Indie Project Resurgence - cRPG inspired by Fallout and Arcanum

[Vault Dweller]

"hey, we haven't actually made a game before, but we liked the same games that you did and we're going to try and make one that's a lot like all those games, please help us raise the money to do so. Did we mention that the game will reactive and let players make choices?"

 

[ArchAngel]

In my opinion, they should be releasing a feature-rich, playable demo before they even start talking about a Kickstarter.

Are you new to Kickstarter? It's about selling a dream and when you sell dreams, demos tend to get in the way. Do you think Obsidian would have gotten 4 mil if they released a feature-rich demo first?

No, I'm not new to Kickstarter.

I'm saying that I think there is a big difference between "hey, we're the guys who made some of your favorite games that you still remember fondly, please help us raise the money to make another game like those ones" and "hey, we haven't actually made a game before, but we liked the same games that you did and we're going to try and make one that's a lot like all those games, please help us raise the money to do so. Did we mention that the game will reactive and let players make choices?"

Obsidian's feature-rich demo was Fallout 1 & 2, Planescape: Torment, Icewind Dale 1 & 2, KOTOR 2, and Neverwinter Nights 2.

These guys at Nectar are selling a dream, but who the hell are they again? Oh, two guys with game design degrees and no actual game development experience. One of them plays games and broadcasts it on the web. Big fucking deal. When people have seen and loved your work, you don't need a demo reel. When all you have are big ideas? Well, let's see if you can do more than talk and write design documents.

I am really not sure what is your problem. Did they say they will release a demo as part of KS?
With 1 hour of gameplay that is more than that Nixon guy has 6 months AFTER his fallout inspired KS game.

To me this project sounds like the creators understand the difficulties and made good plans how to circumvent them. Of course, if the demo is total crap we cannot expect more from the game but just by being prepared to have a working demo before KS means they are not random idiots.

But you guys seems to discuss this like you are talking to their devs or something. It is more productive to go to their forums and complain to them directly, I just noticed Codex didn't mention this game yet and wanted to bring it to attention.

 

[Vault Dweller]

I am really not sure what is your problem. Did they say they will release a demo as part of KS?
With 1 hour of gameplay...

Did they? Just curious as I didn't check their forums. All I saw was:

Most of the team’s effort for the past year has all gone towards our current playable (but buggy) Unity prototype build. That may seem like a long time, but keep in mind everyone has been contributing in their freetime for only 5-20ish hours a week. Even at this point, we’re considering it to be a pre-alpha vertical slice prototype. By vertical slice, I mean it represents a “slice” of our basic gameplay loop, and each of our gameplay pillars in its most basic form. The purpose of this prototype is to demonstrate those features in video/animated GIF form, and to show the general public that we can really do what we are promising. It may be something we release publicly eventually, but we want to continue polishing and bug fixing before we risk putting a bad taste in any potential backers’ mouths. The art and gameplay are all really coming together though, and you’ll all get to see the fruits of our labor very soon!

 

[ArchAngel]

I am really not sure what is your problem. Did they say they will release a demo as part of KS?
With 1 hour of gameplay...

Did they? Just curious as I didn't check their forums. All I saw was:

Most of the team’s effort for the past year has all gone towards our current playable (but buggy) Unity prototype build. That may seem like a long time, but keep in mind everyone has been contributing in their freetime for only 5-20ish hours a week. Even at this point, we’re considering it to be a pre-alpha vertical slice prototype. By vertical slice, I mean it represents a “slice” of our basic gameplay loop, and each of our gameplay pillars in its most basic form. The purpose of this prototype is to demonstrate those features in video/animated GIF form, and to show the general public that we can really do what we are promising. It may be something we release publicly eventually, but we want to continue polishing and bug fixing before we risk putting a bad taste in any potential backers’ mouths. The art and gameplay are all really coming together though, and you’ll all get to see the fruits of our labor very soon!

It seems you are right. I mistook them saying they will probably release this prototype with they will do it for the KS. I guess they will need to have awesome videos/GIFs than for the KS if no demo ready.

 

[Perkel]

All I saw was:

The purpose of this prototype is to demonstrate those features in video/animated GIF form,

 

[DraQ]

The best spiritual successor to Arcanum would happen if someone competent got Bas-Lag license and made a New Crobuzon RPG.

 

[Keldryn]

But you guys seems to discuss this like you are talking to their devs or something. It is more productive to go to their forums and complain to them directly, I just noticed Codex didn't mention this game yet and wanted to bring it to attention.

Surely you've noticed that this place exists for the sole purpose of shitting all over everything.

But we do it here. I'm not going to pop into their forums, uninvited, and start telling them why I think they're going to fail. They didn't ask for my opinion, and they probably wouldn't listen to it anyway. No reason I can't come on here and talk about why I think these guys are in for a rude awakening.

