Grim Dawn FAQ - Compilation of Dev Feedback

[eisprinzessin]

Crate Entertainment News

A third Grim Dawn expansion

After years of telling us otherwise…

@medierra

I’d do a 3rd expansion if there weren’t so many logistical / technical issues. Based on FG sales, it definitely seems like it would be financially worthwhile. The problem is, the way certain systems work and the way we designed some things, each expansion becomes exponentially more challenging and burdened by the interaction with existing content. Adding more can also inadvertently detract from the existing game - it’s already hard to find the gear you want for your build, due to all the different types of gear, number of damage types and amount of class or skill-specific bonuses. Adding even moar on top of that will only exacerbate the problem.

… they announced Fangs of Asterkarn; additional details were shared in Grim Misadventure #176 - So the New Thing

They might eventually continue the story in Grim Dawn 2

@medea_fleecestealer

to do the story justice at this point we need to do something much bigger than an expansion.

@medierra

Given that […] I’ve been working on ARPGs [since 2002], I feel like I could use a bit of break before jumping right into GD2. Imagining exciting new features, systems and a whole new story arc take a lot of energy and passion. I’m happy continuing to work on and oversee content for GD but I feel like I need to recharge before I can give a whole new ARPG my all.

@medierra

In terms of doing a GD2, it’s a definitely possibility. Right now though, I feel like we could make a better version of GD1, with the experience we’ve gained… but in terms of moving the genre forward, adding exciting new features, I don’t feel like I have a very good idea of where to go.

@medierra

I don’t really want to start GD2 and try to include all the currently expected sort of features and then tack on a bunch of new stuff that will just make the game mechanics even more bloated and convoluted. However, I’m not sure what else to do currently. I think we need time to see what’s going to happen in the genre over the next couple years and also think about whether there is some fresh direction we could take, where we could evolve GD by doing some things new and different instead of just added moar and those sort ideas take time to arise.

Grim Dawn is on Xbox since December 2021

Legacy updates

A quick heads up on the Xbox Port, as that has been a topic of some discussion in the comments section of late.

As you may have guessed by it now being 2020, our original estimate of releasing the port in 2019 may have been a tad ambitious.

But the good news is: the Xbox port is 100% still coming and the extra time it’s had in development is only going to result in a better experience for you as all of the PC version’s major content updates will now be included right away!

In the process of working on certification requirements, we felt that additional optimization would ensure that the game you will be seeing on console will look and feel as awesome as it does on PC, without compromising on visuals and gameplay by removing objects from playable scenes.

The upside of going above and beyond on the engine work is that performance will be even better on both console and PC!

Stay tuned in the coming months as we approach the finish line and the Xbox port is in your hands!

Source: Grim Dawn - A quick heads up on the Xbox Port, as that has... - Date: Jan 13, 2020

The Xbox One port is going through certification testing. There have been a few minor cert failures so far, but they’ve already been addressed.

If more issues emerge as testing proceeds, we will have to address them as well.

Other than that, it is progressing smoothly!

Source: Grim Dawn - The Crucible is going to the stars. Check out... - Date: May 4, 2020

A quick update on the Xbox port, since so many are asking about it:

Yes, it is still coming and nearing completion.

We’re in the semi-final phase of going through certification testing with an outside company. This process involves them testing and submitting bugs or non-compliance issues, then us fixing them and putting out new builds for testing.

Once this is complete, we will submit GD for certification with Microsoft.

After that, it is just a matter of Microsoft finding a release slot for GD in their lineup. Once that occurs, we’ll have a firm release date we can share for you.

It will likely be at least a few more months but hopefully before the end of the year.

It has been a somewhat slow process because we are, after all, a fairly small team and there is only 1 programmer doing the port. For those worried about PC updates slowing the port, that shouldn’t be a concern as they’re independent pipelines with different people working on them.

Source: Grim Dawn - A quick update on the Xbox port, since so many... - Date: June 16, 2020

we do want to ensure as bug-free a release as we can but certification is more about compliance with all the esoteric UI conventions, feature support and such that Microsoft requires.

Source: Grim Dawn - A quick update on the Xbox port, since so many... - Date: June 16, 2020

@Zantai

It has recently faced yet another hurdle. Microsoft has changed requirements for certification to also include passing certification on the Xbox Series X, for compatibility across the entire Xbox ecosystem.

On a related note, Xbox Series X dev kits are in short supply for some reason.

