Underrail [PRE-RELEASE THREAD, GO TO NEW THREAD]

[Zewp]

There's truly nothing bad about Underrail's visuals. I can think of a lot of words to describe it, but ugly certainly isn't one that comes to mind.

 

[NotAGolfer]

I respectfully disagree my nubian brother!

And I disrespectfully think you're a blind fucking retard. WL2 has no soul and a bunch of ugly shit tacked to the proverbial walls. Underrail is one of the most beautifully-crafted, drawn and designed games I've seen in years. Go fuck a Fargo blow-up doll you degenerate.

Classy.

Twinkie's right though.

Maybe Styg reuses assets too much for some people's taste who want to have new pretty vistas on every screen their character walks into but Fallout had the same "problem" and this game isn't about shiny optics anyway. They are sharp (more so than Fallout's) and functional in that you can see what's happening without any problems. And the artwork is nice too, so I don't understand your problems with it.
My brother in law has the same problem with any kind of indie or older game I'm playing. He always just looks a the screen, says Ugh! and that's it. I bet he would also say that Wasteland 2 with its run of the mill Unity graphics looks better than this.
Some people are beyond help.

 

[Daedalos]

I respectfully disagree my nubian brother!

And I disrespectfully think you're a blind fucking retard. WL2 has no soul and a bunch of ugly shit tacked to the proverbial walls. Underrail is one of the most beautifully-crafted, drawn and designed games I've seen in years. Go fuck a Fargo blow-up doll you degenerate.

Classy.

Twinkie's right though.

Maybe Styg reuses assets too much for some people's taste who want to have new pretty vistas on every screen their character walks into but Fallout had the same "problem" and this game isn't about shiny optics anyway. They are sharp (more so than Fallout's) and functional in that you can see what's happening without any problems. And the artwork is nice too, so I don't understand your problems with it.
My brother in law has the same problem with any kind of indie or older game I'm playing. He always just looks a the screen, says Ugh! and that's it. I bet he would also say that Wasteland 2 with its run of the mill Unity graphics looks better than this.
Some people are beyond help.

Isn't it just about taste then? Like art in many forms. What's beautiful, charming and interesting to your eye, and what's not? I'm not saying the graphics for the game doesn't FIT it and so forth or is outright ugly, I'm saying.. i'm having a hard time coming to terms with it. Maybe it'll change, as I've stated, once I play the game, which I will.. because it does sound very interesting.

 

[tuluse]

When I look at screen shots I think they look bad, but when I actually play the game I don't even notice them.

Anyways, quit defending all the bad decisions InXile has made and play an RPG with actual good mechanics Daedalos9000

 

[NotAGolfer]

Isn't it just about taste then? Like art in many forms.

Sure, but Wasteland 2 graphics? They are good for what they are but there's clearly no artistic ambition whatsoever behind them.
The artwort/graphics here might look more cartoonish but on the other hand they clearly are carefully crafted (till recently it was just one artist, Styg, but Underrail seems to be quite successful on Steam so I think that changed) and have that Fallout vibe going for them. Is everything too tiny/zoomed out for you (I can't play it on 1920x1080 too, icons/text are just way too small then even if I select large in the menu, just choose a lower resolution ... btw, that's a problem, Styg) or what is it ecactly that you struggle with?
That the heck is there to "come to terms with"? Just play the fucking game and have fun with the greatest RPG mechanics in a long while.

 

[Commissar Draco]

Playing FNV Gold with mods and game still looks ugly and dated; wish Obsidian would make it on Fallout Tactics Engine instead cause getting this uncany valley feeling every time the enemy dies and see this retardo rag-dolls and mannequin like corpses... ugh.

 

[GrimoireFTW]

bought this on steam early access last night. I had already played the free demo earlier and wanted to hold out for full release but after reading about the new oddity system I couldn't help myself. Great game so far, truly fantastic! I only have a couple semi complaints. Well one complaint and one question. Is there going to be some kind of map feature added? The first major quest where you have to restore power to the 5 outposts, no I don't want quest markers or anything like that! But it would be nice in the quest log/notes if it let you know how many you had activated so far. Like I had activated all 5 and didn't realize because the quest didn't update so I was walking around looking for another one

Keep up the good work!

