Game News Underworld Ascendant releasing in September, gets negative previews

[J_C]

Can't say I care much for Underworld Ascendant but after they also bought System Shock rights I was certainly hoping for a Thief sequel or something similar down the line.

Thank the gods for them going out of business before that. Given the evidence here, a new Thief would be like this:

That was a pretty good game.

 

[Blaine]

Yeah, but it had an excuse for being a cartoon because it was literally meant to be a cartoon.

I love Psychonauts, for example, but looking like a Saturday morning cartoon was both intentional and appropriate for the material.

 

[Cross]

The way OtherSide talked about and promoted this game felt fishy since the beginning. It's always been about 'look at these cool immersive mechanics and what you can do with them' with very little mention of things like progression or game content proper. It's like a Flanderization of Looking Glass games.

 

[Infinitron]

Retweeted by OtherSide:

 

[ciox]

Can't say I care much for Underworld Ascendant but after they also bought System Shock rights I was certainly hoping for a Thief sequel or something similar down the line.

Thank the gods for them going out of business before that. Given the evidence here, a new Thief would be like this:

This was the new Thief

 

[Bohr]

Retweeted by OtherSide:

Good old onebit studio, masters of Twitter marketing

 

[Parabalus]

To me all the gameplay videos looked clunky.

Something about the animations seemed off, hopefully that's just visual, but I have my doubts.

 

[Sceptic]

For the first time he'd be justified!

Eh, while I don't support his over-the-top edginess, if you ignore that his pessimism wasn't any less justified than your own optimism. I've had problems with their direction and priorities from the very beginning, and we argued about this. It was obvious they didn't really have a clear idea of what they were doing for years, and Cross hit the nail on the head: they were too busy concentrating on the details of specific mechanics without much thought to how they would actually fit together and make a game, never mind their lack of mentioning anything to do with the content itself. I got a spark of hope a few months ago (... or was it last year?) when they did mention they hadn't forgotten the content, except of course they then proceeded to promptly never talk about it again. The stealth system. The "ecology". The "rewards for creative solutions" system and all the problems this entails. These are the things they mostly talked about. None of these are things that I think of when "Ultima Underworld" comes to mind. But then the one thing they really used to link this to the original game is "but it takes place in the Stygian Abyss!", which while cool, is again not the defining feature of a UW sequel (it's not as if UW2 had anything to do with the location). All of this screams to me trying to create a spiritual successor without understanding what made the original special and good.

Then again this isn't exactly a unique problem to UA, almost every other KS that I can think of made the same mistake and most of the flaws in those games can be trace back to the same kind of thinking that we see here. It's just more obvious with UA because it's taken them so long to produce very little. Incidentally this is also why I hate that "immersive sim" denomination so much - it puts all the emphasis on all the little "sim" parts and how the individual mechanics are cool on their own but this tells you nothing about the game itself, and I'm not someone who cares much about how the mechanics work in a vacuum.

 

[Infinitron]

Oh hey: https://www.othersideentertainment.com/forum/index.php?topic=1980.0

Hey, there. Joe here. I just wanted to write a quick response to some of the recent concerns to provide some context and additional info. (And this is in no way to be in no way dismissive of the criticisms, which we take as honest feedback and are working to address or have already.)

The game is making steady progress. That's sped up quite a bit over recent months and we're seeing more and more elements coming together every day now.

The build on display at the Pre-E3 event had a fair number of bugs, which was unfortunate, but we were also wrapping an important milestone deadline that took precedence. The video we released last Friday came from a more recent game update and the build that will be on display at E3 and in the Backer Alpha has had significant bug-fixing and further polish. (There will, of course, still be more bug-fixing and polish to do before the game's release.)

Also though? It's worth noting that there's a reason why most game companies make games that are 'theme park rides:' It's easier to create a tightly-scripted, one-way-to-play experience with fewer systems and on a conscripted path. It's pretty difficult to create, tune, and bug-fix a game with a large amount of simulated systems, skills and abilities, and player freedom. Supporting player choice takes a lot of effort. But we think it's really worth it -- and we hope you will, too.

As Paul has often said about making immersive sims, Thief in particular, a lot of the real magic comes together near the end. We're looking forward to your feedback, when many of you soon get to play the upcoming Backer builds, which will be a great help in sticking the landing.

Sorry for not weighing in sooner, but many of us have been working into the weekend in a big push for another big milestone. We'll have further updates soon. There's much positive to report.

