KickStarter Knights of the Chalice 2 Thread - Augury of Chaos

[NJClaw]

Ah yes! The good old "I'm going to leave a negative review and then play the game for 100 more hours". My favorite

Nothing wrong with that, I completed things like NWN OC, Pillars of Eternity OC, Warcraft 3, The Saboteur, Just Cause 2, GTA V, Avadon 1 and would not recommend them.

And have you played them for 100 hours past the point you realized you didn't like them?

Nothing wrong with finishing a game and deciding it's not good enough, but playing 100 more hours after having decided you don't like it is just insane.

 

[mediocrepoet]

Ah yes! The good old "I'm going to leave a negative review and then play the game for 100 more hours". My favorite

Nothing wrong with that, I completed things like NWN OC, Pillars of Eternity OC, Warcraft 3, The Saboteur, Just Cause 2, GTA V, Avadon 1 and would not recommend them.

And have you played them for 100 hours past the point you realized you didn't like them?

Nothing wrong with finishing a game and deciding it's not good enough, but playing 100 more hours after having decided you don't like it is just insane.

This game is shit!

... life is pain.

Must play more to fill time until the inevitable end.

 

[Tweed]

The game is chef's kiss, everyone who's mad just couldn't git gud at Augury.

 

[Jermu]

Knights of the Chalice 2 Version 1.59

Hello everyone! I hope you're well. Version 1.59 of Knights of the Chalice 2 is here. It's a small bug-fixing update.

Please don't hesitate to email me at enquiries@heroicfantasygames.com if you find any bugs and annoyances, so that I can fix the game quickly. A saved gamemay be very helpful, too. Thank you!!

I'll post a new Kickstarter update soon.

Thank You So Much, Honoured Knights of the Realm! Enjoy!!

List of changes in Knights of the Chalice 2 Version 1.59

• Fixed a problem with the animation of tiny crawling bugs. They would stop moving after a very short while. That bug was introduced in the February update, my apologies.
• Fixed a bug with the Reach Domain of the Cleric and Bishop not granting the +2 bonus on the attack roll for the spell Magic Stone. Thank you very much Quincy for letting me know about this!
• Fixed a bug with the Rogue's version of the spells Shocking Grasp and Greater Shocking Grasp not granting the +4 attack roll bonus when the target wears metal armour.
• Fixed a bug with the Druid's version of the spell Ice Lance not granting its +4 attack roll bonus.
• Fixed a slowdown when opening and closing the Script Editor from the Intelligence tab of the Creature Properties screen. When closing the Script Editor, processing will now take place only if you've actually saved a script.

Tried to do ironman again but got softlocked in prologue guess I send an email and wait few more months

 

[Infinitron]

Non-Vogel world map design: https://www.kickstarter.com/project...-revolutionise-old-school-crpgs/posts/3770416

Update #69: KotC 2 Version 1.59 Fixes Bugs + New Script Types + New World Map & Temple Maps!​

Hello everyone! I hope you're well. The latest version of KotC 2 is version 1.59. It can be downloaded here for both Windows and macOS. It can also be downloaded on Steam and GOG.

In the past month, I completed work on the new large-size World Map of Mindrel. The final image covers 15,000 x 15,000 pixels. That means I can use any rectangular section as a regional map. It took me a long time to finish the new world map, but I think that's fine because I'm planning to use it in all of the three upcoming adventure modules. The old world map can be found here.

This month, I also created two new isometric temple maps for the new module The Dark Arena. Please scroll down to see these images. You can also read about the deities here.

The new large-size World Map of Mindrel.

Alternative Display System for Very Large Maps​

Separately, in the last few days, I worked on an alternative system for drawing very large adventure maps. Instead of having a single png or jpg image for the backdrop, we have a folder containing many images of size 512 x 512 pixels. ImageMagick can be used to divide a large image into such squares.

Then the game loads and displays only those 512 x 512 squares that are contained within the player's main view at any time. As you move around, the game loads the required images in real time. That way, when starting a game, we don't have to load a huge file, which is slow. Also, we don't risk running out of memory due to the size of the image.

With the new system, for example, we could have a really huge cave system based on a single map. Such a map could be mostly black; the rest being long cave passages and a number of big cave rooms.

Temple of Tyr in Crossroad Castle. Work in progress.

Two New Script Types For Combat​

As well as fixing bugs, version 1.58 limits animated weather effects such as rain and snow to the map's boundaries. It also introduces two new script types: Wounded Script and Turn Script.

