KickStarter Encased - isometric post-apocalyptic RPG under the dome

[LESS T_T]

Official announcement?: http://darkcrystalgames.com/news/encased-officially-announced/

Encased officially announced

We are glad to announce the video game we have been working on for a plenty of time. Meet Encased – the postapocalyptic single-player tactical RPG with the old-school spirit and a modern design. It features a turn-based combat system and an isometric camera.

The action takes place on the isolated from the other world desert territory covered with a gigantic semi-penetrable dome of mysterious origin. Here lie the ruins of an ancient technologically advanced civilization which are filled with artifacts, traps, and anomalies. After the nuclear war, a corporation researching ancient technologies collapsed, and the remnants of its staff founded a few factions, each one of them having their own vision of the humanity’s future.




Depending on the profession defined by the player during the character creation, some unique dialogue and interaction options appear. Encased is classless – the flexible system of skills and attributes allows making anyone out of your character.

Encased becomes open-world after the prologue and consists of separately loaded areas, with random events that may occur during the translocation.

During the development, we draw our inspiration from such pieces as Fallout 1-2 and “Roadside Picnic“.



Team

Although Encased is the first project for Dark Crystal Games, this is not the first game for our team members. Many of us have a daily experience in the game development and have released a few decent games.


How to follow

It’s best to subscribe to the secret C.R.O.N.U.S. newsletter – there will be really unique materials, classified documents, and demo versions, that you will not see anywhere else. Newsletter http://eepurl.com/dhl8fP. The second best source of data will be our community boards http://forum.darkcrystalgames.com/.

But if you prefer social media – we have plenty.

Twitter: https://twitter.com/DarkCrystal_HQ

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/darkcrystalhq/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCtGcUbYIJMihpiT19swT78g/

VK: https://vk.com/darkcrystalgames (Russian)

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/darkcrystalgames/

 

[Drowed]

Uh, nice music!

Xenon 3 - Encased?

 

[CadmusLabs]

 

[norolim]

Yeah, what's with the blue & orange on those screenshots? I actually like the aesthetics of some of the concept art. The combination of beige desert sand with patina covered metal structures is much more appealing to me, than the usual browns & greys I see in nearly all post-apo settings (probably freshness factor). I also like the idea of compact, makeshift settlements that seemingly strive for self-sufficiency. So, I'd definitely give a fallout clone looking like this a shot:

Spoiler

 

[Van-d-all]

Besides the Heroes clones (which is a genre I have zero interest) I have all those games. Wasn't the company that made hired guns the same one that made Bridage e5 and Marauder?

Nope. You're confusing it with 7,62. The studio's name was Apeiron and they made Brigade E5, 7.62 (E6) and Man Of Pray/Marauder (E7). Jagged Edge was made by GFI, guys that made Alfa Antiterror, Paradise Cracked and Cops 2070.

Oh, and by the way, despite finishing all of above mentioned games, plus Mars War Logs and Technomancer, Krai Mira was one of the two games (aside Pyre) I abandoned last year without the intention of ever finishing them, and it really makes me wonder how can you recommend it. I guess it looks alright, but it just felt so soulless and lackluster I couldn't bring my self to trudge through it unlike all the other bargain bin games. Even Fall Last Days of Gaia had enough spark to make me want to see what's on the end, and that was probably the worst post apocalyptic game I ever finished.

 

[LESS T_T]

CadmusLabs is going to ascend to the Divine soon:

 

[LESS T_T]

 

[LESS T_T]

Some tweets:

 

[Fenix]

Mindbooster is too generic name, really.
Change it to something not that straight.

 

[agris]

yeah something that improves your mental tactics... humm... oh, MENTATS!

 

[acer palmatum]

Uh, nice music!

Really? Ok then it is just me having some cheap porn scenes in mind when I hear that music.

But I like the graphics.

