Every game using the same engine sucks too. After a while every game starts to feel and look the same, and you notice engine quirks in all the games that uses the engine.
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KickStarter INSOMNIA: The Ark - dieselpunk sci-fi action-RPG set on a decaying space station
- Thread starter Guyduk
- Start date
Sòren
Arcane
- Joined
- Aug 18, 2009
- Messages
- 2,561
i share your sentiments about the chinese, but what exactly have they to do with the unreal engine? do they own epic games now?
gerey
Arcane
- Joined
- Feb 2, 2007
- Messages
- 3,472
48.4% of Epic in fact.
Lord_Potato
Arcane
I'm curious, what happened?
With this game you never know if something is a bug or a feature and you just need to search for a different solution.
- Joined
- Nov 14, 2020
- Messages
- 2,198
Been a long time, so can't remember. Maybe a crash or something. Was after I'd visited the hospital/morgue area? Something like that.
toro
Arcane
- Joined
- Apr 14, 2009
- Messages
- 14,919
Lord_Potato
Arcane
So basically, like many other things, Russia managed to fuck Insomnia up with its retarded invasion.
Yep, been waiting for that final patch for years, reading only excuses on Steam forums. Dishonest fucktards.
Whatever project the MONO people are working on now, watch out, they're not your friends.
Lord_Potato
Arcane
The game while quite bug-ridden can totally be completed. I did it last year. Just make a lot of saves in separate slots to avoid known gamebreakers.
wishbonetail
Learned
- Joined
- Oct 18, 2021
- Messages
- 671
I don't understand why this game needs saving. I played it a while ago for ~30 hours and it felt polished enough. I just coudn't beat the certain enemy ambush because i suck at action games. Insomnia's problems lie in a whole different field.
- Joined
- Jan 19, 2014
- Messages
- 14,295
I booted this up for the first time. Played enough to finally choose a class. I picked the Tector. I have no idea what I am doing, and if it was a good choice.
Solasta aint got shit on the faces in this game. Nightmare stuff. On the level of
I really like the atmosphere. Combat is serviceable, so far. Lots of dialog, and story setups. I just want to quest, explore, and kill stuff.
Solasta aint got shit on the faces in this game. Nightmare stuff. On the level of
I really like the atmosphere. Combat is serviceable, so far. Lots of dialog, and story setups. I just want to quest, explore, and kill stuff.
- Joined
- Nov 14, 2020
- Messages
- 2,198
I wish you luck with actually managing to finish the game.
Saduj
Arcane
- Joined
- Aug 26, 2012
- Messages
- 2,597
From what I remember, the game starts out on the rails but opens up relatively early and from then on you can choose where you want to go. For the most part, you still need to be told about a location in order to be able to visit it though. I got as far as what had to be the 2nd to last major battle before bugs had me pulling the plug.
The only advice I have is not to invest resources in your main character build into things that buff companions because companions are very bugged. They worked fine for a while. And then they just decided that they would no longer reload their weapons when they ran out of ammo, suiciding into packs of enemies in an effort to bash people with their empty guns. Another problem was one or both disappearing for a while. I don't remember the details but there were other issues as well.....
Main problem is the bugs sadly. I played at the release and some time after that and couldn't able to finish due to bugs. Dunno if they are fixed at all.
- Joined
- Jan 19, 2014
- Messages
- 14,295
Stealth seems very OP. You can clear a room full of guys that obliterate you in regular combat. Just one of them would kill me super easy. Computer, and scammer stats have been useful for getting items/equipment.
As you guys said, more areas become available after you get tasks, or speak to people. Too many hacking, unlocking min games, but they are not unbearable.
As you guys said, more areas become available after you get tasks, or speak to people. Too many hacking, unlocking min games, but they are not unbearable.
Jacov
Educated
- Joined
- Sep 3, 2023
- Messages
- 169
Found this game in my library recently and remembered that I bought the Deluxe Edition on release to support the possible incline, but never actually played much because of the bugs.
Read through this thread out of curiosity and actually learned a lot about the development.
The whole situation is a good example of how not to make RPGs and games in general:
1) They didn't have a proper idea for the game for a long time. Originally, they wanted to make some multiplayer shit with seasons to appeal to potential investors, but later switched to singleplayer real-time top-down RPG, where you click on enemies to attack them (Dragon Age or Witcher style). Then they decided to turn it into a more conventional ARPG with tactical pause, after which finally settling on over-the-shoulder Action RPG with dodge rolling and stamina management.
