KickStarter INSOMNIA: The Ark - dieselpunk sci-fi action-RPG set on a decaying space station

[Perkel]

Because it is RPG. Real time action game was also Planescape torment

RTwP isn't the same as Real Time.

So they should pause system to game and thus it will be legitimate RPG.

 

[Rake]

Because it is RPG. Real time action game was also Planescape torment

RTwP isn't the same as Real Time.

So they should pause system to game and thus it will be legitimate RPG.

Slow down the pace of combat, add pause, and yes. I would pledge to that.

 

[Zombra]

Tech demo looks nice! The only thing that bothers me is the camera restriction. I can't even move it up high enough to see across the room I'm in.

I love the slow pace of the animations. They set a nice tone for the whole thing. This will clearly not be a bunny hopping bullshit click-as-fast-as-you-can schlock action game despite the format.

For this type of deal, I have no problem with it being in true REAL TIME. I love turn-based, I can enjoy RTwP sometimes, and even "action" RPGs can be fun. I like the way this feels, though the engine will obviously need optimization.

Some beautiful work here Guyduk. I want to see where you go with this. Backed.

 

[Guyduk]

I have to say concept art for this game blew me away. Honestly numenera concept art in comparison to this looks like some kids paintings.
Best of luck you guys. Starting project is one thing but finishing is completely other thing. Don't chew more than you can bite, set realistic goals and don't fuck with your community and soon you will be doing self funded sequel or much more lucrative kickstarter

If my experience with KS projects serves me right, though, doing a self-funded sequel is most likely out of the picture. In any case, getting the game out is our top priority at the moment, anything else comes later.

The game would look so much more sexy with Turn Based combat, I always thought that TB is easier to implement and balance, and it feels less clunky with a lot less of work. Mr. Guyduk can we have a hope still that you will change your mind?

Not likely, I'm afraid. The core mechanics are already in, the Kickstater is funded, we can't afford to spend any more time on overhauling, we need to get the gameplay prototype out as soon as possible.

Slow down the pace of combat, add pause, and yes. I would pledge to that.

Well, we are definitely planning on adding a pause.

 

[Perkel]

If my experience with KS projects serves me right, though, doing a self-funded sequel is most likely out of the picture. In any case, getting the game out is our top priority at the moment, anything else comes later.

That is the thing with crowdfunding. If you realistically manage budget to actually create game for what you got from cf without any additional sponsoring, early access, fuckery or whatever even if your game will sell 0 coppies after release, as long as you deliver what you promised to backers and those backers will find it good, you can always set another kickstarter for sequel or other IP. In the end as devs you don't need much stuff to buy for company and wage is essentially the thing that creates game. So even at worst case scenario there is fanbase that will fund your next project.

It's not dead end scenario in which you have only one chance at crowdfunding. You have as many chances as there are your fans, so crating game that your fans will find good is your goal. Everything else is just coating on that.

For example Pillars of Eternity mentioned a lot on this forum.

If by any chance it will bomb horribly on steam if devs created game for actually what they got in cf campaign it would mean they are at point 0 + they pocketed money for their wages (which is only natural !). That does seems like mistake. But it's not. Backers will decide that. If game was amazing for them they will crowdfund their next project.

So as long as their fanbase feels they got good game they can create next and next and next and next game as long as their won't release 2-3 games straight as failures for fanbase. Which means it creates long lasting job for devs which isn't any different than standard dev jobs in publishers kind of business.

Naturally we are for that purpose assume game would sell 0. Any additional copy sold beyond that is just pure profit devs/company can put in their pocket to spend on their future or simply blow everything on ferrari.

That is why i said it is super important to set your goals right and realistic. Without it like for exaple trying later to fund game dev by Early access you are introducing unknown into equation and if by any chance that unknown will be problem then you are risking quality of whole project.

I say this because you can take notes from original Double Fine kickstarter. Devs starter with realistic goal and later after campaign set their eyes to expand game scope adding money from their own pocket. Essentially it created problem so they had to devide game into two games separate from themselves and in the end it wasn't that profitable for DF nor we know how much time it will take for second part of their game and nor they can ask people money for that second part.

So i wish you luck and ironwill to finish your project.

 

[Baron Dupek]

There is some new info about game (on RPGwatch but maybe some Codex staff made own), but most interesing is the techdemo to try out the game. Mind you that it's from early version of the game so expect a placeholders and wonky animations and bugs. Seems like it's not another KickStarter money bait.
Enjoy!

Download Playable Tech Demo link 1

Download Playable Tech Demo link 2

Download Presentation Scene

 

[Zombra]

Looking forward to the day when I can swing a dead cat (or a KS dollar) without hitting Mark Morgan.

