News Outward, sandbox open world RPG focused on simulation and immersion, out 29 March 2019
- Thread starter texhnolyze
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OP
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- #53
There has been numerous preview videos popping up lately, but they're mostly just compiling old footages and talking about the game's mechanics.
Anyway, review copies are apparently out already.
Anyway, review copies are apparently out already.
This comes out just as I'm about to leave for a week. I suppose that gives me time to read impressions.
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I'd love to play this, but I don't feel like giving Deep Silver my money anymore...
I'm not sure whether or not get this. It looks interesting, but I don't want to give any money to Deep Silver.
I'm playing it a bit.
It feels a bit like Monster Hunter in that you need to get your head around certain concepts before getting into the real game and if you try that first, though the game does attempt to block progress before you get at least a few necessary items (but also gives you a way to ignore all that) I guess you'll get frustrated.
You have to first understand the backpacks, crafting items, cooking food, stamina/hunger/thirst systems, light sources, all that jazz. Once you figure it out it seems simple enough and you realize resources are quite plentiful to make survival itself easy (like always having clean water available in town, which you can take with you in waterskins and being able to sleep in town without the threat of enemies so you can spend all the hours repairing gear and stuff).
I think I missed how to make a campfire too, as I wanted to cook something but ended up doing it in a kitchen in town since I was close, I'll need to look it up.
It only gets more complicated when you factor in other elements like enemies you meet in the wilderness or when you want to plan for longer journeys, quests, or whatever may require you to do things like craft rations and not just simple food to have it last longer (different food spoils faster or slower). Combat isn't Dark Soulsy like it looks. there are slight similarities but this is a CRPG game first with mouse based controls and hotkeys for skills with cooldown timers. It feels more RPG and less pure action, though you'll still need to dance around enemies and attempt to avoid attacks manually. It's kind of like a modern Gothic game in that and in how you need to pay trainers to teach you weapon skills and improve your effectiveness in various aspects. And you do start shit.
The story's pretty silly in the beginning but I guess it mainly wants to give you the idea that you can do whatever the hell you want, just past the initial sections I'm given the choice with NPC dialogues to head down three wildly different paths, which I can ignore of course and just go do whatever.
I like it so far, it feels quite polished though there are some elements I didn't expect like the towns and other areas having loading screens rather than being a fully free open world. Technically the game seems fine other than not being able to maintain 60fps on my PC so I locked it to 30 and left it at that.
Still, it's too early for me to speak for the complaints some people list, they could become apparent later on. It's worth noting however that the more reviews the game gets on Steam the more positive the result seems to grow, it started negative (or borderline), then mixed and it just reached the mostly positive label. Some of the early complaints seem quite over the top, people talking about not being able to kill shit with some crappy club they crafted out of wood when you can find nicer stuff by exploring the starting town. Not to mention the game's not just about going on a killing spree anyway.
It feels a bit like Monster Hunter in that you need to get your head around certain concepts before getting into the real game and if you try that first, though the game does attempt to block progress before you get at least a few necessary items (but also gives you a way to ignore all that) I guess you'll get frustrated.
You have to first understand the backpacks, crafting items, cooking food, stamina/hunger/thirst systems, light sources, all that jazz. Once you figure it out it seems simple enough and you realize resources are quite plentiful to make survival itself easy (like always having clean water available in town, which you can take with you in waterskins and being able to sleep in town without the threat of enemies so you can spend all the hours repairing gear and stuff).
I think I missed how to make a campfire too, as I wanted to cook something but ended up doing it in a kitchen in town since I was close, I'll need to look it up.
It only gets more complicated when you factor in other elements like enemies you meet in the wilderness or when you want to plan for longer journeys, quests, or whatever may require you to do things like craft rations and not just simple food to have it last longer (different food spoils faster or slower). Combat isn't Dark Soulsy like it looks. there are slight similarities but this is a CRPG game first with mouse based controls and hotkeys for skills with cooldown timers. It feels more RPG and less pure action, though you'll still need to dance around enemies and attempt to avoid attacks manually. It's kind of like a modern Gothic game in that and in how you need to pay trainers to teach you weapon skills and improve your effectiveness in various aspects. And you do start shit.
