Ask Me Almost Anything: RUNE II Edition

[RUNE_Mitch]

Hello there,

I'm the Lead Community Manager on RUNE II. I'm looking forward to getting to know y'all. :)

Ask me almost anything about RUNE II and what's changed, and I'll do my best to respond with an answer.

NOTE: I can only answer anything related to my game, RUNE II.

Edit: Frequently answered questions
1) Yes, we will have a Steam launch discount when RUNE II: Decapitation Edition releases next month.
2) Yes, you can crossplay in multiplayer with your friends that own RUNE II on another PC Storefront.
3) Yes, you can play the entire campaign in Single Player. I personally think co-op makes RUNE II more fun, but you do you.
4) Yes, we have a roadmap. We are currently working on new voice actors, co-op and PvP improvements, full controller support, new dungeons, and a lot more. Read the full roadmap here: https://steamcommunity.com/games/821290/announcements/detail/2900839786364750346
5) Anyone that pre-purchased RUNE II on our website via Xsolla before May 2019 will receive their Steam key when RUNE II: Decapitation Edition launches on November 13, 2020.. If you purchased RUNE II before May 2019 via rune2.com and Xsolla, we have already sent you your keys. If you're missing that email, please email [e-mail] with a screenshot copy of your Xsolla receipt and we'll get you sorted.

6) RUNE II: Decapitation Edition releases on November 13, 2020. You can wishlist it (or purchase it if you're reading this in the future!) here: https://store.steampowered.com/app/821290/RUNE_II_Decapitation_Edition/
7) ALL existing RUNE II versions that were bought on a different storefront will be upgraded to the Decapitation Edition on Nov 13, 2020. This means that everyone, no matter what storefront, will be playing on the Decapitation Edition starting November 13, 2020.

[Sauriel]

how similar is the game compared to the old rune ? I rember alot of detailed mechanics and combat, weapon types had different effect on different enemies and armor and you could pick up alot of things, even severed parts from enemies, like heads. There was some kind of physics and other details too like when you threw weapons and they could get stuck in wooden surface but not stone surfaces. Enemies wielding weapons also had a chance to sever your limbs, but you could survive with one arm, but if it was ur weapon hand you had to reload the save lol. If they struck at your head though it could sometimes mean instant death as it was hit and severed. For its time back then i thought that game was pretty unique

[TweetyCZ]

Hello Mitch

1) Will there be dedicated servers?

2) Is there going to be achievement support for the Steam release?

3) Any hope for console release in the future?

4) Any chance of physical release either for PC or consoles?

Thanks!

[RUNE_Mitch]

Originally posted by Sauriel:

how similar is the game compared to the old rune ? I rember alot of detailed mechanics and combat, weapon types had different effect on different enemies and armor and you could pick up alot of things, even severed parts from enemies, like heads. There was some kind of physics and other details too like when you threw weapons and they could get stuck in wooden surface but not stone surfaces. Enemies wielding weapons also had a chance to sever your limbs, but you could survive with one arm, but if it was ur weapon hand you had to reload the save lol. If they struck at your head though it could sometimes mean instant death as it was hit and severed. For its time back then i thought that game was pretty unique

RUNE II is an indirect sequel to the older RUNE games. You can still throw weapons, you can still server enemy limbs.

[RUNE_Mitch]

Originally posted by TweetyCZ:

Hello Mitch

1) Will there be dedicated servers?

2) Is there going to be achievement support for the Steam release?

3) Any hope for console release in the future?

4) Any chance of physical release either for PC or consoles?

Thanks!

Hiya! In order:

1) We're currently in the process of reworking our multiplayer experience. Right now I'll confirm that we still plan on having official dedicated servers for PvP. Additionally, any player can rent a server from one of our server hosting partners.

2) Steam achievements are planned.

3) If RUNE II does really well and we see significant interest, sure! We're a small but mighty indie team so we need to be cognizant of where we spend our resources (time, people, budget, energy, etc)

4) See above answer.

[TweetyCZ]

@RUNE_Mitch Well thank you for all the honest answers. I intend to buy Rune II for co-op with my friend as soon as you are done reworking Rune II for Steam.

With all the damage done to the brand by its original creators, you have quite a task ahead of you. I wish a good luck to your team.

[Sauriel]

Maybe the original devs lost their spark at some point or some drama. Havent looked them up since the first rune back in the days.

[RUNE_Mitch]

Originally posted by TweetyCZ:

@RUNE_Mitch Well thank you for all the honest answers. I intend to buy Rune II for co-op with my friend as soon as you are done reworking Rune II for Steam.

With all the damage done to the brand by its original creators, you have quite a task ahead of you. I wish a good luck to your team. :csd2smile:

Awesome! We just rewrote co-op to work with our brand new quest and skill tree system. It plays great, so I can't wait for you and your friends to experience it together.

Thank you! I'll pass along the well wishes to the team. :)

[Andreasus]

For the people that pre-ordered, do we still get the Steam key and is there cross play with the Epic Games launcher?

[Lunde]

Let's be blunt here. Rune II when it launched on Epic store was a disaster with poor graphics, messy story, bad AI, and lots of bugs, and review scores pretty much reflect what state the game was in.

What advancements have been made to "fix" the game for the Steam version? Why should we trust it's different?

