Miasmata Catch-All

I'm still plugging away at it sporadically, but I find it's one of those games that you need to be in exactly the right frame of mind for. The sheer lack of direction/amount of self-directed exploration required after the first hour or so is either amazingly awesome or amazingly frustrating depending on your mental state at the time.

gore wrote:
Sonicator wrote:

I'm still plugging away at it sporadically, but I find it's one of those games that you need to be in exactly the right frame of mind for. The sheer lack of direction/amount of self-directed exploration required after the first hour or so is either amazingly awesome or amazingly frustrating depending on your mental state at the time.

This is definitely true, and for these reasons it's absolutely not a game for everybody. It requires a degree of patience that most video games have been training out of us for years.

One thing I noticed: the frustration can stack up really fast. Since you can only save at specific locations, rage quitting when you get frustrated can cost you a whole lot of progress. This often led me to keep pushing onward even when things were looking really dire, which just piled on the stress even more due to how the disease symptoms impact the your capabilities and visual effects.

Despite the frustration, all that stuff really paid off for me when I'd make it to an outpost by the skin of my teeth. The relief and sense of accomplishment from surviving like that is a kind of feeling I just don't get from video games much any more.

My last instance of putting down the game for a while came after I'd reached such an outpost, and then found that there was sweet FA of any use around there.

Sonicator wrote:

I'm still plugging away at it sporadically, but I find it's one of those games that you need to be in exactly the right frame of mind for. The sheer lack of direction/amount of self-directed exploration required after the first hour or so is either amazingly awesome or amazingly frustrating depending on your mental state at the time.

This is definitely true, and for these reasons it's absolutely not a game for everybody. It requires a degree of patience that most video games have been training out of us for years.

One thing I noticed: the frustration can stack up really fast. Since you can only save at specific locations, rage quitting when you get frustrated can cost you a whole lot of progress. This often led me to keep pushing onward even when things were looking really dire, which just piled on the stress even more due to how the disease symptoms impact your capabilities.

Despite the frustration, all that stuff really paid off for me when I'd make it to an outpost by the skin of my teeth. The relief and sense of accomplishment from surviving like that is a kind of feeling I just don't get from video games much any more.

Bought it yesterday and fired it up this morning.

One cannot fully convey the sheer terror of having the sun go down while Cartographing, and realizing you have no light source.

I knew the nearest hut was only 20 seconds away, but all I could see were the faintest outlines of objects fading in and out.

I caught a glimpse of the hut, but lost it in a failed attempt at crawling up a hill in the darkness, gasping and wheezing from the effort. What seemed like 5 minutes of blinding terror later, I fumbled my way into the shack and recognized the outline of a window.

The bed. The bed is around here somewhere.

WHERE'S THE BED?! WHERE'S THE F*CKING... oh, there it is.

Never again.

Just wait until something is chasing you.

Sonicator wrote:

Just wait until something is chasing you. :D

You know, sadly, I kind of think even knowing about the creature is a spoiler. It's really a shame that it's in the promotional material.

Even though I knew it existed going in, the first time I encountered it I still almost crapped myself. It's such a jarring contrast to the methodical rhythm that develops as you map the island and pick flowers.

Midday. I'm doing some Cartography.

"Huh. The stone wall doesn't show up on my map."

Time passes as I chart my surroundings. When I finish, I hear a muffled heartbeat.

"Must be thirsty."

I take a swig from my canteen. The heartbeat gets louder.

"What?"

I take another swig.

The heartbeat intensifies. Ugh, hope I didn't catch a fever.

Tab. Let's see... Status is OK, no immediate health problems...

I put the book down.

"There must be some[size=20]SH*T![/size]"

I throw my frying pan. It flies lazily through the air and lands well short of its target. I run off into the woods toward a hut, heart and ears pounding, screaming internally.

Edit: After 4 hours played

Spoiler:

Encounters with the creature have increased to about one a day. It pops up out of nowhere, so close to my position that I can't possibly avoid it. I'm walking down a coastline, and the heartbeat kicks in at full throttle. I stop and take a look around. Nothing. I continue down the seaside path. Three seconds later it crawls out from behind a bush like a sh*tty jack-in the box and smacks me in the face. "Surprise! There's no way in hell you could have seen me hiding here!"

