Remember how Cryptic Comet was making a Lovecraftian roguelike RPG?
Well, it is called The Occult Chronicles now and there is a LOT of new info on the blog:
http://www.crypticcomet.com/blog/
This sounds cool:
QuoteThe Occult Chronicles is a thinking man's rogue like..... a "strategy rogue like" is the term being bandied about. It's focus is on the random generation of a large explorable game space. This means not only the map but all the things that can interact with it and each other. I've pushed my art budget to the limit to pump up the item count in the game and also pushed my mind to come up with ways to get the elements to combine in unique and hopefully emergent ways. 150+ unique encounters, 60+ unique items, 40 spells, heroic actions and psychic abilities, 40+ edges (passive abilities), 22 Major Arcana, and over 100 unique room, basement, cave and dungeon-like tiles. The game is huge. And the fun is in each play through finding cool things and figuring out how they can help you to accomplish the specific mission that you are on.
Also, I apparently missed the release of the free Solium Infernum mini expansion "Rectification." COOL!
That does sound great!
Sounds great!
After having a blast with DoD (and many hours in it), I'm hoping this will flip the same switch. Lovecraft-style Rogue-like .. brilliant.
Crossing my fingers in the hopes the AI is decent. Should be a good deal easier than in the other strategy games he's made.
Sounds promising!
Sneak peek over a Forgotten Lore
http://www.crypticcomet.com/blog/?p=908
I hope the card mini-game is a lot better than his last western-themed one. That was bad & boring game mechanics, with a bad AI, and it was only briefly enjoyable for the theme IMO.
Quote from: spelk on May 06, 2012, 11:42:27 AM
Sneak peek over a Forgotten Lore
http://www.crypticcomet.com/blog/?p=908
Release date ~October 31. We have a bit of a wait then.
The post regarding Gaslamp's upcoming game also reminded me of the Lovecraftian roguelike that Vic at Cryptic Comet is in the process of making, so I investigated..
Looks like some forumites' Vic Summoning rituals were successful, and he gave a brief update:
Quote
Postby Vic Davis ยป Wed Jan 30, 2013 6:56 pm
Sorry everybody for the lack of updates. I'm still working very hard on this project. I've been focusing on just getting this done and lot's of things have been slipping through the cracks like monitoring this board and blog posts. It's a psychological thing. I've got one single purpose now and that is to finish OC and it will be finished hopefully soon. I don't want to make promises on when though. My last bit of art comes in soon and all the major systems are done. Lot's of detail work though still left. If it's not done by April then something really went wrong. It could be out as early as March. I need to finish this for my own mental health
Sounds like it should be just about finished.
Two things I'm concerned about:
1) He's probably using that same limiting game engine as AE, SI, SGS.
2) The mental crush of "just getting this done" kinda reminds me of how he sounded when finishing up Six Gun Saga, and I don't think that ever got fixed up to it's potential. At least SGS was bargain priced. Hopefully this one is a bit more fleshed out, as his earlier games were, and the AI is passable (which should be easier to do with a roguelike, right?)
I think the game mechanics he comes up with are great (for the most part) so I have high hopes because it's got a Lovecraft theme
and I'm a graphical roguelike addict. :)
New official Web page was put up for Occult Chronicles yesterday.
http://www.crypticcomet.com/games/OC/Occult_Chronicles.html
Also in Vic's blog post (http://www.crypticcomet.com/blog/?p=967), he mentions that both Armageddon Empires and Solium Infernum will be going on sale!
Quote from: Vic Davis, Cryptic Comet
I've also lowered the prices on AE and SI to $14.99 each or $25 for both. It's a bit of an experiment to see if the conventional wisdom is correct. I'm hoping that it brings up volume and revenues. I'd still like to get them both on steam someday. Gabe, Valve, Steam call me.
The price for The Occult Chronicles will be $19.99. I'll probably set up a Greenlight page once I can get a video finished. I'll post the link here if that happens.
thanks for the heads-up, I'll preorder the moment it becomes available. I have really liked the guy's games, he deserves the support.
Quote from: Tamas on March 07, 2013, 05:58:14 AM
thanks for the heads-up, I'll preorder the moment it becomes available. I have really liked the guy's games, he deserves the support.
+1. Anything he does is a Day One purchase for me.
That one is a insta-buy...
I have Armageddon Empires but have never learned the rules to play it......
PE
Quote from: PanzersEast on March 07, 2013, 11:05:39 AM
I have Armageddon Empires but have never learned the rules to play it......
PanzerEast, follow along with this (although there are 20+ parts):
Or read this:
Bill Harris did a 6 part AAR/Tutorial
http://www.crypticcomet.com/games/AE/ae_Tutorials.html
Quote from: spelk on March 07, 2013, 11:43:25 AM
Quote from: PanzersEast on March 07, 2013, 11:05:39 AM
I have Armageddon Empires but have never learned the rules to play it......
