Firmament OT: releases May 18th, next game from Myst and Obduction devs

[SWORDF1SH]

I'm stuck. Glad they had an option in the menu to teleport back to a safe space.

Also stuck puzzle wise. I've spent the last hour looking for something to do.

And you'll still complete the game in under half the time it takes me to finish.

[Legend]

And you'll still complete the game in under half the time it takes me to finish.

Just found what I needed. Thanks random youtube playthough.

[SWORDF1SH]

Just found what I needed. Thanks random youtube playthough.

That's cheating  

[Legend]

That's cheating  

It's fine, my game was glitched anyway. Had an object inside a wall. Turns out that object needed to be not in the wall  

[Legend]

I finished the game. I'll put my spoiler free impressions in a spoiler tag in case swordfish wants to keep blind.

Spoiler for Hidden:

<br>Doubt I&#39;ll buy Cyan&#39;s next game. This was really really bad. Meh puzzles, 0/10 story, and a pretty bland world.<br><br>Even without all the glitches it&#39;s a bad game. Wtf happened to this team? Obduction was pretty good.<br><br>8.8 hours on steam<br>

[kitler53]

ouch.  and I was looking forward to eventually playing this. 

[Legend]

ouch.  and I was looking forward to eventually playing this.

The best puzzles are pretty similar to the puzzles in Infra so play that instead.

In general the game is just so incredibly empty.

Ouch

Cyan were one of the first devs to officially support VR in a game. Crazy that both the VR and 2D modes feel like afterthoughts.

[SWORDF1SH]

Only a short way in. Should I refund?

Just read Mike's spoiler free review. dang! Yeah I'll refund

[Legend]

Only a short way in. Should I refund?

Just read Mike's spoiler free review. dang! Yeah I'll refund

Maybe it'll be a good buy on a deep sale with all the glitches fixed.

I loved the scale of the environments. It was really cool seeing something off in the distance and then eventually reaching it. That's about the only thing I really liked  

[Legend]

Glad I could help save you money Swordfish. I was worried I was alone in disliking the game, but now this is the highest rated steam review. Only spoils what is not in the game:


"A non-VR review

Calling it a disappointment is putting it mildly. I know there was Covid during the development of these. But I don't see five years worth of work here.

The bugs are numerous, graphical issues. Puzzles can literally break on you, forcing you to 'teleport to safety' and restart them. But because of how slowly some of the puzzles move, this can set you back ten to fifteen minutes because a crane literally gets impossibly jammed between two walls.

The lack of FMVs is disappointing, the narrator is currently broken and inconsistently talks. Which is kind of a problem because she is the only real source of 'story' to be had. The grand total of 'lore' you can find is two, a book with two poems, and a book with minimal explanation about your puzzle tool. She is literally the only NPC.

While the environments are nice, closer to what I expect out of Cyan. It's missing so much of what made cyan great.

The puzzles are not puzzles, every single one of them is just orientation based. Rotate platforms to get a certain number, but it's random because there is no logic to the numbering system for the platforms. Complete a sliding block puzzle where you remove X block, on an X Y axis, orientation, figure out just the right spot to stand in a convulted enclosed space to hit a switch, and each switch has to be in order, you can't get it wrong, you just have to find the right one and the right spot, orientation.

There are no actual logic puzzles to be had here, even Obduction had far superior puzzles to this. No need to write down a note from one area to help you solve a puzzle in another area, no little things to investigate that make you understand a number system (The counting device in Riven school).

This is a lifeless, poor excuse of a game, that doesn't justify a $40 price tag. I expect more from Cyan, more from a kickstarter that raised $1.5 million, which to compare to obduction, raised more than Obduction. Obduction had multiple FMV actors, actual puzzle elements, lore aplenty to find and dive deep into the world. Where the heck did all the money for this go? Because I don't see it.

Cyan, Rand Miller, you were so influential to my childhood, I know you are capable of doing better. Please, it's so upsetting to see this game come out of your studio.

Take your money somewhere else, this is a barely more than a VR walking simulator.

Edit to respond to Developer

I didn't see FMVs advertised anywhere, in fact I kept pretty low key on how much info I allowed myself to get. Saw the annoucenment, new Cyan game, decided I would get it.

But why was I expecting to see FMVs? You are literally Cyan Worlds, the pioneering studio of taking FMVs in this type of game to the next level in the industry. Even your last game Obduction, had FMVs. FMVS and Cyan studios mostly go hand in hand. Myst, Riven, Exile, Revelations, Obduction < All FMVs, Uru and End of Ages no FMVs (Y'all we're even criticized for leaving out the FMVs in the Myst remake) So, uh, yea. FMVs are an expected product given your legacy.

I will admit the mention of a '90s style physical box' listed on the Kickstarter did give me slim hope that this would be a return to form, and 90s style Cyan Worlds is FMVs all in. Did I make an assumption, sure. But again, it's literally your legacy and a rather large chunk of why the Myst Franchise is so beloved.

As far giving it a try again, why? I beat it. There is literally nothing more to gain because it's a poorly realized universe that looks pretty but doesn't really have anything else going for it."



https://steamcommunity.com/id/trisotter/recommended/754890/

[the-pi-guy]

Ouch.

From the Dev's point of view, it has to be hard to read those kinds of things. It terrifies me to think that I would let people down.

From the gamer/consumer point of view, it feels disconcerting reading some of the responses that the developer is making. Like maybe it's totally normal/recommended. But it feels like the developer is responding to people as this is what the game is and hopefully you will like it better after some bug fixes.

Like in their response to that review, they're more concerned that there might have been some marketing suggesting FMVs, instead of responding to the review being disappointed by the lack of them.

It's surely something that developers/publishers would probably actively push against doing, but I feel like if I was in that circumstance, I would start reworking the whole game.

But I feel like at the very least, I feel like I would expect some vague response that felt hopeful.

[Legend]

Ouch.

From the Dev's point of view, it has to be hard to read those kinds of things. It terrifies me to think that I would let people down.

From the gamer/consumer point of view, it feels disconcerting reading some of the responses that the developer is making. Like maybe it's totally normal/recommended. But it feels like the developer is responding to people as this is what the game is and hopefully you will like it better after some bug fixes.

Like in their response to that review, they're more concerned that there might have been some marketing suggesting FMVs, instead of responding to the review being disappointed by the lack of them.

It's surely something that developers/publishers would probably actively push against doing, but I feel like if I was in that circumstance, I would start reworking the whole game.

But I feel like at the very least, I feel like I would expect some vague response that felt hopeful.

Your gut reaction was my problem with the very first version of VizionEck, and it's still something I struggle with. Disappointing people sucks but it happens and you just need to move on. Their response is pretty weird though. Almost feels passive aggressive as if they're calling out the player for expecting FMV. It'd be better to just not respond in this case.


It's been really interesting watching this launch unfold. It's a great case study. I was surprised for it to get essentially no Metacritic reviews. Obduction got 31 yet Firmament so far only has 2. It's awesome that they got money from Kickstarter because this doesn't look to be doing too good.

[SWORDF1SH]

Legend, you saved me £26. I will repay you someday

[Legend]

Legend, you saved me £26. I will repay you someday

Oh wow thank you! I didn't expect that.

[SWORDF1SH]

Oh wow thank you! I didn't expect that.

It's not much but it's something lol