KickStarter Underworld Ascendant Pre-Release Thread

[Shevek]

This isn't a Yoshi game.

Yoshi never had a double jump. I don't recall any Mario game that did, actually (aside from Smash).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TCpMtnxz3eU

 

[Zep Zepo]

Yeah /\

How's it feel to keep being WRONG, bitches.

Zep--

 

[Siveon]

This isn't a Yoshi game.

Yoshi never had a double jump. I don't recall any Mario game that did, actually (aside from Smash).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TCpMtnxz3eU

Oh, there's a glitch in Doki Doki Panic that allows you to double jump? Neat.

 

[Shevek]

Google tells me that other games with double jump include:

Jak and Daxter
Ape Escape
Sonic 3 and Knuckles
Ratchet and Clank
Glover
Super Ghouls and Ghosts
Ninja Gaiden

Now we can add Ultima Ascendant to that "illustrious" list.

 

[Zetor]

Don't forget the Scout in TF2!!11

... and yeah, UW always had at least some action elements in its exploration. Weren't there several spells that allowed jumping, levitation and - eventually - flight?

 

[Nekot-The-Brave]

So my investigation into the Underworld continues with this skills video. I also demonstrate some bugs that these skills have created, because that's kind of my job as a play-tester.

I skipped lifting for various reasons described in the video description. Also, take note of what I say below (also in the video description).

#Note! At around minute 3 of the video, I attempt to show off a bug that you can exploit by jumping on a rope, It takes about 30 seconds to actually make it (this is at 600% speed, so in reality, it took somewhere around 3 minutes to get). You can skip this part unless you like to see me fail to do something.

 

[V_K]

#Note! At around minute 3 of the video, I attempt to show off a bug that you can exploit by jumping on a rope, It takes about 30 seconds to actually make it (this is at 600% speed, so in reality, it took somewhere around 3 minutes to get). You can skip this part unless you like to see me fail to do something.

Why would you want to skip that, that's actually the second best part of the video (the very best being the actual bug of course).

 

[Melan]

Chipmunk mode is a promising addition to the Underworld franchise.

 

[Momock]

Aenra: I think you won't be forced to use the roguish skills and that you could play however you want (or not, who knows? Maybe their making Mirror's Edge 3 in disguise...). I don't understand why it's a problem for you that these skills are here.

Eh? Examples?

The billions of metroidvanias that use it just becaue it's some kid of convention, and that doesn't put any effort into making it interesting, or making it feel right (like puting the same animation mid-air than of the ground, things like that)

 

[Ash]

Eh? Examples?

The billions of metroidvanias that use it just becaue it's some kid of convention, and that doesn't put any effort into making it interesting, or making it feel right (like puting the same animation mid-air than of the ground, things like that)

Can't speak for billions of metriodvanias, but I've played all the Castlevania ones, some of which have a unique anim for the air jump. It has great purpose in both combat and platforming in those, so I can't relate.

 

[Infinitron]

Otherside appear not to have sent out an Underworld email update today, but they have published this: https://underworldascendant.com/news/222_update.php

In my talons I shape clay, crafting life forms as I please.
Not much going on here. It's really quiet...

Okay. Well, we did have a new hire. Some guy named "Warren Spector." I think he changed his last name to that because he's a fan of the undead.

Warren's cameo in Ultima Underworld


Besides lurking as an undead, Warren's been luminary in the game industry. His contributions to the game industry go back over three decades. If you were a gamer in the 80's, you probably played his early work and didn't even know it.

Warren cut his teeth at Steve Jackson Games on an incredible RPG Toon where you play a Saturday morning cartoon character in a world where anything can happen and no one ever gets killed. (If you're into tabletop RPG's and haven't played Toon, you can still get your hands on it on Amazon.)

Warren also had his hands in other Steve Jackson projects, like the GRUPS RPGsystem and the supplement for Paranoia. He then spent some time at TSR (nowWizards of the Coast), developing the spy RPG Top Secret and Marvel Super Heroes RPG.

Warren was just getting started.