 

[Jaesun]

Looking forward to the day when I can swing a dead cat (or a KS dollar) without hitting Mark Morgan.

That's like saying you are tired of DELICIOUS CHOCOLATE CAKE. No one ever gets tired of DELICIOUS CHOCOLATE CAKE.

 

[Stainless Veteran]

Looking forward to the day when I can swing a dead cat (or a KS dollar) without hitting Mark Morgan.

That's like saying you are tired of DELICIOUS CHOCOLATE CAKE. No one ever gets tired of DELICIOUS CHOCOLATE CAKE.

^
| This, X1000.

 

[Major_Blackhart]

Downloading now.
Looking forward to seeing this in action for myself.

 

[Panzermeido]

Greetings, Codex! I've brought great good news - I'm the new community manager for InSomnia, and one of my duties is overseeing this thread. As such, I'll be doing many important things, such as feeding you canned PR, half-baked ads and some other, ridiculously unimportant stuff, like actually answering questions or providing bits of related content.
Even so, ask away. I do not guarantee ASAP answers, but I do intend to read through everything and at least respond if I can't answer the questions outright.
So... that's it. I hope we'll get along.

 

[Major_Blackhart]

Cool.

 

[Zombra]

So how about that camera, Panzermeido? You think that's gonna get freed up so we can look around a little better? It feels way too restricted in the tech demo.

 

[Panzermeido]

So how about that camera, Panzermeido? You think that's gonna get freed up so we can look around a little better? It feels way too restricted in the tech demo.

The camera wouldn't be locked in place entirely, but it won't be entirely free, too. There's the "main angle" (pseudo-isometric) which the camera would use on default, and the player would be able to tilt it a bit, plus the expected zoom, but that's about it.

Additionally, the camera would be kind of "case-sensitive"; certain actions would change the way it behaves: equipping melee weapons would zoom the camera in a little, using scoped weapons would force the camera to follow the aiming direction, moving in outdoors areas would lift the zoom ceiling, and so on.

 

[Zombra]

The camera wouldn't be locked in place entirely, but it won't be entirely free, too. There's the "main angle" (pseudo-isometric) which the camera would use on default, and the player would be able to tilt it a bit, plus the expected zoom, but that's about it.

"Tilt a bit". That's kind of how I felt in the tech demo. I felt like I was wearing a neck brace or something. I couldn't even tilt my head up to see all the way across a small room half the time.

Hopefully this communication isn't just one-way with you answering questions ... if you can get some of our feedback back to the developers, that would be lovely. Anyway, I felt that the camera was far too restricted.

Additionally, the camera would be kind of "case-sensitive"

Sounds cool. Thanks for the reply

 

[Sensuki]

Yeah the camera angle is a bit restrictive considering some of the level design. It seems that levels will be enclosed spaces rather than "roofless" like most top down games of that style, so when going near walls/doors it feels kinda strange.

 

[Panzermeido]

The camera wouldn't be locked in place entirely, but it won't be entirely free, too. There's the "main angle" (pseudo-isometric) which the camera would use on default, and the player would be able to tilt it a bit, plus the expected zoom, but that's about it.

"Tilt a bit". That's kind of how I felt in the tech demo. I felt like I was wearing a neck brace or something. I couldn't even tilt my head up to see all the way across a small room half the time.

Yeah the camera angle is a bit restrictive considering some of the level design. It seems that levels will be enclosed spaces rather than "roofless" like most top down games of that style, so when going near walls/doors it feels kinda strange.

Yeah, that's a noted problem. The behavior of the camera would generally depend on what type of space you are in (enclosed or open), but the rough edges, such as the doorway stuff, will be reworked - it's a bug of the techdemo, not a feature.

 

[Panzermeido]

So, some news?

Not much, really. It's been a somewhat slow period for us, with a lot of decisions being made and not too much work getting done. We've restructured the studio a bit, added some new people into our midst, but most importantly - we've switched engines to UE4, so our current priority is getting our mechanics over to the new environment and prettying up our assets (read: making the models even more HIGHPOLY).

Over than that? Our site is getting a complete restructuring, our forum (we have one, here's a link http://www.insomnia-project.com/forum-3/) is up but is basically unbaked playdough for now.

We did update our concept art galleries, so there's that. Give them a look, our artist dudes did some great work.

All in all, we actually did a lot of stuff which is mostly stuff that makes us do the game stuff quicker and better, so more updates with actual stuff in them are soon to follow.

