Arcanum Sequel? And other newbie questions.

Thats what I was thinking. As far as I can tell, the Arcanum engine is sitting on a shelf somewhere gathering dust, as new ones are created all the time.
The artwork, etc are already created, and I think theres a 'worldmod' or something for making mods to arcanum already.

You'd have to release it to the public though, to recoup your costs. With proper advertising, I bet there'd be a fair number of RPGers who'd pick it up.
I mean really, how many games are out there that mix tech and magik together? Thats the one thing that I really like about this game over all others, the uniqueness.

 

That's just it, the reason all the people here love this game is that it's completely unique. Nothing else ever came close to it, and I've seen nothing like it in recent years. Getting the engine might be tough. Yeah, there's the World Editor, to make mods and crap, but people still need to own the Arcanum main game to use it. But, if you wanted to buy the engine of Arcanum, I'm sure it would still cost a lot, simply because of how goodthe game turned out. Then again, the engine has nothing to do with gameplay, unless you consider being able to play the game. I don't know what I'm going on about, but I think my main message is that the game's engine might be nigh impossible to obtain.

 

Well, you never know. Freespace 2's engine got open-sourced a while back. Although...even if the engine is released to the public, you'd still need a pretty dedicated community to actually make something out of it, not to mention fix the bugs that it still has(like the horrible slowdown, gah!)

 

Companies won't just use the Arcanum engine because it was dissed for its poor graphics just like Fallout 2 was back THEN, now most buyers refuse something that isnt pretty. Homies gotta get back to their wasteland, and sam & max

 

I dont know, if whoever still owns the engine (Sierra?), and it isnt making them any money now, I dont see why they wouldn't want to off-load it.
Heck, they'd probably give worthy developers access to it in exchange for a peice of the pie. Its not like they've got anything to lose, and everything to gain. Isn't that how Troika did it?

 

I do think if they make a sequel they should use a new engine. I want a full-blown sequel where the developers go all out to make it as good as possilbe - but still with that old Arcanum charm. Keep the concepts of Arcanum (ie. tech versus magic) but it needs a complete redo especially graphically to sell well to the general public (not us hardcore Arcanum fans). Btw I am in no way disrespecting the graphics of Arcanum; they in no way take away from the awesomeness of this game but IF they made a sequel I would really hope for it to do well and that would require better graphics.

I'm pretty sure I've said the same thing about three times now, ah well.

In other news this is my first post on this forum, and I am a rabid Arcanum lover, although regrettably I never purchased the game I borrowed if off a friend.

 

WELCOME! Yeah, you have a point about the graphis thing. Even in 2000 the graphics weren't top shelf. Most games had done away with sprites at that point. Today's gaming audience is too visually oriented to enjoy a game like Arcanum. Even fewer people would be willing to play a simple RPG on their computers. I think if it was going to sell, Arcanum would need to be marketed as a MMORPG (dear God no), with severely revamped graphics.

 

I dont know, I kind of like the old school graphics. Now days everbody want 3D super doom first person shooters. Bahh, you can keep em. All the super graphics are cool, but they just dont work with all games. Specifically, RPG and strategy.

 

That's what I'm saying. Most gamers don't think that way, and that's why if a sequel to arcanum was to be made, it would be some sick bastardization of modern technology, pop culture, and a 3rd person perspective.

 

Yeah, Brotherhood is cool, but they took the RPG out of it, and went pure combat. While good in and of itself, I was a little disappointed. I bought it the first day it hit the shelves, and was expecting a continuation of the series.

 

oh no its not!

 

Here's an idea:

Given the chances for a true sequel is virtually zero and therefore would need to be created by folks like us - what would it take to insert one or even two new master quests into the game? Besides a massive amount of new script writing. Turn the game into a kind of "Find Your Fate" situation.

For example: You start off as The Living One, but as you meet the Molochean Hand for the first time on your way to Tarant, you (the gameplayer) now have the option of the Hand buying your silence. For, say, 2000 gold and surrendering the ring, the Living One Quest dies and you go onto a different adventure. Perhaps by retrieving the Elven Headstone but not joining the Thieves Guild, you can become "Arcanum Jones"; or a free-lance crime fighter for the Unified Kingdoms? How about a career as a Molochean Hand Assassin? And of course, the ever-popular freebooter. (i.e. Conan)

"Jones" uncovers a plot by the Dark Elves to topple the government and that brings the Hand back into the picture - Climax at the secret training grounds for all Hand members.

The Crime-Fighter discovers (This is from an ongoing thread) that a high-tech criminal genius is creating a robot army to take over some city, and in true hero fashion saves an ungrateful world.

The Assassin? Well that's pretty much self explanitory.

Comments and criticisms welcome.

 

That's an orgasmic idea. Oddly enough, I can only think of The Green Lantern orbatman when ever I read the crimefighter thing. I'm basing it on extremes, tech for Batman, magick for The Green Lantern

 

Who needs to rewrite Arcanum? Since there's no time limit, its easy enough to just go off and do your own thing. But to do all the stuff you'd like, it'd be better to start fresh, and redo the entire story.
Of course, then you might as well create Arcanum 2.
With the help of Tongs and a few others (and Sierra looking the other way), it might be do-able....

 

Both of you guys have decent ideas, and both concepts would be well worth exploring. So go for it!

As for me, well... I've just begun studying how to create mods, so when and if I ever get proficient enough, I'll try doing the "Find Your Fate" version.

Maybe in about two or three decades; when I'm the last person on earth still playing the game, it'll be ready. :lol:

 

They're already looking the other way. It seems they've abandoned us, so, onward to Arcanum 2; and onward to choice.