KickStarter Underworld Ascendant Pre-Release Thread

[Nekot-The-Brave]

Expect a video from me on the day of release.

 

[Morgoth]

August 10th for the Pre-Alpha, finally!

 

[DawnrazorDCLXVI]

Zep, really, you've made ten comments about a game you care nothing about, and said nothing but ass cancer. Please keep your poo away from this fine thread.

On other news, this game is looking up! Cheers.

 

[Doctor Sbaitso]

I'll post video as well but will have to pull myself away from Grimoire to check this out.

 

[Metro]

O BOI PRE-ALPHA! Alpha coming 2021. Beta coming 2025. Full release 2030!

 

[Doctor Sbaitso]

As we have learned most recently, some things are worth the wait.

 

[Metro]

Sadly it looks like Cleve has now set the industry standard of 20 year development cycles.

 

[RatTower]

I should probably shout my mouth when it comes to stuff like this, however I couldn't help but notice that the lizards legs are clipping through the armor-plates.

Still pretty pumped about this. Any words on the scale of the pre-alpha? Is it again some kind of tech-demo sandbox/playground area or is it already pre-alpha content from the actual full game.

 

[Infinitron]

I should probably shout my mouth when it comes to stuff like this, however I couldn't help but notice that the lizards legs are clipping through the armor-plates.

Still pretty pumped about this. Any words on the scale of the pre-alpha? Is it again some kind of tech-demo sandbox/playground area or is it already alpha-content from the actual full game.

They've called it a Vertical Slice in the past, so it should be content representative of the final game.

 

[Darkzone]

I should probably shout my mouth when it comes to stuff like this, however I couldn't help but notice that the lizards legs are clipping through the armor-plates.

Still pretty pumped about this. Any words on the scale of the pre-alpha? Is it again some kind of tech-demo sandbox/playground area or is it already pre-alpha content from the actual full game.

Dependend on the made system, either the armor lacks the Lizardman legbones weight painting or the armor doesn't have the bones for bending and a physical interaction with the body. Both cases are not tragic and can be solved within an hour.

 

[RatTower]

Sure. I just thought it was weird to choose that pose for an official screenshot.

 

[Darkzone]

Sure. I just thought it was weird to choose that pose for an official screenshot.

It is weird to choose the picture with this obvious flaw. It is better to present the best looking pictures and it seems that they have missed this flaw or they thought that it will be overlooked. I think also that they wanted to present the Lizardman, since there were some many discussions around it and i have also contributed much to this discussion. But currently i think that the Lizardman looks ok now, if not good (got to see him in action, before i make my final judgement). Then let us hope that tomorrow the horizontal slice is ready. Then i will test it on weekend and i will see if the Lizardman is up to my standards.

 

[Infinitron]

Got an email:

A Pre-Alpha Peek at The Stygian Abyss

Hello Backers,
We're writing because you backed Underworld Ascendant at the ADVENTURER tier and above or purchased the Prototype Access Add-on, which granted you access to the Pre-Alpha Backer Build of the game.

That build will start to become available around 1PM Eastern Standard Time tomorrow on Thursday, August 10th, so we wanted to give you the details on how to access it.

If you've already played earlier prototype builds in the past:

• Easy! Just start up your Steam account and you'll find the new build has replaced the old one. (You may need to restart Steam for it to appear.)

If you haven't received Steam codes in the past:

• Check your email for a message from Backerkit or go directly to your Backerkit Pledge Manager. (If you haven't set up your Backerkit account yet, this would be a good time to dig up that invite mail.)
• For details on how to activate the Steam code, go here.

The Pre-Alpha Build is meant to highlight:

• The game’s visual bar and core tenets of combat, stealth, and magic.
• The world as an interactive toybox full of interesting opportunities for the player to experiment with and areas that provide unique opportunities and challenges.
• Interactive elements that the player can combine with skills, spells, and each other, such as:
  • Physics-based traps that can be manipulated and exploited.
  • Spreading fire that can be weaponized.
  • Caches of useful items.
  • “Glue bulbs” that can stick to objects.
• An initial implementation of rewarding the player for creativity.

The Pre-Alpha Build is not representative of the final product.

• The implementation of skills, combat, stealth, and spells is all still preliminary work. We will be refining and honing how they work, adding functionality, and polishing usability.
• You may encounter bugs and it lacks the full range of weapons, skills, magic, and meta elements such as quest selection and player growth.
• Check the build notes for further details.

We hope you enjoy the Pre-Alpha Build of Underworld Ascendant and look forward to your feedback, as we continue to expand and refine the game further. In fact, we'd really appreciate if you'd fill out the survey linked to in the build and take part in the upcoming Developer Roundtable, mentioned in the latest update.
Again, thanks for your support!

Best,

The Team at OtherSide

I wasn't expecting to be eligible for this.

