S.P.A.Z. and From Dust - Anyone?

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Direwolf20

2[H]4U
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So I'm in the market for a new game (Been playing the hell outta Minecraft recently, with tons of different mods, and its time for a break from that and something new).

Hopped on Steam, and 2 games caught my eye:

S.P.A.Z. - Space Pirates and Zombies -- Looks like a topdown space game, Indie Developers, $14.99, and read a few decent sounding reviews, but can't find too much about it.

From Dust -- I remember seeing a video of this, and being impressed by the graphics. I read about the DRM Bait/Switch that they pulled, but that doesn't bother me TOO much as I'm already always online anyway.

Anyone checked out these games, and if so, whatcha think?
 
I have not tried SPAZ but the pricepoint to uniqueness ratio of From Dust makes it a worthwhile play/purchase for my personality type/gaming history.

I imagine most of the hard-to-impress, self-proclaimed, game conniseurs here will see only $5 value in it though.
 
I hear that From Dust has nasty controls on the PC version - got ported poorly. but I've got both - haven't played either yet. irritated at the DRM in from dust, but I already paid for it.
 
It depends what kind of gameplay you're looking for.

SPAZ - It's a top down arcade shooter with rpg elements. You'll complete quests, upgrade your ships, and research technology. All the content is randomly generated and it'll take you around 25-50hrs to finish off a game.

From Dust - It's a puzzle game that involves moving sand/water/lava/trees to help your tribe navigate around the map. The controls take a little getting use to but it offers a unique zen-like experience.

I'd say you'll probably have more fun with SPAZ if your looking for a more traditional "game". Both are good games in their own right.
 
SPAZ is awesome, especially if you like just flying around blowing crap up. It can get tedious but the grind for better gear and ships keeps you playing. I've been playing the beta on impulse since early june. I'm almost done with it and the 2 developers (yes, the game was made by only 2 people but it doesn't show, very polished IMHO) have taken user feedback and implemented some of our suggestions. I have it in my wishlist to rebuy on Steam come xmas sales or something. I'd be playing it again today if Deus Ex: HR hadn't come out.
 
Nice -- spaz does interest me. I might check it out. From Dust, I might wait for a cheaper price, or if I get bored again :D.

Thanks all!
 
SPAZ is is fun as fuck for me. I was really surprised with it. Well worth the $15. And also a kind of a cool note: the game was made and is supported by only 2 people. I am very impressed tbh, and they got good attitudes on the Steam forums. I always believe in supporting good games from indie devs (we need more indie games across the board), and this was well worth it.
 
I would encourage you not to buy From Dust. Not because of the gameplay - cause it looks like a fun Black&White lite title - but because of extremely sloppy pc-porting and surprise Ubi DRM. Voting (no) with your wallet, to bad vidya business, is the obvious choice here.


SPAZ is fun as hell. It's a randomly generated galaxy with many hours of grind - you will curse it for being tedious and repetitive, and you will not be able to wipe the smile from your face when you finally rip yourself from the game and go to bed at 5 in the morning, multiple days in a row :) Instant classic
 
Just throwing in another vote for SPAZ. A whole lot of fun for $15. It's just two guys working on it, to me it's impressive. They seem committed to adding content that they envisioned but didn't have time for. I hate buying things on a promise of "future content" or fixes, but when it comes straight from a person and not a corporation, it's easier to believe.
 
I enjoyed SPAZ for a few days, but its ultra repetitive.
From Dust is fun. Yah, a poor port, but whatever. I spend hours just playing with the enviroment.
 
Droc said:
I enjoyed SPAZ for a few days, but its ultra repetitive.
From Dust is fun. Yah, a poor port, but whatever. I spend hours just playing with the enviroment.
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how are the controls on PC? The big complaint I kept hearing with the console version was a lack a precision; You didn't have that feel of being able to fine tune your work. Does the mouse work well enough that you always feel like you can dab the corners of your bridge or keep water from spilling around the side of a dam?
With UBI Soft patching out the DRM, I'm very much wanting this game, but I always hate ports that make the mouse feel like an analog stick.
 
FreiDOg said:
how are the controls on PC? The big complaint I kept hearing with the console version was a lack a precision; You didn't have that feel of being able to fine tune your work. Does the mouse work well enough that you always feel like you can dab the corners of your bridge or keep water from spilling around the side of a dam?
With UBI Soft patching out the DRM, I'm very much wanting this game, but I always hate ports that make the mouse feel like an analog stick.
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Controls are difficult. Camera and cursor controlled by mouse. The cursor fallows the profile of the land and so does the camera, so moving over bumpy terrain can be a bumpy ride leaving fine-tuning mouse work difficult. Rotating the camera lots can help and you need to make use of the zoom. I got used to it after the first map or two. Most people play fully zoomed out so its hard to do fine work.
Id like to see them make camera controls 100% keyboard.

