Torchlight - Awesome Diablo Clone Now Out!

[Shadrack]

Yes, I died like 6 times; thank God I didn't waste my money and was able to afford respawning in place every time.

Just put up a town portal periodically. That way, if you die, you can respawn in town and it costs nothing and you can return to wherever the last town portal was opened.

[Shadrack]

http://www.massively.com/2009/11/02/the-di...hlight-my-fire/

Good article on Torchlight.

I can't help but still think the idea of turning this into an "MMO" is just not a good idea. At most it is going to have to be similar to Guild Wars and DDO where the only time you see people running around is in towns. Once you go into a "dungeon" the environment is personal.

Given the current top down perspective and the fast pace action I have a hard time seeing how more than 4 or 5 people can participate in the same dungeon. Lag issues were terrible with Diablo due to the fast pace requirement of ARPG games. Thats definitely another concern I have with this MMO plan. They may have to tone down the button mashing gameplay a little to take into account differences in lag.

[Pheee]

My mate owed me 15 quid, so instead gifted me the game on steam, so currently installing :D

[LOC Veteran]

I can't help but still think the idea of turning this into an "MMO" is just not a good idea. At most it is going to have to be similar to Guild Wars and DDO where the only time you see people running around is in towns. Once you go into a "dungeon" the environment is personal.

Given the current top down perspective and the fast pace action I have a hard time seeing how more than 4 or 5 people can participate in the same dungeon. Lag issues were terrible with Diablo due to the fast pace requirement of ARPG games. Thats definitely another concern I have with this MMO plan. They may have to tone down the button mashing gameplay a little to take into account differences in lag.

It worked fine in Mythos. With a party of 4 or 5 people it didn't lag at all, and you spammed skills like no tomorrow usually. I'm pretty sure it'll work fine in any MMO-ish expansion/sequel to Torchlight.

[nubs]

I put up some videos of my Alchemist on http://friendsoftorchlight.blogspot.com. I love him.

[(Spork)]

as an alch what suit should i look for :p i have gotten a few purple set drop

[Shadrack]

as an alch what suit should i look for :p i have gotten a few purple set drop

It would be hard to go after something specific. Just upgrade to whatever drops and looks better than you already have. I try to hold onto all the yellow and set piece items that drop no matter what class they are for. Even really good purples that drop and are less than level 10 are good to hold onto for new characters.

When you get to the end of the main story line, I think there is an option to retire your character. When you retire your character you turn the character into a set piece item or a yellow item that another character can use.

So, your newer characters will always have a better selection of gear to choose from as long as you save it.

It worked fine in Mythos. With a party of 4 or 5 people it didn't lag at all, and you spammed skills like no tomorrow usually. I'm pretty sure it'll work fine in any MMO-ish expansion/sequel to Torchlight.

MMO-ish. Basically just using towns to serve as the "lobby" for finding things to do. Gameplay wise, you are never playing with more than a few people.

So with Battlenet and other "lobby" based multiplayer services, it is just a multiplayer game that works over the internet. But if you do the exact same thing in a 3d town, wow...well now we are talking about a MMO. [/sarcasm]

I think they should have put some basic multiplayer into this one and *gasp* release a sequel next year with new and improved features (multiplayer and otherwise).

We will have to wait and see what features the Torchlight MMO. From looking at some of the threads on the forum, they are going to try and make money similar to DDO. Selling in-game content and items ala-cart. If they do I'll be sorely disappointed and will most likely pass.

[D.J.P]

I downloaded Torchlight off of Steam yesterday, and it captivated me for the rest of the evening. Awesome Diablo clone. And by clone I do mean CLONE. It is almost as if the developers were sitting around and said "Diablo was popular, so is WoW... if only we can release something that combines the two and comes out before Diablo 3."

Well, here we are with Torchlight.

Even the scrolls of town portal and identify are reminiscent of the Diablo series.

Anyway, if you are looking for a new one this one is really good. And the price isn't bad at all. I got it off of Steam for $18.

Looks interesting. Downloading demo now to try.

For the poster that asked for a download link (non steam) and anyone else:

http://games.softpedia.com/get/Games-Demo/Torchlight.shtml

[LOC Veteran]

I really wish that patch was out so I can actually use the console with the Steam version.

I downloaded this awesome weapon mod that I'd really like to use, but I can't because of the no-console bug with the Steam version :(

[(Spork)]

It would be hard to go after something specific. Just upgrade to whatever drops and looks better than you already have. I try to hold onto all the yellow and set piece items that drop no matter what class they are for. Even really good purples that drop and are less than level 10 are good to hold onto for new characters.

