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

[Mortmal]

I just gave the demo a try, did the tutorial with ease. Something tells me that some people spend a lot of their day playing Scrabble in their retirement home... First impressions: the 3D models are not bad at all for an indie game, somewhere in between that god-awful Prelude to Darkness and Solasta. However, after a very verbose introduction, as if I don't know...someone tried to force part of his books into the game, it crashed with a critical error message. So, I started anew and skipped the tutorial, then the video, did a bit of exploration, and at the first door or so, I encountered some kobold. He hacked my mage to pieces, as apparently, it's taking far far too long to cast anything. So, I reloaded the autosave... critical error too.
Then I started again with a paladin, which is already much easier. By the way, is shapeshifting supposed to fully heal? Then I climbed the stairs, critical error. Tried to load my saves and guess what : Critical error. I'm afraid the demo is pretty much unplayable so far.
However that game clearly shows some care, and I can foresee it could be better than something from Jeff Vogel. I think whoever developed this could stand proudly alongside the batshit crazy lunatics passionate and dedicated codex developers like Pierre Begue or Cleve.

Thanks for hanging in there! We have a log file in the directory C:\users\User name\AppData\LocalLow\Passageway games\Passageway of the Ancients\Player.log We need this file to debug this issue. Also in the save-games subdirectory it woould be nice to have a save file or two. If you could attach those here we will try our best to resolve this issue quickly. You are the type of user we love sincere and forthright. I think you can attach those files here. iI this doesn't work we will try another way. I guess if you are willing we will have to make you a part of our official testing crew!

https://www.udrop.com/KSWd/bugs.rar here you are, and feel free to PM and add me for testing if you need more help.

 

[JonG]

Dual persona? is this like that furry thing?

You play as both a dragonkindt (a special subspecies of dragon) and the huminoid race and sex of your choice, dwarf, elf or human that you transform into in order to hide your true form, You have to hide your true form of dragonkindt since it is reviled on Arieyon,

 

[JonG]

https://www.udrop.com/KSWd/bugs.rar here you are, and feel free to PM and add me for testing if you need more help.

Thanks we are looking at it now. There is a general parsing error when trying to load save files. Now we have to figure out why this happens on your machine.

 

[JonG]

https://www.udrop.com/KSWd/bugs.rar here you are, and feel free to PM and add me for testing if you need more help.

Thanks we are looking at it now. There is a general parsing error when trying to load save files. Now we have to figure out why this happens on your machine.

It looks like date sting is malformed are you in the US?

 

[Mortmal]

https://www.udrop.com/KSWd/bugs.rar here you are, and feel free to PM and add me for testing if you need more help.

Thanks we are looking at it now. There is a general parsing error when trying to load save files. Now we have to figure out why this happens on your machine.

It looks like date sting is malformed are you in the US?

Nope , france.

 

[JonG]

Nope , france.

Your date strings are formed differently than ours. You guys use commas where we use periods/decimal points and this is causing havoc. By the way this issue also impacts going up stairs or loading new levels as well. So it accounts for both critical errors we are seeing. By the way your Paladin like behavior during all this hurlyburly has been exemplary. I really appreciate it! I am going to talk to the team and see how we can reward such nobility!

 

[cyborgboy95]

JonG Any plan to make this game Steam-Deck and controller-compatible? Would love to play this on the go.

 

[JonG]

JonG Any plan to make this game Steam-Deck and controller-compatible? Would love to play this on the go.

We could do this but it would take a bit of development. This is because we are talking about a migration from PC to console (we loose the keyboard). If we do well enough with this first offering doing this would certainly be near the top of the list.

 

[BosanskiSeljak]

Played the demo up until the Gatehouse (didn't feel like doing more fetch quests after the tutorial), interested enough to buy it when it releases for sure. Aesthetics and music are to my liking, even if I have to play the game with a fursona (hope there will be a way to break away from that or get an "evil" end). Game runs great for me, no issues.

But for the love of God, why is there no option to take off the mascara worn by the male Aldonian, Skaldic, Elf & Dwarf? The Aldonian description sounds like some LARPing "don't tread on me" types, but all I get it a metrosexual. I tried going extreme with body/face customization but all I ended up getting was a scary obese crossdresser. Only the asians have no makeup, what gives? Did I miss a lore tidbit? I need a proper explanation if I'll play a male who wears makeup.

Bonus points to you though for making elves look like aliens to gatekeep out the elven fetishists

 

[JonG]

But for the love of God, why is there no option to take off the mascara worn by the male Aldonian, Skaldic, Elf & Dwarf? The Aldonian description sounds like some LARPing "don't tread on me" types, but all I get it a metrosexual. I tried going extreme with body/face customization but all I ended up getting was a scary obese crossdresser. Only the asians have no makeup, what gives? Did I miss a lore tidbit? I need a proper explanation if I'll play a male who wears makeup.

