Age of Decadence combat video & article

[Vaultman]

Jeesh, is it really this hard to observe a bit of objective truth; two dialogue options both lead to the NPC offering the PC "something you can do for me" or "do what I tell you." As much as VDweller assures me these are different, they look like two options leading to the same quest, which is railroading, which RPGCodex hates and Vdweller mocks in other games.

I do dislike when different options lead to the same outcome, but even the Codex would require some proof that that's indeed the case. Anyway, the first option leads to a fight once you did what you were asked to; the second option leads to a nice double cross opportunity since you are fully aware that the "demon" is full of **** and most likely won't play fair.

 

Man, learn to take some friendly ribbing already. It's going to get a lot worse once this game is out.

I don't mind criticism at all, I simply disagree with your "objective" assessment.

[Brother None]

I do dislike when different options lead to the same outcome, but even the Codex would require some proof that that's indeed the case.

 

Uh, okay, "no they wouldn't." Can't add much more than that, tho'.

 

Anyway, the first option leads to a fight once you did what you were asked to; the second option leads to a nice double cross opportunity since you are fully aware that the "demon" is full of **** and most likely won't play fair.

 

That doesn't actually make much sense to me, but ok.

[Noceur]

"2. [streetwise] That bit about the treasure was way overdone, don't you think?"

 

Yes, that's not the fragment I was referring to, though, was it.

 

Jeesh, is it really this hard to observe a bit of objective truth; two dialogue options both lead to the NPC offering the PC "something you can do for me" or "do what I tell you." As much as VDweller assures me these are different, they look like two options leading to the same quest, which is railroading, which RPGCodex hates and Vdweller mocks in other games.

 

Man, learn to take some friendly ribbing already. It's going to get a lot worse once this game is out.

 

Oh, sorry. By fragment, I thought you meant the fragment of the dialogue tree posted, since it wasn't the whole dialogue tree, just one branch of it (hence, it's a fragment in itself).

Edited July 31, 2007 by Noceur

[Vaultman]

Uh, okay, "no they wouldn't." Can't add much more than that, tho'.

You mean you can't actually offer any facts backing up your position? How disappointing.

 

Anyway, the first option leads to a fight once you did what you were asked to; the second option leads to a nice double cross opportunity since you are fully aware that the "demon" is full of **** and most likely won't play fair.

 

That doesn't actually make much sense to me, but ok.

Why not? You know that the guardian was lying to you before, and his "maybe you will live to see the daylight again" remark doesn't sound awfully reassuring. It makes sense for a character in this situation to seek ways to gain some leverage and increase the survival odds, instead of relying on the lying guardian's goodwill exclusively.

[Brother None]

You mean you can't actually offer any facts backing up your position? How disappointing.

 

Facts to back up an "if this was, then they would" statement? The hell? Next time ask me to walk on water, why dontcha.

 

Why not? You know that the guardian was lying to you before, and his "maybe you will live to see the daylight again" remark doesn't sound awfully reassuring. It makes sense for a character in this situation to seek ways to gain some leverage and increase the survival odds, instead of relying on the lying guardian's goodwill exclusively.

 

Ok, key question; and this makes sense to the PC every time this path is chosen? Doesn't depend on character stats? Intelligence/wisdom related stats do not make it so that he does or does not get it independent or only influenced by chosen paths? What if the PC is clever enough not to trust demons at all?

 

Not guessing here, asking.

Edited July 31, 2007 by Kharn

[Tale]

Looked at the No More Mutants interview.

 

What motivated me to start my own project? I thought I had a good story to tell and I believed that I could actually pull it off.

Promising! He's motivated by a story, not simply by systems, though he seems to have a focus on systems.

 

Ratty: On multiple occasions you emphasized choices and consequences as two central elements of the game's design. Can you elaborate on that?

 

Vince: Not much to elaborate, really. An RPG without choices is an adventure game with stats and too much combat. A choice without consequences isn't really a choice. Thus, our focus has always been on choices & consequences. You choose everything: equipment, combat style and options, where to go and what to do next, quests and quest options, allies and even enemies. Every choice comes with some consequences to reward you by biting you in the ass.

