Underworld Ascendant
Sept 24 Weekly Update!
As of this weekend, the fourth round of external playtesting is now LIVE. If you are within that pool, remember to check your emails for the next round's instructions. There's been a lot of progress since the last playtest, and we want to thank you again for committing your time and feedback to help us polish the game during this time.
For this coming week, we were originally planning on releasing the Backer Alpha by this Wednesday but have pushed it back to next week. We're still running into a couple of issues that we're close to nailing down, and just want to have that extra buffer time to make sure the Beta build works well. (Also gives us more time to dedicate to Mac and Linux support. We haven't forgotten about you guys!)
There's a lot of milestone deliveries we have to hit that I can't touch upon, but overall, it's a lot of clean up in the levels and general bug fixing. I'd love to tweak the physics of running into tables right now so things don't fly everywhere, but performance and optimization issues are taking up our attention first and foremost. Streamlining the levels as well as making sure the story and characters are accurately represented during quests has also been important.
Marcaul's design as well as Pluto's Gate has gotten quite a number of overhauls since the Backer Alpha, and we appreciate all of the feedback we've had from backers and playtesters alike about this. Keep an eye out for secrets and hidden areas... it's very easy to miss some treasures that are worth keeping.
I don't want to spoil too much, since the Backer Beta will be out next week... so here's a sneak peek at the new entrance to Pluto's Gate. Good luck!
Sept 17 Weekly Update!
(SPOILERS: image references here)
And as a reminder, many of these screenshots will be WIPs, or mockups we're experimenting with.
First thing's first:
External playtesters should be getting a new build either later today or sometime tomorrow/early Wednesday. We were working over the weekend to make sure we had a stable build to push that can make things a lot easier to test, but our lava situation got a little out of hand...
This week we're spending time wrapping up a number of features that we can finally focus on squeezing in for a milestone by Friday. Held object highlighting is in the process of being removed, we have a number of characters' VO finally coming online, and some heavy UI updates going in soon.
On the design side, we're still crawling through our levels and shaping them up, fixing holes and occasionally making secrets out of forgotten passageways. Player movement (particularly the jump issue) is being tweaked up again so it's less nausea-inducing from the FOV change that went in a few weeks ago, and mantling should be a lot easier. Each week, the game starts to really come to life as we build up from the structures we've worked so hard to make sturdy...
Magic is finally getting a new polished pass, and we hope you'll be just as excited to pick up your first runebag as I was. :D I'm finally bringing myself to experiment with some of the basic runes I've been picking up, and I'm continually surprised by some of these combinations. Make sure to keep an eye out for anything scribbled on the walls as well; you may just be led to treasure, new runic formulas, or people...
(Also, before anyone asks, you can absolutely use a spell without seeing the formula written down in the game first. As long as you have the proper runes, sentence structure, and the proper amount of mana to cast, the world is yours.)
Who else is excited for Bard's Tale 4 tomorrow?!
PAXWest Panel: "Single-Player Is Dead; Long Live Single-Player"
You can watch it here!
Sept 10 Weekly Update!
I was out last week, but I'm back in the office and here with another weekly update!
So something we've mentioned in our previous updates is that we're finally able to dedicate more time to fleshing out the world, and particularly, our characters. The enemies and potential allies in this game can make or break your forage into the Abyss, and it's important to have a variety... and not just of Skeletons. (Although, as you know from the "Shadow Skeleton" we talked about a few weeks ago, you can expect to see some varied Skeleton types too... It's always good to survey your enemies before engaging. Make sure you study what they might be capable of...)
Here's a sneak peek at the backs of some of the different kinds of potentially hostile Chthonians while you're in the Abyss. There are at least three different types, based on their armor and specializations. LINK.
It seems while I've been gone, we've also fixed up our save system issues (hooray!) and worked on some more optimizations for some of these large levels. Now we can turn our attention to those quests...
Underworld Ascendant Launching for PC Nov 15, Console Launch in 2019, & More!
Our August newsletter is finally here! We announced our PC launch date for Steam, as well as a console release coming to 2019, and more about our monthly progress!
Read the full update here.
Cheers,
The OtherSide Team
August 27 Weekly Update!
Last week was super busy for us as we gathered together a new build for the third round of external playtesting while demoing at Gamescom! We had a fantastic time, and it was nice to meet some of you in-person ;)
This week, we have our eyes set on polishing up the physics-feel and of course, optimizing the levels. Those of you running around in the external playtest builds are aware that adventures into the Abyss can take far longer than expected if you travel too far along a winding tunnel and lose your way... Chris Siegel mentioned that even he had a moment the other day where he realized he was lost in his own dungeon. :) It's a great feeling.
Later this week, I'll also be traveling to Seattle to demo around PAXWest! If any of you are going, feel free to message me here or on Discord (Flare#3390) for a sneak peek at the build. I'll be hopping around gathering playtest feedback from random gamers, as well as checking out the show when I have time. (If any of you have suggestions for things I must see, feel free to comment them here!)
As for this week's sneak peek at the game... have a look at the Midnight Forum. (SPOILERS of course!)
NEW TRAILER - Underworld Ascendant Releases November 15!
The Stygian Abyss beckons once more....
That's right, we're now releasing November 15, 2018 for PC!
And for you console fans... we're also bringing Underworld Ascendant to Xbox One, PS4 and Switch in 2019. ;) Get excited!
Watch the trailer here:
https://youtu.be/lOBK9_7eAJA
August 13 Weekly Update!
We're working hard on bringing together a new build and updates by the end of this month, particularly around Gamescom, so we apologize if we're a little quieter than usual this week.
