GameBanshee Forums

No one is into Lionheart? It looks like a great game, the graphics are nice, the story sounds excellent, and it uses the SPECIAL system!!! If it's as good as Fallout set in Medieval Europe it might become one of my top three games of all time.

RPGDot's newest SPECIAL system feature is up, it's part six: Part 6 on the SPECIAL System

Well I have mixed feelings about Lionhart, Ive heard its going to be good, and Ive heard its going to be bad...Well Im not going to jump to conclusions yet. So Im just going to wait for it to come out and hear critics opinions, see some screen shots and all of that. I wasnt sure what the news was on this game, as I havent heard anything for months. I assumed it had already came out and didnt make any splash at all, so I basically forgot about it. But if it isnt out yet, then I going back to my original plan and see reviews, rather than previews.

Good Idea

That's what I should do too actually. But there has been recent news on it, most updates at http://www.blackisle.com are about Lionheart.

I'm still way behind on games I have to play, plus I won't be able to afford it right away, but I am keeping track of how it'll work. I hope it'll be as good or better than Fallout 2.

Count me into the "watching, waiting" category as well. When I first heard about Lionheart, I tried to find out as much about it as possible. After that, I just haven't heard much news, save for some previews, etc. I think that would explain the lull here. Of course, demos are always greatly appreciated, and provide gamers with a great way to get "hooked" on an upcoming game. , !

When Lionheart is released, I hope someone starts a "First Impressions" thread here similar to the one that has been going in IwDII lately. That thread contains invaluable information for potetial buyers that are still on the fence. I look forward to that from Lionheart as well. Having never played any of the Fallout games, I am curious about the SPECIAL system, but if it is a point-buy system I expect I will like it. Go point buy!

I've had a problem with non-pausable CRPGs ever since Ultima VIII. (Sure, you can halt the game by escaping it; but I mean pause and study inventory, switch weapons, consider moves, etc.) IMO, if the game has very few options to change on-the-fly during battle, then it's really more of an action game like the original Diablo, and that doesn't interest me. If it has plenty of CRPG-style things to do--magical items to use, spells to cast, weapons to consider, special moves to make--then forcing me to do it all in realtime doesn't constitute my kind of fun. I'm really not into learning skills useful to maneuvering heavy machinery while playing a CRPG--just my POV.

@fable:

In one of the recent previews I've read, the developers do plan to incorporate some sort of pause system. They said as of now they are trying to incorporate a system in which the player can pause, manipulate the inventory, and then continue. For example, the developers says that if the player sees a bunch of monsters who uses fire a lot, then the player can pause, wear an armor with a high fire resistance, and then continue the gameplay. I am not sure whether this pause system will allow the player to get too tactical like IE games, but so far a pause system is confirmed to be in development. But again, things may change, so I'll have to keep track of it.

Originally posted by humanflyz
In one of the recent previews I've read, the developers do plan to incorporate some sort of pause system. They said as of now they are trying to incorporate a system in which the player can pause, manipulate the inventory, and then continue.

I'm just going by a very recent interview, as well, this past week's up on IGN. Here's what Dan Adams rather bluntly writes:

"Combat in Lionheart will be played out all in real-time. Sorry, but you sad sacks that need the pause button will have to do without."

I hope you're right, but that seems pretty conclusive to me.

hopefully I am, but I am pretty sure I've read that somewhere the pause feature, at least a very primitive one, will be implemented. In fact, I believe I read that preview on Gamebanshee's daily news. Either that or I am just losing my mind.

Originally posted by fable
I've had a problem with non-pausable CRPGs ever since Ultima VIII. (Sure, you can halt the game by escaping it; but I mean pause and study inventory, switch weapons, consider moves, etc.) IMO, if the game has very few options to change on-the-fly during battle, then it's really more of an action game like the original Diablo, and that doesn't interest me. If it has plenty of CRPG-style things to do--magical items to use, spells to cast, weapons to consider, special moves to make--then forcing me to do it all in realtime doesn't constitute my kind of fun. I'm really not into learning skills useful to maneuvering heavy machinery while playing a CRPG--just my POV.

