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Other Gaming => RPGs & Adventure Gaming => Topic started by: bob48 on December 31, 2019, 02:45:09 PM

Title: Gloomhaven on the PC
Post by: bob48 on December 31, 2019, 02:45:09 PM
Just picked this up before the Steam sale ends.
Title: Re: Gloomhaven on the PC
Post by: BanzaiCat on January 02, 2020, 07:41:36 AM
What do you think so far?

My daughter and I only managed to get one mission in to the board game, and admittedly I wasn't very impressed with my character choice (Cragheart). Thinking of starting it over at some point solo with a Brute and a Spellweaver or Brute and Scoundrel.
Title: Re: Gloomhaven on the PC
Post by: bob48 on January 02, 2020, 07:59:22 AM
Whilst I like the mechanics, and general gameplay, and in the full knowledge that it is still in early access, I do have a couple of issues with it.

One is that so far, in all my games, I only get the new forest area no matter which of the 3 available directions I choose. The problem here is that the forests are very cluttered with scenery and its not always easy to see the hexes and judge ranges. They are also very dark and not easy to see whats in there. I should add that other people have been complaining about the same issue, so hopefully something will be done in a future fix.

I did a 'thumbs down' review and had a quick, if unhelpful, reply from a dev to the effect that they were 'sorry that the new forest area did not meet my expectations, but they would take my comments into consideration'. Now, that does not really address my complaint since I did not have any expectations about the forest as such.

The other thing is that even and the 'normal' level, it is, for me anyway, far too difficult. I understand the mechanics, but even after 20-30 tries I cannot even finish one single dungeon. usually, by the time you get to the 3rd room, you have almost run out of resources (cards) and open the last door to find 4-6 new enemies.

I accept that I'm not the greatest player in the world,  and I may be missing something, but I definitely think that it needs and easier level, especially for the first encounters. I would be interested to know how this experience compares with the board game.

I do like the fact that they say that prior to full release, they will be including all the other elements that feature in the board game, such as the reaming mercenary characters. So far there are six with another eleven to come plus a bunch of other stuff.

So, as of now, I'm a little disappointed, but still hopeful that future fixes / content will improve the game. I certainly think it has the potential to be excellent.
Title: Re: Gloomhaven on the PC
Post by: BanzaiCat on January 02, 2020, 08:02:25 AM
I figured as much. At least the dev answered you, and apparently quickly - that's always a good sign.

One thing about the board game that's awesome is how you can ramp difficulty. Enemies drop coin tokens that are worth a certain amount of gold, based on the difficulty. The higher the difficulty the more the risk but the greater the rewards. It suggests, in the solo version, to ramp up the difficulty by one level at least since as the solo player, you have exact info on what all your controlled characters are doing; the board game suggests when playing multi-player to NOT share info as to what you're doing other than generalities, which is an interesting aspect.
Title: Re: Gloomhaven on the PC
Post by: bob48 on January 02, 2020, 08:41:33 AM
Interesting.

Yep, when you kill an enemy, they drop gold. At present, its 2 gold each, and I have come across the occasional treasure box. Also, at present,  you only have 2 characters in your party, although it seems that you unlock more further into the game.
Title: Re: Gloomhaven on the PC
Post by: BanzaiCat on January 02, 2020, 08:45:17 AM
In the board game, the characters you unlock later are based on your personal quest - it's a card you draw. You draw two of them and then choose one. I had drawn two and didn't like the choices so I drew two more. When it's complete, you retire your character, and then the card merely says to open the box with the whatever symbol it displays. No other info, which I really like.
Title: Re: Gloomhaven on the PC
Post by: BanzaiCat on February 14, 2020, 07:54:09 AM
Still playing this, Bob? Any changes for the better/worse?
Title: Re: Gloomhaven on the PC
Post by: bob48 on February 14, 2020, 08:06:00 AM
I stopped after playing it for a few hours as there were obviously issues. They have since released an update which addresses at least one of the problems, and they are releasing more updates / patches. I think it will be a really good game if and when they sort out the bugs.
Title: Re: Gloomhaven on the PC
Post by: BanzaiCat on February 14, 2020, 08:09:44 AM
Good, glad they're still polishing it at least. I'll find some games I haven't played in years because of issues end up having dozens of patches, so when I try it again it's vastly improved...I tend to forget games I have on Steam, lol.
Title: Re: Gloomhaven on the PC
Post by: bbmike on February 14, 2020, 08:27:50 AM
I stopped after playing it for a few hours as there were obviously issues. They have since released an update which addresses at least one of the problems, and they are releasing more updates / patches. I think it will be a really good game if and when they sort out the bugs.

Much agreed.
Title: Re: Gloomhaven on the PC
Post by: bayonetbrant on February 14, 2020, 08:44:01 AM
I think it will be a really good game if and when they sort out the bugs.


