The Quest- New RPG

Michu · 08-17-06, 09:37 AM

The RPG "The Guest" (codename "Legacy 2") from Redshift will be released within the next 24 hours, it's round-based with 2d objects in a 3D environment including day and night cycles and weather-effects. It is hard to tell that it is round based from the first view cause action follows action very fast =)
There will be over 50 quests and you play around 60-80 hours to beat the main- and side quest.

You can get an exclusive preview-video of the first steps here:

http://www.pocketgaming.de/Michu/Dow...st-Preview.rar
Powered by PDAGorund.com and PocketGaming.de

I played the game on my device but I had it on a storage card, it's faster on File Storage RAM, though.

Greetings

kulnet · 08-17-06, 11:38 AM

Thanks for the heads up.

Michu · 08-17-06, 11:10 PM

It is now avaiable (demo, too) on Clickgamer!

dellaximx51v · 08-17-06, 11:14 PM

Cool,

Menneisyys · 08-18-06, 01:47 AM

A review:

RedShift (also known for their other, older RPG title Legacy) has just released brand new, RPG title, The Quest.

(QVGA screenshot here)

Availability

The game (current, tested version 1.0) is available here (a trial is available and the full version costs 24.95$). I also recommend this page to check the features of the game. Here, I don’t go over them all – I only elaborate on my opinions.

Visuals

First, the game is really VGA-compliant and works great on all my VGA devices.

The only problem with the graphics is the sprites’ (for example, the sword in your hand) not being anti-aliased and close-ups of objects. Unfortunately, there’s no Intel 2700G support in the game (to, for example, do the anti-aliasing, which would indeed be needed).

The QVGA version has bigger, slightly rearranged icons. I’ve found the game perfectly playable on all QVGA devices too: the icons and menus are not blocky – they are properly anti-aliased.

Note that the dynamic GUI/icon rearrangement also makes it possible to run the game on devices with other screen configurations (Landscape, Square or even Handheld PC screens).

The music

The in-game music, while it is pretty nice (it doesn’t really match the great music in Edge though), could be worked on: while it depends on the current situation (battle, just wandering around, main menu etc) it’s mono, sampled at about 11 kHz and, after a while (about 2 minutes, and, as far as the in-battle music is concerned, it is abruptly restarted), is repetitive.

The ambient sounds (for example, Nadia’s crying (another screenshot)) are OK - much better than those of Creatonia.

Classic RPG elements

Everything is here: quests (and their lists), a nice inventory interface (QVGA screenshot), a decent character and spell page, listing everything you need.

Also, the map functionality is pretty good in both the main screen (see the minimap in the lower left corner) and the dedicated, two-level (a closer and a more distant map).

Bugs, problems

I haven’t found many bugs except for the Landscape bug: if you start the game in Landscape mode, the game, albeit it switches to Portrait, will register screen taps using Landscape coordinates. This affects the game on both QVGA and VGA devices.

Compatibility

I’ve noticed no problems on any of my WM2003+ (the game isn’t compatible with PPC2k/ PPC2k2) test Pocket PC’s: F-S PL720, x51v A12, HTC Wizard (the speed on this was very good and there were no sound problems, unlike with, say, the otherwise great SuperTux), iPAQ hx4700 (with the 2.01 WM5 upgrade; note that the game has on-screen direction arrows, you can move around without having to use the, for gaming, lousy touchpad of the hx4700).

Note that if you have a pre-WM5 device with sufficiently big (say, 128M) RAM, you may want to install the game into the main RAM – then, loading times will be much shorter.

Other VGA screenshots (with some QVGA additions for comparison)

Starting debriefing: 1 2 3 4 (the same on a QVGA device is, for example, here and here).

Creating a new player

In-game conversation screen (QVGA screenshot)

Compared to...

Edge: it all depends whether you prefer a first-person or isonometric view (I certainly prefer the isometric view of Edge to the first-person view of games like The Quest, but your mileage may vary.). Edge has definitely better in-game music but it requires Styletap to run and even with that isn't as good as on a Palm (for example, it lacks full-screen HiRes+ support). It’s only really playable on a genuine HiRes+ Palm device.

Creatonia (see review here): there is in-game music and, as of middle-August and just-released version 1.0.2 (see the reports on the sound capabilities of it here) , much better in-game sounds. Also, The Quest looks much more lively. I haven’t encountered rendering bugs either (unlike with Creatonia).

Please see the first Creatonia review for other RPG games so that you can compare The Quest to them.