The Wounded Script is triggered in combat when a creature is wounded or damaged. You can set a creature's Wounded Script in the Intelligence tab of the Creature Properties screen, within the Creature Editor. Examples of use of the Wounded Script:

1) The Wizard Zarx is essentially invulnerable until the player has done a specific thing such as destroy a mirror or a jar. After each hit, he recovers lost Hit Points and a Vrock is summoned (up to five).

2) The Necromancer Eldark has linked his body with that of a bunch of slaves using a sinister ritual. Each non-fatal hit on the Necromancer kills one of the slaves and heals the Necromancer (as with a casting of the spell Heal).

3) Garock the Barbarian will taunt the player the first time he receives a hit, shouting 'That's the best you can do?' or 'Oooh, a mosquito bite!'.

Next, the Turn Script is triggered in combat at the start of the turn of a creature. You can set a creature's Turn Script in the Intelligence tab of the Creature Properties screen, within the Creature Editor. Example of use of the Turn Script:

At the start of her turn, the Cleric Llagotha will call upon Chaotic Evil deity Hexdra for assistance if her Hit Points have dropped below 55% of the maximum, or if half of her allies have been defeated. She won't be able to do it if she's sleeping, fascinated, stunned, dazed, affected by the spell Hideous Laughter, etc.

With the Turn Script, you don't need to check for these conditions within the script itself, as the Turn Script for a character will only be executed when that character can act normally. You do need to track whether the script was executed before if you don't want the script to be executed multiple times.

Preview image from the new large-size World Map of Mindrel.

Updated Hearkenwold Adventure & New Videos​

Thank you so much Dorateen for updating Hearkenwold and for uploading new videos! Kudos!!

Click here for the new Hearkenwold video showing the new rain and water animations and click here for the new video showing the Throw Creature combat manoeuvre.

List of changes in KotC 2 Version 1.59​

• Fixed a problem with the animation of tiny crawling bugs. They would stop moving after a very short while. That bug was introduced in the February update; my apologies.
• Fixed a bug with the Reach Domain of the Cleric and Bishop not granting the +2 bonus on the attack roll for the spell Magic Stone. Thank you very much Quincy for letting me know about this!
• Fixed a bug with the Rogue's version of the spells Shocking Grasp and Greater Shocking Grasp not granting the +4 attack roll bonus when the target wears metal armour.
• Fixed a bug with the Druid's version of the spell Ice Lance not granting its +4 attack roll bonus.
• Fixed a slowdown when opening and closing the Script Editor from the Intelligence tab of the Creature Properties screen. When closing the Script Editor, processing will now take place only if you've actually saved a script.

Temple of Palanthias in Crossroad Castle. Work in progress.

List of changes in KotC 2 Version 1.58​

• Added the following options in the Game Options screen, under Display: limit weather effects to map boundaries, allow map colour changes due to rain, allow rain special effects, allow snow special effects, allow falling-leaves special effects, allow will-of-the-wisp (glows) special effects, allow fog special effects. Also updated the in-game help entry for game options.
• Fixed a source of crashes when moving the party with the numeric keypad and the destination square exceeds the map's boundaries.
• Fixed a bug with the recording of game time. This would result in the display of an incorrect game time when loading a saved game. See the previous update for details.
• Fixed bugs with the weather effects when the frequency is set as 'always' for any of them.
• The combat-action tooltip for the Elephant Spirit Animal Sonic Breath Weapon will now indicate that it is indeed the Elephant Spirit Animal, and not another type of breath weapon.
• Added the code required for the execution of scripts that are triggered in combat when a creature is wounded or damaged. See above for details.
• Added the code required for the execution of scripts that are triggered in combat at the start of the turn of a creature. See above for details.

Preview image from the new large-size World Map of Mindrel.

Next Steps for Knights of the Chalice 2​

Nearly unchanged from the previous update, the next development steps are the following:

• Work on the three upcoming adventure modules. Create new adventure maps & regional maps.
• Hire a graphic designer to create new sprites, new maps and other types of artwork.
• Fix any remaining issues mentioned on the Steam Forum, GOG Forum, website Forums, and by email.
• Implement new features such as new monster abilities, subraces, familiars, items and the fog effect.

As always, if you find bugs or if you have any feedback, thoughts and suggestions, please feel free to let me know here, or in the Forums, or by email at enquiries@heroicfantasygames.com.

Thank You So Much For Your Support, Great Wizards and Mighty Knights of the Realm! Enjoy!!

 

[Dorateen]

Red Plume Mountain. That's brilliant.

The change in the 1.58 update allowing weather affects to be constrained to the map size is a welcome addition. Builders can create areas of any dimension, and not all will be isometric designs that take up the entire screen. Also good to see him taking into account how to handle large scale maps.

