#More RPG in ARPG

[raspberrykraken]

I’m finally in the endgame of Diablo 4, by endgame I mean Act 6 to finally finish this campaign out. I did play Diablo:Hellfire on gog, Diablo2: Resurected, and the last season of Diablo 3 plus indie games while waiting for Diablo 4 to come out. Perhaps this will be a personal retrospective of the games and being a little upset because of how the campaign panned out for D4. Spoilers below.

In the opening scenes of Diablo 4 we are already having influences from Hell on two sides. Mephisto and Lilith. The first is more secondary than the second. Oh, why you ask? Because although you were “given” her petals she isn’t able to directly influence your character at all. You find signs of her throughout the game with more petals and visions. But the core gameplay is you being distracted by shiny things across the world while pursuing her.

Yes she has cut a path of cults and killed lots of people across the world. So has her former lover Inarius with his church. Both share extreme ideals, both are sides of the same coin. Lilith has more self awareness and understanding of her status, her mission. Inarius is a pompous jerk who wants to go back to Heaven and regrets ever being with her, doing any of this of creating humans, Sanctuary, the controversial Nephalem that are wrote out from Diablo 3. They get regulated to a group solving that problem as Diablo 4 takes hundreds of years into the future.

Diablo Immortal takes place in between Diablo 2 and Diablo 3. It’s gameplay is refined Diablo 3. It’s okay.

On the side Mephisto gets to directly influence your character. Offering advice, help, guide you through certain areas. Prime Evil of Hatred who had the foresight that if he was helpful to random strangers then maybe they will help him. In previous games he was trapped but managed to influence people before being freed by his brother Diablo in Diablo 2. So definitely a mysterious character that hasn’t been explored throughly from a story perspective but this isn’t his story. Yes he can intervene as the Father, which he is as Lilith is his daughter, but he completely railroads the narrative to his side.

It boggles me that Lilith only directly talks to your character on the second time you use the Sightless Eye, an ancient magical artifact, and tries to influence you to joining her. Not whispering to you, taking to you, trying to justify her actions, how people who see her get it wrong. But no, the story is written as if its all been pre decided, which it has. I get it, can’t take any kind of risks of an ARPG game by adding the RPG elements of choices in it. Your player character has already made up their mind on the whole thing and accept her Father over her.

I know on one hand she is the villain of the game. On the other Mephisto has been too and wised up unlike his brothers. She helped create Sanctuary giving everyone something new to fight over as the Eternal Conflict will never end, she was looking for a safe place with Inarius. In the lore all this has happened before, it will happened again. Humans are just pawns in their game. And thats where the narrative is being left. Very Battlestar Galactica of it.

Exhausting is definitely the word for it. I’m not trying to justify her actions. Her and Inarius do. I just feel like there could’ve been more. And I am hoping the seasonal updates will help.

I guess I am spoiled by other ARPGs like Dark Souls series. Arguably they do give you some kind of choices, especially in Elden Ring, and I guess I wanted that.

And if you made it this far thanks. Thanks for reading. <3

[rookinthecrownest]

Discussion about romances + expectations under the cut (I'd put it as like..mildly critical, but also coming from a place of understanding?). As usual, will tag as such so you don't have to engage/read on if you don't wish to. I always invite open discussion, just keep it respectful (as I will endeavour to do so myself).

This is going to be a bit of a ramble, so I apologize if my thoughts are not clearly laid out like they should be.

I think I've found the reason why I (and maybe others), feel that the romances in Veilguard feel a bit... idk, hollow, at times (not BAD!!! just feeling like there could be MORE). And that's because of the trap of expectations. I may also be speaking completely for myself here.

Anyway, let's rewind to 2014.

Be me, 10 years ago. You're not really a gamer, but indulge in action RPG's casually.

See a commercial for this hot new game coming out called Dragon Age: Inquisition. Be intrigued by the character designs, but know nothing about the world. Come to find out it's part of a trilogy. So naturally, you buy the first two games and play through them before playing the third.

Be amazed, and completely hooked on the characters, the lore, the world, the darker elements and themes. It becomes your favourite game series of all time.

But you had no idea that you could romance any of the companions going into the experience. And man, does it fundamentally rewire your brain chemistry to fall in love with cRPG and get ridiculously attached to your Warden/Hawke/Inquisitor.

So, you romance Alistair first because he's funny as hell, and has a really interesting story/character arc. Then you romance Zevran, and love that too - he's charming and suave and awkward and funny. Then you go onto DA2 and romance Fenris and Anders, and each of those romances pack their own emotional gut punches. Then it's finally time for DAI, and predictably, you go for Solas (a veritable slow burn that spans TWO games), Cullen, and partially (I never finished those playthroughs lol) Blackwall and Dorian.

I had no idea you could romance companions going into these games. It was a pleasant surprise! It always felt like an important part of the story, while not overshadowing the main plot. There was enough material in the codexes, the cutscenes, and party banter to make each romance feel complete and whole and awesome and nuanced.

And then, like some of you I suspect, I read an article that touted Veilguard as "The Most Romantic Bioware Game Yet", and I thought - "Wow, if they're saying this then the romances must be something else", given the quality of the previous romances you've experienced in these games!

