September 2000
Song of the Siren Spider
Originally posted on the Sierra Arcanum forum, David Poyser graciously allowed us to put his poem about the Siren Spider in our fan fiction section.
News post made Saturday, September 30, 2000 by Calis
Actiontrip previews Arcanum
The boys at Actiontrip posted a preview of the game we're all waiting for. No new info, but a good overview of the game nonetheless.
News post made Saturday, September 30, 2000 by Calis
Gamespot gives away 10 beta slots
VE reports that Gamespot is giving away 10 beta slots for the game we're all waiting for...
News post made Thursday, September 28, 2000 by Calis
Number 34: The Lich
A new monster has been added to the Creature Compendium over at Sierra's Official Arcanum Site. This time we're given some spiffy info on the creatures known as Liches, formed of the darkest magicks and terrifying foes indeed. Here comes the standard appetizer quote
It seems beyond reason, especially in this age of enlightenment, that a mage would willingly choose to transform himself into such a monstrosity. I have done much research on the subject and found that, in the creation of a lich, there is usually a specific driving reason behind the choice. First and foremost there are those among us who fear death greatly, and would go to any length to save themselves from its cruel hand. For a select few, transformation into a lich grants the immortality they so desperately seek. The lich that results from this vein of thought survive purely for their own ends, existing to terrorize and destroy those left living. These are truly the most dangerous form of the beast.
Certainly doesn't sound like something to be taken lightly. Go read the rest now!
News post made Wednesday, September 27, 2000 by Xerophyte
Signup form is online!
That's right, you can now sign up for the public beta test! I suggest you do so now...
News post made Tuesday, September 26, 2000 by Calis
Arcanum fanboy IRC chat
Calling all Arcanum fanboys (and girls)!
I know a lot of you will be online by the time the beta form goes live, so why not use the opportunity to have a little party in the Arcanum IRC channel? It doesn't happen that often that a lot of us are online at the same time... might as well make some good use of it. If you don't know where the channel is / how to use IRC, check out this page.
News post made Tuesday, September 26, 2000 by Calis
Werewolf in Creature Compendium
Although it isn't advertised for some reason, the creature compendium on the official site has been updated. This time, we get a peek at the werewolf.
Thanks to Skorpios, a fellow Arcanum fanboy, for pointing this out.
News post made Monday, September 25, 2000 by Calis
New screenshot of the week
The official site has been updated with a new screenshot of the week, showing off a half-orc engaged in conversation with a lady of questionable morals...
News post made Monday, September 25, 2000 by Calis
New poll up
Troika has recently done some major changes in Arcanum's character advancement system and our new poll asks for your opinion on the subject. Do you prefer the old system or the new one? Maybe you want something completely different? If you want to let the world know what you feel, scroll down to the bottom of the page and rock the vote.
The results of our old poll were as follows:
Do you want to participate in the public beta?
YES! - 77.7%
No, I don't want to spoil the story - 13%
Beta, what's that? - 4.5%
No, I'm too young to be able to participate - 3.9%
No, not without the editor - 0.6%
No, not without multiplayer - 0%
The great majority are apparently very interested in participating in the public beta test, a fact that is not entirely surprising. What can be considered surprising is the relatively low number of voters who were too young for participation. It appears the Arcanum fanbase is older than I previously thought.
News post made Sunday, September 24, 2000 by Xerophyte
New UberFAQ
Jason "Codeguy" Bryant updated his excellent UberFAQ, which contains pretty much every Arcanum infobit ever released by Troika. A zipped version is also available.
News post made Saturday, September 23, 2000 by Calis
Arcanum Beta Enrollment To Begin Next Tuesday
Yep, you read that right. Here's part of the official press release, taken from our parent site GA-RPG:
Sierra Studios and Troika Games today announced that enrollment in the beta test for their upcoming role-playing game Arcanum: Of Steamworks & Magick Obscura will begin next Tuesday, September 26th. The "Chapter One" testing session will encompass the first 20% of the total content found in the single-player game.
