[WIP] Sanctuary - 3D, turn-based, custom party, FRPG

[JMab]

Hello Fair Codexia,

I'd like to announce my work-in-progress RPG, Sanctuary. I have a game info/development blog at:

http://www.cloudninegames.net

Sanctuary is a 3D Fantasy Role-Playing Game. A cabal of merchant lords has sent out a plea for help from any adventuring parties that will heed their call. Their trade of harvesting plants from the nearby Vengarth Swamp to turn into medicinal and magical compounds has been threatened by the opening of an abandoned temple in the middle of the swamp, by a group of harvesters. Their disappearance, and the disappearance of many of their fellows, has forced the cabal to turn to desperate measures… you!

Your party will battles vile monsters, devious lords and fellow adventuring parties during their quest to win the rewards on offer by the cabal. By assembling and building a party of adventurers skilled in combat, magic, stealth and diplomacy, you will have a chance to best the denizens of Sanctuary!

NOTE: THE SCREENSHOTS BELOW WILL SHOW CHARACTERS IN THEIR UNDERWEAR. THIS IS BECAUSE I HAVEN'T CREATED THE CLOTHES AND ARMOR YET!

Your overground and underground adventures are all rendered in full 3D, allowing for convoluted twists, turns, secrets and physics-based challenges.

You can create as many custom characters as you like, and add up to six in your adventuring party. There are 7 playable races available; Dwarf, Elf, Gnome, Half-Elf, Halfling, Half-Orc or Human. There are 11 playable classes available; Barbarian, Bard, Cleric, Druid, Fighter, Monk, Paladin, Ranger, Rogue, Sorcerer and Wizard. Combine those with the hundreds of feats, skills and spells available and you can build a powerful and complementary adventuring party capable of taking on all challenges!

The Sanctuary uses Open Game Content, licensed under the Open Gaming License v1.0a. This means a wealth of character attributes, feats, skills and spells will be familiar to millions of gamers. In addition to the stat-based representation of your characters, a complex visual customization system is available, allowing you to get the look of your characters just right.

I'm happy to take any feedback on anything related to the game. Current status is very early alpha.

 

[JMab]

Here’s my test character, Grog the Surly (resident Barbarian) modeling a new Chain shirt. The armor types in the game are: Padded, Leather, Studded leather, Chain shirt, Hide, Scale mail, Chainmail, Breastplate, Split mail, Banded mail, Half-plate and Full plate.

 

[mondblut]

What kind of combat to expect? Tactical or blob?

 

[JMab]

Tactical. I'd like as much freedom in combat as a PnP session with minatures and varying elevations. There are some D&D 3.5e rules related to advantages (and disadvantages) related to elevation and cover - I'll incorporate all of these, and I think that will make combat a lot more fun. For example, positioning spellcasters in the right area is important - using warriors as blockers, or at least in position for attacks of opportunity if the enemy tries to rush the spellcasters. Having ranged attackers use cover is will be a good tactical choice. Combat is obviously the heart of most RPGs, so I'll continue developing combat systems to increase tactical depth and make it more fun (the over-arching goal!). The tactical depth needs to be matched by as many interesting encounter designs as possible, so expect more, hand-crafted encounters, and less random mobs of only 1-2 monster types (though they will be around, if a player wants to grind)...

 

[JMab]

This illustrates the 3D view:

 

[Excidium]

Excellent vapourware you have here.

 

[Jaesun]

Does this use a skill system?

 

[JMab]

Excellent vapourware you have here.

Hehe. I agree that, like all indie game projects, especially CRPGs, this should be considered vapourware until it actually gets released.

I am building towards a playable alpha version of some of the content, at least, by the end of Q1, 2014. Given that this is the preeminent site for CRPGs on the interwebs, I'm hoping that some Codexians will be willing to do some alpha testing.

