Codex Interview Knights of the Chalice 2 Pre-Kickstarter Interview

[VentilatorOfDoom]

Tags: Heroic Fantasy Games; Knights of the Chalice 2

I took the opportunity to talk to Pierre Begue, the developer behind the 10 years old cRPG gem Knights of the Chalice, about his upcoming Kickstarter campaign for Knights of the Chalice 2 among other things.

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The main story of KotC1 was inspired by old-school modules like "Slave Lords" and "Against the Giants". What inspired KotC2?

KotC 2 Augury of Chaos is a brand new adventure which does not really borrow much from any particular classic D&D module. Parts of it may have been inspired by the classic D&D module White Plume Mountain, other parts by the Slave Lords series, and yet other parts by Planescape: Torment, Dark Sun: Shattered Lands and the Baldur's Gate series. Cryptographic challenges were inspired by the adventure game Broken Sword: The Shadow of the Templars. However, for the most part, Augury of Chaos is the result of a number of cool ideas I've been writing down over the years.

For the Kickstarter module, KotC 2 The Dark Arena, and the other modules in the planned trilogy, my sources of inspiration include the D&D module Red Hand of Doom, the games Dark Sun: Shattered Lands and Dark Sun: Wake of the Ravager, the Baldur's Gate series, Conan books, Spartacus films, the book The Seven Serpents, the d20 module Mad Manor of Astabar and various classic D&D modules, such as Against the Cult of the Reptile God, Castle Amber, Castle Caldwell and Beyond, The Veiled Society and Lost Tomb of Martek (in it, particularly the Mobius Tower).​

Thanks to Pierre for the great answers.
The splendiferous return of turn-based D&D in video game form is at hand.
Also, offering a finished game as KS reward for the next module seems like an interesting plan.

Read the full article: Knights of the Chalice 2 Pre-Kickstarter Interview

 

[Darth Canoli]

Seems like he fixed his business issues, he's probably going to swim into money like Scrooge McDuck.

Thanks for the interview.

 

[Lyre Mors]

Thank you for conducting this interview, VentilatorOfDoom. Great to see Pierre confirm a steam and GOG release for KotC 1. Also great to see him directly explain his thinking on the direction he's taking with KotC 2 and the whole Kickstarter approach. Can't deny it's got me feeling pretty excited, and since there is a completed game being offered, I'll be throwing some money at it.

Pierre, if you're reading this, I'm very glad you're still making games. Can't wait to try out a more fleshed out KotC. I'm dissapointed by the aesthetic choice you've taken, but I understand it and am glad it's opened up more development time for other things. I just hope others will be able to see it that way too.

 

[Deleted Member 22431]

I have not had the time to play cRPGs in the last couple of years, with the notable exception of Age of Decadence and Dungeon Rats. I really enjoyed the combat in Age of Decadence with my hammer-wielding character.

A true gentleman with refined tastes.

 

[Deleted Member 22431]

To people who are upset about the graphic style, I can only say this: please stop being disgusting graphicwhores and try the game anyway.

Improved.

 

[Strange Fellow]

Combat encounters in Augury of Chaos typically take more time than in KotC 1 because enemies often come in waves. You cannot assess the difficulty of a battle simply by looking at the opponents that the party is facing in the first round, because more enemies may appear in subsequent rounds.

I see Pierre is going after the Divinity: Original Sin 2 audience. Smart move, what with it being Codex GOTY and achieving mainstream success and all.

 

[Achiman]

He sounds like a dude who knows his own mind and isn't going to be distracted by criticisms of his vision for KOTC 2. The first game's graphics were fucking appalling, but once you gave it 5 mins, it didn't matter at all because of how fucking rad the rest of the game was.
Will back for sure.

 

[Excommunicator]

[...] I can draw anything in Photoshop, [...]

Yeah that really does explain everything

 

[CappenVarra]

and yet it moves

 

[Farewell into the night]

Thanks for an awesome interview. Pierre <3

 

[Roguey]

Combat encounters in Augury of Chaos typically take more time than in KotC 1 because enemies often come in waves. You cannot assess the difficulty of a battle simply by looking at the opponents that the party is facing in the first round, because more enemies may appear in subsequent rounds.

If this gets overused, it's going to feel a lot like Dragon Age II.

The artwork in the Screenshots webpage and in the KotC 2 trailer is the final one for KotC 2 Augury of Chaos.
...
However, I don't think that it's a good stretch goal.

Well, this makes my decision even easier. Thanks for the interview.

