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

[underground nymph]

He's deep in (considering no save game)!

Darn it looks good.

 

[underground nymph]

is there a way to switch off the hex grid?

 

[Sherry]

Hi.

omg. Omg. OMG!

Gosh the best video is clearly that posted by Josh, but I do not understand why they are wearing a ball-cap because they have great full salt-pepper hair right?

This is one of my personal game developers on my laminated Top-5 list of game developers to have dinner with Richard Allen Garriott clearly being number one. Gosh I just love the singing during the stream as they explore the full potential of looting and finding equipment but it will be really dumb-dumb if you have to do this to get ahead by stealing candles and urine pots just to purchase better gear so keep that in mind if the developers are reading this and I know you are I think it is very important that you take what Josh has to suggest to heart and apply it to your game because there are a number of things he brought to the surface from being very well versed in Dungeons and Dragons and I was not impressed with the choices that were made and so you better listen when they start to make the Lich King dungeon and pay the lots of money for their input okay? OKAY!

Like wtf -1 hp attacks by the party and the Goblins are owning them with gear that was upgraded after stealing urine pots and candlesticks like ikr would have happened if Josh did not do this right?? Full party wipe in the first round? Josh keeps saying "cool" but clearly it is not he is already ready to quit and play Darklands.

Just look at his facial expression he is not impressed with first level party meeting numbers with such high hit points and spells if you are going to showcase a combat demo you should have it properly balanced where a party does not have to steal lots of items just to make coin to buy better gear right? That means you have to flip the balance to have someone to go around walking into bedrooms and stealing urine pots and pillows stuffed with gold feathers. Like wtf is up with that right? RIGHT? That is not fun okay?

Josh is a master at development with Dungeons and Dragons so I hope the battles are properly developed and tweaked so experts like Josh do not have to sigh deeply and chuckle at the poor combat choices you have made. I really like you can click on lots of items just like in Ultima but it is clear to me you have a long way to go with your combat system and tweak the difficulty because this is no fun unless you allow us to click a button and skip the battle there is nothing more time consuming in a game than playing a combat for 25 minutes and having to redo it bceause your fighter has 8hp but a Goblin has 16hp and they can kill your fighter in one attak or you have to go break into six houses to steal the coin you need to upgrade your gear at level 1 to beat level 1 monsters it is nothing but a wasted time sink so get it together already and make it better but it will be a true shame if meta is required to break into houses to steal stuff to upgrade gear just so you can beat a number of Goblins hanging out on a hill.

Thank-you to everyone who posts and supports the game may it continue to get better but based on what I have seen it clearly will not be out this year.

Thanks,
Sherry

 

[Transfiguring Roar]

is there a way to switch off the hex grid?

Not at the moment.

And, yeah, it's good, fun to play.

Edit: Just to clarify, the grid is only present during combat.

 

[RPK]

this game looks really cool

 

[DeepOcean]

Looks pretty cool, really looking good and proper incline just think there is something weird with the shadows and some spell effects, the game is in 3D, they could get better shadows on the characters. I dunno, could be a problem of the settings but the lacking shadows really makes for a strange look on the characters like they are floating, the shadows are missing or they are too soft, making them less believable , the enviroment is excellent and it is perfect as it is (hope you can hide the grid), they just need to fix character shadows, collision detection on free movement is also wonky but otherwise loved the enviroment.

About the spell effects, there isnt anything terribly wrong with them but they need to have a punch and by what I saw, some look way too slow and lack impact, on animation what matters is the preparation phase and the delivery phase. They should emphatize the spell caster casting the spell for dramatic effect and antecipation (preparation phase), then focus on the creature reaction to being hit and some nice death animations would look good too ( delivery phase).

The way things are now, the animations have way too little frames on the preparation and delivery phase and spend way too much time on the travel of the spell, same with melee, more frames for preparation, impact on delivery, you can even cut frames in between with a good preparation and delivery. This could be fixed doubling the spell traveling speed, some splash effects on hit, like fire embers on the ground and enemies for a short time after a fireball, and making the creature animation recovery time take longer than it is now and a more exagerated pain reactions on the hit. Death animations and blood would be nice too but are more like extra fluff as their lack isnt as noticieable as the shadows and animations.

 

[Lacrymas]

It does look pretty decent. This is perhaps the most faithful adaptation of D&D since ToEE? We are getting this + BG3. Next year seems pretty incline so far. WotR too. The armor system seems foreign to D&D, though, since boots, helmets, and gloves provide AC too. It's not bad, just different. Also, is the game going to have multi-classing?

 

[AliceAlcina]

Also, is the game going to have multi-classing?

Prestige classes yes, traditional multiclasses, no.

 

[Mortmal]

It does look pretty decent. This is perhaps the most faithful adaptation of D&D since ToEE? We are getting this + BG3. Next year seems pretty incline so far. WotR too. The armor system seems foreign to D&D, though, since boots, helmets, and gloves provide AC too. It's not bad, just different. Also, is the game going to have multi-classing?