One of the devs here on Codex made it sound like they wanted to create a game inspired by Fallout and Planescape: Torment with deep tactical combat. However, the final product is not like that: combat is pretty simple and straightforward, and systems are shallow. One of the reasons for that can be that changing the core idea of the game so many times takes its toll on development time and budget;
2) Apparently, they've changed the game engine mid-development. Earlier, I saw mentions of the OGRE engine, but the final game was made with Unreal. I'm not familiar with OGRE at all, but I know enough about game dev to understand that switching engines is a taxing process;
3) Judging by this interview, their lead dev was primarily an artist. That's a problem. Even the greatest of artists need someone to guide them and sometimes tell them «no», lest they will spend resources by blowing out project's scope. Which could have been the case with Insomnia. RPG devs need to have someone with experience in system design as their lead;
4) They've most likely mismanaged their finances (see point 1 and point 2 again). Otherwise, why would they need to make two Kickstarter campaigns? And I remember someone here mentioning them not having a designated accountant;
5) Their post-launch support was abysmal. Patches took too long and communication was lacking. And I looked in their VK group — some players complain about bugs even under their last post (which was in 2021).
All of this is a shame. People who made Insomnia were clearly talented and passionate (before Kickstarter they worked without proper funding for years and even created all the needed server code for a co-op mode, absolute madmen). You can see bits of the game that could have been in the final product. And it had the potential to become something great, but alas.
The good thing is that this is a priceless experience for anyone who wants to develop roleplaying games. There is a lot to learn here from their mistakes.
Read through this thread out of curiosity and actually learned a lot about the development.
The whole situation is a good example of how not to make RPGs and games in general:
1) They didn't have a proper idea for the game for a long time. Originally, they wanted to make some multiplayer shit with seasons to appeal to potential investors, but later switched to singleplayer real-time top-down RPG, where you click on enemies to attack them (Dragon Age or Witcher style). Then they decided to turn it into a more conventional ARPG with tactical pause, after which finally settling on over-the-shoulder Action RPG with dodge rolling and stamina management.
One of the devs here on Codex made it sound like they wanted to create a game inspired by Fallout and Planescape: Torment with deep tactical combat. However, the final product is not like that: combat is pretty simple and straightforward, and systems are shallow. One of the reasons for that can be that changing the core idea of the game so many times takes its toll on development time and budget;
2) Apparently, they've changed the game engine mid-development. Earlier, I saw mentions of the OGRE engine, but the final game was made with Unreal. I'm not familiar with OGRE at all, but I know enough about game dev to understand that switching engines is a taxing process;
3) Judging by this interview, their lead dev was primarily an artist. That's a problem. Even the greatest of artists need someone to guide them and sometimes tell them «no», lest they will spend resources by blowing out project's scope. Which could have been the case with Insomnia. RPG devs need to have someone with experience in system design as their lead;
4) They've most likely mismanaged their finances (see point 1 and point 2 again). Otherwise, why would they need to make two Kickstarter campaigns? And I remember someone here mentioning them not having a designated accountant;
5) Their post-launch support was abysmal. Patches took too long and communication was lacking. And I looked in their VK group — some players complain about bugs even under their last post (which was in 2021).
All of this is a shame. People who made Insomnia were clearly talented and passionate (before Kickstarter they worked without proper funding for years and even created all the needed server code for a co-op mode, absolute madmen). You can see bits of the game that could have been in the final product. And it had the potential to become something great, but alas.
The good thing is that this is a priceless experience for anyone who wants to develop roleplaying games. There is a lot to learn here from their mistakes.
Jinn
Arcane
- Joined
- Nov 8, 2007
- Messages
- 5,487
Yep, you really laid it all on the table there. The game turned out a mess and I'm sure the core team will never make a game again. A shame, because with a little more rationality and restraint, this could of been a great game, and they maybe could have gone on to make more.
Jacov
Educated
- Joined
- Sep 3, 2023
- Messages
- 169
And the war scattered them all around the globe.
I hope they'll find their greener pastures and one day become a part of something good.
Hope dies last.
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