A few comments.

[Aquelius]

Hey, I've got a few comments about the demo. I've been following the forums for a long time (since about August of last year), but this is my first time posting.

For starters, once I'm actually in the game, all sound disappears for me. I'm not sure why this would happen, but it does. I can hear the theme song just fine, but once I'm actually on the field...nothing.

Another thing that struck me as odd was that there was no way to change the visual detail. Am I just missing it, or are resolution and shadow rendering all you can change?

Am I the only one who finds himself making good use of the resurrect button? It seems like the dexterity requirements are so high on a lot of the newbie monsters, especially that goblin that tries to trick you, that you have to pour so many points into DEX that you are forced to neglect a lot of your important stats (Like Agility and Strength and for my Warrior.) If the enemies weren't quite as hard to hit, the combat would feel a lot more fluid, and I'd feel like when I swing at an enemy, I stand a decent chance of actually hurting him, instead of feeling like I'm rolling the behind-the-scenes dice that control the world.

I hear this game being compared to Diablo II and Dungeon Siege an awful lot, and I feel that with the right amount of polish and balance, this game has the potential to be the next game on the "Legendary Action-RPG" list. I really want to see this game live up to its potential, and I see a lot of promise in what I've played so far. I especially like the decision to allow co-operative multiplayer play. That's one thing I feel is missing from too many of the games that come out today.

I don't want to speak for everyone on the forum, but I, for one, am willing to wait while the necessary polish is put on this game. I'm sure there are some that want the game, and they want it *now*, but I am not one of those people. I can tell that a lot of effort has been put into this game, and it would be a shame not to see it live up to what it could be. :D

[Narserke]

Yes, right now that is the one option in the demo that is changable, if even that..in fact I think no options are changable. I don't remember which, so it's better to just stay out of the options menu in the demo.

I didn't poor that much more into dexterity then into anything else, and it wasn't really that hard to beat whatever his name is..you just have to move around a lot..don't just stand there and wack at him till he dies..don't try to just stand there and see if you can damage him faster then he damages you..if that is what you are doing. In this game, you have to invest points in various skills to get some improvement out of them..if you don't put points into skills, then you will die a lot. Make sure you are doing that, which I assume you are if you messing with your attributes. Don't wear anything with a penalty, or use a weapon with a penalty..that will affect your movement and ability to hit..i didn't use anything with a penalty, and I got through fine..it might help.

I am just trying to give you everything I can think of to help you, since I don't know how you've built up your warrior thus far, and what equipment you are wearing...so i don't mean to treate you like you've never played an rpg or game before. One last suggestion, since you seem to be putting a lot in dexterity, that might actually be the problem..you need strength to wear armor and use sword effectively, and agility helps you move around better in combat, and vitality..well you know what they do..just don't put them all into one thing at the cost of the others..

[Aquelius]

You make a good point. Maybe I am pouring too much into DEX. I just noticed that unless I did that, I ended up swinging at air, even when my weapon in-game went through the body of the enemy. You're right in assuming I wasn't moving around much. I was just trying to get the hang of aiming my weapon. Eventually, I beat the troll, but not before dying a considerable number of times. Thanks for the tips. I'll definitely try that when I get the chance!

[Narserke]

You mean goblin right, Scortch? another little tip that could help you..ice spells freeze opponents in place as well as doing cold damage..so setting an ice spell up in your quick spell menu, cast it on a tough or quick enemy, and then switch back to melee after you cast it and they are froozen, and slash and hack away at them until the freezing wears off, then back away and switch back to the icespell, i used iceball..keep doing this back and forth until it kills them..it really worked for me on a tought enemy that is at the end of the demo.

also, your sword going through them sounds like a bug maybe?

this combat style may be hard for some peole to get used too..because everyone may be used to diablo 2 where you click on an enemy to attack it, as opposed to games like gothic 2 and jedi academy, where they is no target reticle, and you just have to get in close, swing your weapons and do combos, and then jump back and move around so they can't hit you..and use your shield..hold it up when dealing with archers until you get close enough to hit them..but yeah fighting enemies like scortch is a dance really..go in attack, back up, let him attack, you dodge or block, and then when he backs up you attack..i mean find your own style..but you get the idea.

