KickStarter Underworld Ascendant Pre-Release Thread

[LESS T_T]

More videos:





Some kid plays: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K-dN3qBV3cg

 

[Infinitron]

https://www.othersideentertainment.com/forum/index.php?topic=1813.0

Hey all,

Quick update! We've had a scheduling conflict and need to push back a few days.

We'll be live streaming our first Developer Roundtable on Tuesday, August 22nd at noon EST on our Twitch page:

https://www.twitch.tv/otherside_entertainment

The Developer Roundtables are meant to be exclusive to backers at the DIGITAL PROTAGONIST level and above, but this is a bonus session open to all to thank you for your patience and support. (Details of future sessions will follow afterward.)

We'll have Tim Stellmach, Chris Siegel, Will Teixiera, and I there to talk about the next steps we have planned for combat, stealth, and magic.

We'll be taking questions from those present in the channel (about halfway through) and we'll post the session later, for those who miss.

 

[Infinitron]

Ooh:

Underworld Ascendant is the next-generation follow-up to the critically acclaimed Ultima Underworld series. Plunge into The Stygian Abyss, a stunning fantasy realm, rife with danger and full of intrigue. Utilize your environment to your advantage. Devise the ideal battle plan or think on your feet.

505 Games. They have a publisher.

 

[Mynon]

Hype Ascendant

 

[Junmarko]

505 Games. They have a publisher.

 

[Infinitron]

https://www.othersideentertainment.com/forum/index.php?topic=1820.0

Newsletter update w/ more on this and new shots later today.

 

[Infinitron]

That was quick: https://otherside-e.com/wp/505-games-to-publish-long-awaited-fantasy-rpg-underworld-ascendant/

505 GAMES TO PUBLISH LONG-AWAITED FANTASY RPG UNDERWORLD ASCENDANT

Indie Publisher Partners with the Talented Team Behind Iconic Underworld Franchise to Bring Next Generation of Their Esteemed Series to Fans Worldwide

CALABASAS, Calif. – Aug. 17, 2017 – 505 Games, a subsidiary of Digital Bros. S.p.A., announced today a partnership with development studio OtherSide Entertainment to publish fantasy RPG Underworld Ascendant, the next-generation sequel to the landmark Underworld franchise. The deeply experienced team at OtherSide studio – helmed by industry legends Paul Neurath (Ultima Underworld, Thief) and Warren Spector (Deus Ex, Epic Mickey) – has worked on many leading game franchises, which collectively garnered more than 200 awards and earned over $3 billion in revenues. Their current project, Underworld Ascendant, was first revealed on Kickstarter, where fans clamoring for the return of the storied masterpiece raised more than $850,000 for its creation.

“It’s another big moment for 505 Games, having the opportunity to partner with this talented team on such an iconic brand,” said Neil Ralley, president of 505 Games. “Ultima Underworld is among the greatest PC RPGs ever made, and we look forward to what Paul, Warren and their team will accomplish with the next generation of the franchise.”

In 1992, Ultima Underworld changed the rules of what a fantasy RPG could be, and introduced the concept of 3D immersion, a player-authored experience and an open world to explore. Now, OtherSide is making the next-generation PC follow-up to the series, innovating in bold new ways. Players will return to The Stygian Abyss, a breathtaking fantasy realm, rife with danger and full of intrigue. They are provided a wide array of tools to experiment with and create their own ingenious solutions to challenges. The story and world will react dynamically to player choices, challenging and rewarding their creativity and allowing them to author their experience.

“We’ve found a great partner in 505 Games; one who really supports and understands indie developers,” said Paul Neurath, CEO, OtherSide Entertainment. “We also have our fans to thank for helping make this dream a reality. Everyone who backed Underworld Ascendant on KickStarter is an important part of this project and we plan to keep them involved throughout development, sharing early builds and sourcing their feedback to help make this game amazing.”

“The original Underworld games broke new ground in the world of video game RPGs, and the Ascendant team is committed to innovation at that level,” said Warren Spector, studio director, OtherSide Entertainment. “Early builds already prove that, and I can’t wait to see what comes next.”

Underworld Ascendant will be published on Steam for PC in the second half of 2018. Players can Wishlist the game now at: http://store.steampowered.com/app/692840.

To learn more about Underworld Ascendant, please visit: www.underworldascendant.com.

 

[Morgoth]

This is my most anticipated game of 2018 so far.

