KickStarter Sacred Fire - a psychological RPG about romance, loyalty and revenge - now available on Early Access

[Tyranicon]

First, kudos to poetic for releasing a game, it's harder than most people think.

Secondly, for those who've played it, how historically accurate is this game?

 

[Tigranes]

I always thought this was one of those projects that'll never see the light of day, so it's good to see it get this far, and still seem to carry its distinctive pitch. Looking forward to trying this.

 

[Salvo]

Oh god the narrator is Doug Couckle doing his Geralt voice, please ENOUGH I CAN'T STAND THE DUDE ANYMORE

 

[samuraigaiden]

This game is fascinating. poetic congratulations for making something original.

I checked the Steam page and predictably there's already a couple of lame brained reviews complaining about RNG and missing with high percentages. Please, for the love of God, just ignore these people. They have ruined games before. Don't allow them to influence your decisions during EA.

 

[Salvo]

Anyway game is cool, looks like a mix between a visual novel and an old-school gamebook

I think mental stats (fear / anger) fluctuate a bit too much though, with your character switching between fear and anger like a teenage girl

 

[poetic]

Hey there, I'm intentionally not quoting or replying to anyone specific, as the intention of this post is not to persuade anyone, just to better inform what the game is and what it is not.

I understand some of you guys have been following the game for years now and got accustomed to what the game looks like and the screenshot up until now didn't indicate this is the plan, as I was simply to busy working on the novel game design and didn't get around to it.

Adding the African ethnicity for the player character customization is consistent with the vision I always had for the game:

- since the first text based preview we shared with fans in 2017, your mother's backstory was that of a stranger finding refugee from Rome and living among your people. This was always meant to let the player role-play in his head that she could've been of the player's preferred nation.
- whenever the question of historic authenticity came up, I said I'm not going out of my way to ruin the setting, but the game comes first
- and the game can be viewed as one character long character creation experience, as the scenes shape your character attributes constantly
- the focus and importance of character creation can be clearly seen from the beginning of the development
- so allowing as many people to create a character they like to look at is consistent with that design focus
- the game was always positioned as a psychological RPG, not a historical one. If the setting was the main thing appealing to you, chances are you wouldn't have enjoyed the game either way. There is a lot of mechanics to pick up and it doesn't spend text real estate on lore, but on exploring the characters motives, reactions, and beliefs and driving the action forward. You can get a good feeling for this by playing the 20 minute demo.

The most important thing is it's an esthetic choice the player fully controls: anyone who thinks it doesn't fit the setting can simply choose to not click on the button that changes your character's ethnicity and characters with dark skin living among the people fighting the Romans will not get displayed in your game session. It's the same with the character name you enter - I don't filter it to fit the setting. If you want to call your character 'T-800' or 'Han Solo' you can, it's you experience. And if you think it detracts from the experience, it's within your agency to write in a name you think fits more. The same way, if you don't like certain character customization options, it's within your agency to select a character you think fits more.

 

[poetic]

How many endings are possible? Can you get captured by Romans in the first act? It definitely should be possible. If you get caught by slavers. Also high beauty should not just be a positive thing, it should have negative consequences also, like making you a desired target for slavers.

There are 5 distinct endings planned.

You can get captured by Romans at a point later in the story.

Yes, beauty is not only a positive thing, it's also captured in the game mechanics - it influences your relationships starting states - some character of opposite sex do have more sympathy, but some characters of same sex have more envy or aversion.

 

[poetic]

Also thank you everyone who enjoyed the game for letting me know and for leaving feedback, I appreciate it.

 

[Nm6k]

There are 5 distinct endings planned.

