Played Arcanum Demo

Briosafreak

Briosafreak

Lived Through the Heat Death
Well i finally played the Arcanum Demo, i suggest you guys to have a go because it really delivers. It will be on british pczone, swedish pc gamer and american cgw. I`ve played it from french joystick, and IT ROCKS!!

I`m even using caps :-)

I only played for five hours, reached level 4, played it as a neutral human with a slight tendence for technology, and just have three comments at this time:

-technically it`s finished, no major bugs, well, no bugs at all, only some problems with doors. It`s in 640/480, but with all the efects and filters made with 3d accelaration, and lots of detail, so it`s quite beautiful and detailed.
-it`s much more "falloutish" in mood,clever humour (but not too intrusive), freedom to roam and character creation than what i was expecting; the personalities choices are a good change from perks; i only played it in moderate difficulty, took me three hours to get to level 4 without doing two major sub-quests but i played it in a very small pace, that shows that someone used to play fallout just gets in the game very easilly.
-My character was still too weak for me to try combat in a proper maner, and i still haven`t figured it out how to fight properly, so i`ll have to wait a few days and watch your ideas about it and try that particular aspect a litle bit more.

Overall, the game seems finished, and quite a challenge.
I think i`m in love with it :-)
http://fallout.gamestats.com/forum/User_files/3ac99d9b77bee5ef.jpg
 
[font size=1" color="#FF0000]LAST EDITED ON May-13-01 AT 05:55PM (GMT)[p]It is, but it weights 264Mb.

Here are some links to sites from which you can download Arcanum:
ftp://filesearch.ru/pub/test/Arcanum.zip
http://www.gameland.ru/articles/common/game.asp?code_cat=COF6959
http://www.gamesmania.de/cgi-bin/gm/rcdox.pl?layer=gt/gt_index>content=gtpc_03_05_2001_arcanumdemo
http://www.gamesmania.com/articles/PC/Arcanum/download.asp
http://www.fileplanet.com/index.asp?section=340&file=59649
http://www.icrontic.com/
http://bonusweb.cz/download/dema/arcanumdemo.html

[hr width=440]
[p align=center]
http://fallout.gamestats.com/forum/User_files/3aa70eb96ee16565.gif[/p][p align=center][font color=FF00FF face=fixedsys]- Why hello there, Ranger -
[font color=00DD00 face=fixedsys]- (Sigh) Go away! -[/p]
 
I am disappointed.

The demo gave me an empression of a beta version, with buggy engine and rudimentary graphics. I have tons of issues with the demo, such as:
- Floating text is not a bad idea, but it's hard for your eyes to notice the change when you ask the question and receive an answer.
- No mouse speed control
- Sometimes the game takes unusually long disk access time, freezing the system for a time (in Shrouded Hills temple, for example).
- After exiting inventory window, world screen gets corrupted, and you have to exit the game, and enter again.
- World tiles are bleak and low-detail. I'd even dare to say that world tiles are CRAP. Bleakness is bleakness, but it still looks like brown-green shit.
- Character models are badly made, with cloak hanging on your shoulder like plastic etc.
- Music and sound effects suck.

Plus some lesser issues with the interface.

I really hope Troika gets everything right, because I see a big diamond of gameplay in the demo, so I'm giving them another chance. My major concern are the world tiles and character models, changing them might take a VERY long time. I can live with crappy music and sound effects, engine and interface issues are 99% likely to be fixed before the release.

http://64.0.221.52/iissamples/aptyp/images/ubermensch.gif
[font size=8 color=ffffff face=times]Ubermensch
[font size=5 color=ffffff face=times]"Sig Heil!"​
 
Remember, a demo:

For THAT much content, they had to degrade some things down to a smaller size. Remember when Fallout's Demo came out, and it was considered large at that time, particularly when 28.8k or 14.4k modems were considered the industry standard? And that one was cut down a bit too, from the original demo they wanted to release.

