KickStarter Underworld Ascendant Pre-Release Thread

[Zer0wing]

Look at this perk-tree cancer. What did skills did to developers' children they all jumped to stuffing games with boring perks instead of carrying boring +5 to some actions by skills?

 

[Nyast]

Look at the map at 11:05. No, seriously, look at it. Fog of war showing areas you haven't been to yet. But worse - FUCKING CORRIDORS. The level is split in two parts, and each is like a giant fucking corridor.

This.. this is... I have no words for this atrocity.

 

[BEvers]

Look at the map at 11:05. No, seriously, look at it. Fog of war showing areas you haven't been to yet.

As I understand procedural missions send you to maps you've already explored in main quest.

 

[Invictus]

I really hate that it looks like exactly the kind of RPG that I want but it falls short in many areas. That's so frustrating.

I guess I should replay Ultima Underworld. AGAIN.

Or Arx Fatalis

 

[Max Heap]

This gameplay tastes like the outcome of an asset-driven exit strategy.
What I mean is, that they are basically taking the assets they have, trying to monetize them the best way they can, without really going for the originally intended design (or maybe just a very broad interpretation of it).

What makes it apparent is the re-use of maps, the simple (but potentially time-consuming) quests, as well as various procedural elements.
All pretty easy (and fast) to make. All pushing that play-time/"content".

This is just what my gut feeling is telling me, but considering they are probably out of money I think it's pretty likely.
Also it seems like the most viable move from a business perspective. Especially considering the state of the game only a few weeks ago.

 

[Infinitron]

I haven't read anything about procedural quests. Area reuse for different quests yes, but not procedurally generated ones.

 

[Invictus]

Whateverthe case may be, if you know your product is kind of shit then why oh why not showcase the BEST parts of it? Show some great fights, innovative puzzles, a good example of a quest, an awesome enemy.... something ANYTHING to generate some hope
Frankly everything they have shown is disappointing, not a single thing looks like it could save this from beign decidedly mediocre and ultimately undeserving of the Underworld legacy and name

 

[agris]

Even their own forum members hate what they’ve seen of the game.

 

[Infinitron]

Even their own forum members hate what they’ve seen of the game.

Nothing "even" about that. For the past six years it's consistently been the case that official forums of Kickstarted games can be some of the edgiest places around (yes, edgier than the Codex). The official PoE forums were such a hatefest before the first game's release that Anthony Davis came here to complain because he thought we were sending trolls. And right now some Codexers think Bard's Tale IV looks kinda cool and others are more lukewarm, but on the inXile forums people are calling it an ungodly abomination.

As I was telling Strange Fellow the other day:

Sep 3, 2018 at 8:33 PM - @Infinitron: Bard's Tale IV looking pretty cool right now
Sep 3, 2018 at 8:33 PM - @Infinitron: It's funny how incredibly pissed some people on inXile's official forums are at it though
Sep 3, 2018 at 8:33 PM - @Strange Fellow: How come Infinitron?
Sep 3, 2018 at 8:34 PM - @Infinitron: Angry it's not a retro game, basically
Sep 3, 2018 at 8:34 PM - @Infinitron: See this thread https://forums.inxile-entertainment.com/viewtopic.php?f=57&t=19047
Sep 3, 2018 at 8:35 PM - @Strange Fellow: Company forum more Codex than Codex?
Sep 3, 2018 at 8:35 PM - @Infinitron: You'd be surprised how common that is
Sep 3, 2018 at 8:36 PM - @Infinitron: On the Codex you have people who are, I guess you could say, pissed off at RPGs in a general way. But on official forums, you have people who are looking for particular, specific stuff and they can get really mad when they don't get it
Sep 3, 2018 at 8:37 PM - @Strange Fellow: That makes sense.

 

[someone else]

fanboys gonna fanboys

 

[Master]

Or perhaps its the decline of Codex?

 

[LESS T_T]

https://www.othersideentertainment.com/forum/index.php?topic=6110.0

Sept 10 Weekly Update

Morning everyone!

I was out last week, but I'm back in the office and here with another weekly update!

So something we've mentioned in our previous updates is that we're finally able to dedicate more time to fleshing out the world, and particularly, our characters. The enemies and potential allies in this game can make or break your forage into the Abyss, and it's important to have a variety... and not just of Skeletons. (Although, as you know from the "Shadow Skeleton" we talked about a few weeks ago, you can expect to see some varied Skeleton types too... It's always good to survey your enemies before engaging. Make sure you study what they might be capable of...)

Here's a sneak peek at the backs of some of the different kinds of potentially hostile Chthonians while you're in the Abyss. There are at least three different types, based on their armor and specializations. LINK.



It seems while I've been gone, we've also fixed up our save system issues (hooray!) and worked on some more optimizations for some of these large levels. Now we can turn our attention to those quests...

 

[Nano]

lizards from the back

lmao are these people serious?

