I WANT MY MONEY BACK

[elikal]

Sorry... but I exploded here at my desk. I rarely felt so cheated and robbed. I mean, I played the demo of Eschalon 1, and it looked nice enough. Maybe I should have played it longer, but... I don't believe I bought this. I mean, I enjoyed the old fashioned look and the story sounded intriuging enough.

BUT WHO THE HECK MADE THIS DIFFICULTY?? Dammit, I am always in load-save orgies, walking in tiny steps, save, try, die, load, try another way. Then, out of health every frigging 10 minutes, I rest only to have 6 lizards come and kill me.

I mean, I play computer games for 25 years, and yes they used to be like that in 1980... but did you REALLY have to keep all the BAD stuff of 1980 gaming? Or at least make some difficulty settings? Man, I am so angry! How can any program that today and keep all those aggravating things and make such a hellish difficulty!!!

I WANT MY MONEY BACK!

[Apoteos]

Personally, I prefer an actual difficulty instead of the illusion of one. This is what makes a game a game instead of an interactive movie. But I respect your opinion and wish you luck in getting your money back, even though I don´t really think you´re entitled to a refund...

[CycyX]

Or maybe you didn't pick the right character for your playing style...

[Aldbeski]

if you think EB1 is hard then try out EB2 which have challenges that make the game hardcore

[TheBuzzSaw]

I understand the frustration of difficult gaming, but you really want your money back? Due to difficulty??? You really HAVE been tainted by gaming of recent years. Frankly, there are not enough difficult games out there today. Companies have all adopted the "everybody wins" attitude.

[CrazyBernie]

Whoa, calm down people. Step away from the keyboards. Take deep breaths.

Eschalon is not at all difficult once you get used to the playing style and the creation of characters. Personally, I went through a couple of throwaway characters before I found a good build. There are several dicussions on character types in the forums, as well as stat/skill strategies. Suffice it to say that for first time visitors to the Eschalon universe, creating a "well balanced, jack of all trades" is pretty much suicide. You're better off specializing to start out. For a fighter-type, lots of endurance, strength, and decent dexterity is a good start. Bow users need to focus on dex, where casters want loads of Perception. Rogues need Dex, but don't skimp out on Strength if you want to carry all that loot you'll be pilfering. Don't try to start out the game with as many skills as possible, either. Focus on three or four to begin with. If you're lucky, you'll find skillbooks that will allow you to learn a skill for free.

Camping should be done piecemeal if you wish to avoid being attacked in your sleep. Stay at an inn if you want a full recovery without a disturbance.

Also, it's ok to run away if you're having trouble with a particular enemy or groups of enemies.

Screaming for your money back just because you're having a little bit of trouble will generally get you nothing but flamed in the forums.

[Gorgon Rider]

Listen to CrazyBernie. He is wise.

I just finished EB I, and I understand your frustration, elikal. It can be a killer game if you're not prepared for its difficulty. But do as CB says and check out some character building threads or ask for advice. It will help immensely, and it's well worth it. This is a great game and I think you'll find yourself thanking Basilisk Games for making it old school once you've got a handle on it. It's a damned refreshing change from the 'hand-holding' games we've been seeing for years.

[Lhoric]

If this dude thinks Book 1 is difficult, let's hope he doesn't decide to become a parent in this lifetime... Or take a job requiring any intelligence for that matter. 25 years of gaming and it's "too hard"?? Maybe it's too many years of sloth and laziness that has rotted your brain for a fun, challenging RPG. OK, maybe I'm a bit harsh but the original post seems troll-ish. If he really found the game too hard, he'd be asking for help, hints, walk-through, cheats, trainer, etc. And if he really had an issue feeling ripped off, an email would be much more appropriate. Just my opinions, of course.

[Evnissyen]

I think I would refrain from criticizing Elikal for his being caught off-guard, so to speak, by the difficulty and game balancing of the beginning of Eschalon. I think it's understandable.

This is because I think, as Jedi-Learner pointed out, that this sort of illuminates how dreadful the balancing is on so many games, where your character can hack through 10, 20, 30, 40, 50 foes before he/she needs to swallow a potion . . . because really, too many games are way too easy for the most part, with a few moments of real difficulty which make you bang things in frustration. Poor balancing.

