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République |OT| Episode 2 Now Available
- Thread starter chickdigger802
- Start date
chickdigger802
Banned
Hale's accent is terrible
I have to agree that I don't know why she needed an accent. Regular Hale yelling at me would be fine.
The_Darkest_Red
Member
I finished Episode 1 the other day and overall I quite enjoyed it. I do have a few complaints, though:
First off, the game suffers from a severe case of boring objective-itis. It reminds me of the Dead Space series in that sense, everything is about going here to flip this switch or running there to grab that item. I know that Hope is slowly progressing towards her goal of escaping but it never really feels that way, it just feels like the areas were designed first and the story conceit that ties them all together came later. I mean, after finishing the first episode I look back and kind of wonder, what really happened? In terms of major plot points it feels like not much at all.
I also think the game is a little too simplistic for its own good, but I understand that this is the first episode so hopefully the complexity will increase as things move along. As it stands I thought all of the rooms had very simple "solutions" for progressing, and the few items you obtained to spice things up a bit were incredibly straightforward and even somewhat repetitive (pepper spray and taser, for instance). Playing a game like this I instantly think about games like Metal Gear and Deus Ex, but the stealth here never approached that level of complexity at all. I guess a big part of this also has to do with the control scheme and development philosophy of developing for a platform's strengths, but in the end it hurt the game a bit in my opinion.
Also, does the game have any sort of map? I couldn't find one but I really think it could benefit from one, especially with all of the areas that you are obviously expected to come back to at a later point.
I don't want to come across as too negative though, as I am very happy I backed the game and I'm looking forward to seeing where it goes in future episodes. The story that is there is quite intriguing and I loved all of the hidden items and collectibles that fleshed out the world. The game cartridges in particular were probably my favorite part of the entire experience, just an awesome addition that really made pick-pocketing each guard worthwhile.
In terms of other positives I felt that the controls worked very well after a brief period of adjusting, and I enjoyed the basic gameplay loop of switching between moving Hope and changing cameras. It felt quite unique. I was also very impressed with the visual fidelity of the game as well as the art direction (playing on an iPhone 5), and the music and sound in general were very impressive. Cooper is such a cool character, especially for someone who speaks through text-to-speech!
Overall I'd say this was a solid first effort and I'm looking forward to seeing where things go from here.
First off, the game suffers from a severe case of boring objective-itis. It reminds me of the Dead Space series in that sense, everything is about going here to flip this switch or running there to grab that item. I know that Hope is slowly progressing towards her goal of escaping but it never really feels that way, it just feels like the areas were designed first and the story conceit that ties them all together came later. I mean, after finishing the first episode I look back and kind of wonder, what really happened? In terms of major plot points it feels like not much at all.
I also think the game is a little too simplistic for its own good, but I understand that this is the first episode so hopefully the complexity will increase as things move along. As it stands I thought all of the rooms had very simple "solutions" for progressing, and the few items you obtained to spice things up a bit were incredibly straightforward and even somewhat repetitive (pepper spray and taser, for instance). Playing a game like this I instantly think about games like Metal Gear and Deus Ex, but the stealth here never approached that level of complexity at all. I guess a big part of this also has to do with the control scheme and development philosophy of developing for a platform's strengths, but in the end it hurt the game a bit in my opinion.
Also, does the game have any sort of map? I couldn't find one but I really think it could benefit from one, especially with all of the areas that you are obviously expected to come back to at a later point.
I don't want to come across as too negative though, as I am very happy I backed the game and I'm looking forward to seeing where it goes in future episodes. The story that is there is quite intriguing and I loved all of the hidden items and collectibles that fleshed out the world. The game cartridges in particular were probably my favorite part of the entire experience, just an awesome addition that really made pick-pocketing each guard worthwhile.
In terms of other positives I felt that the controls worked very well after a brief period of adjusting, and I enjoyed the basic gameplay loop of switching between moving Hope and changing cameras. It felt quite unique. I was also very impressed with the visual fidelity of the game as well as the art direction (playing on an iPhone 5), and the music and sound in general were very impressive. Cooper is such a cool character, especially for someone who speaks through text-to-speech!
Overall I'd say this was a solid first effort and I'm looking forward to seeing where things go from here.
Brianimaniac
Banned
I bought the first episode and I've barely touched it. It's not something I can play around with at work like I would anything else I would normally play on my phone, but then when I'm home I end up doing other things I could only do at home because I have such little free time there.
This is why casual games are what's popular on iOS.
This is why casual games are what's popular on iOS.
The_Darkest_Red
Member
Wow, it's kind of sad how little discussion this game is generating here on GAF. I wonder if this is indicative of how the game is doing or just a case of GAF being the wrong audience?
