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Tags: OtherSide Entertainment; Sam Luangkhot; Underworld Ascendant
After several delays, OtherSide Entertainment have finally released the beta build of Underworld Ascendant to eligible backers. This is the last pre-release build before the game comes out next month. You can read more about it here. Alongside the beta there's a new development update, which is particularly informative this month. Most games wouldn't be overhauling their narrative design months before release, but Ascendant isn't like most games.
After several delays, OtherSide Entertainment have finally released the beta build of Underworld Ascendant to eligible backers. This is the last pre-release build before the game comes out next month. You can read more about it here. Alongside the beta there's a new development update, which is particularly informative this month. Most games wouldn't be overhauling their narrative design months before release, but Ascendant isn't like most games.
Over the last several months, our narrative team (writer/director Joe Fielder and writer Crispin Boyer) have been working with OtherSide Austin studio head Warren Spector to further refine and finalize Underworld Ascendant’s story.
For example:
The update also has details about new enemy variants that OtherSide created to beef up the roster.For example:
- Several new roles have been added, as we’ve expanded the population of characters within the Saurian town of Marcaul to include mediators to the Factions and more.
- The player’s nemesis Typhon is no longer a slumbering primordial nightmare, but is now an active taunting threat, full of menace and… wow, yeah, he’s actually really damn scary.
- The game now includes VO support for Memora, which are captured memories from major characters detailing important events and secrets of The Stygian Abyss. These are found as quest items in main quests and also hidden in dark and often difficult to access areas that only the clever and capable can find.
- Final recordings took place several weeks ago! Those have since been processed, implemented within the game, and delivered to our Localization team for translation.
- We are currently bearing down on locking down all in-game text, including bits of series lore and lizardman graffiti hidden throughout the lower levels of The Stygian Abyss.
We’ve mentioned in previous updates that we’ve been expanding the variety of enemies and potential allies you can encounter in the Abyss, and who better to start with than our favorite Skeletons?
Our Tier 1 and Tier 2 Skeletons can now equip a couple of different weapons, which should give you pause when assessing any encounter with them. Make sure you’re aware of their range and the risks of engagement, especially if a Skeleton seems to look slightly different…
Additionally, notice how the armor and design of an enemy may give you a hint about how they’ll interact with a stranger. Take, for example, the Chthonians…
As we near Beta, we’ve been making substantial updates to the game from its Alpha-state to really breathe life into it. With these new enemy variations, new level passes, systems improvement and revisions based on Backer Alpha and external playtest feedback, we continue to draw closer to our vision of The Stygian Abyss.
Clearly, the developers are trying to do as much as they can with very little. It's starting to sink in with the posters on the official forums that Ascendant probably won't magically transform into a full-featured RPG by November. It doesn't help that the beta is apparently rather janky. I don't think this is going to end well...Our Tier 1 and Tier 2 Skeletons can now equip a couple of different weapons, which should give you pause when assessing any encounter with them. Make sure you’re aware of their range and the risks of engagement, especially if a Skeleton seems to look slightly different…
Additionally, notice how the armor and design of an enemy may give you a hint about how they’ll interact with a stranger. Take, for example, the Chthonians…
As we near Beta, we’ve been making substantial updates to the game from its Alpha-state to really breathe life into it. With these new enemy variations, new level passes, systems improvement and revisions based on Backer Alpha and external playtest feedback, we continue to draw closer to our vision of The Stygian Abyss.
