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After Reset RPG [WIP]

Discussion in 'Works In Progress - Archive' started by Mr-Nixon, Mar 30, 2013.

  1. Mr-Nixon

    Mr-Nixon

    Joined:
    Mar 30, 2013
    Posts:
    140
    POST-APOCALYPTIC MYTHS BUSTED. PART I.

    Hi guys,

    I thought to publish new video from the game in this update/news. But I feel to share that short series of articles first :)

    Recently, in my work designing and analyzing concepts for another weapon from our game, I heard that there hasn't yet been a hard science fiction video game. In complete disbelief, I checked the Internet and Wikipedia. It's hard to imagine my surprise when I came up empty handed.

    Yes, the international gaming community has industry standard space operas (Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, Mass Effect, etc.); space westerns (are you waiting for Firefly too?); purely apocalyptic/post-apocalyptic games (Fallout, Metro, etc.); cyberpunk (Deus Ex, Syndicate, etc.); steampunk (Arcanum, Dishonored etc.); alternate history games (Command and Conquer) and more.

    But it turns out that no one has yet made a completely hard science fiction game, despite the fact that since the time of H. G. Wells, it has been considered the original science fiction genre. The difference lies in its strict adherence to scientific laws firmly established at the time of writing. What really made these books stand out was their detailed scientific and technical basis and their realistic extrapolation from that.

    It turns out that the relentlessly scientific approach that we've been building into every nook and cranny of our setting since the beginning has the potential to make After Reset RPG the first hard science fiction video game in history.

    After discussing this discovery with our team and gaming journalists, I decided to summarize and share some of the most enduring classic myths about life after the apocalypse that we intend to do away with in our game. I remind you that this is intended for an adult audience, and in order to convince that audience of the reality and authenticity of our game, and by the same token to allow the game to really let the players immerse themselves in their characters – it needs to be truly scientifically convincing as well as being based on facts and real world experience.

    Well, what are we waiting for? Pour yourself a glass of something cold, lean back in your chair and enjoy…



    MYTH #1: NUCLEAR WINTER

    Myth: Setting off a large number of nuclear warheads leads to huge clouds of smoke, soot and ash rising into the sky. These thick, black clouds envelop the Earth in darkness. The temperature falls sharply. With complete blackness, low temperatures and falling radioactive residue, all flora and fauna will die, everything will freeze and be covered with dozens of meters of ice and snow. And only the smartest criminals will be able to claw their way out of the bomb shelters and Metro stations to hunt for mutants.

    Reality: The Nuclear Winter model was developed and became part of popular imagination during the Cold War. In modern times it has become unlikely. However, the "Sagan-Moiseev" model didn't take into account factors such as the release of greenhouse gasses, heat loss from the earth's surface, the climate's ability to self regulate, and also the fact that fires will burn themselves out. Modern climatologists allow that Nuclear Winter is theoretically possible, but it could not be a consequence even of a massive conflict between Russia and the USA. What would be needed is regular (over many years) blasts in coal mines and other geologically defined places designed for this purpose and a nuclear arsenal over ten times larger than those of all nuclear nations in total.

    In After Reset RPG: As a result of the resonant blasts of mankind's combined nuclear arsenal during the Reset a chain reaction in the atmosphere was nearly achieved. Nuclear Winter never came, but the ozone layer was significantly damaged. For reasons not understood by the subterranean United Governments, over the next ten years the Earth underwent a pole shift and some terramorphing-like changes. Together with that, Yellow Zones began to appear, which could support life. For the descendants of those who survived the Reset on the surface that new world is natural. It has been like that their whole lives.

    MYTH #2: THE AVAILABILITY OF COMBUSTIBLES

    Myth: Like any good character in a casual game or Hollywood film, after having lived through the apocalypse, you start siphoning gas from abandoned cars and gas stations on your wandering way. Fill up your ride and voila, you're back on the road!

    Reality: Any combustible, including those used as car and motorcycle fuel, is a chemical compound with a life cycle of its own and therefore an expiration date. After as little as six months to a year, gas is no longer a useable power source for any vehicle.

    In After Reset RPG: For the descendants of those who lived through the apocalypse on the surface, combustibles are a rarity. As a matter of fact, so are vehicles with internal combustion engines that derive power from them. Nonetheless, there are rumors about organizations in the New Confederacy having field oil refineries like the ones built by locals during the war in Syria in 2013 C.E. It is also known that some United Government technology by 123 A.R. uses special kinds of liquid fuel.

    MYTH #3: WHEELED TRANSPORT

    Myth: Whether breaking into an abandoned garage, or just checking the ignition in an abandoned vehicle, you're always exchanging one stylish set of wheels for another one and tearing off into the endless expanse of the Wasteland.

    Reality: Even if you're able to find workable fuel and charge the battery, in ideal conditions, without a mechanic these vehicles can only do what they were made to do for 7-15 years more. As soon as the paint begins to peel off (which happens within a few years), corrosion starts eating the metal at a rate of 0,3 inches per year. After 20 years, any car abandoned in a coastal area will already have become an indistinct rusted skeleton. The same fate awaits these man-made constructions in other climate zones in 30-75 years. Man-made metal constructions will last the longest in a dry desert climate. The only consolation, no matter how senseless, is that the tires will stick around for 100 years after the end of the world.

    In After Reset RPG: In the arid desert climate of the Great Desert even more than 100 years after the Reset, some parts of some vehicles remain in places as the metal skeletons of the Past Era. In coastal areas of the State of Eagle you barely make out these hunks of metal, long ago consumed by rust and buried in the ground. But tires… you find tires everywhere.

    * * *

    Drooling yet? :)

    Then support us and stay tuned for more!

    Back us on Kickstarter.
    Add us on Steam Greenlight.
    Join After Reset™ RPG official website.
     
    balaam and SememeS like this.
  2. Mr-Nixon

    Mr-Nixon

    Joined:
    Mar 30, 2013
    Posts:
    140
    POST-APOCALYPTIC MYTHS BUSTED. PART II.

    Hi guys,

    As many of you already knows, recently, in my work designing and analyzing concepts for another weapon from our game, I heard that there hasn't yet been a hard science fiction video game. In complete disbelief, I checked the Internet and Wikipedia. It's hard to imagine my surprise when I came up empty handed.

    Yes, the international gaming community has industry standard space operas (Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, Mass Effect, etc.); space westerns (are you waiting for Firefly too?); purely apocalyptic/post-apocalyptic games (Fallout, Metro, etc.); cyberpunk (Deus Ex, Syndicate, etc.); steampunk (Arcanum, Dishonored etc.); alternate history games (Command and Conquer) and more.

    But it turns out that no one has yet made a completely hard science fiction game, despite the fact that since the time of H. G. Wells, it has been considered the original science fiction genre. The difference lies in its strict adherence to scientific laws firmly established at the time of writing. What really made these books stand out was their detailed scientific and technical basis and their realistic extrapolation from that.

    It turns out that the relentlessly scientific approach that we've been building into every nook and cranny of our setting since the beginning has the potential to make After Reset RPG the first hard science fiction video game in history.

    After discussing this discovery with our team and gaming journalists, I decided to summarize and share some of the most enduring classic myths about life after the apocalypse that we intend to do away with in our game. I remind you that this is intended for an adult audience, and in order to convince that audience of the reality and authenticity of our game, and by the same token to allow the game to really let the players immerse themselves in their characters – it needs to be truly scientifically convincing as well as being based on facts and real world experience.

    Well, what are we waiting for? Pour yourself a glass of something cold, lean back in your chair and let's keep busting those classic movie and video game myths about life after the end of the world.

    You can read the first part here: Post-Apocalyptic Myths Busted. Part I.



    MYTH #4: EVERLASTING CANNED GOODS

    Myth: Year after year you and your friendly band of courageous survivors search abandoned houses for canned goods. Of course, sooner or later you find these delicacies, and feast around the fire remembering the world before the apocalypse.

    Reality: The good news is that ideally selected, sterilized food in a hermetically sealed container can be stored practically forever if kept at a low enough temperature. The bad news is that cans have two weak points: the packaging is susceptible to destruction and the environment can be a destructive influence. The true expiration date of canned food that you read on the can is not the time when the contents of the can will spoil, but the time when the metal of the can will corrode to the point of having holes if the protective coating is scratched away. Beyond that, the processes of conserving food for home storage (probably not long, 1-2 years) and for long term storage (50-100 years) are very different. So, first of all most packaged products left in homes will be destroyed by rodents (as well as the package); and secondly, what remains even after 5-7 years is unlikely to be edible. Of course, this does not apply in arctic zones where the constantly frozen climate helps protect food products both from decomposition and rodents.

    In After Reset RPG: In some places in the expanses of the Great Desert or the State of Eagle, 123 years after the Reset you can still dig up some kinds of long-storage cans (mostly from the US Army) produced even before the United Governments came to be. But before slurping down the contents of the can, make sure to study the can for bulges, check it with the Geiger counter, and pray.

    MYTH #5: SUPERTECHNOLOGY FOR PERSONAL USE

    Myth: World's gone to pot? No problem! You and your group can set off into the ruined cities and dig up some radical laser Gatling guns. You can pick up some Power Armor from abandoned military bases. Reprogram abandoned robots. And just start technologically dominating in general, forming your own technocratic Empire on the ruins of the old world.

    Reality: Due to the fact that an EMP is one of the surprising effects of a nuclear explosion, all electrical equipment not specially shielded in the blast zone will be instantly and irreversibly damaged. The basic mechanism of action of EMP is called the Compton Effect. Gamma rays force fast (Compton) electrons to come out of the atoms at very sharp angles from the vector of the gamma rays that knocked them out of place, instantly creating powerful currents and a radial electric field. These fast electrons in their turn ionize atoms in the surrounding area (a cascade ionization) as a result of which orders of magnitude more slow ions appear, which move in the direction of the force lines of the radial field, creating a conduction current in that area. As a result unprotected electronics are permanently and irreversibly burnt out.

    In After Reset RPG: Setting off the United Government's nuclear arsenal actually had little to do with the EMP apocalypse because most strategic nuclear units (those that were not destroyed as a result of the formation of the United Governments) were located up high, not exceeding 10 km above sea level. Most of the EMP destruction was caused by resonant impulses, emanating from the alien artifacts over the last ten minutes before the Reset. As a matter of fact it was this that served as the trigger for the nuclear reaction on the part of the UG which resulted in the Reset. All this means that most of the Past Era gadgets you can find on the earth's surface in 132 A.R. (those that by some miracle have not yet turned to dust after a hundred years of corrosion) will be simply unusable and irreparable. This is a new world, a new civilization in which the relics of the past are well and truly rare artifacts. The origin and existence of all of these artifacts is accounted for in detail from a scientific viewpoint.

    MYTH #6: SPORTS EQUIPMENT AS ARMOR

    Myth: You often come across gangs, raiders and just armed groups of people in general dressed in massive pieces of defensive material originally made as padding for American football with cool trapezoidal shapes, stylish shoulder pads, knee pads, helmets, masks and other impressive "found armor."

    Reality: Football pads? Lineman shoulder pads? Hockey helmets? Iron masks? Guys, are you serious? Even if we overlook their unwieldiness and the discomfort of constantly wearing sham props from classic post-apocalyptic films, the fact is this sport equipment's real protective ability is laughable. Your appearance will be fear-inducing, but you'll die from one bullet, knife jab or even just a simple hammer strike. There is one small exception related to improving the wearer's mobility – cleats. Every one from Soviet soldiers in Afghanistan to professional mercenaries in Iraq would often carry cleats, and change into them, preferring them to standard issue military boots.

    In After Reset RPG: You'll hardly be likely to run into people in sports pads and idiotic unwieldy masks carrying hockey sticks and the like. Most things from the Past Era not made of synthetic materials have turned to dust or rags. The new civilization that lived through the Reset on the surface has already been making its own clothes, armor and weaponry for decades. However, as was already noted above, most things from the Past Era, even those without a functional application, are perceived as rare artifacts in societies capable of satisfying basic human needs. There are even whole groups completely devoted to seeking out, identifying, selling and reselling such artifacts.

    MYTH #7: RELIGIOUS CULTS FLOURISH

    Myth: Those who lived through the End of the World, as predicted by all major world religions, have been plunged back into the Dark Ages, full of strange cults and witch-hunts. There are cargo cults and other fanatics everywhere.

    Reality: Sociological studies of the change in level of religious adherence among the populations of European countries before and after the First and Second World Wars have shown the opposite reaction. Rejecting the possibility that the Creator could allow such cataclysms, the number of atheists among survivors of those wars and among the following generations leapt from 1-3% before to 20-50% after. Of course there are always the crazies, but there's no reason to expect any kind of religious domination of society.

    In After Reset RPG: Among the survivors of the Reset on the surface, there are many atheists. However you can find the echoes of the major world religions everywhere. Traveling through the Great Desert and the State of Eagle you can come across some cults and acquaint yourself with the huge, stable religious society The Indian Alliance, and small churches in the New Confederacy.

    * * *

    Keeping drooling? :)

    Then support us and stay tuned for more!

    Back us on Kickstarter.
    Add us on Steam Greenlight.
    Join After Reset™ RPG official website.
     
    balaam and SememeS like this.
  3. Mr-Nixon

    Mr-Nixon

    Joined:
    Mar 30, 2013
    Posts:
    140
    POST-APOCALYPTIC MYTHS BUSTED. PART III.

    As many of you already knows, recently, in my work designing and analyzing concepts for another weapon from our game, I heard that there hasn't yet been a hard science fiction video game. In complete disbelief, I checked the Internet and Wikipedia. It's hard to imagine my surprise when I came up empty handed.

    Yes, the international gaming community has industry standard space operas (Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, Mass Effect, etc.); space westerns (are you waiting for Firefly too?); purely apocalyptic/post-apocalyptic games (Fallout, Metro, etc.); cyberpunk (Deus Ex, Syndicate, etc.); steampunk (Arcanum, Dishonored etc.); alternate history games (Command and Conquer) and more.

    But it turns out that no one has yet made a completely hard science fiction game, despite the fact that since the time of H. G. Wells, it has been considered the original science fiction genre. The difference lies in its strict adherence to scientific laws firmly established at the time of writing. What really made these books stand out was their detailed scientific and technical basis and their realistic extrapolation from that.

    It turns out that the relentlessly scientific approach that we've been building into every nook and cranny of our setting since the beginning has the potential to make After Reset RPG the first hard science fiction video game in history.

    After discussing this discovery with our team and gaming journalists, I decided to summarize and share some of the most enduring classic myths about life after the apocalypse that we intend to do away with in our game. I remind you that this is intended for an adult audience, and in order to convince that audience of the reality and authenticity of our game, and by the same token to allow the game to really let the players immerse themselves in their characters – it needs to be truly scientifically convincing as well as being based on facts and real world experience.

    Well, what are we waiting for? Pour yourself a glass of something cold, lean back in your chair and let's keep busting those classic movie and video game myths about life after the end of the world.

    You can read the first part here: Post-Apocalyptic Myths Busted. Part I.
    You can read the second part here: Post-Apocalyptic Myths Busted. Part II.



    MYTH #8: LEGIONS OF ZOMBIES

    Myth: Zombies. Hordes of man-eating zombies everywhere. And you, with your perfectly fitted sheriff's hat, or closely trimmed Brad Pitt-esque beard, go about gunning these abominations down, with the help of other survivors. Of course, in roaming across the country you are able to avoid being bit by these creatures as you valiantly hold off wave after wave of zombies.

    Reality: Zombies are nothing more than a mythical archetypical character of modern mass culture. The key word here is mythological. Even if we suppose this unbelievable pandemic, which spreads ideally and allows necrotic neurogenesis (a process that allows dead brain tissue to grow again). Yes, with the completely dead husk of a brain, which is what makes a person human, you can achieve reanimation of the part of the brain that deals with basic motor functions and primitive instincts. Sure, you could contract brain parasites such as Toxoplasma gondii. But, even with this kind of pandemic, it will not multiply by infecting others by biting, even if you eat all the calories from your victim, i.e. absolutely everything to the bare bones. Beyond that, after only 30 days a fantasy pandemic of zombies cannot get food by itself, but instead by constantly burning energy, will simply shrivel up and die off the natural way. They have no way to run after you.

    In After Reset RPG: No brain-eating zombies. In some regions (for example in zones with abandoned Artifacts) you can come across people that don't seem "quite right in the head," but even they are not going to eat your brains, what's more, they won't even try. Living people will present a much bigger threat than hordes of these invented and popularized beings.

    MYTH #9: MUTANTS, SUPERMUTANS, ULTRAMUTANTS

    Myth: After a nuclear apocalypse many people will have turned into hideous mutants, and some will even have attained superpowers from the radiation.

    Reality: Studies on the consequences of the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and also the Chernobyl disaster have shown that people exposed to the effects of ionized radiation simply die. There is simply no biological basis for adaptive mutation, like those seen in Drosophila flies, for the human body. The problem here is hidden in humankind's insufficient birth rate and extremely long lifespan. As it relates to the effects of radiation on the next generation – that is just a sad story.

    In After Reset RPG: 123 years after the Reset, most of the descendants of those who lived through the nuclear apocalypse on the surface of the Earth look and genetically are the same Homo sapiens. Of course, with the passage of time there are some adaptive changes such as increased liver size (for better filtration of harmful substances) or in the retina of the eye (for more protection from UV radiation), but in most cases this is practically unidentifiable without serious medical study. From time to time in the settlements of the survivors, children with visibly noticeable mutations are born, but they rarely survive birth and natural selection in general. And if they survive, they suffer persecution worse than Tyrion in Game of Thrones. As a rule these mutants are called Deviants. They lead unsociable or reclusive lives. Despite the fact that most of them are infertile, if they can have children, they are born completely normal.

    MYTH #10: CANNIBALISM AS A FOOD SOURCE

    Myth: Whether suffering from a lack of food or just to have a little extra, people started to eat each other. These cannibals started to pop up in groups and hunt other survivors in order to eat the slowest of them. These monsters, having tasted human flesh, are easy to pick out from a crowd due to their characteristic tremble.

    Reality: We won't be discussing modern instances of cannibalism here, borne out of fairly rare psychological deviations. It's better to consider cannibalism as a result of hunger, which is truly unavoidable in the case of a nuclear cataclysm. A great number of instances of cannibalism out of need are known, when people faced with death from hunger had to eat the flesh of those who had already died of natural causes, or even more rarely were killed by the cannibals. But we shouldn't forget that these people became social outcasts, and the psychological trauma and feeling of guilt of those forced into cannibalism remained with them until the end of their lives, even leading some to suicide. What then are the "characteristic physiological signs" by which we can distinguish a cannibal from a normal person? Well in popular media, movies and video games they show the consequences of very real prion diseases, which are spread by eating an infected subject. But these diseases are very rare and as a rule wipe out populations on their own before they can spread.

    In After Reset RPG: Everywhere in the new Western America, where the game takes place cannibalism is judged and acknowledged as a taboo. In the cities of the New Confederacy a proven act of cannibalism can easily lead to a hanging. For the small contingent of the United Governments in the region, cannibalism is so barbaric that they would never consider it. Some tribes of the Indian Union have resorted to ritual cannibalism from time to time, but with the development of agriculture and livestock farming even these rituals have been replaced with symbolic ones. But this relates to the major factions of the region as a whole. If we consider the question on a smaller scale, abnormal people can be found everywhere, and of course "what happens in the Wasteland stays in the Wasteland." But, of course you cannot tell a normal person from a cannibal by purely physiological attributes.

    * * *

    Keeping drooling :)

    Then support us and stay tuned for more!

    Back us on Kickstarter.
    Add us on Steam Greenlight.
    Join After Reset™ RPG official website.
     
    balaam likes this.
  4. Mr-Nixon

    Mr-Nixon

    Joined:
    Mar 30, 2013
    Posts:
    140
    TonyNowak likes this.
  5. Mr-Nixon

    Mr-Nixon

    Joined:
    Mar 30, 2013
    Posts:
    140
    First Tech Ex-Build Open Access
    Dear backers,

    In this bit of news, we’d like to share Open Access for our first Atmospheric Pre-Alpha build which is now available for everyone in Windows/Linux/Mac supported versions!



    Download Links:

    WINDOWS 64: http://www.dropbox.com/s/0r70351nub6wu8y/AfterResetRPG-ksbuild.zip
    WINDOWS 32: http://www.dropbox.com/s/ziyyijvqvjtjts0/AfterResetRPG-ksbuild86.zip
    MAC: http://www.dropbox.com/s/ehoiyizv4oceh9k/ARRPG-KS-MAC.app.zip
    LINUX: http://www.dropbox.com/s/tmjh9k2sidmknix/ARRPG-KS-LIN.zip

    Installation: Not required. Just run “After Reset RPG - kickstarter build.exe”.

    Controls (mouse+keyboard):
    Walk – LMB or WSAD
    Toggle run/walk – TAB
    Change appearance: 1,2,3,4
    Put in/out headgear: [,]
    Play Hail animation: `
    Camera Zoom: Mouse Roll
    Camera Turn: Edges Turn or fixed RMB.
    Dev options panel: o.

