RPGWatch Feature - Dust to the End Review
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I bought the game thinking it would be more of an rpg and was very surprised that the heart of it was a trading game.
The Port Royale series had an entry as late as 2020.
Kordanor
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If you think of it...Burntime is also kind of a trading game...
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Never heard of that one up until now.
Kordanor
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Oh...but you are from Austria! You got to know that one 
It's by an Austrian Company and I think it's relatively well known by German Speaking players from the early 90s.
There are also a couple of games which tried to imitate the game. Max Design also later started the Anno Series.
And for the lolz, here is a photo of my bedroom as teenager (2001) featuring a Burntime poster (which was included in the PC/Amiga Joker)
It's by an Austrian Company and I think it's relatively well known by German Speaking players from the early 90s.
There are also a couple of games which tried to imitate the game. Max Design also later started the Anno Series.
And for the lolz, here is a photo of my bedroom as teenager (2001) featuring a Burntime poster (which was included in the PC/Amiga Joker)
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At the time it was made I was living in the U.S., so I missed that one . I do have to say it has a cool cover, though. It also sounds like an extremely unique concept, leading a highly advanced civilization through an apocalypse and trying to survive.
. I do have to say it has a cool cover, though. It also sounds like an extremely unique concept, leading a highly advanced civilization through an apocalypse and trying to survive.
Kordanor
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Sorry, didn't want to hijack the thread.
I am not sure where you got the highly civilized situation from.
In Burntime you play a single dude, and have a network of nodes:
Like
A goes to B and C, B goes to B1, B2, C goes to C1,C2 and so on (and they are interconnected).
Your goal is to explore the zones and establish a network you can travel on. Because A->B might need 5 Food. If you have no food left, and can't kill any dogs in B (to eat) and can't resupply, you will die.
So what you do is to establish ways to automatically create food in these sectors, e.g. by building traps. I think you also had to hire people to do that.
So for example if you leave a knife there. He will carve out some nice maggots for you to eat next time you visit. That way you can then travel further and explore the land.
I am not sure where you got the highly civilized situation from.
In Burntime you play a single dude, and have a network of nodes:
Like
A goes to B and C, B goes to B1, B2, C goes to C1,C2 and so on (and they are interconnected).
Your goal is to explore the zones and establish a network you can travel on. Because A->B might need 5 Food. If you have no food left, and can't kill any dogs in B (to eat) and can't resupply, you will die.
So what you do is to establish ways to automatically create food in these sectors, e.g. by building traps. I think you also had to hire people to do that.
So for example if you leave a knife there. He will carve out some nice maggots for you to eat next time you visit. That way you can then travel further and explore the land.
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I got it from the English Wikipedia, which I guess doesn't describe the game well.
en.wikipedia.org
Burntime - Wikipedia
Kordanor
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yeah, bit misleading. Indeed it starts at the end of a flourishing situation: Basically like our world going to sh*t.
It actually features a massive "educational" manual, which describes tons of ways we are currently destroying the earth, creating such a future.
It actually features a massive "educational" manual, which describes tons of ways we are currently destroying the earth, creating such a future.
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I remember this game when it was first announced but lost interest. Glad to see it was released and at least sold enough copies to get more content and updates.
It's on sale right now for $7 so it's a good time to buy it.
It's on sale right now for $7 so it's a good time to buy it.
How much time do you spend on the trading vs exploration and combat? Also, how long was the game overall?
Shattermind
Apocalypse Within
I bought this a couple years ago and haven't played it yet (not even on a sale this time). I guess I was waiting for patches/updates then forgot about it. One of these days I'll have to give it a whirl.
I played the game about 35+ hours and reached the quickest ending. I would guess about 33% of that time was trading. If you want to add all economic activities, like building/managing bases, managing guild activity et, it goes up to 40+%, I would guess about 25% is combat. The other 30% would be exploration, gambling, character management, crafting, reading texts, inventory management et. That's just a gut feeling, as most of these activities bleed into each other, making concrete estimates difficult. There is often combat when you explore, clear bunkers, and trade. When you initially explore, you will also probably trade.
Did the same. I was a little bit disappointed to be honest.
Also, great review! Thanks!
lackblogger
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I suspected this would be something Splattercat Gaming would have tried out & I was right. Not only did he do a Look At video a couple of years back, but also a 20-odd hour playthrough. He does like his trading simulators.
The interface seems very similar to Battle Brothers if you remove the Brothers and replace them with a couple of scavengers and then convert the tactical grid combat into standard cross screen combat.
What bugs me about these kinds of games, and most RPGs, is that coins seem to be ethereal.
So much effort and thought goes into getting the food thing working, making sure the being has to drink, that they carry only a human amount of equipment and tradable goods - but money is unlimited.
A couple of lanky dudes lugging around 4,500 'coins' after just a couple of tutorial missions. Even a relatively small coin, such as the old Groat, would mean that 4,500 'coins' would mean they are carrying 26kg of coins around the desert. And the guys are supposed to have a carry limit of 52kg.
It's a case of "we wanna play in a coin-world, but we're still gonna pretend everyone is using digital currency, because that's just how we roll now".
The interface seems very similar to Battle Brothers if you remove the Brothers and replace them with a couple of scavengers and then convert the tactical grid combat into standard cross screen combat.
What bugs me about these kinds of games, and most RPGs, is that coins seem to be ethereal.
So much effort and thought goes into getting the food thing working, making sure the being has to drink, that they carry only a human amount of equipment and tradable goods - but money is unlimited.
A couple of lanky dudes lugging around 4,500 'coins' after just a couple of tutorial missions. Even a relatively small coin, such as the old Groat, would mean that 4,500 'coins' would mean they are carrying 26kg of coins around the desert. And the guys are supposed to have a carry limit of 52kg.
It's a case of "we wanna play in a coin-world, but we're still gonna pretend everyone is using digital currency, because that's just how we roll now".
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