SHODAN reimagined for System Shock 3


In 1989, he joined Origin and teamed up with other industry giants like Richard Garriott, Chris Roberts, and our own Paul Neurath. He worked as producer on classics like Ultima VI, Wing Commander, Ultima Underworld, Ultima Underworld II, Serpent Isle, Wings of Glory, and, of course, System Shock. Warren worked briefly on Dark Camelot, which became Thief: The Dark Project, before moving on to help form Ion Storm. Many of these games were not only great in their time, but are credited as classics and industry changing titles.

Warren was then kind enough to give us Deus Ex, Deus Ex: Invisible War, and the third Thief game, Thief: Deadly Shadows. Deus Ex took everything that Warren was perfecting at Origin and Looking Glass and added his own spin on it. It's a cyberpunk classic, up there with Neuromancer and Blade Runner in its influence on the genre.

That pesky player choice on full display in Deus Ex by Ion Storm.


Coming full circle back to his cartoon roots, Warren started working with Disney onDisney Epic Mickey and Disney Epic Mickey 2. Not only did Epic Mickey give us a cool cartoon character world with nods to classic Disney cartoons, the telltale signs of player choice and a morality system are still present in the game.

Epic Mickey by Junction Point/Disney


Once he wraps up his current semester of teaching, Warren will be joining Otherside full-time, continuing his journey of creating fun, immersive worlds for everyone to enjoy. He'll not only be helping develop Underworld Ascendant, he'll also heading up efforts on System Shock 3. Lucky us!

Here are a few words with Warren:

Chris: Why did you decide to return to making games?

Warren: Well, as much as I've enjoyed my time in academia, I've been getting the itch to make something again. It's been coming on for a while... Also, the game business changes so quickly, I was starting to feel like I needed to get back into it just so I wouldn't fall behind. You know, get some experience with crowdfunding, games as a service, the impact of streaming video on gamers, the whole metrics and analytics thing... I need to experience all of that. And when Paul Neurath dangled theSystem Shock 3 possibility in front of me, I really couldn't say no.

Chris: What excites you most about working on Underworld Ascendant?

Warren: It's always fun to get to play in a world you had a hand in creating. Ultima Underworld was groundbreaking in its day, but we've all learned so much about "immersive simulations" in the last 20 years, the idea of capturing the spirit of the original while taking advantage of what we know now that we didn't know then... That's pretty exciting.

Chris: Otherside's very much about taking innovative, well-loved game series and seeing how far we can push them forward. If there was one area of game design you'd like to push forward what would that be?

Warren: My whole career has been about recapturing the feeling I had in 1978 when I first played Dungeons & Dragons. That feeling of telling stories with my friends, of all of us being authors, was really powerful. I want to recreate that in digital games. So I guess you'd have to say Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson are my biggest influences.

Gary and Dave: The original Dungeon Masters.


Chris: Without giving away too much of course, where do you see System Shock fitting in with modern gaming? Are there any game systems, technology, or narrative structures that you would want to explore?

Warren: Oh, man, it's too early to be talking about this! All I'll say is that you can count on Citadel Station and SHODAN playing very important roles, though maybe not in ways people expect.

Exciting times ahead for Otherside!

 

[Darth Roxor]

Deus Ex took everything that Warren was perfecting at Origin and Looking Glass and added his own spin on it. It's a cyberpunk classic, up there with Neuromancer and Blade Runner in its influence on the genre.

that's rather boastful if i do say so meself

 

[Doctor Sbaitso]

No real denying now that Otherside is a LGS Reboot. People can debate what that means as far as expected quality given all the water under the bridge but with Paul, Tim and Warren, this is as LGS as we could hope.

 

[Aenra]

Paul, Tim and Warren, this is as LGS as we could hope.

ahem

I know what you mean, but.. no

 

[Doctor Sbaitso]

Look at the size of that noggin.

 

[Infinitron]

Issue #21, March 14th, 2016
RECENT PROGRESS ON UNDERWORLD ASCENDANT
Dear esteemed backers,

Welcome to the latest issue of The Stygian Sentinel, where we cover everything new (and recently unclassified) here at OtherSide Entertainment.

Our previous update focused mainly on the newest addition to the OtherSide crew, the one-and-only Warren Spector. This time, we thought we’d dig into what the team’s been focusing on recently on Underworld Ascendant.

In short, A LOT!

We’re making steady progress on combat swordplay; our first creature in our art director Nate Wells’ new “authored look” is in-game and actively engaging the player; and further refinements and learning are being made on level design.

