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KickStarter Underworld Ascendant Pre-Release Thread

Doctor Sbaitso

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Have to say I really like the lighting they are putting in. I remember seeing screens of the prototype and liking the lighting, which actually looked better when I played it. Hopefully that keeps up.
 

Infinitron

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Codex Year of the Donut Serpent in the Staglands Dead State Divinity: Original Sin Project: Eternity Torment: Tides of Numenera Wasteland 2 Shadorwun: Hong Kong Divinity: Original Sin 2 A Beautifully Desolate Campaign Pillars of Eternity 2: Deadfire Pathfinder: Kingmaker Pathfinder: Wrath I'm very into cock and ball torture I helped put crap in Monomyth


https://www.othersideentertainment.com/forum/index.php?topic=1367.msg21762#msg21762

Joe Fielder said:
Apologies again. It was a shorter update because we've been in the thick of it lately. (Not an unhealthy monster crunch, but focused on an intense pace of updating, testing, and refining.)

Good news is that we've been getting some expert feedback at what works and doesn't from Paul, Warren, and other insightful smarties, so next time, we'll have details on gameplay learnings that've gone through some solid revisions.

If we were to focus on one area, which would you be most interested in: combat, stealth, or magic? Or maybe how the Improvisation Engine has evolved? I personally find the last part the most exciting, but would like to ask our forum regulars what aspects of gameplay you'd most like to hear about next.

Sounding like they won't make "beginning of April".
 

Zep Zepo

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Relevant part of the above image...

codex UA.PNG


Game will be SJW shit-show.

I feel sorry (somewhat) for the backers.

So much potential...so full of decline.

Zep--
 

Infinitron

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Codex Year of the Donut Serpent in the Staglands Dead State Divinity: Original Sin Project: Eternity Torment: Tides of Numenera Wasteland 2 Shadorwun: Hong Kong Divinity: Original Sin 2 A Beautifully Desolate Campaign Pillars of Eternity 2: Deadfire Pathfinder: Kingmaker Pathfinder: Wrath I'm very into cock and ball torture I helped put crap in Monomyth
Perfect timing: http://otherside-e.com/wp/update-underworld-ascendant-progress-report/

Update: Underworld Ascendant Progress Report
April 25, 2017
Joe Fielder

Many thanks for all the positive feedback about last month’s look at art director Nate Wells’ work on upping our visual bar. We appreciate all the kind words and support you’ve posted on our forums, like:

Flatfingers: “Much wowness. Looking good!”

Flug: “Looks wonderful, you’ve done us proud.”

Jordan Joestar: “After every update, I’m more proud and happy than before to be a backer of Underworld Ascendant. Very, very good job.”

Providing a peek at the game’s latest visuals had been one of your main requests, followed closely by progress on core systems and news about backer rewards.

So, this month, we’re digging into the rest!

Underworld Ascendant Progress Report
The last few months have been very productive and it’s clear we’re onto something. There’s much left to do, but we’re making steady progress, and tapping into player-authored gameplay in exciting new ways.


25 years since ‘25 Miles of Terror!’

That all feels particularly salient right now, since last month marked the twenty-fifth anniversary of Ultima Underworld’s release — an event which, by some accounts, is regarded as the birth of the “immersive sim.”

Our goal is to create a logical, deeply interactive world where the player is inspired to tap into their creativity and enjoy the magic of experimentation.

Last month, we started out testing the latest build of The Challenge of Ishtass with our System Shock 3 and VR teams. As often happens with initial rounds of testing, it was immediately clear that while we knew how you could have fun in the game, it wasn’t readily apparent to the uninitiated player. Since our goal has been for the player to be able to dive right in and quickly start experimenting and have fun, that was vital for us to nail. That meant readability and player feedback for picking up objects, the nuances of melee and ranged combat, and more.


This is, happily, the done pile.

From there, we did five more rounds of testing (from casual players to the Boston Indie Games Group, from devs at The Molasses Flood to Warren Spector), each time getting a little closer. The team was super focused and made solid progress each day, so we’d iterate, test, review, and repeat.

