KickStarter Unexplored 2: The Wayfarer's Legacy - roguelite action-RPG

[V_K]

Fig: https://www.fig.co/campaigns/unexplored-2




https://af.gog.com/game/unexplored_2_the_wayfarers_legacy?as=1649904300
https://www.epicgames.com/store/en-US/p/unexplored-2

Spoiler

Unexplored 2: The Wayfarer's Legacy is a roguelite action-RPG and prodigious sequel to the critically acclaimed indie gem, Unexplored. Leave the Dungeon of Doom behind and venture into a vast, wondrous world as you embark on a heroic quest to destroy the mysterious Staff of Yendor.

Explore beautiful landscapes and discover hidden marvels. Encounter magical creatures and dangerous foes. Make brave choices and put your faith in good fortune. Featuring a unique legacy system, advanced procedural generation technology, and rich, generative storytelling, Unexplored 2: The Wayfarer's Legacy is an adventure like no other.

Unexplored 2: The Wayfarer’s Legacy is a completely different beast than its predecessor. With Unexplored we experimented with new ways of generating procedural dungeons. We wanted levels to feel as though they were designed by hand, rather than by an algorithm.

The experiment succeeded beyond our expectations and we’re extremely proud that our humble indie game has received widespread recognition from critics. Most notably, PC Gamer, Rock Paper Shotgun, and Vice Waypoint all featured Unexplored as part of their respective Game of the Year articles.

With Unexplored 2: The Wayfarer's Legacy, by using both new and improved development tools/technology, the introduction of an array of original features and mechanics, and by applying an eye-catching art style, we're continuing to build on the solid foundations we established with the development of the original Unexplored.

So while the sequel will, like its predecessor, be able to deliver unexpected surprises after hundreds of hours, it will be a much richer, more immersive, and even more expansive experience. We want players to escape into a world that has a real sense of exploration and wonder, with captivating stories and adventures unique to every different hero.

Okay, we’re starting to sound like the marketing department again, but we actually have more than a few ideas on how to achieve those goals.

The most visible leap forward in Unexplored 2 is, well, the visual style. We set out to create an art style that makes you feel like walking through illustrations, that spark and complement the wonder of a good journey.

Or, as our new art director, Hendrik Visser, describes it: “The art style should make love with our procedural generator, so they create beautiful babies.”

The top-down view may not give us the chance to create grand vistas that disappear into the horizon, but it does help the player to read the environment, and inform them how to position themselves tactically in a fierce battle, or how to solve a puzzle.

We’re especially proud of the way the heights and depths of the environments are turning out. This is the reason we chose to go with 3D in the first place. In general, the art is descriptive and representative, but leaves enough space for the player to use their own imagination.

In The Wayfarer’s Legacy you won’t be descending ever deeper underground, as was the case in the original Unexplored. The ultimate goal of Unexplored 2 is to destroy the Staff of Yendor, and it’s a quest that can only be completed by venturing outside. You travel through forests, valleys, mountains and, yes, into the occasional dungeon.

Most importantly, we want you to feel like an explorer, a true adventurer. You have to plan your trip carefully and be constantly aware of your surroundings. Do you have enough provisions to venture through a desert? Are you ready to confront magical beasts you may encounter in the mystical forest ahead?

The world is inhabited by creatures and people, both friendly and hostile. They’re impacted by your actions, seasonal changes and interactions between themselves. In The Wayfarer’s Legacy, the world map is an important source of information.

We’re taking Unexplored’s successful approach to procedural generation and applying it to many more parts of Unexplored 2. We’re building separate systems for world creation, level generation, generative storytelling, and gameplay such as environmental puzzles and combat situations.

Our game director, Joris Dormans, is an expert in the field of procedural content generation. He’s the creator of several tools that thousands of game developers use on a daily basis.

Joris used his knowledge to build Unexplored, which is lauded for its impressive dungeon generation and multi-level sub-quests. All of this experience is now being applied to the many systems that make up The Wayfarer’s Legacy.

During the course of Unexplored 2’s development, we will irregularly provide insights into these advanced procedural systems.

Unexplored 2 is subtitled The Wayfarer’s Legacy for a reason.

We’re trying to strike the right balance between suspense and fun. The suspense is delivered in the form of a roguelite staple: permadeath. When your character dies, there’s no checkpoint to return to, no save game to restart, it’s over. Your character is dead and stays dead.