Also, I've got a post on my site http://cloudninegames.net/ about the inspiration for Sanctuary:
Undoubtedly, my biggest CRPG inspiration is Pool of Radiance, an absolute classic from the Gold Box series by SSI. I misspent many hours of my youth, with a mate, trying to liberate Phlan. So what did I enjoy about PoR? Creating your own party – each and every character. The in-depth tactical combat, where character position really mattered (i.e. blocking doorways with fighters and putting wizards out of harm’s way). The story, the intrigue of the council, the classes, monsters and items all made for a classic D&D CRPG experience.
Over the years I’ve thought, “wouldn’t it be awesome, if you could create a PoR-like game in 3D, with great graphics, and using a modern physics engine?”. More recently, I was a latecomer to[URL='http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Temple_of_Elemental_Evil_(video_game)']The Temple of Elemental Evil, which I thought was a great contempary take on the classic party-based, D&D CRPG.

What’s different about Sanctuary then? Being fully 3D, with physics, opens up options that a 2D game may struggle to implement. The combat will still be turn-based, as I think you need that for the tactical depth, however players could set off rolling boulder traps, fire down on enemies from elevated heights, seek partial cover, bull rush enemies into spike pits or off bridges, etc. The combat and adventuring possibilities are multiplied in 3D worlds.

Happy to hear any of your ideas, as the game in deep in development at the moment and I’m open for input![/URL]

 

[JMab]

Does this use a skill system?

Yes, I just did a blog post about this:

http://cloudninegames.net/?p=79

Basically, the game uses the Open Game Content (D&D v3.5e), so all skills relevant to CRPG combat and adventuring is included. I've dropped some that are only really relevant to PnP, or at least would be very difficult to implement in a CRPG. There are a lot in, however. As per the Open Gaming License v1.0a, all XML files containing rules are exposed by the game to be read in at startup. Here's a screenshot of the skills XML file:

 

[JMab]

Note that the map in post 5 is not my own work:

http://cloudninegames.net/?p=76

For this post, I’ve borrowed a map called The Palace of Orinthalian, from GearTech Games. This shows my test party (in chainmail onesies!) at different elevations and able to be partially covered by different environmental features.

My Blender skills are improving all the time, but they are not at that level yet! Although this asset is freely available for use on the Unity Asset Store, I don't intend to use it in my final build, to ensure all of the environmental art is consistent (i.e. all made by myself).

 

[JMab]

I've done a new post on my dev blog:

http://cloudninegames.net/?p=84

about the pre-alpha versions of all of the different armor types in the game.

 

[Ninjerk]

Reads suspiciously like AD&D armor table...

 

[JMab]

Reads suspiciously like AD&D armor table...

I can't confirm or deny the use of the AD&D ruleset, but I can confirm that I am using Open Game Content v3.5e and abiding by the Open Gaming License v1.0a!

 

[Kaucukovnik]

Breast plates with boobs look weird.
And plate should be more than just metal texture applied on the body.

I'd go for something like this:

 

[Alchemist]

This sounds very promising - I'd love to play an OGL-based PoR-style game in a modern engine, like you describe. And all those glorious skills...
I'm curious about how physics in a turn-based game would work - but I suppose it is possible. Good luck, man - keep us posted!

 

[JMab]

Breast plates with boobs look weird.
And plate should be more than just metal texture applied on the body.

I'd go for something like this:

Agreed. Actually, all of the armor pieces above are actually models, rather than textures. They are just an indication of my (currently!) poor modeling skills, and the fact that I knocked them all out in a day. I started all of the armor pieces in Blender by selecting the right faces of the model, duplicating them, separating them from the body mesh and then inflating them. So most of the pieces currently look like a slightly inflated version of the underlying body, which is why it currently looks like I've just stuck a texture on a body part.

You can see on the chain shirt that it hangs down onto the thighs, which shows it's a seperate model. Also, if you look closely at the breastplate, I did try to model pauldrons (the shoulder guards). When I first did it, I created them as overlapping plates (which I think they were in real life), but then ruined it, by filling polygons from the body of the breastplate, to the pauldrons. So they just look like two big bumps on the shoulders now.

I will revisit all armor pieces, as my modeling skills improve (I'm mainly a developer), but certainly the breastplate needs a lot of attention. I also need to add the faulds to it, like in the picture above, to protect the waist and hips.

The good part is that I'm using the Unity Multipurpose Avatar, so all of these extra models for armor and clothes get combined into one big mesh at runtime. Also, all textures for the body, armor and clothes get combined into two big texture atlases, one for diffuse (color) and one for normal and specular maps. So I should be able to add a lot of detail to the model for very little performance cost.

