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General discussionRelease: Ancient Enemy(38 posts)(38 posts)
(38 posts)
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This is my favourite topic
Posted July 08, 2021
Play an RPG card battler set in a crumbling world where the forces of evil have already won and blast distorted enemies with a satisfying range of spells and abilities. Ancient Enemy is now available on GOG.COM along with a 50% discount that will last until 24th July 2021, 1 PM UTC.

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Posted July 09, 2021
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ConanTheBald: If you buy stuff off Steam INSTEAD OF GoG then you do indeed prefer Steam over GoG.

They are, I don't argue with that.

Imagine you are parent. You have two kids. One is utter c*nt and rascal & the other one is your favourite child who is not as bad as the rascal but not exactly primus either. Now, for some reason you reward the rascal infront of the favourite and expect the favourite to improve their behaviour. How does that work? If they see you reward the rascal then they want to become more like that rascal instead and not to improve their behaviour.

That is exaclty what you are trying to do with your so called "boycot". You reward Steam for being c*nt and expect GoG to improve their service. Where the f*ck is the logic? You undermine your very own goal. How do you not understand that?

The way it works is that you vote with your wallet. You reward the behaviour or service you want. If you think that Steam has the best service to offer, then you buy games on Steam. If you think that Gog has the best possible service (maybe not exactly "Ideal" or "Perfect" but still better than the competition) then you buy games on Gog. Do you understand that? If Gog is your favourite service provider and you think that regardless of their flaws they are still the best out there AND you still want to boycot them, then that would mean that you abstain from buying games altogether (because there is no one else to turn to).

I'm also interested to know how do you download and install Steam suff without the client? Do you use cracks and torrents? If so then why do you still financially support them?
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mrkgnao: I use SteamCmd.

It's command-line application for downloading and installing Steam games without the need for the Steam client. A kind of dumbed down gogrepoc, if you're familiar with it.

https://developer.valvesoftware.com/wiki/SteamCMD

The problem with your analogy lies in your "for some reason". The reason is not a mystery and GOG, assuming it follows the boycott (for otherwise how would it know that I buy elsewhere), knows full well why I and others are boycotting it. I have made it very clear numerous times why I am boycotting GOG, so GOG cannot for a moment assume that it is because I want it to become more like Steam.
There is no problem in my analogy. You have cognitive dissonance. I write on separate lines and with capital letters for readability. Like I already said -

I UNDERSTAND *WHY* YOU TRY TO BOYCOT GOG.

The problem is that THE REASONS YOU BOYCOT GOG IS FAR WORSE ELSEWHERE.

And - STEAM IS FAR WORSE OFFERNDER THAN GOG. WHY DO YOU NOT BOYCOT STEAM AS WELL???

I hope this helps to clear the miscommunications.
Posted July 09, 2021
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MischiefMaker: I would pay top dollar for a special edition of Shadowhand that incorporates Ancient Enemy's combat mechanics while keeping the more interesting setting and protagonist.
Dev here: Good to know thanks!
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Mr.Mumbles: I enjoyed Shadowhand, even if the combat system could get in the way of fun at times. I hope it's better balanced in this one.
Dev here: Hi, yeah we spent a lot of time reworking the combat in Ancient Enemy to change the experience to be less RNG and more in your control, plus a bunch of other cool things. People definitely seem to prefer it.
Post edited July 09, 2021 by GreyAlien
Posted July 09, 2021
Yes! My wish has been fulfilled! Thanks Gog and Grey Alien!!
Posted July 09, 2021
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MischiefMaker: I would pay top dollar for a special edition of Shadowhand that incorporates Ancient Enemy's combat mechanics while keeping the more interesting setting and protagonist.
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GreyAlien: Dev here: Good to know thanks!
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Mr.Mumbles: I enjoyed Shadowhand, even if the combat system could get in the way of fun at times. I hope it's better balanced in this one.
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GreyAlien: Dev here: Hi, yeah we spent a lot of time reworking the combat in Ancient Enemy to change the experience to be less RNG and more in your control, plus a bunch of other cool things. People definitely seem to prefer it.
Hi, do you have plans to add Galaxy achievements to the game? I would really appreciate them for Shadowhand as well if you have the opportunity. Thanks!
Posted July 09, 2021
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Mr.Mumbles: I enjoyed Shadowhand, even if the combat system could get in the way of fun at times. I hope it's better balanced in this one.
[disclaimer: based on playing ~3 hours, 29 hands, on Nightmare difficulty]

If you felt that Shadowhand's combat was not "well balanced", I think you may like this.

The biggest difference is that whereas combat in Shadowhand is more or less symmetrical, in Ancient Enemy it is not. In Shadowhand, both you and your enemy charge abilities/weapons by playing solitaire, aiming for long combos, and essentially fighting for the same resources. In Ancient Enemy, only you play solitaire, whereas your enemy's abilities are charged at a constant rate and its upcoming action is indicated beforehand so you can try to prepare for it and block it. Your enemy becomes a lot more predictable.