However, the legacy system in Unexplored 2 means that, when you start a new adventure with a new hero, you can choose to continue playing in the same world. You start the journey anew, but this time you know more about the world and the challenges ahead. You know which areas to avoid and which areas you should definitely visit. And perhaps you know where to find a particularly strong weapon, because your previous character helpfully left one somewhere for you to retrieve on a subsequent run.

But a word of caution – the world continues after the death of your last hero, and their actions have lasting consequences for new adventurers following in their footsteps. For example, if your previous hero vanquished a pack of wolves near a village, you may find that the settlement is now thriving and they have some useful wares to sell that will help on your quest.

However, if they chose to spare the wolves, the village could be completely deserted and, in-turn, there will be no valuable items for your hero to purchase, making the way forward more challenging.

It will also become progressively harder to complete your quest in a world that’s been visited multiple times. This is because the imperious forces of the Empire will, slowly but surely, take a stranglehold over the land. Unless you can stop them. Either way, there will always be the option to start a new adventure in a new world, ripe with new challenges, new stories, and new lands to explore.

The first Unexplored was a fairly unique beast - a roguelike whose procedurally generated levels matched Ultima Underworld in design quality, complete with puzzles and multi-level side quests. So I'm pretty hyped about this and can't wait to see how their approach would work in an open-world setting.
Thanks to Abu Antar for spotting the announcement.

 

[V_K]

The first update details the mechanics already in place:

Combat

Combat in Unexplored 2 is all about timing and positioning. When you get into a bad flow, you can be defeated quite quickly, so you should approach enemies with care. Even then, many encounters are designed to be overwhelming, so you should always carefully assess whether fighting is worth the risk. Remember, this is a game with permadeath and sparse access to healing, so you should always ask yourself in this engagement is worth it.

Surviving combat starts with a good defense. You can use shields to block melee and ranged attacks. To use a shield you need to right-click (assuming you have equipped your shield as your secondary weapon). Swords and daggers can be used to parry melee attacks. You do not need to press a button to parry you simply need to face the attacker. However, once you parried with a particular weapon you cannot use the same weapon to parry again for a short while. If you are fighting without a shield or weapon you can parry with you can still try to step out of any of the way of any attack.

When equipped with a weapon you attack by simply left-clicking (or right-clicking for weapons carried in your left hand). You can attack as often as you like, but keep in mind that attacking also makes you vulnerable. So you want to time your attacks carefully.

The demo includes a number of different types of weapons, each with a different set of abilities and associated strategies. Below is a brief overview of the most common weapons.

• Swords - Can be used to attack and parry. After a parry it can be used to perform a special riposte attack.
• Daggers - Can be used to attack and parry. When wielded in your left hand they can also be thrown to enemies at a larger range.
• Axes - Can be used to hook shields: a shield blocking an attack from an axe will be disabled for a short while. When equipped in your left hand an axe can also be thrown.
• Spears - Have a very good reach and are therefore are very effective as a weapon of war. When used with two hands the reach is increased a bit, but you cannot use a shield or a parrying weapon at the same time.
• Javelins - Javelins are thrown over short distances. You can carry up to 3 javelins for a few volleys before switching to a sidearm such as a sword or an axe.
• Clubs - Clubs are sidearms which can bruise and break limbs of an opponent.
• Bows - Bows are used in two hands to fire arrows over a distance. Keep in mind that arrows are somewhat short in supply.

Travelling

Unexplored 2 is all about an adventurous journey through Unexplored lands. Travelling is an important aspect of this. You will need to plan your journey carefully to survive the many hazards of the wilderness.

You start travelling simply by walking towards a map exit, which will be typically located at the top-right and bottom-left of each level. Each generated world map will have hundreds of destinations for you to travel to. When you start a new leg of your journey you can choose to travel to the destinations closest to your current location.

When selecting a new destination you will want to keep an eye on the travel fortunes: diamond icons that indicate possible dangers and opportunities you can expect to encounter at each destination and along the way.

Sometimes travel fortunes are unknown (indicated with a question mark). It will be revealed only when you get closer to that location.

Travel fortunes between destinations indicate both distance and dangers. For every day the journey is going to take there will be one encounter generated along the way. One particular travel fortune (‘the winding road’) indicates the road is open and you can pass there without interruption.

Travel times are important because each day you will need to eat. And although you start the game with enough supplies for 5 days, you will find that many journeys are much longer. If you run out of food you can no longer heal, and you will start to starve.

You will need to look for ways to sustain yourself during your journey. Hunting and foraging is good way restock while travelling. The prey icon indicates locations where you will get a chance to hunt or forage for food. The other option is to travel to villages. In a village you can restock and rest at the local inn.