I agree on the flat breastplate for female models. When I started developing this game, one of my mates here in Australia with two daughters asked that I create accurate armor for female characters, which I think is the right thing to do anyway - I'm not intending on creating any chainmail bikinis!

Give me a few days and I'll come back with a screenshot of a much better breastplate... might take a bit longer to model good looking greaves, vambraces, etc.]

 

[JMab]

This sounds very promising - I'd love to play an OGL-based PoR-style game in a modern engine, like you describe. And all those glorious skills...
I'm curious about how physics in a turn-based game would work - but I suppose it is possible. Good luck, man - keep us posted!

I wouldn't say that physics would be a big focus, but I think there are possibilities that I'm currently trying to build into the game. Here's some scenarios:

* The party gathers in the middle of the room while the Rogue picks the lock on the chest in the corner. A trap is set off and a wall slides to the side, releasing a rolling boulder trap. The physics engine calculates the trajectory and momentum of the rolling boulder, which hits some of the party and sends them flying. The physics engine calculates where they land. Damage, and saving throws, remain a part of the Rules Engine calculations, the ragdoll models as the characters fly through the air remains part of the animation system.

* The party reaches a chasm underground, spanned by a rope bridge. The bridge is held by a group of Goblins, lead by an Ogre. Your Fighter bull rushes the Ogre in an attempt to knock him back off the bridge. The physics engine calculates how far the Ogre is knocked back for a successful bull rush, figuring the Fighter's mass and velocity and the Ogre's mass. If the Ogre happens to be knocked back enough to fall off the bridge, the physics engine applies the gravity to the Ogre's rigid body, as well as the animation system animating the Ogre's frantic falling.

* All Line Of Sight calculations are done by the physics engine, as I am casting rays that detect what physics colliders they hit. There is a collider attached to each character, item, architectural piece and terrain piece. Line Of Sight will be critical for spells, ranged weapons, sneaking, etc.

* Your party stumbles into the middle of a cave full of Drow doing something unspeakable (Gnome BBQ?). Your Sorcerer immediately casts Earthquake. The cave collapse and the physics engine calculates how the pieces of the cave roof fall, and whether they hit characters or enemies. The hit information is passed to the Rules Engine, which calculates the damage.

I'm sure I'll come up with a lot more ideas too. Happy to hear suggestions also.

So I'd say that the use of the physics engine is intended to complement the other systems, to add some realism and randomness. The Rules Engine is still king - combat will be tactical and turn-based, so the Rules Engine will do most of the work. However, even in a turn-based combat, you could spend an action tipping over a stack of barrels, requiring a physics calculation to determine where they roll and who they might knock off their feet...

 

[Alchemist]

Those physics scenarios sound very cool - thanks for clarifying! That will definitely add a level of emergent complexity which could be very interesting. The more environmental interactivity the better. In the bridge example I can imagine collapsing the bridge (via spell or some other method), being a possible tactical option.

 

[JMab]

Those physics scenarios sound very cool - thanks for clarifying! That will definitely add a level of emergent complexity which could be very interesting. The more environmental interactivity the better. In the bridge example I can imagine collapsing the bridge (via spell or some other method), being a possible tactical option.

Yes, thanks for the idea. I can make collapsing the bridge be a specific action for characters, or as a result of it being in the target radius of certain spells. It's all about representing it graphically, and determining the results - a rope bridge in the physics engine is a set of rigid bodies (planks) connected by ropes (springs), so I should be able to show that convincingly. And allow the occupants of the bridge to fall using gravity and animation and then the Rules Engine to calculate the eventual falling damage (allowing for abilities like the Monk's ability to fall without taking much damage)...

 

[zwanzig_zwoelf]

Those physics scenarios sound very cool - thanks for clarifying! That will definitely add a level of emergent complexity which could be very interesting. The more environmental interactivity the better. In the bridge example I can imagine collapsing the bridge (via spell or some other method), being a possible tactical option.

Now when you mention it, The Last Story, a game for Wii, had this kind of option.
There was a location in the beginning, where part of your squad fights under the bridge, and there are archers shooting from there.
You can order your mage to cast spell on the bridge, collapsing it on your enemies and killing archers at the same time.
If only it had a decent plot, though.

 

[hexer]

How come you're not using NWN2 engine? You're creating a commercial game?

Anyways, good luck!

