General Games Discussion

[GiantMegaDoucheX]

So I've been scratching my head around this game. It's an original IP...with writing by RA Salvatore (famous fantasy writer behind the Drizzt series).

But the most noticeable thing about this game is how much it steals from The Elder Scrolls series. The game is open world with (supposedly) 100+ hand crafted dungeons. It has dialogue systems, lockpicking, stealth, etc...in fact the only noticeable difference besides the graphics style is the combat.

Now, usually when a game blatantly copies the style and theme of another; I chastise it for plagiarism...but in this case a game copying Skyrim would be welcome in my library of games...IF it can deliver. I wasn't a huge fan of Salvatore, but for people who were this is exciting.

Anyways; after I saw this video I became more excited about this game which until recently had been under my radar.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AK3Mfn2smqo

BTW there is a demo up now for console/PC. I HIGHLY reccomend playing it; it's quite impressive.

Things i've gathered from the demo

-There is crime; Sneaking, pickpocketing, jail, etc.

-There is a day/night cycle...but no 'wait' option as in Skyrim. You must use an inn.

-Crafting is pretty simple and easy to use but entirely dependant on your skill level, which works like skills did in Dragon Age: Origins

-There are factions. So far I have found a Thieves Guild and a Fighters guild analogues mentioned in the demo.

-Full voice acting with dialogue choices. Persuasion skill works a little bit like Fallout 3's.

-All combat moves/spells/abilities are viewable in the 'moves' section of the demo's menu.

-Combat feels smooth, but camera is annoying.

-'Fate cards' augment the way you develop your character; giving you new cards for pure class or hybrid class progression.

-There are hand crafted dungeons all over the place. There are 3 or 4 acessible in the demo, and even more that are inaccessible. They are well done, so far.

I spent  about an hour and a half just in the first area the demo lets you explore; this is exciting, as there appear to be about 20 or so of these open world areas in the game. I'd imagine the game is quite lengthy.

Note that the version of the game the demo is built on is an earlier build than the retail will be; so bugs are present. According to the IGN review in progress, the game is relatively stable.

[kaguras_man]

I hope not because I hate Skyrim.

[alucardsexyghost]

Just because it open world with a dialogue system, lockpicking and stealth etc doesn't mean it's a rip-off of skyrim or elder scrolls in general. Unless they do these things exactly the way they did in those games. I mean elder scrolls aren't the first ones to do all those things.

That being said most open world RPGs are going to look similar. And the options when he got caught by the guard was exactly the same

but just judging from the video it looks like it's different enough, I'd play it.

edit: Think of it this way, are all first person shooters rip-offs of doom? Or halo? or *insert popular FPS here* because they have similar options?

[EvilsergE]

It looks good.

Hopefully not like skyrim....game sawx....

[DoseOfLaughter]

Creators are saying it's like mixing Fable and Elder Scrolls together.

[alucardsexyghost]

yeah watching the video I was reminded more of fable then I was of elder scrolls.

[MaryMagdelicyoius]

The one thing I can point out is the combat is KoA is way different than skyrims.. Artistically different too. I see more Dragon Age artistically than Skyrim. That being said even though they are both Open World RPG's doesn't mean its a clone. I think it's going to be alot different. Not just because the world is different and the story but how it's presented and the elements that go in the game that I can't name at the moment.

[GiantMegaDoucheX]

The makers of the game said they drew inspiration for the game from the Elder Scrolls series.

Of course, I think Peter Molyneux said something along those lines when he made Fable...which ended up being turrible.

[GiantMegaDoucheX]

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MaryMagdelicyoius wrote:

The one thing I can point out is the combat is KoA is way different than skyrims.. Artistically different too. I see more Dragon Age artistically than Skyrim. That being said even though they are both Open World RPG's doesn't mean its a clone. I think it's going to be alot different. Not just because the world is different and the story but how it's presented and the elements that go in the game that I can't name at the moment.

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Character development seems more similar to skyrim. I pray to god it's not like Fable in it's 'open world' nature, though.

[MaryMagdelicyoius]

It's okay though.. Curt Schilling's seeing over the development. And he'll throw a no-hitter for ya

[alucardsexyghost]

It looked like the development was more of a classical "kill monsters get xp" and then you get skill points from leveling up compared to the elder scrolls where you level up skills by using them. Again that's just judging from what little I saw in the video.

It's really hard to say though, like I said some parts of the video really reminded me of fable. But I can also see aspects of Skyrim and other open world RPGs. But nothing so much that I'd say they plagiarised.