[redman5427]

You fix the sound in demo by doing start... run dxdiag... then go into sounds and turn off sound acel. you must have a soundblaster card like me

[onewolf]

you don't have to turn hardware acceleration off, just down one notch. instructions for this in detail are in the tech support forum.

[Aquelius]

Thanks for the replies, guys. Actually, I've played Gothic II briefly, and I beat the heck out of Jedi Academy (And Dark Forces, Jedi Knight, Jedi Outcast...you get the picture), and I'm pretty well versed in the hit/fade school of combat. That's not really the problem I've been having. It's that when I do go in to do my combo, I don't actually *hit* anything. I'm swinging directly at my target, but I might as well be swinging at a tree. I don't understand what causes it, but when I boost my dexterity, the problem seems to go away. I just got out of a multiplayer session with one of the guys on the LAN (I'm at college), and he was having the same trouble. Both of us were hacking away at this one goblin, and both of us literally sat there, hacking away with our longswords and blocking, for a good thirty seconds before the little guy bought it. I'm not sure what the problem is, though. And sometimes, even with an enemy that doesn't have a shield, when I swing at him, a little gray poof will appear where I hit him rather than blood. I assume that's because he's armored? I appreciate the feedback, and I'll have to try that fix on the sound thing. :D!


EDIT: I suck at life. I really do. I didn't realize that I had that much of a penalty on me. I took off my Helm of Horns and my chainmail shirt, and I commenced with much butt-kicking.

[Narserke]

longswords? did you have any points in medium weapons when you were hacking away at this goblin? if you didn't, then there is a penalty to hit i think, or some kind of penalty that would probably effect hit and armor penatration (yes, that sounds like you hit his armor) if you use a weapon class that you don't have at least 4 points in, or maybe three..you can use a light weapon with only one point invested without penalty, but anything else requires at least 4, same with armor

[Tenka]

Thanks for the replies, guys. Actually, I've played Gothic II briefly, and I beat the heck out of Jedi Academy (And Dark Forces, Jedi Knight, Jedi Outcast...you get the picture), and I'm pretty well versed in the hit/fade school of combat. That's not really the problem I've been having. It's that when I do go in to do my combo, I don't actually *hit* anything. I'm swinging directly at my target, but I might as well be swinging at a tree. I don't understand what causes it, but when I boost my dexterity, the problem seems to go away. I just got out of a multiplayer session with one of the guys on the LAN (I'm at college), and he was having the same trouble. Both of us were hacking away at this one goblin, and both of us literally sat there, hacking away with our longswords and blocking, for a good thirty seconds before the little guy bought it. I'm not sure what the problem is, though. And sometimes, even with an enemy that doesn't have a shield, when I swing at him, a little gray poof will appear where I hit him rather than blood. I assume that's because he's armored? I appreciate the feedback, and I'll have to try that fix on the sound thing. :D!

The DEX attribute increases your 'strike' modifier, increasing your 'strike' increases your chance to override Parry greatly (the little grey poof) and also increases your chance to override Block slightly. Remember this is an action/rpg, strength comes from both skill and knowledge.

[Aquelius]

Hey guys. Me once again. I posted this in an edit up above, but by the time I did, two more responses had appeared. I tried what you suggested, and it turns out I did have a massive penalty against me due to the armor I was wearing. I replaced it with the leather stuff, and I started hitting my targets again. I'm an idiot. :o

EDIT: Oh, by the way, that dxdiag thing worked. Thanks for the help with that.
And has anybody come across a spear in their travels? Other than the ballista spears that get shot at you, I mean. I was forcefully introduced to those.

[Narserke]

we've all made those kinds of mistakes, don't sweat it..most people on here would have just biotched about how the game sucks so much because they were having trouble killing things, when in fact it's probably more their fault then the games. have fun introducing those golbins to the end of your sword:)

ok, i didn't mean most, but some have complained about the game when there complainst were not warranted...most people are like you and me and everyone else.

[onewolf]

The DEX attribute increases your 'strike' modifier, increasing your 'strike' increases your chance to override Parry greatly (the little grey poof) and also increases your chance to override Block slightly.

aha! finally you understand what i was trying to say!