Torchlight Message Board

Huh. Well, this is kinda unexpected. Runic, the band of former Diablo devs that produced Torchlight and the especially excellent Torchlight II, have just lost two key members. Founders Travis Baldree and Erich Schaefer are departing the little ARPG studio that could because, er, it apparently grew too large for their tastes. 20 people under one roof? You’re practically Ubisoft at that point. For real, though, both Diablo and Torchlight wouldn’t exist without these two, so it’s pretty wild to see them go. More on that and also Runic’s “crazy, cool, completely secret project” in the loot-ridden dungeons below.

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A couple of readers have asked about Torchlight 2's much-delayed Mac port, so we reached out to developer Runic to see what's up. Here's their statement:Read more...

#humblebundle Just because there've been a lot of humble indie bundles over the last few years doesn't mean they're any less of a good deal. The latest humble bundle offers a crapload of good games, all for whatever price you want to pay. For as little as you want, you'll get EFF, Vessel, the first Torchlight (hard to play that now that the sequel's out, but hey, it's cheap), S.P.A.Z., Shatter and Rochard, a game I've always wanted to play but never had a chance. More »

I gave Diablo 3 a five-star review, and though the word "perfect" didn't come up, I did call it "a masterpiece." I still stand by that score, despite the somewhat bumpy reputation the game has earned since launch. Now, Torchlight 2 has finally arrived to complete the pair. Besides their obvious genre connection, Runic Games' Max Schafer co-founded Blizzard North (where he helped make Diablo and Diablo 2), and these two anticipated sequels have crossed paths more than a few times during production.

Spoiler: I'm giving Torchlight 2 a half-star less. The game makes some minor missteps in design, and I don't think the pacing or the scope matches up to that of Diablo 3.

I say that right here in the beginning so I can move on to a different point: Ratings and comparisons aside, Torchlight 2 is an accomplishment by this studio of less than 30 people, a feat that's impressive regardless of any other long-awaited dungeon crawlers that arrived earlier this summer. It's an excellent follow-up to the popular first game in the series, and at a ridiculous price of just $19.99 it demands to be played both by fans of the genre and of great PC games.

It’s been a long road to the release of Torchlight II. Not Diablo III long, mind you, but it technically started with the original Torchlight, which didn’t even release until 2009. And all the while, there’s been Torchlight ports and constant demand for a Torchlight MMO – among other things. I wouldn’t be surprised if talk of Torchlight-branded torches, lights, and lighters crept into the conversation at some point. Point is, Runic’s been stuffing loot pinatas and shuffling dungeon tiles for quite some time now. So then, is it time for something new? I asked Runic CEO Max Schaefer as much during a recent interview (which you’ll be seeing all of soon), and he told me many things.

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#torchlight Torchlight II comes out tomorrow on Steam. It's a whole lot of fun, and it's different from Diablo III in some very interesting ways. More »

#torchlight It's all well and good to horde loot for yourself, but sometimes you want to share. Besides, who knows? Maybe your friend has a piece of gear that'll complete your set of armor and in so doing, complete your very soul. More »

Runic's CEO Max Schaefer seems both simultaneously relieved and nervous as he sits in the Torchlight 2 booth at PAX Prime 2012. Relieved, because his company finally announced a release date for its long-awaited game, and slightly nervous, because he knows the community's judgment is finally coming. But even launch won't bring a real break for Runic: Schaefer says the company has a clear plan laid out for post-release work.

A Mac port and language translations are first on the list, says Schaefer - both of those are real priorities for the team. Runic's also working on patching the game (if necessary), and getting the content editor up and running so both users and devs can make some mods and add-ons for the game. After that, says Schaefer, he's not sure. "We'll go up into the mountains or something and figure out what to do next."

Schaefer says that both a console port of Torchlight 2 and "an MMO" aren't out of the question, but there are problems with both of those ideas. "We will not be making a traditional MMO under any circumstances," he says, so a possible Torchlight MMO could look very different from what players might imagine - a pretty different stance from what we've heard in the past from Runic Games.

And while the studio had plenty of success with an Xbox Live port of its first Torchlight game (and Microsoft showed interest in a port of the second game), Schaefer says "it's a lot harder this time," given the way the game is built, to put together an Xbox port. All of that is a long way off, however - Schaefer's more concerned about getting this game released first.

