We have two Battletech Steam keys that we want to give away. The keys are from the standard pre-order, which includes the alternate Shadowhawk skin. These keys have been made available by Darkheart.

Here are the rules for participation in this giveaway:

• You have registered an acount at RPGWatch before March 1, 2018
• You have a minimum of 10 posts
• You have added a comment to this post, of which the contents makes clear that you want to participate
• You have added your comment before this giveaway closes, which is on the 24th of April

Starpoint Gemini Warlords is currently 66% off until May 1st and the other games in the series are also on sale, including DLC.

Hello guys,

Steam weeklong for entire Starpoint franchise just started!

This is your chance to jump into quite unique space experience for almost nothing :)

So, send your fleets, or send yourself AND your fleets to enemy territory and show 'em who the big boss really is!

Our selection of finest games and DLC's for this week includes the following:

[...]

Farflame spotted a Kickstarter update for the action RPG Dolmen:

State of the Game / Payment options

Today's update is to keep you up to date with changes that are ongoing with Dolmen.

Our Third Game Update rolled out yesterday with some new features and some bug fixes, this update was aimed at making Revion Prime feel more dangerous and to make the gameplay smoother for players.

Update 0.1.0.8 Patch Notes

Consumables removed, Materials can be consumed now:
As a survival game, we want to offer choice to players. You can either keep materials for crafting or use them to keep yourself alive. Choose wisely. To consume materials, just visit your overview screen and set it in on the available slots.

Molten Reactor Trait:
Removed recovery by damage and only with this reactor you will recover energy by parrying.

Enemy Improvements:
Better positioning for attacks

Enemy Difficulty changes:
Increased Overall stats to make the game harder.

Player Heavy Attacks:
Increased Animation Speed and Damage. Enemies have increased stagger resistance, giving more reason to use it.

Player Energy changes:
Fixed ranged weapon firing costs.
Regeneration won't occur while attacking or dodging.

Player Ranged Attacks:
Heavy Attack has less spread now. (Light Attack is RB/LMB and Heavy is RT/RMB)

Enemy Condition Attack Feedback:
When an enemy attacks, its trail will indicate what element its attacking with.

Burn condition change:
Before it caused 4% damage per 3 second tick. Now it will work differently. After applying burn, it will tick every 4 seconds and when it ticks it will cause a percentage of damage equal to the sum of any damage it received during the tick.

Mouse Sensitivity added:
For keyboard player you can now visit settings and tune the sensitivity.

Bug Fixes -- Disabled VR Issues.

New Payment options:

We have new options on our website, if you are unable to back us directly from kickstarter, you can now use Paypal or Pagseguro.

[...]

Fansided checked out Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire at the PAX East 2018:

Get your pirate on with Pillars of Eternity 2: Deadfire | PAX East 2018 preview

We hit the high seas at PAX East 2018 during our demo of Pillars of Eternity 2: Deadfire, the upcoming sequel to Obsidian’s high-fantasy CRPG.

Admittedly, Pillars of Eternity is one of those games that have been sitting in my backlog for quite some time now. The party-based “real-time-with-pause” tactical gameplay takes me right back to the old days of playing Baldur’s Gate for hours on end. This is a game I keep telling myself I really need to play. After playing a demo build of Pillars of Eternity 2: Deadfire, the upcoming sequel to Obsidian’s hit RPG, I now realize how badly I need to get into this series ASAP.

At PAX East 2018, I met up with Pillars of Eternity 2's narrative designer Carrie Patel to discuss the game’s upcoming new sequel, what’s changed between the two games, and of course, get a hands-on preview with a demo build. Deadfire is a direct sequel to the first title: players control the Watcher, who travels to the Deadfire islands to pursue the reawakened and destructive god Eothas.

[...]

Thanks Farflame!

TechRaptor reports that Conan Exiles will have new areas and gameplay elements at launch on May 8:

Conan Exiles Reinvents Itself for Launch

Funcom has heard the lamentations of the fans regarding their game Conan Exiles, and while the community won’t see everything people have requested (Conan Exiles isn’t getting an army of mounts or the like), at a digital press event I was able to get hands-on and see some impressive changes addressing many concerns people have expressed for this next adventure in the Hyborian Age.

Conan’s New Soul

Perhaps the change that will impact the game most on a moment to moment basis is the complete combat overhaul that Funcom has pulled off. Originally, Conan Exiles had a simplistic combat system that they based off of Skyrim. Many players had issues with it, and as combat is a core component to basically anything with the name Conan, Funcom listened. Instead of messing around with small tweaks, they opted to make a new combat system for Conan Exiles to do justice to the barbarian, taking more inspiration from recent Action RPGs.

While hesitant to name it, the Souls series is the clear inspiration, with each of the different weapons having heavy and light attacks that chain together into combos. Beyond that, there are also special finisher effects on heavy attack finishers (like bleed for daggers), dodge rolling around, and the secondary weapon/block button varies based on what you have equipped. Shields block and quickly break, two-handed attacks kick, and double daggers get a quicker, special backward dodge roll.

[...]

Thanks Farflame!

IGN checked out The Bards Tale IV (-> with some gameplay videos):

The Bard's Tale 4 Aims to Put a Modern Touch on a Classic RPG

Yes, there will be humor as well.

