The Drunken Lizard Pub

Welcome GianMarco!

We are working to make the main quest come in at around 20 hours and have another 20 hours in side quests, so there'll be at least 40 hours of play time in Book I.

We are planning on allowing Character transfer into Book II, but we can't make any promises until we start on the next game.

Thats good to hear mate, I recently got in the Avernum/Geneforge series earlier this year to hold off the hype for Eschalon but one thing that got me down was the fact that each game was standalone. Dont get me wrong this is good for newcomers, but you kinda feel disappointed when you go to the sequel and cannot continue onward with your previous character/s. It was one feature i have always deemed necessary since Baldurs gate 1&2. In the case of Eschalon being a 3-part series of games - i think it will defiantly add to the 'Epic Factor' of the trilogy. Being able to continue further on with the character you made from the very beginning in all 3 games would be groundbreaking dude.

Apologies if these questions have been asked before:

1. Are NPC schedules being implemented?
2. Is there a day/night and weather cycle?
3. Have you considered implementing a horse or similar mode of transport?
4. Any chance of an in-game movie?

Looks good guys!

I'd like to add a request.
I asked if the chracter aspect changes when you change armor/weapon/equipment.
You answered the image changes only in few steps but you havent' developed a real deep character aspect chianging option.

I like very much to see my alter-hero to grow in power, solve quest and buy/find/gain special artifacts or self made pieces of equipment.

So I hope you'll implement this feature. Judging by the images on the site it seems your character in metal armor has same aspect of town gurads.
Please..... let us customize better also the aspect of our hero.

Thanks

@Dray:

1) No- NPCs do not have schedules. I know starting back in the days of Ultima 5-6-7 and continuing through to Oblivion it has been a common feature to show that NPCs have their own schedule, running about doing their jobs and going to bed at night. While this is very cool, it doesn't add a whole lot to your gameplay other than make it inconvenient that the blacksmith is closed when you want to buy a new sword. We simply didn't have the time to develop our own "Radiant AI" system for Book I but we do have plans for Book II to have more dynamic NPC schedules.

2) Yes.

3) Yes, it was considered. It wouldn't be too hard to implement horses in Book I, but then for Book II we would most certainly have to remove them as horses would be very hard to add to a turn-based, party-based RPG.

4) I assume you mean some video capture of the gameplay? Yes, we will be releasing some video for promotional purposes but not until we are a little closer to release. Stay tuned!

@gragnak:
I'm not completely sure what you are requesting...we are doing a few things with special equipment. If Book I doesn't have the exact thing you are looking for, send us an email with a bit more description and we'll get it added to the design docs for Book II.

Ok.
Sorry for my english.
Sent mail message

What I meant was: every item you equip is displayed on your character body.
If I have a dagger, short sword, cutlass... I'll see my character always using the same short sword icon.
If you equip some rare item, it should have a unique image displayed on my character.

Same thing for other equipment. Full plate, half plate, ring mail = metal armor appearence. Padded leather, leather, fur armor = leather armor appearence.

Oh, yes, there are different graphics for most equipment. Swords, daggers, hammers, bows all look different on your character. As for armor, you can mix-n-match armor pieces to get a different look. Putting on a wizard's cap, cloak and staff makes your character look very much like a wizard, whereas a sword/shield/breastplate makes him look more like a fighter.

We haven't shown much of this in the screenshots, but yes, your character does change appearance when wearing different armor. I hope this answers your question.

re: NPC schedules..

I think it can add to the gameplay if you cater for it in the design of quests. Schedules help make the world seem more believable and thus more immersive. I remember that closing hours were a time for 'night shopping' in Ultima VII for me. A triple crossbow under glass was easy to acquire when the guards were sleeping.

re: horses...

Is party based mounted travel/combat really off the cards for book II? I'm not pretending to be an expert but couldn't you just change your characters graphics to incorporate a horse underneath and increase the movement rate for anyone on a horse? If one of your party doesn't have a horse then they try to keep up as much as possible but eventually give up and wait where they lost you.

Dray.

Dray wrote:re: NPC schedules..

I think it can add to the gameplay if you cater for it in the design of quests. Schedules help make the world seem more believable and thus more immersive. I remember that closing hours were a time for 'night shopping' in Ultima VII for me. A triple crossbow under glass was easy to acquire when the guards were sleeping.

