KickStarter Underworld Ascendant Pre-Release Thread

[BEvers]

Have they never heard about itch.io ?

 

[BEvers]

Hey everyone!

There’s just one week left before our PC launch on Steam at $29.99 USD, and we just wanted to update you on the progress of your Kickstarter items, particularly the physical goods.

Check our post here on our site for more information about each tier's rewards and their status.

To redeem these rewards on launch day (and get your final Steam or DRM-free key!), you will need to check your BackerKit under the Underworld Ascendant project and select the Digital Downloads tab.

Also, regarding the Steam and DRM-free keys, remember to fill out your BackerKit survey indicating which you would like for your final key. Note that the Steam version is actually DRM-free (you can play the game offline), but we understand some people prefer to have their games on another site. Note that our DRM-free option is NOT GoG for launch day. We are still looking into which vendor this may be.

If we do not hear from you A WEEK AFTER LAUNCH DAY, we will assign you a Steam key by default.

If you have any questions or changes that need to be made to your pledge, please email us at support@otherside-e.com so we can sort it out as soon as possible.

Cheers,
The OtherSide Team

 

[Infinitron]

Info about Kickstarter bonus items and post-launch content: https://otherside-e.com/wp/ks-rewards-update-1-week-till-launch/

Spoiler

WANDERER ($5+)
Available at Launch:

Iron Avatar’s Ring

Little Friend’s Claw Knuckles

Sling with 8 Splatter Seeds

Chattering Bart animated talking skull*



PIONEER – Early Bird Special ($20+)
Available at Launch:

Digital Copy of Underworld Ascendant

3 Beautiful Wallpapers

Digital Soundtrack

Copper Avatar’s Ring



Available upon Request

Copper Backer Badge for Forum



PIONEER’s PROGENY ($25+)
Also includes Wanderer’s Level Rewards



Available at Launch:

Digital Copy of Underworld Ascendant

3 Beautiful Wallpapers

Digital Soundtrack

Copper Avatar’s Ring



Available upon Request:

Copper Backer Badge for Forum



JOURNEYMAN ($35+)
Also includes Pioneer’s Level Rewards



Released:

Early Access to Beta Build



Available at Launch:

Silver Avatar’s Ring



Available Post-Launch:

Digital Strategy Guide



Available upon Request:

Silver Backer Badge for Forum



EXPLORER ($50+)
Also includes Journeyman’s Level Rewards



Released:

Early Access to Alpha Build

Exclusive Access to Insider’s Developer Blogs



Available at Launch:

Gold Avatar’s Ring

Digital copy of Underworld map suitable for printing



Available Post-Launch:

Digital download of Making of Underworld Ascendant video*



Available upon Request:

Gold Backer Badge for Forum



ADVENTURER ($75+)
Also includes Explorer’s Level Rewards



Released:

Early Access to Pre-Alpha Build

Digital copy of the original Ultima Underworld and Ultima Underworld II for PC



Available at Launch:

Magic-expanding Adventurer’s Backpack

Rotworm Skin Boots



Available Post-Launch:

Digital Game Concept Art Portfolio with Design Notes from the team



HERO ($100+)
Also includes Adventurer’s Level Rewards



Available at Launch:

Extra Digital copy of Underworld Ascendant for a friend



Available Post-Launch:

Boxed Version of Underworld Ascendant*

Lyrical Lute



DIGITAL PROTAGONIST ($125+)
ALL DIGITAL REWARDS UP TO AVATAR + KS Items



Released:

Exclusive access to Developer Online Roundtables

Early access to Pre-Alpha builds



Available at Launch:

Digital copy of Underworld Ascendant

Extra digital “vanilla” copy of Underworld Ascendant for a friend

Amethyst Ankh Amulet



Available Post-Launch:

Digital Game Concept Art Portfolio with Design Notes from the team*

Copper-trimmed Avatar’s Robe*



Available upon Request:

Ruby Backer Badge for Forum



LEGENDARY HERO ($150+)
Also includes Hero’s level rewards



Released:

