra late to the party. Bought the game years ago but never played it. Since I don't want to spoiler tag every couple of sentences, this is the spoiler warning for anyone who is even later to the party.

I started playing the game three times. The first time I did the combat training and was obliterated quickly. I started the game, made a character, saw there was a lot to read, closed the game and uninstalled it. I was coming from The Talos Principle and read every fucking line in the game and it was a chore.

Later, I reinstalled the game, thought, meh, just try it again and just don't read what you don't want to read. Got to Cado, played some thiefs missions and after a long while everything came down to a grind. I had a lot of skills with 2 points, skilled 3 weapons a bit (daggers, axes and hammers) and was constantly searching for side quests to get more skill points. After a while I decided to quit and start a new character somewhen in the future and uninstalled the game. In the meantime I learned that the writing of this game is actually very good and I read more and more of the game.

A day later, I reinstalled the game and started to play as a proper thief, put the skills in the right areas and had a really good time. If you know what you are doing you can get relatively quick back to the point where you were and explore other stuff in the meantime - I found Amelios town for example (building that area just for a small side quest is really cool). I played as an Thief/Combat-Combo with focus on hammers and dodging. I killed almost everyone in the arena except for the champion. Sided with Levir and in the end discovered the temple and left it alone because I couldn't kill the constructs. The leave it alone ending was honestly a bummer but most of the other stuff was great. The side-quests are cool, a good mix between fighting and thievery in that case. I decided to fight often because I really like the fighting system.

I really only found a couple of minor bugs. One air walk at the monastery (which I hope won't get fixed because it was fun to discover, is that one known?)



Also, I got to Basil after completing that questline and two thiefs told me that I disturbed the thief business.
I am a thief myself, the screen states that my reputation decreased but I had 7 reputation before and 7 after, so no decrease there.

When I first was in Tenor I could climb the vines at Feng's house but after completing the Maadoran quest line I couldn't. Since I didn't found anything quest changing there (maybe I didn't have the right skill or something) it felt odd.

For the people who don't like to read

Liked:
- Combat
- Side content and main quests
- Interesting places, some you won't encounter if not replaying
- Lots and lots of replayability
- World building

Didn't like:
- The ending I got felt a bit abrupt and not so satisfying but I suspect the other endings are better
- Frequent loading screens, always the same picture got a bit annoying (glad they changed that in DR)

Conclusion: With 23,3 hours in Age of Decadence feels really like a choose your own adventure book but a loooot better. You are on rails in many cases but it feels right. The combat is great but extremely complex. I'm really looking forward to play Dungeon Rats, I likely pick it up in the next summer sale - and Colony Ship when it is out of EA and had its first couple of updates.
 
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Unwanted

Rewrite

Latest Doxxer Account
Dumbfuck
Joined
May 25, 2021
Messages
91
You are on rails in many cases but it feels right.
nKqJQKq.png


The combat is great but extremely complex.
Arent hammers Str based? Great synergy with thief skills.
 

Moaning_Clock

SmokeSomeFrogs
Developer
Joined
Feb 7, 2021
Messages
655
Do a pure combat build.

I really thought about that, and a lore based after that.

Combat is not that too complex. Could be hard, but the systems are easy to understand if you put some thought to it

I'll read a bit more about it to fill in some gaps around weapon hardness effects for example

Arent hammers Str based? Great synergy with thief skills.

You have the freedom to mix'em both. It was a bit more grindy in a couple of areas to get the necessary sp in the thief skills when required but overall I liked it that this was an option.
 

Moaning_Clock

SmokeSomeFrogs
Developer
Joined
Feb 7, 2021
Messages
655
I replayed Age of Decadence! This time a combat focused build. As in the beginning, spoilers everywhere.

I started in the Imperial Guards but switched later to Gaelius and was a Praetor then. There I got my first game-breaking bug - when I tried showing him the map, the screen flashed, was the same again but I couldn't do anything anymore. So, I didn't show him the map anymore.
I let the Ordu die, couldn't handle their fighter - came back without them. Did the Basil quest until the end (I think) and killed everyone in the Arena (Champion + 3 if that's right). Killed 118 people/scorpions and the malaria achievement.
In the end I obeyed Cthulhu and made Gaelius the "leader". Was a fun ride, I understand the fighting system better than before and read a lot more about the world. Can really recommend the game!

Still think about a Lore build but I might get into another combat build - maybe assasin or proper imperial guard.


