Torment: Tides of Numenera - Turns out there is room for 2!

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Video Games > Torment: Tides of Numenera - Turns out there is room for 2!

Pyradox: Oct 23, 2012; ...some kind of monster, I think.

Chairchucker posted:

PS the 'canon' answer to that nature of man thing was totally 'regret' I reckon, because I'm pretty sure that was one of my high wisdom/high intelligence answers. If the stats unlock it, it's the truth.

I prefer:

The Nameless One posted:

If there is anything I have learned in my travels across the Planes, it is that many things may change the nature of a man. Whether regret, or love, or revenge or fear - whatever you believe can change the nature of a man, can. I've seen belief move cities, make men stave off death, and turn an evil hag's heart half-circle. This entire Fortress has been constructed from belief. Belief damned a woman, whose heart clung to the hope that another loved her when he did not. Once, it made a man seek immortality and achieve it. And it has made a posturing spirit think it is something more than a part of me.

Which really reminds me how much I want a Chris Avellone stretch goal. Even if the others know the setting, his writing made Torment what it was. That said, I don't mind not going back to Planescape - it was certainly a great setting to explore, but I'm much more interested in having a new, equally unique world. In fact, I think if we did go to Sigil again, the fact we're familiar with it would make it lose a lot of what appealed about it in the first place now that it's less of a mystery. Numenera certainly looks like it could be weird enough and nobody's particularly familiar with it so that's actually one of the aspects of the game I'm least worried about.

# ¿ Feb 25, 2013 13:34

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# ¿ May 21, 2024 05:18

Pyradox: Oct 23, 2012; ...some kind of monster, I think.

Yeah, I'm in for over $100 for Wasteland 2 but I'd be very hesitant to pledge a similar amount without seeing a return on my first investment. As much as I like what you guys are doing that's a bit of a tall order.

Pyradox fucked around with this message at 06:39 on Feb 26, 2013

# ¿ Feb 26, 2013 06:37

Pyradox: Oct 23, 2012; ...some kind of monster, I think.

Brother None posted:

I don't blame you. Heck, can't even pretend to blame you! $100 is a significant sum (let alone over). All I can ask is you keep an open mind and an eye on our progress and see if we can't grab your attention at some point. Honestly, I feel the ideas our core team has and the pitch we're going to present are pretty drat strong, and I'd hope our current working on WL2 isn't held too much against this pitch. Not that I don't understand hesitancy or skepticism, I do, just sayin', give us a fair chance.

I'm not writing it off, I'm just saying the pitch is going to have to blow me away before I'm willing to pledge. Which is kind of odd if you think about it because by definition I pledged to Wasteland 2 with less information about InXile's credentials that I'm going to have going into Torment, but at that point InXile didn't owe me anything. Even though I like what I've been seeing, this is asking me to take a second gamble without seeing how the first one paid off.

Still, I actually am quite interested in what I've heard so far - I even think the differences could work in the game's favour. Monte Cook is a bit of a red flag after I saw his quotes about designing 3rd to have intentional traps for new players, but if nothing else the setting looks stunning. That said, some more Wasteland 2 videos closer to time wouldn't go amiss.

So I'll see.

# ¿ Feb 26, 2013 09:11

Pyradox: Oct 23, 2012; ...some kind of monster, I think.

But how would they be able to convince us? A short story or writing sample? It'll be tough to encapsulate the way it feels to get invested in a character after 10 hours of play in just a sample conversation. It also won't necessarily show off what kind of options you'd get during the dialogue. I mean that is an ideal thing to have, but we'd need some kind of context for it to actually be convincing.

# ¿ Mar 1, 2013 02:33

Pyradox: Oct 23, 2012; ...some kind of monster, I think.

Brian Fargo's been busy getting ready for the new campaign on Twitter recently, including posting a picture of a rather interesting sculpture:

Brian Fargo posted:

I was so excited when I saw this #Torment sculpture that I had to show it off. It's the First Castoff character. https://pic.twitter.com/RbWf5uQ8h3

I don't know what the hell a First Castoff character is, but considering the kickstarter will supposedly be very information-heavy I think we'll probably find out.

Also this art style is really cool. It looks like he's wearing a hoodie made out of his own skin. If there's one thing I'm not even slightly worried about for Torment it's the visuals.

