KickStarter Underworld Ascendant Pre-Release Thread

[Eggs is eggs]

I really hope this isn't the next Shroud of the Avatar.

 

[LESS T_T]

Speaking of that, the plague is spreading this much: https://www.reddit.com/r/shroudofth...y_christ_stay_away_from_underworld_ascendant/

Holy christ, stay away from Underworld Ascendant

I backed this game as well....and now with talks of Port becoming a publisher as well BDF has stated that it may be Underworld they publish....

Please god no, you ruined one game stay away from this one.

Seriously just no.

https://www.shroudoftheavatar.com/f...ons-with-richard-garriott-lord-british.91215/

From the thread in question:

Does this extend beyond Shroud of the Avatar, meaning you will be looking for opportunities to publish other games as well?

Yes, we are and have always planned to grow beyond a pure developer, into developer and publisher!

Underworld Ascendant would be my uneducated guess.

3devious, Time Lord, Lord British and 1 other person like this.

(LB liked other many posts too.)

While I think it's unlikely, I don't want to even think about the possibility.

 

[Nekot-The-Brave]

I really hope this isn't the next Shroud of the Avatar.

Well, Shroud of the Avatar actually has a game people can play.

 

[LESS T_T]

Just looking around, or showing something there?

 

[Tigranes]

What the fuck kind of disgusting horseshit food is that

 

[LESS T_T]

They've hired producer, Parker A. Davis: https://www.linkedin.com/in/parker-a-davis-abb4a9/

Executive Producer with a successful track record shipping high profile, quality games and “AAA” titles for more than 20 years. Exceptional leadership, strong creative skills and broad management expertise. Specialties: Game design, creative direction, production and project management.

Executive Producer
OtherSide Entertainment

Managing production of Underworld Ascendant – the next-generation PC follow-up to Ultima Underworld, the series credited with creating the ‘immersive sim’ genre & influencing such games as BioShock, Deus Ex, & Dishonored. Return to The Stygian Abyss, a fully-realized dungeon realm where the narrative & world react to the player’s unique actions & decisions.

 

[Infinitron]

New Insider Blog: https://otherside-e.com/wp/insider-blog-chris-siegel-062317/

https://www.othersideentertainment.com/forum/index.php?topic=1417.0

Hey all,

Just wanted to give you a heads-up that we're working on getting our next INSIDER BLOG (EXPLORER level & higher) -- this time with designer Chris Siegel -- and the aforementioned BACKER QUESTIONNAIRE -- to give us insight into what's most important to you and some info needed to plan out BACKER ROUNDTABLES (DIGITAL PROTAGONIST level & higher) -- ready asap.

While we mention it, if you qualify for access to the INSIDER BLOG EXPLORER (level or higher) and haven't received a mail with login info, please pop us a note at support at otherside-e.com. (We've discovered why a few folks didn't get it and can ensure it won't happen again.)

Best,

Joe

 

[Infinitron]

And some more from Chris Siegel: https://www.othersideentertainment.com/forum/index.php?topic=1411.msg22443#msg22443

As with pretty much all systems magic comes around to how cool is it to effect changes?

Don't expect too many pew pew pew spells, or spells with just a singular use. Those don't usually survive the design discussions.

Now, some I do think are gaming stand-bys that we should do with our own special flavor. What exactly is a fireball in our systems?

Some of the things in the past that we have been experimenting with that maybe were not clear is the spell looks for things that it can interact with instead of point at object and cast spell. For example cast a low level burn spell and it will target the nearest burnable object. Some of this worked pretty brilliantly, but it became clear that some spells user targeting is superior.

Right now we are finishing up the 'what is interactable' systems then it is deep dive time into magic. The more robust we make the universe currently the more interesting we can make the magic. The joke in the room has been ' can we cut weapons yet?' since interaction via magic and stealth are some much fun already --and they are still pretty clunky in the polish dept.