Exclusive access to Developer Online Roundtables

Early access to Pre-Alpha builds



Available at Launch:

Amethyst Ankh Amulet



Available Post-Launch:

Collector’s Edition Box of Underworld Ascendant with Parchment Map



Available upon Request:

Ruby Backer Badge for Forum



AVATAR ($200+)
Also includes Legendary Hero’s level rewards



Available Post-Launch:

Your name carved and immortalized on a stone monument in the Hall of Immortals

CD of Soundtrack

Printed Game Concept Art Portfolio with Design and Art Notes from the team

Copper-trimmed Avatar’s Robe*



LORE SEEKER ($300+)
Also includes Avatar’s level rewards



Released:

Early access to Prototype build



Available Post-Launch:

Color 4” tall and finely detailed Limited Edition Figurine (Cabirus, Aelita, Resherak)*

Making of Underworld Ascendant Video on DVD

Custom Tabard

Silver-Trimmed Avatar’s Robe*



LORE MASTER ($500+)
Also includes Lore Seeker’s level rewards



Available at Launch:

2 extra Digital Copies of Underworld Ascendant



Available Post-Launch:

The other two color 4” tall and finely detailed Limited Edition Figurine (Cabirus, Aelita, Resherak)*

Place of Honor*

Your name carved and immortalized on a copper monument in the Hall of Immortals

Gold-Trimmed Avatar’s Robe*

Collector’s Edition Box signed by Paul Neurath

Limited Edition Large Poster suitable for framing*



MASTER OF ALL ($750+)
Also includes Lore Master’s level rewards



Available at Launch:

Dancing Jade Dagger



Available Post-Launch:

Color 5” tall and finely detailed Limited Edition Figurine (Skeleton)*

Your name carved and immortalized on a silver monument in Hall of Immortals*

Limited Edition Extra Fancy Collector’s Edition of Underworld Ascendant signed by the Lead Designer with included Parchment Map



ENLIGHTENED ONE ($1,000+)
Also includes Master of All’s level rewards



Released:

Exclusive Design Brainstorm



Available at Launch:

Name a Character / Item / Place in the Stygian Abyss



Available Post-Launch:

Digital copy of every OtherSide game released for the next decade

Your name carved and immortalized on a silver statue in Hall of Immortals

Limited Collector’s Edition Game Concept Art portfolio signed by the concept artist

Limited Edition Large Poster signed by the concept artist and numbered



VISIONARY ($1,500+)
Also includes Enlightened One’s level rewards



Available Post-Launch:

Your name carved and immortalized on a gold statue in the Hall of Immortals

A page of custom Heroic Prose composed for you, provided on signed parchment and hung in the Hall of Immortals

Custom 7” Limited Edition Figurine (Skeleton)



PATRON ($3000+)
Also includes Visionary’s level rewards



Released:

Exclusive Design Conference Call Brainstorm



Available at Launch:

Patron credit ingame



Available Post-Launch:

Intricately carved Wood Patron Sceptre*

Your name carved and immortalized on a ruby statue in the Hall of Immortals

A piece of custom Heroic Theme Music composed for you, provided on a signed CD, and performed in the Hall of Immortals



NOBLE PATRON ($5,000+)
Also includes Patron’s level rewards



Released:

Spend a Day with the Team and Add Stamp to the Game



Available at Launch:

Noble Patron Credit in-game



Available Post-Launch:

Custom Theme Art drawn for you, provided as an original illustration and displayed ingame



LORD PATRON ($7,500+)
Also includes Noble Patron’s level rewards



Available at Launch:

Lord Patron credit



Available Post-Launch:

Lordly Abode crafted and named in your owner

Your likeness on NPC in game



ROYAL PATRON ($10,000+)
Also includes Lord Patron’s level rewards



Released:

Special Secret Treat



Available at Launch:

Royal Patron Credit ingame



Available Post-Launch:

LAUNCH PARTY invite!



KS STRETCH GOALS:
Available at Launch:

Underswamp Area

Dire Berries

Silver Pieces

Rotworm Skin Boots

Lizardmen

Companion Creatures: Dire Vorpa & Mana Leech*

Enhanced Music

Dynamic Music & SFX

Resonant Caves Area

Language Localization (check our Steam page for the list!)

