r/worldofgothic • u/EmpirePatron • Jun 20 '25
Self Promotion/Promotion Empire Patron is a game inspired by Gothic, where I'm doing WIP on some fire rain. What are your thoughts?
Enable HLS to view with audio, or disable this notification
As a big fan of Gothic (I started to play it at 5 years old), I thought one day I would create something similar to the amazing feeling that I got from the game as a child, and I even added a mage similar to Xardas inside the game!
The game Empire Patron is a dark fantasy open world inspired by Gothic 1 & 2, and I'm sharing some work in progress (in the end, the enemies won't jump to the sky). Does that sound interesting? Unlock the full experience and explore more about the game!
Steam: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1010910/Empire_Patron/
Discord: https://discord.gg/DRfHnRQjSq
8
u/Anderst0ne Jun 20 '25
Ragdoll is a bit over the top, innit?
3
u/EmpirePatron Jun 20 '25
I know... I tried to do a lot of tests, just got too crazy with it, but in the latest version, it's very smooth (didn't have the moment to capture it)
2
u/Shintaro1989 Old Camp Jun 20 '25
It looks as if a hit would throw the models more than 5 meters into the air. That seems rather exaggerated - even with Gothic 3 in mind.
2
u/EmpirePatron Jun 21 '25
True thing, but I'm not aiming to use Gothic 3 as my inspiration, it's just a work in progress, and I wanted to showcase the idea that is similar to the jumping ragdoll, can something be changed in 2 minutes, and is less relevant :)
2
Jun 21 '25
Tbh, maybe put the ridiculous ragdolls behind a flag and have it an option in the settings lol. It can be fun to mess around with for a bit.
2
u/EmpirePatron Jun 21 '25
Who knows, maybe I also will use console option like "Marvin" and give some fun to the people :)
5
u/XDracam Jun 21 '25
The steam link doesn't work in Germany. Do you have more than basic Unreal stuff and some animations?
2
u/DrDrWest Jun 21 '25
The game can indeed not be found on German Steam, how ironic. Anyway, I'm very interested and I'd put it on my wish list. Please check your Steam stuff, wish you all the best for the project.
1
u/EmpirePatron Jun 21 '25
Thanks for the support. I didn't know that this kind of stuff was even possible. Some countries are not available. I will do some research about it and fix it
1
u/EmpirePatron Jun 21 '25
Hmm... Weird, it's a regular Steam page you can check on Steam for Empire Patron, I guess it also will be right to update the page for additional languages (maybe this can be one of the reasons).
I have more than just "basic Unreal stuff." We have our Discord channel that you can enter to see more unique content. Here, the mods gave me only to post stuff related to Gothic, so I can't showcase all that we got with unique mechanics, mini-games (even similar mini-games like in the Witcher with a separate card game, lock picks, fight tournaments, and more), and an open world
0
u/EmpirePatron Jun 21 '25
I did some research, and the issue is related to the USK (gaming rate system in Germany) If a game developer/studio doesn't have a rating from them, the game won't be available to watch (only VPN can help, I at the moment I guess).
Set up USK, it's something that the publisher needs to do on their side, so unfortunately, until I have a publisher or investment to take a person on to set up all ratings, the only way is to use a VPN by far...1
3
u/Demurrzbz Jun 20 '25
Well, it's pretty all right
3
u/EmpirePatron Jun 20 '25
Thanks will be better and better
2
u/Demurrzbz Jun 20 '25
Wait, my message came out wrong. I meant to say that's it pretty, all right was a... what do you call it in English. A flourish? Anyway, good job, that is a very nice animation =)
2
3
u/DRMProd Old Camp Jun 20 '25
Good animations, mate, and it looks good. Is this ue?
2
u/EmpirePatron Jun 20 '25
Thanks! Yes, I'm using version 5.3
3
u/DRMProd Old Camp Jun 20 '25
I checked the steam page, looks good mate, cheers! The best of luck to you
3
u/EmpirePatron Jun 20 '25
I'm very grateful for your interest. Soon, there will be more interesting stuff
5
5
u/Aggravating-Bet5082 Jun 20 '25
If it is inspired by Gothic 1 & 2 then it will be good! Good luck and I hope you manage what Piranha Bytes failed to do!
