Archmage Rises - the play-how-you-want mage simulator - now available on Early Access

[anvi]

Seems interesting but I am sick of reading topics about half made games that have no release date (and maybe never will).

For reals. "Early Access" is the newest cancer in gaming, since DLC and microtransactions.

 

[Sykar]

Seems interesting but I am sick of reading topics about half made games that have no release date (and maybe never will).

For reals. "Early Access" is the newest cancer in gaming, since DLC and microtransactions.

I do not mind paying 5-10 bucks to a promising indie developer but it has become the norm for so called AAA producers as well demanding full price for at times unplayable software and the retards buy them still. It's a sad state of affairs.

 

[anvi]

The problem I have with it is that lots of people buy Early Access shit which is barely playable, and then many years go by with not enough to make the game good. Maybe the dev lost their incentive because everyone already bought it, or maybe there wasn't enough money to afford to finish the game, or maybe they just don't have what it takes. But it annoys me because people shouldn't be supporting indie devs like a charity. They aren't a needy charity, they are a business. The whole point of paying early was supposed to be that the gamer actually gets the game, they just pay earlier as a helping hand to the dev. It was good in principle but it has been abused.

Now I think if you can't afford to develop a game to completion, you shouldn't be in the games business at all. Making good games is only part of being a game dev, a big part is securing the funding. And there are more options now than ever before. But I don't think one should be for gamers to buy something that isn't already a good game or isn't a sure thing.

 

[Sykar]

The problem I have with it is that lots of people buy Early Access shit which is barely playable, and then many years go by with not enough to make the game good. Maybe the dev lost their incentive because everyone already bought it, or maybe there wasn't enough money to afford to finish the game, or maybe they just don't have what it takes. But it annoys me because people shouldn't be supporting indie devs like a charity. They aren't a needy charity, they are a business. The whole point of paying early was supposed to be that the gamer actually gets the game, they just pay earlier as a helping hand to the dev. It was good in principle but it has been abused.

Now I think if you can't afford to develop a game to completion, you shouldn't be in the games business at all. Making good games is only part of being a game dev, a big part is securing the funding. And there are more options now than ever before. But I don't think one should be for gamers to buy something that isn't already a good game or isn't a sure thing.

Well I only bought UnderRail for early access so far. Not regretting it one bit.

 

[anvi]

Only actual money I paid on this stuff was for some Kickstarters. I did PoE, DoS, DoS2, and System Shock. I hate PoE though so I will be more careful in the future. (I also did some others that failed.)

 

[almondblight]

Now I think if you can't afford to develop a game to completion, you shouldn't be in the games business at all.

If this were the case we'd probably be missing out on most of the good recent games. Funding not only helps finish the project, but it's also a motivator, where you can't just give up halfway through (well, not as often at least). Frequent public iterations also help to limit some the number of times a project throws everything away and goes back to the drawing board, or spends 2-3 years going down the wrong path.

If early access was popular some years ago, there's a good chance we would have gotten stuff like Dropship and The Broken Hourglass. A decade ago it was much more common for a cool game to be announced, get worked on for a few years, and then dropped after the developers lost motivation.

 

[anvi]

Tiny indie devs would make games in the past, often with 1 person, and they would get them to release based on their own belief in the game. I think now it is more about convincing the dumb public and making a bunch of money from a promise or the potential. And that sucks.

 

[Infinitron]

https://youtu.be/BY0IauJ8dxA

http://www.archmagerises.com/news/2017/1/31/video-update-7-economy-trade-simulation

 

[Johannes]

Very spergy, I approve.

 

[tsiforb]

Schedule Update
We're 1 day behind towards our feature complete date of Jan 24. Get to work Thomas!

Feature Update

• This week we mostly finished off the economy simulation.
• Town features/buildings are determined by its surrounding geography.
• We show how NPC traders work in the background to keep the world economy humming.
• How to use the news system and visiting locations (healers, graveyard) to learn what is going on in the world.
• Then we show the new "Deal" trade UI interface, including negotiation and relationship implications.

 

[Chaotic_Heretic]

i am cautiously for this.

Any estimate on release date?

 

[ArchAngel]

i am cautiously for this.

Any estimate on release date?

watch the #6 dev video

 

[duanth123]

But it annoys me because people shouldn't be supporting indie devs like a charity. They aren't a needy charity, they are a business.

Businesses of all sorts prototype/demo their product for other businesses/financiers in order to show their product's viability and in turn receive the funding they need to further develop, then later market and distribute. That's not atypical. And it has led to some great products.

The real problem with gaming EA lies in just how uninformed and gullible the financiers (a.k.a. the average gaming public) are. Unlike in business, where at least in theory you're dealing with well informed investors who take their money seriously (and to the further extent you're often dealing with investments several orders of magnitude higher), in gaming EA you're dealing with whether a stupid person can be conned into parting with, what, 10 - 30 dollars?

