Update #70: New Year Project Update

[Valorian]

I prefer the new attribute (effects), although I'd rather see strength than might.

 

I'd shuffle effects a bit:

 

Strength (or Might): +damage for physical attacks, area of effect and duration for magical attacks

 

Intellect: +healing and damage for magical attacks, area of effect and duration for physical attacks

 

And even:

 

Dexterity: +accuracy for physical attacks, +penetration and interrupt for magical attacks

 

Perception: +accuracy for magical attacks, +penetration and interrupt for physical attacks

 

 

 

This way everything is covered and some diversity is achieved.

 

An "iconic" wizard with high Intellect and Perception, but mediocre Strength and Dexterity, will deal lots of damage and be very accurate with his spells.

Once he switches to fighting with weapons.. he will be bad.

In the current system he needs Might and Dexterity for magical damage and accuracy, but these attributes also affect damage and accuracy with weapons.

 

I guess I'd just like attributes to differentiate physical and magical attacks and reflect their uniqueness.

 

[Jarrakul]

This is very nice. I love the Twin Elms ruins (seriously, you guys make Skyrim look ugly) and the Cean Gwla looks awesome even at Alpha quality. But the thing I like most here is the character sheet. Everything is clear, well laid out, and extremely transparent. I love that the basic stats screen has that much detail about exactly where different modifiers are coming from, and I also love that there's a detailed stats tab for people who want even more info (as I surely will). Well done, guys.

[milczyciel]

Backer portal is down again, no surprise here Luckily I've filled up all the surveys at the time of the last update.

Love the artwork and can't disagree about Engwithan ruins being a perfect place for an epic fight.

 

Still... <sigh>

I don't want to do it so much, yet I fill someone have to point it out anyway. Even if it will make me look like some kind of nitpicky creep/perv.

...god damn it

 

Please, please take a second look at that banshee-like render and ask yourself if her breasts should be so... well... good looking :| Especially if we consider she's not a vampire-like undead and by all means should be repulsive and not at all... titillating. The concept art looks far more convincing, coherent and (god I hate to use that word) "mature" that the in-engine model.

 

Sorry about that, don't want to make anyone responsible for that particular piece feel bad... I hope it's just my ****up interpretation, but I seriously get those "heeey, boobies" vibes from the render, and frankly, I don't like it

There's always hope, that even if it's final, it won't be so eye-catchy after being scaled down to the actual in-game size.

Just... give it a second thought, please.

 

Disclaimer for those who would like to make some wild assumptions about me.

If I sound like I'm aroused, then let me tell: NO I'm not, it's just my poor English. What I feel could be described as "surprised" by the direction you (in my interpretation) choose. Maybe even bit disappointed.

[J.E. Sawyer]

It's not particularly eye-catching in-game from the isometric perspective IIRC.

[Tauron]

That ancient ruin...beautifull.

 

Looks very good. Fan of UI, wooden frame and old paper, ahh we going back to the roots indeed. It may be alpha, but imo it is developing nicely.

 

I think it is cool how your artists manage keep it so close to concept art whn making 3D modells based on it. Imo banshee is a wraith,ghost, a creature betwean worlds, belonging neither here nor there yet...maybe should be bit more translucent?

 

Keep it good...next phase give us spell info and effects so we can rant about it.

[Sheikh]

I was doubting you guys were gonna show the UI this early but Im delighted you did. The part just below the portrait looks alpha to me the rest is all good already.

 

Also the gods, awesome. I actually never knew anything about dnd gods so hopefully in this game I can know the gods and actually declare each of my character to follow one. Looking forward to that.

 

Perhaps the strong blue glow is odd about the banshee. I personally would prefer it to look more conservative.

Edited January 14, 2014 by Sheikh

[J.E. Sawyer]

Imo banshee is a wraith,ghost, a creature betwean worlds, belonging neither here nor there yet...maybe should be bit more translucent?

