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KickStarter SKALD: Against the Black Priory - retro RPG inspired by Ultima

mindx2

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Codex 2012 PC RPG Website of the Year, 2015 Codex 2016 - The Age of Grimoire RPG Wokedex Serpent in the Staglands Divinity: Original Sin Project: Eternity Torment: Tides of Numenera Wasteland 2 Shadorwun: Hong Kong Divinity: Original Sin 2 BattleTech Pathfinder: Wrath I'm very into cock and ball torture I helped put crap in Monomyth
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/scapeit/skald-against-the-black-priory/posts/2933875

Beta 1.1.2 is out (minor update)

Hi everyone!

I just uploaded a new version of the BETA to Itch.io. This one is a minor update and mostly consists of fixes that have been made in response to BETA 1.1.0 feedback.

In other words, there is no new content in the demo but I still very much appreciate all and any playtesting!

That being said, a larger, meatier demo is not far off for you backers (and the press) so just stay posted!

As a short aside, have a look at this vintage SKALD GIF compared to the new one - I love seeing how far the game has come!

2435f8abc027cd44ed8097f7a8c1dec7_original.gif

The old UI did have its charms I think.

Could you imagine how the game would have done if it had gone to crowdfunding looking like it does now (the GIF above is from the 2019 Kickstarter)?

88942a73e8f2693549694c762f1edc5e_original.gif

Though I do prefer the "modern" look!

In any case, the above GIF shows off the first forays into multi-tile characters. It's really hard making 16x16 models look scary and being able to use larger models sure go a long way!

It's back to work for me - have a great day!

AL

My goodness this game is GORGEOUS!!!!!!!!!!!!!
 
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Infinitron

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This looks like it's starting to more and more combat-centric and I'm not sure I'm happy about it.

Wouldn't it have been more combat-centric when combat occurred in its own dedicated battle screens? When everything happens on the "real world" adventure map, that limits what you can do with encounter design, grind, etc.
 

V_K

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This looks like it's starting to more and more combat-centric and I'm not sure I'm happy about it.

Wouldn't it have been more combat-centric when combat occurred in its own dedicated battle screens? When everything happens on the "real world" adventure map, that limits what you can do with encounter design, grind, etc.
I mean compared to the initial design where combat was blobber-style.
 

Infinitron

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Codex Year of the Donut Serpent in the Staglands Dead State Divinity: Original Sin Project: Eternity Torment: Tides of Numenera Wasteland 2 Shadorwun: Hong Kong Divinity: Original Sin 2 A Beautifully Desolate Campaign Pillars of Eternity 2: Deadfire Pathfinder: Kingmaker Pathfinder: Wrath I'm very into cock and ball torture I helped put crap in Monomyth
This looks like it's starting to more and more combat-centric and I'm not sure I'm happy about it.

Wouldn't it have been more combat-centric when combat occurred in its own dedicated battle screens? When everything happens on the "real world" adventure map, that limits what you can do with encounter design, grind, etc.
I mean compared to the initial design where combat was blobber-style.

That's what I'm saying. The devil will be in the details, but going from Wizardry-style to Ultima-style doesn't automatically suggest a game is becoming more combat-centric, no?
 
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V_K

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This looks like it's starting to more and more combat-centric and I'm not sure I'm happy about it.

Wouldn't it have been more combat-centric when combat occurred in its own dedicated battle screens? When everything happens on the "real world" adventure map, that limits what you can do with encounter design, grind, etc.
I mean compared to the initial design where combat was blobber-style.

That's what I'm saying. The devil will be in the details, but going from Wizardry-style to Ultima-style doesn't automatically suggest a game is becoming more combat-centric, no?
It means you'll be spending a lot more time in it since it's slower.
And the game never had random encounters Wiz-style, enemies were always visible in the environment. There was actually a rather fun mechanic where the composition of the encounter depended on how many enemies were within a certain distance from the party when it started. So you could rush into battle with as many as possible, or navigate carefully and take them out one by one.
 

V_K

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New update: combat overhaul is in, EA still planned for late 2020, but might be delayed.
Also, from the wording of it, it seems like some of the terrain will be interactable and/or destructible. SkaldRPG - any details on that you could share atm?

Project Update: Beta 1.2.0 (Combat Revision)


The beta build (1.2.0) is up on itch.io for testers right now! SKALD has gotten a huge update to its combat system (as well as some new features) and I can’t wait for you to have a look at it!

The New Combat System
Combat is now resolved directly on the map itself. In other words, it no longer swaps to a separate combat map.

