DARK STEPS - New Free DLC

[TattleTale]

Howdy TTS'ers !

We are just about ready to launch Dark Steps (Sept 23). This is new single player content for TTS. I have posted a video here for those interested in the project.

[url]https://youtu.be/jB59lgTI060[/url]

I'd love to hear some first impressions. - tt

[MrStump]

I just want to say I have a hefty bit of appreciation for what must have been a HUGE amount of scripting. It looks like a lot of fun, and I'm expecting it to be the most impressive mod made for TTS to date.

[Lucky seven]

I'm With MrStump... That's a fantastic piece of work.

My Hat goes off to you for the effort involved in putting this together. It really shows just how versatile the TTS sandbox can be if you set your mind to it



That said I think this falls squarely in the "Original Content" Category So I'm moving it to that section where it can be better discussed.

Great Work TattleTale

[Mark]

Looks boring to me, seems like if you wanted to make a dungeon crawler you'd be better off doing it outside of TTS - and I'm sure there are far better ones out there.

[TheRaven81]

Looks boring to me, seems like if you wanted to make a dungeon crawler you'd be better off doing it outside of TTS - and I'm sure there are far better ones out there.

You might be right, would it kill you though, to keep that comment to yourself? Unless you can name what the "far better ones" are? I mean - I'll be honest, I probably wouldn't play Dark Steps because the genre just isn't my thing. I still took a look at it however, and for what it is, it's a magnificent piece of work. Very well done, and I commend TattleTale and anyone else who may have been involved.

[dizneyguy]

Looks boring to me, seems like if you wanted to make a dungeon crawler you'd be better off doing it outside of TTS - and I'm sure there are far better ones out there.

Geez - who pee'd in your Wheaties this morning? That genre isn't of interest to me either, but I can applaud the effort.

[TheRaven81]

So I gave it a better chance today, and actually tried to play, and here's my opinion:

It looks and plays like a video game. So I would probably have to agree with Mark in the respect that if you really wanted to build a dungeon crawler like this one, then it was probably a better project for another engine. It's not very traditionally designed, where you play with a board and pieces on it with dice or tiles, etc. and simulate an actual tabletop environment. I don't think it goes with the spirit of what Tabletop Simulator was originally designed for. What I mean is - you couldn't play something like this physically, at your own table at home. It "might be possible", if you used an augmented reality board that you looked at through your phone or tablet device's camera with a companion application - to see the board pop out of your table, like it is here, have buttons on the screen of the app to move you around, etc. - but by that point again, it might be better suited for another engine, as an actual video game.

If I look at it as one - it's very classic and retro in design, in that it moves you one room at a time when you go in a direction, kind of similar to something like "Dungeon Quest", or "Shadowgate"(both of which I really enjoyed as a kid), and probably took a lot of effort to get that sort of thing done here in TTS. The user interface looks well done. The "Saved Game embedded into a tile" kind of takes you back to the 80's when storage space was small and if you wanted to save your game you had to put it on another disk, and use it to continue your progress.

TL:DR= It's very well done, but it'd probably be better suited as a video game in another engine, and it doesn't really fit with the spirit of TTS.

[TattleTale]

When I was a kid, I would sit at my kitchen table and build dungeons with shoe boxes, construction paper, and little plastic figures. TTS allows us to do this in a virtual environment. Dark Steps is designed very much with the spirit of a tabletop game. Progress is strategic and every number matters. Still, it will only please a small group of people - but that is the beauty of TTS; we can do anything.

In regards to TheRaven81 actually playing Dark Steps: I very much hope there is not an incomplete copy of the game floating around out there. It will only serve to confuse potential players. Many of the features would not be working properly on any leaked build of the module. If you (Raven) did get a hold of a copy, could you please let me know where you got it? I’d like to know if I can trust the Steam Workshop system.

I have played these kinds of games my entire life (well before computers). I believe that Dark Steps is fun, engaging and offers TTS players an alternative gaming style while they are puttering about solo, or waiting on friends to join them. The game is designed for those few that will like it, for the rest, TTS offers more choices than any gamer could hope for.

[TheRaven81]

OK, so how would you play Dark Steps at your own kitchen table? Explain to me how you would create a physical version.

[MrStump]

I disagree with you here, Raven, respectfully. With all the pieces and a dungeon master, there is no reason why a version of this couldn't be played on a table. They even says that with their imagination they played similar games on table. The scripting is just acting as a DM.

There are also already VERY popular "non TT games" on TTS. Like TTS racing. I like to see imaginative uses of the tools provided. IMO, that kind of creativity is very much in the spirit of TTS.

[Knil]

Looking awesome! Love to see the creativity from the community.

[Mark]

You might be right, would it kill you though, to keep that comment to yourself? Unless you can name what the "far better ones" are? I mean - I'll be honest, I probably wouldn't play Dark Steps because the genre just isn't my thing. I still took a look at it however, and for what it is, it's a magnificent piece of work. Very well done, and I commend TattleTale and anyone else who may have been involved.

I just replied with my honest first impression, this doesn't interest me in the slightest.
Just look at [url=https://itch.io/games/tag-dungeon-crawler]this page[/url], right there is over 300 free dungeon crawlers I could play on my own.
Search through Steam for [url=http://store.steampowered.com/search/?snr=1_news_news__12&term=Dungeon+Crawler]"Dungeon Crawler"[/url], plenty of paid for games which are story-driven and are 10x more interesting.

The problem with this for me is that there's no Multiplayer aspect, only one player plays and the rest can only watch (which can be done with TeamViewer anyway...). Maybe if there was something more I would certainly appreciate it.

[TattleTale]

There is no doubt that Dark Steps will only appeal to a select group. I understand Mark's point. But for those who are interested, you will find that the 'Dungeon Crawl' aspect of the game is only the backdrop. The real game is a move by move strategy game meant to engage the player on a calculating level. During beta, we have had many run-throughs from start to victory in just over an hour. Other times, the dungeons can be relentlessly difficult. All-in-all, players are laughing, cheering and having a good time. We shall see what Friday brings. I am hoping for the best.

[Sancho]

This looks great! Good work!

[TattleTale]

Dark Steps will be posting as a Public Workshop in just a few hours. Thank you all for the valuable feedback.

[url]http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=747290626[/url]

[Lucky seven]

Dark Steps will be posting as a Public Workshop in just a few hours. Thank you all for the valuable feedback.

Congrats ! looking forward to seeing how this plays have you looked at adding in your own animated figures now Asset bundles are a thing ?

[Knil]

Look forward to trying it out

[TattleTale]

Here is a quick report on the first 48 hours of Dark Steps. I know many of you post your own material for download, and as creators we are all interested in how our creations are received. My thinking is: that my experience at this time might help you better evaluate your own results during a "launch" /insert air bunnies here.

So far it is pretty quiet over on Steam. About 65 subscribers and about 3 times that amount of traffic on my web analytics (this at least indicates that people are firing up the module more than once). As for comments, only 1, and that is the hard part - no feedback to know what might need adjusting. It is still early in the weekend, and my hopes remain high. I got a message that a player had reached the Gate Keeper and that had me cheering.

I don’t know if this is of any interest to you fellow artists and designers, but who else could I tell?

Thanks gang!

[dig65]

One observation: you used the same mod that you used during development so when it became public is was already "old" from Steam's point of view. That probably affected its exposure.