Underworld Ascendant - Questions Wanted

Here's a simple question about a long missed feature: will we be able to annotate the map with our own notes?

How large will the cities be? Morrowind sized or Skyrim sized.

Silver said:

How large will the cities be? Morrowind sized or Skyrim sized.

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Probably neither...not that style of game.

How's the loot system going to function? Will there be a lot of character customization, character building, classes, etc.? Will it have a lot of traditional RPG elements or are they going for something 'different' ?

you said:

Can you remove the co-op stretch goal and add more content.
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Agreed !!

Almost every dev wanna go "co-op" these days. IMHO this is a kind of game that is most suitable to single player only.

So less co-op, more content !!!!

All great questions and I now have over thirty of them if you count mine with yours. So hopefully OtherSide Entertainment will answer everyone of them next week.

I may have to end this thread earlier than I thought.

Also I'm gong to call this a community interview as most of the questions are from all of you. The first part part of the interview will only have eight questions from me.

Here is the updated rough draft of questions so far.

This is going to be an epic interview, Couch! Thank you for adding all of our questions. Can't wait to see the answers.

Dunno if that's already been answered, but is it off- or online?

Garrett said:

Dunno if that's already been answered, but is it off- or online?

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From what I read the game is only single-player. That will change though if the campaign reaches the $1,200,000 Co-Op Stretch Goal. Here are the details from it's webpage.

$1,200,000 STRETCH GOAL REWARDS (Locked)

Co-Op Play with a Friend - This is a big one, folks! Now bring along a friend on your adventure. Play together online, tag-teaming the challenges. Or if your buddy is offline, a magical spell will bring them in as a doppelganger, run by AI.

Deeper Lore & Backstory – We’ll add design resources to the team to plunge deeper on the backstory and arcane secrets of the Underworld. A lore aficionado’s dream come true!

More extensive Avatar customization - Greater variety of faces, hairstyles, tattoos and accouterments to choose from during character creation, and to show off to friends. Can also try out with new looks as your character grows.

Odoriferous Throwing Net - A small, throwing net that friends can toss back-and-forth to each other. The holder of the net will tend to attract hostile beasts to themselves. What fun! A Kickstarter EXCLUSIVE in-game digital STRETCH GOAL item.

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TheMadGamer said:

Here's a simple question about a long missed feature: will we be able to annotate the map with our own notes?

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I would think so! Here's an answer taken from OtherSide's response via the AMA reddit:

Q. Will we be able to write notes on the automap, just like the old games?

A: We get a lot of fond comments about notes on the automap! We want to keep the strengths of that system, whatever we do.

https://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/2urqvv/hi_paul_neurath_and_otherside_team_doing_an_ask/

Hopefully I'm not too late to sneak a couple of my own questions in:

1) The creative dungeon design and sheer immersing atmosphere of the original games made them stand out from similarly focused dungeon crawling games.
What can you tell us about the nature of the dungeon design in Underworld Ascendant and how will it differ compared to the original games. and will it feature any similar classic puzzles? (levers, flight, platforms etc.)

2) What can you tell us about the dungeon delving music of Underworld Ascendant?
It would be amazing to hear new work from George Sanger (aka the Fatman) or even a modern re-imagining of an exploration theme from the original games in the new game.

3) Are you planning to have many easter eggs from the original games as the crew from Arkane did in Arx Fatalis? (Ultima Underworld mode)

Good questions from other members stole some of my thunder, but that's all good! Glad to know that the game has many fellow anticipatory fans here.

No your not late Pessimeister, and I can still add them to the interview.

I'm looking forward to reading this interview as I've already pledged for the game; UU2 is one of my top 5 games of all time and the original isn't far behind. Both are still on my PC!!

Thanks for compiling the list Couchpotato. I am also looking forward to the interview and of course I have been waiting over two decades for a true UU successor. I still have both installed on my PC too.

I am ambivalent about the coop play stretch goal. That is a feature I would never use, but as long as it is entirely optional and doesn't have content that can only be completed with another, I don't care as some way want to play with a friend. I would have preferred a different stretch goal but just the fact that another UU is coming makes me very happy.

Another vote for "Meh" to the co-op stretch goal. Adding an element like that makes my spidey senses tingle.

Some questions were already answered by them. If the number of questions is limited we should focus on new info.

writing notes on the automap
As Pessimeister already wrote - they want to allow it.


modding support
Yes. In AMA they said: "We'd love to: it would come as part of the stretch goals"


Is it all underground?
Yes. To create also land on the surface is very very unlikely. It would need many new and costly assets and it wont fit into their underground vision. I think we can safely assume its all underground.


What are you doing to make sure the game will look and play like a "next generation" Underworld…. Unity engine isn't exactly known for being a great performer.
In AMA: "We've got some tricks up our sleeves. We understand the importance of achieving good performance."
Well, I dont think they will tell more for now. And we cant really expect some CryEngine 3 graphics. It seems they focus on their "improvisation engine" to bring some innovation to gameplay. See also next answer.


System Shock, the original, had a strong non-linear approach to level design… and Bioshock was almost entirely linear with minimal backtracking… how will Underworld level design be handled in terms of linearity?
I think they kind of answered that too in AMA: "For one, we think we can get a lot more out of sandbox play than what other RPGs are doing these days. We're building tech we're calling the Improvisation Engine that should really open up players' ability to get super-creative with solving challenges, and finding their own approaches."


