metalmaniac21;n7947240 said:
Huh? Please elaborate.
Regardless of what that's supposed to mean, I played it for around 3 hours and can't find anything wrong with it. The conversations and interactions are not only very well written, but lead to a series of character talent and choice dependent paths. In only the first two areas (after the intro/tutorial) I've spent these 3 hours primarily exploring, interacting with devices using my chosen talents and reading into people's motives, manipulating/persuading/motivating them and recovering lost memories. If that's not exactly what we wanted, it's pretty damn close.
Graphically it also looks great, at least as good as Pillars of Eternity.
A joke about nu-males. I actually staring at character creation screen, still can't decide which one to build.volsung;n7948550 said:
Played a bit longer. Chose the ability to read surface thoughts from the beginning, and it has been very informative. It's interesting how many characters act a certain way but this ability lets you know more about their true intentions and act accordingly. During one confrontation, it also gave me a dialogue line that surprised and convinced some guy without having to spend any effort points.
So far very, very well written and with multiple relevant interactions. Good art and music. Very pleased.
Oh and very cool and refreshing character system and rules, a nice change from the straight forward, fantasy worlds and rules ripped off of Forgotten Realms. BTW, I'm playing an observant nano.
So far very, very well written and with multiple relevant interactions. Good art and music. Very pleased.
Oh and very cool and refreshing character system and rules, a nice change from the straight forward, fantasy worlds and rules ripped off of Forgotten Realms. BTW, I'm playing an observant nano.
Me too, Perception in combination with Scan Thoughts was just too good to pass up on for getting probably the most out of conversations.volsung;n7952320 said:
The dominant tides of my perceptive, thought reading, observant nano are blue and (I think) indigo, but gold might be getting close. The really good writing makes me actually want to help others some times. Guess we're just playing the same character!
By the way read this in a Kotaku review: "Numenera is more of a choose-your-own adventure than an RPG". Huh!? They probably mean there aren't random thugs around every corner and tons of random loot. Because that's what role playing is all about.
By the way read this in a Kotaku review: "Numenera is more of a choose-your-own adventure than an RPG". Huh!? They probably mean there aren't random thugs around every corner and tons of random loot. Because that's what role playing is all about.
schinderhannes.999 , volsung We have to compare decisions at a later point againvolsung;n7954930 said:
volsung;n7954930 said:
German Gamestar called it a novel with RPG elements (gave it a very good rating, too), which is not too far off the mark, I'd say. Choose your own adventure is also not too bad, actually. I mean, that's what choice and consequence is all about, actually.
M4xw0lf;n7954990 said:
I think calling a game like this or PS:T a book in game form, or saying it resembles a choose-your-own-adventure book, aren't bad descriptors at all but I don't like how these reviewers assume these elements make it less of a game or less of an RPG. As in, "a novel with RPG elements". Is TW3 a "movie with RPG elements"? No, they are both games. One uses animated cutscenes, the other text, to achieve similar purposes.
Choose-your-own-adventure books don't require character skills, abilities and background to determine situations and the success and outcome of actions. If they did, and therefore included the ruleset and mechanics to do so, they would become games. I think the closest thing to "choose your own adventure" in digital form are Telltale's modern adventure games.
The fact that everyone keeps suggesting or flat out saying this is essentially different, "a book with RPG elements" and so on is very irritating because the core gameplay mechanics are the purest forms of role-playing. It just happens, most content is presented in text form instead of cinematic action scenes. If we don't consider decision- and tactics-driven gameplay as real gameplay, then turn-based strategy and puzzle games are not real, and we would be left with only reactive, reflex-driven action games like shooters and platformers. What happens with action "RPG's" then? I guess they are just "carpal tunnel generators with RPG elements". And let's not forget silent films, or "telegrams with film elements".
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12 hours in, reaction tides between and:eredinfacepalm:. The in-game tides so far didn't really affect anyfin', as they might should at least somehow affect npc reaction and response lines. Interest in side quests slowly faded away, which is not a healthy thing for a cRPG. Can't see or recognize all this earth-billion-years-fastfoward jazz, more like reinvented Age of Decadence but with modern art school on loose instead of Roman empire. Kayran's offspring in da jar serves as one of the more blatant examples.
and:eredinfacepalm:. The in-game tides so far didn't really affect anyfin', as they might should at least somehow affect npc reaction and response lines. Interest in side quests slowly faded away, which is not a healthy thing for a cRPG. Can't see or recognize all this earth-billion-years-fastfoward jazz, more like reinvented Age of Decadence but with modern art school on loose instead of Roman empire. Kayran's offspring in da jar serves as one of the more blatant examples.
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I'm playing as a graceful nano, which got selected after the intro encounters. I decided to put scanning thoughts to a later playthrough, since it can have quite as a major effect on decision making.
Well I definitely haven't played 12 hours yet, but the game is still interesting.
