Planescape: Torment successor announced. Set in Numenera universe.

[Brother None]

Don't think there's much Kickstarter fatigue. Just some poor pitches and a general Kickstarter dip around Christmas. Videogaming overall is still going strong, per Kickstarter's numbers, just didn't see a lot of huge projects, until this one swings around again.

 

I get it, there are economic realities that they have to deal with. Same with the Torment license, which is obviously more or less a PR stunt to raise awareness. Still, not good for the people who are supposed to pay, IMO.

 

Well, it's not ideal. But sometimes reality isn't ideal, and you roll with the punches. inXile either fires a bunch of people and tries this Kickstarter after WL2 is out, or goes back to Kickstarter now to create a more ideal production flow where they can naturally roll from one project into the next. I have a hard time blaming them for giving that latter option a try. But it is less than ideal, and some people will want to wait to pledge or take a pre-order option until Wasteland 2 is out, and that's fine.

 

They've got a good team together, an interesting setting, an attention-grabbing IP, but they need funds. Would it be better if this was another studio rather than inXile making this pitch? I don't see how, they'd still have to prove themselves as a studio. It does make it *look* more odd, but the logic of it "we have a project, we need funds" doesn't change simply because they have another Kickstarter project running. We don't have more or less reason to trust inXile right now than we did when they pitched Wasteland 2.

 

But overall, it's a tough situation, and they're aware it's not ideal "PR wise", but they'll explain the situation and the why as best they can and then hope people are convinced. Only thing they can do. They have my interest, in any case.

Edited January 10, 2013 by Brother None

[AGX-17]

"It's a pretty awesome sounding setting that is set one billion years in the future where many great civilizations have risen and fallen leaving behind various artifacts of immense technology. It's somewhat post-apocalyptic in that the current inhabitants live at about a Medieval level of technology with these immense, powerful and unknown creations lying around them.

Some of these are extremely helpful: advanced tools, valuable means of communication and learning, transportation, defenses, and weapons. Others are dangerous: genetically altered monstrosities, flesh-warping radiation, creatures transplanted from distant stars, and clouds of out-of-control nanobots, just to name a few."

 

Sounds like 99% of fantasy and SF games/movies/books ever created. L0LZ

 

Yeah, that sure does sound Tolkienesque. I remember that one time when the Orcs called in an orbital bombardment at Helm's Deep. So cliche.

 

And Baldur's Gate with all its cyborgs and nanotechnology. Man, the mindhacking minigame in BG2 was the worst part of it. Which attribute do you need to max out to keep these guys from noticing you're physically rewiring their neurons to create false memories?

Edited January 10, 2013 by AGX-17

[Death Machine Miyagi]

I believe WotC has buried the Planescape setting. I doubt they aren't allowing a BG3, however.

 

Having said that, I'm glad we got PST instead of just another sequel.... I am definitely NOT interested in a genuine "Planescape: Torment 2"

 

I actually agree, that whole storyline is something that should only be concluded if they ever want to end the blood wars, which is never.

The Blood War has ended.

 

Yeah, I heard about that. Given how much it was driven home in the past that the Blood War was integral to the very structure of the planes, and how it had been going on since basically the beginning of everything and was fully expected to go on until the end of everything, I have to assume the new writer who decided that took a big crap on established canon and should be ignored.

[maggotheart]

I'm a bit skeptical. First of all, we haven't even seen Wasteland 2 yet. How many people are willing to feed more money to Fargo when we have no idea what they've been able to make with the few million dollars we just gave him. Especially since I haven't played a single InXile game, it's kinda hard to talk myself into giving them more. With Obsidian it would be a different thing, since I kinda know what to expect.

 

They just gave The Bards Tale away for free to everyone who backed Wasteland 2. I found it to be a cringeworthy bad game and now I'm a little nervous about the project. I'll definitely be waiting to see if they deliver before I'd consider funding anything more.

[WDeranged]

Bards Tale does look cringeworthy but I reassure myself that it was just the product of a deflated Fargo and his small team at InXile, Wasteland 2 has a lot of talented guys helping out officially and unofficially.

[Oerwinde]

I was a fan of Bards Tale's dialogue in the hour I played it, but the environments were a giant pile of garbage and the controls were crap. The screens of Wasteland 2 shows they have improved on their level design.

[Volourn]

"eing a bit familiar with this process in a somewhat related area (not gamedev, but close), the best time to raise funds is now.

If they wait for W2 to be released, then it can go either way. It can be a genius game and everyone will donate; or it can be a mediocre or a misunderstood title and nobody will donate for a long time (until the public "forgives" ineXile); or it can be somewhere in between."

 

ie. He's hedging his bets because even the guy making W2 thinks it is gonna suck? That doesn't even make sense. You are assuming he's assuming that W2 is gonna be so horrible people won't buy another game from him so he's trying tot take their money now instead of W2 is released and he can brag how awesome it is and THAT is why people should invest in this new game.

 

L0LZ

[maggotheart]

I was a fan of Bards Tale's dialogue in the hour I played it, but the environments were a giant pile of garbage and the controls were crap. The screens of Wasteland 2 shows they have improved on their level design.

