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Dust: An Elysian Tail |OT| Become the Storm

Jus curious since we know this is a metroidvania style game: do we know what kind of abilities or items we'll be unlocking that allow us to progress to locked areas? I don't think I have heard much about that kind of stuff, unless it's kind of spoilery.

Sliding, double jumping, various keys, and more!

aaahh. Why no mention in the thread title it's an XBLA exclusive? You got my hopes up for nothing. :'(

Basically the only thing in the thread title that could have got your hopes up was the name of the game. If you get that excited about games based only on reading their titles then you are kinda peculiar =P
 

RiverBed

Banned
Sliding, double jumping, various keys, and more!



Basically the only thing in the thread title that could have got your hopes up was the name of the game. If you get that excited about games based only on reading their titles then you are kinda peculiar =P

But then I watched the cool trailer. I always wanted an original 2D platformer with up-to-date graphics and animation. I wonder of the main character's appearance changes as you change his items!
 

SAB CA

Sketchbook Picasso
But then I watched the cool trailer. I always wanted an original 2D platformer with up-to-date graphics and animation. I wonder of the main character's appearance changes as you change his items!

Seems like no appearance changes. There might be some effect changes and upgrades, but nothing like visible armor and weapon changes. No weapon changes at all, actually, as your sword is a pretty central character to the game.
 

bumpkin

Member
Seems like no appearance changes. There might be some effect changes and upgrades, but nothing like visible armor and weapon changes. No weapon changes at all, actually, as your sword is a pretty central character to the game.
Noogy responded to a similar question a page or two back. He said they don't affect appearance because of the nature of the sprites/artwork (he said Dust uses all of the 360's RAM).
 

SAB CA

Sketchbook Picasso
Noogy responded to a similar question a page or two back. He said they don't affect appearance because of the nature of the sprites/artwork (he said Dust uses all of the 360's RAM).

Yup, totally understandable, too. Would have loved to have seen some SOTN style tricks though (Color changing capes, different colors to default outfit depending on elemental affinity, diferent parts of an outfit becoming opaque to allow for different looks on the same spritework, and weapons that are drawn seperately from the character, to allow for wep switching)

Not that the lack of those things detracts from the game at hand, but it's cool stuff to hope for in a sequel / spiritual successor / DLC!

In a way, I'm still surprised the game has an item system anyway. I expected more straightforward action stuff, with the only "upgrades" being the expected movelist expansions (Double Jump, Slide, parry, etc). Stat building and item management is like a bonus to me! :)
 

Noogy

Member
Any chance you could get them to put the game up early?

It's completely out of my hands. Probably for the best, since I'd mess it up.

do you know for certain when tomorrow morning this game will be up?

I do not. I've been told around 2-5am, and that's usually been my experience whenever I wait for an XBLA title. Personally I just wait until morning, been burned enough times trying to wait. But occasionally you are surprised at midnight, so who knows?

Just out of curiosity, what's the number of people on the leaderboards before release?
Last night before I went to bed it was around 460. Mostly reviewers and family/friends stuff. I've mostly been using them to create my own metrics and take notes. Spying, as it were ;)
 

TEJ

Member
It's completely out of my hands. Probably for the best, since I'd mess it up.


do you know for certain when tomorrow morning this game will be up?

I am normally asleep when xbla games are added but for this i'll make an exception
 

Capell

Unconfirmed Member
For those interested, Microsoft has put up a few (not all) of the Dust:AET Avatar items on the marketplace. I helped co-create these, and it was a blast to do. They did a great job working with my animation and modeling notes.

The blade is already mine, the animations are pretty neat.
 

G17

Member
Not sure if I want to buy the Mithrarin Robes or the Gaius Armor since I haven't played the game yet. Hm.

edit: Bought the Mithrarin Robe/Satgat it looks awesome and supports Dean and his efforts on top of buying the game. I hope the game is a success, can't wait.
 

Aokage

Pretty nice guy (apart from the blue shadows thing...)
Noogy, good sir, do you know if it's being released in the Japan territory as well?
 
I might grab the Arhah avatar prop, but that would mean giving up my fairy and that's probably unacceptable.

I am enjoying the game so far, I'm playing on Tough Mode. I'm not sure I like it here but I'm committed to it at the moment. It feels like the hits I take are all pretty hard and not being able to heal without paying for it seems draining when one hit takes half my HP. I'm pretty experienced in playing action RPGs on hard modes and such (beat most Ys games on Nightmare even).

