Skip to content

Sword Coast Legends. Is this the spiritual successor to NWN?

1101113151620

Comments

  • ShapiroKeatsDarkMageShapiroKeatsDarkMage Member Posts: 2,428
    iKrivetko said:

    No sorcerers, no warlocks, no monks. In that case, they can sod off.

    Also no Dragonborns or Tieflings.
  • ShapiroKeatsDarkMageShapiroKeatsDarkMage Member Posts: 2,428
    Fardragon said:

    I think it's a similar stutation as with the proposed movie. Rather than selling the licence for 5th edition, they are giving it away and begging people to use it, in an attempt to repair the damage done to the D&D brand by the 4th edition debacle.

    They should never have made Garrick managing director.

    Also not translating the 5th edition books is pretty bad imo.
  • VallmyrVallmyr Member, Mobile Tester Posts: 2,457
    So I played the game for an hour and my initial reaction is I enjoyed it. Playing as Piro Faeren of whom is normally a gnome bard but now is a halfling arcane trickster. I chose the entertainer background that gives her a health regen aura.

    I desperately hope with expansions or dpc that can add every 5e class, archetype, and race. This game has potential I think.
    elminstermlneveseJuliusBorisov
  • VallmyrVallmyr Member, Mobile Tester Posts: 2,457
    edited October 2015
    I made a mistake at character creation so going to re-do my character today XD
    Still going with the psuedo-bard build, though.

    I forgot in 5e that dex affects attack and damage with finesse weapons as opposed to 3e that uses finesse for attack but strength for damage. Going to drop my strength to 8 because RP-wise Piro is super weak + it doesn't do anything for her offensively.

    Edit: So far my impression is this character generation is "ok" unlike the glorious options we had in NWN and NWN2 or even Baldur's Gate. The actual game does feel very D&D-y especially if you make it auto-pause every round.
    FinneousPJ
  • FardragonFardragon Member Posts: 4,511

    Fardragon said:

    I think it's a similar stutation as with the proposed movie. Rather than selling the licence for 5th edition, they are giving it away and begging people to use it, in an attempt to repair the damage done to the D&D brand by the 4th edition debacle.

    They should never have made Garrick managing director.

    Also not translating the 5th edition books is pretty bad imo.
    Not worth it with the poor shape the brand is in. (Cost of translation + printing of localised versions + cost of marketing) > revenue additional sales.

    I'm in the UK (where we speak English) and 5th edition is very difficult to find and has no marketing.
  • brusbrus Member Posts: 944

    iKrivetko said:

    No sorcerers, no warlocks, no monks. In that case, they can sod off.

    Also no Dragonborns or Tieflings.
    I can tolerate that if the story and narration is quite good with athmosphere of epic fantasy.
    Also, additional classes could be written in future DLC if devs would like it.
  • elminsterelminster Member, Developer Posts: 16,315
    edited October 2015
    I've enjoyed the story from what little I've played of it (maybe the first two hours).

    The other thing that I would most certainly like to see (on top of anything else I've written) is an easier method of testing out your modules. As it stands now there isn't any kind of "preview" option that you can use when you are creating a given map. So you end up having to save your module and then go into the player section of the game and launch it from there (which also has the problem of it meaning that you have to test your module from its start). I'm not certain if saved games will incorporate changes made to the module they are using. But even then it seems like this aspect of module creation needs work.
    Post edited by elminster on
    mlneveseJuliusBorisovbrusthelovebat
  • kanisathakanisatha Member Posts: 1,308
    I've been playing SCL quite a bit and I really like it. If one goes into the game with expectations of it being exactly like tabletop, then yes they're going to be disappointed. But if you're looking for a simple, fun D&D experience (and for a mere $40), then SCL works just fine.

