KickStarter Monomyth - A first person action RPG/dungeon crawler - now in Open Backer Beta

[Nikanuur]

From what I saw and heard, nobody will play this game. Nobody. For the instant any gamer treads only few steps in its universum a death by RPGasm is going to happen to them. Golden brown, texture like sun...

 

[sosmoflux]

I'd like to see enemies avoid/ignore you if you're obviously too powerful for them. Gothic did this too. Would be great to see goblins freaking out and running away into traps and stuff.

 

[The Wall]

RatTower Are you using powers of ChatGPT AI to help you code ''living'' NPCs and to aid you in general code writing?

I expect indie game Devs to go WILD soon. It should revolutionize game making and in future make Skyrim scope projects possible to few or single creative Dev. Game making will become like painting and solo Game Devs will become painters of entire new digital worlds. Call me optimistic

 

[Ysaye]

RatTower Are you using powers of ChatGPT AI to help you code ''living'' NPCs and to aid you in general code writing?

I expect indie game Devs to go WILD soon. It should revolutionize game making and in future make Skyrim scope projects possible to few or single creative Dev. Game making will become like painting and solo Game Devs will become painters of entire new digital worlds. Call me optimistic

I think you will find that Austrians actually have integrity when it comes to the art of creation.

 

[Tyranicon]

RatTower Are you using powers of ChatGPT AI to help you code ''living'' NPCs and to aid you in general code writing?

I expect indie game Devs to go WILD soon. It should revolutionize game making and in future make Skyrim scope projects possible to few or single creative Dev. Game making will become like painting and solo Game Devs will become painters of entire new digital worlds. Call me optimistic

AI assistance is still in its infancy. How fast it will ramp up is anybody's guess.

At least with coding, it helps but it's not at the point where it's generating fully usable code for practical applications without putting in a good amount of effort.

 

[sosmoflux]

I'd like to see enemies avoid/ignore you if you're obviously too powerful for them. Gothic did this too. Would be great to see goblins freaking out and running away into traps and stuff.

Actually don't do, this I wanna do it in my game, thanks

 

[Whisper]

RatTower Are the enemies in the game gonna have different demeanors, or just attack you or other factions straight up when they see them? I was watching an Ultima Underworld clip and and saw that the first rat you see is indifferent to you and just wanders around at first for example. In Gothic some monsters also warn you first if you try to get too close (or creep toward you, try to get away etc). They also have sleep cycles, with maybe even one guard that stays up to warn others in case of an attack. Might be too much of a feature creep to implement, just asking .

EDIT: Took a quick tour of the kickstarter demo again, I wish you could turn off the zoom effect (field of view change) when you sprint, it just feels janky and is kinda immersion breaking imo. Also I wish the mouse speed didn't change when you switch weapons or aim down a bow or something, that feels super janky too, just leave my screen size and mouse alone please, that would make things a lot smoother.

I have not implemented a "Growling" state like the one in Gothic, but I have actually designed the NPC's controller state machine with that behavior in mind.
Broadly speaking the state machine has three superstates (idle, combat and searching). These change depending on whether another character was heard or seen.
To add growling I simply would have to insert another regular state between the idle and combat superstates. So architecturally there would be no problem (at least in theory it's just another enum/object plus switching around a couple of outgoing references for idle states), but I haven't really gotten around to working on the state itself and implementing its functionality.
Perhaps if I have the time for another AI overhaul during polishing.

Most camera effects are not present in the current version because of the different codebase. I might add some back, but then you'll be able to turn them off.

When is full release planned? Waiting

 

[RatTower]

RatTower Are you using powers of ChatGPT AI to help you code ''living'' NPCs and to aid you in general code writing?

I expect indie game Devs to go WILD soon. It should revolutionize game making and in future make Skyrim scope projects possible to few or single creative Dev. Game making will become like painting and solo Game Devs will become painters of entire new digital worlds. Call me optimistic

I think that in terms of narrative assets (dialogue and such), ChatGPT's output is currently just too bland. To get good results you'd have to specify the style in such a detailed manner that, while you're trying to figure out the prompt, you could just write the whole thing yourself. I kinda believe that's going to be the major bottleneck of the technology for a good while, regardless of how advanced it is.

I could imagine it being useful at a certain scale, but I am thinking of stuff like Daggerfall here. If you specify, let's say, a hundred characteristics and you randomly select ten or twenty per character, you could feed that to ChatGPT and have individual dialogue for thousands of NPCs. At that scale, no writer could keep up, and even if they could they'd probably just put out the same quality as ChatGPT in the interest of time anyway. But for things like a main quest or major plot points the AI is really not all that useful. I'd even say that up to the narrative scale of let's say Gothic, you are probably better off writing most of those assets yourself.

