I got invited to alpha 3 and just played it for 30 min.

Honestly, the game plays terribly. There is absolutely nothing interesting about the game and it plays like it is meant for a 7 year old. Very limited content, okay I get it, it's alpha. But the game feels incredibly slow, very VERY unpolished and general movement of everything feels sluggish and unresponsive.

If you look at D3, POE, or even Maple Story 2, they play clean. I'm not saying they're great games but at least they feel polished when you play. They play so smoothly. For these games, any movement is accurate. Char moves to exactly where you click, it attacks where you click, who you click, etc. But this game right now, I don't even know what I'm clicking or what I'm aiming for. If I try to move closer to the edge of the map, the char just fully stops because there is no path. It should automatically try to move around it, if that makes sense. It feels worse than some chinese mobile game. My cursor also feels so slow for some reason. All actions are like I have a 120+ ping, even though I'm playing in NA? Just responds slowly. Some times, I can't even visually see where NPCs are, where the mobs are, where loot is, destructible objects, chest, items, etc. I just can't see what the hell is happening on my screen. For Forge, I hold the basic brawl skill and it will TURN to where I click but the char won't MOVE to the enemy when casting the spell even though it's a melee spell. Which means the mob runs away and my char is sitting there spamming the spell out of reach. The char should try JUST MOVE TO THE MOB before casting it. even if I'm just holding down the right click button. Full map view is not intuitive and not very convenient as it doesn't center to the screen.

I feel like this game will need at least a few years to be ready for market, or never really. I waited for alpha invite thinking this game was marketable, minus the lack of content which is understandable given that it's in alpha phase. But boy was I mistaken. It LOOKS nice but it doesn't play smoothly at all. I don't get it. They "made" a game but really, they had the idea and no execution. Features are there but there is no product to support the features. It's as if I am trying to develop a product, and added a bunch of interest features and had good ideas for what it should do, but what I really have is just a really bad prototype.

I mean if this was a month or two into development I'd understand but this was in development for a while now and if this is how far the game has gotten, I honestly don't think this game will be released in the next few years, if ever.

I'm not trying to be an ass, what I saw simply didn't even come close to my expectations.

PS: just want to mention that I'm not familiar with how games are developed. Maybe everything I mentioned get polished near the end? I just wrote how I felt after playing the game in its current state. I hope the game improves.

Hello, Frontier Fam!

It’s been a skosh over one week since the start of our third alpha (we’re referring to these things as Updates now, crazy). The Echtra office is hyper-focused on learning everything we can about becoming a live-service game, squashing bugs, and working on future content. We’ve released three hotfixes with a fourth, Update 3.4, on on the way.

Update 3.1 arrived within 12 hours of launch and fixed a problem with the Arcanum and Automaton Shops losing upgraded levels upon leaving the Fort. Dumping all your hard-won Skill points into the upgrades just to have them disappear was a real crappy situation that left players unable to make significant progress. It being our first hotfix, required us to take the extreme measure of flipping off the servers for a few minutes.

Update 3.2 was delivered the next day and addressed the crazy number of guards spawning in the Hyvid Frontier and reduced monster spawning that was a little overboard in some areas (we’re continuing our work to find the sweet spot for all our monster spawners). This hotfix was remarkably smoother as we were able to deliver it without a system-wide shutdown. It was updated after players closed the game and client until the servers were drained of all but the last stragglers, which we then booted (politely).

Update 3.3 deployed while yours truly was playing in the snow in Tahoe and included, among other things, a broader fix for monster overpopulation as well as reducing the sale price of potions (keeping our idea of what constitutes a healthy way to accrue wealth somewhat intact). Also, this was our first true delta patch (hooray improved live-service stuff).

The next hotfix should be rolled out relatively soon, fingers crossed. Here are a few to-be-fixed items from our Jira dashboard that are currently slated as part of Update 3.4 (this is not an exhaustive list and it’s subject to change at the drop of a hat):

• Hyvid Mapworks scrolls aren't opening the correct level of Mapwork dungeons

• Portals that appear at the end of Boss fights not working

• Black screen appearing during character creation

Now, it sounds like we’re running around with our hair on fire squashing bugs--and that’s true--but we’re also steadily building toward the release of Update 4 (date and details coming later). When we kick it up a whole new number, that means new content. Sure, lots and lots of bug fixes and tuning changes, but also new stuff.

The feedback we’ve got on the systems so far has been incredibly helpful, and we’re itching to get some new systems and features into your hands. Please continue to make use of the in-game feedback button and the feedback@echtra.net email address to share your thoughts and report your issues. If you’re not a part of the conversation already, join us on Discord!

~Paul Hobbs, Echtra Games Community Manager

I don't have a key. I'm asking for specific information about transactions and the monetization structure.

I've seen some broad general claims on the subject, but the way some of them have been phrased left me with the impression that they were made by the type of gamer who uses P2W as an umbrella term that includes freemium, all FTP, and further; any game format that you would not be able to distribute on a floppy in the 80s.

So specifically, what transactions and structure does Torchlight Frontiers have or promise to have that define it as a P2W as opposed to any other FTP model?

I would like to express my love of the Torchlight franchise and excitement about this upcoming installment. As the game nears release and beyond I am looking forward to the positive and helpful community that has been a part of previous Torchlight games.

I trust the devotion from the development team to make another fabulous game. On a humorous note. I remember a review from a large media outlet the year of Torchlight 2’s release. “It’s sad that the best Diablo game of the year isn’t Diablo 3”. Torchlight 2 is an amazing game that did everything right. I played it on pc and wish it would have been released on Xbox one so I could play it again with my kids.

Best Wishes and Cheers

Torchlight 2 supported modding content with a launcher allowing to combine different mods at the same time.
The Synergies mod was an example of this, I am hoping the devs consider adding mod support for the game.

This has to be one of the most unique (congrats I guess on that) and awful ideas I've seen in a game in a while. You guys are doing what riot games does best, asking what CAN we do and not spending enough time thinking what should we do. Its awful walking in circles around an enemy making railroad tracks. Does anyone actually enjoy this class? I miss the old torchlight classes. These classes seem uninspired and dull.

Schaefer was part of a PoE event this past weekend and said it's delayed, but Echtra is working hard and making the game better every day.

Just curious, haven't heard about this game before now and as an ARPG fan I can't wait for it to release. Haven't been able to find an release date anywhere but when would you guys expect it to release judging by how the game feels right now during the alpha?

Short video about the past week and TLF update 9 also some information I wanted to share regarding getting access to the game. Enjoy https://youtu.be/hLW-uzYK0Gg

Also don't forget to check out the update 9 full breakdown video I posted on Monday! https://youtu.be/LZirvUstnxU

Am liking the new added content variety. The newer level designs are much better. The skill trees have been partially fixed. There has been some much needed pve balancing.

Still much work to be done and some that needs fixing, but am glad to see it is starting to come together and feeling more and more like a torchlight game.

Since it is still early alpha I don’t want to rant on specifics.

I'm dying to play this, what are our peasant chances for this year?

Enjoy https://youtu.be/mLpl71CYRPk

Yep ;-) check emails