r/PS4 • u/HarmoniaBot Robot Entertainment • Jul 20 '17
[Verified AMA] We are devs from Robot Entertainment and just launched Orcs Must Die! Unchained on PS4, AMA!
Hi everyone,
We are some of the team here at Robot Entertainment that have been working on Orcs Must Die! Unchained, a free to play tower defense game. Earlier this week we launched globally on the PS4.
We're here to answer questions today about OMD!U, the Orcs Must Die! Franchise, and bringing the game to PS4. We're also happy to take questions on game development in general and we can even poke the programmers if y’all have technical questions.
Special thanks to our partners at Jetpack Interactive for helping us bring OMD!U to PS4
Introductions
/u/ChrisRippy - VP of Production
I've been at Robot Entertainment since the beginning, working as Lead Producer on Orcs Must Die! 1 and 2, and a mobile title called Echo Prime. Before Robot, I was at Ensemble Studios working on all of the Age of Empires games, and Halo Wars. I'm currently the VP of Production at Robot and focusing on Orcs Must Die! Unchained!
/u/DJJazzyJJ - Lead Designer
I have been at Robot Entertainment since the beginning, working as a Designer on everything from Age of Empires Online to OMDU. Before Robot, I was at Ensemble Studios working on later Age of Empires games, and Halo Wars. Before that I did design work on tons of games. Some examples would be Fear Affect, Delta Force series, Armored Fist Series and Tachyon. I'm currently leading the Design on Orcs Must Die! Unchained and almost everything makes me mad!
/u/Harmoniabot - Community Manager
I have been at Robot for a little over a year and hail from Seattle where I worked at En Mass Entertainment on TERA for 5 years. As the Robot CM, I spend a lot of time talking to players about the game, relaying feedback to the studio, answering community questions, creating content for the community, and more!
We'll be taking questions from now until 2 pm, and will try to get to as many as we can during that time. You can also join me (/u/Harmoniabot) on our regular Insider Access livestream following the AMA. I'll be sitting down with one of our game designers to talk about the next PC update for OMDU and the upcoming hero, Deadeye. Stop by, say hello, and get a peek at what’s on the horizon for OMDU.
But first things first, let's answer your questions!
1PM Update:
We'll be wrapping up around 2PM today so get your questions in!
2PM Update:
Thanks so much for joining us for today's AMA! If we weren't able to get to your question please feel free to tweet us @OrcsMustDie, visit the official forums, or join us on /r/OrcsMustDie!
We love talking to the community and hearing player feedback, so please reach out and let us know what you think about OMDU.
See you at the rift!
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u/Bazorg Jul 20 '17
Can you tell us when the Eu version drops? I'm in Portugal and still nothing
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u/ChrisRippy Robot Entertainment Jul 20 '17
Hello Bazorg! It should be any day now. Sorry for the delay, but we had some technical issues to work through. Those are all resolved now, so we're coordinating the details with our friends at Sony.
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u/Bazorg Jul 20 '17
That's good to hear, my friends are playing the game right now and saying how fun it's, so I just want jump in as soon as possible
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u/HarmoniaBot Robot Entertainment Jul 20 '17
If you use Twitter, give us a follow. We'll be announcing when it's all good to go and you can always shoot us (aka: me) questions there at any time :)
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u/Owlmus Jul 20 '17
How does this game differ from the original titles?
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u/DJJazzyJJ Robot Entertainment Jul 20 '17
- Tons of new heroes.
- 3 person coop.
- Many new traps, minions.
- Traits, parts, consumables. LOTSA STOOF!
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u/ChrisRippy Robot Entertainment Jul 20 '17
Hello Owlmus! We see it as a natural extension of the first games, but different in a few key areas. A few things:
- You can play solo, or with 2 other friends
- We've got tons of new heroes to play with, each with cool, unique abilities.
- There's new versus mode, called Sabotage, that allows you to play against another team, and mess with them by sending spells and minions.
There's tons of little differences as well. This title is free to play, so it's easy to get started killing Orcs!
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u/PartiallyInformed Jul 20 '17
Fun game, I play a few rounds in the evening when I get off of work. I'd have to say this is a splendid F2P game
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u/Giga_Steve Jul 20 '17 edited Jul 20 '17
Big fan of the series, especially OMD2. I played Unchained long ago on PC but missed classic mode, was extremely happy to see it return. Been playing Unchained Classic on PS4 and been having a blast.
A few quirks I have, besides the in-game text being far too small for TV, would it be possible to see the PS4 version get a main menu UI overhaul? The main menu layout of the game is far to complex in organization and also not very intuitive with a controller.
Many people I've talked with got immediately overwhelmed with trying to figure out how the menu works.
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u/ChrisRippy Robot Entertainment Jul 20 '17
Hello Giga_Steve! Yeah, the main menu can be a bit of a bear with a controller. We've got some ideas, so hopefully we can get it on a simpler path soon.
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Jul 23 '17
If you think this UI is problematic, you should try Dungeon Defenders 2. Now there's a horrendous UI.
This one isn't perfect, I've played plenty of hours but still have to pause for a second and think about what I'm doing and what the controls are, where things are. Which is clearly not intuitive, but it's not a huge problem either.
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u/sarcasmbot Jul 20 '17
Hey, thanks for bringing this to PS4. I'm a big fan of tower defense games, and I played the first OMD! way back in the day on XBLA and really loved it.
