KickStarter Knights of the Chalice 2 Thread - Augury of Chaos

[Infinitron]

https://www.kickstarter.com/project...-revolutionise-old-school-crpgs/posts/3312679

Update #51: KotC 2 Version 1.18 Is A Massive Upgrade!

Hello everyone! Version 1.18 of KotC 2 Augury of Chaos is now available for download here for both Windows and macOS. The main addition to the game is new village content including new optional quests, new monsters, new NPC dialogues, two new underground maps and a dice game.

The next most important changes are the addition of 1,350 new tokens for characters and monsters, 24 new dialogue icons and 13 new sound effects.

When conducting tests, I used a Cleric with the Aberration domain. The creature that Aberration Clerics can summon packs a punch. It can really help with tough battles in the early game.

Spoiler

List Of New Features In KotC 2 Version 1.18

• For the village content upgrade, 104 new scripts were added and 41 existing scripts were updated. Augury of Chaos now has 711 scripts while the Tutorial Adventure has 156 scripts.
• Three of the new village quests take place in the night-time version of the Finchbury map.
• Two new maps were added, the Green Cave and the Red Cave.
• You can now play a unique game of dice with one of the NPCs in the village.
• The new content also includes an awesome Bardic poem created by Timothy Brett. Thank you so much for this great contribution to the game, Timothy!!
• Added new buttons in the character-creation interface to allow players to select any token or sprite. Previously, during character creation, you could only select from the folders Graphics/Tokens/PlayerCharacter and Graphics/Sprites/PlayerCharacter.
• The Character Sheet will now display the character's Touch Armour Class and you can click on it to display the list of modifiers affecting Touch AC.

• Changed the token and appearance of the companions Asharzaelle, Erzimon and Pizarra.
• Increased the Strength score of Asharzaelle by two points, as I've heard that she's a bit too weak.
• When the player recruits Asharzaelle, Erzimon, or Pizarra, if the avatar has more Experience Points than the new companion, the companion will start with the same amount of XPs as the avatar.
• You can now change the token and sprite of recruited companions, even temporary ones.
• The option to add spell picks to the Quickbar automatically will also work for spells that you selected during character creation. This means that all of the level-1 spells and psionic powers that you select during character creation will now appear in the Quickbar from the beginning of the adventure.
• Improved the in-game item description of all magic scrolls, all magic wands, and healing potions. Now you can quickly display the item's caster class and spell level.
• Added new links in the help entries for spells. The links allow you to display the list of spells of the same caster class and spell level. For example, in the description of the spell Fireball, there's a link to the list of level-three Wizard spells.
• Added 1,350 new 64 x 64 tokens based on PVG assets. We now have a total of 2,054 tokens for characters and monsters. Also fixed a problem of transparent pixels in the edge of 29 existing tokens.
• Added 24 new dialogue icons, increasing the total to 1,295. Most of the new icons are for male and female hooded spellcasters.

• Added 13 new sound effects, increasing the total to 185. The new sound effects are: Night Crickets, Broom Sweeping, Rat Squeaking, Rat Gnawing, Wolf Howling, Werewolf Snarling, Giant Bee Buzzing, Cat Meowing, Dog Barking 1, Dog Barking 2, Dog Barking 3, Deer Grunting 1 and Deer Grunting 2.
• In the Module Editor, added Night Crickets to the menu of ambient sound sources that you can place on a night-time map. Also created a new ogg music file using the Night Crickets sound effect.
• In the Module Editor, in the Edit Map Data screen, added the map colour selection box. The selection box gives you the following options: Normal, Night-time, Evening, Morning and Rainy. Each option is associated with a Red-Green-Blue (RGB) setting and you can fine-tune the RGB setting using three text input boxes, one for the red component from 0 to 255, one for the green component from 0 to 255 and one for the blue component from 0 to 255. The values for the normal setting are 255, 255, 255. Finally, I've added a new script command allowing you to change the RGB setting of a map at any time.
• In the Script Editor, added the button 'Process selected answers'. Select a number of 'Add dialog answer' script lines before clicking on this button. When you click, the game will create 'If selected answer' and 'End if' lines automatically for each of the selected dialogue answers. This feature can save you a lot of time when creating dialogue scripts with many possible answers. Side note: the game will lose track of the selected answer if you have some things happening (e.g. a new creature appearing) between the moment the player clicks on an answer and the moment the answers are being reviewed. In that case, instead of using the 'If selected answer' command, you need to record the selected answer into a variable and then compare that variable to the various possible answers.
• In the Script Editor, added three new buttons that are displayed whenever you set the value of a variable. The buttons are 'true', 'false' and 'nothing'. True and false are very frequent variable values, so using these buttons can save you some time when creating variables for use in scripts.

