What is the most promising RPG of 2021? Like every year, you had your say. Check out the details to find out what games our visitors and editors think are most promising.
The latest update for Black Geyser: Couriers of Darkness is abaout the four centers of power in Yerengal.
Centers of global power in Yerengal
In our current update, we will discuss the most important centers of power in Yerengal that may directly or indirectly affect the plot of Black Geyser: Couriers of Darkness:
Northern Isilmerald (ruled by King Velianrick, his Court is located in the capity city of Isilbright)
Southern Isilmerald (governed by a rebel Council of Nobles from the city of Deron-Guld)
The Northern Realm (governed by the twin cities of Freynagar and Riznagar)
The Eastern Empires (many semi-autonomous nations controlled by Elenuator, a demigod)
Northern Isilmerald
The kingdom of Isilmerald is currently torn in half due to the civil war that erupted in the wake of the Curse of Greed. The northern half is governed from the capitol, Isilbright, by the rightful ruler King Velianrick. While he is supported by most of the nobility, the rest of the populace does not think so highly of him. The commoners of Isilbright are becoming ever more displeased by the luxurious lifestyles led by the lords and ladies at the expense of their own well-being. Isilbright currently holds the upper hand in terms of military power, but their resources are dwindling, and a drawn out conflict could surely tip the scales in favor of the rebels in the south.
King Velianrick tries to maintain his image as the absolute ruler of Isilmerald, refusing to acknowledge the souther rebellion as a valid threat to the kingdom. He treats the Rillow traders of the east as harshly as ever – hoping to stabilize the economy through their heavy taxation -, and maintains neutral diplomacy with the Northern Realm.
Southern Isilmerald
Southern Isilmerald is ruled over by a rebellious group of nobles, under the military leadership of the War Council. The Council consists of the nine strongest lords and ladies of the south, but many other have joined the fight against the king. The rebellion is coordinated from Deron-Guld, a prosperous mining city surrounded by the mountain ranges marking the southern border of Isilmerald. While currently the fighting forces of Deron-Guld are less organized and well-equipped than the soldiers of Isilbright, time is on their side. The mines and land they took hold of will support the war effort for possibly years to come. All would seem well for the rebellion, if not for the surprisingly potent illness that started decimating the people of Deron-Guld.
The War Council tries to show an open and cooperative attitude towards the neighbors of the kingdom. They maintain a steady trading relationship with the Rillows of the Eastern Empires.
The Northern Realm
The Northern Realm is a narrow slice of land consisting of boreal forests and snowy mountains, situated between the Kingdom of Isilmerald and the frozen, inhospitable wastes roamed by the Jötnar. It is the home of humans, dwarves and white elves alike. The Realm is governed from the twin cities of Freynagar and Riznagar, their rulers traditionally working together in upkeeping peace an order in their territory. The current pair of rulers however, have had long lasting grudges against one another. Their disputes have worsened to the point where armed conflict wasn’t out of the question anymore. That was when the Keeper of the Peaceful Winter stepped in. This ancient, mighty being keeps his watch over the Northern Realm and its peoples, ensuring that peace and order stands. The lord of Freynagar was the one who overstepped the line in the end, and for that, the Keeper erected an immense dome of magical ice over the port city, sealing it from the outside world.
By to the Keeper of the Peaceful Winter’s will, the Northern Realm maintains relatively neutral relations with the other nations of Yerengal. Most of their trade routes lead into Isilbright and the Lands of Zida-Suda.
The Eastern Empires
The Eastern Empires – called so by the people of Isilmerald - are a vast set of semi-autonomous nations among the deserts to the east of Isilmerald. They are lorded over by a powerful Djinni by the name of Elenuator. The westernmost nation among them, inhabited by the Rillows, plays an important role in the conflict in the uprising in Isilmerald. Their great trading road, the Tarq Al’azim spans many lands, and opened way for system of trading never seen before. The both sides of the conflict in Isilmerald might end up depending on their seemingly endless resources, and the Rillow will provide these resources gladly for either. It’s just a question of gold.
Their military force is said to be immense either, and both factions have interests in trying to win the Rillow over to their sides. If these rumors are true, the Rillows could become the deciding factor in the civil war. However, they did their best to stay neutral so far. Might this change in the times to come?
This charming "micro RPG" is one of 2021's early gems.
Loop Hero is the rehydrated essence of a dozen misremembered, ancient games. From the moment the 16-color title screen fades in alongside dramatic chiptunes, you feel like you're playing some forgotten, VGA-era fantasy RPG, a game that still contains some of the mystery and difficulty of 1991, but gently modernized to 2021.
This isn't nostalgia for nostalgia's sake. Loop Hero presents a novel and dead-simple gameplay format that's strangely engrossing, considering much of your time playing it is hands-off
[...]
The spirit of early-'90s fantasy games, cleverly revived in an original and digestible form. Score: 83/100
Ultimate ADOM: Caverns of Chaos by Assemble Entertainment is the sequel to the well regarded and long-standing rogue-like Ancient Domains of Mystery (ADOM). Ultimate ADOM is more focused than ADOM, being entirely about dungeon crawling and exploration, while also having a much greater variety of build and character options.
