Chade on 30/4/2002 at 13:36
Well, to be honest, I didn't have a great time the first time I played Arx Fatalis. The interface felt wierd, the player movement was clumsy with the over the top head bobbing, combat felt like a clickfest, and skill didn't seem to enter into it. I was too dumb to try stealth, but at least the magic was cool. Furtheremore, I got stuck on just about every single puzzle for ages, and spent way too long wandering randomly about being confused.
Than I tried to give it another go.
Best decision I made in a long time :thumb: :D.
Well, I've gotten use to the interface, the crazy head bobbing shamble this guy seems to move with still annoys me a bit, but I can live with it (although I hope it is one of the things I have forgotten on the lists of improvements they have made since the demo was released).
I now know why the combat felt like it was an unskilled clickfest, and its because I was the one with no skills, and couldn't fight properly. I was really happy with it the second time round, got into the groove, and had lots of fun (fighting the big goblin at the end of stage 1 with no comabt skills was a cool challenge).
Tried stealth, and it worked ok, better than any other game I've seen bar thief (just slightly better than dx). Magic is still cool (altho' I maxed out intellect and magic, and still couldn't cast incinerate :( ).
And of course, the puzzles aren't really all that hard, in fact, their not too hard at all, certainly shouldn't slow the game down. I can't believe I didn't search those barrels in the spider caves immediately the first time through, it's not like they're hard to see. And to think I call myself an observant thief player :erg:.
On the downside, I got hit with all the bugs I missed the first time :(.
Still, my opinion of this game has done a complete turn around!!.
Just a last note, what is it about the models that make them seem jerky? They seem to have plenty of polygons, it's just that the edges seem more noticable in this game than they do in most games. Hmmmm ... wierd :weird:.
crazy on 30/4/2002 at 14:13
I was also a bit "put off" the first time I played it and could'nt find the rope for the elevator. Searched for hours, but when I realized just how easy it was to complete the level without finding the ropes, the game quickly grew on me and I became a diehard fan in the end. I still find the demo worth playing, even after playing it over and over a hundred times. :)
Chade on 1/5/2002 at 01:40
Really? Hmmm ... since I don't think you have tried to search barrels before that point, maybe they should make a text message saying something 'you can also search chests, barrels, or other hand-made containers, try searching these barrels'. Of course, it gives the puzzle away, but it is the first level after all.
How can you complete the level without ropes anyway? I think it's time I started to search these forums and see what cool stuff I can do ...
Ziusudra on 1/5/2002 at 04:00
Same way you get to places in Thief that you're not supposed to.
And, really it's sort ofthe second level, though technically it's the third level. :p
Tels on 1/5/2002 at 09:06
Quote:
Really? Hmmm ... since I don't think you have tried to search barrels before that point, maybe they should make a text message saying something 'you can also search chests, barrels, or other hand-made containers, try searching these barrels'.
I also completely missed the barrels the first time round. I *think* that your "intuition" (sp?) level is responsible for this. For instance, the scelet you encounter, it glows blue for a short moment. Also the elevator. I remember that your skill is responsible for this, it alerts you to things you can try. If your skill is low => no alert.
But these could also be hardcoded, I don't know. Maybe it would be really better for the barrels to light up so that people don't get stuck at this simple point.
I hope we soon get a new demo, so that we can try the new interface...
Chade on 1/5/2002 at 13:43
It hardly takes much intuition to know to search a barrel ...
And as for the first part of the game, since it's main purpose should really be to train the player to play Arx, if other people have had this problem, and it's not just me being really dumb, I think maybe they should include a few hardcoded hints like that.
crazy on 2/5/2002 at 00:04
Some hint about the barrels early on in the game would be nice to avoid frustration, I agree.
"How can you complete the level without ropes anyway? " Chade
Well one rope for .[SPOILER]fishing[/SPOILER] might come in handy but, you don't need to get the elevator working if you don't want to.:)
Here's one fun way to play that level:
When you start this level, run through the tunnels (ignore the rats) and head for the [SPOILER] waterfalls. Find the spot in front of the waterfall where you find the colored stone (or whatever it is) that you can use on your sword\dagger, and right next to it, you can jump straight up ontop of the waterfall and collect the dagger. (Never mind the elevator, jumping up and down the waterfall is much quicker) [/SPOILER] Then kill the Goblin Lord, continue to next level, get a sword, go back down there and find that killing the rats and spiders is a piece of cake. Then after giving the wildlife a taste of your newfound sword, you're free to go fishing and explore the place as much as you'd like.
Chade on 2/5/2002 at 14:23
w000t, got up on the ceiling in the first stage you play (learnt not to call them levels now, ;)). Seen a bunch of interesting stuff, heard a goblin tell a crappy joke which he thought was real funny (takes all sorts ...).
Trying hard to get back into the level in a different spot, but no luck yet ... can anyone give me a few tips on the best way to go about it?
