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Valkyria Chronicles PC |OT| May the bloodline live forever

Rayearth

Neo Member
I enabled "games already on my account" for the scrolling banner thing in the front page of Steam just so that I can continue to admire Valkyria Chronicle's place among the featured items - just thinking of all the other Steam users seeing it, buying it and driving its sales through the roof.

The only problem is that Valkyria Chronicle's banner is sharing space with the kinda creepy Freddy's ad. I swear that the face on the ad gets closer and bigger every time I see it.
 

Mibuokami

Member
Is this the same type of feeling you get from seeing a love one recover from a major accident bystanding up from his/her wheelchair and taking that first triumphant step?

The feel!

So beautiful! At long last recognition for a timeless classic.
 
Gentlemen, we have done it.

We have decimated games with marketing budgets in the hundreds of millions, indie behemoths, and the mighty Sid Meir. Are you not entertained?

B2N8IUmCYAEo6ue.png:large

I thought that is amazing, and then I realized Assassin's Creed: Unity is still doing its double-entry weirdness with two identical entries in the top ten. Is one the standard edition and the other one the deluxe edition?
 

Eternia

Member
Really been enjoying this game on PC. Heads up to new players, check out the Personnel tab. The devs actually gave each squad member some background including reasons for some of their debuffs.

Example: Catherine's Low Ammo Debuff



Oh and their personnel pages get updated if a relevant perk is unlocked.
I did not expect that kind of detail in this game. I'll probably enjoy reading up all the little blurbs on all of them one day.

Valkyria Chronicles is #1 on top sellers, at least in the US

edit: image
Hope it sticks around for a while.

I've only completed the first real mission so far (reclaiming the bridge) and it has been a pleasant experience so far. I can see why it has received such high praise all these years. The scale of that early battle is definitely something that appeals to me and I hope it continues to build on it. To top it off, the music has been fantastic which is no surprise since I also loved the work done in FFT.
 

TaroYamada

Member
My original source was mistaken, Valkyria Chronicles port's development actually began before before the #SEGAPCPorts campaign. While they were correct about Valkyria, they assumed that it was in response to the campaign. They never thought to ask if there were any other possible reasons and operated under the rather sensible notion that it would seem odd for SEGA to bring Valkyria to PC after all this time, unless to meet fan demand for such a port -- demand represented by #SEGAPCPorts.

I've since verified with multiple sources closer to the project that development did indeed begin before our campaign. Meaning we had little to no role in the decision to port Valkyria to PC. I was conflicted about discussing this publicly, mostly because I felt it may hurt morale and as such negatively impact the campaign.

So why am I discussing it publicly if it might hurt the campaign? I felt it best to be transparent. So then, why did I take so long? After deciding it best to be transparent, I had to reconcile that with how I could discuss this matter and still honor those of whom had entrusted me with private information. So I wrote this and then seeked their approval for the final message you are now reading.

The other reason I'm discussing it publicly is every single person I talked to about the campaign within SEGA had nothing but positive things to say, using words like "Valuable", "Huge", "Impactful", "Great", "Positive", etc. when referring to the campaign. So I really don't feel just because the timing was slightly off on the start date of our campaign vs. that of Valkyria Chronicles' port that morale should be harmed.

Certainly it'd be awesome if we could take credit for Valkyria Chronicles. It would objectively demonstrate they were receptive to the campaign for one but here's the deal, we already know they are listening and are receptive to the campaign based on what I'm telling you they said. Now think of it this way, if SEGA was receptive to bringing the 6 year old PS3 exclusive Valkyria Chronicles to PC before all of us demonstrated fan demand? It's easy to imagine they'd be pretty receptive to some of these other titles after we've made ourselves so clear and bought copies of Valkyria (making it number one on Steam in fact).

So fear not, the campaign is doing good work but as the long development time of Valkyria's port suggests, it may be a while before all of us see the fruits of our labor. :)

Quoted from petition thread. Said I'd write up what I could when I could, followed through.
 

Danj

Member
FINALLY! Fixed the Sound!!!

It was a Direct X problem, I was just going through the Games Directory, saw DXSETUP.exe, ran it because why not and it worked!

Now off to play :D

Steam didn't install this when you clicked play for the first time? o_O

usually my experience of Steam games for the first time is CLICK PLAY -> INSTALLING DIRECTX or INSTALLING VISUAL C RUNTIME or whatever...
 
Got to play for an hour or so, enjoyed it so far though I'm only up to chapter 2. Definitely one of the better TBS hybrid battle systems I've played, it's easy to pick up and intuitive to play but I can see that there's an underlying complexity to it. Can't comment much on the graphics since I'm streaming it, but the art is beautiful.

