Vapourware Seven Dragon Saga - Gold Box spiritual successor from SSI veterans

[Zombra]

Out of curiosity, has anyone told them all these concerns? I haven't had time to check their forums, but it seems to me that the best way to give them feedback about their Kickstarter and early gameplay videos is to find someone who can tell them directly or send them a link to this thread.

Pretttttttty sure they're reading the thread. They mentioned RPGCodex by name as a hotspot of discussion.

 

[J_C]

Out of curiosity, has anyone told them all these concerns? I haven't had time to check their forums, but it seems to me that the best way to give them feedback about their Kickstarter and early gameplay videos is to find someone who can tell them directly or send them a link to this thread.

Pretttttttty sure they're reading the thread. They mentioned RPGCodex by name as a hotspot of discussion.

Jeez, I feel pretty bad for them if they saw all the shit we were giving them.

 

[Awor Szurkrarz]

That combat system has triggered me.

 

[J_C]

Some opinion from me Matt:
http://mattchat.us/?p=915

 

[nikolokolus]

The trouble I see is that the game really isn't scratching the nostalgia itch for people that were huge SSI fans, and what they are showing isn't exactly drawing in younger gamers who've never heard of them or maybe only know of Goldbox games by reputation or it was something their old fart dad used to play on that C64 that is collecting dust in a box in the garage.

 

[Infinitron]

Some opinion from me Matt:
http://mattchat.us/?p=915

WTF? He says he's "envisioning something like Jade Empire" when in the interview they did with him they specifically said it wasn't.

 

[nikolokolus]

But the actual wording of their pitch might leave that impression?

 

[Tramboi]

"Everyone seems to think that gamers are tired of the “same old” high fantasy worlds and desperate for something different. I’m just not. Heck, I put off playing Planescape: Torment because I wasn’t initially attracted to the setting! The truth is, I loved the Forgotten Realms and could play a thousand more games there."
No, no, no and no. And more no.

 

[Zombra]

Where is everybody seeing this overwhelming Asian influence? None of the art has heavy Asian overtones. None of the lore is parallel to Asian history. There is one mention of the Empire being hierarchical like a Japanese shogunate and that's it.

WTF? [Matt] says he's "envisioning something like Jade Empire" when in the interview they did with him they specifically said it wasn't.

I guess Jade Empire has the word "empire" in it, and 7DS takes place in an empire.

 

[FuriousGamer87]

I ,for one, is hoping for kung-fu mechanics in the combat ruleset.
Create some Shaolin goblin monks and your marketing just write itself.

 

[nikolokolus]

Where is everybody seeing this overwhelming Asian influence? None of the art has heavy Asian overtones. None of the lore is parallel to Asian history. There is one mention of the Empire being hierarchical like a Japanese shogunate and that's it.

WTF? [Matt] says he's "envisioning something like Jade Empire" when in the interview they did with him they specifically said it wasn't.

I guess Jade Empire has the word "empire" in it, and 7DS takes place in an empire.

I definitely get a Near East vibe from the concept art, particularly the dwarf. Unlike Matt, I dig it and I've had a lifetime's worth of Forgotten Realms, so fuck that.

 

[Rahdulan]

I ,for one, is hoping for kung-fu mechanics in the combat ruleset.
Create some Shaolin goblin monks and your marketing just write itself.

Grappling.

 

[J_C]

Some opinion from me Matt:
http://mattchat.us/?p=915

WTF? He says he's "envisioning something like Jade Empire" when in the interview they did with him they specifically said it wasn't.

Well he says: I envisioned something like Jade Empire (though according to the designers, it’s not an apt comparison) Maybe he talks about the time before he did the interview, when he envisioned the game's setting as the one in Jade Empire.

 

[Infinitron]

Some opinion from me Matt:
http://mattchat.us/?p=915

WTF? He says he's "envisioning something like Jade Empire" when in the interview they did with him they specifically said it wasn't.

