Torchlight (from the creators of Diablo)

Hey all,
Anyone else excited for this game? It's looking to be really solid. Some are calling it the "real Diablo III" because a lot of the creators of this are ex-Blizz guys who were instrumental in creating the original Diablo series. That might be a stretch considering this game is smaller in scope (understandable given the $20 price tag) and the multiplayer component is going to be released in a future installed. Still, I know I'll be picking it up regardless.

http://www.joystiq.com/2009/10/14/steam-to-be-lit-by-torchlight-on-october-27/
http://www.torchlightgame.com/

 

I don't think the whole "these guys worked on diablo" argument is valid after what happened to Hellgate London & Flagship, but this looks like a Diablo 1 clone so it might tie people over until Diablo 3 comes out, and lol, who called this the 'real Diablo III'

 

The "Real Diablo III" stuff is just message board chatter, I said it in jest and quickly discounted it. It's just funny to think about how Diablo's legacy is surviving in two multiple paths (the actual Diablo III and this).

I agree that Hellgate & Flagship have a bad history, but this is not the same team that was working on Hellgate. Hellgate just tried to do wayyyyy too much with wayy too little and came out a mess.

These guys were working out of the Seattle office on a separate game - Mythos, a Diablo-esque game that was getting very good responses from the testing community, until Flagship went under for financial reasons.

 

These guys worked on Hellgate.... I'll pass

 

I don't trust anyone associated with Flagship Studios and Hellgate.

 

Wow, looks like World of Diablocraft, I'd get it without a thought if it had multiplayer, but I don't like the idea of a blizzard-esque game where multiplayer is the afterthought - rather than one of the main selling points.

 

I think it actually looks decent, like a D3 clone for sure, but hey maybe D3 is the REAL D3 clone...

 

that's just crazy talk

as for all the hate for flagship, failgate london flopped but this time they're going back to what they do best, isometric class-based action rpg's, so I don't think it's fair to judge this game based on HgL imo,

although they seem to be going backwards a bit as Diablo 2 is already out and has more than 3 classes and more than 1 town, so if they were gonna make a Diablo clone they could have at least cloned the superior one

 

It is fair to judge this game based on Hellgate: London.

We saw that these guys, without the support of Blizzard, cannot make a proper game.

Hell I'm not going to bother even following these guys. They're a riches to rags story.

edit: Speaking of Blizzard, expect some controversy about the similarities of the art design between WoW and this Torchcrap.

 

I think I will stick with Titan Quest until Diablo 3 comes out, I pre-purchased Hellgate London and although I liked it I never put more than 10hrs in it.

 

I guess I didn't hate Hellgate as much as most everyone else...

Of course, I had no interest in playing online...

It definitely wasn't as polished as Diablo 2, but I found the environment and character classes intriguing...but the polish is what makes Blizzard games great...and whether it was publisher pressure or not, Hellgate went out the gate too soon...

I didn't 'finish' it (other games popped up), but I enjoyed playing it...

I may give this one a try...the price point is right...

 

As said, i'll stick with Titan Quest until Diablo 3. Unless of course it gets glowing reviews from you guys/reviewers. Then I may give it a shot.

 

When it first came out, it crashed every 15-20 minutes so I'm not surprised you didn't invest too much time in it

Titan Quest has it's flaws but it's a really good game.

 

The thing with Hellgate is that Flagship flopped!

Now I have a useless $40 disc on my desk. What the hell! I demand a refund, if not then stop making crappy games with the "From the makers of Diablo and Diablo II" moniker. Those makers are still with Blizzard, because they know where the good stuff lies.

 

Be thankful you didn't get suckered into a $150 "lifetime subscription" like some of those poor fools. The game got added content once, and was up for all of what, 8 or 9 months? Hellgate was bad, but the way they swindled their fans was worse.

I pre-ordered and saw the mess the beta was in and passed on all of it. Just goes to show you never subscribe until you know exactly what you are getting.

 

Titan Quest is so gooooooooooooood. I played it hardcore back in March or so, but I haven't picked it back up since April. Do people play it online still? Never see anyone online when I've looked up servers.

 

haha oh yeah the lifetime subscription, i forgot the crap they tried to pull off, i feel less inclined to support this new studio of theirs now

 

In all fairness, the main developer for Torchlight at Runic Games is Travis Baldree, who had nothing at all to do with the development of Hellgate London. Granted the Schaefer brothers are also big at Runic, and they were also big in developing HG:L, but Runic also doesn't have a lot of old Flagship staff (such as the main Flagship "figurehead": Bill Roper).

Ultimately, we'll see how this game pans out. I can see now that the stakes are very high for these guys, as they're already on thin ice after HG:L.

 

Wow, this game is quite spectacular. Miles ahead of Titan Quest IMO. The graphics are stylized and sharp. For any price this game is worth picking up, let alone $20. I haven't had so much fun in a LONG time!

 

Is the game out already? It does look cool, was thinking about getting it.

 

I just played the demo for an hour, its pretty fun!

$20 is a good price, but so many games are out/coming out atm

 

Rip no! You still got borderlands to be addicted to!

 

It's been getting solid early reviews.
RPGamer gave it a 4.5/5

I can't wait to install and play it tonight after work!!!

 

I'm playing it now and it's pretty good, reminds me of Diablo II. They even have netbook mode to play the game.

 

If anyone is wondering, Borderlands is what HG:L should have been. It's got heavier system requirements, but it's killer fun.

It's what you would get if you put Diablo 2, Unreal (original) and Mass Effect in a bag with flour and spices, shook it, and baked it.

 

Sounds interesting
Im downloading the demo right now.

