Info about The Scouring: Official game description: Roadmap ======= About the Game ============== Build bases, manage resources, and lead armies. Wield magic, unleash cannons, and outsmart foes in dynamic battles. Defend from waves of undead at night! Sounds familiar? In a unique mode of The Scouring, become a powerful hero, crushing foes with devastating skills. Gain experience, collect items, and customize your playstyle, blending action RPG combat with strategic army control. Shape battles with spells, weapons, and tactics to claim victory. Enter dungeons to look for precious items. BE THE HERO. Control the battlefield. MULTIPLAYER MODE ---------------- The Scouring delivers epic multiplayer battles with team skirmishes, and free-for-alls for up to 8 players. Сustomize matches, and test your skill in dynamic modes. Forge alliances or dominate foes in the ultimate multiplayer RTS experience. USER GENERATED CONTENT ---------------------- The Scouring unlocks endless creativity with Steam Workshop integration. Download custom maps, modes, and AI scripts or create and share your own. With powerful tools and a vibrant community, every game offers fresh challenges and infinite variety. ACTION RPG STRATEGY ------------------- The Scouring introduces a new genre: Action RPG Strategy. Customize your hero, equip gear, and unleash powerful abilities in fast-paced combat. While you dominate the battlefield, AI manages your army, resources, and bases, blending action and strategy seamlessly. The Scouring started as a solo developer’s dream to create the ultimate RTS. Inspired by classics and built with passion, it thrives on community feedback. Join our Discord, follow and read X, get in touch on Reddit! Together, we’ll refine, expand, and create something special. Thank you for being part of this journey. * **Attention to Detail**: Immerse yourself in richly detailed, visually striking environments. Watch battles unfold with dynamic destruction, lifelike unit movement, and spell effects. * **Smooth Gameplay**: Fluid and polished controls that allow you to fully utilize your skills. * **Action RPG Strategy**: New gameplay experience and new genre. You control a powerful hero while AI manages your army. * **Multiplayer Modes**: Engage in ranked matches, free-for-alls, or team battles with custom games. * **User-Generated Content**: Explore and share maps and modes via Steam Workshop. Create AI scripts to automate strategies and watch them play in real-time. * **Community-Driven Development**: Shaped by players and their feedback. Release date: Aug 12, 2025 Categories: Real-Time Strategy, Base Building, Resource Management, Multiplayer, Action RPG, Mod Support, Hero Shooter, Tactical Combat Feature scans: - MTX: score 30; verdict: Needs Improvement; summary: The game has received criticism for its monetization strategy, with users feeling that it is overpriced and does not offer enough content or variety to justify its cost. Additionally, the gameplay is seen as repetitive and shallow, leading to frustration among players. While there is some support for purchasing DLC to aid the developers, the overall reception to additional content is mixed. - Steam Deck: score 30; verdict: Good with Minor Issues; summary: The game generally runs well and is stable on Linux, indicating good compatibility and performance on the Steam Deck. However, some users find the gameplay mechanics, particularly the hero mode, to be lacking and boring. Overall, the game seems to have a positive reception in terms of technical performance but mixed feelings regarding gameplay depth. - Hardware Profile: No data Feature extractions: - Community Price: - Community fair range: $15.00 - $20.00 - Reasoning: The evidence shows a recurring theme of dissatisfaction with the current price point of around $25 USD due to the perceived lack of content and depth in the game. Many users explicitly state that the game is not worth its current price, suggesting that a lower price would be more appropriate. However, some users acknowledge the potential and worth of the game for RTS enthusiasts, indicating that a slightly lower price might still be justified for a niche audience. - Playtime Metrics: - Game completion: N/A - Story completion: N/A - Session length: 0.8h - Endgame: N/A - Reasoning: The evidence provides several indications of playtime metrics. The first quote suggests that a handful of hours have been spent playing the game in early access, indicating a session length that could be a few hours. The second quote mentions playing the demo for around 20 hours, which could be interpreted as the time to complete the available content in the demo. The third quote specifies a single session lasting around 50 minutes, which is a clear indicator of session length. The fourth quote