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http://www.gaslampgames.com/2012/08/27/clockwork-empires-the-press-release/
QuoteAugust 27th, 2012 – Gaslamp Games, Inc., independent game developers and makers of the critically acclaimed Dungeons of Dredmor, are pleased to announce their new title, Clockwork Empires, for the Windows, OS X, and Linux platforms.
The Clockwork Empire is expanding! Brave people, seeking glory and wealth, are setting forth for uncharted lands in search of fame and fortune. This is a new age of Science – fearless naturalists, clever tinkerers, and brilliant inventors hold sway over the imagination of the common folk, wielding voltaic energies and constructing chromed brass clockwork engines. It is an age of The Arts – poets lie expiring on every street corner, crying for Reform and more laudanum, while the Empire Times spews forth from the great presses of the Capitol, filled with stories of inspiring hubris and adventure from The Colonies. It is an age of Trade – the many arms of the Imperial Chartered Antipodean Trading Company lurch across the oceans like the limbs of a commodity-crazed octopus, dredging untapped markets for wealth and glory. It is an age of Politics – scheming agents of the Empire skulk through the slums and grottoes of the colonies, dodging anarchist schemes and cultists' rituals, and fulfilling secretive missions on behalf of Her Majesty the Queen. Meanwhile, in the Capitol, favours are curried in the Houses of Parliament and the Panopticon between the artistocratic Lords and the rising classes of Industrial Barons.
Fly the Union Cog over all three identified corners of the world!
But not all is well in the Empire. Strangers gather under lampposts and in bars, telling stories of Those That Live Beyond The Stars, operating in invisible geometries from another dimension. The Queen, some whisper, has been locked away at the behest of her own Prime Minister... but to what end? The Church of the Holy Cog prays for the salvation of the Empire, yet everybody fears the indescribable colors that trace lines through the darkest woods and beyond the reassuring glow of the gas-lamps. The fortunes of the Clockwork Empire are watched, silently, by unseen eye-clusters and malevolent entities trying to breach the walls of reality into this world.
Take on the role of a Junior Bureaucrat (Colonial Grade), sent forth to seek fame, promotions, and natural resources to feed the ever-hungry maw of industry and commerce. Build mighty colonies, fill them with magnificent factories and tortured machinery, and harness the power of steam and energies brought forth by determined, unregulated men and women of Science!
Glory is yours to seize; the world is yours to do with as you please. For fame and fortune, for Science, and for the Queen and the glory of the Clockwork Empires!
But wait, there's more!
Herein, the good folk of Gaslamp Games present a small selection of their "penny dreadful" game development features, demonstrating wonders never-before seen in plebian entertainment:
- Dynamic, city-building, citizen-simulating action. Every imperial subject has a purpose and agenda of their own, and their interactions are rich, exciting, and often lethal!
- New "procedural extrusion" technology lets you design your colony the way you want! Buildings are procedurally generated and extruded directly from the aether to your specifications!
- Tame the uncharted continents by land, sea, and air! Set forth in mighty Zeppelins to do battle with Sky Pirates, or take to the seas in search of fortune and probably sea serpents!
- Create magnificent acts of plumbing, link together mighty gears, and build ominous Megaprojects!
- Tangle with the machinations of malevolent entities! Scry the legacy of the Invisible Geometers, fumigate the baleful moon-fungus of the Selenian Polyps, and cleanse the scuttling creepiness and poor personal and moral hygiene of your everyday, average cultist.
- Losing is still fun! When your colony fails miserably, earn medals, promotions, and titles as befits a true politician and scion of the Empire!
- Multi-player mode, with up to 4 players, lets you co-operate with your closest friends to build a glorious city... or fight a horrifying economic battle to total annihilation!
- Round-Robin mode lets you share your Clockwork Empires with friends! Take turns running a colony directly into the ground then argue for fun-filled hours about whose fault it was! (Like Monopoly but with more exploding Zeppelins!)
- Rendered in glorious GaslampVision! Thrill as the colours are brought to life by Gaslamp's team of caffeine-addled artists labouring under the technical specifications of our elite programmers* to bring you a game that is rendered in Each of the Three Dimensions! New multi-core technology by Actual University Students lets you use every last ounce of power in your computer to run a thrilling and vivid simulation! (* We'll see about that, Nicholas. Soon. – David)
- Featuring the new Dynamic Soundtrack Orchestra – the Soundtrack that Adjusts to Your Gameplay! (Mr. M. Steele, conductor)
- No always-online DRM requirement, unlike certain other games we don't want to mention. You know who you are and your mothers are very disappointed.
- Comes complete with the Gaslamp Games Quality of Excellence that you know and love, and if you don't like something you can mod it yourself in the best tradition of Empire Craftsmanship!
For more information, Gaslamp Games invites you to subscribe to their Awful Circular, available at www.gaslampgames.com on the Inter-Net Tubes. For more exciting information about the latest Gaslamp Games endeavor, visit PC Gamer!
Cog Save the Queen! Huzzah and all that.
