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

[taxalot]

Why aren't they using Exult instead of Unity?

They can't buy premade assets on the Exult store.

 

[Lord_Potato]

Exult is a retro engine. They are obviously going for a different aesthetics.

 

[Infinitron]

 

[Infinitron]

https://www.lycantic.com/kickstarter-update-and-walkthrough-video/

Kickstarter Update and Walkthrough Video

Our Kickstarter Campaign reached 37% in the first 3 days! Thank you to everyone who supported us already!!

Are you still hesitant? Take the leap and help us make this game happen! In case you don’t have time to test the demo yourself we even uploaded an uncut walkthrough of the demo (link further below). We know there were some Kickstarter projects lately which might have left a sour taste in your mouth, but Corven is not one of those! We love our “baby” (Corven) and we respect you! There is no way we will not finish developing this game! We will also at the very least give you monthly updates about our development progress!

Join us! Get your physical copy of the game with Denis Loubet’s art on the box!! Or get a tombstone with whatever you want written on it. Or maybe even get your face (portrait) in the game! Check out the Kickstarter and choose

Let’s do this!!!

Please support us on Kickstarter:
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1782768871/corven-path-of-redemption

Our first Kickstarter Update post:
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1782768871/corven-path-of-redemption/posts/2863315

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1782768871/corven-path-of-redemption/posts/2863315

Corven is off to a great start, thank you!! Walkthrough video included

Thank you so much for your support! We are 37% funded after 3 days because of you!

Please tell your friends about Corven, and share our Kickstarter link. We are a small indie team and getting the word out is very difficult. Sharing would be a big help and would bring us closer to reaching our goals. Let's try to reach 50% by the end of this weekend!

I want to emphasize again, that Corven is our "baby" and we will 100% finish developing it. We will also do at least monthly updates about the development progress after the Kickstarter campaign is over. I know there were some campaigns that might have left a sour taste in your mouth lately, but Corven will not be one of those.

We love our project and we respect you!

So a big THANK YOU again from all of us!!!

We also uploaded an uncut walkthrough of the demo for everyone who might not have the time right now to play through the demo themselves. No commentary, just the uncut gameplay

 

[Infinitron]

Getting desperate: https://www.lycantic.com/lets-do-it/

Let’s do it!

Hey everyone!

We are a third into our Kickstarter campaign and have almost 50% funding. We need that initial funding goal to keep working efficiently on Corven. What are you waiting for?

Hop over to Kickstarter and support Corven! We will not let you down! This is the spiritual Ultima successor you have been waiting for and with your help it will become reality.

We got:

• a super motivated team
• Lord British in the game and Richard Garriott story contribution
• Denis Loubet art
• amazing soundtrack
• beautiful interactive open world
• playable demo
• guaranteed Windows and Linux version
• …

Pull the lever, bake the bread, kick the Guardian and support Corven!

Together we can make this happen!

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1782768871/corven-path-of-redemption/posts/2863877

Additional Backer Reward Levels

Thank you again for your support!!

We have Backer Reward Level news:

1.) By popular demand we are bringing back the "Collector's Edition with Portrait" Level! Get all those amazing feelies, and also a NPC with your portrait in the game!

2.) For everyone who wants a physical reward but doesn't want to go for the Collector's edition, we have a new reward called "Map Pack" for $ 62.-. It's everything from the "Digital Deluxe with Beta" but including the physical Cloth Map of Corven! Maybe some of you consider an upgrade? Wouldn't it be cool to have something from the world of Corven in your gaming room?

3.) You want the full Digital Deluxe with Portrait Package but also a Cloth Map? The new "Digital Deluxe with Portrait and MAP" is for you!

Thank you for helping us make this happen! Corven will be amazing and your contribution is a big reason for that!

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1782768871/corven-path-of-redemption/posts/2865110

Change to Dialogue UI

Hi!

We got a lot of feedback about the Dialogue UI from testers and decided to

1.) change the background

2.) make it less transparent

3.) make the text outline thicker

to make it easier to read.

Oh and we put the portraits in a frame.

See the changes here:

Changes are better visible in the original image which you can view here (click) instead of the down-sampled image below!

Thank you for your support!


We also wanted to let you know about another Kickstarter project we think is really great:

Natural Instincts:

Meet the Natural Instincts! A beautiful natural environment simulator, where you take care of animals to save the environment. Dive into the beautiful world of wild nature, manage the forest and its inhabitants, give hints to the animals, and create a perfectly balanced ecosystem. Be careful though, as it's not as easy as it looks like!

Support Natural Instincts here!

