Topia Online -> Inspired by Haven & Hearth

[joshrmt]

Hey, just wanted to say hello to the Haven & Hearth community. My name is Josh, and my game development team has been developing a sandbox game that has been deeply inspired by games like Haven & Hearth. I just wanted to give a shout out to the Haven & Hearth development team (and Salem!). It's a niche and risky style of game, and many game developers are afraid to build games like this. I am hoping to go above and beyond what other sandbox games have done. I've been at work on the game engine for over a year now, and it's finally coming together to a playable state. The great thing is, we are reaching out to the community to create many of the game's features.

Here is our feature list:
- A fully player-run world, where every creature is controlled by players.
- Permadeath ensures that each player takes responsibility for their actions.
- A powerful crafting system that allow players to create homes or dungeons.
- Dynamic procedurally generated sandbox world with no 'safe zones'.
- Every character is always 'logged in', resulting in a true persistent world.
- Play as any creature in the game, including wolves, vampires, or dragons.
- Built-in scripting system allows players to create artificial intelligence.
- Support for thousands of scripted characters on a single game server.
- Fully customizable game interface allows players to play the way they want.

We are 2 months away from a beta test. We'll be launching at Kickstarter at the end of November. Please follow our dev blog, wiki, and forum for information about the game:

http://www.topiaonline.com

[jordancoles]

I signed up for beta
Will pvp be instanced then? Because with the current camera angle of the game open world pvp will just feel empty and awkward.

[joshrmt]

Great! We should be able to start inviting people next month.

[jordancoles]

Updated my post with a question but posting again since you read the original and have likely left the thread lol

[sabinati]

is the scripting server-side or client-side? are scripted characters persistent or does one have to have some kind of client logged in for them to be active?

[joshrmt]

Combat takes place in a 'cinematic' window in real-time off of the normal map. There is some discussion about this on the Topia Online forums.

All of the scripts you create are stored and run on the server. This means that your character will continue to perform actions even after you have logged out of the game and closed your game client. You do not need to stay logged in for your character to continue to perform activities.

[dagrimreefah]

Please save us from the ruins Josh!

[DDDsDD999]

Looks interesting, the instance pvp sounds a bit strange, along with the animal controlling thing, but will still look into it.

[Phaen]

Will there eventually be a real-money cash shop or a mandatory subscription?

How important are "homes and dungeons" ... is the nomadic life equally as viable as settling down?

Are there any NPCs, and if there are can they die (permanently)?

How many hrs or days must be invested before murder is possible on a new character?

How does one go about finding his murderer to get revenge/reparations?

Is there anywhere on the map (player-made or not) that allows you to be 100% safe from retaliation?

Are all cities / villages / settlements player-made? (wilderness at server start?)

Is there a (weightless, volumeless) ingame currency? If so, how is it initially produced/earned?

[btaylor]

The races definitely look interesting. I would love to live in a stereotypical monster village, living in peace with the ever-growing fear of human encroachment. Filthy humans! I want to make a zombie and name him Dead Tom from Muppet Treasure Island. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=luL04dSHl54

I don't know whether or not I like the idea of cinematic combat. What's going on in the world around you when you're locked in combat with someone? Are you given a moment of rest before being attacked again or can you basically be perpetually locked in combat with someone, eventually being worn down by sheer numbers rather than individual skill? I guess it's no different from H&H combat where you get jumped by 5 guys at once, but it seems you can have one person with little to no strength keep someone busy long enough until the cavalry arrives.

There is one thing I must disagree with, that's mentioned in the wiki under perma death.

Implement a combat system that allows a character to defend himself in the event of disconnects/lag/AFK. Topia Online provides a scripting language that allows players to fully customize their character's combat routines. These routines could either be designed by the player themself, or shared and accessed from the community marketplace.

I would rather have people who are experiencing lag or disconnection be immune to entering combat with anything. People who are AFK shouldn't be given protection, they should just log out to avoid being killed. Automated anything is a bad idea in my opinion.

But regardless I will still keep an eye on this game. It looks very interesting. I would also like to see customizable player characters so everyone isn't the same generic Fabio.