 

[TwinkieGorilla]

Styg , everything feels much more balanced and challenging this time around! I love that you lessened the amount of items and resources on shelves and in boxes. I'm also finding myself spending more time paying attention to psi abilities and crafting this go through which seems pretty fantastic. And I'm not sure if you've worked on it or I'm just imagining things but some of the dialogue seems to flow more naturally now as well. Just out of curiosity, how many people do you have helping you now and how do you plan on having them help you?

p.s. I'll second the issue with resolution vs text, although I wanted to ask is 1600 your intended default res? I actually kind of like it at that size, personally.

This will likely be my game of the year, whatever year it comes out in!

 

[MasterSmithFandango]

Went ahead and picked this up. Don't have time to play it at the moment, but it looks great and hopefully some patronage will help you continue the good work.

 

[Styg]

Just out of curiosity, how many people do you have helping you now and how do you plan on having them help you?

p.s. I'll second the issue with resolution vs text, although I wanted to ask is 1600 your intended default res? I actually kind of like it at that size, personally.

As of recently, there are two more people working on the game. Both are working on the area design (a lot of areas in the new patch are their work). One is also helping with the visuals, while the other is working on quest design/implementation and dialog. I'm not planning on hiring anyone else currently.

I don't have an intended resolution. The interface wasn't designed for the home monitors of today, that's for sure. I plan to tackle the font issue at some point before the full release.

 

[TwinkieGorilla]

Nbd, I actually think I prefer it at 1600.

I'm not planning on hiring anyone else currently.

Heh. I know I've given you shit and offered help with dialogue before but that's not what motivated me to ask. Your dialogue is good (enough) for what it is.

 

[Surf Solar]

I agree with Twinkie. The dialogue is kinda dry and to the point, but that is nothing bad!
And nothing about hiring, ffs I was offering my help for free.

 

[Crooked Bee]

I'm loooving this game's mechanics. Mechanically, it's one of the most competent and engaging turn-based games I've ever played, period. Josh Sawyer's got nothing on Styg.

The writing is bland though. It serves the purpose of quest-giving, but no more than that. Some awkward phrasing here and there, too. Personally I don't care much, but a lot of reviewers probably will care. I believe I already suggested hiring an editor and/or additional writer earlier; I'd still say that would be a good investment. Your call though - if you just want to focus on mechanics and exploration, fine by me.

 

[Zewp]

We've already had a few people volunteer to help with the writing free of charge, but I understand that it could have a bit of a conflict of interest when people directly from your community are contributing content to a retail product.

Still, the writing isn't bad, but could do with some improvement. The gameplay and mechanics are really solid and you're well on your way to making one of the best RPGs I've seen in years, so it would be a shame if the writing isn't superb to complement the gameplay.

 

[TwinkieGorilla]

I'm loooving this game's mechanics. Mechanically, it's one of the most competent and engaging turn-based games I've ever played, period. Josh Sawyer's got nothing on Styg.

It really is! It's 'effing killing me how great this game is mechanically! All of the tweaks and balances are really paying off, Styg !!

Quick Notes:

• Loving the crafting and am in complete and utter awe of how diverse and dynamic it is!
• The music and sounds are brilliant in their undistracting subtlety though a bit more variety might be nice? First time I heard a rathound with my headphones on (forgot all about it) I jumped! And oh my god I love the sound for 'Frighten' holy shit.
• Psi abilities have really been fleshed out and I'm having a goddamn blast exploring them (barely paid attention to them before)
• Have I mentioned how much I love the crafting? Because I do. I really do.
• Which brings me to this point: The abundance of items and inventory management/bartering system dependent on the needs of the vendors is great. I hate being able to constantly get what I want and this really solves the exploit of hoard-selling. Great stuff.
  