This issue you are pointing out has its origins in the fact that some of our models have issues with the way eyes were modelded and textured and the fix unfortunately make them look a bit dicey sorry for the irritation. Your keen observation about the elves I am positive will only be picked up by a very few observers, I'm impressed.

 

[JonG]

As a general announcement we have resolved the file load issues for some non US players of the demo. If you were having problems when trying to load a save file or move from level to level then restart the game and Steam should update your build with the new one now on Steam and you should be good to go,
If for some reason Steam doesn't update your game on a restart from scratch then go to Steam and re-download the demo.

 

[JonG]

Played the demo up until the Gatehouse (didn't feel like doing more fetch quests after the tutorial), interested enough to buy it when it releases for sure. Aesthetics and music are to my liking, even if I have to play the game with a fursona (hope there will be a way to break away from that or get an "evil" end). Game runs great for me, no issues.

But for the love of God, why is there no option to take off the mascara worn by the male Aldonian, Skaldic, Elf & Dwarf? The Aldonian description sounds like some LARPing "don't tread on me" types, but all I get it a metrosexual. I tried going extreme with body/face customization but all I ended up getting was a scary obese crossdresser. Only the asians have no makeup, what gives? Did I miss a lore tidbit? I need a proper explanation if I'll play a male who wears makeup.

Bonus points to you though for making elves look like aliens to gatekeep out the elven fetishists

Your great sense of humor and obvious love for the sport of playing CRPGames is infectious. We all need more of this kind of thinking.

 

[BosanskiSeljak]

The character creation in this game is better than BG3:

Spoiler

There's actually a surprising amount of options in there, wanted to see how far it could go. At some point the shadows or textures get fucked up so I guess I found a workaround where I can have some tattoos instead of mascara on a dude.

 

[Mauman]

The character creation in this game is better than BG3:

Spoiler

View attachment 41652View attachment 41651

View attachment 41653

There's actually a surprising amount of options in there, wanted to see how far it could go. At some point the shadows or textures get fucked up so I guess I found a workaround where I can have some tattoos instead of mascara on a dude.

Well....I think I won't be sleeping tonight.

Or ever. Again.

 

[mediocrepoet]

The character creation in this game is better than BG3:

Spoiler

View attachment 41652View attachment 41651

View attachment 41653

There's actually a surprising amount of options in there, wanted to see how far it could go. At some point the shadows or textures get fucked up so I guess I found a workaround where I can have some tattoos instead of mascara on a dude.

Well....I think I won't be sleeping tonight.

Or ever. Again.

Don't be rude. He was just seeing if the character creator was robust enough to make his mom. Slamdunk I say!

 

[mediocrepoet]

The character creation in this game is better than BG3:

Spoiler

View attachment 41652View attachment 41651

View attachment 41653

There's actually a surprising amount of options in there, wanted to see how far it could go. At some point the shadows or textures get fucked up so I guess I found a workaround where I can have some tattoos instead of mascara on a dude.

That's hilarious btw, does that model actually show up like that to scale in the game world?

 

[BosanskiSeljak]

does that model actually show up like that to scale in the game world?

Spoiler

Yes, and the armour surprisingly fits the character extremely well, it hugs the *curves* almost perfectly even with the demented figure, I'm impressed. There's just clipping with the sword literally going through the body but that's from the hips/waist being too wide compared to the shoulders. I would've loved for my tank in other games to look like this.

 

[ERYFKRAD]

I would've loved for my tank in other games to look like this

Crom on his mountain, no manufacturer can make a panzer that ugly.

 

[cyborgboy95]

 

[d1nolore]

Played the demo tutorial, will probably have a revisit at some point to get further in.

Character creation: why are all the characters so effeminate? All the male characters look like women, I tried to make my character more masculine playing with the sliders etc but couldn’t get there. Very strange they are so effeminate, if it’s meant to be like that put a little blurb somewhere so it makes sense. It also needs a ‘random generator’ button for appearance as I don’t really have patience to fiddle for an hour. Like for example when playing Mount and Blade I click the random button until I like something then make a few adjustments. It’s much quicker and user friendly that way.

Don’t want to be negative but it’s a bit clunky, movement feels awkward especially trying to use wasd was bad, would suggest just turning it off.

With combat it’s interesting and I would like to play more to have a better opinion but one thing: you should be able to use basic attack by clicking on enemy, not having to select attack then click.

Also why are all the lights or wall candelabra highlightable? Makes the screen too busy if they don’t have a use. It’s a bit of a chore seeing 10 objects in a room and having to check them all for loot when only a handful have anything. Would rather just see useable/lootable objects highlighted.

Oh and the second lock pick game the slider was way too sensitive so was really hard to manage. The letter game on chests I didn’t really understand.

 

[JonG]

Played the demo tutorial, will probably have a revisit at some point to get further in.

