Codex Interview RPG Codex Interview: Legends of Eisenwald, Turn Based Strategy/RPG

[General Maxson]

General Maxson, any suggestions are welcome for rewards. The thing is we have to be really careful what we promise because we are a very small team and doing something big can add to our schedule quite a bit of time. So, yes, our lower level rewards seem to be doing well but we need to do something with mid- and higher level rewards...

I don't know, I'm not a very good PR guy. But maybe a vodka drinking party in celebration of game's funding with your team, for high donors, or LARP session with the team, or combination of both. Maybe roast a pig in medieval style. There are many possibilities.

 

[Burning Bridges]

some excellent ideas! I especially like the idea of roasting a pig in Castle Eisenwald.

 

[Aterdux Entertainment]

Roasting a pig sounds like fun It's interesting if people would be interested to come and go through the hassle of getting a visa. Also, not very many people like the political situation in Belarus either. But that's something to consider, thank you!

 

[commie]

Roasting a pig sounds like fun It's interesting if people would be interested to come and go through the hassle of getting a visa. Also, not very many people like the political situation in Belarus either. But that's something to consider, thank you!

I like the political situation. There needs to be someone to stand up to the imperialist dogs!

 

[Burning Bridges]

Roasting a pig sounds like fun It's interesting if people would be interested to come and go through the hassle of getting a visa. Also, not very many people like the political situation in Belarus either. But that's something to consider, thank you!

it's not very likely, since real high donors probably come from countries like Saudi Arabia or Asia (the kind of backers who sometimes give 10,000$ to a game)

but they may also not be attracted to being executives, because they don't have the time for that.

 

[Terpsichore]

LARPing pls.

 

[DwarvenFood]

If Aterdux was not a developer he would have already been banned for some brofisting-scheme by now...

It's good to see this project getting a fair chance and imagine the prestige this fine magazine will be getting if the hard truth comes out that it was with our help, might be a bigger impact than the 10$k for W2.

 

[Metro]

It's a brofist Ponzi scheme I tell ya! But it's nice to see funding has picked up -- I hope you guys (and gal) reach the goal.

 

[Aterdux Entertainment]

If Aterdux was not a developer he would have already been banned for some brofisting-scheme by now...

I have to admit I didn't read any forum rules - and I thought brofisting was something like thumbs up. Until I find out what it is I will be on brofisting moratorium

 

[Stinger]

It's fine, it really is just a thumbs up thing. It's just that some people have made dummy accounts just to brofist themselves.

Since you are obviously not a dummy account I doubt anyone will really care who and what you brofist.

 

[Metro]

 

[Hamster]

I still have doubts about combat system, but pledged anyway out of : xsolidarity.

 

[mindx2]

I have to admit I didn't read any forum rules - and I thought brofisting was something like thumbs up. Until I find out what it is I will be on brofisting moratorium

Forum Rules on the Codex? We take our freedom to say the most asinine, dumb, offensive, juvenile, and at times insightful things seriously around here since we are such a prestigious site after all .

 

[Excommunicator]

Your battle map visuals are very crisp and clear. A lot of 3D games in a similar perspective struggle to achieve that (Dragon Age for example is one of the worst) I am quite a fan of the Disciples 2 combat, so I expect I will like this game, but I find it strange the disproportionately small amount of support you are receiving compared to some of these other far less promising games.

 

[Shannow]

I have to admit I didn't read any forum rules - and I thought brofisting was something like thumbs up. Until I find out what it is I will be on brofisting moratorium

Forum Rules on the Codex? We take our freedom to say the most asinine, dumb, offensive, juvenile, and at times insightful things seriously around here since we are such a prestigious site after all .

http://www.rpgcodex.net/forums/index.php?threads/rules-of-the-codex-enhanced-edition-2012.70110/
Knock yourself out in bitching why child porn should be allowed.

 

[commie]

I still have doubts about combat system, but pledged anyway out of : xsolidarity.

I don't really understand. It's not all that different from HOMM's, just that you don't walk up to the enemy. When one thinks about it, being able to move in the HOMM games doesn't really add all that much compared to what it does in JA2. It's not like you can use cover or anything, at most you really just delay which units get into melee range by throwing up slowing spells or basic obstacles. In the end it boils down to whacking the enemy before he whacks you.

In before some pedant contradicts this basic generalisation to tell me how obscenely tactical the combat is in HOMM thanks to being able to walk up to the enemy.



