Diluvion - New Kickstarter

Pladio informed us about a new submarine game: Diluvion, which made a good start on Kickstarter already - some info:

Diluvion is a fully 3D open world submarine exploration & combat game with crew and character interactions displayed in intricately painted 2D cutaways. It's planned to be released for Windows and Mac via Steam. We've already got the all-clear from Steam to distribute with them. Yes, there will be controller support! This Kickstarter's goal is to fund the initial release entirely. Due to the amount of content and lore we want to show in the game, we have two expansions planned. But worry not! Backers that contribute $10 or more will receive all planned expansions free of additional charge!

The world of Diluvion is an unforgiving place. Forced into the ocean by the Great Flood and now trapped under an impenetrable layer of ice, humanity hangs by a tenuous thread. By a twist of fate, you, an aspiring submarine captain, have been given the honor of commanding your first sub. With a brave crew at your command, you now venture into the unknown.

Diluvion is about commanding your submarine to explore the relics and wonders of the sunken world. As the captain of your sub, you have access to an array of weapons in addition to sonar and salvaging abilities. Sonar is essential for getting information about the world around you. However, it can be a deadly game of cat and mouse. By sending out a sonar ping, you also alert hostile subs in the area to your presence.

Combat in Diluvion is derived from the classic space trading and combat simulation genre. We drew inspiration from games like Wing Commander and Freelancer, but added new dimensions to the combat. First, while designing the subs, we put a lot of thought into what's inside. There's a great emphasis on the interior of your sub and the crew that operates it. Different Gunners will give unique firing bonuses, Helmsmen can increase the effectiveness of your ship with advanced maneuvers, and a good Sonar Tech can give you the edge in a long-range torpedo battle. Additionally, your crew can often function semi-autonomously. For example, your gunners can be told to engage previously designated targets while you're busy dodging a torpedo! As you progress through the game, you will naturally find yourself in larger submarines, and to operate them you'll need a bigger crew. There will be also be new job classes you'll discover as you advance.

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Developer: Arachnid Games

More information.

Faster Than Water

Thanks HiddenX.

I could try getting one of the developers to answer any questions if someone has any as I know one of them.

I like space & submarine sims. I think the last submarine games I played were Aquanox 1 & 2.
Pladio, you could use Couchs' Victor Vran Interview as a good template for questions or Myrthos Umbra Interview.

I'm one of the developers at Arachnid Games working on Diluvion. I'm available to answer any questions you guys might have about the game. We're super excited to be on Kickstarter and to show off to the world!

Welcome to RPGWatch, Patrick

Patrick, please tell us
1) your favorite games (and RPGs ... this is RPGWatch )
2) your inspiration for Diluvion - books, games etc.
3) some introduction to Arachnid Games - your team
4) top 5 reasons why we should be interested in Diluvion and back it
5) your Kickstarter experience so far

HiddenX said:

Pladio, you could use Myrthos' Victor Vran Interview as a good template for questions.

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Well one small correction as it was one of my last my interviews Hidden X.

Arachnid_Patrick said:

I'm one of the developers at Arachnid Games working on Diluvion. I'm available to answer any questions you guys might have about the game. We're super excited to be on Kickstarter and to show off to the world!

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Welcome to RPGWatch Arachnid_Patrick your game has potential.

Thanks for the welcome to RGPWatch everyone! I'll do my best to answer all your questions. Forgive me, I sometimes tend to get a bit verbose.

Patrick, please tell us
1) your favorite games (and RPGs … this is RPGWatch )
2) your inspiration for Diluvion - books, games etc.
3) some introduction to Arachnid Games - your team
4) top 5 reasons why we should be interested in Diluvion and back it
5) your Kickstarter experience so far

1) I've been a gamer since as far back as I can remember. I'm a big strategy and rts gamer, but I do love the occasional RPG. Favorite games of mine include the Westwood developed Command and Conquer Games (Red Alert and Red Alert 2 mostly), anything the Civilization series (I've almost hit 1000 hours in Civ 5) and Sins of A Solar Empire. RPG wise, I loved the Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance series and Dungeons and Dragons: Heroes back on PS2 and XBox respectively. My little brother and I would play those for hours together due to the inclusion of co-op, something that I think is sorely lacking in many modern games. More recently, I was also a big fan of Fallout 3 and Fallout: New Vegas.

2) Diluvion started with me lamenting that I had never found a game I considered a true sequel to Freelancer, a game I have very found memories of playing. I'd even briefly tried getting into modding it while in game design school, but was always disappointed by how poorly the graphics had aged. This promoted our lead artist, Leo, to have the bright idea of making a Freelancer type game, but with an underwater setting. From there he took inspiration from the Gamecube title Skies of Arcadia and the anime The Last Exile when designing the overall look of the subs and technology present in Diluvion. We also took inspiration from FTL when designing how our officers and crew mechanics would work.

3) Arachnid Games is a very small game development studio located in Berkeley, CA. We have three full time team members and two part time members. We are all former or current students of Academy of Art University in San Francisco. There is Leo, our Lead Artist and founder of the company, Jacob, our crazy Norwegian Technical Lead, and me, Patrick, jack of all trades wearing the writer, designer, UI programmer hats rounding out the full time team. Our part time team includes our 3d Modeler, Gil, is a crazy talented artist who also working towards his Masters in Animation and Visual Effects at the moment, and Mei, our quirky press secretary and all around promoter.