Oh my! :lol:[/list]
I see the steampunk motif hasn't died yet.
If it's anywhere near as fun and accessible as Dungeons of Dredmore, I'll be happy. :)
Space: 1889 did it better.
Quote from: Syt on August 28, 2012, 06:28:14 AM
If it's anywhere near as fun and accessible as Dungeons of Dredmore, I'll be happy. :)
:yes: Dungeons of Dredmore is a great game. I will buy this just to support Gaslight.
Quote from: CountDeMoney on August 28, 2012, 06:30:44 AM
Space: 1889 did it better.
Did it have Lovecraftian horrors as hinted at by the press blurb?
Quote from: Syt on August 28, 2012, 07:58:26 AM
Quote from: CountDeMoney on August 28, 2012, 06:30:44 AM
Space: 1889 did it better.
Did it have Lovecraftian horrors as hinted at by the press blurb?
Fuck Lovecraft. It had red tunics, pith helmets and hordes of Martians.
Quote from: CountDeMoney on August 28, 2012, 08:11:43 AM
Quote from: Syt on August 28, 2012, 07:58:26 AM
Quote from: CountDeMoney on August 28, 2012, 06:30:44 AM
Space: 1889 did it better.
Did it have Lovecraftian horrors as hinted at by the press blurb?
Fuck Lovecraft. It had red tunics, pith helmets and hordes of Martians.
:yes:
You people are beyond hope.
Anyways, a more in depth preview:
http://www.pcgamer.com/previews/clockwork-empires-a-preview-of-gaslamp-games-lovecraft-laden-steampunk-city-builder/
I like it.
sounds promising
Sounds promising, but I'm dubious of their claim to be like Dwarf Fortress, but accessible. Dwarf Fortress isn't that inaccessible and I doubt any game developed for profit will have the depth of Dwarf Fortress.
Looking forward to it, though I have reservations similar to Max's.
I think that press throws around "like DF!" too easily for everything that has you building a settlement and that relies on supply chains. By that reckoning, the original The Settlers was a DF-game.
From what I've read in the preview, the devs do want to emulate DF's fun in failing, not its complexities.
Quote from: CountDeMoney on August 28, 2012, 08:11:43 AM
Quote from: Syt on August 28, 2012, 07:58:26 AM
Quote from: CountDeMoney on August 28, 2012, 06:30:44 AM
Space: 1889 did it better.
Did it have Lovecraftian horrors as hinted at by the press blurb?
Fuck Lovecraft. It had red tunics, pith helmets and hordes of Martians.
And Dinosaurs! Also, I'm so fucking tired of Lovecraft.
Quote from: Syt on August 28, 2012, 02:36:15 PM
From what I've read in the preview, the devs do want to emulate DF's fun in failing
If they manage to get anywhere close, I'll be happy. Especially with multiplayer failure...
Well, their previous game was a pretty fun light roguelike (Dungeons of Dredmore) that was very tongue in cheek and amusing. If they can bring a similar attitude to this game (and the press release, poster and preview I linked seems to point that way) this could be really fun.
DF is only vaguely accessible.
DF is very accessible...with a graphics pack.
Even without. It just requires imagination.
No it is not accessible. It is 2012 FFS, there have been marked improvements in interface design since 1973
It just puts its resources into meat instead of glitter.
Quote from: Maximus on August 28, 2012, 02:56:20 PM
It just puts its resources into meat instead of glitter.
:rolleyes:
I understand its an indie project, so I am not expecting miracles. I do expect mouse support
Mouse support would open the game to the Taint of the iBeet crowd, though.
Quote from: Habbaku on August 28, 2012, 03:49:01 PM
Mouse support would open the game to the Taint of the iBeet crowd, though.
:lol: MOUSES EES GUD, NO?
You people are gonna get a hex put on you.
Quote from: Ed Anger on August 28, 2012, 04:09:05 PM
You people are gonna get a hex put on you.
There's a lot of people who enjoy hex games on this forum.
Quote from: Jacob on August 28, 2012, 04:49:45 PM
Quote from: Ed Anger on August 28, 2012, 04:09:05 PM
You people are gonna get a hex put on you.
There's a lot of people who enjoy hex games on this forum.
WHY ISN'T ADMIRAL HORTHY RATED HIGHER?
Quote from: Maximus on August 28, 2012, 02:06:40 PM
Sounds promising, but I'm dubious of their claim to be like Dwarf Fortress, but accessible. Dwarf Fortress isn't that inaccessible and I doubt any game developed for profit will have the depth of Dwarf Fortress.
Its as inaccessible as a safe inside a box inside a safe in a submarine 1000 leagues beneath the artctic ice, guarded by sharks and trolls.
...if you haven't evolved thumbs.
Or an imagination
Thanks to the mention of Space:1889, I've been RPG shopping.
THANKS A LOT. :mad:
Quote from: Ed Anger on August 28, 2012, 07:16:40 PM
Thanks to the mention of Space:1889, I've been RPG shopping.
