Eternium - Unity Development Update #3

[WarriorSeven]

1. Reading between the lines with the feedback from Google and Amazon, seems Eternium is relegated to a "new game" construct as the path forward. Jury is still out in my mind if this is good or bad.

2. Monies sunk into the game, even regularly or during the long haul, are NOT investments. It's discretionary spending -- your choice to buy "candy" for that one-time, immediate gratification -- or not. That said, monies spent to futher develop their toons (by minnows, dolphins and whales, alike) demonstrate true brand loyalty to the game concepts (and its developers), something very difficult to place a value on.

3. Then there is this legacy issue regarding what to do with resources post launch, especially for well-established and veteran players. If the "new" game concept goes foward (i.e., it looks and feels and smells a lot like the live version), Eternium should address what happens to existing toons, gear, medals, gems, CL points, etc. That is, will ANY of this of carryover to the new Unity game? If not, consideration should be proffered to those players for those legacy resources (replacements in kind in the new game?; some equitable liquidation of assets into something "as valuable" as consideration/compensation?, etc.)

4. I'm a bit shocked Eternium is even thinking about removing gestures. This unique feature is most important to mobile players -- it makes this game portable and playable anywhere. If you introduce external interface gaming hardware for PCs and tablets, fine! But please keep gestures for the untethered mobile user!

5. Finally, your folks bit off more than you can chew with this long and tiresome launch of Unity. Many of us would have been most satisfied with a far quicker turn-around to address the engine transition while eliminating the many bugs, poor coding, and lousy stat reporting. These issues and fixes alone could have been fantastic as the "new" game. Then all the enhanced features discussed by John Welch | CEO now and previously could then have been incrementally rolled out later as enticing updates and/or added features. LodWig has a point here -- this hyped-up but painful slog to the finish line may be over for some before the race even begins!

[CaducusAter]

A lot to be excited about! I did have questions on three topics.

- Accounts. -
I don't have a lot of time to play. Sometimes I have to cut back and this makes every little milestone take longer. How will accounts be handled in the new game for existing players? Will we get everything? Will there be a bonus resource or gift pool to at least jumpstart a class for legacy players? Everyone starts fresh? Something else?

- Controls -
Personally, most UI Gamepads I've found either horrible or just barely passable on my phone, and it tends to obscure my view of the map on games like this. Eternium 's gesture interface is one of the reasons I picked it up and it works quite well (if I'm not lagging). Is it possible to allow for a hybrid scheme, or at least to switch between a UI controller or the old gesture-based scheme in options?

- Balance -
At present, there are some discrepancies among Mage, Bounty Hunter, and Warrior in terms of their Trial clear speed and maximum Trial clear averages. Is there a plan to address some of these out of the gate? Or should we expect a new meta to form with new gear?

[Swamp Donkey]

So my 2 pence. The gesture system is what makes this game unique. If we are moving over to a joystick, people might as well play Diablo, Darkness Rises or one of many other games like that.

To echo other peoples concerns, what happens to our current accounts that people have been building for half a decade+ and have invested large sums of money. This question would need to be answered to make an objective decision on crowd funding.

[Bali_Lenni]

Sounds exciting ! Could you please provide specific Eternium examples of using the new mobile (mb.ph.\tablet) ARPG virtual joystick. The current touch\gesture system may be one of the major reasons of Eternium's popularity. What exactly will it be replaced with or is it possible to keep it as an option, can the 2 systems be mixed ?

[LodWig]

First!

Random thoughts:

- Despite all its flaws I like the gesture interface

- I don’t think the current version will live long after the launch of the new one

- What will happen to current accounts?

- Don't you fear the Osborne effect?

[John Welch | CEO]

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.

• 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.

Ultimately, we decided that the best course would be to create a new game in the Eternium universe.

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

What are you most excited to see in the new game? Please share your thoughts and questions.

John

p.s. To own a piece of the action, check out our equity crowdfunding campaign. Investments start at $100.