[TweetyCZ]

Originally posted by Lunde:

Let's be blunt here. Rune II when it launched on Epic store was a disaster with poor graphics, messy story, bad AI, and lots of bugs, and review scores pretty much reflect what state the game was in.

What advancements have been made to "fix" the game for the Steam version? Why should we trust it's different?

Metacritic user score is an average mark of 50% based on 70 ratings. The game reportedly is quite fun in co-op and this re-release can only improve upon it. Also, if Rune II won't be a full price 50 Euro/60 dollars release on Steam, but let's say 30 Euro/35 dollars at max, that would definitely help many cautious gamers in their buy/pass decision. I am not trying to damage control for the game nor to disqualify your opinion, I am just saying let's be optimistic. It certainly should be better than Epic Store release even despite the game itself is flawed which nobody sane denies. However It can still be pretty fun for a bunch of people.

If this indie dev suceeds, they can learn how to do this kind of game "right" and perhaps deliver Rune III or something along those lines in the future. For example Rune III about Varangians from old Rus serving in Byzantium would be cool if handled properly and even in such setting would be still plenty of room for mythological stuff. I think that Viking themes are way too much Americanized ignoring great variety of cool & powerful Viking tribes outside of stereotypical horned helmet chumps we are enountering in nordic-themed games over and over again...

[RUNE_Mitch]

Originally posted by Andreas:

For the people that pre-ordered, do we still get the Steam key and is there cross play with the Epic Games launcher?

Everyone that pre-purchased RUNE II via Xsolla on Rune2.com before May 2019 will receive a Steam key when RUNE II launches in November 2020.

[RUNE_Mitch]

Originally posted by Lunde:

Let's be blunt here. Rune II when it launched on Epic store was a disaster with poor graphics, messy story, bad AI, and lots of bugs, and review scores pretty much reflect what state the game was in.

What advancements have been made to "fix" the game for the Steam version? Why should we trust it's different?

I'm in the process of writing a very large post on our website (https://rune2.com/updates) for our Campaign Update that comes out next Wednesday on another platform, but here are some of the changes you can expect that are different than RUNE II's original launch:

• Greatly improved combat and added parrying system
  
• Added a brand new overhauled tutorial
  
• Redesigned stamina system
  
• Added skill tree (and the 28 skills that go along with it)
  
• Added a brand new narrative and campaign
  
• Added voiced NPCs
  
• Added villages
  
• Added brand new main and side quests
  
• Removed repeatable ages and the Ragnarok Timer
  
• Added Dungeons
  
• Added boss fights
  
• Rebalanced enemy difficulty and greatly improved enemy AI
  
• Greatly increased optimization and frame rate
  
• Added a dodge roll based on community feedback
  
• Greatly improved animations
  
• Added new weapon types
  
• Improved player progression
  
• Improved co-op experience (because who wants to rent a server to play a co-op campaign in 2020????)
  
• Added revive system in co-op
  
• Updated User Interface and User Experience
  
• Added attribute points
  
• Removed the old hunger system
  
• Updated visuals across the Ages of Ragnarok
  
• Added destructible buildings
  
• Added new bifrost gate attunement respawn system,

and...a lot more coming within the next two months (multiplayer improvements, polish, more art, etc) before Steam launch.

The point I'm trying to make is that we at Studio 369 over the past 10 months have touched every system (to improve or overhaul) in order to make RUNE II a better and more fun game. I understand that it's a lot for me to ask you to trust that it's different, so I'd much rather ask you to give it another chance when we launch on Steam in November this year and decide if all the advances that we've made to make RUNE II into the definitive open world RPG adventure game is of interest to you. :)

I hope this answers your question. I'm happy to go into detail about where those systems above were when they launched and what their improvements -- and the thought process behind them -- are as well.

edit: formatting, still learning steam forums.
edit 2: campaign update comes out Wednesday Sept 9, not Tuesday Sept 8.

[RUNE_Mitch]

Originally posted by TweetyCZ:

Originally posted by Lunde:

Let's be blunt here. Rune II when it launched on Epic store was a disaster with poor graphics, messy story, bad AI, and lots of bugs, and review scores pretty much reflect what state the game was in.

What advancements have been made to "fix" the game for the Steam version? Why should we trust it's different?

Metacritic user score is an average mark of 50% based on 70 ratings. The game reportedly is quite fun in co-op and this re-release can only improve upon it. Also, if Rune II won't be a full price 50 Euro/60 dollars release on Steam, but let's say 30 Euro/35 dollars at max, that would definitely help many cautious gamers in their buy/pass decision. I am not trying to damage control for the game nor to disqualify your opinion, I am just saying let's be optimistic. It certainly should be better than Epic Store release even despite the game itself is flawed which nobody sane denies. However It can still be pretty fun for a bunch of people.

This isn't a question but I'll just state it: We have no plans to change the current pricing models of RUNE II at this time. You can still expect the Standard Edition to be $29.99 USD, Berserker Rage to be $39.99 USD, and God Slayer to be $59.99. We're looking into doing a 2-pack and a 4-pack as well to support maximum cooperation.

[WindMaxVN]

1. The game have classic pvp mode?? ( no stat, no skill tree... pure fight same as rune 1?)
2. The game support mod??

[morone]

Will the game have the classic Arena game mode? Which imo was the best mode for PvP.

It would be nice if you guys remake classic maps such as hildir, ruins, bothvar and etc as well.