 

[Infinitron]

Re-announced:



http://darkcrystalgames.com/news/encased-rpg-announced/

Encased RPG – Announced


The announcement of Encased, a sci-fi isometric RPG by Dark Crystal Games

We proudly announce the impending arrival of Encased: an isometric RPG in a sci-fi post-apocalyptic setting. This game tells the story of a disastrous research project inside an anomalous zone – the Dome – built in the middle of a desert by an unknown civilization.

Encased will hit early access in early 2019.

The Game

Encased is an old-school RPG with a turn-based combat system. The story campaign will be approximately 25-30 hours long with significant replay potential. The player will be able to explore the game’s open world and make hard decisions that influence the plot. The world actively reacts to the player’s actions and changes constantly. This also works vice versa, as environmental changes within the game will influence gameplay style.

Story

The events of the game happen under the Dome – an artificial construction of unknown origin that is shaped like a sheer half-sphere with a small aperture at the top. The Dome is indestructible. Technology, items and relics can be extracted from it, but peoplewho enter the Dome cannot leave. Beneath the earth, yet more mystery awaits, as the Dome is just the cap of an enormous complex hidden under the sands. Ancient underground labyrinths contain bountiful artifacts, weapons and artificial intelligence systems that control the whole complex… not to mention lethal traps and curious anomalies that guard these riches.

Research and exploration of the Dome are conducted by staff of the C.R.O.N.U.S. Foundation – an international corporation and a state-within-a-state. To the outside world, little is known about the inner workings of C.R.O.N.U.S. Those that sign up for a life within the Dome do not speak of their experiences, and those managing the Foundation from outside speak even less. Thanks to the bounty extracted from the Dome, C.R.O.N.U.S. have become powerful enough to hold sway over the leaders of the world. Now, the fate of the entire planet rests in the hands of the soldiers, businessmen, scientists and even criminals who comprise their ranks.

However, within the Dome, something is changing. Another power has arisen – something never faced by explorers before. As a direct result of actions performed by the expedition of the player’s character, an intelligent entity has awakened in the depths of the underground complex – an unstable AI nicknamed Maelstrom. Upon breaking loose, it will change the world under the Dome beyond recognition – all connection to the outside world is lost, and the denizens trapped within the Dome become desperate and split into warring factions.

Combat

The combat mechanics of Encased are turn-based and battles have a wide variety of tactical options. The player will be able to target the enemy’s key fighters or the enemy’s support, exhaust the enemy, attack using the environment, use non-combat skills to weaken the foes, and more.

Role-Playing

Experienced players will quickly notice similarities with Fallout and other classic RPGs. This will let the player quickly figure out the role-playing system of the game without reading manuals or failing builds. Layered on top of the familiar, we add our own system of perks and skills, forcing the player to make a complicated and interesting choice every time they gain a new level.

Maelstrom

The unstable AI Maelstrom is one of the unique features of the game. Maelstrom is intelligent, it can interact with the player and even fulfill their wishes (but everything comes at a price, of course). However, Maelstrom is more than just a character: it’s an enigmatic power that destroys the minds of intelligent beings. Its influence is especially potent within the center of the Dome, so wise players will stick near the borders at the beginning of the game. In addition to the above, Maelstrom affects the performance of some skills and perks.

Crime System

When committing crimes against society, the player character receives various penalties and begins to accrue a reputation: from ‘Petty Thief’ to ‘Enemy of the State #1’ or even ‘Threat to Humanity.’ Crime begets punishment. The player character can be fined, imprisoned and even executed. There are options to bribe judges, organize a jailbreak or pass the trial in the ‘Labyrinth of Death’ (needless to say, surviving this is a challenge).

Character Creation Prototype

Although the game isn’t ready to play yet, you can already take a sneak peek at character creation and make a lasting impact on the finished game in the process. Our character creation system includes choosing stats and making a biography for your character. Each and every character created in the Encased character creation prototype will be added to the records of the C.R.O.N.U.S database, leaving a permanent mark on the finished game. The best biographies will also be used as prototypes for C.R.O.N.U.S. employee NPCs.

https://cronus.darkcrystalgames.com

 

[CadmusLabs]

Hello, folks. We are actually preparing a post, just for Codex, a long-read even. With it we want to give more info, than this, well, standard announcement contains. The announcement above was written for traditional media, for Codex we want to give better insight on what was already done and what is next.

