Game News Impending KoTC 1 Steam Release on August 23rd plus surprise KotC2 plans

[VentilatorOfDoom]

Tags: Heroic Fantasy Games; Knights of the Chalice; Knights of the Chalice 2

Other than the impending Steam release of KotC 1 this Friday the big news is that Pierre will be expanding the KotC2 engine to support animated sprites instead of only the tokens you've seen so far.

Dear video game news providers and influencers,

Here is the latest update on the status of Knights of the Chalice and KotC 2. As previously indicated, KotC 1 is scheduled to be launched on the Steam platform this Friday (23 August). The Steam version of the game's free demo / tutorial will be released around the same time. The game's store page on Steam can be found at https://store.steampowered.com/app/1083760/Knights_of_the_Chalice/.

On the occasion of the Steam launch, I recently updated the game to version 1.34. The new version fixes a number of bugs and gameplay issues and it adds the option to launch the demo / tutorial from the full game (simply click 'Demo').

Knights of the Chalice is a party-based RPG with turn-based combat for Windows. KotC 1 uses the OGL 3.5, the ruleset at the root of Dungeons and Dragons 3.5. In KotC 1, create four Adventurers and embark on a bold journey to save the Land from Slavers, Demons, Dragons and other Evil Forces, as your Heroic Party progresses all the way from level 1 to level 20.

KotC 1 Features:

• Turn-based, party-based tactical combat similar to that found in the old Dark Sun Shattered Lands game made by SSI and in Troika's Temple of Elemental Evil.
• User-friendly interface. Launch a charge, full-attack or coup-de-grace with a single click - the computer will automatically look for the best option available.
• Well-developed artificial intelligence. Enemies act as a group and use special actions like Grapple or Charge and tactics like taking a five-foot step before casting Maximised Fireball.
• Omnipresent help files and clear in-game feedback (a feature also found in Temple of Elemental Evil) on the results of each dice roll, saving throw, attack roll, modifiers, etc.
• 175 magic spells, most of which were taken from, or inspired by, Wizard of the Coast's open game content. The list of spells is available from http://www.heroicfantasygames.com/ListofSpells.htm.
• Craft your own weapons and apply enchantments like Wounding, Speed, Flaming Burst and Keen. The lists of weapon enchantments and feats can be found on the developer's website.
• Multiple-choice dialogue allowing you to resolve situations in unexpected ways.
• A large campaign largely inspired by the classic Dungeons & Dragons modules Scourge of the Slave Lords and Against the Giants.
• Enjoy collecting 100 Steam achievements designed to challenge the best tacticians.
• Free Demo / Tutorial: this is a unique adventure. The Steam version of the free demo has 17 achievements.

Concerning the sequel, Knights of the Chalice 2, I recently completed a website update that will be needed to send the game to Kickstarter backers. Once I finish testing the website update, I'll be able to focus on the Kickstarter page. Once that's done, I will inform you about the Kickstarter launch date. The Kickstarter video can be found at https://youtu.be/P7D5mhcLQH0.

The upcoming Kickstarter campaign will support the creation of future KotC 2 adventure modules. The first KotC 2 adventure module, Augury of Chaos, and the KotC 2 module and campaign editor will be released to backers as soon as the campaign ends. In KotC 2: Augury of Chaos, your Heroic Party confronts a group of Evil Fanatics allied with various Demons and Fiendish Dragons. Following the Kickstarter, the game is planned to be released on the developer's website, http://www.heroicfantasygames.com, and on Steam. A Mac OS version is also likely to be released.

In response to player feedback about the token-based graphics style of KotC 2, I am planning to expand the engine so that it will allow the use of animated sprites in future adventures modules. The idea here is to allow both tokens and animated sprites to be used for the game's player characters, NPCs and monsters. A number of people have expressed a preference for the sprite-based graphics style employed in KotC 1.

