Underrail: The Incline Awakens

[bati]

I'm still pretty unhappy with the font changes. If Styg doesn't implement a user-friendly way to plug in our own, I'll either figure out how to hack in my own fonts, or else pay some coder to figure it out for me, then release a mod.

This change really gets me. Old font was so much nicer to look at. Feels like we went from fixedsys to fucking Times New Roman or some shit.

On an unrelated note, has anyone managed to make a successful stealth psi build? I want to play a psi char because it's one of the few specs I haven't tried at high level before but the loss of stealth is something I'm not comfortable with.

 

[Roguey]

I took a look at all the pixel hunting I'd have to do to solve the mutagen puzzle and thought helllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll no (seriously, all the mutagens should already be there and the challenge should come from solving the puzzle itself), and decided to give it a shot without (making a special save in case it proved impossible).

Night vision goggles with a 27% increase to special attacks plus NF F2500 plus armor piercing ammo plus full auto plus concentrated fire plus adrenaline shot plus blitz = say hello to my little friend

And to think some of youse said that the character I had made was "bad."

Anyway, I wouldn't call the deep caverns a bad area, just tedious with all the hunting and backtracking. I enjoyed the combat and sneaking challenges, and I've played through worse endgames.

I still stand behind the criticisms I made with http://www.rpgcodex.net/forums/inde...awakens-released.105387/page-246#post-4946975, but the content improved after the beginning. I'm now on the Underrail side of the great Underrail/AoD divide, though some of you like it way too much imo. It's pretty good, but not the greatest, and while Normal was well-balanced for my skill level, I had far more of a difficult time with Divinity: Original Sin and some of the battles in Pillars of Eternity on hard (though I suppose my tune might be different had I played a non-stealthy character on Hard). Regardless, I consider Underrail to be to Fallout what STALKER Call of Pripyat is to New Vegas.

 

[Nuclear Explosion]

Regardless, I consider Underrail to be to Fallout what STALKER Call of Pripyat is to New Vegas.

By this do you mean a somewhat similar game but with better gameplay?

 

[Roguey]

By this do you mean a somewhat similar game but with better gameplay?

Not necessarily, just a different content focus. Fallout focuses far more on socializing with people in hubs, STALKER/Underrail focuses more on killing and/or avoiding deadly things.

 

[Blaine]

By this do you mean a somewhat similar game but with better gameplay?

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA... no.

Fallout's actual combat mechanics were a junky mess, and while the character design was praised as unique and revolutionary at the time (most likely because of the expansive freeform skill system; the vast majority of cRPGs even up to now have been class-based), in reality SPECIAL was actually pretty damned awkward and littered with seldom-used skills and near-useless perks. The fact that you could control a squad was hardly even a plus, since that control was limited and their AI was horrible. Yet still, the combat was fun, and it had style too thanks to the great death animations.

Don't get me wrong: I'm an original Fallout fan. My Internet presence was slathered in animated Vault Boy avatars and sundry for years post-1997, and I've played through both games many, many times. I've sunk hundreds of hours into New Vegas. Nonetheless, Underrail's actual character customization and gameplay/combat mechanics are far superior to Fallout's.

Where Fallout shines is in its characterization, writing, and C&C. Underrail shines in its gameplay. The two are about equal in the atmosphere department.

If the strengths of the two were to be combined, you'd have the truly ultimate cRPG on your hands, unless you're the sort of person who requires fast travel and world maps I suppose.

 

[Nuclear Explosion]

By this do you mean a somewhat similar game but with better gameplay?

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA... no.

Fallout's actual combat mechanics were a junky mess, and while the character design was praised as unique and revolutionary at the time (most likely because of the expansive freeform skill system; the vast majority of cRPGs even up to now have been class-based), in reality SPECIAL was actually pretty damned awkward and littered with seldom-used skills and near-useless perks. The fact that you could control a squad was hardly even a plus, since that control was limited and their AI was horrible. Yet still, the combat was fun, and it had style too thanks to the great death animations.

Don't get me wrong: I'm an original Fallout fan. My Internet presence was slathered in animated Vault Boy avatars and sundry for years post-1997, and I've played through both games many, many times. I've sunk hundreds of hours into New Vegas. Nonetheless, Underrail's actual character customization and gameplay/combat mechanics are far superior to Fallout's.

Where Fallout shines is in its characterization, writing, and C&C. Underrail shines in its gameplay. The two are about equal in the atmosphere department.

If the strengths of the two were to be combined, you'd have the truly ultimate cRPG on your hands, unless you're the sort of person who requires fast travel and world maps I suppose.

You misunderstood my post. CoP obviously has better combat than NV, so I was wondering if Roguey meant the same about Underrail compared to Fallout.

 

[Blaine]

Yeah, I must have gotten the polarities reversed somewhere along the line.

