The Unreal World (NOT a fps!)

[Nikpalj]

Some of you might find this interesting...

I dislike most of modern day commercial games for their general bad taste and lack of intelligence - so this one has piqued my interest as soon as I've
seen it on the Underdogs site.

It's called Unreal World and it's small independent rpg made by just one guy - and from Finland, at that. Aha! :)

There are no real quests in this game, no magic swords, orcs or trolls - it's basically one brutally realistic and unforgiving wilderness survival simulator with rpg like stats and skills for your character... and it's all happening in iron age Finland! O_o =)

Now, if *that* don't call out to your barbarian side I don't know *what* will! ;)

Trudging through thick forrests at -10C armed with a spear, clad from head to toe in bear and fox furr... hunting, trapping, fishing and forraging for food, building your cottage or cellar for food storage, gathering woods and making campfires so you don't freez to death, trading with local villages, farming and cooking for yourself, getting married (but not having sex!), having to skin the animals you've caught and prepare their meat in various ways, manufacturing many objects that you need to survive or can trade with, fighting lone (and scary, 'cause they're usually much better fighters then yourself) barbarian raiders or raiding a barbarian encampement with a group of NPC followers yourself... and getting killed in 1001 innovative ways while you're doing all of that!

Your character gets hungry and thursty regularily (you can even eat snow!), tired, cold (frostbite!), poisoned and ill and the game has a very complex and
detailed injury, armor distribution and even cold protection model.

I've started playing this a few days ago and as I figure out how things work I'm starting to love this small gem more and more as each new game day comes...

There are a lot of in game keyboard commands and you need time to get used to the scarce graphics and (a unix users wet dream) keyboard command driven interface - but my internal gameometar says that this might be a very rewarding experience in the long run, as far as independent rpg's go... :)

The only problem in this bonanza is that the graphics are a truly unremarkable 2D reminiscent of, say, Ultima 6 (which needs a bit of stomaching when you see it for the first time) but I kind of like it that way - reminds me of long lost 1997. and another small gem... Spiderweb Software's Exile 3, the first piece of rpg I've ever enjoyed in my life, so I don't mind the simplicity and crudeness so much.

Here are some links:
http://www.the-underdogs.info/game.php?id=2817
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UnReal_World
http://www.freewebs.com/unrealthoth/index.htm
http://www.jmp.fi/~smaarane/urw.html

[Leet Eriksson]

I just want to say this is one of those gems that never get boring ever, its so random that replayability jumps up the roof, the graphics however are pretty ancient but the gameplay is so deep that it won't matter much.

Also thank you for making this thread, its been a while since i have played this and this just made me wanting for more, i really recommend everyone to give this game a try.

[Montmorency]

This game has potential, but it has plenty of rough edges.

Why the hell are there, like, no mammals anywhere? I started 5 new games just to try to find a single animal, and so far all I've seen are a couple of deer and a bear.

From what I've read, the game-world should be teeming with small game...

[easytarget]

Has to be one of the best necros ever, even for the org 7 years is impressive.

Well played.

[Montmorency]

It's been in development for 20+ years, so it deserves it.

[Ja'chyra]

I'll wait for the MMO

[easytarget]

It's been in development for 20+ years, so it deserves it.

Now that is what I call a sneak attack. I'll be sure to mention this in threads about HL3 dev time.

[Montmorency]

This is a good review.

[easytarget]

You do realize your link is an adaware virus infested link to sponge bob right?

[Vuk]

I just downloaded and tried this game, and I gotta say that I am not a fan. It doesn't even try to get by on graphics, storyline, etc., instead relying wholly on being a somewhat fancified realistic survival simulation for appeal. There is nothing wrong with that, if they had succeeded, but they did not. It is a useless waste of time with many good concepts, but all poorly pulled off.

[easytarget]

Just give it another 20 years and they'll have it polished to perfection.

[Montmorency]

Let's leave aside all the bugs with what is there beforehand. Now, nothing was really "poorly" done, just to an insufficient degree. For instance:

* Malnutrition should be long-term, and tie in with various food-types and diseases (e.g. gout)
* The sim should be less LMoE; there should be real options for cooperation with villages beyond basic trade, as well as some social stakes beyond a barebones "reputation" system, as cooperation in these environments was and is, after all, necessary to thrive if not to subsist
*Actually, this game might make the most sense as a village sim
* Predators (e.g. wolves, bears, lynxes) are too lethal when they hit, and players too unlikely
*Combat fatigue should be scaled down; it takes more than 5 minutes of tussle to become incapacitated by exhaustion
* Performance should be modelled with more finesse than just in terms of fatigue and injury; certainly, different sorts of injury should affect performance differently and not all as just some combined scalar penalty
* It should be possible to build weight and strength, instead of being stuck with it from character creation
* Why does everyone have to start as a 16-y/o?

etc.

But it's a charming little gem for a one-man project.

It is a useless waste of time

As opposed to - what, exactly?

[Vuk]

As opposed to - what, exactly?

Picking your nose, learning to crotchet, counting the scum rings on your toilet, setting a world record for the largest pile of toenail clippings. Take your pick; I have more.
All sarcasm aside, that is my opinion dude. You obviously have a different one. Let's not argue about it.

[easytarget]

You want to know what a charming little gem really looks like w/ only one guy making it, check out Combat Mission by Battlefront. One guy programmed that.