mentions playing for hours on end, which supports the idea of longer play sessions. However, there is no direct evidence provided for the typical time to finish the main story/campaign or endgame hours. - Time-to-fun: - Summary: The game offers a deep and satisfying late-game experience focused on resource gathering and large-scale battles, but initial gameplay may feel repetitive and simple. - Stance: Fun then drops - Anchor: Gathering enough resources to build a massive army - Time to anchor: 0h 40m - Friction: Repetitive concept; Low troop diversity; Initial simplicity - Unlock drivers: Resource gathering; Building massive armies; Power scale progression - Conditions: Multiplayer; Teamwork mechanics; Single player setting - Player Archetypes: - Accessibility Advocate (sale) - Motivation: Beginner-friendly features and accessibility. - Playstyle: Casual, prefers assisted modes and simplicity. - Experience: newcomer - Purchase stance: sale - Labels: newcomer; casual gamer - Reference games: Warcraft; StarCraft - Nostalgic Veteran (buy) - Motivation: Nostalgia and rich narrative. - Playstyle: Prefers classic RTS gameplay with a focus on campaign and story. - Experience: veteran - Purchase stance: buy - Labels: veteran; RTS fan - Reference games: Warcraft I and II; Age of Empires - Replay Value Seeker (buy) - Motivation: Replay value and variety of modes. - Playstyle: Enjoys experimenting with different builds and strategies, prefers multiplayer and sandbox modes. - Experience: mixed - Purchase stance: buy - Labels: strategy gamer; multiplayer enthusiast - Reference games: MOBA games; Warcraft III - Future-Focused Optimist (sale) - Motivation: Potential and future updates. - Playstyle: Enjoys the current game while looking forward to future content and improvements. - Experience: familiar - Purchase stance: sale - Labels: optimist; future-focused gamer - Reference games: Frost Giant; other early access games Below are summaries of things people say about the game per category. Each point is assigned a weight that represents how often it is mentioned across all reviews. What players like: - Classic RTS Gameplay (weight 0.97): The game is praised for its classic RTS gameplay, reminiscent of old-school titles like Warcraft and Starcraft. Players enjoy the nostalgic feel and the solid mechanics that capture the essence of traditional RTS games. - Addictive and Enjoyable (weight 0.67): Players find the game highly addictive and enjoyable. The gameplay is engaging and fun, even when losing, which keeps players coming back for more. - High Potential (weight 0.56): Reviewers frequently mention the game's potential to become a major title in the RTS genre. The game shows promise for future development and improvements, indicating a bright future ahead. - Nostalgic Experience (weight 0.33): The game evokes a strong sense of nostalgia, particularly for fans of classic RTS games like Warcraft 3. This nostalgic feel is a significant draw for many players. - Active Development (weight 0.24): The developers are actively working on the game, frequently updating and improving it. This active development is appreciated by the community. - Mod Support (weight 0.24): The game supports mods, which enhances the gameplay experience. Players appreciate the availability of various mods and the official mod tools provided. - AI Assistance (weight 0.21): The game features an AI assistant that helps with base management and other tasks. This allows players to focus more on combat and strategy. Common complaints: - Limited unit variety (weight 0.53): The game is criticized for having a limited set of units, with only a handful of units and buildings available for each faction. This lack of variety makes the gameplay feel repetitive and basic. - AI issues (weight 0.42): Players have reported various issues with the AI, including aggressive behavior on easy difficulty, control issues, and pathfinding problems. These issues affect the overall gameplay experience. - Lack of content (weight 0.38): The game is frequently criticized for not having enough content, including a lack of maps, storyline, and variety in units and gameplay. Many players feel that the game is unfinished and does not justify its current price. - Lack of distinct factions (weight 0.32): Players have criticized the game for having factions that are not different enough, with only minor differences between them. This lack of variety affects the overall gameplay experience. - Poor UI and controls (weight 0.27): Players have reported issues with the user interface, describing it as poorly designed, not user-friendly, and rudimentary. Additionally, there are concerns about poor sound design and AI behavior. - Balance issues (weight 0.23): Players have reported serious imbalance between factions, with