Kivi's Underworld Open Beta

[Shadow]

Kivi's Underworld is now in Open Beta for both Windows and Mac. If you want to participate, head over to the Kivi Open Beta page and download the open beta installer for either platform (about 40MB). Please try out Kivi's Underworld and give us lots of feedback. This way we can make Kivi's Underworld as fun of a game as possible. Feel free to email your feedback or post in these forums.

[scragar]

w00t, it's half 2 in the morning, but I think I'm gonna throw a couple of hours in before bed, I'll only get woke up at 6:39 needing sleep anyway :P

[BasiliskWrangler]

Hey Steven- just played the beta for about 30 minutes. Very fun! I'm sure this will sell well for you!

My only suggestion is that I didn't understand the interface too well. I was getting a message saying my inventory was full, but nowhere was I able to find an icon to open my inventory window. I tend to not read much before hand (just jumped right in, no tutorial) so I prefer when the interface is really fool-proof.

Anyways, good job man. I'll play more in my spare time and report back.

-Thomas-

[krozman]

Ok, i've played the first two levels, and I have a few suggestions.

1. the game is too easy. I know that's easy coming from me, the resident hardcore mode person, but right now you can sleepwalk through the levels without challenge.

2. There is a small delay / period of time between opening a chest and actually being able to loot the items. Is this intentional? Seemed annoying after a while when I was trying to get massive kill awards when I had to go back for items that couldn't keep up with me.

3. Perhaps i'm a perfectionist, but if I don't find a secret in the early area and I go through a portal, I can't go back. That's annoying, but I easily see why you don't allow people to go back and forth (the portal then becoming an exploit).

4. I assume action sounds aren't in yet. Probably goes without saying.

5. Maybe it's not implemented yet, but you need to add skills. Like.......15 more. I always though DoP had too few and this one seems remarkably streamlined. I like the ability to choose two warriors and make more customization (rather than just offense/defense, which is what it seems to be now).

6. I tried to get the award where you can't kill a monster. See, thats a great award. on Level 1 I almost made it too. Final hall got trapped.

7. On awards. Some of them you inevitably get just becuase you've played a few levels and, in my opinion, should be deleted. Awards require special effort, so pump up the requirements and you'll make the playerbase replay levels just to get awards. Have a "perfection" (all secrets found, all gold trophies, no death) award for me too.


Overall, though, fun times.

[Shadow]

Originally Posted by krozman

1. the game is too easy. I know that's easy coming from me, the resident hardcore mode person, but right now you can sleepwalk through the levels without challenge.

What difficulty did you choose for your user? You in particular should be in at least hard, if not hardcore.

Originally Posted by krozman

2. There is a small delay / period of time between opening a chest and actually being able to loot the items. Is this intentional? Seemed annoying after a while when I was trying to get massive kill awards when I had to go back for items that couldn't keep up with me.

Kind of. You can't loot them till they hit the ground. At one point in time, you would loot them before you even realized that they spawned which was a problem.

Originally Posted by krozman

4. I assume action sounds aren't in yet. Probably goes without saying.

All of the sounds aren't in yet, but is there anything specific you think is missing?

Originally Posted by krozman

5. Maybe it's not implemented yet, but you need to add skills. Like.......15 more. I always though DoP had too few and this one seems remarkably streamlined. I like the ability to choose two warriors and make more customization (rather than just offense/defense, which is what it seems to be now).

The skills are all in there. At least what we have planned. We have mostly shifted the choice from which skills you want to use to which character you wish to use.

Originally Posted by krozman

7. On awards. Some of them you inevitably get just becuase you've played a few levels and, in my opinion, should be deleted. Awards require special effort, so pump up the requirements and you'll make the playerbase replay levels just to get awards. Have a "perfection" (all secrets found, all gold trophies, no death) award for me too.

We tried to split the awards into easy and hard. There are a few that are fairly easy, just to get you interested in the awards, but most of them you really do have to work at.

There is an award for finding most of the secrets in the game, and one for getting all gold trophies, and one for making it through all of the adventures without dying, and even the ultimate award of having to get all of the awards. If you manage to get the ultimate award, you have basically managed to do all of those things that you suggested.

[Ergonpandilus]

Kivi, in my mother tongue finnish, is a stone or a rock.

Just downloaded the beta and I will give feedback as soon as I've installed and played it a little bit.

EDIT:

OK, played a little bit and it actually runs smoother than DoP in my MSI Wind netbook laptop and in 1024x600 resolution.

How about if the game would start with desktop resolution?

The UI also was much better, like options for example. It's not necessary to have that many options like in DoP.

But didn't like the simple gameplay with health potions and "redkeys" that much...

[krozman]

Allright, i've played it all and I have a few updated comments.

1. Probably the worst problem is really the sound. Most of the game is completely silent, with no sound effects for anything going on in the game, causing a disconnect. I would have sound effects put in, including but not limited to the following:
a. Error when not enough mana to execute strike.
b. sound when picking up item
c. sound when monster dies.
d. sounds when special attack performed.

[Yots]

I played the whole beta and was very disapointed in the game.

You put out a great game in DOP, i love playing it. Kivi's Underworld would have

been a great game 10 years ago but not today, I'm sorry to say it but with

all the games out now with great graphics I would have to pass on this game

but Kudos on DOP.

Yots

[Shadow]

Originally Posted by krozman

Allright, i've played it all and I have a few updated comments.

1. Probably the worst problem is really the sound. Most of the game is completely silent, with no sound effects for anything going on in the game, causing a disconnect. I would have sound effects put in, including but not limited to the following:
a. Error when not enough mana to execute strike.
b. sound when picking up item
c. sound when monster dies.
d. sounds when special attack performed.

You should be hearing sounds for all of those. What sounds are you hearing?

[krozman]

All I hear is background, SOME of the time. Most of the time I hear absolutely nothing., So thats not normal? heh