Game News Eschalon Book II Released for Windows

VentilatorOfDoom · May 12, 2010

Tags: Eschalon: Book II

I'm glad to inform you that <a href="http://basiliskgames.com/eschalon-book-ii" target="_blank">Eschalon Book II</a> is now available for Windows.
 
<blockquote>
"We are thrilled to announce that the second book in the Eschalon Trilogy is now available for download" said Thomas Riegsecker, Lead Developer of the Eschalon series. "Fans are going to really enjoy the game enhancements and larger world. Book II is a big game!" Eschalon: Book II is available now for Windows based computers. Basilisk Games will release the Macintosh and Linux versions of the game on May 26th, 2010. Eschalon: Book II for Windows can be purchased directly from the Basilisk Games website, and in the next few weeks from most major digital distribution services.
</blockquote>
 
<a href="http://basiliskgames.com/downloads" target="_blank">Try the demo</a>, or <a href="http://basiliskgames.com/purchase" target="_blank">purchase it</a> if you like.
 
thanks Jedi_Learner.

golgepapaz · May 12, 2010

Just bought it playing, looks gorgeous as usual, game mechanics are mostly the same, thirst and hunger implemented(can be toggled), predetermined seed for item drops, lockpicking etc (to prevent save scumming, can be toggled as well). you start as a retired adventurer in a farmhouse that you bought catching fish and selling to the local inn living comfortably boring. And a unsigned letter left at your front door...

Jaesun · May 12, 2010

FUCK YEAH!

Andhaira · May 12, 2010

YES!!

Though I still have to finish the first one. Hopefully enemies this time around are more varied and more fun. No more giant killer bees please.

rpgcodexusername · May 12, 2010

is anyone going to buy it, or remove from inventory?

Melcar · May 12, 2010

Slenkar said:
is anyone going to buy it, or remove from inventory?

Probably the Linux client if it ever comes out. However, I'm stuck with my laptop for an undetermined time, and the first one ran like ass on it.

entertainer · May 12, 2010

hopefully a torrent appears

ElectricOtter · May 12, 2010

Nice. Gonna have to check it out.

Luzur · May 12, 2010

i prob do it like with book 1, first torrent it and then buy it when i have the cash..

Azrael the cat · May 12, 2010

entertainer said:
hopefully a torrent appears[/quote

Yeah yeah I know this will probably fall on empty ears, but please please DON'T be an A-Grade dick by torrenting this game (IMPORTANT EDIT: I'm not including folks who genuinely will purchase it when they get some cash together in the future, as sceptical as I am when people claim that). This is not some big studio production. It isn't even a mid-level 'indepdent' studio like Obsidian. It's a handful of folk working akin to VD and co on AoD, who scraped enough of a profit off the first game to make the 2nd one viable.

Seriously, if you're going to torrent some game because you're broke/unemployed/basement-dwelling then torrent Mass Effect 2 or GTA4 or Bioshock 2 or something. Those guys can take the hit. Indie developers like Basilisk can't. It's the difference between stealing from the shopping mall that pays its staff shit for goods made by slave labour in Thailand, and stealing some kid's first bike for the lulz.

This is NOT an anti-torrenting rant or an anti-piracy rant. It's about being a douche by having no consideration of who the person is that you're depriving of a living. The wealth and security of the victim makes a moral difference dammit.

And if you 'just don't care' about morality because you're some e-hardcore dude that would e-push a little old e-lady onto the road for the lulz, (except of course when it comes to your own MORAL RIGHT not to be dictated to and controlled by others dammit! I mean how dare those fascists interfere with what I download! It makes me feel violated and angry but not just angry - more like something I'm entitled to has been taken away...ohh MORAL entitlement, that's the word you're after!)...well at least think out of rational self-interest. Indie developers cannot survive the financial hits of torrenting like the big guys can. Torrenting big developers that make unimaginative next-gen clones makes those games less profitable and just 'might' encourage some better games. Torrenting those small indies with paper-thin profit margins just means that those guys will take up safer jobs with Bethesda and Bioware and sell their soul in order to actually put food on the table and send their kids to school in decent clothing. Which means more Bethesda-crap and less indie innovation.