 

[Metro]

Where is my review copy?

 

[Infinitron]

Interesting discussion on the forums: https://www.othersideentertainment.com/forum/index.php?topic=1784.msg23332#msg23332

The glue sounds like a fun tool, and I can imagine how it might fit into crafting. I think the key to this game being really great is for coming up with creative solutions like the ones in the update to be necessary throughout the game, instead of just being a fun thing you can mess around with on your second time through the game. Because if it's easy for me to make it through the Challenge of Ishtass with only a sword, why bother with needlessly more complex solutions? And I'm not only talking about combat, I want to see parts of the abyss and quests and all sorts of things that really require you to use the games systems and put together your own solution.

Hmm. It sounds like you're suggesting OtherSide should design UA to force players to be creative. Is that what you're saying?

Archilochus is credited with the observation, "The fox knows many tricks; the hedgehog knows one good trick." I think it's fair to say that many gamers today prefer to be hedgehogs: they acquire one useful ability and then want to use it for everything so that they don't have to learn new gameplay verbs. Meanwhile, it might also be fair to suggest that the Looking Glass games (and Deus Ex) are designed to appeal to foxes: exploration-oriented gamers who enjoy trying out lots of different ways of interacting with the game world.

If these are true, then is the suggestion here to try to turn hedgehogs into foxes?

I wouldn't want to force people away from using any option, but I just don't want the most standard options to be universally effective. In Dishonored, I found that using blink and the sword was by far the easiest and most effective way to tackle situations through the whole game. I had lots of tools and powers that I could use creatively, but it was apparent that whenever I did, I was basically wasting resources to screw around which is fun but it doesn't make any sense in the game's logic. I prefer when a game puts you in situations where being creative is at least occasionally preferable to the most brute-force option, instead of just doing it as a meta-game thing.

Agree with this wholeheartedly, most recent attempts at the immersive sim genre have certainly given the player lots of equipment, powers and weapons but they have failed in actually encouraging the player to use them over the base approach.

I'm not saying every situation must encourage fox-like ingenuity but please give me some opportunities where I need to stop being a hedgehog for once!

What you're discussing above is one of our main design challenges for the game: How do you help the player have the most fun?

I refer to it as the "shotgun and wrench dilemma" because people found they could play through BioShock using just those items and ignore the wealth of other options and powers. In effect, to take the easiest, least creative, and likely least fun path. (I mean, trying not to judge there. I once tried to play through Wolfenstein 3D using only a knife and had some fun doing it.)

Since it's a player-authored game you don't want to force the player away from any particular play-style, but you can try like hell to incentivize them to explore their options and tap into their creativity.

There are a few different ways we're approaching it in Underworld Ascendant, through inspiration and reward. You'll see initial glimpses at this in the Pre-Alpha Build. Curious to see how you all pick up on it. Love to see you discuss it as a break-out topic once you get to play. Definitely a tough one, but it's directly in our sights.

Oh, and thank you for giving me a good topic for an upcoming blog, by the way.

 

[RatTower]

Got an email:

...

• Check the build notes for further details.

...

I wasn't expecting to be eligible for this.

Are those build notes available somewhere or can they only be viewed by backers?
Would really like to read those.

 

[Infinitron]

Got an email:

...

• Check the build notes for further details.

...

I wasn't expecting to be eligible for this.

Are those build notes available somewhere or can they only be viewed by backers?
Would really like to read those.

It's not out yet.

 

[PrettyDeadman]

Codex fundraiser was supposed to end on 10th of August and it's already ended, Underworld alpha was supposed to be release on 10th of August and it's not yet released.
wtf.

 

[Infinitron]

Codex fundraiser was supposed to end on 10th of August and it's already ended, Underworld alpha was supposed to be release on 10th of August and it's not yet released.
wtf.

It turns out days have 24 hours you can choose from.

 

[Zep Zepo]

Next Friday. They have to solve a few micro-issues.

Zep--

 

[Darkzone]

Codex fundraiser was supposed to end on 10th of August and it's already ended, Underworld alpha was supposed to be release on 10th of August and it's not yet released.
wtf.

1pm EST is 6h after the 1pm CET. As i write this it is 15.51 CET and 9.51 EST. So let us be angry in 3.09h and not yet.

 

[LESS T_T]

They just updated old playtest build to pre-alpha one: https://steamdb.info/app/419160/history/

 

[Infinitron]

They just updated old playtest build to pre-alpha one: https://steamdb.info/app/419160/history/

Yep, I got the update. 1GB download.

Nekot-The-Brave

 

[Infinitron]

Very first impressions:

Well, it's a game now! This graphical style is not going to please everybody, though.

 

[Cosmo]

Very first impressions:

Well, it's a game now! This graphical style is not going to please everybody, though.

Could you elaborate later pls ?