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skychrome
Senior Scribe
713 Posts |
 Posted - 22 Jan 2013 : 02:58:23
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| Awesome, really looking forward to this, be it with or without psionics (which I personally consider way cooler than conventional magic users). |
"You make an intriguing offer, one that is very tempting. It would seem that I have little alternative than to answer thusly: DISINTEGRATE!" Vaarsuvius, Order of the Stick 625 |
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Ayrik
Great Reader
Canada
7966 Posts |
Posted - 05 Feb 2013 : 23:02:07
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Our so-called "20% milestone" reached, behind our roadmap schedule but, oh well, better late than never. There is some sense of urgency, as the team leaders agree it would be better to complete our version of "Planescape 2" before any details about the two "official" versions are released. We just want to do our best in making a worthy contribution to this fine game, not become entangled in any legal messes.
Besides, we got the advantage. This isn't some vaguely related "spiritual successor" ... this is a direct continuation, played through (a fixed up version of) the original game engine.
Yes, psionics will be an integral game element, although the writers are still disagreeing whether Nameless will have a selection of (random or player-selected or story-assigned) wild talents or simply have an entire psionicist class ... something to do with telepathic abilities and psychic surgery activating dormant memories or otherwise progressing the storyline, etc etc. Of course, other party members or NPCs can have any necessary psi which Nameless lacks. |
[/Ayrik] |
Edited by - Ayrik on 05 Feb 2013 23:38:52 |
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Shemmy
Senior Scribe
USA
492 Posts |
Posted - 06 Feb 2013 : 02:00:42
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quote:
Originally posted by Ayrik
My first question ...
Deionarra, or more specifically, Deionarra's ghost. In PST, she's a ghost, an apparation, dead, dead. She is encountered near her own remains (in the Dustman Crematorium, in the Hive of Sigil). She is also encountered in the Fortress of Regrets (a special and rather small "demiplane" located in the Inner Planes, "somewhere very close to the Negative Energy Plane").
My understanding is that ghosts exist on the Ethereal. So seeing her float around the Fortress of Regrets ain't a problem; the Ethereal borders all the Inner Planes. Seeing her in Sigil seems questionable. Does Sigil coexist with the Ethereal? Can ghosts (and other ethereals) even exist on Sigil? If not ... can they perhaps reach Sigil through portals (portals which do not require a physical key, or which might be opened by others)?
I have searched most carefully through my planar references yet cannot find an acceptable explanation for Deionarra-in-Sigil. Any suggestions? Where's that crazy arcanaloth when I need advice ...
The 'loth never noticed this scroll, but will endeavor to supply the dark of certain questions. All as a magnanimous show of charity and grace.
There's no obvious overlap with the ethereal in Sigil to allow for ghosts, however given that the Mazes are Ethereal demiplanes, I've usually assumed that Sigil either doesn't have that overlap but all things requiring it function as if it did, or else that Sigil itself has a local patch of Ethereal or something that functions for all intents and purposes as it.
There are other canonical examples of things breaking the rules in this regard. In the module 'Squaring the Circle', the baernaloth Daru Ib Shamiq has a yugoloth ghost serving as a guardian to his estate in Torch. This shouldn't be possible on several different levels, and Daru in-character mentions this if asked IIRC. But he accomplishes it anyways.
There are rules for how things work. Except sometimes things break the rules. It doesn't make sense, and the planes are full of contradictions. That's how they are. :) |
Shemeska the Marauder, King of the Crosstrade; voted #1 best Arcanaloth in Sigil two hundred years running by the people who know what's best for them; chant broker; prospective Sigil council member next election; and official travel agent for Chamada Holiday specials LLC.
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Shemmy
Senior Scribe
USA
492 Posts |
Posted - 06 Feb 2013 : 02:08:04
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quote:
Originally posted by Ayrik
Question 2)
Does Sigil allow extradimensional access? Would a bag of holding still be "bigger inside than outside" on Sigil, or would it just be a bag of holding? Do "pocket-dimension" things work while Ethereal or Astral things do not? I have found no answers in my Planescape lore.
