While we've been hard at work developing the game, cementing our Early Access release date, and releasing our trailer, we gathered up your most common questions to get you answers (excluding some hardware ones that we're still getting answers for). Take a look below for the latest!
When is the Steam page coming?
Our Steam page is officially live! You can find it here - please 'Follow' and 'Wishlist' us!
When is the game releasing into Early Access?
It's finally confirmed! Early Access is set to go live on August 26th, 2021.
When is the full game set to release?
We are currently aiming for Q1 2022, depending on the feedback the community provides during Early Access.
Why has the game taken longer to develop than initially stated on Kickstarter?
Black Geyser is being developed by a small team with a limited budget. On top of this, the scope and scale of the game has increased over time, leading to us taking longer to achieve the content and scope we wanted to provide.
Will there be pre-order options and rewards?
Our primary focus is getting Early Access into your hands as quickly as possible. While we have discussed the possibility of further rewards outside of Kickstarter, we’re instead keeping it simple: we will be applying a small discount for those who buy into Early Access.
Will Kickstarter backers gain entry to Early Access?
Yes, all Kickstarter backers who backed at the “Early Bird Digital Download” Tier or higher will receive entry to Early Access.
How much content will Early Access contain?
The initial Aarly Access launch contains the first three chapters of the game which is a significant portion of the game. This will include some side quests and several main story quests. Overall, there will be tens of hours' worth of content to playthrough. After that, we will be releasing an additional chapter during Early Access alongside further additional content.
What's the extent of the game's voice-over? Is it fully voiced like Solasta or partially voiced like Baldur's Gate, or somewhere in between like Pathfinder: Kingmaker?
Right now all key characters are voiced, while supporting cast members - such as guards or merchants - have very limited voice acting (they’ll say hello when you engage them, for example). Most main characters will be fully voiced while minor characters will not be.
Will the game "end" after the main quest is done, or can you keep on going as long as you want to? Will it be more like Skyrim where you can ignore the main quest and just wander around doing side quests?
Right now and without wishing to spoil the story, the game ends when the last main story quest finishes. However, we want to ensure that the player has enough warning surrounding this, so that they’re aware of the path they’re heading down. We hope that this should give players enough choice to either finish the game, or head onto side quests that they haven’t yet finished.
How much side content will there be? (side quests, places to find, new towns or small huts middle of nowhere, books of forgotten lore and so on what you can miss unless you spend time and look for them outside all quests)
There’s quite a lot. We’ve several dozen side quests, there’s multiple smaller settlements and villages, and our Compendium is designed to absorb lore from encounters in the world, that you can then read separately. We’re currently working on a system to plan and implement additional lore books scattered throughout the game world, but the impact of this is a greater impact on localization.
Wizards in (D&D 3E/Pathfinder 1E) games tend to be underpowered early (a much more difficult character to survive early) and overpowered later, while providing some of the largest range of options later on. Does this difficulty dynamic apply in BG, or have the classes been balanced such that the difficulty curve is relatively even throughout the game?
In some respects, this applies to Black Geyser. Wizards scale better than others and are weaker to begin with and stronger late game. However, we have made some steps to ensure class groups such as the Warrior and Outlaw have plenty of potency, well into “end game”. We are planning to improve the balancing of the game throughout Early Access based on the feedback we get from players in order to make the experience the best it can be.
Can you create your own notes/journal/map pins during the game so you do NOT need to use pen and paper?
We have a journal in the game that you can write in to record any information you want. Right now, we don’t have map pins (but we love that idea!).
Is Black Geyser more of an "open world" where you can move around freely, or is it more like a "forced pipe" where you can’t go to another area before you have done all the quests in the current area?
Black Geyser has an overarching story, but players are free to choose whether they pursue it directly, or simply undertake side quests. The choice is completely up to you!
Is "loot" hand crafted and placed in certain places/on monsters, or is it totally random (where a wolf could drop full plate?)
Loot is a combination system that strives to make sense, so you can’t get platemail from a wolf for example. There will be all kinds of items, including unique weapons and armor to find throughout the world.
Can you recruit pet's (animals) during your game? Not just animal companions but cute pets you can take with you on your adventures?
Yes, pets will be implemented into the game during Early Access!
How are you approaching the end game? Like are you looking to set up something like the Witcher 3 where there's different "World States" with your actions determining character fates or is it more like Mass Effect 2 where it's more about the journey with this big climax kind of ending?
There are several endings based upon the choices you make in the game. Your actions will have a direct impact on which ending you receive.
I was told there would be Strongholds, but since then a lot of what was stated seems to have changed, so I would like to know if there will be Strongholds and can you customize them?
The Stronghold system will be implemented when the game is fully launched, and more details about the system will be coming in the next few months.
Will our companions enter into conflicts that will lead to us picking sides and - as a result - losing one of them?
Yes. There are conflicts within the game and its characters that result in you needing to make tough decisions and pick sides. We don’t wish to spoil the story, but moral decisions play a key role.
Is the final release supposed (or at least there is a possibility) to have DLC/expansions?
We’re intending to release DLC for Black Geyser, and our primary hope is not only a sequel, but also future expansions.
Are the languages you intend to support in the game determined? What languages will you support?
While we haven’t determined all the languages we intend to support at launch, and although our primary focus is on English for now, we’re determined to localize where possible, as much as we’re able. While it’s highly unlikely we’ll be able to support all languages, our hope is that where demand is evident, we’ll try to meet that need.
We know that our actions can corrupt the world further because of avarice - are there ways to cleanse / slow down the corruption other than not being greedy?
The greed system will depend fully on the moral choices you make throughout the game and will change according to which actions you take.
Are there any quests that involve crafting?
Yes there are quests that involve crafting.
How many hours of experience is the game planned to give us, which may be too early for the question but on average?
We are aiming for a fully fledged CRPG experience and the amount of completion time will depend on a variety of things like if you finish all the side quests etc. Anywhere between 30-60 hours will be common.
What's the max level you can reach in the game?
The maximum level right now is 20. We’re currently tuning this, but we’re aiming to have it so that players will need to complete most of the game to reach this point.
Will the game have any built in modding functionality? I know it's probably no, but a guy can dream.
Some time after the release of the full game, we will support modding, however, for Early Access this won’t be an option.
/The Black Geyser Team
https://store.steampowered.com/app/1374930/Black_Geyser_Couriers_of_Darkness/