Kingdom Come: Deliverance / Open-World RPG / Medieval History

[Paul_cz]

Are any of the DLCs worth getting ?

Yes, and they are designed to be played during the game (not after), they unlock at various points in the story. Woman's Lot is especially great (quest helping Johanka is fantastic).

Just finished the game and even though it has flaws well worth putting the time into it, get the save anytime mod though it needs it.

If you learn to brew savior schnapps, the mod really isn't needed. I played on hardcore mode without the mod and had no problems. Btw did you like the ending credits song?

 

[Devrij]

Picked this up on egs after playing a couple hours on the xbox pass. Only reason I didn't keep playing was that I forgot to save (yeah I'm getting that save mod) and it sent me right back to the very beginning!

Looking forwards to really getting stuck into it.

 

[sgavan]

Yes, and they are designed to be played during the game (not after), they unlock at various points in the story. Woman's Lot is especially great (quest helping Johanka is fantastic).



If you learn to brew savior schnapps, the mod really isn't needed. I played on hardcore mode without the mod and had no problems. Btw did you like the ending credits song?

It was pretty good, different to the main game/them but I though the music throughout was great

 

[unwashed potato!]

i played on pc when it first came out and ended up feeling i needed the save mod, as well as really didn't like the monastry mission. not sure if that's because i played so much until that point that i was burnt out, but i rushed it as quickly as i could killing a fair few people, and then every mission past that point i rushed and felt annoyed when it lead to another as i felt i must be nearly done.

i then played again on xbox when it went on game pass. i never felt the need for save mod as i bought savious shnapps quite easily in stores, and had planned to learn to brew them quickly, but by that point i had enough spare not to worry. i also made sure to take my time with the monastry mission and really enjoyed it. perahps knowing what to expect made the difference, but it ended up being a really neat way to almost reset your character and go back to basics. forget all your high spec armour, high damage swords etc.

one note for those who do want to skip as much as possible of the monastry mission.

Spoiler

you can very easily do most of the stuff required before you enter the mission. you can pick locks, put lots of gear in easy to open chests ready for when you do the mission, as well as even steal the book you're required to get. at one point i opened the basement door, went and quickly got all my gear stored just outside in the courtyard, and then snuck back in but decided against this method so reloaded. there's multiple ways to do it. some super easy, some harder and require more patience but bigger reward when you do complete it

 

[Poneros]

Installed the game, played around, mostly testing settings. Had to adjust OC/voltages quite a bit because it was really heating up, game stressed pretty much every piece of the hardware hard (but I like that). With a V64 + i7 6800k it's not too bad, 1800p High settings, some like GI/Textures at Ultra High, bumped up LODs - no real issues staying around 60 fps, but I haven't been to Rattay yet. Then as I got around to actually playing it I ofc ran headlong into lock-picking. As I want to play it with a controller it turned out as you'd imagine - quick uninstall. Something didn't let me to let it go though, and I genuinely enjoyed the atmosphere a LOT even for just a little bit of playtime. I'm also EE, but I don't know, I relate to KCD a lot more than something like Metro series, which I just hated, in terms of atmosphere. It just feels right. Then I saw this review

and after a few days I decided to go back re-install. Luckily I tried the lockpicking with a mouse this time & got it instantly. It's really stupidly hard with a controller for some reason, but if anyone else is frustrated with that part - do it with the mouse then switch back to gamepad. It's worked a treat. Now time to enjoy some more actual gameplay, I have a feeling this will keep me busy until end of March.

Hey-ho!

 

[unwashed potato!]

Locking locking on xbox compared to pc was a right nightmare at first. Eventually I learned that its easier to spin both joysticks and just pray it works

 

[Paul_cz]

Luckily I tried the lockpicking with a mouse this time & got it instantly. It's really stupidly hard with a controller for some reason, but if anyone else is frustrated with that part - do it with the mouse then switch back to gamepad. It's worked a treat.

Yes, first few levels mouse is much easier than gamepad for lockpicking (even when simplified lockpicking is enabled in the menu). After Henry gains few skill levels though, lockpicking becomes perfectly fine on controller as well.

It was pretty good, different to the main game/them but I though the music throughout was great

I love the combo of heavy metal and orchestra.

 

[Poneros]

The journey comes to an end. Or does it? Still hardcore mode to give a try.