ChatGPT has been useful to me in terms of coding though. While writing that tool from the last update I basically used it as a fancy search engine for code snippets. I haven't written Python in ten years or so, so instead of digging through documentation or StackOverflow threads, I kept asking ChatGPT for very specific code parts (trivial stuff like "show me how a file is opened and written in python", "show me an array access in python", etc). Working that way I wrote that program in about an afternoon without relearning the language (for better or worse I guess). However, it was an adaptive process and I couldn't have done it in a single prompt. That would have required specific knowledge of the language, so it's basically a similar problem as with narrative assets.

When is full release planned? Waiting

I'll go into detail on the roadmap during the next update. In any case, the game still requires at least two content patches to be ready for open beta testing.

 

[garren]

When is full release planned? Waiting

I'll go into detail on the roadmap during the next update. In any case, the game still requires at least two content patches to be ready for open beta testing.

Hopefully you could update the Steam demo too at some point with the new engine, same area would be enough, just to see how the new engine works out, maybe get some feedback from a broader audience. (wink wink )

Also, some more feedback popped to my mind (issues which may be fixed already), but I wish you could have a slight hint if a container (barrels/vases) contains loot inside, in the steam demo I just broke everything so I wouldn't miss anything, maybe a slight sparkle or something occasionally. Also, I wish there was an extinguishing symbol for the mouse when extinguishing light sources (to make it absolutely clear), I was a bit confused about it and kept clicking on all the candles on the walls to see if it was an interactable object for secrets because it used the gear symbol.

 

[Infinitron]

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/836367155/monomyth/posts/3739338

State of the Game: Video Devlog 2.0 | Roadmap​

Hi, dungeon-crawling fans!

Another month, another update! This one is a little shorter because I am still in the middle of working on Beta Update 3. Just like last time, you can find the video's transcript attached to this post!


Best wishes,

Michael


-------------------------------------

Video Transcript (Video Devlog 2.0)

Hi, dungeon-crawling fans!

It’s time for another update on Monomyth. As announced last time I am in the middle of creating beta update 3, which is coming along very well. This month I’d like to go through a list of remaining milestones we must pass before Monomyth is finally ready for release.

So let’s take a look at that.

First let me quickly reiterate: The original beta release contained the first main area, while update 1 ported the prologue area to the new code base. Last month I released Beta Update 2, which patched the second main area into the game. So up till now, the beta consists of three extensive areas, which provide space for around 70% of the game’s content.

What follows now are two more major updates. The first one, which I am currently working on, will introduce the last big main area of the game. The development of this area is going pretty well. It was already designed and blocked out so basically what I am doing is cleaning up the geometry, replacing blockouts with actual assets, adding details to the area, scripting, distributing items, and so on. There are no ambiguities in terms of scope like there were in Beta Update 2, so I am glad to say that work is progressing much faster with this update. More than half of the map is already in the detail pass phase and I expect to get a fully playable version going very soon.

Beta update 4 will add the game’s main settlement. This means there will be a lot of NPC interactions and a new trading system. Generally speaking, this update will require more scripting work than level design work. The settlement itself is spacious but naturally, it is not as big as one of the main areas. You will find quests, shops, and small opportunities for exploration. The settlement will also connect to multiple other areas in the game. Beta update 4 will also introduce the main quest until roughly the last chapter. It is important to note here that, in the spirit of Ultima Underworld, the area progression and the main quest are voluntarily kept separate. You can visit most of the game’s areas without even touching the main quest.

The main quest itself will go through a variety of special tasks and challenges, which will be covering most of Monomyth’s feature set.

After Beta Update 4, the core content of the game is complete. The only things that are missing at that point are the game’s conclusion and the backer content. Since these can be nicely separated from the rest of the game I plan to start polishing core content and gameplay mechanics at this point. The polishing will focus on elements like combat or AI, but I will also reserve some time for things like sidequest or proper itemization. At this point, it will also be important to bring more people into the beta, so expect the open backer beta sometime during this phase. There will be several smaller patches and hotfixes depending on the feedback. This will probably also affect static game content so during the earlier stages of the open backer beta you might experience a few broken save states if it cannot be avoided.

This beta phase will be the first to test the new code base and all the content with a large player base. Monomyth had over a thousand backers. Only roughly 30 of these were actually in the closed beta. They provided very good reports. It was a very tight feedback loop with a lot of direct interaction during debugging, which I valued a lot. Nevertheless, the number of potential closed beta testers might be something to consider in future projects and how Kickstarter rewards should be structured.

