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

[Brickfrog]

EA Phase 2:
- Chapter 3 of main quest

EA Phase 3 (Full Game Launch):
- Chapter 4 (final chapter) of main quest

What is the current state of the Early Access version?
“The scope of Black Geyser has increased since we first went to Kickstarter. Based on fan feedback, it has gotten bigger and bolder, with a larger world and more features. The early access version will be a fully playable roleplaying game with most in-game areas and some of the main plot. The first three chapters of the game will be playable on early access launch, with two more still in the making. Most in-game systems such as combat, skills, spells and crafting are finished and in the balancing and polishing stage.”

So first they say chap4 is the final chapter then goes on and say there will be 3 + 2 chapters. LOL

Probably either refers to the prologue/epilogue or is a typo. Who cares tho. Seems nitpicky

 

[Ontopoly]

this game looks so identical to pillars that youtube marked the gameplay trailer as pillars of eternity

If they really wanted to copy someones UI they should have copied baldurs gate's UI then they could have wrote a blogpost about how the game inspired them and no one would have cared. They would see it as a little nod and even welcome it.

 

[cyborgboy95]

Gameplay trailer is finally on youtube

 

[Shrimp]

Still no sign of a release date

 

[purpleblob]

Still no sign of a release date

Coming To Steam Early Access August 26th. Wishlist Now! <-- it's under V publishing logo

 

[Shrimp]

I'd personally rather wait for the actual release.

 

[cyborgboy95]

Some answers they provide comically miss the point of the questions. Overall not a very impressive Q&A, but glad to see the devs are a bit more active now. Also they delete their gameplay trailer on youtube for some reason.

https://steamcommunity.com/games/1374930/announcements/detail/2985305741723096432

Community Q&A

While we've been hard at work developing the game, cementing our Early Access release date, and releasing our trailer, we gathered up your most common questions to get you answers (excluding some hardware ones that we're still getting answers for). Take a look below for the latest!

When is the Steam page coming?


Our Steam page is officially live! You can find it here - please 'Follow' and 'Wishlist' us!

When is the game releasing into Early Access?


It's finally confirmed! Early Access is set to go live on
August 26th, 2021.


When is the game set to release?


We are currently aiming for Q1 2021, depending on the feedback the community provides during Early Access.

Why has the game taken longer to develop than initially stated on Kickstarter?


Black Geyser
is being developed by a small team with a limited budget. On top of this, the scope and scale of the game has increased over time, leading to us taking longer to achieve the content and scope we wanted to provide.

Will there be pre-order options and rewards?


Our primary focus is getting Early Access into your hands as quickly as possible. While we have discussed the possibility of further rewards outside of Kickstarter, we’re instead keeping it simple: we will be applying a small discount for those who buy into Early Access.

Will Kickstarter backers gain entry to Early Access?


Yes, all Kickstarter backers who backed at the “Early Bird Digital Download” Tier or higher will receive entry to Early Access.

How much content will Early Access contain?


The initial early access launch contains the first three chapters of the game which is a significant portion of the game. This will include some side quests and several main story quests. Overall there will be tens of hours worth of content to playthrough. After that, we will be releasing an additional chapter during Early Access alongside further additional content.

What's the extent of the game's voice-over? Is it fully voiced like Solasta or partially voiced like Baldur's Gate, or somewhere in between like Pathfinder: Kingmaker?


Right now all key characters are voiced, while supporting cast members - such as guards or merchants - have very limited voice acting (they’ll say hello when you engage them, for example). Most main characters will be fully voiced while minor characters will not be.

Will the game "end" after the main quest is done, or can you keep on going as long as you want to? Will it be more like Skyrim where you can ignore the main quest and just wander around doing side quests?


Right now and without wishing to spoil the story, the game ends when the last main story quest finishes. However, we want to ensure that the player has enough warning surrounding this, so that they’re aware of the path they’re heading down. We hope that this should give players enough choice to either finish the game, or head onto side quests that they haven’t yet finished.

