Editing Frequently Asked Questions

This page will contain the answers to questions asked during the [https://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/2urqvv/hi_paul_neurath_and_otherside_team_doing_an_ask/?sort=old AMA on reddit], on the [http://www.othersideentertainment.com/forum/index.php forums], and elsewhere.

{{Under Construction}}
==Q&A==
Q: The $75 tier says it includes stretch goals and none of the other tiers do. I'm assuming this is an oversight. Will other tiers get stretch goals as well?

A: All tiers above $75 receive the benefit.<ref name="ama1">[https://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/2urqvv/hi_paul_neurath_and_otherside_team_doing_an_ask/?sort=old AMA on reddit], Feb 4, 2015</ref>
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Q: You've got an Avatar in the Stygian Abyss where we see the classic runes from the ''Ultima'' games, but this isn't an ''Ultima'' game. There are portals where this world has in the past connected to New Britannia from ''Shroud of the Avatar''. And yet Ascendant is set in a new world. Can you clarify what the new IP is and how it correlates to other IP?

A: While we don't have the ''Ultima'' brand, we can use everything else from the original ''Underworld'' games. Spells, lore, backstory, an Upset Specter named Warren...<ref name="ama1" />
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Q: Do you plan a DRM-free release?

A: Yes! We will have a DRM-free release.<ref name="ama1" />
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Q: You have a stretch goal for mod tools which will allow players to make their own content and share them with other players. However, has OtherSide considered allowing crowdsourced assets in the main retail game?

A: Great question. We'd love to: it would come as part of the stretch goals.<ref name="ama1" />
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Q: Sorry if this has been asked/debated before. What was the reasoning behind using the cliche tolkenesque/D&D dwarves instead of the slightly more original mountain-folk from the classic underworld and bumping the Abyss' Lizardmen from the core game to stretch goals in favor of never before seen dark elves?

A: We wanted to have a combination of familiar fantasy tropes as well as more out-there, original stuff. We also wanted to call back to the original games with the [[Lizardman]] stretch goal, the [[Lurker]]...<ref name="ama1" />
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Q: Just wanted to say thanks to you and the rest of Looking Glass for helping create some of the greatest games of my childhood. I chipped into the kickstarter mainly out of gratitude.

What do you think made Looking Glass such a creative and successful game developer?

How does your previous experience with Looking Glass shape creating this new group?

A: Many people didn't know that we were actually an advanced alien vanguard from Alpha Centauri.

Aside from ''that'', it was passion for innovation and great games, more than anything.<ref name="ama1" />
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Q: In the pitch video, I think it was Tim that said "other opportunities that were cut short when looking glass closed its doors." Were you guys talking about the canceled Deep Cover and the next generation Siege Engine that was in the works and the game was intended to be developed on?

If Underworld Ascendant succeeds, what is the next step for Otherside Entertainment? Maybe a Deep Cover revival?

A: All our focus is on Underworld Ascendant for now. If we hit our expectations on that, we'll explore other games. Not so much specific projects, as innovations and new directions to take our games in.<ref name="ama1" />
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Q: Please tell us more about what was really happening with Ultima Underworld's infamous "Object List Error" - why does it happen, and what were the coding mistakes that lead to it?

I have noticed that throwing things into the water, especially the useless clutter like skulls and broken weapons, helps keep the error away. Any truth to my observation or am I just imagining things? 

A: Well, even advanced Alpha Centaurians aren't perfect.

Very good. The error came up when there wasn't room to place an object in the world, but over water it would be destroyed rather than telling the player "there's no room." That was the code path with the error.

It turns out that's why it wasn't caught in playtest: it was so much more fun to throw things than drop them that players got subconsciously trained to do that.<ref name="ama1" />
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Q: How important will story, quests and reactivity be in the game?

A: Absolutely important. But quests and story in the Underworld games are player-driven. We never want to put the player on a narrative rail.<ref name="ama1" />
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Q: If the co-op stretch goal is reached, since players represent "the Avatar"... Is there going to be an in lore explanation for a different "the Avatar" showing up in your game is it more going to be handwaved because as players we know it's a multiplayer caveat?

