KotC 2 Update

[BlueSalamander]

I take it unlike Dungeons of Yore, it will be top-down not isometric? The repetition of tiles problem in Dungeons of Yore can easily be remedied by a liberal dose of variation in tiles.. heh it'll keep your artists busy. On another note I enjoyed the music from KotC, will you be using the same person to create the new music albeit non midi-ed?

Yes top-down just like the first game. On tile repetition, you're right. On the music, maybe. I like his music too. I know he can do CD style too.

where can I take a look at Dungeons of Yore? Link on that forum doesn't work anymore. I tried to google it but found nothing.

I have uploaded it there.

[Fezzik]

Just posting to say these changes sound intriguing, especially the module editor idea.

I hope the eventual upgrades in the audio/visual department widen the audience. You'd deserve it. You've impressed me with both the very high quality of KotC and the down-to-earth, "make the game you want and focus on what works" way in which you've written about the design of the game. Based on that, I'll almost definitely be purchasing the next game the first day it's released, whenever that is.

[doufas]

Cant wait for the next release either, sounds awesome.

If GFX is going to take to long dont worry about improving it that much just more classes, story options and the same GFX would be awesome. KEEP IT UP!

[Darthcast]

I like the Dungeons of Yore graphics... Great news!

But wouldn't it be great to have an editor like the one of Neverwinter Nights, with top-down 2D and turn-based combat?

An editor would be so awesome... Especially one with a good interface that's easy to use.
I haven't really used the NWN editor a lot, but I thought it could have been easier to use. I prefer the Age of Empires 3 editor, it's by far the easiest one I've seen.

But considering how good the KoTC interface is, I'm sure you'll get it right.

On the music, maybe. I like his music too. I know he can do CD style too.

I think the music is just awesome. (Edit: I actually just started the game after writing this post, to listen to the title theme )Would be great if the music in KoTC is of similar quality. I'd also like to hear a few of the old titles again, especially if you plan to switch to CD quality.

(Well, I'm not an expert but I've read that the music for Realms of Arkania 2 was originally composed as midi and then converted to CD quality, using a high quality soundcard...)

If GFX is going to take to long dont worry about improving it that much just more classes, story options and the same GFX would be awesome. KEEP IT UP!

Why not just release an expansion or something? I mean, you already programmed the engine, and we would all like some more dungeons. I'd definitely buy it.

BTW, it would be nice if you could send emails to the people who registered as soon as the game or a demo is ready... I don't know if I'm still around then and I want to buy asap .

[screeg]

Phantasie II was a great party-based dungeon crawler on the C-64 and other platforms of the day, and had some great gameplay and a decent turn-based combat system for its time. One aspect I liked was that xp was only assigned in town, when you returned from your adventures. (Of course this means you could only level-up in town as well) Upon entering town, you would be asked to allocate xp in shares. Each party member earned from 1-3 shares depending on how you wanted to distribute it. Everyone had to get at least one share, unless they were dead, in which case you could give zero.

Another neat feature was if your entire party was wiped out, you would appear as ghosts in front of this purple flame-face who would pass judgement on each character. Some would be permanently destroyed, some would be reincarnated, and some would be brought back as undead! Fun.

More: all party members were recruited from the Adventurer's Guild, present in every town. If one player died, he could be replaced with a new, level 1 guy you would roll up on the spot.

BS, have you tried King's Bounty? They have a really neat mechanic where certain artifacts are possessed by hostile spirits, and cannot at first be used. You can take your army "inside" the artifact to defeat them. These battles take place in a strange, extra-planar zone. Otherwise they follow the regular rules. Defeating one army of spirits typically unlocks one level of functionality. You have to defeat another higher level army (and then another) to get full use of the artifact. This makes for very interesting "inventory management" and ensures long term usefulness of really powerful items.

[BlueSalamander]

BS, have you tried King's Bounty?

Yeah I have tried King Bounty's demo. The artifact battle is a nifty idea. Last few days I've been sucked into Silent Storm Sentinels. I hope you'll make Cyclopean a bit like Silent Storm (turn-based with action points, you can crouch and crawl, you can target the head/legs/arms, pistols for close range, rifles for long range, % chance to hit is displayed).
I tried Helherron too. Very good, I like the design based on world map, area maps and battle maps. On the area map, only the party leader is displayed. The battle map is a zoomed version (six times larger) of the area map. But I didn't like the character creation - not enough information on skills - and eight characters in the party makes battles unduly long.

