KickStarter Underworld Ascendant Pre-Prototype Thread

[CyberP]

This is what I have demanded all along from the Codex. For us to pull together, drop the idiocy and work in an organised and respectable manner. True monocle wearers looking on through their glass, providing ultimate judgement and manipulating the outcome of this shitty industry, no matter how puny our efforts.

 

[Doctor Sbaitso]

Sure, but there are only a few people from Looking Glass. I'd hardly call this a complete revival. And the people behind this are actually trying to be VERY CLEAR that this is not Looking Glass 2.0.

The quote you are referring to read to me like a quote taken out of context in the article. I believe what Paul was actually communicating was that UA will not be a retread of UU and that Otherside is not looking to recreate but innovate. The flow of that article in general was not good and it was not well written.

 

[CyberP]

A site in part dedicated to trolling is a retarded one. So how did it grow so large? Simple: the majority of gamers are fucking retarded.

 

[Darkzone]

http://www.kicktraq.com/projects/othersidegames/underworld-ascendant/#chart-daily

Ouch, that's a pretty stiff drop after day 4 (Feb 7). I imagine they'll still make it, especially with the usual last second push if things are close, but it seems a brittle success these days to just make your basic goal or even first stretch goals. I fall in that line of worrying that devs of big projects with deep roots (like you could bank on with Divinity or Tormet) are or will start fudging their financial projections on the assumption that more money will be available than what's given as the baseline.

This drop is a normal development of RPGs on Kickstarter, there is nothing to worry about and 750k should be still within the estimated intervall. The 900k stretch goal is in danger, but still very possible. Sadly the 1.05mio stretch goal is nearly out of reach.

 

[Doctor Sbaitso]

Let's hope they fall a dollar short of co-op and stick to their guns.

 

[Korron]

It's been mentioned already but Underworld Ascendant isn't a very unique title. Also, as respected as the artist is, their main art piece is the kind of banal shit boring that hints of generic fantasy tropes. People may look at that early build in the pitch and think Skyrim looks better without appreciating the simulated world aspect. Really the latest update is the most promising information yet. Has someone mentioned how similar this KS pitch sounds to Ken Levine's gdc talk? I backed underworld and I'll contribute to a codex fundraiser if we have one, but is 600,000 dollars, a couple LGS devs, and a mobile dev really gonna bring the incline the way they're proposing?

Cliffy B should swoop in with his occulus money if he's such a fan.

 

[Jaesun]

It's been mentioned already but Underworld Ascendant isn't a very unique title.

The last game like it was arx fatalis and that was 2002. Is the market currently flooded with Ultima Underworld clones? Am I missing something?

 

[Korron]

It's been mentioned already but Underworld Ascendant isn't a very unique title.

The last game like it was arx fatalis and that was 2002. Is the market currently flooded with Ultima Underworld clones? Am I missing something?

I mean actual title. Not type of game.

 

[Jaesun]

OK got ya.

I've certainly heard worse names though...

 

[Korron]

Ya, and some great games have had some pretty terrible names. I'm not sure wasteland or project eternity were necessarily better, but I speculate that some casual portion of backers that don't have an appreciation for the underworld titles (that do for more recent IE titles) would not necessarily find it appealing. I'm on the older end of the people who grew up playing IE games, and I only appreciate thief and deus ex because I retroactively played them. Thats probably only because I lurked around here and finally drank the kool aid of all you old fags. Those games are the reason I'm backing. Not because I played the Ultima series or the underworld titles. I wonder what the average age of a KS backer is.

I think they only really had a good first couple of days because of a few rich nostalgic devs.

 

[CyberP]

I only appreciate thief and deus ex because I retroactively played them. Thats probably only because I lurked around here and finally drank the kool aid of all you old fags. Those games are the reason I'm backing. Not because I played the Ultima series or the underworld titles. I wonder what the average age of a KS backer is.
.

Go play System Shock 2 and Arx Fatalis now. Such glorious incline between them all.

