My sword Spoiler Alert *wink wink nudge nudge is known throughout the Caribbean!

/me lunges forward with deadly intent.

Originally Posted By Mr Innocent. (19 APR 2012 5:44am)

My sword Spoiler Alert *wink wink nudge nudge is known throughout the Caribbean!

/me lunges forward with deadly intent.

 

Taking into account the seriously TWSS overtones of your remark there, how can I resist the obvious retort:

"Your sword is no match for my tongue, sir!  you palefaced couch-potato!"

Erm.. that should have read:  "The sharpness of your sword is no match for the sharpness of my tongue!"    Ahem.

..and would urge you to observe the forum rules on your reply to that, sir   !

First reviews show the game might be dumbed down console-style and combat is too easy. Where's markovnikov?

Oh well. If all we get is a Skyrim-styled Piranha Bytes pirate RPG, I'll be happy. And reviews can be wrong.

yey, now even I might beat the game 

But seriously dumbing down is never a good thing, taking away too much of the original recipe usually ruins the experience.

Besides i'm still not sure about the whole pirate theme 

Originally Posted By markornikov (24 APR 2012 1:02pm)

yey, now even I might beat the game 

 

But seriously dumbing down is never a good thing, taking away too much of the original recipe usually ruins the experience.

Besides i'm still not sure about the whole pirate theme 

Oh, come on!  Now this game is made for you, Marko! 

PB's previous games were difficult enough, combatwise to handle a bit of toning -down, but console-type dumbing down is usually not good news ...though I'll probably be happy as long as they leave in all (or most of) the RPG elements.

When will the industry learn? Accessibility=Good. Dumbing down=Bad. The trick to creating a good game is to make it as accessible as possible, without removing any of the games complexity along the way. Paradox just recently provided us with a shining example of this done right: Crusader kings 2.

Take a look at that game, it has to be one of the most accessible grand strategy games ever made. It is easy to get into, explains its concepts well, allows newcomers to ease themselves into the game, yet it allows for more options and more advanced strategies than hardly any other game on the market. It is actually more complex than Crusader kings 1 or Europa Universalis, yet it is easier to get into than Shogun: Total war. 

I know, vastly different genre, but I think Paradox deserves a lot of praise for what they did. 

Greenmangaming promotion is back up now,

20% off Risen 2 (and others)

http://www.greenmangaming.com/s/us/en/pc/promo/special-preorders/

coupon: GMG20-PREOR-PROMO

Typical Inesrocks question:

Can I build a female character in Risen 2?

Originally Posted By Inesrocks (28 APR 2012 3:28am)

Typical Inesrocks question:

 

Can I build a female character in Risen 2?

Typical Pyranha Bytes answer:

No 

From what i've read so far, the main character is the nameless male hero of the first risen with an eyepatch.

Which is unfortunate because i didn't like him very much.

Just started the game and so far it's very different from Risen 1 which dropped you off on an island on your own, compared with that Dark Waters almost feels like it's on rails.

Besides that, it's good. I normally detest open-world/sandbox games but there's something about Piranha Bytes games which just clicks with me, possibly the influence of the traditionally German purpose-driven style on what is normally an uninvolving experience.

Originally Posted By markornikov (28 APR 2012 4:00am)

Originally Posted By Inesrocks (28 APR 2012 3:28am)

Typical Inesrocks question:

 

Can I build a female character in Risen 2?

 

Typical Pyranha Bytes answer:

 

No 

 

From what i've read so far, the main character is the nameless male hero of the first risen with an eyepatch.

Which is unfortunate because i didn't like him very much.

I admit he was a bland character. The new one has much more fiery dialogue options seemingly inherited from Bioware games. You can be an unlikeable bastard if you want, unfortunately I've never felt the need in games or real life so don't see the point of such novelties.

Well, after 3 weeks plundering, treasure-hunting and wenching I've finally finished it.

What a thrill! I can't speak for anyone who didn't like the first Risen, but if you did I can say you'll absolutely love Dark Waters. It's bigger, more adventurous, richer in personality and loads of fun. The sense of adventure is one I haven't seen or felt in a game in aeons. Mind you, it did take a while to completely suck me in, and after I got to the third or fourth island I was thinking "well this is great but it's not going to last much longer", but it did with no less than 10 islands to explore, each unique and quite different. It's a huge game, but not so big so as to feel watered down. Each island, jungle, town feels hand-crafted.

I'm baffled why the reviews have been rather average because this is the ultimate open-world RPG for me, the benchmark I will now be comparing every other game of that type against. It's just so damn good. The single downside is the combat is frustrating but Gothic veterans have been used to that for years.

darn, after reading your post Walsh, even I am tempted to check it out 

I'm not going to pay the full price though, i'll await the next steam sales

Good idea to wait, I don't want to be responsible if you hate it! (a lot of people did, looking at some of the reviews) :|

Oh joy.  I've been looking forward to this all month, paid full price for it because I was too busy to grab it on a cheaper deal, and now I can't play it because I can't connect to Steam.

I guess Steam will be the end of my gaming days.

I suppose the new Game of Thrones RPG will also be marred by Steam.

Originally Posted By Traveller (1 JUN 2012 3:35pm)

 

I suppose the new Game of Thrones RPG will also be marred by Steam.

 

 

On the other hand, that was what they said about Alpha Protocol as well, and I love that game. 

