Couchpotato's Random RPG News

JDR13 · January 20, 2022

JFarrell71 said:
Pillars having its own system and setting was about 75% of its appeal to me.

This. D&D is better, but I don't get people wanting every game to have the same system. Plus I prefer the art style in PoE to Pathfinder's.

I'm ashamed to say I still haven't played PoE II yet.

Alrik Fassbauer · January 20, 2022

Dafela said:
I believe graphics should be supporting of the story - if the story is dark, so should the graphic, because it is hard for me to be immersed in a setting which doesn't fit with the graphics. So the writing of Pillars of Eternity was dark too, but that wasn't a problem for you - only the graphics?

When I bought the game, I wasn't aware that the story would be so dark. If I knew, I wouldn't have bought it in the first place.

I don't remember any advertisements or previews stating that it had a very dark story.

On the other hand, cynically put, nobody would buy RPGs with "light" stories, so to say, at least not "western style " RPGs. I don't even remember any of that type from within the last 10 years.
Edit : With The Dungeons Of Naheulbeuk probably being the only outlier to that.

Dafela · January 21, 2022

Alrik Fassbauer said:
When I bought the game, I wasn't aware that the story would be so dark. If I knew, I wouldn't have bought it in the first place.

I don't remember any advertisements or previews stating that it had a very dark story.

On the other hand, cynically put, nobody would buy RPGs with "light" stories, so to say, at least not "western style " RPGs. I don't even remember any of that type from within the last 10 years.
Edit : With The Dungeons Of Naheulbeuk probably being the only outlier to that.

Thanks for your answer

I get it that dark moods doesn't have to be for everyone. I don't watch/play horrors because my subconsciousness would take it an replay it. I like those games/movies as immersive art pieces, and I know a lot of people who prefer them as something extraordinary, just I stay away from them.
But Pillars were more too slow for me, maybe one day I will get the right mood and finish it.

Carnifex · January 22, 2022

I do find that almost incredible to believe, JDR. You simply must play the second game at some point, I'd be curious to hear what you think of it on its' own and compared to the first game.

Couchpotato · January 22, 2022

Dying 2 Know More Let's Talk About Parkour With Tymon Smektała

We have some juicy details about parkour for you! Tymon Smektała…, Lead Game Designer knows everything about Dying Light 2 Stay Human, and will reveal some interesting facts about it!

Dying 2 Know Behind The Scenes

The last episode of our Dying 2 Know show was aired last week. Curious how it was created? Join us for yet another short journey where we show you the behind the scenes footage!

Couchpotato · January 22, 2022

Lost Eidolons - January 2022 Dev Update

January development update with ODS Creative Director of Lost Eidolons, Jin Sang. This lighter month's features shows new cutscenes, models, designs, scenarios, and more!

Master of Magic Remake - January 2022 Developer Diary

Diplomacy is an integral part of the Master of Magic gameplay. It refers to the interaction between the Wizards. This interaction ranges from the initial meeting, to trade agreements, peace treaties, throwing out threats or joining an alliance, as even though there can be only one, sometimes it is a good strategy to work together to beat a common enemy. All of this is of course handled by the AI that decides how and when a Wizard will react to the player and to other Wizards. In the original game, there were a lot of things that never really worked beyond the concept, so we hope our AI will bring to life the ideas of the previous designers.

Soldak Entertainment - Next Game Ideas

This is still pretty unofficial, as in I could change direction still, but I'm pretty sure our next game is going to be kind of a hybrid between Din's Curse and a game like Terraria or Starbound. Since it will be similar to Din's Curse and take place in the same universe, it will feel somewhat familiar. However, it might at the same time be our biggest departure from the typical Soldak game, especially since it will most likely have a camera perspective change.

Interview with Jagged Alliance's Ned Mansour - RPGCodex

In spring 2021 I played and completed Jagged Alliance 1 for the first time. I was impressed with how well it holds up today and randomly decided to look up the people who made it. Most were hard to reach, but fortunately, the person responsible for most of the art and animation in the game - Mohanned (Ned) Mansour - had an online presence so I was able to ask him some questions. The answers were very interesting, especially for anybody into gaming art history. Now I wish I prepared ahead of timeâ€¦ But here it is (interspersed with Mobygames screenshots)

Couchpotato · January 22, 2022

Mark Darrah explains BioWare Magic

Let's talk about "BioWare magic" Its a term I thought had stopped being used but SOMEONE used it on Anthem BioWare magic when used within the studio refers to a particularly bad bit of development that causes crunch. It isn't good or cool. Its naming a crappy thing in order to make it seem better, or ok. Much of this channel is dedicated to trying to improve process so that "BioWare Magic" or whatever other studios call it can disappear forever.