By Ryan McCaffrey Not many realize it, but it’s true: The Bard’s Tale is one of the oldest franchises in gaming history. The dark-humor adventure/RPG began as a 1985 Apple II title under the direction of Michael Cranford with help from Brian Fargo, and Fargo has carried the torch ever since. In fact, the series has more or less returned from the dead twice: first as a hack-and-slash action-RPG for PS2 and Xbox in 2004, and then again for PC via Kickstarter in 2015 for The Bard’s Tale 4.

That Kickstarter was successful, and now The Bard’s Tale 4 is coming along quite nicely. I got a chance to play a brief alpha demo build, which showcased the Unreal Engine 4-powered visuals (a far cry from the Apple II’s sprites!) and a bit of its humor, but paid particular attention to the combat system. It’s structured similar to a turn-based tactical RPG, with a grid dictating which spaces your three party members can move to and attack from.

[...]

Thanks Farflame!

The first developer blog for Unsung Story is about the level design process.

Our Game Plan

We’re still dong some pre-production, which means the team is engaging in a whole lot of planning and documentation that will let us work more quickly and efficiently as we move forward. This can be a little bit frustrating for both fans and developers, as neither of us get to see the game come together as soon as we’d like, but it always makes for a better game in the long run.

Quite some time has been spent on working out the ideal size that our levels should be. Successful turn-based tactics games tend to keep their maps on the small side, as bigger levels often have a lot of unused space. In early testing we also found this to be the case, and have been slowly reducing our level size until it feels right. Of course, making the maps too small can be just as detrimental. It’s a tricky balance!

The grid system has been a fun challenge to work with and we’ve had to take a notably different approach to designing levels on a triangle grid (as opposed to a square grid). Right-angles, for example, do not flow naturally on the grid system that we're using, but they're such a common aspect of human architecture and we have to allow for them. This requires us to think outside the box (pun intended) in regards to how we design our levels.

Last week, Alersteam have made the roadmap for Exoplanet: First Contact available.

Some of you asked us to create Exoplanet’s roadmap, because this way you can see where the game is going, track our plans and progress, leave your feedback and ideas about future changes.

We liked the idea, because we always carefully read everything that community says and thoroughly discuss all the feedback and suggested ideas. We believe that’s a very healthy relationship and very grateful to everyone who support us. And today we finally want to share our roadmap with you.

We’ve checked your suggestions about the way our roadmap should be done, took a look at the way other developers did it and ended up with Trello. We believe it’s very simple, intuitive and comfortable (that’s why we actually use it ourselves among the team).

The next step was to decide what’s going to roadmap. Of course, we can’t place everything. Also, some features could be changed or even removed due to a number of reasons (lack of budget, for example).

Starpoint Gemini Warlords has been updated to version 2.0.

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Starpoint Gemini Warlords successfully executed jump to version 2.0

24 APRIL - MMIHOKOVIC

Dear space captains!

After a lot of work, and a lot of suggestions by players, we've just released large free update that pushed Starpoint Gemini Warlords to version 2.0

Since there are so many new things to try, allow us to skip the long introduction and get straight to the point - list of changes :

Diplomacy

• Diplomacy overhaul

Additional

• Factions will react if you try to connect to their satellites or hack them

• If you lose a station, there's a chance an allied or neutral faction will contact you and offer to retrieve the same station for a certain amount of credits

• If you lose a part of your fleet in a battle, there's a chance an allied or neutral faction will contact you and send you a certain amount of resources to compensate your loss

• Factions will react if you build Proxima shipyard

• Factions will react if you start Proxima research

• Factions will react if you end Proxima research

• Factions will react if you make a planetary assault

The rest

• Wormhole civilian tasks are improved on align change

• Scrolling with the controller on Info menu list is now available

• RECORDS Bonuses can now be scrolled with the controller

• Improved font readability in certain cases (better kerning)

• SHIPBUILDING interface button is disabled until you obtain a Hangar Level 1 in HQ, with an explanation why it is disabled

• Press View button on the controller to reveal hints on Starchart

• Hint for Command Points on Starchart

• Hint for SuperCapital Ship on Starchart

• Hint for Civilian tasks on Starchart

• NEW GAME Story Campaign and FREEROAM modes are now separated, if you're playing Vanilla game or any DLC, except Cycle of Warfare

• Hints for FOW, Camera and Select modes on small HUD icons added (previously available only on the mouse)

• Hint on Trader menu for Double-click and Shift-click options added

• Hint on a station; it says Toggle Station Interface instead of Toggle Station HUD

• Fixed and re-added troopers menu

• Fixed GPU related causes of crashes, especially on weaker GPUs

• Fixed one small memory leak

• Fixed a cause of performance drain in script system affecting long play sessions

• Fixed several minor visual glitches

• Fixed several Mod problems + improved output warnings and errors caused by mods

Hope you'll enjoy the new content, and as always we're standing by for your reactions and further ideas!

Safe travels!

LGM Games

If you are interested in learning more about the BattleTech universe being translated to video games, Techraptor went over it in some detail.

...

Where It All Began

BattleTech was released in 1984 by the FASA Corporation, who at the time had some huge IPs under their banner, like Star Trek and Dr Who. They also later on released the Shadowrun roleplaying game, which is still seeing video game releases and adaptations.

BattleTech was originally called BattleDroids, but after some legal issues with the Droid term being owned by Lucasfilm, changed its name to BattleTech.