About the tides, in the beginning they keep shifting but eventually settle. I was also wondering what difference they make but once you unlock tidal surge (yes, somebody must teach you this talent) there are powerful conversation options dependent on your tide. Already used this once and the outcome was drastic and very unexpected. NPC reaction does not have to be linked to tides, since they substitute alignment (even D&D NPC's cannot know a priori whether a character is good or evil) and only castoffs are capable of consciously using the tides. NPC reaction could depend on reputation, like in Pillars of Eternity. Don't know yet if there is anything like this in Torment.
And regarding the quests that I've found and completed, I still think they are interesting. One such "side quest" leads to a potential companion and learning a talent. One particularly noteworthy thing in this game is that pretty much every named NPC has an entire dialogue tree, with potentially interesting content. I've spent hours talking and interacting with stuff in only three areas: Reef of fallen worlds, Circus minor and Cliff's Edge. That's only about 50% of the first city.
I suppose this game is somewhat of an adventure cRPG, in the sense that the main components are exploration, interaction and narrative (like in a classic adventure game). These are also the foundations of most "pen and paper" RPG's. I should probably wait and see how things develop, but so far I really like it. Am I the only one?
About the tides, in the beginning they keep shifting but eventually settle. I was also wondering what difference they make but once you unlock tidal surge (yes, somebody must teach you this talent) there are powerful conversation options dependent on your tide. Already used this once and the outcome was drastic and very unexpected. NPC reaction does not have to be linked to tides, since they substitute alignment (even D&D NPC's cannot know a priori whether a character is good or evil) and only castoffs are capable of consciously using the tides. NPC reaction could depend on reputation, like in Pillars of Eternity. Don't know yet if there is anything like this in Torment.
And regarding the quests that I've found and completed, I still think they are interesting. One such "side quest" leads to a potential companion and learning a talent. One particularly noteworthy thing in this game is that pretty much every named NPC has an entire dialogue tree, with potentially interesting content. I've spent hours talking and interacting with stuff in only three areas: Reef of fallen worlds, Circus minor and Cliff's Edge. That's only about 50% of the first city.
I suppose this game is somewhat of an adventure cRPG, in the sense that the main components are exploration, interaction and narrative (like in a classic adventure game). These are also the foundations of most "pen and paper" RPG's. I should probably wait and see how things develop, but so far I really like it. Am I the only one?
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Same here, about 9-10 hours in, and so far have covered the Reef of Fallen Worlds, Circus Minor, Government Square, the Underbelly and just got to the Caravanserai via a backdoor of some sorts, with yet another strange apparatus/numenera waiting to be tinkered with. Went through the first mere and picked up a cutthroat companion of a certain complexion along the way as well.
Tides-wise I must have chosen and done things mostly according to the role of the knowledge-seeking mystic/scientist/philosopher I'm role-playing. Up to this point I can't say that I noticed any change or shift from being blue as a man can be. Then again, I don't pay much attention to how or if tide attunement affects dialogue options (and vice versa) at all. Turning off the feedback (the notification when a shift in the Tides occurs) was one of the first things I did before even starting the game. I wish there'd be an option for turning off other meta-information like the 'Deception', 'Persuasion' or 'Tidal Affinity: Surge' tags (like in PoE) too.
Side activities so far have been the bread and butter of TToN, as far as I'm concerned. With the over-arching main plot deliberately being kept mysterious and fed to you in little bits and pieces they also have to. Good variety too. From smaller, more linear and simple tasks with only minimal leeway in regards to approach and resolution to proper secondary quests with up to half a dozen, wildly different possible ways for initiating, progressing and concluding them, often with the seemingly 'worst' approach still leading to a surprisingly reasonable outcome.
Must have spent a considerable amount of those 9-10 hours alone on examining, fiddling around with ancient machines, and exhausting every single dialogue I'd come by, too. Nets you the occasional 2 or 3XP as well, which, as far as I'm concerned isn't necessary but I guess a nice little extra appreciation for taking the time to read the shit out of everything.
Was also pleasantly surprised by how the writers avoided to bury you in exposition (of the annoying, hand-holding sort you get your nose rubbed in), considering the omnipresent weirdness and frequent inexplicableness of the Ninth World. There are still moments when it's blatantly obvious that explanatory info-dumping is occurring, but for the most part you are kept in the delicious dark and have to put two and two together on your own. Then again, I also refrain from reading the detailed quest log entries in the journal too and just 'go with the flow', so to speak. In regards to utterly failing attribute/skill checks or having to live with unfortunate consequences to my choices as well, by the way. An Iron Man-like mode with only one game save wouldn't be totally out of place in TToN, I think.
Apart from the initial encounter with The Sorrow I also have yet to resort to violence again. Makes you wonder if it's the writing and the unambiguity of the dialogue options that are very likely to lead to a crisis (besides the obvious 'Attack' tag) or if it's just the RNG playing along so far.
Still not a happy camper in regards to the cluttered HUD (in certain scenarios) and the general 'consolified' look-and-feel of the overall UI though.