@medierra

We’ve heard from our testing company that MS is being rather lenient on the series X certs now, so we may try to push it through since, otherwise, it sounds like it could take months to get it tested for X cert via a testing company.

Good news - Grim Dawn has passed certification on Xbox! We are now waiting to hear back about release scheduling so we can choose an official release date.

Source: Grim Dawn - Good news - Grim Dawn has passed certification... - Date: November 2, 2021

@Zantai

Preorders become available November 22nd, with the game release on December 3rd!

@Zantai

It’s priced just like the Definitive Edition on Steam, $55.

@Zantai

the game targets 1080p at 30fps

@Zantai

FPS is in fact unlocked, so in theory a Series X likely will get more than 30 fps.

@Zantai

we are committed to squeezing out more from the Series S/X consoles when we have a dev kit.

@Zantai

We suspect 1440p should be doable and a higher framerate as well, but that hinges on getting an actual dev kit. So it’s entirely possible Series X will see a bump some day with a patch, but definitely not at release.

@Zantai

As awesome as [couch coop with split screen] sounds, I’m afraid it was out of scope for us. Maybe some day!

Other games Crate has been working on

@medierra

A big factor for working on something else though is that I don’t think it is good to keep all our eggs in one basket, as a studio. Our primary goal is to keep the company alive so we can keep being independent and making games. While it’s certainly possible to focus on one franchise and stay alive for a long time doing it, it’s riskier having all your future dependent on the continued success of one game property in one genre. Diversifying the types of games we can make and the IPs we own is a good way for us to better secure out future.

Beyond just branching out to work on other genres, it has always been a goal of mine to be able to work on concurrent projects. Not only do we not want to be pigeon-holed into one genre but I think it’s important for us to be able to work on multiple projects at time. That way, we’re not just counting on the success of a single big release to keep us alive, where if it under-performs, it could take years to course-correct and finish another project (years we likely wouldn’t have). This also helps to increase the efficiency of the studio, as we can shift people around based on the needs of a project at any give time, instead of having lulls at the beginning and end of a single project, where not everyone is needed at full capacity. Another factor is that people get burnt out working on one thing for too many years. When people get burnt out, they leave and look for something new. I feel like we have a great team and I want to keep them engaged with fresh new projects and not solely grinding away on ARPGs for the next 20 years.

Their next game Farthest Frontier will be a town builder with optional combat and is done in Unity:

@medierra

A town builder is something I’ve personally wanted to do for a long time

@Zantai

In ensuring you have the best experience possible when you get your hands on Farthest Frontier for the first time, we’ve made the decision to push the game back to 2022.

@Zantai

The good news is that things are progressing smoothly and some major tech upgrades are just on the horizon.

And there are two other projects:

@medea_fleecestealer

It pays to keep an eye on Crate’s job adverts.

“Crate Entertainment is seeking an experienced and creatively-driven artist to help produce monsters for our survival horror game and take a leadership role in defining the look of and modeling characters for our fantasy RTS project that is early in development.”

@medierra

After much back and forth, we’ve decided to set the RTS in Cairn. It’s pre-grim-dawn though, so no aetherials, although there may be some cthonic elements.

We wanted to give it more of an historical civilization feel but with fantasy elements, since I think straight history is kind of limiting in terms of what you can come up with for interesting units and abilities.

So in terms of setting it will be a bit more Age of Empires but with some magic and fantasy units, alongside more traditional army units. In terms of gameplay feel, it will be a bit more toward SC2.

@medierra

I’ve been working on the RTS on the side for a while and will continue, on a high-level, to define the civs / units, core gameplay, setting. Zantai has been helping to further define things and fill in details of the design, like unit ability system. He’s going to be heading up the campaign and is outlining how that will work and what sort of scripting and editor functionality we’ll need to build it.

@medea_fleecestealer

And what about the horror survival game? Can you tell us a little bit more about that?

@medierra

Only that, yes, grava and hyboreal are on it

In case you remember talk about a certain standalone game in the GD universe:

@medierra

The stand-alone thing Zantai was working on, was sort of an experiment that didn’t really pan out. We went into it thinking we could leverage GD tech and art to create a new gameplay mode, that probably wouldn’t have great sales potential but would be worthwhile since it wouldn’t cost too much to make. In the end though, we ran into challenges that would have required more investment to overcome and we felt like the end result might be a more expensive project than we anticipated, that might end up looking like it was just a mod. So we decided to cut our losses and focus on other things.