    Please use the following thread to describe any tech issues with the current Tech Build that you play:
    http://www.afterreset.com/forum/showthread.php?p=143

    And feel free to share your impressions here:
    http://www.afterreset.com/forum/showthread.php?p=207

    IMPORTANT NOTES:
    Please keep in mind, this is an OLD version that we prepared for our first trial on KickStarter. Additionally, please know that this build is just a demonstration of the graphics level, camera view and general atmosphere of the game.

    Video graphics are not yet optimized but they looks nice and go more than 80fps on GeForce GTX 780 for sure. So if this build runs smoothly on your machine – you can count the same (frankly, even better) performance while playing the Prologue or final complete game.

    The new Pre-Alpha build, which you can see in our freshly made videos (with character creation, bunker’s interior with interactions, and an exterior level with dialogues) will be available for our BACKERS only, as a part of their Instant Access reward right after this KickStarter campaign.

    Thank you for your support and have fun!

    Back us on Kickstarter.
    Add us on Steam Greenlight.
    Join After Reset™ RPG official website.
     
  6. colony3z

    colony3z

    Joined:
    Jul 8, 2014
    Posts:
    25
    Looks like a good game.
     
  7. Mr-Nixon

    Mr-Nixon

    Joined:
    Mar 30, 2013
    Posts:
    140
    My dear friends,

    Today we’ve crossed the Rubicon in the history of After Reset. We’ve funded and it took us only 10 days to achieve it. And when I say ‘we’ I imply every one of YOU even more than myself, or anyone else Black Cloud Studios. Rephrasing my namesake: “We must always remember that modern gamers represent a great nation today not because of what developers did for gamers but because of what gamers did for themselves and for one another.”

    I truly regard After Reset as a proof that any… really any mere gamer, like myself, can take it upon themselves to stop moaning on forums and establish your own serious development team to build the game of their dreams. It won’t be easy. It will probably be much harder than your previous life. But if you follow your heart, you will find a way.

    Once again, congratulations my friends!



    As a second part of today’s Update, I’d like to update our FAQ with the most frequent issues we’ve met in our correspondence since the beginning of the current campaign.

    * * *

    Q: Why did you drop our goal from $900k to $35k?

    A: We still plan to create the same big and sophisticated RPG as we originally planed, but to make this game real we had to split it up into smaller chapters. With your help we can complete the Prologue and put it into Steam EA, and possibly GOG EA as well. According the statistics, SEA brings 10 times more donations than Kickstarter does. That is the good motivator for us to go for a critical hit in maximizing our efforts now for extra stretch goals and achievements.

    * * *

    Q: Why do you need cinematic intro for the game as the first stretch goal?

    A: As a gamer, I feel that true immersion into the story and setting begins with the intro. I bet a decent number of our backers, my dear friends, were initially drawn to our project by our backstory movie. As a manager, I must admit that we really need it for successful SEA results. I hope you understand.

    * * *

    Q: What other stretch-goals will there be?

    A: Frankly, when I planned our new strategy of the project’s funding by parts/chapters, I split all the features up into different stretch-goals between each chapter budget (except for the cinematic intro). Hence, our stretch-goals will consist of separate chapter’s budgets. Those parts/chapters will contain big story shards with a bunch of side quests and massive neighboring regions to explore.

    * * *

    Q: If I participate the Alpha/Beta tests or SEA, won’t I lose my interest for the game?

    A: I ask myself that same question every time I see a promising game in SEA, and I believe I’ve found a promising solution, which I’ve outlined in the following two measures:

    First we use a sandbox simulation for the game’s AI. I used to program that earlier for Newerwinter Nights’ Persistent World “Baldur’s Gate” that I hosted. The idea is that there won’t be static quests except for the main storyline. NPCs could be out of the area when you are there, or they could go chill, or they could not be in the mood to give you some quests, or they could die doing their routine that is not connected with your adventures… anything could happen.

    Therefore, side storylines will work much like random encounters in Fallout 1 and 2. When you touch the main storyline then your previous choices will rise to the surface with interesting and unexpected results. My objective there (as a director) will be to make the line between main storyline and side storylines indistinguishable.

    Second is a big final stage of development. It will take the same amount of time as it takes to develop one chapter, but it will be completely devoted to adding extra locations (some with small quests) for random encounters. These won’t be revealed in the beta, so when you get to see them they’ll be fresh experiences even if you participated in all of the other chapters on SEA. This should also increase gameplay time by about 30%.

    In summary, I believe After Reset RPG should bring your personal story to life and still support replayability even if you’ve participated in each stage of development.

    * * *

    Q: I am a backer. Will I gain access to all of chapters or just the "prologue"?

    A: Our backers will receive full access to each episode as well as the full game.

    * * *



    Okay, guys. Once again thank you for your attitude, support, and trust. Feel free share your opinion about my vision and plan.

    And stay tuned for more daily updates!

    Back us on Kickstarter.
    Add us on Steam Greenlight.
    Join After Reset™ RPG official website.
     
  8. Mr-Nixon

    Mr-Nixon

    Joined:
    Mar 30, 2013
    Posts:
    140
    Hi guys,

    In this news we'd like to share game lore about the species of the After Reset world. This news is dedicated to Humans.

    A species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring.

    IMPORTANT NOTES: Due to storyline limitations, you can choose only Human species for your character in After Reset RPG's single-player mode. Despite that, you will meet a variety of other species during your adventure in the world of the game.

    HUMANS:




    Humans are the most diverse and contradictory species in the world of After Reset. Being one of the most adaptable, flexible, fierce predators on the planet, humans easily gnawed their way to the top of the food chain in the Past Age. Along with that, humans kept and developed exalted, soulful life drivers like love, compassion, faithfulness and self-sacrifice; as well as passion, violence, betrayal and madness.

    The average human height varies from 5 to 6 feet tall, with an average weight of 125 to 250 pounds. Men are normally heavier and taller than the typical woman. Human skin color varies from almost black to pale white, and the typical hair color is from black to blonde. Human hairstyles show much variety - long or short; curly, kinky or straight. Male humans can grow facial hair that varies from sparse to thick.

    During the Past Age, humans overpopulated the Earth. By the count of the United Governments, human population exceeds 17 billion people by the end of 2 B.R. During the Reset, more than 99% of them perished. The human civilization as we know it was destroyed during that apocalypse or the years that followed.

    SPECIES TRAITS:
    Base HP: 10.
    HP per level: 8.
    Base Field of Sight: 180-degree.
    Base Range of Sight: 300ft (60 squares).
    Base Attack Quantity: 2 per round (6 sec).
    Base Speed: 30ft (6 squares) per round (6 sec).
    Skill Points per level: 4 + INT Modifier.
    Skill Points at 1st level: (4 + INT Modifier) × 4.

    * * *

    That is all for today, I hope you've enjoyed reading that lore.

    Coming parts of the lore about species are coming (Animals, Insects, Plants, Synthetics, Biomass, Incoeporeals). And according to our tradition, after the end of that small series we'll put those pretty concept arts in HD available to our backers exclusively.

    Thanks for your support and stay tuned!

    Back us on Kickstarter.
    Add us on Steam Greenlight.
    Join After Reset™ RPG official website.
     
  9. Mr-Nixon

    Mr-Nixon

    Joined:
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    Posts:
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    ANIMALS:



    Animals are multicellular organisms of the kingdom Animalia (also called Metazoa) whose cells contain a nucleus and other structures (organelles) enclosed within membranes. Their body plan eventually becomes fixed as they develop, although some undergo a process of metamorphosis later on in their lives. Most animals are motile, meaning they can move spontaneously and independently. All animals must ingest other organisms or their products for sustenance.

    During the Reset, the majority of animals were wiped from the Earth's surface. Locked in the cities, most of the domestic animals also died - either instantly, or from lack of food that they were not skilled enough to get by themselves. More than 90% of the rest were extinguished during the first decades after reset, due to enormous ecological damage inflicted to the lowest levels of the Earth's food chain.

    Despite all of that, it turned out that humanity was much more of a threat to fauna then even the Reset itself. After the first decades of apocalypse, the radiation level decreased and Yellow Zones began to emerge. Without human interaction, the flora overtook those new regions and the animals soon followed.

    By 132 A.R. animals, plants and insects are the dominant species on the Earth. Many of the animals of the Past Age were extinguished forever, but their place is being intensively taken over by new ones - adapted, evolved, or even brought from another world during the alien terramorphing.

    * * *

    That is all for today, I hope you've enjoyed reading that lore.

    There other parts of the lore about species is coming (Insects, Plants, Synthetics, Biomass, Incorporeals). And according to our tradition, after the end of that small series we'll put those pretty concept arts in HD available to our backers exclusively.

    Thanks for your support and stay tuned!

    Back us on Kickstarter.
    Add us on Steam Greenlight.
    Join After Reset™ RPG official website.
     
  10. Mr-Nixon

    Mr-Nixon

    Joined:
    Mar 30, 2013
    Posts:
    140
    Hi guys,

    In this news we'd like to share game lore about the species of the After Reset world. This news is dedicated to Insects.

    Beyond that, if you've just joined to our daily news stream, you can find previous data about other species at these links:
    Species in After Reset RPG: Part I. Humans.
    Species in After Reset RPG: Part II. Animals.

    A species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring.

    IMPORTANT NOTES: Due to storyline limitations, you can choose only Human species for your character in After Reset RPG's single-player mode. Despite that, you will meet a variety of other species during your adventure in the world of the game.

    INSECTS:



    Insects are invertebrate eukaryotic organisms having an external skeleton, a segmented body, and jointed appendages. Insects as a species are general representation of Arthropoda, i.e. "foot" or "leg", which together mean "jointed leg", and include the insects (wasps, grasshoppers, flies, cockroaches, beetles, isopods, etc.), arachnids (scorpions, spiders, mites, etc.), crustaceans (crabs, lobsters, shrimps) and trilobites (almost extinguished by the Past Age, that name is now used by scientists of SOC for all type of insects with non-earth DNA).

    Even before the Reset, the number of insects is estimated at between six and ten million, and potentially represented over 90% of the different animal life forms on Earth. Insects could be found in nearly all environments, and were one of the largest groups in the food chain on Earth. Their real challenge is the cold - insects are unable to produce heat metabolically. Most of their survival techniques involve skirting around freezing weather – migration, freeze tolerance (waiting for the sun), or freeze avoidance (habitat and supercooling).

    Because of their prevalence, vitality, unpretentiousness, high radiation resistance and reproduction rate, the insects became the largest and the most widespread organisms within the warm regions of Earth after apocalypse. By 132 A.R. its representatives could be easily found even in Red Zones. With that, as the most prevalent source of proteins, insects became the major brick in the biological food chain on the surface.

    * * *

    That is all for today, I hope you've enjoyed reading that lore.

    There other parts of the lore about species is coming (Plants, Synthetics, Biomass, Incorporeals). And according to our tradition, after the end of that small series we'll put those pretty concept arts in HD available to our backers exclusively.

    Thanks for your support and stay tuned!

    Back us on Kickstarter.
    Add us on Steam Greenlight.
    Join After Reset™ RPG official website.
     
  11. Mr-Nixon

    Mr-Nixon

    Joined:
    Mar 30, 2013
    Posts:
    140
    Hi guys,

    In this news we proceed sharing game lore about the species of the After Reset world. This news is dedicated to Plants.

    Beyond that, if you've just joined to our daily news stream, you can find previous data about other species at these links:
    Species in After Reset RPG: Part I. Humans.
    Species in After Reset RPG: Part II. Animals.
    Species in After Reset RPG: Part III. Insects.

    A species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring.

    IMPORTANT NOTES: Due to storyline limitations, you can choose only Human species for your character in After Reset RPG's single-player mode. Despite that, you will meet a variety of other species during your adventure in the world of the game.

    PLANTS:


    Plants are the most widespread living multicellular organisms in the world after the Reset. They form a clade that includes the flowering plants, conifers and other gymnosperms, ferns, club mosses, hornworts, liverworts and mosses - as well as, depending on definition, the algae, etc.

    Before the Reset green plants were the dominant part of the flora. Such type of plants has cell walls with cellulose and characteristically obtains most of their energy from sunlight via photosynthesis using chlorophyll contained in chloroplasts, which gives it its green color. Some plants were parasitic and have lost the ability to produce normal amounts of chlorophyll or to photosynthesize.

    During the first decades after the apocalypse, when the green plants were dying off in huge numbers, that last group of flora took advantage of the opportunity to spread among the subterranean regions - developing its ability to gain required energy and substances from sources other than sunlight and water. The largest accumulations of these plants are usually spotted close to Red Zones - which keeps the question of alien terramorphing's effects on Earth open.

    * * *

    That is all for today, I hope you've enjoyed reading that lore.

    There other parts of the lore about species is coming (Synthetics, Biomass, Incorporeals). And according to our tradition, after the end of that small series we'll put those pretty concept arts in HD available to our backers exclusively.

    Btw, who can say what plants are depicted in our concept art and why they are dangerous?)

    Back us on Kickstarter.
    Add us on Steam Greenlight.
    Join After Reset™ RPG official website.
     
  12. Mr-Nixon

    Mr-Nixon

    Joined:
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    SYNTHETICS:



    The Synthetics are species of artificially constructed machines, robots, virtual and artificial intelligences - as well as any other synthetic components, creatures and beings.

    By 132 A.R. the largest Synthetic of the United Governments is the Quanton - a unified quantum computer network of the United Governments. It is a disorganized network from local quantum subnetworks called Quanton Hubs, which are often given the personalized names of bunkers, cities or other places where they exist.

    Despite its cutting-edge technologies, the Quanton is not a fully-fledged AI. The initial prototype Quanton was developed back in the Past Age within the walls of the Science Corps of the UG. However, even in the design stage it fell under the oversight of the HRW Department (abbreviation of Human Rights Watch) of the Social Corps of the UG. The purpose of this oversight was to enforce the proactive and comprehensive ban on the creation, or accidental appearance of AI during work on the project. After the Reset, for a variety of social and technical reasons, Quanton grew into the universal information infrastructure of the whole UG.

    * * *

    That is all for today, I hope you've enjoyed reading that lore.

    There other parts of the lore about species is coming (Biomass, Incorporeals). And according to our tradition, after the end of that small series we'll put those pretty concept arts in HD available to our backers exclusively.

    Thanks for your support and stay tuned!

    Back us on Kickstarter.
    Add us on Steam Greenlight.
    Join After Reset™ RPG official website.
     
  13. Mr-Nixon

    Mr-Nixon

    Joined:
    Mar 30, 2013
    Posts:
    140
    BIOMASS:


    Even to the scientists of the United Governments, there is not much known about Biomass by 132 A.R. According to Scientific Corps, there was no evidence of Biomass species in the Past Age. The only examples of the species were found by drones rarely returned from the Red Zones. Upon being taken out of a Red Zone, a Biomass species loses its state of separate species, hibernating or decomposing into other species or just consuming itself.

    However, there are some legends among Indians who live close to the borders of Red Zones ("Bad Lands", as they called it) about the demons devouring flesh and souls of those who encroach upon their territory. Similar folk tales are common among several groups of the survivor societies.

    One way or another, due to extremely hazardous environments in the Red Zones, the study of Biomass keeps being complicated - leaving its true nature and origin unidentified.

    * * *

    That is all for today, I hope you've enjoyed reading that lore.

    There other part of the lore about species is coming (Incorporeals). And according to our tradition, after the end of that small series we'll put those pretty concept arts in HD available to our backers exclusively.

    Thanks for your support and stay tuned!

    Back us on Kickstarter.
    Add us on Steam Greenlight.
    Join After Reset™ RPG official website.
     
  14. Aiursrage2k

    Aiursrage2k

    Joined:
    Nov 1, 2009
    Posts:
    4,835
    Now this is a good looking game
     
  15. Mr-Nixon

    Mr-Nixon

    Joined:
    Mar 30, 2013
    Posts:
    140
    Thank you ^_^
     
  16. Mr-Nixon

    Mr-Nixon

    Joined:
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    Posts:
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    The "Gyes" Bunker: First Screenshots.
    Today 12:27 PM, MrNixon
    Hi guys,

    In today's update, as I promised, we'd like to reveal you several in-game screenshots from the "Gyes" bunker. Below, there is one of its levels, where your journey will start.

    Please, keep in mind:
    - that this is our rough version "in progress";
    - it is filled only with 40% of required objects;
    - the lightning is not set yet;
    - the preferences are set at low quality level (when we make a video they will be at maximum);
    - despite that we use 4k textures (and we still test Physically Based Rendered textures).

    So, lets pick an eye on what's going on there:

    This is the whole level from above with ISO (isometric) view switched on. It looks like a map from Fallout: Tactics, isn't it:


    [click to see full HD1080i]

    Here I tried to zoom a little with ISO (isometric) view switched on just to test that option:


    [click to see full HD1080i]

    And this is how the whole level looks like in our common 3d camera from bird's-eye view:


    [click to see full HD1080i]

    And from another angle:


    [click to see full HD1080i]

    The level of details with zoomed camera:


    [click to see full HD1080i]

    Commander Cell:


    [click to see full HD1080i]

    Generator Room:


    [click to see full HD1080i]

    ECLCC Room:


    [click to see full HD1080i]

    Main Hall:


    [click to see full HD1080i]

    Emergency Hall:


    [click to see full HD1080i]

    So, what do you think, guys?

    Back us on Kickstarter.
    Add us on Steam Greenlight.
    Join After Reset™ RPG official website.
     
  17. Thunderent

    Thunderent

    Pocket Artist

    Joined:
    Oct 8, 2010
    Posts:
    435
    This looks like a very promising game! I am a big fan of games with rich storylines/lore especially post-apocalyptic stuff,so I'll be following the development closely.

    *subscribed to thread*
     
  18. makoto_snkw

    makoto_snkw

    Joined:
    Aug 14, 2013
    Posts:
    340
    I like this.
    But just my humble opinion, this resembles Mass Effects + Star Craft.
    Well, that's make a good genre all together.
    Hope the storyline will be fun to play. :D
     
  19. Mr-Nixon

    Mr-Nixon

    Joined:
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  20. Mr-Nixon

    Mr-Nixon

    Joined:
    Mar 30, 2013
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    Dear followers,

    In this news I'd like to share some info and concept arts of small assistant drones of the United Governments' Corps you will meet in the game.

    Assistant drones are relatively small, mechanical agents, usually electro-mechanical machines that are operated by a computer program or electronic circuitry. Drones can be autonomous or semi-autonomous and range from small, pet-sized drones to massive industrial drones, or even swarms of collectively programmed drones. By mimicking a lifelike appearance or automating movements, assistant drones may convey a sense of intelligence or thoughts of their own.

    Most varieties of the United Governments' drones are fueled by common variants of Fusion Cells or Microfusion Cells. Several advanced commercial models as well as military assistant drones have universal power adapters installed which grants them the ability to be powered by Plasma Cells and Microplasma Cells as well.

    ENGINEERING ASSISTANT DRONES





    This model of assistant drones represents the collaborative works of Lockhart Robotics and Ishima Industries, one of the largest corporations of the United Governments. Like most other assistant drone models, this model can be piloted remotely by OS hub, works automatically in offline mode, and may be operated manually.

    With centuries of experience, Lockhart Robotics remains the leader in drones markets and manufactures the majority of commercial and governmental standard drones. Their production dominance resulted in drones becoming cheap and readily available human substitutes for most dirty tasks or routines.

    Through cooperation with Ishima Industries, one of the major construction corporations of the UG, by 132 A.R. Engineering Assistant Drones received many useful engineering tools, making them perfect automated instruments of maintenance service for many UG cities and bunkers.

    LAB ASSISTANT DRONES





    Initially this model of assistant drone was developed by Lockhart Robotics and Eos Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology, and since 65 A.R. it has been put to use by pharmaceutical companies, hospitals, universities, and other high tech offices of research and medical corporations. Like most other models of assistant drones, the Lab Assistant model can be piloted remotely by OS hub, works automatically in offline mode, and may be operated manually.

    With centuries of experience, Lockhart Robotics remains the leader in drones markets and manufactures the majority of commercial and governmental standard drones. Their production dominance resulted in drones becoming cheap and readily available human substitutes for most dirty tasks or routines.

    Part of the robot's appeal is its highly intricate and adaptable functions. The Lab Assistant Drone was designed to do anything people can do, so it doesn't require a special set of tools, and it's not limited to a small set of tasks. "Beyond that, Lab Assistant Drones are relatively easily programmed and possess the capability of "cloud intelligence synchronization", which grants these drones the ability to learn new skills on their own. All these features have made this model of drone the most popular on the open market of Undereath.

    MIC ASSISTANT DRONES





    This model of assistant drone is the result of cooperation between Lockhart Robotics and MARPCO, the largest military contractor of the United Governments responsible for the development of new technologies for use by the military. Like most of the other models, this assistant drone can be piloted remotely by OS hub, works automatically in offline mode, and may be operated manually.

    With centuries of experience, Lockhart Robotics remains the leader in drones markets and manufactures the majority of commercial and governmental standard drones. Their production dominance resulted in drones becoming cheap and readily available human substitutes for most dirty tasks or routines.

