Progress of TSoG (aka TRPG3) Open Demo

[MikeW781]

Okay. Thats all i wanted

[SmartyPants]

I do not. I think it's neat to have little differences among the elements here and there. ;)

I agree, since the little differences makes the game more fun to replay.

[CraigStern]

Clicking on your characters now actually does something useful! :)

--if they haven't gone yet, it moves straight to their turn.
--if they have gone already, the game helpfully informs you of that fact.

[MikeW781]

Sweet! Bug testing time!

[Zackirus]

Clicking on your characters now actually does something useful! :)

--if they haven't gone yet, it moves straight to their turn.
--if they have gone already, the game helpfully informs you of that fact.

You forgot you added in Mahboob's Basement

[Bromtaghon]

Is it a basement or an attic? The stairs lead up, don't they?

[Zackirus]

It says in the Twitter Update: Basemnt

https://twitter.com/sinisterdesign

so I am going with Basemnt not to go against Craig

[KZ]

I like the new AI, and although the new "hold" position does give unfair advantage to the player over the enemy, it does allow for greater flexibility in battle, so that's a go! Another interesting element is the restriction of sight in the basement, but surely given that the Hero can see the entire battlefield, the basements of the same size should be all visible to him? Or is that explained away by him concentrating extra hard during battle and getting tired relatively quickly, hence during "normal exploration" he is using the minimum of his scanning abilities?
I don't particularly like the addition of borders around areas- it makes the areas look smaller and unconnected/compartmentalised, somehow (and the idea of random chests just lying around... not sold on that - it made sense with just a couple of chests in TRPG2, but a random chest laying on the street next to the mansion isn't really that plausible- that would be something to be found in a shed, or the likes)- before that although one came across the borders, it felt almost like the Hero simply not wanting to venture outside those areas, so not really feeling limited, whilst these borders do put up a visible limitation on what the player can/cannot do. But overall- I like what I see!

[fourinone]

Another interesting element is the restriction of sight in the basement, but surely given that the Hero can see the entire battlefield, the basements of the same size should be all visible to him? Or is that explained away by him concentrating extra hard during battle and getting tired relatively quickly, hence during "normal exploration" he is using the minimum of his scanning abilities?

I guess you can argue that the Sight is somehow hampered by a lack of light. As I understand, those rooms in Baz's cellar are pitch black, devoid of any light. If I remember correctly, none of the battle you fight take place in this complete darkness, so we can't draw any firm conclusions about Duvalier's ability to see the battlefield in one of those rooms. It may just be that he can't use the Sight in that situation.

[CraigStern]

I'll quote my explanation on the front page: :)

The Sight is a technique that works by determining the location of nearby humans and other creatures through broad-based Scanning, then picking up their visual thought streams and compositing a picture of the battlefield. It isn't a direct, literal substitute for regular vision.

By contrast, it's a much harder process trying to directly figure out the shape of one's surroundings using psy when it's pitch dark. That's like the equivalent of groping around with one's hands with one's eyes closed. Which is why Duvalier can only manage to keep tabs on his immediate surroundings in pitch darkness.

As for adding fences and chests, those were in response to suggestions I received after releasing the first downloadable demo. Regarding the chests specifically, I'm willing to sacrifice a little realism for the sake of a more enjoyable experience exploring the game world. ;)

Finally, I'm not too concerned about letting players move "out of order"--it's been requested enough times from enough different places that I think it's important to help the game do well with new players, and with the nastier enemy AI, I also think it serves the role of providing a counter-balance to a game that would otherwise have become dramatically harder. (Try playing a new game on Hard or Brutal and just watch the enemies swarm Set and Duvalier!)

[KZ]

Ok, just wondered! ;)

Well, that sacrifice of realism is a bit surprising in light of recent tendencies to make things look more realistic- what with the portrait changes and all.

What is the next major area currently under development?

[SmartyPants]

When do we get to see the next demo download?

[CraigStern]

When it's ready. :)

[SmartyPants]

When it's ready.

::)

I am guessing that it is not ready.

[CraigStern]

Nope! Not yet.