# ¿ Mar 6, 2013 00:59

Pyradox: Oct 23, 2012; ...some kind of monster, I think.

Fintilgin posted:

Looks okay to me.

Yeah, I didn't even notice that was odd or anything because I'm so used to mine doing the exact same thing.

# ¿ Mar 6, 2013 01:34

Pyradox: Oct 23, 2012; ...some kind of monster, I think.

Yeah, this is going to be a good one.

Having read the pitch they really are doing as many things as possible right at the moment - there's a tonne of detail, an in-depth explanation of why now rather than later, even a message to Wasteland 2 backers to assuage their concerns specifically.

Also the information they're revealing really seems tailor made to appeal to me. The bastards.

Guess all there is to do now is figure out how much money I'm going to be parting with.

# ¿ Mar 6, 2013 15:29

Pyradox: Oct 23, 2012; ...some kind of monster, I think.

Accordion Man posted:

Keep up a steady number of good updates to keep interest going and you'll probably won't suffer from that bad of a drop-off. Don't let the middle period of the drive die off, Dreamfall's hurting when it comes to stretch goal funding because they let that happen for example.

Just stick Chris Avellone's name on any stretch goal you want to hit and you can guarantee it'll get there. Might be a good incentive to get people through the slow middle.

Also Project Eternity had/has a great update schedule and the closer you stick to that the happier I'll be. That was very good for keeping me checking back in throughout the entire campaign.

# ¿ Mar 8, 2013 05:57

Pyradox: Oct 23, 2012; ...some kind of monster, I think.

Quarex posted:

Also I just looked up the "Wizards of the Coast licensing Planescape" thing, and it sounds like they are willing to license it, but not to Brian Fargo. Or Colin McComb. Clearly they are waiting for Electronic Arts to propose a first-person Call of Duty/Planescape crossover game.

I don't know about you but I'd definitely play Call of Duty: The Blood War.

# ¿ Mar 8, 2013 06:59

Pyradox: Oct 23, 2012; ...some kind of monster, I think.

Darkhold posted:

That is one thing I'm disliking. The tiers seem a bit thin and the stretch goals are a bit wide. The Obsidian one just seemed to have a better momentum.

From the post I gathered they plan on filling in the difference with smaller stretch goals, but they want to nail down the broad strokes first. Not sure if that's the best way of doing things but at the very least each stretch goal has had a lot of content.

I suppose the main problem doing it this way is that it doesn't quite convey the scale of what they've earned. With Project Eternity you had an extensive, winding map of goals, that made each increment feel like a significant milestone. This is just sketching out the amount Wasteland 2 made over it's entire funding period as if it's not even a big deal.

# ¿ Mar 9, 2013 09:12

Pyradox: Oct 23, 2012; ...some kind of monster, I think.

Darkhold posted:

I'd think at this point 3mil is the minimum this project gets. Though Torment may not have the same kind of broad appeal that Obsidian/Project Eternity seemed to enjoy the fans also seem more fanatical. It'll be interesting to see if it drops off (as the diehards are exhausted) or accelerates as more people get interested.

It's almost a universal rule that kickstarters start and end fast but slow in the middle, even with stretch goals. So basically both of those things are very likely going to happen.

# ¿ Mar 9, 2013 13:58

Pyradox: Oct 23, 2012; ...some kind of monster, I think.

NihilCredo posted:

I am not joking when I say that a Monte Cook apology for Toughness ought to be a 2.75m goal or something. It would be not just for kicks, but more importantly to reassure us about his influence on Numanuma game design.

What do we need to do to make this happen Brother None? Because I really want it to happen.

# ¿ Mar 11, 2013 08:50

Pyradox: Oct 23, 2012; ...some kind of monster, I think.

Great Rumbler posted:

What it all boils down to is this: it's in Fargo's best interests to do everything within his power to ensure that Wasteland 2 and Torment meet and exceed the expectations of [most] of his fans. Now, knowing that and actually achieving it are two different things, of course, but I would be incredibly surprised if I failed to get more than $45 worth of entertainment out of these two games.

The other thing is he is legitimately good at putting a team with impressive credentials together. He isn't just making these games with a bunch of unknowns, he's getting together some very talented, well known people in as well and telling them "make the best game you can" which can only be good for the resulting product.

