KickStarter Solasta: Crown of the Magister Thread - now with Palace of Ice sequel DLC

[NJClaw]

How long is the Lost Valley campaign?

Around 15 hours for a single playthrough seems a reasonable estimation (probably 20+ if you play slowly). But most of the content is entirely optional, with the main quest just being "complete one of the branches of side-quests", so you might end up just seeing a small percentage of it and finishing the adventure sooner, depending on your choices (quests are given to you by factions and openly aligning with one of them can ruin relations with others). Sometimes the improving and worsening of relations with factions flows reasonably, but other times the quest system is excessively clunky and simply talking with an NPC locks you in with a faction, without giving you a chance to say "no" to him, which really shows how this game is still unable to handle complex quests.

All things considered, it's a great expansion. Anyone who enjoyed the base game should try it.

 

[mediocrepoet]

All things considered, it's a great expansion. Anyone who enjoyed the base game should try it.

Haven't finished it yet, but I'd also say that it's significantly better than the base campaign. The base campaign was fine too, though.

 

[Nikanuur]

I must say, I feared this game would be poor. For all the amiss UI design, simple approaches, models looking as if a bunch of IT students tried fiddling with 3DMax Pro during the summer camp etc...

...but it really isn't all that bad at all. It delivers all the RPG elements, at least to some extent, and it's quite lucid about what it aims for. That means AD&D combat, managing the party, character leveling and equipping, traveling, encounters. It doesn't imply being anything more, and I respect that. All players should do the same before moving on to something better suited to their tastes.

I mean, all the non-pussy players. You know, people who feel the gaming means there should be at least some parts done good, and if that is the case the rest could be given some slack. Not for players who believe gaming means that all genre criteria must be met at 152%, graphics must be as if straight out of ILM, complexity must overshadow the real life, and writing must be at least as good as if gentlemen A. C. Doyle and Dostoyevski had a superman-macho-writer-child whose mere presence in this world burns all texts but his by a light most holly.

Mwahahaha.

Anyway, it's safe to say the game is somewhat simple in some regards, story included. But it does deliver an alright RPG experience. I find the game something nice to come back to during the lonely afternoons spent otherwise mostly by holding my stick of joy.

 

[Nikanuur]

In her journal, Aksha

mentioned, she kept Reek's sword and shield. It seemed a nice reference to hidden loot, but I can't find anything like that in her room, nor on Reek's corpse. Google is also silent on this. Is there any sword and shield like that to be found?

 

[Radech]

Finally completed my first module with a buddy:https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2794826415 - good times, and the lack of voice acting was a major plus. Classes are Hoodlum Rogue(in full plate cause feats suck), Dragon(fire) sorc, War Cleric and Marksman Ranger. Cunning action is great, and having a very mobile frontliner was a nice niche for the rogue, misses suck so hard though. Sorc is a bit frustrating to play(every third click is 'cancel'), but I liked that burning hands stayed relevant between added flat and upcasting. Non-life clerics suck at healing, which I kinda like since 'wow-meta' is boring, he was a surprisingly solid frontliner though, especially after getting heavy armor. The ranger was surprisingly strong with hunter's mark + bow + poison arrows he suddenly started rolling a fucktonne of dices, and once he got his hands on a cloak of elvenkind, he rarely shot without advantage.

 

[Alienman]

Interesting. Many good custom campaigns?

 

[Radech]

Well it's the first I've gotten far into, and I knew it would be at least decent. There's certainly enough to choose from, but very little to gauge whether they're any good.

 

[Yosharian]

I'm thinking of getting this, should I get the DLCs too or just the main game?

 

[mediocrepoet]

I'm thinking of getting this, should I get the DLCs too or just the main game?

Get the DLCs they open up build options and Lost Valley is arguably a better campaign than the OC.

 

[Iskramor]

Grunker Your bearded elf chick keeps cracking me up.

Not changing that shit back, it's hilarious. For all this game's faults, its odd insistence to implement weird tangential D&D rules are its most endearing point.

My Paladin just got advantage on a roll to persuade an Orc because she spoke Orcish. That is some roleplaying depth I can't recall seeing in any other RPG ever.

