Shadowrun Returns

[Azdeus]

Sorry but that was my last two keys

 

Course, nothing to be sorry for

 

Can't decide if I'm going to wait for our GM to start running the PnP campaign or if I should go for the games first though. Decisions, decisions...

Edited May 20, 2014 by Azdeus

[sorophx]

yeah, thanks a million, ShadySands!   I wanted to play Dragonsomethingsomething badly, since people have been generally very positive when talking about it 

[aluminiumtrioxid]

 

Sorry but that was my last two keys

 

Course, nothing to be sorry for

 

Can't decide if I'm going to wait for our GM to start running the PnP campaign or if I should go for the games first though. Decisions, decisions...

 

 

Games first

 

Then again, I'm not really big on PnP Shadowrun, or cyberpunk in general.

[ShadySands]

Update #76 - Dragonfall Director's Cut Dev Diary the first (of his name?)

 This is the first of four Dev Diaries in which we discuss the new additions and improvements in Shadowrun: Dragonfall - Director's Cut, a standalone release of our critically-acclaimed Dragonfall campaign which first premiered as a major expansion for Shadowrun Returns. Stay tuned each Thursday for another Dev Diary, leading up to the game's release on September 18, 2014.

 

------------------

 

Hi, I’m Andrew McIntosh, Lead Writer on Shadowrun: Dragonfall and the upcoming Shadowrun: Dragonfall - Director’s Cut. As a long-time Shadowrun fan (I started playing with 2E, way back in 1992), working with Jordan and the team on Dragonfall was an incredible experience. Now, with the Dragonfall Director’s Cut, we’re thrilled to bring you even more of the magic-meets-cyberpunk storytelling that we delivered in Shadowrun: Dragonfall.

 

Today, I'd like to tell you about some of the brand new content we've added to the Director’s Cut. Don’t worry, I’ll keep this post spoiler-free; it’s safe to read on, even if you haven’t played through Shadowrun: Dragonfall yet.

 

Companion Story Missions 

 

From the very beginning of our work on Dragonfall, we wanted to include missions that would tie directly into the back stories of the game’s major companion NPCs - Glory, Eiger, Dietrich, and Blitz. Unfortunately, during the development of the campaign, it became obvious that we weren’t going to have enough time to really do justice to the concept. Ultimately, we decided that if we couldn’t do these missions right, we shouldn’t do them at all.*

After Dragonfall was released, it became clear to us that our players wanted to experience these missions as much as we wanted to write and design them. This is why, when we decided to move forward with the Director’s Cut, companion story missions were at the top of our to-do list.

 

 

Crew Advancement

 

You wanted more control over how your companion NPCs progressed in Dragonfall, and in the Director’s Cut, we’re delivering! Because Eiger, Glory, Dietrich, and Blitz are their own people, we aren’t giving you complete control over their character sheets; Eiger will always be a deadly ranged combatant, and Dietrich will never decide to give up magic and embark on an exciting new career as a decker. Instead, we’re implementing a system that will allow you to choose one of two all-new, unique enhancements for each of your companion characters every time they advance in skill.

For example, on a skill-up you might choose to grant Eiger the ability to fire a Dragon’s Breath round from her shotgun, penetrating armor and setting opponents on fire. Or you could give her the ability to fire an Interdiction round from her sniper rifle: a discarding-sabot HTI shot that completely ignores armor. Under this system, you will have the flexibility to choose how you would like to specialize your characters within their existing roles.

We’re also giving you the ability to customize the weapon, spell, and consumable loadouts for your companion characters, but I’ll leave the details on that for a future Dev Diary.

 

 

Additional Missions

 

In addition to the Companion Story Missions detailed above, two other full-length missions have been added to the game.

In “Trial Run,” you will undertake a mission for the mysterious Lodge, one of the side factions in Shadowrun: Dragonfall. Over the course of the run, you’ll learn how the organization conducts its business… but the Lodge will learn even more about you.

In “Lockdown,” you’ll get the opportunity to delve into the checkered past of the Kreuzbasar’s resident cybersurgeon, Dr. Xabier Ezkibel. Successfully completing this mission will unlock a variety of bleeding-edge bioware upgrades in Ezkibel’s clinic. Ever taken serious damage while out of range of a healer? Those shiny new Platelet Factories are just what the Doctor ordered… assuming, of course, that you have a big enough wad of nuyen to afford them.

 

 

Additional Endings

 

Without delving into spoiler territory, I can say that we’ve always wanted to explore some “what if?” scenarios related to Shadowrun: Dragonfall’s ending. There are two additional endings in the Director’s Cut; these new endings have been designed to give players even more agency in deciding how the story should unfold.

