Game News Age of Decadence September Update: Release date - October 14th!

[J_C]

Will you increase the price after game release? I mean should I preorder now, or I can wait for the release?

 

[Vault Dweller]

The price is final, so you can wait.

 

[Hoaxmetal]

The price is final, so you can wait.

Bundle fodder when?

 

[Vault Dweller]

Friday?

 

[*-*/\--/\~]

"AoD" and "release" really look weird in the same sentence. :D

Must have been an amazing journey, going from weekend fiddling with a game engine to fulltime dev over the years.

 

[Zeriel]

Will you at least release your next game on a Thursday?

 

[Gondolin]

This requires a new Jimbob comic.

 

[Haba]

The game will be released with all proper endings, worry not.

Will each romance option have their own ending?

 

[SausageInYourFace]

Isn't a October release dangerously close to Divinity EE and Wasteland 2 DC or don't you think this will have a lot of impact on you?

 

[Vault Dweller]

Isn't a October release dangerously close to Divinity EE and Wasteland 2 DC or don't you think this will have a lot of impact on you?

Like I said in another thread, I don't think we can find a perfect launch window and if we have to 'compete' with other RPGs, I'd rather compete with the already released ones.

 

[Deleted member 7219]

It's also dangerously close to Fallout 4. Should have delayed it until October 2016.

 

[Vault Dweller]

"AoD" and "release" really look weird in the same sentence. :D

Must have been an amazing journey, going from weekend fiddling with a game engine to fulltime dev over the years.

It's a very bizarre feeling, going from "I'm gonna try to make an RPG and see what happens. How long can it take? A coupe of years?" to "Fuck, we worked for years and did only 3 locations out of 22, will it ever end? do people even live that long?" to "You know what, I'm going to quit my job and work on this game full time because ... no, I don't really know why" to "Fuck, we're actually working on the final location. How crazy is that?!"

 

[felipepepe]

The most impressive part is that after "Fuck, we're actually working on the final location. How crazy is that?!" it goes to "K', time to start the next game!"

 

[Azrael the cat]

I've already stated the one concern I've got about the game (i.e. fear that too great an emphasis on hard skill checks may do for skills what Mass Effect did for dialogue, with the only true choice being at the start of the game, and then having to keep using the same skillset each time), and VD's given as much of a reply as one can expect, so I'll leave it at this: regardless of whether the game is a success, and regardless of whether I end up buying it, well done on actually making it. Normally, I'm not a fan of the 'but they put in so much effort, how dare you criticise them' mentality, but it's pretty clear that there's been a genuine effort to make a good game, not just a hobby project using a sole mechanic for the sake of being an indie developer. The effort required for that kind of multiyear project is titanic, and it affects your job, your relationships - it consumes your life. I've never seen these studies myself, but I've been told that there's research into what happens to people who attempt ambitious life-consuming projects (in the context of PhD students in demanding disciplines) - those who don't complete them suffer for it so badly, that their entire life/marriages/career fall apart, and they've got a good chance of sinking into long-term depression. Those who do complete it - even if the project itself isn't all that successful once it's finished - usually prosper just as broadly, with the confidence flowing on to their relationships, genuine project management experience helping their career, and just the satisfaction of knowing that they created something.

So congradulations. You've joined the small ranks of people of our time who have created something from the start, instead of as one hireling in a human machine. I hope it sells well, but even if it doesn't, I doubt you'll regret it.

 

[Vault Dweller]

The most impressive part is that after "Fuck, we're actually working on the final location. How crazy is that?!" it goes to "K', time to start the next game!"

Already started. I've been working on the generation ship game's design for the last 6 months (whenever I needed a break and do something different). It takes a while to develop a setting, so the sooner you start developing concepts and mixing them together the better. We'll start showing what we have early next year.

... it consumes your life.

No kidding.

So congrats, I hope it does sell, but even if it doesn't I doubt that you'll regret it.