A: Interesting question. Split personalities?

When your friend joins, they're an ethereal doppleganger, not their actual full Avatar self.<ref name="ama1" />

There will be no online requirement to play solo in the DRM-free version of the game.  Playing the Steam version would, of course, require you to be connected to Steam.  Also, there may be some features in the game that DO require you to be online, such as co-op play.

As far as co-op mode goes, right now our plan is to allow 2 friends to play together in this mode.  While this may change during development, we're pretty happy with that choice at the moment. 

And co-op mode means one of you will visit the game of the other, not a separate instance of the game.  We are not entirely sure on all the details of this yet, but the thought is that when you visit your friends world you will be able to earn rewards/treasure that you will be able to bring back with you to your own world.<ref>[[Scott Kimball]], [http://www.othersideentertainment.com/forum/index.php?topic=96.msg1658#msg1658 Otherside Entertainment User Community, Re: Online & Co-Op - How Many Players?]</ref>
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Q: Will it be possible to play through the game with non-lethal or purely stealth means?

A: We're not sure about winning the game entirely without fighting, but certainly players can rely on stealth in many if not most encounters.

One of the things we saw with ''Thief'', was players are far more clever than we are. The whole Lytha style came out of the community, playing the whole game without killing, not just not killing humans which is what we based hard difficulty on. So I bet if you try hard enough...<ref name="ama1" />

Short answer: Yes. It won't be like ''Thief'' where we spent all of our development effort on it. But (A) keep in mind that you could complete ''Underworld 1'' almost entirely without combat and (B) the lead designer of ''Thief'' is working on it.<ref>[[Tim Stellmach]], [http://www.othersideentertainment.com/forum/index.php?topic=115.msg1580#msg1580 Otherside Entertainment User Community, Re: Stealth]</ref>
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Q: Saying that (heaven forbid) your Kickstarter doesn't meet it's goal, do you guys have a plan B?

A: Yes, Plan B from Outer Space.

We hope we won't need Plan B, but we do have something in mind. Rather not spend time thinking about that now.<ref name="ama1" />
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Q: Do you guys have any plans for an official wiki?

A: We're happy leaving that to the fans!<ref name="ama1" />
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Q: How do you plan on differentiating ''Underworld Ascension'' from the myriad First Person "RPG"s that are on the market today? I ask this because I find it a shame that games like ''Skyrim'', while quite impressive in their own right, have in my opinion dumbed down the genre a fair bit since the days of ''Ultima Underworld''. Will that same depth and complexity be present in Ascension?

A: For one, we think we can get a lot more out of sandbox play than what other RPGs are doing these days. We're building tech we're calling the [[Improvisation Engine]] that should really open up players' ability to get super-creative with solving challenges, and finding their own approaches.<ref name="ama1" />
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Q: How do you cope with your legendary renown ? :)

A: Paul gets no respect on Alpha Centauri.<ref name="ama1" />
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Q: How involved with Warren be? Advisor could be anything from "We give him a 15 minute phone call once a season" to "He lives under the lead developers desk and calls the version control servers his 'precious'." :)

A: Precious? We think Warren plays a better upset specter than he does Gollum.

Warren's been a closely involved creative adviser since we got underway. He provided a LOT of creative insight, and will continue to do so.<ref name="ama1" />
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Q: The $200 Avatar tier says it includes "all digital Kickstarter Add-On’s for FREE" however...the only other thing on the page that says addons is the ''Shroud of the Avatar'' tie in item which clearly states you need to pledge to ''Shroud of the Avatar'' to receive.

So what exactly does the "all digital Kickstarter Add-On’s for FREE" line pertain to?

A: We're planning to reveal some add-ons during the campaign, and for any that we do, folks who pledge at the $200+ tier will get any of the digital add-ons automatically for free.<ref name="ama1" />
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Q: Will there be a minimap?

A: We liked the auto-map from the original games, which was a different thing. We want to use the strengths of that in a modern UI. And we won't hold players' hands!<ref name="ama1" />
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Q: What I remember most fondly about Ultima Underworld 2 was getting lost. It was as if the world wasn't made FOR me, I was just stuck in it. Finding a new area after hours of searching and being all excited only to find the remains of a previous explorer who lost hope at the same dead end...

