Indie Passageway of the Ancients - Baldur's Gate-Like RPG with Dual-Persona Character Development

[JarlFrank]

The only thing weird about this 3D model is how her belt buckle looks like a € sign

 

[JonG]

You do have SOME control over the transition between animations in Unity. if you haven't fiddled with it much, take a look at the animation state transitions. You get to it by clicking on the little arrow/line between your states (probably an Idle state and and Attack state) in this case. Sorry if you already knew this, but if not, it can really make you animations seem more fluid without have to have more actual animations. Tweaking the overlap and the duration of the overlap makes a big difference.

I looked at this early on but didn't think it would do much. We will take a second look! Thanks.

 

[JonG]

I feel, like I am almost sure, that your game is going to have massive lore dumps and enormous lengthy dialogues. Don't do it, try to be brief and to the point. Show, not tell. You can compare writing of two Baldurs Gate clones: Pillars of Eternity with its massive, boring and meaningless walls of text vs Black Geyser with little text, leaving much space for imagination and actual gameplay. The consensus on this very prestigious site was that Black Geyser writing was much better than what PoE had.

In our first pass at the game, quite awhile ago, we headed in the direction you are alluding to. Then I had an epiphany and realized I shouldn't be trying to convert my original source material (an unpublished novel) directly into video game format We would bury people in text details. If potential players want that kind of experience they will buy a good fantasy novel. As our game now stands it postures much more like Black Gyser than PoE

 

[JonG]

Based on the screens, IMO you are using too many different fonts. Try to stick just two, get rid of that gothica font, it is unreadable, repulsive and some may say it's nazi. At the same time try to avoid using arial black or whatever basic front you are using for most of the game.

Believe it or not the multiple font thing you are aluding to used to be much worse. Perhaps another pass keeping your suggestions in mind would be in order.

 

[ItsChon]

Disagree on the bit about the models, they actually look pretty good as JarlFrank said. The critique in regards to the fonts is spot on.

I may have a fix for the janky disjointed combat weapon animations. If this little gremlin is hiding where I think he is a relatively minor fix may be implementable in a very small time. If this works out you should get credit for taking the time to help me "see" and resolve this imperfection.

Here's hoping!

 

[cyborgboy95]

 

[Spike]

Your 3D character models are bad, try to zoom out as much as possible. It also concerns character creation, don't show that huge model in the middle of the screen, it's ugly.

No they look pretty decent tbh

Not this one, it's just a tier above Prelude to Darkness level. I would advise not to expose it so much. E.g there is so much info on the panel on the left that could be extended, it will be beneficial to UI to make the char model smaller and include extra info on classes, make some fonts and buttons bigger and generally more consistent (you can see how many different fonts, text sizes&colours, or even backgrounds are being used, it is a mess).

"Make the char models bigger"
I think it looks fine...I think it looks great. Maybe more info on classes I guess but idk. Also you're wrong about the 3D models, they look superb.

 

[JonG]

I think it looks fine...I think it looks great. Maybe more info on classes I guess but idk. Also you're wrong about the 3D models, they look superb.

Thanks for the kind words about our models. Perhaps what covr was trying to say is that our models are not as close to the "uncanny valley" as those belonging to the big boys like Baldur's Gate etc.

 

[cyborgboy95]

 

[cyborgboy95]

 

[Abu Antar]

A track from the game.

 

[Kruyurk]

This reminds me a bit of Realms Beyond. I would gladly send money your way if you go the kickstarter route.

 

[JonG]

This reminds me a bit of Realms Beyond. I would gladly send money your way if you go the kickstarter route.

Thanks so much for your offer but we will be offering this title in Feb of next year. The game is in the final stages of testing right now.

 

[Russia is over. The end.]

This reminds me a bit of Realms Beyond. I would gladly send money your way if you go the kickstarter route.

Thanks so much for your offer but we will be offering this title in Feb of next year. The game is in the final stages of testing right now.

Need testers?

 

[BosanskiSeljak]

Is there anything about the setting/narrative that sets it apart from the thousands of other generic fantasy worlds? Is the Dragonkindt weaved into the narrative, or is it mostly a gameplay mechanic?

 

[JonG]

This reminds me a bit of Realms Beyond. I would gladly send money your way if you go the kickstarter route.

Thanks so much for your offer but we will be offering this title in Feb of next year. The game is in the final stages of testing right now.

Need testers?

Hi Bester
Nice to see you back! Not for this game but will keep you in mind for the next one. Thanks for the offer.

 

[JonG]

Is there anything about the setting/narrative that sets it apart from the thousands of other generic fantasy worlds? Is the Dragonkindt weaved into the narrative, or is it mostly a gameplay mechanic?

Hi BosanskiSeijak
Yes our story line is VERY unique. First of all it is based on a novel that was in the final phase of being accepted by a publisher years ago. I never completed the process because my life circumstances changed dramatically at that time due to my acceptance into graduate school and I just didn't have the bandwidth to deal with it at that time. The Dragonkindt are the very heart and soul of the story. They are not in anyway some kind of added afterthought woven into the story for a clever game mechanic hook. Your question is a very good one. I feel that it should be asked far more often than it is! Our story is a high fantasy and a murder mystery all rolled into one. This is no simple story bout some kind of weird parasite infection threatening a planet. The story is vast in scope and includes a mythology of its own. If you are tired of the maudlin fare often used in CRPG's then you have come to the right place. The demo will be available sometime in October. Download it and experience the story fiirst hand for free. I have refrained from being too specific about the story line since I truly believe that the proof of the pudding is in the tasting and I don't want to ruin it for you. I believe you will be well pleased with it, especially if the story line of a given CRPG is one of the main reasons why you decided to play it in the first place.

