Game News Torment: Tides of Numenera Alpha Systems Test Launched

[Sensuki]

Yeah I pointed out that the turn animation is way too slow in my feedback, it's quite impractical.

The character generation is pretty cool though. Suits a Torment style game.

 

[Athelas]

That looks fucking awful and really tedious to play. Furthermore, the animations look clunkier and more unnatural than Sanitarium, a 17 year old game.

So I take it you'll be pirating this the first chance you get?

 

[roshan]

So I take it you'll be pirating this the first chance you get?

I don't get how the fuck these big developers are making isometric games without any fucking clue what made isometric games good in the first place.

 

[Excidium II]

I don't get how the fuck these big developers are making isometric games without any fucking clue what made isometric games good in the first place.

Same goes for everything else.

 

[J_C]

I don't get how the fuck these big developers are making isometric games without any fucking clue what made isometric games good in the first place.

What made isometric games good?

 

[Transfiguring Roar]

Yeah I pointed out that the turn animation is way too slow in my feedback, it's quite impractical.

Looks like they were going for a slightly more cinematic look to me, it's slow but smooth looking. I don't mind it.

The character generation is pretty cool though. Suits a Torment style game.

Totally agree!

 

[Crescent Hawk]

Looks like they were going for a slightly more cinematic look to me, it's slow but smooth looking. I don't mind it.



Totally agree!

I hope we can customize the main characters more than in Torment, make him use a cape and have visible weapons, like your avatar from that numanuma wallpaper. I remember I was glad when that mod came out that let you use the dustman robes for the entire game.

Other than that I like how the character creation begins, I think the writing could be a bit more, I dont know... mystical? I hope the game is not overly descriptive, but it will be hard since its a isomertic game.
This beginning kinda reminds me of Panzer Dragoon Saga.

 

[Transfiguring Roar]

I hope we can customize the main characters more than in Torment, make him use a cape and have visible weapons, like your avatar from that numanuma wallpaper. I remember I was glad when that mod came out that let you use the dustman robes for the entire game.

I have no idea if that level of customization will be in TToN. Would be nice if they manage to include it.

Other than that I like how the character creation begins, I think the writing could be a bit more, I dont know... mystical? I hope the game is not overly descriptive, but it will be hard since its a isomertic game.
This beginning kinda reminds me of Panzer Dragoon Saga.

The music, graphics and the PC's situation all contribute to a mystical atmosphere.

I'd say the writing in the AST is descriptive and practical. It's not overly descriptive.

 

[Sensuki]

Looks like they were going for a slightly more cinematic look to me, it's slow but smooth looking. I don't mind it.

I don't find it smooth either. It just looks like an unfinished animation to me When it's polished it will look good though, but for practicality's sake I think it needs to be at least 33-50% faster.

 

[Transfiguring Roar]

I don't find it smooth either. It just looks like an unfinished animation to me When it's polished it will look good though, but for practicality's sake I think it needs to be at least 33-50% faster.

Haha. :D

I find it a nice change from instant about-faces and suitable for a TB game (if it was RT, no way), but I can definitely get behind it being 33-50% faster.

 

[Daria]

No. PST is about story and writing integrated with gameplay. This is what most people tend to forget.

I think it really depends on how you decided to play it. My first run through I think I spent about 80-90% of my time reading and 10-20% on gameplay. That gameplay was also mostly just running from place to place. Different people play different ways, I was in it for the story and had little interest in the mechanics of the game.

 

[Crooked Bee]

Mortuary wasn't as text-heavy as TTON alpha.

Well, I replayed the beginning of PS:T recently and I feel like Dhall alone has at least half as much text as the T:TON alpha.

Also, in Mortuary there were dialogues with multiple responses, not just long walls of text.

So, same as in the alpha, then?

 

[Doktor Best]

Lots and lots of them in this alpha, as far as I'm concerned.

Also people aren't arguing about 'a toe and a finger'; they're arguing about whether the writers have tried to be fancy and failed. Which is, you know, a really common way for writers to fail.

Which ones would that be? I mean we can all argue the tone of some lines but that all just comes down to personal taste. And you guys act as if there is such a wide variety of super well written rpgs out there that the competition gets so tough. I think we can all say that the writers definitely put some effort into this character creation, and that the text to gameplay ratio is not vicarious for the rest of the game as far as we can tell

I think that's a slightly wrong criticism because that's actually not a descriptive passage. It's a point-of-view sentence that's supposed to convey the characters' darkly humorous realization that 'terminal' also means 'deadly'. But you're right in that it would be good writing if only it was to the fucking point. Something like:

"It suddenly strikes you that 'terminal' has another meaning, a considerably nastier one."

This is so much worse than the original text. Its overexplaining and completely lacking sublety for a minor joke like that. Sorry but if thats the understanding of "better writing" on the codex, allow me to not take the criticism on POE or the AST that serious. Youre just a fan after all, no offense.

We're talking about the 'spiritual successor to Planescape: Torment' here. When the beta hits, it will be much worse than PoE threads.

