The Sequel: More casual or more hardcore?

Greetings!

Recently, there have been some hot discussions in the forum about if the sequel of Lords of Xulima would be more casual to attract more potential buyers or more hardcore to please the old-school fans. So we would like to talk about this topic and clarify this aspect before the rivers of blood flood the forum. 😉

 

First, don’t confuse Accessible with Casual

A game can be more casual or more hardcore independently of their accessibility level. Lords of Xulima is big, challenging and deep, with lots of mechanisms and possibilities but, it is very accessible. It is very easy and simple to play (move the avatar, talk with NPCs, disarm traps, level up, combat…). We dedicated a lot of work to achieve that level of simplicity of playing. On contrast, old-school games seemed much more hardcore than they actually were because of their obscure and awkward interfaces.

We will always try to make the games as accessible as possible so any player can play it, but with the same level of challenge and depth as they were originally designed.

 

Was Lords of Xulima casual or hardcore?

Of course, we would never say it is a casual game but it was also not designed as a hardcore one. We wanted to align it to the feel of the old-school games like Wizardy 7, Might and Magic, Ultima… Were those hardcore games? We wouldn’t say that. They were challenging. There was no hand holding, no tutorial, not linear, and they were complex and deep, but they were not hardcore at all. For us, a hardcore game is one that is mainly designed to challenge the player and always try to make him fail so only players with a lot of experience and a lot of understanding of the game mechanics can advance and overcome those challenges. That is what happens in most roguelikes or others like Dark Souls.

Lords of Xulima was designed and balanced to make the best experience possible for the Old-School difficulty mode. Then, we created two more modes as variations of the main mode:

Normal: It represent a much lower challenge. It is perfect for people that prefer a much straightforward adventure and enjoys the game without needing to worry too much about game mechanisms.

Hardcore: Just the opposite. The game parameters are modified to be much more difficult. Players should have a stronger understanding of the game, optimizing their party and way of playing to advance in the game. This is especially true if they active the Ironman Mode where they cannot save outside the towns.

We think it worked very well for most players. And for those that choose the hardest settings, the game rewards them with a better score (and also achievements and leaderboard position) that is impossible to achieve in lower difficulty modes.

 

So how will the sequel be?

Let’s just say that in Numantian Games, we will always focus on creating deep and challenging games. It is our seal and always will be. So, of course, it won’t be a casual game and it won’t have casual options to disable mechanisms of the game. We will use the same method for casual players: a low difficulty mode, but they will have to play the same game with the same mechanisms (food, traps, encounters…) as any other player.

Indeed, the game will be even more challenging, more open, with more depth, more options to evolve the party, and many more secrets. There will be a special ending that will be a truly hardcore experience 😉 and more special rewards for the higher difficulties.

Also, we are thinking of making the Ironman mode setting as mandatory or at least implement new features to prevent save-scumming as much as possible. But don’t worry!, it will always be implemented in a fair way.

What do you think? As always, you are invited to leave your feedback here.

See you soon!

  • Posted by Julie
  • On March 24, 2017
  • 14 Comments
Tags: lords of xulima, numantian games

14 Comments

Greg
Please have a save anywhere mode. I don't scam save but have a life. If I have to leave for work or it's time for dinner or I stayed up playing till 2am, I want to be able to stop and not lose progress. I hate repeating areas. Loved LOX and played it a long time. Can't wait for the sequel.
    Social Justice Saving Point
    Everyone has a life, and with a job generally comes time management skills. The thing with fixed saving points is that there are so many things the developers can do. They can taunt the player by putting a save spot somewhere on their screen, but actually making the area very difficult to access. They can also add to the game a few items that can only be used at those points. And even as a narrative tool, since save points in dungeons can often make for an ominous omen; a signal that there is a dangerous foe ahead. They can also be hidden behind puzzles. Of course, I just make RPG Maker games so I am not a professional. But, when I think about old school, I think about floating save crystals or, at the very least, many large areas where saving is not possible. :-)
SirTech
My boots are ready for another adventure. I can't wait!!
    Dark Savant
    Same. Xulima really made me brush up on my hardcore veteran RPG skills and, as a glutton for punishment, I really hope the sequel will pull it off again.
Tyler
Lords of Xulima on linux at least crashes quite frequently. Not being able to save anywhere would make it fairly unplayable.
Philippe Morin
Why not having a choice? Players start the game choosing a difficulty level. Hardcore fans can choose the difficult path. Casual players can pick a moderate challenge level.
Jon Nilsen
I think the game nailed the challenge level of the games that you were inspired by. Early Might And Magic games were hard but playable and we didn't have guides online. We had to write a letter to Scorpia and hope for an answer:) Have fun with the sequel and approach it the way you did the first one. Feedback is important but you can't please everyone. LoX was a ton a fun and I think I'm going to start my third run through now.
gerard
i think having the choice to save is important .... other i wanna say can u improve the weapon and armor so they can be more like kings bounty .... like u can have a set of armor that give u a bonus...other than that the game was very good
Fritz
Ist ein Nachfolger noch in der Entwicklung? Oder gibts kein Lords of Xulima 2?
Seanna2k
I for one would never play a game that I can't save anywhere simply because you think it's cool to not be able to save anywhere. Why? Simply because it's a dumb idea since I don't even want to replay the thing, but I sometimes get tired, but I hate games that force me to run around wasting time finding a save spot just so I can stop playing. That's just plain dumb and irritating.
Seanna2k
Oh, and I'm a veteran RPG gamer, so I've played tons of RPG games, and Lords of Xulima's save system is great the way it is. If you really have to, just put an option where the players can choose which saving system to use.
Seanna2k
Oh, and by veteran RPG gamer, I mean that I've been playing since Temple of Apshai, Hellfire Warrior and ADOM.
piotr
finished first game in ~80 hours and LOX went into infinite loading mode like 20-25 times and crushed a couple of times, are you sure you want to make ironman option mandatory?
Jimbowin
Any chance of Lords of Xulima 2 being made or is it in the wind.

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