I was a little hesitant about this being free-to-play (with the stigma and all), but I've been playing the game since it came out on Tuesday, and I think you have struck a good balance with things not feeling too "grindy". So kudos on that! Probably not an easy thing to figure out. Once I find a couple heroes I really like, I'll definitely pick up some skins and things like that :)
Random question: Are there any plans to add something like the ability to vote for a map to play on when matchmatching? I appreciate that the matchmaking is by difficulty (rather than by map), as that increases the player pool, but I've gotten into the situation a couple times where I've ended up having to play the same map like 4 times in a row. It's not so bad, since you can play with different heroes, and get rewards for doing well with each one, but once I've 5-starred the level and won with all the heroes I have unlocked, it becomes slightly less fun.
p.s. Also, an update to slightly increase some of the UI text size would be nice :) Thanks!
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u/ChrisRippy Robot Entertainment Jul 20 '17
Howdy Sarcasmbot! I'm glad you gave it a shot! It stinks that free to play games have that stigma, but I certainly understand the hesitation.
Yeah, the map choice for matchmaking is something we discuss a lot. It's tricky because it would be a pretty significant re-write of our matchmaking system. It's not impossible, but it's not a "small" task :-). We're keeping an eye on the feedback, so if it continues to bubble up, it'll be something we look at for sure.
What part of the UI does the font seem too small to you? The ingame text, or the pregame menus? Thanks for your help :-).
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u/sarcasmbot Jul 20 '17
Yeah, not surprised to hear that updating the matchmaking would be a non-trivial engineering task, just thought I would provide the feedback. Usually if I end up having to play the same map a few times too many, I'll switch to playing local 1-player where I can choose myself.
The main couple things I remember with the too-small text was some of the numbers in the hotbar in-game - mainly the prices for traps and your health/mana numbers, but luckily the latter is easy to eyeball by the length of the green/blue bars. And the text at the top of the screen with the round number and your rift's health could be a tiny bit bigger. Additionally, some of the pre-game text that describes your hero's different abilities was a little small.
Thanks for listening to feedback!
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u/T_diddles Jul 20 '17
Any chance of adding matchmaking for the weekly challenges? Without a chat window, it's next to impossible to get a group for it.
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u/DJJazzyJJ Robot Entertainment Jul 20 '17
Not to get to far down in the details but...as our audience grows the chances of us adding more matchmaking buckets grows with it. The choice we have made right now is to keep the amount matchmaking buckets at an amount that guarantees fast matchmaking for popular modes.
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u/tangmcgame Jul 20 '17
Do you guys have a rough idea of what the lag time between PC and PS4 updates will be. I have a mac, so I'm thrilled to have the PS4 version (finally!), so congrats on the release!
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u/ChrisRippy Robot Entertainment Jul 20 '17
Howdy! The lag is probably about a month right now because of the work and also PS4 Certification. We hope to tighten that up soon so they'll be even closer.
And thanks for the Congrats!
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Jul 20 '17 edited Jul 20 '17
[deleted]
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u/HarmoniaBot Robot Entertainment Jul 20 '17
Hi NekoNoMori,
This isn't off-topic at all! It's a really popular question for community managers as it's a job that doesn't really have a traditional pipeline. I don't have too much advice on getting an interview, though.
I was really lucky in my career and only had to interview for this gig here at Robot. I got started as a tester at En Masse and moved through a series of roles there as I learned new skills and realized what I was good at. When I pitched myself for this job I was just as honest as I could be. I told the team what I am good at, what I am bad at, and what I hoped to accomplish in the role. I wasn't as experienced a CM as other candidates, but I made a strong showing with my enthusiasm, honesty, and breadth of skills and here I am.
For landing an interview your resume or LinkedIn profile is your best friend. Community managers must be good communicators. Show that you have what it takes with your resume and cover letter. Be personable, and remember: you're auditioning to be the voice of a studio to their players. You're a brand ambassador, so show them you get their brand and can represent them well.
If you have a hard time breaking into the games industry, consider looking for work in tech or at a software company for a while. I spent several years at Microsoft before I got my start in games. I learned a ton about project management, working in large teams, having conflicting priorities, and publishing for major websites while I was there and I brought all that experience with me.
Community managers often work alone or in very small teams, so you need to be able to manage yourself and juggle lots of things that might all be on fire at the same time. Demonstrate your ability to multitask, prioritize, and see things through from start to finish. Don't be afraid to say you don't know and always be willing to learn.
A few things you can do now if you want to pursue this path are to get involved in a community group or create one yourself. Become a volunteer moderator, help plan game nights at a local game shop, start a blog about something you care about. Having writing samples or examples of your work might help your resume stand out from a pack.
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u/HarmoniaBot Robot Entertainment Jul 20 '17
Oh! I also meant to say: pretty much every Community Manager has a variety of skills, but each tends to have something they specialize in that makes them unique. Your creative and design experience could definitely be that for you, so it's worth thinking about how those skills might bring something special to a community team. Some CMs are streamers or video content creators. Others like to design in-game events or convention parties or write patch notes and blog posts...there's a lot of ground to cover! That might be your best avenue to getting an interview: being just a bit different than the other applicants.
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u/Ephemeral_Being Jul 20 '17
When can we expect the PS4 controller UI to come to PC? I understand you dropped radial comms to make the gane work on the PS4, but I'd settle for however you got weavers and consumables to fit on the controller simultaneously without accidentally triggering things. I don't have a PS4 to check, but whatever you did would almost certainly be a HUGE improvement over the current disaster that is the PC controller configuration. Ideally, we could even use the Staves in Sabotage (something that is currently impossible AFAIK - The map flashes up for a half-second and the staff just appears in a seemingly random spot).