[font color=orange]
--------------------------------------------
Dennis Leary stole my song! That...asshole!
--------------------------------------------
"Robert, your time has come!"

"OOOH! Wonderful! Wonderful! Thank you, Master!"

"Don't mention it."

*Robert explodes in a shower of sparks*
--------------------------------------------
It's me, Jack Brown! The wind-up ass-hole!
--------------------------------------------

[font color=white]
"Only two things are infinite, the universe and Interplay's stupidity, and I'm not sure about the former."

http://members.optushome.com.au/fatlotofgood/mm21.jpg

"Naaaah, that leather armor doesn't have anything to do with Fallout.
Let's throw it out and take something from Baldur's Gate."
- Interplay Chimp

=========================
Try Arcanum, by those who brought you the first Fallout:
http://fallout.gamestats.com/forum/User_files/3ac99d9b77bee5ef.jpg
​
 
RE: Remember, a demo:

Yeah, but Troika has about 4 months before release. Unless they will decide to push them further. Again, my concern are the tiles. In Fallout demo, graphics didn't differ much from final version.
 
RE: Remember, a demo:

True, these tiles are okay, really. Not too bad, but I think all the bells and whistles will be included. As it is, it looks a pretty good game, as I like the speech options and really complex character setup. Particularly meeting the hired sword and the dialog options of either talking or letting the other guy do the talking. I've not gotten far yet, but if the rest of the game is that robust, then it does bode well.

[font color=orange]
--------------------------------------------
Dennis Leary stole my song! That...asshole!
--------------------------------------------
"Robert, your time has come!"

"OOOH! Wonderful! Wonderful! Thank you, Master!"

"Don't mention it."

*Robert explodes in a shower of sparks*
--------------------------------------------
It's me, Jack Brown! The wind-up ass-hole!
--------------------------------------------

[font color=white]
"Only two things are infinite, the universe and Interplay's stupidity, and I'm not sure about the former."

http://members.optushome.com.au/fatlotofgood/mm21.jpg

"Naaaah, that leather armor doesn't have anything to do with Fallout.
Let's throw it out and take something from Baldur's Gate."
- Interplay Chimp

=========================
Try Arcanum, by those who brought you the first Fallout:
http://fallout.gamestats.com/forum/User_files/3ac99d9b77bee5ef.jpg
​
 
RE: Remember, a demo:

>The demo gave me an empression of a beta version, with buggy engine and rudimentary graphics.

Hmmm, it`s not that buggy, at least in my system.

> Floating text is not a bad idea, but it's hard for your eyes to notice the change when you ask the question and receive an answer.

You`ll get used to it soon, it took me half-an-hout or so

> No mouse speed control

Yeah, let`s wait for the final version, i felt it needs it

- Sometimes the game takes unusually long disk access time, freezing the system for a time (in Shrouded Hills temple, for example).

That`s something that i have mixed feelings, since i`ve seen everyone complaining about slow scrolling and some excessive disk access times, but i only have 64megs and the only time i those problems was near that temple, i don`t know why. It`s memory hungry, yes, but with a little tweaking and a bit of clean-up in the code maybe things will get better for those with that kind of problems.

> After exiting inventory window, world screen gets corrupted, and you have to exit the game, and enter again.

I`ll have to try that, that`s the kind of problems we should tell troika.

>World tiles are bleak and low-detail. I'd even dare to say that world tiles are CRAP. Bleakness is bleakness, but it still looks like brown-green shit.

:-) This reminds me of a discussion with Kahrman, i think, when tactics first appeared.
They didn`t put all the visual splendour they wanted and still Sierra ordered them to tone down graphics, for the sake of low-end computers; i think that won`t help, i`m afraid that it`s all the code that needs optimization, although i haven`t had serious problems.
> Character models are badly made, with cloak hanging on your shoulder like plastic etc.

Yeah, you`re very so right on this one :-) Let`s hope all the other great things in the game makes us forget that ;-)
> Music and sound effects suck.