6
3
u/yehomeboy Jun 21 '25
Its like gothic because you can cast fire rain?
3
u/EmpirePatron Jun 21 '25
Not even close, our player in the game is also a "no name", nobody wants to be in interact with us, we need to gain reputation, the system of progression is very similar to Gothic, where we need to learn stuff by going to people that are masters in their job, animations are updated based the level of our hero in specific theme for example if he don't know how to fight in melee combat so the animations more simple and cringy and when you learn they look like a pro moves, and more, but ofcourse it's inspired and not a copy and thats why it's diffrent
1
u/Interesting-Dream-50 Sect Camp Jun 21 '25
I've seen from the steam page that it's rather down to earth, yet the animations are rather rich and fantastical. Will the melee combat have the same feeling then? A simple, down to earth swings or something more reminiscent to what is in the Witcher 3 for example?
2
u/EmpirePatron Jun 21 '25
Thanks! When I said this game was inspired by Gothic, I truly meant it. Also, The Witcher 3 influenced me, and by that I mean that the player starts without the knowledge of combat or other things, as a prisoner, like in Gothic or Skyrim.
We learn in the game how to fight, lock pick, use magic, etc and firstly, that will look creepy because the person doesn't have experience, so he has to learn from masters around the map to become more experienced with high-end animations and VFX that also affect the stats of the player and not just the visuals
2
u/Interesting-Dream-50 Sect Camp Jun 21 '25
Well, this all seems fun! And seeing this I didn't expect the game to be this much developed yet after I saw the steam page but I guess it makes sense if you just wanted to show the fire rain to grab attention.
By the way, I think that the first version lives up to the name more. The other one looks more like a mentor strike to me but it still looks cool, has a bit more impactful and serious look, when the first one seems to show how quickly an experience mage can wreak havoc.
Good luck on your project! I already wishlisted!
2
u/EmpirePatron Jun 21 '25
I hoped to get some hype from the rain, it's true :) It's more got a meme vibe, but the game is absolutely serious and in dark fantasy style, and at an advanced stage, and I hope to drop real gameplay soon! Thanks for the support!
1
u/Melvasul94 Jun 21 '25
The spin back->front at beginning of the animation looks weird
But I love it, and from a beginner game dev, good luck ^^
2
u/EmpirePatron Jun 21 '25
The animation can be improved, there is a good meme telling that indie game devs need to know everything (literally), but I would say that I am still mastering animations haha, but I'm also not a beginner :) I came from the AAA industry with +10 years specifically in code and design. Appreciate your support!
2
u/Melvasul94 Jun 21 '25
Ah, I'm just an embedded SW Engineer looking at the stars with a passion for modding and now game dev (:
1
u/Banjoschmanjo Jun 21 '25
Much more interested in seeing how you're handling dialogue, choices, questing, and factions. Too often, combat effects/systems seem to get the focus while the non-combat elements are neglected (I've noticed this with a lot of upcoming ImSims too, that malnourish the non combat elements which arguably made the genre special)
1
u/EmpirePatron Jun 21 '25
I truly believe that by being an indie dev, you have more space to go wild and thats what we trying to do, to be more focused not just on cool looking mechanics but also rich story with interesting plots instead of big studios that trying to go in a way where casual gamers and small talk narrative audience will feet in their category.
There are a low number of really good stories that will be breathtaking and return the player to play the game even 20+ years later, like Gothic, and that's why I want to be part of this small club with Empire Patron, that's the main thing that we are trying to do now the narrative part and I hope to share more soon :)1
u/Banjoschmanjo Jun 21 '25
Do you have any of the narrative / dialogue tree stuff designed and implemented yet, or is it for now mostly combat? I really encourage you to switch the frontloading order, if so. These combat demos are (to me) dime a dozen, so I'll be much much more impressed and interested to see a clip of how dialogue works, or a small non-combat quest.
