KickStarter Knights of the Chalice 2 Thread - Augury of Chaos

[Brancaleone]

Pretty much, he hasn't refused anyone who asked yet afaik.
Looks like he's still polishing the game tho, so why not wait a bit longer and get the final version once it hits the major distributors?

Yeah, I guess I'll do that. I had meant from the beginning to wait for final, but flesh is weak and getting weaker by the day.

 

[Reinhardt]

Looking into the KS

https://www.kickstarter.com/project...-the-chalice-2-revolutionise-old-school-crpgs

Imagine if Pierre had reached 300k.

Necromancer, sapient book, gargoyle companion, succubus companion, BG2 style city "open quests, player stronghold, demon companion, water elemental companion and ToEE style 3D animations in a 2D envoriment... But no, people on kickstarter decided to spend money on projects like dreamscam...

Me - "new modules, new tools" Victor "NECROMANCER! SUCCUBUS!" I'm not even surprised.

 

[ERYFKRAD]

Looking into the KS

https://www.kickstarter.com/project...-the-chalice-2-revolutionise-old-school-crpgs

Imagine if Pierre had reached 300k.

Necromancer, sapient book, gargoyle companion, succubus companion, BG2 style city "open quests, player stronghold, demon companion, water elemental companion and ToEE style 3D animations in a 2D envoriment... But no, people on kickstarter decided to spend money on projects like dreamscam...

Me - "new modules, new tools" Victor "NECROMANCER! SUCCUBUS!" I'm not even surprised.

Can't complain. M. Begue already put the barbarians in.

 

[luj1]

No buy available until he finishes transition of the game to 3d.

You can still use tokens, can you not?

 

[Tweed]

If he gets rid of tokens I'll demand a refund, the sprites are hideous.

 

[Pink Eye]

Pretty much, he hasn't refused anyone who asked yet afaik.
Looks like he's still polishing the game tho, so why not wait a bit longer and get the final version once it hits the major distributors?

Yeah. He has indeed not refused anyone. I got a couple of my 4chan buddies to buy the game by emailing him.

 

[Tweed]

Also still waiting for him to add the backer names to the credits, I wanna see my name in lights. He completely destroyed me and this is the thanks I get.

 

[Darth Canoli]

When is this coming out on GoG, come on.

From what i understand, he wants to release something as polished as possible on Steam and GOG.
It means:

• More content to the village.
• Some additional quests for other chapters.
• Barbarian revamp.
• Some tweaks for the monk.
• Completing the steam page.
• Steam achievements.
• Some other stuff/fixes players brought to his attention.

We're probably looking at a release in two month but i might be wrong.

 

[luj1]

If he gets rid of tokens I'll demand a refund, the sprites are hideous.

I used to be against tokens, but now I actually prefer them.

 

[Cryomancer]

"NECROMANCER! SUCCUBUS!" I'm not even surprised.

I like this two things however, my favorite turn based D&D adaptation(Dark Sun : Wake of the Ravager) lacks both. And among the things which I listed, I want the BG2 style open quests more than anything else. And my first run will probably gonna be a alteration "green" wizard which focus more on party supporting.

Enemy AI on KoTC 1 was amazing and I don't think that "cheese tactics" will gonna work on KoTC 2 too. What I mean by that? On nwn1/2, and other games(mostly RtWP game), if you cast wall of fire, undead enemies(which takes double damage) mindless walk into the wall of fire. On KoTC 1, they cast dispel or just walk a bit more or use bows depending on the case. If one of then die to a disintegrate spell, those with low FORT save starts to cast spells like "spell resistance" and spell immunity or try to attack your caster to try to kill him with special arrows or force him to do concentration checks. The AI on KoTC 1 is amazing.

If he gets rid of tokens I'll demand a refund, the sprites are hideous.

What if he maintain it as optional? And if 3D models are akin to Temple of Elemental Evil sprites?

• Barbarian revamp.

Which he plans to do with Barbarians? I don't play much as a martial class but IMO Barbarians are the coolest martial class. While the virgin fighter needs formal training and expensive armor, a barbarian only needs a club.

 

[Jvegi]

We're probably looking at a release in two month but i might be wrong.

Is it really this close to not being a broken mess nobody who didn't have to talk about it on some forum would play?

I have the latest version downloaded, but I don't feel like touching it. 20 games on my desktop begging to be played.

 

[Tweed]

What if he maintain it as optional? And if 3D models are akin to Temple of Elemental Evil sprites?

I prefer the tokens anyway and the sprites he's got now are hideously ugly.

And there's no kobold representation.

