Questions about Grim Dawn and some friendly advice. :)

[Darkenmal]

A bunch of questions that came up while playing a marathon of Titan's Quest.

1. Will there be a pause button?

2. Will we be able to bring a single-player character online?

3. I heard you guys say that there is only one main town. Are their ANY other villages at all? Or is it just a desolate world?

Also: Be careful that it doesn't get too monotonous going back to the same village over and over again if the above is true. Make some changes to it as the game goes along.

Example : Village get's attacked while you are doing a quest, when you come back, a couple quest dealers and maybe a few vendors are dead. The village is in even more disarray then beforehand, and maybe a few parts of it are on fire. (Get my drift? )

4. How much music is going to be in the game? (Compared to Titan Quest) I really liked playing Titan's Quest and the music between zones, it helped keep it fresh.

5. Will there be any voice acting for quests? (It was a lot better sitting back and listening compared to just reading the quests.) (Like in WoW)

6. How much will the online be tweaked? Titan Quest's online was a good start, but it could have been a lot better. (Online chat channels, maybe a better sorting list.)

7. May add more questions later.

Thanks if Med or anyone else answers my questions.

[ASYLUM101]

1) For single player, most likely.

2) I don't see why not, it worked in TQ and I imagine the servers being a mirror of those.

3) I think there is one main town that you revisit multiple times and watch it expand, but I would assume there are a few other derelict villages and rebel camps.

4) Music - far less than TQ had, but it's different. TQ had HOURS among HOURS of music that you sometimes didn't even notice (VERY ambient stuff) while GD will be more action-type, very lively stuff like the music they've posted.

5) Medierra mentioned that while they will have voice acting for important things, maybe main quests, important characters, they won't have nearly as much as TQ.

6) I think online will probably be identical because it's expensive and not something they can afford to expand at this time if I remember right.

[medierra]

Thanks for starting in on these Asylum

additional detail below

Originally Posted by Darkenmal

A bunch of questions that came up while playing a marathon of Titan's Quest.

1. Will there be a pause button?

Same as TQ

2. Will we be able to bring a single-player character online?

Same as TQ

3. I heard you guys say that there is only one main town. Are their ANY other villages at all? Or is it just a desolate world?

We're planning only one main town for the initial release that all the primary quests will be tied to but there will be some other little safe areas where you'll encounter small bands of survivors that will give side quests. Our thinking is that it is more interesting to invest our efforts in creating more unique art and level areas for exploration / combat than setting up a bunch of full-sized towns with redundant NPCs and merchants.

Also: Be careful that it doesn't get too monotonous going back to the same village over and over again if the above is true. Make some changes to it as the game goes along.

Example : Village get's attacked while you are doing a quest, when you come back, a couple quest dealers and maybe a few vendors are dead. The village is in even more disarray then beforehand, and maybe a few parts of it are on fire. (Get my drift? )

Wait? So to avoid having a desolate world the town should become... more desolate? Hehe, sorry, I just couldn't resist.

Actually we're planning the opposite. We have a series of quests where you are helping the survivors to restore parts of the town that actually result in visible improvements. In one you gather scrap metal to repair the damaged blades of a windmill water-pump. When you complete the quest the windmill becomes functional again and starts pumping out water for the town.

(will post a screenshot of this soon)

4. How much music is going to be in the game? (Compared to Titan Quest) I really liked playing Titan's Quest and the music between zones, it helped keep it fresh.

There will be at least 5 tracks! I expect we'll have a lot more but I'm not sure how many the music guys will have time to churn out.

5. Will there be any voice acting for quests? (It was a lot better sitting back and listening compared to just reading the quests.) (Like in WoW)

Probably for at least the main quest.

6. How much will the online be tweaked? Titan Quest's online was a good start, but it could have been a lot better. (Online chat channels, maybe a better sorting list.)

Not too much but at least if you're playing via Steam you can join the community there and more easily meet up with other players.

I actually pushed to get a chat lobby in the schedule for TQ but the owners didn't think it was very important. Personally, I think it is critical to forming a cohesive online community and supporting the multiplayer, so it is something I'd love to do as soon as we have the resources. I think just being on Steam gets us part-way there though.

7. May add more questions later.

Thanks if Med or anyone else answers my questions.

My pleasure

[Darkenmal]

Wow thanks for the replies.

That was very informative.

I will definitely add more questions later.

Also: I lol'd at the more desolate part. I'm just glad that the village is changing due to the quests in-game.. not just remaining static and boring.

[Lord Stark]

Great thread with responses!

[jiaco]

Originally Posted by medierra

there will be at least 5 tracks!

tmyheits. Plymtal1c.

[ASYLUM101]

Originally Posted by jiaco

tmyheits. Plymtal1c.

wtf

did your son grab hold of your keyboard?

[eisprinzessin]

Originally Posted by medierra

We have a series of quests where you are helping the survivors to restore parts of the town that actually result in visible improvements. In one you gather scrap metal to repair the damaged blades of a windmill water-pump. When you complete the quest the windmill becomes functional again and starts pumping out water for the town.

(will post a screenshot of this soon)

Great - that's a big plus compared to TQ. I had the feeling lately, that you have deliberately hold back certain details on the game and just announced the tip of the iceberg here. Well, your busy schedule is certainly another reason ... not to speak of not spoiling us. So, keep up our strict diet - I'm happy to scrape up any details.

[Darkenmal]

More questions, as long as I have Med here willing to answer.

1. You said the release date for the alpha was for 2011, will that be more at the fall or the summer? And also, how long will it be from Alpha to release do you think?

2. What are your expectations on the game, in terms of improvements from Titan Quest to Grim Dawn. (Also, what were you and your teams reaction to the score's received for Titan Quest, and how do you think you can improve on that? )

3. Will we be able to have more then two talent trees at once this time?

4. How long do you think the game will be in total hours?

5. Is it harder or easier than Titan Quest?

6. How many players will you be able to play with online?

7. Will dungeons be randomized, drawn, or in between? (Please elaborate. )

8. Do you honestly think Grim Dawn will be a success, and if so, what else do you have planned for the game and its add-ons?

9. Can we have a pre-order for the Legendary Edition on Steam? It would make everyone's lives a lot easier.

10. Throw me a bone here, will there be chat channels at all? (Sorry if this is a repeated question.)

Thanks a lot for answering these questions.. answer whatever you like if you want to.

[mamba]

Originally Posted by Darkenmal

3. Will we be able to have more then two talent trees at once this time?

no, 2 masteries, as in TQ

4. How long do you think the game will be in total hours?

the region should be comparable in size to Greece from TQ

5. Is it harder or easier than Titan Quest?

harder, at least on legendary (normal GD = normal TQ, epic GD = legendary TQ, legendary GD = ?? more difficult)

6. How many players will you be able to play with online?

I'd say it still will be 4

7. Will dungeons be randomized, drawn, or in between? (Please elaborate. )

unclear at this point, Crate is working on randomization, but if it does not work out it won't be in GD

8. Do you honestly think Grim Dawn will be a success, and if so, what else do you have planned for the game and its add-ons?

if you do not believe it can / will be a success, why even bother creating it ? So this one should be obvious

9. Can we have a pre-order for the Legendary Edition on Steam? It would make everyone's lives a lot easier.

probably not, not sure you ever get beta access on Steam