Post 1, 1/5/2019: Mining the unfriendly stars
Deep Rock Galactic
Date played: Jan 1, 2019
Time played: ~45 minutes
Version: Early Access
Did I feel present?
Not entirely. Movement in the game is smoothly gliding, which feels disassociated from the rugged surroundings. The idea of movement is actually one of the game's core mechanics, and dwarven occupations are differentiated partly by their movement styles. I spent a bit of my (short) time standing on a cavern floor trying to figure out how to get to a sparkling little gem on the ceiling. My brother's class could shoot little crystalline platforms onto the wall, basically creating bolt-on steps, and the gunner in the tutorial can send up a reversible zip line. Both are slow and clunky, and still make it difficult to position yourself correctly. The most satisfying method was to carve a zigzagging little staircase into the rock itself, which was time intensive and a little unreal feeling, but still fun.
Where'd everybody go?
Deep Rock Galactic has to be one of the more disorienting games I've played in a while. There are certainly no waypoints to follow, but there's also no minimap, marker for teammates, and no glimpse of the sky or horizon to orient yourself. The caverns are understandably dark, and your dwarf's headlight doesn't reveal much. To make things a bit more functional, the game also gives you fast-burning flares that light up the area. Limitations on lighting and sight could create an interesting experience if there was a tension around them - either a fear of revealing something best left sleeping, or limiting light resources and offering it as a line of protection. I'm picturing a dwarf suspended over a yawning chasm, the glint of minerals shining from the bottom, who drops a flare only to realize they're seeing the metallic shine of a massive carapace. That wasn't my experience - I just tossed flares on the ground nearby to see, but occasionally felt frustrated that I couldn't tell if the ceiling was worth climbing to or not.
Perhaps as a corollary, I never really knew if my brother was nearby, or what he was working on. In our one battle we sort of kept an eye on each other, but it was all fairly static and the number of hostiles was limited to 2 or 3 in each wave. He revived me after a spider knocked me down once, and I later flamed some bugs that were attacking him. I may have flamed him as well, and honestly I wish I could definitively so whether or not I had. It just felt so removed that I'm not sure.
What's this all about, then?
Simulating high-tech mining, I suppose. Combat was an afterthought, so primarily I walked around caves looking for useful minerals, and then looking for tunnels or soft points in the wall to advance through.
Best surprise
The menu is great - the dwarves' pub/hangout/spacestation. Invite someone to your party and they run around in the same space with you. Specific menus are available through clearly labelled terminals, and to start a mission you actually jump in the drop pod.
Verdict
Not a bad way to spend some time, but it was more like 45 minutes wandering around sort of together than a journey of discovery or a pulse-raising battle.
Ideal version
We've scored a decent haul, but our air supply is running low. We struck a lode of platinum, the bugs' preferred eating, and since then the gunner and engineer have set up a barricade to hold them back. The driller and scout see one last well to check before we turn back and begin a fighting retreat. As they prepare to rappel down, the scout drops a flare down, coming to rest on the ridged maw of a sleeping giant. The beast unfurls itself up the well, forcing the pair back and away from their teammates. The mission is doomed - our best bet now is to get out alive, keeping our experience and whatever scraps we have on us.
We throw our remaining flares into the midst of the bugs to lure the monster off our sturdy backs and onto their chitinous ones. Oxygen is at a critical point, and we burn it faster as we race to the pod. The engineer fires his last platform to bypass a winding ramp, and the door is in sight. Just before we reach it, the shadows roar as the infuriated thing emerges, scarred but not dead. The door shines like a beacon, with dark shadows - allies, the foe, all look alike - moving in front of it. The gunner empties his minigun in the direction of the sound, mowing down the unfortunate scout but distracting it long enough for the remaining teammates to climb their ramp. Its clawed hand comes down, and the door closes.
Time played: ~45 minutes
Version: Early Access
Did I feel present?
Not entirely. Movement in the game is smoothly gliding, which feels disassociated from the rugged surroundings. The idea of movement is actually one of the game's core mechanics, and dwarven occupations are differentiated partly by their movement styles. I spent a bit of my (short) time standing on a cavern floor trying to figure out how to get to a sparkling little gem on the ceiling. My brother's class could shoot little crystalline platforms onto the wall, basically creating bolt-on steps, and the gunner in the tutorial can send up a reversible zip line. Both are slow and clunky, and still make it difficult to position yourself correctly. The most satisfying method was to carve a zigzagging little staircase into the rock itself, which was time intensive and a little unreal feeling, but still fun.
Where'd everybody go?
Deep Rock Galactic has to be one of the more disorienting games I've played in a while. There are certainly no waypoints to follow, but there's also no minimap, marker for teammates, and no glimpse of the sky or horizon to orient yourself. The caverns are understandably dark, and your dwarf's headlight doesn't reveal much. To make things a bit more functional, the game also gives you fast-burning flares that light up the area. Limitations on lighting and sight could create an interesting experience if there was a tension around them - either a fear of revealing something best left sleeping, or limiting light resources and offering it as a line of protection. I'm picturing a dwarf suspended over a yawning chasm, the glint of minerals shining from the bottom, who drops a flare only to realize they're seeing the metallic shine of a massive carapace. That wasn't my experience - I just tossed flares on the ground nearby to see, but occasionally felt frustrated that I couldn't tell if the ceiling was worth climbing to or not.
Perhaps as a corollary, I never really knew if my brother was nearby, or what he was working on. In our one battle we sort of kept an eye on each other, but it was all fairly static and the number of hostiles was limited to 2 or 3 in each wave. He revived me after a spider knocked me down once, and I later flamed some bugs that were attacking him. I may have flamed him as well, and honestly I wish I could definitively so whether or not I had. It just felt so removed that I'm not sure.
What's this all about, then?
Simulating high-tech mining, I suppose. Combat was an afterthought, so primarily I walked around caves looking for useful minerals, and then looking for tunnels or soft points in the wall to advance through.
Best surprise
The menu is great - the dwarves' pub/hangout/spacestation. Invite someone to your party and they run around in the same space with you. Specific menus are available through clearly labelled terminals, and to start a mission you actually jump in the drop pod.
Verdict
Not a bad way to spend some time, but it was more like 45 minutes wandering around sort of together than a journey of discovery or a pulse-raising battle.
Ideal version
We've scored a decent haul, but our air supply is running low. We struck a lode of platinum, the bugs' preferred eating, and since then the gunner and engineer have set up a barricade to hold them back. The driller and scout see one last well to check before we turn back and begin a fighting retreat. As they prepare to rappel down, the scout drops a flare down, coming to rest on the ridged maw of a sleeping giant. The beast unfurls itself up the well, forcing the pair back and away from their teammates. The mission is doomed - our best bet now is to get out alive, keeping our experience and whatever scraps we have on us.
We throw our remaining flares into the midst of the bugs to lure the monster off our sturdy backs and onto their chitinous ones. Oxygen is at a critical point, and we burn it faster as we race to the pod. The engineer fires his last platform to bypass a winding ramp, and the door is in sight. Just before we reach it, the shadows roar as the infuriated thing emerges, scarred but not dead. The door shines like a beacon, with dark shadows - allies, the foe, all look alike - moving in front of it. The gunner empties his minigun in the direction of the sound, mowing down the unfortunate scout but distracting it long enough for the remaining teammates to climb their ramp. Its clawed hand comes down, and the door closes.
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