38 Studios is Working on a Game, Apparently, Afterall (Kingdoms of Amular)

[Hutch]

They must have added the link for the demo download this morning. The site is awfully sluggish, and after clicking a couple links I got an error.

[Lucas]

PC Demo now available for download on Origin; size is approx. 2.8GB ; on the official forums, the community manager mentioned another "download option" that should come later today:

http://forums.reckoning.amalur.com/showthread.php?2140-Can-t-find-a-link-for-the-PC-Demo&p=40908&viewfull=1#post40908

[Mrbloodworth]

Hold on.

This is going to be Origin only?

So, not only do they have to convince people to sign up to that, but also download the client. To download the demo? How many hoops do we really need? Also, no steam. The hell. I guess millions of installed customers is not needed.

Unknown game, by an unknown group of developers, on an unknown distribution platform. Awesome.

[carnifex27]

Origin not required, either.  An Origin account is required for the demo freebies, but that's all. 

[Mrbloodworth]

I do not see a link for the PC demo on the games website.

Can someone point me in the right direction then?

I see this though:

[taolurker]

You can get the demo on the Xbox360, to avoid Origin, if you have a gold membership.

[Mrbloodworth]

Looking for PC demo.

[Sky]

Did I hallucinate Lucas' post up there?

Or did BW get the hidden ignore feature working and isn't sharing with us the same way he isn't sharing how he got the shiny graphics in TOR working.

Not that I'm holding a grudge on you.

Bitch.

[Mrbloodworth]

No. But it keeps sounding like you do not need to log into origin to download the demo. But I can't find where. Every one says "You have to log into origin to get the demo freebies. Origin is not required". I don't care about freebies.

[Lucas]

Err, guys, I don't know what to say: I logged into Origin because I knew they would make the demo available there, and infact it was (under "free games" or something; I have the localized italian version of Origin). Dunno if you can avoid downloading the Origin client by downloading the demo from store.origin.com

Like I pointed out in my previous message, it looks like they will offer a mirror, non-origin link later today.

By the way, tech issue with the PC demo :

http://forums.reckoning.amalur.com/showthread.php?2157-Black-Screen-on-Pc-Demo&p=41009&viewfull=1#post41009

We have an update on this. If you're playing the Reckoning demo on the PC and are experiencing a black screen after the cinematics play, try going into your graphic options menu in the demo and set "Post Processing" to off. We apologize for this issue; it has since been fixed in the final version of Reckoning.

Looks like it's an ATI only issue, but I'm not sure (still downloading, 30 minutes to go, and I have an Nvidia card)

[taolurker]

Well considering one of the freebies is a cross promotion with Mass Effect 3 (for a Todd McFarlane-designed Armor for ME3 just for downloading and a weapon for finishing it) you might actually want to use Origin.

[Lucas]

There, you raunchy, crunchy, grumpy, ball breaking fellas. Demo now available on steam! :P

http://forums.reckoning.amalur.com/showthread.php?2167-Reckoning-Available-Now-on-Steam!

[Mrbloodworth]

Good.

From that page:

All PC versions of Reckoning, except for the Steam version, require a one-time authentication through Origin and the Origin client. If you purchase Reckoning through Steam, you only need to authenticate the game through Steam.

Lol, Origin.

[Trippy]

"...set in a world worth saving"

From the Steam page:

The minds of New York Times bestselling author R.A. Salvatore, Spawn creator Todd McFarlane, and Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion lead designer Ken Rolston have combined to create Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning, a new role-playing game set in a world worth saving. Build the character you’ve always wanted and continuously evolve it to your style of play with the revolutionary Destiny system. Choose your path and battle through a master-crafted universe featuring some of the most intense, responsive, and customizable RPG combat ever.

[Sky]

My expectations are in line with Two Worlds/Drakensang/Risen/Divinity 2. So if it can rise to that level, I'll enjoy the hell out of it.

[HaemishM]

Hmmmm. The camera by default is fucking terrible, and doesn't get much better with tweaking. It feels like they are trying to make a Bioware-style Obilivion with WoW graphics. The movement controls are bit janky as well. I've played worse. I've played a lot better, and I won't be spending $60 on this.

[Soln]

"Bioware-style Obilivion with WoW graphics"



Sooo not Skyrim eh?  Ok then.

[Malakili]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kdFQBCKhr6w

Gameplay + Commentary of the demo.

[Kail]

Hmmmm. The camera by default is fucking terrible, and doesn't get much better with tweaking. It feels like they are trying to make a Bioware-style Obilivion with WoW graphics. The movement controls are bit janky as well. I've played worse. I've played a lot better, and I won't be spending $60 on this.

Seemed more reminiscent of Fable, to me.  No full looting of corpses, maps are more a collection of paths than a wide open space, the same kind of combat, the same three "classes", that kind of thing (though a lot of the social/economic aspects of Fable are missing).  Not necescarily a bad thing, I liked Fable, but I know there's some people that hate that style of game.

Something about the visual style - I'm not sure what, exactly - really threw me off, like it's way more kid-oriented than they were intending.  Like they were aiming at WoW and ended up with Free Realms.  I like that it's not another grim and gritty blood soaked tale of rage and death and RAAAAR, but I dunno, something about the color pallette or the animation or something gives me the impression that Sauron is attacking McDonaldLand.

But overall, the demo was fun.  I'm not sure I had enough to warrant a day-1 purchase, but I'm definitely going to keep an eye on it.