 

[Rostere]

Sure, but there are only a few people from Looking Glass. I'd hardly call this a complete revival. And the people behind this are actually trying to be VERY CLEAR that this is not Looking Glass 2.0.

The quote you are referring to read to me like a quote taken out of context in the article. I believe what Paul was actually communicating was that UA will not be a retread of UU and that Otherside is not looking to recreate but innovate. The flow of that article in general was not good and it was not well written.

It certainly isn't helping that the Kickstarter video is using Skyrim and Bioshock to try to explain what UU is.

"Hello, we're the guys who invented the stuff you saw in Bioshock and Skyrim"

"UU is kinda like Skyrim, but old"

Compare this to Fargo's Kickstarters. After each one of them you would be eager to given him money just to stick it to The Man and rewind time to the 90s, even if you hadn't played the games he mentioned. This KS feels like they are holding back and trying to appeal to a wide audience.

The people behind this Kickstarter have IMO made no effort to sell anything other than a very bland game world. The have not pushed the "Looking Glass"-button hard enough when this should be their greatest asset (although they are honest on this point, I'll give them that). Co-op as stretch goal gives baaad vibes.

The only people who would be sold after seeing the KS pitch are the people who remember the gameplay in UU, who frankly - let's be realistic - are a miniscule segment of players. They don't push the old-school card hard (and consistently) enough. I get lots of awful popamole vibes from seeing their pitch video. The people who would be interested when he said that Bioshock and Skyrim are the legacy of UU are not on Kickstarter, they are probably busy sitting at home counting their chromosomes or whatever it is they do in their free time.

I'm not a hater with regards to this Kickstarter but it's hard not to be a pessimist.

 

[Infinitron]

lol, just spotted this thread: http://www.othersideentertainment.com/forum/index.php?topic=173.0

These guys are pretty cool.

 

[CyberP]

Sure, but there are only a few people from Looking Glass. I'd hardly call this a complete revival. And the people behind this are actually trying to be VERY CLEAR that this is not Looking Glass 2.0.

The quote you are referring to read to me like a quote taken out of context in the article. I believe what Paul was actually communicating was that UA will not be a retread of UU and that Otherside is not looking to recreate but innovate. The flow of that article in general was not good and it was not well written.

It certainly isn't helping that the Kickstarter video is using Skyrim and Bioshock to try to explain what UU is.

"Hello, we're the guys who invented the stuff you saw in Bioshock and Skyrim"

"UU is kinda like Skyrim, but old"

Compare this to Fargo's Kickstarters. After each one of them you would be eager to given him money just to stick it to The Man and rewind time to the 90s, even if you hadn't played the games he mentioned. This KS feels like they are holding back and trying to appeal to a wide audience.

The people behind this Kickstarter have IMO made no effort to sell anything other than a very bland game world. The have not pushed the "Looking Glass"-button hard enough when this should be their greatest asset (although they are honest on this point, I'll give them that). Co-op as stretch goal gives baaad vibes.

The only people who would be sold after seeing the KS pitch are the people who remember the gameplay in UU, who frankly - let's be realistic - are a miniscule segment of players. They don't push the old-school card hard (and consistently) enough. I get lots of awful popamole vibes from seeing their pitch video. The people who would be interested when he said that Bioshock and Skyrim are the legacy of UU are not on Kickstarter, they are probably busy sitting at home counting their chromosomes or whatever it is they do in their free time.

I'm not a hater with regards to this Kickstarter but it's hard not to be a pessimist.

Another mostly agreeable post. I am willing to bypass all these signs though, because Neurath. He was the studio head. He oversaw all those classics until his studio sunk, and then went onto Arkane and pushed out ANOTHER classic of the same uncompromising vein despite the fate of LGS. That is fucking hardcore dedication.

Then came the mobile games. Now, they've obviously had enough. Time to return and continue where they left off. That is why it is so important the support is adequate.

