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I plan to play the heck out of this game and most likely end up blowing up my friends a lot on accident. Anyone else trying it out? There's a demo up on Steam now to try it out but it doesn't have multiplayer.

I'm playing the heck out of it. I summon tree spirits and then accidentally freeze them, thaw them, and then set them on fire.

I also have an M80. Accidentally killed a villager while testing it out.

I've bought it. I thought I was stuck on chapter 3, but I learned a few things that helped me get through. I still think the game isn't balanced properly for single player. The tactics necessary aren't nearly as fun as what's possible with even two players.

Allen and I are going to be playing tonight, starting at about 6pm PST / 8pm Central.

Some of the most useful stuff I've learned:

How to use staff powers (the game should spell this out): middle-click with no elements summoned.

How to enchant your sword: summon an element, then Shift + Left-click. There are some interesting things that can be done, and I need to explore more of them. I really wish it lasted more than one sword swing.

Personal shield is a must, but heal yourself before putting it up. All heals just recharge the shield and won't up your health if it's up.

Area effect shield can be abused. It may be the only way to get by certain areas in single player, but it's not a very fun way to play the game. It won't save you from Meteor Storm, though.

I know how to behead MacLeod. There can be only one!

Watching X's Let's Play of the game showed me where to get the Master Sword in the second chapter.


Some more advanced stuff is spoilered:


Added at: 14:22
Actually, I just realized that my schedule changed today, so I can now play this afternoon if anyone is interested.

I haven't really touched area effect shield. What I abuse is area effect arcane. It's quick and does good damage. Pair it up with another element for some good fun.

Arcane + Fire = 550 damage with a d.o.t.
Arcane + Cold = 425 damage and slows down enemies. This is how I got past chapter 3.

One thing you can do is do is the mixed arcane area, then follow it up quickly with an arcane area effect. It's decent, very quick damage.

Dudes, get this. HF Multiplayer needs to happen.

Yes, all four slots filled with Halforumites, and all chatting on Ventrillo while we play.

With multiplayer, you really don't have to spam as much as in single player, and it's just a ton of fun.

Especially when you repeatedly set up heal mines under people's feet to send them flying.

And when you do the Time Warp again.

Ha, this comic captures the awesome that is Magicka:


Nerf Now #458

I think our plans mostly involved one person firing a laser and another person crossing the streams correctly for more damage or crossing the streams incorrectly to cause an explosion.

I love how they made the white mage.

Allen who is Quiet said:

I think our plans mostly involved one person firing a laser and another person crossing the streams correctly for more damage or crossing the streams incorrectly to cause an explosion.

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I don't think it was nearly as coordinated as that. Voice chat should help. Typing would take to long to ask what type of beam someone's using that keeps exploding with my beam. (I tend to use Lightning + Arcane + Fire, I'm guessing I was clashing with someone who likes Ice beams)


Speaking of strategy, I'm learning that sword magic is useful. From now on I plan to keep my sword enchanted and ready for a quick attack. I think my preferred one will Ice + Shield because that's pretty good at slowing enemies.

I liked doing the Cold beam.

If I wasn't using the M60 throughout, I probably would have kept my sword enchanted.

Heh, shield + arcane enchanted on your sword drops the mines in a line in front of you. Not sure of the utility, but it's something

I'm surprised that I've had good luck with pick-up games. Twice now I've ended up with another partner who was both a decent player and stuck around long enough to finish a couple levels. Granted, when I started today it was with a full game of four people, and two dropped out halfway through the level, but the last guy who stayed was really good at the game and we finished levels 4, 5 and 6. It was pretty awesome. I'm really looking forward to a Halforums game, though.

How to beat the Chapter 1 boss quickly:

At the end of level one, hit Ygg with water somehow. I like Water + Arcane to get him from far away. Then hit him with Cold. He'll have moved closer so I'd say you can spray, but if you want to mix it with Arcane to make a laser, you can. Then charge up 2-3 Rocks. He should die in one shot.

Okay, today was more like what I'd expect a pick-up game to be like. One guy kept TK-ing using Ice based spells. Another kept using area effect water and knocking us off of platforms.

It wasn't a total disaster, though. We had to restart a few times, but we did make it through three levels with all four players. Voice chat would have helped immensely.

I'm hoping it goes on sale soon so there can be more HF people playing

After playing the demo....sadly, not for left handed gamers. I cannot understand in this day and age how game developers haven't gotten through that hurtle yet. Remapping controls should be game dev 101 for PC gamers. I could however see how much fun MP can be, especially if deaths aren't going to force me to endure 3-4 combats over and over again.

