JustKneller
Habitué
- Messages
- 982
I have been having a hard time finding gaming challenges to challenge me, but then GoG delivered a possibility in a summer sale.
I had heard about this game some time back. I'm surprised it's already 10 years old. Did I really sleep on this one for so long? This is next level patient gaming, even for me. I know it was heavily inspired by classic Fallout with a dash of Metro 2033, both great games (and I have an obscene number of hours in the classic Fallout games). In UnderRail, some apocalyptic event happened and now we all live in train stations. You now know everything I do.
I just bought it from GoG this past week-ish during a pretty great summer sale (it only cost USD$3.75) and have since installed it. I'll be playing this completely blind and figuring it out as I go. I'm all for discussion here, but please keep the spoilers out of it.
I heard this was a rather difficult game and can be punishing if you're not smart about things. Sounds like my kind of party. So, let's kick the tires and light the fires!
I am a hardcore RPG player and generally find games to be too easy on beginner level. It's like the game knows me already.
The interesting thing about this is that when you get to this point, the game already has Oddity selected. They other option is the typical kill-stuff-use-skills to level up. That's the "alternative" to the default. Oddity sounds way more interesting. So, we'll do that.
Comparing it to Fallout, there's no Charisma, Agility is split off into Agility and Dexterity (probably a smart move, since Agility was a god stat in classic Fallout), and there's Will, which looks mostly like a "magic" stat. Well, psionics, here. I can drop abilities down to three or raise them to ten. Unlike Fallout, I don't know what any of it means aside from "higher good, lower bad", so I checked out the other tabs.
I messed around with the adds and see that I can only start with max 15 points in a skill, but the effective score could be higher with synergies. So, I could max eight skills or spread myself across more. Since I'm playing Oddity and need to be able to get into all sorts of places, I know I want to focus on Dexterity, Agility, and Intelligence for the Subterfuge skills. I also want to delve into crafting. I feel like this is going to be a very gadget-y game based on the skill descriptions. So that is more Intelligence. Speech was a rather powerful skill in Fallout. You could even beat the boss of the first game with speech checks alone. So, I guess I need the magic stat (i.e. Will)? Then again, there are more crafting skills than social skills, and the social skills are at the bottom of the list. The fact that crossbows have their own skill is intriguing, but I think this is the Metro 2033 influence. There is a whole category of pneumatic weapons there. I'm tempted by it, though. How often do you get to play someone with a crossbow in an RPG? Plus, if weapon noise is a thing, I bet it's a quiet weapon.
There's quite a long feat list and I like that you can view the whole list of feats while making your character. Especially for a blind play through,, it gives you at least something to go on for character creation. I notice that 7 seems to be a popular break point for feat requirements. Some are less, very few are more than that. I see an Agility 7 feat I like for a stealth character (Interloper). Dexterity has one at 7 that kinda reminds me of Bonus Rate of Fire from Fallout (Gunslinger). Intelligence 7 has a ton of crafting feats. I see one really interesting one at Perception 10 (Sharpshooter), that feels like Better Criticals from Fallout, but juiced up for pistols. But Perception 10? That would hurt except Perception is the see-hidden-things ability and I think that will be especially important in Oddity. There's also a fair number of throwing knife feats, but the shinier ones require 8-10 Dexterity.
I hate min-maxing in an RPG when I don't really know the game. That's just asking for trouble. But, I have logic here. The perks I like put me at Dexterity 7, Agility 7, Perception 10, and Intelligence 7. This also corresponds with most of the skills that jumped out at me. That literally takes all my ability points and forces me to minimums in the other abilities. Well, he's going to be a stealth character, so hopefully I won't need the hp and resistances from Constitution. The Strength of 3 is going to limit my weapons, I'm sure. But, I have an idea here I'll get into when I talk about weapons. Finally, the Will of 3 doesn't seem like a big loss since I won't be doing psi. I bet it will have some other incidental effects, but probably only occasionally, and hopefully not significantly.
