Spam Spam Spam Humbug 146 – Outward Aurora Dreams
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Podcast Topic(s)
This episode begins with Chlorthos Dragon, WtF Dragon, and Harmony Dragon discussing Corven – Path of Redemption, and that game’s origins in the Ultima IX: Redemption fan project that Clorthos contributed to many years ago. From there, the discussion shifts to Neverwinter Nights: Enhanced Edition and the recent graphical overhaul it received. Some discussion of various iterations of the venerable Aurora Engine ensues, which is interspersed with a discussion of the Infinity Engine that powered the first Baldur’s Gate games.
One common thread throughout much of that discussion is how drearily static the environments in those game engines tended to be. This leads to a discussion of the complexities of building interactive worlds in 3D environments versus in 2D environments, and how 3D effects such as lighting make static worlds more attractive to developers who are looking to drive up the visual fidelity of their games as much as possible. WtF Dragon re-states his oft-repeated assertion that the 3D games which followed Ultima Underworld and Ultima 9 represented steps backward in the development of 3D games and technology…though he does concede that building an Ultima-like experience in a complex 3D environment. That’s also around when Draxenath joins the recording, and she lends her perspective as a game developer.
Also discussed is Ultima Online 2, and some of the various proposals which were made for that game (all of which EA ultimately rejected, even the one based on the engine that powered The Sims). Voxels — remember how popular those were in the late 90s? — are also briefly discussed, as are some games that were powered by voxel-based engines.
And finally, the actual planned topic of this episode — Outward, a new(ish) RPG — comes up. Chlorthos has been playing the game recently, and he offers his thoughts on it, making the argument that it is in many respects the game Shroud of the Avatar should have been (especially with its offering of selective multiplayer and support for couch co-op). The central thematic conceit of Outward is that your character is just a normal person, not some Avatar or demigod; you play as just an everyday denizen of a fantasy world who is thrust — mostly against your will — into larger and larger events.
A few other topics — ScummVM, Kingdoms of Amalur: Re-Reckoning, the Commander Keen games, the tendency of older generations of gamers to look down on newer generations and their preferred games, and Battlestar Galactica — percolate up in the discussion, but the episode ultimately ends with further commentary on Outward.
Community & Patronage
As always, this episode of Spam Spam Spam Humbug is brought to you by our Patreon backers; thank you to everyone who supports Spam Spam Spam Humbug and the Ultima Codex by that means. And, as always, a hearty thank you to our co-producers: Seth, Goldenflame, Chris, Dominik, Violation, Helgraf, Gronkh, Pascal, and Thorwan.
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Music
Ultima V – Stones 2001 Remix by DJ Lizard
Ultima VI Gates of Creation by OC ReMix
Ultima 6 Theme (from Punchfest) by Lorto Dragon
Outward – is it everything Shroud of the Avatar should have been? And can we all agree that Commander Keen was great?