You can remap keys in the full version. I think it wasn't added till a patch, so it's not in the demo?

Just checked. You can remap in the full version.

Mmm.... the demo should be updated. I mean, it's a source where people can check the product... if it wasn't for these answers, I would have turned my back to the game.

Personally I like the teamwork of water beam and then cold beam. Not as damaging, but the enemy can't move when it's frozen solid.
Added at: 19:42
Speaking of teamwork, who is up for playing with Allen and I tonight? We should be getting started in about 20 minutes or so. We'll be using Ventrillo to voice chat during the game.

Jay said:

After playing the demo....sadly, not for left handed gamers. I cannot understand in this day and age how game developers haven't gotten through that hurtle yet. Remapping controls should be game dev 101 for PC gamers. I could however see how much fun MP can be, especially if deaths aren't going to force me to endure 3-4 combats over and over again.

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Programming for left handed gamers is like programming for macs. You could do it for an extra 10% market share but....:effort:

That's an intensely retarded statement.

It's called being fucken able to program your games competently enough so that gamers can map the controls to their gaming leisure. If your gamers can't play your games in comfort then you failed at delivering your product. Programming for Macs is an entire different platform.

Magicka devs will do well to update their demo to incorporate these updates. Even with word of mouth from people confirming me other STILL makes me apprehensive in buying their product. I'll have to let it mellow in my brain a few days, maybe a big sale will change my mind. Demos should have solid builds to attract new customers.

Allen and I seem to be cursed when it comes to Chapter 6. We keep getting crashes on the last boss. I've managed to finish the chapter multi-player in my own game, but with Allen it's crashed twice on us there. We gave up and started a new game, and were totally kicking ass.

Also, I really like Lightning Bolt.

Jay said:

That's an intensely retarded statement.

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Retarded? I'm not the one who's left handed bro.

Just messing with you. My dad is left handed and plays flight simulators. Try finding a left handed force feedback joystick/throttle combo. Now that's fun.

Edit: Actually you got me thinking about other games that don't have remaps or limited remaps. The one that surprised me/irritated me the most was Fallout 3. That game had the worst remap options.

Dead Space 1 was the worst by far. I had to install GlovePie and remap the entire keyboard. It was a bitch to setup.

But I got it working.... and EA didn't get a cent from me because of this.

Looks like Magicka announced it's first DLC. I was worried all they'd have would be new challenge arenas. This looks like it might be campaign levels.

That's all you have to say? "Oh ho hum, campaign levels etc." They just took Magicka and put it in the Vietnam War! That's crazy!

I'm calling it now: next DLC? SPACE.

Lazer swords and bat'leth... that would go very well with Magicka.

AshburnerX said:

I'm calling it now: next DLC? SPACE.

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Nononononono... Magicka In Tha Hood.

Overflight said:

Nononononono... Magicka In Tha Hood.

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Don't be a Magical Menace to South Central while Drinking Your Mana Potion in da Hood?

God damn it. I do NOT need another fucking game to play! I have so many games & so little time!

You can play this one online for 2 hours a week and be satisfied. It isn't designed to be a huge timesink.

This made me realize we need Magicka: Ninja Scroll

Ok, I'm downloading this as we speak. How do I find you guys to play with? I'm guessing steam friends? I... I have to admit I've never used steam before >.>

My steam name is ravenpoe121

@Magickagame tweets:
Last wizard is about to leave San Fran and #gdc11 We're considering Magicka: Alcatraz now. Any other suggestions? #WeWillDoItIfItsGood

my reply: Magicka: the Space Opera, Magicka: Minecraft, ...Six Guns & Spurs, ...Dreamscape (inside a dream), ... Safari/Tropical/Outback

Ravenpoe said:

Ok, I'm downloading this as we speak. How do I find you guys to play with? I'm guessing steam friends? I... I have to admit I've never used steam before >.>

My steam name is ravenpoe121

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Go to the thread with all the steam usernames, and start adding people from the forums. Then be bold, choose a time when you want to play, and demand that people show up! I'd love a chance to play some more. The game doesn't have built-in voice chat, so make sure to get Ventrillo working if you're going to play with other Halforumites.

You could also just pull in random people by hosting a game and waiting for the slots to fill up. It's kind of a crap-shoot, but it sometimes works.

Okay. $10. I bought it. Liking it so far although I'm so used to the "WASD" movement for games I keep messing up my spells.

