These questions can be answered by anyone who knows, but it likely won't be me.
Anyway, I have one.
Is it supposed to be multiplayer or is it story based? Can't find this info.
Hi Ashleg,
You'll see me make some distinctions here and in other places but here's the very first time I've said this anywhere out loud: there will be more than one Redwall game. :)
SO...answers login forward will be about the FIRST game, or episode, what we're calling The Scout.
The Scout is single player and story based.
It tells the tale of how a young mouse who is forced to flee to Redwall Abbey when the village of Lilygrove (which was seen in The Corsair's Last Treasure) is attacked by Sea Rats.
Also note that while we'll likely be a little coy in some of our answers today, we're working on a significant announcement video that we'll release soon and that'll answer additional questions.
Given the rich world and lore of the redwall series, how have you gone about crafting the world of the video game(s) to align with the source material?
Hello, cryptopur :)
I would be very interested in knowing what kind of modelling tools you are all using for designing the characters and locations in the game, as they look amazing.
Quote from: Matthias720 on April 18, 2017, 06:03:06 PM
Given the rich world and lore of the redwall series, how have you gone about crafting the world of the video game(s) to align with the source material?
That's a great question, and a big one. We've delved into a lot of the various considerations on the video art discussions we've had, especially over the last year so I'd encourage you to look at our YouTube channel to se some of that and of course we'll be posting more of those.
But I'll tell you that there is a LOT to consider and because there are...um...inconsistencies from book-to-book sometimes there is no "right answer". A great example is the animals' size. The official answers on the Redwall FAQ is that they're as big as you imagine them to be. Which can work in the timey-wimey-wibbly-wobbly world of a book where your mind's eye is very forgiving on the details, but in a visualization that's just not helpful. SO we've spent a lot of time trying o think through the implications of various decisions and the fans have been of immense value in this regard. We really try to air these questions to the public as much as possible to get feedback because we're searching for that experience where somebody sees a piece of art, or opens the game and they say "Ah! That's EXACTLY what I had in my mind!"
Quote from: TheTaleOfSierra on April 18, 2017, 06:10:49 PM
Hello, cryptopur :)
I would be very interested in knowing what kind of modelling tools you are all using for designing the characters and locations in the game, as they look amazing.
Hi there - so there are a lot of pieces to that but I'll give it a shot.
For character modeling we've bene using 3D Coat a lot which we really like. And those get animated primarily in Maya.
We're using a PBR pipeline for materials and textures (not sure I'm saying that right) which we think has a lot of untapped opportunity to be used in stylistic settings where it's typically held up for the high-realism stuff.
SpeedTree is making...well...trees and we're using World Creator for terrain. We were very excited for Gaia as a terrain tool for a while but in the end we found we couldn't seem to quite get the control we needed for level design so we moved away from that.
Quick add here: the playlist for these is here: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLcojV30iYZWKR-gF7TFSrd59F_fej11Pe
Was it mandatory for everyone on staff to read the books before design work began?
Hi, cryptopur! :)
Do you have an estimate on how long the game will be?
Quote from: Matthias720 on April 18, 2017, 06:32:28 PM
Was it mandatory for everyone on staff to read the books before design work began?
Yes, more or less. It'd be a lot to ask that everybody read all 22 books, but between us all I think all the books have been covered and we all keep chugging away. :)
What's the funniest part of the game to work on (if there's one that stands out in terms of enjoyability)?
Quote from: Rosie Willowwater on April 18, 2017, 06:33:49 PM
Hi, cryptopur! :)
Do you have an estimate on how long the game will be?
Hi Rosie - no we really don't and honestly I'm not even sure how I'd calculate an answer because it would vary so much depending on how you played it. It's like most adventure games where a speed run could be like 5% of the completionist runs. AN taking an average between those two seems fairly meaningless. So sorry - I don't know how I could even start to answer this one.
Quote from: TheTaleOfSierra on April 18, 2017, 06:37:34 PM
What's the funniest part of the game to work on (if there's one that stands out in terms of enjoyability)?
The funniest? that's an interesting question...
I'd have to say the rat dialog. Writing lines for the bad guys can be so entertaining at times, especially as they start to turn on one another. :)
Is there a complete collection of the series collectively in the Soma Games office?
Quote from: Matthias720 on April 18, 2017, 06:53:09 PM
Is there a complete collection of the series collectively in the Soma Games office?
We do!