It first started as a board/war game played on a hex marked map with miniatures, which was re-released as a 25 Anniversary Boxed Edition and can still be purchased. This boxed set is a perfect example of what BattleTech is, and if you’re interested in the BattleTech universe, this is where you should start.

[...]

Bevontule has had a name change to Wellspring: Altar of Roots. In addition the developers have updated their demo which you can find on the Steam page.

Wellspring Pre-Alpha Demo 1.3.2 is LIVE!

10 April - Multithreaded Games

Hi everyone! We've been working hard to update, optimize and fix some of the issues reported in our most recent pre-alpha demo and we have a new build available! We're looking for any and all feedback, so if you're feeling up to the challenge, dive right in: there's over three hours of content, loads of skills, items and equipment, and plenty of challenging encounters! You can download it from our store page here!

Since we've changed our name from Bevontule to Wellspring, if you want to keep your old save files and configuration settings, you'll need to do a few things, as the application data folder has a different name:

• Find the AppData folder for Bevontule--this is usually found at C:\Users\<your_user_name>\AppData\LocalLow\Multithreaded Games\
• Run "Wellspring_Demo.exe" and close it before choosing configuration options from the built-in Unity dialog.
• There should be a "Wellspring" directory in the same directory as the previously-mentioned Bevontule folder.
• Open the Bevontule folder and copy all of its contents into the Wellspring folder--make sure to overwrite anything if prompted.
• Run the game as normal!

Here's a full list of all the changes:

Improvements

• Removed references to "Bevontule"--new title is "Wellspring: Altar of Roots"!
• Improved cloth performance by up to 80%
• Increased Bodom's field movement speed by around 10%
• Reduced enemy AI calculation time up to 10x in some cases (most noticeable with the Drone enemy)
• General graphical optimizations
• Optimizations related to character/enemy movement on the field
• Updated some resource/item spawns
• Tweaked a few enemy battle formations so that they were closer to allies
• Rebalanced certain enemy attributes, skills and drop rates
• Reduced 'ghosting' (motion trails) on characters when moving
• Significantly reduced the chances that an enemy might move slightly out of its movement radius in combat
• Removed Kickstarter references and replaced with newsletter signup

Bugfixes

• Fixed issue where Voltaic Whelp could fail to land on the ground
• Fixed rare issue where Voltaic Whelp battle could lock up the game
• Fixed issue where highlighted collectibles could become 'frozen' when entering combat
• Fixed issue where scene fade-ins could trigger twice in a row or not trigger at all
• Fixed audio volume issues
• Fixed excessive sliding for skills that cause targets to be knocked back
• Fixed issue where minimap wouldn't appear after first cutscene if the pause menu was opened
• Fixed issue where minimap could sometimes be opened during cutscenes and battle
• Fixed issue where Klyph would require 20 more iron to see the 'black market' if the player exited the current scene and returned
• Fixed UI issue where right-clicking to cancel, when hovering over a character panel, would fail to work
• Fixed UI issue where EP/AP costs would sometimes disappear in the Skills menu
• Fixed issue where Blightculler could not be used to attack in certain circumstances
• Fixed issue where Bodom's passive skill Risk and Reward was applied to items as well
• Fixed issue where Moroch's passive skill Tourniquet applied to items as well
• Fixed issue where characters could sometimes be revived in battle to full HP instead of just 50
• Fixed issue where revived characters would not be placed on the ground until moving
• Fixed issue where area projection for line-based skills was displayed incorrectly
• Fixed issue where certain characters would orient themselves improperly when using skills

Knuckle Sandwich is a comedy RPG about a boy working in a diner who is then involved in a missing persons mystery which involves a ludicrous gang and a fanatical cult. The Kickstarter has achieved its goal with 26 days to go. A demo is available.

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About

Knuckle Sandwich is an RPG about a boy who moves out of home and starts looking for work in a new city. After landing a job at a run-down diner, he accidentally gets wrapped up in a missing persons mystery that involves a ludicrous gang and a fanatical cult.  

Bright City Life

Knuckle Sandwich is set in Bright City – a fictional metropolis on an even more fictional island in south-east Australia. Throughout the course of the game, you find yourself exploring the city, meeting all the inhabitants, and playing a role in their daily lives. 

The game is split into chapters, with each one focusing on different locations and characters that bring Bright City to life. My goal with the game is to allow for players to discover many hidden interactions that they could easily miss while playing through the main story arc.

The general aesthetic of the game is inspired by Pokémon and Dragon Ball, while the story is influenced by Fargo, The Big Sleep, and American Psycho (this combo works, trust me).

I wanted to create an RPG that doesn't feature the things I dislike about the genre (like grinding, puzzle elements, having numbers all over the screen, hoarding items, etc.), so the bulk of the game is played out by completing wildly different minigames. They include cooking food, catching bugs, showering, dancing, boxing, writing, and many more.

The battle scenes are made up of sequences that require good timing, such as landing a critical hit or dodging enemy attacks. Both the player and enemy can perform Special Attacks that are very similar to the minigames played throughout the rest of the game.

Mechanically speaking, my inspirations include Warioware, Rhythm Heaven, and Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga. While quick reflexes and a good sense of rhythm helps with Knuckle Sandwich, my aim is to make the game as accessible as possible, so less-experienced players can still beat it without an overwhelming amount of difficulty.

PCGamesN reports on medieval graveyard management sim Graveyard Keeper which will be coming out sometime in 2018.