With all the internet guides and videos now available, do you plan on making the world more linear to guarantee your content will be seen, or risk making it like a maze where someone who knows where to go can clear the level in minutes?

I would love to get lost again, but I can understand why most games now put the player on rails.

A: Heavens, no. We think it's fun to get lost. We do it all the time. We don't like rails. Not a fan.<ref name="ama1" />
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Q: Are we going to be facing an impending Armageddon event such as the [[ultima:Slasher of Veils|Slasher of Veils]] losing his bonds more and more the longer we putter around or will be just be relying on things like hunger mechanics to create that sense of impending peril if we don't keep pressing forward?

A: More the impending armageddon kind of thing.<ref name="ama1" />
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Q: Just a quick engine tech query:

Will Ascendant use global illumination?

A: Yes. Current prototype doesn't have it yet. It is an Underworld, so there will be a lot of dark areas.<ref name="ama1" />
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Q: No mention of first-person perspective on the Kickstarter page ! Am I correct to assume it's so obvious it wasn't worth mentioning ?

A: Yes!<ref name="ama1" />
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Q: With all innovations that UUs brought to VGs (and are standards now), what and how do you want to innovate things now?

A: Looking back the two decades since we did the Underworlds, there's actually less innovation in gameplay than we would have thought. Videogames are still a new medium, with lots of room to innovate still. It's what we love to do!<ref name="ama1" />
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Q: I have two independent questions concerning the design choices you face in this new title.

My first question is about leveling and skill progression; what mechanics do you intend to use? Are you going to borrow a boilerplate XP-reward system, an improve-through-use system like Elder Scrolls titles, or do you intend to approach the question of improvement/levelling in a more unique and innovative way? (I will say that I think ES improve-through-(successful)-use is inherently flawed; skills are learned by failing, not by succeeding).

My second question is about darkness. Since your entire game is set underground it seems reasonable to assume that there will be large, unlit regions. What sort of gameplay challenge/feature does darkness versus light pose in Underworld Ascendant? Let's say you run out of light sources, will this entail a desperate scramble to get back into a lit region at all costs, or will it merely result in a marginal decrease in ambient light level (DS2 I'm looking at you).

A: On character advancement, we're taking some elements from the original games, but then we're going to innovate. It won't be the same as any other current RPG.

On darkness, yes.<ref name="ama1" />
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Q: Is there anything from the original set of games that in retrospect you'd like to move away from? Puzzles, platforming, secret areas, NPC interactions, RPG systems, orienteering/exploration in a vast labyrinth, no handholding, simulation, I hope it all is retained, only expanded upon.

A: We'd like to get away from the D&D-style stats, old-school character classes, the original user interface (though great for its time), saving the princess...<ref name="ama1" />
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Q: Do the source codes to UW and UW2 still exist? Is there any chance of those ever being released so that people can make modern source ports?

A: We do in fact have the source code. We're actually offering digital PC copies of the original Underworld 1 and 2 also, on pledge tiers $75+.<ref name="ama1" />
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Q: At the Pioneer Kickstarter backer level, do I actually get a copy of the game or do I just get a $20 discount on the retail release of the game? I'd like to back the project but it isn't clear what the $20 backer level is worth.

A: Yes, you get a digital copy of the game.<ref name="ama1" />
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Q: If the game is successful can we expect some re-imagining of other former Looking Glass titles like ''System Shock'' and ''Thief''?

A: We've discussed other plans, but all of our focus is on Underworld now.<ref name="ama1" />
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Q: If a [[ultima:Reapers|Reaper]] falls in the Abyss and nobody is around to hear it, does it leave any loot?

A: The loot gets picked up by one hand clapping.<ref name="ama1" />
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Q: Obviously this is a spiritual successor to the previous ''Underworld'' games so those are influences. And you speak about how ''Underworld'' inspired other games. But what non-Looking Glass games are now inspirations for ''Ascendant''?