Threats

The main objective of your quest is to destroy the Staff of Yendor. However, the Empire wants to claim the Staff for its own, and they are actively seeking it. Threats indicate how easy it is for them (and others) to find you.

There are four types of threats that affect the hunt differently

Visibility is increased when spotted by certain enemies, when you make a fire or when you leave a fire burning through the night. When your visibility is high most hunters know where you are and where you are going. Making it easy for them to find you. When travelling to covered locations you can reduce your visibility.

Spoor indicates the tracks you left during your travel. Starting fights, or going through certain types of terrains can increase your spoor. When your spoor is high enemies can track you more easily boosting their travel speed. To reduce spoor you can try to cover your tracks. But this might cost time.

Hearsay is increased when you talk to neutral characters. Especially when you boast about your status or flaunt the Staff of Yendor. Many hunters also talk to locals so leaving a lot of rumors floating around will make it easier for them to find you.

Presence is increased when you abuse the staff or use some of its special powers. When a hunter has the ability to sense magic a high presence will make it easier for them to find you. In addition, many magically attuned elements and creatures in a level react more aggressively as your presence increases.

Fortune Tests

In Unexplored 2, fortune tests are used to handle where traditional, pen-and-paper RPGs, would use a dice roll. You will encounter them quite frequently, although they are almost always optional.

A fortune test is handled by you drawing a number fortunes from a pool of possible outcomes. You can see the possible outcomes before you choose to engage with the test. After you draw a fortune you can choose to keep it or spend a ‘spark’ to draw another option. Sparks are finite resource so you cannot spend them carelessly. However, taking a negative outcome in a fortune test often replenish your sparks. So sometimes it is better to deal with the negative outcomes and saving those precious sparks for when you really need them.

Some fortune tests are played out over multiple rounds. When this is the case you can see multiple result slots in the fortune dialog window. When a fortune test is played out over multiple rounds it can happen that extra fortunes are added to the pool as a result of choice you make each round. For example, sometimes taking your time will increase the number of good options for next round.

Using Magic

Magic plays an important role in Unexplored 2, and you happen to be walking around with the most powerful magic item in the world! All magic is contextual: you can find magic sources scattered throughout a level. Special rocks, plants, and even animals can be sources of magic. When you wield a magic item attuned to the right type of magic of the source you can power it by stepping close. Once powered you can use its magic.

There are many different magic sources offering a wide variety of magic effects ranging from offensive spells, teleportation, controlling the weather, and water walking. Learning to recognize these sources and the opportunities they offer is a big part of the game.

The Staff of Yendor is attuned to all types of magic, and any source can be used to power its spells. However, the staff is essentially evil (or rather destructive), using it frequently can actually damage and even destroy the things it uses as its power source, so be careful. (And that is a good way to increase your presence, see above).

From what little I've played of it, the "fortune tests" worry me the most as I can see them getting tiresome rather quickly. The threat system on the other hand looks very interesting.
The character system seems to be kinda like Neo Scavenger this time around (the first one had Brogue-like equipment-based development) as you get some binary perks not tied to the equipment, but so far I see no numbers anywhere.

 

[LESS T_T]

Steam page:

 

[Tiospo]

Great news. Thanks for that!

 

[V_K]

New 20 minutes gameplay video from the pre-alpha build:



Mostly showcasing puzzles and environmental hazards, but also the absolutely gorgeous look of the game.

 

[Abu Antar]

 

[V_K]

Who'd have told me 2 years ago that I'd be hyped for a game with procedural generation.

 

[ColCol]

Who'd have told me 2 years ago that I'd be hyped for a game with procedural generation.

Joris Dormans could very well revolutionize procedural content. People just need to build off his work.

 

[LESS T_T]

1-year Epic exclusivity is confirmed, and with that money the developer extended the development of the game by a year (literally, I'm not sarcastic about Epic exclusivity).



Probably this is the first time I feel the exclusivity deal is a good thing, because I want him to take his time to explore (heh) the game's potential.

 

[V_K]

Fuck.

 

[Ivan]

Fuck.

Yeah

 

[V_K]

1-year Epic exclusivity is confirmed

It's effectively 2-year exclusivity, because they're moving current open access builds there and it'll be an Epic exclusive for another year upon release. Cancelled my Fig pledge. I'll probably still get it on Steam whenever that happens, but at a Russian price.

 

[V_K]

So I refunded my fig pledge and they still sent me a code for early access on EGS. Epic must be really desperate to get people to use their store.