Thanks.

When I quit my job I was afraid that I would regret it more and more as time goes by but I haven't regretted it once. Working on the game hasn't been easy and very stressful at times but when it comes to 'job satisfaction', I've never been happier.

 

[Lurker King]

"Antidas is no fool". The fact is that Antidas has managed to stay in control over Teron all these years and I find it hard to believe that he would let himself be killed this easily by a bunch of soldiers in his own palace. As for him owing money, that doesn't mean much for the most powerful man in the city. He could always renegotiate and the merchants wouldn't have much room to operate (short of assassinating him there wouldn't be much they could do, hiring sellswords themselves and attacking one of the lords would bring Gaelius or IG on them). Besides, Feng is one of the most intelligent people in AoD world so it's no wonder he would be fooled by him. Cassius - clearly an intelligent man is fooled to go with a stranger to an abandoned house. Intelligent people do stupid things.

But Antidas IS a fool. We are not talking about IQ, we are talking about savviness and streetwise. House Daratan is the weakest of the survivor houses. Teron is a place in the middle of nowhere. Antidas has no money. You can stall economic problems, but they don’t go away because you decide to ignore your debt. Suppose that Antidas decides to kill Linos. This would only make the problem worse. When he gets in debt again (and you can rest assured that he would) you need to find a source from where the new money will come from, and I’m not even considering the obvious backlash that would ensue. The truth is that Linos decided that the Imperial Guards should not take over because Antidas is easier to handle. However, if he saw fit, he could get rid of him anytime he wanted. You make it look as if fooling Antidas was such a big deal. Is not.

Spoiler

All you need to avoid Feng’s attempt to scam you is 3 points in streetwise, which is the same number you need to convince Antidas that Galbo’s ring is magic.

Besides, everything in the game world suggests that the imperial guards have much more military power. If anything, the battle in the throne room should be much easier.

Anyway, as I've said the difference in combat balance is significant and it's way easier now. You have way more skill points than before, there are also new awesome weapons and in general fights aren't as hard as they used to be. Now it's much easier to become a hybrid player (as IG I ended up with Lore 8 and could do things that were possible only to a dedicated Loremaster). I'll try different build and maybe revise my opinion but so far that's the impression I'm getting.

Again, you pick a big number taken out of context and show this as a proof that the game became easier, when the facts are that the enemies have bigger stats, are better equipped and their AI was improved. That doesn’t sound like a plausible argument. I hope that after that massive earlier investment in one skill you will not lose any content later on.

 

[likaq]

Already started. I've been working on the generation ship game's design for the last 6 months (whenever I needed a break and do something different). It takes a while to develop a setting, so the sooner you start developing concepts and mixing them together the better. We'll start showing what we have early next year.

 

[hivemind]

post full of spoilers etc.

Goral

Lurker King

My thoughts on your discussion and the balance of the game:

There is really a lot of SPs in the latest version.

You can reliably raise 4 skills to max and have some leftover with 8 int if you visit every sidequest location and optimize even a bit, but I also agree that the fights themselves are a tad harder than before. For example a 6 str 10 dex 4 con 8 per 8 int 4 cha hybrid needs several reloads to do the first part of the mine outpost with COLTAN'S POISON which I think is a reasonable place for the difficulty curve to be however I feel that this kinda gets washed away by the SP influx in Maadoran where the fights are almost all incredibly easy apart from maybe Al Sahir and slaughtering everyone at the pass(though I have to admit I haven't actually tried a run for this ever since I did it the first time when the pass was released). But truth be told I'm not sure if this is even bad. Because like I have been playing this game from the time R3(IIRC) Teron demo got released(I'm pretty sure that I have more than 200 hours) and so I think it's safe to say that I have a good grasp on the system and so the question is; should someone who has mastered the system still find the game difficult ? I feel there should still be some really hard parts(and I think that there actually are) but overall if the game was still super hard for people like Goral or Me it would be unplayable for basically anyone else.