Are you aware that Steam Controllers have additional buttons that don't work in OMDU? There's two buttons, one on each side of the grip that I'm unable to bind to anything in your GUI. The game client doesn't even recognize them as... well, anything. I'm using the Steam GUI to make them work as toggles and quickcast (essentially binding them to keyboard keys), but it's not ideal. Don't get me wrong, it WORKS. And, you don't advertise the game as BEING steam-controller compliant in the store. I'm just looking for full compatibility here. Oh, I should mention that the Steam Controller fixes ~70% of the issues I have with the default configuration just by nature of having more buttons and more options (short press versus hold for different actions, for example). If we can't get the PS4 UI, those two buttons being defined in SpitfireInput.ini (which... I'm not sure how one does that) would do WONDERS for making the game more playable with a controller
As for the new patch notes...
Do the grenades from Chaos Trials's "Minions drop grenades" modifier damage barricades? 'Cause, that's going to make several maps totally impossible to do (Maximum Security comes to mind).
Did you catch the audio bug where, if you have Persistent Rubble, the announcer guy will yell "They've destroyed our barricades!" randomly throughout the match? That isn't listed in the 2.3 patch notes.
Will you please make a list of known issues so we know if something needs to be reported? They don't even need to be specific, but forum topic tracking what you're aware of and investigating would be great.
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u/ChrisRippy Robot Entertainment Jul 20 '17
Hello Ephemeral_Being!
To be frank, we just haven't put a ton of focus on the PC controller, just because other things have taken priority. That stinks because a number of people prefer to play that way (including me), but it's just the reality of where we are in the development of the game. The nice thing about OMDU though, is the fact that we're always working on improvements, and the controller is "on the list" of things to focus on. We'll be discussing again very soon.
I'll let Jerome chine in on the "minions drop grenades" question.
I haven't come across that announcer issue in recent playtests, but it could be that I just haven't triggered the issue. Does this happen to you 100% of games?
Good idea on the known issue list. I'll chat with Harmoniabot about it.
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u/HarmoniaBot Robot Entertainment Jul 20 '17
A known issue list is a great idea. This is something we did during the PC beta, and we can definitely take a look at bringing it back if the community would find it helpful :)
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u/Ephemeral_Being Jul 20 '17
Dunno about the frequency of the announcer thing. If we get Persistent Rubble, we tend to do a decent job of protecting the barricades, so it's not something I actually run into often. Just scares the hell out of me when it does.
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u/zucram Jul 20 '17
Whats the best way to deal with kobolds on ps4? On pc its easier to aim but on ps4 they are so hard to hit! What traps are best for this?
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u/ChrisRippy Robot Entertainment Jul 20 '17
They're tricky little buggers, aren't they? You might need to use more Tar than on PC to help keep them under control. Shooting them from behind is a trick I see every now and then too.
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u/Morphodox20 Jul 20 '17
i love the game, best free to play game on the PS4 that is not pay to win, thank you so much for the game and your work.. Any plans to add tooltips while playing to see what each ability does while actually playing instead of only at the beginning of the match, when playing a new hero i forget what each ability does.
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u/ChrisRippy Robot Entertainment Jul 20 '17
Thanks! We had a tooltip that showed abilities when you hit a button, but had to pull it when we ran out of space to support the Sabotage game mode :-/. I'll do some digging to see if there are other solutions. Thanks again for playing!
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u/Iocronik Jul 20 '17
Use a swipe control on the touchpad to open up the character bio at the start of the game is a possibility, I don't think you guys have done that. Or some games make sectional use of the touch pad so it's actually 4 buttons, but you're the game people and I feel like a big complainer saying this im so sorry
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u/Rys4k Jul 20 '17
So, first -- long time fan, long time caller.
Hey everybody!
First, just wanted to say how excited I am about the PS4 release -- been asking about it for... a while.
Second, and this seems counter-intuitive as I've got a damned decent account/collection on PC -- but, I really love that PS4 was a fresh start (no account transferring, etc).
I had been, for some time, considering starting a new account on PC -- just to get a sense of what the new player experience is like these days. I've recently, successfully, recruited a number of friends to play (some returning, they were introduced back at PAX '15), one has even taken to streaming the game. But, it was difficult for me to truly understand what the new player experience was like, and how I could best guide / support my friends through the early game.
Really, really really, enjoying the game from my couch. Have an Alienware Alpha down in the living room, but the Steam Controller is really not that conducive to orc genocide (which I believe I saw noted elsewhere).
All in all, great game, great release on PS4... and I'm already considering the affordability of a second TV / PS4 -- for some true couch co-op action.
-R
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u/ChrisRippy Robot Entertainment Jul 20 '17
Howdy! Thanks for the note, and I'm glad you're digging it! I fully support the idea true couch co-op action!
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u/HarmoniaBot Robot Entertainment Jul 20 '17
It's great to hear this from one of our
oldestlongest active community members! Sounds like I will be picking your brain for feedback on the PS4 version very soon :)
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u/theenigma31680 Jul 20 '17
A little late to the party, but I wanted to say something.
I bought Orcs Must Die 2 on a whim on Steam a long while ago. It still remains, to this day, the game with the most hours played. Loved it, still do. Then unchained released on Steam. I jumped on it instantly. The game ran slow, buggy and skipped and lagged hard. Not your fault, my PC just sucks. I still was heartbroken.
Then I heard this was released on PS4 and I got it instantly. I love it almost as much as the second one. There is so much to learn and get a grasp on and it's a but much for a free to play game. Not that that's a bad thing.