# ¿ Mar 11, 2013 23:51

Pyradox: Oct 23, 2012; ...some kind of monster, I think.

CottonWolf posted:

It's the only romance I could deal with.

But is it still satire if you create something indistinguishable from the thing your satirising? Or does that make it the best satire?

Satire still needs to point out how ridiculous or absurd something is. If it's indistinguishable then it's a joke you have to explain and it hasn't worked.

Even so, I don't think there's any way the goo ball romance could be anything other than the best satire.

# ¿ Mar 12, 2013 02:14

Pyradox: Oct 23, 2012; ...some kind of monster, I think.

CottonWolf posted:

You make a good point. I don't think comforting a sentient ball of goo with your genitals as it tells you about the horrors of its dark past could be anything other than absurd, in the most -inducing way.

You wouldn't have to go that far - you could just write it like a robot acting out a Bioware romance:

code:

Thank you for listening to my personal problems [PARTY LEADER], I know I can be a bit [SELF DEPRECATING ADJECTIVE] sometimes but I'm glad we're [LEADER RELATIONSHIP VALUE]s. 
Maybe if we talk about my [PRIMARY CHARACTER FLAW] more we could become more than [LEADER RELATIONSHIP VALUE]s.

1. Increase relationship with [MY NAME]. 
2. Advance Conversation without altering relationship with [MY NAME].
3. Decrease Relationship with [MY NAME].
4. End conversation with [MY NAME]

# ¿ Mar 12, 2013 03:09

Pyradox: Oct 23, 2012; ...some kind of monster, I think.

Drifter posted:

Also, did Cook mention anything about orbital satellites and whatnot? Is there a budding space technology or is it mainly just the wild wild west of post war apocalypse but ~~~magic-science-magic-~~nanomachines!?

Actually yeah - in The Amber Monolith the main character mentions that his tribe prays to the "gods" that they see every night hovering in the sky.

So they exist but they're not something people understand.

# ¿ Mar 12, 2013 08:41

Pyradox: Oct 23, 2012; ...some kind of monster, I think.

I didn't know anyone actually thought it was going to be anything other than a jokey video where he makes fun of himself for a few minutes for the internet's amusement.

# ¿ Mar 13, 2013 04:03

Pyradox: Oct 23, 2012; ...some kind of monster, I think.

01011001 posted:

He didn't terribly make fun of himself though? I don't know, maybe I'm just too tired or tone-deaf to get it, but I'm not really seeing it.

The way I saw it he was just being kind of deadpan "how dare they make me apologize for my masterpiece?" kind of ironic. It wasn't particularly funny but then none of the videos so far have been. These aren't comedy writers, much less comedy actors we're dealing with.

I'd be more concerned if it had been Double Fine making those videos honestly.

# ¿ Mar 13, 2013 08:03

Pyradox: Oct 23, 2012; ...some kind of monster, I think.

Darkhold posted:

Yeah they really were shooting for a humorous bloated ego type humour that someone like Phil Hartman would have crushed. They just really really failed the execution.

I'd never even heard of this book until this thread so I have no personal feelings about it but that video was just cringe worthy.

Yeah, it's probably to be expected in a video like this, but I get the feeling Colin didn't use many takes or send it around to anyone for feedback before submitting it.

At least he has a better excuse for trying to be funny than Monte though. He didn't need to start an interesting lore video with a comedy sketch and his intro in that video was genuinely painful.

# ¿ Mar 13, 2013 09:43

Pyradox: Oct 23, 2012; ...some kind of monster, I think.

That's an understandable concern, but it's important to note that humour depends heavily on delivery and the writers aren't going to be voice acting their own dialogue. If you put the same script in front of a decent comedic actor they could make the same video noticeably funnier. Maybe not comedy gold, but better than an untrained writer.

Remember, the writing is also the reason they're shooting for several months of preproduction so even if the dialogue starts out on this level there will be plenty of time for the entire team to edit it and refine it in the coming months, as well as figure out how best to express it in game.

Ultimately we'll see if Numenera finds itself in need of the same comic relief that Planescape did but I think it's pretty reasonable to expect that what we get will be a better turn out than the videos.

# ¿ Mar 13, 2013 10:35

Pyradox: Oct 23, 2012; ...some kind of monster, I think.

