Underworld Ascendant
July 30 Weekly Update - Busy Week Ahead!
This week we're working on a number of things, which hopefully you'll see soon! These include:
- patch for the Backer Alpha
- new external playtesting build and confirmation round
- newsletter
Within the office, we worked hard to meet a milestone last week that was centered around increasing performance in some of our bigger levels, so the external playtesters should have an easier time traversing some of the levels. We hope you'll take note some of the improvements that have been made based on feedback, as well as continue to provide the excellent responses you have been.
As always, we appreciate the avid feedback and hope you will continue to do so.
July 23 Weekly Update - Feats & Typhon
So we did a quick scan over what you've all been talking about this weekend, and can address some of those before we talk about what we're tackling this week:
1. Feats.
Historically, these have been planned since for over a year, but the system was a little different back then. Based on playtest and the Backer Alpha feedback, they're in the process of being tweaked so they're less invasive. The system itself is still integrated into the world since the Abyss is centered around survival and sharing knowledge, particularly with the Lizard Men. Your overall goal is about figuring out how to stop Typhon anyways, which will be about --- you guessed it --- interacting with the world, scavenging clues from other Factions, raising reputation with other characters to learn secrets, and more. It's all about information as currency, and being able to share your Feats with the Lizard Men can help make the exchange more real. Showing them: "Here's where I discovered a hidden passageway, and this is how you activate it."
2. Typhon
Who is he? Can you fight him?
So the short answer is no, you cannot directly fight him. He is a powerful entity whose reach is beyond the physical form, and the "Doom Counter" represents his strength and influence in the Abyss. You will have to find ways to restrict his powers... or not. Perhaps there are others you would rather stop instead. That's the most I can say right now.
For this week, our strike team has been focused heavily on Narrative and making sure the Player choices are more significant in the overall game. We hear you about how completing small quests in between sessions may not be very rewarding and feel disjointed, as well as some of the levels feeling too linear or seemingly too restrictive. There's been a lot of discussion among the core team, as well as with consultants from outside the company, who are helping us weigh in on how we can maximize with our scope. I saw a pass at the latest narrative draft, and we're *really* excited to achieve some of these endings.
For the Backer Alpha and external playtest builds, we're working on that Mac fix that stops the game from starting with the metal shader issue, as well as addressing that key bindings issue, saving issues, and the notorious inventory bug. It's going to be busy on our end, but we'll keep you all updated when we can!
How did YOU activate the lever?
How did YOU activate the lever in the #UnderworldAscendant Backer Alpha build? Share it with us!
Here's one way you may not have tried...
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1448372828
July 16 Weekly Update
So this week, as some of you may already know, we've just started the first round of External Playtesting! Those of you with access should be able to see the PLAYTESTERS ONLY board underneath Underworld Ascendant. If you received an email with playtest instructions but do NOT have access to this board, please DM or email us at support@otherside-e.com so we can set up your forum account to receive access.
We're also going to be working long hours this week to address some of the nitty gritty issues that just need us to sit down and get it down. No one likes to sit at a computer for a week and fiddle around finding the magic number that makes the game feel right, but someone has to do it eventually :)
More concretely, Joe recently updated all of our item descriptions ingame so that the player can start making informed decisions before they start eating food they've found off the ground. As a reminder, food will be a somewhat rare but occasionally game-changing item, depending on how it's used. Be wary of food that may have been left out for too long, or hold onto food that may come in handy later, just not for you...
UI is still in the process of getting an overhaul, as well as turning our attention to optimizing the game. A lot of our levels (although perhaps not as apparent in the Backer Alpha available) are ENORMOUS with lots of interconnected areas and sprawling tunnels, as well as populated with unpredictable AI and some randomized environments. It'll be interesting for us to find a balance for all of this...
In the meantime, we still want to hear more about any discoveries or discussions you're having regarding the Backer Alpha! Link us to clips or streams you've had of the game so we can peek at what you've seen; we hear a few of you have stumbled across legendary armor or weapons as early as the tutorial level of the game, which made for some interesting puzzle solving. :)
Thanks!
The Dev Team
We Made The Games Machine Cover!
"An adventure that, 25 years after its birth, is still fresh, intriguing and engaging."
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1438735860
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1438736650
We are so excited to have been chosen for this honor! đ
July 9 Weekly Update - Backer Alpha, A Spoiler and Playtest
We noticed there's been a lot of discussion about the Backer Alpha and your suggestions for how we can improve the game before the final release, and we're catching up on reading those now!
There have been some big discussions slated for this week and the next, as well as sprints dedicated specifically to tying together the narrative, quest loop, level design, and more, all while tackling some of the problems brought up by many of you. Keep in mind that some things, such as object highlighting and narrative VO being cut down, is much easier to remove and toggle because we are already planning for that.
Many of you have also expressed suggestions that are already in the game, but not present in the Backer Alpha:
*Steel doors that can only be lockpicked
*Wooden doors have now been tweaked so swords cannot bash them down as quickly
*Weapon durability
*Player torch is being fine-tuned
*Runic spellcasting is nearly finished
*Maps are getting a new pass, etc.
For those of you worried about the hub, I would encourage you to think of the hub as just another level with specific NPCs you can interact with, rather than a safe zone. In fact, depending on how dire the situation is, it may be a hard fight just to return to Marcaul at all...
It's a spoiler, do not click if you do not want to see it.