    This model of assistant drone is basically just a modified version of standard police drones used by Police Departments Underearth. The major circuitries that underwent changes were the weapon systems swapped with the latest versions of drone laser cannons, which shares its specs with PHELP-14 arms.

    Since 112 A.R. the MIC Assistant Drones have proved themselves useful for indoor security and outdoor patrol operations of the UG Army.

    * * *

    Well, boys and girls, I hope you like what you've read and seen. And according our traditions, we'll put the concept arts of those drones in HD available to our backers exclusively in the next closed update.

    Thanks for your support and stay tuned for coming news!

    Back us on Kickstarter.
    Add us on Steam Greenlight.
    Join After Reset™ RPG official website.
     
  21. Mr-Nixon

    Mr-Nixon

    Joined:
    Mar 30, 2013
    Posts:
    140
    Good news, everyone,

    We reached the first stretch-goal "Cinematic Intro": atmospheric cinematic 3d intro for proper immersion into the story and for better results on Steam EA. And now we head to the next stretch-goal [$100k] "Programmer, Writer, Project Manager Go Full-Time": with full-time work on the game we'll be able to boost the development process about 2 times faster.



    Meanwhile, let's proceed to the Character Creation Process which sketch you could see in our video earlier: Main Menu and Character Creation Overview.

    As we already examined all Species of After Reset world, let's what races the Human species consists of. In this news we launch a series of lore publications about human races of the After Reset world. This news is dedicated to Pastagers.

    In the SACPIC game mechanics race is a significant classification system used to categorize species into large and distinct populations or groups by anatomical, cultural, ethnic, genetic, geographical, historical, linguistic, religious, and/or social affiliation.

    IMPORTANT NOTES: Due to storyline limitations, you can choose only Pastager race for your character in After Reset RPG's single-player modes. Despite that, you will meet a variety of other races during your adventure in the world of the game.

    PASTAGERS:



    Pastagers or Iron Worms (sometimes called 'Junkees' by people of the New Confederacy, contemptuously, or 'Underneath Demons' by the tribes of the Indian Alliance) are citizens of the United Governments that have been seen on the surface by descendants of survivors over the 100+ years after the Reset.

    During the Reset several millions from a population of over 17 billion were able to find refuge in specially equipped underground bases and over hundreds of years to expand them into fully fledged underground cities. By the 132 A.R. the citizens of United Governments could be rarely met on the surface. The majority of them inhabit under the Earth within highly advanced underground megapolises. Despite their small numbers they still keep the technologies of the Past Age and its way of living.

    The political system of the United Governments' society is meritocracy/technocracy/corporatocracy. This is largely due to the huge influence that the elite (the so-called majority shareholders of the Earth) had on the establishment of the United Governments, formation of the "blue" and "white" lists by which United Governments citizens that enjoyed priority prior evacuation to underground cities were selected before the Reset. Due to that Pastagers' nature tends to conflict through dominance but they have no special penchant for any alignment. The heroes and the villains are found among them.

    The average lifespan of Pastagers during the years before and after the Reset was increased up to 115 years. The major roles in that were played by science technologies and anxious attitude to human life (the lives of UG citizens, primarily).

    RACIAL TRAITS:
    Size: Medium.
    Type: Humanoid.
    Base Initiative: 0.
    Base Evasion Class: 10.
    Base Attack Bonus: medium.
    Base Tagged Skill Amount: 2.
    Skill Points: 4 + INT modifier ( (4 + INT modifier) * 4 at 1st level).

    Chance-of-Saving Disposition*: 1.

    Alignment: any.

    Level Adjustment: none.
    Stats Adjustment: none.

    Racial Feats: Quick to Learn**, Skilled***, Weapons Proficiency (pastager)****, Armor Proficiency (light armor)*****, Armor Proficiency (hi-tech armor)******.

    *Chance-of-Saving (CoS) Disposition: amount of save bonus specialization (from 0 to 3). Determines randomly amount of Chance-of-Saving Category (Fortitude, Reflex or Mind) that will be randomly set to High.
    **Quick to Learn: 1 extra feat at 1st level.
    ***Skilled: 4 extra skill points at first level, plus 1 additional skill point at each following level.
    ****Weapons Proficiency (pastager): allows effective use of club, knife, projectile, all sidearms, all laser weapons and coil handgun.
    *****Armor Proficiency (light armor): grants the knowledge to make effective use of light armors.

    *****Armor Proficiency (hi-tech armor): grants the knowledge to make effective use of advanced hi-tech armors.

    * * *

    I hope you like what you've just read. There are more lore about the races is coming (Survivors, Deviants, Stalkers, Toltecs and Touched). And according to our tradition, after the end of that small series we'll put those pretty concept arts in HD available to our backers exclusively.

    Thanks for your support and stay tuned!

    Back us on Kickstarter.
    Add us on Steam Greenlight.
    Join After Reset™ RPG official website.
     
  22. balaam

    balaam

    Joined:
    Aug 4, 2013
    Posts:
    4
    This is looking great, it's got the old school RPG feel but with updated graphics. Really strong concept art.
     
  23. Mr-Nixon

    Mr-Nixon

    Joined:
    Mar 30, 2013
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    140
  24. Mr-Nixon

    Mr-Nixon

    Joined:
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    Posts:
    140
    SURVIVORS:



    During the Reset most of humanity of the Past Age died out, but small numbers managed to hang on by turning to the basest of all the human instincts - the instinct of survival. This instinct inevitably leads to the manifestation of other animal qualities of people: anarchy and struggling for the few remaining resources, bloodlust and fighting for power, carnality, cannibalism and depravity. For the handful of those who survived the Reset and were left alone on the dying planet, primitive instincts became the only way to survive. These people began calling themselves the Survivors.

    Despite their low average lifespan (35-45 years), by the end of 132 A.R. Survivors are the most widespread human race in the regions of the Great Desert and the State of Eagle. The New Confederacy and Black Sand mostly consist of survivors, as well as the majority of other smaller societies, anarchist groups, gangs and raiders above the ground.

    DEVIANTS:



    When the Reset happened, most of the people perished instantly. The majority of those who survived on the surface died in the following years from the ionizing radiation, hazardous environments and social madness.

    Among the long-term effects of radiation which affected the survivors, the most deadly was leukemia. An increase in leukemia appeared about two years after the attacks and peaked around four to six years later. For all other cancers, incidence increase did not appear until around ten years after the Reset.

    While there was no verified evidence of increasing mutation levels among the first descendants of survivors, the long term health effects have affected their later generations. A very few of them have visible or noticeable mutations, and were lucky to survive natural selection on the surface. Such mutants are called Deviants by the other survivors. Being unwelcome in almost any survivors' societies, Deviants usually live the lifestyle of loners or hermits, hiding their presence from others. Though most of these mutants die from natural selection, and a majority are sterile – a few of them are still fertile. In some cases, those babies born to Deviants may not be affected by their parents' mutations, and therefore would not be considered as Deviants.

    STALKERS:



    In the world After Reset, Stalkers are represented by very small groups of people that are somehow connected to the Artifacts left by aliens during the Reset.

    Before the Dallas Incident, there hadn't been much evidence regarding their existence - only rumors and stories among survivors who caught brief glimpses of them, or the strange Artifacts they seemed to revere and protect. Rumors suggest that the Artifacts are actually alive, that they could "talk" with certain special people, even "change" them in strange and often unpredictable ways. Others simply disappeared, though there are few who claim to have witnessed it. There are simply more questions than answers when it comes to the Stalkers.

    NATIVES:




    Centuries before the Past Age, during the European colonization of the Americas, the majority of the indigenous population was wiped out, and the survivors were forced to live on reservations by technically superior invaders. This country of colonist descendants was named, in the Past Age, the USA – and it became the most powerful nation on the world stage, which is why it was represented to a higher degree in the UG. By the time of the blossoming of the Past Age, when democracy and humanism were developed, the indigenous Native Americans had been almost completely wiped off the face of the Earth, and their traces remained only as history.

    This resurrection of an almost vanished race was quite a surprise for the historians and anthropologists of the United Governments. It seemed unbelievable, but representatives of the Native American population had managed not only to survive the Reset, but decades later grouped together to form the prosperous highly-civilized society in the former North America (now East America) - the Indian Alliance. By 132 A.R. their descendants, the "Natives", dominate over the massive, relatively prosperous territories from the East coast to the borders of the Great Desert area.

    The Natives believe that during the Reset, the Gods destroyed the invasive civilization of the Past Age to save their ancestors and bring them to the Celestial World, and that their ancestors who deserved it were taken to that world. And they believe that those who have remained on Earth should live with respect for the traditions of the tribes, so that they can earn the right to be invited to the land of Gods. Based on that principle, most of the tribes of Natives treat the majority of palefaces (which they call Survivors) as wild animals, barring them from the settlements of Natives. Beyond that, those rare palefaces who are lucky enough to find home or refuge within the territories of the Indian Alliance should keep in mind that possession of firearms is allowed for Natives only.
     
    balaam likes this.
  25. Mr-Nixon

    Mr-Nixon

    Joined:
    Mar 30, 2013
    Posts:
    140
    TOLTECS:



    For many centuries before the Past Age, the territories formerly called "North and Central America," were dominated by the Toltec tribe. Historians and anthropologists of the Past Age were inclined to believe that there was once a group of indigenous people, made up of the patriarchs and elite of the tribe, who had contact with extraterrestrial civilizations. It was precisely to this race that the scientists of the former Earth attributed the majority of achievements and artifacts discovered in the region. However, for some reason, contact with the extraterrestrials was interrupted. The tribe's development returned to its natural course, and the Toltec race was assimilated into other tribes like Olmec, Aztec, etc.

    During the subsequent colonization of the Americas, the majority of the indigenous population was wiped out, and the survivors were forced to live on reservations by technically superior invaders. This country of colonist descendants was, in the Past Age, the USA - the most powerful nation on the world stage, which is why it was represented to a higher degree in the UG. By the time democracy and humanism were developed, the Toltec nation had been almost completely wiped-off the face of the earth, and their mark erased from history.

    Decades after the Reset, the native Indian survivors formed prosperous civilized society in the former North America - the Indian Alliance. By 132 A.R. their descendants believe that the Gods destroyed the invasive civilization of the Past Age to save their ancestors and bring them to the celestial world, and that their ancestors who deserved it were taken to that world, giving birth to the new Toltec race. And they believe that those who have remained on Earth should live with respect to the traditions of the tribes, so that they can earn the right to be invited to the land of Gods and become true Toltec.

    * * *

    Despite I don't think you'll meet any Toltecs in the game (but I don't deny it as well) I believe that it is good to give that small peace of lore about them without spoilers because they're very important part for myths, folklore and religion of Natives.

    When we reveal full HD concept arts of those couple (for our backers exclusively) it will be easy for you to identify some strange marks and things on/in them.

    Just keep in mind that everything (really everything) in our concept arts is important. Usually it takes us 5-12 variants till we set the final one fitted my vision of the setting. E.g. you can not find anything on Survivors' clothes concepts that belongs to the Past Age. By the 132 A.R. this is a new civilization and they produce their clothes by themselves (that requires matching every stuff on the clothes with their tech/social/economy/design level) because all clothe made from natural materials must become an ash for 100+ years in major environments. However, in Deviants' concepts you can see a species of rags from the Past Age (but made with synthetic materials only and without any metal parts). That is because Deviants are not welcome in Survivors societies and usually have to live alone and wear anything that they can find.

    I hope you like what you've just read. There are more lore about the Touched race is coming. And according to our tradition, after the end of that small series we'll put those pretty concept arts in HD available to our backers exclusively.

    Thanks for your support and stay tuned!

    Back us on Kickstarter.
    Add us on Steam Greenlight.
    Join After Reset™ RPG official website.
     
  26. Mr-Nixon

    Mr-Nixon

    Joined:
    Mar 30, 2013
    Posts:
    140
    TOUCHED:



    There is almost no information about Touched on the wastes of former North America, except for several legends told by elders and shamans within the communities of the Indian Alliance.

    According to them, Touched are very rare - special Toltecs chosen by the gods and touched by them directly. Since then, these demigods walk among the Toltecs, teach them, guide them and serve as intermediaries between the Toltecs and the gods.

    By 132 A.R., for the people of former North America, Touched remain even more of a mystery than Stalkers.

    * * *

    I hope you like what you've liked this small lore series. And as I promised, we'll put the concept arts of those races in HD available to our backers exclusively tomorrow. After that we are heading to Feats :)

    Thanks for your support and stay tuned for coming news!

    Back us on Kickstarter.
    Add us on Steam Greenlight.
    Join After Reset™ RPG official website.
     
  27. Mr-Nixon

    Mr-Nixon

    Joined:
    Mar 30, 2013
    Posts:
    140
    Hello, our dear followers,

    I'd like to dedicate this update to one of the most important parts of SACPIC game mechanics and the next step in character creation – the feats.

    In the SACPIC System, a feat is one type of ability a character may gain through level or class progression. Feats are different from skills in that characters can vary in competency with skills, while feats typically provide static bonuses to or offer new ways to use existing abilities.

    There are different types of feats in the game, so in order to outline them clearly for players, we have divided them into 10 categories:

    ACHIEVEMENT FEATS:

    Achievement Feats are passively given to a player character after they fulfill specific requirements to earn them. Some are obtained by special actions or interactions with other characters. Others are obtained as quests rewards. Achievement Feats cannot be manually selected by players.

    RACIAL FEATS:

    Racial Feats are given to a player character upon creation based their selected race. Different races receive generic, tactical, and other sorts of feats. These feats are treated as specific bonuses for those particular races.

    BACKGROUND FEATS:

    Background Feats can only be taken at character creation, i.e. at 1st level. Some represent an ability that can only be gained by birth. Others represent the character's backstory and their upbringing. Usually, background feats provide some unique advantages which are offset by relevant negative effects.

    AUGMENTATION FEATS:

    Augmentation Feats allow, modify or open new slots available for a character's augmentation tree development. Specific feats and abilities provided by the character's augmentations are listed here as well.

    PROFESSION FEATS:

    Profession Feats are feats that are given or made available to player characters on the basis of that character's profession and their profession level. Some professions receive generic, tactical, augmentation, Chances-of-Saving and/or skill feats at certain levels. These feats are treated as profession feats for those particular professions. Any feat automatically awarded at a certain profession level is given even if the character does not meet the stated prerequisites.

    GENERIC FEATS:

    Generic Feats are the most common feats, selected by players at character creation and at every third character level. They are generally restricted by stats or skill requirements in order to appear selectable.

    SKILL FEATS:

    Skill Feats modify a player character's Skills. Like generic feats they are available for selection by players at character creation and at every third character level.

    SURVIVAL FEATS:

    Survival Feats modify a player character's Chance-of-Saving rolls. Like generic feats they are available for selection by players at character creation and at every third character level.

    ARMOR FEATS:

    Armor Feats denote special qualities that equipped armor possesses, and cannot be influenced in any way by players, other than by modifying the armor itself.

    WEAPON FEATS:

    Weapon Feats denote special qualities that equipped weapons possess, and cannot be influenced in any way by players, other than by modifying the weapon itself.

    * * *

    As you will begin to see, these Feats are pretty nostalgic and quite inspired by classic GURPS mechanics, Fallout's perks and traits, and D&D's feats. The game is going to include over 200 feats to enrich your enjoyment of developing your character.

    In the next news update I am going to present you in details 21 Background feats, we've already implemented into the game build.

    * * *

    Beyond that, here is my fresh interview with Adam Bellotto from COUNTER FRAG: "After Reset RPG: RPG gaming in its purest form"...

    Feel free to check if. it's not some kind of sweet PR crap but something from heart :)

    * * *

    To put even some more into this news, let me announce we are partnering with Gamepedia to host the official After Reset Wiki.

    * * *

    So, thank you for your support and stay tuned for more tomorrow!

    Back us on Kickstarter.
    Add us on Steam Greenlight.
    Join After Reset™ RPG official website.
     
  28. Mr-Nixon

    Mr-Nixon

    Joined:
    Mar 30, 2013
    Posts:
    140
    May I present to you the following 21 of those BACKGROUND FEATS:

    DARLING OF FORTUNE
    Type of feat: Background.
    Requirements: 1st level background feat.
    Required for: None.
    Specifics: Character gains a +1 bonus on all Chances-of-Saving as well as a +1 luck bonus to base Armor Class. But with that, character suffers from -1 penalty to every Combat Skills checks.
    Use: Automatic.
    Luck has always been on your side when it comes to survival. However, thanks to that you've shown slight negligence in weapon training and usage.

    EARLY BIRD
    Type of feat: Background.
    Requirements: 1st level background feat.
    Required for: None.
    Specifics: Character gains a +10% bonus to all skill checks during daytime, but suffers a -10% penalty to all skill checks at night.
    Use: Automatic.
    Like the saying goes, "Early to bed, early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise." You just find yourself more energized when the sun outside is shining.

    FACEPALMER
    Type of feat: Background.
    Requirements: 1st level background feat.
    Required for: None.
    Specifics: Character receives +1 to Critical Miss range but also receives +1 to Critical Hit range too.
    Use: Automatic.
    Words simply cannot express how badly you critically fail. The good news is that your failures seem to rub off on others, as well.

    FAST METABOLISM
    Type of feat: Background.
    Requirements: 1st level background feat.
    Required for: None.
    Specifics: Character recovers from addictions twice as fast. On the other hand the chances to become addicted doubled.
    Use: Automatic.
    You've always been blessed with a baby's metabolism, so everything runs its course twice as fast but is twice as likely to affect you.

    GIFTED
    Type of feat: Background.
    Requirements: 1st level background feat.
    Required for: None.
    Specifics: Character receives +1 to all primary stats, in exchange only receiving half the proper skill points at the 1st level and onwards.
    Use: Automatic.
    You were born special, but maybe a little bit conceited, because though your natural abilities are superior to others, you never bothered to practice improving your skills.

    HANDYMAN
    Type of feat: Background.
    Requirements: 1st level background feat.
    Required for: None.
    Specifics: Character gains a +2 bonus to checks on Repair, Science, Traps and Lockpick, but suffers a -3 penalty to checks on Speech, Trade, and Outdoorsman.
    Use: Automatic.
    Although you lack much of an outgoing personality, you've always had a knack for working with your hands.


    HAWKEYE
    Type of feat: Background.
    Requirements: 1st level background feat.
    Required for: None.
    Specifics: Character gains a +5% bonus to base Range of Sight, but suffers from -10% penalty to base Angle of Sight.
    Use: Automatic.
    True to the name, you see much farther, like a real hawk, but find it more difficult to identify objects outside of your tunnel vision.

    HUCKSTER
    Type of feat: Background.
    Requirements: 1st level background feat.
    Required for: None.
    Specifics: Character gains a +2 bonus on Trade and Speech checks, but suffers a -2 penalty to Science and Lockpic checks. Useful to any trader.
    Use: Automatic.
    You have a real way with words, you snake oil peddler, you. However, your chatty nature affects your concentration with manual activities.

    HUMANIST
    Type of feat: Background.
    Requirements: 1st level background feat.
    Required for: None.
    Specifics: Character gains a +5 bonus to Fist Aid, Doctor, Speech, and Trade skills,.but suffers -3 penalty to all combat skills, Melee Weapons, Throwing Weapons, Firearms Weapons, Energy Weapons, Field Weapons.
    Use: Automatic.
    While not quite a pacifist, you place more value in your fellow man than in ways to rip them apart.

    INQUISITIVE MIND
    Type of feat: Background.
    Requirements: 1st level background trait.
    Required for: None.
    Specifics: Character gains a +2 bonus on Science and Expertise checks, but suffers a -2 penalty to Doctor and Repair checks. Useful for any explorer.
    Use: Automatic.
    A mind that never rests is a gift for any traveler seeking out valuable technology remaining from the Past Age. At the same time, such curiosity does not play well when it comes to monotonous, laborious activity.

    KAMIKAZE
    Type of feat: Background.
    Requirements: 1st level background feat.
    Required for: None.
    Specifics: Character gains a +5 bonus on Initiative and a +5 bonus on Spot checks. But with that, character's base Evasion Class is decreased to zero. Quite a risky feat.
    Use: Automatic.
    By single-mindedly paying no heed to any threats, you're able to react faster and draw first. But you should really wear more armor to protect yourself from your reckless nature.

    MOUNTAIN OF MUSCLE
    Type of feat: Background.
    Requirements: 1st level background feat.
    Required for: None.
    Specifics: Character gains a +2 to primary Strength, but suffer a -1 penalty to Attack Quantity.
    Use: Automatic.
    You're a real bruiser, but no slight of fist. You can hit harder through sheer strength, if rather slowly.

    NIGHT OWL
    Type of feat: Background.
    Requirements: 1st level background feat.
    Required for: None.
    Specifics: Character gains a +10% bonus to all skill checks at night, but suffers a -10% penalty to all skill checks during daytime.
    Use: Automatic.
    You know what they say, "Early to rise, early to bed, makes a man healthy, but socially dead." All those early bird types can go suck it. You always feel most alive during the twilight hours.