As long as such things don't allow you to enter or exit from Sigil, they work perfectly normally. Certain things however probably wouldn't work such as forcing two such spaces together to create an Astral rift - the effect would fail or the two spaces would behave like trying to force together two magnets, not letting it happen. Bags of Devouring that are mouths of things on other planes probably would revert to mundane bags while in Sigil.
quote:
Question 3)
But in "tabletop" Planescape (not a Planescape CRPG), can you choose to return to "your" maze at any later time? Are portals involved? And when you "escape" from your maze ... do you always return to Sigil or can you go elsewhere? For example, could Ravel's Maze be connected to, say, her native plane (the Gray Wastes) instead of or in addition to some portal in Sigil? The Lady might whisk Elminster off to some El-Maze in annoyance ... and he might find that whatever unique path leads "out" of the maze takes him to Shadowdale instead of, say, the Lower Ward ... or is that not how it works?
Every instance of Maze escape points to the entrance/exit being only into Sigil.
That's all my questions for now. They seem to basically all be about the planar properties of Sigil.
quote:
[Edit]
Alright, I lied. Question 4) (got nothing to do with Sigil!)
What is Tyranthraxus' native plane? Within canon, not on the wiki pages (the wikis assert T is some kind of Yugoloth, I think incorrectly).
Unknown. I would also agree that the wiki is incorrect. There was some very early statements about it using the word daemon IIRC, but it wasn't anything detailed and the term seemed to be used pretty loosely, and was before a lot of stuff was codified and explored in-depth. In any event Tyranthraxus has never been mentioned in any fiendish lore whatsoever. |
Shemeska the Marauder, King of the Crosstrade; voted #1 best Arcanaloth in Sigil two hundred years running by the people who know what's best for them; chant broker; prospective Sigil council member next election; and official travel agent for Chamada Holiday specials LLC.
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Shemmy
Senior Scribe
USA
492 Posts |
Posted - 06 Feb 2013 : 02:16:38
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quote:
Originally posted by Ayrik
Primordial origins for Tyranthraxus would simplify some things a lot ... although I'll admit I'm not really comfortable accepting them (or any other 4E planar whitewash) within the classic Gygax-inspired Planescape cosmology. But since I insist on making/keeping things "difficult" for myself: (in 2E) can elemental vortices connect to realms or layers on the outer planes? I ask because Tyranthraxus almost seems to be something of a Gehenna-like fiend mixed with fire elemental ... I'm a bit confused about his taxonomy. And yes, he's unique to the Realms. But that doesn't mean he's unique to the planes. (Of course, "things-don't-always-make-sense" is an important and intrinsic cornerstone of the Planescape setting.)
As far as bringing in 4e core terminology regarding Tyranthraxus being a 4e style primordial, that's awkward in terms of using it in a Planescape setting. Without trying to be mean, I generally consider 4e anything to be completely irrelevant to anything regarding the Great Wheel cosmology / Planescape unless it doesn't conflict with any prior lore on the topic. It's a different game and different cosmology compared to 1e/2e/3e planar continuity. Avoiding one stepping on the others' toes is better for all involved. For instance the 4e Demonomicon on the Marauder took pains to not contradict PS lore.
If you can make a definition ambiguous, that might work better than to get into 4e terminology which has major problems with past lore. If you think Tyranthraxus is related to Gehenna, take a look at the 2e Phiul from Gehenna, which themselves seemed vaguely elementally, and very much an open question of what they were and where they came from originally. |
Shemeska the Marauder, King of the Crosstrade; voted #1 best Arcanaloth in Sigil two hundred years running by the people who know what's best for them; chant broker; prospective Sigil council member next election; and official travel agent for Chamada Holiday specials LLC.
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Shemmy
Senior Scribe
USA
492 Posts |
Posted - 06 Feb 2013 : 02:18:30
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quote:
Originally posted by Ayrik
Thanx again, Marc. I never knew that Planewalker has special permissions from Wizbro, or to what extent - I'm guessing their "official" arrangement with Wizbro is probably comparable to Candlekeep's (which is somewhat vague to my understanding), but I've forwarded this information to our "legal" guy. Wizbro is not the only legal/IP entity involved.