If you find things like that hilarious i have bad news for you.You are infected with NVLS(Nerd Virgin Loser Shit).

 

[Larianshill]

Is there any ETA on the new classes DLC? The contest ended over a month ago.

 

[Abu Antar]

Is there any ETA on the new classes DLC? The contest ended over a month ago.

Not really helpful, but they released a patch for the game, today. It has nothing to do with DLC, but in their message, they did say that they are currently working on it.

 

[Infinitron]

https://www.solasta-game.com/news/160-patch-notes-version-1385

PATCH NOTES - VERSION 1.3.85​

PC / Mac

• Fixed being able to give Esfalad the Dryad Queen's head before starting The Dryad Queen quest, preventing from starting the Jungle Escort quest
• Fixed the Waterfall exit area sometimes disappearing after entering the Hidden Caves in Verdant Valley
• Fixed Halman Summer missing from a cutscene... making the dialog very, very strange.
• Fixed a bug that could occur in Custom Dungeons if you spammed the skip button too quickly during dialogs
• Added a messsage when trying to select a DLC class in Multiplayer when the host doesn't own the DLC.
• Made some changes to improve movement smoothness in Multiplayer
• Fixed an error that could occur when right clicking on an item while in a shop
• Fixed more desyncs in Multiplayer, such as closing the inventory immediately after moving an item before the network validated the move, or playing around in the bestiary menu.
• Fixed a rare case where starting a random encounter right before 8:00 AM and finishing it after 8:00 AM would prevent the exit area from appearing.
• Fixed items not immediately appearing on the ground after being dropped in Multiplayer
• Improve stability and added more safety nets to prevent potential crashes
• Fixed the game sometimes displaying xbox controls in weird places without reasons
• Fixed the Point Buy System being unavailable due to its icon being replaced by the male/female slider (wut?)
• Fixed a scroll of Resurrection in the People's Hideout causing errors when looted
• Fixed a freeze that would occur when a Druid in Wild Shape gets knocked unconscious by an attack of opportunity (both the animal shape and druid reaching 0 HP in one strike)
• Made some optimization passes on Caer Hyfrid
• Fixed a Ranger with Fast Aim and a +1 Longbow equipped losing their UI when entering combat

---

Xbox

• Made several optimization passes to improve Xbox performance, notably in areas such as Caer Hyfrid which could lead to crashes on Xbox One.
• Fixed a crash that would occur when entering certain cutscenes with a Kindred Spirit summoned
• Fixed not being able to select usable powers during dialogs with the gamepad
• Fixed not being able to select different options in the post-combat revive screen with the gamepad
• Fixed not being able to select a location when reaching an exit area in some Custom Dungeons
• Fixed Game Menu sometimes not being available with the gamepad
• Fixed Ray of Frost VFX on Xbox
• Fixed the A button becoming unresponsive on gamepad if the "Move with Right Click" setting is activated
• Fixed radial menus sometimes being accessible during black screens which could cause errors
• Fixed a rare bug where it would be impossible to interact with the statues in the fight against Zharon
• Fixed a rare bug where the in-game light would become progressively brighter and brighter, until the entire world was consumed in light. Praise the sun!
• Prevents using invalid file names when using a controller for text input
• Fixed pinging with a gamepad generating five pings at once, this isn't Apex or League of Legends
• Fixed certain areas in Caer Hyfrid, Cemetary, Research Complex and Copparan Mines being hard to reach with the gamepad
• Fixed pressing RT & LT at the same time opening both radial menus... forever. Releasing the buttons won't release you from your torments.
• Improved navigation with gamepad when selecting feats.
• Fixed being able to control the host character in multiplayer by opening the inventory immediately after ending your turn (how do you even find those exploits)
• Fixed two hidden doors in Underground Ruins being permanently highlighted after being opened.
• Fixed one stone pillar in Underground Ruins (Lost Temple) being impossible to interact with
• Fixed the location tooltip sometimes overlapping the travel journal on the world map
• Scrolling down in the merchant item list should now work as intended
• Fixed missing environment under the Mana Generator in the Dark Laboratory
• Fixed gamepad guides sometimes appearing during cutscenes

---

Alright folks, that's it for today! Don't hesitate to drop by our Discord Server to find other players for Multiplayer sessions.