Ultimate ADOM currently features four different predefined characters as well as the ability to build your own custom characters. The character options for customs are pretty wide. You pick a faction, a gender (from six options), one of four races, and one of five classes, and then have a number of points that varies by class across several categories and twenty six different skill trees. Each class has different access to the different categories, with wizards having the most access to arcane magic, priests to divine magic, warriors to weapons, etc. On level up, characters get access to skill points that they can use for skills in different categories defined by the class. These are mostly obvious based on the character’s role but there are at least a few levels where you have the ability to customize with skills that aren’t normally available, and thus create a unique build.
Explorminatechecked out the DLC Fantasy General II: Evolution:
Fantasy General II: Evolution
Fantasy General II has a distinct lack of dull moments. Whether you’re playing as the Norse-inspired barbarians or the necromancy-fueled Empire, the sheer amount of content leaves you unable to disengage. Though I was initially unsure of how interested I was, thanks in part to its uninspired title, I was quickly converted into a fan once I held my breath and dove in. Battles can get intense. You’ll likely have to manage a dozen or more units spread across multiple fronts if you want to acquire the many rewards of each map.
What is Fantasy General II?
To fully grasp what the Evolution DLC brings to the table, you have to understand what Fantasy General II itself is. If you’ve already dabbled yourself, you’re forgiven for skipping ahead to the next section.
Fantasy General II is a turn-based tactical game that is built upon a foundation of persistent units that are carried over from on scenario to the next. Think Panzer Corps but with dragons, wizards, and walking corpses instead of tanks and bombers.
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The Bottom Line
Evolution is yet another story DLC that’s been released for the already exceptional Fantasy General II. New factions and campaigns are always welcome in the genre and both of these are of a solid quality that’s unlikely to disappoint those returning for another go with the title. I highly recommend the expansion to the converted, but I’d also warn that it doesn’t reinvent the game, and if you found yourself uninterested in it prior to the DLC, this release is unlikely to drastically change your opinion.
The Lich has thrown the world into a timeless loop and plunged its inhabitants into never ending chaos. Wield an expanding deck of mystical cards to place enemies, buildings, and terrain along each unique expedition loop for the brave hero. Recover and equip powerful loot for each class of hero for their battles and expand the survivors' camp to reinforce each adventure through the loop. Unlock new classes, new cards, and devious guardians on your quest to shatter the endless cycle of despair.
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Infinite Adventure: Select from unlockable character classes and deck cards before setting out on each expedition along a randomly generated loop path. No expedition is ever the same as the ones before it.
Plan Your Struggle: Strategically place building, terrain, and enemy cards along each loop to create your own dangerous path. Find balance between the cards to increase your chances of survival while recovering valuable loot and resources for your camp.
Loot and Upgrade: Strike down menacing creatures, recover stronger loot to equip on the fly and unlock new perks along the way.
Expand Your Camp: Turn hard-earned resources into campsite upgrades and gain valuable reinforcements with each completed loop along the expedition path.
Save the Lost World: Overcome a series of unholy guardian bosses over a grand saga to save the world and break the time loop of the Lich!
That Video Game Blog team checked out the tactical RPG Dreadlands:
TEAM REVIEW / Dreadlands (PC)
I love a good tactics game. These titles when they’re done well are like chess on steroids. The other nice thing about this particular sub-genre of strategy gaming is that the majority of these titles are turn-based which gives you time to think and plan. Now I know some of you will prefer the RTS genre and I totally understand why. I loved Starcraft 2 and Command & Conquer as much as the rest of you, but I like the thinking room that a turn-based title gives you better. The game we’re looking at today is of the turn based variety and it’s called Dreadlands. For me, this is a game of two halves and I’ll explain why in a little bit.
For this particular escapade, I’ve brought the other strategy specialist on the TVGB team along for the ride with me. My good friend Albert E. will be throwing his ten cents into the mix and we’ll be seeing what we agree on and of course what we don’t.
In the latest part of articles about the Gamedec universe, The Slums are featured. Although that is not what they really are.
Ok, we have to admit something. "Slums" is a buzzword created by our designers. There are no "slums" in Warsaw City. How do we call this location in our game? A mushroom. A mushroom of workers building Warsaw City.
The real "slums" of Warsaw is the Undercity. Ground Cleaners clean the ruins of the old Warsaw. This is where the outcasts live, some of them using technological advances, but most are often cut off from the grid. They have their own language, their tribes, use night vision equipment to see better, and are generally hostile to possible "guests" from above.
Check out this piece of art by Marcin Jakubowski. It is an illustration created for the second book of the Gamedec saga - Locomotive Salesmen.
Let's check our in-game codex for more details about this particular area:
„The authorities realized that new cities, capable of housing tens of millions of people, needed to be built. Vertical cities. Fields. Projects of giant towers already existed at that time (like New Tokyo), so there was something to build on.
The towers' construction problem was that for their foundations, large quarters of Warsaw had to be demolished, which met with apparent protest from the indigenous inhabitants. Workers originating from the capital refused to work in most cases. However, some immigrant professionals undertook the effort. And they were hated for this. There were acts of hostility. Assaults, casualties. The companies erecting the towers were forced to create workers' habitats on "mushroom" - structures challenging to access by ordinary residents.
