Alteil: Horizons Pre-Alpha - EverCrest Message Forums

Author

Topic: Alteil: Horizons Pre-Alpha

diadem

eet bugz

posted 10-01-2013 04:31:22 PM

(Cross-Post from Something Awful)

Target Audience: I am a huge fan of old-school tactical RPGs.

Right now, there is a growing trend in the market to simplify games to reach a wider target market at the cost of depth. If you miss the thinking man/woman's style of game, then Alteil: Horizons is for you.

History:

The original Alteil was released in 2003 in Japan and 2006 in the US. It was a highly regarded tactical RPG where units and characters fought on a battle grid, where thinking a few moves in advance is much more important than chance.

The game's ownership went through multiple acquisitions. The old game's engine did not progress with the times and the IP was passed around like a hot potato.

Fast forward to now - The game's original creators got the rights back to their own game. My team, which includes fans GMs was given the US license. We are working with the original creators to make a sequel using modern tech to help fulfill the creator's vision.

Who are you/Who is paying for all this? I quit my job to start a game company, as did a few others on my team. We are currently paying out of pocket and through profits of the original game. You can find more info here. Basically, we are lest than a dozen guys and gals who really like tactics games and wanted the freedom to create a sequel to one of our favorites.

What other projects did your team/the Japanese team work on in the past? Legend of Zelda, Hellboy, Secret of Mana, Transformers, Wizardry Online, Chess 2, Yugi Oh!, Virtua Fighter, Star Ocean, Valkyrie Profile, Pacific Rim, Xanadau, Tekken 5, Marvel Bishojo, Godzilla Final Wars, Code Geass, Guilty Gear, Final Fantasy X, Phantasy Star, Zoids, Duel Masters, Voltron, Mobile Suit Gundam, TNN Hardcore Heat, etc*

*My name may be on the credits for games like Interstate '76, Dark Reign, Civilization CTP, Heavy Gear and a few others, but I'm not counting these on the main list. I was just in external QA for these and feel it would be misleading to include them. Not included on the main list for similar reasons are things like Merideth's work for the Invader Zim DVD (she designed the Zim House DVD box)

How does the game play? There are two stages to the game. One of army building and one of fighting battles.

You start by constructing an army. Think Pokemon or M:TG in this stage (with the randomness elements removed). You select units and spells for your army. You also can balance hit points and special abilities depending on the style of tactics you are going for.

Once the game starts, summoned units enter a battle grid. Think Final Fantasy Tactics, X-Com, or the old SSI games at this stage. They take on the attributes of standard RPGs, going in order of agility, leveraging range and positions on the battlefield, and the like. Units have their own levels, current and max hp, and of course unqiue special abilities. Battlefield conditions affect game-play and vice-versa. For example, zombies would gain special abilities at night. Warriors become more powerful as their hero (you) level up. The leader of the Solar Kingdom would pull the power of the sun, even at night.

To go along with the tactical game, you have accsss to all your spells and units from the beginning. You unlock them by increasing your character's affinity to the old gods, and can cast them by using resource management.

Steam rolling is a bit harder in this game, as you get a unit's resources back when it dies.

Show me all the units and their abilities: Bamf!

Show me pretty art:

Show me gameplay
Range mechanics [video type="youtube"]MTCjnt_PGgw[/video]
Day Night Cycle [video type="youtube"]dyBKSjTveZU[/video]
Soul Cards [video type="youtube"]4WLJj3m7AoU[/video]

O.K. I'm sold, how do I play?
Send me a PM or reply to this thread. Right now the alpha supports the Chrome web browser (Linux/Windows/Mac) and the iPad. Invites will be accepted on a first come first serve basis. They will be limited the first couple weeks and grow exponentially in time.

Note that this is a pre-alpha, so there will be new features added rapidly. The first round of accepted alpha testers should start in a week or so.

My friend isn't a goon. Can he play?
Friends of goons are alright, but I'd rather keep it in the family, so to speak. At least until we are ready for the general public. Kickstarter backers are an exception to this, but may get their own server.

play da best song in da world or me eet your soul