“The Game We’re Covering” Strikes Again

Morbus

Morbus

Sonny, I Watched the Vault Bein' Built!
Age of Decadence. You know the deal: post-apocalyptic fantasy setting, classic RPG design, character system based on SPECIAL and there’s a whole lot going on their forums. As usual.

First of all, there’s some new stuff for us to look at:

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According to the team, these are in-game screenshots from the Imperial Guard Barracks. However, shadows “won’t be dynamic, and the characters will have only one shadow, but that’s how the environment looks”.

Secondly, there’s a community event called Let’s play AoD!:<blockquote>Let's have some fun here, folks. I believe you know the rules: the majority decides what to do, "DM" posts screens reflecting aforementioned decisions. We'll limit this game to the first town and its satellites (if your adventures take you there). Posting screens for every little thing you do could be too much, so I'll go with a mix of screens and text. If you die, the game is over.</blockquote>There are few screenshots already, from the character screen and a dialog screen, and if you’d like to play too, I think you’re welcome to join in.

Finally, there’s a thread about one of Age of Decadence’s locations, “The Bridge”, still under development, with three new screenshots:

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I should also remember Vince had shown us a concept art of this location in mid December:

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Link: Some New Stuff @ Iron Tower Studio Forums
Link: Let’s play AoD! @ Iron Tower Studio Forums
Link: Location: The Bridge @ Iron Tower Studio Forums
 
So, the background:

1. Assassin
2. Grifter
3. Knight
4. Loremaster
5. Mercenary
6. Merchant
7. Thief
8. None

Backgrounds are not classes and they don't restrict your character's development in any way. They define your character's relationship with different factions. A thief starts as a member of the Thieves Guild and gets reputation bonuses with its allies and reputation penalties with its enemies. A knight starts the game serving one of the Noble Houses, with all the advantages and disadvantages, and so on.
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Assassin or Mercenary would probably both have some interesting quests. I think I'll wait until AoD comes out to "play" it, but the idea of the background is kind of neat. I suppose if you pick None, you'll have the choice to later pick one of the factions to join.
 
It’s hypocritical of me to say “this game is gonna be awesome!” when I tend to criticise people who say stuff along those lines (especially when concerning unfinished games!).

But this game is gonna be awesome.

Is it Thursday yet?
 
Morbus said:
I should also remember Vince had shown us a concept art of this location in mid December:

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Erm, did anybody else point out that the concept art is a picture of the Puente Neuvo which connects the two halves of the town of Ronda in Spain.

It is a truly stunning location, and just a shame they weren't able to accurately depict the precipitous drops which surround the town.

Do I win the bridge-spotting competition? Do I get a biscuit? (Have I mistaken this for the Bridge Appreciation Society's forum? Does anybody care?)
 
Bernard Bumner said:
Erm, did anybody else point out that the concept art is a picture of the Puente Neuvo which connects the two halves of the town of Ronda in Spain.
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That's the one. A really beauty.

It is a truly stunning location, and just a shame they weren't able to accurately depict the precipitous drops which surround the town.
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Crappy engine. Imagine how great it would have looked in Gothic 3 (or even Morrowind).

Do I win the bridge-spotting competition? Do I get a biscuit? (Have I mistaken this for the Bridge Appreciation Society's forum? Does anybody care?)
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It's the internet. Somebody always does.
 
Niektóry said:
Bridge Appreciation Society's forum?
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Yeah baby! Look at the spans on those. (Grunt,... fumble...)

VDweller said:
Crappy engine. Imagine how great it would have looked in Gothic 3 (or even Morrowind).
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Oh! Each brick rendered individually! Maybe Fallout 3 could include more bridges, or - you know - just be set on a fucking huge bridge? :crazy:

Still, we all know that Independents are the only source of quality cRPGs at the moment and that lovely engines do not a great game make, so I'm not going to knock anybody for having an engine that can't handle 100m-deep chasms.

I'm definitely looking forward to Age of Decadence, so good luck to you all at Iron Tower Studios, I say.
 
One thing, VD. The craggy rock background for the interface seems a bit too prominent. It drives one's attention away from what's on the inventory and stat screens.
 
So, the background:

1. Assassin
2. Grifter
3. Knight
4. Loremaster
5. Mercenary
6. Merchant
7. Thief
8. None

Backgrounds are not classes and they don't restrict your character's development in any way. They define your character's relationship with different factions. A thief starts as a member of the Thieves Guild and gets reputation bonuses with its allies and reputation penalties with its enemies. A knight starts the game serving one of the Noble Houses, with all the advantages and disadvantages, and so on.
Click to expand...
I never really liked the idea of static factions. What would be cool is if you could start off as a merchant and then secretly join the thieves guild and plot to have a large shipment stolen - as long as no one saw you cavorting with thieves. Or you could be a secret assassin that has infiltrated the knights and would assassinate the leader on the eve of the battle.

Or conversely you could be undercover for the more reputable factions: a knight intent on bringing down the assassins from the inside or even a loremaster trying to recover ancient artifacts from the thieves guild.

My point is that the most exciting quests are often those that either involve betrayal, playing two factions against each other, or quests where you don't quite know where your own loyalties lie as you get more and more in the thick of things with both factions (kind of like The Departed/Infernal Affairs).
 
iridium_ionizer said:
My point is that the most exciting quests are often those that either involve betrayal, playing two factions against each other, or quests where you don't quite know where your own loyalties lie as you get more and more in the thick of things with both factions (kind of like The Departed/Infernal Affairs).
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I don't know how AoD will handle going undercover in a rival faction (although the game does have a disguise skill and grifters spend their time impersonating others) but from what I've seen, you should be able to betray your current faction and turn your coat at almost every turn. There's a reputation value tracking your loyalty, however. :P
 
DarkLegacy said:
When's this game getting released? :?
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"When it's absolutely polished" seems to be the official answer. Have a look around their forums and check out the AoD and RPG Design sections to see what kind of things they're talking about there. The discussions range from "Should ammo be called shafts?", to "Should we replace all the thief dialogues with hard-to-understand slang?"
 
To be more specific, we are updating the visuals (I think we all agree that the new screens posted in the news post look fantastic), bringing them to the levels where people start noticing the game.

While our artist is working on it, our programmer and I improve other areas. I thought that adding a lingo to add some atmosphere to thieves guild quests would be a good idea and we are exploring this subject now.
 
Screenshots look great, and I find the idea of Thieves guild slang to be really cool. Any QA needed? ;)
 
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