Age of Decendence Demo

[SgtRock]

Age of Decadence is an RPG available for early release on Steam, there is also a demo.

What a strange game, graphics (8 & 16 bit) are like something from a 10 year old game and gameplay feels very odd, text selection based on skills. It's like playing some old text heavy game from GOG, you never heard of without a manual and despite putting in several hours I still don't know where this is headed or even what the goal is, all I can say is you die very quickly. The turn based combat is not good, if you face multiple foes, they attack and kill you before you even get a turn. Weapons, don't tell you what they really are, I can't tell difference between a dagger or sword? Reading a sign outside the Tavern says "Eat and Fuck for one low prices",  funny considering you can't tell the difference between male or female characters graphic wise.

There are hints of something very deep but, can't make heads or tails out of it, I think most players will die of boredom or frustration long before figuring it out. This seems to be one of those games where the demo just might kill it, before the game is even released. Why someone puts out a demo for an unfinished game is beyond me? 

[Gusington]

I tried the demo a few times and it was completely unplayable and ridiculous.

[Nefaro]

This thing has been in development for ages, and it shows.  I honestly didn't think it would ever see the light of a full release and the game itself looks like the old Fallout games from the 90s, which are pretty clunky by today's standards.

[Bletchley_Geek]

It's the RPG the hardasses from RPGCodex.net wanted, and it shows. It tries so hard to be the "definitive anti-Bioware game" that it gets a bit tiresome.

I have put quite a few hours into it (I got into the Early Access program when they got that ready, although I've been lurking their forums for years now) and I am still left wondering whether I like the game or not. For each thing I like there's something that puts me down. For instance,

• Good: It's obvious that a lot of work has gone into the backstory and lore: this mixture of post-Roman and post-apocalyptic themes is very clever, and it's believable (provided you don't have trouble believing in Demons coming from other planes and stuff).
  
• Bad: The problem with such an story-intensive game is how to present this story to the player in a agreeable form. I don't mind the interactive-fiction interface that much, provided I could be able to 1) copy & paste relevant bits of the dialogue into a journal (so I don't have to memorize everything) and 2) change the font settings for the text so that my eyes weren't so strained due the combo of poor contrast and blurry fonts due to anti-aliasing.
  
  
• Good: the combat system feels a bit clunky indeed, because it's got a lot of tactical depth. Weapons are very different - weight matters as your character gets tired by swinging those swords, weapons have different reach that make them amenable for different situations, etc. Also very important are skill levels: you really need to be skilled with a weapon in order to something more than just pinch food with it.
  
• Bad: This is not explained at all in a clear way. They're trying to roll out a tutorial, but I'm left to wonder if they do really take it seriously. And it gets complicated: if you guys are familiar with Rolemaster-like rulesets, this one comes close to that.
  
  
• Good: it breaks with genre conventions regarding 'progression'. I do enjoy getting myself murdered for playing the 'daft blonde hero thing'. If you approach this game as you would approach Morrowind you're probably going to be murdered. Here one needs to eat the humble pie quite often and concede that "The Better Part of Valor, is Discretion".
  
• Bad: the game is based in a "lone wolf" premise, for two reasons. One, to avoid being tempted into the kind of awkward intra-party relationships typical in Bioware games (why is romance so fr*cking awkward in Bioware games?). And second, to create an incentive to replay the game several times over if you want to get the whole experience. I think they have gone a bit too far with both things.
  
  
• Good: Quests typically offer several different ways to solve them. And this ways are significantly different, that is, differences are more deep than having the choice between going postal on the NPC's arses or use Jedi mind tricks to get them done what you want them to do.
  
• Bad: In this day and age, I'd say it's very hard to come up with 'fresh' themes in Fantasy. I mean, it's good that the delivery boy type of quests may involve your PC to have sex, but, at the end of the day, you're a delivery boy.
  
  
• Good: I appreciate the kind of goofy non politically correct kind of humour one could find in Jagged Alliance 2 and Fallout 1 & 2. There's a lot of that in AoD.
  
• Bad: The kind of non-PC content you find here is possibly as awkward as the possibility in Fallout 2 of having a girl-on-girl romp with the wife of the casino owner.
  
  Indeed, they aren't really trying to appeal to a broad audience - this is a game for those who have hated the 2000's RPG standards. With a passion.
  
  I'm personally looking forward more to Beyond Divinity: Original Sin. I yearn to play an Ultima VII like RPG with a real party and a world that makes sense (well, sense as in getting a Darwin award for casting a lightning bolt spell while you're ankle-deep in water and stuff).

[Gusington]

^Great post. I would love to read a book set in Age of Decadence's world. And now you have me looking into Beyond Divinity!

[Bletchley_Geek]

^Great post. I would love to read a book set in Age of Decadence's world. And now you have me looking into Beyond Divinity!