 

[LESS T_T]

It's out now on Epic.



https://www.epicgames.com/store/p/unexplored-2

 

[V_K]

So still in EA? Interesting. I guess they did need those Epic monies.

 

[lukaszek]

its no longer a cyclop?

 

[LESS T_T]

https://www.gamasutra.com/blogs/Jor...ne_System_To_Replace_Virtual_Dice_Rolling.php

A Table-Top Feel: Designing Unexplored 2's Fortune System To Replace Virtual Dice Rolling

For Unexplored 2: The Wayfarer’s Legacy we came up with the ‘fortune system’: a special, recurrent game mechanic to handle any situation that the real-time mechanics of the game cannot. In this case, the fortune system covers physical activities such as climbing and clearing rocks from a path, as well as social interactions with NPCs. In this post I like to present our journey as designers to create it. Spoiler: our road was longer and had more twists and turns than we anticipated.

A fortune test in action: trying to decipher an ancient inscription.

Design Goals
When we started work on Unexplored 2: The Wayfarer’s Legacy, we had a clear idea of where we wanted to go, although we didn’t quite know how to get there. Unexplored 1 is a fairly traditional roguelite dungeon-crawler, where we mostly reached high with the quality of generated levels in an action-based game filled with lock and key puzzles. For the sequel our ambitions were grand: we wanted to take the same type of gameplay out of the dungeon and generate a whole world for the player to explore. But most of all we wanted the player to feel they are in control of their own adventure.

Now, we are definitely not alone in this ambition. Many games in the action-adventure and action-RPG genres promise the player they can become the hero in their own adventure. But we tried to place ourselves firmly in the table-top RPG tradition where adventure has meaning beyond combat. In a traditional fantasy table-top RPG players will fight numerous foes, but they will also use the same or similar rules for stealth, climbing, social encounters, magic, and much more. We feel these types of actions complement combat in adventure stories and table-top RPG sessions in a way that is rarely seen in a computer game.

There are many reasons for this omission. Combat translates very well to real-time mechanics, and in many cases the same goes for stealth. Both involve a lot of maneuvering and create opportunities for players to make many small decisions that affect the outcome of an encounter. Mini games for lock picking, climbing, and magic have been done in the past quite successfully, but the difficulty of translating the variety offered by table-top RPG to computer games is more strongly felt in social interactions. Many have already written about the difficulties of dialog trees, and I assume the shortcomings of that common solution are well known.

Performance in a Fortune Test can determine the outcome of a social interaction.

Looking at Table-Top RPGs
Table-top RPGs typically use dice rolls to handle any situation with uncertain outcomes. These dice rolls are commonly referred to as skill-checks because your character’s abilities and skills are very likely to factor into the chance you have to succeed. Some RPG systems can have quite elaborate rules for making these skill-checks, but even simple, single dice roll against a certain target number can be quite fun and engaging.

Skill-checks are not uncommon in computer RPGs either, but when implemented with similar mechanics they do not seem to offer the same level of fun. The physical experience of picking up a die, and shaking it before rolling in order to find out whether your action succeeds, is vastly different from simply clicking a button to the same effect. The result is often that computer RPGs focus the gameplay on the things that work well on a computer, and for many this means combat, and for some it means combat and stealth.

What we were looking for when we designed the fortune system for Unexplored 2 was some thing that had the same level of engagement for the player as rolling a dice on a table, could easily express many different types of skill-checks, and offer a level and depth of gameplay that would not pale next to real-time combat. The fortune system is not a direct translation of dice, but an enabler that allows us to tap into a wide palette of possible encounters to craft adventures from. We are quite happy with the end result, but it did take many iterations to get there.

Spoiler

Early Iterations
From the outset we knew that we wanted to have one system that could express as many of different types of skill-checks as possible. This includes things as diverse as testing your strength to try and open a door, testing your wit in a social engagement, or your agility when prying open a lock. We also knew we wanted to have multiple possible outcomes for any of these situations. Some of these tests are not even about whether you succeed or fail, but what it costs you to proceed. For example, the first fortune test you will encounter in Unexplored 2’s tutorial is to open a door that is stuck. Basically it is a test of strength, but there is no point in having the player ‘fail’, because that would mean they would not be able to complete the tutorial. Instead, the player always succeeds, but sometimes the player becomes fatigued, sometimes they lose time, and sometimes they cause rocks to fall that might damage the player.

Early design mock-ups for the first iteration of the fortune system.