Verdict

If you’re into the “classic” Eye of the Beholder-type of games, do check out this title, especially if you have a VGA Pocket PC.

dst · 08-18-06, 02:02 PM

I downloaded the demo yesterday and played for about four hours. Like Creatonia before it, this game is really in alpha release. There are some significant issues with the game. I will jsu briefly note what I liked and disliked.

Good
I was really impressed with the interface on this game. I found it really easy to navigate the game menus and like the fact it was icon driven. I got the basics easily and was off and running. Given the compelxity of the things you can do in the game, I was impressed with its ease of use.

Bad
(1) A big issue in this game is the map screen. It is exteremely difficult to figure out where you are at. The map screen has no markers whatsoever nor can you make notes. You look at a city and you have no clue as to what building is what; you spend a lot of time wandering hoping you run into the right place sooner or later. This is compounded by the limited ability to scroll the map. This whole area of the game is poorly executed.

(2) Houses and stores. This is a straight rip off from Rages of Mages II. And I hated it there. Dear developers: go see Creatonia. That game develops shops the way they are supposed to be developed.

The Ugly
The greatest weakness of this game, however, is movement. Rather than tapping on the screen to get where you want to go, you are forced to use directional arrows. This is plainly stupid.

There is no other word for it. This may be acceptable on a PC but what is the point of making a game for the PPC if it does not take advantage of the touch screen? This is especially a problem (inherent in these types of movement systems) where you find yourself fiddling with the controls just to face the right direction to read a sign or open a container.

Michu · 08-18-06, 03:36 PM

Uhm, while I can accept 1 and 2 somehow (maybe map-legend for the next update; shop is somehow traditional with those games, I guess and it is NOT ra rip off!), I can't see a big problem with the movement. There are onscreen movement buttons which work the same as the d-pad, so the movement is clearly structured. There is no other way to do it (like "free-look" or whatever)cause it is a round/turn-based game where every move is caunted as action but you have some time to do that like with every round-based game. It is in fact an advantage that you can do everything either only via hardware buttons or only via stylus or can mix it like I did it in the video (I would love it to see this option in more games cause with some, I hate it to be forced to scratch around on my screen).

I can accept it if you say that the movement isn't "very accurat". I suppose you just mean the simple fact that there is no diagonal movement by that. This is due to the fact that you move in squares which have only 4 directions, not 8 like in most isonometric RPGs (and they put the strafing into the game for that, too).

Btw, the game is the "gold" version right after beta status. I suppose you never had an alpha as you should know how one looks/plays/runs like which is not comparable to the compatibility and features and advanced structure/scripts/graphics etc. of this game.

Mindfield · 08-19-06, 12:04 PM

I haven't spent much time with it yet but so far I am impressed. Honestly, I prefer movement with the hard keys -- I hate tapping to get where I want to go. It's repetative and tiring. The less I have to use the screen the better. (This is unavoidable outside of gameplay of course, such as map/inventory/spell screens, so that's fine. You're in-game more than out.) The pseudo-3D is nice, reminds me of the old Bard's Tale games, but is really just eye candy. Real 3D would have been nice, especially if it supported the 2700G, but probably would have made the Palm port problematic. Also, playing in landscape mode makes movement with the hard keys more difficult, since strafe keys cease to make sense in a vertical orientation. The addition of translucent soft keys (ala Tomb Raider or Quake Mobile, for example) for strafing might be nice in landscape modes. The problem with the barrels/chests still exists though -- in that you have to be facing the wall it's up against to access it, rather than being able to tap on it if you're prependicular to its wall, but still within its block. That bugged me in Legacy, too.

Overall, from what little I've played so far I'm quite pleased with how Quest has shaped up. Obviously there's still work to be done on it but as it stands its problems are largely manageable and I'm sure they will be improved upon in future versions.

kornalius · 08-19-06, 01:59 PM

Wonderful so far. I've played for a couple hours and I really enjoyed it. Nice work guys.

There are a few issues though. The barrel placement thing is really annoying and still there from the last version.

Will the game be accelerated for the 2700g someday?

Oh and something funny, I've ventured a little too far from town and an Orc didn't like my presence. Figuring I was going to die fighting this guy, I fleed back to town, he followed me every turn up to the tavern, where I could go sleep and going back out, he was still there (8 hours after) wanting my blood. I slept a couple times before I could kill him.

I was hoping guards could help me but they are pretty much useless in this game.

Keep up the good and I hope to see some updates soon fixing these issues.