Try to imagine structures resembling tall toadstools erected in demolished neighborhoods, surrounded by a surging, angry mob. Now imagine the foundations of massive towers rising beside them. Now the mushrooms stand abandoned in great towers of gigantic cities. Their finials (hats) are below the lowest walkways of the city. They are often uninhabited because undercity savages don't know how to climb them, and no one else wants to fly there. However, suppose someone flies up to such a mushroom. In that case, he will see a strange, old structure (130 years old), which is decorated with various "additives" - pieces of stained-glass windows of churches and different other architectural elements from the old Warsaw.
You seek untold riches, eternal life, divine powers - it leads to this accursed temple, a seemingly-infinite labyrinth of bottomless pits, deadly traps, and monsters.
MAIN FEATURES
A skill-based roguelike exploring a cruel, dark temple made of endless rooms and corridors
Swords, spears, bows, guns - wield these and many more
Light and fire will be your best allies to overcome the threats that lie in the shadows
Unique curses influence each attempt, putting a twist on every action
Dozens of enemies, with powerful champions and deadly bosses to face off against
The Life and Suffering of Sir Brante has been released!
The Life and Suffering of Sir Brante is a narrative-driven text-based RPG set in a ruthless medieval realm that comes to life on the pages of the protagonist's journal.
Who will he become — a judge, an inquisitor, or a rebel? The choice is yours!
Gamepressure reports that Hidden Path Entertainment is working on a new Dungeons & Dragons RPG, maybe with a Ravenloft setting:
AAA Open-world Dungeons & Dragons RPG Revealed
We've learned that the developers at Defense Grid are working on a AAA open-world fantasy RPG that will be set in one of the Dungeons & Dragons settings.
Hidden Path Entertainment, the studio behind the Defense Gridseries, is working on a high-budget open-world RPG based on the Dungeons & Dragons license. The team is currently looking for employees for the project. From the job offers published on the company's website, we know that the game is being created on Unreal Engine 4 and that we will lead a party of heroes in it.
We don't know yet in which D&D universe the game will be set. Currently, the world of Forgotten Realms is the most popular, but in the case of this project it may be different. The team responsible for the story is led by Whitney Beltrán, who co-created the upcoming Van Richten's Guide to Ravenloft expansion for the tabletop Dungeons & Dragons. The gothic horror world of Ravenloft has rarely appeared in video games, so setting the action of Hidden Path Entertainment's upcoming RPG there would be more interesting than another visit to the Forgotten Realms.
Here is the February Kickstarter update for Gamedec
It's time to share with you what was happening in the development of Gamedec for the past month. We have some pretty exciting news to share, so bear with us and dive deep into our changelog.
Let's start with a completely new Loading Screen system. We decided it needs tweaking and now it's more immersive. What's new? There is information regarding the place where you're heading with a clear distinction if it's a sensory world or just plain Realium. We also added more graphics and some cool animations to make it more pleasant.
Profession and Deduction trees are very important in terms of gameplay but also pure visual style. We sat down with Designers and UI Artists, answered some fundamental questions which resulted in some major changes to these two mechanics. The core is the same, but the visuals and the UI will be easier to comprehend and use.
One of the major issues feedbacked after releasing the Backer's Build was about the dialogues and the overall writing quality. We're making everything we can to make sure the final release build will be as polished as possible and you will see the improvement in the updated version of our demo which is coming soon to all of our Kickstarter Backers.
Ah yes, the sounds. The lack of music and SFX in the first demo was widely discussed and we know this is the field we really need to show you what we have in mind. We expanded our talented team of sound designers. They work very hard to deliver a memorable experience. Modified SFX, mood music, and some ambient sounds will create a perfect gaming harmony. Trust us, you REALLY want to hear what we're preparing for the final release.
The most noticeable update will be the improved lighting system for the upcoming Backer's Build update. We might spoil a little bit for you right now. Check out the screenshots below from Yeti's Coming and Low City streets.
We're really hitting the point in which every team member has a lot to do and there is no time to waste. This is why we're all hands on deck to deliver even better character animations and visual effects. This is the news we were very excited to share. Thanks to unlocking more character skins in our Kickstarter campaign, you will have the opportunity to pick your favourite avatar at the start of the game. Check our previous video about character creation to see what we have in mind. Right now, we can spoil a little bit about a female model, that will be available in the upcoming Backer's Build update.
And last, but not least – we are preparing a new case in an unrevealed location, which requires a lot of modeling and SFX creation. This is it, no more details yet, but we cannot wait to show you a glimpse of what our team has prepared. As always, it would be something completely different from what you've seen yet. Happily, Gamedecverse is flexible in terms of available games and settings.
This concludes today's report. Let us know what would like to find out next time. We'll be back in a month with more concepts and WIP assets
Lots of words are coming to you on Steam in the form of the narative RPG Cyberpunkdreams.
Forget your empathy. Survive our future. Jack into cyberpunkdreams, a text-based RPG deep dive into Ohio's dystopian future
Live, survive and uncover a conspiracy in 2090s Cincinnati
Cambridge, UK - January 7, 2021 - Independent studio Late Night Games is proud to announce that their free-to-play narrative RPG cyberpunkdreams is coming to Steam this summer, with support for Windows, Mac & Linux. Set in a chaotic and dehumanizing alternate future, the game puts players on a deadly quest to the darkest corners of corporate-run Cincinnati - from the bleak wastelands surrounding the city, through the rain-slick squalor of its hazy neon streets, up to the glistening chrome spires at the city's opulent heart.
