Game News RPG Watch lifts the curtain - Eschalon: Book 1 first impressions

[Jasede]

Has anyone ever pulled off the time limit RPG well? Magic Candle 1 did a pretty good job at it. I hear there were some other games like Challenge of the Five Realms that ruined an otherwise great game because of it.

Realms of Arkania 1! One has to admit, though, the time limit was very generous. But not THAT generous. If you are too slow in it it's game over. Also, Wizardry 7 - while being too slow won't make the game unable to be won, it will make it a huge hassle indeed, which sounds like a good compromise, really. And I nearly forgot: ADOM. It does this VERY well. The limit is moderately tight. You have time to dick around quite a bit, but being too damn slow will be punished harshly.

 

[elander_]

I hope to see a Codex review of this game soon. I'm expecting to read about great examples of c&c and the factions that dwell in this world.

Combat isn't exactly TB but it's much better than the RTwP crap. It's only a shame with don't have a few interesting companions like in Fallout and PT.

 

[FrancoTAU]

Has anyone ever pulled off the time limit RPG well? Magic Candle 1 did a pretty good job at it. I hear there were some other games like Challenge of the Five Realms that ruined an otherwise great game because of it.

Realms of Arkania 1! One has to admit, though, the time limit was very generous. But not THAT generous. If you are too slow in it it's game over. Also, Wizardry 7 - while being too slow won't make the game unable to be won, it will make it a huge hassle indeed, which sounds like a good compromise, really. And I nearly forgot: ADOM. It does this VERY well. The limit is moderately tight. You have time to dick around quite a bit, but being too damn slow will be punished harshly.

I hated when those bastard NPCs in Wiz7 would get the maps before me.

I still need to get around to playing the Realm of Arkanias. Maybe I'll have to start with the 4th one!

 

[Uz0rnaem]

Is there a reason why people keep comparing this to Arcanum? Not just here, but on the official boards, too. I'm just wondering, because aside from a few features, like item combination, I really don't see many fundamental similarities.

 

[Slylandro]

Did anyone else run into a couple of non-trivial but non-fatal bugs? One time I restored a save for example, I actually got placed on a completely different part of the map. I would've just normally chalked it up to bad memory on my part, except that it was clearly different and there was no way out of that area, you were apparently never meant to be there in the first place. Another time, my right mouse button stopped working so I couldn't quaff potions or use items in general. Both times, re-restoring the save led to normal conditions again. I don't really know why.. It doesn't seem that anybody else ran into any problems (aside from the file path error someone else had) so maybe it's just me.

 

[abstract]

The thing where I found myself somewhere else upon reloading happened to me once. But then I loaded the save again and everything was fine, so I guess it's not a big deal.

 

[VonVentrue]

I have finally, unexpectedly completed the initial quest and the plot is beginning to take shape. The Amnesia thing is there for a very good reason, it is more creative than you would have thought, plus there seems to be some urgency, a time limit from now on - so take your time and level up a bit (I'm almost level 8) before you get to Blackwater because I think you will probably need the skills.

The game does seem to have a whole more potential now.

I am glad to hear that. I must admit that I enjoyed the demo, despite the fact that the story and quests in general severely lack some c&c and the combat system feels a bit shallow, not to mention restricting.

I'll probably end up buying the full version.

 

[User was nabbed fit]

I got it because these types of games have been severely lacking lately. I mean, it's not perfect, but damn, at least someone's trying a bit.

 

[Saxon1974]

I got it because these types of games have been severely lacking lately. I mean, it's not perfect, but damn, at least someone's trying a bit.

Agree, for a basically one man show its not realistic to expect it to be perfect but it is very well done.

I guess my main concern is that it is not very long? For any who has finished and done all side quests how long approx did it take you?

Maybe if it sells well they will release additional content relatively soon.

 

[User was nabbed fit]

I would imagine that there'll be a Book II, Book III, etc.

 

[Saxon1974]

I would imagine that there'll be a Book II, Book III, etc.

The dev said only if Book I sells well enough, he has to make a living after all. Sure hope so. I wonder how many copies it would need to sell for him to justify another year to 2 years of work on game II.

5000? Just a wild guess. Is that realistic for an indy game that only gets press from a handful of websites and word of mouth?

 

[dagorkan]

By the way, here's my character:

Starting chargen screen

Currently

(page 2 for skills)

As you can see, past level nine the jump in XP needed is pretty huge, so make sure you level up the spell casting before then. You can buy Archery, Cartography, Alchemy, most Weapons and (I think) Armor in different towns - costs 100 gold for level 1, 200 to upgrade to level 2 etc so don't rely on it. I've spent very little apart from scrolls and still only have 2000 gold.

