http://www.ultimaratioregum.co.uk/
I discovered this game a few years ago, and it's been an impressive project to follow. Its development began in 2011, and it's planned to be a decade-long project, all by one man
An alpha is available to download on the site
A roguelike game inspired by the literature of Jorge Borges, Umberto Eco & Neal Stephenson, and the games Europa Universalis and Dark Souls.
Ultima Ratio Regum ("the last argument of kings") is a ten-year project, the first three and a half years of which were completed during my doctoral research. It's a game which aims to integrate thematic content on historiography, philosophical idealism and the rise of modernist grand narratives, with the deep, complex and challenging gameplay one expects from a "classic" roguelike (and, of course, an ANSI display and permadeath).
Set approximately around the Scientific Revolution, the player is tasked with discovering a conspiracy via identifying procedurally-generated clues hidden throughout the world's cultures, religions and societies; the game features extensive procedural generation of everything from tombs and religious altars to (in the future) paintings and sculptures, any or all of which may contain the clues required in a given playthrough.
Having largely concluded the four-year "worldbuilding" portion of the game's development, the goal for 2015-2016 is to finish and release the first version with significant gameplay content (summer 2016).
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Here's a generated world. Civilizations will have thousands of years of history and their own religions, which have their symbols and gods and rituals and means of worships and rules and festivals.
Closer, a zoomed-in view of a city, which can support up to 300,000 NPCs ranging from slums and graveyards to churches and monasteries to castles and everything in between. Cities are divided into districts which up to 1,000 buildings in each district (Docks, Markets, Pubs, Gambling Halls, Noble houses, Guilds, Jails, Apothecaries, Hospitals, Barracks, Blacksmiths, Cathedrals, Libraries, Universities, Courts, Temples, Altars, and more)
Closer, a castle in a city.
Closer still, street level is in the vein of ASCII-style roguelikes like Dwarf Fortress. And closer still, an individual NPC. And closer still, area of the world have different "genetics" that deem skin tone and hair/eye color
Everything in the game is generated, from individual garments of all types to prayer mats and coat of arms for important families
Combat will be rare but the combat mechanics are as detailed everything else. This blog post talks about weapons types (over 200,000 weapons) and combat. Combat will not be simply bumping into enemies, but more complex and use the number keys for different attacks, stances, and actions.
The game will probably remind one of Game of Thrones. A world with no magic, with large families and lesser houses, vassals and lords, hunter-gatherer tribes and small towns, all interacting and having their own lives and schedules, nations with their own ingrained cultures and religions that can be spread across an entire country or confined to a small isolated area
Ultima Regio Regum will have a story to drive the player forward, a mystery and investigation. Rather than being focused on combat, progress revolves around learning about the world, gaining key knowledge to further your quest and safely travel through the nations and peoples of the world. For example, studying the contract list of a mercenary guild from a certain city to gain important knowledge about an individual
But the developer plans to go even deeper than that. A player may need to earn access to a restricted area or isolated nations. You can bribe someone for documents or perhaps accept a certain faith to be allowed in. But one would also be able to disguise and bluff their way, through wearing certain clothing or dying your hear or applying tattoos or through mentioning details and knowledge learning from your travels.
Nations and individuals from nations will have ideological clashes and common ground, that could range from ruling families holding grudges or two distinct theocracies hating each other due to a difference in religion, to imperialist nations having a shared love of gladiatorial combat. Nations will have a full range of laws and varying punishments for each, covering everything from attempted burglary to murdering a highborn noble.
I discovered this game a few years ago, and it's been an impressive project to follow. Its development began in 2011, and it's planned to be a decade-long project, all by one man
An alpha is available to download on the site
A roguelike game inspired by the literature of Jorge Borges, Umberto Eco & Neal Stephenson, and the games Europa Universalis and Dark Souls.
Ultima Ratio Regum ("the last argument of kings") is a ten-year project, the first three and a half years of which were completed during my doctoral research. It's a game which aims to integrate thematic content on historiography, philosophical idealism and the rise of modernist grand narratives, with the deep, complex and challenging gameplay one expects from a "classic" roguelike (and, of course, an ANSI display and permadeath).
Set approximately around the Scientific Revolution, the player is tasked with discovering a conspiracy via identifying procedurally-generated clues hidden throughout the world's cultures, religions and societies; the game features extensive procedural generation of everything from tombs and religious altars to (in the future) paintings and sculptures, any or all of which may contain the clues required in a given playthrough.
Having largely concluded the four-year "worldbuilding" portion of the game's development, the goal for 2015-2016 is to finish and release the first version with significant gameplay content (summer 2016).
___________________________________________________________________________
Here's a generated world. Civilizations will have thousands of years of history and their own religions, which have their symbols and gods and rituals and means of worships and rules and festivals.
Closer, a zoomed-in view of a city, which can support up to 300,000 NPCs ranging from slums and graveyards to churches and monasteries to castles and everything in between. Cities are divided into districts which up to 1,000 buildings in each district (Docks, Markets, Pubs, Gambling Halls, Noble houses, Guilds, Jails, Apothecaries, Hospitals, Barracks, Blacksmiths, Cathedrals, Libraries, Universities, Courts, Temples, Altars, and more)
Closer, a castle in a city.
Closer still, street level is in the vein of ASCII-style roguelikes like Dwarf Fortress. And closer still, an individual NPC. And closer still, area of the world have different "genetics" that deem skin tone and hair/eye color
Everything in the game is generated, from individual garments of all types to prayer mats and coat of arms for important families
Combat will be rare but the combat mechanics are as detailed everything else. This blog post talks about weapons types (over 200,000 weapons) and combat. Combat will not be simply bumping into enemies, but more complex and use the number keys for different attacks, stances, and actions.
The game will probably remind one of Game of Thrones. A world with no magic, with large families and lesser houses, vassals and lords, hunter-gatherer tribes and small towns, all interacting and having their own lives and schedules, nations with their own ingrained cultures and religions that can be spread across an entire country or confined to a small isolated area
Ultima Regio Regum will have a story to drive the player forward, a mystery and investigation. Rather than being focused on combat, progress revolves around learning about the world, gaining key knowledge to further your quest and safely travel through the nations and peoples of the world. For example, studying the contract list of a mercenary guild from a certain city to gain important knowledge about an individual
But the developer plans to go even deeper than that. A player may need to earn access to a restricted area or isolated nations. You can bribe someone for documents or perhaps accept a certain faith to be allowed in. But one would also be able to disguise and bluff their way, through wearing certain clothing or dying your hear or applying tattoos or through mentioning details and knowledge learning from your travels.
Nations and individuals from nations will have ideological clashes and common ground, that could range from ruling families holding grudges or two distinct theocracies hating each other due to a difference in religion, to imperialist nations having a shared love of gladiatorial combat. Nations will have a full range of laws and varying punishments for each, covering everything from attempted burglary to murdering a highborn noble.
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