Eschalon, in my opinion, takes a better approach, by forcing you to think through what strategies you take to build a character who can survive, and then forcing you to deal with danger and threats and foes in a somewhat more realistic fashion.

...The major balancing knock in Book I is the wimpiness of the final boss once you meet him. Everyone has said it.

But generally, I think BW gave us the right sense of difficulty at the beginning of Book I.

What annoys me, in games, more than way-too-easy foes, is when they try to balance that ease with showstopping moments of true difficulty that you can barely get past by turning the difficulty down from IMPOSSIBLE/TORMENT/HARDCORE (where it's been all this time) all the way down to EASY/NOVICE.

A little difficulty and thoughtful strategy can be just as fun as a good story.

ELIKAL:
I suggest you take a short break, then try again, with the understanding that this is a different kind of game, a game that embraces difficulty and which challenges you to overcome that difficulty. Make sure that you build a sensible character from the start, and understand that you're going to make mistakes and perhaps have to restart with a better understanding . . . that's part of the fun of the game. (HINT: Like in most games, a dedicated fighter is easiest.) (And if it makes you feel any better: especially if you play as a dedicated fighter then the game does get easier, and you get used to the gameplay . . . but you're going to have to keep your wits about you... . If you play as, say, a dedicated magick user, well . . . that's considered to be in the challenge area. So goes the characteristics of the game.)

[Archimbaud]

I've just recently bought the game and find the difficulty to be well balanced. Of course, I'm used to have a quick look around at small hints about character creation and evolution so that I avoid any critical mistake at the beginning. Then, I've tested an easy character (an atheist fighter) and saves often. If I go to a new location, I check in the first fights if I can manage to keep going this way or not. If it seems to difficult (that is, depleting all the life of my character in one battle), I will just to find a more suitable area.
After that, well choosing equipment and be careful to some hidden treasures, like a diamond edged weapon, help a lot.

Read a bit of info in the forum and plan a bit ahead your next character and you will see it's manageable.

[Evnissyen]

I just wanted to tell everyone, anyone who cares, that I, too WANT MY MONEY BACK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

!!!!! !!

...But not from Basilisk Games, no . . . just... in general, you know. Generally speaking, in regard to everything, in general: I want my money back.



Yes: money back would be a good thing, indeed.

Just think of all the new things I could waste my money on!?

[Simone]

I know how you feel, man. I have no problems with Eschalon but I've completely failed on the Baldur's Gate games even if I've tried them over and over for years.

[CrazyBernie]

I personally believe that College Tuition should come with a money-back guarantee. While I can't really say it was totally unecessary, I learned nothing (and did more teaching, really), and it (my degree) didn't help me get a job. I would have at least liked the chance to go back and learn something else for the amount of responsibility that was dumped in my lap (the loans).

[Evnissyen]

I personally believe that College Tuition should come with a money-back guarantee.

Were that the case, colleges would hardly make any money at all.

Personally, I felt more in control of my education when I went to art school. Before that, I had no direction, I didn't know what I wanted to learn or for what reason, other than painting, sculpture and fiction writing, and although I had a basic interest in a lot of different things, literature and philosophy and sciences, I had no focus, I didn't know how to focus, I didn't know how to absorb anything . . . therefore I absorbed next to nothing.

Maybe, before people go to college, they should spend one or two years in a preparation school where they're forced to try to figure out who they are and what direction they want to head in . . . too many people spend half their college years doing just this, anyhow. Thus, a lot of time is wasted, they don't absorb anything because they don't really care, they haven't come to the conclusion that "these are the things I want to explore, and here are the reasons why".

[CrazyBernie]

Well when I say money-back guarantee, I generally mean that if you are unable to get a job within your field of study, they can either refund your tuition, or give you a free pass on another field. This would force the schools to be more actively involved with businesses in the fields of study they offer... with the businesses having a bit of influence in what studies are offered. Then businesses can ensure that they get the type of trained employees they're looking for, and the students get somewhat of a guaranteed job placement (and the ability for the schools to ask for even more tuition as a result). No more of this "you have a degree.. that's great, where's your experience" crap that I went through after getting out of school. What I should have done was go back to school, but unfortunately I had some loans that didn't defer... and then that series of unfortunate events that is my life began. =P