(Updated) PSA: Please accurately form your expectations of this game.

[Doesn't Learn From Mistakes]

As we move closer to EA release, I feel the need to update this PSA.


What should I expect this game not to be like?

You should not expect this game to be like Elona+, Elona Omake, Elona MMA, or any of the many Elona mods out there. Nor should you expect this game to be like Elona mobile, which is completely unrelated to the original HSP game except in name.

All of these mods and one licensed title are not made by noa. It's easy to be confused, since there has been a lot of conflation with the original vanilla game, especially in the case of Elona+. However, if you want to get the feel of the direction Elin is likely to take I'd recommend playing the original instead.

Whether you agree or disagree with some or all of the differences these mods make is immaterial, the important thing here is that the benchmark of expectations needs to be properly set. The Elona mods and Elona mobile are different from vanilla Elona in just about every way: whether it's in terms of progression, gameplay, combat, crafting, story, narrative mood and even world setting, please do not form expectations of the vanilla game based on mods.

I'm not saying this to trash anyone, but to keep expectations grounded so that when the time comes you don't walk away disappointed having expected one thing and gotten another.

Please also do not form your expectations based on reviews of Elona such as Sseth's, which is bandied about a lot - these reviews are designed to entertain first and foremost, and often overly emphasise clickbaity aspects of the game for shock value, overblowing what would otherwise be minor interactions and jokes.


In that case, what should I expect this game to be like?

As mentioned above, vanilla Elona is a good start. The closest thing that's publicly available is the Elona 1.22 Christmas edition, or the 1.24 experimental. There's also an early demo proof-of-concept alpha that's still available on the Elona discord, although that's more than a year out of date at this point.

There are also Japanese streamers who have streamed Elin over these last several months on youtube and twitch, as well as at least one English playthrough. You can find several of them here:

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCiMoNGigqkBldDFC4_O07HA

Several Chinese players have also made videos on bilibili.

Gameplay streams tend to present a more organic and natural snapshot of gameplay, and hopefully will bring about a more accurate picture of what to expect from Elin.

[lantastic79]

海外でも正しい認識を持っているようです
あれはまったく関連性のない作品です

[(Farkon) 2m_anylootboxes]

Too late. Can't wait to make a 8 handed mutant while riding a crab.

[Doesn't Learn From Mistakes]

See what I mean? Eight-handed mutants, riding and crabs are all in vanilla, so you just serve as a further data point in the confusion of what's modded and not.

If anything, Plus' chain hit penalty severely penalises multi-arming far far more than vanilla, so you wouldn't be making an eight-handed mutant if you were making the point you think you're making.

[(Farkon) 2m_anylootboxes]

Originally posted by Doesn't Learn From Mistakes:

See what I mean? Eight-handed mutants, riding and crabs are all in vanilla, so you just serve as a further data point in the confusion of what's modded and not.

If anything, Plus' chain hit penalty severely penalises multi-arming far far more than vanilla, so you wouldn't be making an eight-handed mutant if you were making the point you think you're making.

Tonfas

[SamJF]

isn't e+ the piss mod

[Heathy]

I played a bit of +custom and GX, I couldn't tell you what was different, I thought the main difference beyond balance changes was that modders added south tyris I dunno if you could go there in the original game. I never managed to get there, my current save I don't play much but I can't kill the dude at the bottom of lesmias without grinding a bunch more. I'm pretty sure you have to kill that boss dude before you can take the path south.

afaik they are the same game, there are just more items maybe and more content. I don't think there were any fundamental differences. everything you could do in the original game you can do in the modded versions.

unless there is a reason why this game can't be modded then i'm sure it'll end up with its own mods, eventually.

[Adams]

Hello OP,

Just wanted to say that I've been following all of your responses (I'm bored lol) and I completely both appreciate and respect your clear understanding of the importance of differentiating between vanilla and E+. Just wanted to throw my kudos out there. :)

This also isn't going to be some discussion about the superiority of one version over another or whatever, but... yeah I'm a vanilla player lol. I'm part of an incredibly rare species at this point. :')

(Also if it's cool for me to mention this, I... swear I've seen such similar sentiments expressed in Discord. Are you on there too?)

[That Old Jake Guy]

So the game will be abandoned shortly after release and modders will take over it's development and make it actually fun?

[Empress Lina]

Originally posted by That Old Jake Guy:

So the game will be abandoned shortly after release and modders will take over it's development and make it actually fun?

yes

[Maz]

Originally posted by That Old Jake Guy:

So the game will be abandoned shortly after release and modders will take over it's development and make it actually fun?

Ha! I think the main difference is that Elona was predominantly free, this game Noa actually got like 400k funding through kickstarter alone, can't imagine what the post sales support would be. Based on the reddit AMA it seems like Noa and his colleague have a pretty large scope for this game.

Also, they're adding steam workshop support at some point which would be awesome for us all

[(Farkon) 2m_anylootboxes]

Originally posted by Empress Lina:

Originally posted by That Old Jake Guy:

So the game will be abandoned shortly after release and modders will take over it's development and make it actually fun?

yes

I mean, the game has actual funding now. Quite a big difference.

[qinlongfei]

For me at least, the only feature from Elona+ missing that might be a deal breaker is the ability to store companions in Dojo/Discarded farm. So long as Elin has some way for us to store companion somewhere, or just get ride of that companion limit altogether (it can still retain how many companion/guests we can have actively following us), I really don't care if they don't have some of the other features introduced in Plus. Even if I think the creator would be crazy to not officially adopt the whole evolution system from Plus. Pokemon and Digimon both proved that's a popular feature.

What I would like to see is more detailed dialogue customisation like Creator of Another World, the ability to found our own settlements, and a more interesting world map. From the description, Tyris honest sounds like the most boring place (all the pop culture reference aside). And I want to see what the other nations in Ylva look like in game.

[Eldritch Warden]

One thing that I will probably miss in Elin, provided that the dev retains the same thoughts regarding balance, is the caster early-mid game. That's the biggest and most important change for me in Elona+.

[Doesn't Learn From Mistakes]

Briefly updated the PSA to be more generic.

Originally posted by (Farkon) 2m_anylootboxes:

Originally posted by Empress Lina:

yes

I mean, the game has actual funding now. Quite a big difference.

Funny thing is that it wasn't "abandoned shortly after release", Elona was supported for a considerable period after 1.0, with 1.22/1.24 experimental being the final version. But the internet is what it is.

[(Farkon) 2m_anylootboxes]

Originally posted by Doesn't Learn From Mistakes:

Briefly updated the PSA to be more generic.

Originally posted by (Farkon) 2m_anylootboxes:

I mean, the game has actual funding now. Quite a big difference.

Funny thing is that it wasn't "abandoned shortly after release", Elona was supported for a considerable period after 1.0, with 1.22/1.24 experimental being the final version. But the internet is what it is.

I mean that in the sense that there's an actual team/biggerteam that had been funded in some way.