The older goblins played Wasteland. So there had to be a Scorpitronbot. It’s a nasty thing, just like the original. Thankfully (sort of), the goblins are clutzier than ever.
Flight
It’s a treat to just take off and cross that Endless Sea in a matter of seconds. Much safer than walking on Water and way more convenient than relying on a boat schedule. (Ah yes, it isn’t fully implemented yet but there will be time, day/night and schedules).
Magic
You’ll miss it if you blink but there are 4 schools of magic (Elemental, Light, Illusion and Necromancy. All 4 are available to any caster class. Eventually…
Arabs
One of the most prominent NPCs is the Sultan of Sahalaad. A good justification for that incredible Middle Eastern architecture!
Tech
Goblins, Gnomes and other factions dabble in the arts of logic and science. Goblins still claim their genius is stolen by all the others, and they’re still delusional (see Underworld).
Swords and Sorcery – Sovereign expands on the formula by adding basic (gring-free, farming-free) crafting, factions, new skills and spells, and, of course, a very large open world that the world map hints at without quite revealing that it is only the known world. It does not display everything.
It is high time for a new update. It’s been almost a year!
I’ve been working on three things.
– The new engine for Sovereign.
– A rebuild of Underworld in the new engine.
– A smaller project called Iron Ruler. It is a turn based strategy board-game except there’s no board since it’s a computer game, which may be similar to that ๊ฒ๋ธ์ํฐ ๊ฐ์ ์ฝ๋.
This update is about the new combat that will be featured in both Sovereign and the upcoming Underworld update.
Underworld Gold Plus… I’m running out of suffixes and it is getting a bit ridiculous…
Anyway…
Arena combat with Ice Bolt spell effect (Click for full size)
If you are familiar with previous versions of Underworld, you’ll notice it’s changed quite a bit. Full screen, no fixed GUI, combat log appears in real time, partyand mobs are represented by portraits, out-of-melee combattants are darkened, the arena pic is used as background (only in arena fights), all spells are illustrated with a fading effect (both combat and non-combat), all options are represented by an icon (but keyboard shortcuts remain functional and you’ll be able to display them).
The skull at the bottom right still triggers autofight for quick resolution of easy battles (or suicide).
Spell casting has changed as well:
Spell book with level two priest spells (Click to enlarge).
That’s it for today. There’s more to show, tons of images, new modules (like crafting), new character creation… Unfortunately I still can’t announce a reliable release date. Everything seems to take twice as long as initially expected. But I’ll try to post updates much more often.
I’ve been jumping back and forth from character creation, inventory, arranging combat, lore a small project on the side (to relax) and… Well all sorts of real life stuff that need be attended to. Updates are quite slow but I do have quite a bit I can show.
But do keep in mind nothing you’ll see here is in its entirely finished state. You’ll find some incoherences, misalignments and even some things missing entirely. Still, the following should give you a fair idea where things are going.
Swords and Sorcery – Sovereign Character Creation (click to enlarge)
The character creation screen above shows one of several steps involved in creating a character: choosing the character portrait. The first few steps involve choosing a class, a race and a gender. these three are listed at the top left. The chosen portrait will be there as well as the character’s name. With these choices made, you get to distribute five aptitude points. These can either go in attributes, resistances, skills or craft. The first decision you will be confronted to is whether to concentrate on attributes or whether to include skills or crafts for a better rounded character.
– Hovering over a choice makes a description appear, which includes (or will include) requirements.
– Some skills require other skills and cannot exceed their value. Swords, for example, require proficiency in pugilism. If your character has a score of 3 in pugilism, sword proficiency cannot exceed 3. Other skills require and cannot exceed one or several attributes. Pugilism cannot exceed strength, accuracy and dexterity divided by three and rounded down.
– The same goes for crafts (they can have either attribute or skill requirements, or both). Crafts are optional and choosing to learn or improve one instead of adding that point to an attribute or skill typically makes a less proficient combattant. But it is a big world awaiting you and not everything will be about winning battles.
– Skills marked with an @ are active skills. These add options in battle whereas passive skills unlock other things. Two Handed for example is a passive skill that allows the character to wield two handed weapons, given he/she has the skill to wield the one-handed variety. Even if the two-handed score is higher than the weapon skill that corresponds to the weapon the character has equipped, the score that will be taken into consideration will be the lowest of the two. @Stealth, on the other hand, is an active skill that gives the character the ability to “become unseen”, which in turn allows the use of other skills. While rogues start with good knowledge of Stealth and associated manoeuvers (without need to spend aptitude points), any character can learn to do the same if you choose to have them do so. There will, however be a limit to the number of skills and crafts a charactercan learn.
Swords and Sorcery – Sovereign Inventory (click to enlarge
Character inventory is divided into three important parts. The first column on the left is the list of equip slots. Each one corresponds to a specific part of the body. (I) and (J) are respectively the right and left hand.
– When you hover over an item, wherever it is, the corresponding slot in the equip list turns blue. ย Likewise, the corresponding part of the paper doll on the right turns blue. There will also be a definition of the item at the bottom right part of the screen (not implemented yet) and a list of comparisons on the bottom left. The screenshot shows that when you have a short sword equipped and you hover over a walking stick, choosing to swap these items will result in a gain of -6 damage (shown in red when negative, white otherwise). There will be other comparisons but as of now damage is the only one implemented.
– The second list in the middle is the character’s backpack. All slots there can be used by any item.
