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Thea 2: The Shattering

Rahdulan

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Very much to the sound of crickets, I imagine.
https://explorminate.net/2017/01/24/thea-2-the-shattering-is-on-the-horizon/

Thea 2: The Shattering Is On The Horizon!
By eXplorminate on January 24, 2017 • ( 10 Comments )
t2_logo.jpg


“It has been a while since we visited the world of Thea: the Awakening (by MuHa games): a world that was wracked by darkness and all the horrors it brought with it. At the end of our adventures, we were on the verge of restoring all that had been lost. We defeated the Giant scourge. We discovered why the darkness came and put us into eternal night for more than 100 years. As the final council meetings were being held in New eXplorminate (our namesake village), we had a decision to make: help our deity or side with free humanity and the night races.

Suddenly, we heard the furious clicking of keys. Again and again. A new chapter in the saga was being written.”

characters_humans.jpg

In technicolor…

Back in late 2015, MuHa games dropped an interesting survival 4X game on us called Thea: The Awakening. It was so awesome and unique we awarded it our Game of the Year for 2015. Well, standby for something even more awesome and unique – we are proud to bring you the first glimpse of the sequel, Thea 2: The Shattering.

Coming in 2018, Thea 2 will be a story-driven, strategy-survival 4X set in a world where the forces of light and darkness are ravaging the lands. Those who still eke out their existence in this lonely land strive for survival and dominance over the fractured territories. Assume the role of a deity, choose your champions, and survive Thea!

wip_screen_2017-01-18-a.jpg

Verdant as ever

Like the original, Thea 2 will reshape your expectations, featuring a dynamic mixture of genres including 4X, strategy, survival, Rogue-like, RPG, and card games all set in a Slavic-inspired dark fantasy world.

  • Explore – traverse large, varied maps with multiple unique biomes, mysterious islands that can be settled, rivers and seas, beautiful resources and fearsome creatures to kill or befriend. Find, explore, and conquer a range of different dungeons to secure lands and discover rare artifacts
  • Expand – play as a lonesome nomad – a hero without a home seeking only adventure- or set up multiple camps and multiple villages to claim your own fiefdom. Fight or befriend opposing factions to keep your people safe
  • Exploit – find precious resources, learn new procedurally-generated recipes, and craft your way to victory!
  • Exterminate – fight against the many beasts of Thea! Kill off threatening factions or hunt down rogue demons, challenge concepts like weather, or turmoil and beings alike using swords, intelligence, or the power of faith!
wip_screen_2017-01-18-b.jpg

Lack of sunlight is bad for your horticulture.

Key features:

  • Co-op and single player gameplay – survive Thea with friends or solo
  • New, deeper and improved tactical card game to resolve challenges and encounters
  • Randomly generated, vast hex maps to explore
  • Slavic mythology and folklore
  • Hundreds of stories and quests to discover
  • Event editor gives you the ability to make your own adventure
  • Extensive modding and scripting available
  • Meet the vast array of factions that populate Thea and choose diplomacy or warfare as your path
  • Customize existing gods to match your playstyle
  • Control multiple villages simultaneously
  • Explore endless combinations of attributes and skills for your “chosen ones”
wip_screen_2017-01-18-c.jpg

Volcanos, why did it have to be volcanos…

Thea 2 is very much a work-in-progress, and some features are subject to change, but be sure to check the MuHa website for monthly dev updates and we here at eXplorminate will certainly be covering Thea 2 as well!
 

Dickie

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Steve gets a Kidney but I don't even get a tag.
I'll definitely keep an eye on this. I had lots of fun with the first game.

Adding co-op makes me nervous. It seems like such a waste of time.

Multiple villages seems interesting, though, andI wonder if you'll be able to find stuff that you can't craft in this one. I thought it would make it cooler if you could find equipment with effects that couldn't be duplicated through crafting. It might make me use some of the stuff I can find instead of just breaking it all down, since I have already made better stuff.

I wonder how the factions will play out and how diplomacy will be handled.
 

Jimmious

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Steve gets a Kidney but I don't even get a tag.
I'm pretty excited about this one. I had Thea for some time but only decided to play recently. I find it a whole lot of fun and especially the card game part of it is a really cool idea which makes the AI actually competent as well
 

Dickie

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Steve gets a Kidney but I don't even get a tag.
Have they mentioned anywhere what exactly the changes are to the card battle system from the first game? I couldn't find anything on the KS page, except something saying they'll have info at some expo this weekend.
 

Nirvash

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Jan 20, 2017
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1,108
Thea was very nice but also very repetitive.

All is needed is a good mods support.
 

thesheeep

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Agreed with Nirvash .
I really liked the first game, but had no desire to play through more than one game. There was just nothing that would have been different, the decision which god to pick turned out to be a pretty minor one.
 

Nirvash

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God and relative bonuses are just "how difficult your start is", at most some can let you make the invincible magic/diplomacy assault squad sooner.
Same for reasearch and resources, always the same strat of massive grindcraft of whatever best mineralwood is closest.

The text based questing had so much potential for infinite content and all kind of rpg, where the hell are the mission packs and lore overhaul?

What gone wrong with this game? Way worse stuff got at least some fanbase
 

Dickie

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Steve gets a Kidney but I don't even get a tag.
Apparently, a release window was announced last month on the Kickstarter page.

