The Hand of Merlin
Room-C Games Developer
Versus Evil Publisher
2021-05-11 Release
Game News Posts:
132
🎹🖱️Keyboard + Mouse
Mostly Positive
(293 reviews)
Public Linux Depots:
- GameBin_Linux [91.57 M]
- Common_Linux [23.65 M]
Dev blog 66 - Balancing complexity
The game is getting stable - Skill is becoming more and more the greatest marker of success, and luck is less swingy.
The game is Hard. New players in particular will face a lot of frustration before they start acquiring some success.
[/olist]
And hey, thats reasonable, right? We have an easy mode if you want to dip your toes, and the game is about learning - you follow Merlins quest to regain his powers, and understand how best to save each world
But I think we are in a spot where most players will face such a wall that they wont want to put the time in to master the game. Imagine if most players could never defeat the first boss in Slay the Spire in their first dozen runs, or if your first week in Noita was only in the first area.
Pretty sad, man.
So we want to make it a bit more approachable. A bit more forgiving, especially in Albion. Now, this will be an ongoing process, and thats my favourite part of Early Access: We will be receiving a lot of data from you, our players!
Apart from getting the game in a more approachable state, we also want to tackle how it scales in the late game when youll have all your skills and gear.
Do we have enough variety in the viable builds?
Is the best build too obviously strong to be the only thing worth pursuing?
Are a few of the landmarks the absolute best to visit every time?
All those questions are going to be answered with your help and a lot of telemetry. I can promise you that we are doing what we can to ensure a fair, engaging experience, but in such a complex game with so many options, we have to get as many players in. During our Early Access, Ill be perusing the telemetry data and getting to know which abilities you are picking, which ones are never used, your favourite heroes, and even which enemies are giving you guys too much trouble.
So be patient, and thank you in advance for all the feedback! Im excited to make this game as good as it can be!
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If youre interested in the game, youll be able to play it real soon! In the meantime, you can come to our Discord server and tell us what youd like to see in the game, and share your excitement with us. Were excited about the early access release as well!
MarkoP
https://store.steampowered.com/app/600610/The_Hand_of_Merlin/
[ 2021-04-28 11:06:33 CET ] [ Original post ]
Hey folks!
Early access is so close we can taste it. As such, Mat is sweating like a madman from what people will tell us about the design of the game. Hes doing his best to balance the thing as much as possible, but without a larger dataset, its not really achievable. So Mat has written a bit about the topic.
This is what he has to say.
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Balancing a game is never easy. You want it to be a decent challenge to players of all skill levels, you want it to be easy to pick up but have enough complexity to allow everyone to keep improving, and finally, you want it to be enjoyable.
Theres a lot of theory about it. Most game designers can describe a version of the concept of Flow or how to graph a difficulty curve But trying to actually make it work? Its a whole challenge.
Right now, The Hand of Merlin is a demanding game. It expects you to understand a lot of minutia on how each Abomination works, learn their AI patterns, and how to create viable builds while not having full control and knowledge (Roguelite, yall.). Its unforgiving and punishes misplays heavily.
The result is seen on our latest playtests with fresh players - only after over a dozen runs could someone progress to the later zones consistently. This means two things:
[olist]
[ 2021-04-28 11:06:33 CET ] [ Original post ]
The Hand of Merlin is a turn-based rogue-lite RPG in which Arthurian legend clashes with cosmic horror. Recruit a company of up to three mortal heroes and guide them in spirit on a desperate journey from Albion to Jerusalem. Explore a richly-imagined medieval setting on the brink of apocalypse. Trade with merchants, improve your heroes and unearth ancient relics. Search for the lost fragments of your soul, scattered across the multiverse - and save as many worlds as you can.
Enjoy a compelling story inspired by Arthurian legend, the Matter of France, and the history of Al-Andalus - with an unusual twist. Make choices in interactive encounters that change every time you play. Written by Jonas Kyratzes (The Talos Principle, Serious Sam 4) and Verena Kyratzes (The Lands of Dream, Serious Sam 4).
Master the tactics of squad-based and turn-based combat to conquer both human and demonic foes. Your enemies will be tough and ruthless; make use of cover, set up ambushes and coordinated attacks, harness synergies between different Hero classes and skills.
Carve a path across the lands of Albion, Marca Hispanica and Al-Andalus. Will you take a dangerous route, risking life and limb in pursuit of a legendary relic? Or will you choose a safer path? Plan and prepare. Negotiate, barter, fight. Tackle challenges. Suffer losses. Recruit new Heroes. Earn Gold, Supplies and Renown. Be careful: your choices are permanent, as is death. But don't tarry - evil never rests.
Use Renown to level up your Heroes, and choose between a randomized set of new skills or improved attributes. But choose wisely! Select skills with great synergy and balance your party for the road ahead.
As you jump from one parallel dimension to the next, history is reshaped. Different kings rule the land, changing the encounters, characters, and events. No two worlds are ever quite the same, and each journey will be unique. And should your heroes fall, remember: defeat is not the end, only a new beginning.
Seek out towns to improve your arms and armor, or stumble upon hermit artisans in the wild. With every day that passes, the world plunges deeper into darkness, and you will need all the equipment gold can buy.
From a peasant's humble luck charm to the legendary sword wielded by Arthur himself, items imbued with magical power are scattered about the world. Some you will be able to purchase from merchants and collectors, but others will have to be earned through acts of heroism - or displays of wit.
Rain thunder and brimstone upon your foes! Seek out and gather Soulstones to restore your power and unlock new Spells. Even if defeated, your spirit will retain all of your collected arcane knowledge as you jump into the next dimension.
There are as many worlds as there are stars in the sky. In each stands Camelot; in each there is a Grail. But there is only one Merlin, and his eternal burden is to stand against the horror from beyond. Each world that is saved is saved forever; each world that is lost is lost for good.
https://store.steampowered.com/app/600610/The_Hand_of_Merlin/
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