 

We will probably be working on a shader soon to make ghosts/spectres etc. appear more appropriately... spectral.

[Gumbercules]

Wow, everything looks terrific! The art, both in-game and concept, looks beautiful. The stats seem at first glance to make more intuitive sense and it looks like they might have better tradeoffs too (although I can't know without having played the game).

 

So, things gleamed from the character sheet besides the stat changes:

• Aloth and Sagani are still companions, so if any of the originals were dropped it wasn't these two.
• Pallegina and The Devil of Caroc are new companions, and the latter is probably encountered first.
• Hylea is the name of an additional goddess.
• The Knights of the Crucible and The Dozens are two factions in the game.

[BAdler]

Beautiful. I think the attributes are finally getting somewhere. Look forward to playing with these mechanics. Keep up the great work. Upping my pledge to collector's edition soon.

 

Speaking of which, would like to hear what you guys decided about the stretch goals.

 

We are still discussing the stretch goals and the poll internally. Nothing to report yet.

[JackTheJackal]

Soo i just made this account even thou i have backed this game and is looking forward to it for me the backer sight is still Down given me a 404 or a 403  and i have not bin logged in thear yet also how can i get my kickstater badges on the forums?

[Infinitron]

 

Josh, please describe the stats if possible. I don't know what concentration is, whether healing is based on spells/abilities that case healing, per-time unit healing for stamina/health or both, etc. is penetration different from the DT piercing? interrupt is what exactly, spell interruption?

 

Concentration is similar to Concentration in 3E/3.5 (somewhat similar to Poise in Dark Souls) but it is for everyone, not just spellcasters.  Concentration prevents you from playing hit reactions when you take damage.  If you cannot maintain Concentration, you will play a hit reaction and your attack/reload/spell is interrupted.  We're still defining the system (in fact, I was messing around with the formulae before I sat down), but that's the general idea.

 

In the new scheme, Might affects damage/healing whether it's a single application or over time.  Penetration is something we may or may not use in conjunction with an inherent Penetration value on weapons and other attacks that cause damage.  I'm leaning toward "not" right now.

 

 

Stunlocking - a viable tactic?

[UlrichVonBek]

Wow ...!

 

The Art is just amazing ....!

I love the STATs UI, and the environment shown above has so hyper realistic textures and colors !!!

 

 

PS: By the way, I cannot access the backer page, I ended up with an error 403 : Forbidden ... 

[WotanAnubis]

This is a great update and all, but it does leave me with an important question.

 

What does Frermàs mes Canc Suolias mean? And how does one pronounce it?

[JFSOCC]

This is a great update and all, but it does leave me with an important question.

 

What does Frermàs mes Canc Suolias mean? And how does one pronounce it?

I'm guessing it's the order in which Pallegina is a paladin.

[milczyciel]

It's not particularly eye-catching in-game from the isometric perspective IIRC.

That's what I hoped for in the first second place.

Still, I can't shake the feeling it's just not right - she's a withered corpse with a firm breast. That doesn't add up.

 

EDIT:

Many thanks for addressing my concerns anyway

Edited January 14, 2014 by milczyciel

[J.E. Sawyer]

 

Stunlocking - a viable tactic?

 

Outright stunlocking would be pretty darn hard.  The attacks that have high rates of fire (like wands and spell missiles) will likely have low base Interrupt values, so even someone with a high Perception wouldn't be likely to call a hit reaction often unless the target had a miserable Resolve.

[Infinitron]

 

 

Stunlocking - a viable tactic?

 

Outright stunlocking would be pretty darn hard.  The attacks that have high rates of fire (like wands and spell missiles) will likely have low base Interrupt values, so even someone with a high Perception wouldn't be likely to call a hit reaction often unless the target had a miserable Resolve.

 

 

When you're fighting one on one, sure, but if we're talking about some kind of "lone tank boss" that you gang up on with your entire party, then the odds are much higher.