 

[Covenant]

Finally went back to this and beat the main campaign for the first time (Enchanter mode). My party was:

Cloudtop Half-Giant Fighter (tripping, skewer/barbed weapon - MVP, insane crits)
Frostbrother Salamander Deathknight (feint, pretty useless due to lack of Wade In)
Scaly Kobold Monk (started weak, but got pretty decent in the second half as a dodge tank that could dash to the back line and stun priority targets)
Stillfinger Halfling Bard (mixed bag, Aria of Chaos is clutch and a decent dispelling bow made for a useful support)
Arborial Centaur Druid (weak and boring, became fun right at the end when I got Nymph's Beauty and had the opportunity to use it in ~3 combats)
Half-elf Warlock (very powerful, lots of options for any situation)
Asharzaelle (limited use offensively due to lack of Wade In, but having someone else who could spam mass heal scrolls and tank a little was pretty nice)
Pizarra (same as my own Warlock)

It was a lot of fun, but it started to dip toward the end. D&D 3.5E has always been a bit weak at the highest levels and this is no exception; in a way that's not entirely dissimilar to Pools of Darkness or similar games, it ends up devolving into 'Hope your mages get the highest initiative so they can blast the enemy before they blast you'. The variety of useful spells also went down toward the climax - I don't remember my druid getting anything interesting between Sirocco at spell level 6 and Nymph's Beauty at spell level 9. The druid was pretty lame overall actually; the main thing they seemed to bring to the party was getting animals to help on a couple of tough combats, like the Pizarra one.

There was a massive over-reliance on enemy's teleporting in out of nowhere and completely changing the character of the fight Doom 3 style, basically encouraging savescumming (the Death's Snares make this pretty explicit), which isn't a style I tend to enjoy in RPGs. The unpredictable availability of campfires also contributes toward this. It's probably one of those games where the balance is better on your second playthrough, because you know what to expect.

That said, it's definitely worth a playthrough. The combat rules are solid, and there's a good amount of tactical depth in your various options. The different environmental skills your characters bring to the mix are cool as well; the last battle might have been a lot harder if my ice salamander hadn't gotten me a surprise round.

In a little while I'll start up a fresh party on Archmage mode with all new classes (except I'll recreate my tripping Half-Giant Fighter because that shit was insanely strong).

 

[rojay]

I don't remember my druid getting anything interesting between Sirocco at spell level 6 and Nymph's Beauty at spell level 9. The druid was pretty lame overall actually; the main thing they seemed to bring to the party was getting animals to help on a couple of tough combats, like the Pizarra one.

Did you try earthquake?

 

[Covenant]

I don't remember my druid getting anything interesting between Sirocco at spell level 6 and Nymph's Beauty at spell level 9. The druid was pretty lame overall actually; the main thing they seemed to bring to the party was getting animals to help on a couple of tough combats, like the Pizarra one.

Did you try earthquake?

Once or twice, but I didn't see the point of it other than the radius being 50' rather than 40' (actually a negative, because it makes me more likely to hit my own guys - 40' is perfectly sufficient for pretty much any fight, the possible exception being the Pizarra fight and you won't have either spell by then anyway, though it is a great time to use your Acorns of Earthquake), and that the damage is 8d8 rather than 15d4. You'd be far better off just empowering your Sirocco, if you use metamagic.

 

[Butter]

Hi everyone! I hope you're well. Version 1.60 of Knights of the Chalice 2 has landed. It's a small update.

Please don't hesitate to email me at enquiries@heroicfantasygames.com if you find any bugs and annoyances, so that I can fix the game quickly. A saved game may be very helpful, too. Thank you!!

Recently, I purchased the epic music collection Humble Bundle from composer Joel Steudler. It's still available at https://www.humblebundle.com/software/epic-royaltyfree-music-collection-software . I'm planning to use some of that music in the upcoming adventure modules.

Also, I've had a chance to make use of and participate in the Stable Horde project. It's a network of volunteers who combine their computing power to generate AI images. There's a web user interface at https://aqualxx.github.io/stable-ui . I was able to create some nice images as well as create a Stable Horde worker.

The interesting thing is that I could produce some images of size 1,920 x 1,920 pixels, which is really big for current AI image generation. It does cost a lot of Kudos to do so. Kudos is the virtual currency you earn by running a Stable Horde worker on your computer, or by rating a bunch of AI-generated images through the web user interface.

Smaller images (e.g. 704 x 704 pixels) can be made for free.

Kudos can be transferred to other users from here: https://stablehorde.net/transfer or through the Discord channel: https://discord.gg/3DxrhksKzn . If you'd like to contribute some Kudos for me to use in dungeon map creation, feel free to send them to my user ID: StableDragon#18923 . Thank you!!

