KickStarter Underworld Ascendant Pre-Release Thread

[Lyric Suite]

Another Unity game that looks like a Unity game.

Would have preferred a realistic visual style, but i can live with that if the game is good.

 

[Excidium II]

Would have preferred anything over Ultima Clayworld.

 

[adddeed]

Looks pretty shitty overall. Clunky movement, animations, etc straight out of 2001. Hopefuly it plays better.

 

[Mustawd]

Looks pretty shitty overall. Clunky movement, animations, etc straight out of 2001.

Would have preferred anything over Ultima Clayworld.

13,987 backers pledged $860,356 to help bring this project to life.

Considering the budget it isn't bad. Especially if the gameplay and exploration is fun.

 

[Darth Slaughter]

 

[Excidium II]

13,987 backers pledged $860,356 to help bring this project to life.

Considering the budget it isn't bad. Especially if the gameplay and exploration is fun.

They're still accepting money on their own website, got more than that.

Also my problem is with the art direction, not the detail of the assets specifically.

 

[Zep Zepo]

INB4 "We've run out of money, LOL!"

Zep--

 

[Snorkack]

wow... watched Nekot's video of this jump'n run, and to be honest it doesn't leave me with much hope. They deserve credid for the audacity to release this prototype, but there wasn't a single good element to see. Lost it at the troll physics with the box and the double jump though.
oh well. when was release planned again?

 

[Doctor Sbaitso]

Right after you lick my nuts.

 

[Snorkack]

I'd probably been a little butthurt if I had backed that, too.

 

[octavius]

One of the things I liked about UU was that the environs looked quite dirty and organic. Morrowind also did that to an extent, while Oblivion's dungeons looked sterile and desinfected. Let's hope not all dungeons in UA will be stone that is as clean as an elven arse.

 

[Doctor Sbaitso]

They definitely need to dirty it up and agreed too many games have pristine environments.

 

[Nekot-The-Brave]

I'd probably been a little butthurt if I had backed that, too.

I spent a grand on the project, I wasn't expecting much. This has actually exceeded my expectations by quite a bit, even though there's not much to offer right now.

 

[Infinitron]

Issue #24, May 16th, 2016

NOW YOU'VE SEEN IT! AND PLAYED IT!

As you’re likely well aware, backers with Prototype Access have been playingUnderworld Ascendant’s Pre-Alpha Prototype for more than two weeks now.

Progression from 2015’s ‘box’ test level to last winter’s “Beautiful Corner” to the recent Pre-Alpha Prototype.

It’s been great seeing the reactions to this latest prototype build – especially comments from folks who weren’t so sure about the game’s new “Authored Look,” but are on-board now that they’ve seen it up-close and in action.

It’s always nerve-wracking having your work go out to the public. As developers, we’re so close to the project that sometimes we can’t be completely objective. That’s one of the reasons we’ve decided to be so open with the development progress. Your feedback has greatly helped us to refine the game as we roll forward. Many thanks!

Note: If you don’t have access yet, you can still purchase it as an Add-On on our website here.


IN CASE YOU HAVEN'T SEEN IT YET...

It’s wonderful to watch people play your game. With the way we build things, it’s especially gratifying watching Let’s Play videos. Gamers always play differently than developers, so hearing first impression comments and watching the trial-and-error is quite valuable.

While all the fan-made video walkthroughs we’ve seen so far have been great, one especially caught our eye: Young Jack Lilac’s Let’s Play. It’s well-worth checking out.

Also, in case you missed it, IGN posted video of the Pre-Alpha Prototype in action at PAX East.

The footage – which you can find right here – includes interviews with art director Nate Wells, lead designer Tim Stellmach, creative director Paul Neurath, and OtherSide Austin studio director Warren Spector. Enjoy!


A FEW QUESTIONS FROM THE FORUMS

“The constant head bob is annoying.” – nodezsh

Yep. Tim’s already fixed the headbobbing. (Technically, it’s still there… just slowed down by a factor of 1000.) It’s worth noting that movement in general will be a work-in-progress for some time. Since it’s the spine of any first-person game, it takes a lot of tinkering to get just right.