Over time, it became apparent that spells were where people were having the most fun, but they still weren’t clear exactly on how they worked so they couldn’t get to the more improvisational possibilities using combinations.

We put solving that problem squarely on lead designer Tim (Thief, System Shock) Stellmach’s plate. It was a tough challenge, but within a few days he had the featured spells working clearly and reliably, so players could really start tapping into their creativity.


We were almost sad to see this bug go…

It was a pretty intense few weeks, but, whew!, it was fun. It’s great working with a team of folks who have such a wealth of experience and can sort difficult issues in short order. There are still many hurdles left for us with Underworld Ascendant, but we came out of our recent milestone with a lot of confidence that the team can tackle any problem that comes our way.

When do you get to play? Next month we’ll be announcing plans for rolling out the build to backers, after we complete another round adding more interactable objects and improvisational elements to the world.

We can’t wait to hear what you think and see what unique, creative solutions you come up with. In the meantime, expect new shots and video soon…

A Peek at Combat, Stealth, & Magic
We don’t want to spoil the fun of discovery in The Challenge of Ishtass, but we can tell you that you’ll be presented with a bevy of options for combat, stealth, and magic.

Here are a few:
  • The player can use a LONG SWORD to perform a light quick chop, a slow heavy swing that can damage multiple opponents, and parry to deflect oncoming attacks. All are useful, because while the LIZARD MEN have clear tells for their attacks, they’re tough and engage in group combat.
  • Using a LONG BOW, the player can launch FLINT ARROWS to attack or distract enemies or WATER ARROWS to put out torches. The Lizard Men use STUN ARROWS to momentarily stop the player in his or her tracks, which can be particularly troubling while you’re attempting to engage in swordplay or escape… the MIND CRIPPLER
  • Some of the available skills include HEAVE to pick up and throw heavy objects (which can provide cover for projectiles, interrupt attacks, and damage foes), STEALTH STEP when crouched, STEALTH SIGHT to gauge visibility based off light levels, or MAGIC SIGHT to view magic-recharging streams of mana.
  • One of the more fun featured spells is GRAVITATE, which allows the player to raise objects and assemble them into useful shapes, like a bridge to cross a chasm. (We’ve also seen players manage to weaponize it in a number of interesting ways…)
The Challenge of Ishtass is where we first introduce player choice in the game, where you learn there’s not a “right” selection of skills, ability, and equipment, only “yours.” And that you must then use your wits to apply those selections with opportunities on the battlefield, in order to stack the deck against difficult opponents.

Developer Roundtables & Blogs Coming Soon
We’re happy to announce that we’ll be kicking off both the insider-only developer blogs (available at Explorer level and above) and online developer roundtables (available at Digital Protagonist level and above) in May.

If you’re due to receive access to one or both, you’ll receive details in your inbox over the next few weeks. Keep an eye out!

In Other News…
And finally, a few things you might find interesting:
  • Daydream District did a two-part interview with our VR team this month about their work on action/strategy game Underworld Overlord. (Click here for part 1 and part 2.) The game also made their latest list of top ten games for the Daydream!
  • RPG favorite Planescape: Torment recently received an enhanced edition makeover and was released for PC and tablets. (Details here.)
  • Our friends at Honor Code recently released their first-person, narrative-focused VR game Narcosis. (Details here.)
Until next time!

Best,

The Team at OtherSid
 

Aenra

Guest
So again.. pictures from games a few decades old, check. Blah blah blah of no particular import, check. Descriptions of "would it not be awesome!" gameplay, check.
Game delayed to an extent that even fanboys are getting worried, check. Said delay left outside the discussion, again check.

Another amazing update all in all.. :negative:
 

Infinitron

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Actually, this update is kinda cool because it has the first concrete details about moment-to-moment gameplay that I've seen.
 

Unkillable Cat

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People getting their panties in a knot because a game is delayed are not seeing the big picture.

