Way to spread the word?

[Zephyr8965]

So, I was thinking, you really should get some twitter/facebook/tumblr/etc pages up about this. I'd at least get facebook and twitter. Then you get people to basically spread your game just by commenting on it and "liking" it.

Would get more of a following behind it and you'd probably get a lot more purchases on release, as well as pre-orders if/when you decide to do that.

[Captain Deathbeard]

I doubt it would get much at this stage. Especially as the graphics are still early, most of the comments will be "lol dis gam sucks!", perhaps mingled with the odd sympathetic "well done".

My hope lies in making the gameplay so good it speaks for itself and gets a good reputation. Once its stable and fun to play it will hopefully start getting proper reviews and listings. I need either pretty graphics or a solid demo to get publicity, and i dont have either yet.

[Zephyr8965]

Hm...possibly. I think it would be a good idea to do something along those lines once you do have a demo, though. More following in early versions = more testing/feedback.

I also just figured it would be more motivating for you if there was more activity here on the forums. I don't know how it is for you, but whenever I'm working on a project, I tend to lose some motivation when interest dies down. (still have the motivation to work, it's just not as fun)

[Captain Deathbeard]

You appear to be confusing me for a mortal human. My entire body is just a vessel for chanelling motivation (and for attracting ladies).

[Zephyr8965]

Roflcakes. You've been entirely too bored, lately.

[Shoelip]

I personally am still interested. I've just been waiting for something new to happen. I've been playing Fallout NV lately and while it's a lot better than any recent Bethesda game (most likely because it wasn't made by Bethesda) I still do wish it was a little more complex in the combat department, considering there so much combat. You end up either just headshotting everything in VATS or if they survive that backpedaling until you can do it again. At least if you're playing a ranged character. And I guess there's the option to snipe them, but really it's just not all that compelling. Shoot/stab them until they're dead. No roleplaying involved whatsoever. I'm not sure how much Kenshi would be different than that, but the fact that it focuses on a group and that combat is less lethal yet more realistic leaves room for some interesting stuff. I don't want to just kill everyone.

[Zephyr8965]

Sadly, there will likely be that "kill everyone" thing, at least to some extent. Kenshi is kind of an iso-angled action/strategy/rpg. So, you will always have that similar feel to things like the old-school baldur's gate and knock-offs. I'd imagine Chris is going to eventually work really hard to keep it from becoming exactly like the old games (at least for the sake of progression), but you can't completely escape the drawbacks inherent in the genre of free-roam, kill-anything, action-rpg.

Also, combat likely won't be more in-depth than Fallout, simply because the game is not just an action/rpg, but a strategy/action/rpg. It'll likely have less depth in the 1v1 fighting dynamics, but focus more on the larger scale of things, since you're likely to have several people all fighting at once, if two armies duking it out.

However, this is all just speculation based on my experience in games, especially indy games, especially iso rpg's.

[Captain Deathbeard]

It will be combat heavy, but the emphasis more on why and how. Things like getting everyone out alive, covering retreats while you carry your wounded will add some variety. And battles will be more than just "kill all enemies". You will have purposes, like stealing, rescuing people, escaping, kidnapping, defending a location or entire town. Then there's all the ways of making money, faction relations, crafting. There will also be paths that don't rely on combat, you could make a living as a doctor, a smith, a trader.

I'm not devoting years of my life to this just so I can make a generic RPG, so don't worry. My aim is this: In any commercial game the combat is at a constant pace. Play New Vegas and you can guarantee it will be like this:
1-walk a bit
2-fight a group of around 5-8 enemies
3-walk a bit more
4-fight a group of around 5-8 enemies

and thats it, regularly paced and predictable. My aim is to make combat a bigger thing, but less frequent, so I want something like this:
1-walk a bit
2-ambush by 6 bandits, beat them but one man is badly wounded. Have to carry him.
3-walk a bit more, slowed by wounded guy
4-walk some more.
5-200 creatures come swarming over the hill, run like crazy.
6-made it to next town, safe inside walls while guards repel swarm. Rest for wounded guy.

[Shoelip]

Well while that isn't an entirely accurate description of NV I see what you're saying and I hope you pull it off.

How about those options that were discussed (sort of) a few months ago about taking prisoners and whatnot?

[Captain Deathbeard]

Yep, there's the whole prisoners thing as well. Including creatures and cannibals that capture people as a food supply.

Still I say all this grand stuff but the first release is only going to be very simple.

[Zephyr8965]

Lol, yeah, I doubt many of us are expecting sheer awesome in the first release. XD

Can't wait to see what all you do pull off in it, though.

[Shoelip]

If you ever need inspiration just look at Dwarf Fortress. That thing is probably the single most ambitious game ever... and it's the reasonable alternative Tarn and Zach Adams came up with when they realized they'd bit off too more than they could chew with their previous game... but it's still plugging along getting better and better, and they aren't even charging for it even though Toady quit his job as a college math teacher just to work on it. Not saying you should be like Tarn Adams. He's something of a one in five million case, but you know, you can just say "Hell, I'm nowhere near as crazy as that guy!"