Arcanum: Of Steamworks and Magick Obscura

[i] Гра є дебютним проєктом Troika Games, цю студію у 1998 році створили вихідці з Interplay Entertainment — Тім Кейн, Леонард Боярський та Джейсон Андерсон (творці першого Fallout, а надалі й багатьох інших RPG). За весь час було створено всього три гри - Arcanum, The Temple of Elemental Evil, Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines. У 2005 році велике мистецтво розбилося о жорстокий бізнес — відбулося закриття студії. Вони залишили величезний внесок в історії відеоігор. [/i] Уявіть собі політ на величезному цепеліні над потонулими в тумані гірськими хребтами. Каюти пасажирів та обідня зала блищить від розкоші інтер'єру, офіціанти подають гостям дорогі напої, столи рясніють багатьма наїдками. Вельми шановне панство в розкішних нарядах вікторіанської епохи веде спокійну світську бесіду. Джентльмени у строгих фраках грають в шахи повільно потягуючи сигари, панянки у вишуканих сукнях розповсюджують останні чутки. Політ просувається добре, панство розважається та відпочиває. Ось в небі вимальовуються примарні силуети дивних машин. Вони поки невеличкі плямки у мареві туману, мабуть, наш почесний ескорт. Невідомі біплани підлітають ближче та відкривають вогонь по хмароплаву, а один виконує всім відомий маневр — камікадзе. Паніка, вибухи й після чого відбувається неприємне приземлення. Хоча з іншого погляду приємно те що ми змогли його пережити. Тепер сама доля каже — вижив, то й чимчикуй у великий світ, дізнавайся що тут коїться. Яке ж задоволення було створювати свого персонажа. Всесвіт унікальний, переплетені магія і технологія, середньовічна та промислова епохи, капіталізм та соціальна нерівність, зверху ще й стімпанком приправлено. Хочеш грай в класичне фентезі RPG - створи мага, там тих шкіл магії хоч греблю гати, чи пограй лицарем — обери лук, меч, молот, обладунки та вперед писки бити. А раптом хочеш гранатою в того мага жбурнути, чи лицарю дірок наробити з гвинтівки — не проблема, є і такі технічні можливості. Можна й соціальні навички прокачати та тягати за собою побратимів, дупку свою прикриваючи, а у важких ситуаціях переконувати супротивників красномовністю. Є особливості які залежать від рас та особиста історія що впливає на ваші характеристики. Звісно процес творіння відбувається в цифрах та літерах, візуальні налаштування обмежені вибором портретика ^^. https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3742731693 Графіка виконана в ізометрії – двовимірні фони, речі та персонажі розташовані під певним кутом що б виглядати об'ємними. Освітлення оточення на той час виглядало надсучасно – зміна часу доби, яскраві магічні ефекти, нічні вулиці освітлені ліхтарями. Візуально картинка приємна, хоча видно що багато елементів на мапі генерується автоматично. Рука митця проглядається на визначальних локаціях, деякі замальовки виглядають дуже класно. У підсумку скажу що графіка виглядає компромісно. Нема власноруч намальованих фонів місцевості, але завдяки випадково згенерованим локаціям з'являється відчуття що світ відкритий та велетенський. https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3745488172 Ігролад Acranum побудований навколо складної рольової системи, тактичних боїв, нелінійності, управління загоном й навіть навички роботи з текстом. Почнемо з останнього – вказівника куди вам рухатися в грі нема, є тільки щоденник. В ньому поверхнево зазначені прийняті доручення і чутки від місцевих