 

[Cross]

Either the game is so unfinished that they can't even show us a full view of those lizards or someone on the dev team is really proud of all the time and effort they spent modeling those lizard butts.

Neither explanation bodes well for the game.

 

[unfairlight]

HOPW ROEWUR NE

 

[unfairlight]

You can still be disappointed by just reading Codex!

 

[Max Heap]

Now we can turn our attention to those quests...

Two months.
Tick tock.

Also, while adding variety to existing characters is definitely a good idea... I don't wanna be that guy again, but read these quotes with some sort of flashback voice echo...

Either way, if they want the game to have more than 2 or 3 enemy types, they still have quite a bit of modelling/rigging/animation work to do.
[...]
They might re-use character models [...] Seems like the economic solution at this point.

This gameplay tastes like the outcome of an asset-driven exit strategy.
What I mean is, that they are basically taking the assets they have, trying to monetize them the best way they can [...]

I'm not even criticizing them for it. Lots of companies actually do that. Especially if money's tight.
I'm just wondering how far they'll take it. I don't want a "dungeon crawler" that sends you grinding 15 differently colored skeletons in the same areas for hours.

And I'm ready to accept almost anything at this point.

 

[agris]

What’s the plot / hook for the player?

 

[RatTower]

Typhon is about to fuck up the Stygian Abyss and I guess with all its portals that's ultimately going to affect earth as well.
At least I think that's what's happening.

 

[Big Wrangle]

Once you defeat Typhon, turns out it was summoned by a burglar to keep you busy in another realm. By the time you return home, it's completele empty.

 

[Melan]

Two months to release and they are working on a glowy water feature and lizardman models?
I would have been happy if the game looked like total shit, but featured a functional dungeon ecology in a big, complex, multi-level dungeon.

 

[Max Heap]

Just checked the official forums.
Getting a bit uncomfortable in there.

That's the big advantage of mainly posting on "toxic" (lol) boards like the codex.

People on here always expect things to be shit.
So everything turning out slightly better is a pleasent surprise.

 

[rusty_shackleford]

Just checked the official forums.
Getting a bit uncomfortable in there.

That's the big advantage of mainly posting on "toxic" (lol) boards like the codex.

People on here always expect things to be shit.
So everything turning out slightly better is a pleasent surprise.

'official' forums are for bootlicking

 

[Curratum]

Just checked the official forums.
Getting a bit uncomfortable in there.

That's the big advantage of mainly posting on "toxic" (lol) boards like the codex.

People on here always expect things to be shit.
So everything turning out slightly better is a pleasent surprise.

That's the exact word - it's UNCOMFORTABLE. Even the asslickers are running out of ideas how to praise and defend this mess and have turned to posting the most awkward shit.

 

[Darkzone]

Even their own forum members hate what they’ve seen of the game.

Nothing "even" about that. For the past six years it's consistently been the case that official forums of Kickstarted games can be some of the edgiest places around (yes, edgier than the Codex). The official PoE forums were such a hatefest before the first game's release that Anthony Davis came here to complain because he thought we were sending trolls. And right now some Codexers think Bard's Tale IV looks kinda cool and others are more lukewarm, but on the inXile forums people are calling it an ungodly abomination.

As I was telling Strange Fellow the other day:

Sep 3, 2018 at 8:33 PM - @Infinitron: Bard's Tale IV looking pretty cool right now
Sep 3, 2018 at 8:33 PM - @Infinitron: It's funny how incredibly pissed some people on inXile's official forums are at it though
Sep 3, 2018 at 8:33 PM - @Strange Fellow: How come Infinitron?
Sep 3, 2018 at 8:34 PM - @Infinitron: Angry it's not a retro game, basically
Sep 3, 2018 at 8:34 PM - @Infinitron: See this thread https://forums.inxile-entertainment.com/viewtopic.php?f=57&t=19047
Sep 3, 2018 at 8:35 PM - @Strange Fellow: Company forum more Codex than Codex?
Sep 3, 2018 at 8:35 PM - @Infinitron: You'd be surprised how common that is
Sep 3, 2018 at 8:36 PM - @Infinitron: On the Codex you have people who are, I guess you could say, pissed off at RPGs in a general way. But on official forums, you have people who are looking for particular, specific stuff and they can get really mad when they don't get it
Sep 3, 2018 at 8:37 PM - @Strange Fellow: That makes sense.

The number one complaint in the BTIV inxile forum is that is not like BT I - III concerning mechanics and the lore. And for me the complainers act like whiny bitches. I find very few things in the BTIV lore that do not correspond to the previous BT games, but not like in the case of Tarjan. Tarjan was always for me a man that has convinced others that he is a god, and not that he was a true god. Corresponding to the case of the roman emperors who were elevated to the divine status of roman gods and received even temples.
Either way people who have pledged on KS think that they have a certain right of influence, but if they do not receive the game that they want then they are pissed. And the more they involve themself into the processes the worse it is. This happen to me with the lizardman thing, but since i left their forum i have gained a good distance from this.