 

[Latelistener]

I'm now on the Underrail side of the great Underrail/AoD divide, though some of you like it way too much imo.

I would like to like both games, but AoD with all this skill check faggotry is driving me insane.

 

[Blaine]

Don't you dare talk shit about Age of Teleportation.

The "rivalry" between Underrail and AoD fans is bizarre, obnoxious, and sometimes amusing. I've been bitched at before for praising Underrail too much while virtually ignoring AoD.

And yet, witness this non-Codexer Steam friend who never would have known about AoD nor played it had I not purchased it for him:

 

[Black Angel]

Roguey HOT DAMN YOU DID IT, BRO!
And no, those ain't bad build. One level short from my character's when I first finished Underrail, but your build was most focused, unlike mine who put points where I shouldn't and spread it too thin

As to Underrail's 'problems', I really wouldn't call those problems IMO, since as many have said you could easily get rid of those 'problems' as you go on through it. Of course, we can agree that the lack of sprint feature is absolutely obnoxious.

The 'problems' of Underrail only really become 'problems' as they are extrapolated by the overall design of Deep Caverns and the intention behind it, like the obnoxious backtracks from the Power Station to the various areas of Hollow Earth (IMO the #1 problem in Deep Caverns that made the lack of sprint feature even more jarring than ever) and infinite respawn (I can only imagine what non-stealthers would feel when the clocks starts ticking and before they know it, they are surrounded by Tchortlings). Add to that the extremely strange way to finish one of the mandatory quest, you get one of the strangest strangely designed endgame area.

 

[Blaine]

Underrail's biggest issue is that its story, characters, and dialogue don't "pop" enough. I can't say that some of the characters aren't memorable, because they certainly are; RHK is definitely memorable, and his lair is cool and pretty unique.

The "everyday" NPCs and such in Underrail are completely fine. The old man with his dogs deep inside the Junkyard mutie territory is a good example of a competently written, appropriately atmospheric, but ultimately relatively unimportant and non-impactful NPC you could easily find in Fallout or Fallout 2. The problem as I see it is that Underrail doesn't really have "superstar" characters, plotlines, or C&C, nor does it have the sharp edge that was Fallout's pitch-perfect black humor. It's all just pretty competent, and that's not going to get any of the storyfags yanking their cranks and crying tears of admiration.

 

[Black Angel]

Underrail's biggest issue is that its story, characters, and dialogue don't "pop" enough.

To me, on the contrary, it's not an issue at all; in fact, it's one of its' strength. Maybe quite weak in the writings side, but the presentation was neat and subtle enough for me to discover the story, the world, and the characters on my own. But then, I'm also a Soulsborne games lover, so that's just storyfag-LARPer side of me trying to justify the story

The old man with his dogs deep inside the Junkyard mutie territory is a good example of a competently written, appropriately atmospheric, but ultimately relatively unimportant and non-impactful NPC you could easily find in Fallout or Fallout 2.

Yeah, this is certainly one of the issues discussed before. However, I imagine Styg and co have some plans for him in the future. After all, we got the outposts properly re-occupied now; and some interaction with M'lan Ratula on top of that! Oh, and also Ol' Jonas finally spilling his story from when he was in Deep Caverns.

Now, some more updates as I go through the game with an old save:

Spoiler

1. The Foundry mines are now properly re-occupied too; and the mine workers consists of new, different sprites!
2. Speaking of new sprites, I've encountered at least two NPCs with different sprites and new portrait, which is Gunnar Edstrom of JKK and Marcos Banti of the Foundry Mines. In case of Marcos Banti, he possess the same sprite and portrait with a new Foundry mine worker, so I'm not sure if Gunnar (and maybe several other NPCs with their new sprite and portrait) have their own unique to them instead of sharing it with others (like Azif)

On the other hand, I've also encountered some stuff that's different than what was stated in the wiki, and also maybe some weird bug that I guess I would be posting on Underrail forums. Overall, it's , especially if you're storyfags.

 

[RKade8583]

So... this seems like the best place to post this.

I bought this game after lurking for 30 minutes on RPGCodex. I had bought Torment and returned it because of the issues I found out about concerning the devs and their practices. I had started PoE (finally) and was... kinda meh about it. Then I started sniffing around the other forums and found this game. I watched some reviews/LPs and picked it up.

A good game can grip me in 30 seconds. This one did.

Also, thank you for offering font options. Thank you so goddamn much.

 

[Blaine]

For the record: Fuck Burrowers. One of them is tolerable, two is nearly impossible to beat. Not to mention those damn little ankle bitters they spawn. I need to load up on antidote!

Step 1: Equip Shield Emitter

That's actually the only step. Burrowers are the premier "Wow, I'm so glad I have this now!" enabler for shields.

But there's another insectoid that's not so easily countered....

 

[Roguey]

Overall, it's , especially if you're storyfags.

