Morning everyone!
So we did a quick scan over what you've all been talking about this weekend, and can address some of those before we talk about what we're tackling this week:
1. Feats.
Historically, these have been planned since for over a year, but the system was a little different back then. Based on playtest and the Backer Alpha feedback, they're in the process of being tweaked so they're less invasive. The system itself is still integrated into the world since the Abyss is centered around survival and sharing knowledge, particularly with the Lizard Men. Your overall goal is about figuring out how to stop Typhon anyways, which will be about --- you guessed it --- interacting with the world, scavenging clues from other Factions, raising reputation with other characters to learn secrets, and more. It's all about information as currency, and being able to share your Feats with the Lizard Men can help make the exchange more real. Showing them: "Here's where I discovered a hidden passageway, and this is how you activate it."
2. Typhon
Who is he? Can you fight him?
So the short answer is no, you cannot directly fight him. He is a powerful entity whose reach is beyond the physical form, and the "Doom Counter" represents his strength and influence in the Abyss. You will have to find ways to restrict his powers... or not. Perhaps there are others you would rather stop instead. That's the most I can say right now.
For this week, our strike team has been focused heavily on Narrative and making sure the Player choices are more significant in the overall game. We hear you about how completing small quests in between sessions may not be very rewarding and feel disjointed, as well as some of the levels feeling too linear or seemingly too restrictive. There's been a lot of discussion among the core team, as well as with consultants from outside the company, who are helping us weigh in on how we can maximize with our scope. I saw a pass at the latest narrative draft, and we're *really* excited to achieve some of these endings.
For the Backer Alpha and external playtest builds, we're working on that Mac fix that stops the game from starting with the metal shader issue, as well as addressing that key bindings issue, saving issues, and the notorious inventory bug. It's going to be busy on our end, but we'll keep you all updated when we can!