4) Top 5 Reasons Why Diluvion is awesome…

A. Setting: It takes place in a crazy post apocalyptic underwater setting that I guarantee you haven't seen before. We've spent a ton of time building out the back story and lore and our number only rule is that nothing anyone tells you is ever 100% the truth. Diluvion is a world of myth and legends.

B. Crew Mechanics: To be effective in Diluvion, you must focus on the improvement and development of your crew and officers. Each one is a fully realized character with their own dialogue, skills, and personal quests to explore. Having a great sub isn't everything!

C. 3D and 2D together: Diluvion takes place in a fully 3d open world, but you also get insanely detailed painted 2D cutaway views that let you see your crew and the inner works of ships and towns. We wanted to bring Leo's quirky, amazing 2d art style from our previous title, Ballpoint Universe, to a 3d game. It's like one of those "Inside a _____" Books you might have had as a child, but on steroids.

D. Sonar: Much of Diluvion is dark and murky. As you go deeper, salvage becomes less picked over, but enemies become more dangerous. To aid you in areas of almost complete darkness, your sub is equipped with sonar. Sending out a sonar ping briefly illuminates objects beyond your limited sight range. However, this ping can be heard by other subs in the area, allowing them to zero in on your position. Mastering this cat and mouse sonar gameplay is key to surviving in Diluvion.

E. Cool Pricing Model: So, we knew that we wanted to make a huge game, but getting a huge game with a huge budget funded is no easy task. So, we decided to break up Diluvion into and initial release and 2 expansions. But fear not, we won't be selling any of these as DLC! Instead, we're adopting a pricing model similar to Minecraft when it was being developed. Buy into the Kickstarter for at least $10 and you'll get the initial release, plus both planned expansions for no additional charge. Using this model, we plan to fund the first third of the development and use profits from this release on Steam to fund the planned expansions. As expansions release, the purchase price on Steam will increase, so this will likely be the only time the entire game can be had for just $10.

5) So far, our Kickstarter experience has been very positive. Although it's still very early in the campaign, we have gotten lots of constructive feedback from the community about both the Kickstarter pitch and the game itself. As developers, we sometimes work in a vacuum and finally being able to get players' reaction to what we're trying to create is very helpful. We have also been lucky to attract some attention from local media. Yesterday we were interviewed by the local Fox station, Channel 2, as we launched the campaign. The segment will be airing multiple times over the next couple days and should bring even more eyes to the Kickstarter, increasing our chance of success. That being said, we know we have a long road ahead to getting funded and released. However, we are all very optimistic and excited!

Edit: Forgot to say that we're also doing live Q/A and playthroughs of our internal demo build every weekday this week at 2pm. Link to live feed: http://www.twitch.tv/arachnidjacob We archived the first playthrough from today so you don't need to wait to see it either!

The game looks great, Patrick. Love the art style and crew management. I'm in. I'm such a sucker for anything to do with the sea and especially submarines in this Jules Verne style. Maybe my favorite part of the Wes Anderson movie "The Life Aquatic" is the cross section of their ship, The Bellafonte.

Hook, line and sinker. The only question is whether I'm willing to fork over another $20 for the extra subs. I think I already know the answer…

Thanks for the donation and feedback Capt. Huggy Face!

Couchpotato said:

Well one small correction as it was one of my last my interviews Hidden X.
Welcome to RPGWatch Arachnid_Patrick your game has potential.

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How soon they forget...

Wenzil said:

How soon they forget…

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Oh well it happens to every ex-team member at some point.

Must say it feels liberating as I don't have to be Mr. Nice guy to everyone anymore.

Couchpotato said:

Oh well it happens to every ex-team member at some point.

Must say it feels liberating as I don't have to be Mr. Nice guy to everyone anymore.

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@Couch
Your work is not forgotten Couch, I just mixed up your Victor Vran interview with Myrthos' Umbra interview, sorry. Both are good to be used as a template.

@Patrick - thank you answering the questions - keep us updated about the Kickstarter!

Arachnid_Patrick said:

2) Diluvion started with me lamenting that I had never found a game I considered a true sequel to Freelancer, a game I have very found memories of playing. I'd even briefly tried getting into modding it while in game design school, but was always disappointed by how poorly the graphics had aged. This promoted our lead artist, Leo, to have the bright idea of making a Freelancer type game, but with an underwater setting.

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For that reference alone I owe this KS a look.

I would have been really interested in this if not for the art style.

I'm sorry, but I simply do not understand this excessively widespread trend of using cartoon graphics.

I love underwater games, but I'll have to take a pass.

I adored Freelancer, though.

DArtagnan said:

I would have been really interested in this if not for the art style.

I'm sorry, but I simply do not understand this excessively widespread trend of using cartoon graphics.

I love underwater games, but I'll have to take a pass.

I adored Freelancer, though.

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You might want to ignore the graphics then and focus on the gameplay ?

Pladio said:

You might want to ignore the graphics then and focus on the gameplay ?

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You mean I should just play the game blindfolded?

I'm sorry, but I'm not good at not seeing what I see.

Cartoon graphics turn me off.

It's not rocket science and it's not a personal choice.

Pladio said:

You might want to ignore the graphics then and focus on the gameplay ?

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Its literally impossible for me to ignore graphics and play a game. This is why I don't really play many old games. However carton graphics don't bother me.