And this is where we landed with skills. Naturally, I started with the Subterfuge skills. I didn't take pickpocket though because a) it seems like it would be pretty niche and b) if I know anything about RPGs, a single failed pickpocket attempt will turn everyone hostile and have them coming after me like the chase scene in the Blues Brothers. So, hard pass there. I went with Guns instead of the tempting Crossbows because I'm not sure if my lousy Strength is going to cause problems with reloading a crossbow or something. At least with guns, I should have a pistol option, and possibly even SMGs. However, these aren't sniper rifles and assault rifles, so I added in Throwing to supplement my pistol with grenades, when needed. Plus, the feats make it clear that throwing knives are a thing, so that is some added versatility. This left me with the crafting skills. I really wanted Mechanics (for guns and traps), Electronics (for gadgets), and Tailoring (for leather armors). I had to sacrifice one. I figured armor would be the least important because I would lean hard into stealth and avoid combat whenever possible (combat doesn't get you any xp in Oddity anyway). I'm a little nervous about skipping Persuasion. Bad idea for a 'Fallout' game. But, after looking over the skill and feats, I'm getting more of a Metro 2033 feel here. I'm hoping that where/whatever I can't talk my way through, I can infiltrate instead.
Since Kneller is using pistols, I figure I would shore up his chops with them. Aimed Shot will give me a good alpha strike and Gunslinger might help me finish the fight in the first round.
So, who is Kneller? You might consider him a thief, but when you're living after the end of the world, it's just called surviving. He's not some bandit, though, and doesn't rob people. Even pickpocketing is too confrontational for him. But, if something useful is laying around somewhere he has access, then finders keepers. Kneller is a bright guy, and knows how to tinker a bit. This not only helps him to get access to difficult places, but also helps him know what's worth grabbing when he gets there. Kneller isn't the kind of guy that rushes into a mob of [insert lore creatures here] with guns blazing. That kind of bravado is only going to get a fool killed in this world. However, if push comes to shove, he's practiced with pistols and throwing knives enough to surprise an unwary adversary. Fortunately, he has never had to test his mettle. Being someone who knows how to blend in means he's someone who can operate without getting into trouble.
I had heard about this game some time back. I'm surprised it's already 10 years old. Did I really sleep on this one for so long? This is next level patient gaming, even for me. I know it was heavily inspired by classic Fallout with a dash of Metro 2033, both great games (and I have an obscene number of hours in the classic Fallout games). In UnderRail, some apocalyptic event happened and now we all live in train stations. You now know everything I do.
I just bought it from GoG this past week-ish during a pretty great summer sale (it only cost USD$3.75) and have since installed it. I'll be playing this completely blind and figuring it out as I go. I'm all for discussion here, but please keep the spoilers out of it.
I heard this was a rather difficult game and can be punishing if you're not smart about things. Sounds like my kind of party. So, let's kick the tires and light the fires!
I am a hardcore RPG player and generally find games to be too easy on beginner level. It's like the game knows me already.
The interesting thing about this is that when you get to this point, the game already has Oddity selected. They other option is the typical kill-stuff-use-skills to level up. That's the "alternative" to the default. Oddity sounds way more interesting. So, we'll do that.
Comparing it to Fallout, there's no Charisma, Agility is split off into Agility and Dexterity (probably a smart move, since Agility was a god stat in classic Fallout), and there's Will, which looks mostly like a "magic" stat. Well, psionics, here. I can drop abilities down to three or raise them to ten. Unlike Fallout, I don't know what any of it means aside from "higher good, lower bad", so I checked out the other tabs.
I messed around with the adds and see that I can only start with max 15 points in a skill, but the effective score could be higher with synergies. So, I could max eight skills or spread myself across more. Since I'm playing Oddity and need to be able to get into all sorts of places, I know I want to focus on Dexterity, Agility, and Intelligence for the Subterfuge skills. I also want to delve into crafting. I feel like this is going to be a very gadget-y game based on the skill descriptions. So that is more Intelligence. Speech was a rather powerful skill in Fallout. You could even beat the boss of the first game with speech checks alone. So, I guess I need the magic stat (i.e. Will)? Then again, there are more crafting skills than social skills, and the social skills are at the bottom of the list. The fact that crossbows have their own skill is intriguing, but I think this is the Metro 2033 influence. There is a whole category of pneumatic weapons there. I'm tempted by it, though. How often do you get to play someone with a crossbow in an RPG? Plus, if weapon noise is a thing, I bet it's a quiet weapon.
