ELEX ELEX RELEASE THREAD

[T. Reich]

I ignored the berserkers town on the start of my first playthrough, and went scavenging around and then straight to the clerics, because I wanted to join them asap for cool gunz. So I did the berserkers town quests the last and, funnily enough, ended up joining them, because they seemed like the most sane faction in comparsion to the others

Each faction has their ups and downs. Good side and dark side.

Clerics actively mindwash people and give zero fucks about that.
I bailed on joining these fucks when I met a "travelling recruiter" near the domed city. Felt exactly as infuriating as getting "recruited" into inquisition in Risen 1. I promptly reloaded and murdered the fucker whith extreme prejudice.

Outlaws cosplay Mad Max in a world where it's not necessary. That makes them entitled little fucks who ruin the shit for everyone else. And their leader is the biggest cunt ever.

Berserkers are a bunch of luddite hypocrites, that much is true. But they are a helpful lot, and their membership is entirely voluntary and opt-in (for the outsiders at least). So their punishment system is really rough - big deal, fuckers, you all knew the rules!

 

[Zanzoken]

So I just finished the Big Bang quest and I need to rant. I will spoiler tag this since it's a fairly major quest. An important thing to know going in is that I had already joined the Clerics at this point, as clearly indicated by my Cleric weapons and armor.

Spoiler

Here is a pretty good synopsis of the quest for anyone who needs a refresher: https://guides.gamepressure.com/elex/guide.asp?ID=41876

I discovered this completely by accident, in the course of completing Falk's companion quest, which is really an issue in and of itself. The others:

- Why would the Duke just allow anyone to walk downstairs and discover the bomb? Much less a known enemy?
- Why would the Duke openly admit to building the bomb, and trust me (a Cleric) to retrieve the pieces needed to finish it?
- Why is there no option to report the bomb to the Clerics? I went to Reinhold, Ulbricht, and Balder about this obvious plot to destroy their home city, yet there is zero dialogue to take action or even acknowledge it in the slightest.
- Why does Konrad not clue me -- again, a fellow Cleric -- in to what he is doing? I would've probably been okay with helping him blow up the Outlaw city, but this is never an option.
- Why is a nuclear bomb also a robot with laser beams? Why is it stopping here to collect Elex deposits? Why am I being forced to fight it, and why is the "boss fight" so piss easy?
- After the bomb is destroyed, why does the Duke task me with killing Konrad, who at this point is obviously still allied with the Clerics and thus killing him would be betraying my own faction?

This is the sort of thing that kills all sense of world-building and C&C, and makes RPGs feel like dumb theme parks where everyone and everything is stupid and fake. If you're not going to bother building out the proper mechanics for complex quests, then just leave them out. I'd honestly rather do "fetch" and "collect 10 flowers" quests than be insulted by shit-tier writing and design.

 

[U-8D8]

So I just finished the Big Bang quest and I need to rant-

Spoiler

I had the exact experience. I have my suspicions that it was originally meant to be a bandit only questline before it was changed into one of the boxes you had to tick in order to continue the main-quest. The Duke's plan doesn't even make sense in the first place though. The idea of drugging Konrad enough to make him abandon reason and build a super-weapon to kill his own faction, but trusting a man (they believed) they robbed of his greater reasoning not to be either incapable of building the superweapon in the first place or not to accidentally blow up the fort while constructing it, seems mindbogglingly dumb.

The only thing that saves the questline for me is the fact that Konrad abused that stupidity to the hilt and planned on blowing that shithole to kingdom come. In universe, I wouldn't be surprised if he had managed to contact the Clerics and tell them the Duke's plan and his own plan. Ulbricht and Reinhold had a quiet laugh at the expense of those idiots and then got back to doing more important things, confident that even without Konrad's help the bandits were more likely to kill themselves before any Clerics in an attempt on the Hort.