When you get to the end of the main story line, I think there is an option to retire your character. When you retire your character you turn the character into a set piece item or a yellow item that another character can use.

So, your newer characters will always have a better selection of gear to choose from as long as you save it.

MMO-ish. Basically just using towns to serve as the "lobby" for finding things to do. Gameplay wise, you are never playing with more than a few people.

So with Battlenet and other "lobby" based multiplayer services, it is just a multiplayer game that works over the internet. But if you do the exact same thing in a 3d town, wow...well now we are talking about a MMO. [/sarcasm]

I think they should have put some basic multiplayer into this one and *gasp* release a sequel next year with new and improved features (multiplayer and otherwise).

We will have to wait and see what features the Torchlight MMO. From looking at some of the threads on the forum, they are going to try and make money similar to DDO. Selling in-game content and items ala-cart. If they do I'll be sorely disappointed and will most likely pass.

great info thx !

im lvl 12 and still loving it :D

[nubs]

If anyone is interested here is my build with my skills, gear, and stats:

[(Spork)]

nice ilike the shield and sword im packing 2 swords atm :D

[Shadrack]

I've been playing on "Very Hard" difficulty on my Alchemist. Got to level 15. I've played to level 30 on my Vanquisher on Normal difficulty. Here are some observations (please discuss, and disagree away):

1. Diversification is not very helpful. The game presents scenarios that require you to be proficient at: single target dps, AOE DPS, knocking mobs back away from you (or slow them down), and evasion (run away). Those are the basics. Spend your skill points so you are uber in these areas, and try not to overlap skills.

2. If you are not sure what to put your skill points in, or the skill you want hasn't unlocked yet, dump your points in Adventurer. The manual recommends putting points in Adventurer which not only increases the speed in-which you level, but also increases the rate you increase in fame. Since fame increases give you skill points, points in Adventurer will pay for themself if you put points into it early.

3. Focus your attribute points to your class attribute. Be especially careful not to put points into an attribute that is not your class' (say, strength for an alchemist) for gear ESPECIALLY early on (trust me, you will replace the item). The items you really want require high class attribute points, not some other class attribute. You do not want to maintain the attribute ratios you start with. You want to focus on one, and spend just enough on the others to get you by. Every class will need to spend some points in defense, but killing things before they hit you (or knocking them back, slowing them down, or running away) is the best kind of defense.

4. Save the good stuff that drops. Transmute 2 of the same kind of gem to make a better gem (and also reduce the amount of space in your inventory). Save set piece items (violet) and unique items (gold) especially. It is probably better to reclaim your gems from the green and blue pieces as oppose to selling them. Remember, those gems can be made into better gems.

5. Don't enchant gold and set piece items in town. There is a higher risk of disenchanting all the bonuses off the item in town than at enchantment shrines. Save those pieces for enchantment shrines. Don't waist enchantment shrines, they are rare.

6. There doesn't seem to be any difference in drop rate on the higher difficulty settings. I'm half-tempted to collect what ever +Magic Find gear I can, and start a toon in easy mode just to run through and get drops.

Very Hard was, well, very hard, until my alchemist got to level 9 and I could equip 2 badass set-piece wands I found on my vanquisher. Once I was cutting through the mobs like butter it was a lot easier. The life span of those wands is almost up at level 15... Once it starts take more than 4 shots to kill a mob they are already in melee range of me, wacking me.

[nubs]

That's basically what I did. Kept my stats in two places only: Defense and Magic. You'll notice that my skills are distributed sparsely and the majority of my skills are damage based with1 that is purely for defensive purposes. My character is in normal difficulty. I died probably 3-5 times against the final boss so I think my build is pretty good with some pretty good gear to support it.

[(Spork)]

so any word on when the update will be released

[Buio]

so any word on when the update will be released

During the Friday (well it's Friday here).

[Buio]

Now updated on their forums, here is official thread;

http://forums.runicgames.com/viewtopic.php?f=24&t=2030

I'm going to now use this to keep you updated on the status of each vendor's patch, and when it is released -

NOTES ON THE PATCH! PLEASE READ!

SUPER-IMPORTANT! YOU MUST USE A PATCH FROM THE VENDOR YOU PURCHASED FROM! Each vendor has their own DRM solution, and none are compatible. If you purchased from Steam, you'll need the Steam patch , and so on.

This if a FULL REINSTALL. The packaged files for the patch changed entirely to improve loading times, so a full reinstall is necessary.

If you are patching, you'll need to uninstall your previous version.

BACK UP YOUR SAVE GAMES! Your uninstaller may ask you if you want to delete your save games. Make sure that it is UN CHECKED!