KotC 2 version 1.60 includes the alternative system for displaying huge adventure maps. That new system was presented in the latest Kickstarter Update: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1848628223/knights-of-the-chalice-2-revolutionise-old-school-crpgs/posts/3770416

Here is how the new system works. Say you have a JPG or PNG background image of size 13,000 x 10,000 pixels. First, you need to create a small-size preview version of that image. The preview image could be of size 2,000 x 1,538. It should be named like this: MapName_13000_10000_Preview.jpg. That means you have to append the width and height of the original map and the word 'Preview'. Place the preview image in the MapBackdrops folder of your module.

Next, within that same folder create a new folder called MapName_13000_10000. Inside that folder place the 512 x 512 images that constitute the original image. These images should be named like this: Base_y_x.jpg, x and y being the coordinates of each chunk inside the original image, starting from zero. You can also have an overlay image. Simply place in the same folder the 512 x 512 images that constitute the overlay image. These images should be named like this: Overlay_y_x.png.

Finally, in the Map Data screen of the Module Editor, you can set the preview image as the map's background. The game will then see that it's an image made up of a number of tiles.

To create the tiles, you can use Image Magick: https://imagemagick.org/index.php . I've used the following Image Magick commands.

For the base image: magick convert base.png -crop 512x512 -set filename:tile "%[fx:page.y/512]_%[fx:page.x/512]" +repage +adjoin -quality 90 "Base_%[filename:tile].jpg"
For the overlay image: magick convert overlay.png -crop 512x512 -set filename:tile "%[fx:page.y/512]_%[fx:page.x/512]" +repage +adjoin "Overlay_%[filename:tile].png"

Thank You So Much, Fearless Warriors and Wise Mages of the Realm! Rejoice!


List of changes in Knights of the Chalice 2 Version 1.60

• In the macOS version only, fixed a source of crashes when selecting psionic powers. My sincere apologies for that bug!
• Fixed several display problems in the Local Map screen.
• Fixed a problem with special effects like Rain and Snowgetting reset after talking with NPCs (at the end of a script's execution, actually).
• Fixed an issue with double clickingduring character creation. When double-clicking on a spell icon to select it, the double click for the last spell could result in the unwanted opening of the help entry for spells.
• Added a note in the help entries for Weapon Group Proficiency Reach Weapons and Natural Reach to clarify that the benefit of Reach does not apply to
  Touch Attacks. The Flux domain power and the specialisation feats of attuned Wizards and Sorcerers can transform certain touch spells into close-range spells. It may be a problem if you could get a better range for touch-range spells just by wielding a reach weapon. It would also be a problem for the AI.
• In the Module Editor, pressing the Left Alt key will now hide the backdrop imageso that it's easier to see if there are any special tiles, or overlay graphics, at any particular place on the map.
• In the Module Editor, fixed an issue with the display of long file pathsin selection boxes.
• In the Module Editor, fixed an issue with memory managementwhen closing a map.
• Added some code to clear previous imageswhen loading a map image fails due to low memory.
• Implemented the alternative system for displaying huge adventure maps.

 

[Covenant]

Honestly, on replaying it, I was hoping that my improved knowledge of the system and which classes are good and which are bad would make for a better experience, but I'm actually finding that the particularly bullshit elements are more apparent on Archmage. Darth Roxor's review summed up the issues well; the encounter design is just masochistic. It gives the impression that Piere is the kind of guy who treats encounters like a puzzle, where you try them over and over again until a combination of the stars aligning and the knowing the encounter inside and out leads you to victory.

If that's the aim, it succeeds admirably, but my preference is games where the expectation is that no one encounter is likely to be an insurmountable obstacle, but that a poor player will get crushed over time by the compounding weight of his own mistakes, whereas a good player can excel in parts and use the advantage gained there to help with rough parts later on. E.g. A long dive in one of the Wizardry games, or conserving your potions and scrolls in a roguelike.

Still, I'm interested to see what modules others may make for this; there's definitely room to produce some very good stuff if someone were to take a different approach to encounter design.

 

[Ryzer]

Never trust reviews of people with fewer than 2000 games in their account.

Also on your review:

JarlFrank 26 Mar, 2022 @ 2:01pm

I stand by my statement. I played through the game several times in the pre-Steam backer version and it's the best tactical RPG ever made. I can see why some people might not like the encounter design, but systemically it's absolutely solid. And since the game has a level editor, that means we're likely to get some high quality fan-made content too

bonesrob13 27 May, 2022 @ 10:49pm

apparently this person hardly plays anything. I mean have you not heard of Divinity Original Sin 2 or KOTOR 2?