• In the Module Editor, you can now set a creature to be standing on a position not centred on any square. To do so, set 'Allow out-of-square position' to 1 in the creature's AI settings. See the dwarves inside the inn of Finchbury for an example. Remember to reset the setting back to 0 if, at some point, you want the creature to move using a script.
• You can now use the 'Set character data in variable' script command to get some information about a weapon or item. For example, you can check if a weapon that the player is offering to a monster as a bribe is a magic weapon. See the Sharkmen for an example.

List Of Bug Fixes In KotC 2 Version 1.18

• Fixed a bug that occurred when creatures got knocked out while falling down.
• Fixed a bug in the Formation Screen allowing you to exceed the module's limit for active party members. That limit is eight characters in Augury of Chaos. Note: temporary companions do not count towards the limit.
• Fixed a bug when right-clicking on an item in the Party Items box when the box is displaying a number of items contained within containers.
• Fixed an issue with the V and I keyboard shortcuts when mousing over someone in the initiative list during combat.
• Fixed an issue with the buttons for tokens and sprites in the first page of the character-creation interface, and other issues affecting the first page of the character-creation interface.
• Fixed a source of crashes in the Module Editor when you're placing sound sources and then loading a different map.

Next Steps for Knights of the Chalice 2
The coming steps are:

• See if I can add encounters with the Giant Spider Prince and the Lich Xadriphar.
• See if I can add a visit to the village after escaping from the sewers in order to get some supplies, see what happened to the NPCs, and complete any pending quests. In that case, I could either create a ruined version of Finchbury, or use the same map, or use the same map but with a different RGB colour, or simply have the party appear directly inside the inn. All suggestions are welcome.
• See if I can add a new dialogue option 'Skip to the end of the dialogue' in order to accelerate the initial encounter with Yanos in the Chapel of Chaos when you just want to try the battle again.
• See if I can add a new dialogue option to save the game at some point during the initial goblin attack on the village, considering the number of battles that you have to go through without saving.
• Add a new section in the PDF Guidebook on How to Create a New Module.
• Add the names of Kickstarter backers to the Credits Screen.
• Prepare the Steam and GOG Achievements. Prepare the Steam page.
• See if I can add a few new Magic Items like the Prismatic Helmet and the Amulet of the Second Spell. These were mentioned in the Kickstarter update about magic items.

As always, if you find bugs or if you have any feedback, thoughts and suggestions, please feel free to let me know here, or in the forums, or by email at enquiries@heroicfantasygames.com.

Thank You For Your Awesome Support, Fearless Warriors and Noble Paladins!! Enjoy!

 

[Dorateen]

In the Module Editor, in the Edit Map Data screen, added the map colour selection box. The selection box gives you the following options: Normal, Night-time, Evening, Morning and Rainy.

This is pretty cool, but it doesn't look like there is a day-night cycle, at least without fancy scripting. So a map selected to display as night time will always appear as night time, etc. Could be fun to create more atmospheric areas.

 

[Pink Eye]

Omg omg omg! Imma make some tea and read this patch log. Looks awesome!

 

[Tweed]

Almost there....

Wow, the enemy kobold art is revolting and there's still no racial paperdolls.

 

[Pink Eye]

Wow, the enemy kobold art is revolting

 

[Tweed]

Better than planet of the apes monsters and those portaits have been updated with higher rez versions and as soon as someone uploads them to the codex I'll upgrade.

 

[Pink Eye]

At least it isn't as bad as the iconic monk for chalice 2:

Spoiler

Her bust is bigger than her stomach...