Necropolis of the Ancients Area



Available Post-Launch

Tracy Hickman Novel*

Faction Banners*

Chalice of Cabirus*

Wailing Lich*



ADD-ONS:
Released:

Underworld Ascendant T-Shirt



Available at Launch:

Bertha*

Dark Elf Kinsman Buckler*



Available Post-Launch

Underworld Novel by Tracy Hickman (Hardcover)



* DETAILED REWARD STATUS
Note that for many of the physical rewards, we will try to time it so they all send out at the same time to lower shipping costs.



Digital download of Making of Underworld Ascendant video – We haven’t finished editing and filming this reward yet! We want to capture the end of the project as well, after all. We’ll update you when this reward is nearly finished.



Soundtrack CD – We just need to arrange the tracks on a CD and ship it out. Also need to coordinate the Custom Theme Music on specific CDs to have these signed…



Regular Boxed Version and Collector’s Editions of Underworld Ascendant – For those of you who missed it, we unveiled our Denis Loubet cover art for the Collector’s Edition of Underworld Ascendant! Here’s a sneak peek at the template for the regular Boxed Edition as well… These are still in production / being made as we finalize our art assets, such as adding the game description, some more details, and making sure the addresses we have are locked. The parchment map that comes with the Collector’s Edition and the Strategy Guide are also nearly complete, and just need to be given a final pass and printed. Sneak peek attached below…

Digital Game Concept Art Portfolio with Design Notes from the team – We have so much concept art from 2015+ that we haven’t had the chance to go through them all and parse it out for the team to make notes on! Once the game has launched, we’ll be able to pick out (and maybe even add) some concept art for monsters, areas, and levels that we you can expect to see in the Abyss.



Faction Banners – These are now ingame items that you can equip before a quest to raise your reputation and influence with the faction of your choice before going into the Abyss. The effect is nearly finished, but we are waiting on the icons and need to test it before we put this ingame.



Chalice of Cabirus – We have the asset and drinking sfx but this needs to be implemented ingame.



Copper/Silver/Gold-trimmed Avatar’s Robe – This equipment is already in the game and can be downloaded for your tier, but the Lizardmen do not bow or sing for you yet. We will send out an update when this feature is in.



Limited Edition Large Poster suitable for framing – Pending clean-up and shipment! Here’s a WIP:

Color 4” tall and finely detailed Limited Edition Figurine (Cabirus, Aelita, Resherak)* & Color 5” and 7” tall Limited Edition Figurine Skeleton – These are undergoing a final mold process and then need to be colored. We aim to get these shipped out as soon as possible, but we think it’ll definitely be worth the wait.

Custom Theme Art / Prose / Music – These rewards are currently being coordinated with the backers of the appropriate tier. If you belong to a tier that receives one of these rewards, please make sure to check your emails for updates.



Place of Honor – This area of Marcaul is sealed off for now and should be ready relatively soon after launch. Stay tuned for this update.



Intricately carved Wood Patron Sceptre – The sceptre reward is a life-size wand that can also be found ingame! The wand-section will be made with a special glow-in-the dark material. We had a couple of prototypes in the office but realized we needed to thicken it. See our changes and details below:

Tracy Hickman Digital and Hardcover Novel – We are looking into publishing options to print this reward. We want to give the manuscript one more pass before we ship it off to print and distribute.



Companion Creatures: Dire Vorpa & ‘Aelita’s Choice’ Mana Leech – Note that the Week 1 package offered on Steam offer a reduced (and differently colored) version of these companion creatures. These KS-exclusive rewards are now available to all KS backers and can be redeemed ingame by visiting the trunk near Aelita in Marcaul.



