Realms of Arkania - HD Remake Announced!

I doubt the budget is big enough for fundamental changes. Maybe some interface tweaks, comfort functions and ruleset updates.

If they do this right, it will be awesome.

Originally Posted by Gorath
I doubt the budget is big enough for fundamental changes. Maybe some interface tweaks, comfort functions and ruleset updates.

Changing the UI and graphics is already a fundamental change and will likely constitute a complete rewrite of the original code.

good. I wanted to like this game but it was so dated I couldn't see why people rave about it still.

Dated graphics sometimes - if well done - can help one particular thing : We call it "head cinema" in Germany - "Kopfkino".

Hmmm. Well I'm heavily in wait-and-see mode. I'm not sure how much you can "improve" on a very limited budget, especially if you go full 3D. If they're going to mess a lot with basic mechanics, I'll likely tune out. If it's mostly a graphics/interface upgrade, then sure, might be fun.

Huge RoA fan, but "remake" can mean too many things in creative industries, so I'm more worried than excited.

Originally Posted by Brother None
Hmmm. Well I'm heavily in wait-and-see mode. I'm not sure how much you can "improve" on a very limited budget, especially if you go full 3D. If they're going to mess a lot with basic mechanics, I'll likely tune out. If it's mostly a graphics/interface upgrade, then sure, might be fun.

Huge RoA fan, but "remake" can mean too many things in creative industries, so I'm more worried than excited.

This exactly, although I'm more ambivalent than worried.

Hey you wet towels!
I'm excited that someone is attempting it, not about tha actual product, obviously.

If they screw it up, I can still go back to the originals. Not much to loose. Sure, a rather obscure Austrian developer and a publisher that usually seems to specialize on those obscure "simulate really boring jobs" simulation games does not particularly boost confidence, but you never know.

Originally Posted by GhanBuriGhan
Hey you wet towels!
I'm excited that someone is attempting it, not about tha actual product, obviously.

If they screw it up, I can still go back to the originals. Not much to loose. Sure, a rather obscure Austrian developer and a publisher that usually seems to specialize on those obscure "simulate really boring jobs" simulation games does not particularly boost confidence, but you never know.

-> this!

There is a new article about the game on the Website from the German Magazine "Gamestar".
To the article: http://www.gamestar.de/spiele/das-sc…8,3011198.html
To the screenshots only: http://www.gamestar.de/index.cfm?pid…8&fk=96132&i=1

As it's completely in German I will summarize it a little bit:
Combat:
The writers were able to play the game and the combat seems to be very similar as before. They are tactical and can take up to 20 Minutes.
What is new: A cover system. A mage can take cover behind a small wall or a barrel for example.
The interface was optimized but all the mechanics (dice rolls) stay the same.

Traveling:
There is no tilebased movement anymore. The traveling on the travel map stays about the same, including setting watches or sending someone to collect herbs or to hunt.

Comfort Functions:
There will be tutorials so you don't have to study the manual.
Manual notes on the minimap, easier menu navigation and drag and drop in inventory.

Graphics:
It does not reach a level of quality like Witcher 2 or Skyrim. Some of the textures are very low quality.

Price and Game Time:
It will take about 80h to finish the game and it will cost around 20 Euros.

Good news indeed. And the graphics look more than adequate. Do hope that UI isn't locked down though.

Do I see green skinned orcs in a TDE Game again ? Now this doesen't bode well…

Their tone implied that they're a bit skeptical about the game offering basically the same content as RoA, just a bit more refined. I'm on the same side.

Originally Posted by Fenris
Do I see green skinned orcs in a TDE Game again ? Now this doesen't bode well…

In the comments readers say that these are placeholders which will be replaced. According to the comment it was stated in another forum - but the source link is broken.

Originally Posted by Sacred_Path
Their tone implied that they're a bit skeptical about the game offering basically the same content as RoA, just a bit more refined. I'm on the same side.

HMM - Damned if they do, damned if they don't. Probably best if they don't mess with it too much, I reckon, other than to fix stuff that is obviously broken.

Originally Posted by Roq
HMM - Damned if they do, damned if they don't. Probably best if they don't mess with it too much, I reckon, other than to fix stuff that is obviously broken.

Welp, even Baldur's Gate EE offered some new content. If all they do is rehash the exact same puzzles, comparable battles and numbers of enemies, etc., I don't think I'll buy it. And contrary to BG, getting the RoA games to run with all bells and whistles on a modern OS is no problem thanks to Dosbox.
OTOH, if it had more and more varied ways to apply skills, tougher and more tactical battles, and more meaningful choices of equipment, it could be an insta-buy.

Originally Posted by Sacred_Path
Welp, even Baldur's Gate EE offered some new content. If all they do is rehash the exact same puzzles, comparable battles and numbers of enemies, etc., I don't think I'll buy it. And contrary to BG, getting the RoA games to run with all bells and whistles on a modern OS is no problem thanks to Dosbox.
OTOH, if it had more and more varied ways to apply skills, tougher and more tactical battles, and more meaningful choices of equipment, it could be an insta-buy.

Unlike BG which is almost linear and has next to no replay value, the first Realms of Arkania is almost a sandbox game with no linear path. If you play it again today, you will probably find tons of stuff you did not experience before.
That said, the combat was changed a bit, the interface was changed, the character system was probably changed (randomness removed) and of course you see everything in new graphics.
I am looking forward to it even if the game itself has no new content.

However that is only true for the first and maybe the second game.
Shadows over Riva is extremely linear. For this game I would want additional content, too.

Originally Posted by Kordanor
Unlike BG which is almost linear and has next to no replay value, the first Realms of Arkania is almost a sandbox game with no linear path. If you play it again today, you will probably find tons of stuff you did not experience before.

Uhm… just from playing RoA REALLY OFTEN when they came out, I thought I had seen pretty much everything there is to see (and it seems I was right about that, checking various walkthroughs). Color me surprised if there really is a lot of choice going on in RoA; because while you can indeed choose your path along the world map, nothing was stopping you from going everywhere and experiencing every encounter in one playthrough. But that's just IIRC.

Originally Posted by Sacred_Path
Welp, even Baldur's Gate EE offered some new content. If all they do is rehash the exact same puzzles, comparable battles and numbers of enemies, etc., I don't think I'll buy it. And contrary to BG, getting the RoA games to run with all bells and whistles on a modern OS is no problem thanks to Dosbox.
OTOH, if it had more and more varied ways to apply skills, tougher and more tactical battles, and more meaningful choices of equipment, it could be an insta-buy.

Since I only played shadows over Riva, and even that only until I got stuck at a hard battle, I am more than happy with a modern remake.

Originally Posted by Sacred_Path
Uhm… just from playing RoA REALLY OFTEN when they came out, I thought I had seen pretty much everything there is to see (and it seems I was right about that, checking various walkthroughs). Color me surprised if there really is a lot of choice going on in RoA; because while you can indeed choose your path along the world map, nothing was stopping you from going everywhere and experiencing every encounter in one playthrough. But that's just IIRC.

Of course you can have seen it all back then - in one playthrough. But in this case you must have used a guide/walkthrough which also points you to every dungeon which is not relevant to finish the game.
And while people exist who have seen it all, I am pretty sure that the vast majority of players have only seen like 70% or less of the original game. If they finished it at all. Of course, that isn't of any help for you unfortunately.