A: Actually, it's essentially a full sequel. We can use everything from the originals but the Ultima brand.<ref name="ama1" />
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Q: Is there a specific time period that this takes place in terms of the ''Ultima'' series history?

A: Play the game to find out!<ref name="ama1" />
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Q: How hard it will be to players like me to get into ''Underworld Ascendant''? Will be it old-school (which means fun, but sometimes quite difficult) or more modern, with lots of convenient features like mini-map etc?

A: We do want make it easy for our new fans to get up to speed. At the same time, the game will have less hand-holding than many modern games, and the challenges will ramp up.<ref name="ama1" />
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Q: Will we be able to write notes on the automap, just like the old games?

A: We get a lot of fond comments about notes on the automap! We want to keep the strengths of that system, whatever we do.<ref name="ama1" />
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Q: Underworld 1 and 2 were linear games with levels. Will Ascendant be linear as well, or more of an open-world design?

A: Definitely more of an open world design. The spirit of our games is for the plot structure to be the arena for a player-driven story, not a linear theme park ride.<ref name="ama1" />
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Q: I have a question regarding the visual fidelity of the current ingame footage. How close to the final product you're aiming for would you say it is, say on a scale from 1 to 10?

A: Don't know about 1 to 10, but it's an early prototype, with a lot of focus on proving gameplay concepts. We don't spend time doing fancy graphics until we get gameplay rock-solid.<ref name="ama1" />
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Q: In my experience, many Unity-powered PC games, especially those with a big world to explore, have suffered from poor optimization and performance issues. I can't imagine someone realize a dynamic and huge underworld with first-person view in Unity without those issues.

Is Unity the engine for the final game, or only for the prototype purpose?

A: We've got some tricks up our sleeves. We understand the importance of achieving good performance.<ref name="ama1" />

Unity has its strengths and weaknesses, like anything. I find it's particularly good in the amount of functionality it exposes to scripting, which is great for prototyping and rapid iteration on experiments.<ref>[[Tim Stellmach]], [http://www.othersideentertainment.com/forum/index.php?topic=106.msg1401#msg1401 Otherside Entertainment User Community, Re: Unity engine is garbage...]</ref>
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Q: I personally would have liked to see a "design a monster / weapon / treasure" tier.

A: Not as such, but I do want to assure backers that the online roundtable, conference call, and developer visit rewards aren't just for us to chat up the fans. To a professional game developer, there's something useful about any sincere idea. It's executing on those ideas and molding them into a finished form that takes craft.<ref>[[Tim Stellmach]], [http://www.othersideentertainment.com/forum/index.php?topic=114.msg1579#msg1579 Otherside Entertainment User Community, Re: Advice on your Kickstarter Tiers]</ref>
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Q: Will female avatars be an option at launch, part of the 'enhanced avatar customization ' stretch goal, or not on table at this time?

A: It's a core feature. Not even negotiable as far as I'm concerned.<ref>[[Tim Stellmach]], [http://www.othersideentertainment.com/forum/index.php?topic=105.msg1403#msg1403 Otherside Entertainment User Community, Re: Female Avatars]</ref>
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A: Credit where credit is due: our promotional campaign music was done by my old Harmonix coworker Michael Veloso, based on The Fat Man's themes from Underworld I. Michael's a New England Conservatory-trained composer and all around good guy.<ref>[[Tim Stellmach]], [http://www.othersideentertainment.com/forum/index.php?topic=72.msg1375#msg1375 Otherside Entertainment User Community, Re: MUSIC - George Sanger (The Fat Man)?]</ref>
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Q: On several tiers, there are Kickstarter exclusive in-game items listed, and each tier indicates that backers get "All of the Above, plus". However, I'd like to verify that is actually what is intended. For example, a Lore Seeker. I'm thinking items that have obvious tiers should be improved to the next, not duplicated. Thus only the Gold Avatar's Ring instead of all four, and only the Silver-trimmed Avatar's Robe, instead of both. Is this correct?