 

[Infinitron]

Email:

Hello Backers,

Good news! Over the coming few months, we’ll be increasing our efforts to tap you for feedback on the creation and polish of Underworld Ascendant.

To start, we’d like to ask you to please take a few moments to fill out the following Underworld Ascendant Backer Questionnaire.

Besides providing us with insight into what’s most important to you, it will also help us plan out the topics and schedule for the Backer Roundtables (DIGITAL PROTAGONIST level and above), brainstorm sessions (ENLIGHTENED ONE level and above), and conference call (PATRON level and above).

Also, if you haven’t signed up for our monthly newsletters, you can find the most recent -- including the latest screens, VO clips of Stephen Russell, and more -- and the sign-up info (at the bottom of the page) here.

Our next newsletter and details on the upcoming Pre-Alpha Early Access Build (ADVENTURER level and above) are coming soon.

Again, thanks for your support!

Best,

The Team at OtherSide

https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/R96SN5B

 

[LESS T_T]

https://www.facebook.com/joefielder

External playtesting is reliably eye-opening. For the choices people don't make, as much as the ones they do.

Teaching players that they have choice (like, no, seriously, here are your tools, surprise us), after decades of games where they haven't, is a fun, interesting challenge.

 

[Metro]

Vaporware.

 

[imweasel]

:incloosive:

 

[Infinitron]

Responding to complaints about the survey and other things:

https://www.othersideentertainment.com/forum/index.php?topic=1420.msg22568#msg22568

Please allow me to nip the procedural generation topic in the bud. This was based off a potentially misleading word choice in the survey. Mea culpa.

https://www.othersideentertainment.com/forum/index.php?topic=1422.msg22599#msg22599

As for releasing info, screens and whatnot. I leave that completely to Walter. He's the expert. I hope that soon we have a full time community person. Up until lately it has been the dev team being pulled in 100 directions...make game, support community exc exc. We are finally growing into being a big boy company and we can all start focusing into our expertese. No fear tho--I'll never stop posting. I'm a chatty cathy. Remember if you don't see me posting it is most likely because I'm head down making something. OK, sometimes its coaching baseball or watching sports, but mostly its making things.

I'm a game dork just like you guys and pretty much every day I want to share whatever the new shiny we just did, but I think that would end up being to diminishing returns. To my eye it might be 'woah coooool' but to gamers it might be--whats the big deal? Better to have a nice solid release that is ready for some serious consumption.

VS1 is in some ways the guts of the game. A bit of magic, a bit of stealth a bit of combat. None of it is extensive....except...and this is really where the rubber hits the road for us...that all of it can be used in some really interesting ways. That single idea is really what we are doubling down on. That is the soul of the game. This is player agency that just wasn't possible in tangible ways back in the LGS days. I wish it was. Everything we are doing now in a moment to moment gameplay way goes through this filter. Can it be used? Can it be used in more than one obvious way? Can it be used with other things to be even more interesting and clever? Is it fun to do all of this? The game can make me giggle. That to me is a good sign.

Zelda showed us the world is finally ready to embrace this kind of gameplay which is a good thing.

https://www.othersideentertainment.com/forum/index.php?topic=1422.msg22636#msg22636

Sometimes the questions are there to reinforce what we are assuming, it's not a 'no clue' thing.

https://www.othersideentertainment.com/forum/index.php?topic=1422.msg22637#msg22637

Hey all,

Hope you're having a nice holiday weekend, if you're off today.

Just wanted to mention that we have the first Developer Roundtable (for those who backed at the DIGITAL PROTAGONIST level and above) and our next newsletter coming soon. Those should address some of the requests for a deeper look at the game noted here.

As always, thanks for the feedback.

Best,

Joe

https://www.othersideentertainment.com/forum/index.php?topic=1424.msg22651#msg22651

There are a number of ways we have moved plot forward in all our careers.

