KickStarter Solasta: Crown of the Magister Thread - now with Palace of Ice sequel DLC

[NJClaw]

I just finished it and the ending sequence is, indeed, a bit underwhelming. The whole "push things and jump around" section highlights the worst aspect of this game: exploration is too linear and most of the time it almost feels like busywork. You keep finding these boulders, trees, and columns that you just have to click on without putting any real thought into it. I think reworking the basics of how the exploration works, adding branching paths and real problems you have to solve instead of those fake puzzles, would greatly improve the game.

The final battle is a big letdown because by that point you are incredibly powerful and you have so many spells and tools that this supposedly terrifying encounter turns into a joke, and this really clashes with how the game is presenting the event. "Oh no, this horde of terrible monsters will destroy the world", but they are like 10, they can't possibly hit you, and you one or two-shot every single one of them.

It's a pity because the narrative really improved in the events leading up to the final sequence, but I guess that's not that big of a compliment considering how abysmal it was before that.

Still, what a great fucking game. I had so much fun with it. It took me around 37 hours to complete every single available quest, but I wasted a lot of time wandering around already explored areas just to be sure that I didn't miss anything. I'm immediately going to try the module they published in the Steam Workshop to showcase the Dungeon Maker tools.

 

[fantadomat]

I cant start the campaign.
Game starts, i create chars, select my party etc and begin campaign.
It loads, and then when I click the screen just goes black.

What is the issue here? Do i need to get a later patch from gog?

Most likely the intro video,had similar problem,you just have to delete it from the game folder. Don't remember the exact path tho.

 

[fantadomat]

(not before making a backup in another folder)

Why back it up,it is not critical data? You could just watch it on a player and delete it. Why people keep repeating about making a back up like sheep when it is not needed,is beyond me.

 

[V_K]

I just finished it and the ending sequence is, indeed, a bit underwhelming. The whole "push things and jump around" section highlights the worst aspect of this game: exploration is too linear and most of the time it almost feels like busywork. You keep finding these boulders, trees, and columns that you just have to click on without putting any real thought into it. I think reworking the basics of how the exploration works, adding branching paths and real problems you have to solve instead of those fake puzzles, would greatly improve the game.

I've been thinking about this, and I blame the point-and-click movement. If you had to manually direct your party into position, it'd feel a lot more engaging. It almost worked in the Manacalon Ruin, because the library itself was 3D, so even though stones and pillars needed to be activated in a linear order, finding the next one and figuring which path it opens wasn't as braindead as elsewhere.
Particularly the area with the toppled city is such a wasted opportunity - I loved the brainfuckiness of gravity working differently for you and the objects, but it didn't really go anywhere.

 

[Anonona]

Why back it up,it is not critical data? You could just watch it on a player and delete it. Why people keep repeating about making a back up like sheep when it is not needed,is beyond me.

In my case is just personal preference. I usually like to replay games once in a while to and "relive" the experience, cutscenes included. Also hoped they would fix the issue and could put it back in the game, but seems like it is not going to be the case in a while.

 

[Saravan]

About 70% in. I'm with the crowd here who thinks this is a decent game. The core combat gameplay is fun and I'm liking it. Bit of a shame some classes are missing and whatnot but what's there works for me. Combat encounters and the reactions mechanic are good.

I agree however that the story feels poor and not very engaging. Maps are designed too rail-roady and some encounters are a bit gimmicky due to trying to shove in the verticality everywhere. Itemization feel lackluster and a lot hinges on crafting. A lot of time objects that can be moved or destroyed serve no real purpose and appears unnecessary.

A game that is definitely not without its flaws but one I still liked. Imagine that, enjoying a game, seems almost impossible for some jaded neckbeards to accomplish.

 

[Kabas]

I am not the only one who has a problem with the fly spell? I don't have the option to change the altitude like with the levitate spell and can't find anything in the settings. Kinda lame that my wizard can't fly out of the reach of ghouls unless there is higher ground to stand on nearby.

