• Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.

Ultima Underworld series being revived as Underworld Ascension by Paul Neurath

Status
Not open for further replies.
A

Arulan

Member
I haven't seen this interview posted yet, and it's discussing gameplay:

http://www.gamewatcher.com/interviews/underworld-ascension-interview/12122

GameWatcher: How closely do you intend to stick to the gameplay of the original? Do you want this to be a straight up revival of the formula, or will you be updating things for a modern audience?

Paul Neurath: Well, bit of both actually, which is tricky. Our take is that there was a lot of good stuff in the originals. Partly by luck, partly by some of the talent that worked on them, they ended up being pretty special games that have really stood the test of time. Lead game designers still talk about the original Underworld as a very modern game in terms of some of the ideas. The graphics are dated, but with Ascendant we’ll be able to upgrade those with all the technology afforded by modern PCs. That’s actually the easy part. The original came out in 1992, and was one of the first games to use a mouse interface in an immersive 3D game. We hadn’t figured out the scheme really, our system worked but it was a little clunky. Since then we’ve had waves of FPS games, all of which have mastered the first-person interface with mouse and keyboard. So that will be changed and updated, the visuals improved, but a lot of the core gameplay still holds up.

When I play recent games, triple A games, there’s a tendency to make them as accessible as possible. You kind of have to when you’re spending millions of pounds on the project. But that also constrains you in a lot of ways, because you can’t always be so innovative and experiential with the gameplay. One of the things about Underworld was that we had a very player-authored experience, very sandbox kind of gameplay. You were dropped in this dark, dangerous place, and there was a lot of mystery, you didn’t really know where to go. We didn’t show players a quest arrow, they had to find out themselves. We gave the player a lot of choice, and it was up to them how they wanted to play. There were no right or wrong choices. The idea that two players experiencing the same game can see and do things completely differently, we love that stuff. But it is a little more difficult to develop, and more challenging for players without the hand-holding. To answer your question the new game will feel very familiar to fans of the originals, but we’re also going to push forward and try some things we never had the opportunity to do before.
Click to expand...

It looks like they're saying all the right things. Looking forward to the 4th.
 
L

Lord_Balkan

Member
J

jimboton

Member
Ultima Underworld and Arx Fatalis are among my favourite games of their period, but I'm gonna need a stronger assurance that they're going for exactly that before I back. Freedom and sandbox and player expression are all well and good but I want to know that there will also be challenging situations, puzzles and enemies waiting for me in the dark, like Underworld and Arx had. I want a real adventure not a dungeon theme park where I can do what I want no matter how dumb and always win. I read the interview and I still don't know which kind of experience they're going for or if they even know the difference.

Still scarred by Deus Ex: HR, Dishonored and Bioshock Infinite '1999 mode' I guess :D
 
Moff

Moff

Member
depending on the rewards I might pledge quite a sum, can't wait for the media we'll see tomoroow
 
G

gooface

Banned
This game was my childhood, how could I not back this project? My parents were all anti-doom but let me play this all I wanted to.
 
R

Renekton

Member
Maybe I sucked, but Underworld 2 was badly tuned.

If they said the first Ultima Underworld, then I'd be far far more interested.

edit: derp they got the UU1 guys as well, nvm!
 
M

mclem

Member
Renekton said:
Maybe I sucked, but Underworld 2 was badly tuned.

If they said the first Ultima Underworld, then I'd be far far more interested.
Click to expand...

I didn't find it that bad. Only think I'd flag up is that there's one early sidequest with a Reaper in a small side-lair in the castle basement, and I think that pretty much needs you to ignore it for a bit until you're a bit stronger.

Other than that, though, I don't recall feeling terribly underpowered.
 
H

Hex

Banned
MQQef.gif


Give this to meeeee
 
A

Arulan

Member
Soon now... Prepare your wallets.

I'm hoping they show enough of the game to demonstrate they haven't gone too far in the modern direction. If I see any sign of quest markers... >_<
 
M

mclem

Member
Arulan said:
Soon now... Prepare your wallets.

I'm hoping they show enough of the game to demonstrate they haven't gone too far in the modern direction. If I see any sign of quest markers... >_<
Click to expand...

Well, the original games did occasionally have map elements filled in for you from talking to people. Which isn't quite what you mean, but is similar in principle.

I'm not sure 'quest markers' really work in a dungeon, anyway. In an open world, it shows you the direction as the crow flies to a place, and it's not *too* hard - generally - to navigate around any obstacles that stop you travelling there. In a dungeon, though, the direct route might not be the correct route.
 
