Any Magicka Fans Around?

[Ehtyar]

Hi all,

Not sure if there are many gamers on DC that would be into Magicka, but I thought I should ask anyway.

For those not familiar, it's a satirical action-adventure game set in a rich fantasy world based on Norse mythology. The player assumes the role of a wizard from a sacred order tasked with stopping an evil sorcerer who has thrown the world into turmoil, his foul creations besieging the forces of good (from Steam). Trailer here. It's written in XNA (.NET) so Windows only except for those brave enough to try running on Wine.

If anyone's interested in duel or co-op, hit me up on the IRC channel (I'm available on the weekends, .AU time)

Ehtyar.

[Deozaan]

I bought it on sale months ago but haven't played it yet. I was waiting for the time when I could play it cooperatively with friends. Also, it didn't run very well on my computer. But I think it should run fine on this PC. I'd be glad to play sometime!

[Ehtyar]

Cool! Apparently it launched with a sh!tload of bugs, but is much more stable now. I can also offer a US or AU based mumble server for those who'd like to chat

Ehtyar.

[Ehtyar]

I should also mention that you're gonna want a few hours of solo play under your belt to get the hang of casting and pick up some of the more elementary magicks. Generally speaking, the more powerful spells involve more (or more complex arrangements of) the elements, so if you wanna dive into co-op or duel as quick as possible looking a few up online might not be a bad idea.

Ehtyar.

[Deozaan]

Apparently it launched with a sh!tload of bugs, but is much more stable now.

Yeah, I played the demo on or near launch day and it was pretty bad. But the PC I had then was also showing its age. That was a bad combination.

I should also mention that you're gonna want a few hours of solo play under your belt to get the hang of casting and pick up some of the more elementary magicks. Generally speaking, the more powerful spells involve more (or more complex arrangements of) the elements, so if you wanna dive into co-op or duel as quick as possible looking a few up online might not be a bad idea.

A few hours? I had the idea of just playing through the campaign from the beginning (as a noob) cooperatively with someone else. Is that not a good idea?

[wraith808]

I bought it on sale months ago but haven't played it yet.

Same here.

[Ehtyar]

I should also mention that you're gonna want a few hours of solo play under your belt to get the hang of casting and pick up some of the more elementary magicks. Generally speaking, the more powerful spells involve more (or more complex arrangements of) the elements, so if you wanna dive into co-op or duel as quick as possible looking a few up online might not be a bad idea.

A few hours? I had the idea of just playing through the campaign from the beginning (as a noob) cooperatively with someone else. Is that not a good idea?

Well I'd expect you'd have trouble contributing to gameplay. As with any game, experience makes a better player, so the experienced player would likely end up walking the noob through the levels. If both players were noobs, it wouldn't be a problem though.

Ehtyar.

[fenixproductions]

Bought some time ago and tried to play online with few people:
- was bugged as hell - dunno how does it work now,
- multiplayer was not fun for me at all - too many things on the screen for such low resolution.

[Ehtyar]

- was bugged as hell - dunno how does it work now,

As mentioned previously, this was resolved fairly early on. Apparently Steam released the game prior to completion.

- multiplayer was not fun for me at all - too many things on the screen for such low resolution.

Not sure what you mean by this.

Ehtyar.

[fenixproductions]

- was bugged as hell - dunno how does it work now,

As mentioned previously, this was resolved fairly early on. Apparently Steam released the game prior to completion.

I do not consider it "early" if there is DLC already.

- multiplayer was not fun for me at all - too many things on the screen for such low resolution.

Not sure what you mean by this.

For games I often look on the hero/environment size ratio. Magicka heroes are too big for my taste*. With dozen enemies and two co-players there is too much going on the screen. In such scenario there is no place for spells combining (which is great though) and I had to end up with random keys bashing, hoping not to kill by comrades or throw them out of the screen.

*) I've always though that better resolutions and bigger screens were meant to show more usable/workable space - NOT bigger icons, toolbars... heroes.

[Carol Haynes]

I bought it on sale at steam and started working my way through solo play. Not sure why I stopped but I forgot all about it - maybe that says something.

A revisit might be needed!

[Deozaan]

Has anyone played the game with trying both keyboard/mouse and game controller? If so, which do you prefer?

[lanux128]

Magicka free weekend!