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Game News Seven Dragon Saga Kickstarter Update #5: David Shelley on Character Creation

Infinitron

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Tags: David Klein; David Shelley; Seven Dragon Saga; Tactical Simulations Interactive

With only ~65,000 dollars of funding after four days, I'm pretty sure the Seven Dragon Saga Kickstarter isn't going to make it. I don't like devoting space to lost causes, but under the optimistic assumption that they aren't going to scrap this project after it fails, I'll record whatever gameplay information is revealed over the course of the campaign. In the latest Kickstarter update, Dave Shelley describes the game's character system in broad strokes:

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.
Additionally, in a previous update, TSI president David Klein posted links to two recent interviews about the game, at TwoDashStash and MMORPG.com. There's some interesting stuff in there, although this question in the latter interview may be the most pertinent one:

MMORPG: Most games that are successfully backed through Kickstarter generate about 50% of their goal in the first 24 hours. You aren’t there yet. Do you have an alternative production platform in place or publishing platform?

David S: We have some other opportunities. We are trying to establish ourselves in the space. We got off to a later start yesterday with launching around 12:30 or 1 o’clock which was a minor technical issue. What will happen if we are unsuccessful? We will certainly look at how we can deliver on our vision. TSI is committed to making great RPGs, one way or another.​

I guess we'll see.
 
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Someone should KickStart a campaign to recruit Fargo's services as an advisor for TSI's KickStarter.

In seriousness, while I feel they can probably get the momentum to make up the difference, their primary goal should be to squeeze as much publicity as they can from this campaign by giving onlookers plenty of reason to be disappointed it didn't make it. Their next KickStarter video should be like mini-documentary that communicates the awesome sense of discovery that accompanied being pioneers in computer and strategy gaming., and how experience with unconventional settings (Dark Sun, etc) empowers them to make the most of this exotic Eastern-High Fantasy mash up. Stretch goals are a must; you need that "roar of the coliseum" experience that makes users feel like they are a part of something.

Truth be told, a failure here might be part of the growing pains of starting with so little public awareness of them and their accomplishments. A round two, for example, would get enough starting capital in the first couple of days to make make them seem credible to passerbys.
 
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Turok

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Reward selection

Pledge $1,000 or more
MASTERMIND
All rewards from EMPEROR'S OWN + help design a faction involved in the struggle for the Firewind Coast. Scope, motivation, key elements and back story (subject to approval). You will gain early access to the worlds' background and have a hand in shaping the design.

Pledge $10,000
EMPEROR'S FEAST
All rewards from EMPEROR'S OWN + thanks in our OPENING CREDITS + join the team at an exclusive launch party in the San Francisco area (You must be able to pay for travel and accommodations to the San Francisco CA area).

This jump of money make sense?
 

Vault Dweller

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It all depends on what kind of launch party it is. Maybe they hired Berlusconi as the event organizer?
 
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PC RPG Website of the Year, 2015 Codex 2016 - The Age of Grimoire Serpent in the Staglands Bubbles In Memoria A Beautifully Desolate Campaign Pillars of Eternity 2: Deadfire
I don't think these guys ever commanded the kind of salaries and/or capital that Fargo and Obsidian probably have. They're somewhere between a mid level developer and a fully indie outfit. Don't have enough connections or collateral to offer what inXile or Obsidian might bring to the table.
 

chiefnewo

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They were lost to me the second gameplay was generic isometric instead of a high-res update of the original.
 

LarsWestergren

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As I said in an other thread, it's definitely an uphill struggle, but I wouldn't say they are doomed yet. Experience says that a big Kickstarter needs around 30% the first couple of days to succeed (the U shape). But lately there have been a couple with weak launches, but which still managed to scrape when they got media or "Twitter celebrity" attention later. Project Scissors: Nightcry is one example. There are other examples for smaller campaigns, but for them a single mention at a major site or YouTube channel can be the difference between make or break. Anyway, Car Mechanic 2015 and Numenera Strand are two examples of those.

Tahira looks like it still has a small chance by the way. 75% with 3 days left.
 

Darkzone

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As I said in an other thread, it's definitely an uphill struggle, but I wouldn't say they are doomed yet. Experience says that a big Kickstarter needs around 30% the first couple of days to succeed (the U shape). But lately there have been a couple with weak launches, but which still managed to scrape when they got media or "Twitter celebrity" attention later. Project Scissors: Nightcry is one example. There are other examples for smaller campaigns, but for them a single mention at a major site or YouTube channel can be the difference between make or break. Anyway, Car Mechanic 2015 and Numenera Strand are two examples of those.

To quote a famous philosopher: "It ain't over till it's over."
 

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