A

Arulan

Member
mclem said:
Well, the original games did occasionally have map elements filled in for you from talking to people. Which isn't quite what you mean, but is similar in principle.

I'm not sure 'quest markers' really work in a dungeon, anyway. In an open world, it shows you the direction as the crow flies to a place, and it's not *too* hard - generally - to navigate around any obstacles that stop you travelling there. In a dungeon, though, the direct route might not be the correct route.
Click to expand...

Yeah, but that is different. As long as you have to figure out what to do on your own without the game explicitly telling you that's ok. It's similar to how in Morrowind you could get directions to locations by talking to NPCs. It's that the game encourages you to rationally explore options, the environments, and NPCs in order to get the information to complete your quest that allows it to flourish. Quest markers skip over all of that.

And I wouldn't put it past developers to include quest markers, even in the most linear of experiences. I don't believe they will do it, but if this was a AAA project from any major publisher I could assure you quest markers would almost certainly be part of it. The next terrible AAA trend is the loot-pinging. Who needs to explore and scavenge environments when the game can do it for you! >_<
 
D

d1rtn4p

Member
In big (for me) for $150. Definitely want that collector's edition to go along with my boxed copies of Underworld 1/2.
 
M

mclem

Member
5000 early bird special slots? I'd be surprised if they filled that very quickly.

d1rtn4p said:
In big (for me) for $150. Definitely want that collector's edition to go along with my boxed copies of Underworld 1/2.
Click to expand...

Likewise for now, but I'll reappraise it when I have a bit more time to be considered about it.
 
S

Sinatar

Official GAF Bottom Feeder
Co-op stretch goal at 1.2 million? Let's do this.

EDIT: It even includes a Dragon's Dogma-esque pawn system:

Need a fighter's prowess in combat, a mage&#8217;s spell craft, or a thief's lock pick skills? Invite a friend to join you online for a cut of the loot. All your buddies&#8217; offline? Use a Doppelganger Gem to borrow a friend's character as an invulnerable ethereal companion AI. Afterward, your friend will receive a message, with video highlights and rewards.
Click to expand...

Must happen. MUST.
 
J

jb1234

Member
Definitely going to back this. UU2 is one of my very favorite games.

Reading the summary is a little disappointing because I preferred 2's multiple worlds but it'll be interesting to visit the Stygian Abyss with updated graphics, for sure. This shouldn't have any difficulty meeting its goal (and then some).
 
M

mclem

Member
Having looked further:

Not overjoyed about the KS-specific items, but I do like that they seem to largely be interesting tools rather than the usual possibly-overpowered weaponry and armour.

Interesting that they seem to be referring directly to the underworld being the Stygian Abyss; Ultima-universe without the Ultima-branding? I thought - as some others did - it might work out as a Shroud of the Avatar-universe project instead, but calling the dungeon explicitly that says otherwise.

The Ripper is a Reaper, right?

Oh, just read further. So it *is* Shroud-related? Yet set in the Great Stygian Abyss? This is sort-of sounding like an Ultima-based Planescape environment, which was sort of hinted at in Ultima itself, I guess (Ethereal Void? Shrine of Spirituality?)

Worried it's promising a bit too much for the budget - there's lots of emergent systems they're describing. Creation tools? Awesome in principle, but that's another workload.

I'm keeping my pledge as-is for now, but I wouldn't mind some reassurance on those fronts.
 
G

garath

Member
Done. Backed. The first game I've actually kickstarted through kickstarter.

I've backed a few games outside of kickstarter (Star Citizen, Divinity: OS) but this is the first actual Kickstarter I've wanted to give my money to.

Now the wait :(
 
S

-SD-

Banned
So, it's official. Ascendant is the first project that I have ever backed anywhere.

These guys did such amazing and revolutionary deeds with Ultima Underworld and later with Looking Glass.

Durante said:
Is someone making a KS thread? Otherwise I'll make one.
Click to expand...
Please, make one.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Similar threads

The State of Xbox Game Studios and Bethesda Softworks: A breakdown of all the Confirmed Projects, Leaks, and Rumors
Opinion News Rumor 2
84
10K
Ozriel replied
Ownership of System Shock 3’s website has been transferred to Tencent
37
3K
JareBear: Remastered replied
System Shock 3 Has A Clear Vision: Playstyle Matters.
4
831
SirKicksalot replied
505 Games to publish OtherSide's Underworld Ascendant
0
905
ashecitism replied
Warren Spector joins Otherside Entertainment (Underworld, System Shock 3)
2 3 4
166
19K
ashecitism replied
Top Bottom