If you've been looking for an excuse to pick up some new games, GOG.com has you covered this weekend. A selection of indie games is on sale for half-off this weekend, with Legend of Grimrock, Torchlight and Geneforge 1-5 all clocking in at $7.50. Meanwhile, Spacechem, Tiny & Big and Darwinia can all be had for $5 each.

If that's not enough, you can also grab GOG.com's entire Ultima collection, featuring Ultima 1 through 9 and both Ultima Underworld games, for $17.94. Alternatively, you can snag individual Ultima titles at a 30 percent discount.

Chinese developer Entertainment Game Labs will remove "some parts" of its game, Armed Heroes Online, the company tells Joystiq. Those "parts," it sounds like, are the ones that Runic Games is saying were stolen from its Torchlight franchise. "Players always come first," EGLS said in a statement. "There, we prefer to modify some parts of Armed Heroes Online where have caused those disputes rather than go on arguing. As long as this carves out a way out of angry disputes, it will be definitely worth our efforts," the statement reads.

Despite the alterations coming to AHO, its developer sticks by the game, remaining defiant that any of Runic's Torchlight assets were used in the creation of its iOS MMO. "We want to make clear, if necessary, that we would like to submit the documents, files, and other materials related to the game developing to Apple to prove the originalities of the game and the efforts we devoted into the game developing," the statement says.

Runic Games president Travis Baldree contends that he's already looked through AHO's files, however, and that they're far more damning that EGLS wants to admit. "I also downloaded the app, and you can just unzip them and look at any iPhone app. And there was a sound manifest that listed all the sound files in the game, and they were verbatim all of our sound files, including our own misspellings," Baldree told us in an interview yesterday. "Our technical artist Adam Perin did voices for a sword called 'The Sword of Adam.' And it had goofy little things that he would say when you swung the sword. And those were in there [Armed Heroes Online], even in one of their videos," he said.

For Runic, this solution - should it actually play out - is exactly what Baldree was hoping would happen. "We're really just trying to get the thing pulled down from the App Store and to have them use their own assets. We were a little baffled by their initial response, and we'd be more than happy to talk to them and see what's up," he said. As of right now, Armed Heroes Online isn't available via the iTunes App Store, and it's seemingly been pulled by Apple following Runic's takedown request.

See the full statement from EGLS after the break.

Art assets from Runic Games' Torchlight franchise bear more than a passing resemblance to those used in iOS MMO Armed Heroes Online, from Chinese developer Entertainment Game Labs ("EGLS"). And Runic Games head Travis Baldree is calling foul, taking to Twitter this week to say, "So, wow - this game is releasing on the app store. They wholesale stole most of the assets from Torchlight," and linking to the EGLS game website.

Baldree made the image seen above as well, comparing the two games' art assets from source material he found in YouTube clips of Armed Heroes Online with those of his company's game. Beyond talking, Baldree tells us that Runic "have contacted Apple with a takedown request but haven't heard back yet." The company's goal at the moment is "simply to get the game removed from the App Store until it no longer infringes upon our copyright." It's unclear if representatives from Runic's parent company, Chinese MMO company Perfect World, have been in contact with EGLS separately.

Baldree says Runic "have been unable to directly contact the company," but a rep from EGLS posted on Touch Arcade's forums with a lengthy public statement today. "We can hardly agree with Mr. Travis Baldree who judged that EGLS 'wholesale stole most of the assets from Torchlight!' only based on the similarity between several small monsters. The judgment is simply untenable," the post reads.

It goes on to say that some EGLS employees "are both crazy game fans and ecstatic movie lovers," alleging that the comparisons drawn are nothing more than an accident at best. Bizarrely, the statement then compares Torchlight to WildTangent's PC RPG Fate, as well as Diablo 2 - both games that Runic employees were instrumental in developing.

Armed Heroes Online remains available via iTunes for now, but we don't expect it'll be there for much longer. The game is free-to-play with in-app purchases (read: microtransactions). An EGLS rep didn't respond to request for comment as of publishing.

