How 'medieval' do you want the world of P:E to be?

[drake heath]

I'd like more apparent feudalism. Games like DA never really felt like feudalistic worlds in the way games like The Witcher did.

 

I'd like inter-locking dynasties, old histories, HRE-like nations; which are a confederation of smaller kingdoms under an elected ruler, and suffering peasants. Like really, being a peasant sucked, in DA or even TES you never really had that.

 

Also if there are any republics, I hope they're medieval republics, like the Italian city states or the Netherlands. Not modern representative republics. Old republics were pretty much oligarchies.

[Jaesun]

I am honesty bored to tears with medieval setting in cRPGs. Please do something different. Though in PE, it almost seems like the very early era before an Industrial revolution so maybe even kind of pre-stem punk.

[Monte Carlo]

I usually agree with Jaesun, except when I don't.

 

A kind of not-quite-steampunk would be cool (think Quicksilver by Neal Stephenson).

 

Very high medieval in a fantasy world is cool, imagine musket and cannon armed Conquistador type characters conquering a new world occupied by savage bronze age orc tribes or whatever. That sounds fresh to me.

[IndiraLightfoot]

Umberlin and Jaesun captured my liking! No realistic medieval settings please with feudalism and inquisition, and I don't want comic medieval either, like Hal Foster's Prince Valiant. Something of a pre-steampunk combined with the Ravenloft vibe.

[licketysplit]

I've seen nothing to indicate they're leaning toward steampunk.

[IndiraLightfoot]

That's true, and I wouldn't want that.

[Karranthain]

I've seen nothing to indicate they're leaning toward steampunk.

 

On that note, I'm still hoping to see the Arcanum 2 Kickstarter

[Monte Carlo]

No, not steampunk. Just a type of fantasy that takes place in a late 15th / early 16th century setting where there might be significant tech / cultural developments (reformation / gunpowder / navigation).

[Jaesun]

On that note, I'm still hoping to see the Arcanum 2 Kickstarter

 

Activision owns the rights to Arcanum. That is never going to happen, just FYI.

[NerdBoner]

you know, everybody always does the medieval fantasy setting...but just once i'd like to see a fantasy setting based on pre-medieval times such as the Roman Imperial/republic era. I don't think that's ever been done.

[rjshae]

They've already stated that they will be doing a mix of cultures and technology levels, so there's room for variety. I'd say it should depend a lot on the history and the cultural interactions. The mix of racial types and the effect of magic are bound to create some changes from a true, historical European setting. But I have no issue with big chunks of the setting following traditional fantasy tropes; change for the sake of change is not always beneficial. It's good for the setting to give players some basis for relating to the conditions, while mixing in enough novel elements to make it interesting.

Edited October 6, 2012 by rjshae

[Rivfader]

I want to see ruins of ancients civilization that were more advanced than the current civilization of the world.

[Jaesun]

you know, everybody always does the medieval fantasy setting...but just once i'd like to see a fantasy setting based on pre-medieval times such as the Roman Imperial/republic era. I don't think that's ever been done.

 

http://www.irontowerstudio.com/

[Foefaller]

you know, everybody always does the medieval fantasy setting...but just once i'd like to see a fantasy setting based on pre-medieval times such as the Roman Imperial/republic era. I don't think that's ever been done.

 

There are a couple. There is Gladius, a fun turn-based by Lucasarts, that is set in a Romanesque fantasy setting (though it was a console game for GCN/Xbox/PS2, so no PC gamming there). There is also an indie RPG that is set in a after-the-fall Roman Imperial/early Dark Age setting, but I cannot remember for the life of me what it is called. (EDIT: It's the Iron tower game posted right above me) For Action-RPG, there is Titan Quest, something I go back to now again even in this post-Diablo 3 and Torchlight II world.

 

On that note, I'm still hoping to see the Arcanum 2 Kickstarter

 

Activision owns the rights to Arcanum. That is never going to happen, just FYI.

 

Correction: Another game using the name and setting of Arcanum is never going to happen; you will never kill my hope of another steampuck high fantasy game ever happening again!

 

Then again, considering the "You will make kickstarter for the dev. money, then we get to publish and keep the IP" story Sawyer mentioned sounds exactly like something Activision would do...

Edited October 6, 2012 by Foefaller

[TCJ]

you know, everybody always does the medieval fantasy setting...but just once i'd like to see a fantasy setting based on pre-medieval times such as the Roman Imperial/republic era. I don't think that's ever been done.