How much side content will there be? (side quests, places to find, new towns or small huts middle of nowhere, books of forgotten lore and so on what you can miss unless you spend time and look for them outside all quests)


There’s quite a lot. We’ve several dozen side quests, there’s multiple smaller settlements and villages, and our Compendium is designed to absorb lore from encounters in the world, that you can then read separately. We’re currently working on a system to plan and implement additional lore books scattered throughout the game world, but the impact of this is a greater impact on localization.

Wizards in (D&D 3E/Pathfinder 1E) games tend to be underpowered early (a much more difficult character to survive early) and overpowered later, while providing some of the largest range of options later on. Does this difficulty dynamic apply in BG, or have the classes been balanced such that the difficulty curve is relatively even throughout the game?


In some respects, this applies to Black Geyser. Wizards scale better than others and are weaker to begin with and stronger late game. However, we have made some steps to ensure class groups such as the Warrior and Outlaw have plenty of potency, well into “end game”. We are planning to improve the balancing of the game throughout Early Access based on the feedback we get from players in order to make the experience the best it can be.

Can you create your own notes/journal/map pins during the game so you do NOT need to use pen and paper?


We have a journal in the game that you can write in to record any information you want. Right now, we don’t have map pings (but we love that idea!).

Is Black Geyser more of an "open world" where you can move around freely, or is it more like a "forced pipe" where you can’t go to another area before you have done all the quests in the current area?


Black Geyser
has an overarching story, but players are free to choose whether they pursue it directly, or simply undertake side quests. The choice is completely up to you!

Is "loot" hand crafted and placed in certain places/on monsters, or is it totally random (where a wolf could drop full plate?)


Loot is a combination system that strives to make sense, so you can’t get platemail from a wolf for example. There will be all kinds of items, including unique weapons and armor to find throughout the world.

Can you recruit pet's (animals) during your game? Not just animal companions but cute pets you can take with you on your adventures?


Yes, pets will be implemented into the game during Early Access!

How are you approaching the end game? Like are you looking to set up something like the Witcher 3 where there's different "World States" with your actions determining character fates or is it more like Mass Effect 2 where it's more about the journey with this big climax kind of ending?


There are several endings based upon the choices you make in the game. Your actions will have a direct impact on which ending you receive.

I was told there would be Strongholds, but since then a lot of what was stated seems to have changed, so I would like to know if there will be Strongholds and can you customize them?


The Stronghold system will be implemented when the game is fully launched, and more details about the system will be coming in the next few months.

Will our companions enter into conflicts that will lead to us picking sides and - as a result - losing one of them?


Yes. There are conflicts within the game and its characters that result in you needing to make tough decisions and pick sides. We don’t wish to spoil the story, but moral decisions play key role.

Is the final release supposed (or at least there is a possibility) to have DLC/expansions?


We’re intending to release DLC for Black Geyser, and our primary hope is not only a sequel, but also future expansions.

Are the languages you intend to support in the game determined? What languages will you support?


While we haven’t determined all the languages we intend to support at launch, and although our primary focus is on English for now, we’re determined to localize where possible, as much as we’re able. While it’s highly unlikely we’ll be able to support all languages, our hope is that where demand is evident, we’ll try to meet that need.

We know that our actions can corrupt the world further because of avarice - are there ways to cleanse / slow down the corruption other than not being greedy?


The greed system will depend fully on the moral choices you make throughout the game and will change according to which actions you take.

Are there any quests that involve crafting?


Yes there are quests that involve crafting.

How many hours of experience is the game planned to give us, which may be too early for the question but on average?


We are aiming for a fully fledged CRPG experience and the amount of completion time will depend on a variety of things like if you finish all the side quests etc. Anywhere between 30-60 hours will be common.

What's the max level you can reach in the game?


The maximum level right now is 20. We’re currently tuning this, but we’re aiming to have it so that players will need to complete most of the game to reach this point.

Will the game have any built in modding functionality? I know it's probably no, but a guy can dream.


Some time after the release of the full game, we will support modding, however, for Early Access this won’t be an option.