poorly designed asymmetry and balance issues affecting the gameplay experience. - Price not justified (weight 0.2): Many players feel that the game is not worth its current price due to the lack of content and features. The game is often described as being in an early stage of development and not offering enough value for the price. - Buildings too large (weight 0.17): Players have noted that buildings in the game have large footprints, making them difficult to place on the map. This issue affects the overall gameplay and strategy. - Lack of online players (weight 0.13): There is a notable lack of online players, making it difficult to find matches and enjoy the multiplayer experience. This issue affects the overall gameplay and community engagement. - Localization issues (weight 0.09): The game is criticized for having incomplete localization, with a mix of English and Chinese text. This issue affects the overall gameplay experience for non-Chinese speaking players. Gameplay feedback: - Warcraft-like gameplay and setting (weight 0.49): The game is frequently compared to Warcraft series, particularly Warcraft 3, in terms of gameplay, mechanics, and setting. Players note similarities in strategy, competitive gameplay, and graphics. - Hero mode gameplay (weight 0.14): The game features a hero mode with its own balance and gameplay mechanics. Players can enjoy this mode with friends. - Resource gathering mechanics (weight 0.14): The game includes resource gathering and management mechanics, such as gold, wood, and food/population. - AI interactions and difficulty (weight 0.14): The game features AI interactions, including an AI assistant and adjustable AI difficulty and aggression levels. - Unit movement and behaviors (weight 0.11): The game includes unit movement mechanics, collision, and pathfinding behaviors. - Defensive towers and fortresses (weight 0.09): The game includes a defensive system with towers and fortresses, where cannons can be placed on towers. - Unit recruitment and management (weight 0.08): The game includes mechanics for recruiting and managing units, with each faction having up to 5 units. - Nighttime mini-events (weight 0.08): The game features mini-events that occur at night, such as undead rising from their graves to attack the player's town. Performance notes: - Runs well on low-end hardware (weight 0.26): The game is noted for its ability to run smoothly on low-end PCs and hardware, making it accessible to a wide range of users. - Good optimization (weight 0.21): The game is well-optimized with a stable 3D engine, providing a good performance even on less powerful systems. - FPS limit option (weight 0.1): The game has an FPS limit option turned on by default, which can be adjusted by the players. - High disconnection rate (weight 0.1): Players experience a high disconnection rate and unstable servers, affecting online gameplay. - Limited graphics settings (weight 0.07): The game has limited graphics settings, lacking advanced options for customization. - Fullscreen mode issues (weight 0.07): The game has issues in exclusive fullscreen mode, including lag and crashes when changing resolution. - Long and unstable launch (weight 0.04): The game has a long and unstable launch process, which can be frustrating for players. - Audio issues on Steam Deck (weight 0.04): There are reported audio issues specifically when playing the game on Steam Deck. - Day and night transition lighting issues (weight 0.04): There are lighting issues during the transition between day and night in the game. - Game makes laptop very hot (weight 0.04): Playing the game causes laptops to overheat, which can be a concern for some users. - Mouse movement issues in 4K (weight 0.04): There are problems with mouse movement when playing the game in 4K resolution. Recommendations: - Recommended for RTS fans (weight 0.28): The game is highly recommended for fans of the RTS genre, particularly those who enjoy classic or old-school RTS games. Many reviews suggest it is a must-have for RTS enthusiasts. - Try the demo (weight 0.13): Several reviews recommend trying the demo of the game to get a feel for it before making a purchase decision. - Recommend to friends and family (weight 0.08): The game is recommended to friends and family, even though it is still in early access. - Support the developers (weight 0.08): There are calls to support the development team, indicating that the community values the ongoing development and wants to see it continue. - Bought extra copy for friend (weight 0.04): One reviewer mentioned buying an extra copy of the game for a friend, indicating a high level of satisfaction and a desire to share the experience. - Get over ranked fears (weight 0.04): Some reviews mention getting over fears related to ranked play, suggesting