The Broken Hourglass

[Myrthos]

More information. (http://www.rpgwatch.com/show/reference?ref=0&id=142)

[Khass]

Might as well kick off the game comment forums.

Anybody else here believing this game sounds darn interesting? The magic system is very nice, offers some new strategies, but I can't help but feel something isn't going to go right with this game ...

[Cormac]

It's one of the RPGs I'm looking the most forward to, after Gothic 3. The magic system sounds interesting and the team really seems to know what they want to accomplish. Of course I'd prefer TB combat instead of real time with pause, but you can't fight progress it seems :'(

[Corwin]

I'm hopeful that this will be one of my key buys down the track. I love finding little gems from small developers; I still remember taking a punt on the original Gothic. I had to order from the UK, which is NOT cheap, but am I ever glad I did!! :)

[txa1265]

Added that to my 'watch list' ;) I agree Corwin - sweet to find these little gems!

[Arma]

Ranks third on my expected list. The story so far sounds quite interesting. Highly reminiscent of Baldur's Gate with some nice tweaks to the character system that remind me of Arcanum.

[zakhal]

Lifes too short for another series of baldur's gate style games. I still need to finish over half of them.

But yeah I added that to my watchlist.

[Benedict]

They definitely know their target audience, none of this flashy but vacuous sales hype, just lots of releases about the detailed statistical workings of the game. Far more exciting, to a stats nerd like me anyway.

[purpleblob]

I'm hoping this game will turn out very much like bg2. I have high expectation for this game as well because ppl from pocketplane have come up with really fantastic bg2 mods! they make beautiful mods, they do! although I'm a bit disppointed that surayah mod because they are working on broken hour glass. aww.

[KazikluBey]

I realize there have been holidays and stuff going on, with the developers probably being quite busy, but already when the news were posted about the latest update "Stagnation and Death: A Look at Tolmira's Pantheon" I got extremely worried that they were terminating development, before reading the second half of the headline. That Jason Compton mentioned they had exceeded their budget in an interview didn't help my pessimism. After that we've had what I believe is the longest time span between updates since the site was launched, with the clock still counting. Anyway, I'm looking forward to hearing more about the project.

[magerette]

I also am a bit apprehensive at this point, KazkluBey. I check almost every day in case of an update and as you say, it's been quite awhile. I also find it a bit worrying that we never seem to get any updated screenshots, concept art, etc that would indicate ongoing development. I hope all these fears are groundless and they've just hit a temporary snag or two, because i really like the looks of this game world. :)

[purpleblob]

yes, lets hope the project wont be abandoned due to budget or some other kind of problems.

btw happy birthday magerette! just noticed while browsing forum

[magerette]

Thanks very much. At my age it's more a chill than a thrill, but it beats the alternative. ;)

I haven't had a chance to welcome you to the boards but I love it when other females have the excellent gaming taste to join us here. Please plan to stick around and help mitigate the testosterone levels. :)

[Dhruin]

Well, let's send an email off to Jason and see what he says. *sends email*

[purpleblob]

any answer yet? ;) I suppose I can ask in pocketplane forum as well. I know he is active in that forum since De'Arnise romance has just been released.

[Dhruin]

Actually - yes. Jason writes that he is about to take a very short holiday/trip but TBH is still very much a going concern. More to come soon, hopefully.

[jcompton]

As it is, I vacation very poorly--I don't like missing work, I worry about what I'm missing at home, then I finally get into the swing of things and it's time to come back and I find I don't want to work anymore...

...and then, somewhere between Denver and Madison, my wife and I pick up the Demon Cold of Debilitating Destruction. Aiee.

The concern is appreciated, but the December/January quiet on the PWG site was simply due to the usual combination of holiday nonsense, vacations and illnesses included. We'll get back to a healthier, less concern-inducing update schedule soon.

It would actually help us a bit if we had some additional questions to answer. Particularly on the rules-and-game-mechanics front, which are popular pieces, I feel like we've already fired most of our bullets. What do you want to hear more about in our soon-to-be-resumed Monday updates?

[Dhruin]

Thanks, Jason. I'll put my thinking cap on and come up with some stuff.

Obviously, many folks would like more media and details on the progress as well.

[jcompton]

I'm not looking for anything formal. If there's something you want to hear more about, just shout it out. ("Explain that d80 thing again!" or "Let's hear more about the NPCs!" or whatever.)

[magerette]

Thanks for the response, Jason. Sorry to hear about the dreaded winter onslaught of illness, and hope you and your wife are all better.

In regards to specific things I personally would like I'd say my top request would be something visual. As you know, I enjoy your fiction pieces on the game world, and the game mechanics are always interesting, but I'm not able to visualize what your game is actually going to look like too well. :)

[Corwin]

How does the game line up against other recent Indie offerings, such as Eschalon? What stage in development is the game currently at? Do you need playtesters or other non-technical assistance that we could offer?

