Torment Torment: Tides of Numenera Pre-Release Thread [ALPHA RELEASED, GO TO NEW THREAD]

[Infinitron]

http://www.adamheine.com/2014/10/torment-game-modes.html

Torment Game Modes?

From the AMA pile, Arumaxx89 asks:

As you said, you want neither to encourage nor prohibit save scumming.​

So I want to ask you a question: "Will there be different game modes in T:ToN?" (like, for instance, trial of iron in pillars of eternity or ironmode in XCOM)
​

We haven't finalized our game modes yet by any means, but we are tentatively planning some sort of ironman/permadeath mode. Of course "permadeath" doesn't mean as much to a tough-to-kill castoff of the Changing God, but it would mean something for your companions.

And it would mean your choices and failures were irreversible. By itself, I guess this wouldn't be too bad in Torment, where we are trying to make failure states worth continuing through anyway. But even though most things won't kill the Last Castoff, he's not immortal. There are things that can happen in the Ninth World that can wipe out even a castoff, and some of those things are hunting you...

 

[Brzęczyszczykiewicz]

Wut? Stretch goals? Didn't kickstarter campaign end in 2013?

 

[mastroego]

Wut? Stretch goals? Didn't kickstarter campaign end in 2013?

A bunch of Codexers were scammed into pledging again

 

[Infinitron]

Wut? Stretch goals? Didn't kickstarter campaign end in 2013?

Ignore the wet blanket above http://www.rpgcodex.net/forums/inde...site-new-stretch-goal-new-lore-details.94198/

 

[tuluse]

This is the danger of additional stretch goals. You get close and not reach them and people feel cheated in some manner.

Where's Stephen Dengler when you need him?

 

[Sensuki]

They got enough money to hire another environment artist at least, so chances are more B content areas will be making it in. I wouldn't be surprised if The Gullet makes it in, especially if it's only one scene, even with tile flipping.

 

[StaticSpine]

I'm sure inXile will be bros and include The Gullet in the game and it will be a surprise and they'll be like "C'mon, did you really think we won't include such an awesome area in the game, are you nuts?"

R-right??... guys?

 

[Drax]

Inb4 death threats to Obsidian-not-obsidian-you-moron InXile
#GulletGate FTW!

Edit: I'm a retard.

 

[Zorba the Hutt]

Inb4 death threats to Obsidian
#GulletGate FTW!

 

[Goral]

With the amount of money raised they could easily start making The Gullet and additional 33k would turn up way before 217k would be burned (spent). It would be a very bad move on their part if they would leave it out. Of course they can always say that they will add this location but in reality they would cut a significant portion of it out hoping that no one would know about it.

 

[Drax]

Inb4 death threats to Obsidian
#GulletGate FTW!

 

[Volrath]

Ineptile indeed. Can't believe they bamboozled me again.

 

[<3sRichardSimmons]

Although I suspect The Gullet will probably end up being included, anyone who complains about it not being included is a whiny infant. This is the reason thresholds are set. They didn't achieve the threshold they set. Why would anyone demand they deliver on a promise they didn't make?

 

[Goral]

Although I suspect The Gullet will probably end up being included, anyone who complains about it not being included is a whiny infant. This is the reason thresholds are set. They didn't achieve the threshold they set. Why would anyone demand they deliver on a promise they didn't make?

Because this stretch goal was only an inaccurate estimation? How would they know exactly that 250k would be enough and 233k would not? How come it's such a round number? And why would they need 250k by today, will they spend it all at once? Don't think so.

 

[Owlish]

I'm sure inXile will be bros and include The Gullet in the game and it will be a surprise and they'll be like "C'mon, did you really think we won't include such an awesome area in the game, are you nuts?"

R-right??... guys?

Honestly I think not. Realistically I would bet most areas will have lot of cut corners and quests, dialogues, characters left in inchoate stage. If "The Gullet" gets included at all it'll probably be half-assed and rushed.

 

[Roguey]

"If we have extra time/budget available later, it’ll still be on the list of things we could add to the game." is a polite way of saying "no" because there's never extra time/budget. They always try to do too much. At this very moment they're doing too much and you better believe things are going to be cut.

 

[tuluse]

Think it's pretty funny how Larian ended up cutting stretch goal features and content they ended up actually meeting, and here you guise are saying that inXile should just include this stuff anyway despite coming up short.

I was just thinking about this, and I think many people would actually prefer to have something promised and then canceled at the last minute than told beforehand it can't happen.

The former makes it feel like the company tried to fulfill the promise, while the latter makes it feel like they gave up before they even tried.

 

[Zorba the Hutt]

This has highlighted one of the problems with stretch goals imo, backer butthurt when a target is just missed. I think it's worse with these post-KS addons for some reason, possibly because the original KS feels like a finite process at a time when you're not even sure the game will get made. Once it's backed then everyone is happy and you accept that there are limits to what can be promised, the scope is set and development gets underway. But adding in extra targets later on just feels open-ended, so now many are asking why they can't just keep the target open for longer.