PanzerEast, follow along with this (although there are 20+ parts):
Or read this:
Bill Harris did a 6 part AAR/Tutorial
http://www.crypticcomet.com/games/AE/ae_Tutorials.html
Thanks Spelk, I will give it a go. I always liked this type of game because you can jump in and out whenever you like.
PE
Awesome! Thanks for the news on the game's new page! It must be getting close! ;D
Despite the trick-taking card game looking rather uninteresting, everything else looks good. Certainly a fast purchase.
Edit: There will reportedly be a Beta buy-in, in about a month.
You can buy into this now, as an open beta!!!
http://www.crypticcomet.com/games/OC/Occult_Chronicles.html
$14.99
Another buy-in Beta ???, no thanks, I don't buy beta's. This trend of buying Alpha & Beta's releases seems to be getting out of hand, just wait until EA and others start doing this! In most beta's you have as much chance of changing anything, as a fly on the wall in the White House has on changing policy.
Been waiting for this to become available. ;D
Even if it means the game is pretty much set in stone, despite still being in beta. ;)
Definitely very boardgame-ish.
With the Lovecraftian-horror theme, and the exploration factor, I think it's quite enjoyable. Sure, it may eventually get old after playing so much that I've seen all the encounters, but I should have had enough enjoyment by that time. I'm enjoying the system more than I did the last western themed one, for sure. While the conflict resolving "card game" isn't a some big tactical mini-game, it's still an improvement.
Now if I can just make it a bit further before being eaten by some terrible horror, or going mad. It can definitely be a tough go, too, as a somewhat roguelike game. Especially if you end up on a sub-floor too quickly without gathering enough xp & trinkets on the floor level.
I had recently been thinking of plugging in some Solium Infernum again soon, along with AE perhaps. That itch started a couple days ago. Must've been an omen.
So where the hell were all you Cryptic Comet fans when I tried to start a game of Solium Infernum? :(
^Invoking the Elder Gods obviously :P
Does this game suffer from the same full screen issues as his other titles? He makes some really fun games but the tiny windowed screen and the exact same size screen in "full screen" just kills it for me. I tried again to get into Armageddon Empires, which I actually like, but I get tired of fighting the map to scroll around and look and plan. If this could be fixed, his games would be enjoyable to play.
Quote from: Bison on June 17, 2013, 02:33:08 AM
Does this game suffer from the same full screen issues as his other titles? He makes some really fun games but the tiny windowed screen and the exact same size screen in "full screen" just kills it for me. I tried again to get into Armageddon Empires, which I actually like, but I get tired of fighting the map to scroll around and look and plan. If this could be fixed, his games would be enjoyable to play.
Same problem here, with TOC. He has different binaries for windowed, netbook, and fullscreen, but the fullscreen one just adds black borders and centers the play area.
It is a shame that he can't expand his repetoire to some coding mechanism that supports larger resolutions, but I guess he works his way, with what he knows and what he is comfortable with. It's the price you pay for admission to Vic Davis games I'm afraid. Since this is his fourth title, I can't see it change in the future, unless he manages to get a massive cash injection from some other company.
The sad thing is, you're missing out on his delectable game designs. There's really nothing else out there like it. If only Vic could bring in a coder to his team, and allow his mind to be set free from this Macromedia shackles!! But I think him physically coding it all up is part of his design process.
It is what it is. If you want to taste his game experiences, it has to be in a 1024x768 window. Sadly.
New update today
http://www.crypticcomet.com/blog/?p=1029
Quote
Occult Chronicles Update 1.02
I have an update available for The Occult Chronicles that fixes some bugs/script errors as well as takes a swipe at some low hanging fruit for improving the game. I'm still trying to gather feedback and more importantly save game data on player progression before I make any major changes to the game's mechanics. I would recommend that players apply this update as it fixes some script errors that might pop up after roaming/wandering monsters are created.
Major Bug Fixes:
Roaming monster path finding error fixed that could cause crash whenever player moved
Multiple fixes to edges that either did not work or were not working correctly
Climb down from pit traps when climb failed should now be fixed
Black Heart cursed item now longer generates error when viewed during challenge
Double doors should now work when encountered in locked state
Gameplay Changes
Quests now have a mandatory reward that appears when finished. The reward is usually an expertise token but can be a Talisman or Edge Upgrade card.
Determination has been buffed up so that repeated failures of the same option can take you to 5 tricks on the board/5 drawn cards in your hand. This should help most early game problems of having to attempt the same option repeatedly to get a result. Fleeing with a low swords/cups build should be a lot easier.
