Lack of hype over this game???

Frek · Post by **Frek** » Tue Sep 20, 2005 5:26 pm

I played the demo and it was amazing. It truly is a hybrid between an RTS and an RPG.

I already went and pre-ordered it and hopefully will be picking it up tomorrow.

I'm baffeled at the lack of hype over this game.

BlindChicken · Post by **BlindChicken** » Tue Sep 27, 2005 9:02 am

I got it last week and I've been playing it ever since. It's a blast. Atari dropped the ball in terms of marketing. I think they're having financial problems. But it's a great game. To me it's the first true RTS/RPG hybrid.

Ravager · Post by **Ravager** » Tue Sep 27, 2005 9:20 am

I was thinking of getting it. Checking Amazon release dates for a while (which I know aren't all that relaible) since July I think, unfortunately it hasn't been released yet in the UK, though I'll probably buy at some point after it has been

At least I'll have the opportunity to see Americans used as guinea pigs prising out bugs that can be fixed for the UK release. YAY!

Hill-Shatar · Post by **Hill-Shatar** » Thu Sep 29, 2005 12:03 am

I have to admit, that I am very interested in this as well. Looks very interesting...

BTW, Ravager, Canada isnt part of America.

Ravager · Post by **Ravager** » Sat Oct 08, 2005 1:40 pm

[QUOTE=Hill-Shatar]BTW, Ravager, Canada isnt part of America.

[/QUOTE]

I hadn't known that it was released in Canada at the same time

@Dragonshard owners, how's it been? Any bugs? Any recommendations to buy it?

swcarter · Post by **swcarter** » Sat Oct 08, 2005 2:40 pm

A lot of people seem to like it, but I don't care for it much at all. It mixes a shallow RTS with a shallow RPG, and it has the most boring campaign I've ever played. (The tutorial is such a yawner that it might actually encourage people to read the manual.) Maybe multiplayer is fun, but I haven't tried that yet.

SWC

Faust · Post by **Faust** » Sat Oct 08, 2005 2:58 pm

[QUOTE=swcarter]A lot of people seem to like it, but I don't care for it much at all. It mixes a shallow RTS with a shallow RPG, and it has the most boring campaign I've ever played. (The tutorial is such a yawner that it might actually encourage people to read the manual.) Maybe multiplayer is fun, but I haven't tried that yet.

SWC[/QUOTE]

Can you clarify the shallow RTS and shallow RPG a bit more? Is it not worth buying?

swcarter · Post by **swcarter** » Sun Oct 09, 2005 3:27 am

Well, I don't want to go into any real detail since I'm going to write a review of the game (for a competing web site) in the next couple days, but I'd say no, it's not worth buying. It's not worth $40 anyway. If you're intrigued by a RPG/RTS hybrid with a fantasy setting, then I'd suggest Warcraft 3 or Warlords Battlecry 1/2/3.

SWC

Milamber · Post by **Milamber** » Tue Oct 11, 2005 1:20 am

I popped by the Atari forums to see what people were saying. From what I've read, most are angry with the product. It appears to be a typical premature Atari release, riddled with bugs and glitches. I think I will be saving my $40 until they've fixed most of the issues.

Hill-Shatar · Post by **Hill-Shatar** » Mon Oct 24, 2005 10:33 pm

A Dungeons & Dragons based real time strategy game arrives. Liquid Entertainment and Atari’s Dragonshard proudly claims that it is the first D&D real-time strategy experience. The game maintains the roots of the genres well but offers enough new to make for a compelling experience.

Dragonshard is set in Dungeons & Dragons’ Eberron campaign. The game tells you the story of the potent McGuffin that three different factions—the Order of the Flame (representing the good guys), the Umbragen (an evil, underworld faction), and the Lizardfolk (who descended from mutated lizards—are trying to have it in their possession.

