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[Interview] Trove: So Update. Much Fastness.

BillMurphyBillMurphy Former Managing EditorMember LegendaryPosts: 4,565

Yes, we just used the tired Doge meme. Deal with it. Late last week, I sat down to chat with Trove’s Creative Director, Andrew Krausnick about all the work their small team’s done on the game since opening it up to an NDA-less Alpha. Before the nice long deserved break at Trion’s San Francisco offices, Andrew and I went over everything the team’s added in the past couple of weeks since we last took a look at Trove.




 

Read on for more of Bill Murphy's Trove: So Update. Much Fastness.

Try to be excellent to everyone you meet. You never know what someone else has seen or endured.

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Comments

  • MyrdynnMyrdynn Member RarePosts: 2,479

    god this looks absolutely horrible

     

  • gatherisgatheris Member UncommonPosts: 1,016
    more importantly why are people expected to/wanting to throw money at an established studio to develop a game?

    image

  • adderVXIadderVXI Member UncommonPosts: 727
    Eerrrmmm..
    Archeage

    Government is not reason; it is not eloquent; it is force. Like fire, it is a dangerous servant and a fearful master.

    George Washington

  • crysentcrysent Member UncommonPosts: 841

    I'm not trying to be sarcastic...but why do the character models look like some kind of bird creature in a top hat?

     

    At least minecrafts somewhat looked human...these look like pigeons or something..

  • WightyWighty Member UncommonPosts: 699
    Is this Trions answer to EQ Next Landmark?

    What are your other Hobbies?

    Gaming is Dirt Cheap compared to this...

  • stragen001stragen001 Member UncommonPosts: 1,720

    I dont get it? This looks like something from the mid 90s. GW2 had a tongue in cheek 8 bit minigame which looked better than this. 

    Apart from the looks, it appears to be a straight up copy of Minecraft. 

    The only thing which seems to be different is the procedurally generated worlds....

    So...........whats the hook?

    Cluck Cluck, Gibber Gibber, My Old Mans A Mushroom

  • wormedwormed Member UncommonPosts: 472

    Looks like Cube World... but uglier.

    Mechanics like Minecraft... but not as good.

    What's the point?

  • DrDreamDrDream Member UncommonPosts: 237
    Not sure whats with all this hate, but im stoked for this game looks like a game i could spend alot of hours in. Somthing about Building/Digging games in a Block like world appeals to me (terraria, Minecraft, Steamworld Dig. To each their own i guess.

    image

  • Dreamo84Dreamo84 Member UncommonPosts: 3,713
    It's already fun as hell that's the point! And you can just login and play with people. No hosting a server etc.

    image
  • crysentcrysent Member UncommonPosts: 841

    Someone who is playing it give an update.  Is it just like Minecraft?  Are there dungeons? raids? special loot?  What exactly is the point besides doing exactly what you do in minecraft?

     

    Anyone?

  • TamanousTamanous Member RarePosts: 3,026
    Originally posted by crysent

    Someone who is playing it give an update.  Is it just like Minecraft?  Are there dungeons? raids? special loot?  What exactly is the point besides doing exactly what you do in minecraft?

     

    Anyone?

    It is a minecraft rip off. I can't imagine it would play much different or it would miss the point of ripping something off.

    You stay sassy!

  • Baramos79Baramos79 Member Posts: 73
    Originally posted by Tamanous
    Originally posted by crysent

    Someone who is playing it give an update.  Is it just like Minecraft?  Are there dungeons? raids? special loot?  What exactly is the point besides doing exactly what you do in minecraft?

     

    Anyone?

    It is a minecraft rip off. I can't imagine it would play much different or it would miss the point of ripping something off.

    Cool, and Minecraft ripped off legos. Almost every game you see out there is a "rip off" of something. Face it, there are only so many new ideas that can be turned into games. I am having a lot of fun with Trove as are many others, and the game is only in Alpha.

     

     

  • AegrusAegrus Member UncommonPosts: 34

    I've been playing this for over a year already...it's called Cube World ;-)

    (which looks better imho)

    https://picroma.com/cubeworld

     

  • RaxeonRaxeon Member UncommonPosts: 2,283
    i dotn think you can build anything in cubeworld can you?
  • RaxeonRaxeon Member UncommonPosts: 2,283
    and do people now what alpha is mechanics can get better through patches in this type of game. but they need to hrry and give more keys out
  • TamanousTamanous Member RarePosts: 3,026
    Originally posted by Baramos79
    Originally posted by Tamanous
    Originally posted by crysent

    Someone who is playing it give an update.  Is it just like Minecraft?  Are there dungeons? raids? special loot?  What exactly is the point besides doing exactly what you do in minecraft?