How exactly would those endings play out? Will there be slight differences within one ending based off who still alive or other things like that like in some CRPG'S or will it be more like a VN more strict and with no slight differences

 

[Martyr]

leaving feedback

important request: different beard styles, especially mustaches !!!
a short mustache, a sideswept mustache (not handlebar, more like the real Vlad Dracula) and a Vercingetorix style long mustache would be really appreciated.
I can't stand full beards and I have to see them all the time in real life, so I don't want to have to stare at them in games. the mustache is the king of beard styles.
long circle beard and Lemmy Kilmister style mutton chops are also a must.

 

[ERYFKRAD]

beard styles

mustache

It don't add up, Cap'n.
I agree with the general thrust of your post, however.

 

[Martyr]

beard styles

mustache

It don't add up, Cap'n.
I agree with the general thrust of your post, however.

I never understood why other languages are making a difference between mustaches and beards, since it's all facial hair.
in german language they don't differentiate - facial hair is just "Bart". a full beard is "Vollbart", a goatee "Kinnbart / Ziegenbart" and a mustache is "Schnurrbart / Schnauzbart / Oberlippenbart".

 

[ERYFKRAD]

I blame the French

 

[poetic]

This game is fascinating. poetic congratulations for making something original.

I checked the Steam page and predictably there's already a couple of lame brained reviews complaining about RNG and missing with high percentages. Please, for the love of God, just ignore these people. They have ruined games before. Don't allow them to influence your decisions during EA.

Yeah, no worries, there will be no changes made based to the default experience on feedback like that. For the success to feel real, the possibility of failing must be real too. But I do get out of my way, both in writing and in game mechanics, to give players that care enough to think, a way how to tilt the odds into their favor.

That being said, I plan to add difficulty levels to the game, because I think it's fun for everyone to have an option to try the game at a difficulty they feel comfortable with and then have the possibility of tackling the game at a higher difficulty level.

 

[poetic]

There are 5 distinct endings planned.

How exactly would those endings play out? Will there be slight differences within one ending based off who still alive or other things like that like in some CRPG'S or will it be more like a VN more strict and with no slight differences

I will use spoiler tags, but it's nothing major, I did already talk about these things openly - so the two endings we already pre-shadowed are:

Spoiler

- you become the war chief uniting the tribes and achieving a military victory against the Romans in a final battle
- you gather enough influence and following with your people and respect with the enemy, that the Romans will agree to talk to you and you come with enough 'chips' to this volatile final scene, that will enable you to achieve a diplomatic victory

So that kind of different endings.

 

[poetic]

leaving feedback

important request: different beard styles, especially mustaches !!!

Yes, happy to confirm, the whole one man team agrees customized facial hair is an integral part of being able to immerse yourself into a role Feel free to post pictures, because a lot can be lost in translation here

 

[ERYFKRAD]

It's like Teudogar and the Alliance with Rome but Celtic.

 

[jackofshadows]

- since the first text based preview we shared with fans in 2017, your mother's backstory was that of a stranger finding refugee from Rome and living among your people. This was always meant to let the player role-play in his head that she could've been of the player's preferred nation.

Cool story, however to have such uhh, high melanine levels as been shown recently MC should have both "stranger" type of parents. As for larping - that's what it is: larping i.e. such "experience" can be summed up with your own example of naming a character "Han Solo" and pretending whatever next. It has nothing to do with the game's setting and should be left to the mercy of larp-enthusiasts, who cares.

if you don't like certain character customization options, it's within your agency to select a character you think fits more.

And yet the whole game is still designed to fit all the possible options. Imagine if in The Witcher game player could choose to play as a furry and "befriend" all the hostile enviroment instead of slaughtering it and the devs would answer on a fair wtf question: "nah, just don't click that option, choose Geralt, you'll be fine".

 

[Stoned Ape]

Cool story, however to have such uhh, high melanine levels as been shown recently MC should have both "stranger" type of parents. As for larping - that's what it is: larping i.e. such "experience" can be summed up with your own example of naming a character "Han Solo" and pretending whatever next. It has nothing to do with the game's setting and should be left to the mercy of larp-enthusiasts, who cares.

