Iron Tower's next game is Heralds of the Third Apocalypse, a Lovecraftian bronze age tactical RPG
Iron Tower's next game is Heralds of the Third Apocalypse, a Lovecraftian bronze age tactical RPG
Game News - posted by Infinitron on Mon 24 February 2025, 22:32:02
Tags: Heralds of the Third Apocalypse; Iron Tower Studiohttps://store.steampowered.com/news/app/648410/view/499439875179675800
As you probably know, our next project will not be a full-scale RPG (like Age of Decadence and Colony Ship). If it's the first time you're reading about it, here's why:
Colony Ship sold well (for an obscure indie RPG), but not enough to pay for a more ambitious and complex sequel. The plan was not to do another story on the same ship, but to continue the story after planetfall. Such a game - such a new world with everything that entails - would have required a bigger team and a much bigger budget. We simply don't have the resources to undertake that now, but hopefully we can come back to it later.
So we're in a situation where we can 'go the distance' and handle a 4-5 year long project, provided we keep the costs low and focus on combat, i.e. a complex tactical RPG. We know that some people will be disappointed, but it's either that or shutting down for good. So let's roll the dice one last time and see what happens.
Keep in mind that we're starting to work on it just now, so many things can and will change over the next few years (and many things will go wrong). The purpose of this post isn't to drum up some excitement but to let you know what we're working on now and what the goals are:
Now you're up-to-date!
As you probably know, our next project will not be a full-scale RPG (like Age of Decadence and Colony Ship). If it's the first time you're reading about it, here's why:
Colony Ship sold well (for an obscure indie RPG), but not enough to pay for a more ambitious and complex sequel. The plan was not to do another story on the same ship, but to continue the story after planetfall. Such a game - such a new world with everything that entails - would have required a bigger team and a much bigger budget. We simply don't have the resources to undertake that now, but hopefully we can come back to it later.
So we're in a situation where we can 'go the distance' and handle a 4-5 year long project, provided we keep the costs low and focus on combat, i.e. a complex tactical RPG. We know that some people will be disappointed, but it's either that or shutting down for good. So let's roll the dice one last time and see what happens.
Keep in mind that we're starting to work on it just now, so many things can and will change over the next few years (and many things will go wrong). The purpose of this post isn't to drum up some excitement but to let you know what we're working on now and what the goals are:
- Lovecraftian bronze age populated by humans, non-men races, and eldritch horrors
- Semi-sandbox, roam anywhere but be aware that some dark corners of this land will be more dangerous than others
- Three mutually exclusive main questlines with plenty of choices (including switching sides)
- Procedurally-generated quests to keep you entertained
- Colony Ship style feats (and skill points) on level up plus feats earned in various events.
- 10-12 character levels plus mastery levels that don't grant any feats.
- AoD style combat (action points, different attacks, focus on melee) but with a hex grid.
- Spellcasting (think fighters dabbling in magic rather than DnD wizards unleashing pyrotechnic hell)
- Crafting and alchemy, AoD style; magic weapons and armor
- Party size 6, recruit as many as you need if your comrades (or should I say battle brothers?) fall in battle
- Colony Ship's death timer with feats detailing the worsening effects of your near-death experiences
- Runes carved into the flesh of your comrades (think Colony Ship's implants)
Now you're up-to-date!