The story's pretty silly in the beginning but I guess it mainly wants to give you the idea that you can do whatever the hell you want, just past the initial sections I'm given the choice with NPC dialogues to head down three wildly different paths, which I can ignore of course and just go do whatever.
I like it so far, it feels quite polished though there are some elements I didn't expect like the towns and other areas having loading screens rather than being a fully free open world. Technically the game seems fine other than not being able to maintain 60fps on my PC so I locked it to 30 and left it at that.
Still, it's too early for me to speak for the complaints some people list, they could become apparent later on. It's worth noting however that the more reviews the game gets on Steam the more positive the result seems to grow, it started negative (or borderline), then mixed and it just reached the mostly positive label. Some of the early complaints seem quite over the top, people talking about not being able to kill shit with some crappy club they crafted out of wood when you can find nicer stuff by exploring the starting town. Not to mention the game's not just about going on a killing spree anyway.
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Old ass i7 3770K and a GTX1080, slight OC on both. Drops to the 40s in the wilderness at random so I locked it to 30 and it's fine.
I don't have the time either but I try all games a bit and then stick with whatever I'm most in the mood for. Mostly Sekiro for now.
I don't have the time either but I try all games a bit and then stick with whatever I'm most in the mood for. Mostly Sekiro for now.
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Thanks for your answer. I assume 1080p, doesn't fair that well for a 980Ti then. I'll give it a try as soon as I can, the gameplay I've seen still tempts me a lot, I just hope performance patches are in production in the meantime, or maybe SLI bits will be found and be helpful once EVGA send me back the card I RMA'd.
1440p. I have the feeling it's not the GPU that causes the drops but I haven't checked usage to say it with confidence.
Fair enough, gives me a more happy picture then, I hope to be able to try it over the course of the week-end.
I played again and checked with MSI Afterburner to see usage. With the 30fps lock the GPU was at around 30-40% usage and CPU usage was similar. With the 60fps lock (you can set this to whatever number you want actually, I missed that at first) the GPU usage jumped to more like 40-60% and the CPU usage followed to similar levels, mostly on the high end of that. Still the game often hovered in the 40s or less except for less demanding views and indoor areas. I imagine your performance will be much like mine even with slightly lesser specs. Of course that's all in the first town and its surroundings, who knows what's ahead, or how co-op might affect performance. Anyway, here's my ugly guy, he looks a bit hobbity. You can see how even at the start you can get some gear.
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Deleted member 113
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Thanks for your impressions, Alextended . 
I bought the game today, but I'll probably wait for a patch or two to see if there's some improvements in terms of performance.
I bought the game today, but I'll probably wait for a patch or two to see if there's some improvements in terms of performance.
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- Thread Starter
- #75
Everytime I'm about to venture outside to explore further from the town, the game constantly give me a feeling of "Are you sure you want to do this? Are you prepared?". And back I go to hunt nearby critters to prepare myself lol.
Yeah, don't do what I did, lol. I ventured way too far and now my dude is a prisoner without any of his stuff, forced to work in the mines or in other positions (maybe I got to be kitchen help before I closed it lol). I didn't even lose a fight to have that be one of those "defeat scenarios", I just waltzed in there myself thinking I got to a new settlement and tried to talk to people, lmao. I hope it's not too hard to escape and find my stuff when I get to playing again xD
Game already up to 75% positive, suck it initial haters
Game already up to 75% positive, suck it initial haters
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Well I managed to get out of that situation without losing anything (since I know in other circumstances this is a defeat scenario I wonder if they ever start setting these up so you actually lose your stuff, I got it all back fairly easily), even gaining stuff like recipes and money, and also found my way back to the starting town. And then it started snowing. So, this game has seasons too then. The town is now white and I need to manage my temperature. There's a fur armor for sale but I got no money. I caught a cold and had to drink a herbal tea too. I got the recipe to make it myself thankfully. Damn! I need to make time for this game!
