Announcement

[Joy]

Updates:

• 3-28-09 - Added Battle shots and link to script request
• 9-20-2010 - Added new screenshots, new animations, videos and support bars
• 9-24-2010 - Added two tracks from the Order of the Marten soundtrack by the very talented Holk.

My Blurb before we get started:
So, I'm one of those idea people who's had several promising games in development, and a whopping zero completed projects. Where's the guarantee this isn't just another something that I'll abandon down the road? There aint one.

That being said, this project is more "right" than any other I've started. I've been working on it some time now and keeping it off the net so I could focus on getting the foundation right. I've done enough work on this piece that I'm confident that I won't be ditching it. Everything I have planned is feasible, all of the resources are taken care of (at least enough to get it released, I'm sure better could be found/made) and the story is solid. So, either blow it off as another idea that will never get released, or hang around and let's see if it makes it.


What it's Not:

Spoiler:

This game does not include any of the following:

• Teenager heros
• Magic (aside from the fringe superstition of witches and cultists)
• Asia-free, the farthest east I go is the ottoman empire
• No saving the whole world
• No gods, demons, fairies, elementals or santa claus

If you think you could dig a game set in a more realistic world, with real flaws, real danger and mature characters trying to achieve more real (yet not easy) goals, stick around. If you dig big eyed magical elves from the land of suteki going against the dark god Beazleburp, well, stick around anyways, maybe you'll like this too.

Story

Spoiler:

This story is told from the view of a lowborn guards-woman. Her name is unimportant, as she has become a traitor to the king by abandoning her lawful duty, thieving from the king's own coffers, and refusing taxes. This peasant is thus sentenced to death.



Her story has now ended, but her executioner came with a bargain. Serve him, and in doing so serve their king in a covert squad. You would think it a simple decision, die, or serve your king, however, this woman holds a great deal of animosity for her king, who has done nothing to protect border towns from the growing threat of the wildmen, rampaging sub-humans who have been terrorizing and raiding the out territories. With reluctance the woman does accept the bargain, and her life ends at the hand of the executioner. Her name has been lost to the world, along with her story.

Audrey, as the new recruit into this squad calls herself, has been enlisted as a bodyguard for it's leader, an enigmatic man known as Simon. She has learned that all members of this squad are former criminals, executed for crimes as petty as document forgery and as vile as rape and murder. After brief re-training, she and Simon set out to investigate the disappearance of one of the squad's informants, and discover a conspiracy unraveling, one which could endanger king and country, and the squad is the only chance this country has to prevent an international fiasco.

Loyalties will be tested, lies will be exposed and our heroine will learn that nothing is ever as it seems in the world of politics. Will she be able to cope with what this quest makes her do? Follow her tale and find out.

Characters

Spoiler:

Audrey
Specialty: Martial Prowess
Enlisted to defend a kingdom she has no faith in, Audrey is at constant odds with herself. She is very sensitive to the suffering of the common people, and it pains her to perform her duty to the king when so many others suffer. Her faith lies in god however, and she believes that god has a purpose for her that she can only fulfill if she remains alive.
She is a master of heavy arms, years spent tending the fields of her homeland have gifted her with a strength unlike most women. In battle her raw strength and martial prowess allow her to defend her comrades and strike powerful blows to even armored foes.


Simon
Specialty: Finesse and Espionage
Like many of the squad he leads, his past is lost to history. No one knows where he came from or what his crime was, and they don't particularly care. He is a dangerously intelligent man who holds sway over every member of his company. Many respect him for his tactical prowess and unfaltering calm, others fear him for the dark shadows he holds over their very lives. Simon holds agents in every corner of the kingdom it seems, and even traitors to foreign lords beyond the kingdom's borders.
His skill with light arms is unparalleled, and his fighting style hints that he may have been an assassin in his former life. His tactical maneuvers have also won many a battle.


Isabel
Specialty: Explosier
Isabel often comes across as a very cold individual, and she my very well be, if she has any emotion at all. She is difficult to read due to a perpetually calm exterior. It has been discovered by some of the squad that she was charged with the death of her husband, amongst others. He, a skilled chemist, and his colleagues were burned alive in his workshop, for which Isabel was blamed. She is likely the member most loyal to Simon's cause.
She is skilled in the creation and use of explosives and other chemical creations. She also is skilled in the use of pistols and rifles.