For over 15 years we've been hearing horror stories about how games have had to have "crunch time" during development in order to meet a pre-established deadline for release. Worse than that, these stories go up to 30 years back. The size of the team working on the game seems to be irrelevant, crunch time is always there and we're talking 12-16 hours a day, every day of the week, for 2-3 months, with some people not even bothering to go home in-between! As the years have gone by these stories have only gotten worse. This is doable by teenagers and people in their 20s, but imagine what this does to family men in their 40s.

Now in this particular case (because there are more instances where people are getting impatient over long development times) these veterans are making games on their terms, by their rules. That means crunch time is an absolute last resort, as in "we're out of money and if we don't get the game out now we're sunk"-stuff. I for one, as someone who's also getting older, prefer it this way. As long as the devs check in now and again and take a few minutes to show and tell us what's going on and how things are coming together I'm cool with it. They can release Underworld Ascendant for the 2018 holidays for all I care.

Because the alternative involves devs sleeping in cupboards with the ever-looming threat of being fired if they don't...and in far too many cases they get fired anyway.

We gamers have become so utterly privileged and spoiled by many aspects of the game industry that we still believe that it's some magical place where reality doesn't apply. It's time to face up to facts, and learn to breathe through our noses. We're just gonna have to wait.
 

Aenra

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Actually, this update is kinda cool because it has the first concrete details about moment-to-moment gameplay that I've seen.

I pressed agree because technically speaking, sure, i guess we can say it does. But you said it yourself, "concrete". All i saw was a description, that's one; two, a description that let's be honest, isn't far from what we already knew/expected.
Did you find it surprising that we will have arrowheads a-la Thief? Gravitational spells a-la UU/Arx? No. On the contrary, all these are in line with what was to come.
And before you think i'm splitting hairs, which admittedly is a favorite pastime of mine, lol, read the rest of my points. I didn't focus on just this one alone.

Unkillable Cat the last time i tried to have a discussion with you i lost interest, but let's try one more time.
You are twisting the subject. No one argued as to the realities of crunch time / game developing. So unless you want me to think you're an idiot, failing to grasp the context (and a simple one at that), i must conclude you're doing it on purpose. But as i said, let's try again:

The point which you appear to have failed to grasp? Is that only now, now, you get a team that says "we finally know what this game will and will not be".
They only said this now. About a year after it was supposed to have been released, lol, they reached a point where they know.. "what it will be?" And you find that perfectly normal? As if their just admitting they didn't even have a design doc, that they were fucking around all this time, with your money, is.. O.K? That all this time, they weren't even sure on the basics ffs, and yet they did feel fine Kickstarting it, setting dates, hyping it, etc.

Entailing what? An insane further delaying, as knowing what your game will be is pretty much the basic cornerstone, lol.. now comes the hard part. Again, a full year after it was supposed to have been out. Out. Think about that again.
 
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Aenra

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Some photos of sticky paper now qualify as update?

That is unfortunately the other side of the coin.. no update, different kind of bitching :)

(which is why i've been saying they should have been up front from the beginning, but anyway..)
 
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lmao we're entering may and still no game. lmao

People getting their panties in a knot because a game is delayed are not seeing the big picture.

For over 15 years we've been hearing horror stories about how games have had to have "crunch time" during development in order to meet a pre-established deadline for release. Worse than that, these stories go up to 30 years back. The size of the team working on the game seems to be irrelevant, crunch time is always there and we're talking 12-16 hours a day, every day of the week, for 2-3 months, with some people not even bothering to go home in-between! As the years have gone by these stories have only gotten worse. This is doable by teenagers and people in their 20s, but imagine what this does to family men in their 40s.

Now in this particular case (because there are more instances where people are getting impatient over long development times) these veterans are making games on their terms, by their rules. That means crunch time is an absolute last resort, as in "we're out of money and if we don't get the game out now we're sunk"-stuff. I for one, as someone who's also getting older, prefer it this way. As long as the devs check in now and again and take a few minutes to show and tell us what's going on and how things are coming together I'm cool with it. They can release Underworld Ascendant for the 2018 holidays for all I care.

