Torment: Tides of Numenera?

[Malekith]

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=585180208164174&set=a.585180204830841.144749.552507144764814&type=1

Mark Morgan has agreed to compose the soundtrack

[Tigranes]

It's a kind of subpar title. Numenera: Torment would have done much better. 

 

Otherwise, roll on the info!

[PK htiw klaw eriF]

The name just doesn't seem to roll off the tounge. Definitely will be following the development though.

[Dream]

The whole "what does one life matter?" thing feels a bit trite. PS:T never marketed the whole "what can change the nature of a man?" bit; it was just part of the story. Here it seems like they thought up some "deep" pseudo-philosophical sounding question and are now trying to figure out how to make a game around it. It's like a couple of guys got around for beers and had this convo:

 

Dude 1: Dude, we should make another Torment game!

 

Dude 2: Yea, man, but would it be about?

 

Dude 1: I dunno dude, but Torment was deep and ****. You know, that 'what can change the nature of a man?' crap.

 

Dude 2: Yea! We need some deep question for this game too!

 

Dude 1: How about... how many roads must a man walk down?

 

Dude 2: That seems a bit unoriginal, lets do... what does one life matter?

 

Dude 1: Duuuuuude!

[Katphood]

I really love what I've heard so far about the Numenera universe, and man, some of these artworks are pretty damn nifty:

 

http://www.numenera.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/Landscape03.jpeg

[Infinitron]

The whole "what does one life matter?" thing feels a bit trite. PS:T never marketed the whole "what can change the nature of a man?" bit; it was just part of the story. Here it seems like they thought up some "deep" pseudo-philosophical sounding question and are now trying to figure out how to make a game around it. It's like a couple of guys got around for beers and had this convo:

 

Dude 1: Dude, we should make another Torment game!

 

Dude 2: Yea, man, but would it be about?

 

Dude 1: I dunno dude, but Torment was deep and ****. You know, that 'what can change the nature of a man?' crap.

 

Dude 2: Yea! We need some deep question for this game too!

 

Dude 1: How about... how many roads must a man walk down?

 

Dude 2: That seems a bit unoriginal, lets do... what does one life matter?

 

Dude 1: Duuuuuude!

 

Well, PS:T may not have been marketed that way, but was it designed that way? You'd have to ask Mr. Avellone.

[Dream]

Well, PS:T may not have been marketed that way, but was it designed that way? You'd have to ask Mr. Avellone.

 

True, but currently the game feels little too much like pure nostalgia bait. "Hey, remember Torment? Yea, we're Torment too! We even have a deep question and a weird looking city that's alive and has connections to other dimensions throughout the universe called Not-Sigil- I mean called the Hive- I mean called The Bloom!"

 

I'd rather they just make their own game with an interesting story in a quirky setting rather than try and ape Torment at every turn. I can just imagine playing the game and going: "Oh hey look, a seemingly unimportant quest to get a useless object... I wonder if that's going to turn out to be the key to unlocking everything at the very end of the game; what a twist that'd be!"

[Lord of Lost Socks]

Alright, I checked both the Torment threads if this link existed there and didn't see it, but I assume most of you have already seen it and just haven't shared. Anyway, the official website:

https://torment.inxile-entertainment.com/

 

Not much info yet, but it seems alright.

Edited February 23, 2013 by Lord of Lost Socks

[TSBasilisk]

I wonder if the Amnesia series inspired their decision with regards to the naming scheme for a spiritual series. There you have three games based around the struggles of a person with amnesia trying to recover their memory while avoiding the problems they created during the time they've forgotten.

[Dream]

I wonder if the Amnesia series inspired their decision with regards to the naming scheme for a spiritual series. There you have three games based around the struggles of a person with amnesia trying to recover their memory while avoiding the problems they created during the time they've forgotten.

Pretty sure the desire the ride the nuts of PS:T inspired their idea to call it a "thematic franchise."

[AGX-17]

Numenera is an interesting setting, but I can't really see a true successor to PS:T without Avellone. Sure, he can give his blessing, but that doesn't confer his writing ability on all the developers of this Numetormentera. He can't cast a mass buff on all of their creative writing skills... so far as I'm aware.

 

Besides, it's selling the setting short to associate it with PS:T before it has a chance to stand on its own two proverbial feet.

Edited February 25, 2013 by AGX-17

[Labadal]

I'm not expecting a game of Torment's quality, but I think they can make something good.

[Gecimen]

InXile just announced they will soon start a KS campaign for a soul-sequel for Planescape: Torment, named, Torment: Tides of Numenera.

 

No, I'm nowhere nearly joyed by this news. Personally I don't trust InXile, namely Fargo 10% as much as Obsidian and I'm hating to think they grabbed the idea and the hype.

 

For info, Brian Fargo (ex boss of interplay) re-bought the rights for Torment franchise 3 months ago. But as a person that was never in the original design team, I tend to think he doesn't deserve the right to go and pick a new team to do it, leaving out Avellone and the rest.

 

As much as I obsessively love Torment, I believe I will protest backing this particular project.

 

What do you guys say?

[Infinitron]

He may not have Avellone, but he does in fact have "the rest".

 

Brian has hired Colin McComb and Monte Cook, who both worked on the original Planescape setting for Wizards of the Coast. Colin also worked on PS:T itself - he was Avellone's #2 man. He also has Kevin Saunders, producer of Mask of the Betrayer, and Adam Heine, who was a scripter for PS:T.

Edited February 26, 2013 by Infinitron

[Gecimen]

He may not have Avellone, but he does in fact have "the rest".