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[...]

The trailer shows charming pixel art style, not unlike Stardew Valley’s - just significantly more macabre. Instead of farming crops, you’re conducting autopsies and planning burial plots, but it looks like there’s still a social element to the game. However, this is also quite a bit more grim this time around, as we're treated to a burning at the stake at the behest of the local inquisitor, and at one point, an overworked gravedigger can be seen hurling a corpse into the river.

Lazy Bear is publishing Graveyard Keeper with tinyBuild Games, and it should be out later this year. You can check the game out on Steam.

Gaia Beyond is currently in Steam early access and is a 2D Action RPG set in space. Nookrium took a look at it and shared his impressions.

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About This Game

Gaia Beyond is a handcrafted 2D Action-RPG, an exploration mix built around the core features fighting, mining and trading.

Your decisions are footprints...

within a vast non-linear solar system. Forge alliances among numerous factions and develop relations with hundreds of NPCs. Focus on trading and personal interaction or embark on science missions – hunt down pirates and collect their bounty. Infiltrate dubious factions and uncover secret plots and dark menaces.

• Realtime Open-World Solar System
  
• 4K Graphics
  
• Modding-friendly

To deliver a seamless and unique experience, we created our own engine - presenting a massive 2D Open World in realtime, with no loading times inbetween. Every part of the universe is alive and active at every moment.

 

There you are, human.

At the face of a habitable planet way outside the Kuiper Belt, inquiringly gazing at the same stars as the rest of the living species. Everyone? Doesn’t look like we will ever find out.

The past is shadowed by war. Generations of humanity have fought on the edge of survival. First against themselves – until technology started to rise, created to serve their innate greed for dominance. During Earth times, self-inflicted catastrophies kept humanity struggling and finally forced the big departure. And yet, here they are. Split up all over the solar system, living separate realities under various conditions.

Everything is different – and actually nothing ever really changed. A new mindset of unity, awoken by the end of the Machine War, is facing hard times. Beneath the curtain of false peace and hope, bad blood had always remained. Old and new enemies are rising again and humanity will have to face its greatest trial, yet. Will you be part of mankind's downfall or guide the system into a brighter future?

It's in your hands.

ChristopherOdd played through the gameplay demo for Phoenix Point which will be apart of the upcoming player Alpha.

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Phoenix Point is the new strategy game from the creator of the original X-COM series. It features turn-based tactics and world based strategy in a fight against a terrifying, alien menace. 👇🏻 MORE INFO DOWN BELOW 👇🏻

[...]

Thanks Pladio!

Faeland is a Metroidvania Action Adventure RPG video-game in pixel art style now on Kickstarter seeking US $29K.

About

Faeland is a Metroidvania Action Adventure RPG video-game in pixel art style, inspired by the nostalgic 8-Bit classics, with a modern charm for all generations. It is currently in development for PC, Mac and Linux, with Xbox One, PS4 and Nintendo Switch console ports as Stretch Goals on this Kickstarter campaign!

GAMEPLAY

In Faeland as the player, you can freely explore the open world, traveling from one town to another, talk to friendly NPCs, learn about the game’s lore and get useful tips, commerce valuable items to improve your economics, buy new equipment and consumables and do quests to acquire useful loot while progressing in the main story. Some of the areas you need to traverse are challenging forests, caves, dungeons, castles and more. You also have to acquire new abilities and special items to gain access to previously inaccessible areas and paths. The combat style is customized through your equipped weapons, choose from knives, daggers, swords, axes, spears and bows, all with different attack animations, speeds, strengths and effects.

STORY

In a fantasy world, humans have established their kingdom through centuries of peace efforts to keep a safe margin with the dark forces of magic and monstrous beasts that lurk away from civilization. Sam, our protagonist, is a skilled hunter living in a secluded cottage in the forest until one day his home gets raided by a horde of orcs and trolls.

Escaping the attack, with little left but his life, he will begin a new adventure and forge allegiances throughout his travels. Unbeknownst to him, a larger threat looms in the background and the entire realm’s survival will rest upon him becoming the hero he was born to be.

KEY FEATURES

• Detailed hand crafted pixel-art graphics.
• Open world / metroidvania exploration style.
• Change your equipped weapons to match your preferred combat style.
• Enhance and replace your armor while enjoying the new looks on your character.
• Puzzles and riddles solving.
• Learn new skills.
• Explore large dungeons with challenging boss battles.

Beyond Skyrim: Three Kingdoms is announced with a trailer.

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Beyond Skyrim: Iliac Bay is proud to present its first trailer! Beyond Skyrim: Three Kingdoms is the first planned release from the Iliac Bay: Tower of Dawn project. If you enjoyed this update, please join our team and help us to deliver the release sooner. We particularly need artists (both 3D and 2D), scriptwriters, coders, voice actors and experienced mod-makers who know their way around the Creation Kit.

Join us: BS Community Discord server:

https://discord.gg/kbKVEsX

Iliac Bay Community Discord server:

https://discord.gg/ESagg52

[...]

Rhykker checked out the Last Epoch demo. The action RPG is now on Kickstarter.

Last Epoch action RPG Gameplay Demo Review (Kickstarter)

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A new aRPG Kickstarter begins to compete with Path of Exile, Diablo, and Grim Dawn. Last Epoch release date: April 2020. Can this game compete with an eventual Diablo 4? Here are my impressions and demo review.

