Externus: Path of the Solari is a character-driven tactical RPG coming to PC and Xbox One. You can pre-order the game and purchase any merchandise from this Backerkit Store.
This post is for backers only. Please visit Kickstarter.com and log in to read.
This post is for backers only. Please visit Kickstarter.com and log in to read.
This post is for backers only. Please visit Kickstarter.com and log in to read.
Hey everyone, we're back with our March update and want to show a few things that will change the way battles are played in the Externus. We're planning to show some of these in-game with a new trailer sometime in the next few months, but for now, we wanted to show just a little bit of what we're working on.
We want to make sure our allows you to think tactically and pay attention to every inch of the 3D battlefield. We have added in various traps that can both make battles more challenging but you can also use these traps to your advantage.
You can see a couple of different traps above and even though they are simple, they can completely change the dynamics of a battle.
The spike trap is a classic for a reason and can cause a lot of damage if you're not paying attention to where you're placing units. The great thing about these traps, however, is that you can use their placement to your advantage. Having a fully 3D battlefield is what makes a difference in Externus as you're able to use the environment. In the case of spikes, you can lure an enemy in and use a dash attack to send an enemy crashing into the spikes. You do have to make sure not to get lured in yourself though, especially when sneaky rogues are in play.
The bear trap is a lot more dynamic and allows you to make your own advantage. Since you can place these, you can actually determine where these traps lie. You can then lure your enemy into them to give yourself a tactical advantage against them. You can even get better positioning on your opponent by sneaking in for extra damage as one of the rogue characters in the game. Last month, we showed you the ability for the player to use stealth so they are harder to see on the battlefield and this is where that can give you a big advantage against your opponent. Just make sure that your enemy doesn't have the same thought as you may just get yourself snared in one of these traps!
So, the last hazard we want to show today will really change the dynamics of some of our desert battles. We have an enemy that you do not want to face head-on as they may just be biting at a bit more than your ankles. I wouldn't trust the sand if I were you!
If you see one of these guys, your best bet is to look for an exit as some battles can't be won with brute force. Be on the lookout for an escape to make sure your party is able to fight another day!
Thank you all again for your continued support, we are making a ton of progress overall but most of it has been working to make sure we have systems in place. This is crucial for the game but doesn't always give us a lot to show. We can say that we'll be showing a lot more in the coming months and we hope you're all excited because the team is very excited to show it! We'll be back in April, so stay safe and we wish you all the best!
Hey everyone,
We're a little bit later than normal with this month's update but we've been working on some cool stuff to be able to show you and talk about. We hope you're all doing well and keeping safe, especially with a lot of places seeing more inclement weather than they are used to. Do your best to stay safe and warm!
We are finally ready to show off a little bit of what we've been working on that will have a profound effect on how battles are played in Externus. Jack has been hard at work on getting our weather system up and running and we are finally able to show a little bit of that in our test level.
Note: This level is just used for testing and may not appear in the final game.
Test Level On A Sunny Day
Test Level On A Rainy Day
Note: Depending on your screen, you may need to full screen the video to see the full rain effect.
As you can see in the video, we have some fun rain effects that show a change in the look of the environment. But how does it actually change the way you play?
Elemental Damage and Weather Effects
In our combat system for Externus, we have elemental damage from fire, lightning, earth, water, etc. to vary the combat and give the player an opportunity to change their tactics to give themselves an advantage. It won't just be differing enemies that have an effect on this but the weather will change this as well. As an example, you jump into a combat scenario where the weather is raining and you use a magic ability that does fire damage. That fire damage will be less effective since the water from the rain will have a negative effect on that. However, if you choose to use an ability that has lightning damage then you'll see that it's more effective in the rain. This will add even more strategy to battles in the game and certain maps in the game will randomly generate the weather so that battles can change every time you play them.
Terrain and How It Changes Combat
Another cool system that we implemented was made possible because we are using full 3D environments. This is our terrain system and it allows us to give every tile on every map a terrain "type" so say you're standing on a tile that is in a swamp then the game will know it's in water. Since that character is standing in water, fire damage will be less effective but lightning will be more. So, this will add a layer of strategy to every move you make. We have different tiles for swamp, grass, water, sand, and more depending on the environment. We'll also have environmental hazards such as quicksand and other things that you'll have to keep an eye out for. Make sure you're paying attention to every move you make!
We're very excited to see what combat scenarios happen when our weather and terrain systems work hand-in-hand. This will add a whole new layer of strategy to how you play the game!
Once again, we want to thank you all for the success we've seen for Externus: Path of the Solari and we're excited to continue to share these updates with you when we can. We should start seeing some more visual updates in the next month or two, so be on the lookout for those! Don't forget that if you have any questions you can ask them here on Kickstarter OR over on the Discord channel at bit.ly/winterdiscord! You can also follow us on Twitter to see our latest lore updates every week!