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

[agris]

 

[jungl]

hand placement of loot is trash. Kill one of those adventuring parties and you set. Combat is trash for rtwp. background art is nice thats about it.

 

[rusty_shackleford]

Spoiler

selling/buying prices are tied to difficulty so when people complain money is too easy to get it means they're playing on easy

 

[Blutwurstritter]

The review sounds very positive. Can someone confirm it or give a second opinion? BG1/2, IWD and Drakensang:RoT are some of my favorites. Does Black Geyser really fit in with them? I thought it was more of a Pillars knock-off due to its appearance and never cared to take a closer look up to this point.

Hi!

Spoiler

clouds! Cloud shadows? CLOUD SHADOWS!!!!!

Gosh are you in for a treat if you decide to pick this little gem up okay? Okay because that is what it is so far with the places and things Jensia has already seen and done you can read a few posts above and see some screens too to get a general idea because it is not good if you just take one person's opinion of the game and then conclude it is not good just because you do not like a review from RPGWatch or some other place okay? Okay! So let me tell you so far the game has been fun with its exploration but the beginning is just awful with a portion called The Crone who is just some old bag with too many wrinkles giving you a very poor tutorial on what most already know how to do in thest sorts of games and it doesz sound by reading a few of your posts and the games you have played and enjoyed that you already know what to do in these type of games anyway so it should have just been skipped if you picked the Veteran option for the difficulty of the game but you still will have to do this but after that it opens up and you start exploring and start following the main quest and receive side quests too which is exactly where and what Jensia is doing right now so check out the previous posts and do not forget to check out the next screens after this short recap okay? Okay!

Jensia and her party have arrived back to the Merchant's Road where we had met our companion Helgenhar. The corpses left behind from a recent battle have attracted a number of lumbering undead and it is this the temple in Isilmerald sent us to cleanse. With the new additions of Lady Bjalla and Hamlin, exploring the region is a lot safer in numbers. Much like Baldur's Gate sneaking, Black Geyser is much of the same and will allow you to unravel the area map at a slow crawl with Hamlin as a member of the group. Hostile and friendlies will omit a yellow cone of sight lines to help you avoid detection. If they spot Hamlin sneaking he will come out of his crouched stance and either be attacked, or warned depending on if it is a hostile or friendly. If you are heard while sneaking but not spotted, the hostiles or friendlies will move toward you. It is a system that allows you to use the strengths of a character who can hide in the shadows.

One of the most important aspect are the cloud shadows. This was a major development upgrade in DEADFIRE and a goal they had to meet after cloud shadows were in much earlier games like Ultima VII - The Black Gate, so it is wonderful to see in Black Geyser. The nights are shrouded in thick shadows cast by large trees and made even darker as the clouds above roll over the land. If a thunderstorm happens to pass over, sheets of lightning illuminate the area only to be sunk into shadow with a roar of thunder. Left to explore, Jensia's party did just that, opening up new regionso n the world map and getting our hands dirty with combat and our minds massaged by minor side quests.

Much of the screens below are just exploration shots, so no spoilers this time about the main quest as this session was all about venturing outward from Isilmerald.

Spoiler

CLOUD SHADOWS OMG OMG OMG!!!!

Jensia is not so sure about this fellow lingering around a region full of walking corpses!

Hamlin showing off his skills while hiding in shadows during the late hour of the night as the patter of rain smothers his footsteps.

Jensia and the party arrive at a small village for some much needed relaxation!

A new day dawns as Jensia and the party head out to continue exploring. Sunsets and sunrises are pretty in Black Geyser!

Thus far,

- it meets the charm of Baldur's Gate with its world exploration, but misses out on the early game uniqueness of areas you come across. (Small caves, Gnoll Fortress, Xvart Village as early examples).

- its side quests are plenty but as of writing, a number have been fetch quests or kill quests and does not meet the tighter and more varied side quests of Baldur's Gate 2. (Bridge District Skin Carver, Nalia's De'Arnise Keep as examples).

- combat is plenty and has many options to cast spells or use class skills but seems more like Neverwinter Nights with hit/miss/parried/dodge/wait moments compared to Icewind Dale's strategic and tactical combat.

