Game News Torment Kickstarter Update #7: Adam Heine explains more about the Tides, and other sundry updates

[Infinitron]

Tags: Adam Heine; Colin McComb; InXile Entertainment; Kevin Saunders; Monte Cook; Mur Lafferty; Nathan Long; Ray Vallese; Tony Evans; Torment: Tides of Numenera

Today's Torment: Tides of Numenera Kickstarter update has a new video, this time featuring a new guest star - Adam Heine, broadcasting straight from his orphanage in Thailand. Adam describes Torment's Tides and Legacies in more practical terms, including an example of a hypothetical "use case":

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The update also describes Torment's ever-growing collection of novellas in further detail:

The Digital Novella Compilation, features standalone novellas by Colin McComb and Monte Cook, and From the Depths, which includes five interlinked novellas by Adam Heine, Mur Lafferty, Nathan Long, Ray Vallese, and Tony Evans. Colin's novella will be tied more directly to the story of our game, with backstory on some of the characters or companions (no major spoilers, of course). Monte's novella will be a more proper introduction to the Ninth World and the Steadfast.​

From the Depths will be a series of novellas interlinked, not in their stories or characters, but in their connections to the Tides and Torment's part of the Ninth World. Each novella will take place in the history of one of Torment's locations, and will revolve around the stories of individuals who, through their actions, embody one of the Tides. We’ve talked about how the Tides are complicated and nuanced concepts – through these stories, you will gain a deeper understand of what each Tide means, and how each manifests itself.​

All of these novellas will come with the new limited $39 tier, which is identical to the $28 tier except that it comes with all of the novellas rather than just Colin's.

In further news, the update reports that the Kickstarter reached 48,000 backers today, which means that the second Fathom of Castoff's Labyrinth has been unlocked. It hasn't been sketched yet, but in the meantime there is an image of the first:

Apparently, this thing is not going to work quite in the same way that Project Eternity's Endless Paths art did.

There's also a new piece of concept art by Andree Wallin called The Ascension of Kex-Lianish. Naturally, it's available as a wallpaper at the Torment website. Beyond that, there's also a new forum for Game Ideas on the Torment website. And an official Torment wiki administrated by Ausir. And an official Polish version of the Torment Tumblr blog.

Finally, there's going to be a Torment Reddit AMA next Wednesday on March 20th, from 17:00 to 20:00 GMT. Brian, Monte, Colin and Kevin will be attending. And that's it for this week!

Update: The second Fathom has been revealed:

I see what you did there, inXile.

 

[BobtheTree]

The tides, if done properly, sound like a much cooler way to react to a character than D&D alignment. Not that there isn't something cool about that system, but it always felt a bit restrictive and categorical whereas this feels like you're being gauged more along various spectrums.

 

[hiver]

Did anyone completely understand what exactly Adam said when he talked about that quest inside the Bloom, with "Staica?" and humans and ... Thieves?
I understood almost everything but there is a part i just cant make out clearly. He says you can help either Staica or humans and get help from each in return.
But then he says "....something...something... not so crazy about the Thieves.... Kill them all and you can earn their admiration."

i dont fucking get that part and ive rewind it about fifty times.

 

[Kz3r0]

Not your motivations, but if your actions matter.
So, I guess that the answer to the question "what does one life matter?" will not be the obvious one that to live is a justification in itself, even if seems that they are going down the equally obvious route of 'making a difference'.

 

[Kirtai]

It sounds a bit like "the queen's" or "their queen's" not so crazy about the thieves.

Maybe a reference the Stiacas' having a Queen who's pissed off at her eggs being stolen?

 

[hiver]

Ok, but then whose admiration i get if i "kill them all"?

 

[Kirtai]

Maybe both sides will admire you for being such a badass you can take down both groups at once by yourself? Or bystanders will be happy you stomped both annoying groups.

He's annoying unclear there. Some clarification would be nice.

 

[hiver]

I asked on kickstarter. But im just glad its not just me. I already thought my english is going fubar... or my hearing.

 

[Kirtai]

No, it's not just you. That bit is unclear, in both senses.