One of the kids I went to school with had a black stepdad and a white mum.

He also had a pair of younger siblings who were twins.

His younger half-brother had the same skin tone as his dad, and his sister had the same coloration as her mum.

Genetics can be really weird.

 

[poetic]

- since the first text based preview we shared with fans in 2017, your mother's backstory was that of a stranger finding refugee from Rome and living among your people. This was always meant to let the player role-play in his head that she could've been of the player's preferred nation.

Cool story, however to have such uhh, high melanine levels as been shown recently MC should have both "stranger" type of parents. As for larping - that's what it is: larping i.e. such "experience" can be summed up with your own example of naming a character "Han Solo" and pretending whatever next. It has nothing to do with the game's setting and should be left to the mercy of larp-enthusiasts, who cares.

if you don't like certain character customization options, it's within your agency to select a character you think fits more.

And yet the whole game is still designed to fit all the possible options. Imagine if in The Witcher game player could choose to play as a furry and "befriend" all the hostile enviroment instead of slaughtering it and the devs would answer on a fair wtf question: "nah, just don't click that option, choose Geralt, you'll be fine".

Fair point, the skin tone is darker than typical - this study's conclusion seems to be there is a 1:500 chance a mixed couple's child will look completely like one of the parents. But I agree - as currently implemented, it's left to the player, be it an enthusiast or not, to use that customization.

The Witcher example you mention makes me think you are drawing the wrong conclusions. Why would this be allowing the player to 'befriend' instead of 'slaughter'? Your skin color doesn't change the sides you fight on. Your community has the same loyalty for you and the enemy the same desire to annihilate you. What it is it's the equivalent of letting the players in The Witcher customize their character with high levels of melanin. And letting him do the same witchery things.

The important difference being The Witcher was created by Andrzej Sapkowski who described Geralt's appearance in a non-interactive medium and the developers were adapting a per-existing character. Sacred Fire was created by me for an interactive medium, and I've always pitched the title with the 'This story is yours to tell' tag line, letting the player co-create the story. And I hope it doesn't strike you as strange, that as an author I reserve the right to decide what is 'canon' and what is not. Seems like a fair answer to a fair question to me.

 

[ERYFKRAD]

Does this game have some manner of inventory system by the way? Can't for the life of me remember if that was ever touched upon.

 

[Martyr]

leaving feedback

important request: different beard styles, especially mustaches !!!

Yes, happy to confirm, the whole one man team agrees customized facial hair is an integral part of being able to immerse yourself into a role Feel free to post pictures, because a lot can be lost in translation here

great !

pictures of cool beard styles:

Spoiler

short mustache, with or without gap

sideswept mustache

long mustache, Brennus and Vercingetorix

jawline beards (the two guys around the table, not the real human in the left corner)

long circle beard

mutton chops (full beard with shaved chin area)

 

[poetic]

Martyr Excellent, thank you!

 

[ERYFKRAD]

leaving feedback

important request: different beard styles, especially mustaches !!!

Yes, happy to confirm, the whole one man team agrees customized facial hair is an integral part of being able to immerse yourself into a role Feel free to post pictures, because a lot can be lost in translation here

great !

pictures of cool beard styles:

Spoiler

short mustache, with or without gap

sideswept mustache

long mustache, Brennus and Vercingetorix

jawline beards (the two guys around the table, not the real human in the left corner)

long circle beard

mutton chops (full beard with shaved chin area)

That last one be Humakt?

 

[Salvo]

Played some more, and feel as if you sometime have little control over what happens unless you're burning quickly through MPs, and even then OTHER characters can still fail / succeed their rolls... unsure whether or not this is as designed, but it does feel like you're simply at the mercy of the dice gods in some occasion...

Yes, I understand that's to be expected where RNG is involved, but for a game that is basically a visual novel I don't think the player feeling like they have no control over what happens is a good thing. Just my two cents.