Disappointed?

[Kruztee]

Hmm, I guess that maybe I'm just not much of a fan...

While I could see that DoP would be a logical progression from Kivi, it seems like a retrograde step to go this way. I played through all of the adventures except the last one, and that was only because I really just lost interest in it.

It seems to me that everything that Kivi does nicely, DoP does better and to a grander scale. The game reminds me a little of Hamumu's "Dr Lunatic: Supreme with Cheese"... but not quite as cool.

The space bar/arrow key combo is abominable, tab/space or left shift/space would be much better. And being able to map the 1,2 and 3 keys to skills would help with playability as well.

Performance-wise the game seems to run much more smoothly for me at the same resolution as DoP, even at higher AA settings. That's definately welcomed!

High production values are obvious. The menus and interface are streamlined and easily navigated, controls (for the most part) are intuative, and the in game fiction is cool (as I had expected).

I've never been much of a fan of unlockable content in games before now, and I doubt whether Kivi will change that. The editor will provide a bit of longevity, but in the end the result is still just a game where the player is "looking for the red key" ad nauseum.

I just think that longevity of gameplay will be the critical issue. I have literally played hundreds of hours of DoP and it's still one of my top 3 games played on both my PC's. Kivi certainly has initial appeal and that casual "coffee break" playabillity, but ultimately, I doubt that Kivi will sell anywhere near as well as DoP, although I truly hope to be proved wrong. There is obviously a ton of work that has gone into this game, and I'd love to see Soldak's efforts rewarded.

DoP offers more choices to the player, where for the most part Kivi appears to be quite linear in nature. The roguelike crowd (which I would imagine would be a significant proportion of the DoP fanbase) probably won't see much in this game, although judging by the overwhelmingly positive comments posted here so far, I could well have egg on my face in a month or two =P

I'll still buy Kivi, not because it's a revolutionary concept or a great game (both of which I believe DoP was and still is), but because I want to support Sodak's creative prowess, and fund future endeavours.

Kivi's underworld is a goodish clone of games that I've seen before, and with the notable exception of Supreme, is probably the best in the genre for mine. It won't hold my interest as a gamer for more than a few hours, but I do hope it is successful.

[Shadow]

I was and am expecting some DoP fans to not like Kivi. They are pretty different games, so that's not surprising.

Don't worry this isn't a permanent shift in game types from Soldak. Hopefully, Kivi will do well and we will do more Kivi games in the future. However, I would also like to release more Depths of Peril games. I still have way to many pent up ideas for DoP. I also have plenty of other interesting game ideas that I would like to try out some day, most of which would be more hardcore than Kivi.

[Konan]

I have similar feeling. I enjoyed DOP but I don't get the same kind of enjoyment out of Kivi.

Here are my gripes:

1. No magic items to collect and keep. I understand Kivi is a different type of game but I am mainly interested in games where I can adventure out and find that awesome weapon or armor and for my character and at the same give him/her the best skills from the experience earned.

2. I really don't like the limited view of the field. This is really a problem for me in DOP as well. I think the camera needs to move far up to give a better field of playing field. Personally, I feel any game like this should only have 2 views. One for the game with a decent view of the field and another one for close up and that's it.

There are other minor gripes which I attribute to the game being beta. I think for any game to be fun, it ought be something rewarding for people to keep playing it. For some people, the reward might be opening new content and finding all the secrets but for me I enjoy treasure hunting and character building which are lacking in Kivi.

[krozman]

Now that I see these comments, I completely agree in many respects. Part of the replayability of DoP was getting better items. This game lacks that, so unless you're going to introduce new skills or functions, the game may become stale over time. Storyline isn't everything. I also agree that the graphics are better.

[Ergonpandilus]

Here's some comparision after a hour of Kivi and dozens of hours of DoP:

DoP:
+ Character development (skills and stuff)
+ Equipment and inventory
+ "Freeworld"
+ Versatile
+ Companions and factions
+ Auto-attack (!)

Kivi:
+ Gameplay and animations
+ Options and menus
+ Performance (on low-end laptops)
+ Simplicity
+ Dual Wield(!)

Overall, the Kivi feels very much like Fate, though have to say that there is still much to do to make it as fun as Fate. Everything that is good and unique in DoP is ripped away from Kivi, or is it...?

I hope you continue developing Depth of Peril still and would like to see that Dual Wield one day.

Maybe your next game is Kivi's Peril.

[sk2k]

Hi,

i played to all available adventures in the beta.
I would call Kivi's not a disapointment but i was hoping for some more random stuff in it, like random monster placement or random chest/barrel/etc. placement. The playable characters are not different enough to have fun while replaying all the adventures with them.

MfG
sk2k

[txa1265]

Originally Posted by Ergonpandilus

Overall, the Kivi feels very much like Fate, though have to say that there is still much to do to make it as fun as Fate.

Fate is the definite comparison I came up with as well - but compared to Kivi, Fate looks DEEP!

[Delilah Rehm]

Originally Posted by krozman

Storyline isn't everything. I also agree that the graphics are better.

Krozman, (*sniff*) storyline isn't everything? How could you!

Just kidding!!!

Is Kivi a step back from Depths? In respect to being a casual game, yes, but really it just a different style of game. We always knew it wouldn't be all Depths players "cup of tea." That's okay. We're not abandoning you!

I hope those of you who fit that category won't give up on Soldak. We have many game ideas, most of them Depths-esque. We've been shooting around some ideas for the next project (and no, we haven't decided yet), and they've all been Depths-like type games.

Play what you like, skip the ones you don't like. It's cool. We're exactly the same way with things like books, movies, tv shows, and even games!

[krozman]

The first mistake you could ever make in beta is taking too seriously the comments of your beta testers. We're critical because we're asked to be, but it's your game, make it however you like.

That being said, WTF MAKE IT MY WAY FFS!

[Ergonpandilus]

I hope you are planning to make an expansion to Depths of Peril or somekind of "gold version" in future.

You should really focus on the gameplay with Kivi, even though it's better in than in DoP, it still could be much better, again, compared to Fate for example. Nothing big really, but lot of small things, like that auto-attack thing, to increase the user experience. And since it's casual game, the leveling could be even more faster. How come, that you didn't make a random level generator, like in Diablo? Sure it times to make it work, but it would fit like a glove for a casual game,

And I agree about random and re-playability.

Also, keep it "light" on the performance side, so that people with those new fancy EEE PCs can run it, like me with MSI Wind, because those people are the potent buyers and the mini noteboks are getting more and more popular...

And it's not a bad game, but people tend to give negative feedback easier than positive.