The Dungeon of Naheulbeuk - parodic fantasy tactical RPG - now with Back to the Futon DLC

[Zed Duke of Banville]

How is exploration/questing in this game?

Naheulbeuk's exploration in general is extremely limited, with the game creating a superficial simulacrum of conventional, dungeon-crawler, RPG exploration but without substantive mechanics or content behind it. There would be little difference if the game simply forced the player from combat encounter to combat encounter, but then it would clearly be a "Tactical RPG" (i.e. a tactics game with character progression and customization) rather than having a pretense of being an RPG.

Fun game, though, and well worth playing.

 

[Darth Canoli]

The good:

• Combat is decent to good (from level 2).
• Skills are well made and original.
  
• Some jokes are funny, about 10%
• Some interesting environmental mechanism, well, one actually in the skating rink.

On the other hand:

• A Battle Brother 2D engine would have done wonders on this game.
• Optimization wise, i've seen worse but i've seen way way better, enemies take 10 to 30 seconds each to play their turn, ranged ones mostly 30s and specially when they don't move. 10 seconds to play, 20s to think about not moving. 30s per enemy when you face 10/15 of them is 5/7 minutes PER TURN...
  
• Cooldowns ... Although, i have to admit skills are overpowered so it's not that bad in THIS game.
• JRPG design, extremely linear with a lot of backtracking (elevators alleviate it, fortunately)
• They can't stop flapping their mouths even if you turn it off in the options.
• Difficulty progression is terrible, early fights are way too hard because of enemies skills while it becomes easier and easier by the time you reach level 4 and according to the skills you're going to unlock, it's not going to stop anytime soon.
• Puzzle design is just retarded, except for one riddle so far but turning statues and playing with a set of 3-7 levers ... Seriously?
• HP bloat for the player as much as some enemies
• Oil/explosive barrels just like in DOS ... Why?
• One comment from a party member every enemy turn (until you turn it off and there's still some comments but less), of course, you'll feel like enemy turns last longer when you turn it off (even if they don't)
• References, i've seen complain about this for DOS, well, i didn't write them down but there's at least 2 BG references (aim for the eyes from the ranger, Binsc & Moo quest) and at least 6 or 7 other ones. Crom references from the Barbarian are the lamest because of howq they're used and even the famous quote (what's best in life?) is wasted here, terrible.

I think there's another optimization patch supposed to be released now (planned for end february/march) so i'd wait for it.
Or just skip the game.

As an alternative, if you're an E.U. resident, according to all the sponsors when launching the game, just ask for 2 free keys, you already paid for them through taxes.

 

[Parabalus]

If the you don't find the jokes funny should prob drop the game.

Or switch languages.

Optimization wise, i've seen worse but i've seen way way better, enemies take 10 to 30 seconds each to play their turn, ranged ones mostly 30s and specially when they don't move. 10 seconds to play, 20s to think about not moving. 30s per enemy when you face 10/15 of them is 5/7 minutes PER TURN...

Do the enemies stall for you or is it just the length of the animations?

 

[Grunker]

30 seconds..? Even without faster animations turned on I've not had an AI take turns that long (excepting the "stealth hang" that happens rarely). And with fast, it speeds by

 

[Grunker]

If the you don't find the jokes funny should prob drop the game.

I don't. I just don't care. Didn't care about Blackguards' shitty story either

 

[Darth Canoli]

Do the enemies stall for you or is it just the length of the animations?

They just stall, with minimal settings and faster animations.

 

[Grunker]

That sounds like a bug. They only stall for me once in a blue moon on stealthing

 

[Grunker]

though I am playing this on a 5900x so maybe it's a hardware thing

 

[Darth Canoli]

Also, one positive perhaps, i think the dev was a "Souterrains de Delain" late player.
It is a browser AP regeneration over time game game/RPG (without AP regen upgrades, you had to play twice a day or just once if you timed it correctly) where you explored the Donjon of Delain, 8 floors (floors were built over the years).
At first, it was a kind of free-for-all, kill everything and everyone but it evolved with guilds and turned into an explore the dungeon thing whith a nice runnic magic system where you could memorize spells and stop needing runes (for the ones you memorized).

