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Codex questions for Otherside's Underworld Ascendant

mindx2

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Codex 2012 PC RPG Website of the Year, 2015 Codex 2016 - The Age of Grimoire RPG Wokedex Serpent in the Staglands Divinity: Original Sin Project: Eternity Torment: Tides of Numenera Wasteland 2 Shadorwun: Hong Kong Divinity: Original Sin 2 BattleTech Pathfinder: Wrath I'm very into cock and ball torture I helped put crap in Monomyth
Otherside's Ultima Underworld sequel is now officially underway on Kickstarter:

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/othersidegames/underworld-ascendant?ref=nav_search

Even though there is a lot of information on the KS itself, their pitch is still a bit lacking by Codex standards. If, by some miracle our industrious moderators Crooked Bee, Infinitron, etc. can convince Mr. Neurath and the other fine folks at Otherside Entertainment to let a four foot Codexian troll into their offices to interview them, I would like to go in well prepared.

Please post any and all questions you would like asked. I'll (with the help of our fine staff here) go through and compile a list of the most "probing" questions, take them on the short trip to their offices and see what they have to say (and hopefully show).

My hope is to leave the fluff questions to PCGamer, etc. and actually get a true sense on what they are hoping to create and how are they going to go about achieving it.

My thanks in advance... :salute:
 

Zombra

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Make the Codex Great Again! RPG Wokedex Strap Yourselves In Codex Year of the Donut Codex+ Now Streaming! Serpent in the Staglands Shadorwun: Hong Kong Divinity: Original Sin 2 BattleTech Pillars of Eternity 2: Deadfire Pathfinder: Kingmaker Steve gets a Kidney but I don't even get a tag. I'm very into cock and ball torture I helped put crap in Monomyth
  • There have been some tantalizing mentions of stealth abilities. Will Ascendant support true stealth gameplay? Will a character weak at combat but strong at stealth be able to complete the game?
 
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undecaf

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Shadorwun: Hong Kong Divinity: Original Sin 2
  • There have been some tantalizing mentions of stealth abilities. Will Ascendant support true stealth gameplay? Will a character weak at combat but strong at stealth be able to complete the game? Will a "pacifist" playthrough be possible?

They at least partly answered that already.

http://www.rpgcodex.net/forums/inde...s-kickstarter-live.92639/page-14#post-3734418

On rat diplomacy:

Paul Neurath said:
We're not sure about winning the game entirely without fighting, but certainly players can rely on stealth in many if not most encounters.
 

Infinitron

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Codex Year of the Donut Serpent in the Staglands Dead State Divinity: Original Sin Project: Eternity Torment: Tides of Numenera Wasteland 2 Shadorwun: Hong Kong Divinity: Original Sin 2 A Beautifully Desolate Campaign Pillars of Eternity 2: Deadfire Pathfinder: Kingmaker Pathfinder: Wrath I'm very into cock and ball torture I helped put crap in Monomyth
Ask what Vault Dweller wants to know. How exactly do they plan to implement: http://www.rpgcodex.net/forums/inde...kickstarter-is-live.96923/page-3#post-3734819

  • Alter the environment to your advantage. Flood an arid plain to help the damp-loving shamblers expand their territory, gaining their favor. Changes you make can ripple across the game's reactive, ever-changing ecology, producing startlingly unpredictable results.

And will they rely on scripted things for that stuff or will it all be simulated/systematic?
 
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Vault Dweller

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Not scripted vs systematic (as either approach can result in something great or something shitty, i.e. it's all in the design), but what EXACTYLY does "ripple across the game's reactive, ever-changing ecology, producing startlingly unpredictable results" mean? What to expect?
 

Darkzone

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:mhd:Hmm should we really cross the water?

How far can we alter the environment? Is it temporary or has this permanent and deeper effects. Does the changes correspond to affination to certain factions?
 

tuluse

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Serpent in the Staglands Divinity: Original Sin Project: Eternity Torment: Tides of Numenera Shadorwun: Hong Kong
Ask what Vault Dweller wants to know. How exactly do they plan to implement: http://www.rpgcodex.net/forums/inde...kickstarter-is-live.96923/page-3#post-3734819

  • Alter the environment to your advantage. Flood an arid plain to help the damp-loving shamblers expand their territory, gaining their favor. Changes you make can ripple across the game's reactive, ever-changing ecology, producing startlingly unpredictable results.

And will they rely on scripted things for that stuff or will it all be simulated/systematic?
Not scripted vs systematic (as either approach can result in something great or something shitty, i.e. it's all in the design), but what EXACTYLY does "ripple across the game's reactive, ever-changing ecology, producing startlingly unpredictable results" mean? What to expect?
I'd like to know the answer to both.
 

deuxhero

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Are there any possibilities for more localizations beyond "French, Italian, German and Spanish." if enough funding is achived (or as post-release additions)?

Will the Spanish localization be Mexican Spanish or Spanish Spanish?
 
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Azeot

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Mechanics are all well and good, but how do they intend to do the verbal interaction with the npcs? Dialog tree, keywords...? Will it be substantial or bare bones like Skyrim?
 

LESS T_T

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Mechanics are all well and good, but how do they intend to do the verbal interaction with the npcs? Dialog tree, keywords...? Will it be substantial or bare bones like Skyrim?

I once read that several developers at Looking Glass felt that dialogue trees in UUs are disconnected from the immersive enviroment. I also wonder if Paul and Tim felt the same way, and they want to address it in Ascendant.
 

