Sounds like ass, concept looks like ass, gameplay at this stage looks like ass(wee click fest). I get the feeling that this has been heavily influenced by the dumbnuts that did KoTOR.

Creston wrote on Aug 13, 2014, 16:45:
Well, EA did say they were thinking about the whole Early Access process, so maybe this is their trial run with it or something.

News from some of the big players this past week, you can see they are now looking at the small indy style development process and methods. So I guess they've been shown up and now want to start dabbling in those realms. So it proves the win indy has been, now will they fuck it up or improve because of this? We shall see.

Axis wrote on Aug 13, 2014, 16:25:

Verno wrote on Aug 13, 2014, 15:51:
Ok, I take back what I said earlier, that looks absolutely awful. One long awesome button fest.

Wow I have to 2nd that, not at ALL what I was expecting, especially when they threw out words like "roots of PnP", "DnD", "Hallmarks of Bioware" "Deep combat progression" etc.

Yep, Bioware is dead in my book. Last game I truly enjoyed from them was NwN... held out hope for this long, can give up now.

Yeah 3rd, it didn't fit the description. It could still be good, but now knowing the direction they are taking, definitely not my preferred path. I'm still fairly hopeful from DA:I. That said, they all have to prove themselves to me on their own standing, nothing they make at this time will be a day one purchase.

Yakubs wrote on Aug 13, 2014, 15:38:
This looks horrible (gameplay):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=pUlD0Kd6We8

Reminds me a lot of Neverwinter.

UHD wrote on Aug 13, 2014, 17:05:

NKD wrote on Aug 13, 2014, 16:52:

Axis wrote on Aug 13, 2014, 16:38:
When the PR throws out those PnP keywords ("roots of PnP", "DnD", "Hallmarks of Bioware" "Deep combat progression"), the LAST thing you expect is a hack and slash FPS/TPS game.

Now will it be a good game, perhaps. But will it be "Roots of PnP" etc? hell no.

That's on you. It was pretty clear that when they talk about PnP, they are referring to the Shadowlord player's control over the environment being similar to a DM. They were NOT saying that the game is going to be a pen and paper CRPG engine with turn based combat. To me that seemed obvious, seeing as how they said right away that it was an action RPG. As far as deep combat progression, well, we haven't seen the progression yet, so we'll see later on whether that pans out.

Yeah, I'm more willing to believe they're throwing around the video game equivalent of buzzwords to amp up hype rather than a more factual description of the game. You're supposed to read that PR blurb and go "FUCK YEAH D&D HARDCOAR!"

Really looks like multiplayer Dragon Age 2 or Vindictus-style combat with a DM. Fun in theory but that clip wasn't exciting at all and I didn't see anything from the DM's perspective?...

Yep UHD, that's about right.

And NKD, they repeatedly mention in the articles about Baldurs Gate and NwN. Sure they say its an action RPG 'Dungeon Crawler', I saw it too, we all did. But most of us didn't stop reading right then and go "Oh, it's a FPS/TPS Hellgate game with a Dragon Age progression backbone!", because they sure as hell don't sell it like that. Here's their quotes in the articles about Shadow Realms:

Shadow Realms isn’t just hearkening back to those early BioWare PC games—it’s finally bringing the magic of tabletop RPGs to the digital realm

Shadow Realms has its genesis in old school Dungeons & Dragons. When I first started designing BioWare RPGs back in the 90s, what drove me creatively was the desire to give players the experience I had while playing pen and paper games as a youth

..lead designer of games such as Baldur’s Gate, Star Wars™: Knights of the Old Republic™..

BioWare RPGs have successfully replicated many of the things that made classic tabletop games fun: powerful storytelling, being able to create your own character, leveling-up that hero to achieve the heights of fantasy power, and tactical combat against a fantastic array of monsters

It is a game that finally fulfills that fantasy of a never-ending RPG where the players meet up regularly to keep their epic adventures going for as long as they want.

All the enemies, traps and challenges are squarely in the hands of another player, who controls them just like a Dungeon Master.

For inspiration on how to innovate, we took a look at the roots of the online multiplayer RPG game experience. Which is, of course, table top pen and paper Dungeons & Dragons.

There's more, but honestly it's pretty obvious what they are trying to do.

Now, again I'll state the one and only game I'm fanboyish about is DnD, and if they manage to add those types of elements I'll probably play it at least to try it out.

However, the descriptions are misleading the readers no matter how you cut it. One certainly can expect confusion when phrases of old school PnP/Oldschool/DnD/Baldurs Gate/NwN/Bioware roots/Dungeon Master/ are being thrown around in every article, then we find a TPS/FPS gameplay of it. And judging from that gameplay UI and shitty control, it's consolized.

Looks interesting, I guess. Doesn't get the blood pumping.

NKD wrote on Aug 13, 2014, 16:52:

Axis wrote on Aug 13, 2014, 16:38:
When the PR throws out those PnP keywords ("roots of PnP", "DnD", "Hallmarks of Bioware" "Deep combat progression"), the LAST thing you expect is a hack and slash FPS/TPS game.

Now will it be a good game, perhaps. But will it be "Roots of PnP" etc? hell no.

