ATOM RPG is now Early Access

[TorontoReign]

For those who don't know, ATOM: RPG is a Post Apocalyptic indie game inspired by the golden age of cRPG out now on EA. The team mentions a few names that inspired the making of this new cRPG: Fallout, System Shock, Deus Ex, Baldur's Gate and others.

It is a top down isometric, turn based combat RPG that happens in a (nuclear) devastated Soviet Union and the Western Bloc in the late 1980's.

Not only did it got successfully funded on Kickstarter, but it also managed to get three of their stretch goals met. So the game will contain a "Player's Base", a "Crafting System" and the choice of playing with a Male or Female main character (which seems like it will actually change reactions, dialogue and the way people act with the main character).

It has been in the making for almost 10 years (had a few bumps and problems on the way that delayed it a bit), but the team announced that the full release will be on February 2018.

It has been on Early Access only for a few days, but already has a "Very Positive" ranking on Steam with 82% of positive reviews.

Check it out if you like Post Apocalyptic cRPGs, cRPG in general or just miss the "good old" classics like Fallout and Fallout 2.

Thanks to @Risewild for the article.

 

[nkchan16]

the choice of playing with a Male or Female main character (which seems like it will actually change reactions, dialogue and the way people act with the main character).

I'm interested, if they can handle it as good as Fallout 2. I'm a bit skeptical however, as Russian developers are usually not into that sort of thing.

 

[CaptJ]

I guess that hexagonal grids aren't so popular. Then again, it makes walking in a straight line look super awkward.
This game seems to be using S.P.E.C.I.A.L. except renaming agility to dexterity, perception to attention, and charisma to personality. I mean the only real problem is it spelling special. I doubt Bethesda can sue someone for using those names for the stats. Right?

 

[Risewild]

I'm interested, if they can handle it as good as Fallout 2. I'm a bit skeptical however, as Russian developers are usually not into that sort of thing.

The Devs said this about the male/female stretch goal:

It’s easy to make an automatic male to female protagonist transition, by changing “he” for “she” at specific places in each line of dialogue.

However, this is not what we have in mind. Role-playing characters of different genders should come with slightly different and sometimes even unique experiences and varied story telling. Different approaches to solving the same quest situations are also needed.

Our aim is to make certain NPCs react to male and female protagonists differently, say different things, act differently according to the gender the player picked at the beginning of the game.

This needs a complete overhaul of most dialogues in the game – a task which isn’t that easy, seeing how we already have 3000+ lines, and the game isn’t even finished, not by a long shot. However, with extra donations, it will become possible for our writer team to start working full-time to make it happen.

If they pull it off, it will be quite nice, and make it worth playing the game multiple times using both genders to see the changes.

I guess that hexagonal grids aren't so popular. Then again, it makes walking in a straight line look super awkward.
This game seems to be using S.P.E.C.I.A.L. except renaming agility to dexterity, perception to attention, and charisma to personality. I mean the only real problem is it spelling special. I doubt Bethesda can sue someone for using those names for the stats. Right?

The devs said the system is GURPS inspired.

A balanced roleplaying system inspired by GURPS. Each stat combination provides a unique gaming experience, unique dialogues, and new ways to solve some of the quests!

 

[CaptJ]

The devs said the system is GURPS inspired.

Fallout is also GURPS inspired. I'm just saying that its stat system reminds me of Fallout's S.P.E.C.I.A.L. but with more conventional names for stats replaced with less conventional names. It makes me think of how far copyright laws and patents can hinder a game development process.

 

[The_Proletarian]

Some first impressions:

 

[nkchan16]

Nah, not interested anymore.

Looks like an amateur attempt to remake Fallout in 3D, pretty much like all post-JA2 Jagged Alliance wannabes, like BIA and Flashback. They all sucked, in case you didn't know. I doubt it'll get any better once it's out of EA.

 

[Risewild]

Nah, not interested anymore.

Looks like an amateur attempt to remake Fallout in 3D, pretty much like all post-JA2 Jagged Alliance wannabes, like BIA and Flashback. They all sucked, in case you didn't know. I doubt it'll get any better once it's out of EA.

The creators said from the start that it was inspired by cRPGs like Fallout and Baldur's Gate and other games like Deus Ex, etc. And being fans of Fallout themselves and making a post apocalyptic turn based game inspired by Fallout and GURPS, of course it will have a similar system.