Good recommendation, GAF.
 

Chariot

Member
Well, in the first place, putting VC2 and 3 is a far larger effort, because the map design and asset quality are severely hampered by it being PSP games.

At a functional level, I'd say VC3 should easily translate over to being a full-fledged console game and a worthy sequel, but that's a massive investment to basically redesign all the levels and build the assets needed for it to be more than a handheld game.
That I'm aware of. But yes, the more I think of it, the more it sees like it could be of worth to remake both games from scratch to make both gameplay, storyscenes and cutscenes like VC1. And if they have time, overhaul VC2s story. But that is secondary of course. Thus the could sell it for full price.

I really hope SEGA is swimming in money right now and thinks about something like that.
 

sixghost

Member
There are some really odd things I've noticed about the combat engine so far. Being crouched behind a sandbag gives you the defensive boost no matter where the enemy is in relation to you. Crouching in grass gives you the defensive boost even if the enemy is like 2 feet away from you. And the entire idea of being able to manually aim for headshots in a turn based game just seems bizarre. It just makes each move take 10 or 15 seconds long as you try to move the aimer to their head.

I also don't really like how you can move the same unit multiple times in one turn. It still seems alright though. Hopefully it gets more difficult, because the first 5 chapters have been a breeze.
 
That I'm aware of. But yes, the more I think of it, the more it sees like it could be of worth to remake both games from scratch to make both gameplay, storyscenes and cutscenes like VC1. And if they have time, overhaul VC2s story. But that is secondary of course. Thus the could sell it for full price.

I really hope SEGA is swimming in money right now and thinks about something like that.

If that's the case, I'd argue they're better off pretending VC2 never happened ( and rename VC3 as VC2 )

I personally don't mind a military-school setting that VC2 took, but the execution was definitely lack-luster.
 

Superflat

Member
If that's the case, I'd argue they're better off pretending VC2 never happened ( and rename VC3 as VC2 )

I personally don't mind a military-school setting that VC2 took, but the execution was definitely lack-luster.

Never played VC2 but all i've heard from friends that loved VC was that it was full of annoying characters and felt like a cheap spin-off as far as a sequel went, even if the gameplay was still fun. The character designs were really worrying because they went full anime (never go full anime) with crappy archetypal characters that are "marketable".

VC3's visual design looked way cooler, albeit with a lot more eccentric character designs/weapons.

I'm def picking this up, one of my top 5 games of the past generation, and my ps3 is a goner. It will be a pleasure coming back to this!
 
Valkyria Chronicles may have been worked on before the campaign, but I'm sure they went the extra mile for 120hz and arbitrary resolution support when they saw how passionate the community is for their games.

This game must have sold gangbusters, so I'm guessing they may be more than interested in the prospect of older ports now, especially those that fit well for the platform.

Keep the Steamcast movement alive, folks.
 

Knurek

Member
There are some really odd things I've noticed about the combat engine so far. Being crouched behind a sandbag gives you the defensive boost no matter where the enemy is in relation to you. Crouching in grass gives you the defensive boost even if the enemy is like 2 feet away from you. And the entire idea of being able to manually aim for headshots in a turn based game just seems bizarre. It just makes each move take 10 or 15 seconds long as you try to move the aimer to their head.

Better yet, your own grenades don't seem to hurt you - I suicide rushed into an enemy trench, dropped a grenade by my own feet (by accident), killed three enemies while taking no damage... :\
 

Shahadan

Member
They handled it well, with the good port, the surprise announcement and the quick release. I'd love to know how and why it was decided.
 
Never played VC2 but all i've heard from friends that loved VC was that it was full of annoying characters and felt like a cheap spin-off as far as a sequel went, even if the gameplay was still fun. The character designs were really worrying because they went full anime (never go full anime) with crappy archetypal characters that are "marketable".

VC3 was full-anime too. And frankly, the design wasn't really the problem imo. The design came out to the forefront because the VC2 eschewed the original 3D models for cutscenes and used 2D cutscenes for character moments. So it's criticised because it's one of the few factors that immediately come off as being 'notably' anime compared to VC1.

VC has always been trope-heavy, but VC2 was pretty heavy-handed on its approach. The game, for most parts in the beginning, did not feel like a military academy, but a regular highschool disguised as a military academy. And the characters were largely weaker and less memorable, which contributed to that fact. Even though VC1, too, is a bunch of anime characters in a light-hearted militia set-up, they didn't make the setting feel 'unreal', even if it wasn't the most realistic portrayal in the world. VC2 crossed the line where it feels too heavy-handed. And VC3 steps it back, despite upping up the absurdity on some levels like Imca, etc.