 

[JarlFrank]

Yeah it's hilarious.

I have over 3000 games on my Steam account, you can see this by simply clicking on my profile.
In my review, I make comparisons to ToEE and the Gold Box games.

Yet retarded zoomers pop in, claim I "hardly play any games" and say D:OS2 is a better tactical RPG... or fucking KotoR2 which isn't even the same fucking subgenre. Even KotoR2's fans say the combat and encounter design is its worst part!

 

[Desiderius]

Honestly, on replaying it, I was hoping that my improved knowledge of the system and which classes are good and which are bad would make for a better experience, but I'm actually finding that the particularly bullshit elements are more apparent on Archmage. Darth Roxor's review summed up the issues well; the encounter design is just masochistic. It gives the impression that Piere is the kind of guy who treats encounters like a puzzle, where you try them over and over again until a combination of the stars aligning and the knowing the encounter inside and out leads you to victory.

If that's the aim, it succeeds admirably, but my preference is games where the expectation is that no one encounter is likely to be an insurmountable obstacle, but that a poor player will get crushed over time by the compounding weight of his own mistakes, whereas a good player can excel in parts and use the advantage gained there to help with rough parts later on. E.g. A long dive in one of the Wizardry games, or conserving your potions and scrolls in a roguelike.

Still, I'm interested to see what modules others may make for this; there's definitely room to produce some very good stuff if someone were to take a different approach to encounter design.

There are no bad classes, this is a different kind of game. If you play it from that perspective instead of trying to find the one weird uber trick that pwns everything it will feel a lot less masochistic.

For one thing, don't conserve your potions and scrolls. It's designed to punish that.

 

[Jermu]

somewhat agree with there are no bad classes (especially now when some classes have been buffed) but there are classes that are better than some

can easily be tested do archmage run without psionicist and wizard and see if its more difficult (ironman run for extra points, with unlimited loading there are not too many comps which makes game impossible)

 

[Mauman]

somewhat agree with there are no bad classes (especially now when some classes have been buffed) but there are classes that are better than some

can easily be tested do archmage run without psionicist and wizard and see if its more difficult (ironman run for extra points, with unlimited loading there are not too many comps which makes game impossible)

Hell, there are certain sub-classes that are simply better within classes themselves.

Compare, say, an Earth druid vs ANY other kind of Druid.

 

[Covenant]

Yeah, I'd certainly be interested to see someone's playthrough where their Druid was as useful as their Fighter or their Wizard/Warlock.

 

[Darth Roxor]

Druid is super-strong at the start, much more so than a wizard, due to powerful low-level spells like quicksand and summon croc. He starts dropping off around midgame where the wizard gains the advantage, but never really becomes bad either since he still has shit like earthquake and sirocco. And frankly speaking quicksand remains a ridiculously powerful spell all the way to the end.

 

[Infinitron]

https://www.kickstarter.com/project...-revolutionise-old-school-crpgs/posts/3791055

Update #70: KotC 2 Version 1.60 Fixes Bugs + New Display System + New Inn & Arena Maps!​

Hello everyone! The latest version of KotC 2 is version 1.60. It can be downloaded here for both Windows and macOS. It can also be downloaded on Steam and GOG.

In the past month, I worked on three new maps: two isometric maps for the inn of Crossroad Castle, called The Riddle of Fire, and one isometric arena map, the Skull Arena. Please scroll down to see these images.

The new arena map will come in addition to the earlier arena map which was presented in a Kickstarter update. Another Kickstarter update presented the Gladiator Pens map, among other adventure maps. Another Kickstarter update featured a poison gas animation inside the arena.

Level one of The Riddle of Fire. Any resemblance to a Burning Corpse Bar is purely coincidental. ^_^
Together with Juhani, we've done some brainstorming about the NPCs, maps and quests to be found in the upcoming module The Dark Arena. It's still very much a work in progress. I'll try to follow my own design advice about non-linear adventures and choice and consequences. A big Thank You to Juhani!!

Also, I completed work on the alternative display system for large maps presented in the previous update and I acquired the awesome epic music collection that was made available by composer Joel Steudler through Humble Bundle.

Within the music collection, I selected about 35 soundtracks that may be used in the upcoming KotC 2 modules. I'll have to convert them into ogg files. I'm also planning to edit some of these soundtracks.

Another thing I'm planning to do soon is to become a member of the PVGames Patreon again, as I'm missing the more recent assets, including a Gelatinous Cube sprite and a lot of other graphic assets.

Finally, the RPG Tools software from Martin Mais includes many sound effects created by Joel Steudler. I might add some of these sound effects to the game at some point.

AI image generation using Stable Horde​

I've had a chance to participate in the Stable Horde project, a network of volunteers who combine their computing power to generate AI images. There's an online interface at https://aqualxx.github.io/stable-ui. I was able to create some nice images, as well as a Stable Horde worker.

The interesting thing is that I could produce some images of size 1,920 x 1,920 pixels, which is really big for current AI image generation. It does cost some Kudos to do so. Kudos is the virtual currency you earn by running a Stable Horde worker on your computer, or by rating a bunch of AI-generated images through the online interface. Smaller images (e.g. 704 x 704 pixels) can be made for free.

Kudos can be transferred to other users from here or through the Discord channel. If you'd like to contribute some Kudos for me to use in adventure map creation, feel free to send them to my user ID: StableDragon#18923. Thank you!! Also a big Thank You to the members of the Discord channel who replied to questions or sent me Kudos, and in particular to Jug!!

Level two of The Riddle of Fire.

How to use the new system for large adventure maps​

KotC 2 version 1.60 features the alternative system for displaying huge adventure maps. Here is how the new system works. Say you have a background image of size 13,000 x 10,000 pixels. First, you need to create a small-size preview version of that image for use in the minimap and local-map screen. The preview image may be of size 2,000 x 1,538 pixels.

It should be named like this: MapName_13000_10000_Preview.jpg. That means you have to append the width and height of the original map and the word 'Preview'. Place the preview image in the MapBackdrops folder of your module.

Next, within that same folder create a new folder called MapName_13000_10000. Inside that folder place the 512 x 512 images that constitute the original image. These images should be named like this: Base_y_x.jpg, x and y being the coordinates of each chunk inside the original image, starting from zero.

You can also have an overlay image. Simply place in the same folder the 512 x 512 images that constitute the overlay image. These images should be named like this: Overlay_y_x.png.

Finally, in the Map Data screen of the Module Editor, you can set the preview image as the map's background. The game will then see that it's an image made up of a number of tiles.

To create the tiles, you can use Image Magick. I've used the following Image Magick commands:

• For the base image: magick convert base.png -crop 512x512 -set filename:tile "%[fx:page.y/512]_%[fx:page.x/512]" +repage +adjoin -quality 90 "Base_%[filename:tile].jpg"
• For the overlay image: magick convert overlay.png -crop 512x512 -set filename:tile "%[fx:page.y/512]_%[fx:page.x/512]" +repage +adjoin "Overlay_%[filename:tile].png"

The Skull Arena.

List of changes in KotC 2 Version 1.60​

• In the macOS version only, fixed a source of crashes when selecting psionic powers. My sincere apologies for that bug!
• Fixed several display problems in the Local-Map Screen.
• Fixed a problem with special effects like Rain and Snow getting reset after talking with NPCs (at the end of a script's execution, actually).
• Fixed an issue with double clicking during character creation. When double-clicking on a spell icon to select it, the double click for the last spell could result in the unwanted opening of help files.
• Added a note in the help entries for Weapon Group Proficiency Reach Weapons and Natural Reach to clarify that the benefit of Reach does not apply to Touch Attacks. The Flux domain power and the specialisation feats of attuned Wizards and Sorcerers can transform certain touch spells into close-range spells. It may be a problem if you could get a better range for touch spells just by wielding a reach weapon. It would also be a problem for the AI.
• In the Module Editor, pressing the Left-Alt key will now hide the backdrop image so that it's easier to see if there are any special tiles, or overlay graphics, at any particular place on the map.
• In the Module Editor, fixed an issue with the display of long file paths in selection boxes.
• In the Module Editor, fixed an issue with memory management when closing a map.
• Added some code to clear previous images when loading a map image fails due to low memory.
• Implemented the alternative system for displaying huge adventure maps.

Next Steps for Knights of the Chalice 2​

Unchanged from the previous update, the next development steps are the following:

• Work on the three upcoming adventure modules. Create new adventure maps & regional maps.
• Hire a graphic designer to create new sprites, new maps and other types of artwork.
• Fix any remaining issues mentioned on the Steam Forum, GOG Forum, website Forums, and by email.
• Implement new features such as new monster abilities, subraces, familiars, items and the fog effect.

As always, if you find bugs or if you have any feedback, thoughts and suggestions, please feel free to let me know here, or in the Forums, or by email at enquiries@heroicfantasygames.com.

Thank You For Your Awesome Support, Dear Knights and Fearsome Sorcerers! Take care

 

[Dorateen]

The Dark Arena is going to be so good. Pierre's take on Dark Sun's opening slave pen escape and a non-linear approach to the adventure.

 

[Jermu]

Knights of the Chalice 2 Version 1.61

The main changes are new background images during Character Creation, new goblin sprites that may also be used for player characters, new ooze sprites, new animated banners, some encounter tweaks, improvements in the Equipment Screen of the Module Editor, and bug fixes including three fixes for stuff that could cause a crash. See below for details.

 

[Infinitron]

https://www.kickstarter.com/project...-revolutionise-old-school-crpgs/posts/3793827

Update #71: KotC 2 1.61 Adds Sprites, Improves Character Creation, Improves Editor!​

Hello everyone! The latest version of KotC 2 is version 1.61. It can be downloaded here for both Windows and macOS. It can also be downloaded on Steam and GOG.

In the past month, I spent quite a lot of time downloading and organising the most recent graphic assets from Pioneer Valley Games. Afterwards, I used some of these assets to create version 1.61. There are many other assets that I might use later on, including new sprites for NPCs and monsters and new artwork for dungeons, cities, indoor areas and outdoor areas.

I've also been working on additional maps associated with Crossroad Castle - the underground level and tower interiors - but it's too early to present them. Finally, I've been working with Juhani on scenario and quest design. Thank you so much Juhani for the awesome advice and suggestions!

For this Kickstarter update, we'll focus on the new features in version 1.61.

New sprites for Gelatinous Cubes in KotC 2.
The main changes are new background images during Character Creation, new modular goblin sprites that may also be used for player characters, new ooze sprites, new animated banners, some encounter tweaks, improvements in the Equipment Screen of the Module Editor, and bug fixes including three fixes for stuff that could cause a crash. Please see below for the details of each change.

A picture is worth a thousand words, so I'll just add some screenshots to this update.

List of changes in Knights of the Chalice 2 Version 1.61​

• Fixed a source of crashes when Pizarra joins your party after the battle in the High Sewers, when you've used the option providing a Giant Spider ally during the battle and you finish the battle with the Giant Spider as the acting combatant. Also, the spider's sprite will now face the party leader at the end of the fight.
• Fixed a source of crashes in combat which was actually due to AI processing when a large creature is squeezing, or will be squeezing to avoid terrain magic effects like a Stinking Cloud.
• Fixed a source of crashes in the Module Editor when opening a module.
• Added a number of code and memory optimisations to improve speed.
• In Augury of Chaos and the Tutorial Adventure, tweaked a bunch of encounters where mages should have auto-casting spells like Mirror Image on (but didn't have them on previously). Also gave the auto-casting Mirror Image to a bunch of Rogues and Assassins.

New Animated Banners that can be added in the Module Editor.

• Fixed missing weapon and armour proficiencies for about 40 creatures in Augury of Chaos and about 20 creatures in the Tutorial Adventure.
• Using recent artwork from Pioneer Valley Games (PVGames), added a bunch of nice background images to the Character Creation and Change Token / Sprite interfaces. There are eight backgrounds and the game selects one based on your character's class.
• Using recent artwork from PVGames, added modular goblin sprites, meaning goblin sprites that can have a specific body type, armour type, and weapon, including magic weapons. They're mostly intended to be used as monsters (particularly in the upcoming module The Dark Arena, as your characters will be low level for quite a while), but you can use them for your player characters too, by selecting 'Goblin 1-7' in the 'Body' drop-down box during Character Creation, or anytime using the Change Token / Sprite screen within the Character Sheet. You might like to use the new sprites for your Kobold characters.

• Using recent artwork from PVGames, added new sprites for Gelatinous Cubes and Slimes.
• Updated a number of oozes and goblins in Augury of Chaos and the Tutorial Adventure using the new sprites. Also tweaked some encounters with oozes in Augury of Chaos. Also tweaked some goblin and kobold encounters in Finchbury.
• Fixed a bug with the penalties incurred for wearing armour for which you lack the appropriate proficiency. The penalty reduction of Masterwork Armour was applied two times.
• Fixed the position of the magic animations that are displayed when drinking a potion or casting spells, when characters are displayed using sprites.
• Fixed issues with the Prone sprite of the Hill Giants that you fight during the battle with Pizarra in the High Sewers.
• Fixed a display issue with blood stains when rain is affecting map colours.

New sprites for Slimes in KotC 2.

• Created a swaying banner animation for the map of Crossroad Castle and other maps. Added a new menu option in the Map Editor, under 'Other Tools' (below 'Add Isometric Lights'), allowing you to place the new animated banners anywhere on a map easily. Also added one such banner to the map of Finchbury (atop the village's tower).
• Improved the Equipment Screen of the Module Editor so that it now displays a red square underneath weapons and armour for which the creature lacks the appropriate proficiency.
• Improved the Equipment Screen of the Module Editor so that the tooltip now displays the same information that you get from within the game, including Armour Class details for any armour item, or Attack Roll details for any weapon. You can also use the tooltip to compare weapons and armour for the current creature, as the tooltip will display information on both the worn item and the moused-over backpack item.
• In the Creature Properties screen of the Module Editor, right clicking on the selected class will now open the help entry for that class.

• In the Module Editor, tiny status icons will now be displayed even for hidden creatures, if the option to display these icons out of combat is activated.
• Fixed a bug in the Module Editor where a map would be saved with dark colours if the editor was displaying the rain effect at the moment you're saving the map.
• In the Creature Template Editor, added to the tooltip a line saying that you can right click in order to select the moused-over creature in the Map Editor (as I keep forgetting about that feature).
• In the macOS version only, fixed a bug in the tooltip display of Psionic Power Points when mousing over creatures that have Power Points.
• In the macOS version only, added the missing 'Add Isometric Lights' option of the Map Editor, under 'Other Tools'.
• In the macOS version only, fixed a bug with duplicate entries in the 'Body' drop-down box during Character Creation.

Equipment Screen within the KotC 2 Module Editor.

Next Steps for Knights of the Chalice 2​

Unchanged from the previous update, the next development steps are the following:

• Work on the three upcoming adventure modules. Create new adventure maps & regional maps.
• Hire a graphic designer to create new sprites, new maps and other types of artwork. I'm looking forward to do this. Sadly, I still don't know whether I'll have to buy the family home; that's the only reason I've been delaying this step for so long. My apologies! Hopefully, it won't take much longer.
• Implement new features such as new monster abilities, subraces, familiars, items and the fog effect.
• Fix any remaining issues mentioned on the Steam Forum, GOG Forum, website Forums, and by email.

As always, if you find bugs or if you have any feedback, thoughts and suggestions, please feel free to let me know here, or in the Forums, or by email at enquiries@heroicfantasygames.com.

Thank You So Much For Your Support, Valiant Heroes of the Realm! Enjoy!!

 

[Snufkin]

This game is based on build porn and it is interesting that there are no powergaming guides around.

 

[Infinitron]

https://www.kickstarter.com/project...-revolutionise-old-school-crpgs/posts/3820201

Update #72: New Catacombs and Swamp maps for KotC 2 The Dark Arena!​

Hi everyone! In the past month, I focused mainly on the creation of new isometric maps for the upcoming KotC 2 adventure module, The Dark Arena. In particular, I've created two new really big maps: one for the catacombs of Crossroad Castle, and one for a swamp area.

The swamp map will actually be divided into three maps in the game because it includes an outdoor area featuring a village on stilts and piers, and two dungeon levels inspired by the jungle temple in the first Indiana Jones film.

I haven't had the time to release a new version of KotC 2, but I'm planning to release a small update pretty soon. In coming weeks, I'm planning to work on a bunch of maps, including the cellar map of Crossroad Castle, a mountain path map, and a few other areas. Once that's finished, I should be able to focus on scenario implementation using the Module Editor.

I don't have more comments at this time, but I've got many screenshots for you! Please see below. I hope you'll like them!

Dungeon entrance in the swamp map.

A statue of Athianna in the catacombs map.

Swamp map outdoor area.

Catacombs underneath Crossroad Castle.

A spring within the swamp village.

A dungeon room within the catacombs map.

Swamp map dungeon room with acid pits and interior balcony.

Catacombs dungeon room with open coffins.

A natural cave within the swamp map dungeon.

Catacombs underneath Crossroad Castle.

A wooden tower within the swamp village.

Dungeon room with sarcophaguses in the catacombs map.

Corridors with a deadly boulder within the swamp map dungeon.

Natural cave with lava flows within the swamp map dungeon.

Next Steps for Knights of the Chalice 2​

Unchanged from the previous update, the next development steps are the following:

• Continue working on the upcoming adventure modules. Create new adventure maps & regional maps.
• Hire a graphic designer to create new sprites and other types of artwork.
• Implement new features such as new monster abilities, subraces, familiars, items and the fog effect.
• Fix any remaining issues mentioned on the Steam Forum, GOG Forum, website Forums, and by email.

As always, if you find bugs or if you have any feedback, thoughts and suggestions, please feel free to let me know here, or in the Forums, or by email at enquiries@heroicfantasygames.com.

Thank You For Your Steadfast Support, Fearless Knights of the Realm! Take care!

 

[Jermu]

some module editor stuff

Knights of the Chalice 2 Version 1.62