Well he says: I envisioned something like Jade Empire (though according to the designers, it’s not an apt comparison) Maybe he talks about the time before he did the interview, when he envisioned the game's setting as the one in Jade Empire.

Yeah, because look at the comments

 

[Abelian]

Where is everybody seeing this overwhelming Asian influence? None of the art has heavy Asian overtones. None of the lore is parallel to Asian history. There is one mention of the Empire being hierarchical like a Japanese shogunate and that's it.

The Imprerial (human) on the Kickstarter page looks like a Mongol and a few characters have Middle Eastern elements in their garb. I wouldn't say the Asian influence is overt, but it's definitely different from the usual Western/Northern European feel.

 

[Zombra]

I ,for one, is hoping for kung-fu mechanics in the combat ruleset.

Seems quite possible to me - the wuxia influence on the character system is definitely there. They talked on the forums about a warrior being able to jump onto a rooftop and shoot a cloud of arrows with one draw of the bowstring. I don't know if this implies unarmed martial arts, but these guys definitely watch kung fu movies.

 

[J_C]

Some opinion from me Matt:
http://mattchat.us/?p=915

WTF? He says he's "envisioning something like Jade Empire" when in the interview they did with him they specifically said it wasn't.

Well he says: I envisioned something like Jade Empire (though according to the designers, it’s not an apt comparison) Maybe he talks about the time before he did the interview, when he envisioned the game's setting as the one in Jade Empire.

Yeah, because look at the comments

Okay okay, I got it.

 

[Alchemist]

One great point Matt Barton makes is that they should have lined up a classic TSR artist for the cover art - like Clyde Caldwell, Jeff Easley, or Larry Elmore. This would sure garner a lot of attention and nostalgia. They might be expensive to commission a new piece but they could also just license a previously existing painting for lower cost. And there are plenty of dragons in those artist's portfolios. Heck, they don't even have to pay them yet - just have it contingent on the KS funding.

I also agree with Matt in that I prefer a zero-to-hero progression, but that isn't totally a deal-breaker. I just get bored with the "special chosen ones" kind of trope.

 

[Darkzone]

Where is everybody seeing this overwhelming Asian influence? None of the art has heavy Asian overtones. None of the lore is parallel to Asian history. There is one mention of the Empire being hierarchical like a Japanese shogunate and that's it.

The Imprerial (human) on the Kickstarter page looks like a Mongol and a few characters have Middle Eastern elements in their garb. I wouldn't say the Asian influence is overt, but it's definitely different from the usual Western/Northern European feel.

The asian thing is not bad, but i don't know if it is a seller.

I ,for one, is hoping for kung-fu mechanics in the combat ruleset.
Create some Shaolin goblin monks and your marketing just write itself.

Some jaido mechanics like in D&D's Kara-Tur (but more balanced).

 

[Alchemist]

Where is everybody seeing this overwhelming Asian influence? None of the art has heavy Asian overtones. None of the lore is parallel to Asian history. There is one mention of the Empire being hierarchical like a Japanese shogunate and that's it.

Yeah, this doesn't look asian- influenced at all...

The asian influence definitely limits their market - and the original symbol / logo they had on the KS landing page looked 100% asian. Some people just don't like even a wiff of asian-ness in their traditional fantasy RPGs. Especially one that is supposed to hearken back to the Gold Box series which were in mostly traditional D&D settings, except for Krynn which only varied things slightly.

 

[Zombra]

Where is everybody seeing this overwhelming Asian influence? None of the art has heavy Asian overtones.

Yeah, this doesn't look asian- influenced at all...

lol, fair enough :D

 

[Darkzone]

Zombra. Not asian? This is a 7 dragon dish and 6 party treasures with Peking Dragon Duck and Wan Tan Goblins in sweet sour sauce. On glutamate.