Jerome
Specialty: Apothecary
Jerome is a man of dark humor. He is certainly a social butterfly, but his life it seems has twisted his mind into a dark thing. It seems he is content enough to be alive, but holds some old animosity towards the capital. He is quite open that in his former life he was a drug dealer, profiting from the addictions of his clientele.
While he is a large and dangerous man in a fight, his great value in battle is the application of medicines. Jerome has the ability to use compounds to their maximum effect, whether they be helpful or harmful. To have any other person utilize salves would simply waste half the supply.

Screenshots:

New Sceenshots: 09/20/2010
i've decided to switch the main style of the game and go for a much less griddy style. More work for me, but more benefits for the player.

Spoiler:

The exterior of the Greybriar Inn


Upstairs interior of the Greybriar Inn


The Greybrar Crossroads, entrance to the Grey Weald

Spoiler:

Passing through a bit of uninviting woodland towards the scout's home.


A much more inviting hamlet nearby the woods, but even bright towns have problems.


Seeking the blacksmith.


A recently abandoned mining outfit, why will the king not send guard here to retake it from the wildmen?


Just on the other side of the mine, infiltrating the wildmen settlement.

Since I've been asked for them, here's some battle shots, nothing too fancy really, their charm is in the mechanics, not the look.





And now some crafting images:

Times are tough, and tradesmen can't keep many finished goods in stock, so you'll have to find different types of craftsmen and provide them with raw materials to have access to a greater variety of armors, weapons and items.


Isabel can craft her own goods from raw materials and chemicals, producing explosive results.


The travel system, courtesy of ModernAlgebra's Baldur's Gate system. To travel to different areas, access a signpost. Unless you fork over the money to be ferried, expect to be attacked by wildmen, bandits or beasts along the way.

New: 09/20/2010
Bonus! Some characters animations from the game. I've committed myself to having as many unique animations and poses as possible

Spoiler:

Music:
New: 09/24/2010

Spoiler:

Two tracks from OotM's official composer, Holk.
Please do not use these tracks without permission from myself of Holk.

What's Mine Is Mine:

http://dl.getdropbox.com/u/1050151/What%27...20Is%20Mine.mp3


Borderlands:

http://dl.getdropbox.com/u/1050151/Borderlands.mp3

Videos:
New: 09/20/2010

Spoiler:

Features:

Spoiler:

• As there is no magic, a character's skills are governed by their prowess, and utilizing them requires Fatigue
• Equipments require certain levels of strength or prowess to be used
• ranged weapons and some special weapons require ammunition or reagents to use, best keep an eye on your supplies
• No world map, travel is done through signposts, with varying levels of danger to travel from point A to B. Hiring a coach can reduce the danger.
• Each character brings a completely different set of skills to the party you'll have to use them well if you're to survive
• Very few RTP graphics!
• A complex politically fueled story with mature characters
• Explosier crafting system, make everything from smoke powder to grenades to special bullets.
• And more to come...

Demo Progress:

Spoiler:

Database: mostly done, just need to add descriptions, item prices and test parameters.
Story: Done
Eventing: Much to do still
Mapping: six or seven maps to go
Scripting: just need to populate crafting recipe lists
Graphics: Maybe a few more icon edits, adjusting tone on NPC facesets

Things needed:

Spoiler:

None! ...as of yet...

Support Bars
New: 09/20/2010

Spoiler:

By Grafikal

The Team:

Spoiler:

Joy: Story, Art, Programming, Evnting, Sriting, Mapping, Pulling hair out
Holk: Music
Grafikal: Spriting

That should be about it, let me know what you think and check back as I add more. I hope to have a demo coming very soon.

This post has been edited by Joy: Sep 25 2010, 01:01 AM

[echorev]

The maps are very good and look carefully done. They are very appealing. What is that dark green moss cover in the forest? Where did you find that tile?

Keep up the good work! Can't wait for a demo.

[Halik]

I like the idea of no magic. I had that in my head for one of my games but I gave up on it. So it's good to see that someone is bound to make it happen!
You have nice mapping there and good ideas. Would like to see some battle action in the ss if that ain't asking for too much!

The story looks quite modern.
Looks like some kind of SWAT Unit compose of criminals is hitting the Medieval ages. But I like it!

Definitively worth checking!

Did you sprite your characters?

