Balrum

[Rune_74]

A new game got listed on RPG watch today and thought it looked interesting...though I also thought it looked a lot like eschalon.

http://www.rpgwatch.com/forums/showthre ... 1061202499

[IJBall]

A new game got listed on RPG watch today and thought it looked interesting...though I also thought it looked a lot like eschalon.

http://www.rpgwatch.com/forums/showthre ... 1061202499

OK, I'm interested in that, but nowhere does it say if it's PC-only, or for PC/Mac(/Linux). If it's the former... well, I'm obviously out.

[BasiliskWrangler]

That does looks a lot like Eschalon. Seems to function in a similar turn-based method too. Cool!

Well, they say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. I look forward to giving it a run through when it's released! Thanks for the link, Rune_74.

[Kreador Freeaxe]

A new game got listed on RPG watch today and thought it looked interesting...though I also thought it looked a lot like eschalon.

http://www.rpgwatch.com/forums/showthre ... 1061202499

OK, I'm interested in that, but nowhere does it say if it's PC-only, or for PC/Mac(/Linux). If it's the former... well, I'm obviously out.

Went over to the developer's site and they list full compatibility as one of their key objectives with the engine. http://balconyteam.com/the-engine/

[blatherbeard]

deinitely looks like fun!

[SpottedShroom]

The graphics are definitely very reminiscent of a certain series of games I know. It looks like the gameplay will be pretty different past basic hack 'n' slash combat, though. I hope that the market for this type of game is such that one won't cut into the sales of another. I know I personally have an almost inexhaustible demand for turn-based RPGs that run in Linux :)

[Heavy Metal Monk]

Looks awesome, it's like they threw Harvest Moon into my Eschalon.

[Prismatic Maelstrom]

Balrum is now available to buy from Steam! 10% off until next week.

[blatherbeard]

well hell pm thanks for the bump on this, had TOTALLY forgotten about it.

and since i have 44 dollars in my paypal account waiting for something to be bought... heh

ps. just bought it and it supports 21:9 Monitors out of the gate. (2560x1080 my resolution) Something some AAA titles dont do. (BETHESDA I LOOK AT THEE)

this alone gets me excited.

[blatherbeard]

ok so the good and the bad.

good can loot anything. bad, no idea if its gonna piss off some npc when you do.


good, can explore. bad no idea if youll encounter just another rat or 100 rats that eat you alive. in town. in a well.


while im all for no handholding, there is absollutely no direction in some quests. And im just wandering so far, with no clue how or where to find things because, nothings labeled. at. all.

while a nice detailed game, it could use a bit of direction.

that said, for 13 bucks, im still sold. ill just have to revamp how i play the game.


and probably restart as a warrior who can cook.

[KillingMoon]

Okay, thanks for the update, let us know what you think.

This game was on my radar, but just now I'm not managing to put down Thea: The Awakening.
My initial concern with Balrum was that maybe with all the farming and crafting there can be too many things to keep an eye on.

It looks like a game that could be on GOG one day, so I'll probably hold out.

[blatherbeard]

yeah so far im a bit overwhelmed with trying to figure out crafting, what not to touch, if i should manually save every minute or auto save and possibly get stuck. (im leaning toward the former but that would mean actually REMEMBERING to quicksave before doing pretty much any action, and i am not ususally that good at saving lol)

im sure i could "research" it but whats the fun in that! i only search out answers when im ragequitting every hour lol

oh and the starting town is confusing to get around because the buildings are so far apart. But if thats any indication of the size and scope of the game, it should be HUGE.

[Prismatic Maelstrom]

So you can starve or die of thirst while using your inventory or talking to characters? Talk about HARDCORE! Doesn't this just encourage reloading, especially for slow readers?

[blatherbeard]

There are 3 modes, easy, normal and HC.

From what i gather on easy, at least as far as i consider it, its not as bad as some are making it out to be. Theres tons of food and water to live on and im not so sure you can actually die from starvation(unless of course you ignore the damage youre taking, which from what ive seen is pretty minimal on easy. (i still carry a nearly full inv of food and multiple water sources just in case.)

On HC ive read that you can die pretty quick and that it kind of becomes a chore if youre not a fan of the mechanic.

Ive figured out some crafting and i have to say its pretty damn extensive. (cooking is anyway) You can actually make your own recipes by taking a base(corn, melon, bread etc) and then adding things to that(like honey, salt, etc) and it will give you wildly different variations on what each food can do alone. And the more of said foodstuff you use, the more powerful that recipe is and then you name it and voila its in your book. (along with other recipes you can buy from ppl around town).

After exploring a bit, turning off autosave, remembering to save save save, figuring out things(to a degree), running from a LOT of monsters, having my pet die(and trying to figure out HOW to rez him......not yet lol), and asking how to turn on a torch(T btw if you buy it, instead of right clicking on it to activate, which is odd to me) im having great fun with it actually.

And i turn off the hunger function in Eschalon. So if i can figure it out and get used to it(again, on EASY lol) i think anyone that likes Rpg games could.

and i laugh at some of the steam people. If you cant afford >15 bucks for a game you shouldnt be buying a game imo. Maybe im just lucky because ive got a job and can be a bit of a spendthrift on things. Even if i HATED the game and thought the mechanic sucked balls, i wouldnt go jumping in asking for a refund. (or they should have just done a better job with their homework on the damn game)

But anyway, so far im giving it a thumbs up. 13.49 on sale at the moment. Down from 14.99. Hell i spend more than that a day on junk food.



OH and i dont think i actually answered the question---yeah the health and thirst bars degenerate continually, unless you hit esc to pause the game. Theyre looking at the complaints and thinking about different solutions to bring/keep people playing, so we shall see where it ends up.

and if your rest, you wake up starving and dehydrated, which if your looking for realism(which is the argument some are using why its a good game mechanic) idk about you but i dont go to bed and wake up dying of thirst and starving. lol

speaking on resting, you rest to regain your rest meter, which is also depleted in the game(at a lesser rate unless you do strenuous things like mining, cutting trees down etc) But you can also imbibe Coffee and Tea(that ive found so far, apparently you can also brew these) to get more rest(and some foods give rest, thirst, health and hunger. i actually made a recipe that takes thirst away because i gave it too much salt and didnt see the outcome LOL)

[Prismatic Maelstrom]

Bought the game yesterday and played for a handful of hours today. Interesting but very overwhelming for me so far. Still in the beginning village exploring, talking to the residents and stealing from them when they aren't looking. I briefly tried combat with a rat that for some reason was able to create mirror copies of itself and I ran out of mana before I could kill it.

Since there isn't a demo, you can do what I did before buying and watch someone play the game. Looks like one of those games that could easily reach over sixty hours with one playthrough...