New Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning Media

Dr. Kitty Muffins said:
How many here already have this pre-ordered? I know I'm on board day 1.
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pre ordered yesterday. I've been looking forward to it since I found out Rolston, Salvatore, and McFarlane were heavily involved.

Basically, the way I see it, these guys are delivering on Peter Molyneux's over promised under delivered Fable games.
 
I have been looking forward to this game. It seems like a good mix of Fable + Elder Scrolls and we could use more well made western RPG's.
 
Dr. Kitty Muffins said:
How many here already have this pre-ordered? I know I'm on board day 1.
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I've had it pre-ordered for awhile now, atm the moment though i'm debating which of the collectors editions i'm going to switch too. I have to wait until after christmas, but going to try and pick up the Signature edition if I can.

Game looks like something I've wanted for a long time a rich, deep, open RPG with a skill based action combat system. I hope they are successful, because there are not many other devs out there that make these kinds of games, and Beth needs some competition to force them to improve the quality of their QA department.

Can't wait to here Kirkhopes score for this, I like the theme.
 
Dr. Kitty Muffins said:
How many here already have this pre-ordered? I know I'm on board day 1.
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Just for kickers I was checking the Origin Store tab and it's up there for pre-order. It's actually a pretty sweet deal in my region $499 MXN = ~$36 USD

Is this the day I abandon Steam for Origin's greener pastures? :O
 
I refuse to install Origin for any game, so I'll probably just buy it for 360. This doesn't seem like a game that's going to get a mod community going around it.
 
Didn't even know this game existed before today and I'm already in love after watching some videos.

Definitely Day One purchase.
 
Looks really cool. The combat looks a lot like Darksiders but with a skill tree system and what looks like lots of loot!
 
Very sad you can't coop this, but might get it anyway.

Are there any massively single player games that you can coop out there? Would be nice to play with my wife.
 
Good news for those wanting to pick up the game on PS3

Quote from Tag on the reckoning forums, he is the lead programmer on reckoning.

PS3 Version
Hi all!

We've spent a lot of time nurturing this game for every platform it is being released on. We feed and water it, expose it to sunlight, even sing to it if needed. And when all else fails we roll up our sleeves and write some code.

Each platform has its own unique technical strengths and weaknesses. Our goal while coding Reckoning has been to play up the strengths and play down the weaknesses of each to the point that you have the expected, optimal experience on each platform. We've logged thousands of QA hours on all platforms, and are pleased with what they have to say...

I preordered my own Special Edition of this game (Amalur dice are just plain cool)...on the PS3. Hopefully that will help allay any worries that you may have. In fact, around the office everyone seems to have their own platform of choice to play the game on, evenly divided amongst all 3.

Hope that helps,
Tag
BHG Coder, far too infrequent forum poster
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In response to asking about the developing to the strengths and weakness in different platforms.

So one simplified theoretical example: Let's pretend system A has a lower performing graphics device than system B, but more CPU power. This could lead to a situation where on system B we spend less CPU processing determining what to show on screen, because the video card can handle some of that for us. On system A we could use the CPUs to whittle down more of what should be displayed, thus handing less data off to the video card for display. Neither system is crippled or forced, and to you both scenes will look nearly the same (fast and pretty!). There is a large difference in what goes on technically under the hood to get the game looking and performing how you expect, but the difference to you as a user on the different platforms is subtle or negligible. This example can be applied to almost all the differing subsystems on the consoles, but I feel we achieved our end goal which is to have the game look and feel on both exactly how our designers and artists wanted it to be for you.

