Vapourware Corven: Path of Redemption - reboot of cancelled Ultima IX fan game

[Luzur]

Game world looks small and compressed, they gonna go the way of Bethesda?

 

[Infinitron]

http://www.lycantic.com/corven-and-ultima/

Corven and Ultima



This is a message for Ultima fans.

Corven, like I wrote many times, is heavily inspired by Ultima. But what does that mean?

Obviously we can’t make Ultima X. The IP is owned by EA and there is nothing anyone can do about that. We have no interest in getting into any legal trouble with them.

But: Corven is still the game that I would have liked Ultima IX and more importantly Ultima X to be. Ultima fans will have no trouble seeing the connection to Ultima in Corven. The world it plays in can be seen as a transformed Britannia. The history of that land can be seen as the history of Britannia, with a little effort by the player. Garriott used a lot of real world lore to create his world. EA can not copyright that and we will use it. In short: Corven is my personal Ultima X, without being Ultima X. Does that make sense?

The biggest influence in terms of gameplay is Ultima VII. The only part of that masterpiece I did not like is the combat. After thinking about how to do the combat and after many revisions I decided to go with a turn based combat system that you might know from classic JRPGs like Final Fantasy. I absolutely love that kind of combat and if I learned anything working on this game it’s that you should always try to create what you yourself would enjoy. This is the only way to create something that others might enjoy too. The difference to those JRPG’s is that there is no separate battle screen, you fight right there where you encounter the enemy, and there is no long transition between walking and fighting, it’s almost instant. I do not want it to be dragged out or annoying.

Other than that the gameplay is very close to Ultima VII. The focus is on the story, the dialogues, interaction with NPCs, interaction with the world and exploration. Corven IS NOT a grindfest.

You will have party members who you will meet during the storyline. They will travel and fight with you. Each of them play an important role in the main storyline.

I hope this shines a little more light on what Corven is about.

I sincerely thank you for following our project and for giving us a chance to create a game that many Ultima fans will enjoy!

I never started a Kickstarter before, because I did not want to do it before I was ABSOLUTELY sure we can get the game done in a reasonable amount of time. I am at this point now.

In spring 2020 I will release the starting island of Corven for free for everyone to test and at the same time start our Kickstarter. I hope you will be there to support us and I thank you for that in advance!

Oh and in other news:

Sir John of Ultima VII and Serpent Isle translation fame joined the Lycantic – Corven team! Welcome Sir John!

Florian

aka Corv Dragon

 

[Cael]

Oh snap! The guy is part of the UDIC. That almost automatically makes the thing worth a good long look. Hope he didn't put in sjw stuff. Ultima didn't have them.

 

[taxalot]

www.lycantic.com/lord-british-officially-in-corven/

Someone thought this would be good publicity and would inspire confidence in the project. Apparently.

 

[Cael]

www.lycantic.com/lord-british-officially-in-corven/

Someone thought this would be good publicity and would inspire confidence in the project. Apparently.

Although, it could be worse. They could be using Warren-fucking-Spector.

 

[Infinitron]

http://www.lycantic.com/quick-new-years-update/

Quick New Years Update



Happy New Year! I hope you all have an AMAZING 2020!

This is just a very quick update, so you know what’s happening

I am making huge progress, but at the moment it is mostly scripting related, so I have nothing to show off. But everything is still perfectly on track for a spring release of the starting island (as free demo). I am working every single day on Corven, no break at all and I am loving it. No complaints here.

I will still release a very very short feature update video with dialogue and a puzzle and then I will completely dive into development again until I can release a fresh new trailer. Shortly after that I will release the starting island demo and start the KS campaign (April/May).

As soon as I find time I will update the website a little with more concise info about the game including a FAQ, and of course the forum.

But the overall plan for the next months is this:

– finish scripting several features
– short feature video with dialogue and a puzzle
– finish the starting island including all the quests
– create a new trailer
– update website
– start KS campaign

After the, hopefully successful, KS campaign in spring I will only concentrate on developing the game; no wasted time with trailers or other promotional stuff. But I will do a bi-weekly update after the KS and, at least, monthly updates that also include new screenshots and/or quick videos. I want every backer to SEE the progress we make. No secrets, no guessing, completely transparent. I will try to keep those updates as spoiler free as possible.