But you get to the game - and while you're having fun, it definitely leans more into the ARPG style where romances feel a bit more pushed to the side in order to tell a certain story than the traditional Bioware/Larian RPG experience you've come to love.

Which is fine! Again, once I stopped thinking of Veilguard as a classic Bioware CRPG, and more like GOW/The Witcher, I found I was able to appreciate it a lot more for what it is. Things have to Happen A Certain Way for the narrative to work, and that's not a bad thing. DA2 was similar - it was a harrowing, personal tragedy about the Hawke family and their struggle to survive in Kirkwall.

Just like DA2, there are aspects of Veilguard that make me glad things happened the way they did. I'm not mad that Rook has so much dialogue without a ton of player input and you can't 'be evil' - because the game doesn't make sense if you can. At its core, Veilguard's narrative is centered around Regret, after all - you can't have an evil protagonist running around because Solas' Regret prison would never work (evil people don't generally tend to regret their actions...)!

Now, if you're expecting a long-winded, fully researched academic breakdown of every romance I'm sorry but that ain't happening tonight lol. This is not based in any fact, this is all opinion.

I can't quite put my finger on it, but sometimes it feels like the romances in this game (and I say this with the biggest grain of salt as I've only done Emmrich and Lucanis' - and am going through Neve's now), are just missing....something, to take them from good to great.

I loved Emmrich's romance. I thought it was very well done. I think a lot of people would agree it's one of the stronger ones in the game - doubly so if you play as a Mourn Watch Rook (you get a TON of MW specific lines going this route, it's great). His side romance with Strife if you don't get together is very cute, I enjoyed it. But as superbly well done as it was, somehow, I wouldn't even put it in my top 4 Bioware romances.

With Lucanis' romance - whatever my hangups may be about how it was handled, certain parts of his romance were done excellently (even better than some of the previous Bioware romances, I'd say). You can read more about my thoughts on his romance here which is why I'm not going into detail about it. Unlike Emmrich's, I would put it in my top 4 because I fell in love with the character that much (both in the game but really, I've loved him since Tevinter Nights), and I've grown very attached to my first Rook and him as a pairing. I've seen others share a similar sentiment on here (and I hate to say it but I agree) - sometimes it feels like I fell in love with Rookanis despite the way it was handled, not because of it. I can't say that for many other romances. While it's been fun to think up a lot of HC/write fics/make art about those abandoned concept sketches and parts where I felt the game could have showed us more of their dynamic, I can't help but feel like his (and other) romances would have immensely benefited from even 1 or 2 extra small scenes to flesh it out a bit more if they weren't going to let us freely talk to our companions.

The issue with the romances might also have something to do with the pacing of the game itself. I think Act 2 is where the pacing goes a bit awry, before picking back up in Act 3 (which is great, I love it).

Sometimes I also felt that there was a little too much reliance on codex entries and party banter to tell the story of the romance rather than showing it explicitly through cutscenes. I think that's what makes the romances feel a bit truncated at times, compared to the previous entries? Some of the romance-specific party banter was so good, it probably deserved its own cutscene. But it's also highly dependent on the party you have, and it's easy to miss/not trigger. I remember absolutely living for the cutscenes in the first three entries and I can't explain why I feel like, subjectively speaking, Veilguard just has less romance content (this may not be objective reality - I haven't compared the amount of romance specific content head to head with other games).

I also couldn't tell you why I feel DA2 doesn't suffer the same problems as DATV in terms of romance interaction - because you can't freely talk to your companions in that game either. Yet somehow, it always felt like I was getting enough of them to not notice that. I do miss being able to chat my LI's ear off and ask them questions about their life/their views/etc. like I could in DAO and DAI. I think it's a shame we can't because the companions in DATV are SO interesting. I want to ask them all a billion questions about their lives/stories/etc even if they're not my love interest. The party banter in this game is immaculate but being able to talk to them individually about this stuff would've been SO nice. I feel that I've missed out on SO MUCH of these characters just because I didn't have two of them in my party at the same time!

Anyway, I need to wrap this up.

In closing, perhaps, if I hadn't read that article about how it was going to be Bioware's most romantic game ... maybe I wouldn't feel this way? I think it sent my expectations through the stratosphere, and that's no one's fault but my own. Not Bioware, not EA, mine.

I know that this game's development cycle was a unique sort of hell that the other games didn't suffer. To go from Joplin -> Morrison -> Veilguard. To have so many of the original staff leave the team when Joplin got scrapped. To have to pivot from Live Service and then back to single person RPG. More lay-offs. It's a miracle this game got made. I'm happy I can sit around thinking about it. And I hope its successful enough that we get DA5 so we can all sit around dissecting that in 5-10 yrs time.

Don't get me wrong - I enjoy the Veilguard romances for what they are. I'm enjoying them more I play and discover additional banter/codex/etc that I missed the first time around. Like any Bioware romance, there are spots where they hit their stride, and spots where they falter a bit. When they hit their stride they knock it out of the fucking park. But when they falter, you can really feel it. Romance is hard to write! And you'll never fully please everyone.