I'd upload a photo...but I can't see how to do that. :(
Quote from: cryptopur on April 18, 2017, 06:57:32 PM
Quote from: Matthias720 on April 18, 2017, 06:53:09 PM
Is there a complete collection of the series collectively in the Soma Games office?
We do!
I'd upload a photo...but I can't see how to do that. :(
You could upload it to an external photo hosting site and link it using img tags.
[img]image URL here[/img]
Quote from: cryptopur on April 18, 2017, 06:57:32 PM
Quote from: Matthias720 on April 18, 2017, 06:53:09 PM
Is there a complete collection of the series collectively in the Soma Games office?
We do!
I'd upload a photo...but I can't see how to do that. :(
You can paste the picture on a site like PostIMG (http://postimage.org/) and upload the link on here using the [IMG] tags :)
What kinds of unexpected challenges of come up during the development process?
Quote from: Matthias720 on April 18, 2017, 07:16:02 PM
What kinds of unexpected challenges of come up during the development process?
What? You mean besides rewriting the game design document about a dozen times? ;)
Honestly my personal challenge is something kinda nerdy but I've had a bear of a time building a sense of geography and ecology that meets the descriptions in the book and still makes sense in the real world where water flows downhill. :)
We've had to make an elevation map of the entire region to just figure out what areas are higher elevation than others and it's been a really difficult (though arguably unnecessary) problem to solve. Still - if that's my one contribution to the Redwall universe I'll feel ok. :)
This is not a question, I just wanna say that the passion and enjoyment you all show while talking about the game is truly inspiring. Here's hoping to enjoy it and recommend it very soon :)
But this is a Q&A thing and I don't want to feel like I'm robbing you of your time by not asking a question, so here it goes: what are your hopes for the game once it is out and on the stores?
Quote from: TheTaleOfSierra on April 18, 2017, 07:29:34 PM
...what are your hopes for the game once it is out and on the stores?
You know, when we first got involved I have to admit that I didn't know about Redwall. In fact nobody here really knew the property at all.
But as we got involved we all came to really love what it was all about and also the community of folks who stand behind it. I think the thing that's struck us was how passionate the fans are. we get letters from folks saying how the books shaped their lives, even SAVED their lives! So it's been a tremendous honor to get to know the world and the community.
This is going to sound cheesy but it's true: if we can capture this world accurately so that fans like y'all feel like they're able to "live there" in a new way and breathe in the air...then we'll have won.
Have you had a moment interacting with the Redwall community that has stood out more than any other?
Quote from: Matthias720 on April 18, 2017, 07:42:42 PM
Have you had a moment interacting with the Redwall community that has stood out more than any other?
I'd say the story I tell the most is a letter we got from a soldier in Afghanistan. He said that he read the books as a young man and in his words, "It made him the man he was today" then he went on to say how happy he was that we were treating the property with the respect and care it deserved.
In the end said, "...so don't F&%$! it up!"
...yeah...good times... :)
Passionate fellow.
Is it going to be for the computer or for actual game systems, like the Nintendo and PlayStation?
Quote from: Ashleg on April 18, 2017, 08:39:33 PM
Is it going to be for the computer or for actual game systems, like the Nintendo and PlayStation?
Right now we're planning for PC & Mac via Steam, plus Xbox One and PS4.
I apologize if these have been asked before, or if information is readily available from published media.
This question probably sounds crass given the clear focus of the game on storytelling and world-building, but what kind of game mechanics are involved in the first episode? (I assume given Mr. Jacques' views on such things and the target audience that we're not doing slash'em'ups.)
How good of a view do we get of the Abbey itself (past the most obvious locations; I'm thinking of places dormitories, Cellars, spare storage rooms ;) , the kitchen, all of that), and how heavily populated is it?
Quote from: James Gryphon on April 18, 2017, 09:58:56 PM
I apologize if these have been asked before, or if information is readily available from published media.
This question probably sounds crass given the clear focus of the game on storytelling and world-building, but what kind of game mechanics are involved in the first episode? (I assume given Mr. Jacques' views on such things and the target audience that we're not doing slash'em'ups.)
How good of a view do we get of the Abbey itself (past the most obvious locations; I'm thinking of places dormitories, Cellars, spare storage rooms ;) , the kitchen, all of that), and how heavily populated is it?
Hi James - that doesn't sound crass at all so thanks for asking.
