Drakensang - Update

woges

SasqWatch
Original Sin Donor
Joined
October 26, 2006
Messages
2,080
Location
UK
Ragon der Magier mails some new info for Drakensang.
- Drakensang probably gone gold
(source: http://www.spieletipps.de/artikel/1712/1/ - German Interview w/ Bernd Beyreuther, July 11 )
- RL already working on an AddOn (release date & more yet in the dark)
(source: see above)
- successor to Drakensang (explicitly distincted from the AddOn!) also being in the works, possibly with Coop Multiplayer
(source: http://www.alveran.org/index.php?id=10#newsID2769, German TDE Community site, RL executive response to an inquiry about MP feature from one of their users - rating: i´d still say rather rumor
undecided.gif
)
- system requirements leaked
(source: http://www.4players.de/4players.php/...rakensang.html , later backed by a press release on http://www.gamefacts.eu/index.php?se...ails&newsid=93

Minimale Systemvoraussetzungen:
Betriebssystem: Windows® XP mit Service Pack 2 oder Vista
Prozessor: Pentium® 4 CPU 2,4 GHz oder vergleichbare CPU
RAM: 1024 MB für Windows® XP, 1536 MB für Vista, 2048 MB für Vista 64
Grafikkarte: NVIDIA GeForce 6600 GT mit 256 MB RAM oder vergleichbar
Optisches Laufwerk: DVD-ROM
Soundkarte: DirectX® 9c kompatible Soundkarte
Freier Festplattenspeicher: 6 GB

Empfohlene Systemvoraussetzungen:
Betriebssystem: Windows® XP mit Service Pack 2 oder Vista
Prozessor: Intel® Core™ 2 Duo E8200, 2,6 GHz oder vergleichbare CPU
RAM: 2048 MB für Windows® XP, 2560 MB für Vista
Grafikkarte: NVIDIA GeForce 8600 oder vergleichbar
Optisches Laufwerk: DVD-ROM
Soundkarte: DirectX® 9c kompatible Soundkarte
Freier Festplattenspeicher: 6 GB )
More information.
 
Joined
Oct 26, 2006
Messages
2,080
Location
UK
Ok, now that the cat is out of the bag (i.e. this news is already out), here´s why i think Drakensang is Gold now
[ there´s been no official announcement yet! ]:

The interview in the first link was made with RL´s leader Bernd Beyreuther and opens like this [translated from German, of course; Ragon]:


"The co-founder of Radon Labs took a moment of his time for a long interview on the day of the supposed approval of the final Release Candidate of Drakensang - hope we won´t have to plead guilty for causing another delay to the release!"


And Bernd in his own words states it further down the line on page 4 when talking in the context of issues with the internationalisation:


"... We have always been fully conscious of the fact that the German market would not be sufficient to carry such an extensive and costly game. But the internationalisation is basically just starting now. Localisation will take off effectively the moment i pass on the Goldmaster now. With the realisation for the PC much will depend on the quality of the translation. A translator who doesn´t have the the sound at his disposal [as well] won´t even grasp half of the lines´ meanings. ..."


Strong enough leads in my eyes, aren´t they?!
;)


On top the interview also proclaims in the introducing line that they [RL] would already be working on an AddOn, which is, again, backed by Beyreuther later on when he is asked upfront "What are your current plans for the Addon?" and replies:


"Fact is, we´re already working on it. Fact is as well, though, that we have nothing final to say about it yet, like as to how, when or by whom it will be published."


The interview is also very interesting in itself as it gives a nice introspective about how the acquired the TDE license in the first place, the pains with various design decisions they had to make, also with the community in mind on the other hand, his first facing of them (on a TDE Con) and the tweaking of combat and AI...


Cheers mates!
Ragon
 
Last edited:
Joined
Jan 22, 2007
Messages
64
Location
Germany
Thanks for the translations; I'm looking forward to a US release date on this one.
 
Joined
Oct 3, 2007
Messages
594
Location
NH
About time we got any info about localisation of this game. :)
 
Joined
Dec 3, 2007
Messages
113
What should be more interesting for american market, they are working on a xbox port. (spieletipps interview, last page) That would mean a completely revamped interface. At the moment, Drakensang ist something like between NWN2 and KotOR. You can use WASD or marquee multi select. For xbox, Bernd indicates a more direct control scheme. I think that would mean real KotOR control scheme.

That the game has gone gold is also indicated by the author of this interview, on his personal blog. He writes that he received a version of the final gold master (RC 6).

Also interesting for you, in the interview Bernd said, that he would start translation of the game the day the gold master has been done. That would mean they are now working on a localized version. I'm quite sure they will find a publisher for this game.

