Book III Update for May

[BasiliskWrangler]

I played Book III this morning. I was able to get 50% through the game before a broken quest stopped me.

I really enjoyed playing it. Although the mechanics feel a lot like Book II since most of the skills and items have only minor changes/additions, Book III has far more ambiance. The story is more focused, and many of the quests have connected elements (i.e. discovering something while working on "Quest X" that might be useful when you are working on "Quest Z"). Book III is more plot-driven, and thus a bit more linear, than the other games. It still is, of course, pretty much open from the start and you can get in a lot of trouble if you push ahead too quickly.

As far as development, there is still a lot to do. I am not ready to set a release date, and this is not an official announcement, but it will be difficult to finish it up this summer. We don't even have a working start-to-finish Alpha version yet, let alone a Beta version. Don't be too alarmed if we need to push it back to late summer or autumn- if we do, it's just to make sure things are perfect.

We've been collecting video clips for a teaser trailer, so you can look forward to that sometime this summer. Maybe another screenshot in June(?).

-BW

[Kreador Freeaxe]

Tease.

Really, really looking forward to seeing some of the progress.

[Lhoric]

Wonderful news, thanks for the update. Now get back to the grindstone!! The unwashed masses are waiting impatiently... myself included of course. Seriously though dude, have a great day.

[IJBall]

I played Book III this morning. I was able to get 50% through the game before a broken quest stopped me.

I really enjoyed playing it. Although the mechanics feel a lot like Book II since most of the skills and items have only minor changes/additions, Book III has far more ambiance. The story is more focused, and many of the quests have connected elements (i.e. discovering something while working on "Quest X" that might be useful when you are working on "Quest Z"). Book III is more plot-driven, and thus a bit more linear, than the other games. It still is, of course, pretty much open from the start and you can get in a lot of trouble if you push ahead too quickly.

Excellent! That was exactly the focus that I think a lot of us were hoping for with Book III!

(P.S. And by more "ambiance", I hope that means that every map is filled with more mobs/clickable items & objects/just all kinds of "stuff"... )

As far as development, there is still a lot to do. I am not ready to set a release date, and this is not an official announcement, but it will be difficult to finish it up this summer. We don't even have a working start-to-finish Alpha version yet, let alone a Beta version. Don't be too alarmed if we need to push it back to late summer or autumn...

Grrrr... Just when I'll be back at work...

On the plus side, though, my current Fall work schedule is lighter than this past academic year's was, so I should actually have some time on the side for gaming this Fall...

[SpottedShroom]

Awesome! I'd personally rather see you take the time you need to make a polished product than rush to make release dates. Looking forward to screenshots/videos/betas!

[deathknight1728]

This is excellent news. If its out much later in Christmas-its like reopening a present containing gold over and over again. Just awesome!

[Dragonlady]

Great update! Gives me hope I will have something to do this fall.
I like the fact that quest A might have a link to quest Z. That way the npc's get to live a bit longer since they will prove to be useful and not just another expts statistic.

[Vroqren]

Yes! As SpottedShroom said, it's better to have a polished, amazing game, after the release date hoped for, than a rushed game on the release date. Better late than on time...?

I think I speak for us all when I say we are all looking forward to the game, and any teasers you give us, whenever they come out.

[MyGameCompany]

Exciting news! I've been wondering how it's going. Thanks for the update!

[mercy]

Good to know Book III is progressing nicely! I'm exited what you will do with the 3D engine in the next game, e.g. Unity 3D.

[Painted Lady]

Good to know Book III is progressing nicely! I'm exited what you will do with the 3D engine in the next game, e.g. Unity 3D.

Did I miss something? Has BW ever said he is going to use the Unity 3D engine for his next game?

[KillingMoon]

Thanks for the update, good luck with finishing the trilogy. Since I have the first books I don't care much about preview material, I'll just buy Book III when it's there.

[IJBall]

Good to know Book III is progressing nicely! I'm exited what you will do with the 3D engine in the next game, e.g. Unity 3D.

Did I miss something? Has BW ever said he is going to use the Unity 3D engine for his next game?

BW has not said that, though I believe he has said he's definitely looking at Unity.

But, in my own personal opinion, I suspect BG going to Unity may be inevitable - I think virtually every other RPG that's had a Kickstarter lately seems to be using Unity to write their games. It seems to me that Unity is really cornering the market as the current preferred system for game scripting.

[mwindsong]

I just can't wait to see it!!! OK, obviously I can wait… but I'm really really really excited to see it come out. Thanks for keeping us up to date.

[deathknight1728]

I look forward to seeing this whole epic tale come to a close. It's very exciting to see how much it progressed and even then people will be making characters for a long time as it is now steam/gog. I keep on trying to get someone to put a guide up on Gamebanshee which doesn't make sense that they wont at least try for it.