- the writing is serviceable and to the point and in most aspects does not whirlwind you through lines of text as say Pillars of Eternity does, but it also is not on the same level as Planescape: Torment.

- the dialog options are plenty in the responses the party can give, but lacks the diversity of character class skill checks and availability that was seen in DEADFIRE, although there are a few instances of dialog responses that are long-winded and over-the-top.

Time flies by when you're having fun. Black Geyser so far has met my expectations in that department.

May you enjoy these continued tales from a hardened veteran like myself okay? OKAY!!

Thanks,
Sherry

Thank you for the substantial report. I will incorporate the cloud shadows, the phallus shaped rock and your current and future assessments in my decision-making process about Black Geyser.

 

[Lagole Gon]

This is such an obvious and insolent use of Baldur's Gate nostalgia...

...that I'm completely defenceless against it. Gotta get it on GoG.

 

[KeighnMcDeath]

The greedfire burns inside you.

 

[Grokalibre]

So what about that "greed" gameplay mechanic that was mentionned on the KS page? I assume it's very sublte cos noone seems to talk about it. : D

 

[GreenMagicSpell]

If you are greedy enough, it lets you summon that annoying king as your servant with a magical amulet you get later in the game (one of things that were still coded by my bf).

So lift your ass and leave a positive review on their steam page because it's pretty weak atm and this is an indie studio that needs fuel plus they still hire my bf for smaller sub contractor tasks to fix newly created bugs.

 

[rusty_shackleford]

If you are greedy enough, it lets you summon that annoying king as your servant with a magical amulet you get later in the game (one of things that were still coded by my bf).

So lift your ass and leave a positive review on their steam page because it's pretty weak atm and this is an indie studio that needs fuel plus they still hire my bf for smaller sub contractor tasks to fix newly created bugs.

didn't you guys separate?

 

[GreenMagicSpell]

Separation ended in the mean time

Also the final map in the game is supposed to have a hidden Jon Irenicus figure burning in hell as a homage to Baulder's Gate serial.

 

[ERYFKRAD]

Baulder's Gate serial

 

[agris]

Boulders Gate cereal

 

[GreenMagicSpell]

Also, for those barbarics who say Black Geyser Art is worse than Baulder's Gate. I mean, WTF. Compare any two pics of the two games.

versus

 

[Sotomonte]

The problem I have with the "art" of The Blackish Eruption is that, although you have good things where it shows that they have paid some attention such as many lines of text having voices, many NPCs having portraits even if they only have a couple of sentences ( yes, Owlcat, I'm looking at you)... then you see things that make you say "seriously?"

For example, the kobols... they had no better idea than to go to the Unity asset store and buy the same model that dozens of indie games have used:


https://assetstore.unity.com/packages/3d/characters/humanoids/fantasy/kobold-7107


For example, and without searching my memory too much, I have seen this model in places like The Fellowship Saga demo or in the first screenshots of Archaelund (I think they are making their own models now).

Besides, it doesn't even look good as a kobol, even though its creator called it that, since normally kobols are creatures of reptilian origin or of canid origin... that model should be used for a goblinoid creature and it would be more correct (The other two models that appear when searching for "kobol" in the Unity asset store are more closely related to what is commonly known as a kobol).

 

[Junmarko]

didn't you guys separate?

 

[Morblot]

Also, for those barbarics who say Black Geyser Art is worse than Baulder's Gate. I mean, WTF.

Literally no one's saying that -- because the rest of us know how to spell Baldur's Gate. WTF indeed.

 

[agris]

Also, for those barbarics who say Black Geyser Art is worse than Baulder's Gate. I mean, WTF.

Literally no one's saying that -- because the rest of us know how to spell Baldur's Gate. WTF indeed.

no actually, i'll say it. the art is fine, but it's no BG.

edit: oh wait, that's not your point. eh, whatever - BG's art is no BG, that's all that im saying

 

[NJClaw]

Also, for those barbarics who say Black Geyser Art is worse than Baulder's Gate. I mean, WTF.

