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RSS FeedsRunic Games Posts Status Update for Torchlight II - Still No Release Date
Category: GamingPosted: July 18, 2012 09:17PM
Author: bp9801
There are some games that have a release date set from the beginning and then others that have a general release window. Of course there are a select few that have a "when it's done" approach, but we are not talking about those titles. No, the game we are talking about is Runic Games' upcoming Torchlight II, which so far still has a vague "Summer 2012" release. Yesterday a developer at Runic posted an update concerning the progress of Torchlight II, but the team is still keeping quiet on when exactly we will be able to experience the sequel. Runic set to work on implementing changes from last month's beta, which dealt with everything from redoing the skill "tree," respecs, joining games, and plenty more.
The big change was with the skill "trees," and yes that is "trees" because how Torchlight II handles the skills is pretty different from other action-RPGs. Skills are still available for investment by level, but they no longer unlock by a set position on the tree. This allows Runic to place the skills where it wants, and also means your character gets a specific bonus at every five point mark on the tier. Skills are also now queueable and can be bound to the Function keys for easier access. Inventory sorting has been added, uniques have been made more unique, and a ton of other improvements were made from beta feedback.
Runic made all these changes to the game, but the team still needed to polish the entire thing before it can launch. Two of the simpler polish aspects involve adding a "retool" checkbox that allows you to repopulate the game world and getting a relay server set up to let players know the issue if there is a connection problem. Runic also wants to fix an issue where two players lose connection to each other but not the rest of the people in a server. Then there comes the polishing of the game's Acts.
Polishing the Acts takes the longest time as everything has to work properly. All four Acts in Torchlight II are finished, but polishing involves making sure the monsters are fun to fight, the groupings work, and there are no balance issues present. There is no saying just how long the polishing can take, but Act 2 is about 3/5 of the way done if that gives you any idea.
You can read the full blog post to get a better idea of just what is being done on Torchlight II, but suffice to say the team will try to get weekly updates posted on the progress. Runic is working on the game to get it in our hands as soon as possible, and I am sure no one will mind the team getting everything perfect.