That quest is actually the reason I can't bring myself to do a bandit playthrough. If it was just bad writing I could take it in stride, but it's a black-hole of illogic that's center is the Duke. The idea of working for that paint-licking buffoon is enough to dissuade me from joining them.

 

[Lambach]

How the fuck did you kill a slugbeast at level 2?

Slugbeasts are really slow and their attacks are easy to predict and dodge. If you have the patience and focus to whack away at it for 30+ minutes straight without making a single mistake, it's entirely doable. It's borderline masochism, though.

 

[Deadyawn]

Can anyone confirm if elements of the story were lost in translation? I changed the files so that I could play in English with German voices. It works for the most part except sometimes the text will say something like 'I don't know' while the audio goes babbling for like 10 seconds, or the other way around so a three-line paragraph goes by in a second because the audio was just him saying 'ja!'.

 

[JDR13]

So I just finished the Big Bang quest and I need to rant. I will spoiler tag this since it's a fairly major quest. An important thing to know going in is that I had already joined the Clerics at this point, as clearly indicated by my Cleric weapons and armor.

Didn't you have to finish a few Outlaw quests first to get to that point?

If not, then yeah that's kind of dumb. I'm guessing PB just didn't have time to design a separate branch in that quest specifically for Clerics.

 

[Fedora Master]

Can anyone confirm if elements of the story were lost in translation? I changed the files so that I could play in English with German voices. It works for the most part except sometimes the text will say something like 'I don't know' while the audio goes babbling for like 10 seconds, or the other way around so a three-line paragraph goes by in a second because the audio was just him saying 'ja!'.

The dialogues are nonsense in both versions.

 

[JDR13]

Can anyone confirm if elements of the story were lost in translation? I changed the files so that I could play in English with German voices. It works for the most part except sometimes the text will say something like 'I don't know' while the audio goes babbling for like 10 seconds, or the other way around so a three-line paragraph goes by in a second because the audio was just him saying 'ja!'.

The dialogues are nonsense in both versions.

Huh? I had no issues understanding any dialogues. PB aren't the best writers, but calling it nonsense is pure bunk.

 

[Zanzoken]

So I just finished the Big Bang quest and I need to rant. I will spoiler tag this since it's a fairly major quest. An important thing to know going in is that I had already joined the Clerics at this point, as clearly indicated by my Cleric weapons and armor.

Didn't you have to finish a few Outlaw quests first to get to that point?

If not, then yeah that's kind of dumb. I'm guessing PB just didn't have time to design a separate branch in that quest specifically for Clerics.

No, the only quest I had done at the Fort up until then involved freeing the Cleric soldier that was imprisoned there.

I am sure C&C heavy quests are difficult to script, but like I said, if the devs don't have time to implement something correctly then the best action is just to cut it. The way this resolved in my game made 2 of the 3 factions look like complete idiots.

 

[Darth Roxor]

Can anyone confirm if elements of the story were lost in translation? I changed the files so that I could play in English with German voices. It works for the most part except sometimes the text will say something like 'I don't know' while the audio goes babbling for like 10 seconds, or the other way around so a three-line paragraph goes by in a second because the audio was just him saying 'ja!'.

german and international versions have completely different scripts

 

[Citizen]

Can anyone confirm if elements of the story were lost in translation? I changed the files so that I could play in English with German voices. It works for the most part except sometimes the text will say something like 'I don't know' while the audio goes babbling for like 10 seconds, or the other way around so a three-line paragraph goes by in a second because the audio was just him saying 'ja!'.

 

[typical user]

Albs are the only true solution to Magalan not some tree-lovers, ancaps or neo-nazis.

 

[Modron]

Can anyone confirm if elements of the story were lost in translation? I changed the files so that I could play in English with German voices. It works for the most part except sometimes the text will say something like 'I don't know' while the audio goes babbling for like 10 seconds, or the other way around so a three-line paragraph goes by in a second because the audio was just him saying 'ja!'.

Game script was originally written in English so just take the subtitles as the correct sentiment in your setup.