THANKS A LOT. :mad:
:lol:
Start stockpiling those little black Traveler books, man. ;)
I've still got the old Mercenary book. :lol:
Looks like I'll have to get off my ass and go to the local comic book/game store. Damn nerds.
I just re-discovered Steve Jackson games pdf store. OH MY GOD.
My credit card: burning
Quote from: Ed Anger on August 28, 2012, 07:44:21 PM
I just re-discovered Steve Jackson games pdf store. OH MY GOD.
My credit card: burning
Yeah, I get all the Ars Magica books there; they deliver fast. And you'll always get some bonus Munchkins stuff as well. :P
GURPS sourcebooks so far for me.
Quote from: Maximus on August 28, 2012, 07:11:51 PM
Or an imagination
The complaint is not about graphics, or gameplay. Should I be imagining an interface from the early 1990s or something? :P
You guys remind me of this Unix teacher guy: "the built in word processor in AIX is the best word processor ever, once you learn the keyboard commands"
Quote from: CountDeMoney on August 28, 2012, 07:58:59 PM
Quote from: Ed Anger on August 28, 2012, 07:44:21 PM
I just re-discovered Steve Jackson games pdf store. OH MY GOD.
My credit card: burning
Yeah, I get all the Ars Magica books there; they deliver fast. And you'll always get some bonus Munchkins stuff as well. :P
You play Ars Magica? It's my favourite rpg of all times.
Quote from: Tamas on August 29, 2012, 01:38:29 AM
Quote from: Maximus on August 28, 2012, 07:11:51 PM
Or an imagination
The complaint is not about graphics, or gameplay. Should I be imagining an interface from the early 1990s or something? :P
You guys remind me of this Unix teacher guy: "the built in word processor in AIX is the best word processor ever, once you learn the keyboard commands"
You completely miss the point. :huh: It's not like it's 80's Atari graphics.
Quote from: szmik on August 29, 2012, 02:42:04 AM
Quote from: Tamas on August 29, 2012, 01:38:29 AM
Quote from: Maximus on August 28, 2012, 07:11:51 PM
Or an imagination
The complaint is not about graphics, or gameplay. Should I be imagining an interface from the early 1990s or something? :P
You guys remind me of this Unix teacher guy: "the built in word processor in AIX is the best word processor ever, once you learn the keyboard commands"
You completely miss the point. :huh: It's not like it's 80's Atari graphics.
No, you miss the point. it has a too cumbersome interface.
Yep. Its the interface which really kills it. The graphics suck but that's a distant secondary factor. The gameplay is inaccessible with the interface as it is so on that a comment can't be made.
the df-interface just sucks. and there's no excuse for bad design.
beyond that the gameplay of Df is very nice. Probably unique too
Quote from: Martinus on August 29, 2012, 01:44:40 AM
You play Ars Magica? It's my favourite rpg of all times.
The character development and the magic system is unmatched.
Alas, when I was severed, it wasn't just from my job but from my RPG group at work. Haven't been in the mood to talk to them for a while.
ARs Magica was a fun game. Eliminated the hackery of the last few D&D versions and yet lacked the intense chart scanning of Rollmaster.
Quote from: Tamas on August 29, 2012, 01:38:29 AM
Quote from: Maximus on August 28, 2012, 07:11:51 PM
Or an imagination
The complaint is not about graphics, or gameplay. Should I be imagining an interface from the early 1990s or something? :P
You guys remind me of this Unix teacher guy: "the built in word processor in AIX is the best word processor ever, once you learn the keyboard commands"
Yes. This.
Quote from: Ed Anger on August 28, 2012, 07:39:47 PM
I've still got the old Mercenary book. :lol:
Looks like I'll have to get off my ass and go to the local comic book/game store. Damn nerds.
Traveller is the one game I've hung on to for all these years. :wub:
I have all the original books and alien books, and a fairly complete collection of MegaTraveller and Traveller:TNE...
I'd still have all my shit if I didn't have the hard times in the 90's.
Trailer time:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2x1iLpQjULA
:cthulu:
nice.
have been following their blogs since development was announced. Might very well be a keeper.
Quote from: Martinus on August 29, 2012, 01:44:40 AM
Quote from: CountDeMoney on August 28, 2012, 07:58:59 PM
Quote from: Ed Anger on August 28, 2012, 07:44:21 PM
I just re-discovered Steve Jackson games pdf store. OH MY GOD.
My credit card: burning
Yeah, I get all the Ars Magica books there; they deliver fast. And you'll always get some bonus Munchkins stuff as well. :P
You play Ars Magica? It's my favourite rpg of all times.
3rd Edition may be the greatest thing ever.
Quote from: CountDeMoney on August 28, 2012, 06:30:44 AM
Space: 1889 did it better.
BTW, Chadwick is bringing back Space: 1889. Not the PC game, but the miniatures rules and stuff. He still hasn't worked out how to get reasonably-priced Tripods and airboats and the like, as of when I talked to him last. Figures and equipment, though he will have.
Quote from: Syt on October 31, 2013, 02:36:24 PM
Trailer time:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2x1iLpQjULA
:cthulu:
I like this idea.