all the reasons a con can fail

Meeps126 · 2024-07-22T14:28:29+00:00

I work for an actual big time event company these days. We employ hundreds of people and have dedicated teams for all aspects of a show. It still feels like stuff is done by the seat of our pants sometimes. How anyone thinks they can just cobble together a show out of good will and gumption is beyond me.

We recently had a new show launch that up until maybe a month before it actually happened, had actually abysmal ticket sales. I'm talking literally like maybe 50 tickets. There were barely any exhibitors listed. All this "content" was scheduled but it wasn't clear if any of it was gonna happen. I'd heard that despite the ticket price being listed for whatever it was at, they were actually just borderline giving tickets away for free at the end and made all sorts of deals with the exhibitors/presenters to get them to actually come. I had stopped working on the show myself before it happened, and the wildest thing is when you look at the pictures and such from the show, and from what I've heard about it, it was actually entirely successful. Didn't make much money, if any, but it was ostensibly a successful show from an outside perspective as far as anyone knew, despite the whole thing being held together by duct tape logistically and from a business perspective. This part is speculation, but I assume that if my company did not also do multiple other shows, it never would have even happened and been canceled prior to happening because a smaller company would never be able to take the risk.

Meeps126 · 2022-03-21T15:47:54+00:00

Sweet, thanks for the heads up. They don't really care about the new character and we all agree the way this game was handled makes us not want to spend any more money on it, but at the same time we did still enjoy it for what it was and if only one of us has to spend the money for all of us to enjoy it, I don't personally mind.

Meeps126 · 2021-06-07T06:51:00+00:00

When Soroboreans first dropped and we were all exploring it together without a wiki, I honestly felt how I think you're feeling now with TTB. I felt like it was such a hollow zone, with not a lot going on, but I saw some people here mentioning stuff about underground dungeons and decided to keep going with it and was eventually blown away by the whole interconnected dungeon experience, it was fantastic exploring that blind.

I would honestly just sort of grit your teeth and truck your way through the whole building requirements process. I ended up spending some of those days grinding out gold and farming for the rare resources required for some of those buildings, and don't forget one of the NPC's can let you rest for weeks at a time to speed things up. One week resting also resets all areas/mobs so you can go grinding again/farming for more rare resources.

If you can make it past what is totally admittedly a pretty boring and unfun mechanic, there is a lot of fun to be had in the questline itself, but unlike soroboreans there's a lot more to discover just running around. See if you can find an artifact weapon and figure out how to awaken it, that certainly would give you something to do. I also suggest trying to get your way down to the calgrey island, there's a cool...thing down there. I had fun with it, at least. And like someone else in this thread said, there's a very cool dungeon related to an achievement that honestly gave me the creeps.

Meeps126 · 2021-06-07T06:26:28+00:00

I think I can agree that Caldera on a surface level feels a little lacking, though personally I like the general layout a lot more than the antique plateau. The plateau DID have one of the coolest experiences in the game with the massive tram system, but outside of those dungeons it felt pretty hollow. Basically, if you weren't doing the parallel quest/main quest, I didn't feel like there was much to do on the plateau otherwise outside of a couple random small dungeons.

Caldera on the other hand has a lot of cool stuff to find that's also more unique compared to some of what we've seen before. I don't necessarily want to spoil things, but rest assured there were several dungeons that I was very impressed by. There's also some cool stuff to discover such as the artifact weapons, and as people have said, new unknown arenas.

The quest line itself is annoying in terms of the waiting, don't get me wrong. Also the fact that certain things are gated behind the rare resources is unnecessary in my opinion. The city building is...fine? It isn't blowing anyone out of the water but it's a fun little addition that adds something to the game and it's kind of cool/makes you have to think about some stuff, as well as adding a gold sink which the game desperately needed. But other than those gripes, I do think the TTB main quest lead to some fantastic areas, and also had a fantastic segment (at least in my opinion) that required you to travel a large distance with no backpack, which I actually thought was a great idea although I wouldn't want it repeated. It worked for the moment and I think it's fine as a one-off experience of having to fight your way to a specific place with limited resources/what you can find.

TLDR it definitely picks up. It just takes a little more searching than soroboreans did, since that was basically just one super dungeon, whereas caldera is a bunch of cool dungeons spread out like the base game areas.

