[Aspettando] Zaharia, il GDR italiano di ambientazione mediorientale

[Therinai]

Prima impressione positiva, puntano molto sulla sceneggiatura e caratterizzazione dei personaggi a quanto pare, cosa che apprezzo assai.
Anche il sistema di battaglia tattica a turni su griglia ben venga.

[Animatronio]

Originariamente inviato da arxangel

Io lo backererò per supportare dei ragazzi italiani che si sono messi in gioco e che vogliono sfondare con le loro forze, però dubito che concluderanno favorevolmente questo kickstarter, dovrebbero accumulare 4.000 sterline al giorno e se non hai il nome è molto difficile, poi hanno puntato su un ambientazione realistica che non attira molto, o almeno meno di un design anime con ragazze tettute e le orecchie da gatto .
Detto questo spero che ce la facciano, i miracoli accadono.

la penso come te, mi sa che anche io li supporterò

edit: non si può usare la postepay come carta per il pagamento? non me la accetta

[Jon Irenicus]

Primo update!
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects...a/posts/751697

E greenlight!
http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfile.../?id=229301459

Per il resto... Che sia anche troppo ambizioso mi pare evidente...
In ogni caso potenzialità per un ottimo titolo ci sono. Probabilmente ci potrebbero essere aspetti sviluppati male, ma magari vien fuori un buon titolo cmq.

[Jon Irenicus]

Update 2:
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects...a/posts/754154
Parlano dello stealth e in fondo c'è una minifaq:

The Stealth system

At first, we want to thank Inxile for having included Zaharia in their last update.

This update is about the stealth system and how it will work among the other features of the game.

We created Zaharia on four different pillars of gameplay: Role-Play, Exploration, Combat and Stealth. These for pillars give to the player different ways to proceed through the game.



We want Zaharia to have a real stealth management, in order to have more ways to solve a quest. The stealth in Zaharia won't be related only to combats, but having a stealthy character can be useful in any situation.

Let's make a practical example: the player needs to take a certain item from a heavy guarded location. Breaking the main door and killing everyone in the building won't be the smartest option, because it will affect the character's reputation. Offering a bribe to some guards, with the help of some diplomacy, will allow the player to obtain the item, but this way he will lose a lot of money. Without a stealthy character it's either loss of money or massacre, but entering the building to steal the item is the best solution in this situation. In Zaharia there will be a lot of different ways to solve a problem, but they won't be all equal in terms of costs and rewards.

The stealth system will work in real time, allowing the player to precisely move his entire party, with the aid of a pause button. Positioning is of primary importance during stealth, because guards and enemies will have a view cone, affected by the lighting, being in the cone may lead to a fight and will allow the guard to call for reinforcements. The player will be able to enter in stealth mode every time and everywhere, in this mode there will be many different interactions with the environment, it will be possible to hide in some special areas (e.g. behind a curtain or in a wardrobe), to do various silent actions (e.g. slowly opening a door) or to silently dispose of an opponent.



Stealth will be useful in fights too: characters can easily die in Zaharia, surprise can be a huge advantage in order to win a fight. NPCs' AI will be realistic, it won't detect hidden characters, so it will be possible to avoid a fight, to take the enemies by surprise or to hide a part of the team and let the hidden characters come out at the right time.

And now some answers for our backers:

Q: Any estimate of total time necessary to complete one playthrough?

A: We estimate at least 30 hours of gameplay, but this number may change according to the player's actions.

Q: Although you won't be able to directly affect the development of party members, will you have full control over their equipment?

A: No, you will have a partial control over their equipment, but you will be able to influence their evolution in the game (equipment, skills, personality changes) through dialogues.

Q: Will you allow support via Paypal?

A: Paypal support will be available only after we hit the goal.

[Jon Irenicus]

Update #3

Something about the skill system and the Consciousness of a Thousand Worlds

In this update we will briefly explain how the skills work in the game.

First of all, the skills won't unlock perks simply leveling up, in the final game the player will need to find a proper teacher in order to obtain a perk.