Your Name Immortalized… – We have all of your names from Kickstarter, but we’ve received some concerns from backers who wanted to customize this field. Please be sure to contact us at support@otherside-e.com if this is the case for you and let us know what you would like your name listed as, if it is not your own! The models themselves for the statues and monuments are ready, but they need to be placed. Here’s an example of one of the statues:



Bart & Bertha – We have their skulls rigged and animated, they has their voice lines, and we just need to hook them up safely in Marcaul and QA them a bit more. We expect this to be added shortly after launch.



Dark Elf Kinsman Buckler – this has been ingame for awhile, but we need to make sure we distribute this properly and that it’s evident when it glows. It makes sense given some of the darkness in the game that you might want to use the light from this object to guide your way AND provide protection. (You may also recognize that Aelita has this equipped in our Key Art!)

Wailing Lich – planned for DLC! We’ll send out more information of this creature when we draw closer to releasing its DLC.

 

[BEvers]

Four of the stretch goals have slipped to post-launch:

Available Post-Launch

Tracy Hickman Novel*

Faction Banners*

Chalice of Cabirus*

Wailing Lich*

Faction Banners – These are now ingame items that you can equip before a quest to raise your reputation and influence with the faction of your choice before going into the Abyss. The effect is nearly finished, but we are waiting on the icons and need to test it before we put this ingame.

Chalice of Cabirus – We have the asset and drinking sfx but this needs to be implemented ingame.

Wailing Lich – planned for DLC! We’ll send out more information of this creature when we draw closer to releasing its DLC.

 

[Zombra]

What the hell? This is launching in a week? It's really been almost 4 years? Seems like I was just complaining about their Zynga gamified kickstarter like a year ago. Time flies, I feel old.

 

[LESS T_T]

Interview: https://www.playerattack.com/news/2...the-otherside-crew-talk-underworld-ascendant/

Second Q&A is almost like about System Shock 3.

Warren Spector and the OtherSide crew talk Underworld Ascendant

Underworld Ascendant is a first person action RPG and acts as the sequel to Ultima Underworld: The Stygian Abyss and Ultima Underworld II: Labyrinth of Worlds. Titles that don’t really sound familiar to some of you? Well, Underworld II was released in 1993, so I can’t say I blame you. Even I am only vaguely familiar with the Ultima series. Underworld Ascendant promises an in depth RPG that prides itself on letting players tackle the world and its problems in any way they see fit, rewarding creativity and letting a player craft their character in whatever way their heart desires.

For a little more information, we sat down with the legendary Warren Spector, producer of the original Underworld games and director/adviser on Ascendant, as well as two members of the OtherSide Entertainment crew, producer Paul Neurath and director Joe Fielder.

Player Attack [PA]: So. First and biggest question. The original Ultima games were just a teensy bit before my time. How easy will it be to jump right into Underworld Ascendant?

[JOE]: Underworld Ascendant has plenty of ties back into the original games, which inspired the likes of System Shock, BioShock, and more, but players who have never experienced them can immediately dive right in and enjoy it. If you like game series like BioShock, Dishonored, and Fallout, you should feel immediately at home, but you’ll quickly see we have our own unique take on the immersive sim, as well.

[PA]: How hard is it to bring a game from the early 90s into the modern era? What kind of challenges have you faced?

[WARREN]: There are several challenges, some of them design-related, others content-related and still others audience-related. All are driven by changed player expectations.

The first problem I wrestle with in working on a game that attempts to bring a 90s game into the modern era is simply deciding how closely to adhere to the original’s gameplay and, even more important, the original’s narrative. I mean, there are some fans of the original out there who expect a direct sequel – to a game that was released over 20 years ago! But if you do that, how do you engage a newer (and, frankly, larger) audience of people who’ve never even heard of the original. Big issue for me…

Also, back in the 90s, graphics clearly took a backseat to gameplay – we did the best we could, but to a great extent, the tech was so primitive and the hardware so, well, weak, there were incredible limitations on what we could do. Today, engines like Unity and hardware like modern PCs allow us to do so much more it’s not even funny. Ditto for audio. Sound is one of the most powerful tools for immersion, but we couldn’t do nearly as much with it as we can today simply because of the hardware and software available to us. Player expectations of graphical quality and polish are way up.

