Really liking what I'm seeing here and think I will most likely back a crowdfunding campaign.
Just wondering, will there be much interaction with NPCs in Subterranea? That is, will there be some dialogue choices to make and ample opportunities to use skills such as diplomacy, bluff, etc.? From the character generation video it appears that you've implemented many of the skills in OGL; even including some which weren't included in ToEE or NWN games. I'm just hoping they all will have their fair share of uses… (As I'm sure we've all had the unfortunate experience playing cRPGs, where certain skills / spells have limited use where others are must-haves).
Hi daveyd. Yes, NPC interaction will be a big focus. The story of the game:
http://cloudninegames.net/story/
is full of intrigue. There is a lord in town whose actions have historically brought much prosperity to the residents, but remains fairly aloof. There are merchant-lords who have formed a cabal and for all intents and purposes run the town. They have their own, unique, sometimes competing, agendas. And there are other adventuring parties that have answered the call that you may need to deal with, one way or another.
Also underground, not all subterranean civilizations are mindless evil minions...
All of these protagonists will have deep, branching dialogue options with choice and consequence.
In fact, I just got a copy of this branching dialogue plugin for Unity to support this, yesterday:
http://www.dialoguer.info/
I'm well aware that every skill should have its fair share of uses - nothing worse than picking skills you want to use in the character creation process and then finding that the developers haven't bothered to let you use them much, or at all, in-game! One of the design principles of Subterranea is to introduce as many pen and paper activities roleplaying activities as I can into a CRPG, so the dialogue skills will be important, as well as non-combat actions like feigning death, appraising, distracting monsters, negotiating difficult environmental challenges, etc. All stuff that a live DM can incorporate easily. Important for a CRPG, so even though turn-based combat remains the focus, there is a lot of fun to be had in other activities.
One of the advantages of implementing the Open Game Content via the Open Gaming License is that I spend zero time on designing a ruleset, playtesting it and balancing it. It's already been playtested and balanced by the massive D&D machine. So I can concentrate on the graphical and physical presentation of Subterranea, as well as ensuring that there is enough content to satisfy the depth of the character creation process, like in areas of skill usage...