Combat skills have an obvious purpose, they define the proficiency of a certain character in defending and using various weapons. Those skills will be useful in combat, but sometimes they will be useful in dialogues too, thanks to some rare stat checks.

Knowledge skills are some really versatile skills and they can be useful in many situation. They are really useful in dialogues and unlock a lot of different lines, but some of them have different practical uses. With the Alchemy skill it will be possible to brew potions or assemble bombs; the Magic skill will help the character to resist to magic and it's a necessary skill for mages; the Medicine skill will allow the character to treat wounded people.

Practical skills are useful mostly outside the dialogues. The Athletic skill allow the character to improve his Stamina; the Steal skill allow the player to steal things from people in different situations (Yes, in dialogues too); the Lock Picking skill will allow the player to get through locked doors; the Sneak skill will reduce the noise of footsteps and other actions in the stealth phase and will allow the player to learn some really important stealth perks.

Social skills are useful for a massive amount of stat checks in dialogues and they can be combined with the character's reputation for a better result.

Skills are improved using experience points, which can be earned by the player doing quests. The more a character is experienced with a certain skill, the more it will cost further improvements, that's will encourage the player to invest some points in other skills and improve the character's versatility.

Now let's talk about the Consciousness of a Thousand Worlds.

On the top of the highest mountain in the Zaharian Empire the player will be able to meet a mysterious entity, the Consciousness of a Thousand Worlds, a magical being that will let the player enter in different dreamlike experiences, each experience will be related to a certain theme or to the player's choices during the game.



The more you guys will back Zaharia and follow us on social networks, the more dreams you will be able to enjoy in Zaharia.
1 dream unlocked!
Kickstarter: new dream at 750 backers.
Zaharia Facebook page: new unlock at 500 likes.
Inner Void Facebook page: new unloack at 250 likes.
Inner Void Twitter profile: new unlock at 250 followers.

[arxangel]

Sembrano molto lontani dall' obbiettivo.

[Jon Irenicus]

E ci rimarranno pure...

Update #4

The world of Zaharia

We want to share with you some details about the world of Zaharia, from our first dev. diary.

We worked hard to realize a fresh and original experience, which will stand out from the classic fantasy clichés, and we finally managed to realize the Zaharian Empire. Its name comes from a huge region called Zaharia, whose people share the same culture and religion. This update will summarize the general setting of the game, while the next ones will analyze other important themes like religion, culture, magic and technology.



As shown by the map, the Zaharian Empire is widely extended, so much that allows a great variety of weather and geographical conditions. This is the reason why every settlement will be characterized in a different way, depending on its position. A great part of the Empire is settled down in the coast, where the mediterranean climate and the huge availability of water facilitate the agriculture activity. Fields and forests will cover these landscapes, while the hinterland presents impressive mountain chains with frigid climate, especially during Winter. Beyond the mountains, climate gets drier and water starts missing, until the territory becomes desertic and inhospitable. Despite that, a lot of settlements manage to survive in these barren areas, which are full of mineral resources that can be exported to get all the necessary supplies, rather hard to find in other ways.

The Zaharian Empire counts more than 30 million people, but not everyone belongs to the Zaharian culture and ethnic groups, since many of them are immigrants coming from other nations. This leads the region to be a social melting-pot, with a deep interaction between cultures and a multitude of different way of seeing religion and society.

The same populations that immigrated in Zaharia in the old times are now considered as native, although they preserve slightly different customs and traditions that will be made visible during the game. Focusing on all these aspects we could create a realistic society, in order to highlight the mix of cultures and the different habits of people living in the same nation. We avoided to create a society made by individuals who act all in the same way, or who find themselves under the same traditions and religions. We believe this to be one of the most important element needed to grant the maximum immersion in the game.