жителів. Гортаючи цей записник туди-сюди можна дізнатися локації з додатковими завданнями чи знайти цікавинки на глобальній мапі. Як виконувати квести залишимо на ваш розсуд. Шляхи воїна, злодія чи дипломата до ваших послуг майже для кожного завдання. Щоб це було захопливо й цікаво творці вигадали багато навичок, які пов’язані одна з одною. Наприклад граючи за механіка, що користується вогнепальною зброєю, треба качати ремонт, бо пістоль часто клинить. Стане у нагоді й траволікування, бо магічне зцілення на технаря перестає діяти. Й не для кого не новина, що вміння нишпорити у кишенях, підкрадання та злам замків тісно пов’язані. Керування загоном теж важлива здібність. Кому напарити все назбиране для подальшого продажу, кого залишити прикривати й підліковувати у підтримці. Прямого керування колегами нема, вони на свій розсуд обирають зброю та обладунки зі свого спорядження, самостійно п'ють еліксири та використовують магію, а підрізати щось цікавеньке з підлоги для них – як дурню з гори збігти. Конфлікті ситуації з ворогами вирішуються у покроковому режимі. Є альтернатива у вигляди боїв у реальному часі з тактичною паузою, кому більш до вподоби рефлекси замість стратегії. Ось тут й побачите чи правильно ви прокачали боєві вміння. Загалом рольова система складна й багатошарова. Розібратися чому певна навичка не працює доволі складно і не очевидно. Теж стосується виконування квестів, чому саме так потрібно було його виконувати чи що мене мало мотивувати залізти от у той самий льох та побачити те що я пропустив – зовсім не зрозуміло. Мабуть, вся ця інформація йшла з довідником у комплекті гри. А ще була мода у розробників відеоігор ховати велетенські шматки контенту. З цікавенького є такі собі пункти долі. Ми їх накопичуємо коли виконуємо головні сюжетні доручення, а у важливих моментах оповідання можемо їх використати. Наприклад, витягнути з кишені основного персонажа квестовий предмет зі 100% успіхом чи повністю зцілити свого персонажа у важкому бою. Ще було дуже цікаво шукати креслення, а потім збирати зброю, гранти, прилади, обладунки. Оце по смітниках повзати, щоб назбирати собі інгредієнтів на вишуканий пістоль чи гранат наробити – таке ми любимо ^^. https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3741681753 Оповідання в грі виконано у типовому стилі – спочатку герой слабенький, але обраний долею, він здатен подолати усі труднощі на своєму шляху. Виконуючи доручення набираємо сил та рятуємо (руйнуємо) всесвіт. Завдання прописані не погано, різноманітні й цікаві. Є пограбування банків, політичні інтриги, фотополювання, ланцюжки доручень гільдії крадіїв. Все це подається у вигляді тексту над головою персонажів (іноді книжки чи нотатки). Його багато, а шрифт дуже маленький і це не можна налаштувати. Словом бажаю вам міцного здоров'я. Я нечасто пишу про свої враження від музики чи звукового дизайну, але тут винятковий випадок, коли музику довелось викрутити в нуль. Ця скрипка доконала мене всього за дві години, просто запустіть щось своє на фоні та все буде добре. По керуванню стандарт -- клавіатура + мишка. Хочу посварити розробників що нема підсвічування речей та об'єктів (як у Baldur’s Gates 1\2). Вишукувати оце мишкою по всій мапі розкидані смаколики не файно! Щось я надряпав забагато всього пора й підбивати підсумки. [h3] Рекомендую гру тим хто любить Fallout 1\2, кого не лякає багато тексту і цифр, кому до вподоби стимпанк всесвіти. Проходження займає 65-75 годин. [/h3]

