From Dust

[CeeKay]

Also labeled Project Dust in the video, this one sounds like a Populous style game where you protect the worlds inhabitants and are able to shape the world.

http://www.fromdustgame.com/

There is not much explanation on the main site, but there is a video of gameplay.  The wiki has more info: http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/From_Dust

[lokiju]

I was just thinking how much I miss playing Populous.  Hopefully this will at least have the same feel to it.

[baelthazar]

I'm excited about this one. An awesome terraforming god game.

[Punisher]

i'd like them to release a tech demo of the terraforming stuff... looks like it works pretty well...

[EngineNo9]

I'm guessing the game will be that tech demo.   

Heh, maybe not, but they haven't really shown much actual gameplay besides moving some terrain or water.  I'm sort of guessing since it is a downloadable title it may not have the same sort of depth of a game like Populous, but I may be wrong.

[CeeKay]

here's some videos:

tech demo 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=avCuyo0pDkE

nature: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GHWgRkg5kP4

tribes: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mCIu0z36d7w

[CeeKay]

5 out of 5 from VE3D.

[CeeKay]

well crud:

3rd-party DRM: Ubisoft Online Service

about the only saving grace so far is that it doesn't have the additional line 'Ubisoft requires a permanent Internet connection to play this video game at all times' yet.

[Tokek]

well crud:

3rd-party DRM: Ubisoft Online Service

about the only saving grace so far is that it doesn't have the additional line 'Ubisoft requires a permanent Internet connection to play this video game at all times' yet.

This may prevent me from buying it. Not because I'm boycotting Ubisoft due to their draconian DRM scheme but because in my neck of the woods, the internet is like the electricity, they go down and random times.

[CeeKay]

can't find the link, but I remember seeing an article over the weekend saying the 'always on' deal wasn't going to be part of this.

[CeeKay]

looks like it's been a less than smooth launch.  turns out you have to be online to launch the game, and then it appears to be a crappy port:

And then, the struggle to get the game to play (there are myriad issues being reported with the game, especially the menu screen’s not loading which I experienced on one launch) isn’t rewarded by a proper port. The first thing to notice is that the game is capped at 30fps. With PCs offering four times that, being locked off at a crappy console limit is good evidence of how little effort has gone into the PC version. Worse is the lack of options. Yes, it can be run in a window (for some reason not at the largest resolutions though), but beyond that you’re on your own. Anti-aliasing? No chance. The game is made of staircases on a machine that could be making it look beautiful. So what were they doing during the eleventh hour delay?

[Gratch]

Bummer.  I'd been holding out for the PC version in the hopes that it would be better. 

[Chaz]

Yeah, this is super lame.  I was willing to pay full price for this, but now I guess I'll wait for the inevitable $5 Steam sale.  Good job, guys!

[EngineNo9]

Yeah, it isn't an especially fleshed out port, but I did have quite a bit of fun playing it last night.  It could look better, but it didn't take long before I didn't even notice that and was more worried about building a bridge and holding off the water, etc.

I'm also not a big fan of having to sign in to Ubisoft's stupid UPlay crap (especially since I'm already launching it from Steam), but I had already paid my money before I saw that. 

So yeah, another case of Ubi trying their best to stifle PC players, but the game is worth it despite that I think.

[Tokek]

I finished it yesterday and I loved it.

I don't like the Ubisoft Uplay crap but the game runs pretty beautifully on my rig at 1920x1080. It probably could look better but the gameplay makes up for the lack of eye candy.

[EngineNo9]

It also looks like Ubisoft may have listened, and will be releasing a patch that removes the need for any online connection.

We recognize that one of our posts in the From Dust forum regarding the need for authentication in the game was not clear. We sincerely apologize for the misunderstanding. Our tech teams are working on a patch that should release in approximately two weeks that will eliminate the need for any online authentication. This development time is required as we are working to ensure that those who have already started the game, and who’s progress is currently saved on our servers, will receive and save their game information locally. Once the patch is ready, players who already have the game will automatically receive the update on their next login and subsequent game sessions will be 100% offline.