    ONE-ARMED MASTER
    Type of feat: Background.
    Requirements: 1st level background feat.
    Required for: None.
    Specifics: Character gains +5 bonus to Attack Bonus when unarmed or using one-handed, light, and throwing weapons, but suffers a -10 penalty to Attack Bonus when using two-handed weapons. Beyond that, you cant use dual-wielding.
    Use: Automatic.
    Not only aren't you ambidextrous, you're pretty uncoordinated with anything that takes more than 1 hand. But your gifted good arm has always been more than enough on its own, so that hasn't really held you back.

    SCORPION BLOOD
    Type of feat: Background.
    Requirements: 1st level background feat.
    Required for: None.
    Specifics: Character gains a +1 bonus on Reflex Chances-of-Saving, and any saving throws versus poison gain an additional +2 bonus. However, every Fist Aid and Doctor skills checks on character receive -5 penalty.
    Use: Automatic.
    Nature has all the answers... at least that's what you always say. You spent so much time hardening your body, exposing yourself to various poisons, that you've grown very hardy and resilient, but you shun modern medicine like the plague.

    SLENDER SHAPE
    Type of feat: Background.
    Requirements: 1st level background feat.
    Required for: None.
    Specifics: Character gains +1 to primary Agility, but receives a -3 penalty to Strength for determining carrying capacity.
    Use: Automatic.
    Your slim and catlike physique lends itself to swift and dexterous maneuvers. Just leave all the heavy lifting to those meaty bruisers, because your back can't handle the most abuse.

    SLOW METABOLISM

    Type of feat: Background.
    Requirements: 1st level background feat.
    Required for: None.
    Specifics: Character is half as likely to become addicted. However, recovery from addiction takes twice as long.
    Use: Automatic.
    You've always been blessed with an iron stomach, so you can shrug off chemical effects better than anyone else, but those few potent enough to sicken you won't run their course for a long time.

    STUBBORN BEGGAR
    Type of feat: Background.
    Requirements: 1st level background feat.
    Required for: None.
    Specifics: Character gains +1 bonus to Will Chances-of-Saving, but suffers a -1 penalty to Trade and Speech checks.
    Use: Automatic.
    Being the close-minded sort of person, you are hard to perceive any other points of view that are not your own. But hey, it makes any negotiating with you pretty exhausting.

    TWO-ARMED MASTER

    Type of feat: Background.
    Requirements: 1st level background feat.
    Required for: None.
    Specifics: Character gains +5 bonus to Attack Bonus when using two-handed weapons, but suffers a -10 penalty when unarmed or using one-handed, light, and throwing weapons.
    Use: Automatic.
    Though you've always been quite skillfully ambidextrous, you're unusually uncoordinated with anything that requires one-handed proficiency. But that's okay, two hands are always better than one.

    OUTLAW NATURE

    Type of feat: Background.
    Requirements: 1st level background feat.
    Required for: None.
    Specifics: Character gains a +3 bonus to checks on Stealth, Spot, Steal, and Lockpick, but suffers a -3 penalty to Speech, Trade, Expertise, and Science checks.
    Use: Automatic.
    Ever the roguish type, you don't fool anyone when trying to engage in mundane trades, but your experience with shifty activities is second to none.

    QUICK SHOT
    Type of feat: Background.
    Requirements: 1st level background feat.
    Required for: None.
    Specifics: Character gains a +1 bonus to Attack Quantity. However, all attacks suffer a -10 penalty to Attack Bonus and cannot use Aimed Mode.
    Use: Automatic.
    You don't have time to take aim when you're trying to fire as fast as possible. Without proper weapon training you'll need to compensate for your inaccuracy with overwhelming showers of bullets.
    * * *

    Feel nostalgia? Feel intrigued?

    Then support us, and stay tuned for more!

    Back us on Kickstarter.
    Add us on Steam Greenlight.
    Join After Reset™ RPG official website.
     
  29. Mr-Nixon

    Mr-Nixon

    Joined:
    Mar 30, 2013
    Posts:
    140
    U.G. ARMY MOTTOS AND CREEDS

    Afternoon, everyone,

    There are several phrases, quotes, and idioms from my military and mercenary career that I'd like to inject into the game, from characters likes any Sergeant, to the signs on the walls of shooting ranges at United Governments Military Corps and the Black Sand PMC outposts.

    In this update, I'd like to share some of U.G. Army’s mottos with you.



    U.G. ARMY:

    - If you don't want a war, there is always someone else who does.

    - The heroism of soldiers is a consequence a General's mistake.

    - If we send our men on a mission unprepared, then we betray them.

    - If you want peace, prepare for war.

    - You can’t spend too much on information and ammunition.

    - The size of your biceps doesn't affect the speed of a bullet.

    - If you want to destroy something, destroy the source.

    - There's no sense in shooting faster than you can hit.

    - Battle is the harshest teacher, because bullets only mark one grade.

    - In a fistfight, the one who wins is the one who has more ammo.

    - The heart of military science is to be the most powerful and at the right time and place.

    - Mistakes in tactics can be resolved with fast and accurate shooting, but mistakes in shooting can't be resolved by anything.

    - The purpose of a pistol is to help you reach your assault rifle, which you need never go anywhere without.

    * * *

    Well guys, as it has been announced several times before, After Reset is intended for a mature audience. In order to convince that audience of the reality and authenticity of our game, to suspend their disbelief, and by that same token, to truly allow players to immerse themselves in their characters – the game must be scientifically convincing, and being based on facts and real world experience couldn't hurt. Wouldn't you all agree?

    You have my thanks for supporting us, so stay tuned for more!

    Back us on Kickstarter.
    Add us on Steam Greenlight.
    Join After Reset™ RPG official website.
     
  30. Mr-Nixon

    Mr-Nixon

    Joined:
    Mar 30, 2013
    Posts:
    140
    Hi guys,

    There is only one day left for the current Kickstarter campaign! Speaking for myself, and our entire team - we are very excited about the attitude, trust and support you’ve already shown for our project. I hope in these last hours we can get as close to the full-time development stretch goal ($100k) as possible.



    I’m so inspired by your support and I’m preparing a good news surprise to be announced right after the end of the campaign.

    Meanwhile, I’d like to show you a quick view of our model of the United Governments’ NBC Suit (which stands for Nuclear, Biological, Chemical - also known as the "Labrat") we've been working on step by step (from concept to 80% of complete game model):





















    This is our model in development. We work hard to complete it as AAA (like all of the content in After Reset RPG) rising its quality up to the level of those my favorite artists: http://www.gavriilklimov.com/#1 and http://www.bulgarov.com/index.html.

    It is a portable and self-contained full-body unit filled with all manner of protection against hazardous materials, and includes a breathing apparatus (SCBA) for long-term use.

    In anticipation of your questions: Yes, you will be able to wear it in the game, and it will be available by our Steam Early Access release. And yes, it is on the cover of TFOG, and its physical figure will be provided exclusively to our VIP backer from TFOG KS campaign as a part of his reward:



    I’ve also had a meeting with the programmers yesterday. We discussed a lot of things, a lot of details. And we once again made up our mind that it is ok, and we’re on track to release the prologue this Fall. Next week, as we’ve planned, we’re going to complete a character creation build so that you can test that part of the game mechanics for yourself.

    So… let’s make these last hours count. Let’s stay focused! Please share the info about our countdown among your contacts, if you can.

    Thank you and stay tuned, friends!

    Back us on Kickstarter.
    Add us on Steam Greenlight.
    Join After Reset™ RPG official website.
     
  31. Mr-Nixon

    Mr-Nixon

    Joined:
    Mar 30, 2013
    Posts:
    140
    The Kickstarter campaign is completed



    "Nobody will believe it’s possible until we show them.
    But when that day comes, you know what they’ll say?
    They’ll say that it was inevitable.”

    - James Flint, Black Sails

    Dear friends,

    Today I am proud to announce that together, we did it. Yes, any mere gamer, like myself, can take it upon themselves to stop moaning on forums and establish their own serious development team to build the game of their dreams. Proven by gamers, for gamers!

    Beyond us, we must bow to all communities, all journalists, all medias, streamers, brother indie developers, cool guys from Steam and GOG, our families and friends who bore with us, who trusted us, and believed in the After Reset RPG.

    Guys, since I revealed and shared the After Reset world with you, you’ve been supporting, encouraging, and inspiring it. You’ve shown great belief and trust in a mere gamer just like you, with no industry background, with only his works, devotion and perseverance. I’ve tried to do my best to meet your expectations. It looks like we’re a good team :)

    Due to your attitude, empathy, and belief you demonstrated during this campaign, I made up my mind to sell my small business and put all my time and resources into After Reset IP. Thus: yes, we’re going into full-time development. Thank you for your encouragement.

    Everyone from the team is epically excited as well and hard at work on the prologue to release it in time. We’ve already set a schedule for programming, modeling, animation, and sound design. And we didn’t forget about TFoG graphic novel or our awesome cinematic intro ;)

    SO, WHAT’S THE NEXT STEP?

    For Backers: for the coming 14 days, Kickstarter and Amazon will be proceeding operations with your pledges. After that period we’ll send you a survey to collect required data to start delivering your rewards. Starting from Co-Founder status on forum (you might be interested in creating an account there in advance).

    For Black Cloud Studios: first, I need 5 days off. :) Right after that we’ll dig in completing development in time. We had a big meeting yesterday with the team: everything is planned, every issue is solved, everything is going all according to plan. I’ll be keeping you transparently updated about our progress in person. I’m sure you will like and be proud of it as founding fathers.

    HOW TO BACK US NOW OR UPGRADE THE PLEDGE LATER?

    After the campaign on Kickstarter is ended, it is still possible to back After Reset RPG by Direct Pledges via PayPal on our store page: http://www.afterreset.com/store. We should bring back the Store by the weekend.

    You’ll be able to upgrade your pledges there as well. Just keep in mind that any digital pledges will be available through there before we launch Steam EA or GOG EA. Physical tiers will be available through our web site only.

    * * *

    Once again, a huge thank you from the heart!

    We, and personally myself, will do our best to bring you splendid RPG gaming experiences and make you proud to be our backers and followers.

    Sincerely,
    Richard.
     
  32. Mr-Nixon

    Mr-Nixon

    Joined:
    Mar 30, 2013
    Posts:
    140
    THE FIRST POST-KICKSTARTER UPDATE

    Hi guys,

    So this is our first update after completing the campaign. As you may remember from our previous update, I planned to take 5 days off - but our team was so energized by your support that we haven’t stopped working on the game. And while Amazon and Kickstarter are still processing your pledges (it should take one more week), we’d like to share our progress and ask for your thoughts about one issue. This update is quite large but, I believe, substantial and interesting :)

    MODELLING HEADWAY

    At last, we have completed the model of NBC Suit that you’ll be able to wear in the Prologue, and the figure we’ll print soon for The Fall of Gyes exclusive reward:



    NBC Suit (which stands for Nuclear, Biological, Chemical) is a type of scientific personal protective equipment designed to provide protection against direct contact with radioactive, biological and chemical substances, and provides protection from contamination with radioactive, biological and chemical materials.

    This portable and self-contained full-body unit, called by scientists of the UG Science Corps as "Lab Rat", is filled with all manner of protection against hazardous materials, and includes a breathing apparatus (SCBA) for long-term use. This model of NBC Suit has been officially produced by IBR corporation for the Science Corps, hospitals of Underearth and for commercial sector since 94 A.R.


    Then here is the model of the ML1 CQC Stun Grenade you’ll be able to find in Gyes bunker playing the Prologue:



    The ML1 Close Quarters Combat Stun Grenade, also known as a flash grenade or a flashbang, is a non-lethal offensive weapon. The first stunning devices were created long before the Past Age but lost popularity among civil and military structures by the end of it in favor of other more radical solutions.

    The first and only civil mass unrest within the underground cities of the United Governments happened in 87 A.R., and revived the demand for this kind of cheap non-lethal incapacitants. The SW55 Flash Grenades that were in service at the time of that civil unrest (nick-named ‘Riot of Cans’ by mass media) revealed a range of constructive impairments. Based on that experience the Weisskopf Dynamics with the support from other minor corporations managed to get a long-term contract from the UG Social Corps to produce a new type of non-lethal stun grenade, one that was safer and more effective. Like many other explosives, this grenade is based on the same cocrystallization technology, actively lobbied by Weisskopf Dynamics.

    And MA7 Offensive Concussion Grenade:



    The MA7 Offensive Concussion Grenade is designed to produce casualties during close combat with explosive wave power alone while minimizing danger to friendly forces. The grenade is also used for concussion effects in enclosed areas, and for blasting or demolition tasks. The shock waves (overpressure) produced by this grenade when used in enclosed areas are greater than those produced by its earlier counterparts. It’s very effective against enemies located in bunkers, buildings, and fortified areas.

    Advances in explosive potency and reliability for this type of grenade are based on cocrystallization technology, which was already thoroughly studied by Weisskopf Dynamics and many other small corporations before the Reset, and there haven’t been any major improvements on it since.


    We’ve also completed Power Hub Panel and Bio-Radioactive-Chemical Waste Utilization Unit - fresh elements for Gyes interiors but we’ll post them next update.

    According to our tradition, our forum-members with Co-Founder status (which is included as a reward to our Kickstarter pledges $35 and higher) can find and enjoy these models in Full HD on Co-Founders' Area on After Reset official forum there: http://www.afterreset.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=13

    WEBSITE CHANGES

    Speaking about the forum and Co-Founder status reward, we’d like to ask those of you, our dear backers, who do not have an account on our official forum to create them: http://www.afterreset.com/forum/

    That please is due to the fact that we will require your forum account name in a survey on Kickstarter in coming weeks. We’re just worried a little about our server capacity if you all try to register on the forum at once :)

    As a final titbit for the website part of the news, I am pleased to let you know that we reworked our Store page: http://www.afterreset.com/store. That is the page where newcomers are able to back us directly via PayPal or existing supporters are able to upgrade their pledges. I hope you’ll like its new design and structure :)

    PROGRAMMING PROGRESS

    I’ve managed to organize full time programming development. Thus now we have two heavy experienced programmers already working on the game.

    We managed to plan the whole coding schedule up to the release by the end of October. As well as we reviewed the architecture of the game that will optimize performance by third. That caused us to redo all main menu, effects, GUI and character creation but it is worth it already: during this week we got done what would have takenus 2 months before the Kickstarter.

    We also reviewed game modes so that they fit both Steam and GOG platforms:



    For the Prologue and a couple of Chapters you’ll be able to play in Hardcore Mode only. And after full game completion we’ll unlock Global Mode that should bring a really fresh and unexpected experience even for those who participate in early access tests for each chapter. That should be something… But now, let me describe each of the modes more:

    GLOBAL MODE (INTERNET CONNECTION REQUIRED): requires Internet connection to establish synchronization between your computer and AR Quanton servers. After the game session our computers will calculate a global ending of the session for After Reset's world. Everyone's choices will be taken into account, we'll polish it, and a final 'global' ending will be released in addition to the conclusion of your own personal story. Important Notes: Enemies can roll critical hits and only auto-saves are allowed for this mode, death is permanent and no 'rerolls' are possible. You are able to play through the game in Global Mode multiple times, but you can upload and synchronized the record of it only once. So, take your choices seriously! Recommendations: This mode is recommended for experienced RPG gamers.

    HARDCORE MODE (STANDALONE MODE): doesn't require an Internet connection to establish synchronization between your computer and AR Quanton servers. You can save your progress at will, and we encourage you to explore alternative story branches with your saved games. Important Notes: Enemies can roll critical hits and manual saves are allowed for this mode. You are able to play through the game in Hardcore Mode multiple times. Recommendations: This mode is recommended for those who has no experience in old school RPGs or for experienced players who already played through the game in Global Mode.

    CO-OP MODE (INTERNET CONNECTION REQUIRED): requires Internet connection to establish synchronization between your and other player’s computers. In this mode you are able to take control of one of the companions of the host player’s character. Important Notes: You require IP and password of the host to join. As well as the host player must be running the game in Global Mode so that you can join it online. Recommendations: This game mode is only available for those players who already completed the game in Global Mode.

    LORE AND SETTING

    Taking some days off in a library, I’ve occasionally found a splendid science fiction novella - Damnation Alley by Roger Zelazny released in 1967. I bet, you really would be interested in reading it (please don’t watch the film adaptation – it’s face palm).

    That novella could nicely describe the world on the surface during the first decades after the Reset. The time, when the last remnants and trails of the civilization of the Past Age were vanishing. I really recommend it.

    And just imagine - Damnation Alley was written not only before Fallout video game but even long time before PC or MAC emerging themselves!

    WE NEED YOUR THOUGHTS ABOUT THE VIDEO CINEMATIC INTRO

    With Max we've tested the technology for creation pseudo 3d video from 2d and 3d elements. Please, check this test made by Max:


    He likes it, but I don’t feel that it will be able to compete with full CGI videos from AAA games like other content we create. Therefore, we need YOUR opinion about the test video above and YOUR choice from the 3 variants below.

    We have three options for the intro development:

    1. We can proceed video development with the quality of the test video you’ve seen.

    2. We can create some awesome photo-realistic paintings based on our current Backstory. But rework them as huge photo-realistic paintings like below: http://goo.gl/0s1Zs0, http://goo.gl/OspD3X, http://goo.gl/xDS31Q, http://goo.gl/kzYOi6. And finally process them in a video with realistic effects from Adobe After Effects and Cinema 4D, like we did in the intro for The Fall of Gyes:


    3. We can create intro with HUD charts and 3d graphics like there:
    or


    I lean to variant 2 myself. But what are your thoughts, guys? We are looking forward to see your choices.

    Thank you for your support and stay tuned!

    Back us via PayPal.
    Add us on Steam Greenlight.
    Join After Reset™ RPG official website.
     
  33. Mr-Nixon

    Mr-Nixon

    Joined:
    Mar 30, 2013
    Posts:
    140


    Hi guys,

    It’s been a hard week but we have managed to get a lot done. This news is completely about our progress that I’d like to share with you.

    KICKSTATARTER/AMAZON

    The first good news is that Amazon and Kickstarter finally processed most of the payments last week. Only about $10k of them were broken but I hope the guys who received a warning about broken payments from Kickstarter will back us again via PayPal on our STORE page: http://www.afterreset.com/store.

    In two days we’re going to send you the survey through Kickstarter to collect your data for rewards. After receiving the data, we’ll be approving Co-Founder status for your accounts on our official forum.

    PROGRAMMING

    We’ve reviewed the GUI for the main menu so that all of the interfaces will be able to scale as well as the text. And we reworked the architecture of character creation so that it includes 1/4 of SACPIC game mechanics. Nothing “wow” for players – but for programming that means a lot (the specification alone took about 25+ pages and 30+ GUI designs). Now Ivan (he is back from his vacation), Arthur and Evan are working hard on realization.











    THE FALL OF GYES

    Another piece of good news is about our graphic novel: with Adam we’ve done more pages and now we’re ready to lift the curtain from the first 3 pages (without lettering yet). If you’re not afraid of spoilers you can check the first previews on our forum (available for Co-Founders only): http://www.afterreset.com/forum/showthread.php?t=239 or in closed update for our first TFOG backers here: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/blackcloudstudios/after-reset-the-fall-of-gyes/posts/996504.

    Last weekend with Jeff, we visited a series of comic book stores to choose and buy the coolest sample for hardcover. The winner is:



    I put several 9mm shells near the books so that you can realize the scaling.



    I like the quality of printing of this hardcover comic book, how it feels, how it looks and how it smells.



    And we chose the sample of quality for printing a figure of the protagonist from the novel. Mr. White is the winner:



    So I’m sure you will like all of our physical rewards, and look forward to them as much as I do.

    3D MODELLING

    Here are some of the interior objects from Gyes bunker (technically inspired by Deus Ex and Syndicate series) that we did last week:









    According to our tradition, the full-HD in-game renders can be found in our Co-Founder’s area: http://www.afterreset.com/forum/showthread.php?t=107.

    INTERVIEWS



    I’ve also found some time to do two interviews with guys from two of the largest true RPG portals:

    - with Kevin from RPG WATCH

    - with Vladimir from CORE RPG

    Once again, I’d like to thank them for their sincere interest, patience and friendly attitude :)

    IN-GAME INTERFACE

    I bet you’ve already known that I always tend to perfection in details when it comes to After Reset™. So I’d like to present to you a model of our in game cursor (made in the style of UG’s corporations’ Adv):







    Theseus 3.0 is a virtual firmware interface developed by Miaptec Corporation (one of the largest software corporations of the United Governments) for CORE implants.

    Old school fans of Fallout could regard it as hard sci-fi version of Pip-Boy. In contrast to Pip-Boy, Theseus doesn’t have a physical carrier – it is not an object or item. Theseus is your mental interpretation of the UI for CORE implant’s BIOS. That mental feature means that your deeds and your alignment will affect your GUI as well. With Edon Guraziu we’re going to work out the whole set of in-game interfaces (inventory, dialog, barter, character, general) in the same style as this arm-cursor.

    By tradition, our Co-Founders can find those concepts above in full HD in the Co-Founder’s section on our forum: http://www.afterreset.com/forum/showthread.php?t=96

    LEVEL DESIGN

    At the end of today’s news I’d like to share some photos made a week ago in California. I made them for reference pack for our landscape designers. Due to geological and climatic changes in the After Reset setting, those refs should be merged with classical Morocco’s desert environment like you could see in The Hurt Locker movie.





