News from inside the Lair, Volume 1

[BasiliskWrangler]

Okay, just wanted to give some "inside news" to you forum people- stuff that really isn't front-page worthy...

- The CD are in! Unfortunately, the mail envelopes aren't. They were backordered and are supposed to be in on Monday. If all goes well the first shipment of CDs will be shipping out by Wednesday of next week.

- The Mac beta testing is going well, but we found a bug in the Mac OpenGL driver. We are waiting on a compiler update promised this week to fix it, but the testers are still able to play in windowed mode for now. I anticipate no delay on the Mac version, and I will announce the release date next week.

- Many people say we need a longer demo. Do you people think we should add the Salted Coast to the demo, or the Family Crypt to the demo (or both). We will release an updated Windows demo along with the Mac demo, which of course is being released along with the Mac full version. The Linux demo, which will also serve as an open beta test, will be right after that.

-BasiliskWrangler-

[Loriac]

- Many people say we need a longer demo. Do you people think we should add the Salted Coast to the demo, or the Family Crypt to the demo (or both). We will release an updated Windows demo along with the Mac demo, which of course is being released along with the Mac full version. The Linux demo, which will also serve as an open beta test, will be right after that.

-BasiliskWrangler-

My experience with the demo vs. the full game was that the game picked up a lot once you got to Blackwater. The plot became much more interesting, and I wanted to see how the story unfolded. Until that point, the game is fun, particularly the exploration, but you kind of think plot, meh...

For a future release, I guess that means that maybe you need two spikes (at least) in the storyline, with one of the spikes happening during the demo. This may help draw people in.

To answer your question directly, I would suggest allowing both the salt coast and the crypt into the demo. The salt coast, afaik, has 2 side-quests, one of which is quite interesting (i.e. not the one that gives you access to a certain type of training) because it makes the characters in the world seem a bit less 2-dimensional. However, the salt coast doesn't really have all that much stuff in it, and if you just add that zone I think people may get the wrong idea about the overall game content. The crypt on the other hand is quite contained and atmospheric, but it doesn't really advance the plot - once you pick up your amulet, you're not really any further on than you were before because your second sealed note already tells you what to do with the amulet.

So adding both is more likely to get people into the game just by virtue of the fact that they will have spent about 4-5 hours playing the game by that point.

Anyhow, thats my 2 cents, take it or leave it

[chamr]

I'd say if you're going to the trouble, you may as well add both.

The hook was well into me by the time the original demo was over, but that's just me...

[dak]

I don't see any harm in adding these two areas Especially the crypt I loved it.

[Sakar]

SPOILERS


Agree with Loriac in that both Salt Coast and Crypt would be ideal.

Being able to finish the shipwrecked sailor's quest is a good idea so that the player gets a taste of trainable skills and the impact one's actions can have in the world, eg if you sell the sextant you can't get Cartography training (my daughter found this one out the hard way!)

The Crypt is important because it introduces some new elements like disease and new monsters and the atmosphere is perfect. It also advances the main quest without giving too much away and it also gives the player a few new side quests that they cannot complete without buying the game!

My 02

[Saxon1974]

I would say yes to adding those 2 areas, I think the salted coast quest is pretty interesting with the twist that it has with the potion quest.

Thanks for giving us a heads up on the CD's

[Psilon]

I'd say add both. The mithril ore quest is pretty humdrum, but I like the potion quest. And adding those two areas would give a much better appreciation for the game; the current demo is awfully short.

[nonameform]

Add both. This way people are more likely to buy the game. There are still tons of things to do. Killing guards in Blackwater. Sweet!

[leonhartt]

Agreed. Add both to extend the playtime of the demo, and you can see more monsters/enemies too with sidequests.

[vid]

I think if you add both areas, you should somewhere point out how much percent the demo is of the full game, because a large demo could lead to false expectations about the length of the full game. (which is, of course, too short. )