Kingdom Come: Deliverance - Pure medievalism!

[Opinionated Ham Scarecrow]

It all looks very Oblivion.

 

[Talk Show Host]

The trailer I was talking about. Great atmosphere, convincing characters, nice direction. It looks proper, proper good.

 

 

[squall]

Does anyone know what area of Europe this is supposed to be set in? I think it looks kind of like some parts of France.

[Talk Show Host]

1 minute ago, squall said:

Does anyone know what area of Europe this is supposed to be set in? I think it looks kind of like some parts of France.

 

Kingdom of Bohemia, what is now Czech Republic.

[dave7g]

I hope it's great. Just nearing the end of Witcher 3 now too, so it's perfect timing.

[squall]

1 minute ago, Talk Show Host said:

 

Kingdom of Bohemia, what is now Czech Republic.

Ah, thanks. I guess I was only off by about 1000km

[John0]

Been keeping an eye on this for a couple of years now. Reeeeeallllyy hope it's good! Tempted to pre-order but think I might wait for a review or two. The small amount I've read about how the Beta went wasn't wholly convincing.

[Nespresso]

22 hours ago, Gizamaluke said:

It all looks very Oblivion.

 

You look very oblivion! 

[MK-1601]

 

Increasingly untempted to play this

 

[John0]

I've just read that series of tweets, so am I correct in saying that he was asked if the game has a choice about whether to include non-white people, he said yes, and the devs said they were attacking the game?

[Opinionated Ham Scarecrow]

On 2/6/2018 at 10:08, VN1X said:

You look very oblivion! 

 

No you d....

 

Never mind.

[Cosmic_Guru]

Played this for an hour and totally unsurprisingly it's going to be very much an Marmite game.  Lovely historical introduction to the period (multiple Popes, Wenceslas the Idle being kidnapped by Sigsimund etc) leads on to a couple of character choices and some running of errands for dad the blacksmith.   The only language choices you get are English (British thankfully, although regional accent variation within families might grate), French or German, not Czech.  Visually in costumes etc in places it looks rather like Witcher 3 as also might be expected.  It also reminds me a bit of old games such as Arx Fatalis where you can do a lot of picking up things in first person, cooking food etc.  I'm going to restart since I lost a fistfight without having a clue how to damage the opponent (and although kissed better by mother still have crimson stuff down my shirt), and also struggled initially with lock picking.  Lots of contextual detail in the nicely designed menus too, such as typical occupations of the time etc.  Quest markers are unusual too - little alphabetical icons on the map.  

[ZOK]

That story trailer was quite funny. Looks like they’ve tried their best to build a Dick Emery simulator. Finally someone in games is putting teeth on the pedestal they deserve!

 

[Mr. Gerbik]

Looking forward to reading more of your impressions @Cosmic_Guru!

 

 

[flight]

How are you playing early CG? Thought this wasn't out until next week.

[Wiper]

On 07/02/2018 at 11:59, John0 said:

I've just read that series of tweets, so am I correct in saying that he was asked if the game has a choice about whether to include non-white people, he said yes, and the devs said they were attacking the game?

 

Yep, pretty much. I backed the game as it sounded interesting, and very much regretted the decision when I saw the developer's responses to anything approaching criticism of their decision to exclude any non-white NPCs, or to avoid the option for a non-male player character, which amounted to decrying any such suggestions as PC, ahistorical attacks on their game and then sitting idly as the arsehole contingent of their fans sicced themselves on said critics. 

 

(the person behind the Twitter account's er, account of matters: http://medievalpoc.tumblr.com/post/112158952123/kingdom-come-and-related-debacles-epilogue) 

[Cosmic_Guru]

I think that initial fist fight is designed to fail and to force you to take an alternative approach.  

 

Definitely shlonky in places - e.g. sometimes Henry is wearing his rag doll clothes in cut scenes and sometimes not.

 

Also, be prepared for fairly long sections without an autosave - you get an item which lets you manually save towards the end of the prologue.

[Cosmic_Guru]

1 hour ago, flight said:

How are you playing early CG? Thought this wasn't out until next week.

 

ShopTo came through a bit early this time.

[Mr. Gerbik]

But are you enjoying it so far despite the jank, @Cosmic_Guru?

[flight]

5 minutes ago, Cosmic_Guru said:

 

ShopTo came through a bit early this time.

 

Cool, I didn't realise this was releasing on consoles too.

 

Interested in what you think anyway. Had my eye on this for a while.

[Cosmic_Guru]

17 minutes ago, Mr. Gerbik said:

But are you enjoying it so far despite the jank, @Cosmic_Guru?

 

Well to be honest it hasn't really got going yet - the prologue is effectively a tutorial of fetch tasks, some sword and fisticuffs practice, followed by an escape (which I had to redo a couple of times for bleeding out along the way and / or the horse falling into a ditch), all interspersed with cut scenes, so I would say it's been more interesting than strictly enjoyable so far.    

[Talk Show Host]

This is one of the games where I will certainly wait a bit before diving in. I see no point starting these games without some patches down the road which usually make the experience much better. So, hopefully, there will be some proper support.

[Cosmic_Guru]

This is certainly an unusual, and fairly grim in places, experience.  It turns out the prologue is in two parts and the game proper has only just started.  Be warned:

 

Autosaves are very infrequent and the item you use to save is expensive.