that the game has a competitive aspect that some players may be hesitant about. Other player notes: - Early Access Game (weight 0.04): The game is currently in Early Access, which means it is still under development and may have unfinished features or bugs. - Steam Community Group (weight 0.04): There is a Steam community group associated with the game where players can get reviews and free game keys. Emotions: - Hopeful (weight 0.15): Players are hopeful due to the game's potential for future updates, additional content, and improvements. They believe in the developer's dedication and the game's potential to become a major success in the RTS genre. - Excitement (weight 0.14): Players are excited about the enjoyable gameplay, innovative features, and the anticipation of future updates. The game's unique mechanics, variety of modes, and potential for additional races contribute to this excitement. - Frustration (weight 0.12): Players express frustration due to various gameplay issues such as AI behavior problems, imbalance, lack of updates, and bugs. Specific mechanics like building sizes, unit pathfinding, and night raids also contribute to this frustration. - Excited (weight 0.1): Players are excited about the game's potential, unique features, and the anticipation of future updates. The enjoyable gameplay, fun mechanics, and the thrill of epic battles contribute to this excitement. - Disappointment (weight 0.06): Players feel disappointed due to the lack of content, high price for early access, and various gameplay issues. The game's unfinished state, lack of originality, and performance issues contribute to this disappointment. - Nostalgia (weight 0.06): Players feel nostalgic as the game reminds them of classic RTS games like Warcraft. The gameplay and elements reminiscent of childhood memories and past experiences with beloved games evoke this nostalgia. - Enjoyment (weight 0.06): Players enjoy the fun and engaging gameplay, unique modes, and the overall refreshing RTS experience. The dynamic gameplay, strategic elements, and enjoyable mechanics contribute to this feeling. - Nostalgic (weight 0.05): Players feel nostalgic as the game reminds them of classic RTS games like Warcraft and StarCraft. The gameplay and elements reminiscent of childhood memories and past experiences with beloved games evoke this nostalgia. - Hope (weight 0.04): Players have hope for the game's future due to potential updates, improvements, and the belief in the developer. The anticipation of future content and the game's potential to become great contribute to this hope. - Disappointed (weight 0.03): Players feel disappointed due to the game's lack of content, high price, and various gameplay issues. The game not meeting expectations and the lack of originality contribute to this disappointment. - Joy (weight 0.03): Players experience joy from the enjoyable and fun gameplay. The fun factor in building and battling, as well as the overall enjoyable experience, contribute to this joy. - Frustrated (weight 0.02): Players are frustrated with poor game balance, difficulty, AI issues, and technical problems like V-sync and FPS issues. Frequent disconnections and unstable servers also contribute to this frustration. - Satisfaction (weight 0.02): Players feel satisfied with the game's responsiveness, polished feel, and enjoyable gameplay. The game's depth, graphics, and potential for future content contribute to this satisfaction. - Happy (weight 0.02): Players are happy with the enjoyable gameplay, positive emotions, and pleasant graphics and sound. The fun PvP gameplay and the overall enjoyable experience contribute to this happiness. - Satisfied (weight 0.01): Players are satisfied with the game's unique mechanics, pleasant graphics, and enjoyable gameplay. The classic RTS gameplay and the AI assistance feature contribute to this satisfaction. - Hopefulness (weight 0.01): Players are hopeful for the game's potential to become a nice RTS with future updates. The hope for more units, factions, and upgrades contributes to this hopefulness. - Angry (weight 0.01): Players are angry about poor game design and slow development progress. The high price and perceived lack of value also contribute to this anger. - Enthusiastic (weight 0.01): Players are enthusiastic about the game's features and recommend trying it with friends. The enjoyable gameplay and unique features contribute to this enthusiasm. - Anticipation (weight 0.01): Players are anticipating waiting for updates and upcoming features. The excitement for future developments and additions to the game contributes to this anticipation. - Love (weight 0.01): Players love the gameplay and updates, as well as the game's features. The enjoyable experience and unique mechanics contribute to this love.}