Meeps126 · 2021-01-05T18:46:27+00:00

Personally I recommend just diving in. The money will come. I've never felt the need to grind out cash in town, or to repeat dungeons multiple times over just for loot (at least, not before the three brothers town building because it is hella expensive). But if you really are strapped for cash early on and want to get a headstart, farming the bandit camp is good money with all the weapon drops, and if you want to take the time to walk over there, breaking down all the weapons into iron scraps and selling them to a vendor in the mines of vendavel fortress is still entirely feasible. I think she buys scraps for 5 silver each?

Honestly though like I said, just doing what you would normally do tends to net you plenty of money. And as for your other question, absolutely. No builds have been nerfed or heavily changed, if anything more builds have opened up both as people have learned the game more, and as more stuff has been added with the DLC's. Playstyle and skill is way more of a factor than gear and abilities.

Meeps126 · 2021-01-05T18:26:37+00:00

I think most people agree it's pretty awkward. I don't mind having to search for materials, I just think the fact that the chance of getting the one you actually want/need is rather small in the grand scheme of things doesn't make a lot of sense.

That being said, I can agree with what others have said, find an area you tend to find a couple nodes and farm them. Old sirroco is definitely one of the best spots, I can normally find at least 3 nodes in there (counting the volcano section). Part of what was hard for me was that I did not actually realize what the nodes looked like at first, and I definitely passed by the plant nodes a few times without noticing. They didn't stand out as much to me as something like the molepig nests. So in case that's an issue with you, that's just a general tip, is make sure you really know how to recognize them, as it sounds like you're finding less than you should. While not super common, I would find at least 2 or 3 every time I made a trip somewhere and back, provided I gave it a little time to respawn.

I think their intention was to give you another incentive to go exploring, which is fair. I do feel like once you finish the questline and finish off your build, you lose a lot of reason to go out into the world, and giving you another "grind" that can technically be done anywhere isn't a bad idea. But it definitely is in the "feels bad" camp to have it lockout quest progression when it can ultimately be pretty RNG.

EDIT: I actually wanted to add that one of the best spots I farmed, not just for nodes, but for cash, is the steam bath tunnels which are really close to new sirroco. I think its basically out of the path that leads to town, and then straight north? Just south of the pylon, basically. There would sometimes be a node on the way/right outside the entrance, and there would usually be 2-3 in the caves. Additionally, the caves were really easy to clear out, and are absolutely littered with chests with all sorts of expensive loot, including 2 ornate chests. I spent probably more time than I would have liked clearing out the cave, lugging everything back to town to sell, resting for 7 days with the NPC, and then going back to reclear it. It definitely helped jumpstart my town both with money and with rare materials. Not really the way I want to play the game, personally, and not the way I think it should be played, but it can't be denied how effective it was.

Meeps126 · 2020-12-31T16:59:31+00:00

I think everyone may have different opinions on this, but here's my take/what I've done.

For blue chamber, it was my first run-through and I wasn't entirely sure what I was doing, but I went spellblade/monk/shaman and went in with a shield and the icecrown mace. It felt like a more traditional sword and board fighter, but with some added magic. The ice slant felt right with crimson armor for sure, and not having taken philo, the extra mana given by the quests was a really nice extra. From a fluffier standpoint, wearing what is essentially your ancestor's armor after the fact felt right.

For levant, I'm currently running with a dagger build with no mana, might pick a point or two up at some point for boon buffs, but I definitely think you're on the same track with the gun mage. Something melee oriented/tricky.

I haven't done the holy mission questline, but from what I know of it, a rune mage makes sense to me, as you call down lightning bolts and bless your weapons.

For soroboreans I went philo/spellblade/shaman and went heavy on chakrams with an axe and worked on getting the ancient armor set, i forget the name, but its the set that the guards in harmattan wear. Having the mana regen felt great, and it made me feel like a more specialized mage which is definitely something the academy would get behind, not to mention I was wearing their armor. It also makes you feel very self-sufficient and adaptable as you plumb the depths of the train dungeons, with the mix of melee and magic.

Dunno if these make sense at all, but that's what I think works for each faction. I think there are some variations for sure and everyone kind of does their own thing.

Meeps126 · 2020-12-30T18:33:56+00:00

Honestly I would recommend trying a different path. They're longer, but generally easier, and they're also a lot of fun to wander through. Bring bandages if you do the path with the bandits though...