Ratty: Originally the Age of Decadence was a 2D game and you were the only person working on it. What has changed since then and why?

 

Vince: Actually, I had the same 4-people team working on the 2D version. Unfortunately, the 2D version was often overlooked or ignored as unreasonably dated, so we decided to switch to 3D. NEXT GENERASHUN, BITCH!

 

I also looked at the screenshots and I have to say I'm far more optimistic than I was earlier. The guy definitely has a sense of humor and supposedly has a story he wants to tell. So, I'll try to remember to keep up to date on this.

[theowne]

Hey, Kharn, I thought this was an Age of Decadence thread, not a "Lol Codex" thread.

 

What exactly does saying you hate RPGCodex have to do with Age of Decadence?

[Mr. H]

though he seems to have a focus on systems.

 

Can't say I'm upset about that.

[Diogo Ribeiro]

What exactly does saying you hate RPGCodex have to do with Age of Decadence?

 

It's a reputation boost around these parts.

[Musopticon?]

It says a lot about a poster if he wants reputation here. Words like desperate and perhaps lost as well spring to mind.

 

 

Anyway, Age of Decadence doesn't impress, but it sure does look like it is up to the task of being an actual rpg, instead of a glorified loothunt. And with Prelude of Darkness' sequel taking forever and SpidWeb's new Avernums and Geneforces failing to interest me(teal dungeons? what the ****ing hell?!), this will most likely surpass as a primary indie rpg interest and as a possible time-consumer to come. Rome is an interesting setting and although I don't agree with the inclusion of supernatural elements. Improved speechcraft, diplomacy and intrigue aspects would serve the already exciting setting a lot better without the need to add magic to keep it interesting for a certain demographic. That said, I don't think I have access to the author's mind, if he thinks the story needs magic to work, then magic it will be. I'll play it anyway, just mentioning a nitpick here.

 

All in all, I'm slightly hyped.

Edited August 2, 2007 by Musopticon?

[Noceur]

Yeah, this and Eschalon: Book I has piqued my interest on the Indie front. I like Jeff Vogel's games and all, but it's nice to play something new once in a while

 

I think the AoD setting has potential, and there are lots of gameplay elements that sound interesting. The good thing about Indie games are that they always release a demo ... so we'll see how Iron Tower's first game holds up.

[Jora]

Rome is an interesting setting and although I don't agree with the inclusion of supernatural elements. Improved speechcraft, diplomacy and intrigue aspects would serve the already exciting setting a lot better without the need to add magic to keep it interesting for a certain demographic.

As I said, the world is completely fantastical inspired by Rome. The magic is a thing of the past, found in abandoned facilities and such. The protagonist can't learn to use it. There are plenty of social skills: streetwise, etiquette, persuasion, disguise and trading, so the means for intrigue are at least in place. The merchants' guild, for example, is said to be more like the Trade Federation from Star Wars than just a collection of salesmen.

 

Here's the world map:

 

http://img512.imageshack.us/my.php?image=map05ane3.jpg

[Musopticon?]

So, no magic then? Cool.

 

Thanks for the map.

Edited August 2, 2007 by Musopticon?

[Jora]

I've had a chance to read some of the side quests in plain text form and I was very impressed by what I read.

 

Some people in this thread expressed concern that the dialogues wouldn't be very exciting and that the story would be uninspiring. Based on the several questlines I read, I'd say there's no reason to worry. Many of the characters are funny, some even hilarious, and Vince (or the poster Vaultman on the second page of this thread) has obviously spent a lot of time crafting the game world, the faction side quests as well as the main storyline.

 

Each character profession has its own view on the side quest storylines:

 

Linos, the greedy guild master of the merchants guild in the starting town is obsessed with destroying the Forty Thieves, and a merchant character spends the initial quests trying to help him with his schemes. An ore shipment was stolen from the merchants and Linos wants it to be tracked down, bought and sold as part of his plans.

 

The thieves guild has just acquired said ore shipment and is looking for a way to smuggle it out of the town. A thief character has to find the means to do so.

 

The Imperial Guards are planning a coup to take over the town. An Imperial Guard's first quest is to create fear and uncertaintity in the merchants by robbing a caravan right outside the city gates. It's quite a brutal quest. The Guard's don't play nice.

