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Author Topic: Great Houses of Calderia  (Read 7801 times)

Martok

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on: December 15, 2021, 02:41:35 PM
It appears to be a fantasy version of Crusader Kings.  I'm definitely down! 


https://calderiagames.com/

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1812910/Great_Houses_of_Calderia/






"I like big maps and I cannot lie." - Barthheart

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thecommandtent

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Reply #1 on: December 18, 2021, 10:15:30 PM
Curious to see how this develops.



Martok

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Reply #2 on: December 19, 2021, 12:53:13 AM
As am I.  Hopefully the devs start dropping more details soon! 



"I like big maps and I cannot lie." - Barthheart

"I drastically overpaid for this existence." - bbmike


Undercovergeek

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Reply #3 on: December 19, 2021, 03:06:20 AM
Wish listed and watching



Martok

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Reply #4 on: April 30, 2022, 04:04:03 AM
Firesquid Games are seeking more play-testers, for the period of May 6-16.  Apply at the link below! 


https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1YwWIGtKNv1w9iDjly_tn_hpw_mMG2NGd6Px61BqIhGc/viewform?edit_requested=true&fbzx=-367816464622688225



"I like big maps and I cannot lie." - Barthheart

"I drastically overpaid for this existence." - bbmike


Martok

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Reply #5 on: May 07, 2022, 03:36:50 AM
New story trailer: 







They're also still welcoming folks to come and apply for the play-test! 


https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1YwWIGtKNv1w9iDjly_tn_hpw_mMG2NGd6Px61BqIhGc/viewform?edit_requested=true


"I like big maps and I cannot lie." - Barthheart

"I drastically overpaid for this existence." - bbmike


Martok

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Reply #6 on: June 13, 2022, 05:38:35 AM
We finally get our first hint of gameplay footage!  Looks good, though admittedly there's still not much to go on: 







In addition, however, there will be two developer livestreams this coming week during Steam Next Fest: one on Tuesday, and the other on Thursday.  :D 

https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/1812910/view/3355757885637854653

https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/1812910/view/3355757885637855772



"I like big maps and I cannot lie." - Barthheart

"I drastically overpaid for this existence." - bbmike


Martok

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Reply #7 on: June 15, 2022, 06:12:41 AM
I completely missed this bit, but -- seemingly like everyone else at the moment -- Great Houses of Calderia has a demo available this week in conjunction with Steam Next Fest: 

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1812910/Great_Houses_of_Calderia/




They also posted the first developer livestream from yesterday: 






Just from watching the gameplay video, the Crusader Kings inspirations are obvious.  The game is even also in real-time, which I have mixed feelings about, but I can live with.  The overall map view looks excellent.  "Fiefdom" management appears to be functional, if nothing terribly exciting (at least at the moment).  UI/UX looks good, although I'll withhold judgment on how well it actually works (or not) until I can spend a little time with the demo. 

By far one of the game's most unique aspects appears to be the "combat", which frequently takes the form of trade negotiations and social conflicts.  These negotiations and social conflicts involve trying to position the right characters against opposing characters in a sort of tactical mini-game -- something I hope can be auto-resolved if the player chooses, as it appears one could encounter quite a few of these during the course of a campaign.  I really like the concept, however, as it I suspect it could allow your House -- along with the other Houses -- an effective method to "fight" and gain/lose power without having to actually resort to open military hostilities nearly as often. 

The one major caveat that strikes me is that at the moment, the game doesn't appear to be anywhere near ready for release.  Even if that "Q3 2022" release date on Steam is only for Early-Access, I'd say the devs still have a lot of work to do before GHoC will be ready. 


That being said, the game still looks damn interesting.  I'm sad I won't get to spend any real time playing the demo until Thursday, but I definitely intend to do so at that point! 