/The Black Geyser Team

 

[AliceAlcina]

communication side quest: failed ^^^^^^

 

[Infinitron]

It's back on GrapeOcean's own YouTube channel:



https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/grapeocean/black-geyser-couriers-of-darkness/posts/3233988

Early Access Launch Date, New Steam Page, Brand New Trailer and Community Q&A!

Ho there, adventurers!

Today's an important milestone for Black Geyser. We've finally released our Steam page, unleashed our latest trailer to show just some of what we've been working on, while also having answers to some prominent community questions. Best of all, we're officially announcing our Early Access date: August 26th, 2021!

Steam Page

Our Steam Page took quite some time to get right, but I think it's fair to say we're all incredibly happy with the result. Eagle-eyed fans who were busy searching for it found it well ahead of this announcement, and we're pleased to say feedback has been incredibly positive.

Not only does it give those new to Black Geyser an overview of the game and what they can come to expect, but it also answers some burning Early Access questions. Just head to the page (you can click below) and look just under the carousel.

We're keen to gain as much feedback as possible with how it looks, what comparable games you see, and whether you think anything is missing. Just let us know below, or head straight to our Discord. Oh, and don't forget to 'Wishlist' and 'Follow' us!

New Trailer
Its been a while in the making, but it's finally here. What do you think?

Community Q&A
Our fans recently asked us plenty of questions about the game and while we're still getting answers to a couple that are hardware related, we've answered the vast majority. Check it out here.

/The Black Geyser Team

 

[AliceAlcina]

It's interesting how little they wish to write. Some of responses would be much better worded if they decided to word it longer. Not to mention they obviously think so much delay or some of decision they took are justifiable.

 

[agris]

Heavy is the head for which CRUSHMASTER hangs over.

 

[purpleblob]

I wonder when they will set the price for EA - I'd assume similar price to Solasta EA.

 

[NJClaw]

Still can't believe this is a real game that we will get to play soon(er or later). Only six years ago it was just a cringy ad on Facebook, and now here we are. Life truly is an amazing thing, everything is possible if you believe in it.

 

[JDR13]

It actually doesn't look bad in that video. Completely unoriginal but competent.

 

[Desiderius]

The things that matter most aren’t likely to show up in a short vid. Until someone redefines the genre altogether again.

 

[agris]

The things that matter most aren’t likely to show up in a short vid. Until someone redefines the genre altogether again.

Just wait - untold horrors await your future. Cinematic loading, turn based looting, procedurally generated gender, all with mandatory touch interface with paid DLC for keyboard support.

 

[Haba]

It actually doesn't look bad in that video. Completely unoriginal but competent.

Somehow it reminds me of... something...

I can't quite...

 

[ironmask]

It crazy to think that this was announced six years ago. Felt like it's only been 2. Time flies by fast.

 

[cyborgboy95]

Some infos from Discord

 

[ERYFKRAD]

The new BG

 

[agris]

those replies read like a generic wikipedia entry on "RPG game"

 

[Ontopoly]

They really need to stop using BG as their acronym. It's already taken and people will get confused. Maybe they should use a clearer acronym that's never been used before. Like CoD for Couriers of Darkness.

 

[0sacred]

They really need to stop using BG as their acronym. It's already taken and people will get confused.

nobody outside the Kodex cares tbh

 

[Ontopoly]

They really need to stop using BG as their acronym. It's already taken and people will get confused.

nobody outside the Kodex cares tbh

If they're making a game based of BG, they probably shouldn't use the acronym BG. BG was a good game, and BG has potential to be a good game, and although I don't think BG will surpass BG, I think BG will be fun when it comes out.

 

[NJClaw]

They really need to stop using BG as their acronym. It's already taken and people will get confused.

nobody outside the Kodex cares tbh

If they're making a game based of BG, they probably shouldn't use the acronym BG. BG was a good game, and BG has potential to be a good game, and although I don't think BG will surpass BG, I think BG will be fun when it comes out.

We can abbreviate Black Geyser: Couriers of Darkness with BG:CoD or, even better, B====D