Palworld [Early Access, Survivalcraft, Creature Collector]

[coopasonic]

It's like Ark and Pokemon had a baby. This is from the devs that created Craftopia, which is also still in Early Access, but I love it just as it is. I've put 11 hours into this per Steam and I'm enjoying it. It's not my favorite survivalcraft or creature collector, but the combination is interesting. Craftopia did have both bits, but the creatures were a much smaller part of the game. Now they are workers, hunting companions and, if it comes to it, dinner. For an early access game it's already feeling like a solid experience.

I'm about half way to the level cap and still have a lot left to explore. it felt a little grindy at first but then I figured out that capturing creatures was the way you were supposed to get XP. Crafting and killing are very minor xp sources. You get big xp for the first 10 captures of each creature type and there are over 100 creatures in the game. There are also boss fights and dungeons, though the dungeons are very repetitive cave systems. Like pokemon each pal has an element that determines what they are weak to. Your pals learn new attacks over time and there are skill fruits that can teach them more. You can set their attack selection. Eventually you can use extra pals to improve a pal of the same type. Pals have different crafting skills so you need a variety in your camp to get things done. You hardly have to craft anything yourself.

Anyway, it's worth a look in this survivalcraft addicts opinion.

Can't believe I forgot this part:

Palworld is available as part of PC Gamepass subscription.

[Blackhawk]

I've heard good things about it. Really good things.

I've also heard that it had so many people on at once that it almost surpassed Baldur's Gate, and broke the Epic servers.

[Octavious]

I just saw this today myself and was thinking of trying it. For 26 bucks it doesn't have to blow my mind.

[Blackhawk]

I'm also seeing that there is an internet controversy ( ) because some of the designs are similar to Pokemon's, which is leading people to scream,"AI!" Rather than checking into it, legions of Pokemon fans are apparently review-bombing the company's games in retaliation.

[Octavious]

Review bombing something that is blowing up on the internet is totally pointless nowadays. They review bombed Hogwarts and I think it did ok.

[Blackhawk]

It also helps that when there's significant review bombing going on, Valve will quietly stop including the scores from the days it was going on in the overall rating.

[Max Peck]

Yeah, Palworld sold 3 million units on in the first 40 hours, and has been peaking at over a million concurrent players on Steam. Steam reviews are currently 94% positive, so if there's a review bombing campaign it isn't having any sort of impact in the one place where it might affect sales.

[Blackhawk]

Yeah, Palworld sold 3 million units on in the first 40 hours, and has been peaking at over a million concurrent players on Steam. Steam reviews are currently 94% positive, so if there's a review bombing campaign it isn't having any sort of impact in the one place where it might affect sales.

They have no chance of making a dent in Palworld. That's why they're going for the others.

Craftopia went from Mostly Positive to Mixed overnight.

[Daehawk]

Id play this if I had the $25 entrance fee. Maybe next month.

[Victoria Raverna]

Palworld is available as part of PC Gamepass subscription.

[coopasonic]

Forgot to mention Gamepass, oops. I let my gamepass sub expire finally so it has vanished from my awareness.

[Blackhawk]

[Max Peck]

From what I've been reading, the Gamepass version is currently several months behind the version that launched on Steam. At least one person I know is playing it on Gamepass and says it's still a lot of fun as is.

[coopasonic]

Yeah, I heard the dev has complained about the microsoft certification process slowing down updates on the gamepass version. You think for a "Game Preview" they'd relax on the testing requirements.

[Max Peck]

Now that the game has gone viral, I'd guess the devs have a lot more leverage when dealing with Microsoft's hoop-jumping.

[Blackhawk]

And I'd think that if Nintendo does lawyer up over the similarities, they'll have the money to hire a team of 3d artists/animators and quickly churn out new Pal models. They've got an opportunity here - a small developer stumbled over a potential long-term franchise. I doubt they'll take chances with that.

[Octavious]

Oh didn't realize it would be on gamepass. I can wait if that's the case.

[Max Peck]

Forbes is on the case...

‘Palworld’ Accused Of Being ‘An AI Product,’ With No Evidence So Far

Palworld has not only become one of the most popular games in recent memory within three days of Early Acccess launch, but also one of the most controversial.

A subset of artists, game developers and other concerned citizens have taken to accusing the game of two things, mainly. First, ripping off bits and pieces of Pokémon to assemble their “Pals,” but second, an often simultaneous accusation that Palworld developer Pocket Pair has used GenAI in the game.