 

[Invictus]

That sounds like damage control... and if the game was still so undercooked why let journalists of all people play it in the first place?
Why not get at least the fighting mechanics in place before letting anyone try it?
The “interactivity” for burning doors and whatever sounds gimmick at best so if they poured all their efforts there no wonder this plays so badly and reeks of yet another mismanaged Kickstarter... We all wanted a straightforward dungeon crawl so who exactly clamored for all the boxes and environmental puzzles? Seems they lost focus on what actually made Stygian Abyss a great memorable game

 

[jewboy]

Stop complaining about the art direction. Who gives a fuck. There are some probably valid criticisms though. If it is really going to be released so soon I'd like to hear more about the combat system and the story because that is what makes an RPG. Strategic and difficult and fun combat combined with a suspenseful story. Yes nice graphics are nice, but it really is beside the point. I agree that they are spending too much time talking about the implementation details that don't really matter. And I never thought that environmental reactivity was a significant part of what made UW1/2 fun games. Or Arx Fatalis for that matter. There is no need to try to invent new game mechanics at this point. Or if you want to do that add it in later once you already have a fun game released. Also Arx Fatalis was made by Arkane Studios. Not Jowood. Jowood just paid the bills. Too bad Arkane was bought/destroyed. Arx Fatalis was such a great game. Actually this game looks a bit like Arx to me, but I don't really care about that as long as the graphics are decent and they are. They should be focusing on other things now.

 

[Zeriel]

It's not going to be good. Nobody has ever fixed 'janky' or clunky gameplay within four months.

Honestly, I can't remember a single game I've seen covered or played where "janky" was fixed. If core gameplay is janky by the time it is put in front of press (i.e it's not just cinematic demo), it pretty much always remains janky on release.

 

[Zakhad]

Neurath and co. have some credits in the bank, so I'm gonna give them the benefit of the doubt until I've actually tried it. Gaming journalists are nearly all awful, nearly all of the time: don't know why we'd start trusting them now.

 

[Zed]

Sorry for not weighing in sooner, but many of us have been working into the weekend in a big push for another big milestone.

It's The Games Industry! Work your ass off for very little reward! Weekends? Who needs them! 9pm is the new 5pm! Join us today! We have sleep-over rooms!

 

[Infinitron]

Oof: https://www.othersideentertainment.com/forum/index.php?topic=1980.msg27260#msg27260

Hey everyone! Let's get right to it:

September??
We haven't settled on an exact date in September, but keep in mind this can also mean late September, possibly early October if we feel we absolutely need to push it back. Looking at our production schedule, we agreed with our publisher that this timing was correct.


Which brings me to the next question I'm seeing a lot:

Is the game going to be done? What about the narrative? Why is there so much focus on the physics of the game?
I know we've mentioned this before, but the narrative aspects (interactions, factions, quests, the whole reason why you're in the world) are still being worked on and aren't ready to show yet. However, this does not mean they haven't been MADE.

We have a lot of framework systems available in the build, along with placeholder art, that we haven't shown because it's a work in progress. As much as we'd like to share even some of these barebones versions of the narrative systems, we also have to be mindful of how those assets will affect the general audience. The old prototype build screenshots and gifs still pop up when we talk about the game today, even though nearly all of the assets and systems have been reworked.

The most fleshed out system has been the physics and environmental interactions, so we generally feel more comfortable sharing content related to that. (We hear you on how it can be REALLY boring to see similar clips over and over though; we're ingesting all of this criticism for the next trailer and Alpha build, you know!)

That being said, we never intended for the physics and environmental manipulation to be the dominating feature of UA. It just happens to be the most presentable feature.

This one playstyle/feature/weapon I see in the trailer seems really silly and I don't like it...
I understand water arrows, wall-running and magic arent for everyone. As a reminder, most of the skills and abilities highlighted in the trailers aren't meant to reflect the average person's first playthrough, and ALL of them are optional. You dont HAVE to wall run or pick up a single spell or befriend a single person. We just want to showcase some of the possibilities you CAN undertake, if you choose to invest in it. You can play the entire game without any HUD, item highlighting, and tutorial text. We've built in tools to help those who may need it, and for the more seasoned adventurers, you'll be able to challenge yourself for a more immersive experience.


I'm worried this isn't my Underworld.
Looking back on this project's archives, I think we can all agree it has taken a lot of twists and turns throughout the years. The game has been scoped down enormously, suffered some large production setbacks, and had a significant number of changes to content and team. Heck, the 2015 Kickstarter promised some extreme character customization despite the enforced first person perspective.