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1782768871/corven-path-of-redemption/posts/2865890

Box Cover Art by Denis Loubet - why this is awesome

The Initial Goal (not a stretch goal) includes game box cover art by Denis Loubet!

For those of you who don't know, he is the genius behind most of the Ultima covers and also for example the Wing Commander cover. Yes, the Wing Commander cover was not a screenshot but a careful recreation of live action by Loubet.

The Corven Box Cover will be something truly special because of his art. The Collector's edition of Corven, which is the first tier which includes the box, is therefore, in my humble opinion really worth having.

Examples for Loubet's art:

Denis Loubet's earlier work

Here is a very early sketch of the Corven box cover art:

Loubet's early sketch of the Corven box art

I can't wait!

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1782768871/corven-path-of-redemption/posts/2868842

Linux and Mac Update

We are almost at 50%. Thank you! Spread the word about Corven, let's make it happen!!

We did some more Linux testing and are happy to let you know that we are confident we can make Linux happen with the initial goal! So our first stretch goal changed from Linux to Mac.

A German version of the demo will follow soon.

 

[ERYFKRAD]

They aren't even updating squat, are they? Just gimme gimme gimme, it seems like.

 

[taxalot]

They did around half of the required amount in half a day and are stagnating since. The hardcore Ultima fans who would back anything have backed it, and they are failing to convince anyone else.

Nobody could predict something like this would happen.

 

[Infinitron]

FAILED: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1782768871/corven-path-of-redemption/posts/2869818

The End is the Beginning. New start next week.

No matter how optimistic, based on other Kickstarter campaigns, we calculate it. We will not reach the goal.

In the last few days we were re-thinking the goals and how we could make it work.

So we will cancel this campaign and start it new next week, with adjusted goals.

Please come back next week and support our new campaign! We aim to start again on Monday, June 22nd at 8 am EST. You can see the status of the Kickstarter on our homepage www.lycantic.com

We want to finish Corven. We truly believe in it and we want you to experience the complete game. Help us make this a reality with the new Kickstarter campaign.

A big heartfelt THANK YOU to everyone here who believed in us from the get go! We hope you come back next week.

Let's make this happen for real this time!!

For the ease of mind of everyone who does not know Kickstarter: This cancelled campaign will not cost you anything. It's like your pledge never happened.

I kinda think he gave up too soon tbh. $25k isn't that large a sum on Kickstarter. How hard did he really try to rally the Ultima community on Facebook etc?

 

[taxalot]

The Ultima community is not that big. And some (most?) have probably enough sense to stay clear of that project.

Once you have posted on Ultima Codex, on the Facebook Group, and maybe advertised on SOTA forums, what really is there to muster ? The common RPG groups are not that gullible to fall into a kickstarter with obvious failings.

I am betting his Kickstarter goal will be adjusted to 20 000€ . This is how much he got after garnering interest of the UDIC crowd, which is their only audience at this point basically.

If they are smart, They will aim for 25 000€ which could also be an achievable goal.

What worries me a little bit in all seriousness is that they pretend to have invested a little bit of their own money. I hope at least they manage to find a way to recoup that, but with their skill level and the level of interest they could hope to garner, this is almost a suicidal move at this point.

Consider the project is mostly done in their spare time, a monthly patreon with regular updates and milestones would have been better strategy by this point. Keep in mind this is coming after U9 Redemption which was a catastrophic waste of time and show of incompetence, and after SOTA which is... what it is.

edit : and goddamit, how do they think that shitty Loubet quick drawing he probably did in 5 minutes, is going to help with the game ? And let's not even talk of Garriott's "involvement".

 

[Infinitron]

https://www.lycantic.com/kickstarter-re-launch/

Kickstarter Re-Launch

We re-launch our modified Kickstarter campaign on Monday, the 22nd of June at 7am EST!

Don’t hesitate, join our Kickstarter campaign on Monday!

Better reward tiers, a cheaper version of a boxed edition of Corven and more… Make sure to check it out on Monday!

Why are we doing a re-launch?

Because even with very optimistic calculations and assuming we have a big uptick at the end of the campaign we would not have made the goal by about $ 8000.-

So rather than wasting 20 days waiting for it to fail, we decided to start new, with better rewards, a lower goal and adjusted tiers.

Our team wants to work on Corven, but needs funds. This might not be the best time to do a Kickstarter, but it’s the best time for us to work on it. That’s why we adjusted our plans and hope you join us next week on Kickstarter.

We believe in Corven, we know it’s an exceptional game and we would LOVE to finish developing it for you!

Let’s make Corven happen! Help us and we promise not to let you down.