And the ultimate result? Everything's moving on-line - ubisoft is already making large parts of its single-player games exist on the online servers, so it's impossible to crack without playing through every variation, story branch and iteration on a paid-for online pass. And we'll all be paying subscription fees for our single player games because the companies will have finally realised that software isn't a finite good and they need to make money of us by online subscriptions only. And the indies will simply disappear, because they won't be able to afford the server space or the bandwidth, and without that they'll be toast because they won't be able to adapt to the brave new world of taking any ip that can be taken - i.e. they won't be able to sodomise players and have a hype machine convince them to do their best oliver twist impersonation in asking for more.

So please - I'm not trying to insult you, I'm not trying to start a flame war. I'm being serious. These guys have done the right thing by us gamers. They aren't using draconian DRM (are they even using ANY DRM?). They've provided a generous demo for you to decide whether the game is worth it. Even if the game turns out to be shit, you can just play the demo for free and lose nothing. Please - if you can't afford a game right now, and are really bored I can sympathise. But torrent one of the big evil publishers. There's plenty of those bastards to choose from. Don't kick one of the few good guys in the balls.

entertainer · May 12, 2010

you sure post a lot

Martin · May 12, 2010

Nice.

When I have time I will try this after I try avernum 6.

The first was a bit bland but very tastefully done overall, never got to finish it but I believe I played most of it. The movement around the maps was a bit slow but you could get used to the pace.

There were no options for melee and there were alot of unbalanced skills and spells though, if the guy made the worse skills and spells more useful and added melee options which is what I heard it should be a worthwhile game definitely.

Clockwork Knight · May 12, 2010

Azrael said:
Seriously, if you're going to torrent some game because you're broke/unemployed/basement-dwelling then torrent Mass Effect 2 or GTA4 or Bioshock 2 or something. Those guys can take the hit. Indie developers like Basilisk can't.

Uh, if you're not planning on spending money anyway, it doesn't matter which game you pirate. No physical copy being removed from inventory, etc. No one is being "hit".

Also, ME2, Bioshock 2 and the like are like 20 gb and require good computers

lehphyro · May 12, 2010

Uh, if you're not planning on spending money anyway, it doesn't matter which game you pirate. No physical copy being removed from inventory, etc. No one is being "hit".

Yeah, $25 is too expensive. Remember, you have to multiply the amount in dollars by 2, 3 or even 5 to know how much it costs for people in poor countries. It's like people in US paying $60 for this game.

FeelTheRads · May 12, 2010

That was pretty gay Azrael.

Also, what Cock Knight said.

Azrael the cat · May 12, 2010

Clockwork Knight said:
Azrael said:

Seriously, if you're going to torrent some game because you're broke/unemployed/basement-dwelling then torrent Mass Effect 2 or GTA4 or Bioshock 2 or something. Those guys can take the hit. Indie developers like Basilisk can't.

Click to expand...

Uh, if you're not planning on spending money anyway, it doesn't matter which game you pirate. No physical copy being removed from inventory, etc. No one is being "hit".

Also, ME2, Bioshock 2 and the like are like 20 gb and require good computers

I guess I just don't buy the whole 'I wasn't going to spend money' thing anyway. Certainly not when you haven't even played the full demo yet. When I was a kid, if I genuinely wanted a game, I saved up and eventually bought the fucker. It might have taken a bit longer, but eventually I'd have got it - maybe even waiting for it to go to bargain bin.

That seems particularly applicable to indie developers making the kind of oldschoold crpg the Codex CLAIMS to crave. If you're into the oldschool style as much as most folks here claim, you'll save up for the game.Or you would...if it wasn't for the torrent.

I just can't believe that anyone on THIS site would be so 'meh' about an oldschool crpg that they wouldn't save up to buy it if that was the only way of accessing it (assuming they like it enough to want to play it).

If the game isn't worth saving up for, why would you waste your time playing it? And if it's worth playing, why wouldn't you save up over time to buy it?

FeelTheRads · May 12, 2010

And if it's worth playing, why wouldn't you save up over time to buy it?

That's something else and I agree with it.

Azrael the cat · May 12, 2010

lehphyro said:
Uh, if you're not planning on spending money anyway, it doesn't matter which game you pirate. No physical copy being removed from inventory, etc. No one is being "hit".

Click to expand...

Yeah, $25 is too expensive. Remember, you have to multiply the amount in dollars by 2, 3 or even 5 to know how much it costs for people in poor countries. It's like people in US paying $60 for this game.