There needs to be a longer build-up to each encounter, starting the creature farther away and steadily moving it closer instead of spawning it just around the corner. It isn't stalking me anymore, it's using a complex series of tunnels and trapdoors to troll me. Escape is no longer a possibility, which ruins the tension of the game.

tl;dr, the monster is more of a nuisance than something to be feared.

Some people have expressed this theory in the Steam forums (about the "Macguffin") and it makes sense..

Spoiler:

The creature isn't real. It's a manifestation of the disease. That's why it disappears for a while when you take medicine and appears more often and is more aggressive as your illness increases. Losing to it means you have succumbed to the disease. It vanishes completely when you find the cure.

tanstaafl wrote:

Some people have expressed this theory in the Steam forums (about the "Macguffin") and it makes sense..

Spoiler:

The creature isn't real. It's a manifestation of the disease. That's why it disappears for a while when you take medicine and appears more often and is more aggressive as your illness increases. Losing to it means you have succumbed to the disease. It vanishes completely when you find the cure.

After having completed the game, this is the conclusion I came to as well.

Spoiler:

Unreliable narrator, natch!

Deadmonkeys wrote:
Spoiler:

Encounters with the creature have increased to about one a day. It pops up out of nowhere, so close to my position that I can't possibly avoid it. I'm walking down a coastline, and the heartbeat kicks in at full throttle. I stop and take a look around. Nothing. I continue down the seaside path. Three seconds later it crawls out from behind a bush like a sh*tty jack-in the box and smacks me in the face. "Surprise! There's no way in hell you could have seen me hiding here!"

There needs to be a longer build-up to each encounter, starting the creature farther away and steadily moving it closer instead of spawning it just around the corner. It isn't stalking me anymore, it's using a complex series of tunnels and trapdoors to troll me. Escape is no longer a possibility, which ruins the tension of the game.

tl;dr, the monster is more of a nuisance than something to be feared.

The creature is definitely the most frightening early on, when it's something completely new. But

Spoiler:

I think how the RNG plays out has a lot to do with how quickly the illusion is broken. I was well into the game before I first encountered it multiple times in the same day, and up to that point it was always terrifying to me. I think they should have done something to limit how quickly it returns after an encounter in order to prevent monster-closet-itis.

In my latest encounter, I managed to evade the monster by putting myself somewhere out of its line of sight, but I got stuck on an island in the process. I can't leave the area, even after 5 minutes of real-time crouching because the damned thing is still there, waiting for me to leave.

If I can't actually lose it by breaking line of sight, how do I get away from it? Throwing objects as a distraction doesn't work, and I can't actually run away from it because it moves faster than I do.

Deadmonkeys wrote:

In my latest encounter, I managed to evade the monster by putting myself somewhere out of its line of sight, but I got stuck on an island in the process. I can't leave the area, even after 5 minutes of real-time crouching because the damned thing is still there, waiting for me to leave.

If I can't actually lose it by breaking line of sight, how do I get away from it? Throwing objects as a distraction doesn't work, and I can't actually run away from it because it moves faster than I do.

If it's during the day, throwing a bunch of things at it can sometimes annoy it enough that you can run for it.

Also, have you crafted the brain emphasis drug? It makes it a bit easier to avoid it.

With all that being said, I definitely agree about the creature becoming more frustrating than frightening after a while, though.

Day 13.

[spoiler]I have not seen the creature in nearly a week. I do not miss it, but its absence makes me nervous.

I spent three days blindly hugging the northern(?) shoreline of Eden, having lost track of recognisable landmarks mere hours into the expedition. I found a number of shacks and huts over the course of my trip, but with no way to track my location, I eventually gave up and headed back the way I came. The voyage wasn't a total waste, however: I found ingredients vital to developing a cure. I've synthesized the Adjuvent, but the the Antibiotic and Orchidae extract for the Anti-Toxin continue to elude me.

I was gripped with terror when, after entering a hut and examining my latest finds, I nearly tripped over a corpse which - I could have sworn -was not there when I first entered. A similar encounter with an unfortunate young woman leads me to believe that my condition may be degrading.

