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KickStarter ICY: Frostbite Edition

OwNathan

Innervoid Interactive
Developer
Joined
Nov 11, 2013
Messages
210
While I can agree on many things with you, Dickie, I feel like you either judged the game a little too harshly or you expected something different.
It is definitely the case that I expected something different, somehow, even after playing the demo. I think I mainly expected decisions in dialogues to matter more than they do. I was kind of judging the game based on it being "a narrative-driven post-apocalyptic survival RPG," rather than an interactive novel, and that was totally my fault. When I played the demo, I thought all the choices I was making were life and death, but choosing different options only seemed to really change the very next line of dialogue before things got back on the rails. I also didn't realize that the loot locations were respawning when I played the demo.

Oh, and I forgot to mention before that I like the art style, except for Demetra's portrait, so that's another positive.

Like I said, there are things I liked. I liked the event in the glass building with the giant thing that I won't spoil for anyone who hasn't played the game. I also liked the church where you go for the holy relics and the part where I was able to dress up like a monster. The story is all fine, too. I just find the UI so frustrating and the overall gameplay isn't my cup of tea, since I would like a "survival RPG" to involve difficult choices with trade-offs.
I perfectly understand that. While we really wanted to add more choices to the early game, we couldn't really do a lot.

This is my fault, a fault I did when writing the original script. But for this remastered we couldn't rewrite everything, we simply lacked the resources to do so. Also, a lot of people appreciated the plot and changing it would've certainly backfired. We added Janeve in the early game, some choices allowing the player to manage things differently, but everything else would've been too hard to implement.

I suggest you to let us fix those issues you mentioned (the map panning has already been fixed, for example) and play at the hardest difficulty. We will also look into fights to avoid this Morale draining issue you found, which it's very frustrating. Maybe you'll still get bored, but maybe you won't and you'll get to the actual ending, which is quite free in terms of choices!

I'm glad you found good things in the game. The only reason this remastered exists is because we couldn't live with the fact of having released the original ICY in its state. We never hoped for this remastered to bring us tons of money, we just wanted to fix our shit, because many people found some quality stuff in the game, but it was covered under bugs and crappy mechanics. And every time someone pointed out the potential they saw, I really felt terrible about how we managed to waste such potential. Now, while the game is not perfect, I'm really happy with the result. Especially considering the fact that the only programmer we had on it couldn't spend more than one or two hours each day to work on the project and despite that he only needed 7 months to create a finished game (with some help, but that's still impressive).

ICY was our first game and we learnt a lot from it, so I hope all people like you that still found the game lacking despite the big update will give us another chance with our future RPGs.
 

agris

Arcane
Patron
Joined
Apr 16, 2004
Messages
6,764
I do wish the stuff with the natives was fleshed out a bit more. I took that one woman into my party, but I didn't see any way to support their cause, despite it being hinted at.
 

OwNathan

Innervoid Interactive
Developer
Joined
Nov 11, 2013
Messages
210
We are developing a management game right now. As some may remember, we tried to develop another game after ICY but the investors who put the money in it didn't keep their promise and suddenly stopped paying peple's salaries. After a couple months we discovered they were involved in illegal stuff and mostly wanted to use us, so we stopped working with them and tried to find some other source of money. We also had to cancel the game for legal reasons.
We managed to get a loan and we had to choose between developing another 10 hours RPG or work on something different, and lay down the foundation of a complex RPG in the meantime. Since I'm the first who doesn't really enjoy short RPGs, we started to work on a management game. We already developed several features that we will carry on in the next game (an advanced and versatile skill system, a dynamic event engine, an aesthetical customization system) and in a matter of a month we should go public with the management game.
We did a good job, we actually have a deep management game in our hands, we hope we'll be able to recoup enough money to pay back the loan and develop a new RPG while we support the management game on the long term. We already have a few hundred pages of setting ready, a lot of programming work, and we could be able to actually develop a good RPG this time.
 

Jazz_

Arcane
Joined
Jun 13, 2016
Messages
1,069
Location
Sea of Ubiquity
We are developing a management game right now. As some may remember, we tried to develop another game after ICY but the investors who put the money in it didn't keep their promise and suddenly stopped paying peple's salaries. After a couple months we discovered they were involved in illegal stuff and mostly wanted to use us, so we stopped working with them and tried to find some other source of money. We also had to cancel the game for legal reasons.
We managed to get a loan and we had to choose between developing another 10 hours RPG or work on something different, and lay down the foundation of a complex RPG in the meantime. Since I'm the first who doesn't really enjoy short RPGs, we started to work on a management game. We already developed several features that we will carry on in the next game (an advanced and versatile skill system, a dynamic event engine, an aesthetical customization system) and in a matter of a month we should go public with the management game.
We did a good job, we actually have a deep management game in our hands, we hope we'll be able to recoup enough money to pay back the loan and develop a new RPG while we support the management game on the long term. We already have a few hundred pages of setting ready, a lot of programming work, and we could be able to actually develop a good RPG this time.

