Interview inXile's Torment successor officially announced on RPS, will use Monte Cook's Numenera setting

[General Maxson]

Will Fargo deliver, or will we be left with broken dreams after all this kickstarter craze finishes (i.e. the games come out)?

 

[Moribund]

I don't think Gygax had anything to do with planescape - it was designed long after he had been forced out of TSR. Unless you mean the planes generally? I don't know too much of the history of that cosmology, but I think alot of it was also developed after he left TSR. Gygax was important, but the view of him as a genius incapable of doing wrong is called into question by his post-TSR output. See Cyborg Commando.

The idea of concordant opposition etc. came from gygax and was there I think from the beginning or close to it. That is what all the "existential" part of the setting they were talking about.

Even when you have very talented people you can't expect everything they do to come out amazing. That's why I can't get too excited about this. You can't just take some good writers and presto whammo you have a good game. That's exactly what the big publishers do and some of them succeed decently for their audience at least (loved CoD before my nuts dropped and realized just how ridiculous it all was).

So I see little point for this kickstarter. Especially since you can't go home twice the same way. Casa Blanca was good so let's do a remake, oh shit what happened?

That's hollywood thinking, and that's why games today are shit in the first place. Games should pay attention to the basics, and to the activities you do the most. Make interesting combat system and exploration and puzzles, and then worry about story nonsense later. If you concentrate ONLY on that it's almost bound to be shit. Torment didn't have great combat but it was still tolerable due to being DnD. Much like PE is going to show us (and that idiot sawyer has already proven with last couple blogs) if you take RT nonsense and have just any idiot do it it won't be mediocre, it's gonna be unbearable.

I have a lot more confidence in these guys than the incompetent clowns at obshitian, but this is not good news at all.

 

[Infinitron]

Protip: Don't reply to Moribund posts.

 

[Scruffy]

Now, this is probably going to be unpopular, BUT!
Since what I liked from Torment (after the story of course) was the setting, which I consider one of the coolest ever, and since we can’t have that setting for copyright reasons, WHAT IF at least we get a… brace for a fit of rage, but stay with me there for a second…
What if we see what happens to TNO after he somehow survives the Blood War? Wouldn’t that make for a good story? What if he realizes that being mortal isn’t all that cool or something…
An opening scene / tutorial that finds you in the middle of a battle, where you “generate” your character and get the first feeling of how combat works and how everything else works, with some skill checks, some fedex quests and some zombies to talk to, of course (wink, wink).
Just thinking out loud guise, just thinking out loud…

 

[Moribund]

Might get some truth on you, wouldn't want that.

 

[Ulminati]

So much for fargo's love of turnbased.

Fucking RTwP crawling over all the incline.

Just maintaining Torments reputation for shitty combat

 

[Excidium]

Problem: Turn-based combat systems pretty much have to be complex, or they become boring and pointless.

If your game is going to have mostly simple, understated combat, real time is the way to go.

That's some fucked up logic.

In truth TB combat should avoid being overly complex because of the already time-consuming nature of taking turns.

Detailed mechanics are more fitting for a RT game. Unless people like a simple swordfight taking half an hour to resolve, making tactics pointless when you don't even remember what happened two turns ago.

 

[Wise Emperor]

Combatfags will get their Wasteland 2.
Storyfags needs some love too.

 

[Infinitron]

Problem: Turn-based combat systems pretty much have to be complex, or they become boring and pointless.

If your game is going to have mostly simple, understated combat, real time is the way to go.

That's some fucked up logic.

In truth TB combat should avoid being overly complex because of the already time-consuming nature of taking turns.

Detailed mechanics are more fitting for a RT game. Unless people like a simple swordfight taking half an hour to resolve, making tactics pointless when you don't even remember what happened two turns ago.

What sort of complexity are you talking about here?

Making a decision - progressing a turn - in a turn-based game should always require thought and deliberation, because otherwise it's just busywork. Click, end-turn, click, end-turn, click, end-turn.

In a real-time game, the existence of those moments in combat where there are no interesting decisions to make can be forgiven, because all you have to do is wait for them to pass.

 

[Excidium]

But that has nothing to do with the actual mechanics and more with the encounter design. Even something as simple as [A]ttack or [G]uard requires some thought in a good fight.

the existence of those moments in combat where there are no interesting decisions to make

If those moments exist then combat design has failed. Look at IE games with their retarded "rounds".

 

[Infinitron]

the existence of those moments in combat where there are no interesting decisions to make

If those moments exist then combat design has failed. Look at IE games with their retarded "rounds".

I disagree. If lulls in combat pass quickly and on their own, without bothering the player for input or demanding rote behavior from him, then there's nothing wrong with them. You don't always need to be engaged 100%.

 

[felipepepe]

Sounds meh so far,his description is as bland as can be:

a fantastic, unconventional setting; memorable companions; deep thematic exploration of the human condition; heavy reactivity (i.e., choice and consequences); an intensely personal (rather than epic) story.

Apart from the personal story, sound like every RPG PR made in the last decade...

 

[tuluse]

InXile should copy the gameplay of Blade Runner for Torment 2.

 

[Surf Solar]

Game can fuck off to me as long as it isn't 2d (what we don't know yet) and MCA won't be working on it.

 

[Excidium]

the existence of those moments in combat where there are no interesting decisions to make

If those moments exist then combat design has failed. Look at IE games with their retarded "rounds".

I disagree. If lulls in combat pass quickly and on their own, without bothering the player for input or demanding rote behavior from him, then there's nothing wrong with them. You don't always need to be engaged 100%.

That's a fundamentally flawed approach to simulating a fight...

a fantastic, unconventional setting; memorable companions; deep thematic exploration of the human condition; heavy reactivity (i.e., choice and consequences); an intensely personal (rather than epic) story.

Apart from the personal story, sound like every RPG PR made in the last decade...

Welcome to kickstarter RPGs? Gotta wait for the updates and such...until then it's just reassurance of how it'll be the best thing since the old game they are riding.

 

[tuluse]

It has MCA's blessing.

 

[Scruffy]

i feel i'm being ignored here

 

[PorkaMorka]

I don't care about this game.

It doesn't have the AD&D ruleset.
It doesn't have the Planescape setting.
It probably won't be 2D.

And it is real time with pause.

 

[Excidium]

i feel i'm being ignored here

That's because it's a retarded idea, leave TNO alone...

 

[Twinkle]

I can only hope this time the second half of the game won't turn into lame Diablo.

 

[Scruffy]

i feel i'm being ignored here

That's because it's a retarded idea, leave TNO alone...

BUT
BUT

 

[Excidium]

LEAVE HIM ALONE

Spoiler

 

[tuluse]

I'm I the only one who thinks Torment's use of the planescape setting is overrated? Yes it's weird and throws unexpected stuff at you, but you don't need planescape for that.

Otherwise, it barely makes use of planes at all. Yeah, there are portals all over, but rarely do you actually go somewhere where the rules are different. I think you could get the same effect from any well written fantasy with teleportation and/or portals.

 

[Deleted member 7219]

I don't care about what the combat system is. What I do care about are story, stats, conversations, choices. Very interested in this.

 

[Rake]

http://www.formspring.me/CMcComb/q/413454180699620484
2D or 3D? Someone ask Kevin