 

[Infinitron]

Here we go again: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1782768871/corven-path-of-redemption-0

https://www.lycantic.com/new-kickstarter-campaign-is-live-new-version-of-demo-as-well/

New Kickstarter Campaign is live! New version of demo as well!

The Kickstarter Campaign is live!! Better pledge levels and better physical reward levels!

Also make sure to download the new version of the demo, many improvements, especially when it comes to dialogue.

Avatars, let’s make it happen!!

 

[Infinitron]

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1782768871/corven-path-of-redemption-0/posts/2872117

What a start!

We already have more than 50% and more than 100 backers! Thank you all so much!

A new version of the demo is now online (v1.1) with many improvements, especially when it comes to dialogues. Check it out

Also, if you have not seen it yet, we have a demo walkthrough video online. It's still based on the older version of the demo:

Thank you again for your support!

We won't let you down


Nox Archaist:

I also wanted to make you aware of another Ultima inspired game, Nox Archaist. Check out their website! You won't regret it


“SKALD: Against the Black Priory”

And while we are at it, also check out SKALD!

A dying Empire. A province on the brink of civil war. You must dare the raging northern seas and make for the the darkened halls of the Black Priory on the accursed isle of Idra. There you will restore your family's honor - or lose your mind trying.

SKALD: Against the Black Priory is an old-school love-letter to computer roleplaying. Dive into an eldritch fantasy world through glorious pixel-art, a huge, open world map and an intricate story spanning several chapters.

Check out their Campaign page and their Dev Blog!

And now it reached the goal: https://www.lycantic.com/corven-just-got-funded-join-the-kickstarter-its-not-too-late/

Corven just got funded! Join the Kickstarter, it’s not too late

Corven just got funded!!! We are all so happy here and really thankful to all the backers! Thank you!
If you haven’t backed Corven yet, it’s not too late!
Check out our Kickstarter campaign and choose one of the amazing reward tiers!

 

[Infinitron]

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1782768871/corven-path-of-redemption-0/posts/2874224

Funded!

The whole team wants to thank all of you for making this happen! You are awesome and we are floored by your support! Thank you!

In only 1.5 days we reached the initial goal and secured funding for the base version of Corven. YOU made that happen!

But not only that, we are also well on the way to our first stretch goal which will make the originally planned size of the land possible and all the side quests that come with it. And there are more stretch goals ahead which would be amazing to reach! So please share our project with your friends

I did an interview with rpgwatch recently and you can read it here.

I also want to let you know about the Ultima fan site one of our friends in the Ultima community is running: Check out Sir Cabirus' Ultima fan page

Oh Corv was interviewed by RPGWatch: https://www.rpgwatch.com/articles/corven-interview-500.html

Corven Interview
by Corwin, 2020-06-22

RPGWatch: Hi, could you please introduce yourself to our readers.

Florian Kasper: My name is Florian Kasper, I live with my wife and kid in North Carolina and have been working on Corven with a small but dedicated team for several years now. I am very excited to finally let the world see and play what we created



RPGWatch: What is your gaming background?

Florian: I have been obsessed with gaming since I was 9 years old and got my C64. I moved on to the Amiga and played endless hours of Ultima 6 on it. I remember vividly how I explored Lord British's castle, being amazed by how interactive everything was. Putting a potion on the ground and move it wherever I want was mind blowing. Then I did the dungeon under the castle, had a ton of fun and finally looked at the map that was in the box and realized that this amazing experience I just had happened in that tiny area of the world. Once again my mind was blown.

Since then I played on every system out there, but especially on PC. I could list many many games I love, but I won't bore you with that.

Let's just say I love video games and the escape from this crazy world we live in they provide.




RPGWatch: How large is your team and what are their backgrounds?

Florian: Our team is quite small. I do most of the work directly on the game.

Then we have Patrig Droumaguet who is doing an amazing job creating our Soundtrack. We had long talks about what the music should sound like and the summary of my wishes would be: Fantasy theme music with 80s synths inspired by the Ultima VI soundtrack I think Patrig pulled it off.

"Sir John" from the Ultima community is doing the German translation and is designing some of the side quests.

Max Haude is creating some of the 3D models.

I have some guys from the Unity community who are helping from time to time and one of them might join us soon full time.

Other than that I work with Freelancers for specific tasks.

I had a bigger team once, but having it distilled down to what we have now actually made huge progress possible. A few reliable people are way better than many unreliable ones.

Spoiler

RPGWatch : Why were you keen to make a game in the style of the old Ultima series?

Florian: Because I absolutely love Ultima and we still to this day did not get a new game like it. Some came close, but in my opinion none of them managed to capture the soul of those games.

