Demigod

Discussion in 'Unrelated Discussion' started by LegionDarrath, February 24, 2009.

  1. LegionDarrath

    LegionDarrath Member

    Messages:
    105
    Likes Received:
    18
    I'm looking forward to the release, the beta is already epic win and the full game can only make it even better.

    The only bad point however is the way generals are handled. Basically they're just assassins that spawn a few minions every now and then and those minions only serve as cannonfodder but still its a great game.

    Anyone else here in the beta?
  2. scathis

    scathis Arbiter of Awesome Uber Alumni

    Messages:
    1,836
    Likes Received:
    1,330
    Nope. I've seen Demigod once since I left. It's a very different game than when I was there.
  3. gnats3

    gnats3 Member

    Messages:
    155
    Likes Received:
    1
    I'm in the beta. It is pretty good so far; I hope it works out.
  4. eetmorsqrls

    eetmorsqrls New Member

    Messages:
    162
    Likes Received:
    0
    from what i've overheard, they definitely want generals to have more of an impact (this can be seen a lot in beta3 btw) and so they'll be much more general...ly? in the future :D
  5. TheBigOne

    TheBigOne New Member

    Messages:
    40
    Likes Received:
    0
    The Demigod Beta is probably the most strange gaming experience I ever had. It is a nice fun game yet whenever I play it I see so much more potential then it is currently and I dislike that the communication between developers and community was so sparse, even for me who had a kinda privileged position when it came to interaction with GPG. I wished the Generals wouldn't be just "Assassins with Pets" but I can see that it probably was impossible to balance with Generals being able to command and micro big armies, yet I still hope Demigod becomes popular enough to be worth the effort to make a mod where the RTS part is emphasized a lot more (to make balancing easy I would probably have a fixed amount of generals and assassins per team - a restriction which is acceptable for a mod but probably not for a standalone game.).
    I also totally dislike Stardock and especially their CEO who likes to post totally wacky ideas in the forum which I am totally convinced would all break the game and add so much uneccessary complexity - I know I am no game designer and I don't claim to know the perfect formula for anything but I think I am quite good at seeing side effects of changes. And when you dissect his ideas you get answers analogous to "I am a millionaire and experienced game designer so I know it better".
    What really scares me is the "Day Zero" patch for Demigod which most likely will contain content which wasn't beta tested. It really hurts when you tested the game for the past 6 months, found around 250 bugs (no kidding), including around 20 game breaking exploits and yet they might decide to ignore the "mercy" desaster and the "hoplite/mongoose" desaster.
    Don't get me wrong I trust GPG a lot especially Shana Markham who really seems to know what she is doing, but I am afraid of frogboys influence :/
    Sorry for that rant here, but I needed a vent before I post something stupid on the official Stardock forums and get banned, I am usually a very polite person but I am just a (hu)man in the end.

    Even if Demigod is very different from what it used to be when you guys where still in charge, you definitely build the fundament for good and potentially great game.

    PS: I am a bit tipsy so excuse if it is unstructured or has spelling errors :p
  6. Col_Jessep

    Col_Jessep Moderator Alumni

    Messages:
    4,227
    Likes Received:
    257
    Yup, I feel the same way TBO. I wasnt that involved in the Demigod beta to begin with but I totally lost all faith in it when the Generals were implemented. The whole community was like: no, they dont feel right and Frogboy just told us to accept it, everything was fine and as intended. Thats when I stopped playing and reporting bugs and posting ideas. The handful of DotA fans who try to force there ideas into the game havent helped either. At least they are ignored as well, doh. Havent played Demigod in weeks and I think a lot of people I know have lost interest too.

    Ill take a look at the finished game, play the single player and then try again after the next big patch. A shame really, I thought the game had a lot of potential. Well, its still fun to play from time to time but I doubt I will ever get into it really. maybe they will make the gernerals more interesting in the next addon but Im not spending any more money on it.

    I can understand when a publisher has to cut certein features to meet the release shedule. But I always thought the difference between Assassins and Generals was one of the central design ideas of the game. I wish they had implemented the Generals earlier and had listened to the community a little more. Well, lets see what they have implemented without beta testing and how that turns out. :?
    Last edited: March 28, 2009
  7. Sorian

    Sorian Official PA

    Messages:
    998
    Likes Received:
    3,844
    I would have to agree TBO. The game just doesn't feel epic yet. It is a fun time, to be sure. The game has a lot of potential and if GPG/SD open it up to modding that potential could be exploited to the nth degree. I already have a working mod manager, they just have to stop preventing MP games with modded files.

