Underworld Ascendant - Review @ PC Gamer

Like others, I'm really hoping that in a few months, we'll actually have a much better version of this game. I have absolutely zero interest in playing it right now, based on what I've read and heard so far.

I'm thinking they flat out ran out of money, too. Maybe it was just bad planning, maybe they thought they could get additional funding from some 3rd party that never materialized. But the end result is a big turd.

It's still possible the game could get itself finished. If it were Egosoft or Stardock, I would be pretty confident that it would get fixed up. We'll see if these folks have enough cash to do it and the will to work on it instead of just cutting their losses and working on SS3.

The first Ultima Underworld was developed in approx 2 years and cost of development was $400.000,- (thats approx $800.000,- in today money). Development of Ultima Underworld 2 took 10 months. Maybe they forgot how to develop games over all that time

Originally Posted by Carnifex
Like others, I'm really hoping that in a few months, we'll actually have a much better version of this game. I have absolutely zero interest in playing it right now, based on what I've read and heard so far.

Watch some videos of how the game plays, or read some in-depth reviews. There's no decent game worth salvaging here. The game itself is best forgotten but it would be interesting to hear exactly how this fiasco happened. This is the same developer that is supposed to be making System Shock 3.

I (unfortunately) backed this thing at a level where I should be getting a physical copy eventually. I wonder if we'll ever even see them. Probably so, as I assume the company has to stay in business to finish SS3?

Trust me, this game will not be saved.

I'm not sure we even want to know what went wrong here - but this isn't your usual case of over-ambitious developers or a few sad mistakes.

We're talking spectacular incompetence or deception in some form or another.

I don't want to think either of Ex-Looking Glass people - but I can draw no other conclusion.

Along with Shroud of the Avatar - this is one of those games that should have been ANYTHING except what it ended up being.

In fact, this is much worse than Shroud - and Shroud was terrible

It is a lot more than 800K in todays cost; not just inflation but developers prices have become quite high given the success of hi-tech companies (applie, google, …). Game designers and artist are more reasonably price but certain areas of the country are more than 4x more expensive today….
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Anyway the problem far exceed just budget. I don't wnat to make too many comments because I haven't actually played the game yet and my comments are based off of hersey; but the general feel i get is the overall target design might have been ok but the actual implementation is wholly incomplete and littered with errors. Mind you the design it self was simple and not what folks were expecting but it still might have been fun with a bit of competence and talent on the development side.

Originally Posted by Andrew23
The first Ultima Underworld was developed in approx 2 years and cost of development was $400.000,- (thats approx $800.000,- in today money). Development of Ultima Underworld 2 took 10 months. Maybe they forgot how to develop games over all that time

Originally Posted by you
It is a lot more than 800K in todays cost; not just inflation but developers prices have become quite high given the success of hi-tech companies (applie, google, …). Game designers and artist are more reasonably price but certain areas of the country are more than 4x more expensive today….
---
Anyway the problem far exceed just budget. I don't wnat to make too many comments because I haven't actually played the game yet and my comments are based off of hersey; but the general feel i get is the overall target design might have been ok but the actual implementation is wholly incomplete and littered with errors. Mind you the design it self was simple and not what folks were expecting but it still might have been fun with a bit of competence and talent on the development side.

I was not trying to pull the case analysis on four lines. I just find given facts noticeworthy. But anyway, incomplete implementation and errors is certainly not cause of the problem here, but rather the consequence. As many Kickstarter projects, this one was also seriously delayed compared to original expectations of the developers. Suppose that with limited budget, this alone can doom any project.

Dude. Is it SO BAD?

I think we are now past a point where we are talking about incompetence. Both here and about Shroud of the Avatar. These 2 certainly are two strange stories that years down the line gonna bother us on how and why they failed. Some people certainly are responsible. They should not be given a cent ever, no matter their name, Garriot can sell his own blood all he wants but he doesnt deserve anymore nor he or the UA team any respect whatsoever. They disgraced their own names and especially franchises.

Originally Posted by KeepitClean
I think we are now past a point where we are talking about incompetence. Both here and about Shroud of the Avatar. These 2 certainly are two strange stories that years down the line gonna bother us on how and why they failed.

It's more than just those two games. This year we had Shroud of the Avatar, Bard's Tale IV, Underworld Ascendant, and Fallout 76. All four of these games released in remarkably poor condition, even by contemporary standards which are quite low already, by developers who's hallways are adorned with fabulous pedigrees from throughout the ages.