But a small part of me wishes I'd gone in blind, and checked my own expectations a bit.

Maybe you agree, maybe you don't. Tell me about it. What was your experience with the romances? Did you also read that article and get your expectations up?

I hope this makes sense.

Kind regards good fandom folks,

Keep the discussion respectful. And please don't use this post as an excuse to just blatantly hate on the game.

-Rookie

[feenick]

JRPG, CRPG, WRPG... these aren't very useful subgenres, and geologically recent arguments have heated up the debate around them even more. So I propose throwing them out and replacing them with these 26 new, flawless categories:

ARPG - Action RPG: Do you perfom actions? Or are you stuck watching the title sequence over and over because the main menu doesn't work? BRPG - Bethesdic RPG: Can you pick up every wheel of cheese in the game and put it into a single room? Does the game needing to keep track of that eventually ruin saves? Then the game's a BRPG. CRPG - Computer RPG/Console RPG: Everyone will know exactly what you mean when you use this acronym. If need be, refer to games like Ultima IV or Final Fantasy VII, games that exclusively exist on either a personal computer or a console. DRPG - Dungeon RPG: Do you go into the prison cells underneath a castle? If you don't, are you really an RPG of any type, much less a DRPG? ERPG - Erotic RPG: A game where you find love. Did you talk to someone on an internet forum about Final Fantasy IV and get into a relationship through that? That goes here. FRPG - French RPG: Wakfu exists. I'm sure there's others. GRPG - Good RPG: They all go in here :) HRPG - Homeric RPG: Is the plot of the RPG directly ripping off 1) The Iliad 2) The Odyssey 3) A Simpsons episode? IRPG - Idle RPG: Okay, honest question. How much do you idle in these games anyway? Certainly you're setting up equipment and parties that'll auto-grind for you, right? The entire subgenre isn't just Progress Quest, right? JRPG - Judeo-Christian RPG: This category is exclusively for the 2008 game The You Testament. I'm sorry, I don't make the rules. KRPG - Kinetic RPG: You know Kinetic Novels, ie a VN that doesn't have any choices at all? Throw any RPG you want to disparge for not giving you choices in here. Alternatively, this is for any RPG that has Kinect support. LRPG - Luddite RPG: Was it released on a console 20 years after that console ceased getting games? Does it look and act like it should have been released 20 years ago? MRPG - Monster-catching RPG: Any game where you catch monsters and have them battle for you. Notably, Shin Megami Tensei is excluded; you talk, bribe, and cajole demons into working for you, which is totally different. NRPG - Natalist RPG: Does the word 'breeding' come up at any point in the game description? ORPG - Orre-game-esque RPG: Like Pokemon Colosseum or Pokemon XD Gale of Darkness, is this game a spinoff of a larger RPG series that changes a major mechanic and has a small but vocal fanbase? PRPG - Panzer Dragoon Saga-like RPG: games that make SHMUP gameplay more approachable by combining them with an RPG. Other games that fit into this category are Undertale and Sigma Star Saga. QRPG - Questionnaire-having RPG: Does the game, at some point, ask you a series of questions in order to determine something? In that case, all other categories are overwritten by this one. RRPG - 'Real' RPG: You know, in your heart of hearts, what belongs here, and everyone else is wrong. SRPG - Strategic RPG: A game in which short-term tactical gameplay decisions [strategy] are the main focus. TRPG - Tactics RPG: A game in which long-term, strategic gameplay decisions [tactics] are the main focus. URPG - Ultraviolent RPG: Can you kill a guy and have a fountain of blood erupt from them? VRPG - VIPRPG: A category reserved for any game made by someone who frequents 2ch's VIP board, or features that :3 cat person that originated there. WRPG - Weeaboo RPG: Was it made by someone outside of Asia but still have anime stylings? XRPG - eXploratory RPG: A generous term for an RPG that throws you out into the world with little direction and expects you to figure out where the game is. YRPG - Yslike RPG: Does it have bump combat? Then there you go! ZRPG - Zero-loving RPG: Are the damage numbers padded to make them look more impressive? Alternatively, does Zero from Mega Man X show up?

[jymwahuwu]

You know, I followed you because I liked JJK and you writing about this. You can always enjoy characters, even then plot is mess and shit, right? But you just left this fandom for pathetic excuse of open-world action RPG - Gayshit Impact and dumpster fire of ARPG - Honkai Shit Star, who only being popular, because of horny fangirls and fujoshis. Call me petty, pathetic or childish, I don't care. But don't ever dare to return to JJK writing, you are not welcomed gere, pathetic cunt

??????????????

But obviously you care enough that you feel you have to leave a message to scold me 🤔 Why don't you try to be more mature and face things in life? There are many excellent fanfic authors in fandom. Go ahead and accept that people like different things over time.

[fiannalover]

Ok no one ever talks about Atelier Games in this Website so I'm gonna drop my unscheduled unplanned unscripted ramblings and screenshots about the Yumia trailer:

Short Version: Yumia seems to be Very different from every prior Atelier Game, going towards a more Actiony, Traditional RPG and Linear Story Driven focus than even the Iris Series and Ryza, alongside maybe doing so to gameplay elements too. However, the vibes and themes are Excellent, so although this will likely be inevitably a controversial (and potentially newbie boom inducing) title, I'm ready to love it.