Special items I have

Evil Amulet +1 dmg
Ring of Sparks x3 +5 mana
Swordsman's Gauntlets +2 Swords
Scout's Sandals +3 Cartography
Ankh +10 hit points, +1 armor
Flight arrows +2 dmg, +1 to hit
Amulet of Accuracy +3 to hit
Ring of the Wise +2 Wisdom
Rabbit's Foot Pendant +3 Dodge
Hive Queen Stinger (Short blade, dmg 2, poisoned)
Burglar's Gloves +3 Pick locks

 

[ilui]

Combat isn't exactly TB ...

How so ?

It's not action point based but it's definitely turn based
and not just the combat, the whole game ....

ilui

 

[Saxon1974]

By the way, here's my character:

Starting chargen screen

Currently

(page 2 for skills)

As you can see, past level nine the jump in XP needed is pretty huge, so make sure you level up the spell casting before then. You can buy Archery, Cartography, Alchemy, most Weapons and (I think) Armor in different towns - costs 100 gold for level 1, 200 to upgrade to level 2 etc so don't rely on it. I've spent very little apart from scrolls and still only have 2000 gold.

Special items I have

Evil Amulet +1 dmg
Ring of Sparks x3 +5 mana
Swordsman's Gauntlets +2 Swords
Scout's Sandals +3 Cartography
Ankh +10 hit points, +1 armor
Flight arrows +2 dmg, +1 to hit
Amulet of Accuracy +3 to hit
Ring of the Wise +2 Wisdom
Rabbit's Foot Pendant +3 Dodge
Hive Queen Stinger (Short blade, dmg 2, poisoned)
Burglar's Gloves +3 Pick locks

Looks like a cool character. I thought about Thief but decided on a ranger\thief\figher hybrid. I might post a screen shot when i get home from work.

I noticed you kept many books. ARe they usefull after you read them? I sold most of mine after reading. I accidentally sold my alchemy recipe's and they are gone now and I cant seem to find anymore

 

[dagorkan]

I guess I should sell them but my philosophy is if I don't need to sell something I won't. Tell myself I never know if there'll be a insight or clue to some quest in one of the books...

By the way how far are you into the game?

There are two quests I can't complete despite combing both the areas they're meant to be in:

-the Mercenary cave (Tanglewood forest), can't find a way to open the door, no clues
-the guy you're supposed to give the restorative potion to (Aridell priest quest). All the quest journal says is 'west of Salted Coast'. I've been through all of the forest down to the Tangletree Ossuary, and can't find any living person. There are two homes in that region, one north of the Ossuary map, another in the southern forest, both occupants are dead.

Then there's Northern Crakamere, to which the gates are closed, but I assume I need to look for longer and I'll find the key.

Then there's an unpickable chest somewhere in the forest, in the house of someone killed by Goblins. You have to enter a number and hope to get the right one but the numbers range from 1 to 200.

 

[Amasius]

-the guy you're supposed to give the restorative potion to (Aridell priest quest). All the quest journal says is 'west of Salted Coast'.

He is a map south of Elderhollow. Maybe south and then west.

Then there's an unpickable chest somewhere in the forest, in the house of someone killed by Goblins. You have to enter a number and hope to get the right one but the numbers range from 1 to 200.

You get a quest to open that chest with the number if you solve another quest. I don't remember which quest but I remember the number so I can spoil it if you are interested. Inside is a good sword.

And here is my anonymous hero:

planned as Fighter/Rogue but then I discovered how useful Divination is. The low level spells Bless and Leatherskin are great for a melee build so I put my skillpoints mainly in Sword and Divination and it works very good.

 

[dagorkan]

Wow, super specialized compared to me. How does magic work with such low mental stats though? Is Cartography 9 useful?

What armor do you have on your torso?

edit:
and what happened to the Crux? Don't tell me if it's a spoiler of course.

 

[Amasius]

Wow, super specialized compared to me. How does magic work with such low mental stats though? Is Cartography 9 useful?

What armor do you have on your torso?

Yeah, I think it's not very effective to spread the skillpoints to broad. The mental stats a fine, I only need a high wisdom to learn higher level Divination spells. Some spells need a wisdom of 15, but fortunately I found a ring with Wis +2 so had only to raise my initial Wis of 12 once. But I have a scroll that needs Wis 20 so I can't memorise it. I don't have that much mana but normally it's enough. Heh, I seldom use other spells then the lowest level spells Heal, Bless, Leatherskin and Lore.

You probably don't need Cartography higher then 5 and it's to bad that I put skillpoints in it before I solved the Sextant quest. I wear Sandals which give me two additional points but I doubt they make a difference. With just some more skillpoints I can probably see enemys on the map or something but what's that worth? I guess I should lookout for better footwear...

My armor is nothing special, some ordinary piece of Light Armor. Do you know where to raise the armor skills for money? My Light Armor is still at 1 and I don't even have Heavy Armor.

edit:
and what happened to the Crux? Don't tell me if it's a spoiler of course.

I found the thing just a little bit after I took the screenshot, so I still have it.