Dualshockers reviewed the tabletop inspired RPG For the King:

For the King Review — An Addictive Tabletop RPG Inspired Roguelike

For the King on PC is saved by its fun tabletop RPG inspired mechanics and multiplayer capabilities, which help it stand out in a sea of roguelikes.

While the roguelike is undoubtedly a crowded genre in the indie scene, I also find it to be one of the most interesting. Having to restart from scratch after a game over is not just punishing, but encourages players to be more methodical in their action and forces developers to be more creative in design to adapt to this deliberate design decision. For the King from IronOak Games and Curve Digital attempts to stand out from other roguelikes with its unique blend of tabletop inspired RPG gameplay and engaging multiplayer.

While some of that early-game roguelike frustration is present here in full force, For the King is a memorable and fun title that both fans of roguelikes and standard turn-based RPGs should have a good time with. The game may be a bit rough around the edges with some glitches and frustrating RNG, but if those things improve post-launch, For the King keeps pulling me back in, and is poised to become a staple roguelike for me.

[...]

As an indie title straight out of Early Access, For the King isn’t without a few rough spots, especially when it comes to the technical side of things. Luckily, the game is saved by its fun tabletop RPG inspired mechanics and multiplayer capabilities, which help it stand out in a sea of roguelikes. As a fan of the genre, I can see myself consistently returning to For the King, and think other roguelike fans and people who enjoy tabletop RPGs will find something to enjoy here.

Score: 8/10

IndieGraze interviewed the developers of Crying Suns which is described as a story-driven rogue-lite, tactical game where you explore a dying galaxy as a space fleet commander.

For lovers of innovative pixel art, tactical space combat, and adventures through sci-fi imperialism, Alt Shift flexes impressive muscle, taking influence from Dune/Foundation and FTL with its project Crying Suns, working toward a story-driven experience incorporating battleships and squadron fleets. I spoke with Frédéric Lopez (Art Director) and Julien Cotret (Game Producer and Co-writer) to get their takes on the game’s varied tools and overall aesthetic.

 

Erik Meyer: You’re creating a tactical rogue-lite in which gamers take the role of a space fleet commander traversing the galaxy, so can you speak to the challenge of combining features like starship combat and exploration with the overall narrative and molding a smooth player experience? Which parts of the project came together first, and as you progress through development, what have you held as your mantra?

Julien Cotret: Our very first idea was to add to the FTL gameplay/formula a sense of scale and a feeling of high stakes. We wanted to focus on macro rather than micro management. We wanted the player to feel that they weren’t just leading a few people on a small ship but a huge battleship with hundreds of crew members trying to save humankind no less! Our first focus was the setup. We toyed for a time with putting the player inside a pirate galleon or a huge mecha, but the scale wasn’t big enough for us. It didn’t feel right. Our first epiphany came when we told ourselves, “Let’s be honest. What we really want is the player to act like Admiral Adama in Battlestar Galactica”. That was it for the setup. Then we iterated over this gameplay idea for about 6 months.

Given the rogue-lite structure of the game, with its inherent constraints, constructing the narrative was a real challenge. We found ourselves facing a lot of questions early on like, how can you write a story that makes sense if the player is constantly dying and starting over again? How does a story like this progress? Or, even, can it progress? Should we focus on a main character? If so, how? And how should the NPCs react if they’ve already seen you, and, in many cases, if they’ve already killed you?

Very early we discovered that these constraints could actually become the story’s strengths, its focal points. We saw that they could actually drive the story as opposed to being something that we would try to avoid or cover up.. So we decided that the player would be the center of a plan to save humankind. And that he would die, often and horrifically, yes, but that he would essentially live on through other clones which would be sent out into our universe over and over trying to save humankind.. Also, regarding the NPCs, we decided, that, unlike in other rogue-lite games, they would actually remember having encountered the player (or having killed the player before). It seemed like a fun, interesting idea to play with, one that was, in a way, a more realistic experience than in other rogue-lites, where, when you run into an NPC, it’s like the first time every time. Altogether, these ideas, we believe, help create a complex yet smooth gamer experience.

[...]

FEATURES

• Space exploration in a procedural generated universe.
• Tactical fights between BattleShips and their squadrons fleets.
• A deep and dramatic storyline inspired by our favorite S-F universe (Foundation, Dune).
• A mix between pixelart style graphics, 3D and HD special effects.
• Prepare to die very often, it's a roguelite game... And it's a hard one...

Shacknews checked out Disco Elysium:

Get Familiar With Disco Elysium, An Urban Fantasy RPG

After changing the name from No Truce With The Furies, the developers are unraveling some of the details on this deep detective RPG.

No Truce With The Furies, an intriguing RPG that made my Most Anticipated Games of 2018 list, has a brand new name: Disco Elysium. As the scope of the urban fantasy detective drama expanded, the name had to change encompass more of the full tale’s purview.

Let’s set the stage. Disco Elysium blends a hardboiled cop show into an isometric RPG for an experience that allows players to shape exactly what kind of cop they are. Even in the very early build I tried at SXSW 2017, the deep RPG system felt like something that could only be rivaled by the recently released Torment: Tides of Numenera. I got a taste of the open-ended structure of the game and the internal inventory of thoughts I could unravel the pertinent details of a situation.