Thief was primarily in cut scenes, Shock in audio logs --with really only one NPC...MMOs had the usual grind/npc quest giver thing, Bioshock linear-ish narrative exc. We have discussed what we love, what has worked, and what we can realistically pull off.

We pretty much don't like linear stories-at least not for this game. We have had many talks on if we can control narrative the same way we do other systems. Can the narrative be player driven? Can we change the narrative like we can other things in the game? Joe did a ton of research I think has really hit on something that will work for us. It is different and a bit risky, but we have really already built all the pieces needed to make it work. Again...sorry to be a bit obtuse, but I'll leave it to him to roll out to the masses.

Advancement- it is going to come down to skills and gear. How we roll that out, we shall see, I know it might sound weird that we haven't locked that down, but we are more concerned that all the skills and stuff work first, then we can start to see how powerful they are so we can figure out where they should live in a skill tree. Same goes for items, some seem 'whatever' like a flaming sword, but let me tell you, a simple flaming sword can quickly become pretty OP in our world. I'm really looking at items as tools. Some disposable, some giving you a different way to go at problems. Then of course there are the one offs...

https://www.othersideentertainment.com/forum/index.php?topic=1424.msg22661#msg22661

As for role playing in general. A bit of a soap box here...

The XP gain level, gain expertise through numbers and stuff was made to because around a tabletop there needed to be a way to show advancement. You get better at what you do.

I submit to you that Thief is an RPG. You start weak, but mostly because of lack of skill and knowledge. By the end of the game you are a Master. The progression is built in, and reinforced by gear. Thief could have had a stats screen, and all that, but I have to ask is that even needed in CRPG's?

Fallout 4 has progression, and frankly one of the few RPG's that has held on to the old model that I actually like. Why? Even advancement in skill has the potential to change gameplay. Yes they still hold on to % damage skills, but the skill system shines when its the Choo Choo Power Armor Skill, or the Mysterious Stranger, or being able to breathe water. I personally think relying on numbers -especially skills that are just numbers -instead of visceral feedback in skills is a crutch that video games can toss back to those pen and paper people.

Even the pen and paper people are moving away from that style of abstraction. The current board game systems are not doing Str, Int, Wis, Con, Dex, Cha, XP and whatnot.

 

[Metro]

We need a vaporware smiley emote/rating.

 

[Nekot-The-Brave]

I'm looking forward to another demo, whenever they feel like it's appropriate to release one, which in my opinion should have been months ago.

 

[LESS T_T]

Looks like new dev update is incoming...

 

[grimace]

Looks like new dev update is incoming...

All the devs are on vacation. Wait until October.

 

[The Wall]

Can someone correct me if I'm wrong but from all the dev diaries, interviews, dev comments etc. it seems this game will have even less stats than Fallout 4 and will esentially be as much of a rpg as Far Cry or new Ass Greed games are?

Also isn't this in development for quite a long without any end in sight and it has many of the markings of vaporware? Not to mention that Warren Spector can as well be used as synonym for has-been who made those pesky rpgs or semi rpgs back in the day only because of the technical limitations of the time. More or less his own words, minus 'I am has-been' of course though he seems to be.


So..... that forces me to ask one silly question. Why is this in General RPG Discussion, again?

 

[The Wall]

Thief could have had a stats screen, and all that, but I have to ask is that even needed in CRPG's?

Mark could have had vagina, uterus, female chromosomes, boobs and all that, but I have to ask is that even needed in Women?

Spoiler

 

[deama]

I swear the game's graphics keep getting worse every screenshot.

 

[LESS T_T]

https://otherside-e.com/wp/jobs/

SENIOR GAME ARTIST
Boston, MA

Our Boston area-based game development studio is hard at work on Underworld Ascendant, the modern sequel to Looking Glass’ Ultima Underworld, which created the ‘immersive sim’ genre and influenced System Shock, BioShock, Deus Ex, and more.

