Stranger Demo Released

[baby arm]

Fireglow has released the demo for Stranger, a fantasy RTS with RPG elements from the developers of the Sudden Strike series. Here's a partial description from the site:

 

The game world is created in a traditional fantasy style. It is split in two parts, the surface one and subterranean one, which are in a tenuous balance. These parts are different in appearance and each one dictates its own rules of living. The lower world is dark, quiet and stern; it attracts you with its mysteries and treasures. The upper world is cold and full of light, it has more life and more conflicts. The opposition and co-operation of the upper and lower worlds create the battleground for the player and provide numerous opportunities for the character development.

 

The tactics is based on the numerous combat skills of the characters, wide choice of equipment, the variety of landscapes and knowledge of the strong and weak points of the enemy. The arsenal of tactical moves also includes reconnaissance, covert operations, misleading maneuvers, using riders, flying characters, and, of course, magic. The detailed elaboration of combat is unusual for RTS and may resemble role-playing games. Advanced system of behavior and tactics control allows the player to choose the level of control and avoid routine actions, also making the game easier for the beginners.

 

The demo is only a 322 Mb download so head over to our File Section and give it a try.

 

[Kret]

Fixed the broken link, in the download section. It was a reference to a ftp site with a dynamic changing password so you can't and shouldn't directly link to it.

 

BTW, interesting game.

[baby arm]

Thanks for fixing the link.

 

It's kind of strange, though. They sent a press release email with 2 ftp links (the one I used and another one). They weren't internal links only or anything like that. And the second ftp address still works fine.

[Kret]

Well, I tried the original link several times and it always came up with error 530 (invalid password). So I went and put up a more "stable" link for the download. But it is strange that they do things in such odd maners.

[Paranoid Jack]

I get a runtime error and a crash to desktop when trying to open this demo, anyone else?

[baby arm]

No, it runs fine for me.

[Paranoid Jack]

No, it runs fine for me.

 

 

I uninstalled and downloaded again and it works fine now but it seems the translation leaves a bit to be desired.

 

edit: I have played thru the first mission and was fairly entertained but very frustrated on several occasions. Its a bit rough around the edges. The story-line dialogs that pop up during the cut-scenes seem to be poorly translated or poorly written. Which isn't bad... no worse than normal should I say. But want irritated me most was the poor path-finding. The enemy path-finding seems to be much better than the PCs party. At times they completely stop attempting to reach safety when hit by an enemy or they get hung up on each other. Or they don't attack or don't move when given orders to move to a new location.

 

Though a bit rough I think the game has some charm if they can polish a bit more. I have yet to play the second mission due to run-time errors causing a lot of crashes to desktop. But what I got to play I liked. Wish the scripting wasn't so ridged though. I can't remember the Wizards name on the mound but I never even got to kill him he just blew up after I took out numerous guards by pulling them away in small groups and killing one or two at a time.

 

I mainly focused on melee combat but even without going into the magic system I know I would not pay full price (above $40 US) for this game from the impression the demo made at least.