    The communication between Dev and beta tester was great at first. Then, it just seemed to die off. It was kind of disappointing.

    I also agree with Col_Jessep, the Generals were a disappointment. I wish there was more of a game play difference between them and assassins.
  8. Col_Jessep

    Col_Jessep Moderator Alumni

    Messages:
    4,227
    Likes Received:
    257
    I guess thats what happens when the beta testers and the community decide to massively critisize the design decisions of the Big Boss. :D

    I really hope we get some modding support or at least that this hash check is removed or something. Some modding would do Demigod good I think. I wish we would just have more skills for each Demigod to choose from. Right now there are too few builds that are interesting and you cant really make up for that with more items.

    PS: To be fair, we come from a RTS background and might not have an objective point of view either. But its frustrating to see how much potential is not used yet.
  9. BulletMagnet

    BulletMagnet Post Master General

    Messages:
    3,263
    Likes Received:
    591
    /BulletMagnet sheepishly raises a hand.

    i too feel with the sentiments of TBO, and co.

    i pretty much bought DG for the Generals and the modding; since neither are really available, i'm SoL.
  10. Sorian

    Sorian Official PA

    Messages:
    998
    Likes Received:
    3,844
    I got around the hash check. The problem now is when I join an MP game I get an "Executable is not the same version" error. Single player or hosting a game with just AIs runs just fine and mods work as intended (even my Mod Manager), it is just MP that is screwed.

    I made a suggestion a long time ago that there should be more available active (active meaning the 4 skills you actually use, not the passive ones) skills to choose from. Basically, each Demigod could have 8 or so active skills available to choose from and once you select 4, that's it. It would provide some customization to each of the Demigods and a little more depth to the game.

    I didn't, but modding is where I get the extra value from my games. SC and SC:FA would have been long forgotten if not for the modding (it would probably be in the same box as my copy of Earth and Beyond :) ). I would love to see some official support for modding, but barring that they could at least stop blocking our attempts. I have a working Mod Manager and it even makes sure everyone has the same mods, just like SC. Heck, it even checks before you join a game.

    If they aren't going to add modding they could at least let us handle it.
  11. Col_Jessep

    Col_Jessep Moderator Alumni

    Messages:
    4,227
    Likes Received:
    257
    I had hoped I could fiddle around with the maps a little, change textures, time of day, lighting and placement of flags and towers for starters. Its doable in a reasonable amount of time IF you get a working map editor. Otherwise its painful editing of lua files with thousands lines of code. Im also not sure how and if we can get additional maps into Demigod.



    But that screws us pretty badly, doesnt it?

    That would be so much more interesting! We only have the 8 Demigods when the game is released and it would be so much more fun when you could sqeeze 4 or 5 really good builds out of each Demigod instead of one or two.



    When I think of all the great mods we have for SupCom... Without your AI I had quit playing FA a long time ago, all the UI mods like GAZ which make life so much easier, replay tools and of course custom maps. (I cant understand how people can play Setons and only Setons for month... :) )

    This is what drives me nuts! Why on earth would they put effort into screwing the modders? The only answer I can think of is: we will have to pay for DLC

    Yup, I read your thread about it, what would we do without you and Chirmaya! I Havent tested it yet (waiting for the final release before I start fooling around with the game :) ) but it looks very promising. I wish we could have proper support though. We all know how the missing auto-download feature for mods hurt the modding community in SupCom and for Demigod we will have to overcome even more obstacles...

    PS: And Demigods forum sucks! Its not only slow, the whole system it is based upon is just obnoxious!
    Thanks god you guys here went for phpBB! :D
  12. gnats3

    gnats3 Member

    Messages:
    155
    Likes Received:
    1
    I pretty much agree with the "Demigod is a good game but hasn't met its potential" idea. Having to choose 4 out of 6 or 8 activateable skills would be great but I don't think it would ever have been added to Demigod; by the time the beta started I think stuff like that was pretty much set in stone. It would be great for an xpack though, I guess. That and modding would have a pretty big positive effect on the game, I think.
  13. Sorian

    Sorian Official PA

    Messages:
    998
    Likes Received:
    3,844
    It was doable. I made this suggestion back in the early days of Beta 1. Since then they have changed skills for some Demigods and even replaced some (which included changing animations, effects, etc).