KotC 2 Features:

• Turn-based, party-based tactical combat similar to that found in the old Dark Sun Shattered Lands game made by SSI and in Troika's Temple of Elemental Evil.
• User-friendly interface. Launch a charge, full-attack or coup-de-grace with a single click - the computer will automatically look for the best option available. Out of combat, move the party with a single click or by keeping the mouse button pushed. Also see the KotC 1 How to Play webpage for more information.
• A well-developed artificial intelligence. Enemies act as a group and can use special actions like Grapple or Charge and tactics like taking a Five-Foot step before casting Maximised Fireball.
• Omnipresent help files and clear in-game feedback (a feature also found in Temple of Elemental Evil) on the results of each dice roll, saving throw, attack roll, modifiers and so on.
• More than 700 Spells and Psionic Powers (see the list of Wizard spells). The game also features 22 Classes, 10 Races, 36 Subraces, 478 Feats, 41 Cleric Domains, 71 Weapon enchantments and 51 Armour and Shield enchantments. Click here for more information about the Classes, Feats and other topics.
• With the right materials and sufficient gold and experience points, craft your own weapons and apply enchantments like Wounding, Speed, Flaming Burst and Keen (see the complete list).
• Multiple-choice dialogue options offering real choices and real in-game consequences to the player. Use your party's unique skills and consider your own preferences and playing style in order to resolve situations in the most suitable manner.
• Enjoy a variety of engrossing puzzles and riddles. Use your intuition and logical thinking to decrypt mysterious coded messages. The game's cryptography interface, inspired by Broken Sword Shadow of the Templars, makes decoding a captivating activity. Do not worry about the difficulty of puzzles and riddles though, as the game frequently provides Hints designed to help you resolve this type of challenge.
• KotC 2 Augury of Chaos allows you to create your level-1 characters and take them all the way to level 21 or so. There is no limit on character level.
• Use the powerful integrated toolset to create new modules and campaigns easily. Easily swap monster tokens or create new ones. Create new monsters, new dialogues and new maps easily.
• Enjoy fast Saved-Game loading and saving and various game options designed to accelerate gameplay. Enjoy various convenience features, such as the Saved-Game preview image display, Tab key press to highlight objects that may be interacted with, or the Inventory Screen highlighting of spell scrolls that may be learned by a character.

Thank you for reading!

Best regards, Pierre Begue​

Modders can now fix it.

 

[PrettyDeadman]

• More than 700 Spells and Psionic Powers (see the list of Wizard spells). The game also features 22 Classes, 10 Races, 36 Subraces, 478 Feats, 41 Cleric Domains, 71 Weapon enchantments and 51 Armour and Shield enchantments. Click here for more information about the Classes, Feats and other topics.

 

[4249]

I wonder how those animated sprites will meld with the general look of the game. If it's just some half-assed timewaste that doesn't end up looking any better than the tokens, why bother.

 

[thesheeep]

Animated images instead of just non-animated ones? Really?!
My, the technical marvel!



Seriously, though, I'd expect every engine that can display an image to also display an image animation. It's quite literally the same thing, with the only difference being which part of the image is displayed at what time.

 

[VentilatorOfDoom]

Seriously, though, I'd expect every engine that can display an image to also display an image animation. It's quite literally the same thing, with the only difference being which part of the image is displayed at what time.

I think it was about the toolset which you can use to build your own modules, since you could already use any backgrounds you wanted you can now also use animated sprites instead of tokens, which I guess means you can make your module look like you want, perhaps even like an IE game. If you can produce the gfx resources of course. Or rip off the actual IE games. Basically, play KotC with BG2 assets or something. That would be nice.

 

[thesheeep]

Seriously, though, I'd expect every engine that can display an image to also display an image animation. It's quite literally the same thing, with the only difference being which part of the image is displayed at what time.

I think it was about the toolset which you can use to build your own modules, since you could already use any backgrounds you wanted you can now also use animated sprites instead of tokens, which I guess means you can make your module look like you want, perhaps even like an IE game. If you can produce the gfx resources of course. Or rip off the actual IE games. Basically, play KotC with BG2 assets or something. That would be nice.

Did you get me wrong or do I get you wrong?
Your answer doesn't really seem connected to what I said.

