Underrail: The Incline Awakens

[Doctor Sbaitso]

Thread is devolving into human microcosm, made worse by the angsty nerds that inhabit the place.

 

[Nines]

Is there anything else you can catch in these dog crates in order to sell it?

considering the stuff before it is 'go there kill rats and flip five switches' i wouldnt say it exactly interrupts a very wonderful game

One of the first quests in the game, and they're already asking you to kill your brethren. Tsk-tsk.

Steamspy reports almost 41k owners, ~14k more since the price was raised. If they can keep up this tempo for at least two more weeks the game should be profitable enough for them I hope. Are there any reviews in the mainstream media yet or are they too busy reporting on plight of women in tech™?

Only one so far, but let's pray that mainstream media will never learn of this game, or it will be bashed hard and eaten alive for its unfriendliness to the casual audience.

 

[Daedalos]

Yeaah, so I fucked up the Rathound King.

Made so many traps, nigga never knew what hit ém. Him and his bitch rathounds.

Sniper + trap/throwing is pretty awshum build

 

[Blaine]

Also I have yet to see someone explain the benefit of a cooldown system. All they can come up with DURRR BUT POWRFUL ABILITUES HOW DO????
It really looks like some people started playing games with LOL.

I have yet to see anyone explain why the inclusion of some cooldowns is objectively bad, particularly in the context of Underrail. As near as I can determine, it's solely a matter of personal taste or a reaction to the negative connotations associated with cooldowns in MMOs or mobas, neither of which are strong arguments against.

In the vast majority of big gay Codex arguments, when my opinion disagrees with someone else's, I can at least see things from their perspective and even argue the other side. In this case, it's a total mystery to me.

Oh right, since we're being childish: I WANNA USE THE ABILITY RIGHT NOW BUT I CAN'T AND IT'S FRUSTRATING, WAAAAUUGH! WAAAAUGH! BETTER GO BITCH ON THE FORUMS AND COMPARE THE GAME TO WORLD OF WARCRAFT!

 

[bati]

Steamspy reports almost 41k owners, ~14k more since the price was raised. If they can keep up this tempo for at least two more weeks the game should be profitable enough for them I hope. Are there any reviews in the mainstream media yet or are they too busy reporting on plight of women in tech™?

Only one so far, but let's pray that mainstream media will never learn of this game, or it will be bashed hard and eaten alive for its unfriendliness to the casual audience.

I don't know who ragequit.gr are but they sound like gentlemen of refined taste. And derp, I completely forgot about GoG, apparently the game's been a #2 seller there, just after Witcher 3. Here's hoping we get to see UnderRail 2 someday.

 

[Eyestabber]

I have yet to see anyone explain why the inclusion of some cooldowns is objectively bad, particularly in the context of Underrail. As near as I can determine, it's solely a matter of personal taste or a reaction to the negative connotations associated with cooldowns in MMOs or mobas, neither of which are strong arguments against.
In the vast majority of big gay Codex arguments, when my opinion disagrees with someone else's, I can at least see things from their perspective and even argue the other side. In this case, it's a total mystery to me.

Underrail is EXACTLY like WoW and LoL. It's literally the SAME game. You don't see that because you're a fanbot, dude.

 

[TwinkieGorilla]

Thread is devolving into human microcosm, made worse by the angsty nerds that inhabit the place.

Underrail threads were so much better before the type of Codexian who gets mad about things like cooldowns and hopper quests knew about it.

 

[Urbanolo]

Underrail threads were so much better before the type of Codexian who gets mad about things like cooldowns and hopper quests knew about it.

I don't know, funny thing is I like the game a lot, the character progression is extremely satisfying and the number of viable and fun builds you can create makes me want to make a new character every few hours.

Still, if you think the game is flawless with its fetch quests and mind numbing backtracking (hijacked train quest, Black Eels Protectorate support quest), very slow beginning and some other questionable design decisions, you should probably take another look.

 

[Snorkack]

Cooldowns are objectively bad because in 95% of situations they feel artificial, gamey, out of place while in 90% of situations they could have been replaced by a better solution. This has already been pointed out a few times by now.

 

[ghostdog]

I have the same portrait as Jack Quicksilver! MAH IMMUERSHUN!!

Made some quick and dirty portraits. Tried to fit the setting but also added some for fun.

link: https://www.mediafire.com/?52c2o0vkwt75392

Preview:

 

[ST'Ranger]

I like how different the goon response to the nerf is



A lot of Underrail sounds like it was balanced with the intention that every character have stealth (this thing, the deep caverns). No stealth? Welp, enjoy your mobs.