Completed the dark castle and just entered the monastery with my full halfling party, so far the game is good but could be better. Solasta could really use a separate inventory for crafting and in-game encyclopedia that explains 5th edition rules like what finesse and versatily means. The UI is as ugly as most female character faces but functional.
The game is indeed in desperate need of more classess.

 

[V_K]

I am not the only one who has a problem with the fly spell? I don't have the option to change the altitude like with the levitate spell and can't find anything in the settings.

There's a button in the middle of the compass. Press it, then small arrows appear above and below it. Use them to select a plane to move to.

Solasta could really use a separate inventory for crafting

The crafting interface doesn't care which character is holding the reagents, so there's no need to juggle them anyway.

 

[Kabas]

The crafting interface doesn't care which character is holding the reagents, so there's no need to juggle them anyway.

Still, i don't like the clutter all these ingredients create. I prefer to keep my inventory clean.

Upd: Just checked the compass thingie, thanks!

 

[lukaszek]

im in library and there is a chest that i cant reach. My halfling thief with jump spel boost cant get there. Levitate allows only movement up and down right? Misty step doesnt appear to reach there

 

[Kabas]

im in library and there is a chest that i cant reach. My halfling thief with jump spel boost cant get there. Levitate allows only movement up and down right? Misty step doesnt appear to reach there

I found it unreachable without the fly spell. There will be sidequest later that asks you to return to the library, by that point you will have the access to fly.

 

[V_K]

You can do it with misty step, which is a 2-level spell.

 

[The_Mask]

Spider-walk + misty step.

 

[Multi-headed Cow]

Fucking hell, getting to Coparan and then having a dwarf guard walk up and ask "HALT! Who goes there?" in a high pitched breaking voice made me laugh harder than anything else.

Also the faces have inexplicably changed. I had the prosper face on my cleric and actually was enjoying it, especially because his eyes would look in different directions, but now he's a goddamn normie. Take this screenshot I took, his paper doll is the new face but his portrait is still using the old one. On the bright side it seems like both his and the fighter's beards aren't quite as fucked up any more. The fighter's in particular, it was doing this weird shit where half of it would go transparent because of his armor. The new face for my cleric is certainly BETTER but it lacks the personality of the busted one. He always had a worried expression and his wall-eyed stare was endearing. The icons for crossbow bolts are different now too.

 

[Polanski]

Fucking hell, getting to Coparan and then having a dwarf guard walk up and ask "HALT! Who goes there?" in a high pitched breaking voice made me laugh harder than anything else.

Also the faces have inexplicably changed. I had the prosper face on my cleric and actually was enjoying it, especially because his eyes would look in different directions, but now he's a goddamn normie. Take this screenshot I took, his paper doll is the new face but his portrait is still using the old one. On the bright side it seems like both his and the fighter's beards aren't quite as fucked up any more. The fighter's in particular, it was doing this weird shit where half of it would go transparent because of his armor. The new face for my cleric is certainly BETTER but it lacks the personality of the busted one. He always had a worried expression and his wall-eyed stare was endearing. The icons for crossbow bolts are different now too.

Exact same thing happened to my Fauffy.

Spoiler

Total bullshit, to change a guy's face, due to some fascist beaty standards.

 

[lukaszek]

so... thief archetype is basically spiderman healer when need arises? are there plenty of wands, scrolls and weird potions or did I chose wrong?

If thief actually can use strong scrolls with his bonus action then he's far more powerful late game wise than the other two subclasses, especially darkweaver who basically just deal few extra damage points when he's above enemy. Shadowcaster surely has more defensive abilities but I'm not sure about damage potential, probably none.

yeah thats basically my thinking, plus i love playing tricksters.
for now green mage and thief are mvps with their sneakery + jumping around and always having nice position.

btw how can I check why am I at disadvantage? Had 1 fight against lizards when my rog was always on some upper platform, yet through whole fight her shots were at disadvantage against every enemy

it appears that thief cant use scrolls at all. There is no umd?