Trailer Screenshot rambling under read more

YGGDRASIL, THE WORLD TREE! That's how you know it's a Traditional RPG (disclaimer: this tree has no name or given story relevancy yet, I'm joking around).

We get to see some movement and world design moments alongside the initial narration, and in this regard, Yumia fully follows in the footsteps of Ryza 3, but More. Zipline segments from there are back, and I wouldn't be surprised if Yumia was Fully open world 90% after Ryza got about 85% of the way to being an open-world game.

We get a sneak peek of the verse's Alchemy System here! We can't really say much about it: the Alchemy Core may just be an item a la the supplements of games past or a full game mechanic. If the latter, my immediate thought is that it would be again following up on Ryza 3, this time the key system, maybe on reverse, even: if they keys were an optional feature on the end of synthesis, the core could be the mandatory first step affecting Synthesis Results. We have to wait to get more info, but it's fun to think of.

Here we have the part I feel has the most potential for controversy: Battle System. Very early on, we see Yumia shoot down a fox? Cow? Foxcow hybrid? With a crossbow in real time. No UI Elements were shown in the rest of the trailer, leaving us the question: after Ryza swapped the traditional turn base for ATB, is Yumia going to change it to Real Time Action RPG?

I actually don't think we can say for sure. Again, no UI Elements means that the ambiguous identity animal could just be a non hostile mob you can kill for materials, while actual enemies are fought in turns/ATB. I don't mind which one they go with (Atelier's cousin, Tales, shows Namco does great ARPG), but one way or another, I am GREATLY looking forward to seeing the Turn Based RPG Discourse join the already lovely Bad Takes On Atelier Landscape!

With those rambles on gameplay out of the way, let's talk about the OTHER very different element: the plot.

DWAGON! Always an important Atelier Staple!

Someone get Vayne in here.

If we are to understand these screenshots as happening in chronological order, Yumia already starts the game in a commander position of a village that is preparing against something, and is promptly wiped off the face of the map. Even the most story/drama heavy Atelier games (that I played) (I'll get to you someday, Iris series) kept a generally light hearted and war crimes free atmosphere. We still don't know how it will work out in game, but it is already a very big tone shift.

This part with the wolf man enemy stands ou too for Yumia's capacity as an action protagonist. I'd say this is the most unambiguous show of strength a series character has shown. like yes, Ryza is described as a capable fighter from Ryza 2 onwards, Vayne clearly knows how to fight, but most of their actions are gameplay land. Ryza 2 ALSO leaves it clear that, story wise, Lent is the group's Actual Trained Powerhouse Fighter.

In contrast, both story and gameplay parts of the trailer leave it clear Yumia is physically capable of holding her own, another evidence of how the game is set to be tonally different from predecessors, doubly so as you realize Yumia has no companions with her on this trailer. I even to get to wonder if she'll make her journey fully solo, which would be something COMPLETELY new for the series.

But what is similar?

This part of the trailer, alongside the title's focus on memories, gave me wonderful Ayesha and Ryza 2 memories, my favorite games in the series.

Both Ayesha and Ryza 2 put a big focus on ruins and the memories of yesteryear they hold. Ayesha is set in a dying world filled with buildings left behind by those who killed it. Ryza 2 has you scouring each and every inch of the ruins in search of the memories of people who lived there, their lives, their stories, how they connected to each other.

Yumia seems like it will be focused on that: holding on to the memories that others have entrusted to you, and using them to find what if your right future, your envisioned land. Truth and Ideals, in a way.

Yumia is going to do a lot of things likely radically different. But I'm sure it will keep the core parts right: the alchemy, the light, slice-of-life elements amidst the action, the somber, atmospheric ambience of Dusk and much, much of what the Ryza Trilogy constructed.

And I can't wait to see more.

[creatureschaos]

Bittersweet

This is a sad one for me. This'll probably be my last "fresh" pony art for a while. The ARPG that had me excited to draw ponies closed all its rpg elements. It still exists as a MLP AU, and you can find details about it here. https://sites.google.com/view/tales-from-equestria/home Anyone into mlp aus, I'd encourage to check it out. The team that produces it is still lovely and will be coming out with more events and prompts! As for myself, on to more gamified collaborative world building experiences. 

Posted using PostyBirb

[hitodama89]

I said I'd talk about my current relationship with art making at some point, and I guess that's today then. I'll try to keep this brief in order to not sway too far into oversharing territory, as people tend to hate that.

My problem is that for a long time now I haven't been part of any sort of community related to art. I'm not one of those people who have been drawing for as long as they've been able to hold a pen, I started somewhere around 12 solely because I had creative people around me at school. After that it was group improvisation comics and forum rpgs on the internet that fueled my inspiration. Those projects all eventually ended, and I've tried my best to get into new things: arpg, closed species, making some fan art... But none of it has really worked in long term. Either the groups have also been shut down/abandoned or I've just not been able to get into the communities for real.