Originally Posted By Fnord (1 JUN 2012 5:38pm)

On the other hand, that was what they said about Alpha Protocol as well, and I love that game. 

Really?? Steam gave it to me for free a while back but I never even bothered to download it.

After Skyrim it seems I'm in a quandary about what to tackle next. Preferably something, relatively speaking, on the shorter side. 

Originally Posted By Fnord (1 JUN 2012 5:38pm)

Originally Posted By Traveller (1 JUN 2012 3:35pm)

 

I suppose the new Game of Thrones RPG will also be marred by Steam.

 

 

It is not supposed to be very good anyway. Decent story, poor gameplay.  

 

 

There's no harm in trying, if only it comes w/out Steam....

I'm so lucky I patched my Skyrim, at least i can fall back on that since my Steam isn't working. I know I should just suck it up and carry on with Skyrim, but I was so stoked for Risen2.  Anyway, opened a ticket with Steam but  no response yet.

How long does their Support department usually take to respond?

Originally Posted By CB (1 JUN 2012 5:54pm)

Originally Posted By Fnord (1 JUN 2012 5:38pm)

On the other hand, that was what they said about Alpha Protocol as well, and I love that game. 

 

Really?? Steam gave it to me for free a while back but I never even bothered to download it.

 

After Skyrim it seems I'm in a quandary about what to tackle next. Preferably something, relatively speaking, on the shorter side. 

 

Alpha Protocol is a good choice if you're looking for a rather short espionage RPG.

Roleplay mechanics are a bit dumbed down, but the game really shines in it's storytelling.

Decisions you make do have an impact on the storyline.

The game does suck in the stealth department, but i never take a stealthy approach in combat situations

Ok, although I can't find a bunch of my old Steam games or the tab that allows me to set automatic updates to "OFF", at least i got connected now and playing Risen 2.

..but you know what I just realized what the single aspect of games like Morrowind was that made me love them? That Myst like set-up where you just get plonked down in a scenario and you have to explore by yourself, and figure out what to do next.  I guess Skyrim isn't too bad in that respect, though I really wish the graphics in Skyrim were more colourful and pretty.  I'm so tired of grungy browns, blacks and whites in that department.

Anyway.  So far, I'm finding Risen 2 very scripted.  Do this, do that, go here go there, follow the arrow, read your quest-log.  (Be a pre-determined male character of which you cannot change a single deatil.  Why couldn't they at least have finally given a choice of playing a female?  Darn Piranha Bytes...      

Sigh.

Oh, to be dropped on a mysterious island and not have a clue what's going on or what I have to do next!

Originally Posted By CB (1 JUN 2012 5:54pm)

Originally Posted By Fnord (1 JUN 2012 5:38pm)

On the other hand, that was what they said about Alpha Protocol as well, and I love that game. 

 

Really?? Steam gave it to me for free a while back but I never even bothered to download it.

 

After Skyrim it seems I'm in a quandary about what to tackle next. Preferably something, relatively speaking, on the shorter side. 

 

markornikov pretty much nailed it. While Alpha Protocol has more than a handful of flaws (stealth mechanic is a bit odd (not actually broken, it just does not really work as expected), combat feels a bit lackluster, and the first impression you get of it is not good (wait until you get out of Saudi Arabia until you judge it)).

But I've never seen a game that handles choices & consequences like Alpha Protocol, which gives it a lot of replay value, and they really managed to make the choices feel interesting. 

Originally Posted By Traveller (2 JUN 2012 1:26am)

How long does their Support department usually take to respond?

Depends, but usually no more than a day (as long as it is not a weekend). During large sales it can take up to a week.

Originally Posted By Traveller (2 JUN 2012 4:01am)

Anyway.  So far, I'm finding Risen 2 very scripted.  Do this, do that, go here go there, follow the arrow, read your quest-log.

Don't worry, the scripting doesn't last long. I felt the same way as you.

Oh, to be dropped on a mysterious island and not have a clue what's going on or what I have to do next!

And forget Risen 1 ever happened? Well, Elder Scrolls manages to do that with every game

I keep reading the combat system is awful, which seems to be the biggest complaint about Risen 2...

Is the usual gothic-like combat scheme (which sucks indeed... or better is too hard for me 

No, it just outright sucks Gothic style. Swordfighting is like controlling a bulldozer with rusted levers. If good combat is important to you then this game is definitely not for you.

Hey, I actually liked the combat system in Gothic. It was not very intuitive, but once you get the hang of it, it becomes quite good. It is a system that really rewards skill over grind. 

Originally Posted By markornikov (3 JUN 2012 6:23am)

I keep reading the combat system is awful, which seems to be the biggest complaint about Risen 2...

 

Is the usual gothic-like combat scheme (which sucks indeed... or better is too hard for me 

) or is it too dumbed down compared to the previous games (which would be better for me 

)?

You mean the Gothic 1 control system? ..or combat as it was in Risen 1?  Do you mean that you have to jump back and stuff?  It doesn't seem quite as fine-tuned in Risen 2, I haven't played much (been fiddling with Back to the Future and Screaming Narwhal), but so far I've just been blindly whacking stuff and getting a hiding from human opponents as a reward for that... but at least I get to beat crabs ok... or some water monsters whatever they are.  

I need cash though... cash to buy skills and gear.

@ Walsh - yeah, I noticed now that it seems freer after the first bit; - much better, so I might to get to play more of it with that prospect in mind, thanks.