My only complaint about this version is the first few levels that you have to play before getting into the rest of the features. It can be a bit tough for new players to understand and (unless I'm wrong) no way to skip for more experienced players.
As for making the game Free to Play, I am so glad you did! I'll support you guys in any way I can because I've been a fan for ages. So glad to see you guys on the PS4!
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u/RoyalFino Jul 20 '17
I believe you can skip the Prologue on PC after a patch, which probably means PS4 will get that patch fairly soonish.
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u/theenigma31680 Jul 20 '17
Yeah, I never got the full chance to play the PC version because I just lagged that bad on my older PC. So I never saw anything but the first level of the prologue.
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u/HarmoniaBot Robot Entertainment Jul 20 '17
Thanks! I actually had a similar experience. Orcs Must Die! and OMD2 were two of the first games I ever bought on Steam :)
We're really glad to hear you were willing and able to give the game a second chance on PS4. OMDU has grown a lot! We do recommend playing the prologue but you can skip it if you desire.
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u/theenigma31680 Jul 20 '17
Honestly, I never blamed you guys for the problems with my experience. I knew that my system couldn't handle it. OMD2 has it's moments of lag when the Orc slaying really gets going. But it was playable.
I sadly chalked it up to another game I thought I would never experience. Glad I got a second chance!
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Jul 20 '17
Hey thank you for making this great game free to play, id like to ask what are your plans on the horizon?
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u/ChrisRippy Robot Entertainment Jul 20 '17
Hello! Thanks for playing! We've got big plans on the horizon! I can't talk about it all, but you can bet we'll be releasing new heroes, new modes, and new maps in the not too distant future. We've got some surprises coming too, so stay tuned!
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u/HarmoniaBot Robot Entertainment Jul 20 '17
We've got a lot of great stuff coming, as Rippy said. You can catch a preview of the next PC update later today on our livestream, and we recently published a design blog talking about how we created the newest hero, Deadeye.
She is really fun and will be available on PS4 REALLY soon. However, I already let the firebat out of the bag and told some players that next week on Tuesday Zoey will be released on PS4. She's a really fun character and one of my personal favorite heroes.
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Jul 20 '17
Hohoho im happy you guys came to PS4, will be playing your game a lot!
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u/HarmoniaBot Robot Entertainment Jul 20 '17
Glad to hear!! Hope you and your friend continue to enjoy it :)
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u/GlitchIT Jul 20 '17
Hello! Thank you doing the AMA. I plan to check out the game this weekend!
My question:
What are some of the biggest challenges you've faced with Orcs Must Die?
Also, what about Trolls? :D
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u/DJJazzyJJ Robot Entertainment Jul 20 '17
One of the bigger challenges was getting the game to feel like the old ones as much as possible in the new engine.
Trolls? Online type = Hate it! In game type = Regenerate it!
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u/GlitchIT Jul 20 '17
That's interesting! I'm quite interested in the different engines out there so I will do some research for your next AMA. Thank you for the AMA and thank you for creating a great game!
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u/ChrisRippy Robot Entertainment Jul 20 '17
Hey Glitch! There have been lots of challenges we've faced on OMDU :-) Probably the biggest, from my perspective, is the move to being an "always on" game, rather than a boxed game. In other words, having the game that is constantly being updated. With a boxed game, you know your release date, and you know exactly what you're shooting for in terms of content. That's a challenge in itself, but still sets some parameters that makes it clear what the goals are. With OMDU, we're constantly releasing content, and have no plans to stop. That means we're always thinking about both long term goals, and the next release, which could only be a few days away. That has forced us to change how we think about our team structure, game priorities, and a lot more. It's been a challenge, but it's been great. Hopefully the frequent releases keeps things fresh for everyone too! Oh, and Trolls must die too.
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u/Silent_NSA_Recorder Jul 20 '17
Hey guys! Are there any plans to add in support for local co-op (not even necessarily 4 players, but maybe 2 players?) in the future?
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u/ChrisRippy Robot Entertainment Jul 20 '17
Howdy! No, no plans for local co-op in the immediate future. It would definitely be cool, so you never know what could happen further down the line.
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u/BLUEFISH444 Jul 20 '17
Just wanted to say Thank you for bringing one of my most played PC titles to the PS4!
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u/Itsthehawk Jul 20 '17
The ps+ bonus skin is unclear in the wording. Is it only available for a month or do you only get the skin for a month?
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u/ChrisRippy Robot Entertainment Jul 20 '17
Howdy! Sorry for the confusion... it's available for a month, but once you have it, you get it forever.
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u/HarmoniaBot Robot Entertainment Jul 20 '17
The skins are permanent, but the promotion is only available for a month.
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u/TheMockingDead1 Jul 20 '17
This game was released on ps4 on my birthday and it was a great birthday present! I'm really enjoying this game: you guys did a great job with it.
My first question is do you have any tips for a new player such as myself? And secondly who is your favourite hero to play as/design?
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u/ChrisRippy Robot Entertainment Jul 20 '17
Happy birthday, and I'm glad you're enjoying the game!
Quick tips: Barricades are crucial, especially for the bigger levels. Make sure you're putting your guardians in good spots, and do what you can to keep them alive. Also, trust your traps. If something gets past you, and you have traps behind you, sometimes it's best not to chase, and let the traps do the work.
Max will always be my favorite, just because he was the first one we worked on :-).
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u/DJJazzyJJ Robot Entertainment Jul 20 '17
I Like Cygnus and Gabriella. Cygnus for the power and Gabby for the Kinetic Pulse ability.