In my opinion, Ultima, especially my favorites V, VI, VII, SI and in parts VIII, were all about interesting storylines and NPCs in a beautiful, interactive world. While Ultima never had long dialogues rivalling books in length like for example Planescape Torment, it managed to tell fascinating stories through interesting NPCs. In many newer games NPCs seem like robotic story machines and even newest technology with fancy facial animations cannot make them feel alive. Those pixel people from the aforementioned Ultimas had way more soul. In part it's because Garriott and his team gave them background stories the player could find out if he or she wanted to. There were relationships, rivalries, drama, friendships, ... and most of the time it was told through just a few lines of text and it had nothing to do with the main quest-line. It made you feel like you are part of a living breathing world.

The interactive world with its many secrets to discover did the rest. Secrets which again, mostly had nothing to do with the main quest-line and so made them feel truly special.


RPGWatch : Which Ultima game has had the most influence on you and on Corven?


Florian: Definitely VII and VII Part 2 Serpent Isle. I think those two games perfected what was so great about Ultima. The dialogues were just right, not too short, not too long, the NPCs were interesting and the worlds were amazing.

Serpent Isle was more linear than Ultima VII, but did a better job in telling a compelling story.





RPGWatch : How did you manage to get Richard Garriott (Lord British) involved with the game development and how has he helped you?

Florian: Richard and I were in contact for years off and on because I was active in the Ultima community. When I asked him if he would let us use Lord British in Corven he agreed quickly after reading the story outline. It's important to him that the character is portrayed in a way that makes sense overall and so he was very interested in the part he plays in Corven. Richard even ended up coming up with story ideas and details for Corven which were really great. After a brainstorming session we integrated his ideas in the Corven script and I think it all turned out great.

Richard offered to work more on the story with me once the Kickstarter campaign is over.



RPGWatch : Are there any Ultima Easter eggs in the game and what can you tell us about them?

Florian: Yes many, but I think the fun of easter eggs is to find them, so I don't think I should talk about them now. I am sure in the course of development way more than we already have planned will end up in the game. What I will say is that the story of Corven is more interwoven with Ultima than some might think...



RPGWatch : What is the basic story of Corven and where did the idea come from?

Florian: The (very) basic storyline is that you, the protagonist, are an underachiever, plagued by inner demons, failing. You end up hitting a girl with your car while driving drunk and it eats you up inside. She is in a coma and you visit her every day until one day a crow shows up and ends up leading you through a portal into the world of Corven. There you will have a chance to save this strange new world you ended up in and in the process redeem yourself. There are many connections between the world of Corven and Earth and you will end up making a huge difference in both worlds... and in yourself.

The general idea of having a human from Earth ending up as hero in a "fantasy" world is of course from Ultima. The specific storyline is one which had been brooding in me for many, many years now. It was once the basic idea for a fan mod I wanted to make, called Ultima X, The New King.


RPGWatch : How is character creation handled and what, if any, choices do you have?

Florian: The character is set from the start. The story requires the character to be a male, but since we don't show the character's face up close, other than his eyes in one picture of the intro, and since we don't have a portrait for the character in the game, the players can identify with him however they want.

The player will find many types of armor in the game and will be able to customize their character this way. Each part of the armor is visible on the player character.



RPGWatch: Can you specialise as a particular character type such as Warrior, Thief, or Mage?

Florian: The player will have access to all types of skills and can modify the character however they want. You can specialize in magic, sword skills or bow and arrow for example, or all of it. It's up to you. There are no set classes.



RPGWatch: How is combat handled in the game?

Florian: We started out with turn based combat, but after I tested real time combat close to action RPGs like Diablo it just clicked. Combat was the weak point of Ultima VII and I wanted to make it fun, exciting but not the main attraction of the game. If you ever played an Action RPG, you know how combat basically works in Corven.

The difference is that while Corven has ARPG combat, it certainly is not an ARPG in any other way. Story and exploration are the main focus of the game.

Combat won't be too complex, but there is some strategy to it, like the spell combination you can test in the demo: If you freeze an enemy, the next fireball will 100% do critical damage. Such combinations are fun and we will have more of it in the final game.


RPGWatch: Are you able to avoid combat by using diplomacy, for example?

Florian: Yes, that is actually a big part of Corven. You will be able to talk your way out of many situations.

At the end of the demo you even get a little hint of that already. The lava monster you discover, which came from another island, can be killed or you can let it go. If you let it go it might even help you out later on.

Please note: The dialogue in that part of the demo is not final.



RPGWatch: Could you describe the magic system you are implementing?