We wouldn't cripple a feature on one platform just because the other couldn't handle it, but that really isn't a scenario that came up all that often. We more worried about making sure everything ran fast, looked pretty and sounded great. Those three are often at odds with each other, but I think on all platforms you all will be pleased with the results (I am).
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Another Update with reguards to rendering:

The underlying rendering code is specific to each platform, but the base textures and shaders used for each platform are as visually similar as we could get them. Additionally all lighting and post-processing are tuned to be equally as close as possible. We needed the artists to be able to tweak their lighting/environment settings on one platform and know those changes would carry over to the others. Any other way would leave open the possibility of things falling through the cracks and having some areas be totally different on the other builds. Any differences you are seeing is likely attributable to the lighting and other settings for those particular shots. The art and cinematics crews spent a lot of time designing the lighting and camera shots to convey the mood and feel they were going for in each area or for each cinematic. All 3 platforms should render very close the each other in overall feel, so you won't see something more or less stylized than the same scene on another platform.
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You can see the post here http://forums.reckoning.amalur.com/showthread.php?1346-PS3-version-vs-360-version-differences/page5

If this is true, and the lead programmer of the game is buying the game on PS3, I think that bodes well on it being a solid choice. I know some might have been really worried especially after Skyrim. Take it with a grain of salt ofcourse but still great to hear something like this directly from the programming team.
 
just updated the OP with some new previews, the new dev community Q&A, and the information from the forums on cross platform development that may help those abit worried about one version or another.
 
Lonesome_Raod said:
A short video of an event where some of the public got to play the game;

http://www.ign.com/videos/2011/12/13/ign-au-taste-test-reckoning-wrap#.TujXHxY8enC.twitter

Been following this since it was announced and it's so close now to release. Excited!
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yep people seem to like it, It's kind of weird I don't remember the last time I was this excited for a game. Maybe it's the team behind it, or the fact that it's a new IP, or just another dev jumping into the Open world RPG genre, I don't know, but I really can't wait for this.

It's great to see so many new ips appearing next year, and this is at the top of my list. Have to figure out how to come up with $275 bucks for that Sig Edition.
 
I'm sad about this game not getting more recognition than it is. Hopefully EA does it justice with some nice ads and a lot of exposure leading up to launch, but I have my doubts.

I think one of the things that has me most excited is that it ties into 38 Studios upcoming MMO and gives us a glimpse at the world. And it's refreshing to see the big boss, Curt Schilling, so passionate about the IP. The dude has plenty of money, but he's doing this as a passion project. He frequently posts and interacts with the FoH community and really seems to have his head on straight.

Hoping for this and the Amalur MMO to see plenty of success.
 
Watched the What It Is video on Giant Bomb and it got me really excited for this. The combat looks really fun and character customization looks pretty in depth.

Will definitely play as a dark elf :D
 
Labadal said:
Even if it is STEAM, do you not need to have Origin installed? (I have no EA PC games.)
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Only BF3 requires Origin to run, for rest games its only a downloader.

Aaron said:
I refuse to install Origin for any game, so I'll probably just buy it for 360. This doesn't seem like a game that's going to get a mod community going around it.
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But looks like a game where 60 fps will matter.
 
Labadal said:
Even if it is STEAM, do you not need to have Origin installed? (I have no EA PC games.)
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You still have to have an EA account login when you start the game, regardless of platform. Pretty similar to ME2 I think.

And for all those souls burned by the PS3 version of Skyrim, worry not.
I've played the release build of Reckoning on PS3 and its splendid. The programmers are still working diligently to excise as many bugs as possible before ship.
 
Nista said:
You still have to have an EA account login when you start the game, regardless of platform. Pretty similar to ME2 I think.

And for all those souls burned by the PS3 version of Skyrim, worry not.
I've played the release build of Reckoning on PS3 and its splendid. The programmers are still working diligently to excise as many bugs as possible before ship.
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Cool. Having an EA account isn't a problem, because I already have one. Will wait and see wich version to get. I don't want to pass on this because it is looking really promising.
 
D4tMc.jpg

I'll never have the real thing, but I'll settle for some cheap knockoffs.
 
 
The newest Heroes guide trailer:
This may be the best one yet, it gives a deeper taste of different destinies, and a good look at a varity of powers. These heroes guide trailers are well done imo, great way to introduce people to the game.

Mastery and Powerhttp://www.gametrailers.com/video/exclusive-power-kingdoms-of/724993

Thanks for posting that live chat Nista almost forgot about it. I swear if they can keep up this level of honest and open approach with how they handle their community 38 could end up being my new favorite dev. It gives me huge amounts of hope for their MMO.
 