Considering these requirements our first stab at making the fortune system was a simple card based mechanic. All the possible outcomes would be represented by different cards, the player is shown the cards before they are shuffled. Next the player simply picks one of the cards and the effects are applied. The system was simple and effective. It had a few advantages: it communicated the chances of success fairly well, and picking the outcome yourself feels more engaging than simply pressing a button to generate a random number.

But there were also problems with these first iterations. The outcome is purely based on luck, and it only involves one blind choice by the player. Because of this it grew tedious quite fast. In addition, we were making an RPG and we needed characters with different backgrounds and skills to have different chances of succeeding. We experimented with a system that would add extra success outcomes to the stack of cards if you have the right skills, but the player never seemed to feel the effects very clearly. The composition of the deck felt random, and players were never required to actively make use of their skills.

We tried out several things to improve this basic system. For example, to increase the expressive range of possible outcomes some cards only represented negative effects, if you drew one of these you might get fatigued, but you could draw again to try to pass. This iteration required you to keep drawing until you either succeeded or failed the test. It didn’t help much, tests were even more tedious, and felt even more random.

To counteract the randomness we experimented with multiple cards being drawn at the same time and requiring the player combine a number of them into a result. Negative cards could be ‘locked-in’ and required the player to figure out a way to deal with them or negate them. But ultimately none of that stuck.

Multiple fortunes, locked-in fortunes and one of the first appearances of sparks as a resource to manage your fortunes.

Player Agency
We figured that an important flaw of the system was lack of player agency. One might argue that in a table-top RPG, players also do not have much agency when rolling the dice. This is partly compensated by the physical experience of rolling the dice. In addition and in contrast with our system, in a table-top RPG players have to actively apply all the rules. If having skills add modifiers to dice rolls (or better still, add extra dice), the effects and outcomes of earlier choices are far greater than our system offered. At least, this leads to a greater sense of agency.

To remedy the issue we decided we needed to offer the player more ways to control the outcomes of a test. This led to the introduction of a resource called ‘sparks’. Sparks allows the player to redraw any fortune they did not like, as long as they can pay for the resource with sparks. In addition, the redraw mechanic also turned out to be a great opportunity to incorporate skill redraws into the system: having the right skills now also entitles you to a number of free redraws. That way players would actively utilize their skills, which made having them much more tangible.

We quickly realized that having enough sparks allows you to get any result you want, so we knew we needed to have a fairly tight economy of sparks. For a little while the fortune tests themselves were the most important source of sparks themselves, because we awarded players with sparks when they picked or stuck to negative outcomes. Although this creates an interesting dynamic where you could not win all fortune tests and had to pick your battles, it also meant that players could farm certain fortune tests for sparks, which was not the intended effect.

We ended up with a system where you start with a fair amount of sparks, and you can occasionally find them as a reward for exploring levels. Occasionally, players might run into a large stash of them, or be offered to gain a fair number of them instead of gaining a regular skill during character progression. But in general, we wanted to make them short in supply, forcing the player to think about when to use them, and making sure that redraws granted for having the right skills feels sufficiently powerful.

Fortune-Building
The fortune system was tuning up quite nicely, or so we felt. On more than one occasion we were pretty sure we had nailed it, only to find out it didn’t age as well as we’d hoped. The system seemed to lack a certain depth. Fortune-checks always seemed to evolve in fairly the same way and basically were dominated by the ability to keep redrawing until you drew a favorable outcome. There was no way the player could get ‘good’ at the system or was even challenged to think about the test strategically.

The solution for this was to incorporate very simple deck-building mechanics to make sure that each test evolves in different ways, even if the starting conditions are the same. The first step towards achieving this was to eliminate all the ‘success’ fortunes from the starting pool of a fortune test. In order to successfully complete a test the player needs to draw and play fortunes that add success to the pool of possibilities. Now we had two types of fortunes: ‘outcomes’ that will end a test in success or failure, and ‘effect’ fortunes that add fortunes to the pool but might have other gameplay effects as well. For example, the ‘Make an effort’ fortune adds three successes to the pool, but comes at the cost of applying the Fatigued status to the player as well. Obviously, such a fortune would only make sense in a fortune test that represents a physical challenge such as climbing. But we already had different starting pools to represent different challenge types. This way, an easy social test can be made to feel quite differently from a challenging agility test in which you run the risk of setting off all manner of traps or alarms.

The effect fortunes allowed us to offer the player different stakes. For example, the ‘raise the stakes’ fortune only adds one success to the pool, but it represents a ‘great success’ that would yield better results. Again, this might not be applicable for all situations, but it works well in many fortune tests representing social interactions. In a situation where the player is bartering for better prices, a great success fortune might be well worth a few sparks in an attempt to draw it from the pool.