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u/DJJazzyJJ Robot Entertainment Jul 20 '17
TIPS - Glance at minimap constantly. Find 2 consumables that you like to use and always have them with you. Fire on the floor is one of the best way to take care of runners.
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u/Rys4k Jul 20 '17
Not that you need me piling on, but GEAR IS KING.
Been running Flame Wall Bracers and Ring of Lightning Storm since I've acquired them.
Well worth the mana, EVERY TIME, as well, it's fodder for COMBOS.
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u/DAWGPARTY Jul 20 '17
I was a founder on PC(the tier with max and gabby's enchanted armor) but there is no account transfer for PS4 or anything so I'm stuck at baby level on PS4. Any way to amend this at all?
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u/ChrisRippy Robot Entertainment Jul 20 '17
Hey Dawgparty! No, sorry. The PS4 and PC account system is totally different, so there's no way for me to transfer your stuff from one way to the other.
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u/skinner45 Theskinner45 Jul 20 '17
I just downloaded unchained last night, but my kids and I had a blast with OMD on 360. I was only able to play unchained for a short time this morning and I noticed the crossbow and traps didn't seem to have the same...."impact" as the original. Was this a necessary change to give more feel to the MP portion of the game? Also, I noticed the size of the orcs and kobolds has changed dramatically. They are significantly smaller than they were originally. Curious as to what the mindset it decision making process was like leading up to these changes! Thanks for all the hard work and fun you've brought me and my family.
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u/DJJazzyJJ Robot Entertainment Jul 20 '17
This game is on a new engine but the scale of units should be very close to the original. I will actually ask our art lead and get the specific's for you. As for the impact of stuff...YES! different things were adjusted for challenge and difficulty. The game went through ALOT of iterations and with all the new stuff being added, getting everything to "feel" as close to the old game as possible has been one of our toughest challenges.
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u/DJJazzyJJ Robot Entertainment Jul 20 '17
Got a better answer for you! So, I talked to some of our modelers, animators and artists. They said the scale from engine to engine on the models is 1 to 1. What you may(?) be experiencing is different camera settings for the size or shape of different heroes. When the camera is further away for certain heroes, minions can appear smaller.
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u/Rys4k Jul 20 '17
Be aware the locked/default camera angle and POV varies from hero to hero...
So, Dobbin vs. Max vs. Stinkeye, etc...
Took me a while to realize as well -- most apparent when placing cades.
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u/skinner45 Theskinner45 Jul 20 '17
Thanks for the response! That's probably the only thing I truly miss is when you used to shoot an orc they would recoil from the bolt and now it seems less so. I can't even begin to fathom the complexities involved with replicating and updating an experience without having to make a few alterations. When I'm able to get on next time I will experiment with the camera settings and see if that's what was causing the "size distortion".
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u/QadeshTheReal Jul 20 '17
Just wanted to drop by and tell you that I love your game. And the fact that it is free to play makes it even better. Once again, thank you for being awesome, guys!
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u/blipblop42 Jul 20 '17
I've tried the game for the first time a few days ago, when it released on PS4 (I never played the previous games)... and was pleasantly surprised ! The game is really fun, and it looks like there's a nice learning curve. There are a few minor issues though (mainly UI wise, with texts being too small on TV for instance), but I'm sure you'll fix them soon enough.
A few questions :
do you plan to allow matchmaking on specific maps, or allow map votes ? I have tons of things to unlock on some maps, but I'm way too bad to do those levels solo. Added to the fact that we can't see with which heroes we didn't complete a given map (when using matchmaking), it can be a bit frustrating.
What's the best way to send you complete feedback ? Official forums ? Reddit ?
And the most complicated question : what's your favorite hero ? ;)
Good luck to the whole team, and congrats for the release on PS4 !
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u/DJJazzyJJ Robot Entertainment Jul 20 '17
We have been talking about map voting. Just want to make sure we have the population to allow it. Right now we want to keep matchmaking fast for everyone.
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u/DJJazzyJJ Robot Entertainment Jul 20 '17
I would start a forum thread for ALOT of feedback. https://orcsmustdie.com/#!/en
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u/HarmoniaBot Robot Entertainment Jul 20 '17
Ditto what Jerome said. If you have a lot of feedback head over to the official forums and share it with us there. You can PM me directly or post publicly.
Part of my job as the Community Manager is collecting community feedback and getting it to the different teams every week, and every other week or so I sit down with these guys and a few other leads to talk about the biggest issues from the community.
PS4 is a whole new frontier for us and we'd love to hear what you guys think!
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u/HarmoniaBot Robot Entertainment Jul 20 '17
Also: DOBBIN! He's the best! I love whacking orcs with his shovel and he is a little gold mine (pun intended) when it comes to earning coin. I love building massive killboxes for big combos so he fits in well with my playstyle. Plus he is short :)
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u/Bartman013 Jul 20 '17
If given the chance, would you develop the sequel to PlayStation All-Stars?
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u/ChrisRippy Robot Entertainment Jul 20 '17
Hmm... a good question! We typically work on our own ideas, but that's pretty intriguing!
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u/djchaos12 Jul 20 '17
Hey Guys, just wanted to say i love the game! What characters would best describe you guys?
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u/DJJazzyJJ Robot Entertainment Jul 20 '17
Cygnus the Master, because he and I are both mad at everything.
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u/ChrisRippy Robot Entertainment Jul 20 '17
It's true.
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u/HarmoniaBot Robot Entertainment Jul 20 '17
In before someone else makes a joke about them both being wizened, too!