[Dhruin]

I think the spell system is pretty cool, so I'd enjoy some specific examples. You've described it in detail but a sort of After Action Report with some real spell examples in play would be nice.

[purpleblob]

I actually want to know more about NPCs. How many of them will be there, alignment, class, do we get to find out about their story like in bg2? is there pc-npc interactions? romances? etc.. or is it already on website and I've simply missed it?

[Arpyjee]

I heard that we can't venture outside the main city ? No wilderness areas to explore ? If that's true, it's very disappointing IMO (unless of course, there will be a BH2 !).

[txa1265]

Here's my question: what are the current plans around the Mac (and Linux) releases of the game - are we talking simul-release, within weeks, or 'eventually'?

[jcompton]

How does the game line up against other recent Indie offerings, such as Eschalon?


Heh, the honest answer is "Hopefully well, as they appear to be going great guns over there."


What stage in development is the game currently at?


The "oh, right, we need to make this, this, this, this, and this into playable content still" stage.


Do you need playtesters or other non-technical assistance that we could offer?

No, we're not looking for outside testers until we're essentially content-complete.


I think the spell system is pretty cool, so I'd enjoy some specific examples.


That's a good idea, we'll do a sort of blow-by-blow on "How a party's casters deal with a certain encounter" soon, explaining each spell that gets cast, what it does, and why it was cast.


I actually want to know more about NPCs. How many of them will be there, alignment, class, do we get to find out about their story like in bg2? is there pc-npc interactions? romances? etc.. or is it already on website and I've simply missed it?


We have talked about this in some interviews before, but a quick recap:

- Nine joinable NPCs
- We don't have "alignments" but there are a range of different ethical makeups represented.
- Our point-buy system doesn't pivot directly around "classes", but at the crude "what are they best at?" level: two are primarily elemental mages, two are healers, three are fighters, and two are difficult to categorize.
- Yes, we're planning a total of four character romances.

We have some character profiles posted: http://www.planewalkergames.com/content/view/28/43/

I heard that we can't venture outside the main city ? No wilderness areas to explore ?

Mal Nassrin is sealed in by an outside force, that's why it's in so much trouble.


Here's my question: what are the current plans around the Mac (and Linux) releases of the game - are we talking simul-release, within weeks, or 'eventually'?

The game works on all three platforms more-or-less equally well already--every binary is compiled to all three, etc. (I haven't tested the OSX version on 10.5 yet, and I hear they've done something to X11, so that will be fun.) I'm leaning towards releasing them all simultaneously, but that's not a guarantee. The strongest argument I can see for us holding off a bit on Linux and Mac would be to let the initial wave of wait-this-doesn't-work-on-my-computer pass and get fixed just on Windows, rather than having to fight fires on all three platforms right out of the gate.

[jcompton]

I think the spell system is pretty cool, so I'd enjoy some specific examples.

You asked for it, you got it (http://www.planewalkergames.com/content/view/111/1).

[Corwin]

Thanks Jason, I've posted this to the front News page.

[Dhruin]

Great article - thanks, Jason.

[purpleblob]

When would it be released? I mean I know release date always get delays and so on... but roughly when? I'm seriouslsy dying this try this out *faint*.

Oh and while I'm at it, I will ask one more thing. Bons, author of Surayah mod, is she still around? I tried to email her but it just rebounded on me, and it seems like shes not really active on forums anymore. What's the deal with the mod? Because I'm dying to play that mod as well.

[blatantninja]

This looks great. Man, I'm really glad this site exists, I probably wouldn't have heard of many of these games otherwise!

[KazikluBey]

purpleblob: I believe Compton said in an interview recently they weren't sure they'd be finished this year.

[purpleblob]

purpleblob: I believe Compton said in an interview recently they weren't sure they'd be finished this year.

hell, I have to another year for this??? sigh. well I'm holding my breath for this. let's hope it won't be too long.

[Rohal]

Haven't heard anything about the game for ages. Does anybody know if it is still in development?

[Dhruin]

I'm pretty sure Jason would tell us if they had permanently ceased development but I guess development is slow (or they've pulled back to do a bigger PR blitz when the time comes).

[magerette]

I'm also wondering. The site's had no updates for months.

[Benedict]

Would be a crying shame if this never made it to completion, I thought their idea for the magic system was one of the most promising innovations for years.

Still, if they do go under it'll be a lot easier for everyone else to nick their great ideas.

[purpleblob]

I've PMed Jcompton and he said it is still in development. Wouldn't mind it if it goes a tad bit faster... :)

[Corwin]

I just wish they'd either post a few updates, or send us some news!! :)

[Dagon]

Is BH still in development it seems that there weren't any news for a long time now. And i'm still interested in this game.

[stealth]

Funny, just the other day I thought the exact same thing. Forgot to do any search on current status though. Think I'll at least check their website.

[Dagon]

Funny, just the other day I thought the exact same thing. Forgot to do any search on current status though. Think I'll at least check their website.

