RPGWatch Feature: Arcania Impressions

Yes I understand, it just seemed like you were focusing more on the chapter thing, which wasn't his concern at all. ;)

You couldn't go back to previous chapters in Gothic 1/2 either,

Anyways, it will be interesting to see what Jowood ends up doing with this.
 
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The key being "sounds like".

You couldn't go back to previous chapters in Gothic 1/2 either, so there's still nothing definite about this implementation that we know about.

Until we know for sure, I think it's prudent to stay open - but that's me.

Since the chapter changes in Gothic advance the story and re-populate the mobs, who would ask to "go back" to a previous chapter? What, exactly, would you go back to?

They've specified this for a reason, otherwise they wouldn't even mention it.
 
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I know what he's talking about.

The point is that we don't know if Arcania locks you out of previous regions based on chapters.
The chapters are region based and thus you are locked out from regions you visited in a previous chapter.
 
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Hmm since 90% of the gameplay in these sort of games is usually combat, and a working combat system is not done a year before release, that has me worried.

Compare to Diablo 3 where they are more than a year away and they have a working combat system.
 
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Well ... I still have my $5 pre-order down ... hopefully it will turn out OK.
 
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I've already decided that I'm definitely passing on Arcania, I agree that it's a Gothic game by name only.

I'll certainly buy it if I hear positive feedback on this site, but I'm not holding my breath. ;)
 
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Since the chapter changes in Gothic advance the story and re-populate the mobs, who would ask to "go back" to a previous chapter? What, exactly, would you go back to?

I don't know, but you couldn't go back - which was the point.

They've specified this for a reason, otherwise they wouldn't even mention it.

The point is we didn't know the reason until it was pointed out. The reason I mentioned Gothic, was to give an EXAMPLE of how it didn't HAVE to be region lockout.

Gothic had chapter lockout without region lockout, and Arcania COULD have chapter lockout without region lockout.

It can't be that hard to grasp my point, but I think it's about time we laid it to rest - don't you?
 
The chapters are region based and thus you are locked out from regions you visited in a previous chapter.

Now we know :(

That sucks, indeed.

I was ready to keep an open mind, but region lockouts in a freeform game is a HUGE no-no. I had the same issue with The Witcher - but that was more of a story game, so it wasn't quite as bad.

But I dig the freeform aspect of Gothic too much to give Arcania a pass on this. It doesn't have to be just like Gothic, not at all, but if it's not even freeform - my interest is going to be very limited.

Oh well...
 
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Arcania is only on my maybe list and like JDR, I shall await further insights before making any decisions!!
 
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Add another to the wait and see list.

Lately my expectations for games that I buy has been really low. It actually helped me enjoy them a bit more. If I keep my expectations low then when they exceed them it's a pleasant surprise :)

However, with this one I have almost no expectations and no interest in trying to go through another pre-community patch Gothic 3.

Risen seems to have outdone itself. While Arcania is not looking that good.

Are they still shooting for a Winter 2009 release? If their preview was that empty, I don't even want to think about what the real game looks like.
 
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No they made public a delay so now the target is 2010, when in 2010 is still unknown.
 
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At least that is good news. It gives them more time to finish the game.
 
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good news???? :S

they haven't got a game (they have yet to make it), and until a tenday ago it was scheduled for tomorrow morning.
howth can this be good news?
________
MAZDA C PLATFORM
 
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it is also on mu wait to see list.

Only interested because it builds further on the gothic world. Still I do hope it will be a good game :(
 
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good news???? :S

they haven't got a game (they have yet to make it), and until a tenday ago it was scheduled for tomorrow morning.
howth can this be good news?

If it's not ready, then how can a delay be bad news?
 
Delays late in the project schedule tend to be bad news -- if something is supposed to be released next week and gets suddenly pushed to next year, it suggests that the people working on it (a) are deluding themselves about the real status of the project, or (b) aren't communicating with management. Both of these are bad signs, since they suggest significant technical or organizational problems that aren't well understood.
 
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.. What? The world is not open like the previous Gothic games? You're locked inside chapters like The Witcher?

I generally don't like to call "dooooom!", but this really is the opposite of the core values of Gothic, where an open world to explore is essential.
 
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Delays late in the project schedule tend to be bad news -- if something is supposed to be released next week and gets suddenly pushed to next year, it suggests that the people working on it (a) are deluding themselves about the real status of the project, or (b) aren't communicating with management. Both of these are bad signs, since they suggest significant technical or organizational problems that aren't well understood.

I don't agree at all with this.

Not that I'm confident about Arcania, quite the opposite, but late delays are the rule rather than the exception in this industry. This isn't a week before release, and the delay was announced some time ago.

In general, it's not about self-delusion as much as making the final decision which requires (among other things) reaching an agreement between the developer and the publisher. We're witnessing this on a constant basis, and you need only look at something like Dragon Age to see a recent example of a late stage delay that hardly spells doom for said game.

Generally, the developers want to ensure their game is worthy of release, and the publisher wants to ensure it's the best business decision. Rarely is this a straightforward process - especially with new relationships. Late stage delays are VERY common, precisely because of this process.

But even so, look at Blizzard. They've delayed every single product they ever did, at least since Warcraft. Often, it has been close to their announced release dates. Most people agree Blizzard products are among the most polished games out there, so obviously a delay can be a good thing.

In any case, a delay for a product that's far from ready HAS to be good news if the alternative is on-time release. If you don't agree, then you're saying you prefer a deeply flawed game to a delayed one that has a chance of working as intended.

That's how I see it, anyway.
 
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