It was pretty vague IIRC, and was set up by someone long since gone from WotC (might have been TSR even). I'd need to look back to see who it was, and when it was put in place. But I'm not involved with Planewalker's administration and hosting. |
Shemeska the Marauder, King of the Crosstrade; voted #1 best Arcanaloth in Sigil two hundred years running by the people who know what's best for them; chant broker; prospective Sigil council member next election; and official travel agent for Chamada Holiday specials LLC.
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Ayrik
Great Reader
Canada
7966 Posts |
Posted - 06 Feb 2013 : 02:31:50
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A Rule-of-Three pile of answers!
Interestingly, the "ambiguous definition" approach has already been favoured, ethereal ghosts and extradimensional spaces in Sigil have been handwaved, it turns out the Tyranthraxus conceptions have been entirely discarded and replaced with "something special" we believe will be far more interesting. Exclusion of incompatible (mostly 4E) planeslore was unanimously decided long ago, we intend to keep things completely compatible with the 2E Planescape setting ... if they happen to also be compatible with other planeslore then cool, but that's not our primary objective.
I shall submit a request for some inclusion of Chamada Holiday Specials LLC, it would be a shame to rush through Gehenna without taking in the scenic vista. |
[/Ayrik] |
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Ayrik
Great Reader
Canada
7966 Posts |
Posted - 11 Mar 2013 : 21:16:50
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Update ...
Revised "alpha" release should be Q1/2014, sorry for the delay but our milestones are consistently lagging behind original expectations. I would hesitantly say we're roughly 30% complete, but there's a lot of work left to be done. |
[/Ayrik] |
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Ayrik
Great Reader
Canada
7966 Posts |
Posted - 06 May 2013 : 23:39:54
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Update ...
We're estimating 75% complete, done all (well, most) of the writing, dialog trees, artwork, characters, voice acting, sound effects, "D&D" content ... already completed 3 new areas larger than the Sigil Hive from PST, and working up the details on 3 (perhaps 5) more. Hope y'all like my new character, haha.
Still targeting Q1/2014, although it seems like most of the team will pause for a summer hiatus. |
[/Ayrik] |
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Ayrik
Great Reader
Canada
7966 Posts |
Posted - 27 Jul 2013 : 00:00:42
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Update ...
Both of our team leads have declared that they're putting this project on hold indefinitely. They haven't quit but they'll be busy doing other things. To be honest, those of us who remain are eager to complete it - especially since the story/writing, text scripting, dialogues, and media files are all essentially complete and we were beginning to work on extras - but we aren't confident we have the coding skills needed to finish reworking the game engine.
There is discussion about releasing our stuff to the mod community as a (perhaps never to be completed?) Q3/2013 "90% complete" opensource beta sort of release, but we're still discussing options. Anyone interested in contributing WeiDU-based hardcode can PM me for details, but remember we have (thus far) unanimously agreed that this will be a non-profit non-commercial venture. I know there's still a lot of people who love this most worthy game. |
[/Ayrik] |
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The Sage
Procrastinator Most High
Australia
31701 Posts |
Posted - 27 Jul 2013 : 03:53:47
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quote:
Originally posted by Ayrik
Update ...
Both of our team leads have declared that they're putting this project on hold indefinitely. They haven't quit but they'll be busy doing other things. To be honest, those of us who remain are eager to complete it - especially since the story/writing, text scripting, dialogues, and media files are all essentially complete and we were beginning to work on extras - but we aren't confident we have the coding skills needed to finish reworking the game engine.
There is discussion about releasing our stuff to the mod community as a (perhaps never to be completed?) Q3/2013 "90% complete" opensource beta sort of release, but we're still discussing options. Anyone interested in contributing WeiDU-based hardcode can PM me for details, but remember we have (thus far) unanimously agreed that this will be a non-profit non-commercial venture. I know there's still a lot of people who love this most worthy game.
Oh, if only I had the time to devote to yet another project...