Kind of want to try a caster since I usually play warriors, but this game actually has a potentially fun combat system, so it seems like I'd be missing out. The throwing weapons look kinda silly to me. Are there straight up staffs?
 
zoner said:
Kind of want to try a caster since I usually play warriors, but this game actually has a potentially fun combat system, so it seems like I'd be missing out. The throwing weapons look kinda silly to me. Are there straight up staffs?
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There are three types of weapon for each tree, you can see each in the power and mastery trailer.

For quick reference though:

Might gets
long swords
warhammers
and Great swords

Mages get
Staffs
Septers (kind of like a wand)
and Chakrums

Finesse gets
Daggers
FaeBlades
Bows

and with the destiny system you can mix and match these however you want and still have a viable character to play as. The destiny system is designed so that you can play the kind of character you want and not feel punished.
 
zoner said:
'EA Partners'
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i'm not even honestly sure how the whole EA partners branding really works, because the gist is that the studio is supposed to have control of the IP and EA helps with funding. I'm not sure how this whole thing works in regards to marketing, and distrbution, and that sort of stuff though because Curt is always saying that as it stands now they plan on having the game available through retail, origins, steam, impulse, and there was another one that I can't seem to remember.

It's obviously gaining traction in the audience department though because the Signature edition sold out in just a couple of days, and that was the most expensive one to get. I'm sure the concept of getting things signed by Tod, R.A, and Curt helped with that though.
 
According to a post by Curt last night, one of the biggest things the EA partnership means is that they've got to push a bunch of pre orders in the next few weeks so that they get the maximum marketing push out of EA. He said pre orders were going to drive the amount of funds EA was willing to commit to the project.
 
Hannar said:
According to a post by Curt last night, one of the biggest things the EA partnership means is that they've got to push a bunch of pre orders in the next few weeks so that they get the maximum marketing push out of EA. He said pre orders were going to drive the amount of funds EA was willing to commit to the project.
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yeah I read that on the forums last night aswell, I just don't know how much say EA has when it comes to how, and when they distribute stuff, or how marketing is handled, and stuff like that. I think the game looks awesome and I've been frothing at the mouth for awhile now, but I just don't quite understand the concept of only marketing the game if the attention goes up for it, when the marketing is what will boost the amount of people paying attention. It just seem backwards to me.

I'm hoping that 38 is successful enough that they can branch out into being fully independant so they don't have to deal with this kind of stuff in the future. Hopefully come release enough people will be interested that it will do well for them, and the MMO which Curt is already teasing getting some information on alittle while after Reckonings launch.

As for how i'm going to play i'm thinking i'm going to go Battlemage style with Great Swords, and Chakrums (they look amazing to me, and pretty unique), but with the way this system works I may have to mess around with it before I really know how i'm going to want to play. Curious how well the Jack of all trades destinies will feel.
 
Marketing dollars are always a strange business, especially with a 3rd party dev + distribution/publisher arrangement like Reckoning has. I think the 38 community team has been doing a great job so far with pushing information to the fans. But EA is the one with all the clout and money to get ads in magazines/stores/web/tv and be able to market the game to the wider audience.

No matter how we all love games, it's still a business investment that they have to recoup. Let's just hope it's not another Shadows of the Damned situation.
 
Disappointed when I read this:
So as a result, as you play through the game, you will generally find things at about your difficulty level, unless you just truck through and go way outside the bounds
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I'll probably get it anyway, but I hate to say it just seems like a bomb waiting to happen. The way it's been presented you have to go out of your way to inform yourself about things like crime and jail or skills in general. At a glance it's just a third-person action game with a garish, cartoony style with technically average, overly bloomy graphics and a bunch of wierd names. And I can't help but think all the talent behind the game is a complete waste. Having R. A. Salvatore write the lore is a nice bullet point but will anyone know the difference or care? Same with Todd McFarlane. I'm sure they don't come cheap.
 
