KoD Preview: Backgrounds
As we've mentioned, we're splitting our time between the meat of the game and the various elements that support the main content. Today we're going to talk about a necessary component of any game: backgrounds.
Though they're not the focus (by definition!), backgrounds are still a key part of the game's experience. Most of you have probably played a game where the backgrounds are cheap 3D, or don't fit the game, or don't change enough to match the plot. That's a distraction we didn't want for KoD, so we've gone with custom backgrounds.
We didn't want to spend an enormous amount of time on this, however, which is why most of the orc camp locations use variants on the main camp. You've seen these in some previous screenshots - this is our solution for a system that looks good without being too work-intensive.
Sometimes, though, you definitely need a custom background. For this first release, a lot of the events take place in forests. You can see the forest Nomo drew above - this and variants will serve as our forest background for the entire game, so it's another part of the foundation we're laying.
Another advantage of doing our own backgrounds is that when we need a unique background for a special part of the story, we can just create it:
http://i.imgur.com/Q7R8CjQ.jpg
Back soon with another update!
Comments (27)
How big are Were's going to be in the game, as well as what kind? Because the default were is usually the werewolf and to be honest that's so overdone that it isn't funny, seeing some unique or different were's would probably add to the feeling of the game's being set in a world of it's own.
We don't have any plans to include werewolves in the game.
Been a while since the last update, everything going smoothly guys?
Mostly just focusing on the release, but we actually have two more updates mostly prepped and ready to post!
I apologize for straying away from the post subject, but can you give any insight to the Minotaur aspect of the game? The Minotaur Update for NN was by far my favorite although I feel more could have been done with it. I do understand it was kind of a late addition add that to time constraints and all. But can we get any insight to the Minotaur faction? What is their culture? What are their physical attributes? What is the player interaction with them? Will the be in the first release? I understand you probably can't directly answer all of these questions; however, I hope we can get some sort of insight.
No need to apologize, we're happy to see your interest in the game's lore! If you wanted more to be done with the minotaurs in NN, then you'll probably be happy with our long term plans for KoD. The minotaurs are one of the game's major factions and will have a lot of attention given to them. Unfortunately, that won't occur immediately. The game starts far from minotaur territory and they'll only be mentioned in the first release. Going into too much detail on their culture would be spoilers, but I can say a little. Minotaurs are the most physically powerful race in Lundar and kept more of their culture during the war. Humans recognize minotaur strength enough to want to enslave them (as opposed to orcs, which are considered vermin). Sabia's career during the war was actually against minotaurs, so she has mixed respect and hatred for them.
Any chance of internal shots, like an X-ray vision for swallowing/creampies?
Pls no. Or at least make it optional.
Hi Hreinn, quick question what's the music situation going to be like in KoD? In Noxian nights there was only three pieces of music (i think) for the entire game. Naturally a small selection of music can become grating to listen to after extended periods of gameplay. What are your plans on this subject?
We've collected a small library of music for potential use in KoD, but haven't made too many decisions about how it will be used. The first version currently has four tracks, and we intend to add a new one at minimum for every major new area. Since KoD will have a broader focus, it should definitely have a larger number of tracks, but we can't say how many.
New Paetron..... Looking good
hi Hreinn, just a quick question, is there any game releases for KoD? im waiting for a release before i become a patreon, thanks :)
Not yet. We don't intend to release an alpha - the first version will be a fully playable beta with saves transferable to future versions of the game. Though we're getting closer to the end, at this stage we can't predict exactly how long it will take, so we haven't set a release date. Sorry about that, but we try to stick to promises we can definitely keep.
Backgrounds ARE Important Quick question: How will movement be in this game? I mean will we have the traditional RPG-maker like moving as a character across maps, or will we move on a world map (a la old Final Fantasy) or is this going into a visual-novel style where you actually just choose 5 or 6 locations on an interactive map to "trigger" events?
From the previews we've seen its visual-novel style. It uses Ren'Py which is a engine used mainly for visual novels. <a href="https://www.patreon.com/posts/kod-preview-her-7693830">https://www.patreon.com/posts/kod-preview-her-7693830</a> See this update for more info.
awesome background
Glad to see that you will not effort in the background too ! Does this "soon" implies an update earlier that the weekly one ?
Just our way of saying we'll keep you updated without giving an exact date. In the past when we've said a week, we've had people clamoring for the next update 6.5 days later.
Good work as always with the weekly update, but teasing too much might turn excitement into frustration (If you saw the last Godzilla, you know what i mean).Just wanted to warn you guys about this, still love your work, don't throw rocks at me. T_T
No worries, we appreciate the feedback! We tend to hear from the people who want as many updates as quickly as possible, so it's good to know we have supporters like you as well.
I feel that even if Sabia was betrayed and lost some of her political influence, perhaps she was ambushed in some sort of trip by the orcs since they thought they coulld use her influence to help their society in some way? (Maybe related to the 3 "faction" leaders you showed of earlier). Therefore she didn't get to the orc camp by coincidence and we'll see some of that in the first release?
The first release will set the stage for everything else, so you'll definitely get a lot of answers along these lines.
Nomo is so good at drawing long, hard, and thick...trees?
Looks good. Not that I expected less from Nomo. One who draws such perfect men and women cannot be stumped by a few trees. Ooo, mysterious shadowy figures in the woods. Perhaps when Sabia gets captured. Or maybe this is a different situation. Either way I hope it ends with copious amounts of sex. Kiki.
Great idea. Love it!
Um, it looks like the preview was cut off early.
Are you viewing this from the patreon app? If so, yeah it's cut off there. But if you view it from your regular browser, it is normal. Why? I have no idea