What can you tell us about game's replay value? Is there any reason to complete the game 2, 3 or more times?
They describe it: non-linear game, story driven by players actions, many possibilities and solutions because of that improvisation engine. So it should be almost ideal title for replayability.


Can you remove the co-op stretch goal and add more content.
Do you really believe they will remove any stretch goal now when KS campaign is going strong? They wont do it so its useless to ask them. And if they do it some ppls will demand it and ask why it was removed.
And I dont need co-op.


Can you discuss in more detail the game play? Will it be like an FPS; party base; turn base… have you considered using the D:OS engine?
I see you dont know Ultima Underworld. You can watch it in youtube.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TpuTbxkaZ94

It will give you insight what to expect (FP, no turn-based, no D:OS engine, its very different title).


The kickstarter presentation talked more about history and not so much on future; can you expand more on the future?
In AMA: "All our focus is on Underworld Ascendant for now. If we hit our expectations on that, we'll explore other games."


Will "diplomacy" be stat bound?
There was a Speech skill in UU so I hope they wont dismiss it. But lets use this question to see what they plan for social and diplomacy matters.


I've read that the character progression allows for mixing the careers from the three templates, fighter/rogue/mage; will there be some random aspect to it, like the Shepherd class in the original game?
What do you mean by random aspect? Afaik classes were not important in UU. They were just used for startup builds. Skills and attributes were important.


Will there be a lot of character customization, character building, classes, etc.? Will it have a lot of traditional RPG elements or are they going for something 'different' ?
Lets use this question, but one note from AMA regarding XP:
"On character advancement, we're taking some elements from the original games, but then we're going to innovate. It won't be the same as any other current RPG."

That narrows the list down so thank you FarFlame.

I got two more general questions, one also adding to the coop stretch goal:
In Mass Effect 3 and other games the Multiplayer Mode seems like a tacked on feature which the game didn't really profit from. How do you think Coop will be integrated so that it feels integrated, complementing the game?

If Bethesda announced an "Underground Skyrim", Square Enix announced an "Underground Fantasy Deus Ex", or if FromSoftware announced an "Underground First Person Dark Souls" - what is making Underworld Ascendant standing out?

Kordanor said:

In Mass Effect 3 and other games the Multiplayer Mode seems like a tacked on feature which the game didn't really profit from. How do you think Coop will be integrated so that it feels integrated, complementing the game?

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Im not sure if I understand. Co-op wont be forced upon SP or something like that.
There is big difference between small team doing KS for fans of old legend and EAs marketing and online-PR-scum approach.

Kordanor said:

If Bethesda announced an "Underground Skyrim", Square Enix announced an "Underground Fantasy Deus Ex", or if FromSoftware announced an "Underground First Person Dark Souls" - what is making Underworld Ascendant standing out?

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You can find answers in my previous post.
- "For one, we think we can get a lot more out of sandbox play than what other RPGs are doing these days. We're building tech we're calling the Improvisation Engine that should really open up players' ability to get super-creative with solving challenges, and finding their own approaches."
- "On character advancement, we're taking some elements from the original games, but then we're going to innovate. It won't be the same as any other current RPG."

Dajjer said:

Another vote for "Meh" to the co-op stretch goal. Adding an element like that makes my spidey senses tingle.

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Co-op play adds replay value and may increase the audience size. I have to think this is a net positive, even if some of us don't like it or plan to use it.

Couchpotato said:

Here is the rough draft of questions so far. Let me know if I missed any.

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I think we can pass few general questions there:

before we start can you introduce yourself?
We already know Paul Neurath, he is not newcomer like some indie devs and teams. So I think we can pass usual introduction this time.

Can you tell us a little bit about your studio OtherSide Entertainment? For example, how was it founded, and what are your goals for the future?
The same as previous questions. Regarding the goals they said in AMA that they focus on Underworld now. Im sure they will consider successors to other legends too in the future.

Now comes the hard question how would you sell your game to backers who never played the original games?
I think its obvious. FP 3D engine, RPG, non-linearity, big fractions, that "magical" improvisation engine etc.

So what made you decide to make another Underworld series now after so many years, and can you share a little information on how you got the okay from EA?

It was covered in this interview:
http://www.incgamers.com/2015/02/underworld-ascendant-interview-paul-neurath-on-immersive-design

Dunno if they would tell us more about it. Also I asked about their work for Origin and EA, so hopefully they will share some info about industry and EA there.


Will Underworld Ascendant be a true sequel, or just a spiritual successor?
I think its basically covered in my question about Cabirus + lore about Abyss from UU1. If they are going to use this lore it should be true sequel. They will continue the history of the Abyss and the colony and think about how to bring in new races (which was second part of my question).


Now I get an idea… a NEW question:

Do you plan to create some hints or legends about deeds of old Avatar from UU1 that players could uncover while playing Ascendant?
(it will cover the topic about true sequel too)

I also noticed this in AMA:
"We'd like to get away from the D&D-style stats" It probably sounds like warning sign for many fans here . But there are already questions about character building etc. so we should get more info.