I think it’s a shitty situation for folks in your shoes for sure, given some of the items that had to be deferred and the lack of up-front communication about these changes as they were decided behind closed doors. But I do think the community (as it always does with these things) tends to blow things out of proportion. You yourself, for instance, may have kickstarted the game for some cool things that aren’t coming (or not in the same fashion as you were led to believe) but those aren’t the sole reason you decided to back the game, just what put you over the edge to pull the trigger.
Now that those items are going to be absent at launch, you’ll still have the game itself to play! That’s really, at the end of the day, the most important thing. Is it going to suck you can’t access the codex during the game? Sure, for about 1 second and then you’ll just keep playing and move on. And look at all they did add to the game! I played only for a few hours and man, this game is deep, rewarding, and incredible!
I think we should all be focused on the real concern here - which is the last time InXile put out a Kickstarted game with Early Access (Wasteland 2) the early game that was in EA was polished and amazing, and the parts of the game that were not were a buggy damned mess. To me that’s much more concerning than a missing codec, or a few companions that got pushed out until they can feel more complete.
Wait, they’re not going to have the codex in the game? I thought we all agreed that one of the dumbest things about Destiny was that it put all that stuff on a website instead of in-game, and this is a game I would expect to have way more lore than Destiny!
To clarify, there is some in-game help and topic system you can review and look up game mechanics. I assume (I haven’t looked to closely) that the codec is like world history stuff.
As long as they still explain what every faction is, what every creature in the game is, etc using a fantastic, beautiful entry like in Planescape: Torment, then I’m fine. It was definitely my favorite feature of that game. It’s what made the game so much more approachable compared to Baldur’s Gate for me.
In Planescape: Encounter a zombie for the first time, go into your journal and see the entry on zombies, showing a beautiful portrait and a nicely written entry with flavor text, context and an explanation about what zombies are doing working in the Masoleum.
In Baldur’s Gate: Encounter a kobol for the first time, and just wonder what the hell that is supposed to be based on ugly little sprites you see on the screen and possibly a poorly written diary entry.
Er… I think the Codec is what you were hoping for. What I saw was just effectively an in-game manual.
My preference is actually how Pillars of Eternity does it - that’s my favorite. You get a cool entry that fills in the more of that creature you defeat!
I actually didn’t even know Planescape had a Bestiary in it until you mentioned it, let me grab a shot of that quick so everyone can see an example. Is this what you are referencing, or am I not in the wrong section?
Yes, that is what I think of when you say codex. And if there’s going to be one (which I suppose is not mandatory but it’s pretty standard in RPGs these days and would be super useful in dealing with a purposely weird setting like Numenera), it should be in game. Putting that kind of information outside the game in something I’d have to tab out to check is a bad idea.
As much as I seem to be tabbing out of games to look at wiki’s etc in the last couple of years, I am starting to think a second monitor might be handy. This is becoming much too common IMO.
I think it’s a fantastic start - as I mentioned above my only concern is the content that hasn’t been hammered on the last year by the hard core fans that played it in early access. Hopefully the entire game is as polished and engaging as the first few hours were (when I let myself fall down that rabbit hole)!
So, I wasn’t really paying attention to the shortcomings until now. This will be integrated into the game at a later time, right? So no problem, I’ll just avoid Torment until they patch the codec into the game. I’ve waited this long, what’s a few extra months?
Honestly, I liked the tablet/phone apps for this sort of thing that were going around for a while. The assassins creed ones in particular- it would tie into your progression, and you could read them at your leisure, while playing the game or not. Having to pause the game, go into a menu etc. is annoying. But I’m a console heathen, so I’m crazy.
I got a backer email with the answer to my question. They’re exploring the option of adding a console reward. If enough people are interested, they’ll let you have the original PC version you backed, plus a console version for an additional $18 which covers their cost for giving away a console key through Microsoft or Sony. Very nice of them!
I’m definitely interested, but this whole thing won’t go ahead if backers don’t show enough interest. So I hope more people are interested. I love the idea that I actually get to have both PC and console for just an extra $18.
Is anyone else starting this now with the early access version/beta version since the saves are supposed to carry over to the release version? I just downloaded it and am debating booting it up tomorrow morning.
No, i am waiting. There probably won’t be any major changes coming to the early content on release, but i’ve waited this long, might as well wait a little longer.