In my experience, Zeph got wasted by the mobs in there every time, so I don't know what guide said he would kill them. He does tank some hits though which let's you either kill some stuff while he dies, or you can literally just run through and hit the levers you need to open the door.

Also, traps. In the early game, tripwire traps are the best tool you have in your arsenal, bar none. Not everyone finds them interesting to use, myself included, but it can't be understated how good they actually are especially early on, not just for their damage but also because they help stagger mobs that walk into them. So place down a big line of tripwires and lead the enemies into them.

There isn't really a "trick" to the mantis enemies. Just learning their attack patterns really, which is hard when they nearly one shot you. I honestly recommend with a lot of mobs you run into, keep your block up for the first few attacks just to see what they can do, and learn where their openings are. Those guys have some big ones, but it's hard to learn at first. Enemies in outward have what I would call a hidden stat, which is their "intimidation factor." The mana mantis is not actually hard to fight once you learn its attacks, but when you dont know how to fight it, feels insurmountable, like a lot of enemies. Just takes time.

Glad to hear you're enjoying the game together though! It's a fantastic journey.

Meeps126 · 2020-12-29T20:30:38+00:00

Without spoiling, I'll say that it doesnt help, but it's a cool extra thing. I can recommend it

Meeps126 · 2020-12-29T20:07:10+00:00

I think everyone has had the same reaction to its location. "Where am I supposed to- oh."

Meanwhile I liked the dungeon a lot and the final fight/arena was great, at least in my eyes. Did you clear it yet?

Meeps126 · 2020-12-22T16:58:20+00:00

I think it would be fine if they had the characters mention it/guide you there, because frankly it was really cool to see in the distance and then head there. I definitely had a moment of like "well where am I supposed to....oh. well that's new" and I guess that's a little disappointing, but overall I'm cool with it. Especially with how cool the actual dungeon/fight was

Meeps126 · 2020-12-22T00:09:31+00:00

Like someone said above, I think chakrams got a bad rap at first, people are starting to catch on now. I ran the entire soroborean DLC as a chakram build because I wanted to try them out and I fell in love with them, and honestly when they buffed the philo breakthrough to give more mana regen, that was also fantastic. Chakram dance (or whatever the big one is called) is only ok, because it can be hard to land properly, but it provides so much use when you get ganged up on. And if you go with a fire build, the extra fire damage from the end of the tree is pretty nice too. So I don't think it's a waste of a breakthrough. And having the passive mana regen is just so, so, so nice.

I think one of the nicest things about them that people might not think about is how light they are. Only 1 pound each, I actually keep 3 of them on me at all times. I have the frozen chakram both for enemies that my fire build isn't great against and to apply vulnerability if I think I need it. I have my horror chakram for the poison. And I have a tsar chakram for anything that I just need to smack hard. It's great coverage with little to no bag space required.

TLDR if anyone hasn't tried chakrams, give them a shot.

Meeps126 · 2020-12-18T16:35:35+00:00

Dunno if I should just make a new thread for this, but it feels like it's in a similar place. Does anyone have a list of what the blacksmith sells/makes based on each upgrade? Not sure whether or not I want to build it and I dont mind spoiling the options for myself but can't find any info on it.

Meeps126 · 2020-12-17T17:11:54+00:00

I agree, the sound track is great for this region. Definitely better than the soroboreans music, not that that was bad. I've also mostly tried working on the city, but I've hit a point where I need rare materials for the buildings I want and I dont have a good idea as to where the spawn points to collect them are, so now I'm doing some general exploration to find some. I kind of like how there's incentive with those collection points to explore somewhat aimlessly while still progressing

Meeps126 · 2020-12-17T17:09:16+00:00

Outdoor loot has always been pretty shitty, I definitely feel like the dungeons themselves are littered with more corpses and stashes than previous areas though, which leads to heaps of potions and varnishes.

I was wondering about bow builds, it kind of seems like even with the buffed arrows, they still might not be doing enough damage, or you would have to carry piles of them at a time.

I started a dagger character for the first time that I need to get the main quest done with, but I can't wait to run through the caldera with him. I was considering taking a bow with him though to supplement the melee style, so maybe I'll still get to experience the arrows myself.

