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

[TwinkieGorilla]

I have to agree that anybody on this site who feels confident in saying they belong on this site who also haven't already purchased this game and yet also salivate over the current popular bevy of Kicksarter rubbish-bin fare...

...are as popamole in my eyes as your average knuckledragging, infantile Bethsda-forumite.

 

[SuicideBunny]

"It's got bugs"—fuck off. Some rocks didn't blow up exactly the way you wanted that one time, big deal.

and some siphoner landed on the same square as my char that one time, preventing me from being able to move or attack at all, thus ending my char's promising pugilism career.

 

[tuluse]

I've bought the game, but I'm waiting to play until it's released and in it's best possible state. Yes, right now it's already one of the best rpgs ever, but still, why would I play it when in a couple months it's going to be in it's best form?

 

[Goral]

There is no good reason not to play through Underrail at least once in its current state, because you'll want to play through it a second and a third time at the bare minimum (...)

Not in my case. One play through was enough for me to start getting bored. The way I see it there are too few viable builds, either a gunslinger with thief skills or a psi magician with thief skills (that will be my next build but it will take many months before I'll replay Underrail again).

(...) There is no doubt whatsoever that this is the most inclined cRPG since the Codex's beginning. (...)

No, Age of Decadence is obviously better. Wasteland 2 is better. Dragonfall is better. DOS is better. NEO Scavenger is better. Maybe once it reaches 1.0 state I'll change my mind but for now it's very good but not genius. There are too many annoying things:

Blaine and Twinkie will be butthurt once they read this

1) It has horrendous requirements for a game that looks worse than Fallout 1 and by that I not only mean hardware but also software. It requires .Net Framework 4 which weighs more than the game itself AND Windows Media Player installed. WTF?
Compared to Age of Decadence (which even a noob like me can run on linux and doesn't need additional shit that weighs more than the game itself just to run it) it looks amateurish at best. Not to mention that AoD is far more inventive, has more unique setting, way better dialogues (in that regard only Fallout 1 or Planescape: Torment can compete) and more interesting characters and story. Plus the fights are much more enjoyable. The only Underrail advantage is the price but I can see why now. Styg is lying in the minimal requirements section, "Win XP SP3" is not enough (I had had that, I also had .Net Framework but older version and until Underrrail every decent program worked just fine). So in order to make this game work, unless you have more than 1.2 GB of free space you need to use gparted (or some other good "partition magic" clone), change the size of your windows partition, install shitty WMP and then and maybe then it will work.

It's a non-issue for me now that I've upgraded my computer but it annoyed me a lot when I was installing it on my old computer where I've purposefully had a C partition small, for essential programs only (I've also had system restore turned off and other things done). All of that so that I could install a game where I don't even see what's next to me (walls often obstruct a view so you don't see a locker or remains or other things).

To clarify, I don't have an issue with obsolete graphics, I have an issue with improper system requirements for such graphics and more to the point with requirements of additional shit being installed. The only thing Underrails lacks is Windows Live account required to run it...

2) You can't load a game during combat unless it's your turn. It is annoying especially when you know for sure you will die before even all the guards will have a chance to burst ammo in you. No such problem in AoD.

3) If you want to sell your stuff you have to go from one vendor to another because one trader will buy only very specific things and nothing else. Which makes sense in real life but in a game it's annoying (and to be honest in a post-apocalyptic world I doubt any trader would pass on a chance to buy something he doesn't need at the moment but for a fraction of it's real value). AoD wins again.

4) Running is so slow in here and it's one of the main reasons I don't want to replay the game. Playing Underrail lets you realize how great "teleporting" is in AoD. First location (SGS) is very annoying, especially cave tunnel exit which is slow like a retard. Also, you can't skip the shooting session with Gorsky (Polish surname BTW and a plus for Styg for choosing such prestigious one ).

5) There aren't that many ways to accomplish missions and pickpocketing skill is a must have. AoD gives much more freedom to the player and always gives you more than 2 options. Here there are usually 2 options only where the second one is way more difficult than the first (e.g. retrieving Elwood's key).