I'm hosting a game right now. Game name = Halforums. Password = dave.

Whenever I get on and host a game this will be the information. In addition, whenever I do this I'll hop on our Vent server.

Dave, you might want to be a bit more planned about your spontaneity. You can't join games in progress.

I had no idea.

Yeah, they don't tell you that bit.

It's a damn shame, too. Multiplayer is, IMO, a lot more fun than single player, but between the bugs and the limitations, it's kinda hard to get a good match going. Having players join mid-level would really improve things.

EDIT: It also needs a friends-only game option, so you can have a semi-private game without having to set a password.

Sorry about that, FP. RavenPoe and I were in a game. Of course, he LEFT ME HIGH AND DRY on chapter 6. He was just....gone. So he probably DCd and couldn't get back into the game.

I was surrounded trying in vain to Revive him....


Ask him how many time the fucker blew me up with Thunderbolt.

Yeah, RavenPoe and I had a pretty awesome game going yesterday, when his connection crapped out and disconnected us.

My connection didn't crap out with Dave. I told him several times that I was going to have to go soon. And then I left.

Hey may not have seen them, though, as we were both busy getting blown up a lot.

Also, Dave is my thunderbolt bitch

So, I've been experimenting with the spell system, and here are some tidbits I've discovered.
3x fire + earth + shield = a wall of volcanoes, which acts as a powerful barrier to hold enemies back and damages them to boot. Enchant this on your sword and do a sword strike to shoot them out in a straight line.

fire + water = steam element. You probably already figured this out in the first five minutes of gameplay. But steam can be loaded in your spellbar alongside lightning (normally lightning and water cancel each other out), which will allow you to cast wet lightning. Throw steam into your lightning beams to wet enemies while you blast them, causing them to take double damage from the lightning.

My favorite sword enchantment is 2x Ice + Shield + 2x Lightning (QRQREAA). It seems to damage pretty well, especially if enemies are wet. I need to play around with the different possibilities, though. A steam lightning wall might be more damaging, but possibly have a shorter duration.

I really don't use earth very much. I should practice using it more, especially for earth shields.

figmentPez said:

My favorite sword enchantment is 2x Ice + Shield + 2x Lightning (QRQREAA). It seems to damage pretty well, especially if enemies are wet. I need to play around with the different possibilities, though. A steam lightning wall might be more damaging, but possibly have a shorter duration.

I really don't use earth very much. I should practice using it more, especially for earth shields.

Click to expand...

Earth + water = are of effect water splash that knocks back. Earth + frost = area effect freeze on soaked targets, or chill on non soaked targets. Arcane does extra damage to frozen targets (I think) as do physical attacks, such as ice shards or earth boulders.

Also, frost and earth cast as an area effect won't do any damage, but will knock down and slow all enemies around you.

Okay, I checked and neither DDFFE nor FQFQEAA are replacing QRQREAA as my sword enchantment, and I'll tell you why. Stone Fire Shield lasts longer, but it's not very high damage. Steam Lightning Shield is high damage, but it's a very narrow area, despite the appearance. Ice Lightning Shield is a much broader attack, and does a fair amount of damage. I might switch it up to Ice Cold Lightning Shield, because that slows as well, but I'm not sure if I want to sacrifice Ice or Lightning to make room (I think Ice makes it last longer, Lightning does the damage.)

Ravenpoe said:

My connection didn't crap out with Dave. I told him several times that I was going to have to go soon. And then I left.

Hey may not have seen them, though, as we were both busy getting blown up a lot.

Also, Dave is my thunderbolt bitch

Click to expand...

Yeah, I didn't see where you said you were leaving. The chat function is pretty bad for that game. And some points are fucking impossible without a partner.

Figmentpez and I just discovered a way to make chapter six (where you fight all the spellcasters with grimnir watching) easy peasy lemon squeazy.

As soon as the level started, I died by falling off the floating island, which has to be the umpteenth time I've died by falling off the floating island. But two can play at that game, bitches. 5x water element = fire hose everyone over the edge.

We skipped through it at record pace... until I crashed to desktop right at the end.

Hey RavenPoe, you can buy that hat you're so envious of now. Only Gamers Gate has the Wizard's Survival Kit DLC for sale at the moment, but I'm betting it'll be on Steam and D2D soon (though I don't think it matters where you buy it, since you'll just get a code to unlock it on Steam anyway). It's $1, and not really worth it if you ask me. I never use Meteor Storm, while the staff and sword are all but indistinguishable from the default. If wearing a snazzy hat is worth $1 to you, go for it. It's a lot cheaper than TF2 hats.