And I don't find drawing just for myself motivating at all. Don't get me wrong, I don't make art to idk get glory and fame and praise and stuff like that; I've always wanted to create art to make others happy and to connect with people. And currently I've been failing at that for so long that I've started to give up on the whole thing. There's just no point in creating without those things. Not for me.

I will likely still be making art for at least Throwout Dogs and TWWM events, but dunno about much else.

And oh, just to be clear, this is NOT me throwing shade at my social media followers for "not doing more" or anything like that! You guys are pretty much the sole reason I've kept going for this long! So thank you for that, thank you for existing! <3

[archoneddzs15]

PC Engine - Sorcerian

Title: Sorcerian / ソーサリアン

Developer/Publisher: Victor Musical Industries / Nihon Falcom

Release date: 17 July 1992

Catalogue No.: JCCD1005

Genre: RPG

Format: Super CD-ROM2

Originally released the same year as the first Ys game, Sorcerian could easily have been an influence on what became Ys III, although it is a little more complex. You start off by creating a group of characters (either manually or automatically) and setting them jobs that affect their income. You can then visit the local town to buy weapons and such, level up, or send one of your characters into training to improve their skills. It's worth noting here that in Sorcerian your characters age and eventually grow old and less effective before they die. Once you are all sorted, you select your group and begin the introductory scenario (which, like some scenarios, limits your group to 3 characters). Once you complete this scenario, the whole list of new quests opens up which you can choose to play and repeat in any order.

The gameplay itself is uncommon for an RPG. The maps are all side-scrolling, and you control the lead character in your party while others trail along behind you, in very much the same way as Blue Blink. As a party is usually made from a combination of classes, one button activates melee attacks, and the other casts whatever magic spells you have active. The select button switches the leader so you have some control over the positions of your party members and pushing up on the joypad makes you jump. Enemies in Sorcerian attack in simplistic patterns and most of them continuously respawn, although sometimes you have to re-enter an area to trigger this. Thankfully, finding a safe spot to stand and rest will recover your group's health and power.

During the scenarios, there are the usual role-playing conventions; you have to talk to a lot of people, find items to overcome situations, solve puzzles, and ultimately defeat bosses.

Sorcerian is initially a hard nut to crack. The main menu is full of Japanese, and it can take a while to learn exactly what you need to do to just to begin the game. Once you overcome these hurdles you will find a game that is both good and bad, requiring some patience if you do not speak the language. Visually, Sorcerian can be a treat with some beautifully drawn backgrounds that create a specific mood, although this is let down by more primitive design here and there. Sprites are small and functional, however, with limited animation. Audio is without doubt Sorcerian's strongest point, with a large selection of superbly arranged music that sounds and feels like an extension of the soundtrack from the Ys series.

One thing you have to remember is that Sorcerian is primarily a role-playing game and even though it pretends to be an ARPG, the action would be deemed extremely poor in any other title. Controls are awkward (jumping in particular is clumsy) and trying to aim a sword 3 pixels long at a fast-moving enemy without sustaining some damage is pretty much a fruitless task. So, in terms of action, it fails. Where it does succeed is in the feel of story and exploration. It has a design that makes every scenario feel like a proper mini adventure, and this quality is probably its strongest point. Not being able to understand the stories does make things often a case of trial and error, and I feel that there is really a much better game locked in here if only I knew what was going on. This makes Sorcerian a really difficult game to rate. On one hand, you will enjoy the atmosphere and exploration, on the other you will most likely grow tired of the difficulties presented and shelf it, hoping for a translation patch someday. But at the very least, you will have a damn good audio CD to listen to.

[bakafox]

Mid-game thoughts on/review of Dragon Age: Veilguard

TLDR: I like it and yes would recommend it to people who liked the previous DA games, or Mass Effect games, or who like ARPG's or even just RPG's provided you aren't wishing to play as evil characters/make evil choices.

It might honestly be one of my favorite DA games, right after DAO, for all that yes, it's very different in mechanics and aesthetics than DAO... but that's only a 'maybe' as I do need to see how this sucker ends before really making a call.

On my 'melt faces' storyteller setting, it is ABSOLUTELY the escapist game I've needed right now, much like DAI was honestly just the game I needed when it came out too.

Bold text will warn if spoilers are in following sections in my longer thoughts.

I admit some of the negativity I saw pre-launch had me nervous and wary, but I'm mid-game now on one Rook, having done my usual thing of winding up with several different games/Rooks to try out different classes and also because on my FIRST one, I made some mistakes that I regretted by not understanding a few game mechanics. And I really like it.

Next 3 paragraphs may contain spoilers for PREVIOUS games, the following 3 paragraphs may have minor lore spoilers for Veilguard re: how things compare to previous games, skip to next bold text to avoid such spoilers:

I am not a Dragon Age absolute fanatic, but I've really enjoyed all 3 prior games, and DAI got me through a very rough spot in my life, and for all that I heard this game was 'too different', to my play preferences and my memories of playing those games, it really isn't all that different other than in mechanics.

It is mildly annoying to me that who I chose as Divine doesn't translate over from DAI, but the Southern Chantry has 0 to do with the storyline, so in the end it's honestly easy to forget about that for me. I also found it a bit irritating at first that the Crows are very different than they came across as being in DAO and DA2, but yes, I was able to get over that because I do really like the Crow companion and storyline, and I just tell myself that the organization reorganized after Zevran killed off a lot of the leaders.