There's also a related problem in that it gets us thinking in terms of exact amounts for certain features, as if this bit of the Gullet would cost $250k or DOS day/night cycles would cost $200k. But it's really just a way of getting cash for the overall development. Throw in some tempting-sounding targets and motivate everyone to spread the word and raise more funding. The trick is to ensure that those targets you expect to reach are things you plan to possibly do anyway, while the most difficult goals should be suitably high. Imo this is the problem DOS had, they set their stretch goals when their campaign was looking like it would just make the base amount. They threw in the day/night cycles (as the highest target) only $200k above the previous goal in a project where they were already overspending on everything. And then they had the worst possible result in that they just made it, they didn't blow past it and have a lot extra. Given that they needed to redesign systems and add loads of sleeping quarters etc and related content... it was never going to be manageable.

Adding an extra area like the Gullet seems much more realistic, but as others have suggested it just depends on how well the project goes. If things are going well then it's on the list, if the project runs into trouble then it might have been cut even if the target had been made. It's just a pr knock to cancel something, and they're dealing with backer butthurt anyway now. I still think Fargo will try to include it, given how well it would go down it they did, but obviously delivering the overall game in a decent state is the priority and the scope of everything they've promised is pretty daunting.

 

[VioletShadow]

It's been extended!!!!!!!

 

[Diablo169]

Updated Our Journal (35): The Gullet Extended, Gold Tide Rising
1 comment

TL;DR: Gullet Stretch Goal extended to October 31; Gold Tide novella released; Monte Cook Games videos and more.

Hi, Thomas here. I'd like to start out today's update with a huge "thank you!" for the immense outpouring of support we received for our stretch goal to add the Gullet into the game. We received some incredibly generous pledges from many backers, including an anonymous donor ($1665), Pookie ($1271), Najiok ($900), Hiro Protagonist ($750) and even a pair of $750 pledges from our very own Colin McComb and Kevin Saunders.

Unfortunately, we fell somewhat short of our goal (about 15%, or $35,000) to see the Gullet added to the final game. However, we did not want to see this great effort of yours go for naught, and we also realized based on comments about this stretch goal as it closed that awareness had not spread widely enough. Some people suggested extending the deadline, in part to allow word to spread to where it didn't before.

So, we're moving the stretch goal deadline for the Gullet to the end of Tuesday, October 31. Just over $30,000 to go!

Coincidentally this is also when we will be closing a number of add-ons from our Kickstarter period. So while new backers are more than welcome you may also want to consider some of our add-on options! And to remind everyone: please specify your add-ons by Tuesday, October 31!
From the Depths: Gold Released

We've released the first of our From the Depths novellas. If you need a refresher: the From the Depths stories are a series of novellas being written by people involved in Torment: Tides of Numenera and Numenera itself. While not required reading to play, they provide a richer understanding of the Torment world and characters as well as the Tides.

If the Digital Novella Compilation was part of your Tier, or if you pledged for the $15 add-on, then you can retrieve Adam's novella it RIGHT NOW at our site. It's available DRM-free in all the most common eBook formats (epub, mobi, azw3, and PDF).

The first one we're releasing is written by our Design Lead Adam Heine, and set in Ossiphagan – which was the subject of the lore piece in update 34. It is one of the five From the Depths novellas that give specific insights into the nature of the Tides, with Adam's focusing on the Gold Tide. An excerpt:

Luthiya gripped the ragged edge of the rock, her heart beating thrice as fast as it should've been. A wide river of magma coursed fifteen meters below them, and within it—or were they above it?—floated a dozen or so humanoid shapes. They were golden and ethereal, like wisps of flame, though there was nothing to burn. In another place and time, they might've been beautiful, but Luthiya couldn't see past the fire. Fire meant destruction. Death. The Tabaht.

"What are they?" she breathed. And why is Ama excited about these . . . things?

"Fire wights," Ama said.

"Wights?!" Luthiya hugged herself tightly, remembering old Shue ghost stories in which the dead returned from Abaddon to feed on the living.

Ama touched Luthiya's arm. "Hush, child. I'm not ready for them to know we're here. Fire wights is a misnomer, based on how the Ossiphagans saw them. These creatures are very much alive."

"Which brings us back to the question," Luthiya said, more quietly."What are they?"

Ama sighed, as though Luthiya should already know. "Old, of course. Probably not of this world at all. They're extremely intelligent, if somewhat difficult to communicate with. I wonder if the thermebus would be useful in . . ."

Ama continued talking to herself, and Luthiya ground her teeth. The nano often did this: babbling to herself as though Luthiya weren't there or couldn't understand what she was saying. Normally, Luthiya would let her run on—she'd learned a lot of useful things that way—but there were more important things right now. "Are they dangerous, Ama?"

