Eschalon RPG, linux beta demo

[Pancetilla]

I've been playing Eschalon demo for some hours and it looks good so far. It has some areas that definitely need some work and improvement (such as character creation and some diplomatic skills, which are completely undeveloped) but it's good to see some old school RPG running natively in Ubuntu, since Jeff Vogel's games (Geneforge, Avernum...) do not work on linux. You can get more info (and a demo) in its homepage (http://basiliskgames.com/book1.htm).

Anyway, it's a commercial game (I think it's cheap, but its graphics won't appeal everyone), so try it first and try it for some time before some impulse buying. It's been released for Windows and Mac and they're now beta testing the linux demo, planning to release a full version in a non-too distant future, so they may need the linux armada help! Feel free to beta-test it and make some comments in their linux form.

[sirdilznik]

Ooooh, I'm going to download the demo and try it out right away. Don't get me wrong, I like fancy graphics and all, but if the game has immersing gameplay and a good story line then it would seem like a worthwhile investment. One way to find out...

Edit: I only just started, but it seems pretty cool so far. I definitely need more time to get a feel for it, but it looks promising. If it's not particularly expensive I may very well purchase this. I love to support companies that support Linux.

[KhaaL]

Oh, i just watched the youtube teaser... the game looks awesome! Makes me think of shadowrun goodness. I hope it's gonna be modular so people can hack away at it and make their own adventures. And multiplayer of course ;)

[Vadi]

Thanks for the heads up, I'll give it a look.

[cogadh]

This is a sweet game! Not the most graphically intensive, but definitely has some good gameplay. Not to mention, it works without any special tweaking or configuring. Very nice! I'd definitely purchase this, if they go official with a Linux client.

[Vadi]

Yay, something that finally runs on my Radeon 7500. I was getting all depressed here.

[TheIdiotThatIsMe]

Thanks for pointing this one out for us, it works great without any fiddling. I'll have to keep my eye on it while I build up money to buy it. Brokeness :(

[chronusdark]

excellent game i WILL be purchasing

[acoustibop]

The demo runs perfectly for me, on a quite mid range machine. Very impressed and I think I'll be buying.

It occurs to me that this is the direction for Linux gaming to develop in: most of the major game developers probably don't give a monkey's, but for smaller developers like Basilisk, the Linux market may offer an appreciable increase in their sales.

[Vadi]

Yeah, -if- they actually understand the concept of a niche market. Most don't, sadly.

[acoustibop]

That's why I said smaller developers, Vadi. To many of them the increase in sales they could make by offering good games that work well in Linux could be quite significant.

[cogadh]

Too true. We might not be able to get the big guys to develop games for us, but if the little guys do, they don't have to compete with the big guys for our business. It could mean a great boost in sales for them, as long as the games are like this one and seem to be worth purchasing.

[Sockerdrickan]

I just tried it. I won't get it because it only supports 800x600 which is... weird.

The menu was really cool.

If anyone wonders, this game is made in BlitzMax.

[cogadh]

It's a beta, there's nothing saying the final version won't support other resolutions, especially if that is brought to the devs attention as a potential problem. From what I've read on their forums, they seem very receptive to constructive criticisms.

[Sockerdrickan]

Ok. My PoV is that this is a 2D game and they need a fixed size because of that. It would be easy to add other resolutions if they could!

[acoustibop]

Looks like Basilisk are planning to release the full Linux version this weekend.

[cogadh]

Nice! Merry Christmas to me! I'm pretty sure I can convince my wife she still needs to get me one final last minute gift.:lolflag:

[sirdilznik]

Looks like Basilisk are planning to release the full Linux version this weekend.

Sweet!

[Pancetilla]

I think I'm getting this one, even if it lacks some features that I love, like diplomacy skills. But I like the overall feeling (it reminds me of ye olde Fallout games too), the feeling that I'm exploring a worlg and not being railroaded by some bad design, and it's good to see some developers taking some time to release a linux version of their commercial games.

Anyway, they won't be selling any CDs, because they don't expect to sell 100 linux version copies, so it looks that it'll be download only.

[cogadh]

We need to get more than 100 people to buy it, if only to blow away their expectations (plus maybe that could mean future Linux games from Basilisk). I just posted a news bit about it on the UGA, here's hoping it garners a little business for Basilisk.

[Sockerdrickan]

Of course they will sell 100 Linux copies, what are they thinking?

[acoustibop]

Well, they don't just need to sell 100 Linux copies, they need to sell 100 CD versions - my guess would be that they'll probably only sell 1 CD version (@ $37.95 US) to at least every 10 download copies (@ $27.95 US).

[Beren Camlost]

Just tried it and it is indeed a nice and interesting little game :)

As far as the resolution go (800x600), it's by far the most beautiful 800x600 game I've ever seen to the point where you barely notice that it is in low resolution. Go Basilisk!

[beeldings]

As far as the resolution go (800x600), it's by far the most beautiful 800x600 game I've ever seen to the point where you barely notice that it is in low resolution. Go Basilisk!


Agreed. This is one of the best-looking 2D games I've played in a long time. It would be nice if Basilisk provides the option to run the game at resolutions higher than 800x600, but the low resolution did nothing to hinder my enjoyment of the demo and regardless if they decide to implement higher resolutions or not, I will purchase this game.