    Re. class and race limitations, I think it is entirely reasonable that they didn't include everything right away because they're a small company trying to do something very big. They have said, and I accept their word, that in time they will expand to cover all the typical D&D classes and races. Same thing for available monsters and other tiles in the DM mode. Once they get the base game working right, it would be relatively easy to add in more of all things.
  • elminsterelminster Member, Developer Posts: 16,315
    edited October 2015
    As I've been expanding my module more its become increasingly clear how limiting the lack of custom scripting is on the game. Even doing something as simple as having a neutral character (whom you can talk to) turn hostile isn't possible. Without this the options you have available for encounters is extremely limited.
    FinneousPJKamigoroshiJuliusBorisovthelovebat
  • elminsterelminster Member, Developer Posts: 16,315
    edited October 2015
    elminster said:

    Well if anyone does every decides to buy the game the module I created is called "Ahazu Trilogy: Murder at the Gate" (and its available for download).

    Unfortunately, trying it out now just showed me that its still got a bunch of kinks to work out (maps were not showing when they should be showing, quests weren't updating properly, that kind of thing). So I have actually "unshared" it for the time being. But at least people will now know about it :)

    I've uploaded it again to their servers. I can't guarantee its bug free, which in large part has to do with the lack of being able to preview maps, but if anyone is interested it is there. I do plan on adding more side quests and other things. But the main path is done at this point I think (apart from bug fixes). At the moment it stands at 14 different areas on the world map (including at least one underdark location) and 14 different quests. Apologies in advance if (in the unlikely event anyone plays it) you get to the final quest and have an annoying amount of clicking to do to read text. The word limit in this game is pretty annoying if you are trying to write a series of journal entries.
    Post edited by elminster on
    FinneousPJJuliusBorisovthe_spyderthelovebat
  • YannirYannir Member Posts: 595
    I'm glad I stopped expecting a next-gen BG a long time ago. Otherwise I would be very disappointed with this game. I may try it out in the future, but I'm not there yet.

    I very much understand their choice of making SCL easily approachable because honestly, there just aren't that many hardcore BG/NWN-fans out there. Even 10 k people is very small number in the current gaming industry. So just making a mantlebearer for the old classics is not enough. They are a company, and they need to make a living out of their product. So they NEED to be able to attract new players as well.

    Unfortunately, I think they still went in the wrong direction. Over-emphasizing the multiplayer is not a smart choice since they are directly going against massive MMO's like WoW and GW2, which are frankly better and more immersive. They would have fared much better if they had developed the toolset further and made the engine less limiting. That would have distinguished them from MMO's, and the party mechanics would have made it different from action RPG's such as Witcher or Assassin's Creed.

    The only big cards they are holding are the DM-mode and the D&D franchise. I hope those are enough, and this game keeps developing. Until then, I'm not holding my breath in excitement.
    Davide
  • FinneousPJFinneousPJ Member Posts: 6,455
    I don't see the advantage of making the toolset so limited. It's doesn't seem like they're even mostly technical limitations, just arbitrary ones.
    JuliusBorisovthelovebat
  • VallmyrVallmyr Member, Mobile Tester Posts: 2,457
    I unfortunately haven't been able to play the game at all since last time @_@
    Life has been super hard/busy as of late. I've read TONS of negative reviews and comments over on the SCL forums about how limited the module creating is. I've heard also lesser comments about how limited character creation is and how there is too much magic gear in the game as opposed to how 5e makes it sparse. Also apparently bounded accuracy is gone for stats.

    /shrugs.

    I'm still looking forward to playing the game, though! n_n
    Still sad no Necromancer for the Player Character QQ
    Oh well.
  • brusbrus Member Posts: 944
    What are the devs saying? Will they try to bring D&D feel to it?
  • VallmyrVallmyr Member, Mobile Tester Posts: 2,457
    Unsure, I imagine something will be done though with such a large portion of the community saying stuff. Threads I see in particular are the following:

    https://forums.swordcoast.com/index.php?/topic/7049-wishlist-player-characters/

    https://forums.swordcoast.com/index.php?/topic/7048-wishlist-creatures/

    https://forums.swordcoast.com/index.php?/topic/7039-wishlist-gameplay/
    JuliusBorisov
  • elminsterelminster Member, Developer Posts: 16,315
    edited October 2015
    I wish they would allow module uploading to a website. There presently isn't much functionality when it comes to searching for a module within the game itself (you can't search based on category, difficulty ratings, or any other metric that could prove useful).