The evade % chance after a flee option attempt is now 20% per point above the trick point target level.
NOTE: I'm working on some ideas to have Talismans appear on cards in your hand during challenges and activating them will allow you to chose from a list of options on how to manipulate the card.
The new patch definitely helps the weak starts of the Wands- and Pentacles-heavy character builds. I still got slaughtered on the first floor in my initial attempt, however.
Still seems like the Sword & Cups build is the easiest to survive the early game, since it doesn't have to 'Flee' as much (and benefits from the more rewarding combat wins).
I'm a bit sad because Vic is spending all his resources on this new game and Solium Infernum will probably never get any further polish and balance updates.
Quote from: Faux on June 18, 2013, 03:02:52 AM
I'm a bit sad because Vic is spending all his resources on this new game and Solium Infernum will probably never get any further polish and balance updates.
SI is pretty awesome but he stopped working on it years ago. I get the impression that Vic gets quite bored of working on any one game very long, so after a few post-release patches it's off to the next. I
do see that someone had done some unofficial patching & modding of SI for awhile, however, in the guise of the "Rectification" mod-patches. http://si.battlespot.com/wiki/Patches
I had really hoped for improved single-player AI for Solium Infernum as I'm usually averse to joining many PBEM games due to the long waits. SI is one of the few pbem games I'd probably still weather, if I have a yearning. Maybe some day he'll create an expansion pack for it.
The reports on the forum were right about what is likely the strongest character build in Occult Chronicles right now.
I've gone MUCH further with the Mentalist 3/3/2/1 build, and boosting the 2 Wands stat with the extra 5 xp coins you get at the start for the Mentalist profession (making it 3 or 4?).
The 3s in Swords and Cups are for hacking your way through the early game because a few of the monstrosities can only be combatted with physical attacks, but once you boost up your Wands rating and get the psi 'spells' that allow you to take a peak at some unrevealed tricks, along with the other that gives you trick award points if you select a facedown face card, then you're off & cruisin'.
I had initially thought the trick-taking card game side was rather basic and clean-cut but after levelling up some stuff and getting more card modifying abilities/spells, I can see where some of the intertwining strategies can come out.
This is the furthest I've made it so far, with the Mentalist (and no deaths). The reason I have more Wands abilities than my encumbrance allowance (8/6, cards not shown) is because I was at my limit of 6/6 when I levelled up into another Psionic spell. The rules allow it in such cases where the award was given directly, and not taken in the card pick rewards screen. ;D
(https://www.grogheads.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimg62.imageshack.us%2Fimg62%2F6008%2F0fdn.jpg&hash=c588920e67bda6465ab9da67b9e6ba18b02f06f4)
1.03a patch is out.
http://www.crypticcomet.com/blog/?p=1037
Over at the Game Design Round Table podcast, Vic Davis lets you inside the creative design process of Cryptic Comet.
http://thegamedesignroundtable.com/2013/07/16/episode-36/
The game has now been officially released (http://www.crypticcomet.com/games/OC/Occult_Chronicles.html). If oyu've already applied the 1.06 patch you've got the final version.
Also (and this may not be new) there's now a demo.
I have Armageddon Empires and still have not given it a complete play through.... in a gaming slump now but this has jared my memory....
I like the Six Gun Saga game and would be interested to hear how this one is...
PE
Oh damn, Vic really needs to advertise more - I'd forgotten all about this, and still haven't gotten around to trying Six Gun Saga.
So let's have some impressions, chaps! Specifically, if you don't mind, with regard to replayability, length of a game (and suitability for short sessions) and any multiplayer. Ta!
Quote from: Huw the Poo on August 21, 2013, 11:10:06 AM
Oh damn, Vic really needs to advertise more - I'd forgotten all about this, and still haven't gotten around to trying Six Gun Saga.
So let's have some impressions, chaps! Specifically, if you don't mind, with regard to replayability, length of a game (and suitability for short sessions) and any multiplayer. Ta!
It's essentially a boardgame/roguelike hybrid that comes with 6 or so layouts. The rooms in each layout are randomized, plus there are tons of choices to make when creating your character. So there's tons of replayability, but it's single player only.
Thanks tgb. I'm sure I'll pick it up at some point, it's just that on the rare occasions that I have money burning a hole in my wallet, Cryptic Comet doesn't occur to me.
There's a demo, you know.
"Matchsticks" has a Q&A with Vic
http://www.matchstickeyes.com/2013/08/21/occult-chronicles-qa-with-vic-davis/
I like to support guys like Vic. Wish we could get his games on Steam. I like the way he thinks.
Actually a very good game. Vic's games are very well thought out and fun. I will probably pick this one up if nothing else to just for support.
PE