A continually expanding text-based RPG, cyberpunkdreams asks players to carve out their own identity in this dystopian cityscape. Through quests, stats, equipment choices and more, players can define their character as a smooth-talking socialite, a hawk-eyed purveyor of secrets, a cybernetically augmented street tough, a master hacker or anything in-between. Player choices are important, with real, lasting impact. On these mean streets, who you know and who you can tap for favors is almost as important as who you are.
cyberpunkdreams boasts over 1.6 million words of interactive prose, delivered through thousands of interlinked story vignettes filled with meaningful decisions and stylish illustrations. A single small choice in one scene can snowball into an unexpected sequence of consequences, making cyberpunkdreams' bleak vision of the future feel all the more alive and unpredictable as it continually expands.
In development since 2013, Late Night Games plan to support the game through regular free content updates, adding new areas to explore, new story arcs to discover and more characters to befriend, deceive or destroy, along with new opportunities to develop the skills necessary to tackle bigger, more dangerous jobs. Life in 2090s Cincinnati moves fast, and doesn't stop until you're bagged and tagged.
Designed to be accessible to interactive fiction newcomers, yet deep enough for veterans, cyberpunkdreams takes an organic (and sometimes cybernetic) approach to character development. Every challenge, win or lose, defines your skills and teaches potentially painful lessons. Every change in outfit changes how the world perceives you, and very little about your character is permanently set in stone - not even your gender. cyberpunkdreams takes a flexible approach to sexuality and identity, as you'd expect from the 2090s.
More details are available onwww.cyberpunkdreams.com. The full game will be free-to-play onSteam, supported by optional microtransactions.
Wccftech interviewed the developers of Rustler dubbing it 'Grand Theft Horse'. Also The Sixth Axis have a preview of Rustler of which they say it evokes early GTA roots.
Despite the retro sensibilities and approach, Rustler doesn’t go for the expected pixellated aesthetic; instead opting for an almost cel-shaded look that is pretty easy on the eyes. Everything is clear and easy to distinguish, even when you end up surrounded by enemies. The exception to this, though, is the lack of any transparency when you go behind buildings. This led to a number of frustrating moments when I found myself stuck behind obstacles or caught by guards without being able to see what was happening.
In terms of structure and gameplay, this is pure old-school GTA. Whilst working your way through the main quest narrative, you’ll have the opportunity to carry out side missions for different characters, with occasional roadblocks requiring you to have earned enough money to continue. The beta build contains a complete narrative arc but more sidequests and missions are promised before the full release. On the whole these missions offered a nice mix of fetch quests, escort missions and combat but inevitably the dated mechanics began to feel a little repetitive during the 6 hours or so I played. There was also a lack of clarity in several missions where it took me a few tries to work out what the game wanted me to do.
[...]
How big is the open world in Rustler? Are there multiple towns and hamlets? How long would it take to cross the world?
Rustler has the biggest open world compared to all our previous games. We have two islands which include two cities, a few smaller villages, and a few different camps. It will take around two minutes to ride from the East side of the map to the West side.
In Grand Theft Auto, causing mayhem inevitably leads to big police chases. Will Rustler also feature something of the sort, with increasingly tougher guards pursuing the main character?
Players will be chased by police for breaking local laws, such as: stealing horses, fighting with people, or even killing. With each "wanted level" police will become stronger and more intelligent, also guards on horses may appear at higher "wanted level" as well as guards with crossbows and other melee weapons or knights with tougher armor and better fighting skills, etc.
Did you consider any cooperative (or competitive) multiplayer options? Are those still on the table as post-launch additions?
At the early stages of the creation of Rustler, we were prototyping such features. We were constantly asking our fans about what they expect from the game. Most of them were focused on the single player mode. For sure, we will reconsider co-op or multiplayer when there will be enough voices or interest.
An enhanced edition / DLC for the classic strategy title Master of Magic called Caster of Magicwill be released soon on Steam:
Caster of Magic for Windows is coming soon.
It is an upgraded edition of a classic which allows you to run it natively on Windows for the first time. A new edition of Caster of Magic is coming soon.
Caster of Magic for WIndows is an upgraded edition of Caster of Magic which allows you to run it natively on Windows for the first time, as well as supporting higher screen resolutions.
It also contains countless improvements for Caster of Magic, including new spells, game options, UI and AI improvements. It is the ultimate edition of Master of Magic, brought by the fans to the modern era.
NEW FEATURES IN CASTER OF MAGIC FOR WINDOWS
- Runs natively in Windows - Freely resizeable game window, not locked to any specific aspect ratio - Up to 13 enemy wizards - Variable map size - Additional game modes/options - 21 new spells - Improved UI and production queue system - Improved AI - Seamless, procedurally generated terrain - Improved item creation, new item powers - More diplomacy messages which now all depend on the AI's personality
We're currently looking for beta testers to help us test Caster of Magic for Windows, so if you're willing to help us out you can sign up here.
