Runic confirms console Torchlight is a 360 exclusive, drops shots and info

In the wake of last night's confirmation of Torchlight coming to XBLA, Runic boss Travis Baldtree has said there'll be no PS3 version.

"No PS3 plans to speak of," said the developer's president, speaking on the company's forums.

"Microsoft is acting as the publisher on this one. And given how much work it was to get one console game done, I'm a little relieved we didn't attempt both platforms at once anyway."

Scrawl's published up a gallery of screens from the XBLA version, showing off the new interface.

Baldtree also posted a ton of info on the action-RPG port, saying, "Control is direct - no virtual cursors ever."

The PC version uses Diablo-style controls.

"Combat is a little different - you move forward slightly with melee attacks and all the attack animations are redone to support this," he added. "You don't 'target' enemies - you'll get a red highlight for a 'primary' target that is in range, but for melee attacks you hit everything in your damage cone (secondary targets get secondary damage )."

He added: "Ranged combat is actually in many ways easier - kiting and dodging are significantly more viable with a controller and the autotargeting for ranged attacks works pretty well. 'Lobbed' skills mapped to the triggers have a default distance, but you can finesse them for longer or shorter throws by holding the trigger at a given depth.

"Combat pace feels 'faster' and more maneuverable. If you've played classics like Dark Alliance or Champions of Norrath, you have the general idea.

"Movement speed is analog - you can move slower by easing on the stick, something you can't do at all on PC."

The developer confirmed that "no skills have been omitted" over the original, but that "some skills have had alterations to their functionality to make them feel better - for example, you don't select corpses to summon a Nether Imp - you just cast it and if there's a corpse around, there you go."

Secondary weapon sets have been removed because of control issues, but "socketing, enchanting, fishing, the infinite dungeon and item combination are all represented."

The UI has be "completely overhauled," and all the art and navigation are new.

"The concept of item 'slots' is done away with - you just have a number of items you can hold (50 - ignores stack counts)," said Baldtree.

"Potions and scrolls stack up to 99. Potions 'auto pick' the best potion to heal you or regen mana. You don't have to think about it or map it. We iterated on the UI a ridiculous amount."

Players can have four active mapped skills at a time, as well as a secondary set they can swap using the d-pad, giving eight mapped skills.

Force feedback has been included for quakes, strikes, low health heartbeats and tugs on the fishing line.

Some "goodies" - such as auto-mapping - have been brought into the console version from the in-development Torchlight 2.

In addition, three new armor sets - one for each class - have been included.

The download size is "nice and small" at 200Mb.

It was announced at CES last night that Torchlight, a PC indie hit with over 500,000 sales, is to head up XBLA's new House Party feature, which will begin releasing games on February 16.

Thanks, RunicGamesFansite Blerk and Suikoden Fan.