Nah most faithfull adaptation is solasta , it uses Z axis and lightning, realms beyond seems still at same level than toee or above.

 

[Lacrymas]

Prestige classes yes, traditional multiclasses, no.

Some classes need the multi-classing to provide a boost, though. It's good we are getting prestige classes, but those have other problems. It also depends on which prestige classes we are getting.

 

[AliceAlcina]

Prestige classes yes, traditional multiclasses, no.

Some classes need the multi-classing to provide a boost, though. It's good we are getting prestige classes, but those have other problems. It also depends on which prestige classes we are getting.

I totally agree. They listed some prestige classes on their forums a while ago, but during those discussions they admitted they want psionics in their game, which kind of sucks ass, since they seems not interested in bards at all.

 

[Roguey]

armor system seems foreign to D&D, though, since boots, helmets, and gloves provide AC too.

As I recall, in Storm of Zehir helmets and gloves could be crafted with a deflection bonus and boots had a dodge bonus.

 

[Lacrymas]

As I recall, in Storm of Zehir helmets and gloves could be crafted with a deflection bonus and boots had a dodge bonus.

Yeah, but not straight up AC. Chain shirts give 2 AC instead of 4, which is kinda weird when you are in a D&D mindset.

 

[Fenix]

I want to ak you guys about this "open licence" stuff.
What's this, what's the difference with 3.5 and such.
Stuff I even more interested - is it possible this open licence thingy is a non-defective thing?
I mean, who licenced it? WotC? From commercial point of view - is it pssible they could give for free something none-defective so someoe could be a competitor for them?
Enlighten me a bit please?

 

[Lawntoilet]

I want to ak you guys about this "open licence" stuff.
What's this, what's the difference with 3.5 and such.
Stuff I even more interested - is it possible this open licence thingy is a non-defective thing?
I mean, who licenced it? WotC? From commercial point of view - is it pssible they could give for free something none-defective so someoe could be a competitor for them?
Enlighten me a bit please?

What do you mean "non-defective"?
Basically as I understand it means anyone can use WOTC's rules but not anything that is part of their product identity, for the 5e and the 3.5e OGL. So the basic rules and classes are in, subclasses/archetypes are out (for 5e), monsters like Beholders and Illithids that are D&D creations are out, spells are in but they can't use the "wizard name" in the spell name (like "Bigby's Hand" has to be changed to "Mage Hand Plus" or something), that kind of thing.

 

[NJClaw]

I want to ak you guys about this "open licence" stuff.
What's this, what's the difference with 3.5 and such.
Stuff I even more interested - is it possible this open licence thingy is a non-defective thing?
I mean, who licenced it? WotC? From commercial point of view - is it pssible they could give for free something none-defective so someoe could be a competitor for them?
Enlighten me a bit please?

Everything that you can find here can be freely used by anyone. It's a move made by WotC a long time ago to make the core content of 3.x accessible to anyone without costs, in order to maximize the reach of its product.

 

[Fenix]

So the basic rules and classes are in, subclasses/archetypes are out, monsters like Beholders and Illithids that are D&D creations are out, spells are in but they can't use the "wizard name" in the spell name (like "Bigby's Hand" has to be changed to "Mage Hand Plus" or something), that kind of thing.

So it is crippled enough and don't pose any threat that someone could pose a threat to WotC income?
Nobody will give for free something decent.

 

[Lawntoilet]

So the basic rules and classes are in, subclasses/archetypes are out, monsters like Beholders and Illithids that are D&D creations are out, spells are in but they can't use the "wizard name" in the spell name (like "Bigby's Hand" has to be changed to "Mage Hand Plus" or something), that kind of thing.

So it is crippled enough and don't pose any threat that someone could pose a threat to WotC income?
Nobody will give for free something decent.

No such thing as a free bread line, comrade.

 

[Mortmal]

So the basic rules and classes are in, subclasses/archetypes are out, monsters like Beholders and Illithids that are D&D creations are out, spells are in but they can't use the "wizard name" in the spell name (like "Bigby's Hand" has to be changed to "Mage Hand Plus" or something), that kind of thing.

So it is crippled enough and don't pose any threat that someone could pose a threat to WotC income?
Nobody will give for free something decent.

Well 3.5 means pathfinder , people abandonned D&D during 4E completely , and only came back to 5E recently . If it would cause any threat its to paizo.

 

[NJClaw]

So the basic rules and classes are in, subclasses/archetypes are out, monsters like Beholders and Illithids that are D&D creations are out, spells are in but they can't use the "wizard name" in the spell name (like "Bigby's Hand" has to be changed to "Mage Hand Plus" or something), that kind of thing.

So it is crippled enough and don't pose any threat that someone could pose a threat to WotC income?
Nobody will give for free something decent.

They gave it completely for free and it was the best idea they ever had: this decision made it possible for other smaller companies and indie designer to develop accessory handbooks that used 3.x rules as a base system. This helped immensely in spreading their ruleset, thanks to two reasons: with the same core system, you could play completely different types of games (medieval fantasy, sci-fi, steampunk, star wars stuff...) and, more importantly, third parties were incentivized to publish stuff based on their system, because it was something the public was already familiar with.