As for the most characteristic settlement of Zaharia, we first find Ashantir, the magnificent capital that rises on the delta of the Shir river. The city has great relevance being the cultural, economical and political center of the region, and it counts more than 1 million people. Ashantir is the pride of the nation, with its high and wide palaces that stretch skyward, its buildings that seem almost suspended in the islands that form the city, between one ship canal and another. Travellers, merchants and foreigners can see its dream-like architectures from kilometers.

Ashantir couldn’t obviously be the only important centre of such an extended Empire. Among the other cities we find Rasul, birthplace of the Azhanit religion, the official cult of Zaharia. Rasul is living a period of deep decline because of Ashantir, that overshadows its importance.

West of the capital we find Zarta and Qanyuba, not far from each other. Zarta is called the Green City for its large amount of native vegetation, that grows thanks to the abundance of streams of water. The city is home to some of the richest people in the country, who moved there attracted by its natural beauty and its tranquillity. These peculiarities along with the massive presence of all kinds of artists, make this city unique in the world.

Qanyuba, on the other hand, is known as the Steel City, famous for its ancient craft tradition. Thanks to this historical feature, together with a significant technologic improvement, the city is about to give life to the first proto-industries.

And now we want to share with you another interesting Kickstarter campaign, a Sci-Fi graphic novel. Check this out, their artworks are amazing!

[City Hunter '91]

E' la cirenaica.

[Darkless]

Originariamente inviato da Jon Irenicus

E ci rimarranno pure...

Lo penso anch'io purtroppo.
Bhè nulla gli vieterà di ridimensionare un po' il progetto e ritentare.
Certo se anche con un'alpha giocabile già a disposizione non son riusciti a richiamare abbastanza interesse la vedo dura.

[Jon Irenicus]

Originariamente inviato da Darkless

Lo penso anch'io purtroppo.
Bhè nulla gli vieterà di ridimensionare un po' il progetto e ritentare.
Certo se anche con un'alpha giocabile già a disposizione non son riusciti a richiamare abbastanza interesse la vedo dura.

Boh, magari col tempo migliora la cosa (pure In Verbis Virtus con un demo (e che demo!) ha fatto una campagna fallimentare. Però la si era su indiegogo, poi magari la cosa del microfono non va giù a molti).
In ogni caso 50K sarebbe stato più realistico a prescindere (e duro lo stesso), non mi ricordo dove ho letto, forse sul Codex, che qualcuno gli ha fatto st'osservazione e la risposta è stata sarebbe stato troppo poco.
Al max spero sia buona come pubblicità almeno per poi riprovare...

[Darkless]

Se è per quello per come vorrebbero fare il gioco anche 100k sono pochissimi

[Jon Irenicus]

Verissimo...

[arxangel]

Dovevano fare la politica dei piccoli o almeno medi passi, nessuno del team ha un curriculum importante anzi, quindi nei papabili backer c'è il dubbio ma se non c'è la fanno i big a fare un gioco grosso come Skyrim ma profondo come Arcanum figuriamoci alcuni esordienti assoluti nel media. E quoto Darkless per quel che hanno promesso 120k sono nulla.

[Darth Mike]

Originariamente inviato da Jon Irenicus

Boh, magari col tempo migliora la cosa (pure In Verbis Virtus con un demo (e che demo!) ha fatto una campagna fallimentare. Però la si era su indiegogo, poi magari la cosa del microfono non va giù a molti).
In ogni caso 50K sarebbe stato più realistico a prescindere (e duro lo stesso), non mi ricordo dove ho letto, forse sul Codex, che qualcuno gli ha fatto st'osservazione e la risposta è stata sarebbe stato troppo poco.
Al max spero sia buona come pubblicità almeno per poi riprovare...

Da quel che ho potuto vedere, hanno ricevuto tantissime critiche per il video, troppo lungo per quello che mostra e con un inglese poco convincente.
Per me queste sono inezie, fosse per me non li metterei neanche i filmati di presentazione su Kickstarter, m'interessano i contenuti nel testo, le immagini e i video (nel caso dei videogiochi. Per libri e comics non li guardo nemmeno).
Ma Kickstarter è soprattutto frequentato da americani, e agli americani piacciono i video. Alcuni non leggono niente, guardano solo il video di presentazione e se gli piace è possibile che investano.
Infatti molti pledgers gli hanno detto di modificare il video il più presto possibile.

