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Digital Gaming => Computer Gaming => Topic started by: Martok on July 25, 2013, 12:11:49 PM

Title: Citadels
Post by: Martok on July 25, 2013, 12:11:49 PM
Apparently, it's now available for pre-order (http://www.gamersgate.com/DD-CITADELS/citadels?aff=ggnews) (at least on GamersGate). 




Anyone heard more about this game?  I've seen a few scattered mentions of it over the last couple months, but very little actual information.  I don't know if that means the game is in poor shape, or if there just hasn't been much marketing done for it yet, or what.  The lack of info bothers me, but after reading the description and features list, it sounds like it could be fun. 

Title: Re: Citadels
Post by: TheCommandTent on July 25, 2013, 12:24:08 PM
I does look like it could be fun but then again like you have I have not heard anything until this post.
Title: Re: Citadels
Post by: LongBlade on July 25, 2013, 01:49:57 PM
Looks like an updated Lords of the Realm.

It uses Steamworks as DRM but there's nothing in the Steam store about it. Who's the dev?
Title: Re: Citadels
Post by: LongBlade on July 25, 2013, 01:51:08 PM
Found it: Bit-composer. http://www.bit-composer.com/www_en/game.aspx?gameid=f452902c-c8a0-4c0a-bdd1-90e628a5a4d1

It releases tomorrow in German-speaking Europe.
Title: Re: Citadels
Post by: Anguille on July 25, 2013, 02:35:55 PM
Looks more like Medieval Lords to me...could be fun.
Title: Re: Citadels
Post by: LongBlade on July 25, 2013, 02:36:24 PM
I just sent them an email. We'll see what comes of it.
Title: Re: Citadels
Post by: LongBlade on July 25, 2013, 03:14:15 PM
Good news!

I have a game key. Downloading now. Hope to have some impressions maybe as early as tonight.
Title: Re: Citadels
Post by: Gusington on July 25, 2013, 06:08:52 PM
Interesting looking, kinda like AoE on steroids. Post impressions!
Title: Re: Citadels
Post by: son_of_montfort on July 25, 2013, 07:57:03 PM
Quote from: LongBlade on July 25, 2013, 03:14:15 PM
Good news!

I have a game key. Downloading now. Hope to have some impressions maybe as early as tonight.

Yes, because the resident medieval expert wouldn't have been a good choice for that key...  :P ;D

Actually, I'm glad you can look at it, I'm busy this weekend and would love to know the low-down before release! I'll say I'm skeptical, however. It comes out of nowhere, nobody developer, and uses King Arthur. That smells like doom to me.
Title: Re: Citadels
Post by: LongBlade on July 25, 2013, 08:33:19 PM
Quote from: son_of_montfort on July 25, 2013, 07:57:03 PM
Quote from: LongBlade on July 25, 2013, 03:14:15 PM
Good news!

I have a game key. Downloading now. Hope to have some impressions maybe as early as tonight.

Yes, because the resident medieval expert wouldn't have been a good choice for that key...  :P ;D

Actually, I'm glad you can look at it, I'm busy this weekend and would love to know the low-down before release! I'll say I'm skeptical, however. It comes out of nowhere, nobody developer, and uses King Arthur. That smells like doom to me.

Well, it's certainly not much of a historical medieval city sim.

Lots of peasant pushing. Peasants get cranked out automatically.

There's not tutorial so you may struggle for 15 minutes figuring it out. There are four basic resources: wood, ore, stone, and food. You can, for example, build an ore building in the middle of nowhere. There doesn't seem to be an indicator that you've screwed up. However, searching around the map it's easy enough to spot where you should build a quarry or mine. "Sheds" are the equivalent of housing and you'll need to crank lots of those out to house expand your population.

Peasants are also a kind of resource. They're used to construct buildings and fortifications but they're also used to be sent to a training ground to become archers or swordsmen.

I've only spent about half an hour with it so I'm not really that familiar with the ins and outs. My first mission is to crush an enemy village. So I'm turtling: taking my time building stuff to see how it works. Slowly building a wall around my property to shelter behind in case I'm attacked.

Let me upload some images to my Photobucket account and I'll see if I can explain further.
Title: Re: Citadels
Post by: LongBlade on July 25, 2013, 08:37:46 PM
OK, a few things going on here.

On the left you'll see stakes in the ground and some swordsmen and archers standing behind it. I'm also in the process of ordering a wall to be constructed.

To the right you'll see walls of rock and a quarry. The building there can be built anywhere but doesn't really warn you not to put it where it won't be of use. As the company is German I'm speculating that we're seeing a European-style release where later patches will polish the game a bit further. So far no glitchy bugs, but hints as to what-not-to-do would be helpful.

