Dungeon Siege 3 demo out

[Orphiuchus]

So the DS3 demo is out on steam, normally I'd submit this as news but during the E3 flurry I'll just post it here and see if anyone else has tried it.

I found it very fun, but the inventory management was underwhelming(this type of game needs diablo stile inventory management on PC, its just part of the genre), and I couldn't for the life of me figure out if there was some replacement for health pots built in or if you're just expected to die a lot.

Anyone else have thoughts?

[Mozain]

Played some of it last night with my brother. We're largely concerned about the co-op aspects of the game, so we opted for the 360 version of the demo (Rather than have to both sit at one computer desk, since they decided only to include local co-op as a feature on the Steam version).

Overall, it alleviated some of our worries about the game, namely xp and items. You run through the "Hosts" campaign, but the secondary characters can still level up and get equipment (They are hosted locally from what I have read, so you have to play with the same host at all times if you want to progress).

As for the heath pots, you pick up these green orbs from crates and fallen foes and what not, it heals all players at the same time. I am pretty disappointed with the "consolitis" this game suffers from, the controls and functions seem built around a gamepad (Perhaps you can enlighten me to how it played on a KB/Mouse?).

If the demo is any indication, I'll have to crank up the difficulty as far as it can go. Perhaps it was just the co-op, but I think my brother and I got hit maybe once the entire time.

[Orphiuchus]

Most people hated playing it with a keyboard and mouse based on the forum postings, and you cant remap the keys so left handed people are kind of fucked. Not a good PC port to be honest. I did find the default controls usable, I just left it zoomed out and played it like diablo, but they certainly weren't anything special.

The multiplayer you just described pretty much convinced me to cancel my pre-order though. Only being able to progress when connected to the same host is totally unacceptable. I wasn't expecting a full battle.net, but a functioning multiplayer system where I could level and progress in different games is a must.

[SaintBlitzkrieg]

Most people hated playing it with a keyboard and mouse based on the forum postings, and you cant remap the keys so left handed people are kind of fucked. Not a good PC port to be honest. I did find the default controls usable, I just left it zoomed out and played it like diablo, but they certainly weren't anything special.

The multiplayer you just described pretty much convinced me to cancel my pre-order though. Only being able to progress when connected to the same host is totally unacceptable. I wasn't expecting a full battle.net, but a functioning multiplayer system where I could level and progress in different games is a must.

I am sure, that this will all get patched up once everyone makes a big enough up roar about it.

People will make a big enough stink that they will change it. I can honestly see a change coming. A lot of people were turned off by it. But that isn't going to stop me from buying this.

I view that we need to support tabletop games like this. So people make more. These style of games are amazing and fun. And there isn't enough of them in the world.

[Mozain]

Yah, I can't see it working well with the KB/Mouse. My brother and I found out that in the Co-op mode (at least locally) you can only use the zoomed out Diablo style. As far as multiplayer goes, it's all from what I could piece together (again, that is the main purpose of me getting the game, just to play with my brother/friends). This (http://www.destructoid.com/obsidian-explains-dungeon-siege-iii-co-op-shenanigans-195120.phtml) did a bit to help, but the rest of it was from people talking on the forums. I do recall them coming out and saying at first that anyone connecting to the host is merely a "Henchman" and that none of their progress was saved at all, but this is at least a step in the proper direction in that it is saved by the host. Also, you cannot have more than one of the same character in a game at a time (which is fine by me anyways). Still, I'm not convinced the game will be worth it, it really is a step backwards from previous games.

[randir14]

I don't like it. Crappy controls and some kind of blur filter even on maximum settings. And maybe I'm missing something but how do you heal yourself other than the green orbs that appear occasionally...I kept dying way too easily.

[Orphiuchus]

I don't like it. Crappy controls and some kind of blur filter even on maximum settings. And maybe I'm missing something but how do you heal yourself other than the green orbs that appear occasionally...I kept dying way too easily.

Nearest I can tell there is no other way.

I canceled my pre-order(which I made to get the first DS game). The poor multiplayer and lack of health potions may not be enough to make it a bad game, but the fact that they thought they were acceptable indicates that there may be some much worse stuff later down the line(like terrible balance or itemization).

I like Obsidian, they are what remains of the excellent black isle and trokia, but I'm going to have to give this one a pass.

[Zurik]

How can you make a diablo style game and mess up coop like that nowadays? I guess if they fix the host character problem down the line then I'll buy it, either way no reason to buy this day one.

[GBSOD]

I actually really want to support Obsidian, but I never liked Dungeon Siege. Is there much in the way of narrative and dialogue in the demo - is that at least of Obsidian quality?

[Orphiuchus]

There is a lot more than in a typical dungeon siege game, and there are dialogue choices, but it doesn't really make up for the design decisions.

I'd assume the story is decent since its Obsidian, but in this case its just not worth it.