Florian: The magic system is based on Fire, Water, Earth, Air and Spirit. You will have shrines which are connected to each of those aspects. The player will have to restore those shrines in order to access those magic schools.

Once you have unlocked a magic school you can learn spells from it. Spells can be found in the world or learned from mages. We are still discussing if we should have reagent requirements for the spells or not. It's a work in progress.

The Ultima fans among the readers will notice that those magic schools are not like in Ultima and I want to clarify, that while we try to create some sort of spiritual successor to Ultima, we won't blindly copy its systems. We are creating our own game, and hopefully game series.

The spells in the demo are there to demonstrate the system. In the final game the player won't have access to those right away.


RPGWatch: Do characters gain experience points, and/or level up in the game?

Florian: Yes we have an experience points and level system. Leveling up will raise attributes which also can be enhanced with armor and magic.



RPGWatch: How is experience gathered; through combat, quests, or both?

Florian: Both



RPGWatch: What type of quests are there?

Florian: We try to make quests a logical part of the story we are trying to tell. If we succeed the quests in the main quest-line won't even feel like tasks you have to work through. That's the goal at least. I think the demo shows the direction in which we are going quite well.

There are side quests as well of course but I doubt we will have many of the typical "kill 10 monsters" quests. Even though I don't think there is anything wrong with some quests like that. Killing monsters is fun.

But again, the main goal is to have quests be the tool to drive the story forward. You will do some things which are more typical for the Adventure game genre (puzzle solving), but then again, that's something Ultima players are used to.

It's funny, the one lever you have to use to unlock a trap door in the demo was a big hurdle for some of our testers, even though it's right there beside the trap door. It's just something many modern RPG's don't do anymore; at least not without lots of glowing markers.


RPGWatch: Do you play as a solo character, or do you form a party?

Florian: You will have up to 3 party members. We have not decided yet how much influence the player has over the party members (inventory management etc.). That's also somewhat of a budget question.



RPGWatch: What can you tell us about the NPC's you are planning for the game?

Like I mentioned before, NPCs play a huge role in Corven, since talking to them will tell the story we are trying to convey. We are doing our best to make them interesting and have characters make sense within the world. They will not just be static quest givers but have their own stories which in the end will make the world feel alive.

Warren Spector in an interview told a story about how fascinated he was that Richard Garriott wrote down back stories and relationships of all the NPCs in each town in Ultima. I think that shows. Even if some backstories or relationships are just mentioned within one line of dialogue, it gives the game soul.

Our characters range from typical human villagers to werewolves and other fantasy creatures you can interact with.



RPGWatch: Do you have many choices in dialogue based on how you see your character?

Florian: Our main goal is to tell a compelling storyline. We will do our best to implement many dialogue options to help the player play THEIR character, but then again I am also not a fan of imaginary choices which have no effect in the long run.


RPGWatch: Are there consequences in game based on the choices you make?

Florian: Yes, like the example with the lava monster I talked about earlier. Kill it and make the villagers happy or let it go and have an ally later on.

You will encounter many situations like this in Corven.

However, I don't like choices which pretend to have consequences, but in reality don't. There are many examples in many games like this. I'd rather have less of those, but have them actually make a big difference.



RPGWatch: How linear is the game?

Florian: Imagine a slightly less linear Serpent Isle. That's Corven.



RPGWatch: How does the economy of the land operate?


Florian: Corven will have very basic economy. Nothing special to report here.


RPGWatch: Is there much music in the game?


Florian: I think music plays a big part in story driven games and that's why it is a very important part of Corven. Yes we will have many different tracks in the game and while I might be biased, I think what we have so far is quite amazing.



RPGWatch: Will there be any voice acting?

Florian: We do not plan any voice acting. That's part of the charm of old school RPGs.



RPGWatch: Do you plan to have things like day/night cycles?


Florian: We can do day/night cycles and NPC schedules, the technical basis for that is already there. Implementing those cycles for each NPC however is a lot of work which takes a lot of time, which is why we have it as a stretch goal. Corven is already a big game to create for our small team and time / manpower is our biggest challenge.



RPGWatch: Will you use quest markers and other forms of 'hand holding'?


Florian: We have almost no handholding. Handholding begins and ends with the automatic quest log.

Not having shiny markers makes the world more believable and solved tasks more fulfilling. The player won't just have successfully clicked a marked object, they will have seen, for example, the locked trap door, discovered the lever and unlocked the trap door with it. That's completely different than having successfully seen a shiny thing to click.


RPGWatch: Will there be various difficulty levels available?


Florian: No, Corven will be designed exactly how it should play. Since it's not a combat focused game, the difficulty will be the problem solving skills of the player.