[Darthcast]

Last few days I've been sucked into Silent Storm Sentinels.

Please try Hammer & Sickle!
It's my favourite game of this kind, I even liked it more than Jagged Alliance 2.
The balance in this game is weird, some battles were extremely difficult (especially at the beginning), but others were ridiculously easy. I still liked that more than in Silent Storm, I think Silent Storm is poorly balanced (and I also hated the Panzerkleins)

But story, dialogues and character design in Hammer & Sickle is awesome.

You can get it for 1p at amazon uk.

[screeg]

Yeah I have tried King Bounty's demo. The artifact battle is a nifty idea.

Yeah, it takes an artifact in your inventory to a whole new level.

Last few days I've been sucked into Silent Storm Sentinels.

Brilliant. That's my favorite 3D turn-based game (not like there's a lot of competition), hands-down. They do a lot right in that game.

I hope you'll make Cyclopean a bit like Silent Storm (turn-based with action points [YES], you can crouch and crawl [NO], you can target the head/legs/arms [YES], pistols for close range, rifles for long range [there are both weapon types, and naturally they'll have different effective ranges], % chance to hit is displayed[YES]).

Keep in mind, it's not a tactical combat game, just a game which will feature some (hopefully) excellent tactical combat.

I tried Helherron too.

You have a comprehensive background in TB tactical games. I've suggested that game all over, but I don't recall anyone actually playing it.

Very good, I like the design based on world map, area maps and battle maps. On the area map, only the party leader is displayed. The battle map is a zoomed version (six times larger) of the area map. But I didn't like the character creation - not enough information on skills - and eight characters in the party makes battles unduly long.

Well, I personally would replace the word long with EPIC, but their character creation was a bit primitive.

e-mail me if you want to discuss rule systems/interface/implementation, other than the OGL of course, which you know far better than I.

[BlueSalamander]

Please try Hammer & Sickle!

I have ordered it a few days ago for £1 including shipping costs from play.com: http://www.play.com/Search.aspx?searcht ... &pa=search.

Brilliant. That's my favorite 3D turn-based game

I did the UN bombing mission with just a scout and a sniper, managed to kill the four terrorists but got stumped trying to spot the detonators. Then I had a look on Internet, it recommended to kill two of the terrorists before you trigger the cutscene. Worked like a charm. Killed 2 before the cut scene, then 2 more in a single round using the stun guns. Great. Alternatively they could have designed a hostage situation where you get a single round to kill the terrorists, or fail the mission.
I love the missions were you get to fight two times in a row (without warning of course...). The one where you defend the Sentinel headquarters in Switzerland. I finally brought enough laser charges to beat the first fight... only to realise there was another fight coming with FOUR more pks to kill...! Had to try again, this time with two snipers, around 20 laser charges, my scout, and an enginer to capture dead pks. Worked well.

I hope you'll make Cyclopean a bit like Silent Storm (turn-based with action points [YES], you can crouch and crawl [NO], you can target the head/legs/arms [YES], pistols for close range, rifles for long range [there are both weapon types, and naturally they'll have different effective ranges], % chance to hit is displayed[YES]).

Awesome. Another nifty thing in Silent Storm is the ability to spend more action points, or even two consecutive turns, on aiming in order to achieve a 100% success rate (or 100% success rate + good chance of a special effect like Stunning).

I personally would replace the word long with EPIC

Yeah. I love the way big punches and attacks with bludgeoning weapons have a tendency to push the enemy back by three or four squares, hitting everyone on the way and possibly hitting a wall too. It also corresponds to what you would expect if, say, a hill giant struck a halfling or a skinny human with a club.

e-mail me if you want to discuss rule systems/interface/implementation

I might, thanks.

[Darthcast]

I have ordered it a few days ago for £1 including shipping costs from play.com: http://www.play.com/Search.aspx?searcht ... &pa=search.

That's great, I hope you'll enjoy it as much as I did. I hope the English translation & synchronisation is as good as the German one...
Just keep in mind that this game is meaner than other games.
At least two characters can leave the party if you do certain things and if you screw certain missions up (by being to slow eg.), instead of getting a game over-message you'll end up on a different path, leading to a "bad ending"...
That's why I used a (spoiler free) map that showed which missions comes after which mission if you're on the good ending path. I couldn't find it any more though.

Oh, and there's a fan patch available: http://www.cdv-forum.com/cdvboard/engli ... hp?t=52957