 

[VentilatorOfDoom]

Did you get me wrong or do I get you wrong?

I pointed out that this isn't about the "technical marvel" of displaying sprites, but about a change to the toolset, which will enable people to build campaigns that neither look tabletop nor use tokens.

 

[Chaotic_Heretic]

I AM READY FOR KOTC2.

Also, I hope several autists pick up KOTC2 and make good content for it.

 

[Optimist]

I don't think Pierre realizes how much roots will he be able to buy once the Kickstarter money starts rolling in.

I'm greatly enjoying reading through class and spell lists for KotC2, by the way. His system understanding is clearly visible.

 

[Bastardchops]

Really looking forward to this one. If any game defeats the RtWP is better than turn-based argument for DnD Knights of the Chalice is it.

 

[Tweed]

Good now I can finally get the first game, the payment system on the site was too complex for my tiny brain and it never worked right for me.

 

[holla_cabezas_de_mierda]

dude will be able to corner the entire slavic tuber market once the shekels start flowing. He is going to be warlord. Will have to think of an appropriate nickname for him.

 

[BlueSalamander]

Hello everyone, thanks for your interest in both KotC 1 and KotC 2! Thank you RPG Codex and VoD for posting the update, too!

I wonder how those animated sprites will meld with the general look of the game. If it's just some half-assed timewaste that doesn't end up looking any better than the tokens, why bother.

Aha, well, we'll try to find a good artist. A priori, the graphic style I will aim for will be something close to the look of Heroes of Might and Magic 3. I mean, that game has really nice-looking sprites and they only had to create the animation in one direction (then mirror it to get the other direction). If you look at the old Zelda games, perspective is not a big issue even if the game uses a top-down representation for the level and a side-view for the creatures.

Animated images instead of just non-animated ones? Really?!

:D I know, we're really going to stretch the boundaries of today's and tomorrow's technology! A bold leap into the unknown, ahaha. But yes, it's something I've noticed. People could be asking for 3D animated models. But instead what I have heard from most people is 'bring back the sprites of KotC 1'.

(this is) a change to the toolset, which will enable people to build campaigns that neither look like tabletop nor use tokens.

Yes, that is correct.

I hope several autists pick up KOTC2 and make good content for it.

:D Absolutely. The more, the merrier.

I don't think Pierre realizes how much roots will he be able to buy once the Kickstarter money starts rolling in.

Ahahaha, thank you for the optimism and I do love ginger roots, beet roots, Korean ginseng, astragalus, onion and garlic... Would love to make a website providing longevity advice, one day. I did put some of the healthy herbs in KotC 2, as one-time-use items for recovering health or magic.

dude will be able to corner the entire slavic tuber market once the shekels start flowing. He is going to be warlord.

:D Sure, I'll carve out my own Kingdom, like Conan the Barbarian. Possibly starting with the rhizomes! After all, it's been part of my plan all along. By this Axe, I Rule!

Cheers Codexians, best regards!

 

[Sacibengala]

GOG when?

 

[Lyre Mors]

A priori, the graphic style I will aim for will be something close to the look of Heroes of Might and Magic 3.

So the tokens are essentially placeholders for the first campaign in this engine, and you aim for these HoMM3 style graphics in further projects? That would be amazing. Can't wait to purchase KotC tomorrow, and help fund your kickstarter in the near future! Thanks for coming to visit us!

 

[BlueSalamander]

Thank you everyone for all the Brofists and salutes!

GOG when?

I think I'll contact GOG once I've finished working on the Kickstarter page and I've announced the KS launch date. Hopefully, getting onto GOG will not be as difficult as it was to get onto Steam.

So the tokens are essentially placeholders for the first campaign in this engine, and you aim for these HoMM3 style graphics in further projects? That would be amazing. Can't wait to purchase KotC tomorrow, and help fund your kickstarter in the near future! Thanks for coming to visit us!

Yes, you are correct.