Literally no one's saying that -- because the rest of us know how to spell Baldur's Gate. WTF indeed.

Regardless of the spelling, that screenshot isn't even from the original Baldur's Gate. That's Beamdog's content.

 

[Sykar]

Also, for those barbarics who say Black Geyser Art is worse than Baulder's Gate. I mean, WTF. Compare any two pics of the two games.

versus

Spoiler

Pretty sure that the BG picture is a Beamderp turd.

 

[vortex]

Also, for those barbarics who say Black Geyser Art is worse than Balder's Gate. I mean, WTF. Compare any two pics of the two games.
https://assets2.rockpapershotgun.com/bgee_Hlgm3be.jpg/BROK/resize/880>/format/jpg/quality/80/bgee_Hlgm3be.jpg
versus
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=raRnVj-LpWo

Can this kind of graphics be created in Unreal engine 5 but as 3D? I was thinking if Obsidian choose UE5, Pillars 3 will be full 3D.

https://i.ytimg.com/vi/Eb7_yrWYDUI/maxresdefault.jpg
BG wasn't the peak of IE art. The best looking IE game is probably Heart of Winter.
BG2 was very good for the most part, but they dropped the ball here and there. Some of the weird/alien background elements have that ugly "soapy old 3D" quality.

Can you make this in UE5 ?

 

[Lagole Gon]

BG wasn't the peak of IE art. The best looking IE game is probably Heart of Winter.
BG2 was very good for the most part, but they dropped the ball here and there. Some of the weird/alien background elements have that ugly "soapy old 3D" quality.

Not sure if this is really relevant to the discussion, I'm just using every opportunity to say that I almost-kind-of-on-some-level like Icewind Dale.

 

[ERYFKRAD]

Also, for those barbarics who say Black Geyser Art is worse than Baulder's Gate

Incorrect, art comparison is the hallmark of you civilized fools.

 

[rusty_shackleford]

Black Geyser is mostly OK looking with some nice looking areas. Some areas, like the main city, can look a bit monotonous due to repetitive patterns with little to break it up.

The game can be pretty at times. It's definitely no pillows, but it's not ugly.

Looks better ingame because that's all real-time lighting and effects, it's not a pre-rendered background.

It's difficult to compare it to games like BG in screenshots because it also has real-time effects due to it being completely 3D unlike IE games or Pillows. The lighting, shadows, reflections, various glowing effects, etc., do add a lot to the atmosphere.

 

[GreenMagicSpell]

The problem I have with the "art" of The Blackish Eruption is that, although you have good things where it shows that they have paid some attention such as many lines of text having voices, many NPCs having portraits even if they only have a couple of sentences ( yes, Owlcat, I'm looking at you)... then you see things that make you say "seriously?"

For example, the kobols... they had no better idea than to go to the Unity asset store and buy the same model that dozens of indie games have used:


https://assetstore.unity.com/packages/3d/characters/humanoids/fantasy/kobold-7107


For example, and without searching my memory too much, I have seen this model in places like The Fellowship Saga demo or in the first screenshots of Archaelund (I think they are making their own models now).

Besides, it doesn't even look good as a kobol, even though its creator called it that, since normally kobols are creatures of reptilian origin or of canid origin... that model should be used for a goblinoid creature and it would be more correct (The other two models that appear when searching for "kobol" in the Unity asset store are more closely related to what is commonly known as a kobol).

Kobolds have different mythological depictions you noob. See pic below. Also in Harry Potter the Gringos Bank is guarded by kobolds? Do those look reptilians to you.

Can you make this in UE5 ?

My bf is actively learning UE5 and he said it requires more skills coding in C++ and like that while the Unity Engine has a wider coder ˙audience˙ because it requires less and poor skills.

 

[Roguey]

Hey, she's back.

When the game is released in 2017, I'll reveal a juicy secret to all of you. Honestly.

Yeah it's five years after 2017 but are we going to get this secret or not?

Reveal the secret please.

Edit:

Also the final map in the game is supposed to have a hidden Jon Irenicus figure burning in hell as a homage to Baulder's Gate serial.

Oh is that the secret? Eh.