Solasta - PAX Q&A Recap

Henriquejr spotted this Solasta: Crown of the Magister Q&A:

Ask Us Anything - PAX Q&A Recap

Hey there folks!

This week we're posting a recap of the Q&A that happened during PAX Online last week. Saddle up, because there's a LOT of text coming your way.

== Character Building ==

Q: You will add some new class post-launch ?

A: Solasta launches in Early Access with the 6 classes available in the Demo, however we have already promised to add the Sorcerer as a free post-launch DLC during our Kickstarter Campaign.

Ideally, we'd love to have all official SRD classes in Solasta - however we don't want to make any promises. We'll likely be looking at DLCs post-launch to add new classes (depending on how the game performs!). As for the order of release, we'll likely involve the community like we did during the Kickstarter!

Q: Will there be anything like Bladesinger or Eldritch knight? A: So just to make sure people don't misunderstand - we won't have the Bladesinger or the Eldritch Knight as they are not SRD.

That being said, we do have the Spellblade that is our version of the magic-wielding fighter archetype, and the Greenmage which is a sort of Wizard / Ranger hybrid (vs the Wizard / Fighter that is Bladesinger)

Q: Are you only including content from the core 5e books in terms of class and races, or will you be expanding out to Xanathar's, Tasha's, etc. ? A: As stated before, we're using D&D SRD 5.1 - we do not have a full D&D license. As such, we can't use any content from Xanathar's or other official D&D sourcebooks. Even taking the Player Handbook, we don't have access to all the archetypes for instance.

Q: Are Half-orcs going to be included? A: Half-orcs have unfortunately not been confirmed for Solasta! So... maybe post-launch, but maybe never - I don't like to make empty promises, so we'll have to see!

Q: Is multiclassing something you are looking into for the future? A: This is unlikely, as multiclassing brings in a LOT of bugs and balancing issues (who doesn't know of the Warlock dip when playing a CHA character). That being said, Solasta is a single player game so it's mostly for technical reasons than balancing reasons (it's not like we have a scoreboard or something).

Ideally we want to make more Archetypes / bring more Classes if variety is what is lacking, rather than do multiclassing. But again, we have the philosophy of "never say never" - if the community is behind it, and we find the time and decide to prioritize it, it may be a thing post-launch (but most likely not).

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More information.

Q: Is multiclassing something you are looking into for the future?
A: This is unlikely, as multiclassing brings in a LOT of bugs and balancing issues (who doesn't know of the Warlock dip when playing a CHA character). That being said, Solasta is a single player game so it's mostly for technical reasons than balancing reasons (it's not like we have a scoreboard or something).

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Now someone frame this and mail 300 copies to Josh "EternalBalancePatch" Sawyer…

This was a great read and also an interesting approach where it is the whole party that matters not one individual. So if any one member dies, and no way to revive, game over.

Q: Are you going to make creatures that turn slain adventurers into undead, game ending bosses?

A: Slain adventurers won't be raised into undead, remember that in Solasta if one of your party member dies and you can't resurrect him, you have a game over. It's the story about the party, not a single character.

However, if you're asking if we're going to have big undeads that COULD do that to your party? I won't be saying no :3

These made me Whoop! out loud ...
A: No, quests are not timed. We wanted to avoid putting that pressure on the player.
A: Not planned for now [cursed items] (a BIG whoop on that one. Gods, I hate cursed items.)
A: The game will be moddable ...
A: We've implemented the standard creation rules. If you want to use a specific array, you'll need to use the "Free Edit" option and set the stats manually.

A little sad at this one ...
A: For the moment Reach Weapons are not planned for Solasta

I like so many things about about this project, from the clear and considered way they talk, and the way they're on top of their updates, to the way the game looks. If it all comes together, I think it could be great. The big concern, IMO, is whether they can work out the clunkiness of their verticality implementation.

Exciting bunch of features! We'll see how their idea turns out.

I have been so excited for the release of this game. I agree about the verticality but it still plays well enough. I like it better than loading screens to get to a new level. Feels more immersive but if it were tweaked I think it would be fantastic!

I only heard about this project yesterday, and it was a very pleasant surprise!

I'm not sure it's objective or subjective, but it seems to me there's a real renewal of interest in CRPGs these last few years.

We'll have to see how they further develop this one, a little concern is the absence of multiclassing, since characters in D&D can easily feel repetitive without them. But feats are apparently in the works, so that would already allow for some variety

The fact there is no full D&D licence doesn't bother me, that will bring some fresh take on the ruleset. But we'll have to trust TA for the interpretation of these rules in an CRPG.

It's overall very impressive for such a small team! (by comparison to known titles)