Last week, iDigitalTimes spoke with Umbra game director Daniel Dolui about some of the core gameplay concepts outlined on the project's Kickstarter page. We covered topics from player housing to the basic gameplay experience, along with some of the features that will help separate Umbra from other popular, isometric action-RPGs. Fortunately, we've been able to coerce a bit more information out of Mr. Dolui, giving us a better idea of what to expect from Umbra when the game heads to PC and Linux.
Without a doubt, the game's Apocalyptic Forms have been one of the most-talked-about features being planned for Umbra. Naturally, we had some questions about the feature; specifically, regarding how Apocalyptic Forms would be incorporated into the Umbra campaign and the various ways that players will be able to alter their character's Apocalyptic Form.
"Apocalyptic Form actually comes from a pen & paper RPG where I discovered the concept," Dolui told iDigitalTimes. "An Apocalyptic Form is created thanks to three 'Apocalyptic Upgrades'. Each of these upgrades will provide new power and visual [qualities for] your character; such as wings to perform huge leaps, Horns to rush enemies and knock them down, additional arms to equip with weapons, or Death Aura raising undead everywhere you walk."
The upgrades made available to each player will depend largely on his/her play style. Dolui says those who frequently use fire spells will end up with similarly-natured Apocalyptic Upgrades. The example offered by Dolui is an upgrade called Body of Fire; an Apocalyptic Upgrade that turns the players skin into fire (while transformed), grants immunity from Fire damage and allows Umbra players to regain a small amount of health from fire-based attacks.
Of course, if one Apocalyptic Upgrade can provide so many new abilities, you can probably imagine how powerful a form derived from three Apocalyptic Upgrades will be. Thankfully, SolarFall Games is taking steps to ensure the Apocalyptic Form doesn't break the rest of the Umbra experience.
"The Apocalyptic Form has a long refresh delay, and is designed to be used in front of great threats that will often spawn in the game," Dolui told iDigi. "You will need to time its use correctly."
Your Apocalyptic Form won't be the only resource that must be managed wisely, either. Like many RPGs, Dolui confirms Umbra will feature a hard level cap for player characters. However, the game's ability and customization systems will apparently let players continue to improve their favorite hero(s) long after the Umbra level cap has been reached. And those hoping to tackle Umbra's toughest challenges
"High level gameplay will be more about horizontal progression than vertical," Dolui said. "The more you play, the more skills or Apocalyptical Upgrades you will get. Each will grant new/more options to fight with and the potential to create new combinations of powers."
From the sounds of things, Umbra's endgame will share more in common with Guild Wars than Diablo 3, which allow players to improve characters' stats long after the game's level cap has been reached. In the beginning, those extra skills will give you new and interesting ways to take down enemies you've already bested. Eventually, the extra power at your disposal will give Umbra players what they need to conquer the endgame content designed by SolarFall Games. And that endgame content could be quite time-consuming, based on early words from Umbra's lead programmer.
"Once the single player campaigns are finished, players will unlock the possibility to enter an endless dungeon with increasing difficulty," Dolui told iDigi. "Dungeons will be randomly generated, and at some point, some 'dungeon modifiers' will appear, like rocks falling from the roof, damaging and blocking you, or a level will be entirely frozen so your character will be snared if he is in the cold for too long."
SolarFall Games hopes to add side quests to the dungeons, further challenging those who've bested every obstacle the Umbra team throws their way. Dolui didn't share details on what to expect from the side quests -- like details on whether they'd require killing certain numbers of creatures or reaching a certain point in the dungeon -- but extra quests would undoubtedly extend the feature's life.
Dolui also shared some insight on SolarFall Games' current slate of stretch goals for Umbra's Kickstarter campaign. Unlike so many crowdfunding efforts, SolarFall has compiled a surprisingly-modest collection of extra content that can be funded by the Umbra community. Even the game's multiplayer component, which some might assume would be a must for this sort of action-RPG, will be funded piece by piece.
Some may be disappointed to hear that the inclusion of female characters is also directly tied to the success of the Umbra campaign. The only way Umbra will include playable female characters is if the game's crowdfunding campaign crosses the $360,000 threshold. But Dolui says there's a reasonable explanation for the decision.
"The female character has been set as a stretch goal, because the initial funding really focuses on gameplay and the freedom we can give to players," said Dolui. "The female stretch goal [exists] because we [don't want] to simply do a reskin of an existing model. We want to create a new model, skins, animations, armour sets and a campaign specifically for the female character"
A company can hardly be faulted for accounting for each potential expense it faces; particularly when asking the general public to donate money to a game's developmental fund. That said, SolarFall Games' handling of female avatars could very well land the studio in hot water with some corners of the gaming community, particularly in the wake of The Witcher 3's well-documented race issues.
With roughly three full days left in the Umbra campaign, the game could very well raise the $32,000 needed to fund its final stretch goal. In fact, Thursday already brought word that Umbra's multiplayer Hero Defense Mode has been funded by the community. But SolarFall Games could see some pushback from its community if Umbra, a game that touts its player-customization systems at every opportunity, launches without a playable female character.
Unfortunately, we couldn't pry much else out of Umbra's lead programmer (slash game director) but those who'd like to learn more about Umbra are encouraged to read our previous interview with the Daniel Dolui and/or stop by Umbra's Kickstarter page. Those tired of reading can also check out the Umbra overview video embedded below.
Be sure to check back with iDigitalTimes.com and follow Scott on Twitter for additional Umbra coverage throughout the game's remaining time in development and for however long SolarFall Games continues to support Umbra in the months after launch.
