KickStarter Graywalkers: Purgatory - turn-based strategy RPG - now available on Early Access

[agris]

Yea, after that interview on RPGWatch, I'd like to hear which elements specifically the game takes from JA2 / XCOM

 

[GarfunkeL]

Downloading the demo. Funny that they didn't make the classes look more Asian, being a Filipino studio and all. That already would have made it different from many other games.

 

[Indranys]

Funny that they didn't make the classes look more Asian, being a Filipino studio and all. That already would have made it different from many other games.

Because, duh. pinoys cannot into asianmajistik bro.
Even the goddamn kazakhs are more asian than them.

And I'm downloading the bitch too, looks fun enough to play during hangover and shit.

 

[GarfunkeL]

Okay, so I played through the demo. The map is very small and simple and the objective is to simply kill a bunch of demons - one big guy and I think it was seven small ones. You have two soldiers, a saboteur, a katana-girl, wizard and a priest.

The rock song in the main menu and the synth-pop thing in the battle were both pleasant enough. Loads up quickly enough. No sound effects.

Walls are only here to prevent movement, they don't hinder Line-of-Sight nor firing. Meanwhile, team members are absolute blocks when it comes to firing - you will always hit your team member. But it's also possible to hit another enemy instead of the one you were aiming for. This actually works to balance the burst and full auto firing modes that the soldiers can use, as they are absurdly powerful otherwise - but if a demon is next to one of your guys, using either will mean friendly fire. Especially noteworthy for the wizard and her fireball.

Speaking of which, the powers available are not impressive. Wizard can do fireball and absolutely nothing else. Priest can heal and do divine blast. Fireball is shit, as the AOE area is very small and the damage is comparable to a rifle bullet. What makes it even worse is that you cannot target ground, only enemies. For the full game, the wizard absolutely needs some single-target damage spells and utility spells. Shamelessly plagiarize D&D, it's what everyone does. I assume that Heal being only 1 AP to cast is just for the demo? Otherwise it's simply ridiculous as well. The holy blast is pretty pointless, as the AOE is again tiny, so it's better to just whack enemies with the hammer as it does twice the damage.

The saboteur is pointless in the demo as he has no powers and his accuracy with the pistol is abysmal. The tooltip shows to-hit-chance between 70 and 90 percent but either I got really unlucky or it was lying, as I missed easily over 90% of the pistol shots he did. The katana-girl was pretty pointless as well, since her entire shtick is "run at enemy, swing sword, run away".

So really, ditch the classes and make this more like JA2 but against demons instead of humans :D

The GUI is really cluttered but that's probably also because you have to use window mode in a single resolution. I like that I can spam abilities easily - of course, this makes me ask why am I spamming abilities in the first place? Make hotkeys for selecting between weapon abilities and powers. Check out how Shadowrun Returns: Directors Cut did their GUI, it's really well done and on a small budget as well. Reloading also requires an hotkey - it's ridiculous that I have to click "items" then click "magazine" then wait 10 seconds which I assume is supposed to be the reloading animation except I didn't see anything then click "weapons" and only then I can press 5 for full auto and click on the enemy.

Also, the game absolutely needs a combat log of sorts as if you are zoomed in, you can miss what happens with your bullets - or the camera needs to follow them. Especially an issue with the big demon since his head is easily out of the camera view if the player has zoomed in.

The graphics are surprisingly good considering it's an indie, no complaints there.

So, a somewhat promising start but needs a lot of work to reach even SRR level of combat. Add grenades, ground targeting, replace the retarded weapon abilities with actual aiming and firing modes like in JA2 (I don't need to reach level 3 as soldier to switch an M4 to burst fire and squeeze the trigger), get rid of the classes and instead allow player to form fluid classes based on unit/character abilities like in UFO/JA2, map space or enter for "end of turn" so I don't have to press it AND make it so that turn ends automatically when your current character reaches 0 ap, add interrupts which are absolutely essential in a TB game and start giving the demons some actual demonic abilities instead of just being brainless bullet zombies crawling towards melee range.

 

[Entropy_DLD]

Graywalkers: Tactics CRPG (Strategic and Tactical Turn-based supernatural post-apocalyptic RPG inspired by old-school Fallout, X-Com, & Jagged Alliance, plus Magic!