Sadly there's nothing new there.
It would be shame if they canned it, I would really want to play decent infinity engine-like game.

[purpleblob]

Last time I checked (about a month ago?) Jason confirmed its still in development. Also awaiting for this game to be released eagerly.

[magerette]

I run by the site every so often, but it's pretty quiet. Thanks for keeping in touch with JC, purple. This one will be perfect for you when it finally makes it out. :)

[jcompton]

Was going through concerned e-mails and realized I should post here as well. Still working. Typical litany of excuses exist. I swear that if it should come to pass that we don't finish, we'll just say so and not vanish or pretend it never happened.

[Corwin]

Be nice to see an update at your site though!! :)

[txa1265]

Was going through concerned e-mails and realized I should post here as well. Still working. Typical litany of excuses exist. I swear that if it should come to pass that we don't finish, we'll just say so and not vanish or pretend it never happened.

Thanks for the update and certainly hope you *do* finish.

[magerette]

Yes, good to hear from you. Please let us know when you get something we can put up for news. And good luck, it's a rough economy out there.

[jcompton]

And good luck, it's a rough economy out there.

From the perspective of getting a game done, that's actually good news. As a freelance writer, the suckier things get, the less I have income sources which make it easier to say "Eh, that ball spell scripting can wait until tomorrow."

[denialmark]

The Broken Hourglass is a new CRPG in development for Windows, Macintosh, and Linux computers. You become an ordinary citizen of Mal Nassrin, fading star of the Tolmiran Empire, with an extraordinary purpose. The city is under siege by some unexplained and unidentified magical force--no one may enter or leave, and the city's water supply has been reduced to a trickle. Caught in a devastating explosion which obliterates a large area of the city, you begin the game as a recuperating refugee caught up among an eager group of vigilantes and makeshift militiamen hoping to put the city to rights before complete chaos takes hold.

[Corwin]

.......Gee, I don't think any of us knew that!!! What's your point?

[purpleblob]

BTW it's stil happening as far as I know. I bug Jason Compton once a while "are you guys there yet?" *poke*poke*

[Corwin]

Still waiting for you to join our online group Purp!! :) We're playing DDO now, which is FREE.

[Benedict]

Someone on ITS mentioned it was still alive and even nearing beta. Or completion.

So bloody annoying that they've stayed so quiet if they are working on it, even brief updates would keep the interest going.

[zardoz]

I'll just leave my expression of interest towards this game here.

[purpleblob]

Jason confirmed that it's not near beta testing yet. He just said some other tests are being done. A bit disappointed :( Been so long!

[Benedict]

Jason confirmed that it's not near beta testing yet. He just said some other tests are being done. A bit disappointed :( Been so long!

They are still cracking on though? Better than it dying entirely I guess.

[purpleblob]

As far as I know, they are still working on it.

His exact words:

We've been doing some internal critical path testing lately, which isn't the same as beta testing. (beta testing implies that the content is, for all intents and purposes, finished, and we're not there yet.)

[Benedict]

Cool, at least they haven't gone and done something disgraceful like getting real jobs.

[shaneblackwell]

I am looking for the upcoming updates.

[rune_74]

Hmmm, I was just thinking about this game today...it just sorta...disappeared.


Is this now the indie version of duke nukem?

[GhanBuriGhan]

True, haven't heard from them in a long time. Hopefully they are just concentrating on making the game. Indie rpgs projects take a long time - AoD, Frayed knights, Scars of War...

[Corwin]

The website is still there, but there have been no updates in months.

[purpleblob]

Time to prod Jason Compton again, I guess.

No blog update since January either =\

[rune_74]

True, haven't heard from them in a long time. Hopefully they are just concentrating on making the game. Indie rpgs projects take a long time - AoD, Frayed knights, Scars of War…

True, but in this time Basilisk has released two games in his series....

[purpleblob]

Things don't look too good for The Broken Hourglass. Just found out that Jason Compton is going through very tough time in his real life. It may not happen for a very long time (if it happens at all). I wish him a luck at this tough time of his life.

[purpleblob]

Another update on TBH. I contacted one of the TBH contributor and she said:

I am one of the quest authors, yes, but for now, my participation is done(I've finished my TBH work a few years ago). The game itself is nearly done, but whether it is 90% done or 99.99% done, I am not sure. I can only say that for the time being, Jason's not going to work on it, because, as you said, he's going through very tough time. I guess we can only wish him well and wait.

It will be such a shame if it gets abandoned now, especially if it is almost finished as she commented :(

[GhanBuriGhan]

Oh dear, thats kind of a worst-case scenario. I guess we can only wish the best for Jason, and hope that he can get back to his project one day. Sad news :-/

[Jaesun]

Damn, that is sad to hear. I hope the best for Jason (and family).

[Rohal]

I'm also (still) hoping to play the game. But first of all: Best wishes for Jason.

[snowflake]

my best wishes to Jason.