Torchlight 2, My Impressions...

Extracted Diablo 3 talk to the Diablo 3 thread.
Sorry to have been part of the off-topic chat, please guys stay on topic ^^

This is a Torchlight II thread.
 
Thanks for your impressions. I tried the beta of this game this last weekend and I pre-ordered it already. It will hopefully be my new Diablo 2, which was one of the best games ever made, since Diablo 3 isn't what it should be.

The most accurate description of this game could be...: It's fun?
 
I haven't clocked the original torchlight yet, mainly due to the skill system being poorly thought-through with many underpowered skills and hidden traps, and the item pre/suffix system confused with lots of weak, redundant effects, but it's still a decent enough game that's pretty fun.

Hell, it was so cheap it's no contest in the value-for-money department. :)
 
Grall said:
Wut...

They need to just get it finished instead of obsessing over every little detail.
Click to expand...


I'm disappointed too, but it explains why Runic didn't announce a release date at E3 as a lot of people expected. They learned things from the beta that means they are going to do some tweaking and minor changes that will make big differences. It's like the old days when devs used to take the time to polish a game to perfection and make the difference between a good game and a truly great game.

Better than a lot of companies that run betas, get feedback, and then launch without acting on that feedback and with the same bugs everyone reported.
 
We need concrete evidence though that the time spent is to actually make small changes that have big differences, rather than simply obsessing over trivialities that don't really matter, and/or couldn't be easily fixed with a post-release patch.

We all know of all of those games where devs were trying to polish their game to perfection, and instead ended up wasting oodles of time staring themselves blind at unimportant issues. Or in one very famous case, re-making the same game over and over in an attempt to perfect it, and ending up wrecking both their famous franchise and the company itself. Shit, Runic have a past reputation of doing that themselves, with Flagship, which sunk spectacularly some years ago...
 
Well for instance, people on the beta complained that targeting was difficult, especially because some of the big effects made it difficult to see what you were targeting. These are both being tweaked to make them work better. Also the power-trees have been tweaked to make higher powers varied, rather than just more powerful. It's these kinds of details that get rid of annoying things and make them much better.

These are things that Runic considered important to sort out before release, rather than a month after release when everyone has finished the game. Don't forget, this is primarily a download release via the likes of Steam, so Runic can patch right up to just before release as they don't have to worry about store release schedules, disc duplication or distribution, and just concentrate on getting the game right.
 
Bouncing Zabaglione Bros. said:
Some more Torchlight 2 info over at IGN with a nice little gameplay preview.

Looks like release has been pushed back to late summer now.

Some beta co-op play:

Click to expand...
That's really cool - thanks for sharing - these videos actually show people discovering things about the game as they experience it and I am happy with some of the new features of the game.

The classes are very interesting, so are the pets. You can make interesting builds as usual, and judging from the comments the game seems to be extremely fun.
 
So I got to interview Max Schaefer while I was at E3 last week, and it was so much fun! We ended up discussing the future of the Torchlight series including the MMO, Diablo 3 and why it’s release has been very good for Torchlight 2, the now infamous ‘Error 37’ and why he hopes they’re fortunate enough to experience it, Torchlight 2 on XBLA & Mac, how Minecraft could meet Torchlight, plus his overall inspirations in games design.

Check it out and let me know what you think. It's pretty in depth, and I'm sort of proud of this one. :)

http://eat-games.tumblr.com/
 
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I though T2 was really going to get pounded by D3, but watching the Yogscast guys go through the beta, seeing the disgruntled comments about D3, it seems that Runic made a good choice. They've taken the same genre, and gone in a different (I think better) direction in tackling the same issues.

It may turn out that T2 ends up better than "the other game", and had been able to ride on the coat-tails of D3's publicity.
 
warcrow said:
So I got to interview Max Schaefer while I was at E3 last week, and it was so much fun! We ended up discussing the future of the Torchlight series including the MMO, Diablo 3 and why it’s release has been very good for Torchlight 2, the now infamous ‘Error 37’ and why he hopes they’re fortunate enough to experience it, Torchlight 2 on XBLA & Mac, how Minecraft could meet Torchlight, plus his overall inspirations in games design.

Check it out and let me know what you think. It's pretty in depth, and I'm sort of proud of this one. :)

http://eat-games.tumblr.com/
Click to expand...
Yes, something to be proud of, being able to interview one of the geniuses of this industry.

Thanks for sharing, and I have to add that I loved the contrast between the background and the words of your interview. I felt so comfortable reading the interview because of your choice for a presentation, it was very relaxing and nice to read for that reason.

I say this because in other sites I get distracted when they aren't that chilly and it takes a bit more effort to read the text. Reminding people the unforgettable strumming sound of that guitar was a nice touch, too.

I hoped he would commit himself a bit more when asked about Diablo 3, and the *difficult* questions about some obvious mediocrities of Diablo 3.

I can't wait to play Torchlight 2. I have it pre-ordered and paid already, before that 40% spike in pre-orders. :smile:

RE: Bouncing Bros. I am going to take a look at that video now. edit: I understand watching the first minutes of it he is still friends with the Blizzard people.... so that explains he is liking Diablo 3 after all. In that sense I understand him, despite how bad Diablo 3 is, in my opinion, compared to Max Schaefer's previous masterpieces.
 
Cyan said:
Yes, something to be proud of, being able to interview one of the geniuses of this industry.

Thanks for sharing, and I have to add that I loved the contrast between the background and the words of your interview. I felt so comfortable reading the interview because of your choice for a presentation, it was very relaxing and nice to read for that reason.

I say this because in other sites I get distracted when they aren't that chilly and it takes a bit more effort to read the text. Reminding people the unforgettable strumming sound of that guitar was a nice touch, too.

I hoped he would commit himself a bit more when asked about Diablo 3, and the *difficult* questions about some obvious mediocrities of Diablo 3.

I can't wait to play Torchlight 2. I have it pre-ordered and paid already, before that 40% spike in pre-orders. :smile:

RE: Bouncing Bros. I am going to take a look at that video now. edit: I understand watching the first minutes of it he is still friends with the Blizzard people.... so that explains he is liking Diablo 3 after all. In that sense I understand him, despite how bad Diablo 3 is, in my opinion, compared to Max Schaefer's previous masterpieces.
Click to expand...

Thanks for all the kind words Cyan, I really appreciate it! So glad to hear you enjoyed the interview, as well as visiting my little blog. :)
 
New interview with Max Schaefer, and Pokket. I really liked some of the things he said.

 
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