Expeditions: Conquistador

[sirdilznik]

I've been keeping an eye on the Expeditions: Conquistador Kickstarter campaign for a bit. It's a historical, tactical, turn-based RPG from a Danish indie studio (mmmmmm danish, love me some cheese danish). I was a bit skeptical at first, but it caught my attention since I like historical stuff. Also the fact the fact that they plan to support Linux helps too. Anyway, they recently released some gameplay videos in their updates and I have to say I was impressed. It looks more promising and polished than I originally imagined. They essentially already have a game, that is the framework is all there, they're running the Kickstarter to get the funding to be able to add more content. Anyway, it's really iffy whether they meet their funding goal, they could certainly use some press to get attention. I'm likely to drop them a $15 pledge soon since this looks like something I'd definitely like to play.

[Kreador Freeaxe]

Looks cool. I've always loved reading about that period in history in the Americas (though I'm happy not to have lived through it). I gave them a $15 pledge. I like that it's a hex-grid for the improved tactical elements.

[quasimodo]

I backed it as well. It looks like my kind of game.

[sirdilznik]

Here's some impressions of the game at this stage from someone who got to play it at GamesCon:

http://www.screwattack.com/news/hidden- ... escom-2012

It seems they really put a lot of effort into the morale/loyalty system and made it quite deep. I really like the sound of that. This game sounds better and better the more I find out about it.

[KillingMoon]

So... this game is out for half a year now, nobody has written about it here?

I picked it up a few days ago, it was new to me, I had forgotten about this thread, but I was pleasantly surprised. I've only played half of it, but I'll give my thoughts.

I think it's top notch story telling. It's not only well written, but also the way it's presented on the screen works very well. I'd say the way they're bringing the story is the best I've ever seen in an RPG. They had a very good painter to make the portraits, the portraits and the dialogue are always large and central in the screen, not in a corner like in most RPG's. There's a lot of reading. The story itself - I know some people here in the forum, like Evnissyen, are very big on story, I'm curious what they would think of this.

The game world is kind of small, exploration isn't a strong point of the game. The map also looks a bit dull, with not a lot of variation. The map and a very restricted camera view are pulling this game down somewhat, I've read a few reviews - all largely positive about the game - and they all say it. I really hope Logic Artists are going to address this if they're going to expand on their game.

Sirdilznik was saying they had put a lot of effort in a morality/loyalty system. That seems a somewhat limited system from my first experiences with the game. Your choices are not that big, it are often small nuances in dialogue options that will determine how your followers morale gets affected, and that's sort of it.
Jump straight into a battle and your aggressive followers will appreciate this, while your cautious followers will lose some morale. But that battle will happen anyway if it's part of the story. It's in the details that morale gets affected. The big story line is quite fixed, not a lot of choices there.
Morale here works as a sort of psychological fatigue bar. If a follower gets low on morale, you need to pay some attention. Maybe not try to haggle so much with an NPC if it's an altruistic follower, or be greedy if it's a greedy one... Otherwise there's always the option of giving the follower extra food.
It's an okay system, I'm not saying otherwise, but for me it's not one of the top points of the game.

Combat is like in Heroes of Might and Magic, turn-based and on grid maps. The options for your units are not as diverse as in Heroes of Might and Magic, but the maps are more unique, with a lot of landscape obstacles in it that you'll want to use to your advantage. Choosing a good defensive position is key, your opponents will often have a numerical advantage. Most battles will allow you to place barricades and traps, and letting opponents walk into traps is always fun, right? The only thing I find a bit strange about the traps is that you yourself are invulnerable to your own traps. So you can just walk over your own spike traps... I don't like that.
But for me the tactical combat is a strong part of the game, it certainly makes you think about your every move.

I've read on the Logic Artists forum the development team has more games in the planning, they're talking about a stealth game called 'Clandestine'. I'll be keeping an eye on what they do.

[Kreador Freeaxe]

Sadly, I have the game and have yet to play it. Too much else drawing my attention these days. Thanks for the reminder, though.

[Painted Lady]

Thanks for the heads up. I just downloaded the game. Have to have something to do until Valentine's Day after all........

[KillingMoon]

If you find the camera view too restricted you can click on your backspace button and type 'vontrier', it gives free camera movement. That's not in the manual, it's more like a cheat code, but I'm happily using it, it's getting claustrophobic for me otherwise.
I'm guessing that 'vontrier' refers to the Danish filmer Lars Von Trier, but I'm not sure.