Kenshi - An open ended, squad-based Strategy RPG

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Sweet mother of mercy. It's like indie game devs are monitoring my dreams and creating stuff just for me. Kenshi is the latest and it looks like it will be awesome.

A work-in-progress version of the game will be sold in Oct for $10, which includes free updates "forever".

It kind of reminds me of Mount and Blade, but with samurai and no horses. There is also base building. I'm setting aside my $10 now.

I'm going to stop complaining about AAA games now. Clearly, EA doesn't want my money, so I'll just give it to this guy instead.

Looks awesome. Nice trailer too.

Wow, what a great concept. Was very impressed when base building suddenly appeared in the middle of the trailer.

Keeping my eye on it.

Interesting. (tagging)

Mount and Blade was one of my favourite games of all times. This has a making of an equal. They will definitely get my monies over the years.

From RPS:

Here’s a few quotes from the developer that will haunt my waking dreams with their vision of one of The Ideal Games.

“Be cautious and grow. You don’t have to win all the time, if a character loses a fight, he actually gains more experience from it. After all you never forget a lesson if it involves getting stabbed.”

A brilliant idea. Give me a reason to survive a fight that is going badly rather than making it an excuse to reload. In the words of Samuel Beckett: “Ever tried? Ever failed? No Matter. Try again. Fail again. Fail harder. Fail better”. Yes. If mistakes lead to a failure state, or to a more undesirable place, then freedom becomes the choice of different kinds of success. True freedom shouldn’t simply allow different approaches to a goal but different ways to accept missing a goal.

“You are not the chosen one. You’re not great and powerful. You don’t have more ‘hitpoints’ than everyone else. You are not the center of the universe, and you are not special. Unless you work for it.”

I don’t think this is inherently better than being the chosen one but it’s certainly not as common. I suspect a large part of my excitement about not being the centre of the universe is linked to the fact that it requires a more detailed and simulated universe. Other things must be happening without me nudging them into action. In many games, one of the reasons the player is powerful or important is because nothing can happen without him/her. It’s heroism by default, to hide limitations.

“Think of a combination of X-Com Apocalypse and Oblivion.”

I would be happy to.

“Absolutely no Level-scaling. The world does not level up along with you, and the shops don’t change their inventory to only items matching your level.”

Good.

This sounds incredible.

I think I'll definitely buy this game once it is released.

I'm reading through the FAQ on the Kenshi website. I definitely recommend taking a look; the dev has some lofty goals, for sure. Here's one of my personal highlights:

Ok, but what is there to do? What makes this game so good?

Aside from all the stuff that happens to you, there's a whole range of stuff, the very emphasis of the game is stuff-to-do. You can be a peaceful trader, a bandit, a mercenary, soldier, theif, assassin, bodyguard, police, hunter, explorer, scout, spy, smuggler. You can open your own shop, start your own village, raise an army and build a fortress. Or you could go up a level and aim for a higher, world-affecting purpose, such as protecting a village, influencing governments, challenging factions and armies you don't like, overthrow a ruler, or even aim to take over the whole world.

*swoon*

But I notice the combat is not going to be anything like M&B, so my initial comparison isn't very accurate in that sense. Sounds like more of an RTS in this regard:

How does the combat system work?

There are no "dice rolls", game mechanics are not based on archaic board game rules. The basis of the combat is damage accumulation and fatigue. Minor and major injuries cause bloodloss, crippling, concussion, then there's exhaustion too. Wounded characters end up staggering or crawling around, trying to finish eachother off. The game can be paused at any time with the space bar, so you can give orders and make plans in the midst of chaos.
I don't believe in having hitpoints, a single number that represents the lifeforce of a character. There will be a locational damage system, and a dynamic medical system. If a character gets a leg wound, he will need a medic to stop the bleeding and patch up the wound. He would then need time to rest in order to fully regain perfect leg-functionality. That's it simplified, but the game will also be factoring in internal organs, pain level, arteries, various states of conciousness, exhaustion, and crippledness. Wounded characters can often still fight from the ground (if they wish..) and can be resusitated or dragged out of harms way by a teammate, or even a kind NPC.

Intriguing.

It looks like it could be a lot of fun even in the alpha state.

Wishlist material!

7 Samurai + X-Com + Oblivion + Mount&Blade = $10 of my money gone the second this comes out!

I really hope steam picks this up when it gets more finished.

ebarstad wrote:

The game can be paused at any time with the space bar, so you can give orders and make plans in the midst of chaos.

Up until I read this I was thinking "online".... but... no? It almost screams out to be some form of online game, doesn't it?

Looks neat. Sign me up in January.

I dont want to "get fixed". However I am interested in this game. (Tagged)

Dang, I thought the topic said "squid-based".

I wasn't sure what a squid-based RPG was, but I was pretty sure it would be out of Asia.
And weird.

Maybe it's just me that's weird.

duckilama wrote:

Dang, I thought the topic said "squid-based".

I wasn't sure what a squid-based RPG was, but I was pretty sure it would be out of Asia.
And weird.

Maybe it's just me that's weird.

Darn, now I want a squid-based RPG too. Lead your underwater cephalopod society on an epic quest! Battle sharks, humpback whales, and submersibles as you seek to discover the secret of the lost kraken.

This stuff practically writes itself.

Gremlin wrote:
duckilama wrote:

Dang, I thought the topic said "squid-based".

I wasn't sure what a squid-based RPG was, but I was pretty sure it would be out of Asia.
And weird.

Maybe it's just me that's weird.

Darn, now I want a squid-based RPG too. Lead your underwater cephalopod society on an epic quest! Battle sharks, humpback whales, and submersibles as you seek to discover the secret of the lost kraken.

This stuff practically writes itself.

Damn right, sounds awesome.

ebarstad wrote:

But I notice the combat is not going to be anything like M&B, so my initial comparison isn't very accurate in that sense. Sounds like more of an RTS in this regard:

More than anything else M&B is about choice and it sounds like they've nailed that part.

This looks exciting. Fingers crossed that this game ends up delivering.

Color me intrigued. It's definitely worth a look when January rolls around.

Tagging for now. may wait a little before diving in. I was in Mount and Blade at version 0.621, 0.2 alpha seems a little premature for me.

Bookmarked! Looks indeed a lot influenced by Mount & Blade. Not sure if it isn't based on the same engine?
Hope different terrain other than desert will be added, too. The shadow problem seem familiar to me, M&B ran horribly with shadows and/or had display glitches.

More power to the devs, http://www.lofigames.com/index.php?o... <- read it, everything there gets two thumbs up from me.

Like Prozac I am looking forward to the beta, it's a little too early right now.

Damnit... this sounds like it will be very similar to Mount & Blade. Which means I will be similarly pouring hundreds of hours into it

Except you don't control your little dude directly in combat. at least that's the impression i'm getting you can give orders but your not responsible for the swinging of the blade.

And considering that 80% of fun in M&B is butchering hundreds of guys single-handedly, this game may not be as fun in the long run. But just for being made, it's worth $10.

Hey my fun in M&B is sitting on top of a hill ordering troopers around to do my bidding and watching my rows of archers rain death upon my enemies as my cavalry waits patiently for it's turn and the infantry braces for impact from their horsemen.

Cayne wrote:

Hey my fun in M&B is sitting on top of a hill ordering troopers around to do my bidding and watching my rows of archers rain death upon my enemies as my cavalry waits patiently for it's turn and the infantry braces for impact from their horsemen.

That sounds like M&B: Total War.

Don't mind me, just marking this in the style of a book.

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