About the quality: Graphics are not that top of the edge, but it looks fine when it comes to an overall perspective. The key feature is the story line, that settles above all. It's quite linear and offers only few choices. But it has quite a dense atmosphere and the quality of dialogs at least in german is very good. Hopefully they can manage a good translation.
It's not a perfect game and not a game for Oblivion fans, for sure. But it's very intruiging for people who love classical adventures and saving the world stories. I played a 25% beta and it was quite fun.

Oh, and it doesn't let you feed your characters, but it still has some micromanagement. Study your manuals, I would say. For germany it was said to have about 80 pages (english is in some way shorter than german, that should be around 50-60 pages then ;))
 
Joined
Oct 18, 2006
Messages
839
Now, I'm still (years later) not sure where I fall on the "fan" spectrum on said game, but I'm wondering what you mean by this line: "It's not a perfect game and not a game for Oblivion fans, for sure." Are you at liberty to elaborate? Thanks.

(If you can't, I will just assume that you mean it's not a free to roam world)
 
Joined
Oct 3, 2007
Messages
594
Location
NH
Well, if you want to play a party based RPG with up-to-date graphics the alternatives are limited. :p

I hope that´s not the only good argument for Drakensang though. ;)

Jokes aside, I´m quite optimistic it will be a good and interesting game. Time will tell how good.
 
Last edited:
Joined
Aug 30, 2006
Messages
7,830
With Drakensang, NWN2 add-on 2 and Dragon Age, I'd say the future of party based RPGs with up-to-date graphics is looking better than usual. Usually there's hardly a game on the horizon at all.

Anyhow, I hope the German members here can write their opinions on the game as soon as it's out, as I'm very interested in hearing more about it, and it seems it will take a while before the English version is done.
 
Joined
Oct 18, 2006
Messages
7,583
Location
Bergen
If I manage to overcome my lazyness, I might be able to translate that "Spieletipps"-interview, which is imho excellent.
 
Joined
Nov 5, 2006
Messages
21,908
Location
Old Europe
Now, I'm still (years later) not sure where I fall on the "fan" spectrum on said game, but I'm wondering what you mean by this line: "It's not a perfect game and not a game for Oblivion fans, for sure." Are you at liberty to elaborate? Thanks.

(If you can't, I will just assume that you mean it's not a free to roam world)
I don't know how it looks like for your country, but we have the problem that every RPG becomes compared to games like Oblivion and Gothic. Games that simulate a game world and offer more kind of direct interaction than a game like Baldur's Gate. Drakensang does not try to get close to this ideal - jsut as BG does. There is not that much room for choices, its a straight novel with only small room for decisions. You can explore the level maps, but they don't offer that many things than a game like TES. Most things in Drakensang are connected to the plot. It is a game novel, not that much of a simulation game. I simply want to prevent from having false expectations, as there are so little information in english available in the moment.

When I say it is not a perfect game, that means there are some minor flaws, things one could have done better. There are some things for sure that will prevent some gamers from buying the game. Graphics could be an argument for this. There is some lack of comfort, e. g. no items highlighting, failed pickpocket has no effect on the game world, such things.

But there are also some small things that make the game something special. For example, all talents in TDE are connected to three check rolls on three of your attributes. So, the use of a talent also depends on your attributes. If you move on a talent in the characters list the attributes that will be checked, become highlighted (the pointer is on that spider icon talent, the arrow shows the three highlited attributs that are connected to the spider icon, in that case it's zoology). Or pathfinding in Drakensang is really great. You can click on the other side of the river and he will find a direct way without permanently hitting the river banks or trees. I love the map design, I love the look and feel of the game world although it does not have the quality of an Unreal 3 game.

It's a game where you can feel the care of its designers. Bernd is a huge TDE fan, everytime he is allowed to talk about Drakensang, he has that sparkling eyes. That's what I appreciate about that game. Though in some way not perfect and fully up to the edge, they managed to bring in some details one wouldn't expect. It's a very interesting story game as to the point my preview version ended (about a quarter of the final game). I really like to play the game in August.
 
Last edited:
Joined
Oct 18, 2006
Messages
839
Great interview! I wouldn´t be surprised if Joerg Langer recycles it for his English site GamersGlobal.

A point I find worth mentioning:
Langer says the combat AI only offers two options (attack, defend) but actually works very well. Especially better than in NWN 2. Beyreuther explains they had a designer working on combat and spells for a full year.
 
Joined
Aug 30, 2006
Messages
7,830
It depends on how you look at it. In fact, the AI don't uses special attacks and spells, you have to give the order or the AI will use standard attack (aggressive mode) or remains inactive (defensive mode).
 
Joined
Oct 18, 2006
Messages
839
There is not that much room for choices, its a straight novel with only small room for decisions. You can explore the level maps, but they don't offer that many things than a game like TES.

Shadows over Riva was also very linear, especially compared to its predesessors, but at the same time it was also the most atmospheric of the trilogy. So I'm not too worried about that.
 