 

[JMab]

How come you're not using NWN2 engine? You're creating a commercial game?

Anyways, good luck!

Yes, I'm aiming to create a commercial game. I've been trying to create this type of game for an embarrassingly long time - too many years to openly admit! My mistake for the first (many) years, was to try and write everything myself. I studied Computer Science, learnt C++ and spent the first 10+ years of my career as a C++ developer. I spent many years writing, scrapping then re-writing 3D game engines, rather than games. What I should have done, and what I started early last year, was to use a commercial engine and as many tools as possible. Now I'm using Unity (along with NGUI and UMA), Blender, GIMP, CrazyBump, etc. and my productivity for creating an actual game has soared.

The only redeeming feature of spending all that time writing engines is that I was forced to learn a lot about 3D programming, rendering, modeling, physics, texturing, etc, so I understand how the engine and tools work.

My plan is to build the game I'd like to play, as described above. Basically a pretty complete implementation of the Open Game Content (D&D v3.5e), with essentially no level cap - the game supports up to level 20, beyond which they would start on the "Epic" path. The first release of the the game I want to make this year would be the length of a standard PnP module, so not overly long in terms of most CRPGs today. But I have to be realistic, as I'm a lone wolf developer at the moment. The price will reflect the amount of content and reflect feedback from the testers.

If it's a success, I then hope to start a follow-up, this time spending my time on predominantly new content, rather than rules and basic game systems.

I'm not expecting to be able to give up my day job for this, however I think I can release a game that people would want to play, for an indie price. As above, I'm looking to build in some differentiators, like the physics scenarios. You can't just imitate commercial games, because I can't compete on quality. However I can innovate and take risks.

I guess NWN2 is the closest to what I'm trying to build currently, so this has got to be different enough to that, to get people interested.

I'm very interested in hearing feedback and ideas, and will consider them all. Although you need an overarching vision in a game, you can't get blinkered. For example, I personally wasn't a fan of crafting in games (before I briefly got addicted to Minecraft), but I know a lot of people like crafting, so I've put it into Sanctuary.

I think there is a particular niche that is under-served at the moment. I've saved this old forum post I found, and I refer to it sometimes, as I think it describes the game systems of the CRPG I want to make pretty well (with a more modern graphical take of course!)...

http://www.proudft.com/smf_forum/index.php?topic=48.0

 

[JMab]

Breast plates with boobs look weird.
And plate should be more than just metal texture applied on the body.

<snipped reference art>

Hey Kaucukovnik, here's an update for the work-in-progress breastplate. Texture still needs a lot of work, and I could model in some more detail, and certainly create a normal map for some of the fine detail. However it's looking slowly looking more realistic. The new female version is pretty much the same...

 

[Fenris 2.0]

Sweet, a new 3.5 OGL-Game in the making - I hope it will fare better then Chaos Chronicles.

http://www.rpgcodex.net/forums/index.php?forums/chaos-chronicles.63/

There was a big threat where we talked about mechanics and gameplay (the very first thread about CC, where Hobgob42 answered the 1st time IIRC), but it seems to be gone now...

 

[JMab]

Sweet, a new 3.5 OGL-Game in the making - I hope it will fare better then Chaos Chronicles.

http://www.rpgcodex.net/forums/index.php?forums/chaos-chronicles.63/

There was a big threat where we talked about mechanics and gameplay (the very first thread about CC, where Hobgob42 answered the 1st time IIRC), but it seems to be gone now...

Yeah, Chaos Chronicles definitely looked like a game I would have loved to play - I was very disappointed when that was cancelled. I will be creating in-game wizard's hats in tribute - look out for a screenshot soon.

I'm comfortable with my interpretation of the OGL at the moment - when I was researching, I found a post from WotC about the one thing that CRPGs implementing OGC keep missing out on, and that was exposing all rules that the game depends on in human-readable files, which I've done. I can't mention D&D in the game or on my website or social media accounts, but I can say I'm implementing OGC v3.5e, compliant with the OGL v1.0a. I think I can get away with the obvious on forum posts though!

One big difference between Sanctuary and Chaos Chronicles is Sanctuary's lack of a grid. I'm currently working on the visual representation of the pathfinding which I think will give good feedback to the players, where a grid would be unnecessary.