Saying Planescape: Torment has the greatest story ever told in an RPG is like saying water is wet. It's almost annoying to read at this point because it has been declared ad nauseam, but truly I can not go a week without thinking about the game narratively and thematically. The same thing for me applies to Arcanum here as well. It lead me to think about Role-Playing Games in regard to narrative itself. The recent gold-standard champion for so many being Baldur's Gate 3. I don't think Baldur's Gate 3's throughline narrative is ... well, I don't think it's amazing. It's fine. I think for most people, it serves as a backdrop to experience the real rich storytelling that comes through with your party. The insane production values combined with all the differing stories of each party member is where most of the ballyhoo comes from. Now admittedly, I'm not 'as' nuts over the characters and their stories as some are and have yacked about how I actually think Dragon Age: Origins (the BG3 of its era) character stories are more compelling to me personally, but where BG3 really hit for me was its mix of gameplay where its foundation is basically an isometric immersive sim crossed with classic RPG mechanics as well. That was dope. The actual narrative itself though? It's merely 'fine'. Thinking about this had me kind of evaluating what I value the most in the genre and it's certainly the big narrative and its themes and its world. Games like Arcanum or Planescape: Torment are loaded with a lot of parroting criticism over its mechanics/gameplay being awful, which I think is overblown. I don't think each games gameplay is amazing mind you, but I do think they're mostly 'fine'. It gets the job done. The plot/narrative and their themes and world though? Very few games contend to me. This applies entirely to Morrowind as well. Most fantasy RPG games tend to be written/built around 'preservation'. You know the classic ♥♥♥♥ of old ass kingdoms needing a hero to restore them to their former glory; the sacred traditions preserved and protected all formed around you defeating an evil dark lord and such. A genre where history is in decline: The old world was greater, its people more unified and spiritually more cohesive. The hero is here to save what remains of this world before evil conquers and it disappears forever. Arcanum is not that game. In fact, Arcanum is almost a near opposite of this often-imitated idea. In Arcanum, its world is not falling into ruin/collapse but accelerating drastically into 'modernity'. You have factories spread across its landscapes which were once happily dominated by forests or temples. Railroads connect cities/nations replacing what magic ever did. Industrial capital reshapes the political power at hand. Entire races become economically obsolete in this modern world. The core central theme is not that civilization is ending, but that civilization is transforming and evolving so rapidly that its people do not fully understand what is being lost in the process. Essentially it's the general tension between progress and the spiritual erosion that basically defines nearly every aspect of the games narrative / world. Coming into the game for the first time, any given player at first glance might see the game as a strange/unusual fusion of fantasy and steampunk (and it is as well): You have elves that exist alongside steam engines, dwarves live in their mountains or in cities but build firearms, magic users move about by streets lit with electricity etc etc. You soon understand the core idea in that magic and technology are fundamentally incompatible systems. Tech people become so rationally aligned with physical law that magical forces cease to function, while the spiritual and magically inclined folk disrupt machines simply by being even near them. Magic represents intuition, mysticism, spirituality and tradition; we have technology on the other end representing industrialization, rationalism, capitalism and mass production. A lesser game would make it clear which side is better, Arcanum will not fully romanticize either end of the spectrum and it is so much better for it. The magically inclined societies of this world are not some simple enlightened utopias. Elven culture is often depicted as aristocratic, stagnant and extremely hierarchical. As in the real world we live in now, tradition 'can' preserve wisdom, but without caution, can also preserve injustice as well. Meanwhile, industrial civilization can lead to some ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ extraordinary innovation, yet it simultaneously creates exploitation and dehumanization. Arcanum understands industrial progress as a morally double-edged sword: Technological innovation improves lives while also reducing people into economic functions. Who would have ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ thought lmao. All of this sorta coalesces into the treatment of different races and labor. The games cities are filled with displaced workers and impoverished people, and nonhuman races marginalized and pushed to the side by modernization. You get shredded by Half-Ogre bandits aboard the zeppelin and crash killing everybody on board. Everybody but you. How in the world did these machines exist? From there, you follow a trail and investigation into hidden histories, lost civilizations and manipulated truths (it's crazy this and Morrowind came out only a few months apart lol). The deeper you dig into it all, the more unstable official history becomes. All these ancient myths contradict all the archaeological evidence you uncover. Political narratives fall apart; collapse under the weight of scrutiny. Religious truths reveal themselves as falsehoods, incomplete or distorted. It reinforces that history is often not objective memory but constructed or even fabricated mythology. All of this comes to a real head with the main narrative drive of the game: Nasrudin / Arronax / Kerghan. Kerghan is banished to the Void for defying the councils rule and before him, the same for Arronax as well. Nasrudin is then remembered and worshiped as the lands greatest hero. This narrative slowly unravels as you uncover that Arronax isn't as he seems, nor is Nasrudin and moreso that Kerghan is not your conventional fantasy villain bent on conquest or domination. Instead, he is almost a philosopher driven by profound despair about the nature of existence itself. Kerghan in many ways is the equal of sorts to Cain's previous games lead antagonist: The Master. Kerghan's view of the world comes about from witnessing the endless cycles of suffering throughout its history. A world where people repeatedly create war, exploitation, inequality and death. Progress for the sake of progress leading into suffering instead of eliminating it itself. From his perspective, existence is fundamentally cruel, and death becomes the only universal solution. His plan to extinguish life mirrors the same understood reasoning as what The Masters ideals were in Fallout. Naturally both are so fundamentally flawed, but both exist in a way that the player can sympathize with their problematic train of thought. Neither is cartoonishly evil. Kerghan, alongside The Master and The Transcendent One, manages to be a wholly more compelling antagonist than 'most' role-playing game antagonists ever manage. He does not merely appose the player on the grounds of being a simple evil bad guy, he challenges the moral foundations underlying civilization itself. The final confrontation is less Good vs Evil or Evil vs Evil, instead its more akin to debating nihilism. (Or contributing toward it lol). Steam is garbage and won't let me post my entire write-up so i'll leave the whole thing from my Backloggd here: https://backloggd.com/u/Joltzz/review/4676971/