I can say that --- so far --- I greatly prefer Shadowhand's combat, but I suspect I am in a minority. Shadowhand felt like it was designed to be innovative and original; Ancient Enemy feels like it was designed by someone more experienced to be more conventional and for me less interesting. Still, I enjoy it, just less than Shadowhand.

I expect people who didn't like Shadowhand so much raised a cry about how the game was "too RNG" or "too frsutrating" or some such, whereas those who loved it, like me, just played the game to death and didn't cry as loud, so the developer attended to the nay criers more. To me it feels like they took a great game and made it into an OK "sequel".

Other aspects of the game, like graphics and story are sadly not at all on the same level. Ancient Enemy clearly pales there in comparison with Shadowhand.

Still, taking my disclaimer into account, I recommend the game.
Post edited July 09, 2021 by mrkgnao
Posted July 10, 2021
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mrkgnao: Two years ago, after playing Shadowhand --- one of the best games I have played in recent years --- I contacted the developers --- the only developer I have ever done so --- and urged them to release their other card games (Regency Solitaire and Ancient Enemy) on GOG, promising to buy them here upon release. Now Ancient Enemy has finally arrived, but I'm boycotting GOG.

After some thought, I decided to buy it on Steam. I believe the developers get the same amount of money as if I had bought it on GOG.

As expected, the game is client-free and DRM-free on Steam. Played it for a few minutes, looks good.

If I later decide to end my GOG boycott, I'll buy it again here.
I bought Ancient Enemy on Steam cause it looked very unlikely GOG would release it... .
I also own Regency Solitaire on Steam (or does Steam call it "rent"" which might turn out better if and when we should be not allowed to own anything in the near future :D)

Anyway i have the game it is DRM free and i will buy more nice games from the Shadowhand developer if they are released, cause they are DRM free.
Just bought the game , i like the game and the dev seems a nice guy always ready to answer questions, unlike many other devs on steam that wont reply .....
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Maxvorstadt: Oh shit, another card game!
Well, my wallet is safe, I won`t buy such crap!
Yup, but this one is different and actually pretty good .... it doesnt have tons of eyecandy and color and tons of weapons , then again, the main character is a rough dude that has to save his behind while defending himself...

Anyway there is a way to get more HP.... maybe by grinding perhaps, i dont know, havent played it that long cause my backlog is huge but i like the game a lot .
Post edited July 10, 2021 by gamesfreak64
Posted July 10, 2021
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mrkgnao: Still, taking my disclaimer into account, I recommend the game.
Yup, some of the changes you just outlined does make it sound more appealing to me. Thanks. Will be picking it up this weekend. :)
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GreyAlien: Dev here: Hi, yeah we spent a lot of time reworking the combat in Ancient Enemy to change the experience to be less RNG and more in your control, plus a bunch of other cool things. People definitely seem to prefer it.
Sounds good to me. :)
Post edited July 10, 2021 by Mr.Mumbles
Posted July 10, 2021
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GreyAlien: Dev here: Hi, yeah we spent a lot of time reworking the combat in Ancient Enemy to change the experience to be less RNG and more in your control, plus a bunch of other cool things. People definitely seem to prefer it.
It is always great when a dev joins the release thread and if mrkgnao says it is decent, it is a buy for me. I like card games :).
Post edited July 10, 2021 by Arundir
Posted July 10, 2021
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victorchopin: Yes! My wish has been fulfilled! Thanks Gog and Grey Alien!!
You are welcome, enjoy!
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Alexim: Hi, do you have plans to add Galaxy achievements to the game? I would really appreciate them for Shadowhand as well if you have the opportunity. Thanks!
Hi, thanks for your question. No, sorry at the moment we don't have plans for that. We are a husband and wife team and have to focus on other things right now.
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gamesfreak64: Anyway i have the game it is DRM free and i will buy more nice games from the Shadowhand developer if they are released, cause they are DRM free.
Just bought the game , i like the game and the dev seems a nice guy always ready to answer questions, unlike many other devs on steam that wont reply .....
Thank you. I do my best to reply to people because I think it's important. I'm glad some people notice.
Post edited July 10, 2021 by GreyAlien
Posted July 10, 2021
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mrkgnao: I expect people who didn't like Shadowhand so much raised a cry about how the game was "too RNG" or "too frsutrating" or some such, whereas those who loved it, like me, just played the game to death and didn't cry as loud, so the developer attended to the nay criers more. To me it feels like they took a great game and made it into an OK "sequel".
Thanks for your thoughts on Ancient Enemy. There's an interesting story behind these decisions: When we designed Shadowhand I knew that at its heart it is a solitaire game, and in solitaire there's a huge amount of RNG by the nature of it being a card game with a shuffled deck. Solitaire players are used to replaying a hand several times until they are successful, and so I thought people would just accept this about the game and realise that a) your skill at mastering the mechanics, and b) your powerups/loadout are really important at tilting the balance in your favour. Success is not guaranteed but a good player can definitely do better than a bad player.