– The third part is the character inventory. It is itself made up of a list of 8-26 slots (depending on the type of container) and 5 container slots. When one of the slots is used by an available container a small chest replaces the empty white square. In the screenshot above, the highlighted container slot is a simple cloth bag with only 8 slots. With five 26 item containers, the party can potentially store 130 items in addition to those characters have equipped or in their personal packs.
Note: right clicking on an equipped item removes it and adds it to the character pack. Left clicking on an item selects it. Once an item is selected, clicking on a destination slot causes the item to be moved there. You can also click on a portrait and the item will be stored in his/her backpack.
Swords and Sorcery – Sovereign Character stats (click to enlarge)
The above is the character’s statistic screen. It is read only and gives a quick overview of the character’s attributes and known skills or crafts.
The icons on the bottom left of the status screens allow navigation between these. They respectively give you access to inventory, stats, skills and crafts (where available attribute points can be alloted to learn new skills/crafts or improve known ones), factions (for consultation) and exit.
Spells, crafts and magic will be accessible for use via another option in the main GUI.
There’s still a lot of work to do, but it is getting there slowly but surely ๐
It’s been a while since my last update but things are moving along steadily. The post I announced about character creation is underway but there is still a bit of tweaking to be done (skill descriptions, cross-requirements…). That post will be up soon, but for now I thought I’d give a peak of a GUI I’ve been working on:
A new take at the Sovereign GUI (Click to enlarge)
This reveals a couple new things:
– Sovereign will be much more intuitive and mouse-friendly than Underworld was. Even if the GUI continues to evolve, this will be a priority.
– Portraits are in! Right now only the human portraits are finished but it is just a matter of weeks before the others roll in.
– A new town environment.
Naturally, all comments and suggestions are welcomed ๐
Sovereign World Map (low resolution, click to enlarge)
Progress is being made on several fronts for the next installment of the Swords and Sorcery series: Sovereign. Namely the world building. And one way to make great progress on that front is to map said world.
This is now done! Click on the map for a better view. It is low resolution but still readable and a high resolution image is set aside for the game.
There are 17 towns, some of which will span over several maps, 48 surface maps, underwater maps, caverns and even a few uncharted territories… Environments are, as the map suggests, very varied (mountains, forests, glaciers, desert, ocean, marshes, caverns, dungeons). Great progress has also been made on the backstory, expanding on lore elements hinted at or developed in Swords and Sorcery – Underworld (and the much older Peregrine’s Song). So far about 30 pages of backstory have been written. The character creation system is also almost functional and sets the bases for very deep, active character development (many skills and crafts!)
Expect more development news very soon, as well as one or two surprises! If you’ve missed them click here to see previous posts.
Following up on theย not so popular pollย (it isn’t too late though ;)) inviting players to weigh in on GUI design decisions, as well as aย lengthier discussionย on this subject on RPGCodex, here is the current state of affairs concerning the traditional version of the GUI.
And a big revelation on just how open the world will be ๐
Swords and Sorcery – Sovereign GUI / Click for full size
While I am still tweaking Underworld a tiny bit to address final requests and fix a couple minor glitches, I think it is time to seriously start talking about the sequel.
The menace has past. Unbeknownst to the larger population, the cause of undead uprisings and vicious dragon attacks was sought out and vanquished by a band of six adventurers that vowed that they would not stay and await certain death as the world around them fell prey to rising pestilence and unchecked violence.
Citadels throughout the realm opened at last, to a world in ruin but transcended by the promise of life that was considered lost only moments before.
Families torn by loss and separation reunited as best as circumstances would allow. Toil started heartily after just days of mixed celebrations and mourning. Burnt villages and cities were rebuilt in weeks and trade routes reestablished with realms spared or less affected by the plague. Plague was the word adopted by many, to describe the inexplicable darkness that covered so much in ruin. Few attempted to understand it better, with more immediate priorities to attend to. But as these necessities subsided, questions arose.
The ancients spoke of a first coming. This had happened before and was likely to happen again. After years of peace disturbed by growing doubt and quiet rumors, subversity set in. The official response to the people’s demands for disclosure, as to the identity and whereabouts of the heroes that had once saved the realm, as to the nature of the evil they engaged and defeated, was continuously one of denial of any form of subsiding danger.
Then the dead started rising again. Albeit in small, easily manageable numbers, they were enough to turn subversity into rebellion. And rebellion was met with ruthless repression.
Baronies and Duchies seceded. While some renewed their oaths to the Crown, claims arose of the King’s madness and unfittedness to rule, followed by claims to the Crown itself. Others still crafted Royal Circlets of their own and war banners floated to the high winds. Winds that carried a renewed hint of the pestilence past, but few took notice. The scent of blood spilt on fields of agony grew to such strengths as to make the subtle smell of ancient death next to unnoticeable.
Swords and Sorcery – Sovereign will be a continuation of its predecessor , while expanding on its foundation in many ways.
Sovereign will take place in a large, open world that includes cities, villages, citadels, forests, mountain chains, glaciers, swamps, desert, caverns and dungeons… Your party of adventurers will deal with friends and foes as they had previously, but also with factions, political forces and alliances they can weigh into, or try to break. But they can also ignore them and choose to focus on other, perhaps more urgent preoccupations.
Sovereign will introduce two new classes, druid and hunter.
An extended set of spells and abilities.
Active character creation and development.
Crafting and factions…
Much more will be announced and discussed. Stay in touch for a first video introducing the GUI and some of the game’s future environments. You can join the monthly newsletter on the top right of the page.
Join the community forums to discuss development and take part in shaping the game. Note however that while many things will be open for discussion, some will not.
You can support development by purchasing Swords and Sorcery – Underworld and enjoy a solid 30 hours of dungeonning and adventuring!