Its not as easy as it should, but yah, I can fine tune my work. Its defiantly not the gamebreaker everyone makes it out to be. Not considering how much fun the game can be.

My biggest gripe is the lack of free-play or skirmish/sandbox mode. Thats nearly a gamebreaker. The challenge mode is stupid.
 
SPAZ is one of the best games I have come across in a long while. Finally someone tries something slightly new with a proven old school twist. Mechanics are great, what a gem this is, despite being repetitious, but then again name me a game that is not repetitious.

Currently only level 31 and really enjoying the game play. I hope these guys get more funding for SPAZ 2 and hire better artists. Awesome backgrounds and post effects please! It would be great if they could up the visual level a few steps over all.
 
nakedhand said:
SPAZ is one of the best games I have come across in a long while. Finally someone tries something slightly new with a proven old school twist. Mechanics are great, what a gem this is, despite being repetitious, but then again name me a game that is not repetitious.

Currently only level 31 and really enjoying the game play. I hope these guys get more funding for SPAZ 2 and hire better artists. Awesome backgrounds and post effects please! It would be great if they could up the visual level a few steps over all.
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That sums up my thoughts on SPAZ pretty well. The visuals were the one part that really could use some more refinement. Especially the character portraits, which look particularly amateurish -- if they could hire someone who does comic-style artwork, that's something that would suit the tone of the game but not be super-expensive. Also, the 2D ships look nice, but fully 3D ship models would look a bit nicer imho. A hybrid style like cell-shaded 3D would really fit the art direction well I think.

But overall, the core gameplay is very addictive and you can do a lot of experimenting with different ship + weapon setups. I'm surprised I managed to put in 20 hours into the game in the single weekend I played it (bought it last week during the sale).
 
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Don't give Ubisoft your money. Do the world a favor and don't purchase From Dust. Ubisoft needs to get their heads out of their asses before you support them.

Plus the graphics are nothing special. Theyre just blur, glare, and bloom like all the assassins creeds... and really any ubisoft game you've seen before. And the controls are the same, no tutorial, badly explained, and come up in little popups telling you what to do every time you should do something... which inevitably gets yout o the end of the game not knowing you could have done something...
 
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spaz is pretty good, tried the demo but haven't played the rest yet. from dust I just watched some streams at release and it's absolutely worthless imo, don't even bother. if you want an idea of the gameplay just think back to black and white 2 if you've played it, you know the part in the beginning tutorial where the villagers are like "halp, there's a boulder in our way can you move it???", that's the whole game. just moving some dirt around to satisfy marginally interactive npcs.
 
I saw that DUST was an ubi soft title and passed. Btw there was an article that ubisoft will be doing maintenance on their network and then a list of pc games that would be unplayable for an undetermine period of time until they are finish with the network upgrade.
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http://venturebeat.com/2012/02/02/u...ion-will-make-always-on-drm-games-unplayable/
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dust might not be in that list but (not sure) but the whole concept is rather consumer unfriendly.
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Here is the relevant quote:
It also required a persistent online connection while playing, even for titles with no multiplayer component. Losing network connection forced the game to pause, making it impossible to play offline.

Those affected by the upcoming transition include Assassin’s Creed for Mac; Tom Clancy’s H.A.W.X. 2 for PC; Might & Magic : Heroes VI for PC; Splinter Cell Conviction for Mac; Settlers 7: Paths to a Kingdom for PC;
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Note that this is a multi-day upgrade (they relocating servers to a new data center).
 
thesecond said:
Don't give Ubisoft your money. Do the world a favor and don't purchase From Dust. Ubisoft needs to get their heads out of their asses before you support them.

Plus the graphics are nothing special. Theyre just blur, glare, and bloom like all the assassins creeds... and really any ubisoft game you've seen before. And the controls are the same, no tutorial, badly explained, and come up in little popups telling you what to do every time you should do something... which inevitably gets yout o the end of the game not knowing you could have done something...
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If they make a good game, than I see no problem buying it and supporting them. If they make a shitty game, than I wont buy it. Their DRM sucks but so does that of steam, Origin, Blizzard games such as D3, etc... so there is no escape for the most part from DRM. GOG has it right though.
 
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