 

There is such a game, actually. Nethergate by Spiderweb Software (or something like that). It's quite old and low on graphics, but set in a Roman period.

[Karranthain]

On that note, I'm still hoping to see the Arcanum 2 Kickstarter

 

Activision owns the rights to Arcanum. That is never going to happen, just FYI.

 

Don't tread on my dream

Edited October 6, 2012 by Karranthain

[rjshae]

I've seen nothing to indicate they're leaning toward steampunk.

 

Serfpunk.

[Death Machine Miyagi]

I won't lie. A certain Pulp Fiction scene comes to mind.

 

Berserk is a great example I s'pose (one of the best Manga's out there).

- Spoiler below -

If you know what I'm talking about I'll just say before the Eclipse.

 

I mentioned that a good chunk of fantasy takes only the service elements of medieval society while ditching the less savory aspects. Things like Berserk or (and I'm a bit weirded out suggesting any connection between this series and Berserk, of all things) the Song of Ice and Fire series seem to have popularized the opposite approach; to take the darker aspects of medieval life and play them up to the hilt until the entire world seems to be a sort of non-stop cycle of people getting raped and murdered and burned and cannibalized and otherwise suffering all sorts of nasty fates while the bad guys routinely win.

 

I prefer that approach to the High Fantasy approach which sanitizes everything to the point of toothlessness, but I've gotta admit, I really don't want to see P:E play out like Berserk, pre- or post-eclipse. There is such a thing as so much darkness that apathy ensues, since probably the only thing good that could happen in such a world is if the whole damn place were just put out of its misery.

[Death Machine Miyagi]

That said, I would like to see a P:E that takes some of the darker approaches to medieval life shown in things like A Song of Ice and Fire. Just...please don't overdo it. Players and readers need hope and places that aren't dark and miserable to counter those that are.

Edited October 6, 2012 by Death Machine Miyagi

[Monte Carlo]

Yes too much grimdark is just... well grimdark.

[drake heath]

I it's setting is in a 15th-16th century tech period it wouldn't be medieval. That was the start of the early modern era.

 

I'd like to see an introductions of a lot of the concept that arose from that period. Not copy-pasted, but similar.

Especially if there's colonization, which I think there might be.

[Stiler]

I'd like to see a bit of both older medieval era and Renaissance , the clothing designs and things from the Renaissance are quite appealing from a visual standpoint.

 

I mean having a character wearing something like this:

http://www.pearsonsrenaissanceshoppe.com/french-highwayman-coat.html

 

that would be cool, and fit quite well knowing there's both melee weapons/bows as well as guns, it'd fit within the time period.

[Serenegoose]

Personally I'm hoping for it to be renaissance, not medieval. As a setting, the renaissance always felt more dynamic to me. It was smarter, wealthier, and relatively speaking, a cultural explosion. I prefer being immersed in societies that are vibrant and pushing onwards, not stuck in the mud.*

 

*Note: This is about perception and not strictly speaking 'reality' - of course the medieval period had intelligent people and strong, interesting regional cultures - but the renaissance is so named for a reason.

[Death Machine Miyagi]

Aside:

The devs have suggested late medieval/early Renaissance which fits somewhere around C14-15th. There are such a large range of societies in that period; Byzantium reviving and then declining, city states in Europe rising in power, nations developing, Imperial China etc...

 

It gives the develops a large palate of cultural, religious and political systems to model the PE world and given the talent involved, the end result should be very interesting.

 

Very true, but one commonality between Byzantium, Italian city-states, Imperial China, etc. is that all of those cultures were a great deal more brutal and unforgiving than modern sensibilities are accustomed to. Byzantium had its blindings and mutilations for political and other crimes, the Italian city-states had the free companies selling their services and living by plunder, Imperial China had punishments involving killing not only the offender but his entire family, all his friends, and even his students and subordinates, and so on.

 

No matter where you were in the world, life during the 14th and 15th century was nasty, brutish and short compared to life in a modern first world country. Sensibilities reflected that. That can come out in various ways, not just reflecting medieval France or England, but I hope that it comes out.

Edited October 6, 2012 by Death Machine Miyagi

[Nonek]

I always find that the grimmer the setting, the more those little moments of fairy tale happiness stands out. Little acts of kindness and personal stories of redemption that shine through the bleak times and inspire the hero to continue his struggle.