One thing we have to speak to fairly often is Brian's well known comments that there would never be ANY Redwall video game. Many people suspect that once he passed away things change and nobody is respecting his wishes but that isn't the case. Mr. Jacques was fully part of the original contract deal that started this project. Basically video game technology had evolved a great degree between the mid nineties and the double-oughts and he became comfortable that a game COULD finally capture the heart of his stories. As an odd twist of fate our original partner on this deal was just a few days from flying to Liverpool to sign his deal when Mr. Jacques suddenly passed away. Needless to say, that DID throw a lot of dust in the air that had to settle out but the bottom line was that he was on-board before he passed and we've continued to work with the Jacque's family to make sure this game stays true to the spirit of Redwall.
So that said, The Scout is best understood as a stealth-adventure game. We do have to treat combat and violence as a special matter and one way to do that is to make it expensive. But this is also a practical consideration as we want to get the WORLD right before we dig right into combat so frankly we're putting off any serious combat mechanics until at least episode two.
As for Redwall Abbey...you'll just have to see. ;D
Sounds like this'll be an absolute blast!!
Is this going to be available on all operating systems? If not, there's no need to worry about that at all, I am plainly curious.
Quote from: MatthiasMan on April 18, 2017, 11:16:29 PM
Is this going to be available on all operating systems? If not, there's no need to worry about that at all, I am plainly curious.
I reckon that depends on your definition of "all"... ;)
Quote from: cryptopur on April 19, 2017, 12:06:09 AM
Quote from: MatthiasMan on April 18, 2017, 11:16:29 PM
Is this going to be available on all operating systems? If not, there's no need to worry about that at all, I am plainly curious.
I reckon that depends on your definition of "all"... ;)
Well, Mac, Windows and Linux.
In the non-main mode, will we be able to create our own characters? And if so, which species will be playable?
I just want to say, I really appreciate the time you put in working with the community to develop the world. Combat is a feature that is often very appealing to this genre, so it says something about the depth of the work that you are trying to do that spent your time developing the world rather than working on things like combat functions. It is things like that that will win the fanbase for you.
This looks so exciting! Fb seems to know I'm a Redwall fan and gave me a 'suggested page' for the game a few times on my newsfeed; it was great to see the progress being made. ;D
Will it be likely I will be able to play it on this clunky PC Windows 7 laptop of a few years old now, or even my mac, which is about 10 years old... Worried they won't be fast and up-to-date enough to work properly for the game, but don't want to miss out! :o
Woah! This is kinda cool! ;D
Yeah, it's too bad I'm only just now learning 3D character animation and missed an opportunity like this.
Hope all goes well at the launch!
While it may feel a bit clunky right now, I feel like the game is going to be AMAZING when it's finished. <3 Maybe I have a chance to get on as a voice actor...
So I just bought the game the other day and it has been going okay so far (aside from slightly confusing instructions) but I am at Tussa's Wayfinding Course and I have spent several hours trying to find the last catch. My inventory says I have the stream catch, river catch, and cave catch, and three bonus catches. I was wondering of anyone else knows where the last one is or if they have a link to a video with someone who has made it that far.
Does anybody know what happened the with feast that promised in the original kickstarter?
And Tungro, I couldn't help you out man. I know I had trouble with that part as well though, that's for sure -_-
I figured it out, but I haven't been able to play in a while
I recall it had to do something with the numbers on the map and your telescope thing.
Yeah, you were supposed to pick your direction and elevation based off the numbers or something like that, but for me one of them just wasn't working for some reason. I had to restart it and suddenly I didn't have a problem finding them all. It was weird.
Announcement: Major Game Update
Hi folks - I haven't been on this page in a while but when this thread was recently posted to it mortified me and I thought, 'Hey...maybe they should know about the update."
So last year was spent with a lot of work to make Act I better and better, bigger and bigger, in consecutive steps. It included major reworks of quests and movement, enemies and art...kind of everything.
If you've been tracking the game project this recent update is the biggest and most comprehensive we've ever one so if it's been a while - we'd love your feedback.
See: https://steamcommunity.com/app/656030 (https://steamcommunity.com/app/656030) - and that update is also live on Xbox One and PS4 for the record.
One thing I'd like to point out is that we took a lot of time evaluating all the comments and feedback we got from fans and did everything we could to accommodate as much as possible. of course we can't be all things to all people but we DO pay attention so if you give us constructive criticism, we're listening, and we've made it our mission to do the best we can to make the game as good as we can.