Spoiler-free thoughts on combat/game mechanics.

Prefacing this by saying I am not actually into combat-driven games for the most part, and I tend to play a lot of games with active, real-time combat on easier modes. I am very bad at combat that needs dodging and shit. I am currently playing on the easiest preset, "Storyteller" mode. This means I am pretty much only dying ever in boss fights or because my arch nemesis in games is jumping and jumping puzzles, and I do a lot of falling to my death.

Thankfully, all my fatal failures are quickly dealt with, my jumping deaths just respawn me right where I fucked up, so I don't even have to reload a save.

The combat is probably easier with a controller, and it took me a while to get used to having to combine keys for combos or hold them down to charge attacks with my kb and mouse play style, but once I figured them out, I've been actively enjoying fights even if my housemate does overhear me swearing a lot at some boss and miniboss battles. In fact, I probably will try a slightly harder difficulty eventually, whether preset or fully tweaking whatever settings, to give non-boss fights a bit more challenge at some point. On Storyteller mode, once I get past level 10 or so or have done enough sidequests I'm sometimes a tad 'over level' I feel a bit like a lawnmower for non-boss fights, which is fun and satisfying in its own way, but does mean I seldom break out team combos except in miniboss or boss fights.

The puzzles are not what I would call difficult, but it can be easy to overlook some little ledge or clue, or not realize you need to go forward and then backtrack, so yes, some have been a bit annoying for me and taken a while.

Spoiler-ish for how Veilguard handles looting/crafting/upgrades and equipping companions:

The system for finding treasure and looting is yes, very different from previous games, but my inner loot goblin enjoys hunting for chests and does not mourn the fact that corpses seldom give anything and when they do it's only upgrade material.

There is no crafting, but you upgrade your gear via workshop, merchants, and also random chest finds can upgrade things in your inventory, and this system works fine for me, though it can be a little frustrating when the RNG refuses to change the quality of the item you really want it to and gives you an epic or legendary thingy you won't equip.

You do not equip companions with just random finds, they just get specific gear drops that then upgrade randomly or using faction merchants. Levelling up your rank with faction merchants can be a bit annoying once you're past like lvl 2 or 3, but I admit again, I'm playing on 'melt faces' mode so it's easy for me to shrug off, your mileage may vary on how badly you find yourself wishing for easier gear upgrades for your crew.

Nonspoiler about story and quests I have so far encountered:

So far, frankly, I really enjoy it all. Main story AND the side companion stories/quests. Maybe I'm not enough of a purist to notice some tweaks to previous lore, but then previous lore was usually also given by unreliable narrators- regardless, it all feels very Thedas-y and Dragon-Agey to me, and while nothing is ever flawless, and there's always some discourse to be had about how the game series in general has tackled certain issues or 'grey morality' I think the writing is pretty good, and I like the general directions they've taken as to the backstories behind all that's gone on as well as most of the specifics.

Nonspoiler about the types of dialogue or storychoices made & remembered in Veilguard, and the tutorial quest/level:

I am still only at midgame at BEST, but so far, for better or worse, I don't think the story choices you're allowed in this game are all that different than previous games, in terms of your options. I saw complaints of railroading and limitations in the early stuff that had me a bit less enthusiastic about the launch, but I am not personally finding anything to complain about. It's not a Baldur's Gate game, but no DA game, not even DAO, has been a Baldur's Gate game in breadth of choice options.

The tutorial/start quest feels most like DAI's, in terms of setup, and after running it twice I did kind of wish I could skip it entirely lol, but that's also how I've felt about every DA tutorial-quest-setup after making 2 protagonists or so.

When it comes to the dialogue wheel- I have not been ambushed nearly as often by the real dialogue coming out way differently than I expected.

Mild spoiler maybe about the dialogue choices/wheel.

I was a LITTLE surprised that even the third general wheel choice that looked like it might be kind of mean to me due to the icon generally was still very nice, just very direct and to the point. I don't play DA games to play assholes though so that's actually a good or at least neutral thingy for me, it's just the icon did make me think it was going to be grumpier/angrier.

Angrier and grumpier dialogue has a different icon and is only available for certain chats, same with more anxious or empathetic/sad dialogue.

Nonspoiler about companions:

They're great. Choosing 'favorite' DA companions is a fraught exercise, but of course every game I've had a few favorites, and have romanced certain ones more thoroughly than others.

This game made it harder for me to immediately pick favorites. I think they really got personalities and the depth of back story right in Veilguard. I still have developed a sort of 'ranking list' of who I want to romance, but this may be the first DA game ever where I honestly am pretty enthusiastic about romancing all of them, and where I'm very HAPPY to switch up my party and cycle through the various companions to make sure I get high rep/bond with all of them.

Everyone's tastes will differ but there isn't a single companion in this game that annoys me, that I find kind of dull, that I wish was written a BIT differently, or makes my mental illnesses/anxiety go brrrrr.

