Author Topic: Paper Sorcerer  (Read 2275 times)

Offline zespri

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Paper Sorcerer
« on: January 23, 2014, 04:52:34 am »
http://store.steampowered.com/app/263560/
5 bucks is a good argument, but is it any different from Grimrock? I watch the trailer and the screenshot and it looks like it IS Grimrock with slightly different visuals. Anyone tried it?

Offline Mick

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Re: Paper Sorcerer
« Reply #1 on: January 23, 2014, 07:36:27 am »
I tried the demo a little. It seemed ok, but moved kinda slow. I loved Wizardry as a kid (it was pretty much my first computer game), but that style of combat bores me to tears now.

I don't think nostalgia is the bottomless well that indie devs seem to think it is.

Offline Misery

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Re: Paper Sorcerer
« Reply #2 on: January 26, 2014, 11:39:26 am »
Ooh, this looks like my sort of thing.

I like RPGs (when they're not made of cutscenes), and I very much prefer that they be turn-based (not fond of real-time ones, they tend to be too simple/button-mashy when it comes to combat)..... but I tend not to like JRPGs, which are usually stupidly easy and have stories that are made of crazy.  And they usually ARE made of cutscenes.

I'll give this a go later, provided I dont forget that I just bought it, and give an opinion on it.

Offline madcow

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Re: Paper Sorcerer
« Reply #3 on: January 26, 2014, 12:06:49 pm »
This actually looked more appealing to me than Grimrock (which I got in a humble bundle but never played - its combat system looked very unfun).  So would be good to hear what you (or others) think of it.

Offline zespri

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Re: Paper Sorcerer
« Reply #4 on: January 27, 2014, 01:22:27 am »
Ok, I gave in and bought it. Played just 5 minutes, and I can tell you that the sound is total crap disappointing. It's not quite good by itself, but it's also stitched together in the loops quite awkwardly: it's very annoying how the ends do not fit and the second of silence between them.

The theme is interesting and I like the story so far. Now to choose my first party member!

Offline zespri

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Re: Paper Sorcerer
« Reply #5 on: January 27, 2014, 03:09:41 am »
Got to the sanctuary. The game is ok. I'm not regretting spending the 5 bucks on it. The combat style is like zeboydian Breath of Death and Cthulhu Saves the World.
However I have a suspicion that I liked Breath of Death better. I mean if by now I've seen it all in Paper Sorcerer, I'll be hugely disappointed. At least Breath of Death has an overworld which Paper Sorcerer does not seem to have (well apart from the sanctuary). I've finished my playtime for today and probably won't be able to return to it until next weekend, but then we'll see.

Offline orzelek

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Re: Paper Sorcerer
« Reply #6 on: January 27, 2014, 09:12:43 am »
Thanks for the info zespri. I'm also kind of on fence with this one esp. after Grimrock which I disliked (combat system as one of main culprits). Might & Magic X Legacy has also very mixed reviews so RPG's like this are scarce recently.

Offline Mick

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Re: Paper Sorcerer
« Reply #7 on: January 27, 2014, 09:19:35 am »
I just want to re-iterate. There is a demo.

You don't have to go into it blind.

Offline Misery

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Re: Paper Sorcerer
« Reply #8 on: January 27, 2014, 10:53:22 am »
Got to the sanctuary. The game is ok. I'm not regretting spending the 5 bucks on it. The combat style is like zeboydian Breath of Death and Cthulhu Saves the World.
However I have a suspicion that I liked Breath of Death better. I mean if by now I've seen it all in Paper Sorcerer, I'll be hugely disappointed. At least Breath of Death has an overworld which Paper Sorcerer does not seem to have (well apart from the sanctuary). I've finished my playtime for today and probably won't be able to return to it until next weekend, but then we'll see.

A game like this one is a "pure" dungeon crawler.  Something like Breath of Death is just a basic JRPG style game. Breath of Death specifically is done in the style of the old Dragon Warrior/Quest games that were back on the NES/Famicom (which is a most excellent style to emulate).  Wheras dungeon crawler types are essentially just pure dungeons.  You spend most, if not all, of the game inside of the dungeons, and while there's usually a town of some sort outside, it's typically just menus that you go through to interact with characters and buy/sell and whatever.  I've never seen a game of this type that has an overworld.  They do though have the full turn-based combat usually, and are usually DRAMATICALLY more difficult than any JRPG (which are usually easy to the point of curing insomnia).  This one looks like it might be on the easy side though.  What I'm familiar with in this subgenre of RPG will frequently kill the crap outta you within the first 20 minutes or so.

Generally it's the sort of RPG I personally get into.  Normal JRPGs usually just bore me. Or at least the ones that try to be Final Fantasy sure do.

But we'll see.  I didn't have a chance to try this one.  Because snow exists, my connection has been gibberingly insane all night.  Cant download anything with it going "DUUURRRRRRRRR" every .00001 seconds.

Offline madcow

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Re: Paper Sorcerer
« Reply #9 on: January 27, 2014, 12:22:46 pm »
The zeboyd games are all quite excellent with a combat system they have really refined with each iteration. /derail

Offline zespri

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Re: Paper Sorcerer
« Reply #10 on: January 27, 2014, 01:46:21 pm »
They do though have the full turn-based combat usually, and are usually DRAMATICALLY more difficult than any JRPG (which are usually easy to the point of curing insomnia).  This one looks like it might be on the easy side though.  What I'm familiar with in this subgenre of RPG will frequently kill the crap outta you within the first 20 minutes or so.

Generally it's the sort of RPG I personally get into.  Normal JRPGs usually just bore me. Or at least the ones that try to be Final Fantasy sure do.

Yeah, I'm a different type of audience, I don't enjoy dying a lot and I also do not enjoy restarting from scratch like many roguelikes force you to do, but that's a discussion we've already head.
I actually started playing Paper Sorcerer on easy difficulty, and for me the first part was satisfying. I'm not hardcore. I looked up some reviews and they do mention "puzzles" which I assume are environmental puzzles and I'm looking forward to see them. I only wish they added some sounds options, because frankly the sound is simply maddening and there is no way to adjust it.

Grimrock  - yes, it's the puzzles part that I enjoyed most. I do agree that a combat system that forces you to circle around the enemy could be improved - definitely understand the complaint.

Offline zespri

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Re: Paper Sorcerer
« Reply #11 on: February 01, 2014, 03:04:18 am »
I complained on the steam forums that it's inconvenient not being able to load during battles, and here is what I got from the developer:

Quote

I'm glad you're enjoying the game, it really makes me feel good that this thing I made to my tastes makes people happy.
The quit game and load feature you're asking for is entirely out of scope for me, I'm afraid. The architecture of the game is such that I don't have the ability to add that kind of feature. I will consider it for future games, though. I understand your frustration as I've played other games with the same lack in functionality, and I know it's tedious, but I wasn't able to find a workaround in the system to add it during development, so it didn't happen.

TLDR; can't do it man, I'm only one dev and the game wasn't built to support that functionality
Sorry I can't do it. Thanks for your patience.

Somehow, I have not started the game even once, after I read this. I might be too sensitive, but that somehow killed all the enjoyment for me.