We’re seeking a talented game artist to work with our team to create props and architecture and provide timely and effective oversight of the work of external artists. Must have strong core art and technical art skills, shipped at least several commercial PC or console games, experience with managing external artists, and a proficiency with Unity.

 

[Infinitron]

https://www.othersideentertainment.com/forum/index.php?topic=1428.msg23143#msg23143

Just wanted to drop a note that the latest newsletter is waiting for something particularly cool that's almost ready to share.

On a separate note, I can say that, wow, The Underswamp is really looking nice.

https://www.othersideentertainment.com/forum/index.php?topic=1783.msg23192

The evolving look of UA's skeletons
« on: July 27, 2017, 12:03:18 PM »

Hey everyone,

Like I mentioned, our latest update is waiting on some really cool news about [redacted]. nodezsh suggested that we might post some new art here to inspire some discussion in the meantime.

Seemed like a great idea and I thought that you might like a peek at the evolving look at UA's skeletons, which you haven't seen for awhile. The in-game model is looking sharp but isn't quite ready for its close-up yet, but here's the concept art from our art director Nate Wells (who did the concept art for BioShock's Big Daddy).

This is a Tier 1 skeleton in Underworld Ascendant, but I think it still looks pretty formidable.

Fun fact: The glow inside its rib cage is a hint at the parasitic relationship that undead have with mana in the in-game ecology.

 

[Zep Zepo]

Still nothing but bullshots and text.

YAWN!

Zep--

 

[Old Hans]

tier 1 skeletons what a treat

 

[Infinitron]

Vertical slice coming on August 10th: https://otherside-e.com/wp/update-transforming-the-world-into-an-interactive-playground/

UPDATE: Transforming the World Into an Interactive Playground
August 3, 2017
Joe Fielder


Hello backers,

Joe Fielder, Underworld Ascendant’s game director and writer, here again with the latest update straight from the development team.

The last month’s been a pretty exciting time at OtherSide, because we’ve been busy…

Transforming the World Into an Interactive Playground
As you know, we recently stood up the core tenets of combat, stealth, and magic in an early area of the game called The Challenge of Ishtass. There, the player is first introduced to the array of choices available to them with The Improvisation Engine. We set the challenge, the solution is up to you, and we reward creativity.


The Stygian Abyss is deep, dark, & full of interactable options.

Our recent milestone has been a key next step in inspiring and supporting player experimentation: turning the world into an interactive playground. The idea is that the systems that simulate this underground realm make sense. A wooden door can be burned down or chopped down, water can put out torches, physics act in logical fashion, and so on. So, when the player tests something out, they get expected results.

At its heart, this work has been about giving the player an abundance of options on how to equip their character and solve the challenge. We’ve expanded the playable area and added new skills and interactive elements. It’s intentionally designed to be replayed. We want players to experiment with different solutions and find what works best for them.

In terms of visuals, it demonstrates our visual style done to a fair extent of polish and now includes an initial pass at UI elements, but we will continue to iterate further on both during development. Current creature animations are not representative of the game’s visual target. This an important area we feel deserving of concentrated effort and we’ll be locking our sights on it in subsequent milestones. Also, usability of items, skills and interactive elements is another area that we’ll continue to hone and polish.

The reason that getting these core elements working clearly and well is absolutely essential is because it unlocks the magic sense of discovery the player gets from combining different systems together.

External playtesting is reliably eye-opening in this regard. For the choices people don’t make, as much as the ones they do. Teaching players that they have choice (like, no, seriously, here are your tools, surprise us), after decades of games where they haven’t, is a fun, interesting challenge.

To explain, first let’s take a look at a few recent additions to the game world…



In this shot, you can see physics-based traps that the player can manipulate, the sticky bulb of the “glue plant,” and spreading fire.

The player might use a glue bulb and a crate to jam a trap, pass by unharmed, then use water to dissolve the glue, just as an enemy steps into the trap’s path.