I have finished the game and I honestly don't mind short games (if anything I actually prefer shorter tighter experiences) and although I quite enjoyed it one thing that was disappointing is that the combat is reaaaally underutilized, there should've been more tough hand-crafted encounters because I found the combat system pretty cool but at the end of the day the only time where it really shone and where I had to struggle a bit was during the last fight vs the mercenaries and the overseer, I understand that the budget was limited but a few more unique challenging combat scenarios would have benefit the game greatly.
 
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OwNathan

Innervoid Interactive
Developer
Joined
Nov 11, 2013
Messages
210
I have finished the game and I honestly don't mind short games (if anything I actually prefer shorter tighter experiences) and although I quite enjoyed it one thing that was disappointing is that the combat is reaaaally underutilized, there should've been more tough hand-crafted encounters because I found the combat system pretty cool but at the end of the day the only time where it really shone and where I had to struggle a bit was during the last fight vs the mercenaries and the overseer, I understand that the budget was limited but a few more unique challenging combat scenarios would have benefit the game greatly.
I know, but sadly the budget was EXTREMELY limited. We spent 36k euros on the first ICY, while we recreated from zero this Frostbite Edition with only 4k euros, thanks to the good soul of a couple people. Because of the imminent loan we were also on an extremely tight schedule, despite that we managed to improve the Combat System adding the modifier support to the various abilities.

I really wanted to do more, but sadly we lacked both time and money. We wanted to improve the narrative, add secondary contents and flavor, further increase the combat system. But ultimately we were working on an updated version of an already released game, that was already in the hand of a publisher, and that wouldn't ever repay such effort, even if we'd found a way to do it.

While not completely satisfied, it's good for us too see that the Frostbite Edition has a 90% of positive reviews, compared to the 65% of the previous game. Right now we are trying to get the game in a bundle, maybe that could lead to interesting developments.
 

Dayyālu

Arcane
Joined
Jul 1, 2012
Messages
4,466
Location
Shaper Crypt
We are developing a management game right now. As some may remember, we tried to develop another game after ICY but the investors who put the money in it didn't keep their promise and suddenly stopped paying peple's salaries. After a couple months we discovered they were involved in illegal stuff and mostly wanted to use us, so we stopped working with them and tried to find some other source of money.

No aspetta, siete finiti nel riciclo del denaro sporco tentando di trovare finanziamenti per GdR? E' ilare.

We also had to cancel the game for legal reasons.

Tipo, se posso chiedere? Licenze?

We did a good job, we actually have a deep management game in our hands, we hope we'll be able to recoup enough money to pay back the loan and develop a new RPG while we support the management game on the long term. We already have a few hundred pages of setting ready, a lot of programming work, and we could be able to actually develop a good RPG this time.

Buona fortuna :salute:
Prendere qualsiasi tipo di rischio in Italia è tendenzialmente folle e suicida, ma l'industria videoludica da noi è sempre stata ristretta a imitazioni anime e giochi di corse.

E Grezzo2.
 
Joined
Jan 14, 2018
Messages
50,754
Codex Year of the Donut
We are developing a management game right now. As some may remember, we tried to develop another game after ICY but the investors who put the money in it didn't keep their promise and suddenly stopped paying peple's salaries. After a couple months we discovered they were involved in illegal stuff and mostly wanted to use us,
Were they selling meth?
 

OwNathan

Innervoid Interactive
Developer
Joined
Nov 11, 2013
Messages
210
No aspetta, siete finiti nel riciclo del denaro sporco tentando di trovare finanziamenti per GdR? E' ilare.
IT: Non riciclo di denaro, semplici tentativi di prendere con la nostra azienda, che aveva i requisiti, bandi europei di vario genere per cifre che andavano oltre il milione, per poi girarli a loro altre aziende. Non solo è truffa aggravata ai danni dello stato (10 anni di galera o qualcosa del genere), ma anche senza considerare il reato penale loro avrebbero potuto metterci nella posizione di dovere quasi un milione allo stato senza averne speso che un decimo per cose nostre.


