Review RPG Codex Review: Legends of Eisenwald

[Cadmus]

I looked up this review and remembered having read Blaine's criticism of the writing and I totally agree. The stories are pretty good but the English is just off for some reason. You say that it was rewritten for the english translation which is great and as it should be but I can't help but wonder if I'm reading an awkward translation by somebody who didn't speak proper english. The texts are usually pretty long-winded and seem to take long time to convey the information.

I can't shit on your game because you raised the totally ridiculous sum of 80k to make the game on and it's been more fun than plenty of big budget games so congratulations. Any criticism of the game can hardly be a criticism of your effort. You seem to have gone miles beyond the justifiable (by your budget) effort but I understand that for some people it's not enough because really, who cares about supporting a small studio? Mostly people just want a good game no matter what.

I'm torn on this because this kind of game you don't make to be rich but because you want to, so I feel sympathy for you but for me the writing is just lacking, makes me skip dialogues.

Guys can you help me, where does my character go to if I have a 12/12 army and get a quest NPC? 1 guy disappears to make room for him, can I find him in a nearby castle or is he gone?

 

[Aterdux Entertainment]

I don't know what the issue is with the writing but it's definitely not the proper English issue - our writer and editor both speak English as their native language, and Joel is a published writer anyway. I think it's just style that as always some people love and some don't. And English texts are not re-written, they are done from a sort of a rich outline.

When you get a quest NPC and you have a full army, your unit simply disappears. Reload to before, store him somewhere and then accept that NPC.

 

[Cadmus]

I don't know what the issue is with the writing but it's definitely not the proper English issue - our writer and editor both speak English as their native language, and Joel is a published writer anyway. I think it's just style that as always some people love and some don't. And English texts are not re-written, they are done from a sort of a rich outline.

When you get a quest NPC and you have a full army, your unit simply disappears. Reload to before, store him somewhere and then accept that NPC.

Ah ok that kinda sucks. I aleady reloaded the game.
It's strange I can't rely on the game to protect me from stuff like this but whatevs.
Sorry about the complaints about the writing, but hopefully we are just 2 guys

 

[Aterdux Entertainment]

Ah ok that kinda sucks. I aleady reloaded the game.
It's strange I can't rely on the game to protect me from stuff like this but whatevs.
Sorry about the complaints about the writing, but hopefully we are just 2 guys

To get army of 12 is not that easy, so when testing we did that seldom. But while the issue might seem simple, what do you do in this case? Either preventing you from taking NPC or put that unit somewhere - both solutions are incredibly hard technically So making it your responsibility is a better thing anyway.

As for writing, there are more than two of you but there is a lot of praise as well. One of the users said our writing makes us new Planescape Torment

 

[Cadmus]

To get army of 12 is not that easy, so when testing we did that seldom. But while the issue might seem simple, what do you do in this case? Either preventing you from taking NPC or put that unit somewhere - both solutions are incredibly hard technically So making it your responsibility is a better thing anyway.

As for writing, there are more than two of you but there is a lot of praise as well. One of the users said our writing makes us new Planescape Torment

Put a message "your army is full, please discard *number* of units and return here to progress the quest" I don't know how hard is it to make the game check the unit slots in player's army but I'd be surprised if it was that difficult.
It might not occur often but when it does it's a huge blow precisely because of how hard it is to get a full army.

That user who said your writing made you a new Planescape is a fucking retard and you shouldn't take him any more seriously than those who say your game is worse than Gone Home.

 

[Aterdux Entertainment]

Put a message "your army is full, please discard *number* of units and return here to progress the quest" I don't know how hard is it to make the game check the unit slots in player's army but I'd be surprised if it was that difficult.
It might not occur often but when it does it's a huge blow precisely because of how hard it is to get a full army.

That user who said your writing made you a new Planescape is a fucking retard and you shouldn't take him any more seriously than those who say your game is worse than Gone Home.

The thing is there are multiple variables for a quest to trigger. And adding one more of the number of units is pretty much a nightmare both in adding and in testing. You can see how it's done in the scenario if you open the editor.

I do take Planescape comment with a grain of salt as well as others. The thing is, there are many of them. If we made a game and everyone agreed: writing is shit, combat is shit - then it's clear what to do. But when you have a split opinion, and more positive reviews than negative then it's not so easy to figure out what worked what didn't. To me, I think a combination of simple combat with hardcore quest system is not good enough. Either combat should have been more complex or the quest system easier.

 

[Whisper]

What about endings?

I only enjoyed "Nothing" ending. Felt very complete. Other two endings are bad ones.


1. Why i cant recruit "heretic" mages or "necromancer" mages. You can hire (2-3 times in whole game) 1 low lvl, but it is mercenary, cant take to next map. And "control enemy" and "paralyse" spells looks interesting, but you probably will never use it battle yourself.

2. pictures for spells look great (mosaic), but you cant loot at them closely unless you have units with them, i.e. you cant see mosaic for most necromancer or heretic magic.

3. You wont find "scholar" mages, except 1 time (charlatane) in 1 battle, i think. Though you can even play one, which is strange.

 

[Aterdux Entertainment]

I like both Nothing and another ending, following Zmiter's quests.

1. Done mostly due a setting.
2. You can see the spells they have already but yes, you can't see their upgraded spells.
3. Alchemists are there though rare.

 

[Whisper]

1Zmiter quests "Revenge" ending is brutal. Was not worth it, imho.
"Nothing" ending is probably best i saw in long time in games. People are focused on "power", "loot", "experience" etc. power fantasies - this makes this ending astonishing and best. Was done by grown man who know life.

2We got lucky devs added "alchemist" as hero.
Also, ghost summon is too much powerful, it is used to block front row of enemies (who cant destroy it). Only problem is Exorsism spell if enemy have high lvl priest.
Also, if you go "witch" route, you can get "stop" spell which is also useful in combat, can prevent powerful melee from moving for 3 turns. Too bad you will probably go enchantres route to get AoE heal (blessing of brigit) and blessing of moeb.

 

[Whisper]

"heretic" mages are very good done. both art, traits and interesting spells (no fireballs, all spells require some thinking).

 

[Aterdux Entertainment]

Maybe we should make heretics and other units available, will add some variety...

 

[Archibald]

10$ DLC that unlocks heretics.

 

[Gord]

I certainly wouldn't mind the possibility to choose between "good" and "evil" aligned party (although those terms don't fully fit), at least in some of the missions.

 

[Aterdux Entertainment]

10$ DLC that unlocks heretics.

Yeah, and then maintain both version of the game with different setup. Not going to do that anyway

 

[Whisper]

Maybe we should make heretics and other units available, will add some variety...

will buy )
heretic magic is better done than alchemy-scholar magic that is available from hero. Notice how it has setbacks, since it either lower defence stat or force you to take dmg to be useful. Also possessing your unit makes it vulnerable to cleric's Exorcism.


also, who wrote Legends for taverns? very well done. Best is about bell, also cat mirror.

 

[Aterdux Entertainment]

All the legends is not really lore but part of the game and all written by the same writer, Victor Armonik - he wrote it all from the beginning to end.