Shadowrun Returns Kickstarter Question Thread Options

[Bull]

Ok boys and girls, here's your chance to ask questions to the Shadowrun Returns crew!

A few notes:

1) I'm not involved with theKickstarter project, so I can;t answer any questions myself. I've been asked by Mike Mulvihill to help them field questions though, so I figure a trhead collecting them would do that.

2) Questions may not be answered in this thread, but will likely end up on the Kickstarter FAQ.

3) Please do not use this thread for any discussion about the Kickstarter. Save taht for the main thread, or start a new thread. Keep this clear for questions, so that the Hare brained guys (Who are incredibly busy right now) can easily find and read your questions without wading through a bunch of discussion.

thanks!

Bull

[remmus]

one question of the bat is how flexible the character creation is going to be, in the video it talks about creating our own runner, yet in the gameplay text it talks about four character "types"

Here are some ways that selecting each character type allows you to see the map from a different perspective:

• Street Samurai see a threat assessment overlay of the environment that notes enemy appraisals, options for cover, potential weapons, and statistics for drawn weapons.
• Combat Mages see magical auras, granting them the ability to locate magical items, identify spells being prepared, and find the intersections of magic lay lines where they can recharge their power.
• Hackers/Deckers see the digital control circuitry that allows them to manipulate the physical world via the digital one.
• Shaman see the “true world” that lies in the astral plane, distinguishing the true nature of people, plants, creatures, and magical objects while buildings and other “dead” objects appear as mere shadows.

so how will this work? Is your character made after the above 4 types, or is the character creation more open and akin to the tabetop rpg and the above is a whole diffrent thing?

[Sengir]

What edition will the underlying mechanics be closest to? Does my Predator do 9M or 5P damage?

[Stahlseele]

Tactical Turn Based Combat.
Fallout Tactics/Syndicate Wars like?
Matrix: Will it look like Tron?
Timeline 2050. Does that mean SR3 rule-set?
Rumors have it there will be cooperation between you and SRO MMO.
Does this mean you are basically making the single-player-component for that game? O.o

OK, one more ERNEST Question:
It says player driven plots in the FAQ.
It says that there will be crucial events where players can actively decide the outcome . .
SR2050 is being re-released.
These are supposed to tie in with each other somehow . .
Does this mean players of the computer game could decide how the books end up?

Will the game be more Pink Mohawk or more Black Trenchcoat?
Will Riggers be available too?
What will be the main setting? Probably Seattle again?
Other Settings planned? SOX? Japan? Germany?

Magic. Hate it personally, but will there be Adepts too?

[DeathStrobe]

Will there be astral space?
Will there be multiplayer?
If there is multiplayer, will it support cross platform multiplayer? IE Can I play on iPad with my friends on PC?

[Maxwell Silverha...]

Skill-based, or Level Based? How would character progression work? Traditional S.R. Manner, do runs, earn Karma, buy attributes and skill levels?

[ShadowDragon8685]

Will there be a crafting system, perhaps ala Arcanum: of Steamworks and Magick Obscura?
Will there be Metaplanar Quests and Initiation for mages?
Can Mages (and other Awakened characters) who choose to do so get cybered, trading away point of Essence and some of their maximum magical potential for the utility of cyberware? (This makes the question about Initiation especially important.)
Assuming the setting is Seattle, are you going to be using the actual terrain-maps of Seattle to create the game's maps?
Speaking of maps, will there be Loads and Loads of Loading and zone-based, or will it dynamically load on the fly and let you smoothly travel?


Oh, and here's another question: just how hard are you going to make it to cheat. Are you going to bury those all-important variables (nuyen, karma, possibly ammo if it's not tracked by magazine) in difficult-to-find places, or are you going to leave them cheerfully exposed for memory searches and edits?


A few more:

How will inventory be managed. Will it be a Deus Ex style grid for everything, container-based like Space Station 13 (assuming anyone here plays SS13 and knows what it is; for those who don't, basically you have a backpack/satchel/whatever that you put discrete items into,) list-based like an Elder Scrolls game, or what? And what about encumbrance? Do Trolls get to carry more - and on the same token, will dwarves have to carry less?

And Equipment: Is it going to be strictly the street-level crap, or can we get our hands on some Milspec/SOTA gear? If you want to get something hot, will you need to cultivate contacts/call your fixer?

Speaking of contacts, will they exist at all as more than a phone book of fraggers' numbers that other fraggers gave you, ala the Genesis game? If they do, will they have Loyalty and Connections ratings, that you can influence (especially Loyalty.)

[Bull]

Since this has come up a couple times, Mike expanded on their comment from teh FAQ rearding paypal:

From Mike Mulvihill @ HBS:
First thank you if you have donated!

We cannot accept Paypal donations until we have reached our minimum pledge of the $400,000, simply because PayPal does not allow us to return money once collected (just incase we don't make our goal). Therefore the sooner we hit $400,000 the sooner Paypal turns on and the sooner international fans of Shadowrun can donate. We are sorry about the confusion. Continue to check out the Kickstarter page and check our FAQ at the bottom of the page for other common questions.