The Main dev was Merrick but when he stopped, someone else stepped forward and at some point, a long time player, Reivax, stepped in.
So i wonder, dungeon design + Reivax seems to point toward "Les Souterrains de Delain".

I thought the game was dead but maybe it was just down for a while last time i checked a couple of years back but it's up and running, in french though.

Here's the link : Les Souterrains de Delain

Apparently, Blade is managing things now, he's one of the first players.

 

[ERYFKRAD]

If the you don't find the jokes funny should prob drop the game.

I don't. I just don't care. Didn't care about Blackguards' shitty story either

This is the way.

 

[baud]

Also, one positive perhaps, i think the dev was a "Souterrains de Delain" late player.
It is a browser AP regeneration over time game game/RPG (without AP regen upgrades, you had to play twice a day or just once if you timed it correctly) where you explored the Donjon of Delain, 8 floors (floors were built over the years).
At first, it was a kind of free-for-all, kill everything and everyone but it evolved with guilds and turned into an explore the dungeon thing whith a nice runnic magic system where you could memorize spells and stop needing runes (for the ones you memorized).

The Main dev was Merrick but when he stopped, someone else stepped forward and at some point, a long time player, Reivax, stepped in.
So i wonder, dungeon design + Reivax seems to point toward "Les Souterrains de Delain".

I thought the game was dead but maybe it was just down for a while last time i checked a couple of years back but it's up and running, in french though.

Here's the link : Les Souterrains de Delain

Apparently, Blade is managing things now, he's one of the first players.

Reivax was already a character in the original serial, though the author must have picked the name as you explained, which isn't surprising, as he was a lot into the French RPG communities.

Though I think it's the other way around: the Reivax character was introduced in the serial in the episode 14, broadcasted early 2003 and the Reivax on the forums of Souterrains de Delain created his account in July 2003.

 

[gurugeorge]

I've noticed the long wait times while the enemy mob thinks what it's going to do next. I wouldn't say it's 30 secs, or even 10, but it's definitely some annoying number of seconds sometimes.

Aren't computers supposed to be good at that sort of thing? Why is figuring out its next move taxing its poor little brain so?

 

[KateMicucci]

I only have enemies freeze up when its an archer I've bodyblocked into a corner so it cant move or shoot.

 

[Gregz]

I've noticed the long wait times while the enemy mob thinks what it's going to do next. I wouldn't say it's 30 secs, or even 10, but it's definitely some annoying number of seconds sometimes.

Aren't computers supposed to be good at that sort of thing? Why is figuring out its next move taxing its poor little brain so?

The better the AI, the more complicated the computation.

 

[Darth Canoli]

The better the AI, the more complicated the computation.

There's 0 waiting time with rats, unlike gobelins.
So it's probably a problem with skills.
I'd say skills labels and range are such a mess in their code the AI spends more time than necessary to try every combination possible.

And/or probably something similar with movement and attacks of opportunity as the AI spends most of its turn on thinking about movement and specially when it's using a ranged attack and not moving.

 

[Nortar]

I've noticed the long wait times while the enemy mob thinks what it's going to do next. I wouldn't say it's 30 secs, or even 10, but it's definitely some annoying number of seconds sometimes.

Aren't computers supposed to be good at that sort of thing? Why is figuring out its next move taxing its poor little brain so?

The better the AI, the more complicated the computation.

And the most sophisticated AI would never act, for it will arrive to existential nihilism.

 

[Rincewind]

Man, I keep dying on the Wheel of Misfortune fight on Epic difficulty, and I'm usually good with turn based games... Am I missing something??? On to my 4th retry...

 

[Watser]

Man, I keep dying on the Wheel of Misfortune fight on Epic difficulty, and I'm usually good with turn based games... Am I missing something??? On to my 4th retry...

I simply rushed them, worked pretty well.

 

[gurugeorge]

Man, I keep dying on the Wheel of Misfortune fight on Epic difficulty, and I'm usually good with turn based games... Am I missing something??? On to my 4th retry...