Not the most graphically intensive, but definitely has some good gameplay.


The beauty of this game is its simplicity. It doesn't have the eyecandy of a commercial title like "World of Warcraft" or "Guild Wars", but what it lacks in graphics it makes up for it with solid gameplay. By not using system-intensive code and power hungry graphics, Basilisk has created a title with broad appeal that can run on a variety of platforms, perfect for someone that doesn't have the latest-and-greatest technology.

The only complaint I have with this particular game is the control scheme. I'm not a fan of using the mouse to point-and-click my character from point A to point B, ideally a control scheme involving the arrow keys for movement or an option to map a custom control scheme would be implemented in the final release (or in a future patch at the very least). The control scheme isn't a showstopper, it was more of an annoyance than anything but I was still able to explore the in-game world and had fun doing so.

Basilisk is one of those companies that you have to keep an eye on. If "Eschalon: Book 1" is an indication of what this company can do, then I eagerly await their future releases. As long as they continue to release Linux ports, then they'll have a customer for life in yours' truly.

[acoustibop]

These issues are not likely to be changed in Book I, beeldings, but resolution for Book II will be 1024x768 (http://www.basiliskgames.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=966). It's also possible (not, I understand, definite, but it is under consideration) that keyboard directional controls will be included for Book II.

[sirdilznik]

Higher resolution would be nice, but the resolution won't stop me from buying the game. It's fun and that's pretty much the bottom line for me.

[acoustibop]

Absolutely, sirdilznik. Book I resolution is only 800 x 600, and I'll be buying that as soon as it's out. Mind you, even at 800 x 600, it looks superb. :)

[Sockerdrickan]

On a 1440x900 it not only looks ugly, but the aspect ratio is weird.

[Pancetilla]

I play it windowed all of the time, anyway.

[cogadh]

Linux client is now for sale, go get your copy today!

[Pancetilla]

Purchased and downloaded! :guitar:

23 € is a bargain for a game like this, I must admit.

[Beren Camlost]

I wants the linux cd! hehe

Perhaps a lot to ask for, considering how far they went already to give us a linux native version. He did however say they might release it, if there were enough interest.. ;)

[RezoApio]

This game is wonderful. And BW support of the user community is just a must.

I have bought the game under windows first and now have switch to the Linux version (windows will be a nice Christmas gift ;-))

Please Linux fan buy the game so we could have the Book II under linux at the same time as windows version.

There is a good Linux part in the basilisk forums section.

Only trick for some ATI user like me is to remove the compiz options.

Cheers

[acoustibop]

I got mine! You don't have to remove Compiz, RezoApio, just disable it. I would think that Eschalon Book 1 would probably run at full speed on fast machines even with Compiz enabled.

[beeldings]

I would love to purchase a Linux CD of Eschalon, but it looks like that depends on how much interest there is in a CD release. Out of curiosity, how many people here would purchase the Eschalon Linux CD if it was released?

[Beren Camlost]

A box that say..

System Requirements:
Linux...sweeeeet! :D

Count me in on that one ;)

Edit: Maybe..

Games for Linux

:guitar:

[Vadi]

I'd prefer "tux-friendly". And then the tux fragger pic.

[mrcold]

puchased!

[sirdilznik]

I play it windowed all of the time, anyway.

Me too. I have widescreen so it would look all kinds of wacky. Windowed is cool anyway so I can do other things at the same time.

Edit: Woohoo!!! I'll probably get it tomorrow.

[beeldings]

I don't know whether this speaks of the performance of Linux or how the game was coded, but I managed to install and run the demo on a Celeron 900 MHz with 256 MB SDRAM and an old NVIDIA Riva TNT2 AGP video card under Ubuntu Gutsy Gibbon. The only option or tweak I made was that I set the game to run in windowed mode as opposed to full-screen. The game ran as well as it could on such outdated hardware, but it was still playable and very much as enjoyable as when I ran it on my other desktop (A64 2.2 Ghz, 2 GB DDR400, GeForce 7800GS, PCLOS Gnome).

I haven't purchased the game yet, I'm waiting to see whether or not a Linux CD will be released. If there is a definitive "yes" or "no" answer from Basilisk regarding the Linux CD, then I will buy the game without worrying about double-dipping if/when the CD is released (even then that's not necessarily a bad thing as I would further support Basilisk and their Linux endeavors).

[K.Mandla]

FANTASTIC game! I'm definitely buying the full version. \\:D/

[acoustibop]

Great news! Basilisk finished their stock of CDs, so they've decided to do just one with all three versions (Linux, Windows and Mac) on it. So all you Linux users who wanted a CD - go for it (http://basiliskgames.com/order.htm)! ;D

[Sockerdrickan]

That sounds nice, have they added support for higher resolutions yet?

[Artificial Intelligence]

Already bought :cool:
Damn nice game, brings me back to ye good ol' days. Really miss this kind of games.

[acoustibop]

I don't think they will add higher resolution to Book I. Book II will run at 1024 x 768, however (http://www.basiliskgames.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=966).