    * * *

    Well, guys, that is all for today. I hope you’ve enjoyed today’s update. Once again, thank you for your support and patience. And stay tuned for more!
    Back us via PayPal.
    Add us on Steam Greenlight.
    Join After Reset™ RPG official website.
     
  34. Mr-Nixon

    Mr-Nixon

    Joined:
    Mar 30, 2013
    Posts:
    140
    Hi guys,

    It's been two weeks since our last update. During that time we’ve been working tirelessly on new game content. And in this update, as is tradition, I’d like to share the next portion of our results.

    CO-FOUNDERS

    First of all, we’ve done a survey and in 3 days we’ve already received answers from 99% of you. A big thanks, guys, for getting back to us so quickly. It’s allowed us to be quick in getting to giving out Co-Founder statuses to your accounts on our forum. At the time of publication, almost all statuses have been attached to backers from $129 DIGITAL LIEUTENANT and higher.

    We’re still giving out statuses and combining all three backer databases ("Direct Pledges" from the Store, "The Fall of Gyes" Kickstarter, and "After Reset RPG" Kickstarter) together. I expect that we’ll have given out Co-Founder statuses to everyone by the next update.

    As I promised, we’ll stop giving out that status as part of game pledges roughly before the release of Steam Early Access, having continued to deliver additional content on the forum for Co-Founders. Actually, I’d like to increase the abilities and usefulness of this status during development of the After Reset universe as a special thanks to you, dear Followers.

    THELOBBI.COM INTERVIEW



    A few days ago, I was briefly interviewed by Jeremy Wilfinger for the site www.thelobbi.com, which you can read here: http://thelobbi.com/articles/2014-09-26-indie-speak-1-with-after-reset-s-richard-nixon.

    A big thanks to him and the site editor for putting our interview on the main page!

    WASTELAND 2



    Many of you know that After Reset was born in the moment when we simply got tired of waiting for a truly old-school Fallout 3 (Van Buren), in the moment when we understood that no one other than us, the gamers would do that. For a long time we were left with a very skeptical mood toward Wasteland 2… And it lasted until last week, when we got its release version on Steam.

    Guys, it turned out to be very interesting! I.e., this game, of course doesn’t have anything in common with either Fallout 1&2&T, or with After Reset RPG… But it doesn’t even have to be like them, or even be a classic RPG. It has its own interesting style/setting/mechanics/gameplay… In general, I personally don’t understand what exactly its secret is, but it’s really cool and fun to play. I played all weekend without stopping (and there’s no end or border in this game), and I’ll be very happy to back Wasteland 3!

    One nuance: two times in the beginning I thought of deleting the game after creating a character (a sentiment I’ve heard from plenty of gamer friends). I really didn’t like the character portraits, and I don’t like to play as a big faceless group. But Brian Fargo has slyly provided for the ability to load your own portraits and delete the others besides your own character from the group. We’ve prepared a character portrait pack from After Reset especially for you: http://www.indiedb.com/games/after-reset/downloads/after-reset-rpgs-custom-avatars-for-wasteland-2.

    I’m sure that even if you’ve had doubts, with our pack, Wasteland 2 will sparkle with fresh colors for you! You have to play it; the game is really worth it!

    MODELLING PROGRESS

    Over the last week we’ve prepared a few great furniture collections from which, as a rule, the underground outposts of the Military Corps of the United Governments will be furnished. This modular furniture is made by KIMEA Industries from plastic and composite materials in a style traditional for Pastagers in 132 A.R. (132 years After the Reset).

    Here are a few screenshots of our new in-game low-poly Workbench and Drawers models:









    According to tradition, our Co-Founders can download and discuss screenshots in high-resolution in the Co-Founders’ Area on our forum: http://www.afterreset.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=13.

    Beyond in-game objects, we've also finished creating models for the M-88 Nail Gun and ammunition for it, the Small Power Block. In accordance with the game mechanics this is a one-handed weapon that you can find already in the Prologue, belonging to the Energy Weapons class and the Coil Weapons subclass. At the same time, in that the M-88 Nail Gun is just and engineering tool, this weapon will have the attribute Weapon Feat “NOT A WEAPON,” which will negatively affect its combat characteristics.

    And so, allow me to present the in-game screenshots of the M-88 Nail Gun:





    And Small Power Blocks produced by Ishima Engineering, compatible with all nail guns:





    GAME MECHANICS

    We're still working on the details of the game mechanics, a third of which we’re inserting into the programming process of character creation, but already in the next update we will be able to share the full gaming characteristics of the first ready combat items with their inventory icons.

    HOSTING TRANSFER



    In the last few weeks we’ve had more and more visitors coming to our site with growing regularity, and the load on our server has grown hugely. For your convenience, friends, we’ve transferred our site and forum to new powerful servers in Arizona.

    LORE

    Right now, I’m also starting to work on descriptions and texts, which can be obtained from the computers and mobile devices at the Gyes base while going through the prologue. All of them, somehow or another, will give hints as to the events that took place, reveal some characters, and/or cast some more light on the setting of the whole After Reset world that you’ll soon be able to travel around in.

    In today’s update, I’d like to direct your attention to an extract from the data you’ll be able to get from the computers on the base:

    "... Every marine should be a good shot, and the unquestionably severe battles in Texas, Oklahoma and Kansas have facilitated the resurrection and perfection of this art after decades of the Military Corps being on temporary shutdown in Underearth. But now it is time to turn our attention to the cooperation of various types of armed forces on the battlefield. Now more than ever, military appropriations need rigid control on the part of the Economic Corps and the Supervisory Council.

    The fact of how wasteful the marines’ tactics have become in recent years can be demonstrated with the example of armored vehicle use. In Oklahoma and Kansas, Survivor guerillas have set roadside mines that are regularly blowing up our light "Pitbulls." The Military Corps has spent 15 billion credits developing and delivering the MRAP (Mine Resistant Ambush Protected) "Bear" armored vehicles. And now, when military operations in these states are at the very least hobbling to completion, the need for MRAP vehicles is gradually approaching zero. Its features, which were so necessary before, are becoming a burden: these vehicles cannot fit into standard descent carriers nor helicopters. And now soldiers are refusing these vehicles. There are already only 29 "Bears" left at the Odessa firing range this year judging by a report from lieutenant colonel Tim Fenning, …"


    from a speech of Michael O’Shea,
    Director of the Research Department in the Surface Recolonization Institute of Eos, 131 A.R.



    If you like it, but you missed similar, earlier lore extracts, you can find them on our forum. For example, here and here.

    INSPIRATION READING

    In a recent update, I shared works of classic science fiction that inspired me when making the setting and plot of the game. Having appreciated your positive reviews, friends, I’d like to continue this tradition, of publishing inspiring small sci-fi stories that I personally like in our updates.

    Today’s three recommendations are directly or tangentially related to the three major in-game races and species of the After Reset setting.

    The first story, "Placement Test" by John Keith, exposes the concept of corporate meritocracy, closely linked with the United Governments before the Reset.

    The second story, "Bluff" by Harry Turtledove allows you to take a look at what is truly great in human consciousness in an unexpected way, paving the way to the mystery of the Incorporeals’ existence.

    The third, "White Death" by Stanislaw Lem will serve as a hint at the events of the graphic novel "The Fall of Gyes."

    And, finally, the fourth, "The Battle" by Robert Shekley, I’m sure will make you smile, thinking about the Synthetics.

    ROLEPLAY

    And, topping off today’s news, I’d like to talk to you like an old roleplaying DM talks to future players. Because I’m beginning work on detailing dialogues and other roleplaying content for the Prologue, feedback from players is important for me to create realistic and captivating content. Well, you know, so you won’t just blaze through dialogues, messages and descriptions, but will really read them enthusiastically. And so the dialogue options for every alignment your character could have will be alive and realistic.

    And so, imagine…

    Silence… A quiet, endless silence, enveloped in a disarming darkness. All around you, in your head, instead of your body is absolute peace and emptiness. An emptiness you don’t melt into, but fill. You are that emptiness. For you, neither time nor space exist, only you. You are the alpha and the omega.

    "Ting!" – not so much heard as felt by your entire nature, a sound suddenly rips through the cover of silence.

    "Tiiiiiiing!" – and you feel like the very same sound, hidden deep inside, like ice being chewed slowly; it forces your bones to vibrate.

    "Babaaaaaaang!" – a third sharp sound rips into your consciousness through your eardrums, suddenly breaking the silence and darkness that was covering you into a thousand pieces. A moment… and all that’s left in your ears is a whistling chirp gradually subsiding in the world revealing itself to you…

    "Wake up, commander" – a young woman’s voice finally brings you to. “Wake up, commander,” repeats the pleasant voice persistently.

    And finally you become aware of yourself, wet and naked, lying among shards of glass, metal and wires in the middle of some kind of fairly spacious room. Judging by the inscriptions on the walls, it’s some kind of laboratory.

    "Wake up, Commander, you need to go," continues the same voice, insisting. You look around, but don’t see anyone around. “You need to go, Commander.” This time you understand that this voice isn’t coming from anywhere, as if it’s coming from inside your head. Partly on your own, and partly obeying this inner voice, you somewhat awkwardly pick yourself up from the floor and carefully shake the wet shards off.

    The slightly flickering monitors around the table you woke up at the foot of are flashing red and are apparently showing error messages. To your left there’s an identical table, above which an empty glass capsule is mounted. It’s entirely possible that just such a capsule was next to you before…

    You try to remember what happened "before" and with horror you realize that you don’t remember what happened before you opened your eyes, nor where you are, nor even who you are or your name. Your pupils widen, and in your head one question flashes: "WHAT THE!?"

    "Commander, you need to go," says the same feminine voice leading you out of the numbness…


    * * *

    Just like that, friends, your adventure in the world of After Reset RPG begins.

    After getting used to this role, just having come to (and obviously, not all the way), tell me by writing comments on these questions:
    1. Which questions are eating you up?
    2. What will you do with the voice in your head?
    3. What hypotheses come to mind of what happened before your waking up?

    Thanks in advance, I’ll be waiting impatiently for your answers, guys!
    Back us via PayPal.
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    Join After Reset™ RPG official website.
     
  35. Mr-Nixon

    Mr-Nixon

    Joined:
    Mar 30, 2013
    Posts:
    140
    STEAM is coming
    Yesterday 09:31 PM, MrNixon

    Hi guys,

    Today we have a bunch of brief but good news I’d like to share with you.

    STEAM EARLY ACCESS


    Finally, we’ve done a character creation build with game mechanics embedded and of such quality that I’m satisfied with (for Beta). So the only thing that lies between you and that build is Steamworks’ Documentation. Please, give us several days to figure out how to put our build there (we are still waiting for tax information approval). After that, we’ll be able to spread the keys for the Beta.

    IN-GAME DISPLAYS



    Feel free to check our short video diary showing our in-game displays you’ll be able to see in the Gyes bunker during the Prologue:


    INTERIOR OBJECTS MODELLING



    We have proceeded with the creation of more realistic objects for the Prologue. Below you can see one of our new objects: a floor tile with a hatch that can be opened to get to the engineering infrastructure sub levels of the bunker. As you might remember, we use 4k textures and physically based shaders for the visual part of our indie. But don’t worry, even now I have 60fps on my machine (1920x1080) despite real-time lightning being on. In the final build, most of the lightning will be backed (for interiors). Beyond that, we reckon, by the time of the full game release the gaming hardware will be much more ahead.

    CLOTHES MODELLING


    We have also finished the development and creation of The Military Combat Uniform (MCU), the current battle uniforms worn by the United Governments Army by the 132 A.R. I’ll spare you from a lot of lore background for this news but I can say that we spent about a month for development of details (materials, manufacturing, camouflage, filler, cost, ranks, markings, tailoring, electronics, etc.) with accordance to After Reset’s hard sci-fi part. Here, like always, you can enjoy the view:





    Our Co-Founders can check the full HD screens of MCU characters on: http://www.afterreset.com/forum/showthread.php?p=247

    THE FALL OF GYES



    Adam reported that he is on page 30 now. So 7 pages more left. Meanwhile, we have launched the work on the two big (A2 high quality format) printable characters arts of both of our TFoG VIP backers so that we’ll be able to send the final works of their characters in the setting by the time of digital release of the TFoG.

    SCI-FI TO READ

    As I did in our previous news, here I want to share with you the sci-fi short stories I dig, the stories that affected my views by the time I got to toil on the After Reset setting.

    The first one is devoted to Synthetics. It is called “Dinochrome” by Keith Laumer.

    The second could bring you some fresh view on the United Governments. Its name is "Contact Man" by Harry Harrison.

    And the final one gives you a food for thought about religion. That is "The Way of Cross and Dragon" by George R. R. Martin.

    * * *

    So, that is all for today dear followers. I just want to thank your for your support and all the patience that you show. I’m having butterflies in my stomach because we can’t release the prologue as soon as we planned.

    Sometimes, when I receive a bunch of excuses or a series of the stuff poorly made at the same day, I feel like a shattered Humpty Dumpty that can’t be assembled together. But then I open Kickstarter and Steam and remind myself of how many people (you guys) believe in us. That inspires and pushes us forward every time we feel tired. So once again, much obliged to you rooting for us.

    And stay tuned!

    Back us via PayPal.
    Add us on Steam Greenlight.
    Join After Reset™ RPG official website.
     
  36. randomperson42

    randomperson42

    Joined:
    Jun 29, 2013
    Posts:
    974
    Looking really great.
     
  37. JamesArndt

    JamesArndt

    Joined:
    Dec 1, 2009
    Posts:
    2,932
    Wow the art is top notch! Your concept artist or concept team is absolutely professional. Love the details put into the models. My only critique would be about the UG Army soldiers...their camo uniforms feel kind of flat, like they would have more fine folds and wrinkles.
     
  38. Mr-Nixon

    Mr-Nixon

    Joined:
    Mar 30, 2013
    Posts:
    140
    Thank you, guys ^_^
    It is so amazing when your pan-n-paper scratches become a reality.
     
  39. Mr-Nixon

    Mr-Nixon

    Joined:
    Mar 30, 2013
    Posts:
    140
    Hi guys,

    Today I’ve brought a set of progress reports and good news about the new build that we’ve all been waiting for over the last month.

    MODELLING PROGRESS

    We’ve done some more props for the interior of the Gyes bunker. I’d like to share one of them with you - a keypad locker. It has three stages: unlocked (when the door/locker/field is open, so that clicking on it will result to open/close action), enter code (when the door/locker/field is locked, so that you’ll need a key/code or a successful use of the Science skill to switch keypad into unlocked stage), and system error (when the door/locker/field is sealed by circumstances or by an unsuccessful use of the Science skill, so that you will not be able to open sealed door/container by your skill roll).





    You will not believe but most of the stuff we create with models are born from my rough concepts like this:



    After modelling I usually create decals myself as well, because every item requires a lot of lore and background information to fit the world even if it is not displayed clearly to players (e.g. where this item produced, by whom, which technologies does it use, how much value does it have, what are its prototypes nowadays, what are the typical markings nowadays for this object, what are the tendencies, etc.)

    Here you can check our new weapon item too - UKFU Mk2 combat knife:







    By tradition, our Co-Founders can find full HD screens of this stuff on our official forum:
    http://www.afterreset.com/forum/showthread.php?t=107

    ID from the game:



    UKFU Mk2

    Base Damage: 1d5 + 1d7 (physical).
    Base Critical Threat: 19-20/x2 (miss: 1).
    Base Damage Type: physical (PL1).
    Mobility Penalty: none.
    Base Item: knife.

    Feats Required: Weapon Proficiency (melee weapons) or Weapon Proficiency (pastager).
    Weapon Size: light.
    Weight: 0.9 lb.

    * * *

    The Universal Knife Fighting Utility (UKFU) is the contemporary, popular name for the combat knife first adopted by the United Governments Marine Corps on November 57 A.R. The 1157C2 combat knife (later designated as the UKFU Mark II) was subsequently adopted by the whole United Governments Army as a part of the standard issue weapons list of the U.G. Armed Forces.

    Ever since the development of Mark I model these knives were produced and supplied for the United Governments Military Corps by VTECH Alloys, a subsidiary of the Fudo Corporation.

    By the 132 A.R. the more modern Mark II version of this knife featured single-edge blades made from v-composite titanium alloy and polysynthetic handles made of Vaaton (a non-slip rubber substitute). The deceptive simplicity of this weapon leads to its combat effectiveness in experienced hands.



    EXTRA:
    Item Basic Value (PA, NT, SV, ST, RZ, YZ, GZ): 72, 140, 580, 107, 120, 500, 500
    Identification Difficulty Challenge: 7
    Unidentified Description: This combat knife is a bladed weapon, obviously, made for survival and combat purposes. Unlike common blades, this weapon is made for real fighting.

    NEW BUILD RELEASED


    Congratulations, we're now a Steamworks developer! We’ve passed all formal stages and now have access to the developer interface. Much obliged to the guys from Valve for their swift reply and assistance in settings this up.

    However, it took a week to distribute all Co-Founder statuses, so I suppose it will take time to spread all STEAM keys at this time. This is not to make you wait, my fellow backers, and I’m going to put it on the web as a password protected download that I’m going to provide you in this locked update.

    But I must ask you: if you have enough patience, please wait till you receive your STEAM key. After you install the beta in Steam, the build will be automatically updated according to our development progress. Keep in mind that the Steams distribution we use is not DRM protected nor is not bonded to your machine. It just helps us speed up the distribution of the software and spend more time on development.

    For those who just can’t wait, you can find the aforementioned downloads here:
    * Windows build: http://www.indiedb.com/games/after-reset/downloads/after-reset-rpg-windows-beta-v120314

    * Linux build: http://www.indiedb.com/games/after-reset/downloads/after-reset-rpg-linux-beta-v120314

    * Mac build: http://www.indiedb.com/games/after-reset/downloads/after-reset-rpg-mac-beta-v120314

    Please feel free to give us feedback under this forum topic: http://www.afterreset.com/forum/showthread.php?p=802

    Any technical issues should be discussed in this forum: http://www.afterreset.com/forum/showthread.php?p=798

    ABOUT THE STEAM EARLY ACCESS (SEA)

    In this news I’d like to share with you several important decisions about the upcoming SEA.

    First, we’re releasing this closed beta (only for backers), and we’re doing this in stages (each of them have decent amount of content):
    - Character creation
    - Special Facility level
    - Science Facility level
    - Main Level
    - Cave level
    - Cave Entrance level

    Second, we’re going to open SEA for public sales after the Special Facility level is completely done, but no earlier than January 2015.

    Third, as planned we’re going to revise the values of the pledges according to the Steam channel distribution. This will stress the benefits of the early supporters from Kickstarter and Direct Pledges.

    Forth, right before SEA opens up to the public we’re removing the digital version of the game from our website’s store page and linking directly to the Steam store. We will still be offering physical preorder versions of the game, including several features and the graphic novels.

    Fives, right before SEA opens up to the public we’re removing Co-Founder status reward from any pledge, but we’re still going to supply our current Co-Founders with the extra stuff as we’ve always done. As I promised, I’d like to grow the value of this proud title but not “selling it.” After open SEA launch, I reckon the only opportunity to get this status will be special events or exclusive rewards.

    * * *

    Okay, that’s all for today.
    Once again, thank you for your support and attitude, and stay tuned!
    Christmas is coming :)
    Back us via PayPal.
    Add us on Steam Greenlight.
    Join After Reset™ RPG official website.
     
  40. Mr-Nixon

    Mr-Nixon

    Joined:
    Mar 30, 2013
    Posts:
    140
    Hi guys,

    I know there has been a lack of updates for The Fall of Gyes graphic novel, so let me devote this New Year update primarily to the comic.

    GENERAL PROGRESS

    First, I realize that the delay for our “estimated delivery date” is unacceptable. There is no excuse that either party would find believable when we’re five months behind, but here are the facts. As an indie developer I depend on the freelancers I work with, and when they miss deadlines it inevitably affects the whole release. I understand that you've trusted me personally with your money, so as the game director I take the whole responsibility for any delay.



    But right now you don’t want to hear excuses, you need deeds. Thus, how do I compensate for the delay?

    1. Quality. You can see through updates and new builds (with your approval I rejected the strategy to release them too early just to meet the EDD) in favor of releasing small but cool and completed steps. We do something until I, from my picky point of view, can say something about it is really cool. Sometimes this means starting over from scrap if it’s just not working, and when you see our page previews (shown below) I think you’ll agree that it’s paid off.

    2. Money. It’s inevitable that delays, even if accounted for in a product’s budget, put a lot of stress on the team’s finances. I’ve therefore put more of my own money into the development to be sure that we’ll not compromise on our quality standards and deliver trash content just to stay under budget. The novel, for example, will end up containing 37 pages instead of the initially planned 32, and at no extra cost to you even though is increased our budget requirements.

    3. Time. I toil away on After Reset 8-12 hours a day and rarely take a weekend or holiday off (except for Christmas). I sold my other business some time ago and have been completely focused on this task ever since. Frankly, I’m quite happy with our progress and the support from our backers.