 

[RPGGameLover]

Here is Update #5

"You may have have noticed some bits on character creation in the KS video, and I wanted to expand on some aspects. At its heart, SDS is a points based system with about 80 abilities each having ranks and costs. To create a character, players choose a Race, a Class and a Specialty. Each of these is a container of abilities, with each Class containing the same number of points as each other Class.

Abilities run the gamut from offense to defense, mobility to senses, stats to skills. For example, a Dwarf has higher resistance to damage, and resistance to knockback, among his abilities. Each combination of Race/Class/Specialty yields a different balance. Some of the combinations seem obvious, Tough Knight, Rogue Scout, but the reverse of these combinations will also produce viable characters.

A Rogue Knight wouldn't have the stacked defenses of a Tough Knight, but he'd make an effective point man, with heavy armor for ambushes, and the skills to spot and disarm traps. A Tough Scout could slip into the back ranks of enemies, and still survive any counterattacks.

As characters advance, they gain points to upgrade their current abilities, or purchase new ones. Some abilities are reserved for particular Races, Classes, and Specialties, while others are open to all characters. So the player can either double down on his current set up, or broaden his characters to make them more adaptable to situations.

The values for each character's five main statistics (strength, dexterity, spirit, intelligence and hit points) comes from the choice of Class and Specialty. Buying additional ranks in Statistic Boost or Hit Point Boost will improve these later in the game. Statistics are used with Skills, and improve damage, Strength for heavy weapons, Dexterity for bows and light weapons, and Intelligence for Spells.

The whole goal of this system is to allow easy creation of the whole party, with lots of room for customization, and no degenerate solutions. In short, a great testbed for experimenting. Let me know if there are other aspects which interest you. The exact balance with each Class, etc. won't be set in stone until we finish final balance, of course, but the broad strokes are in place."

 

[m_s0]

Here is Update #5

"You may have have noticed some bits on character creation in the KS video, and I wanted to expand on some aspects. At its heart, SDS is a points based system with about 80 abilities each having ranks and costs. To create a character, players choose a Race, a Class and a Specialty. Each of these is a container of abilities, with each Class containing the same number of points as each other Class.

Abilities run the gamut from offense to defense, mobility to senses, stats to skills. For example, a Dwarf has higher resistance to damage, and resistance to knockback, among his abilities. Each combination of Race/Class/Specialty yields a different balance. Some of the combinations seem obvious, Tough Knight, Rogue Scout, but the reverse of these combinations will also produce viable characters.

A Rogue Knight wouldn't have the stacked defenses of a Tough Knight, but he'd make an effective point man, with heavy armor for ambushes, and the skills to spot and disarm traps. A Tough Scout could slip into the back ranks of enemies, and still survive any counterattacks.

As characters advance, they gain points to upgrade their current abilities, or purchase new ones. Some abilities are reserved for particular Races, Classes, and Specialties, while others are open to all characters. So the player can either double down on his current set up, or broaden his characters to make them more adaptable to situations.

The values for each character's five main statistics (strength, dexterity, spirit, intelligence and hit points) comes from the choice of Class and Specialty. Buying additional ranks in Statistic Boost or Hit Point Boost will improve these later in the game. Statistics are used with Skills, and improve damage, Strength for heavy weapons, Dexterity for bows and light weapons, and Intelligence for Spells.

The whole goal of this system is to allow easy creation of the whole party, with lots of room for customization, and no degenerate solutions. In short, a great testbed for experimenting. Let me know if there are other aspects which interest you. The exact balance with each Class, etc. won't be set in stone until we finish final balance, of course, but the broad strokes are in place."

Fucking, finally.

 

[RPGGameLover]

And YESSSSSSSSSSSS its an incline.....


Poddmeister the Tormented Exile 12 minutes ago
I think this is the first Kickstarter i've seen where the pledges on day four were greater than on day three. Hoping the trend will continue and that Seven Dragon saga will continue to pick up speed.