 

[dagorkan]

Wow, super specialized compared to me. How does magic work with such low mental stats though? Is Cartography 9 useful?

What armor do you have on your torso?

Yeah, I think it's not very effective to spread the skillpoints to broad. The mental stats a fine, I only need a high wisdom to learn higher level Divination spells. Some spells need a wisdom of 15, but fortunately I found a ring with Wis +2 so had only to raise my initial Wis of 12 once. But I have a scroll that needs Wis 20 so I can't memorise it. I don't have that much mana but normally it's enough. Heh, I seldom use other spells then the lowest level spells Heal, Bless, Leatherskin and Lore.

Does Lore even work?

I just got it and I have about four or five items that are categorized unknown - casting at level 2 Divination and it can't reveal any of them.

Another pretty useless spell is Shockwave or something, a low level Elemental spell which is supposed to stun opponents. I can cast it at level 2 but it has never worked on anything, humans, wasps, slimes etc. I have tried dozens of times and it never works, they all pass their resist rolls. I don't know why, I have Wisdom 17, Intelligence 15, and Level 3 Arcane skills...

I also see where you got all that extra XP from. I went back to the Salt Coast and up the eastern coast and there's a whole lot I missed out on. I went basically down the south coast from Elderhollow, but missed out on that guy's house, continued to the Ossuary, then went back and cleared Grimhold, went west into the forest and basically cleared all of that reaching Bordertown. Then went back south and west and cleared Blackwater, Loneloft and started on Vela.

Is it possible to get to Drak-whatever, that big town that connects to the Spire? I notice neither of those are indicated on the quick travel map, since I have all possible destinations available already.

 

[Amasius]

Does Lore even work?

I just got it and I have about four or five items that are categorized unknown - casting at level 2 Divination and it can't reveal any of them.

Oh, it works great - with level 4 or 5 I can identify everything.

Another pretty useless spell is Shockwave or something, a low level Elemental spell which is supposed to stun opponents. I can cast it at level 2 but it has never worked on anything, humans, wasps, slimes etc. I have tried dozens of times and it never works, they all pass their resist rolls. I don't know why, I have Wisdom 17, Intelligence 15, and Level 3 Arcane skills...

I can't say anything about Elemental but the low level Divination damage spell doesn't work well either. It took me 5 attempts to kill a fleeing Thug, after that I only used my reliable bow. I guess here you need high mental stats.

Is it possible to get to Drak-whatever, that big town that connects to the Spire? I notice neither of those are indicated on the quick travel map, since I have all possible destinations available already.

You mean Darkford? I guess so since the main quest leads into Bastion Spire. But first into Goblin Lands. High Ho!

 

[User was nabbed fit]

I made an agnostic Ranger. Mêlée (swords)/bow hybrid. Killer of all evils, etc, etc.

So far I haven't had time to get pas the first area because I've been checking out every little corner...

 

[Noceur]

I just started out yesterday with my barbarian, and am enjoying myself so far. Is there a spell to get rid of poison though? I'm thinking about investing in Divination. I take it you can purchase (with money) a skill like bow or throwing later?

I find myself relying on potions as a pure melee, and it's a bit too heavy on my economy for my tastes.

edit: Btw, I just LOVE gates with a lever. :D

 

[Azael]

Well, since we're doing this, here's my ninja paladin with the striking name of 'Bonez' (I hate coming up with names, so it's usually something silly).

Just lost my helmet thanks to getting too close to an Acid Grub when it died, no biggie, it was nothing special. Not sure about skill point allocation, in hindsight I should have skipped Pick Lock and gone for Elemental instead since there are spells that nulls out the need for those skills (don't get the XP though, but that can't amount to more than a couple of hundreds, a thousand, for the entire game). Hide in Shadows is extremely powerful and with Cat's Eyes and Predator Vision, which I just discovered, I can take out most opponents before they even know I'm there. Choosing Virtuous was a big mistake though since I focused on Divination anyway, which means that all I get out of it is a bigger risk of getting cursed.

 

[Saxon1974]

I had an acid grubb destroy my armor so I had to reload (I hate doing that, but my armor cost way to much to purchase again since gold is scarce in this game).

I like that gold is scarce because it makes it much more valuable. Except for when your armor gets eaten.

 

[FrancoTAU]

Are there many un-indentified items in this game? I just got to Bordertown and cleared out the areas leading up to it and haven't gotten one yet.

I'm still playing mostly a pure thief at Level 6 with 1 level of divination. He's a killing machine in the dark with Silent, Hide in Shadows and the Catseye spell. I'm alright in the daytime now that I beefed up Archery with the Bordertown trainer.

I'm beginning to have trouble hitting enemies again. I highly recommend investing skill points in weapon skills over Cartography past level 1, Skullduggery, Spot Items which have all been useless even when upgraded to level 4 and high correlated attributes.