More importantly, the player’s choices started to have an immediate effect, and what constitutes a good choice started to vary strongly with the situation. Some effect-fortunes initially seem to be so desirable there is no harm in always playing them, but we’ve seen situations for any possible fortune where not playing them is in fact the better choice depending on the current fortune pool, previously drawn fortunes, and the goals players set for themselves. Slowly but surely, the ability to read the current state of the fortune pool, in relation to the availability of sparks and skill redraws became a decisive factor in performing well in fortune tests.

At this stage, we also added an extra cost to redrawing: the first redraw of any round now also adds a negative fortune, typically a ‘failure’ or a ‘critical failure’. This means that the players actions can affect the fortune pool positively or negatively and it countered the strategy of aggressively redrawing.

Adding Spice
The last additions to the fortune system were fortunes designed to stir things up occasionally. For example, we added the Inspiration fortune which when chosen simply adds three rerolls. On paper we were a little worried that a fortune like this might feel a little too mechanistic. It has very little meaning outside the fortune test. Once implemented however, we quickly discovered it felt actually quite good. It felt rewarding to draw and play, but more importantly it stirs up the dynamic of the test. If you draw an inspiration fortune, it may inspire you to change strategies and start playing for a higher reward.

Another fortune we added at this stage is the ‘rare opportunity’ which represents a favorable bonus, often only applicable when the test is completed successfully. Its appearance is random; tests that allow them will not always have them, making them feel more rare and special. This fortune plays into the different risk-reward strategies the player can play for: often they will have to get a little out of their way to get one, and once you have it, winning might become more important.

The ‘gloom’ fortune allowed us to tie the fortunes to important narrative themes in the game. The world of Unexplored 2 is threatened by an evil empire that slowly but surely destroys everything it touches. In their wake the lands become desolate and bleak. Traveling through these lands the player finds that many tests are ‘polluted’ with gloom fortunes which when played cause loss of ‘hope’, a vital, sanity like, resource of the player character. In effect, gloom fortunes are a little like ‘filler cards’ that get in the way in deck-building games like Dominion. But the way they tie in with the backstory makes another effective way of making sure that the presence of the empire is felt even in the most mechanical parts of the game.

An encounter with enemy soldiers guarding a bridge where a fortune test can be used to avoid combat.

UI
Once the system was in place we faced another challenge: how to communicate it to the player? The first playtests were not particularly successful. People had trouble understanding how the tests worked. In hindsight, for a large part this was because the UI had grown quite organically as we iterated on the mechanics. Over the years we had explored many directions and to a certain extent the UI retained traces of all. In order to fix it we had to clean the slate and decide on the best metaphors to support the mechanics, from scratch if need be.

Along the way we decided that we didn’t want to have a card based system, and that simple tokens drawn out of a bag were the best real-world equivalent for our system. This choice was partly informed by the fact that we wanted the player to know what fortunes are inside the pool at any moment. Playing cards and deck-building have slightly different affordances. A shuffled pile of cards to draw from, for example, typically does not reveal which cards are in the pile, only roughly how many are left. In addition, we do not have the typical cycle mechanics common to deck-building games where new cards go into a discard pile before being reshuffled into your deck. All new fortunes go into the pool immediately, and once played, a fortune is discarded altogether.

Once we doubled-down on that metaphor and tried to implement that as cleanly as possible the system started to click for players. From new playtests it quickly became apparent that players now understood it well enough and quickly could engage with the system strategically. Even though the subtleties of the dynamics meant that there would be plenty left to discover over time.

Having a UI to match a well chosen metaphor to communicate the mechanics effectively, is quite obvious. But deep in the trenches of game design, we found that, for us, that was also quite easy to forget.

The Result
Obviously, we are quite happy with the result; I would not be singing the praise for the fortune system in this post otherwise. But it also seem to resonate with our audience. As Steven Messner points out in his PC Gamer review: "Just like in D&D, Unexplored 2 understands that it's way more fun (and tense) when there's different shades of success and failure."

The fortune system is able to express a wide variety of possible situations that would otherwise be difficult to represent in the game. I am particularly proud of the way it can handle social interaction in a meaningful way. We do not rely on branching dialog trees with many blind choices. Instead, the player can perform well based on their character’s build and their willingness to invest sparks.

The system is quite dynamic, what is a good choice in one circumstance might not necessarily be your best option in the next test. I have come across situations where I found myself forgoing obviously beneficial fortunes such as ‘inspiration’. The fortune tests create a chain of small, meaningful choices: when to redraw? Which fortune to choose? Combined these choices string into a performance that will determine the outcome of the encounters. Players can play it safe, or push their luck. The density of choices may not be as high as the density of choices during a real-time combat encounter, but the strategic engagement we have seen in players with these tests allows us to incorporate a greater palette of possible adventures in our game, which is exactly what we set out to do.

 

[LESS T_T]

 

[LESS T_T]

Apparently a demo is coming to upcoming Steam Next Fest.



Well yeah, it's technically an upcoming game for Steam.

 

[V_K]

Interesting, it's still in EA on Epic, which means it won't be on Steam for more than another year.

 

[LESS T_T]

Funny thing: one of the requirements to participate in the Next Fest is that the game should be released before May 1 next year (on Steam of course). It was out on Epic at the end of May, so I think they might break that requirement. (But yeah, I don't think enforcement of that rule would be hard and strict, unlike the actual contract with Epic.)

 

[Infinitron]

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1095040/Unexplored_2_The_Wayfarers_Legacy/

DEMO NOW AVAILABLE!

Good news adventurers – the beta demo is now live and available to download from the Store page!

This is the first time Unexplored 2 has been playable on Steam, and we can't wait for everyone to try it. The demo generates about 20% of a full map to explore, but that still gives you plenty to discover, both in terms of the game's systems and mechanics, and the world itself. Here are just some of the things you can do in the demo:

• Play the tutorial: Learn the basics of combat, stealth, camping, magic and more before starting your adventure
  
• Create your Wayfarer: Choose defining characteristics such as race, background, and skills
  
• Explore your world: Traverse the map and discover a wide range of areas, from ruins and towers, to forest peaks and underground shrines
  
• Delve into the lore: There are many ways to glean information about the world of Unexplored 2, such as talking to its inhabitants, deciphering glyphs, and reading ancient scrolls
  
• Encounter creatures and monsters: The world is home to many different types of animal, from the cute and fluffy, to the scary and deadly!
  
• Play the Fortune System: The equivalent of dice-rolls in table-top RPGs, it determines the outcome of various scenarios

To learn more about Unexplored 2, an online manual is available from the menu screen, and an 'Encyclopedia' can be accessed in-game by opening the character menu.

Obviously the game is still in development, so you may encounter issues or bugs. If you have questions or feedback, please join our Discord Server: http://discord.gg/TGhQ8AjkvF

In the Discord's #Unexplored2 channel, you'll find a Steam Demo-sub channel. That's where we'll answer all your questions and where you'll find other players to help you out.

Finally, the devs will be live streaming the game on Monday, 4 October. You can check the local broadcast time and set yourself a reminder here. Be sure to tune in!

Happy adventuring!

Matt | Big Sugar

 

[LESS T_T]

One step closer to "Full Steam" release: https://www.gamedeveloper.com/press-release/final-pre-release-content-update-for-unexplored-2

Final pre-release content update for Unexplored 2
Ancient machinations change the world’s state

4 February, 2022 – Upcoming procedural RPG Unexplored 2 today receives its final Early Access-content update. Focusing on magical machines from the world’s ancient builders, the update empowers players to control the state of the world.

Patches for the Early Access-build continue, but the next big content update will coincide with the full launch of the game on PC (Steam, Epic) and consoles (first on Xbox) later this year.

Game Director, Joris Dormans, explains how the latest update dovetails nicely into the procedural nature of the game and its worlds:

“By turning on or off giant ancient machinery, players change the world state, making it easier to reach the endgame. Or, making the endgame itself easier. It’s up to the player to make those choices. Remember, when you die in Unexplored 2 the world remains, you continue as the new Wayfarer a few years later. But… if you die during the endgame, all is lost, the world is wiped from existence. And from your drive.

"So, these are important decisions the player makes, over multiple runs. What seems to be a good option for the world right now, might not be so at all times or for all possible worlds. It creates an exciting puzzle with many different solutions based on your choices and execution.”

Very Customizable Difficulty Settings
Another major addition is the New World Settings-menu, which is available when players generate a new world. It allows them to adjust difficulty by enabling or disabling (world) features and request specific content. It’s one of the advantages of having your whole world procedurally generated for you.

Community Challenge
Early Access players who are the first to find the machines in their world, will be rewarded with the opportunity to add something to the game stemming from their own imagination. This community challenge will take place in the game’s Discord channel: http://discord.gg/TGhQ8AjkvF

Patch notes

Spoiler

Update #6: Marang Machinations
This update will likely break existing worlds!