In the end, D&D 3.5 reached unprecedented levels of popularity and, if possible, it even became TOO popular: WotC wasn't able to kill it with its next product (the 4th edition) and a relatively small company (Paizo) made the smartest possible decision and took the role of WotC successor as D&D 3.x main content publisher.

 

[JarlFrank]

So the basic rules and classes are in, subclasses/archetypes are out, monsters like Beholders and Illithids that are D&D creations are out, spells are in but they can't use the "wizard name" in the spell name (like "Bigby's Hand" has to be changed to "Mage Hand Plus" or something), that kind of thing.

So it is crippled enough and don't pose any threat that someone could pose a threat to WotC income?
Nobody will give for free something decent.

Well 3.5 means pathfinder , people abandonned D&D during 4E completely , and only came back to 5E recently . If it would cause any threat its to paizo.

Pathfinder is literally the competition Fenix is thinking about. Based on the open source 3.5 rules and a lot of D&D fans went over when D&D itself became shit during 4E.

 

[NJClaw]

So the basic rules and classes are in, subclasses/archetypes are out, monsters like Beholders and Illithids that are D&D creations are out, spells are in but they can't use the "wizard name" in the spell name (like "Bigby's Hand" has to be changed to "Mage Hand Plus" or something), that kind of thing.

So it is crippled enough and don't pose any threat that someone could pose a threat to WotC income?
Nobody will give for free something decent.

Well 3.5 means pathfinder , people abandonned D&D during 4E completely , and only came back to 5E recently . If it would cause any threat its to paizo.

Pathfinder is literally the competition Fenix is thinking about. Based on the open source 3.5 rules and a lot of D&D fans went over when D&D itself became shit during 4E.

But Paizo didn't have to become competition. Up until 2008, Paizo, licensed by WotC, published magazines full of 3.5-compatible material. They would never have attempted what they did if WotC hadn't blindly abandoned their most successful D&D edition. They announced their move immediately after the realease of 4th edition. WotC abandoned 3.x believing it was near its death, but they largely underestimated the power of what they had created.

 

[Mortmal]

So the basic rules and classes are in, subclasses/archetypes are out, monsters like Beholders and Illithids that are D&D creations are out, spells are in but they can't use the "wizard name" in the spell name (like "Bigby's Hand" has to be changed to "Mage Hand Plus" or something), that kind of thing.

So it is crippled enough and don't pose any threat that someone could pose a threat to WotC income?
Nobody will give for free something decent.

Well 3.5 means pathfinder , people abandonned D&D during 4E completely , and only came back to 5E recently . If it would cause any threat its to paizo.

Pathfinder is literally the competition Fenix is thinking about. Based on the open source 3.5 rules and a lot of D&D fans went over when D&D itself became shit during 4E.

But Paizo didn't have to become competition. Up until 2008, Paizo, licensed by WotC, published magazines full of 3.5-compatible material. They would never have attempted what they did if WotC hadn't blindly abandoned their most successful D&D edition. They announced their move immediately after the realease of 4th edition. WotC abandoned 3.x believing it was near its death, but they largely underestimated the power of what they had created.

It was true 3.5 was old , 2E and becmi even more yet all of the systems are a hell lot more suitable for pen and paper roleplaying than 4E, every OSR games like LOTFP or DCC as well. They were completely clueless when they created this , combat is slow cumbersome, balanced as fuck, even josh sawyer would approve, but could have been excellent for japanese tactical rpg .If they underestimated anything it's how out of touch with reality and their customers they were.

 

[JarlFrank]

WotC has no idea what they're doing. If they had, we'd be swimming in officially licensed D&D CRPGs. 3rd edition, 4th edition, 5th edition would all have a dozen proper CRPGs to their name, but they don't.

It's up to the indies to make actual D&D CRPGs based on the OGL rulesets (Realms Beyond, Solasta, Knights of the Chalice), while officially licensed products are things like this:
https://store.steampowered.com/app/627690/Idle_Champions_of_the_Forgotten_Realms/

 

[Lawntoilet]

WotC has no idea what they're doing. If they had, we'd be swimming in officially licensed D&D CRPGs. 3rd edition, 4th edition, 5th edition would all have a dozen proper CRPGs to their name, but they don't.

It's up to the indies to make actual D&D CRPGs based on the OGL rulesets (Realms Beyond, Solasta, Knights of the Chalice), while officially licensed products are things like this:
https://store.steampowered.com/app/627690/Idle_Champions_of_the_Forgotten_Realms/

It really is amazing how retarded WotC is.
Maybe my perception is skewed from being on the Codex, but weren't the IE games and NWN1&2 pretty big hits, sales-wise? Not sure about ToEE, but still, relatively faithful adaptations of the rules were proven to make money. After SCL flopped this should be obvious to any thinking person but they keep making garbage like you just posted, whereas Paizo and a no-name Russian studio appear to have hit on a winning model for officially licensed D&D games.