    From the standpoint of a content creator its also frustrating because the only feedback you get (if you get any at all) is a review out of 5. Which is basically useless.
    Post edited by elminster on
    FinneousPJJuliusBorisovSjerriethelovebat
  • the_spyderthe_spyder Member Posts: 5,018
    Merina said:

    (after discovering that wizards in the game suck big time)

    You had me here. If wizards suck in the game? I won't be buying it.

    BelgarathMTH
  • VallmyrVallmyr Member, Mobile Tester Posts: 2,457
    Yeahhhhh
    Wizards are not D&D wizards. Imagine the standard mage from any MMO. They have Frost, Lightning, and Fire as three separate trees. . . Transmutation has Invisibility in it but not polymorph.

    Like

    Being a caster is not a great time in SCL which is why I'm playing a rogue focusing on the arcane trickster tree.
    JuliusBorisovShapiroKeatsDarkMage
  • elminsterelminster Member, Developer Posts: 16,315
    I went the cleric route for my character. Pretty sure that I went with a pretty safe god like Tyr (as I am lawful neutral) but I don't think your alignment even shows up when playing the campaign.
    JuliusBorisov
  • VallmyrVallmyr Member, Mobile Tester Posts: 2,457
    Since I haven't restarted yet, I was actually curious about the Cleric. Thinking of making a Cleric of Kelemvor at some point. How are the Cleric spells? Any cool "smiting undead" ones? I know the death domain isn't there (QQ) but I might go for the opposite approach and be an undead hunter.
  • elminsterelminster Member, Developer Posts: 16,315
    edited October 2015
    Nothing special. Its basically a healing class with some damage and buff spells. But the damage spells in particular (to me anyways) didn't seem nearly as effective as the healing.
    JuliusBorisov
  • VallmyrVallmyr Member, Mobile Tester Posts: 2,457
    Ah I see. Also on your comment on the alignment thing, I've read multiple places on the SCL forums that alignment doesn't affect the game at all and doesn't appear on your char sheet. I think they need to overhaul the char sheet to actually show your total to hit bonus and all the math involved and such.
  • elminsterelminster Member, Developer Posts: 16,315
    The only thing I think the alignment does is vary what gods you can pick from when it comes to worshipping.
    Vallmyr
  • FinneousPJFinneousPJ Member Posts: 6,455
    Yeah, I am starting to think it's a missed opportunity. Although the devs are promising to take player input into account.
    JuliusBorisov
  • YamchaYamcha Member Posts: 486
    Merina, you're writing about normal or hard difficulty ?

    But so far this games sounds pretty lackluster, too bad...
    the_spyder
  • MerinaMerina Member Posts: 303
    I've played at "normal".

    The only tiny manual that is available (19 pages with no maths, skill tables or details ... https://d5u5y8k2.ssl.hwcdn.net/sites/all/themes/swordcoastbase/images/playerGuide/SCL_Guide_condensed.pdf ) calls it "medium":
    The level of enemies is boosted, making them more powerful and tougher to defeat. Pausing the game to queue up buffs, heals, and attacks should now be more common. Friendly Fire is also enabled at 50%, requiring the player to be cautious about where they cast spells that have an area of effect.
    Based on that I thought it would be more of a challenge than the default "easy" ... however, this difficulty setting can't add what you cannot do in the game anyway.

    It's not as if the last few character levels added all the shiny abilities or spells.
    JuliusBorisov
  • the_spyderthe_spyder Member Posts: 5,018
    Merina said:

    Action role-playing without the role-playing component ... you enter a residence ... as always, since you may need to explore every location on a map in order to discover something. You know it's "breaking in", but not doing that, you may miss something. The house is empty except for some chests. You may think twice before unlocking the chests, but so far throughout the game, you have been expected to take everything you could find. Even from chests just next to a merchant. Ouch. But this time, the house's owner returns. And you're forced to kill him or her, because the owner attacks the party, which is armed to the teeth and doesn't get any other option. And afterwards? You leave the house as if nothing has happened. The city guards haven't noticed. You don't even need to hide a dead body. No change of alignment. No consequences. Not immediately, not later.

    Not to be a detractor or anything, but isn't this how BG plays things as well?
    Vallmyr
Sign In or Register to comment.