Unreal World - Roguelike

[Tatsuki]

Hey all.

So theres a roguelike game in development (it has been in development for about 12 years or so) being made by a single guy and I've been playing each new build as it comes along for 3 of those years and I've been in love with what he is doing with it.

Recently I went to update to the newest built to find out that the developer is having issues with piracy anyway so he is biting the bullet and just putting the latest build out for free to everyone.

http://www.unrealworld.fi/ (if anyone is interested)

A bit of blurb for those who don't know about it or do not wish to follow the link, its a 2D topdown roguelike as I imagine many of you are experienced with, set in Iron Age Finland and the creator is trying to make the game more and more authentic to life then with each update, making the game all about survival. There is no end game or story right now, but staying alive, keeping warm and having food day to day is enough of a challenge to make the game exciting.

So I was just wondering if anyone else has played this or been keeping an eye on it. I play a little each day and still feel a sense of accomplishment every time I manage to trap large prey.

 

[The Madman]

Sure, I know Unreal World. The way I always describe the game to those in the gaming community that haven't heard of it is to simply say that it's a more realistic singleplayer Dwarf Fortress.

Realistic in that it's meant to take place during a real historic period, and singleplayer in the sense that rather than controlling an entire fortress worth of characters in Unreal World you only control one character. Otherwise the main similarity between the two is that sort of singular focus on detail that only an impressively driven indie developer can deliver.

The main drive of the game early on is just to survive. Things such as food and drink are considered obviously, but more complex concepts such as general health, sickness, warmth, and shelter are also taken into consideration. Similarly it's entirely possible to injure your leg early in the game then have it become fatal later on because your character didn't know how to properly take care of the wound. You can break bones, bleed to death, receive head injuries, all sorts of fun stuff.

But should you survive all that you can also build, trade, and expand. Sorta like a hardcore version of The Sims.

Like Dwarf Fortress it's also not much to look at but it's got it where it counts. Fun little game for sure, I haven't really dug into it in a few years but last time I played it I had a blast and I'm looking forward to trying it again sometime in the future.

 

[aozgolo]

I've played the game, and while I love the concept of the game, the UI is very archaic and that's what makes it hard for me to get into. You literally need to memorize hotkeys all over your keyboard, while yes there's an in-game hotkey sheet to tell you what's what, it becomes annoying every few actions to have to hit ? to figure out what key you needed for whatever it is you were wanting to do.

If the UI was ever updated I think the game could be amazing, and up there along with other great open world sandbox rogue-likes. The depth to the gameplay is very nice but much akin to Dwarf Fortress, it's only accessible to the more hardcore players.

 

[Tatsuki]

I had the same issue with the UI at first but after a bit of playing and realising you only need 2 important shortcuts I just kind of forgot about that issue. (Just pressing S or shift+M will solve 90% of problems)

That being said the creator actively helps people modding his game and I've no doubt there will be UI tweaks out there.

As for being only for hardcore players, trust me it's not. Yes its a bit intense for a new player but once you get a few of the key concepts it's actually rather simple, and if you survive a few months with some good fortune becomes out right casual. A brutal learning curve. On the other hand a new player will just see many dead characters and may well get frustrated, my list of ancestors is huge.

 

[Drathnoxis]

Ugh, I just spent 3 hours with this game and I just can't get into it. It's not that I'm picky about graphics or anything, as I am an avid nethacker (with ascii sprites).

The UI is just atrocious. You have to manually turn around! That is just too much! If something as basic as walking requires complex button inputs the game is basically unplayable. The only way moving could be worse is if you were required to put one foot after the other.

Other than that it was just dull, I found some water, did some fishing, built a shelter, cooked some food, and was getting kind of bored. Then I went tracking, oh goodness. The skill is completely useless. I wandered about for a while, then climbed a couple trees at the insistence of a forum post I found, but that accomplished nothing other than bruising my neck and groin.

I did manage to wander across a couple of birds, a fox, and a bear, but they all outran me and dodged my knife. Then I figured I'd just attack one of the villages I saw. I managed to kill a guy and mortally wound another until the guard stabbed me in the stomach and killed me. I'm not sure, but that seems to be the most excitement the game has to offer.

I would have been willing to forgive the graphics if the gameplay was good, but it's not so I can't. They are just downright ugly. The use of real photos combined with bad sprites just make the game look like babby's first roguelike.

Thanks, but I think I'll stick to Don't Starve for my survival rogueliking needs.

 

[Kajin]

Unreal World is pretty awesome. I love survival type games and UW is one of the better ones. Wish it had a better end game, though. Once you get yourself established there's no more challenge to it. I have at least three or four saves where I have a fully built log cabin and thousands of pounds worth of meat and vegetables. I started playing Hurt Helpless and Afraid in Winter to add some extra challenge but once I finally managed to survive that it still has the same end game problems.

Dunno why people think the UI is awful. I got used to it quite easily.