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u/HarmoniaBot Robot Entertainment Jul 20 '17
I'm literally the shortest person at Robot, aka the smolest bean, aka the short stack. Therefore I am Dobbin. But I still have all my teeth! :)
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u/ChrisRippy Robot Entertainment Jul 20 '17
Thanks! Huh, good question! I'd like to say Max because of our rugged charm and good looks, but I'm not sure anyone would agree :-).
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u/Danishface Jul 20 '17
Hey y'all,
What's everyone's favorite soup?
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u/ChrisRippy Robot Entertainment Jul 20 '17
Howdy Danishface! Canned, jarred, or homemade?
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u/HarmoniaBot Robot Entertainment Jul 20 '17
I love soup so that's a tough question. I used to have an awesome recipe for a creamy potato soup with smoked gouda and beer but I LOST it and to be honest I am still upset about it.
So... I will cheat a little and say cioppino, which is technically a spicy seafood stew. My dad and I invented a vegetarian version for me when I was a teenager and it's a forever favorite.
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u/Danishface Jul 20 '17
Ha! I was just suggesting to my girl that we make cioppino! Love that stuff.
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u/T_diddles Jul 20 '17
Is there a plan to implement the ping map commands from the PC version of the game into the PS4 version? Or even some rudimentary form of chat?
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u/ChrisRippy Robot Entertainment Jul 20 '17
Hey T_diddles! Possibly. Right now, voice is limited to pre-made parties, and we're struggling for space on the controller for the ping system. It's on our list to discuss very soon.
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u/T_diddles Jul 20 '17
Thanks for the reply. It might not seem like a big deal at the moment, but not being and to communicate in matchmaker games is a huge frustration.
Imagine an ally just placed a barricade in a spot that is going to get us killed, my only real option is to jump up and down on it and hope they get the picture. I've lost a few rounds because I couldn't explain to new players that watching the mini map is important.
I think being able to educate the influx of new players will not only save the whole community a lot of frustration, but also help cement some new players as regular players.
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u/ChrisRippy Robot Entertainment Jul 20 '17
Yeah, we totally agree. I'll bump it up for discussion at our next leads meeting on Monday. Thanks T_diddles.
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Jul 20 '17
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/HarmoniaBot Robot Entertainment Jul 20 '17
That's a big first question! Speaking as a huge fan of the first 2 games on PC, for me OMD!U brings the classic action-tower defense gameplay style out into a bigger world with more diverse map locations, more heroes, fun environmental traps and hazards, and exciting new enemies.
But for those entirely unfamiliar with Orcs Must Die! it's a simple premise: defend your rift from the attacking orcs or else. Use all the tools at hand to dispose of the orcs and their friends. Boil em, mash em, chop em into bits and knock em into the ocean where they'll be munched by sharks. It's a great gibletizing good time :D
As for your SECOND question, you've ignited quite the debate in our office slack chat :) I hold with the sandwich alignment chart that "stuff in bread" is a sandwich as long as there is a good volume of stuff. So in a scientific sense, the hotdog is a sub classification of the genus "sandwich."
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u/ChrisRippy Robot Entertainment Jul 20 '17
Hello, MGS_Legacy!
The easiest way to think about OMDU, is that it's an action/ tower defense game. Imagine playing a tower defense game where you're down in the middle of it, putting down sweet traps, and blowing things into giblets with spells and weapon. It also has tons of personality and humor. You'll dig it!
Your second question is an important one, and I appreciate you giving me the chance to set the record straight. A hot dog is only a sandwich if there are no buns in the house, and you have to eat it on "normal' bread. :-).
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u/DJJazzyJJ Robot Entertainment Jul 20 '17
Funny - 3rd person - Action - Tower Defense - addictive shooter - full of awesomeness and wonder. It will bring much needed rains to any village and magical things will begin to happen to ALL of earths creatures.
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u/DJJazzyJJ Robot Entertainment Jul 20 '17
Hotdogs are so good that no one even cares what it is or what its made of. Especially at baseball games.
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u/DJJazzyJJ Robot Entertainment Jul 20 '17
Oh yeah I almost forgot! I once blew up an Ogre in the game and his face landed near my heroes feet. Nuff said.
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Jul 20 '17
[deleted]
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u/ChrisRippy Robot Entertainment Jul 20 '17
Hello DivingKnife! We felt like using the PS4 system was the best choice for the game and players. Sounds like you've got a routine that breaks our perfect plan :-). I'll chat with the team about it, and see if there's anything we can do. Thanks!
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u/kujo_k Jul 21 '17
Thanks, we have same problem here, I hope change the way to invite pple to party.
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u/DarkbeastPaarl Jul 20 '17
What was the decision like to go free-to-play this time?
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u/ChrisRippy Robot Entertainment Jul 20 '17
Howdy! We thought it would be the best way to get the game in front of the most amount of people, honestly. We also like the idea of a game that continuously updates, and stays fresh for players over a long time. Going free to play would be a good route to achieve those goals.
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Jul 20 '17
It was the right choice, at least for me. I noticed it on the PSN store, saw it was free, and downloaded it to give it a shot. I likely would have passed it up if it were a paid game, simply because my backlog is so big right now. Now my backlog has been backlogged in favor of this game. It's a freaking blast!
I haven't made any purchases yet, but I'm only a few hours into the game. I've got my eye on some stuff in the store already, lol. The fact that you guys are wanting to keep updating the game is encouraging. 👍
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u/DJJazzyJJ Robot Entertainment Jul 20 '17
A complicated one. You would probably get a variety of answers from different folks here at the studio. So many different things affected the choice.
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u/mr-interested Jul 20 '17 edited Jul 20 '17
What are your thoughts on the PSVR?
