Yeah, the more advanced visual options are only accessible at the main menu (at least in the demo), unfortunately.
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Kingdoms of Amalur demo impressions thread [Up On 360/Origin/Steam/U.S. PSN]
- Thread starter CrunchinJelly
- Start date
Yeah, the more advanced visual options are only accessible at the main menu (at least in the demo), unfortunately.
Goodacre0081
Member
Does anyone have a list of demo unlocks for the Retail version and MassEffect3? (360)
I wasn't even considering getting this game as it looked fairly generic but I'm definitely going to pick this up now, maybe not for $60 but it should be a decent buy at $30 or $40.
I wasn't even considering getting this game as it looked fairly generic but I'm definitely going to pick this up now, maybe not for $60 but it should be a decent buy at $30 or $40.
Hmm, I'm wanting to support smaller developers and all that but this demo just didn't click at all for me. Some of the guys working on the game were talking on the Bombcast about how they didn't need to do anything new with the fantasy genre, just do it well, and it just really shows in the worst way. On a creative level, this game simply bores me to no end. I am wanting to actively avoid quests and talking to people because I just want nothing to do with them. I don't care about them, I have no idea what is going on in this world or why what I'm doing matters, and looking around at stuff I just have no desire to get involved.
The combat, one of the lauded aspects of the game, feels like it has some potential but it is buried under a really translation to the keyboard and mouse. Movement just feels all wrong, and it's hard to get a solid sense of perspective of your character in relation to enemies. That issue is compounded by the rather poor targeting system (like, maybe even worse than The Witcher 2). It doesn't really help that the menu interface is a mess. And that the music and sound effects seem to jump between being absent and underwhelming. The sound becomes a real issue for the game, because it winds up leaving the world feeling rather gutted and doesn't draw attention away from the strings being pulled as the game operates.
So yeah, not really wanting to get involved with this game at all. Really let down by the demo.
The combat, one of the lauded aspects of the game, feels like it has some potential but it is buried under a really translation to the keyboard and mouse. Movement just feels all wrong, and it's hard to get a solid sense of perspective of your character in relation to enemies. That issue is compounded by the rather poor targeting system (like, maybe even worse than The Witcher 2). It doesn't really help that the menu interface is a mess. And that the music and sound effects seem to jump between being absent and underwhelming. The sound becomes a real issue for the game, because it winds up leaving the world feeling rather gutted and doesn't draw attention away from the strings being pulled as the game operates.
So yeah, not really wanting to get involved with this game at all. Really let down by the demo.
Well, with post-processing off there is certainly not FXAA during gameplay. It's possible it is one of the things jammed into PP, but I turned it off when it tried to nuke my eyeballs with bloom and it is staying off.
Proposed Law
Member
Seemed to move to fast also.
piratepwnsninja
Member
You can turn the camera speed down in the settings.
Yep. Feb is Vita month.
I enjoyed the demo. But this won't get purchased until the fall.
The game will do well though. It's not as generic as it looks on the surface. The combat works, and the world seems interesting enough.
Yeah, this is specific to the controller setup and it annoys me big time. It starts out at a slow speed and ramps up the longer you move the camera; who the hell thought that was a good idea? Why would I want a variable camera speed in such a tiny window of variability?
Proposed Law
Member
Good to know. Anyone know if I missed out on any unlocks because my game froze with 15 minutes left in the demo.
Quite liked the demo, though it didn't floor me. The game pulls from known quantities that are easy to pick out but feels snappy and fun as a whole. Unfortunately the camera is way too zoomed in, and the camera control is too loose for my tastes. Will wait for more impressions upon release, nice taste though.
Edit: Adjusting camera sensitivity in the options does help, but there's still something off about it to me. I'm fighting it to look for secrets or square up against enemies.
Edit: Adjusting camera sensitivity in the options does help, but there's still something off about it to me. I'm fighting it to look for secrets or square up against enemies.
Maleficence
Member
It may be in the PP, I played with it on. I will play again tomorrow and mess around with the settings to see what works.
The camera still needs pulling back a good 5 metres at least though.
Have about 30 minutes left on my timer, and am loving it so far. My issues with it are very minor, and may very well be fixed with the final, retail release of the game.
Much the same as others have pointed out, the camera feels weird, and it's a little too close.
The closeness doesn't bother me as much as the awkward feeling of rotating the camera.
Character movement feels a little off, as well. It's very slight, and not a big deal, but it's still pretty noticeable for me. Just feels like my character's responsiveness to analogue input isn't as tight as I'd like it to be. Again, a very minor complaint that doesn't hinder my enjoyment of the game in any significant way.
I personally love the art style of the game. I haven't played WoW, or even looked into the game at all, so the comparison isn't bothersome for me. I do love the more realistic style of Skyrim as well, but it's not something I want all the time, so it's nice to have this art style as a change of pace.