#armedheroes The creators of action-role-playing game Armed Heroes Online have denied allegations that they ripped off Torchlight's art assets, taking to the Touch Arcade forums today to call the claims "untenable." More »

#ifraud Armed Heroes Online, a game released last week to the Canadian iTunes store, is one of the most blatant cases of theft I have ever seen in an iOS app or game, and considering the shitshow of fakes and ripoffs that store is, that's saying a lot. Nearly every visual asset in this game is taken directly from the acclaimed dungeon-crawler Torchlight, by Runic Games, for PC. (And Mac!) More »

#torchlight The developers at Runic Games know you've been waiting. Their long-brewing RPG sequel was supposed to be out last year, to give even players a dose of hack-and-loot before the even longer-brewing Diablo III came out. Now, Blizzard's game will be hitting shelves before Torchlight 2. More »

#delayofgame Give it up for Runic Games. Asked to account for why its repeatedly delayed Torchlight II isn't going to release this year, the studio's president just pointed at the other entrees on the holiday gaming buffet and said, hey, with all this great stuff here, you can wait, right? More »

#diablo Max Schaefer is one of the founders of Blizzard North and Runic Games, meaning he has games like Diablo II and Torchlight on his resume. Add "incredibly good sport" to his list of achievements, based on this incredibly awkward live action role-playing scenario put together by the folks at PCGames.de. More »

A million is a big number. For instance, if you put a million hairbrushes in a pile end to end it would reach Pluto. That’s not true, but it serves as a useful illustration for a million being a big number. Still not got it? Well, imagine a tennis ball. Now imagine a million of them. See, that’s a lot of tennis balls! Also, Torchlight has sold a million copies.

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Seattle, WA - Runic Games, Inc. ("Runic Games"), a specialized developer of PC-based interactive entertainment software in the United States, announced today that their critically-acclaimed dungeon crawler TORCHLIGHT has officially sold over one million units across all platforms (PC, Mac, and Xbox)...

Runic Games announced today that its little dungeon crawler that could, Torchlight, surpassed a million units sold across PC, Mac and Xbox 360. The company didn't provide a breakdown across platforms, but the title launched in October 2009, May 2010 and March 2011 for PC, Mac and Xbox 360, respectively. Torchlight has been discounted several times over that time to help it along the way to the million mark.

Runic is currently working on Torchlight 2. Checking in on the game's ever-shifting release window, a company representative informed us today that the developer is "still targeting 2011," but no launch date will be announced until Runic is "closer to being done."

If some cosmically improbable chain of events has kept you from playing Torchlight, today just might be the day to rectify it. Direct2Drive is currently selling the dungeon crawler for the tantalizingly low price of $5.08. It should be just the thing to tide you over until Torchlight 2.

Runic Games is showing Torchlight 2 on the floor of E3 this week, and we're just as busy as you are looking at all of this E3 news, so we'll get right to it: It's great. All of the things you loved about the first Torchlight are back, polished and updated, along with one of the most long awaited features of the game, co-op multiplayer. Not a lot has changed, but not a lot needed to -- this is Torchlight with a lot of smoothing, a great graphical upgrade, and a whole lot of fan lovin'.

There are two big announcements for the game at E3 this week. First, the Berserker has been revealed as one of the game's new classes, joining the Railman, the Outlander, and one other as of yet unannounced class. Second, the game's multiplayer will support something we haven't seen developers talk about in a while: Local Area Network, or LAN, play.

Wait a minute. LAN support? As in offline, play-with-your-friends, Fritos and Mountain Dew-fueled late night LAN party support? Runic Games CEO Max Schafer knows you don't actually have to do that for games any more, right? Like dedicated servers, LAN support is something of a lost art in this modern age of console gaming. "But people asked for it," Schafer told us, so yes, Torchlight 2 will be playable on a LAN.

If, for reasons far beyond our comprehension, you still haven't played Runic Games' dungeon-diver RPG Torchlight, Direct2Drive can help you atone on the cheap. The game's been marked down to $3.75 on D2D for an undisclosed amount of time -- meaning you should probably hop on it with a quickness.

It seems the MMO-ified version of Runic Games' mine-dwelling RPG Torchlight will attempt to avoid one of the genre's biggest pitfalls: trying to go head-to-head with Blizzard's gigantic, millions-of-players-strong monster. In a recent interview with Charge Shot, Runic CEO Max Schaefer explained, "I don't think really anyone can do [subscriptions] anymore because pretty much everyone that does subscriptions has one for World of Warcraft." Subsequently, the company will not pursue a subscription model for the Torchlight MMO.