"Arcanum: of Steamworks and Magick Obscura" DESERVES a remaster. WITHOUT changing the story to suit "modern audiences".

the racism lore in this game is rich and complex.

This is the first game i ever put on lay-by in 2001 when KMart sold PC games on CD's. This is the first agme i kept going over to my friends house just to place this game. This is the first game i learnt how to save scum, not because of encounters, but because of a particular chest that set you up for the rest of the game. This is the first game i first learned how to edit your character, just so you could get that extra companion. This is the game i spent an hour repeatedly shaking down the same individual outside of a train station for 400 coins. This is the game that made me realise exactly how hard you had to work to own a boat without bugs. This is the game that made me realise that dynamite takes care of a bridge toll easily (with violence). This is the game that made me feel like a second class person being a mage.... before i picked up Teleport. To this day, im certain i still never found everything. To this day, i still have it installed. What do you mean my Magik doesn't work on that Automaton!? I will never know how much time I've spent playing this game.

The real Fallout 2

The legendary Troika Games was founded by three legendary developers upon three great principles: design, art, and code; they made three broken masterpieces. Arcanum: Of Steamworks and Magick Obscura is one of them. There was a reason why Troika went bankrupt: you can't rely just on great ideas alone; you also have to implement them well and manage your resources. Arcanum has a fantastic premise: a magical world going through an industrial revolution. And the setting is the only good thing about this game. All the rest is just painful. I've tried this game a couple of times years earlier, and I can't do it anymore. My first two runs were gunslinger. It sounds cool, but the gameplay is awful, or more awful than usual. I'd suggest staying away from guns on your first playthrough. Some say that tech builds are the most fun way to play the game. I don't know. Arcanum is an exercise in tedium. The UI in general, and the inventory system specifically, is cumbersome. For tech you have to juggle inventory a lot between your companions, because you can't hold much, not by weight, but by volume. You can't stack your ingredients, and notes and quest items are huge. So, the less you have to interact with inventory management, the better. The camera is locked to your party for some reason. At first, it was just annoying, but when you travel to Tarant, which is a massive city, it becomes a real problem. Navigation is plain bad, and it will test your patience. The third time I said to hell with guns, I would just whack enemies with my sword and be done with it. I imagined a human, maybe a doctor, who sees the changes in the world and would embrace technological progress, the new way of living. But technology is just tedium. Magic can do everything tech can, and even more. It’s easier and even more fun, for example, conjuring spirits of the dead. And the combat… oh god, the combat. The publisher Sierra, after Diablo’s success, insisted on real-time battles in the middle of production. So now we got two broken systems. Fantastic! Character creation and progression are not as fun compared to Fallout with its perks. Upon creation you only have five points for everything. That’s not enough to make a distinct character. It’s only possible if you choose an extreme background paired with extreme races. You’d think the writing would at least be great. Nope. It’s serviceable, but nothing special. They spent countless hours writing different flavors of dialogue for drunk or stupid characters, and different greetings for different races. But there is no depth to it, at least in the first third of the game. For persuasion you need to orient yourself in a dialogue tree, not just pick options with [persuasion] in them, which is great. So, the writing is fine, it’s okay, I just expected much more. Quests are meh. I guess all the interesting stuff is further into the story. But why should you torture yourself with this boring gameplay just to finally be hooked on good writing, pacing, and quest design far into the game? The game is unfinished and poorly balanced. It has a gorgeous OST — beautiful, moody string quartet. It has great immersive manual. But it should have stayed in development at least a year longer: to make one good combat system, to finish the UI, and to smooth out pacing and balance issues. I wish there would be a remake, but it won’t happen.