 

[Infinitron]

then went onto Arkane and pushed out ANOTHER classic of the same uncompromising vein.

Uh no, he had nothing to do with Arx. He only appeared in the Special Thanks section of the Credits.

 

[CyberP]

then went onto Arkane and pushed out ANOTHER classic of the same uncompromising vein.

Uh no. Why do people think anybody from LGS had anything to do with Arkane or Arx Fatalis? They only appeared in the Special Thanks.

Uh, no. Floodgate Entertainment did audio design (the amazing Amarasingham bros), voice acting (Including but not limited Stephen Russell), and no doubt played a greater part in other ways.

Of course, the game was still Arkanes at its core, but Neurath and some other ex-LGS still played important roles no doubt.

 

[Infinitron]

"No doubt". Paul Neurath did not "go onto Arkane" in any shape or form. Don't give him credit for games he wasn't responsible for. He wouldn't want that either, as you can see from his reaction to the guy who attributed Deus Ex to him.

 

[CyberP]

"No doubt". Paul Neurath did not "go onto Arkane" in any shape or form.

Working on Arkane's game with them is going onto Arkane in some shape or form.

 

[Korron]

I only appreciate thief and deus ex because I retroactively played them. Thats probably only because I lurked around here and finally drank the kool aid of all you old fags. Those games are the reason I'm backing. Not because I played the Ultima series or the underworld titles. I wonder what the average age of a KS backer is.
.

Go play System Shock 2 and Arx Fatalis now. Such glorious incline between them all.

Ya I've seen a lot of SS2 gameplay. I see a lot of Deus Ex in it only slightly more linear. For such shit graphics it really has good atmosphere too. Arx Fatalis I'm only slightly familiar with. My backlog is never going to be empty.

 

[Doctor Sbaitso]

"No doubt". Paul Neurath did not "go onto Arkane" in any shape or form.

Working on Arkane's game with them is going onto Arkane in some shape or form.

If that were the case Arkane would have flogged that point. You're reaching in a big way.

 

[ZoddGuts]

It's been mentioned already but Underworld Ascendant isn't a very unique title.

The last game like it was arx fatalis and that was 2002. Is the market currently flooded with Ultima Underworld clones? Am I missing something?

The King's Field, Shadow Tower maybe the Demon/Dark Souls games?

 

[Darkzone]

It's been mentioned already but Underworld Ascendant isn't a very unique title.

The last game like it was arx fatalis and that was 2002. Is the market currently flooded with Ultima Underworld clones? Am I missing something?

The King's Field, Shadow Tower maybe the Demon/Dark Souls games?

One series is from 1994, 1995, 1996 and 2001. The second is from 1999 and 2003. Demon souls is made in 2009. And the Dark Souls is from 2011 and 2014. That is not many clones (9), in an interval of 23 years (one very 2.6 years). And most of them were PlayStation only games.

 

[CyberP]

If that were the case Arkane would have flogged that point. You're reaching in a big way.

You cannot argue with the end game credits, pal..

From double checking, I conclude they factually did Voice acting, music & English localization. Significant enough. Anything else is speculation.

 

[Infinitron]

Here's a random question about level design:
The levels of the originals where mostly laid out flat on a plane. Will Ascendants environments utilize the 3rd dimension more? I hope there will be a lot of opportunitiy to climb (or maybe fly) and vertical exploration in general.

The level architecture in the first two games was largely driven by the technical restrictions of the day. Even by the time of making Thief, things were very different. We can (and will) make much more use of vertical space.
- Tim Stellmach

Speaking of Thief. Will there be mantling or leaning? I know Ascendant is a different genre but I always loved these movement options and I think more games should have them.

Nothing is set in stone, but we're looking at lots of movement options, along with other stunts. We want character archetypes other than wizards to share in the fun of being about more than just numbers going up.
-Tim

 

[tuluse]

I would have more faith in level design if they were actually using the DarkEngine, but we'll see.