If you want to be extra safe, you can manually back up your saves - I'd recommend this. Better safe than sorry!

Start->run

%appdata% and press return

Then browse to Runic Games\Torchlight\Save - and back up all the files there.

PATCH STATUS

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

RUNIC GAMES - now available! http://www.torchlightgame.com/download

PERFECT WORLD - completed - download pending testing at Perfect World ( will post link here when available )

STEAM - Steam testing tomorrow (11/06), build ready.

DIRECT2DRIVE - Build handed off to vendor

GAMERSGATE - Build handed off to vendor

WILDTANGENT - Build handed off to vendor

GAMEWARE.AT - Build handed off to vendor

ENCORE - Build handed off to vendor

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Torchlight 1.12 Patch Notes -

* Fixed several issues which could overwrite saves, and protected against possible save loss. Save backups are now also generated.

* Much reduced load times for many users

* Some minor ingame performance improvements

* Fixed Needle Arc XP exploit

* Fixed Shadow Armor stacking effects

* Fixed vendor dupe bug

* Fixed various fullscreen startup issues

* Fixed broken Brink cinematic on subsequent plays

* Fixed merchant 'thief' exploit

* Fixed right clicking in inventory casting certain spells

* Fixed console not activating on Steam builds - this also fixes the fact that subsequent characters didn't see the random dungeon unlock after the first completion

* Fixed issue with Syl's cinematic not being "skippable" during first boss fight

* Fixed some DOT deaths not dropping loot

* Quest items no longer allowed in stash

* Several level fixes for a few places where things overlapped, or collision was missing, or stuck-issues cropped up

* Fixed texture/mesh/ replacement issues with mods

* You can now change difficulty level on the fly from the console without being branded a Cheater ( UNLESS you're playing hardcore )

* Fixed pet minions not awarding fame

* Fixed slow load times when mods were enabled

* Pets inherit your spell masteries

* Magic find takes the max value between you and your pet when pets or pet minions make a kill

* Visible/increasing chance of stripping enchants via enchanter. Price based on # of enchants. Variables tunable in globals.dat

* Troll pet is properly invincible

* Tree Boss could be charmed - fixed

* Fixed issue - Returning to town if you died during Ember Colossus or Medea would make them dormant on return

* weapon + shield doesn't count as 'dual wielding'

* Shimmering Scale ( and 2 other socketables ) now work properly when socketed

* Ember lance slight nerf

* Ember lightning slight buff

* Aloe Gel summon provides better healing

* Equippables properly provide bonuses to passive skills

* Fixed display issue where multiple skill bonuses on the same item would collapse into a single display

* Hardware skinning settings respected properly for pet paperdolls

* Fix for potential bad state in the henchman battle

* Enchantments at level 100 now work

* Relabeled difficulty levels, and added tooltips explaining each

* Fixed 'free spell purchase' exploit

* Socketables cannot be heirloomed

* Fix for masteries not updating certain spell bonuses until logout/login

* Summon Blood Skeleton has 11 levels now

* Various small grammar and spelling fixes

* ADDITION : Rimlights, HW Skinning, and VSynch can all be altered from the Settings menu now.

* MODDERS: Items can be set to 'always identified'

[+.Vamp Subscriber²]

I wonder how that'll work with Steam, as it usually just patches automatically without giving you an installer window. I think I'll backup the savegame before loading steam this evening just to be safe :D

[neodorian]

Crap...I was going to wait until I finished Borderlands to start this one.

Then my girlfriend took over the TV for a few hours tonight and all I had was my laptop which is incapable of running Borderlands. I installed Torchlight and before I knew it the time was past 2am.

On one hand I'm glad for all the looting games out at the moment but damn if they aren't time sinks :/

This game is just like Diablo with Warcraft 3 graphics. Even the town music sounds like Diablo.

[+.Vamp Subscriber²]

I'm playing both atm. Mostly Borderlands (love that game!) but I play some TL whenever my friends aren't online to play Borders with (playing 3 person coop). So I'm taking it slow and steady, but enjoying each little bit that i play.

[LOC Veteran]

I just hope the fix for the console is in the Steam patch...

[(Spork)]

Now updated on their forums, here is official thread;

http://forums.runicgames.com/viewtopic.php?f=24&t=2030

saved games are stored where for the steam version ?

[(Spork)]

i launched steam but got no update is it there yet for others ?

[nubs]

What about the Modding tools?

[Neoauld]

its good to see that runic is doing well, goes to show that smaller cheaper releases do work

i look forward to trying their mmo