Vapourware Realms Beyond: Ashes of the Fallen - Chaos Chronicles reborn and dead again

[JarlFrank]

Of course it will. We're going to release on Steam, aiming for a release on GoG too, and even going to sell a boxed version on our own website (with a nice map just like in the old days).

Will this be shitty American boxes or superior durable Euro boxes? Asking for a friend

Well, since we're a superior durable Euro team, I'll assume our boxes will be so, too.

Serious answer, it's too early to give any details on the appearance of the boxed copies yet.

 

[Grauken]

But I need to know whether to throw money at your or not, eh, I mean my friend who is asking

 

[Reinhardt]

I can write the cringiest romances you can imagine, trust me.

But I doubt there will be any companion romances

 

[Grauken]

Wait, you want romances? There's a whole fucking genre of novels that pukes out this shit by the thousands every year, why do you want it to infect glorious battle simulator

 

[Reinhardt]

Not me. It's

my friend who is asking

 

[Jedi Master Radek]

All I'm gonna say is that in this realm, a group of highly-ranked priests have violated the divine order of the world for personal gain, and the new order they have established is much less stable than the one they have abolished by treacherous means. Central power within the realm is waning, the major cities especially in the periphery are growing more and more autonomous as a consequence, and the high priesthood claims that all is according to the will of the gods.

This situation does not seem as morally gray as you imply. Less central authority in medieval times lead to more unnecessary wars and the destruction of people and economy. Restoring a central authority would be a right thing to do.

 

[JarlFrank]

All I'm gonna say is that in this realm, a group of highly-ranked priests have violated the divine order of the world for personal gain, and the new order they have established is much less stable than the one they have abolished by treacherous means. Central power within the realm is waning, the major cities especially in the periphery are growing more and more autonomous as a consequence, and the high priesthood claims that all is according to the will of the gods.

This situation does not seem as morally gray as you imply. Less central authority in medieval times lead to more unnecessary wars and the destruction of people and economy. Restoring a central authority would be a right thing to do.

Of course re-establishing the central authority is the right thing to do. But there will be some players who'll be of a different opinion, of course, and the game itself never directly tells you which is the right and which the wrong choice. There are characters who'll tell you one thing and characters who'll tell you another.

But naturally, everyone who doesn't choose to support the chosen king of the great goddess Aliltu, the hand of her vengeance, enactor of divine retribution, he whose eyes shine with the light of her star, who punishes the blasphemers and restores order in the world, who unites all the people of Hirru under one scepter, whose rule is benign and charitable for those who are righteous but fearsome and terrible for those who are wicked, is a filthy traitor and deserves to be flayed alive, so his suffering shall serve as an example for those who dare raise their hand against the gods. Aliltu šarrat kiššatim! Qatu ša Aliltu parriṣi idâk! Aliltu nidallal! Šarkali nidallal!

Death to all those who raise their hands against the gods! Praise Aliltu and her chosen king!

 

[Galdred]

Actually, the misconception that novelists should write video game text needs to die.
video game text is there to support the gameplay, which usually is not reading text, unless you are making a COYA.
So yes, years of experience writing for video games would be a plus, but I sure don't want to have novels embedded in my videogames. That is what led us to the loredumps of the "old school RPG revival".

RIGHT, because loredumps were written by professional novelists who churn out book after book. No, they were written by incompetent game writers who've got jack shit as experience.

Obviously, good writers know what's too much and what's too little. There are certain rules. If a location is major to the plot, they give it more description. Otherwise, just a few lines is enough to establish a few sensory cues. This dictates the pace of the book, and if a description is too long, they risk annoying the reader enough to break the spell. Obviously, retards who did infodumps have no idea what I'm talking about.

I resent the amount of approval you got for this post from gamer groundlings. I'm locked in with bydlo here.

My point is that bad writing can hamper a game, but good novel writing does not transfer that easily to good game writing.
The task of a novelist is very different:
The novelist has full ownership of his book, and can fully express himself through it, while the video game writer is part of a team, and will usually not be the creative lead, so he has to work with external constrains, and his work is mostly there to reinforce the essential parts of the game, not to stand out on its own.
In this sense, it is closer from a screenwriter than a novelist.

