UnReal World - Now Free!

[Xydonus]

To sum it up,

 

UnReal World is a roguelike hardcore survival game that has been around since 1992. Development updates have increased recently with numerous updates to the game along with a graphical update that is due very soon. It's set during the Iron Age, in a setting loosely based on ancient Finland.

 

UnReal World has gone free now; however they are now relying on donations and encourage those who download and enjoy the game, to donate whatever they want towards the game.

 

It is my favorite survival roguelike game and I dare say the best on the market if your looking for a hardcore survival sim.

 

http://www.unrealworld.fi/

 

http://www.unrealworld.fi/urw_development.html List of development features, not always updated however.

[harakka]

Another recommendation for URW from me. People who have talked with me about game dev stuff no doubt already know I refer to URW often. The reason is simple: it is one of the very few games that approach wilderness survival, building and crafting in a fairly realistic manner. Even if you end up not liking the game, it's good to check out just so you see and example of how these things can be implemented.

 

Don't expect to see trees turning into planks in a minute here!

[Rathlord]

It's funny every time I'd heard "UnReal World" mentioned I kinda figured it was one of the Unreal/Unreal Tournament series. Now I find out it's something completely different that I've been missing out on 

 

At a glance it reminds me of Dwarf Fortress? I'm going to have to look into this.

[Xydonus]

At a glance it reminds me of Dwarf Fortress? I'm going to have to look into this.

 

I despise Dwarf Fortress, so I don't get the comparison. There's a graphical revamp mod on there too if you want to spice up the graphics a bit more, its compatible with the latest version.

 

But yeah if you don't mind a bit of complexity and love pure survival then you'll like it. The combat in the game is very unforgiving but expertly done. It's one of my favorite features of the game.

[Rathlord]

I find myself struggling to deal with the real life pictures scattered in the game. It's... unnerving. It's one of my biggest turn-offs in games. We'll see if I can get past it.

[Xydonus]

I find myself struggling to deal with the real life pictures scattered in the game. It's... unnerving. It's one of my biggest turn-offs in games. We'll see if I can get past it.

 

Ah, well they can be changed.

 

Go to your UnReal folder and into truegfx. You'll have all the faces for East/West, etc. You can change them to whatever you want, or take them out entirely. Not sure what happens if you just take them out.

[Rathlord]

If you don't mind me asking, why do you despise Dwarf Fortress?

 

From an outsiders perspective they seem very similar (perhaps a better comparison would be to Dwarf Fortress in Adventure Mode, rather than fortress building mode). They're both hyper-realistic survival sims, both have similar interfaces, similar skill set-up, similar graphics.

[harakka]

I find the somewhat amateurish photo graphics grow on you after a while, almost become endearing.

[Xydonus]

I tried getting getting into Dwarf Fortress ages ago and was subsequently bombarded by information that I didn't understand along with an interface that quite possibly may have been designed by a three-fingered blind monkey.

 

I also wasn't keen on watching a 69 part video guide on youtube about how to play the game

 

 

I don't see the resemblance in the interface or the graphics.

 

UnReal world -

 

 

 

Dwarf Fortress -

 

Granted, you can get graphical mods for DF , but you would also need an interface mod and a mod to manage the needs of the dwarfs themselves.

 

If I'm going to be enjoying a game; I would like to enjoy it out of the box, so to speak. With UnReal World I can do that without any mods. Two very different games in their right anyhow despite sharing survival elements.

[Rathlord]

Very few people play with the original ASCII graphics of DF, but I do see what you're saying. It is a game that pretty much needs modding to be fun, so if you're squeamish of that I completely understand.

 

But compare these instead:

 

 

And

 

 

Edit: Also, it's worth mentioning that there is a "LazyNewbPack" which is just a pure out-of-the-box setup that has everything you need.

[Xydonus]

Yeah, I might have a go with the pack.

 

It really depends on how presentable the game is once I install the pack. When I first tried it; there was no way I could devote the amount of time needed to learn the game. I mean Dwarf Fortress is the only game that I consider too complex to get into from the start and the idea that I would need to mod it just to understand it a bit better turned me away. I love modding games; difference is that this game, in my view, needed modding straight away just to be playable.

 

UnReal World had its complexities as well, but it was presented a lot better. I could learn how to actually play the game via the in-game tutorial (which is pants but its something) and spend minimal time needed just to learn how everything worked.

 

What originally drew me into attempting DF the first time round was the compelling gameplay features that it had and the sheer volume of mechanics (too many to be specific) that were present. I mean, I was literally drooling reading the wiki info on it alone.

 

I'll give it another shot though, see if my brain is up for getting fried a second time.