We are back on Kickstarter at https://www.kickstarter.com/project...walkers-purgatory-turn-based-post-apocalyptic

Coming out for Windows, Mac and Linux. PLAYABLE pre-alpha combat demo is available at http://graywalkers.com/Demo.html
(In Demo: Hold down middle mouse button and move mouse for camera control; mouse wheel zooms in & out)
--------------------------------------------------------------
Entropy
Graywalkers RPG Team
Twitter: @graywalkersgame
FB: https://www.facebook.com/Graywalkers
http://graywalkers.com

Screenshots

Spoiler

 

[StaticSpine]

It looks a lot like W2 visually.

 

[Entropy_DLD]

StaticSpine Yeah, we use Unity, just like they did, but these are not our final graphics; these are from a PRE-Alpha build. Our graphics will be far improved. So if you like what you see above, you will be really blown away by what we have in store...

The characters in the game will be changed and to give an idea to what level of quality that change will be, we would like to share a render image of the 3d model for Father Ruben. Note, the sample below is still a work in progress as many of the details are not yet final: such as weapons, accessories and texture finishes.

 

[StaticSpine]

StaticSpine Yeah, we use Unity, just like they did, but these are not our final graphics; these are from a PRE-Alpha build. Our graphics will be far improved. So if you like what you see above, you will be really blown away by what we have in store...

The characters in the game will be changed and to give an idea to what level of quality that change will be, we would like to share a render image of the 3d model for Father Ruben. Note, the sample below is still a work in progress as many of the details are not yet final: such as weapons, accessories and texture finishes.

Looks nice bro! Actually I noticed the game during the first kickstarter/greenlight campaign back in the days.

 

[InspectorRumpole]

Wow, you really wanted to include everything in this game.
Demons, Ghosts, Zombies, magic, technology, "ninjas", school girls etc.

..i don't know man

 

[muds_animal_friend]

Supernatural X-COM style squad and resource management, plus the other features, sounds great, if ambitious. But at least you have a working demo of something so I'll probably back it.

 

[flushfire]

Wow, you really wanted to include everything in this game.
Demons, Ghosts, Zombies, magic, technology, "ninjas", school girls etc.

..i don't know man

Had the same reaction, same when reading the gameplay description but I think if they reduce the scope somewhat (it's trying for a mix of more gameplay elements than JA2 or maybe even XCOM had) and stick with a single art direction it could work, maybe tone down the quirky since that's not something that's easy to pull off. I mean those bunny ears and road construction sign shield.. you gotta draw the line somewhere. I don't think a similar approach to what Bethesda did for FO3, throw everything awesome in the mix and hope it works out, is the best way to go about designing almost everything in the game considering (what seems to me) the target audience.

Anyway, seems it's gonna get funded, 'grats dudes.

 

[Norfleet]

That's not how you hold a sign as a shield, anyway. The sign has sharp edges! Do not touch the edges of the sign!

 

[LESS T_T]

It's funded.

https://www.kickstarter.com/project...walkers-purgatory-turn-based-post-apocalyptic

 

[Entropy_DLD]

*Final 13hrs to support Graywalkers RPG*. Come on guys, this is just the kind of Strategy/RPG most of you here are always asking for! You can check out the pre-alpha demo which is already good, but the final game will be so much better! Heck, it's not even alpha yet, but it still shows off the potential! See for yourself, and pledge at
https://www.kickstarter.com/project...walkers-purgatory-turn-based-post-apocalyptic

 

[GarfunkeL]

Uh, I did play the pre-alpha demo and it wasn't good. See my post above for details.

 

[Entropy_DLD]

Yeah most of the issues you brought up are currently being implemented/worked on/developed. It is a PRE-ALPHA. It is meant as a proof of concept. You will see it improve tremendously as time goes on.

We have received a lot of feedback, and are using it all to improve the game. You can help by playing the demo and submitting feedback and voting on https://gameloop.io/g/graywalkers-purgatory
Thanks!

 

[muds_animal_friend]

Great news everybody! The console port stretch goal wasn't achieved. Congrats DreamLords Digital! On the Codex that's good news. I note that I can chose a "Steam or DRM Free" version. Why can't the Steam version also be DRM free? I have DRM free Steam games. I'm not too bothered either way; I'm just curious and don't know anything about the technical details.

 

[GarfunkeL]

DRM-free in this context means GoG.

 

[muds_animal_friend]

Both GoG and Steam are distribution systems. Steam has DRM, but is not in itself DRM. All Stardock's games on Steam are DRM free for example. At least, the Stardock games I have on Steam are DRM free. Steam does not have to be running to start them. Thus it seems strange to me that the Steam version would have DRM, but there may be technical or business reasons for this I'm unaware of.