I agree, but in the introduction movie the music it`s awesome, film-like quality.

>Plus some lesser issues with the interface

Now i agree with you, but i have to test it a little bit better until i have a final say.

How about combat? I still don`t know if I`m doing things right or it`s the game that lacks a bit on that side.

P.S.:Thanks Saint_P, but it looked 640 to me :-)
P.S.2(or the Sony post-scriptum) that`s the UGLIEST sig i ever saw aptyp
http://fallout.gamestats.com/forum/User_files/3ac99d9b77bee5ef.jpg
 
RE: Remember, a demo:

>I agree, but in the introduction
>movie the music it`s awesome,
>film-like quality.

I just think the music needs to be jucier, with a feel of action. And that includes the intro movie.

>How about combat? I still don`t
>know if I`m doing things
>right or it`s the game
>that lacks a bit on
>that side.

I didn't get to the gunfight section yet.

>P.S.2(or the Sony post-scriptum) that`s the
>UGLIEST sig i ever saw
>aptyp

Eh? You find that offensive? Or do you find that crude?
 
RE: Remember, a demo:

A couple of better ones then. :-)


http://fallout.gamestats.com/forum/User_files/3b01c9df240f47ce.jpg

http://fallout.gamestats.com/forum/User_files/3b01caac251ae349.jpg

[font color=orange]
--------------------------------------------
Dennis Leary stole my song! That...asshole!
--------------------------------------------
"Robert, your time has come!"

"OOOH! Wonderful! Wonderful! Thank you, Master!"

"Don't mention it."

*Robert explodes in a shower of sparks*
--------------------------------------------
It's me, Jack Brown! The wind-up ass-hole!
--------------------------------------------

[font color=white]
"Only two things are infinite, the universe and Interplay's stupidity, and I'm not sure about the former."

http://members.optushome.com.au/fatlotofgood/mm21.jpg

"Naaaah, that leather armor doesn't have anything to do with Fallout.
Let's throw it out and take something from Baldur's Gate."
- Interplay Chimp

=========================
Try Arcanum, by those who brought you the first Fallout:
http://fallout.gamestats.com/forum/User_files/3ac99d9b77bee5ef.jpg
​
 
RE: Remember, a demo:

>
>>P.S.2(or the Sony post-scriptum) that`s the
>>UGLIEST sig i ever saw
>>aptyp
>
>Eh? You find that offensive? Or
>do you find that crude?
>
Eh eh, it was a joke following the other thread; i was expecting you to scream, failed miserabily ;-)

Hey Roshambo i remember the pic with the bunny, where was it that you found it?
The second one just reminds me of the good old days... :-)
http://fallout.gamestats.com/forum/User_files/3ac99d9b77bee5ef.jpg
 
RE: Remember, a demo:

<<The second one just reminds me of the good old days... >>

Good old days ? The days you drank too much and wound up in bed on sunday afternoon with the taste of puke in your mouth and no money in your wallet ? :-)

On the demo : I find the interface a bit confusing (but maybe that's just because I sould play it more often. And I it just sucks my computer can't handle the game. But that's more a complaint towards my computer.

[div align=left]

http://www.poseidonet.f2s.com/files/nostupid.gif
[/div]

"Don't worry men, they can't hit us here"
 
RE: Remember, a demo:

><<The second one just reminds me of the good old days... >>
>
>Good old days ? The days
>you drank too much and
>wound up in bed on
>sunday afternoon with the taste
>of puke in your mouth
>and no money in your
>wallet ? :-)

Yeah, you know the drill :-)

>On the demo : I find
>the interface a bit confusing
>(but maybe that's just because
>I sould play it more
>often. And I it just
>sucks my computer can't handle
>the game. But that's more
>a complaint towards my computer.
>
The Fallout interface is still the best, and i miss the Pipboy...
http://fallout.gamestats.com/forum/User_files/3ac99d9b77bee5ef.jpg
 
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