 

[Mortmal]

To people who are upset about the graphic style, I can only say this: please stop being disgusting graphicwhores and try the game anyway.

Improved.

Dont play more stupid than you are, we are talking about art style . Glad ventilator of doom had the balls to bring this in the interview. This issue is critical into the success or failure of the Kickstarter. Asking if the art was a placeholder was a very subtle and diplomatic way to bring it.

 

[Deleted Member 22431]

Dont play more stupid than you are, we are talking about art style . Glad ventilator of doom had the balls to bring this in the interview. This issue is critical into the success or failure of the Kickstarter. Asking if the art was a placeholder was a very subtle and diplomatic way to bring it.

Bullshit. We are talking about why Pierre chose monster tokens instead of animated sprites. This site is filled with superficial popamole players pretending to care about cRPGs and their PnP roots. Go play Kingdom Come: Deliverance if you care about graphic fidelity so much. I heard it was huge success among codexers.

 

[Deleted Member 22431]

I see Pierre is going after the Divinity: Original Sin 2 audience.

I didnt know Larian patented waves of enemies inside games. Pierre made clear in the interview that he didn't play recently any cRPG beside AoD and DR.

 

[Gwendo]

Why start selling the game through Kickstarter first? He'll be paying STEAM and Kickstarter fees instead of just STEAM.

 

[Mortmal]

Dont play more stupid than you are, we are talking about art style . Glad ventilator of doom had the balls to bring this in the interview. This issue is critical into the success or failure of the Kickstarter. Asking if the art was a placeholder was a very subtle and diplomatic way to bring it.

Bullshit. We are talking about why Pierre chose monster tokens instead of animated sprites. This site is filled with superficial popamole players pretending to care about cRPGs and their PnP roots. Go play Kingdom Come: Deliverance if you care about graphic fidelity so much. I heard it was huge success among codexers.

This year you'll get my vote for the most retarded codexer (sorry TemplarGR), there's a whole thread discussing kotc 2 and that issue , read it if that's not too much for a wanker like you.

 

[Deleted Member 22431]

This year you'll get my vote for the most retarded codexer (sorry TemplarGR), there's a whole thread discussing kotc 2 and that issue , read it if that's not too much for a wanker like you.

You are the one treating game design perfumery (art design) as a central issue and I'm the one who is retarded for calling you out. You need to get your priorities straight, my friend.

 

[Tigranes]

What do you know, Pierre is actually a logical, sensible interviewee! He doesnt ignore or dodge anything and answers every sub-part of the question honestly.

I dont like the art style, but I think that becomes such a talking point because everything else about kotc1 was excellent and we know he can deliver solid gameplay, which ultimately is what matters. Curious to see how he will fare with this more ambitious design in terms of noncombat skills and encounter design.

 

[Jedi Master Radek]

KotC 2 displays the environment using large, hand-drawn 2D images, just like Temple of Elemental Evil, Planescape: Torment and Baldur's Gate.

I am always baffled at people thinking that those game were hand drawn.

 

[Sinatar]

Regarding the funding goal, I don't want to set a specific amount, because if I did and we did not reach the goal quickly, it would make me anxious for the whole 30 days.

Ummm, someone might want to explain to Pierre how Kickstarter works...

 

[MRY]

I enjoy chess, Taboo, Pictionary, Monopoly, Scrabble, Scotland Yard, Risk...

 

[Darth Roxor]

I really like and appreciate his optimism and honesty. Shine on, you crazy diamond

 

[Dorateen]

The first thought that came to mind with the mention of encounters in waves, was this type of set up used in the Gold Box games. Battles in the kobold caves from Pool of Radiance, the climactic confrontation in Pools of Darkness, the path of Vaalgamon from Gateway to the Savage Frontier, etc. Treasures also introduced the idea of enemy reinforcements appearing in later combat rounds.

 

[Darth Canoli]

This year you'll get my vote for the most retarded codexer (sorry TemplarGR), there's a whole thread discussing kotc 2 and that issue , read it if that's not too much for a wanker like you.

Nonsense ! anvi seems to be unstoppable so far, if he continues on his path, he'll get it without breaking a sweat.

 

[Infinitron]

Why start selling the game through Kickstarter first? He'll be paying STEAM and Kickstarter fees instead of just STEAM.

That's not how it works. Steam only takes a fee when you buy a game on Steam. Developers can generate Steam keys and sell them however they want (eg, as a Kickstarter reward) without paying any percentage to Valve.