KickStarter Black Geyser: Couriers of Darkness - Tales of the Moon Cult expansion on the way

[Prime Junta]

drying... plants

only plants or also, for example, paint? that would be exciting

(Okay, fine, shouldn't snark, this is kind of cute actually. Influenced by Baldur's Gate indeed...)

 

[Jimmious]

I mean there are some plants that get better when dried but I don't see the applicability in game

 

[Prime Junta]

I mean there are some plants that get better when dried but I don't see the applicability in game

Alchemy system of sorts. You dry them, then grind them to powder, which you can combine to make other powders, or throw at enemies to cause status effects. Is in the vidya.

Not quite sure what the drying part adds to the game besides busywork but there might be something.

 

[Mustawd]

Yah, if you guys are expecting anything coherent from these dudes then you’re being fabulously optimistic.

 

[aweigh]

Prime Junta mustawd. Jimmious

from the RPG watch thread:

Fortunately, the game is much more than just presentable.

It's almost finished. But in software industry, everyone knows what "almost" means. This is especially true in gaming industry. We need to finish the missing parts, refine and balance every aspect of the game, do the Quality Assurance etc. And more importantly, before we complete it, we need your feedback. We need as many players as possible to hear about this project. Kickstarter is very useful for that too.

The other reason for Kickstarter is that our (old and new) investors need a successful Kickstarter as a proof of interest. After that, we receive their final round of funds. And this also explains why it took us so much time to agree with investors: we want to retain full control over the project (including creative freedom). As a new studio, it is not easy to find investors, telling them "we need your money, but we want to keep full control over the project". This is why we don't want a publisher at the moment. One of the publishers who approached us was very tempting, but one of its conditions was that we aren't allowed (!) to do a Kickstarter at all.

And creating a full-featured RPG (inspired by Baldur's Gate) requires a lot of money. So you're absolutely right that we had some problems in the past finding enough investors, but that's now solved.

We're now backed by several private investors.

Both the Kickstarter page and the video are 100% finished, so the launch is guaranteed. We just need to promote the game before KS launch, because a lot of people still don't know that Black Geyser: Couriers of Darkness exists at all.

And no more silence - there will be regular updates from now on. Let me know if you have any questions.

very interesting that nowadays investors ask for a Kickstarter as proof of interest.

in the RPG watch thread he talks about the GREED system:

Regarding interesting features, greed will be the most important systematic feature. It enables a variety of distinct playing styles. For example, if you take all loot every single time, greed will infest the kingdom faster, so while you will never miss a powerful item from a defeated villain, you might miss some of the finest wares from merchants (because they will be too expensive or go bankrupt and close their shop). This means that intelligent decisions will be important in every aspect (for example, you might want to set a loot strategy for yourself). Also, as greed infests the kingdom, battles may get more challenging, because new hostile adventurer parties may appear after a battle ends - to fight for your loot. More information here: http://www.blackgeyser.com/game-novelties#greed

Play the game and you will see

Seriously, greed also means you take something from somebody who has is in bigger need of it than yourself. In this particular case, you can think of Loot Scavengers - poor, desperate (and sometimes insane) creatures. They are usually humans but can be any race. They collect items of dead creatures, which they will try to sell anywhere (such as the black market). To make a living.

It doesn't mean you should leave a powerful magical weapon on the ground, but you may choose to do so with a generic dagger or a ring. It's up to you.

Of course, this was just a quick example. The greed system is much more complex than this, and carefully elaborated.

 

[aweigh]

btw this guy is one special snowflake. ArchAnge said this:

So your character that is on an quest to save people needs to leave stuff for some random scavengers that should not be doing that anyways but collecting berries or stuff in woods to survive if they are hungry?
Is this real or a joke game?

And he immediately got triggered!!!!:

So when you are on a business trip to close a deal for your employer, you need to help on a beggar that asks food from you (that he shouldn't do anyways but robbing people or collecting non-existing berries in the city if they are hungry)?