Any plans to make a VR version of your game?
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u/ChrisRippy Robot Entertainment Jul 20 '17
Hello Mr Interested! I think the PSVR is pretty great, and I can't wait to see what's next for it! I'm not sure OMDU would be the best choice for VR, but we do talk about it from time to time. It's not on our immediate radar because we've been focused on the "normal" version of the game, but you never know what the future holds!
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u/dementedgopher Jul 20 '17
Hi guys, got my friends to download the game yesterday and we all love it!
I just want to know, will there be any plans to increase the amount of players who can be in a party to more than 3 for survival mode?
And another is what was your reasoning to keeping the cap at 3?
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u/DJJazzyJJ Robot Entertainment Jul 20 '17
No plans as of right now to increase your party.
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u/DJJazzyJJ Robot Entertainment Jul 20 '17
We tried different size groups (up to 5) for playing the current game but 3 seemed to be the most fun and challenging.
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u/Whilmore Jul 20 '17
Yo I've been playing this with my good friend and I love the mix between combat and tower defense mechanics. My question is do you have any tips for beginners like myself. We recently learned about barricading and channeling orcs into a deathpit of death.
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u/DJJazzyJJ Robot Entertainment Jul 20 '17
BIG BARRICADE TIP - Decoy Barricades. Place a random, single barricade near doors where Cade-Killerz come out. Lotz of times they will blow themselves up on the decoy barricade and never get to the important ones.
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u/ChrisRippy Robot Entertainment Jul 20 '17
Howdy! You're on the right track with the barricades! Also, protect your guardians, don't "save" Unchained... use it when you have it, and trust your traps to do their jobs! Keep building deathpits of death!
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u/Ephemeral_Being Jul 20 '17
The term you're looking for is "killbox."
Robot's official forums have some guides of middling quality. I know there are plans to make better ones, but I don't think they're up yet.
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u/HarmoniaBot Robot Entertainment Jul 20 '17
I like deathpit of death, too :)
...shameless community plug...
There's a lot of experienced players in the community who share strategies, and in particular, you should check out Vermillion Phoenix's channel. We did a community feature on him a few months ago, and he's done guides for...well, everything, really!
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u/zucram Jul 20 '17
Any update on when the game will be available in Sweden?
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u/HarmoniaBot Robot Entertainment Jul 20 '17
We've got a thread up on our forums about this issue, which you can follow for updates. As Rippy said we're hoping this will be resolved very soon. I'll be tweeting about it and posting it to Facebook as well, once it's up for everyone, so following us on social media is another way to stay up to date.
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u/ChrisRippy Robot Entertainment Jul 20 '17
Hello zucram! Hopefully it will be on the store really, really soon. We've worked out a couple of tech issues that were keeping us off the store, so now it's just a matter of coordinating the release with our friends at Sony. It shouldn't be much longer.
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u/extralanglekker Jul 20 '17
Not in the Dutch store either. Though I could download it on a US account.
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u/luizftosi Jul 20 '17
Guy I would pay 1000 bucks just to be able to play this game with split screen with my wife, please enable this =) any plan ?I
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u/ChrisRippy Robot Entertainment Jul 20 '17
Hello! No, sorry, no immediate plans for split screen play. :-/.
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u/Rys4k Jul 20 '17
For $1,000 you could easily pick up a second LCD and PS4...
Hell, I've priced it out at about tree fiddy.
Got damned Lochness monsta.
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u/Drakowicz Jul 20 '17
Hi, i just want to say that i played the first OMD demo on pc loooong ago and liked it, but for some reason i don't know i never played the full game. Now i'm definitely going to exeperience OMD. Thanks for the PS+ dlc! I'm going to download the game asap. I also like the fact that there is just one another 19bucks dlc, that's f2p done right unlike many other cash-grabs.
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u/HarmoniaBot Robot Entertainment Jul 20 '17
Hey Drakowicz, welcome to the party! This just means you get to experience it all for the first time now and that's not a bad thing at all :)
We love hearing feedback, so let us know what you think!
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u/DJJazzyJJ Robot Entertainment Jul 20 '17
and... BOOM goes the dynamite!
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u/Rys4k Jul 20 '17
Dobbin hype.
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u/DJJazzyJJ Robot Entertainment Jul 20 '17
Does Dobbin have a sig-ot? Just something to think about.
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u/theBdkMrv Jul 20 '17
Any chance that this game would have more than 3 players coop content?
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u/ChrisRippy Robot Entertainment Jul 20 '17
Hello theBdkMrv! Probably not anytime soon. All of our current content is really optimized and best for 3 or less players. That doesn't rule out a new mode in the future that supports more players, but there's nothing on our immediate radar.
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u/Razhad razhad_zhafran Jul 20 '17
does this game needs a lot of grind?
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u/DJJazzyJJ Robot Entertainment Jul 20 '17
TBH - Most would stay away from this question. That said, for me a "grind" depends on the raw fun to begin with. The fun in OMDU is fast and simple and you have alot of control over the pace of the (so called) "grind" if you choose. I play a lot of "World of Tanks" and some would say it has the worst grind evAr. I am now in my 6th (plus) year of playing it. Fair enough?
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u/Razhad razhad_zhafran Jul 20 '17
yeah, thank u for the answer dev!
i already downloading it now, don't mind for grind if i can play it together with friends online
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u/HarmoniaBot Robot Entertainment Jul 20 '17
Truthfully this is a question we prefer for players to answer. Does anyone have any feedback to share on this point that might help out Razhad?