RPGWatch: Is there anything else you'd like everyone to know about Corven?


Florian: Corven is a passion project. We've put our heart and soul into this game and want to make it as awesome as possible. If you have been waiting for a new single player Ultima for a long time, just like us, then I think you have found it with Corven, at least the closest thing to it.

Yes, we are a small team and this is our first game, but it will be something special. Don't miss out and please support us on Kickstater to make this dream possible.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1782768871/corven-path-of-redemption-0

 

[Beast British]

With how successful Ultima Redemption was I'm sure this will be another hit.

 

[taxalot]

I think it will compare more to Underworld Ascendant.

 

[Infinitron]

lol what: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1782768871/corven-path-of-redemption-0/posts/2876235

Combat style and reward news

Let's start with the rewards: we saw that the demand for the Boxed Collector's edition with portrait is higher than the Digital Deluxe with portrait, so we reduced the number of the digital version and increased the Boxed version by 5. We need to keep a balance there since we do not have unlimited NPCs available

In short: there are 5 more Boxed Collector's Edition with Portrait available now!

Combat:
We got some feedback about combat, suggesting that turn-based might be better than real-time.

While we think it's important for us to stay true to our vision of the game and think that if we try to appease everyone in the end no one will be happy, combat is the one exception.

We started out with turn based combat and after feedback of early followers of our project tried out real time. We were very happy with how real time combat turned out but we are also big fans of turn based combat. So we are open to a discussion in that regard.

The options that fit Corven:

- Real-Time combat just like you see it in the demo

- Turn-Based combat where you can choose which party member will use which ability on which target.

The turn based combat would resemble the combat of classic Final Fantasy games. It would NOT mean random encounters, no worries

Turn-Based combat without grid movement - example

We would intentionally not want turn based combat with grid movement for a simple reason: Combat is not the main focus of Corven and having to move characters around in addition to choosing abilities would slow down combat considerably and make it tedious.

Corven is not intended to be a tactical combat simulation. We want combat to be challenging but fun. We do not want it to be the main focus or a big hurdle that stands in the way of you experiencing the story, puzzles and world.

So the choice is, do you want real time combat with AI party members or do you rather want to have control over all your party members and be able to take your time in combat.

Please vote on our Forum for your preferred style of combat.

Yes you do need to create an account there, but it is quick and a good idea anyway if you want to keep giving us input during development of Corven.

 

[Infinitron]

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1782768871/corven-path-of-redemption-0/posts/2886525

New version of demo including German translation! Stretch goal reached.

We reached the 30k stretch goal a few days ago! Thank you!!!

New Demo!
The new Demo v1.2 is out and you can download it on our Demo page.

The biggest change in v1.2 is the complete German translation of the demo!

German: Die neue Version 1.2 der Demo ist komplett in Deutsch und kann nun auf unserer Demo Seite geladen werden. Um auf Deutsch umzustellen bitte im Startmenue einfach auf "language" und dann "German" klicken. Viel Spass!

If you play the demo in English and already have v1.1 then you don't really need v1.2 because other than the German translation there there is nothing new in the demo besides a few fixed typos.

Only 9 days left!!
Tell you friends about Corven, let's reach that next stretch goal!

Thank you all so much for you support, the whole team is super happy and grateful!

https://www.lycantic.com/paypal-pledges-new-demo/

PayPal pledges – new demo

If you want to support Corven by pledging on Kickstarter but you don’t want to or can not use a credit card, then you can now pledge directly on our homepage with PayPal!

Just go to our PayPal site and follow the instructions. Thank you!

Demo version 1.2 is out and the biggest change is the complete German translation! So if you prefer to play the game in German download v 1.2 an check it out!

Only 7 days left on our Kickstarter! Tell your friends!

Thank you for your support!!!

Corven in German example:

 

[Infinitron]

https://www.lycantic.com/less-than-48-hours-left-on-the-corven-kickstarter/

Less than 48 hours left on the Corven Kickstarter!

The Corven Kickstarter campaign is almost over! Help Lord British save the world! It’s now or never!

There are less than 48 hours left for you to become a backer. If you have not done so yet, please go to our Kickstarter page and check out the pledge levels.

Supporting us by becoming a backer now instead of waiting for the final release really helps a lot in our quest to make the best possible game for you!

Thank you!

 

[Infinitron]

Project funds successfully
479 backers pledged $40,647
JULY 17, 2020

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1782768871/corven-path-of-redemption-0/posts/2896580

We did it!!!

We did it!!! Thank you all so much!

The whole team is super excited and we are blown away by the support you showed us! We will create the best possible game for you in return!