 

 

More Character Development

 

Several side characters from Shadowrun: Dragonfall have had their roles significantly enhanced, from the enigmatic Absinthe to the anarchistic Lucky Strike.

 

 

More Lore

 

There’s even more great Shadowrun lore in the Director’s Cut, including more easter eggs for long-time fans of the pen-and-paper game.

 

[AGX-17]

Spoiler: The number of ****s I gave about Eiger was close to zero.

[Leferd]

While the Berlin campaign was better than the first SRR release, and was an overall nice Kickstarter appetizer for the higher profile projects; I don't have much desire to replay the campaign again -even with the new bells and whistles.

 

I may be willing to pay for a new campaign though. Wonder why they didn't go that route?

[Lexx]

It's easier / cheaper t just work wit the existing thing.

 

From reading the update, though, I thought there would be more new side content and not just 5 (who might as well be really short, like all the other campaign side missions had been).

[ShadySands]

 

I can't wait

[Keyrock]

Looks like it will be set in the Far East.  Neo-Tokyo?

[Labadal]

Looks like it will be set in the Far East.  Neo-Tokyo?

Honk Kong, maybe?

 

Whatever it is, I will be happy if it is in the Far East.

[Starwars]

Hong Kong is likely as it was the second choice behind Berlin when they polled the backers on where to set the first expansion.

[Mamoulian War]

Can't wait to get my hands on this as well!

[Hurlshort]

I voted for Hong Kong, it's an awesome setting for Shadowrun.  I have the old campaign book somewhere.

[Ganrich]

Yeah, I am hoping for Hong Kong. It is a great setting. Going to side bar some Xmas cash for this.

 

HBS is doing a great job adding onto the game with new cotent. I am glad they aren't sequeling the game, and are just adding onto the current mod tools with new assets and features

[ShadySands]

Hong Kong has been confirmed

[Endrosz]

There is an interview up at RPS about SR: HK, part one of two, and in the first part, a lof of the talk is not about the new game, but the older ones.

 

About the linearity of the original:

 

 

Jordan: No, our goal was always to have very rich narratives. [...] But we frankly underestimated how much extra load that was going to be to do, to create a releasable editor. So the time for us to tell our story got shorter, so what ended up in the first Shadowrun returns was maybe 40% of what we had already written. That’s also why it was more linear than we intended.

Mitch: Sorry, it was actually 25% [laughs]. I went back and did the maths.

 

Okay, I forgive you. The editor is important.

 

About user-generated content:

 

 

Mitch: There’s some really great user-generated content on the Steam workshop. Jordan and I have done a lot of let’s play videos playing them, but we also do something called Shadowlab where we play people’s content and give them feedback so they can improve it. The audience really enjoys that, and really looks forward to those.

RPS: How honest are you really?

Mitch: Seriously, you gotta watch these videos, we’re laughing our asses off and having a lot of fun playing these things.

Jordan: What’s great about user-generated content is the inventiveness and creativity with which they approach things. They’re using our tools in ways we didn’t even think of. I remember the first time that we saw somebody hijack a character, thrown them in a van and then the van go in a ride. We didn’t know you could do that!

 

I think they are the only devs in the industry who care about user content this much! I was really surprised to read this, and promptly went to watch at least one of these Shadowlab videos.

[Gorgon]

Just started the Original Campaign after running through Dragonfall in a two afternoons. Combat is weak but writing is strong. I kinda think combat is so unimpressive that it should have been real time with pause or maybe diablo style. Mostly  no real offering of tactical choices to justify turns so adding time and timing might have helped create a sense of urgency.

 

For the basics of getting a turn based shooter to work. Xcom reboot is the new gold standard. Not really a place for anything that is demonstrably worse.  

[ShadySands]

Shadowrun Returns and Dragonfall are $2 and $3 dollars each on tablets today

 

Also, that other Shadowrun game released today

[Gfted1]

Hmm, I don't see either on the iOS app store (only the "gameguide"). Android only?

[ShadySands]

https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/shadowrun-dragonfall-directors/id872020768?mt=8

https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/shadowrun-returns/id667026182?mt=8

 

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.harebrainedschemes.dragonfall

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.harebrainedschemes.shadowrun

[Gfted1]

Thanks Shady. I also realize my problem was checking the store from my phone instead of my iPad.

[Hurlshort]

Huh, I really haven't followed the development of the Shadowrun Online game.

[213374U]

Also, that other Shadowrun game released today

 

They don't even have a dedicated website for the game? I thought this was going to be a MMO? It's hard to tell by the Steam description.

 

I... am not sure I want this game.

[ShadySands]

Yeah, from the beta it was more of a mission based solo/co-op game. I doubt it has changed in the past couple of months