[Rathlord]

It's... not an easy experience. It's definitely not for 'casual' gamers in the nicest possible way of saying it. I suggest watching a video tutorial, as bad as that sounds. This is a great place to get started: 

 

What makes it so great is that once you get into it, it all gets fairly second nature and it is a fantastically deep and immersive experience despite its shortcomings. That being said, it's definitely not a game for everyone.

[speider]

Whats the name on the first DF texture pack  you linked a picture on rathlord?

[Xydonus]

Is this any good? - http://dwarffortresswiki.org/index.php/Masterwork:Main_Page

 

Wonder if the Newb pack would be mod-friendly to that?

[Xydonus]

Well, after reviewing this list - http://www.bay12forums.com/smf/index.php?topic=98196.0 - It seems it contains most, if not all of the features the Newb pack contains plus other nice stuff too.

 

Unfortunately Rathlord, I just don't have the time to get into tutorial videos, although I'll probably check out the first 3/4 parts. I definitely view Dwarf Fortress though as the Mount Everest of video games; it takes a rare sort to even consider getting into it. Not a game I think anyone is capable of mastering and considering that I'm not a casual gamer, I view Dwarf Fortress as a bit of an enigma...

 

Anyhow, I'll give it another go.

[Rathlord]

The "masterwork" pack you should probably avoid at first. It adds a TON of stuff to the game which is something I generally try to avoid when just getting into things. The LazyNewbPack is solely an overhaul of the graphics and sound, as well as providing easy access to some of the 'essential' mods.

 

I think the picture I linked may have been Phoebus's graphics pack, but personally I highly recommend the Obsidian pack as it is just fantastic. At any rate, you'll have a whole bunch of options pre-installed if you go for the LazyNewbPack and it's as easy as picking which one you want at startup.

 

I certainly didn't watch all of the tutorial videos- really, I watched the first two, and then after that I figured it all out for myself. They have an insanely helpful Wiki if you ever get stuck, and I occasionally went back to watch the next videos just to see if I missed anything, usually just letting them play in the background while I do something else (like play DF).

[Xydonus]

You were not kidding about that Obsidian pack, DF looks sexy -

[VamyreLord]

DF is pretty lame as a roguelike (adventure mode), though. If you want a proper cool roguelike play Rogue, Nethack, Dungeon Crawl Stone Soup, or Cataclysm: DDA (if you want Project Zomboid as a roguelike you'd like this).

 

How does this compare to other roguelikes like Dungeon Crawl, then? Is it all randomly generated? 

 

EDIT: I tried, but the controls are too awkward for me to really grab ahold of the gameplay.

Props for Cataclysm: DDA. Really digging that deep right now.

 

I need to try UnReal World soon.

[Realmkeeper]

Oh god,

So I decided to give UnReal World a shot, that was 5 hours ago.

I've been playing and learning the basics ever since.

 

Nethack was a bore for me, DF had a too steep learning curve to pick up properly in an afternoon - This game looks amazing though.

I've not even begun to grasp the concepts of most things, but with the Wiki in one hand I've been surviving at least - after a couple of close calls with starvation! I'm yet to successfully hunt an animal, but I've been fishing, crafted a shelter, made several weapons, explored a shitton, and still not yet bored.

I WANT TO HAVE AN ANIMAL TO CARRY MY STUFF AROUND!

Also, I nearly died from exposure to begin with, before I figured that you can sleep anywhere if it's a clear night and there's not much nearby. Also, those villagers are good folks letting me sleep in their houses when it rains

[Xydonus]

Oh god,

So I decided to give UnReal World a shot, that was 5 hours ago.

I've been playing and learning the basics ever since.

 

Nethack was a bore for me, DF had a too steep learning curve to pick up properly in an afternoon - This game looks amazing though.

I've not even begun to grasp the concepts of most things, but with the Wiki in one hand I've been surviving at least - after a couple of close calls with starvation! I'm yet to successfully hunt an animal, but I've been fishing, crafted a shelter, made several weapons, explored a shitton, and still not yet bored.

I WANT TO HAVE AN ANIMAL TO CARRY MY STUFF AROUND!

Also, I nearly died from exposure to begin with, before I figured that you can sleep anywhere if it's a clear night and there's not much nearby. Also, those villagers are good folks letting me sleep in their houses when it rains

 

Glad you like it; I was worried this thread was going down a path of too much Dwarf Fortress

 

What culture did you pick?

 

Regarding hunting in general, don't underestimate trappings! Trap trap trap! Learn to build effective traps, specifically staked pits which are easy to make and are effective if you build them in area's that show signs of animal tracks such as deer. Just don't forget to check them now and again, so its a good idea to build them nearby. Usually every two days is good enough, longer than that and you may find yourself coming back to some spoiled smelly meat which has the side-effect of deterring certain animals.