So once the game is in an acceptable state it may be a good time to add the backer content. This content of course also needs to be tested again, but the scope there is of course much more limited than with the core content. So I reckon this can be done pretty quickly. The lion’s share of that work will be focused on roughly five questlines so it should be rather manageable.

So what’s still missing at this point? Basically, just the last chapter of the game. It might be a good idea to add this during a short early access phase. I mentioned in the past, that I am not a big fan of early access, at least when it comes to story-driven single-player games. Nevertheless, the opportunity to test the game on numerous machines before the actual release would definitely be a good thing. The last chapter could also act as a final patch before Monomyth is released, which has the advantage that people who already played during early access have a motivation to come back for the full version.

Of course, I have not forgotten about the book of lore, which will probably act as a little guide and contain some background information on the world of Ariath. I will try to get this ready in time for release as well.

I might also prepare a small surprise patch, which could theoretically cover one of the high-tier stretch goals, but I cannot make any promises at this point, so we will have to wait and see.

And that is basically the entire roadmap from now till release. Of course, the details of these individual milestones require a lot more work than what I can share with you right now. For example, the trading system from Beta Update 4 alone would probably warrant its own preview post. I will share these things with you in time, once we reach the respective milestones. So, stay tuned for more updates, and see you soon!

 

[Viata]

ChatGPT has been useful to me in terms of coding though. While writing that tool from the last update I basically used it as a fancy search engine for code snippets

Literally the best thing that ChatGPT is for. No reason to use google anymore, more so because Google and most search engine are fucking shit right now.

 

[Child of Malkav]

I can attest to that: chatgpt is so much better than google. Fucking thing understands what you're asking, helps you, helps you debug whatever you're working on. Can translate way better than google translate as well. Jesus this thing is useful.

 

[Gargaune]

And that is basically the entire roadmap from now till release.

Guessing it's looking like a Q3 2023 release. Still rooting for a GOG option if it's in the cards once we get closer to launch.

 

[curds]

this will be goty

 

[garren]

RatTower are there going to be different difficulty levels, or an optional hardcore mode (something like needing to eat, drink, changes to healing perhaps, harder enemy compositions etc.)? Also I wouldn't mind a small early access phase, just so you get the details right.

 

[Child of Malkav]

RatTower So how does the stealth work in this game? Mechanics, features? Swimming, rope arrows, stuff like that?

 

[LostHisMarbles]

needing to eat,

For the love of God, not that..
You want a fucking survival game? For real? GTFO.

* and don't tell me "but it's optional", because if you want it more difficult, you'll be forced to pick something with that in; so optional becomes very relative all of a sudden. Keep this shit elsewhere please.
** respawning's bad enough, don't care which game it is, i see respawning and i think "cheap", "low effort", "Blizzard". The minimum (aka insulting) effort spent by a dev to make you waste more time on the game for no good or valid reason; let alone that it disrespects the effort you put in clearing the area in the first place. Sorry, just being honest. Let's not make it any worse?

Game has the potential for incline all by itself; doesn't need no artificial survival game elements.

 

[Butter]

needing to eat,

For the love of God, not that..
You want a fucking survival game? For real? GTFO.

* and don't tell me "but it's optional", because if you want it more difficult, you'll be forced to pick something with that in; so optional becomes very relative all of a sudden. Keep this shit elsewhere please.
** respawning's bad enough, don't care which game it is, i see respawning and i think "cheap", "low effort", "Blizzard". The minimum (aka insulting) effort spent by a dev to make you waste more time on the game for no good or valid reason; let alone that it disrespects the effort you put in clearing the area in the first place. Sorry, just being honest. Let's not make it any worse?

Game has the potential for incline all by itself; doesn't need no artificial survival game elements.

Underworld had eating mechanics, and it was the better game for it. Don't ask for decline bullshit.

 

[LostHisMarbles]

Don't ask for decline bullshit

Your replies are awalys remindful of a heavily spastic individual.
You saw something once and all of a sudden it's a recipe to be employed everywhere. More so, a must too; if not in, bad. If asked for, decline.
I'd wonder how many decades more before you started differentiating and/or refining, but.. if indeed a spastic, the answer's never for you.

An eating mechanic is fine; get a bonus if you took the time. Find it rougher if you didn't. Miss secret bonuses or visuals/lore if you never ate the special mushroom soup, even better.
Survival game mechanics? Stop enjoying yourself because you have exactly 5,7695 seconds to find wheat or you die? That's something else.
It being where you tell me to hoard and if i leave it for the last minute this isn't the game's fault, sure.
But that's the autist in you, having no issues counting the raw wheat units in your inv and dividing by time just so you can play something meant to relax and entertain you.
I'm not an autist, soz. That's not fun for me, ergo my opinion above.