6) It has too monotonous locations. Corridors, corridors and some more corridors. That is the main reason it's not as replayable as AoD.

It has more great things of course hence I consider it one of the best cRPGs since VtM:Bloodlines. Interesting quests, very good character system (not as good as AoD though but oddity is awesome), post-apocalyptic atmosphere that captures the imagination, etc.

P.S.
Have I mentioned that AoD is way better?

P.P.S.
Seriously though, it all comes down to preferences. For some reason more people play Underrail than AoD and from what I can see on the Codex more people prefer Underrail over AoD. To me though AoD has become the third game that doesn't bore me (after Fallout 1 and Sacrifice).

and some siphoner landed on the same square as my char that one time, preventing me from being able to move or attack at all, thus ending my char's promising pugilism career.

I've had bugs when I was running it on Win XP, no bugs on Win 7 though (although when I was playing it on XP it was 2 or 3 builds before the newest one so maybe that's why).

 

[tuluse]

1) It has horrendous requirements for a game that looks worse than Fallout 1 and by that I not only mean hardware but also software. It requires .Net Framework 4 which weighs more than the game itself AND Windows Media Player installed. WTF?
Compared to Age of Decadence (which eve

lol wtf, clearly the mark of a bad rpg

 

[Athelas]

So in order to make this game work, unless you have more than 1.2 GB of free space you need to use gparted (or some other good "partition magic" clone), change the size of your windows partition, install shitty WMP and then and maybe then it will work.

'Unless you have more than 1.2 GB.' What is this, 1997?

 

[TwinkieGorilla]

See...there's a difference between being butthurt, which I'm not (why would somebody else's lack of taste pain ME of all people?**), and recognizing an idiot with poor taste when I see one. And you sir, are an idiot.

Have I mentioned that AoD is way better?

Yes and it sounded moronic the first time as well. They're both great games, accomplishing two different things and Vault Dweller himself will likely be the first to reiterate this point. So yes, a moronic thing to say. But not quite as moronic as saying Wasteplatter 2 is better. That's nearly enough for a tag and certainly enough for a . Wasteland 2. Get the fuck out of here, kid. Even Divinity:Unoriginal Sin (which grew so dull and repetitive that coupled with a generic story left me wondering half-way through what point there might be in finishing) is a fart in the wind by comparison.

You are right about one thing though: it all comes down to preferences. It just so happens that some have naught but shit in that category.

** Not only do I have no stake here, I've actually been helping Vince a bit with the writing so if I were personally biased it certainly wouldn't fall the way of Underrail.

 

[Goral]

Yep, Twinkie is very butthurt.

See...there's a difference between being butthurt, which I'm not (why would somebody else's lack of taste pain ME of all people?**), and recognizing an idiot with poor taste when I see one. And you sir, are an idiot. (...)

Coming from a person who had to add 3 images to his post just to write "you're an idiot".

 

[TwinkieGorilla]

Had to? Wanted to, son. It's a nice way to cement an unknown poster as a known poster in my mind. You're now known to me as "That dumb potato with shitty taste."

 

[Blaine]

there are too few viable builds, either a gunslinger with thief skills or a psi magician with thief skills

My easiest playthrough in terms of combat difficulty was a melee/throwing crafter who only branched out into firearms during the last 1/4 of the game.

Also, you're an idiot.

Wasteland 2 is better.

Holy fuck, what an idiot.

1) It has horrendous requirements for a game that looks worse than Fallout 1 and by that I not only mean hardware but also software. It requires .Net Framework 4 which weighs more than the game itself AND Windows Media Player installed. WTF?

You running the game on a potato, son?

on linux

Are you using Gentoo or Fedora?

 

[set]

Better to play a SP story-driven game when it's finished. This is always true, even here.

 

[PhantasmaNL]

Bought it just a second ago, but will not play this until later (1.0 version).

 

[Robcat]

I have to agree that anybody on this site who feels confident in saying they belong on this site who also haven't already purchased this game and yet also salivate over the current popular bevy of Kicksarter rubbish-bin fare...

