Torchlight III Alpha Update 10 Thoughts

Since Echtra Games has gone back to an NDA for the alpha (Update 10) of Torchlight III (formerly Torchlight Frontiers), no media (screen shots, videos, streaming) can be displayed.  However, players in the alpha can still write about their game play experience.

Torchlight III is now only accessible via Steam (Echtra should've sent all alpha testers a Steam code in order to access the game from Steam).  All prior characters from Frontiers were wiped since the game has now removed the horizontal progression system (the Frontiers component) and gone back to a traditional linear questing progression.  The recently implemented Contracts system was also removed since it was Echtra's take on a "dailies" system (and thus no longer applicable in that incarnation).

The game world remains the same (you just now quest through a main story line like your usual RPG).  Part of my feedback to Echtra is going to be in regards to modifying this world since the maps (from Frontiers) feel somewhat generic and small (again, the best way to see this is to contrast it with Torchlight II).  Now that it is going back to its ARPG roots, they really should go back, scrap the Frontiers maps (goblins and hyvids) and redesign the game world from scratch with different environments.  The initial main hub is similar to Path of Exile where you will see other players.  The instances outside of these multiplayer hubs are private or can be limited cooperative multiplayer if you are in a party.

In Frontiers, I didn't really get far (my highest character had a combined level of only 22; majority of it from the goblin frontier).  The horizontal progression is what felt lacking in Frontiers and the general progression in Update 10 still sort of feels that way (part of it is the map designs which has been simply reused from Frontiers).  None of them really gives a sense of place so I feel like I am just progressing through those older maps that had to be designed that way to accommodate the prior shared world system.  So after completing the first dungeon instance, I pretty much logged out since I really do feel this is only the starting point with this transition.

My point is that what exists now (at this transition from MMO lite back to ARPG) isn't grabbing me (it just feels like the Frontiers maps being reutilized with linear progression).  Hopefully they will put out a structured survey soon so that I can provide specific feedback about this.