I also trained with some trainers and got a new shield bash move and increased my health and stuff. The next skills the locals know are more expensive though. I was hoping to sell a truckload of salt and other junk I have for easy money but it seems it isn't even worth 1 silver coin, I can't sell it, they foresaw my scheme!
I also trained with some trainers and got a new shield bash move and increased my health and stuff. The next skills the locals know are more expensive though. I was hoping to sell a truckload of salt and other junk I have for easy money but it seems it isn't even worth 1 silver coin, I can't sell it, they foresaw my scheme!
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The game's at 77% positive on Steam now (screw the tiny amount of negative Metacritic reviews) with around 1100 reviews (or is it 1300), nice momentum gain!
My problem with another game like this is I started Kingdom Come: Deliverance and then stopped playing. I'm afraid I would do that with this.
I've played this game (in coop) for quite some time now and I think it's quite remarkable. It's not a particularly polished game obviously, and some design decisions might be questionable, but I'm really happy it was made.
What makes it unique is combining the lack of handholding, survival, and single-save / no loading aspect with more traditional RPG mechanics (and of course coop!).
Here's a short list of somewhat unique or at least rare aspects I really appreciate when playing it (that might well deter others from playing the game!):
What makes it unique is combining the lack of handholding, survival, and single-save / no loading aspect with more traditional RPG mechanics (and of course coop!).
Here's a short list of somewhat unique or at least rare aspects I really appreciate when playing it (that might well deter others from playing the game!):
- Looking at enemies and discussing whether we should even attempt to fight them, just based on how dangerous they look.
This isn't something that could really happen without the save mechanics and general no-hand-holding nature of it. - Making a huge or at least easily felt jump in capabilities based on finding a specific, individual weapon, armor, skill or spell.
- Actually needing to try out stuff in order to discover mechanics or spells (i.e. in runic spell casting).
- Discovering new areas or characters by death
- Navigating by checking the relative position of landmarks on each map (which wouldn't happen if the game had a GPS-style map system).
I'm downloading it right now, I am getting Gothic 1 vibes from all the impressions and screens.
I do think it feels very different from Gothic, the only aspects that are similar are the polish and overall lack of handholding, and the fact that random wildlife will kill you.
But Gothic or Risen (at least the way I played it) was still a very traditional PC RPG in that I'd heavily use quickload/save to try out various things without any consequences. The lack of that possibility changes the game drastically, IMHO.
But Gothic or Risen (at least the way I played it) was still a very traditional PC RPG in that I'd heavily use quickload/save to try out various things without any consequences. The lack of that possibility changes the game drastically, IMHO.
I think it's similar to Gothic in everything except anything that has to do with NPC interactions as relationships and story aren't as involved in this game. Hopefully for the sequel. But the rest of the difficulty and stuff feels quite similar, even if the survival and no saving aspect changes that in ways (like how resources respawn eventually since your needs are also constant, not finite as in Gothic) the result is still a tough RPG cookie that feels threatening when out and about.
That's a good point about NPCs, yeah. I think it's also fair to say that most quests in Outward are somewhat basic in design, like what you would find in an MMO. (At least what I've played so far)
I just played for a little bit and to me it feels like Gothic so far. It certainly has that classic RPG charm and I am pretty sure I will spend many hours with this.
Somewhat related... I found it quite entertaining to find out that said new character VERY much hated my face off due to my faction choice. It was a bit of a scare walking in to their room =)Discovering new areas or characters by death
I love the game. I've been soloing it as my friend that I convinced to buy it dropped out as soon as he had to put more than a few thoughts together to think of a build. Not really his thing. I, however, loved looking at all the trainers and deciding what I wanted to do with my 3 breakthrough points before committing. At times it can be downright lovely to look at.
I first misread that this was an MMO when I first discovered it and was kinda disappointed that it wasn't... but looking at the screenshots and reading about it makes me think it was probably a good thing it wasn't. It looks really nice and the fact it features co-op is really darn nice (looking at you Bethesda).
I think I love this game. Not sure I will spend most of my precious gaming time with it, but wow I feel like a teenager again playing my first PC RPG. Discovering things, not sure what everything on the menus do, scared of every little wildlife I meet, wanting to become stronger and better.