 

[Tweed]

Well I won't pretend the original art is good, most of it could pass as an avant-garde project, but the kobolds were decent at least.
Push comes to shove I'll have to ask my furfag Warframe friend to see if he'd be willing to draw me some pogs.

 

[ERYFKRAD]

At least it isn't as bad as the iconic monk for chalice 2:

Spoiler

Her bust is bigger than her stomach...

You make it sound like a bad thing...

 

[Zeriel]

When is release in Steam planned?

November, if things go according to plan.

So sometime in 2028 then...

 

[Infinitron]

https://www.kickstarter.com/project...-revolutionise-old-school-crpgs/posts/3342773

Update #52: Hurray! KotC 2 version 1.19 is Content-Complete! New Editor Guidebook!

Hello everyone! Version 1.19 of KotC 2 Augury of Chaos is now available for download here for both Windows and macOS. The main addition to the game is new village content and I'm very glad to say that Augury of Chaos is now Content-Complete! That's a major milestone in my eyes and it could only be achieved thanks to your awesome help and support!

New Content in KotC 2 Augury of Chaos
All of the new content is optional. In the initial part of the game, it includes the Dryad encounter, the Cursed Man encounter, the Thieving Magpie quest, the Jagernaut encounter, the Sun Monk companion, extra wilderness monsters, new Nature / Herbalism skill checks, extra dialogue with the Blue Cloaks, and a number of NPC groups travelling through the village from time to time to improve immersion.

In the late part of the game, the new content includes a brand new map which is the ruined version of Finchbury, a couple of tough encounters, the Doomsdayer, new artifacts and magic items, and extra dialogue with the residents of the inn.

I've also added a couple of containers in the Moon Crypt Death Snare as well as extra steel ingots in various places in order to allow you to craft arrows and crossbow bolts as needed.

Please note that some of the content in the initial part of the game only appears after resting once: Halric in Finchbury, Xantrix and Dunwell inside the inn.

If you've opened Rothgar's chest in the first part of the game, then when you return to Finchbury after escaping from the sewers, you will probably be able to trade with Rothgar. Among other things, he will have two artifact weapons.

New Module Editor PDF Guidebook
The next most important change coming with this update is the launch of a new 64-page Module Editor PDF Guidebook designed to help you create a brand new adventure module using the KotC 2 Module Editor. It's packaged together with the Augury of Chaos PDF Guidebook, now available in version 1.01. I'll probably expand the Module Editor Guidebook with a few extra topics later on.

KotC 2 version 1.19 includes two PNG images of simple dungeon levels. They can be found in the folder Graphics/MapBackgrounds. These two images are referenced a lot in the Module Editor Guidebook.

I hope that you will find the new guidebook useful and that it will answer most questions about the Module Editor. I'm also hoping that it will encourage some people to take advantage of the 5-5-5 User Made Module Offer of Knights of the Chalice 2. Click here to learn about the 5-5-5 User Module Offer.

Spoiler

List Of New Features In KotC 2 Version 1.19

• I've finally added the names of the Kickstarter backers to the Credits Screen. Please let me know if there is any mistake or omission. Thank you!
• When you are offered a choice of weapons and other items as a reward or wish, you can now right click on the dialogue option to display the item's details. Note: to set this in the Script Editor, you simply need to specify the item's name in the item field of the 'add dialog answer' script command.
• Implemented the new items Prismatic Helmet, Amulet of the Second Spell and Prismatic Bracers. You can find these items when you leave the High Sewers and return to Finchbury.
• Reviewed all of the Quests of the game to make sure that they all become either 'Completed' or 'Cancelled' by the time you reach the end of the game without exception.
• The Weapon and Armour Description screen will now indicate the Enchantment Total of magic weapons. The maximum enchantment-point total of magic weapons and armour is 10.
• Revised some of the enemies in the Castle Gate battle.
• In the High Sewers, added a dialogue option to skip the mathematical riddles of the Spectral Master of Logic. If you don't like math, you don't have to do this part any longer.
• In the Chapel of Chaos, added a dialogue option to skip the ceremony's introduction sequence. With this option, you'll get to the player-choice part of the dialogue much quicker.
• In Finchbury, added a dialogue option to save the game automatically after the first few fights against the goblins. This is useful in particular because the game keeps track of the Blue Cloaks that you save, so if you lose too many of them you may want to reload.
• If you haven't agreed to help the Giant Spider Prince, and you haven't killed him, he will now appear when the party defeats the Giant Spider Queen.
• If you haven't destroyed the Lich Xadriphar permanently, and you've released him from his tomb, he will now appear again during the Final Battle.
• Revised the tokens and appearance of all the pre-created characters in the Character Roster. Also fixed a problem with some of these characters having the 'Stable' subtype incorrectly. Also, these pre-created characters will now have all their spells and special abilities pre-added in their Quickbar. Note: to see the new Character Roster file in the Windows version, please change the name of your existing file (Saves/CharacterRoster.cml) before installing KotC 2, otherwise the new file will not be installed.

