Topic: Diablo, Mythos Vets Announce Action-MMO 'Torchlight'

[idolminds]

Warcry review

Torchlight has brought the best of Diablo, Mythos, Hellgate and Fate to bear and it shows. I couldn't get enough of Torchlight and can't wait to see what the community creates using the level editor. Similarly, I am already eagerly anticipating the Torchlight MMO.

At any price, Torchlight is a bargain and you will squeeze every dollar and more out of it.

[Quemaqua]

Stop making me want to buy more games!  Especially awesome games with loot pinatas!  I'm only just installing Borderlands right now!

[idolminds]

Well its out and about at places. Steam has it as well as the demo. Runics own standalone demo won't be ready for a couple days. Guess they hit some snags since it's pretty much the full game with the option to unlock. One nice thing is the save you make in the demo works in the full game (since...it sorta is the full game) so you don't have to lost your progress.

So its confirmed that there will be no Impulse version. I seriously wonder why that is when just about every other place is getting it. Speaking of, GamersGate has it.

I'm pretty much going to play the demo and wait for retail. The only place I would have bothered buying online was through Impulse.

[MysterD]

Yeah, Idol - the install limits piss me off. Sure, 10 installs or whatever is high, but still - since the retail version is dropping in Jan 2010 and it's possible it won't have DRM (there are discussion on this on Runic's boards), yeah - I think I can wait. I don't wanna pay twice for it.

[Xessive]

The demo's available on Steam right now. I'm gonna download and check it out.

I think the free level editor was released today as well. At least that's what I think the countdown on the Torchlight site was for.

[MysterD]

The demo's available on Steam right now. I'm gonna download and check it out.

I think the free level editor was released today as well. At least that's what I think the countdown on the Torchlight site was for.

Awesome, X.
I'mma go check out the demo on Steam.

[idolminds]

WildTangent also has the demo, if you don't want to use Steam.

And from Perfect World

[MysterD]

I just finished running through the  Torchlight demo - kick-ass stuff. Feels so much like Diablo 1 and Fate put together.

I was using the Alchemist. Somewhere in the middle of the demo, I had a one-hand gun in one hand (ranged - when you left click at a distance) and a sword in the other hand (melee - when up close) for the left mouse - and magic spells rockin' he right mouse. By the time I was done, I had a bad ass two-hand cannon and a few magic spells. Freakin' kick-ass.

I like the Imp spell - if you kill an enemy, there's a spell you cast on the dead enemy and it turns them into your imp. Keep upping the skill, you can have more and more imps allowed at once.

I named my dog Molyneux (ode to Peter), BTW. The dog reminds me of Fate - as you can give him inventory and when in a dungeon, send the dog back to town and he'll sell off some of your gear.

Game runs great, looks great - it's a blast.

[Xessive]

Just played the demo. Awesome stuff. Very addictive.

While it is a very lightweight game (it's designed to run well on casual systems and has a Netbook mode for improved performance) it still looks great. The art is whimsical.

It feels like a cross between Diablo and WildTangent's Fate.

[Quemaqua]

I really want it but I want to wait for the retail release.

[MysterD]

I really want it but I want to wait for the retail release.

I'm waiting for retail, as well - since it'll likely have no DRM.

EDIT:
Torchlight Reviews
4.5 from RPGamer.com (out of 5)
4.4 from CCC (out of 5)

[Xessive]

Good news, apparently your character and save from the demo will carry over to the full game!

I can't find the article that confirms it and I'm too tired/lazy to look it up right now.

[idolminds]

I can confirm it, since I saw a dev say that on the official forums.

[Xessive]

Sweet, so I can work on my character from now! The demo is pretty big and I am hooked. Wish it had multiplayer.

One thing I love so far is that each character can use any weapon/gear if they have the right stats i.e. Alchemist with high dexterity can use a multitude of ranged weapons. So you're not completely restricted by your character class.

I wasn't all that excited about Torchlight before but after the demo I'm loving it! I think it'll hold people quite well until Diablo III comes around. Then in about two years the Torchlight MMO will come around to keep it in the running.

[MysterD]

Yeah, Torchlight's pretty sweet - that's awesome that I can take my demo character and when I get the full game, pick up from where I left off. Makes me wanna try every damn class now and plow through the demo!

Also, if you guys ain't played Sacred 2: Fallen Angel and you love hack-n-slash and open-world games, as long as you got the PC to run it and you got it all patched-up, it's pretty awesome.

[W7RE]

I think it'll hold people quite well until Diablo III comes around. Then in about two years the Torchlight MMO will come around to keep it in the running.

That seems a bit optimistic to me. I'm thinking the Torchlight MMO will be holding people off for a couple years while they wait for Diablo III.

[Xessive]

That seems a bit optimistic to me. I'm thinking the Torchlight MMO will be holding people off for a couple years while they wait for Diablo III.

Haha good point

I'm playing as an Alchemist, which is odd for me since I don't usually play as any magic class in any game. I've developed him as a cross between melee and ranged.

The dual-wielding is great too! I have a pistol in one hand and a wand in the other for a combination of ranged and magic damage, and I switch for a badass "Reaper Axe of Thunder" when the baddies get close.

I love having a pet makes dungeon raids less lonesome and and the "send to town" command eliminates the looting/inventory issues.

[MysterD]

Haha good point

I'm playing as an Alchemist, which is odd for me since I don't usually play as any magic class in any game. I've developed him as a cross between melee and ranged.