...are as popamole in my eyes as your average knuckledragging, infantile Bethsda-forumite.

Wait a minute... while I don't particularly feel the need to belong to this (or any) site and though I do salivate over the current crop of kickstarter fare like a pig at a trough (mindlessly and covered in a soothing blend of mud and my own feces)... I was under the impression that Underrail would cost more at release and so purchasing it then would in fact be better for its creator. I was also hoping to get a non-steam copy.

I don't often care to post but this I take seriously, as I'm also under the impression that Styg is in the final stages of creating a work of true magnificence that should be justly rewarded, regardless of whether my own preferences will determine this to be a personal favourite or not. I remember feeling some shame previously that I had not supported Age of Decadence in the same manner as the kickstarters I had so hopefully and intoxicatedly thrown money at. I had to admit to myself that simply because Iron Tower didn't 'need' the money, or rather, because they hadn't asked for it with the lure of enticing stretch goals and such, I had been content to merely sit back and wait for the goodness to arrive. I came to the conclusion that I wasn't comfortable with how that felt, so I swung them some dollars as a show of support and intend to buy the game again when it is released.

Underrail appeared on my radar later, yet it is past time and apathy that I should do something similar for Styg, as small a token of my gratitude and respect as it may be.

So while I appreciate the mocking repartee of Blaine and Twinkie far less than this, I have to genuinely thank them for pricking my conscience into action.

 

[Serious_Business]

AAAAHHHHHHHEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

I see you are pretty emotional about this. Out of curiosity - why was Wasteland 2 so much of a failure to you? Perhaps your position on this is well known, but I have no idea what the hell it is, so you have to make an effort here. Why is Underrail so superior? Not going to argue with you, I like both, but go right ahead, be as high strung as you would like to be. You know you want to.

 

[TwinkieGorilla]

I was under the impression that Underrail would cost more at release and so purchasing it then would in fact be better for its creator. I was also hoping to get a non-steam copy.

I don't recall Styg ever mentioning hiking the price. But if you'd like to contribute more than $10, you could always buy multiple copies for friends. It's what I plan on doing after the full release.

why was Wasteland 2 so much of a failure to you?

Similarly, I'd love to know how it's not a failure to anybody with standards. Not being cheeky either, I simply feel like Wasteland 2 stands as a shining example of the thin veil of hype lifting to display nothing but a poorly designed, poorly written, ugly-to-behold and generally uninspired game with mediocre to poor combat mechanics, shit exploration, crap art direction and aside from a few moments sprinkled here and there...uninteresting characters, NPCs and not a whole heck of a lot to write home about.

 

[Blaine]

I see you are pretty emotional about this.

you have to make an effort here.

You know you want to.

You've elevated being badly mistaken to an art form with this post. Kudos.

However, feel free to read my Underrail Re-Preview: http://www.rpgcodex.net/content.php?id=9657

 

[Robcat]

I don't recall Styg ever mentioning hiking the price. But if you'd like to contribute more than $10, you could always buy multiple copies for friends. It's what I plan on doing after the full release.

I don't know why I thought that, I had $20 in my mind for some reason. *shrug* Perhaps my mind simply refused to accept that this game would be sold for a mere $10. It's hard to believe.

Buying multiple keys I'll never claim is probably what I'll end up doing. I sent a message via the Underrail website asking if there was another way more preferable to them, but also just to, you know, let Styg & co know how I feel.

 

[ST'Ranger]

Not in my case. One play through was enough for me to start getting bored. The way I see it there are too few viable builds, either a gunslinger with thief skills or a psi magician with thief skills (that will be my next build but it will take many months before I'll replay Underrail again).

This is the surest sign to me that you haven't really tried other character builds at all. There are so many ways to build a character in this game, and so many nuances within each different type of character. There is enormous feat support for melee characters, for example, which you just outright dismiss. Certainly in the previous build, the knife-wielder was the most broken ridiculous combat god in the game. I haven't played one since the changes, but I imagine it's still one of the more powerful and capable characters. There are too many different and interesting character builds for me to reasonably sit at my desk and lay out in their full beauty for you.

