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Kingdoms of Amalur demo impressions thread [Up On 360/Origin/Steam/U.S. PSN]

I already planned on buying since the big game informer article about the games last year

demo solidified it - really like the combat system with different tactics for different enemies, and the use of color.

Unlocked the Mass Effect 3 weapon after the demo ran out of time, so all set for ME3
 
spindoctor said:
Now I just have to decide if the TF2 hats, Steamworks features and the lack of anything to do with Origin are worth paying the significant premium.
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It comes out next month, so during the Summer Sale, it should be at least $30-40. Winter Sale, I'm guessing in the $20-30s.
 
When you go into an empty room, the people in the previous room don't instantly lose track of you. I guess they pay attention to hear if you're fiddling with locks or something...

Kinda makes sense but is kinda annoying that you have to wait for their eye meter thing to drain as they lose interest in you.
 
The combat started flowing well once I had a few levels under my belt. I liked sorcery/finesse with chakrams. I was curious to see the other mixed fate cards, but then the demo timer ran out.

The archery combat is a little too simple, but I guess that was done to be able to combo with the other skills.

It needs to use less buttons overall. Just in menus and in fatepowering up as well.
 
sykoex said:
I don't get the UI and Map complaints. I really like how functional they are compared to Skyrim, stuff is clearly marked and labeled, the art on the overworld map is nice and clearly shows you each area, having a minimap on screen is a huge help. Looking through items is hassle-free and they make seeing what armor and weapons are upgrades really easy and detailed.

I also like how they let K+M players use numbers as keys for spells, too bad the camera is a HUGE pain to use with the mouse, so I just switched to controller. They should have checked out how Warhammer 40K did 3rd person mouse control. Melee in that game felt really nice even with the mouse.
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Totally weird to me to hear someone switch from mouse to controller citing issues with the camera. On my end the camera is insufferable with the controller compared to mouse. By far my biggest complaint with their control scheme in either configuration.
 
WanderingWind said:
- Omnipresent guards are back! Steal a muffin in a room with no guards and you're going to have to go to jail, pass a verbal skill check or slaughter the whole town the second you step outside. Your ability to steal is set at a percentage that goes up and isn't based on visibility. You can be in an empty room, break into a desk and suddenly, everybody knows you're a thief. Pretty disappointing, but I'm guessing they had to do it because of
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Strange, I just finished a session as a dark elf mage/rogue. Didn't have any issues when I looted the major healing potion from the alchemy shop (3 points in stealth at the time I think). PC Steam version if that helps.

Impression of 360 vs. PC:

360 version was more stable over all and lacked the audio bugs while the PC version looked better (I think, might be the different monitors. Will check side by side later). PC Demo had some slow down during battles too, not sure what that's about. Loading times were pretty similar on both platforms (about 10 seconds or so, didn't time it but not as long as Skyrim).

By the way, I'm surprised no one mentioned Rift instead of WoW in this thread. The origin story is pretty similar (except for the time travel part).
 
Played the 360 demo and I really liked it, the combat was really cool for an RPG (that's not a Souls game) and the artstyle/graphics were pretty good...my only complaint is that while the game runs quite good the pop-up is really distracting - is it that bad also on the PS3? decided to try the PS3 demo but it isn't up yet on the EU PSN. :(
 
As for glitches, on PC, I had some flickering in and out of foliage and trees. There were freeze-ups of brief few seconds during combat here and there. I also had the black screen on loadup with an ATI card, but I went into options and turned off post processing and that solved the problem.
 
Played the demo in full (XB360) with a rogue build (stealth/magic) and had an absolute blast. Loved the look of the world, combat was great fun, and controls were rock solid.

Sure, had camera issues here and there (nothing awful) and had a few graphical glitches, but its an demo. The game was already preordered, and it will definitely remain preordered.

If I could ask for one thing, its just a little more oompf or something for the bows. I understand it works the way it does due to the combat/combo system, but it can just be a sound adjustment. Just something to make the bows cooler... or something.
 
I have a question about logging in to get the bonus stuff from the demo (360). When the demo started I was asked if it was OK for 38 studios to send me updates and such. I said no, and then it just loaded the main menu.