 

Brian has hired Colin McComb and Monte Cook, who both worked on the original Planescape setting for Wizards of the Coast. Colin also worked on PS:T itself - he was Avellone's #2 man. He also has Kevin Saunders, producer of Mask of the Betrayer, and Adam Heine, who was a scripter for PS:T.

 

Well that's relieving. Still I feel like Obsidian should do it, cause of the WL2 forums, where everything is going in the path of a combat oriented hardcore game, as opposed to here where design and story is in front.

 

And Ps:T was all about design and story.

[Alexjh]

I'm not sure what you are saying they "grabbed the idea and the hype" of?  Surely not a Kickstarter campaign as Wasteland 2 predated P:E, so are we talking that he grabbed the idea of doing a spiritual successor to infinity engine RPGs?  That's a bit of a nebulous sort of accusation and I believe he's been talking about wanting to do a successor for a while now.

 

Honestly though, I don't have a particular oppinion of the man either way, and as it isn't an actual sequel to PS:T, if we get a good game out the other end I don't see what any of this matters.  The setting sounds quite fun if nothing else.

 

Edit to reply to that last post:  You have to take that in context though, just because they make one combat focused game doesn't mean that that's either all they can do or all they want to do.  

Edited February 26, 2013 by Alexjh

[Infinitron]

 

He may not have Avellone, but he does in fact have "the rest".

 

Brian has hired Colin McComb and Monte Cook, who both worked on the original Planescape setting for Wizards of the Coast. Colin also worked on PS:T itself - he was Avellone's #2 man. He also has Kevin Saunders, producer of Mask of the Betrayer, and Adam Heine, who was a scripter for PS:T.

 

Well that's relieving. Still I feel like Obsidian should do it, cause of the WL2 forums, where everything is going in the path of a combat oriented hardcore game, as opposed to here where design and story is in front.

 

And Ps:T was all about design and story.

 

You might want to check out Kevin Saunders' and Colin McComb's Formspring accounts:

http://www.formspring.me/ksaun

http://www.formspring.me/CMcComb

 

From what I understand, the plan is to have fewer, but better, combat encounters than the original PS:T.

Edited February 26, 2013 by Infinitron

[Death Machine Miyagi]

I'm ambivalent about their using the name 'Torment', given that it has no real connection with the first game, but this definitely isn't just some Black Isle Studios-style money grab where they slap an old name on something completely different to sucker money out of the unsuspecting. As Infinitron mentioned, they might not have MCA, but they have a lot of the other big names associated with the first game.

 

Honestly? More and more I'm just happy to see a game studio openly looking to use P:T as a model for a new game. Whatever happens, that that is happening is a reassuring sign. 

[Shadenuat]

cause of the WL2 forums, where everything is going in the path of a combat oriented hardcore game

What kind of argument is this? They are making a hardcore combat oriented tactical sequel for hardcore game which was based on squad skills and combat; and somehow that means Planescape game "in spirit" will turn out as horrifying Jagged Alliance clone too?

There is no "right" way to create cRPG's, and not everyone is Bethesda and stamps the same **** over and over again no matter what their setting or fanbase are.

Edited February 26, 2013 by Shadenuat

[C2B]

He may not have Avellone, but he does in fact have "the rest".

 

Brian has hired Colin McComb and Monte Cook, who both worked on the original Planescape setting for Wizards of the Coast. Colin also worked on PS:T itself - he was Avellone's #2 man. He also has Kevin Saunders, producer of Mask of the Betrayer, and Adam Heine, who was a scripter for PS:T.

 

Well, I wouldn't say that's the *rest*. That's still only a smaller part of the PS:T development team and doesn't include any of the Leads (Colin himself only joined after his game got cancelled). And Avellone WAS the biggest part on the design/writing side of that game.

 

It's still a really good team from what we've heard so far and the game is certainly composed of people that can make the *franchise* proud. People shouldn't worry.

 

You're giving Kevin Saunders not enough credit there by the way. Aside from being a producer he was also the Lead Designer of MOTB .

Edited February 26, 2013 by C2B

[Amentep]

I'm willing to hear the pitch.  If it looks to be a game I'd like to play they could call it "Happiness: Cheesebread of Numenera" for all I care.

 

As much as I liked PST, I don't think the word "Torment" is somehow sacrosanct.  It can't be a sequel to PST anyhow, not having the Planescape License.  So I'm willing to take the game on what it presents itself as being.

[JFSOCC]

<snip>

Monte Cook

You have my attention. Monte Cook wrote some of my favourite DnD supplements. Edited February 26, 2013 by JFSOCC

[Mr. Magniloquent]

I read a great deal of the Numenera's website when it originally campaigned on kickstarter. It seems like a worthy RPG design with an interesting setting. They seem to be emphasizing simple and streamlined mechanics (notably the "Effort" mechanic), and a lack of fixed rules, allowing the DM to easily create and flexibly run campaigns. It seems to have a fair amount in common with the developments of D&D Next (5th Ed. D&D) , which I find generally encouraging.

 

I'm not sure how or why they decided to use the Torment moniker other than brand recognition considering that Numenera does not use magic, and issues of souls/reincarnation might be difficult to handle. What I can't discern though, is whether this most recent kickstarter is going to be a tabletop campaign (which was already funded in another project), or a CRPG above and beyond that previously met goal.

[Pandamaniac]

Also, if I were a crazy betting panda, I would put money on Avellone being a stretch goal. It isn't like InXile hasn't done that before.

[Death Machine Miyagi]

Also, if I were a crazy betting panda, I would put money on Avellone being a stretch goal. It isn't like InXile hasn't done that before.

 

How many projects can a single man work before he gets burnt out? Doesn't the man already have Wasteland 2 and P:E on his plate?