 

[Darth Canoli]

Which he plans to do with Barbarians? I don't play much as a martial class but IMO Barbarians are the coolest martial class. While the virgin fighter needs formal training and expensive armor, a barbarian only needs a club.

Something with totems feats a bit like in Pathfinder, i don't remember the details and it's not my place to spoil them but it looks quite interesting.

And there's no kobold representation.

The gnoll sprite is close enough, i used it for my kobold psionicist in Hearkenwold.

Is it really this close to not being a broken mess nobody who didn't have to talk about it on some forum would play?

I have the latest version downloaded, but I don't feel like touching it. 20 games on my desktop begging to be played.

It's neither broken nor a mess and my prediction might prove wrong but it's certainly close to release.
Besides, with the panel of new fine tuning difficulty options even casuals will be able to enjoy the game now.

 

[Pink Eye]

It's not a broken mess at all. It's completely playable from start to finish.

 

[PrettyDeadman]

No buy available until he finishes transition of the game to 3d.

You can still use tokens, can you not?

You can't use tokens either because the game is not publically available for sale, whether you like tokens or 3d.

 

[Cryomancer]

About the module creation from KoTC2, is easy to use like Aurora engine? And is easy to mod new classes and stuff into the game? Would be hard to re make the Dark Sun games on KoTC2 engine?

 

[Darth Canoli]

About the module creation from KoTC2, is easy to use like Aurora engine? And is easy to mod new classes and stuff into the game? Would be hard to re make the Dark Sun games on KoTC2 engine?

https://rpgcodex.net/forums/threads...or-module-creation.134120/page-7#post-7296827

There's a thread about module creation in the workshop, the first 4 pages or so are only a discussions between moders about functionalities and then, it's only about Hearkenwold.

 

[Cryomancer]

Does the KoTC2 engine allow you to make scripts and easily recompile it? And change how spells and other stuff work? I wrote some of custom spells for myself on NWN2 and spended some time reading the .NSS "source" code of my favorite spells. Anyone with the most basic knowledge of programming can easily change how spells and feats work in that game.

IMO is easier to mod nwn2 than BUGthesda's games.

Or the KoTC2 engine is more about just creating "scenarios"? IE - Player can't create custom variables, and custom made events with custom dialogs, now custom classes.

 

[Dorateen]

The engine has a Spell Editor, which allows you to change existing spells and powers. There are a lot of options available, which should give a builder flexibility for creating custom spells.

I never touched it. KotC2 comes with a robust selection of spells and feats and effects already. Pretty much anything you would want in a 3.5 D&D tactical combat game is already there. If you really want to get inventive, I'm not sure how much you can do with custom scripting. But there seems a lot to play with even in the default framework.

 

[Cryomancer]

The engine has a Spell Editor, which allows you to change existing spells and powers. There are a lot of options available, which should give a builder flexibility for creating custom spells.

I never touched it. KotC2 comes with a robust selection of spells and feats and effects already. Pretty much anything you would want in a 3.5 D&D tactical combat game is already there. If you really want to get inventive, I'm not sure how much you can do with custom scripting. But there seems a lot to play with even in the default framework.

Yep. But I wanna make some different adventures.

Like for example, imagine playing as a Dark Lord with his realm of dread. And having to manage finances, defense, trade and other things. Also having a "curse" granted by the dark powers, with city building mechanics. In order to do something like it, I need to be able to create my own variables and scripts. I an not talking about complex in depth sim city building, think on crossroad keep for nwn2, but in a campaign focused on it and teh curse would have affects not only on story but also on the protagonist game statistics. Or maybe, try to adapt a spelljammer battle or naval battle into the game. That would be cool. We have a total of one spelljammer games and it is more buggy than bugthesda's games.

 

[Dorateen]

Like for example, imagine playing as a Dark Lord with his realm of dread. And having to manage finances, defense, trade and other things. Also having a "curse" granted by the dark powers, with city building mechanics. In order to do something like it, I need to be able to create my own variables and scripts. I an not talking about complex in depth sim city building, think on crossroad keep for nwn2, but in a campaign focused on it and teh curse would have affects not only on story but also on the protagonist game statistics.

A Ravenloft type adventure in KotC2 would be outstanding. It should be possible to do a curse, there are plenty of negative effects you can apply to characters. The builder can make these permanent or for limited duration. The scripts in the engine are built from pre-made commands, but these have variables that you can adjust further.

 

[Dorateen]

Knights of the Chalice 2 version 1.14 is now available for backers! Brings a new tutorial adventure as well as other fixes and features.

(And don't forget about Hearkenwold, available as an adventure module for a potential 30+ hour campaign.)