I am enjoying the combat so far, as well. It's quite simplistic right now, but that's to be expected. From what I've been reading, the combat opens up a lot more, and adds more variety. Enjoying it as I am now, I'll likely be loving it later down the line.
Playing a Rogue character right now. Will likely hybrid her with sorcery, as I picked the Dark Elf. I tend to default to this style of play. Well, it's usually a stealth/archer type, or a stealth/mage type.
Looking forward to the retail release, so I can mess around with the different destinies, and skills, and see what hybrid I come up with for my character.
Very likely day one for me. Few other games coming out in the coming weeks, but they can take a backseat to this, and await a sale before I purchase them. Been playing Skyrim on the PS3, so I've been stopped prematurely by the technical issues, and haven't had a satisfying fantasy RPG fix. Hopefully KoA:R will satiate that.
Much the same as others have pointed out, the camera feels weird, and it's a little too close.
The closeness doesn't bother me as much as the awkward feeling of rotating the camera.
Character movement feels a little off, as well. It's very slight, and not a big deal, but it's still pretty noticeable for me. Just feels like my character's responsiveness to analogue input isn't as tight as I'd like it to be. Again, a very minor complaint that doesn't hinder my enjoyment of the game in any significant way.
I personally love the art style of the game. I haven't played WoW, or even looked into the game at all, so the comparison isn't bothersome for me. I do love the more realistic style of Skyrim as well, but it's not something I want all the time, so it's nice to have this art style as a change of pace.
I am enjoying the combat so far, as well. It's quite simplistic right now, but that's to be expected. From what I've been reading, the combat opens up a lot more, and adds more variety. Enjoying it as I am now, I'll likely be loving it later down the line.
Playing a Rogue character right now. Will likely hybrid her with sorcery, as I picked the Dark Elf. I tend to default to this style of play. Well, it's usually a stealth/archer type, or a stealth/mage type.
Looking forward to the retail release, so I can mess around with the different destinies, and skills, and see what hybrid I come up with for my character.
Very likely day one for me. Few other games coming out in the coming weeks, but they can take a backseat to this, and await a sale before I purchase them. Been playing Skyrim on the PS3, so I've been stopped prematurely by the technical issues, and haven't had a satisfying fantasy RPG fix. Hopefully KoA:R will satiate that.
Yeah, unfortunately there is an unlock when the timer ends. I think it is an ME3 item unlock, I don't remember though.
Agreed. I don't really get why the camera is up so damn close with no way to manually change the distance.
cpp_is_king
Member
EA has said from the beginning that their issues with Steam specifically relate to the restrictions Steam imposes on patch distribution. Games like Battlefield or SWTOR which require patching regularly and often probably cannot live with these restrictions, while mostly single player games aren't affected by the patching process so much.
But I know it's cool to hate EA, so carry on.
Nabs
Member
F2P games on Steam use their own patcher, and everything else doesn't seem to have any problems with Steam patching. Battlefield 3 has had what, a total of 2 patches since release?
Exactly how I feel, as well.
Chugging through the demo was a strange experience for me. Within the first several rooms, I was fairly impressed with the colorful world, gameplay mechanics and production values. It almost seemed like a shoulder-cam Torchlight. However, somewhere before the troll room, I just... lost interest. I'm not really sure how to explain it, other than it seems to be missing the soul/charisma of a top-tier WRPG.
I realize it's unfair, but Skyrim (even with it's considerable faults) has set a standard in production values, that precious few titles will ever approach. It's possible I'll pick up Amalur at some point in the future but, for now, I think it's a pass.
Really not feeling this game at all. I quit with about 29 minutes left on my demo timer, I tried to give it a fair shake, played around with all the different weapons I could find. There are just too many things about this game that I don't find compelling.
The art style/graphics just look incredibly dated, good art style goes a long way, but I don't think the art style is good period. It just looks like a poor mash up of Fable & WoW. The combat has just replaced dice rolls with button mashing X & Y, and a very shitty targeting system. The camera moves way too slow even cranked up at full sensitivity, it's way too zoomed in on your character. I absolutely hate the way it black bars and zooms in the camera when you enter a conversation , it kills the immersion and just looks plain bad to me. I didn't find any of the questing or dialogue to be very compelling. Honestly, the game just gives a general feeling of "meh" all around. This feels like an MMO that was ported to the consoles and stripped of all it's online features.
/endrant. I'm pretty disappointed...I was looking forward to this game.