I should be the PR guy here but seriously, I'm going to suggest (seriously) the developers to add a little (and mostly harmless) troll with the name "Archangel" to one of the caves in Isilmerald

 

[aweigh]

i wanted someone to go to the Watch and contact him and ask him to post here on the codex...

Thank you again, everyone, for the feedback. Those who aren't interested for any reason (e.g. RTwP) but wished us good luck: thank you; if you have friends who like RTwP and/or this type of game, please tell them about Black Geyser. We want to focus our limited budget on developing new content and monsters instead of spending on advertisements and Kickstarter promotion

Originally Posted by Archangel
If you are hungry you should absolutely not enter evil Overlord's fortress by following brave adventurers.

I didn't know you were part of our design team and knew the exact circumstances of when and how Loot Scavengers will appear.

Seriously, you are making assumptions on your own and accept them as facts about the game. It's up to you, but I think you are talking to yourself about a game that you don't know.

he cant handle the slightest bit of criticism.

 

[Mustawd]

Thank you again, everyone, for the feedback. Those who aren't interested for any reason (e.g. RTwP) but wished us good luck: thank you; if you have friends who like RTwP and/or this type of game, please tell them about Black Geyser. We want to focus our limited budget on developing new content and monsters instead of spending on advertisements and Kickstarter promotion

Barnabas

Regarding interesting features, greed will be the most important systematic feature. It enables a variety of distinct playing styles. For example, if you take all loot every single time, greed will infest the kingdom faster, so while you will never miss a powerful item from a defeated villain, you might miss some of the finest wares from merchants (because they will be too expensive or go bankrupt and close their shop). This means that intelligent decisions will be important in every aspect (for example, you might want to set a loot strategy for yourself). Also, as greed infests the kingdom, battles may get more challenging, because new hostile adventurer parties may appear after a battle ends - to fight for your loot. More information here: http://www.blackgeyser.com/game-novelties#greed

This.....is actually quite an interesting resource management mechanic.

Still, I look at the overarching narrative and that shit is still a mess. It'll prolly be one of those things that will release, maybe look nice, but then you realize the world and dialogue are utterly retarded.

I didn't know you were part of our design team and knew the exact circumstances of when and how Loot Scavengers will appear.

Seriously, you are making assumptions on your own and accept them as facts about the game. It's up to you, but I think you are talking to yourself about a game that you don't know.

he cant handle the slightest bit of criticism.

Yah, this is probably why he's on the Watch instead of back here.

 

[Lhynn]

I like my indie developers easily triggerable. Its no fun when they just play ball.

 

[norolim]

Running animation:

 

[hello friend]

IIRC, these guys were eurotard BG modders. Man, they need localization help. Like ASAP. Anything written or spoken is just fucking bananas.

No, no, no. It's fine as it is.

 

[Lhynn]

IIRC, these guys were eurotard BG modders. Man, they need localization help. Like ASAP. Anything written or spoken is just fucking bananas.

No, no, no. It's fine as it is.

second this, it adds to the charm of the game. Black Geyser would not be the game it is without akward translations and drying.

 

[Projas]

If theft and magic are not to your liking and you prefer a more direct approach, Fighter, Templar, Ranger and Highlander are available for your choosing. Slay your enemies face-to-face with high martial proficiency or raw brute strength.

Unbelievable. No Crushmaster, no buy.

 

[Infinitron]

The greed thing sounds like a mechanic guaranteed to piss people off tbh. How do you even come up with that?

 

[Bumvelcrow]

Unbelievable. No Crushmaster, no buy

That's a shame. I presume somebody took them aside and suggested that they were in danger of not being taken seriously. It looks like Crushmaster is now Highlander, which should trigger any Scots who have tuned in.

Now, do I have enough Baldur's Gate spiritual successors or do I need to back this?

 

[Mustawd]

How do you even come up with that?

My bet?

Communism.

It’s your typical anti free market stuff.

 

[Projas]

I presume somebody took them aside and suggested that they were in danger of not being taken seriously.

Foolish endeavour, they were never in any danger of being taken seriously. Might as well have embraced it.

 

[Viata]

What? Crushmaster was their selling point. Fuck this shit.