But I think that by what I read of the reviews, the developers are really making their own thing, their own world, characters, narrative style, etc. There will also be crafting and the player will have a home base (two things that didn't really existed in the classic Fallout games), technology is old (reached it's peak in the 1980's) and not futuristic (Fallout technology reached it's peak in 2077), so no robots, laser/plasma weaponry, crazy wacky retro-futuristic advanced tech, etc (there's not even a Energy Weapons skill in ATOM).
The setting is also different, there was no resource wars in ATOM, there was not wars everywhere in the world, etc. They don't have a mascot like the Vault Boy, etc.
ATOM doesn't have perks, but they said they might make them in the future because players keep asking for them. The devs didn't plan on having perks, but they say that the biggest reason to make it Early Access while it is so incomplete was to get players feedback, and they seem to listen to that feedback (I read a few Steam comments and found already quite a few asking for perks).

To me it seems like the developers are quite serious about making their own thing, but inspired by the classics. I think that is a good thing.

Although, classic Fallout games are my favorite PC games, if I ever play this ATOM RPG, I will be very critical and compare it to Fallout, and I will huff and puff and rant about anything that is much inferior to the classics.

 

[The_Proletarian]

Hey TorontRayne! You forgot the falloutesque releasetrailer:

 

[GuyManBot]

It seems interesting. I haven't played yet, but I just hope that it is more easier to understand for people that aren't used to this style of game play. I am able to play the OG Fallout's no problem, but i just cannot get my head around Wasteland.

 

[The Dutch Ghost]

One of the things that is a bit of a turn off for me is the survivalist gameplay.
I honestly hope that that is optional for hardcore gamers who want a more "realistic" experience but can be left off for other gamers who just want to do the campaign and quests.

 

[reev4eg]

For those who don't know, ATOM: RPG is a Post Apocalyptic indie game inspired by the golden age of cRPG out now on EA. The team mentions a few names that inspired the making of this new cRPG: Fallout, System Shock, Deus Ex, Baldur's Gate and others.

It is a top down isometric, turn based combat RPG that happens in a (nuclear) devastated Soviet Union and the Western Bloc in the late 1980's.

Not only did it got successfully funded on Kickstarter, but it also managed to get three of their stretch goals met. So the game will contain a "Player's Base", a "Crafting System" and the choice of playing with a Male or Female main character (which seems like it will actually change reactions, dialogue and the way people act with the main character).

It has been in the making for almost 10 years (had a few bumps and problems on the way that delayed it a bit), but the team announced that the full release will be on February 2018.

It has been on Early Access only for a few days, but already has a "Very Positive" ranking on Steam with 82% of positive reviews.

Check it out if you like Post Apocalyptic cRPGs, cRPG in general or just miss the "good old" classics like Fallout and Fallout 2.

Thanks to @Risewild for the article.

TorontRayne hey man! Thanks a lot for posting about our game That's actually very important for me. I mean first time I ever read something on here I was nothing more than a kid... And now my own Fallout-inspired game is featured in the news on the main forum Sort of gets ya in this very special mood, you know? Thank you

 

[reev4eg]

One of the things that is a bit of a turn off for me is the survivalist gameplay.
I honestly hope that that is optional for hardcore gamers who want a more "realistic" experience but can be left off for other gamers who just want to do the campaign and quests.

Difficulty settings are on the way, when we finally release you get to pick what you want out of the game yourself!

It seems interesting. I haven't played yet, but I just hope that it is more easier to understand for people that aren't used to this style of game play. I am able to play the OG Fallout's no problem, but i just cannot get my head around Wasteland.

We're much closer to Fallout than to Wasteland 2 so go ahead and try! Although, I must warn that this is EA and thus there is a limited amount of things to do. Still, some players managed to play over 20 hours. Can't say how or why... But they did. And by supporting us now, you're making the final release date a bit closer! Try our free demo first if you have doubts!

The creators said from the start that it was inspired by cRPGs like Fallout and Baldur's Gate and other games like Deus Ex, etc. And being fans of Fallout themselves and making a post apocalyptic turn based game inspired by Fallout and GURPS, of course it will have a similar system.