 

I really tried to give it a shot and played for about 4-5 hours before I just couldn't take it anymore. Your analysis is accurate. Pretty much everything but the voice acting / dialogue is crap, and the game just can't stand on that alone. It's nice that they wanted to do something like that for the backers, but it sure didn't inspire any confidence in Inxile. Now they're playing around with one of the most beloved RPGs of all time, it's a lot to live up to without demonstrating that they can make awesome games first. Are they biting off more than they can chew?

[C2B]

I'm a bit skeptical. First of all, we haven't even seen Wasteland 2 yet. How many people are willing to feed more money to Fargo when we have no idea what they've been able to make with the few million dollars we just gave him. Especially since I haven't played a single InXile game, it's kinda hard to talk myself into giving them more. With Obsidian it would be a different thing, since I kinda know what to expect.

 

They just gave The Bards Tale away for free to everyone who backed Wasteland 2. I found it to be a cringeworthy bad game and now I'm a little nervous about the project. I'll definitely be waiting to see if they deliver before I'd consider funding anything more.

 

Good thing this isn't the same InXile then?

 

 

Didn't we have all these discussions DURING the kickstarter. Why are they coming up now again?

Edited January 10, 2013 by C2B

[Bester]

ie. He's hedging his bets because even the guy making W2 thinks it is gonna suck? That doesn't even make sense. You are assuming he's assuming that W2 is gonna be so horrible people won't buy another game from him so he's trying tot take their money now instead of W2 is released and he can brag how awesome it is and THAT is why people should invest in this new game.

 

L0LZ

 

He's not assuming anything, it's just a good long term strategy. W2 can turn out to be bad, even if there's 5% of this happening. So with all possible outcomes, this move has the greatest +EV.

[Volourn]

Nope. It's dumb and i assumes that he isa ssumming that W2 will be a horrible game. DOES. NOT. COMPUTE.

[alanschu]

I don't think it means that Fargo feels that Wasteland 2 will be a horrible game.

 

Depending on who he feels his target audience is, as well as staffing issues, he may have the idea that waiting for WL2 to be done won't really lead to a significant change in the types of backers (perhaps just replacing Wasteland fans with Torment fans, and so forth) so the numbers don't change enough to justify sitting on the idea (and possibly having staff idle, or worse, laid off) compared to going forward with the idea sooner.

 

I do believe that there's only a certain type of person that will genuinely be okay with backing, and expect WL2 to sell more games than it had backers, and that this won't really change even if WL2 is awesomesauce.

[Huinehtar]

There is another interview of Mr Fargo about the new Torment:

http://www.nowgamer.com/features/1766807/brian_fargo_interview_new_torment_numenera_crpg.html

 

He seems to be less categoric about turn-based or real time with pause than the previous interviews, the new picture is very interesting (maybe somebody could say that it has a Sigil's - or even a Zerg's [remember the "Hive" in both Starcraft and Planescape?] - feeling) even if it is a work in progress.

Mr Fargo concluded that a Numenera: Torment's Kickstarter campaign will certainly begin before Wasteland 2's release.

 

But I think it should happen after the first betas to see what is really inside this new Wasteland and what is worth.

[GhoulishVisage]

First concept art for the Torment successor here:

 

 

 

Edit: Ah, I see someone already posted a link to nowgamer where the art is.

Edited January 15, 2013 by GhoulishVisage

[entrerix]

im on the fence about this project, i think it would make more sense to go to kickstarter once a playable version of WL2 exists so people know that Fargo still can walk the walk

 

right now, it just feels premature, and using the name torment seems very unnecessary, for the reasons that alanschu stated earlier in this thread

 

edit: but that concept art is pretty cool, so im a bit excited about the potential for the game

Edited January 15, 2013 by entrerix

[NOK222]

I agree, the word Torment seems unnecessary, give it another title and we'll see.

[Leferd]

I'm fine with them using the Torment name. Bioshock was used as the name for the spiritual successor to System Shock. If Fargo picked up the rights for "Torment," may as well use it.

[WorstUsernameEver]

Out of curiosity, how would people feel if they dropped the Torment name and simply referenced it in the Kickstarter?

[BruceVC]

Out of curiosity, how would people feel if they dropped the Torment name and simply referenced it in the Kickstarter?

 

Unhappy, bitterly unhappy.

 

Its a game based on the Torment concepts and narrative idea's so they need to keep the name Torment

[Oerwinde]

If they call it Torment 2 I wont like it, if they call it Numenera: Torment I'm entirely ok with it.

[Amentep]

Numenera: Torment: Not Quite Torment 2: Electric Boogaloo: Revenge of the Colon

[entrerix]

im not sure i like the idea of it being called numenera: torment (i'd rather torment only be mentioned as inspiration, and not in the title)

 

although i guess it offers some flexibility: other games set in numenera setting could be called "numenera: _______" and completely disengage from the "torment" trappings if so desired

Edited January 16, 2013 by entrerix

[Ywerion]

I don't see any problem with that , in fact as was somewhere stated already: There are many others stories of Torments to be told. If The Numenera will be story of tormented individual/s just liken in P:T vein, then it is perfectly justified for me.

[Labadal]

Out of curiosity, how would people feel if they dropped the Torment name and simply referenced it in the Kickstarter?

 

That's what I think will happen. I'm okay with that.

Edited January 16, 2013 by Labadal

[Dream]

Planescape: Torment was called that because torment was a central theme of the plot. Is this game going to have the same plot? It makes **** all sense to me personally.