From a design standpoint, players expect more polish, too, and in immersive sims, they want deeper simulation, more choice, more empowerment. And they for sure want an interface that doesn’t use every key on the keyboard! Today, it’s critical that players be able to craft their own custom experience quickly and easily, rather than being on rails and having to fight the UI. At least that’s true for games like Underworld Ascendant – there are certainly lots of successful movie-inspired games on rails. That’s just not what OtherSide is all about. Our goal is that no two players end the game having had the same experience.

[PA]: Gaming has changed a lot since the original Ultima titles, and even your own titles like System Shock and Deus Ex. Do you ever look at current technology and think about how it could have worked in your older titles?

[WARREN]: Of course I do. I think everyone who was in game development back in the days when we were making stuff up as we went along thinks about that. But it’s funny though, if we’d had all the current tech we probably wouldn’t have known what to do with it. I mean, we really WERE making things up. Without meaning to sound too high-falutin’ we were creating a medium from scratch and each of us stood on the shoulders of those who came before.

You can’t overstate the importance of Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson (the creators of Dungeons & Dragons) to the work of people like Richard Garriott (Ultima) and Paul Neurath (Space Rogue and others)… Folks like me and Doug Church came along later and built on what they created. And I think (okay, hope) the next generation built on some of the stuff that we did. I don’t think tech would have made much of a difference because design was still in its infancy.

[PA]: One of the biggest selling points of the game is the “Improvisation Engine”. Does that mean everything in the story, from the biggest to the smallest choices and scenarios, will have various ways of being accomplished?

[JOE]: The Stygian Abyss is an dangerous environment where only the smart and brave survive. Those who have thrived there discovered a magical means to capture memories – called Memora. They trade memories of tactics and skills of great heroes of the past for Memora of your clever experimentations using the many game systems within our immersive sim world. So, by using the Improvisation Engine to mix combat, stealth, and magic to come up with clever solutions to challenges, you unlock new skills and abilities to experiment and have fun with.

A lot of this comes from the teams’ earlier innovations with the Immersive Sim, with games that gave the player goals, but allowed them to come up with the solution. Our lead designer Tim Stellmach, who was the lead designer on the original Thief, mentioned a story about how when they first strategy guide for that game arrived, he looked up its authoratively-written description of how to beat a level he worked on. His reaction after reading it was, “Oh! You can do that?”

That’s what the Improvisation Engine does for Underworld Ascendant. We give you interesting challenges and a wide array of abilities in an interactive world. The solution is up to you and the game rewards you for creativity.

[PA]:Speaking of the Improvisation Engine, I can imagine there’s a lot of fun to be had there. What’s the most interesting scenario you’ve encountered?

[JOE]: I’m a fan of using the Gravitate spell to levitate a bunch of wooden objects like baskets and crates, moving them to a torch to light them on fire, and then blasting them at or dropping them on enemies. Or using breakable objects in the environment to distract enemies to step into traps or spells to convince them to fight each other. Every time I play a mission in the game, I try to combine opportunities in different ways. There’s always a new surprise!

[PA]: The game draws lore regarding the underworld from myths and religions all over the world. Is it hard not to focus too much on any given story at any time?

[JOE]: The Stygian Abyss is a liminal space that borders on the actual Underworld, which is a netherworld that all cultures base their myths upon. That allows for a pretty rich background to draw from. One of the central elements is how Typhon, an early nemesis of Zeus who is charmingly referred to as “the Father of all Monsters,” is trapped below The Stygian Abyss and striving to break free. He’s scary as hell and I think players are going to find overcoming him an interesting challenge.

[PAUL]: We’ve selectively picked mythic elements from a range of sources, mostly derived from ancient western European cultures, mixed in with some high-fantasy sources, then filtered through the lens of the original Ultima Underworld games. The story itself is based on the events that take place in the Abyss as the player enters the fictional world from our earth (much as in the original Ultima Underworld games), which helps make it feel cohesive.

[PA]: The Ultima games were inspirations for generations of developers to come. So, making this, it makes sense to ask: Did you take any inspiration from other games when thinking about Underworld Ascendant?