I like reading about others' experiences. I just don't time to get lost in a game right now. Do dig reading about the lostness.

After 16 hours of gameplay and 22 Days of island exploration, I've finished the game.

Spoiler:

I'm cured.

It is time to go home to whatever home remains.

The book was a nice touch.

Deadmonkeys wrote:

After 16 hours of gameplay and 22 Days of island exploration, I've finished the game.

Spoiler:

I'm cured.

It is time to go home to whatever home remains.

The book was a nice touch.

Ahah.

Spoiler:

Did you notice the compass spinning? I'm not entirely sure "home" is in the cards.

gore wrote:

[spoiler]Did you notice the compass spinning? I'm not entirely sure "home" is in the cards.

[/spoiler]

Spoiler:

I did not. Rewatching.

I started thinking about this game today in response to some of the criticism of the recent Tomb Raider. This is going to be floating to the top of my pile to start next, right after I get out of the latest hole I've dug for myself in Dark Souls.

Thread necro time!

Miasmata is a game that really stuck with me; so much so that every now and then I'd check the ionfx web site or twitter feed or Steam forum to see what the developers were up to. They patched the game up, and for a long while they would respond to fans, but after about April they went dark. Nothing more posted.

Recently I started thinking about Miasmata again, and given the radio silence from ionfx I started to worry that nothing new was in the works. I think of the game as a great success (especially since it seemed to be their first stab at something on this scale), but it occurred to me that I had no idea how the brothers themselves viewed it. I started wondering if they'd just decided to do something else completely, or take a break, or... who knows.

Anyway, the other day I sent an email to Bob, in which I mentioned how much I enjoyed the game and explained that I was really hoping that he and his brother were still making cool games. Yeah, I sent a fan mail.

He replied back promptly, thanking me for my words of support, and explaining that they were indeed up to making new things! In fact, he seemed quite excited about them, although he could not go into much detail.

So, I'm happy to wait. Miasmata took them four years. Hopefully whatever comes next won't take quite so long

Interesting, thanks for the update!

I have not yet completed Miasmata, but the time I spent with the game was thoroughly enjoyable. Glad to hear that the developers are working on a few new projects.

I remember the first time I encountered the creature and running like hell! I also recall finally getting the hang of cartography!

Finally playing this after having picked it up a long time ago. Nothing like it out there, it kind of zones in on the parts about the Elder Scrolls and Far Cry 2 that I loved, which is basically running around with a map, looking for plants/other good stuff. I'm only at day two, only really found my first proper clue towards the cure, and had to take a break already as it was so intense.

jlaakso wrote:

Finally playing this after having picked it up a long time ago. Nothing like it out there, it kind of zones in on the parts about the Elder Scrolls and Far Cry 2 that I loved, which is basically running around with a map, looking for plants/other good stuff.

It really does that very well, although actually getting around the place is considerably more difficult. While it makes it much more realistic and immersive, it also can cause frustration after a while.

I'm only at day two, only really found my first proper clue towards the cure, and had to take a break already as it was so intense.

That intensity was what made me eventually drop the game. While most games with that high-intensity factor (Dark Souls, Amnesia, etc) ramp it up and down, Miasmata felt to me like it only ever ratcheted it up. After about 10 hours I was completely lost, not sure where to go even once I knew where I was, and in very hostile terrain...

Came across this thread (and it's great to find a thread about this game where the last post was just a few weeks ago instead of twelve months) and just wanted to add to the love. This has been about my favourite game of the last few years - OK, no, it's one of my favourite ever - and I may follow gore's example of emailing the Johnson bros to tell them how much I love it. It was really encouraging to hear that they're excited about the new stuff they're working on.

So much I could say about it but for now I'll just say that I don't think I've ever been so beautifully and dreamily terrified in a game (although the Thief series come very close at times).

If anyone's interested, these guys are fans too:
http://www.electrondance.com/the-beast/
http://videogamepotpourri.blogspot.c...

I've been meaning to buy this game but I completely forgot about it during the Steam sale. I'll wait for the summer one I guess.