     

    Anyone?

    It is a minecraft rip off. I can't imagine it would play much different or it would miss the point of ripping something off.

    Cool, and Minecraft ripped off legos. Almost every game you see out there is a "rip off" of something. Face it, there are only so many new ideas that can be turned into games. I am having a lot of fun with Trove as are many others, and the game is only in Alpha.

     

     

    And yet mindcraft is still considered the spiritual grandfather of this video game genre (due to it's success). You can continue to nitpick all the way back and complain Lego and Minecraft are just rip offs of material physics since the Big Bang or you can realize the rest of us are specifically talking about mmo video games on a website called MMORPG.com.

     

    A rip off can very easily become better than the game it was based upon but this does not change the fact it was influenced by what came before it. Copying games is 90+% the business model of many large developers (I.E. EA and Activision who have many clones of each other with endless sequels with similar game play) so it is of no surprise Trion is trying to capitalize on gaming trends. Rift was a pure mmo themepark clone with zero originality other than the Rift system which was already a concept and being played by pnp rpg players in a 30 year old game.

    You stay sassy!

  • TheLizardbonesTheLizardbones Member CommonPosts: 10,910


    Originally posted by crysent
    I'm not trying to be sarcastic...but why do the character models look like some kind of bird creature in a top hat? At least minecrafts somewhat looked human...these look like pigeons or something..

    Minecraft uses textures painted on very large blocks. Trove is constructing the shapes out of many very small blocks. Trove could technically create Minecraft like character models, but since they have classes, the character shapes are indicative of the class and maybe race of the characters.

    I can not remember winning or losing a single debate on the internet.

  • TheLizardbonesTheLizardbones Member CommonPosts: 10,910


    Originally posted by Baramos79
    Originally posted by Tamanous Originally posted by crysent Someone who is playing it give an update.  Is it just like Minecraft?  Are there dungeons? raids? special loot?  What exactly is the point besides doing exactly what you do in minecraft?   Anyone?
    It is a minecraft rip off. I can't imagine it would play much different or it would miss the point of ripping something off.
    Cool, and Minecraft ripped off legos. Almost every game you see out there is a "rip off" of something. Face it, there are only so many new ideas that can be turned into games. I am having a lot of fun with Trove as are many others, and the game is only in Alpha.

     

     




    Game designers being able to rip each other off is why the video game genre moves at a pace that no other entertainment industry can match. Instead of funneling money into lawyers and lawsuits, it gets funneled into development.

    I can not remember winning or losing a single debate on the internet.

  • TamanousTamanous Member RarePosts: 3,026
    Originally posted by lizardbones

     


    Originally posted by crysent
    I'm not trying to be sarcastic...but why do the character models look like some kind of bird creature in a top hat?

     

     

    At least minecrafts somewhat looked human...these look like pigeons or something..



    Minecraft uses textures painted on very large blocks. Trove is constructing the shapes out of many very small blocks. Trove could technically create Minecraft like character models, but since they have classes, the character shapes are indicative of the class and maybe race of the characters.

     

    It still seems too entirely similar to minecraft. This alone isn't an issue imo but it's real competitor may be EQLandmark which looks far more real and I wonder if realism is the only thing holding back more people from jumping on block building games. It is pretty much a primary reason for me. I applaud new ideas in gaming but I also find it hard to go back 15 years in graphics to play them.

     

    If Trove isn't dramatically different than minecraft or an original direction to the genre like EQLandmark I ponder what audience it will successfully pull from.

    You stay sassy!

  • Dreamo84Dreamo84 Member UncommonPosts: 3,713

    Trove plays nothing like Minecraft.

    1) Minecraft is at it's heart a single player game requiring local storage. Users can run their own server but it's not directly supported by the developers. Trove servers are all run by Trion and you connect to them like you would an MMO all your character information is stored on their servers.

    2) Trove is more focused on adventuring. You have levels and different classes with powers to learn. There's tons of loot to find and mounts to earn. Dungeons and towers already exist in Alpha though it is very basic at this time.