Fintilgin posted:

Um, yeah. Isn't Mitsoda supposed to be working full time with his tiny company to deliver Dead State?

Update 6 posted:

(Fortunately, the schedules for Torment and Dead State make this possible.)

I'm guessing this means that Dead State will be released sometime within the next six months so he can then go to work on Torment instead.

# ¿ Mar 13, 2013 21:53

Pyradox: Oct 23, 2012; ...some kind of monster, I think.

There's also the fact that now that I'm in an early bird slot there's no incentive for me to leave it even though I pledged more to both Wasteland 2 and Project Eternity. I imagine it's a similar case for a lot of people where even though they could afford more they'd be getting less if they raised their pledge.

Aside from that, their campaign just isn't as polished as Project Eternity's - they don't update as frequently, they don't talk about gameplay mechanics outside a few quest ideas and the Tides, and they have concept art, but no in-game mock ups or anything. It's still good and informative, but there's not a lot of reason to pay attention to it on a day to day basis, whereas Eternity always had something new to show in order to keep momentum high.

# ¿ Mar 19, 2013 01:20

Pyradox: Oct 23, 2012; ...some kind of monster, I think.

That's fair. I was making those assertions without actually checking back.

I think my point about the early bird tiers disincentivizing people from raising their pledges stands, but I did definitely gloss over the fact Torment has a great deal more available early on. On the other hand I don't see how you could realistically provide a suitable upgrade path for people on the Numenera book tiers because it's a fixed amount from a different company. I think addons are probably the way to go in that case, the only thing is there aren't really any I don't have as pledge rewards already.

It is also probably a better thing than I gave it credit for that you're emphasizing story over gameplay given the game's focus.

# ¿ Mar 19, 2013 03:10

Pyradox: Oct 23, 2012; ...some kind of monster, I think.

Colin is really going all out on finding good writers for this project. According to the comment section:

Colin McComb posted:

I actually tried to get a hold of Neil Gaiman. Sadly, I never heard back.

That would be unbelievably awesome if it ends up panning out.

# ¿ Mar 23, 2013 03:15

Pyradox: Oct 23, 2012; ...some kind of monster, I think.

To be fair, they're going into it with a bit more detail than just "a lot/not much". The Tides mechanic for example is all about the kind of legacy you leave and what exactly you're remembered for.

# ¿ Mar 23, 2013 11:06

Pyradox: Oct 23, 2012; ...some kind of monster, I think.

I thought the fact that your character projects their pain onto their companions was an pretty interesting mechanic to go with. I can see that making a pacifistic playthrough very appealing for people who get invested in them.

# ¿ Mar 26, 2013 23:04

Pyradox: Oct 23, 2012; ...some kind of monster, I think.

awesomepanda posted:

BrotherNone, has Brian Fargo's contribution already been added to the total raised? Or will it be added at the end/

They've said his and Steven Dengler's are going to be added afterwards.

# ¿ Mar 28, 2013 03:07

Pyradox: Oct 23, 2012; ...some kind of monster, I think.

This Nathan Long guy definitely knows what he's doing - I've never seen anyone depict the creative process with such unerring accuracy.

Schurik posted:

A really good Creepy, Obsessive Nerdlove on Ps:T and ToN

I always like this guy's videos and definitely agree that the question isn't the be all and end all of the game. Luckily from what the updates have been saying that's not likely to be the case - Outside of using Legacy as a pillar, the question hasn't really been central to the updates.

Going back to the question of how the kickstarter will finish, I think InXile are probably banking on the upcoming environment render to push them to the same heights as Project Eternity, which I really hope it does. These concepts already have a sublime art style and I could do with a new wallpaper. Luckily, I think I'll be quite happy with either art style regardless of what they pick (I think Wasteland 2 looks great for pure 3D).

# ¿ Mar 30, 2013 11:52

Pyradox: Oct 23, 2012; ...some kind of monster, I think.

Update 12 is up!

# ¿ Apr 1, 2013 14:05

Pyradox: Oct 23, 2012; ...some kind of monster, I think.

I'm more impressed by the smooth animation of the CCJ's cloak - it looks really fluid and doesn't seem to have any clipping issues at all.

Edit: and it's been taken down. Oh well, we'll see it again soon.

