By Kieron Gillen on September 14th, 2009 at 4:13 pm.
We’ve written quite a bit about Majesty 2 so far. In fact, I’ve also got some review code an internet-click away which I need to have a prod at. But you can circumvent the RPS-information-drip and go and play the bally thing yourself. There’s a 640Mb Demo available to download here. There’s no details I can find what’s in it. Let’s hope it’s actually a demo and not the world’s biggest virus. To get a taste of this indirect-management fantasy-kingdom game, there’s some recent footage video below…
14/09/2009 at 16:19 shiggz says:
Just an idea, it would be cool if when you preview or whatever a game you’d put in the corner the planned release date.
14/09/2009 at 16:20 Schaulustiger says:
Oooh, I’m so looking forward to it. Downloading the demo right now and hoping it’s not The World’s Biggest Virus.
14/09/2009 at 16:20 Uglycat says:
I really want to like this- I hope the 3D aspect doesn’t make it fiddly to find people/things.
14/09/2009 at 16:25 Mitthrawn says:
September 18th (You’re welcome).
14/09/2009 at 16:31 shiggz says:
:)
14/09/2009 at 16:42 Schaulustiger says:
The demo provides 2 single player missions, one is a rather short tutorial of about 10 minutes length.
Playing through the second mission right now and I feel quite entertained.
14/09/2009 at 16:56 Über Nerd says:
If you are having scrolling issues force affinity to a single cpu.
14/09/2009 at 17:08 Gutter says:
Weird, why is it only 300mb for me? I got the file on the US Mirror, which appeared to be File Front, and it’s only 300mb, not 640.
14/09/2009 at 17:10 Ginger Yellow says:
Oh goody. I’ve been suffering Majesty-based frustration since I discovered the original won’t play nice with Windows 7.
14/09/2009 at 17:27 bigblackjesus says:
Gutter: Just download it from the Dutch mirror it appears to be the right size.
14/09/2009 at 17:59 cowthief skank says:
Do not download! This is the world’s biggest virus! Fake!
Um, thanks for the link.
14/09/2009 at 18:19 Phinor says:
Played through both missions. The second one requires 75 minutes of survival but I managed it on first try. Pretty solid gameplay though my heroes never went for explore flags no matter how much gold I offered (well not really, I didn’t offer them that much..).
I wonder how long a game like this can keep you entertained though. How was the multiplayer on first Majesty? Might be a bargain bin title for me, like Tropico 3.
14/09/2009 at 18:48 Carra says:
A challenge!
*Goes off and builds a 700 mb virus*
14/09/2009 at 19:07 Wounder says:
If it’s like the original, the missions are actually quite varied. I mean, considering the framework and all. You have to find X while not being able to build Y guild, at the most basic.
The original I never found boring or any more repetitive than any RTS… although I think the difficulty scale is wildly out of whack at times. Could be me, I’m not proficient as I’d like, but some of the middle range missions crushed me. Still had fun with them… I’m replaying the expansion after pre-ordering on Steam!
14/09/2009 at 19:08 Wounder says:
As for the multiplayer, I never participated… see reference to proficiency above!
14/09/2009 at 19:10 Wounder says:
Final thought: Pre-ordering off Steam nets you original + expansion for free, which you can play now. Impulse gives you original when the new one comes out, which makes little sense to me. I’m sure you can find it cheaper, but since I couldn’t find my Majesty discs, I found it reasonable to get back in practice before tomorrow’s release.
14/09/2009 at 19:48 Danny says:
Never played the first…The description sounds a bit like Depths of Peril. Can anyone tell me if this is true?
14/09/2009 at 19:55 shiggz says:
not sure what the rules are but im getting 400-600 here
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=IE1X6NXF
kinda a pain had to hunt around for decent speed /659mb
14/09/2009 at 19:56 bigblackjesus says:
Phinor: How the hell do you deal with the ogres? I cant seem to keep my heroes alive long enough to deal with anything.
14/09/2009 at 19:59 bigblackjesus says:
Before I can even build anything the waves start coming.
14/09/2009 at 20:24 Subject 706 says:
I have great hopes for this one. Hopefully they can pull off the sequel to one of the greatest strategy games.
14/09/2009 at 21:08 Cutman says:
My favorite part about the full demo level is that they start you off surrounded by five hostile bases. Wyverns and Skeletons and Rats oh my! Please wait for me to build a troop before you start thrashing me.
14/09/2009 at 21:21 Flint says:
According to the demo, this is just like the first Majesty but with some improved/changes bits and bobs here and there.
Which means it’s awesome+.
14/09/2009 at 21:32 Psychopomp says:
@Flint
I had a comment for that, but I decided against it.
We don’t need more L4D2 shouty-ness
14/09/2009 at 21:45 Phinor says:
@bigblackjesus
I always put a 100 gold tag on ogres. Kept building up towers because the ogres seemed to go for towers first and foremost, giving my heroes pretty much free hands to hit them from behind. The other key is to simply tag their lairs to stop them respawning but that became pretty hard quite quickly because as I said previously, none of my heroes went for my explore flags so I couldn’t tag the lairs to attack. It also felt important to have as many heroes as possible because there’s so many mobs attacking you and it takes time for heroes to move from place to place. Obviously you need to gear them up too, so basically you just need a lot of everything ;) Ogres won’t be the worst mobs you will meet though, have fun!
@Flint
Exactly my thoughts. When I first heard Majesty 2 was being developed, I said I really hope it’s just Majesty 1 with some changes/improvements and new engine. And based on this demo it is just that.