To me this project sounds like the creators understand the difficulties and made good plans how to circumvent them. Of course, if the demo is total crap we cannot expect more from the game but just by being prepared to have a working demo before KS means they are not random idiots.

I never said that they were random idiots. I said that they have little game development experience and that they come across as naive and idealistic.

It seems you are right. I mistook them saying they will probably release this prototype with they will do it for the KS. I guess they will need to have awesome videos/GIFs than for the KS if no demo ready.

At least they have the sense to not release a buggy prototype to the public. A demo should be designed for public consumption and should also be as polished as a final release. Never use a prototype as the basis for a public demo. Or your final product. Prototypes are meant to be built quickly and then discarded.

However, if they currently have a buggy prototype build with a vertical slice of the gameplay in its most basic form, then I think it is too soon for them to be considering a Kickstarter. Established developers with a solid portfolio of games under their belts can get away with raising funds based on some concept art, a crude tech prototype, and a few impassioned speeches. Developers without those credentials are going to have a much more difficult time.

I don't think the creators understand the difficulties because neither of the guys running the show appear to have gone through the experiences that give you that understanding.

 

[Neanderthal]

More I hear, less I like. They'd need to go a damn long way to persuade me to kick in, with Obsidian I know that they have a reputation for getting shit done on tight schedules and have some real talent in their ranks, but these folk are really not blowing me skirt up. Episodic and progressive are buzzwords that make me wanna puke an all.

 

[Telengard]

They plan to have both use same mechanics, they explained it even in more detail. If you have 10 AP you will get two attacks in TB and attack twice as fast as 5 AP guy in real time. And in real time they are using 5s "rounds" like IE games.

I'll break it down for you. The above is a description of the mechanic they're going to use, but it is not an explanation of how they're going to make the action work. Just at the very basic level, they'll now need to develop an AI that can chase the players in real-time while also being able to budget action points in turn-based. So, twice the workload. And that's just the tip of the iceberg there.

But even fundamentally, encounters can play out very differently. A first round ranged volley in real-time is almost always effective (because nobody aims), while in turn-based, its viability will be determined by who got the initiative and how far away the enemy are. A close-range shotgun surprise attack can be devastating in real-time. But if the party gets the initiative in turn-based, the battle is over before it even began.

These are fundamental issues. But even running beyond that, even just looking at the global picture of Kickstarter, any company who says they are going to complete big, ambitious things with budget-game tier money, and in an expensive genre to boot, they should be looked at with a very jaundiced eye. There is no such thing as ambition at budget-tier levels. There is only the simple and unique. Anyone trying to sell you anything else is either inept or trying to steal from you, one or the other. I'll leave it for you to decide which these folks are.

 

[Jaesun]

I'm not going to hold my breath.

 

[Mech]

Okay I take back my earlier comment. It gunna suk.

 

[Saduj]

I generally don't believe in giving money to Kickstarters. Actually I don't believe in giving my money to Kickstarters. I think its great that other people do it. I've early accessed AOD and Underrail because those devs had already provided content that I considered worth the purchase price. But paying for promises always seemed like a bad idea to me.

Having said all that, I hope they find enough suckers backers to see this through. The RT/Turn based hybrid combat is the only real red flag to me. Don't care about the resumes of the people working on it. The games I'm currently looking forward to playing most are being made by unknowns. Making the game "episodic" just seems like a way to keep it manageable. Not a deal breaker for me. I wish them luck but until there is something resembling an actual game to buy...

 

[shihonage]

Looks like a great website project

 

[Inspectah]

Those graphics remind me of Torchlight, and that's not a very good sign.
And Keldryn is right, not having a leader figure is going to lead to a clusterfuck of ideas that just don't fit together

 

[roshan]

Everything I've read on the website sounds like complete shit. For fuck's sake, reading all that SJW trash has actually made me more optimistic about Black Geyser: Couriers of Darkness.

 

[Outlander]

I'd rather play Baldur's Gate: Siege of Dragonspear than this.

 

[Gondolin]

Now that we've concluded that this project is shit, maybe somebody should invite the developers to post here.

 

[Keldryn]

Now that we've concluded that this project is shit, maybe somebody should invite the developers to post here.

This place is not :incloosive: enough for them.

 

[Ninjerk]

Regressive, even.

 

[roshan]

I don't know if I am taking this stuff negatively or if it really does sound terrible.

The grand capital of Dehrgada City has been built on the mainland, combing the culture and aesthetics of all 5 tribes.

Sorry but this shit does not really happen in reality. You don't randomly have 5 ethnic groups getting together and deciding to make an inclusive, multicultural city, randomly, out of the blue. I can think of several examples of multiethnic/multicultural civilizations, but this usually arises out of conquest, migrations and usually at crossroads or border regions.