Some of these games, like Bard's Tale 4, might be "fixed" to a point where the game delivered resembles what was promised. But all 4 of these titles were released in terrible shape. I have little hope for SotA & Underworld Ascendant as I believe those teams burn through their cash at a far faster pace than their ability to get these games to a condition where they'll be appealing.

Since 3 of the 4 were crowdfunded, this is quite a stain on that business model and will most certainly have negative impacts on future crowd funding participation rates in the CRPG niche

That we have FOUR crpg titles in ONE year released in such bad shape by notable developers also stands out as an interesting topic for some youtuber to perhaps explore.

I wouldn't lump Bard's Tale IV in with the other games you mentioned. BT4 was very playable and fun for me on day one, playing with a 1080ti on an SSD. No issues at all and I enjoyed the game a lot on the whole. Not sure about Underworld Ascendant but BT4 was playable for me.

Originally Posted by TheRealFluent
I wouldn't lump Bard's Tale IV in with the other games you mentioned. BT4 was very playable and fun for me on day one, playing with a 1080ti on an SSD. No issues at all and I enjoyed the game a lot on the whole. Not sure about Underworld Ascendant but BT4 was playable for me.

BT4 made my list by a "hair." It had just enough bugs and missing features that were promised form its kickstarter to be worrisome. I agree though, it is the best of the bunch, by a wide margin, and the developer has done a good job of fixing bugs and getting promised features in the game in a timely manner. Also, it helps that BT4 has a fundamentally good game going on underneath it all. Can't really say that for the other 3, especially Underworld Ascendant, which to me, does not feel like an Underworld game at all, even when you ignore all the bugs.

Originally Posted by TheMadGamer
BT4 made my list by a "hair." It had just enough bugs and missing features that were promised form its kickstarter to be worrisome. I agree though, it is the best of the bunch, by a wide margin, and the developer has done a good job of fixing bugs and getting promised features in the game in a timely manner. Also, it helps that BT4 has a fundamentally good game going on underneath it all. Can't really say that for the other 3, especially Underworld Ascendant, which to me, does not feel like an Underworld game at all, even when you ignore all the bugs.

Fair enough. I never played Underworld but I was hyped for Ascendant because it seemed like they were making something unique. I wanted it to succeed but it looks like a disaster that I'll be avoiding. Maybe pick it up in the bargain bin someday just to check it out, but I'm good for now.

Oh and just for the record, I didn't have a single bug with BT4. I seem to be lucky when it comes to that stuff. It did crash once or twice, though.

My one, real issue with the newest Bard's Tale was that for the first two days that I played it, I was constantly internally griping about how unlike the three prior games it is. Once I let that go, I started enjoying the current game a lot more. Something I'll also keep in mind when I return for a replay.

Originally Posted by Carnifex
My one, real issue with the newest Bard's Tale was that for the first two days that I played it, I was constantly internally griping about how unlike the three prior games it is. Once I let that go, I started enjoying the current game a lot more. Something I'll also keep in mind when I return for a replay.

I heard the remakes of the originals are really good, too. Might want to check those out as well.

Oh, I've put maybe twenty hours into the first remake, but I keep getting distracted and not finishing it. Might deal with that after I've exhausted all my options in Disgaea five.

Originally Posted by Carnifex
Oh, I've put maybe twenty hours into the first remake, but I keep getting distracted and not finishing it. Might deal with that after I've exhausted all my options in Disgaea five.

You really seem to be able to play a lot of different games. I don't know where you find the time as I'm having a hard time keeping up with all these great releases.

Eurogamer's review:
https://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2…pment-disaster

A blatantly unfinished and uninspired nostalgia project that sheds a certain, peculiar light on the immersive sim at large.

- avoid

In case I didn't say earlier, I refused to back this one on KS.

I supported the project and, to this day, don't regret a single penny. I didn't get the game I thought I would, but I got one that enchanted me in its' own way, and one I'll be replaying again and again.

Originally Posted by Carnifex
I supported the project and, to this day, don't regret a single penny. I didn't get the game I thought I would, but I got one that enchanted me in its' own way, and one I'll be replaying again and again.

Eh? Are we all talking about the same game here?

So did you actually finish UA? *Edit* Or were you referring to BT 4 there?

Some people were talking about BT4… Ascendant is too bad to be worth discussing