 

[Russia is over. The end.]

I have refrained from being too specific about the story line since I truly believe that the proof of the pudding is in the tasting and I don't want to ruin it for you.

I like it. When I was buying CDs in the 90s, all I could go off of was a couple of tiny screenshots on the back of the box and a 2-3 line summary, and maybe a blurb. And that was great. All RPGs that I now love, I discovered going in completely blind.

Nowadays, people know the backstory of every single NPC and who they're going to romance, marry, kill half a year before the game even releases. I consider this heavy spoilers and studiously try to avoid all information like that, but it's like trying to avoid Song of Ice and Fire spoilers (I'm a reader, I didn't watch the series) when everyone and your mom sends you GoT memes all the time. I seem to be in the minority. Glad there's no story spoilers here for once.

 

[JonG]

I have refrained from being too specific about the story line since I truly believe that the proof of the pudding is in the tasting and I don't want to ruin it for you.

I like it. When I was buying CDs in the 90s, all I could go off of was a couple of tiny screenshots on the back of the box and a 2-3 line summary, and maybe a blurb. And that was great. All RPGs that I now love, I discovered going in completely blind.

Nowadays, people know the backstory of every single NPC and who they're going to romance, marry, kill half a year before the game even releases. I consider this heavy spoilers and studiously try to avoid all information like that, but it's like trying to avoid Song of Ice and Fire spoilers (I'm a reader, I didn't watch the series) when everyone and your mom sends you GoT memes all the time. I seem to be in the minority. Glad there's no story spoilers here for once.

You are a man after my own heart!

 

[sebas]

The graphics look like utter shit in a quite charming way. I like it, will definitely try this out.

 

[JonG]

The graphics look like utter shit in a quite charming way. I like it, will definitely try this out.

Our game is confined to the quality of Unity's 2D graphics engine since we are, under the hood, a 2D game as far as the environment is concerned. Creatures and characters are a different matter. Because of our limited environment we can't truly use any 3D particle effects nor can we implement the concept of specularity/shininess. However having said all this we were content with these limitations since we were trying to capture the charm of those isometric games developed in the late 90's and early 2000's when story was still the main pillar of most CRPGs. We freely chose this irritating 2D limitation for the reason that a very, very small development team could never produce a world full of the detail necessary to make a 3D game shine. In addition even purchasing these assets was prohibitive (our budget was relatively small) since most commercially available assets have one price for using an image of the object in a game and another much higher price for interacting with these entities in a truly 3D game world. We tried to make the most charming Retro look that we could in our game and hoped that our players would suspend their disbelief and accept our graphics as satisfying when exposed to our very superior story line and innovative game play. In a nutshell we were forced by team size and budget constraints to avoid the eye of Sauron (spectacular graphics) and in spite of this deficit produce a competitive offering. We are banking on the assumption that most CRPG fans still hold in very high regard story line and game play and will turn a forgiving glance towards graphics that don't worship at the feet of the idol of glitzy graphics. Finally your response to our game was at least in part positive which confirms our suspicion that those with a keen sense of discernment will be drawn to our offering. Thanks for your feedback

 

[ropetight]

The graphics look like utter shit in a quite charming way. I like it, will definitely try this out.

Our game is confined to the quality of Unity's 2D graphics engine since we are, under the hood, a 2D game as far as the environment is concerned. Creatures and characters are a different matter. Because of our limited environment we can't truly use any 3D particle effects nor can we implement the concept of specularity/shininess. However having said all this we were content with these limitations since we were trying to capture the charm of those isometric games developed in the late 90's and early 2000's when story was still the main pillar of most CRPGs. We freely chose this irritating 2D limitation for the reason that a very, very small development team could never produce a world full of the detail necessary to make a 3D game shine. In addition even purchasing these assets was prohibitive (our budget was relatively small) since most commercially available assets have one price for using an image of the object in a game and another much higher price for interacting with these entities in a truly 3D game world. We tried to make the most charming Retro look that we could in our game and hoped that our players would suspend their disbelief and accept our graphics as satisfying when exposed to our very superior story line and innovative game play. In a nutshell we were forced by team size and budget constraints to avoid the eye of Sauron (spectacular graphics) and in spite of this deficit produce a competitive offering. We are banking on the assumption that most CRPG fans still hold in very high regard story line and game play and will turn a forgiving glance towards graphics that don't worship at the feet of the idol of glitzy graphics. Finally your response to our game was at least in part positive which confirms our suspicion that those with a keen sense of discernment will be drawn to our offering. Thanks for your feedback

Does recent Unity pricing change affect your project a lot?

 

[JonG]

Does recent Unity pricing change affect your project a lot?

Sorry for the delay had a hectic day. Because our cost structures are low and we always paid for full licenses of Unity this announcement does not change the release schedule for our game nor the pricing structure of it. However what this will do to Unity is another matter that is still open to debate.

 

[cyborgboy95]

 

[Mauman]

Looks interesting. I think I'll keep an eye on this one.