Oh, and if anyone really wants a lengthy introduction to the combat that is likely to be in this game there is actually a non-time limited version of Discord Times available from http://www.myplaycity.com/discord_times/
I don't really want to play all that much to be honest, if it gets funded I'll get a proper copy of this game so would rather not see too much now but it's there for those that want to build up their forces a bit to see how it is.

Yeah, it's some faggot site and starting the game you have to wait a few seconds longer while some advertising shows, but if you have no problems with that you get access to the full game. I'm really enjoying it, cute low budget quirks and all. I really like how you get trolled at the start of the Quiet Harbor scenario: Dead in the first 5 seconds after lazily hitting a reef, then being raped without being able to respond with a single attack after not paying attention to the nature of the inhabitants of the very first shack I came across. Then I tried the campaign scenarios and it seemed easy enough until I kept getting killed by the knight detachment that comes along at the end of the scenario. I couldn't pay for my extended army so was just me and a few nuns. Heh.

I add my voice to the chorus of "why the fuck is this not getting funded quickly?". Banner Derp with it's shitty Bakshi ripoff Vikings has a clamor for it but not this??? Where the hell are all the Disciples/HOMM fans?

 

[Shannow]

Disciples 3 came along and killed them all off. Also, there are still games made in this genre. (Though I'd say Eisenwald looks better. Still reserving judgement for a combat vid.) Compared to that Banner Saga looks quite unique.
But there has been a surge in donations and as word spreads I'm pretty sure it'll get funded.

Also, obstacles in HOMM provide defense bonus against ranged attacks, IIRC /pedant

 

[Aterdux Entertainment]

I am back to brofisting then since I really like all your posts We think that lack of sufficient promotion is the reason about not getting a lot of funding - in this industry like in many others promotion is extremely important, sometimes more important than the product itself. Before going to Kickstarter we were aware of that and decided to combine both launching our campaign with PR campaign. Looks like it's better to start some PR in advance but there is still plenty of time to improve things and we are sure we will get funded. We also have good hopes for MacOS and Linux version, yes, right now it might seems like a stretch but there is a good amount of time for many good things that can happen!

commie: nice description of Discord Times gameplay. In some scenarios there is a time factor - meaning that if you don't finish a quest within a given period of time something bad will happen. Like the mounted knights detachment killing you You probably referred to the opening scenario in Ramen Kingdom campaign - once one knows how to proceed there, it's a good idea to finish all quests and wait for the first detachment in a castle. First detachment can be finished off, and it's necessary to run away from the second since it's unbeatable

 

[commie]

commie: nice description of Discord Times gameplay. In some scenarios there is a time factor - meaning that if you don't finish a quest within a given period of time something bad will happen. Like the mounted knights detachment killing you You probably referred to the opening scenario in Ramen Kingdom campaign - once one knows how to proceed there, it's a good idea to finish all quests and wait for the first detachment in a castle. First detachment can be finished off, and it's necessary to run away from the second since it's unbeatable

Yeah, I just saw two barons' armies coming down hard for me and me running all over the map desperately trying to avoid them and reach the 'end point', the trip at the inn on the first map! Yeah I'm talking about the Ramen Kingdom first scenario indeed. I just ran for my life after clearing out every quest though I think I missed the one by the sea pirates' village as the camera would focus on it and the inn when I talked to the priest but I couldn't get past those troops to get to the village.

How do I disband troops? I was too greedy early on when I had money and bought all the troops I could. I didn't realise that the upkeep would be so high so they wouldn't fight! Now I have no money for units and the bastards I have won't fight!

 

[Aterdux Entertainment]

How do I disband troops? I was too greedy early on when I had money and bought all the troops I could. I didn't realise that the upkeep would be so high so they wouldn't fight! Now I have no money for units and the bastards I have won't fight!

You go to the army screen (crossed swords), click on a unit and select "Dismiss". And yes, we mentioned in the interview that gold situation is pretty tough in Discord Times. I usually go just with the army of 6 or 7 - experience is growing faster that way too. Sometimes in this scenario after fighting the vampires you can get a free militia men when you return to your castle. That softens a bit gold situation in this and next scenarios.

 

[mbpopolano24]

Well, actually being able or not to reach a unit in your turn adds a lot of tactical choices in HMM. Although I think King's Bounty (the new one) did that much, much better; there you can actually have obstacles and use terrain at your advantage (yet, it is not JA2 for sure). But I enjoyed D2 immensely anyway, so if their making this one right, it could be a very fun game. Disciples player are just NOT aware of this game, so the developers need to do what they are doing here in THEIR forums.