"I like big maps and I cannot lie." - Barthheart

"I drastically overpaid for this existence." - bbmike


Martok

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Reply #8 on: June 24, 2022, 04:37:02 AM
I'll just say up front that -- much like The Pegasus Expedition -- my experience with the Great Houses of Calderia demo was mixed, albeit for different reasons. 




To begin with, this demo didn't have the ability to save your progress, which will always earn major demerits from me.  I don't care how good or bad a demo is otherwise, if I can't save, you're getting docked for it.  >:( 


With that having been mentioned, a word or two should be said about the game-world, and how it's represented via the map.  The short version is that it looks very good; the artists have definitely earned their pay at every step.  Parts of the map look a bit odd when zooming in/out, but I'm chalking that up to it being a demo.   

Other comments on art & visuals/graphics:  There's no question that Calderia is quite literally a low-fantasy version of Renaissance Italy, just with different geography (which seems appropriate enough).  The map alone makes that clear, even going so far as to display a few Roman-style aqueducts scattered about the land.  The character portraits and background artwork add to the Italian feel, however, as does the music. 

Speaking of...  The music is pleasant, though unremarkable.  (It's also way too quiet at the moment, though I imagine that can be addressed easily enough later on.)  My hope is that more pieces will be added to the soundtrack as the game is further developed. 


Moving onto the gameplay:  Make no bones about it, Calderia openly lifts a lot of elements from the Crusader Kings series.  You start the game with your "home" fiefdom, which is ruled by your family.  Your goal is to climb Calderia's social & political ladder, and build up your power-base -- though what your ultimate goal is supposed to be is not made clear, at least not in the demo.  (Claiming and eventually seizing the throne of Calderia would be an obvious guess, but that's merely speculation on my part.)  You interact with the other families of Calderia, negotiating various deals, diplomatic marriages, etc.  You also must spend time managing your own family and lands, which -- not surprisingly -- can be even trickier than dealing with other Houses.  Again, this will all be very familiar to pretty much anyone who's played any of the CK games. 

What Calderia does a little differently, however, is that it has "social conflicts", which seem to have a greater emphasis over war & battles, although the latter is still in the game as well.  Social conflicts can arise when a diplomatic negotiation isn't going smoothly.  (At least I think?  Honestly, this part seems inconsistent, and I haven't been able to figure out what does and does not trigger them.  Social conflicts seem to happen entirely at the whims of the game, rather than at the instigation of the player.  It's a bit frustrating.) 

These Social Conflicts play out a little bit like real-time small-scale chess games (mini-speed-chess?), wherein your House leader and select "Companions" engage in "battle" against the other House leader and their Companions for certain goals -- paying 10% less than the asking price, acquiring 20% more than the amount of goods originally sought, etc.  Most Social Conflicts have multiple goals, meaning that your House can achieve at least partial victory by successfully "winning" at least one of the goals, even if they lose the other goal(s) that were on the table.  It's also worth noting that Companions are good against a specific other type of Companion (Military, Economy, Intrigue, Diplomacy) while weak against another; this makes for a bit of paper-rock-scissors gameplay in Social Conflicts, which I've yet to decide how much I like it (or not). 

Either way, though, Social Conflicts make for a genuinely interesting mechanic -- perhaps a slightly gamey one, but still pretty cool nonetheless.  i suspect this could end up becoming as much a way for gaining power and taking over Calderia than even military means; and if so, I admit I would not be unhappy at the prospect. 




Just a couple other thoughts/observations for now: 

- Fiefdom management seem a bit bland at the moment.  You can place family members in charge of specific aspects (food production, defenses/taxes, etc.), but at the moment it doesn't feel very interactive.  That could just be related to the fact that you can only play the demo for 12 months of game-time, however; it's very possibly not long enough for your relatives to truly begin developing "personalities" of their own.  Either way, it feels like there could/should be more done with this aspect of the game. 

- It's probably just because it's a demo (and therefore buggy), but tooltips were rather wonky:  Placing the mouse cursor over something frequently brought up the tooltip for the item *next* to what I wanted more info on; multiple attempts were often required.  On the flip side, I'm glad to see the game making widespread use of tooltips as a whole. 