Pyradox fucked around with this message at 03:21 on Apr 2, 2013

# ¿ Apr 2, 2013 03:15

Pyradox: Oct 23, 2012; ...some kind of monster, I think.

AllanGordon posted:

16 just sounds like a ton. Seems their time would be better spent getting 5 to be very memorable and different rather than slight changes between all of them.

Oh well more is better I guess.

Well that's what the initial design was. Given the funding from hitting the stretch goals they can do that with more of them.

# ¿ Apr 3, 2013 08:05

Pyradox: Oct 23, 2012; ...some kind of monster, I think.

The Hall of Lingering Reflections is now unlocked.

I don't think hitting $4 million will be too much of an issue at this point.

# ¿ Apr 4, 2013 03:18

Pyradox: Oct 23, 2012; ...some kind of monster, I think.

Noricae posted:

Whoa, whoa, they changed the requirements for physical addons so any tier above $45 qualifies? It used to be physical required for a T-shirt, didn't it? (how do the addons work anyway? it's through e-mail after it ends? pledge now or later add it on, but then it won't count for the kickstarter #s?)

Yes, any tier above $45 can get physical addons now. All you do is increase your pledge by enough to cover any addons you want (not your pledge tier, just the monetary amount) and then after the kickstarter's over you'll get sent a survey where you can specify which addons (if any) the extra money you donated is to be used for.

# ¿ Apr 4, 2013 07:17

Pyradox: Oct 23, 2012; ...some kind of monster, I think.

This fathom image is cool, but it kind of bugs me - I think because it feels zoomed in compared to all the rest of the art so you can see all the brushstrokes and there's no shading on the "snowglobe".

On the other hand, that makes me think it's just part of the next fathom image which will put it back to it's regular size.

# ¿ Apr 4, 2013 13:42

Pyradox: Oct 23, 2012; ...some kind of monster, I think.

Jerusalem posted:

Sorry if this has been answered but the stuff in the OP's faq left me a little confused - are they still undecided if this is going to be RtWP or Turn-Based? The game looks brilliant and those recently linked videos look incredible but I really, really dislike turn-based combat in games and it seems this is the way they're headed?

It's undecided - basically they're going to have the backers decide. They explain it in the vision document.

# ¿ Apr 4, 2013 22:16

Pyradox: Oct 23, 2012; ...some kind of monster, I think.

FRINGE posted:

I think I am the only one that is not in love with the snowglobe that was revealed with the last fathom... I liked the "vast complicated inside-the-mind" viewpoint better.

Who says it's a literal snowglobe on a desk? It can still be vast, complicated and mental, with each fathom stretching for many miles because there's no reason to think the snowglobe isn't is also in-the-mind.

# ¿ Apr 4, 2013 23:48

Pyradox: Oct 23, 2012; ...some kind of monster, I think.

FRINGE posted:

Alright the 10th fathom made it all better again.

I really was hoping for something like this. Reminds me of Waterloo World in Psychonauts where you could look inside one of the houses and see the entire game room.

# ¿ Apr 5, 2013 00:03

Pyradox: Oct 23, 2012; ...some kind of monster, I think.

FRINGE posted:

19 hours to go and its sitting around 3.9mill now. (Closer to 3.88.)

4mill looks pretty likely, so we get the Oasis (yes!), 4.5 would be a long stretch unless they decide to apply that extra 200,000 to make it happen.

Project Eternity made $600,000 in the last day. That's how much we need on top of what we've already got today in order to max out the stretch goals. I think 4.25 is doable, but 4.5 will be tough.

# ¿ Apr 5, 2013 06:15

Pyradox: Oct 23, 2012; ...some kind of monster, I think.

Oh nice, they added some more detail to the previous fathoms as well. I don't know what the hell the Labyrinth will look like in-game but I love this ridiculous concept image.

# ¿ Apr 5, 2013 23:32

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# ¿ May 21, 2024 05:18

Pyradox: Oct 23, 2012; ...some kind of monster, I think.

CottonWolf posted:

Unless my maths is totally off, we've hit the next stretch goal. Now we've got to the longer story, I don't care anymore.

Pretty sure we have. A sweet airship stronghold would be cool, but I'm pretty happy to do without it.

# ¿ Apr 5, 2013 23:40

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