Selection for the beta test is based on a variety of criteria: system specs, experience with other games, and skill in documenting suggestions and communicating them clearly. Beta testers will get a pre-release version of the game, and have access to a private message board to communicate directly with the developers at Troika Games.
News post made Wednesday, September 20, 2000 by Calis
Siren Spider
The creature compendium on the official site has been updated again. This time, we get a little taste of the Siren Spider.
News post made Wednesday, September 20, 2000 by Calis
Character section updated
I've just updated Xerophyte's Character section according to all the new info that was released recently. If you don't feel like wading through all those message board posts, this page gives a good overview of the current character development system.
News post made Tuesday, September 19, 2000 by Calis
Updates by Shellman
Shellman went on a posting spree at the Inn. Here's some of the interesting stuff:
[on the level cap]: Yes. The level cap is still 50.
[on the experience system]: No. You no longer get 5 character points each time you level up. About 6 weeks ago we took a long, hard look at our entire point distribution system. What we saw was a lot of confusion. Allow me to explain.
With that system, you got 5 points per level to spend, but different levels of things cost different amounts of points, and the higher the level you achieved, the more you were having to "save" your points in order to get the next level of whatever you wanted. I am not sure of what the precise numbers were off the top of my head, but the example below is close to accurate.
As an example, melee could advance through 20 levels. Levels 1-10 cost 1 point each, levels 11-20 cost 2 points each. EXCEPT that you could not raise a skill higher than the stat it depended upon. Stat costs went according to the following point costs: levels 1-2 cost 1 point each, levels 5 - 9 cost 3 points each, levels 10-13 cost 6 points each, levels 14-17 cost 9 points each and levels 18-20 cost 12 points each.
Melee depends upon dex. The average (human) starts with a dex of 8, melee of 0. So if you wanted to achieve a 20 in melee, it would cost you all of the points you earned up through level 22, with you putting nothing into any other stat, skill, magick or tech.
Also, you would have to "save up" points to advance. To get from a level 17 to a level 18 in melee, you would have to save up the 12 CP to raise your DX to 18, plus 2 more to raise your Melee to 18. And you would have to repeat that pattern to achieve 19 and 20 as well. This made the game seem very difficult and un-rewarding the higher level you became. Our old system was nice in the beginning, but got very tedious from the mid-point on up through the game, and it was also very, very complicated as we discovered when trying to explain it to people. So.... we revamped the system.
The new system is much easier to understand and does not require you to look up a chart or remember how many more levels you have to advance before you can raise that skill or buy that spell you want. You now get three character points to spend when you start the game, instead of 5. Skills have been changed to a graphical bar displaying 5 levels, rather than a 1-20 number range. Your skills are still tied to a particular stat, and to reach each of the 5 levels, you must have a 6, 9, 12, 15 and 18 in that stat. Everything (and I mean EVERYTHING) costs 1 point - spells, tech disciplines, stats and skills. And finally, you only get 1 point each time you level, instead of 5.
This system has proven very successful with the testing we've put it through. It is effective, easily understandable, and makes it a lot simpler to plan how you are going to spend your points. With both systems, your character advances at roughly the same overall rate. However with the new one, it is consistent throughout the entire game and, most importantly, you can advance your characters skills each time you level up... You are not required to save up points like you were in the old system.
[more on character points]: With the new point system, it costs you one point to increase your PC's strength from 10 to 11, 15 to 16 or 19 to 20.
Yes. All costs are equivalent for all Basic Stats. (same number of points to go from 10 to 11 strength as going from 10 to 11 beauty for instance)
[on how much the Troikalites drink]: And last but not least, we go through about 8 cases (24 cans each) of soda a week, plus 4 5-gallon bottles of water! Not bad for 12 people! I have noticed the amount has been increasing along with the stress levels though... :o)
[on training levels]: Training is still in and unchanged.
