Stability: Although I do have the very rare crash to the desktop, for
the most part it is running stable for me for long sessions. I am
running in D3D mode @ 800 X 600. My system is a P2 300 (not
overclocked) with 196 MB RAM and a Hercules 3D Prophet GeForce card.
Detonator drivers, version 5.something-or-other.
Graphics: I like the graphics. There is definitely a little "pop in"
effect going on with the scenery but it doesn't bother me. The outdoor
scenes remind me a little of LOL2 where the edges of the forest are
more like a wall with tree wallpaper on them, with the odd tree or
bush sticking out here and there. I really like the character
graphics. The NPC's and monsters look good, and though they don't have
900 frames of animation each, they seem to move smoothly enough for
me. The spell effects are beautiful. Each realm of magic seems to have
it's own color theme which is neat (and also helps you figure out what
spells are being tossed at you!) My favorite so far is Spectral Raven
- it's a ghostly silver bird that flies at your target leaving a trail
of silvery sparkles behind, and then explodes against your target.
Character portraits are good but I wish there had been some more
choices for some of the races.
Sound: The music is so-so. Nothing special, but not too bad either.
Doesn't seem to be too much variation from what I've heard so far.
The character voices are excellent. The voice acting is well done, and
all of the NPC's speak in a believeable accent for whatever race they
happen to be from. (Love the Ratling voices!) Many of the monsters,
especially the humanoid ones, will talk to you as well, even if it's
only to threaten you or taunt you. Alot of the monster sounds are
downright creepy actually. Another cool thing is your character sounds
will vary according to race. For instance, when my Whiska Paladin gets
hit he lets out a caterwawl like a tiger. Good ambient sounds and
effects as well.
Interface: Definitely took some getting used to, but it's like second
nature now. I had read some earlier posts on how it seemed there was
an excessive number of clicks for simple actions (i.e. magic). I'd
have to agree, though there are some hotkey shortcuts to alleviate it
a bit. From the previews, I'd been worried a bit about the small
viewing area, and though I do think they could have made a better
economy of their space for the toolbars, I find the viewing area more
than sufficient. I want to summarize the interface section though with
: Give it a chance! A little awkard at first but you really want to
try and past it so you can get to my next section, gameplay!
Gameplay: I love it! I have not been able to tear myself away from
this thing. Only a couple projects due at work here today stopped me
from calling in sick. To start, everyone knows about the huge
selection of races and classes and skills available for character
creation so I won't go too much into that. (Although I will echo an
earlier posted sentiment that I wish ability rerolling was easier,
since I do have a bit of the min/maxer in me.) Once you've finally
decided from amongst a bevy of tempting choices for a party, you leave
the Inn and are greeted with, well... a rather generic plot, to be
honest. But it's once you are equipped and brave the wilds for the
first time that the game comes alive for you. One note: Don't worry
too much about getting the *highest* roll possible for your initial
ability scores. You are given additional ability points just about
every time you level and these are more than enough I've found. This,
along with artifacts that raise scores mean even min/maxers don't need
to spend too much time rerolling.
General adventuring: I've made my way through the crypt and the first
map and alot of the second, and I am just having a blast. All
throughout I have found some genuinely difficult and thought provoking
puzzles, but without them being headache inducing. (Most were of the
"slap myself in the head and say DOH" type). Some of them also have
more than one solution, which helps all you creative puzzle solvers.
One really cool thing is the narrator. You'll be just walking along
and all of a sudden he'll throw in some spoken color commentary for
you along the lines of "As you enter the room, you get the impression
of great sorrow, as if some horrible evil had been performed here in
the past and settled into the stones themselves" I made that one up,
but it's little things like that that make it feel alot more
tabletoppish and fleshed out. The lock system is very neat. When
attempting to pick a lock on a door or chest, It shows a 3X3 grid of
tumblers and such that your thief goes through, trying to beat a timer
before the trap goes off. You can stop him and try again at any time
though if it looks like it's going badly. There are lots of quests
I've found so far, given by both NPC's and my Guildmasters. There are,
of course the standard deliver, kill the foozle, and fetch me the
magic artifact quests. (I honestly don't know an RPG that DIDN'T have
at least some of these) But along with these, there are other more
unique tasks that will be set before you. There are lots of items
available, including some very nice class specific stuff. The game
does a good job in not being too stingy nor too generous with the
better stuff. I also get the impression that this game is going to be
very big.
Combat: I really like the way the phased combat works, though again I
will echo an earlier post that mentioned it would be better if the
phase system kicked in for ranged combat as well. Other than that, it
is pretty fail safe, and you will begin to appreciate your faster
characters here as their turn for attacks or whatnot come up more
quickly than others. One other note though - the lack of pausing for
ranged combat can work in the parties favor as well, as they can
strafe around enemy ranged attacks with little difficulty and without
it feeling too much like a first person shooter.
That's about all I have for now. Any comments are welcome, of course.
Jon
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