Noogy, the volume on the game is WAAAAAY low.
 

Noogy

Member
I might grab the Arhah avatar prop, but that would mean giving up my fairy and that's probably unacceptable.

I am enjoying the game so far, I'm playing on Tough Mode. I'm not sure I like it here but I'm committed to it at the moment. It feels like the hits I take are all pretty hard and not being able to heal without paying for it seems draining when one hit takes half my HP. I'm pretty experienced in playing action RPGs on hard modes and such (beat most Ys games on Nightmare even).

Noogy, the volume on the game is WAAAAAY low.

Not sure about the volume, seems loud here actually, I feel like we pushed it. Difficulty, you can actually change on the fly if you like.. just note you'll sacrifice potential achievements by dropping down. There's also a nice
Ys II
reference later on.
 
Not sure about the volume, seems loud here actually, I feel like we pushed it. Difficulty, you can actually change on the fly if you like.. just note you'll sacrifice potential achievements by dropping down. There's also a nice
Ys II
reference later on.
Hmm, that's odd. I have the volume sliders on max in the settings and I need to turn my system up past my usual comfort zone to really hear anything. And of course, the achievement/friend notification pop BLASTS pretty hard. Anyway, not mission critical, but I just thought I'd mention it.

I'll have to see if I recognize that reference. For as often as I've played the games, I'm kind of a bad fan in terms of the stories, etc.
 

mujun

Member
With VERY rare exception (and almost always related to some licensing snafu), all XBLA games are same day worldwide releases.

It's something the other guys need to copy for their DD platforms. :)

The exceptions aren't that rare in Japan. It's been better recently but it still sucks when we miss out on something here.
 

Card Boy

Banned
So is the game like Metroidvania as in you need X item to get past Y section and defeat Z boss? Or is it Metroidvania as in little secrets and hidden areas? Or all of the above?
 
The exceptions aren't that rare in Japan. It's been better recently but it still sucks when we miss out on something here.
Oh really? That sucks, I had not heard of this prior.

So is the game like Metroidvania as in you need X item to get past Y section and defeat Z boss? Or is it Metroidvania as in little secrets and hidden areas? Or all of the above?
A little bit of both.
 

Ocaso

Member
A little bit of both.

I hate that Metroidvania is so loosely used nowadays. I'm somewhat convinced that this game meets the criteria I have in mind, but a game is only a Metroidvania in my mind if figuring the path to progress is an essential part of the gameplay. It's not simply that you need an item to progress, it's that once you get said item you have to figure out the correct place to use it. If the correct place is patently obvious or overtly pointed out, then it's not really a Metroidvania.
 

Noogy

Member
Whoa seriously? I was expecting something close two 2 gigs with all the voice acting.

That’s great.....no need to delete stuff to make room. This game keeps on giving! : )

I feel your pain :) I remember the days when stuff like Roboblitz came in under 50mb. Hard drives on that thing aren't exactly cheap.
 
Okay the little sheep in this game just made my fiancée squeal and fall in love with your game. :)

Also, I think I'm adjusting to Tough Mode now. I MAAAY have done some things in an odd order making the first part rather harsh for me. Plus, I now have
two 3x item drop rings
, which is making my concerns about lack of healing fade away.

This is going to be one of the all time XBLA greats, I feel. Up there with Geometry Wars 2, Bionic Commando and Shadow Complex.
 

RiverBed

Banned
Seems like no appearance changes. There might be some effect changes and upgrades, but nothing like visible armor and weapon changes. No weapon changes at all, actually, as your sword is a pretty central character to the game.

I completely understand; because the animation and graphics are so good, they'd have to animate dozens and dozens of items and that is just crazy work.

I have to reiterate; this game looks gorgeous!
 

Fjordson

Member
As long as Microsoft's XBLA switch flipper dude has had his coffee tonight, it should be go-time in less than five hours.
 
As long as Microsoft's XBLA switch flipper dude has had his coffee tonight, it should be go-time in less than five hours.

excellent-mr-burns.gif
 

mollipen

Member
I had hoped to have the game finished and reviewed by now, but I just finished the game about an hour and a half ago. I probably shouldn't say "you don't need to read my review, just buy it," but that's pretty much what I'd say.

But, still read my review when it goes up tomorrow anyhow, even as you're enjoying the game!
 
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