“It still feels like I would prefer some way to target my spells.” – Jenuall

Non-targeted spells are in there on-purpose right now. We plan on having another rune modifier for spells, one of which would be targeting. The idea is that a novice is tapping into the great power of spellcasting and doesn’t yet have the skill to correctly harness the power. They can cast the spell, but it is still a bit ‘wild.’

Later on, if the player puts skill into casting, they become more and more refined and controllable. It’s like learning how to do anything… At first, you might be able to throw a ball. With practice, you can hit a target with it.

“I was disappointed that hurling a pile of crates at the strong skeleton using the move air spell didn't knock it off the ledge... or even slow it down at all. Also that throwing swords did nothing.” -Vanyelxp5

This is one of the features that didn’t make it in. Yes, thrown objects will do damage. Thrown swords might become a skill. (Think “Long Distance Sword Impale of Awesome.”)

Some more general responses to common observations…

“Collision/getting hung up on objects”

There are a number of issues going on with the geo, from some just being problematic and annoying, to some assets not made correctly. The next area is being built completely with gameplay in mind. Jump heights, mantle heights… all being prebuilt into the assets we are going to be using to make the world. To avoid some if not most of the collision issues you have experienced, the collision will be done early in the asset creation. There’s so much collision that was hand made — which is a special kind of hell to try and do when there’s so much in the level.

“The player hand obstructs the view when crouching”

That will be fixed soon. Stealth also wasn’t supported. (Though ‘crouch makes you invisible’ might be in the build.)

“Hey! A basketball Easter egg!”

Seems like it should be in every LGS inspired game. Look for it and designer ‘sigs’ throughout the game as we make it. We believe in designers putting their ‘mark’ on their work.

 

[Infinitron]

Chris Siegel replies back on people's stealth ideas: https://www.othersideentertainment.com/forum/index.php?topic=1124.msg18724#msg18724

I'll touch on a few things here.
First --and sadly but it is a reality--we do have to pay attention to the 'purse strings'. Not on how they demand a feature, but if that feature is worth throwing our time (which = money) at. How far do we push a feature, or do we even attempt it at all? This all comes back to some internal questions each of us have on what the game should be as a whole. Part of the joy of a small team is working out the natural tensions of what each person thinks is important is pretty easy. Joe, Tim, Will and I all have vastly different ideas about pretty much every topic. Lucky for us that egos are not bruised to easily here and we are pretty cut throat about taking the 'best idea'. What best means is good gameplay, in budget, and reuseable. These days it is surprising on how much is reusable from one system to another, and with a game like this the crossover from one system to another is more complex than I've ever seen. What is awesome though is the way Tim and Will have set things up, the complexity should not get in the way of design. Making an interactive world where things react to elements, physics, exc is daunting. I can completely see why other games have dialed it back in some places. But hey, it's only work, and that is what we do...work.

Stealth AI -- so making an AI that is really good at finding you is easy. Making an AI that 'screws up' is the hard part. This is one of those areas that we think that the industry hasn't advanced that much and to match Thief--or close to it --- is do-able. But this is not a Thief game, it is just a game that allows stealth. Some of the ideas in this thread are awesome, and I've put them in my ' wouldn't it be awesome' doc for a rogue game someday. I have a couple of those floating around in my brainpan. It might sadden you to know that they are not fantasy games tho. More, NOLF like.

Moving dynamic lights- yep done.

Guards that suck, and guards that are better at their jobs - completely doable. Then mix in creatures. Some will be better at detecting stealth, some might be completely oblivious. This is not stealth related but AI personality. Back in Road Rash 2, in the first part of the game there was a racer named Thrash. If you hit Thrash he reacted so aggressively it was crazy. Let's just say he was good at his job. Those always end up being the AI's you remember. The reality is he probably had a number wrong in some table, but that small change made him a crazed psycho that I still remember 20 years later.

 

[Ivan]

" I've put them in my ' wouldn't it be awesome' doc for a rogue game someday."

 

[Infinitron]

https://www.othersideentertainment.com/forum/index.php?topic=1172.msg18739#msg18739

Inventory is coming, here's a screenshot from my computer. And yes, I'm working on bow + arrow stuff.
I'm still not sure of the layout of the inventory, I'll prob make it more columns + less rows.

