King Arthur - Demo Released

Excellent news. Looking forward to seeing if I have the RTS skills for this one.
 
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Um….. 1.8GB for the demo. Is that correct?


*Edit* It's actually nearly 2GB! I think I'll let someone else try it first. :)
 
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I've been messing with this for a bit. It's actually more of a strategy/rpg hybrid. Your RTS skills can be in the "old man" category and still do just fine. It's more about planning and correct choices in the overall campaign. I'm enjoying this about 1000x more than I thought I would.
 
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Guys, honestly the only difference between this game and a traditional RPG is that you control squads instead of one avatar. Plus it has the whole RTS added. Battles do not play like they do in Total War. In some ways they are easier. In some ways they are harder for those of us used to conventional RTS games, as your thinking has to change somewhat with the use of magic and victory locations.

The game is good. Sure some people will hate it, but I think it deserves a look. I'm having a blast!
 
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Why oh why do they fail to include grand strategic multiplayer? :(

Makes me sad.
 
Archers are a bit ridicolous, kinda ruins the RTS experience. Also the level scaling is always annoying and undermines the RPG element a bit.
 
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Seems like it to me. Every enemy hero I fight is 1 level higher then the average level of my heros. And their troops are usually very experienced as well.
 
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Yes, archers are the most unbalanced aspect of the game. Currently, a person can train a full stack of archers and nearly wipe the board with them. The computer never does this, and usually has the standard compliment of ranged units ( 2 units of archers for every 6-10 units total). So basically, despite having the ability to make the game easy, I generally include the standard number of archers that I would in any other game. Despite the frustration that comes from the lack of balance in some regards, the battles are still quite playable, and even challenging. The addition of magic evens the playing field considerably. The battles can be restarted, and the outcomes can be completely reversed just by changing tactics slightly. The fighting is very fast paced, and you can get into trouble in a hurry. Sometimes the difference between saving your hero or not is if you cast a protective spell at the right moment to deter the destruction spell your opponent just cursed you with.

As far as level scaling, I dunno why that's a problem for some. Your knights level up quickly, and since the battle system relies heavily on individual leader talents, the game would get boring really quickly if your opponent can't come close to matching your ability. - This game is NOT a TOTAL WAR clone. The campaign is divided into chapters, and is somewhat story driven. The level scaling system it is designed with is a necessity and it WORKS.
 
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As far as level scaling, I dunno why that's a problem for some. Your knights level up quickly, and since the battle system relies heavily on individual leader talents, the game would get boring really quickly if your opponent can't come close to matching your ability. - This game is NOT a TOTAL WAR clone. The campaign is divided into chapters, and is somewhat story driven. The level scaling system it is designed with is a necessity and it WORKS.

The problem with level scaling is that it undermines the sense of advancement and the need for such. I loved it back in old Might and Magic days when showing up in a hard dungeon too early got your butt kicked so quick, you'ld learn to go back to starter areas and grow more powerful. Then at higher levels you would be able to return and wipe the floor with the dungeon that would give you so much trouble earlier. Or in BGII, seeing those dragons in Chapter 2 and being unable to take them. Then, coming back later with the right spells, equipment and levels and suddenly those dragons became doable. It wouldn't just be an excersize in monster slaying or planning your character builds, it would also be an excerise in planning the order of places you would visit. If everything advances with you, what's the point of advancing at all? Also, which one seems more realistic to you?
 
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I agree with you that, for the most part, level scaling sucks when you are playing a single player, character driven RPG. I prefer the way you described more often than not. But let's not kid ourselves into thinking non-level scaling is without flaws.

How often do you find the game extremely tough at the beginning on non-level scaling games, only to turn out incredibly easy at the end? Is that any more realistic?

Bottom line is, you either have a game that is too hard at the beginning and too easy at the end, or, in the case of level-scaling games, you have a game too easy in the beginning and too hard at the end. Pick your poison. I'm just saying that certain games may function better with level-scaling, and King Arthur is one of them.
 
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I agree with you that, for the most part, level scaling sucks when you are playing a single player, character driven RPG. I prefer the way you described more often than not. But let's not kid ourselves into thinking non-level scaling is without flaws.

How often do you find the game extremely tough at the beginning on non-level scaling games, only to turn out incredibly easy at the end? Is that any more realistic?

Bottom line is, you either have a game that is too hard at the beginning and too easy at the end, or, in the case of level-scaling games, you have a game too easy in the beginning and too hard at the end. Pick your poison. I'm just saying that certain games may function better with level-scaling, and King Arthur is one of them.

Nah, I don't agree with you really.

First of all, I don't think the primary reason people want to get rid of level scaling is because it's unrealistic. I think it's because it removes a large portion of the motivation to evolve your characters.

At a very basic level, I think one of the very core aspects of any CRPG is the ability to grow your character, and traditionally this was from nothing to something very powerful.

It's true that many games ended up being "easy" towards the end - but that's actually part of the reward.

There's this very integral rhythm to the whole thing, and a well executed CRPG will start out as a huge challenge - to motivate you to build your character well. Then it will slowly become more managable - so as to give you constant feedback on how you're doing. In the end, if you've managed to build your character with guile - you should be able to defeat most enemies with relative ease because THAT's why you poured all that effort into it. That's the whole point.

Now, you can handle the very end fight (or boss fight) in many ways. I tend to prefer just a really tough enemy with a strong AI. I don't care for puzzle fights that forego everything you've learned and nullify the strength you've been building, but I also don't care for a total pushover.

Just a really tough boss that developers require you to be very tough to defeat. If you've built your character perfectly, then it might be easy - but I think that's fair enough.

There's always the level-cap solution - and I much prefer that to a scaling experience.

---

There are always people who complain that a game is too easy, but there's a difference between the validity of such claims. I have to laugh at people who struggle for hours on end to find the perfect strategy - and when they finally break the inevitably breakable AI or find some loophole - the game suddenly becomes way too easy.

What a surprise.

I tend to play along with the developers, given they've been smart about it. I never intentionally look for loopholes or exploits - but if they serve them up in such a way that I'll find them simply by being observant, then I can't really go on completely ignoring it. But when you struggle and intentionally seek a way to break the game, you will be responsible for the ease of "defeating" it.

That's how I see it, anyway.
 
Not to change the subject, but has anyone else been experiencing serious performance issues with the demo? My rig is adequate, and I've messed with the settings a bit, but it mostly runs like a dog. Any tricks appreciated...
 
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Sorry chamr, I don't know what to tell you. I know some ppl on the forums at King Arthur complain of performance and/or crashing, but I've never experienced problems with either, and I'm playing on max settings. You may find help on their official forums. I haven't paid much attention to those types of threads since it hasn't been an issue for me.
 
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