 

[CadmusLabs]

https://cronus.darkcrystalgames.com/ this thing is borked at the moment and is a mix of russian and english descriptions, my minions are fixing it at this same moment

You can peak at CRONUS recruit manual already, we'll try to sort our other shit together asap http://darkcrystalgames.com/cdn/CRONUS_Eng.pdf

 

[Infinitron]

This isn't really post-apocalyptic, is it? It's just the Dome that sounds like it's a mess, and even that sounds more dystopian than post-apocalyptic.

 

[CadmusLabs]

This isn't really post-apocalyptic, is it? It's just the Dome that sounds like it's a mess, and even that sounds more dystopian than post-apocalyptic.

Maybe, just maybe the better term will be "apocalyptic" than "post-apocalyptic" but I'll touch this in my material

 

[Life of the Party]

Let's hope this Russian obsession with post-apocalypse is not a sign of things to come.

Hard to say anything about the game at this point, but the first thing that came to my mind was Ergo Proxy. Wouldn't mind an RPG along those lines.

 

[Fenix]

yeah something that improves your mental tactics... humm... oh, MENTATS!

While it sound laughble, bear in mind that it was reference to Dune I think, which was written in... when? 60s?
Back then, and even for 90s it didn't sound dull.

 

[agris]

yeah something that improves your mental tactics... humm... oh, MENTATS!

While it sound laughble, bear in mind that it was reference to Dune I think, which was written in... when? 60s?
Back then, and even in 90s it doesn't sound dull.

Yeah the Mentat was a Spock-like creature. 1965 for Dune.

 

[Junmarko]

The Dome is indestructible. Technology, items and relics can be extracted from it, but people who enter the Dome cannot leave - To the outside world, little is known about the inner workings of C.R.O.N.U.S. Those that sign up for a life within the Dome do not speak of their experiences, and those managing the Foundation from outside speak even less.

Felt a bit encased working for Larian eh?

 

[Kyl Von Kull]

CadmusLabs

I really like the Jagged Alliance 2 style character creation survey and I'm glad you put some thought into the CRONUS handbook. Do you plan to have different beginnings for various character builds depending on each wing or is this stuff more for flavor?

 

[CadmusLabs]

CadmusLabs

I really like the Jagged Alliance 2 style character creation survey and I'm glad you put some thought into the CRONUS handbook. Do you plan to have different beginnings for various character builds depending on each wing or is this stuff more for flavor?

Good to hear Each Wing has a very different prologue part indeed. I will cover this in my upcoming article.

 

[CadmusLabs]

The Dome is indestructible. Technology, items and relics can be extracted from it, but people who enter the Dome cannot leave - To the outside world, little is known about the inner workings of C.R.O.N.U.S. Those that sign up for a life within the Dome do not speak of their experiences, and those managing the Foundation from outside speak even less.

Felt a bit encased working for Larian eh?

Not really, next thing Larian is making is awesome and I love these folks. The only thing was good enough to take off was the opportunity to build a team and lead my own project. There were proposals from other companies from the sector but I never really considered them.

 

[Kyl Von Kull]

The Dome is indestructible. Technology, items and relics can be extracted from it, but people who enter the Dome cannot leave - To the outside world, little is known about the inner workings of C.R.O.N.U.S. Those that sign up for a life within the Dome do not speak of their experiences, and those managing the Foundation from outside speak even less.

Felt a bit encased working for Larian eh?

Not really, next thing Larian is making is awesome and I love these folks. The only thing was good enough to take off was the opportunity to build a team and lead my own project. There were proposals from other companies from the sector but I never really considered them.

Can you tell us what you were responsible for in D:OS?

 

[Junmarko]

Not really, next thing Larian is making is awesome and I love these folks.

Ah that's good to hear I was immediately reminded of Fool's Theory when I looked at your webpage for some reason haha.

Game pitch sounds great btw