 

[Aterdux Entertainment]

Don't get me wrong, we all enjoyed playing the new one King's Bounty. Some of us even went a bit insane and played on impossible with 0 losses. However, what we experienced is that after you play that game 3-4 times or maybe a bit more, the combat really becomes a bit tiring and often you just lose interest. In terms of replayability King's Bounty is still very good but if battles were shorter, it would be even more fun. For that reason, I don't play King's Bounty anymore but occasionally I do open Discord Times and quickly go through one of the scenarios What was good in DT and what we plan to keep in LoE is that the game will be very replayable and every subsequent time the game is played it will take less time. No matter how well you know the new King's Bounty, it will still take long time to complete it...

 

[commie]

How do I disband troops? I was too greedy early on when I had money and bought all the troops I could. I didn't realise that the upkeep would be so high so they wouldn't fight! Now I have no money for units and the bastards I have won't fight!

You go to the army screen (crossed swords), click on a unit and select "Dismiss". And yes, we mentioned in the interview that gold situation is pretty tough in Discord Times. I usually go just with the army of 6 or 7 - experience is growing faster that way too. Sometimes in this scenario after fighting the vampires you can get a free militia men when you return to your castle. That softens a bit gold situation in this and next scenarios.

DOH! Thanks. I restarted the scenario and now am managing better. I hope you guys don't give up if you just barely make the funding or fall a bit short. Try again as this game deserves to be released with a lot of depth and not just a few scenarios. At least it should be HOMM 3 or Disciples 2 in scale to be not forgotten as something 'short but sweet'!

Well, actually being able or not to reach a unit in your turn adds a lot of tactical choices in HMM. Although I think King's Bounty (the new one) did that much, much better; there you can actually have obstacles and use terrain at your advantage (yet, it is not JA2 for sure). But I enjoyed D2 immensely anyway, so if their making this one right, it could be a very fun game. Disciples player are just NOT aware of this game, so the developers need to do what they are doing here in THEIR forums.

Well being able to reach an opponent or not in your turn is also present in Discord Times. Depending on where you are, you may need to use a turn to switch ranks in order to get close or conversely to avoid combat. Just that it happens instantaneously and not with physically clicking on a hex. Also you can bring in units from reserve to replace dead units.

I second the notion that Aterdux needs to pull a Dogma7 or Subbassman and spam any and all Disciples fan boards with information about the game.

Don't get me wrong, we all enjoyed playing the new one King's Bounty. Some of us even went a bit insane and played on impossible with 0 losses. However, what we experienced is that after you play that game 3-4 times or maybe a bit more, the combat really becomes a bit tiring and often you just lose interest. In terms of replayability King's Bounty is still very good but if battles were shorter, it would be even more fun. For that reason, I don't play King's Bounty anymore but occasionally I do open Discord Times and quickly go through one of the scenarios What was good in DT and what we plan to keep in LoE is that the game will be very replayable and every subsequent time the game is played it will take less time. No matter how well you know the new King's Bounty, it will still take long time to complete it...

Exactly what I thought. I was surprised by just how dynamic and fun the swift combat is in DT. I usually get annoyed having to grind through a scenario but going through the Ramen opening scenario again after my previous errors was no problem at all.

 

[Aterdux Entertainment]

Yes, the combat in DT is fun and swift, that's a nice description, commie, thank you. And we think in LoE it will be even more fun: there will be an added element of a bit of moving but it still will be diverse enough and simple. And no, we won't give up on this game, too late for that One way or another it will come out. And I think our new game has a lot of potential and the word will get out. The feedback that we are receiving is extremely positive, we receive lots of encouragement emails every day.

I second the notion that Aterdux needs to pull a Dogma7 or Subbassman and spam any and all Disciples fan boards with information about the game.

Does it mean I can write to those guys and ask them to post in Disciples fan boards? I just saw today a message on some D3 forum where someone asked about games similar to Disciples 2. I wanted to register and respond but then I had to work on something else, closed the window and forgot where it is, damn...

 

[FeelTheRads]

Just a suggestion, but have you considered adding more rewards for the Kickstarter tiers? I understand that you can't afford physical stuff (and for 50k it's better that you don't spend money on that), but maybe more digital stuff? I don't put much value on digital rewards, but there are people who do.
Not sure what you could offer, but you, being part of the team, should know what you have. Maybe design documents or stuff like that? Many people love those.

Just note that I, at least, I'm against exclusive "in game" content.

Oh, and please have a good English translation!

Also, is there a digital manual included? I see no mention of it. It would seem obvious that there is, but mention it anyway.