"What?" Ama looked at her and blinked, obviously having forgotten Luthiya was there. "Oh, no, child. They are not fire any more than they are undead. They aren't even hot, though they can become so. They communicate through a form of temperature variation. One could spend another three or four lifetimes trying to under—"

"Ama," Luthiya said as politely as she could behind clamped teeth. "Why are they exciting?"

Her face lit up as she said, "I don't know."

"What?"

"There's something important about this place, Thiya. I feel it, and it has something to do with the wights." There was a spark in her eyes Luthiya had never seen before. Joy . . . but scarier. "I think we can help them."

"Help them?" The nano was always strange, but this was beyond that. It was one thing to spend hours staring at some metal orb that hung by its own power, but Ama seemed unusually detached from reality at the moment. "We're having enough trouble helping our—"

"Look!"

ma pointed as some of the wights came together in a circle. Flamelike coils stretched forward from their bodies. Arms, Luthiya thought. The wights plunged their arms into the magma, then the circle began to spin. The magma spun with them, as though the wights were stirring it.

As Luthiya watched, the magma changed color from red, to orange, to gold. The wights rose into the air and a tower of golden magma rose out of the river with them. She gasped. How is that even possible?

The magma continued to rise. Some of the wights remained at the base, coaxing more magma into the tower, while others guided it toward the cavernous ceiling. Finally they reached the roof where a smaller circle of wights had formed and was molding the magma into the ceiling itself.

Luthiya wasn't sure when it changed, but the magma became a shimmering black, a pillar of twisted glass that hadn’'t been there before. "Like the chantry," she said in awe.

"And the bridges," said Ama, smiling down at her. "Think what we could do with their help. We could rebuild this city."
Monte Cook Games Videos

Monte Cook Games has released a set of "How to Play" videos which serve as excellent introductions into the Numenera pen and paper game. If you're unfamiliar with the game's world and rules – or even if you're not – the How to Play Numenera video is definitely recommended viewing. Less relevant to our backers, but still a fun and interesting watch, is the How to Play The Strange video. Both feature Monte Cook, Shanna Germain, Bruce Cordell and Jen Page. Give 'em a watch!
Ask George Ziets

Lead Area Designer George Ziets has continued answering questions on his Tumblr, which as always you can find rounded up on our own Tumblr. Here's George on the Sorrow:

The Sorrow (formerly known as the Angel of Entropy) has been hunting castoffs like the player for quite some time. Some castoffs have managed to evade its attention so far, while others have been tracked down and mercilessly destroyed. The Sorrow will be a major antagonistic force in the game. Since you – and all the other castoffs, for that matter – aren't strong enough to stand against it directly, you've got to find another way to deal with it.

For the moment, I can't say any more than we've already revealed in updates, but the question of *why* the Sorrow is hunting the castoffs will definitely be revealed over the course of the story.

And on the Bloom:

For narrative reasons, the Bloom zone takes place entirely in the creature's interior, but you may get to see some Bloom exterior in the Sagus Cliffs zone. I can't say for sure because Sagus Cliffs hasn't been completely designed yet, and I don't know which scenes will make the cut… but I agree that it could be fun to depict, so we'll see what happens.

We're laying out our playable space in “scenes” – discrete locations or levels where gameplay takes place. It's essentially the same as in the Infinity Engine games. In PST, examples of scenes would be Ragpicker's Square, the NE Hive, the Dead Nations, the second floor of the Mortuary, etc. The Bloom zone is divided into a number of scenes, which are meant to portray those sections of the Bloom that the player can access. In theory, there are other parts of the Bloom that the player will not see in this game.
Bedlam

And finally, we wanted to give a shout-out to the Bedlam Kickstarter. Based on The Banner Saga's engine and with inspiration from FTL and XCOM, this title mixes a fast-paced "blitz" turn-based battle system with elements of rogue-like games and RPGs for what promises to be a pretty unique and engaging experience. With $96K funded of their $130K goal and a week to go, they are close to the finish line, so give the project a look if that sounds cool to you!

Thomas Beekers,
Line Producer

Oh well game on, hope they somehow manage to get the 30k

 

[Abu Antar]

I hope they make it even if we don't get the Gullet. I want them to make as much money as possible. Whenever the mob gets angry, either post a picture of Colin or George.

 

[Roguey]

Something to read this weekend.

I hope it's better than Wasteland 2's failures.

 

[Abu Antar]

Can't even download it. I'm probably an idiot, but I see no option. :ehue:

 

[TheEntitledOne]

Can't even download it. I'm probably an idiot, but I see no option. :ehue:

same here. HAELP PLS.

 

[Jedi Master Radek]

Can't even download it. I'm probably an idiot, but I see no option. :ehue:

same here. HAELP PLS.

Go to the reward section. There is a box with informations about yourself, fill them all. Most possibly the one form which is empty is about backer credits, fill it. After saving, the download button should appear which will take you into another window. There is novella available for download in few formats there.