Or they might cast a the Gravitate spell — a non-offensive magic originally designed as a way of creating bridges — on a pile of crates, setting them on fire, then to hold off encroaching enemies. Or, even better, lining them up just right and blasting them at enemies with a Repulse spell in a fiery rain.



It’s important to note that none of these results were planned in advance, they were discovered.

Whenever a new interactable element gets added to the game, all of us on the development team spend a few days playing around with it in conjunction with different skills, spells, and AI. Sometimes, we find bugs or areas where support is needed, but often, things just… work.

One of the most exciting aspects of external testing for us is seeing the inventive solutions that players come up with. We said back at the start that we want you to devise clever techniques that we haven’t imagined yet and every time we do a round of testing, we see a few things that we’ve never seen before.

For instance, one tester recently tossed a glue ball at the base of a whirring tick-tock trap rightalong the seam and stopped it dead in its tracks. We didn’t know that was possible, but of course, knowing how the systems work, it makes sense.

Another tester used the Gravitate spell to place and lock a crate right in front of the tick-tock trap’s whirring blades. It strained and strained against it, until the spell wore off and the crate was launched far into the air. (When it landed, it alerted a Lizard Man. Oops.)

We’re constantly reminded of when we first released the initial prototype of Underworld Ascendant to backers and within half an hour started seeing videos of spell and object uses we’d never imagined. (Like using a spell that lifts plants to create a magical elevator.) So, we’re really looking forward to seeing the inventive solutions you all come up with.

Now that the build has undergone a few rounds of external feedback, bug testing, and polish, we’re just about ready.

In fact, we’re close enough that we can finally reveal the release date of the Pre-Alpha Build: Those of you who backed at the ADVENTURER tier and above will receive details on how to access it on Steam on Thursday, August 10th.

Again, we appreciate your patience while we been refining the experience even further. As a way of thanking you for hanging in there with us, we’ll be kicking off the first Developer Roundtable the week after the Pre-Alpha Build’s release on Wednesday, August 16th at 1PM EST on OtherSide’s Twitch page. Save the date!

While these are intended for those of you who backed at the DIGITAL PROTAGONIST reward tier and above, this will be a bonus Roundtable stream that will be accessible to all backers and we’ll capture it for those who can’t attend.

We can’t wait to get the build in your hands and hear what you think.

Delving Deeper in The Stygian Abyss
Our next major milestone includes work on new areas, new and refined creatures, additional gameplay elements, standing up player growth and quest selection, defining our visual target for animation, and more.

It also involves next steps in combat, stealth, and magic, so it’s about perfect timing to have you play the Pre-Alpha build and get your feedback through our forums, Developer Roundtables, and more. The recent survey was the first step in this; this is the next.

In the meantime, here are a few peeks at what’s coming, including how the look of Underworld Ascendant’s skeletons have been evolving.


Concept by Art Director Nate Wells, who designed BioShock’s Big Daddy.




Early progress on the Eidolon.

Those of you who enjoyed the darker side of Ultima Underworld will find it well-represented in this new level.

In Other News
In case you missed it:

• Please join us in welcoming executive producer Parker Davis and Walter Somol, vice-president of Marketing and Business Development, on-board at OtherSide. The two are alums of Rockstar, Eidos, Harmonix, and Xbox and have been helping us scale up and refine our efforts even further.
• If you qualify for the Insider’s Developer Blogs (if you backed at Explorer & above), we’ve posted a few already and more are on the way.
• Our own Warren Spector recent spoke with IGN Unfiltered about the highlights of his game career. (The answers may surprise you…)
• SHODAN, the dark star of our sister project System Shock 3, recently made Time’s list of The 15 Most Influential Video Game Characters of All Time.
• Our friends at Supergiant, Hinterland, and Fullbright have all released games in the last few weeks: Pyre, The Long Dark, and Tacoma. (The last of which was just confirmed as a 0451 game, by the way.) Worth checking out!

Until next time!