Does that mean I will not get the bonuses and I should go back and reinstall the demo to say yes?

I also did not have to enter my password for my EA account, so I am assuming that somehow it was saved already to my Xbox from ME 2 or something?

Thanks!
 
thetrin said:
The problem is that the camera isn't an issue with KBM, but then with KBM, the hot keys are stupidly designed. hitting the button to switch powers but not to actually use the spell in question is really silly.
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The camera is most definitely an issue with a mouse. When steering the character with the mouse, the camera turns before your character turns, very disorienting. It's subtle so some may not even notice it, but it's there. Even so, strafing left/right shows the character isn't glued to the camera, same effect, don't care for it.

After my comments here, about the 360 version, I downloaded the Steam demo late last night and I'm glad I did. The game still has most of the problems listed in my other post, except for, it's not a blurry mess and framerate improvements. I don't think I ever dropped below 45ish, makes a massive difference in enjoyement.

This time, I actually sat back and went through every single dialog, that I could, before the timer ran out on me. Looking back, I think I may have been a tad to harsh on the voice acting/writing. Mind you, it's not great, but it's much better than many other higher profile titles I've seen.

The UI isn't any better on the PC, but, it is easier to deal with, since I'm use to certain buttons popping things up in mmo's/wrpgs.

So, if all the little graphical glitches are already fixed, the major things, for the pc version at least, that needs to be fixed asap are:

Camera system needs a reworking, it's almost there. Little annoyances described above and what happened when running away in combat, when the camera zooms out like this, is very disorienting, and probably should be scrapped or at the very least, pulled in 50%/75%. Also, as noted in my prior post, how the camera obscures you and npcs while fighting needs to be addressed. Also, if the camera can be zoomed out, just a little, while just walking around that would be great.

Auto lock on system needs major fixes before release. It's to lazy in acquiring targets and also acquires targets it shouldn't. Example, I had my character pointed at crates/barrels I wanted to break. There was a chicken/bird whatever, a good distance behind me, yet my character would auto lock onto the bird, instead of attacking the crates/barrels.

One new thing, I noticed, and failed to do so in the 360 version, is pop up is quite noticeable in the pc version. It's not a gamebreaker in the age of UE3, but if it can be lessened before release that would be great. Same goes for draw in distance, if that can be extended. It was weird seeing all the npcs drawing in walking into town.

I'm glad I downloaded the pc demo though, wasn't going to if it was origin only. Seeing the pc version and 360 version, on the same tv, side by side, such a massive difference. It was the first time I've been able to do that for any game since getting a 1080p tv.

So getting the 360 version at any point in the future is out, it started hurting my eyes with how it looked. Has there been any confirmation one way or another, about if they are loading up the Steam version with any extra DRM, or are they hopefully only going with Steam and the stupid EA account one time registration junk?

DRM at this point is the only thing holding me back from preordering it on Steam. I really want to support 38 studios and Big Huge Games with a release day purchase because we really need new blood in this industry to be successful. Any extra DRM though, and it's straight to $15 like every other EA game.

Edit: Forgot to mention, but it may have been covered already. In both versions, while in combat, the game would just freeze, like it's trying to load something. Didn't happen every fight, but it did happen quite a bit.
 
Did somebody else experience the boggart enemy models glitching like mad after death on the 360 or was that just me?

Plus the demo froze on my 360 instead of closing down once the 45m was up.

I hope these are demo issues and not my new 360 farting blood.
 
branny said:
There are soooo many technical issues with the PS3 demo,on occasions when enemy skills would glitch the ground into a stretched out texture, and NPCs that would simply disappear for a split second during conve
Click to expand...


I had that happen also on the 360 demo,especially fighting those wolves,first time I see something like this on a console,usually that's a post processing glitch on the PC.
 
glaurung said:
Did somebody else experience the boggart enemy models glitching like mad after death on the 360 or was that just me?

Plus the demo froze on my 360 instead of closing down once the 45m was up.

I hope these are demo issues and not my new 360 farting blood.
Click to expand...

I had the boggarts stretching all over the place on PC.

