Torchlight 2 dev shares progress update

Runic president Travis Baldree has shared a little insight into the development of Torchlight II, and why it's taking longer than some would hope.

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Diablo III has come, and some bitter cynics might say gone, but Torchlight II is snug still in its cocoon, growing legs, wings, axes, helmets, and all the other bits an action-RPG needs. But when will it come, and why is it taking so long? Runic president Travis Baldree has said the studio's being "deliberately vague" about release dates, and shared a little insight into what's going on.

"My hope is that if I give you an idea of what we're doing, what it takes to do it, and the scale of it, it will make it apparent why that is," Baldree said in a forum post (via Blue's News).

He explained, "Immediately after the Beta we spent a good bit of time doing the last big changes that we were comfortable doing"--a revamp of skills. The new system gives snazzy bonuses for every five points you put into a skill. The engineer's machinegun bot, for example, now gets ricocheting bullets, then piercing, and then they triple, so it's more fun than a simple damage boost.

The "most time consuming" piece to finish up, though, is polishing the acts. While the game can be played from start to finish, and items and events and boss battles and whatnot are in, Runic's giving the game's monsters more punch. The fiends are being reworked to compliment each other more, fit an area's theme better, provide more interesting battles, or what have you.

There's heaps more going on at Runic, so do read the full post if you're interested. Baldree says he'll try to offer such updates on a "more-or-less weekly basis."

From The Chatty
  • reply
    July 18, 2012 10:45 AM

    Alice O'Connor posted a new article, Torchlight 2 dev shares progress update.

    Runic president Travis Baldree has shared a little insight into the development of Torchlight II, and why it's taking longer than some would hope.

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      July 18, 2012 11:09 AM

      take all the time you need, pre-order secured, I want this to be perfect.

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        July 18, 2012 11:15 AM

        perfectmoddable. (which I think was their original plan, but now they can take advantage of Steam Workshop too...)

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        July 18, 2012 7:04 PM

        A game getting polish BEFORE it releases? Runic is so far behind the times it hurts... HURTS SO GOOD.

        They probably took one look at the Diablo 3 post-launch reactions and heard someone shouting NOPE.AVI in the back of their minds.

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      July 18, 2012 11:38 AM

      Maybe while we wait, we can play Titan Quest as it is on sale in Steam (or might be cheaper elsewhere) for those who do not play D3.

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        July 18, 2012 11:42 AM

        Get the soulvizer mod it rocks!

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        July 18, 2012 11:43 AM

        TQ is amazing.

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        July 19, 2012 9:01 AM

        I picked up Bastion the other day for a light fix until torchlight 2 arrives. Surprisingly fun.

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      July 18, 2012 11:38 AM

      meh... i paid for the super-mega-whatever edition of grim dawn two and a half years ago, and that game is nowhere near release... so a few more weeks/months on TL2 doesnt seem like a big deal at all.

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        July 18, 2012 11:41 AM

        Legendary subscribe for a long time as well with GD and it will be worth the wait I am sure.

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      July 18, 2012 11:46 AM

      The gap between Torchlight I and II will still be smaller than the one between D2 &3 even if they sit on it for 7 more years...

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        July 18, 2012 1:31 PM

        You sound like someone who's butthurt for buying D3, then trying to justify spending $60 and waiting 7 years.

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      July 18, 2012 11:53 AM

      Take your time boys. I have a feeling TL2 is going to be a MONSTER and many will site it as being a masterpiece and a new benchmark of quality and how to make a good ARPG. Man after playing the beta which was very nice I can only imagine all the updates and final product will be like.

      It tastes so sweet.

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        July 18, 2012 6:47 PM

        I loved the beta as well. It made D3 seem like an even bigger turd.

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