 

This game is so much fun, I haven't been this stricken with carpal tunnel since the D2!

 

Wow I think I'm going to pick this game up, should hold me off until diablo 3
I tried to play diablo 2 a few months ago, but I was such a noob and I didn't know what to do, I think I missed the train on diablo 2. Truthfully I don't mind not being able to play online as now I don't have to worry about trying to be better than everybody else.

This game came out of nowhere

 

From someone who have the HGL lifetime subs. Get over it. HGL flopped because of bad management. No fault of the programming staff. It was rush out the door before it's time and it flopped.

I just bought this last night and it kept me up till midnight (I'm old and I need my beauty sleep). It also kept me away from Champion Online Blood Moon events. If you were looking for a refined Diablo II, this is it. The interface is better, the graphics are better, the music are better, the voice acting maybe now as strong. But for a $20 game, you'll definitely get our moneys worth.

 

how long is the single player campaign? is it like diablo 1 or 2 in terms of length?

 

Most people have been saying 20-60 hours depending on the difficulty, and how many random dungeons and side quests you do.

I'd expect much longer once the modding communities releases some additional quests/classes, somewhere down the road.

 

Gamespot AU review gives it a 8.0 score, what really surprises me is the rock-bottom system requirements for getting the game to run.

 

I'll get this at some point because its so cheap ($20) and it supports 3x monitors.

I give major props and thumbs up for coming out with a good game like this and selling it at a great price, just that this kind of game does not hold my attention too long before it gets kinda repetitive and boring.

 

Yeah, this game is awesome. An excellent thing to do while waiting around for something else to pop up. Level 27 Destroyer and 12 hours in, still doesn't feel repetative.

 

Well I ended up picking up this game, lol I was picking up L4D2 preorder and I'm like why not, it feels like somewhere between Diablo 2 and Diablo 3 so it'll tie D-addicts until then. I haven't spent much time at all yet but I'll give some impressions.

Some of the features in Diablo 2 are more streamlined like transmutation and enchanting and all that where they have a dedicated NPC for that instead of carrying a cube in your inventory.

I like the pet system, especially because I'm playing the vanquisher (ranged, think D2 assassin/amazon hybrid). And apparently you can feed various fishes to your pet that'll modify its strengths and weaknesses? (can someone else commen on that). Your pet also has its own inventory where you can drop stuff in there and send him back to town to sell stuff.

The inventory system gives us a glimpse of what to expect from Diablo 3, it's a matrix that takes one item per slot instead of tetris style (e.g. items take up 1x1 in TL, whereas in diablo a buckler might take 2x2, a sword might take 1x3, etc)

Leveling up system is done by the same Diablo "5 point allocation" system, you've got your usual strength, dexteriy, magic, and defense. But magic and defense doesn't raise your mana and health, it just raises damage and damage reduction respectively, I guess the health/mana you get per level up is a lot more to compensate for that which I like because all you did in D2 was raise your life/hp once you've figured out your final build and gotten all your minimum required str/dex stats.

There's also a fame system but I can't comment on that. There's more voice acting in this game than I expected for a $20 game, although the voice acting itself isn't anything to talk about.

The music reminds me of old school Diablo tristram, there's that guitar playing with that melody that instantly reminded me of that.

The graphics are cartoony which is the best decision for them to go with, instead of bumping up the game another $10-20 and bumping up the requirements of the game to try to go for something more realistic and intensive. And it's like Diablo where when you equip a piece of equipment, you see it reflected on your avatar so it gives your character a bit of a customized look based on what you've equipped but then again...

...there's no multiplayer so you're gonna be unique enough without the need for customization. But that's another factor of the great pricing of the game, they didn't need to worry about how characters will interact with each other and balancing out the characters for pvp and etc, but games like this are really expected to have a multiplayer so that's a shame.

 

^

Yes, you can indeed feed fish to your pet to make him/her stronger, or temp. altered their appearances.

 

Feeding your pet fish to change things and also sending him back to town to sell things sounds an awful lot like Fate.

 

This game is amazing.

I'm currently playing a Lvl 26 Alchemist, and I have an army of minions.

 

try ember lance, gaming breaking powerful.

 

anyone try this on a netbook?

 

I am going to buy it soon.

 

It's a wonderful game! I don't think you'll regret it. Give the game a couple months and the modders will be doing some amazing stuff! We are being given the complete editors tools.

 

I preordered the game and have been playing it for a day or two. Hoenstly its great. There is even a netbook mode. I have yet to find anything i don't like about it. Its like they took Diablo II and improved every part of it. The game play is adicting and the enviornment and enemies change often enough to keep you interested. Good loot drops all the time. Honestly this is the best 18$ I have spent this year, but Shattered Horizons comes out this week, so we will see if that changes.

 

Tried the demo...

My old, tired laptop ran it easily in all its 1920x1200 glory...loved the game...

I would say its spiritual predecessor was Fate though...not Hellgate: London or Diablo 2...may have been some of the same people, but the game is a lot like a much improved, faster version of Fate...

Downloading from D2D now...

 

Tried Demo.. like it. Purchased a key and downloading full version now. I will play it a while tonight waiting for Dragon's Age. I like that it is simple and never ends. Other games can learn from this one. Not every game has to be so complicated... and here is a thought... GAMEPLAY... Congrats to the makers of torchlight. you did good. and thanks for considering those who have less than optimal systems for gaming (netbooks and older notebooks).

Support those who support gamers... you got my 20 bucks.

Best Wishes,

Stevenx

 

The graphics does look good. But I think I'll wait for Diablo 3. Blizzard does take time and making new games but it's worth it.