 

[Pink Eye]

Woo! This is the most important bit, bros.

Spoiler

I don't know what he'll be adding for the monk class. Cause I kind of inundated him with a bunch of monk ideas :D

 

[Infinitron]

https://www.kickstarter.com/project...-revolutionise-old-school-crpgs/posts/3203871

Update #47: KotC 2 Version 1.14 Brings Tutorial Adventure, New Icons & New Features!

Hello everyone! Version 1.14 of KotC 2 Augury of Chaos is now available for download here for both Windows and macOS. The main changes are the new tutorial module, new dialogue options affecting the final battle, new character icons for NPC dialogue, new player-character tokens, and a bunch of new features including the display of a new menu when you press the Escape key.

List Of Improvements & Bug Fixes In KotC 2 Version 1.14

• Fixed a problem with Zerria in the Village Map when healing a dead or unconscious character.
• Fixed a problem with some big creatures not moving towards the nearest enemy.
• Fixed a problem with creatures trying to climb out of a pit and not taking the most direct path to do so.
• Creatures will try to swap positions when that would allow them to escape from a pit while throwing the enemy into it.
• Fixed a problem with the main difficulty level not setting the proper number of Feats obtained on level up. Also, when switching from easy difficulty to hard difficulty during combat, creatures will regain the Hit Points lost due to their special negative levels instantly.
• Fixed problems in the Help Entry about Bonus Types.
• Added details in the Help Entry about Spell Resistance.
• Added a bunch of new Skill Options in the Final Battle to make it easier and more interesting. Also, before the battle, Yanos will mention something associated with the skill option (Archery, Divine Champion, etc) that you selected when you first met him. You'll have to replay from the first time you meet Yanos to see the reference, otherwise that information won't be in your saved game and it can't be referenced. If you'd like to plan ahead, the skill options that you can use before the Final Battle are: [Half-Salamander], [Half-Giant], [Rogue], [Fire], [Ice], [Assassin], [Domain Power Time], [Domain Power Mysticism], [Domain Power Banishment], [Psionics] and [Arcana]. See the webpage about skills in KotC 2 for more information about character skills.
• In the Castle Map, you can now find hidden things in the fountains if you have a Small-Size character or an Aquatic Familiar. In one of the rooms, you can find a secret cache if you have an Elf, and another cache if you have a Dwarf. As it all happens at the end of the adventure, all of the hidden items are very good.
• Added the new items Ring of Spell Penetration +2/+4/+6 in the item list. They give you a bonus on the caster level check made to bypass the Spell Resistance of targets.
• Added the soundtracks called Our Story Begins and Angevin from Kevin MacLeod. Our Story Begins now plays during character creation. Both of the new soundtracks can also be heard in the tutorial module. Special Thanks to Angry Lux for pointing me towards these really cool soundtracks!
• Saving and Loading will no longer be possible when scripts are being executed.
• Added 113 new character-dialogue icons from the PVG packs High Fantasy Main Party 1 and 2, and 116 more from the recent Humble Bundle 'Royalty-Free RPG Development Assets'. Also created 64 new player-character tokens using the Humble Bundle RPG assets and two more using the PVG assets. Special Thanks to Paulo for pointing me towards this awesome Humble Bundle!

