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Theseus: Journey to Athens - C&C RPG made in GMS 2

AdolfSatan

Arcane
Joined
Dec 27, 2017
Messages
1,871
Was torn between trying the demo or sticking with ATOM. Girl I'm dating asked me to come home for tea so now I get to play neither.
:negative:

But seriously, congratulations! The screens alone look miles ahead of the earlier iterations. Will give it a try these days.
 

Agesilaus

Antiquity Studio
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Developer
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Aug 24, 2013
Messages
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Grab the Codex by the pussy Codex USB, 2014 Steve gets a Kidney but I don't even get a tag.
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Agesilaus

Antiquity Studio
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Developer
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Aug 24, 2013
Messages
4,456
Grab the Codex by the pussy Codex USB, 2014 Steve gets a Kidney but I don't even get a tag.
Is there any way to change the resolution?

No, at least not at this time. I was told today that some people prefer to play games in windowed mode, which this game currently does not support. So I will have to change that when I get back to the States.
 

Agesilaus

Antiquity Studio
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Developer
Joined
Aug 24, 2013
Messages
4,456
Grab the Codex by the pussy Codex USB, 2014 Steve gets a Kidney but I don't even get a tag.
Finally launched the Steam page!

https://store.steampowered.com/app/9…ney_to_Athens/

Very proud moment. Now, I have to figure out how to upload builds to Steam. Thankfully there's a long weekend coming up here in the States.

If you are looking forward to this release, please take a moment to place Theseus: Journey to Athens on your wishlist. I understand that for small indie titles like this, it's a very important thing for the Steam algorithms.

Between full-time work and the recent holidays, I haven't been making regular status updates. A lot of progress has been made since the free, updated demo was released for Christmas. I will post additional screenshots and new content information soon. Also, in terms of the release date, it is impossible to release a game on Steam less than two weeks after the launch of the store. So, I need to pick a new release date, likely the first or second week of February.
 
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Jinn

Arcane
Joined
Nov 8, 2007
Messages
4,930
Finally launched the Steam page!

https://store.steampowered.com/app/9…ney_to_Athens/

Very proud moment. Now, I have to figure out how to upload builds to Steam. Thankfully there's a long weekend coming up here in the States.

If you are looking forward to this release, please take a moment to place Theseus: Journey to Athens on your wishlist. I understand that for small indie titles like this, it's a very important thing for the Steam algorithms.

Between full-time work and the recent holidays, I haven't been making regular status updates. A lot of progress has been made since the free, updated demo was released for Christmas. I will post additional screenshots and new content information soon. Also, in terms of the release date, it is impossible to release a game on Steam less than two weeks after the launch of the store. So, I need to pick a new release date, likely the first or second week of February.

Wishlisted and most likely :d1p:

Congratulations, Agesilaus! Love the setting and heavy reliance on ancient source material. I remember playing a very early alpha version you shot my way a couple (?) years ago. It's come a long way in a very positive direction since then.
 
Unwanted

YanBG

Unwanted
Joined
Mar 10, 2016
Messages
175
Wow, that's some good news! I hope it will be successful... However, you didn't do much advertising/marketing prior to the release, which is a must.
Maybe some smaller news sites and youtube players can cover you? If you don't have time i can help you contacting some(not that i'm way better PR but still :D)
Any plans for DLC? I like that you write it's made in GMS2 everywhere, but i don't think it's needed.

Any chance for a GOG release?
GoG isn't into small games anymore, but he should try.
What serves you best as a dev: itch, or steam purchase?
I think Itch, has a smaller cut, but i could be wrong. Then again they wire via Paypal, not directly to your bank account.
 

Agesilaus

Antiquity Studio
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Developer
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Messages
4,456
Grab the Codex by the pussy Codex USB, 2014 Steve gets a Kidney but I don't even get a tag.
This looks awesome! (wishlisted) It seems that the Codex breeds damn good developers.

Thanks! Age of Decadence, which is another Codex RPG (and a much larger and more impressive game, admittedly), was a big inspiration.