 

[Darth Roxor]

Game script was originally written in English so just take the subtitles as the correct sentiment in your setup.

Negative. There are two completely different/separate scripts written for German and English.

 

[Citizen]

Negative. There are two completely different/separate scripts written for German and English.

Yeah, I heard that english version had some weird changes, like they renamed germans as albs and jews as outlaws or something

 

[Zanzoken]

... the sense of character progression is delightful. I went from getting starched by anything and everything to winning like 1 in 5 fights now.

The game really tests your ability to use your wits and survive, and that's what is keeping me hooked. I am curious to see just how high on the food chain I can go.

Took about 30 hours but I think I've finally made it. I have a Regent Sword++ which is my main damage dealer along with a Plasma Blaster++ that does enough damage to pick off critters and mutants. And I can finally tank a few hits after getting the Regent armor, Armor++ feat, Stamina++ feat, Extra HP feat, two health elixirs, and a ring that buffs HP and Stamina.

About to start chapter 3 and although there are a few things I could still do to get stronger, I am going to hold off. I think I am strong enough to finish the game like this, and adding more would be getting close to God mode.

 

[Duraframe300]

Game script was originally written in English so just take the subtitles as the correct sentiment in your setup.

Negative. There are two completely different/separate scripts written for German and English.

They are not *completly* different, but the englisch version is a rewrite. When PB handed off the script to the translator they did give him the freedom to make changes. In pure quality you can actually make points for either.

WTF Deadyawn though. The voice work sucks in german. Unless you need to get nostalgic with the Gothic voice actors you might as well set va to englisch if you are playing in englisch anyway.

 

[Deadyawn]

WTF Deadyawn though. The voice work sucks in german. Unless you need to get nostalgic with the Gothic voice actors you might as well set va to englisch if you are playing in englisch anyway.

I just thought I'd try it for my second playthrough, not that I could tell good voice work from bad when I can't even speak the language.

 

[Zanzoken]

And I'm done. Playtime came in a little over 40 hours. I deliberately skipped all the Berserker and Outlaw content so I'd have something fresh for a subsequent playthrough down the road.

I don't have anything to say about the game that hasn't already been said. There are a ton of things about it that are objectively poor and frustrating. And yet that feeling of being flung into a hostile world, first just trying to get your bearings and survive, then exploring, learning, making allies, getting stronger, and finally reaching the point where you become the hammer after spending hours and hours as the nail. It was a tremendous experience and brilliantly showcases how RPGs can be special and great.

Cold rating
Feels rating

 

[Zanzoken]

Are there any games similar to Elex / PB style but in isometric?

 

[Shadenuat]

idk, evil islands?
3d is a feature of PB games since they actually do level design well.

 

[Tito Anic]

And player skill has too little impact.

 

[Haplo]

Veeery little impact, compared to weapon damage and armor rating.

Unlike Gothic 2 for example, where it was possible to beat very dangerous opponents (trolls, skeletal warriors, orcs) with inferior equipment using player skill (and claim some prizes, like the Dragon Slicer, early).

 

[Tito Anic]

Veeery little impact, compared to weapon damage and armor rating.

Unlike Gothic 2 for example, where it was possible to beat very dangerous opponents (trolls, skeletal warriors, orcs) with inferior equipment using player skill (and claim some prizes, like the Dragon Slicer, early).

Lel, it is fundamentals of an RPG genre = CHAR skill >>> Player skill.

 

[Haplo]

Veeery little impact, compared to weapon damage and armor rating.

Unlike Gothic 2 for example, where it was possible to beat very dangerous opponents (trolls, skeletal warriors, orcs) with inferior equipment using player skill (and claim some prizes, like the Dragon Slicer, early).

Lel, it is fundamentals of an RPG genre = CHAR skill >>> Player skill.

Not in case of Gothic (or rather, stats and skill were nicely balanced there).
And its not like you have involved/meaningful character building in ELEX.