GAF doesn't really discuss iOS games much. Or people like to discuss them in the mega iOS gaming thread.
chickdigger802
Banned
personally i'm kinda hesistant to keep playing. so many directors commentary blocks that i wanna listen too but they haven't send us season passes yet
unless those dc stuff are spoilery...
personally i'm kinda hesistant to keep playing. so many directors commentary blocks that i wanna listen too but they haven't send us season passes yet
unless those dc stuff are spoilery...
DC would be good during replay, imo.
chickdigger802
Banned
Keyser Soze
Member
putermcgee
Junior Member
I was losing my mind trying to find the 5th cassette tape, so I played a new game and made notes of where you can find everything to get 100%.
https://www.evernote.com/shard/s74/...8a53d51421fd/a582b135f77ce9d128304f1f5e9012ac
https://www.evernote.com/shard/s74/...8a53d51421fd/a582b135f77ce9d128304f1f5e9012ac
It's possible there's just not that much interest in the game. That was always the gamble with Republique -- iOS users would not be interested in a $5-$25 purchase, and traditional gamers would turn their nose up at an iOS game. I'm surprised how quickly the conversation died though, just considering so many people here said they backed the game.
I got stuck at a waypoint with a fingerprint reader. Someone in this thread said I had to go back to an early area in the game. I tried to backtrack, couldn't find anything. I put the game down and never picked it up again. That is the real problem with a game like this on iOS. Every game is so cheap and disposable that if somebody gets stuck on a puzzle you run a very huge risk that they will just stop playing altogether.
chickdigger802
Banned
what is there to say really, sure there will be more interest when more eps hit
It's a pretty good game, but the gameplay kinda falls apart when you need to do anything actiony like runaway or escape enemies.
It's a pretty good game, but the gameplay kinda falls apart when you need to do anything actiony like runaway or escape enemies.
details on Season Pass fulfillment have now been released. I won't post the update here as Camouflaj has requested it be kept private.
backers only link
backers only link
I will say though... it's not a solution people will likely be happy with
Palette Swap
Member
Let's say it's not ideal but it's something.
I guess iOS is less than ideal for these KS projects and honestly, I wish more projects were aware of this or upfront about it.
Like these dudes, but I'd talk about it more if the whole thing wasn't such a pain in the ass. I won't bitch because I've spent little time reviewing the backer updates, but the parts I did bother paying attention to just wore me the fuck out...no disrespect to the team intended.
Their request is wholly unreasonable. They promised we would receive the full game, including the season pass, when we pledged. So far, they've forced us to buy the app, and now they're forcing us to buy the season pass. They have not held up their end of the bargain, so I will not respect their request.
It is done.
chrominance
Member
Man. Bad on Ryan Payton and co. for not realizing these roadblocks would exist, but far far more bad on Apple for ridiculous app store policies. It's easier for Kickstarter project to give out PSN codes, for chrissakes. A closed console ecosystem handles Kickstarter projects better than Apple. Are you kidding me?
(I mean I guess iOS is also a closed console ecosystem in practice, but it's not competing with Microsoft and Nintendo, but Google, which doesn't even require you to go through an app store at all. So the fact that they're worse than a CONSOLE, let alone a mobile ecosystem, is damning.)
(I mean I guess iOS is also a closed console ecosystem in practice, but it's not competing with Microsoft and Nintendo, but Google, which doesn't even require you to go through an app store at all. So the fact that they're worse than a CONSOLE, let alone a mobile ecosystem, is damning.)
Bob Dobalina
Member
These guys are going to lose a ton of money when the 99 cent IAP ends up on the front page of slickdeals.
graywolf323
Member
I dunno if this is all Apple's fault, I backed Buddy & Me and they were able to send out codes for backers on iOS
ironically it was Android where they had to have the game be free on Amazon Marketplace the first weekend
not just SlickDeals, I'm sure places like MacRumors and TUAW will post about it Friday as well
though they will have a big jump in sales of the game as well, heck I'm gonna buy it at $5 in order to get the 99 cent Season Pass
I think someone said that Apple limits publishers to 500 codes. So that would explain it, probably.
Reluctant-Hero
Member
Nice job on not putting the information out there, people.
The distribution issues are shitty enough. But we can't cut them some slack and not spread the info they asked not to be spread?
The distribution issues are shitty enough. But we can't cut them some slack and not spread the info they asked not to be spread?
graywolf323
Member
with over 11k backers it wasn't a matter of if it would leak as much of when it would leak
don't blame me! :lol
Reluctant-Hero
Member
I know, only a matter of time. It'd just be nice if no one could point to GAF as the culprit for a change.
chrominance
Member
That's true. I went back and looked at the updates Sunbreak sent out for Buddy & Me, and there are a few crucial differences. A bunch of the info is in backers-only updates, so I don't want to go into details, but basically: the problem both Republique and Buddy & Me faced was the inability to send gift codes to anyone outside the U.S. Sunbreak saw the international issue coming, Camouflaj did not. So everything, from informing their users of the problem to handling refunds, apparently went much more smoothly. The Android thing did suck, since I was one of the Android backers and the Amazon appstore is basically a form of DRM (since uninstalling the Amazon store app renders your downloads useless, unless this has changed recently). But hey, better than nothing, and I didn't have to do anything special or pay an extra cent.