Thanks for reading!

 

[Eli_Havelock]

But the overall plan for the next months is this:

Really? It looks like just more landscape screenshots.

https://twitter.com/LycanticCorven/status/1213874223627804680

No, wait, we have a building - A BUILDING IN THE LANDSCAPE OMG!

https://twitter.com/LycanticCorven/status/1217646067207962624

Sooooo hyped! I can't wait until our grandchildren get to play this when it is done!

 

[Eli_Havelock]

http://www.lycantic.com/weapons-visibility/

Weapons visibility
Not sure if I should do mini updates like this on the site here or just keep them to twitter and facebook.
I’ll give it a try:

Weapons are now visible on the player not only during combat but also outside of combat.
Development is on track and going very well.

 

[taxalot]

Definitely a RPG.

 

[Infinitron]

http://www.lycantic.com/combat-news/

Combat and Website News!

Fight in exciting real times battles!
After testing 3 different kinds of combat systems I decided that the best fit for Corven will be real time combat after all.

The system will closely resemble combat you know from games like Diablo BUT this does not mean that Corven is suddenly a hack and slash RPG! Nothing changed with Corven’s focus on story, NPC interaction and exploration.

This combat system is simply most fun and least distracting. Grid battles and JRPG style turn based combat takes you out of the game for too long and feels too clunky in the context of what Corven is outside of combat.

Who says killing monsters and collecting loot can’t be fun in a story focused RPG?

Also: We have a new website design, check it out: www.lycantic.com

And we now have a forum!! http://www.lycantic.com/forum/

Please register and join the discussion!

Here a first screenshot of the real time combat:



and a little sword screenshot:



You will see combat in action in the upcoming trailer.

 

[Eli_Havelock]

So they re-post the same earlier screenshot and then one that suggests there is something going on, but you can't tell because there's something missing. Oh, right. Movement.

Totally not mockups! I wonder how many months it will take for them to fake another trailer.

 

[Viata]

If they are going to show screenshots, should have called it turn-based combat, not real-time one.

 

[Eli_Havelock]

Were they hoping nobody would notice they just cropped one screenshot to use as a second, nor consider if that was a posed shot instead of captured mid-animation?

 

[Eli_Havelock]

http://www.lycantic.com/faq/

What is this?
Corven – Path of Redemption is a story-driven, open-world, single-player RPG heavily inspired by the classic RPG series Ultima and other classic RPGs like Baldur’s Gate and Diablo.

From the start this game was intended to become what Ultima was at its peak, which we consider to be Ultima VI and VII.

But we are also inspired by many other RPGs, like Baldur’s Gate and Diablo.

Of course we also have our own vision, but as a brand new, small indie team we think those comparisons give you a better idea about what we are working on with Corven.

Diablo is mentioned here because of the combat system. Corven however is definitely not a pure Action RPG, but, as mentioned several times on this site, mostly a story-driven RPG with emphasis on interesting NPCs and the exploration of a hand crafted open world.


When is it done?
In spring of 2020 we will release a new trailer and then a fully playable demo of the very early version of the starting island of Corven.

We will release this demo before the Kickstarter because we think as a brand new indie team we have to prove to you that this is not just some theoretical game pitch, but something we can actually do and which in part actually already exists.

Immediately after the demo release we will start our Kickstarter campaign.

If the campaign is successful we expect to be done with the game by fall of 2021.

Since we do not start from scratch when the KS is done but actually already worked on this game for many many months, we have a good idea about what it will take to finish it. You will not see years of delays.

So far I paid out of my private pocket to fund this dream of mine and with your help it will become reality. This is not just some hobby, this an absolute passion project which I am extremely proud of. You can be sure that you will get nothing less but the absolute best we can do. Don’t fear some halfhearted project.


What does Richard Garriott have to do with this game?
Richard Garriott, creator of the Ultima series, likes what we are trying to do here and he supports us by allowing us to use his alter ego “Lord British” in this game.

Since Corven was planned as a very Ultima-like game from the start, Lord British will not be just shoe-horned in. He will play an essential part in the story-line which Richard Garriott helped write.


On which systems will it be released?
We develop Corven in Unity. We are currently working exclusively on the Windows version and will continue to do so until the game is done.