The post-Roman twilight setting - with Magic playing the role of nukes - is intriguing.

Regarding Beyond Divinity: let's see how it pans out. My memories of previous Larian's games is that they were so buggy as to the point of being really frustrating. But the "it's like Ultima VII dudes" vibe I'm getting from Rock Paper Shotgun and the possibility of cooperative multi-player definitely got my attention. In any case, I'm prudent with this one.

[Nefaro]

I have high hopes for the upcoming Beyond Divinity game because they look to be taking it back to they style of the original Divine Divinity, which was an excellent game in it's time.  The second one not so much, and that last 3D title they did was a mess with little resemblance.

[Rayfer]

I have high hopes for the upcoming Beyond Divinity game because they look to be taking it back to they style of the original Divine Divinity, which was an excellent game in it's time.  The second one not so much, and that last 3D title they did was a mess with little resemblance.

+1 to your comments. The original was a fun classic with a lot of well done humor as well. If this new one recaptures some of that feel it should be a good game.

[skeptical.platypus]

I'm only about 10 hours in so far, on two different careers, and I am loving it so far. In the first hour of play, my Praetor:

1) Chose between taking the life, money, or a service to be earned later from a low-level merchant who had arranged to steal a map from my Lord,
2) Was offered money and power by the old loremaster advisor to my lord if I could help him make sure his replacement disappeared,
3) Met his replacement and introduced him to my Lord,
4) Invited a rival lord's loremaster back my Lord's pad, only to discover my Lord has taken him captive as a spy and was interrogating him to death,
5) Talked the spy into confessing instead of death. Uncovered Blue Steel plot of Surpassing Awesomeness,
6) Listened to a preacher and began the path toward enlightenment,
7) Made usurious loan to refugee smith and family when he couldn't afford entrance to the city, and
8) Was mugged and killed when I was invited back to a merchant's abode to view a private selection.

Awesome!

[eyebiter]

.

[Nefaro]

I'm only about 10 hours in so far, on two different careers, and I am loving it so far. In the first hour of play, my Praetor:

1) Chose between taking the life, money, or a service to be earned later from a low-level merchant who had arranged to steal a map from my Lord,
2) Was offered money and power by the old loremaster advisor to my lord if I could help him make sure his replacement disappeared,
3) Met his replacement and introduced him to my Lord,
4) Invited a rival lord's loremaster back my Lord's pad, only to discover my Lord has taken him captive as a spy and was interrogating him to death,
5) Talked the spy into confessing instead of death. Uncovered Blue Steel plot of Surpassing Awesomeness,
6) Listened to a preacher and began the path toward enlightenment,
7) Made usurious loan to refugee smith and family when he couldn't afford entrance to the city, and
8) Was mugged and killed when I was invited back to a merchant's abode to view a private selection.

Awesome!

That all sounds very interesting but my biggest concern is the interface and usability.  It looks pretty archaic in more than one way.

Have you been able to play it without tearing your hair out?

[skeptical.platypus]

I'm only about 10 hours in so far, on two different careers, and I am loving it so far. In the first hour of play, my Praetor:

1) Chose between taking the life, money, or a service to be earned later from a low-level merchant who had arranged to steal a map from my Lord,
2) Was offered money and power by the old loremaster advisor to my lord if I could help him make sure his replacement disappeared,
3) Met his replacement and introduced him to my Lord,
4) Invited a rival lord's loremaster back my Lord's pad, only to discover my Lord has taken him captive as a spy and was interrogating him to death,
5) Talked the spy into confessing instead of death. Uncovered Blue Steel plot of Surpassing Awesomeness,
6) Listened to a preacher and began the path toward enlightenment,
7) Made usurious loan to refugee smith and family when he couldn't afford entrance to the city, and
8) Was mugged and killed when I was invited back to a merchant's abode to view a private selection.

Awesome!

That all sounds very interesting but my biggest concern is the interface and usability.  It looks pretty archaic in more than one way.

Have you been able to play it without tearing your hair out?

I have not reached the hair-pulling stage, but my tolerance nears fanboi acceptance. The interface is. . . not good. But so far I haven't felt like I'm fighting the interface like I still do in Project Zomboid. I haven't experienced the frustration that most posters here have, but I can see where they are coming from.

[undercovergeek]

well its out, theres a good reader review at RPS that says its very hard to unlock but once you get it, its awesome

[Rayfer]

well its out, theres a good reader review at RPS that says its very hard to unlock but once you get it, its awesome

I read the RPS review and came away disinterested in the game...maybe next year when it's seriously discounted.

[undercovergeek]

well its out, theres a good reader review at RPS that says its very hard to unlock but once you get it, its awesome

I read the RPS review and came away disinterested in the game...maybe next year when it's seriously discounted.

ah no, not RPS review, a guy in the forums