 

When your going to actively hunt I recommend learning to throw spears; javelins are easy enough to make yourself. You can also throw rocks at medium sized wildlife and you might score a lucky hit, if your desperate. Hunting however is difficult to master at the start as you'll have to learn how to use the hide function effectively, and knowing when and when not too attack your prey. A good investment for early on is a fish net, if you can get your hands on one, or you can make one. However, be sure to check the net between a day and two days, no more otherwise you'll end up getting rotting fish.

 

The whole animal-to-animal relationship is very complicated and has had some big changes to it recently. You can check some of the past dev blogs to get an idea of just how complex it is. For example; the game follows a natural order of things when it comes to prey vs predator. So deer can get preyed upon by their natural predators and this is all simulated even when your not about. Bears will go fishing and scavenging for food, including any food you happen to leave about which also includes you. I once had a bear approach my camp; it would have mauled me to death if it wasn't for my dog barking, which woke me up and I did a complete legger in the opposite direction

 

Of course, animals are not the only thing you have to worry about. Fellow npc's that roam the lands. Most are friendly but out to the far east you'll have the more aggressive tribes which tend to expand, so you'll want to keep an eye on that. Combat with an npc can be very unpredictable and harsh, but challenging and fun and very very intense. A single well placed arrow is all it takes to kill someone in this game. An arrow in the leg, while it may not be serious it will certainly force you to rest up months on end depending on how severe it is.

I once fell off a tree that I had climbed to get a birds eye view and it was a very nasty fall. Broke my leg, my arm and suffered some very bad bruising to my ribs. I was building my camp at the time and I had to delay it for over 6 months. That's how long it took for me to recover. Not only that, I became completely dependent on my trappings and the nearby village for food. I couldn't go on a hunt as most of my time was resting up.

 

Sam has said that the next updates will be focusing on npc interaction, relationships and trade. So that will be exciting stuff.

 

 

Edit* Forgot to say; you can buy animals at most villages. Bulls and that are good for pack carriers. Only thing is they are very expensive to buy and it can be hard to workout what exactly the village wants in exchange for them.

 

Here's a graphical mod that I recommend which works with the latest version - http://z3.invisionfree.com/UrW_forum/index.php?showtopic=1921

[Rathlord]

From the video I'm watching, it appears to be turn (or action) based? So, gives time to tactically analyze situations before doing anything?

[Xydonus]

From the video I'm watching, it appears to be turn (or action) based? So, gives time to tactically analyze situations before doing anything?

 

Yep, turn based actions. Every action you do uses a turn. So if you see an npc/animal it will remain frozen until you do an action. Can't imagine URW combat system in real time, I certainly wouldn't like it.

[harakka]

How does this compare to other roguelikes like Dungeon Crawl, then? Is it all randomly generated? 

 

EDIT: I tried, but the controls are too awkward for me to really grab ahold of the gameplay.

The world is randomly generated, although the shape of the continent is roughly the same every time, this has to do with the regions the various cultures inhabit.

 

One thing that's unusual about the controls is that you control your facing and then move forward / backward accordingly. It takes some getting used to but I find it rather nice. It also adds the element of view cone into the game, as every creature has a direction they're facing at any given time, instead of being able to see 360 degrees around you as in many roguelikes.

 

Edit:

The game has been under development for over 20 years now, and the main developer has funded his survival on it for the most part of that time. It used to be that you could buy just the current major version for 3 dollars, or current major version and all updates to it for 10 dollars, or every version of the game ever for 35 dollars.

Ever since he made the game free though, the number of downloads has tripled but his income has been cut in half. If you dig the game, it might be worth it to throw a few pennies their way.

[Xydonus]

In reference to the Dwarf Fortress debate earlier on; after watching 4 parts of that tutorial, I've kinda grasped the basics of it. I went against sound advice and decided to install the Masterwork DF and played about an hour of that.

 

I also turned off invasions via the .ini so I don't have to worry about sieges while I play the game. I still have to deal with roaming savages and that, but I turned that down to low so it isn't a big problem.

 

Got a very basic underground cavern laid out and some empty rooms. Still coming to grasp with managing the dwarfs which is a lot of micromanagement, but I reckon things will speed up once I get the hang of it. I do love all the depth that lies beneath this game its just a shame its not very accessible compared to UnReal World, but I am liking it so far.

[Kitt Frostpaws]

Anybody got a link to the UnReal World wki? I can't find/make spruce twigs at all. Kind of failing here.