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There used to be an awkward guy who claimed to be an evangelist of the black geyser, with no direct ties to the project itself. His handling of this thread alone was enough spaghetti back then to convince some people that this was all an elaborate prank from RPGWatch or something. Some admins woud actually doubt that Black Geyser's Evangelist was anything more than a troll.
Everything about this thread was glorious. From the peperoni elf to the fabled CRUSHMASTER.
After all, Black Geyser had to be postponed several times . While the release was originally planned for April 2020, the beta for supporters is only due to start in June because fine tuning was still required. However, the current pandemic is to blame, which presents the still young studio with many challenges. The beta for the backers should now really start at the end of June on Steam and GOG.
Is this for real? Saying "at the end of June" when we are, well, near the end of June should imply that they are very confident that this is actually going to happen.
Regarding the "the current pandemic is to blame for the delay" bit, I can only say that my ass is as much to blame as the pandemic. They delayed it two hundred million times before the pandemic, that's just a convenient excuse.
On an unrelated note, Google Translate got really fucking good. Years ago, it was unreasonable to throw a text at it and expect to get something coherent in return, but now it almost seems something that a human being could write.
German and English are related languages, so it's far easier for AI to teach itself to translate German than other languages. Also: press notes are a simple form, which make automatic translation even easier.
Black Geyser: Almost nobody knows one of the most exciting upcoming role-playing games The old-school role-playing game Black Geyser is inspired by classics like Baldur's Gate and wants to combine all their strengths.
Who would have thought that the next few years would be such a festival for fans of classic role-playing games? With Wrath of the Righteous a new Pathfinder is just around the corner and even the genre primus Baldur's Gate will continue with Part 3.
But Black Geyser: Couriers of Darkness doesn't just want to jump on the train. The first work by the independent studio GrapeOcean Technologies not only copies the proven game principle, but also wants to combine all the strengths of the popular role-playing classics. Magic, crafting, character creation, dialogues, battles and more are expanded and improved according to the developer compared to the old role-playing inspirations.
They were already convinced of their game last year when we conducted a detailed interview with them for GameStar Plus. We summarize the most important information here and add all the new details that we have now learned in conversation with studio manager David Zakal. Click here for the plus interview:
What makes Black Geyser special?
Old school has nothing to do with old-fashioned. This has already been proven by Pathfinder: Kingmaker and Pillars of Eternity with appealing graphics and significantly more comfort than before. In addition to the old classics, they also served as inspiration. Black Geyser, like the role models, does not just want to adorn itself with a modern look. For example, story and decisions are determined by "greed" instead of a classic moral system.
Greed as the dark power of the goddess Zornilsa changes the fantasy kingdom of Isilmerald. It triggers corruption and wars, once made peaceful citizens unpredictable and let them gradually destroy their homeland from the inside - only for a few coins.
With a five-person role-playing party, we can either face greed or secure ourselves the largest piece of the cake. If you are greedy, you are not necessarily evil: If you only accept lucrative quests and donate money to temples, you may only be acting economically and not morally reprehensible. Whether you give in to greed or not, however, influences the world and history.
The developers also want to bring a breath of fresh air to concrete features. For example, pickpockets are allowed to put objects in their victims' pockets instead of just stealing something. You can use it to play guards against each other by accusing the previously prepared journeyman as a thief.
In addition to potions, you can also make useful powder or, depending on the combat situation, automatically slip into the skin of a suitable shape-changing creature by magic. Or you have to get powerful items rid of an annoying curse before you can use them safely (which was also the case in Baldur's Gate).
Despite the iso perspective, Black Geyser offers great attention to detail.
The most important features of Black Geyser at a glance:
You control a party of up to five characters (including hero) from an iso perspective, but you can also go alone. Together you complete quests, conduct dialogues and free dungeons from the influence of greed.
You may also enter into romances in role-playing . You will get to know your fellow combatants better in conversations that they have with each other during the trip.
Fights take place in real time with a pause function . Your characters level up and learn new skills.
You follow a profound story full of dialogues and characters, but you can also explore many different areas from peaceful villages to dungeons deep underground.
The »greed« stands for the moral system in the role play. Depending on how you act or make a conscious decision, the world and the story change. The greed also increases the chaos, so that, for example, goods can become more expensive or NPCs more hostile. But it can also give you advantages.
The game offers 13 classes for your main character to choose from. These are further subdivided into categories such as warriors, outlaws, priests and wizards, each with subcategories such as necromancers or thieves with their own skills.