    Therefore, after TFoG is done it’ll be judgment day from our fans. However, I think you’ll be satisfied in the end and support our next novel. Until then I’ll do everything in my power to make sure you’ll be happy with the result.

    PAGE PREVIEW

    As of my last meeting with Adam we have 14 pages completely finished, 16 pages under review (adjustments/repainting), and that leaves 7 pages incomplete. Below we’ve got 12 of the finished pages for you to preview, and even as thumbnails we decided to leave out the lettering to avoid any possible spoilers. This way you can make up your own mind as to whether the delay is worth it (frankly, I myself have rarely seen such quality in other graphic novels).











    EXCLUSIVE REWARDS


    As some of you remember, during the TFoG campaign on Kickstarter we promised a legendary reward for up to two very special backers. It was an ‘exclusively made character poster of YOU as a citizen of the United Governments in the After Reset setting, made in very high dimension to be printed in any photo studio.’ I’m very pleased to present backer Ahmad Khan as an NPC in After Reset setting.



    Name: Ahmad Khan
    Nickname: Khan
    Race: Pastager
    Date of birth: March 4, 92 A.R.
    Place of birth: Selene, Underearth.

    Ahmad was born March 4, 92 A.R. in Selene (one of the three underground cities of the United Governments, located in the former USA) in a fairly normal family of government employees. When he was born his father, Sebastian Khan, was a colonel in the UG Military Corps, and his mother worked as a lieutenant in the Selene Police Department (SPD) in the ranks of the Social Corps.

    Despite the Social Corps’ decline in popularity after “the Riot of Cans” in 87 A.R., Ahmad had wanted to follow in his mother’s footsteps since childhood, and even prepared to enter the Selene Police Academy. This made it all the more unexpected for everyone, including his parents, when he chose instead to join the ranks of the Military Corps after completing his tour of duty in all four Corps of the UG, which is traditional for all citizens.

    It is completely possible that the reason behind this choice was his move to Helios in 125 A.R. (the capital of the UG), and the intensified advertising campaign there for the President’s upcoming administration program to “Take Back the Surface!” The request Ahmad sent (to be transferred) into the subdivision of the Military Corps on the Surface was nevertheless met with resistance from his father, who did everything in his power to stop him. The conflict between father and son lasted almost a year, but after the Dallas Incident in 129 A.R., Ahmad finally understood that his father was just trying to protect him.

    These events markedly decreased Ahmad’s enthusiasm for deployment, but nonetheless after two years, with his father’s approval, he was transferred to serve in New Dallas on the surface. Later, in 123 A.R., he was sent on an assignment to Bunker N3-H1 under the code name “Gyes…”


    Ahmad, thank you for your support and dedication, and we’ve updated our official forum to include your unique avatar.

    CO-FOUNDER STATUS

    As I promised, we are no longer giving out “Co-Founder” status as a packaged reward for any future purchases in order to preserve its value. There is now no way to obtain it other than special events (such as giveaways) or by outstanding achievements.

    Now, it’s time to pull back the curtain and reveal some of my plans for our Co-Founders. As you know, everything in After Reset is about role-play.

    As I stressed many times before, After Reset’s setting is realistic hardcore sci-fi and it is not linear, it depends of YOUR choices. The choices you will make not only affect your game but also beyond it.

    Another example, exclusively for Co-Founders, is the ability to select the new President of the United Governments.

    I imply that (according to our timeline) that by the time you’ve completed After Reset RPG, there will be elections for the new President of the United Governments, the new Primus Inter Pares. Therefore, I want to give our Co-Founders the opportunity to take on the role of a UG citizen, and vote. I’m currently working on a virtual election (on our forums), for two DMs to take on the roles of the candidates, election videos, etc, and I think it’ll be a lot of fun.

    STEAM

    In this news I’d also like to include some info about the transition to Steam, keys, tiers etc.

    First, we’ve prepared the STORE page on our forum according to the documents of the new platform. For now the STEAM buttons don’t lead to anywhere, but by the time we release a build to Steam Early Access (SEA) that will change. With time, I also hope that there will be GOG buttons as well. Especially for several of our backers who asked us to provide them with direct download link of the game outside of STEAM: don’t worry, “cum promisseris, facias”.

    Second, you can already find “XX” instead of pledges’ prices in the STORE. That means that we don’t accept those pledges via PayPal any more - we are waiting for the SEA release. Due to some legal limitations I can’t reveal those prices for you yet, but I can say that our Kickstarter and Direct backers will find just how good of a deal they got by supporting us earlier.

    Third, we are already sending SEA keys for the game and its add-ons based on a priority system of who funded us first, according to the following:
    1. Direct Pledges.
    2. The Fall of Gyes Kickstarter.
    3. After Reset RPG Kickstarter.

    By the time you read this we’ll have sent out all of the Direct Pledge and The Fall of Gyes Kickstarter keys.

    Forth, we’ve already prepared the new patch for the game, but we’ll wait to apply it until after the torture of sending out all 7000+ keys. Meanwhile, don’t be shy to report any issues you do find in the current build here: www.afterreset.com/forum/showthread.php?p=871

    * * *

    Well, I think that’s all the news for today. Stay tuned for the next juicy update! I hope, you’re all still with us.

    Merry Christmas, dear fellows! And Happy New Year!

    Sincerely,
    Richard, Ivan, Mariusz, Jeremy, Max, Andrew, Angelina, Osman, Yannick.
     
    randomperson42 likes this.
  41. TheBoredMan5

    TheBoredMan5

    Joined:
    Mar 16, 2013
    Posts:
    9
    What program did you create the "Concept-Sketches" in? I've been looking into this for a game i'm making.
     
  42. Mr-Nixon

    Mr-Nixon

    Joined:
    Mar 30, 2013
    Posts:
    140
    Photoshop + Pen Tablet.
     
  43. Mr-Nixon

    Mr-Nixon

    Joined:
    Mar 30, 2013
    Posts:
    140
    LASER WEAPONS OF HARD SCI-FI

    Hi guys,

    It’s been almost two weeks since our last update. The time has come to share the next portion of completed work.

    SENDING STEAM KEYS

    A few new gray hairs notwithstanding, at the time of writing this article, 1400 of 7200 keys still need to be sent. By the end of this month we should have sent them.

    LIST OF ITEMS

    For those who are constantly following the development of our game on our forum, this topic will also be interesting http://www.afterreset.com/forum/showthread.php?t=286. In it we go through the items that have already been added to the game build. It doesn’t mean that they will be available right away to players, but it means that they are already in the game itself and can be obtained in game (loot, found items, quests etc.).

    In addition we are also publishing links to detailed item descriptions, which makes this topic something of a wiki for items in the After Reset world.

    PHELAR-17

    Having already sent out over 5000 keys by hand, we couldn’t help noticing of our backers’ email domain names. It’s great to see people from leading tech companies among them. As a result, I can say that the deciding factor in bringing them to us was our hard sci-fi feature :)

    They have asked me not to name names, but I’d like to express my extreme gratitude for their consultation and information that have helped us bring even more realism to the setting of After Reset.

    In essence, in this update, I’d like to direct your attention to the laser rifle, which is part the arsenal of the Military Police of the Military Corps of the United Governments. Yes, you’ll be able to get your hands on it and shoot it in even the Prologue :)

    How it looks in standard factory colors:





    From perspective:



    How it looks in UG Army camouflage in the game’s region:



    And some more shots with the Vizo Sight 'LEOTech' visor sight:







    Yes, most likely (!), some weapons in the game will be modifiable. In any case we are putting an appropriate structure for that into the core of the game. As always, our Co-Founders can download screens of this laser rifle in Full-HD: http://www.afterreset.com/forum/showthread.php?t=107
    What features does this rifle have from a hard sci-fi point of view? Well guys, the cool thing about it is that it was developed completely by our little “science council,” who constructed it down to the smallest detail and made it workable from a modern physics standpoint! Its basis comes from modern developments of high-energy weapons from DARPA, Lockheed Martin, Raytheon and BAE Systems. I’d like to give our backer-consultants from these companies another huge thanks. I can say that the only “fantasy allowance” made with this gun is its power source, the Fusion Cell. But it seems to me that for After Reset this is an acceptable recipe: 87% hard science / 13% fiction.

    Technical characteristics, the characteristics of the materials used, dimensions and detail schemes are all in accordance with a slightly extrapolated version of the modern understanding of physicists, engineers, builders and social designers about the personal high-energy weapons of the near future (I’d like to remind our readers that this rifle is one of the oldest weapons the UG uses, I’d even say it’s “out of date.” Something like the M16 for us now).

    At present Mariuseus and I are working on realistic shooting sound effects for this weapon, recharging, battery indicators, etc. There won’t be any “pew pew” like in the Star Wars Cartoon – only realistic characteristics. :) For example, look how a modern industrial laser “shoots”:


    Below I’d also like to share the in-game characteristics of this weapon:



    PHELAR-17 Desert [Vizo Sight 'LEOTech' Desert]

    Base Damage: 2d10.
    Base Critical Threat: 20/x2 (miss: 1).
    Base Magazine Capacity: 30.
    Base Range: 0-260 ft.
    Base Damage Type: laser.
    Mobility Penalty: none.
    Base Item: laser rifle.

    Ammunition Type: fusion cells.
    Feats Required: Weapon Proficiency (energy weapons) or Weapon Proficiency (pastager).
    Weapon Size: 2-handed.
    Weight: 14.1 lb.

    Special Properties:
    - No-Recoil (+3 to Attack Bonus).
    - Vizo Sight (+1 to Attack Bonus).

    * * *

    The PHELAR-17 (Personal High Energy Laser Assault Rifle) is a high-tech weapon that emits a concentrated photon impulse of coherent light, with a sufficient wattage to do considerable damage. PHELAR effectiveness is proven at mid-range distances, and served the Police and Security departments of the United Governments well. Mass production began in 53 A.R.

    The core of this weapon, pulsed fiber laser, operates at a number of lasing transitions between 153 and 156 nm. That is out of visible spectrum, though, in combination with compact Fusion Cells it uses this rifle could emit an effective energy impulses of 100kW. Beam-steering technologies make these arrays conformal with the airframe, to provide instant retargeting across a large field of regard, and to compensate for the effects of atmospheric turbulence.

    With the compact high-energy sources availability and scattering issues solved laser weapons became very popular during the underground expansion of the UG. Having no recoil or ejected shells, and no gravitational effect on beam trajectory, laser weapons have almost completely displaced firearms on the arms market and on the streets of underground cities of Underearth by the 67 A.R.

    This version of PHELAR-17 is painted with a desert-camo pattern of the U.G. Army to provide better concealment effectiveness within relevant the desert-like environments of the Yellow zones on Earth’s surface.

    Beyond that, this PHELAR-17 is equipped with visualizing weapon sight "Vizo Sight" produced by LEOTech Corporation for various models of energy weapons. This non-magnifying gun sight allows the user to visualize shooting line within sophisticated glass optical window and see a beam parallel to the barrel based on beam-steering analysis.


    EXTRA:

    Stack: none
    Item Basic Value (PA, NT, SV, ST, RZ, YZ, GZ): 7200, 1250, 1450, 6100, 1500, 1400, 1500
    Identification Difficulty Challenge: 37
    Unidentified Description: This is definitely some kind of hi-tech weapon with a strange angular coloring and a gadget. Unfortunately, you are unable to grasp how to make it work.

    And Vizo Site mod for laser weapons with top Picatinny rail:



    Vizo Sight 'LEOTech'

    Base Item: mod.
    Weight: 2.1 lb.

    * * *

    The "Vizo Sight" is an augmented reality weapon sight produced by the LEOTech Corporation for various energy weapons that support beam-steering technology. Although the sight doesn’t offer magnification, it does allow the user to visualize the beam’s trajectory through a sophisticated glass window where the projected beam can be seen parallel to the barrel.

    LEOTech Corporation was founded around 100 A.R. by Jason Kwan and Pierre Lempereur while they were still students at the Eos Institute of Advanced Industrial Science. By 132 A.R. the company designed, manufactured, and marketed electro-optic products and systems, and established their headquarters in Helios, Underearth. Their augmented reality weapon sights are used in a wide variety of small arms for close combat, and have been adopted by various security corporations, law enforcement agencies, and even the U.G. Army.


    EXTRA:

    Stack: none
    Item Basic Value (PA, NT, SV, ST, RZ, YZ, GZ): 1000, 100, 150, 1000, 100, 500, 400
    Identification Difficulty Challenge: 32
    Unidentified Description: Decently made but weird thing. You can't figure out how it works, however. It should works... somehow... right?

    * * *

    I hope you liked today’s update. In the next few days you’ll also: be acquainted with the game’s interfaces (inventory, character, dialogue etc.), new pages and characters from The Fall of Gyes, with new lore. I’ll really try to raise your expectations for the remaining 1400 keys. Stay with us, friends!

    Add us on Steam Greenlight.
    Visit After Reset official Store.
    Join After Reset™ RPG official website.
     
    HolBol likes this.
  44. Mr-Nixon

    Mr-Nixon

    Joined:
    Mar 30, 2013
    Posts:
    140
    Peachy Update
    Hi, guys!

    This is a short but colorful update devoted to our upcoming Steam Early Access (SEA) release, our progress on The Fall of Gyes graphic novel, and related lore.



    FIRST AND FOREMOST: SENDING STEAM KEYS

    I know a lot of backers are still waiting on keys, so I’m going to include a status update in every news post until it’s done. By the time of writing this article, 900 of 7200 keys still need to be sent. By the end of this month we should have sent all of them.

    We will use the keys for media portals, gamer’s sites, journalists, and You-tube reviewers that should be available 5-7 days before we go to the SEA release.

    OPEN SEA RELEASE

    We still need to program the inner interface so we can take fair screenshots before the final approval by Steam. If everything goes fine, you’ll be able to proudly link After Reset RPG on Steam to your friends and colleagues in early March of 2015.

    AFTER RESET RPG: OFFICIAL COVER ART

    Some of you may have noticed that the cover art on various official portals (like IndieDB, Facebook, etc.). The reason is that is we’re close to the final stage of marketing preparation for the open SEA release, and we needed to have a unified banner that also transferred to the game. We think it looks very cool, and has enough flexibility to be easily identified and still represent the whole series.

    I got a pleasure and honor to work with One Pixel Brush (you might know them by working on visual styles of such games like The Last of Us, The Division, Bioshock Infinite, etc.). They made our main characters (the Commanders) truly come alive. It’s the main reason I decided to put them on the cover.

    Here you can download full-HD versions of the cover in 1920x1080 resolution for your desktop:

    VERSION A: link.



    VERSION B: link.



    VERSION C: link.



    With time (from chapter to chapter) the appearance of the protagonists on the cover will change, and you’ll be able to follow their evolution. Should be fun!

    It might look easy, but it’s taken more than six months to come up with a final version of our cover art. Now that I’m satisfied with it, I hope you will be too. :)

    ROCK, PAPER, SHOTGUN

    Thanks to one of our backers (Gnostic) we found out that famous Rock, Paper, Shotgun included After Reset RPG in ‘PC Games Of 2015: Those Wot Could Conceivably Be Good.’ It’s such big honor to see our child listed with Mass Effect 4, Cyberpunk 2077, Torment: Tides of Numenera and Pillars of Eternity.

    An honor well as a big responsibility.

    THE STORY OVERVIEW

    To prepare the game for SEA I needed to finalize the whole game story concept, and taking into account whether or not we reach our funding goals, or exceed them. Here is brief (but spoiler free) overview of the full game story:



    Every chapter of the game represents each stage of the big story and it is connected to the sets of regions that are relevant to that chapter. That doesn’t mean every chapter will have and equal amount of game playtime.

    In example: the final version of the Prologue should have about two hours of gameplay. It is quite close to the idea that was initially put into Fallout 1, but financial restrictions ending up cutting most of it out, and limited it to just walking through a cave and killing several rats. At the beginning of Fallout 1’s birthday, the creators wanted to give the player the ability to play around in the Vault 13 itself. Therefore the After Reset RPG's Prologue represents only small piece of main story game play time.

    If things don’t work out for our funding goals, I’ll rely on my savings and concentrate on the main story. However, there will be many opportunities for random encounters and side quests that can easily be added once we have the game mechanics and gameplay finished. How much or how little gets added will depend on our funding.

    In final version the life and event sequences of the chapters should go even without player interaction. That implies you can be caught by story in the Great Desert with a new sequence in it even if you dropped the main storyline earlier.

    “THE FALL OF GYES” GENERAL PROGRESS

    After meeting with Adam yesterday, I’m happy to report that 33 out of 37 pages are completely finished. For those of you keeping track, that’s 19 pages since our last update. We’re pushing forward, but always with an eye on quality. I’d like to remind all of you that our Co-Founders can see previews of all the new pages on our forum: http://www.afterreset.com/forum/showthread.php?t=239

    But I’d recommend avoiding spoilers… these previews are just to show our progress.



    EXCLUSIVE REWARDS

    During the TFoG campaign (on Kickstarter) we promised a legendary reward for up to two very special backers, and this is our second ‘exclusively made character poster of YOU as a citizen of the United Governments in the After Reset setting, made in very high dimension to be printed in any photo studio.’


    I’m very pleased to present backer Brian Luke as an NPC in After Reset setting.

    Name: Brian Luke.
    Nickname: Dr. Luke.
    Race: Pastager.
    Date of birth: December 5, 51 A.R.
    Place of birth: Eos, Undereath.

    In scientific circles, Brian Luke had made a reputation for himself as a distinguished micro- and synthetic biologist. Born in 51 A.R. in the technology city Eos (one of the three underground cities of the United Governments in the former USA) into a family with a long history of being researchers in the Scientific Corps of the UG. He was raised in an atmosphere of open curiosity, fascination and a penchant for the undiscovered.

    He had quite a strict upbringing, due to the fact that both of his parents belonged to the administration of Kaisha Technology (one of the largest corporations in the UG), and with age Brian discovered he had the same organizational talent of a strong senior manager and a great managing consultant. Thanks to that, in 102 A.R., he was already head of the Biology department at the Eos Institute of Advanced Industrial Science.

    He refused a career in private corporations (“for the purity of science,” as he once argued to his parents) during his years of service in the Scientific Corps he also earned a reputation as a political conservative and government loyalist.

    It is entirely possible that it was precisely that, which played the deciding role in sending Brian to the Surface in 130 A.R. where he actively took part in designing and developing the New Dallas ecosphere. In the same year he met his future wife, Maria Edgargh, and just half a year later they were married.

    At the end of 131 the couple got permission to have two children immediately and submitted the documents to the Artificial Fertilization Center of New Dallas. Waiting for his children, at the beginning of 132 A.R. Brian nonetheless agreed to the request of his friend and colleague to go on an assignment to one of the new command bunkers of the UG on the Surface under the code name “Gyes” as a temporary Head of the Science Department…"




    SCI-FI TO READ

    Just as with our previous news posting, I want to share some fiction I’ve recently read, the awesome hard sci-fi short story by Peter Watts: The Things.

    Watts is a rare breed of fiction writer that also has real scientific credentials, and I’ve really enjoyed his sci-fi work. His short story The Things is devoted to a perspective of reality and events from The Thing Movies through the eyes of ‘the Thing.’ It could really change your perception of the movie (and provide some cool, potentially more original ideas for the next Dead Space writers).

    I would note that Watts’ view of The Thing is not applicable for the After Reset setting (the true nature of Biomass is different from Watts’ version) so there will be no spoilers in that regard. But that story is full of food for thought, and is a very interesting and unexpected hard sci-fi view. It’s not just ‘black or white,’ and doesn’t conform to traditional sci-fi tropes like ‘that weird, wicked and bad stuff… omg, it killed Kenny… lets wipe that sh*t… hura! We won… the end. Or is it?’

    * * *

    That is all for today, dear followers.
    Once again, thank your for your support and all the patience that you show.
    Stay tuned for more news!

    Add us on Steam Greenlight.
    Visit After Reset official Store.
    Join After Reset™ RPG official website.
     
  45. Mr-Nixon

    Mr-Nixon

    Joined:
    Mar 30, 2013
    Posts:
    140
    USER INTERFACE

    Hi guys,

    We’re still hard at work on the preparations for the upcoming Steam release this March. Today’s news is devoted to interface schemes I’ve been working on for the last few weeks.

    FIRST AND FOREMOST: SENDING STEAM KEYS

    We’ve sent another big chunk of keys out, and there are 500 of the 7200 keys still left to be delivered.

    THE INTERFACE
    While my guys are sending out the keys I’ve prepared the major interface schemes for the game. Please, keep in mind that ‘Interface Scheme’ is the basic structure of what should be displayed (and where) on in-game screen for the player. It’s similar to the graphical interface elements (like Fallout’s Pip-Boy, or AR’s Theseus), and will be painted/rendered over that scheme.

