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Spellcrafter Released For Linux In Early Access, Some Thoughts

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Spellcrafter is a new and quite interesting game that mixes turn based combat with a few RPG mechanics and spell casting. The most interesting bit to Spellcrafter is that during battles you draw spells on screen, and the quicker you do that the better it is.

It's an Early Access game meaning it's incomplete and riddled with bugs, like the Quit button not working every time for me forcing me to Alt+F4 to exit.

It's a little confusing to get into as the game starts with a tiny sound-less intro with no explanation of anything, but it does still keep you interested with a great looking overworld to walk around in, and it teaches you as you go.

It does has a couple usability issues like having to manually press the X button if you click on the wrong enemy during battle. In other games like it you would expect to just click a different enemy and have your current character focus on that one instead.
I would also expect pressing ESC to bring up the menu and pause the game, so games that don't do that annoy me a little, but it's only a minor issue.

On finishing one battle the camera angle had completely changed in the overworld when I came back to it making me confused on which way I was going, so keeping the previous camera angle would preferred and expected.

I think once it is fleshed out a little in the way of more content and a better start to the game it could be quite the winner, as the graphics are good and the battles are interesting, so it has a fair bit going for it already. Just a few issues noted above right now stop it being super.

Check out Spellcrafter on Steam.

Also our caster Samsai has a key, so you can expect a more in-depth look and video in future.

Official About
Spellcrafter is an RPG game with deep tactical turn-based combat and a unique spell casting system. Explore the magical world, collect gold, interact with NPCs, take quests and make moral choices! Recruit heroes, assemble and summon powerful troops and send them into battle!

The unique feature of Spellcrafter is the spell casting system. The game recognizes the sign you draw on the screen and automatically chooses the appropriate spell from the spellbook. If you don’t remember the correct sign you are able to consult the spellbook, but beware! Reaching for the spellbook takes additional time and the quicker you cast your spell, the more powerful it will be! Article taken from GamingOnLinux.com.
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About the author -
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I am the owner of GamingOnLinux. After discovering Linux back in the days of Mandrake in 2003, I constantly came back to check on the progress of Linux until Ubuntu appeared on the scene and it helped me to really love it. You can reach me easily by emailing GamingOnLinux directly. Find me on Mastodon.
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3 comments

oldrocker99 Aug 13, 2014
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Interesting; the draw-a-glyph-to-cast-a-spell mechanism has been used before, but not often, perhaps because it turned out to be a feature that people either loved or hated. Since it is sparingly used in games, Spellcrafter (which advertises its mechanic in its title!) appears to be well worth a look.

Thanks!
sev Aug 13, 2014
Looks great! I have seen a lot of Early Access games but honestly, so far, it seems like most of them wallow is beta forever. Has anyone had a good experience with getting early access and then actually reaching a complete, playable game?
oldrocker99 Aug 14, 2014
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Well, Planetary Annihilation is in "gamma," and it's been very playable since it was available to me as a Kickstarter backer. Features are being added and added. For what that's worth.

Spellcrafter is interesting and fun to play, but there is a lot of work that the devs need to do before it's finished. Personally, I kind of like the Early Access games. It' a way for people other than obsessives to get beta access, with those automatic updates. Not that I always approve of the state that an EA game was released, but that's life, I guess!
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