Respectfully, Roguey, why not pay 10 dollars and try the game yourself? If you can pay 10 dollars to visit a devolved website full of degenerates, then you can pay the same to try out the most apex game in decades. You'll be able to form your own opinion about the reasons the game is shit and should have been developed by Sawyer rather than just having to ape the logic of the derailed.

Maybe you can come up with something better than "the font is too small"/"why can't I tranq dart 5 people per turn?"/"the guy said northwest but I only have a compass and not a map 0/10". To be honest, I invite some well-structured criticism because everything so far has been barely above mewling, the most significant complaint being that "the writing could be better."

 

[Lhynn]

Cooldowns are objectively bad because in 95% of situations they feel artificial, gamey, out of place while in 90% of situations they could have been replaced by a better solution. This has already been pointed out a few times by now.

This is nonsense and in no way applicable to most situations, especially the "95%" number you pulled out of your ass. Tho i will agree that particularly grenade usage feels artificial, but sadly its either that or make them unusable by non specialists, this would go against many other systems in the game.

 

[Snorkack]

ok how about this: you can store only one grenade per quick slot. if you used it and want to use another of the same type, you need to spend the 50ap cost first. Better belts let you keep a bigger amount of stuff in one quickslot. Problem solved. There's litterally a thousand screws at a dev's disposal to finetune a grenade's balance w/o having to use cd.

 

[TheEntitledOne]

My low int PSI monk managed to get deep into ITZland. I mostly psi around and use my fists to finish them off (+ powerfist for robots).

Mass Enrage is just

 

[Lhynn]

ok how about this: you can store only one grenade per quick slot. if you used it and want to use another of the same type, you need to spend the 50ap cost first. Better belts let you keep a bigger amount of stuff in one quickslot. Problem solved. There's litterally a thousand screws at a dev's disposal to finetune a grenade's balance w/o having to use cd.

Thats a fairly sensible aproach. I was going to propose using quick slots to store healing there as well, maybe 2 needles per quickslot. only usable from inventory outside of combat.

 

[TwinkieGorilla]

I have the same portrait as Jack Quicksilver! MAH IMMUERSHUN!!

Made some quick and dirty portraits. Tried to fit the setting but also added some for fun.

link: https://www.mediafire.com/?52c2o0vkwt75392

Preview:

This is fucking amazing!

 

[Blaine]

Cooldowns are objectively bad because in 95% of situations they feel artificial, gamey, out of place while in 90% of situations they could have been replaced by a better solution. This has already been pointed out a few times by now.

Ah yes, feelings: staples of objectivity since ancient times.

I feel as though you literally suck dick for nickels. FACT!

 

[Xzylvador]

^^^ Fuck you. I like 'nades as is. They're a good backup thing when in over your head, or when first encountering those 3 thugs at the start and introducing them to the molotov.
Why should Styg, or anyone else, take one of your lousy suggestions over his own ideas, in order to fix a non-existant problem?

I'm a large hater of cooldowns myself and Underrail is one of the few games where it doesn't annoy me, because it's a part of a well-crafted system of cool mechanics that all intertwine to make one of the best RPG's of the past 2 decades.
Yeah, it's got its flaws; I also don't like the AI weirdness with stealth in combat or exiting/re-entering areas; but they're all done for an obvious reason and Styg's solution works.
Now all that's needed is a little bit of thinking how to best apply these game/combat mechanics to a particular situation with your particular build so success and fun is assured!

 

[Lurker King]

Read Cazzeris detailed commentary about enemies not reacting to dead bodies, etc.

Right, so the game has security cameras linked to manned surveillance rooms from which the attending guard is able alert other guards of suspicious activity (and in which you can interact with monitors to see what the camera sees); numerous elaborate ventilation systems; deterministic pickpocketing; tons of stuff to lockpick and hack, leading to otherwise unseen rooms and occasionally strategic shortcuts; the odd reprogrammable defensive turrets (or switches that cut the power, possibly causing a guard to investigate so you can clonk him over the head, etc.); a sensible and well implemented sneaking and detection system; trap placement, detection, and disarmament; nuanced noise mechanics and a variety of ways to kill enemies quietly before they can make a fuss; nuanced stealth weapon mechanics (there's a lot of interesting stuff you can can do with knives, crossbows, thrown weapons, suppressed weapons, silent psi, etc.); and entire missions dedicated to stealth gameplay....

But wait, enemy bodies are essentially loot containers that disappear when looted and they don't alert other enemies. Totally ruined, AI sucks, absolute shit system, 0/10 worst stealth system in any cRPG!

