JA: Back in Action - Demo Released!

Gorath

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Publisher bitComposer surprisingly released a demo their upcoming Jagged Alliance reboot called Jagged Alliance: Back in Action. Maybe they were a bit worried when Steam fumbled their 1 week exclusive on the demo. Anyway, the demo is only 354 MB small and the usual suspects should have it every minute.
So, the Demo is released. Contains: Tutorial. Laboratory in the Orta-Swamps. Weight: 354 MB. Voices: German and English. Text: English, German, French, Spanish, Italian. Will update the list as soon as I have more links to share.
More information.
 
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Wondering what the feedback will be. I cant play since i play morrowind 2.0 and after that it is king arthur 2.
 
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I haven't been following this. Perhaps unfairly but I expect something like what the UFO games did to x-com.
 
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Maybe I'm just an old ass who refuses to try new things but as a die hard JA2 player, this one has no interest for me. It looks like what Bethesda did to Fallout, focused on all the wrong things and missed the point entirely.
 
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I'm waiting to hear some feedback on the demo, but right now I'm thinking the new JA just won't be for me. Which is too bad, because I have some great memories of the older versions, and ones like it.


-Carn
 
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Wow, 3 out of 4 replies are basically 'I won't play this but I bet it sucks'. Are you proud? Happy? Just felt compelled to share your joylessness?

I remember the original JAs fondly, although they got a bit cumbersome when you had to slowly turn-walk all your people across the screen searching for enemies. I'd love to see similar gameplay with non-prehistoric UI, which is what this more or less sounds like. Time to hunt down the demo when I get home.

I hope they kept the fallout-style 'make your own mercenary by answering a bunch of questions' and the pile of other mercs to hire. Honestly half the fun was the interplay between them, when they got along (or didn't).
 
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Wow, 3 out of 4 replies are basically 'I won't play this but I bet it sucks'. Are you proud? Happy? Just felt compelled to share your joylessness?

I remember the original JAs fondly, although they got a bit cumbersome when you had to slowly turn-walk all your people across the screen searching for enemies. I'd love to see similar gameplay with non-prehistoric UI, which is what this more or less sounds like. Time to hunt down the demo when I get home.

I hope they kept the fallout-style 'make your own mercenary by answering a bunch of questions' and the pile of other mercs to hire. Honestly half the fun was the interplay between them, when they got along (or didn't).

Please do tell us, what you liked/ disliked about the game ?
 
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Just tried the demo and wasn't even able to complete the tutorial, as the game ignored the fact that I did as it told me to do and refused to continue at some point (reloading).
 
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The fact that the developer looked at JA2 and decided the one thing that needs to change is the combat (i.e. they felt TB is too old fashioned) makes me suspect they have no clue as to whats important to a JA2 fan.
 
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Played the demo: the tutorial and the beginning of the only mission. The cam controls are awkward, I didn't find the way to move across the screen with the mouse. Overall, the interface didn't feel fluid, but at least there are keyboard shortcuts for most actions. Tried to play with all auto pauses turned on. The plan and go kicked in right when my first merc was seen by the enemy. Planned the attack, pushed execute and it was a mess, pausing didn't help. Gave up right away. Uninstalled it. I really wish they didn't kill JA play mechanics. Too sad. Well, guess I can go replay JA1-2 or Silent Storm for the n-th time...
 
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No problem with the tutorial. It expects you to do exactly as it says though. Did you reload ALL used weapons?

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In the level it's pretty stupid to go forward and fight right away. The AI notices something - not your squad- within seconds even if you don't move. Pull back and look for a weak spot first. A behaviour which should be blatantly obvious for a JA2 veteran.

Plan&go works fine. Controls are okay, except for the inventory.
 
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Updated the newsbit.
 
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It's blatantly obvious it's not about tactics and attacking here or there. It's real time (even with pause and planning) vs. turn by turn combat. Guess it works for you. It doesn't work for me.
 
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It seemed like a mess to me, too. I just played the mission once and perhaps I'm missing something, but do I seriously have to load up stacks of shots on the same enemy who is charging at me? If you're going to force real time on me, shouldn't there be some sort of auto attack feature or command? Please tell me I missed some command. I'm all in favor of increased control of my characters, but not if you're going to force real time on me.

Yeah, real time until turn based upon spotting enemies would've been a hell of a lot better. But I guess you can't do that, since you're showing me all enemies on the map at the outset. Those are a couple of deal-breaking decisions for me, I think.
 
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But I guess you can't do that, since you're showing me all enemies on the map at the outset. Those are a couple of deal-breaking decisions for me, I think.

Wait? Am I understanding you correctly? A tactical game that shows you were all the enemies are? It doesn't even have fog of war?

Please tell me I misunderstood your sentence. Because that'd be not a real time vs turn based preference, that's just WTF.
 
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Wait? Am I understanding you correctly? A tactical game that shows you were all the enemies are? It doesn't even have fog of war?

Please tell me I misunderstood your sentence. Because that'd be not a real time vs turn based preference, that's just WTF.

It is the WTF part. unfortunately. Unless the enemy is in a building. (99% sure)
 
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You still have to take them out, which isn't easy at all.
Official word is that they wanted to remove the trial & error part, that's why they took fog of war out. It was in until ca. Aug & Sept last year. Tests apparently have shown that it's more fun without.

It's a misperception that this game is anywhere close to an RTS. If you play the combat part in RT you don't survive 30 seconds.
 
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This is what I do not understand. There are dozens and dozens of RTS games, action games, 'majestic' games out there… that's fine by me, clearly people like them.

But why do these' bonehead' developers have to screws us destroying a game that worked just fine as it was? JA2 was one of the best turn-based tactical game ever made, why do they have to ruin it? Do your own RTS and whatnot games, damn morons, but leave the classics alone.

I hope this will be a commercial disaster for them.
 
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They didn't screw up a fine game. JA 2 is just as good as it ever was. ;)

Did you already try it, or what makes you think it's so bad?

Of course they changed the formula. Why was there never again a good JA2 clone? Because no publisher wanted to commit the money. Which hints that JA2 didn't sell. Developers and publishers are in the business to make money.
 
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I'm just assuming you rpgwatch guys are playing a crazy practical joke on me with the no fog of war thing. It's a joke right? No one would release a tactical combat game without FOW. It doesn't make any sense. In fact, it's monumentally stupid. It absence fundamentally breaks the JA gameplay.

I can live with real time. I did in the UFO:After* series. But no fog of war?!! A Joke. It's just a practical joke.
 
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