Being able to deactivate or hide a few things in the current version (Tides feedback, Crisis objectives, Selection circles, Interactables during crises) is a start but, as far as I'm concerned could absolutely be extended to include other HUD elements as well. Like the too extravagant name tags (the extravagant part of them at least) or the, except for the first two or three times, superfluous OSDs relentlessly reminding you that clicking LMB will let you talk to an NPC or examine a numenera. Well, duh.
Tides-wise I must have chosen and done things mostly according to the role of the knowledge-seeking mystic/scientist/philosopher I'm role-playing. Up to this point I can't say that I noticed any change or shift from being blue as a man can be. Then again, I don't pay much attention to how or if tide attunement affects dialogue options (and vice versa) at all. Turning off the feedback (the notification when a shift in the Tides occurs) was one of the first things I did before even starting the game. I wish there'd be an option for turning off other meta-information like the 'Deception', 'Persuasion' or 'Tidal Affinity: Surge' tags (like in PoE) too.
Side activities so far have been the bread and butter of TToN, as far as I'm concerned. With the over-arching main plot deliberately being kept mysterious and fed to you in little bits and pieces they also have to. Good variety too. From smaller, more linear and simple tasks with only minimal leeway in regards to approach and resolution to proper secondary quests with up to half a dozen, wildly different possible ways for initiating, progressing and concluding them, often with the seemingly 'worst' approach still leading to a surprisingly reasonable outcome.
Must have spent a considerable amount of those 9-10 hours alone on examining, fiddling around with ancient machines, and exhausting every single dialogue I'd come by, too. Nets you the occasional 2 or 3XP as well, which, as far as I'm concerned isn't necessary but I guess a nice little extra appreciation for taking the time to read the shit out of everything.
Was also pleasantly surprised by how the writers avoided to bury you in exposition (of the annoying, hand-holding sort you get your nose rubbed in), considering the omnipresent weirdness and frequent inexplicableness of the Ninth World. There are still moments when it's blatantly obvious that explanatory info-dumping is occurring, but for the most part you are kept in the delicious dark and have to put two and two together on your own. Then again, I also refrain from reading the detailed quest log entries in the journal too and just 'go with the flow', so to speak. In regards to utterly failing attribute/skill checks or having to live with unfortunate consequences to my choices as well, by the way. An Iron Man-like mode with only one game save wouldn't be totally out of place in TToN, I think.
Apart from the initial encounter with The Sorrow I also have yet to resort to violence again. Makes you wonder if it's the writing and the unambiguity of the dialogue options that are very likely to lead to a crisis (besides the obvious 'Attack' tag) or if it's just the RNG playing along so far.
Still not a happy camper in regards to the cluttered HUD (in certain scenarios) and the general 'consolified' look-and-feel of the overall UI though.
Being able to deactivate or hide a few things in the current version (Tides feedback, Crisis objectives, Selection circles, Interactables during crises) is a start but, as far as I'm concerned could absolutely be extended to include other HUD elements as well. Like the too extravagant name tags (the extravagant part of them at least) or the, except for the first two or three times, superfluous OSDs relentlessly reminding you that clicking LMB will let you talk to an NPC or examine a numenera. Well, duh.
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Whatever they are, tides are abstract (plot) device, no real connection between color and force of their impact. ¯\(°_o)/¯
14 hours and the end. I'm not impressed, really. Bloom is kinda cool and have nostalgic vibes of Sigil, other than that pretty meh for a PS:T inheritor.
14 hours and the end. I'm not impressed, really. Bloom is kinda cool and have nostalgic vibes of Sigil, other than that pretty meh for a PS:T inheritor.
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What's the matter, dialogue options that suggest applying a tide doesn't write the color at all. I came to various NPCs and tentacles in Bloom with either Golden, Blue or Indigo. (they were close enough so I could grind a bit to tweak one of the being dominant over others) And why should they, it's just reinvented and overhyped affinity system, vast and depth of a puddle. And no one told me, sure not in-game.M4xw0lf;n7968860 said:
If T:ToN aims to represent the Numenera P&P in a videogame form, then InXile did stunning anti-advertisment for it.
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I'll give the game a thumbs up for the environments - very compelling and original art design.
I find that I can only play it in one to two hour sessions, however. I realize that this is an old school isometric RPG, but the amount of text seems excessive even for that genre. I feel like I'm being asked to read a novel every two to three minutes, when what I would really like to be doing is exploring these interesting locals that they have invested so much time in creating. Perhaps they should have created less dialogue, but invested money in V/O work. More is not always better.
PS4 controls handle pretty well. Nothing to really complain about on that front, though its taking a while to figure out how all of the different abilities work together.
I find that I can only play it in one to two hour sessions, however. I realize that this is an old school isometric RPG, but the amount of text seems excessive even for that genre. I feel like I'm being asked to read a novel every two to three minutes, when what I would really like to be doing is exploring these interesting locals that they have invested so much time in creating. Perhaps they should have created less dialogue, but invested money in V/O work. More is not always better.
PS4 controls handle pretty well. Nothing to really complain about on that front, though its taking a while to figure out how all of the different abilities work together.
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