I thought there would be a forum for dark side already.

[zjazd18]

I'm playing it atm (Early access on steam). Game gives you little choices at the begining, but opens up very quickly. Impossible no-loss is very hard, maybe even impossible for orc (warrior class archetype). There are many changes to skill tree, and it's more unique for each class. Don't think it's possible to kite guards from maps, they are put in really tight spot and they agro range is very short. Quests seems more fun to do. Rage abilities are completly new, but share some ideas from previous ones(my fav is terrain altering one - destroying hexagons for short amount of time). Atm i feel stuck with my army - not enough good minions early on, so i guess every new game start will look the same. I'm having fun so far, wheres i forced myself to finish KB:WoTN. Can't wait to see how people figure out some impossible battles to do no-loss. Sorry for randomness of my text.

[Zhuangzi]

I'm not too bothered about no-loss. It was fun, but I'd prefer a game that was more challenging and made you feel like just WINNING a battle was an achievement.

I am still on the fence about buying this, at least immediately. One of my main problems with WOTN was that it was far, far too long and grinding. When I played Ice and Fire, I think it took 40+ hours of play just to get up to the new island. I abandoned the playthrough shortly thereafter.

So, do we have any idea roughly how long the campaign will be? I'm hoping for something more like AP's length.

And hi to you, too, DGDobrev Hopefully this will be the new KB we've been waiting for since at least Crossworlds.

EDIT: DGD, I've just read your comments on the Steam forum and I've decided to take the plunge and buy the game anyway. I figure I might as well get the preorder bonuses. Has it really been six years since The Legend? I agree with your comments about not judging the game too much pre-release in terms of bugs, but I guess I'm worried that if there are bugs now, one day out from release, they will still be there tomorrow.

Anyway, I'm looking forward to playing.

[DGDobrev]

Well, let's face it, all KB games had some bugs at launch, so it may still be the case with this one. I also think that the price is very good for this kind of game. 18€ is a decent value for everything KB is, even if it turns out to be like WOTN, so was quite ok paying for it. In the face of rougher than the average games like Sacred 3 that have the audacity to ask for 50€, I think KBDS has found a very decent price spot.

[Dword]

I started playing the KBs 2 years ago when I got AP for $3. For that price, I had nothing to lose, right? What I lost was interest in most other games!

After getting the other titles, my cost per gaming hour was still less than a penny. I didn't hesitate to pay full price for WotN and DS. I just wanted them as soon as possible.

As for being too long, I deliberately make them longer by reloading and replaying constantly. It's the sandbox effect mentioned in the Steam forum. I obviously enjoy the journey more than reaching the goal. I'm a mediocre player anyway so a low final score and massive casualties don't bother me.

I guess I'll eventually be trying for no loss on impossible, but for now I like going slow and enjoying the scenery.

My big concern after 3 DS playthroughs has already been mentioned. It's just too hard for beginners. Without a more structured tutorial and weaker enemies, I'm afraid many tryers will never become buyers. Low sales might discourage development of new KB versions. If I had played DS before AP, it might have ended up back on the shelf. Pre-release is not the final product though, so I'm hoping for the best.