    Doing this as a mod would be hard work. We would need to create new animations and effects for each new skill. I could code it the support, but I would have to learn the other stuff as I went, or get Orangeknight to do it :).
  14. Col_Jessep

    Col_Jessep Moderator Alumni

    Messages:
    4,227
    Likes Received:
    257
    I know so many gifted modders but besides you and Chirmaya none of them seems to be interested in Demigod (yet?).

    So far the plan seems to be:
    atm: netcode, single player
    0-day patch: bugfixing, netcode
    1 month after release: balance, bugfixing
    2 month after release: new Demigod, balance, bugfixing

    I think after that they should look into more skills instead of new Demigods. I think the game would be better served with double the skills for each Demigod instead of one new one. Y/N?
  15. zordon

    zordon Member

    Messages:
    707
    Likes Received:
    2
    Of course the game would be better with twice the number of active abilities. More choices than none = better!

    I just _really_ wish they'd stop calling it an RTS. It's dishonest.

    The economy is simply kill for gold + a base rate that barely changes depending on how many gold mines you control. You cannot sabotage an enemies economy except by not dying.

    I've always understood strategy in games to be a more effective use of your forces in order to create an economic advantage over the enemy.

    Don't get me started on the flags.

    Feel the same way about the beta, it wasn't one.
  16. Col_Jessep

    Col_Jessep Moderator Alumni

    Messages:
    4,227
    Likes Received:
    257
    I dont know if you guys have already heared it, the Demigod release was a complete desaster. Connectivity issues reported across the board, most people spend more time online waiting than playing. Gamestop released the game 3 or 4 days to early, Stardock tried to get the servers up in time, the day 0 patch online and it didnt work out. Their forum is filled with angry customers and Gamespot released a review with 6.5 rating. Half the community thinks they just need a week or so to fix the connectivity issues, some beta testers claim: 'We told you so 3 month ago.' while others are getting the pitchforks, tar and feathers.

    Demigod is fun to play but it has basically no singleplayer, not even tutorial missions and the multiplayer part is pretty much broken atm. Really a shame, this game has so much potential and could have pushed the door open for a new genre (sort of).

    I hope they can fix the issues fast, it really doesnt deserve to end like this. Scathis, o, it pains me to see how this turned out. You are working on a new project in your own company now but I think deep down you still care, I know I would.

    Geez, lets hope they can get this baby floating again before it sinks like a stone. If they can fix the issues fast enough this all will sound like a bad dream in a month or two but what if not...
  17. Sorian

    Sorian Official PA

    Messages:
    998
    Likes Received:
    3,844
    That review was BS. How are you going to mark down a game simply because of connectivity issues? Those issues are going to be fixed. The game itself is great.

    If WoW had been reviewed based on its launch (or even the recent patch, that still isn't working) it would have gotten a crappy score as well.
  18. Col_Jessep

    Col_Jessep Moderator Alumni

    Messages:
    4,227
    Likes Received:
    257
    I love the game (although Im really bad at it :) ). Unfortunately a lot of people will read the review or just check the rating and base their decision to buy the game on that.
  19. Sorian

    Sorian Official PA

    Messages:
    998
    Likes Received:
    3,844
  20. Col_Jessep

    Col_Jessep Moderator Alumni

    Messages:
    4,227
    Likes Received:
    257
    So does anybody here still play Demigod? Connectivity is pretty good now and the custom games are loads of fun. I know a few of you guys have the game but it seems only a very small bunch of the old supcom guys has been active lately.

    How does it work for you devs, can you still enjoy a game after you worked on it month after month? Scathis, o, have you guys checked the game out? They might have changed a lot since you have left for Uber but you guys can be proud, damn awesome concept you developed there! Thanks bunches!

    I have almost 200 online games now and I can say few games have kept me hooked like Demigod. I hope your new game is even better. :p

Share This Page