So I finished early this afternoon, just in time for NWN online. As it turned out, Foozle was on level 40.
I found it odd, by the way, that there doesn’t seem to be any in-game display of your overall quest. There wasn’t any special message when I reached L40, either. Strange oversights there.
Anyway, the combats on the last few levels were tough ones. Often, critters would be waiting by the stairs, or very close. A couple times, we ran into two bosses and minions at once. Ouch!
There were no more crashes, so perhaps my technique of starting the game fresh before descending has helped in that regard. But I did have one odd thing happen.
An item I was sent to retrieve was behind a perimeter wall and there was no way I could see to reach it. So maybe it was just as well I ended up dying in a fight.
You get several options on death, and I chose “quit”. A good choice, as it turned out. It reset the level (I started by the stairs), and this time, the item was in a different place. Whew!
Of course, I also had to redo the two jobs I’d already completed, but that was no big deal.
On level 40, I ended up with two bosses at once, and one was Foozle, aka “Rivenroth”. Didn’t realize at once who it was, although the name sounded vaguely familiar ;).
Things were pretty crazy for awhile. My team was split up, and I was just standing there with my Ring Blast, doing what I could. I lost my two shrikes, and inadvertantly ended up summoning more frost beetles (hit the wrong key in the excitement of the moment. Heh).
The minor boss went down, and then we could all concentrate on Rivvy. Took some time, but we finally got him. Whoopee!
So Mordred met his Fate, and was victorious. Mordred The Reknowned, L32 mage (he had enough experience then for 33, but was 32 at the big fight). I haven’t retired him yet, though. After all, there’s that heirloom business. That will take a little thought.
Anyway, the game is done, and a review will be up in a couple of days.
I’m just pleased to see you tackling an indie game :) Even if it’s one that is more-or-less a Diablo clone (or so it seemed to me… I could be wrong).
Coyote,
Fate is nothing like Diablo.
At least not to me.
If anything, Fate has more in common with Dungeon Hack (SSI’s ’90’s game) or Rogue (’80’s). Fate is just an old-fashion dungeon crawl. No more, no less.
So, Scorpia did you have more fun with Fate or NWN2 or Mage Knight????
Presto, I think you know the answer to that question ;)
Coyote, yeah, it is a Diablo clone. But Presto has it right, too. I suspect the original Diablo may be based in part on the games he mentioned.
Of course Diablo is based on hack/rogue games! That’s the inspiration for the entire subgenre. But Fate is a monumentally blatant Diablo (2, actually) clone with supreme exactitude. Right down to the potions, the gambling, the keyboard keys, and any other small detail you can think of. Ooh, it has pets, huge difference (please apply sarcastic lilt).
That’s the kind of clone that bothers me. When someone decides they like game X so much (or more cynically, that game X was such a success) that they need to duplicate every detail. When there’s any given tiny aspect they could’ve just spent 2 seconds making their own take on, but they decided that they better do it just the same or they might break the magic formula. My games clone things, but they come out completely differently, because I am just trying to get at some particular bit of the essence of that game (and usually a few other games at the same time), not trying to duplicate it.
Of course, I like Fate. But I can still condemn it for the slavish cloning.
Coyote, I don’t know if Fate is an “indie” game. WildTangent is well established, if casual focused. In fact they are one the companies that got in hot water for spyware in there programs. – They repented, and cleaned up, which in my book counts for a lot and was one of the reasons I took a chance on Fate in the first place.
But back to Scorp’s run through, ya the ending just kind of runs out rather than a big fanfare. Seems to be because of the “play forever” aspect of the game, and not really coming up with a good way to do both. I never did the retire thing, didn’t think that it merited a reply. Tangentially related (heh) what do you think of games that have you play again with unlocked things (levels, difaclty, etc etc)? No game so far has had more then a moderate perk for replay, I’ve never made it through twice.
Difficulty*
Actually, it’s more like the original game, Hamumu. There’s no skill tree, for one thing, and no set classes, for another.
Barg, I’m not that big a fan of “unlock for more play” myself. Diablo had that: you couldn’t play om the higher difficulties until you had finished the original level.
Of course, that only made sense, as the game was much harder and a brand new character wouldn’t last too long.
I remember Might & Magic would let you play on after winning, but there was little point to doing so.
On the other hand, some people like that. On the Fate boards, I saw one person mention he was down on level 4,000. Not my idea of a good time, but if he wants to do, why not? After all, that’s what people play WoW for.
I disagree. While Fate does share those features with the original Diablo, it is, to me, a VERY blatant Diablo 2 clone. Actually, when I reviewed it, that was my most notable complaint – I wish they HAD copied the class and skill tree system from D2! The skills in Fate are way beyond dull, definitely the weak point of the game.
If I have to choose between the game ending right after I kill the boss and it petering out with no clear ending I choose the latter. I like it when the townies are all in awe and thanking me after the big battle, but I don’t need to play again.
Okay Hamumu, we have a big difference of opinion here. So, tell me in what ways Fate is more like D2 than the original Diablo. I’m interested in hearing your thoughts on that, because I still say it’s a rip of sorts on the first one.
I haven’t played it in a very very long time (and can’t – my code isn’t allowed), and it’s been even longer since I played Diablo 1. so I can’t do much good here… I recognize that they swiped some things from D1 – collecting spells randomly from scrolls comes to mind. Any other D1 similarities are only because D2 is (logically!) quite similar to D1. There are no skills at all in D1, are there (aside from the scrolls you collect)? There is a skill tree in Fate, it just happens to be a very very flat tree, perhaps some sort of weed. Also, Diablo 1 did have classes just like D2, it just only had 3 of them. So the classless thing is ‘original’ to Fate.
It’s not really about the specific elements, it’s more about the feel – I can tell that the makers of Fate were directly ripping off D2 when making it. That was obviously (to me) their intent and ‘game design’. Of course, it’s all a very floaty concept to be dealing with, so if you want to say D1, have at it.
Here’s my specific take when I actually played it (the very last game here, accompanied by a few other people!): http://www.gametunnel.com/articles.php?id=388
Now that I see that, I can remember more overboard ripoffs – the red + for new skills available, the layout of character/inventory screens, the life/mana meters which are only slightly different from the red/blue orbs in D2 (D1 the same? I don’t recall), the way the help screen is done. It’s amazing how directly they robbed, whether it’s from D1 or 2.