 

[GarfunkeL]

No, my handicapped friend, Steam in itself is a DRM system because when you buy a game from Steam, you need to install the Steam client, which will then verify that your purchased code is valid, at which point it will allow you to download and install the game. Even after that, unless the game has been altered to allow it, it will connect to Steam every time you want to run it. And even those games that do not call at home, you are not able to reinstall without connecting to Steam servers.

Compare to Good Old Games, where you download a single .exe file, that's actually the entire game in a packaged form. You can burn it on a DVD or put it on an external HDD that you place in a safe. Even fifty years in the future, you can install it because it will not call home or anything. That's the fucking difference.

In Steam, the publisher can add additional DRM on top of the call-home function of Steam, and while some publishers decide not to do it, it doesn't mean that their product is DRM-free. Don't fall for the misleading advertising bullshit.

 

[Norfleet]

Why can't the Steam version also be DRM free?

For the same reason you can't have dehydrated water.

 

[Infinitron]

Graywalkers: Purgatory Planned for Early Access in Q1 2017

The folks at Dreamlord Digital have sent us a press release to announce that Graywalkers: Purgatory, their crowdfunded turn-based RPG, will enter its Early Access phase in the first quarter of 2017. I won't pretend I'm not worried that the team might be spreading itself too thin, considering they even promise a multiplayer mode (to come later via a free update), and I invite our readers to use caution and common sense just as with any other title that's been released work-in-progress, but I certainly hope everything will pan out in the end:

Las Vegas, NV - December 4, 2016​

– Dreamlords Digital, the minds behind the unique and exciting video game called Graywalkers: Purgatory, is hard at work preparing for Early Access in the first quarter of 2017.

Graywalkers: Purgatory is the first in a series of emergent Strategic and Tactical Turn-based Role-Playing Games set in a stylish supernatural post-apocalyptic world, where parts of Heaven and Hell have merged with Earth in an event called "The Rupture". The game was inspired by a combination of the tactical elements of XCom, the strategic features of Jagged Alliance, and the RPG aspects of classic Fallout & Wasteland. The game was funded on Kickstarter and is now currently in the alpha stage. It will be released first for PC (Windows, Mac, Linux) and later on will be ported to console (PS4 & Xbox One)

The story happens on the new island of Purgatory, a place made up of displaced land masses from all over the world that have merged together. You play the prophesied leader of the Graywalkers, 36 individuals who are destined to protect mankind across history. Your goal is to unite all the factions together under your banner and lead the war to reclaim the world for humanity against the supernatural forces that have dominated the world.

The game will have several key features:

• Game Modes – will have 3 game modes: Campaign, Skirmish (Mission Based), and Multiplayer will be added through a free update. Early Access will be released with the Skirmish mode first.
• Strategic Management - Manage your resources, personnel, influence, technology, magic, and equipment
• Race – choose from 6 races (human, dhampir, Nephilim, cambion, wolfkin & hunterborne). More races will also be added through DLCs
• Character Paths – choose from 10 initial paths(classes) for your character to follow
• Characters – in addition to your custom character, you will be able to recruit from over 40+ playable NPCs, each with his own abilities, background and personality. Level them up and customize them as they improve
• Table-Top Experience – game utilizes a new table-top RPG system
• Enemies – encounter creatures like vampires, demons, angels, werewolves, ghosts, witches, zombies, and many other supernatural enemies
• Resources - Scavenge for resources, rebuild lost technology, recover ancient relics, research new technologies, and craft objects from ordinary items that you find.
• Factions – choose your alliances from among various factions, with each having their own agendas.

ABOUT DREAMLORDS DIGITAL:
Dreamlords Digital is a direct-to-digital development company specializing in the creation of games and gamified apps. Based in Las Vegas and Manila. Dreamlords Digital was founded in 2011 and has built over 10 games in its portfolio for mobile, pc and web. Its members have worked for both indie and triple A companies from all over the world​

 

[anvi]

Games with action points are good. Will this be like Blackguards?

Wow, you really wanted to include everything in this game.
Demons, Ghosts, Zombies, magic, technology, "ninjas", school girls etc.

..i don't know man

You forgot Pirates, and Dinosaurs.

 

[Sneaky Seal]

OK, so now we know that $47,305 worth of booze, drugs and hookers last for about 2 years.

 

[GarfunkeL]

Hopefully there is some sort of updated demo available.