With the breeds you choose classically between humans, dwarfs and elves, but there are still variants like the white elves or the Rillow with a special talent for alchemy. In general, each breed is characterized by its own strengths and weaknesses . Of the six represented, five are also playable.
Even spells have their own categories such as "natural", "spiritual" or "ritual", each with their own requirements and effects.
This video demo of the combat system provides an overview of the pausable real-time battles in the game:
Who is Black Geyser interesting for?
On the one hand, Black Geyser is of course aimed at fans of role-playing classics such as Baldur's Gate or Icewind Dale , for whom Pillars and Co. were not yet satisfied with supplies. Baldur's Gate fans can look forward to a similar focus on memorable characters, according to the developer. In addition, there are not only serious and epic moments in the game, but also easy and humorous ones.
Thanks to the chic graphics and overall more comfortable preparation than before, Black Geyser could also appeal to fans of modern role-playing games, for whom the classics from back then seem too bulky and visually outdated - very similar to what a Pathfinder 2 tries.
In any case, you should be ready to familiarize yourself with complex RPG systems and bring a lot of time with you : Even if no specific playing time is known for Black Geyser, CRPGs usually add up to 100 hours and more.
What do we like so far? What do we dislike? Black Geyser's strengths
Because Black Geyser is created entirely without a publisher, the developer can let off steam and incorporate the feedback from the community. Thanks to investors and the successful Kickstarter campaign , there is still no shortage of money.
The greed system sounds exciting because it enables significantly more gray areas than a simple “good against evil”. It is based a little on the classic »chaotic-good orientation« in Dungeons & Dragons, but is more closely linked to the world and story.
Although the universe is still new, the background story about a sinister goddess and a crumbling country already looks very dense and mature - you can read more about this on the game's website .
Black Geyser is visually reminiscent of Pillars or Pathfinder. The menus appear complex but tidy. Despite the top view, the surroundings also boast many details and atmospheric lighting .
The dialogues shown so far seem well written and provide different answer variants. The opportunity to enter into relationships, follow conversations of his comrades or the story premise around a world eaten by greed offer potential for interesting stories - even if there is a lot to read without a full soundtrack.
The numerous different classes, skills and spells promise flexibility and many exciting combinations that are used in decisions and in real-time battles.
This 20-minute quest with material from the upcoming beta provides an impression of the dialog system, different areas and more:
Black Geyser's weaknesses
The missing publisher can not only be an advantage, but also a risk : With investors and Kickstarter money, the developers are creatively free and financially secure, but they also run the risk of getting bogged down in too many ideas and ambitions.
Publishing such a large and complex role-playing game full of interlocking systems bug-free is also a major challenge with which the studio could take on its first work.
After all, Black Geyser had to be postponed several times . While the release was originally planned for April 2020, the beta for supporters is only due to start in June because fine tuning was still required. However, the current pandemic is to blame, which presents the still young studio with many challenges. The beta for the backers should now really start at the end of June on Steam and GOG.
What's in the upcoming beta?
In the closed beta for backers, the mining town of Deron-Guld is open to you. It is located in the south of Isilmerald and acts as the capital of the rebellion against the king. When our heroes arrive there, the residents are said to be in a very bad way. The greed system is still limited in beta because the effect is particularly evident in the big picture and in the context of the main story. The plot of the beta is limited to an early section from the second story chapter.
Potential | Very good
The weaknesses mentioned above are rather potential risks that could become a problem for Black Geyser. Overall, the role play from a small indie studio is impressively complex and extensive. So if everything goes as planned and the upcoming closed beta is convincing, it can be a real surprise hit for fans of Baldur's Gate and Co. As the developers have told me, Black Geyser should also be supported, further told and improved beyond the launch by two large DLCs.
Is this for real? Saying "at the end of June" when we are, well, near the end of June should imply that they are very confident that this is actually going to happen.
If this actually turns out to be good (or, honestly, even remotely decent), I'm never going to shit-talk another game before launch in my entire life. In case, we should also ask GreenMagicSpell for forgiveness.
Then by all means play P&P in real time. And that I mean, D&D is turn based only because of one thing Pen and Paper.... it's combat is clearly design due to pen and paper and slow writing of nerds... so, basically, if pen and paper is turn based, and want to prove that D&D should uphold only turn based, go play it without turn based combat. When you succeed in real time pen and paper combat without slow writing, come call me and tell me D&D P&P can be real time, but that turn based is prefered due to... pen and paper.
If this actually turns out to be good (or, honestly, even remotely decent), I'm never going to shit-talk another game before launch in my entire life. In case, we should also ask GreenMagicSpell for forgiveness.