We appreciate the sentiment, but we think Schaefer's underestimating how many of us MMO players are just fabulously wealthy. We can afford to subscribe to more than one thing, you know? As of right now, we're subscribed to WoW, EQ2, EVE Online, DC Universe Online, Final Fantasy XIV, Warhammer Online and the Potpourri of the Month Club.

... Let's just pretend that we didn't say that last one, okay?

Runic Games announced today that last week's launch day of Torchlight's solid, gamepad-friendly Xbox Live Arcade port, was the company's "best sale day in its history."

"We're very excited to bring Torchlight to the 360, and have been really gratified by the positive reaction," said President Travis Baldree. "It's affirming to know that console players love this genre as much as we do. We think the experience translates pretty well to the couch."

Runic is currently working on Torchlight 2 for PC, which will "probably" launch in July. We're sure Blizzard is taking note of Torchlight's console success for its upcoming Diablo 3.

Torchlight was set to launch on Xbox Live Arcade in Japan today, but it won't make its appointed release date, or any release date. In a brief statement on Xbox.com, Microsoft announced that the Japanese release of the dungeon crawler has been canned as a result of a bug in the Japanese language text display.

Either that's one serious bug, or Microsoft decided the cost of the QA wouldn't be worth it for a game that already faced two strikes -- being a downloadable game in Japan, and being an Xbox 360 game in Japan.

The Torchlight avatar cap and other accessories are still available.

There's a large room up ahead. It's an uncharted space on the dungeon map and thus assuredly filled with very large, very nasty monsters. The room, unfortunately, is the only way forward. Physically weak and wielding only a bow, I'll need distraction and distance to survive.

First things first, I lob a couple of shock traps through the door to deal some consistent damage. Then I summon up a pack of skeletons to keep the heat off of me. I rush in, use my Hamstring ability to weaken enemies, unleash a few exploding arrows for crowd control, swallow a health potion, fling some needles into the closest group of baddies and, finally, rush back out. What monsters remain are left to either be electrocuted or bleed to death.

As cool as all that sounds, the most amazing part is that I did it all without a keyboard and mouse.

The magic of Torchlight is coming to consoles via Xbox Live!

With the XBLA debut of Torchlight now set for March 9, the first gameplay footage has been released. Apart from some necessary HUD changes, the game seems identical to its computer counterparts. Hit the break to watch the video, after which you can continue intensely staring at the nearest calendar.

Just in the nick of time, Microsoft has announced dates and prices for its month-long Xbox Live Arcade House Party promotion. Things kick off on February 16 with Arc System Works' not-Contra side-scroller, Hard Corps: Uprising, priced at 1200 points ($15), followed by PopCap's Bejeweled Blitz on February 23, for 800 points ($10).

Things really get moving on March 2, when Beyond Good & Evil HD is released for the eminently reasonable price of 800 points. The last two releases will undoubtedly gather the most attention: the excellent, heretofore computer-bound, dungeon crawler Torchlight will be released on March 9 for 1200 points, while Microsoft's Live-enabled Full House Poker makes its debut on March 16 for a surprisingly low 800 points.Xbox Live House Party titles (Beyond Good & Evil HD, Torchlight) dated, priced

Speaking to Gamasutra, Runic's Max Schaefer shared some insight on the Xbox Live Arcade version of Torchlight, as well as the PC version's impending sequel and the eventual Torchlight MMO. He noted that the most difficult part of adapting Torchlight for XBLA was redesigning the interface."You don't realize how much interface is in your game until you have to go and reinvent it," said Schaefer, noting that the team was taken "a little bit by surprise" at how much work was required. The team is "nervous" to see how players react to the game's transformation, though Schaefer said that the game "feels right," adding that many Runic staffers now prefer the Xbox version.

He also discussed Torchlight's comparisons to Diablo -- something he must be getting used to by now. Schaefer isn't worried about the upcoming arrival of Diablo 3. In fact, he embraces it, saying, "I only see it as a good thing." In fact, it sounds like Diablo 3 will give Runic some extra time to work, with Schaefer stating "it'll delay whatever we're working on for at least a month."

Regarding the Torchlight MMO, Runic is currently focusing on Torchlight 2, though the MMO is definitely still in the pipeline. According to Schaefer, the success of Torchlight has afforded Runic the ability to make "the right strategic move and not make any moves out of desperation."