He hoped and prayed that there wasn't an afterlife. Then he realized there was a contradiction involved here and merely hoped that there wasn't an afterlife. -Douglas Adams (Hitch Hikers Guide)
A mix of pure concept art, mockups and some actual in game footage (even though the engine isn't ready.)
Wasn't too thrilled about their character concept art but I'm ok with the finished product. There's definitely a cartoony art style to Harebrained that they will not be getting away from.
The environments however look pretty amazing. Too bad they're essentially painted and there will be no view rotation. But I can trade those things for deeply atmospheric set pieces.
I kind of like the painted backgrounds, hopefully it will mean more variety and not having the same identical models appearing over and over. I kind of miss the varied (and honestly beautiful) environments of say Baldur's Gate, I mean compared to say the TES art assets where you see the exact same room so many times it starts to remind you of ME1 in terms of 'variety' in dungeons/combat locations. Lets the game have more overall character in my opinion.
Oh, but the cartoony style, while I'm still ok with playing it... I am a bit, not quite disappointed because as far as cartoony art style goes it's not bad... but I think I would have preferred something a bit more Fallout meets Deux Ex at a Blade Runner theme'd cafe run by Risen/Oblivion/Skyrim. Still... not bad, it looks like a world worth exploring looting and hacking.
A bit of an uproar is happening on the Shadowrun Returns forum thanks to today's announcement and specifically this paragraph:
How will I download the game when it’s released?
After a lot of prototyping and research, we decided that our best delivery option for OSX/Windows/Linux is to go the route that great games (like Skyrim!) have taken and embrace Steam and the Steam Workshop. Steam allows us to provide up-to-date downloads and patching along with a vibrant ecosystem for developing community-created content and file sharing.
So, we’re happy to announce that all Backers will receive a Steam Key for the game and will be able to contribute and browse community-created content using Steam Workshop.
We realize that for some of you, releasing on Steam isn’t your first choice but there are a lot of really great things we get from this decision that allow us to focus on the game rather than on making things like backend servers to deploy and manage shared content. From the start, we’ve had to make practical decisions like this one to ensure we get the most out of the support you’ve given us. We consider this to be the best option for everyone.
Now, that may prompt the question, “What about DRM-free?” To honor our original promise of a DRM-free version of the game, the Harebrained Account Website will also contain a downloadable version of Shadowrun Returns that does not include Steam integration. While this version will include the Seattle story (and Berlin, via a one-time update), without Steam integration, it will be unable to browse and play community-created stories from within the game. Any future DLC will only be available through Steam.
So in other words, they're going through their website to fulfill the 'DRM-free' promise of the base game and the Berlin expansion, but future paid content will require the Steam version of the game.
But at least they have a 'June' release month - I'm excited for the game.
Honestly, while I can see people being upset over this (because they promised drm-free), I am very happy about the Steam integration.
ShadowCross
Rogue at Heart, Keeper of the Ring, Safehouse Administrator
Retired: ShadowCross - Blade of Tirion, Teir'dal Shadowblade (82), Member of Wind of Tranquility, Ant. Bayle Server, EQ
Retired: Shadowcross, Night Elven Hunter (85), Leader of Túatha Dé Danann, Sen'jin-EU, WoW
Retired: Shadowcross (Minmatar Clan Sebiestor) & Tebryan (retired Caldari Deteis), Members of Fnord Works, Tranquility, EVE
Achiever 40.00%, Explorer 100.00%, Killer 26.67%, Socializer 33.33%
Honestly, while I can see people being upset over this (because they promised drm-free), I am very happy about the Steam integration.
Me too. I'm not a fan of DRM, but I find Steam is acceptable in that regard. In exchange for minimally invasive DRM I get excellent sales prices, a reliable distributor, and the ability to download any of my purchases to multiple devices at any time.
Ditto. As a branded robot in the Steam army, I am ok with their planned distribution.
But I get why people are miffed. Originally HBS was planning to do a lot of hosted content themselves but it got the axe when they realized they couldn't support the database of player-made characters and missions or the infrastructure to deliver it to players. So now, Steam will fill that role to a lesser degree.
And in case anyone didn't read that backer announcement, emails for physical rewards, dog tags, doc wagon card, ect... will be going out soon.
To reiterate, our Backers don’t have to choose a DRM-free version of the game or a Steam version of the game. You get both.
Backers who want a DRM-free experience with Shadowrun Returns (on Windows, OSX, and Linux) are getting the game, editor and all, and will be able to transfer community-created story files and update executables manually. (It works just like a non-Steam version of Skyrim: you can install mods manually or via a 3rd-party tool such as Nexus.) The DRM-free version will not require any internet connection or any form of online authorization to play. In addition, Backers who like the convenience and reliability of Steam and who want automatic updates, easy-to-browse content, and a DLC store are getting them.
We said that post-Berlin Campaign DLC would only be available on Steam but we never said why. We regret the omission. The reason is that our license to develop Shadowrun Returns actually requires that the game and its DLC be distributed under DRM. This didn’t come up earlier because the situation was complicated by the number of parties involved in the license and because the process was “ongoing”. Ultimately, we were able to successfully negotiate an exception with Microsoft for us to provide our Backers with a DRM-free version of the Kickstarter rewards (specifically the game and the Berlin Campaign) but that exception does not extend to non-reward DLC. So unfortunately, we cannot sell or give away DRM-free versions of the game or DLC on stores like GoG, and that’s why any future Shadowrun Returns DLC will only be available for purchase on Steam.
We will be updating/bugfixing the DRM-free versions (Windows, OSX, and Linux) of Shadowrun Returns, maintaining them along with the Steam versions. These updates will require Backers to re-download the game from the Harebrained Account Website, since it will not include auto-patching functionality.