[paolodekki]

appena scoperto questo gioco! seguiamolo *_* sembra interessante

[Jon Irenicus]

Originariamente inviato da arxangel

Dovevano fare la politica dei piccoli o almeno medi passi, nessuno del team ha un curriculum importante anzi, quindi nei papabili backer c'è il dubbio ma se non c'è la fanno i big a fare un gioco grosso come Skyrim ma profondo come Arcanum figuriamoci alcuni esordienti assoluti nel media. E quoto Darkless per quel che hanno promesso 120k sono nulla.

Si, ed è pure evidente... Loro, per dire, vogliono fare tot features tutte implementate bene (nel migliore dei modi oserei dire). Per come la vedo io se andasse bene ne implementerebbero qualcuna benissimo, qualcun'altra in modo onesto e altre male. Già così potrebbe venir fuori un gran gioco.
Poi può accadere di tutto (in senso negativo principalmente).

Originariamente inviato da Darth Mike

Da quel che ho potuto vedere, hanno ricevuto tantissime critiche per il video, troppo lungo per quello che mostra e con un inglese poco convincente.
Per me queste sono inezie, fosse per me non li metterei neanche i filmati di presentazione su Kickstarter, m'interessano i contenuti nel testo, le immagini e i video (nel caso dei videogiochi. Per libri e comics non li guardo nemmeno).
Ma Kickstarter è soprattutto frequentato da americani, e agli americani piacciono i video. Alcuni non leggono niente, guardano solo il video di presentazione e se gli piace è possibile che investano.
Infatti molti pledgers gli hanno detto di modificare il video il più presto possibile.

Manco l'ho visto il video a dire il vero. Modificare al volo è un po' come recuperare ad un danno già fatto, dovrebbero cmq provare visto che la campagna devono farla accattivante e tenerlo a mente per un'altra.

[Jon Irenicus]

Update #5

The Azhanit cult

First of all, we want to thank all the backers, we've seen some real support from you and that is really inspiring for us.


This update is another dev. diary we released some time ago, it's about the most popular religion among the Zaharian Empire, because we believe this to be an important element for creating a realistic world, with its own specific people. History shows us how religion has always shaped peoples and societies, so much that we can’t possibly give it a minor role in what we are realizing. We can’t forget the impact that spirituality has over the material world.

The Azhanit religion

The Azhanism, the cult of Azhan, can count on a millenary history. In the course of time, besides its own inner evolution, it has deeply characterized the Zaharian cultural system, giving birth to a strong Oriental and Middle Eastern context. Religion, in these cases, is the starting point to give a philosophical and cultural setup to one population. The values estabilished by a cult generally mark out its worshippers and, as time goes by, change their world views. In order to create this religion, not only did we draw inspiration from Islamism, as one can think at first sight, but we mainly considered aspects from Zoroastrianism, and also a bit from Buddhism.

The cult of Azhan is really unusual, and it differs from the majority of the occidental doctrines since it bestows a great dignity on human condition. Material world is the paradise Azhan created to host humanity, not a punishment for the original sin. He spread his mark of benevolence all over the world he created, a constant revelation of the divine will that would make humans tell good from evil. In this way humanity could fight chaos and slowly build an order that would allow humans to free themselves from pain.


An ancient Azhanit temple

The great Azhan’s plan for humanity is an earthly paradise, where eternal permanence is granted to humans thanks to an endless cycle of reincarnation that invests all human souls.

From a theological and moral point of view, the Azhanism is characterized by a series of values that allowed the birth of a social and political system that, in our opinion, may seem almost enlightened. It allowed the rebirth of the country and its cultural and economical expansion.