A: Each ring/robe improves on the functions of the previous ring/robe, so yes, those were meant to be understood as upgrades. You don't get a closet of robes.<ref>[[Tim Stellmach]], [http://www.othersideentertainment.com/forum/index.php?topic=100.msg1372#msg1372 Otherside Entertainment User Community, Re: Clarification about Kickstart Exclusive items]</ref>
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Q: One thing I feel has become an annoyance nowadays is early access games. Learning from my experiences, I know playing half of an rpg riddled with glitches would ruin the experience and not hold my attention for too long.

So please OtherSide, unless it is crucial to the success of the game please do not make it an early access title.

A: The advantage to developers of early access programs is that we can get much better feedback from our biggest fans if we give them access to the game during the development process.  If we wait until say late beta before we get feedback on the gameplay then it is really too late  to make any major changes to the game.  However if we can get feedback based on playing the game in pre-alpha or early alpha then it is much more practical to make bigger design changes.   

Perhaps more importantly we have gotten some great feedback on our games after we have released them and have often thought too bad we didn't get these fan perspectives while we were making game.  We think that there could be some exciting opportunities to get this sort of feedback during the production process when we can incorporate it in the game design.

In general, changes are easier to make early than late, and the effort spent making a change late could have been spent improving something else.

That's not to dismiss the legitimate aesthetic concerns that are raised by any public playtest. We'll consider everything and try to do what's best for the game.<ref>[[Tim Stellmach]] and [[Steve Pearsall]], [http://www.othersideentertainment.com/forum/index.php?topic=82.msg1138#msg1138 Otherside Entertainment User Community, Re: Please NO Early Access]</ref>
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Q: As you are suing the Unity engine will you also use assets from the Unity store? Or will you create your assets on your own?

A: The demos contain a mix of assets, some bought and some created for those pieces.  I  would expect that we would continue to use a mix.  Where store assets can save us time and money we can put in more important places thats great, but were not going to limit ourselves.  Its important the Underworld look and feel like the Underworld.  Thats why we have been doing concept art.

To be clear, the prototyping has been in Unity. To my knowledge no announcement has been made yet about final production platform.<ref>[[Jeff Kesselman]], [http://www.othersideentertainment.com/forum/index.php?topic=98.msg1362#msg1362 Otherside Entertainment User Community, Re: Bought Unity assets or will assets be created by the devs?]</ref>
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Q: I hope that other MMO elements stay out of this game, too.  For example grinding, magically respawning monsters, question marks above the heads of NPCs, WoW-like hotbar combat or repeatable quests. Ultima Underworld was near perfect. So I hope that Underworld Ascendant will be very similar to UW just with modern graphics, better controls and maybe NPC companions.

Maybe there could be some kind of "magical mirror" in the game. You can look into it and peer into a parallel reality. You can see the characters of other players, how they look, what items they have and what they achieved in the game.

A: I don't think there is much danger of this project becoming  MMORPG-like.  Although we do continue to discuss potential multi-player features, everything we talk about is in service of and secondary to the core gameplay which is focused on the Underworld, living dungeon, exploratory and scary gameplay.

Im pretty positive I can promise there will be no rat quests or heavy rails if we can at all help it.  And we are definitely not targeted at the "one big shared world" idea.

I can say that "always on" hasn't even come up and I doubt very strongly we'd do that.  Keep in mind that, if the Kickstarter works, our risk of piracy is seriously reduced since we effectively have a paying customer base already.  (And you can stand assured that I personally will argue against intrusive copy protection of any kind cause I *hate* it and honestly believe it does more harm then good.)

I also don't think its a question of marketing.  Rather, I think we are just trying to think of ways to innovate without impacting the core experience that is important to us all.

Personally, one of my biggest frustrations with single player RPGs going all the way back to the first Elder Scrolls games has been an inability to share what I'm doing with others on a social level.  I like playing with my character's look for instance... but if I cant ever show it to anyone then it gets pretty thin.

The mirror idea above was the sort of thing I think we might consider.