On this note, I was unhappy with the direction Vera took SGS in my absence, so for fun, I decided to see what would happen if I killed her (and everyone else in my way) before taking the train out of there.

No change in the ending slide, it still mentions Vera's leadership.

The problem as I see it is that Underrail doesn't really have "superstar" characters, plotlines, or C&C, nor does it have the sharp edge that was Fallout's pitch-perfect black humor.

My favorite writing moments were the obsessive looter and the romance set-up that gets yanked away with the JKK quest line (also related, "I have no daughter.").

I simultaneously laughed and rolled my eyes at the Lebowski reference in Rail Crossing. That was very Fallout-y.

 

[golgo21]

are rapid reloaders anywhere as standard loot?shops dont seem to sell them,i have left the game open for hours for the sellers to reset the stuff they sell but no luck,i have tried blaine,sgs armory,junkyard,foundry,core city the last shop i havent tried are the corp ones but i havent progress too far into the preatorian quest lne to unlock it.

 

[Lhynn]

I would like to like both games, but AoD with all this skill check faggotry is driving me insane.

AoD is a fine CYOA. Impressive in the same way that boyhood was:

 

[Black Angel]

On this note, I was unhappy with the direction Vera took SGS in my absence, so for fun, I decided to see what would happen if I killed her (and everyone else in my way) before taking the train out of there.

No change in the ending slide, it still mentions Vera's leadership.

Definitely. Hell, if you wipe out a certain raider/gang faction, they STILL appear in the ending slide, fucking up a certain settlement if you didn't help the certain settlement in the way they wanted you to.

Fallout 1 and Fallout 2 doesn't have ending slide when you kill everybody (although you can still fuck them up if you do things in certain ways), but New Vegas definitely had ending slides when you kill everybody. Why didn't Styg (and just about other developers aside from Toby Fox with Undertale) do this with Underrail was a bummer. Most probably due to the man had priorities set from the very beginning, and I hope new ending slides are somewhere down that line of priorities (hopefully sooner).

 

[Black Angel]

are rapid reloaders anywhere as standard loot?shops dont seem to sell them,i have left the game open for hours for the sellers to reset the stuff they sell but no luck,i have tried blaine,sgs armory,junkyard,foundry,core city the last shop i havent tried are the corp ones but i havent progress too far into the preatorian quest lne to unlock it.

I remembered encountering them as loot. So yes, you should bump into them when going into abandoned compounds like GMS and the basement of Depot A. You're probably not lucky all those times going into the shops but not finding them, because armory/weapon traders definitely would have one most of the time.

 

[golgo21]

Well I just used the speed hack and finally found one,I was lvl 9 when I starter searching for 1 and now I'm lvl 14 lol.I mean I regularly found all other crafting components but this for some reason didn't show up.how can I increase the chance for certain components to show up?

 

[The Brazilian Slaughter]

Played some today, mostly went to and fro selling stuff. Also fishing.

Brought a sweet tactical overcoat and a all-psi headband. I'm probably bulletproof now, think I'm gonna take a trip to Lower Underrail and dare these antropophages to take shots at me.
Sold a bunch of crap too. I had a lot of crap stored, partly because I lacked knowledge to buy things and because I was waiting for better gear. GSM and Lower Underrail left A LOT of loot, like a fuckload. Shit, I still have shit in GSM I could't carry and left in a locker, gonna take another trip there when I get into the GSM vault to kill Burrowers.

Its just me or making Psi Boosters and Health Hypos barely worth it?

Also, is there any weapon that is worth it as a reserve for a pure-psi characters? Sometimes I run out of psi but still have APs to make a attack. I've heard about grenades, is it worth it to thrown grenades with 0 skill or am I just gonna blow myself up?

 

[Jazz_]

I have never invested any point in ''throwing'' and used the nades extensively, they are a bit imprecise and there's the risk of blowing yourself up from time to time, but that's about it, nades are still going roughly where you throw them most of the time rather than to your feet.

 

[The Brazilian Slaughter]

I have never invested any point in ''throwing'' and used the nades extensively, they are a bit imprecise and there's the risk of blowing yourself up from time to time, but that's about it, nades are still going roughly where you throw them most of the time rather than to your feet.

Thanks! I have traumatic memories of throwing grenades in Fallout and having them end up in my feet!

Alright, so using grenades with zero skill in using grenades is go! This is going to be *Fun!

 

[Sykar]

Don't you dare talk shit about Age of Teleportation.

The "rivalry" between Underrail and AoD fans is bizarre, obnoxious, and sometimes amusing. I've been bitched at before for praising Underrail too much while virtually ignoring AoD.

And yet, witness this non-Codexer Steam friend who never would have known about AoD nor played it had I not purchased it for him:

It is weird because both are good games and there is no need for rivalry anyway. Also both are affordable to a relatively low price so getting both is not very costly either.

 

[Blaine]

On the plus side, AoD fans are extraordinarily easy to troll.