I preface this post with the statement that I tend to complain more about my most loved games. They get more scrutiny and hence more criticism. For the inevitable retorts, keep in mind this is one of my favorite games of all time, and I’ve been playing RPGs and ARPGs since the 80’s. Usually I prefer old school turn based stuff like Fallout 1 and 2, but there is something unique and special about TQ and GD that captures my interest.
I feel it is unfortunate that dev resources went into a glorified horde mode, boiling down the game into it’s most basic state: kill mobs and farm loot. It’s relevant for me to make this complaint because I feel like the original campaign is unfinished, and I don’t like the idea that dev resources went into this when the campaign mode is crying out for more content. Grim Dawn is caused by the Aetherial invasion, but for some reason the game becomes all about C’thon. I love this game as an ARPG, meaning it includes RPG elements, not just pew pew collect loot (although that is a huge part of it) and I really want to see the original campaign continued. I want to learn the fate of Ulgrim and battle the real enemy. I was surprised the first time I killed the Logarrean and the game “ended” feeling unfinished. Also it didn’t make sense to me to have the hardest instance in the game (Bastion) just tacked on as optional afterwards, especially since it is C’thonic in nature and you just defeated their boss. I got the impression they had to finish the game early and left quite a bit out. I’ve now played the game a dozen or so times, and it is really lacking content for me at this point. I have zero interest in playing a horde mode to bide my time, and it bothers me that something dumbed down is a more efficient way to collect the best loot when I’ve put so much effort into the campaign.
As far as the actual expansion, I heard stirrings of something about the Witch Gods, which is all well and good, but are they going to do anything with where the original story left off? And, with this (to me) pointless DLC now released, where do the development resources stand? Any rumors or announcements for the real expansion?
You think it’s unfortunate that the devs kept their Kickstarter promises? Why do you want the expansion, then?
Edit: Anyways, another ‘Act’ of the main story is essentially confirmed for the expansion. That’s all we know.
Edit 2:
[UNLOCKED] $520k - SURVIVAL MODE! We’ll create a new gameplay mode that will be free for all backers (KS or Website Pre-order). In survival mode players will fight to stay alive against increasingly difficult waves of monsters. It will release sometime after the game so as not to delay development. https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/crateentertainment/grim-dawn/description
/quote from KS post:
We are pleased to announce that Grim Dawn’s survival mode, now known as Crucible, has gone live!
This was the final stretch goal for the Kickstarter campaign, at the $520k level, and it exists entirely thanks to the generous support of our Kickstarter backers.
While this is a paid DLC, all backers receive it for free as part of the Kickstarter Campaign.
The keys for the Crucible DLC have already been distributed to you via Humble, much as they were for the early backer reward(s) you have received following Grim Dawn’s release. You will have the choice of redeeming your key either for Steam or GOG.
Thank you for your support and we hope that you enjoy the Crucible!
-Arthur and the Crate Team
Alright, well that makes me feel a little better. Not a lot, but some. I wouldn’t have read the kickstarter since I was late to the game. I hope they continue the core story rather than going with another tangent about the Witch Gods.
I’m pretty sure that since the most recent free content update was about the Witch Gods I don’t think the next expansion will be about them as well. We still have yet to see the Aetherial roguelike dungeon, so my guess is that the next expansion will be Aetherial-focused. With the Ch’thonian threat substantially weakened, I’m guessing that the Aetherials will likely mount an attack on humankind…
this mode was promised / unlocked during the Kickstarter, there will be an expansion that continues the main campagin
I was surprised the first time I killed the Logarrean and the game “ended” feeling unfinished. Also it didn’t make sense to me to have the hardest instance in the game (Bastion) just tacked on as optional afterwards, especially since it is C’thonic in nature and you just defeated their boss.
the sequencing of these two is up to you, I always do BoC first
I got the impression they had to finish the game early and left quite a bit out.
given that the game got considerably bigger than initially anticipated / planned, this is complete nonsense
I’ve now played the game a dozen or so times, and it is really lacking content for me at this point.
the amount of content is quite good when you compare it to other ARPGs, it’s not like GD is half the length of others
Well the 1st expansion is guaranteed for a good long while now, since at least the Kickstarter and many of us have even pre-paid for the expansion via the Loyalist tier package you can purchase thru the website here.
They had a number of things from KS that they had to honor before/after release, including the mod tools along with the Survival Mode, which I would consider it safe to say they should have taken precedence over the expansion. If they meander along the way to add more free content to the world/game then I certainly wouldn’t mind, I already know the expansion is coming.
And my opinion (and guess) is that they haven’t been idle on the expansion during this time. They have said a few times recently that their artists have been extremely busy and if I had to wager I’d put money they were working on more than free content.
I expect it would take a bit for them to make the expansion anyway. It will likely contain an extra mastery or two (which will need to be designed and balanced) along with a new areas worth of content and dungeons and story, gear, enemies, possible new game features, voice-overs etc. You get the idea.
Knowing Crate I kinda expect it to be pretty big as well.
(and think how I feel about “new content”. Compared to your “dozen times” played, I’ve put in over 6 thousand hours. Times played = hundreds, maybe over a thousand times? If anyone is ready for the expansion, it is I. There are plenty here as well that have played quite alot also)
Not so nonsensical as you suggest. This is very common with crowdfunded games. When a project is better funded than expected, especially. We call it “Scope Creep” in the business. When a game is enlarged in any aspect from the original vision, frequently the devs get overambitious and overconfident about resources, and thus the finished project is often rushed at the end, resulting in aspects of the game getting abbreviated or cut altogether. In fact I’d say it happens more often than not.
Not in this case. By all accounts medierra (Arthur Bruno) was frugal with funds to ensure against such a scenario. The Kickstarter was highly successful and I’m assuming it did quite well (or well enough) during Steam early access and to date they have sold over 600k copies (recently mentioned by Zantai).
The ending, while abrupt, was much more likely done with the intent of “to be continued” ala expansion. All of us have been following the course of events of the game/company for awhile now and they have never “rushed” anything in that fashion.
That’s absolutely insane, to an unhealthy degree. That’s more than double what I’ve put into MMOs I played over multiple years, and I didn’t have a job then!
Well, like I said, I give my most beloved games the most criticism. Clearly there are people on this forum that have followed everything Crate says and does, which I haven’t done. I am starting to get burned out though. I tried PoE but it doesn’t have whatever it is that sucks me in, and I was never a Diablo guy. Might be time to dust off Titan Quest again.
Huh, appareantly I wasn’t a kickstarter but I know web pre-order as I was playing this game long before it was fully released yet I still had to pay for the crucible. Oh well.
