Any light on Shadow?

[Bob Morane]

Sorry for the bad joke

Some time ago (before BTS), it was stated that the first FFH version using BTS would also be the first release of Shadow.
Then there was a 2.24 "beta" version, now we have 2.25. If i understand correctly it added quite a few new features over the "old" fire 2.23, but it's NOT shadow yet, even thought it might not be fire any more ...
So, does anyone have a vague idea how long it will be until Shadow is be released? Are you waiting for a new patch? Already working on it? Too busy to answer such a trivial thread ?

I'm sorry to bother you with this, but i reeeeaaaaly wish to play the Svartalfars

[MagisterCultuum]

Kael said he was hoping to start work on Shadow last Friday, but I think .25 bugs have probably kept him too busy. He'll probably start as soon as .25 seems stable and free of major bugs. I don't know how long it will take to write once he starts.

[seZereth]

everyone can speed up the process by bughunting and balance observation so, gogogogo...
and by sending pms to ploeperpengel, as he wanted to be responsible for the svartalfar art

[Dora190]

The mod developer's bug bear....'When are you going to release...'

Given that the number of patches has slowed of late I think its already being worked on. I love FFH and I'll wait, every time I got a good game going in .25 a patch came out....

Keep up the good work. Its been a very long time since I've seen such a professionally built mod with technical support! Some Software houses could take a leaf from your book.

[DeaExMachina]

Originally Posted by seZereth

everyone can speed up the process by bughunting and balance observation so, gogogogo...
and by sending pms to ploeperpengel, as he wanted to be responsible for the svartalfar art

Are you no longer going to use the female art set for the Svartalfar that came with your modmod? Aside from the icon art making it difficult to distinguish units when I'm trying to mess with what I'm building I really enjoyed that set up. I always thought that female set fit the Drow based race really well.

[Zuul]

What new things will be done for Shadow? What are the plans? Could we know some parts . So we have more to long for :P.

[Mailbox]

Originally Posted by Zuul

What new things will be done for Shadow? What are the plans? Could we know some parts . So we have more to long for :P.

Two new religions
- Esus (Shadow Mana)
- Empyrean (Sun Mana)

Three civilizations are getting major work done on them
- Balseraphs
- Sidar
- Svartalfar

More events, better AI, and that's all I can think of off the top of my head.

[BeefontheBone]

Espionage, Hidden Nationality and Invisibility will play bigger parts I'd imagine.

[Bob Morane]

Originally Posted by Dora190

The mod developer's bug bear....'When are you going to release...'

Well, it' THEIR fault if we are so impatiens, why did they have to create such a great mod anyway

I once read somewhere an equipment system would be created at some point, but i'm unsure it's for shadow or ice. Quests were to be added for shadow too. It was discussed religions could then be founded by quests, but i don't know if this will really happen. BTS implementation of quests makes them rather random so it might not work.

[Morkonan]

I'm really looking forward to see how equipment is handled and, most especially and most earnestly, I'm very excited to see how quests will work.

A long time ago, there was a game based on a failed TSR Milieu called "Birthright." Now, the milieu wasn't too horrible, it just didn't have a lot of appeal. The game was buggy as heck and pretty clunky. However, it did something no other game had done: It incorporated an adventure/quest/dungeon crawl system and let your characters quest for artifacts and earn exp to use in "epic battles." Very similar to the general mechanics of "Heroes of Might and Magic" except the quests were FPS with your party of heroes and much like playing an RPG. It was a brave effort, terribly coded.

I would never expect to see a return to those mechanics, but the possibility of sending out a band of heroes in FFAII on a quest that nets a nice item, artifact or ability would be awesome! Of course, sending them out with suitable cannon fodder to throw at big nasty monsters is something I'm looking forward to as well.

[Vortex79]

Good things come to those who wait. Lettem get.025 working properly then they can knock out shadow.

[poliorcet_13]

They did an awesome job already. And they are developping and debugging very quickly.
I never have time to play and see every part of a new version because a new one is coming.

[Civkid1991]

is this the phase metamagic becomes playable?

[MagisterCultuum]

Possibly. We do know that Shadow and Sun spheres will be added. Ice may wait until Ice. I have know idea when Metamagic, creation, etc will be added.

[Bob Morane]

OK, as i said i ONCE read somewhere that equipment MIGHT be added. It's not sure, and it might come later. Quests will probably be added thought, as there is already a basic quest system in BTS and several quests in Age of Ice

[nealhunt]

Are there any rumors/teasers/spoilers about the Balseraph revamp for Shadow?

I have a strategy for a Balseraph/Keelyn "culture crush" but since they are apparently being heavily worked for the Shadow release, I don't see much point in developing it. I'm hoping that with the inclusion of espionage it could be a "Spy Crush" instead. Having gypsy wagons working espionage points in addition to gold and culture (or instead of), would be nifty.

With good espionage Balseraphs could be the ultimate leach civ. Spam the other civ's cities with wagons, pop Loki around to pick off fringe settlements, culture bomb with the artists, and steal tech via espionage.

[sumit1207]

Originally Posted by nealhunt

Are there any rumors/teasers/spoilers about the Balseraph revamp for Shadow?

I have a strategy for a Balseraph/Keelyn "culture crush" but since they are apparently being heavily worked for the Shadow release, I don't see much point in developing it. I'm hoping that with the inclusion of espionage it could be a "Spy Crush" instead. Having gypsy wagons working espionage points in addition to gold and culture (or instead of), would be nifty.

With good espionage Balseraphs could be the ultimate leach civ. Spam the other civ's cities with wagons, pop Loki around to pick off fringe settlements, culture bomb with the artists, and steal tech via espionage.

In the Design:Religions thread, it mentions 5 unimplemented new religions. There are the Empyreans and Council of Esus, which will be added soon. There's the White Hand from Age of Ice. The two remaining are the Emrys, for the Sheaim, and the Stewards of Inequity, for the Balseraphs. Maybe they'll be added as cults? Guilds? Or maybe they're just some lore/history facts that aren't actually on the game plan.