EN: It wasn't money laundering, but simply an attempt of getting more than a million euros from european grants and syphon them into some companies of theirs. It wasn't only an offence punishable with up to 10 years of jail, but it could also put us in the position of owning a million euros to the government without having spent it for our company.
Tipo, se posso chiedere? Licenze?
IT: Loro hanno pagato lo sviluppo iniziale di That Day We Left, tecnicamente è di loro proprietà.

EN: They paid for the development of That Day We Left, so it is technically theirs.

Buona fortuna :salute:
Prendere qualsiasi tipo di rischio in Italia è tendenzialmente folle e suicida, ma l'industria videoludica da noi è sempre stata ristretta a imitazioni anime e giochi di corse.

E Grezzo2.
IT: Grazie! Ma in questo caso il sistema Italia non ha fatto che danni indiretti, posto che queste persone sono in affari da almeno 30 anni e campano evadendo tasse, prendendo soldi pubblici e facendo poi cause a cazzo. Fortunatamente ne siamo usciti senza danni collaterali, escludendo il gioco cancellato e la figura di merda di tirare su un Kickstarter ma vedersi negato qualsiasi fondo per farci marketing.

EN: Thank you! But in this case the major issue was a company led by people that did illegal for at least 30 years. Luckily we got out of the issue without collateral damages, except for having to cancel the game and starting a KS campaign only to discover they cut all funds we were promised for the marketing.
Were they selling meth?
Just some classic tax evasion and illegal attempts of getting grants. Much more boring.
 

Darth Roxor

Royal Dongsmith
Staff Member
Joined
May 29, 2008
Messages
1,878,406
Location
Djibouti
We are developing a management game right now. As some may remember, we tried to develop another game after ICY but the investors who put the money in it didn't keep their promise and suddenly stopped paying peple's salaries. After a couple months we discovered they were involved in illegal stuff and mostly wanted to use us,
Were they selling meth?

it being Italy I would assume mafia
 

Dayyālu

Arcane
Joined
Jul 1, 2012
Messages
4,466
Location
Shaper Crypt
IT: Non riciclo di denaro, semplici tentativi di prendere con la nostra azienda, che aveva i requisiti, bandi europei di vario genere per cifre che andavano oltre il milione, per poi girarli a loro altre aziende. Non solo è truffa aggravata ai danni dello stato (10 anni di galera o qualcosa del genere), ma anche senza considerare il reato penale loro avrebbero potuto metterci nella posizione di dovere quasi un milione allo stato senza averne speso che un decimo per cose nostre.


Tipico. Almeno si sono evoluti dal fregare con i fondi per il sociale ai fondi per le nuove tecnologie. E vebbeh, That Day We Left era un'idea atroce, non credo che abbiate perso molto a vederla silurata. Poi, impossibile battere i russi sul cattivo gusto

header.jpg


:lol::lol::lol:

Buona fortuna per il gestionale!
 

OwNathan

Innervoid Interactive
Developer
Joined
Nov 11, 2013
Messages
210
it being Italy I would assume mafia
(Not so) Fun Fact: my sicilian partner was afraid that they were going to break our legs because he lived most of his life in sicily.

Tipico. Almeno si sono evoluti dal fregare con i fondi per il sociale ai fondi per le nuove tecnologie. E vebbeh, That Day We Left era un'idea atroce, non credo che abbiate perso molto a vederla silurata. Poi, impossibile battere i russi sul cattivo gusto

header.jpg


:lol::lol::lol:

Buona fortuna per il gestionale!
In realtà era un'idea nostra. Peccato solo sia stato recepito come il simulatore di buonista e non come una sorta di documentario. Diciamo poi il mercato non era in condizione di accogliere un prodotto del genere. Commercialmente parlando era ed è un'idea del cazzo, ma quello potevamo fare con quanto ci era stato promesso e i limiti che avevamo. Complessivamente non siamo stati messi in condizione di operare adeguatamente e la persona addetta al marketing l'ha fatto passare troppo come un prodotto di parte.
 

daveyd

Savant
Joined
Jun 10, 2013
Messages
287
I wish I had a few hundred thousand bucks lying around to invest in Zaharia. Still hope you guys get to make that someday. Or maybe a mafia themed RPG.
 
Self-Ejected

Safav Hamon

Self-Ejected
Village Idiot The Real Fanboy
Joined
May 15, 2018
Messages
2,141


Chef allows you to personally don a kitchen apron and embark on an exciting career in the wild world of professional cooking. Starting with nothing but pocket change, a small restaurant, and an ambitious dream, you’ll ascend from the life of a humble cook to that of a world-famous chef.

