Meriwether - Early Access launched

HiddenX

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The Early Access version of Meriwether: An American Epic is available on Steam now:

An Epic American Journey

President Thomas Jefferson has commissioned you for a mission that will change the destiny of the United States. Along with your co-captain, William Clark, you are to lead the Corps of Discovery--three dozen intrepid volunteers from the United States Army--from St. Louis to the Pacific Ocean. That's over 3,700 miles of rivers, plains, forests and mountains you will need to cross: and then retrace on the journey home.

Meriwether is a single-player, first-person RPG that combines the narrative richness of adventure games with resource management, hunting, and exploration to offer a unique play experience. The game implements the best parts of open-world design and customized content to give you an experience that is driven by your actions, yet remains true to history.

The dangers you will face are incalculable. You'll have to draw your own map as you go, for no reliable one exists. You'll have only the supplies you can carry with you to fend off starvation, exposure, disease, and mischance of every variety. Given the difficulty of the journey, you are the only man in America to which the President would entrust this mission: you. And you are Meriwether Lewis.

Features



  • The script and story, by award-winning writer Carlos Hernandez, features an innovative dialogue system. Are you more of a Leader, a Diplomat, a Soldier, or a Scientist? Will you be able to keep your Melancholy in check? Your choices will customize the game to your play-style.
  • Historical rigor: noted Lewis and Clark historian Barb Kubik has provided the designers with a thorough cultural understanding of America in the early 1800s, and has fact-checked the game down to the buttons on the uniforms. In addition, some of the leading Lewis and Clark scholars, including XXXXX, have consulted on the game, further deepening its authenticity.
  • Keep death at bay through carefully managing your resources, negotiating well with the Native American nations you encounter, and constantly boosting the morale of your men.
  • Hundreds of plants and animals to discover, all modeled on the actual species Lewis documented on the journey.
  • You are the doctor! Attempt to treat your men's wounds and illnesses by using logic, luck, and mercury-laced laxatives (which are, unfortunately, historically accurate).
  • Hunt: 1804-style. Ever try to shoot an angry grizzly with a flintlock rifle? Better make every shot count.
  • 20+ hours of gameplay for the first playthrough, and five distinct fates for Meriwether Lewis based on your actions.
Thank you for the info, Capt. Huggy Face!

More information.
 
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Wow, is this game still alive? Any backers who've tried it? I chose not to back this one.
 
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Been on EA for a few weeks, but no user reviews yet. Any Watchers been playing it and have some impressions?
 
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They say it's pretty well done, and they just want more feedback from the EA. *shrugs*

Wish I could help more, but all I did was play through the intro, which is essentially answering questions from NPCs and getting character skills from your answers.
 
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I thought I backed it but didn't get any email.

I'd check to see if you did. I did get an email, but the key wasn't delivered. I had to email the dev to get the key. They are using Humble to deliver keys, so you could check the "keys" tab in your account there, if you have one.
 
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I'd check to see if you did. I did get an email, but the key wasn't delivered. I had to email the dev to get the key. They are using Humble to deliver keys, so you could check the "keys" tab in your account there, if you have one.

Ah yes it was in my Humble library thanks. Still I don't play EA games so now I'm waiting for it to officially release. I noticed I also have Star Command Galaxies there, which is also in Early Access (and its original estimated release was 2012 pfft).
 
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It definitely looks interesting, sort of like the old "Oregon trail" game remade as an action RPG. What I'm not so sure about is the minigames (such as for making medicine)..

But still not a single user review on Steam and no one really giving any impressions in Steam forums or Kickstarter comments from what I can see either.
 
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I still haven't played any more, but the intro included two mini games, and I liked them better than I like most terminal hacking, etc.

One was finding a plant and sketching it into your sketchbook. It was just a matter of picking a piece of the correct picture three times, one piece for each time you find the plant in the wild. Pretty easy, but a nice idea.

The second was for treating the sick, as Meriwether is a doctor. It was a pretty simple process-of-elimination game involving the colors and placement of the medicines in your box. Again, simple, but I liked it better than most mini games, which I generally find mildly annoying.

Neither of those are going to pose much difficulty or stand in your way, unless the difficulty ramps up later. Perhaps some would see that as a bad thing, but I don't.
 
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That name... ouch. I assume Lewis & Clark is already taken but... jeez, can't something be done?
 
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How about, Americans discover unknown wilderness that French, Spanish, English and Russian Voyageurs and Natives of the Pacific Northwest have explored for centuries prior -and whose rights have been have been ceded to the British by the Spanish.

54 40 or Fight!
 
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