PoTM - The Switch Experience

[emptyanima]

I apologise in advance for any typos as I am making this post on my phone.

Before I begin, I want to say I am very grateful that I can play at all, given that my laptop’s current function is as an expensive paperweight! That being said, here are my impressions of playing on Switch!

1) Some points to be aware of;

I have been playing in the undocked mode, using the Switch as a handheld device. I believe the Switch supports USBC keyboards but I don’t have one. As such I RP using the touchscreen keyboard, which feels ok, but the input masks the whole screen so you cannot follow what is happening when you are typing. A couple of times I have been typing an emote and the player I was directing it at has walked off before I sent it.

2) Your login name is determined by your Switch profile. There is a 10 character limit, rendering any logins longer than this inaccessible. E.g, Prima Vista is my account for Tristan... 11 characters long.

My main points are;

3) The hotbar is located in a radial menu at Zl. It is clunky but useable, but I can see this being a big disadvantage in fast moving PvP.

4) I crash every time I load into the Mist Camp traders vardo.

5) I crash every time I rest. I see the feedback message for a second before crashing, so the XP is not lost. I also crash sometimes when trying to send tells.

6) Targeting enemies is less precise.

7) The chat box needs to cover most of the screen to be readable.

And finally...) You cannot click between bags. You must close the active bag to be able to open another.

In summary, relaxed RP is enjoyable on Switch (though your fellows will need some patience). I can see it being a nice setup for dedicated solo crafting. As a long-term or permanent platform for PoTM? I think my points speak for themselves...

[Kleomenes]

As a positive counterpoint, listening to emptyanima coping with the switch experience is highly entertaining, a definite plus.

[PrimetheGrime]

As a positive counterpoint, listening to emptyanima coping with the switch experience is highly entertaining, a definite plus.

This guy gets it

[slash]

I have some further notes regarding the Switch experience, from a friend of mine who tried to play on it:

1.) The game looks pretty nice on consoles. The Switch and Playstation ports look like they have some graphical tweaks to them, but the games looks really nice.

2.) Highly populated areas can get rather frame-y. It wasn't uncommon for them to drop into single-digit FPS at times in the Outskirts or the Morninglord temple.

3.) Connecting a keyboard to the Switch is possible, but not very functional. To type, you need to use the Switch controller to open up a keyboard screen and then switch to the keyboard to type, rendering you unable to interact with the game world while typing.

And finally,

4.) The Switch experience felt very natural for a console gamer. He seemed to find the controls intuitive, which surprised me, because as a person who has primarily played on a PC, I did not find the controls very comfortable.

All in all, while not the premiere option for PotM, I think the Switch port is an adequate substitute for people interested in getting into the game. (And if anyone cares, the base game runs pretty much flawlessly and we encountered no problems there, so that's good too I guess).

[Gharbest Razfallow]

Have put about 100 hours　into arelith on switch, and after a fatal experience for my character, directly relating to GM's (short version- sent to portal realm, no portals work, gm says　to take　portal　to　cordor even　though I'm an underdark character,　now I am stuck in cordor, killed on sight even　though rules say you must rp before　pvp, then respawn　in a shadoworld, no gm has　been able to get me　back to underdark, my character is essentially lost)

Ravenloft is far more immersive so far, especially with audio (I can hear　the weather changes? Awesome)

Though, the near　gamebreaking part for me　is the bug mentioned above, that everytime you rest the software closes.  Since there is no xp bar, and I can't view the　rest dialogue, I have no idea what is happening regarding my progression.

Any fix to　not crash on rest?

[EO]

Have put about 100 hours　into arelith on switch, and after a fatal experience for my character, directly relating to GM's (short version- sent to portal realm, no portals work, gm says　to take　portal　to　cordor even　though I'm an underdark character,　now I am stuck in cordor, killed on sight even　though rules say you must rp before　pvp, then respawn　in a shadoworld, no gm has　been able to get me　back to underdark, my character is essentially lost)

Ravenloft is far more immersive so far, especially with audio (I can hear　the weather changes? Awesome)

Though, the near　gamebreaking part for me　is the bug mentioned above, that everytime you rest the software closes.  Since there is no xp bar, and I can't view the　rest dialogue, I have no idea what is happening regarding my progression.

Any fix to　not crash on rest?

Unfortunately so far no one has found a solution. On our end, we lack enough data to debug it since none of the development team members have access to a Switch. It's likely one of our functions that causes issues, but to know what? Tons of things happen when someone rests and figuring out which crashes the Switch isn't straightforward.

You could perhaps get in touch with the Beamdog team, try to see what could cause Switch crashes, get data, and get back to us.

[Iluvatar / Madness]

Unfortunately so far no one has found a solution. On our end, we lack enough data to debug it since none of the development team members have access to a Switch.

I actually own a switch... 

[Gharbest Razfallow]

Have put about 100 hours　into arelith on switch, and after a fatal experience for my character, directly relating to GM's (short version- sent to portal realm, no portals work, gm says　to take　portal　to　cordor even　though I'm an underdark character,　now I am stuck in cordor, killed on sight even　though rules say you must rp before　pvp, then respawn　in a shadoworld, no gm has　been able to get me　back to underdark, my character is essentially lost)

Ravenloft is far more immersive so far, especially with audio (I can hear　the weather changes? Awesome)

Though, the near　gamebreaking part for me　is the bug mentioned above, that everytime you rest the software closes.  Since there is no xp bar, and I can't view the　rest dialogue, I have no idea what is happening regarding my progression.

Any fix to　not crash on rest?

Unfortunately so far no one has found a solution. On our end, we lack enough data to debug it since none of the development team members have access to a Switch. It's likely one of our functions that causes issues, but to know what? Tons of things happen when someone rests and figuring out which crashes the Switch isn't straightforward.

You could perhaps get in touch with the Beamdog team, try to see what could cause Switch crashes, get data, and get back to us.

So as a stroke of luck, or what have you-

I have just successfully rested without crashing. I turned off the rest feedback message, in feedback options.  And I completed my rest.  Still can't see my progression though! But much better than the software closing.