Nothing will prevent you from deciding how to climb to the top of the food chain. Prepare yourself for a true sandbox experience in which all your management choices matter as you build your gastronomic empire. What will it be? A steakhouse? A vegan paradise? A pasta palace? An experimental cooking lab? Only you can figure out which path is best for your establishment.
FEATURES LIST
  • Create your own avatar and level them up across 6 different skill trees with more than 100 abilities to choose from.
  • Full restaurant management: Create the restaurant’s location and layout, hire the staff, design the menu, and determine the restaurant’s policies.
  • Customize every aspect of your restaurants: Choose from over 150 different variations for floors and walls, and over 200 appliances and decorations that can be individually placed and colored.
  • Experiment with a realistic recipe editor: Use the skills and ingredients at your disposal to create one-of-a-kind dishes that are accurately rated by taste and aroma.
  • Choose your own cooking style: Specialize in meat or seafood, go vegetarian or vegan, or offer a vast selection of spicy or exotic dishes. The choice is yours and the world will react to it accordingly.
  • Hundreds of events and minor storylines will weave an emergent narrative around your choices and actions.
  • Extended modding support: Getting tired of the game after playing it for two hundred hours? Thanks to Chef’s mod support, you will never run out of fresh content to enjoy!


ss_5c41d893d6f7b37ff678e85efce916c193399773.600x338.jpg


ss_66b1847e6ecea0acb4b7518dce94220930358bc7.600x338.jpg


ss_074e695573708d56c5f452230eacfe46dc0c7d3a.600x338.jpg


ss_1b207f22470ac0b53fae871cecc707074126d117.600x338.jpg
 
Last edited:

Lhynn

Arcane
Joined
Aug 28, 2013
Messages
9,825
That actually sounds pretty fantastic.


I'll definitely be trying the demo this weekend.
 

OwNathan

Innervoid Interactive
Developer
Joined
Nov 11, 2013
Messages
210


Chef allows you to personally don a kitchen apron and embark on an exciting career in the wild world of professional cooking. Starting with nothing but pocket change, a small restaurant, and an ambitious dream, you’ll ascend from the life of a humble cook to that of a world-famous chef.

Nothing will prevent you from deciding how to climb to the top of the food chain. Prepare yourself for a true sandbox experience in which all your management choices matter as you build your gastronomic empire. What will it be? A steakhouse? A vegan paradise? A pasta palace? An experimental cooking lab? Only you can figure out which path is best for your establishment.
FEATURES LIST
  • Create your own avatar and level them up across 6 different skill trees with more than 100 abilities to choose from.
  • Full restaurant management: Create the restaurant’s location and layout, hire the staff, design the menu, and determine the restaurant’s policies.
  • Customize every aspect of your restaurants: Choose from over 150 different variations for floors and walls, and over 200 appliances and decorations that can be individually placed and colored.
  • Experiment with a realistic recipe editor: Use the skills and ingredients at your disposal to create one-of-a-kind dishes that are accurately rated by taste and aroma.
  • Choose your own cooking style: Specialize in meat or seafood, go vegetarian or vegan, or offer a vast selection of spicy or exotic dishes. The choice is yours and the world will react to it accordingly.
  • Hundreds of events and minor storylines will weave an emergent narrative around your choices and actions.
  • Extended modding support: Getting tired of the game after playing it for two hundred hours? Thanks to Chef’s mod support, you will never run out of fresh content to enjoy!


ss_5c41d893d6f7b37ff678e85efce916c193399773.600x338.jpg


ss_66b1847e6ecea0acb4b7518dce94220930358bc7.600x338.jpg


ss_074e695573708d56c5f452230eacfe46dc0c7d3a.600x338.jpg


ss_1b207f22470ac0b53fae871cecc707074126d117.600x338.jpg


Yup, our new project. While it will come out in Early Access we're quite happy with it, the system is very deep and there are dozens of XMLs full of shit that interact with other shit.

While stuff like the emergent narrative is still quite simple right now, we plan to radically expand it in the next months as soon as we'll be done with most of the basic gameplay. There are several things we developed keeping RPGs in mind, in order to use the same system for RPGs in the future, while giving at the same time a distinct RPG-esque feeling to the game.


They should have named it "Cooking Mama Mia"!
The actual (bland) name is quite useful to get traffic from people randomly searching for "Restaurant", "Chef" or "Tycoon" on Steam. We should have named ICY something like "Cold Snow Survival Game: Ice Age RPG" because we're getting a lot of traffic from the search tab.
 

Rahdulan

Omnibus
Patron
Joined
Oct 26, 2012
Messages
5,105
The actual (bland) name is quite useful to get traffic from people randomly searching for "Restaurant", "Chef" or "Tycoon" on Steam.

I swear, I jokingly thought was the rationale behind the name. Turns out that really is the case.
 

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