Vapourware Sui Generis + Exanima Early Access

[Alienman]

One thing that has gotten a bit old for me with Examina is the looting. Looting is so slow. Comparing equipment is so slow. Items are often so similar in qualities that the only decent way to compare them is by superimposing their details window over each other and seeing what (doesn't) overlap. I didn't mind it too much at first (a decade ago, lol), but now I'd like it to be faster. Going through containers is also a bit tedious. It's not helped by their level design sensibilities, where they like to put a valuable chest under rubbish or simply on a shelf. When the game is populated by rubbish and widgets to get the immersion right, it forces you to click on every damn hammer or tool you come across as it might be better than whatever you're currently wielding. While it starts as gritty and methodical, it becomes a bit of a slog.

I like the slower pace, everything feels more deliberate... and well, I'm old now. Slow = good.

 

[Strange Fellow]

Does this game have *anything* else going on for it other than the wonky physics?

"Wonky physics" is doing the excellent combat system a huge disservice, but quite apart from that, the campaign is actually really good. It starts out as a generic horror-tinged fantasy dungeon crawl, which nevertheless is done extremely well - the lighting, the enemies and the general atmosphere evoke a sense of unease which I haven't experienced in any other isometric game. As you progress further the environments start to take strange and interesting turns, which shouldn't be spoiled. The complaints ITT are legitimate, but the Exanima you can buy today is already a genuinely good game.

 

[AdolfSatan]

Dungeon design is top-notch, as in, better than UUW. For real.

 

[Kruyurk]

The vapourware tag on this thread should be removed. Vapourware means there is nothing beyond ideas. Exanima could already pass for a complete game. Or at least change it for velvetware.

 

[GentlemanCthulhu]

Does this game have *anything* else going on for it other than the wonky physics?

"Wonky physics" is doing the excellent combat system a huge disservice, but quite apart from that, the campaign is actually really good. It starts out as a generic horror-tinged fantasy dungeon crawl, which nevertheless is done extremely well - the lighting, the enemies and the general atmosphere evoke a sense of unease which I haven't experienced in any other isometric game. As you progress further the environments start to take strange and interesting turns, which shouldn't be spoiled. The complaints ITT are legitimate, but the Exanima you can buy today is already a genuinely good game.

That's cool. I already have this game but never even installed it because i thought it's just a glorified tech demo stuck in early access hell for the last half a decade.

 

[OttoQuitmarck]

Did people try out the new patch already?

 

[Technomancer]

Did people try out the new patch already?

Anything particular you want to know?

 

[vitellus]

easy fix, just disabling steam overlay, but still funny

 

[Alienman]

Did people try out the new patch already?

I tried some. The force magic is cool. You can really trash a room with it, or send undead dudes flying. The new areas are cool also. They added plenty of traps to fall into if you are not careful exploring.

 

[Mr. Magniloquent]

The hadoken is fun and significantly lowers risk of engagements. It's definitely easy mode, but that's OK. Magic should be awe inspiring. The UI is not ideal if you're using more than 1 power though. Even with cycling through powers via hotkey, using even 2-3 powers is clumsy.

 

[OttoQuitmarck]

Did people try out the new patch already?

Anything particular you want to know?

Just wondering if the game is any close to full release now lol.

Did people try out the new patch already?

I tried some. The force magic is cool. You can really trash a room with it, or send undead dudes flying. The new areas are cool also. They added plenty of traps to fall into if you are not careful exploring.

They added fus roh dah?

 

[Technomancer]

Just wondering if the game is any close to full release now lol.

Closer than it was

Will probably take some years still. We are two big updates away. Next update will add another new level, flesh out role system which will form the backbone of AI interactions in Sui Generis, they will also add a lot of new dialogue, new NPC deep below and return knight as a starting class. All these new additions will finally turn the game into RPG.

The 1.0 update will add final level and ranged combat to the game and most likely an ending. Both updates will come with countless other improvements, of course.

 

[Mr. Magniloquent]

I'm hoping that energy is quietly in an advanced state of development since we have the lightning enemy. It still seems odd to me that they made Light & Energy distinct disciplines. The discipline I'm really looking forward to is Displacement. There should be lots of opportunity for tricks and emergent gameplay with that one.

 

[Technomancer]

I'm hoping that energy is quietly in an advanced state of development

I don't think we will see other thaums until SG. New stuff is just for variety but they were not meant to be teasers for upcoming content. The plan was to later back port other schools from SG to Exanima.

 

[vitellus]

Will probably take some years still

i bought it, and will definitely hit my cost:time = fun ratio soon enough.
if it gets done before the death of western civilization, then i'll be able to put more time into it then as well

 

[Zariusz]

So 0.8 versions finally are behind us, now the idea that this game will actually release in like maybe 3 years slowly starts to gather in my mind. What a bizzare realisation, its like being a witness to some ancient esoteric prophecy that starts coming true.

 

[Modron]

So 0.8 versions finally are behind us, now the idea that this game will actually release in like maybe 3 years slowly starts to gather in my mind. What a bizzare realisation, its like being a witness to some ancient esoteric prophecy that starts coming true.