This is where our story begins, and a legacy forged that forever changed the world.

This just sounds generic and stupid.

Survival of the fittest, adapt or perish.

So in a world based on "survival of the fittest", you have a single central multiethnic city designed to equally and fairly accommodate 5 radically different civilizations? How retarded is this shit?

One represents order, reliable and secure but unyielding and immutable. The other represents chaos, unpredictable and volatile but with the ability to bring about real change. Neither group can be considered wholly “good” or “evil;” the truth is a matter of perspective. The struggle between these two factions is surging toward all out war. Will you favor honor and stability, or freedom and defiance?

So it's like the DND alignment system except with one axis removed, and the other axis turned into two opposing poles instead of a cline. So now there are two alignments instead of 9. Also, plot confirmed to be about ego massage of the player.

Some tribes favored technology, propelling them into a booming industrial age. Other tribes focused on the natural world, living simply and in harmony with nature. Others still found ways to harness the crystalline mineral “ambrosia,” to bend reality to their will. Though each tribe has its favored school of thought, ultimately they each use whatever they can to get by in this unforgiving world.

So each tribe will be associated with a particular silly stereotype. But don't worry, you the player are free to express yourself in any way you please without being stereotyped at all! Freedumb!

You will be confronted with many choices in Project Resurgence: free your enemies or kill them; trust companions or betray them; follow a path of order, chaos, or forge your own somewhere in between. These choices and their consequences will have both immediate and long term repercussions, branching the story and giving real weight and meaning to every decision. The story reacts to you, just as you react to it, and these decisions will persist through all subsequent episodes.

Considering that even big RPGs totally failed to deliver on such promises I wonder what we can expect from a bunch of hacks.

• Your actions build trust with your group, and may spark romance

Shitty romance simulation confirmed. How old are these people?

No chainmail bikinis, stereotypical minorities, or women as one-dimensional sex objects.

SJWS confirmed.

 

[MRY]

No ... stereotypical minorities

Viktor’s life has been a solitary one, shaped by tragedy and pain, but where others may have buckled Viktor instead found an unyielding need for answers, and revenge . A blunt and aggressive Ragnar man, . . . With a stubborn streak a mile wide, Viktor will go to the ends of the earth and beyond to achieve his goals. Though he may seem ruthless, he does not abide by mindless violence, and those who cross him quickly learn that he is not one to play games.

Used to working alone, Viktor likes to be prepared for any situation. Lucky for you, his natural talent with a variety of weapons and useful skills also makes Viktor an extremely versatile companion able to complement any character type you choose to build. The chip on his shoulder and loner tendencies can make him a prickly customer, but he never forgets those who have earned his loyalty. And when a fight breaks out, you’ll be glad his cold fury is on your side.

I really appreciate the depth and nuance with which they've handled this Viking Ragnar berserk; stereotypical tropes averted!

 

[Keldryn]

Also, the tribes that were "propelled" into a "booming industrial age" would have wiped the harmonious, nature-loving tribes off the face of the planet unless said hippie tribes were totally isolated. And by that, I mean they would have slaughtered those tree hugging beta males and taken all of their women. That's how it actually works in an "unforgiving" world.

EDIT: Vikings aren't minorities, because they're white, so stereotyping them is fine.

 

[Ninjerk]

Viktor sounds like the ultimate Marty Sue.

 

[Excidium II]

Funny shit. I like how they are hiring people to work for free:

We are currently looking for additional team members who are willing to work for post-Kickstarter compensation. Until we receive funding through the Kickstarter campaign, this is purely a collaborative unpaid project . If the Kickstarter fails, there will be no compensation of any kind. Once we do receive funding, all team members will receive a portion of the funds raised as a thank you for all their hard work up to that point, and we will transition to paid full-time and contract work

With supposedly "about 40 developers" you'll get enough to eat for a week IF it gets funded

 

[Caconym]

Long ago, a deadly black Mist spread over the world of Lumen and forced the people to flee underground. They split into five tribes, and lived independently until the Mist began to recede over a thousand years ago. Upon returning to the surface, they found the land blackened and scarred, littered with towering spikes of black onyx and pools of luminous liquid. Slowly, life returned to the land, as it always does. The entirety of the known world consists of the southeastern tip of a large continent, and the five islands off its coast. Everything else is still shrouded in Mist. The grand capital of Dehrgada City has been built on the mainland, combing the culture and aesthetics of all 5 tribes.

This is where our story begins, and a legacy forged that forever changed the world

Inspired a lot by Fallout I see

Earthdawn, is that you?

The best spiritual successor to Arcanum would happen if someone competent got Bas-Lag license and made a New Crobuzon RPG.

Hah! Miéville's weirdity is like the perfect setting for the next Torment game. :D