Beta Impressions: Kingdoms Collide

So, we’ve been playing the Kingdoms Collide beta over the past couple of days. It’s the first release of an ambitious HL2 multiplayer mod, which is very rough around the edges but seems to hint at some decent hidden potential. Read on below the jump to see what Andrea Varotsis and Lewis Denby had to say about it in a late-night Steam chat. And if you fancy, you can grab the beta from here.

Lewis: Okay. So the main reason I suggested just having a general chat about Kingdoms Collide is that it feels like it’s in no way ready for a review yet, as such.

Andrea: Yeah, I think we can both agree on that – It’s hardly what I’d call polished. But that doesn’t mean I’m not having a ridiculous amont of fun playing it. When it works. If it works.

Lewis: It is glitchy. And it took me – and the people I was playing it with – about two games to actually work out how to control the thing.

Andrea: Ah, yes, but now there’s a manual of sorts! Or at least a relatively comprehensive forum thread, which is a start.  But yes, glitchy is a generous understatement.

Lewis: Okay, let’s do basics. It’s a team-based swords-and-sorcery mod set in a world that’s visually not unlike Oblivion’s, but which looks markedly less pretty in-game than it did in screenshots. Each team fights to conquer a series of objective points on the map, mainly by spamming each other with spells or selecting the MASTER SWORD on the equipment select screen, which obliterates everyone else in the world within seconds.

Andrea: For starters. Afterwards, though, it’ll assign you a character model relevant to your role depending on your equipment choices, which can actually be surprisingly diverse. The Master Sword is great, but I’ve found it’s largely useless in the face of my one-shot instakill assassin dagger backstab of death and destruction.

Lewis: I hadn’t discovered the one-shot instakill assassin dagger backstab of death and destruction. I’ve only played for an hour or so, it’s worth mentioning. And it seems to have potential, mainly when people stop just spamming each other with spells and Master Swords and actually have a good, old-fashioned fight.

Andrea: Yeah, that’s the impression I had. It can turn into a gigantic clusterfuck, but in a sensibly populated server, it starts to play to its strengths rather well. Although it could most definitely use its fair share of tweaks. And then some more, and then maybe everybody else’s share as well. But it does have a layer of complexity I feel I’ve just started to get to.

Lewis: Explain this mysterious layer of complexity.

Andrea: Well, for one, I haven’t, as of yet, started exploring how magic works. I’ve thrown a few fireballs, and made a few shadow-powered spiderman leaps, but beyond that, zilch – although I have seen a few players use magic with deadly efficiency and zeal. I’ve also barely started blocking properly, and I’m clinging to the hope I can actually improve. And, as of yet, nobody knows about the dagger stealth instakill. There seems to be a load of content and finesse to the mod people seem to be ignoring – although I can’t entirely blame them, seeing a lot of it is mired in bugs and freakish animation.

Lewis: A curious note: it was only after I finished playing that I even registered it was third-person. The animation’s a bit wonky, but somehow it barely registered. As for blocking: I feel I got the hang of that quite nicely, eventually. My favourite moment so far was a dual with one guy. We ended up really cautiously circling around each other,  with our shields up, then every now and then switching to our sword and taking a swing round the side of the other player. It worked really nicely as a duel. Then about five guys from the other team turned up behind me and killed me to death. I actually think it would work a hell of a lot better as a duel-based game.

Andrea: Yeah, I can see where you’re coming from entirely with that, but then again, the whole mess really gives some of the other classes a chance to shine. My sneak-sneak-stab-stab assassin doesn’t really function as a duelist! But, granted, some sort of organised duel game mode would make for an interesting addition. But the potential for epic fights is still there, which is why I’m optimistic.

Lewis: See, the problem I have with the epic fights is that I seem to be terrible at them. Then again, I’ve a suspicion it’s not my fault. My sword-wielding fireball guy is just too fucking slow. When other classes are specialised at being deadly fast, and my damage ratio doesn’t seem to be good enough to compensate, there’s a real balancing issue.

Andrea: Yeah, I’m not going to argue with you on that point – some pretty hefty tweaks, if not outright cuts, are definitely in order. But hey, it’s their first release after all. I can’t help but be cautiously dreamy about the possibilities if they managed to mold into a well-paced, decently balanced yet endlessly customisable sword’n'sorcery TF2 counterpart.

Lewis: Well, for starters, the classes aren’t heavily played up enough. I didn’t even know it was class based until I read that forum thread you mentioned. I thought character models were randomised, and you just picked skillsets in a sort of Mount and Blade way (incidentally, M&B: Warband – the preview build I played, at least – was the game I was mostly reminded of).

Andrea: Yeah, it was definitely remniscent of M&B – a game I loved, incidentally – but it’s not really worthy of comparison to that just yet. It’s worth remembering that M&B has been in development for absolutely ages at this point. Although, it still isn’t exactly class based: your character model is assigned depending on skillset, but I’m not sure it has any other impact.

Lewis: I think this is key to it all, really. It’s very much a beta. And an early one at that. I’m actually surprised they’ve done a public release at this stage.

Andrea: Very true, and it won’t compare particularly favourably to the M&B: Warband beta, granted. But hey, I’m firmly of the opinion that it’s got potential – even if it is hidden beneath a sedimentary degree of bugs, jerkyness, and general lack of polish. I’m hoping it’s a diamond in the rough, even if it’s a lot of rough to get through.

Lewis: Yep. I think it definitely has. I’ve enjoyed playing it, certainly. Oh, one thing they really need to fix: no crosshair for spellcasting. Which makes it an absolute nightmare to target. Then again, other people seem to have no problem, considering the frequency with which I was fireballed to death in the face.

Andrea: Yeah, I’m guessing it’s something of an aquired skill. I had the same issue with bows. I may fail at aiming them utterly, but I may just be a miserable failure of a virtual archer.

Lewis: I always worry that I just suck at games.

Andrea: I’m godlike. Thus it must be the game’s fault. Obviously.

Lewis: There we go then. Verdict: Andrea’s no good at it, therefore Kingdoms Collide is rubbish. But you should totally try it, because really, it’s not.

Andrea: I like it. Decisive and to-the-point reviewing-that-isn’t-really-reviewing, courtesy of UserCreated.

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