But I think that by what I read of the reviews, the developers are really making their own thing, their own world, characters, narrative style, etc. There will also be crafting and the player will have a home base (two things that didn't really existed in the classic Fallout games), technology is old (reached it's peak in the 1980's) and not futuristic (Fallout technology reached it's peak in 2077), so no robots, laser/plasma weaponry, crazy wacky retro-futuristic advanced tech, etc (there's not even a Energy Weapons skill in ATOM).
The setting is also different, there was no resource wars in ATOM, there was not wars everywhere in the world, etc. They don't have a mascot like the Vault Boy, etc.
ATOM doesn't have perks, but they said they might make them in the future because players keep asking for them. The devs didn't plan on having perks, but they say that the biggest reason to make it Early Access while it is so incomplete was to get players feedback, and they seem to listen to that feedback (I read a few Steam comments and found already quite a few asking for perks).

To me it seems like the developers are quite serious about making their own thing, but inspired by the classics. I think that is a good thing.

Although, classic Fallout games are my favorite PC games, if I ever play this ATOM RPG, I will be very critical and compare it to Fallout, and I will huff and puff and rant about anything that is much inferior to the classics.

Exactly Like they say, a bad artist borrows and a decent artist steals. We absorbed years of cRPG gaming (Fallout, especially), made them our own, and are now trying to create a new thing out of that experience and our own ideas. There is always room for doubt, but I certainly believe the game will turn out original. You can see references everywhere - the UI, the starting location, the opening cinematic... But it's not copying. It's nodding to the original with the respect it deserves, but making something of our own, something we ourselves would love to play.

 

[reev4eg]

Nah, not interested anymore.

Looks like an amateur attempt to remake Fallout in 3D, pretty much like all post-JA2 Jagged Alliance wannabes, like BIA and Flashback. They all sucked, in case you didn't know. I doubt it'll get any better once it's out of EA.

Hey! We get that a lot And boy do we deserve it. One cannot simply make is own Post Nuclear RPG and dodge all the bad things there are to say about people who make their own post-nuclear RPG's. Especially on kickstarter. Especially if they're slavic. How many terrible Fallout and JA2 clones came out of the Post-Soviet countries? I can count at least 10. So no hard feelings. Still, it would've been awesome if you tried the game yourself if you're at least a bit interested! That's why we have a free demo! And believe me when I say that we listen to our community

Fallout is also GURPS inspired. I'm just saying that its stat system reminds me of Fallout's S.P.E.C.I.A.L. but with more conventional names for stats replaced with less conventional names. It makes me think of how far copyright laws and patents can hinder a game development process.

There's really no problem in that field. Our system differs from SPECIAL in a lot of ways. Sometimes for worst... But still, we didn't reproduce the math itself. And the math (and the name S.P.E.C.I.A.L. itself duh) is the copyrighted part

 

[reev4eg]

I'm interested, if they can handle it as good as Fallout 2. I'm a bit skeptical however, as Russian developers are usually not into that sort of thing.

Well, we are 10% finished with the game and there are 800 lines of dialogue somehow changed because of the char's gender. Around 6 NPC's have unique reactions bc of your gender, 3-5 more dialogues have unique dialogue options based on gender. More to come, naturally. However, your skepticism is completely understood. Where ATOM comes from, there are plenty bad Fallout clones. We're not even a clone, but we still feel the stigma burn ;(

 

[GuyManBot]

We're much closer to Fallout than to Wasteland 2 so go ahead and try! Although, I must warn that this is EA and thus there is a limited amount of things to do. Still, some players managed to play over 20 hours. Can't say how or why... But they did. And by supporting us now, you're making the final release date a bit closer! Try our free demo first if you have doubts!

Cool. Will definitely keep an eye out then.

 

[Unorthodox Outlander]

I'm actually interested to see some more contrasts between Fallout and Atom, with the former having been mostly based off of US Cold-War culture, the latter will have more of a base in the culture, propaganda, and other facets of the USSR (as well as some pure Russian nationalism in the heart of the Union).


On another note, I'm slightly curious as to just how much territory will be covered, since the Soviet Union was HUGE.

 

[shihonage]

[...]by supporting us now, you're making the final release date a bit closer! Try our free demo first if you have doubts!

What happens if you get a quest from NPC1 to kill NPC2, and in the middle of the quest the game updates, and you moved NPC2 to another location, or removed NPC1, or changed the quest consequences, etc?

How do you handle savegames in an open-world game that is constantly updating?

 

[Gonzalez]

If anyone is curious about the song from the main menu (as I was)

 

[Gonzalez]

Does anyone know the name of the music from the record players in the bunker?