Once it is done we plan on working on the Linux version. Right now there is no reason why the Linux version should not be possible.

We would like to create console versions of Corven as well (Playstation and XBOX), but this depends on how successful the Kickstarter will be.

What are the system requirements?
We did not have time to test early versions on many systems yet. But at the moment we can say that if you have an i7 with at least 8 GB RAM and a Gforce 1070 or something equivalent it will run at 60 fps.

Well, I'm convinced there will be no delays at all as they have shown they know what they're doing. Fall 2021!

 

[Infinitron]

http://www.lycantic.com/cover-art-news/

Cover art news!

We are excited to announce that DENIS LOUBET, the artist who created the cover art (and so much more) for Ultima games (and Wing Commander etc.),

will be creating the Corven cover art!!

This means that the Corven box will be truly amazing and well worth getting!

So please help us make Corven happen by supporting our Kickstarter in a few months!



An example of Denis Loubet’s amazing artwork – his alternative Ultima 7 cover:

http://www.lycantic.com/corven-map-denis-loubet-sketch-and-ks-update/

Corven Map, Denis Loubet Sketch and KS update

Hi everyone!

The world is crazy right now and I sincerely hope you all are safe and well!

Kickstarter and Demo news:

Development is going very well and we should be able to go ahead with the Kickstarter as planned in May. I can’t give you the exact date yet, but I will as soon as I can. Just keep checking this website (www.lycantic.com) from time to time.

As mentioned before we will release a prototype demo of the starting island along with the Kickstarter so you all can see in which direction this game is going. We do this so you see that we are not just pitching some theoretical dream in the KS but a game that we can actually make and are already in the process of creating.

Of course this is risky since it obviously is not the final feature-complete game you will see in the demo. We are still about 1.5 years out from release. I am very proud of what we have done so far, but when you play the demo please be aware that the island is not complete, not all details, especially not all side quests, have been added.

Cloth Map:

We created a prototype map. It does not have all details yet and we will wait with adding text till the world is done BUT just so you get an idea about how the cloth map you will be getting with certain backer levels will look like we had a protoype cloth map done too. Here a first photo of it:





Denis Loubet cover art news:

Last but definitely not least: Denis Loubet got the first sketch of the Corven cover art done and you can check it out here:





By the way: this sketch has been on our forum (http://www.lycantic.com/forum/) for a while now. Be part of our community there to get more sneak peaks in the future, before everyone else

Please tell your friends about Corven to make sure we have a successful Kickstarter and can finish developing our dream project for you.

Thank you!!!

Florian
aka
Corv Dragon (Bronzebeard according to UDIC )

 

[Contagium]

I really like how Yoshi's head is the influence for the main island!

 

[Infinitron]

 

[Infinitron]

Actually June 9th:



http://www.lycantic.com/kickstarter-on-june-9th/

Kickstarter on June 9th

Our Kickstarter campaign will start on Tuesday, June 9th at 8 am EST (that is 12 pm GMT)!

The link to the campaign will be posted here on our website, on Twitter and on Facebook.

The playable demo will be released the same day!

Please support us to make sure this project will become a reality! Maybe share the news with your friends, so we get more eyes on Corven.

Thank you!!

 

[Infinitron]

Oh it's live:



https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1782768871/corven-path-of-redemption

What is Corven?
Corven is a story-driven, open world, single player RPG inspired by our favorite RPGs from the 1980s and 1990s, especially Richard Garriott's Ultima series.

We miss Ultima and its design philosophy and so we set out to create something similar.

Corven will let you explore an interactive open world full of secrets and surprises. Maybe even more important than that, Corven will deliver an engaging story with many interesting NPCs.

Our goal is to make you want to know "what happens next?" in the main quest. Or in side quests for example"why is the, married, mayor of this town sneaking over to this other woman's house almost every night?"

we want to deliver an interesting and engaging story for you

meet interesting characters

This is a shift from many modern RPG's in which character progression and combat are very clearly the main focus. Don't get us wrong, we love those games too, but we want to focus on what made games like Ultima V, VI and VII so great.

We are also very proud to announce that none other than Richard "Lord British" Garriott, creator of the Ultima series, likes Corven and even helped with parts of the storyline. His alter ego, Lord British, will appear in the game and make Corven feel even more like its great inspiration, Ultima.