Oh yes, definitely. The butthurt will be epic, regardless of what happens. Which also means that it will not reflect the quality of the product. I think if Planescape Torment got released today, there would be a massive discussion going on on the codex wether the game fails to live up to its predecessors, and there would be atleast one rather harsh, one mixed, and one overpositive review about the game. It would never be the undisputable classic that it is today, and i dont think there will ever be any game that manages to pull that amount of unrefracted fame like PST did. Just like POE would easily be atleast top20 on codex review list if it got released in 2000.

 

[Shadenuat]

I learned my lesson with PoE (and Wasteland too one can say. And Divinity. And...), will wait 5 months after release and only then play
Ignored all backer letters and updates and flagged them in my email as spam, so I would only know name of the game and the setting

Part of me even wonders if community should stay away from game and have no say in it's development, just let devs do what they like. It's not like old RPGs were perfect to play and fine tuned for their audience, there was always some roughness about them

 

[Crescent Hawk]

I learned my lesson with PoE (and Wasteland too one can say. And Divinity. And...), will wait 5 months after release and only then play
Ignored all backer letters and updates and flagged them in my email as spam, so I would only know name of the game and the setting

Part of me even wonders if community should stay away from game and have no say in it's development, just let devs do what they like. It's not like old RPGs were perfect to play and fine tuned for their audience, there was always some roughness about them

I am enjoying this rpg renaissance, no matter what people expect from the games themselves, Wasteland 2 PoE, Shadowrun. These games were resurrected, the wheel needs to get spinning fast enough to refine them, or die all over again.

 

[Esquilax]

Oh yes, definitely. The butthurt will be epic, regardless of what happens. Which also means that it will not reflect the quality of the product. I think if Planescape Torment got released today, there would be a massive discussion going on on the codex wether the game fails to live up to its predecessors, and there would be atleast one rather harsh, one mixed, and one overpositive review about the game. It would never be the undisputable classic that it is today, and i dont think there will ever be any game that manages to pull that amount of unrefracted fame like PST did. Just like POE would easily be atleast top20 on codex review list if it got released in 2000.

"PST? Fucking railroaded weaboo with shit combat."

 

[Grape_You_In_the_Mouth]

I am enjoying this rpg renaissance, no matter what people expect from the games themselves, Wasteland 2 PoE, Shadowrun. These games were resurrected, the wheel needs to get spinning fast enough to refine them, or die all over again.

As a quick tangent, I think what we obviously need is a "Divinity" editor that actually works so we could all just make easy 2D-art-based open world games like Realmz but with even better stories. Then we need a replica of NWN-Vault so people are actually forced to supply their game information that describes the RPG experience.

What we have instead is RPGMaker desu-desu garbage and the Nexus sites which have the worst metrics and information possible for mods (or God forbid, Steam Workshop).

 

[Morality Games]

As a quick tangent, I think what we obviously need is a "Divinity" editor that actually works so we could all just make easy 2D-art-based open world games like Realmz but with even better stories. Then we need a replica of NWN-Vault so people are actually forced to supply their game information that describes the RPG experience.

What we have instead is RPGMaker desu-desu garbage and the Nexus sites which have the worst metrics and information possible for mods.

The Golden Age of user created content is over man. Now everyone helps Bethesda complete their games.

 

[Grape_You_In_the_Mouth]

No they don't because the Bethesda editors are completely impractical for games with long stories and dialogues.

 

[VladimirK]

This is so much worse than the original text. Its overexplaining and completely lacking sublety for a minor joke like that. Sorry but if thats the understanding of "better writing" on the codex, allow me to not take the criticism on POE or the AST that serious. Youre just a fan after all, no offense.

I'm not claiming I'm a genius of English writing; I'm not even a native speaker. But the original text is extremely clunky. The subtlety is there, yes; but it's drowned out by the sound the words make when they stumble over each other.

"without irony best be named"

 

[Russia is over. The end.]

WHY is it not on torrents for god's sake.

 

[Athelas]

I'm not claiming I'm a genius of English writing; I'm not even a native speaker. But the original text is extremely clunky. The subtlety is there, yes; but it's drowned out by the sound the words make when they stumble over each other.

"without irony best be named"

The bigger issue with that particular sentence is that they seem to be adhering to the Alanis Morrisette definition of 'irony'.

 

[MRY]

The bigger issue with that particular sentence is that they seem to be adhering to the Alanis Morrisette definition of 'irony'.

But it says "without irony"! So that's fine -- "irony" could mean anything there!

Also, the usage you're describing is venerable -- I myself am a prescriptivist, so I would proscribe even venerable, widespread usages that offend my middlebrow, Stunk & White education. But that's my fault, not the word's, since most of the S&W type stuff I grew up with is simply wrong. But grammar is like religion for me: it's less about its being true than about devoting yourself to an article of faith.

 

[Athelas]

But it says "without irony"! So that's fine -- "irony" could mean anything there!

That's what I meant, the sentence in question doesn't actually use irony, it implies someone could interpret 'terminal velocity' as being ironic in the given situation. Of course, that doesn't mean the author holds the same view.

On second thought, this game will probably be more enjoyable if we don't hyper-scrutinize every sentence.

 

[Grotesque]