The Drunken Lizard Pub

I guess you have to trust.
We have had two outstanding episodes and that's why we are here.
I don't doubt the third one would be the best.

There will be a flame war as members decide that Thomas has gotten it wrong and will cite "evidence" from previous games towards their views.

However it still will be fun to play.

Drunken Lizard Pub community: not all that numerous but still eager to bust out the tinfoil hats!

Prismatic Maelstrom wrote:On a scale of 0 to 10 with 10 being the highest, just how awesome will Eschalon: Book III be? Please don't be modest.

Hmm, good question.

Book 3 is a slightly different game than 1 & 2. With Book 2, I really wanted the player to feel like he/she could go in any direction from the start and just start playing. But Book 3 is tighter, and a bit more linear. The finality of the story means I have to direct the player a bit more than previously. When you start Book 3 it kind of feels like you can only follow a certain path. That is partially true, at first. You have to work a bit to open up other avenues to different areas of the game, but after you play it once and understand what to do, you'll discover Book 3 is nearly as open as the other two games.

From a technical (software) standpoint, Book 3 is pushed as far as it can go. It's a good thing we are scrapping this engine because nothing more can be added without breaking other things.

From a mechanical standpoint, Book 3 is nearly identical to Book 2. The few changes we've made don't really affect the gameplay too much. The couple new spells and balance tweaking will only be noticed by long-time players. There are some additional ideas, suggested by you fine people, which have been partially implemented but not fully activated yet. These will be put into play, little by little, as beta testing begins. Adding too much new stuff at once can/will break the rules and then it's difficult to know what new function caused the most damage. Ultimately, even if we don't add anything else to the game as it is right now, it's still a great RPG system overall.

Storyline- some people will love it, others will not, and people like Prismatic are likely to find plot holes that we missed. I've played a lot of RPGs in my life and while it's impossible not to borrow plot ideas from other sources, I've tried to do some new stuff fro the genre. No doubt, people will discuss this in depth after release.

I think Eschalon is genuinely fun. Book 3 really feels distinctly different than anything currently out there- certainly much more different than anything Spiderweb makes despite our game's similar appearance. Actually, a point of pride for me was the recent announcement of Balrum which, based on screenshots and videos, looks like an "Eschalon clone" using a more advanced engine. I mean, for someone to make a game that borrows distinct technical and mechanical elements from our game means Eschalon has influenced other designers. That is awesome.

So how would I rate Book 3? Perosnally, if I played it without being the person who made it, I'd give it a 9/10. It loses a point because I don't believe anything can truly be perfect, and certainly I can think of numerous things that would make Eschalon more awesome if only our engine could support these ideas. Of course, scores like this are subjective and I'm sure other people would rate it differently.

I'm sure for many of us, this one will go to 11.

Kreador Freeaxe wrote:I'm sure for many of us, this one will go to 11.

Book III will be an "11" for me if we get to hit any of - Western Thaermore, the Gambit Valley, Sharptooth and/or the Great Rift Zone.

It'll be in the 'Double Bonus' if we get to hit the Underground Repository again (hinted at in the teaser-trailer?!...)

Prismatic Maelstrom wrote:I have another serious question for you!

With only seven days to go before the release of your third game how are you feeling? Stressed? Happy? Perhaps a mixture of both?

Great question! I feel very stressed because I want our fans to be happy with the last game. A little sad to see Eschalon end (it has been my life since 2005), but very excited to be able to explore other game options and develop a new engine.

I don't know exactly what is next for Basilisk, but some vacation time (holiday, as you Brits call it) and releasing the tools will be in the immediate 3 months after Book 3's availability. Then we will probably go into secretive "R&D mode" where we will experiment with different tech and ideas for the next game.

One thing is for sure: the Eschalon engine is pushed as far as it can go. When I say it is being retired, I mean it. I am not going to strip it down, throw in HD widescreen support, and re-introduce it in a year with another name attached. Nope. We will be working on brand new technology for whatever else comes next.

2014 will be an adventurous year for us. I am grateful for our fans and hope everyone is as excited as we are for the release of Book 3 and the great beyond!

BasiliskWrangler wrote:One thing is for sure: the Eschalon engine is pushed as far as it can go. When I say it is being retired, I mean it. I am not going to strip it down, throw in HD widescreen support, and re-introduce it in a year with another name attached. Nope. We will be working on brand new technology for whatever else comes next.

I dunno... - I'm still hoping in 3-5 years hence, you port the Book III engine over to Unity 3D or something, as see what you can do with it then!...

Edit:

BasiliskWrangler wrote:I don't know exactly what is next for Basilisk, but some vacation time (holiday, as you Brits call it) and releasing the tools will be in the immediate 3 months after Book 3's availability.

Don't forget to put a little time aside to fix/squash the last of the Book II (and Book I?) 'bugs' after Book III's release!!

IJBall wrote:I dunno... - I'm still hoping in 3-5 years hence, you port the Book III engine over to Unity 3D or something, as see what you can do with it then!...

Rebuilding the Eschalon engine would be far more likely than porting. Nothing about the Eschalon engine, as it exists right now, would be able to be used in Unity except for some of the rule tables and equations. I never said we wouldn't do another isometric engine again, but if/when we do it would be done in a completely new technology.

IJBall wrote:Don't forget to put a little time aside to fix/squash the last of the Book II (and Book I?) 'bugs' after Book III's release!!

Yes, this is still a very good possibility. If Book 3 sells well, and if there is a growing demand for an updated trilogy (other than the "normal" demand coming from the few hardcore fans who hang out in this dank pub) we will certainly deliver an updated trilogy. Personally, I would love to see Book 1 remade with the Book 3 engine- whether or not this is fan made with our assistance or completely done by us.

BasiliskWrangler wrote: I don't know exactly what is next for Basilisk, but some vacation time (holiday, as you Brits call it) [...].

Oh my gosh, there are Brits in here?! Stand and declare thyselves, Sirs!

Calathon wrote:Oh my gosh, there are Brits in here?! Stand and declare thyselves, Sirs!

Brits?! What blasphemous term is that? I'm from north of Hadrian's wall, my avatar clearly states this. Still, just like the English folk, we do have holidays. Not as many as them, though.

KillingMoon wrote:

Calathon wrote:Oh my gosh, there are Brits in here?! Stand and declare thyselves, Sirs!

Brits?! What blasphemous term is that? I'm from north of Hadrian's wall, my avatar clearly states this. Still, just like the English folk, we do have holidays. Not as many as them, though.

I am from an even northern place, the cold harsh realm of Finland. Yes, it's not in the Isles, but still.

I have a question, actually--Where do you see yourself going from here as a developer (and publisher!)? I know we're all excited to finally get our sweaty mitts all over the trilogy finale, but I am also intensely curious about your future plans.