The dual-wielding is great too! I have a pistol in one hand and a wand in the other for a combination of ranged and magic damage, and I switch for a badass "Reaper Axe of Thunder" when the baddies get close.

I love having a pet makes dungeon raids less lonesome and and the "send to town" command eliminates the looting/inventory issues.

I named my pet dog Molyneux.

Yeah, the "Send dog to town to sell off inventory" feels just like Fate.

[Xessive]

Yeah, the game in general feels like a refined and expanded Fate.

I called my cat "Butch" in honour of my old cat who died in June. I love that little guy.

[MysterD]

Yeah, the game in general feels like a refined and expanded Fate.
I called my cat "Butch" in honour of my old cat who died in June. I love that little guy.

Sorrie about your cat Butch, man.
May "Butch" kick some major Torchlight-ass, in his memory.

[Xessive]

Sorrie about your cat Butch, man.
May "Butch" kick some major Torchlight-ass, in his memory.

Thanks, MyD

[MysterD]

I took the only female class in the game, named here Karalynne and her cat is Scratches. She's bad-ass. Gun in one hand, sword in another, and she's lethal w/ that bomb skill.

Finished the demo again last nite. This game's fun-as-hell, for all you ARPG loot-whores.

[W7RE]

I really want this game, but I'm still not finished with Borderlands. Of course, games like this and Borderlands could last a really long time.

[Quemaqua]

Waiting for retail.  Or at least that's what I keep telling myself.

[MysterD]

I really want this game, but I'm still not finished with Borderlands. Of course, games like this and Borderlands could last a really long time.

Yeah, you're right - I think games like Borderlands and Torchlight are going to be played over and over - and likely w/ numerous different classes. Torchlight especially - since it has the SDK and multiple difficulties.

About Borderlands - I can see myself doing SP and MP a lot ALREADY. Loving it already.

Plus, they're loot games - you came to see the crazy-insane amounts of different unique loots, too. That'll keep you coming back, for sure.

[MysterD]

I'm sold.
It's official now - Torchlight coming to retail in January.
Encore is publishing.

[Quemaqua]

I will be awaiting a real disk with eager anticipation.

[MysterD]

Patch 1.12 released.

EDIT:
Travis Baldree of Runic releases some assets and documentation to tease modders.

TorchEd (Toolset / SDK) coming next Monday.

[Xessive]

Btw, that's not just a patch it's a full reinstall! You have to backup your saves and uninstall Torchlight then reinstall from the v1.12 installer.

Client 1.12 for Runic Games' click-tastic action RPG, only for those who purchased direct from Runic themselves. If you bought Torchlight anywhere else, this will not work.

This a full reinstall rather than a patch, due to changes made to improve loading times. If Torchlight is already installed you will need to uninstall it--and don't forget to backup your saved games.

Runic notes, "If the new install asks you to re-enter your key to activate, do so, and you can contact us at customerservice@runicgames.com and we'll decrement your key count so you're square."

[idolminds]

The reason being the main data file for the game is one large zip. They improved loading by changing the compression level of that file which unfortunately isn't really something a "patch" would be able to do.

[Xessive]

Yeah, I read that on Runic's forums. It's not too bad considering they supposedly minimized the loading times significantly. All the more reason to wait for the retail in Jan 2010, they'll likely have ironed out a lot of issues by then.

[MysterD]

All the more reason to wait for the retail in Jan 2010, they'll likely have ironed out a lot of issues by then.

Agreed.

[idolminds]

Editor time!

[MysterD]

Torchlight - Retail Edition that Encore is publishing is coming January 5, 2010.

[W7RE]

Video interview on GiantBomb with Max Schaefer:
http://www.giantbomb.com/the-future-of-torchlight/17-1676/

At one point he talks in detail about the free-to-play micro-transactions model. Basically he says people don't always have the money to pay for more subscriptions, especially since so many people already pay monthly for WoW (including a lot of the Torchlight dev team apparently). So this way people can play a lot, or sporadically and take breaks, etc, without worrying about what they're paying for. It almost sounds like he anticipates people to play Torchlight and WoW (or something else), which hopefully means they're not trying to compete with Blizzard, but coexist. This sounds good to me since I'd like to see something new, and competing directly with Blizzard has been bad for other MMOs.

Also he points out that they don't want the purchasable items to be the best stuff in the game, but more of a way to play catch up for people who are just getting started or have been on a long break, so they can be ready to go after the better loot. Sounds to me almost like the badge system in WoW, where you can skip raiding and just run 5 person content to get almost-as-good equipment, but with real money instead of earning badges to spend.

[Quemaqua]

See, that's not so bad.  That makes sense to me.  I didn't read the interview, but just going on W7's blurb there, that sounds reasonable to me.

[MysterD]

That interview w/ Max Schaefer was pretty good, I must say.

[MysterD]

Torchlight = $10 on Steam currently.

[idolminds]

New interview

Will the retail version have any extra content compared to the earlier downloadable game?

Just one feature in particular. [Spoiler Alert]. We created a new pet for the retail version. The new pet version is a ferret, actually more about the size of an otter, and sporting a cool pair of Alchemist-style goggles. This is brand new information, so that's the scoop! The ferret pet will be featured on the box art, too, to let folks know of the extra feature.

Oh man, now I get to pretend I'm Shiren the Wanderer in Torchlight. Awesome.

[W7RE]

Torchlight = $10 on Steam currently.

Torchlight get! Downloading now.

Not sure why I hadn't bought it yet, I loved the demo.