 

Someone (probably someone from a noble house - they don't like Guards) has noticed that the Guards are planning something big and has ordered an assassination of their leader, the Bull. As an assassin the character is sent to the inn where the Bull is supposed to have a meeting at night. What happens there is up to you.

 

And so on. There's a lot of politics but it never gets boring as the player is an active participant and one of the driving forces. The other political players keep appearing throughout the game in different situations. Here's an example Vince gave recently:

 

For example, Feng, a loremaster, will ask you to kill a rival. If you double-cross him, which would open another way to solve another quest, he'll run away, but he'll surface in another town as a local lord's advisor, making your life very difficult there. It's very choices & consequences-y, of course, but also it's a great way to present and develop characters and your relationships with them.

[Musopticon?]

Kiitoksia tyypeist

Edited August 22, 2007 by Musopticon?

[Jora]

Kiitoksia tyypeist

Edited August 22, 2007 by Jora

[Jora]

Some really good looking screens were posted a while back. They look spectacular... compared to Spiderweb games, at least.

 

 

 

 

 

Plus some concepts:

http://img116.imageshack.us/img116/6470/portalqn6.jpg

 

[Musopticon?]

That fillet was tasty. It looks like the graphics have been going upwards by leaps and bounds, a sort of solid look that I'm sure is respected. And yes, while SpidWeb's 2d art is better(at least back in Avernum 3/Geneforce 1, until Vogel went bat**** loco), this is 3d, damn fine from an indie attempt in this rare genre.

[Jora]

Image spam:

 

 

 

The discussion concerning the screens can be found here:

 

http://www.rpgcodex.net/phpBB/viewtopic.ph...asc&start=0

[Morgoth]

It definitely starts to come together very well.

[Jora]

http://www.rpgwatch.com/show/article?artic...;ref=0&id=2

 

There's a new article at RPG Watch, showing seven different locations. Most them we've alreade seen, but graphics have been improved a lot.

 

"The next item of interest is this "archeological" site. In the AoD world new discoveries aren't made in labs, they are dug out from ancient ruins and old battle sites. So when this ancient arc decorated by the long forgotten cuneiform symbols (that would be the ancient Sumerian written language, one of the first known to men) was discovered, it attracted many factions' attention. The arc is tied to the main quest, but it's an optional "item". You can beat the game without paying any attention to it or you can use it to influence the final events. You'd have to know how to power it up first, which requires skills and specific "how to" knowledge."

 

 

In other news, the game won't be released this year.

[Vic]

This is the second forum on which I've seen a topic created by you about this game, Jora (the other forum you have a whopping 19 posts; most of which, I'd imagine, stem from the game's topic). Bit of a viral marketer, aren't you?

[Dhruin]

But you have less than half the number of Jora's posts here on this board - does that mean your comments carry half the weight?

 

I would have thought members of this board would have welcomed news on CRPGs out there - or does posting at Qt3 invalidate posting anywhere else?

[Jora]

This is the second forum on which I've seen a topic created by you about this game, Jora (the other forum you have a whopping 19 posts; most of which, I'd imagine, stem from the game's topic). Bit of a viral marketer, aren't you?

I guess I am, but someone has to do the job. Look at Prelude to Darkness. It's masterfully crafted RPG, a pioneer in a way, but it'll never get a sequel because few people outside RPG Codex ever heard about it. Even the recent freeware release was ignored. On one hand I want to see AoD sell enough copies to have a sequel (or whatever they decide to make next) and on the other hand I just want people to know that these games exist and are worth playing.

 

(I've actually posted this on four other boards in addition to Obsidian and QT3. The reaction varies: godawful graphics! Oblivion looks better. Now this looks interesting, please keep us posted. Are you one of them Codexers get the **** out man! Finally a classic RPG! Etc. )

[Tale]

This is the second forum on which I've seen a topic created by you about this game, Jora (the other forum you have a whopping 19 posts; most of which, I'd imagine, stem from the game's topic). Bit of a viral marketer, aren't you?

He's a guerilla marketer, not a viral marketer.