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unmerged(256234)

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Jan 27, 2011
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  • Crusader Kings II
During a recent interview with Joystiq we talked about the state of the game, and we thought that we should also address you fans directly with what was said.


As we all know, the release of Magicka was chaotic at best. Many of you encountered game breaking bugs but still saw the potential of the game. The “stress test” that Magicka has gone through has been very good for us, to see many of the flaws and mistakes, and we want to be clear on what we intend to do about them. There are also things we would like to be upfront about now, things that with almost certainty will not be fixed in the foreseeable future.

Some of the things we intend to fix are:

  • Bugs: We intend to fix the major bugs still in the game. Some might take a bit longer than others but as long as you keep sending us reports and keep writing on the forums, we will keep working on them.
  • Falling through collision: This is of course a big issue and we have it high on our list. We are aware of what is causing it and it we will work on it until it is no longer an issue.
  • Network efficiency: We hope to improve this as much as we can, it is only a matter of time to go through the code and polish it as much as possible.
  • Progression saving: This is a big requested feature from the community and we do agree that we will have to look it over. We have discussed some ways to improve it but at the moment we are evaluating what would be the best solution. Hopefully we will find one that everyone consider to be an improvement to the game.
  • PvP: We did promise this in the game, and we will implement it. The community is already arranging PvP tournaments and we are learning a lot for balance by watching you play. In the meantime I suggest you sign up for the unofficial tournaments and keep PvPing.
  • Long term balancing: We hope to keep polishing the game with balance changes for as long as people keep playing, be sure to voice your opinions on the forums and we will be sure to listen.


Some of the things we already know now can’t be fixed:

  • Integrated Graphics cards: This is a big issue for many of the laptop players, and I am sorry to say that it wont get much better. It was an early design decision to use shader model 3.0, and we can't change that without rewriting large parts of the game engine. I hope that those who bought Magicka and still can't play it will find the opportunity to do so in the future.
  • Mod support: We do love modding, but we simply do not have the time to develop tools for the modders to use. This has not stopped the community from modding anyway, and we will, without taking too much time from the main development, try to make Magicka more mod friendly. Things like being able to turn off VAC on your server so you don't run the risk of being VAC banned comes to mind. Many of us comes from the modding scene, don't think that we will forget you.
  • Compatibility for OSX/Linux: The game was not made with Linux or OSX compatibility in mind. It is simply too much work to make it work in those environments. I know that some has had luck using Wine to play Magicka, it is amazing what the community can do.


Its been a tough month, and we know that the state of the game at release was far from what we all wanted it to be. We have done our best to improve the game, and we will continue to do so, with your help. Many of you have been extremely forgiving for our mistakes, and all we can say is thank you.
 
Like I said in other threads already, mapping tool would be nice. But if its too much work for you im totally fine with it. If I can ask how do you arrowhead do the maps by yourself right now? Good luck on making this game even more better!
 
Thanks for putting so much effort into this for us guys. If i may make a suggestion: Try to reduce in-game lag somewhat, or make the spells more sensitive to activation. (I play in singleplayer, but have experienced it in online games too) When the game gets going in a huge fight, the game would slow down. I would rapidy tap out some spell combanations, only to see them mostly or compleatly ignored. I figured it was because of lag. I dont know if you guys can do anything about this or not, but thanks for trying.
 
Integrated Graphics cards
This is a big issue for many of the laptop players, and I am sorry to say that it wont get much better.
It was an early design decision to use shader model 3.0

You claim we should have done our research,
to make sure our computer could run the game.

And here you say that our problem is shader model 3.0,
but if I look up my IGP (Intel HD Graphics) it shows 4.0 support.

I'd personally love an official statement
providing us with the exact system deficiency;
don't you feel like you owe us that much,
if not a refund?
 
This is a big issue for many of the laptop players
And here you say that our problem is shader model 3.0,
but if I look up my IGP (Intel HD Graphics) it shows 4.0 support.
The shader model is the main reason. The others are: cpu clock to low, shared ram, vram clock to low, vram to low, not all graphic functions enabled / supportet (integrated gfx are often cut compared to the desktop ones).

And by the way, there is a demo. Why should you get a refund?
 
And by the way, there is a demo. Why should you get a refund?
Because it's been reported by some people that the game refuses to work even if the demo works fine. And since the minimal requirements as visible on the Steam store page don't say anything about on-board graphics cards, a refund sounds reasonable, if difficult to actually get.
 
And since the minimal requirements as visible on the Steam store page don't say anything about on-board graphics cards
Because on some integrated gfx it will work. The developer can't test every configuration (would cost a shitload of money), just give minimum requirements based on their graphic engine. Most integrated graphic cards can't run it because they don't fit the requirements, that's the meaning of reuquirements, they are not for fun there.
But most people with a laptop don't have any clue what they are doing on their hardware, so they think "Yeah I have a graphic card, it will work" - no comment.
 
Because on some integrated gfx it will work. The developer can't test every configuration (would cost a shitload of money), just give minimum requirements based on their graphic engine. Most integrated graphic cards can't run it because they don't fit the requirements, that's the meaning of reuquirements, they are not for fun there.
But most people with a laptop don't have any clue what they are doing on their hardware, so they think "Yeah I have a graphic card, it will work" - no comment.
Dude, they could just put "Doesn't run on integrated graphic chips." there anyway! I've been playing on a computer which doesn't fit most of the minimal requirements for most of the games I've played for a long time. It'll be like "If it runs with your IGP anyway, great! But if it doesn't, we can't offer any support." And that is, in my opinion, the best answer.
 
I don't think they _have_ to put it there (especially since there's a demo for people to test out) but to prevent some of the complaints they should have a small disclaimer along the lines of "Integrated Graphics Cards not officially supported". Although people who don't know their specs probably won't know what an integrated graphics card is either.

TBH i feel very little pity for the people who bought it without knowing their specs. It'd be nice if they could play but they really should have checked things before buying. That being said the game is very cheap so it's not like it was a full-priced, AAA-title-sized hole left in their wallet. Back when I was a kid I remember having to save up and scrimp just to afford a couple of megs of new ram to play a game that I bought without knowing my specs. I quickly learnt to read the little requirements box from then on and to understand the expensive electronics that I owned a little better.

I don't understand how some people have expensive laptops and not understand the innards very well. Especially when it's all a google away. If I were to drop £1k on a laptop I'd make very sure of what I was getting and what it could do. Although, personally, I'd never spend that on a laptop. Would rather keep my desktop in shape and if I got a laptop it'd be light and portable and for casual low spec stuff only.

Because it's been reported by some people that the game refuses to work even if the demo works fine.
I think (could be wrong here, but couldn't be bothered to trawl the necessary data available) that the people who can run the demo are above spec and they're running into another issue that prevents them from playing. That being said: bordeline spec is often not the most stable especially once you get into the meat of the game.
 
I don't understand how some people have expensive laptops and not understand the innards very well.
Easy. They come to the shop, and say: I need a laptop. Then some manager ask them which one - they don't know. He asks them what for, and they throw up some obstract stuff to him. It usually ends up with manager finding out how much money this people want to spend, and picks some laptop for them.
Same with the PC.

Although, personally, I'd never spend that on a laptop. Would rather keep my desktop in shape and if I got a laptop it'd be light and portable and for casual low spec stuff only.
You say that now. Wait 10 years when laptops will be as good as decktops in any aspect, and you'd prefer to buy a slim laptop over hudge pc. And in 20 years I think laptops will take over and decktop PC would be rare and strange thing to own. Or maybe by then it would already be some kind of mediacenters, that you can hold in your pocket, and use as TV, cellphone (video off cource), PC, MP3 (or rather MP6) player, camera, navigator and gaming center. The screen can very well be resizable too. Seems like fantasy, but 20 years ago Doom was a revolution in graphix and 250 MB HDD was UBER.
 
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I think the demo is from an older build, so the game itself is more optimized. That's the reason I did something bad that I won't comment here .
Hahahahaha Ayun.. as long as you can play ;)

Easy. They come to the shop, and say...[ *snip* ]...Same with the PC.
If you're willing to spend a large amount of money without doing the research first, or if you don't look at what you have after buying it then I do not really feel that sorry if you can't play something. Reckless spending may feel good but can leave you holding rubbish. Everyone knows at least one friend who's a bit tech-savvy. If not google a bit one night first.

You say that now.... [ *snip* ] ...but 20 years ago Doom was a revolution in graphix and 250 MB HDD was UBER.
I totally agree with you there :) I meant right now I wouldn't bother with a laptop. Gaming laptops at the moment are too big and non-gaming laptops can't compete with gaming desktops yet.
In the future I totally expect awesome computerness in the palm of my hand... literally IN my palm. I want implants and direct neural interfaces >.< and I want them NOW PLX! Then there'll be no need for desktops ^_^

Laptops are slowly taking over. It's just not quite there when it comes to gaming yet.
 
Please keep this thread on feedback on the game itself, thanks.
 
The guys who are saying laptops are slowly taking over. You forget the fact that desktops are getting better and better all the time too. So I think that is not going to happen in just 20 years ;) sorry. To be honest I spend 140€ in Magicka :D 10€ for the game itself from steam and 130€ for new GPU so I can run the Magicka on max graphics. Now I am happy magicka player ^^
 
Mod support: It's a problem now because the game wasn't developed with it in mind. Look at another new Paradox game (cities in motion) and how mod friendly it is. Why? Because they planned it, just like Arrowhead should have planned it. It's the life blood of the game and keeps people buying expansions that have stuff in them that can't be modded in. Of course if there is little to no mod support, then I guess everything has to be added in an expansion.

Still hoping to see a difficulty slider for those that don't want or can't play multiplayer, there are key spots in the game that are impossible (for some) to pass in single player.
 
Mea culpa PvP

Mea Culpa DLC is nice in a way, but would have liked to see that effort put into a Mea Culpa PVP patch or dlc instead.

I`ve read you are planning for such an update. Any ETA on that?

I`ve completed the game in co-op with a friend but the campaign unlike the Diablo campaign doesn`t offer much replay value. Arenas and PvP are great for that due to the unique game mechanics. I`d really like to see more work put into that instead of single player DLCs or extra ingame items such as this Mea culpa DLC.
 
You say that now. Wait 10 years when laptops will be as good as decktops in any aspect, and you'd prefer to buy a slim laptop over hudge pc.

I find that very unlikely, as today's laptops blow away desktops 10 years ago.

What happened?

Well, desktops moved forward along with the laptops!

Desktops have always been, and likely always be, the place where you can get the latest and greatest because you can afford to put huge heatsinks and fans on everything and keep air circulating around.

Laptops will always come later because companies have to invest extra R&D in making everything smaller and cooler.

Desktops come first because they can just throw in the new tech without worrying about heat or size. That's just how it works, and I don't see that changing as long as we're using silicon.

To be honest - I do wish the Magicka devs would really fix that XNA install issue. It really is annoying to have to deal with it every time I launch Magicka.