 

[Infinitron]

A response to Guido Henkel!



http://www.archmagerises.com/news/2017/2/13/video-update-9-living-world-npc-news-and-rumors

VIDEO UPDATE #9: LIVING WORLD NPC NEWS AND RUMORS

This past week Guido Henkel (producer of such classic RPGs as Planescape: Torment, and Realms of Arkania) wrote on Gammasutra A New Recipe for the Roleplaying Game Formula.

“RPGs have evolved very little...
“No real social awareness based on individual (player) achievements.
I want to thank Michael Ballard for responding in the comments about Archmage Rises and bringing the post to my attention. Much appreciated!

This week I show proof that RPGs are evolving, that we can use modern techniques and technology to build a living breathing world that realistically responds to player and NPC actions. Read Guido's post, because what he is calling for, what he is longing for, is Archmage Rises.

To Have a new RPG Experience Requires A New Approach to World Building
As I write this Obsidian just released Tyranny and announced Pillars of Eternity II. From what I have seen it is more of the same Balder's Gate formula from 1998:

• Run around on a static map pushing back the fog
• Pre-scripted NPCs to encounter
• Pre-scripted stories
• Pre-scripted battles
• Branching dialog trees
• Look up on the internet solutions to any and every challenge

As good as I am sure it is, and I'll buy and play both, it's more of the same experience because it's more of the same approach.

Archmage starts with a whole new formula:

• a Procedurally Generated World (like Dwarf Fortress)
• Simulated over time (like Simcity/The Sims)
• Run by a Simulated AI GM. (like Left 4 Dead's Director)

It is built from the ground up just for you, your experiences and stories are just your own. There is nothing else like it.

A key ingredient to making the simulated world function realistically is how NPCs react to the player, the world, and the events within it. It is done with the spread of NEWS.

Orcs attack an outlying village? Fear spreads to NPCs as news travels from town to town of what happened. Player slew the dragon? Praise and reputation flow along the road system from as news spreads of your deeds.

The news system is a key ingredient to giving a new, realistic, more pen & paper RPG experience on the computer.

This week I show our progress of the News System. We're not done, and I have to show some Game State Dumps to prove how it is working, but I hope you'll agree it's the start of something truly revolutionary!

Believe every bullet point you read about Archmage Rises. We do. Our every waking moment is dedicated to all coming true.

 

[Infinitron]

http://www.archmagerises.com/news/2017/2/18/video-update-10-simulator-driven-encounters

VIDEO UPDATE #10: SIMULATOR DRIVEN ENCOUNTERS

How are Random Encounters different in a simulator driven world? See gameplay and an explanation of another unique feature of Archmage Rises: random encounter battles are the result of monster domains and the realistic spread of their populations.

All that plus an Archmage Rises mini-fridge, honest schedule update, fan feedback on visuals, and the return of Nic!

 

[vonAchdorf]

How are Random Encounters different in a simulator driven world? See gameplay and an explanation of another unique feature of Archmage Rises: random encounter battles are the result of monster domains and the realistic spread of their populations.

Good old Ultima Online concept.

 

[Infinitron]

http://www.archmagerises.com/news/2017/2/25/video-update-11-weather-animators

VIDEO UPDATE #11: WEATHER & ANIMATORS

This week we show the new weather system in action, talk about the process of hiring an animator, and the release of Build 10 for Feb 28.

Weather System

• Right now the weather is just eye candy.
• Built into the time simulator and will impact the world. For instance, fighting outside in the rain and wind is different than underground in tight quarters.
• Weather is season dependent
• Weather will impact NPCs and towns
• Weather affects the players ability to travel and wellbeing. Ever try to drive through a blinding snow storm? Slow and stressful. Player will need to take seasons and weather into consideration when making big picture plans.
• Player will have weather affecting spells. Yer welcome!

Kingdom System
This is the new term for what you previously heard us call the "problem system" or the "blight system". It is what drives the dynamically generated quests.

• Wolves, bandits, goblins, spiders, etc. have "kingdoms" where they have a lair(s). Each lair lets them gain more territory to then create more lairs. This is how they spread across the map.
• When NPCs or the player enters a "kingdom's" territory it results in encounters: perhaps just seeing something, perhaps a battle.
• Players can battle to thin out the population in these territories, and ultimately attack the lair destroying the replication point.
• Kingdoms are generated by both the world generator (at time of game creation) and dynamically as a response to situations in the simulator. For instance: Goblins populate the map from the beginning because that is where they live. But bandits are the result of war, economic depression, or unrest.

Hex Interaction
For anyone that has played the pre-alpha hexes are just things in the way between interesting points (like a town or dungeon). No longer true! Each hex has it's own unique character, species populations, and interactions. This won't be fully revealed until late April.

• No longer will you just be able to walk directly from town to a dungeon. Now you will need to explore the hex using your Survival skill.
• Many other interactions are coming, we just put in a few for now because we had to

Hiring an Animator

• We're adding a new permanent member to the team: animator. This person will help make the backgrounds, monsters, and UI come to life. We'll make a decision on this person mid March.
• Our design philosophy has always been "work with the players imagination" just like the classic 90's rpgs did. But we can do more to bring the visuals to a modern standard.