New and improved content

• New World Settings menu available when you generate a new world that allows you to adjust difficulty and request specific content. (Not fully controller supported yet, some of the options will later be locked behind achievements)
• New major Marang machines: Infernal Flame, Helico, Lightning Machine, Earth Shaker
• New minor Marang machines: Hearth Flame, Magic Well, Root Singer
• New adventure destinations: Mountain Top, Mountain Top Temple, Lake-bed Temple, Way Shrine, Hidden Tower, Forest Shrine
• New unlockable backgrounds: Sky Summoner, Master Artisan, Tinkerer, Honor-bound Warrior
• New regional characteristics: biting cold, predators, drought, burning sun, underground passages, withering away, fierce winds, tremors, magic lightning, restless snap trees, thick thickets
• Restructure of the main quest: you need to visit Raaf temples to reveal the main quest objectives
• Improved travel locations: underground passage
• Improved and expanded the quest to find the Flow Elemental
• Improved destination: Forge of Destiny, Hill-Top Ruin, Barrow, Detona Spire, Monster Cave, Bernhilde’s Tomb, Barren, Wind Temple, Bone Temple, Lakes
• New and improved equipment: windbreaker cloak, shimmering shard, fallen star, marang machine manifest

Gameplay changes

• You can pick-up dropped and thrown weapons after a while during combat
• Your speed with a drawn bow is reduced
• You can buy more food in settlements
• Food prices have gone up, bandages are cheaper
• Wounded status is less frequent and less impactful
• Locations indicate better if food and prey are available
• Improved distribution of inscriptions and secrets in the world
• Presence is reduced when you arrive at a destination and only when you do not gain presence during the journey
• Forges require Form Sigils to function
• Scrying stones require Sky Sigils to function and can detect active machines

Bug Fixes

• Eating in an inn or at a farm no longer restores hope
• Threadbare equipment functions correctly
• Fixing generation issues that caused ramps and climbing spots to be missing
• Fixes generation issue that caused segments of walls to go missing
• Scrying devices do not show up on the map as Imperial forces
• Fixes issue with missing wind gongs in the First Valley
• Restoring a Serpent Gate now correctly registers and the corresponding gate on the Serpent Path also opens

About the game

One quest. Unlimited adventure. Unexplored 2: The Wayfarer's Legacy is a challenging roguelite RPG with a table-top feel, procedural node-based open world, and a cool twist on permadeath. Leave the Dungeon of Doom behind and venture into a vast, wondrous world as you embark on a heroic quest to destroy the mysterious Staff of Yendor.

Explore beautiful landscapes and discover hidden marvels. Encounter magical creatures and dangerous foes. Make brave choices and put your faith in good fortune. Featuring a unique legacy system, advanced procedural generation technology, and rich, generative storytelling, Unexplored 2: The Wayfarer's Legacy is an adventure like no other.


Key features

• Legacy system: the actions of past heroes impact the fortunes of those that follow in their footsteps. Use your legacy wisely to give successive adventurers greater hopes of completing their quest
• Permadeath in a persistent world: when a hero dies, they stay dead. But you can choose to return to the same world with a new adventurer, forearmed with knowledge of what lies ahead. Or, if you prefer, begin a new adventure in a completely uncharted world
• Generative storytelling: there is no premeditated script in Unexplored 2. Every adventurer's ultimate goal may be the same – to destroy the Staff of Yendor – but every hero will have their own unique story of the events and encounters that happened along the way
• Procedural generation: Ludomotion's proprietary technology generates content that feels designed by humans, not algorithms, and can create a near infinite number of new lands, new places, new stories, and new challenges to discover
• Orchestral adaptive soundtrack: an intricate system allows Unexplored 2's music to be arranged reactively, making subtle changes to the score at appropriate times, whether a moment of high emotion, or to provide foreshadowing (Official Unexplored 2 Soundtrack Playlist on Youtube)

Unexplored 2: The Wayfarer's Legacy is available now as an Early Access title on the Epic Games Store. Xbox versions are also confirmed, and will launch in 2022.

 

[LESS T_T]

GOG too: https://af.gog.com/game/unexplored_2_the_wayfarers_legacy?as=1649904300

Didn't know the first game isn't available on GOG.

 

[hackncrazy]

Has anyone actually played the game? I love the first one but the direction this one is taking seems kinda weird. I'll probably get it on GOG, but I'm not too hopeful.