 

[King Crispy]

Also, an eating mechanic is fine; get a bonus if you took the time.

I agree. Make this a net positive, not just a net negative requirement.

 

[Netch]

For the love of God, not that..
You want a fucking survival game? For real? GTFO.

* and don't tell me "but it's optional", because if you want it more difficult, you'll be forced to pick something with that in; so optional becomes very relative all of a sudden. Keep this shit elsewhere please.
** respawning's bad enough, don't care which game it is, i see respawning and i think "cheap", "low effort", "Blizzard". The minimum (aka insulting) effort spent by a dev to make you waste more time on the game for no good or valid reason; let alone that it disrespects the effort you put in clearing the area in the first place. Sorry, just being honest. Let's not make it any worse?

Game has the potential for incline all by itself; doesn't need no artificial survival game elements.

Butter is right, have you even played UU? Food and eating mechanics were a thing in that game. Arx Fatalis also had food mechanics - you were even able to cook food on a fire.
As far as respawning, I don't exactly know what you're referring to but again, UU had a respawn mechanic upon player death where you would plant a seed somewhere to set your spawn point.

Why are you arguing against including these mechanics when they were present and, more importantly, worked in the games Monomyth is inspired by?

 

[Butter]

Don't ask for decline bullshit

Your replies are awalys remindful of a heavily spastic individual.
You saw something once and all of a sudden it's a recipe to be employed everywhere. More so, a must too; if not in, bad. If asked for, decline.
I'd wonder how many decades more before you started differentiating and/or refining, but.. if indeed a spastic, the answer's never for you.

An eating mechanic is fine; get a bonus if you took the time. Find it rougher if you didn't. Miss secret bonuses or visuals/lore if you never ate the special mushroom soup, even better.
Survival game mechanics? Stop enjoying yourself because you have exactly 5,7695 seconds to find wheat or you die? That's something else.
It being where you tell me to hoard and if i leave it for the last minute this isn't the game's fault, sure.
But that's the autist in you, having no issues counting the raw wheat units in your inv and dividing by time just so you can play something meant to relax and entertain you.
I'm not an autist, soz. That's not fun for me, ergo my opinion above.

You don't deserve to play immersive sims if you're trash-talking immersion mechanics that date back to the first game in the genre. You should find something you enjoy instead of trying to ruin this.

 

[Infinitron]

Eating is fine in these sorts of first person RPGs. It's not something you have to manage very often. You're just one guy, so you can usually "live off the land" and don't need to carry around large stocks of food.

I think eating is more often annoying in isometric/top-down RPGs and especially those with dual scale maps, where you have a party that swallows up huge numbers of rations as you travel across an overworld.

 

[Turn_BASED]

wake me up when there’s a piss meter
press P to piss

 

[LostHisMarbles]

Guys (and girl i think, if memory serves well, you once posted a pic of you in a burka? God help me but i do recall that..) my apologies; to each their own, was admittedly overly edgy.

But to explain if i may:
I'm sick and fucking tired of the "hard monocled" 'Dexer. I really fucking am.
A good majority of them? Half the shit they cry for? I swear they don't even like, they cry for them only because that's the hive mentality here, always has been. Fit in by being like the others. Not me, soz.
A minority of them? Who legitimately want it "difficult"? As in their definition of difficult, more on it below? They have.. issues.. let's just admit it. Because, a mechanic that's:
i) repetitive, aka mind fuckingly boring (eventually)
ii) repetitive and for the game's entire duration, i mean fuck me Freddy
iii) purposefully made so as to take you away from /cringe warning intensifies "immersion", break that spell that's so very rare to be enthralled in?
Is fucking stupid; unless one has.. certain issues. Just admit it.

It's not the kind of hard in say, complex, difficult combat; it's not the kind of hard in grasping tactics or strategy; it's not the kind of hard of git gud; it's not even the kind of hard in your needing not to suffer from ADHD, aka be a normal fucking person.
It's the artificial, intellectually insulting, repetitive kind of 'hard' that only.. one with certain mental issues will find literally, genuinely entertaining.
Entertaining, key word.

And i really am sick and fucking tired of all the "monocled" people typing what all their friends expect them to be typing.
Had been years and years ago to be honest.

Learn to distill, learn what made those game the incline they were.
Breaking the spell? Taking away your getting 'lost' in a different world because oops, artificial mechanic, tick tock tick tock? That wasn't it.
Period.
Having thus explained myself, my apologies once more. It is insulting still, but.. now at least you get me.