VC2 had some good stuff in its depth, but frankly, first impressions do matter, and it takes way too long for VC2 to feel like it was a sequel.
 

Durante

Member
There are some really odd things I've noticed about the combat engine so far. Being crouched behind a sandbag gives you the defensive boost no matter where the enemy is in relation to you. Crouching in grass gives you the defensive boost even if the enemy is like 2 feet away from you.
These are intentional, and important for the flow of the gameplay I feel. It's really about removing cover from enemies to take them out. And in later parts of the game, you'll get access to weapons specifically designed to take out enemies in cover (but with their own drawbacks).

And the entire idea of being able to manually aim for headshots in a turn based game just seems bizarre. It just makes each move take 10 or 15 seconds long as you try to move the aimer to their head.
Not with a mouse, a significant advantage of the port ;). Also, there's a tradeoff there, as aiming for the head might make you miss entirely. Of course, how relevant that is depends on the weapon type and distance.

I also don't really like how you can move the same unit multiple times in one turn. It still seems alright though.
It's only rally good though if you can accomplish a lot without moving, due to the significant AP drop. And in those situations it feels like a nice reward for moving yourself into a good position.

Better yet, your own grenades don't seem to hurt you - I suicide rushed into an enemy trench, dropped a grenade by my own feet (by accident), killed three enemies while taking no damage... :\
No, explosions don't make a difference between friends or foes.
 

Chariot

Member
If that's the case, I'd argue they're better off pretending VC2 never happened ( and rename VC3 as VC2 )

I personally don't mind a military-school setting that VC2 took, but the execution was definitely lack-luster.
Memh, yeah, you're probably right. It may be not worth to salvage VC2 when VC3 exists. But calling it VC2 would be super confusing. Maybe they should completely start a new line without numbers and just with subtitles as distinction. They should know now that there are plenty of people on the consoles and PC who love the gameplay and the franchise.

I know I'm grasping straws, but I really wish for more VC games in general and more on the PC. And sadly the psp games wouldn't do as they are now. VC2 looks already bad on my Vita screen, I can't imagine how it would look on the PC. Probably like the 320x240 VC screens.
 

Durante

Member
Well, I was half-joking, overtaking the original would be a pretty huge task. I mean, it did end up selling with a pretty long tail for a console release.
 
Memh, yeah, you're probably right. It may be not worth to salvage VC2 when VC3 exists. But calling it VC2 would be super confusing. Maybe they should completely start a new line without numbers and just with subtitles as distinction. They should know now that there are plenty of people on the consoles and PC who love the gameplay and the franchise.

I know I'm grasping straws, but I really wish for more VC games in general and more on the PC. And sadly the psp games wouldn't do as they are now. VC2 looks already bad on my Vita screen, I can't imagine how it would look on the PC. Probably like the 320x240 VC screens.

It's not bad with an emulator.
VC2 1080p https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aP72tcCA8To
VC3 1080p https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J_TOodrud4U
 

sixghost

Member
These are intentional, and important for the flow of the gameplay I feel. It's really about removing cover from enemies to take them out. And in later parts of the game, you'll get access to weapons specifically designed to take out enemies in cover (but with their own drawbacks).

Not with a mouse, a significant advantage of the port ;). Also, there's a tradeoff there, as aiming for the head might make you miss entirely. Of course, how relevant that is depends on the weapon type and distance.

It's only rally good though if you can accomplish a lot without moving, due to the significant AP drop. And in those situations it feels like a nice reward for moving yourself into a good position.

No, explosions don't make a difference between friends or foes.

Yeah I wasn't doubting whether they were intentional or not, they just make the game play in a weird way. A huge part of using or dealing with cover in XCOM was positioning your troops intelligently, because the cover was meaningless once the enemy flanked you. If I'm able to outmaneuver an enemy who is behind cover, why should they retain any of the benefit. It removes any potential for gutsy charges like you could do with the assault in XCOM.

I haven't really found a situation yet where aiming for the body yields more damage. There are just a bunch of things about the combat that don't many any sense in terms of realism. Like someone above said, you can run an enemy over with a tank and it does literally 0 damage.
 

TaroYamada

Member
Well, I was half-joking, overtaking the original would be a pretty huge task. I mean, it did end up selling with a pretty long tail for a console release.

Yeah I kind of thought about that after the post, the original did ok after the price drop. I do feel we may have beaten western launch figures though.
 

Durante

Member
It removes any potential for gutsy charges like you could do with the assault in XCOM.
I wouldn't say that, see my earlier post about how I got Alicia into a position where i could take out 5 enemies in one turn.

