SWORD COAST LEGENDS Trailer

I don't know if this is a new trailer for Sword Coast Legends, but it's new to me. "Discover the Forgotten Realms with an immersive single-player campaign and the innovative Dungeon Master Mode, which lets you run adventures in real-time for up to four friends."

[fb]10153590369016071[/fb]
​

 

[Dargrimm]

I really hope the game gets great success, I really do. But I also wish that they stop advertising it as a D&D game when it is not. It confuses and misleads people into thinking that the game is something that it is not, and that will disappoint them (just like it did with me).

 

[Chimpy]

In what way isn't it a D&D game?

 

[Dargrimm]

In what way isn't it a D&D game?

It doesn't follow the 5e ruleset even if it is being advertised as such. No spell system, no skills, no attacks of opportunity, no class features. Everything is based on a skill tree and cool-down abilities. Which is fine, but it is not D&D. It is a custom ruleset with a D&D coat of paint. Races, class' names and location (Forgotten Realms) are the only things related to D&D that you'll find in the game.

If you are OK with that you might find the game enjoyable. If you are looking for a D&D experience similar to Baldur's Gate or Neverwinter Nights, you won't find it. It's more like a Diablo kind of game.

 

[Manchu2]

It doesn't follow the 5e ruleset even if it is being advertised as such. No spell system, no skills, no attacks of opportunity, no class features. Everything is based on a skill tree and cool-down abilities. Which is fine, but it is not D&D. It is a custom ruleset with a D&D coat of paint. Races, class' names and location (Forgotten Realms) are the only things related to D&D that you'll find in the game.

If you are OK with that you might find the game enjoyable. If you are looking for a D&D experience similar to Baldur's Gate or Neverwinter Nights, you won't find it. It's more like a Diablo kind of game.

...Really? I was hoping for a 5e Bladur's Gate experience. I was even thinking about upgrading my computer just for this game. I really wanted a virtual D&D game. This is very disappointing.

 

[Reinhart]

Dargrimm is correct. I pointed out that the game clearly wasn't based on D&D rules when the advertisements started back in the Spring. It annoyed me that the various news sites kept repeating the press-release packet claims of "first-of-its-kind" and "based on the 5th edition ruleset" without actually just comparing it with the available ruleset and D&D video game predecessors. All you had to do was pay attention to the action and gui from the screenshots and videos to see it wasn't actually going to be D&D.

And if you know anything about game development cycles, this game would have to have been in production for long before the 5e rules were released. However according to an account I remember reading from Mike Mearls, WotC wasn't even aware of the game until they met the developers at GDC 2014. I suspect that Sword Coast Legends started as just an independent action RPG that distinguished itself by adding a real-time Dungeon Master Mode. Only once they had a working engine and prototype did they negotiate a licensing agreement and begin rebranding the game as D&D late last year.

None of this is bad so long as you're not brought here by the promise of having a game based on campaign building with table-top RPG style rules. I was hoping for the spiritual successor to Neverwinter Nights, and instead I saw something closer to Dragon Age, but with some cute multiplayer options. That's what disappointed me, but if I'd been given a more accurate description I think I would have liked it more. That's why I've been trying to get others to have more realistic expectations for their own sakes.

 

[DocSun]

Except the real time dungeon master mode isnt new either. A game called dungeon land did this already to a degree and it was a lot of fun there was just no story mode or dungeon builder. So they took the idea slapped some dnd paint on it and improved some of the features and here we are. Still excited to give it a try.

 

[Doctor Futurity]

I'll definitely be getting this (preordered it a while back with a decent coupon on Green Man)....in the wake of Pillars of Eternity and Divinity: Original Sin my desire for isometric RPGs has been rekindled, but it's really disappointing that this isn't a mechanical adaptation of 5E rules in the way Baldur's Gate was for 2E.

 

[JNC]

....but it's really disappointing that this isn't a mechanical adaptation of 5E rules in the way Baldur's Gate was for 2E.

There are lots of games that need be converted and distributed though digital means. Not making games accessible to the youngest audience is the main reason the games are as niche as they are. That and nearly zero advertising. Video games and movies are the best advertising source in society right now

The digital gaming industry is hurting for fun, smaller scale, versatile, and mainly replayable games.

We have the ability to play with near unlimited people, yet, Fantasy Flight, Wyrd, Privateer Press and various others have near zero market presence in the digital gaming world. The ones that are made are a generic game with a name brand skin applied.


Magic The Gathering and Yugioh are at least trying.

 

[Chimpy]

It doesn't follow the 5e ruleset even if it is being advertised as such. No spell system, no skills, no attacks of opportunity, no class features. Everything is based on a skill tree and cool-down abilities. Which is fine, but it is not D&D. It is a custom ruleset with a D&D coat of paint. Races, class' names and location (Forgotten Realms) are the only things related to D&D that you'll find in the game.

If you are OK with that you might find the game enjoyable. If you are looking for a D&D experience similar to Baldur's Gate or Neverwinter Nights, you won't find it. It's more like a Diablo kind of game.

I don't think tabletop mechanics translate well into computer game mechanics anyway, and vice versa.

I'm more interested in a story set in Faerun, with familiar FR elements, and exciting gameplay.

 

[Ahrimon]

It looks like it's based on the 5e rules to me. I see many elements in the game. It's just not a 100% recreation. Based on doesn't mean re-printed, it just means that it is based on it. The 5e rules would not make a good multi-player game.