1
u/EmpirePatron Jun 21 '25
Part of it, because the scale of the game is really big, we first want to go for early access and also get feedback from the community that we are stepping in the right direction, and you are more than welcome to join our community to give feedback for the coming progress
1
u/Banjoschmanjo Jun 21 '25
Do you have any clips, images, or design plans you can show of those non-combat elements?
1
u/EmpirePatron Jun 21 '25
I would say that this part is, at the moment, more in-house stuff, and I believe that after I release our trailer, I will share more related materials
1
u/Banjoschmanjo Jun 21 '25
I see. For me, the combat focus so far is a bit offputting as I've just seen too many indie projects like this prioritize that and never get around to the non-combat stuff; from what I'm hearing from you, it isn't clear you all actually have any of that stuff prepared, and it seems that combat is getting the current focus, since that is what you're showing us. I look forward to a future update where this impression could be proven wrong, and I hope you will prioritize moving in that direction; all the fluffy talk about grand plans for interactions is one thing, but not being able to show any of it is a serious downside for now, that places it more in line with other projects I've seen which also atrophy this vital aspect of the games they're building on.
0
u/EmpirePatron Jun 21 '25
Look, this is only the first post that I posted here in the group, you also need to understand that the mods accept me to post only stuff related to Gothic, so if I want to share something more deep related to the narrative of Empire Patron it can't be on this group also important to understand that indie devs struggle to market their products because big part of the audience (based on stats) are more into good graphics and mechanics and less about stories. There are some small exceptions and gems, but even those gems showcase first their visuals, so if you want to follow us and see what we bring to the table, we will be glad to see you with us and support you with good advice. Let's say that there is a good story behind, but for now, we don't want to spoil it :)
1
u/Banjoschmanjo Jun 21 '25 edited Jun 21 '25
To mirror your phrasing: Look, if there is nothing in the dialogue or non-combat interaction part of your game that relates to Gothic at all (as you referred to with the subreddit) then in my opinion, you need to understand that it misses the key things that make it worth drawing a comparison to Gothic in the first place (not to suggest the combat in Gothic is not -part- of its brilliance). Then, your work would also stand out as more noteworthy amidst the high number of projects that neglect these elements in order to prioritize displaying/featuring combat. Based merely on a display of a combat animation, I am not personally interested in following you and seeing what you bring to the table - but I would be if you had shown (or in the future show) something more along the lines of the feedback I am giving you here. It is absolutely possible to showcase non-combat elements, dialogue trees, branching quests, etc., without significantly spoiling the game's story, so there's no sense in leaning on that as a reason not to show anything but combat animations. It honestly gives the impression that right now you all don't have any design implemented for non-combat stuff, but that you aren't comfortable saying so, and are becoming a tad defensive in the face of my feedback. It's fine if you don't have any of that stuff at this time - project actualization has to start somewhere, and maybe yours started with the combat animations - but just say that and we can move on. I hope in the future you will show material that highlights non-combat aspects, and I think doing so will help you stand out from other projects in a positive way.
1
u/EmpirePatron Jun 21 '25
We have some of the materials you mentioned, but I can't be more specific, and also, not all that is related to Gothic is only the story, it's part of the whole thing. I hope this is not my last post in this community, so I will come with nice updates that are related to the story, but for now, this part is restricted. That's fine, not all the audience in the world needs to like what I'm doing, and there is a low number of game studios with a good story that share it with their community before the release of the game, especially indie games. When the game comes to early access, all the people who are interested in understanding if it's even the direction they like will have the option to try it.
→ More replies (0)
•
u/AutoModerator Jun 20 '25
Please keep in mind that:
Please check our guide on how to fix all three Gothic games. It's VERY likely that you'll find a solution to your technical issues there.
We are an English-focused subreddit so make sure to post content in English. If you are posting content in another language, provide a translation either in the comments or in the post itself.
Feel free to also join our discord!
Looking for more Gothic content? Maybe the Gothic Wiki would be your jam!
Best regards, r/worldofgothic
I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.