Compared to Age of Decadence (which even a noob like me can run on linux and doesn't need additional shit that weighs more than the game itself just to run it) it looks amateurish at best.

I love AoD, and I think it will be one of the most remarkable games when it's fully fleshed out. But let's all be honest here - in terms of aesthetics it's rather middling. I'd easily point that out as the weakest part of the game. I can't fathom why someone would view Underrail as anything less than beautiful aesthetically unless their mind was so warped that isometric, non-3D games just look automatically aesthetically bad to them.

------------

As far as criticism for Underrail goes, the big one I can think of is that Lockpicking and Hacking are both so useful - and much of the cool stuff in the game uses one or the other - that it'd be difficult for me personally to play through with a character without at least a few points in each every level.

You shouldn't let your technical issues color your opinion of the actual game. I can't imagine how much ridicule you'd receive for saying something like "Wizardry VII is terrible because I can't get it to run in Windows 8" or similar. Maybe not on your first playthrough but at some point you will realize this is arguably the best RPG to hit hard drives in decades.

 

[shihonage]

On one hand, the use of .NET (and XNA?) by Underrail may be baffling, but on the other hand, it has assisted in speeding up the game's development. I hate heavily abstracted interfaces, but when it comes to indie development, especially a fucking RPG, minimizing workload is the most crucial factor of all, and an indie dev. cannot be blamed for using them.

As for gameplay, Fallout is the elephant in the room, and there are several blind people touching it. One thinks it's a snake (Vault Dweller), another thinks its a tree (Styg), and I personally think it's a big leaf.

The fun comes from practical realization of these different perspectives.

 

[Ellef]

If you're not the sort of person who exploits XP gain (grinding tricks, handing in quests at certain points etc) can classic keep up with oddity levels?

I generally take the combat option, but I feel a bit under-levelled in classic mode, considering I'm hitting lockboxes in the main quest I can't pick with mk II and maxed skill.

 

[Bubbles]

Out of curiosity - why was Wasteland 2 so much of a failure to you?

Check the Wasteland 2 subforum, about 2/3 of the Codexers talking about the game think it's somewhere between mediocre and shit.
I'm currently struggling to keep playing after 15 hours because of all the artificial padding (10 seconds to disarm a trap, 10 seconds to pick a lock, all with hugeass "animated" icons straight out of a 2003 browser game, followed by manually distributing 3 pistol bullets, 2 AR bullets and a single sniper bullet among your party members), the godawful writing, the bargain bin voice acting, and the constant comically inept mismatching of character models, character descriptions, and character portraits. It's been patched 5 or six times since release and still feels like an early beta.

 

[Blaine]

and the constant comically inept mismatching of character models, character descriptions, and character portraits.

They still haven't fixed that, have they?

Not even the omission of portraits would quick-fix that issue, because you'll still get a text description of a white woman with long blond hair in a dress and see a black woman with short hair in a cowgirl outfit. It's just nuts.

It's not even limited to odd/out-of-the-way areas of the game. There are tons in Ranger Center, and more than a few forced interactions with mismatched characters sprinkled throughout the game.

 

[epeli]

1) It has horrendous requirements for a game that looks worse than Fallout 1 and by that I not only mean hardware but also software. It requires .Net Framework 4 which weighs more than the game itself AND Windows Media Player installed. WTF?

Horrendous requirements?
Hardware-wise, it runs on netbooks that can barely run a browser whereas Unity3D garbage like WL2 lags even on a recently-built gaming desktop.
Software-wise, .NET frameworks are standard OS packages, and it does NOT require WMP. (If you're curious, the WMP requirement in the demo and very early versions were due to WMA music they used. Styg changed this due to popular demand.)

Styg is lying in the minimal requirements section, "Win XP SP3"

The hell? It works on XP and even you got it working on yours, so how is that a lie?


You're entitled to your opinions, but if you start off with factual inaccuracies like that, your entire post reads like a lame troll.

 

[Perkel]

So when this will be out from EA ?

 

[Wirdschowerdn]

So when this will be out from EA ?

Gauging from the last dev log, a few more months.