Spoiler

• Torch lights and other lights can now be printed on top of the overlay layer. To do this, in the Module Editor, specify 'Overlay' in the settings of the light. See the Tutorial Module for examples.
• Fixed a problem when characters go through dangerous squares out of combat.
• Fixed a bug in the Item Editor and Weapon Editor when switching from one module to another. The editor wasn't displaying the scripts associated with items because it was keeping in memory the list of scripts of the previous module.
• The 'Set Facing' Script Action can now be used to let a character (or all of the party members) look towards a square. To facilitate this, I've updated the Script Editor by adding a new 'Pick Square' button in the Script Entry interface where you're supposed to select a character. Instead of picking a character, you can then click on a map square and the script will record it as a string, such as '15,40' for the square of coordinates X=15 and Y=40.
• Fixed a crash in the Creature Editor which could happen after using the import button to import some creatures from one module to another.
• Fixed a bug where tripping a balancing creature would fail, even though it should be successful automatically as mentioned in the help entry for the Balancing condition.
• Changed the two menu icons in the top-left corner of the main game screen.
• Added the 'Escape key' Selection Box allowing you to save, load, open the options screen, etc.
• Added the 'Use/Examine' button in the Item Description and Weapon Description screens. It does the same thing as pressing the 'U' key while mousing over an item, and also the same thing as clicking on the 'Activate Special' icon and then selecting the item in the list of items that can be activated.
• Added the 'Show Inventory' Combat-Menu option. Use this when you just want to see the character's inventory and not move or swap any of the items in the inventory.
• Added the Alt+T shortcut key allowing you to switch between Token Display and Sprite Display.
• Added the Tutorial Module, but I haven't had enough time to finish it, so, for the moment, it ends after you defeat the bugbears. The tutorial is still fun to play and it contains most of the information a new player needs. Also, there are a couple of changes in the dialogue depending on your character's gender (as long as you're playing a Human or an Elf). Special Thanks to Juhani for the massive help and great suggestions for the tutorial module!
• When mousing over a weapon or armour in the Inventory Screen, the game will display the attack and damage statistics of both the moused-over item and the currently-equipped item, so that you can compare the two items easily.
• Fixed a bug when loading the Quick Save. Also, added a Main-Menu button to load the Quick Save.
• Fixed an issue with the Halberd weapon sprite.
• Fixed a problem with the spells Greater Heroism and Mass Greater Heroism. They weren't giving temporary Hit Points. See the webpage about the Wizard to read the spell descriptions.
• In the Character Sheet, in the Effects & Conditions tab, I've added three sub-tabs. The 'Short-Term Effects' sub-tab allows you to display effects that end within rounds, or at the end of combat, or when the party rests. The 'Permanent Effects' sub-tab allows you to display effects that come from an item or permanent ability. The 'All Effects' sub-tab allows you to display everything. For example, you can use the 'Short-Term Effects' tab during combat to obtain the list of effects that could be removed from enemies.
• In the macOS version, fixed a bug with sprite display when moving in the left or right direction.

Thoughts About The Official Release
Here is the list of things I would really like to finish before the official release on Steam & GOG:

• Wrap up the Village content and Tutorial content and make sure that all quests can be completed. Also, it would be good to add a few extra quests in Chapter Two and Chapter Three.
• Allow the player to save the game in a few particular places where you have to go through a long dialogue sequence before fighting, or you have to go from one fight to another without any chance to save (I'll see what I can do about this).
• Highlight the recommended Feats and Spells when characters gain a level, as it shouldn't be too hard to implement and it will improve the experience for new players.
• Improve the item descriptions of Magic Scrolls, Potions and Wands.
• Add a new section in the PDF Guidebook on How to Create a New Module.
• Of course, I will add the names of Kickstarter backers to the Credits Screen before release.
• Remove the remaining bugs in the game and editor. Prepare the Steam and GOG Achievements.
• Add the Spell Shortcut System. This might improve gameplay quite a lot. I'll see if it can be added before release.
• Add a few new Magic Items like the Prismatic Helmet and Amulet of the Second Spell. They were mentioned in the Kickstarter update about magic items. These items would be nice to have for the Castle Map of Augury of Chaos, where you face many high-level spellcasters.

Here is a list of some of the things that will probably have to be added afterwards:

• The Barbarian Class upgrade. It will be very, very cool, but I guess it isn't super urgent.
• The iconised Combat-Action Menu. I might use the assets of the RPG Humble Bundle for this.
• Improvements in the Secret Message Decoding Interface, as suggested in the forums.
• Improvements & new options regarding the Dialogue Interface, as suggested by Guido (Thank You!). The suggestions include a new option to have all of the dialogue text displayed at the bottom of the screen and another to limit the width of the dialogue box in full-screen mode.
• A Local-Map Screen would be good, as the existing minimap is really small.
• Most of the planned new Feats, new Magic Items, new Subraces, new Spells and Character-Class improvements for the Rogue, Mage Knight, Monk and others.
• Also, I've created a couple of really nice isometric Dungeon and Cave Maps in the style of Temple of Elemental Evil. These will probably go into the First Module of the upcoming Trilogy if I can't add them to the Augury of Chaos Village Map because of time constraints.

I know that many other cool improvements have been suggested, but I have to be selective and give priority to the more important elements. I will do the rest afterwards.

If you have some thoughts about what should be, or not be, in the game before the release, please feel free to let me know here, or in the forums, or by email at enquiries@heroicfantasygames.com. I'll read everything after posting this update.

Also, if you have any feedback on the Difficulty System (or anything else), please feel free to let me know. Is the difficulty okay now? I like the new system because it's flexible enough to allow for both easy and difficult encounters and it's quite easy to make a tough encounter easier just by giving special negative levels to enemies in the Module Editor.

Thank You For Your Support, Valiant Knights and Wise Wizards of the Realm! Enjoy!!

 

[Tweed]

I'm still gonna wait for him to finish off the village before the Killer Kobold Klub rides again and I make a vid.