We will release a final version of the demo as soon as the rest of the portraits are done.

Like promised you will get monthly development updates, but make sure to check out our homepage www.lycantic.com and the forum there to keep up with the project besides the monthly updates here. We also have a Discord channel you can join.

Thank you again!

Let the drama begin.

 

[taxalot]

There is not going to be drama.

The Ultima crowd will post about it saying "Frankly, I don't understand the fuss, I played the game and it is pretty enjoyable. The media and Internet did the same thing to Ascendant and SOTA and those are nice too.", which is going to be mostly helmed by WTFDragon (who also thinks the Ultima iOS game was good.)

Other people will recognize and call the bullshit and most of the remaining active dragons will enter a circle jerk showing new funny fan art of Lord British and how this other guy cooked potatoes this evening and you know what this reminds me of an Ultima 6 moment.

This is the Ultima community at this point.

 

[Infinitron]

He's been doing the monthly updates: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1782768871/corven-path-of-redemption-0/posts/2934868

August 2020 Update

Greetings!

First of all thank you again for the amazing support for our Kickstarter!

Development Update:
We first took a couple of weeks off to recover from the crazy crunch time we had in the last weeks and months really of finishing the fully playable demo. Getting everything working in a way we can be proud of and without too many bugs was quite a hellish ride, but fun at the same time

After that we mostly went through what we want to do once again and brainstormed ways to go about things. I know this sounds super boring and vague, but its important not to just blindly stumble ahead now. And I don't ever want to make up exciting development adventures just to make those updates more entertaining. But there was this one time a raccoon ran into my house and ...

Anyway, about the final version of the demo: We are still working on the final portraits and a new music track which I think especially Ultima fans will really enjoy. Once those are done I will release the last version of the demo. It will also include some updates to the combat, just to make it a bit smoother and to eliminate some bugs like teleporting enemies etc.

Lava Crawler Portrait

We will not keep making playable demos because it is an extremely inefficient way to develop at the moment. We never promised anything like that anyway, but I want to make sure there are no misunderstandings. The next playable release will be the alpha whenever it is ready.

Right now I am working on two areas of the world, Treynic with the nearby forest and, to get some variation into my work, also the cold, icy island to the north, Rendgaoth.


Discord and Backer Portraits
If you want to join our Discord, just click this link. As a blacker you get access to the backer-only channel. Just PM me, Corv, on Discord with your Kickstarter Name and pledge so I can verify you are indeed a backer and then give you backer access.

Everyone who has a portrait as reward should please send us a photo and the NPC name you would like to have. The picture should be at the very least have a 1000x1000 resolution. Please do not upscale a low res photo. Please don't send us a character from another game. Your photo does not have to be a typical head shot. You can look up or down, it can be a profile picture etc... be creative if you want (you don't have to be). The portrait will be a square, just as you saw in the demo or the screenshots. Your photo does not have to be a perfect square, we will make it work, no worries. Please send your picture to support@lycantic.com with your Kickstarter name and pledge level.

Thank you!

Florian

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1782768871/corven-path-of-redemption-0/posts/2952896

September 2020 Update

In this update, instead of boring you with game development theory, I am super excited to give you "Nostalgia", a very special new tune from our soundtrack. "Fresh off the presses" if you will

The Ultima 6 intro music is one of the most iconic and wonderful Ultima tunes. Patrig and I talked about how we can bring the mood and feeling of that track into 2020 and into Corven.

It was very important not to just do a remix but give it the typical Corven feel, and I think Patrig succeeded 100%. I caught myself listening to it on repeat more times than I dare to admit and I am positive that Ultima fans, especially the ones who love Ultima 6, will love this track. But I think that even if you have never heard the Ultima 6 soundtrack you will appreciate it. At least I hope so

Here it is!

Of course we worked on many other things, especially on the main quest storyline and the world itself, but more about that in future updates.

Again, I hope you enjoy "Nostalgia" as much as I do, and I hope it brings a smile to your face in these crazy times we live in.

Florian

 

[Infinitron]

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1782768871/corven-path-of-redemption-0/posts/3019002

November 2020 Update

Hi!

Sorry for skipping the October Update but I was fighting with sickness. Not Corona luckily, but there is till the flu and it is not fun either.

We worked on many systems and I split the demo build from the actual build because things being worked on breaks other things which had already worked before... We have the missing portraits for the last demo build and I will really release it soon. Not much else changed in the demo since the priority is the main build.

I have been testing the implementation of day night cycles (not to be confused with NPC schedules) and there are some hurdles to overcome, especially with shaders, but it's looking good. I hate to show things that are too far from being finished, but if I work out the issues this is definitely something for a future video update.