This were my endlook and endstats
warrior2

endscreen.jpg
 
Unwanted

Rewrite

Latest Doxxer Account
Dumbfuck
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May 25, 2021
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91
not a terminator
ultra gay
the cia got you pushing pencils again
...if you know what i mean...
 

Butter

Arcane
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Oct 1, 2018
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7,523
You haven't lived until you've needlessly slaughtered a bunch of townspeople in Inferiae and Ganezzar just for the body count.
 

Absinthe

Arcane
Joined
Jan 6, 2012
Messages
4,062
There are a number of entertaining endings. I like the ending where you make Miltiades into Agathoth's stooge. Even Agathoth is speechless when you deliver him Miltiades, and then just deals with the hand he is dealt.
 

Moaning_Clock

SmokeSomeFrogs
Developer
Joined
Feb 7, 2021
Messages
655
This time I played as an Assasin. Was a great playthrough and even discovered a new location (Inferiae).

I had a few bugs, some minor (when I died at the last Constructs I had the same death message as in Maadoran, and one fire going through the floor), some bigger (a crash and one corrupted save file but I think this is due to giving my pc a forced shutdown since there was fire in the house I'm living), some really weird (got to Aemolas later and decided to kill him and the fight took place outside of the city?).

Dux Paullus was the leader in the end.

aod_guy.png


aod_endstatsx.png

I also completed Dungeon Rats in July. Thought about making a new thread for it but decided against it. Was a great playthrough, liked the combat and the improved graphics (even though the rivers halved my fps?). Was very hard for me, started with murderous psychopath and ended with nice guy difficulty. Had some minor visual "bugs", would have liked that the fire damages plants more than one round but that's about it. Felt very polished overall and was a nice addition to Age of Decadence. Paying 1€ certainly felt like stealing from the studio.

dr_doorinstone

dr_partyend
 

JarlFrank

I like Thief THIS much
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Jan 4, 2007
Messages
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KA.DINGIR.RA.KI
Steve gets a Kidney but I don't even get a tag.
There are a number of entertaining endings. I like the ending where you make Miltiades into Agathoth's stooge. Even Agathoth is speechless when you deliver him Miltiades, and then just deals with the hand he is dealt.

And it's implied that after a while, it's Miltiades who actually pulls the strings, because that's just how the guy rolls.

"Hey boss I have this surefire idea that will benefit us both..."
 

Moaning_Clock

SmokeSomeFrogs
Developer
Joined
Feb 7, 2021
Messages
655
I did a proper Imperial Guards run now, Hammer-based, focus on Crafting and Lore. I suspected that I missed a couple of things in my former playthroughs due to my lack of lore skill and damn I was right.
(As always spoilers). The airship was super interesting, the arch was cool, got the city in the sky achievement. Wanted to side with Meru in the end but lacked the persuasion skill and couldn't find enough skill points to get to that skilllevel. Fighting the Ordu army and visiting Al-Akia were also high points of the journey. Finally got the Grim Reaper achievement. Had exactly 199 before finding Agathoth and wanted to get my 200th kill with him but it didn't work out unfortunately. Thankfully I got the 200th kill at the escort of Paullus and killed two more. Made him the leader again. Tried to kill him at the escort to see what happens but he seems to be invulnerable. Thought about trying the Militades route but didn't follow him in the first act (hoped it would work in the second) and so this wasn't an option.

Game is still great, currently standing at over 70 hours. I would wish that even more of the content would be gated because I'm doing some time-consuming quests every playthrough but this also has to do with playing hybrids/combat focused chars. Now, I'll take a break for a while. It feels like I have seen most of the stuff the game has to offer but I know I'm wrong: I have just about the half of the achievements (56/109), so I think I've seen maybe 60-70% max of Quest content (but 90% of locations).

This time I didn't really noticed any bugs, just noticed two inconsistencies (if you speak with the noble man at the stairs in Ganezzar after the siege is over he speaks of Meru as he would still live and with Agathoth, he asks: "How many soldiers do you have? How far does your power reach?" And your only option is too answer "Why should I help you then?" which seemed odd).

Interesting run - if I would do it again, I would have put a bit more in Intelligence, missed some skill checks which was kind of a bummer. Maybe would skip lockpick entirely and go full on persuasion.