I really like the look of monsters in HoMM3. Baldur's Gate 1 and 2 also have cool sprites, but these required the developers to create 3D models and 3D animations, which they then converted into large 2D sprite sheets covering animations in the eight directions with several weapon types and several clothing types. So I think the BG approach is rather overkill, and it makes it much more difficult to edit the sprites or create new ones later on.

Thank you for your great support, I really appreciate it!

 

[Zed Duke of Banville]

Thank you everyone for all the Brofists and salutes!

Giving you an extra brofist for your prestigious choice of avatar:

 

[BlueSalamander]

Thank you Zed Duke of Banville! Yes, I really like this cover illustration of AD&D. That huge demonic statue holding an infernal brazier bowl, and a couple of presumptuous adventurers fearlessly trying to extract the eye gems! Those fools are completely oblivious to the terrible consequences of their actions, as they anger the temple's evil deity! :D

Concerning the sprites, I'm thinking that we could have a system allowing weapons (on both hands) and shields to be displayed on top of the creature. For this to work, I'll have to ask the artist to position the hands of every humanoid creature at the exact same pixel position.

Then the artist can draw the animation of each weapon and shield separately, with one version for the right hand and another for the left hand. Magic weapons like a Flaming Longsword or a Shock Greataxe can also be represented.

Then the game will automatically display the weapons and shields used by each humanoid creature. And we can still have other creatures that do not require drawing weapons on top.

One of the things I enjoyed in Neverwinter Nights 2 was to watch my party members hold powerful magic weapons as they move around.

 

[mondblut]

Tokens are gone? That's the best news since 4 August, 2017.

GOG when?

Hello,

I'm sorry for late reply.

Thanks a lot for your submission and your interest in GOG.

We’ve taken a look at <RPG name>, it looks like a rich RPG game, with complex combat, deep lore, fun mechanics and simple, yet eye-catching retro graphics.

Unfortunately, however, we feel that the game would not be a good fit for GOG, as we think that it appears to be too niche and a bit too small in scale in terms of production value for our users, which means that we aren’t confident in its release potential on our site.

For these reasons I’m afraid we will have to pass on <full RPG name>.

If you have any other games in the future that might be a better fit for GOG, please let us know, and hopefully we’ll be able to work together.

 

[aweigh]

I love playing fantasy dressup in RPGs and seeing my might on display, and no I'm not trying to be joke-y or dimish the games; I mean I love the awesome feeling that comes over you when you have played a satisfying game and succeeded its challenges, and in so doing have bested its systems and accumulated many powerful magical arms and armor!

It is very cool to then equip and use these powerful items on the game world and its denizens who dare oppose you; that's what I mean by fantasy dressup: the logical conclusion to good itemization and a well-balanced progression of power for the player. The game needs to correctly hit the mark on these design elements or it's all for nothing, and no amount of fancy special effects will make you feel good about that magic sword you're carrying.

 

[Endarire]

BlueSalamander
Where can we find a detailed change log of stuff that was fixed/implemented in the KotC1 Steam release?

 

[BlueSalamander]

I love the awesome feeling that comes over you when you have played a satisfying game and succeeded its challenges, and in so doing have bested its systems and accumulated many powerful magical arms and armor! It is very cool to then equip and use these powerful items

Yup, totally agree. Artifact weapons, legendary wondrous items, NPC rewards, etc, they are a super-important part of any RPG, as they encourage you to keep playing.

Where can we find a detailed change log of stuff that was fixed/implemented in the KotC1 Steam release?

The Steam release features 100 Steam achievements and a leaderboard. Otherwise, it is similar to version 1.34, which corrected some bugs and errors in version 1.33. Cheers!

 

[Rpguy]

I looked at the achievements, I understand why there are multiple achievements - for playing normally, for playing ironman and for playing without max ability scores but why is there a fourth one for not using scribe scroll? is that such a good/broken feat it's worth its own set of achievements for not using?

 

[Endarire]

Rpguy Scribe Scroll: Stock up on full-powered spell slots for the price of a feat, money, and EXP (and player time). At early levels, you could make tens of scrolls of cheap and breeze through difficult fights.

 

[Rpguy]

Can't you do that with wands as well?