Know this, however, Ayrik, that you'll have my spiritual support for any endeavour the development team wishes to pursue with Damnation.  |
Candlekeep Forums Moderator
Candlekeep - The Library of Forgotten Realms Lore
http://www.candlekeep.com -- Candlekeep Forum Code of Conduct
Scribe for the Candlekeep Compendium -- Volume IX now available (Oct 2007)
"So Saith Ed" -- the collected Candlekeep replies of Ed Greenwood
Zhoth'ilam Folio -- The Electronic Misadventures of a Rambling Sage |
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Ayrik
Great Reader
Canada
7966 Posts |
Posted - 27 Jul 2013 : 22:31:27
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Thanks for your encouragement, Sage, but all is not yet lost, methinks. The five of us who remain are most eager to make our mark on this game, and the game itself has provided a wonderfully rich tapestry to work with. Our current difficulties involve the (permanent?) loss of the two most critical contributors, but we will not let our body of work be wasted. I don't really speak officially for the entire team, but my understanding is that we all agree on what I've said.
It's quite possible we may resume work after everybody's had enough fun for the summer, vacations and rest periods were never part of the original schedule, and we made excellent progress after our slow start. It turns out that the real work in this game was more akin to writing a novel than designing an adventure module, although of course I was never involved in producing the graphics, voices (well, with one very minor exception), music, or actual codework. We might even release what we've got ready for the game engine "as-is", it's not at all perfect or what we really envisioned, but it's not a lot less playable than the cantankerous original.
At least this gives more time for the public to submit input or suggestions ... |
[/Ayrik] |
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The Sage
Procrastinator Most High
Australia
31701 Posts |
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Ayrik
Great Reader
Canada
7966 Posts |
Posted - 29 Jul 2013 : 23:45:46
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| Ah, I believe it's an even mix of WeiDU stuff with some sort of scripted C-like stuff, the Bioware Infinity Engine has been hacked and opensourced and duplicated to death, and our team leads left us a partially complete (and horribly documented!) revision of the PS:T engine. My work primarily involved modifying the datafiles with Infinity Engine Savegame Editor then tweaking out bugs and problems "by hand". |
[/Ayrik] |
Edited by - Ayrik on 29 Jul 2013 23:46:03 |
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Alenis
Acolyte
USA
29 Posts |
Posted - 31 Jul 2013 : 15:49:53
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| Well, Ayrik, all I can say is that I'm rooting for you. Between this & BG-E, things look somewhat dire, but I'm sure everything will work out. Cheers! |
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Ayrik
Great Reader
Canada
7966 Posts |
Posted - 08 Aug 2013 : 05:42:31
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| We‘re thinking that interest might be reignited when decent Infinity Engine ports become available for mobile devices. Larger audience, more fans, more modders and coders. |
[/Ayrik] |
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Ayrik
Great Reader
Canada
7966 Posts |
Posted - 04 Oct 2013 : 23:46:58
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Update: Good news!
One of our code leads has returned (the other has now formally retired from this project) and, after a bit of shuffling around plus a couple of new faces, we‘re resuming pretty much where we left off.
Targeted release date is mid-January(ish), 2014. Okay, maybe February(ish). Although we now have a lot of new ideas for extra content and story arcs and exotic planar locales (and much talk about an Android mobile version, which quite honestly doesn‘t seem like it will really happen), our consensus is that priority will be placed on finishing the project on target, before working in any more extra extras as add-on projects (if any) at some future date. We‘re eager to ship it online before any other delays and setbacks can occur.
I can‘t wait to show my new Gith race to the world, welcome to Acheron and the Lower Planes, mwoohahahaaa! Don‘t listen to that crazed arcanaloth, Chamada kinda sucks and our tour isn‘t all about kickbacks. Or assassinations. Well, not as much anyhow.
And for the record, 4E-style tieflings will be featured somewhat prominently - as a tribute to EME‘s most excellent contributions - but 2E-style tieflings (Annah!) will of course be the main feature of this Planescape game. We are aiming for the best possibilities offered by AD&D‘s nearly-infinite worlds, not for the worst.
Small spoiler: be very, very careful when negotiating with a spinagon named Gygax. Ye have been warned. |
[/Ayrik] |
Edited by - Ayrik on 05 Oct 2013 00:55:47 |
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Ayrik
Great Reader
Canada
7966 Posts |
Posted - 18 Oct 2013 : 23:14:21
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In response to a PM I received:
Sorry, I‘m unable to provide any screenshots at this time, the team consensus is that (aside from this scroll at Candlekeep, primarily intended to generate feedback and suggestions) we won‘t submit teasers and game content prior to our first online release. My peers tolerate my judgement in this scroll but have not unanimously agreed that I can accelerate our schedule, and I wish to respect their efforts.