Joined
Aug 30, 2006
Messages
3,486
German version gone gold. Release: 01. August
dtp entertainment-Pressemitteilung vom 18.07.2008

Das Schwarze Auge: Drakensang ist „gold“ – Releasetermin am 01. August bestätigt

Hamburg, 18.07.2008 – Es ist soweit: Die deutschsprachige Version des Rollenspiels Das Schwarze Auge: Drakensang hat nach mehrjähriger Entwicklungsarbeit den Gold-Master-Status erreicht und befindet sich nun im Presswerk in Produktion.

Damit einhergehend bestätigt Publisher dtp entertainment den 01. August 2008 als Veröffentlichungstermin für Drakensang in Deutschland, Österreich und der Schweiz. Pünktlich zum Veröffentlichungstag stehen dann die Standard-Edition sowie die Limited Collector’s Edition des Spiels in den Regalen der Händler.

Schon die Standard-Edition, die 49,99€ kosten wird, enthält zusätzlich zum Spiel Das Schwarze Auge: Drakensang das DSA-Regelwerk 4.0 als PDF.

Käufer der für 59,99 € angebotenen Limited Collector’s Edition erwartet ein randvolles Fanpaket: In einer hochwertigen Buchverpackung mit Drachenhautoptik befinden sich neben dem Original-Spiel „Das Schwarze Auge: Drakensang“ viele wertvolle und hilfreiche Beigaben, wie die exklusive und nirgendwo sonst erhältliche Das Schwarze Auge-Zinnminiatur „Lindwurmtöter“, welche für jeden DSA-Fan mit Sicherheit unverzichtbar ist. Zudem enthält die edle Buchbox – jeweils auf einer separaten CD –den epischen Original-Spiel-Soundtrack von Dynamedion und das Das Schwarze Auge-Hörbuch „Der Scharlatan“, die das Eintauchen in die Welt von Drakensang atmosphärisch bestens begleiten. Die vierte Edition des Original-DSA-Regelwerkes und eine lederne Karte der Welt Aventuriens komplettieren auch für Neulinge den Einstieg in die Welt der Pen & Paper-Lizenz.

Die Auflage der Limited Collector’s Edition ist streng auf 10.000 Exemplare begrenzt.

Für das kommende Rollenspiel Das Schwarze Auge: Drakensang setzt dtp entertainment AG auf eine äußerst authentische und hochqualitative Vertonung. Wie bereits bekannt gegeben, werden viele der in Das Schwarze Auge: Drakensang vorkommenden Charaktere von Sprechern vertont, deren Stimmen beispielsweise aus deutschen Synchronisationen von Hollywood-Spielfilmen bekannt sind. Mit dabei ist etwa Torsten Michaelis, der sonst den Hollywood-Schauspielern Wesley Snipes und Martin Lawrence für die deutschen Übersetzungen ihrer Spielfilme seine Stimme leiht.

Ebenfalls zu hören sein wird Charles Rettinghaus, der etwa als LeVar Burton in den deutschen Star-Trek-Fassungen zu hören war. Dietmar Wunder, deutscher Synchronsprecher von Daniel Craig als James Bond sowie des Hollywood-Schauspielers Adam Sandler, gehört ebenfalls mit zur Drakensang-Besetzung. Zudem dürfen sich auch Fans von Gothic Rock und Mittelalter-Musik freuen. In Das Schwarze Auge: Drakensang werden die Stimmen von sechs der beliebtesten deutschen Mittelalter-Musiker zu hören sein, darunter Martina Sofie Nöth (Amber), Brandan Pötschokat, Sänger der Band Cultus Ferox, „Teufel“, Sänger der Band Tanzwut sowie Musiker der Gruppe Saltatio Mortis.
it Das Schwarze Auge: Drakensang verwirklichen dtp entertainment und Entwickler Radon Labs das, worauf Rollenspieler schon seit vielen Jahren warten: Mit Drakensang kommt das seit mehr als zwölf Jahren erste PC-Spiel zu Deutschlands erfolgreichstem Rollenspielsystem auf den Markt.

Das Schwarze Auge ist das in Deutschland führende Pen & Paper-Rollenspielsystem. Die Story zu Drakensang wurde in Zusammenarbeit mit DSA-P&P-Redakteuren entwickelt. Dadurch wird Authentizität gewährleistet: Kenner der DSA-Welt werden sich sofort heimisch fühlen und nichts vermissen. Nicht-DSA-Spieler bekommen eine authentische, durchdachte und stimmige Welt präsentiert. Dank modernster Technologie wird die Welt von Aventurien wieder auf dem PC zum Leben erweckt, in atemberaubender 3D-Grafik und mit genauem Auge für die authentischen Details.

dtp entertainment veröffentlicht Das Schwarze Auge: Drakensang am 01. August 2008.
 
Joined
Oct 18, 2006
Messages
839
Back
Top Bottom