Finally launched the Steam page!

https://store.steampowered.com/app/9…ney_to_Athens/

Very proud moment. Now, I have to figure out how to upload builds to Steam. Thankfully there's a long weekend coming up here in the States.

If you are looking forward to this release, please take a moment to place Theseus: Journey to Athens on your wishlist. I understand that for small indie titles like this, it's a very important thing for the Steam algorithms.

Between full-time work and the recent holidays, I haven't been making regular status updates. A lot of progress has been made since the free, updated demo was released for Christmas. I will post additional screenshots and new content information soon. Also, in terms of the release date, it is impossible to release a game on Steam less than two weeks after the launch of the store. So, I need to pick a new release date, likely the first or second week of February.

Wishlisted and most likely :d1p:

Congratulations, Agesilaus! Love the setting and heavy reliance on ancient source material. I remember playing a very early alpha version you shot my way a couple (?) years ago. It's come a long way in a very positive direction since then.

Hah, yes, this game has undergone some major developments along the road. I can barely remember the first alpha versions, but on the first page or two of this thread there's some old programmer art that survived into the early builds of the current demo. I remember that Troezen was one big map in the "first release", and the combat was real time with the world's most aimless AI. I used to have some youtube videos of it but they've long since been taken down.

Thanks for the support!



This looks awesome. I'll try the demo and most likely buy the finished game. Any chance for a GOG release?

I did look at GOG briefly, but the process of getting a small indie game hosted was not clear. I've been a fan of GOG since it was first created, and I'd love to get my game hosted there, but I'm not sure how possible that is. I'll take another look, though.

Sweet! Can't wait to play this.
What serves you best as a dev: itch, or steam purchase?

Itch lets you decide who gets what, so for most people that is probably the better option. The default is that Itch will take a 10% cut, and there's an option to select the "industry standard" which will set it to 30%. Technically, though, you can use a sliding bar to give Itch anything from 0% to 100%. I haven't changed mine from the default, actually I haven't even set up my payments. Itch has an option to just hold on to the payments until you are ready to receive them. For Steam, you have to provide banking details before you can create the store page.

At this point in time, I am more focused on the number of sales rather than the ultimate dollar amount. I'm working full time so I won't pretend to be a starving developer, but I want to transition over to indie game development sooner rather than later. If there's a large number of interested people who are willing to pay money for what I produce, then that helps me justify leaving my current career path at some point.

There's a decent number of indie devs and artists on twitter, and when Steam recently adjusted the way it displays smaller projects there was a lot of discussion. My take-away was that for Steam, wishlists are very important for indie projects. Hence why I have been mentioning wishlists a lot.

Wow, that's some good news! I hope it will be successful... However, you didn't do much advertising/marketing prior to the release, which is a must.
Maybe some smaller news sites and youtube players can cover you? If you don't have time i can help you contacting some(not that i'm way better PR but still :D)
Any plans for DLC? I like that you write it's made in GMS2 everywhere, but i don't think it's needed.

Any chance for a GOG release?
GoG isn't into small games anymore, but he should try.
What serves you best as a dev: itch, or steam purchase?
I think Itch, has a smaller cut, but i could be wrong. Then again they wire via Paypal, not directly to your bank account.

Thanks, I admit that I haven't done much marketing for this game. If you or anyone else can spread the word, I'd greatly appreciate it, but I do understand that it is my responsibility to get the word out. I've actually been pretty impressed by the responses so far, though. I don't know what constitutes "good" numbers, but each time I announce something new I typically see several hundred new page visits.

For example, I launched the Steam page late last night (a little less than 24 hours ago). I made a couple of tweets, posted a link here and on another forum, and then I went to bed. I spent all day in trial, so I couldn't really do anything other than click "retweet" at lunch. I also tweeted a link to President Trump (no confirmation that he has played it, probably he's a lurker). According to steam, the store page has seen 995 visits, and links have been displayed to a further 688 people.