 

[ArchAngel]

None of this will mean anything if they are not able to make an interesting and complex combat system. I really really hope they do. All this simulation stuff makes me very excited

 

[ntonystinson]

Build 10 Release Notes

 

[Infinitron]

Build 10 Release Notes

 

[Infinitron]

http://www.archmagerises.com/news/2...interests-actions-ken-levines-narrative-legos

VIDEO UPDATE #13: NPC PASSIONS & KEN LEVINE'S NARRATIVE LEGOS

This week we start with the winning animator’s submission, then dive deep into ‘Narrative Legos’, a talk by Ken Levine, maker of hit games like the Bioshock series, where he lays out a concept for how to make dynamic interesting NPC’s in an RPG. Ken’s talk previews the future of games in general and how Archmage Rises is being designed specifically.

This week’s episode is +75% more content, and just as many funny cat pictures!

Be sure to check out the full 2014 GDC talk on Narrative Legos.

Ken Levine said Linear Narrative has the following Problems:

• Expensive to make
• Pieces don’t speak to each other
• Branching exists, but with limited states and interaction
• Doesn’t fully embrace the unique power of games
• Not player driven
• Multiple endings still mean fixed number of player states
• Can only add ON, not add IN (replayability challenges)

In Archmage Rises NPC (Non-Player Characters) behavior is driven by:

• Several core passions from a pool of 35+
• Current emotional state
• Profession

We believe the above is the key to a dynamic, remarkable, engaging world full of unique emergent stories. We're working hard to make this come true. We may be the first.

 

[ArchAngel]

For whatever reason I have watched all of their dev updates. I think this game is going to be a very cool and even bigger than sum of its parts.

 

[Infinitron]

 

[Infinitron]

VIDEO UPDATE #15: LIFE TIMELINES AND WHY INDIE GAMES FAIL

Indie Fail: Hero's Song

John Smedley co-founded Verant Interactive the creators of Everquest. It was sold to Sony Online Entertainment then sold again and became Daybreak Entertainment where he was the CEO and president. He left that and along with a lead designer of Everquest started Hero's Song.

Since their website is now down, you can see the game at their Steam Page.

Because of their founder's names in the industry they got features in polygon like this:
http://www.polygon.com/…/john-smedley-heros-song-kickstarter

Then a week into their 800k kickstarter campaign they canned it, and got another feature:
http://www.polygon.com/…/heros-song-kickstarter-canceled-st…

They then went to IndieGoGo and got 94k.

Then they went to Early Access on Steam to try and sell enough units to fund dev. And that didn't work. Even with the name, the press, and experience.

http://www.polygon.com/…/heros-song-canceled-pixelmage-game…

So this brings up the tough questions we need to ask ourselves: when so many fail, why do we think Archmage Rises will succeed?

1. I have the financing, more or less, in place. There is a possibility it could stop at some point, but if things remain the same I and some of the team could work on Archmage Rises forever.
2. Our costs are MUCH lower than what Hero's Song was seeking. I estimate Archmage Rises will cost about $250,000 to complete. So far I've spent just over half that, and by adding an animator this year I expect we'll hit that mark around Jan/Feb 2018. Apparently Hero Song needed $1.8m.
3. Our fanbase is growing, steadily, month by month. By the day of release Archmage Rises will be ushered into the hands of an already established group of eager fans, instead of trying to find them post release.

New Feature Reveal: Timelines
The passage of time is central to Archmage Rises. One issue is: How do you display upcoming and past events? The answer is through a timeline. This has never been done before and, once you get to try it, I think you'll agree it is a fantastic addition to the RPG recipe.

How it works:

There are 6 kinds of Timeline Events: Military, Political, Economic, Local, Personal, and Calendar. An example of Military is a declaration of war between towns, or a battle the player or character participated in. An example of Calendar is when a Festival or High Holiday is celebrated (Towns vary in the holidays they observe). The categorization of events allows for filtering and quick location

As events occur in any character's life (player or NPC) or a town, it appears on their timeline. Instead of reading a block of text, it graphically shows what happened chronologically in a person's life, or the life of a town.

This is especially important for the player who must:

1. Piece together clues from NPCs to solve quests
2. Keep important appointments and dates

For example an NPC asks the player to go hunting with them. They agree to do so in 3 days. The player starts to get busy with other things, how do they remember to keep the appointment? The timeline tracks it all for you and shows when important events/commitments come up.

Another example: The player swears fealty to a Lord Mayor and to pay 1,000 gold in taxes every year on a certain date. How does the player remember? The commitment shows up on the timeline, so you'll never accidentally become an oath breaker!

This is just one more rung in the long ladder of what makes Archmage Rises an RPG experience unlike any other. It's just like being there!

 

[ERYFKRAD]

Cool stuff. Too bad you have to like role-playing a mage to enjoy this fully.