I am not saying that JarlFrank writing will be great or whatever, I have no clue about it. My point is that a deep understanding of game design (and the role of teamwork and writing in it) is more important than the writing itself, as long as it is competent.

 

[Jedi Master Radek]

Wow. A DnD ISIS simulator. I am even more on board that I was before.

 

[Jimmious]

I will definitely be against the chosen king and his goddess

 

[JarlFrank]

The novelist has full ownership of his book, and can fully express himself through it, while the video game writer is part of a team, and will usually not be the creative lead, so he has to work with external constrains, and his work is mostly there to reinforce the essential parts of the game, not to stand out on its own.

Even more importantly, the game writer does not write a static, linear narrative. He writes texts for an interactive medium. If I were to write quests like I write short stories, they might be pretty cool to play through... once. But when on a replay you realize you have no choices and it ends the same way everytime you do it, the quest becomes boring.

A game writer must be aware that his medium is interactive, and allow the player a certain amount of agency within his stories. Don't force the player into a linear narrative he might not want to follow. Always give the player the choice to say "no" or even "fuck off" to a questgiver. Allow for multiple solutions when appropriate (this is also an aspect of level design rather than just pure writing, so a game writer ideally should have at least some understanding of level design). Allow for different choices when appropriate. Add some minor variations based on who the player character is (race, class, sex). Etc etc.

It's quite different from being a novelist and being a screenwriter. Both of these write linear, non-interactive stories. If a game writer does exactly the same as novelists and screenwriters, the end result is one of those cutscene-filled games that plague the market today, where the story is told in a completely linear and hands-off fashion. That's not what an RPG should be. The purpose of story in an RPG is to let the player actively take part in the events happening in the world. If the player can't make decisions, can't have an impact on how the story progresses or at least how it ends, why even have a story in the first place?

Interactivity and player agency > everything else in an RPG.

 

[rusty_shackleford]

The novelist has full ownership of his book, and can fully express himself through it, while the video game writer is part of a team, and will usually not be the creative lead, so he has to work with external constrains, and his work is mostly there to reinforce the essential parts of the game, not to stand out on its own.

Even more importantly, the game writer does not write a static, linear narrative. He writes texts for an interactive medium. If I were to write quests like I write short stories, they might be pretty cool to play through... once. But when on a replay you realize you have no choices and it ends the same way everytime you do it, the quest becomes boring.

A game writer must be aware that his medium is interactive, and allow the player a certain amount of agency within his stories. Don't force the player into a linear narrative he might not want to follow. Always give the player the choice to say "no" or even "fuck off" to a questgiver. Allow for multiple solutions when appropriate (this is also an aspect of level design rather than just pure writing, so a game writer ideally should have at least some understanding of level design). Allow for different choices when appropriate. Add some minor variations based on who the player character is (race, class, sex). Etc etc.

It's quite different from being a novelist and being a screenwriter. Both of these write linear, non-interactive stories. If a game writer does exactly the same as novelists and screenwriters, the end result is one of those cutscene-filled games that plague the market today, where the story is told in a completely linear and hands-off fashion. That's not what an RPG should be. The purpose of story in an RPG is to let the player actively take part in the events happening in the world. If the player can't make decisions, can't have an impact on how the story progresses or at least how it ends, why even have a story in the first place?

Interactivity and player agency > everything else in an RPG.

your parents must have hated you if they didn't buy you CYOA books

 

[JarlFrank]

They weren't that much of a thing in Germany (or my parents just didn't know about their existence)

 

[Galdred]

your parents must have hated you if they didn't buy you CYOA books

Why did you pick this one, out of curiosity?
Weren't the Fighting Fantasy/Lone Wolf/Fabled Lands closer from real RPG?
Game books are different beasts, though, because the writer is responsible for everything, including the gameplay, and the character choices are much more constrained than on a RPG.