« Last Edit: June 29, 2022, 04:55:14 AM by Martok »

"I like big maps and I cannot lie." - Barthheart

"I drastically overpaid for this existence." - bbmike


Martok

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Reply #9 on: June 24, 2022, 04:43:04 AM
Second dev stream.  A bit more fumbling around, but they were also talking this time, so it was a little more engaging. 







And before I forget to mention it, apparently the devs got a positive enough reaction that they ended up extending the demo:


https://twitter.com/CalderiaGame/status/1538899583169855490





"I like big maps and I cannot lie." - Barthheart

"I drastically overpaid for this existence." - bbmike


Undercovergeek

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Reply #10 on: June 24, 2022, 04:45:04 AM
I hear you on the no saves - I was sold on Terra invicta but I know a lot of people turned away because of it



Martok

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Reply #11 on: August 19, 2022, 08:13:13 PM
A new/updated demo is now available (for the next 10 days): 


https://steamcommunity.com/games/1812910/announcements/detail/3387288790683932188




This version will allow you to save your progress.  I like it better already.  ::) 



"I like big maps and I cannot lie." - Barthheart

"I drastically overpaid for this existence." - bbmike


Undercovergeek

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Reply #12 on: February 13, 2023, 08:38:08 AM
I managed to get in on the latest playtest - yayyyyyy

It expired today before i could really get into it - booooooo

Like Martok says its very CK3-ish in terms of its ambitions and gameplay but the game is much more focused on the interaction between characters

It starts with a neat little immersive RPG choose your kingdom option and then choose your domain within that kingdom - all giving various positive and negative bonuses with each choice, will you be from the north with its agriculture penalties but rich in ore and mining possibilities, or mid landers with crops in abundance but no mouuntains of silver and gold, after that will you be traders, warriors, schemers or thinkers - all helping you choose your path and bonding you to your little empire

You can assign family to oversee the mines, and the crops and the vines and the smithies etc, their presence giving bonuses to their output, this all depends on placing population in the markets in the first place - take some farmers away to work in the mines and theres not enough food to expand

Then theres the social interactions between all the other players, that can be 'won' or 'lost' - its not as simple as 'hey want to trade?' theres usually a small obstacle to these things 'an omen unsettles the delegation and it seems the trade could be off', do you do 1 of three choices, i chose the 'explain this doesnt seem as bad as it could be' option and the scenario played out with me explaining the omen was to show what would happen if we didnt trade - phew, problem solved?

No, because when the trade caravan arrived the AI overseer apparantely seemed in a rush to do the exchange, 'why the rush i chose', 'none of your business' was the answer and the delegation left with no trade done - these interactions seem dependent on the overseer that you send with the party - one high in diplomacy seems the best bet here

In another scenario, i sent a family member to court another factions son - you cant just get married - you have to court first - there was something wrong with the meal prepared by the Prince, and theres obviously a bonus option, a penalty option, and a middle of the road option - I chose to laugh it off and continue with the evening, the Prince was impressed and this strengthened our families bond and the 2 become lovers

Thats as far as o got before i ran out of time - so far so good, more politics than CK3 but why youre doing it and what for arent really made clear - needs a bit more meat on the bones first and a back story with plenty of lore



Martok

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Reply #13 on: July 08, 2023, 02:00:25 AM
A "Founders Beta" is going to be available July 20: 


https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/1812910/view/3666541770802340560






So if you really want to fork over your cash to get early access to the game before it enters Early Access, you can now do so.  :2funny: 



"I like big maps and I cannot lie." - Barthheart

"I drastically overpaid for this existence." - bbmike


Undercovergeek

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Reply #14 on: July 08, 2023, 03:21:51 AM
Keep getting asked to jump back in on the testing - it’s one of those 7/10 games - I’d play if there was nothing else - but there is