[JOE]: I, myself, take a lot of inspiration from modern board games, which have been incredibly innovative in regards to replayable narrative and designer-curated variety. (And I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention that I learned much about game narrative while working on the BioShock series.) But I’d say much of our inspiration came from features we’d like to see more in games, such as a constantly evolving world state and inspiring the player to experiment more.

[PA]: Last question. Probably the most important: Do you ever miss working with Oswald the Lucky Rabbit?

[WARREN]: <Laughs> I miss working with Oswald the Lucky Rabbit every single day. I mean that seriously. A day doesn’t go by where I don’t think about the little guy. He’s such a great character and I’m so proud of the work my team at Junction Point did to help bring him back. I hope Disney does something more with him in the future than just use him as a way to sell merchandise at the theme parks. He deserves his own cartoons. And, yeah, more merch to lighten my wallet. And games. Of course, games!

 

[glass blackbird]

"I learned much about game narrative while working on the BioShock series."

the most damning fucking thing of all

 

[Zombra]

[Players] for sure want an interface that doesn’t use every key on the keyboard!

 

[DJOGamer PT]

Can't wait to pirate this shit on thorsday or friday.

 

[Ranarama]

I still think Arx Messiah or Dark Fatalis would've been better names.

 

[Max Heap]

I still think Arx Messiah or Dark Fatalis would've been better names.

That would imply UA includes positive aspects of both of those games, which probably isn't the case.
Thursday is the 15th and I get my government assigned autism bucks, so fuck it, whatever. I'll still buy it.

That being said, I still don't know what that map in the 1st week buyer's reward is supposed to be.
Don't tell me they cut the regular ingame map and push it as extra content...

 

[Curratum]

Wanna relieve me of my copy? 15 US dollaroos and it's yours. Launch price is going to be 30 I think. I got it for 25 Euros in the KS.

 

[Max Heap]

Sounds good. I'll send you a message.

 

[Doctor Sbaitso]

Reserving judgement for a patched game. We will see.

 

[BEvers]

Another update on the storefront situation:

We are not trying to push more backers towards Steam. If that were the case, we could have forced all backers to select a Steam key (as the game is DRM-free anyways, you can play it completely offline).

We understand it's important to a lot of people to have a DRM-free option, which is why we're working so hard to make up for this. We're still not sure if GoG will host UWA after launch, which lends to our hesitation to promise GoG keys to backers at a later date.

We'll definitely keep you all in the loop as we continue our talks. As of today, we still have not locked down a DRM-free vendor either.

https://www.othersideentertainment.com/forum/index.php?topic=6437.msg35340#msg35340

 

[flyingjohn]

Interview: https://www.playerattack.com/news/2...the-otherside-crew-talk-underworld-ascendant/

Second Q&A is almost like about System Shock 3.

[PA]: How hard is it to bring a game from the early 90s into the modern era? What kind of challenges have you faced?

[WARREN]: There are several challenges, some of them design-related, others content-related and still others audience-related. All are driven by changed player expectations.

The first problem I wrestle with in working on a game that attempts to bring a 90s game into the modern era is simply deciding how closely to adhere to the original’s gameplay and, even more important, the original’s narrative. I mean, there are some fans of the original out there who expect a direct sequel – to a game that was released over 20 years ago! But if you do that, how do you engage a newer (and, frankly, larger) audience of people who’ve never even heard of the original. Big issue for me…

I am starting to believe deus ex was a fluke,he probably always wanted to make invisible war.

 

[Safav Hamon]

I bought 6 keys for 10 euro

If you want a cheap key for only 10 euro, message me.

 

[BEvers]

Info on some last-minute additions, and the expected state of the game at launch:

Wow, it's actually launch week!

I see there's been a lot of confusion about Backer Beta patch bugs, as well as what's going on with the release timing with Steam vs GoG, etc. I should have addressed most of these on the individual threads, but here's a general Launch Week Masterpost while I'm at it.