I didn’t get to see the skill system explicitly, but I witnessed its effects on conversation. Since then, I’ve craved details on the inner workings and the development team, ZA/UM, has started rolling out the breakdowns for the four skill trees. Psyche, Intellect, and Physique are all below with Motorics coming soon.  Just from the descriptions, I can tell that the writing for Disco Elysium is going to be incredible. Check out the official website for the lengthier breakdowns of what each skill offers.

[...]

VG24/7 reported on an interview Josh Sawyer had at Reboot Develop. In the interview Josh expressed the desire for RPGs to be more radical.

Josh Sawyer, design director at Pillars of Eternity and Fallout: New Vegas developer Obsidian, would like to see the RPG genre evolve radically beyond its current state.

Stats and combat systems shouldn’t define the role-playing game, said Sawyer, although he admitted he has been complicit in creating games that stick to an accepted template.

“The hardcore RPG audience is very traditional,” said Sawyer at Reboot Develop this week, discussing the evolution of genres.

[...]

Pladio spotted a new update for Ash of Gods:

UPDATE 1.1.36

In the update 1.1.36, we have fixed the problems you have reported, and also added some optimizations to the PC version, which were created for the mobile and console versions of the game.

CHANGELIST:

SINGLEPLAYER:

• Optimized loading time of fights (battles should load up to 3 times faster than before)
• Optimized video memory consumption for video cards of Intel HD Graphics series 2500 and older (until 2012)
• Added the ability to delete the saves
• An additional confirmation question was added during the choice for Hopper - to resist the Reaping or not
• Updated English text with new editing in the last week (thanks to Reavy and K. Constantine)
• Fixed restrictions on wearing the “Emerald Amulet”
• Fixed incorrect text in English, German and Italian in chapter 4 (the text did not correspond to the dialogue)
• Fixed a possible freeze of the game during a dialogue with Ruor in Pheng's camp
• Fixed the quest logic for the 3rd and 5th quests from the line of quests "Sinvicta"
• Fixed switching of fonts in the main menu when switching from Chinese to German

• Fixed a bug that made the interface freeze if you opened the biography of the character before the video ended for the death of the character
• Fixed the incorrect behavior of the window for strixes’ distribution, when the team has both Gleda and Mact and there are not enough strixes for the travel
• Fixed an error in leveling up for "Monk" which made one of the skills improve energy instead of health
• Fixed a bug that sometimes prevented injuries from showing correctly on the strixes management screen
• Fixed a situation in which it was possible to kill a character with a plot armor (Gleda on a number of parts of the game and Mact on some travelling)
• Fixed a visual glitch on the combat help screen at 1024 * 768 resolution
• Multiple edits for spelling for Russian, Ukrainian (thanks @awg), Italian, German and English

MULTIPLAYER:

• Now, when one wins a multiplayer game, the winner gets the chests for his arena
• Removed the restrictions on wearing items in multiplayer
• When defeated, players receive 10 gold for each enemy unit killed
• Improved UI for the team management screen to make removing cards from the hand easier (you needed to aim at the slots)
• Fixed several holes during data synchronization, which allowed cheating when updating skills and leveling up
• Corrected the behavior of UI on authorization and entering the multiplayer mode, if you try to close it by the “Esc” button
• Fixed issue with sorting and displaying items in team management
• Fixed a problem which made the animation for passive skills freeze if the unit was killed with a card
• Fixed a problem with the false indication of new skill points on max level characters
• Fixed problem with duplicate characters in team management
• Fixed displaying of wounds in the popup-window of the results of the battle
• Fixed the persistence of wounds in the current game session
• Fixed the freezing when pressing space button during a match search
• Fixed a possible freeze when changing from multiplayer to single player

WHAT ARE WE WORKING ON NOW:

• We fix the mistakes you report
• We add clans to the multiplayer - about a third is ready
• We test the 'Iron man' mode with high difficulty
• We test the integration of GOG Galaxy (achievements, overlays, cloud storage)
• We test "postmortem" after the final video - it has already been translated into all languages and added into the game
• We test the battle log
• We do additional editing for the English language (now with the help of 4 people - two new editors from our translation company and with the help of community members - Reavy and K. Constantine)
• Preparing for the LQA for the Polish language. If you speak Polish and can help us—please, write in the comments.

IMPORTANT:

• If you having issues with launching the game on Mac, please open Properties of the game via Steam, choose Launch option and copy-paste this here: -force-glcore
• There is still a problem in Unity with detecting the list of available resolutions in some versions of Linux X64. To fix an error «Receiving unhandled exception in funlockfile», please, run the game in windowed mode, there is no full-screen solution for now, it is up to Unity.
• Games on Unity in Mint Linux, Ark Linux do not work with tiling desktop manager dwm — please use OpenBox or analogues.
• If you the game crashes on Windows 7 with Intel HD graphics cards 2500, 4xxx, GT3 - please open Properties of the game via Steam, choose Launch option and copy-paste this text here:
   -force-glcore
  Unfortunately, this is a problem with video card drivers that were not updated for these series since 2012.

This is new in build 41 of Depth of Extinction:

Build 41 - UX Improvements, Character Customization and More Loot!

Depth of Extinction First Access » Devlog

Hey everyone! We’ve gotten a ton of feedback over the last few months, and as you may (or may not) have seen, we have posted a final release roadmap for the game that hopefully clears the way to release to Steam in late May or early June. Very exciting but busy times for us as we get ready and try to finish up everything on that list!