So yeah, Camouflaj deserves some of the blame because other people have handled this far more smoothly. Sure, Camouflaj probably sold a lot more copies and we have to take that into account, but you'd hope that they would also have been able to throw more resources at the problem (and just generally provide a more professional response re: fulfillment times and communication) as a result.
But Apple also deserves quite a bit of blame because even if we acknowledge that region-specific storefronts with separate gifting processes happens across lots of platforms (though notably, not Steam except in certain cases!), Apple seems to have split their stores up into many, many more regions than any of the other players. With some exceptions (mainly to do with currency cards), neither Microsoft nor Sony lock game and DLC codes to a specific country, at least in North America.
Vigilant Gambit
Member
Check the updates. You have to fill out a survey. If you live in the US, they'll gift you a copy of the game. If you don't, they'll refund you enough money to buy it.
There was another iOS Kickstarter game, which I unfortunately forget the name of now, that handled iOS fullfillment MUCH better and quite cleverly. They released a sign-up app of sorts on the AppStore a week prior to the actual release of the game, and gave the link only to backers. Backers then signed into their accounts in said app and were verified on the devs servers as having purchased the full game.
Then when the actual game came out, which was Free with an IAP unlock if I recall, the backers could just download that and hit restore purchases and off they went.
(I might be remembering some of the details of this story wrong)
Then when the actual game came out, which was Free with an IAP unlock if I recall, the backers could just download that and hit restore purchases and off they went.
(I might be remembering some of the details of this story wrong)
Same here im a bit worried all they seem to talk about is the iOS version and working on episode 2
Anyway ive asked the following in a kickstarter message
Vigilant Gambit
Member
If you wanna know what's going on with the project, you have to pay attention to the updates. I've only barely been following it myself, but even I know that the PC version was always secondary (they're working on it now) and that the soundtrack is already available.
If you answered in the survey that you want the PC version, you can get the soundtrack and documentary via humblebundle. Use their Key resender feature with the email address you gave in the survey or used to back the Kickstarter:
https://www.humblebundle.com/store/keyresender
Yeah I know, and that's the problem I've done those surveys.
The Camouflaj guys responded to people's complaints on the backer update page. It really seems like they tried their best, but it's Apple's rules that are preventing them using better alternatives.
This whole series of events is unfortunate, but in end I still support their vision and I'm not too fussed to pay an extra dollar to get the season pass. To those who are antsy about the dollar, you can get it refunded if you contact them.
This whole series of events is unfortunate, but in end I still support their vision and I'm not too fussed to pay an extra dollar to get the season pass. To those who are antsy about the dollar, you can get it refunded if you contact them.
Machinehead
Member
I haven't gotten my code yet.
I'm never backing/buying anything those guys are involved with ever.
Have you tried contacting them?
Paul Alexander
Member
support_backers at camouflaj dot com
spindoctor
Member
This is the only kickstarter where backers pledged to get a copy of the game and then had to buy it again anyway right?
It's a lesson learned for them, hopefully. I doubt most folks are overly concerned about the buck.
firehawk12
Subete no aware
So I guess since it's all out there, I wonder if they plan to change anything or just go through with it.
Either way, I don't know how to feel about this whole thing. It went from them talking to someone at Apple and working out a solution for everyone to manually gifting people in the US and handing out paypal refunds to international customers to now what amounts to a 99cent sale for everyone who bought the game.
On the one hand, I do feel bad for them, but I wonder if they couldn't have figured a lot of this stuff out at some point before they were so close to launch.
Either way, I don't know how to feel about this whole thing. It went from them talking to someone at Apple and working out a solution for everyone to manually gifting people in the US and handing out paypal refunds to international customers to now what amounts to a 99cent sale for everyone who bought the game.
On the one hand, I do feel bad for them, but I wonder if they couldn't have figured a lot of this stuff out at some point before they were so close to launch.
gotta say, I'm almost tempted to actually buy the iOS version now so I don't have to wait for the PC release, but ehhh
The soundtracks and documentary parts are (for ep1 so far) already available via the Humble Bundle for backers.
"They tried their best" at doing something that couldn't be done? If I sell shirts online and decide to deliver them with trained owls... the fact that I did my best won't magically mean it is no longer my fault when deliveries simply don't happen.
I don't know if I'll even bother buying the season pass, honestly. I know there are plenty of kickstarter horror stories out there, but this has to be my most disappointing experience with the site so far.