ToME: the Tales of Maj'Eyal

While most other games you are stuck with your generic and uninspired warrior/archer/rogue/wizard, not only this game has crazy unique classes like solipsist, oozemancer, possessor, temporal warden, psyshot and so many others, now you can also play as a tentacle hentai monster straight out of a chinese cartoon.


Absolute masterpiece.

Yeah, and they actually feel and play very different

Well said. This is why I want this game to get more funding. So many people would love it if they tried it, but I think the super nintendo level graphics, while charming and detailed, are a deterrent to many. Imagine this game in full 3D, animated, cut scenes, triple A production values, more regular content updates & class overhauls

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"You could skip it, i think it drops 0 xp and 1 copper [at most], you are better off selling oxygen to beggars to become rich."

That's the crazy part I still don't understand. How can a turn based super nintendo game have classes that make the game feel completely different like this? In this regard this game is light years ahead of any AAA game I tried or otherwise. Darkgod and his minions back at it again with their fearscape magic.


Also I guess that's kinda the point maybe. When you don't have a team of 300 people working on hair pyshics alone for 10 years straight like final fantasy xv or working on the proper physics so the cars on GTA turn properly and enemies fall in a realistic manner when they get shot, you are kinda forced (or rather, have the resources, time and good will) to put your effort into actual gameplay content like this and so many other indie games.

No, please.

I could imagine it in a style simmilar to, say, Dungeons of Dredmor. Not that cartoonish, though, ToME has some pretty sick sprites out there, kind of reminds me of HoMM3 as far as realism is concerned.

I stand in awe just trying to image what time and resource it would take to make such a graphic overhaul, ToME already has a shitload more content than any of those half-assed flashy games out there.

Butthurt, I hear you man, spending so much - time on bullshit graphics is a total - exercise in futility, they waste so much - time and resources it should be - illegal. I honestly feel this as an offence to mankind as a whole. And it's not just games, all ducking media and pretty much everything that has "vanity" factor attached to it. Man, humans are - stupid. Makes me wish I was a neanderthal or something. Life was simpler back then

PS. Damn, when am I gonna stop being "halfling". I - hate halflings. Next one it's probably gonna be elf, I - hate elves too.

/beginrant

I'm not a graphics snob, I grew up playing Amiga and Atari, original Nintendo. Black and white tiny screen original gameboy.

So I can definitely appreciate how artists created the detailed games graphics so creatively with limited resources and technology.

Having said that, to have a wider reach, more modern graphics help enormously. Another similar Roguelike game, ADOM went from ASCII graphics to having a a graphical mode option and along with a Steam release saw a big jump in visibility (press coverage and forum comments) and new people discovering the game. The greater resources coming in allowed the creator to hire a team of people to work on the game regularly, we got more frequent content releases and bug fixes. And now they're working on a new game, Ultimate ADOM. If they didn't create a nicer looking game, I really doubt any of this would have been possible. I prefer TOME, but there's room in my heart for both games and I'm very excited to see what comes next.

Better graphics increase the audience, the revenue, and the content. How many of you WOULDN'T support a project to make the game look better? I'd be shoveling Dark God money. A game this good should be massively popular. Lousy games sell millions due to hype and cool graphics and marketing. it's sad to see them succeeding so much, while conversely this game is relatively unknown to the majority of the gaming community.

I've tried to spread the word, mentioned this game on forums, reviewed it, told people about it directly, bought all the DLC and donated money. But I can only do so much as just one person.

Maybe it's a pipe dream or way off in the future. But it sure would look amazing and make the game more fun and exciting. I'm aware it takes a lot of time, effort and money. Yet, that's what we have talented artists for. To bring vision more vividly to life. So we can be more immersed in the fantasy worlds, more connected to the characters. I can't fathom why anyone wouldn't want that.

I also know, be careful what you wish for. Sure, it can be done poorly, like Squares graphical remake of Secret of Mana. That ugly, cartoonish, childish style is something I find to be obnoxious. The earlier Heroes of Might and Magic games vs the graphics of the 5th installment (yuck!). Cursed Treasure 1 (dark, gritty, brutal) vs 2 (bright & silly). Whatever you do, you can't make everyone happy.

/endrant.

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"You could skip it, i think it drops 0 xp and 1 copper [at most], you are better off selling oxygen to beggars to become rich."

Modern graphics and richly detailed gameplay aren't mutually exclusive.

There's no law that you have to sacrifice one to get the other. There are specialists with roles, one person does the graphics, another writes the code, another does lore and story and characters. And companies can buy a pre existing framework to use, like the Unreal Engine so they aren't reinventing the wheel every game.

Like I mentioned in my giant rant post, better graphics equals more attention and visibility, which means more people trying & buying the game. Which means more money, which leads to more frequent content updates and bug fixes. Rather than having to choose from one or the other as you suggest, one enables the other to a greater degree.

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"You could skip it, i think it drops 0 xp and 1 copper [at most], you are better off selling oxygen to beggars to become rich."

You got that right, Coldbringer. You can't please everyone all the time. Which is why you shouldn't even try to. I think the devs need to have a vision and stick to it unapologetically.

Vallarta - I'm sure they do, and they will.

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"You could skip it, i think it drops 0 xp and 1 copper [at most], you are better off selling oxygen to beggars to become rich."