• When selling copper coins, gold nuggets and gold necklaces, you'll get the full price. You already get the full price when selling precious stones, gold ingots and silver ingots.
• Added the Potion of Greater Break Enchantment in the list of potions. Also added proper item descriptions for all of the potions that I hadn't revised already.
• Added the list of the conditions removed by Heal and Break Enchantment in the descriptions for Heal and Break Enchantment spell scrolls and potions, and for healing wands.
• In the Attacks tab of the Character Sheet, you can use right click to get more information on the clicked element. Previously, it would work only with a left click.
• Added extra steel ingots in various places so that you can craft more arrows and crossbow bolts. Also added a few of the other ingot types in a few places. Also added more arrows, crossbow bolts and sling bullets in various places.
• Idle sprite animations will now play in the Module Editor too.
• You can now use a script to add, remove or modify a creature's Spell-Like Abilities. I have used this to improve the Sun Monk companion when your Red Mage completes his or her transformation.
• In the Script Editor, added two shortcut keys to clear the line selection: Delete and Subtract. Both will work. Right clicking on any line will also work, as usual.
• New companions joining the party with enough Experience Points to level up will have their level-up star icon displayed immediately in the list of party-member names.
• When a new companion joins the party, the list of party members in the Formation Screen will scroll down to the new companion automatically.
• In the Module Editor, when changing the name of a character or item, the editor reviews all scripts and maps to update the name. Previously, the editor would load and save ALL of the files of the module even if there weren't any change in certain files, or even in most files. Now the editor will save a file only where there is a change in that particular file. That way, when reviewing scripts and maps, we can use the 'Last Date Modified' attribute of files to see exactly what files have changed recently. The editor's name update process is also faster.
• In the Module Editor, you can now set activable objects to be displayed as overlays, meaning that they will be displayed on top of the characters. To do this, simply add ',Overlay' in the Name or Description field of the activable object. For this to work, the map should have an overlay image. See the Sword in the Stone in the Green Cave for an example.

List Of Bug Fixes In KotC 2 Version 1.19

• Fixed a pretty bad bug that could occur when new opponents are added to an ongoing battle and there are some destructible objects on the battlefield. This bug was affecting the Castle Gate battle and the Final Battle.
• Fixed an AI issue with certain enemies that should be getting closer to the player characters instead of using the Ready versus Approach combat action. The concerned enemies are those with very low intelligence or who have the AI setting 'Rush to the Enemy'.
• Fixed a source of freezing due to the spellcaster AI not being able to cast a scripted spell.
• Fixed an issue with water splash animations not getting cleared when loading a game or moving to another map.
• Fixed position issues for the prone Air / Water / Earth / Fire elemental sprites.
• Fixed a bug when the characters are moving along the right edge or bottom edge of a map.
• Fixed the Difficulty Class when using a magic item that grants a Spell-Like Ability (SLA), such as the Prismatic Bracers. The DC is now based on Charisma, as normal for SLAs. This can be helpful particularly for classes with a high Charisma ability score like the Paladin. Also updated the help entry about Saving Throws and the Difficulty Class about this. Please note that activating a spell scroll or a magic wand is different, as then the DC depends on the caster class associated with the spell. For example, the DC when using a scroll of Fireball is based on Intelligence.

