Last topic of choice was the Mako returning and what engine was being used for the new Mass Effect.

 

Continue!

You forgot about Grand Theft Effect

I CBA to look for the source now, but the big deal was about getting tech synergies between EA studios (using Frostbite when able) and between Bioware teams (using the same tools for all their projects), so all Bioware projects should use Frostbite with their shared dialogue etc. systems.

I imagine the lack of licensing fees for Frostbite helps as well, at least so far as Mass Effect is concerned.

Edited July 29, 201411 yr by Zoraptor

Pyrodactyl (the developers of Unrest) posted a post-mortem on their (just released) Kickstarter project.

there's also a Xenonauts post-mortem out there. pretty fun to read

I imagine the lack of licensing fees for Frostbite helps as well, at least so far as Mass Effect is concerned.

 

While I didn't say it outright, I certainly implied it was the main reason. That, and the ability to affect any work done on the engine vs. having to take it as given and mod it if necessary.

Mind you they're saying that the next Mass Effect is more than a few years away.  While I'd imagine the stuff they're doing now will be in Frostbite, I do wonder if that'll be the end engine or not.

Mind you they're saying that the next Mass Effect is more than a few years away.  While I'd imagine the stuff they're doing now will be in Frostbite, I do wonder if that'll be the end engine or not.

Yes.

Mako just needed to have mass for the physics model to feel better. That and proper map design and a mechanic to choose your landing spot.

Mind you they're saying that the next Mass Effect is more than a few years away. 

 

One of the retailers I used to buy games from is already taking preorders for it.  Can never be too soon to take money off people I guess.  

 

http://www.mightyape.com.au/product/Mass-Effect-4/22506489

Remember the DNF preorders back in the years. People bought the game 10 years before it got released. :D

Remember the DNF preorders back in the years. People bought the game 10 years before it got released. :D

For all the crap Gearbox has pulled since then, at least they repayed those preorders generously.

That tree face at the end...

 

I feel so molested.

So non-combat, non-competitve MMO. What's the gameplay? Just walking around?

So non-combat, non-competitve MMO. What's the gameplay? Just walking around?

You begin as a giant tree. Storms that affect the known planets transform you, and continue to influence your path. A rare flower has many powers that can alter your course. Enchanting opera singers guide you.

 

As you explore, you begin to discover others in the the sprawling rainforest. Working together, you unlock new experiences, piece together the plot and enjoy the varied beauty that Wander has to offer.

 

Wander features a gorgeous landscape, large scale non-competitive play and immersive sound design to create a world like no other.

Sounds like "art" to me.

I imagine there will be puzzles of one sort or another.

Well, my interest is piqued anyway. Exploration sounds neat.

So non-combat, non-competitve MMO. What's the gameplay? Just walking around?

 

Haven't the Elder Scrolls games proven there were interest in hiking similators?

 

Yeah, I guess that's non-combat if you don't count the bandits, dire [animal]s and the occassional dragon popping down on you.

Those were the things that spoiled the walk.

 

Just like golf.

Just pledged to this - looks like it could be a nice, memorable thing, at $5 a pop.

 

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/462029764/fritz-a-video-game-about-world-war-one

 

Fritz is a German soldier in the trenches of WW1. Bond with trenchmates and fend off the French in this PC game. Every choice matters.

 

What is Fritz?

 

Fritz is a narrative RPG with brutal real-time combat about life in the trenches of the First World War. You play as Fritz, a German soldier on the Western Front. Most of the gameplay is comprised of everyday activities like guard duty, getting food, and talking to your fellow soldiers. Attacks are sparse, but deadly and challenging.

 

The main aspect of the game is character development, both of Fritz and of his comrades. Each of them is shaped by interaction with others and the things they're going through. Your comrades can die practically randomly during attacks, but the longer they survive, and they closer they get to Fritz, the better their chances of survival as everyone helps each other.

 

 

 

 

Details of Gameplay

 

Each playthrough of the game will last between 4-6 in-game weeks, with content for each game day. This time was chosen to reflect the amount of time a German soldier was expected to stay on the front before being sent back into reserves.

 

At the end of that time there will be multiple endings available, completely dependent on how you play the game, and then you will be sent back to the main menu, where you can play a "new game" with your stats, skills, and experiences completely reset, or you can play "new game +" with the same stats, skills, and experiences, making the game progressively harder on each playthrough.

 

 

Planned Main Gameplay Elements:

• Dialogue with fellow soldiers
• 
  
• Daily routine (i.e. guard duty, mail, equipment maintenance, deliveries)
• 
  
• Battles with the French
• 
  
• Dynamic, random events that play out differently depending on the player's previous actions and affect stats for Fritz and NPCs.
• 
  

 

Planned Atmospheric Elements:

• Soldiers with personality and stats
• 
  
• Branching dialogue options
• 
  
• Interactive character development that takes the stats and relationships of NPCs into account
• 
  
• Skill development based on learning from NPCs
• 
  
• Fritz's thoughts change and flash on the screen with events and stats
• 
  
• Inventory (can be used by the player, or as gifts or bribes)
• 
  
• Stats for illness, trauma, hunger, loneliness
• 
  
• Letters to and from home, with care packages that affect stats
• 
  
• All of the above dynamically integrated and dependent on the situation and the player's actions.
• 
  
• Multiple endings
• 
  

 

Base Goal

• The game will be playable on PC and Linux.
• 
  
• We will be creating 10 major NPCs (with fully fleshed-out storylines of their own and complex interaction with Fritz), and you will get the opportunity to interact with 3 of them per playthrough.
• 
  
• There will also be 25 minor NPCs (who interact minimally with Fritz), of which there will be about 10 per playthrough.
• 
  
• For combat, the player will either be shooting in a desperate charge across the battlefield or in close combat in the trench. The player can control the character in cardinal directions (WASD) and stand, crouch, or lie down. The shooting mechanic will be basic---aim with a crosshair and fire---but accuracy will be a challenge, as Fritz's aim and speed will be influenced by his stats and health.
• 
  
• The game will feature at least three different interactive settings: the trench, the battlefield, and the hospital.
• 
  
• There will be at least 21 different endings.
• 
  

 

 

Funding goal: $15,000

 

There's already a chess software called Fritz. They'll have to change their name to Kraut.