 

[Morgoth]

They've already put up System Requirements on the Steam page:

• 
  Minimum:
  • OS: 64-bit Windows 7, 64-bit Windows 8 (8.1) or 64-bit Windows 10
    
  • Processor: Intel CPU Core i5-6600 3.3GHz
    
  • Memory: 6 GB RAM
    
  • Graphics: Nvidia GPU GeForce GTX 950 / AMD GPU Radeon HD 7870
    
  • DirectX: Version 11
    
  • Storage: 45 GB available space

• 
  Recommended:
  • OS: 64-bit Windows 7, 64-bit Windows 8 (8.1) or 64-bit Windows 10
    
  • Processor: Intel CPU Core i7-6700
    
  • Memory: 16 GB RAM
    
  • Graphics: Nvidia GPU GeForce GTX 1080
    
  • Storage: 45 GB available space

 

[Doctor Sbaitso]

Cool, moar cash. Less likely to be cancelled Zep, what now, take a retreat position and admit it will be released but insist it will be shit?

 

[Infinitron]

https://otherside-e.com/wp/update-u...t-look-at-fort-evidius-new-teaser-video-more/

UPDATE: Underworld Ascendant to be Published by 505 Games, First Look at Fort Evidius, New Teaser Video, & More

Hello backers,

It’s been a busy few weeks and there’s much to cover. First off, if you haven’t seen the big news…

Underworld Ascendant to be Published by 505 Games

We’re very excited to announce our partnership with 505 Games, finding in them a publisher who believes in our vision and is as excited about Underworld Ascendant as we are.

We think 505 is a great fit for Underworld Ascendant and for us as a studio, as they’ve published a number of noteworthy and unique indie games, like Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons, Abzu, Terraria,Portal Knights, and upcoming games like Last Day of June and Indivisible. If you do not know much about them, we encourage you to browse their website and read their about page to learn more.

Partnering with 505 will allow us to focus on what we do best – make games – while they help us get the game in the hands of more people. OtherSide will continue to develop the game and retain creative control over the project. And we of course remain firmly committed to honoring our Kickstarter commitments to you and ensuring you receive all of the rewards you are due.

Here’s the press release that went out earlier today.

Along with today’s announcement, we also released a bevy of new screens, including the first look at the Fort Evidius area of The Underswamp and our new, improved skeletons in-game.



As you can see, Underworld Ascendant will be a number of different-looking environments, with a variety of moods. The Underswamp is darker and more foreboding, while not quite as much as The Necropolis and [redacted].



You’ve seen the game’s look evolve further over time, even over the last few months, and it will continue.











We also released a new teaser video, which features the work of fan-favorite voice performer Stephen (Thief, Fallout 4) Russell.



Pre-Alpha Build Released!

As you probably know, we released the Underworld Ascendant Pre-Alpha Build last week to those who backed at the ADVENTURER tier and above or added on Prototype Access.

Like we mentioned in the build notes, the Pre-Alpha Build is meant to highlight:

• The game’s visual bar and core tenets of combat, stealth, and magic.
• The world as an interactive toybox full of interesting opportunities for the player to experiment with and areas that provide unique opportunities and challenges.
• Interactive elements that the player can combine with skills, spells, and each other, such as:
  • Physics-based traps that can be manipulated and exploited.
  • Spreading fire that can be weaponized.
  • Caches of useful items.
  • “Glue bulbs” that can stick to objects.
  • An initial implementation of rewarding the player for creativity.

A few things worth noting:

• The Pre-Alpha Build is not representative of the final product. (The Alpha stage of production is about standing up gameplay elements, while Beta is about tuning, polish, and bug-fixing.)
• The implementation of skills, combat, stealth, and spells is all still preliminary work. We will be refining and honing how they work, adding functionality, and polishing usability.
• Bugs occur and it lacks the full range of weapons, skills, magic, and meta elements such as quest selection and player growth.

For more, check out our FAQ here.

We appreciate all of your feedback so far, both through the survey and on our forums. We’ve been digging through it all and watching the playthrough videos that backers have created so far, like this one:

Your feedback has been extremely useful as we continue adding to and refining the game further, so please keep it coming.

Developer Roundtable Update

Due to a last-minute scheduling conflict, we had to push back our first Developer Roundtable a few days.

We’ll be live streaming on Tuesday, August 22nd at noon EST on our Twitch page here.

Again, while the Developer Roundtables are meant to be exclusive to backers at the DIGITAL PROTAGONIST level and above, this is a bonus session open to all to thank you for your patience and support. (Details of future sessions will follow afterward.)