 

[rusty_shackleford]

your parents must have hated you if they didn't buy you CYOA books

Why did you pick this one, out of curiosity?
Weren't the Fighting Fantasy/Lone Wolf/Fabled Lands closer from real RPG?
Game books are different beasts, though, because the writer is responsible for everything, including the gameplay, and the character choices are much more constrained than on a RPG.

first one to pop up when searching
honestly have no idea where mine even are

 

[Galdred]

Bester, the gamebook picture made me think that my disagreement with you comes from the scope of the tasks I give to the writers when I work with them:
Writing itself sure is a large element, but they are responsible for whole questlines, so they also need to craft the challenges (ie skill checks, or whatever challenge the game supports), opponents and encounters that go with said questlines.

One thing I find also very important is for the writer not to make too much of the game unfold through the writing actually: ie, to make sure important confrontations are resolved in the game engine, and not through text bubbles (or worse, cutscene, but I don't really have these in the game).
Another important aspect to me is the clarity of the options: I much prefer when it is obvious to the player that option A will require a persuasion skillcheck, option B will lead to a fight, and option C will require spending money.
To me, this is much closer to designing/writing RPG adventures than traditional novel writing.
One skilled game writer I met insisted on being called a narrative designer, and that makes some sense to me:

video game writing is really a part of game design, that requires good writing skills indeed, but among many other skills.

 

[Dorateen]

But naturally, everyone who doesn't choose to support the chosen king of the great goddess Aliltu

If it's one thing I've learned whether fighting drow in the Underdark or Takhisis in Krynn, never trust a pantheon that has a goddess at its head.

 

[AbounI]

From the spellbook (WIP)

Now, if casting some spell really requires some material component (as M), that would be as far as I know a first time in cRPG history. Hell yeah !

edit : quoting Hobgoblin42

Material Components are still in the design phase because they have a lot impact to the overall gameplay. But since wizards are already overpowered in D&D3.5e at higher level, requiring those constraints could be a good compensation.

(reuploaded the image, as it seems it doesn't appear)
edit #2 : Not allowed to post the picture , so here is the thread : https://www.realms-beyond.com/forum/index.php?topic=116.0

 

[JarlFrank]

From the spellbook (WIP)
https://www.realms-beyond.com/forum/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=105.0;attach=33;image

Now, if casting some spell really requires some material component (as M), that would be as far as I know a first time in cRPG history. Hell yeah !

Material components aren't fully developed yet, but yes, we plan to implement them because high level wizards are already powerful as fuck. Limiting their spellcasting with material components is a good way to add an additional cost to casting powerful, battle-deciding spells.
Since we already have other moneysinks (rations, camping equipment, etc) having to spend a couple of gold pieces each time you cast a fireball makes it less of a no-brainer to cast.
Also, running out of a material component while you're deep down in a dungeon with no traders anywhere nearby is also exciting!

 

[Dorateen]

This is awesome of course, and I think I've mentioned elsewhere, material components is how I considered the gem requirement for spellcasting in the early Might and Magic games.

 

[Strange Fellow]

In any case, it's not the first CRPG to do so. Off the top of my head, Ultima had reagents and Might and Magic had gems. It might be the first CRPG to make this actually matter, though. JarlFrank are you a bad enough dude to make it so?

 

[JarlFrank]

We're bad enough dudes to make this into a true pen and paper inspired RPG experience where all the shit you can do actually matters, yes.

 

[Siveon]

Now, if casting some spell really requires some material component (as M), that would be as far as I know a first time in cRPG history. Hell yeah !

I believe Ultima 4, or one of the early Ultimas at least, had spellcasting tied to material components.

 

[AbounI]

Ok, I give you that, not the 1st time, but still an awesome feat as Dorateen said.

 

[ERYFKRAD]

, we plan to implement them because high level wizards are already powerful as fuck. Limiting their spellcasting with material components is a good way to add an additional cost to casting powerful, battle-deciding spells.

Finally magefags will know their place and bow to their superiors, the Barbarians.