There's a lot I want to say but I don't really feel like it atm, I'll write up a thorough review at some point.
Briefly, let me just say that this is an absolutely sublime experience & one of the best RPGs I've ever played. I was expecting it to be a lot rougher & tougher from all the grumbling I heard but actually nothing could be further from the truth. They've managed to put forth a game where the level of immersion is very high while at the same time feeling very streamlined and approachable. The atmosphere is great, the music is well, you can hear it for yourself, and graphically I'd say it's the best looking open world game out right now, even above RDR 2. The movie-like structure to the way the story is presented for the main quest is also done very well and appropriately. Most of all, the game feels truly unique and in the best way possible. Is it perfect? No. There's clearly more they wanted to do & add to the game that they just ran out of time & money for (blacksmithing, cooking, more alchemy, etc) and I think this is a sort of Witcher 2.5 moment for the studio and the sequel will truly deliver something unbelievable. My only wish is on the technical side, and hope they can somehow switch to DX12/Vulkan as draw calls are the main thing that kill performance in this game in certain scenarios (Rattay square/PBS battle etc).

I have full confidence in the studio for whatever comes next & can wholeheartedly recommend anyone interesting in an RPG to give this game a shot. It's well worth your time (and money).

 

[hughtrimble]

The journey comes to an end. Or does it? Still hardcore mode to give a try.

There's a lot I want to say but I don't really feel like it atm, I'll write up a thorough review at some point.
Briefly, let me just say that this is an absolutely sublime experience & one of the best RPGs I've ever played. I was expecting it to be a lot rougher & tougher from all the grumbling I heard but actually nothing could be further from the truth. They've managed to put forth a game where the level of immersion is very high while at the same time feeling very streamlined and approachable. The atmosphere is great, the music is well, you can hear it for yourself, and graphically I'd say it's the best looking open world game out right now, even above RDR 2. The movie-like structure to the way the story is presented for the main quest is also done very well and appropriately. Most of all, the game feels truly unique and in the best way possible. Is it perfect? No. There's clearly more they wanted to do & add to the game that they just ran out of time & money for (blacksmithing, cooking, more alchemy, etc) and I think this is a sort of Witcher 2.5 moment for the studio and the sequel will truly deliver something unbelievable. My only wish is on the technical side, and hope they can somehow switch to DX12/Vulkan as draw calls are the main thing that kill performance in this game in certain scenarios (Rattay square/PBS battle etc).

I have full confidence in the studio for whatever comes next & can wholeheartedly recommend anyone interesting in an RPG to give this game a shot. It's well worth your time (and money).

Great summary.

It's a really, really cracking creation.

 

[Paul_cz]

The journey comes to an end. Or does it? Still hardcore mode to give a try.

Great post, agree with every word - but damn, if you haven't played hardcore I really recommend waiting some time and then replaying the game with it - I absolutely loved how much immersion it added, especially to exploring and navigation in the world. The GPS henry icon not being present and compass not showing north, south etc makes such a big difference for the better.

I wish everyone could experience KCD in the same conditions I did - with all patches and DLCs included, on PC that handles 60fps stable on very high/ultra in 1620p, with no significant bugs present.

 

[TNA]

Great post, agree with every word - but damn, if you haven't played hardcore I really recommend waiting some time and then replaying the game with it - I absolutely loved how much immersion it added, especially to exploring and navigation in the world. The GPS henry icon not being present and compass not showing north, south etc makes such a big difference for the better.

I wish everyone could experience KCD in the same conditions I did - with all patches and DLCs included, on PC that handles 60fps stable on very high/ultra in 1620p, with no significant bugs present.

Soon

Waiting for the RTX 3070 to come out. Last we spoke I had a 970 installed, got a Vega 64 at the moment but I know that ain’t enough either.

 

[Poneros]

Soon

Waiting for the RTX 3070 to come out. Last we spoke I had a 970 installed, got a Vega 64 at the moment but I know that ain’t enough either.

I played with a V64 at 1800p. The GPU is good enough if you tune the settings (whatever you do, keep shaders & shadows on medium). The big performance drops are not GPU-related at all, it's down to API & CPU.

Spoiler

For reference, I have no issue staying almost capped at 60 fps with a Vega 64 & i7 6800k & 16GB ram & SSD, with following settings (in order as they appear on menu): 2tx, UH, H, UH, H, H, H, M, M, UH, H, H, UH, 20, 20, 10, at 1800p. Even in Rattay, the lowest spot is only a drop to 40ish fps (in as you come from castle, at the market centre), but maintains 50ish fps otherwise. H= High, UH = Ultra High etc 20 means maxed out slider, 10 half and so on