No Dragon Age 4 This Year - Tom Henderson

A source with knowledge of EA's plans has said there's "no chance" that Dragon Age 4 will release in 2022.

Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order sequel is reportedly releasing in Q4 2022

Things are set in motion to reveal the next Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order game by Respawn Entertainment. Following today's announcement that LEGO Star Wars will release April 5th, a May 4th reveal now seems incredibly likely. Expected to release Q4 2022.

Alrik Fassbauer · January 22, 2022

Dafela said:
Thanks for your answer I get it that dark moods doesn't have to be for everyone. I don't watch/play horrors because my subconsciousness would take it an replay it. I like those games/movies as immersive art pieces, and I know a lot of people who prefer them as something extraordinary, just I stay away from them.
But Pillars were more too slow for me, maybe one day I will get the right mood and finish it.

I've come to the thought that maybe the second game just wasn't played / bought that much because8/i] it had a lighter theme, and that people preferred the first one because of that.

If that is true, then my own taste in RPGs is rather a statistical fluke, an statistical outlier, so to say, or, "the odd man out".

I believe that this is rather the case, because I see so many dark games within the last years, and people happily buy and play them.
Except me, so this means to me, that my taste is nothing important here.

henriquejr · January 22, 2022

Couchpotato said:
No Dragon Age 4 This Year - Tom Henderson

Haha, if you hadn't mentioned it here.. I had completely forgotten about it.

Redglyph · January 22, 2022

Yeah, shocking news about Dragon Age 4 :lol:

Couchpotato · February 8, 2022

Solasta: Crown of the Magister - Dungeon Maker Winners and Goods Update

It's been some time since our last update, hasn't it! Here we've been hard at work on our next DLC, which we should hopefully able to share more about in the near future. In the meantime, we want to congratulate the winners of the Crown of the Dungeon Maker 2 Contest (held by SirMadnessTV) who've been working on some fantastic custom maps, which you will be able to download below! Oh and we also noticed that the last cat picture we've provided was in 2021. Shame! Here is one for today!

Sovereign Syndicate - Development and Funding Update

Happy New Year! Hope everyone had a wonderful holiday season. It's been a few months since our last update but we're looking forward to a great 2022 for Sovereign Syndicate.
It's been a busy few months over here at Crimson Herring Studios, putting the final touches on our demo; but I wanted to take a few moments and share some really exciting news.

Our Game has been selected by Canada Media Fund to receive $250,000 in development funding!

Monomyth Update - State of the Game and Current Progress

We are one month into the new year and it's time for yet another update on the project! January was a month filled with brushing up earlier work, tidying up workflows, and generally bringing things into a more presentable state. But let's go into detail a bit.

Underrail Development Update - New Year's Resolution

Today we're releasing our last major free content update for Underrail. It's been just a bit over six years since the full release of the base game, and I think that's a nice and round number to rest at. After this we're going to transition to working at about 95% of our collective capacity on our next project known under codename Infusion. You can see what's this project about and follow its development here: stygiansoftware.com/infusion. We should start posting dev logs there more regularly soon.

shaf · February 8, 2022

looking forward to Underrail Infusion

Couchpotato · February 10, 2022

Atomic Heart to Release This Year - Q&A IGN

Atomic Heart, the mysterious first-person shooter from developer Mundfish that's vaguely reminiscent of BioShock (in a good way), has cheekily revealed its release window. At the end of the new trailer (watch it above), the release window is revealed to be sometime in the final four months of 2022, as the trailer reveals "#######ber 2022," thus narrowing it to September, October, November, or December (and perhaps giving the Mundfish team some wiggle room if they're aiming for one of those earlier "-mber" months and end up needing to polish the game a bit longer). Whenever it drops, Atomic Heart will be available on PC, PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X|S, and Xbox One. We also asked a few questions of the Russia-based Mundfish team via email.

Crusader Kings III Royal Court Released

Every Royal Court holds many secrets. What will yours be? Establish your own Royal Court now and find out just how deep the intrigue and ambition of your story can go. If you haven't already grabbed hold of the power of the first Crusader Kings III expansion: Royal Court, the time is now!