    Also, I want to ask everyone to keep in mind that our interfaces (like the whole SEA build, frankly) looks best in HD resolution (1920x1080). We got our first round of feedback regarding the size of the text and interface, and we rewrote the current build so that we’ll be able to add simple scaling elements in time. For now we try to focus on the larger resolutions because we need to complete the interface (rather than redo it later) before scaling will function. (I bet, you remember Sid Meier's Civilization: Beyond Earth had many issues and gamers were not able to play on 1920x1080 resolution, only on low quality resolutions)

    My main inspirations for the interface scheme were classics like Fallout 1&2, Fallout Tactics, Deus Ex Human Revolution, and EVE Online. Below you can download and check the interface scheme of After Reset RPG in full HD over various screenshots: http://www.afterreset.com/ARMEDIA/NEWS/310114/interf.zip

    General Interface:



    Skills Panel:



    General Interface - Companions:



    Dialogue/Conversation Interface:



    Barter/Trade Interface:



    Character Menu – Inventory:



    Character Menu – Character S***:



    Character Menu – Quests Log:



    Character Menu – Records:



    Character Menu – Augmentation:



    Character Menu – Skills:



    Character Menu – Feats:



    Loading Screen, Tips-Lore-Story:



    * * *

    That’s all for today, dear followers. I’m looking forward to hearing your feedback and ideas. Feel free to share on our Kickstarter page and official forum. Thanks for staying tuned!

    Add us on Steam Greenlight.
    Visit After Reset official Store.
    Join After Reset™ RPG official website.
     
  46. Mr-Nixon

    Mr-Nixon

    Joined:
    Mar 30, 2013
    Posts:
    140
    Hi, guys!

    Today we’ve got a bunch of pleasant news about several completed tasks.

    STEAM KEYS ARE SENT


    First and foremost I’m glad to report all beta keys for Steam Early Access have been sent. It was quite a challenge, but now it’s behind us.

    Please check your Inbox and Spam folders (just in case) and feel free to e-mail Max (support@afterreset.com) or to me (MrNixon@afterreset.com) if you have any issues receiving your key(s). You can also send me a PM via Kickstarter.

    THE FALL OF GYES: PAINTING COMPLETE



    I’m also glad to report the completion of all 39 pages for our cinematic graphic novel. Next week we’re liaising with Peter Cooper on lettering, and another week will be spent on the final design. We’ll then publish its digital version in a closed update (to backers only) on our TFOG Kickstarter page first, and shortly after that to all other backers who purchased a copy elsewhere. In time we’ll also upload it into Steam so that many of you who have it as a digital add-on can access it and keep it in your library. As always it will be DRM free.

    Our Co-Founders can already check out the novel on our official forum (beware of spoilers): http://www.afterreset.com/forum/showthread.php?t=239

    I’d also like to immortalize our backers from the TFOG Kickstarter by putting their names in the credits for both digital and physical versions of the novel. If you’re our TFOG Kickstarter backer, please check your name on this topic: http://www.afterreset.com/forum/showthread.php?p=1002

    If I made a mistake of forgot you to add or exclude you (due to your previous approach for anonymity), please send me an e-mail (MrNixon@afterreset.com) to edit the list. A few rules: no nicknames, no letters, no middle names - only first and last names. Let’s do it like the professionals.

    * * *

    Well, that’s all for today. Thanks for the patience you’ve shown us!
    Have a good weekend and stay tuned for more good news.

    Add us on Steam Greenlight.
    Visit After Reset official Store.
    Join After Reset™ RPG official website.
     
    FBTH likes this.
  47. Mr-Nixon

    Mr-Nixon

    Joined:
    Mar 30, 2013
    Posts:
    140
    Hi, guys!

    As is our tradition, in this weekly update I’d like to share the current state of affairs for our various productions. Beginning with the next update, most will also include a fresh build/patch.

    STEAM KEYS

    After announcing the completion of key distribution (in the previous update) we had several waves of backers who didn’t receive the keys for various reasons. It was quite large percentage, about 30% overall. By now all of those issues have been resolved and the missing keys have been sent to their legal owners.

    Don’t worry; if you’re a backer who hasn’t been following our updates and is still missing the key, it’s not too late. Feel free to PM me via Kickstarter or by e-mail (mrnixon@afterreset.com), and we will expedite the delivery of your key.

    UPCOMING PATCH PREVIEW

    I’d like to thank all backers who reported various bugs and typos on our forum: http://www.afterreset.com/forum/showthread.php?t=269&page=4

    Thanks to your feedback, we managed to fix most of the reported problems while resolving issues with key submission. We’re going to do more this weekend and throughout the rest of the week so we can publish this upcoming patch by next weekend.

    Here’s a general list of changes and fixes coming:
    - Various interface fixes for MAC and Linux;
    - Application launcher error fix for MAC;
    - "Space" hotkey for skipping each of in-game videos added;
    - Sound effects for main menu fixed;
    - New cursors added;
    - Typos in the Modes descriptions corrected;
    - The intensity and frequency of the holographic distortion visual effect has been substantially lowered;
    - Main menu text size scaling added to the Options/Gameplay menu;
    - Auto-scaling for panels in the main menu added;
    - Premade characters activated;
    - Zoom/rotate buttons added for the model of the character through the character creation;
    - Random button added for Stats, Skills, and Feats stages of character generation, so you can allocate each prompt by chance;
    - New icons for the Skills added;
    - Message with all available content for the current build added, so now you won't be puzzled with "Why can't I proceed?" questions;
    - Alphabetical auto-sorting for the Feats added;
    - Typos in the feats descriptions corrected.
    - and likely much more…

    VIDEO PRODUCTION



    We’ve also completed most of the video/sound/voice acting for the first in-game short story movie, which will be launched after the character creation process (before the next area loads). I also hope to include it in the next patch. Above you can see a shot from it, and you can download it in full HD (1920x1080) for your wallpaper here: http://www.afterreset.com/ARMEDIA/NEWS/130215/iambig.jpg

    LINK INTERIOR MODELLING

    I’m also proud to present several of the latest objects we’ve made for the prologue (the Gyes’ interior prefabs):











    ITEMS MODELING

    I’d also like to show off our new items (various tool kits) that have been added to the build, and you can see previews of them below. You can also download it in full HD (1920x1080) via this link: http://www.afterreset.com/ARMEDIA/NEWS/130215/kits.zip


    First Aid Kit 'Astrolis Pharma'

    Base Item: First Aid Kit. Weight: 3 lb.
    Special Properties: + On Use (+10 to First Aid skill).

    * * *

    This First Aid Kit is a portable boxed collection of supplies and equipment used in first aid. Produced by one of the major UG Corporation, Astrolis Pharma, these kits have been commercially available since 130 A.R.

    The contents can be used to stop bleeding, open restricted airways, thicken/thin the blood, reduce pain, inflammation, and treat first-response trauma. It also has masks, gloves, syringes, Geiger counter, and other essential medical equipment.



    AED Kit 'Astrolis Pharma'

    Base Item: AED Kit. Weight: 5 lb.
    Special Properties: + Revival: performs d20 roll + Fortitude CoS against DC30 death to revive yourself (passive roll) or your companion (activated roll) if either of you has this item in inventory.

    * * *

    The Automated External Defibrillator Kit (or AED) is a portable electronic device that automatically diagnoses life threatening cardiac arrhythmias in a patient, such as ventricular fibrillation and ventricular tachycardia, and is able to treat them in order for the heart to reestablish an effective rhythm. It can sustain a mortally wounded subject for 24 hours (but they will still need medical aid).

    Produced by Astrolis Pharma, this portable medical device became standard issue for all trauma units, hospitals, and ground outposts for the UG in 130 A.R.



    Science Tools 'Kitaro Scientific'

    Base Item: Science Kit. Weight: 6 lb.
    Special Properties: + On Use (+10 to Science skill).

    * * *

    The Science Tools, produced by Kitaro Scientific since 101 A.R., are essentially portable scientific laboratories, programmed with Research Operations Nano-Assistants and the Advanced Hardware Data Analyzer DA-7, complete with a customizable set of Program Cubes and other small instruments.

    These science kits are widely used by the Science Corps' and forensic crime units, primarily for field research outside of the UG colonies. The powerful hardware cores are also frequently used by engineers for data analysis, and even the hacking of electronic devices.

    Because of its widespread use it became available for civilian purchase in 102 A.R, but was soon put back on the restricted materials list after black market knock-offs dealt a crippling blow Kitaro Scientific’s cash flow.

    General Repair Kit 'Ishima Engineering'

    Base Item: Repair kit. Weight: 6 lb.
    Special Properties: + On Use (+9 to Repair skill).

    * * *

    The General Repair Kit contains all the essentials an engineer might need to fix pretty much anything constructed by man. It contains a plethora of advanced DIY tools including: General Repair Tools, Computer Repair Tools, Environmental Control and Life Support System Repair Tools, Weapon Repair Tools, FOKRT, HESRT, RRT, MnA EORT, and more.

    This advanced repair kit is standard issue to all engineering personal working with Ishima Engineering since the beginning of the UG’s Underearth colonization, beginning in 54 A.R.



    Electronics Repair Kit 'Ishima Engineering'

    Base Item: Repair Kit. Weight: 6 lb.
    Special Properties: + On Use (+10 to Repair skill).

    * * *

    The Electronics Repair Kit contains all the essentials an engineer might need to fix pretty much anything constructed by man. Unlike General Repair Kits this set is specialized to deal with sophisticated electronic versions of advanced DIY and LAB tools including: General Repair Tools, Computer Repair Tools Mk II, Environmental Control LAB-SPEC and LSS Pro Repair Tools, High Energy Weapon Repair Tools, FOKRT, HESRT, RRT Mk II, MnA EORT etc.

    This advanced repair kit is standard issue to all engineering personal working with Ishima Engineering since the beginning of the UG’s Underearth colonization, beginning in 54 A.R.












    THE FALL OF GYES

    We’ve completed the lettering for The Fall of Gyes graphic novel. I also registered ISBN and barcodes for digital and hardcover versions. We’ve also applied for LCCN at the Library of Congress. It should come within two weeks. Meanwhile, Adam is preparing the source files to be sent to me, and I’ll complete the final page design in preparation for digital and hardcover printing.



    Here I’d like to remind our TFoG backers to check their names for the credits (“personal thanks” section) on this topic: http://www.afterreset.com/forum/showthread.php?p=1002

    If I made a mistake and forgot you to add or exclude you (due to a previous request for anonymity), please send me an e-mail (mrnixon@afterreset.com) to edit the list. A few rules: no nicknames, no letters, no middle names, only first and last names. Let’s do it like the professionals.

    On the topic of future printing: if you’re purchasing (or just considering) a TFoG hardcover, you still have a chance to do that via our STORE page. If you do it BEFORE we send the order out to our printing company (in March, I reckon) you will receive a signed hardcover at the same time as our original TFOG backers.

    But if you’re interested, I encourage you to do that AFTER (I’ll remind you about the right in a following update) you get a chance to read the digital version. This way you can be sure that this way of supporting AR is a worthy one. Frankly, I’ve already printed it “homemade” with a laser color printer on A4, and it is amazing. I rarely found such quality and style in comic book stores in California. However, I’d prefer that all of you check out the digital version for yourself and see what works best for you.

    * * *

    Well, I believe that is a decent stock of news for this week. Hope you like what you’ve read and seen.

    Thanks for rooting for us, and have a good weekend!

    Add us on Steam Greenlight.
    Visit After Reset official Store.
    Join After Reset™ RPG official website.
     
  48. Mr-Nixon

    Mr-Nixon

    Joined:
    Mar 30, 2013
    Posts:
    140
    Hi, guys!

    I welcomed this opportunity to address you, the followers of After Reset, to whom I am so deeply indebted for a lifetime of support, friendship and trust. Today, I’m happy to report significant headway has been made in the development of the game, and especially the graphic novel. At this point the majority of TFoG obligations have been completed, but we’ll back to that in a minute.

    PATCH #030315 RELEASED!


    Some of our backers may have noticed that your Steam application After Reset RPG was updated on Tuesday, March 03. Although you can read all the patch notes in PatchNotes.txt (which is in your game folder), I’d like to publish the full list of changes in this update so that any future backers can follow our chronological process from start to finish.









    After Reset RPG, Patch Notes #030315
    Release on Tuesday, March 03, 2015


    FIXES:

    Technical:
    • Application launcher error fixed for MAC version.

    User Interface:
    • Various interface fixes for MAC and Linux versions.
    • The intensity and frequency of the holographic distortion visual effect has been substantially reduced.
    • Auto-scaling for panels in the main menu added.

    Audio:
    • Sound effects for main menu fixed.

    Miscellaneous:
    • Typos in the Modes descriptions corrected.

    FEATURES & CHANGES:

    Gameplay:
    • Premade characters activated.
    • Random button added for Stats, Skills, and Feats stages of character generation, so you can allocate each prompt through chance.
    • In-game Pause mechanics added (set on "Space" hotkey").
    • New models for Pastagers race for the character creation added.
    • Special Facility level added.
    • Prologue narration added.

    User Interface:
    • New cursors added.
    • Main menu text size scaling added to the Options/Gameplay menu.
    • Rotate option added for the model of the character through the character creation.
    • Alphabetical auto-sorting for the Feats added.
    • New icons for the Skills added.
    • Typos in the feats descriptions corrected.
    • Loading screens design reworked.
    • Camera controls for the gameplay added.
    • Fog of war, Range-of-Sight (RoS) and Field-of-Sight (FoS) added.
    • Highlighting system added.

    Graphics:
    • Glass shader for the OpenGL fixed.
    • Injured animation for humanoids added (activates if a humanoid have less than 10% of its hit points).
    • Realistic Decal system added.

    Audio:
    • Music for the Science Facility level added.
    • Voice for the Prologue narration added.

    Video:
    • Prologue's intro added.

    Miscellaneous:
    • "Space" hotkey for skipping each of in-game videos added.
    • Message with all available content for the current build added, so now you won't be puzzled with "Why can't I proceed?" questions.
    • Realistic Decal system added.

    COMMENTS:

    As you guys can see, your detailed feedback has resulted in many changes and tweaks to the look and feel of the game, and we didn’t want to wait to reward you for that.

    I’d also like to talk about graphics. From my picky point of view (which criticize even games like DA: Inquisition) I am finally satisfied with the graphics, and you can see the progress yourselves by trying out our first tech build from 2014, which you can see on IndieDB: http://www.indiedb.com/games/after-reset/downloads.

    However, what you can see now is only one quarter of what we have planned for the full graphical capabilities of the game, and the source build you are playing is already a whopping 50Gb :)! We switched off a lot of features because of common hardware limitations, but we’ll keep the source production in reserve so that we could gradually switch graphic features on by the time of the full game is completed. Through every stage of development, regardless of how long that takes, the game should look cool and be easy on the eyes.

    This is all important because graphics go hand-in-hand with optimization. Despite the 60-100fps performance I get while streaming on my machine, we’ve only implemented about 30% of all our optimizations. So, please be patient if you’re having issues on older machines. We’ll run our full optimization circuit by the end of development on all five areas of the Prologue. This is because the hard optimization circle we’ve developed and tested will irreversibly change the build and we’ve got some work ahead of us before we’re ready to tackle that.

    Lastly, the hobbling animation for your character is not the default animation. It is animation for humanoid creatures that have less than 10% of their Hit Points, and/or do not have a crippled leg, or don’t have the special Endurance-related feat. In the future these injuries might also lower a victim’s speed. We’ve also got various idle animations prepared for them as well, so please take a look!

    "THE FALL OF GYES" DIGITAL VERSION RELEASED!

    There’s nothing quite like fulfilling your promise and keeping your word. Today, almost a year after the TFoG Kicktarter campaign, I’m proud to present to you the full digital version of The Fall of Gyes graphic novel.



    Most of our TFoG Kickstarter backers can find the link for it (with password) in a previous closed update. Most of our After Reset RPG backers can get the digital novel in the Steam folder of their game (It’ll be in something like...\SteamApps\common\After Reset RPG\add-ons\graphic_novel-the_fall_of_gyes).

    Those who backed TFoG directly on PayPal will receive their link via e-mail.

    The formats for the graphic novel are: PDF (PC) and CBR (tablets).

    I am sincerely grateful for your support, trust and patience that you’ve shown us. I asked for your help and your prayers as I embarked on this new journey-and you rooted for us. According to After Reset tradition, I’d like to share something more with you, for those who saw sparks of light in the project and believed in it even at such an early stage. In gratitude, I therefore present the following:

    • every TFoG KS backer is listed forever in the credits as a special thank you, both in digital and in physical versions (see this thread).

    • 6 extra story pages (32 was promised we’ve released 38 TFoG story pages).

    • 25 extra content pages with backstory, concept art, and more (totaling 65 pages for the final print, 40 were originally promised).

    • 1 extra character poster for our $65+ TFoG KS backer tier made in very high dimension to be printed in any photo studio.

    • A free preview version that you can share with your friends and colleagues (you can download it from IndieDB as well: http://www.indiedb.com/games/after-reset/downloads/the-fall-of-gyes-2015-preview).

    • The wallpaper of 1920x1080 resolution you asked: http://www.afterreset.com/ARMEDIA/NEWS/020315/tfog_wallpaper.zip

    Even though I haven’t received any complaints - only cheering mails and replies - I want to thank everyone again for the supportive attitude you showed us despite significant delays. That really means a lot to me. Your warm attitude helped me to concentrate my energy on fixing issues and eliminating obstacles so that we could complete this graphic novel with the best possible quality.

    I also haven’t forgotten about any of the other obligations I have toward you, and we’re preparing for the physical version (a splendid hardcover) as well as for VIP physical figure of the protagonist that was promised. It should really be something fantastic!

    For those interested, here’s a brief list of topics that slowed down the development, and keep in mind these are not excuses, just the truth:

    1. Quality and attention to detail was a big one for me, because I demand perfection from all of the staff. A lot of things that would be perfectly acceptable for casual commercial products falls short of my vision and would constitute a compromise for the purposes of maximizing profit. Some art was rejected for this reason, and we had to start over from scratch.

    2. The second deadly issue was 'the nature of people of art.' It turned out that you can’t really predict it. I mean, my personal attitude to promises is perfectly described in House of Cards: "The nature of promises is that they remain immune to changing circumstances." But a few months after the Kickstarter ended, we were unable to contact Adam and we eventually received word that he had been suffering from a crippling bout of depression. Keeping in mind my promise to you, and the responsibility I received with the money you trusted me with, there was a moment where I almost started over from scratch with another artist. I’m glad to say this didn’t happen, and once we had re-established communication with Adam, he made great efforts to complete the novel as soon as possible.

    3. Finally, there were issues with an increase of costs. We had to raise additional funds because of the two points above. Thus far our budget for TFoG is approximately three times higher than the cash we got from Kickstarter campaign (bear in mind a substantial percentage was taken by Kickstarter, Amazon, Banks, etc. for handling the funds). I was only able to keep this project solvent by selling my other business and borrowing funds from that. As promised, the quality of the product is of the highest concern to me.

    Once again, thank you for your support and patience. This novel would never become a reality without you!

    "THE FALL OF GYES" CHARACTERS

    Finally, it’s my pleasure to introduce the main characters for the graphic novel: Alan, and Gia!



    Name: Alan Bodrick.
    Nickname: Alan.
    Race: Pastager.
    Date of birth: February 23, 112 A.R.
    Place of birth: Helios, Undereath.

    Both of Alan’s parents, Megan Tong and Jodie Bodrick had high posts in the United Governments Military Corps, both when he was born in 112 A.R., and when his sister was born a year later.

    But despite their status, material wealth, and having had two children, two years later, Megan and Jodie got divorced. It’s not fully clear what their reason was, but a few months later, Megan began to drink heavily, gamble and get mixed up in the shady Old Cans District. It’s not surprising that this led to Megan being transferred into reserve, and all parental rights being given to Jodie.

    It seems that these events finally broke Megan. A month after she stopped answering the phone, her rider was found by Helios police 40 miles from the city with traces of narcotics inside. Search operations turned up nothing, and by Alan’s 9th birthday, Megan’s ID status had been changed from “missing” to “dead.”

    Alan and Deb’s second mother, Jodie Bodrick took care of the children as much as she could, providing both of them with a trust fund for education and finding their places in life. Her love and care played an important role in the formation of Alan’s internal world, just as much as the necessity of care for his sister, mother and close friends.

    This experience would prove especially useful for Alan, when in 129 A.R., Jodie died during the Dallas Incident. Suppressing his feeling of grief with his sense of responsibility, he would continue to care for his sister with a special energy, taking upon himself not only the role of older brother, but also parent.

    After having been wounded in training in March 131 A.R., he ended up in Salus Hospital in western Helios, where he met Gia Bellakofka on a hospital bed. The couple fell in love at first sight and ever since then have rarely been seen without one another.

    In 132 A.R., Gia and Alan, both with one year of service left, signed up for the Military Corps together for their last training tour, after which they planned on getting married. A few months later, Alan was sent to Gyes, a distant outpost on the surface. They applied for a couple’s transfer, and were accepted, so Gia was sent off with him.


    * * *



    Name: Gia Bellakofka.
    Nickname: Bella.
    Race: Pastager.
    Date of birth: September 14, 112 A.R.
    Place of birth: Helios, Undereath.

