Darkest Dungeon II

[Assisted Living Godzilla]

heavily inspired (as in: total fucking ripoff, I wait for them to be sued)

Gameplay mechanics and artstyles cannot be copyrighted though.

Not quite depending on the jurisdiction. USA has some slight overlap in design patents and copyright law and it's rather muddled(see: Spry Fox vs. Lolapps)
Gameplay mechanics('rules') can be patented(at least in USA,) however.I highly doubt Red Hook Studios did apply for a patent.
Not to mention international IP litigation is a massive joke unless you're running a multi-billion dollar corporation.

Also, whether the patent would actually hold up in a court of law is still — probably surprisingly to most — an open legal question.

Fun example: Squaresoft patented the sphere grid in FFX.
https://patents.google.com/patent/US6676519B2/en
Even doodled a picture of Tidus

Spoiler

I could swear I played something in the '90s with the exact same combat system where you've got four characters in a row and your attacks depend on where your character is located...same for the enemies, which doesn't seem to be much of a thing in Darkest Dungeon. There isn't really one new thing I can really think of that Darkest Dungeon does that wasn't in something previous, so I'm not sure what they could patent about it. Much of it seems to be cribbed from '90s games, although I wouldn't be surprised if it was just a mix of stuff Vanillaware games like Grand Knights History, Dragon's Crown, and Odin Sphere did (or at least a take on stuff they've done) either.

I'm kind of surprised to hear Square have (had?) a patent on the Sphere Grid given how much it pops up in non-Square games. I know Sega has the floating guide arrow patent from Crazy Taxi, which is why direction arrows appear in games differently from that. I think it's Namco which has, or had, the patent on minigames you can play during a load screen; which doesn't even seem like something you should be able to patent.

 

[Cross]

I could swear I played something in the '90s with the exact same combat system where you've got four characters in a row and your attacks depend on where your character is located...same for the enemies

I hope you're being sarcastic. Darkest Dungeon uses the same combat system tons of other RPGs use. It's just Wizardry-style combat presented in a side view instead of a first-person view.

 

[J1M]

heavily inspired (as in: total fucking ripoff, I wait for them to be sued)

Gameplay mechanics and artstyles cannot be copyrighted though.

Not quite depending on the jurisdiction. USA has some slight overlap in design patents and copyright law and it's rather muddled(see: Spry Fox vs. Lolapps)
Gameplay mechanics('rules') can be patented(at least in USA,) however.I highly doubt Red Hook Studios did apply for a patent.
Not to mention international IP litigation is a massive joke unless you're running a multi-billion dollar corporation.

Also, whether the patent would actually hold up in a court of law is still — probably surprisingly to most — an open legal question.

Fun example: Squaresoft patented the sphere grid in FFX.
https://patents.google.com/patent/US6676519B2/en
Even doodled a picture of Tidus

Spoiler

I could swear I played something in the '90s with the exact same combat system where you've got four characters in a row and your attacks depend on where your character is located...same for the enemies, which doesn't seem to be much of a thing in Darkest Dungeon. There isn't really one new thing I can really think of that Darkest Dungeon does that wasn't in something previous, so I'm not sure what they could patent about it. Much of it seems to be cribbed from '90s games, although I wouldn't be surprised if it was just a mix of stuff Vanillaware games like Grand Knights History, Dragon's Crown, and Odin Sphere did (or at least a take on stuff they've done) either.

I'm kind of surprised to hear Square have (had?) a patent on the Sphere Grid given how much it pops up in non-Square games. I know Sega has the floating guide arrow patent from Crazy Taxi, which is why direction arrows appear in games differently from that. I think it's Namco which has, or had, the patent on minigames you can play during a load screen; which doesn't even seem like something you should be able to patent.

Pretentious game journalism types might argue that Darkest Dungeon innovated "by making the narrator into a character".

 

[Assisted Living Godzilla]

I could swear I played something in the '90s with the exact same combat system where you've got four characters in a row and your attacks depend on where your character is located...same for the enemies

I hope you're being sarcastic. Darkest Dungeon uses the same combat system tons of other RPGs use. It's just Wizardry-style combat presented in a side view instead of a first-person view.

Yes, while I get that's what it is, they're also different. What I'm saying is I could swear I played something that was exactly the same combat and presentation as Darkest Dungeon. Instead of being a two rows system like most stuff, it was four; and it was also in a side view.

 

[Reinhardt]

those games only seems to focus on making it hard, instead of making it fun.

So they are exactly like game they copying?

 

[Reinhardt]

Grand Knights History

Thanks for reminding me about this game.

 

[Assisted Living Godzilla]

Grand Knights History

Thanks for reminding me about this game.

The guy behind that also made Grand Kingdom.

 

[Reinhardt]

Incline of DD

 

[Black]

Celerity thoughts?

 

[Fedora Master]

Weebs ruin everything they touch.