To that end if you LOVE the game - we're always very thankful for a review. :)
Yeah, I saw the announcement on Facebook earlier today actually. Thanks for putting in the effort to update it! I'll definitely leave a review.
That update oncludes making passive scents permanent, right?
So, this is just a quick impression; I didn't really have time to play the game much, I just booted it up and messed around in the starting area for a bit (on an Xbox One Original). Graphics and performance are definitely improved. The lighting is nice and the higher resolution looks much better on a larger screen (along with what seems like higher rez textures). Because things look nicer now, though, some other things pop out; mainly the polycount on some environmental objects. Like I said, this is just in the very first area (where you have to climb up to actually get into the scout camp) so this may not be a persistent issue, but certain parts of the rock face and some of the wooden structures seemed a bit too... jagged, maybe? Like they needed an extra couple of faces to round them off. That may just be me though ^-^
And like I said, performance is definitely better, it's clearly running at a higher frame-rate than before. There is still some noticeable choppiness and screen-tearing when rotating the camera, though.
Just from the little bit I've seen, though, this is definitely an improvement.
Thanks for the feedback!
Of course the whole project is an ongoing effort to improve it al across the board. Everything from performance to graphics, etc.
That said - may I ask an honest question
@Kade Rivok?
Please understand I'm not being defensive or anything but we ARE trying to get a sense of what people expect and why we are, or are not, meeting that expectation.
So what kind of things are you expecting in terms of playtime, size, polish, etc.?
Any kind fo feedback here would be valuable to us.
Needless to say, with 10 people here we can't be all things to all people, but it'd be good to focus on the element that mean the most to folks.
Hey, no need to fret Chris (I assume this is Chris, at least ;D).
I certainly understand where you're coming from, and I don't feel you're being defensive at all. As you said, you're just trying to get a grasp of what some of your players may expect.
So, I'll start with polish, which to me is all about the technical stuff, I.E. graphics and performance. Personally, I don't feel that too much is necessary. The art style is wonderful and strong, so shooting for 4K 60fps or something like that comes across as ridiculous to me, especially taking into account the size of your team. A solid 1080p or 720p 30fps would do fine. I say 1080 or 720 because, if you're choosing between a higher resolution and nailing down a solid framerate without any hiccups, I personally think that keeping the framerate steady is much more important. Basically, for polish, I'm personally looking for a solid 30fps with a decent resolution and decent textures. Also, the fewer C class and B class bugs, the better, but that's a truth no matter what game your playing :laugh:. (By the by, the textures overall are good for me, just that some of the rock environment textures seem a bit stretched)
I think the playtime and size are spot on, personally. Depending on how thorough you are, you can easily get two hours of gameplay just from the scout camp, not to mention the rest of the game. I think the size of the levels are good as well. Now, the pie in the sky ideal would be a massive game with huge levels, maybe even being open world! But, of course, I'm being realistic and I'm not going to put that sort of unfair expectations on you guys.
For gameplay, I think you all did a good job of working a bunch of different mechanics into the game and connecting them together so that they don't seem random and separate. Of course, I'm sure one of the big things you've heard is "Where's the combat?" and the such, and while I would personally like some good ol' action game combat as well, I don't think you would need to go too crazy in that regard to make people happy; not like you'd need to beat Platinum Games or anything ;D
On a side note, I think all the music, voice acting, and dialogue are fantastic. I couldn't hope for better.
Does that all make sense? I'm, of course, speaking as a person on the outside, giving my opinions with no idea how much work you've all put into what, so if I offend you at any point, I sincerely apologize. I really do appreciate all the effort that Soma Games has put into this.
@cryptopur Hello again! I was checking out the Xbox version since there was another big update that came through after the initial one, and the game is running fantastic, it feels a million times better! Just the difference of a smooth framerate without tearing makes the game feel so much more responsive! I'm sure you all have made a myriad of changes beyond that, but since that was one of my main sticking point that I mentioned before, I thought I'd let you know. Thank you so much!
Hey, guys: Just in case you didn't know, the game devs want to do a Q&A but obviously need questions for that to happen. If you wanna pop some in here, that'd be cool.
((Note: A mod from the game Discord asked if I'd mind posting this))
This might be selfish, but will they port it to any Linuxea?