Because the alternative involves devs sleeping in cupboards with the ever-looming threat of being fired if they don't...and in far too many cases they get fired anyway.

We gamers have become so utterly privileged and spoiled by many aspects of the game industry that we still believe that it's some magical place where reality doesn't apply. It's time to face up to facts, and learn to breathe through our noses. We're just gonna have to wait.
Holy shit imagine being this deluded. I laugh at people like you.
 

Unkillable Cat

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Holy shit imagine being this deluded. I laugh at people like you.

Explain.

No, really. I want to hear this.

Aenra

This thread is full of people whining and raging at how long development of this game is taking, and when I bring up the obvious reason for that, you consider that "twisting the subject". Then you go on (as you always do) about something completely different as the intended meaning of your incessant rambling, and for some reason you don't consider that "twisting the subject".

No one cares what you have to say, you don't contribute jack shit except drag on pointless arguments that always seem to center about your self-perceived superiority, to the point people here know better than to even bother with you. But I guess by this point you've "lost interest" once again and will probably pretend none of this ever happened.

It's time you quit giving autism such a bad name. Stop posting.
 

Infinitron

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Codex Year of the Donut Serpent in the Staglands Dead State Divinity: Original Sin Project: Eternity Torment: Tides of Numenera Wasteland 2 Shadorwun: Hong Kong Divinity: Original Sin 2 A Beautifully Desolate Campaign Pillars of Eternity 2: Deadfire Pathfinder: Kingmaker Pathfinder: Wrath I'm very into cock and ball torture I helped put crap in Monomyth
The game is taking a long time. It will clearly take well over the standard of 2.5 years it supposedly takes to develop a Kickstarter game.

It probably would have sucked if it came out this year, though. Be happy they can afford the time.
 
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It's gonna suck anyway.

Holy shit imagine being this deluded. I laugh at people like you.

Explain.

No, really. I want to hear this.

You seriously believe in "taking their time to have no crunch time". Like you said yourself they're all old people with families. Their time is worth more and unlike those 20yo kids they won't agree to survive on instant noodles + powder juice to reduce development costs.
 

Aenra

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Did you find it surprising that we will have arrowheads a-la Thief?

Kinda yes, actually.

You follow this shit more than i do, so i've probably missed something. How come this surprised you? I mean it's easy (they've already done it), it was a favorite (people wanted it) and it suits the game. What did i miss?

Unkillable Cat the context was the game's direction in light of the devs' only now admitting they've finally "found their way" and what the delay thus far could mean, in terms of further/future waiting. Because they've only just now "found their way".
Now read my replies, then read yours again; and tell me who's an idiot. I already know, but am leaving it as a surprise for you.
Your accusations i leave aside, as you're welcome to think anything you wish of me, no probs there. In terms of the thread direction however, again; look upwards.
 

Doctor Sbaitso

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It's really pretty simple. If not these guys, nobody will make it. If you want to bitch, go on, but to call others idiots or delusional for having patience or not caring how you define acceptable timelines is fruitless.

Aerna, I would refrain asserting superior intellect were I you. At the very least, I suggest remedial writing class first.
 

Aenra

Guest
Still butthurt Doc? ^^
After all these pages and over something others too agreed you were wrong in? That's alright son, have it right here:

i8pRpRw.png


There you go.
Now in as far as who's capable of what, again: Wanting it is one thing. Believing it's gonna happen just because you want it to? That's another. I told you before, it's that simple; we both want this. Difference being i wait with my eyes open, you put on a blindfold and bitch when others come to burst your bubble. And then blame them for doing it, lol.. grow the fuck up.

Oh and by the way:
Aerna, I would refrain asserting
Just so you know, it's to "refrain from". For that next time you find yourself worthy of giving language-related advice ^^
 

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