About the developer:
Caster of Magic started out as a mod, championed by Seravy and building on top of the already popular community patch. Caster of Magic has been a fan favorite of the Master of Magic community and we are pleased to be able to work with Seravy to officially integrate Caster of Magic, giving him the recognition he deserves.
Urtuk: The Desolation (Urtuk) by David Kaleta (also known as Mad Sheep Studios) is a turn-based tactical strategy game where you play a character named Urtuk, who has just escaped from a lab after being subjected to horrific experiments that will eventually kill him. Now he is searching for a cure, and will steadily recruit allies from the world at large to use in tactical turn-based battles in pursuit of his survival. Overview
Urtuk begins with character selection, letting you pick three characters from one of the available factions. In the beginning, only the human faction is unlocked, but every faction in the game is available in one form or another once the conditions required to unlock them are met. Additionally, you pick three mutations to start with. The bulk of them are available from the start but winning with a faction unlocks three more, and some can be obtained through faction unlocks are found nowhere else in the game.
Characters are defined by their class, stats, equipment, mutations, and their bonus capabilities vs. a randomized, specific unit class. Class determines a lot about a character, including what they can equip, starting and developed abilities, and what actions they can take. The mix of these is always unique, and no two character classes start from the same point, though some of them can end up at similar endpoints. For example, there are multiple classes that feature the billhook weapon and many of them have the ability to close a greater distance than is indicated by their movement rating, then locking down an opponent with the Engaging Strikes ability. Armor and weapons also determine what kind of damage the character will do, how effective they will be vs. armor, and finally how many bonus mutations their gear provides.
[...]
Conclusion
Urtuk: The Desolation is very good. While it is not perfect, and that is perhaps philosophically impossible to achieve anyway, it does a lot of things right and is a very enjoyable experience. I have enjoyed my time with the game and fully expect to get dozens, if not hundreds, of more hours of the game in years to come. It is something I can easily suggest to most any turn-based tactical RPG aficionado, and will (hopefully) make many of them very, very happy.
You’ll need power and skills to survive in the world of Alaloth. To possess them however, you will first have to choose a Way of Power and a Profession. Today we’ll take a deeper look into the Way of Gods, one of the three Ways of Power you’ll be able to choose from.
In the world of Plamen, you are never alone. A god or two is always watching over you, guiding you, giving you strength, or cursing your enemies. Following the Way of Gods, a champion will have the power to gain boons and abilities from a plethora of deities; some good, some evil—depending on a champion’s wishes. The gods channel their power through champions that they feel are worthy of possessing it, channeling spells that heal or kill as needed.
Patch 1.3.3 for Wasteland 3 brings new features, including respecing and perma-death mode.
Do you remember that time we offered a new difficulty mode that was easier than easy, and it caused everyone in the community to think we’d lost our minds? We remember. We remember it so hard that we’ve been tossing and turning in our beds thinking of a way to show you we hadn’t lost our minds. Because we haven’t lost our minds. We haven’t, so stop saying we have, Mother! Early March we’re targeting the release of Patch 1.3.3, lovingly titled “Death & Taxes.” You can tell that we’re not messing around here. This is exactly the sort of update that those among you who chided the idea of a story mode are going to love. And we get it, because pain is fun. In this update we’re adding a few new features, including Permanent Death (aka “Permadeath”), an optional Difficult Skill Checks Mode, and Respeccing. Read on for the gory details.
“Permadeath” Mode
No matter how many bullets fly past you or how many enemies you’re assaulting at one time, you’re never really going to feel the threat of despair until you’re able to lose a character. And by lose, we don’t mean misplace, we mean lose to death. With permadeath, you’re going to get exactly that because it works exactly how you think it should. When activated at a game’s start, it turns your nearly immortal-ish digital characters into something more or less mortal (for a video game), and means they’ll croak when their health reaches zero.
One other important note here is that we’ve made the decision to keep Permadeath as a single player-only feature which cannot be enabled in multiplayer. As much fun as is to watch your friends subjected to painful and horrific video gae deaths, co-op splits the team down the middle, and one player losing everyone and then watching for (potentially) hs until the other can make it back to Ranger HQ just isn’t a good time.
The Permanent Death feature also cannot be disabled once you have opted in at the start of your game. So choose, and choose wisely.
When life runs out a Ranger will go into a Downed state, and you'll have X rounds to bring them back into the battle. If you fail to do so you'd normally be able to bring them back with a Nitro Spike or visit to a Doc, but with Permadeath turned on party members permanently DIE. This is really going to bum someone out who didn’t read the fine print.
Once a party member shuffles off their mortal coil, their Party Portrait is removed from the HUD and other game interfaces, and they can no longer be selected or used. This is because they are dead.
Lest you thought that you would be able to commune with the dead via the Party Screen back at HQ, you cannot. Much as necromancers would have you believe otherwise, you cannot add the dead back into your party.
God forbid, if all Rangers in your party are killed permanently at any one time, you will earn a non-negotiable, do-not-pass-go, Game Over death screen. This is because the light of life has been extinguished from the party and the forces of evil have triumphed. Unless you were the forces of evil, in which case perhaps the forces of light and good prevailed when they killed you.