[GiantMegaDoucheX]

I am currently playing the demo. While you are right, and it's more of an XP system...there are definitely Elder Scrolls inspired aspects here...especially seen in the character creator.

By the way so far this is really quite good...and the voice acting, so far, is surprisingly top notch.

[HardcoreHunter]

This looks more like Dragon Age meets Fable

I would say that this is a far cry from being a ripoff of skyrim.  That would be like saying Skyrim is a ripoff of Dungeons and Dragons or Lord of the Rings.

[GiantMegaDoucheX]

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HardcoreHunter wrote:

This looks more like Dragon Age meets Fable

I would say that this is a far cry from being a ripoff of skyrim.  That would be like saying Skyrim is a ripoff of Dungeons and Dragons or Lord of the Rings.

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The combat feels far better so far than Fable ever did; and there's an actual GOOD stealth element here that fable simply didn't have. But the game is definitely reminescent of all three; Elder Scrolls, Dragon age, and Fable to a lesser extent.

To me this feels like what Fable SHOULD HAVE BEEN and what Molyneux and team failed to deliver.

The looting, dialogue, and open world seems heavily influenced by Elder Scrolls. The combat is a bit like Fable or any other Hack and Slash. The character progression feels like Dragon Age.

The only minor annoyance I've come across in the demo is the camera...which is a bit wonky when trying to use a bow.

Either way this just earned itself a day one purchase for me...I'm thoroughly impressed.

[HardcoreHunter]

The animation and character movement is what reminded me of Fable. Fables combat is easy to beat. I played through 3 without even getting killed on my first run.  Camera was a big problem at times for fable and Dragon age games. I never tried to play elder scrolls games in 3rd person very much as most things you need to be in first person to do. 

[Greatest_Caution]

Isn't one of the lead map designers or lead something the one that worked for whatever company made Oblivion?

[GiantMegaDoucheX]

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HardcoreHunter wrote:

The animation and character movement is what reminded me of Fable. Fables combat is easy to beat. I played through 3 without even getting killed on my first run.  Camera was a big problem at times for fable and Dragon age games. I never tried to play elder scrolls games in 3rd person very much as most things you need to be in first person to do. 

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Fable's combat was a joke even at high diff...your first AoE spell could simply decimate any group of enemies that got near you.

I don't think this will be the case here, though. I played a rogue for the demo and the combat felt fluid, but punishing if you didn't execute good combos.

I also stole something and got arrested...broke out of jail...and then the guards murdered me....yeah, feels like Skyrim to me.

[HonorableCloud]

The lead designer for Morrowind and Oblivion is heading this project, so yeah, that's probably why you're seeing some semblance.

I read his interview with Game Informer and the guy knows his way around creating an RPG experience. I'll definitely be looking into this one.

[Blah_canbespanish]

My demo bugged when I met the professor, it auto-skipped through dialogue and the music/voices disappeared. I guess they even wanted to copy The Elder Scrolls' PS3 stability.

I liked what little I played though. Looking through the skill trees, it seems a melee/magic hybrid could be very fun. Overall it felt a lot like a Fable/GOW mix.

I was already planning on playing this somewhere down the line since the lead designer of Morrwind/Oblivion is behind it, but now I may pick it up sooner than expected.

[GiantMegaDoucheX]

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Blah_canbespanish wrote:
My demo bugged when I met the professor, it auto-skipped through dialogue and the music/voices disappeared. I guess they even wanted to copy The Elder Scrolls' PS3 stability.

I liked what little I played though. Looking through the skill trees, it seems a melee/magic hybrid could be very fun. Overall it felt a lot like a Fable/GOW mix.

I was already planning on playing this somewhere down the line since the lead designer of Morrwind/Oblivion is behind it, but now I may pick it up sooner than expected.

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Unfortunately I also encountered bugs during the demo. There was one that stopped NPC dialogue from playing, and then my game finally froze...don't know what's up with that...

But it IS a demo. They have some time to fix it before the release.

[EvilsergE]

I hate that you can't jump.

Other than that, i am very interested.

[GiantMegaDoucheX]

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EvilsergE wrote:
I hate that you can't jump.

Other than that, i am very interested.

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You can jump...

At designated points...

But yeah. Not jumping is pretty low on my complaint list...

I still don't like the camera.

[Figure09]

The 360 demo I played is quite broken.

As in, audio just stops working halfway through, most dialogue is simply bypassed and never spoken, and quite a few graphical glitches.

That said, it looks extremely fun. I just hope the final game isn't busted too.

[EvilsergE]

Oh yeah, the camera. It's like...draggy but then it's too fast ......

I think I know what you're talking about.

[EvilsergE]

Also, no lock on....