Among other glitches, like a missing background and enemies popping out of nowhere, and strange shadows.
Nothing major though.
 
played and liked 360 version

presumable the pc version has much better draw distance of object though like the flowers/foliage etc as its a bit distracting?

love demo though
 
Its a larger world then Fable but its not necessarily open world by Bethesda standards. The combat feels like after I would've leveled up a few more times, it gets much deeper.

I already had it pre ordered at GS so it was nice to get the opportunity to confirm what I already knew.

When I died I had the opportunity to immediately resurrect. This mechanic was strictly for the demo correct? How will the retail release handle the players death?
 
Carm said:
The camera is most definitely an issue with a mouse. When steering the character with the mouse, the camera turns before your character turns, very disorienting. It's subtle so some may not even notice it, but it's there. Even so, strafing left/right shows the character isn't glued to the camera, same effect, don't care for it.

After my comments here, about the 360 version, I downloaded the Steam demo late last night and I'm glad I did. The game still has most of the problems listed in my other post, except for, it's not a blurry mess and framerate improvements. I don't think I ever dropped below 45ish, makes a massive difference in enjoyement.

This time, I actually sat back and went through every single dialog, that I could, before the timer ran out on me. Looking back, I think I may have been a tad to harsh on the voice acting/writing. Mind you, it's not great, but it's much better than many other higher profile titles I've seen.

The UI isn't any better on the PC, but, it is easier to deal with, since I'm use to certain buttons popping things up in mmo's/wrpgs.

So, if all the little graphical glitches are already fixed, the major things, for the pc version at least, that needs to be fixed asap are:

Camera system needs a reworking, it's almost there. Little annoyances described above and what happened when running away in combat, when the camera zooms out like this, is very disorienting, and probably should be scrapped or at the very least, pulled in 50%/75%. Also, as noted in my prior post, how the camera obscures you and npcs while fighting needs to be addressed. Also, if the camera can be zoomed out, just a little, while just walking around that would be great.

Auto lock on system needs major fixes before release. It's to lazy in acquiring targets and also acquires targets it shouldn't. Example, I had my character pointed at crates/barrels I wanted to break. There was a chicken/bird whatever, a good distance behind me, yet my character would auto lock onto the bird, instead of attacking the crates/barrels.

One new thing, I noticed, and failed to do so in the 360 version, is pop up is quite noticeable in the pc version. It's not a gamebreaker in the age of UE3, but if it can be lessened before release that would be great. Same goes for draw in distance, if that can be extended. It was weird seeing all the npcs drawing in walking into town.

I'm glad I downloaded the pc demo though, wasn't going to if it was origin only. Seeing the pc version and 360 version, on the same tv, side by side, such a massive difference. It was the first time I've been able to do that for any game since getting a 1080p tv.

So getting the 360 version at any point in the future is out, it started hurting my eyes with how it looked. Has there been any confirmation one way or another, about if they are loading up the Steam version with any extra DRM, or are they hopefully only going with Steam and the stupid EA account one time registration junk?

DRM at this point is the only thing holding me back from preordering it on Steam. I really want to support 38 studios and Big Huge Games with a release day purchase because we really need new blood in this industry to be successful. Any extra DRM though, and it's straight to $15 like every other EA game.

Edit: Forgot to mention, but it may have been covered already. In both versions, while in combat, the game would just freeze, like it's trying to load something. Didn't happen every fight, but it did happen quite a bit.
Click to expand...
Happened twice with me when changing to the battle music.
 
Anyone not getting video during gameplay? The UI is there, and if I hit escape the menu shows up. AMD 6950 with latest drivers if it helps.
 
capitalCORN said:
Anyone not getting video during gameplay? The UI is there, and if I hit escape the menu shows up. AMD 6950 with latest drivers if it helps.
Click to expand...

Lol I get the first intro video (before you create a character) but all cut scenes after that, I only get voice. I can create a character, but I get a black screen, only UI when I finally get into the game.