I don‘t want to ruin the story, and as usual the player might choose to not visit/complete every location and story arc he is presented (there will be alternate endings and plotlines, and it won‘t be possible to visit them all in any single game; we‘re aiming for some replayability) , but we‘ve expanded Sigil and a few areas considerably and deliberately focussed on all the Lower Planes (some in a bit more depth than others). Currently, we have 8 new major areas and about 30 new minor/adjunct areas, plus about 900MB of new image/video/audio data and about 600,000 words of dialogue. And six new party NPCs, a growing library of items, spells, special class abilities, and even psionics. Not to mention countless new (and old) NPCs, monsters, and quests. And dynamic complexities between Factions, alas not (yet?) the complete set but still a much wider array than were enabled in the initial game. And more challenging combat mechanics, plus some calendar-based events which sometimes force the player to move quickly or make tough decisions. But a lot of work still needs to be done, and we might start polling for beta-testers in January, we‘re aiming for “professional“ quality and are well aware that a broken/buggy/ugly first impression could cripple popular opinion (and reviews!) of this addon.
Sorry, we haven‘t seriously planned on a Polish translation (indeed no non-English translations at all). We have included subtitle text and internal documentation to allow for easier translation efforts by anyone who might volunteer in the future. We‘ve also attempted to contact Quinn (whose FixPack cleanups/translations are very good) but to my knowledge we have not yet received any response. |
[/Ayrik] |
Edited by - Ayrik on 19 Oct 2013 00:49:46 |
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Light
Learned Scribe
Australia
231 Posts |
Posted - 09 Dec 2013 : 14:47:49
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| Great news! I'd love to be a tester but sadly I will be unable to. All the best though. Looking forward to being able to play this one day. |
"A true warrior needs no sword" - Thors (Vinland Saga) |
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hashimashadoo
Master of Realmslore
United Kingdom
1150 Posts |
Posted - 09 Dec 2013 : 14:56:47
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| Looking at Google, you seem to have generated a lot more interest in Poland than you have in the americas. |
When life turns it's back on you...sneak attack for extra damage.
Head admin of the FR wiki:
https://forgottenrealms.fandom.com/ |
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Ayrik
Great Reader
Canada
7966 Posts |
Posted - 10 Dec 2013 : 00:38:41
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An excellent version of PS:T was released in Polish by CD Projekt more recently than the mainstream English releases. I suspect that Polish speakers have fewer game title choices than are available on the English-dominated software market, so a greater proportion than normal were attracted to this title, and the amazing depth of this game tends to hook people for life. The GoG/Steamware releases really appealed to existing Bioware fans more than it attracted new ones.
I‘ve been out of the loop for a bit (my work on the project is “done“), but the last round of emails suggests that things are still moving forward in a somewhat timely manner. |
[/Ayrik] |
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hashimashadoo
Master of Realmslore
United Kingdom
1150 Posts |
Posted - 10 Dec 2013 : 14:25:40
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| I've wanted to play PS:T for so many years it's not funny but I need to buy it in a high street shop, not online or off a website and that challenge seems impossible. |
When life turns it's back on you...sneak attack for extra damage.
Head admin of the FR wiki:
https://forgottenrealms.fandom.com/ |
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idilippy
Senior Scribe
USA
417 Posts |
Posted - 10 Dec 2013 : 23:00:32
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If you can put aside using a website, the DRM free version on GOG.com works awesome. I had the game on cd long ago but misplaced one of the two cds, so getting the GOG.com version was worth it to me since other than ebay I haven't been able to find it anywhere since.
Edit: and it's 4.99 right now, 50% off. |
Edited by - idilippy on 12 Dec 2013 15:30:54 |
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Boryna
Acolyte
1 Posts |
Posted - 05 Jan 2014 : 12:03:44
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Hi Ayrik,
are there any new news about Planescape Damnation? I can not wait until I finally had a chance to play in it this extension. I check this topic every day. I hope I get a reply to my inquiry.
Regards. |
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Planescape: Damnation