Additionally, while this game does have its roots in the first two Ultima Underworlds, the team is of course going to bring in design and technical experience from working on later titles and playing other games. This game is ambitious, much like it's predecessors, and it has almost 26 years of new experiences to build off of. These integrations have been added to improve the game and provide something new. A remastered Ultima Underworld would be neat, but would it be worth an entirely new game?

All in all, the best I can promise is that we're constantly learning and improving. Even since I joined late August, I've been getting to know all of you and helping format our newsletters and work with 505 to make sure we can include answers and behind the scenes shots whenever we can.

3-4 months ISN'T a lot of time, I agree. But so much can happen between today and next week, and this is the time we especially need to have faith in each other's commitment to the project. This team is like my battalion, and while I've joined the fight late, I'm giving it my all so we can finish this.

You're in this with us, as backers, long-time and even new fans. We agreed that your input was always important to us, and have balanced making a core experience that we feel will make the game great and suggestions we've fleshed out from forums or roundtables. I'm still hoping for a bear pit, and I didn't want to spoil it, but Justin was working sneaking in a Grand Staircase after one of our large forum threads.

In a few weeks, many of you will have access to the Backer Alpha, and we'll be extremely keen to hear your feedback and use you all as playtesters. The press build and its reception has been important for us to note moving forward, and as Joe mentioned, we've been tackling a lot of those concerns first and foremost.

I'm on a bus heading back to Boston right now, so hopefully you'll forgive my typos.

 

[J_C]

It's not going to be good. Nobody has ever fixed 'janky' or clunky gameplay within four months.

Honestly, I can't remember a single game I've seen covered or played where "janky" was fixed. If core gameplay is janky by the time it is put in front of press (i.e it's not just cinematic demo), it pretty much always remains janky on release.

Journalists claiming janky gameplay doesn't mean anything. They would piss themselves if they played Bloodlines, because it has a lot of janky elements. But it is one of the best RPGs ever made. For them, janky might mean that everything is not super fluid as in Uncharted or Horizon Zero Dawn.

 

[Darth Roxor]

i fucking loathe this retarded expression "janky"

 

[Ash]

You can play the entire game without any HUD,

That doesn't sound promising. Thief could manage it, but pretty much any of their other games were packed with systems and plenty of it simply needed to be conveyed with a hud. I want the latter from a game calling itself Underworld. But I won't jump the gun: maybe they found other means to convey that information (highly unlikely).

I know we've mentioned this before, but the narrative aspects (interactions, factions, quests, the whole reason why you're in the world) are still being worked on and aren't ready to show yet. However, this does not mean they haven't been MADE.

What? Who? How? Why? The gameplay they present looks a bit unpolished in every piece of media and that's supposedly the most presentable component...just imagine what the work that sums up conversations and something that is meant to imitate life-like NPC behaviour looks like



While those game journos sound like dumb casuals, something is nonetheless very, very wrong with this project and I've been doubtful for years.

 

[Blaine]

i fucking loathe this retarded expression "janky"

The expression has been around for decades.

Would you prefer a synonym that conveys roughly the same meaning, or is it not specific enough for you?

 

[Scroo]

This will be sad. I kinda was expecting for it to bomb but I still was hoping... Aw well. Back to Arx Fatalis I guess

 

[Blaine]

This will be sad. I kinda was expecting for it to bomb but I still was hoping... Aw well. Back to Arx Fatalis I guess

This is the real news ITT: Even Scrooge wasn't optimistic about the game's chances.

RIP in peace, oversaturated WoW-looking cartoony Ultima Underworld-name-dropped list of kewl-sounding features

 

[Kem0sabe]

Releases in September, still at backer alpha level and promising players that the build they are seeing in the videos is not bestest build.

This never ends well... never, not once.

 

[Zed]

i fucking loathe this retarded expression "janky"

wonky, tonky, jonky, lanky, spanky, shanky, klanky, manky

 

[Darth Roxor]

i fucking loathe this retarded expression "janky"

The expression has been around for decades.

Would you prefer a synonym that conveys roughly the same meaning, or is it not specific enough for you?

i would prefer something that wasn't a euphemism for "i'm fucking retarded and have no idea how to play this so i'll just call it broken in a roundabout way"

 

[Blaine]

i would prefer something that wasn't a euphemism for "i'm fucking retarded and have no idea how to play this so i'll just call it broken in a roundabout way"

I don't use it that way, though. I use it to describe a game that feels like it was cobbled together from bits of random junk in a technical and/or design sense, and that is therefore awkward and annoying to interact with/play. Clearly it's possible for a game to possess these negative qualities and reasonable to find them obnoxious.

If game "journalists" are misusing the term en masse, I haven't noticed and don't really care because I never read anything they write anyway.