CTRL-C
CTRL-V


literally every digital game in the history of ever  :hehe:
Title: Re: Gloomhaven on the PC
Post by: BanzaiCat on February 14, 2020, 08:52:25 AM
It is the way.
Title: Re: Gloomhaven on the PC
Post by: bob48 on February 14, 2020, 08:59:51 AM
I gather from what i read that it follows the board game pretty well. Also, although at present there are only 6 playable characters to choose from, that eventually, all  those in the board game (17?) will be made available as updates.

I purchased the game in sale in its (obviously) pre-release version as by doing so, I will automatically get all future updates that will be included in the higher priced final release version..
Title: Re: Gloomhaven on the PC
Post by: bbmike on February 14, 2020, 09:03:55 AM
The board game is awesome. Going to play it again today. We've finally cracked open the Forgotten Circles expansion. And I can't wait to back Frosthaven next month.  :bigthumb:
Title: Re: Gloomhaven on the PC
Post by: bob48 on February 14, 2020, 09:07:06 AM
Its certainly much different from anything I've ever played before. So far, I have managed to get one 'team' of two characters up to level 3, but that's about it. I really need to get back into it.
Title: Re: Gloomhaven on the PC
Post by: BanzaiCat on February 14, 2020, 10:39:28 AM
I probably won't get back to it until my daughter gets home this summer.
Title: Re: Gloomhaven on the PC
Post by: bob48 on February 14, 2020, 10:45:21 AM
I dunno about the board game, but the PC version is very unforgiving. You really have to give a lot of thought as to how you use your cards.
Title: Re: Gloomhaven on the PC
Post by: BanzaiCat on February 14, 2020, 10:52:05 AM
The board game is much the same; using your cards is quite a challenge and not being able to fully communicate with others is a downer but a very interesting one.

There's ways to replenish your cards but it's devilishly ingenious. You really must pace yourself through each encounter.
Title: Re: Gloomhaven on the PC
Post by: bob48 on February 24, 2020, 10:54:02 AM
New quite big patch out, including a new mercenary; 'Elementalist', although I've not played it as yet.
Title: Re: Gloomhaven on the PC
Post by: bbmike on February 24, 2020, 12:54:40 PM
My last character in the board game was a Level 9 Elementalist. God how I miss that character now. My Plagueherald sucks.
Title: Re: Gloomhaven on the PC
Post by: bob48 on February 29, 2020, 10:18:15 AM
This is a really hard game, even on 'easy' level. I tried it again using the new character, but still got wiped after a few attempts. For me, one of the issues is that you can only view your hand one card at a time, rather than all of your cards. This may seem like a small thing, but when have to select for, at present, two characters, and you obviously have to select cards that complement the actions for both, then it can get a wee bit confusing.

..there again, it might just be me getting senile............
Title: Re: Gloomhaven on the PC
Post by: Undercovergeek on October 20, 2021, 06:13:41 PM
I’m assuming it’s full release now but it’s just been reviewed on RPS and has won a bestest of the best award
Title: Re: Gloomhaven on the PC
Post by: bob48 on October 21, 2021, 06:31:40 AM
<Gloom - literally> I've tried and tried but I just can't play it.  :(
Title: Re: Gloomhaven on the PC
Post by: bbmike on October 21, 2021, 08:11:32 AM
If you have a year and a half to spare, the board game is awesome.  :bigthumb:
Title: Re: Gloomhaven on the PC
Post by: bob48 on October 21, 2021, 08:37:22 AM
I don't think I have the room to set it up!
Title: Re: Gloomhaven on the PC
Post by: BanzaiCat on October 21, 2021, 09:43:29 AM
I sold my copy for lack of room and time. :(
Title: Re: Gloomhaven on the PC
Post by: bob48 on October 21, 2021, 09:44:37 AM
There are a few expansions as well now, are there not?
Title: Re: Gloomhaven on the PC
Post by: BanzaiCat on October 21, 2021, 09:48:00 AM
Hmm...not sure about that. There is a lighter version called Jaws Of The Lion, there's a sticker expansion (so you can replay the game again if you want...I suppose that means the stickers come off the boards relatively easily?), and of course there's Frosthaven, but I'm not sure if there's any actual expansions for the original, base game.
Title: Re: Gloomhaven on the PC
Post by: bob48 on October 21, 2021, 09:50:49 AM
Frosthaven, or is that another game using the same system?
Title: Re: Gloomhaven on the PC
Post by: bbmike on October 21, 2021, 09:53:19 AM
Another game I've got to set aside another year or two for.  :D
Title: Re: Gloomhaven on the PC
Post by: BanzaiCat on October 21, 2021, 12:15:45 PM
 ;D

Frosthaven is a separate game entirely. Same big-box design, though.
Title: Re: Gloomhaven on the PC
Post by: bob48 on October 21, 2021, 12:43:17 PM
Is it the same game mechanics though?
Title: Re: Gloomhaven on the PC
Post by: bbmike on October 21, 2021, 01:01:39 PM
It is indeed.
Title: Re: Gloomhaven on the PC
Post by: bob48 on November 16, 2021, 09:42:49 AM
There has been another big game update and this includes an easier mode for wimps such as myself. I have therefore concluded that I must give it another bash :-)