• Fixed a cycling movement issue when moving by keeping the left mouse button pressed.
• Fixed problems concerning the Quickbar and the special setting of certain spells and psionics. Now the game will properly record the special setting of spells (e.g. 'Acid Damage' or 'Earth Elemental') when you add a spell to the Quickbar with the tab key, and that setting will be retrieved when you click on the Quickbar shortcut to cast the spell.
• Fixed problems with the display of the list of Character Skills during character creation.
• Fixed the bubble speech dialogue of Garret and Perry in Finchbury.
• Fixed issues in the Formation Screen when you have more companions than the size of the box containing the list of companions on the left side of the screen.
• Mousing over a creature while a scripted event is taking place will no longer interrupt the scripted event.
• Fixed a bug when the player clicks to attack a group of enemies who have a dialogue script that should get executed as soon as the player approaches.
• Fixed a broken link when clicking 'Display The Help' on the Quickbar shortcut specifically for Turn Undead.
• Fixed many broken links and other errors in the help entries. Thank you for the help, Sangarunya!!
• Fixed an issue in the Help Database screen when pushing Return to display Search Results while the mouse cursor is out of the help text box.
• Fixed a source of crash in the Module Editor when pasting text into a text box using Control + V in the Windows version.
• Fixed bugs in the Module Editor when changing the unique name of a creature.
• Fixed a Script Editor issue with the buttons 'Pick creature from map' and 'Add creature from map' when the selected map is different from the current one.
• Fixed an issue in the Module Editor when swapping two items in the inventory of a creature.
• Fixed a bug with the 'Leave map after reaching destination' Non-Combat setting when the creature is not part of any group.
• Fixed a bug in the script command 'Give item to character' resulting in changes not getting recorded in saved games.
• Corrected errors in the Augury of Chaos PDF Guidebook. Version 1.01 is now available for download.

Next Steps for Knights of the Chalice 2
Hurray! I've finally finished adding all of the content that I wanted to add to the Augury of Chaos adventure module. Version 1.19 is the first 'Content-Complete' version of Augury of Chaos. Bearing that in mind, the most urgent remaining tasks are the following:

• Prepare the Steam and GOG versions, and in particular the Steam and GOG achievements.
• Create a two or three minute video in particular to showcase the isometric and sprite graphics, since they're missing from all the material I created earlier.
• Prepare some new screenshots in order to showcase the isometric and sprite graphics.
• Work on all the other requirements for the Steam and GOG launch.
• This is not super urgent, but the PDF Guidebook needs a section about Finchbury, another for the ruined version of Finchbury, and another for the Tutorial Adventure.

Hopefully the official release of KotC 2 will take place in December 2021 or at the latest in January.

Once the game is on Steam and GOG the next steps will be:

• Hire one or two graphic designers to create new sprites and tokens, story images and adventure maps, as well as any needed new item icons, weapon icons, spell icons, dialogue icons, skill icons and combat-action icons.
• Start working on KotC 2 The Dark Arena, the first module of the upcoming trilogy. To begin with, I'm planning to create a starting hub map - probably Crossroad Castle - and a regional map. As in Augury of Chaos, I think that the starting map will be isometric while dungeon maps will be purely top-down maps.
• Implement the Character-Class upgrades for the Barbarian, Mage Knight, Rogue and Monk.
• Implement new options for NPC dialogue boxes in order to make them easier to read particularly in full-screen mode. This may also allow module creators to customise the NPC dialogue interface.
• Implement the Iconised Combat-Actions Menu as promised during the Kickstarter campaign.
• Implement the new feats, new items, new spells, and new races or subraces, as detailed in the Kickstarter updates.
• Implement a new 'Terrain Death Throes' monster ability inspired by Champions of Krynn. While the Death Throes ability is an energetic explosion that deals damage to nearby creatures, the new ability would allow a dying creature to alter the squares it occupies. Essentially, it would be like an Energy Wall spell effect applying only to the squares of the creature when it dies. Combined with the Bull Rush combat manoeuvre, Gust of Wind spell effects, and additional enemies arriving in waves, the new monster ability may create some really interesting tactical challenges when more and more dangerous squares appear in the battleground as you defeat the enemies. Ideally, we'll be able to set the number of d6 of energy damage of the affected squares.