I also have been in contact with a youtube creator who has said he'll make a video on it. He makes programming tutorial vids and I've learnt a fair bit from him, he has a few thousand subscribers.

No DLC planned right now. I think I'd sooner make a sequel, but first I'd like to do something different. Perhaps a few short games to improve my skills and test things out, then something large scale set in 5th/4th century Hellas. At some point, I would like to do some Roman and Chinese titles, too; for the Romans, I read Caesar's Alexandrian War when the Landmark Edition came out and I really, really think it would make for an excellent small-scale war game.
 
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Agesilaus

Antiquity Studio
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Developer
Joined
Aug 24, 2013
Messages
4,456
Grab the Codex by the pussy Codex USB, 2014 Steve gets a Kidney but I don't even get a tag.
Will there be pants in this game or is it complete toga fest?

There are no trousers, but you did just remind me that I wanted to include the Dendra panoply in this game. I'm going to ask the artist to at least include it as a decoration in King Aigeus' palace or something, thanks.

The height of fashion in this game is the chiton and himation. Real men bare one shoulder at all times.
 
Unwanted

YanBG

Unwanted
Joined
Mar 10, 2016
Messages
175
I don't know what constitutes "good" numbers, but each time I announce something new I typically see several hundred new page visits.
On your site? I wouldn't count on that, several hundred is good but it might be mostly russian bots.
I haven't released anything on Steam, so idk if that's enough traffic, but on Itch my game had views but no sales at all. Even after i made it free, the downloads are 1 in 12.5. It could be due to a bad game though lol
I also have been in contact with a youtube creator who has said he'll make a video on it. He makes programming tutorial vids and I've learnt a fair bit from him, he has a few thousand subscribers.
You should give Youtubers keys before the release. So their fans can hype it, or like you said - wishlist.
No DLC planned right now. I think I'd sooner make a sequel, but first I'd like to do something different. Perhaps a few short games to improve my skills and test things out, then something large scale set in 5th/4th century Hellas. At some point, I would like to do some Roman and Chinese titles, too; for the Romans, I read Caesar's Alexandrian War when the Landmark Edition came out and I really, really think it would make for an excellent small-scale war game.
Try to focus on this one first. I think DLC(or oldschool expansion) is a good way to keep the fans and fix/update some parts of the game. Look at it this way, you'll need a patch anyway(all games are broken at launch...) but you can't spend too much time working on fixes for free.
 

AdolfSatan

Arcane
Joined
Dec 27, 2017
Messages
1,871
Iirc, VD did a couple more-or-less in depth posts/interviews on marketing AoD. Might be worth to check those out.
 

Agesilaus

Antiquity Studio
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Developer
Joined
Aug 24, 2013
Messages
4,456
Grab the Codex by the pussy Codex USB, 2014 Steve gets a Kidney but I don't even get a tag.
Phaia-and-pets.png


Theseus met many unique bandits and monsters on the road to Athens. Among them was Phaia and the Krommyonian Sow. Krommyon was an area near Corinth, right on the road between Epidauros and Athens. The sow was said to be a man-eating pig raised by an old lady named Phaia.

As usual, the ancient texts are not in agreement about Phaia and her monster. For example, Plutarch preserves a version of the myth where there is no beast. Rather, Phaia is a bandit who received the nickname “sow” due to her poor manners and evil life.

Our game most closely follows the account preserved by Apollodorus. In his Bibliotheke, it is said that Phaia was an old lady who looked after the sow, which was named after her. This version is depicted on extant pottery, which shows the lady commanding a giant pig to attack Theseus.

Of course, perhaps all this is just a myth, and Phaia is just a kind lady that poses no danger to Theseus…

Phaiascottage.png


https://antiquitystudio.com/2019/02/03/krommyonian-sow/

Steam
Itch.io


Bonus picture of a lady instructing some sort of pig to eat everyone's favourite hero:

krommyonian-sow.jpg
 
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AdolfSatan

Arcane
Joined
Dec 27, 2017
Messages
1,871
Short snippets like that are a nice way of getting attention. How's the PR coming along?
 