 

[Old Hans]

I just realized why the character models bother me so much. They look exactly like Vanguard Saga of Heroes from 2007

 

[GentlemanCthulhu]

I am really digging this game so far. Sure, the base campaign is entirely linear, the presentation is janky, and the voice acting is hit and miss, but the Soraks are an incredibly compelling antagonist that i don't mind the other shortcomings (besides the Lost Valley campaign is a proper RPG one with C&C and branching paths). Also I'm surprised to see that the 5th edition can be made into a compelling vidya combat system. I didn't think it was possible with how barebones and abstracted it is.

PS, I wish Infinitron would stop making threads for game news. It makes searching and finding a game's master thread difficult.

 

[Zed Duke of Banville]

Yes, Solasta was a promising first game from a new developer, but there are a few obvious improvements that would enable the next game from Tactical Adventures to greatly surpass it:

• Larger party size, at minimum 6 PCs versus the current 4, to boost diversity of party composition and increase replayability
• Wilderness exploration, rather than merely selecting a destination on a map
• Proper dungeons with non-linearity and puzzles, rather than a mostly linear sequence of fights
• More logistics and other effects to improve exploration
• Decent cosmetic aspects in the character creator (cf. Dragon's Dogma) with vastly improved faces

Their next game would probably benefit mechanically from dropping any connection to the current version of D&D, although I suppose this benefits them commercially in terms of sales, so if they do stick with D&D/AD&D they would be better served by using the actual Dragonlance setting rather than ripping off certain aspects with the rest of the game-world being either vague or a mess.

 

[vortex]

• Larger party size, at minimum 6 PCs versus the current 4, to boost diversity of party composition and increase replayability
• Wilderness exploration, rather than merely selecting a destination on a map
• Proper dungeons with non-linearity and puzzles, rather than a mostly linear sequence of fights
• More logistics and other effects to improve exploration
• Decent cosmetic aspects in the character creator (cf. Dragon's Dogma) with vastly improved faces

Writing, storytelling and voice acting need huge enormous improvement too.

 

[IDtenT]

Yeah, getting an actual licence wouldn't be bad.

If they could move away from Unity even better.

 

[vortex]

Yeah, getting an actual licence wouldn't be bad.

If they could move away from Unity even better.

Unreal 5. Unity is a performance plague.

 

[Abu Antar]

If they make another game, have more classes from the start.

 

[anvi]

Did Solasta make much profit?

 

[ERYFKRAD]

the Soraks are an incredibly compelling antagonist

Que?

 

[rusty_shackleford]

SORAKS?!

 

[GentlemanCthulhu]

the Soraks are an incredibly compelling antagonist

Que?

What's not love about alien lizard humanoids?

 

[GentlemanCthulhu]

So, I beat this game. Here is a list-form review:

The good:
- 5th e D&D adapted to vidya format in a way that actually makes gameplay exceedingly fun and engaging. I didn't think it was possible --- every time my characters leveled up, I got audibly excited. Every fight felt unique and interesting, and I never felt bored moving from encounter to encounter. It helps that the game features very little non-combat gameplay. Overall, this is a combat-fag's kind of RPG.
- The Soraks are a great antagonistic force. They are basically alien lizard humanoids, and I think the game does a very good job of painting them as a legitimate threat, and establishing the pervasive paranoid atmosphere that is emblematic of this conspiracy theory.

The Bad:
- Dialogue is stunted, partially due to budget constraints when it comes to voice actors. Often it feels like circles of mentally-stunted, low-functioning autists barely managing to construct sentences. This might improve your particular sense of RP though, i don't know.
- The "Humor" is grating.
- There is very little player agency in progressing the story.

The ugly:
- The voice actors don't even pull off non-verbal sounds like screams, moans, and grunts properly, much less believable dialogue. They actively make characters, including your party members, less likable.
- The visuals are mediocre as a whole, and poor when it comes to NPCs.
- UI is amateurish both in form and function.

Overall, I rate this an 8/10, which should tell you how good I think the combat gameplay and Soraks are.

Favorite character: The racist high-elf bimbo