This is also why I am way behind on story and have not beaten the game, because I've so far made 3 different Rooks bc I keep changing my mind about who to romance first.

I can't really judge well if there's a bit less banter in total between companions than in any previous games, but I find the amount there is to be pretty satisfying when not just fast-traveling around.

Fuck I don't know if this counts as a spoiler or not, about the world's "openness" and environment aesthetics:

I do not find myself missing the more open world map mechanics of DAI. What there is for terrain maps/zones is gorgeous (or creepy and depressing as needed,) and I do sometimes avoid fast-traveling even through areas I know I've cleared before of POI type stuff just to enjoy the landscape as well as companion banter.

Character creator, nonspoiler:

It's pretty in-depth, and I am incredibly happy with all three Rooks I have made so far. Honestly the happiest I've ever been with how my DA character looks even outside of the char creator without mods.

I could always wish for more scars, tattoos, and hair styles, but what there are so far are satisfying enough for me. I'd have to go back to take shots of their full body looks and won't do that, but while the amount of fat or muscle or boob or bulge you can add is still constrained to a degree, the sliders still having maybe slightly basic-bitch limitations, I like the variety of body shape and height I've accomplished as well as facial.

And Opal, the Qunari mage, even without me going to the maximum of 'soft and chubby' the creators allow is still satisfyingly more so than most previous games I've ever played have allowed, so I'll take it.

(I kind of think we'll never get really wide slider differentials in part because would that make it hard to make garments and scenes not have clipping issues?)

Also yes that last Rook has a somewhat broken/crooked nose when viewed from the front even if it's not too intense/easy to see and also has a slight cauliflower ear, again things I haven't been able to do to my brawlers in most games I've played. Though their hair hides the ear.

Anyway, yeah, I've played 85 hours so far, am farthest into the story as my extremely polite non binary warrior with the broken nose and heart of soppy gold, and I think it's a really fun game and fits right in as a Dragon Age one.

[cheriri-rabbit]

Okay so I’m super interested in the ARPG you’re setting up, but I’ve never actually been in one and I don’t really know anything about them, could you explain what the basic concept is for me possibly?

Oh my gosh, okay, very exciting ask. So basically, an ARPG (sometimes called an Art-RPG) is a thing where you draw your character to level them up and/or progress the story! I've never made one before, so I'm still ironing it out, but I have a few basics in mind:

Cat will have specific skills that they can gain levels in, and drawing your cat will give them different amounts of EXP for them. For example, if you had a cat with a farming skill, you'd get more EXP for drawing them farming than you would for just drawing them lounging.

There's also usually events that happen periodically, which might give you a prompt to draw for special rewards!

(Also I wouldn't worry too much about not knowing what you're doing, as I said, this is my first time doing anything like this, aha. Sorry for the long ramble)

[codename-001]

City of Despair

A colorful game where everyone's covered in paint, everyone like Nem anyways, so not a lot of people. Luckily, the majority doesn't matter, not out here in the outskirts; For the group hidden from the world, supporting each other, souls covered in paint and away from their worldly worries at the Gathering of Hope.

Just don't let the monsters knock you out.

Demo link : https://codename-001.itch.io/city-of-despair

Features :

ARPG combat system

4 main areas with contrasting playstyles

multiple endings

a lot of characters

the pit

a varied batch of monsters

bugs

dev doesn't know what he's doing

**NOTE** This game is very up to interpretation! Every interpretation is right as long as it can be justified.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

An introduction to the 4 main areas

The city (of despair)

A depressing place, the colors dull and the residents lifeless. No soul in the Gathering of Hope likes that place, but someone has to maintain connection with the city for supplies. Most fetch quests take place here, because nobody wants to go into the city.

The forest

Mother nature at her wildest form, the forest is connected to a park in the city, it is the restricted zone and fenced off. The Gathering of Hope isn't enough for some souls, they long to live in the woods, away from everything and everyone save for perhaps a few close companions. Also to get away from the monsters of black slime, they avoid the forest.

The pit

The pit of despair is but a rumour to most at the city, a never-ending pit and noone knows what's at the bottom. Some say it's not real, some say god slumbers at the bottom, Noone knows how it came to be, but most rumours say it's where people go when they want to leave.

The slums

Though the slums itself is not of great importance, the black nest next to it is. It is home to the monster known as the Black Stain, the creator of all other monsters, seemingly immortal. Its true motives are unknown, but it doesn't like souls. Surrounding the core of the black nest, is many many dangerous monsters created by the Black Stain. A dangerous area, but the loot might make it worth it.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hello, just call me 01, City of Despair is my passion project that I've been working on for more than a year now. I'm the only one working on this currently, and it will most likely stay that way. The game is made in RPG maker because I have no idea how to code, at all. It's going to be narrative focused with the option to focus on combat. Though you're probably going to have to fight at some point. I'm currently planning on overhauling the combat system right now so that's what the next update's gonna be. I'm also going to expand this page at some point, to add something about the important NPCs and some worldbuilding and maybe customize the tumblr colors a bit. I will be actually recording some game footage to upload.

There's still a lot of bugs in the demo, but I genuinely don't want to keep testing it. I've changed

I'm also still trying to figure out how Tumblr works since I just created an account here.