14/09/2009 at 22:08 Sinnerman says:
Could have been a big disappointment, but it isn’t. The tutorial level has sold me on the full game as it clearly has the right sort of flag setting and Sean Connery accent narrating action
14/09/2009 at 22:48 Wounder says:
I don’t like the new AI in some regards… heroes run past other heroes in combat to zap flags. Takes more time to construct buildings, which is particularly grim in the non-tutorial mission. Oh, and rangers don’t get experience for exploring now.
As for the surrounded by bases scenario, only flag one at a time until it’s gone. Damage focus is fairly critical. And if you can build guardhouses on the opposite side of whichever you’ve flagged, that seems to give you a spot of breathing room.
14/09/2009 at 22:49 bigblackjesus says:
@Phinor:
Thanks for the tips the trick, for me at least was to make sure I built rangers, clerics and warriors from the start. Then exploring to where the two ogre lairs were and killing em, which gave them all a lot of money and experience. However the Ogres just started spawning off map a little bit after so I just built a group of 4 upgraded towers in the southwest where they come from which they never got through.
14/09/2009 at 23:33 SpakAttack says:
Full game available at a bargainous £18 from Coolshop:
http://www.coolshop.co.uk/catalog/product/60533-majesty-2–the-fantasy-kingdom-sim–for-pc#STS=fzlsfwth.9qt
14/09/2009 at 23:33 Greg Wild says:
Kindly, Paradox dropped the review embargo a day early, right when I thought I’d planned to have it done for the 15th.
Still, I appear to have risen to the challenge: http://thereticule.com/2009/09/majesty-2-the-verdict/
14/09/2009 at 23:55 Paradukes says:
@Shiggz: Cheers for that. I was getting about 20 kb/s from the site linked in the article.
15/09/2009 at 00:31 Arathain says:
Ah! My shervices are required!
Looking forward to this.
15/09/2009 at 01:53 JimmyJames says:
The gametrailers video lists a sandbox mode as a feature, but the buzz on the forums is that freestyle mode isn’t a part of Majesty 2. Is it something different or just a feature that never made it in?
15/09/2009 at 03:51 coupsan says:
Looking forward to this game. I got the original waaaaaaay back when I was with my father in Pennsylvania. Can’t wait to try the demo out.
15/09/2009 at 04:45 Arathain says:
That’s a pretty hard level, and I played the original a fair bit. It just keeps ramping up, and even my experienced heroes are getting worn down. It also seems to be harder to build an economy, and there’s a ton more things to spend money on than the original.
Difficulty concerns aside, it seems a really nice update on the excellent first game.
15/09/2009 at 05:46 Diji says:
@Arathain
I found it easier once I stopped playing like a turtle. At first I was rubbish and using clerics and warriors to slowly kill the lairs around the base, wasn’t working very well. Decided to change it up and get rangers first to explore the trade posts + lairs and build all the posts early to get an early gold advantage, it worked pretty well. I was fairly rubbish at Majesty 1 but once I got the hang of the demo mission it wasn’t hard at all.
FWIW, I didn’t spend gold on upgrades until I had all the basic guilds (and had an extra cleric + warrior guild).
15/09/2009 at 09:35 Greg Wild says:
Indeed Diji, it’s much, much easier to do if you actively destroy enemy lairs rather than turtling.
15/09/2009 at 11:02 Kyr says:
I recommend you use rogues – they’re fast, cheap and greedy. They work best a party leaders, so party goes where rogue leads them. Also do not hesitate to buy upgrades for your heroes, it helps a lot. And build a marketplace with health potions!
15/09/2009 at 14:22 Gothnak says:
Towers in the Southwest are the most important element of the level. I’ve upgrade my rangers to the max and they are dropping most enemies at range. Just built a temple of Krypta, i hope it’s worth all that cash.. Stupid lunch break over.. Have Friday off, Huzzah!
15/09/2009 at 15:54 Greg Wild says:
It’s also important to note that when heroes buy stuff it builds up taxes you to collect from the relevant buildings.
15/09/2009 at 20:47 Carra says:
Finished the demo on first try.
Feels very much like the original game. Without the cool voices. Also strange that my heroes rather attack a building then help someone under attack two feet away from then. I do feel screwed by their “get the original game for free” as I already got it, just give me a discount :)
I finished the demo without using the group option. Only just figured out that you can now use that. It’s all about getting some higher level heroes. Once they reach level ten or so they’re very hard to kill. Until then your mages or rogues can get one shotted.
16/09/2009 at 07:37 Droniac says:
I had my reservations when it was announced, but still placed a pre-order on Impulse (because Majesty Gold was just that good). And this demo blew me away.
It really is just Majesty with a new engine and some minor tweaks. Even a few of the voices are identical! Exactly what I needed, can’t wait for Friday’s release!
16/09/2009 at 18:14 Blackberries says:
Never played the original, but lord I sucked at that demo. Also, what’s all this other people are saying about grouping?
Still, I enjoyed it.. Feels like my sort of thing.
18/09/2009 at 13:27 Paul says:
Grouping is essential if a bounty is far away from your castle, since it prevents the heroes from arriving piecemeal (as it would otherwise happen). The tougher lairs need a ‘critical mass’ of heroes to take down quickly.
16/09/2009 at 23:15 Scott Constantine says:
Did you guys take a look at the preview build? The translation was bloody awful on it, in an amusing way.
The mechanics of M2 make it really interesting to play and its a delight to see your little soldiers go an arm themselves with new weapons after completing quests. Its kinda like being the GM of a MMO in a weird kinda way.
18/09/2009 at 13:37 Paul says:
One more thing: Extortion is very useful. The 30% (I think) commission is steep, but not getting any money ’cause your tax collector got et by ratmen is worse.
20/09/2009 at 08:59 Cruxis says:
the original works perfectly fine on my windows7. I run 64 bit.