albion update

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Wouter Groeneveld 2023-01-01 11:01:18 +01:00
parent 6d6394d1c2
commit 93476b6d2e
1 changed files with 3 additions and 3 deletions

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@ -33,7 +33,7 @@ Are these two screenshots coming from the same game? Really? _Really?_ Yup, and
That's _five_ different viewpoints the game has to offer! And you know what they say about the jack of all trades... In viewpoint #1, you can't interact with anything longer than two grid elements beyond your party leader. Clicking on something a bit further away is (frustratingly) impossible. But there's a shop stealing glitch if you quickly run up to stuff---which I gladly made use of, even though it ultimately didn't really help. There's also no map. In viewpoint #2, the crude graphics don't do the year 1995 justice. Don't try to turn too quickly or you'll get seasick. But hey, there's a map! I hope you bought that expensive compass! In viewpoint #3, every action requires rightclicks that get cancelled out if the target dies, turning even simple fights into a battle with the UI. In viewpoint #4, animations like mass freezes play out slowly again and again with no way to skip them. In viewpoint #5, you move very slow, every exotic tree looks the same, and the map disappears.
The initial wonder and excitement for all that freshness wears of pretty quickly once you realize that none of the mechanics have been implemented well enough. I got lost constantly and didn't even find the first dungeon without [the help](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mNpds21F8Bo) of another Dos Game Club member. The FPS sections make me want to replay [Might & Magic VI](/games/pc/might-and-magic-vii/)--VIII, where item and skill stats were at least consistent, and where I could clearly see why visiting trainers was needed.
The initial wonder and excitement for all that freshness wears of pretty quickly once you realize that none of the mechanics have been implemented well enough. I got lost constantly and didn't even find the first dungeon without [the help](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mNpds21F8Bo) of another Dos Game Club member. The FPS sections make me want to replay [Might & Magic VI](/games/pc/might-and-magic-vii/)--VIII, where item and skill stats were at least consistent, and where I could clearly see why visiting trainers was needed. I realize I'm doing the game a disservice by mentioning the crude FPS look, and of course in a good RPG that doesn't matter, provided the RPG mechanics are sound and draw you in. They're not.
![](stats.jpg "Tom's stats and backpack.")
@ -43,11 +43,11 @@ Even worse, optional elements in the game seem to be of paramount importance to
> [...] Frost Avalanche is Angel Summoner---it makes battles that would be dangerous into very easy encounters, and ones that would be impossible into just medium difficulty. And the trouble is that I cant imagine the game being playable without it---on the third island, you start getting gigantic hordes of 10+ enemies at once which would quickly overwhelm you without being able to freeze them all and pick them off without them retaliating. I cant make a guess at how much grinding it would take to make the game feasible otherwise.
That might explain my frustration. Not too worry though, Tom got diseased after a poisonous attack from wasps (version III, I might add). It turns out that this permanently reduces certain stat/skill points. I had to read that somewhere, I was blissfully unaware of this! Seven hours in, after getting tired of having to run back and forth to a healer, I simply gave up. Potions cost `10gp` a pop, I was running dangerously low on funds, and then my big axe broke, which required another `150gp` to repair (and a long hike back to the smithy)---that's a fortune!
That might explain my frustration. Not too worry though, Tom got diseased after a poisonous attack from wasps (version III, I might add). It turns out that this permanently reduces certain stat/skill points. I found this information on the forums somewhere, I was blissfully unaware of this! Seven hours in, after getting tired of having to run back and forth to a healer, I simply gave up. Potions cost `10gp` a pop, I was running dangerously low on funds, and then my big axe broke, which required another `150gp` to repair (and a long hike back to the smithy)---that's a fortune!
![](dungeon.jpg "Welcome to generic dungeon #2. Note the dev avatar on the right: that's god mode!")
Drirr, one of the Iskai warriors, pretty much carried the whole party together with Tom's fancy decorated sword. Rainer, a scientist that crashed with me on this strange land, is very much a useless meatshield that gets himself incapacitated every odd battle. Then you have your mages that require seeds to cast stuff which are powerful if you've leveled them up and keep them hydrated using expensive red potions that restore mind points.
Drirr, one of the Iskai warriors, pretty much carried the whole party together with Tom's fancy decorated sword. Rainer, a scientist that crashed with me on this strange land, is very much a useless meatshield that gets himself incapacitated every odd battle. Then you have your mages that require seeds to cast stuff which are powerful if you've leveled them up and keep them hydrated using expensive red potions that restore mind points. I love the tech/magic mixup that lends the game its unique atmosphere, but in Wizardry or Arcanum, at least the tech-oriented party members were useful.
Combat isn't fun. Dungeon crawling can be but the maddening difficulty and the hit and run tactics slow needlessly down the pace of the game. All things considered, that's too bad, since what Albion is trying to bring is quite cool: unique races, a struggle VS humans, Celtic influences, lush greenery, and a focus on storytelling (that's dry and long-winded). To me, none of these things really matter if the core gameplay isn't up to snuff. I wish Blue Byte stuck to one or two mechanics and really perfected those, like in either Ultima or Might & Magic, instead of frantically trying to reinvent the genre by throwing everything together into a hodgepodge that ultimately turns into uninteresting brown drab.