I still think that I never got a single Etiquette skill check or at most one but maybe they are very common for praetors and merchants.

aod_ig_endscreen.png


aod_ig_endinventory.png


aod_ig_endlook.png


weirdanswer.png
 

Agesilaus

Antiquity Studio
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Grab the Codex by the pussy Codex USB, 2014 Steve gets a Kidney but I don't even get a tag.
Good stuff Moaning_Clock . I have hundreds of hours into the game, and who knows how much time I spent playing it during development before the full release hit Steam.

I have always been attracted to playing as a lore-focused praetor, because I want to hang out with the nobles but also play with all the tech and understand the setting's lore. Thief and assassin are also great fun, as you've discovered.

It's not entirely clear from your posts, but it sounds like you haven't really accessed all of the lore-based content? I'm thinking about accessing the content in the Abyss by figuring out Enarion's key, using the ghost hand and diving suit at the gate and making a new friend, using the Darius' helmet, reading the tablets by inserting the token in the library, etc. I probably missed a fair bit myself, I never really got along with House Aurelian so I feel like I missed some of the dialogue with his lore-master. They have that room upstairs with all the interesting gear.
 

Moaning_Clock

SmokeSomeFrogs
Developer
Joined
Feb 7, 2021
Messages
655
uh, sounds like there's quite a bit left Agesilaus - I just discovered so much lore based stuff in this run that I assumed I saw most of it but there seems to be even more. The ten year development time really shows in some of the details (like walking around naked in Teron hit me completely by surprise). Your timing is great, I'm playing Theseus right at this very moment. :shittydog:
 

Agesilaus

Antiquity Studio
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Grab the Codex by the pussy Codex USB, 2014 Steve gets a Kidney but I don't even get a tag.
uh, sounds like there's quite a bit left Agesilaus - I just discovered so much lore based stuff in this run that I assumed I saw most of it but there seems to be even more. The ten year development time really shows in some of the details (like walking around naked in Teron hit me completely by surprise). Your timing is great, I'm playing Theseus right at this very moment. :shittydog:

I won't pretend Theseus is as good a game as Age of Decadence, but I will say that AoD is one of my favourite CRPGs of all time and was a big influence on Theseus. Hope you enjoy it!

A lot of the major lore content in AoD is hidden behind high checks. There's also some small stuff, for example you need 10 INT to fully discuss astronomy with Feng. It's a major part of the setting and worth exploring, and it does affect the game. I won't spoil it, but I will say that you'll need a little constitution and perception (7 is the magical number for perception I think, although if you don't understand Enarion's Key maybe you need it to be higher to get down the Abyss). Being a talker wouldn't hurt either, given that you want to discuss the history and technology with other lore masters, merchants, and aristocrats. But then again you'll need some sort of combat ability to have fun with Miltiades (a necessary part of every adventure), so good luck figuring out the right balance.
 
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Moaning_Clock

SmokeSomeFrogs
Developer
Joined
Feb 7, 2021
Messages
655
It seems like one would need 20+ runs to complete the game fully!

I'm enjoying it, it wouldn't be my third playthrough if I wouldn't :salute:
 
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Moaning_Clock

SmokeSomeFrogs
Developer
Joined
Feb 7, 2021
Messages
655
I replayed Dungeon Rats! This time on tough bastard difficulty and got the remaining two endings. I tried a 10 Charisma character which made the game easier (especially after getting the Guardian) although my protagonist felt often quite useless in actual fights. He threw a lot of bombs though. I almost abandoned this run since I ran out of potions and food before the emperor and only won the battle because I sacrificed two valuable party members and a lot of reloading. Killed the portal guy to see what happens but was bit disappointed. Had a good time although I'm not quite satisfied since I reloaded very often and it wasn't really 'earned'.

Here are the characters which I had for the very last battle and a minor typo or something which I found.

DR_2_1
DR_2_2
 

Moaning_Clock

SmokeSomeFrogs
Developer
Joined
Feb 7, 2021
Messages
655
Thought there were only three proper endings but read about a fourth one, reloaded my save and did go for that one. If there aren't any more endings I should have all now :D

Got the 'selfless' ending.

Honestly I'm quite pleased - 4 endings are plenty for a game that is more or less advertised as a narrow combat experience, just two would have been great.
 
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Darth Canoli

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Jun 8, 2018
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Perched on a tree
Now do a solo hammer run. Good luck!

DR has been blessed with fully controllable party members, only millennials and retards (not mutually exclusive) go for solo runs.

I did a hammer run, by the way with a nice party, Hammer works quite well.
 

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