Confidence Man said:
Disappointed when I read this:

I'll probably get it anyway, but I hate to say it just seems like a bomb waiting to happen. The way it's been presented you have to go out of your way to inform yourself about things like crime and jail or skills in general. At a glance it's just a third-person action game with a garish, cartoony style with technically average, overly bloomy graphics and a bunch of wierd names. And I can't help but think all the talent behind the game is a complete waste. Having R. A. Salvatore write the lore is a nice bullet point but will anyone know the difference or care? Same with Todd McFarlane. I'm sure they don't come cheap.
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I'm not sure I understand what you mean, if your not paying much attention to the game, or news about it I suppose I could see some confusion, but it's always been discussed as being an open world high fantasy RPG, and the names with the exception of maybe Curt will probably be known by most fantasy nerds(count myself here). There is plenty of information out there on stuff like skills, crime, combat, crafting, the destiny and leveling system, and most of this stuff is presented in their offical gameplay videos, Heroes Guide trailers, they even have a section on the reckoning website where you can see clips of various skills for each tree in video form .

Sadly I don't think EA has done a very good job when handling marketing for the game when it comes to somethings, but 38 and Big Huge has done an amazing job interacting with the community, answering questions, and informing people of lots of different things. I could see them doing very well for themselves if they can get the backing to go independant.

The one thing I would like to see more of is that narrative stuff because I'm a fan of ol Bobby Sal, and with this whole 10,000 years of lore that he's written for this universe there could be alot of great stuff in there, but I also don't want to be spoiled so i'm ok if they remain alittle tight on this one. Feeling like Todd has been alittle under utilized I can understand to a point, but he's already explain why he has toned down his normal style for Reckoning and while it's alittle disappointing I can understand it. I do think props should be given to him for being so focused on good animation though, it's not the best in the industry at this point, but I think reckoning looks to have some of the best animations in RPGs, especially when it comes to combat.

Keep in mind that they are planning a Demo of some kind though, Curt said there should be some news on this front soon.
 
ReaperXL07 said:
I'm not sure I understand what you mean, if your not paying much attention to the game, or news about it I suppose I could see some confusion, but it's always been discussed as being an open world high fantasy RPG, and the names with the exception of maybe Curt will probably be known by most fantasy nerds(count myself here). There is plenty of information out there on stuff like skills, crime, combat, crafting, the destiny and leveling system, and most of this stuff is presented in their offical gameplay videos, Heroes Guide trailers, they even have a section on the reckoning website where you can see clips of various skills for each tree in video form.
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Take this Official Gameplay Trailer , I remember watching that and basically writing the game off as a simple hack & slash "RPG", and reading up on it never indicated it was anything more. It wasn't until some time later there was a long demo from a convention or something that showed everything else (crafting, non-combat skills, pickpocketing, crime, etc..) but people just taking a look at trailers aren't going to know. You read the words "open world RPG" but all you see of the game is close-ups of your character fighting like an action game.
 
Confidence Man said:
Take this Official Gameplay Trailer , I remember watching that and basically writing the game off as a simple hack & slash "RPG", and reading up on it never indicated it was anything more. It wasn't until some time later there was a long demo from a convention or something that showed everything else (crafting, non-combat skills, pickpocketing, crime, etc..) but people just taking a look at trailers aren't going to know. You read the words "open world RPG" but all you see of the game is close-ups of your character fighting like an action game.
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That I can completely understand, as it's something that people have issues with on the forums, they say they show off the combat alot because it's one of those things that they feel really seperates it from other games of it's type, I don't disagree with this, but I would also enjoy seeing more of the dialog, and exploration stuff. I like that they are trying something a bit fresh in regards to the combat and leveling system though, some RPgs have tried to do the action thing and it has not really worked out in most cases. They seem to have intelligent enemy A.I that fights in groups, flanks, generally does not stand around and wait for their turn to die.

If you'd like I can post a ton of gameplay demos that show off exploration, though many of them were early builds of the game is a bit rougher in some ways.
 
If you guys haven't watched this new Hero's Guide to Amalur that was released this week, you need to do so.

The actual abilities are up on the Reckoning site now. The Gambit ability in the stealth tree looks really cool. I'm having a difficult time now deciding on which direction I want to go. The last part of that video where the player launches the enemy into the air using faeblades and then blasts them with the ice is pretty darn cool.
 
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