We were really proud of it because it was so innovative but as you correctly say, some people on Steam (and in some reviews) complained about the RNG. I think this is because people are used to "winning" even if it's a tough fight - they aren't solitaire players who are used to losing and trying again. Some also people really hated getting smashed by an enemy getting a long run too. The enemy never cheats and in fact is mildly nerfed, plus its AI cannot compete with a clever human. Yet some people still felt the AI cheated when it definitely does not.

Anyway, I wanted to avoid those frustrations in Ancient Enemy and so we reworked things. I made a list of "complaints" and prototyped various changes to the turn-based combat until I felt I had addressed those issues. So this game really is an evolution of the mechanics and was the hardest design work I've ever done. But it moves it further away from pure solitaire because so much more is in the player's control, but I think it leads to more fun gameplay and less frustration which was my aim.

Oh and regarding the theme, we had a theory that although Shadowhand did OK, it would have done better with a different theme and so we tried out the (weird) fantasy theme with Ancient Enemy and we worked with a different writer and artist. I think that did result in more interest from Steam players to a certain extent. However, we are planning to revist the world of Regency Solitaire soon, and maybe Shadowhand too one day.
Post edited July 10, 2021 by GreyAlien
Posted July 11, 2021
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mrkgnao: I expect people who didn't like Shadowhand so much raised a cry about how the game was "too RNG" or "too frsutrating" or some such, whereas those who loved it, like me, just played the game to death and didn't cry as loud, so the developer attended to the nay criers more. To me it feels like they took a great game and made it into an OK "sequel".
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GreyAlien: Thanks for your thoughts on Ancient Enemy. There's an interesting story behind these decisions: When we designed Shadowhand I knew that at its heart it is a solitaire game, and in solitaire there's a huge amount of RNG by the nature of it being a card game with a shuffled deck. Solitaire players are used to replaying a hand several times until they are successful, and so I thought people would just accept this about the game and realise that a) your skill at mastering the mechanics, and b) your powerups/loadout are really important at tilting the balance in your favour. Success is not guaranteed but a good player can definitely do better than a bad player.

We were really proud of it because it was so innovative but as you correctly say, some people on Steam (and in some reviews) complained about the RNG. I think this is because people are used to "winning" even if it's a tough fight - they aren't solitaire players who are used to losing and trying again. Some also people really hated getting smashed by an enemy getting a long run too. The enemy never cheats and in fact is mildly nerfed, plus its AI cannot compete with a clever human. Yet some people still felt the AI cheated when it definitely does not.

Anyway, I wanted to avoid those frustrations in Ancient Enemy and so we reworked things. I made a list of "complaints" and prototyped various changes to the turn-based combat until I felt I had addressed those issues. So this game really is an evolution of the mechanics and was the hardest design work I've ever done. But it moves it further away from pure solitaire because so much more is in the player's control, but I think it leads to more fun gameplay and less frustration which was my aim.

Oh and regarding the theme, we had a theory that although Shadowhand did OK, it would have done better with a different theme and so we tried out the (weird) fantasy theme with Ancient Enemy and we worked with a different writer and artist. I think that did result in more interest from Steam players to a certain extent. However, we are planning to revist the world of Regency Solitaire soon, and maybe Shadowhand too one day.
Thank you for sharing.

I believe your attempts have been successful. I hope people who have been frustrated with Shadowhand will give Ancient Enemy a chance.

I can't say I'm a solitaire player at all. The only three solitaire games I have ever played are yours. My genre of choice is turn-based tactics (e.g. King's Bounty series or Fell Seal, not XCOM, which is strategy), so I'm indeed used to repeating levels.

I am playing Ancient Enemy on Nightmare, three-starring everything, and so far (chapter 8), I have had to repeat less than 10% of hands, which for me, makes the game feel "too easy". But, I am indeed not exactly the target audience for this. I'll probably buy your next solitaire game regardless of whether it follows AE's mechanics or SH's. But I hope someone --- perhaps not you --- does make another game using (and extending) Shadowhand's approach.
Posted July 13, 2021
Grey Alien's so awesome. One's gotta love their charming games, well crafted and polished to the top.
Also, his "How to Survive in Gamedev for Eleven Years Without a Hit is a must see.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JmwbYl6f11c
Post edited July 13, 2021 by victorchopin
Posted July 13, 2021
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GreyAlien: Dev here
Hello, I was under the impression Grey Alien Games was a UK-based company. Is it an international team instead? I want to support Canadian gamedevs.
Posted July 13, 2021
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GreyAlien: Dev here
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MeowCanuck: Hello, I was under the impression Grey Alien Games was a UK-based company. Is it an international team instead? I want to support Canadian gamedevs.
Hi, yes we are UK-based. Though we did live in Vancouver, Canada for several years and I co-founded Full Indie which is a local meetup group that did demo nights, gamejams and conferences (pre-pandemic). So maybe that counts? :-)
Posted July 13, 2021
I read the description when it was released, and "in the spirit of masterpieces such as Darkest Dungeon and Slay The Spire!" was enough to get me interested. I should check it out over the weekend!
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This is my favourite topic
Community
General discussionRelease: Ancient Enemy(38 posts)(38 posts)
(38 posts)