 

[Zed Duke of Banville]

This is the real man's achievement:

Avatar:

 

[The_Mask]

It's satire okay

 

[Bah]

it appears that thief cant use scrolls at all. There is no umd?

For 5e, generically, if the spell isn't from your class, you can't cast it. If the spell is from your class, you can cast it, but have to pass a d20 check.

Rogues only bypass the class requirement at level 13.

By 13th level, you have learned enough about the workings of magic that you can improvise the use of items even when they are not intended for you. You ignore all class, race, and level requirements on the use of magic items.

 

[Lacrymas]

You can cast spells from scrolls as a 13th level Thief. However, how that works is not very clear. If we are going by RAW, you can just cast whatever you want from a scroll whenever, in effect bypassing the DC check. That makes you better at casting from scrolls than the caster classes themselves, though, so It's up to the DM to homebrew a solution.

 

[lukaszek]

aaaand... max lvl is 10?

 

[NJClaw]

aaaand... max lvl is 10?

Look on the bright side: you're gonna be able to experience the thrill of planning a character build you're never going to play because the campaign is going to end sooner than you expect.

GOTY 2021

 

[Cryomancer]

Very hard game

This is the real man's achievement:

Good lucky vs vampires. Unless you are playing with paladins...

Don't worry. We know people who will start with 4 wizards to compensate.

4 Shock Arcanists to be exactly.
-------

Look how much damage my Paladin can dish in a single attack

 

[Multi-headed Cow]

Exact same thing happened to my Fauffy.

FAUFFY GANG RISE UP, WE DON'T HAVE TO TAKE THIS ABUSE!

 

[Crispy]

Notes from Crispy's Desk:

Again, sorry for not following the thread, and apologies if anything I'm stating here has already been mentioned/discussed/debated/started a violent argument over, but I amuse myself when contributing such.

- With today's patch (1.0.18), I *think* some or all characters' faces have been "stealth-fixed"; the female dwarf cleric I made looks a little less like a Down's Syndrome patient now. Also, rather hilariously, my human paladin mysteriously grew a goatee... Every one of my characters does look subtly better now. I might be imagining things, though.

- The game certainly runs smoother than the Early Access did, although much of that might be due to my recent massive hardware upgrade. Nevertheless, I haven't had a single crash nor bug so far, other than the cosmetic stuff.

- Despite the rocky start with the full release, I've fallen in-love with this game all over. Just completed the first large Sorak fight getting out of the caves and -- while I already knew what tactical approaches to take due to my having played the EA rather extensively previously -- this is no cake-walk for any party. The difficulty is just right and the outcome of this kind of battle very much depends on you not fucking up and putting one of your party members into a bad spot (literally) nor leaving them exposed with no cover or out of range of healing spells. The combat reminds me a lot of the great old games like X-COM.

- I see a lot of complaints about the blocky UI, how it's far too large and ugly. I say bullshit. I actually prefer it the way it is as opposed to some weird elven flowery bullshit surrounding each menu item or some overly decorated elements distracting me from what I'm looking at. I do play at 1440, so the proportions of the inventory boxes, the portraits, etc., all seem great to me, but who knows?

- Music is just lovely. Nothing much else to say about it.

- Tip for anyone not digging the stock camera controls: remap rotate screen to A and D, make sure screen edge scrolling works (don't forget to enable the confine cursor option under GUI to get this to work) and remap selecting all characters to the tilde key. This is the standard layout for all iso RPGs I've used over the years and it always seems the most natural. I wish the speed of camera rotation could be modified; as it is it's a little too aggressive but I'm getting used to it.

Stupid question but one I'll ask anyway: anyone know how or where to view the bio that the player writes for each character at chargen can be viewed? I always try to write a half-intelligent blurb about my characters whenever this kind of this is an option in an RPG. But I can't find it now after initial chargen is done and I'm in the game.

Please tag me with any replies as desired. No spoilers for the Old Man!