Lord British

Don't worry, Corven will also feature a fun real-time combat system which is entertaining, but won't take up most of your play time. You will learn many exciting spells and some of them will even interact. Like a fireball which does 100% critical damage on targets afflicted by your freeze spell. You get the idea.

Combat

make sure to watch the trailer to see this in 60 fps

Here are a few examples of typical Ultima-like world interaction (but watch the trailer for better video quality):

We use the "Unity" engine to create Corven and even Unity likes what we did with it:

Richard Garriott about us: "They are working hard to make a very nice game, I look forward to seeing how it evolves!"

Denis Loubet: "It looks amazing!"

We are planning to release Corven on Steam and GOG.

 

[taxalot]

Wow.

I wanted to badmouth them, but 40 000 is pretty reasonable for a game with AAA graphics and Ultima scope/level of interactivity made by 3 guys in their spare time.

 

[Max Heap]

Oh it's live:



https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1782768871/corven-path-of-redemption

Downloading the demo right now, which is WAY to hard to find by the way (you probably didn't even see it)
http://www.lycantic.com/corven-kickstarter-demo/


Kickstarter pages should be:
- Title
- Trailer
- "Play the Demo here" (ideally one click to installation from multiple sources)

All of that should be on the first 1.5 screens of scrolling. The rest is:

- Flashy bits like screenshots or gifs + Text (but always remember: "Reading make me brain hurt!" so it should be like 80/20)
- Stretch Goals / Rewards
- Team
- Risks

In that order.
Unload your arsenal when it matters.
That is the first five seconds of a person's attention span.
No matter how clever, no matter how stupid, if you can't hook them then, it's gonna be an "Old man and the sea" situation to secure their investment.

 

[Max Heap]

Played the demo a bit.

story tldr:
You go on a drunk driving killing spree with your car, hit a woman and put her in a coma.
Since you are living in the mysoginistic realm called "earth" you are not arrested, but instead - as a reward for putting that bitch in her place - you get to go on an adventure in Brythoria, which definitely isn't Britannia.



Seriously though, it's okay.
They gotta tone down the bloom. The grass is kinda disorienting, but it looks very nice over all. The foliage/visuals are definitely its strength, which isn't too surprising, since that was already the case with U9:Redemption.
Could have used a little more focus maybe. No idea, perhaps put up a magic barrier to limit the island a bit. I got lost a few times.

Combat needs to be more reactive and they didn't need to point out that things aren't done yet. I wouldn't even have noticed.
Overall I get the feeling they didn't have much confidence in the demo, though that was unnecessary. People understand it's a kickstarter pitch. They could have positioned it more prominently.

 

[Atrachasis]

Played the demo a bit.

Seriously though, it's okay.
They gotta tone down the bloom. The grass is kinda disorienting, but it looks very nice over all. The foliage/visuals are definitely its strength, which isn't too surprising, since that was already the case with U9:Redemption.
Could have used a little more focus maybe. No idea, perhaps put up a magic barrier to limit the island a bit. I got lost a few times.

Combat needs to be more reactive and they didn't need to point out that things aren't done yet. I wouldn't even have noticed.
Overall I get the feeling they didn't have much confidence in the demo, though that was unnecessary. People understand it's a kickstarter pitch. They could have positioned it more prominently.

So is there anything to suggest that they are capable of pulling off a GAME, rather than just a tech demo of a game engine?

I'd like to believe, but you'd have to report on something other than bloom and foliage to raise my hopes.

 

[Max Heap]

So is there anything to suggest that they are capable of pulling off a GAME, rather than just a tech demo of a game engine?

I'd like to believe, but you'd have to report on something other than bloom and foliage to raise my hopes.

Hard to make any sort of judgement on that.
Ultima 7 (which I assume is the inspiration) is the end product of highly detailed hands-on content creation.
Nobody played Ultima 7 for its character mechanics or combat. People played it for its highly detailed world design.

Does Corven provide that in the demo. Obviously not. Could it deliver in the future? Eh... who knows?
It has working item interaction and dialogue. Also some sort of prototype combat with fixed skills I guess.
It's a solid setup, but they gotta get way more focused. Provide less, but in much more detail.

 

[Nifft Batuff]

Why aren't they using Exult instead of Unity?