Wait, no, that's insane, you fucking loons. Underrail's stealth system is by far one of the finest ever implemented in a cRPG. Have you played any other cRPGs? It's actually better than numerous dedicated stealth games.

You’re looking at this the wrong way. The stealth mechanics in Underrail is better than in the few cRPGs that tried to do it. I don’t know much about it, maybe. However, your attitude regarding this should not be “This is super cool, and anybody who disagrees with me by pointing flaws is a nitpicking idiot”, but “Great, this guy manage to do these incredible things. Let’s keep pointing the flaws so that it end up as close to perfect as possible, and establishes a new standard for future cRPGs”. If Styg managed to create this amazing game mostly by himself, he surely can fix the AI and whatever other perceived problems that more and more players are finding by the day. Fixing these things is already hardly enough if he is convinced that they need to be fixed, but they will be perceived as impossible, and the game will be forever stained with silly fixable mistakes, if he is protected from criticism by his most devoted fans. More than that, you’re alienating ever new player who disagrees with you and setting back the feedback process. This is not early access anymore. The game is out and the target audience is not just you or a few devoted fans at the Codex, it’s also the other people who will buy enough units to guarantee that Styg will be making games in the future.

 

[mike73]

gamey

Yeah, no shit. It's a game. Otherwise everyone would spam Last Stand. Go outside and pick real fucking mushrooms for total imershun.

 

[Tigranes]

I meant like a visible outline that visually distinguishes the corpse you are pointing at from the identical corpse right next to it

did not have problem with that even then looting pile (4+) of Ironhead corpses.

It would not be a spiritual successor to Fallout without the Entangled Bodies Problem.

I have the same portrait as Jack Quicksilver! MAH IMMUERSHUN!!

Made some quick and dirty portraits. Tried to fit the setting but also added some for fun.

link: https://www.mediafire.com/?52c2o0vkwt75392

Preview:

This is fucking amazing!

These are indeed amazing, but fuck me, there's no way to change portraits in an existing character right? Underrail save files also don't seem to take kindly to notepad++.

 

[Lurker King]

I know, but this game is really close to offering a proper stealthy experience. Styg has given a lot of attention to a mechanic that is usually overlooked in most cRPGs, and he just need to work a bit more on it to reach a real milestone for the genre.

If the AI is broken, you just have another failed attempt to implement stealth in cRPGs, not a milestone.

Re-read my message, I said that there is already a lot of effort invested on the stealth mechanics' development and it shows. Sadly, the inconveniences I mentioned prevent the game from offering a proper, 100% full-fledged stealthy experience (which would be truly a milestone, an outstanding achievement for other RPGs to admire).

I know this, but this need to be fixed. If we keep praising the game as the best thing since the invention of chocolate cake, and dismiss every flaw as a minor nuisance, the game will not reach its full potential. The time to fix this is now, not in the next years. We will have the rest of our lives to praise the game, but things need to be fixed. For instance, I notice that some fights (like the one at the Emporion Shopping Mall) are borderline impossible for a heavy melee build. Forget about tactics, the only thing you need is kiting. You can always leave the location to use medicines, etc., and come back later. Most of the time your enemies don’t follow you, and when they do, they go after you alone, which doesn’t make sense. The AI makes the game a kiting heaven for the ultimate cheese player, but everyone keeps praising the combat, so this don’t need to be fixed, right?

 

[ArchAngel]

To be honest, that hopper quest should be purged from the game. It's like a tax to get to the good stuff.

Not sure. It seems to be a basic intelligence test just like depot A is basic build test.
And people seem to fail at it. And then come to the forums to complain about it without realising they are just marking themselves as idiots.

 

[Lurker King]

Most people just rally against cooldowns for cool points, without thinking for a second how it's applicated in this game.

The combat was designed having cooldowns in mind. If you take this off, it will be a popamole mess.

 

[Tigranes]

To be honest, that hopper quest should be purged from the game. It's like a tax to get to the good stuff.

Not sure. It seems to be a basic intelligence test just like depot A is basic build test.
And people seem to fail at it. And then come to the forums to complain about it with realising they are just marking themselves as idiots.

In that case, it should be replaced with a basic mathematics question, which is probably more entertaining.

Cooldowns are not great systems but they work fine in Underrail. My only complaint is out-of-combat cooldowns. You can't get rid of them entirely because they are necessary when you're running away or sneaking around, etc, but it is annoying when in very safe situations.

I wonder if you couldn't just have pickpocket, lockpicking, etc. be instant if you are not in stealth, as well.