NACON Acquires Midgar Studio developer of Edge of Eternity

Based in the south of France and founded by passionate creators, Midgar Studio has gained recognition for creating games that leverage high-quality technology and graphics to offer players immersive experiences. As enthusiasts of Japanese culture, especially JRPGs, the team are behind the game Edge of Eternity, which takes inspiration from the genre's biggest franchises. Released in June 2021, the open-world game takes place in a fantasy world and offers a unique experience. Winning universal acclaim from critics and gamers, it has been nicknamed the "French Final Fantasy".

"Being creative and technically excellent at the same time is a challenge that is characteristic of Midgar Studio and our trademark. We are very happy to be joining NACON, who listen and understand what we are trying to achieve. With their support, we have the chance to fulfil our ambitions while retaining a lot of freedom," said Jeremy Zeler-Maury.

Call of Saregnar Demo Released - itch.io

Call of Saregnar is a nod to the era of party-based RPGs from the 90's. Follow an intriguing story with interesting characters in a unique low-fantasy medieval setting. Enjoy a lush handcrafted 3D world that just begs to be explored.

Wartales Sells 100K - Community Update #2

Wartales, a medieval open-world tactical RPG following a mercenary Warband from Evoland and Northgard developerShiro Games, receives new training centers, quest logs, inventory sorting systems, and more in an Early Access update today celebrating a milestone of 100,000 units sold. Optimize companions with a highly requested addition of reworked training centers empowering sellswords to hone new abilities and reprioritize specialized skills.

Once trained, stay on track using an updated quest log. Organize and visualize missions more accurately to keep soldiers of fortune's pockets and bellies full.

JDR13 · February 10, 2022

Couchpotato said:
Atomic Heart to Release This Year - Q&A IGN

Nice. I've been waiting for a release date for Atomic Heart for a long time. 2022 just keeps getting more crowded with quality games. I hope it's half as good as it looks.

Couchpotato · February 11, 2022

Chrono Cross gets a remaster & Releasing on the PC April 7th

CHRONO CROSS: THE RADICAL DREAMERS EDITION" is a remaster of "CHRONO CROSS", including new features such as 3D models converted to HD, higher-quality background music, and battle enhancement features.

Vampire: The Masquerade - Swansong Explained In 60 Seconds

Vampire: The Masquerade - Swansong is a narrative RPG where you play as 3 vampires, each of them a member of a secret society pulling the strings of humanity from the shadows. When a night of celebration turns to bloodshed, the choices they make will define the fate of Boston. Find out more about Swansong in this video!

Jeff Grubb Interview on Spelljammer and Marvel Super Heroes - Dicegeeks

Spelljammer creator and writer, Jeff Grubb, drops in on the podcast today. We talk about Jeff's career and how came to work at TSR. We discuss the classic setting of Spelljammer and its genesis. Plus, Jeff was also the lead designer on the Marvel Superheroes role-playing game. The Marvel Superheroes RPG was a very important game in my development as a game master and a role-player. Currently, Jeff works for Amazon developing video games.

Phil Spencer Wants Starfield To Have More Players Than Skyrim - TheGamer

Journalist Stephen Totilo posted on Twitter some of Spencer's quotes from their recent conversation about Microsoft's key strategy in gaming, which is to shatter records for player coverage. The Xbox boss said he loves the Forza Horizon 5 and Halo Infinite stats, with the games reaching 18 and 20 million players in their first months, respectively. Still, there's a lot of work ahead to bring new titles to an even broader audience.

Xenonauts 2 -January Update

Greetings and apologies for the slight lateness of this update - the team wanted to finish a few things before putting it up.

Couchpotato · February 12, 2022

Assassin's Creed Valhalla: Dawn of Ragnarok- Deep Dive Trailer

Journey into a realm of Norse myth and embrace your destiny as Odin! Learn everything you need to know about Assassin's Creed Valhalla: Dawn of Ragnarok, available March 10th!

Salt and Sacrifice Releases May 10 - Epic Games

As a Marked Inquisitor, you'll journey through the western frontier: pursuing, hunting, and obliterating the Mages that roam the realm. Craft unique weapons and armor from the otherworldly flesh and bones of the Mages you destroy.

Medieval Dynasty - The next MILLstone

We have news! The next roadmap update is looming, and we want to share some progress with you!

Now, our game studio is very much focused on high technology. Medieval high technology. Many of you have already requested it, so we have decided to give you a first glimpse of the desired building today: The windmill!

Queen's Wish 2: The Tormentor February 2022 Update - Kickstarter

Greetings to our kind backers! Work on Queen's Wish 2: The Tormentor is proceeding according to schedule, and this is a great time to let you know how things are going.

The game world is now well over half done. Many towns, many dungeons, dozens of quests, a rich story with lots of difficult and interesting choices, it's all in there. Our awesome artists are making lots of cool art, some of which is below.