 

[hiver]

Ill need some time to process that illustration by Andree. All that diamond... and no way to cut it!
Some interesting details inside it though. A castle farther back maybe? Some sort of a tower or residence a bit left and closer to the front too. Some interesting details on the "floor" on the right.
And man... all that detail in the crystals textures. He really likes doing details man. I hate him so much.

 

[Kirtai]

Is it just me or is there a ghostly spire just right of centre?

 

[hiver]

- hah! I didnt see that until you mentioned it. It seems there is. Maybe its a mirage of some kind?

_edit_ Godamnit! Look at those rainbow colors on the pathway!! Godamnit i hate that guy!!!



Adam : I believe the line you're referring to is "Their queen's not so crazy about the thieves."

H : Thanks. But whose admiration then we get by killing the both groups?
As for Tides... will selfishness be included into any?


Adam : Lol, good point. Again, I blame it on my time constraint. If you killed them all, your Silver (admiration) Tide might go up for doing so, but also other Sticha/thieves in the tunnels would maybe hear of it
The Silver Tide is probably most related to selfishness, but not strictly so. We'll see how it plays out when we start designing some areas with the system.

 

[TwinkieGorilla]

Ausir.

The bro who knows more about Fallout and Fallout canon than any living human computer and got booted off his own wiki by the people who, on this Earth, know the least about Fallout and Fallout canon. Bethesda and Zenimax should be hung in public.

 

[Kirtai]

The bro who knows more about Fallout and Fallout canon than any living human computer and got booted off his own wiki by the people who, on this Earth, know the least about Fallout and Fallout canon. Bethesda and Zenimax should be hung in public.

Yeesh, I didn't know about that. Nice that inXile have acknowledged him as their official Torment wiki wrangler.

 

[Fryjar]

Quite surprising that there is still no counter for Facebook likes / Twitter tweets for growing the number of fathoms.
P:E did this quite effectively and I'm pretty sure that this wasn't detrimental to their sustained high pledging numbers over the course of the Kickstarter. Irrespective of the quality of the current Torment updates, there should be a way to make potential backers aware that haven't already heard of the Kickstarter before and social media are perfect for this, no matter what you personally think about them. I'm sure that at least for Torment there will be people interested in backing that don't frequent gaming websites regularly anymore, which remain right now untapped, because they haven't heard the news of the Kickstarter.

Edit: Also, the picture of the labyrinth's fathoms should probably feature more prominently on the kickstarter front page and display which number of fathoms you have reached. This makes the carrot on the stick more obvious.

 

[Infinitron]

The bro who knows more about Fallout and Fallout canon than any living human computer and got booted off his own wiki by the people who, on this Earth, know the least about Fallout and Fallout canon. Bethesda and Zenimax should be hung in public.

I thought it was Wikia who booted him.

 

[Excidium]

Yes it was wikia, there was some butthurt with him working on a wiki hosted on curse or something.

 

[Koschey]

http://kotaku.com/5876097/fallout-wiki-founder-banned-from-wikia-for-promoting-curse

Now I feel dirty

 

[Runciter]

I don't know if that crystal landscape was a good choice. It reminds me too strongly of

 

[Helly]

http://kotaku.com/5876097/fallout-wiki-founder-banned-from-wikia-for-promoting-curse

Now I feel dirty

For posting a kotaku article? You should.
Wait for Brother None to start TheRealGameBanshee.com (by Inxile) and r00fles will happen

 

[hiver]

I don't know if that crystal landscape was a good choice.

Maybe not at first. And that comparison is interesting, isnt it. hmm...

 

[Sam Ecorners]

The bro who knows more about Fallout and Fallout canon than any living human computer and got booted off his own wiki by the people who, on this Earth, know the least about Fallout and Fallout canon. Bethesda and Zenimax should be hung in public.

He wasn't booted, he just got a better offer from Curse. He decided to fork the Vault and take it as well as some key contributors to Curse, but Wikia started giving him shit over the Vault name and letting people know about the split and drama ensued.

 

[Kosmonaut]

Is Ausir an autist?

 

[MicoSelva]

I really dig the art style of this game and hope that it remains rather niche (the art style, not the game), or it would lose its bizarre feel which makes it so cool.

 

[Infinitron]

Updated OP.