I think any multiplayer features we might attempt would be oriented around your circle of friends, not the whole game owner community.  Thats certainly been the direction of discussion so far and you guys are definitely adding weight to that. And I also think we are hearing loud and clear that even those should not compromise the single player experience.<ref>[[Jeff Kesselman]], [http://www.othersideentertainment.com/forum/index.php?topic=61.msg713#msg713 Otherside Entertainment User Community, Re: Please No MMO elements!]</ref>
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Q: The question arises if Underworld Ascendant will be translated into other languages, like French, German, Italian, Spanish… And, off course, if the English version will be Shakespeare English as it used to be in UW1…

A: If our second stretch goal is met we will be localizing the game to French, Italian, German and Spanish.  We will have other language localizations tied to other future stretch goals.

As far as the form of English used in the game, rest assured we will be as flavorful as we can while remaining faithful to the originals.  Would'st thou have it another way?<ref>[[Scott Kimball]], [http://www.othersideentertainment.com/forum/index.php?topic=122.msg1659#msg1659 Otherside Entertainment User Community, Re: Language – Shakespeare English?]</ref>
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Q: I know that many people dislike UW/UW2's control scheme. However I would love to see the old mouse/keyboard combination and control scheme back (optional, of course if possible) in ''Underworld Ascension''. Would be awesome to start playing and everything control-wise is familiar.

A: We will have a keyboard mapping system so you can map the keyboard anyway you like and will likely ship a couple of preset keyboard mapping for you to use or use as a starting point for your preferred mapping.<ref>[[Steve Pearsall]], [http://www.othersideentertainment.com/forum/index.php?topic=33.msg480#msg480 Otherside Entertainment User Community, Re: I'm begging you guys...]</ref>
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Q: Todd Howard of Bethesda Softworks was once asked, if he could change anything about Fallout 3, [http://multiplayerblog.mtv.com/2009/01/29/bethesda-plan-for-fallout-4/ what would it be]?

His answer: "Don't let the game end."

The point was that, having created a vast, open world to play in, many players objected to being forced to exit the world if they chose to finish the main quest.

I wonder whether many of Underworld Ascendant's likely players may feel the same way, or if they'd really rather get a feeling of emotional closure by ending the game in a satisfying way once the main storyline has been accomplished.

What do you think?

A: Both.

I'm cool if there is some resolution to the 'big thing' but yes let me keep mucking with the simulation.<ref>[[Chris Siegel]], [http://www.othersideentertainment.com/forum/index.php?topic=123.msg1787#msg1787 Otherside Entertainment User Community, Re: Should the game end?]</ref>
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Q: I was planning on getting the $75 pledge so I could play Underworld I and II. If i decide to take that pledge will I automatically get UI and UII or will they come when I get Ascendant? I have never used Kickstarter before so I'm not really sure how pledges work.

A: Yes, we have a deal in place to deliver the digital copies of UW1 and UW2 in short order after the Kickstarter. [http://www.gog.com/ GOG.com] is our partner on this.<ref>[[Tim Stellmach]], [http://www.othersideentertainment.com/forum/index.php?topic=130.msg1830#msg1830 Otherside Entertainment User Community, Re: Question Concering the Kickstarter Pledges]</ref>
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Q: Are there plans to take PayPal or something after the Kickstarter ends, and if so would that money continue to build up to stretch goals?

A: You guys can rest assured that we will be opening a storefront on underworldascendant.com before the KS campaign closes.  Initially it will be paypal only for a payment processor.  There will also be a running total displayed on the site so you can track funding progress there.

We will also be setting up a non Kickstarter based mailing list so we can continue to send out updates to all of you.   We hope that this forum and underworldascendant.com will continue to be your point of contact with us and a place you can always find out the latest news about Underworld Ascendant.

We will also be using BackerKit so you will always be able to keep your contact info up to date and also be able to adjust your pledge levels and buy add ons and perhaps some swag (beyond the t-shirt) though we are still talking about the swag.  It will likely take a couple of weeks to get everything set with BackerKit but our storefront at underworldascendant.com will be online during the interm.<ref>[[Steve Pearsall]], [http://www.othersideentertainment.com/forum/index.php?topic=312.msg6489#msg6489 Post-Kickstarter funding for stretch goals?]</ref>

==Answers From the Abyss==
Q: How much do you rely on (non-developer) playtesting in development? Are you bringing people in as early as the prototype phases?