I haven't really found a situation yet where aiming for the body yields more damage. There are just a bunch of things about the combat that don't many any sense in terms of realism. Like someone above said, you can run an enemy over with a tank and it does literally 0 damage.
I don't think "realism" was a significant goal for the combat system -- it rarely is with Japanese games. The rules are designed to serve the gameplay. For example, I'd imagine if tanks could run over troops and kill them they'd have too much utility per CP spent. It would also break the principle that you need to give up your CP in order todo damage, which holds for all other weapons. Note that tanks can, however, push enemies out of cover (and destroy it) for "free".

I'm not saying it's perfect of course, just that the thought process which went into designing it is different from what you might expect.
 

Seyavesh

Member
ok yeah, this game is incredible and holy hell valkyria chronicles 2 is so bad in comparison

i'm very glad i bought this game now, i totally get the hype- all the weird annoying quirks of vc2's system that made it tedious and easy at the same time are gone, and replaced with more interesting engagements and generally better flowing/sense-making combat

it's still very cliche storywise, but the stuff is very much in lieu with 'war story' tropes rather than 'anime high school' tropes so it's infinitely better in pretty much every way considering how god awful the cast of VC2 is
 

SigSig

Member
Just did my part! Top-selling in EU as well!
I hope SEGA-senpai will notice us and consider more good ports like this. I will buy them :)
 

Durante

Member
i'm very glad i bought this game now, i totally get the hype- all the weird annoying quirks of vc2's system that made it tedious and easy at the same time are gone, and replaced with more interesting engagements and generally better flowing/sense-making combat
I really think VC2 had some interesting ideas, but it was held down by not one or two but 3 bad management decisions:
  • PSP as the platform, removing the possibility for large-scale engagements (and killing the game in the West)
  • A lower budget, necessitating the increased asset and map reuse, making the game feel more samey
  • Going for "mass appeal" (in Japan, which didn't work out) by tacking on multiplayer (popular on PSP at the time) and doubling down on the anime style
 

dani_dc

Member
For the first time in awhile I'm glad to have a 4 hour break I'm between classes. Time to download this to my laptop before I head out of the house in a couple hours.

I really think VC2 had some interesting ideas, but it was held down by not one or two but 3 bad management decisions:
  • PSP as the platform, removing the possibility for large-scale engagements (and killing the game in the West)
  • A lower budget, necessitating the increased asset and map reuse, making the game feel more samey
  • Going for "mass appeal" (in Japan, which didn't work out) by tacking on multiplayer (popular on PSP at the time) and doubling down on the anime style

It's really one of those bone headed decisions that somehow helped to kill a great franchise.
 

Drkirby

Corporate Apologist
you have to climb up the tank on the ladders. You can then shoot at the radiators with lancers or you can use grenades.

Ok, I found the critical part I was missing, I have to actually retreat and knock down rubble to make the radiators get exposed. I simply parked my tank at the first base and had a guy repair it each turn. Ended up beating the mission by the skin of my teeth, the last AP of the Last turn, I didn't count on having to also blow up the tank after I took out all the Radiators, so I to redeploy all my lancers in a rush.

Also, the Retreat Solider command from the old guy is super useful, all the other ones have been sort of meh (Heal is nice, haven't found a use for Sniper Fire, not even sure what the other one I got was)


I hope the PC version sells enough to get Sega to port/remake VC2 and 3, or better yet, just make a new game in the series.
 

Shengar

Member
If that's the case, I'd argue they're better off pretending VC2 never happened ( and rename VC3 as VC2 )

I personally don't mind a military-school setting that VC2 took, but the execution was definitely lack-luster.

If only VC2 took the route of Gunka no Baltzar, I'll definitely played it
 
There are some really odd things I've noticed about the combat engine so far. Being crouched behind a sandbag gives you the defensive boost no matter where the enemy is in relation to you. Crouching in grass gives you the defensive boost even if the enemy is like 2 feet away from you. And the entire idea of being able to manually aim for headshots in a turn based game just seems bizarre. It just makes each move take 10 or 15 seconds long as you try to move the aimer to their head.

I also don't really like how you can move the same unit multiple times in one turn. It still seems alright though. Hopefully it gets more difficult, because the first 5 chapters have been a breeze.
The real problem here is that the game is designed in a way that encourages you to only make use of a few units per map. In most maps I ended up with a bunch of units just standing around the start location because actually using them was a waste of CP.
 
Achievements seem to be bugged for me. None are unlocking.
6 years later and still no achievements :( lol

Edit: going into the command room just triggered them for some reason. That was like the 4th time I've been in there. Whatever. Valkyria achievements ahoy!
 
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