 

[ERYFKRAD]

And after a fuck load many days of radio silence, we have-

Spoiler

(Links redacted)

Posted by Studio MONO

Good day to everyone! Due to a number of reasons, we haven’t posted any news for a while. We had a lot of work to do regarding the transition toUnreal Engine 4. We chose this engine to speed up the development and, mainly, to get make it easier for us to releasePC,Mac, andLinux versionsat the same time. At this moment we finished transitioning the old functionality and now we are starting to add new features.
As you already know, we are now working on the demo of the game with 3 to 5 hours of gameplay. The demo will take place on a colossal space station that has been moving to the evacuation point: a faraway planet, where station inhabitants hope to start over the history of the human race. The working name of the demo is “The Premise”. It’s going to be a part of the game that includes a tutorial and a kind of prologue to the main events ofInSomnia RPG.

In the demo, you’ll be able to try the main features of the gameplay: close and range combat, leveling up, the dialogue system, and main and side quests. Also, you’ll be able to try some of the basic skills like mechanics, unlocking, stealth, and medicine. During the demo you’ll be playing for one of the main characters of the game - Typer (in the release version of the game you’ll create your own character from scratch). This character has his own story, unique skills, social position, weaknesses, and strengths. Some of the inhabitants are friendly with him and some of them are not.

Typer is a ghetter, a smuggler, and a mercenary, living on the outskirts of the reservation D-106, which is located in the close proximity to Urb. He was born in the Dump (that’s the name of the territory outside Urb) and he knows a lot about how things work there. He managed to survive by working for the most dangerous people of the Dump, and he knows all downsides of living on the station.

In the demo his quest will be to deliver a parcel to the very perimeter of Urb. The perimeter is very well guarded by patrols and the ordinate’s guard systems. It’s a very dangerous task, so you’ll need to get around the reservation before going on your mission. You are going to need all the information and all the items you’re able to collect.

And here’s one more thing. We have refreshed ourconcept gallerywith new characterillustrationsfrom the upcoming demo and added some descriptions to these illustrations that will introduce you to the lore ofInSomnia RPG.

Thank you for your attention! More news coming soon!

 

[mastroego]

We’ve been on this project for three years - which is enough to get a lot of stuff done, but since you don’t have three years to read it,

You might be surprised.

 

[Zombra]

Hope they've done some work on that restrictive camera.

 

[SarcasticUndertones]

This sounds and looks quite interesting. Not sure how I feel about 'real time' rpg, but tbh as long as it's different enough and has a fair setting them I'm probably in.

Anyone played the tech demo yet?

 

[StaticSpine]

This sounds and looks quite interesting. Not sure how I feel about 'real time' rpg, but tbh as long as it's different enough and has a fair setting them I'm probably in.

Anyone played the tech demo yet?

It's too tech, you can just walk, use the lantern and hit the target dummies.

 

[SarcasticUndertones]

This sounds and looks quite interesting. Not sure how I feel about 'real time' rpg, but tbh as long as it's different enough and has a fair setting them I'm probably in.

Anyone played the tech demo yet?

It's too tech, you can just walk, use the lantern and hit the target dummies.

Thanks.

 

[LESS T_T]

Looooks coool: https://www.kickstarter.com/project...-in-a-brutal-dieselpunk-univers/posts/1134612

Demo Working Process

Hi there! We’d like you to know that the demo will be completed real soon, but please have patience. We still don’t know the exact release date, because we want to deliver to you something that’s really worth playing. What we can tell you are what will be probably the most important systems for you to test in the demo, to estimate them or to indicate how they can be further improved.

Within the demo, it will feature all the basic attributes except Charisma. So within the demo, there will be Strength, Dexterity, Endurance, Perception, and Intellect; these characteristics will have a considerable effect on the gameplay of the game.

The following skills will be available: Close Combat, Small Arms, Rifles, Heavy Weapons, Medicine, Mechanics, and Criminal Activities. Skills determine the success of certain actions and often require using special items. So, for example, it is hardly possible to repair broken computers without special tools, even if your skill is very high, or to brute force-open locked containers without lock picks.

The player’s character will be Typer, a preset key character with a certain level of progression. He has good Strength and Dexterity attributes a high level of Close Combat and Mechanics skills, as well as a fairly good Small Arms skill. Besides, Typer has a number of unique perks, some items, and crafting recipes. The unique items and perks are objects that cannot be simply found or used: to do so, the player will have to fulfill certain hidden conditions.

The demo will also feature Hunger, Thirst, and Fatigue systems, as well as a whole bunch of various ways to interact with the environment that will require having certain skills and basic attributes, or simply the player’s being attentive enough. These will include repairing broken machines and objects, opening doors, searching for resources and supplies, force-opening locked containers, healing wounds and traumas, basic item crafting (mostly creating ammunition), hacking electronic systems, reprogramming bots and turrets, modifying weapons and armor, and, of course, fighting in the Close and Ranged Combat modes.