A: Some. Early on the team will be doing a ton of playtesting, some of the community, and of course our friends, family and other industry people.

One of the great things about going outside the inner circle for testing is you get fresh eyes. Fresh eyes are extremely important. When you are close to a game, you start accepting the warts and issues, and you have to be reminded they are still issues. Beyond fresh eyes, the more people that touch the game, the more ways we can see how people interact. What we want, and really what is our goal, is for someone to come up with ways of using all of our systems in ways we never thought of.<ref name="update45">[[Update 45]], [https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/othersidegames/underworld-ascendant/posts/1240102 Answers From the Abyss]</ref>

Q: What does the team envision for the soundtrack? Something akin to Arx? Something even more minimalist (I hope not)?

A: We haven’t yet sorted out just what we’re doing for music in the game. That said, we have talked about music being created around the factions and their homes. Dwarven Metal? Elvish bagpipes? Shambler…woodwinds? What do Shamblers listen to? Phish?

It would be great to ‘see’ the thing making the music; a minstrel, a choir, some weird dwarven contraption that plays crystals…

This adds to the whole Underworld experience. Ambient sounds become your symphony, sound and silence become important for gameplay and for atmosphere. And, maybe the deeper you go, the darker it gets, and the quieter it becomes. It’s where the real evil lurks, and you don’t know it’s there until…<ref name="update45"/>

Q: I’m curious how you are looking to scale the difficulty levels? Is it going to be similar to the system in System Shock, where there are certain sub-categories that can be scaled (eg Story, Combat, Puzzle) or is it just going to be one “Easy/Medium/Hard/Impossible” with the possibility of an Ironman mode?

A: This is a tough question, and not one we’ve put a lot of thought into yet. With the open-endedness at the core of ''Underworld Ascendant’s'' design, and the fact that most, if not all, situations can be resolved by means other than combat, the usual tropes of scaling the difficulty of monsters, for instance, probably won’t work for us.

Likely our difficulty scaling will entail dialing up the “bad” effects of numerous things across the spectrum of game play, not unlike the system from ''System Shock'' you call out. In harder difficulties players might regenerate mana/health slower AND endure greater effects from hot and cold environments AND find monsters to be tougher AND find monsters to have a higher awareness of stealth AND find NPCs harder to trick/sway/haggle.

Again, still early in the process. Once we have the game in a state where we can really start thinking about how we muck with difficulty we’ll surely try all sorts of different ways to do just that, and find the one that works best.<ref name="update45"/>

Q: Why do you think the streaming of the game world isn't used more by game devs in general? And what about the UA case?

A: In our case, it’s more a technical issue than a process one. With a constrained space like the Underworld, it would still be relatively easy to build it in individual levels with defined connection points, even if those were merged into one big world at run-time. However, a simulation-heavy game has to save a lot of object state, and streaming all of that in and out of memory can be a bit of a chore technically. It may be a solvable problem, but it’s not our top priority.<ref name="update45"/>

Q: Will there be damage types?

A: Yes, absolutely. Crushing, slashing, fire, cold, etc. Some creatures and things will be more vulnerable or impervious to some types of damage, and players will be able to use this knowledge to good effect.<ref name="update45"/>

Q: How involved is Paul with the game's design?

A: Very much, and he teaches us things every day. This is Paul’s vision.<ref name="update45"/>