I'm not interested in this game at all, at least until it comes out, but I had to say fable that this is exactly my feelings, and the reason I don't like playing RTS games, or even most of the time RPGs without a pause function. Morrowind passes the test in that it pauses when you go to the inventory/magic/stats/map screen, even though it forces you to do anything in-game in real time. Anyway, just to say thanks for saying what I've been thinking for so long but have been unable to formulate into any sort of comprehensible sentence. I like to consider my options.

Originally posted by humanflyz
hopefully I am, but I am pretty sure I've read that somewhere the pause feature, at least a very primitive one, will be implemented. In fact, I believe I read that preview on Gamebanshee's daily news. Either that or I am just losing my mind.

Well thats not that bad. I mean how bad/primitive can it be?

Originally posted by Tybaltus
Well thats not that bad. I mean how bad/primitive can it be?

Well, if you read the latest IGN preview, it's so primitive that it doesn't exist. And the Lionheart boards confirm this. I'm still looking for any evidence that there is a stoptime/pause feature during combat, but so far, everything points the other way, and the Lionheart devs are adamant.

Originally posted by fable
Well, if you read the latest IGN preview, it's so primitive that it doesn't exist. And the Lionheart boards confirm this. I'm still looking for any evidence that there is a stoptime/pause feature during combat, but so far, everything points the other way, and the Lionheart devs are adamant.

LOL
Then whats the problem?

I dont mind the pause feature at all, aslong as it isnt too time consuming or pointless.

Originally posted by Tybaltus
LOL
Then whats the problem?

I dont mind the pause feature at all, aslong as it isnt too time consuming or pointless.

They have to program the battles with a sense of whether the player is going to have the leisure to do what he wants, or is going to run around like a chicken with his head cut off. So they opted for the latter, and they're not going to put in any pause control because it gets in the way of the excitement--or words to that effect.

I would be greatly surprised if the game doesn't die of Ultima VIII's curse. Realtime is a turnoff for trad RPGers, while action gamers prefer their controls slim. Still, who knows?

Warning: Rant ahead.

Originally posted by fable
...action gamers prefer their controls slim.

...but even they could master and appreciate a pause button (the space bar always worked well ). If the devs are worried about pausing getting "in the way of the excitement," those players can simply choose not to puase the game!!!

I am in total agreement with all of you here. Why do game developers deem it neccesary to reinvent the wheel every time a new game is developed? Look at the interface and controls of the Infinity engine games: simple, elegant, unobtrusive. Why mess with that formula when it works so well? Aren't most players drawn in by the game's story, setting, and characters? In the case of Lionheart, I am, but if the game is too cumbersome to play, I won't buy it.

P.S. I hear Lionheart uses the SPECIAL system debuted in the Fallout series. Not having played those games, I am curious as to the methods of pausing play in those games. Is anybody familiar with them?

Originally posted by Skooter327
P.S. I hear Lionheart uses the SPECIAL system debuted in the Fallout series. Not having played those games, I am curious as to the methods of pausing play in those games. Is anybody familiar with them?

They're not referring to the combat system in Fallout, I think, which was turn-based: so many action points alloted for you to divide among moving, item swapping, and attacking. In Fallout, you could think as long as you wanted about what to do. That will no longer be the case in Lionheart, so even if the action point system is still in use, it won't matter, since it all runs in realtime.

As of sometime in December, the Lionheart development team has (reluctantly) added pause to the game. They're quick to point out you can "only" pause it for inventory changes, prepping spells into quickslots for battle, looking at the field, etc--in other words, just exactly what the BG series, PS:T, and the IWD series have done.

They eventually add it? That's a good thing to know fable.

Originally posted by Demis
They eventually add it? That's a good thing to know fable.

Yeah. The wonder is that they ever thought CRPG fans would want to spend time learning skills useful to manueuvering heavy equipment just in order to play a no-pause CRPG. I suspect they were hoping to promote it as "the next Diablo," but there's just too much to focus upon to go for sheer visceral thrill.

Now, let's wait and see how well they handle the combat AI. Since you have no control over your party members in combat, that could prove conclusive.

Promising but.........

I think Lionheart looks very promising..........I love the SPECIAL system and the setting and story could be good.
Only thing that worries me is that it's made by the same people as Arcanum and I thought that game lacked a lot.
Hopefully they learned a lot from Arcanum and this game will be better.