I also run the following modifiers in user.cfg:

cl_fov 80

r_TexturesStreamPoolSize = 8192

sys_budget_videomem = 8192

r_TexturesStreamingMaxRequestedMB = 2800

r_texturesstreamingDeferred = 1

r_TexturesStreamingResidencyEnabled = 1

r_TexturesStreamingMipBias = -3

r_TexturesStreamingResidencyThrottle = 0.8

r_TexturesStreamingResidencyTime = 120

sys_budget_sysmem = 15000

sys_streaming_in_blocks = 1

sys_streaming_requests_grouping_time_period = 1

e_PreloadMaterials = 1

sys_PakStreamCache = 1

sys_preload = 1

r_ssdo=1

r_ssdoAmountAmbient=1.4

r_ssdoAmountDirect=2

r_ssdoAmountReflection=4

r_ssdoHalfRes=2

r_ssdoRadius=0.04

r_ssdoRadiusMin=0.07

r_ssdoRadiusMax=0.1

e_svoTI_SSAOAmount=1.545

e_svoTI_SpecularAmplifier=0.82

e_svoTI_TemporalFilteringBase=1

e_svoTI_MinReflectance=0.19

e_svoTI_DiffuseAmplifier=1.12

I think I'm gonna end up doing a performance guide. There's a few on the web but none are really comprehensive nor are they up-to-date.

The key things to keep in mind are:
- Shaders to medium. There's almost no perceptible visual differences from turning them down but the BIGGEST performance impact bar none.
- If you don't have a great CPU OR you're in a CPU/Draw call bound scenario (Rattay etc) then turn down things that deal with streaming. Object quality, streaming distance etc.
- No big difference between 1800p & 4K. In fact, not even with 5K. Especially if you use SMAA 2TX, which I'd recommend, but even with no AA at all. Don't ask me why, but it's very difficult to tell the difference past 1800p (on a 55" 4K TV, so it would be more obvious). 1440p you can definitely tell, it's still more pixel-y gamey but not too bad. Noticeable tho.
- Most settings can be kept to medium and without a noticeable visual hit: game effects, water, physics, etc.
- The most important visual settings imo to max out and it's not just wasted performance: Object Quality, Streaming distance sliders (but vegetation less so), Vegetation distance, !! Lighting quality !! (this deals with the global illumination), and ofc HD textures to max. I also like to increase FOV a fair bit, but that's not performance heavy & is more subjective.

Once you are aware of these things you'll find that KCD is actually very performance-friendly while still maintaining great visuals.

 

[TNA]

I played with a V64 at 1800p. The GPU is good enough if you tune the settings (whatever you do, keep shaders & shadows on medium). The big performance drops are not GPU-related at all, it's down to API & CPU.

I think I'm gonna end up doing a performance guide. There's a few on the web but none are really comprehensive nor are they up-to-date.

The key things to keep in mind are:
- Shaders to medium. There's almost no perceptible visual differences from turning them down but the BIGGEST performance impact bar none.
- If you don't have a great CPU OR you're in a CPU/Draw call bound scenario (Rattay etc) then turn down things that deal with streaming. Object quality, streaming distance etc.
- No big difference between 1800p & 4K. In fact, not even with 5K. Especially if you use SMAA 2TX, which I'd recommend, but even with no AA at all. Don't ask me why, but it's very difficult to tell the difference past 1800p (on a 55" 4K TV, so it would be more obvious). 1440p you can definitely tell, it's still more pixel-y gamey but not too bad. Noticeable tho.
- Most settings can be kept to medium and without a noticeable visual hit: game effects, water, physics, etc.
- The most important visual settings imo to max out and it's not just wasted performance: Object Quality, Streaming distance sliders (but vegetation less so), Vegetation distance, !! Lighting quality !! (this deals with the global illumination), and ofc HD textures to max. I also like to increase FOV a fair bit, but that's not performance heavy & is more subjective.

Once you are aware of these things you'll find that KCD is actually very performance-friendly while still maintaining great visuals.

I await your guide Poneros. I may just give it a go if I find the game on offer

 

[GBRusty]

I may just give it a go if I find the game on offer

Not sure if sarcastic... did you grab the free Epic Games version?

 

[TNA]

Not sure if sarcastic... did you grab the free Epic Games version?

Nope.

 

[Poneros]

 

[Digital X]

https://www.nexusmods.com/kingdomcomedeliverance/mods/958?tab=files&file_id=4684 Base building mod here, looks pretty good.

 

[Poneros]

https://www.nexusmods.com/kingdomcomedeliverance/mods/958?tab=files&file_id=4684 Base building mod here, looks pretty good.

That's really cool, but without being able to give it life (with npcs and such) it's not that great. But maybe you can do that somehow else?

 

[Pighardia]

Does anyone know anything about potential sequels for this?... Wasn't it supposed to feature a full story, but then they said it would be wrapped up in sequels or something?

 

[Poneros]

Does anyone know anything about potential sequels for this?... Wasn't it supposed to feature a full story, but then they said it would be wrapped up in sequels or something?

It's in development, expected to release within the next 2 years imo.