before you know it we'll be adding hobbits! ok now Jason is totally going to kill me. Russ remember the good ol' days?
I dont know if this has been discussed yet but what type of landscapes are there? Desert, mountains, caves, castle in the clouds , ect?
PFFT more like by the second! They're creating an actual legit rpg morrowing/oblivion type game for the iDevice, that's beyond incredible and will be the first time i support a developer for theyr hard work by buying the game cause i know it's one that's going to stay on my iDevice! And to the team you guys all i have to say is Thank you...
is there going to be a first person view option available - if so how will it work? Like in Ravensword - or will there be a dedicated POV like in The Infinity Project or NOVA? This game looks fantastic and will be an insta-buy for me regardless if has FP or not
wow that would be pretty cool to implement all of the things you are talking about. i hope that the iphone hardware will be able to support all of this, i mean with some sort of real time shading or shadows that would be really BA. that is awesome that the mobs have different names and classifications, however, do they have different models for each of the different shaman types or are they just the same models with different names. i dont want to sound like im hating on your game because that is not what im trying to do.. i really want to see that you are actually doing something that is new and innovative and making other games try and surpass what you have done and not just the same as your first game just repackaged with a very slightly upgraded graphic and texture package.
You should probably read a few pages of this thread to catch up, or at least the front page article on the game.
i have read a large part of the thread but have actually found very little in the way of info about the game. josh has talked about things that they would like to put in the game but i havent seen and really great screen shots to actually cover what he is talking about. i am a 3d artist myself and am more critical then the average person and am constantly left wanting more then what i am giving with this game. show some more poses of the main characters. maybe more of the enviroments or draw distance that is being used. maybe talk about inovative features that are actually being used in the game and are coded in. not just talked about
You haven't really read the thread. The features (and by that I mean the RPG features) being described by beta testers already exist; in fact, the game was about to be submitted to Apple when Galoobeth and Crescent Moon partnered to rework the graphics. As to the animation, draw distance, etc, Josh can speak more to that. Keep in mind, however, that they're working within the limitations of a portable platform; very few games on the PSP have real-time shading, and none of those are open world with no loading times. If you're looking for cutting-edge graphics, perhaps you should stick to console or PC titles. If you're looking for a game that pushes the boundaries of what's already been done on the iPlatform, then Aralon may be worth your attention.
i am very well versed in the limitations of the hardware of the idevices. and from what i have seen from the aralon team i am unimpressed. but i am not saying that the game is not dev heavy with cool features, however i would like to see some screen shots of some of the mobs or maybe some combat shots. if the beta testers are so free to talk about the game that must mean that the nda is lifted. and if that has happened, where are the screen shots so we can see what everyone is talking about. and the art is one of the most important features of a game besides the combat IMO. and there are a few games that are actually pushing the art boundaries quite a bit on the idevice platform. i have read about quite a bit of what the DEVs have put in this game but i have seen very little if any of what IS actually in this game.
There was no NDA. The game we beta tested had fairly primitive graphics, as you would have known if you've read the article I linked to earlier. In any event, there's plenty of discussion on this thread about the actual gameplay -- combat system, character customization and upgrading, skill trees, main and sub quests, sandbox set up, etc. Just a few weeks ago we saw the first screenshots of the upgraded graphics; the rest of the game's new visuals are still in development (but again, Josh can talk more about that). We'll see the new mobs, combat animation whenever they're ready. Two final thoughts: *if you think that "art is one of the most important features of a game" you are definitely looking at the wrong platform. Stick to a PS3, XBox 360, or better yet, a tricked out PC all ready for Crysis 2. Portable devices are, by definition, limited (and, frankly, I don't quite believe that you are "well versed" on the limitations). *All this talk kind of begs the question: what have you done on this platform? Everyone is free to criticize, of course, but you call yourself a 3D artist and speak about being unimpressed? Have you done anything that lives up to your standards?
The beta testers tested a previous version with great features but with limited graphics. The devs (Galoobeth Games) realized the importance of better graphics and teamed up with Crescent Moon (the Ravensword devs) to make a better game. The beta testers cannot post current screenshots with the new graphics as that beta has not started yet. Personally I would be interested to see some of your artistic work. If you can do better than what has been done here on the iDevice I am sure that people would like to hire you as an artist. Otherwise just tell Josh what you feel should be changed. He is great about taking feedback if it is constructive. Perhaps you should PM him your thoughts...
to answer your questions yes i worked on Xenome Episode 1 as the 3d artist that did the characters (except the scientist) and most of the buildings and props. and i feel that xenome can easily compete graphicly with any rpg that is out right now, and can beat most if not all of them. and i feel that you are incorrect with the statement that idevices are unable to compete with modern gaming platforms. sure they are not a 360 or ps3 but they are getting close or beating the Wii and closing in on the rest of em now. and i also feel that there is huge amount of things that the platform can do if only the developers stop staying in there lil comfort zones and making things that are pushing the platform to its peak on all levels at all times.... otherwise what are we all doing here? but i give to props for defending a good game with some actual posts rather then the crap that has been going on on a lot of these threads for a while
Well, I've also been beta testing Xenome, and have in fact been playing it since May. It's visually an impressive achievement, but from a gameplay perspective, Aralon is the more sophisticated game -- for many reasons. I haven't seen the new Aralon graphics in motion yet, so I can't tell how they compare to Xenome. But at this point the argument is moot: it's freaking great news that two RPGs of such magnitude are coming to the App Store.
I would have loved to have that disclosure from the beginning. Everyone tends to think that their work is the best. I wonder if perhaps there is some bias? Anyways I have to say that I am very excited about BOTH of these games and the investment that both studios are putting into a mobile platform. I plan on buying both
+1, It's not Aralon versus Xenome, I plan on buying both. (At least, when I get my new ipod touch in september.)
Strongly, strongly disagree. Never compare portables with current consoles, it isn't even remotely close to 'beating the Wii and closing in on the rest of em'.