Agesilaus

Antiquity Studio
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Developer
Joined
Aug 24, 2013
Messages
4,456
Grab the Codex by the pussy Codex USB, 2014 Steve gets a Kidney but I don't even get a tag.
Short snippets like that are a nice way of getting attention. How's the PR coming along?

The game is coming along well, but I have been pretty slack when it comes to promotion efforts. The above snippet about the Krommyonian Sow is part of an effort to change that. In addition to the previews, a couple of people are willing to make youtube videos about the game, and I was asked to notify Steam curators when the game is released. I also listed it on some other indie sites and got some people on twitter and facebook discussing it.

When I do literally no PR, the store pages seems to inherently receive a total of between one and two hundred views per day (mostly Steam). When I do stuff, it spikes much higher. I'm curious how much of a difference small previews like the above will make. I'm also looking at some other sites to promote the game on, but I don't think my project is large or prestigious enough to get on the front page of many sites.
 
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Tavernking

Don't believe his lies
Developer
Joined
Sep 1, 2017
Messages
1,216
Location
Australia
So the game should be coming out any day now, according to the Steam page? I'm very excited, and surprised/proud that you've managed to come this far!
 

Agesilaus

Antiquity Studio
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Developer
Joined
Aug 24, 2013
Messages
4,456
Grab the Codex by the pussy Codex USB, 2014 Steve gets a Kidney but I don't even get a tag.
So the game should be coming out any day now, according to the Steam page? I'm very excited, and surprised/proud that you've managed to come this far!

Yes, release is this month, right around the corner. I wanted to release on the 15th, but (insert various work and family related excuses) the realistic plan is this:

2/17 - "early release" on Itch.io. My initial release version available at whatever the price I previously set on steam, I forget what it is. I'm doing this because it's easy to upload to Itch and I'm hating on myself for failing to meet the 15th deadline.
Weekend of 2/22 - release on steam. The steam store requires 4-5 days before it will accept an upload. So, I'll upload the 2/17 itch.io version, and then while steam is approving it I will ideally correct any bugs and work on the input I get.

The Steam 4-5 days minimum review period is a pain in the arse. The entire SDK upload thing is a pain in the arse. The store is set up, as you can see, but I need to go through the tutorial videos and documentation on how to get the thing uploaded and prepared in their system. Not a huge deal, just a speed bump. There's no way this thing isn't getting out the door this month. The end of this coming weekend should see the "final" version on Itch, with the Steam version following right behind it.

I've been really happy with the feedback I've gotten, it's great that the it's getting positive attention. The art assets have all been completed and I finished up the contract on that end, and I am in the process of closing out the contract with the musician. I have raised the topic of working with both of them again on future projects, as they've done really great work and I have some ideas for subsequent projects.



EDIT: in terms of progress since I last posted, the battles and "enemy units" have all been implemented, the settings menu has been implemented (with the requested window/fullscreen and audio options), and... I forgoet, I'm going to bed. The biggest outstanding issue right now is finishing the writing for the last stage, editing writing, general balancing of stats, balancing of combat, import the sound effects into the build, and... honestly it's pretty complete. The game is playable (as you can see in the demo) and you can complete it depending on the decisions you make. I'll ideally type up other news releases on the bandits Theseus faced in order to get some attention. The game is on a good number of wishlists, too, which is great news. The more Steam wish lists it gets on, the better it survives the algorithms.
 
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Nutria

Arcane
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Joined
Mar 12, 2017
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2,252
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한양
Strap Yourselves In
I can't promise I'll play this right away, but I will buy it. I've been screeching at everyone for the last 15 years that ancient Greek texts are a gold mine for ideas for games. I hope this is a success and that you or someone inspired by you carries on that torch.
 

AdolfSatan

Arcane
Joined
Dec 27, 2017
Messages
1,871
Make haste! If this releases after February's over I won't be able to play until April.
:negative:

What's the estimated lenght for a single playthrough?
 

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