Stygian: Reign of the Old Ones Next Game Poll - Kickstarter

In these days that we are working on the final chapter of our current game Cats and the Other Lives, we wanted to contact you, our backers, since you are the fulfillers of our feverish dream of becoming game designers. We still owe you for that…

And we have a rather curious question for you:

If we ever make another Kickstarter project, which of the scenarios below would excite you most?

A) A Legacy style Lovecraftian Board Game that continues the themes of Stygian while presenting an interesting mix of tabletop role-playing and board gaming.
B) A CRPG like "Stygian: Reign of the Old Ones" but in another unexpected and fresh setting with unique mechanics.
C) A CRPG to be the spiritual successor of Stygian which continues and expands the themes of Stygian. (The decision for Stygian 2 is not entirely up to us)

Legends of Ellaria - Modding Support Coming Soon

We've got some good news for you. After multiple changes and tests, we're getting close to adding modding support to Legends of Ellaria! Modding support means that anyone with the proper skills will be able to make significant game changes and publish them on the Steam Workshop.

Once we expose Legends of Ellaria's game engine and mechanics, You'll be able to control most of the game's logic and also be able to add new graphics. The modding support will be available and accessible for free to anyone with knowledge of making assets and scripts through Unity and C# language.

In addition to the modding support, we will publish a modding tool project and documentation. We're also going to create a new Discord server for anyone with questions and suggestions about modding LoE.

Elex 2 Early German Review - Gamestar

- Playtime between 60 and 80 hours.
- Decisions have a noticeable effect this time.
- The jetpack and flying are supposed to be fantastic and integrate perfectly into the world.
- Exploration is probably as grandiose as ever.

2D12 · February 12, 2022

Elex 2 Early German Review - Gamestar
(...)
- Decisions have a noticeable effect this time.

"This time?" Err, I thought that the first Elex was actually pretty decent, even better than a lot of other RPG. Unless they are talking about the very endgame??

Couchpotato · February 13, 2022

It's German and auto translate on Goggle is a mess. Moriendor posted about the review.

Moriendor said:
German magazine Gamestar has apparently slapped a 80% - 82% score on ELEX 2. Some folks got the mag early and have already read the review. The quick & dirty is: ELEX 2 is more of the same. They mention the world, exploration and atmosphere as positives and the story, presentation and combat as negatives.

The score is remarkably low for Gamestar who are known to be PB fanboys (for comparison they rated Risen 2 86%) and who constantly get exclusive dibs because of their excellent relationship with PB.

This reaffirms my intention to wait for a juicy discount. Shame about the story once more. I guess the only hope for people like me who value story is to wait for the day when Mr. Pankratz finally realizes that he is no Shakespeare junior and never will be .

Couchpotato · February 15, 2022

Matt Chat Might and Magic: World of Xeen

This episode covers M&M 4/5: World of Xeen. Get 1-6 here for an insanely low price! $2, are you kidding me?

Weird West Beta Accolades Trailer

Weird West held its first private beta and WolfEye / Devolver were so thrilled by the feedback we had to make a little video.

Elden Ring Q&A Exclusive Hands-On Impression

SPOILERS FOR THE FIRST 10 HOURS OF ELDEN RING: Join Souls expert Dan Tack as he takes you through his time going hands-on with Elden Ring and lets you know how hyped to be for the game's February release.

Warhammer 40,000: Chaos Gate - Daemonhunters releasing on May 5th

Lead humanity's greatest weapon, the Grey Knights, in this fast-paced turn-based tactical RPG: Warhammer 40,000: Chaos Gate Daemonhunters. Root out and purge a galaxy-spanning plague across multiple worlds, using the tactics and talents of your own personalised squad of Daemonhunters. Coming to PC on 5 May 2022.

Some impressions of a recent hands-off demonstration.

Couchpotato · February 16, 2022

Dying Light 2: Stay Human - Authority Pack DLC Trailer

Our first free DLC for Dying Light 2 Stay Human is coming! The Authority pack consists of three parts. You'll be able to claim them at Epic Games, XBox, Playstation and Steam stores to collect the full set. Visit the TechlandGG for more info! The first one's arriving soon, so stay tuned!

Battle Brothers New Project Teased - Developer Blog

The inquisitive mind, quite naturally, turns its senses to suffering. As the eyes see and the ears hear, would one find pain to be a worthwhile teacher and, if so, in whose body? Theirs? Or yours? Read all about what is coming in next week's announcement!

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