There's quite a long feat list and I like that you can view the whole list of feats while making your character. Especially for a blind play through,, it gives you at least something to go on for character creation. I notice that 7 seems to be a popular break point for feat requirements. Some are less, very few are more than that. I see an Agility 7 feat I like for a stealth character (Interloper). Dexterity has one at 7 that kinda reminds me of Bonus Rate of Fire from Fallout (Gunslinger). Intelligence 7 has a ton of crafting feats. I see one really interesting one at Perception 10 (Sharpshooter), that feels like Better Criticals from Fallout, but juiced up for pistols. But Perception 10? That would hurt except Perception is the see-hidden-things ability and I think that will be especially important in Oddity. There's also a fair number of throwing knife feats, but the shinier ones require 8-10 Dexterity.
I hate min-maxing in an RPG when I don't really know the game. That's just asking for trouble. But, I have logic here. The perks I like put me at Dexterity 7, Agility 7, Perception 10, and Intelligence 7. This also corresponds with most of the skills that jumped out at me. That literally takes all my ability points and forces me to minimums in the other abilities. Well, he's going to be a stealth character, so hopefully I won't need the hp and resistances from Constitution. The Strength of 3 is going to limit my weapons, I'm sure. But, I have an idea here I'll get into when I talk about weapons. Finally, the Will of 3 doesn't seem like a big loss since I won't be doing psi. I bet it will have some other incidental effects, but probably only occasionally, and hopefully not significantly.
And this is where we landed with skills. Naturally, I started with the Subterfuge skills. I didn't take pickpocket though because a) it seems like it would be pretty niche and b) if I know anything about RPGs, a single failed pickpocket attempt will turn everyone hostile and have them coming after me like the chase scene in the Blues Brothers. So, hard pass there. I went with Guns instead of the tempting Crossbows because I'm not sure if my lousy Strength is going to cause problems with reloading a crossbow or something. At least with guns, I should have a pistol option, and possibly even SMGs. However, these aren't sniper rifles and assault rifles, so I added in Throwing to supplement my pistol with grenades, when needed. Plus, the feats make it clear that throwing knives are a thing, so that is some added versatility. This left me with the crafting skills. I really wanted Mechanics (for guns and traps), Electronics (for gadgets), and Tailoring (for leather armors). I had to sacrifice one. I figured armor would be the least important because I would lean hard into stealth and avoid combat whenever possible (combat doesn't get you any xp in Oddity anyway). I'm a little nervous about skipping Persuasion. Bad idea for a 'Fallout' game. But, after looking over the skill and feats, I'm getting more of a Metro 2033 feel here. I'm hoping that where/whatever I can't talk my way through, I can infiltrate instead.
Since Kneller is using pistols, I figure I would shore up his chops with them. Aimed Shot will give me a good alpha strike and Gunslinger might help me finish the fight in the first round.
So, who is Kneller? You might consider him a thief, but when you're living after the end of the world, it's just called surviving. He's not some bandit, though, and doesn't rob people. Even pickpocketing is too confrontational for him. But, if something useful is laying around somewhere he has access, then finders keepers. Kneller is a bright guy, and knows how to tinker a bit. This not only helps him to get access to difficult places, but also helps him know what's worth grabbing when he gets there. Kneller isn't the kind of guy that rushes into a mob of [insert lore creatures here] with guns blazing. That kind of bravado is only going to get a fool killed in this world. However, if push comes to shove, he's practiced with pistols and throwing knives enough to surprise an unwary adversary. Fortunately, he has never had to test his mettle. Being someone who knows how to blend in means he's someone who can operate without getting into trouble.
Last edited: