KickStarter Knights of the Chalice 2 Thread - Augury of Chaos

[Grauken]

Some programmers are really bad when it comes to judging visuals (e.g. Pierre, Vogel) or know it but don't have money for better ones

 

[Rpguy]

 

[Grimlorn]

Spoiler

ALL DWARVEN CLANS OF THE DWARVEN HALLS AND LANDS BEYOND ARE TO UNITE AND CONTRIBUTE TO THE NATIONS WAR EFFORT TO THE FULLEST EXTENT

ALL ABLE BODIED DWARVES MUST JOIN THE DWARVEN DRAFT THE WEALTH OF ALL THE NOBLE HOUSES IS HEREBY CONFISCATED TO
FURTHER OUR GLORIOUS PURPOSE

NO EXPENSE SHALL BE SPARED IN THE ERADICATION OF THE UNDERGROUND DEMONIC AND GOBLINOID MENACE

SO SAYS HAMMENDRAL LORD AND MASTER OF THE DWARVEN HALLS

 

[Dickie]

Does anyone know what the color-coding means? Red is probably impossible, but what are green and purple?

 

[Dorateen]

Spoiler

ALL DWARVEN CLANS OF THE DWARVEN HALLS AND LANDS BEYOND ARE TO UNITE AND CONTRIBUTE TO THE NATIONS WAR EFFORT TO THE FULLEST EXTENT

ALL ABLE BODIED DWARVES MUST JOIN THE DWARVEN DRAFT THE WEALTH OF ALL THE NOBLE HOUSES IS HEREBY CONFISCATED TO
FURTHER OUR GLORIOUS PURPOSE

NO EXPENSE SHALL BE SPARED IN THE ERADICATION OF THE UNDERGROUND DEMONIC AND GOBLINOID MENACE

SO SAYS HAMMENDRAL LORD AND MASTER OF THE DWARVEN HALLS

When I read this, I thought it was a call to arms to pledge to the kickstarter.

 

[Grimlorn]

Spoiler

ALL DWARVEN CLANS OF THE DWARVEN HALLS AND LANDS BEYOND ARE TO UNITE AND CONTRIBUTE TO THE NATIONS WAR EFFORT TO THE FULLEST EXTENT

ALL ABLE BODIED DWARVES MUST JOIN THE DWARVEN DRAFT THE WEALTH OF ALL THE NOBLE HOUSES IS HEREBY CONFISCATED TO
FURTHER OUR GLORIOUS PURPOSE

NO EXPENSE SHALL BE SPARED IN THE ERADICATION OF THE UNDERGROUND DEMONIC AND GOBLINOID MENACE

SO SAYS HAMMENDRAL LORD AND MASTER OF THE DWARVEN HALLS

When I read this, I thought it was a call to arms to pledge to the kickstarter.

Well I quoted the puzzle in my original post, but some retarded mod edited it out, so it ends up spoiling the solution for people.

 

[Rpguy]

Please tell us about the sprites.

The game is no fun without the sprites.

by BlueSalamander » Sat May 16, 2020 10:54 pm

When it comes to sprites, we'll be aiming towards something more like this (Baldur's Gate 2 screenshots, click to enlarge):



Rest assured, though, that the game is very enjoyable even with the flat tokens, as mentioned in the KotC 2 Kickstarter FAQ. Cheers

 

[Rpguy]

 

[Mortmal]

Does anyone know what the color-coding means? Red is probably impossible, but what are green and purple?

Nah man think root based logic.. Purple is turnip , red beets, you dont have edible green roots, thats the harder skill check .

 

[ItsChon]

If only this game was isometric with sprites. It would be legendary...

 

[Jvegi]

You guys are boring.

And graphic whores. Don't know which is worse.

 

[InD_ImaginE]

Honestly, expecting decent sprites is graphic whore now?

The game looks nice in playable kind of way, but sorry, using tokens feels lazy and the game looks bad. Not to mention that equipment screen with color and font selection.

Would the game probably still play nice? From KotC yeah. But does it looks good? No. Does it affect people's opinions on the game? It will, especially with KotC looking far better than this.

 

[Ontopoly]

Honestly, the tokens are clear and simple. Better than that Ultima perspective shit that was happening in the first one, and I'm sure enough of us enjoyed that one enough

 

[BlackGoat]

I'm so fucking excited about this game, I don't give a shit what it looks like

 

[Mortmal]

I'm so fucking excited about this game, I don't give a shit what it looks like

Many people on the codex dont give a shit about presentation, but i am sure they arent giving a shit about paying , and will torrent day one.

 

[Ontopoly]

I'm so fucking excited about this game, I don't give a shit what it looks like

Many people on the codex dont give a shit about presentation, but i am sure they arent giving a shit about paying , and will torrent day one.

Only a degenerate fuck would pirate an indie game after seeing how much work The guy put in and seeing all the odds against him he surpassed.

 

[Damned Registrations]

It's not graphics whoring if you're not expecting more demanding graphics, just competent execution of the technology being used. I still play ASCII games for fucks sake and even I'm cringing at the mistakes being made here.

This is the visual equivalent of thinking a soundtrack is shit, not that the soundtrack is too compressed.

That said the mechanics are far more important.

 

[BlackGoat]

Well people called KotC1 graphics shit, so what's the guy gonna do. Probably figured it wasn't worth it to put in the effort he did before if it was just gonna be called shit anyway

In any case, these graphics are replaceable and I expect them to be replaced pretty quickly with better art

 

[Tweed]

I much prefer KotC 1's style and I don't care for the tabletop look with the new game, but I can live with it.

Many people on the codex dont give a shit about presentation, but i am sure they arent giving a shit about paying , and will torrent day one.

Those people will go to hell before they die.

 

[Rpguy]

From kickstarter page:

Yup, only nine days to go now!
Yes, there is a 'good versus evil' undercurrent in KotC 2. However, a number of important choices are given to the player and some of these choices can be non-good or downright evil.
Non-good choices, such as giving a Demon what it wants, can bring benefits to the party. Thus, you may face a dilemma from time to time.

by BlueSalamander » Sun May 17, 2020 9:04 pm

Thank you for your posts!

Maybe a stretch goal? Or even an upgrade?
Yes, sprites are part of the stretch goals already. Reaching a stretch goal guarantees that I'll implement a given feature, but I might still implement a particular feature even if the associated stretch goal isn't reached.

I like that you can see the HP on them and presumably status effects would have icons on them. I think it'll make it easier to get an idea of the state of the board at any time, with just a glance.
From my tests, it does look a bit weird if I display the Hit Points and condition icons on top of the sprites, while it's fine to do so with tokens. Anyway, there will be options for each of these. If you want sprites, you can switch them on, if you want tokens you can switch them on. If you want HP display you can switch it on. If you want condition icons to be displayed, you can switch them on too.

If only you could pick whatever you like... oh wait...
Yup, you can pick whatever you prefer.

On another subject, guys if you see an image with clashing colours, please let me know and I'll fix it!

It's not because I'm Daltonian or terrible at colour coordination or something.

It's just that normally I filter out the blue light (to protect my eyes), so I might not have seen the colour clash, if there's some clashing blue or purple colour in the image.

Alternatively, install a blue filter app for yourself and suddenly all of my images will become utterly wonderful to you too, I promise!

Not much longer to wait for the Kickstarter now (click to enlarge):



And here are some links where I posted recently:

Above post where I listed the game's features
https://connect.unity.com/p/knights-of-the-chalice-2-kickstarter-26-may
https://forum.quartertothree.com/t/knights-of-the-chalice-ogl-rpg/54113/141
https://twitter.com/HeroicFantasy/status/1262033295107330049

Many Q&A at the quartertothree forums:

Spoiler

Hi all

I’m replying late but hey, better late than never! Thank you everyone for your interest in the Knights of the Chalice cRPG series.

Looting is a huge stupid pain in the ass.

That’s very much improved in KotC 2.

I love the AI in the game. The enemy spell casters don’t just nuke, they use their entire spell line. I was just now pinioned between two armies of gnolls in a trap. No problem I thought, I can take down armies of them at this point. That was till I saw the Gnoll Wizards, who started hasting, buffing, and blinding. Not wanting to be sandwiched I laid down a firewall, happily confident it wouldn’t be counterspelled because they where so busy buffing. Felt pretty smug till they dispelled it. So I had to waste another spell on another firewall. Fine, whatever. Instead of entering the burning ground though they sat on the other end and started buffing themselves with resist fire then running across unscathed.

Yes, it’s part of my RPG design philosophy to have efficient AI enemies who can make good use of their spells and special abilities. A lot of the fun of playing RPGs with turn-based combat is to watch the AI

I wonder if he played a lot of Catacombs 4 or something?

No, I don’t know that game. :D

The developer is possibly blind and/or sees the world in a completely unique way that no-one else does.

I’m not blind, so I suppose I see the world differently. :D

I want him to double down. He should add a scrolling ticker tape of info to the bottom of the video, screen shake when something hits, and periodically flash over to a different screen announcing a key game feature then flash back to the 4 screens in motion. More, more, MMOOAARE!

Ahaha, wait for the six-minute KotC 2 trailer then. I’ll upload it during the Kickstarter period.

I am for sure going to kickstarter this Day 1 but that video is impressively busy and mostly incomprehensible.

It’s because I have a number of KotC 2 videos and I wanted to show footage from several of them. So I thought it would be kinda innovative to have a 4-way split screen. But the message is just that the Kickstarter is coming on 26 May.

Are you saying the developer is autistic?

I think everybody is insane in the eyes of someone. Meaning, you can always find someone who will think that your ideas are crazy, no matter what you think or do.

Honestly, if you DO watch it four times, and just focus on one quarter at a time, it looks absolutely awesome (what you can see of it, under the text that blocks stuff). The classes/races look amazing, the effects look fantastic, the layout is like a Gloomhaven type game meets D&D writ large. I love it. I’m going to back this msyelf, I do believe.

Thank you for your support, I really appreciate it

It could be a Jeff Goldblum/The Fly situation we have going on here.

Ahaha! To clarify, I don’t think I’m turning into a fly anytime soon! Could be wrong, though!

For those who haven’t seen the Kickstarter video yet, here it is:

Knights of the Chalice 2 Trailer for Kickstarter

And here are the main features of Knights of the Chalice 2:

• Turn-based, party-based tactical combat similar to that found in the old Dark Sun Shattered Lands game made by SSI and in Troika’s Temple of Elemental Evil.
  
  
• User-friendly interface. Launch a charge, full-attack or coup-de-grace with a single click - the computer will automatically look for the best option available. Out of combat, move the party with a single click or by keeping the mouse button pushed. Also see the KotC 1 How to Play webpage for more information.
  
  
• A well-developed emergent Artificial Intelligence. Enemies act as a group and support each other. They can use special actions like Grapple, Trip, Ready Versus Spell or Swallow Whole and tactics like taking a Five-Foot step before casting Maximised Fireball. They might use a Wind spell to dissipate the player’s Acid Fog or Incendiary Cloud.
  
  
• Omnipresent help files and clear in-game feedback (a feature also found in Temple of Elemental Evil) on the results of each dice roll, saving throw, attack roll, modifiers and so on.
  
  
• More than 700 Spells and Psionic Powers. The game also features 22 Classes, 10 Races, 36 Subraces, 478 Feats, 41 Cleric Domains, 71 Weapon enchantments and 51 Armour and Shield enchantments.
  
  
• With the right materials and sufficient gold and experience points, craft your own weapons and apply enchantments like Vorpal, Life Stealing, Wounding, Swift, Dispelling or Flaming Burst.
  
  
• Multiple-choice dialogue options offering real choices and real in-game consequences to the player. Use your party’s unique skills and consider your own preferences and playing style in order to resolve situations in the most suitable manner.
  
  
• Enjoy a variety of engrossing puzzles and riddles. Use your intuition and logical thinking to decrypt mysterious coded messages. The game’s cryptography interface, inspired by Broken Sword Shadow of the Templars, makes decoding a captivating activity. Do not worry about the difficulty of puzzles and riddles though, as the game frequently provides Hints designed to help you resolve this type of challenge.
  
  
• KotC 2 Augury of Chaos allows you to create your level-1 characters and take them all the way to level 21 or so. There is no limit on character level.
  
  
• Use the powerful integrated toolset to create new modules and campaigns easily. Easily swap monster tokens and sprites or create new ones. Create new monsters, new dialogues and new maps easily. The best modules may also generate an income stream for you.
  
  
• Enjoy fast Saved-Game loading and saving and various game options designed to accelerate gameplay. Enjoy various convenience features, such as the Saved-Game preview image display, Tab key press to highlight objects that may be interacted with, or the Inventory Screen highlighting of spell scrolls that may be learnt by a character.

The Kickstarter campaign will start on 26 May at 2 pm Paris time (7 am US Central time).

KotC 2 is an epic computer role-playing game with turn-based combat for Windows and Mac OS inspired by popular D&D RPGs such as Baldur’s Gate 2, Neverwinter Nights 2, Temple of Elemental Evil and Planescape: Torment. Just like KotC 1, KotC 2 is based on the OGL 3.5, the ruleset at the root of Dungeons & Dragons 3.5.

Kickstarter backers will receive the game and its integrated adventure-creation toolset as soon as the campaign ends!

In the first adventure, KotC 2: Augury of Chaos, your Heroic Party confronts a group of Evil Fanatics allied with various Demons and Fiendish Dragons. Blast your enemies with more than 700 spells, bull-rush them into spiked pits, trick them with your superior guile, or crush them with your enchanted greatsword! See them driven before you and hear the lamentations of their women, as your valiant party progresses all the way from level 1 to level 21.

The Kickstarter campaign will support the creation of at least three new KotC 2 adventure modules: The Dark Arena, Forces of Chaos and Heart of Evil. It will also improve the game’s graphics and facilitate the addition of new character classes and many other features.

The Kickstarter link is https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1848628223/knights-of-the-chalice-2-revolutionise-old-school-crpgs 14.

I hope that you will join the campaign! If you like the project, please share this message with your friends and social networks! Thank you for your interest!



Super duper stoked for it. Good luck!

Thank you very much

is there a way to modify the auto-follow camera during combat so it doesn’t center projectiles in the center of the screen – and then move the screen to keep the projectile in the center of the screen as it flies through the air?

Ah, so you would prefer no screen scrolling, and instead have the projectile fly through the screen, and then only centre the screen on the arrow when the arrow is about to leave the edge of the screen? Is that correct?

I just watched his his Kickstarter preview trailer 2, and you seriously might be onto something. Tell me what you think, and don’t forget to Like and Subscribe

You know what? It’s actually true that I’ve been seeing things differently. I filter out blue light from my screen, to protect my eyes, and only now I’m realising that some images I’ve produced have a little too much purple or blue on them. Something I absolutely couldn’t see when the filter was on. Have to keep in mind to switch off that filter from time to time…

Absolutely looking forward to KotC 2

Awesome, thank you very much for the encouragement!


I was referring to the demonic eyes in the video screenshot that might not be showing up in your blue filter. I imagine eyes like that could see through to a person’s soul.

Ah ah, yes, I saw that you were referring to the demonic red eyes. A blue filter only blocks some of the blue and nothing else, so the red is unchanged. I agree, someone or something with eyes like this probably has a permanent ‘True Seeing’ condition! Though D&D Skeletons also have glowing red eyes.

I’m not a game designer, so I tend to only notice things when they are distractingly bad or unusually good! That’s just to say, I think so? How do other turn-based RPGs do it? I haven’t noticed how most other RPGs handle this, which means they’re doing something right!

Giving the player an option for this (turn off centering on arrows) sounds like a good idea. I will add it to the To Do list for KotC 2. I might also add that option to KotC 1. Thank you!

It might be difficult to compare with a game like Baldur’s Gate for example, because in that game, the player controls the camera’s viewpoint. Magic effects and arrows all move simultaneously without affecting the camera, unlike a game with turn-based combat.

 

[Lyre Mors]

I want to back this so bad, but I'm certain my card will be rejected as I'm sure the payment address will be in whatever weird eastern European country Pierre is living in right now, and my card won't allow that.

Will make sure to buy it as soon as it hits Steam though. You men are going to have to make sure we hit that character sprite stretch goal!

 

[Xoanon44]

Honestly, the tokens are clear and simple. Better than that Ultima perspective shit that was happening in the first one, and I'm sure enough of us enjoyed that one enough

Devin Night has plenty of free token packs that people can use if they don't like the look of the "button" ones, plus there are thousands of battle maps available for download or you can easily make your own with one of the many dungeon mapping tools out there.

 

[Darth Canoli]

I want to back this so bad, but I'm certain my card will be rejected as I'm sure the payment address will be in whatever weird eastern European country Pierre is living in right now, and my card won't allow that.

Will make sure to buy it as soon as it hits Steam though. You men are going to have to make sure we hit that character sprite stretch goal!

Don't worry, it'll work alright, most credit cards allows you to get scammed in Hungarian brothels eastern European cocktail bars so there is no reason it won't work here.

 

[Infinitron]

Last of the vacation videos:

I've made a series of five short travel videos to post before the launch of the Knights of the Chalice 2 Kickstarter campaign on 26 May 2020, just to keep things lively and show some of the places I've been staying at. Today's video is very short but it shows my favourite place: Chiang Mai in Thailand. I have a bunch of pictures from Thailand. I will be posting them at https://www.facebook.com/HeroicFantas... in coming weeks.

Today's video also features some Buddhist monk chanting which I have imported into Knights of the Chalice 2 so that it can be used in temples, shrines and other sacred or mysterious places. The Kickstarter campaign for KotC 2 will be launched in eight days now, thank you for your help in spreading the word! Visit www.heroicfantasygames.com for more on KotC 2. Take care everyone

 

[Dickie]

by BlueSalamander » Sun May 17, 2020 9:04 pm

On another subject, guys if you see an image with clashing colours, please let me know and I'll fix it!

It's not because I'm Daltonian or terrible at colour coordination or something.

It's just that normally I filter out the blue light (to protect my eyes), so I might not have seen the colour clash, if there's some clashing blue or purple colour in the image.

Alternatively, install a blue filter app for yourself and suddenly all of my images will become utterly wonderful to you too, I promise!

Was the whole game designed with his blue filter on? This is not a joke. I'm curious.