 

[V_K]

Ugh. Crafting. Again.
Can we have one game without crafting? Prettyplease?

 

[Excidium II]

No because it's nice and easy feature padding.

Inventory also looks like it is going to be shit. Not even trying.

 

[Infinitron]

This is the one RPG where they can't not have some kind of "crafting".

Inventory also looks like it is going to be shit. Not even trying.

Come on, tell people what it'd have to be like for you not to consider it shit.

Ash/CyberP on the inventory:

No, I'm not talking about the colors, icons or fonts (visually-speaking everything certainly is placeholder), I'm mostly talking about the layout and function, which is less likely to change as much as coding all that is a massive pain in the ass and is the base for all that comes after it.

1. "Crafting" Tab. In UU or Arx, crafting did not need it's own tab/sub-menu as you simply combined items from the inventory. Combine Flour and Rolling Pin. Add in Apple, then bake. Same applies to any kind of crafting in those games. Granted a menu can show you all the available recipes rather than having to refer to an in-world book or your general knowledge/intuition, and generally simplifies things...but is that a good thing and is it Underworld? To me, no.

2. Large in scale leaving no room for use mode and related design. All that immersive goodness: real time inventory, drag and drop that extends beyond the window into the game world, and so on. This doesn't mean something like use mode won't exist, nor does it mean inventory navigation won't be in real time either, yet those things all work best in unison as in Arx/Shock 2/Underworld.

3. Collectibles window. Why aren't these "collectibles" standard inventory items in the traditional immersive & consistent fashion? If you're worried about the player losing/throwing away the collectibles, mark them as "Quest Item" or "Collectible" if need be.

4. Map tab. Not really a complaint, don't take this one seriously, but I'd also be tempted to simply have the map as an in-world/inventory item, even if the player can be a dumbass and throw it into a bottomless pit...who the hell actually does that though? And if they somehow did, they can just reload.

Again, it's too early to criticize without any disclaimers like this, yet base design shows base intentions, and some nitpicking is healthy for them. This is too far removed from LG design ingenuity for my liking.

My comparisons are less to Underworld/Shock and more to System Shock 2/Arx Fatalis, as those designs are simply exceptional, and were an optimization of the immersive & empowering yet clunky interfaces of UU/SS. I think those designs can and should be optimized once more, and this doesn't look to be that.
Stop looking at other people's boring bog standard designs and look more to your own and those born of LG, which were a cut above.

Interesting point. Let me think about that. I bet my hat there is a middle ground.

Deus Ex is probably that middle ground, it still has that consistent immersive design but is more accessible with no complicated "use mode", has the typical header tabs (inventory, map, skills etc), no mandatory real time navigation, simple stuff, but still not underworld.

Even if you're streamlining or designing for consoles you don't have to ditch everything that made those games great. Looking for a middle ground is definitely an unhappy yet acceptable medium.

 

[Excidium II]

^
Somebody that likes typing a lot can do it for me.

 

[resilient sphere]

watched various videos of the demo. Lighting is really gorgeous but everything feels wrong. the gold bars are really dumb in particular unless the story of the Abyss has changed from it being an inescapable dungeon populated with other humanoids capable of scavenging into more of a Skyrim-like experience where all the dungeons in the land have been preserved all eternity just waiting for the chosen one to pop in and make some convenient cash withdrawals.

assuming the team will be introducing light incidental violin music, ten thousand bandits, scandinavian magic-bellowing zombies and a bard who only knows two songs in the coming updates.

 

[Infinitron]

There's no story yet, the gold bars are just an incentive to get testers to explore the prototype map. The first one had you scavenging the map for bunnies.

 

[resilient sphere]

ah, my mistake. Wait, haven't they been working on this for like one and a half years?

 

[Infinitron]

ah, my mistake. Wait, haven't they been working on this for like one and a half years?

It was Kickstarted last March so a bit less than that. I think the first look at a real slice of the game will be when they release the "Pre-Alpha" (not the same thing as "Pre-Alpha Prototype"), sometime later this year.