 

[LESS T_T]

Also 3D environment: https://www.darkestdungeon.com/job-posting-environment-artist/

Job Posting – Environment Artist

We are seeking a full-time environment artist to join us at Red Hook Studios on the Darkest Dungeon 2 team. Red Hook Studios is a small studio and as such you will be working closely with all members of the team across a variety of disciplines to accomplish tasks.

We’re looking for an artisan who can become part of the production process and enjoy an invigorating back and forth with our concept team and Lead Environment Artist to build stylish and compelling spaces.

Responsibilities:

• Work with the Art Director and Lead Modeler to internalize our workflow and match our art style;
• Work with technical artists to ensure models are efficiently built for vfx
• Work with engineers to integrate assets into the game pipeline/engine
• Assist the Lead Modeler to create a rich world filled to the brim with awfulness!

Qualifications:

• Required: Excellent environment modeling and texturing skills
• Required: 3+ years industry experience
• Software: Maya, Unity, Substance Designer/Painter, zbrush
• Self-Starter: You’re self-motivated with a strong work ethic who can thrive without micromanagement.
• Professional: You understand that feedback is an important part of the creative process and are comfortable receiving it.
• Game enthusiast: You’re up on gaming trends & try to play them when able
• Familiarity with Darkest Dungeon gameplay preferred

Anyway almost a year after the teaser, there's nothing.

 

[Silva]

The only major problem the first DD had was grindness, and it was solved by Radiant option. I'm optimistic for sequel.

If you never played a Houndmaster/Jester/Hellion/Flagellant party making a bloodbath of every encounter... or any other ridiculous party combo... you don't know how fun this shit can be.

 

[NJClaw]

The only major problem the first DD had was grindness, and it was solved by Radiant option. I'm optimistic for sequel.

If you never played a Houndmaster/Jester/Hellion/Flagellant party making a bloodbath of every encounter... or any other ridiculous party combo... you don't know how fun this shit can be.

The game has a lot of fun and interesting combinations to try.

One I had a lot of fun with, even if it's pretty dangerous, is Occultist-Highwayman-Shieldbreaker-Shieldbreaker: they all have a skill that hits multiple targets at once and you can endlessly spam them. Usually those skills are not that useful because their damage is severely gimped, but when you use them with every single character that damage starts to add up.

 

[Reinhardt]

We have thread about Darkest Dungeon, you know.

 

[Tom Baker's Arse]

We have thread about Darkest Dungeon, you know.

Yes, its shit.

 

[Harthwain]

The only major problem the first DD had was grindness, and it was solved by Radiant option. I'm optimistic for sequel.

I am less optimistic. I expected more exploration of the dungeons and more interesting sanity mechanic. It was still a nice game (although the grind was stupid and the idea for harder bosses - being just bloated version of the level 1 bosses - was double stupid), but I do expect Darkest Dungeon 2 to change some things and improve in general, compared to its predecessor.

 

[Assisted Living Godzilla]

The only major problem the first DD had was grindness, and it was solved by Radiant option. I'm optimistic for sequel.

I am less optimistic. I expected more exploration of the dungeons and more interesting sanity mechanic. It was still a nice game (although the grind was stupid and the idea for harder bosses - being just bloated version of the level 1 bosses - was double stupid), but I do expect Darkest Dungeon 2 to change some things and improve in general, compared to its predecessor.

It definitely sounds like they're changing things.

What gameplay and other changes are you able to talk to us about at this time?

We’re playing this pretty close to the chest! Our combat system is making a return, but we’re giving it a significant tune-up—mechanically, and in terms of presentation. Most significantly, however, we are working with a completely different metagame structure. Darkest Dungeon 2 is a game about enduring a gruelling journey, not cleaning up your backyard.​

 

[Silva]

I wonder if an auto-resolve feature that opens up halfway through the story would help with the grindness factor. Make it slightly stacked against the player (to avoid people relying 100% on it) and see where it goes.

 

[Harthwain]

Autoresolve stacked against the player would simply make people avoid using it, since it'd generate worse results than playing. So it isn't a way to solve the grind problem.

 

[ERYFKRAD]

Pretentious game journalism types might argue that Darkest Dungeon innovated "by making the narrator into a character".

Nuts, Max Payne beat them to it long ago.

 

[Reinhardt]

And IWD 2

 

[Baron Dupek]

EGS exclusive, in Early Access.
Worst place to collect feedbacks, lmao.

"In financial desperation, I struck a bargain with the ancient things that surfaced in search of sacrifice when the moon was right."

 

[Harthwain]

EGS exclusive, in Early Access.

Is it exclusive for the duration of Early Access or for a year after it releases?

 

[flabbyjack]

Maybe they'll implement save game this time so I don't have to do it manually in Windows.

 

[Jermu]

EGS exclusive, in Early Access.

Is it exclusive for the duration of Early Access or for a year after it releases?

Only EA is epic only and 1.00 is available for "other platforms" (reply from dev. in steam forum)