Will try the post processing thing.

edit - lol turning it off gave me a BSOD
 
Finally got to play the PS3 version early this morning. Just a few minutes but already the frame rate reminds me of Infamous. Don't have many PS3 games so this is what I have to compare it to regarding the same issue. The jump from whatever is the standard FPS to 60 FPS when nothing is on the screen and I'm in certain situations can be very noticeable for me. I got used to it in Infamous but disappointed to see it again. Is this something that could possibly be fixed or has been fixed? Much rather have a steady 30 then have that back and forth. Is this the case with the 360 version too?
 
Effect said:
Finally got to play the PS3 version early this morning. Just a few minutes but already the frame rate reminds me of Infamous. Don't have many PS3 games so this is what I have to compare it to regarding the same issue. The jump from whatever is the standard FPS to 60 FPS when nothing is on the screen and I'm in certain situations can be very noticeable for me. I got used to it in Infamous but disappointed to see it again. Is this something that could possibly be fixed or has been fixed? Much rather have a steady 30 then have that back and forth. Is this the case with the 360 version too?
Click to expand...

I hate this too. They should just put a cap on 30 frames.
 
So I haven't had time to go through the thread much, how are the controls on the PC version? This looks like a game that would beg for a game controller. I have my wired 360 controller I use for action games. Is it better with the controller or the mouse/keyboard?
 
Was going to get this on PC because the engine didn't seem to be too demanding for my aging rig (460GTX 1GB, 4GB's RAM, OC'd Core2Duo 6750)--ran beautifully up until I hit the open world, then the fps took a huge dive. I expected a dip in fps, but not a tank.

Looks like the game is seriously lacking in sliders for graphic settings, so can anyone recommend any tweaks I can try that might smooth things out with resulting in a huge loss in visual quality?
 
Just gave it a go, it was a bit boring, probably because I didn't really mess around much but just killed a bunch of stuff and did some follow-a-guy quest, reminds me of dante's inferno for some reason but with lotsa loots, controls were responsive, enemies were pretty brain dead but it could be because they're just random low level bandits and wolves.

Overall it's not so bad since it has other distractions, not sure if there's a skill tree for melee? Was just using the same combo over and over since the enemies aren't attacking, so I didn't bother upgrading anything, I looked in the level up screen and they were mostly alchemy and blacksmithing stuff.

The uncapped framerate is kind of annoying, keeps going up and down the entire game on the ps3.
 
Gattsu25 said:
Happened to me. I turned off post processing to fix it.

This needs to be fixed by release
Click to expand...

It's been mentioned before, the demo is based off of code that is at least two to three months old.

For those that don't know how it works, if you're doing a pre-release demo of your game, at some point, you have to go "OK, our build is stable enough now for us to branch our code base." The main branch gets more love (and therefore bug fixes, etc) because it has more time. The demo just has major bugs fixed before it is pushed out.

Plus you have to go through the whole submission process with Microsoft and Sony for the demo too, so I'm going to say this is closer to three months old (and even that is a bit surprising.)
 
Gravijah said:
how does the ps3 version compare to the 360 version?
Click to expand...

I was surprised that the PS3 demo seemed to have much better lighting and just somehow looked sharper than the 360 demo, even with the usual PS3 muddy grey shade in place of what should be black. The framerate also seemed superior on the PS3, although it varied wildly between 20 and 60 fps. The 360 version seemed closer to 20-40.

My initial impression of the game was that I had been transported back to PS1 action RPG days. It felt like an UE3 version of Soul Reaver for about 5 minutes, then when I started to wonder what else the combat had to offer, I got to the stealth and magic parts of the tutorial and I felt a lot more satisfied with the game's possibilities.

Then I got to the main gnome guy and the game started auto-skipping all dialog and all sound cut out every 5 seconds.

Really buggy ass demo is no way to promote a game that's going to need all the help it can get, guys.

I'm certainly still interested in the game, I'm sure the bugs will be ironed out before release, but I'm willing to bet if anyone actually understood that the variable fps was a problem it would have been fixed already.

The combat and camera really feels like an old PS1 game only with analogs to me though, which I personally enjoyed but which may be a turn off to people expecting something more GoW-ish.

Edit: Forgot to mention that the animation seemed oddly jerky on PS3, like there were missing frames while running occasionally. I stopped noticing after a few minutes, but I don't recall noticing it at all on the 360.
 