The art style/graphics just look incredibly dated, good art style goes a long way, but I don't think the art style is good period. It just looks like a poor mash up of Fable & WoW. The combat has just replaced dice rolls with button mashing X & Y, and a very shitty targeting system. The camera moves way too slow even cranked up at full sensitivity, it's way too zoomed in on your character. I absolutely hate the way it black bars and zooms in the camera when you enter a conversation , it kills the immersion and just looks plain bad to me. I didn't find any of the questing or dialogue to be very compelling. Honestly, the game just gives a general feeling of "meh" all around. This feels like an MMO that was ported to the consoles and stripped of all it's online features.
/endrant. I'm pretty disappointed...I was looking forward to this game.
Now I'm getting this on the PS3 version.
Proposed Law
Member
same thing happened to me and I was using a new controller.
Fired up the PC version. After the cinematic, I could hear audio but no graphics. Totally black screen. I could hit escape and bail, but just black screen. Great.
So I fire up the 360 version. Humming along. Nice mix of Fable and Dragon Age.
I perform my second stealth kill, and the game freezes. I have to manually power off my Xbox.
This game MIGHT just be a piece of shit. Sorry. Had high hopes with the pedigree behind it.
So I fire up the 360 version. Humming along. Nice mix of Fable and Dragon Age.
I perform my second stealth kill, and the game freezes. I have to manually power off my Xbox.
This game MIGHT just be a piece of shit. Sorry. Had high hopes with the pedigree behind it.
Happened to me using Keyboard/Mouse. It's some issue with the game.
piratepwnsninja
Member
Turn off post processing in the settings.
But there's a bunch of MMO's on Steam. GW, FF11, Rift, Eve, EQ2, Aion etc. They're all patched regularly too, I assume.
Loved the demo. Combat was fun and varied. Each weapon felt different. I really prefer this combat over something like Skyrim.
I liked the way different enemies behaved differently and followed different attack patterns. Fighting a group of Kobolds was different then fighting a group of wolves. It was pretty awesome how the wolves surrounded me and took turns charging at me one by one. Also, I was pretty happy when I realized that Kobolds have a 'tell' before they throw their spears (was getting pounded before that).
Looking through the ability trees and destinies I'm definitely going with a jack of all trades character. Probably going to focus on Sword/Bow or Daggers/Bow. And I think I'm going to try my first playthrough on hard difficulty.
I liked the way different enemies behaved differently and followed different attack patterns. Fighting a group of Kobolds was different then fighting a group of wolves. It was pretty awesome how the wolves surrounded me and took turns charging at me one by one. Also, I was pretty happy when I realized that Kobolds have a 'tell' before they throw their spears (was getting pounded before that).
Looking through the ability trees and destinies I'm definitely going with a jack of all trades character. Probably going to focus on Sword/Bow or Daggers/Bow. And I think I'm going to try my first playthrough on hard difficulty.
Ok, played through the PS3 demo, and can already see this game consuming a good chunk of my free time. The combat sets a new bar for the genre, and the production values are high throughout. Also, I was very surprised by the use of surround sound--everything sounded very spacial on my home theater system. I do have a few requests that I hope get addressed:
IMHO, the PS3 version runs much better than I anticipated. Aliasing is quite noticeable when you first jump in, but the effect seems to become less noticeable as time passes. The fps seem to hover around 30, with dips to mid 20's and jumps to low 40's; but the experience never becomes unplayable because of the fps fluctuating. Also, zero screen tearing. Overall, the game performs like we've come to expect with open world streaming engines on the consoles.
- Seems way too easy on the Normal setting, which then doesn't encourage you to take advantage of the robust combat system
- The addition of a combo meter or a combo counter would really add to the fun of the combat
- Make the HUD fade and/or inactive parts disappear until they're needed (some of this stems from me being a Plasma TV owner)
- Blacksmithing: after an item has been broken down, the components should be listed the next time you want to break down the same item
IMHO, the PS3 version runs much better than I anticipated. Aliasing is quite noticeable when you first jump in, but the effect seems to become less noticeable as time passes. The fps seem to hover around 30, with dips to mid 20's and jumps to low 40's; but the experience never becomes unplayable because of the fps fluctuating. Also, zero screen tearing. Overall, the game performs like we've come to expect with open world streaming engines on the consoles.
So having played the demo a decent length of time I've encountered a whole load of annoying bugs and glitches that I hope is fixed for the final product. Also I hope they give more camera options, especially the choice to zoom out a bit.
I quite like the vision of trying to make a combat system like God of War's and combining that with an RPG but I wasn't feeling that at all to be honest. The combat system is simple and felt much more like Fable to me.
I quite like the vision of trying to make a combat system like God of War's and combining that with an RPG but I wasn't feeling that at all to be honest. The combat system is simple and felt much more like Fable to me.