In Zaharia there is no gender discrimination, and there aren’t signs of an aristocracy that could demand inheritance privileges. In addiction to this, tolerance for diversity is preached in the holy books. All this allowed a better integration and a cultural evolution, also thanks to the positive contamination of ideas from the different populations that settled down in the area. Finally, the man doesn’t see his condition as a period of transition after which he will enjoy an eternal life in an endless shining heaven. Instead, only material life counts for him, being the only one where he can live in an appropriate way. The man is born as an ethereal soul, static and incapable of experience, but when this soul join a material body the man can live, be happy, and evolve.

All these aspects don’t mean that Zaharia is free from superficiality, intolerance and all the negative behaviors that exist in human nature. They’re just expressed in different ways compared to the European man of the present and the past.

History of the cult

The Azhanit religion is born in Zaharia, about a millennium before the beginning of the game. It propagated fast over the Zaharian territory, once hosting only a lot of different little and local cults.

The history of this religion is rather calm in the first centuries of its existence. Even if the politic situation of Zaharia was always fragmented, there weren’t many conflicts in the course of time: thanks to the wide diffusion of the cult, some religious sects originated in the country, and their supranational-oriented nature managed to soften general tensions. The major crisis of the Azhanism, corresponding to a period of unstableness for the entire Zaharia, is relatively recent. Outside the Zaharian territory took place the beginning of the Idath-Hain, a religion which expanded rather quickly thanks to the fanaticism and the aggressiveness of its devotees. In about a hundred years the Idathi (those who follow the Idath-Hain) conqueredor converted almost all the territories bordering the Zaharian territory. This is the moment when the different Azhanit sects managed to increase their political power. This happened not only thanks to the agreement over common purposes and theological principles, but also to the attempt of forming a common front against the Idathi menace. The idea is to make a huge theocratic structure capable of joining the whole Zaharia. However, the religious order didn’t manage to realize its purpose in time and the Idathi nations invaded, conquered and divided the Zaharian lands. Thus for 150 years Zaharia was under the control of these invaders who take advantage of territory and people, persecuting the Azhanit followers one way or another.


The Warrior Monks were created to protect the Azhanit cult

The real turning point came when a new figure emerges, Zhartost Azhanai, the Prophet. He succeeded in organizing a rebellion’s movement which in a few years managed to make all the Idathi nations fall, and to reconquer Zaharia. This was the way the Zaharian Empire came into existence, under the shelter of a central government led by the Prophet. He then became the first Emperor and also the first man able to reunite under the same flag all those territories that remained separated for thousands of years.

We aim to realize a religion carefully crafted, since this aspect is too often underestimated while building a setting. We frequently see that in many fantasy settings there are cults and divinities of any sort, but these never really have a real impact on the world. All the cultures seem essentially European-like, although this has no explanation from a religious point of view. The creation of a religion can’t be carried out by just giving a name to a divinity, creating some ceremonies or some particular figures. We should instead lay the theological and philosophical foundations for what will be the moral and cultural behaviors of all its followers, all things that the player will notice during the game when interacting with the Zaharian native people.

[Therinai]

Babba mia quegli artwork sono inguardabili per me... tempio a ridosso della piramide... oplita in stile medio-orientale... boh, non è che stanno sfogando le loro fantasie a nastro?

[Darkless]

A me non dispiacciono.
In ottica marketing poi sono esattamente al roba che piace oltreoceanoo

[arxangel]

Originariamente inviato da Therinai

Babba mia quegli artwork sono inguardabili per me... tempio a ridosso della piramide... oplita in stile medio-orientale... boh, non è che stanno sfogando le loro fantasie a nastro?

Si la piramide dietro il tempio è inguardabile, pure il guerriero avrebbero dovuto mettergli un turbante invece dell' elmo ad esempio, e pure la ladra dell' aggiornamento precedente, sembra un goblin gli occhi sono troppo distanti tra di loro.
Per me avrebbero dovuto mostrare pure qualche creatura magica, che so un genio donna mezza nuda o una fenice o un Rahaska, ecc..