I'm a graphics whore. This game is not for me. And yes, I did actually play the demo (PC). But this game isn't poly-dense enough to convince me it has a release date after 2008.
 
Okay so, load times on PC are short as all fuck for me. Obviously it would be better to not have load screens at all but hey, they take 1-5 secs in the demo. Sound glitches happened here and there, no crashes though.

Played through the demo with my dual shock 3 and it kinda worked when I set the camera sensitivity to minimum, though the camera is definitely annoying both in combat and during exploration. Speaking of combat, it's definitely right up there with games like Darksiders, which is actually pretty good. I felt there were strategic reasons to vary up my attacks rather than just mash the primary button, and this is just with the very limited options during early levels. Looking through the talent trees, I'd say it will end up being very interesting toward the end.

However, having to log in to EA servers (why in the fuck?) and a number of minor but janky glitches make me weary of paying full price for this game on Steam. I'd rather wait a while and see how the patching support is, and if it's good I'll buy it after a month or so. Otherwise I'll wait until there's a major sale.
 
Maffis said:
I hate this too. They should just put a cap on 30 frames.
Click to expand...

Seriously. The jump in frame rate is just so noticeable and can be really annoying at first. If they just lock it at 30 that would be great. It actually makes me want to switch to the PC version and just use my 360 controller and I have until today to decide. Just need to track down the PC system requirements to see where my system stands. Still the problems that could arise from a PC version is something I might not want to deal with. I guess could get used to the frame rate change in the end if it isn't something that was fixed but still sad to see that it's there.
 
Do we know anything about the end game/post game content? Will there be uber bosses, or just more side quests and exploration?
 
Maffis said:
I hate this too. They should just put a cap on 30 frames.
Click to expand...

Hopefully it is looked into on the final build. This demo (on all 3 systems) was done by EA 3rd party team based of a 3-4 month old build of the game.

On the official forums they have already stated that camera controls, audio issues, and gfx issues have already been fixed for the final build.
 
The game crashes on the first loading screen, after choosing the difficulty. Disabled "Post Processing" and no luck. Any ideas?

i7 2.2, GTX 560M
 
Really liked the demo. The game definitely has some jank, and the UI is somewhat clunky, but te combat, the world, and the art style are very interesting. Leveling up and getting new abilities are really exciting and bring a lot to the combat. I only got to play it on PS3, but I had planned on buying it on 360, I just can't download it because I don't have a current gold subscription.

All in all, it's still a day 1 purchase for me.
 
Got buggy once I reached the gnomes. Couldn't talk to some of them, and the Professor's dialog was skipping. Audio also disappears randomly.
 
Fine Ham Abounds said:
I was surprised that the PS3 demo seemed to have much better lighting and just somehow looked sharper than the 360 demo, even with the usual PS3 muddy grey shade in place of what should be black. The framerate also seemed superior on the PS3, although it varied wildly between 20 and 60 fps. The 360 version seemed closer to 20-40.

My initial impression of the game was that I had been transported back to PS1 action RPG days. It felt like an UE3 version of Soul Reaver for about 5 minutes, then when I started to wonder what else the combat had to offer, I got to the stealth and magic parts of the tutorial and I felt a lot more satisfied with the game's possibilities.

Then I got to the main gnome guy and the game started auto-skipping all dialog and all sound cut out every 5 seconds.

Really buggy ass demo is no way to promote a game that's going to need all the help it can get, guys.

I'm certainly still interested in the game, I'm sure the bugs will be ironed out before release, but I'm willing to bet if anyone actually understood that the variable fps was a problem it would have been fixed already.

The combat and camera really feels like an old PS1 game only with analogs to me though, which I personally enjoyed but which may be a turn off to people expecting something more GoW-ish.

Edit: Forgot to mention that the animation seemed oddly jerky on PS3, like there were missing frames while running occasionally. I stopped noticing after a few minutes, but I don't recall noticing it at all on the 360.
Click to expand...

Sadly it seems that it was not BHG that made the demo, it looks like EA may have "helped" them by making it and unfortunetly it seems that by just cutting out a chunk of the game EA fucked some stuff up for the demo. I guess EA chose to put the PS3 Orange box team on this demo.