Phew! That took a while for me to write. But now you're completely up-to-date with all the KotC 2 development plans! I will let everybody know once the release date has been set and I will Count On Everyone to Help Spread the Good Word when the time comes! ^_^

As always, if you find bugs or if you have any feedback, thoughts and suggestions, please feel free to let me know here, or in the Forums, or by email at enquiries@heroicfantasygames.com. I will be very interested if you have any suggestions for Steam and GOG achievements.

Thank You For Your Steadfast Support, Brave Knights of the Realm! Enjoy!!

 

[ERYFKRAD]

Man that's skirting real close to paid mod territory.
But hey, at least he can into money now.

 

[Dorateen]

Hopefully the official release of KotC 2 will take place in December 2021 or at the latest in January.

Hoping for December so it can squeeze in to GotY contention.

 

[FriendlyMerchant]

Man that's skirting real close to paid mod territory.
But hey, at least he can into money now.

They're not paid mods. They're "Creation Club content." Now how many Creation Club Credits can I sign you up for? 100,000?

 

[ERYFKRAD]

Man that's skirting real close to paid mod territory.
But hey, at least he can into money now.

They're not paid mods. They're "Creation Club content." Now how many Creation Club Credits can I sign you up for? 100,000?

Sure, mark me down for nix, nought and nothing.

 

[FriendlyMerchant]

Man that's skirting real close to paid mod territory.
But hey, at least he can into money now.

They're not paid mods. They're "Creation Club content." Now how many Creation Club Credits can I sign you up for? 100,000?

Sure, mark me down for nix, nought and nothing.

That's not an option pal.

 

[ERYFKRAD]

Man that's skirting real close to paid mod territory.
But hey, at least he can into money now.

They're not paid mods. They're "Creation Club content." Now how many Creation Club Credits can I sign you up for? 100,000?

Sure, mark me down for nix, nought and nothing.

That's not an option pal.

It's not an option, it's a necessity.

 

[Tweed]

I'm still mulling over whether I want to play this oldskool and turn off all the baby stuff, or take a smooth ride after enduring 1.0. Either way I'm going to wait till my index finger is better, I get the feeling I'll be clinching my fist more than once in anger and that hurts right now.

 

[Dorateen]

Testing version 1.19 of Knights of the Chalice 2, I uploaded a video featuring new content that I am adding to the Hearkenwold Adventure Module.

Here the party finds themselves surrounded by ferocious, scantily clad warrior women. Oh, no. Whatever shall we do.

 

[Whisper]

Game is in good shape now or better wait for release on Steam?

 

[Tweed]

Game is in good shape now or better wait for release on Steam?

As good as it well ever be, keep in mind I'm talking about Augury and not the game engine itself.

 

[Darth Canoli]

Game is in good shape now or better wait for release on Steam?

KotC 2 is highly re-playable and the game have been stable and in a playable shape for one year.
So, buy it now and replay it later or go to hell!

 

[Tweed]

KotC 2 is highly re-playable and the game have been stable and in a playable shape for one year.
So, buy it now and replay it later or go to hell!

Can you give me a TL;DR of changes? I haven't touched it since winning 1.0.

 

[Darth Canoli]

Can you give me a TL;DR of changes? I haven't touched it since winning 1.0.

Bug fixes, the village now offers some great encounters, there is a playable tutorial with apparently a new companion (more?) but i didn't touch it yet.

Number of quests have more options (Xadriphar, Spider Queen, ...), difficulty options to tune it how you like, you can skip the math problems (after doing it a couple of times, i think it's a godsent because i didn't take any notes, i also suggested this one)

Probably more feats and spells, 3D sprites if you want to use them.

Many other changes, check the kickstarter page because i missed 95% of the changes with that raw summary.

 

[Acrux]

buy it now

How? I've been looking for where to buy it but it doesn't look like it's available yet unless you were a backer.