==Sources==
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 A: Very much, and he teaches us things every day. This is Paul’s vision.<ref name="update45"/>
-Q: Why abandon PnP-inspired RPG systems in favor of perks?
-A: Great question and one we’ve been thinking a lot about as we start to delve into the character progression system.
-Clearly there are benefits to both methodologies; a more traditional RPG system in which players have more finite control over skill points and stat advancement allows players to create and fine tune their characters exactly to their liking.
-For Underworld Ascendant we want the focus of the game to be on the world and your interactions with it.  Anything that might get in the way of this, anything that might put itself between the player and the experience of living in the Underworld, is something we have to seriously consider before including in the game.
-So, how does this relates to perks and character progression? Our preference is not to have players spend a lot of time in a system or UI where they are studying stats and points or worrying about whether to increase strength over dexterity.  We’d prefer, instead, to have character progression consist of a smaller number of meaningful decisions, such as choosing a new attack or movement ability, rather than numerous numerical tweaks, as allocating skill points every level.
-This also will likely mean that many parts of character progression will happen more organically.  So, a player who is casting a lot of spells will tend to gain advancement and abilities in spell casting versus a character who becomes more skilled in melee weapons because that is his preferred method of combat.  A player who wants their character to use a bow, for instance, is probably going to be using a bow quite often.  Our thought is, why make the player actually go through the work of putting “skill points” into bowmanship if it can just happen automagically without interrupting the game experience?<ref name="stygiansentinel4">[[Stygian Sentinel 4|Stygian Sentinel #4]], [https://underworldascendant.com/news/622_update.php Answers From the Abyss #2]</ref>
-Q: We know creatures in the ecosystem are going to function within it (i.e food needs, survival, and whatnot). Will this affect NPC's in the factions as well? Can I go hunting with Lizardmen?
-A: Yes, NPCs and factions will be positioned in the ecosystem alongside the flora and fauna.  This means that NPCs and members of factions will have needs and desires that hinge on accessibility and conditions of the environment: access to food, protection from predators, warmth, and so forth.
-Day-to-day routines of NPCs and factions will also be in the game as much as possible, including those that draw from and/or impact the ecosystem.  So, yes, lizardmen will be seen hunting and, depending upon your standing with them, they might even allow you to tag along.<ref name="stygiansentinel4"/>
-Q: Are NPC's/creatures going to have other needs besides food in the ecosystem?
-A: Absolutely.  While food may be the strongest need for many creatures, other things will also factor into their behaviors and motivations.  For instance, creatures will have a predilection for the kind of environment they want to live in – lava bat want to live in hot areas, preferably with some lava flows.  If that environment changes then the creatures will have a desire to migrate to a new location that more suits their needs.
-We expect light and darkness to play a real role in creature behaviors as well.  To feel safe some creatures or NPCs may be more comfortable in well-lit parts of the Underworld, while others may prefer the darkness in which to hide.  Light levels is an atmospheric state which can be readily changed by the player, or even by happenstance, and which will have a big impact on the lives of creatures and NPCs.<ref name="stygiansentinel4"/>
-Q: If I trap a group inside their base, and cut them off from all outside food... Will they eventually starve to death? And if they do, can I have their stuff?
-A: We want to have members of the factions have motivations that align with basic needs, such as the need for food, shelter, warmth, etc.  So, the AI for NPCs will have a desire to obtain or keep these things.
-What the effect is if they do NOT gain these things is a tricky thing and something still very much in the air.  Clearly we want there to be some effect or else the desire will feel hollow and without impact.
-Do we want an entire faction dying off because the player killed off their food source?  Probably not, that would likely put the player into a hole he wouldn’t be able to get out of and be very frustrating.  Our environmental systems, including ecology, will almost certainly have rubber-banding or hard edge case restraints in order to keep the game enjoyable.  What those restraints are we just don’t know yet.
-So, in your example, will the group you’ve trapped die off from starvation?  Probably not.  More likely their behavior will radically change to reflect their desperate state.  Where once they would not have ventured out at night for fear of predators, now they will hoping to find food.  Where before they would not have risked attacking a powerful foe like yourself, now they charge out in a last ditch effort to escape their doom.
-And, if you beat them, you can have all their stuff.<ref name="stygiansentinel4"/>
-Q: Will there be totally customizable controls?
-A: At this point we see no reason why our controls wouldn’t be completely customizable.  A lot of us here at OtherSide are heavy FPS and MMO players, so we like customizability as much as anyone.<ref name="stygiansentinel4"/>
-Q: Are you aiming at a particular minimum hardware spec?
-A: Still a little early to make a call on our minimum specs.  We are going for a fairly high fidelity experience, but at the same time we will support a range of detail settings to allow play on at least decent PC’s.  Not Chromebooks, but a reasonably capable laptop or desktop that has some 3D graphics chops.<ref name="stygiansentinel4"/>
 ==Sources==
 <references/>
 [[Category:Underworld Ascendant]]