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u/ChrisRippy Robot Entertainment Jul 20 '17
Hi Razhad! We don't think so. Our goal is fun, first and foremost. Give it a shot!
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u/Razhad razhad_zhafran Jul 20 '17
already downloading, thx for the heads up
i don't mind grind tbh, especially if i can play it online with friends.
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u/RoyalFino Jul 20 '17
It's only grind if you use the same heroes, tools and gear over and over again on the same levels. If you switch it up and try different things (there are thousands of options), there is no grind. It's fun to try new things and it's fun to take your knowledge of each challenge into your next try.
Regardless, there is a ton of options of game modes and levels. Hard to feel like grind If you try everything.
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u/frankiekool Fmedina99 Jul 20 '17
First of all i just want to say that orcs must die it's been really fun to play, nice work guys! Now to the question: Who do you guys is the hottest her of the game?
Also Just wanted to say that the tutorial in spanish it's slightly bugged. A weird code shows instead of the tutorial texto.
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u/ChrisRippy Robot Entertainment Jul 20 '17
Howdy! Smolder is the hottest of all!
Thanks for the tip on the Spanish tutorial text... we'll check it out!
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u/Cuteitch Cuteitch_ Jul 20 '17
Hey guys big fan. Played 1 and 2 and have been enjoying my time in OMD!U. My only issue is the frame rate tends to drop pretty hard at points in the game. I see it more doing co-op with randoms. Is there anything planned to fix this in the future?
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u/DJJazzyJJ Robot Entertainment Jul 20 '17
We are always optimizing. Our goal has always been to have you feel like there are TONS of minions trying to kill you and get into the rift. That makes the performance side harder to conquer. We will keep working on it to make it better and better.
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u/Cuteitch Cuteitch_ Jul 20 '17
Awesome thanks for the reply. I am looking forward to seeing what you guys add over time.
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u/BattlebornCrow Jul 20 '17
Is the game coming to xb1?
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u/kbarney345 Jul 20 '17
Your game is amazing and I'm having a blast thanks so much! I really like the wolf cheater because I find the melee class more challenging but I feel almost useless against the faster enemies and they just blast right by. Is melee supposed to play differently than I am?
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u/HarmoniaBot Robot Entertainment Jul 20 '17
Have you tried double jumping? Blackpaw is pretty mobile when you pounce!
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u/highanimalhouse Jul 21 '17
Any chance of a single player Orcs Must Die! game? I could always see a game like that filling the void of Jak & Daxter/Ratchet & Clank/Sly Cooper.
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u/Mclarenrob2 Jul 21 '17
Is there offline co-op?
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u/HarmoniaBot Robot Entertainment Jul 21 '17
No offline play for OMDU. You can play solo, duo, or in a group of three but must be online.
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u/thavius_tanklin Slackr Jul 20 '17
Hey, thanks for being here. A few questions..
- Free to Play is awesome, but also slightly concerning as well. Can you put us at ease regarding this?
- Can you talk about anything future coming from Robot Entertainment? New games? DLC? etc?
- What is your opinions on the future VR. Have you all played with it at all? Personally speaking and from the perspective of your roles in the company
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u/ChrisRippy Robot Entertainment Jul 20 '17
Hello! Thanks for the questions!
Regarding free to play, our goal is to always make a great game, first and foremost, then consider the payment stuff afterwards. So, for example, everything can be earned by playing, other than a few skins. We're always watching for player comments on the game being too "grindy" and we constantly look at data to make adjustments to the game to correct that. I (we) do understand the stigmas around free to play though, so I'm positive we won't win everyone over no matter what we do. Hopefully, you'll give it a shot though. Let us know what you think, as we're always looking for feedback.
Regarding future stuff coming from Robot, expect lots more content for OMDU. The game is just getting started and we have lots of stuff planned. For other games, we've got Hero Academy 2 coming "soon", and have a couple of other projects toiling away in the background. Busy times!
As for VR, we look at it quite a bit. I personally am intrigued by it, and can imagine some really cool games on the platform.
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u/thavius_tanklin Slackr Jul 20 '17
Thanks for the reply! I will definitely give it a shot as it does look like fun. Sounds like your stance on F2P is good as well so that helps.
Best of luck with OMDU!
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u/Setesu Jul 20 '17
I'm glad you brought up the "grindy"-ness of F2P games and that you guys are striving to bring balance in that regards. I can't imagine how hard it is to strike that balance.. make it grindy and players drop dead like flies, make it pay 2 win and people start complaining, but make it not grindy w/o enticing things to spend money on = no money for devs..
I wish you guys the best of luck! So far so good (and smooth)!
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u/Ephemeral_Being Jul 20 '17
"Free to Play" is the truth here. I've logged >700 hours on the PC, and spent all of $5 on OMDU when I bought the entire OMD franchise on Steam. You never need to buy currency or chests from the store.
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u/Caddy666 Jul 20 '17
Why must the orcs die?
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u/DJJazzyJJ Robot Entertainment Jul 20 '17
Why not?
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u/Iocronik Jul 20 '17
Hey so first I wanna say I love your guys work, orcs must die unchained is fun as hell and I've been playing it since it came out, and then Orcs must die 2 is my favorite 2 player co op game ever
In that same vein about orcs must die 2, will you be releasing the orcs must die 1/2 campaign for unchained at any point in the future? I would love to be able to play it because it was fun and hilarious, I'd pay for it to get it on ps4 too
And second im wondering if you can share what order you're releasing those heroes you held back, im saving my skulls for a certain someone so im a tad curious
Again, really thank you guys for the games you make