Still I think that SPs should be toned down a little or skillchecks should be spread along a wider scale because like my hybrid loremaster, who has all the artifacts apart from 1, has combat stats higher than his lore because you really don't need your lore to be higher than 7(unless you want to crack the Zamedi portal to the temple/teach yourself what the Infernae guardian can teach you or fly the Pax Imperium).

Also sharp-stones and THC bonuses make high crafting absolutely OP combat wise.

And the traps skill is actually an SP trap because it has so very little uses. I think that maybe even gating some of the non urban exploration content with trap checks would increase the difficulty for hybrid characters by quite a bit. But this does sound like a cheap way out.

 

[Lurker King]

I feel that this kinda gets washed away by the SP influx in Maadoran where the fights are almost all incredibly easy apart from maybe Al Sahir and slaughtering everyone at the pass(though I have to admit I haven't actually tried a run for this ever since I did it the first time when the pass was released).

So try again and post your impressions here. I bet they will be different.

Still I think that SPs should be toned down a little or skillchecks should be spread along a wider scale

That along with the most recent changes would make the game unplayable for basically anyone else.

 

[Goral]

(...) And the traps skill is actually an SP trap because it has so very little uses. I think that maybe even gating some of the non urban exploration content with trap checks would increase the difficulty for hybrid characters by quite a bit. But this does sound like a cheap way out.

About traps, I was sure that Hellgate would be full of them but there were none which is a bit disappointing. As for skillchecks, they have been spread out and they're better balanced now. But the skill points for (almost) every location should be discarded or reduced IMO.

 

[Lurker King]

About traps, I was sure that Hellgate would be full of them but there were none which is a bit disappointing.

At first, I thought the same thing, but then I remember how W2 forced annoying skills down the player’s throat, such as alarm disarming and demolitions, and changed my mind. One way to solve this is to implement more traps, but offer a way to avoid them without skills in traps – for instance, using skills (crafting, dodge) or stats (intelligence, perception). Better yet, they should just remove the trap skill altogether and offer a skill or stat check for the few traps that are in the game. That would make everyone happy.

As for skillchecks, they have been spread out and they're better balanced now. But the skill points for (almost) every location should be discarded or reduced IMO.

Why? I though the game was too easy now.

 

[hivemind]

So try again and post your impressions here. I bet they will be different.

I will in a few days.
I still have one other build that I want to retry because I think I finally figured out the proper and most optimal way to do something that I haven't managed before.

That along with the most recent changes would make the game unplayable for basically anyone else.

Can you elaborate on why you think so?
I'm curious.

Better yet, they should just remove the trap skill altogether and offer a skill or stat check for the few traps that are in the game. That would make everyone happy.

I agree with this I think.

Also I feel like "traps" as a skill are kinda out of place given the actual setting, I mean why would places like Zamedi or Hellgate need some primitive traps or whatever when they can have force field gates and robots around instead ? And things like those are are already well covered in lore and crafting.

 

[Fenix]

Traps skill can be replaced with Lore, Crafting skill...

Spoiler

(Having a favorite Loremaster build in no way influenced this statement)

 

[lisac2k]

Vault Dweller: the game is not listed in the upcoming section of the Steam store, how come?

 

[Lurker King]

Can you elaborate on why you think so? I'm curious.

It’s just a hunch. Since the enemies are stronger now, if you tone down the amount of SPs, the combat part would become excruciating for less experienced players.

Also I feel like "traps" as a skill are kinda out of place given the actual setting, I mean why would places like Zamedi or Hellgate need some primitive traps or whatever when they can have force field gates and robots around instead ? And things like those are are already well covered in lore and crafting.

Great point!

Traps skill can be replaced with Lore, Crafting skill...

The loremaster background is also one of my favorites, but I disagree with you. Crafting, intelligence, perception would be ok, but not lore, which is oriented towards more complex technology, IMO.