I enjoyed this, too (esp. the encounter with the wolves); but I also felt that, overall, there was so little threat of death that eventually (after a few hours of playtime) you would just stop caring and start mashing.
cpp_is_king
Member
That's great, but that doesn't invalidate my point, or EA's reason, because the fact of the matter is we don't know the details of the restrictions that Steam imposes.
The reason that I hear most often is Steam requires (since F2P game support) that all DLC be available on Steam, and EA don't want that.
IIRC Crysis 2 and Dragon Age 2 were removed when their DLC was close to release, so it makes sense.
I loved the demo. It was refreshing to play a rpg that ticks all the boxes. It even had something not even the 15th iteration of a Final Fantasy game has figured out yet, or other games like Skyrim. That is, being able to get out of the menu screen by just pressing a button once. No matter which layer of the menu you're currently in instead of having to press B or another button multiple times to go back to the actual game. Xenoblade also thought of this too.
Anyway, lovely graphics, interesting story and great combat system. I just hope you don't revisit places for the 458th time for side quests like in Dragon Age/Fable.
Anyway, lovely graphics, interesting story and great combat system. I just hope you don't revisit places for the 458th time for side quests like in Dragon Age/Fable.
Yeah, this is definitely a game that is meant to be played on Hard
Almost certain it's this. They do not want you to be able to buy things through the game that bypass the storefront.
I sorta side with EA on this one myself to a degree as long as Steam is not serving the data for the DLC on their bandwidth. Then again Steam's mandate keeps all of your content licences straight since it's all part of the same store.
No real right or wrong answer here.
I'm feeling the same at the moment, my $41.99 Amazon preorder for the DD version isn't looking too good now. Camera and controls feel clunky. Graphics are underwhelming. Maybe I've been spoiled by recent PC games. Hoping that at least the camera is just a demo issue and has been resolved.
Eyemus Lutt
Member
So this game is way more my style after having been really disappointed in Skyrim's horrendous combat that turned me off the game. Although it shares some slight resemblance to Fable, I prefer the openness and the more involved combat the Fable was lacking.
I thought the dialogue was your average gobbledygook fantasy stuff that goes right over my head but that be because I have no idea who the writer is even though I heard he was famous.
I thought the dialogue was your average gobbledygook fantasy stuff that goes right over my head but that be because I have no idea who the writer is even though I heard he was famous.
I understand being more impressed with Skyrim, but the whole concept of a game ruining another game is kinda batty to me. I mean, does that mean you will never enjoy another RPG again if it isn't as good as Skyrim in every way? That kinda makes me sad. :|
My issue with the camera isn't so much the speed (which is weird, but I can adjust), but that I want to invert the left/right (not up/down)
It feels backwards from most 3rd person game I play
I mentioned the camera controls on a friends facebook page... and oddly enough she was friends with a senior programmer at Big Huge who replied asking me what I thought was wrong with the camera.
That was my "wtf" moment for the week.
It feels backwards from most 3rd person game I play
I mentioned the camera controls on a friends facebook page... and oddly enough she was friends with a senior programmer at Big Huge who replied asking me what I thought was wrong with the camera.
That was my "wtf" moment for the week.
HP_Wuvcraft
Banned
AMALUR:
Reckoning Armor, Chakram Launcher (have to play the whole way through)
AMALUR UNLOCKS:
A unique Twist of Fate card, Infernal Helmet
ME3:
N7 Armor
That worked, thanks.
FateBreaker
Member
I'm pretty stunned by the amount of negative comments. I know y'all have your opinions and ways of tickling your fancy, but for a demo, I thought it really showed a lot of great stuff. The enormity and depth is equally impressive since this is the developer's first project.
Started playing the PC demo, I mostly like what little I've played of it, but I don't like the camera having some momentum (playing with a controller), as I want the camera to always rotate at the same speed, not start at a certain speed and then accelerate.
The menu does feel clunky, when going to equip items. but that's really minor.
The dialogue being drown out by the music is bad.
The invisible walls around water/etc and the no jump is really disappointing.
I dig the graphics, it's not super high def stuff, but it's pretty nice to look at and the style is just perfect for my taste: colorful and not realistic without being excessive.
I hope they'll do something about the camera for people playing with a controller.
Edit: Taking back the thing about invisible wall around water, that was just in the tutorial part. Got out of the tutorial and it's just awesome swimming. Good job!
The menu does feel clunky, when going to equip items. but that's really minor.
The dialogue being drown out by the music is bad.
The invisible walls around water/etc and the no jump is really disappointing.
I dig the graphics, it's not super high def stuff, but it's pretty nice to look at and the style is just perfect for my taste: colorful and not realistic without being excessive.
I hope they'll do something about the camera for people playing with a controller.
Edit: Taking back the thing about invisible wall around water, that was just in the tutorial part. Got out of the tutorial and it's just awesome swimming. Good job!