Patrig is currently working on his interpretation of another Ultima tune. Once it's finished I will upload it to youtube.

This update is mostly about showing how our 2D artist Carlos is turning our backer photos into perfect portraits for Corven.

Corven is aiming for a colorful, vibrant, high fantasy art style, not just the landscape but also the 2D art. So one of Carlo's challenges is turning everyday photos into something special.

Here is the example of our backer Farrier. Luckily he had a picture that was kinda outstanding already. Just look at that magnificent hair and beard!! We decided to have him be a powerful mage in Corven who specializes in the art of controlling fire. Together with his beloved cats and wife he lives in Treynic, where he is loved ... and feared, depending on who you ask.

This is the original picture Farrier gave us to work with:

and here is the work in progress:

As you can see there is still detail work to be done and the background is still missing, but I think you get a good idea how your pictures will transform into Corven portraits (if you have a backer level with portrait).

In the next update you will see the final result of Farrier, the Fire Mage!

Thanks for reading!

Don't forget to maybe join our Discord

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1782768871/corven-path-of-redemption-0/posts/3066459

December 2020 / January 2021 Update

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

Let's hope 2021 is way better than 2020. I am ready to get out of this episode of the Twilight Zone.

Demo Version 1.3
1.3, the final demo before the Alpha of the game is now ready for download. There aren't any massive changes, mostly some polishing.

Changelog for 1.3:

• combat music will not play anymore after you ran away from an enemy
• adjusted melee combat distance
• made melee attack animations and cooldowns slightly shorter to make melee combat feel more responsive
• fixed bug which prevented you from engaging 2 or more enemies at once
• fixed bug which prevented you to re-engage enemy you escaped from previously
• added Margaretha, Arlec and Lava Crawler Portraits
• some landscape modifications

Example for landscape modification:

Download the Demo on our homepage (link)

Backer Portrait Update
Since I showed you an example of a work-in-progress backer portrait in the last update (Farrier), I want to show you the finished product now as well:

Original:

Work in progress:

final version:

General updates:
Working mostly on world design at the moment. Nothing good enough to show yet. But everything is coming along very nicely. No insane roadblocks at the moment (knock on wood)

Since I got some questions about it I want to confirm once more that Corven will be DRM free for backers and it will be on Steam.

Till next time!

 

[Eli_Havelock]

The demo looks like it's coming along nicely and should be finished by Fall 2021 April of 2022.

Just think about it - a bit over a year ago they were able to move objects! They reach dev hell so fast these days...

 

[Eli_Havelock]

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1782768871/corven-path-of-redemption-0/posts/3115264

February 2021 Update + your music
Update:

I am almost exclusively working on rough world building at the moment. It's all about creating layouts for big parts of the world and defining what will go where. I did start on detail work on some story relevant areas, but it's mostly about broad strokes at the moment. This way of working helps me not to get lost in tiny details from the get go and lose track of time.

I am very excited for the north-western island with all the ice and snow. Simply because I love the contrast to most of the rest of the world. Even though it's mostly ice and snow covered, a lot of detail work can make it look quite special, in my opinion at least. I have always been a sucker for "ice worlds" and I want to make this island special. Not just white instead of green, but I want you to "feel" cold there. Shader work will help with that goal as well.

I like to have screenshots with my updates, but I don't feel comfortable showing off stuff that is too far off of what I want it to look like in the end. I don't want anyone to get a wrong idea or be disappointed because of something I know is by far not finished.

Please let me know if that is ok with you or if you would rather see very unfinished parts of the game earlier in the future.

Your Music:
Music is a big part of all my favorite games and Ultima is no exception. I don't think there is a single Ultima fan out there who does not love "Stones" for example.

With that being said, while Patrig is of course our composer and will set the mood in terms of music for the whole game, I want to give musically talented fans a chance to showcase their talent in Corven.

If you love the mood of the Ultima 6 intro, Stones, etc... and wanted to create something like it for a game then here is your chance to have your music in Corven.

Send your track to support@lycantic.com and write a little bit about it in the mail. If we like your music and think it will fit then we will post it in future updates here and will integrate it in the game in one way or the other. If it's too far off of what Patrig is doing then it will be as "music box" or something along those lines.

I am really looking forward to hear your work!

Florian

I dunno guys. Would you like to see actual updates in your updates? At least there's an update post!

 

[Morpheus Kitami]

I can't help but feel asking the fans for music is a bad sign. Has that kind of thing ever worked for a game? Something good and thematically consistent with the rest of the music?