Lead designer Tim Stellmach, designer Chris Siegel, lead engineer Will Teixiera, and game director Joe Fielder will be on-hand to talk about the next steps we have planned for combat, stealth, and magic.

We’ll be taking questions from those present in the channel about halfway through and intend to post the session later, for those who miss.

Hope you can join!

In Other News

In case you missed it:

• OtherSide’s own Warren Spector will be giving the keynote address at PAX Dev this month and spoke to Game Industry Biz to give a preview of the talk.
• Stephen Russell, the voice of Underworld Ascendant’s Cabirus and Thief’s Garrett, will be signing at Golden Triangle Comic Con this Saturday in Columbus, MS.
• Last week marked the 18th birthday of System Shock 2. Let us know what you liked most about it here.

Until next time!

 

[Junmarko]

Starbreeze for Shock 3 and 505 for Underworld. Glad to see they are keeping the stakeholders separate. Good move.

Hopefully neither one turns out to be a DLC-whore like the Paradox-Obsidian relationship.

 

[Zep Zepo]

If it gets released in 2018, Ill make a video of Drog Black Tooth sucking his own dick!



Zep--

 

[toro]

The visuals are silly but on the other hand the game looks like a combination between Arx Fatalis and Thief.

This has potential if they get at least one part right.

 

[Doctor Sbaitso]

Silly visuals? I want to explore the fuck out of the environments in some of those pics.

 

[jungl]

hope this game has some horror/scare moments. Be a waste if isn't it being first person. Maybe some maze like caverns filled with bones rattling on the ground that assemble into skeletons and you have to find a powerful artifact in time before you are overwhelmed from all sides by the undead. But don't make finding the item a pause of relief. Have the insane lich responsible for all the undead find and caste a spell that temporarily blinds you while he teleports you deeper in the caverns. Be cool if there were powerful monsters in the underworld way above the players power level that you want to avoid at all costs.

 

[DawnrazorDCLXVI]

Nice to see everyone get excited. I've spent a helluva lot of time on their forums, the devs could barely contain themselves, it's good to see people excited with the fruits of their labor.

 

[vonAchdorf]

They are putting the Terraria riches to good use.

 

[darthaegis]

Does anyone know if the requirements are for release already? gtx 950 minimum seems way too high for the game's graphical fidelity.

 

[vonAchdorf]

Does anyone know if the requirements are for release already? gtx 950 minimum seems way too high for the game's graphical fidelity.

https://madewith.unity.com/en/games/underworld-ascendant

 

[Morgoth]

Unity really doesn't lend itself well to large sprawling leveldesign. But then again when did I ever not play an Origins/LGS game with shockingly bad framerates? Ultima 9 or CyberMage anyone?

I just hope they really get the sound design right. I also hope they make use of the Steam Audio engine.

 

[Zed Duke of Banville]

Grimoire, RPG Codex GotY 2017

Underworld Ascendant, RPG Codex GotY 2018

 

[Jedi Exile]

hope this game has some horror/scare moments

With art style like this - unlikely.

 

[Nekot-The-Brave]

They've already put up System Requirements on the Steam page:

• 
  Minimum:
  • OS: 64-bit Windows 7, 64-bit Windows 8 (8.1) or 64-bit Windows 10
    
  • Processor: Intel CPU Core i5-6600 3.3GHz
    
  • Memory: 6 GB RAM
    
  • Graphics: Nvidia GPU GeForce GTX 950 / AMD GPU Radeon HD 7870
    
  • DirectX: Version 11
    
  • Storage: 45 GB available space

• 
  Recommended:
  • OS: 64-bit Windows 7, 64-bit Windows 8 (8.1) or 64-bit Windows 10
    
  • Processor: Intel CPU Core i7-6700
    
  • Memory: 16 GB RAM
    
  • Graphics: Nvidia GPU GeForce GTX 1080
    
  • Storage: 45 GB available space

I think this is the first time that I've seen a game with a recommended amount of 16GB ram.

 

[Ash]

Good news, as given the lack of public crowd funding not a lot could have been accomplished without a pub: Low budget holding back the game for obvious reasons. The need to handle marketing, distribution, localization etc distracting from actually making the game. And given how long it's been in development without seemingly a lot actually being accomplished, they'll have stability and milestones to adhere to, or whatever it was holding them back -- it shall now have been contractually eliminated.

Still Unity though. And still has a unsatisfactory (though not terrible) art style. And still not an RPG most likely. And still will prob be shit. They've got massive shoes to fill: of themselves 15-25 years prior.