(https://www.grogheads.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi1081.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fj349%2Flongblade%2FGrogHeads%2F2013-07-25_00006_zps4301b2b9.jpg&hash=4e521a0738b7a3bd4ffc963ac1411f7baa5833b7)
Title: Re: Citadels
Post by: LongBlade on July 25, 2013, 08:39:36 PM
Here I've built a farm. A couple of other buildings are there too. To the top of the picture is a river.

(https://www.grogheads.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi1081.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fj349%2Flongblade%2FGrogHeads%2F2013-07-25_00004_zpsfd8e1969.jpg&hash=7fae84dfea942b0d1072e2e5070fb493dec1b2eb)
Title: Re: Citadels
Post by: LongBlade on July 25, 2013, 08:41:30 PM
Here I've built a mine to extract ore.

Clearly one of the objectives is going to be balancing resource gathering with fortification. Simple questions like whether I should attempt to shelter this mine can pose a problem as it's fairly outside of my core area. It will take a *lot* of wood to keep it sheltered.

(https://www.grogheads.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi1081.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fj349%2Flongblade%2FGrogHeads%2F2013-07-25_00007_zps3cd22e6b.jpg&hash=12828a2c6cc3abcb66ff4d9179bd315923ce64a6)
Title: Re: Citadels
Post by: LongBlade on July 25, 2013, 08:43:21 PM
Here's my core village area as I was starting. The ore (which I haven't discovered yet) is down the cliff just above the tower that's in the upper center.

Note there is a training ground being built to the right. Further to the right is an already constructed mine - doing nothing.

(https://www.grogheads.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi1081.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fj349%2Flongblade%2FGrogHeads%2F2013-07-25_00001_zps1a4fe052.jpg&hash=de217cb6e067c4c9920f419d506be7e79cdf89ed)
Title: Re: Citadels
Post by: LongBlade on July 25, 2013, 08:45:34 PM
OK, with half an hour of gameplay it's not fair for me to do more than suggest a few impressions.

Overall there's a solid game here. It could use some polish but it's certainly playable.

Guys who enjoy city building, resource gathering and a bit of combat may enjoy this.

I have no idea whether more elaborate siege equipment will be introduced later on. My guess is it will be. This is the first mission of the first campaign/game. Next up will be to poke around for documentation.
Title: Re: Citadels
Post by: Gusington on July 25, 2013, 08:54:34 PM
So it's a city builder more like Stronghold than an RTS like AoE?
Title: Re: Citadels
Post by: LongBlade on July 25, 2013, 09:06:14 PM
Quote from: Gusington on July 25, 2013, 08:54:34 PM
So it's a city builder more like Stronghold than an RTS like AoE?

I don't think I ever played Stronghold. It seems to be more RTS-ish, so yeah, I'd call it something akin to Age of Empires.

What really intrigues me is how the combat and fortress construction works. I'm looking forward to tearing deeper into that.
Title: Re: Citadels
Post by: Anguille on July 26, 2013, 02:38:26 AM
Not sure if Tilted Mill is going to be happy when they see this...they are working on Medieval Mayor right now (still a long way to go i think though).
Title: Re: Citadels
Post by: spelk on July 26, 2013, 05:10:33 AM
When I saw the thread I immediately thought about the Bruno Faidutti board/card game Citadels!

http://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/478/citadels

Interesting to find out how combat goes LB. Thanks for sharing first impressions/screenshots!
Title: Re: Citadels
Post by: Gusington on July 26, 2013, 07:42:18 AM
I am intrigued that the game is not craptacular right out of the box...I thought for sure it would be.
Title: Re: Citadels
Post by: FlickJax on July 26, 2013, 09:01:06 AM
has it a sandbox mode?
Title: Re: Citadels
Post by: LongBlade on July 26, 2013, 09:25:05 AM
Quote from: FlickJax on July 26, 2013, 09:01:06 AM
has it a sandbox mode?

Dunno.

While I have been given objectives to accomplish so far it seems more like a sandbox than anything.

I keep expecting hordes of AI controlled bad guys to come descending down on me at any moment. If they don't then this is essentially a sandbox - at least this mission. We'll have to see.
Title: Re: Citadels
Post by: LongBlade on July 26, 2013, 09:26:54 AM
Quote from: Gusington on July 26, 2013, 07:42:18 AM
I am intrigued that the game is not craptacular right out of the box...I thought for sure it would be.

No, it doesn't suck.

I'm not addicted to it, but I am looking forward to playing some more.