Character creation: why are all the characters so effeminate? All the male characters look like women, I tried to make my character more masculine playing with the sliders etc but couldn’t get there. Very strange they are so effeminate, if it’s meant to be like that put a little blurb somewhere so it makes sense. It also needs a ‘random generator’ button for appearance as I don’t really have patience to fiddle for an hour. Like for example when playing Mount and Blade I click the random button until I like something then make a few adjustments. It’s much quicker and user friendly that way.

Don’t want to be negative but it’s a bit clunky, movement feels awkward especially trying to use wasd was bad, would suggest just turning it off.

With combat it’s interesting and I would like to play more to have a better opinion but one thing: you should be able to use basic attack by clicking on enemy, not having to select attack then click.

Also why are all the lights or wall candelabra highlightable? Makes the screen too busy if they don’t have a use. It’s a bit of a chore seeing 10 objects in a room and having to check them all for loot when only a handful have anything. Would rather just see useable/lootable objects highlighted.

Oh and the second lock pick game the slider was way too sensitive so was really hard to manage. The letter game on chests I didn’t really understand.

Thanks so much for taking the time to give us feedback. Players like you are worth their weight in platinum. The characters are standard fare from a well known vendor, no one has ever called the male characters effeminate before. Your idea of a random button for face generation is a great idea but hard to implement for us. How do you implement WASD keys and not have them be a bit clunky? They are by definition more clunky than point and click. Lights are s selectable not for loot but to turn them on and off for the room's ambiance. Maybe a different selectable or highlightable color? About your attack issue...you have to tell the system which type of attack first since it can be either mele or magic spell in all cases then select your target. In the rune stone (letter) puzzles they challenge you to figure out the word. Sometimes only brute force works. Start with the vowels when you get a character to glow bright gold you have the correct symbol in the correct location move on to the next. Again thanks for the great feedback!

 

[JonG]

With combat it’s interesting and I would like to play more to have a better opinion but one thing: you should be able to use basic attack by clicking on enemy, not having to select attack then click.

Actually you can just right click on a monster to attack it but this will result in performing only the type of attack preset on your character. You have no option to change the type of attack at the moment of selecting the enemy.

 

[d1nolore]

Played the demo tutorial, will probably have a revisit at some point to get further in.

Character creation: why are all the characters so effeminate? All the male characters look like women, I tried to make my character more masculine playing with the sliders etc but couldn’t get there. Very strange they are so effeminate, if it’s meant to be like that put a little blurb somewhere so it makes sense. It also needs a ‘random generator’ button for appearance as I don’t really have patience to fiddle for an hour. Like for example when playing Mount and Blade I click the random button until I like something then make a few adjustments. It’s much quicker and user friendly that way.

Don’t want to be negative but it’s a bit clunky, movement feels awkward especially trying to use wasd was bad, would suggest just turning it off.

With combat it’s interesting and I would like to play more to have a better opinion but one thing: you should be able to use basic attack by clicking on enemy, not having to select attack then click.

Also why are all the lights or wall candelabra highlightable? Makes the screen too busy if they don’t have a use. It’s a bit of a chore seeing 10 objects in a room and having to check them all for loot when only a handful have anything. Would rather just see useable/lootable objects highlighted.

Oh and the second lock pick game the slider was way too sensitive so was really hard to manage. The letter game on chests I didn’t really understand.

Thanks so much for taking the time to give us feedback. Players like you are worth their weight in platinum. The characters are standard fare from a well known vendor, no one has ever called the male characters effeminate before. Your idea of a random button for face generation is a great idea but hard to implement for us. How do you implement WASD keys and not have them be a bit clunky? They are by definition more clunky than point and click. Lights are s selectable not for loot but to turn them on and off for the room's ambiance. Maybe a different selectable or highlightable color? About your attack issue...you have to tell the system which type of attack first since it can be either mele or magic spell in all cases then select your target. In the rune stone (letter) puzzles they challenge you to figure out the word. Sometimes only brute force works. Start with the vowels when you get a character to glow bright gold you have the correct symbol in the correct location move on to the next. Again thanks for the great feedback!

Might be a bug with my version the effeminate character models because the video above seems fine. When I was making a character the male and female basically was the same. I might try reinstalling and trying again

 

[JonG]

Might be a bug with my version the effeminate character models because the video above seems fine. When I was making a character the male and female basically was the same. I might try reinstalling and trying again

Make sure you have male selected not female then choose race type human and ethnic as Skaldic

 

[BosanskiSeljak]

Just be prepared for him to have mascara d1nolore . Or follow my character creation guide from above:

The character creation in this game is better than BG3:

Spoiler

View attachment 41652View attachment 41651

View attachment 41653

There's actually a surprising amount of options in there, wanted to see how far it could go. At some point the shadows or textures get fucked up so I guess I found a workaround where I can have some tattoos instead of mascara on a dude.