Highlighting.gif

As I’ve been developing the game, one of the biggest shifts in my approach to designing SKALD, has been in level design: I originally saw exploration of the physical spaces of the game to be a distinct pillar of game-play alongside combat, character development and interaction.

However, as I’ve begun designing levels, it has occurred to me that interacting with the physicality of the world, could not be seen as a separate aspect of game-play: The physical layout of the game world is the canvas that encompasses all other aspects of the game and combat, dialogue and exploration is made more interesting by the fact that it takes place in a “physical” world with components that interact with, and affect each other.

Placing combat on the map itself was a natural consequence of this. This will make it possible to interact with terrain during combat, NPCs will join fights and destruction will linger after combat ends. You can approach enemies from different directions, become surrounded or attempt to use the terrain to your advantage.

Combat isn’t the only subsystem that is being adapted to this shift in design mentality. More on that down the line.

DriinaCOmbat.gif

The combat system as it is in the coming update is still pretty bare-bones. It doesn’t really take advantage of it’s new form yet, but I need to get some play-testing done none the less: Both to weed out bugs and to get a basis for improving the system.

The main design principles for combat moving forward are:

  1. Combat should feel fast and smooth
  2. Combat should stay tactically interesting from early to late game
  3. Combat should be narratively expressive (e.i. it should serve as a tool for storytelling)
There’s also a number of issues I need to explore:

  1. How much information does the player need and how do I present it in the best way?
  2. What are the best controls for combat and what is the optimal relationship between keyboard and mouse input?
  3. How do I visualize all the different options players might have during combat in a good way?
  4. What types of terrain layout make for the most fun combat whilst avoiding overly dominant strategies (such as defending doorways)?
  5. What are some interesting combat-role archetypes for both enemies and PCs?
  6. How can feats and spells take optimal advantage of the combat system?
Other New Features and Updates
There is months of work in this update so changes are too numerous to mention in a lot of cases.

One of the more notable updates, however, is the ability to customize the character model (hair, colors, clothing etc). This adds a bit of flair for players but more importantly, it reduces the need for me to create custom models for NPCs! This is going to be a huge time-saver down the line as I can now swap around outfits to make an infinite amount of variations. Needless to say, there will be A LOT more customization options down the line. It also opens the door for stuff like faction-based outfits.

Character-custmoization.gif

I’ve polished the input system a bit and vastly improved the path-finding AI so movement and controls should also feel quite a bit more snappy. Try to keep an eye on this and be sure to report any bugs related to movement, path-finding and input.

The Next Steps
For the next weeks I’m going to keep polishing the combat system whilst working towards the press-, and content-creator demo (which will of course be available for backers as well). It will contain new, unseen narrative content as well so it’ll be fun to see you guys dig into it.

There will probably be a couple more beta updates before the press demo is ready to drop so stay posted for that as well. I REALLY appreciate it if you take even 5 minutes to test the game and reporting any bugs or impressions afterwards: It really helps to make this the game we all want it to be!

In regards to the game being ready for early access in late 2020 – we’ll see. I’m truly working as fast as I can but it’s hard to predict the flow of the project. Rest assured however, that all the time is being spent make SKALD awesome and I can guarantee you it’s paying off!
 

V_K

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From last weekend's Discord post:
SkaldRPG said:
Hello @everyone ! I've been a bit out of the loop for the last weeks! Sorry for that! Very busy time on my day-job and it's had me wiped out a bit! Hopefully things are clearing up a bit now and I'll be more available If any of you ever need anything don't hesitate to PM me if I'm not as active in the server - I'll get back to you ASAP! Have a great Sunday and keep on nerding hard!

And:
SkaldRPG said:
First pass of a villa! Love me some pastoral charm!
GovVilla.gif
 

Dux

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It's refreshing to see an indie developer who actually knows how to emulate the retro pixel aesthetic properly for once.

Keep up the good work.
 

SkaldRPG

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Glad you like it! Keeping the game pixel-perfect is a big must for me and that REALLY helps the look of the game :)
 

moraes

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Project: Eternity Wasteland 2 Codex USB, 2014 Pillars of Eternity 2: Deadfire
SkaldRPG said:
First pass of a villa! Love me some pastoral charm!
GovVilla.gif

You play as Sand dan Glokta, the cripple. It takes two minutes to climb a flight of stairs.
 

Lacrymas

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Pathfinder: Wrath
The art style is amazing! Will definitely keep an eye on this.
 
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