Arcanum: Of Steamworks and Magick Obscura, fantastik öğeler ile steampunk teknolojisini aynı evrende bir araya getirirken, bunu yalnızca görsel bir farklılık olarak kullanmak yerine tüm rol yapma sistemine yediren son derece özgün bir RPG. Büyü ile teknolojinin birbirini doğrudan etkilemesi, karakter gelişiminden diyaloglara, görev çözümlerinden dünya düzenine kadar oyunun her alanına yansıyor. Farklı karakter yapıları, aynı görevlere bambaşka yaklaşımlar geliştirmenize izin verirken, seçimler de yalnızca diyaloglarda değil, oynanışın tamamında karşılık buluyor. Görev tasarımı ve dünya keşfi de bu özgürlüğü destekliyor. Pek çok görev tek bir doğru çözüme bağlı kalmadan ilerliyor; ikna etmek, savaşmak, çalmak, büyü kullanmak veya teknolojiden faydalanmak çoğu zaman geçerli alternatifler oluşturuyor. Karakter özellikleri ve yetenekler de yalnızca savaşta değil, konuşmalarda ve çevre etkileşimlerinde sürekli önem kazandığı için her karakteriniz gerçekten farklı bir deneyim sunabiliyor. Ama (bu mükemmeliyette bile ama vardır) oyunun yaşı bugün kendini belirgin şekilde hissettiriyor. Karmaşık arayüzü, yetersiz yönlendirmeleri, dengesiz savaş sistemi ve modern standartların gerisinde kalan kullanım kolaylığı, ilk kez oynayacak oyuncular için ciddi bir alışma süreci gerektiriyor. Geri dönenler içinde nostalji bir yere kadar. Teknik açıdan dönemi için bile kusursuz sayılmayacak bazı tasarım tercihleri de zaman zaman deneyimin akıcılığını olumsuz etkileyebiliyor. Tüm bu pürüzlerine rağmen sunduğu oyuncu özgürlüğü, karakter çeşitliliği ve dünyasının sistemsel derinliği sayesinde hala türün en özgün rol yapma oyunlarından biri olmayı başarıyor. Modern arayüz ve kullanım alışkanlıkları bekleyenleri zorlayabilir, ancak gerçek anlamda seçim özgürlüğü sunan klasik RPG'leri deneyimlemek isteyenler için bugün bile değerini büyük ölçüde koruyan bir yapım. [b][url=https://store.steampowered.com/curator/32515007-s%25C9%2590%25D7%259Fn%25C9%259Fnsn%25CA%258E/][u]Kuratör Sayfamı takip etmeyi unutmayın [b]sɐןnɟnsnʎ[/b]...[/u][/url][/b] ːcozybethesdaː [b][url=https://store.steampowered.com/curator/44359868-pixgamist/][u]Don't forget to follow my Curator Page [b]pixgamist...[/b] [/u][/url][/b] ːsteinː [b][url=https://www.youtube.com/@yusufulas81/videos][u]Youtube Sayfamı takip etmeyi unutmayın...[/u][/url][/b] ːsummercat2023ː

It's like if Deus Ex was about the Industrial Revolution

One of the greatest RPGs ever made, period. Very interesting setting that is often not explored, which blends traditional D&D fantasy with steampunk aesthetics. The game itself is unbalanced, half-broken, and janky, but I currently have no issues running the vanilla game, other than the severe lack of display options. The biggest issue with this game is the combat, which is a step-back from Fallout and Fallout 2, with muddy feedback, and a tacked on real-time mode which is broken.