With that in mind, we set the date for the Steam early access release for November 2018. We then hope to fully release the game in the first quarter of 2019.

Backers get the demo a little earlier, but I'm so tired of playing unfinished games that I'm not even jealous.

we plan to have a playable beta/demo version ready in September and available for our Kickstarter backers to test (that will be everyone who pledged £15 or more).

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/muhagames/thea-2-the-shattering/posts/2236404
 

tsiforb

Learned
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Oct 3, 2013
Messages
87
They did a couple recent interviews at Explorminate.



Let’s dig into the mechanics. Players are going to able to control multiple villages in this game. How will that work as far as inventories, resources, and research points?

Players will no longer receive research points simply from crafting. In Thea 2 we wanted to try a different approach as the previous mechanics relied on grinding too much. Now, players will have the option to “research artifacts of the past” and, of course,collect research points from events. Players will be able to take part in some events together and they will be able to trade items and resources.
It’s worth noting that we aim for gameplay in which any player may have multiple villages or none at all and simply stay nomadic. Each approach has its advantages and disadvantages, but building a village will require a specific artifact which means one cannot simply spawn villages everywhere he or she goes.

I read that groups will be more limited as far as numbers go. Does that limitation apply to adventuring groups or to villages also?

We do not impose hard limits but there is a soft push toward smaller groups. For example, a lone character or characters forming a small group will advance relatively faster than those in a large group. Combat encounters will also allow players to use characters more than once in a round.
Equipping a smaller group in quality items is easier, and crafted items will usually be more powerful than those found in the world. Pets will partially offset the disadvantages of having fewer characters in a group too.
Our aim was to ensure that group size does not linearly scale the efficiency and power, but we have not balanced it out to zero, numbers still count.

Will there be any major changes to the gathering and crafting mechanics from Thea 1?

Gathering in general will work similarly with some tweaks here and there. We would like to introduce seasonal variables (such as food not growing in winter) and the possibility of depleting a resource spot.
Changes to crafting are deeper. It still follows the concept of “mix and match” between resources and being able to use higher tier resources in place of weaker ones, but crafting is now influenced by researched recipes a lot more. When the player researches the first rank of a recipe he is able to craft it using two main and two secondary resources which are randomized per player (these are known before unlocking). With further research the player gets access to other resources in this recipe and gets a boost to the essences used in crafting. A recipe defines which skills are available for the item while the type of the essence and its amount further changes its attributes and power. Some recipes will allow you to use a different amount of the same resource, so you can decide whether to go for a weaker but lighter or stronger but heavier item.
Buildings may influence available boosts as well so if your friend builds a smithy that you don’t have, go and camp next to their village and use its benefits for your craft. (Yes you can craft in the camp!)

What are some of the biggest changes to combat/challenges in Thea 2?

The combat mechanics has been significantly changed and we hope the new mechanics will provide more flexibility and control over what is going on. Characters will be able to use a range of skills that come from either their equipment, class, or a temporary effect. Players will be able to summon creatures to the battlefield, heal allies, etc.
Last year we released a demo of the new card game mechanics and, while it is outdated, it presents some of the new features and the overall direction we are taking. It is available for download HERE!!
All skills (but also races, resources, recipes, events…) are scriptable, which means players will be able to add their own ideas and share them with the community.

Are there any new challenge types for Thea 2?

In general, Thea 2 will have three types of challenges – Physical, Mental and Spiritual. All of them can be performed against groups (physical fight, argument or fending off a ghost) or against concepts (moving a heavy object, solving puzzles, performing a ritual). It’s worth noting that in challenges against concepts characters will not use any active skills acquired from their equipment which may change the way the player approaches challenges even within the same challenge type.
Also while “vs concept” challenges on their own do not deal permanent damage (though events may punish or reward the outcome in different ways), characters may receive damage in three forms matching challenge types. While Physical damage heals over time (unless the character gets killed), Mental damage drains “Quality of Life” to regenerate, and Spiritual damage can be regenerated only by rituals in camps or villages. Losing too much of Mental and Spiritual health leads to some other interesting mechanics, so let’s say a character’s life will be interesting.


I noticed that pets will be in the game this time around (yay!). What can we expect to see besides horses in that regard?

Horses increase the carrying capacity of the group, but you can have pets in the form of spiders, goats, dogs or cats, ghosts, demons and more. Some of them can give you new skills, some can be summoned to challenges, some will benefit your attributes… But all of them will accompany you during your darkest hours and greatest victories.

Can you give us a little information on how the various playable races in Thea 2 will differ from one another?

Races and race-unique classes are used to unlock unique paths in quests. Those characters also bring many rare skills and attributes that are unavailable or limited for other races.

Will there be any new terrain types in Thea 2?

Players will be able to travel across the sea to different islands. Each island will have its own look, much like a biome.

Another new thing you’re adding is seasons. Can you tell us a bit about what the mechanical effects of each of the seasons will be?

Seasons bring changes to resource availability and, if everything goes well, we may have weather effects linked to seasons as well.
 

Monocause

Arcane
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Aug 15, 2008
Messages
3,656
Anyone has any early impressions yet? I'm too stingy with my time to stomach early-early access releases, but maybe someone out there has more patience. Really curious. The first game was far from perfect but had an excellent idea, lots of soul. Had tons of fun with it.
 

thesheeep

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I have early impressions.
But I won't tell you.

I really don't, though. Waiting for the actual release to play
 

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