The pacing of Torchlight Frontiers apparently had a few problems, so much so that the developers converted their prospective free-to-play game into the premium title Torchlight III. It was so bad, in fact, that co-lead Tyler Thompson described it as "awful".
If you haven't been keeping up with Torchlight III, you can see the latest developments with these new details released about Forts:
One new item recently revealed is that you'll also be able to visit other Forts in passageways. These won't be the crappy default Forts, either; instead, you'll see Forts that other players have been put work into. If you're lucky, they may have built out usable stations that you don't have access to just yet.
Things are shaping up pretty nicely for the game, but it wasn't always that way. In fact, early tests for Torchlight III weren't all that spectacular.
"This game is not recognisably similar to the thing we had 18 months ago," co-creator Tyler Thompson told Eurogamer, "and that's largely due to our fans telling us, 'That thing you tried is bad. You could do better over here.' And us actually being willing to go, 'You know what? Let's reconsider.'"
Shifting from a free-to-play title to a premium game brought a lot of problems with it. Some issues were simpler like changing the logo and reworking trailers. Others were mildly amusing annoyances that couldn't be avoided.
As an example, Tyler Thompson isn't too fond of the pets in Torchlight III. But, as he says, you just can't make a Torchlight game without them.
"There's no way we could make a Torchlight game without [pets]; that is a requirement," he explained. "But I still hate it."
Passing on a Battle Pass
Although there's not going to be a free-to-play release, will the third Torchlight game have any sort of Battlepass? Well... yes and no.
"The Contracts look a lot like battle passes," Thompson stated. "We have three different battle pass Contract things that you can pick from with different kinds of rewards, and as you level up with Fame through them, it unlocks a reward every level, or a collection of rewards at some levels."
Contracts make use of Torchlight's "Fame" system, a sort of reputation mechanic where you gain Fame for killing high-value targets, completing quests, and the like. Thompson makes it clear that this won't be something you have to pay for — it's built right into the game.
When is the Torchlight III Release Date?
One concern players might have is whether or not the game will actually be able to make it out on time. As quite a few game developers have announced delays, postponements, and cancellations for games and gaming events, will the next Torchlight game come out on time?
"We feel like we're definitely on track for a release this year," Tyler Thompson concluded. "We haven't said when — people have been guessing. What we've announced is a PC release this year with consoles coming afterwards."
If things keep pace, we'll be able to play the next Torchlight game before the year is out. For now, you can keep up with its development at torchlight3.com.
Are you looking forward to Torchlight III? What do you think of the shift from free-to-play to a premium title? Let us know in the comments below!