This post has been edited by Halik: Mar 25 2009, 06:12 PM

[Joy]

The maps are very good and look carefully done. They are very appealing. What is that dark green moss cover in the forest? Where did you find that tile?

Keep up the good work! Can't wait for a demo.

Ah, just using Hev's Fogs, it's the old RMXP tree cover fog.

[Joy]

I like the idea of no magic. I had that in my head for one of my games but I gave up on it. So it's good to see that someone is bound to make it happen!
You have nice mapping there and good ideas. Would like to see some battle action in the ss if that ain't asking for too much!

The story looks quite modern.
Looks like some kind of SWAT Unit compose of criminals is hitting the Medieval ages. But I like it!

Definitively worth checking!

Did you sprite your characters?

Ah, somehow I totally missed your post.

I did not, just used the looseleaf generator. Also the facesets are just heavily heavily edited frankenfaces from VX's RTP bonus.

And I'm going to be adding some battle shots very soon, just needed to get a few scripts working right, not that it'll be all that exciting. I am using the DBS, just spicing it up by altering the way skills work.

[Joy]

Sorry for double post, named the project and did the titlescreen. Was hoping for feedback on both of them.

[Super Stick Lyon...]

Sorry for double post, named the project and did the titlescreen. Was hoping for feedback on both of them.

I actually really like the title screen

great job!

[MrWaltz]

this looks really interesting, I am definitely looking forward to the demo.

[Joy]

Small update, updated the battle screens with the new font and color sets. Added Crafting system screens and some progress info.

[blueperiod]

Game looks absolutely amazing. I love the fact that you have a female main character. The feel of the screenshots is really cool too. Look forward to a demo.

[Joy]

So, added a quick shot of the travel system menu. Also updated all the screenshots with the new tileset tone. The super bright greens and such were clashing with the mood of the game.

Was hoping to get some opinions on this mock-up of the intro scene. The text will fade in from left to right and down the paragraph as someone writes this bit of history.


Like? No? Suggestions?

[Guest_zeroplumber_*]

I like the mock-up but I think you may want to think about the heavy lining of the font you chose. Old looking cursive text is nice, but sometimes it can be VERY hard to read.

[Ketski]

Yeah, everything looks fantastic! From the mapping to the concept to the original artwork (that you posted on a different thread). My only concern is the legibility of the scripted font. I found myself having a hard time reading it.

[scherzo]

Really interesting project you've got here. The unordinariness of it all looks pretty neat, no, outstanding, the polish in the screenshots is impressive, as well. I particularly like the travel system and part of that crafting system that looks like an alchemy system, which would be fitting. I'm not sure about the story (I'd like to see the kingdom and countries fleshed out more), but I will say I hope the characters' pasts/backstories are interesting all the way and everything develops at a fine pace.

Also, it reads like everyone was "executed", as in, not REALLY executed - which is what I thought at first. And, I'm just assuming the squad is the titular "Order"? It's not directly stated.

In any case I'm eagerly awaiting a demo

[nicoduches]

The big face editing is a feat in itself. I'd like to know what program you used to take the hair of one character, put it on the face of another, then on the body of a third one, changing the color, etc. And how did you proceed ?
Thank you for your answers. I'd like to edit my own characters myself.

[Rixis]

The big face editing is a feat in itself. I'd like to know what program you used to take the hair of one character, put it on the face of another, then on the body of a third one, changing the color, etc. And how did you proceed ?
Thank you for your answers. I'd like to edit my own characters myself.

Please do not necro post, look at dates of topics before replying in them xP

OP anytime you want this reopened if you return, please just PM me.

EDIT: Re-opend at OP's request

[Joy]

Post has been reopened, and I've got some updates!

New:
Videos
Screenshots
Animations
Support Bars

[scherzo]

Ooh, dug out of a shallow grave..!

This still looks just as promising. The character animations are very well done. Particularly, I like the one of Isabel polishing her gun; those animations are nice insights to personalities without having to TELL everything, not to mention the unique flavoring.

Though, someone new seems to be credited for your music. In a later update, it'd be interesting to see what you are planning soundtrack-wise.

[SamGreen]

I remember seeing this getting closed and locked myself in my room crying for a while, and now it's been reopened!

I HAVE to keep an eye on this one.

[Super Stick Lyon...]

I'll also be keeping a close eye on this.

I love the work you've put into it so far