I don't know if anyone here can help... but I'm stuck on the first act and I can't really find any help for it? At the Scout camp area, supposed to be finding the ingredients and whatever else. I am just going around in circles and think that I have most things but then get stuck, have to finish the game, then come back to it to find I have to collect things I've already got yet again. (One thing I'll probably need to get again I can't remember where I found it...) Not at least being able to save progress makes it worse. There's only so many goes I can see myself having of this before I abandon the game. >_< There are quite a few places and stages to remember for this level, so not sure how much help anyone can give at this point... but seriously, just anything which might help... anyone? Thanks!...
Well, the reason you're having to re-collect things is, I imagine, because the checkpoint/autosave is at the start of that objective, and you don't get a new checkpoint until after you've collected all the ingredients. So, if you exit the game in the middle, it starts you at the checkpoint prior to having collected any of the ingredients.
As for finding them, I imagine you're already aware of this, but you have to use your perception (smell vision XD) to track them down. Some of them are well hidden, but the search area isn't huge, so as long as you look around enough and don't exit the game in the middle of searching, you should be able find them. If you want a more complete walkthrough, look here... https://redwall.fandom.com/wiki/The_Lost_Legends_of_Redwall:_The_Scout:_Walkthrough (https://redwall.fandom.com/wiki/The_Lost_Legends_of_Redwall:_The_Scout:_Walkthrough)
If you want to stream it on Discord sometime, I (or anybody really) could watch and help you out as you play. ^-^
Thanks for the reply, Kade! :)
Eventually I completed it the other day! It seems that I was basically there with it all, so something was amiss with me constantly retracing my steps, until I went back to the barrel of onions on the rope course and suddenly I had the message of achievement - phew! That Wiki walkthrough doesn't seem particularly helpful from what I've seen... but I did come across a Youtube one for when I (definitely will) get stuck again!
*Already failing two minutes into the next level. XD*
Quote from: MeadowR on January 07, 2022, 12:49:28 PM
Thanks for the reply, Kade! :)
Eventually I completed it the other day! It seems that I was basically there with it all, so something was amiss with me constantly retracing my steps, until I went back to the barrel of onions on the rope course and suddenly I had the message of achievement - phew! That Wiki walkthrough doesn't seem particularly helpful from what I've seen... but I did come across a Youtube one for when I (definitely will) get stuck again!
*Already failing two minutes into the next level. XD*
The Wiki clearly states at the top that the Act I walkthrough may not be up-to-date as the game was overhauled. However, this level was accurately covered. What wasn't helpful?
I did see the message at the top! The what to do was just a bit too brief in places. Wanted a bit more information for how to do certain things which it didn't seem to explain so much. But never mind, for I completed the game about a week ago. Was quite a good distraction from some real life rubbish that happened.
Will move on to the second soon. :)
Quote from: MeadowR on January 19, 2022, 06:18:20 PM
I did see the message at the top! The what to do was just a bit too brief in places. Wanted a bit more information for how to do certain things which it didn't seem to explain so much. But never mind, for I completed the game about a week ago. Was quite a good distraction from some real life rubbish that happened.
Will move on to the second soon. :)
I think that's more on the mechanics of the game itself, e.g. using the scent function, etc. I thought saying which keys to press to do that at which time would be a bit overboard.
I've never played the game and have no clue what you're talking about but my advice is click literally everywhere.
What is the current updates concerning the Redwall games?
Quote from: Sebias of Redwall on January 21, 2022, 01:28:33 AM
What is the current updates concerning the Redwall games?
Last I heard they released Act 2 a bit ago, if I remember correctly there's supposed to be four or five total
Quote from: Sebias of Redwall on January 21, 2022, 01:28:33 AM
What is the current updates concerning the Redwall games?
There are currently 5 Redwall video games.
Available on Steam: The Scout Act I, Act II, and Act III; Escape the Gloomer.
Available on mobile: The Lost Legends of Redwall app (completely free); Escape the Gloomer.
Start playing!
https://redwall.fandom.com/wiki/The_Lost_Legends_of_Redwall
Okay, now I'm stuck on the 'Silversands' (?) level. Haven't really felt up to playing much of late, but when I have attempted to play, the last few times I've just been stuck on the same blooming part and it's not too fun not being able to progress. Can anybody help with the section where you have to pull the levers so that you can rescue your partner from the cage? I've tried a variety of combinations by both pulling the levers and shooting at them, off and on, but nothing seems to be the right thing. Am I missing something? Thank you for any help...
Well, nobody responded but it's okay. XD Months later I finally played this again, and miraculously, it worked and I was able to finish the game. Will buy the third - and final? - one soon. :)