Development Info Magic & Mercenaries Gets A Pregander

[Saint_Proverbius]

Tags: Magic & Mercenaries: Curse of Eternal Darkness

DungeonCrawlers.org has a nice preview with screenshots of Magic & Mercenaries: Curse of Eternal Darkness. For those who haven't read this thread, think of the old, party based, first person, on-a-grid style CRPGs such as Dungeon Master and Eye of the Beholder or any other number of Gold Box Games. Here's a quick video and snippet:

The game offers 15 classes, 5 of which are spellcasters (Priest, Sorcerer, Shaman, Druid and Battlemage) with overall 75 different spells to chose from. Unlike many other games, spells are not affected by range, so even if your fighters move deep into enemy territory, your casters can still heal them from far away.​

We will pray with those old Druids, we will pray with those old Druids... I bet Crispy can finish that quote.

Thanks, Lady_Error! You're a peach!

 

[Lady Error]

You forgot to mention that our own ProphetSword is developing this. It is pretty much an updated Goldbox RPG.

 

[Saint_Proverbius]

I promise to do better next time. If I remember.

I may be off my mark, but I think Eye of the Beholder was considered a Gold Box along with Dungeon Hack. SSI made both, but I don't see them in that wiki link in the news post.

 

[ProphetSword]

That video is really old. The game doesn’t look anything like that anymore. Just want to make clear that it has come a really long way since that was made.

If anything, that video is a tech demo for an early version of the engine, and doesn’t really represent the game very well in its current state.

 

[Kruno]

The thing I love about blobbers is the risk and reward for exploration, finding a really cool weapon or piece of armour that can make the area easier after struggling, and the ability to come back on a replay with existing knowledge of the game in order to play it differently, and hopefully a lack of trash combat encounters.

Pacing matters. When you enter a new area it should be difficult and every combat encounter should be life and reload. Finding items should alleviate the overbearing difficulty, but bosses should be hard.

I will be comparing your game to other blobbers when the time comes! No pressure.

My brain is on autism currently and I am constantly editing this post and I am excited. I have been revisiting Stranger of Sword City and finding it far too easy.

 

[luj1]

It is pretty much an updated Goldbox RPG.

Love it!

 

[KeighnMcDeath]

EOB I-III are considered Legend Series (Blackbox).

FRUA & DH are considered construction set series. Odd as I would consider DH part of black box.

SSI Series Stuff

 

[ProphetSword]

EOB I-III are considered Legend Series (Blackbox).

FRUA & DH are considered construction set series. Odd as I would consider DH part of black box.

SSI Series Stuff

Most users of FRUA consider it part of the Gold Box Series. I’ve never heard it referred to in any other manner.

 

[Mortmal]

That video is really old. The game doesn’t look anything like that anymore. Just want to make clear that it has come a really long way since that was made.

If anything, that video is a tech demo for an early version of the engine, and doesn’t really represent the game very well in its current state.

Then you should provide us new screenshots or a video. It seems like very close to gold box indeed , almost a carbon copy unless you completely redesigned everything.

 

[KeighnMcDeath]

EOB I-III are considered Legend Series (Blackbox).

FRUA & DH are considered construction set series. Odd as I would consider DH part of black box.

SSI Series Stuff

Most users of FRUA consider it part of the Gold Box Series. I’ve never heard it referred to in any other manner.

Yeah, I'd toss buck rogers, AOL NWN & FRUA in there for GB and DH with black box EOB with maybe Menzo. (Its been a while since I looked menzo.

You could toss DH with Slayer & Death Keep (since those two have random generation).

I have no clue what to put spelljammer with (OTHERS like Al-qadim).

DS is its own as is Ravenloft.

World Tactical should be War of the Lance, Stronghold, Fantasy Empires.

Dragonstrike was vastly different on PC vs NES.

 

[ProphetSword]

That video is really old. The game doesn’t look anything like that anymore. Just want to make clear that it has come a really long way since that was made.

If anything, that video is a tech demo for an early version of the engine, and doesn’t really represent the game very well in its current state.

Then you should provide us new screenshots or a video. It seems like very close to gold box indeed , almost a carbon copy unless you completely redesigned everything.

There are updated screenshots in the thread in the Codex Workshop.

Go here: https://rpgcodex.net/forums/threads/magic-mercenaries-the-curse-of-eternal-darkness.127056/

Most recent stuff is on the last page, and you'll get an idea of where it's at currently.

 

[ProphetSword]

For those that don't want to venture over there, though, here are a couple of updated screenshots that were posted in that thread.

The game now runs in widescreen, so that should be one immediate difference that will stand out. I will also point out that while the updated screenshot of the combat engine below shows how the walls now have perspective, the layout of the combat screen has changed somewhat since that was posted (I believe that screenshot was prior to me moving to a widescreen aspect ratio).

Anyway, here are the screenshots:

 

[Mortmal]

It's looking even better , but i hope you are not just catering to graphic whores Which ruleset are you using for that ? A deep character creation is extremely important now.

 

[rusty_shackleford]

romances CONFIRMED

 

[rusty_shackleford]

DungeonCrawlers.org has a nice preview

Written by: Grauken

rpgcodex newspost linking to an article on another site written by an rpgcodex user about a game developed by another rpgcodex user

 

[Gastrick]

Good to see western blobbers being developed.

 

[MrBuzzKill]

Where can I wishlist it

 

[Darkozric]

Game looks cool. I sense a effort here.

 

[Saint_Proverbius]

rpgcodex newspost linking to an article on another site written by an rpgcodex user about a game developed by another rpgcodex user

I have no problem giving an RPG Codex user props for making an article on a site they run about a game that another RPG Codex member is working on. They deserve props for their work. Free props for everyone!

 

[MurkyShadow]

For those that don't want to venture over there, though, here are a couple of updated screenshots that were posted in that thread.

The game now runs in widescreen, so that should be one immediate difference that will stand out. I will also point out that while the updated screenshot of the combat engine below shows how the walls now have perspective, the layout of the combat screen has changed somewhat since that was posted (I believe that screenshot was prior to me moving to a widescreen aspect ratio).

Anyway, here are the screenshots:

I'm in love

 

[Rivmusique]

This looks good, keeping an eye on it.

Why are people ITT calling this/goldbox games blobbers? Is this genuine rot or an in-joke I missed?

 

[Zed Duke of Banville]

Genuine rot, in that many Codexers consider a game with a separate combat screen, where each player-character is placed and moves on separate tiles, to nonetheless somehow fall into the blobber subgenre.

 

[baud]

Genuine rot, in that many Codexers consider a game with a separate combat screen, where each player-character is placed and moves on separate tiles, to nonetheless somehow fall into the blobber subgenre.

how would call it? Gold-box-like?

 

[Zed Duke of Banville]

how would call it? Gold-box-like?

For the Gold Box series and similar CRPGs that are focused on combat, with separate movement of individual party members (and enemies) in a combat screen that is a grid or grid-equivalent (hexmap, whatever else), I would refer to them simply as the tactical RPG subgenre, to distinguish them from Wizardry-likes (turn-based blobbers) that take a more balanced approach to the different elements of RPGs and to Dungeon Master-likes (real-time blobbers) that are focused on exploration.