We've been quiet because we're hunkering down on the game, and most notably coming up on external playtesting soon. There's a lot of things we're experimenting with based on your feedback, and we'll need your input soon, so keep an eye out for an email either by the end of this week or the beginning of next week. If you are interested in possible opportunity to participate in that playtest, be sure and join our Discord: discord.gg/underworldascendant
Thanks,
Dev Team
June 2018 Newsletter - Backer Alpha, E3, Unite Berlin & More
BACKER ALPHA NOW AVAILABLE FOR EXPLORERS+
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1423338684
Our Backer Alpha build is now available for Explorer level backers and above! ($50+)
Please log into your BackerKit to access the Steam key under the Digital Downloads page. Weâre excited to announce that this is available for Windows, Mac, and Linux!
Note that unlocking the Alpha access on Steam does NOT mean you are locked into downloading Underworld Ascendant on Steam for your final digital download when the game launches.
If you had access to the Pre-Alpha/Prototype build, you do NOT need a new Steam key. The Underworld Ascendant app should update on Steam to the Backer Alpha Build.
For more information on whatâs in the build, what you can expect, and a feedback form, check out our page here: https://otherside-e.com/wp/welcome-to-alpha-underworld-ascendant/
JUNE TRAILER & SCREENSHOTS
On June 1st, we unveiled a new trailer:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bk0oZtHKWfU
and released some new screenshots!
E3 & UNITE BERLIN WRAP-UP
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1428873223
This month, we traveled back to back from E3 in California to Unite Berlin in Germany to show an early Alpha build of Underworld Ascendant. We were nominated for Best in Show by Hardcore Gamer and PC Gaming Enthusiast!
It was great to see familiar faces revisit our progress over the last few months, as well as making new friends and saying hi to some Kickstarter backers!
Here are a few highlights from E3:
Giant Bomb at Nite Podcast â Live from E3: Nite â Interview featuring Warren Spector & Joe Fielder
https://youtu.be/tFlky6URphA?t=8300
Shack News Feature Interview
https://youtu.be/5Fhk-BjdyCA
Neoseeker Feature Interview
https://youtu.be/V_hndHvVIps
Alienware livestream Interview & Playthrough â featuring Paul Neurath & Joe Fielder
https://www.twitch.tv/videos/275473067?t=04h46m33s
Justin talking at Unite Berlin for Underworld Ascendant Lighting for Stealth Gameplay
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1428876768
We were also invited to speak at Unite Berlin just last week. Lead Level Designer Justin Pappas gave a talk about âLighting for Stealth Gameplay in Underworld Ascendant, https://youtu.be/7DKL581xL7c
BACKER ALPHA LIVESTREAM WITH WILL TEIXEIRA
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1428879452
Want to see whatâs in the Alpha build but donât have access? On Wednesday, Lead Engineer Will Teixeira and our Community Manager Sam Luangkhot played through the Backer Alpha build on our Twitch Channel. We showcased some of the features you may have missed at home, and talk about some of the behind-the-scenes systems. You can watch the play through here: https://www.twitch.tv/videos/278312219
INSIDER BLOG
This monthâs Insider Blog is about QAâing for events, written by our Senior QA, Amanda Rivet! This post is available for Explorer level backers and above ($50+), Read about Amandaâs QA process here: https://otherside-e.com/wp/insider-blog-amanda-rivet-06-28-18/
EXTERNAL PLAYTESTING & OFFICIAL DISCORD
Last but not least, we launched our official Underworld Ascendant Discord! Join us to sign up for an exclusive biweekly play-testing opportunity and stay updated on a daily basis on our progress.
https://discordapp.com/invite/underworldascendant
Weâll have more to share next month! See you soon!
Cheers,
The OtherSide Team
Underworld Ascendant Community Q&A
And what a surprise - Warren Spector conducts the community Q&A interview!
Check it out below!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QSMIKUnwqrM
Lead Engineer Will Teixeira Plays Backer Alpha on Twitch
Lead Engineer Will Teixeira streamed a playthrough of the Backer Alpha build today and we had a blast!
We had an opportunity to reveal some secrets, a few bugs, and cheats! ;)
Go to Twitch.tv to check it out!
https://www.twitch.tv/videos/278312219
Then come back and let us know what you think! We would love to hear your feedback!
Backer Alpha Release
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1423338684
Please do keep in mind that this is an Alpha and the build is representative of an unfinished game. Is it unpolished, buggy, and you might encounter some instability (i.e., game crashes). Thatâs normal for a game like UA at this point. Weâve been spending a lot of time getting things into the game and now our focus is getting those things working well and working well together.
At OtherSide, we pride ourselves on the breadth of experience and talent at the studio. As a small team of 14, we are striving to deliver a quality game that fits our size and stature. As a result, this is not a AAA game in scope or scale. That said, our goal with UA is to push depth of gameplay variety and we hope it provides a unique array of playstyle options and deeper world interactions. We think you all are aware of that, but it seemed worth repeating.
The build you will play is just a slice of the full game in terms of content like levels, creatures, items and loot as well as features like spells, combat moves, interactibles and things like that. We will also be posting a longer FAQ / Build Notes that will go into more detail about whatâs in, whatâs not, some known issues (not a full bug list), etc. Please keep an eye out for a link to that tomorrow.
We will be distributing the build via Steam using the same âappâ as the Pre-Alpha Build. So, if you have access to the Pre-Alpha Build already, youâll be able to download the new Alpha Build when itâs ready. If you didnât have access to the Pre-Alpha Build, we will be sending you a Steam Key for this Alpha Build via BackerKit. Our plan is to send those keys around before the Alpha Build is available on Steam so you wonât have to wait for the key.
Thank you again for your support and your feedback. We hope you enjoy this early look at Underworld Ascendant.
The OtherSide team