    Gia was born September 14th, 112 A.R. in a typical middle class United Governments family. Gia’s father, Jensen Belakofka, a reserve member of the Military Corps, owned a small agriculture business, while her mother, Katrina Malik managed a small ecological department in the Economic Corps.

    Gia spent most of her happy childhood in the capital, Underearth. Being a typical fidgety child, she often got in trouble with her parents, but every time, as if by a miracle, she was able to wriggle her way out of the weirdest situations. She was so good at getting out of trouble, that despite her getting into an endless number of less than great situations (more absurd than dangerous), her parents only had to move her to another school once.

    At 16, when she reached legal majority, following the standard Training Program, Gia went through a yearlong tour in the Helios Social Corps, then in the Science Corps, and at 19 in the Economic Corps. She kept herself entertained with semilegal cave racing, which landed her in the hospital in March 131 A.R., where, lying on a hospital bed, she met Alan Bodrick. The couple fell in love at first sight and ever since then have rarely been seen without one another.

    In 132 A.R., Gia and Alan, both with one year of service left, signed up for the Military Corps together for their last training tour, after which they planned on getting married. A few months later, Alan was sent to Gyes, a distant outpost on the surface. They applied for a couple’s transfer, and were accepted, so Gia was sent off with him.


    * * *

    Thanks for your support, guys. As well as for the quick and confident replies on voting for the novel's cover :)

    Add us on Steam Greenlight.
    Visit After Reset official Store.
    Join After Reset™ RPG official website.
     
  49. Mr-Nixon

    Mr-Nixon

    Joined:
    Mar 30, 2013
    Posts:
    140
    After Reset RPG is on Steam EA

    Hi, guys!



    We received final approval from Valve/Steam out of the blue and found our game on Steam Early Access (SEA) :).

    This is the official STEAM page for the game: http://store.steampowered.com/app/335850

    And this one is for The Fall of Gyes add-on: http://store.steampowered.com/app/338453/

    The access to all community features (like screenshots) is now unlocked. I also have access to the statistics of key activations, and right now we have 1500+ activated units.

    So, if you have a copy of After Reset RPG or/and The Fall of Gyes add-on, please take a minute and write an honest review there, if you can. We need that.

    ABOUT PRICING



    Guys, this pricing you see is quite reasonable, and it was a complex decision approved by Steam. The main reason we wanted to use SEA is for the swift updating ability and a united channel for incoming pledges.

    You can always decrease the price after full game release but you can't raise it after that, and we only receive a bit of the final cash from it. Most of early backers had the best price and I'd like to keep it that way. Wasteland 2 was okay with that as well. Now, after passing through all the stages of approval, I can say there is a strong and reasonable financial/marketing base for the game.

    On the topic of finances, and thanks to your help dear backers, between my personal investments and other funds we have had no issues with financing the Prologue development even without SEA. So, by purchasing either product through SEA, all of our new followers are directly supporting the development of our game and its quality.

    ABOUT ADD-ONS



    As you can see on store page, we’ve opened only one add-on (The Fall of Gyes) for sale. I decided to hold the reuse of others until more content for each one is added.

    If you’re already our backer and have keys which include other add-ons, don’t worry about whether they appear in Steam right now. You still have those add-ons, they are just concealed for other people until the release, or until we send them beta keys for those add-ons as gifts.

    * * *

    A year ago I put the After Reset idea on Greenlight for fun and got your votes and positive feedback. You encouraged me to get into development of the game seriously. When you supported us via PayPal you helped me make up mind and to dig into it utterly :). When you supported us on Kickstarter, two other guys joined the crew and burnt their bridges to the other jobs so they could focus on this.

    Now we are at the important mark because we don’t have to mess with PayPal and distribution. Now we can concentrate on development only.

    We’ll guys… As always, I’m going to keep you updated about everything.
    Thanks for your support; and let’s see what is waiting for us ahead!

    Sincerely,
    Richard.

    Add us on Steam Early Access.
    Add us on Steam Greenlight.
    Visit After Reset official Store.
    Join After Reset™ RPG official website.
     
  50. Mr-Nixon

    Mr-Nixon

    Joined:
    Mar 30, 2013
    Posts:
    140
    Good morning, fellow backers!

    As many of you know, a couple of weeks ago we released the current version of After Reset RPG on Steam Early Access (SEA). As I promised, from this moment on each of our updates will coincide with the release of a new patch. These patches need to show serious additions or corrections that were completed (by the team) between updates.

    Today's update is dedicated to addressing the game's first week on SEA, other game development news, and a small contest that was created for our Kickstarter backers and Co-Founders only, which we'll talk about towards the end.

    PATCH #033115 RELEASED!



    Some of our backers may have noticed that your Steam application After Reset RPG was updated on Tuesday, March 31. Although you can read all the patch notes in PatchNotes.txt (which is in your game folder), I'd like to publish the full list of changes in this update so that any future backers can follow our chronological process from start to finish.

    After Reset RPG, Patch Notes #033115
    Released on Tuesday, March 31, 2015

    FIXES:

    Technical:
    • Fixed an error in the application launcher for the WIN 32 version.

    User Interface:
    • Highlighting system fixed to produce exponentially transparent aura.
    • ESC hotkey now returns back to previous menu in the main menu.

    Audio:
    • Fixed an issue with the voice of the Prologue narration.

    Miscellaneous:
    • Fixed the text of narration.
    • General description for skills amended.
    • Strength STAT description edited (now it says the Strength affects chances to force opening mechanical locks).

    FEATURES & CHANGES:

    Gameplay:
    • Door scripts added (with 4 possible stages open/close/locked/sealed). However, you can't hack/lockpick/brake doors yet. Use ALT+Z to change the stages of the doors for tests.
    • Tutorial pop-ups added.

    Mechanics:
    • Character speed (walk/run) adjusted to SACPIC mechanics (30/15ft per round for Humans).

    User Interface:
    • "Game Paused" message is added when you pause the game by pressing spacebar.
    • "Game Over" screen for Gyes added. Use ALT+P for suicide and test.
    • In-game date/time panel added.
    • In-game skill panel added.
    • In-game log panel added.

    Graphics:
    • New Loading Screen arts for the Special Facility level added (they depends on character’s gender selected).
    • Animations for normal walk/run (for Humans) added. If your character, your human allies, human NPCs have less than 10% of their HP, they will use that shambling animation.

    Audio:
    • Footsteps system added with majority of footsteps sounds.
    • Gyes doors sounds added (open/close/locked/sealed).
    • All in game sounds are bonded to SFX volume control.
    • Various game-over narrations added.
    ECLCC and Plasma Reactor sounds added.
    • When the game is paused music and all sounds except UI is muted at 50%.
    • Game Over music added.

    Miscellaneous:
    • Laboratory CCP-5 room completed (capsules, engines, infrastructure added).

    COMMENTS:

    About shambling animation. During the game you be able to identify HP of enemies only if you got and set relevant augmentation for your CORE-7 implant. Without it you will be able to see the general state of the enemy (Uninjured/Barely Injured/Injured/Badly Injured/Near Death/Dead). That shambling animation will help you to identify the most injured human enemies. As well as it should attract your attention to your wounded allies and help them in time. Beyond that, it should bring more realism and fun, I believe.

    About doors. Every door in the game might have one of the 4 states:
    1. Unlocked. You can open/close it without obstacles. You can also break the lock of the door to make it Broken or Sealed.
    2. Locked. You can't open/close locked door. You need to use your skill Lockpick to unlock it first if the lock is mechanical); or to use Science skill to hack the lock if is electronic. You can also try to open mechanical locks/doors by force (your Strength STAT affects the results). You can't open electronic locks by rough force. Beyond that, you can break the lock of the door to make it Broken or Sealed.
    3. Broken. You need to repair the broken lock before opening it (if the lock was unlocked before you broke it) or before picking/hacking it (if the lock was locked before you broke it).
    4. Sealed. There is nothing you can do with this lock. If it is the door sealed - proper explosives are your only chances to cope with this door.

    You can ask: why should break any unlocked door? why should I seal it? The answers are in the game-play context. E.g. you can break the door control panel to seal something (or someone) inside. Considering something (or someone) killed almost all personnel at the advanced military base, the brain and smarts of the gamer are the only chance to survive for your character.

    Guys, please, keep in mind: despite the skills are displayed correctly you can’t use them yet in this build. We are adding their activation in the future builds step by step with relevance to our in game tutorial pop ups.

    A BIT ABOUT STEAM EA:



    So, it has happened! The first week of being on Steam was as emotional as going up Mt. Calvary, but we are here! Honestly, guys, we couldn't have gotten to this point without your support.

    Right now, many are asking why we released the game on Steam without having finished the Prologue. The reasons behind this decision lay in the fact that we have already started using SEA for distribution management. No more '5 days to prepare, upload, update, fix' for each separate platform (Windows, Linux and Mac). Build synchronization in the folders of my computer happens practically automatically now. By the way, this factor allowed us to fix the problem with loading the game on 32-bit Windows in one day. This means that if you guys run into a serious bug, we will be able to fix it right away and you won't have to wait for half a month for the next patch to come in.

    Additionally, you shouldn't forget that we have a contract with Steam that entails specific conditions. Please remember that from the moment the contract was signed we have stopped accepting any donations on PayPal and began to ask our fans to wait for the SEA. Though we are extremely dedicated to our work, we are just an Indie studio and for us each penny counts, and all of it goes toward developing a great product. Thanks to your support, we don't have financial difficulties in completing the Prologue as we planned (though I think it’s going to be better than we planned), I need to consider how the game will be developed from start to finish. This includes the most pessimistic of scenarios. In any case, it would have not been logical to refuse those who wanted to support our work. We didn't mean to offend anyone. On the other hand, it would not have been correct (on our end) to sell user-keys outside of the Steam platform, abusing its trust and not sharing the profit with it.

    Anyway, now it is done. We're on SEA and with your reliable moral and financial support we continue our every day work on the Prologue with peace and dedication.

    CO-FOUNDER STATUSES FOR STEAM EARLY ACCESS BACKERS:


    Almost 4,000 people added us to their wish lists the first week that the game was on Steam. Fifty of them supported us financially by purchasing the SEA. Of course, some of them have probably been following the game and waiting for us to start accepting payments. But most of them are new members of our community and we would like to say: "Thank you, guys! And welcome aboard!"

    This is the first news for you. If you are just now joining us you may not know that we try hard to make our dedicated fans happy. We don't do this for marketing or PR reasons; we simply want to show our gratitude.

    I didn't announce this part in the news on purpose, but if you have purchased After Reset RPG on SEA before this news came out, you can receive a Co-Founder status for free! To tell you the truth, this feature is not for sale and is only given out on very special occasions. It gives you access to avatars and the closed parts of our forum with additional content. You can read more about the Co-Founder status here: http://www.afterreset.com/forum/showthread.php?t=274

    In order to receive the Co-Founder status:
    - Make sure that you purchased After Reset RPG on SEA BEFORE the release of this article.
    - Send us a screenshot or any other document proving the date of purchase of After Reset RPG on SEA.
    - Send us the name of your forum account (not your Steam account) that you want us to set to Co-Founder status.

    Guys, thank you again for believing in us, supporting us, and writing all of your honest reviews on Steam.














    Btw, if you're our Co-Founder already, don't miss our exclusive 8xHD screenshots of the Commander Cell and Alan Bodrick collectible figure from the Fall of Gyes graphic novel add-on: http://www.afterreset.com/forum/showthread.php?t=107

    "OST" ADD-ON:


    As you may have noticed, we have frozen access to support the After Reset OST add-on. Most likely, we will open access right before the official release date, when we are done working with the soundtrack. Nevertheless, our Kickstarter and Direct Pledge backers already have the closed version of the update (if it was included into the list of their rewards). They were able to notice the past update of this add-on.

    Guys, you can enjoy a new track "Game Over" :) Just to remind you: the folders with add-ons are located on your computers in the same folder where Steam installed After Reset RPG.

    For everybody else, I'm uploading a couple of looped ambiences that we have prepared for different rooms in the Gyes bunker, where all of the Prologue actions will take place: Kickstarter.

    "PERSONAL APPEARANCE" FEATURE - FIRST BACKERS:



    Friends, our ranks are bolstered today by the first backer who has ordered a personal character model of himself! Of course, it will be available to every player, but to run around as YOU in the game is very cool! I always wanted to have that feature in Mass Effect and Dragon Age :).

    The name of this backer is Jacob Ganor and he really looks like Dominic Purcell from Prison Break. We've already sent his photos to our designers. Usually, it takes approximately three weeks to draw a head, but don't you worry, we've employed freelancers we work with on a regular basis to make sure that creating Jacob’s model will not take time away from the main game development.

    In addition to financial support, Jacob has also helped us as a military consultant, because he works in the defense industry as an engineer and inventor. "Tony Stark" helped me to determine the final technologies of the light armors for the Civilian Police Departments of the UG and UG's Army MP. No liquid armor, after all. Despite the fact that modern mass media popularize this technology, due to various reasons, it will not be suitable in the underground bunkers of the UG. By 132 AR, the United Governments has almost completely switched to high-energy weapons to protect Underearth. Thus, liquid armor lost popularity to light ceramic armor, which uses Be2B, Be4B and TiBe12 alloys for the kinetic plates and Ceramic Wool Fiber as the soft filling for energy protection. I will save you from technical specifications of patents and other documents, but I will say the following: true technical properties of the materials used for armor will greatly affect game design and characteristics of that armor.

    At this time, we are working on light armor for the United Governments Army Military Police Corps, which you will be able to wear in the Prologue.

    Thank you, Jacob!

    NEW HARD SCI-FI LORE OF AFTER RESET SETTING:

    If you have been following our updates, you know that After Reset RPG may well become the first Hard Sci-Fi video game on Wikipedia :).

    If you have been following our updates even more carefully, you may have noticed I am very impressed by Peter Watts' short story The Things. After I found out that all of Peter's creative work is based on a hard sci-fi scientific approach, I couldn't stop reading. Suddenly, I discovered The Blindsight, Echopraxia and the Rifters trilogy. It’s incredible! I haven't read anything this amazing for over six years.

    Being so impressed with his work I decided to write to Peter and he answered! Just like that, like I answer each one of you, my friends! My complements, Mr. Watts!

    Between the books that I read and my talks with Peter, I feel that it's once again raised the bar for my critical approach to the hard sci-fi element that makes up a big part of After Reset RPG. In the past several weeks, together with a small Scientific Council, I have gone over physics-ecology-geography-biology-genetics of Biomasses and Red Zones. I would like to say a special 'thank you' to Andrew Leshuk and Alex Shirokolaev for constructive criticism and pointing out weak spots in the setting, from a scientific point of view. Finally, all of the dark spots in the setting for the Biomass and Red Zones have been lit, and I'm quite satisfied with it as the author. Finally, all of the scientific consultants are happy with the result and believe in the final version of all of the concepts. I think we can write a thesis on each of the mentioned topics :).

    What will this mean for the players in the near future? I have prepared quite impressive lore documents that you will be able to find in computers and various literatures laying around Gyes, as you are playing through the Prologue. I also post and update them on the Co-Founders section of our forum. Beware, some do contain spoilers! Nevertheless, there’s so much interesting information that now we can afford to share one of the correspondence fragments without giving out the plot. You will be also able to download this fragment into your Theseus in the game:

    EXTRACT FROM THE ARTICLE "GIGANTIC RED ZONES AMOEBAS"

    ... The Scientific Corps has finished its expedition to the outskirts of the Rock Springs Red Zone. In the course of multiple diving sessions into the depths of a provisional Red Zone perimeter (Van Allen Radiation Outer Belt for this zone is approximately 12 miles) the scientists discovered, filmed and collected samples of incredible creatures that to this day remained unknown to science. One of the most noticeable distinctions of these astonishing organisms is their gigantic size.

    Among the most sensational of the found organisms there are huge worms, giant centipedes, spiders and dog-size scorpions. The scientists have also discovered a 6-yard-long amoeba in the area. As a result of this expedition, the list of Surface animals now includes specimens that were unknown to science before this day. Many specimen samples of various life forms were taken and will be passed on for identification, detailed analysis and DNA decoding to various scientific corporations in different cities of the Underearth.

    According to Robert Watts, the head of the Red Zones expeditions, gigantism is quite normal for such areas. Nevertheless, it should be noted that the gigantism phenomenon, which can be traced to the fact that animal forms reach such large sizes under extreme conditions, has still not been explained scientifically. In the abovementioned case, we can only presume that there is some type of a cause-and-effect connection between the gigantic creatures we are discovering today and those that lived deep under water and on some remote islands on the planet before the Reset.

    We should also point out that the Rock Springs Red Zone expedition was conducted not only to research biological variability, but also to determine the type of an effect Red Zones have on climate change and the possibility of a new biosphere formation on the surface after the Reset.

    "Many of the local organisms here live in the dark and feed on radiation that is abundant in Red Zones," said Watts. "Some of the species of the collected invertebrates use the energy of radioactive decay to develop and absorb radiation using the black melanin pigment, which is present in animals and humans. However, judging by the collected samples, the melanin that was 'activated' by radiation is 16 times more effective in the ATP biosynthesis process of these creatures than it is in the cells of all known organisms that populated Earth before the Reset. Some of the footage we saw is shocking! It's amazing to see all these creatures, which evolved right here on Earth, but look as if they came from some unknown planet. In some places, the ground is swarming with these gigantic Red Zone organisms."
    Meryl Shkondy,
    Eagle News.


    HARD SCI-FI CONTEST:



    Finally, at the very end of today's update, I would like to hold a small Hard Sci-Fi Contest, which will help you all feel closer to the incredible post-apocalyptical world of planet Earth after the Reset. Your participation in the Contest will also inspire us and give us new ideas.

    The point of the contest:
    Having ran around Gyes for a bit, you have already encountered something that visually looks like energy fields instead of doors (in patch 030315 you could easily walk through these but that was a mistake. We fixed that and now you need to turn them off at the control console in order to walk through them). Your task is to try and explain how they appear and operate, or rather explain the phenomenon that you see and its properties. Explain it from the point of view of theoretical physics, and the principles of hard science fiction.

    Contest timeframe:
    The contest is active until our next news-update is posted, which will be approximately in 2-3 weeks.

    How to participate:
    Feel free to post your theories right in the comments section on Kickstarter (if you are a backer). Or on our official message board here: http://www.afterreset.com/forum/showthread.php?t=328

    Participation restrictions:
    Anyone can post their thoughts and theories under our message-board, but we will only consider the answers of our Kickstarter backers and users with Co-Founder status as part of the Contest.

    Rewards:
    Various digital add-ons that you don't yet have will be given out as rewards:
    - The Fall of Gyes graphic novel;
    - After Reset OST
    - Wastelander Package;
    - 5-4-1.

    At the end I would like to add some clarifications and 'suitable' and 'unsuitable' examples. Let me remind you that hard science fiction is a category of science fiction characterized by an emphasis on scientific accuracy and technical detail. One requirement for hard sci-fi is procedural or intentional: a story should try to be accurate, logical, credible and rigorous in its use of current scientific and technical knowledge about which technology, phenomena, scenarios and situations are practically and/or theoretically possible. With that said, you don't have to give us formulas and specifics (though we do love that), because hard science fiction is still science fiction and its plot is usually built on one or several scientific assumptions or hypotheses. In sci-fi, the picture of the world as a whole is usually logical and not contradictory. In the world of After Reset, such an assumption is the possibility of the portable collectors and high-power energy sources for the United Government faction, whose level of technology is equal to 2150-2180 AD, according to the development of modern society under globalization.

    For example, let's take the classical light-saber from "Star Wars" (my favorite space opera, although it's not hard sci-fi). In the world of reality and hard science fiction, such a saber cannot exist due to physical properties of light and other constraints of our world. On the other hand, we could reproduce visual and some of the physical properties of such a saber. Theoretically, this is possible using today’s technologies and all we need is to:

    - Use plasma instead of light.
    - Make the blade of the saber ceramic (the type and structure of which will depend on the type of plasma used).
    - Install generators with strong electro-magnetic fields, which will keep the plasma in a form that flows around the blade, inside the blade and possibly inside the surrounding chamber.
    - Build a heat insulation and cooling system into the blade.
    - Build a hot plasma supply chamber into the guard.

    Of course, the result is going to be bulky and not at all graceful. Plus, there's going to be a long train of cords/cooling agents/plasma power supplies extending from it. But we can create a light-saber right now, if we wanted to! Imagine someone from the 80's seeing our plasma stick at work, cutting metal and making all kinds of noise! They would definitely think that it was the real light-saber from Star Wars.

    The hard science fiction technology concept approach (which I use when writing After Reset) takes into consideration all known factors, including: economy (how much will it cost to create such an object for a specific function considering current technologies and materials), socio-cultural (what is the role of this object in the culture of the given fraction), and the rational (how rational it is to have this object or technology compared to alternative options).

    When the contest is over and we have chosen the winners, we will share our explanation for these "obstacles" (I’m not giving their name on purpose, as to not curb your fantasy). We will also share the best answers to the riddle. Our scientific consultants and all of the game development staff will play the role of judges :).

    * * *

    Once again, thank you, my friends, for your support and participation!
    We can hardly wait for your theories and thoughts on the given task!

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