 

By the way, this mechanic kinda reminds me of something I asked you about a while ago: http://new.spring.me/#!/JESawyer/q/455236323633025078

 

Only in the end it's hit reaction animations, not attacking or dodging animations, that prevent a character from doing stuff.

Edited January 14, 2014 by Infinitron

[Yonjuro]

(I like everything about this update.)

 

The itemized 'Active Effects' section on the character sheet is very nice.

[Veenox]

Very nice update!

 

I'm happy to see the first gods of the game too and I can't wait to learn more about the lore of the game itself.

[J.E. Sawyer]

This is a great update and all, but it does leave me with an important question.

 

What does Frermàs mes Canc Suolias mean? And how does one pronounce it?

 

It means "Brotherhood of the Five Suns".  It's Vailian and is pronounced frehr-MAHS mehs kahnk swoh-LEE-ahs.

[teknoman2]

I prefer the new attribute (effects), although I'd rather see strength than might.

 

I'd shuffle effects a bit:

 

Strength (or Might): +damage for physical attacks, area of effect and duration for magical attacks

 

Intellect: +healing and damage for magical attacks, area of effect and duration for physical attacks

 

And even:

 

Dexterity: +accuracy for physical attacks, +penetration and interrupt for magical attacks

 

Perception: +accuracy for magical attacks, +penetration and interrupt for physical attacks

 

 

 

This way everything is covered and some diversity is achieved.

 

An "iconic" wizard with high Intellect and Perception, but mediocre Strength and Dexterity, will deal lots of damage and be very accurate with his spells.

Once he switches to fighting with weapons.. he will be bad.

In the current system he needs Might and Dexterity for magical damage and accuracy, but these attributes also affect damage and accuracy with weapons.

 

I guess I'd just like attributes to differentiate physical and magical attacks and reflect their uniqueness.

i think you missunderstand something 

healing does not mean how much hp or stamina a cleric restores with a spell, it means how much hp you naturaly regenerate when you rest. so it rightfully belongs to might

the ruins screenshot screams DRAGON FIGHT!!!

[Turambar]

^{Once again - fantastic. I love the UI and the area design. Brilliant work.}

Edited January 14, 2014 by Turambar

[J.E. Sawyer]

When you're fighting one on one, sure, but if we're talking about some kind of "lone tank boss" that you gang up on with your entire party, then the odds are much higher.

 

By the way, this mechanic kinda reminds me of something I asked you about a while ago: http://new.spring.me/#!/JESawyer/q/455236323633025078

 

Only in the end it's hit reaction animations, not attacking or dodging animations, that prevent a character from doing stuff.

 

At worst it would be no worse than the original BG/IWD, where pretty much every hit called a reaction.  In practice, it should never be that bad because you're making an actual check separately from being hit and if we make a "lone tank boss", that boss will likely have a gnarly Resolve specifically to avoid that situation.

[fortuntek]

Reputation system: looking interesting! Sorry if this has been answered elsewhere and I'm late to the party, but what is the range for player and party reputations? Between one and three? What are the possible descriptors?

Possible Player Reputations:

Aggressive

1- ?

2- Surly

3- ?

Benevolent

1- Kind

2- ?

3- ?

Passionate

1- ?

2- ?

3- Zealous

Possible Party Reputations (by area):

 

Bad

1- ?

2- Rascal

3- ?

Good

1- Ally

2- ?

3- Hero

Mixed

1- Eccentric

2- Oddity

3- ?

Is this correct? Is it even possible to the a level three mixed party reputation? I'm curious as to what that would be, if so.

Edited January 14, 2014 by fortuntek

[ItinerantNomad]

At worst it would be no worse than the original BG/IWD, where pretty much every hit called a reaction.  In practice, it should never be that bad because you're making an actual check separately from being hit and if we make a "lone tank boss", that boss will likely have a gnarly Resolve specifically to avoid that situation.

 

 

By definition, bosses are highly resolved in what they do, even in real-life, so it's not much of a stretch, Josh. Take that simulationistas!