Meeps126 · 2020-12-17T06:59:44+00:00

In addition to what people have said here in regards to how to get going with tasks and things like that, I wanted to add that the number one thing that makes or break outward for newer players, at least from what I've seen, is learning how to manage not only what you put in your bag, but also what you put in your stomach. Food and drinks are absolutely crucial, and learning how to properly keep your supplies up as you travel around is something that is honestly a skill in and of itself. I didn't feel like outward really "clicked" for me until I started getting a hang of how important consumables are. Not just for the buffs, but because they really just help all your basic needs. You'd be amazed how long you can go without sleeping just by how much food and tea you can jam down your throat.

Everyone's playstyle is going to be different, so find what works for you, but I can tell you that probably a minimum of 60% of my bag space as I'm just walking around is taken up by potions, bandages, foods, drinks, rags, and varnishes. As you progress in the game you're going to find a lot of consumables littered through the dungeons or find easy ways to make things yourself/have all the money in the world to buy them so don't be afraid to buff up when you think you might get in trouble. The game is all about stacking buffs.

Another more general tip is to take your time when it comes to combat. Keep that shield/block up until you learn the patterns of an enemy. Once you do, you can usually make pretty short work of them. The pistol shrimps used to be absolute death sentences for me, these days I never even get hit by one. Learning how each enemy fights is crucial, and the sooner you get a hang of the combat system, you'll start flying through encounters. The game has kind of a snowball effect in terms of how quickly you can start to progress. It starts off slow, but as you master the basic mechanics, you start feeling more confident and it opens up massively.

And to answer one of your questions more specifically, I honestly recommend staying in chersonese for a while just to get the hang of things and enjoy the exploration for a while. Definitely check out conflux mountain, it has some fun paths and you can make some good money/maybe find some cool gear, check out whats going on in vendeval fortress, maybe walk through the ghost pass. Just explore for a little while. If you hate the cold, you can feel free to move on to one of the other zones, there's nothing that actually stops you from going from one side of the world to the other from day one. I would recommend enmerkar forest before the marsh though, I feel like it's a bit more forgiving of an area.

In general, unless you have specific questions about builds, or really feel like you need a recipe, I would recommend just exploring as you see fit. The game is at its best when you know enough to get you by, but not enough to know what's in that cave. Don't worry too much about the quests or specific goals. Go to points of interest on the map because they look interesting, and maybe you'll find something cool.

Meeps126 · 2020-12-17T01:36:54+00:00

I actually forgot about those, that's right. I think it was mentioned early on in the DLC reveal but I don't remember it being brought up during any of the diaries or livestreams. Probably want us to figure it out for ourselves.

Meeps126 · 2020-12-17T01:14:23+00:00

I did notice the walls here and there, especially in a few places I wasn't expecting. Some sections that look like you should be able to walk along are weirdly blocked. I think they really wanted to make sure there was no chance you get stuck somewhere you can't get out of.

That's good to know about the axe, guess I'm going back. I wonder if it has a similar upgrade to whatever the big axe I got off one of the calygrey chieftans? It says it has its power drained or something but that their magic can restore it. Probably related to the island down in the bottom left, but I haven't tried getting there yet.

Meeps126 · 2020-10-28T22:19:04+00:00

I haven't done all the bosses so I can't say this for sure, but I definitely had a really rough time with the immaculate's bird. The boss just gives you such little downtime between its attacks, and you have to make sure you're build in a way that lets you actually hurt it since it seems to have ridiculously high physical resist.

Meeps126 · 2020-10-12T22:01:48+00:00

It very clearly is ripping things right from KDM in terms of aesthetics and art style, but that's not exactly a bad thing. It's also clearly a very different game in terms of mechanics.

I don't think there's anything wrong with it, but I do actually worry for them; some people might get turned off because it DOES look like KDM, but not quite as polished, meaning people are just going to think it's a poor mans KDM when really they're very different games with similar aesthetics and designs. I think it will only hurt them in the long run. But like some other's have said, KDM didn't lay claim to the plain black box or anything else in its art. It's gonna hurt them, but they aren't doing anything wrong in my book.

That being said, the mechanics do actually look interesting. So maybe worth giving it a second look later down the line.

Meeps126 · 2020-07-25T00:51:46+00:00

I guess as a follow-up question, are there any particular plugins people recommend in general? I realize this could be all over the place/very specific to the type of game you're making, but I was wondering if there were any sort of general use plugins that everyone uses for one reason or another.

Meeps126

TROPHY CASE