Kickstarter Backers:
Here is a list of all the digital and physical goods that will be available on launch day, which are upon request, and which are post-launch. (Some behind the scenes screenshots and images of goods included, spoilers!)

Some rewards, such as the talking skulls, lyrical lute, chalice of cabirus, etc are slated to be updated into the game shortly after launch. Other rewards, such as the Custom Theme Art and Custom Music are still being coordinated with backers, and thus we will continue to send those backers updates on how their rewards are progressing. Note that the redemption instructions are also included in the above link.

Launch Issues with the Backer Beta Patch:
While the Backer Beta patch allowed players, such as our Mac and Linux backers, to play the backer build, it has also introduced some bugs that we are doing our best to track internally as we prepare for launch. Many submitted bugs are similar or have been fixed already for launch. We apologize if you are unable to play the Backer Beta as a result of a launch bug, but we're trying the best we can to make sure it's at least eliminated from launch.

Steam vs DRM-Free Key?
As I've mentioned in another thread, we were caught by surprise that GoG could not host Underworld Ascendant at launch. We still need to fulfill our DRM-free promise, but as of right now, we are unclear if UWA will be hosted on GoG after launch as well. To play it safe, we're asking all backers to choose their key assuming that there may not be a GoG launch.

Please also note that the Steam key is actually DRM-free. You can play UWA offline and without launching Steam after you download the game.

...So How's Work?
Dang it's been busy here.

It's been a huge push to the finish line here, and we're about to lock down the final build for our Steam launch this Thursday. I can't believe how far we've come in some areas. Optimization, cleaning up levels, patching holes, fixing some combat interactions, etc, have all really come together. We have major keybinding options, a cleaner UI pass on a lot of icons and inventory slots, and the feel has continued to improve.

That being said, remember that no game is perfect. Especially for a game with no scripted events. We'll be on the lookout for huge game-crashing bugs on launch, and we're excited to see how your adventures into the Abyss progress.

We'll see you all in a few days!

https://www.othersideentertainment.com/forum/index.php?topic=6444.0

 

[sebas]

Love the confidence. Just brimming.

 

[DJOGamer PT]

I bought 6 keys for 10 euro

If you want a cheap key for only 10 euro, message me.

Where did you bought them?

 

[Safav Hamon]

That information will cost you

 

[V_K]

He's probably just a closeted backer.

 

[DJOGamer PT]

That information will cost you

I have a GoG copy of Blade of Darkness, not many of those lying around. And a BF3 + Premium account. How about that?

 

[Nyast]

Reminder from its creators that "no game is perfect". Yep, launch is gonna be stellar. Getting my popcorn right now.

 

[RoSoDude]

Especially for a game with no scripted events

Maybe I'm being dense, but is this just a buzzword? I'd be enormously surprised if U:A doesn't have scripted events. Pull a lever to make something move? That's scripting. Engage a level trigger and an enemy spawns in? That's scripting too. Any interaction with a non-generic result has to be scripted by the game designers. All of the previous games by LGS et al included scripting to add dynamism and surprise to the game world and even enhance the level of simulation. Ultima: Underworld features many levers and switches which trigger specialized mechanisms, such as the secret lever to drain the pond in the Stygian Abyss, unflooding the chamber where the Blade of Caliburn had been hidden. System Shock had all manner of scripted traps and enemy spawns to make it feel like SHODAN was watching your every move and redesigning the station around you to thwart your progress. And so on with Thief, SS2, and Deus Ex.

I know these guys love to talk about expanding the simulation by making everything a generic systems interaction, but it's just not feasible. A bit of light scripting here and there can actually help sell the illusion of a dynamic, reactive world, and is not actually at odds with this kind of game. Without it, level designers are limited to static placements of enemies and a handful of repeated challenges that can be only be constructed from generic game elements like doors, spikes, and platforms. Short of actually building mechanisms and fully simulating their physics with dynamic constraints (which is absolutely infeasible), what's wrong with having a simple lever or switch that just makes something happen somewhere in the level? Nothing, and we already know from the demos that they're in the game. They should just be precise and say "for a game not focused on scripted events", which is straightforward and accurate.