[Trippy]

I haven't seen such fucked up buttons with no padding around the text since the early 90s

Edit: seen

[Trippy]

Hmmmm. The camera by default is fucking terrible, and doesn't get much better with tweaking. It feels like they are trying to make a Bioware-style Obilivion with WoW graphics. The movement controls are bit janky as well. I've played worse. I've played a lot better, and I won't be spending $60 on this.

It's another console game designed for a gamepad with fucked up mouse and keyboard controls. If you flick the mouse quickly from side to side you can see your turning lags behind the input which is where that motion sickness sensation is coming from.

[Sheepherder]

Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion lead designer Ken Rolston

http://youtu.be/SzqLHiCNr0Q?t=1m3s

[Hawkbit]

I like it.  I really had no expectations coming into the game, so I was pleasantly surprised.  I played both the PC and PS3 demos through to the end.  I will purchase this on PC, based on numerous issues I encountered with the PS3 version.

I like the art and world, and the character builds seem fairly open.

PS3:
Camera is balls.
Choppy video. 
Texture popping, poor anisotropy. 
No anti-aliasing, but the framerate wasn't terrible to cause noticeable screen tearing.
Each button press to attack an enemy had a very brief pause as the enemy was struck, it felt very jarring.
No lock-on?  Did I miss it somewhere?

PC (nearly 5yr old system):
Camera is still balls.
Good textures, though I wish I could extend the draw distance a bit.
Kyb/mouse to controller with no issues, switching on the fly.  Both are working at the same time.  UI updates based on which device was last used.
Again, no lock-on?  Did I miss it somewhere?

Verdict:  Likely a day one purchase for me.  I had a lot of fun, and that is what I was looking for. 

[Sheepherder]

No anti-aliasing, but the framerate wasn't terrible to cause noticeable screen tearing.

Erm?  The two are more or less unrelated.

[Hawkbit]

Yeah, I messed that point up.  Really should have been two different points; you have jaggies and didn't have tearing. 

[Sheepherder]

So they probably traded AA for V-Sync.

[Tannhauser]

Only played it a bit last nite, wasn't too bad.  I like the art style and animations, not too fond of the camera. 

[Lucas]

I like it, it looks deep enough when it comes to dialogue, story and character customization (not appearance). Yeah, it's a bloom overload feast, but the environments seem well done. Camera, at least for the demo, is atrocious. Combat is interesting: I'm not used to that kind of style since I've never played those action games on consoles, so it's pretty confusing (well, the advanced combat, since at the beginning it's pretty much a left mouse button/"X" bashing).

Yes, there is Ken Rolston as creative lead (and Ian Frazier as lead designer, well known among RPG fans as lead director for the Ultima V: Lazarus remake/re-imagining and Ultima fan-atic in general), but it's pretty much the first attempt of that software house at this kind of game, so I think it can result in a very interesting and catchy middle ground between Bethesda and Bioware RPG styles.

EDIT: oh, the barrel/crates destroyer attitude made me laugh (considering this isn't a diablo/torchlight clone). I mean, you get to the first settlement, and you can pretty much destroy all the furniture outside with your big sword. I mean, gee, chill down man, just open them gently like a civilized person would do 

[Bzalthek]

I'm kinda waiting for a semi-realistic game like this to add slashing up the shrubbery to find coins and health potions or something like Zelda games.  I don't know why, but I keep expecting it.

[AcidCat]

The story and NPC character interactions are painfully uninteresting. Characters have too much to say and I found myself just fast-forwarding these pointless conversations before too long. Quests seem to be the kind of generic busywork you'd find in a standard MMO. Combat was fun and varied, but pretty much everything else seemed workmanlike and uninspired. Just feels like a game a bit behind the times, especially after playing something like Witcher 2, Reckoning feels kinda like Junior's First Action RPG.

[rattran]

Well, for the studio, that's exactly what it is. Junior's First Action RPG to fund/pave the way to the stuff we really want to do. I'm surprised it came out at all, but not surprised it's a consolitis meh-fest.

[Paelos]

As soon as I saw the video with the guy going through menu after menu just to put something on, I cringed.

[Trippy]

Yup the UI is horrid.

[Lucas]

Yup the UI is horrid.

Yeah, still better than the unmodded Skyrim one, though (not a worthy achievement, anyway :P).

[Xilren's Twin]

Well, for the studio, that's exactly what it is. Junior's First Action RPG to fund/pave the way to the stuff we really want to do. I'm surprised it came out at all, but not surprised it's a consolitis meh-fest.

So it's fable meets torchlight?

I thnk the jarring thing about it is the juvenile cartoonish look is married to an attempt at "serious" worldbuilding and tone setting.  You start off having died and coming to in a pile of rotting corpses, but the visual look of them screams "Looney Toons" not "Adult Aimed Dark Fantasy".  The giant oversized weapons add further to it.  Dont get me wrong, between me and my kids I am sure we'll pick it up at some point, but i dont think visual design matches their stated intent.  I can sneak up behind someone and cut their throat causing blood to spurt and pool on the floor, but dang does it look wrong vicerally.  Spawn, for all the crap it gets, did not look like Looney Toons.

And yeah, how freaking hard is it to include standard keyboard shortcuts to basic functions like inventory (why are armor and weapons seperated out in this way,let alone armor and accessories like rings).  If you want to make a game that  you can navigator with a gamepad, fine, but that shouldnt require you to give the keyboard a labotormy...

I did like how fighting the wolf pack of 4 had them attacking in waves from the sides as you were trying to take down one in front.  Then again, non stop dive rolling in plate mail - that's totally believable.