Interview Eschalon: Book 1 quiz at WithinGames

[Diogo Ribeiro]

Tags: Eschalon: Book I

<a href=http://www.withingames.net/>Within Games</a> managed to score an <a href=http://www.withingames.net/?show=articles&type=showspecial&id=103>interview</a> with Thomas Riegsecker, hard at work developing <a href=http://www.basiliskgames.com/book1.htm>Eschalon: Book 1</a>. Many of the game's aspects are discussed including its takes at non-linearity:
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<b>10) You describe "Eschalon: Book 1" as "non-linear", with freedom to leave the storyline and access to any area. What kind of choices can the player make? How many different endings do you plan?</b>
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After we said that, we realized that many people define the term "non-linear" differently when applied to games. The storyline itself is somewhat linear in that you`ll get the most enjoyment from it by following quests from point "A" to point "B", which is how specific events in the game are triggered. However, the game world is mostly open and you can go almost anywhere from the start. If you don`t want to follow the storyline, you can still have a lot of fun just exploring, looting, and taking on side quests that are presented to you, then coming back and picking up the storyline later if you want. It may even be possible to stubble upon the main storyline later in the game and begin following it from that point. Our main goal is to avoid a railroad design like Dungeon Siege where gameplay outside the main story track is all but impossible.
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There are two different endings to Book I right now. Due to the fact that this storyline will be linked to elements in Book II we can`t offer as many endings as a stand-alone game.</blockquote>
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I don't think there was much gameplay anywhere in Dungeon Siege to begin with, though.
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Spotted at: <a href=http://www.rpgwatch.com/>RPG Watch</A>

 

[Jason]

It may even be possible to stubble upon the main storyline

Typos are fun.

This game sounds way groovy, but I'm still a little uneasy when they talk about their version of turn-based.

The turn-based system is definitely one of the areas that we have experimented with. As long as your character is doing something- for example walking, swinging a sword, or drinking a potion- then the engine just processes game turns without pause. If you stop your character and don`t issue any commands to him, the whole world sits and waits for your input. Combat can play out faster than most turn-based games because the moment you swing your sword or fire an arrow, the game will predetermine the outcome of all the other actions and rolls going on, then play all the events out, in order of initiative, almost instantly. It will be interesting to see how well hardcore gamers take to this style of turn-based gaming.

 

[aboyd]

That kind of turn-based gaming sounds awesome to me, if done right. It means all of the control but with more of the immediacy and speed of real-time fights. Of course, that's IF it's done right.

 

[vazquez595654]

You swing your sword and bunch of shit happens "almost instantly". I could see how that could get annoying.

It seems like the Avernums, or turbo Fallout without a combat mode and an end turn button.

 

[Bar Tec]

That kind of turn-based gaming sounds awesome to me, if done right. It means all of the control but with more of the immediacy and speed of real-time fights.

Totally agree! This system looks somewhat like a queue-based combat and it should easily allow to incorporate interrupts, thus making the combat even deeper than standard turn-based. But, of course, it all depends on the way they implement it.

 

[27]

Isn't it basically the system implemented in almost every roguelike?

 

[whatusername]

Yeah, but with more 'complex' (is that the right term?) controls to use in kombat.

 

[Mefi]

Non-linear as in Morrowind or Oblivion then.

Meh. It's an indie so I'll just wish them well and check back in to see if there is anything to trigger a spark of interest closer to release date.

 

[FrancoTAU]

I'm not expecting the next Fallout, but I'd be thrilled if it's the next Spiderweb-esque games.

 

[Country_Gravy]

I took the combat to mean that you make your choice and then everything for that turn happens at the same time instead of watching each character take their turn individually. After that it pauses until you make your next choice. It sounds like typical turn based combat with everything speeded up so that you don't have to wait while each character moves one at a time.