The actual, hard evidence that this has happened, however, does not exist as of yet. While there is a reason the topic is brought up, there is no conclusive proof of GenAI in design or assets of the game at this point. Here’s the breakdown of what’s going on and what’s being cited:

• In a number of 2021 tweets, Pocket Pair CEO Takuro Mizobe expressed fascination with an experiment about creating generated Pokémon with extremely early AI tools, which was later featured as a Buzzfeed quiz. This is often being construed as Mizobe himself using GenAI to make Pokémon models, but that has not been shown to be the case. Elsewhere, in 2022 tweets, Mizobe spoke more on the topic of GenAI, seemingly viewing it as an inevitable development that could be useful.
• In 2022, Pocket Pair released a little-played game called AI: Art Imposter which contained an internal GenAI system where players would guess where the images were from. The description contains the phrase “You are a progressive artist who commands AI to generate images, and you don't need aesthetic talent to draw good artwork” which some view as serious, others as ironic.

This does not mean there is absolutely no chance that Palworld may have used AI some capacity. There is just no current evidence that it did, and I have asked Pocket Pair for comment about the issue. But a few other things to keep in mind.

• There is a January 2024 blog post from Pocket Pair relaying that an artist that had been rejected from 100 different companies was the person they hired who “now draws most of the characters in Palworld.”
• Past that, Steam has implemented a policy this year where game submissions must disclose the use of AI: “The survey now includes a new AI disclosure section, where you'll need to describe how you are using AI in the development and execution of your game.” Then, Steam says that much of that disclosure will be put on the Steam store page “so customers can understand how the game uses AI.” Nothing like this appears in the store for Palworld.

[coopasonic]

Oh didn't realize it would be on gamepass. I can wait if that's the case.

To be clear, it's already on gamepass, just an outdated version missing some updates.

[Octavious]

Oh didn't realize it would be on gamepass. I can wait if that's the case.

To be clear, it's already on gamepass, just an outdated version missing some updates.

To be clear I didn't know and you guys saved me 26 bucks.

[YellowKing]

I messed around with it a few minutes on GamePass and it was fun. I'm waffling back and forth whether I want to continue playing it for free or just pony up the $26 for the version getting all the updates.

Gameplay loop was very similar to other survival crafters, but that's not a bad thing. I've been kind of craving something like that for awhile now.

It's on sale for a couple more days so I'll probably wait to watch some impressions/reviews from people who are deeper into the game.

[Exodor]

It's got me hooked like no game since Valheim.

I restarted after about 4 hours when I decided I didn't like where I built my first base. Most important thing I learned was to just capture every Pal you see for awhile for quick XP.

Game is fun.

[Blackhawk]

I'm just getting started.

I saw earlier that it has now achieved the second most concurrent players at one time than any game in Steam history, save of PUBG.

[Isgrimnur]

[Max Peck]

Apparently someone has already made a mod for Palworld that turns the Pals into actual Pokemon, if you really wanted to lean into the "Pokemon with guns" meme.

[YellowKing]

Just a note that the GamePass version just updated to 1.1.0. That's still a revision behind, but it's a big improvement considering the launch version 1.0.0. didn't even have an option to quit the game and forced you to kill it from Task Manager.

Hopefully that's a good sign that they'll get into parity soon.

I was really close to pulling the trigger on the Steam version but I'm going to stick it out with the GamePass for now and see if they continue to update.

Important to note that the Steam version is the only one that supports 32-player servers. GamePass is still limited to 2-4 friend code co-op, so if multiplayer is your thing you may want to still pony up the $$$.

[Blackhawk]

Apparently someone has already made a mod for Palworld that turns the Pals into actual Pokemon, if you really wanted to lean into the "Pokemon with guns" meme.

A mod which lasted about six hours before Nintendo's lawyers politely suggested that the author might want to reconsider.

[Exodor]

I've been enjoying the game's mix of base building and creature hunting.

Then I unlocked the

Spoiler:

machine-gun toting squirrel that rides on your shoulder

I don't think I've ever giggled so much at a dumb game.

GOTY

[Blackhawk]

Just-released roadmap:

[Daehawk]

If only it was free Id be there.

[Blackhawk]

I'd be driving a high-end luxury car if only it were free.

[Punisher]

Not gonna lie. I 100% thought it was a Pokemon game when I first saw it, then found out it wasn't and figured it was a Pokemon knockoff.
Those characters just look super similar to Pokemon ones.
Since it's on gamepass I'll add it to my list of things to try.

[Blackhawk]

I'm having quite a bit of fun with it. But I'll be honest - based on what I've read, I more than half expect to hear about a lawsuit/cease-and-desist/takedown notice from Nintendo. It's been around for a while without drawing their ire, yeah, but it wasn't a competitor before.

[Victoria Raverna]

Look like gamepass version is not the same as Steam's.