All of this will go into a playable build that we’ll share with Backers who have Prototype Access in April. (If you haven’t gotten Prototype Access yet, you can do so here.)

In the meantime, here’s a little peek…

What do you think?! Discuss with our developers and fans on Underworld Ascendant‘s forums.

 

[Zep Zepo]

What do I think? Hmmmm...What do I think? What do I think? What do I think?

Oh wait..I KNOW!

THIS OLD RETARD DON'T WANT TO WORK ON OUR GAME. HE WANTS TO REMAKE SOME OTHER OLD RETARD GAME IF WE FUND HIM.

Just Like He did and failed at ION Storm.

Same shit, different day, folks...Do not look at the man behind the curtain.

Zep--

 

[Infinitron]

P. quiet here lately, but:



They made their $925k stretch goal: https://underworldascendant.com/

 

[Aenra]

I hope they reach the underworld builder toolkit (125k to go).. mod scene isn't what it used to be, but hope as always dies last. I also hope that once they go Steam EA they will allocate a part of the added income to go for it anyway.
Down to earth; that's me.

 

[Zep Zepo]

Must be time for a pledge update for our butt-hurt friends...where'd I leave off?

$860,356 3/6 KS ends
+0
.......
.......

$894,985 6/23 Answers Update #2
+0
$894,985 6/24
+0
$896,705 6/28
+1720
$896,705 6/29
+0
$896,705 7/2
+0
$896,705 7/6 Playing games update
+0
$896,705 7/10
+0
$896,705 7/12
+0
$898,348 7/21
+1673
$898,348 8/3
+0

Zep--

Let's see...Must be time for a pledge update for our butt-hurt friends...where'd I leave off? (see above)

2 months later...

$908,835 10/3
+ 10,487

/\ 2 months. 10.5 K...sad faces all around.

How many people they got working on this? I hope you enjoy your Ramen noodles, UA!

LULZ!

Zep--

Hai Guise! Miss me? How's the UnderMirrorsEdgeAscendant prototype? Did UAs HypeTrain crash?

6 months later...

$925,186 4/3/2016
+16,351

let's see...divided by 6
+2725 a month
(Not really, I think it stalled at $925,000 months ago.)

~Qwinn

 

[LESS T_T]

OtherSide Entertainment has sent over some screenshots for Underworld Ascendant, which the developers says shows the new "authored look" for its modern follow-up to LookingGlass' Ultima Underworld series.

The artwork for Underworld Ascendant is being handled by Nate Wells, who worked as the art director for BioShock Infinite, The Last of Us, and Rise of the Tomb Raider.

OtherSide Entertainment hopes the art replicates the “fantastical feel” of hand-sculpted tabletop miniatures.

"There’s a ‘reality bug’ going around in TV, film, and games," says Wells, "where fantasy has become inundated by gritty photo-realism. With Underworld Ascendant, I want to bring back more whimsy and less brooding."

"I asked myself, ‘What if the world bore the authorship of a tabletop game?'" Wells says on the look’s stylistic origins. "Think of the old lead figures and miniature play fields… Everything appears hand-crafted, as if sculpted by an artist, with a genuine sense of levity and naiveté to the art."

"The authored look is a unique counterpart to Underworld Ascendant’s Improvisation Engine," says OtherSide creative director and founder Paul Neurath. "It’s a look that invites the player to interact and explore with the world in a more tangible way."

"This will be an Underworld for the 21st century," notes OtherSide Austin studio director Warren Spector, who worked with Neurath on the original Ultima Underworld and System Shock games. "It’s a modern continuation of LookingGlass’ design tenets, where players are empowered to tell their own stories."

Underworld Ascendant was successfully crowdfunded on Kickstarter early last year, with backers pledging $860,356 to help bring the project to light. Those backers will get access to the game's latest update later this month when Prototype Access is made available.

http://www.gamewatcher.com/news/201...debuts-authored-look-for-underworld-ascendant

 

[Excidium II]

Authored Play-Doh look.

Fugly.

 

[Metro]

That looks like those VR speculation videos from the early 90's.

 

[Mustawd]

I'm ok with it. It's something different at least.

 

[Zep Zepo]

Hahaha... DAMN DANIEL! Talk about BULL-SHOTS

Jesus...Who are these idiots trying to fool?

Zep--