You can be trained when you reach levels 1, 3 or 5 of a skill as an apprentice, expert and master.
[on fate points]: Fate points are still in and can currently be used to gain a character point. Although we may remove it because its becoming unbalancing. I mean, if you had the choice it get a character point, or be successful on your next critical hit, which would you choose? Exactly.
[on hit/fatigue points]:
For each level you go up, you now automatically get 2 each of HP/Fat. You can also put points into them directly - for each point you add to HP, it will increase by 4.
There are also other ways to increase HP/Fat - For every point you put into Willpower you gain 1 each of HP/Fat. For every point you put into Constitution you gain 2 Fat. For every point you put into Strength you gain 2 HP. We thought this made a lot more sense than the old "static" system.
[more on skills and stats]:
An average beginning human has an 8 in all stats and a 0 in all skills.
One character point will buy 4 hit points.
One character point will buy 4 fatigue points.
[on bonuses]: No. there has not been any significant changes made to the bonus system granted for achieving a “20” in a primary stat. These are bonuses granted when you achieve a 20, not gained steadily over time.
Yes. Reaching 20 in a primary stat via a magick item will give you the bonus ability.
[on tech bonuses to stats]: Yes. There are "tech" items that
grant stat/skill bonuses similar to magick items. For instance and auto lock pick gives a +2 to your lockpick skill (if your tech biased).
[more on training]: No. Achieving a 5 in a skill does not grant you a bonus. These come via training.
Most of the credit for coming up with this insane amount of questions goes to Ratster. Thanks Shellman, and thanks Ratster!
This means we'll have to update a lot of our sections... we'll do that ASAP.
News post made Monday, September 18, 2000 by Calis
Official site updated
The Creature Compendium over at the official Arcanum site got updated. This time, we get a peek at the demi-lich. Undead are scaaaaary...
News post made Monday, September 18, 2000 by Calis
Tim interviewed at CGO
Yep, Computer Games Online posted an interview with the designer/programmer/CEO we all love, Tim Cain. Tim talks about a lot of stuff, including the Fallout games, Troika, and of course Arcanum.
News post made Monday, September 18, 2000 by Calis
Shellman speaks!
Sharon Shellman dropped by the Arcanum Inn earlier today and let us know what's happening over at Troika.
Ahem... infobits... Well... First you've got to ask some questions! Or I suppose I can just go rambling... :p
Here's what's going on currently...
We're working on bug stomping the beta. Its pretty much THE priority right now. We've narrowed it down to a small list (It actually fits on half a page!) So it shouldn't be long now.
As for the game as a whole, nearly all quests are in and implemented. Caladon (the second largest city in Arcanum) and Ashbury (a major shipping hub) were finalized last week, and are ready for testing. We're working hard balancing combat and thieving right now, as well as the different monsters. Chad and Jason have been hard at work on the pagan gods of Arcanum, and we have ensured that you will see a cool new screen shot and two additions to the Creature Compendium every Monday on the official page.
All in all, we're keeping pretty busy. We are all VERY excited about the way Arcanum is coming together. Its turning out to be a truly amazing game.
shellman
and:
"Not to worry. There will be plenty of time to sign up. And we'll let you all know when the forms go up. It will be VERY soon.
We're working on our last, very short list of "must fixes" prior to releasing this baby to you guys. Hang in there a little longer, its almost ready. :o)
shellman
ps - LOL you guys are a riot! Ok - you can stop kissing up now, I know you really, really, really want to be on the beta. We'll let you know when/where to sign up :o) shellman"
It sounds like the beta is close enough to touch, even. Expect us to keep you updated on when, where and how to sign up.
News post made Saturday, September 16, 2000 by Xerophyte
Update at the Official Site
As promised by Sharon Shellman earlier, the official site was updated with something more than a new screenshot today. Sierra has actually started an entirely new section of the site, the Creature Compendium. Today's featured Creature is the Kite, a small but vicious hunter. Here's an excerpt from the description of the kite.