As an additional note, permanent death enabled games will be noted as such in the save game directory menu – that way you’ll have a good idea at a glance at which of your sessions are more prone to give you indigestion and make your heart palpitate wildly from time to time.
Difficult Skill Checks
Perhaps the idea of permanently dead Rangers isn’t your speed? Or maybe you’re looking for the ultimate challenge with Supreme Jerk, Permadeath, AND something that’ll put your point-spending prowess to the test. Introducing Difficult Skill Checks Mode.
This option is toggleable when starting a new game on the Select Difficulty Window, within the Customize Difficulty sub-menu. When turned on, this will increase all skill checks in the game by +2, up to a maximum of 10.
World interactions (Ex: locked doors)
Conversation interactions (Ex: kiss-ass checks in conversations)
Hacking and Taming checks on animals and robots
Item skill requirements on gear (ex: weapons have skill requirements)
Attribute requirements on gear (ex: heavy armor requires strength)
(Look. We know. We know it's not just skills. But we wanted to go the extra mile for you. Yes, you, reading this, right now. You're worth it.)
This optional mode was designed to force your Ranger team to hyper-specialize to be successful, making your jack-of-all-trades 'master-of-all' party no longer possible. This is great for a 2nd run-through if you want to be forced into some hard character build decisions.
Respec Feature
Also coming in 1.3.3, you’re going to be able to re-specialize your characters, with a caveat or two. Firstly, this can only happen back at Ranger HQ, within the Manage Squad screen. HQ is a relatively warm and comfortable place, so naturally it makes sense that we’d offer such a posh option there. Secondly, there will be a cost for respeccing or recruiting Rangers beyond the first two at HQ. No one teaches for free (except maybe those folks on YouTube) so expect to eventually shell out some in-game coin to be able to do so.
If you are loading a pre-1.3.3 save beyond the initial recruitment point at Ranger HQ, we’re still going to offer you two more free recruit customizations. Beyond that, the cost for respeccing increases by 1.75x (rounded to the nearest $50), up to a maximum of $3000, each time you use it. Additionally, Hiring and Retraining fees increase across the entire squad, not per-character.
Character Customization Additions
When you’re digging into that new Permadeath run you’re going to be able to do so in style. It’s not like a cool helmet design is necessarily going to save the day, but it might just make you feel badass enough to do the thing that makes the thing happen that blows up the thing. In Patch 1.3.3 we’re baking in 23 new character customization options (tattoos, scars, and helmets) that were born of another partnership with renown post-apoc costume designers. We’ll share more specific details about those in an upcoming article. Stay tuned.
Colorado’s just getting warmed up.
Well heck! We’re not even into the meat of the year and Colorado is already looking 100% finer than it did at the close of 2020. Did we mention 1.3.3 is getting a heck-ton* of improvements and fixes as well? Well it is! Full patch notes will be delivered when the patch goes live next month.
Valheim review: a challenging and rewarding Early Access survival adventure
Explore, craft, build, fight, and survive in a massive and engaging open world.
It's my first trip across the ocean on my tiny wooden raft and I'm holding my torch nervously as I peer through the pitch-black night. I feel intensely vulnerable. I've never left my starter island before and I have no idea what's waiting out there in Valheim's massive procedurally generated world. After a long, tense night of sailing I finally set foot on a new continent, and immediately discover what looks like a village. That's a surprise—I didn't know there were villages in Valheim. The village is full of draugrs. I didn't know there were draugrs, either.
The mob of undead warriors bash me with axes and bombard me with arrows. I flee and sail home miserably with little to show for my hours of exploration save for badly degraded weapons and armor and a few draugr entrails from the two I managed to slay. I decide I'm never going back there. Ever. But the discovery of draugr intestines has given me a new recipe for sausages, so I stuff the rotting entrails with boar meat and flavor them with thistle in my cauldron. Then I eat them, my eyes widening as my health bar grows to twice the size it's ever been.
I am going back to the draugr village immediately. I need more sausages. I am now in the sausage business.
Dungeon Maker Showcase - Create your own Dungeons!
Hey there folks,
You wanted it, we wanted it - modding tools to create your very own adventures in Solasta. We didn't make any promises back during our Kickstarter as we weren't sure we'd be able to make it before launch... But today we're happy to announce the Dungeon Maker - a map editor that will be accessible in-game to each and everyone of you! And we're not just making promises with a few screenshots here - here's a full video to show you what the Dungeon Maker is, and how it works!
Will the Dungeon Maker be fully complete when Solasta 1.0 launches? No, the Dungeon Maker will be in a beta state for quite some time - even after the 1.0 launch of Solasta. In order to have a playable version of the Dungeon Maker and avoid putting the main game at risk, we've decided to start small and add features as we go (rather than being too ambitious from the start).
What are the current features of the Dungeon Maker?
Freely create dungeon layouts using a selection of preset rooms
Link multiple maps together to create larger dungeons
One environment available for now, the Necropolis, with its set of environmental props to decorate your dungeon
Almost all monsters and items from Solasta: Crown of the Magister main campaign to create your encounters and loot
A selection of traps (just a few for now) to punish greedy adventurers
Easy to share online, it's a simple .json file in a folder. We plan to add Steam Workshop later on so it becomes even easier to share.