I know there is going to be a group of guys for whom this will scratch an itch. I'm just trying go figure out how many and who they are.
Title: Re: Citadels
Post by: Martok on July 26, 2013, 10:03:22 AM
Thanks for the impressions & feedback LB.  It sounds like the game might not be up my alley (particularly if there's no sandbox mode), but I'm still curious/interested. 

Title: Re: Citadels
Post by: Gusington on July 26, 2013, 10:08:39 AM
I'm getting itchy.
Title: Re: Citadels
Post by: Martok on July 26, 2013, 10:19:54 AM
Incidentally, it looks like the game is now out (http://www.gamersgate.com/DD-CITADELS/citadels). 





Quote from: Gusington on July 26, 2013, 10:08:39 AM
I'm getting itchy.
They have creams for that, you know. 

Title: Re: Citadels
Post by: LongBlade on July 26, 2013, 10:59:19 AM
Quote from: Martok on July 26, 2013, 10:19:54 AM
Incidentally, it looks like the game is now out (http://www.gamersgate.com/DD-CITADELS/citadels). 

Sorry, yes. I was corresponding with the PR manager last night and he indicated the US release would be today, too.
Title: Re: Citadels
Post by: Arctic Blast on July 26, 2013, 07:12:35 PM
Quote from: Gusington on July 26, 2013, 10:08:39 AM
I'm getting itchy.

This wouldn't keep happening if you'd just use the damn ointment!
Title: Re: Citadels
Post by: LongBlade on July 26, 2013, 08:50:53 PM
Guys, check out this launch trailer. I'm going to have get back into this game. There is siege equipment and stuff.

Title: Re: Citadels
Post by: Gusington on July 26, 2013, 10:08:50 PM
It does look great. It's priced at 35.99 which seems a little high, unless it has 50+ hours of gameplay.

Still itchy.
Title: Re: Citadels
Post by: Grim.Reaper on July 26, 2013, 10:37:05 PM
I know the steam forums can't always be reliable for feedback, but may want to check it before to see if any valid concerns...seems less than positive.

http://steamcommunity.com/app/238870/discussions/
Title: Re: Citadels
Post by: Gusington on July 26, 2013, 10:40:41 PM
A lot of unhappy customers there. But I trust LB more than any of them. And so far he is having a good time.

So far.
Title: Re: Citadels
Post by: Anguille on July 27, 2013, 03:07:34 AM
I am also looking for more info from LB here.

Cheers
Title: Re: Citadels
Post by: Grim.Reaper on July 27, 2013, 04:27:35 AM
Yep, understand...just wanted to point out some more sources of info too.  I would love for this game to turn out to be good.
Title: Re: Citadels
Post by: TheCommandTent on July 27, 2013, 07:31:39 AM
I am reserving judgment until LB gets deeper into the game.  In general I like the idea behind this type of game but was burned with Stronghold 3 so I am hesitant.
Title: Re: Citadels
Post by: Grim.Reaper on July 27, 2013, 07:56:03 AM
Quote from: TheCommandTent on July 27, 2013, 07:31:39 AM
I am reserving judgment until LB gets deeper into the game.  In general I like the idea behind this type of game but was burned with Stronghold 3 so I am hesitant.

The pressure is on LB.....we all wait your final verdict....you will be responsible for us opening or closing our wallets on this purchase:)   No pressure:)
Title: Re: Citadels
Post by: LongBlade on July 27, 2013, 08:40:18 AM
So in other words I should have spent last night gaming instead of drinking?

This is a tough crowd.
Title: Re: Citadels
Post by: Gusington on July 27, 2013, 11:53:27 AM
^Less banter more Citadels. Get to steppin'!!
Title: Re: Citadels
Post by: son_of_montfort on July 27, 2013, 01:00:31 PM
Quote from: LongBlade on July 27, 2013, 08:40:18 AM
So in other words I should have spent last night gaming instead of drinking?

This is a tough crowd.

Why not do both, simultaneously?
Title: Re: Citadels
Post by: TheCommandTent on July 27, 2013, 09:15:19 PM
Quote from: son_of_montfort on July 27, 2013, 01:00:31 PM
Quote from: LongBlade on July 27, 2013, 08:40:18 AM
So in other words I should have spent last night gaming instead of drinking?

This is a tough crowd.

Why not do both, simultaneously?

Only if he takes video of it and includes drunken commentary.   ;D
Title: Re: Citadels
Post by: Grim.Reaper on July 27, 2013, 09:59:08 PM
A review/overview on youtube....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F6b7xXKgvsY

Thinking this might be one to pass or wait until a very good sale...