Through our observations we gleaned that the kite male occupies much of its time with hunting, for the kite prefer flesh and warm blood above all other manner of sustenance. Although their diet primarily consists of wild hare, boar and an occasional bear, it was our grievous task to observe that elven flesh seems to be a preferred delicacy of the kite. Through close studies of the hunt, we now know that kites are malicious in nature and enjoy as much the sport of tormenting their prey as they do the actual killing.
Sound like just the thing to make that stroll in the forest a bit more interesting, wouldn't you say? Go read it all now!
News post made Monday, September 11, 2000 by Xerophyte
Poll added
Just scroll down to the bottom of the news page... The first one is about the soon-to-start beta.
News post made Saturday, September 9, 2000 by Calis
More screenies
A site called GameAddicts has been kind enough to post seven new screenshots to satisfy our fanboy cravings. Go check 'em out now!
News post made Saturday, September 9, 2000 by Xerophyte
Content! Yay!
Everyone's fave Troika office manager, Sharon Shellman, visited the Aranum Inn message board today and let us know that...
There will be some new *stuff* (not just screen shots) up Monday. :o)
shellman
Whee! It's about time we got some new official stuff to drool over, methinks.
News post made Saturday, September 9, 2000 by Xerophyte
7 new screenshots at gamescreenshots.com
Gamescreenshots.com scored 7 brand new shots of the game we all love...
News post made Friday, September 8, 2000 by Calis
Beta info from Shellman
A few infobits Sharon Shellman posted on the Inn concerning the soon-to-start beta:
You are getting the actual game. (but only a few of the areas) So you will be able to choose either a pre-generated character, or make your own from scratch. (adjusting stats/skills/spells/tech to your hearts content) :o)
and:
Egad! Don't check a post for a couple of days and look what happens...
I was a little too vague. Sorry. What I meant was, the "press" demo and the beta will contain the same first 3 areas of the game. This will be the actual game, in its current form, minus multi-player and the editor.
The demo that (I think) is currently scheduled for release around christmas will be smaller in scope than the beta/press demo. I believe it will have the first 2 areas (not 3) so as not to give too much of the story away.
So those of you that get in on the beta will see a lot more of the game than those who have to wait for the demo.
Sorry about not clarifying this sooner.
and:
In the beta:
- You will actually be able to wander "anywhere", we've actually removed the other areas, so you will not be able to find them, even if you go to where they should be. (sneaky, huh?)
-Your characters will probably be able to obtain level 20 by the end of the beta.
-The beta encompasses bout 20% of the game. The first 2 areas are small, but the third area you will be exploring is Tarant. The hugest city in the game. Tarant has a very large number of side quests that the main story arc does not rely on, so you will only be seeing 1/13th of the main plot. So it shouldn't spoil anything for you guys, just make you want more. :o)
- You will probably not be able to bring any save games from the beta into the final game. Because we are using the beta for balancing, we will probably be moving/adding/deleting people and items from the beta to the final, and this would corrupt your save game.
- We are very much hoping that the beta testers will play through the beta many times over, with different types of characters. That way we will get plenty of feedback on gameplay and balance issues. (and of course, bugs too)
and:
We're fixing a few more things before we consider it ready. If all goes well, the version we send to Sierra this Saturday will be it. If not... then soon. :o)
There. That should satisfy your lust for info on the beta.
News post made Friday, September 8, 2000 by Calis
Zipped uberFAQ available
The title says it all... Stravaig suggested that we put up a zipped UberFAQ, and here it is.
News post made Thursday, September 7, 2000 by Calis
Brand new screenshot of the week!
Yep, a new one over at the official site. Dig it.
News post made Wednesday, September 6, 2000 by Calis
8 New screenshots at Gamespy
Check 'em out here. I will copy them to our own archive later.
News post made Friday, September 1, 2000 by Calis
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