What are the future features planned for the Dungeon Maker? Provided we see people using the Dungeon Maker, we plan to add a Quest system, Merchants and other environments. After that... time will tell!
Can I import my own monsters / items in the Dungeon Maker? No, at least not using the official Dungeon Maker tool on its own. That being said, it might become possible through the use of other community-created mods, as some have already started to create new classes and archetypes - so new items / monsters may not be an impossibility in the long run!
Where can I share my creation / download other people's Dungeon Maker maps? While Solasta will eventually be on Steam Workshop later, in the meantime you could always take a look at Nexusmod - where you can already find mods from community members adding new feats, archetypes and other creative ideas! Note that we (Tactical Adventures) do not guarantee anything when it comes to user created mods - some may not work at all.
When will the Dungeon Maker be available? Soon! That's all we can tell you for now :D
DSOGaming reports on a leaked gameplay trailer for Elden Ring.
It appears that a gameplay trailer for Elden Ring has been leaked online. Elden Ring is a new action-adventure RPG from the creators of the Dark Souls games, and below you can find an off-cam video showing 7 seconds from its leaked gameplay trailer.
The Turn Based Loverschecked out the upcoming tactical / turn-based games:
On The Radar - March 2021
All the releases of the month.
About choices and consequences
"We are our choices" – Jean-Paul Sartre
One of the most recurring topic for an aged videogamer/RPG addicted like me is: "Be sure that the story of our game will be heavily influenced by your CHOICES!". I mean, anyone who has ever played, just for once, a pen & paper RPG is well aware that the beauty and the charm of this particular kind of hobby lies in the unpredictability of the player’s choices and in the consequent impact of them on the story. To better explain what I want to say, I’m going to tell you about what happened to me the very first time I’ve played to a P&P RPG. We were a group of five or six friends, everyone in their late teens, and we were playing to D&D (don’t ask me which version, I’m not an expert…). There was a great atmosphere: laughter, tension and chips were everywhere, and we were really enjoying our adventure, thanks also to a skilled dungeon master. At a certain point, our characters were in front of a cave with a very narrow entrance. Everybody knew that the inside the cave was full of strong monsters (if I’m not wrong, they were some kind of lizard fighters…) and the idea of going into the cave one at a time was almost a suicide. We were in a deadlock… But, suddenly, I had an idea. I asked every player what kind of items they were carrying, and, among a pile of junk, I found exactly what I was looking for, the DEFINITIVE WEAPON: a…uh… strange herb. Nobody really knew what it was for, but I decided to do something a bit crazy with it. First of all, I started a fire very close to the entrance of the cave and then I decided to burn the herb on it. Not satisfied with all this, I used my cloak with the purpose to direct the smoke into the cave.
Shamroxor spotted patch 1.11 for Knights of the Chalice II:
Update #44: KotC 2 Version 1.11 Adds High-Res Sprites For All Monsters!
Hello everyone! Version 1.11 of KotC 2 Augury of Chaos is now available for download here for both Windows and macOS. The main change is the addition of new animated sprites for monsters. Hurray! ^_^
With the addition of monster sprites from Pioneer Valley Games, the KotC 2 file size has now increased from about 1 GB to about 2 GB. I have now assigned a sprite to all the characters and monsters.
I did my best to find a matching sprite for all the creatures even though we're missing sprites for some of them. We're missing the Giant Snake, Snakeman, Giant Frog, Evil Eye, Psionic Beetle, Rust Monster, Giant Crab, Formian, Giant Scorpion, Gorgon, Hydra, Roc, Mimic, Mummy, Gelatinous Cube, Vrock, Marilith, Mantis and Centaur. I'll hire someone to create additional sprites after the game is on Steam. Right now, I think it's better for me to focus on the other remaining things needed by the game.
Winged characters can now have black, red, blue, green or white wings.
Skeletons deserve a special mention as they exist as both stand-alone monster sprites and modular character sprites. Modular sprites are for characters, they are designed to allow the display of weapons and armour on top of the character's body.
You'll find the 'Skeleton' option in the list of body types, which can be found either in the editor when you look at the Creature Properties screen and click on the 'Sprite' button, or in the character sheet of party members when you click on the token image in the top-left corner of the sheet (out of combat).
In addition to sprites, I've added hundreds of new dialogue icons that can be accessed within the Script Editor. Those icons are displayed in the top-left corner of the screen when talking to NPCs.
Now that the game has sprites for both characters and monsters, it can be played from start to finish with the 'Display Creatures Using Animated Sprites' option turned on.
Of course, I did some combat tests yesterday and I noticed a bunch of graphical glitches when playing with the sprites, such as the Confusion effect being displayed on the legs of a character rather than the head, or the 'item destruction' text being displayed right on top of the name of the item being destroyed. I will fix these issues soon, together with a bug I've just noticed when the AI uses the Slide action.
I also noticed an issue with player-character pathfinding in version 1.10. I've fixed it in version 1.11.
Some of the game options were somewhat hidden in version 1.10. I've added drop-down icons in the game-options screen in order to make it clearer that for some options, such as accelerated combat, you need to click on the option to display a selection box with the various choices.