[...]

So enough about the launch and the future - let's talk about the present and all the changes we have in Build 41.

Build 41 Release Notes

Tutorial Overhaul - shortened it significantly, added doors to the tutorial steps and hopefully made it a bit more interesting for new players. When playing the tutorial, you will also skip the objective screens to get you right into the action!

Icons Updated - almost every icon in the game was updated, including equipment, missions, map areas and the Republic icon is now a Kraken!

Movement Path and Hovering - A pretty big change was made to remove the need to click to draw a character movement path (except in some cases) and a redesign to how the path appears. Should make it a bit more satisfying to move around and eliminate that extra click.

Custom Cursor - When hovering over a targetable entity (enemy, cover, etc) the cursor will turn into a reticle. When hovering over something you can interact with (doors) it will turn into a hand or a hand with an “x” if you are out of range. Between this and the path changes, it seems much easier to tell where you are moving and what you are clicking on!

More Loot in Levels - in addition to the usual 2 items of loot (which we are going to mix up soon) there are between 1-5 extra items scattered around the facility. These are either credits or fuel.

Procedural Level Generation Improvements - the levels are less similar now and will be in numerous shapes. You’ll also see larger and smaller facilities mixed in all areas.

Music tied to alert levels - nine new tracks were added to the game and we have categorized them by “alert level” in the game. So now when enemies come in sight, the music transitions to a faster track!

Credits Editor on Objective Loadout - when you are prepping your team for loadout, you can now allocate any amount of credits stored in the base to take with you on the mission. Remember, this is risk/reward as the credits may help you but if the team gets wiped then they are lost!

Character Customization - a new pane is added to the character settings to let you change your unit’s name and permanent equipment if you want. Any name can be typed in or you can choose from our random name generator.

Dialog UI Redesign - the dialog has been redesigned in preparation for a future update where we will add avatars for the characters to match their currently equipped items. This should come in with the Build that introduces character dialog (looking like 43 right now).
Bug Fixes

Delay on Overwatch, Defend or End Turn - the delay between turns was sped up in the last build but it looks like we missed one more thing that was causing some noticeable delays when doing an interaction that immediately ended the turn.

Commands during Dialog Cutscenes - you could click around disrupting the camera during pirate cutscenes.

Wrong Loot Triggering Evac - if the same item was in both loot boxes, then the system didn’t know which was the “goal” item

Walking through Doors when both sides aren’t fogged

A lot of small stuff!

Mortmal spotted the free MMO Ultima Online: Endless Journey:

Endless Journey

Ultima Online™: Endless Journey

For over 20 years Ultima Online has given thousands the ability to live in a world born of mystic arts and ancient sorcery. Endless Journey will allow players past and present to return to Britannia and rekindle the magic of this venerable MMO!

Ultima Online: Endless Journey is a way for players to experience the core features of Ultima Online without a paid subscription. Endless Journey accounts will have access to all pre-existing and newly created characters on all shards.

To create a new Endless Journey account visit the account center.

To recover an existing account check out the UO Account Recovery Video Tutorial if you having issues.  If you are continuing to have issues recovering your account contact support.

Please be sure to take a look at the Customer Support page for answers to some common issues and concerns..

The Ultima Store is full of helpful and vanity items to enhance your Endless Journey into the world of Britannia!

If these are your first steps in Britannia, or you are returning home from an extended absence the UO Player Wiki is an excellent resource to acquaint yourself with the realm!

Once in game, the Town Cryer News Network will keep you up to date with the latest goings on in the realm!

Vendor search will help you find other vendors who are selling useful items to assist in your adventures!

The Community in Ultima Online is its greatest resource, and there exist a variety of ways to interact including in game and Global Chat.

You can check out more information on Endless Journey here.

 

Frequently Asked Questions

Overview

What is Endless Journey?

Ultima Online: Endless Journey is a way for players to experience the core features of Ultima Online without a paid subscription. Endless Journey accounts will have access to all pre-existing and newly created characters on all shards.

Who is eligible for Endless Journey?

New accounts and previously paid subscription (veteran) accounts that have been closed for at least 120 days are eligible for Endless Journey.

What do I get with Endless Journey?

Endless Journey accounts receive complimentary access to all Ultima Online expansions through Stygian Abyss. Other expansions can be purchased and applied to an Endless Journey account. Endless Journey accounts have access to the Ultima Online core features and can enjoy exploring Britannia, training character skills, making friendships that will last a lifetime,  and much more!

What types of gameplay can I experience on an Endless Journey account?

Endless Journey  accounts can access Quests, Community Collections, The Virtue System (except Justice), City Loyalty (except elections), Bulk Order Deeds (except bribing), Cleanup Britannia, Zoo Donations, The Void Pool and much more! Most importantly, Endless Journey accounts can be a part of the
community that has allowed Ultima Online to endure for more than two decades!

What does Endless Journey cost?

Endless Journey accounts are free to access.

If I’m playing an Endless Journey account can I upgrade to a veteran account at any time?

Yes! You may upgrade your Endless Journey account to a full veteran subscription at any time.

Can an Endless Journey access the Ultima Store?

Yes! The Ultima Store can be used to purchase a variety of helpful and vanity items for use in game with sovereigns purchased from the Origin Store.

Character

What are the restrictions on building my character’s skills and stats?