• As has been mentioned before, above and will be again: the writing is serviceable, but not much more. Still more endearing than a Bethesduh game, and it doesn't get in the way or distract but...
• If you get somebody to do some "flavor" writing for this thing and if that writing were as good as say, the crafting mechanics (which, again, is really, really terrific!) you'd likely have my favorite RPG since FO2 on your hands. No fibbing. EDIT: Though I will say this 'Silent Isle' quest is p. great
  
• I'm not one who cares much about Steam achievements but I get a warm fuzzy feeling each time I see one of yours pop up. Zomg I love this game.
• Potential bug: I obtained a few burrower poison glands but had no option to sell them to Quinton.

I owe you a beer, Styg. Keep it up!

 

[cherry blossom]

One of the few things that I wish the game had is an option to toggle the walls on and off or sort of shorten their height with a key. Sometimes, in some places, the scene is just too obstructed by the walls. Fallout somewhat solved this with the visibility bubble around the PC but it could be better, eg:

Anything like that in your mind, Styg ?

It could be that only the walls in a certain radius (preferably defined by the player in the menu or the config file) would be toggled when you used this option or only the walls to the South and East (in-game) to the player in the current area or again, in a radius.

 

[TwinkieGorilla]

Yes! This would be especially useful when attempting to lay traps or target enemies. Also: Is it just me or shouldn't disarming a mine/trap then give you the ability to take said mine/trap?

 

[cherry blossom]

Styg, for the record, if it is technically feasible and something you would like to do but can't find the time to modify the tile graphics for shortened versions, I'd happily volunteer to do the grunt work once you set a standard, though I guess there aren't too many wall tiles at this point yet.

 

[cherry blossom]

Toggle with variable transparency mock up:

 

[drae]

The writing is bland though. It serves the purpose of quest-giving, but no more than that. Some awkward phrasing here and there, too. Personally I don't care much, but a lot of reviewers probably will care. I believe I already suggested hiring an editor and/or additional writer earlier; I'd still say that would be a good investment. Your call though - if you just want to focus on mechanics and exploration, fine by me.

A lot of people will care, not just reviewers. Maybe not on this site, but if the writing isn't fixed I'm thinking Styg will lose quite a few sales.

 

[TwinkieGorilla]

Ehehe. Just found the Pipboy.

A lot of people will care, not just reviewers. Maybe not on this site, but if the writing isn't fixed I'm thinking Styg will lose quite a few sales.

Oh come on, it's not bad and won't cost any sales. The story and dialogue just needs a little more flavor, unique characters, and quest design is all. The "Wyatt Pear" encounter, for instance. Pretty good little story there, although some grammar editing throughout could help, e.g. "I could do nothing to help them" vs "I couldn't do anything to help them". The story there is pretty intriguing but needs help getting polished and a little dialogue-flavor added. I think as long as the game gets fleshed out with more encounters and back-story such as this (and the Silent Isle quest which I'm still not quite sure wtf is up with, MYSTARY) I think it will be great.

 

[GrimoireFTW]

played this a bunch over the weekend and it just keeps getting better. I was just going to dick around a bit and explore some different character builds but I started playing and just could not stop. well done!

 

[CappenVarra]

I'm loooving this game's mechanics. Mechanically, it's one of the most competent and engaging turn-based games I've ever played, period. Josh Sawyer's got nothing on Styg.

It is known. Vote Styg for president! Sawyer is fit for janitorial duties only

 

[OSK]

Pretty good little story there, although some grammar editing throughout could help, e.g. "I could do nothing to help them" vs "I couldn't do anything to help them".

Am I the only one who doesn't see an issue with either example? The latter sounds more conversational whereas the former is more formal or even highfalutin like out of a play or poem.

 

[Styg]

cherry blossom Thanks for the suggestion, but I dismissed that solution a long while ago. The current solution where you can see usables and creatures through walls isn't perfect, but it's good enough.

TwinkieGorilla You have to beat the trap disarm check by 10 or something like that to recover the trap.

Regarding dialog and writing in general, it's something we'll be working on, so expect more interesting characters in the future. Also we'll be working towards interconnecting people and events from different parts of the game to make the game world more believable and cohesive.