Do you mean the first Wheel of Fortune fight or the later one where

Spoiler

the two carnies themselves fight you

? If the latter,

Spoiler

use one of the tanks up the middle to attract the attention of the female boss (so that it doesn't matter that she charms him, and he can take a few hits), while you split the other melees into two to take the sides (left more than right, since adds will come on the left), and keep your squishies (archer nuker and healer) right at the back so they can heal and AoE for the left and plink/heal on the right, but separated by quite a distance so they don't present a target for those AoEs. That's how I did it anyhoo.

 

[ValeVelKal]

The good:

• Combat is decent to good (from level 2).
• Skills are well made and original.
  
• Some jokes are funny, about 10%
• Some interesting environmental mechanism, well, one actually in the skating rink.

On the other hand:

• A Battle Brother 2D engine would have done wonders on this game.
• Optimization wise, i've seen worse but i've seen way way better, enemies take 10 to 30 seconds each to play their turn, ranged ones mostly 30s and specially when they don't move. 10 seconds to play, 20s to think about not moving. 30s per enemy when you face 10/15 of them is 5/7 minutes PER TURN...
  
• Cooldowns ... Although, i have to admit skills are overpowered so it's not that bad in THIS game.
• JRPG design, extremely linear with a lot of backtracking (elevators alleviate it, fortunately)
• They can't stop flapping their mouths even if you turn it off in the options.
• Difficulty progression is terrible, early fights are way too hard because of enemies skills while it becomes easier and easier by the time you reach level 4 and according to the skills you're going to unlock, it's not going to stop anytime soon.
• Puzzle design is just retarded, except for one riddle so far but turning statues and playing with a set of 3-7 levers ... Seriously?
• HP bloat for the player as much as some enemies
• Oil/explosive barrels just like in DOS ... Why?
• One comment from a party member every enemy turn (until you turn it off and there's still some comments but less), of course, you'll feel like enemy turns last longer when you turn it off (even if they don't)
• References, i've seen complain about this for DOS, well, i didn't write them down but there's at least 2 BG references (aim for the eyes from the ranger, Binsc & Moo quest) and at least 6 or 7 other ones. Crom references from the Barbarian are the lamest because of howq they're used and even the famous quote (what's best in life?) is wasted here, terrible.

I think there's another optimization patch supposed to be released now (planned for end february/march) so i'd wait for it.
Or just skip the game.

As an alternative, if you're an E.U. resident, according to all the sponsors when launching the game, just ask for 2 free keys, you already paid for them through taxes.

I had the issue about the 20 seconds for enemy turns...

... until I realize it is the auto-save was wild and saving is poorly optimized. Removing the auto-save (only possible in the March patch) made fights go litterally 5 times faster.

Also, I really don't get the feedback with the BB2D engine.

 

[Rincewind]

Do you mean the first Wheel of Fortune fight or the later one where

The first one at the end of the tutorial. I've spent the whole day trying to beat it on Epic, but my party always gets obliterated... Funny thing, I can beat it easily on Ballad (Normal) difficulty, but I'm afraid things will be boring on Normal after a while.

 

[whocares]

I will not eat the bugs. I will not live in a pod. I will not use 2FA.

 

[Rincewind]

Try using bombs and consumables if you have them, I guess?

Well, I have only one bomb, maybe that's the problem. But I think I looted everything in the tutorial area.

 

[whocares]

I will not eat the bugs. I will not live in a pod. I will not use 2FA.

 

[Rincewind]

Try using bombs and consumables if you have them, I guess?

Well, I have only one bomb, maybe that's the problem. But I think I looted everything in the tutorial area.

Yeah, at that point, there's not a lot of loot/xp you could have missed, so if that fight is giving you trouble, there must be something you're missing on the mechanics level, but without standing over your shoulder it would be impossible to guess what that is.

But, the big thing is, you can adjust the game's difficulty on the fly, and it only gets easier as you go, so gradually increasing the difficulty as your team gets stronger is not that bad of an idea.

Yeah, like I said I beat it on Normal on my first attempt. I guess I'll just keep going and bump it up to Epic then if things get too easy. Cheers dude.