Overall, there's been a huge wealth of information on the Playtest forums and Discord! We've been trying to keep up with all of the bugs submitted, as well as feedback we've received about the lack of clarity for certain skills and abilities. We hear you! Some things are far easier to adjust and fix than others, so we're knocking out things based on priority.
I know this week Joe is looking into giving more of a voice to the Factions, so we may be able to share some more information on that soon. Stacking crates is always being tweaked so it's not a nightmare to climb out of the "magic room," and we can start prioritizing progression and quest lines with lore soon as well. Some of you may notice these changes by the next playtest round, which will start most likely next Sunday. Keep an eye out for hidden messages, secrets, shortcuts, and story lines...
Also, yes. The Mac build fix for the Backer Alpha is on the back burner. The metal shader issue our Mac issues encounter on launch is being addressed for future builds, and we can start implementing that fix at a later time when the forge is cooling down. Right now, we're still regaining our breath from a big milestone we had the other week, and swinging back into the hard-hitting issues, like performance in some of the larger levels and combat/AI. Always combat/AI.
As a reminder, we're still looking for external playtesters! You can apply for it by joining our Discord or OSE forums and following the Playtest Sign up instructions.
Aug 6 Weekly Update
There's been a lot of incredible feedback (and bugs!) noted by our play testers this weekend, and much of it lines up with changes we've already been thinking about, which is good for both of us to confirm.
Last week, we talked about how a lot of the levels are getting a new lighting pass overhaul, particularly to accommodate for players who choose to carry a light source with them... or refrain from bringing one, depending on the situation. We'll be playing around with that again this week, as well as cleaning up on some more performance milestones we aim to hit by the end of this month. A lot of work is going to be invested in making sure the world ties together, which is never easy for an immersive sim like this. Each part of the level needs an art pass to make sure it lines up with the narrative, and the narrative needs to enforce the "why" of your goals in the Abyss, etc.
It may feel inorganic when I describe it this way, but for those of you who have experience play testing immersive sims, you know that the life of the game normally doesn't come together until nearly the last minute. Each individual cog is worked on, tested against its neighbors, and then refined until suddenly the entire world is alive and working as intended. The game comes first. Also, still really excited to see some of the outside work we've had help us really refine the narrative choices available.
That's it for now, and as a reminder, we released our July Newsletter last week:
https://steamcommunity.com/games/692840/announcements/detail/1733208564586532850
The Doom Counter Ticks Down…
We’ve been working on a lot of systems, features, and levels behind the scenes as we get ready for launch. Here’s a sneak peek at what we’ve been working on:
TREACHERY AND DOOM
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1460505197
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1460506981
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1460507812
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1460508603
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1460510857
While the Backer Alpha featured areas that were filled with resources and fairly linear areas, don’t expect to be so lucky in the final Abyss…
We’ve been working on polishing up the many hallways and levels throughout the Abyss to make sure every turn is different from the last. You’ll need to think vertically to traverse some of these areas, and keep in mind where you are at all times. Many have been lost in the Abyss and have yet to return.
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1460512565
As you play Underworld Ascendant, you will notice that your actions and choices will affect the decaying world state.
Typhon stirs, and as his influence spreads across the Abyss, it will be up to you to stop him and limit his reach before it’s too late. The Stygian Abyss is an unforgiving environment, but perhaps with kindness and knowledge, you can stop that which threatens your world…
As a reminder, this is a good time to read up on our weekly updates, where we discuss questions brought up by active members.
UNDERWORLD ASCENDANT IN THE NEWS
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1438735860
We were featured on the cover with an exclusive article and interview in the Italian gaming magazine The Games Machine:
“An adventure that, 25 years after its birth, is still fresh, intriguing and engaging.”
If you need to catch up on our E3 news, also remember to check out our interviews here:
DualShockers Interview with Joe Fielder: Discussing Player Choice, Realized Worlds, and Influences:
https://www.dualshockers.com/underworld-ascendant-interview/
EPNdotTV Interview with Joe and Walter: Discussing Emergent Open-Ended Gameplay in UA (Video): https://gaming.youtube.com/watch?v=ZPyk0N6m06s&feature=share
GameReactor Interview with Paul and Warren: How UA Takes Immersive Sims a “Little Further”:
https://www.gamereactor.eu/news/677033/Underworld+Ascendant+takes+immersive+sims+a+little+further/
BACKER ALPHA & EXTERNAL PLAYTESTING
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1460523021
Thank you to everyone who submitted feedback through our Backer Alpha survey, and those of you who have volunteered to help us playtest Underworld Ascendant! Your feedback has been incredibly important to us, and nailing the feeling of the Abyss has been one of our highest priorities over the last few weeks.
Nearly 1,800 of you unlocked access to the Backer Alpha build last month, and we received over 80 detailed survey responses.
If any of you would like to continue playing Underworld Ascendant, or are a new fan and not a backer, we are still looking for external playtesters. (Note: Windows ONLY).
Sign-ups are available through our official Discord or OSE Forums. Join us to sign up for an exclusive biweekly playtesting opportunity and stay updated on our daily progress! Prior playtest experience is not required.
KICKSTARTER REWARDS SNEAK PEEK
On the community side, we’re nearly finished with the preparations for the physical orders.
Here’s a sneak peek at the 3D renders we made of the 4” figurines for LORE SEEKER ($300+) backers and above:
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1460523872
(From left to right: Resherak, Cabirus, and Aelita)
If you are a backer receiving physical goods and need to make adjustments to your shipping address, please make sure your BackerKit address is fully updated: https://underworld-ascendant.backerkit.com/
If you need to make a shipping address change, contact us as soon as possible at support@otherside-e.com with your BackerKit / Kickstarter email and pledge number.
That’s all for now! Next month, we’ll be preparing for Gamescom and PAX West. We hope to see you there!
Cheers,
The OtherSide Team