Arcanum had this too and it was a nice feature. I don't like the idea of time of day schedules for NPCs and shops if it means simply they aren't accessible at certain times of day, but if that schedule means occasion for some burglary or other advantage-taking of that schedule, then I'm all for it. Basically, as long as a change of schedule still makes that NPC part of the game and accessible, but just in a different way, rather than essentially taking them out of the game for a period of time.

Gallifrey wrote: I don't like the idea of time of day schedules for NPCs and shops if it means simply they aren't accessible at certain times of day, but if that schedule means occasion for some burglary or other advantage-taking of that schedule, then I'm all for it. Basically, as long as a change of schedule still makes that NPC part of the game and accessible, but just in a different way, rather than essentially taking them out of the game for a period of time.

I wouldn't mind if a shop was closed and inaccessable till opening time, even if there was no other purpose than 'it's night time and everyone is asleep' (but having quests or other things you can do only during such times does make it more interesting).

About now I expect flames about 'not being a simulator' and 'inhibiting gameplay', but, this is a role playing game we're talking about. If you were playing a table top RPG and went to a store that was closed you'd have to wait till it was open again. Even if you just slept, waited, etc. In a CRPG implementation it wouldn't be too difficult to 'pass time' if you wanted to skip to morning or a particular hour. It's like the day/night cycles, weather, npc schedules. It just all adds to the immersion. Perhaps it's down to how developers capitalise on these immersion features and implement quests or other gameplay aspects around them. If done well then they become part of the experience and contribute to the enjoyment of the game, rather than becomig an annoying aspect that makes you think 'what were they thinking'.

Dray.

I think that all kinds of "resting systems", sleeping, waiting, any form of "fast forward" option, which is usually implemented in modern RPGs, ruins the whole concept of day and night cycles. Shop's closed? *whoosh* let's time travel to 9AM tomorrow. Dang the thieves' guild only sees me at night, no matter, let's just wait 18 hours here outside the building in a raging thunderstorm and snow. In some other games you have to find a bed or even a tavern, but the thing's the same.

This is more like a criticism of the resting system in games, I think i've already mentioned this in one of my other posts in relation with cheap HP/MP regenearion - see, infinity engine games, or elder scrolls.
What I'm trying to to say is that if you implement such a system (day/night cycles), you really have to make it work well, otherwise it'll be just a nuisance. At least that's what it usually feels like to me.

I dunno, I think the infinity engine games did it pretty well. If you were in a city, you had to pay to rest, and in Baldur's Gate, it could take a looong time to hike out of town. If you weren't in a city, there was a decent chance you would be attacked. If you were in a dungeon, you could basically forget about it.

I actually think JA2 has the most realistic system, where the characters needed real medical attention and rest when seriously injured, but no one would go for this in an RPG.

On a related topic, one thing I REALLY dislike is a game actually making a player wait while his character rests (like NWN, which had an atrocious resting system all round), or picks a lock or any of those kinds of actions. In TOEE, they had a pretty clever 20 second animation of a character picking a lock, but how many times does one pick a lock in a fantasy RPG? Too many times to watch the animation play.

In a computer simulation, of anything real or unreal, I expect the tedium of day-to-day life to be removed. Walking from one place to another, for example, can add a lot to an experience. Watching some avatars sleep adds nothing.

Interesting observation, syrio.

Day/night cycles exist in Eschalon to offer more gameplay options. As nighttime advances (or if you are in a dark dungeon) a player can become Hidden in Shadow if they possess that skill. Some people may prefer to adventure in the dark if it allows them to be a more effective hunter or thief. But the darkness can also have a negative effect on your ability ToHit a target that is also concealed by darkness, and hidden objects (such as traps) are much more difficult to spot in the dark (although boosting the skill Spot Hidden helps offset this).

As for sleep...yes, it is a "fast forward" type of effect, just like real sleep is to you and I. In Eschalon you can camp only if you are outside of town and there are no detectable creatures around. Camping can be for any length of time you want. In town, you must purchase a room at an inn, and then the game automatically jumps ahead to 7:00am the following morning.

Just checkin up on you guys, seeing if anything is new. Haven't heard from you in awhile.

Hey Rune_74,

We're still here and working like mad on the game. We will hopefully have some solid news for everyone soon!