 

[Kyl Von Kull]

The greed thing sounds like a mechanic guaranteed to piss people off tbh. How do you even come up with that?

You think so? IMO it’s the most promising aspect, aside from crushing up white powder and snorting it/sharing it with straight laced enemies to make them overdose. The greed thing seems like it will irritate people, but may also end up being profoundly satisfying. I wish more RPGs would come up with weird mechanics that make the world a lot more reactive to your play style. It’s a fantasy world, why not make the metaphysics part of the game? Plenty of people were pissed about the spirit meter in MOTB and the timer in Fallout because they forced you to play differently and that was great.

The game punishing you for vacuum cleaner behavior (the way everyone plays RPGs) could be kind of cool. Asking for a bigger reward becomes a real trade off: do I need this money so badly that it’s worth raising prices across the board and creating more enemies? Of course, they’ll probably fuck up the execution. Still, they’re following the right impulse. What’s the point of building an elaborate fantasy world if it’s just going to play like reality + potions and fireballs? Any effort to make fantasy RPGs more fantastic should be applauded, even if the developers don’t otherwise come across as the brightest bulbs.

 

[norolim]

The greed thing sounds like a mechanic guaranteed to piss people off tbh. How do you even come up with that?

Yeah, make the defeated enemies drop loot and then tell players they can't have it? That's the stupidest mechanic I have ever seen.

 

[Infinitron]

The greed thing sounds like a mechanic guaranteed to piss people off tbh. How do you even come up with that?

You think so? IMO it’s the most promising aspect, aside from crushing up white powder and snorting it/sharing it with straight laced enemies to make them overdose. The greed thing seems like it will irritate people, but may also end up being profoundly satisfying. I wish more RPGs would come up with weird mechanics that make the world a lot more reactive to your play style. It’s a fantasy world, why not make the metaphysics part of the game? Plenty of people were pissed about the spirit meter in MOTB and the timer in Fallout because they forced you to play differently and that was great.

The game punishing you for vacuum cleaner behavior (the way everyone plays RPGs) could be kind of cool. Asking for a bigger reward becomes a real trade off: do I need this money so badly that it’s worth raising prices across the board and creating more enemies? Of course, they’ll probably fuck up the execution. Still, they’re following the right impulse. What’s the point of building an elaborate fantasy world if it’s just going to play like reality + potions and fireballs? Any effort to make fantasy RPGs more fantastic should be applauded, even if the developers don’t otherwise come across as the brightest bulbs.

Sure, the time limit and spirit meter triggered people, but ultimately they just meant you have to play faster.

This mechanic potentially turns every item pick up into a cost-benefit analysis (should I pick it up or not?), making the game slower. It's like playing with a very harsh inventory weight limitation that has weird side effects.

 

[aweigh]

Wizardry and Elminage discourage mindless looting... sometimes the possibility of a trap springing were simply too overwhelming to your current party state and the risk of losing or injuring half your party, or simply the prospect of an instant wipe was more than enough to prevent "vacuum cleaner behavior".

PoE could benefit from more trapped chests and more curated loot placement; actually a simple fucking weight system or limited Inventory slots would be more than enough to prevent hoarding 22 Full Plates. (The stash toggle doesn't count because it wasn't designed to be played with a limited stash).

Any mechanic that discourages "mindless behavior" and forces the player to stop and think and consider choice versus consequence instead of playing on auto-pilot is good however I doubt these jokers will deliver.

I'm a big fan of inventory limitations as well and I think it helps prevent degenerate gameplay.

 

[Mustawd]

Reread the greed thing. Makes no sense. How would greed infiltrating the kingdom make merchants go out of business?

Things being more expensive would just allow them to sell it higher, no?

Again, I stand by what I said before. This shit is armchair/internet socialist/communist logic.

 

[Chaotic_Heretic]

Very important question GreenMagicSpell
Is this turn based?

 

[Lhynn]

PoE could benefit from more trapped chests

Fuck no. Traps in that game were retarded, should have done away with the whole mechanic, the implementation was horrible.