None. Characters on an Endless Journey account are eligible for up to the total of 720 skill points and follow the same stat restrictions of a veteran account. Endless Journey accounts may use Scrolls of Alacrity, Power, Stat, and Transcendence.

Can I use a character transfer with an Endless Journey account?

Yes, character transfer tokens can be used to transfer to all shards where character transfers are eligible. Endless Journey accounts may not character copy but can access TC1.

Storage

What kind of access to storage does an Endless Journey account have?

Endless Journey accounts have access to a standard player backpack and a bank box limited to 20 items ( storage expansions can increase the max item count to 28).

What happens to my bank if I am a veteran account and decide to close my account?

Nothing. Your bank will remain waiting for you until you decide to re-subscribe.

Housing & Vendors

Can Endless Journey accounts own a house?

Endless Journey accounts may not place, own, be traded, or co-own a house and may only enter public housing. Endless Journey accounts can be friended to a house for access to wall safes.

Are there other housing related restrictions to Endless Journey?

Endless Journey accounts cannot access mailboxes, locked down or secure containers, drop stackable items onto a locked down stack, or place auction safes. Endless Journey accounts cannot safe logout in housing and must use a city inn or tavern.

Can Endless Journey accounts access Vendor Search and interact with player vendors and auction safes?

Yes, Endless Journey accounts can access Vendor Search and freely purchase items from vendors and auction safes. However they may not place regular and rental vendors or auction safes.

Can Endless Journey accounts collect IDOC loot?

Endless Journey accounts are not able to pickup IDOC loot until a 30-minute cooldown period has passed.

Chat

Can Endless Journey accounts access chat?

Yes, Endless Journey accounts have access to General Chat and Global Direct Messaging.

Dungeons, Combat, and PvP

Can Endless Journey accounts participate in Champ Spawns?

Endless Journey can use Valor to start champion spawns and acquire valor while doing spawns but may not receive rewards or scrolls from Champions.

Can Endless Journey accounts participate in Vice vs Virtue and Player vs Player combat?

Yes, Endless Journey accounts may join guilds to participate in VvV, however are not eligible to create their own guild. While in VvVEndless Journey accounts do not gain town occupation points . Endless Journey accounts may freely participate in PvP however may not use or gain the Justice Virtue and cannot protect or be protected by another player via the Justice Virtue.

Expansions, Boosters, and Theme Packs

Can Endless Journey accounts access dungeons, the Stygian Abyss, and the Valley of Eodon?

Endless Journey accounts have full access to all Trammel and Felucca dungeons, The Second Age, and the Stygian Abyss. Endless Journey accounts may access the Valley of Eodon if they have purchased the Time of Legends expansion.

Are there restrictions on accessing expansions, boosters, and theme packs?

Endless Journey accounts include access to all content up to Mondain’s Legacy and Stygian Abyss. Access to High Seas, The Gothic & Rustic Theme Packs, The King’s Collection, and Time of Legends is available if purchased.

Miscellaneous

Are Endless Journey accounts eligible for veteran, promotional, holiday and Event Moderator rewards?

Endless Journey accounts may not claim veteran rewards and will not gain time towards veteran status, however they may use otherwise claimed and obtained veteran rewards. Endless Journey accounts may not claim promotional, holiday, or Event Moderator rewards and cannot attack Event Moderator creatures.

Can an Endless Journey account harvest resources from the world?

Endless Journey accounts may only harvest basic resources such as iron ore and regular lumbar and are not eligible for double resource bonuses in Felucca. Endless Journey accounts may use pack animals to assist in their harvesting efforts and can receive Mondain’s Legacy resource rewards. Endless Journey accounts may not use commodity deeds.

Can an Endless Journey account use the Pet Summoning Ball, Bracelet of Binding, and Bag or Chest of Sending?

Endless Journey accounts may use the Pet Summoning Ball and Bracelet of Binding, but may not use the Bag or Chest of Sending.

Can Endless Journey accounts board and place ships?

Endless Journey accounts may board regular and if purchased, High Seas ships. Endless Journey accounts may not place a ship.

Stygian Abyss

What is Stygian Abyss?

Ultima Online Stygian Abyss features a new playable race, the Gargoyles, a new realm known as Ter Mur, and a new dungeon named Stygian Abyss. This dungeon is the largest in Ultima Online to date, with new monsters, tricks, and treasures. Ultima Online Stygian Abyss includes three new skills, pets, craftables, items and housing design tiles.

IndieGames reviewed Castle Agony which released on Steam late March.

Supernatural pest control isn't a glamorous job, but at least your dog gets to come along!

In Castle Agony, players will guide their character through the halls by clicking around, moving through haunted corridors filled with challenging puzzle mechanisms and irate hauntings. As they explore, players can find an array of odd parts and tools, which they can then combine into stuff that might be useful like molotovs and healing potions. Although the fact that you've come to the castle to steal anything that isn't nailed down might be part of why the vampire doesn't much care for your village and its inhabitants. Food for thought.

[...]

Yellow Brick Road asked about Funcom's Mutant Year Zero: Road to Eden in a podcast.

In episode #16 we dive into the world of the classic game “Mutant” and Funcom’s upcoming game “Mutant Year Zero: Road to Eden”. And how did ducks in popular culture go from silly to cool? Guests: Game expert, film geek and author Orvar Säfström and Goodbye Kansas stalwarts Tom Olsson and Jonas Skoog.