If you're playing gamepass version on PC, you're actually playing a version that is equivalent to the Xbox version.

If you're playing the Steam version, you're playing the real PC version.

[coopasonic]

I'm having quite a bit of fun with it. But I'll be honest - based on what I've read, I more than half expect to hear about a lawsuit/cease-and-desist/takedown notice from Nintendo. It's been around for a while without drawing their ire, yeah, but it wasn't a competitor before.

IANAL and neither is this guy, but it sounds legit:

[Reemul]

There is no proof of anything, in fact one kid that showed proof of copying Pokemon on youtube has now admitted it was false and he doctored it and did it for a laugh and the exposure.

I cannot believe how many people have jumped on the no proof of anything but they must be guilty party.

Let us actually see some sort of proof of anything at all, I'm finding it really embarrasing to be honest.

If we are going to start going down the route of I heard this, I think this even though there is no proof it's a slippery slope.

I mean we know there are so many games that look like so many games but one gets a surprise super hit and bang they must be cheating lying scumemrs ripping people off without any proof.

[Max Peck]

If I was a betting man, I wouldn't bet on Nintendo lawyering up if they haven't already done so.

Pokémon Company statement on Palworld copyright allegations sounds a lot like "please leave us the hell alone"

The august representatives of the Pokémon Company have descended from their hilltop PokéMansion, approached the hushed masses of PokéFans with their flaming Torchics and shocked Pichaku placards, and asked everybody to please, please, please, please, please stop yelling at them about Palworld potentially breaching Pokémon's copyright. Or at least, that's what it sounds like they're saying between the lines of a statement published a few hours ago, in which the Pokémon Company acknowledges messages sent by the concerned PokéFaithful about "another company's game released in January 2024".

Much of the copyright infringement chat is just the usual drive-by tweeting, but some of the accusations are more in earnest. One anonymous Xitter user has shared videos and images comparing models from each game, which have been proffered by several game developers as being indicative of plagiarism of in-game assets.

When we sought perspective from lawyers earlier this week, however, they suggested that Nintendo and the Pokémon Company would struggle to win a court case against Pocketpair, because the monster designs are still just about distinguishable as the work of different people, and Palworld doesn't play much like Pokémon beyond the act of collecting monsters - it's got proper base-building, for instance, to say nothing of butchering Pals and enslaving other human characters. The anon who shared the above model comparisons that are being taken as evidence of plagiarism has since walked back their comments a little, posting that, "I want to emphasize that while some elements are similar these meshes are not literally 'exact' copies of each other."

And now, at long last, Nintendo have weighed in. Or at least, told all concerned to get off their goddamn lawn. "We have received many inquiries regarding another company's game released in January 2024," reads an official statement, in a translation passed on by Game Informer. "We have not granted any permission for the use of Pokémon intellectual property or assets in that game. We intend to investigate and take appropriate measures to address any acts that infringe on intellectual property rights related to the Pokémon. We will continue to cherish and nurture each and every Pokémon and its world, and work to bring the world together through Pokémon in the future."

To me, this feels like boilerplate legal text designed principally to reassure overinvested Pokémon players and the company's stakeholders that Nintendo are not asleep at the wheel, and will intervene should they deem it necessary. Which, as people have pointed out in the comments on here, they probably would have done several years ago when Palworld was announced. But it's possible that Nintendo have been biding their time, and that Palworld's massive sales will motivate them to consider the matter more seriously. Certainly, they're already taking the usual firm line with people who mod actual Pokémon into Palworld.

[Exodor]

I'm having quite a bit of fun with it. But I'll be honest - based on what I've read, I more than half expect to hear about a lawsuit/cease-and-desist/takedown notice from Nintendo. It's been around for a while without drawing their ire, yeah, but it wasn't a competitor before.

Given then speed with which Nintendo shut down the mod that added actual Pokemon (it was gone in like 8 hours) the fact this has been out for a week implies Nintendo isn't going to act.

[Blackhawk]

You're probably right that they won't act (and some of the earlier information that was being reported has turned out to be questionable), but not because of the timing. There could be reasons for a delay against a game with hundreds of millions in sales and news stories vs. a mod that only a hundred people have heard of. Nintendo is obsessed with their image and the optics of what they do, and this is very high profile.

[coopasonic]

The youtube video I posted does give some good thoughts on why Nintendo hasn't shut them down. He clearly states he is not a lawyer or copyright expert, but everything he says seems reasonable to me until an expert comes along. It's clearly a derivative work. Many of the models are clearly inspired by Pokemon though most are easy to differentiate. The gameplay is wildly different, other than the part about throwing balls to capture creatures. Maybe could have used something other than balls cleverly disguised by calling them spheres!