That's the kind of thinking that has stopped a niche market in hardcore crpgs from forming. If you want games aimed at anything other than the mass retards, you need to be prepared to pay more. Just as you do when paying for niche clothing, niche cars. niche books, just about niche everything. They lack the economies of scale that are available to the 'games for retards' makers.

Unless people are willing to pay a premium for games aimed at a turn-based story-driven oldschool crpg market, we'll never see one again.

Azrael the cat · May 12, 2010

FeelTheRads said:
That was pretty gay Azrael.

Also, what Cock Knight said.

You should know by now that I don't take 'gay' as an insult. It's just an innaccurate description. I've shagged both men and women in my time. Bi is a pretty fucked term (does it include people currently in straight relationships? How about people in permanent straight marriages, but who have shagged many more men than women? Or those who have shagged lots more guys, but only ever considered having meaningful relationships with women (my case)?) So I prefer to drop the whole label thing altogether.

If you're looking for an insult, I'd go a bit more traditional - remember I'm from the generation one before the time when 'gay' became the catch-all insult. Dickhead, fuckwit, asshole, motherfucker, shithead, retard, pissweak - they're all perfectly serviceable.

Clockwork Knight · May 12, 2010

Azrael said:
If the game isn't worth saving up for, why would you waste your time playing it? And if it's worth playing, why wouldn't you save up over time to buy it?

I don't always buy things depite accepting them for free. Take these next gen games, for example. I'd play them if I got them for free, because why not, but wouldn't buy them because I'm not that interested in the first place.

I don't think piracy is harmless, but when you don't have any intention (or money) of buying the legit thing, it doesn't really matter if you download a copy. It's a problem when you pirate instead of buying.

FeelTheRads · May 12, 2010

OK, I didn't need to know all that.

Jeez...

Point taken, if I like Eschalon 2 demo I will buy it, just keep your cock tales for yourself.

Martin · May 12, 2010

I agree with the "financially supporting indie devs" thing in principle, up to a point. But I dont feel obliged by that principle, just like I didnt feel obliged to avoid asking my friends to tape some albums of non mainstream music bands I liked when I was a kid.

But in the end people who dont buy pc game's or never made even a budget to buy their pc games save very rare exceptions arent going to change their habit because it is an indie. They might praise the game online if they have the chance and they liked it... and that's the extent of support you can ever expect from these people ( me included).

Besides if I was an indie dev and I had some love for the results of my work although I would feel very frustrated by my lack of profits I would still prefer that, money aside, the largest number of peope possible enjoyed what I created.

And yeah there are the doomsday predictions which are reasonable....

There will be a time when cracking is impossible and everything is subscription based yada yada.... and when the internet is fully content regulated and based on subscriptions for every worthwhile service with no privacy yada yada.

All the more fucking reason for we of the "pirate generation" to milk every last drop of content that we slightly value while we can. And besides the demand for "pirated" content and software is part of what keeps the hacker/cracker and "illegal" torrent scenes going and enduring.

Higher Game · May 12, 2010

Book 1 was the best RPG in years and the creator has tremendous talent and potential. Pay up for quality games so he won't go the way of Troika.

Whoever torrents this deserves computer AIDS.

Brother None · May 12, 2010

Clockwork Knight said:
I don't think piracy is harmless, but when you don't have any intention (or money) of buying the legit thing, it doesn't really matter if you download a copy. It's a problem when you pirate instead of buying.

Yes. Because there's no way the easy free availability of games wouldn't shift someone's priorities and purchasing patterns, with the consumer - consciously or otherwise - shifting his spending away from things he can get for free, and no longer feeling the need to save up for entertainment products. Nah, no way, everyone knows there's an absolute behaviour pattern where you always do or do not buy games and you can be 100% sure your purchasing pattern would be exactly the same even if piracy did not exist.

:roll:

Pirate away, but could people please stop making up these kind of incredibly lame excuses that have nothing to do with reality?

Clockwork Knight · May 12, 2010

That wasn't really an excuse, I said piracy isn't harmless. Just that the fact that if I choose to pirate things because I don't have the money / interest won't influence the existence or the extinction of piracy, it'll keep going strong anyway.

I still wouldn't be interested in ME2 even if it wasn't available in two clicks, for example. Perhaps you're right that the consumer base's thinking would change over time, but that's another matter, relevant to piracy as a whole, not to "if you pirate this game, company X will go belly up".

Game News Eschalon Book II Released for Windows

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