That's on you. It was pretty clear that when they talk about PnP, they are referring to the Shadowlord player's control over the environment being similar to a DM. They were NOT saying that the game is going to be a pen and paper CRPG engine with turn based combat. To me that seemed obvious, seeing as how they said right away that it was an action RPG. As far as deep combat progression, well, we haven't seen the progression yet, so we'll see later on whether that pans out.

Yeah, I'm more willing to believe they're throwing around the video game equivalent of buzzwords to amp up hype rather than a more factual description of the game. You're supposed to read that PR blurb and go "FUCK YEAH D&D HARDCOAR!"

Really looks like multiplayer Dragon Age 2 or Vindictus-style combat with a DM. Fun in theory but that clip wasn't exciting at all and I didn't see anything from the DM's perspective?...

Axis wrote on Aug 13, 2014, 16:38:
When the PR throws out those PnP keywords ("roots of PnP", "DnD", "Hallmarks of Bioware" "Deep combat progression"), the LAST thing you expect is a hack and slash FPS/TPS game.

Now will it be a good game, perhaps. But will it be "Roots of PnP" etc? hell no.

That's on you. It was pretty clear that when they talk about PnP, they are referring to the Shadowlord player's control over the environment being similar to a DM. They were NOT saying that the game is going to be a pen and paper CRPG engine with turn based combat. To me that seemed obvious, seeing as how they said right away that it was an action RPG. As far as deep combat progression, well, we haven't seen the progression yet, so we'll see later on whether that pans out.

NKD wrote on Aug 13, 2014, 16:27:
Frankly it's very unusual for a major developer to show pre-alpha footage at all. I get the impression they are trying to start showing things early enough that they can actually make changes based on feedback. Usually from Bioware (or any other larger studio) you don't see any real gameplay until a few months before release and the game is basically in a finished state.

Well, EA did say they were thinking about the whole Early Access process, so maybe this is their trial run with it or something.

Still, it's infuriating to see people shitting on something based on a few blurbs and some pre-alpha gameplay.

I'll admit it doesn't look great, but it's in pre-alpha, so...

A four player vs 1 enemy player Diablo-type game that you can play in easy spurts of say 10-20 minutes could be quite fun, as long as you can stay away from having to pug.

NKD wrote on Aug 13, 2014, 16:27:

Creston wrote on Aug 13, 2014, 16:21:
Eh, it's in pre-alpha, so the final product will undoubtedly look little to nothing like this. It looks like over-the-shoulder Diablo, only this time there'll be a DM running around as well. Still seems interesting.

Frankly it's very unusual for a major developer to show pre-alpha footage at all. I get the impression they are trying to start showing things early enough that they can actually make changes based on feedback. Usually from Bioware (or any other larger studio) you don't see any real gameplay until a few months before release and the game is basically in a finished state.

Still, it's infuriating to see people shitting on something based on a few blurbs and some pre-alpha gameplay.

When the PR throws out those PnP keywords ("roots of PnP", "DnD", "Hallmarks of Bioware" "Deep combat progression"), the LAST thing you expect is a hack and slash FPS/TPS game.

Now will it be a good game, perhaps. But will it be "Roots of PnP" etc? hell no.

Creston wrote on Aug 13, 2014, 16:21:
Eh, it's in pre-alpha, so the final product will undoubtedly look little to nothing like this. It looks like over-the-shoulder Diablo, only this time there'll be a DM running around as well. Still seems interesting.

Frankly it's very unusual for a major developer to show pre-alpha footage at all. I get the impression they are trying to start showing things early enough that they can actually make changes based on feedback. Usually from Bioware (or any other larger studio) you don't see any real gameplay until a few months before release and the game is basically in a finished state.

Still, it's infuriating to see people shitting on something based on a few blurbs and some pre-alpha gameplay.

Verno wrote on Aug 13, 2014, 15:51:
Ok, I take back what I said earlier, that looks absolutely awful. One long awesome button fest.

Wow I have to 2nd that, not at ALL what I was expecting, especially when they threw out words like "roots of PnP", "DnD", "Hallmarks of Bioware" "Deep combat progression" etc.

Yep, Bioware is dead in my book. Last game I truly enjoyed from them was NwN... held out hope for this long, can give up now.

Eh, it's in pre-alpha, so the final product will undoubtedly look little to nothing like this. It looks like over-the-shoulder Diablo, only this time there'll be a DM running around as well. Still seems interesting.

No reason to trust ea or brand bioware.

Ok, I take back what I said earlier, that looks absolutely awful. One long awesome button fest.

This looks horrible (gameplay):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=pUlD0Kd6We8

Some sort of portal like cross over to a D&D world from a modern one, will I be able to take my M16+grenade launcher into battle against skeleton warriors?

Creston wrote on Aug 13, 2014, 14:13:
So it's a little rough to kick Bioware to the curb for having one bad, publisher-fucked, game.

The old Bioware is dead and gone. They make crap now. But you can press a button and something awesome will happen I bet.

Origin -> no sale

That was easy.

The ire and bile that BIOWARE has earned while in cahoots with EA should make me feel badly for them.

But I don't. The BIOWARE folks that had institutional power got their payday. All I got was the knowledge not to do business with BIOWARE again. I haven't bought an EA game since ME2.

I'm pretty convinced that this game will be shelved like that other one:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Command_&_Conquer_(2013_video_game)

edit:
... but whatever. I have even lost interest in Dragon Age. I didn't bother with numba two ... and number three looks like numba two now with more fan service.