Michu · 08-19-06, 02:50 PM

A) everything mentioned here will be brought to the ears (or eyes

) of the devs by me.

B) 2700g support was the first thing I asked them during the Beta-test but they are still not sure how to handle it inside the game... but it's still on the list.

C) The guards don't help you, that is true. However, we'll see if there can be something done about that like e.g. the orc get's eleminated while you sleep. An own "AI" for the guards is not planned. Maybe there could also be a ban that hinders the orcs from entering cities or you while in battle mode.

D) I suppose you mean the same barrels thing as Mindfield does

dst · 08-19-06, 04:22 PM

Well, some of the complaints are stylistic. As somone who has played computer RPGs for more than 30 years (how many people can say that!) I have seen it all and know what I like and dislike. I, for one, am all for tapping unlike another poster. To me that is the genius of the PPC. Also, it makes me feel like I am the one in control of the game, not the developer.

I didn't mean a rip off in a negative sense, poor choice of words. I just meant the look and feel of the game is in regards to the shops is the same as rages and mages. Someone else mentioned Bard's Tale, that goes back aways, but I agree. A good example. I am just not found of that style of game design. I like the Baldur's Gate model much much better.

As for alpha vs. beta, that all depends upon your point of view. I have seen an alpha from a developer's point of view. But as an end user, I expect games to come out polished. That used to happen in the good old days. Now, developers expect the general public to be their beta testers...a historical development of which I do not approve. Again, MHO.

Finally, one point I forgot to make in my original post. It would be very nice to see some way to collect "Rumors" or "Gossip". You can keep track of quests but not of conversations. I had a huge problem with on of the first quests in the game, the cemetary. I didn't realize that I needed to talk with the Inn Keeper, who then puts down the ladder. Rather, I went looking all over creation for someone to sell me a ladder. If I had a record of conversations, I would have been able to go back and see that the Mayor told me to go see the Inn Keeper.

Michu · 08-19-06, 05:37 PM

Well as for this game, the 6 onscreen-buttons for directional control and the 4 directions-system are set, that's it, that's the game. Anything further may only influence a future project, same counts for the shop-system.

The creation of the game took a lot of time and the beta testing was sufficient. It was a lot about compatibility, crashes, bugs, balance and typos/scripts, everything else (graphics, levels/maps, story, quests, dialoges etc.) is alpha. Still there can be problems / bugs also simply cause every PocketPC is different in Hardware and Software. There was only one real bug up to now that will be fixt in the 1.01 release, every other comment was a subjective suggestion so I don't see why you could call it unpolished.

The "Rumors" thing is noted as suggestion (since none of the testers had problems with it, you couldn't call that a bug either).

Mindfield · 08-20-06, 12:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dst

I, for one, am all for tapping unlike another poster. To me that is the genius of the PPC. Also, it makes me feel like I am the one in control of the game, not the developer.

The main reason I don't like excessive tapping is because it requires you to shift from holding the PDA with both hands to holding it with one and using the stylus. Frequent shifts like this become tiresome pretty quickly. I'd much prefer that the majority of the game (movement and battle, mainly) be done with the hard keys, leaving the stylus for things that the hard keys can't cover. Holding the PDA with one hand while the other works the stylus/screen isn't nearly as comfortable as holding the PDA with both hands and controlling it that way.

Oh, one other thing I noticed that sorta bugged me. I played it a bit more today and ended up entering a dungeon via a tree stump just outside the town you start in, wherein a little girl had lost her mirror. The mini-quest itself wasn't very difficult in terms of battle (a few bats, nothing a new character can't handle) but finding the mirror -- that was the hard part. It seemed that it was hidden "under" a patch of nondescript moss on the floor. It wasn't visible (or at least as an object it wasn't very distiguishable from the moss it was on) and there was nothing obvious to tell me that I should bother tapping the ground there to search for something.

Similarily, there are some cracks/fissures in the stone floor that you can tap on that bring up an inventory window, as if something could be hidden in those cracks. Not all of them do it, only one particular formation. Seemed a bit odd. Also, the cracks/fissures on the walls are a little misleading; in Legacy, one particular type was destructable and hid secret areas. They were easily distinguished from marks on walls that weren't destructable. Not so in Quest -- actually none of them seem to be.

Just a few cosmetic observations.

kornalius · 08-20-06, 11:06 AM

Thanks Michu!

Michu · 08-20-06, 02:33 PM

The Quest Trailer

There were forums created for further comments on this game here:
http://www.pdaground.com/forum/index.php?c=6

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