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/161326...ns?ref=category

[silva]

Will the game be more Pink Mohawk or more Black Trenchcoat?

This. (I hope for Pink Mohawk )

Also:

- will there be a independently explorable/navigable Matrix, or will it only work as a virtual "overlay" over the physical world ?

- same as above for the Astral Plane.

[silva]

Hey Bull, Im replicating a question from the RPGnet boards, that I think is pertinent..

How is the game going to be structured? They make it sounds like you're basically going on tactical 'runs' on separate maps. Are there actually going to be towns to explore, with NPCs and dialogue and stuff?

Thanks.

[Critias]

Hey Bull, Im replicating a question from the RPGnet boards, that I think is pertinent..



Thanks.

I asked it this mornin'. Still no answer from on high, but we'll keep ya posted.

[silva]

Thks Critias.

I think that, if we cant have a structure of towns to explore in the traditional sense (a sprite/guy running around), at least consider a structure like this one here..

BTW, what would you guys think if the game didnt have towns to explore the way we see in trad rpgs, like a little guy running around, etc..

Instead if you explored the towns through "static interactive screens" ? I mean, you could be in you home and see a static screen of it, with options to acess the matrix if you click your PC image, or go to sleep by clicking the bed, or calling a contact by clicking a phone; And you could travel to other locations, maybe clicking the door to outside and choosing a new location in a big Seattle map, and then it opens another static screen for that location (Bar, Chop shop, Restaurant, a Plaza, etc) with new interaction options.. And you could have people to talk in all those locations too, etc.

Would you like this ? I think this could be simpler to implement, while keeping "out of combat" substance.

[almost normal]

Will you folks make the time between missions meaningful, or will it be jumping from run to run, with a quick option to purchase and upgrade between?

[silva]

Also, by a "2D game" I understand this can be a "pure 2D" perspective (like this), or a "pseudo-3D" isometric perspective (like this), right ?

Is this reasoning correct ? If so, which one the team is aiming for ?

[ShadowDragon8685]

Ooooh, I just realized a good question.

Is the game going to be voice-acted? I mean, I imagine we can probably expect the usual sound effects of men/women/trolls gasping or grunting or groaning or screaming when they get shot and what-not, but are you planning to fully voice-act it, or not?


I had another thought - not really a question, per se, but a thought.

Since enough people seem to be clamoring for a physical box title that it actually made the Kickstarter's FAQs, why not make the box item itself a feely, maybe starting at the $60 level, or making a new tier at $45 where it just gets you the box? You're already gonna be shipping tons of stuff to people's homes, why not mock up a brick-and-mortar style game box and use it as a container for the feelies.

[Aria]

Will this be playable on the iPhone / iPod touches?

How customisable will your 'avatar' be?

Thanks!

[CanRay]

Also, by a "2D game" I understand this can be a "pure 2D" perspective (like this), or a "pseudo-3D" isometric perspective (like this), right ?

Is this reasoning correct ? If so, which one the team is aiming for ?

Hopefully the second. I want to hire Gus Tarballs as a 'Runner supporting me!

[Vegetaman]

Will this game carry any aspects from the SNES or Genesis versions, such as the unique conversation systems and choices that were allowed?

[last_of_the_grea...]

Is Lofwyr going to be an attackable character so we can gang up on him and kill him, then take his stuff?

[ShadowDragon8685]

Is Lofwyr going to be an attackable character so we can gang up on him and kill him, then take his stuff?

"You keep what you kill" doesn't always work in Shadowrun. That said, I imagine that so many people would be happy to see Lofwyr gone that you'd be made men inside of a week. Just before, you know, his friends have you horribly murdered.


Of course, if you interfered with his duel with Nachtmeister in the right moment...

[silva]

Vegeta, by what we heard till now the game will have a strong SNES/Genesis vibe (even if we dont know for sure what that means).

What worries most is that, after seeing their latest game on youtube (Steam Crimson Pirates) I suspect Shadowrun Returns wont have any gameplay between missions - just a series of tactical combats linked by a story and "re-equipe and re-arm" phase in between. Not that its a really bad thing (Steam Crimson Pirates seems a very fun game with lots of style and personality ), but man I would expect so much more from an opportunity like this..

[CanRay]

Considering the strength of the storyline in both the SNES and Genesis versions, I'm hoping that's the vibe they're referring to.

[pdboddy]

I do have a question. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif) Are they planning to list the number of people who have donated by Paypal? Us folk need a little recognition too, and I think there is probably a higher amount of backers and money pledged once you take that into account. They might be closer to the million dollar mark than expected. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif)

[pdboddy]

Also, can we request this to be stickied? If so... can it be stickied, pretty please with soykaf on top? (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif) (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif) (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif)

[Draco18s]

My only question is thus:

[For the $1000 reward level] Any reason why the "personalized" NPC couldn't be a dragon?