Meteor Storm is great for killing your friends. Which is half the fun of the game!

Only half?

Allen who is Quiet said:

Only half?

Click to expand...

The other half is laughing at them for being dead...

Magicka got patched today

• Spell mines now play the detonation and deployment sounds correctly.
• Life based spell mines no longer knockbacks.
• Fixed a crash when changing language in certain situations.
• Volume levels are now set correctly on startup.
• Changing language now updates all message boxes.
• Fixed arcane/life barriers death explosion damage.
• Scene changes should be more stable for users who experience audiomanager crashes.
• Nullify will now remove vortices correctly.
• Fixed crash in Chapter 6 bossfight.
• Improved lightning effects in Chapter 9 (This should also improve performance and avoid crashes in the last scenes).
• Fixed vortex crash whenever npcs with ranged abilities were spawned (ie Chapter 10).

More much needed fixes.

figmentPez said:

• Life based spell mines no longer knockbacks.

Click to expand...

figmentPez said:

http://forums.steampowered.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1786711

• Fixed crash in Chapter 6 bossfight.

Click to expand...

I've got a saved game ready to get the "Stuff of legends" achievement ( Defeat Fafnir by striking him with Gram). I've carried the Gram sword from Ch 2 all the way to Ch 11, and all that's left is to fight through the level and one-shot Fafnir with it. Anyone want to get the achievement with me?

When?

Allen who is Quiet said:

When?

Click to expand...

I'm fairly flexible.

Magicka Vietnam preview

Magicka: Vietnam was released today


Who wants to play with me?

Magicka's next DLC is going to be Caves and Marshlands. Two challenge maps. One is going to be free. I sure as heck won't be buying the other. I don't care for the challenge mode. In fact, I'm more than a little disappointed in Magicka: Vietnam.

If I don't play with anyonelse, would you recommend it as a stand-alone playable game to go through once?

It's all right, but you're missing out. Plus, quite a few segments are much much harder without multiple players.

Jiarn said:

If I don't play with anyonelse, would you recommend it as a stand-alone playable game to go through once?

Click to expand...

Magicka's real fun is multiplayer, and isn't really balanced for single player. I found playing the game solo to be pretty hard, with a lot of cheap deaths. (If anyone does play solo, make sure to get the Teleport spell on the first level. It makes things a lot easier.)

I'm kinda torn. It's a good single player game, but not exceptional, and how much you enjoy it will depend heavily on how much you like the game mechanic, and how much you enjoy the humor. The spell system really is something special, and I wish it were in a more polished game.

Well comparable to Torchlight's great single player balancing?

I've only played the demo for Torchlight (and didn't finish that), but I thought that Torchlight was single player only.

A lot of it is balanced around the idea that somebody else can just revive you, so there are times where you can go from healthy to dead very quickly.

figmentPez said:

I've only played the demo for Torchlight (and didn't finish that), but I thought that Torchlight was single player only.

Click to expand...

Yeah but the Magicka style reminds me alot of Torchlight so I was curious.

Jiarn said:

Yeah but the Magicka style reminds me alot of Torchlight so I was curious.

Click to expand...

The visual style has some similarities, but the gameplay is very different. Magicka has no mana pool or cooldown on abilities. You can cast heal on yourself as much as you want. Powerful spells can be spammed almost as fast as you can type them in. For all that your Wizard is a bit of a glass cannon. Allen is right, you go from full health to dead pretty darn quickly. There are a lot of enemies with attacks that can one-shot you, including a few who can do it even when you're shielded, and more still who can bounce you around and throw you off of cliffs or into lava. In multi-player it works because other players can rez you quickly and easily. In single player it can feel pretty demanding. I almost gave up on single player after trying and failing the third chapter (out of 12, I think) a few dozen times. It gets tougher from there.

So then no go if I'm looking for a single player game. Gotcha.

I enjoyed it as a single player experience. It was hard, and obviously not balanced for single player, but it was still fun.

I enjoyed it as a single player game, but it gets a lot more fun once you add more people. Playing single player will make you a better player though, as well as learn important things about the game. Like the fact that shielding yourself causes you to be knocked down every time you take damage (so it's usually better to remain unshielded)

If you have Magicka and also happen to play Team Fortress here's a heads up:

http://store.steampowered.com/news/5590/

Ha ha, yeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeees.