Universal Ravensword: Shadowlands - (by Crescent Moon Games)

Discussion in 'iPhone and iPad Games' started by Sanuku, Dec 19, 2012.

  1. Brrobotix

    Brrobotix Well-Known Member

    Oct 24, 2011
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    Under your bed
    I checked, my recent save was corrupted as well. I don't really mind restarting since I haven't really gotten far, but it still sucks. You guys should look into fixing that, as it always leaves a bad taste in my mouth when I lose my save because of a bug.
     
  2. JBRUU

    JBRUU Well-Known Member

    May 9, 2012
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    General store or theives if you kill one.


    This game sooo deserves it.
     
  3. Xexist

    Xexist Well-Known Member

    May 6, 2010
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    Congratz guys! Very cool, very well deserved, and I hope you reach or demolish your sales goals. Really want to see games of this quality become the norm on this system.
     
  4. Nemer

    Nemer Well-Known Member

    Apr 16, 2012
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    College/Part job
    Far far away
    Me too.
     
  5. Narziss

    Narziss Well-Known Member

    Nov 28, 2009
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    lolcats, this is great

    yeah, it seems to be a trend that through repeated cycles of "let down" then "update", it has slowly become acceptable to use customers as beta testers (since "the game will get updated")

    but is this really a bad thing? it saves the devs lots of money, and thus makes the game cheaper for us. i expect the major bugs will get ironed out in a couple weeks, and all the improvements will probably be in by a month from now
     
  6. paulkolin86

    paulkolin86 Well-Known Member

    Nov 9, 2012
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    Guys! Plz check the bug at " lady catalina" quest at the Terraces. I described it earlier.
     
  7. tygamr

    tygamr Well-Known Member

    Aug 7, 2010
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    I bought this last night as soon as it was available. Probably my most anticipated iOS game for the past two years. The original was my favorite iOS game of 2009, and my expectations were pretty high for the sequel. I'm not disappointed by it per se, but I do wish it was... Better?


    Graphically, it looks pretty good for an iOS game. Overall, it's somewhere in between Morrowind and Oblivion- closer to Morrowind. The textures are good (but the textures don't always line up well- though it isn't as bad as in the first Ravensword or Aralon), and the models are good as well, though sometimes you'll see something that looks rather blocky. My biggest gripes with the graphics are the animations, character design/customization, and the armor.

    The animations are fairly good in some areas, like mouth movement for voiced lines. Then in others, they aren't very good. Your characters movement looks very awkward and unnatural- it isn't quite as bad as the first game, but walking and climbing ladders just looks weird and feels off.

    Then, character design/customization options... They're just bad. The facial customization is mostly fine, but pretty much all the hairstyles are extremely bleh/lame, the tattoos are weird, and clipping occurs with beards on certain face settings. The lack of a female option feels strange as well, but that isn't a graphical issue.

    With armor, what bugs me is how flat it looks. It just doesn't look right at all, and most of the designs are bland and uninspired looking. Luckily for me, I can mostly ignore these three issues, because I just play in first-person mode (which actually works, unlike in the first game where playing first-person didn't work well at all).


    The sound is pretty good, and the soundtrack is mostly nice- though some kind of bad music from the first game got reused, like the track that plays when you're in the wizard stuck in a bottle's house (his name was... Lamil? Can't remember). The sound effects are good as well, and I don't really have anything to complain about... yet.


    The mechanics have vastly improved from the first game- first person viewpoint is actually a viable way to play the game, fighting doesn't suck as bad as it used to, and the addition of fast traveling and a mini-map are very welcome.

    This game feels like it was designed to be played in the first person, and it works pretty well that way (first person viewpoint also makes it so you don't have to see how bad your character looks, as I mentioned above).

    The fighting, while it has improved, is still not that great. The addition of auto-targeting is nice, but I wish the targeting was more dynamic. The reason why, is if you have multiple enemies attacking you, and the one you're locked onto walks away, you have to move to lock onto the guy closest to you attacking. I wish it would snap to the closest target, and change when a target runs away, or moves far back. The fighting is very bland, and essentially relies on you mashing the attack button, or attacking and then running in circles around your enemy to avoid getting hit. I kind of wish they had added more depth to the combat, and maybe allowed you to control your sword via the touchscreen, allowing for Skyward Sword-esque combat. I'm not a fan of the way blocking is handled either, because you have to hold down the attack button and wait for your shield to go up- I'd rather there be a dedicated block button. Then, I've had plenty of input problems. There are times where I'll tap the attack button repeatedly, but my character doesn't do anything- and he isn't knocked down, or stunned or anything- it just wont respond. Then there's also occasional input lag as well, where attacks come a second after I pressed the button. The combat overall feels poorly designed for touchscreens, and feels like it was designed for a controller instead. Like someone else said, it feels more like this game would be at home on the Vita (while I was waiting for this to download, I was actually playing Stranger's Wrath HD on my Vita, and upon starting this and playing it, I was wishing I could play it with dual analog sticks and actual buttons).

    The mini-map, while nice, isn't perfect. It would be nice if you could view the area map in full screen, rather than just in the corner as a mini map. Quest tracking doesn't work too well with the mini-map, as the tracking icon just appears over where you need to go, and if it's far away, it's off the map screen, and invisible to you unless you walk far enough in the correct direction. Makes me wish it had a radar/compass like the modern Fallout games do, which would show you quest waypoints and hostiles. I also don't like how transparent the mini map is, and wish it looked nicer- the map itself is fine, but it seriously needs a border rather than that plain, clean edge. Make it have a frame or look like torn paper on the edges. I wish quests were more visible as well, because there is no indication of where they are- you just randomly talk to people until you find someone with a task to ask of you. Lack of quest visibility isn't the hugest issue though.

    Traversing terrain is an issue I have faced- especially slopes and hills. There are a few pathways that are clearly marked, which go up hills, and in order to get up them, you have to repeatedly dislodge yourself with the jump button. Definitely feels kind of sloppy.


    The world is one of my bigger disappointments. When you first start off, the game literally feels like its just an enhanced version of the original, with better graphics. This feeling kind of goes away in some areas, but it's still present throughout the game. I kind of wish it had been set somewhere other than where the first game took place, because it treads very similar ground. Most areas are definitely bigger though. The world also doesn't feel very alive- it feels rather empty, and NPCs don't react to hostile creatures/people at all- not even guards. There also isn't a day/night cycle either. It kind of annoys me, because Aralon felt more alive/interactive than this, and it's an older and 'technically inferior' game. The story, characters, and quests are all extremely bland, boring, generic, cliche, and forgettable, which is disappointing for an open-world game like this. I honestly can't think of a single nice thing to say about the story at all. I wish the writing had been better overall, though it's maybe a step above the original Ravensword.


    Overall, not a bad game, but not a perfect follow up either. This had so much potential, and I wish it had capitalized on it more. I remember reading an article back in 2009 about an expansion to the original Ravensword/a whole new game and the concept for that sounded awesome. Where did that stuff go? This mostly just feels like an improved and refined version of the original game. It isn't terrible though, and it's clear that a lot of work was put into it. For an iOS game, it's pretty good. I'd give it a 7.5/10 or a 4/5 right now. All I can say is- I hope Chair doesn't make an open-world Infinity Blade game anytime soon, because I'm sure it would probably blow this out of the water. Maybe it gets better towards the end? Or I'm just too picky. I'm still having a good time with it though, as I've spent several hours playing it, and I'd say its worth picking up for $7.
     
  8. visionwebs

    visionwebs Well-Known Member

    Jan 24, 2012
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    I managed to get the archery house quest fully completed, just stay in north aven until that one is done and handed in.

    also found Jurassic park :D ahahaha this is great!
     
  9. Xexist

    Xexist Well-Known Member

    May 6, 2010
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    Well I mean lets face it he has a point, I mean all software released for other platforms is always bug free right?

    /s
     
  10. Shadowking2214

    Shadowking2214 Well-Known Member

    Sep 13, 2012
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    So basically fallout 3/Skyrim strategy for the beginning-noted thanks in advance,I don't even have the game yet and I'm already looking for tips xD
     
  11. operaguy2112

    operaguy2112 Well-Known Member

    Dec 1, 2011
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    Loving the game so far, but it is buggy. Sometimes animals fall when they die and sometimes they don't. It can be really hard to loot some corpses as it seems you have to aim the reticle in exactly the right place. And I had 4 crashes in about 15 minutes. Twice entering North Aven, and twice in Lady Pennimore's house while getting second task. Looking forward to the kinks getting worked out. Having fun with the crossbow and stealth kills. Playing on an iPod 5.

    Do I need a straight bow for the archery contest, or can I enter with the crossbow I already own?
     
  12. stlredbird

    stlredbird Well-Known Member

    May 21, 2009
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    Just started playing and am really enjoying it but as many have said the controls are a bit of a mess on the ipad. I have to hold it weird since I have to touch higher up or in the middle of the screen to look around. The action buttons need to be lower in the corner or allow me to look by swiping in the lower right corner. Also there needs to be a look sensitivity slider in options. And movement should be like a floating virtual stick where if you move it a little you walk and and the further you move it the faster you go. I don't want to beat a dead horse though.

    It's a really beautiful and ambitious game. One of those games that makes me excited for the future of iOS gaming. I'm glad to have bought and supported the devs at launch on this one.

    On a side note this also makes me want to go out and get an iPhone 5. For some reason I seem to enjoy playing these types of games more on the smaller device, probably bc it's more comfortable to hold up. It runs on iPhone 4 but not very well. May be time for an upgrade.
     
  13. visionwebs

    visionwebs Well-Known Member

    Jan 24, 2012
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    This game gets better and better, you get to fly :)
     
  14. ikemike

    ikemike Well-Known Member

    Jul 23, 2009
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    EDIT: Whoops, double post :(
     
  15. ikemike

    ikemike Well-Known Member

    Jul 23, 2009
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    Could you perhaps allow us to turn off the camera movement that accompanies weapon firing in 1st person mode? I like the immersion it gives, but the bouncing reticle after a shot makes it hard to aim sometimes. :p
     
  16. paulkolin86

    paulkolin86 Well-Known Member

    Nov 9, 2012
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    Hey ppl . I' m writing once again. I really do love the game as You do. But let us help to improve that game as much as possible... There is a bug at the Terrace area , U can move both throught the walls of the castle and the cabin. The "lady Catalina" quest.
    JBRUU ur the one of the most serious guys here. pls get to the area once again and check it out for me... please!
     
  17. Strigy

    Strigy New Member

    Jun 13, 2010
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    Anybody help, I have found the Ice giant lair and have killed all Ice giants. I can't find Gulch. I have the giant key and there is a huge door that's sealed. Anybody get ideas????
     
  18. iVaro

    iVaro Well-Known Member

    Dec 18, 2009
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    There's a chest right beside the door to the left
     
  19. Johnny1st

    Johnny1st Well-Known Member

    Apr 19, 2011
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    Hiow does this game looks/works on a normal IPhone 4?
     
  20. JBRUU

    JBRUU Well-Known Member

    May 9, 2012
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    I'm currently going through as many side quests as I can find to level up my character...once I get to that part I'll get back to you though.
    From the general impressions, it seems to work fine save for the occasional framerate drop and crash. Perfectly playable, though it won't run/look the prettiest.
     

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