This game is made with love and passion and you can feel it. Also the German dub is pretty good? I play all my games in English usually but with this I might just set it to German.
This game is made with love and passion and you can feel it. Also the German dub is pretty good? I play all my games in English usually but with this I might just set it to German.
Since people are posting screenshots, here's us no longer being complete scrubs:
And here's me starting to figure out Rune magic:
And here's me starting to figure out Rune magic:
OP
- Thread Starter
- #92
I've finished the game by the way, just last week. Seems like I took too much time running around exploring and doing stuff. By the time I'm tackling the faction quests, they're already too easy for me. It just felt so good being an unstoppable adventurer at that point though.
My biggest issue with the game is the amount of walking around when doing quests. Too much backtracking. The game really needs some kind of fast travel system. Just make it expensive so that people don't abuse it, and make it so that there's only 1 travel point in each map. Adding some risks to it would also work, for example you may be attacked in the middle of the travel and you need to go on foot from there on.
My biggest issue with the game is the amount of walking around when doing quests. Too much backtracking. The game really needs some kind of fast travel system. Just make it expensive so that people don't abuse it, and make it so that there's only 1 travel point in each map. Adding some risks to it would also work, for example you may be attacked in the middle of the travel and you need to go on foot from there on.
The walking around wouldn't have been so bad if there world felt alive. I would love say something like Oregon trail fast travel.
Also master trader armour is the best ever. I just need to do the other two factions. I can do rune magic probably as I got enough reduction gear to have no need to even enable mana.
Also master trader armour is the best ever. I just need to do the other two factions. I can do rune magic probably as I got enough reduction gear to have no need to even enable mana.
In the early phase of the game the amount of walking required isn't so bad I feel, since you're always in danger of being killed by something random, and since you're also discovering stuff and navigating new areas.
But I can see how it can become tedious later on when there isn't really any danger and you've already explored everything on your route.
But I can see how it can become tedious later on when there isn't really any danger and you've already explored everything on your route.
I've been playing through this cooperatively, and my friend and I are both in love with this game.
OP
- Thread Starter
- #96
Yes, exactly this. Your first time exploring the map is a real treat. You have to move slowly because you never know what's waiting for you out there. But after you know everything and just want to do some quests, it becomes a slog.
I just toss on bird mask + Master Trader's Gear + Stamina Potion and a drink of water. I can run at +46% movement speed now near the end and don't mind the backtracking. Probably finish the first playthrough tomorrow and figure out legacy quests.
I played 99% of it alone zefah and I had a blast. 99% because my constant praise of the game convinced a friend to get it and he just couldn't hang (he's notoriously awful at any game that requires even a slight amount of out of game info gathering, so once he was presented with build choices... he bailed out of frustration) so I played a few dungeons only in co-op.
I just finished the game, or rather 'finished' the game, tonight. I can now pass items on to a legacy character via hidden chests throughout the game that allow you to hand off items to a new character or I can keep running around with my main character finding the many dungeons I never even stepped foot in.
I ended up quite liking the story too which I must say came as a little bit of a surprise as it seemed pretty minimal at first. I went with the Holy Faction, and I plan on doing the other two factions on new characters eventually too.
If you aren't adverse to hitting up the excellent wiki here or watching a few YouTube videos on different builds, I'd say solo is just as fun as co-op can be!
I just finished the game, or rather 'finished' the game, tonight. I can now pass items on to a legacy character via hidden chests throughout the game that allow you to hand off items to a new character or I can keep running around with my main character finding the many dungeons I never even stepped foot in.
I ended up quite liking the story too which I must say came as a little bit of a surprise as it seemed pretty minimal at first. I went with the Holy Faction, and I plan on doing the other two factions on new characters eventually too.
If you aren't adverse to hitting up the excellent wiki here or watching a few YouTube videos on different builds, I'd say solo is just as fun as co-op can be!
Hey, thanks! Planning on hitting this head on soon and was thinking about looking builds up. This was helpful and convenient!