Hello!
The team has made great progress since we presented footage from the “first playable” build in Development Update #2. We will post a new gameplay video in a few weeks that shows what we are talking about here.
Initial Plan & Learnings
The initial goal was to remaster Eternium - to recreate it as faithfully as possible in order to replace the live version and continue to add new content. We made strong progress in that direction.
The New Eternium
Imagine that we take a deep, deep breath and inhale everything that is Eternium: the art, the code, the story, the progression, the campaign, the events, the player community, the game’s incredible achievements, its challenges, and its aspirations. With that knowledge and motivation, we set out to make the best new version of Eternium for veteran Eternium players as well as for people who haven’t ever played the original, whether they are ARPG experts or novices.
Similar to Eternium, the new game will have beautifully handcrafted story levels and procedurally generated Trials on which to compete across the community. You will get more gameplay, more enemies, more item sets, and more playable character classes. You will be immersed in a continuing storyline and you will finally face Ragadam!
One of the first changes you will notice is the control scheme. Today, mobile ARPG players expect virtual joysticks and PC players must be able to play with gamepads as well as keyboard/mouse. Will we still have touch/gesture inputs? That is to be determined - please share your thoughts.
At launch, an expanded Trials system will enable a greater diversity of locations, enemies, and gameplay, thereby encouraging a greater variety of builds. Over time, we will continue to create more to do both as you level characters and once you have a collection of leveled-up characters.
Status & Schedule
Our goal is to start inviting players into a closed alpha towards the end of 2023 to get data and feedback to help us shape the final product. We have our eyes on launching in one year.
Recent additions to the Unity build include:
John
p.s. To own a piece of the action, check out our equity crowdfunding campaign. Investments start at $100.
The team has made great progress since we presented footage from the “first playable” build in Development Update #2. We will post a new gameplay video in a few weeks that shows what we are talking about here.
Initial Plan & Learnings
The initial goal was to remaster Eternium - to recreate it as faithfully as possible in order to replace the live version and continue to add new content. We made strong progress in that direction.
- We also made progress in maintaining and fixing bugs in the live game, diminishing our concern about keeping the live version running.
- We spoke with our contacts at Apple and Google to discuss the future of Eternium. As a small studio, their support is critical to our success. We asked them their opinion about whether we should deploy Eternium Unity as a replacement for Eternium or as a completely new title. They informed us that they are not currently marketing major updates to games. They are only providing launch support for brand new titles.
- The Unity environment and the tools we have been building allow us to develop features and deploy content much more efficiently than in the live game. However, creating efficient systems in Unity is somewhat at odds with reproducing the exact functionality from a game that was handcrafted in C++ code.
- The live version of Eternium is a great starting point for new players, but experienced players want new features and new content.
The New Eternium
Imagine that we take a deep, deep breath and inhale everything that is Eternium: the art, the code, the story, the progression, the campaign, the events, the player community, the game’s incredible achievements, its challenges, and its aspirations. With that knowledge and motivation, we set out to make the best new version of Eternium for veteran Eternium players as well as for people who haven’t ever played the original, whether they are ARPG experts or novices.
Similar to Eternium, the new game will have beautifully handcrafted story levels and procedurally generated Trials on which to compete across the community. You will get more gameplay, more enemies, more item sets, and more playable character classes. You will be immersed in a continuing storyline and you will finally face Ragadam!
One of the first changes you will notice is the control scheme. Today, mobile ARPG players expect virtual joysticks and PC players must be able to play with gamepads as well as keyboard/mouse. Will we still have touch/gesture inputs? That is to be determined - please share your thoughts.
At launch, an expanded Trials system will enable a greater diversity of locations, enemies, and gameplay, thereby encouraging a greater variety of builds. Over time, we will continue to create more to do both as you level characters and once you have a collection of leveled-up characters.
Status & Schedule
Our goal is to start inviting players into a closed alpha towards the end of 2023 to get data and feedback to help us shape the final product. We have our eyes on launching in one year.
Recent additions to the Unity build include:
- New user interface including inventory screen, health bar, buttons, and a first iteration of minimap with fog of war.
- Virtual gamepad controls
- Many hero abilities, with engineers building tools that designers use to create and tweak the abilities and add visual and audio FX.
- Root animation system for the heroes, which will enable us to have more natural movement
- Several systems from the live game were redeveloped in Unity, getting us closer to having a real game:
- Loot drops
- Stats for heroes, enemies, abilities, and items + import those stats from live game. Previously, the Unity build had objects with graphics but they did not have real stats.
- Enemies now scale with stat curves and various new spawner logic
- Procedural level generator that spawns hand crafted modules with interior and outdoors environments: corridors, general rooms, loot rooms, boss rooms, enemies waves, random enemies or elites, bosses.
- Performance optimizations and graphics improvements
John
p.s. To own a piece of the action, check out our equity crowdfunding campaign. Investments start at $100.
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