Before plunging into the detailed analysis of Roadcraft, you should make a couple of important reservations. Firstly, my experience with Saber Interactive games about the conquest of off-road, such as Snowrunner, Madrunner or Expections: A Mudrunner Game, was zero until that moment. Roadcraft attracted attention precisely by the presence of the elements of the sandbox or even to some extent a urban planning simulator, so do not be surprised if I praise or scold the usual things for many. Secondly, all the hours spent in the game ed exclusively in cooperative mode. Accordingly, my impressions and conclusions will be based precisely on the experience of t age. Having dealt with these introductory ones, we proceed to the review.
One of the first pleasant moments in Roadcraft was, in fact, the multiplayer himself. Connecting to a friend’s session occurs without unnecessary difficulties, and an important plus is the opportunity for ing players to copy all the progress achieved into their own world upon exit. This eliminates the need to start all over again, if you decide to continue alone or want to become a host. The game also contains public lobbles, however, given the specifics of the gameplay, focused on coordination and long -term planning, their usefulness has been in question for me. It seems that Roadcraft is revealed precisely in the company of familiar people who are ready for t trials.
The developers did not follow the path of simplification, and this is felt from the first minutes. Management of technology and various mechanisms here is difficult in a good way and even, even, intentionally uncomfortable. The abundance of buttons and actions for which they are responsible requires time for development and addiction. Forget about arcade driving – here every maneuver, each operation require attention and accuracy. Even such a seemingly simple task, like loading a long beam into a technique using a crane, at first it turns into a real test of skills and patience. Therefore, each successfully performed action is felt as a small, but well -deserved victory.
The visual component of Roadcraft deserves a high rating. Lighting, studying the textures of the environment and technology, weather effects – everything is performed at the highest level, creating an atmospheric and plausible environment. Physics is also not far behind. The technique behaves realistically: a heavily loaded dump truck in the mud, a careless turn on the slope can lead to overturning, and the dirt itself is plausibly deformed under the wheels, leaving deep ruts. It is this realism that makes us carefully plan routes and carefully handle expensive equipment. Sound accompaniment plays an important role in creating the atmosphere: the roar of motors, the creak of metal under load, the sounds of working special equipment – all this adds glasses to immersion.
Roadcraft offers more than one giant open world, but a structure consisting of several separate card s. As the main and side tasks are completed on the current location, you increase your rank. This rank, in turn, opens access to a new, more perfect or specialized technique, which is the main engine of progression. Having completed the key tasks in one region, you get access to the next, sometimes with the possibility of choosing from several available ones.
It is interesting that the transition to a new card is felt as a kind of “soft restart.” You begin to master a new territory with other conditions, new types of tasks and challenges. Locations are really diverse both visually and from the point of view of the proposed tests. However, despite the change of scenery, many key actions, such as reconnaissance and laying of routes, delivery of materials and inevitable asphalting, will accompany you throughout the game. Such an approach, on the one hand, does not allow to get bored, constantly throwing fresh landscapes and tasks, but on the other hand, it can somewhat upset those who expected the construction of a unified, constantly developing infrastructure within the framework of one big world.
The main gameplay in Roadcraft rotates around large -scale infrastructure projects. We are engaged in laying new roads, clear the rubble, lay the asphalt, repair pipelines and perform many other tasks. As already mentioned, even in the presence of some automation, there are plenty of manual labor here.
However, one significant nuance is revealed here, which may be critical for lovers of complete freedom of creativity. All your actions are strictly regulated and tied to specific tasks. You cannot set a way out where you want, for example, to optimize logistics at your own discretion. Places for laying roads, installation of power transmission lines, repairing pipes and the location of all key objects are predetermined by the script. And although theoretically, of course, you can manually try to create a road where it should not be according to the plan, this undertaking is doomed to failure due to game mechanics. You would have to carry sand literally for every couple of meters of the way, which will turn the process into a tremendous, unjustified waste of time and resources. Thus, the game softly but persistently pushes the script, without leaving the real space for the implementation of its own engineering or design ideas. Here you are only the performer of clearly set tasks.
Another significant drawback was the artificial intelligence of hired workers. It is assumed that you can set a route for equipment, and it will move autonomously along it. In practice, AI demonstrates depressing incompetence. If there is another vehicle on the way of the car or even a small, easily traveled obstacle like a lonely tire, your virtual driver will stubbornly try to go ahead until it hopelessly stuck. And even if there is nothing in the way at all, the bot still often manages to stall in an even place for unknown reasons. You can, of course, argue that the player himself is to blame without thinking through the route to the smallest detail. However, as planned in the cabin of each car, a living person sits, and not a soulless robot. Why this “man” is not able to make an elementary maneuver of detour, remains a mystery. Such moments are too often and sometimes cause frank irritation.
The game process Roadcraft at times inevitably rolls into routine. Long transportation, monotonous operations-all this can quickly tire a single player. Most likely, if I played in solo, I would quickly abandon my age, but the cooperative regime allowed me to linger longer. t overcoming of difficulties, the ability to distribute responsibilities or combine efforts, make such moments less boring. We played the three of them, and for the most part it was quite fun. However, there were periodically situations when one or even two players simply had nothing to do. This does not happen constantly, but their presence should be noted.
Roadcraft offers magnificent graphics, impressive physics and difficult equipment management. The progress system through the ranks and the transition to different s of s makes an element of novelty and does not allow to relax. The cooperative regime is able to turn hard work into a fascinating t adventure. However, the game requires you to unconditional adoption of its rules: strictly specified construction scenarios without the possibility of creative self -realization can push away those who are looking for a real sandbox. The problematic AI of assistants adds headache, and periodic routine requires considerable patience.