Infinitron

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Codex Year of the Donut Serpent in the Staglands Dead State Divinity: Original Sin Project: Eternity Torment: Tides of Numenera Wasteland 2 Shadorwun: Hong Kong Divinity: Original Sin 2 A Beautifully Desolate Campaign Pillars of Eternity 2: Deadfire Pathfinder: Kingmaker Pathfinder: Wrath I'm very into cock and ball torture I helped put crap in Monomyth
mindx2 http://www.rpgcodex.net/forums/inde...cendant-at-pcgamesn.96689/page-2#post-3716559

DEM MAPS:

level_7_1_m.gif


Bottom line, can we expect to see labyrinths of that caliber in this game?
 
Weasel
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Please post any and all questions you would like asked. I'll (with the help of our fine staff here) go through and compile a list of the most "probing" questions, take them on the short trip to their offices and see what they have to say (and hopefully show).

Ask them why they're bothering with outdated stuff like boxed copies and physical tiers

:troll:
 

mindx2

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Codex 2012 PC RPG Website of the Year, 2015 Codex 2016 - The Age of Grimoire RPG Wokedex Serpent in the Staglands Divinity: Original Sin Project: Eternity Torment: Tides of Numenera Wasteland 2 Shadorwun: Hong Kong Divinity: Original Sin 2 BattleTech Pathfinder: Wrath I'm very into cock and ball torture I helped put crap in Monomyth
Please post any and all questions you would like asked. I'll (with the help of our fine staff here) go through and compile a list of the most "probing" questions, take them on the short trip to their offices and see what they have to say (and hopefully show).

Ask them why they're bothering with outdated stuff like boxed copies and physical tiers

:troll:
:rpgcodex:
 

TheGreatOne

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How do they plan to make their first person melee combat "engaging" (their words, not mine). Is it going to be just like every other hack n slash out there, or are they going to try to implement a Dark Souls style combat system with weight and stamina affecting the momentum and fighting style of the PC? Which are they going to aim for, skill based twitch gameplay or Elder Scrolls combat (=can you miss hitting an enemy even though you clearly hit them because of RNG)? Will there be additional attack types or combos for each weapon that are unlocked with a higher weapon skill?

How large and complex will the levels be and what kind of mapping are they planning (a mapping skill like in Wiz7, auto map witht the ability to make notes vs mapping)?
Will there be alot of non combat/utility spells that encourage emergent gameplay? How rigid is the class strutcture, are you either a warrior, thief or a mage, or can you teach your warriors and thieves spells?
Will there be a Sawyer patch to balance the game? WTF is up with that multiplayer shit?
Ask them why they're bothering with outdated stuff like boxed copies and physical tiers
'cuz there's no reason to give them any money if you can just torrent the same digital version backers get on launch day for free ;)
 

Jaedar

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Project: Eternity Shadorwun: Hong Kong Divinity: Original Sin 2 Pathfinder: Kingmaker
Ask them why they think coop is a good addition to the game, and if they can really implement it in a good way for 150k extra. I'm curious.
 

Zombra

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Make the Codex Great Again! RPG Wokedex Strap Yourselves In Codex Year of the Donut Codex+ Now Streaming! Serpent in the Staglands Shadorwun: Hong Kong Divinity: Original Sin 2 BattleTech Pillars of Eternity 2: Deadfire Pathfinder: Kingmaker Steve gets a Kidney but I don't even get a tag. I'm very into cock and ball torture I helped put crap in Monomyth
How rigid is the class strutcture, are you either a warrior, thief or a mage, or can you teach your warriors and thieves spells?
Already answered:

CREATE YOUR OWN CHARACTER CLASS

Think outside the box of formalized character classes and concoct your own one-of-a-kind adventurer.
  • Jump right into the game choosing from a Fighter, Mage or Thief. But from there you are free to customize your Avatar to your individual play style.
  • Mix and match your favorite skills and perks. Create a mage skilled at stealth, a fighter who can summon spectral allies, or the ultimate thief.
 

Cazzeris

Guest
  • What are the differencies between a regular boxed copy of Underworld Ascendant from the $100 tier and the Collector's Edition boxed version that can be acquired by paying $150? Do any of those boxes resemble the old-school box design philosophy? Will the cover art follow the Ultima Underworld's style (you know, a beautiful concept art piece introducing a warrior/mage/thief adopting a "combat pose" in the middle of an oppressive dungeon's scene being watched by an humanoid creature at the right lower corner)?
  • I love the fact that OtherSide Entertainment is aiming at a PC-only release because the effort invested at working on too many ports for the game often damages the product's quality, but I'd like to know if there's a solid confirmation on this fact since a non planned console release announced in the middle of the game's development would radically lower my interests in this project and I'd love to know if I can discard that possibility at this moment and support the KS campaign with no worries.
  • Will the game have the option to enable a solid UI like the original Underworld series had?
  • Are the player's character hunger/thirst/sleep needs confirmed as a feature?
  • Do OtherSide Entertainment plan to sell boxed copies of Underworld Ascendant after the game's release? If so, will they be different from the Kickstarter boxes?
  • How many hours do they want to offer for a normal playthrough? Do Otherside Entertainment plan to develop a bigger game than Ultima Underworld?
  • Can they give further details on the game's non-linearity? Will there be secret paths to finish the game quickly?
  • Are they actually trying to make a full, unforgiving labyrinth or do they think that a more streamlined experience can add to the game's quality in another way?
 

deuxhero

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Will there be third person cam?
This is an important question (because the answer should be a resounding NO, not "we want to do everything for everyone on a shoestring budget").

While third person is unsuited for this kind of game, if they do co-op (a strech goal) they already need to model/animate the player character, which would be the vast majority of the cost of such a feature.

Actually, that reminds me of a good question: Will we be able to look down and see our legs?
 

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