After a long developmentment time Tortured Hearts has been released:
Tortured Hearts - Or How I Saved The Universe. Again
Tortured Hearts - Or How I Saved The Universe. Again. was created by 1 person with the occasional help of a few others, in 12.5 years. It's a quasi sequel of 2 NWN-1 mods by the title of Tortured Hearts I & II. This is an old fashioned, hard-core CRPG featuring turn-based combat and an estimated 200 hours play time, minimum. TH is supposed to be speed-run proof. The story of the game is about a Seasoned Adventurer who merely was out for a little loot and glory, but finds him/herself getting to the bottom of who actually runs the universe. The story is conversation driven and spans 185 areas in a multiverse, with a potential 8 major henchmen plus a few lesser ones available. Hundreds of NPCs and many meaningful conversations await you. Your behavior and answers in conversation will result in lasting consequences through the game, influencing the henchmen available to you and your relationships with them, the quests available, and the outcomes of quests and the final outcome. There is a very versatile, non-class based character development system. By using different character builds and choosing different actions, there is great re-playability.
Update 3 for Prometheus Wept shows off the Hec8 Labs and a UI Update.
Hi everyone,
I hope you've been keeping well since the last update. The first demo area is very close to complete, with the exception of optimisation, balancing and testing. The more recent focus has been on:
1: Preparing the Hec8 Research Bunker Demo Area This is the second play area to feature in the upcoming demo. Here, you will have to overcome the bunker's mysterious guardian to gain access to the bunker's secrets. An as of yet unannounced feature of the game, which will distinguish it from other games in the genre, will be showcased here. I'll go into more detail on this in the near future, but for the time being, here are a few screen-grabs from the bunker.
2: Improving the UI screens I've also been working on the appearance of the UI screens. Prometheus Wept will have more depth than Vigilantes. This creates a need to display more information, which in turn makes creating a clean and clear UI more challenging. Here's the current character screen for the game.
What's next? After these two jobs, I'm going to add the first permanent ally to the game. In Vigilantes, each ally had a single, unique perk. In Prometheus Wept, each ally will have between 4-8 unique perks and many of these will unlock powerful activated abilities. This will result in a fair amount of extra work, but the pay off will be unique allies who play very differently from one another. I'll update you on the first ally, Ferdia Galloway, a con man and sociopathic mentalist, as soon as he has been added.
If you have any feedback, questions, or comments, do let me know :)
Hi again everyone! Since the community update I posted in January, I've been really eager to post a more informative community update for all of you, getting more into specifics about the game, rather than just talking about the current state that it's in.
Today, I will be showcasing two important aspects of the game, which are, Scanning Mode & Crime. Each one presented unique challenges for me, but I finally feel like they're both in a place that I am happy with.
Let's start with...
Scanning Here's how it works: Upon entering scanning mode, your weapons will be holstered, and you'll be able to see everything near you that can be hacked, as well as any related upgrades that you've made to your scanner. Hacking can only be done while in scanning mode, and will use up some of your suits energy. How much energy the hacking will use is displayed when you look at the item you want to hack.
Hacking Hacking was one aspect I was debating on how to handle while I was developing the game. I wondered if it would be best to have a mix of quickhacks & a hacking mini-game for certain things. I created a few different mini-games for the hacking aspect but none of them ever felt "right" to me. At the end, I decided that hacking should be determined strictly by your characters skill level (skill check), as opposed to it being determined by skill level and then also requiring you to complete a mini-game. So in turn, the only hacking in the game are quickhacks. Here are some of the quickhacks offered in the game:
Some places in the game are restricted, and as expected, these areas have some security measures in place to prevent and catch trespassers. Disabling security cameras in these locations will allow you to pass by the area that the camera is surveilling without being detected.
The Shooter RPG Outriders will be available on April 1. Check out the demo.
Outriders
OUTRIDERS is a 1-3 player co-op RPG shooter set in an original, dark and desperate sci-fi universe.
As mankind bleeds out in the trenches of Enoch, you’ll create your own Outrider and embark on a journey across the hostile planet.
With rich storytelling spanning a diverse world, you’ll leave behind the slums and shanty towns of the First City and traverse forests, mountains and desert in the pursuit of a mysterious signal.
Combining intense gunplay with violent powers and an arsenal of increasingly twisted weaponry and gear-sets, OUTRIDERS offers countless hours of gameplay from one of the finest shooter developers in the industry – People Can Fly.
INTENSITY OF A SHOOTER, DEPTH OF AN RPG OUTRIDERS’ brutal and bloody combat combines frenetic gunplay, violent powers and deep RPG systems to create a true genre hybrid.
A DARK AND DESPERATE JOURNEY Discover the hostile planet of Enoch as you embark on a journey to the source of a mysterious signal.
DYNAMIC 1-3 PLAYER CO-OP Play single-player or join up to two friends in drop-in drop-out co-op as you tackle the horrors of a hyper-evolved planet.
FOUR UNIQUE CLASSES Create and customise your own Outrider and choose from four unique classes each with its own skill tree to define your own playstyle.
SCAVENGE & ADAPT Customise and upgrade your Outrider with countless items of mod-able guns and gear, as you leave humanity behind.