    3) Persistent building is very minimal in Trove. The worlds are designed with a overall goal to achieve and once that goal is achieved the world is destroyed. The only thing build wise that persists is your characters cornerstone you can build on and transfer it from world to world exactly how you made it. That already exists in alpha and it's really cool.

                 If anything I would compare Trove more to Terraria or Starbound as far as the focus of the game being on adventuring and character building.

                Yes it looks similar to cubeworld, and Cubeworld does have more content at the moment. But unlike Cubeworld Trove is actually being actively developed and patched on a weekly basis rather than cashing in and not appearing to do anything for about half a year now.

                I know Cubeworld is a husband and wife team or whatever, but that is no excuse. They certainly made some decent money off of selling those alpha copies. If they need to hire more help then do it. The game is fun for the first couple days but it's very unfinished and doesn't appear to have any momentum at all. Unlike Trove, which is likely to be a full fledged game within a year based on what I am seeing.

              The game Is clearly inspired by Minecraft, Cubeworld, and Terraria etc. But that's not a bad thing. Even Notch thinks it's awesome that these games have come from what he created. People need to stop acting like a game inspired by another is a rip off and worthless. This is a game that was started by two Trion devs on their own time and then picked up by the company to actually develop it full time.

    image
  • WizardryWizardry Member LegendaryPosts: 19,332
    Originally posted by Wighty
    Is this Trions answer to EQ Next Landmark?

    I think more a case of jumping on the Voxels bandwagon and instead of putting in a lot of quality work and hitting the market way too late,they are trying to be first and cash in on the craze before it dies out.

    IMO this is more like a concept game you would toss together to sell the idea to an investor,definitely not the quality i would expect from a finished product.

    1 I like the idea yes

    2 I would not play this quality ,not even for free.

    Never forget 3 mile Island and never trust a government official or company spokesman.

  • deveilbladdeveilblad Member UncommonPosts: 193
    I don't get it... This looks like a small indie project a couple of grad students would come up with... How is this made by Trion (which I thought was a big studio ?). Did Defiance really put them near bankruptcy ?
  • WightyWighty Member UncommonPosts: 699

    ...Except cubeworld is pretty much vaporware and has hardly been updated in the last 6 months ...Great concept yet totally abandoned (or seems to be) by the couple who created it.

     

    Trion would have been much better off just purchasing Cubeworld and building on it.

     

    Unfortunately with games like EQNext Landmark and TUG coming out soon this will be left in the dust.

     

    The one thing it does have going for it is that is it not a horrible as Vox

    What are your other Hobbies?

    Gaming is Dirt Cheap compared to this...

  • RebelScum99RebelScum99 Member Posts: 1,090
    Originally posted by Myrdynn

    god this looks absolutely horrible

     

    Yup, it does.  But hey, it's not like Trion has any other projects they should be working on...

    Oh...except Archeage.  

     

     

  • Baramos79Baramos79 Member Posts: 73
    Originally posted by Tamanous
    Originally posted by Baramos79
    Originally posted by Tamanous
    Originally posted by crysent

    Someone who is playing it give an update.  Is it just like Minecraft?  Are there dungeons? raids? special loot?  What exactly is the point besides doing exactly what you do in minecraft?

     

    Anyone?

    It is a minecraft rip off. I can't imagine it would play much different or it would miss the point of ripping something off.

    Cool, and Minecraft ripped off legos. Almost every game you see out there is a "rip off" of something. Face it, there are only so many new ideas that can be turned into games. I am having a lot of fun with Trove as are many others, and the game is only in Alpha.

     

     

    And yet mindcraft is still considered the spiritual grandfather of this video game genre (due to it's success). You can continue to nitpick all the way back and complain Lego and Minecraft are just rip offs of material physics since the Big Bang or you can realize the rest of us are specifically talking about mmo video games on a website called MMORPG.com.

     

    A rip off can very easily become better than the game it was based upon but this does not change the fact it was influenced by what came before it. Copying games is 90+% the business model of many large developers (I.E. EA and Activision who have many clones of each other with endless sequels with similar game play) so it is of no surprise Trion is trying to capitalize on gaming trends. Rift was a pure mmo themepark clone with zero originality other than the Rift system which was already a concept and being played by pnp rpg players in a 30 year old game.

    I just find it sad that players cry rip off for EVERY game that comes out. Obviously a majority of games are influenced by older games, but like you said, that doesn't mean they can't be good or even better than the originals down the road.

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