 

There is no clutter in the world other than a few bits and pieces of food, so if you find something a bit more valuable like a hide it's probably worth taking the incumbrance penalty.

 

When you receive 4 free lock picks early on don't waste them like I did - they are quite expensive to purchase and at one point you need at least one to progress.  

[Cosmic_Guru]

This game continues to be a mix of frustration (break a lock pick getting training and the trainer just ignores you thereafter and won't even sell you another) and interest - some of the underlying systems are more intricate than anything I've experienced before - e.g

 

• to grind your weapon you have to apply the right pressure, move the blade to the correct angle and ensure the coverage is even (you can pay for repairs but nothing in this is exactly cheap);
• prices in shops and conversation success levels are affected by your dress and general appearance (you can bathe and also launder your clothes at various bathhouses as well as request more personal services (haven't tried this option yet since coin is not to be spared on such self-indulgences));
• the lock picking mechanic is not easy at least with a pad since it requires moving both joysticks to keep the sweet spot in place whilst the tumbler is rotated
• the fast travel mechanic has your little man icon moving on the map (the downside of this uncovers areas of the map which you may wish to explore on foot);
• food decays at different rates and needless to say after a certain point it will make you ill;

other times you are splashing about on foot in the mud of the main drag of what amounts to a major town in 1403 wondering where all the traditional RPG work-givers are hiding away and  when the next save point will arise (further tip - stick to the main quest if time is short). 

 

The dice mini-game is sweet.

 

 

 

 

[Mr. Gerbik]

I still can't tell whether you're enjoying the game or not

[Cosmic_Guru]

47 minutes ago, Mr. Gerbik said:

I still can't tell whether you're enjoying the game or not

 

Well, I'm pleased to be experiencing it.  Basically I had two objectives:-

 

To see if the game delivers what was promised in terms of historical fidelity and absence of magics etc; and then if that box is ticked satisfactorily,

To see how the game stacks up as an RPG entertainment product as opposed to a history lesson.

 

On the first point I don't have any concerns at all so far - the world has been extensively researched and notes are available to the player to put more flesh on the bones if they are interested in any point, major NPCs are lifted straight out of the historical record, conversation passes muster as far as I'm in a position to judge these things.

 

On the second point the jury is out presently, but to be fair I have only played the prologue (most of which is on rails so just go with it if you pick this up, but conserve those lock picks since you don't need them at that point) and started a life of crime for the miller (because one of the gameplay hints is that millers are fences and as I said earlier you don't find re-salable goods just lying around in this world - virtually everything other than food is locked away in chests and will be classified as stolen property - (this is optional though if you want to play it straight)), and visited the first "town" to progress the MQ.  This seems to have taken some considerable time to achieve, with some sections admittedly being repeated along the way owing to death or mistakes (a new game would of course be much more efficient).  I haven't experienced any "real" combat yet, just bopped a few bandits on the head (you can pardon them or finish them off which is a nice touch), haven't even picked up a bow yet.  I want to learn alchemy but I don't know where a bench may be found for that (couldn't see one in the apothecary's shop).  I want to learn to read but the trainer for that is some way off and no horse is yet available. No idea how to pick pocket yet..... and so on and so forth.  

[Mr. Gerbik]

Thanks for that! It sounds fascinating

 

[macosx]

Watching a stream 4 hours into this - looks really boring with empty towns and taking heads that drone on. 

Combat looks interesting though. 

[davejm]

I watched an hour of a stream and found it captivating, with far better acting and animation than I was expecting.  The realistic setting and survival elements seem interesting.  

[Talk Show Host]

11 hours ago, Cosmic_Guru said:

 

Well, I'm pleased to be experiencing it.  Basically I had two objectives:-

 

To see if the game delivers what was promised in terms of historical fidelity and absence of magics etc; and then if that box is ticked satisfactorily,

To see how the game stacks up as an RPG entertainment product as opposed to a history lesson.

 

On the first point I don't have any concerns at all so far - the world has been extensively researched and notes are available to the player to put more flesh on the bones if they are interested in any point, major NPCs are lifted straight out of the historical record, conversation passes muster as far as I'm in a position to judge these things.

 

On the second point the jury is out presently, but to be fair I have only played the prologue (most of which is on rails so just go with it if you pick this up, but conserve those lock picks since you don't need them at that point) and started a life of crime for the miller (because one of the gameplay hints is that millers are fences and as I said earlier you don't find re-salable goods just lying around in this world - virtually everything other than food is locked away in chests and will be classified as stolen property - (this is optional though if you want to play it straight)), and visited the first "town" to progress the MQ.  This seems to have taken some considerable time to achieve, with some sections admittedly being repeated along the way owing to death or mistakes (a new game would of course be much more efficient).  I haven't experienced any "real" combat yet, just bopped a few bandits on the head (you can pardon them or finish them off which is a nice touch), haven't even picked up a bow yet.  I want to learn alchemy but I don't know where a bench may be found for that (couldn't see one in the apothecary's shop).  I want to learn to read but the trainer for that is some way off and no horse is yet available. No idea how to pick pocket yet..... and so on and so forth.  

 

If all these are in some way balanced to provide a realistic experience and not a frustrating one, this will be a great ride.