SKALD: Against the Black Priory Update #22

A fresh Kickstarter update for Scape-IT's old-school RPG SKALD: Against the Black Priory lets us know that the game is still on track to enter beta later this year and lists a number of recently added alpha demo features that include a day and night cycle, mouse-driven movement, and boats. The update also nudges us in the direction of the ongoing Kickstarter campaign for “Through the Moongate - Part II,” a book dedicated to Richard Garriott, Origin Systems, and Ultima.

Check it out:

Hi!

It's time for a new SKALD-update! Fueled by a diet of running and prog-rock, development on SKALD is going great! Currently in the Alpha stage of development, the focus is on adding features to the game and engine. If I manage to keep up the current rate, the game will enter the Beta stage of development by end-of-year (right on schedule) and the focus will shift to adding content to the game.

Alpha Demo Update: Boat Edition

A new version of the alpha demo is ready for testing (use the link I gave you). This one adds a bunch of new features:
  • You can now construct the "main" character in a basic character creator (though it's still very crude)
  • The interact prompt ('Q' key) highlights whenever there is something to interact with
  • F5 turns the music on/off
  • You can now "talk", "trade / steal" or "attack" all friendly NPCs
  • NPCs belong to factions that react to your actions
  • Pressing "M" on the overland map opens up a larger map
  • Added a day-night cycle
  • Inventory is now icon- and grid based
  • Added mouse-movement on the overland
  • You can now board a boat and sail around (though there's not a whole lot to see)
As always, adding new features means the game enters a rougher and less stable state as the new features mature through testing. There's also not really a lot of new content but that's not really a priority until we near Beta-testing.

For now, you playing the demo is my best source of play-testing and I would appreciate any feedback you have!

Hot Kickstarter tip: "Through the Moongate 2"

If you supported SKALD on Kickstarter, chances are you're gonna love this as well:

Through the Moongate is the ambitious two-volume comprehensive history of the Ultima series, Lord British, and Origin Systems at-large. Part I was successfully Kickstarted on October 16th, 2018 and covered Richard Garriott’s humble beginnings up through Ultima VI. Part II covers Ultima VII to Portalarium and includes Wing Commander and other important Origin titles.

Check out their Kickstarter today!

That's it for now. Hope you all have a great fall and that you'll keep engaging with the project. As always I would love it if as many of you as possible joined the SKALD Discord to discuss, and stay updated on, the SKALD project and all things RPG-related in general!

Cheers,

AL