As Torchlight developers at Runic Games continue to slowly inch the curtain back to reveal what Torchlight 3 will hold for patient fans, we’re being drip-fed upcoming characters and mechanics that will be present in the action-RPG hybrid that mashes together interesting skill trees, numerous hordes of enemies, and of course, some good old-fashioned dungeon-crawling. The latest mechanic that they’ve just unveiled for their upcoming title appeared to have taken fans aback by surprise if nothing else.
It’s a base-building mechanic, because what game would be complete without it. The trailer hints at a multitude of gameplay options within the base itself, but most interestingly, there don’t seem to be any roofs available for your base. Just strikes me as odd; it’s like walking around in an MMO without boots on, it simply feels wrong. Before we get too in-depth ion what the trailer reveals, it would be wise for you to watch it yourself.
No roofs, it’s weird, right?
Beyond our architecturally challenged heroes attempting to cobble together a livable hovel in what appears to be a desolate reach of land, there are also a few other things that we can glean from this trailer; it’s worth noting that any of this could very well change as the title itself continues to evolve in development.
First, it appears we obviously come into contact with a generally desolate reach of land where players can opt to build however they please. The size and layout of the land appear to be generally interchangeable, meaning that we could see multiple environments that we elect to build our fort within.
Secondly, the dialogue infers that we’ll be able to use our fort to further our hero’s skills, based on what we opt to place into the rooms. From sacrificial alters to libraries, there does seem to be a wealth of options that will all play a significant hand in how our heroes develop.
The main questions fans are asking right now are two-fold: first, where are we getting the materials necessary for building? Torchlight 2 had a fantastic feature that allowed heroes to send their pets to go do trivial shopping for them, selling loot and picking up potions, keeping players in the thick of it as long as they prefer. Lengthy bouts of resource gathering and general management would drastically interrupt the standard pace of play that many users have become familiar with in the franchise.
The second question is actually thanks to Animal Crossing: where are we finding the furnishings for our forts? If they’re slowly unlocked in an incremental fashion, such as by gathering messages in a bottle washed up on a shore, players will likely become bored by the artificial limits.
As time tends to, eventually we’ll get all of the necessary information as Runic Games continues to tease upcoming content and in-game mechanics that players will be handling on a day-to-day basis in the world of Torchlight III. The trailer also includes a fancy badge at the end that seems to verify that it is coming to Steam; a large sigh of relief for many fans of the franchise that were concerned about possible back-room exclusivity deals.