The devs having been addressing concerns like crazy on their forums, but with the influx of new people it's been kind of crazy for them. According to them, alot of the problems people are experiencing have been fixed in the retail version.
 
ReaperXL07 said:
Sadly it seems that it was not BHG that made the demo, it looks like EA may have "helped" them by making it and unfortunetly it seems that by just cutting out a chunk of the game EA fucked some stuff up for the demo. I guess EA chose to put the PS3 Orange box team on this demo.

The devs having been addressing concerns like crazy on their forums, but with the influx of new people it's been kind of crazy for them. According to them, alot of the problems people are experiencing have been fixed in the retail version.
Click to expand...

Did they happen to comment specifically on the frame rate issue when they were responding?
 
AgentP said:
Cool combat and stuff, but hate the WoW art style.
Click to expand...

I felt combat was a bit mashy, but then again, I only had a few moves unlocked. As for art style, I wouldn't compare it to WoW at all other than color use. I'd say the models are much more Fable or SWTOR style.

The loot had me going till the timer ran out, crafting wasn't too bad either, made a sweet flaming long sword I named Raging Boner. (Was just playing Shadows of the Damned)
 
Fine Ham Abounds said:
I was surprised that the PS3 demo seemed to have much better lighting and just somehow looked sharper than the 360 demo, even with the usual PS3 muddy grey shade in place of what should be black. The framerate also seemed superior on the PS3, although it varied wildly between 20 and 60 fps. The 360 version seemed closer to 20-40.

My initial impression of the game was that I had been transported back to PS1 action RPG days. It felt like an UE3 version of Soul Reaver for about 5 minutes, then when I started to wonder what else the combat had to offer, I got to the stealth and magic parts of the tutorial and I felt a lot more satisfied with the game's possibilities.

Then I got to the main gnome guy and the game started auto-skipping all dialog and all sound cut out every 5 seconds.

Really buggy ass demo is no way to promote a game that's going to need all the help it can get, guys.

I'm certainly still interested in the game, I'm sure the bugs will be ironed out before release, but I'm willing to bet if anyone actually understood that the variable fps was a problem it would have been fixed already.

The combat and camera really feels like an old PS1 game only with analogs to me though, which I personally enjoyed but which may be a turn off to people expecting something more GoW-ish.

Edit: Forgot to mention that the animation seemed oddly jerky on PS3, like there were missing frames while running occasionally. I stopped noticing after a few minutes, but I don't recall noticing it at all on the 360.
Click to expand...
Had the same issues you had with it, except I didn't have the audio bug.

The framerate being all over the place is something I'll never get used to, unlike the controls and the camera which aren't perfect, but they aren't terrible either. If they lock down the framerate, I'm on board day 1.
 
chifanpoe said:
Hopefully it is looked into on the final build. This demo (on all 3 systems) was done by EA 3rd party team based of a 3-4 month old build of the game.

On the official forums they have already stated that camera controls, audio issues, and gfx issues have already been fixed for the final build.
Click to expand...

ReaperXL07 said:
Sadly it seems that it was not BHG that made the demo, it looks like EA may have "helped" them by making it and unfortunetly it seems that by just cutting out a chunk of the game EA fucked some stuff up for the demo. I guess EA chose to put the PS3 Orange box team on this demo.

The devs having been addressing concerns like crazy on their forums, but with the influx of new people it's been kind of crazy for them. According to them, alot of the problems people are experiencing have been fixed in the retail version.
Click to expand...

This is good to hear. Damage control or not, I'm fairly confident it's true. Like I said, I'll be giving this a shot next month regardless as I can't get enough of ARPGs and was encouraged by the good parts of the demo.

The FPS issue may be the difference between Gamefly and a purchase though.
 
I wish there was a quicker way to switch your secondary weapon...but I had fun with the demo...not enough to put down 60 bucks...I will wait for impressions...
 
I had to quit to eat dinner and lost all my progress, somehow I thought it would save but it didn't. Anyway seems like a cool game, I'll be picking it up for sure.
 
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