(PS. Yes, this is purposefully posted on april fools because this is a joke of a game.)

[themanwhomadeamonster]

tumblr seems to be all good with the news of dd2 so far but i think a lot of the more hardcore ppl on reddit, discord, etc expected too much from this game, especially with ppl comparing it to the likes of elden ring (soulsbornes and their impact on the arpg genre is another can of worms for another time tbh) and bg3. from the get go, the devs made it clear that it's a personal passion project that doesn't NEED to try to reinvent the wheel but wants to stick to its personal philosophy as being a primarily fun love letter to old school rpgs including the wacky mechanics of long rests, limited fast travel, etc. than trying to break new industry standards or whatever? idk. obvs i haven't played the game and shit and my opinion is probs gonna change as is normal when playing vs speculating but some ppl set their expectations too high when nobody ever promised mind-bendingly novel mechanics lmao. the game isn't perfect but it never wanted to be anyway

[roarrrgame]

ME3 is such a good RPG 😍 I really like DA lore and companions but never enjoyed the gameplay much, I’m such a shooter person ❤️ ME, on the other hand, I’ve no interest in alien stuff, but after two games I’m thoroughly hooked 🙏

I’m very biased because isometric CRPGs are my nightmare, and my thing is action-y RPGs with good stories, so I agree with Mark Darrah that with Veilguard, DA has finally found its enticing gameplay (he said something to this effect). Veilguard’s combat is neither perfect nor groundbreaking, but the game really didn’t have a lot of time to cook (the actual Morrison project I mean), so at least I think it was going the right direction (before EA decided to can the whole franchise probably).

Contrary to a lot of old gamers’ strong opinions, I think studios trying to appeal to a broader audience and making more ARPGs is a good thing. That doesn’t mean making every CRPG franchise into an ARPG franchise, we can have both of course, but I think generally it’s good to make games more accessible and still put in the hard stuff (like books and complex systems) but make them optional.

[bubblebuttgamez]

Dragon Age: Veilguard | Skill Trees, RPG Systems, Classes

▪️Player cap at Level 50

▪️Confirmed: Bellara is a mage

▪️Base management returns (called "The Lighthouse" here)

▪️Game Director: "Incredibly deep" RPG progression, "if I were to contrast Mass Effect vs Dragon Age, for instance, I really view Mass Effect as an ARPG. Big action, minor RPG. We're almost the total inverse of that"

▪️"Enormous" skill tree web that is bespoke for each class

▪️Skill tree web is a bit similar to FFX's Sphere Grid, players start in the center of it, and work outwards towards specializations they want

▪️Example: Warriors can pump skill points into something more defense oriented, weapons oriented or abilities

▪️Warrior Specializations: Reaper (can lifesteal, "freaky" powers), Slayer ("wield the biggest blades"), Champion (tank)

▪️The origin you select at the start can net you bonuses like extra dialogue options or stat boosts (ex: Shadow Dragons deal extra damage to Venatori blood cultists)

▪️Skills are unique per class, every level nets a skill point + other activities to get points

▪️Where other RPGs might see players invest all their skill points to reach a specialization, the team wanted players here to reach specializations about mid-game, and "then you can really branch out"

▪️Each companion has 5 core abilities, each with their own skill trees that players can customize (lower cooldowns, add additional effects, etc)

▪️Elemental mechanics are very important (ice, fire, electricity, etc)

▪️Each companion also has unique abilities that are tied specifically to them (Neve has ice powers, for example)

For more:

https://rpgsite.net/interview/1595

rockpapershotgun.com/the-first-45-m

[nicolechiorato]

I have Open Commissions!

Terms Of Service (read carefully, please): - NO Refunds. / I recieve before I start. / PayPal Only! - I will INVOOICE You. I will NOT give you my email Address. - I have the right to Accept or Not for any reason. - I can draw Closed and Open Species - I can do RPG and ARPG Illustrations, Portraits and Full Reference Sheets! - Can be any kind of character; Humanoids/Furry/Anthro/ARPG/Feral/etc. - Prices CAN Change according to the complexity of the Characters/Accessories/Quantity of add-ons. - Sketches and any other parts of the progress can be asked to be shown before-hand, when discussing pricing. - I won't work during Weekends.

Wait Time: - Simpler/Busts; 1-2 days. - Medium/Halfbodies; Can be done within 2-4 Weeks. - Bigger/Fullbodies; Can be finished within 1-2 Months.

Shares appreciated

For even more information: https://www.patreon.com/posts/commissions-open-106451683

[moghedien]

do/have u played any other crpgs besides BG3? been playing a lot and i wanna talk abt em

ummmm depends on what you consider to be a crpg tbh. like Morrowind is my favorite game period and some people consider it a crpg while other people don't so idk

in general though I'm much more familiar with arpgs, though I've been dipping more into all different kinds of rpgs recently, particularly like the retro and "classic" stuff and I have a ton of games I plan on getting into soonish, and I'm pretty sure some of those are crpgs lol

if you have any suggestions though, I'm open for them. won't guarantee I'll play them, but I am particularly interested in like all subgenres of rpg video games right now