Armello - It's Like A Game Of Thrones, But With Furries

tgb · September 02, 2015, 07:20:51 PM

I haven't been able to play since release because while I had no problem with the last released beta version, 1.0 crashes on me after 2 or 3 turns. I sent them my crash logs yesterday morning, but haven't heard anything more about it. Other people reported the same problem.

That aside, I'd be happy to answer any and all questions you guys have.

FarAway Sooner · September 03, 2015, 08:50:36 AM

Quote from: tgb on September 02, 2015, 07:20:51 PM
I haven't been able to play since release because while I had no problem with the last released beta version, 1.0 crashes on me after 2 or 3 turns. I sent them my crash logs yesterday morning, but haven't heard anything more about it. Other people reported the same problem.

That aside, I'd be happy to answer any and all questions you guys have.

I have a question. If one of their characters ultimately gets named "Furry Marine", will Jarhead buy it?

tgb · September 03, 2015, 09:05:08 AM

Quote from: FarAway Sooner on September 03, 2015, 08:50:36 AM
Quote from: tgb on September 02, 2015, 07:20:51 PM
I haven't been able to play since release because while I had no problem with the last released beta version, 1.0 crashes on me after 2 or 3 turns. I sent them my crash logs yesterday morning, but haven't heard anything more about it. Other people reported the same problem.

That aside, I'd be happy to answer any and all questions you guys have.

I have a question. If one of their characters ultimately gets named "Furry Marine", will Jarhead buy it?

He'll buy anything named "Furry".

Bison · September 03, 2015, 10:48:49 AM

If it had only been set in the Warhammer 40K, JH would be all over it. Not sure what faction bunnies belong to in WH40K but that is another topic completely.

Nefaro · September 03, 2015, 12:24:07 PM

Quote from: Bison on September 03, 2015, 10:48:49 AM
If it had only been set in the Warhammer 40K, JH would be all over it. Not sure what faction bunnies belong to in WH40K but that is another topic completely.

They'd resemble the one in my avatar, but with oversized armor pieces strapped to it.

JasonPratt · September 05, 2015, 01:03:46 PM

Bunnies are probably an eliminated WH40K faction, like the stunts. ^-^

There are, however, skaven in Armello. So that's... that's like close to being 40K, by one remove, right?

JasonPratt · September 05, 2015, 01:08:16 PM

Meanwhile: a very popular thread with people who love the game asking for an option to turn off the camera weirdness, has been deleted from the Steam game discussions since last night. Or moved somewhere secret perhaps; wasn't in the "bug report" forum.

Not sure what to think about that. I still love the game, and I wouldn't disrecommend it for that reason, but... I'm starting to think there's some kind of unknown legal agreement that the camera must either be locked at a certain height or players must be actively discouraged from changing the zoom outside a very narrow height range. ???

Bison · September 05, 2015, 02:09:06 PM

Or some people are big babies who don't respond well to criticism.

tgb · September 05, 2015, 03:04:11 PM

I can't imagine what legal reason that would be. I'm getting annoyed that I still can't play it.

Nefaro · September 05, 2015, 03:24:42 PM

Quote from: JasonPratt on September 05, 2015, 01:08:16 PM
Meanwhile: a very popular thread with people who love the game asking for an option to turn off the camera weirdness, has been deleted from the Steam game discussions since last night. Or moved somewhere secret perhaps; wasn't in the "bug report" forum.

This is the large thread on it:

http://steamcommunity.com/app/290340/discussions/0/527273983050674819/

Still there. You can see some of the beta people relaying the developers' stance on it when they brought it up in the past.

To me it sounds as if they want to force us to be zoomed in close to relish in their awesome 3D characters, up close and in your face all day long, cranked to eleven.

I think the animated 2D interface artwork is the prettiest part of the game. The 3D stuff on the map? Meh. Even when forced to look at it up close.

Being forced to remain zoomed-in all the time also makes it frustratingly difficult to play cards on map hexes from your hand, during other players' turns. By being forced to such a close-in view, you are also being forced to leave the camera set to follow the active player, making the prospect of dragging & dropping your cards onto the map, while the camera is constantly moving along with the active player, a difficult one.

I enjoy Armello. I seriously do. It does lend a tabletop game feel, and the mechanics are fairly enjoyable. It's this accursed limited zoom & blur/fog effect that makes it a pain to play properly at times. Then there's the developers' stubborn stance on keeping it that way. ::)

Nefaro · September 05, 2015, 04:17:58 PM

Here's a dev quote posted on the subject, from beta:

QuoteHey guys!

Can confirm that although there are visual tweaks and improvements that will be happening all the way up to launch, we won't be changing the level of visibility when you zoom out.

This was very specifically designed and implemented to not only engender a more convincing sense of place and further our goal to bring Armello to life, but also to prevent people from meta-gaming by playing in a zoomed out view.

The ability to zoom is only there for a quick geographical sit-rep, to get your bearings a little better or to better see your card range. That's it. The game is not intended to be played from an elevated view and this is to reinforce that.

There are still a few small tweaks to be made, but we're really happy with where zoom is at currently.

<3 Trent

"Meta-gaming"? Seriously? It's a foogeen digital board game!

*sigh*

JasonPratt · September 05, 2015, 05:58:22 PM

When I logged onto Steam this morning, I saw two more post alerts, and with some annoyance figured (correctly) they were from that thread, and hopped over to check them quickly so I'd know if something more important showed up.

Whereupon I saw the thread was italicized out with the notification "thread has been deleted". Clicking the thread took me nowhere. Went to the forums, no thread.

So, it had been deleted, by accident or whatever, even if it's now restored. I know I didn't dream that!

Oh well. Grogheads now has 100% more Armello DAR than it did thirty minutes ago! :D

http://grogheads.com/forums/index.php?topic=14743.msg383567#msg383567

JasonPratt · September 05, 2015, 06:02:50 PM

Quote from: tgb on September 05, 2015, 03:04:11 PM
I can't imagine what legal reason that would be. I'm getting annoyed that I still can't play it.

They credit some of the artwork, including breaking down between static and animations, there on the screen when it comes up. Never saw that done before except as part of scanning MtG cards.

Which is great (if a little immersion breaking), don't get me wrong. But does indicate they're more sensitive than usual about who gets credit for the art.

I'm honestly just making a wild-ass guess because their position makes no sense. If seeing the artwork was that important, they wouldn't focus-blur after zooming slightly in. There's a narrow window of moderate zoom, any farther out or in they penalize you visually.

Quote from: NefaroBeing forced to remain zoomed-in all the time also makes it frustratingly difficult to play cards on map hexes from your hand, during other players' turns. By being forced to such a close-in view, you are also being forced to leave the camera set to follow the active player, making the prospect of dragging & dropping your cards onto the map, while the camera is constantly moving along with the active player, a difficult one.

This + 1000.

JasonPratt · September 07, 2015, 05:00:44 PM

I finished the DAR last night, completing my first game. Won't spoil how it ended but in a couple of ways it was down to the wire.

amandachen · September 08, 2015, 06:42:11 PM

Noticed this is cheap on http://www.nuuvem.com/ right now. I'm in the UK, and it worked out about half price compared to Steam. The key worked fine for me, I didn't need to use a VPN, and the store's an authorized Steam reseller, not one of those dodgy sites. Give it a go.