Dragonshard is really two different games that were pretty well combined. You have the surface portion of the game that is focused on real-time strategy gameplay and the underworld, which focuses on D&D-style role-playing. The surface portion of the game is pretty traditional but undoubtedly influenced by the Kohan series’ approach to base building, essentially having a limited number of bases and carefully deciding what you’re going to build in each one. This means you’ll have to decide whether you want a certain type of unit and how powerful you want them to be since you’ll need more buildings to get stronger units. To build an army, you’ll have to get a good number of captains that will automatically get soldiers. To get these captains, you’ll need points that you get from the underground. To construct these buildings you’ll need dragonshards (magic) and gold. You won’t have to gather either of these since dragonshards sporadically fall from the sky and gold replenishes itself.

In the underworld, you’ll be playing what seems to be a typical RPG. You’ll level up your characters, destroy enemies, collect loot, and complete some quests. The actions you do there affect the surface since you’ll be rewarded with points that will translate to a level up in the surface. You’ll need these points to recruit a good army as mentioned above. Like a typical D&D adventure, once you have a group, you’ll stick to that group instead of managing countless units like the typical real-time strategy game.

The singleplayer mode could have been longer though. There are only two campaigns despite the fact that the game has three factions. In addition, each campaign only has seven missions. Thankfully, multiplayer makes up for this. The typical multiplayer modes exist but they are given a little twist by the game. There are different ways to win including collecting all of the orbs, holding a base for a period of time and of course, wiping out the opposition. The game encourages building strong armies over time removing some cheap offenses at the beginning of the game.

The game’s visuals are very good. The 3D graphics are top-notch, really flexing the power of your videocard. The different areas look really well, with plenty of colors and detail in certain areas and a drab, dungeonesque look in others. The units look awesome as well. The developers really worked well with the D&D characters, effectively bringing them to life. Their character models and animation are top-notch.

The game’s sound is good but not as impressive. The background music is pretty solid though it doesn’t really add anything to the game. The voice acting is decent, though again, nothing out of the ordinary. The sound effects are good but a bit repetitive here and there.

D&D fans and RTS fans looking for something different should give Dragonshard. It is a very solid game overall with some nice tweaks and a good presentation.

-- Michael Taylor
10/22/2005

The game is decent.. unfortunately, it is not yet available up here in the frozen wasteland, but I guess I can wait before I give a review.

Seems to be nothing overly special from above, but it is a stable and solid game, although, personally, it looks like it could use a little tweaking itself.

Got the above article from [url="http://www.gamebanshee.com/forums/showthread.php?t=67336"]Gamebanshee News[/url].

Driekan · Post by **Driekan** » Sun Nov 20, 2005 3:34 pm

I consider it a good game. I was expecting a brilliant game - which it's not - which means I was at first a bit disappointed, but after some time online playing it, I realized how cool it is.
The single-player isnt good, that's a fact, but after playing single-players like Armies of Exigo, it looks positively great. The sad part is that there isnt even a single time when you'll be trully excited in the single player campaign - all fights are either mundane, or they can be won with the bare minimun of Microing. The boss enemies do have an interesting AI tactically-wise, but one that doesnt exactly apply to the realities of a RTSgame and the microing that inevitably happens therein - a small group of level1s can kill some of the toughest enemies in the game if you are an experienced player from other games.
But the multiplayer is another story entirely. Those who like traditional RTS might be a bit disappointed in having every unit in the game immediately available to you, but after some experience online, it quickly becomes much more pleasurable to be able to adapt your strategies relatively quick and without a chore is excelent. No more having to build a 4-building progression to have access to an unit or ability you need to counter your enemy, if you know what he's going for, you can immediatelly work on a counter.
Battles with other players often become very dynamic, and a bit of true strategic forward-thinking can quickly turn a battle your way. Several hidden units waiting close to a powerful AI enemy waiting for the enemy to come and engage really makes for some laughing.

I believe that most of the complaints against the game are based on the fact that it isnt ALL that we were expecting... But dont be fooled, it is a good game, and it is a lot of fun