I was there when Cleve changed his signature to Grimoire release in progress now 2 year before it finally came out, get back to us when Sui Generis hits early access.

 

[Dadd]

It looks like the new update made movement appear less drunk and underwater

 

[Technomancer]

November 2023

Welcome to our first monthly coffee diary. Until now we posted a weekly dev diary on the forums, talking about what we're working on and how development is progressing. We're switching to this monthly format now, and going forward we should be able to make these more interesting and maybe include media when appropriate. Keep in mind that we are always careful with spoilers and we prefer it if you experience things in game, so we can be a little secretive.


We have just released a huge update, so we've been pretty busy just getting feedback, making improvements and fixes. We're still tracking a couple of issues, but the game now seems to be in the best shape it has ever been. This is the time in the cycle when we properly assess our next major development goals and work on things like systems and tools to support our workflow. At this point though our roadmap is mostly things on a small or medium scale, mainly gameplay features and content rather than major engine or tool development.

Our one bigger goal and focus for the next major update is the "role system". We'll likely talk about this more in future diaries, but for now we'll give you a basic introduction. The role system is very broadly what gives characters identities, behaviours, relationships, memories and interactions. Characters might have hundreds or even thousands of active roles, acquiring new ones all the time as they experience things, meet other characters and engage in activities. Roles are often situational, such as "person in shop", through which relational roles like "customer - shopkeep" can be acquired. Any NPC can acquire these roles, they will remember the experience, be able to relate information about it and so on. There's quite a lot more to it, but we won't get into all the details.

It's a powerful system that is mechanically quite simple, but requires us to gradually add more and more roles to make the AI smarter and understand more things. We already have a version of this in the game, but with only a few placeholder roles that rigidly script behaviour, not at all how this is supposed to work. Exanima's AI is so far almost purely driven by emotional states and personality traits. This alone is almost enough to model a wide range of behaviours, but the roles are another layer providing much needed context. Essentially the intelligence to guide the emotions. Roles should not override core emotional responses, but rather just nudge them in the right direction and ultimately be driven by them.

This sort of thing is our true passion, we want to create a believable world, and to us that's all about how it behaves. We originally didn't make our game physics based because we wanted awesome combat, that was really a gigantic detour from our true goal, driven by feedback. The physics is there because we want things to be truly interactive and less artificial, everything should behave in an organic way rather than according to a simple set of rules and predefined actions.


The next big update will include progress on this role system and include new intelligent NPCs and more dialogue, and also a new area to explore, which is very terrain heavy. For some time now we've been wanting to spruce up the visuals of our terrain, and we've already begun work on improving our tools for designing terrain and its surfaces. The ground is visually dominant in Exanima, so this is important. The updated terrain will feature better materials and many remastered assets, but it also solves many difficult problems that our level designers currently have to deal with. You will likely see incremental upgrades to the terrain before the major update, such as improved 3D grass which has been patched in already.

While we're hesitant to promise anything too specific, we are considering one or two smaller updates before the big one. One topic would be fully implementing Potential and other thaumaturgy mechanics, adding some new powers, improving existing ones and also the controls. Another thing that is high on our priority list is mechanics for saving progress in the late game. This will not be simple checkpoints as the game is no longer linear, but rather an optional system you will have to discover and engage with. We have been laying down the pieces for this for a long time, and with its introduction they will finally have a purpose and provide new objectives and interactions within the game.


We hope you found some of this interesting, and please let us know if you like this format (yes we will try to include some images in future). We'll see you here again on the first Monday of the next month.


Thanks!

-The Bare Mettle Team

 

[Latelistener]

Not sure if I enjoyed the "demo". It looks fun, but for how long? Combat requires a lot of acclimatization, but does it even worth it?

Judging by Steam reviews, there is not much in terms of story. Just samey looking floors with new monsters.

I've enjoyed this a bit more, but it's not physics-based and there is only demo so far:



Someone also compared Exanima to this, but I haven't tried it yet:

 

[Strange Fellow]

Combat requires a lot of acclimatization, but does it even worth it?

Yes. The combat is amazingly fun once you get a handle on it.

Judging by Steam reviews, there is not much in terms of story. Just samey looking floors with new monsters.

It's light on story, but samey-looking floors is a flat lie, there's great variety in level design and aesthetics.

 

[agris]

come for the combat

stay for the procedural velvet

 

[Technomancer]

Just samey looking floors

Was only somewhat true for first three levels, but even those were updated recently so they are more varied in design. The levels that you discover next are distinct from one another. Story will be the focus of next big update.

 

[jam]

It has now been 9.5 years since the estimated delivery date for Sui Generis of May 2014. Living in the relatively safe conditions of North America, a 25-year-old man has about a 98.1% chance of reaching the age of 34. 1.9% of them die in that decade. For simplicity's sake, I will make the assumption that all of Sui Generis' 6931 backers were 25-year-old men living in North America. Of the 6931 backers, approximately 134 of them have died since the estimated delivery date. I understand that when Sui Generis releases, it will be the best game ever, but I think Madoc has an obligation to take a break from rendering 4K zombie models to track down the families of his dead backers and provide them posthumous refunds.

 

[JarlFrank]

I don't think this is how life expectancy statistics work